Saturday, September 25, 2010

What does it cost to make KL one of the world’s top cities? RM172bil

What does it cost to make KL one of the world’s top cities? RM172bil

Utusan Malaysia Online - Dalam Negeri

Utusan Malaysia Online - Dalam Negeri

Seven projects under ETP to triple nation’s income

Seven projects under ETP to triple nation’s income

RM1bil MMHE listing expected end-Oct

RM1bil MMHE listing expected end-Oct

RM1.3tril investment road map

RM1.3tril investment road map

Risky for govt to exit GLCs: MAS union

Risky for govt to exit GLCs: MAS union

PM: No rush to put ringgit on global mart

PM: No rush to put ringgit on global mart

PM: M'sia economy can grow more than 6% this year

PM: M'sia economy can grow more than 6% this year

Plans to propel education into international limelight

Plans to propel education into international limelight

Naza Kia appoints Syed Hafiz as new COO

Naza Kia appoints Syed Hafiz as new COO

Malaysia to monitor property speculation

Malaysia to monitor property speculation

KL-S'pore high-speed rail link project may come back

KL-S'pore high-speed rail link project may come back

Going for a big dose from healthcare industry

Going for a big dose from healthcare industry

Action-based programme to take economy to greater heights

Action-based programme to take economy to greater heights

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Utusan Malaysia Online - Rencana

Utusan Malaysia Online - Rencana

Dr M: Ringgit at risk of attack if fully liberalised Read more: Dr M: Ringgit at risk of attack if fully liberalised

 
Published: 2010/09/18
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has warned against any move to fully liberalise the ringgit, saying it would open the country to attacks by currency speculators.


"Do we really want to have the financial crisis once again?" he said, referring to the 1997 Asian financial crisis which saw the ringgit losing half of its value, falling from above 2.50 to under 4.10 to the US dollar.

Dr Mahathir, then the premier, had blamed speculators like US financier George Soros for destabilising the ringgit.

"The present financial crisis in the world is due to an abuse of regulations in the financial market. No positive steps have been taken so far to regulate it. Certainly, currency trading remains unregulated and selective," Dr Mahathir said in a posting on his blog yesterday.

In an interview with CNBC last Saturday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made a comment that the government may consider allowing the ringgit to trade offshore.


Dr Mahathir believes that the move to allow free trading of ringgit abroad would not facilitate foreign direct investments (FDIs).

"If the ringgit strengthens, cost of investment in Malaysia would increase.

"On the other hand, the currency traders may once again cause the ringgit to depreciate. This may result in increased FDIs. But remember how we went into recession when our ringgit was devalued by foreign currency traders?" he asked.

"So I hope the government will explain why it wants the ringgit to be traded (offshore) again. I hope it is not because we want to be good boys who will always do what we are told to do," he said.

In a statement issued late yesterday, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) also cautioned the government against rushing to fully internationalise the ringgit as it could attract "short-term hot money and speculative inflows/outflows".

It would be more appropriate to further facilitate trade and commerce such as in Bank Negara Malaysia's recent liberalisation of foreign exchange administration rules on August 18 2010.

"To attract more investments, government policies should be focused instead on addressing structural constraints to resolve longstanding issues in critical areas like education, human capital development, de-politicising of the economy, meritocracy and transparency and the fight against corruption etc to support economic transformation," it said.

The federation stressed that stability of the ringgit is what attracts long-term investments, including FDIs.

The ringgit ended higher against the US dollar yesterday, at 3.1010/1040, up from 3.1150/1180 on Wednesday.

Read more: Dr M: Ringgit at risk of attack if fully liberalised http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/drM17/Article/index_html#ixzz0zyM9Re49

Friday, September 17, 2010

Mahathir warns of ringgit attack


Published: 2010/09/17



Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad said the ringgit risks renewed attacks by speculators if successor Datuk Seri Najib Razak proceeds with proposals to scrap capital controls imposed during the Asian financial crisis.

“If we fully free the ringgit, the risk of being attacked by currency traders will once again be faced by us,” Mahathir wrote in a post on his blog today. “Do we really want to have the financial crisis once again?”

Mahathir imposed restrictions on ringgit trading to help steer the nation through the 1998 crisis. He blamed the currency’s slide at that time on investors, including billionaire financier George Soros, whom he labeled a “moron” who was trying to destroy growth through speculative attacks on the exchange rate.

Najib said he’s open to allowing offshore trading of the currency in an interview with CNBC, Bernama reported on September 11. That will help boost investment and address a drop in Malaysia’s competitiveness, International Trade & Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said on September 14, confirming a review was underway.


Malaysia has already lifted some of the curbs, most recently allowing domestic companies to settle cross-border transactions in ringgit and exporters to hedge currency risk beyond a previous 12-month threshold. Even so, a ban on trading of the currency overseas remains.

