20 œ theSun | THURSDAY DECEMBER 18 2008

business news

Hang Seng S&P/ASX200 TSEC KLCI STI

KOSPI Nikkei
KL market summary
15,460.52 3,570.60 4,648.02 862.50 1,779.29 1,169.75 8,612.52
DECEMBER 17, 2008

330.31 14.40 31.13 7.70 2.80 8.19 44.50

INDICES CHANGE
FBMEMAS 5,633.33 +45.86
COMPOSITE 862.56 +7.70
INDUSTRIAL 2,074.47 +36.38
CONSUMER PRODUCT 281.48 +5.51
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT 66.71 -0.04

M’sia’s RM2.5b seafood

CONSTRUCTION 162.29 -0.68
TRADING SERVICES 115.97 +0.93
FINANCE 6,637.51 +13.46
PROPERTIES 508.89 +4.21
PLANTATIONS 3,963.47 +50.92
MINING 235.07 -8.10
FBMSHA 5,862.91 +67.52
FBM2BRD 3,913.86 -6.93

export industry near collapse

TECHNOLOGY 13.28 +0.04

TURNOVER VALUE
338.102mil RM544.749mil

by Himanshu Bhatt package through soft loans to help industry

newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SEBERANG PERAI: Malaysia’s RM2.5
billion seafood export industry is on the
verge of collapse with no concrete help thus
far from the government following a ban on
Malaysian seafood by the European Union
(EU) in June.
The Malaysian Frozen Foods Processors
Association (MFFPA) has raised an alarm
that the industry has a lifeline of only
three months left, as millions of ringgit in
stocks languish in cold rooms, unable to be
exported.
The situation is worsened because the
product cannot be sold to other countries
due to different packing and logistical
requirements.
“The seafood exporters have reported
an estimated loss in sales and production of
more than RM1.5 billion to date,” said MFFPA
president Ch’ng Chin Hooi.
“The players can no longer withstand the
losses and pressure from commercial banks,”
he told a press conference at the Federation
of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)
headquarters here yesterday.
Ch’ng said some 10,000 workers from the
MFFPA’s 25 member operators stand to lose
their jobs, alongside another 30,000 indirect
workers in related services.
“Many factories have started to retrench
workers, if they are not already reducing
working days since the ban came into force.”
“To add insult to injury, the government
has increased the electricity rate by 30%,” he
added.
Ch’ng said the cabinet had three months
ago approved a RM500 million rescue
players, with priority given to MFFPA
members. However, the money has yet to be
given out.
The Malaysian seafood industry is the
country’s second largest food export earner,
with Europe as its main market.
But the EU has found environmental and
hygiene standards in the Malaysian industry
to be wanting.
Ch’ng said the Malaysian government
had been given the Guidelines for Export to
the EU in 2005, but these were not properly
implemented when EU inspectors came here
in April and May 2008.
He noted that the inspection team’s main
concerns were fishing vessels, landing ports
and agriculture farms.
“The processing factories were not the
main concern as most of the processing
plants were audited by the EU Health
Authority on an ad hoc basis,” he said.
Ch’ng said a Malaysian team comprising
representatives from the Health Ministry, the
Fisheries Department and the MFFPA had
met EU Health Authority after the ban, but
failed to gain a reprieve.
“The seafood export industry is still
viable as there are still orders from foreign
customers. What the industry needs is a
financial helpline to hold the stocks and
soften killing interest rates,” he said.
“The point is that this industry can be
saved if the government acts fast. We will
be back on our feet if we can catch the 2009
summer holiday sales.”
KL shares close
mixed, KLCI up
KUALA LUMPUR: Share prices on Bursa Ma-
laysia ended the day mixed amid sustained
interest in select key index-linked counters,
dealers said.
The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite
Index (KLCI) closed at 862.50, up 7.70 points
after opening 5.52 points higher at 860.32
yesterday morning.
However, the dealers said that some sell-
ing activities were seen on second boarders
as well as small cap technology stocks.
The Industrial Index rose 36.38 points to
2,074.47, the Finance Index increased 13.46
points to 6,637.51 and the Plantation Index
added 50.92 points to 3,963.47.
The FBMEmas was 45.86 points higher at
5,633.33 and the FBM30 added 54.40 points
to 5,547.29 while the FBMMesdaq shed 60.92
points to 3,264.54 and the FBM2BRD fell 6.93
points to 3,913.86.
The dealers said sentiment was intact
amid Wall Street’s overnight rally as the
United States Federal Reserve on Tuesday
cut benchmark interest rates to as low as
zero percent, aimed at reducing the cost of
borrowings to spur economic activities.
Gainers led losers by 264 to 240 while 190
counters were unchanged, 557 untraded and
31 others suspended. Turnover increased to
338.102 million shares valued at RM544.749
million from Tuesday’s close of 301.663 million
shares worth RM344.707 million.– Bernama

briefs
Mercedes-Benz sees
sales slowing down
KUALA LUMPUR: Mercedes-Benz
Malaysia Sdn Bhd foresees sales of
between 10-20% less in 2009 due to
the slow recovery of the market from
the global economic slowdown.
Its president and chief executive
officer Peter Honegg, who anticipates
a challenging time for the automotive
industry next year, said the actual
scenario the company was looking at
is sales of between 10 to 20% less than
in 2008. – Bernama
Motorola eyes bigger
share of radio market
KUALA LUMPUR: Motorola is confi-
dent of capturing a bigger share of
the Asia Pacific two-way radio mar-
ket with the launch of its new dig-
ital radio system called MOTOTRBO
yesterday. Albert Wong, the director
of distribution South and East Asia,
Government and Public Safety, said
as the market leader in the industry,
Motorola was optimistic of achieving
strong growth in the two-way radio
business next year. – Bernama
Builders’ association
supports open tenders
KUALA LUMPUR: The implementation
of competitive bidding in government
procurement will help to minimise
corruption, according to the Master
Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM).
It will also minimise discretionary
decision making which may affect the
integrity of government procurement,
the association said.
MBAM president Ng Kee Leen said
with competitive bidding in the tender-
ing process, money could be saved for
government projects and the benefits
transferred to the government and the
people. – Bernama
AmBank to expand
retail network
KUALA LUMPUR: AmBank (M) Bhd
will continue to invest in expanding
its retail banking distribution net-
work and improving services despite
the current economic slowdown.
Its managing director for retail
banking, Datuk Mohamed Azmi Mah-
mood, said the bank plans to open
10 new branches involving a cost of
between RM500,000 and RM750,000
for each branch. – Bernama