26-12-2007: Moderate trading on Bursa

For Show Only...

By Surin Murugiah

~~TheEdgeDaily.com~~

Trading on the Bursa Malaysia today is expected to be rather subdued due to lack of fresh news flow that could influence the market, said MIMB Investment Bank Bhd head of research Pong Teng Siew.

He said that while the aggressive buying over the past week running into Christmas was mainly driven by window dressing, he does not anticipate investors to continue with the same trend.

"We feel the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index is tapering off for the year-end and would close in the 1,420 point region. There are no major drivers in the market now and to top it, most fund managers are still on holiday," he said.

At 10.10am today, the KLCI was down 0.10 point to 1,423.14. Trading volume was 134.7 million shares valued at RM143.1 million. There were 207 counters up and 200 down.

Pong said that the Bank Negara Malaysia monthly report that is expected to be released soon might encourage investors as it is anticipated to be positive, with interest rates most likely to be maintained.

On crude palm oil prices, Pong said the current high levels would likely remain going into the New Year, as the floods affecting the harvesting have not completely eased off.

"Even the Malaysian Palm Oil Board has been bullish in its target prices for CPO, so we expect the prices to remain high over the coming months," he said.

Bursa88 Comment:

Our benchmark KLCI will continue to move in a range bound and consolidate within the range of 1400 and 1440 before entering into Year 2008.

Some active and good fundamental stocks come from the in-demand commodity family of Oil, Palm Oil, Steel and Political-linked stocks most likely will be the investors' target for bargain hunting for "Year-End-Sales" promotion.

Some potential stocks worth to pay attention on:
MASTEEL, KIANJOO, TWSPLNT, KENCANA

* For reference only.

Vegetable oil prices surge to new high

MALAYSIA: Palm and soybean oil prices surged to new record highs over the Christmas holidays in Malaysia and Chicago as surging demand for the use of vegetable oils in food and fuel outstrips demand, according to media reports.

Palm oil for March contract was trading at MYR 3,080 (US$923.40) on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange before sliding to MYR 3,078 (US$922.80) by noon on Dec. 25, surpassing the previous high of MYR 3,068 (US$919.80) in November.

The record surge in palm oil prices is backed by a growing demand of the use of the vegetable in products ranging from cosmetics and confectionaries to biodiesel along with supply crunch from recent floods in Malaysia.

Analysts in Fantasyland

Despite years of reform, the latest numbers show that Wall Street prognosticators are every bit as deluded and inaccurate as they ever were.

By Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Maybe Wall Street analysts are more honest and less compromised than they were pre-SarbOx, but recent events show that they're still awful at their most important job: predicting bad news.


They haven't lost their habit of falling in love with the companies they cover and refusing to face unpleasant realities until everyone else has already done so. Now, eight years after they were inflating the bubble, we again have to question whether analysts do retail investors any good.

The latest evidence: Analysts have only just discovered that corporate profits in the fourth quarter aren't going to be nearly as strong as they had supposed a month or two ago. The consensus view going into the quarter was that S&P 500 profits would go up 12 percent to 15 percent, a large jump coming on top of the 20 percent rise in last year's fourth quarter.

In light of the credit crunch, the housing collapse, and the towering price of oil, that forecast seemed highly - one might say insanely - optimistic. This it proved to be, but only after the quarter began did the consensus view finally lurch into the real world. Their growth forecast is now about 1.5 percent and still falling.

It has been obvious for many months that profit growth would have to slow way down simply because it couldn't continue at recent rates. Profits have been rising sharply the past few years, which makes sense after the hole they fell into in 2001 and 2002. But by early this year they had grown to 12 percent of GDP, way above their historical average of 9 percent. Analysts knew all this, and in case they didn't, various commentators were insistently pointing it out. But the analysts, ever hopeful, chose to believe that U.S. companies would perform magic.

They still believe it. To see the stubbornness of Wall Street's Pollyannas, look at new data from Merrill Lynch. The firm's chief North American economist, David Rosenberg, regularly and realistically forecasts S&P 500 profit growth. He cut his 2008 forecast sharply (to zero growth) in June, even before the credit crunch. He has since cut it twice more, and it's now -3 percent.

