Dikepilkan beberapa rencana yang menarik yang menunjukkan bahawa ekonomi negara tidaklah sesegar yang dipamirkan oleh media. Kita sudah dengar bail-out MAS untuk Tajuddin Ramli dan Halim Saad bermain menepis hutang lagi. Baru-baru ini STAR dan Putra LRT terpaksa diselamatkan kerana mereka lebih cekap mendapat projek dari menguruskan projek itu sendiri.

Kalau rakyat marhaen, mereka harus dihantui surat saman dan perintah mahkamah saban hari. Hutang pihak kroni akan mengurangkan kecairan dana. Dana-dana tersebut berada di institusi perbankan dan pasaran saham. Sekarang nampak jelas majoriti saham-saham di BSKL dikawal oleh dana milik rakyat yang diperkudakan oleh orang politik melalui institusi tertentu. Laksana teori domino, ia akan tumbang satu-persatu bila beratnya tidak dapat ditampung lagi. Saya meramalkan harga barang dan kos untuk menyara hidup akan semakin meningkat dalam beberapa hari lagi - ini semua kerana kita terlalu ghairah membina sesuatu dengan hutang dan gagal membuang kuman yang meranapkan syarikat mega koporat yang rugi memanjang serta beberapa hantu dan pelesit korup dalam kerajaan BN sekarang.

-KB-

Source: The Asian Wall Street Journal
1st January 2001

50 of 54 Malaysian Bks Have Met Merger Deadline

Dow Jones Newswires

KUALA LUMPUR -- A total of 50 of the 54 banking institutions in the country have been merged into 10 banking groups as of Sunday, Malaysia's central bank said Sunday.

In a statement, the central bank said only four banking institutions have not met its Dec. 31 merger deadline that was expected to reduce the 54 financial institutions to 10 banking groups by the year end, ahead of the expected liberalization of the financial sector in 2003.

Of the four remaining banking institutions, the merger agreement between Malayan Banking Bhd. (P.MBB), or Maybank, and PhileoAllied Bhd. (P.PHA) has been extended by 21 days to complete the regulatory approval process, the central bank, Bank Negara said.

Maybank, the nation's largest group had originally offered MYR1.2 billion ringgit ($1=MYR3.80) to buy PhileoAllied Bhd., the parent company, but key shareholder Avenue Assets Bhd. (P.ANE) opposed the offer over pricing.

More recently, Maybank revised its plan announcing it will buy PhileoAllied Bank Bhd. and PhileoAllied Securities Sdn. Bhd. for MYR1.3 billion in cash.

Meanwhile, the central bank also said approval has been granted for Multi-Purpose Bank Bhd. and MBf Finance Bhd. as well as Arab-Malaysian Banking Group and Utama Banking Group to mutually terminate their respective sale and purchase agreements.

Merger talks between the Arab-Malaysian and Utama banking groups were believed to have stalled recently over disputes about pricing and control.

Analysts have said earlier that a delay in the merger target date would hurt sentiment in the banking sector, heightening investor concerns about further delays in addressing impending issues such as rising nonperforming loans and still-sluggish loans growth.

However, the move has been widely expected by the financial markets with several banks failing to announce details of their merger agreements ahead of the Sunday merger deadline.

Utama, Eon Bank; Arab-Malaysian, MBf Fin In Merger Talks Among the four banks that failed to meet its merger deadline, the central bank said it has has approved the application by Utama Banking Group to commence merger negotiation with EON Bank Bhd.

Similarly, the application by Arab-Malaysian Banking Group to commence merger negotiation with Danamodal Nasional Bhd. regarding the merger with MBf Finance has also been approved, the central bank said.

Danamodal is the national agency that was established to inject funds into financially troubled banks, and MBf Finance is currently being managed by Danamodal.

In its statement, the central bank also said the minimum capital requirement of MYR2.0 billion for domestic banking groups will come into force on Dec. 31, 2001.

As such, banks which have yet to meet the new capital requirement would continue to consolidate, the central bank added.

Further Mergers Expected In View Of Increasing Competition As of Sunday, 94% of the total assets of the domestic banking sector have been "rationalized and consolidated," the central bank said.

So far, six banking groups have legally completed their merger process while three banking groups are in the final stages of completing their respective legal mergers.

In the meantime, these banking institutions will continue to provide normal banking services, the central bank said.

The six banking groups that have legally merged would now focus their attention towards ensuing a smooth transition in integrating their businesses, the central bank said.

The central bank also said further mergers are expected as domestic banks start to compete with foreign ones.

"Going forward, it can be expected that this (competition from liberalization) will induce further rationalization and consolidation. Market forces would determine this process," the central bank said.

The 10 anchor banks in the merger include Maybank, Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd., RHB Bank Bhd. Public Bank Bhd. (P.PBB), Hong Leong Bank Bhd. (P.HLB), Perwira Affin Bank Bhd., Southern Bank Bhd. (P.SOB), EON Bank Bhd., Multi-Purpose Bank Bhd., and Arab-Malaysian Bank Bhd.

-By Joseph Edwin, Dow Jones Newswires;

http://interactive.wsj.com/

Source: The Business Times, Singapore
1st January 2001

KL redraws bank merger plan with new partners

Arab-Malaysian, Maybank, EON Bank miss deadline to operate as merged entities

By Eddie Toh in Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S closely-watched plan to bring about mergers in the banking industry got another re-tooling yesterday at the eleventh hour.

As the deadline for the ambitious merger blueprint expired yesterday, the central bank said it is modifying the plan by allowing a change of partners.

