KLSE Bursa and techs (RAYTECH KLSE)

Family has two more S’pore suites, claims PKR

2012-02-08T17:21:00.001-08:00

PETALING JAYA: Following allegations that the family of Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalilowns condominium units in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the PKR hasfurther claimed the family has two more luxury suites in the republic.
PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli said the two other units in Singapore's Marina Bay, with a price tag of $S14.29mil (or RM34.6mil), were bought on May 27, 2010.
He alleged the Marina Bay suites were bought under the names of National Feedlot Corporation chairman Datuk Dr Mohamed Salleh Ismail and NFC chief executive officer Wan Shahinur Izran Salleh.
Dr Salleh is the husband of the Women, Family and Community Development Minister while Wan Shahinur is their son.
Rafizi claimed the loans for the condominium units were obtained from Maybank and United Overseas Bank.
He alleged the personal loans were obtained through leverage from a RM180mil fixed deposit kept in a local bank.
Reacting to the latest PKR allegations, the NFC said they would respond “in due time”.
A spokesman said they need time to “comb through” the allegations before responding.
The NFC issue was first highlighted in the 2010 Auditor-General's report.
Sincethen, the Opposition had claimed that the loan disbursed by theGovernment had been used for non-agriculture related investments.
Drawnin by the controversy, Shahrizat took a three-week break recently tofacilitate MACC investigations into the NFC. She reported back to workyesterday.

Jim Rogers - Russia Today - 03 Feb 2012

2012-02-04T01:02:00.001-08:00

Missteps to Mayhem:Inside the Doomsday Machine with the outsider who predicted and profited from America’s financial Armageddon.

2012-01-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

In predicting when and how America’s financial collapse would occur, my focus was on the growing importance of the housing sector, the actions of our government, and the response of the private sector. This was not simply a case in which a few early adopters made a lot of money or a few venture capitalists acted badly. The entire economy—consumer spending, jobs, securities market—all depended on home price appreciation.
The amount and types of leverage, the generations-old assumption that housing prices always went up, and broad societal participation in home ownership (with greater than 60 percent of Americans owning a home) all called out to me. Soon I would see financial Armageddon with housing as its trigger point.
The idea of an American dream being related to home ownership has been around for nearly a century. Nearly every modern U.S. president has promoted it. The government helped returning GIs buy homes after World War II, and the government was the first to securitize mortgages in the early 1970s. Private securitized mortgages followed shortly thereafter. Under President Reagan, the Secondary Mortgage Market Enhancement Act allowed insurance companies and pensions to invest in these securitized mortgages. A short time later, Reagan signed a law that made these types of products more tax-efficient.
Securitization of mortgages means there is virtually no limit on mortgages that can be originated by an institution; they just get sold through Wall Street to investors. For decades this was considered harmless—a good thing for the American dream.
The desire to satisfy this dream, however, needed a tool—something that would make home loans more affordable to those without the income, credit or assets to afford one. In 1982 the Depository Institutions Act legalized adjustable-rate mortgages for the very first time. These adjustable-rate mortgages, or teaser-rate mortgages, would be at the heart of the collapse of our economy two and a half decades later.
Adjustable-rate mortgages did not take off immediately, but additional regulatory and legislative changes in the 1990s and early 2000s jump-started the market. During the 1990s the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was reinterpreted several times by then-Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin and then-President Bill Clinton.

The crisis, in my view, would start in 2007, by which time teaser-rate periods would expire or reset. On the way down, housing would take consumer spending, jobs—everything—with it.

The intent was to increase pressure on banks to make loans to less credit-worthy customers—and they did. Subprime issuance bloomed in the 1990s. Then in 1999 the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act repealed the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933 and officially removed the increasingly leaky separation between the activities of Wall Street banks and depository banks.
This freed banks to expand into new lines of business—none more fateful than the experiment with derivatives and subprime asset-backed securities. The private market gained the ability to mount a massive response to the government’s efforts to stimulate housing.
Our global village underestimated many risks throughout the 1990s, as is typical of a generally good economic time. As we faced 9/11, the stock market crash of 2002, the Enron and WorldCom scandals and eventually war, the Federal Reserve Board stepped in, cutting the discount rate it charged lenders from 6 percent to roughly 1 percent in order to stave off recession. Other key short-term interest rates followed.
Not coincidentally, from 2001 to 2003 we saw American home prices, which had largely moved in line with household income through the decades, suddenly accelerate up and away from the household-income trend line. Rapidly declining short-term rates hit lows not seen since the aftermath of the Great Depression, inducing a boom in adjustable-rate mortgages.
The homeowner’s dollar went further during that teaser-rate period, so home prices rose unnaturally. Risk would be low as long as home-price appreciation was strong under this paradigm, thanks to refinancing options.
It was a positive feedback loop with the full blessing of the U.S. government. Amid early fears that the housing market was getting ahead of itself in 2003, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan assured everyone that national bubbles in real estate simply do not happen.
I disagreed. As I surveyed the national trends in housing, I wondered whether common sense ought to rule against the application of precedent to the unprecedented. But Greenspan went on to advise in 2004 that new types of adjustable-rate mortgages were being underutilized. In 2005 he allowed technology used by subprime lenders to get subprime borrowers into homes. Tragically for all of us, the Federal Reserve had authority to block lending activity it deemed unworthy of such treatment, but it had no will to do so.

“Our leaders in Washington either willfully or ignorantly aided and abetted the bubble,” Burry wrote in a 2010 New York Times op-ed piece.

In any event, by 2003 mortgage rates stabilized at 40-year lows. Plain vanilla adjustable-rate mortgages had come into widespread use, creating a big problem for public lenders with a growth mandate. They needed to stimulate more loan volume despite stable mortgage rates and inadequate income growth. At this point, if home prices were to rise significantly, they would have to float almost entirely on the back of the type and quality of mortgage credit provided to the buyer. Critically, interest rates alone would no longer determine affordability.
In my letter to investors at the time, I termed this “credit extension by instrument.” And it took our housing market into a new paradigm. It was the private market’s time to overreact.
The instrument chosen by lenders for subprime borrowers in 2003 was a relic of the 1920s: the interest-only adjustable-rate mortgage. Lenders, by implementing a tool they had long avoided, showed that they were more interested in growth than in maintaining credit standards. They were no longer checking excess credit risk at the door.
By fall 2004, I noted for my investors that Countrywide Financial, a very large national mortgage lender, was reporting subprime mortgage originations up 158 percent year over year, despite a 24 percent decline in overall loan originations. Evidence was manifest: Banks were chasing bad credit, inclusive of housing speculators. The only question was how far they could go.
Ominously, fraud jumped. The point at which the provision of credit was most lax, in my mind, would mark the point of maximal price in the asset. I imagined the top end of the housing market would be marked by a climate in which borrowers of subprime quality were enticed to buy with teaser-rate monthly payments near zero. I was very aware lenders would take this to the nth degree. Banks could sell loans they did not want to keep through Wall Street, to investors who were ravenous for yield.
Importantly, because subprime mortgages were being turned into securities, there were mandatory regulatory filings—and that’s how I educated myself about the sector. At times I felt I was the only one reading these filings.
By summer 2005 these documents revealed that interest-only mortgages had taken a substantial share in the subprime market. Just a year or so after they were introduced, more than 40 percent of subprime originations were passing through Wall Street on their way to investors. This was up from 10 percent a year earlier. At the same time, second-lien mortgages ramped up significantly. Stated income options available to borrowers inspired a new vernacular: the “liar loan.” In some mortgage pools, 40 percent of subprime loans were for second or vacation homes.

At times I felt I was the only one reading these regulatory filings. As late as 2005, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s—so crucial to the securitization process—were not reacting at all.

Yet as late as 2005, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s—so crucial to the securitization process as the ratings agencies everybody watched—were not reacting at all.
The peak, I realized, soon would be upon us.
As the subprime interest-only adjustable-rate mortgage started to touch maximum sales-channel penetration, we saw the introduction of yet another more extreme teaser-rate mortgage called the pay-option adjustable-rate mortgage, or cash-flow ARM. With this new type of mortgage, never before seen in a widely standardized format, borrowers could pay next to nothing each month, and unpaid interest would simply amortize negatively into the growing mortgage balance.
Rampant cash-out refinancing had already made the home a magical ATM for most Americans. And now, housing had its credit card. This was what I had been waiting for: peak credit. Such a mortgage product would exist only as long as home-price appreciation was a central assumption. And home-price appreciation was not long for this world, precisely because these mortgage products existed.
Incredibly, Washington Mutual and Countrywide, two national home-loan giants, began to load their own balance sheets with pay-option adjustable-rate mortgages. Facing yet another slowdown in loan volume, these companies saw the negative amortization feature as a way to show loan growth in a slowing market. But these companies, in doing so, also expressed confidence in home-price stability in the event of a slowdown in loan origination. That’s what the ratings agencies, Federal Reserve, Congress, the president, and all the president’s men believed as well.
I disagreed. I saw no chance of home prices going sideways or stabilizing for any length of time. Once home-price appreciation was no longer a given, these new types of mortgages would simply disappear. Home prices, starved of peak credit, would fall steeply as mortgage and refinancing options crumbled away.
The crisis, in my view, would start in 2007, by which time teaser-rate periods for these new types of mortgages would expire or reset for a population of homeowners trapped in mortgages they no longer could afford. And on the way down, housing would take consumer spending, jobs—everything—with it. A positive feedback loop of a very damaging variety was set up.
Realizing the economy was on the verge of collapse, I did the logical thing: I sought to profit from it. I set out to buy credit-default swaps on subordinated tranches of subprime residential mortgage-backed securities. In March 2005, I began calling Wall Street firms and banks with which I had prior relationships because of my trading of distressed debt, and tried to convince them to trade in this market with me. The credit-default swaps I was intent on buying would rise in value as mortgages were written off and the value of these tranches fell.

Initially I found no takers, but in May 2005 we agreed to our first trade, shorting the subprime mortgage market with Deutsche Bank. We would ultimately use nine different Wall Street dealer counterparties. Goldman-Sachs featured prominently early on. In late June 2007 credit spreads started marching higher, and then took off.
Incredibly, it would be reported later that more than $60 trillion in credit derivatives were in effect at their peak. To use a bit of hyperbole: That is roughly equal to the gross product of the entire world. How could that be? Credit derivatives on an underlying asset could be worth multiple orders of magnitude more than the asset itself because all asset-backed derivative securities are settled in cash—pay as you go. That was the secret sauce of the Doomsday Machine.
And so the crisis unfolded, with the market providing a signal far too late. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson continued to underestimate the situation. I was apoplectic.
Paulson now claims that even if he had known what was going to happen, he couldn’t have done anything about it. He had just joined the U.S. Treasury in the summer of 2006. But he came from the top job at Goldman-Sachs, and once he was treasury secretary, he orchestrated government takeovers of AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—absolutely unthinkable actions just a few years ago. Paulson was anything but an impotent tool, but if he actually felt that way, it is a devastating commentary on how our government works.
As books and articles about the crisis proliferate, it becomes clear that at nearly every failed institution and every relevant department of government, someone had insight every bit as good as mine, and in many cases better. However, none of these people was in the top job. That our CEOs, our governors and our chairmen did not see this coming, did not adequately prepare their constituencies, is an indictment of the manner in which we choose and enable our leaders.
Such would not be the conclusion in 2008. The crisis was seen as the hedge fund’s fault. By the second half of the year, the government targeted commodity hedge fund managers with punitive subpoenas. We saw a global attack on so-called speculators and evil hedge funds, as well as nationalization of Fannie, Freddie, AIG—and, very important, their liabilities, which are now a special-purpose vehicle of the government, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
I worry about the future of a nation that would refuse to acknowledge the true causes of the crisis. A historic opportunity was lost. America instead chose its poison as its cure, and the second “Greatest Generation” would never be born.
Today I expect the U.S. government to attempt continuing an easy money policy into the next presidential term—past the meat of the foreclosure crisis, and past the corporate and public financing humps that are upcoming. Junk bonds, incredibly, again are at all-time highs. Quantitative easing seems to be working for now. But this is an invalid validation of what America is doing, a Pyrrhic gamble. As we continue to debase our currency, Bernanke says he is not printing money. Yet I receive an email every day from the Fed saying we just bought another $7 billion or $8 billion in treasuries, monetizing the debt. The scope and breadth of quantitative easing raise severe questions about the Treasury’s needs.
Government borrowing of money for the purpose of injecting cash into society, bailing out banks, brokers and consumers, is an easy decision for a population that has not yet learned that short-sighted easy strategies are the route to long-term ruin. We never quite achieved the catharsis necessary to stoke a deep reevaluation of our wants, needs and fears.
Importantly, the toxic twins—fiat currency and an activist Fed—remain even more firmly entrenched with the financial reforms of last year. The Federal Reserve, having acquired new powers of regulation, has insisted that nothing in the field of economics or finance was of any help in predicting the crisis—period, no more comments. It’s a worthless conclusion that guarantees we’ll make the same mistake again and again.
We need better leaders, but frankly this isn’t going to happen. A problem cannot be solved if it is never acknowledged.

Realizing the economy was on the verge of collapse, I did the logical thing: I sought to profit from it.

Taxes need to be raised, spending needs to be cut, and loopholes need to be shut if we are to have any hope of returning to a stable base. Home ownership should not be a policy of the U.S. government. The banking system needs substantial reform and bank breakups. Glass–Steagall needs a second run in a strong form. And 22.5 million public workers have no business unionizing against the taxpayer. The list of things that won’t happen—but should happen—goes on and on.
By 2020, interest expense on our national debt could very well exceed $1 trillion. All personal income taxes collected in the U.S. in one year do not total $1 trillion. Our country’s math is scary big, but even scarier is that it simply doesn’t work.
Arguments about blooming economic recovery must be considered alongside the fact that all this debt, and all the money being printed, amount to a very real bill, a real tax on our future. This bill has not yet come due, except for savers and those on a fixed income. But it’s a debtor’s prison for our children.
Sober analysis on the part of the individual is paramount. We must remember that entire societies can follow the wrong path for a very long time and run aground.
Nothing is wrong with breaking from the social norm to ensure good outcomes. Legacies are a terrible and sometimes fatal burden in a rapidly changing world, and common sense must rule when it comes to career paths and life choices. This is not a time for responsible individuals to tolerate blind faith directed toward any man or woman. This is not a time to follow.

Malaysia Airlines Missing You Flashmob at KLIA

2012-01-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Malaysia Flash mod in KLIA ..very interesting indeed ..enjoy...it

IMF seeks US$600b more in funds; G20 to discuss

2012-01-18T17:19:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON, Jan 19 — The International Monetary Fund is seeking toboost its war chest by US$600 billion (RM1.8 trillion) to helpcountries reeling from the euro zone debt crisis, but some nationsinsist Europe must first do more to support its ailing members,international financial sources said yesterday.
Group of 20 officials will discuss increasing IMF resources at ameeting in Mexico City today and tomorrow, the first under Mexico’s2012 presidency of the group of developed and emerging economies.
The IMF said it will need US$500 billion to lend to member countriesin need and IMF sources who were present at an IMF board meeting on theissue on Tuesday told Reuters that another US$100 billion is needed asa “protection buffer.”
The IMF also estimated there would be a US$1 trillion globalfinancing gap over the next two years if global economic conditionsworsened considerably, the sources added.
On foreign exchange markets, the reports of plans for increased IMF lending capacity helped boost the euro.
Euro zone nations have already promised to inject an extra €150billion (RM600 billion) into the IMF, which is included in the totalestimate. G20 officials in Mexico for the meeting of deputy financeministers and central bank officials said there was still resistance insome quarters to increase funding.
“Many countries want the Europeans to move ahead with tougher andclearer measures, which at this moment translates to more resources toits stability fund,” said a senior Brazilian government sourceattending the meeting.
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said it was not clear Europeangovernments had done everything necessary to make sure they could fundthemselves at sustainable interest rates over the next few years.
“If it makes sense to enhance the resources of the IMF the principalfocus, it would seem, should be on dealing with fallout of the Europeancrisis for innocent bystanders,” he told a news briefing in Ottawa.
Another source connected to the process said that as well as Canada,the United States, Japan and Korea were pressing for discussions firstabout Europe’s contribution to the crisis and for it to agree onadditional measures. European nations were arguing that they have doneenough and were calling for more IMF resources now.
“If, with the parallel discussion, we can achieve extra measuresfrom the Europeans and afterwards agree on promises of additionalresources for the IMF from non-European countries in the G20, I thinkit would be a good result,” the source said.
The IMF currently has a lending capacity of about US$380 billion andestimates demand could be about US$ 1 trillion in the medium-term.
“Based on staff’s estimate of global potential financing needs ofabout US$1 trillion in the coming years, the fund would aim to raise upto US$500 billion in additional lending resources. This total includesthe recent European commitment of about US$200 billion in increasedfund resources,” an IMF spokesman said.
“At this preliminary stage, we are exploring options on funding andwill have no further comment until the necessary consultations,” headded.
Emerging market countries such as China and Brazil have said theyare willing to contribute new resources to the Washington-based globallender in exchange for greater voting power. Emerging market powershave repeatedly argued in recent times that their power at the IMFshould be increased to reflect their growing clout in the world economy.
Getting more resources from advanced economies, such as the UnitedStates, is going to be difficult, if not impossible. With a strainedbudget at home, some US congressional Republicans have threatened toyank US$100 billion in US money to the IMF if the funds are used tobail out more euro zone countries.
The White House is unlikely to want to take on the issue as US President Barack Obama seeks re-election this year.
The IMF’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, said on Tuesday shemet with the IMF board to assess whether the global lender needsadditional funds to respond effectively to the euro zone crisis. Shesaid IMF management would explore options for increasing the fund’sfirepower.
The IMF has warned it will cut global growth projections for 2012when it updates its forecast on January 24. Weakening global growthprospects raise fears that more countries will need to be rescued bythe IMF, especially if capital markets freeze up completely.
The World Bank warned in its annual growth outlook late on Tuesdaythat Europe appears to already be in recession and developing countriesshould brace for a slowdown in their economies, especially Brazil andIndia, and to a lesser extent Russia, South Africa and Turkey.
With credit downgrades in nine euro zone countries by Standard &Poor’s last week, including France, and uncertainty over Greek debttalks that risk pushing the country into default, the IMF board hasurged euro zone leaders to take steps to contain the crisis.
The board called for policies that would address the European crisisand for euro zone policymakers to make sure there is enough moneyavailable to tackle the bloc’s debt problems effectively. — Reuters

China Dec. Home Prices Post Worst Performance

2012-01-17T22:05:00.001-08:00

China’s December home prices postedtheir worst performance last year, with only two of the 70cities tracked posting gains, as the government reiterated itsplans to maintain housing curbs.
Prices in 52 of 70 cities monitored by the governmentdeclined from the previous month, the National Statistics Bureausaid in a statement on its website today. New home prices in thenation’s four major cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen andGuangzhou declined for a third month, it said.
The government said last month it won’t back away fromcurbs on the real-estate industry, with the financial center ofShanghai and the capital of Beijing among Chinese cities thathave said they will continue to impose restrictions on homepurchases this year.
“The downtrend of China home prices is consistent with ourexpectations,” said Liu Li-Gang, a Hong Kong-based economist atAustralia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in a phone interviewtoday. “The government policies have achieved the intendedresults. What we’ll need to watch next is if the falling homeprices will increase the risk of hard-landing in the Chineseeconomy.”
China’s economy grew 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter froma year earlier, the statistics bureau said yesterday, theslowest pace in 10 quarters as Europe’s debt crisis curbedexport demand and the property market weakened.

‘Too Speculative’

The eastern city of Wenzhou, where a credit squeeze onsmaller businesses prompted a visit and pledge of financial aidfrom Premier Wen Jiabao in October, posted the biggest month-on-month drop of 1.9 percent, according to the data. The westerncity of Guiyang and Yinchuan in the northwest, the only twocities that had gains in home prices, recorded increases of 0.1percent each.
“The property market in Wenzhou was simply too speculativewith a lot private entrepreneurs investing in industries thatthey don’t really know,” Liu said. “When they are short ofcash, the first thing they do is to sell off their properties topay back debts.”
Among the four major cities, Beijing declined 0.1 percentwhile Shanghai fell 0.3 percent, according to the statement.
Today’s figures came after private data also showed signsof cooling. China’s home prices fell for a fourth month inDecember, according to SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN), the country’sbiggest real estate website.