But Merrill's analysts hold a far different view. Add up their 2008 profit growth forecasts for individual S&P companies, and you get 14 percent. In analyst-land, 2008 is going to be another knockout year, with profits yet again growing several times faster than the economy. What's more, Merrill's analysts have actually been increasing their 2008 growth forecasts in recent months. In their bizarre world the logic goes like this: Since we must now admit that 2007 profits will be much lower than we expected, and since we're still certain that 2008 will nonetheless be totally fabulous, then the percentage increases will be even bigger than we thought.

How these nonsensical situations arise is no mystery. Each analyst can accept that the future may be tough overall while still believing that the companies he or she covers are special and will beat the trend. The analysts individually think they're being reasonable, but in the aggregate, they're crazy.

It's similar to what happened in subprime mortgages in recent years or stocks in the late 1990s: Many players realized the situation wasn't sustainable but figured they were especially perceptive and would get out ahead of the pack.

In the days of the market bubble, when many analysts failed to cut their earnings estimates until the collapse was underway, we blamed their motivation. They were afraid their firm's investment-banking arm would lose business. That problem has at least been reduced by SarbOx and by fear of public scrutiny. But if analysts are still predicting fantasy earnings, who cares why? Individual investors are no better off than they were.

Not every analyst gets it wrong. It's always possible in retrospect to find some who hit bull's-eyes. The trouble is, you never know who they'll be. Of course, you may be tempted to believe that while analysts in general are poor, the ones you're relying on are special and will ... no, wait. We know how that turns out.

~~Adopted from Fortune Magazine~~

This Investment Goes Up When Everything Else Goes Down

By Tom Dyson

First, a riddle:

This asset is popular when all other assets are going down.




The market for this asset is the most liquid in the world.

Although every person in America owns this asset and wants more, it's less popular than it has ever been before.

What is it?

Here's a hint: In 1981 – after 15 years of stagnant stock prices – this asset represented 77.1% of all mutual fund assets.

In 1999, when stock market optimism was at its strongest, this asset represented only 23.7% of all mutual fund assets.

Today, investors hold about the same percentage of this asset as they did in 1999. As of October 2007, this asset represents 24% of all mutual fund assets.

Perhaps by now you've guessed the solution to the riddle. The least-popular asset in America, yet the one thing people can't seem to get enough of, or get rid of fast enough, is...

Cash.

I love hated investments. This is one reason I like cash. It's such a contrarian investment.

But I have a more specific reason for liking cash. It's Jason Goepfert's "mutual fund cash indicator." When this indicator flashes a signal, the stock market declines 4% a year on average versus cash. The cash investment I'm going to recommend to you in a minute pays a 4.5% interest yield. Therefore, by following this system, you can expect to earn 8.5% a year on your cash – relative to stocks – whenever the indicator flashes.

The indicator is flashing right now...

Here's how Jason Goepfert's indicator works:

Cash is a safe haven. So if you look at the assets the American public holds in cash versus stocks and bonds, you get a good indication of the public's sentiment. When cash balances are high – as they were in 1981 – the public is afraid of investing, but it has lots of spending power. This is a good time to spend cash and buy stocks.

When cash balances are low – as they are now – the public is comfortable investing in stocks and bonds, but it doesn't have any firepower. This is a good time to raise cash and sell stocks.

Interest rates are the problem. They distort cash levels. Investors tend to keep more money in cash when interest rates are high. When interest rates are low, low cash balances make more sense.

So Jason stripped out the influence of interest rates on mutual fund cash balances using statistical modeling. In short, he figured out a normal level of mutual fund cash holdings at every level of interest rates.

Right now, the cash held in mutual funds is 2% below where it should be given today's interest rate levels. In the past, a 2% deficit has signaled average stock loses of 4% a year. Here's what this looks like in a chart:

My favorite investment in cash is the Lehman 1-3 year bond fund ETF (SHY).

SHY is the safest investment vehicle on the planet after gold. It's a fund of short-term bonds issued by the United States government. Short-term United States Treasury bonds are the most liquid assets on the planet. They are as good as cash. SHY pays a 4.5% dividend.

