theSun | FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11 2009  15

business KLCI
STI
1,201.28
2,678.23
4.82
27.75
Nikkei
TSEC
10,513.67
7,332.08
201.53
81.36
Hang Seng 21,069.56 218.52 KOSPI 1,644.68 36.91
SCI 2,92.88 21.88 S&P/ASX200 4,570.8 48.6

KL market summary

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009 Shares rebound on buying interest

INDICES CHANGE SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia rebounded KNM Group continued to lead the actives
FBMEMAS 8,088.07 +34.37 yesterday as sharp gains in regional markets with 72.330 million shares changing hands.
FBM-KLCI 1,201.28 +4.82 fuelled buying interest on the local bourse, It was unchanged at 72.5 sen.
INDUSTRIAL 2,634.38 +1.72 sending the key index to stay above the psy- For the other actives, Genting Singa-
CONSUMER PROD 365.05 +0.36 chological 1,200-point level, dealers said. pore (C) was down four sen to 37 sen
INDUSTRIAL PROD 89.91 +0.24
CONSTRUCTION 232.31 +3.42
“The bullish momentum on the local and Astro gained 15 sen to RM3.65 while
TRADING SERVICES 158.63 +0.83 stock exchange was in tandem with major SAAG Consolidated and UEM Land were
FINANCE 9,702.22 +35.98 key bourses, thanks to the upward trend in both unchanged at 24.5 sen and RM1.64
PROPERTIES 784.08 +0.97 the US market as the Federal Reserve said respectively.
PLANTATIONS 5,952.52 -7.98 the economy is stabilising,” a dealer said. The biggest gainer, IJM Corporation,
MINING 330.31 +12.16 The FBM KLCI rose 0.4% or 4.82 points to climbed 27 sen to RM6.23 while the big
FBMSHA 8,330.25 +25.79 close at 1,201.28 led by gains on Astro, YTL loser, MBM Resources, shaved off 20 sen
FBMACE 4,119.56 +21.19
TECHNOLOGY 16.38 +0.07
Corporation and Public Bank. to RM2.10. EXCHANGE RATES September 10, 2009
The key index had touched its intra-day As for the heavyweights, YTL Corporation
TURNOVER VALUE high of 1,210.11 but some profit-taking on perked up 11 sen to RM7.35 while Public Bank Foreign currency Bank sell Bank buy Bank buy
696.048mil RM1.368bil utility and plantation-related stocks had and Genting Bhd rose 10 sen each to RM10.14
TT/OD TT OD
erased some of the earlier gains. and RM6.97 respectively. – Bernama
1 US DOLLAR 3.5280 3.4630 3.4530
1 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR 3.0820 2.9470 2.9310
1 BRUNEI DOLLAR 2.4850 2.4250 2.4170
1 CANADIAN DOLLAR 3.2790 3.1990 3.1870

IPI for July down 8.4% Y-O-Y 1 EURO

1 NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR
1 PAPUA N GUINEA KINA
1 SINGAPORE DOLLAR
1 STERLING POUND
5.1480
2.4970
1.4390
2.4845
5.8490
5.0240
2.3870
1.1870
2.4250
5.7080
5.0040
2.3710
1.1710
2.4170
5.6880

but up 7.1% from June

1 SWISS FRANC 3.3980 3.3150 3.3000
100 ARAB EMIRATES DIRHAM 97.7600 92.5800 92.3800
100 BANGLADESH TAKA 5.3400 5.2100 5.0100
100 CHINESE RENMINBI N/A N/A N/A
Spurs and 100 DANISH KRONE 71.2300 65.4200 65.2200

KUALA LUMPUR: The Industrial recorded decreases of 12% and 1.9%, paper products, printing (16.9%) and
City get 100 HONGKONG DOLLAR 46.3300 43.8800 43.6800
ready for 100 INDIAN RUPEE 7.5200 6.9100 6.7100
Production Index (IPI) fell by 8.4% year-on-year, respectively while that non-metallic mineral products, basic
to 104.9 in July this year from 114.5 of electricity increased by 3.1%. metal and fabricated metal products reality 100 INDONESIAN RUPIAH 0.0371 0.0314 0.0264
in July last year but was 7.1% higher The department also said the drop (11.7%). 100 JAPANESE YEN 3.8400 3.7460 3.7360
when compared with 97.9 recorded in in June output was a revised 13% Meanwhile, the statement said the
checks 100 NEW TAIWAN DOLLAR N/A N/A N/A
June this year, the Statistics Depart- year-on-year. 1.9% drop in the mining sector was pg 27 100 NORWEGIAN KRONE 61.8400 56.7600 56.5600
ment said yesterday. It also said the manufacturing due to the decrease in crude oil index 100 PAKISTAN RUPEE 4.3800 4.0800 3.8800
On a cumulative basis, the index sector output in July recorded an by 5.5% while that of natural gas 100 PHILIPPINE PESO 7.4600 6.9900 6.7900
was down 12% in the first seven increase of 6.2% when compared increased by 8.2%.
months of this year to 97.2 against with preceding June while growth for The mining output also increased 100 QATAR RIYAL 98.3900 93.5900 93.3900
110.5 in the same period last year. the first seven months was lower by by 10% from June 2009 but declined 100 SAUDI RIYAL 95.5400 90.8800 90.6800
In a statement, the department 16.1% against the previous period. 3.9% from January to July 2009. 100 SOUTH AFRICAN RAND 48.5700 44.7200 44.5200
attributed the 8.4% drop in July to a The department attributed the con- As for the electricity sector, the 100 SRI LANKA RUPEE 3.1700 2.9200 2.7200
revised 9.5%, year-on-year, decline in traction in the manufacturing sector output rose 3.5% in July when com- 100 SWEDISH KRONA 52.2200 47.4500 47.2500
June this year. to decreases in three groups namely pared with the preceding month but 100 THAI BAHT 11.1200 9.4300 9.0300
For the month under review, both the electrical and electronics products fell 3.7% in the seven-month period.
the manufacturing and mining indices (26.2%), wood products, furniture, – Bernama -- Source: Malayan Banking Berhad/Bernama

