KLSE Market | Malaysia News for 2010-02-08

  The Star

SingTel said Tuesday 4Q profit up 24%
SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said its profit rose 24 percent last quarter, boosted by higher income from its local and Australian businesses.


  Toyota recalling Prius in Japan for brakes
TOKYO: Toyota is recalling about 170,000 Prius hybrid cars in Japan for braking problems and will soon disclose its global plans for a fix as the automaker scrambles to repair damage to its reputation from a spate of safety problems.

Local bourse continues to bleed
The local bourse remained in the red in mid-morning Tuesday trade as investors stayed on the sidelines on concerns sovereign debt problems in several southern European countries may derail economic recovery.

Electricity generation from air?
SALT LAKE CITY: A U.S. company plans to dig a series of underground caverns that it hopes to one day fill with compressed air, releasing it to generate electricity by turning a turbine and solving one of the most vexing problems facing the clean-energy industry – how to store power.

Wintry weather drives oil, energy prices higher
NEW YORK: Oil and other energy prices climbed Monday as another winter storm was expected to dump even more snow on the East Coast.

Super Bowl was most watched TV show ever in US
NEW YORK: The New Orleans Saints’ victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of “M-A-S-H” to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

Italian minister under fire for supporting McDonald’s new burger
ROME: Italy’s agriculture minister defended his sponsorship of McDonald’s new all-Italian burger Monday amid criticism that he is selling out to a multinational corporation and sacrificing Italy’s culinary reputation in the process.

Dow closes below 10,000 for 1st time in 3 months
NEW YORK: The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months Monday on nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

Boeing’s giant 747-8 freighter makes first flight
EVERETT, Washington: Boeing Co.’s giant 747-8 freighter _ the biggest plane the company has ever built – took off on its first flight Monday, a year later than originally planned.

Ex-Intel executive pleads guilty to fraud


investPenang to promote state in Singapore
GEORGE TOWN: investPenang will set up a Penang Investment Tourism Office (PITO) in Singapore and a Small and Medium Enterprises Market Advisory Resource and Training (SMART) Centre in Penang by June.

KFC to open five RasaMas outlets
PETALING JAYA: KFC Holdings (M) Bhd plans to invest RM3mil to open five new RasaMas restaurants in the country this year.

OCBC Bank to open 10-20 branches
JOHOR BARU: OCBC Bank (M) Bhd plans to open 10 to 20 new branches, including Islamic banking outlets, nationwide within the next two years.

Labour shortage affecting oil palm plantations
OF the country’s total plantation labour force, the oil palm sector has the highest number at about 577,900 workers comprising some 350,000 foreigners.

Resorts World Singapore casino to open this week
PETALING JAYA: Genting Singapore PLC, which has been issued a licence for its casino at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), is expected to open its doors this week.

Sime Darby will consider good tie-ups
KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd will consider potential partnerships if they make good business sense, said chairman Tun Musa Hitam.

Maxis targets to wire up 500 buildings by year-end
PETALING JAYA: Maxis Communications Bhd will have nearly 500 buildings by year-end in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor wired up with fibre optics thereby allowing for fixed broadband access.

KNM’s RM3.55bil value counted after deducting debt
PETALING JAYA: KNM Group Bhd’s equity valuation is RM3.55bil which is equivalent to 90 sen per issued ordinary share of the company while the total proposed price for the business/enterprise value is RM4.3bil, under the proposed acquisition of the entire KNM business.

Steady coil supply for Mycron with JFE tie-up
PETALING JAYA: Mycron Steel Bhd’s collaboration with the world’s third-largest steel company, JFE Steel Corp of Japan, is expected to give it strong support through a consistent supply of hot-rolled coils and related technical assistance for the production of high quality cold-rolled sheets.

Iskandar clarifies
With reference to our story yesterday New CEO to further promote Iskandar, the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) has clarified that its chief executive Ismail Ibrahim was appointed by Irda board, which is co-chaired by the Prime Minister and Johor Menteri Besar.

Higher Maxis dividends expected
PETALING JAYA: With DiGi.Com having raised its dividend payout to record levels, the pressure is on Maxis Bhd to declare a similarly attractive payout, analysts said.

CIMB may list on Thai market in June
BANGKOK: CIMB Group Holdings, owner of CIMB Thai Bank, could launch a public offering worth US$136mil in the Thai market in June, the president of its Thai unit said.

Bursa to delist Prime Utilities
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia has decided to delist the securities of Prime Utilities Bhd (PUB).

Support Line
K.M. Lee writes on AE Multi Holdings, Berjaya Corporation and Plus Expressway.

Kumho unit shares tumble, prompting halt
SEOUL: Shares in South Korea’s Kumho Asiana Group units tumbled yesterday on renewed concerns about the group’s financial position, prompting the stock exchange to suspend trading in its flagship company and seek clarification.

AMMB Q3 profit up on higher interest income
PETALING JAYA: AMMB Holdings Bhd recorded higher earnings for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2009 versus the corresponding quarter of 2008, boosted by increases in net interest income and net income from the Islamic banking business.

Double-digit growth for MasterCard
KUALA LUMPUR: MasterCard Inc, a payment solutions developer and marketer, has posted a strong full-year result for the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region.

WCT unit gets RM467m contract for Bahrain hotels
PETALING JAYA: WCT Bhd’s 50%-owned Cebarco-WCT WLL has received the duly executed contract for the execution and completion of fit-out works at Bahrain City Centre Hotels in Manama for a total of BD51,178,133 (about RM467mil).