‘Painful Process’

“Things will get worse before they get better,” Michael Klibaner, head of China research at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.,said in an interview in Shanghai before the release of the data,adding that he expects the government’s policies to ease afterthe National Peoples’ Congress in March. “Developers will getbailed out to some extent, but it will be a painful process.”
China’s home transactions rose 10 percent in 2011, theslowest pace in three years, according to government datayesterday.
Existing home prices in Beijing fell 0.8 percent last monthfrom November, while those in Shanghai dropped 0.4 percent,according to the bureau.
“China’s property measures have achieved visible effectsthat speculation has been restrained,” Ma Jiantang, the head ofthe statistics bureau in Beijing, said yesterday. “We will needto watch the challenges faced by the property, but I don’t thinkthey will be the biggest risks to the Chinese economy.”

To print or not to print? That’s the question for the ECB!

2011-12-09T17:48:00.001-08:00

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about central banks in the past few years, it’s that they will print money — and then print some more — as long as they can get away with it. Never mind that all it accomplishes is asset price inflation (including commodities!!). And doesn’t do anything to help the real economy, while impoverishing savers.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, under the leadership of Chairman Ben Bernanke, launched the first round of “quantitative easing” (QE1) in 2008. It totaled $1.7 trillion. QE2 was $600 billion. And any QE3 program could add hundreds of billions of dollars more to the fiat money system.

The Bank of England (BOE) is pursuing the same crazy, misguided strategy. It spent 200 billion pounds ($313 billion) as part of its own QE1 program. And it just launched a 75 billion pound ($117 billion) QE2 scheme this fall.

Even the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has lost its marbles. The bank is printing an unlimited amount of francs to keep the currency from appreciating too much against the euro. Result: Assets on the SNB balance sheet ballooned 27 percent year-over-year as of last count, while its M0 money supply has exploded by 210 percent!

The odd man out so far? The European Central Bank (ECB). Today I want to discuss the reasons WHY … and what they mean for you.

The ECB: Fighting Back against
the Easy-Money Addicts!

The ECB has done plenty to keep European banks liquid. It has extended longer-term loans to banks. It has been sporadically buying sovereign bonds in the secondary market.

But in one regard, the ECB has set itself apart from the insane printing policy of the Fed, BOE, and SNB. You see, for months, there’s been a flood of pressure from politicians and bureaucrats the world over. They want the ECB to go further than its limited bond-buying program already underway …

They want it to print, print, and then print some more in order to bail out troubled nations like Italy and Spain. I’ve even seen some people throw around numbers like 2 trillion euros as if it were petty change!

But the ECB hasn’t bowed to pressure so far. And there’s a very good reason for it: Europe’s cultural and economic history.

The ECB hasn’t given in to the funny money crowd.

Here in the U.S., you probably know about the internal resistance to money printing that Bernanke faces from hawks like Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser. But that’s nothing compared to the German hawks at the ECB.

They staunchly oppose papering over fiscal problems with printed money because of their country’s incredibly painful hyperinflation experience in the 1920s: Many historians believe the financial instability and decimation of German savings, which that episode caused, helped lay the groundwork for Hitler’s rise to power.

So while French and Italian policymakers are whining and begging for more funny money, the Germans are resisting, and not by a little bit. In my view, that’s why at yesterday’s ECB meeting, policymakers opted for a 25 basis point rate cut to 1 percent and relaxed rules on the types of collateral banks can swap for cash. They also extended the term of some loans to 36 months, more than the 24 months some people expected.

But crucially, they did NOT announce a U.S./U.K.-style QE program! In fact, ECB President Mario Draghi said the so-called Wall Street “experts” had it all wrong about a speech he recently gave. Many investors thought his comments opened the door to an expanded program of bond buying; Draghi said that wasn’t the case.

Stop Looking for An Easy Way Out …
Because There Isn’t One!

Everyone on Wall Street keeps looking for an easy way out … some magic solution that will miraculously bring back the overleveraged, debt-fueled, unhealthy expansion we had in the early 2000s.

They think if central bankers just print enough money, and if governments just borrow even more money than they already have, the problems we’re experiencing now will just go away. They can get their Santa Claus rally. Then they can start spending their hefty bonuses before they’re even deposited in their bank accounts.

I’ve said repeatedly how that is NOT the case. And it looks like Wall Street is finally getting the memo.

So please, continue to be cautious, continue to use hedges against downside risk, and continue to consider getting more aggressive. Specifically, Consider Shooting For Profits With Targeted Investments that will surge if the Santa Claus rally turns into a Santa Claus flop!

Until next time,

Boleh Land :RM70k rental for cattle condo ‘unbelievable’, say property gurus

2011-11-17T20:17:00.001-08:00

By Lee Wei Lian

November 18, 2011

KUALALUMPUR, Nov 18 — The reported RM70,000 in monthly rental for not onebut two condominiums owned by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC)has property consultants and real estate agents shaking their heads indisbelief.
The experts say that the highest rental that can be expected foreven the penthouse at Bangsar’s One Menerung condominium is aboutRM24,000 per month.

Filephoto of PKR members holding pictures of the One Menerung condominiums,outside the Selangor MACC office in Shah Alam on November 10, 2011. —Picture by Choo Choy May

They also point out that even ifthe tenants were renting the biggest condominium unit at One Menerung,which is between 6,000-7,000 square feet, the tenants would be payingleast RM10 per sq ft, which is double or more the rate at KLCC’s BinjaiOn The Park, currently KL’s most expensive condominium address.The NFC also said yesterday that the rental yield for the twocondominiums had hit 12.9 per cent, which is far in excess of theindustry benchmark of three per cent or less.
“Who is the tenant?” asked one veteran property consultant. “It isunbelievable. To get RM70,000 for a condominium is unheard of. Usuallywhen renters pay more than RM15,000 they expect to get a whole luxurybungalow.”
He pointed out that multinationals were very unlikely to have such ahuge budget for rent and wealthy Arab businessmen would prefer to buytheir own place rather than rent.
Real estate agents for One Menerung contacted by The Malaysian Insider saidthat it was “not possible” to get RM70,000 in monthly rent and that itwould be difficult to find anyone willing to pay even RM4 a sq ft.
Figures from a valuation report on One Menerung obtained by The Malaysian Insider pegged rents for the penthouse at about RM24,000 and between RM14,000 and RM17,000 for the smaller units below 5,000 sq ft.
“Nobody would pay RM70,000 for a condo,” said one valuer.
NFC executive chairman Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail reportedly saidat a press conference yesterday that it bought two condominiums atRM6.9 million and rented them out at RM70,000 a month, giving a yieldof some 12.9 per cent. The size of the purchased units was not reported.
Salleh had also said that if it had put the money in fixed depositinstead, it would have earned only 2.6 per cent to 3.25 per centreturns.
Many luxury condominiums in the city however have had a hard timefinding tenants with some landlords having to drop rents by as much as50 per cent.
Property consultancy DTZ said in its third quarter report lastThursday that it expects demand for luxury residential units in KL tobe slow with overall rents for high-end condominiums at about RM3.50per sq ft.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin had said last week that the NFCdecided to use funds earmarked for the feedlot programme to invest inluxury condominiums after the government ran out of money to developsatellite cattle farms as planned.
It has not been clarified however if the federally-funded NFC is allowed to make such alternative investments.

Cash belonging to robbery suspects goes missing

2011-11-16T16:36:00.001-08:00

Malaysia really is a funny "Boleh Land"..

November 17, 2011

KUALALUMPUR, Nov 17 — Cash belonging to two of the men charged with robbingmoney changers at KL International Airport (KLIA) in September has gonemissing from the Selangor police headquarters.
In a statement released last night, Selangor police said RM11,700 in cash and a wallet were reported missing on Tuesday evening.

File photo of ringgit notes. — Picture courtesy of mybursa.wordpress

The cash is not part of the US$300,000 that was seized in relation to the robbery.Three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) claimed trial lastmonth for robbery and abetting a civilian in robbing three moneychangers of RM930,000 at KLIA in September.
The three officers, aged between 20 and 35, hold the ranks of actingassistant commissioner, senior assistant superintendent and assistantsuperintendent. The civilian, who had impersonated an MACC officerduring the robbery, is still at large.
They allegedly robbed the money changers inside the satellite building at KLIA on September 15.
The trio were arrested two days later after they were picked out by the victim during an identification parade.
It was earlier reported that the money changers were at the airportintending to board a flight to Singapore when the robbery took place.
The three are understood to have been carrying foreign currenciesamounting to about RM2 million, which they had declared to Customs.

Proton recent hike

2011-11-16T16:27:00.001-08:00

PETALING JAYA: The recent sharp jump in Proton Holdings Bhdshares has given rise to speculation over a management buyout (MBO) aswell as rumours of takeover proposals for the national carmaker.
Proton shares have gained 83 sen since Tuesday and closed yesterday at RM3.53.
OnWednesday, Proton warrants also jumped, with Proton-CG rising 4.5 sento 13 sen while Proton-CH was up six sen to 12.5 sen at the close.

Researchanalysts and stockbrokers are surprised by the sudden surge in Proton'sshare price. They say the marketplace is abuzz with all sorts ofrumours.
JF Apex Securities Bhd deputy managing director Lim Teck Seng said that Proton's share price usually would not see such a surge without an important corporate announcement or development.
“Perhapsinvestors are expecting some big announcement to be made. On the otherhand, maybe there is a liquidity play as the “party” is still going onin the market with the recent heavy trading in penny stocks. Investorsare looking for cheap stocks,” said Lim.
The Government's investment holding arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd has a 42.74% stake in Proton, while the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) have stakes of 10.78% and 7.85% respectively.
In the past, conglomerates such as Naza Group and DRB-HICOM Bhd have been linked to potential deals involving Proton.
DRB-HICOM is unlikely at the moment to be involved in a takeover bid for Proton.
One research analyst said the possibility of a takeover bid by Naza and DRB-HICOM was quite low.
“DRB-HICOM has a lot on its plate such as the assembly of Volkswagen cars and the recent acquisition of Pos Malaysia Bhd.
“Weare also unsure about the rationale for these rumoured takeover bids byMalaysian conglomerates as in our opinion, what Proton really needs isan automotive partner that can help the carmaker via technologytransfer and fully utilising its production capacity,” she said.
Motor analysts were also sceptical about rumours of an MBO of Proton.
At RM3.53 a share, Khazanah's stake in Proton would be worth about RM828.6mil.
A recent report from AmResearch had estimated Proton's adjusted net tangible assets (NTA) per share at RM5.26.
“Withan MBO, the questions of funding and the price per share for such anexercise would arise. Also, what would be the rationale for an MBO?”said one analyst.
However, a motor industry observer said apotential corporate exercise for Proton could not be dismissed in viewof the Government's plan to rationalise the portfolio of GLCs(government-linked companies).
Another bank-backed motor analystsaid she was told by the Proton management that it was not aware of anymaterial developments or company updates which could have caused thesharp spike in the company's share price.
The analyst said therecent increase in Proton's share price might have been due to positivenews flow this month such as the settlement of the legal dispute with Tan Sri Tony Fernandesand his 1Malaysia Racing Team concerning the “Lotus” and “Team Lotus”brand, the possibility of Proton re-entering Chile next year, and theopening of Lotus China's first showroom in Beijing.

Temasek in Talks With BofA to Buy CCB Shares

2011-11-15T20:52:00.001-08:00

Temasek Holdings Pte. bought sharesof China Construction Bank Corp. (939), a person with knowledge of thematter said, signaling its increased participation in China’sfinancial sector as U.S. banks retreat.
Temasek bought about a third of the stock that Bank ofAmerica Corp. (BAC) is selling at HK$4.93 apiece, another person withknowledge of the matter said, declining to be identified becausethe information hasn’t been announced. Two Chinese institutionswill buy the rest of the 10.4 billion shares Bank of America isselling, the person said.
Foreign investors including Bank of America, Goldman SachsGroup Inc. and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc have trimmedmore than $25 billion of holdings in Chinese lenders since thebeginning of 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bankof America said it will sell the stock in private transactionsfor a profit of about $1.8 billion, leaving it with a 1 percentstake in the Beijing-based lender.
“This is an advantage that Temasek has at this time,especially when European and U.S. banks are trying their best toraise cash,” said Eugene Tan, an assistant professor of law atthe Singapore Management University. “It suggests a quietoptimism. I get a sense that this deep interest in China at atime when companies and investors are generally wary suggeststhat Temasek is keen to have a first mover advantage.”
$2.2 Billion
Temasek paid about HK$17 billion ($2.2 billion) for theChina Construction Bank shares, based on Bloomberg calculations.About 3.76 billion shares were traded yesterday in a privatetransaction at HK$4.93 each, according to data compiled byBloomberg.
Stephen Forshaw, a spokesman for Temasek, declined tocomment on “market speculation.” Mark Tsang, a Bank of Americaspokesman in Hong Kong, had no comment. Charlotte, NorthCarolina-based Bank of America said the buyers were a group ofinvestors, without providing names.
This month, Goldman Sachs raised $1.1 billion sellingshares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., trimmingan investment first made in 2006 after the stock posted itsbiggest monthly rally in 2 1/2 years.
The three biggest Chinese banks posted their worstquarterly stock performance in the third quarter on concern thatlocal governments may default on loans. The lenders’ creditoutlook may sour in the absence of a government plan to dealwith the issue, Moody’s Investors Service said in July, whileregulators globally are demanding that banks increase buffers.

Investment Flip-Flop

Temasek bought shares in the Beijing-based lender inSeptember for as much as HK$21.7 billion ($2.8 billion), buying4.4 billion shares for as much as HK$4.94 each and increasingits stake to 8.1 percent of the Hong Kong-listed shares,according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that month.About eight weeks earlier, Temasek had sold 1.5 billion sharesfor HK$6.26 each.
The stock fell 0.5 percent to HK$5.56 as of 10:28 a.m. inHong Kong.
Temasek, along with Government of Singapore InvestmentCorp., the city-state’s sovereign wealth fund, spent more than$25 billion buying stakes in U.S. and European banks in thepast four years as the collapse of the subprime mortgage marketled to more than $2 trillion in losses and writedowns worldwide.
Temasek sold its 3.8 percent stake in Bank of America inthe first quarter of 2009 and also divested its 2 percent stakein London-based Barclays Plc. (BARC) The company, which managed S$193billion ($149 billion) as of March, didn’t detail the size ofits losses from the investments.

UBS Stumble

GIC, the biggest investor in UBS AG, faced a 6.7 billion-Swiss franc ($7.3 billion) paper loss two months ago after theZurich-based bank announced a $2.3 billion unauthorized tradingloss that led to the resignation of its chief executive officer.
Huijin, a unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund, is alsointerested in buying China Construction Bank stock from Bank ofAmerica, Hong Kong Economic Journal reported, citing people itdidn’t identify. Huijin may form a group with Temasek and otherinvestors to purchase the shares, the newspaper said. A call toHuijin’s Beijing media office wasn’t immediately answered.
Temasek, Advent International Corp. and at least threeother investors are also in talks to buy a controlling stake inSTP - Servicos & Tecnologia de Pagamentos SA, a Brazilianelectronic-toll-collection company, two people familiar with thenegotiations said. STP, based in Osasco, hired Banco BTG PactualSA to sell an undisclosed stake to fund expansion, said one ofthe people, who declined to be identified because thetransaction is private.

Intime Investment

GIC is also boosting its stake in Intime Department StoreGroup Co., a retailer in eastern and central China, helping itsfounder raise HK$747 million. The fund, which manages more than$100 billion of the city’s reserves, will raise its stake inIntime to 9.1 percent by buying shares from the company andfounder Shen Guojun at HK$9.90 each, according to a filing lateyesterday. That’s 7.5 percent lower than the closing price onNov. 14, the day before the stock was suspended.
Intime, based in Beijing, competes against Chinesedepartment-store chain operators Parkson Retail Group Ltd. andGolden Eagle Retail Group Ltd. in an economy that grew 9.1percent in the third quarter.
GIC also bought 55.1 million shares, or 0.6 percent, in theJuly initial public offering in Hong Kong of Sun Art RetailGroup Ltd., China’s largest hypermarket operator.
To contact the reporter on this story:Joyce Koh in Singapore at jkoh38@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:Philip Lagerkranser at

The World Is Drowning in Debt, and Europe Laces On Concrete Boots

2011-11-14T08:00:00.001-08:00

Three metaphors describe Europe: drowning in debt, circular firing squad and trying to fool the money gods with an inept game of 3-card monte.

The world's major economies are drowning in debt--Europe, the U.S., Japan, China. We all know the U.S. has tried to save its drowning economy by bailing out the parasite which is dragging it to Davy Jones Locker--the banking/financial sector-- and by borrowing and squandering $6 trillion in new Federal debt and buying toxic debt with $2 trillion whisked into existance on the Federal Reserve's balance sheet.

It has failed, of course, and the economy is once again slipping beneath the waves while Ben Bernanke and the politico lackeys join in a Keynesian-monetary cargo-cult chant: Humba-humba, bunga-bunga. Their hubris doesn't allow them to confess their magic has failed, and rather than let their power be wrenched away, they will let the flailing U.S. economy drown.

Europe has managed to top this hubris-drenched cargo-cult policy--no mean feat.First, it has indebted itself to a breathtaking degree, on every level: sovereign, corporate and private:

Germany, the mighty engine which is supposed to pull the $16 trillion drowning European economy out of the water, is as indebted as the flailing U.S.

Second, the euro's handlers have already sunk staggering sums into hopelessly insolvent debtor nations, for example, Greece, which has 355 billion euros of outstanding sovereign debt and an economy with a GDP around 200 billion euros (though it's contracting so rapidly nobody can even guess the actual size). According toBusinessWeek, the E.U. (European Union), the ECB (European Central Bank) and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) own about $127 billion of this debt.

Since the ECB is not allowed to "print money," the amount of cash available to buy depreciating bonds is limited. The handlers now own over 35% of the official debt (recall that doesn't include corporate or private debt), which they grandly refuse to accept is now worth less than the purchase price. (The market price of Greek bonds has cratered by 42% just since July. Isn't hubris a wonderful foundation for policy?)

In other words, they have not just put on concrete boots, they've laced them up and tied a big knot. We cannot possibly drown, they proclaim; we are too big, too heavy, too powerful. We refuse to accept that all these trillions of euros in debt are now worth a pittance of their face value.

When you're drowning in debt, the only solution is to write off the debt and drain the pool. The problem is, of course, that all this impaired debt is somebody else's asset, and that somebody is either rich and powerful or politically powerful, for example, a union pension fund.

Third, the euro's handlers have set up a circular firing squad. Since the entire banking sector is insolvent, the handlers are demanding that banks raise capital. Since only the ECB is insane enough to put good money after bad, the banks cannot raise capital on the private market, so their only way to raise cash is to sell assets--such as rapidly depreciating sovereign-debt bonds.

This pushes the price of those bonds even lower, as supply (sellers) completely overwhelm demand from buyers (the unflinching ECB and its proxies).

This decline in bond prices further lowers the value of the banks' assets, which means they need to raise more capital, which means they have to sell even more bonds.

Voila, a circular firing squad, where the "bulletproof" ECB is left as the only buyer who will hold depreciating bonds longer than a few hours, and all the participants gain by selling bonds before they fall any further. This is the classic positive feedback loop, where selling lowers the value of remaining assets and that drives further selling.

As many have noted, soaking up all the Greek debt--a mere sliver of the eurozone's impaired debt-- would essentially wipe out the entire EFSF "stability" rescue fund.

The "solution" to the cargo-cult crowd is "obvious"--print, baby, print, and use that new paper to buy 3 trillion in mostly-worthless bonds. But that is just another circular firing squad, as Nobel prize winning economist Thomas Sargent noted: "There's a fundamental truth that everyone has to understand: what the government spends, the public will pay for sooner or later, whether in taxes or inflation or having their debt defaulted on."(Source: BusinessWeek 11/20/11)

The 3 trillion euros comes of somebody's pocket, one way or the other; there is no free lunch.

