Published: 2009/08/28
Dialog Group Bhd is to develop a supply base at the Jubail Commercial Port (JCP) in Saudi Arabia.
Its subsidiary, Dialog Services Saudi Arabia Company Ltd (Dialog Saudi), has secured a land lease to develop the Jubail Supply Base for integrated logistic services at the JCP.
Dialog said the lease agreement for 3.45 hectares land within the JCP was signed on August 26 for an initial period of 20 years at an annual rental of about RM634,066, with an option to extend for a further five years.
The proposed Jubail Supply Base is strategically located in close proximity to offshore oil and gas fields.
According to Dialog, the Jubail Supply Base has an existing 300-metre long wharf in a sheltered all-weathered basin of the JCP, with adequate draft for offshore supply vessels.
It said the proposed Jubail Supply Base would serve as a one-stop, integrated offshore logistic hub and resource centre for oilfield services, equipment and supplies while supporting the active, growing offshore oil and gas development in the Arabian Gulf.
The development of Phase One of the proposed Jubail Supply Base is expected to commence immediately and it will be developed over one to two years, Dialog said.
On completion, it would have facilities comprising marine logistic services, bulk bunkering and storage facilities, workshops and warehouses.
The estimated capital expenditure for Phase One of the proposed Jubail Supply Base is about RM94 million.
In anticipation of business growth potential, Dialog will follow up with the Phase Two development for which an additional 28 hectares of land within the JCP would be sought in future.
Once fully developed, the Jubail Supply Base will occupy a total of 31.45 hectares.
Dialog said its ownership in the proposed Jubail Supply Base will result in an increase in its sources of sustainable and recurring income in future. -- Bernama
August 28, 2009
CIMB to boost Direct Access card base by 15pc yearly
Published: 2008/06/16
CIMB Bank Bhd aims to grow its Direct Access credit card base by 15 per cent per year, as it ties up with professional associations.
"Direct Access targets graduates and professionals. Therefore, we will be working with professional associations to sign up members," said head of direct banking and cards, Yap Yoke Yuen.
Yap was speaking to reporters after CIMB Bank launched the Direct Access Malaysian Bar MasterCard for members of the Malaysian Bar Council on Friday in Kuala Lumpur.
With a current base of 250,000 Direct Access cardholders, CIMB Bank has tied-up with other professional associations such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Malaysian Medical Association to increase its customer base.
The bar council has 12,500 members, of which 2,000 members have been signed up for the card.
The Direct Access Malaysian Bar Mastercard is a free-for-life credit card, without annual fees.
"We are able to provide members of the Malaysian Bar with innovative solutions for their various financial needs, from obtaining loans and making payments," said CIMB Bank chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Nor at the launch ceremony.
Benefits for card members include a two per cent rebate at all petrol stations nationwide, a bonus point for every ringgit spent, discounts at over 500 merchant outlets and flexi pay plan on purchases above RM1,000 at any retail outlet.
Haidar, former chief judge of Malaya, added that the bank will channel a percentage of spending on the cards back to the bar council to fund its activities.
CIMB Bank Bhd aims to grow its Direct Access credit card base by 15 per cent per year, as it ties up with professional associations.
"Direct Access targets graduates and professionals. Therefore, we will be working with professional associations to sign up members," said head of direct banking and cards, Yap Yoke Yuen.
Yap was speaking to reporters after CIMB Bank launched the Direct Access Malaysian Bar MasterCard for members of the Malaysian Bar Council on Friday in Kuala Lumpur.
With a current base of 250,000 Direct Access cardholders, CIMB Bank has tied-up with other professional associations such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Malaysian Medical Association to increase its customer base.
The bar council has 12,500 members, of which 2,000 members have been signed up for the card.
The Direct Access Malaysian Bar Mastercard is a free-for-life credit card, without annual fees.
"We are able to provide members of the Malaysian Bar with innovative solutions for their various financial needs, from obtaining loans and making payments," said CIMB Bank chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Nor at the launch ceremony.
Benefits for card members include a two per cent rebate at all petrol stations nationwide, a bonus point for every ringgit spent, discounts at over 500 merchant outlets and flexi pay plan on purchases above RM1,000 at any retail outlet.
Haidar, former chief judge of Malaya, added that the bank will channel a percentage of spending on the cards back to the bar council to fund its activities.
KLCI may hit 12-month high by year-end, says CIMB
Published: 2009/06/03
Corporate earnings will grow a 'stronger' 19 per cent in 2010 after shrinking 5.7 per cent this year, according to CIMB Investment Bank
MALAYSIA'S key stock index may rise to a 12-month high by year-end, says CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (1023), which recommended investors buy "bombed-out cyclical" stocks in construction, building materials and property.
Companies reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, CIMB said in a report yesterday. Earnings will grow a "stronger" 19 per cent in 2010 after shrinking 5.7 per cent this year, it said.
CIMB raised the year-end Kuala Lumpur Composite Index target to 1,220 from 1,060, the highest since June 18. The gauge, up 21 per cent this year, gained 0.2 per cent to 1,063.76 as of 11.53am local time.
"There is a good chance we are past the worst," said Terence Wong, an analyst at CIMB. "The gradual reinvestment of institutional funds' spare cash will sustain the market rebound in the second half" of 2009, it said.
More than RM20 billion of spending on infrastructure will help spur a recovery in the economy with "pump-priming" to intensify in the second half, CIMB said. The government is betting on two stimulus plans totaling RM67 billion to reinvigorate Southeast Asia's third-largest economy as it heads for its first recession in a decade.
The central bank has said previous interest-rate cuts and the stimulus plans will help revive growth in the second quarter.
"Domestic catalysts" and "huge pools of liquidity not yet deployed by local and foreign funds should keep the medium- term momentum strong, at least" in the second half, it said.
Property stocks including SP Setia Bhd "should outperform" in this market rebound as they tend to move in tandem with the stock market. Further, they were the worst performers last year, CIMB said.
Oil and gas-related stocks will also gain as rising crude oil prices spur more exploration contracts, increasing the demand for service providers such as SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd, it said.
Malaysian stocks have become cheaper, it added. The "resurgence" of regional markets has lowered Malaysia's price- to-earnings multiple premium over the region from up to 45 per cent earlier in the year to as low as 14 per cent, the report said. - Bloomberg
Corporate earnings will grow a 'stronger' 19 per cent in 2010 after shrinking 5.7 per cent this year, according to CIMB Investment Bank
MALAYSIA'S key stock index may rise to a 12-month high by year-end, says CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (1023), which recommended investors buy "bombed-out cyclical" stocks in construction, building materials and property.
Companies reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, CIMB said in a report yesterday. Earnings will grow a "stronger" 19 per cent in 2010 after shrinking 5.7 per cent this year, it said.
CIMB raised the year-end Kuala Lumpur Composite Index target to 1,220 from 1,060, the highest since June 18. The gauge, up 21 per cent this year, gained 0.2 per cent to 1,063.76 as of 11.53am local time.
"There is a good chance we are past the worst," said Terence Wong, an analyst at CIMB. "The gradual reinvestment of institutional funds' spare cash will sustain the market rebound in the second half" of 2009, it said.
More than RM20 billion of spending on infrastructure will help spur a recovery in the economy with "pump-priming" to intensify in the second half, CIMB said. The government is betting on two stimulus plans totaling RM67 billion to reinvigorate Southeast Asia's third-largest economy as it heads for its first recession in a decade.
The central bank has said previous interest-rate cuts and the stimulus plans will help revive growth in the second quarter.
"Domestic catalysts" and "huge pools of liquidity not yet deployed by local and foreign funds should keep the medium- term momentum strong, at least" in the second half, it said.
Property stocks including SP Setia Bhd "should outperform" in this market rebound as they tend to move in tandem with the stock market. Further, they were the worst performers last year, CIMB said.
Oil and gas-related stocks will also gain as rising crude oil prices spur more exploration contracts, increasing the demand for service providers such as SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd, it said.
Malaysian stocks have become cheaper, it added. The "resurgence" of regional markets has lowered Malaysia's price- to-earnings multiple premium over the region from up to 45 per cent earlier in the year to as low as 14 per cent, the report said. - Bloomberg
CIMB to pursue deal if Maxis seeks relisting
By Jeeva ArulampalamPublished: 2009/07/31
CIMB Group's top chief says it will try to secure the Maxis Communications Bhd initial public offering (IPO) mandate if the latter decides to relist on Bursa Malaysia.
"If there is such a mandate, we will certainly try to win that mandate. And I'm sure every banker will try to win it," CIMB group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak told reporters after presenting prizes to the winners of CIMB Bank's "Dream.Deposit.Drive - Back Again!" campaign in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Nazir said the relisting of the telecommunications giant would be seen as a major international IPO and the most important equity transaction of the year in Asia-Pacific.
"Therefore, many bankers will be chasing the deal if (Maxis) decides to proceed and invite bankers to bid," he said.
There has been talk of Maxis becoming a public company again within the second half of the year after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged it to return to the Malaysian stock market.
Maxis has said it will return, but stopped short of providing a time frame. It was listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2002, but taken private five years later.
On another development, Nazir said that he could neither confirm nor deny a news report that CIMB Bank would help sell conventional and Islamic dollar bonds for Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
"I cannot comment on it. There has been no official announcement on that. So we will leave it at that," he said.
The report said that Petronas had hired Morgan Stanley, CIMB Bank and Citigroup Inc to sell five-year sukuk and 10-year conventional notes.
On the retail deposit market, Nazir said the segment had contracted over the past six months but CIMB programmes like the "Dream.Deposit.Drive" campaign had helped mitigate the impact.
"We seem to be ahead of the industry with a year-on-year growth of 10 per cent while our year-to-date growth is in the positive territory," he said.
CIMB Bank head of retail banking Peter England said its retail deposit business stood at some RM32.9 billion, or 9 per cent share of the RM353 billion retail deposit market.
CIMB Group's top chief says it will try to secure the Maxis Communications Bhd initial public offering (IPO) mandate if the latter decides to relist on Bursa Malaysia.
"If there is such a mandate, we will certainly try to win that mandate. And I'm sure every banker will try to win it," CIMB group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Nazir Razak told reporters after presenting prizes to the winners of CIMB Bank's "Dream.Deposit.Drive - Back Again!" campaign in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Nazir said the relisting of the telecommunications giant would be seen as a major international IPO and the most important equity transaction of the year in Asia-Pacific.
"Therefore, many bankers will be chasing the deal if (Maxis) decides to proceed and invite bankers to bid," he said.
There has been talk of Maxis becoming a public company again within the second half of the year after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak urged it to return to the Malaysian stock market.
Maxis has said it will return, but stopped short of providing a time frame. It was listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2002, but taken private five years later.
On another development, Nazir said that he could neither confirm nor deny a news report that CIMB Bank would help sell conventional and Islamic dollar bonds for Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).
"I cannot comment on it. There has been no official announcement on that. So we will leave it at that," he said.
The report said that Petronas had hired Morgan Stanley, CIMB Bank and Citigroup Inc to sell five-year sukuk and 10-year conventional notes.
On the retail deposit market, Nazir said the segment had contracted over the past six months but CIMB programmes like the "Dream.Deposit.Drive" campaign had helped mitigate the impact.
"We seem to be ahead of the industry with a year-on-year growth of 10 per cent while our year-to-date growth is in the positive territory," he said.
CIMB Bank head of retail banking Peter England said its retail deposit business stood at some RM32.9 billion, or 9 per cent share of the RM353 billion retail deposit market.
CIMB unit set to complete sukuk pipeline
Published: 2009/07/04
LONDON: CIMB Islamic, The world's leading arranger of Islamic bonds, is poised to complete its 19-strong sukuk pipeline by year-end, its chief executive Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said yesterday.
Badlisyah said on the sidelines of the London 2009 Sukuk Summit that the string of deals involves several companies around the world. In March, Badlisyah said CIMB Islamic would raise US$2.5 billion (RM8.83 billion) through its intended sukuk sales.
Sukuk or Islamic bonds are underpinned by tangible assets and do not pay interest. Sukuk volumes fell 56 per cent in 2008, from the previous year, hit by the global liquidity crunch, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said.
Badlisyah was optimistic about the growth prospects for the Islamic finance market, adding that CIMB Islamic was poised to soon raise US$1 billion (RM3.53 billion) via a five-year sukuk for a Middle East firm. He declined to name the CIMB Islamic client, which will place the debt privately.
Badlisyah said the bond was due "very, very soon" and he was very sure it would be fully subscribed by private investors. It would be one of the most significant Islamic corporate issuances in 2009, he said.
CIMB Islamic is part of CIMB Group, which is listed on the Malaysian stock exchange through Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd. It is Malaysia's No. 2 lender and Southeast Asia's fifth-largest bank by assets.
Badlisyah is optimistic about growth prospects for the Islamic finance industry, despite of the global economic slow down. He expects the industry - including the sukuk market - to grow at a double-digit rate this year.
"People are becoming aware of Islamic finance. Because of the crisis people are now asking what Islamic finance can provide them with," he said.
"Corporates who had never given a single thought about looking at Islamic finance, are actually coming to ask questions. It started last year."
He said European companies had enquired about tapping the Islamic market to raise capital.
While countries like the UK have changed tax rules and adjusted legal frameworks to facilitate Islamic finance, US law already lent itself to this, Badlisyah said.
"I am optimistic about Islamic finance, it is still growing - at a lower rate compared with the last two years - but recessions and crises come and go.
"We will be back to a situation where activities will rebound and I am very optimistic it (Islamic finance) will grow faster after we find stability, because the world is very aware of Islamic finance," he said. - Reuters
LONDON: CIMB Islamic, The world's leading arranger of Islamic bonds, is poised to complete its 19-strong sukuk pipeline by year-end, its chief executive Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said yesterday.
Badlisyah said on the sidelines of the London 2009 Sukuk Summit that the string of deals involves several companies around the world. In March, Badlisyah said CIMB Islamic would raise US$2.5 billion (RM8.83 billion) through its intended sukuk sales.
Sukuk or Islamic bonds are underpinned by tangible assets and do not pay interest. Sukuk volumes fell 56 per cent in 2008, from the previous year, hit by the global liquidity crunch, ratings agency Standard & Poor's said.
Badlisyah was optimistic about the growth prospects for the Islamic finance market, adding that CIMB Islamic was poised to soon raise US$1 billion (RM3.53 billion) via a five-year sukuk for a Middle East firm. He declined to name the CIMB Islamic client, which will place the debt privately.
Badlisyah said the bond was due "very, very soon" and he was very sure it would be fully subscribed by private investors. It would be one of the most significant Islamic corporate issuances in 2009, he said.
CIMB Islamic is part of CIMB Group, which is listed on the Malaysian stock exchange through Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd. It is Malaysia's No. 2 lender and Southeast Asia's fifth-largest bank by assets.
Badlisyah is optimistic about growth prospects for the Islamic finance industry, despite of the global economic slow down. He expects the industry - including the sukuk market - to grow at a double-digit rate this year.
"People are becoming aware of Islamic finance. Because of the crisis people are now asking what Islamic finance can provide them with," he said.
"Corporates who had never given a single thought about looking at Islamic finance, are actually coming to ask questions. It started last year."
He said European companies had enquired about tapping the Islamic market to raise capital.
While countries like the UK have changed tax rules and adjusted legal frameworks to facilitate Islamic finance, US law already lent itself to this, Badlisyah said.
"I am optimistic about Islamic finance, it is still growing - at a lower rate compared with the last two years - but recessions and crises come and go.
"We will be back to a situation where activities will rebound and I am very optimistic it (Islamic finance) will grow faster after we find stability, because the world is very aware of Islamic finance," he said. - Reuters
Win-win move for CIMB, staff: Nazir
By Rupinder SinghPublished: 2009/03/31
CIMB Group (1023), the country's second largest lender, says its no-pay leave offer to its 36,000 employees should not be construed as an intention to cut its staff strength.
Rather, it is the group's effort to reduce cost amid the global economic downturn, group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said yesterday.
"How can that possibly be called a layoff? We are not instructing anyone to do anything. We are just giving them an option to apply if they wish to take an extended break. Don't interpret it any other way," he said.
He was commenting on an exclusive report by Business Times that CIMB had issued a memorandum last Wednesday to all its employees to inform them of the no-pay leave option from April 1 of between one and six months.
Nazir said the "Staff Rejuvenation Programme" is a win-win scheme for both staff and company.
"It is a very positive move."
The offer is open to all its employees in CIMB Bank as well as its units in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
"Anyone can apply, but senior managers will evaluate if they can do without the employee concerned. It is not a right to take it," Nazir said.
He added that response from employees has been "very, very good" to date.
Nazir also said that there was no target on the number accepting the offer, but was confident that the move would result in cost-savings.
"In the slower economic environment, we are looking at ways to temporarily reduce our costs," he said.
CIMB's latest initiative comes after employees from the equity section, including CIMB-GK Securities, took salary cuts ranging from 10 to 20 per cent earlier in the year.
"I would highly recommend it (no-pay leave) to other companies actually," he said.
CIMB Group (1023), the country's second largest lender, says its no-pay leave offer to its 36,000 employees should not be construed as an intention to cut its staff strength.
Rather, it is the group's effort to reduce cost amid the global economic downturn, group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said yesterday.
"How can that possibly be called a layoff? We are not instructing anyone to do anything. We are just giving them an option to apply if they wish to take an extended break. Don't interpret it any other way," he said.
He was commenting on an exclusive report by Business Times that CIMB had issued a memorandum last Wednesday to all its employees to inform them of the no-pay leave option from April 1 of between one and six months.
Nazir said the "Staff Rejuvenation Programme" is a win-win scheme for both staff and company.
"It is a very positive move."
The offer is open to all its employees in CIMB Bank as well as its units in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
"Anyone can apply, but senior managers will evaluate if they can do without the employee concerned. It is not a right to take it," Nazir said.
He added that response from employees has been "very, very good" to date.
Nazir also said that there was no target on the number accepting the offer, but was confident that the move would result in cost-savings.
"In the slower economic environment, we are looking at ways to temporarily reduce our costs," he said.
CIMB's latest initiative comes after employees from the equity section, including CIMB-GK Securities, took salary cuts ranging from 10 to 20 per cent earlier in the year.
"I would highly recommend it (no-pay leave) to other companies actually," he said.
CIMB clinches advisory role for Mecca project
Published: 2009/08/28
CIMB Islamic Investment House (CIMB Middle East), the investment banking arm of the CIMB Group in the Middle East, has been hired to advise on a tie-up between Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB).
Al Salam and TAIB are working on a Mecca real estate project known as Burj Al Safwa Tower, a residential and commercial tower near the Grand Mosque's King Abdul-Aziz Gate.
CIMB Middle East had earlier advised Al Salam Bank to sell its 50 per cent stake in Burj Al Safwa to TAIB.
CIMB Middle East is a 50:50 joint venture between the CIMB Group and the Kanoo Group, a Bahrain-based diversified business conglomerate.
CIMB Islamic Investment House (CIMB Middle East), the investment banking arm of the CIMB Group in the Middle East, has been hired to advise on a tie-up between Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB).
Al Salam and TAIB are working on a Mecca real estate project known as Burj Al Safwa Tower, a residential and commercial tower near the Grand Mosque's King Abdul-Aziz Gate.
CIMB Middle East had earlier advised Al Salam Bank to sell its 50 per cent stake in Burj Al Safwa to TAIB.
CIMB Middle East is a 50:50 joint venture between the CIMB Group and the Kanoo Group, a Bahrain-based diversified business conglomerate.
KL shares end mixed
Published: 2009/08/28
MALAYSIAN share prices eased 0.22 per cent today as market players stepped back ahead of a long holiday weekend,
dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 2.63 points to 1,174.27. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers 385 to 257.
TA Securities said the market was “in consolidation mode” while “rotational plays on low-priced penny stocks” continue to dominate trading activity, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Declining stocks included Bumi-Commerce which fell 4.5 per cent to RM9.95, Gamuda which lost 1 per cent to RM3.07 and AirAsia which slipped 1.4 per cent to RM1.37.
Among the advancers, Axiata rose 1.3 per cent to RM3.15, YTL Power rose 1.8 per cent to RM2.21 and Genting added 1.2 per cent to RM6.68.
At 5pm, the Finance Index declined 102.17 points at 9,433.92, while the Plantation Index gained 3.12 points to 5,837.42 and the Industrial Index lost 3.77 points to 2,593.99.
The FBM Emas Index fell 13.39 points to 7,924.05, the FBM Top 100 went down 12.05 points to 7,707.52 and the FBM ACE Index shed 16.62 points to end at 4,145.53.
However, losers still led gainers 390 to 258 while 251 counters closed unchanged with 352 untraded and none suspended.
Turnover rose to 632.06 million shares worth RM1.308 billion from 585.09 million shares worth RM1.01 billion yesterday. - AFP/Bernama
MALAYSIAN share prices eased 0.22 per cent today as market players stepped back ahead of a long holiday weekend,
dealers said.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index lost 2.63 points to 1,174.27. Declining stocks outnumbered advancers 385 to 257.
TA Securities said the market was “in consolidation mode” while “rotational plays on low-priced penny stocks” continue to dominate trading activity, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
Declining stocks included Bumi-Commerce which fell 4.5 per cent to RM9.95, Gamuda which lost 1 per cent to RM3.07 and AirAsia which slipped 1.4 per cent to RM1.37.
Among the advancers, Axiata rose 1.3 per cent to RM3.15, YTL Power rose 1.8 per cent to RM2.21 and Genting added 1.2 per cent to RM6.68.
At 5pm, the Finance Index declined 102.17 points at 9,433.92, while the Plantation Index gained 3.12 points to 5,837.42 and the Industrial Index lost 3.77 points to 2,593.99.
The FBM Emas Index fell 13.39 points to 7,924.05, the FBM Top 100 went down 12.05 points to 7,707.52 and the FBM ACE Index shed 16.62 points to end at 4,145.53.
