26  theSun | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 17 2008

business news

S&P/ASX200 NIKKEI
Hang Seng TSEC KLCI STI KOSPI
15,130.24 3,556.2 854.50 1,782.09 1,161.56 8,568.02
4,616.89
83.26 35.2 3.17 8.33 7.33 3.37 96.64

MAS in partnership
KL market summary DECEMBER 16, 2008

Prices end mixed, INDICES

FBMEMAS 5,587.47
CHANGE
+40.46
KLCI up COMPOSITE
INDUSTRIAL
854.80
2,038.09
+8.33
+24.72
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia ended mixed

talks with Qantas

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia
Airlines (MAS) said yesterday it has
begun talks with various carriers,
including Australia’s Qantas, to form
tie-ups including
joint ventures
as carriers
face a tough
economic
environment.
MAS managing
director and CEO
Datuk Seri Idris Jala had
previously denied reports that the
national carrier was in merger talks
with Australian airlines.
Jala made the latest comments
after Deputy Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Abdul Razak reportedly
said the government was open to a
tie-up involving MAS.
The government owns more than
90% of MAS.
“The present conditions in the
world dictate to us to be creative and
innovative provided we can agree
on the participation of foreigners
on a win-win
basis,” Najib
was quoted
as saying by
the Malaysian
Reserve.
Jala said that while MAS would
pursue strategic partnerships, the
government would have the final
say in the decision to go ahead with
a tie-up.
“Any partnership that we pursue
will require engagement with, and
approval by key stakeholders,” he
said.
“Malaysia Airlines is very pleased
with the continued strong support
from the government. We will do
everything possible to fulfil the
interests of the airline in line with
the aspirations of the nation.”
CONSUMER PROD 275.97 +3.42
for the second consecutive day yesterday INDUSTRIAL PROD 66.75 +0.84
amid sustained interest led by key financial CONSTRUCTION 162.97 +2.26
stocks, dealers said. TRADING/SERVICES 115.04 -0.58
They said investors seemed to have re- FINANCE 6,624.05 -66.98
newed their positions, accumulating stocks PROPERTIES 504.68 +3.50
which were considered undervalued follow- PLANTATIONS 3,912.55 +12.08
Jala said “more details will be ing the recent market sell off. MINING 243.17 UNCH
announced as and when we have The benchmark KLCI closed 8.33 points FBMSHA 5,795.39 +37.05
higher at 854.80 after opening 0.04 a point FBM2BRD 3,920.79 +7.56
finalised the terms of any of these
higher at 846.51 in the morning. TECHNOLOGY 13.24 -0.04
partnerships. At this stage, we have
no further comment.” Losers outnumbered gainers by 233 to
TURNOVER VALUE
MAS has undergone 232 while 214 counters were unchanged, 572
untraded and 31 others suspended. 301.663mil RM344.707mil
Among the actives, KNM Group shed 1.5
sen to 40.5 sen, Damansara Realty added perked five sen to RM5.15; Bumiputra-Com-
half a sen to 17 sen, IOI Corp was flat at merce, which gained 10 sen to RM5.95; and
RM3.20, Resorts World gained two sen to Public Bank, which added 10 sen to RM8.40.
RM2.18 and Ramunia Holdings eased 1.5 sen Heavyweights such as Sime Darby, Tenaga
to 30 sen. Nasional, and MISC, meanwhile, were all flat
The present The key financial stocks that helped elevate
at RM5.30, RM5.90 and RM8.50 respectively.
a sweeping
conditions the KLCI by almost 1% were Maybank, which – Bernama
turnaround in the world
programme, dictate to us
including staff layoffs to be creative Gamuda sees
and route closures,
which ended a
and innovative
provided we can
AirAsia offers higher turnover,
series of disastrous
lower profit
losses and produced
a record profit last
agree on the
participation of 100,000 free seats in ahead
year. foreigners on a
Last month,
however, the carrier
win-win basis.” regional campaign SHAH ALAM: Gamuda Bhd
expects its turnover to increase
but with lower profitability for
said net profit for the – Datuk Seri Najib KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia is offering 100,000 free seats from
third quarter shrank Abdul Razak the year ending July 31, 2009,
its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand amid delays in the Ipoh-Padang
90% to RM38 (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta) in its massive regional
Besar double-tracking railway
marketing campaign as part of its initiative to support Thai- project and land parcel sales in
land’s travel, trade and tourism.
Hanoi, Vietnam.
The campaign, aptly themed “Get Your Baht To Thailand”, The group will issue its first-
“Mai Pen Rai Thailand” and “Same Same Thailand”.
quarter results today and it will
The Thailand tourism sector has been severely affected be a reflection of what can be
by the declining number of visitors due to the recent political
anticipated for the whole year,
upheaval. said group managing director
million, from RM364 million in the This proactive campaign, initiated by the “People’s Airline”,
same period last year due to higher Datuk Lin Yun Ling at a press
is a joint collaboration between AirAsia and Tourism Authority conference after its annual
fuel costs. of Thailand to bring back tourists and businessmen by reinstat-
The International Air Transport general meeting yesterday.
ing the core message that it is now safe to travel back to the Lin said the double-tracking
Association last week said the Cheaper country. project faced problems with
aviation industry is expected to post calls to In a statement yesterday, AirAsia Group chief executive land acquisition in Penang be-
a loss of US$2.5 billion (RM9 billion)
next year due to the economic crisis. Indonesia officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the airline hoped this cause of the squatter issue and
pg 30 campaign will instil confidence among travellers and help this is expected to see a delay of
“The outlook is bleak,” said
boost tourism. about a year, Bernama reports.
Giovanni Bisignani, the association’s
“With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly “The area was supposed
director-general and chief executive.
to and from various points in Thailand, we are more than confi- to have been handed to the
- AFP
dent the country’s tourism will bounce back,” he said. company nine months after the
The 100,000 free seats allocation include all international project started,” he said.
flights on AirAsia’s route network in Thailand. On the possibility the project
Free seats are also available for domestic destinations. would be downsized, he said:
The seats also include routes from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, “Two months ago we received a
Chiang Mai and Krabi. letter from the government that
This regional campaign will be launched exclusively online there would be no downsizing
at www.airasia.com for the booking period between Dec 17-19 of the project, but payment
for travel between Jan 6 and March 31, 2009. – Bernama would be on deferred basis.”

