Published November 19, 2008

More economic boosts may be on the way

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia may introduce more measures to stimulate economic growth and counter the worsening global financial crisis, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday.

The government earlier this month announced a RM7 billion (S$2.9 billion) stimulus programme, warning that growth would slow substantially in 2009.

'We are open to additional measures from time to time ... we are watching and monitoring the situation very carefully and closely,' Mr Najib said, according to the state Bernama news agency.

Mr Najib, who is also finance minister, said last week that the government has the capacity to introduce more stimulus packages but that it would not allow the budget deficit to expand further.

The government has already widened its deficit forecast for 2009 to 4.8 per cent, from 3.6 per cent predicted in August, due to the additional government spending.

Mr Najib said the government was confident of achieving its growth target of 5.0 per cent for 2008 and 3.5 per cent for 2009, by ensuring strong domestic demand.

And he said the government is open to further liberalisation.

'We must look into some of our domestic regulatory requirements that can be liberalised and streamlined so that we can facilitate the ease and the cost of doing business in Malaysia for domestic and foreign investors,' he said.

The US$2 billion spending package, reaped from savings on reduced oil subsidies, is to be spent on 'high-impact' projects including roads, schools and low-cost housing. -- AFP

Published November 19, 2008

Two more Islamic fund management licences

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(KUALA LUMPUR) The Securities Commission has granted Islamic fund management licences to two more foreign companies, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak announced yesterday.

The latest licences were issued to India's leading fund management company Reliance Capital Asset Management and to Kuwait-based Global Investment House, he said.

In addition, Mr Najib said, leading firms based in Malaysia, such as Prudential, were using the country as their regional centre for Islamic fund management activities, reaffirming the confidence in it as an international Islamic financial centre.

'There are also several other leading firms being reviewed by the Securities Commission for licences,' he said in his address at the opening of the 5th Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF 2008).

The event was organised by the Centre for Research and Training and co-hosted by the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority and the Halal Industry Development Corporation in collaboration with Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, the International Institute of Islamic Finance and the law firm of Hisham, Sobri & Kadir.

This year, the KLIFF 2008 offers an integrated basis for promoting an Islamic financial system dialogue among speakers and delegates to foster the orderly development of an efficient, competitive, sound and innovative Islamic finance in a rapidly changing global environment.

At a press conference later, Mr Najib, when asked if more licences would be issued, said: 'There are other things but we will announce it when the time comes.

'There is much interest in identifying Malaysia as the hub for Islamic finance,' he said, adding that he did not want to pre-empt anything. -- Bernama

Published November 19, 2008

Bursa to launch new trading platform

System may go 'live' as early as Dec 1

By PAULINE NG
IN KUALA LUMPUR

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The Malaysian stock exchange will launch a new equities trading platform next month that is expected to be more accessible, efficient, transparent and scalable. This will make any integration with overseas markets easier, should the proposed common trading platform with Asean bourses eventuate.

The RM100 million (S$42.5 million) Bursa Trade Securities (BTS) will replace the current 18-year old Score system - which suffered a major glitch in July that resulted in almost a day's loss of trade - and comes almost a year after it was implemented for the derivatives market.

Riding on the BTS platform, the derivatives market itself had a hiccup in September, though on a much smaller scale.

Bursa Malaysia chief executive Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said that problems can be expected from time to time, but the BTS back-up system should allow for recovery of data within stated time frames.

Problems can emerge in two areas - hardware and software. And in these circumstances, the exchange has two resumption scenarios.

If a major disruption occurs before the start of a trading day, trading will resume on that same day. If it happens during a trading day, resumption will take place on the next business day.

An Asean common stock exchange initiative involving six nations - Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam - calls for the creation of a more inter-linked platform that will allow traders to trade more easily, Mr Yusli said at a BTS briefing yesterday.

He confirmed that a proposed common trading platform between the Singapore and Malaysian bourses, which has been bandied about for several years, 'has been shelved'.

Mr Yusli, whose contract has been extended for another year, according to industry executives, said that a full dress rehearsal for BTS will be conducted with all market participants on Nov 29, and that barring any problems, the system will go 'live' on Dec 1.

Features of BTS include real-time and continuous matching of orders, rather than in 10-second batches under Score, and transparent pre-opening prices.