Apple’s iPad on sale in Malaysia from today

KUALA LUMPUR: After months of waiting, the iPad will be sold at selected stores in Malaysia today at a rate that is said to be one of the cheapest in the world.

The official price list provided to The Star by authorised reseller Machines, via Apple, showed iPads in US stores going at RM1,573.10 to RM2,613.42 (US$499 to US$829).

The price range for the iPads in Malaysia is RM1,549 to RM2,599.
In demand: Cheng rolling out the iPads which will go on sale in Malaysia Tuesday.

Long queues are expected at all Apple premium reseller stores in major shopping malls in the country.

Machines director Andrew Cheng said the “lifestyle changing” device was expected to sell like hot cakes, along with the wide range of accessories available for the iPad.

“The iPad had been sold in small-time booths at IT centres over the past few months – mostly brought in from overseas.

“Now, consumers can buy the iPads at official Apple-commissioned stores,” Cheng said.

“By doing so, users can enjoy better customer service and warranties by Apple Malaysia, making their buy a much safer and assured experience.”Cheng said the light and portable device had been significant in changing the way he worked as well as his entertainment experience.

“I can easily do an impressive business presentation with this device. When I go for short working trips, my laptop, which I used to lug around, is now left at the office. I just take my iPad out,” he said.

Telcos in the country will also begin to roll out various dedicated data plans for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G with the launch of the iPad.

DiGi, Maxis and Celcom have introduced the micro SIM card, made 52% smaller for both the iPhone 4 and the iPad.

With a 3G connection, users can browse the Web, read and send e-mail, and enjoy and share photos from anywhere in the country with network coverage.

The official price list for the iPad with Wi-Fi only is RM1,549 (16GB); RM1,849 (32GB); RM2,149 (64GB); iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G RM1,999 (16GB); RM2,299 (32GB) and RM2,599 (64GB).

Maxis Bhd said it was offering data plans for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G in Malaysia from today.

All data plans would be available without a contract and users would have the freedom to activate or cancel a plan at any time, the company said in a statement here yesterday.

“The plans are designed to enable Maxis customers to enjoy more Internet connectivity and the growing number of applications for the rich interface in a more affordable way,” Maxis chief operating officer Jean-Pascal van Overbeke said.

The iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models is 1.27cm thick and weighs just 0.726kg. It has a single-charge battery life of 10 hours for surfing the Web on Wi-Fi, watching videos or listening to music and up to nine hours of surfing the Web using a 3G data network.

KNM may head for 70 sen in rebound

THE FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) staged a follow-through technical consolidation for the third consecutive week, moving in step with the downside consolidations on the New York and regional stock markets last week. The FBM KLCI remained below its major psychological support of 1,500 points when it closed at 1,492.05 on Friday.

Key heavyweight index-linked counters continued to play pivotal roles in the index's follow-through consolidation last week. The FBM KLCI hit an intra-week low of 1,476.82 points last Wednesday.

The FBM KLCI tumbled from its intra-week high of 1,510.13 on Monday to its intra-week low of 1,476.82 on Wednesday, giving an intra-week trading range of 33.31 points.

The FBM KLCI recorded a week-on-week loss of 14.00 points, or 0.93 per cent.

Among other indices, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Small Cap Index lost 266.40 points, or 2.16 per cent, to 12,086.06 while the FTSE Bursa Malaysia ACE Market Index fell 315.68 points, or 6.89 per cent, to 4,268.73 on Friday.

On the foreign front, the New York Stock Exchange consolidated last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower at 11,092.00 points on Friday, giving a week-on-week loss of 111.55 points, or 1.00 per cent.

In Hong Kong, the stock market fell in step with Wall Street's technical pullback. The Hang Seng Index closed at 22,900.96 on Friday, posting a week-on-week loss of 704.75 points, or 2.99 per cent.

The Tokyo stock exchange, meanwhile, rebounded to stay above its critical support level last week. The Nikkei 225 Index closed at 10,039.56 points, giving a week-on-week gain of 17.17 points, or 0.17 per cent.

