16 œ theSun | FRIDAY MARCH 27 2009

business KLCI
STI
885.47
1,758.79
6.66
67.11
Nikkei
TSEC
8,636
5,386.36
156.34
40.18
Hang Seng 14,108.98 486.87 KOSPI 1,243.80 14.78
SCI 2,361 70.15 S&P/ASX200 3,646.60 37.30

market summary

Proton records 300% INDICES

FBMEMAS
COMPOSITE
INDUSTRIAL
MARCH 26, 2009

CHANGE
5,780.49
885.47
2,130.50
+57.24
+6.66
+4.88

increase in Xchange plan CONSUMER PROD

INDUSTRIAL PROD
CONSTRUCTION
TRADING SERVICES
FINANCE
PROPERTIES
285.76
66.77
170.34
118.38
6,587.88
514.26
+1.04
+0.69
+2.49
+1.50
+47.25
+5.48
PLANTATIONS 4,583.22 +19.83
KUALA LUMPUR: Proton Holdings Bhd who trade in their cars which are more MINING 228.99 -2.02
has recorded a 300% increase in participa- than 10 years old or lower than the trade- FBMSHA 6,114.14 +40.81
tion level for its Xchange programme fol- in value of RM5,000. FBM2BRD 3,915.23 +28.23
lowing the government’s auto-scrapping However, the cars have to be tested at TECHNOLOGY 11.42 +0.18
scheme. Puspakom Sdn Bhd to ensure they have TURNOVER VALUE
“The level of acceptance of the pro- not been illegally tampered with, he said.
gramme is most encouraging because Syed Zainal Abidin said this was neces- 568.906mill RM881.001mil
we believe this tool is beneficial for the sary for de-listing with the Road Trans-
“ecosystem” of the automotive industry.
“Currently, it stimulates the industry
port Department prior to the cars being
scrapped. Prices close higher
through additional demand for purchasing He however said the programme was SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia closed
new cars in disposing the old ones,” said not compulsory and it was up to the will- higher yesterday lifted by strong perform-
managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abi- ingness of car owners to participate. ances on Wall Street overnight and other
din Syed Mohamed Tahir in a statement. “It will not match the value of the rebate Asian markets, dealers said. The KLCI rose
The scheme enables customers to buy with the value of the car if the car has a 6.66 points to 885.47 after opening 0.84 of
any new car from Proton’s range of vehicle higher trade-in value than RM5,000,” he a point lower at 877.97.
models at RM5,000 discount except for the added. Regional markets posted strong gains
yet-to-be-launched Exora. Proton is the country’s largest car yesterday.
The rebate is to be given to car owners manufacturer. – Bernama Dealers said the Asian market rose on
optimism that the US economy was show-

Former AIG head condemns ing signs of recovery following reports of

executive bonuses
HONGKONG: The former head of disgraced in-
surance giant AIG, Maurice “Hank” Greenberg,
lashed out at his old firm yesterday and said
paying bonuses to executives from a failed
division did not make sense.
The company has been vilified by politi-
cians and analysts after it was revealed it was
still paying bonuses worth around US$165
million (RM610.5 million) despite the huge
cash injections by Washington to keep it from
collapsing.
Greenberg, who helped turn the firm into
the biggest insurer in the world until he was
forced out in 2005, said “there was no reason”
to pay bonuses to people who worked in AIG
Financial Products.
The division has been blamed for risky de-
rivatives trades that soaked up the giant firm’s
cash and forced it to beg for a US government
bailout last year.
“When they lost all this money in 2005/6/7,
why would you pay them a bonus to make
up for the losses that they had in their capital
account?” he told the American Chamber of
Commerce in Hongkong.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” he added.
Greenberg said the decision was part of
a wider failure at the firm since it ran into
trouble, and singled out new chief executive
Edward Liddy for particular criticism. – AFP
unexpected growth in durable-goods orders
and new-home sales in the US.
The US government yesterday reported
a 3.4% increase in demand for longer last-
ing products in February and a 4.7% gain in
new-home purchase.
According to a dealer, continued buy-
ing on selected blue-chips pushed the key
index higher. He said the market sentiment
remained firm in the short-term boosted by
positive outcome from the ongoing Umno
General Assembly.
Among the actives, KNM Group rose 1.5
sen to 41.5 sen, Resorts World gained 14 sen
to RM2.19 and Gamuda added eight sen to
RM2.03. Compugates Holdings inched up half
sen to 14.5 sen, MRCB gained 4.5 sen to 89.5
sen and Scomi added three sen to 35.5 sen.
– Bernama

briefs
S’pore output down
22.4% in February
SINGAPORE: Singapore yesterday
said manufacturing output fell 22.4%
in February from the year before, pulled
by slumping global demand for phar-
maceuticals and electronics products.
However, the decline follows a 29.1%
tumble in January and is a shade better
than the 23% drop predicted by analysts
in a Dow Jones Newswires poll.
Production in biomedicals slid 27.9%
in February from the same month last
year, led by a 29.4% drop in pharmaceu-
ticals output, the Economic Develop-
ment Board (EDB) said.
Output in the electronics cluster
decreased 37.3%, it said in a statement.
– AFP
Virgin Blue cuts flights
to reduce costs
MELBOURNE: Virgin Blue will cut 28
domestic flights from its daily sched-
ule as part of its efforts to reduce
costs.
The airline said it was not with-
drawing from any of its markets,
instead taking flights from high-fre-
quency routes where capacity could
be consolidated.
The reduction in flights will hit
up to 400 full-time Virgin Blue staff,
who had been offered leave without
pay, shorter hours and transfers to
international airline, V Australia.
– AFP
S&P cuts Tata Motors
rating after Nano launch
NEW DELHI: Standard & Poor’s has
downgraded the credit rating of India’s
top vehicle company Tata Motors days
after it launched the world’s cheapest
car, the Nano.
The downgrade, putting Tata Mo-
tors deeper into “junk debt” territory,
highlights the view that the Nano will
contribute little to profits soon despite
hopes it will one day revolutionise
travel for millions of people.
The move, announced by the global
ratings agency late Wednesday, came
after the glitzy launch in India’s financial
capital Monday of the sporty four-door
car, which will retail for 100,000 rupees
or about RM74,000. – AFP