KLCI up midday; further liberalisation for the capital market

The KL Composite Index edged higher at midday in line with regional markets, lifted by selected blue chips as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced a slew of measures aimed at boosting the capital market here. Najib said the 30% Bumiputera equity requirement for Malaysian companies seeking public listing was dropped but they will now have to offer 50% of the public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors. The measures also cut the powers of the Foreign Investments Committee (FIC) by repealing its guidelines covering the acquisition of equity stakes, mergers and takeover. The limit for foreign shareholding in unit trust management firms was raised to 70% from 49% previously.
Najib also announced that a private equity fund called Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), with an initial capital of RM500 million was set up to invest in private sector funds, to promote genuine partnerships and a fully commercial approach. He said that Bumiputera participation through Ekuinas would be based on merit. The fund will eventually grow to RM10 billion.
At regional markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.65% to 9,944.93; Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.83% to 18,683.23, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 1.1% to 2,342.76, Taiwan's TAIEX Index added 0.30% to 6,410.32 and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.05% to 2,976.69. The South Korean Kospi, however, slipped 0.01% to 1,388.36.

Crude palm oil added RM4 per tonne to RM2,274 for August delivery and RM9 per tonne to RM2,271 for September delivery; crude oil gained US$1.32 per barrel to US$72.81 at midday.

At Bursa Malaysia, the KLCI added 0.15% or 1.61 points to 1,077.45 at 12.30pm. Turnover was 734.92 million shares valued at RM569.26 million. Gainers led losers by 270 to 219, while 218 counters traded unchanged. Among the major gainers at the Bursa Malaysia were MISC, IOI Corp, Public Bank, YTL Corp, Axiata and PLUS Expressways.MISC, Parkson and F&N added 15 sen each to RM8.60, RM5.15 and RM9.65, respectively; AirAsia gained 14 sen to RM1.08, Edaran up 30 sen to 90 sen while BAT gained 25 sen to RM44.25.

Public Bank and YTL Corp added 5 sen each to RM9.05 and RM7; IOI Corp, PLUS and KNM Group gained two sen each to RM4.70, RM3.24 and 85.5 sen, respectively, while Axiata rose one sen to RM2.36.

Among the losers, DFZ Capital fell 64 sen to RM4.26, Woodlandor down 16 sen to 32 sen, Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor fell 15 sen to RM2.14, while MPI and Subur fell 12 sen each to RM4.98 and RM1.85. Meanwhile, Kwantas lost 11 sen to RM1.96 while Puncak Niaga fell 10 sen to RM3.12.Time Engineering was the most actively traded counter this morning with 76.3 million shares done. It was unchanged at 32.5 sen. Other actively traded stocks included Talam, KNM<>