theSun | THURSDAY APRIL 30 2009 œ 17

business KLCI
STI
967.46
1,849.57
1.76
41.16
Nikkei
TSEC 5,614.06
CLOSED
17.33
Hang Seng 14,956.95 401.84 KOSPI 1,338.42 38.18
SCI 2,468.19 66.75 S&P/ASX200 3,695.30 13.10

market summary APRIL 29, 2009

INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 6,387.25 +20.46

Prices edge up at close COMPOSITE

INDUSTRIAL
CONSUMER PROD
967.46
2,222.82
299.72
+1.76
-5.77
+1.67
SHARE prices on Bursa Ma- over the swine flu outbreak, 464 untraded and 32 others
INDUSTRIAL PROD 74.07 +0.86
laysia closed higher yesterday which is expected to slow down suspended.
CONSTRUCTION 183.91 +1.77
reversing its earlier losses and the global economic recovery. Among the actives, KNM and TRADING SERVICES 129.79 +0.16
supported by continued buying However, continued buying in SAAG rose two sen each to 53.5 FINANCE 7,421.71 +14.77
in selected bluechips as well as selected heavyweights, helped sen and 25.5 sen respectively, PROPERTIES 601.66 +10.23
lower liners, dealers said. push the key index to finish the day UEM Land increased six sen to PLANTATIONS 4,840.40 -6.48
The benchmark KLCI rose on a positive note after recording RM1.04 and Talam added 1.5 sen MINING 257.36 -2.02
0.18% or 1.76 points to close two straight days of losses. “The to 9.5 sen. Of the bigcaps, Sime FBMSHA 6,704.99 +18.90
the day at 967.46. steadier performance of regional Darby, Tenaga, and Bumiputra- FBM2BRD 4,270.36 +22.24
Dealers said the market
started the day in negative ter-
ritory as investors continued to
markets also lent some support
locally,” a dealer said.
Advancers outnumbered
Commerce declined five sen each
to RM6.40, RM7.10 and RM7.90 re-
spectively, while Maybank and IOI
TECHNOLOGY
TURNOVER
12.64
VALUE
+0.09
BNM leaves OPR
cash out their positions to pre-
vent further losses, on concerns
losers by 396 to 196 while 182
counters were unchanged,
Corp shed two sen to RM4.28 and
RM4.10 respectively. – Bernama
1.051bil RM931.534mil
unchanged at 2%
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia has left the
key overnight policy rate unchanged at 2%.

Mahathir urges Asia to devise own remedy

BEIJING: Former prime minister
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who
spurned the International Mon-
etary Fund’s (IMF) conditional aid
for unorthodox ways to overcome
the Asian financial crisis of the 90s,
called on Asia to devise new sys-
tems to tackle the current global
meltdown.
The still feisty 83-year-old
leader voiced his support for a
special trading currency backed
by gold or sovereign reserves to
finance trade as the crisis bit heav-
ily into export economies such as
Malaysia, China and many other
countries.
“This financial and economic
crisis has taught us many lessons.
It is not necessary to consider the
European system as the best or
the only one that can be used,”
he said in his lecture on the global
crisis to students at the prestigious
Peking University yesterday during
his three-day private visit.
“Asians have the same capac-
ity to think and innovate and they
should be prepared to put up and
defend their proposals for the
world financial and economic
reforms.”
But Asians must remain open
to proposals from outside and
continue to examine systematic
changes to curb abuses or short-
comings, he added.
A vitriolic enemy of currency
speculators whom he blamed for
the Asian crisis, Mahathir went
against the tide then by pegging
the ringgit against the US dollar
and bailed out banks to keep credit
lines open to businesses.
But he is not prescribing the
same medicine this time.
Mahathir said unlike the Asian
crisis when Malaysia’s economy
was still largely intact, bailouts in
the present crisis would not help
achieve recovery.
“This time the losses are huge
and are due to the banks them-
selves abusing banking privileges.
It is not possible to recover the
money lost through doing normal
business. It would not be enough
to pay back the bailout money,”
he said.
Mahathir said failed banks
should be allowed to go bankrupt
and the bailout money should be
given to compensate people to
recover part of their losses.
“With purchasing power partly
restored, they would be able to
keep the new banks and busi-
nesses profitable,” he said.
He also called for tight gov-
ernment scrutiny of new banks,
state-ownership of central banks,
anti-trust laws to prevent business
monopolies and limit currency
trading to trade financing.
“There should be no specula-
tion and short-selling. Their busi-
ness must be transparent. They
should be allowed to borrow only
a limited amount of money.”
Mahathir described proposals
for an Asian currency for trade
as “a good idea” but advocated
a cautious approach towards
reducing dependence on the US
dollar which can lead to a collapse
of the greenback and American
demand.
He suggested a special cur-
rency be confined for trade among
East Asia for a start before taking
it further.
“It may take 50 years but it is
worth it,” he said.
Last month before the G-20
summit in London, China’s cen-
tral bank governor called for a
new global currency to manage
global liquidity and significantly
reduce the risks of a future crisis.
– Bernama
The central bank said that the accumulated monetary
policy measures are sufficient to provide support to
domestic demand.
Going forward, it said the implementation of the
fiscal stimulus measures, and the accommodative
monetary environment following the previous reduc-
tions in the OPR will provide support to domestic
economic activity.
In a statement here yesterday issued after the Mone-
tary Policy Committee Meeting, Bank Negara said it would
monitor closely and assess the evolving developments in
setting future monetary and financial policies.
Continued attention will be given to ensure an ad-
equate flow of credit to all segments of the economy.
“Liquidity in the financial system remains sufficient
to support the demand for financing from both the
private and public sectors,” it said.
Bank Negara said the sharply adverse global
developments have resulted in steep declines in
Malaysia’s exports and industrial production, which
have in turn affected private sector activity and labour
market conditions.
The economy, therefore, is expected to record a
marked contraction in the first quarter of 2009, the
central bank said.
These conditions are expected to prevail until the
second quarter of the year. Nevertheless, some signs of
moderation in the pace of decline in economic activity
have emerged. – Bernama