However, losers still led gainers 390 to 258 while 251 counters closed unchanged with 352 untraded and none suspended.
Turnover rose to 632.06 million shares worth RM1.308 billion from 585.09 million shares worth RM1.01 billion yesterday. - AFP/Bernama
New IOI Corp hit by impairment for Singapore project
Written by Joseph Chin
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 13:19
KUALA LUMPUR: IOI Corp earnings for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2009 (4Q09) fell 18.4% to RM487.07 million compared with RM597.28 milion a year ago after it was affected by an impairment loss of RM242.8 million recognised on a development property in Singapore.
The plantation-based company said on Aug 26 it was also affected by lower profit contributions from its plantations and manufacturing business.
IOI reported a pre-tax profit of RM612.8 million for 4Q09, which is 28% lower than RM856.1 million reported for 4Q08. "Excluding the impairment loss, the group's pre-tax profit is RM855.5 million which is about the same level as 4Q08 results," it said.
The board declared a third interim single tier dividend of 20% or 2.0 sen per ordinary share of 10 sen each for FY09 which is not
taxable in the hands of the shareholders.
Revenue was RM3.12 billion comapred with RM4.56 billion. Earnings per share were 8.21 sen compared with 9.91 sen.
For the FY ended June 30, it reported net profit of RM983.52 million, down 56% from the RM2.23 billion in the FY09. Revenue was slightly lower at RM14.6 billion compared with RM14.66 billion.
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 13:19
KUALA LUMPUR: IOI Corp earnings for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2009 (4Q09) fell 18.4% to RM487.07 million compared with RM597.28 milion a year ago after it was affected by an impairment loss of RM242.8 million recognised on a development property in Singapore.
The plantation-based company said on Aug 26 it was also affected by lower profit contributions from its plantations and manufacturing business.
IOI reported a pre-tax profit of RM612.8 million for 4Q09, which is 28% lower than RM856.1 million reported for 4Q08. "Excluding the impairment loss, the group's pre-tax profit is RM855.5 million which is about the same level as 4Q08 results," it said.
The board declared a third interim single tier dividend of 20% or 2.0 sen per ordinary share of 10 sen each for FY09 which is not
taxable in the hands of the shareholders.
Revenue was RM3.12 billion comapred with RM4.56 billion. Earnings per share were 8.21 sen compared with 9.91 sen.
For the FY ended June 30, it reported net profit of RM983.52 million, down 56% from the RM2.23 billion in the FY09. Revenue was slightly lower at RM14.6 billion compared with RM14.66 billion.
Market volume drops further
Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:26
Caution persisted in key Asian stock markets on Thursday, Aug 27. Overnight, US stocks managed to eke out only a very small gain despite reporting stronger than expected new home sales and orders for durable goods.
This suggests that investors are growing more concerned that whilst the worst was over, the unfolding recovery may not be as strong as initial expectations. Bellwether indices in Japan, Hong Kong and China drifted lower with investors locking in profits from recent gains. The Singapore stock market bucked the trend, closing marginally higher.
The benchmark index for the Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI, opened weaker and fluctuated within a very narrow band. There was no clear direction for investors to move stock prices one way or the other.
It did, however, managed to climb into positive territory after the mid-day break – even though market breadth continued to be in the red. The FBM KLCI eventually ended four points higher at 1,176.9. However, losing counters outpaced gaining ones by a ratio of roughly five to four at the close.
BAT, DiGi, MISC-F, YTL Cement, MMC Corp and Measat were among the top gainers for the day. At the other end, Lafarge Malayan Cement, Key Asic, Tenaga Nasional and Tomei Consolidated were some of the notable losers.
Trading volume contracted further on Thursday. Little over 585 million shares changed hands. Market volume has been falling in recent days as investors moved back to the sidelines. Time dotCom was the most actively traded stock for the day. Other actives include Winsun Technologies, Multi Sports, Gamuda and Time Engineering.
In other developments, crude oil futures in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped to near US$71 per barrel, off its recent high of US$75 per barrel. The US Energy Department reported higher stockpiles for the week ended Aug 21.
Caution persisted in key Asian stock markets on Thursday, Aug 27. Overnight, US stocks managed to eke out only a very small gain despite reporting stronger than expected new home sales and orders for durable goods.
This suggests that investors are growing more concerned that whilst the worst was over, the unfolding recovery may not be as strong as initial expectations. Bellwether indices in Japan, Hong Kong and China drifted lower with investors locking in profits from recent gains. The Singapore stock market bucked the trend, closing marginally higher.
The benchmark index for the Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI, opened weaker and fluctuated within a very narrow band. There was no clear direction for investors to move stock prices one way or the other.
It did, however, managed to climb into positive territory after the mid-day break – even though market breadth continued to be in the red. The FBM KLCI eventually ended four points higher at 1,176.9. However, losing counters outpaced gaining ones by a ratio of roughly five to four at the close.
BAT, DiGi, MISC-F, YTL Cement, MMC Corp and Measat were among the top gainers for the day. At the other end, Lafarge Malayan Cement, Key Asic, Tenaga Nasional and Tomei Consolidated were some of the notable losers.
Trading volume contracted further on Thursday. Little over 585 million shares changed hands. Market volume has been falling in recent days as investors moved back to the sidelines. Time dotCom was the most actively traded stock for the day. Other actives include Winsun Technologies, Multi Sports, Gamuda and Time Engineering.
In other developments, crude oil futures in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped to near US$71 per barrel, off its recent high of US$75 per barrel. The US Energy Department reported higher stockpiles for the week ended Aug 21.
Insurance for stressed out executives?
Written by Richard Quest
Thursday, 13 August 2009 11:25
I HAVE decided to forsake markets, economics and the great recession this week. It’s August, and the northern hemisphere is starting its month-long holiday, so I am turning my attention to matters of vacations.
This week, I noticed German airline Lufthansa has started selling holiday airfares that guarantee sunshine. Buying one of their special sunshine fares means you are eligible for a payment of €20 (RM100) for every day it rains while you are at your destination. The small print says there has to be at least 5mm of rain, which my colleagues at the CNN weather centre tell me is actually quite a lot of water!
Insuring against the weather is nothing new. Skiers have insured against not having enough snow for years. Organisers of outdoor events will often take out a policy against the costs of having the event washed out. But this is the first time I have heard of a general policy paying out if the sun doesn’t shine!
I am one of those people who truly can be called a sun worshipper. The first hint of bad weather causes a very dark cloud to form over my head. I am likely to become grumpy at the prospect of the loss of a day on the beach. When I was on holiday in Sydney once I spent hours telephoning the met office wanting to know when a summer storm was going pass over, almost pleading, as if they had any control over it. But even I can’t see much point in this policy.
You are on holiday, the sun isn’t shining and the rain is falling. There isn’t much you can do about it other than find something else to do, and knowing you are getting a whole €20 in return is not going to make a lot of difference.
Practically, €20 per person may help pay the cost of taking the kids to some ridiculously overpriced indoor attraction that you’d hoped to avoid. Or it will buy some colouring books and toys to keep them quiet. But have we really become so pathetic that we can’t simply say: “Hey the sun didn’t shine but I had a good holiday anyway? I read a book, went to a museum and watched how the locals live.”
It doesn’t have to relate to the weather either. In the past, travel companies have been prepared to throw in subjective factors, like did you enjoy the experience? In 2004, British Airways ran a sleep guarantee marketing campaign. They promised a future First Class upgrade if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep on the red-eye flight to London.
I can well see that in the future insurance policies will be sold to stressed executives that pay out if you don’t come home relaxed. Or how about a policy that pays out if a baby is sitting within five rows of you in business class? Or a policy that pays out when you do not get upgraded... the possibilities for this racket are endless.
What this all comes down to is the fact that risk and life go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. Sometimes the natural vicissitudes of life have to be allowed to take their course. In these cases, surely the test becomes what you do when the rain pours; not whether you get a pay-out because of it.
Richard Quest is a CNN correspondent based in London, host of the weekday one-hour programme “Quest Means Business”. For programme highlights and more, go to www.cnn.com/qmb
Thursday, 13 August 2009 11:25
I HAVE decided to forsake markets, economics and the great recession this week. It’s August, and the northern hemisphere is starting its month-long holiday, so I am turning my attention to matters of vacations.
This week, I noticed German airline Lufthansa has started selling holiday airfares that guarantee sunshine. Buying one of their special sunshine fares means you are eligible for a payment of €20 (RM100) for every day it rains while you are at your destination. The small print says there has to be at least 5mm of rain, which my colleagues at the CNN weather centre tell me is actually quite a lot of water!
Insuring against the weather is nothing new. Skiers have insured against not having enough snow for years. Organisers of outdoor events will often take out a policy against the costs of having the event washed out. But this is the first time I have heard of a general policy paying out if the sun doesn’t shine!
I am one of those people who truly can be called a sun worshipper. The first hint of bad weather causes a very dark cloud to form over my head. I am likely to become grumpy at the prospect of the loss of a day on the beach. When I was on holiday in Sydney once I spent hours telephoning the met office wanting to know when a summer storm was going pass over, almost pleading, as if they had any control over it. But even I can’t see much point in this policy.
You are on holiday, the sun isn’t shining and the rain is falling. There isn’t much you can do about it other than find something else to do, and knowing you are getting a whole €20 in return is not going to make a lot of difference.
Practically, €20 per person may help pay the cost of taking the kids to some ridiculously overpriced indoor attraction that you’d hoped to avoid. Or it will buy some colouring books and toys to keep them quiet. But have we really become so pathetic that we can’t simply say: “Hey the sun didn’t shine but I had a good holiday anyway? I read a book, went to a museum and watched how the locals live.”
It doesn’t have to relate to the weather either. In the past, travel companies have been prepared to throw in subjective factors, like did you enjoy the experience? In 2004, British Airways ran a sleep guarantee marketing campaign. They promised a future First Class upgrade if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep on the red-eye flight to London.
I can well see that in the future insurance policies will be sold to stressed executives that pay out if you don’t come home relaxed. Or how about a policy that pays out if a baby is sitting within five rows of you in business class? Or a policy that pays out when you do not get upgraded... the possibilities for this racket are endless.
What this all comes down to is the fact that risk and life go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. Sometimes the natural vicissitudes of life have to be allowed to take their course. In these cases, surely the test becomes what you do when the rain pours; not whether you get a pay-out because of it.
Richard Quest is a CNN correspondent based in London, host of the weekday one-hour programme “Quest Means Business”. For programme highlights and more, go to www.cnn.com/qmb
Emerging financial markets after the global financial crisis
Tags: financial crisis | Michael Spence | Pimco
Written by Michael Spence
Thursday, 13 August 2009 10:36
Before the currency crises of 1997-98, the advice from advanced countries and the international financial institutions to developing countries with respect to their financial systems was to a first approximation, “you should look like us.”
After the 97-98 experience of instability resulting from a toxic combination of open financial systems, weak internal regulation and transparency, and in some cases external debt denominated in dollars, the advice changed. It became, “you should eventually look like us, but proceed at a measured pace as your financial system deepens and matures”.
It was translated into action more or less as prescribed but with the addition of a widespread accumulation of reserves to provide a buffer against volatility in capital flows and exchange rates.
Now in the aftermath of a crisis that began with extreme distress in the advanced country financial markets, the structure and regulation of the advanced country systems is in the process of significant and permanent change. The lightly regulated model with a strong presumption that self-regulation will be a stabilising influence has been rejected along with the assumption that sophisticated participants in sufficient numbers accurately perceive and manage shifting systemic risk.
As a result, the “like us” part of the modified prescription to emerging markets is not well defined and won’t be until a new system, currently under construction, is in place and has operated for long enough to have been tested. The destination and the partial anchor it provided for the evolution of financial sector policy is no longer clear.
The crisis, with its origins in the advanced country financial systems, has raised questions about our grasp of the evolving structure of the system and our ability to keep up with its shifting risk characteristics, a prerequisite for effective self-regulatory defences. Evidently, this gap became too large in the current crisis, a combination of difficult to access information and incomplete models for processing the information.
1)What will policymakers in developing countries make of all this and how will their responses affect investment opportunities and returns in emerging markets?
First they will watch with great interest the advanced country process of reconstructing the regulatory systems as the possible new destination. Then they will assess whether the new structures meet their own needs or require supplementary steps, and they will review the pace and sequencing of the opening of the capital account. Given the heightened level of uncertainty about the sources of systemic risk and instability, slowing the pace seems rational and likely to be the outcome.
Second, they will study international transmission mechanisms and the range and robustness of circuit breakers. There were two primary transmission channels, one financial and one in the real economy. The financial channel was the rapid exodus of capital from emerging markets to advanced countries to deal with badly damaged balance sheets, capital adequacy and potential solvency problems, and margin and collateral calls. The result was an immediate and sharp credit tightening in developing countries and rapid exchange rate movements with emerging market currencies depreciating, the only exception being China.
The use of reserves to stabilise the net capital flows is the most important domestically controlled circuit breaker. Those countries with reserves used them for this purpose and took steps to intermediate the flows to ease credit in various sectors of the economy. Countries without reserves had few options and remain highly vulnerable and dependent on a recovery of the international system.
Two conclusions will likely be drawn. The importance of reserves as a defensive weapon will be elevated. Management of the current and capital account will be carried out in such a way as to include or expand this element of self-insurance. Second the IMF (on the decline as the crisis broke) is now perceived as quite important in stabilising very volatile global capital flows. Or at least the importance of the function is understood and the IMF will now be challenged to reform in order to meet the challenge.
The IMF’s starting resources at the onset of the crisis were US$250 billion (RM882.5 billion), not nearly enough to deal with the impact of the capital exodus from emerging markets in the fall of 2008. Its resources have since been expanded by the G20 to US$750 billion, though not until several months into the crisis. Important potential sources of these expanded resources including the countries with large reserve holdings will insist on reform of the governance structure.
2) An important premise of the Pimco strategy through the crisis has been that the role of government (including the central bank) shifts from that of referee and regulatory to that plus major player. Government supplies capital and acquires a considerable say in what the private sector institutions do. Their focus is quite understandably on the domestic economy and financial system.
The emerging markets see this clearly. Their conclusion is quite certain to be that it is of high importance in their own financial systems to have a significant fraction of the financial sector, especially the banking sector, domestically owned and controlled. Foreign-based institutions in a crisis are required to focus elsewhere. It is imperative to have a functioning set of stable domestic institutions that will work with the government to respond to the crisis and that are big enough to support the economy’s needs for safe savings channels and credit intermediation.
I would therefore expect that domestic ownership of a substantial part of financial system would become or remain a priority, a relatively long term one, and that foreign entry will be tightly and perhaps more tightly controlled.
3) Additionally, the emerging market balance sheets were largely free of toxic assets. This is perceived as a good thing. Controls on the products that domestic entities and investors can sell and hold will be the response.
This is not to say that emerging markets will conclude that securitisation, properly regulated, is a bad idea. Spreading risk and lowering capital cost is clearly beneficial. The trend in emerging markets toward expansion of the non-bank, marketable securities mechanism for providing credit as the capital markets and institutions mature will therefore continue. But the products are likely to be kept simple by regulation. And the pace may slow for awhile as the advanced country regulatory structures are thought through, revamped, and over time serve as a better models for emerging markets.
4) A perhaps more fundamental set of questions concerns growth and engagement with the global economy. Growth has accelerated in the developing world over the past 20 years. Sustained high growth characterises the economies of about 60% of the people who live in developing countries. This kind of growth has been enabled by the leveraging of the global economy for productivity enhancing knowledge and by using the huge global demand and market place to expand rapidly in areas of comparative advantage.
Several issues are raised by the crisis, issues that are discussed and debated now.
Will or should developing countries abandon the high growth formula or will they adjust and continue? Does the slower global growth associated with the “new normal” imply that the developing country growth strategies and policies won’t work anymore? Is the crisis perceived as a failure of the advanced country financial model or the whole market-based capitalist system in the real economy? Has the perceived balance of benefit and risk in exposure to the global economy tipped in favour of the risks? Protectionist measures increased as part of the crisis response probably as a political price for aggressive commitment of public resources to the financial sector and to fiscal stimulus.
Will this pattern be reversed or continue in the current negative direction? Will the deficit in global aggregate demand created by the elevated saving of the US consumer responding to his damaged balance sheet persist, or will it be eliminated by higher consumption elsewhere in the world? If the deficit persists, will it be harder to remove elements of protectionism in an environment where there is a strong incentive to use policy to capture market share?
Much of this will be revealed over time. But let me hazard a guess (hopefully educated) about at least some of it.
There are voices in pretty much every country that claim the system failure is much broader than the financial sector, that the failure extends to the whole market-based (capitalist) system. That type of view can be found increasingly in some developing countries. Were that view to expand and prevail in policy and strategy, governments would expand dramatically and openness to the global economy might be reduced. The effect would be that much of the competitive dynamics associated with high growth would be lost or diminished.
My best guess is that the dirigiste view will not prevail.
The alternative view is that the financial systems failed badly, but not the whole market-based edifice in the real economy. The evidence favours this more balanced assessment and I believe it will win out, if not everywhere, at least in most countries. The basic open economy, high investment and savings growth strategies will continue to work. But the returns measured in growth will probably be lower in the new normal. There is a difference between strategy and outcomes. The strategies will be modified but not abandoned. The outcomes will be less spectacular for a period of time as a result of the lower global growth.
Much of the future of the developing world will depend on the restoration of openness of the global economy. With the G20 in the lead, removing the protectionist measures as the perceived need declines and restoring the openness of the global economy will likely be accomplished. It may take some time. Finding a manageable and achievable agenda to restart the WTO processes would help.
This rather important multinational agenda will be easier to accomplish if global aggregate demand can be restored quickly, for the incentive reasons mentioned above. It is hard to know if this forward-looking version of global imbalances can be addressed in a coordinated way. It was not in the past. But this is a crisis and the responses may be different. The US side has been decided by the US consumer, assuming that the government doesn’t fall into a longer term pattern of large deficits. The surplus countries’ response has not been set. There are stimulus packages in major developing countries. The size depends on the capacity, with China clearly in the lead. Running deficits will lower savings in the short run. The issue is the medium term. Will the surplus of saving over investment revert to the pre-crisis pattern after the stimulus packages have run their course? Hard to know but important.
The large US deficits and rising debt, unaccompanied as yet by a credible plan to exit and restore fiscal balance, are causing concern. It is reflected in the bond markets and in statements of the developing countries with large dollar denominated reserves. China has floated several times now the idea of a super-sovereign currency via special drawing rights at the IMF.
This is unlikely to be a realistic possibility in the short run for the global economy, though it might provide a risk mitigation mechanism for central bank reserves. The bottom line is that the global economy is dependent on the US resolve to control inflation.
There really isn’t any good alternative as yet. What might be expected from the emerging countries? They will stay with the growth strategies that have served them well, but focus more on resilience in the face of shocks and on stability. They will become broadly more conservative for awhile. They will push for the continuing and restored openness of the global economy. Their financial markets will be structured and regulated with greater attention to partial insulation from external instability. That probably means domestic ownership of a substantial part of the financial system (particularly banking), restrictions on the holding and trading of more complex assets and a controlled pattern of foreign entry.
Knowledge transfer, the key driver of catch-up growth, will continue to be important. While the pace of opening up may slow somewhat, the pattern won’t. Reserves will continue to be viewed as expensive but important insurance against the adverse impact of volatility in global financial flows. A greater emphasis on funding domestic investment (public and private) from domestic savings so as to reduce aggregate dependence on foreign financing seems likely and probably advisable though it may slow growth in some countries. Helping countries do this may be a business opportunity for global financial institutions.
Similarly a greater focus by developing country policy makers on counter-cyclicality in fiscal policy so that there is some dry powder in the event of a large external shock would seem likely.
Written by Michael Spence
Thursday, 13 August 2009 10:36
Before the currency crises of 1997-98, the advice from advanced countries and the international financial institutions to developing countries with respect to their financial systems was to a first approximation, “you should look like us.”
After the 97-98 experience of instability resulting from a toxic combination of open financial systems, weak internal regulation and transparency, and in some cases external debt denominated in dollars, the advice changed. It became, “you should eventually look like us, but proceed at a measured pace as your financial system deepens and matures”.
It was translated into action more or less as prescribed but with the addition of a widespread accumulation of reserves to provide a buffer against volatility in capital flows and exchange rates.
Now in the aftermath of a crisis that began with extreme distress in the advanced country financial markets, the structure and regulation of the advanced country systems is in the process of significant and permanent change. The lightly regulated model with a strong presumption that self-regulation will be a stabilising influence has been rejected along with the assumption that sophisticated participants in sufficient numbers accurately perceive and manage shifting systemic risk.
As a result, the “like us” part of the modified prescription to emerging markets is not well defined and won’t be until a new system, currently under construction, is in place and has operated for long enough to have been tested. The destination and the partial anchor it provided for the evolution of financial sector policy is no longer clear.
The crisis, with its origins in the advanced country financial systems, has raised questions about our grasp of the evolving structure of the system and our ability to keep up with its shifting risk characteristics, a prerequisite for effective self-regulatory defences. Evidently, this gap became too large in the current crisis, a combination of difficult to access information and incomplete models for processing the information.
1)What will policymakers in developing countries make of all this and how will their responses affect investment opportunities and returns in emerging markets?
First they will watch with great interest the advanced country process of reconstructing the regulatory systems as the possible new destination. Then they will assess whether the new structures meet their own needs or require supplementary steps, and they will review the pace and sequencing of the opening of the capital account. Given the heightened level of uncertainty about the sources of systemic risk and instability, slowing the pace seems rational and likely to be the outcome.
Second, they will study international transmission mechanisms and the range and robustness of circuit breakers. There were two primary transmission channels, one financial and one in the real economy. The financial channel was the rapid exodus of capital from emerging markets to advanced countries to deal with badly damaged balance sheets, capital adequacy and potential solvency problems, and margin and collateral calls. The result was an immediate and sharp credit tightening in developing countries and rapid exchange rate movements with emerging market currencies depreciating, the only exception being China.