In sum, if you're looking for a safe place to park your money – or speculate on increased demand for cash – you should consider investing in SHY. I expect it will beat stock market returns by 8.5% a year until mutual fund cash balances return back to normal levels.

~~Adopted from DailyWealth.com~~

Sell stocks? Hang on? An investor's dilemma

Sometimes you should cut your losses and sometimes stand strong. Here's what's right in this market.
By Michael Sivy, Money Magazine editor at large November 26 2007: 10:31 AM EST


NEW YORK (Money) -- The economy is weakening, the stock market is slumping and there's plenty of bad news. It's easy to feel confused.

If you sell stocks that are way down, you could be getting out at the bottom and miss the rebound. On the other hand, you can feel foolish hanging on to a stock that just keeps dropping. It may seem as though you would benefit from lightening up on stocks in a falling market and loading up when shares are rising.

But for most of us, the expenses to buy and sell are too high and we aren't in a position to catch trends early enough.

Plus, the costs of guessing wrong can be devastating. Miss big gains at the start of a bull market, and you'll never make up those lost profits.

Does that mean you should be a completely passive investor relying on a few index funds? Some academics would say yes, but I think action is warranted in certain circumstances.

The key is reacting to extremes in stock prices, not to the market's short-term direction. Growth stocks were clearly overpriced in the late 1990s. And it was perfectly reasonable back then to have sold some shares with price/earnings ratios above 30, say, and put the proceeds in a diversified mutual fund.

But even in an extreme market, you shouldn't dump everything in favor of cash. And if you're saving for retirement, you should be even more restrained with their 401(k)s and IRAs.

That's especially true in today's stock market, with stock values that are nowhere near extremes.

Growth stocks are a bit cheap, while low-P/E value stocks are a bit expensive, relative to their historical levels. And corporate giants are more likely to be bargains right now than are small companies with market capitalizations less than $3 billion.

The conclusion is that investors should be using the current market downturn to add to their holdings of blue chips, especially those projected to grow earnings at an average rate of more than 10 percent a year. There's no need to rush, though. Your smartest move is to identify gaps in your portfolio mix and buy stocks to fill those gaps when the shares look like bargains.

Wall Street to Fed: Not good enough

Stocks tank after the Fed cuts rates by a quarter-percentage point, rather than the half some had hoped. Dour comments on the economy factor in too.

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
December 11 2007: 6:20 PM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slumped and bonds rallied Tuesday after the Federal Reserve cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point, as expected, but disappointed some investors looking for a bigger cut.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 294 points, or 2.1 percent. It was the blue-chip indicator's seventh worst day of the year in terms of both the point and percentage loss.

The broader S&P 500 index lost 2.5 percent. The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite lost almost 2.5 percent. The Russell 2000 small-cap index fell 3.1 percent.

"The stock market was looking for a bigger cut and so there's some disappointment," said Georges Yared, chief investment strategist at Yared Investment Research.

The selling was also influenced by the recent rally on Wall Street, which had left the Dow and S&P 500 within reach of the record highs hit in October.

"The market has gone up in recent weeks on expectations that the Fed would cut, so you're seeing a 'buy the rumor, sell the news' reaction," said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist at Edward Jones.

Wednesday brings the October trade balance and the weekly oil inventories report.

Fed cuts rates by a quarter point

The central bank voted to cut the fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25 percent. The fed funds rate is a key short-term lending rate that influences consumer loans. The central bank has cut it three times since September, in an attempt to loosen up tight credit markets and protect the economy from falling into a recession amid the fallout in the housing market.

Many Wall Streeters had been looking for the Fed to cut rates by a quarter-percentage point, or 25 basis points, particularly after last week's upbeat November jobs report cooled some fears about the slowing economy. But some on Wall Street had been looking for a bigger cut of a half-percentage point, or 50 basis points. There are 100 basis points in one percentage point.

The Fed also cut the discount rate, which influences bank loans, by 25 basis points, versus broader expectations for a 50-basis point cut.

In the accompanying statement, the bankers changed the language to suggest the economic slowdown was more pronounced than it had been at the time of the last meeting at the end of October.

"Incoming information suggests that economic growth is slowing, reflecting the intensification of the housing correction and some softening in business and consumer spending," the bankers wrote.

