18 theSun | MONDAY MARCH 16 2009

business

KL market summary

Banks committed to supporting

MARCH 13, 2009

INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 5473.82 +31.97
COMPOSITE 843.45 +5.06
INDUSTRIAL 2042.61 +6.34
CONSUMER PROD 278.30 -0.13
INDUSTRIAL PROD 63.97 +0.18

customers despite slowdown

by Tan Yi Liang banks can continue to lend as they are well strong external trade position as well as
newsdesk@thesundaily.com capitalised to withstand any shock to the sys- low and stable interest rates going back
tem,” said Abdul Hamidy. to 1998, the system is well supported
PETALING JAYA: Commercial banks will Abdul Hamidy, who spoke at ABM’s dialogue, to extend financing to all sectors of the
remain committed to supporting customers titled “The 2009 Economic Barometer - Why economy,” he said.
despite the current slowdown, and will remain do we say the Malaysian financial industry is Fellow panelist Malaysian Institute
positive about giving loans, said the chairman liquid”, said banks will remain committed to of Economic Research Senior Research
of the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), working closely with viable customers to face
Datuk Seri Abdul Hamidy the economic slowdown.
Fellow K.K. Foong said the proposed
Working Capital Guaranteed Scheme
Abdul Hafiz.
Abdul Hamidy, who also
As a result of a
stronger financial
He said innovation is a key
requirement to discovering
under the mini-budget announced last
week further guarantees small and
expressed confidence that the
loans growth projection will system, banks can continue
exceed the projected gross to lend as they are well
new approaches to lending.
Meanwhile, RAM Hold-
medium enterprises access to credit and
cushions banks from any rise in non-
ings group chief economist performing loans.
domestic produce for this capitalised to withstand any Yeah Kim Leng agreed with Standard Chartered’s regional head of
year, said the financial sector Abdul Hamidy, saying that a research (Southeast Asia) Tai Cheung Hui
has “evolved” since the 1997 shock to the system.” recent analysis of bank lend- said now is not the time to despair despite
financial crisis. - ABM chairman Abdul Hamidy ing trends and patterns lent
weak economic indicators worldwide.
“Lenders are not pulling support to the assertion that “Central banks the world over are in-
lines unjustly and unreasonably. Banks are bank lending is not pro-cyclical. jecting liquidity into the system but need to
stronger now compared to the last financial Cheah said overall loans growth is found to ensure funds are moved around and used
crisis in 1997. The financial sector has evolved be negatively correlated with GDP growth with effectively by target groups,” said Tai, who
and revamped to the point that we are not some variation across sectors and that loans remained optimistic that banks in Asia
distracted like 12 years ago by non-performing growth is more positively correlated with GDP and Malaysia will continue to enjoy strong
loans which hampered lending,” said Abdul growth over longer growth cycle as in the 2002 credibility and trust from customers unlike
Hamidy, who added that banks today can con- - 05 period. in the US, where the sub-prime housing
tinue lending despite the crisis worldwide. “With Malaysia’s rate of savings exceeding meltdown has severely damaged stake-
“As a result of a stronger financial system, investment by 12-15% of GDP annually plus a holder trust in banks.
Sipro seeks Japanese
partners to expand
TOKYO: Sipro Plastic Industries Sdn Bhd, a lead-
ing manufacturer and assembler of plastic parts
and components for the automotive, electrical,
electronics and telecommunication industries
is seeking Japanese partners to further expand
its business in the region and Middle East.
Its assistant manager for Business Devel-
opment Department, Mohd Fazeli Mohd Isa,
said the company is an original equipment
manufacturer for the local car makers.
“There are several reasons for us to come
over to Japan and participate in the Malaysian
Auto Exhibition,” he told Bernama.“We hope to
market our products here and also to get infor-
mation if any companies here are looking for
agents to enter the South East Asia market.”
Mohd Fazeli who speaks fluent Japanese
said the company was also on the lookout
for technical partners to further enhance the
quality of its products.
CONSTRUCTION 160.61 +0.30
TRADING/SERVICES 112.82 +0.82
FINANCE 6141.01 +5.04
PROPERTIES 495.47 +0.03
PLANTATION 4414.83 +54.29
MINING 241.15 0.00
FBMSHA 5890.48 +37.58
FBM2BRD 3813.22 +19.67
TECHNOLOGY 12.23 +0.51
TURNOVER VALUE
301.107mil RM487.047mil
Share prices
expected to be
rangebound
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia are set to
be traded rangebound this week as bargain
hunting is expected to be offset by external
factors such as lingering concerns about the
global economic crisis and the direction of Wall
Street, dealers said.
The KLCI is set to move in the 830-860 range
as any upside would be capped by an expected
limited bargain hunting amid current concerns,
while downside would be limited by possible
intervention from institutional investors, they
said. “The market will continue to take its cue
from regional markets and the overnight per-
formance on Wall Street,” said a dealer.
Another dealer said in this tough times,
investors will be looking at the ability of com-
panies to survive and even prosper, such as
those that could secure new contracts amid
tough competition or able to penetrate new
markets as it will mean they are likely to be in
pole positions once the economy recovers and
the good times return.
He said the government’s decision on the
setting up of a technical committee to monitor
the implementation of the RM60 billion mini-
budget announced by Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on Tuesday would
provide positive vibes to the market.
Last week the market was lower on Tuesday
as investors awaited the details of the second
stimulus package. It continued to be lower the
next two days amid the lack of the immediate
measures anticipated to lift the market up.
However, the market rebounded on Friday,
driven by limited bargain hunting after four con-
secutive trading days of downtrend. – Bernama
On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the KLCI closed
the week at 843.45, down 14.38 points from the
previous week’s closing of 858.22. - Bernama