The use of reserves to stabilise the net capital flows is the most important domestically controlled circuit breaker. Those countries with reserves used them for this purpose and took steps to intermediate the flows to ease credit in various sectors of the economy. Countries without reserves had few options and remain highly vulnerable and dependent on a recovery of the international system.
Two conclusions will likely be drawn. The importance of reserves as a defensive weapon will be elevated. Management of the current and capital account will be carried out in such a way as to include or expand this element of self-insurance. Second the IMF (on the decline as the crisis broke) is now perceived as quite important in stabilising very volatile global capital flows. Or at least the importance of the function is understood and the IMF will now be challenged to reform in order to meet the challenge.
The IMF’s starting resources at the onset of the crisis were US$250 billion (RM882.5 billion), not nearly enough to deal with the impact of the capital exodus from emerging markets in the fall of 2008. Its resources have since been expanded by the G20 to US$750 billion, though not until several months into the crisis. Important potential sources of these expanded resources including the countries with large reserve holdings will insist on reform of the governance structure.
2) An important premise of the Pimco strategy through the crisis has been that the role of government (including the central bank) shifts from that of referee and regulatory to that plus major player. Government supplies capital and acquires a considerable say in what the private sector institutions do. Their focus is quite understandably on the domestic economy and financial system.
The emerging markets see this clearly. Their conclusion is quite certain to be that it is of high importance in their own financial systems to have a significant fraction of the financial sector, especially the banking sector, domestically owned and controlled. Foreign-based institutions in a crisis are required to focus elsewhere. It is imperative to have a functioning set of stable domestic institutions that will work with the government to respond to the crisis and that are big enough to support the economy’s needs for safe savings channels and credit intermediation.
I would therefore expect that domestic ownership of a substantial part of financial system would become or remain a priority, a relatively long term one, and that foreign entry will be tightly and perhaps more tightly controlled.
3) Additionally, the emerging market balance sheets were largely free of toxic assets. This is perceived as a good thing. Controls on the products that domestic entities and investors can sell and hold will be the response.
This is not to say that emerging markets will conclude that securitisation, properly regulated, is a bad idea. Spreading risk and lowering capital cost is clearly beneficial. The trend in emerging markets toward expansion of the non-bank, marketable securities mechanism for providing credit as the capital markets and institutions mature will therefore continue. But the products are likely to be kept simple by regulation. And the pace may slow for awhile as the advanced country regulatory structures are thought through, revamped, and over time serve as a better models for emerging markets.
4) A perhaps more fundamental set of questions concerns growth and engagement with the global economy. Growth has accelerated in the developing world over the past 20 years. Sustained high growth characterises the economies of about 60% of the people who live in developing countries. This kind of growth has been enabled by the leveraging of the global economy for productivity enhancing knowledge and by using the huge global demand and market place to expand rapidly in areas of comparative advantage.
Several issues are raised by the crisis, issues that are discussed and debated now.
Will or should developing countries abandon the high growth formula or will they adjust and continue? Does the slower global growth associated with the “new normal” imply that the developing country growth strategies and policies won’t work anymore? Is the crisis perceived as a failure of the advanced country financial model or the whole market-based capitalist system in the real economy? Has the perceived balance of benefit and risk in exposure to the global economy tipped in favour of the risks? Protectionist measures increased as part of the crisis response probably as a political price for aggressive commitment of public resources to the financial sector and to fiscal stimulus.
Will this pattern be reversed or continue in the current negative direction? Will the deficit in global aggregate demand created by the elevated saving of the US consumer responding to his damaged balance sheet persist, or will it be eliminated by higher consumption elsewhere in the world? If the deficit persists, will it be harder to remove elements of protectionism in an environment where there is a strong incentive to use policy to capture market share?
Much of this will be revealed over time. But let me hazard a guess (hopefully educated) about at least some of it.
There are voices in pretty much every country that claim the system failure is much broader than the financial sector, that the failure extends to the whole market-based (capitalist) system. That type of view can be found increasingly in some developing countries. Were that view to expand and prevail in policy and strategy, governments would expand dramatically and openness to the global economy might be reduced. The effect would be that much of the competitive dynamics associated with high growth would be lost or diminished.
My best guess is that the dirigiste view will not prevail.
The alternative view is that the financial systems failed badly, but not the whole market-based edifice in the real economy. The evidence favours this more balanced assessment and I believe it will win out, if not everywhere, at least in most countries. The basic open economy, high investment and savings growth strategies will continue to work. But the returns measured in growth will probably be lower in the new normal. There is a difference between strategy and outcomes. The strategies will be modified but not abandoned. The outcomes will be less spectacular for a period of time as a result of the lower global growth.
Much of the future of the developing world will depend on the restoration of openness of the global economy. With the G20 in the lead, removing the protectionist measures as the perceived need declines and restoring the openness of the global economy will likely be accomplished. It may take some time. Finding a manageable and achievable agenda to restart the WTO processes would help.
This rather important multinational agenda will be easier to accomplish if global aggregate demand can be restored quickly, for the incentive reasons mentioned above. It is hard to know if this forward-looking version of global imbalances can be addressed in a coordinated way. It was not in the past. But this is a crisis and the responses may be different. The US side has been decided by the US consumer, assuming that the government doesn’t fall into a longer term pattern of large deficits. The surplus countries’ response has not been set. There are stimulus packages in major developing countries. The size depends on the capacity, with China clearly in the lead. Running deficits will lower savings in the short run. The issue is the medium term. Will the surplus of saving over investment revert to the pre-crisis pattern after the stimulus packages have run their course? Hard to know but important.
The large US deficits and rising debt, unaccompanied as yet by a credible plan to exit and restore fiscal balance, are causing concern. It is reflected in the bond markets and in statements of the developing countries with large dollar denominated reserves. China has floated several times now the idea of a super-sovereign currency via special drawing rights at the IMF.
This is unlikely to be a realistic possibility in the short run for the global economy, though it might provide a risk mitigation mechanism for central bank reserves. The bottom line is that the global economy is dependent on the US resolve to control inflation.
There really isn’t any good alternative as yet. What might be expected from the emerging countries? They will stay with the growth strategies that have served them well, but focus more on resilience in the face of shocks and on stability. They will become broadly more conservative for awhile. They will push for the continuing and restored openness of the global economy. Their financial markets will be structured and regulated with greater attention to partial insulation from external instability. That probably means domestic ownership of a substantial part of the financial system (particularly banking), restrictions on the holding and trading of more complex assets and a controlled pattern of foreign entry.
Knowledge transfer, the key driver of catch-up growth, will continue to be important. While the pace of opening up may slow somewhat, the pattern won’t. Reserves will continue to be viewed as expensive but important insurance against the adverse impact of volatility in global financial flows. A greater emphasis on funding domestic investment (public and private) from domestic savings so as to reduce aggregate dependence on foreign financing seems likely and probably advisable though it may slow growth in some countries. Helping countries do this may be a business opportunity for global financial institutions.
Similarly a greater focus by developing country policy makers on counter-cyclicality in fiscal policy so that there is some dry powder in the event of a large external shock would seem likely.
Funds investing in ETF to gain quick access to markets
Written by Norzuhaira Ruhanie
Friday, 28 August 2009 17:28
KUALA LUMPUR: The popularity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is expected to continue as more market players — both institutional and retail — realise the appeal of the instrument. ETF assets have grown by 11% year-to-date, according to Barclays Global Investors’ latest ETF Landscape Industry Review.
Teoh Kok Lin of Singular Asset Management said that ETFs provide investors with an entry point to not just one market but also to shares previously inaccessible. He gave the example of China’s A-shares, which are only available for trade by mainlanders and selected foreign institutional investors. However, investors worldwide are now able to buy into the stocks via two ETFs listed in the US and Hong Kong respectively.
“ETFs are also popular with investors who do not want to buy into specific stocks but instead prefer to have exposure to certain markets or sectors,” Teoh said.
More fund managers are making ETFs a part of their portfolio. CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd chief investment officer Raymond Tang said at a briefing last week that ETFs gave fund managers quick access to a market that they were positive in, whilst they looked for suitable stocks to invest in.
Examples of local fund managers holding ETFs include Pacific Mutual Bhd and CIMB-Principal. The former’s Pacific Asiapac Income Fund, as at July 31 2009, held 2.57% of Lyxor ETF MSCI Taiwan listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. CIMB Principal Asean Equity Fund meanwhile has bought into CIMB FTSE Asean40. Both funds are investing in key Asian economies namely China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Eric Wong, Lipper’s head of research based in Hong Kong, said that besides being able to penetrate into specific regions, ETFs allow investors and fund managers to easily diversify their fund portfolios and gain exposure to investment styles or themes because ETFs are mainly either index funds or track market benchmark indices. Given that ETFs are traded on the stock exchanges, the funds are thus regulated by the market regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in US, and the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, he added.
“As such they provide investors (and fund managers investing in ETFs) with more protection than investing in other types of investment products such as private equity funds and hedge funds,” Wong explained.
In addition to the trend of funds including ETFs as part of their investment portfolio, there are also funds that have ETFs as the bulk of their investment. For instance, Prudential Fund Management Bhd’s Prudential Country Selection Fund invests at least 95% of its net asset value in ETFs. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that the next few years promise to bring tremendous innovation to the marketplace as some of the biggest names in the mutual-fund world seek permission to offer actively managed ETFs.
Wong offered another reason for ETF’s appeal: lower costs.
“ETFs generally have lower costs than other types of investment products such as mutual funds or absolute return funds because most ETFs do not require active investment management because they are index funds or track market benchmark indices. In unit trusts/mutual funds, extensive infrastructure is required to handle record keeping and customer support. These functions incur extra costs.”
He said that ETFs are bought and sold through brokers and the fees for buying and selling ETFs are usually smaller than the fees incurred from buying and selling mutual funds.
He added that in many countries, ETFs can be purchased on margin and sold short, which allow fund managers to use ETFs to hedge their fund portfolios. Also, ETFs are allowed to be traded using stop orders and limit orders, which allow fund managers to specify the price levels at which they want to trade the ETFs. “These convenient features of ETFs lift the investment appeal of ETFs to the investment community.”
Friday, 28 August 2009 17:28
KUALA LUMPUR: The popularity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is expected to continue as more market players — both institutional and retail — realise the appeal of the instrument. ETF assets have grown by 11% year-to-date, according to Barclays Global Investors’ latest ETF Landscape Industry Review.
Teoh Kok Lin of Singular Asset Management said that ETFs provide investors with an entry point to not just one market but also to shares previously inaccessible. He gave the example of China’s A-shares, which are only available for trade by mainlanders and selected foreign institutional investors. However, investors worldwide are now able to buy into the stocks via two ETFs listed in the US and Hong Kong respectively.
“ETFs are also popular with investors who do not want to buy into specific stocks but instead prefer to have exposure to certain markets or sectors,” Teoh said.
More fund managers are making ETFs a part of their portfolio. CIMB-Principal Asset Management Bhd chief investment officer Raymond Tang said at a briefing last week that ETFs gave fund managers quick access to a market that they were positive in, whilst they looked for suitable stocks to invest in.
Examples of local fund managers holding ETFs include Pacific Mutual Bhd and CIMB-Principal. The former’s Pacific Asiapac Income Fund, as at July 31 2009, held 2.57% of Lyxor ETF MSCI Taiwan listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. CIMB Principal Asean Equity Fund meanwhile has bought into CIMB FTSE Asean40. Both funds are investing in key Asian economies namely China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Eric Wong, Lipper’s head of research based in Hong Kong, said that besides being able to penetrate into specific regions, ETFs allow investors and fund managers to easily diversify their fund portfolios and gain exposure to investment styles or themes because ETFs are mainly either index funds or track market benchmark indices. Given that ETFs are traded on the stock exchanges, the funds are thus regulated by the market regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in US, and the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, he added.
“As such they provide investors (and fund managers investing in ETFs) with more protection than investing in other types of investment products such as private equity funds and hedge funds,” Wong explained.
In addition to the trend of funds including ETFs as part of their investment portfolio, there are also funds that have ETFs as the bulk of their investment. For instance, Prudential Fund Management Bhd’s Prudential Country Selection Fund invests at least 95% of its net asset value in ETFs. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that the next few years promise to bring tremendous innovation to the marketplace as some of the biggest names in the mutual-fund world seek permission to offer actively managed ETFs.
Wong offered another reason for ETF’s appeal: lower costs.
“ETFs generally have lower costs than other types of investment products such as mutual funds or absolute return funds because most ETFs do not require active investment management because they are index funds or track market benchmark indices. In unit trusts/mutual funds, extensive infrastructure is required to handle record keeping and customer support. These functions incur extra costs.”
He said that ETFs are bought and sold through brokers and the fees for buying and selling ETFs are usually smaller than the fees incurred from buying and selling mutual funds.
He added that in many countries, ETFs can be purchased on margin and sold short, which allow fund managers to use ETFs to hedge their fund portfolios. Also, ETFs are allowed to be traded using stop orders and limit orders, which allow fund managers to specify the price levels at which they want to trade the ETFs. “These convenient features of ETFs lift the investment appeal of ETFs to the investment community.”
Sime Darby exceeds KPI
Written by Fong Min Hun
Friday, 28 August 2009 12:09
KUALA LUMPUR: SIME DARBY BHD [registerQuotes("SIME", "SIME_span");], the country’s largest corporation, yesterday reported results for its 2009 fiscal year that exceeded the expectations of analysts as well as its own stated key performance indicators (KPIs).
Although earnings for its fourth quarter (4Q) ended June 30 eased 3.6% to RM984 million from RM1 billion a year ago, Sime Darby’s president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid said he was happy with the performance of the group, given the operating environment.
“I am pleased with the performance of the group, especially since we are emerging from a very challenging business environment in a relatively strong position,” he said at a press conference here yesterday. “Our performance is a further testament of our conglomerate business model.”Sime Darby’s quarterly revenue also fell year-on-year to RM7.54 billion in 4Q09 from RM9.12 billion in 4Q08.
For the full year, the conglomerate’s earnings came in at RM2.28 billion, down 35% from RM3.51 billion in FY08.“We exceeded our KPI for 2009 of RM1.9 billion by 20%, and the group’s return on shareholders’ funds by 1.8 percentage points,” he said, adding that contributions from the other divisions had offset losses in the PLANTATION [
registerQuotes("PLANTATION", "PLANTATION_span");
] business.
As for corporate actions going forward, Zubir said Sime Darby was in the process of raising some RM4.5 billion, most likely in the form of sukuk. He said the exercise would likely be completed this fiscal year.On how the proceeds would be spent, he said they were looking at several possibilities.“We are looking at all possibilities.
There is (the matter of) refinancing our existing bonds, and we are also looking at our capital expenditure (capex). Our capex (planned) for this year is about RM7 billion,” he said.According to a Sime Darby official, the RM7 billion in capex would be spent over the next two to three years. Actual capex for FY09 came in at RM2 billion.
Zubir said Sime Darby was currently in an expansionary phase, which explains the RM7 billion earmarked for spending.Meanwhile, Sime Darby has disposed of more than 30 non-core assets, raising more than RM3 billion since 2005, which marked the start of its consolidation phase. Zubir said there were “two or three” more assets earmarked for disposal, and Sime Darby was currently looking for buyers.
The decline in Sime Darby’s fortunes was mainly driven by lower contributions from its plantation division owing to lower prices of crude palm oil (CPO). The group achieved an average CPO price of RM2,177 a tonne against average CPO futures price of RM2,198 during the 12 months ended June 30, 2009. In FY08, it realised an average CPO price of RM2,885. Another factor was slightly poorer palm production owing to inclement weather conditions and tree stress.
Fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and CPO production declined 5% and 4.1%, respectively, in FY09.In FY09, its Malaysian operations saw FFB yield declining to 22.9 metric tonnes per hectare (MT/ha) compared with 23.4 MT/ha the year before while in Indonesia, the decline was more severe, falling from 18.9 MT/ha to 16.6 MT/ha. Overall, the plantation division registered a 56% decline in operating profit to RM1.7 billion (from RM3.9 billion) in FY09.
Zubir said he expected contribution from plantations to pick up, as the price of CPO was presently quite strong.“I believe this will last until the end of this calendar year but we forecast a slight drop in CPO price next year,” he said. He expected CPO to trade between RM2,000 and RM2,200 per tonne for the remainder of its fiscal year ending June 2010.
At the same time, Zubir dismissed any talk that Sime Darby might be relisting its plantation division as a separate entity, saying that its priority was to grow all aspects of its plantation business, including mid-stream and upstream businesses.“We took the trouble to merge three companies (Sime Darby, Golden Hope Plantations Bhd and Guthrie Plantation) and the reason we merged the companies was to realise the synergy value of the three companies.
I don’t see us listing back our plantation division in the near future,” Zubir said. The biggest increase was in Sime Darby’s industrial division, which posted earnings growth of 24% to RM862.1 million from RM696 million, driven by higher sales and better margins generated in Australia, coupled with higher demand from the marine and oil & gas sectors in Singapore.
The operating profit of Sime Darby’s property division grew 4% y-o-y to RM462 million while the motor division posted growth of 13% to post an operating profit of RM178.5 million.Meanwhile, the energy and utilities division recorded a drop of 82% in operating profit “due to cost escalation incurred on fabrication and engineering projects as a result of higher offshore costs driven largely by volatile oil prices”.
Its healthcare and other divisions, shrunk by 91% to post profits of RM9.9 million compared with RM104.5 million due to lower gains from disposal of non-core businesses compared to the year before. The group proposed a final single-tier dividend of 15.3 sen for FY09, bringing total gross dividend for the fiscal year to 20.3 sen.
Friday, 28 August 2009 12:09
KUALA LUMPUR: SIME DARBY BHD [registerQuotes("SIME", "SIME_span");], the country’s largest corporation, yesterday reported results for its 2009 fiscal year that exceeded the expectations of analysts as well as its own stated key performance indicators (KPIs).
Although earnings for its fourth quarter (4Q) ended June 30 eased 3.6% to RM984 million from RM1 billion a year ago, Sime Darby’s president and group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid said he was happy with the performance of the group, given the operating environment.
“I am pleased with the performance of the group, especially since we are emerging from a very challenging business environment in a relatively strong position,” he said at a press conference here yesterday. “Our performance is a further testament of our conglomerate business model.”Sime Darby’s quarterly revenue also fell year-on-year to RM7.54 billion in 4Q09 from RM9.12 billion in 4Q08.
For the full year, the conglomerate’s earnings came in at RM2.28 billion, down 35% from RM3.51 billion in FY08.“We exceeded our KPI for 2009 of RM1.9 billion by 20%, and the group’s return on shareholders’ funds by 1.8 percentage points,” he said, adding that contributions from the other divisions had offset losses in the PLANTATION [
registerQuotes("PLANTATION", "PLANTATION_span");
] business.
As for corporate actions going forward, Zubir said Sime Darby was in the process of raising some RM4.5 billion, most likely in the form of sukuk. He said the exercise would likely be completed this fiscal year.On how the proceeds would be spent, he said they were looking at several possibilities.“We are looking at all possibilities.
There is (the matter of) refinancing our existing bonds, and we are also looking at our capital expenditure (capex). Our capex (planned) for this year is about RM7 billion,” he said.According to a Sime Darby official, the RM7 billion in capex would be spent over the next two to three years. Actual capex for FY09 came in at RM2 billion.
Zubir said Sime Darby was currently in an expansionary phase, which explains the RM7 billion earmarked for spending.Meanwhile, Sime Darby has disposed of more than 30 non-core assets, raising more than RM3 billion since 2005, which marked the start of its consolidation phase. Zubir said there were “two or three” more assets earmarked for disposal, and Sime Darby was currently looking for buyers.
The decline in Sime Darby’s fortunes was mainly driven by lower contributions from its plantation division owing to lower prices of crude palm oil (CPO). The group achieved an average CPO price of RM2,177 a tonne against average CPO futures price of RM2,198 during the 12 months ended June 30, 2009. In FY08, it realised an average CPO price of RM2,885. Another factor was slightly poorer palm production owing to inclement weather conditions and tree stress.
Fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and CPO production declined 5% and 4.1%, respectively, in FY09.In FY09, its Malaysian operations saw FFB yield declining to 22.9 metric tonnes per hectare (MT/ha) compared with 23.4 MT/ha the year before while in Indonesia, the decline was more severe, falling from 18.9 MT/ha to 16.6 MT/ha. Overall, the plantation division registered a 56% decline in operating profit to RM1.7 billion (from RM3.9 billion) in FY09.
Zubir said he expected contribution from plantations to pick up, as the price of CPO was presently quite strong.“I believe this will last until the end of this calendar year but we forecast a slight drop in CPO price next year,” he said. He expected CPO to trade between RM2,000 and RM2,200 per tonne for the remainder of its fiscal year ending June 2010.
At the same time, Zubir dismissed any talk that Sime Darby might be relisting its plantation division as a separate entity, saying that its priority was to grow all aspects of its plantation business, including mid-stream and upstream businesses.“We took the trouble to merge three companies (Sime Darby, Golden Hope Plantations Bhd and Guthrie Plantation) and the reason we merged the companies was to realise the synergy value of the three companies.
I don’t see us listing back our plantation division in the near future,” Zubir said. The biggest increase was in Sime Darby’s industrial division, which posted earnings growth of 24% to RM862.1 million from RM696 million, driven by higher sales and better margins generated in Australia, coupled with higher demand from the marine and oil & gas sectors in Singapore.
The operating profit of Sime Darby’s property division grew 4% y-o-y to RM462 million while the motor division posted growth of 13% to post an operating profit of RM178.5 million.Meanwhile, the energy and utilities division recorded a drop of 82% in operating profit “due to cost escalation incurred on fabrication and engineering projects as a result of higher offshore costs driven largely by volatile oil prices”.