Even worse, debt is the only engine of "growth" left in the developed world. This chart shows how America's "growth" since 1980 has been fueled by debt that expanded by 136% ($30 trillion) beyond actual economic growth. The same is also true of Europe, where Italy, for example, borrowed 1 trillion euros over the past decade or so in return for essentially zero growth.

This reveals the key dynamic of the past decade: the diminishing productivity of debt. What happens when an economy is so burdened by the friction of inefficiency and indebtedness that borrowing a trillion euros just keeps the economy barely above water? The next trillion won't even keep "growth" at zero, and the economy sinks beneath the waves.

The world has reached the point of debt saturation. Creating more debt no longer generates "free lunch" growth, even in China, though the central bank in China is still playing as if shifting debt off-balance sheet into a "shadow" system will fool the money gods. It won't.

Everybody in Europe is playing the same sort of games, hoping to fool the money gods and keep the "free lunch" economy "growing." While everybody focuses on the circular firing squad in Italy, untold billions of euros of impaired private mortgage debt in housing-bubble-popped Spain still sits on the books of Spanish banks at full value, lest a sneeze of reality send Spain's entire banking sector to Davy Jones Locker.

Though no official publicly admits it, nobody really knows how much debt there is in Greece, or who even holds it. Here's the fig leaf confession: "Scarce data makes estimates difficult." Yes, I'm sure it does. So the true size of Europe's debt is unknown because everyone with a stake in the charade is trying desperately to keep the true scope hidden. (Ditto in China.)

The debt will get renounced, and debt as the "engine of growth" will also be renounced.

Europe is an inept 3-card monte player attempting to swindle the money gods. The gods aren't fooled by such shallow shuffling games, in fact they are greatly annoyed that humans even dare to attempt such flimsy tricks. Their wrath is building, and human hubris will only make the reckoning worse.

S&P 500 May `Rally' Another 5%, Fed has Negative Real Interest Rates" Marc Faber | 11.14.11

2011-11-14T07:57:00.001-08:00

Jim Rogers: World Economy Needs A Reboot

2011-11-14T07:56:00.001-08:00

Leader Shot Up (Take over is coming)

2011-10-17T19:42:00.001-07:00

HI Guy Leader have shot up today due to the take over proposal.. Look like we have opportunity to profit in the bear market...yeah....

KUALA LUMPUR: LEADER UNIVERSAL HOLDINGS BHD []’stop officials, via HNG Capital Sdn Bhd, have made a takeover offer forthe company for RM480.10 million or RM1.10 per share. This is 26 senabove the last traded price of 84 sen.
Leader said on Monday, Oct 17 the purchase consideration would beRM410.94 million in cash and RM69.16 million as an amount remaining dueand owing by HNGC as a debt due to Leader.
“Upon completion of the proposed acquisition, HNGC has proposed thatLeader undertakes a distribution of the entire proceeds arising fromthe proposed acquisition to all entitled shareholders of Leader,” itsaid.
To recap, the top officials involved in the takeover are Datuk SeriH'ng Bok San, the executive deputy chairman of Leader, Datuk H'ng ChunHsian, who is the managing director and CEO of Leader and Datin H'ngHsieh Ling, who is the group chief financial officer.
H'ng Bok San holds 30% of HNG Capital while H'ng Chun Hsian owns 40% and H'ng Hsieh Ling the remaining 30%.
Leader said HNG Capital had proposed a capital reduction andrepayment exercise of RM1.10 per Leader share in cash to all theentitled shareholders of Leader other than H'ng Bok San, Datin Seri AngGaik Nga, H'ng Chun Hsiang, H'ng Hsieh Ling, H'ng Hsieh Fern, DatukJong East Full and Zun Holdings Sdn Bhd.
“The identified shareholders will authorise Leader to apply the cashentitlement of the identified shareholders under the proposeddistribution to be set-off against the deferred amount,” it said.
As at Oct 14, the identified shareholders collectively hold 62.87 million Leader shares or 14.41%

Derivatives: The $600 Trillion Time Bomb That's Set to Explode

2011-10-16T12:48:00.001-07:00

BY KEITH FITZ-GERALD, Chief Investment Strategist, Money Morning

Do you want to know the real reason banks aren't lending and the PIIGS have control of the barnyard in Europe?

It's because risk in the $600 trillion derivatives market isn't evening out. To the contrary, it's growing increasingly concentrated among a select few banks, especially here in the United States.

In 2009, five banks held 80% of derivatives in America. Now, just four banks hold a staggering 95.9% of U.S. derivatives, according to a recent report from the Office of the Currency Comptroller.

The four banks in question: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS).

Derivatives played a crucial role in bringing down the global economy, so you would think that the world's top policymakers would have reined these things in by now - but they haven't.

Instead of attacking the problem, regulators have let it spiral out of control, and the result is a $600 trillion time bomb called the derivatives market.

Think I'm exaggerating?

The notional value of the world's derivatives actually is estimated at more than $600 trillion. Notional value, of course, is the total value of a leveraged position's assets. This distinction is necessary because when you're talking about leveraged assets like options and derivatives, a little bit of money can control a disproportionately large position that may be as much as 5, 10, 30, or, in extreme cases, 100 times greater than investments that could be funded only in cash instruments.

The world's gross domestic product (GDP) is only about $65 trillion, or roughly 10.83% of the worldwide value of the global derivatives market, according to The Economist. So there is literally not enough money on the planet to backstop the banks trading these things if they run into trouble.

Compounding the problem is the fact that nobody even knows if the $600 trillion figure is accurate, because specialized derivatives vehicles like the credit default swaps that are now roiling Europe remain largely unregulated and unaccounted for.

Tick...Tick...Tick

To be fair, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) estimated the net notional value of uncollateralized derivatives risks is between $2 trillion and $8 trillion, which is still a staggering amount of money and well beyond the billions being talked about in Europe.

Imagine the fallout from a $600 trillion explosion if several banks went down at once. It would eclipse the collapse of Lehman Brothers in no uncertain terms.

A governmental default would panic already anxious investors, causing a run on several major European banks in an effort to recover their deposits. That would, in turn, cause several banks to literally run out of money and declare bankruptcy.

Short-term borrowing costs would skyrocket and liquidity would evaporate. That would cause a ricochet across the Atlantic as the institutions themselves then panic and try to recover their own capital by withdrawing liquidity by any means possible.

And that's why banks are hoarding cash instead of lending it.

The major banks know there is no way they can collateralize the potential daisy chain failure that Greece represents. So they're doing everything they can to stockpile cash and keep their trading under wraps and away from public scrutiny.

What really scares me, though, is that the banks

think this is an acceptable risk because the odds of a default are allegedly smaller than one in 10,000.

But haven't we heard that before?

Although American banks have limited their exposure to Greece, they have loaned hundreds of billions of dollars to European banks and European governments that may not be capable of paying them back.

According to the Bank of International Settlements, U.S. banks have loaned only $60.5 billion to banks in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy - the countries most at risk of default. But they've lent $275.8 billion to French and German banks.

And undoubtedly bet trillions on the same debt.

There are three key takeaways here:

There is not enough capital on hand to cover the possible losses associated with the default of a single counterparty - JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), BNP Paribas SA (PINK: BNPQY) or the National Bank of Greece (NYSE ADR:NBG) for example - let alone multiple failures.
That means banks with large derivatives exposure have to risk even more money to generate the incremental returns needed to cover the bets they've already made.
And the fact that Wall Street believes it has the risks under control practically guarantees that it doesn't.

Seems to me that the world's central bankers and politicians should be less concerned about stimulating "demand" and more concerned about fixing derivatives before this $600 trillion time bomb goes off.

China-US currency tension growing

2011-10-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

The gold price toyed with resistance at $1,680 per troy ounce yesterday, but was unable to break through this level. As judged by the price chart for the exchange-traded fund GLD, the volume of gold trading remains subdued. A pick-up in volume and open interest in gold futures will be necessary if the price is to mount a sustained push higher.

The same point about volume and open interest applies to the silver market. Volume in the popular silver ETF SLV remains at year-to-date lows. The silver price keeps trying and failing to break above resistance at $32.50. Precious metals and commodities are being being boosted by a weakening US dollar; the Dollar Index (USDX) closed down 0.76% yesterday at 76.99. The Japanese yen – another long-standing “safe haven” currency – has also weakened in recent days, underscoring the increasing risk appetite among traders.

Interesting developments are also afoot with regards the Chinese yuan. Following a vote in the US Senate in favour of protectionist measures against the Chinese – owing to American complaints that the undervalued yuan is “stealing jobs” from America – the People’s Bank of China (PBC) has retaliated by raising the dollar-yuan central parity rate. Unsurprisingly, the yuan fell against the dollar in early trading yesterday, though this fall was reversed later in the session. Many investors remain bullish on the yuan over the long-term, with many predicting that one day it may function as a reserve currency. This bullishness will provide some resistance to PBC devaluation efforts.

China also faces a serious inflation problem that will only get worse if the PBC attempts to re-peg the yuan to the US dollar. If it does attempt to re-peg, angry American politicians will demand more protectionist measures against China, while the Federal Reserve may resort to more quantitative easing in an effort to force the PBC’s hand, as more QE in America will result in more dollars flooding into China – something that will drive inflation in China even higher if the PBC insists on suppressing the yuan-dollar exchange rate.

Gold is the only winner in this devaluation race. Governments may not succeed in devaluing their currencies against other fiat currencies, but they sure-as-hell will succeed in devaluing their issuances against the yellow metal. As former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan recently remarked: "Gold, unlike all other commodities, is a currency," he said. "And the major thrust in the demand for gold is not for jewelry. It's not for anything other than an escape from what is perceived to be a fiat money system, paper money, that seems to be deteriorating."

Soros: Don't Let Faulty Euro Destroy Financial System

2011-10-12T08:34:00.001-07:00

Billionaire investor George Soros and 95 prominent politicians, business leaders and academics urged euro zone leaders to take swift action to resolve the crisis plaguing the region, calling for the creation of a euro zone treasury and stressing that the euro can only be saved if all 17 countries that share the currency act in unison.

Source: World Economic Forum

George Soros

In an open letter published in the Financial Times on Wednesday, the "concerned Europeans" conceded the euro was "far from perfect", but added euro zone leaders needed to "fix its faults rather than allowing it to undermine and perhaps destroy the global financial system".

The euro zone debt crisis has wreaked havoc on the European banking sector, culminating in state-led bailouts for a number of banks which faced liquidity issues.

It has also forced German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to announce plans to recapitalize Europe’s banks to avoid a full-blown banking crisis.

In the letter, Soros and the 95 others said they wanted euro zone governments to agree on the need for a legally binding agreement that would "establish a common treasury that can raise funds for the euro zone as a whole and ensure that member states adhere to fiscal discipline."

The euro zone’s attempts at enforcing a common monetary policy without a common treasury have been heavily criticized, but many EU member states fear a common treasury would infringe their sovereignty.

The letter also called for stronger common supervision, regulation and deposit insurance within the euro zone, as well as “a strategy that will produce both economic convergence and growth because the debt problem cannot be solved without growth”.

Until such a legally binding agreement is in place, euro zone countries should “empower the European financial stability facility and the European Central Bank to co-operate in bringing the crisis under control.”

"These institutions could then guarantee and eventually recapitalize the banking system and enable countries in need to refinance their debt, within agreed limits, at practically no cost by issuing treasury bills that can be rediscounted at the ECB,” the letter said.

Most importantly, the euro zone crisis needs a European solution, they said. “The pursuit of national solutions can only lead to dissolution,” the letter concluded.

Gold ATMs make their way to China

2011-10-11T06:35:00.001-07:00

Gold is getting popular now. I think now is good time to buy some gold as the prices have come down recently..update you guy when i get some..haha

This gold ATM is the latest way for fans and retail investors to buy the precious metal in China.
According to state media, the German-imported gold vending machine will be officially installed during the Chinese National Day holidays, which fall in the first week of October.
The machine prices gold at latest market quotes, which are automatically updated every 10 minutes.
There’s a selection of shapes and sizes, and consumers can choose to pay with cash or an ATM card.
The company behind the gold ATM is the Gongmei Gold Group. And Director Zheng Ruixiang says the ATM is another way to satisfy surging demand for gold.

“After the outbreak of the international financial crisis, everybody in China became very enthusiastic to purchase and invest in gold. Under these circumstances, the traditional ways of selling gold cannot satisfy the demand for gold.”

China is second only to India in terms of demand for gold.
According to the World Gold Council, China’s demand stood at around 700 tons last year. But rising demand for the precious metal, partly due to current volatile market conditions, will lift that significantly.

“Our machine can hold a maximum of about 200 kilograms of gold. The number of customers using gold ATMs may vary a lot in different locations, so we’ll load the ATMs with different volumes accordingly.”

Gongmei expects the gold ATM to be extremely popular and plans to install 2,000 of the machines in banks and high-end hotels over the next two years.
China isn’t the first to get the gold ATM. Similar machines have been introduced in Europe, the United Arab Emirates and Las Vegas.
Gold prices rose nearly 30% in 2010 and have soared to record highs this year, with the precious metal up 14% so far in 2011.
Bottom line: China’s love for gold finds another outlet with the arrival of the country’s first gold ATM.

Euro Debt funny but truth..

2011-10-08T13:13:00.001-07:00

Prophets Of Doom: 12 Shocking Quotes From Insiders About The Horrific Economic Crisis That Is Almost Here

2011-10-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

We are getting so close to a financial collapse in Europe that you can almost hear the debt bubbles popping. All across the western world, governments and major banks are rapidly becoming insolvent. So far, the powers that be are keeping all of the balls in the air by throwing around lots of bailout money. But now the political will for more bailouts is drying up and the number of troubled entities seems to grow by the day. Right now the western world is facing a debt crisis that is absolutely unprecedented in world history. Europe has had a tremendously difficult time just trying to keep Greece afloat, and several much larger European countries are now on the verge of a major financial crisis. In addition, there is a growing number of very large financial institutions all over the western world that are also rapidly approaching a day of reckoning. The global financial system is a sea or red ink, and when we get to the point where there are hundreds of ships going under how is it going to be possible to bail all of them out? The quotes that you are about to read show that quite a few top financial and political insiders know that things cannot hold together much longer and that a horrific economic crisis is coming. We built the global financial system on a foundation of debt, leverage and risk and now this house of cards that we have created is about to come tumbling down.

A lot of people in politics and in the financial world know what is about to happen. Once in a while they will even be quite candid about it with the media.

As I have written about previously, Europe is on the verge of a financial collapse. If things go really badly, things could totally fall apart in a few weeks. But more likely it will be a few more months until the juggling act ends.

Right now, the banking system in Europe is coming apart at the seams. Because the global financial system is so interconnected today, when major European banks start to fail it is going to have a cascading effect across the United States and Asia as well.

The financial crisis of 2008 plunged us into the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

The next financial crisis could potentially hit the world even harder.

The following are 12 shocking quotes from insiders that are warning about the horrific economic crisis that is almost here....

#1 George Soros: "Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation."

#2 PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian: "These are all signs of an institutional run on French banks. If it persists, the banks would have no choice but to delever their balance sheets in a very drastic and disorderly fashion. Retail depositors would get edgy and be tempted to follow trading and institutional clients through the exit doors. Europe would thus be thrown into a full-blown banking crisis that aggravates the sovereign debt trap, renders certain another economic recession, and significantly worsens the outlook for the global economy."

#3 Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, global head of securities services at UniCredit SpA (Italy's largest bank): "The only remaining question is how many days the hopeless rearguard action of European governments and the European Central Bank can keep up Greece’s spirits."

#4 Stefan Homburg, the head of Germany's Institute for Public Finance: "The euro is nearing its ugly end. A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable."

#5 EU Parliament Member Nigel Farage: "I think the worst in the financial system is yet to come, a possible cataclysm and if that happens the gold price could go (higher) to a number that we simply cannot, at this moment, even imagine."

#6 Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics: "At this point, our base case is that Greece will default within weeks."

#7 Goldman Sachs strategist Alan Brazil: "Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the US, Treasury debt growth financed the US consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the US continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?"

#8 International Labour Organization director general Juan Somavia recently stated that total unemployment could "increase by some 20m to a total of 40m in G20 countries" by the end of 2012.

#9 Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman: "It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels."

#10 Alastair Newton, a strategist for Nomura Securities in London: "We believe that we are just about to enter a critical period for the eurozone and that the threat of some sort of break-up between now and year-end is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the crisis"

#11 Ann Barnhardt, head of Barnhardt Capital Management, Inc.: "It's over. There is no coming back from this. The only thing that can happen is a total and complete collapse of EVERYTHING we now know, and humanity starts from scratch. And if you think that this collapse is going to play out without one hell of a big hot war, you are sadly, sadly mistaken."

#12 Lakshman Achuthan of ECRI: "When I call a recession...that means that process is starting to feed on itself, which means that you can yell and scream and you can write a big check, but it's not going to stop."

*****

In my opinion, the epicenter of the "next wave" of the financial collapse is going to be in Europe. But that does not mean that the United States is going to be okay. The reality is that the United States never recovered from the last recession and there are already a lot of signs that we are getting ready to enter another major recession. A major financial collapse in Europe would just accelerate our plunge into a new economic crisis.

If you want to read something that will really freak you out, you should check out what Dr. Philippa Malmgren is saying. Dr. Philippa Malmgren is the President and founder of Principalis Asset Management. She is also a former member of the Bush economic team. You can find her bio right here.

Malmgren is claiming that Germany is seriously considering bringing back the Deutschmark. In fact, she claims that Germany is very busy printing new currency up. In a list of things that we could see happen over the next few months, she included the following....

"The Germans announce they are re-introducing the Deutschmark. They have already ordered the new currency and asked that the printers hurry up."

This is quite a claim for someone to be making. You would think that someone that used to work in the White House would not make such a claim unless it was based on something solid.

If Germany did decide to leave the euro, you would see an implosion of the euro that would be truly historic.

But as I have written about previously, it should not surprise anyone that theend of the euro is being talked about because the euro simply does not work.

The only way that the euro would have had a chance of working is if all of the governments using the euro would have kept debt levels very low.

Unfortunately, the financial systems of the western world are designed to push governments into high levels of debt.

The truth is that the euro was doomed from the very beginning.

Now we are approaching a day of reckoning. We have been living in the greatest debt bubble in the history of the world, but the bubble is ending. There are several ways that the powers that be could handle this, but all of them will lead to greater financial instability.

In the end, we will see that the debt-fueled prosperity that the western world has been enjoying for decades was just an illusion.

Debt is a very cruel master. It will almost always bring more pain and suffering than you anticipated.

It is easy to get into debt, but it can be very difficult to get out of debt.

There is no way that the western world can unwind this debt spiral easily.

The only way that another massive economic crisis can be put off for even a little while would be for the powers that be to "kick the can down the road" a little farther by creating even more debt.

But in the end, you can never solve a debt problem with more debt.

The next several years are going to be an incredibly clear illustration of why debt is bad.

When the dominoes start to fall, we are going to witness a financial avalanche which is going to destroy the finances of millions of people.

You might want to try to get out of the way while you still can.

Shanghai Gold Exchange Hikes Silver Margin By 20%

2011-09-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011

Wondering what caused the dramatic plunge in gold and silver earlier? Wonder no more: the CME's counterpart in China, the Shanghai Gold Exchange, decided to follow through with an identical, if more substantial, action to that undertaken by the CME on Friday, and announced an increase in the Silver T+D contract margin from 15% to 18%, a 20% bump; the SGE also noted an increase in the price range limit from 12% to 15%, which will be promptly fulfilled, as margin hikes traditionally tend to lead to a sudden spike in vol, contrary to well-meaning expectations. There was a second announcement, slightly more cryptic one, noting that if volatility were to persist, the SGE would outright halt silver trading (although the Google Translation of this previously unseen form announcement is a little sketchy). Expect to see more exchange intervention in precious metals today. Regardless, those who bought silver 15% lower a whopping, oh, two hours ago, courtesy of the out and out sheer panic, are quite grateful to the Chinese.

The Margin hike announcement - link:

Member Unit: silver Ag (T + D) contract Sept 23 close to seal the lower limit. According to "Shanghai Gold Exchange Risk Control Measures" of the relevant provisions, such as Ag (T + D) contract on Sept 26 (Monday) close to limit the same direction (ie, a second consecutive unilateral City), end of the day from the date of liquidation from the Ag ( T + D ) contract margin increased from 15% adjusted to 18% , the next trading day Ag ( T + D ) contract price limits range limit from 12% adjusted to 15% .