On Bursa Malaysia, KNM Group Bhd staged a technical rebound. Its daily price trend rebounded to close at 51 sen on Friday, posting a week-on-week gain of 7 sen, or 15.91 per cent.

The following are the readings of some of its technical indicators:

Moving Averages: KNM's daily price trend stayed above all its 10-, 20-, 30-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. It continued to stay below its 200-day moving averages.

Momentum Index: Its short-term momentum index continued to stay above the support of its neutral reference line last week.

On Balance Volume (OBV): Its short-term OBV stayed above the support of its 10-day moving averages.

Relative Strength Index (RSI): Its 14-day RSI had since stayed above the 50 level. Its technical reading stood at the 66.40 per cent level at the market close last Friday.

Outlook

The consolidation of key heavyweight index-linked counters sent the FBM KLCI below its critical support of 1,500 points last week. Selected second liners continued to display interesting plays. KNM was one of these lower liners, posting a week-on-week gain of 15.91 per cent.

Chartwise, KNM's monthly price trend staged a two-month rebound in moving out of its recent congestion phase, edging to its five-month high of 51 sen.

Its weekly price trend rebounded to the underside of its intermediate-term downtrend (See KNM's weekly price trend A3:A4) on Friday.

KNM's daily price trend staged a technical breakout of its intermediate-term downtrend (See KNM's daily price trend C1:C2) on Thursday and continued to stay above it at the market close on Friday.

Its daily, weekly and monthly fast MACDs (moving average convergence divergence indicators) continued to stay above their respective slow MACDs at the market close on Friday. Thus, it augurs well for its near-term perspective.

Its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at the 66.40 per cent level on Friday. Its 14-week and 14-month RSI were at the 50.50 and 40.94 per cent levels respectively.

With the technical breakout of the downtrend resistance (C1:C2) on its daily price chart, KNM's daily price trend has the potential to extend its recent technical rebound towards the intermediate-term resistance level of 70 sen.

The subject expressed above is based purely on technical analysis and opinions of the writer. It is not a solicitation to buy or sell.

Read more: KNM may head for 70 sen in rebound http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/snlock29/Article/index_html#ixzz16duG1qUG

KNM rises on higher Q3 net income

KNM Group Bhd, a Malaysian oil and gas services provider, rose the most in seven weeks in Kuala Lumpur trading after reporting a 76 per cent jump in third-quarter net income.

Its shares climbed 3.5 per cent to 45 sen at 9:03 a.m. local time, set for their biggest gain since October 4. -- Bloomberg

KNM wins US$216m job in Uzbekistan

KNM Group Bhd, a Malaysian oil and gas services provider, said in a statement it won a US$216 million contract to supply equipment and services for the development of gas condensate fields in Uzbekistan. -- Bloomberg

Bandar Raya rises to 3-year high

Bandar Raya Developments Bhd, a Malaysian developer, rose to its highest level in almost three years after saying it plans a property joint venture worth RM652 million in gross development value.

The stock added 4.1 per cent to RM2.57 at 9.46 am in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since January 25, 2008. - Bloomberg

Read more: Bandar Raya rises to 3-year high http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20101115095555/Article/index_html#ixzz15K0UhFFp

Hot property mart attracts 'outsiders'

A hot property market has not just pushed existing firms to expand, it is also attracting other players: those who are not in the business in the first place.


While it is unclear if Bank Negara Malaysia's recent move to cool speculation in the sector would change this trend, analysts are clear about one thing - the business is not without its risks.

So far this year, companies like timber and auto group Permaju Industries Bhd, multi-level marketing (MLM) firm Hai-O Enterprise Bhd, and timber outfit Eksons Corp Bhd have announced plans to build properties.

The main reason for doing so is to reduce their reliance on their existing core businesses. Property is also an attractive venture as the barriers to entry are low.

"You don't need special skills. If you have land and cash, you can become a developer as construction is awarded to third parties," said TA Securities analyst Tan Kam Meng.