Bank Negara is letting two teams -- Arab-Malaysian Banking Group/Utama Banking Group and Multi-Purpose Bank/MBf Finance -- to call off their merger plans. Instead, Arab-Malaysian will now acquire MBf Finance, which is the largest finance company in the country, from Danamodal Nasional, the agency in charge of recapitalising weak financial institutions.

And Utama will now explore merger talks with EON Bank, one of the 10 "anchor" banks in the country. In addition, Bank Negara has given Maybank, the largest bank in Malaysia, another 21 days to obtain all the necessary regulatory approvals to swallow PhileoAllied Bank.

The three anchor banks, Maybank, Arab-Malaysian and EON Bank, will therefore miss the deadline to operate as merged entities by the beginning of the new year.

The other seven anchor banks, Bumiputra-Commerce Bank, RHB Bank, Public Bank, Multi-Purpose Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Perwira Affin Bank and Southern Bank, have almost completed their acquisitions of other financial institutions.

Analysts are not too troubled by the last-minute switch of merger partners. They said the proposed merger between Arab-Malaysian and MBf Finance is expected to be smoother than its doomed courtship of Utama.

But it's unclear who will emerge in the driver's seat in the proposed merger between Utama and EON Bank, the banking arm of national car distributor Edaran Otomobil Nasional. And analysts said Multi-Purpose Bank will conserve its resources by calling off the MBf Finance purchase for RM480 million (S$218.9 million) as it has already taken over six financial institutions.

Despite the hiccup, analysts said the merged entities should be able to meet the new capital requirement of RM2 billion which came into effect yesterday.

"They will become better capitalised, but the first year could be a bumpy ride due to integration problems," said Gan Kim Khoon, head of research of Arab-Malaysian Securities.

The central bank, on its part, was also not too perturbed with the latest hiccup.

It said 50 of the 54 banking institutions have been consolidated into 10 banking groups.

It said in a statement: "Effectively, 94 per cent of the total assets of the domestic banking sector have been rationalised and consolidated. The mergers have been achieved based on market-driven principles, taking into account the interests of all parties involved.

"This is an important aspect of the merger programme to ensure continued viability of the merged entities."

Bank Negara expects more consolidation further down the road.

"Given the more competitive financial landscape arising from greater globalisation and liberalisation, it is vital for banking institutions to respond promptly to enhance capacity and capabilities. Going forward, it can be expected that this will induce further rationalisation and consolidation. Market forces would determine this process," it said.

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg

Source: The Business Times, Singapore
30th December 2000

Dismal year for new KLSE listings

22 of 38 now below offer prices; tech issues better despite Nasdaq meltdown

[KUALA LUMPUR]

Nearly two-thirds of the companies which went public in 2000 ended the year with their share prices below their initial public offering (IPO) prices, The Star reported yesterday. This reflected the rather dismal performance of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange at the start of the new millennium, it said.

As of Tuesday, the last trading day on the KLSE for this year, 22 of this year's 38 new issues were trading below their IPO prices, some substantially so. Mainboard IPOs fared slightly better: 5 of the 12 new listings ended the year south of their IPO prices, versus 17 of 26 on the second board.

Whereas a few of last year's 21 IPOs suffered from undersubscription, investor interest in this year's 38 IPOs was strong, the report added.

Investors in certain sectors such as technology may have more cause to celebrate the new year. Despite the meltdown on Nasdaq, local tech-related IPOs still proved to be better investments.

Making an early start with its January mainboard listing was Nikko Electronics Bhd. The share price of this electronics toy maker opened at a RM2.30 premium over its offer price of RM1.80, and closed the year at RM4.24, or more than double its IPO price.

Similarly, second board-listed Analabs Resources Bhd was another "success story". On Tuesday, shares of the environment solutions provider closed at RM4.96, or a hefty 291 per cent premium over its IPO price of RM1.70.

Uchi Technologies Bhd, the Taiwanese family-led computer-related firm, also managed to deliver, ending the year 50 sen above its RM4.80 IPO price. But the year-end gains for these tech counters were a far cry from earlier peaks. Investors had chased Nikko's shares to a stratospheric high of RM18.20 in April on news of it securing an exclusive contract to produce a digital music player which could be used to download music from the Internet. Even Analabs hit a year high of RM9.00 before falling back later.

Investors in plantation IPOs were less fortunate, many not reaping what they had sown. Cases in point were Unico-Desa Plantations Bhd, Kim Loong Resources Bhd and MHC Plantations Bhd whose shares languished as a result of the weak outlook for crude palm oil prices.

New property and furniture counters such as Hunza Properties Bhd, Tomisho Holdings Bhd and Tat Sang Holdings Bhd also ended the year on uncertain ground.

The year 2000 also proved a sombre one for NV Multi Corp Bhd, the country's only listed funeral services provider, which ended the year 40 sen lower than its IPO price of RM3.30. Sluggish market conditions notwithstanding, every IPO this year registered a premium on debut, save for that of furniture and electrical appliances retailer Courts Mammoth Bhd. Opening-day premiums ranged from as low as 6 sen for MHC Plantations Bhd to an impressive RM2.46 for QL Resources Bhd. But Courts Mammoth, after opening 15 sen below its RM2.35 offer price, closed the year at RM2.70.

What the year-end figures bode for next year's IPOs remains to be seen, The Star report said. But it added that given the prevailing cautious mood in the market, it is apparent that the number of companies seeking to list next year is not likely to exceed this year's.