And the more cryptic one - link:

Silver Ag (T + D) contract Sept 23 close to seal the lower limit. If Sept 26, Sept 27 days Baiyin Yan swap transactions to limit the same direction, namely to reach the daily limit for three consecutive days, there will be the third consecutive unilateral City. According to "Shanghai Gold Exchange Risk Control Measures," the relevant provisions of Chapter II, once the third consecutive unilateral City, Spet 28 Exchange will suspension of silver Ag ( T + D ) the contract day, and the implementation of the following two measures to resolve any of the market risk.

Measures one: 9 months 28 days to decide whether to take unilateral exchange or bilateral, in the same proportion or in different proportions, some members or all members to improve trading margins, some members or all members suspended new positions, adjust the up (down) circuit breakers rate to restrict some or all members of the withdrawal of funds, the deadline open, forced open, suspension and other measures to resolve in one or more of the market risk. Exchange of relevant measures will be Sept 28 12 -point first through the exchange website, Spet 28 at end of day settlement will go into effect.

Measures II: Setp 28, the Exchange's trading positions held by members of Baiyin Yan period open for an agreement. Specific methods are: Exchange of the Sept 27 (third unilateral City) daily limit price at closing time to declare the transaction Baiyin Yan swap transactions did not open declaration to Sept 26 (second unilateral City) settlement The contract price and the net profit of customers by profitability position to match the size of the transaction, not in Sept 27 to declare open daily limit price does not enter the agreement positions open range. Recommended to prepare closing out of long positions will, in Sept 27 prior to the closing price to sell positions to declare the daily limit, once the exchange using measures two positions will serve as a basis for agreement. Positions held by the same customer-way, the first level their positions, then the method open.

City in the event of three consecutive cases of unilateral, which measures the specific use, the exchange will be based on market conditions, in the Sept 28 12 -point first through the exchange website, please access the Member in a timely manner, and to prepare preparations.

Such as Sept 27 closed, the Bai Yinyan swap transactions did not appear for three consecutive unilateral City, Sept 28 normally open for trading, and maintenance margin ratio 18% , Change stop range limit of 15% unchanged.

Exchange Special Note: As the silver market price volatility and uncertainty of exchange to take measures, in order to safeguard the interests of investors in their own, reminding investors carefully about the risks of exchange control measures, prudent market.

Asian markets slump for second day

2011-09-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

HONG KONG - Asian markets plummeted for a second straight day on Friday and the dollar rose against regional units on growing fears that the global economy is on the verge of slipping back into recession.
Seoul dived 4.05 per cent, Hong Kong was 1.67 per cent lower by the break, Taiwan slumped 3.05 per cent while Shanghai was 0.91 per cent lower.
Sydney, which fell more than two per cent in morning trade, briefly bounced back into positive territory the afternoon and was down just 0.27 per cent.
Manila slumped 5.13 percent, or 210.14 points, to end at 3,885.96. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
The Asian sell-off followed heavy losses in the United States and Europe, which were caused by the Federal Reserve's comments on Wednesday that the US economy faced "significant downside risks", with the economy struggling with
slow growth, high unemployment and a depressed housing market.
The warning came after the Fed announced a US$400 billion plan to boost the economy that would see it shift its shorter-term debt portfolio to longer-term bonds in a bid to lower long-term interest rates, a move that disappointed markets.
On Wall Street the Dow slumped 3.51 per cent -- marking its worst two-day fall since November 2008 -- the S&P 500 sank 3.19 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 3.25 per cent.
The Fed's forecast piled the pressure on already nervous investors, who were selling assets earlier in the week amid fears Greece is on the verge of default, which could spread to other economies and lead to another global financial crisis.
"The selloff in risk assets threatens to become disorderly," Tim Condon, economist at ING, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The dollar extended its rise against regional currencies as dealers shifted their attention away from risker assets.
The Australian dollar was at 98.31 US cents, from US$1.0017 late Thursday. The Aussie hit a record high above US$1.10 just two months ago.
The greenback, which in recent months was languishing near record lows against several Asian currencies, was up at SGD$1.3017 from SGD$1.2878, to 1,194.47 South Korean won from 1,179.57 and to Tw$30.61 from Tw$30.34.
The euro edged up to US$1.3546, from US$1.3464 late Thursday in New York, while it was also at 103.21 yen, from 102.64.
The dollar fetched 76.20 yen, from 76.25 yen.
On oil markets New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for November extended its losses, dropping US$1.09 to US$81.60 in morning Asian trade, and Brent North Sea crude for November tumbled 0.85 cents to US$106.34.
Gold fetched US$1,747.10 an ounce by 0200 GMT, down from the US$1,765.40 it was at by 0900 GMT Thursday.

Marc Faber to Reuters- You dont need the fed to tell you something is wrong

2011-09-23T10:13:00.001-07:00

Glut In Penang?

2011-09-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

Is Penang in danger of turning into one big property speculation hotbed?

Is Penang in danger of turning into one big property speculation hotbed? The question now being asked is, amid the furious construction activities going on, are there enough takers?

A startling revelation recently by chartered valuer C.A. Lim & Co proprietor Lim Chien Aun that the return on investment (ROI) for properties on the island over the last 5 years had dropped by half, while the value had doubled does not bode well for the industry.

“As it is, the bulk of properties purchased over the past five years were for speculation purposes. If the ROI keeps decreasing, as property values increase correspondingly, then no one would buy property in Penang for investment purposes. The market would then become purely speculative,” Lim has reportedly said.

The affordability factor also comes in. “How many households are there with income between RM8,000 – RM10,000 monthly to be able to afford properties priced over RM300K?” he said.

IRRESISTIBLE HOTSPOT

There isn’t a doubt that Penang is proving to be an irresistible hotspot for developers, attracting them from all over especially the big boys from Kuala Lumpur. The list increases all the time. The latest entrant to the Penang property sector is giant Sime Darby via a 30% share acquisition in Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O). The latter is undertaking the RM12 billion Seri Tanjung Pinang 2 project which involves reclaiming 740 acres of land in Tanjung Tokong to develop two islands for mixed development projects.

Another high profile recent entrant from KL is Berjaya Land Bhd which has acquired 23ha of land in the famed Penang Turf Club area for RM459 million cash, or RM184 psf for a high-end residential property development.

Other big boys from KL are SP Setia Group, Sunway City Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd and IJM Land Berhad. IJM Land is well-established in Penang for many years and is considered by some to be the biggest developer in Penang. Add that to the increasing number of local Penang developers with big projects such as Suiwah Corporation Bhd, Ivory Properties Group Bhd, MTT Properties and Development Sdn Bhd, and you have a potential oversupply situation for both residential and commercial properties, argued some industry observers.

Recent reports have estimated Penang’s planned projects to be close to RM30 billion over the next 10 – 15 years. At 2010 take-up rates of between RM1.8bil to RM2bil, it would take some 10 – 11 years to sell them off, according to expert estimates.

“PIE BIG ENOUGH”

IJM Land’s CEO and Managing Director, Dato’ Soam Heng Choon was not worried however when asked recently about a possible glut. The chieftain said IJM Land has positioned itself as a market leader and is unperturbed with other developers emerging on the island.

“The pie is big enough, and our product offerings will set us apart from others. Our properties are located near the Penang bridge and have premium waterfront position,” he added.

As always, the big boys will always be able to ride out whatever downturn or oversupply situation that might arise. Optimism was even expressed on the land reclamation works that some quarters believe will increase demand for workers and contractors, and by extension rental properties, food and et cetera. In short, the “frenzied” construction work will actually generate economic activities for the island with its many spillover effects and is thus something that is healthy for the state.

As always the demand and supply will work itself out over time. If the state government manages it well, Penang might well turn out to be “Paradise Revived”.

Confirmed details of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 revealed

2011-07-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

Look like samsung will tide up with celcom and will launch Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 very soon maybe next week..I am looking forward it.Hand feel itches want to buy Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 .......more detail below from soyacincau..

Update: After much persuasion we managed to get the Samsung guys to clue us in on the price of the device. The local price for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be cheaper than the RRP in Indonesia. How much cheaper? We don’t know, but what we do know is that in Indonesia, the 16GB 3G Galaxy Tab 10.1 sells for approximately RM2,110. So now you know that the Galaxy Tab not going to be more than RM2,000 when it is launched here.

We’re meeting up with some of the product people in Samsung at the moment and they have revealed interesting details on the local launch of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The rumour that Celcom will be the first to offer the device is true and it will be exclusive. Specifically Celcom will offer the 16GB 3G version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In terms of pricing, the Samsung product guys are tight-lipped but let’s see if we can loosen their gap a bit. There will be two colour at launch. Black and white.

The WiFi version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be coming a “little later” but there’s no set date on when this will happen. As for the 32GB version, Samsung say, they will look at the market to see if it is feasible to make the 32GB available here.

In terms of accessories, Samsung will be offering a range of accessories at launch. A keyboard dock (RM299, a Bluetooth keyboard with case (As seen here. RM399). There’s a “book cover” case (RM219), a neoprene pounch (RM129), a desktop dock (RM109), USB connection kit (RM109) and ah HDMI adapter (RM139).

So now that the Celcom tie-up is confirmed, we’re itching to find out whether the under unconfirmed rumour that we received is true as well. Will Celcom offer limited units of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with hefty discounts at launch? We have a feeling its going to happen. How much of a discount? That’s for us to find out.

Bumi Armada Berhad IPO tommorow last day..

2011-07-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Bumi Armada Berhad’s IPO is now available until 5:00PM, 7 July 2011. It will be listed on Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on 21 July 2011. Details as follows:
Bumi Armada Berhad, Unit Price = RM3.15. Remember to buy some guys.. this stock is political link counter..abit expensive but have good future ahead as Government have O&G big project in Johor...

Malaysian oil and gas services provider, Bumi Armada Berhad, plans an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bursa Malaysia soon, following it lodged a draft IPO prospectus with Securities Commission for exposure in early May 2011. It is believed Bumi Armada Berhad IPO will be the largest offer in Malaysia since the listing of Petronas Chemicals last year.

The number of shares and offer price, as usual, are not available in the draft prospectus, as well as IPO timeline and listing date are also not finalised and fixed.

Bumi Armada is an offshore support specialist and the only Malaysian company that owns floating production storage and offloading vessels, which carry a premium lease rate.

Bumi Armada’s IPO, which will be one of the largest announced in Southeast Asia this year, was delayed several times in the past few years. The company was privatised in 2003 by tycoon T. Ananda Krishnan, and a planned relisting in 2008 was delayed due to the global financial crisis. A subsequent relisting plan was also shelved.

After a series of privatisation of MAXIS, ASTRO, Measat and Tanjong plc by Ananda Krishnan in the past, he then re-lists MAXIS and Bumi Armada.

The joint global coordinators for the IPO are CIMB, Maybank and Credit Suisse, which are also joint bookrunners with RHB, CLSA and UBS.

Boot Leader

2011-07-06T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today bot 10 lot of leader...at 0.89..The bos is buying in heavily recently ..By the way the dividen is coming on12/8/11 too..
Company Name
:
LEADER STEEL HOLDINGS BERHAD
Stock Name
:
LSTEEL
Date Announced
:
02/06/2011

EX-date
:
10/08/2011
Entitlement date
:
12/08/2011
Entitlement time
:
05:00:00 PM
Entitlement subject
:
First and Final Dividend
Entitlement description
:

First and Final Dividend of 2.5 sen per share less 25% tax
Period of interest payment
:
to
Financial Year End
:
31/12/2010
Share transfer book & register of members will be
:
to closed from (both dates inclusive) for the purpose of determining the entitlements
Registrar's name ,address, telephone no
:

AGRITEUM Share Registration Services Sdn. Bhd.
2nd Floor, Wisma Penang Garden
42 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
10050 Penang
Tel:
Payment date
:
08/09/2011

a.
Securities transferred into the Depositor's Securities Account before 4:00 pm in respect of transfers

:
12/08/2011

b.
Securities deposited into the Depositor's Securities Account before 12:30 pm in respect of securities exempted from mandatory deposit

:

c. Securities bought on the Exchange on a cum entitlement basis according to the Rules of the Exchange.
Number of new shares/securities issued (units) (If applicable)

:

Entitlement indicator
:
Currency
Currency
:
Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
Entitlement in Currency
:
0.025

Remarks :
This First and Final Dividend is subject to shareholders' approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
© 2011, Bursa Malaysia Berhad. All Rights Reserved.

UEMLAND

2011-06-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Today i have bought 3000 lot at RM2.87. This company will benefit from the long term investment Khazanah and Temasek to develop RM30bil projects in Singapore, Iskandar Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: Khazanah Nasional Bhd has teamed up with Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd to develop RM30bil worth of real-estate projects in Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia.

In a statement issued yesterday, both state-owned investment holding companies said they would form two new joint-venture companies M+S Pte Ltd and Pulau Indah Ventures Sdn Bhd for joint-development projects in Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia, respectively.

“We are honoured to be undertaking these exciting developments at these key sites in Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia with our counterparts from Singapore, Temasek Holdings,” Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar said in the statement.

“The development in Iskandar with Temasek will be highly complementary and builds on the momentum of existing and planned projects in Iskandar Malaysia, in which Khazanah has been involved since 2006. Both these projects mark our first joint-development investment with Temasek, and we look forward to a strong and fruitful partnership in both Singapore and Iskandar Malaysia.”

Temasek's executive director and CEO Ho Ching in echoing the same sentiment said: “Both the Khazanah and Temasek teams put in tremendous effort, working very closely together to develop the best ideas possible for our joint projects. We were also very fortunate to have the expert and highly professional support of leading real estate companies like UEM Land (Holdings Bhd) from Malaysia as well as Mapletree (Investments Pte Ltd) and CapitaLand from Singapore.

“I am also especially grateful for the guidance, advice and support of very experienced industry leaders who will guide the Singapore developments as key board members of M+S. I look forward to the successful development of the projects both in Johor as well as Singapore.”

M+S, which would be 60:40 owned by Khazanah and Temasek respectively, would develop four land parcels in Marina South and two land parcels in Ophir Rochor. The gross development value of the projects, which would comprise office, residential, hotel and retail components on a permitted gross floor area of up to 501,020 sq m, was estimated to worth around S$11bil (RM27bil).

UEM Land, a real estate company within Khazanah's portfolio, and Mapletree, a Temasek portfolio company, would oversee the marketing and development of the project at Marina South.

The marketing and development of the Ophir Rochor site would be overseen by UEM Land and CapitaLand Ltd, another Temasek portfolio company.

As for the development in Iskandar Malaysia, two new sites one in Medini North and the other at the Heritage Cluster in Medini Central had already been identified for joint commercial development by Pulau Indah, an 50:50 joint venture between Khazanah and Temasek.

Pulau Indah intends to develop serviced apartments, a corporate training centre, and commercial, retail, residential and wellness-related offerings on these sites. Khazanah and Temasek were still in discussions and negotiations with potential partners and operators for the various components to maximise the commercial potential of the location.

Nevertheless, planning and design works for the Iskandar Malaysia projects, estimated at about RM3bil on a permitted gross floor area of up to 1,365,675 sq m, had already commenced since the first quarter.

With the signing of these agreements yesterday, the projects would move towards design and further implementation and delivery of the initial phases over the next five years, the companies said.

OldTown Berhad IPO

2011-06-27T08:53:00.001-07:00

OldTown Bhd, the “kopitiam” chain operator and instant beverage mix manufacturer, is schedule to be listed in Main Market on 13th July 2011.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) consists of 96.4 million ordinary shares at an IPO price of RM1.25 per share at RM1.00 par value.

Out of 96.4 million shares, 48.4 million shares will be allocated for private placement, 10 million for the Malaysian public, and five million for eligible directors, employees and business associates of the group.

OldTown Bhd, expects to raise RM79.2 million from its initial public offering (IPO). Out of these, RM52 million will be invest to build a new plant in Kawasan Perindustrial Tasek, Ipoh and RM19.7 million from the proceeds would be used to acquire 17 companies not yet owned by OldTown.

OldTown planned to open 300 outlets in three years from current 182 in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

More information regarding the company can be found in OldTown Berhad webpage.

OldTown intends to distribute minimum 50% of their net profit at dividend. Based on 2010 figures and IPO price RM1.25, it translate to 4.78% dividend yield.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, managing underwriter, joint underwriter and joint placement agent while CIMB Investment Bank Bhd is the joint underwriter and joint placement agent for the IPO exercise.

For those who are interested in OldTown IPO, you may subscribed at ATM machines or via Internet Banking. The subscription period is opened until 29th June 2011 at 5pm. Tentative balloting date is on 1st July while allotment date is on 6th July 2011.

OldTown Berhad stock name in Bursa Malaysia is “OLDTOWN”.

View OldTown prospectus in Bursa Malaysia webpage.

Genting gets foothold on US terrain

2011-06-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

MIAMI, June 21 – Malaysia-based Genting Berhad, one of the world’s largest international casino operators, is betting big on Miami becoming a palm-fringed playground for global gamblers.

The cash-rich company, which controls casino resorts in Malaysia and Singapore, will make its first official foray into the US gaming market with the opening of a gambling parlour at New York’s Aqueduct racetrack this fall.

Coupled with its plans for South Florida – where it already controls Miami-based Norwegian Cruise lines and has lofty dreams about creating a sort of Macau of the Americas – Genting is carving out a big foothold on the US East Coast.

Florida, which is struggling to recover from the crippling US recession and record-high unemployment, is desperately in need of a new source of jobs and tax revenues.

The problem is that state law currently forbids casinos from expanding beyond businesses operated by the Seminole Indian tribe and selected racetracks and jai alai frontons.

Lawmakers are widely expected to liberalise Florida’s gambling laws, sooner rather than later, however. And analysts say Genting has the deep pockets and “patient capital” to start laying the groundwork now for future business.

“I believe Miami is destined to become one of the greatest global cities in the world,” Genting shairman and chief executive KT Lim told a gathering of Miami business and civic leaders last week.

“With planes now able to fly nonstop from Singapore and Hong Kong, Miami will soon connect Asia with the Americas,” he said.

In one of the priciest real estate deals in Miami’s history, Genting Malaysia Berhad announced last month that it was paying US$236 million (RM715.43 million) for a 5.7 hectare piece of waterfront property in the downtown area that currently houses the Miami Herald newspaper.

For a total investment of about US$3 billion, Genting plans to build a luxury hotel on the site overlooking the azure waters of Biscayne Bay, along with convention, entertainment, restaurant, retail, residential and commercial facilities.

Genting has stressed that the project would create thousands of jobs in the city. But the casino giant has also said the time it takes to complete the project, dubbed Resorts World Miami, a key potential contributor to tourism and local cash flow, will depend on Florida’s gambling politics.

‘MORE MOMENTUM’

Mike Speller, the New York-based president of Genting’s Resorts World subsidiary, says the project will go ahead whether or not Florida changes its gaming laws anytime soon.

But the casino element is the driver of Genting’s business plan, and legal changes would step up development, which is currently forecast to take up to 20 years.

“It would certainly shorten the period greatly that we would be able to build out the entire project because there would be that much more momentum,” Speller said.

Gaming titans led by the Las Vegas Sands Corp have been lobbying to persuade lawmakers to allow for full casino gambling at so-called “destination resorts” in Florida since the Seminole Tribe won its right to offer blackjack, baccarat and other banked card games more than two years ago.

A legislative proposal to bring five destination resorts to the state died in the legislature in March. But industry lobbyists and lawmakers are already drafting new proposals, focused strictly on South Florida, and hope a large-scale gaming expansion can be pushed through when a new legislative session opens in Tallahassee in the fall.

Florida’s conservative Republican governor, Rick Scott, has yet to stake out a clear position on the issue. But he met with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire businessman and Sands owner, after his election last year.

“I think we’ve got a good shot to get it done during this 2012 session,” said Nick Iarossi, Adelson’s point man and lobbyist for the Sands in Tallahassee, when asked about the likelihood of seeing a change in gaming laws soon.

“We’ve gotten some encouraging signs from key members of the legislature, on both sides of the House, as well as the governor’s office,” Iarossi said. “We’re going to make an all-out effort to get it done this session.”

