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NEW theSun | FRIDAY MARCH 6 2009

KLCI 869.24 2.31 Nikkei 7,433.49 142.53
business STI 1,518.64 25.70 TSEC 4,637.20 95.78
Hang Seng 12,211.24 119.91 KOSPI 1,058.18 1.80
SSE 2,221.08 22.97 S&P/ASX200 3188.50 22.10

KL market summary

INDICES
MARCH 5, 2009

CHANGE
Berjaya confident of venture
FBMEMAS
COMPOSITE
INDUSTRIAL
5,676.02
869.24
2,070.79
+4.16
+2.31
+15.49
despite weak environment
CONSUMER PROD 282.56 +1.03
INDUSTRIAL PROD 65.64 +0.43
KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Group is confi- hospitality industry, the facilities and loca-
CONSTRUCTION 164.54 +0.68 dent its venture into the hospitality educa- tion of the campus, the academic staff, the
TRADING SERVICES 115.09 +0.47 tion industry will be profitable despite the ‘immersion’ methodology used and the
FINANCE 6,651.66 -47.74 current weak economic environment. innovative programmes offered,” he said.
PROPERTIES 515.98 +1.25 Berjaya University College of Hospital- Meanwhile, Berjaya Higher Education
PLANTATIONS 4,369.94 +51.89 ity (Berjaya UCH) vice-chancellor/chief Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mae Ho said
MINING 241.15 unch executive officer Tan Sri Prof Emeritus Dr the university college expected to enrol 200
FBMSHA 5,987.42 +35.48 Abu Hassan Othman said this confidence students by year-end.
FBM2BRD 3,952.27 -1.54
TECHNOLOGY 12.57 -0.31
was based on the demand from Malaysian Berjaya UCH is Malaysia’s only higher
tourism industry for highly skilled hospitality education institution specialising in hospi-
TURNOVER VALUE professionals. tality, tourism and services management
381.6490mil RM613.399mil “The company has spent RM50 million courses.
on the venture by setting up Berjaya UCH It offers Foundation in Hospitality,
early this year,” he told a media briefing Diploma in Culinary Arts, Diploma in
CI up on heavyweight interest yesterday. Hospitality Management, Diploma in Tour-
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia closed mixed yes- Abu Hassan said Berjaya UCH would be a ism Management and Diploma in Travel
terday with the morning’s losses partly recovered top choice for students considering a career Management, Bachelor of Hospitality Man-
on renewed interest in key heavyweights such as in the hospitality industry. agement (Honours) and Bachelor of Tourism
MISC and IOI Corp, dealers said. The benchmark “This is because of our heritage in the Management (Honours). – Bernama
KLCI increased 2.31 points to close at 869.24.
According to the dealers, gains on the local
bourse were partly due to bargain-hunting on
select big cap stocks, ahead of the second stimu-
lus package to be tabled in Parliament on March
10. Also helping to boost the local bourse was
interest in plantation counters on expectation of
better demand following a decrease in palm oil
output due to floods, they said. – Bernama
Current interest
rates supportive
of growth: Zeti
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia, Zeti said it would with that of other curren-
reduction in the overnight depend mainly on the exter- cies. “It is now stable against
policy rate (OPR) rate to nal sector, whereby there is the other currencies so the
2% from 3.5% previously, already a significant decline market remains orderly.”
is supportive of growth, in imports and exports. The ringgit is now hov-
Bank Negara Governor Tan “So far, domestic demand ering near RM3.70 to the
Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said has managed to keep the US dollar and close to the
yesterday. country in positive territory RM3.80 level to which it
“We have
reduced the OPR. We
already but the situation is highly
volatile,” she explained.
was once pegged.
Asked if the current level
Maybank’s rights shares
believe this is supportive
of growth,” she said when
“As such, we have to
monitor several agencies
of the ringgit is significant,
she said: “No. That’s pre-
fixed at RM2.74 each
asked if there is still room including the International cisely why we have a KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan funds managed by Amanah
for interest rates to come Monetary Fund, which has flexible exchange rate Banking Bhd (Maybank) an- Saham Nasional Bhd, a wholly
down further. made revisions to global regime. When conditions nounced yesterday the issue owned subsidiary of PNB, to
However, Zeti who was growth. change, the ringgit is able to price of its rights shares has subscribe for their respective
speaking to reporters after “We also need to see respond and that flexibility been fixed at RM2.74 each. entitlements totaling about
launching the PT Bank Mua- when conditions stabilise in is important.” The price was arrived at 55.7% of the proposed rights
malat Indonesia here, said the international financial She said the ringgit’s after taking into considera- issue. PNB has agreed to ap-
what is more important is system,” she stressed. movement now also reflect- tion the price of RM4.82 per ply for excess allocation of
access to financing. She said the first pre- ed that of the US dollar. share based on the closing 20% of the proposed rights
“We are engaging the condition for recovery to Asked if Bank Negara price of Maybank shares issue, it said.
banks and monitoring the take place is to restore and was intervening in the mar- traded on Bursa Malaysia Maybank said it has also
situation to ensure that stabilise the international ket, she said the central yesterday, the bank said. received an undertaking
borrowers have access to financial system, see credit bank would do so, to only It represented a discount from the EPF to subscribe
financing. It is important flows continue or resume. ensure orderly conditions. of 43.2% to the closing price for its entitlement of about
to support growth both “Right now, we have yet Zeti also said the cur- of RM4.82 of Maybank shares 13.7% of the proposed rights
through consumption and to see this stability being rent global financial crisis yesterday. issue (EPF portion), provided
investment demand,” she restored. This has not yet is expected to accelerate Maybank said it has the market price of Maybank
said. happened.” the financial and economic received undertakings from shares is not below the issue
Asked about the On the ringgit’s move- integration of Asean and Permodalan Nasional Bhd price of RM2.74 on the date
possibility of a recession in ment, she said it is in line greater Asia. – Bernama (PNB) and certain unit trust of subscription. – Bernama