Firefly removes fuel surcharge

PETALING JAYA: The country’s community
airline, Firefly, has completely removed fuel sur-
charge for all its destinations, both domestic and
international, from yesterday.
Managing director Eddy Leong said the
removal of fuel surcharge was in line with the
recent drop in the global oil prices.
“On top of this, our new
aircraft, the ATR72-500, has
proved its efficiency in fuel
usage,” he said at a media
briefing on the ”un-fare”
and “un-fuel surcharge”
programmes at the Malaysia
Airlines complex in Subang
yesterday.
The airline had previously
charged RM27 in fuel surchage for domestic
flights while the charge for international routes
varied depending on the location.
For its “un-fare” programme, Firefly from
today will offer deals that allow people to buy a
ticket from as low as RM35 for one-way trip.
“All inclusive, no extra charges but the public
is advised to make bookings at least 21 days
ahead,” Leong said.
During the off-peak season, the airline will be
offering its lowest fares with discount of up to
80% or even zero fare, he said.
It will also offer attractive and value-for-money
packages during peak periods such as festive
seasons, and school and year-end holidays, he
added.
Leong said the programmes were to reward
loyal customers and was also a
good catalyst to attract people to
travel.
“This initiative acknowledges
the current economic situation
and the need to provide more af-
fordable and transparent air fares
for business and leisure travellers,”
he said.
The average load factor for the
airline is currently at around 70%.
Firely has five aircraft at present and will
be getting another five by April next year and
onwards.
It plans to introduce more new destinations
with additional flights in the Growth Triangle like
Padang, Jambi, Pelambang and Batam.
On the Singapore route, Leong said the airline
was still hoping to operate the route and waiting
for the government’s response. – Bernama