Representative Erik Fresen, a Miami Republican, is among those who plan to sponsor revamped gaming legislation in the fall. He said the economic benefits, including what he sees as more than 10,000 permanent jobs stemming from Genting’s project, make expanded gambling a must-have for Florida.

“We’re still obviously in kind of a recessive economy right now so it lends itself even more so to making game-changing decisions that will immediately inject billions of dollars of infrastructure investment into the state of Florida.” he said.

“There’s not a single piece of legislation that will be considered during the upcoming session that will create more jobs than this proposal,” added Iarossi. He said Genting, Wynn Resort, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment were all part of the lobbying effort in Tallahassee, which was spearheaded by Adelson.

Like Genting, which operates the only casino resort that rivals the one owned by the Sands in Singapore, Iarossi said Adleson would happily pay US$3 billion to develop a high-end destination resort in Miami.

‘HIGHER PROPENSITY TO GAMBLE’

Opposition by some lawmakers, who strongly oppose high-stakes gambling, could still pose a daunting obstacle to the liberalisation of Florida’s gaming laws.

“It’s going to be a very complicated regulatory and political environment for it to move forward,” said Michael Paladino, a gambling analyst with Fitch Ratings in New York.

He said exclusivity provisions in the state gaming agreement with the Seminoles were one complicating factor. But Representative Dennis Baxley, a Republican from Ocala, Florida, said there were also longstanding ethical questions about gambling in the traditionally conservative southern state, along with doubts about the economic underpnnings of gaming.

“If this is such a golden apple for us to latch onto why isn’t Nevada leading the country in economic health,” said Baxley. “No one has a bigger destination gambling model than Nevada and look at their financial condition.”

Warwick Bartlett, chief executive of UK-based Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, said hard economic times could work in the gambling industry’s favour, however.

“When you have a recession and a state needs dollars, tax dollars, that normally loosens up people’s attitude, politicians’ attitude, toward gambling and deregulating what they have,” Bartlett said.

Even without the speedy passage of new gaming legislation, analysts said there was little risk attached to Genting’s purchase of a prime Miami waterfront site.

The land deal follows recently announced plans by Hong Kong-based Swire Properties to pour US$700 million into the construction of a new urban centre on the south side of the Miami River, not far from Genting’s property.

The influx of Asian capital could soon raise the profile of Miami as a draw for tourists from China and Southeast Asia, including many gamblers.

“It would broaden the tourist scope of the state.” Bartlett said. “If you had the choice, Las Vegas or Florida to gamble, I think I’d go to Florida. Wouldn’t you?” – Reuters

DRB-HICOM

2011-06-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Company Update

¨ The Group is well positioned to post strong earnings growth across all three of its business divisions in the coming years.

¨ The Group is making a significant effort to improve financial transparency and implementing investor outreach programmes that will help to improve the market’s understanding of DRB’s businesses.

¨ We reiterate our Outperform call on DRB on the back of undemanding PER valuations and solid FY11-14 EPS CAGR of 21.1%. Our sum-of-parts derived fair value is RM3.05

New 2011 Perodua Myvi

2011-06-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

Look like Produa will give us some spyshots of the Myvi, which should be launched into the market very soon, given that bookings for the car are officially set to begin tomorrow, which means the launch can’t be too far away!

From the look, seem like not so attractive as previous Myvi Model.What your opinion guy?

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer announced in Malaysia

2011-05-18T07:55:00.001-07:00

Asus have lauch Eee Transfomer in Malaysia today.According to ASUS Malaysia’s Facebook page, pre-order details will only be revealed tomorrow to the disappointment of many hoping to try out or purchase the tablet today.
Price wise, the 1GHz dual-core ASUS Eee Pad Transformer is going at RM1498 for the tablet only while a combo with the keyboard dock goes for RM1799 as spotted earlier by our sharp-eyed reader. The model we are getting is WiFi only with 16GB of storage. It is interesting to note that ASUS priced the tablet only just RM1 lower than the entry level iPad 2 16GB WiFi model. I am waiting for Samsung 8 inch and 10.1 inch before decide to buy which tablet. How do you guy think?

How to Invest in Gold in Malaysia

2011-05-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

Historically, gold is perceived to be a safe haven during uncertainties and economic crises as it is considered more stable than other asset classes. It is generally an effective hedge against inflation and fluctuations in the US dollars.

Gold is an investment tool for preservation of wealth and a store of value in times of market volatility. It is an asset diversifier that could lower the overall risk in an investment portfolio.

This article will focus on different ways to invest in gold.

Gold and gold-related funds

Gold and gold-related funds are unit trust funds that allow individuals, corporations and institutions with common investment objectives to pool their money for investment in gold and other precious metals. Professional fund managers then use the pooled money to acquire assets which will help meet those objectives.

Generally, a gold fund invests in gold mining equities and/or gold bullion accounts, while a gold-related fund invests in gold and other precious metals including platinum, silver, rhodium and palladium.

“By investing in such funds, investors benefit from diversification in their investments as fund managers buy stocks in more than one gold mining company or more than one type of precious metal,” said Datin Maznah Mahbob, chief executive officer, Funds Management Division of AmInvestment Bank Group.

The funds also provide investment opportunities that allow investors to benefit from the investment expertise of fund managers who manage the funds.

In Malaysia, the only gold fund is opened to high-net-worth individuals with the minimum investment set at US$150,000 (RM513,000). For gold-related funds, investors can invest as little as RM1,000 to enjoy diversification in their investments and take advantage of professional fund management.

Gold exchange traded fund

An ETF is a unit trust, listed and traded on a stock exchange. It is an open-ended fund that tracks or follows the performance of a benchmark index.

An index is made up by a basket of securities and usually reflects the movement of an entire market. This gives ETF investors the opportunity to invest in a pre-packaged basket of securities of an index rather than just an individual security.

“Gold ETFs allow investors to buy and sell gold ETF units just like how they trade stocks on a stock exchange. Generally, gold ETFs track gold indexes or the price of gold. The ETFs invest in gold mining stocks to track the gold index,” she added.

Gold ETFs, which track the price performance of the gold bullion, enable investors to participate in the gold market without taking physical delivery of gold. This is because it is 100 per cent backed by physical gold held mainly in allocated form. Allocated gold refers to the gold kept in a vault under a safekeeping or custody arrangement and the investor has total ownership to it.

The first gold exchange-traded fund Gold Bullion Securities listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since March 2003 is fully backed by gold, which is deposited and insured.

For SPDR Gold Shares listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, the underlying gold is stored in the form of 400 ounces London Good Delivery bars in a bank vault.

“Gold ETFs are considered a passive investment. This means that upward movement of gold prices or gold indexes will be followed by the appreciation of ETF unit prices,” said Maznah.

There is no gold ETF offered in Malaysia yet, but local investors can invest in Singapore-listed SPDR Gold Shares which are available closer to home. They need to have a foreign trading account offered by a local securities firm to trade the ETF. On top of that, their investment is subject to currency risk since the gold price is quoted in US dollars while the ETF is in Singapore dollars.

Physical gold investment

Some investors prefer to invest in physical gold including jewellery, gold bars and coins to have physical possession of the assets. Gold is an asset appreciated for its intrinsic qualities and beauty.

Investors have the option to buy gold bars in a variety of weights and sizes, ranging from one troy ounce to 400 troy ounces from some banks and jewellery shops. For instance, a local gold trading company offers gold bars and coins of 20 grams at RM2,415, 50 grams at RM6,010, 100 grams at RM11,964 and 1 kilogram at RM119,644 as at September 15 2009.

Investors can also invest in bullion coins offered in different weights of 1/20, 1/10, 1/4, 1/2, and one ounce. The actual value of bullion coins is based on the daily gold price and the gold content. They can buy bullion coins including the American Eagle, Australian Kangaroo Nugget and the Canadian Maple Leaf.

“To make direct investment in physical gold, investors need to set aside a bigger sum of investment compared to buying units in gold funds and gold ETFs. It is not as convenient as they have to think about safe storage and insurance for the precious assets,” added Maznah.

Mining stocks

Mining stocks or equities are shares of ownership of a precious metals mining company. The stocks entitle the investor to receive profits from the operations of the company, usually by payment of a dividend, and to any voting rights attached to the stocks. Factors affecting the appreciation potential of a gold mining stock include market expectations of the future gold price, the future earnings and growth potential of the company, mining costs, and the likelihood of additional gold discoveries.

In general, prices of gold mining equities are more volatile than gold prices, thus some gold mining company equities decline when gold prices increase. The short-term volatility of the equity prices could be due to some gold mining companies hedging their future output using gold futures contracts. In the long-term, generally prices of gold mining equities could match the longer-term price trends of gold bullion.

“Investors do not enjoy diversification in their investments when they buy stocks of one gold mining company. They need to allocate more money to buy stocks of different companies to diversify their holdings,” explained Maznah.

Gold passbook account

Another option is investors can buy gold in 999.9 fineness using a gold passbook account. Whenever they buy and sell gold, the transactions will be recorded in a passbook provided to the account holders. With the account, they can buy and sell gold at daily quoted gold prices for 1 gram in Malaysian ringgit. The account is normally backed by physical gold.

There are banks in Malaysia that require investors to deposit and trade a minimum of 5 gram of gold. The bank allows investors to make withdrawal in either physical gold or cash credited to their deposit accounts. They will incur a conversion charge inclusive of the shipping and insurance for the physical withdrawal.

One of the disadvantages for this type of investment is account holders do not get any interest or dividend for their investment. They generate profits only if they sell the gold at a higher price compared to their initial investment. The banks normally impose a charge of up to 5 per cent based on the gap between the selling and buying prices to cover administrative and storage expenses.

Conclusion

Now that you have understood the different ways of investing in gold, you need to compare them in terms of diversification, affordability and the advantage of professional management. On top of that, you should consider and select the investment options based on your risk tolerance as well as investment goals and objectives.

This article is contributed by the Funds Management Division of AmInvestment Bank Group.

Source : Business Times

Hwang-dbs Maybank (RM8.63; Buy; Price Target: RM10.80; MAY MK)

2011-05-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

MGO for Kim Eng shares
Maybank made an unconditional mandatory offer to buy the
remaining shares in Kim Eng Holdings Ltd (KEH) for S$3.10
(RM7.53) per share. After acquiring the stakes from Ronald Ooi
(15.4%) and Yunta Securities (29.2%), and an additional 6%
from the open market, Maybank owns 50.6% in KEH. We
understand that Maybank intends to privatise KEH upon the
successful mandatory offer and the total cost is estimated at
RM4.3bn.
Maybank is exploring the options available on KEH’s two listed
subsidiaries in Thailand and Philippines i.e. Kim Eng Securities
Thailand (KEH owns 55.3%) and ATR Kim Eng Financial Corp
(KEH owns 42.4%). If Maybank were to privatise the two listed entities, it will cost approximately RM1.1bn (based on their
existing market cap).
We continue to favour Maybank’s multi-year growth story in
Indonesia and its regional expansion plans. Maintain Buy and
RM10.80 TP.

President Obama on Death of Osama bin Laden (SPOOF)

2011-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

EON Capital (RM7.23; Hold; Price Target: RM7.30; EON MK)

2011-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

Another step closer
• Court rules in favour of EON Cap.
• 30 April deadline still on for Hong Leong Bank’s
offer.
• M&A with Hong Leong Bank will be positive; other
bidders in the pipeline unlikely to alter the picture
• Maintain Hold and RM7.30 TP (offer price)

IPAD 2 in Malaysia.iPad 2 extends its global reign of terror to Singapore, Japan, 9 other countries this week

2011-04-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Sure, you still may not be able to easily find an iPad 2 here in the US, but you can now sleep soundly knowing that the Japanese pen pal you had in elementary school could be rocking one by the end of the week. Amidst all the hub-bub about location tracking and pasty iPhones, Apple let slip that the WiFi iPad 2 will be available in Japan on April 28th, just as promised, coming to Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates a day later, then hitting China on May 6th. Local pricing is not confirmed, but suggested retail pricing matches US MSRPs ($499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB). 3G models are said to match US pricing as well ($629, $729, and $829), but Apple isn't confirming when they'll be available abroad, so at least you still have something over Katsumi.

DRB-Hicom (RM2.30; Buy; Price Target: RM3.80; DRB MK)

2011-04-24T18:35:00.001-07:00

POS-itive on deal
• Fair price for POS, sweetener is unlocking land
• Could enhance EPS and SOP over longer term
• High conviction Buy, TP RM3.80

Stronger-ringgit winners

2011-04-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Consumer goods retailers, manufacturers are benefiting from the impact

GEORGE TOWN: The strong ringgit has positive impact on local consumer products retailers and brand-name manufacturers' earnings and sales both directly and indirectly.

Pensonic managing director Dixon Chew told StarBiz that a strong ringgit meant that the cost of importing raw materials was reduced, which helped offset the rising price of raw materials.

“Thus, we are able to manufacture more cost effectively and at the same time maintain the competitive pricing of our products without adversely affecting our margins.

Chew said this could be one of the reasons why its electronic and electrical kitchen appliances' sales continued to be strong after the Chinese New Year.

Star Electronics managing director Joseph Hon said the company's margins had improved due to the promotions and incentives given by the manufacturers of consumer electronic and electrical products.

“Since they are now able to lower their production cost due to stronger ringgit, we also have been getting more attractive incentives and promotions which translate into improved margins. For the first three months of this year, our net profit improved by about 15% compared with same corresponding period a year ago.

Hon said the company would establish three more outlets in the northern region to strengthen its market share in the second half of 2011, which would increase the number of outlets in the north to 22 from 19 at present.

The recently released Business Monitor International Malaysia Retail Report forecasts that total retail sales will grow from RM168.72bil (US$47.90bil) in 2011 to RM284bil (US$80.63bil) by 2015. In 2010, the total retail sales in Malaysia was RM153.76bil.

Courts MalaysiaSdn Bhd country director Chris Yong said the company planned to spend about RM11mil this year on store expansion and refurbishment.

The Germany-based GFK report had forecast a 7% growth for the Malaysia retail segment this year, but Courts anticipated a much faster rate.

OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd emerging business head Wong Chee Seng said for the first quarter of 2011, the bank achieved a high double-digit percentage growth in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loans against the previous corresponding period.

“Retail businesses are more likely to be affected by domestic market developmentssuch as the gradual uplifting ofgovernment subsidies onoil pricesand other commodities, and costlier financing due torising interest ratesduring the course of 2011,” he said.

Favelle Favco gains on crane contract win

2011-04-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Favco up this morning... waiting to sell at 1.23

Favelle Favco Bhd, a Malaysian crane maker, rose in Kuala Lumpur trading after securing contracts totalling RM89.5 million to supply four offshore cranes.

The stock gained 1.8 per cent to RM1.14 at 9:41 a.m. -- Bloomberg

Read more: Favelle Favco gains on crane contract win http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110413095212/Article/index_html#ixzz1JNCQKq7T

HK 'Superman' Ka-shing ahead in malls bid

2011-04-07T23:09:00.000-07:00

Kuala Lumpur: The Cheung Kong Group, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, has emerged as the front runner to buy three shopping complexes put up for sale by TMW Asia Property Fund.

Cheung Kong, which also helps manage AmFirst REIT in Malaysia via its affiliate ARA, is said to be going through the books of Ipoh Parade in Perak, Klang Parade in Selangor and Seremban Parade in Negri Sembilan.

Sources told Business Times that Cheong Kong was selected after its offer thumped those made by two other listed companies.

However, it is unclear if Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd made the bid directly or through one of the funds affiliated to it.

Li, who is also Asia's richest man, is known as "Superman" in Hong Kong due to his deal-making ability. His Cheung Kong conglomerate is one of Hong Kong's biggest property developers and owns the world's largest operator of container ports, among others.

German-based TMW Asia Property Fund is selling the three shopping complexes which it bought in 2005 in a tender. The tender closed on March 8 2011.

The fund is managed by Pramerica, the real estate investment management business of Prudential Inc from the US.

It is understood that the asking price for the three assets was set at RM500 million.

International property consultant Rahim & Co was appointed as the exclusive agent to handle the tender.

Real estate agent, Rahim & Co's managing director Robert Ang, when contacted by Business Times to confirm the bidders declined to comment.

TMW Asia bought the properties which then belonged to the Lion Group for RM340 million.

According to previous reports, Seremban Parade has a nett lettable area of 316,847 sq ft and sits on 1.97ha, Ipoh Parade has a nett lettable area of 594,414 sq ft on 4.14ha and Klang Parade has 696,045 sq ft of space.

Cheung Kong's affiliate, ARA Asia Dragon Fund, bought two properties in Malaysia last year - One Mont' Kiara in Kuala Lumpur and Aeon Bandaraya Mall Melaka - for a total of RM710 million.

Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect (video)

2011-04-02T11:23:00.001-07:00

Cameras, Internet, Software
Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect (video)
By Vlad Savov posted Apr 2nd 2011 1:24PM
It had to happen. When Google showed off a new and revolutionary Gmail Motion control scheme yesterday, it failed to fool most people, but it didn't fail to catch the attention of some motion control geeks with Kinect cameras on hand. Yep, the FAAST crew that's already brought us a Kinect keyboard emulator for World of Warcraft has taken Google to task and actually cooked up the software to make Gmail Motion work. All your favorite gestures are here: opening an email as if it were an envelope, replying by throwing a thumb back and, of course, "licking the stamp" to send your response on its way. Marvelous stuff! Jump past the break to see it working, for real this time.

Property bubbles and bank non-performing loans

2011-04-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

HOW worrisome are real estate bubbles for the banking system?

Based upon the recent subprime and then global financial crisis, very worrisome indeed. The reason why real estate is so important to our whole economic life is because we take it for granted. For households, our house is likely to be the largest single investment for most families.

For companies, the real estate and fixed assets are often, other than inventory, the most important asset, especially as collateral for loans from banks. For banks, the largest single asset held for collateral against bank credit is real estate. For local governments, real estate sales and property taxes comprise the most important source of revenue.
Real estate assets account for 25.6% of total assets, and that has lost US$2.4 trillion or 26% from its peak in 2007. — EPA

Hence, most people equate buoyant house prices as an indication of prosperity, and most property developers would like to convince governments that they should never let property prices deflate.

The surprising thing about real estate value is how often economists ignore balance sheet values until it is often too late. The real estate value is 225% of US GDP. It took only a 20% drop in real estate prices to wipe nearly 45% of GDP, precipitating the deepest crisis in US recent history. It was only after the US regulators finally decided to look closely at the credit of the US banking system that it was discovered that as much as half of total credit are real-estate related (particularly through mortgages or mortgage-backed securities).

On March 10, 2011, the 2010 Fourth Quarter US Flow of Funds data was published by the Federal Reserve Board. Real estate assets comprise US$18.2 trillion or 25.7% of total household assets. Real estate values lost US$6 trillion in the two years 2006-2007, US$1.2 trillion in 2009, and after a modest recovery in the first half of 2010, for the full year, lost another US$0.6 trillion in 2010. The result is that net worth of households may have recovered a bit from higher financial assets due to the zero interest rate policies, but is still US$7.9 trillion down from its peak year of 2007.

The same pattern is seen in the US non-financial corporate sector. Real estate assets account for 25.6% of total assets, and that has lost US$2.4 trillion or 26% from its peak in 2007. Commercial real estate seems to have stabilised somewhat in 2010, but the numbers do not completely show up in the non-performing loans of the banks.

Based upon the testimony of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to Congress, there is a clear association between the number of failed or failing banks with their exposure to real estate loans, particularly commercial real estate acquisition, development and construction loans (ADC). In the three years 2005-2008, ADC loans increased 75% and the concentration of ADC loans to total capital rose from 26% in 2000 to 50% in third quarter 2007.

Loans disbursed quickly tend to go bad. More than half of the subprime loans originated in 2006 and 2007 had defaulted by November 2010. Foreclosure of mortgages reached 2.8 million in 2009 and exceeded 2 million in 2010.

At the end of 2009, non-current residential construction loans held by FDIC insured banks rose from 1.45% of such loans to 25.7%. As a result of bad loans to the real estate sector, 322 FDIC institutions failed since 2008 (out of roughly 7770 such institutions) and another 860 banks are designated as “problem institutions”.