But like all businesses, there is no guarantee these ventures will turn out well. A major factor is that property is not their core business.

"As a developer, you need to know the market well.

"But nobody will buy a property where the company is not recognised or the properties are not well planned," Tan said.

MIDF Research senior analyst Syed Muhammed Kifni said the trend of companies diversifying into property development is only good as long as property prices continue to rise.

In the case of Hai-O, OSK Research said in a report that its venture into properties will add more risk to the group, given that its MLM business is still trying to recover locally.

Hai-O's business has become volatile, affected by a slowdown in membership growth and the poor buying among members.

Still, there have been cases where diversification has been successful.

One example is Mah Sing Group Bhd, which now has 21 projects worth RM6.3 billion. Listed in 1992, it started as a plastics manufacturer and moved to properties in 2000.

A more recent example is privately-held Takashimaya. Some 70 per cent of its flagship project, Times Avenue, a RM160 million office and retail building on Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur has been sold, a month ahead of its launch.

Muhibbah rises to 14-month high

MUHIBBAH Engineering Bhd, a Malaysian builder, rose to a 14-month high after the company was rated “trading buy” at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, which cited an improving outlook in project flows.

The stock climbed 7.2 per cent to RM1.34 at 10:32 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur, set for its highest close since Sept. 11, 2009. The share price estimate was RM2, Sharizan Rosely, an analyst at CIMB, said in a report today. - Bloomberg

Favco is coming back

HI Guy.

Favco is moving up follow his mother Muhibah...this stock have been trading high volume lately with good FA... Maybe good news...Hope to sell off my Favco when it 1.16..

YTL Power rises to record high

YTL Power International Bhd rose to a record as analysts said the rally in the shares reflects the “excitement ahead” of the roll-out of its high-speed broadband Internet services on November 19.

The stock climbed 2.3 per cent to RM2.66 at 9:53 am local time in Kuala Lumpur, set to close at a record. It’s the biggest gainer on the benchmark stock index today.

“The group’s pre-launch awareness drive appears to have drummed up interest in the equity market too,” Soh May Yee, an analyst at CIMB Investment Bank Bhd. said in a report today. Investors are finally attaching a value to the group’s upcoming WiMax venture." -- Bloomberg

Treasury Yields Tumble to Records on Fed's Plan to Purchase $600 Billion

Treasury two- and five-year note yields dropped to records after the Federal Reserve said it would buy an additional $600 billion of U.S. debt to keep borrowing costs low and sustain the economic recovery.

U.S. debt yields rose yesterday after the government’s payrolls report showed employers added more jobs in October than analysts forecast. The 30-year bond yield rose this week to a four-month high as the Fed said it would buy fewer longer-term securities than many investors anticipated. The Treasury will auction $72 billion in notes and bonds next week.

“People’s heads are spinning after this week,” said John Fath, a principal at BTG Pactual in New York. “The market’s affirming what the Fed is trying to accomplish. The market’s saying the Fed will be successful.”

The yield on the 5-year note decreased this week eight basis points, or 0.08 percentage point, to 1.09 percent, according to BGCantor Market Data. The price of the 1.25 percent security maturing in October 2015 rose 3/8, or $3.75 per $1,000 face amount, to 100 25/32.

The 5-year note yield fell to a record low of 1.0148 percent on Nov. 4, a day after the Fed announced additional debt purchases. The 30-year bond yield increased 14 basis points to 4.12 percent after advancing yesterday to 4.16 percent, the highest level since June 22. The extra yield investors demand to hold 30-year bonds compared with 5-year notes rose to a record 3.08 percentage points.

Benchmark Note

The yield on the benchmark 10-year note dropped seven basis points to 2.53 percent in the biggest weekly decrease since the five days ended Oct. 8. The 2-year note yield gained three basis points to 0.37 percent after falling on Nov. 4 to the all-time low of 0.3118 percent.

Fed policy makers said following their Nov. 2-3 meeting that the central bank will expand asset purchases at a pace of about $75 billion a month through June to reduce unemployment and avoid deflation.

