18 theSun | FRIDAY NOVEMBER 21 2008

business news Hang Seng

12,298.56
S&P/ASX200
3,352.9
TSEC
4,089.93
517.24 146.7 194.16

KLCI STI KOSPI Nikkei

865.32 1,613.95 948.69 7,703.04
12.33 51.64 68.13 570.18

CI further south KL market summary

NOVEMBER 20, 2008
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia ended lower
yesterday with the key index declining 1.40% INDICES CHANGE
as sentiment was weighed down by the sharp FBMEMAS 5,667.59 -98.78
overnight fall on Wall Street amid fears of a COMPOSITE 865.32 -12.33
poorer global economic outlook, dealers said. INDUSTRIAL 2,117.12 -15.11
Plantation and finance stocks were among CONSUMER PROD 275.09 -0.92
INDUSTRIAL PROD 68.06 -1.17
the major losers, they said. At close, the bench- CONSTRUCTION 149.23 -2.78
mark KLCI fell 12.33 points to 865.32. TRADING/SERVICES 121.75 -1.55
Losers outpaced gainers by 455 to 124 while FINANCE 6,581.83 -115.56
196 counters were unchanged, 550 untraded PROPERTIES 513.75 -7.78
and 38 others suspended. PLANTATIONS 3,743.18 -86.22
“There is much uncertainty in the market and MINING 243.17 -8.11
most investors preferred to be on the sidelines,” FBMSHA 5,862.81 -109.91
FBM2BRD 4,289.91 -71.90
a dealer said. “People are taking the cue from the TECHNOLOGY 13.59 -0.25
sharp decline on Wall Street which saw the Dow
Jones Industrial Average fall 427 points to close TURNOVER VALUE
at 7,997 points overnight while the S&P500 lost 542.058mil RM649.370
more than 6% after the US Federal Reserve hinted
at further economic weaknesses next year.”
Topping the active counters, KNM Group and to 87 sen. Among the plantation stocks, IOI Corp
MRCB lost 4.5 sen each to close at 61 sen and went down 14 sen to RM2.94 while Sime Darby
65.5 sen respectively, while Resorts World fell nine and Kulim fell 10 sen each to RM6.30 and RM4.56,
sen to RM2.58 and Zelan edged down 8.5 sen respectively. – Bernama

EPF: Volatile market

creates buying opportunity
KUALA LUMPUR: Current market conditions have
opened up buying opportunities for long-term in-
vestors, said the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
deputy chief executive officer, investments, Johari
Abdul Muid.
He said that a bearish market is a boon to
long-term investors like the EPF, as it provides
an opportunity to pick up good, valued stocks at
reduced prices.
He said that Bursa Malaysia is expected to
remain volatile in line with global and regional
markets as investors continue to take a cautious
stand while monitoring developments in the do-
mestic and global economy as well as the financial
system.
He said like every other fund, the EPF was also
affected due to the downturn in the stock markets
but was on track until Sept 30 to basically meet
budget expectations, as it had realised a big por-
tion of the target earlier.
“The global financial crisis has led to stock
markets across the globe falling dramatically.
Bursa Malaysia has also not been spared,” he told
Bernama in a recent interview.
He said this factor will naturally have an ad-
verse impact on the fund’s income and it would
be difficult for the 2008 dividend to match that
of 2007.
“Furthermore, the recent quarterly announce-
ments by listed companies have reported lower
profits which usually translates into lower dividend
payouts, or not at all.
“This will further impact the EPF’s investment
income for 2008 and 2009.”
Johari said that although the fourth quarter did
not look that rosy, as the full impact of the global
meltdown would be felt, it was still an opportunity
to buy.
He explained that the EPF subscribed to
prudent management and investment policies to
ensure reasonable and sustainable returns.
“The EPF is first and foremost the custodian of
retirement savings of close to 12 million members
and will therefore be always guided by prudence
when making investment decisions.
“It is through this investment approach that
we can ensure our members are paid reasonable
dividends year-on-year, without risking their sav-
ings,” he said.
He also said the EPF’s commitment is that the
dividend would not fall below 2.5%.
“Generating more income has to do with the
risk that you are willing to take.
“As a pension fund, we must ensure that
the money is safe. We have to be as efficient as
possible in every asset class that we invest,” he
said.
In terms of asset allocation, he said that 80%
was parked in fixed income instruments such as
Malaysian Government Securities, and loans and
bonds with only 20% in domestic equity.
The EPF, he highlighted, is allowed to invest
up to 9% of its total fund size in foreign equity
markets which amounts to RM28 billion.
However, it has only invested RM19 billion to
date and in the current difficult time, has managed
to lock in RM500 million in profits.
“Our risk perspective when investing overseas
is not to put all the eggs in one basket,” he said.
He said besides in-house fund managers, EPF
has also appointed external fund managers to
manage its funds.

Fewer vehicles sold last month

KUALA LUMPUR: The sales of
passenger and commercial ve-
hicles in October this year fell to
37,512 units from 42,915 units a
year ago, and it was also down
26.1% when compared with
sales in September this year.
Lower consumer confidence
due to uncertainties caused
by the current global financial
crisis was attributed as the
main reason, by the Malaysian
Automotive Association (MAA)
in a statement yesterday.
It said the sales of passenger
vehicles in October fell to 33,418
units from 39,198 units in the
same month last year.
However, sales of commercial
vehicles in October increased to
4,094 units from 3,717 units a
year ago.
MAA said the overall figures
were also still higher this year
compared to 2007, with total
sales for the first 10 months of
this year rising to 467,425 units
from 401,149 units in the same
period of 2007.
It said the sales of passenger
vehicles rose to 425,811 units
for Jan-Oct 2008 period against
364,740 units in the same
period of 2007, while that of
commercial vehicles was also
higher at 41,614 units compared
to 36,409 units previously.
The sales volume in Novem-
ber, meanwhile, is expected to
be maintained amid a year-end
seasonal trend.
On the production side, MAA
said the volume in October was
higher with total production
of passenger and commercial
vehicles going up to 46,281 units
from 34,629 units a year ago.
It said the production of pas-
senger vehicles rose to 41,840
units in October from 31,480
units in the same month last
year, while that of commercial
vehicles rose to 4,441 units from
3,149 units. – Bernama