Many of these troubled institutions failed because of high concentration in ADC loans in commercial or residential real estate.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index showed a 2% decline in the year to September 2010, whereas commercial real estate prices showed around 3% increase. Nevertheless, rents for commercial real estate are still falling.

Thus, despite the quantitative easing, which seems to have helped in causing equity prices to go up, real estate prices have not recovered that much, suggesting that if real estate prices still go down, the banking system would still be vulnerable.

Why is real estate so important in the banking sector books? The main reason is that real estate is the primary collateral and base asset against leverage. What securitisation and financial derivatives have done is to leverage these assets considerably and, therefore, when the primary base asset price is falling, the value of the financial derivative assets fall on a multiplied basis, due to the leverage effect.

In a recent speech to Cambridge University, Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority, argued that neither the Basel III reforms nor the measures against “too big to fail” are sufficient to ensure global financial stability. He argued for higher capital ratios than those set under Basel III and also further regulatory measures against shadow banking.

In particular, he argued that it was the balance between debt and equity contracts in the economy and financial system, as well as the maturity transformation that are the basic risks in the financial system.

He is surely correct that financial instability is driven by human myopia and imperfect rationality as well as poor incentives” and that in order to make the financial system more stable, it will require a multi-faceted and continually evolving regulatory response.

Like Lord Turner, the US Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is finally convinced that it is human failings that caused the financial crisis. It was the failing in ideology that markets are self-correcting that caused financial regulation to be “market friendly”. However, it is also the low interest rates that gave rise to asset bubbles and central banks cannot continue to deny that they had no role in allowing asset bubbles to form.

As we have now seen from the Japanese experience, real estate booms and busts have a long demographic cycle. In the growing stage for the population, real estate prices can grow, but when the population ages and then declines, real estate prices can deflate, causing massive losses if there was an asset bubble.

You may not be able to stop bubbles completely, but surely there are tools to stop the banks over-lending to that sector. What goes up can come down.

IJM close to winning RM5b jobs: Credit Suisse Read more: IJM close to winning RM5b jobs: Credit Suisse http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/a

2011-03-29T21:13:00.001-07:00

IJM Corp, a Malaysian builder, is in advanced stages of securing more than RM5 billion of new construction contracts, which may double its existing orderbook to a record RM10 billion, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

The contracts include the West Coast Highway project, hospital and rail projects, Danny Goh, an analyst at Credit Suisse, wrote in a report today. -- Bloomberg

Read more: IJM close to winning RM5b jobs: Credit Suisse http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110330091454/Article/index_html#ixzz1I3LE5Tfl

Radiation leaking from Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant

2011-03-12T04:34:00.001-08:00

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Radiation leaked from an unstable Japanese nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday, the government said, after an explosion blew the roof off the facility in the wake of a massive earthquake.
A helicopter flies past Japan's Fukushima Daiichi No.1 Nuclear reactor March 12, 2011. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

The developments raised fears of a disastrous meltdown at the plant, which was damaged by Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in Japan.

"We are looking into the cause and the situation and we'll make that public when we have further information," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

Edano said an evacuation radius of 10 km (6 miles) from the stricken 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima

prefecture was adequate. TV footage showed vapour rising from the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

The quake sent a 10-metre (33-foot) tsunami ripping through towns and cities across the northeast coast. Japanese media estimate that at least 1,300 people were killed.

The blast came as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) worked desperately to reduce pressures in the core of the reactor.

"An unchecked rise in temperature could cause the core to essentially turn into a molten mass that could burn through the reactor vessel," risk information service Stratfor said in a report before the explosion. "This may lead to a release of an unchecked amount of radiation into the containment building that surrounds the reactor."

NHK television and Jiji said the outer structure of the building that houses the reactor appeared to have blown off, which could suggest the containment building had already been breached.

Earlier the operator released what it said was a tiny amount of radioactive steam to reduce the pressure and the danger was minimal because tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated from the vicinity.

Reuters journalists were in Fukushima prefecture, about 70 km (40 miles) from the plant. Other media have reported police roadblocks in the area to prevent people getting closer.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the earth's axis shifted 25 cm as a result of the quake and the U.S. Geological Survey said the main island of Japan had shifted 2.4 metres.

Friday's tremor was so huge that thousands fled their homes from coastlines around the Pacific Rim, as far away as North and South America, fearful of a tsunami.

Most appeared to have been spared anything more serious than some high waves, unlike Japan's northeast coastline which was hammered by the huge tsunami that turned houses and ships into floating debris as it surged into cities and villages, sweeping aside everything in its path.

"I thought I was going to die," said Wataru Fujimura, a 38-year-old sales representative in Koriyama, Fukushima, north of Tokyo and close to the area worst hit by the quake.

"Our furniture and shelves had all fallen over and there were cracks in the apartment building, so we spent the whole night in the car ... Now we're back home trying to clean."

The unfolding natural disaster, which has been followed by dozens of aftershocks, prompted offers of search and rescue help from 50 countries.

The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.

The disaster struck as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.

In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out for rescue, Kyodo news agency reported. TV footage showed staff at one hospital waving banners with the words "FOOD" and "HELP" from a rooftop.

The airport in coastal city Sendai, home to one million people, was on fire, Japanese media said.

TV footage from Friday showed a black torrent of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbour wharf, where they lay helplessly.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kant quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history.

Penang Park And Ride Free Shutter Service

2011-02-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

Starting from 1 March 2011, the Penang government is launching a FREE shutter bus service that travels from Prai to Bayan Lepas.

This service will greatly benefit the workers who live in Prai but work in Bayan Lepas industrial zone. The Penang government has compromised utilizing the Sunway Carnival car park as the main bus terminal. But yet the parking fee hasn’t been announced.

It’s planning to have 40-50 bus stops in Bayan Lepas industrial zone to cater different destinations.

This Free service is available from Monday to Friday, from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.

With this service, the traffic congestion will be dramatically decreased. And it’s estimated to save around RM250 per month individually.

Proton has reported a loss of RM52 million for Q3

2011-02-27T16:45:00.000-08:00

Proton has reported a loss of RM52 million for Q3 of its 2010/2011 financial year, down from a RM81 million profit in Q2 of the 2010/2011 financial year. This resulted in a lower profit before tax of RM134 million for the first 9 months of the current financial year, compared to RM248 million for the same period of time in the last financial year.

Cumulative revenue as of 31st December 2010 was higher though compared to the same period in the last financial year – RM6.36 billion versus RM5.97 billion.

The losses were attributed to higher R&D and branding expenditure as well as restructuring expenses incurred as part of the business transformation plan of Group Lotus. The primary contributors to the loss were said to be higher marketing and selling costs for its cars as well as lower domestic sales volume due to competitors aggressively lowering prices during the seasonal break, as well as traditionally slower end of year demand.

Looking ahead, Proton is expecting to do well for the Q4 financial quarter as it says deliveries of the Proton Inspira and the recently launched Saga FL will support higher sales. Proton sold 15,805 units in January 2011. Its total sales for 2010 was 157,274 units.

“We are confident that our current strategy built on the principle of offering the right car, at the right price for the right market segment, will enable it to continue to capitalize on growing domestic sales,” said Proton Group Chairman Dato’ Sri Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh.

“As for Lotus, higher expenditure is expected as the company is undergoing a restructuring exercise, but we are confident that the restructuring plan is making good progress. This is further supported by future plans which includes more efficient spending, continuous manufacturing efficiency and a consolidated marketing strategy, which is mainly to instill greater public awareness of new models,” he added.

Proton Group Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir also revealed that the Proton Exora E-REV and the Proton Saga EV are currently in the final stages of testing before being made commercially available. Positive signs of the mentioned higher R&D expenditure can be seen on our roads as well, such as the Proton prototype that we’ve been seeing locally as well as at the Bosch ESP testing center in Sweden.

Jobstreet Corp (RM2.85; Buy; Price Target: RM3.30; JOBS MK)

2011-02-27T16:44:00.001-08:00

4Q10 beat expectations
• 4Q10 net profit beat our forecast, but was in line
with street estimates; declared 2.5 sen net DPS
• Job posting momentum remained strong YTD,
which bodes well for 2011 earnings
• Maintain Buy and RM3.30 TP

CB Industrial Product (RM4.14; Buy; Price Target: RM4.80; CBP MK)

2011-02-27T16:43:00.000-08:00

Improved earnings momentum
• 4Q10 net profit was above expectations
• Surprised with 1-for-20 interim share dividend;
implies FY10 payout of 47% (above expectations)
• New contract flows are improving with better
margin mix; Maintain Buy with higher SOP TP of
RM4.80

Apple iPad is entitled to LHDN personal income tax relief but not Samsung Galaxy Tab

2011-02-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

In reference to Paragraph 46(1)(j) of Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967, an amount limited to a maximum of RM3,000 is deductible in respect of the purchase of non-business use personal computer for individual tax payer.

This deduction is allowed once in 3 years, but no deduction will be granted if the computer is used for business purpose.

Now, the question: are tablet computers such as Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic ViewPad 7, Toshiba Folio 100, CSL Spice Mi700 DroidPad, Blackberry Playbook, ZTE V9, etc. entitled for this personal income tax relief?

I have asked this question to LHDN, and the official answer is: if the tablet computer only have computer features and is for home and family use only, then it will be treated as "computer" and is entitled to the personal income tax relief of up to RM3,000, claimable once in 3 years.

This will be the case for Apple iPad, Toshiba Folio 100 and Blackberry Playbook. Let's say you purchased an Apple iPad 64GB with Wifi+3G at the price of RM2,599 in year 2010, and your tax rate is 24%, when you file your 2010 personal income tax now, you can claim back RM2,599 tax relief, which is equilvalent to a saving of RM623.76 in your income tax. (If you have any family member or friend or colleague who purchased Apple iPad recently, please forward this good news to them using the "Share" button below.)

However, if the tablet computer also have handphone features in addition to computer features, which mean you can make phone calls and also send SMS/MMS using the telco service with the tablet, then it will be treated as a "phone" and is not entitled to personal income tax relief. This is the case for Samsung Galaxy Tab, Viewsonic ViewPad 7, CSL Spice Mi700 DroidPad, ZTE V9, etc. Bad news.

If you need to verify this information, can make a call to LHDN at 1300-88-3010 or email to callcentre@hasil.gov.my.

Chinese authorities seek maximum fine on Carrefour

2011-01-30T16:55:00.000-08:00

SHANGHAI: China price regulators are seeking to fine French retail giant Carrefour 2.5 million yuan or US$380,000 (US$1 = RM3.06) - the maximum fine for overcharging customers, state media reported yesterday.

Municipal regulators fined three Carrefour stores in Shanghai and two in southwest China's Yunnan province 500,000 yuan each last Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Maybankard 2 Cards. 2 is all you need. Find out more.

However, the final fine will be decided only after a hearing where regulators said Carrefour representatives will be able to respond to the charges, the report said. It gave no further details about the hearing.

A total of 11 Carrefour stores were accused of charging more than the price they displayed on products ranging from cotton underwear and tea leaves to rubber gloves, according to reports.

Three Wal-Mart stores also face fines for overcharging.

Carrefour "sincerely apologises" and has offered to refund customers five times the difference between the price charged and that on the label, state media reported last week, citing company officials.

"We will have our special control group conduct internal price inspections, with wide coverage and high frequency," Carrefour China's head of public relations Chen Bo was quoted as telling Xinhua.

Local authorities were ordered to fine the Carrefour and Wal-Mart stores for deceptive pricing practices and confiscate their "illegal income", the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website last Wednesday.

Fines should be five times the amount confiscated, or up to 500,000 yuan if the amount cannot be calculated, the statement said.

The commission, China's top economic planner, also urged authorities to step up price investigations ahead of the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 3, and punish serious offenders with fines and licence suspensions.

Retail spending usually soars for the most important holiday of the year as people splash out on food and gifts for families and friends.

The crackdown comes as Beijing tries to curb inflation, which stood at 4.6 per cent on year in December, down from a two-year high of 5.1 per cent in November.

But analysts expect consumer prices to increase at a faster pace this month due to cold weather and the holiday season. - AFP

Read more: Chinese authorities seek maximum fine on Carrefour http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/charref/Article/index_html#ixzz1CZOyJQPK

Consortium bags RM1.07b Petronas job

2011-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

PETRONAS Gas Bhd has awarded a RM1.07 billion contract to build a liquefied natural gas regasification unit to a consortium comprising Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd and Perunding Ranhill Worley Sdn Bhd.

The engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) deal is for the regasification unit, Island Berth and subsea pipeline for the project in Malacca.

It said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia that the consortium is expected to start construction in April for completion by the end of July 2012.

Read more: Consortium bags RM1.07b Petronas job http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110127000121/Article/index_html#ixzz1CCpjyxe8

MRT may cost over RM36.6bil

2011-01-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

Lobbying has begun on locations and types of stations

PETALING JAYA: The cost of building the mass rapid transit (MRT) transport system, which is scheduled to begin construction in six months, may swell beyond the projected RM36.6bil as developers and residents have begun lobbying on the proposed locations and types of stations.

Business leaders want the MRT stations to be located close to the centre of commercial activity, in some cases where they have projects or plan to build one, but residents living near or adjacent to the proposed lines have voiced objection against the MRT tracks being built above ground and want the lines and stations to be underground so as to avoid congestion and noise pollution issues.

At the heart of the matter is the alignment of the MRT line, particularly where it should go, where it should stop, and lobbying have begun to have more than 9.5km of the first phase of the 60km Sg Buloh-Kajang line constructed underground.

The entire MRT line is estimated to run a total of 150km at a cost of RM36.6bil. Other lines will be added later. All these lines, together with the existing Star, LRT and Komuter rail will form part of the country's Urban Transport master plan.

At the session with business communities, developers who own shopping malls and commercial developments were lobbying for the line and station to be located at, or as close to their commercial properties as possible.

“We are willing to adopt' a station,” said a source from Uptown's See Hoy Chan Sdn Bhd over the telephone. The company is a different entity from See Hoy Chan Holdings Group which built Bandar Utama and the highly-popular 1 Utama mall. The owners of both companies are cousins.

Uptown's See Hoy Chan is planning to develop the second phase of what is already a densely populated commercial area in Damansara Utama popularly known as Damansara Uptown.

The company plans to build several blocks of offices and serviced apartments on 12 acres. That site is currently being used as a car park.

Damansara Uptown has a working population of about 30,000. Once the 12-acre commercial project is completed, the number will swell by 20,000 to 50,000.

Over in Kuala Lumpur, the Low Yat group is lobbying for the line to be located close to its commercial properties in downtown shopping area Bukit Bintang, in the heart of the Golden Triangle of Kuala Lumpur.

But not all business communities share a common stance. Some fear commuters would use existing parking space at commercial and shopping complexes for using the MRT instead of going shopping.

See Hoy Chan Holdings would like to get in touch with resident associations in the PJ North area to lobby for the line to go underground from Kota Damansara to Bandar Utama station.

“The station can be located below Central Park in Bandar Utama if the line is constructed underground. That location can be turned into a transport hub to serve the vicinity,” said See Hoy Chan Holdings director Datuk Teo Chiang Kok.

“Most of the lines and stations in countries with MRT are located underground. The communities in Kota Damansara, along Persiaran Surian, Bandar Utama and neighbouring residential areas are already there. To build elevated lines over what is already a densely populated area would bring about negative impact on the entire area,” he said.

At the same dialogue, Sunway Damansara resident association representative Ngian Siew Siong appealed to Land Public Transport Commission (LPTC) to have the line go underground in the Kota Damansara area. LPTC is planning for a station to be located at Dataran Sunway, a highly congested area during peak hours. Ngian is also Sunway City Bhd managing director (property development).

Contrary to LPTC's views that the MRT system will boost property values, Ngian said that “the visual impact and the noise level over Persiaran Surian and the vicinity will affect property value there.”

“The MRT line is massive and noisy.”

“The various communities are already in existent. Where will the park and ride facilities be located? Do not look at just the alignment, consider having the line underground and having integrated connectivity,” Ngian said. Under the proposed Sg Buloh-Kajang line, 20% of the 9.5km will be underground.

LPTC CEO Mohd Nur Ismal Kamal said the cost would be five to 10 times higher on a per km basis if the line were to go underground, depending on geological conditions.

See Hoy Chan's Teo Chiang Kok said the area comprised laterite and building an underground line will only cost three to four times more.

Earlier, explaining the Government's rationale to build the system, LPTC general manager Amiruddin Maaris said the MRT would have 50% more carrying capacity than the LRT line and will also be 50% wider. One car train carrying capacity is equivalent to three buses, or that of 177 cars.

“It will ease congestion,” he said.

The MRT system is expected to create 130,000 jobs and bring about a huge multiplier effect from its construction and operation. But the vision to bring out the flavour of KL metropolis, which to many, remains dormant because of the lack of public transport and connectivity, Amiruddin said.

Although tendering is expected to begin in April, the alignment can still be tweaked to accommodate the views of the public.

“This is just the proposed line. We will have other sessions to hear the public's views,” said Mohd Nur.

Said a public transport specialist: “Let us learn from the mistakes of the Light Rail Transit and the Star line.”

Social network users now easy targets for criminals

2011-01-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

PETALING JAYA: Forget about bringing criminals to book, the crooks are themselves going to the book – Facebook, that is.

Many are targeting Malaysians – via their personal details posted on Facebook.

They are lifting information such as addresses, telephone numbers and even photographs for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to blackmail and sexual harassment.

Experts have criticised Malaysians for being too naive in accepting “friendship” requests from strangers.

Last year alone, some 400 crimes involving Facebook were reported to a cyber security group.

The trend is worrying because an international survey last year revealed that Malaysians had the most number of friends on social networking websites like Facebook with an average of 233 each – and spent up to nine hours each week logged on.

Beware the Facebook felons

2011-01-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

PETALING JAYA: Crooks are cashing in on personal details readily revealed by some Facebook users and using them in identity frauds, blackmail or to “steal” money from users.

Over-excited online social network users who reveal personal information and accept “friendship” requests from complete strangers have made the site an increasingly popular target for cybercriminals.

Many users, especially beginners, experience culture shock when they suddenly become “popular” and receive many friendship requests, said criminologist and Malaysian Association of Certified Fraud Examiners president Datuk Akhbar Satar.

“They feel encouraged to reveal more information about themselves without realising the damage it could cause,” he said, adding that many users even posted sexy or nude pictures of themselves on the website and ended up being blackmailed by complete strangers.

Akhbar said the practice of posting personal details such as birth dates, addresses and telephone numbers on the website had proven to be the source of a lucrative business for identity fraudsters.

“The crime triangle comprises elements of desire, target and opportunity. Once there is a desire to commit the crime, the criminal identifies the target and opportunity. This is where Facebook comes in,” he said.

According to Socialbakers.com, a website dedicated to global Facebook statistics, there are currently 9,874,860 Facebook users in Malaysia alone, which is 37.75% of the entire population.

Youths between the ages of 18 and 25 formed the majority of Malaysian users – 38% – while the youngest group, aged between 13 and 15, makes up 7% of users.

The gender ratio of Malaysians on Facebook is almost equal – with 53% of them being female.

Hackers operating on social networks can easily create fake profiles and send friendship requests to unsuspecting users within their target groups.

Many users have become victims of identity frauds, harassment, blackmail and have lost money through various scams operated via the website.

There have also been reports of gangs and drug syndicates in Malaysia recruiting members through Facebook and other social networks.

The criminals’ job is made easier as the name and profile picture of the user is visible to all via the websites’ default privacy settings.

“Unlike crimes committed in the physical world, cyber crimes require little or no investment,” said Akhbar, adding that such crimes were also difficult to detect.

Muhibah by Philips Capitals

2011-01-15T23:16:00.000-08:00

I think Favco will benefit from is as it is the son to Muhibah with involve in crane for construction sector.

Stock Snippet – Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd

We met the management of Muhibbah 2 days
ago in CIMB Corporate Day.

Beneficiary of 10MP and ETP – Given Muhibbah’s strong 36 years track record as a contractor specialising in onshore works, oil and gas(O&G), marine and offshore works. Muhibbah is expected to benefit from 10MP spending on construction sector and ETP’s emphasis on the O&G sector. Per the management, they have tendered for various construction jobs such as the RM7bn LRT extension/upgrade works and construction of terminal jetty worth RM200m-300m which is part of Dialog’s RM3.5 bn deepwater petroleum terminal facility.