Resuming large-scale asset purchases should boost economic growth through lower borrowing costs and higher stock prices, and concern the strategy will lead to significant increases in inflation is “overstated,” Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke wrote this week in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.

“You’ve got deflation risks that are going to stay with us for several years,” Dominic Konstam, global head of interest- rates research in New York at Deutsche Bank AG, said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview on “Surveillance Midday” with Tom Keene.

Yields on 5-year notes will fall to 0.5 percent and 10-year yields will reach 2 percent, according to Konstam, whose firm is one of the 18 primary dealers that trade with the Fed.

Inflation Outlook

The difference between yields on 30-year bonds and Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, a gauge of trader expectations for consumer prices over the life of the debt known as the break-even rate, was 2.59 percentage points yesterday after rising on Nov. 3 to 2.74 percentage points, the highest level since May 2008.

China, the biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt with $868.4 billion of Treasuries at the end of August, said the Fed needs to explain this week’s decision to purchase bonds to pump money into the economy or risk undermining the global recovery.

“Many countries are worried about the impact of the policy on their economies,” Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said at a press briefing in Beijing yesterday. “It would be appropriate for someone to step forward and give us an explanation. Otherwise international confidence in the recovery and growth of the global economy might be hurt.”

Government Auctions

The U.S. government will sell $32 billion of three-year notes, $24 billion of 10-year debt and $16 billion of 30-year bonds next week. A $10 billion sale of 10-year TIPS on Nov. 4 drew a record-low yield of 0.409 percent.

The yield on the five-year note increased yesterday for the first time in seven days as the Labor Department reported that employers added 151,000 jobs last month after a revised decrease of 41,000 in September. The median forecast of 83 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for 60,000 more jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at 9.6 percent.

“With these employment statistics looking a little better, it’s not a good time to be betting on continuous declines in interest rates,” said Anthony Crescenzi, a bond strategist at Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co., in a Bloomberg Radio interview.

Government debt yields will remain lower until there’s more evidence that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum, according to other investors.

“We will need to see much higher numbers of job growth to put any real dent in the employment picture, and we are clearly not there yet,” said Larry Milstein, managing director of government and agency debt trading in New York at R.W. Pressprich & Co., a fixed-income broker and dealer for institutional investors. “It’s important to note that the Fed is still in the picture.”

M'sia moves up in Financial development index, overtakes S'pore

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia rose by an impressive five spots to get into the top 20 countries in the World Economic Forum's financial development index this year, bolstered by significant increases in its scores, especially in the financial stability area, where it even overtook Singapore.

The country's strength as an Islamic banking centre also remains evident based on the index, according to the World Economic Forum's third annual financial development report released today.

Malaysia moved up from 22nd place to 17th in the overall index led by the United States and United Kingdom, the report said.

It scored high points in financial stability the third pillar in formulating the financial development index where it was ranked third just below Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong while Singapore came in fourth.

The report ranks 57 of the world's leading financial systems and capital markets, analysing the drivers of financial system development in advanced and emerging economies to serve as a tool for countries to benchmark themselves and establish priorities for reforms.

Like last year, the report said emerging market economies performed well in the financial stability portion of the index, including Malaysia, Chile, Brazil, Slovak Republic, Mexico, Morocco, China and Peru.

Malaysia, which liberalised a wide range of areas in the services sub-sectors including financial services, was also ranked highly at 18th place among countries globally in non-banking financial services.

Among the pillars used in formulating the index are institutional environment; business environment; financial stability; banking financial services; non-banking financial services; financial markets; and financial access.

The World Economic Forum said in the report that Malaysia's top standing in currency stability, accompanied by a fairly stable banking system, served as the foundation of a stable financial system.

The country's strength as an Islamic banking centre remains evident in its continued 12th spot ranking in the banking pillar, a notable level of financial disclosure is a key contributor to its standing.

As far as financial access was concerned, it was ranked 20th.