Its healthcare and other divisions, shrunk by 91% to post profits of RM9.9 million compared with RM104.5 million due to lower gains from disposal of non-core businesses compared to the year before. The group proposed a final single-tier dividend of 15.3 sen for FY09, bringing total gross dividend for the fiscal year to 20.3 sen.
Malaysian stocks dip 0.25% at midday
Written by Chong Jin Hun
Friday, 28 August 2009 12:56
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian stock market barometer gave up earlier gains to settle at negative territory at midday, in tandem with a sell-off in regional markets. At 12.30pm, FBM KLCI was down 2.9 or 0.25% to 1,174.0.
Across the board, 168 stocks gained while 360 entities declined as investors traded 294.26 million shares worth RM456.36 million prior to the midday break. Most actively traded was newly-listed TAS Offshore Bhd which rose one sen to 91 sen with 53.8 million shares done.
"News of China considering to limit production in the steel and cement industries caused a small sell off in the regional markets. "Production curbs will affect resource-rich countries like Australia. However, such news of curbing is not new, it has being circulating for quite a while," SJ Securities wrote in a note today.
Among regional indices, China's Shanghai SE fell 2.45% to 2,874.27 while the Shenzen SE dropped 2.33% to 981.76 at midday break. Hang Seng was down 0.53% to 20,135.54 at 12.08pm, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.48% to 4,472.10 at 12.23pm. Commodity prices rose. Crude oil for October at the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 18c to RM72.67 a barrel at 11.34am, spurred by a weakening US dollar amid optimism that the US economy is improving.
The world's largest economy shrank 1% in the second quarter, less than market estimates of a 1.5% contraction. Malaysian palm oil for October delivery added RM18 to RM2,395 a tonne at 11.44am. Palm oil prices tend to move in tandem with crude oil rates in anticipation that costlier hydrocarbon fuel would spur demand for palm oil as feedstock for biofuel production.
A more positive outlook for the US economy reduces demand for the US dollar, deemed a safe-haven asset in times of market uncertainty. The ringgit had traded at its strongest point of 3.5190 versus the US dollar at 8.26am today before weakening to 3.5260 at 11.46am. "The fundamental outlook is for the ringgit to appreciate," SJ Securities said.
Friday, 28 August 2009 12:56
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian stock market barometer gave up earlier gains to settle at negative territory at midday, in tandem with a sell-off in regional markets. At 12.30pm, FBM KLCI was down 2.9 or 0.25% to 1,174.0.
Across the board, 168 stocks gained while 360 entities declined as investors traded 294.26 million shares worth RM456.36 million prior to the midday break. Most actively traded was newly-listed TAS Offshore Bhd which rose one sen to 91 sen with 53.8 million shares done.
"News of China considering to limit production in the steel and cement industries caused a small sell off in the regional markets. "Production curbs will affect resource-rich countries like Australia. However, such news of curbing is not new, it has being circulating for quite a while," SJ Securities wrote in a note today.
Among regional indices, China's Shanghai SE fell 2.45% to 2,874.27 while the Shenzen SE dropped 2.33% to 981.76 at midday break. Hang Seng was down 0.53% to 20,135.54 at 12.08pm, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 rose 0.48% to 4,472.10 at 12.23pm. Commodity prices rose. Crude oil for October at the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 18c to RM72.67 a barrel at 11.34am, spurred by a weakening US dollar amid optimism that the US economy is improving.
The world's largest economy shrank 1% in the second quarter, less than market estimates of a 1.5% contraction. Malaysian palm oil for October delivery added RM18 to RM2,395 a tonne at 11.44am. Palm oil prices tend to move in tandem with crude oil rates in anticipation that costlier hydrocarbon fuel would spur demand for palm oil as feedstock for biofuel production.
A more positive outlook for the US economy reduces demand for the US dollar, deemed a safe-haven asset in times of market uncertainty. The ringgit had traded at its strongest point of 3.5190 versus the US dollar at 8.26am today before weakening to 3.5260 at 11.46am. "The fundamental outlook is for the ringgit to appreciate," SJ Securities said.
RM200j tingkat pembangunan kapasiti
Oleh Zuraidah Mohamed zmohamed@bharian.com.my
INSTITUT Kewangan Asia (AIF) yang ditubuhkan Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) dan Suruhanjaya Sekuriti (SC) bagi meningkatkan pembangunan modal insan dalam sektor kewangan, akan melaksanakan pelbagai program pembangunan kapasiti dalam tempoh tiga tahun membabitkan pelaburan lebih RM200 juta.
AIF yang dikenali Pusat Pendidikan Perkhidmatan Kewangan (FSEC) sejak penubuhannya November tahun lalu, akan menyediakan penyelesaian latihan yang berkualiti merangkumi pelbagai bidang dalam sektor kewangan termasuk perbankan, insurans, takaful dan pasaran modal. Ketika ini, AIF bekerjasama dengan empat institusi latihan iaitu Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia (IBBM), Institut Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam Malaysia (IBFIM), Institut Insurans Malaysia (MII) dan Perbadanan Pembangunan Industri Sekuriti (SIDC).
Gabenor Bank Negara, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, berkata AIF akan melaksanakan lebih 100 program pembangunan kapasiti di kalangan profesional dalam sektor kewangan dalam tempoh tiga tahun. Katanya, AIF turut menerima peruntukan dana lebih RM200 juta daripada bank pusat dan juga pihak industri bagi melaksanakan pelbagai program peningkatan modal insan di kalangan tenaga kerja sektor kewangan.
“Pembangunan modal insan dalam sektor kewangan penting bagi membantu kepada peralihan ekonomi pada masa depan,” katanya sempena pelancaran AIF di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
INSTITUT Kewangan Asia (AIF) yang ditubuhkan Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) dan Suruhanjaya Sekuriti (SC) bagi meningkatkan pembangunan modal insan dalam sektor kewangan, akan melaksanakan pelbagai program pembangunan kapasiti dalam tempoh tiga tahun membabitkan pelaburan lebih RM200 juta.
AIF yang dikenali Pusat Pendidikan Perkhidmatan Kewangan (FSEC) sejak penubuhannya November tahun lalu, akan menyediakan penyelesaian latihan yang berkualiti merangkumi pelbagai bidang dalam sektor kewangan termasuk perbankan, insurans, takaful dan pasaran modal. Ketika ini, AIF bekerjasama dengan empat institusi latihan iaitu Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia (IBBM), Institut Perbankan dan Kewangan Islam Malaysia (IBFIM), Institut Insurans Malaysia (MII) dan Perbadanan Pembangunan Industri Sekuriti (SIDC).
Gabenor Bank Negara, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz, berkata AIF akan melaksanakan lebih 100 program pembangunan kapasiti di kalangan profesional dalam sektor kewangan dalam tempoh tiga tahun. Katanya, AIF turut menerima peruntukan dana lebih RM200 juta daripada bank pusat dan juga pihak industri bagi melaksanakan pelbagai program peningkatan modal insan di kalangan tenaga kerja sektor kewangan.
“Pembangunan modal insan dalam sektor kewangan penting bagi membantu kepada peralihan ekonomi pada masa depan,” katanya sempena pelancaran AIF di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.
Axiata raih untung bersih RM527j
Oleh Azli Ayobazliayob@bharian.com.my
AXIATA Group Bhd, dulu dikenali TM International Bhd, mencatatkan keputusan kewangan lebih baik bagi suku kedua berakhir 30 Jun 2009 dengan meraih keuntungan bersih RM527 juta, peningkatan tujuh kali ganda daripada RM64 juta pada suku pertama.
Pendapatan syarikat telekomunikasi mudah alih antara yang terbesar di Asia itu pada suku kedua meningkat 10 peratus kepada RM3.16 bilion berbanding RM2.86 bilion pada suku pertama tahun kewangan semasa. Peningkatan pendapatan itu terutama disumbangkan oleh pemulihan operasi Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd, PT Excelcomindo Pratama TBk (XL) di Indonesia dan Axiata Bangladesh Ltd (AxB).
Bagi setengah tahun berakhir 30 Jun 2009, keuntungan bersih Axiata susut 23 peratus kepada RM591 juta daripada RM769 juta pada tempoh sama 2008. Dalam tempoh sama, pendapatannya bagaimanapun meningkat tujuh peratus kepada RM6.03 bilion daripada RM5.65 bilion.
Presiden dan Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan Axiata, Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim, berkata pertumbuhan pada suku kedua 2009 dicatatkan dalam semua syarikat pengendalian kumpulan itu di peringkat serantau di sebalik persekitaran operasi mencabar dalam keadaan ekonomi semasa, selain persaingan yang semakin sengit.
“Dalam suku tahunan dikaji, jumlah pelanggan mudah alih kumpulan di peringkat serantau mencecah kira-kira 100 juta pengguna,” katanya pada sidang mengumumkan keputusan kewangan suku kedua Axiata di Kuala Lumpur, semalam. Beliau berkata, dalam suku tahunan dikaji juga, Celcom mencatatkan pertumbuhan suku tahunan terbaiknya dalam tempoh dua tahun.
Katanya, pertumbuhan itu disumbangkan hasil daripada pelaksanaan langkah pemasaran mantap dalam segmen prabayar dan pasca bayar serta tumpuan berteru-san ke atas perkhidmatan jalur lebar mudah alih. “Di sebalik persekitaran yang mencabar, pendapatan Celcom melonjak lima peratus bagi perbandingan suku tahunan kepada RM1.5 bilion daripada RM1.4 bilion.
“Keuntungan bersih Celcom pula meningkat kepada RM367 juta dalam suku kedua 2009, naik tiga peratus daripada RM357 juta pada suku pertama,” katanya. Pada sidang media itu, Jamaludin turut mengumumkan Axiata tidak mempunyai sebarang cadangan untuk menyenaraikan semula Celcom di bursa saham.
Dalam perkembangan lain, beliau berkata, Axiata tidak mempunyai perancangan untuk mengambil alih aset milik syarikat telekomunikasi berpangkalan di Luxembourg, Millicom yang beroperasi di Kemboja dan Sri Lanka.
AXIATA Group Bhd, dulu dikenali TM International Bhd, mencatatkan keputusan kewangan lebih baik bagi suku kedua berakhir 30 Jun 2009 dengan meraih keuntungan bersih RM527 juta, peningkatan tujuh kali ganda daripada RM64 juta pada suku pertama.
Pendapatan syarikat telekomunikasi mudah alih antara yang terbesar di Asia itu pada suku kedua meningkat 10 peratus kepada RM3.16 bilion berbanding RM2.86 bilion pada suku pertama tahun kewangan semasa. Peningkatan pendapatan itu terutama disumbangkan oleh pemulihan operasi Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd, PT Excelcomindo Pratama TBk (XL) di Indonesia dan Axiata Bangladesh Ltd (AxB).
Bagi setengah tahun berakhir 30 Jun 2009, keuntungan bersih Axiata susut 23 peratus kepada RM591 juta daripada RM769 juta pada tempoh sama 2008. Dalam tempoh sama, pendapatannya bagaimanapun meningkat tujuh peratus kepada RM6.03 bilion daripada RM5.65 bilion.
Presiden dan Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan Axiata, Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim, berkata pertumbuhan pada suku kedua 2009 dicatatkan dalam semua syarikat pengendalian kumpulan itu di peringkat serantau di sebalik persekitaran operasi mencabar dalam keadaan ekonomi semasa, selain persaingan yang semakin sengit.
“Dalam suku tahunan dikaji, jumlah pelanggan mudah alih kumpulan di peringkat serantau mencecah kira-kira 100 juta pengguna,” katanya pada sidang mengumumkan keputusan kewangan suku kedua Axiata di Kuala Lumpur, semalam. Beliau berkata, dalam suku tahunan dikaji juga, Celcom mencatatkan pertumbuhan suku tahunan terbaiknya dalam tempoh dua tahun.
Katanya, pertumbuhan itu disumbangkan hasil daripada pelaksanaan langkah pemasaran mantap dalam segmen prabayar dan pasca bayar serta tumpuan berteru-san ke atas perkhidmatan jalur lebar mudah alih. “Di sebalik persekitaran yang mencabar, pendapatan Celcom melonjak lima peratus bagi perbandingan suku tahunan kepada RM1.5 bilion daripada RM1.4 bilion.
“Keuntungan bersih Celcom pula meningkat kepada RM367 juta dalam suku kedua 2009, naik tiga peratus daripada RM357 juta pada suku pertama,” katanya. Pada sidang media itu, Jamaludin turut mengumumkan Axiata tidak mempunyai sebarang cadangan untuk menyenaraikan semula Celcom di bursa saham.
Dalam perkembangan lain, beliau berkata, Axiata tidak mempunyai perancangan untuk mengambil alih aset milik syarikat telekomunikasi berpangkalan di Luxembourg, Millicom yang beroperasi di Kemboja dan Sri Lanka.
Sektor ladang, bank jadi tumpuan
HARGA saham di Bursa Malaysia mengakhiri dagangan semalam pada paras lebih teguh dengan minat belian terhadap kaunter berwajaran tinggi, terutama dalam sektor perladangan dan perbankan. Bagaimanapun, peniaga berkata, kenaikan terbatas oleh kejatuhan di kaunter terpilih seperti Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).
Indeks Komposit Kuala Lumpur FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) ditutup 4.34 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.37 peratus lebih baik pada 1,176.9, selepas dibuka 0.02 peratus lebih tinggi pada 1,172.58 pagi semalam.
Menurut penganalisis, pasaran terus menyaksikan dagangan berjajaran sehingga musim pengumuman keputusan syarikat berakhir. Peniaga lain berkata, pasaran tempatan menjejaki bukan saja pasaran AS, malah pasaran China yang turun naik dan mempunyai pengaruh besar ke atas bursa serantau.
Beliau berkata, keputusan keluaran dalam negara kasar (KDNK) suku kedua yang lebih baik daripada dijangkakan bagi negara ini juga banyak merangsang pasaran, kerana pelabur mengambil kira sumbangan daripada pelbagai sektor seperti pembinaan dan perkhidmatan.
Indeks Komposit Kuala Lumpur FTSE Bursa Malaysia (FBM KLCI) ditutup 4.34 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.37 peratus lebih baik pada 1,176.9, selepas dibuka 0.02 peratus lebih tinggi pada 1,172.58 pagi semalam.
Menurut penganalisis, pasaran terus menyaksikan dagangan berjajaran sehingga musim pengumuman keputusan syarikat berakhir. Peniaga lain berkata, pasaran tempatan menjejaki bukan saja pasaran AS, malah pasaran China yang turun naik dan mempunyai pengaruh besar ke atas bursa serantau.
Beliau berkata, keputusan keluaran dalam negara kasar (KDNK) suku kedua yang lebih baik daripada dijangkakan bagi negara ini juga banyak merangsang pasaran, kerana pelabur mengambil kira sumbangan daripada pelbagai sektor seperti pembinaan dan perkhidmatan.
Bursa Malaysia ditutup teguh
KUALA LUMPUR 27 Ogos - Harga-harga saham di Bursa Malaysia mengakhiri dagangan hari ini pada paras lebih teguh dengan minat belian terhadap kaunter-kaunter berwajaran tinggi, terutamanya dalam sektor perladangan dan perbankan, kata peniaga.
August 27, 2009
Top Islamic banks post strong asset growth
Published: 2009/08/27
The world's top 100 Islamic banks managed to grow their assets by two-thirds last year, at a time when their conventional rivals were struggling to deal with the global financial crisis.
They had US$580 billion (RM2 trillion) of assets in 2008 as against US$350 billion (RM1.2 trillion) in 2007, according to The Asian Banker, a research company.
Bank Melli Iran (BMI) was the top lender in terms of assets, while Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank came in second."Iranian banks are still the predominant Islamic banking players, holding seven out of the top 10 ranks and 12 of the 100," The Asian Banker said in its analysis.This means that Iranian banks hold 40 per cent of the top 100's total assets.
Malaysia's 14 Islamic banks, with US$56.22 billion (RM198 billion) collectively, accounted for just under a tenth of the total.Another 40 per cent of the top 100 assets are under banks in Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.The remaining 20 per cent of assets is spread out between Islamic banks in 10 other markets.
The top 100 Islamic banks performed well last year, with average asset growth of 29.7 per cent and average net income growth of 29.6 per cent."Despite the size of the Iranian banks, Saudi Arabian banks were much more profitable as the three Saudi Arabian banks in the top 100 Islamic banks contributed 19 per cent of the ranking's total income," The Asian Banker said.
Al Rajhi Bank had the highest net income figure of US$1.74 billion (RM6 billion), the only bank to break the billion-dollar mark. This was also nearly three times more than the second most profitable Islamic bank, Kuwait Finance House (KFH).KFH's net income was five times that of the most profitable Iranian bank, Bank Tejarat.
The bank that jumped the greatest in rank was Dubai's Noor Islamic Bank, which climbed to 20th.CIMB Islamic Bank, meanwhile, jumped 19 places to 22nd position as it doubled its assets.Interestingly, The Asian Banker thinks that BMI may not be the largest bank in the list for much longer as its assets did not grow last year.
"This may be due to the European Union freezing the bank's assets, which has shrunk the bank's lead over Al Rajhi Bank to just 4 per cent from 40 per cent the previous year," it said.
The world's top 100 Islamic banks managed to grow their assets by two-thirds last year, at a time when their conventional rivals were struggling to deal with the global financial crisis.
They had US$580 billion (RM2 trillion) of assets in 2008 as against US$350 billion (RM1.2 trillion) in 2007, according to The Asian Banker, a research company.
Bank Melli Iran (BMI) was the top lender in terms of assets, while Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank came in second."Iranian banks are still the predominant Islamic banking players, holding seven out of the top 10 ranks and 12 of the 100," The Asian Banker said in its analysis.This means that Iranian banks hold 40 per cent of the top 100's total assets.
Malaysia's 14 Islamic banks, with US$56.22 billion (RM198 billion) collectively, accounted for just under a tenth of the total.Another 40 per cent of the top 100 assets are under banks in Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.The remaining 20 per cent of assets is spread out between Islamic banks in 10 other markets.
The top 100 Islamic banks performed well last year, with average asset growth of 29.7 per cent and average net income growth of 29.6 per cent."Despite the size of the Iranian banks, Saudi Arabian banks were much more profitable as the three Saudi Arabian banks in the top 100 Islamic banks contributed 19 per cent of the ranking's total income," The Asian Banker said.
Al Rajhi Bank had the highest net income figure of US$1.74 billion (RM6 billion), the only bank to break the billion-dollar mark. This was also nearly three times more than the second most profitable Islamic bank, Kuwait Finance House (KFH).KFH's net income was five times that of the most profitable Iranian bank, Bank Tejarat.
The bank that jumped the greatest in rank was Dubai's Noor Islamic Bank, which climbed to 20th.CIMB Islamic Bank, meanwhile, jumped 19 places to 22nd position as it doubled its assets.Interestingly, The Asian Banker thinks that BMI may not be the largest bank in the list for much longer as its assets did not grow last year.
"This may be due to the European Union freezing the bank's assets, which has shrunk the bank's lead over Al Rajhi Bank to just 4 per cent from 40 per cent the previous year," it said.
Najib: Economy on track for recovery
Published: 2009/08/27
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said today the economy has “turned around a corner” and is on track for a recovery despite a second consecutive quarter of negative growth.The central bank said yesterday that Malaysia’s export-dependent economy shrank 3.9 per cent in the three months to June year-on-year, in an improved performance from the 6.2 per cent contraction seen in the first quarter.
Bank Negara credited higher public spending and positive growth in private consumption for the slowing rate of contraction.“I’m pleased in the sense that I think the worst is over, I think we’ve turned around a corner,” Najib told reporters.
Although the country is now in a technical recession, Bank Negara said it expected the economy to improve in the second half of the year, supported by “a recovery in domestic demand following improvements in labour market conditions, as well as business and consumer sentiments.”
Najib, who is also finance minister, said the government’s two stimulus packages, the most recent in March worth some RM60 billion (US$16.8 billion), had helped bolster the economy.“The two packages which we have announced contributed to the improved performance of the Malaysian economy and it looks like we are on track in terms of recovery,” he added.
The government has said the export-dependent economy is likely to contract by 4.0-5.0 per cent this year due to the drop-off in exports and manufacturing caused by the global economic slump.Foreign investment has also seen a big dip this year, as foreign direct investment for the first five months stood at RM4.2 billion compared to RM46 billion in 2008. -- AFP
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said today the economy has “turned around a corner” and is on track for a recovery despite a second consecutive quarter of negative growth.The central bank said yesterday that Malaysia’s export-dependent economy shrank 3.9 per cent in the three months to June year-on-year, in an improved performance from the 6.2 per cent contraction seen in the first quarter.
Bank Negara credited higher public spending and positive growth in private consumption for the slowing rate of contraction.“I’m pleased in the sense that I think the worst is over, I think we’ve turned around a corner,” Najib told reporters.
Although the country is now in a technical recession, Bank Negara said it expected the economy to improve in the second half of the year, supported by “a recovery in domestic demand following improvements in labour market conditions, as well as business and consumer sentiments.”
Najib, who is also finance minister, said the government’s two stimulus packages, the most recent in March worth some RM60 billion (US$16.8 billion), had helped bolster the economy.“The two packages which we have announced contributed to the improved performance of the Malaysian economy and it looks like we are on track in terms of recovery,” he added.
The government has said the export-dependent economy is likely to contract by 4.0-5.0 per cent this year due to the drop-off in exports and manufacturing caused by the global economic slump.Foreign investment has also seen a big dip this year, as foreign direct investment for the first five months stood at RM4.2 billion compared to RM46 billion in 2008. -- AFP
CIMB Islamic to advise on Makkah project
Published: 2009/08/27
CIMB Islamic Investment House BSC (CIMB Middle East) has been appointed advisor for a strategic partnership between Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB) in a Makkah real estate project known as Burj Al Safwa Tower.