That was more negative than in October, when the bankers said that economic growth was solid and strains in financial markets had eased somewhat. Although at that meeting, the bankers also said that the pace of expansion would slow as a result of the housing market correction.

Stocks had posted modest gains ahead of the decision but quickly turned lower following the afternoon decision and statement. Treasury market gains accelerated rapidly, lowering the corresponding yields.

"Clearly the stock market did not like that they [the bankers] sort of talked down the economy and then only gave them a quarter-point cut," said Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. He said that the bond market was also reacting to the perception of a more negative economic outlook.

Treasury prices surged, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.97 percent from 4.15 percent late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

~~Adopted from CNNMoney~~

Asia-focused Penta hedge funds up 123 percent through October

More than expectations...

By Dane Hamilton

NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Penta Investment Advisers Ltd., an Asia-focused $4.8 billion hedge fund group, is up 123 percent in both of its two main funds in 2007 through October, demonstrating the benefits of strong China markets, according to a recent note sent to investors.



Penta, which is run by former Soros Fund Management trader John Zwaanstra, also said it will close its $2.2 billion Penta Asia Fund to new investors next month, according to the letter. Penta didn't say why the fund will make the move, but top-performing funds occasionally shut doors to prevent runaway asset growth.

Formerly called Penta Japan Fund, the Asia Fund is up 122.8 percent through October, according to the letter, making it one of the best performers among hedge funds this year. Another of its funds, the $1 billion Asia Domestic Partners fund, is up 123.5 percent through October 2007.

"Asian markets (except for Japan) surged forward in October," the letter said. "As with the prior month, several markets recorded double-digit gains with several hitting new all-time highs. The hunger for risk prevailed; valuations rose and IPO's were red hot."

Penta could not be reached for comment. Performance figures for November weren't available.

Penta's performance far exceeds the average performance for similar hedge funds in the region. Fund tracker Hedge Fund Research said Asia-focused hedge funds posted average performance of 39.5 percent in the year through October, the strongest of all strategies in its indexes.

~~Adopted from Reuters~~

Stocks buoyed by cash infusions, Fed expectations

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose on Monday as investors welcomed cash infusions into bond insurer MBIA Inc and Swiss bank UBS as votes of confidence in the battered financial sector.

The likely prospect of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut on Tuesday added to the positive mood, with shares of rate- sensitive companies like banks, mortgage lenders and home builders among the session's standouts.

"The cash infusions show the relative attractiveness of some of the financial giants such as UBS. This is a historic buying opportunity for cash-rich investors," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 101.45 points, or 0.74 percent, to end at 13,727.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 11.30 points, or 0.75 percent, at 1,515.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 12.79 points, or 0.47 percent, at 2,718.95.

A report showing an unexpected rise in October pending existing home sales also helped to boost stocks. The Dow Jones home construction index .DJUSHB jumped 3.3 percent.

Why Your Oil Stocks Aren't Making You Rich

"Why Your Colgate Ads Aren't Making You Good Sales"


By Matt Badiali

Stock Investment Case Study: "Why didn't ConocoPhillips double this year?"

Some big government-backed oil companies – like Brazil's Petrobras and China's Petrochina – did double last year.

However, your average supermajor oil stock (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, British Petroleum, and Chevron) has only managed to gain 15%, while crude has soared 42% in the same time.


So what's holding the big guys back? It certainly isn't the price they receive for their oil... It's the simple fact that the cost of finding more oil is skyrocketing.

In fact, it now costs ExxonMobil $14.57 to add a single barrel of oil to its reserves. That's nearly double what it cost in 2003.

This week, the Financial Times ran an article that quoted research by Wood Mackenzie analysts. Due to the rising costs of skilled labor, licenses, and equipment, exploration companies need an oil price of $70 oil to earn the same amount of money that $30 oil generated just two years ago. Think about that... oil companies need 140% higher oil prices just to maintain their earnings.

You can see this cost inflation in the annual reports of the world's top oil service companies. Take the biggest, Schlumberger, for instance. Schlumberger's operating income rose 518% from 2003 to 2006. The world's biggest deepwater drillship operator, Transocean, has enjoyed an operating income increase of 428% over the same period.