Less-developed derivatives and foreign exchange markets are potential improvement areas for Malaysia's financial markets (25th place), although the country's well-developed equity and bond markets (15th and 16th) are sources of strength.

An evaluation of financial access in the country presents a divergent picture at the sub-pillar level, where robust commercial access to capital (9th) stands in contrast to more limited retail access (25th).

The report said the US and UK managed to hold top spots ahead of the Asian financial centres Hong Kong and Singapore with developing countries continuing to show financial stability. - BERNAMA

UEM Land buying stake in Sunrise?

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Land Holdings Bhd is believed to be acquiring a substantial stake in Sunrise Bhd following requests for a trading suspension of their shares today pending an announcement.

According to filings with Bursa Malaysia, UEM Land and Sunrise have requested for the trading suspension that started at 9am yesterday to end at 5pm today.

In separate statements, the companies each said it would announce a “corporate exercise”.
Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim is expected to give details today.

In its statements to the stock exchange, UEM Land said it had requested for a trading suspension pending a “material announcement on a potential corporate exercise”.

Attempts to get UEM Land to comment were unsuccessful while a Sunrise representative said the company was not able to disclose details of its material announcement.

Market talk has it that the acquisition by UEM Land would be made via a share swap. According to analysts, there could be share swap between the companies which eventually could result in UEM Land becoming a substantial shareholder in Sunrise.

Another analyst said there were lots of speculation in the market currently. He said the acquisition could result in UEM Land privatising Sunrise. “If so, I’d imagine that UEM Land will issue shares to buy into all of Sunrise. Whether it’ll be fair to minorities depends on the mechanices of the swap.”

However, it is not certain whether the deal will be a straight share swap or share swap with cash option to Sunrise shareholders.

It is unclear what price UEM Land will pay for Sunrise, whose share price has been on an uptrend since Oct 27.

According to Sunrise’s latest annual report, Casa Unggul Sdn Bhd is its single largest shareholder with a 24.41% stake. Casa Unggul is a company controlled by executive chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong. The Employees Provident Fund Board has 12.61% voting shares in Sunrise.

Analysts said Tong did not address the potential corporate exercise with UEM Land at Sunrise’s analysts briefing yesterday to announce its quarterly results.

In a media advisory yesterday, UEM Land said it was “set to embark on a mega corporate exercise” with details to be announced today by managing director/chief executive officer Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim.

UEM Group Bhd group managing director/chief executive officer Datuk Izzaddin Idris is also expected to be present at the briefing.

Sunrise closed at RM2.52, its highest in 12 months, prior to its suspension yesterday. The counter has gained more than 22% year-to-date.

UEM Land has appreciated more than 84% year-to-date. It closed at RM2.26 ahead of the suspension.

Meanwhile, Sunrise is upbeat on its prospects for the current financial year ending June 30, due to its substantial unrecognised revenue of RM863.8mil as at Sept 30.

“The profits from these projects will be recognised over the current and subsequent financial years. The group is planning to launch new residential and commercial projects in the near future in order to sustain longer term profits,” Sunrise said in the notes accompanying its results

Sunrise posted a slightly lower net profit of RM36.7mil for the three months ended Sept 30 compared with RM37.3mil a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa, Sunrise said its pre-tax profit surged to RM52.2mil from RM50.2mil and earnings per share fell to 7.41 sen from 7.52 sen before. It also announced an interim dividend of 26.67 sen per share less 25% taxation amounting to RM99mil or 20 sen per share.

Revenue for the period was lower at RM171.3mil from RM190.3mil a year ago.

“Despite lower turnover, higher pre-tax profits were achieved on the back of higher margins and lower operating costs for the quarter under review,” Sunrise said.

The main contributors to the group’s financial performance for the quarter were its ongoing residential and commercial developments.

ECM Libra head of research Bernard Ching said on an annualised basis, the first quarter results came in within market expectations but below the research house’s full year estimates as it expected subsequent quarters to report strong numbers.