Burj Al Safwa is an Islamic architectural masterpiece that comprises a residential and commercial tower strategically located just metres away from the Grand Mosque''s King Abdul-Aziz Gate in Makkah.CIMB Islamic chief executive officer and director of CIMB Bahrain Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the advisory mandate clinched by its Bahrain office was important to the CIMB Group."It's a clear indication of the trust placed in CIMB's cross border capabilities to bridge the Middle East and the Far East markets.
"Our established local presence in the Middle East and strong distribution network in Asia enables us to be effective intermediaries in this project which involves an investment in Saudi Arabia, a seller from Bahrain and a buyer from Brunei.
Badlisyah said its investment banking arm in the Middle East had advised Al Salam Bank in the placement of its 50 per cent stake in Burj Al Safwa to TAIB.The placement led to the establishment of a strategic partnership between Al Salam Bank and TAIB in Makkah, one of the most stable and lucrative real estate market in the world. -- BERNAMA
CIMB Islamic Investment House BSC (CIMB Middle East) has been appointed advisor for a strategic partnership between Bahrain-based Al Salam Bank and Perbadanan Tabung Amanah Islam Brunei (TAIB) in a Makkah real estate project known as Burj Al Safwa Tower.
Burj Al Safwa is an Islamic architectural masterpiece that comprises a residential and commercial tower strategically located just metres away from the Grand Mosque''s King Abdul-Aziz Gate in Makkah.CIMB Islamic chief executive officer and director of CIMB Bahrain Badlisyah Abdul Ghani said the advisory mandate clinched by its Bahrain office was important to the CIMB Group."It's a clear indication of the trust placed in CIMB's cross border capabilities to bridge the Middle East and the Far East markets.
"Our established local presence in the Middle East and strong distribution network in Asia enables us to be effective intermediaries in this project which involves an investment in Saudi Arabia, a seller from Bahrain and a buyer from Brunei.
Badlisyah said its investment banking arm in the Middle East had advised Al Salam Bank in the placement of its 50 per cent stake in Burj Al Safwa to TAIB.The placement led to the establishment of a strategic partnership between Al Salam Bank and TAIB in Makkah, one of the most stable and lucrative real estate market in the world. -- BERNAMA
More corporate unit trust advisers expected
Thursday, 27 August 2009 15:12
KUALA LUMPUR: The Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) expects more financial planning firms to apply for the corporate unit trust advisers (CUTA) licence with the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) in the near future, says its president Wong Boon Choy.
“As at end June, there are 36 capital market and services licensees (CMSL) for financial planning that are eligible to apply for CUTA. But, currently, there are three CUTA with another two applications pending approval,” said Wong during his opening address at the talk on Business Model and Business Opportunities for CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Professional.
Wong anticipated that there will be a surge in the CUTA application due to the emergence of financial planning business model providers in the industry, namely the multi-product, wrap and multi-manager platforms. “The FIMM has also consented that the annual fee for CUTA to be reduced to RM500 from RM2,000 (subject to approval from the Securities Commission),” said Wong.
The Securities Commission (SC) believed that one of the methods to protect consumers is preventing remuneration structures that may create conflict of interests and affect quality of advice, said Norlin Fatima Albakri, SC senior manager, market development strategy and development.
“Although the financial planning industry is relatively young here compared to the UK and Australia, issues such as robust conflict management; suitability of advice; and documentation and processes of the financial planning firms have to be addressed now for the medium- to long-term prospect of the industry.”
Currently, there are about 3,700 CFPs. As at end June, only 272 are licensed representatives of the CMSL for financial planning with the SC, but the number has increased by 54.5% compared to end-2007.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Financial Planning Association of Malaysia (FPAM) expects more financial planning firms to apply for the corporate unit trust advisers (CUTA) licence with the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) in the near future, says its president Wong Boon Choy.
“As at end June, there are 36 capital market and services licensees (CMSL) for financial planning that are eligible to apply for CUTA. But, currently, there are three CUTA with another two applications pending approval,” said Wong during his opening address at the talk on Business Model and Business Opportunities for CFP (Certified Financial Planner) Professional.
Wong anticipated that there will be a surge in the CUTA application due to the emergence of financial planning business model providers in the industry, namely the multi-product, wrap and multi-manager platforms. “The FIMM has also consented that the annual fee for CUTA to be reduced to RM500 from RM2,000 (subject to approval from the Securities Commission),” said Wong.
The Securities Commission (SC) believed that one of the methods to protect consumers is preventing remuneration structures that may create conflict of interests and affect quality of advice, said Norlin Fatima Albakri, SC senior manager, market development strategy and development.
“Although the financial planning industry is relatively young here compared to the UK and Australia, issues such as robust conflict management; suitability of advice; and documentation and processes of the financial planning firms have to be addressed now for the medium- to long-term prospect of the industry.”
Currently, there are about 3,700 CFPs. As at end June, only 272 are licensed representatives of the CMSL for financial planning with the SC, but the number has increased by 54.5% compared to end-2007.
Economy on the mend
Written by Chong Jin Hun
Thursday, 27 August 2009 11:33
KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic economy showed signs of a recovery in the second quarter (2Q), as it contracted at a slower pace of 3.9% compared to a year ago, underpinned by stronger domestic demand, mainly due to higher public spending and growth in private consumption.
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said yesterday she expected a gradual recovery with positive territory in 4Q.“There are increasing signs that conditions in the global economy are stabilising. The domestic economy continued to be affected by the weak global economic activity in the second quarter as reflected in the continued sharp decline in exports,” she said.
However, Zeti said domestic demand was expected to strengthen in the second half of this year, helped by the availability of financing and improvements in the job market. With gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 6.2% in 1Q, the contraction for the first half is 5.1%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP expanded by 4.8% in 2Q.
Zeti said in 2Q, the manufacturing sector contracted at a slower pace of 14.5% from the 17.9% in 1Q due to an improvement in production for inventory restocking.Mining recorded a slower 2.6% decline (-5.2% in 1Q); agriculture posted positive growth of 0.3%(-4.3%) while services expanded 1.6% (-0.2%).
Zeti. Photo by Mohd Izwan Mohd NazamGDP growth in 2Q was supported by higher public spending amidst weak external demand. Aggregate domestic demand contracted at a slower annual pace of 2.3% from 2.9% in 1Q. Private sector consumption grew 0.5% while public sector spending expanded by 1%.
The government had earlier projected GDP to shrink between 4% and 5% this year. However, the 3.9% contraction in 2Q was better than economists’ expectations of a contraction of 5%.“There will be a revision,” Zeti said, adding the revised forecast would be released when the Budget proposals for 2010 were unveiled in October.
Further signs that the domestic economy was improving were the slower decline in industrial production, export contraction moderating, improving labour market conditions and better consumer and business sentiments.“Factors supporting domestic demand were accelerated implementation of fiscal stimulus, lower inflation, improvement in labour market conditions, continued access to financing and an accommodative monetary policy,” she said.
The government is implementing two stimulus packages totalling RM67 billion over two years to cushion the economy from the global financial crisis.Zeti said 3Q numbers would continue to decline at a slower pace, before leaping into positive territory in the fourth quarter. She added that intra-regional trade had improved, including with Indonesia, Vietnam and China but our exports to advanced economies were still showing a quite significant contraction.
Asked why Malaysia lagged other Asian economies which were recovering at a faster pace, Zeti said Malaysia’s exports were affected by a fall in commodity prices, unlike other Asian economies which were not commodity-based.On whether Malaysia would face a double-dip recession, she said this was unlikely because the country, like other Asian economies, was not facing a financial crisis.
Zeti added that the domestic financial sector was “solid and sound” with continued access to financing.Germany’s ambassador to Malaysia Dr Guenter Georg Gruber, who is an economist by training, said Malaysia was well-positioned to boost its economic fortunes, and the key challenge now was to spur the country’s progress in the knowledge-based sphere.
“The real challenge is how to go ahead from here. Malaysia has to go to the next knowledge-based level which needs an educated workforce which is more expensive,” Gruber told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.
Thursday, 27 August 2009 11:33
KUALA LUMPUR: The domestic economy showed signs of a recovery in the second quarter (2Q), as it contracted at a slower pace of 3.9% compared to a year ago, underpinned by stronger domestic demand, mainly due to higher public spending and growth in private consumption.
Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said yesterday she expected a gradual recovery with positive territory in 4Q.“There are increasing signs that conditions in the global economy are stabilising. The domestic economy continued to be affected by the weak global economic activity in the second quarter as reflected in the continued sharp decline in exports,” she said.
However, Zeti said domestic demand was expected to strengthen in the second half of this year, helped by the availability of financing and improvements in the job market. With gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 6.2% in 1Q, the contraction for the first half is 5.1%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP expanded by 4.8% in 2Q.
Zeti said in 2Q, the manufacturing sector contracted at a slower pace of 14.5% from the 17.9% in 1Q due to an improvement in production for inventory restocking.Mining recorded a slower 2.6% decline (-5.2% in 1Q); agriculture posted positive growth of 0.3%(-4.3%) while services expanded 1.6% (-0.2%).
Zeti. Photo by Mohd Izwan Mohd NazamGDP growth in 2Q was supported by higher public spending amidst weak external demand. Aggregate domestic demand contracted at a slower annual pace of 2.3% from 2.9% in 1Q. Private sector consumption grew 0.5% while public sector spending expanded by 1%.
The government had earlier projected GDP to shrink between 4% and 5% this year. However, the 3.9% contraction in 2Q was better than economists’ expectations of a contraction of 5%.“There will be a revision,” Zeti said, adding the revised forecast would be released when the Budget proposals for 2010 were unveiled in October.
Further signs that the domestic economy was improving were the slower decline in industrial production, export contraction moderating, improving labour market conditions and better consumer and business sentiments.“Factors supporting domestic demand were accelerated implementation of fiscal stimulus, lower inflation, improvement in labour market conditions, continued access to financing and an accommodative monetary policy,” she said.
The government is implementing two stimulus packages totalling RM67 billion over two years to cushion the economy from the global financial crisis.Zeti said 3Q numbers would continue to decline at a slower pace, before leaping into positive territory in the fourth quarter. She added that intra-regional trade had improved, including with Indonesia, Vietnam and China but our exports to advanced economies were still showing a quite significant contraction.
Asked why Malaysia lagged other Asian economies which were recovering at a faster pace, Zeti said Malaysia’s exports were affected by a fall in commodity prices, unlike other Asian economies which were not commodity-based.On whether Malaysia would face a double-dip recession, she said this was unlikely because the country, like other Asian economies, was not facing a financial crisis.
Zeti added that the domestic financial sector was “solid and sound” with continued access to financing.Germany’s ambassador to Malaysia Dr Guenter Georg Gruber, who is an economist by training, said Malaysia was well-positioned to boost its economic fortunes, and the key challenge now was to spur the country’s progress in the knowledge-based sphere.
“The real challenge is how to go ahead from here. Malaysia has to go to the next knowledge-based level which needs an educated workforce which is more expensive,” Gruber told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.
Markets weaken, Tenaga down
Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 27 August 2009 13:11
KUALA LUMPUR: All key Asian markets were in negative territory at the midday break on Aug 27, with Japan's Nikkei 225 the worst performer while at Bursa Malaysia, some mild selling of Tenaga weighed down the FBM KLCI.At 12.30pm, the 30-stock FBM KLCI fell just 0.67 points to 1,171.89.
Turnover was 282.25 million shares valued at RM372.9 million.The broader market showed some signs of weakness as declining stocks beat advancers nearly two to one. There were 349 losers, 186 gainers and 202 stocks unchanged.Light crude oil fell 22 cents to US$71.21 while crude palm oil futures fell RM6 to RM2,351.
Among the major regional markets, the Nikkei 225 slumped 1.57% to 10,472.59 after the Nikkei average hit a 10-month closing high the previous day, with exporters losing steam and caution setting in ahead of national elections on Sunday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.38% to 20,197.99; Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.3% lower at 2,620.19 while Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.43% to 2,954.91.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan dropped 0.2%. It has lost roughly 3% since hitting an 11-month high earlier this month amid investor worries that share prices have run too far ahead of economic fundamentals. At Bursa, Nestle 20 sen to RM33.80, Tenaga fell 10 sen to RM8.
Tomei was the top loser, down 25 sen to 55 sen, Lafarge 18 sen to RM6.32 and Chin Tek 10 sen to RM7.20.Winsun was the most active with 23.6 million shares done, easing one sen to 8.5 sen. MPHB rose two sen to RM2.09 in active trade.Measat was the top gainer, adding 20 sen to RM1.95, EON Cap 15 sen to RM5.21, YTL Cement 13 sen higher to RM4.16 and Petra 10 sen higher to RM2.59.
Thursday, 27 August 2009 13:11
KUALA LUMPUR: All key Asian markets were in negative territory at the midday break on Aug 27, with Japan's Nikkei 225 the worst performer while at Bursa Malaysia, some mild selling of Tenaga weighed down the FBM KLCI.At 12.30pm, the 30-stock FBM KLCI fell just 0.67 points to 1,171.89.
Turnover was 282.25 million shares valued at RM372.9 million.The broader market showed some signs of weakness as declining stocks beat advancers nearly two to one. There were 349 losers, 186 gainers and 202 stocks unchanged.Light crude oil fell 22 cents to US$71.21 while crude palm oil futures fell RM6 to RM2,351.
Among the major regional markets, the Nikkei 225 slumped 1.57% to 10,472.59 after the Nikkei average hit a 10-month closing high the previous day, with exporters losing steam and caution setting in ahead of national elections on Sunday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.38% to 20,197.99; Singapore's Straits Times Index 0.3% lower at 2,620.19 while Shanghai Composite Index eased 0.43% to 2,954.91.
The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan dropped 0.2%. It has lost roughly 3% since hitting an 11-month high earlier this month amid investor worries that share prices have run too far ahead of economic fundamentals. At Bursa, Nestle 20 sen to RM33.80, Tenaga fell 10 sen to RM8.
Tomei was the top loser, down 25 sen to 55 sen, Lafarge 18 sen to RM6.32 and Chin Tek 10 sen to RM7.20.Winsun was the most active with 23.6 million shares done, easing one sen to 8.5 sen. MPHB rose two sen to RM2.09 in active trade.Measat was the top gainer, adding 20 sen to RM1.95, EON Cap 15 sen to RM5.21, YTL Cement 13 sen higher to RM4.16 and Petra 10 sen higher to RM2.59.
Market volume drops further
Written by Insider Asia
Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:26
Caution persisted in key Asian stock markets on Thursday, Aug 27. Overnight, US stocks managed to eke out only a very small gain despite reporting stronger than expected new home sales and orders for durable goods.
This suggests that investors are growing more concerned that whilst the worst was over, the unfolding recovery may not be as strong as initial expectations. Bellwether indices in Japan, Hong Kong and China drifted lower with investors locking in profits
The benchmark index for the Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI, opened weaker and fluctuated within a very narrow band. There was no clear direction for investors to move stock prices one way or the other. It did, however, managed to climb into positive territory after the mid-day break – even though market breadth continued to be in the red.
The FBM KLCI eventually ended four points higher at 1,176.9. However, losing counters outpaced gaining ones by a ratio of roughly five to four at the close. BAT, DiGi, MISC-F, YTL Cement, MMC Corp and Measat were among the top gainers for the day. At the other end, Lafarge Malayan Cement, Key Asic, Tenaga Nasional and Tomei Consolidated were some of the notable losers.Trading volume contracted further on Thursday.
Little over 585 million shares changed hands. Market volume has been falling in recent days as investors moved back to the sidelines. Time dotCom was the most actively traded stock for the day. Other actives include Winsun Technologies, Multi Sports, Gamuda and Time Engineering.
In other developments, crude oil futures in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped to near US$71 per barrel, off its recent high of US$75 per barrel. The US Energy Department reported higher stockpiles for the week ended Aug 21.
Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:26
Caution persisted in key Asian stock markets on Thursday, Aug 27. Overnight, US stocks managed to eke out only a very small gain despite reporting stronger than expected new home sales and orders for durable goods.
This suggests that investors are growing more concerned that whilst the worst was over, the unfolding recovery may not be as strong as initial expectations. Bellwether indices in Japan, Hong Kong and China drifted lower with investors locking in profits
The benchmark index for the Bursa Malaysia, the FBM KLCI, opened weaker and fluctuated within a very narrow band. There was no clear direction for investors to move stock prices one way or the other. It did, however, managed to climb into positive territory after the mid-day break – even though market breadth continued to be in the red.
The FBM KLCI eventually ended four points higher at 1,176.9. However, losing counters outpaced gaining ones by a ratio of roughly five to four at the close. BAT, DiGi, MISC-F, YTL Cement, MMC Corp and Measat were among the top gainers for the day. At the other end, Lafarge Malayan Cement, Key Asic, Tenaga Nasional and Tomei Consolidated were some of the notable losers.Trading volume contracted further on Thursday.
Little over 585 million shares changed hands. Market volume has been falling in recent days as investors moved back to the sidelines. Time dotCom was the most actively traded stock for the day. Other actives include Winsun Technologies, Multi Sports, Gamuda and Time Engineering.
In other developments, crude oil futures in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped to near US$71 per barrel, off its recent high of US$75 per barrel. The US Energy Department reported higher stockpiles for the week ended Aug 21.
Sime Darby posts 4Q earnings of RM984m
Written by Joseph Chin
Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:53
KUALA LUMPUR: SIME DARBY BHD posted net profit of RM984.04 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2009, a decline of 3.6% from RM1.02 billion a year ago and was generally upbeat about the new financial year, underpinned by a global economic recovery.
The group said on Aug 27 the market conditions under which the group operated appeared favourable, though uncertainty still persisted in certain market segments. Sime Darby said palm oil prices were trading at reasonably good levels and the improvement in property and consumer markets augured well for the group's core segments.
It said 4Q revenue fell 17.4% to RM7.53 billion from RM9.12 billion and earnings per share were 16.37 sen compared with 16.99 sen. The board recommended a final single tier dividend of 15.3 sen per share for the FY ended June 30 which is not taxable in the hands of the shareholders.For FY ended June 30, 2009, its earnings were RM2.28 billion, a decline of 35% from RM3.51 billion a year ago.
Revenue fell to RM31.01 billion from RM34.04 billion.Pre-tax profit was RM3.07 billion, down 41% from RM5.21 billion. This was after accounting for an unrealised foreign exchange loss of RM91.6 million (2008: gain of RM69.5 million) included under corporate income and expenses. Excluding unrealised foreign exchange, group pre-tax profit for FY09 at RM3.16 billion would be 38% lower than FY08.
Sime Darby said contribution from PLANTATION]fell by about 56% on the back of the lower average CPO price realised of RM2,177 per tonne compared with RM2,885 per tonne in FY08 and compounded by the lower fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield of 20.6 tonnes per mature hectare against 21.7 tonnes last year.
It added profit from property was 4% higher than 2008 as a result of the success of the "Parade of Homes" campaign and the gain from disposal of PROPERTIES
of RM89.2 million (2008: RM2.7 million). "The 'Parade of Homes' campaign generated sales of RM1.0 billion and significantly contributed to the results of the property development segment which was affected by weak market conditions," it said.
Its industrial division recorded 24% inncrease in profit bdue to overall higher sales coupled with better margins generated in Australia and strong demand from the marine and oil & gas sectors in Singapore. Sime Darby's motors division recorded a 13% increase in profit mainly due to the better performance from its China operations as well as the receipt of dividend of RM50.4 million during the year, countering the lower profit from other regions.
However, its energy & utilities division recorded a drop of 82% for the year due to cost escalation incurred on fabrication and engineering projects as a result of higher off-shore costs driven largely by volatile oil prices.
The result also included the "one-off contribution" payment levied on Port Dickson Power Berhad.Earnings from healthcare & others segment dropped 91% mainly due to the lower gain of RM16.2 million from the disposal of non-core businesses as compared to that realised in the previous year of RM76.0 million.
Thursday, 27 August 2009 18:53
KUALA LUMPUR: SIME DARBY BHD posted net profit of RM984.04 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2009, a decline of 3.6% from RM1.02 billion a year ago and was generally upbeat about the new financial year, underpinned by a global economic recovery.
The group said on Aug 27 the market conditions under which the group operated appeared favourable, though uncertainty still persisted in certain market segments. Sime Darby said palm oil prices were trading at reasonably good levels and the improvement in property and consumer markets augured well for the group's core segments.
It said 4Q revenue fell 17.4% to RM7.53 billion from RM9.12 billion and earnings per share were 16.37 sen compared with 16.99 sen. The board recommended a final single tier dividend of 15.3 sen per share for the FY ended June 30 which is not taxable in the hands of the shareholders.For FY ended June 30, 2009, its earnings were RM2.28 billion, a decline of 35% from RM3.51 billion a year ago.
Revenue fell to RM31.01 billion from RM34.04 billion.Pre-tax profit was RM3.07 billion, down 41% from RM5.21 billion. This was after accounting for an unrealised foreign exchange loss of RM91.6 million (2008: gain of RM69.5 million) included under corporate income and expenses. Excluding unrealised foreign exchange, group pre-tax profit for FY09 at RM3.16 billion would be 38% lower than FY08.
Sime Darby said contribution from PLANTATION]fell by about 56% on the back of the lower average CPO price realised of RM2,177 per tonne compared with RM2,885 per tonne in FY08 and compounded by the lower fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield of 20.6 tonnes per mature hectare against 21.7 tonnes last year.
It added profit from property was 4% higher than 2008 as a result of the success of the "Parade of Homes" campaign and the gain from disposal of PROPERTIES
of RM89.2 million (2008: RM2.7 million). "The 'Parade of Homes' campaign generated sales of RM1.0 billion and significantly contributed to the results of the property development segment which was affected by weak market conditions," it said.