Profit margins are also soaring for oil service providers. Look at the increase in operating margin for Schlumberger and Transocean over the past four years:

Operating Margin
2003 2004 2005 2006
Schlumberger 8% 14% 19% 26%

Transocean 10% 11% 24% 32%

Back when oil sold for less than $20 per barrel, the oil service industry was lean. The competition among service companies reduced operating margins to single digits, for the most part.

Now that oil is hitting historic highs, operating margins are rising in nearly every facet of the oil industry, including offshore drilling, well completion, pipeline services, refinery construction, seismic mapping, and platform building. And this business doesn't expand capacity like a real estate brokerage. Oil exploration is technically challenging and requires extraordinary computing power. Success in finding oil requires the services provided by a few, specialized companies.

As a result, the supermajors' margins are narrowing, while giant service companies' margins are growing.

I think this trend will last for years, so the obvious conclusion here is to buy oil service companies The S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (XES), PowerShares Oil & Gas Services (PXJ) and Oil Services HOLDRs (OIH) are a few ETFs that hold the biggest and best in this industry.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't think you should run out and sell your ConocoPhillips shares. Owning supermajors remains a safe, dividend-paying way to profit from high oil prices. However, with the high operating margins the services industry has right now, I expect these companies to continue to outperform the majors in the short term.

The famed investor Jim Rogers once said if oil reaches $150 a barrel, they'll be drilling for it on the front lawn of the White House. That could happen – if they can find the equipment.

~~Adopted from DailyWealth.com~~

Coping With Risk and Uncertainty

Brett N. Steenbarger, Ph.D.

How do you cope with the risk and uncertainty that are built into markets, and are you coping effectively?

The topic of coping actually begins with the notion of stress. Stress is a characteristic set of physiological, cognitive, and emotional responses to threat. Generally, these responses speed up such bodily functions as heart rate, galvanic skin response, muscle tension, and rate of respiration. For this reason, the stress response has sometimes been called the "flight or fight" reaction. In the face of threat, our bodies prepare us for action: either to attack the source of danger or to run from it.

What constitutes a source of stress is highly dependent upon our perception. If we define something as a threat, we will experience it as threatening, and that will trigger a stress response. For some people, public speaking is an everyday activity, not to be feared at all. It might even be something enjoyable. Others view public speaking as a potentially humiliating event. Their perception of threat triggers the stress response that we call performance anxiety. Cognitive psychologists, however, remind us that it is not the public speaking event itself that is generating the anxiety, but rather our processing of that event. Take away the perception of threat and the anxiety diminishes.

Some of us view the world through lenses that emphasize the threat in life events. Perhaps we grew up in an unstable home, perhaps we were overprotected and never experienced life's hard knocks, or perhaps we learned to anticipate negative events as a way of handling multiple setbacks during a difficult period of life. All of these scenarios can lead to situations where stress becomes a way of life. Once we acquire habitual thinking patterns that emphasize life's dangers, we fall into a chronic mode of flight or fight. Continually mobilized, we can experience ongoing high blood pressure, muscle tension, and jitteriness.

Psychologically, chronic stress is experienced as dis-stress. Anxiety, depression, and anger are common consequences of viewing the world through the lenses of threat. These emotional reactions, in turn, produce typical behavioral consequences, such as indecision, lack of self confidence, impulsivity, and interpersonal conflict. We know from cognitive neuroscience research that high levels of distress shift regional cerebral blood flow away from the frontal cortex--our executive center of judging, planning, and reasoning--and toward motor regions.

This is why it is so difficult for people under chronic stress to calmly work out their problems. Their perceptions of threat create physical and emotional arousal, which in turn make it difficult to access the cognitive capacities most needed at those times. Every trader knows how easy it can be to abandon a well thought out trading plan in the heat of adverse market activity!

The term coping refers to the actions we take to deal with sources of threat. Broadly speaking, there are three coping styles:

1. Emotion-focused coping - Dealing with dangerous and threatening events by processing one's emotions and engaging others for support;
2. Problem-focused coping - Handling threats by focusing on the situation and ways of dealing with it to reduce danger
3. Avoidant coping - Avoiding sources of threat or choosing to not think about or deal with a problematic situation.