“The present financial crisis in the world is due to the abuse of regulations in the financial market,” wrote Mahathir, who led Malaysia for 22 years until 2003. “No positive steps have been taken so far to regulate it. Certainly, currency trading remains unregulated and selective.”

The ringgit has rallied 10.2 per cent against the dollar this year and touched a 13-year high of 3.0969 on September 13, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was little changed at 3.1065 as of 1:17 pm in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia slipped two rungs to 26th in the 2010 Global Competitiveness Index published by the World Economic Forum on Sept. 9. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were ranked higher. -- Bloomberg

Read more: Mahathir warns of ringgit attack http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20100917132529/Article/index_html#ixzz0zmVYFNdX

Foreign investors favour further ringgit liberalisation

Published: 2010/09/15
 
 
Foreign investors clearly favour any move to further liberalise the ringgit as seen by their interest in the stock market in recent weeks, said Bursa Malaysia Bhd's chief.


"Based on the feedback that we've received from the increase in volume in recent weeks, especially by foreign investors, it would appear to be linked to the strengthening of the ringgit, as well as some of the measures that were recently announced by Bank Negara Malaysia about increased tradability of the ringgit for trading purposes.

"So we believe the foreign investor community would view any further liberalisation in the ringgit convertibility as positive," chief executive officer Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said yesterday, when asked for his views on Malaysia potentially allowing the ringgit to be traded offshore.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said, in an interview with CNBC on Saturday, that the government is open to allowing the move if it could help boost the economy.

Separately, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said one of the negative perceptions that outsiders have of Malaysia is that it still very much controls the currency despite recent liberalisation moves.
This may have contributed to Malaysia slipping two notches down on the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report for 2010-2011, to the 26th spot out of 139 countries.

"The government's move to enable settlements in ringgit for example, was welcomed by many. So further liberalisation would only be positive," Mustapa told reporters at a separate event yesterday.

The ringgit, which rose to a 13-year high of 3.10 against the US dollar on Monday, closed slightly lower at RM3.104 yesterday.


Read more: Foreign investors favour further ringgit liberalisation http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/burd2/Article/#ixzz0zmTx4j00

SC will not hesitate to take action against fund managers

SC will not hesitate to take action against fund managers

Maybank’s new vision and aspirations

Maybank’s new vision and aspirations

Caution on Asian currencies

Caution on Asian currencies

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Number of PN17 firms up this year

By Azlan Abu Bakar

Published: 2010/09/01



As at August 25, there were 34 companies under PN17, a category assigned by Bursa Malaysia to companies in financial distress









The number of public-listed companies falling under Bursa Malaysia's Practice Note 17/2005 (PN17) classification has increased this year.



As at August 25, there were 34 companies under PN17, or 3.53 per cent of the 964 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities.



PN17 is a category assigned by Bursa Malaysia to companies in financial distress.



Such companies need to tell the approving authority of restructuring measures they intend to undertake to maintain their listing status.









This year alone, Bursa Malaysia has recorded 15 PN17 admissions to date. Metech Group Bhd, one of the leading world-class manufacturers of steel racking systems, was the latest entry last week.



According to Bursa Malaysia's website, six companies fell under PN17 last year, mainly related to financial distress.



Among those categorised under PN17 this year were Hock Sin Leong Group Bhd, Transmile Group Bhd, VTI Vintage Bhd, Kenmark Industrial Co (M) Bhd, Linear Corp Bhd, Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd and Tracoma Holdings Bhd.



Prior to 2005, listed companies in similar conditions were classified under Practice Note 4.



Chartered accountant firm KL Management Services, a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, said there were many reasons for companies falling under PN17.



"While there are more than 900 companies listed on the exchange, not all of them are in a financially sound position," its managing director Ken Low said.



He cited external factors such as currency fluctuations and economic crisis among the reasons for a company becoming financially distressed.



Low said the way a business was run and poor foresight could be strong factors, too.



"A company can also fall under PN17 due to the action of individual directors. These directors secure projects for the benefit of themselves and not the company," he said when contacted by Business Times.



Corporate governance was another concern, he added.



"Lack of corporate governance is a major concern in Malaysia. It's not strong enough," Low said, adding that the Securities Commission's move to enhance transparency might benefit companies in the long term.



Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia economic researcher Dr Hassan Azman noted that, lately, owners of some companies were becoming less committed to their business.



They give up their business quite easily after encountering some financial distress.



"If they discover that the loan amount is higher than the value of their assets and they do not foresee any prospects in their current business, they give up the business and let the companies fall into PN17 and later go bankrupt," Hassan said.



He cautioned that whenever a company announces some bad news to the public, such as defaulting on their loan repayments, some accounting issues or a delay in releasing their financial results, there could be more bad news yet to be revealed.



"This is because whenever we see one cockroach in our cabinet, there tends to be many more cockroaches hiding at the back of that cabinet."
 
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/pntrouble-2/Article/index_html