Cathay known China under names similar to "Cathay", that country was known to the peoples of South-East Asia and India under names similar to "China" (cf. e.g. "Cina" in modern Malay). Meanwhile, in China itself, people usually referred to their nation state based on the name of the ruling dynasty, e.g. "Da Ming Guo" ("the kingdom of the Great Ming"), or as the "Middle Kingdom" ("Zhongguo" 中國); see also Names of China for details. When the Portuguese reached South-East Asia (Afonso de Albuquerque conquering Malacca in 1511) and the southern coast of China (Jorge Álvares reaching the Pearl River estuary in
Cathay Organisation "The Straits Times" in 1998. In a "Nominate your favourite cinema" contest conducted by Adpost, Cathay Cineplex Orchard was voted the runaway favourite. Mega Pavilion in Kompleks Bukit Jambul was voted the Second best cinema in Malaysia by listeners on a Malaysian radio channel. In 1999, Cathay Organisation Holdings Ltd became a public-listed company on the SESDAQ with five wholly owned subsidiaries; Cathay Cineplexes Pte Ltd (cineplex operations), Cathay Bowl Pte Ltd (bowling centre operations), Cathay-Keris Films Pte Ltd (film acquisition & distribution), Cathay Cineleisure International Pte Ltd (entertainment centre management) and Cathay Properties Pte Ltd (property management services). The