Recovery in Asia Petroleum Hub (APH) –
Per the management, they are expecting APH Source: Bloomberg long-drawn payment issue to be resolved in 1Q11. This is positive for Muhibbah as the funds inflow will save approx. RM12m interest costs and reduce its net gearing, thereby enhancing its capacity to finance more new projects in future.

Exclusive Rights for Privatisation of Cambodian International Airports – The management reiterated the fact that via Muhibbah’s 30% owned Societe Concessionaire de l’ Aeroport (SCA), SCA have exclusive rights for all international airports in Cambodia until year 2040 allowing them to earn airport related management fees. This buoys well for Muhibbah given the booming tourism and O&G industry in Cambodia.

In the Running for Vale’s RM3 bn Project– The management is also optimistic with their maritime terminal
construction track record which will enable them to clinch a slice of Vale’s RM3 bn maritime terminal and stockyard facility in Perak. The potential value of Muhibbah’s scope of work is approx. RM500m- 1 bn.

For the first 3 quarters, the EPS grew to 6.2 sen including 3rd quarter EPS of 2.2 sen, On an annualised basis, Muhibbah is trading at 21.4x FY2010 earnings. Its share price went up in anticipation of Muhibbah securing more contracts from now on. Price is running ahead of fundamental for the time being.

Recommendation: We are Neutral on Muhibbah.

Share Price: RM1.80

Faber stock takes a hit

2011-01-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

PETALING JAYA: Faber Group Bhd was the biggest loser yesterday with its shares tumbling 44 sen to RM2.19.

This follows the company's announcement on Wednesday that its Abu Dhabi contracts, which had an estimated combined worth of RM184mil per annum, were not renewed.

Analysts, meanwhile, have slashed their earnings estimates for the company. OSK Research said in its note that the news came as an “unfavourable surprise.”

According to the research house, the contracts contributed about RM200mil to Faber during the nine-month period of its financial year ended Dec 31, 2010 (FY10), with another RM20mil expected to be recognised in the final three months (fourth quarter).

“Management has guided that despite the non-renewal, it expects Faber to recognise RM100mil in revenue from the two contracts in FY11, based on its outstanding work orders.

“As we had initially estimated that these two contracts would contribute only RM180mil in FY11, we have cut our revenue forecast by 8.2% (for FY11),” it said.

OSK said given that the contracts contributed higher margins, the research house was lowering its overall margins assumption for Faber and raising its effective tax rate assumption since the contributions (from the jobs) was tax-free.

“Following the adjustments, our net profit forecast for FY11 is cut by 12.6%.”

In two separate announcements on Wednesday, Faber told Bursa Malaysia that it had received letters from the Department of Municipal Affairs, Western Region Municipality (WRM), Emirate of Abu Dhabi, giving notice of non-renewal of its existing integrated facilities management contracts worth 154 million Arab Emirates dirham or AED (RM129mil) and 65.6 million AED (RM55mil) per annum respectively.

These contracts will expire in June and April respectively with no penalties to either party. Faber could not be contacted for comments at press time.

Meanwhile, OSK noted that with WRM expected to invite a fresh round of tenders for its infrastructure contracts, the potential upside catalysts for Faber would be the possibility that the company would secure new contracts from WRM, as well as renewal of its concession in Malaysia which could be announced at any time.

“We also believe that the revenue shortfall resulting from non-renewal of the contracts will be partly mitigated by improving prospects for Faber's property division.”

HwangDBS Vickers, in its research note yesterday, said it was slashing Faber's expected FY11 and FY12 earnings 29% and 45% respectively on account of the non-renewal of the contracts.

“Taking a conservative stance, we are also cutting our new contract assumptions.

“Thus, (its facilities management) business is no longer the second major contributor to earnings,” it said, adding that Faber's share of pre-tax profit is expected to shrink to 4% in FY12 from 38% in FY10.

According to its note, HwangDBS Vickers expects Faber's pre-tax profit to hit RM139mil in FY10.

RHB Research in its report yesterday said it was lowering the company's expected FY11 and FY12 earnings forecasts by 11.8% and 28.3% respectively to reflect the news.

The research house, however, added that there was still RM100mil-worth of work to be completed until expiry of the contracts.

“Faber will also refocus on expanding its foothold in managing hospitals in UAE. Currently, the company manages 12 hospitals and clinics in UAE and is keen to expand to military hospitals there,” it said.

Faber is a key player in integrated facilities management and property solutions sectors

Supermax boss is CEO of the Year 2010

2011-01-13T16:42:00.000-08:00

Supermax Corp Bhd executive chairman and group managing sirector Datuk Seri Stanley Thai has bagged the Malaysia’s CEO of the Year 2010 Award.

Speaking to reporters after winning the award tonight, he said the success of the company relied mostly on the dedication and hard work of its staff.

"I am merely managing the company but those really running it are the employees," he added.

Thai received the award from International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed who represented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Gala Dinner ceremony in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

He took home the winner’s trophy, a mock front page of the Business Times event supplement, an American Express platinum card with a special bonus of one million membership rewards points and an EPOS watch by WooHing.

The annual event, with this year’s theme,"Rising to the Challenge", is organised by Business Times, the business section of New Straits Times, with American Express as the title presenter.

Maxis Communications Bhd won the Corporate Nationhood Initiatives Award 2010 and the Sunway Group was selected for Special Mention in the Corporate Nationhood Initiatives Award 2010. -- Bernama

Sealink rises on vessel contract

2010-12-29T17:32:00.000-08:00

Sealink International Bhd, a Malaysian builder and operator of marine vessels, climbed the most in more than nine months in Kuala Lumpur trading after winning a contract to sell three offshore support vessels.

The stock added 6.6 per cent to 65 sen at 9:13 a.m. local time, set for its biggest gain since March 8. -- Bloomberg

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ahead

2010-12-23T17:41:00.000-08:00

I want to wish Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my blog reader. Please be more cautious when driven back home this holiday season....

KNM secures RM2bil biomass contract in UK

2010-12-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Guys look up for this stock.... sense it would go high in near term.....

Project represents firm’s drive into renewable, clean energy sector

PETALING JAYA: Oil and gas process equipment maker KNM Group Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary KNM Process Systems Sdn Bhd (KNMPS) has secured a 450mil (RM2.196bil) engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for a biomass and waste recycling centre project in England.

KNM told Bursa Malaysia that KNMPS yesterday entered the agreement for the EPCC of works towards the development of an 80MWe gross capacity energy from biomass and waste recycling centre project called EnergyPark Peterborough in Peterborough.

The contract with Peterborough Renewable Energy Ltd spans four years.

“This project represents KNM's drive into the renewable and clean energy sector,” KNM said.

The company said it was not expected to have any material impact to KNM Group's financial performance for this year ending Dec 31.

However, the project was expected to contribute positively to its earnings for the next four financial years.

“The project is subject to certain risks mainly in the power and renewable energy industries and legislation on clean energy in the United Kingdom.

“These include changes in general economic conditions such as, but not limited to, inflation, taxation, foreign exchanges, interest rates, labour and material supply, changes in business and operating conditions such as, but not limited to, government and statutory regulations and deterioration in prevailing market conditions,” KNM said.

KNMPS is mainly involved in the design, engineering, procurement and manufacturing of process equipment, including without limitation pressure vessels, reactors, columns and towers, drums, heat exchangers, air finned coolers, process gas waste heat boilers and specialised shell and tube heat exchangers.

It also provides technical and project management services in relation to process equipment, plant facilities and general facilities for the oil, gas, petrochemicals, minerals processing and renewable energy industries.

Last month, KNMPS won a RM680mil bid to supply technical documentation, equipment and services for the development of gas condensate fields in Uzbekistan.

Tanjung Offshore’s debt rating reaffirmed

2010-12-16T20:26:00.001-08:00

Malaysia’s RAM Ratings has reaffirmed both the AA3 ratings of Tanjung Offshore Berhad’s (Tanjung or the Group) RM150 million Serial Bonds with warrants (2006/2014) and RM200 million Islamic Medium-Term Notes Programme (2008/2023).

At the same time, the negative outlook on the long-term ratings has been maintained.

Tanjung is an investment-holding company with subsidiaries involved in marine support services and the provision of engineering equipment, maintenance as well as drilling-rig and platform services to the oil and gas sector.

The negative rating outlook is premised on the group’s weakened cashflow-protection measures, which have been dampened by its aggressive debt-funded capital expenditure and weak engineering-equipment division.

Looking ahead, the group also faces heightened contract-renewal risk and potentially lower daily charter rates (DCRs) for its time-charter contracts, particularly amid stiffer competition and the current softer market conditions.

Meanwhile, Tanjung’s AA3 ratings remain supported by steady contributions from its time-charter contracts, under which the troup is paid fixed DCRs regardless of the vessels’ utilisation.

That said, Tanjung is vulnerable to contract-renewal risk, particularly when a significant portion of its contracts expire at around the same time. -- Reuters

Read more: Tanjung Offshore’s debt rating reaffirmed http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20101217112748/Article/index_html#ixzz18L8Ffzwi

Scomi Marine to dispose four companies for RM538.3 million

2010-12-16T20:00:00.001-08:00

PETALING JAYA: Scomi Marine is proposing a disposal of four companies for RM538.3 million to its 80.54%-owned Indonesian subsidiary PT Rig Tenders Indonesia Tbk for RM538.3 million.

The disposal involves CH Logistics Pte Ltd, CH Ship Management Pte Ltd, Grundtvig Marine Pte Ltd and Goldship Private Ltd which collectively owned 27 tugs and 24 flat top barges.

As part of the related-party exercise, Scomi Marine would renounce all of the company's entitlement to Portside Offshore Inc and PT Revessel Indonesia while PT Rig Tenders would undertake a renounceable rights issue to partly fund the acquisition.

Scomi Marine's board said in an announcement to Bursa Malaysia Friday that the environment has become increasingly challenging for the marine logistics and offshore support vessel businesses in light of the changes to Indonesia's regulations relating to ownership, intensifying competition and pressures on charter rates.

In addition, significant capital expenditure outlay is expected to be incurred to replace vessels and to invest in new business opportunities, the board said.

The board added that a strategic investor was essential in growing the businesses, both from a financial and operational perspective.

Given the specialised nature of the businesses and the unique ownership criteria required, the board feels that Portside and PT Revessel will be in a better position to expand the business activities of the enlarged PT Rig Tenders, it said.

The board said Scomi Marine would continue to participate in the businesses' upside potential through its equity interest in PT Rig Tenders upon completion of the Proposals.

Apple may ship iPad 2 as early as Feb

2010-12-08T07:26:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK, Dec 8 — Apple Inc’s next iPad tablet will start shipping as early as the end of February from electronics maker Foxconn Electronics’ factories in China, DigiTimes reported yesterday.

The report, citing unnamed sources from Taiwan-based components makers, said Apple originally planned to start mass production of the new device, known as iPad 2, in January.

Those plans were postponed since the device’s firmware, or set of software instructions that are programmed into the device’s hardware, was still being tested, according to the report.

The iPad 2 will mainly be supplied by plants in Shenzhen belonging to Foxconn, the parent company of Hon Hai, DigiTimes reported. An initial shipment of 400,000 to 600,000 units is expected.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple sold 4.19 million iPads in the fiscal fourth quarter. That was lower than markets expected, but analysts expect sales to ramp up this holiday season as Apple resolves supply glitches. — Reuters

Love Michael Buble Song

2010-12-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

RON95 prices up 5 sen to RM1.90 per liter

2010-12-05T09:27:00.001-08:00

Looks like it’s confirmed – RON95 will be increased by 5 sen tonight making it RM1.90 per liter, according to a report by mStar citing Datuk Ruhaidini Abdul Kadir, Press Secretary for the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumer Affairs. It’s official: in addition to RON95, diesel is up 5 sen to RM1.90, LPG up 5 sen to RM1.90/kg, and sugar up 20 sen to RM2.10/kg. RON97 remains at its recently hiked RM2.30 price

Penang properties the most expensive

2010-12-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Prices of properties on Penang island are the most expensive in Malaysia.

Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI) senior fellow Dr Michael Lim Mah Hui said the average house price last year was RM540,000 or eight times the average household income.

In comparison, the average house price in Kuala Lumpur was only RM390,000, or six times the average household income.

Lim said the average house price on the island has increased further this year.

A ratio of house price to household income of three to four times is internationally acceptable.

"If the situation persists, many Penangites, especially those in the middle and more so the lower classes, will not afford to own properties.

"The state government should address the issue before it gets worse," he told reporters in Georgetown on Thursday.

Lim said for a start, the authorities should stop encouraging construction of high-end properties that cater to foreigners.

He said data from the Malaysia's population and housing census indicated that there was a property glut, which suggests that many people bought property for speculative and investment purposes, thus pushing up the prices further.

In 2000, the vacancy rate in Malaysia was 15.6 per cent from the total of 5.547 million unit of houses, which amounted to nearly 750,000 houses.

He said the percentage was more than 20 per cent now.

"It is not that we do not have the houses. There are. It is just that the houses now are way too expensive and beyond many people's means.

"That is why I say the authorities should stop encouraging the contruction of high-end and luxurious properties," he added.

Meanwhile, Consumers' Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris said to make housing afforable to ordinary Penangites, the government should start a public housing policy, which provides affordable housing, particularly in urban areas, to cater to those below a certain level of income.

He said a good example worth studying was the Singapore Housing Board model, where the government spearheaded the building of affordable housing for a majority of its citizens.

He added that alternatively, the government could consider doing this in partnership with the private sector. "In short, the government's priority should be to put the needs of the majority of the people ahead of other things," he added. - By Audrey Dermawan (Business Times)

Penang Property Market Report First Half 2010

2010-12-02T06:26:00.001-08:00

Penang property market recorded improved performance from the corresponding period of 2009. There were 11,858 transactions worth RM4.09 billion recorded, indicating an increase of 9.8% in volume and 37.3% in value against H1 2009 (10,798 transactions worth RM2.98 billion). However, the market activity showed a marginal decline of 0.6% from H2 2009 (11,926 transactions) but value of transactions registered 15.3% growth against similar period (RM3.55 billion). The residential sub-sector dominated the market activity, capturing 70.0% of the market share, followed by the commercial sub-sector with 11.3% share.

Market activity movements were on the uptrend across the board with isolated exceptions. Against H1 2009, all sub-sectors recorded gains. This was led by agricultural sub-sector at 36.4%, and followed by industrial (18.1%), commercial (12.4%), development land (10.4%) and residential (6.6%) sub-sectors. Three sub-sectors recorded positive growths over the last half-year. The agricultural sub-sector grew by 23.3% and followed by the development land (10.2%) and commercial (4.2%) sub-sectors. Conversely, residential and industrial sub-sectors recorded declines of 4.0% and 18.2% respectively. In terms of value, all sub-sectors recorded gains against both halves of 2009.

Major sales recorded in the review period comprised two office buildings. Mayban Trust Building in Lebuh Penang and RHB Building in Taman Mutiara changed hands in December 2009 and January 2010 respectively, with a combined worth of RM18.50 million.

Generally, prices, rentals and gross yields of residential property were stable across the board. However, there were continued price escalation of landed houses on the island side; breaching RM515,000 a unit for single storey terraces, more than RM700,000 for double storey terraces and exceeding RM1.0 million for two and a-half storey terraces. Double-digit rental hikes were noted throughout the state in established housing areas where ample employment opportunities are offered from nearby industrial developments.

On the island, single storey terraced houses in Green Garden peaked at RM515,000, recording an 8.4% price hike. Bandar Bayan Baru recorded 15.2% and 24.4% gains for both its single and double storey terraced houses respectively. This was due to the self-contained residential neighbourhood being complemented with Sunshine Square shopping complex, Suntech@Penang Cybercity office blocks, as well as adjacent to Penang International Sports Arena (PISA). Double storey terraced houses in Taman Sri Nibong registered a good growth of 14.2% to record a commendable price range of RM698,000 to RM720,000. Similar houses in Taman Saw Kit continued to firm at RM635,000 to RM680,000. Both schemes are located within reach of the hype Queensbay Mall, Eastin Hotel and served with efficient road linkages to Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah and the Jelutong Expressway. On the same tone, the long established Island Glades and Island Park experienced further price escalation, each by 11.6% and 11.2%, transacted at as high as RM680,000. Similar units in Taman Jerjak Indah also changed hands within similar price range, attaining a price hike of 10.7%.

In Seberang Perai, prices of landed residential units were largely stable with few exceptions. Single storey terraces in Taman Seri Rambai and Taman Merak Jaya increased by 25.9% and 17.0% respectively. The fact that both schemes were no longer subject to flood as well as served with good access contributed to the increase in prices. As for double storey terraced houses, Taman Intan and Taman Bagan Baru obtained favourable price range of RM268,000 to RM330,000.

Prices of stratified properties were on the upward trend, particularly on the island. Three-bedroom flats in Serina Bay and Azuria Condo fetched 14.1% and 7.8% higher to register between RM138,000 and RM200,000. Apartments also recorded gains of 2.9% to as high as 19.3% registered in Spingfield Condominium. N-Park apartments saw an increase of 9.2% as it has direct access to the Bayan Lepas Expressway and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. Luxury condominiums such as No.1 Persiaran Gurney firmed up by 7.8% to record price range of RM800,000 to RM880,000 whilst The Cove stabilised at a high RM1.30 million to RM1.75 million.

The residential rental market was generally stable with commendable upward movements recorded in selected neighbourhoods. Single and double storey terraced houses in Bandar Bayan Baru increased by 21.6% and 11.1% respectively, hand in hand with its capital appreciations. Double storey terraces in Taman Saw Kit noted a marked increase of 36.4% to register a monthly rental of RM1,500, the highest in the state. In Seberang Perai, a substantial increase of 18.8% was recorded for single storey terraces in Taman Merak, which is easily accessed from Jalan Paboi, which links up to the main trunk road of Jalan Bukit Tambun. The average gross yields for landed houses generally ranged from 2.0% to 4.0%.

In the high-rise segment, three-bedroom flats in Azuria Condo where majority of the occupiers are factory workers from the nearby Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone recorded the highest increase of 13.7%, On similar note, Pangsapuri Perai Utama on the mainland recorded gains of 9.1% due to demand from factory workers of the nearby Prai Industrial Estate. Gross yields for stratified properties generally ranged from 4.0% to as high 12.1%, recorded in Desa Pinang 2 two-bedroom flats.

Prices of shops were stable with isolated increases noted in choice locations. Double storey shops in Teras Jaya Commercial Park saw 6.4% increase due to the opening of Econsave Hypermarket nearby, which acted as the pull-factor into the area. In Bandar Sunway and Bandar PERDA, three storey shops were transacted at RM820,000 to RM990,000 and RM780,000 to RM800,000 respectively, denoting 14.7% and 16.2% increases respectively. The hype Bandar Sunway houses Sunway Carnival Mall, Sunway Hotel as well as banks branch offices whereas Bandar PERDA is equally busy with AEON Seberang Prai City shopping centre and several Government departments such as Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara, Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai and Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri. These factors along with the growing population caused the townships to be sought-after for commercial activities. Ground floor shops sustained last year’s stable rental with the highest recorded in Autocity at RM8,000 to RM14,700 per month. Rentals of office space in shops in Bandar Sunway recorded between 4.2% and 6.0% gains.

There were 400 new residential units launched in the review period, fewer than those recorded in H1 2009 (2,264 units) but more than H2 2009 (328 units). Sales performance was at 31.0%, higher than 6.9% recorded in H1 2009 but was down by more than half from H2 2009 (74.1%). Most of the newly-launched units comprised two to three storey terraced houses (140 units) and semi-detached houses (136 units).

The residential overhang stood at 509 units worth RM112.14 million. The overhang numbers were only 3.2% more from H1 2009 (493 units) but value dropped by 10.6% (H1 2009: RM125.46 million). Against H2 2009, the overhang numbers declined by 14.0% (H2 2009: 592 units) whilst value declined at a higher 21.4% (H2 2009: RM142.68 million). More than half of these overhang units were two to three storey terraced houses (255 units), of which 247 units have been in the market for more than 24 months. The unsold under construction was also on similar downtrend, recording a decline of 15.7% to 1,594 units (H2 2009: 1,891 units). However, the numbers were more by 13.7% than 1,402 units recorded in H1 2009. The unsold not constructed category was more insignificant as the numbers shrank from 79 units (H1 2009) and 74 units (H2 2009) to 26 units in H1 2010. Majority of the unsold units in both categories were condominiums/apartments.

