18 theSun | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10 2008

business news Hang Seng

14,753.22
S&P/ASX200
3,604.30 TSEC
4,472.66
KLCI
835.17 STI
1,659.17
291.65 27.30 3.11
54.33 95.41

KL market summary KOSPI NIKKEI

Middle East
DECEMBER 9, 2008 1,105.84 8,395.87
0.79 66.82
INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 5,454.28 (- 25.56)
COMPOSITE 835.17 (- 3.11)
INDUSTRIAL 2,000.19 (+ 5.54)
CONSUMER PRODUCT
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT
CONSTRUCTION
TRADING SERVICES
FINANCE
PROPERTIES
271.17
66.23
156.30
113.47
6,431.35
500.34
(- 0.82)
(+ 0.29)
(+ 2.56)
(- 0.26)
(- 73.48)
(- 0.58)
buyers eye Malaysian
property market
PLANTATIONS 3,765.39 (- 2.15)
MINING 241.15 (- 6.08)
FBMSHA 5,650.20 (+ 8.42)
FBM2BRD 3,940.95 (+ 0.73)
TECHNOLOGY 13.26 (- 0.05)

TURNOVER VALUE
529.023mil RM791.054mil KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s
property market is experiencing
increasing interest from Middle
Share prices mixed at close Eastern and Eastern buyers,
HEAVYWEIGHTS Sime Darby rose 10 sen Former according to thinkproperty.
to RM5.10, Tenaga eased five sen to RM5.90, newsman my. However, the traditional
Maybank declined 15 sen to RM5, MISC rose etches his foreign investors are shying
25 sen to RM8.60 while Bumiputra-Commerce away on the back of property
lost 35 sen to RM5.55. name in market corrections in their own
Volume on the Main Board increased to education markets.
438.054 million shares valued at RM774.383 pg 21 Asim Qureshi, CEO of
million versus 263.395 million units worth thinkproperty.my, said:
RM505.355 million previously. “Each of the top five regions
Turnover on the Second Board rose to in terms of visits earlier this
32.736 million units worth RM10.273 million year (Singapore, UK, the US,
compared with Friday’s close of 21.829 million Australia, and Hong- kong) now
shares valued at RM6.832 million. make up a smaller proportion
Volume on the Mesdaq market declined to of total visitors to the website.
19.809 million shares valued at RM3.060 million This is not surprising as all
compared with the previous closing volume five regions have seen property
of 25.217 million units worth RM3.771 million. corrections or crashes deepen
– Bernama in their domestic property
markets. However, it is
a little surprising that,
the proportionately
fewer visitors from
these five regions has
been more than offset
by the emergence of
more visitors from other
regions such as India,
China, Qatar and UAE.”
Singaporeans
account for just over
one third of all foreign
visitors. Overall, the
website has seen a
marginally greater increase
in traffic from foreigners than
locals which Qureshi believes
“shows a continued healthy
level of foreign interest in
Malaysian property”.
Traffic from foreign
countries increased by
195% from January 2008 to
November 2008 compared
with a 191% increase from
Malaysian users during the
same period.”
Qureshi commented:
“It is interesting to see the
emergence of Qatar in
the top 15 and increased
interest from the UAE, which
supports the view that there
is an increasing amount of
Arab interest for property in
Malaysia. The widespread
availability of Islamic finance
makes Malaysia particularly
attractive for Arab investors.
Qureshi also noted
that “India and China’s
disproportionate increase in
visitors is a positive signal for
future property investment
inflows.
Both countries are not
only set to become the new
powerhouses of the world but
they also have strong cultural
and lingual connections to
Malaysia. – Bernama

Sime Darby property said Sime Darby Property’s managing

director Datuk Tunku Putra Badlishah
campaign generates
briefs RM100m in sales
in a statement yesterday. – Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: Home buyers and

MAHB to remain
profitable next year
SEPANG: Airport operator Malaysia
Airports Holdings Bhd expects to remain
profitable next year despite a marginal
growth forecast in passenger numbers of
between one and two per cent.
“There will be a drop in passenger
numbers but we will see a marginal
growth following a slowdown in eco-
nomic growth,” managing director Datuk
Seri Bashir Ahmad told reporters at the
launch of the new East Zone satellite
building and the second phase of the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
shopping campaign here yesterday.
property investors have been re-
sponding to Sime Darby Property’s
Parade of Homes campaign, snap-
ping up over RM100 million worth of
properties.
Since the campaign was launched
on Nov 14, 2008, visitors have been
making their way to Sime Darby
Property’s 10 townships in prime
locations stretching from Shah Alam,
Ampang and Subang Jaya to Nilai in
Negri Sembilan.
More than 160 units of properties
were sold in a two-week period.
“We’re definitely feeling very upbeat
with the encouraging response from
home buyers and investors alike,”
Sony slashes 8,000 jobs
amid global downturn
TOKYO: Another wave of job cuts
darkened the outlook for the global
economy yesterday as Sony announced
8,000 layoffs, while Japan revealed it
was even deeper in recession than previ-
ously feared. Sony, seen as a bellwether
of corporate Japan, said it would cut
investment in its electronics business
by 30%, axe 10% of its manufacturing
sites and exit unprofitable businesses to
cope with the economic downturn.
The announcement came just hours
after Tokyo said its economy shrank
0.5% in the three months to September
– AFP