Wealth of Singapore’s richest 40

rises 22% to US$39bil
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s top 40 wealthi-
est people are now worth a combined
US$39 billion (RM137 billion), up 22%
from US$32 billion (RM112 billion) a year
ago, according to the 2009 Forbes Asia
Singapore Rich List.
In releasing the list yesterday, Forbes
said the increased wealth was partly due
to the country’s richest gaining from the
city-state’s stock market jump almost 90%
since its March low.
This year, 19 tycoons on the list were
richer, including six of the top 10, while
13 saw their net worths fell, it said.
Taking the number one spot is the 81-
year-old real estate mogul Ng Teng Fong
with a net worth of US$8 billion (RM28
billion), up from US$7 billion (RM25 bil-
lion) last year.
Ng and his family control the
privately-owned company, Far East Or-
ganisation and its subsidiary, Sino Group,
which have developed over 700 hotels,
malls and condominiums here and in
Hongkong.
The late banker Khoo Teck Puat’s
family whose net worth dropped US$600
million (RM2.1 billion) in 2008 to US$5.5
billion (RM19.3 billion) retained the
second spot.
The late banker left his estate to 14
children in 2004 but the family sold its
stake in Standard Chartered Bank in
2006 for an estimated US$4 billion (RM14
billion). They still held on to its Goodwood
Group of Hotels.
Forbes said the biggest gainer this
year was the 60-year-old palm oil tycoon
Kuok Khoon Hong, who is third on the
list, up from fifth last year, after his net
worth increased by US$2.2 billion (RM7.7
billion) to US$3.5 billion (RM12 billion),
as shares of his palm oil firm, Wilmar
International, appreciated by 70% since
the last rich list.
Others on the top most spot were
new entry property developer, Kwee
Brothers, ranked fourth with US$3.2 bil-
lion (RM11.2 billion), (5) United Overseas
Bank chairman Wee Cho Yaw (US$3.1
billion/RM11 billion), (6) real estate ty-
coon Zhong Sheng Jian (US$2 billion/RM7
billion), (7) investor Peter Lim (US$1.5 bil-
lion/RM5.3 billion), (8) Hong Leong Group
executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng
(US$1.2 billion/RM4.2 billion), (9) Singa-
pore’s Oversea Chinese Banking Corp
former chairman Lee Seng Wee (US$800
million/RM2.8 billion), and (10) Malaysian
citizen Ong Beng Seng and wife Christina
Ong (US$700 million/RM2.5 billion).
Ong, 65, and his 61-year-old wife,
married with two children, now listed
here together, are one of Singapore’s
most influential couples.
Ong, who has long called Singapore
home, is managing director of hotel prop-
erties which include Four Seasons, Hard
Rock hotels in Southeast Asia and also
owns rights to Singapore Grand Prix.
He just became the republic’s only
official Ferrari dealer while his wife runs
Como Hotels & Resorts, retail empire
Club 21 and also owns a yoga studio and
a health food store. – Bernama

GM to sell Opel to Magna: Merkel Astro posts RM65m Q2 pre-tax profit

BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday
that US auto maker General Motors had agreed to sell its Opel
unit to Canadian auto parts maker Magna, the buyer she has
favoured for a major employer here.
“I would like to inform you that the head of the chancellery
was informed a short time ago by (GM chief Fritz) Henderson
that GM’s board has decided to sell Opel to Magna under the
terms we had negotiated,” she said, hailing a decision just over
two weeks before a German federal election.
The sale ends an 80-year union during which Opel became
GM’s spearhead brand in Europe and a key research centre.
With GM’s decision, Magna and its Russian financiers
Sberbank beat out a bid by Belgian investment fund RHJ
International. – AFP
KUALA LUMPUR: Astro All Asia Networks plc has recorded a
pre-tax profit of RM65.363 million in its second quarter ended
July 31, 2009, compared to a pre-tax loss of RM218.385 million
in the same period last year.
Its revenue rose 3% to RM763.744 million from RM742.525
million previously and this was attributed by the company to
higher subscription revenue.
“The Q2 operating performance reflects steady growth
across the Malaysian businesses with the pay-TV operations
benefiting from continued subscriber growth and our Malaysian
radio business performing well by providing innovative and
cost-effective marketing solutions for advertisers in the face of
challenging economic conditions,” said Astro chairman Datuk
Badri Masri. – Bernama