The shop and industrial overhang remained minimal in numbers. There were 75 units of shop overhang worth RM21.75 million as at end-June 2010. This recorded an increase of 25.0% in volume and 16.5% in value against both halves of 2009 (H1 2009 and H2 2009: 60 units worth RM18.67 million). There were another 30 shops in the unsold under construction category, fewer than 62 units in H1 2009 and 46 units in H2 2009. In the industrial sub-sector, 40 overhang units worth RM12.19 million were recorded, higher than 25 units worth RM6.34 million recorded in both halves of 2009. On the other hand, the unsold under construction dropped to 43 units (H1 2009 and H2 2009: 64 units). Both sub-sectors did not witness any unsold in the not constructed category.

The performance of retail market recorded a slight improvement. The overall occupancy of shopping complexes inched up to 71.1% from 68.9% in H1 2009 and 70.8% in H2 2009. The take-up remained positive at 3,419 s.m. though lower than 60,594 s.m. (H1 2009) and 21,100 s.m. (H2 2009).

On similar note, the office market consolidated at 78.8% in H1 2010, better than 76.2% and 78.7% recorded in H1 and H2 2009 respectively. Take-up was lower at 1,297 s.m. (H1 2009: 17,562 s.m., H2 2009: 33,581 s.m.) with the absence of new completion.

The performance in leisure sub-sector moderated. The overall occupancy of the three to five star hotels was at 53.5%, picked-up slightly from 52.2% recorded in H1 2009. However, it was lower than 56.4% recorded in H2 2009 and the national average of 54.0%.

Construction activities were relaxed across the board. The residential sub-sector recorded fewer completions against H1 2009 but more than H2 2009. On the other hand, shop sub-sector recorded otherwise. Both sub-sectors recorded fewer starts and new planned supply against the respective half of last year. The industrial sub-sector saw more completions than in H1 2009 whilst the numbers equalised that of H2 2009. On the other hand, new planned supply recorded otherwise. No starts were recorded in the review period. Both the retail and office sub-sectors did not witness any new construction activity with the exception of two starts in retail sub-sector (H1 2009 and H2 2009:0). The former recorded nil completion (H1 2009: 3; H2 2009: 0), and new planned supply (H1 2009: 0; H2 2009: 3). Similarly, the office sub-sector did not record any completion (H1 2009: 2; H2 2009: 2), starts (H1 2009: 0; H2 2009: 1), and new planned supply (H1 2009: 1; H2 2009: 0). View Full Report

Source : National Property Information Centre (NAPIC)

Oil slips on US inventories, China policy

2010-12-02T06:18:00.001-08:00

SINGAPORE, Dec 2 — Oil slipped today as traders focused on rising US crude inventories following a rally of 3 per cent in the previous session, when encouraging jobs data in top consumer the United States helped drive prices to their highest in almost three weeks.

Prices also responded to comments from a Chinese central bank adviser, who said the country’s monetary policy was sure to gradually tighten next year to counter excessive global liquidity and domestic inflation.

Optimism that the US would support debt-burdened euro-zone countries cemented oil’s gains of US$2.64 (RM8.18) yesterday. But today, the front-month contract retreated 18 cents to US$86.57 a barrel by 0426 GMT, staying slightly more than US$2 away from a 25-month peak of US$88.63 reached on November 11.

ICE Brent fell 11 cents to US$88.76, after surpassing US$89 yesterday.

“Yesterday’s rally was due to general risk on sentiment and positive economic data from China and the United States,” said Stefan Graber, a commodities analyst with Credit Suisse in Singapore.

“The latest data from the US showed that oil inventories actually rose amid weakening consumption. This could pose a risk for prices and limit the upside potential in the coming days, despite the general improvement in market sentiment.”

US crude oil inventories posted a surprise gain of 1.1 million barrels last week, the US Energy Information Administration said in a weekly report yesterday.

The EIA also reported US gasoline stockpiles rose in line with forecasts last week, while distillate stocks fell by less than 200,000 barrels, with projections for a drop of 1.1 million barrels.

But US East Coast gasoline stocks fell 937,000 barrels last week, one of only two regions where supplies of the motor fuel declined in that period, EIA data showed. That helped boost gasoline futures to an almost seven-month high yesterday.

Goldman Sachs says OPEC will increase oil production next year, gradually brining spare capacity on line, following a drawdown in global inventories this year as demand grows by 2.4 per cent, with prices for US crude at an average US$100 a barrel in 2011 and US$110 in 2012.

“We expect in 2011 and 2012 that the transition from a cyclical recovery to a new structural bull market will lead to new record annual average prices above the 2008 high of just under of US$100 a barrel,” Goldman said in the December 1 report.

US private sector payrolls rose by the most in three years in November, lifting optimism about the job market ahead of today’s weekly initial jobs claims reports and Friday’s monthly government employment report.

US non farm payrolls likely increased for a second straight month in November, up 140,000, a Reuters poll showed. The gain would point to an acceleration in economic activity and a recovery that is becoming self-sustaining.

Global manufacturing expanded strongly in China and major developed countries in November, boosting confidence the global economy can weather the debt crisis in the euro zone.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is under pressure to unveil new steps to stabilize the euro zone when it meets today as the currency bloc battles a crippling debt crisis that has stoked contagion fears in the United States and Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei share average hit a five-month peak and the euro stayed within sight of overnight highs today ahead of the ECB meeting. — Reuters

KNM climbs on South Africa pact (reverse split done at 2.08)??

2010-12-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

KNM Group Bhd, an oil and gas services provider, advanced 1.4 per cent to RM2.11, its first increase in three days.

The company and Aveng Ltd agreed to form a joint venture related to the fabrication of steel products in South Africa.

The joint venture will allow KNM to tap Aveng’s marketing and networking relationship, the Malaysian company said in a statement. - Bernama

Apple’s iPad on sale in Malaysia from today

2010-11-29T21:40:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-24T21:34:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-18T05:03:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-14T20:22:00.000-08:00

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'

2010-11-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-11-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-11-03T19:45:00.001-07:00

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

2010-11-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

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.

SapuraCrest expands business in Vietnam

2010-10-31T09:02:00.001-07:00

HANOI: Leading regional oil and gas services provider SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd (SapuraCrest) on Saturday signed a cooperation agreement with PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) as a further step in establishing its commitment to Vietnam.

SapuraCrest was represented by Datuk Shahril Shamsuddin, executive vice-chairman of SapuraCrest Petroleum and Sapura Group president and chief executive officer, while PTSC was represented by its general director, Nguyen Hung Dung.

The ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the sidelines of a three-day, 17th Asean Summit and Related Summits which ended Saturday.

"This collaboration will enable SapuraCrest to develop its existing stable of products, together with PTSC, in order to meet market requirements in Vietnam.

"This will further support SapuraCrest's international business development strategy," said Shahril, adding that the company's has had a presence for more than five year in Vietnam.

He also announced that SapuraCrest would offer five scholarships for PTSC personnel to pursue studies in chemical engineering, business management and related courses at the Asia Pacific University College in Technology Park, Bukit Jalil.

The two companies also committed to set up a comprehensive cooperation with which they would be able to co-develop their core businesses in supplying technical services for oil and gas projects, such as seismic surveying, installing and building ocean constructions.

SapuraCrest has already established a presence in India, Australia, Russia, Japan and Africa, in addition to most of Southeast Asia. -- Bernama

Read more: SapuraCrest expands business in Vietnam http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20101030211229/Article/index_html#ixzz13x8rf6TX

Having a reasonable amount of debt is generally okay

2010-10-29T21:28:00.001-07:00

MOST of us carry some kind of consumer debt. It could be in the form of a hire purchase, mortgage, personal loan or even credit card balances.

Many of us have credit cards (not just one, but a couple of them). And some of us carry some debt over from one month to the next.

A car purchased under a hire-purchase plan or a house mortgage is also a consumer debt. For most people, their first major loan is a car loan.

According to financial planners, having debt is not really a bad thing so long you are able to pay it off.

They say it is ‘okay’ to take on some consumer debt but be prudent as it can be a major headache when one is saddled with a mountain of debt.

It’s important to have reasonable debt. So how much is reasonable debt?

Consumer debt is an integral part of the banking sector and by extension, the economy.

The country requires the velocity of money in the market to drive its economy.

Velocity of money is essentially the rate at which the existing money supply changes hands over the course of a year.

Consumer spending is key in driving growth.

“Having debt isn’t a bad thing as long as you are taking steps to pay it off,” Jeremy Wong, a financial planner with a local insurance agency.

He says the ratio is best calculated on a monthly basis. For example, if your net income is RM2,500 and you pay RM500 per month in debt payment for car loans and credit cards, therefore the debt to income ratio is 20%.

“The debt to income ratio is a way the financial institutions determine what you can afford in the way of a mortgage. Consumers have to fall under a certain percentage of the ratio to qualify for a loan from the bank.

“Banks usually lend up to a certain ratio and it varies according to banks,” Wong says, adding that the ratio is generally around 40%.

Another financial planner Jess Lim says generally speaking, the lower your debt-to-income ratio, the better your financial situation.

“As your debt payments decrease over time, you will pay less interest. Then you can use your money to save, invest, or spend as you choose,” she points out.

She agrees that consumer debt is alright provided one spends within his or her means and pays up as the interest rate can be a burden and if left unchecked, can become a nightmare.

Lim advises consumers to make sound decisions when buying on credit or taking loans. The key is to pay more than the minimum credit card payments or the debt will keep revolving.

She says a rule of thumb is that monthly payments on consumer debt should be no more than 20% of monthly disposable income and another guideline is that the total outstanding consumer debt should be around or less than one-third of your annual disposable income.

“When it comes to debt, whether good or bad, the lower the debt you have, the better,” Lim adds.

Hai-O entry into property may add risk: OSK

2010-10-28T03:57:00.001-07:00

Hai-O Enterprise Bhd's venture into the property business will add more risk to the group, given that its multi-level marketing (MLM) business is still trying to recover locally, says OSK Research.

"While the venture may help generate future earnings and reduce its reliance on the more volatile MLM business, our concern is that this will further divert its focus on its current businesses and add risk to the group if not executed properly," it said in its research note today.

The research house said apart from the risk of venturing into a non-core property business, in which Hai-O has no expertise, the group's MLM business was still struggling from the impact of more stringent rules on direct marketing.

The property venture is the second non-core business Hai-O has gone into after it diversified into the heat transfer technology in August 2009.

OSK said given the recovery in buying sentiment among Hai-O's members was taking longer than expected (members were ordering less even for the saleable products), the management believed the MLM division would need more than six months to recover.

"Nonetheless, the Hai-O management is confident that with all the measures put in place by the task force set up to beef up performance, its MLM division would regain momentum and continue to drive the group's earnings," it said. -- Bernama

Read more: Hai-O entry into property may add risk: OSK http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20101028112751/Article/index_html#ixzz13eMUDCjb

MK Land, Embassy in RM4b property project

2010-10-27T08:53:00.001-07:00

By BLOOMBERG MK Land Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian developer, signed an agreement with companies including Embassy Group to develop a RM4 billion (US$1.3 billion) property project in North Bangalore, India. The joint venture is aimed at developing affordable homes to help meet the acute shortage of housing for the masses in India, according to a company statement ...

Glomac : Buying back 18 units of Suria Stonor

2010-10-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

News Update Outperform

- Glomac announced its proposed acquisition of 18 condo units of Suria Stonor from Dekad Darat and Progressive Berg. The purchase consideration of RM38.4m represents some 35% discount to the last transacted price of RM1,000 psf for comparable properties in the condominium.

- To recap, Dekad Darat and Progressive Berg previously acquired some 30-40 units of Suria Stonor, which was completed two years ago by Glomac. Although the reason for the re-sale was not mentioned, we think it could be due to some financing constraints.

- We are neutral on this latest development. The 18 units will be put into the market again by Glomac and these condo units will be categorised as “Investment” in Balance Sheet upon completion of the acquisition. The deal may signal the extent of speculative buying activities 2-3 years ago during the boom of high-rise residences especially within the KLCC area previously, leading to an oversupply now.

- No change in our forecast. We maintain our Outperform rating, with an unchanged indicative fair value of RM2.09, based on a 15% discount to RNAV.

Household debt not a worry, says Zeti

2010-10-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

Going forward, Malaysia will implement measures to ensure it will not be a destabilising factor for the economy, says Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz

Bank Negara Malaysia is not concerned about rising household debt as the level of bad loans is still low and there are various ways to keep it in check.

The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research had noted that household debt had risen to 77 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, the highest in Asia, from 63.9 per cent in 2008.

"Right now, if we look at the non-performing loans for the household sector, they haven't increased significantly.

"So, right now, it is not an area of concern. But going forward, we will implement measures to ensure it will not be a destabilising factor for the economy," Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz told reporters on the sidelines of the Global Islamic Financial Forum 2010 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

One of the measures is to enhance financial literacy among youth. However, consumer groups have made calls to tighten the rules for approval of credit cards.

Bank Negara is also thinking about imposing mortgage caps although local banks appear to be reluctant over a blanket ruling. In contrast, Singapore has imposed limits on second mortgages to cool its property market. This means that buyers must use more of their own money to buy a second property.

As for the ringgit, Zeti said it has remained stable against regional currencies, which is what matters to the country as 60 per cent of its trade is with Asian nations.

The ringgit has gained some 10 per cent against the US dollar.

"We don't just look at our exchange rate with any single currency. We have the index that we monitor and, so far, the trend reflects our underlying fundamentals," she said.

The ringgit has also not been pressured by capital inflows into the region. Low interest rates in developing countries have resulted in massive money flows to emerging countries in search of better returns.

"The central bank is well positioned to undertake any sort of intervention in the market if conditions become disorderly or very excessive movements are taking place within a very short period of time. But so far, we are very pleased the market has been very orderly," Zeti said.

Bank Negara is also not too worried about rising consumer prices.

"We don't see inflationary pressure, so the interest rate is now at the appropriate level," she said.

An asset bubble is also not widespread in the country and Bank Negara has the measures and flexibility to contain it, she added.

Zeti also reiterated that the central bank will issue up to two mega Islamic bank licences and at least one will be announced before the year-end.

SP Setia to launch four residential projects worth RM546mil

2010-10-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

GEORGE TOWN: SP Setia Bhd plans to launch four new residential projects with an estimated gross sales value RM546mil on the island beginning this December and next year.

SP Setia property (North) general manager S. Rajoo told StarBiz that the projects comprised the RM175mil Setia Greens, RM60.5mil Brook Residences, RM170mil Setia V Residences, and the RM139mil Pearl Villas in the Setia Pearl Island scheme.

Setia Greens, comprising 149 three-storey terraces and 18 semi-detached houses with dual frontage in Sungai Ara, would be launched in December.

“The selling price starts from RM918,000 onwards for terraced units with built-up areas ranging from 2,400sq ft and 3,200sq ft.

“The selling price for the semi-detached units, with built-up areas of around 3,300sq ft, is around RM1.6mil onwards,” he said.

Subsequently the group would launch Brook Residences in February 2011 and the Pearl Villas in April, and Setia V Residences in the second half of next year, Rajoo said.

“The Brook Residences in Brook Road, a prime residential area near Jesselton Road, comprises 11 luxurious bungalows priced from RM5.8mil onwards, while the Pearl Villas comprise 35 bungalows priced from RM2.8mil onwards.

“The Setia V Residences project in Kelawei near Gurney Drive, comprising 67 luxurious condominiums, tentatively priced from RM2.8mil onwards,” he said.

Rajoo said Setia Greens would be the northern region’s first Green Building Index-rated project.

“What makes the project unique are the environmental features such as solar water heater, rain-water harvesting system, water efficient fittings, and cool roof system for each unit.

“We are using a special low-volatile organic compound paint for the project,” he said.

Rajoo said these new projects were targeted at the executives working in the south-west district of the island as well as investors.

For the nine months of SP Setia’s fiscal year ended July 31, 2010, the group’s projects from Penang contributed close to RM150mil or about 10% of the RM1.95bil revenue posted for the nine month period.

“We are confident that the contribution from Penang this fiscal year closing Oct 31, 2010 will hit over 10% of the targeted RM2bil revenue of the group.

“Setia Vista, Reflections condominium, and the new semi-detached launches in Setia Pearl Island contributed significantly from Penang,” he said.

Rajoo said Penang would continue to play an important revenue generating role in the group’s property development business.

“We will continue to look for land in prime locations either to develop on our own or on a joint-venture basis,” he added.

Meanwhile, Henry Butcher (Malaysia) Penang director Dr Teoh Poh Huat said high-end properties were still sustainable in Penang, as there were now overseas Malaysians investing in the island’s property market.

“These are overseas Malaysians earning pounds and US dollars, who are buying high-end properties with the view to come home to stay one day.

“This segment is playing an increasingly important role in the Penang high-end property market developed by branded developers,” he said.

Faber Group (RM3.03; Hold; Price Target: RM3.30; FAB MK)

2010-10-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

Concession risk could cap upside
• Concession risk - East Malaysia contributes 50% of PBT;
Faber could still end up with sub-contractor role if
politics take precedence
• Expect 3Q10 result to be weaker q-o-q likely due to
slower progress billings from UAE
• Downgrade to Hold with SOP-derived RM3.30 TP

100-storey tower to be PNB new HQ

2010-10-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

The tower forms part of Warisan Merdeka, which will be PNB's single biggest property project to date and its construction to create some 5,000 jobs.

The 100-storey tower that forms part of Warisan Merdeka will be the new headquarters of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as the fund manager is already thinking about redeveloping its existing head office.

Come 2016, its main building on Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, will be 30 years old. It is already fully occupied by PNB and its companies.

"We have to ensure we have occupancy. We need to move to this place. It will be mainly used by us and our investee companies," group chief executive officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said at a briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Warisan Merdeka, a 10-year mixed-development project estimated to cost RM5 billion, will be PNB's single biggest property project to date. Its construction is set to create some 5,000 jobs.

The tower alone, of about 525 metres, makes up half of the cost. The project will be done by PNB's wholly-owned PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd, but it is open to having partners.

It may also sell part of the 14.6ha site, but this has yet to be finalised as it also wants to have recurring income from the properties.

"We must make sure returns prevail," Hamad Kama Piah said, adding that 8-10 per cent a year would be a good rate.

More importantly, Warisan Merdeka will boost the prices of residential, office and retail properties in the Golden Triangle, especially the Jalan Hang Tuah area, Pudu and Imbi, said Zerin Properties founder and chief executive officer Previn Singhe.

Property valuers said property prices shot up when the Petronas Twin Towers was built in 1985. Some foresee Warisan Merdeka to be the next KLCC.

"We need to look at the project very objectively. New York had five tallest towers in the world at any one time and they are all doing well," Previn said.

The land price in the Golden Triangle area is currently around RM2,000 per sq ft, while the net lettable area of a top office building is about RM800 per sq ft.

But valuers who were not so bullish said the key challenge is how to deal with traffic flow.

"You must look at the project site. It is very dense and road access and public transportation is limited. If the government can improve that, then we will have a different price outlook," said a valuer who declined to be named.

This was acknowledged by Hamad Kama Piah, who stressed that PNB has consultants working on the traffic issue. The cost of improving infrastructure in the area has also been factored into the overall RM5 billion cost, he explained.

Kencana rated 'buy' at AmResearch

2010-10-20T21:16:00.002-07:00

AmResearch notes that Kencana Petroleum Bhd group order book of RM1.9 billion is likely to rise further with new jobs from tenders of RM4 billion, largely from the Kebabangan cluster platform contracts.

The research house projects new orders of RM1.5 billion to RM1.8 billion for financial year 2011-13 against RM1 billion in financial year 2010.

AmResearch also expects further margin expansions.

"Kencana’s EBITDA margins have consistently been improving, rising by a commendable 9 percentage points over the past four years to 18 per cent in financial year 2010 largely due to improving operational efficiencies."

AmResearch sees Kencana a "buy" at RM2.50. - Reuters