briefs
‘Singapore economy
could shrink 10%’
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy
may contract by as much as 10%
this year if exports continue to fall
sharply, the country’s influential
founding father Lee Kuan Yew said
in remarks published yesterday.
If exports drop by another 30 or
40% in the second quarter, gross
domestic product (GDP) will go
down 10%, Lee said at a financial
forum.
Singapore’s exports declined by
35%, the largest amount on record,
in January from a year earlier.
The government’s official pro-
jection is for the trade-dependent
economy to contract 2-5% this year
after growing 1.1% last year.
A 10% shrinkage in the GDP
would be four times worse than in
2001 when the economy fell by 2.4%,
former prime minister Lee noted at
the forum Wednesday. – AFP
Islamic banking’s
share of assets up
KUALA LUMPUR: Islamic banking
has increased its share of assets
in the banking sector to 17.4%
from 6% in 2000, said Bank Ne-
gara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri
Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
She said for the takaful indus-
try, the share of assets grew by
23% per annum in the last five
years and family and general
takaful captured 11% and 7%
respectively, of the overall insur-
ance sector.
She said this at the launch
of PT Bank Muamalat Indonesia
here yesterday. “In Malaysia, the
Islamic banking sector continues
to progress, recording double-
digit growth over the recent
eight years with an average an-
nual growth rate of 20% in terms
of assets,” she said. – Bernama
Taiwan cuts taxes to
boost economy
TAIPEI: Taiwan moved to reduce
corporate and personal income
tax yesterday, as part of the gov-
ernment’s efforts to help lift the
sagging economy, officials said.
The government plans to lower
the corporate income tax rate
from 25 to 20%, effective 2010, the
cabinet said after it approved the
cuts during a meeting.
“The tax cuts will strengthen
Taiwan’s competitiveness, attract
investments, and immensely help
small- to medium-sized compa-
nies,” deputy finance minister
Chang Sheng-ford told reporters.
The tax cuts will lead to an
estimated loss of NT$80.8 billion
(RM8.5 billion) in annual tax rev-
enue, the cabinet said.
However, the move comes
as the majority of tax benefits
extended to companies, especially
those in the electronics sector, are
scheduled to expire at the end of
2009, boosting annual tax revenue
by NT$148.3 billion. – AFP