Its industrial division recorded 24% inncrease in profit bdue to overall higher sales coupled with better margins generated in Australia and strong demand from the marine and oil & gas sectors in Singapore. Sime Darby's motors division recorded a 13% increase in profit mainly due to the better performance from its China operations as well as the receipt of dividend of RM50.4 million during the year, countering the lower profit from other regions.
However, its energy & utilities division recorded a drop of 82% for the year due to cost escalation incurred on fabrication and engineering projects as a result of higher off-shore costs driven largely by volatile oil prices.
The result also included the "one-off contribution" payment levied on Port Dickson Power Berhad.Earnings from healthcare & others segment dropped 91% mainly due to the lower gain of RM16.2 million from the disposal of non-core businesses as compared to that realised in the previous year of RM76.0 million.
China wealth fund to boost investment 10-fold
Written by Reuters
Thursday, 27 August 2009 19:05
TOKYO: China's sovereign wealth fund will increase new overseas investment this year by around 10 times from the previous year on signs the global economy has bottomed out, one of the organisation's top managers said in a newspaper interview.
Gao Xiqing, president of China Investment Corporation (CIC), also said he was examining making new investment in Japanese companies and property on prospects of a recovery in the country's economy, according to the interview that ran on Thursday in Japan's daily Asahi newspaper.Sovereign wealth funds have been hit hard by ill-timed investments into Western banks and CIC has been no exception, losing big on its ill-timed 2007 bets on Morgan Stanley and Blackstone.
But there have been tentative signs they are coming back to the international capital market, with CIC and cash-rich funds from countries like Saudi Arabia expected to lead the way.CIC's new investment overseas, which shrank to US$4.8 billion (RM16.94 billion) last year due to the deepening financial crisis, will increase by around 10 times this year to several tens of billion dollars, Gao said.
On whether Beijing will shift more from its US$2 trillion foreign reserves to CIC, Gao said he couldn't reply because it was a decision for the Chinese government.Created in September 2007, CIC manages US$200 billion of the country's foreign reserves, now the world's largest.Gao said the organisation held nearly 90% of its management funds in cash or a similar form at the end of last year.
That will change since financial markets are no longer in a state of crisis, although the global economy has yet to clearly recover, he added.Asked whether the fund will continue to emphasise natural resources companies, Gao said it depended on whether investing in them would yield profits.CIC plans to invest up to US$2 billion in US mortgages as it eyes a property market rebound, sources told Reuters earlier this month. — Reuters
Thursday, 27 August 2009 19:05
TOKYO: China's sovereign wealth fund will increase new overseas investment this year by around 10 times from the previous year on signs the global economy has bottomed out, one of the organisation's top managers said in a newspaper interview.
Gao Xiqing, president of China Investment Corporation (CIC), also said he was examining making new investment in Japanese companies and property on prospects of a recovery in the country's economy, according to the interview that ran on Thursday in Japan's daily Asahi newspaper.Sovereign wealth funds have been hit hard by ill-timed investments into Western banks and CIC has been no exception, losing big on its ill-timed 2007 bets on Morgan Stanley and Blackstone.
But there have been tentative signs they are coming back to the international capital market, with CIC and cash-rich funds from countries like Saudi Arabia expected to lead the way.CIC's new investment overseas, which shrank to US$4.8 billion (RM16.94 billion) last year due to the deepening financial crisis, will increase by around 10 times this year to several tens of billion dollars, Gao said.
On whether Beijing will shift more from its US$2 trillion foreign reserves to CIC, Gao said he couldn't reply because it was a decision for the Chinese government.Created in September 2007, CIC manages US$200 billion of the country's foreign reserves, now the world's largest.Gao said the organisation held nearly 90% of its management funds in cash or a similar form at the end of last year.
That will change since financial markets are no longer in a state of crisis, although the global economy has yet to clearly recover, he added.Asked whether the fund will continue to emphasise natural resources companies, Gao said it depended on whether investing in them would yield profits.CIC plans to invest up to US$2 billion in US mortgages as it eyes a property market rebound, sources told Reuters earlier this month. — Reuters
Ekonomi pada landasan betul untuk pulih: PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, berkata ekonomi Malaysia berada pada landasan yang betul untuk pulih. "Saya rasa waktu sukar telah berlalu. Kita semakin pulih," kata Najib kepada pemberita semasa ditanya mengenai angka Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) terkini yang diumumkan Bank Negara Malaysia semalam. Pertumbuhan KDNK Malaysia dalam suku kedua 2009 menguncup 3.9 peratus berbanding penurunan 6.2 peratus pada suku pertama.
Ini membawa kepada pertumbuhan KDNK separuh pertama tahun ini pada -5.1 peratus. Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, semasa mengumumkan angka KDNK itu berkata penguncupan kecil ini adalah hasil daripada perbelanjaan awam yang tinggi dan pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta.
Najib yang ditemui selepas melawat Yayasan Forum Ekonomi Islam Dunia di sini, berkata beliau gembira dengan angka terkini itu.
"Kedua-dua pakej rangsangan telah menyumbang kepada prestasi ekonomi Malaysia," kata Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan. - Bernama
Ini membawa kepada pertumbuhan KDNK separuh pertama tahun ini pada -5.1 peratus. Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, semasa mengumumkan angka KDNK itu berkata penguncupan kecil ini adalah hasil daripada perbelanjaan awam yang tinggi dan pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta.
Najib yang ditemui selepas melawat Yayasan Forum Ekonomi Islam Dunia di sini, berkata beliau gembira dengan angka terkini itu.
"Kedua-dua pakej rangsangan telah menyumbang kepada prestasi ekonomi Malaysia," kata Najib yang juga Menteri Kewangan. - Bernama
Syarikat penerbangan dipelawa ke Bosnia
KUALA LUMPUR 26 Ogos - Syarikat penerbangan di negara ini dipelawa untuk mengadakan penerbangan ke Bosnia-Herzegovina apabila perjanjian udara kedua-dua negara dilaksanakan selewat-lewatnya awal tahun depan.
Menteri Pengangkutan dan Komunikasinya, Rudo Vidovic berkata, negara itu membuka pintu kepada mana-mana syarikat penerbangan di negara ini yang berminat dan tidak mengehadkan kepada syarikat-syarikat tertentu.
''Tawaran ini terbuka kepada mana-mana syarikat penerbangan Malaysia yang berminat, kami tidak ada mengenakan syarat-syarat tertentu,'' katanya yang mengadakan lawatan pertama ke Malaysia di sini.
Rudo yang mewakili kerajaan Bosnia-Herzegovina telah menandatangani perjanjian udara dengan Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.Perjanjian dua hala itu adalah secara eksklusif menawarkan syarikat-syarikat penerbangan Malaysia untuk mengadakan penerbangan ke negara itu.
Tambah beliau lagi, jumlah kekerapan penerbangan adalah tertakluk kepada pertimbangan.
Sementara itu, Duta Bosnia-Herzegovina ke Malaysia, Ensar Eminovic berkata, perjanjian itu dijangka dilaksanakan pada akhir tahun ini atau selewat-lewatnya pada awal 2010.
Menurut Ensar, sekiranya perjanjian itu direalisasikan, Malaysia bakal menjadi negara pertama di rantau ini yang akan mengadakan penerbangan ke negara tersebut. Rudo berkata, setakat ini negara itu hanya mempunyai perkongsian rangkaian dengan negara-negara jiran seperti Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Mecadonia dan Turki.
''Meskipun Bosnia memiliki empat lapangan terbang antarabangsa tetapi tidak mampu untuk melakukan penerbangan jarak jauh dan hanya untuk kapasiti yang rendah disebabkan masalah teknikal.''Sebab itu, kami melihat perjanjian udara dengan Malaysia sebagai sesuatu yang amat penting bagi pertumbuhan industri pengangkutan udara Bosnia,'' tambah beliau.
Malah, beliau berkata, perjanjian itu turut menawarkan potensi kepakaran teknikal dalam industri penerbangan di negara berkenaan.Selain itu, jelasnya, perjanjian tersebut juga boleh dimanfaatkan oleh syarikat penerbangan tempatan untuk meneroka industri penerbangan Eropah.
Menteri Pengangkutan dan Komunikasinya, Rudo Vidovic berkata, negara itu membuka pintu kepada mana-mana syarikat penerbangan di negara ini yang berminat dan tidak mengehadkan kepada syarikat-syarikat tertentu.
''Tawaran ini terbuka kepada mana-mana syarikat penerbangan Malaysia yang berminat, kami tidak ada mengenakan syarat-syarat tertentu,'' katanya yang mengadakan lawatan pertama ke Malaysia di sini.
Rudo yang mewakili kerajaan Bosnia-Herzegovina telah menandatangani perjanjian udara dengan Menteri Pengangkutan, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.Perjanjian dua hala itu adalah secara eksklusif menawarkan syarikat-syarikat penerbangan Malaysia untuk mengadakan penerbangan ke negara itu.
Tambah beliau lagi, jumlah kekerapan penerbangan adalah tertakluk kepada pertimbangan.
Sementara itu, Duta Bosnia-Herzegovina ke Malaysia, Ensar Eminovic berkata, perjanjian itu dijangka dilaksanakan pada akhir tahun ini atau selewat-lewatnya pada awal 2010.
Menurut Ensar, sekiranya perjanjian itu direalisasikan, Malaysia bakal menjadi negara pertama di rantau ini yang akan mengadakan penerbangan ke negara tersebut. Rudo berkata, setakat ini negara itu hanya mempunyai perkongsian rangkaian dengan negara-negara jiran seperti Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Mecadonia dan Turki.
''Meskipun Bosnia memiliki empat lapangan terbang antarabangsa tetapi tidak mampu untuk melakukan penerbangan jarak jauh dan hanya untuk kapasiti yang rendah disebabkan masalah teknikal.''Sebab itu, kami melihat perjanjian udara dengan Malaysia sebagai sesuatu yang amat penting bagi pertumbuhan industri pengangkutan udara Bosnia,'' tambah beliau.
Malah, beliau berkata, perjanjian itu turut menawarkan potensi kepakaran teknikal dalam industri penerbangan di negara berkenaan.Selain itu, jelasnya, perjanjian tersebut juga boleh dimanfaatkan oleh syarikat penerbangan tempatan untuk meneroka industri penerbangan Eropah.
Jualan Hebat ICT dijadikan acara tahunan
PETALING JAYA 26 Ogos -- Perbadanan Pembangunan Multimedia (MDeC) akan menjadikan program Jualan Hebat Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi (ICT) MSC Malaysia sebagai acara tahunan serta bakal diperluaskan di Malaysia Timur.
Naib Presiden Divisyen Pembangunan Industrinya, Saifol Bahri Mohamad Shamlan berkata, cadangan itu dibuat berdasarkan sambutan hangat yang diterima pada tahun ini.
''Sambutan yang diterima adalah di luar jangkaan. Oleh itu, kami bercadang membawa kempen itu ke Sabah dan Sarawak pula," katanya pada taklimat media baru-baru ini.
Terdahulu, Jualan Hebat ICT MSC Malaysia merekodkan potensi jualan bernilai RM7.75 juta,, melebihi sasaran awal sebanyak RM3 juta hingga RM5 juta
Jualan tersebut melibatkan jualan penyelesaian ICT khas kepada perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) tempatan yang bermula 20 Julai hingga 20 Ogos lalu.Saifol Bahri berkata, kempen itu menunjukkan perlunya platform untuk merangsang pertumbuhan PKS dan menyokong peluang perniagaan dalam pasaran sebagai pemangkin pertumbuhan ekonomi negara.
''Jualan itu telah menyumbang kepada sasaran jangka panjang untuk membantu PKS meningkatkan permintaan untuk produk ICT tempatan dan perkhidmatan dan membuka peluang platform untuk menggalakkan penggunaan ICT," katanya.
Jualan tersebut menyaksikan 30 syarikat berstatus MSC Malaysia menawarkan produk ICT dan perkhidmatan yang menjimatkan seperti penyelesaian e-dagang dan sebagainya.
Ia melibatkan kerjasama dengan Perbadanan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana (SMIDEC), Malaysian Debt Ventures (MDV) dan institusi kewangan telah menyumbang kepada sambutan yang menggalakkan itu.
Katanya, prestasi potensi jualan di luar jangkaan itu memberi kesan limpahan antara pengguna PKS dan vendor teknologi maklumat (IT) PKS dengan mewujudkan situasi menang-menang.
''MDeC berharap dengan penyelesaian ICT itu, pembeli PKS dapat menerima manfaat serta fleksibiliti dalam struktur operasi untuk kekal bersaing dan membuka peluang perniagaan baru ketika keadaan ekonomi mencabar ini," jelasnya.
Naib Presiden Divisyen Pembangunan Industrinya, Saifol Bahri Mohamad Shamlan berkata, cadangan itu dibuat berdasarkan sambutan hangat yang diterima pada tahun ini.
''Sambutan yang diterima adalah di luar jangkaan. Oleh itu, kami bercadang membawa kempen itu ke Sabah dan Sarawak pula," katanya pada taklimat media baru-baru ini.
Terdahulu, Jualan Hebat ICT MSC Malaysia merekodkan potensi jualan bernilai RM7.75 juta,, melebihi sasaran awal sebanyak RM3 juta hingga RM5 juta
Jualan tersebut melibatkan jualan penyelesaian ICT khas kepada perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) tempatan yang bermula 20 Julai hingga 20 Ogos lalu.Saifol Bahri berkata, kempen itu menunjukkan perlunya platform untuk merangsang pertumbuhan PKS dan menyokong peluang perniagaan dalam pasaran sebagai pemangkin pertumbuhan ekonomi negara.
''Jualan itu telah menyumbang kepada sasaran jangka panjang untuk membantu PKS meningkatkan permintaan untuk produk ICT tempatan dan perkhidmatan dan membuka peluang platform untuk menggalakkan penggunaan ICT," katanya.
Jualan tersebut menyaksikan 30 syarikat berstatus MSC Malaysia menawarkan produk ICT dan perkhidmatan yang menjimatkan seperti penyelesaian e-dagang dan sebagainya.
Ia melibatkan kerjasama dengan Perbadanan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana (SMIDEC), Malaysian Debt Ventures (MDV) dan institusi kewangan telah menyumbang kepada sambutan yang menggalakkan itu.
Katanya, prestasi potensi jualan di luar jangkaan itu memberi kesan limpahan antara pengguna PKS dan vendor teknologi maklumat (IT) PKS dengan mewujudkan situasi menang-menang.
''MDeC berharap dengan penyelesaian ICT itu, pembeli PKS dapat menerima manfaat serta fleksibiliti dalam struktur operasi untuk kekal bersaing dan membuka peluang perniagaan baru ketika keadaan ekonomi mencabar ini," jelasnya.
BNM dijangka kekalkan OPR 2% sepanjang tahun
KUALA LUMPUR 26 Ogos – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) dijangka mengekalkan Kadar Dasar Semalaman (OPR) pada dua peratus sepanjang tahun ini.
OSK Research dalam nota penyelidikannya meramalkan kerajaan mahu menumpukan kepada pendekatan fiskal dalam Bajet 2010 berbanding polisi monetari untuk merangsang ekonomi pada masa depan.
‘‘BNM telah mengurangkan OPR kepada dua peratus sebelum ini untuk memastikan kecairan mencukupi dalam sistem perbankan negara.‘‘Dengan kedudukan ekonomi negara yang masih stabil, kami menjangkakan BNM akan mengambil pendekatan ‘tunggu dan lihat’ tetapi pada masa yang sama memantau perkembangan selanjutnya.‘‘Berikutan itu, OSK percaya BNM akan mengekalkan OPR pada paras semasa sehingga akhir tahun ini dan pada 2010,’’ katanya.
BNM yang mengadakan mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Dasar Monetari semalam memutuskan untuk mengekalkan OPR pada paras dua peratus.
Bank pusat itu berkata, pengekalan kadar tersebut dilakukan berikutan terdapat tanda-tanda positif keadaan ekonomi dan kewangan global bertambah baik.Pandangan itu, menurut OSK, dibuat dengan mengambil kira pemulihan ekonomi yang agak lembap kerana belum ada pemangkin yang mampu merangsang pertumbuhan.
Selain itu, ia turut mengambil kira cadangan Persekutuan Rizab Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang mahu meningkatkan kadar penanda aras itu pada separuh kedua 2010.
‘‘Sekiranya ia benar-benar berlaku, kami berpendapat BNM akan menurunkan OPR bagi mengelak sebarang aliran wang panas ke dalam negara memandangkan perbezaan OPR Malaysia dan AS adalah 175 mata asas sahaja,’’ tambah OSK
OSK Research dalam nota penyelidikannya meramalkan kerajaan mahu menumpukan kepada pendekatan fiskal dalam Bajet 2010 berbanding polisi monetari untuk merangsang ekonomi pada masa depan.
‘‘BNM telah mengurangkan OPR kepada dua peratus sebelum ini untuk memastikan kecairan mencukupi dalam sistem perbankan negara.‘‘Dengan kedudukan ekonomi negara yang masih stabil, kami menjangkakan BNM akan mengambil pendekatan ‘tunggu dan lihat’ tetapi pada masa yang sama memantau perkembangan selanjutnya.‘‘Berikutan itu, OSK percaya BNM akan mengekalkan OPR pada paras semasa sehingga akhir tahun ini dan pada 2010,’’ katanya.
BNM yang mengadakan mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Dasar Monetari semalam memutuskan untuk mengekalkan OPR pada paras dua peratus.
Bank pusat itu berkata, pengekalan kadar tersebut dilakukan berikutan terdapat tanda-tanda positif keadaan ekonomi dan kewangan global bertambah baik.Pandangan itu, menurut OSK, dibuat dengan mengambil kira pemulihan ekonomi yang agak lembap kerana belum ada pemangkin yang mampu merangsang pertumbuhan.
Selain itu, ia turut mengambil kira cadangan Persekutuan Rizab Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang mahu meningkatkan kadar penanda aras itu pada separuh kedua 2010.
‘‘Sekiranya ia benar-benar berlaku, kami berpendapat BNM akan menurunkan OPR bagi mengelak sebarang aliran wang panas ke dalam negara memandangkan perbezaan OPR Malaysia dan AS adalah 175 mata asas sahaja,’’ tambah OSK
Bursa kukuh di akhir dagangan
KUALA LUMPUR 26 Ogos - Harga saham di Bursa Malaysia ditutup lebih kukuh hari ini berikutan pembelian pada saham berwajaran tinggi seperti Sime Darby dan Tenaga Nasional, kata para peniaga.
Bagaimana pun, catatan keuntungan tersekat disebabkan oleh kerugian pada kaunter lain seperti Maybank, kata mereka.Indeks Komposit FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (FBM KLCI) ditutup 1.47 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.126 peratus lebih baik kepada 1,172.56, selepas dibuka tidak berubah pada 1,171.09 pada sebelah pagi.
Penganalisis MIMB Investment Rosnani Rasul berkata pasaran dijangka berada pada jajaran sempit pada minggu ini berikutan ketiadaan petunjuk baharu.Sehingga jam 5 petang, Indeks Kewangan meningkat 9.631 mata kepada 9,495.98 manakala Indeks Perladangan merosot 10.2 mata kepada 5,826.53 dan Indeks Perusahaan meningkat 8.18 mata kepada 2,583.72. Indeks FBM Emas menokok 15.73 mata kepada 7,920.2, FBM Top 100 naik 14.44 mata kepada 7,698.78 dan Indeks FBM ACE meningkat 2.43 mata untuk ditutup kepada 4,172.57.
Kaunter rugi mengatasi kaunter untung sebanyak 363 kepada 259 manakala 241 kaunter ditutup tidak berubah, 382 tidak diniagakan dan tiada yang digantung.Bagaimana pun, perolehan turun kepada 636.267 juta saham bernilai RM930.776 juta daripada 709.248 juta saham bernilai RM985.757 juta semalam.
Di kalangan peneraju di segi jumlah dagangan, Oilcorp menokok 3.0 sen kepada 41.5 sen dan Kurasia meningkat 4.5 sen kepada 57.5 sen. KNM dan Plus setiap satu meningkat 1.0 sen masing-masing kepada 77 sen dan RM3.38 manakala Yunkong-WA meningkat 1.5 sen kepada 17.5 sen.
Jumlah dagangan di Pasaran Utama turun kepada 576.092 juta saham bernilai RM919.768 juta berbanding dengan 650.807 juta saham bernilai RM973.945 juta yang dicatat Isnin. Jumlah dagangan pasaran ACE meningkat kepada 40.049 juta saham bernilai RM6.879 juta daripada 29.934 juta saham bernilai RM5.924 juta sebelum ini.
Waran merosot kepada 18.054 juta unit bernilai RM3.191 juta daripada 25.842 juta unit bernilai RM4.843 juta semalam.
Produk pengguna mencatatkan 47.493 juta saham diniaga di Pasaran Utama, produk perusahaan 123.204 juta, pembinaan 25.721 juta, dagang/perkhidmatan 200.227 juta, teknologi 26.982 juta, prasarana 11.711 juta, kewangan 65.881 juta, hotel 1.532 juta, hartanah 58.884 juta, perladangan 12.978 juta, perlombongan 4,000, REIT 1.453 juta, dan dana tertutup 17,600. - Bernama
Bagaimana pun, catatan keuntungan tersekat disebabkan oleh kerugian pada kaunter lain seperti Maybank, kata mereka.Indeks Komposit FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (FBM KLCI) ditutup 1.47 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.126 peratus lebih baik kepada 1,172.56, selepas dibuka tidak berubah pada 1,171.09 pada sebelah pagi.
Penganalisis MIMB Investment Rosnani Rasul berkata pasaran dijangka berada pada jajaran sempit pada minggu ini berikutan ketiadaan petunjuk baharu.Sehingga jam 5 petang, Indeks Kewangan meningkat 9.631 mata kepada 9,495.98 manakala Indeks Perladangan merosot 10.2 mata kepada 5,826.53 dan Indeks Perusahaan meningkat 8.18 mata kepada 2,583.72. Indeks FBM Emas menokok 15.73 mata kepada 7,920.2, FBM Top 100 naik 14.44 mata kepada 7,698.78 dan Indeks FBM ACE meningkat 2.43 mata untuk ditutup kepada 4,172.57.
