Thursday, July 27, 2006

Dr.Mahathir tries his hand in business


The former prime minister of Malaysia Dr.Mahathir has decided to go into making Japanese bread as he believes bread from that country as being of high quality.

Dr.Mahathir is the chairman and controlling shareholder of a firm operating a business called "The Loaf" serving bread and pastries. It opens its doors in the resort island of Langkawi in Malaysia on Saturday.

Dr.Mahathir owns a 51 percent stake in a company called M&M Consolidated Resources Sdn Bhd, which is investing three million ringgit ($817,000) in the venture. A Japanese partner owns the remaining 49 percent stake.

Dr Mahathir, who is also adviser of Langkawi Development Authority, said the island had some first-class hotels and restaurants but as a world-class resort, it had not been aiming for high-end food.

M&M Consolidated managing director Jiro Suzuki said the bakery would initially offer 60 types of bread and 15 to 20 types of pastries, which would increase to 100 and 30 respectively by end-2007.

He said in two to three years, the company would be looking at opening more outlets or expanding via franchising in high-class resorts in Phuket, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Ultimately, it plans to have outlets or franchisees in Tokyo, London and New York, offering bakery products that are as good as those offered in these cities.

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