Mah Sing unit to buy land for RM45.5m
PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd’s wholly owned unit Multi Synergy Group Sdn Bhd yesterday signed an agreement to acquire 7.67ha of freehold industrial land in Hicom Industrial Estate, Shah Alam, from Quill Industrial Properties Sdn Bhd for RM45.5mil cash.

December factory output seen to be higher
PETALING JAYA: Economists expect factory output for the month of December 2009 to rise supported by an expansion in exports as businesses continue to restock after running down inventories in the face of weak demand in the first half of last year.

Arbitrators uphold Proton’s JV termination
PETALING JAYA: International arbitrators, under the auspices of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, has upheld Proton Automobiles (China) Ltd’s (PAC) termination of a joint-venture (JV) contract with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd.

Toyota readies global Prius recall
TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp is preparing a recall of its new Prius hybrid car in Japan as early as today, followed by similar steps in the United States, Europe and other markets, a source familiar with its plans said.

HLB says no to request
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB) has turned down a request from Rin Kei Mei, EON Capital Bhd’s (EON Cap) major shareholder, to maintain its offer for the assets and liabilities of EON Cap for 14 days after the upcoming EGM to appoint new directors to the latter’s board.

Abu Dhabi bank plans to start operating in Malaysia
PETALING JAYA: The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), one of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) biggest banks, plans to start commercial banking operations in Malaysia following the Government’s move to liberalise the financial services sector.

Goldman’s payment demands on AIG probed, says NYT
NEW YORK: US regulators are investigating whether the mortgage insurance market was improperly distressed in 2008 because of payment demands that Goldman Sachs Group Inc and other banks made on American International Group Inc, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

  The Malaysian Mail

Flat trading in Euro stocks
LONDON: European stocks ended mixed yesterday amid concerns on Greece’s debt crisis and the stability of Austrian banks, as well as investor speculation on a possible early hike in US interest rates.. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.56 per cent at 5,285.77 points while in Paris the CAC 40 inched up 0.10 per cent to 3,834.09 and the Frankfurt Dax rose 0.16 per cent to 5,811.34.. Zurich was up 0.10 per cent, Brussels rose 0.08 per cent and Amsterdam gained 0.83 per cent, but Milan fell 0.15 per cent and Madrid was down 0.25 per cent.


  Wall Street ends lower
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated yesterday with investors turning skittish in the face of mixed economicnews and as a two-day Federal Reserve meeting on monetary policy got underway.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49.05 points (0.47 per cent) to close at 10,452.00, a day after the blue chip index’s highest close since October 2008.. The technology-rich Nasdaq composite lost 11.05 points (0.50 per cent) to 2,201.05 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 6.18 points (0.55 per cent) to close at 1,107.93.

Fed likely to maintain stimulus
WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting today expected to pledge ongoing stimulus for a recovering US economy.. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep its near-zero interest rate policy and a range of programmes to flood the financial system with money to restore credit flows.

Dream comes true for Boeing (finally)

BIZ BRIEFS: AirAsia to expand India routes

Colourful chips in the market

QMS launches hub in KL
KUALA LUMPUR: Qatar Media Services (QMS) aims to be a leading regional media partner leveraging on several platforms such as outdoor, print, online and television in countries like Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Malaysia in areas of media representation, media buying and consultancy services.. Trademarked as Q.media, the media representative for the Al-Jazeera Network and numerous other global and regional media networks, it launched its Asia Pacific hub here this morning.


  The Edge Malaysia

Turmoil from sovereign contagion
KUALA LUMPUR:  The deep global recession and massive fiscal pumppriming have put significant strain on the fiscal deficits of the US, Europe, Japan and some emerging economies. In some countries, the….

#Flash* Public Bank at lowest since Dec 30
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank and Genting are the major losers in late morning trade on Tuesday, Feb 9 with volume seen picking up especially Genting. Public Bank is at the lowest since Dec 30 last year.A….

Hock Heng to raise RM8.44m from IPO
KUALA LUMPUR: Hock Heng Stone Industries Bhd aims to raise RM8.44 million from its proposed listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia by the first quarter of 2011.Hock Heng’s IPO entails a public i….

Blue chips sink further
KUALA LUMPUR:  Blue chips came under more selling pressure in early trade on Tuesday, Feb 9, in line with the key regional markets as sentiment took a hit from the overnight fall on Wall Street.At 9…..

RHB Research initiates coverage on AFG
KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research Institute has initiated coverage on Alliance Financial Group (AFG) as it is a laggard following the underperformance of its share price in 2009 and year-to-date 2010 on conc….

FBM KLCI falls more than 7 pts at opening
KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell at the start of trade on Tuesday, Feb 9, as investors turned more cautious after the sharp overnight fall on Wall Street.At 9.01am, the FBM KLCI was down 7.63 points to 1….

OSK Research maintains Buy on WCT
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research is maintaining a Buy on WCT as it is one of the research house’s top sector picks as it envisages more positive news for the company. The research house said on Tuesday, Feb….

OSK Research: Bears are here
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research says the bears are here and they could be here for a long time. The FBM KLCI continued to tumble on Monday, after violating the 100-day MAV line last Friday. It said on Tues….

OSK Research: Maintain trading buy on MRCB
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research is maintaining its Trading Buy on MRCB with a target price of RM1.54 (ex-rights), based on sum-of-parts valuation.The research house said on Tuesday, Feb 9 that MRCB, with i….

CIMB Research: AMMB remains an Outperform
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research keeps AMMB an OUTPERFORM and its top pick for the banking sector.It said on Tuesday, Feb 9 the upside for AMMB was potential re-rating catalysts of value-add from ….