Kaunter rugi mengatasi kaunter untung sebanyak 363 kepada 259 manakala 241 kaunter ditutup tidak berubah, 382 tidak diniagakan dan tiada yang digantung.Bagaimana pun, perolehan turun kepada 636.267 juta saham bernilai RM930.776 juta daripada 709.248 juta saham bernilai RM985.757 juta semalam.
Di kalangan peneraju di segi jumlah dagangan, Oilcorp menokok 3.0 sen kepada 41.5 sen dan Kurasia meningkat 4.5 sen kepada 57.5 sen. KNM dan Plus setiap satu meningkat 1.0 sen masing-masing kepada 77 sen dan RM3.38 manakala Yunkong-WA meningkat 1.5 sen kepada 17.5 sen.
Jumlah dagangan di Pasaran Utama turun kepada 576.092 juta saham bernilai RM919.768 juta berbanding dengan 650.807 juta saham bernilai RM973.945 juta yang dicatat Isnin. Jumlah dagangan pasaran ACE meningkat kepada 40.049 juta saham bernilai RM6.879 juta daripada 29.934 juta saham bernilai RM5.924 juta sebelum ini.
Waran merosot kepada 18.054 juta unit bernilai RM3.191 juta daripada 25.842 juta unit bernilai RM4.843 juta semalam.
Produk pengguna mencatatkan 47.493 juta saham diniaga di Pasaran Utama, produk perusahaan 123.204 juta, pembinaan 25.721 juta, dagang/perkhidmatan 200.227 juta, teknologi 26.982 juta, prasarana 11.711 juta, kewangan 65.881 juta, hotel 1.532 juta, hartanah 58.884 juta, perladangan 12.978 juta, perlombongan 4,000, REIT 1.453 juta, dan dana tertutup 17,600. - Bernama
BNM semak semula pertumbuhan ekonomi
KUALA LUMPUR 26 Ogos - Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) akan menyemak semula unjuran Kadar Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) untuk sepanjang tahun ini. Bagaimanapun, Gabenornya, Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz enggan mengulas lanjut kerana unjuran itu akan diumumkan ketika pembentangan Bajet 2010 pada 23 Oktober ini.
''Tetapi ia (semakan KDNK) bakal menunjukkan arah pemulihan dengan ekonomi domestik dijangka berada dalam keadaan baik serta perdagangan negara yang menunjukkan pemulihan.
''Perdagangan antara Asia seperti dengan Indonesia, Vietnam dan China menunjukkan pertumbuhan positif walaupun eksport negara mengalami penguncupan,'' katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas mengumumkan prestasi kewangan suku kedua 2009 di sini hari ini. Kerajaan yang menyemak semula KDNK negara mengunjurkan ia dijangka menguncup kepada 4 hingga 5 peratus pada tahun ini.
Sebelum semakan itu, KDNK negara diunjurkan berada pada paras -1 peratus dan 1 peratus.
Sementara itu, ketika ditanya mengenai defisit fiskal, Zeti berkata, kerajaan mempunyai kapasiti pada masa ini untuk mengelak defisit fiskal ekoran kadar hutang negara yang rendah.
Katanya, kapasiti tersebut adalah untuk tahun ini dan pada tahun hadapan.
''Apa yang ingin kita saksikan apabila berlakunya pemulihan ekonomi, sektor swasta dapat mengambil alih peranan kerajaan dalam ekonomi.''Pembabitan kerajaan sekarang adalah bersifat sementara. Apabila ekonomi kembali pulih, momentum perbelanjaan dan pelaburan swasta sepatutnya mengalami peningkatan,'' katanya.
Tambah Zeti, walaupun kebanyakan syarikat memberi penarafan sebaliknya, negara masih mampu mengelak defisit fiskal kerana BNM yang menilai kadar hutang negara.''Mereka mempunyai pendapat mereka sendiri, tetapi melalui penilaian BNM kadar hutang negara masih berada pada kadar selamat,'' jelas beliau.
''Tetapi ia (semakan KDNK) bakal menunjukkan arah pemulihan dengan ekonomi domestik dijangka berada dalam keadaan baik serta perdagangan negara yang menunjukkan pemulihan.
''Perdagangan antara Asia seperti dengan Indonesia, Vietnam dan China menunjukkan pertumbuhan positif walaupun eksport negara mengalami penguncupan,'' katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas mengumumkan prestasi kewangan suku kedua 2009 di sini hari ini. Kerajaan yang menyemak semula KDNK negara mengunjurkan ia dijangka menguncup kepada 4 hingga 5 peratus pada tahun ini.
Sebelum semakan itu, KDNK negara diunjurkan berada pada paras -1 peratus dan 1 peratus.
Sementara itu, ketika ditanya mengenai defisit fiskal, Zeti berkata, kerajaan mempunyai kapasiti pada masa ini untuk mengelak defisit fiskal ekoran kadar hutang negara yang rendah.
Katanya, kapasiti tersebut adalah untuk tahun ini dan pada tahun hadapan.
''Apa yang ingin kita saksikan apabila berlakunya pemulihan ekonomi, sektor swasta dapat mengambil alih peranan kerajaan dalam ekonomi.''Pembabitan kerajaan sekarang adalah bersifat sementara. Apabila ekonomi kembali pulih, momentum perbelanjaan dan pelaburan swasta sepatutnya mengalami peningkatan,'' katanya.
Tambah Zeti, walaupun kebanyakan syarikat memberi penarafan sebaliknya, negara masih mampu mengelak defisit fiskal kerana BNM yang menilai kadar hutang negara.''Mereka mempunyai pendapat mereka sendiri, tetapi melalui penilaian BNM kadar hutang negara masih berada pada kadar selamat,'' jelas beliau.
Harga saham ditutup kukuh
HARGA saham di Bursa Malaysia ditutup lebih kukuh semalam berikutan pembelian pada saham berwajaran tinggi seperti Sime Darby dan Tenaga Nasional, kata peniaga. Bagaimana pun, catatan keuntungan tersekat disebabkan oleh kerugian pada kaunter lain seperti Maybank, kata mereka.
Indeks Komposit FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (FBM KLCI) ditutup 1.47 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.126 peratus lebih baik kepada 1,172.56, selepas dibuka tidak berubah pada 1,171.09 pada sebelah pagi.
Penganalisis MIMB Investment, Rosnani Rasul, berkata pasaran dijangka berada pada jajaran sempit pada minggu ini berikutan ketiadaan petunjuk baru. “Ia kemungkinan terus sedemikian sehingga musim pengumuman keputusan syarikat berakhir,” katanya. Katanya, pemangkin di AS yang merangsang pasaran tidak cukup kuat untuk menaikkan pasaran tempatan.
Ketua Penyelidikan Jupiter Securities, Pong Teng Siew, berkata pasaran mengalami penurunan bukan kerana pengumuman keputusan kewangan Maybank yang lebih rendah di sini Selasa, tetapi juga disebabkan turun naik pasaran China yang dijejakinya. “Pelabur mengetahui bahawa jika pasaran China beralih kepada negatif, ia juga akan memberi kesan kepada pasaran serantau.
Jadi sekarang ini, tiada siapa membuat pembelian secara agresif,” katanya. Sehingga jam 5.00 petang, Indeks Kewangan meningkat 9.631 mata kepada 9,495.98 manakala Indeks Perladangan merosot 10.2 mata kepada 5,826.53 dan Indeks Perusahaan meningkat 8.18 mata kepada 2,583.72. Indeks FBM Emas menokok 15.73 mata kepada 7,920.2, FBM Top 100 naik 14.44 mata kepada 7,698.78 dan Indeks FBM ACE meningkat 2.43 mata untuk ditutup kepada 4,172.57.
Kaunter rugi mengatasi kaunter untung sebanyak 363 kepada 259 manakala 241 kaunter ditutup tidak berubah, 382 tidak diniagakan dan tiada yang digantung. Bagaimana pun, perolehan turun kepada 636.267 juta saham bernilai RM930.776 juta daripada 709.248 juta saham bernilai RM985.757 juta kelmarin. Di kalangan peneraju di segi jumlah dagangan, Oilcorp menokok 3.0 sen kepada 41.5 sen dan Kurasia meningkat 4.5 sen kepada 57.5 sen. KNM dan Plus setiap satu meningkat 1.0 sen masing-masing kepada 77 sen dan RM3.38 manakala Yunkong-WA meningkat 1.5 sen kepada 17.5 sen.
Peneraju di segi untung termasuk Nestle yang naik 56 sen kepada RM34.00, LaFarge Cement yang meningkat 34 sen kepada RM6.50 dan Tomei yang menambah 30 sen kepada 80 sen. Pendahulu dari segi kerugian termasuk DiGi yang turun 26 sen kepada RM21.72, Huatlai yang merosot 23.5 sen kepada 51.5 sen dan Petra yang turun 19 sen kepada RM2.49.
Di kalangan saham berwajaran tinggi, Sime Darby meningkat 1.0 sen kepada RM8.23 manakala Maybank rugi 5.0 sen kepada RM6.47 dan Bumiputera-Commerce tidak berubah pada harga RM10.36. Tenaga Nasional menokok 9.0 sen kepada RM8.10 dan Genting meningkat 7.0 sen kepada RM6.54. Jumlah dagangan di Papan Utama turun kepada 576.092 juta saham bernilai RM919.768 juta berbanding dengan 650.807 juta saham bernilai RM973.945 juta yang dicatat Isnin. Jumlah dagangan pasaran ACE meningkat kepada 40.049 juta saham bernilai RM6.879 juta daripada 29.934 juta saham bernilai RM5.924 juta sebelum ini.
Waran merosot kepada 18.054 juta unit bernilai RM3.191 juta daripada 25.842 juta unit bernilai RM4.843 juta semalam. Produk pengguna mencatatkan 47.493 juta saham diniaga di Pasaran Utama, produk perusahaan 123.204 juta, pembinaan 25.721 juta, dagang/perkhidmatan 200.227 juta, teknologi 26.982 juta, prasarana 11.711 juta, kewangan 65.881 juta, hotel 1.532 juta, hartanah 58.884 juta, perladangan 12.978 juta, perlombongan 4,000, REIT 1.453 juta, dan tertutup/dana 17,600. - Bernama
Indeks Komposit FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (FBM KLCI) ditutup 1.47 mata lebih tinggi atau 0.126 peratus lebih baik kepada 1,172.56, selepas dibuka tidak berubah pada 1,171.09 pada sebelah pagi.
Penganalisis MIMB Investment, Rosnani Rasul, berkata pasaran dijangka berada pada jajaran sempit pada minggu ini berikutan ketiadaan petunjuk baru. “Ia kemungkinan terus sedemikian sehingga musim pengumuman keputusan syarikat berakhir,” katanya. Katanya, pemangkin di AS yang merangsang pasaran tidak cukup kuat untuk menaikkan pasaran tempatan.
Ketua Penyelidikan Jupiter Securities, Pong Teng Siew, berkata pasaran mengalami penurunan bukan kerana pengumuman keputusan kewangan Maybank yang lebih rendah di sini Selasa, tetapi juga disebabkan turun naik pasaran China yang dijejakinya. “Pelabur mengetahui bahawa jika pasaran China beralih kepada negatif, ia juga akan memberi kesan kepada pasaran serantau.
Jadi sekarang ini, tiada siapa membuat pembelian secara agresif,” katanya. Sehingga jam 5.00 petang, Indeks Kewangan meningkat 9.631 mata kepada 9,495.98 manakala Indeks Perladangan merosot 10.2 mata kepada 5,826.53 dan Indeks Perusahaan meningkat 8.18 mata kepada 2,583.72. Indeks FBM Emas menokok 15.73 mata kepada 7,920.2, FBM Top 100 naik 14.44 mata kepada 7,698.78 dan Indeks FBM ACE meningkat 2.43 mata untuk ditutup kepada 4,172.57.
Kaunter rugi mengatasi kaunter untung sebanyak 363 kepada 259 manakala 241 kaunter ditutup tidak berubah, 382 tidak diniagakan dan tiada yang digantung. Bagaimana pun, perolehan turun kepada 636.267 juta saham bernilai RM930.776 juta daripada 709.248 juta saham bernilai RM985.757 juta kelmarin. Di kalangan peneraju di segi jumlah dagangan, Oilcorp menokok 3.0 sen kepada 41.5 sen dan Kurasia meningkat 4.5 sen kepada 57.5 sen. KNM dan Plus setiap satu meningkat 1.0 sen masing-masing kepada 77 sen dan RM3.38 manakala Yunkong-WA meningkat 1.5 sen kepada 17.5 sen.
Peneraju di segi untung termasuk Nestle yang naik 56 sen kepada RM34.00, LaFarge Cement yang meningkat 34 sen kepada RM6.50 dan Tomei yang menambah 30 sen kepada 80 sen. Pendahulu dari segi kerugian termasuk DiGi yang turun 26 sen kepada RM21.72, Huatlai yang merosot 23.5 sen kepada 51.5 sen dan Petra yang turun 19 sen kepada RM2.49.
Di kalangan saham berwajaran tinggi, Sime Darby meningkat 1.0 sen kepada RM8.23 manakala Maybank rugi 5.0 sen kepada RM6.47 dan Bumiputera-Commerce tidak berubah pada harga RM10.36. Tenaga Nasional menokok 9.0 sen kepada RM8.10 dan Genting meningkat 7.0 sen kepada RM6.54. Jumlah dagangan di Papan Utama turun kepada 576.092 juta saham bernilai RM919.768 juta berbanding dengan 650.807 juta saham bernilai RM973.945 juta yang dicatat Isnin. Jumlah dagangan pasaran ACE meningkat kepada 40.049 juta saham bernilai RM6.879 juta daripada 29.934 juta saham bernilai RM5.924 juta sebelum ini.
Waran merosot kepada 18.054 juta unit bernilai RM3.191 juta daripada 25.842 juta unit bernilai RM4.843 juta semalam. Produk pengguna mencatatkan 47.493 juta saham diniaga di Pasaran Utama, produk perusahaan 123.204 juta, pembinaan 25.721 juta, dagang/perkhidmatan 200.227 juta, teknologi 26.982 juta, prasarana 11.711 juta, kewangan 65.881 juta, hotel 1.532 juta, hartanah 58.884 juta, perladangan 12.978 juta, perlombongan 4,000, REIT 1.453 juta, dan tertutup/dana 17,600. - Bernama
KDNK suku kedua - 3.9%
KUALA LUMPUR 26 Ogos - Ekonomi negara mula menunjukkan pemulihan pada suku kedua 2009 apabila Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) hanya mencatatkan penguncupan sederhana 3.9 peratus berbanding -6.2 peratus pada suku sebelumnya. Prestasi itu sekali gus menyumbang penyusutan KDNK separuh pertama 2009 kepada -5.1 peratus.
Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz optimis Malaysia akan mula mencatatkan pemulihan lebih baik menjelang suku ketiga nanti.
''Kami menjangkakan suku ketiga mencatatkan prestasi lebih baik, dengan kata lain penguncupan yang kurang, sebelum ekonomi kembali positif pada suku keempat,'' katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas mengumumkan prestasi ekonomi suku kedua tahun ini.
Unjuran itu berdasarkan peningkatan dalam permintaan domestik pada separuh kedua disebabkan akses pembiayaan lebih baik, kadar faedah dan kadar inflasi yang rendah, kestabilan pasaran kewangan, pasaran buruh semakin pulih serta pertumbuhan sektor isi rumah dan perniagaan yang seimbang.
Selain itu, harga komoditi yang semakin pulih juga bakal menyokong perbelanjaan domestik dan pelaksanaan secara agresif pelan rangsangan ekonomi yang akan mengukuhkan permintaan.
Beliau berkata, permintaan domestik khususnya perbelanjaan pengguna yang semakin pulih, merupakan trend yang menggalakkan sejajar dengan perhatian untuk meningkatkan pelaburan asing dan domestik dalam aktiviti ekonomi.
Tambahnya, permintaan domestik kini menyumbang sebanyak 88 peratus kepada pertumbuhan berbanding sektor luaran 12 peratus.
Jelasnya, ia merupakan perubahan struktur, sekali gus menunjukkan ekonomi negara kini semakin seimbang dan tidak lagi terlalu bergantung kepada sektor eksport semata-mata.
Pada sidang akhbar itu, Zeti berkata, pemulihan ekonomi pada suku kedua itu disokong oleh perbelanjaan awam yang tinggi dan pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta.
Menurut beliau, kesemua sektor utama ekonomi mencatatkan prestasi yang lebih baik pada suku kedua dengan sektor perkhidmatan merekodkan pertumbuhan positif 1.6 peratus.
Pertumbuhan sektor pembinaan juga semakin kukuh pada 2.8 peratus dalam tempoh tersebut hasil pelaksanaan pakej rangsangan ekonomi fiskal.
Sektor pertanian juga menyaksikan pemulihan semula dengan mencatatkan pertumbuhan 0.3 peratus bagaimanapun sektor perlombongan menyusut kepada 2.6 peratus berikutan penurunan pengeluaran gas asli dan minyak mentah.
Bagi sektor luaran, perdagangan adalah lebih kecil namun dari segi nilai ia kekal besar pada RM26.5 bilion disebabkan oleh kadar penguncupan import yang lebih perlahan berbanding eksport kasar.
Eksport kasar menyusut dengan nyata sebanyak 26.3 peratus ekoran permintaan terhadap keluaran perkilangan daripada rakan niaga utama negara masih lemah manakala eksport komoditi merosot dengan ketara sebanyak 40.6 peratus.Aliran masuk kasar pelaburan terus asing (FDI) pada asas tunai adalah lebih tinggi pada RM10.4 bilion pada suku kedua berbanding RM6.8 bilion pada suku sebelumnya, mencerminkan aliran masuk modal ekuiti yang lebih tinggi.
FDI bersih berjumlah RM6.7 bilion dan disalurkan dalam sektor minyak dan gas serta perkilangan.
Pelaburan luar negara syarikat Malaysia pada suku kedua mencatatkan aliran keluaran bersih RM0.9 bilion dengan tumpuan pada sektor perkhidmatan terutama subsektor kewangan, insurans, harta dan perkhidmatan perniagaan serta komunikasi.
Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz optimis Malaysia akan mula mencatatkan pemulihan lebih baik menjelang suku ketiga nanti.
''Kami menjangkakan suku ketiga mencatatkan prestasi lebih baik, dengan kata lain penguncupan yang kurang, sebelum ekonomi kembali positif pada suku keempat,'' katanya pada sidang akhbar selepas mengumumkan prestasi ekonomi suku kedua tahun ini.
Unjuran itu berdasarkan peningkatan dalam permintaan domestik pada separuh kedua disebabkan akses pembiayaan lebih baik, kadar faedah dan kadar inflasi yang rendah, kestabilan pasaran kewangan, pasaran buruh semakin pulih serta pertumbuhan sektor isi rumah dan perniagaan yang seimbang.
Selain itu, harga komoditi yang semakin pulih juga bakal menyokong perbelanjaan domestik dan pelaksanaan secara agresif pelan rangsangan ekonomi yang akan mengukuhkan permintaan.
Beliau berkata, permintaan domestik khususnya perbelanjaan pengguna yang semakin pulih, merupakan trend yang menggalakkan sejajar dengan perhatian untuk meningkatkan pelaburan asing dan domestik dalam aktiviti ekonomi.
Tambahnya, permintaan domestik kini menyumbang sebanyak 88 peratus kepada pertumbuhan berbanding sektor luaran 12 peratus.
Jelasnya, ia merupakan perubahan struktur, sekali gus menunjukkan ekonomi negara kini semakin seimbang dan tidak lagi terlalu bergantung kepada sektor eksport semata-mata.
Pada sidang akhbar itu, Zeti berkata, pemulihan ekonomi pada suku kedua itu disokong oleh perbelanjaan awam yang tinggi dan pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta.
Menurut beliau, kesemua sektor utama ekonomi mencatatkan prestasi yang lebih baik pada suku kedua dengan sektor perkhidmatan merekodkan pertumbuhan positif 1.6 peratus.
Pertumbuhan sektor pembinaan juga semakin kukuh pada 2.8 peratus dalam tempoh tersebut hasil pelaksanaan pakej rangsangan ekonomi fiskal.
Sektor pertanian juga menyaksikan pemulihan semula dengan mencatatkan pertumbuhan 0.3 peratus bagaimanapun sektor perlombongan menyusut kepada 2.6 peratus berikutan penurunan pengeluaran gas asli dan minyak mentah.
Bagi sektor luaran, perdagangan adalah lebih kecil namun dari segi nilai ia kekal besar pada RM26.5 bilion disebabkan oleh kadar penguncupan import yang lebih perlahan berbanding eksport kasar.
Eksport kasar menyusut dengan nyata sebanyak 26.3 peratus ekoran permintaan terhadap keluaran perkilangan daripada rakan niaga utama negara masih lemah manakala eksport komoditi merosot dengan ketara sebanyak 40.6 peratus.Aliran masuk kasar pelaburan terus asing (FDI) pada asas tunai adalah lebih tinggi pada RM10.4 bilion pada suku kedua berbanding RM6.8 bilion pada suku sebelumnya, mencerminkan aliran masuk modal ekuiti yang lebih tinggi.
FDI bersih berjumlah RM6.7 bilion dan disalurkan dalam sektor minyak dan gas serta perkilangan.
Pelaburan luar negara syarikat Malaysia pada suku kedua mencatatkan aliran keluaran bersih RM0.9 bilion dengan tumpuan pada sektor perkhidmatan terutama subsektor kewangan, insurans, harta dan perkhidmatan perniagaan serta komunikasi.