He said this was backed by the unrecognised revenue of RM863.8mil as at Sept 30 and including the strong sales from its maiden project in Canada, Quintet, the unrecognised revenue would swell to RM1.22bil as at Oct 31.

“The net interim dividend of 20 sen came as a surprise but we believe this is non-recurring. Nonetheless, we believe the company may reinstate its previous dividend payout guidance of 35% which has been scrapped over the last three financial years in order to conserve cash amid the uncertain economic outlook then.

“As the net debt/equity ratio of the company has been reduced from 0.52 times in FY08 to 0.34 times in FY10, we expect the company to have greater financial capability to reward its shareholders going forward,” Ching said.

Another local analyst said Sunrise’s results were OK and there was no major surprise. However, he concurred with Ching that Sunrise’s project in Canada did exceptionally well and almost fully taken up.

“The dividend was indeed a surprise. We were only expecting FY11 dividiend to be 5.5 sen,” he said.

Support for Bank Negara’s housing LVR cap move

PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara’s imposition of a maximum loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of 70% for a third and subsequent housing financing facility taken by a borrower is seen as a timely pre-emptive measure to avert unhealthy speculative activities and a potential property bubble, industry players concurred.

With the latest measure that takes immediate effect, people buying their third and subsequent house would be required to pay a higher down-payment than the current standard minimum of 10% of the value of a house.

In a statement yesterday, the central bank said financing facilities for purchase of first and second homes would not be affected and borrowers would continue to be able to obtain financing for these purchases at the present prevailing LVR level applied by individual banks based on their internal credit policies.

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association president Datuk Michael Yam said the association supported the measure as it would ensure a healthier and orderly housing market.

“There are some hot spots in the housing market where prices have appreciated higher than the average price increases in other locations. As financing for the first and second housing properties will not be affected by the ruling, the move is not expected to dampen the performance and growth of the housing property sector.

“Meanwhile. the LVR cap on those buying their third and subsequent house should stem speculative buying and ensure a more sustainable housing market,” Yam added.

Mah Sing Group Bhd group managing director cum group chief executive Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said the move was not surprising as Bank Negara had given earlier indications of such a move.

“The move should not significantly affect the overall sentiments of the market which comprises mainly first-time buyers and upgraders.”

Leong said there was no property bubble as price increases were only for properties with good concepts in good locations.

“As long as developers offer quality properties with good concepts in prime locations, there should still be takers due to our strong employment market, low interest environment and good liquidity in our financial system,” he added.

National House Buyers Association honorary secretary-general Chang Kim Loong said the measure would help curb speculative buying in the local housing market.

“Prices of landed residential properties have increased substantially over the last five years.

“We are glad that the Government has heeded HBA’s call with regards to the LVR. We will next seek to make housing more affordable for middle-income households and have pricing control for this group of buyers.

“HBA has urged the Government to set up a Special Task Force with such an objective and aspiration,” he said.

RAM Ratings head of financial institution ratings Promod Dass said: “Given this LTV measure only applies to the third home loan onwards, there should still be ample opportunities for banks to focus on first-time home buyers and perhaps to finance the purchase of a second home for lifestyle upgrading purposes.”

“All said, the level of prevailing interest rates would be an important factor too for the health of home loans, given that the bulk of outstanding home loans are based on floating interest rates,” he said in an e-mail interview.

The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said while the banking sector supported house ownership, ABM agreed that appropriate measures should be adopted to avert unhealthy speculative activities which could lead to a property bubble.

Abdul Wahid, who is also Malayan Banking Bhd president and CEO, said: “In my view, the application of the measure is clear and specific and the LTV ratio itself, optimal.

Given that financing for first and second housing properties will not be affected by the ruling, the move is not expected to dampen or have an adverse impact on the growth of residential property development sector as well as the banks’ house financing business.

“Affordability of homes for genuine buyers will be preserved as banks continue to lend prudently under their respective risk management framework.”

On the Financial Capability Programme, he said it underscored the view shared by ABM that education was paramount in the promotion of sound financial and debt management.

Details of the implementation of the programme would be announced next month.