None of these coping styles are good or bad in and of themselves. Each can be used effectively, and each can be misused. We know that a coping style is effective when it reduces threat and produces positive outcomes. There are times when it can be effective to sort out our feelings and deal with these, such as after the loss of a relationship. There are occasions when it is very helpful to be problem focused and directly deal with an immediate emergency. Other times, we need to suppress feelings of upset and problematic situations in order to get by in a job or as a parent. In many respects, the best coping style is one that flexibly incorporates all three ways of handling situations.

While all of us do cope at times by dealing with feelings, attacking problems, and removing ourselves from situations, most of us have characteristic ways of dealing with threat. Those are our typical coping patterns, and they are integral to our personalities. For instance, if I have a significant problem, I very often will cease interaction with others and become extremely task focused. At such times, my attention narrows considerably and is concentrated on the problem at hand. This is useful in that it generally accelerates the resolution of the problem. It is not useful in other respects, particularly if it leads to others feeling shut out in a team-based work situation.

If I become locked into particular ways of coping that worked for me in one setting--or during one period of life--and then bring these to new situations, there is a real risk that the coping will no longer ward off threat and may even create new conflicts. My colleagues at work who feel shut out by my problem focus, for example, may stop collaborating with me at times when I want and need their assistance.

This situation is much more common than people realize, and it is a source of untold trading problems. Coping strategies that worked well at one time or in other situations are brought into the trading arena, where they wreak havoc. Very often this occurs when the emotions evoked by our perception of trading situations (perceptions of failure, danger, invincibility, etc.) trigger coping actions from an earlier life period where those emotions were problematic.

Perhaps, for example, I felt like a failure in my growing up years because I could not make friends or develop relationships. This led me to cope by avoiding social situations and retreating into my own fantasy world where I didn't have to deal with others. As a child, this may have helped me through a painful and awkward life period. Now as an adult, however, responding to market losses with feelings of failure--and then retreating into fantasy--is not constructive.

Very often, our most problematic coping occurs when we deal with threatening situations in ways that greatly differ from our normal coping styles. During normal trading, I might be highly problem focused. In a volatile stretch of trading where I take large losses, however, I find myself coping by exploding emotionally and then feeling guilty over my outburst. Such out-of-the-ordinary coping generally is a sign that an earlier coping mode is being activated.

Something about the day's trading is triggering old memories, feelings, or conflicts. As a result, we're no longer using our constructive, adult coping capacities. Instead, we're mindlessly repeating a pattern from the past.

If you find yourself overreacting to a situation, there's a good chance it's not really an overreaction. You are reacting to the situation--*and* to something previous in your life that is being stimulated by the situation. The first step of progress you can make in this circumstance is to remind yourself that you're not really reacting to the situation at hand. "This isn't about trading," you tell yourself. "Something else is going on." Such a reminder does not, by itself, eliminate the threat response, but it starts the process of putting threat in perspective. That is important. Remember: threat--and stress--are functions of perception. As you alter your perception, you alter your responses.

Ball Corp, Daiwa Can bid for Kian Joo stake

--Adopted from BusinessTimes.com--

US COMPANY Ball Corp and Japan's Daiwa Can Co have bid for more than a third of Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd (KJCF), sources close to the deal said.

Both companies had matched the reserve price of RM2.20 a share, said people who were also invited to bid.

Ball Corp is North America's largest supplier of metal and plastic packaging to the food and beverage industry while Daiwa Can is Japan's largest canmaker.

A decision to either accept or reject the two offers is expected to be made very soon.

In June, KPMG Advisory Services, the liquidators of Kian Joo Holdings Sdn Bhd (KJH), put up the 35 per cent block or 153.87 million shares up for sale under a tender.

Based on the reserve price of RM2.20, the block is worth some RM339 million. The whole company is valued at RM977.2 million based on that price.

Business Times was told that as many as four parties had expressed interest to acquire the stake.

Others who had bid for the stake were Can One Bhd, which made an offer of just below RM2 on September 4 to buy the entire block. However, its offer was rejected.