Ekonomi Malaysia suku kedua kuncup 3.9 peratus
EKONOMI Malaysia menguncup 3.9 peratus pada suku kedua lalu, jauh lebih baik berbanding penguncupan 6.2 peratus dalam suku pertama. Gabenor Bank Negara Malaysia Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, berkata prospek pada suku ketiga ini terus bertambah baik dan ekonomi negara dijangka kembali mencatat pertumbuhan positif dalam suku keempat. Beliau berkata, ini disandarkan kepada jangkaan yang sektor domestik akan terus meningkat berikutan akses kepada pembiayaan yang terbuka luas.
Pasaran kewangan juga, katanya dijangka kekal stabil serta menggalakkan, pasaran buruh terus meningkat, manakala sektor isi rumah serta perniagaan yang tidak terjejas akan menyokong pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam separuh kedua ini. Berikutan itu, Zeti berkata, kerajaan dijangkakan membuat semakan semula unjuran pertumbuhan Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) bagi seluruh tahun ini ketika pembentangan Bajet 2010 pada 23 Oktober ini. Kerajaan sebelum ini mengunjurkan ekonomi negara akan menguncup antara empat peratus dan lima peratus tahun ini.
“Kami menjangkakan ekonomi negara pada suku ketiga akan terus pulih dengan kadar penguncupan makin berkurangan. Kami juga menjangkakan suku keempat akan menunjukkan pertumbuhan positif,” katanya pada sidang media bagi mengumumkan prestasi ekonomi negara bagi suku kedua 2009, di Kuala Lumpur, semalam. Zeti berkata, berikutan prestasi pada suku kedua itu, ekonomi negara hanya menguncup 5.1 peratus dalam tempoh enam bulan pertama tahun ini.
Beliau menjelaskan, prestasi lebih baik pada suku kedua lalu disumbangkan terutama oleh perbelanjaan awam lebih tinggi serta pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta. Dalam tempoh dikaji, katanya, semua sektor ekonomi mencatat prestasi lebih baik dengan sektor perkhidmatan mencatat pertumbuhan 1.6 peratus berbanding penguncupan 0.2 peratus dalam suku pertama, manakala kemerosotan dalam sektor perkilangan pula menyederhana pada 14.5 peratus daripada 17.9 peratus dalam suku pertama.
“Pertumbuhan sektor pembinaan pula bertambah kukuh pada kadar 2.8 peratus daripada 1.1 peratus kerana mendapat manfaat daripada pelaksanaan projek di bawah pakej rangsangan fiskal,” katanya. Zeti berkata, sektor pertanian kembali pulih dengan mencatat pertumbuhan 0.3 peratus berbanding penguncupan 4.9 peratus dalam suku pertama, manakala perlombongan merosot pada kadar lebih sederhana iaitu 2.6 peratus daripada 5.2 peratus berikutan kemerosotan pengeluaran gas asli dan minyak mentah.
Keseluruhannya, Zeti berkata, pertumbuhan ekonomi terus dipengaruhi oleh kemerosotan ketara dalam permintaan luar negara dan aktiviti pelaburan swasta yang lemah. Dalam tempoh suku kedua itu juga, katanya eksport bersih barangan dan perkhidmatan benar negara merosot 0.7 peratus akibat daripada ekonomi global yang terus lembap.
Bagaimanapun, katanya aliran masuk pelaburan langsung asing (FDI) pada asas tunai dalam suku kedua lalu adalah lebih tinggi pada RM10.4 bilion berbanding RM6.8 bilion pada suku pertama dan ini mencerminkan aliran masuk modal ekuiti yang lebih tinggi. FDI bersih katanya, berjumlah RM6.7 bilion, meningkat berbanding RM2.1 bilion dalam suku pertama dan disalurkan terutama ke dalam sektor minyak dan gas serta perkilangan.
Sementara itu, Zeti berkata, rizab antarabangsa Bank Negara berjumlah RM322.9 bilion setakat 30 Jun lalu, memadai untuk membiayai sembilan bulan import tertangguh dan ini mencerminkan 3.8 kali hutang jangka pendek negara.
Pasaran kewangan juga, katanya dijangka kekal stabil serta menggalakkan, pasaran buruh terus meningkat, manakala sektor isi rumah serta perniagaan yang tidak terjejas akan menyokong pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam separuh kedua ini. Berikutan itu, Zeti berkata, kerajaan dijangkakan membuat semakan semula unjuran pertumbuhan Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) bagi seluruh tahun ini ketika pembentangan Bajet 2010 pada 23 Oktober ini. Kerajaan sebelum ini mengunjurkan ekonomi negara akan menguncup antara empat peratus dan lima peratus tahun ini.
“Kami menjangkakan ekonomi negara pada suku ketiga akan terus pulih dengan kadar penguncupan makin berkurangan. Kami juga menjangkakan suku keempat akan menunjukkan pertumbuhan positif,” katanya pada sidang media bagi mengumumkan prestasi ekonomi negara bagi suku kedua 2009, di Kuala Lumpur, semalam. Zeti berkata, berikutan prestasi pada suku kedua itu, ekonomi negara hanya menguncup 5.1 peratus dalam tempoh enam bulan pertama tahun ini.
Beliau menjelaskan, prestasi lebih baik pada suku kedua lalu disumbangkan terutama oleh perbelanjaan awam lebih tinggi serta pertumbuhan positif dalam penggunaan swasta. Dalam tempoh dikaji, katanya, semua sektor ekonomi mencatat prestasi lebih baik dengan sektor perkhidmatan mencatat pertumbuhan 1.6 peratus berbanding penguncupan 0.2 peratus dalam suku pertama, manakala kemerosotan dalam sektor perkilangan pula menyederhana pada 14.5 peratus daripada 17.9 peratus dalam suku pertama.
“Pertumbuhan sektor pembinaan pula bertambah kukuh pada kadar 2.8 peratus daripada 1.1 peratus kerana mendapat manfaat daripada pelaksanaan projek di bawah pakej rangsangan fiskal,” katanya. Zeti berkata, sektor pertanian kembali pulih dengan mencatat pertumbuhan 0.3 peratus berbanding penguncupan 4.9 peratus dalam suku pertama, manakala perlombongan merosot pada kadar lebih sederhana iaitu 2.6 peratus daripada 5.2 peratus berikutan kemerosotan pengeluaran gas asli dan minyak mentah.
Keseluruhannya, Zeti berkata, pertumbuhan ekonomi terus dipengaruhi oleh kemerosotan ketara dalam permintaan luar negara dan aktiviti pelaburan swasta yang lemah. Dalam tempoh suku kedua itu juga, katanya eksport bersih barangan dan perkhidmatan benar negara merosot 0.7 peratus akibat daripada ekonomi global yang terus lembap.
Bagaimanapun, katanya aliran masuk pelaburan langsung asing (FDI) pada asas tunai dalam suku kedua lalu adalah lebih tinggi pada RM10.4 bilion berbanding RM6.8 bilion pada suku pertama dan ini mencerminkan aliran masuk modal ekuiti yang lebih tinggi. FDI bersih katanya, berjumlah RM6.7 bilion, meningkat berbanding RM2.1 bilion dalam suku pertama dan disalurkan terutama ke dalam sektor minyak dan gas serta perkilangan.
Sementara itu, Zeti berkata, rizab antarabangsa Bank Negara berjumlah RM322.9 bilion setakat 30 Jun lalu, memadai untuk membiayai sembilan bulan import tertangguh dan ini mencerminkan 3.8 kali hutang jangka pendek negara.
Permodalan bank tempatan kekal teguh
TAHAP permodalan sistem perbankan tempatan kekal teguh, dengan nisbah modal berwajaran risiko (RWCR) dan nisbah modal teras (CCR) masing-masing stabil pada 14.2 peratus dan 12.6 peratus.
Bank Negara Malaysia dalam kenyataannya berkata, asas modal agregat sistem perbankan negara ini pada bulan lalu meningkat 1.3 peratus hasil daripada program pengumpulan modal oleh dua institusi perbankan. Sementara itu, katanya, nisbah pinjaman tidak berbayar (NPL) bertambah baik pada 2.1 peratus berikutan pengurangan dalam pinjaman tidak berbayar.
NPL mutlak juga terus susut terutama disebabkan penyusutan jumlah NPL baru manakala nisbah perlindungan kerugian pinjaman mengukuh kepada 92 peratus. Bank pusat berkata, dana bersih dikumpul dalam pasaran modal berjumlah RM10.5 bilion pada Julai. Sektor awam mengumpul dana berjumlah RM9.5 bilion melalui Terbitan Pelaburan Kerajaan (GII) lima tahun dan pembukaan semula Sekuriti Kerajaan Malaysia (MGS) 10 tahun, sementara dana kasar yang dikumpul sektor swasta melalui terbitan sekuriti sektor swasta berjumlah RM3.2 bilion.
Katanya, permintaan bagi pembiayaan terus meningkat pada Julai. Sektor isi rumah mencatatkan permohonan dan kelulusan pinjaman lebih tinggi, terutama bagi pembelian harta kediaman dan bukan kediaman, kereta penumpang dan kad kredit. Pengeluaran pinjaman juga meningkat dan ini mendorong pertambahan pinjaman isi rumah yang belum berbayar, mengikut kadar tahunan, sebanyak sembilan peratus pada Julai.
Bank Negara Malaysia dalam kenyataannya berkata, asas modal agregat sistem perbankan negara ini pada bulan lalu meningkat 1.3 peratus hasil daripada program pengumpulan modal oleh dua institusi perbankan. Sementara itu, katanya, nisbah pinjaman tidak berbayar (NPL) bertambah baik pada 2.1 peratus berikutan pengurangan dalam pinjaman tidak berbayar.
NPL mutlak juga terus susut terutama disebabkan penyusutan jumlah NPL baru manakala nisbah perlindungan kerugian pinjaman mengukuh kepada 92 peratus. Bank pusat berkata, dana bersih dikumpul dalam pasaran modal berjumlah RM10.5 bilion pada Julai. Sektor awam mengumpul dana berjumlah RM9.5 bilion melalui Terbitan Pelaburan Kerajaan (GII) lima tahun dan pembukaan semula Sekuriti Kerajaan Malaysia (MGS) 10 tahun, sementara dana kasar yang dikumpul sektor swasta melalui terbitan sekuriti sektor swasta berjumlah RM3.2 bilion.
Katanya, permintaan bagi pembiayaan terus meningkat pada Julai. Sektor isi rumah mencatatkan permohonan dan kelulusan pinjaman lebih tinggi, terutama bagi pembelian harta kediaman dan bukan kediaman, kereta penumpang dan kad kredit. Pengeluaran pinjaman juga meningkat dan ini mendorong pertambahan pinjaman isi rumah yang belum berbayar, mengikut kadar tahunan, sebanyak sembilan peratus pada Julai.
Markets: The new consumer movement
Written by Grace Chin
Monday, 27 July 2009 00:00
Many consumers are puzzled when it comes to choosing an environmentally and sustainably manufactured item — is organic the same as fair trade, and is environmentally friendly the same as sustainable?So you’re standing at the checkout line of a shopping mall with a packet of coffee.
Now, before you pat yourself on the back for purchasing an item with a Fair Trade label, consider that the label does not necessarily mean organic, or environmentally friendly.For most people, the Fair Trade certification is probably perceived as reliable and trustworthy.
Although it is known to be primarily concerned with alleviating poverty through greater equity in international trade, some critics have pointed out that the certification does not have stringent standards on the environment, even though many assume so.
Studying the most recent documents on standards, it is learnt that small coffee producers who are Fair Trade certified do not necessarily produce organically grown coffee, nor do they need to show sensitivity towards the management of native and non-native species.The Fair Trade environmental standards are generic, containing only guidelines on promoting farm diversity, reforestation and justified use of herbicides — these are not strict certification requirements. As some have pointed out, the words “birds” and “wildlife” do not appear anywhere in the documents.
The Rainforest Alliance certification for coffee, on the other hand, requires that privately-owned coffee estates and large-scale farms meet a number of criteria, including water and ecosystem conservation and care for the environment in the production of coffee. The certification also focuses on farm management rather than trade as well as on workers’ welfare.
So, if you’re looking for coffee that is grown organically, environmentally friendly and produced with consideration for the welfare of farmers, the coffee packet should carry a variety of labels such as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Certified.Yes, it’s a jungle out there where such labels are concerned.
There is no one international standard on eco-labelling as governments, certification bodies and trade organisations currently devise standards based on their own expertise, definition and criteria. Eco-labelling in Malaysia is also entirely voluntary.
Fresh and packaged produce have stickers and logos from international certification bodies. It needs to be pointed out that the “free range” label on beef does not necessarily mean that the animal went outdoors, and that labelling it “natural” does not mean it is free of artificial ingredients.
Malaysian Organic Scheme, a certification programme run by the Department of Agriculture based on the Government’s Malaysian Standard (MS1529:2001), is offered free to farmers. However, it is limited only to crop production, although there are suggestions to extend it to processing, repacking and retailing.
However, a brief survey of our markets reveals that organic produce carry certification labels from Australia and Japan, as some local certifications may not necessarily be recognised overseas.Although Sirim Qas International (a subsidiary of Sirim Bhd) offers eco-labelling certification for many products in Malaysia, including electrical items, only seven companies have signed up for it in the last five years.
For the consumer, the issue isn’t that there aren’t enough standards and labels. The problem is that there are too many and there is no regulatory body governing them.In Malaysia, consumer awareness about labels is generally poor.
The most recognisable label is probably the “recyclable” logo, says Piarapakaran Subramaniam, chief operating officer at Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).Manufacturers are reluctant to spend on eco-labelling certification, unlike certification for management practices, for example.
It can be a very expensive process, especially as it requires a full life cycle analysis — from mining of raw materials to assembly and packaging of the end-product.But it may be a start for Malaysia if energy-efficiency labelling is made mandatory for all electrical items, says Fomca.
Currently, the only certifications are given by Sirim and Tenaga Nasional Bhd for product safety and quality. Energy-efficient logos on electrical products are not standardised. Thus, the average consumer has no way of knowing whether the claims are made by the manufacturers themselves, or whether an independent third-party testing was conducted.
In May, Fomca launched a consumer awareness campaign on energy efficiency, which also included education on reading labels. Fomca and its partners have set up a website (www.switch.org.my) with an online tool that can calculate the costs versus energy efficiency of electrical items. Shoppers will be able to compare claims made by manufacturers with the results shown in the calculator.
There are plans to include air-conditioning units in their list of electrical products as well as a report on inverter technologies and products that claim to be energy efficient.Eight years ago, Fomca had proposed some amendments be made to the Consumer Protection Act 1999.
One of the suggestions sought to make the seller liable for misrepresentation of warranty or product quality. Currently, if you pick up an electrical item with a counterfeit Sirim label, the retailer is absolved of all responsibility. The complaint is passed to the manufacturer or supplier. But things are changing in more mature markets overseas, where retailers are taking consumer expectations seriously.
For example, Wal-Mart, the US hypermarket chain, is taking social responsibility seriously. A few weeks ago, it announced on its website that it is working to create zero waste and sell sustainable products, among a host of other environmental items.It intends to achieve these goals by pushing its 100,000 suppliers to have eco-labels on all products.
According to news reports, Wal-Mart will also start asking suppliers to track their greenhouse-gas emissions, water usage and waste production. They will be asked a set of 15 questions relating to energy, climate and natural resources, among others. The data will be compiled into a Sustainablity Index.
This is Wal-Mart’s first step in its long-term plan to eventually come up with a consumer label that can tell shoppers how sustainable each product is.Although the complete index and labelling will only be ready by 2014 or 2015, this initiative is commendable for an industry leader, which is responding to consumer expectations.
Mike Duke, Wal-Mart’s president and CEO, says in a press statement: “They [consumers] want information about the entire lifecycle of a product so they can feel good about buying it. They want to know that the materials in the product are safe, that it was made well and that it was produced in a responsible way.
This is not a trend that will fade. We’re working to make sustainability sustainable, so that it’s a priority in good times and tough. An important part of that is developing the tools to help enable sustainable consumption.”
Monday, 27 July 2009 00:00
Many consumers are puzzled when it comes to choosing an environmentally and sustainably manufactured item — is organic the same as fair trade, and is environmentally friendly the same as sustainable?So you’re standing at the checkout line of a shopping mall with a packet of coffee.
Now, before you pat yourself on the back for purchasing an item with a Fair Trade label, consider that the label does not necessarily mean organic, or environmentally friendly.For most people, the Fair Trade certification is probably perceived as reliable and trustworthy.
Although it is known to be primarily concerned with alleviating poverty through greater equity in international trade, some critics have pointed out that the certification does not have stringent standards on the environment, even though many assume so.
Studying the most recent documents on standards, it is learnt that small coffee producers who are Fair Trade certified do not necessarily produce organically grown coffee, nor do they need to show sensitivity towards the management of native and non-native species.The Fair Trade environmental standards are generic, containing only guidelines on promoting farm diversity, reforestation and justified use of herbicides — these are not strict certification requirements. As some have pointed out, the words “birds” and “wildlife” do not appear anywhere in the documents.
The Rainforest Alliance certification for coffee, on the other hand, requires that privately-owned coffee estates and large-scale farms meet a number of criteria, including water and ecosystem conservation and care for the environment in the production of coffee. The certification also focuses on farm management rather than trade as well as on workers’ welfare.
So, if you’re looking for coffee that is grown organically, environmentally friendly and produced with consideration for the welfare of farmers, the coffee packet should carry a variety of labels such as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic Certified.Yes, it’s a jungle out there where such labels are concerned.
There is no one international standard on eco-labelling as governments, certification bodies and trade organisations currently devise standards based on their own expertise, definition and criteria. Eco-labelling in Malaysia is also entirely voluntary.
Fresh and packaged produce have stickers and logos from international certification bodies. It needs to be pointed out that the “free range” label on beef does not necessarily mean that the animal went outdoors, and that labelling it “natural” does not mean it is free of artificial ingredients.
Malaysian Organic Scheme, a certification programme run by the Department of Agriculture based on the Government’s Malaysian Standard (MS1529:2001), is offered free to farmers. However, it is limited only to crop production, although there are suggestions to extend it to processing, repacking and retailing.
However, a brief survey of our markets reveals that organic produce carry certification labels from Australia and Japan, as some local certifications may not necessarily be recognised overseas.Although Sirim Qas International (a subsidiary of Sirim Bhd) offers eco-labelling certification for many products in Malaysia, including electrical items, only seven companies have signed up for it in the last five years.
For the consumer, the issue isn’t that there aren’t enough standards and labels. The problem is that there are too many and there is no regulatory body governing them.In Malaysia, consumer awareness about labels is generally poor.
The most recognisable label is probably the “recyclable” logo, says Piarapakaran Subramaniam, chief operating officer at Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).Manufacturers are reluctant to spend on eco-labelling certification, unlike certification for management practices, for example.
It can be a very expensive process, especially as it requires a full life cycle analysis — from mining of raw materials to assembly and packaging of the end-product.But it may be a start for Malaysia if energy-efficiency labelling is made mandatory for all electrical items, says Fomca.
Currently, the only certifications are given by Sirim and Tenaga Nasional Bhd for product safety and quality. Energy-efficient logos on electrical products are not standardised. Thus, the average consumer has no way of knowing whether the claims are made by the manufacturers themselves, or whether an independent third-party testing was conducted.
In May, Fomca launched a consumer awareness campaign on energy efficiency, which also included education on reading labels. Fomca and its partners have set up a website (www.switch.org.my) with an online tool that can calculate the costs versus energy efficiency of electrical items. Shoppers will be able to compare claims made by manufacturers with the results shown in the calculator.
There are plans to include air-conditioning units in their list of electrical products as well as a report on inverter technologies and products that claim to be energy efficient.Eight years ago, Fomca had proposed some amendments be made to the Consumer Protection Act 1999.
One of the suggestions sought to make the seller liable for misrepresentation of warranty or product quality. Currently, if you pick up an electrical item with a counterfeit Sirim label, the retailer is absolved of all responsibility. The complaint is passed to the manufacturer or supplier. But things are changing in more mature markets overseas, where retailers are taking consumer expectations seriously.
For example, Wal-Mart, the US hypermarket chain, is taking social responsibility seriously. A few weeks ago, it announced on its website that it is working to create zero waste and sell sustainable products, among a host of other environmental items.It intends to achieve these goals by pushing its 100,000 suppliers to have eco-labels on all products.
According to news reports, Wal-Mart will also start asking suppliers to track their greenhouse-gas emissions, water usage and waste production. They will be asked a set of 15 questions relating to energy, climate and natural resources, among others. The data will be compiled into a Sustainablity Index.
This is Wal-Mart’s first step in its long-term plan to eventually come up with a consumer label that can tell shoppers how sustainable each product is.Although the complete index and labelling will only be ready by 2014 or 2015, this initiative is commendable for an industry leader, which is responding to consumer expectations.
Mike Duke, Wal-Mart’s president and CEO, says in a press statement: “They [consumers] want information about the entire lifecycle of a product so they can feel good about buying it. They want to know that the materials in the product are safe, that it was made well and that it was produced in a responsible way.
This is not a trend that will fade. We’re working to make sustainability sustainable, so that it’s a priority in good times and tough. An important part of that is developing the tools to help enable sustainable consumption.”
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About Me
- Nuang
- Ibrahim bin Ramli@Nuang started his career with CIMB Wealth Advisors Berhad as Agency Manager in April, 2008.Previously he was an Internal Auditors and Accounts Executive with Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd since 17 August, 1994. His background:- 1.Certified of Achievement for Master Sales Leadership from Dr Lawrence Walter Ng of President of The Art Of Learning and International Of Learning Without Learning 2.Certified for eXtra Ordinary Performance of Lawrence Walter Award Certificate for One Million Ringgit Club 2007 3. Certified Life & General insurances 4. Conferred with Diploma in Business Studiess & Bachelor of Business Admin(Hons)Finance from UiTM, Terengganu Branch & Shah Alam respectively;
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