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Post Last Edit by pengecatbintang at 7-4-2010 08:12
Malaysia Stocks in Longest Rally Since 1994 on 慞erfect Storm扐pril 05, 2010, 12:53 AM EDT More From Businessweek
By Chan Tien Hin
April 5 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian stocks rallied for a 10th day, poised for the longest winning streak in almost 16 years, as exports rebounded and on optimism the government抯 review of race-based policies will lure foreign investors.
The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index rose 0.4 percent to 1,341.05 at the 12:30 p.m. local time break, set for the longest winning streak since August 1994. CIMB Group Holdings Bhd., Malaysia抯 second-biggest banking group, and Public Bank Bhd. led gains in the index.
The benchmark index has risen 3.7 percent in the past 10 days, the second-best performer in Southeast Asia, as Malaysia抯 government said last week it will revise its four-decade-old affirmative action policies to focus on need rather than ethnicity under its economic reforms aimed at boosting average annual growth to 6.5 percent in 2011-2020.
揑t抯 a perfect storm of good news,?said Geoffrey Ng, who manages $1 billion of assets as chief executive officer at HLG Asset Management Sdn. in Kuala Lumpur. 揑t抯 positive expectations for real changes to happen, for real economic reforms to take place, and you抳e also got a fairly good economic growth forecast.?
Malaysia emerged from a recession in the final quarter of 2009 amid an export rebound. Exports climbed for a third month in February as manufacturers shipped more electronics goods and palm oil to customers in Singapore, China and Europe, the trade ministry said on April 2 after the market close.
Banking Stocks
CIMB advanced 1.4 percent to 14.78 ringgit, set for a record close. The bank also climbed after it said the size of its initial share sale for its dual listing of its shares on the Thai stock exchange has been raised to as much as 50 million shares from 35 million. Public Bank rose 1 percent to 11.92 ringgit, headed for its highest close since March 8.
Banking stocks will benefit the most from the economic recovery as consumers spend more and companies boost expansion, Ng said.
The ringgit rose 0.5 percent to 3.235 against the U.S. dollar, driving gains to 5.9 percent this year, the best performer in Asia.
Exporters advanced. Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd., the nation抯 largest listed chipmaker, rose 0.5 percent to 6.66 ringgit. AKN Technology Bhd. climbed 3.2 percent to 16 sen, and Hong Leong Industries Bhd. added 0.6 percent to 4.69 ringgit.
The economic recovery led Bank Negara Malaysia to raise interest rates for the first time in almost four years on March 4, beating most of the region抯 central banks in increasing borrowing costs. The bank said on March 24 that its monetary policy will continue to support growth even as it begins to 搉ormalize?interest rates.
Comfortable With Growth
揧ou抳e got rising interest rates being a signal that the government is comfortable with the underlying growth in the economy, which lends a lot of credence to the ringgit抯 strength,?Ng said.
Malaysia抯 central bank on March 24 raised the country抯 2010 economic forecast, saying Southeast Asia抯 third-largest economy may expand 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent this year after shrinking 1.7 percent in 2009. The government said in October that gross domestic product would expand 2 percent to 3 percent in 2010.
--Editor: Linus Chua, Reinie Booysen
To contact the reporter on this story: Chan Tien Hin in Kuala Lumpur at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Linus Chua at [email protected] |
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Post time 7-4-2010 08:11 AM
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