Goh Nan Kioh, a low-profile tycoon, was also invited to bid. However, the controlling shareholder of Mega First Corp Bhd opted not to make an offer due to the cost of making a mandatory offer for KJCF.

Buying the entire block means that the buyer must make an offer to buy the rest of the company at the same price.

KJCF more than doubled its third quarter net profit to RM15.3 million for the period to September 30, 2007. Revenue was up 17 per cent to RM211.2 million.

Share Prices End Higher, KLCI Touches New High

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 (Bernama) -- Share prices on Bursa Malaysia ended higher today as buying of plantation and oil & gas key heavyweights led the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) to close at an all-time high of 1,427.77, up 11.96 points or 0.84 percent today, a dealer said.

The KLCI touched an intra-day high of 1,431.69, up 15.88 points or 1.12 percent at 4.27pm after opening 0.05 of a point lower at 1,415.76.

MIMB Investment Bank head of research Pong Teng Siew said the market rally was led by blue chips like Sime Darby and IOI Corp.

"Obviously the re-listing of Sime Darby had provided a fresh impetus for the market and gave an upside to the KLCI," he noted.

He pointed out that as Malaysia is more commodity-driven, the local bourse had even outperformed some of its regional peers.

"Malaysia is also fortunate that at a time when some parts of the world are facing slower growth, government spending here has increased," said Pong.

Increase in government spending would translate into more business opportunities for the private sector, especially those in construction and infrastructure, thus giving a boost the stock market.

Gainers led losers 602 to 241 while 241 counters were unchanged, 308 untraded and 27 suspended.

Overall volume advanced to 1.071 billion shares worth RM1.722 billion compared with Tuesday's closing of 799.868 million shares worth RM1.557 billion.

SJ Securities analyst Phua Kwee Hock said the rise in crude oil prices to US$88.61 today had rallied the plantation stocks which in turn led the KLCI to touch a new high.

He said oil prices were moving north ahead of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting tonight on whether production is to be increased or capped at the current level.

He expects the market tomorrow to trade within 1,418-1,436.

But he pointed out that market sentiment had begun to improve since yesterday's noon trade with the emergence of lower liners.

-- Adopted from BERNAMA--

30-11-2007: Sunway net profit surges 300% to RM27m

by Yong Yen Nie

PETALING JAYA: Sunway Holdings Inc Bhd’s net profit surged nearly 300% to RM27.04 million in the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2007 (1QFY08) due to the improved performance from all the core divisions of the group.

“Revenue was up 17.23% to RM441.99 million and profit before taxation has surged threefold to RM37.24 million from RM12.38 million, with improved performance for all core divisions in the group,” it said.

Sunway said the group also no longer required to equity account for the losses arising from the group’s investment in its associate, Sunway Infrastructure Bhd, as the investment was fully written down to nil in the last financial year.

Earnings per share was 4.98 sen from 1.27 sen. It did not declare any dividend.

“With an outstanding order book of approximately RM2.3 billion comprising RM900 million local projects and RM1.4 billion overseas projects, the group’s construction arm will be kept busy for the forthcoming year,” it said.

Sunway said the group would continue to seek out new projects in Malaysia and overseas, especially Trinidad and Tobago and the Middle East. It expected the group’s construction, quarry and building materials divisions to benefit from the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

It was also upbeat about the supply of construction material to Singapore which would boost the group’s earnings.

Earlier, Sunway Holdings managing director Yau Kok Seng said Trinidad and Tobago was a country it intended to focus on.

“We have signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the government of Trinidad and Tobago to design and build civil and infrastructure projects, such as highways, ports and hotels, and we hope to convert them into actual contracts.”

“Hopefully, we will be able to secure some of these projects within the next six to 12 months,” he said after Sunway’s AGM.

Yau said the group recently secured a government contract to supply a minimum of one million tonnes of stones annually for the next five to 10 years.

~~Adopted from TheEdgeDaily News~~

Bursa88 Comment:

Can watch on this fundamental counter, any revearsal for this stock price with healthy volume followed is an opportunity to enter.

Support: 1.80
Resistance: 2.20
Last Closing Price: 1.83
Target Price: 2.50