Kingwood Resort Mukah wins int'l award
KINGWOOD Resort Mukah, which has won the "Global Quality Management-New Millennium Award", is the eighth hotel/resort in Malaysia to have won the award since 1983. Kingwood Group chief executive officer, Hii King Chiong, and its manager, Henry Tong, early this month received the award in Madrid from Arsenio Pardo Rodriguez, president of the editorial office of the Trade Leaders' Club International. The ceremony was in conjunction with the 34th International Award For Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry, 2009. State Minister of Environment and Public Health, Datuk Sri Wong Soon Koh, said the award was an honour for the people of Sarawak, in particular Mukah and Sibu. Other hotels that have won it included the Sri Bayu Beach resort in 1993 and Palace of Golden Horses and Tanjung Rhu Resort Langkawi (both in 2000). He said the Kingwood Group is now a key player in the development of the tourism industry in Sarawak. "It has three other big hotels here, Kuching and Miri. It has teamed up with a British company, the Irrawaddy Flotila Co, to develop the Rajang River Luxury Cruise which was launched in London yesterday," he said. Wong said the cruise would put Sibu and Kapit divisions on the world tourist map. - Bernama
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MAS fair offers fare discounts of up to 70pc
THE Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair 2009 (MATF09), which will be held from February 10-19, is offering over one million seats at discounts of up to 70 per cent. In a statement today, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said tickets could be purchased via its website, through travel agents or its ticketing offices across Malaysia and Asean. It said the tickets would be offered for sale in Malaysia and in selected Asean countries, namely Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. "Those scouting for travel bargains can look forward to fares like a one-way trip to Seoul going from RM770, a one-way trip to Sydney from RM780 and to London from RM1,400 as well as vacation deals from MAS travel arm, MASholidays," it said. MAS said there would be 61 Escapade and Santai packages offering customers the choice of flight plus ground packages or ground packages only. It said MASholidays would set up counters at the KL Sentral ticketing office during the 10 days of the fair to provide added convenience for customers. MAS said the customers would have the choice of 55 destinations and the chance to travel just seven days after securing their booking. Its senior general manager sales, Datuk Bernard Francis, said the MATF09 has lined up MAS' lowest fares and best deals for customers to enjoy. and#8212; Bernama
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Wall St soars despite grim jobless data
NEW YORK: US stocks soared in a powerful rally Friday as investors spurned grim jobless data to focus on a potential Senate vote on a stimulus and hopes mounted for fresh government aid to the banking sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average vaulted 216.40 points (2.68 per cent) to 8,279.47 at the closing bell. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 45.47 points (2.94 per cent) to 1,591.71 and the broad Standard and Poor's 500 index advanced 22.66 points (2.68 per cent) to 868.51, according to preliminary closing figures. Investors cheered in anticipation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's announcement due Monday of a new stabilisation plan for the battered finance sector. "In the US, all eyes will be on the treasury secretary, as Monday will see details on a two-pronged plan to buttress the banking system and slow the pace of mortgage foreclosures," said Avery Shenfield at CIBC World Markets. "While the banking plan is unlikely to leave anything more than crumbs for shareholders of institutions needing the greatest relief, it's a key step in restoring confidence for their credits and lending capacity for the economy." Meanwhile, a massive stimulus plan urgently sought by President Barack Obama remained bogged down in the Senate. On the sidelines, a group of moderate Democrats and Republicans held private talks to examine ways to build Republican support by paring back the nearly US$940 billion bill. The market, which had opened modestly higher, built momentum into a powerful rally amid a high volume of trades. Before the market open, the Labour Department reported nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in January, by 598,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate shot up to 7.6 per cent, from 7.2 per cent in December. The number of job losses was the worst since 1974 and the unemployment rate was the highest since September 1992. The economy has shed 3.6 million jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007, with around one-half of the decline in the past three months, the report said. "The resilience after undeniably bad employment news can be attributed to the understanding that the reported numbers were not too far off the mark from the consensus estimates, so the surprise factor was minimised," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com. Charles Schwab and Co analysts said that the jobs report "seems to be promoting optimism the gloomy data will prompt the quick passing of a plan to provide relief to the struggling financial industry." - AFP
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KL bourse expected to move higher
SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia are expected to trade higher next week on the prevailing investor sentiment that the tabling of the "mini-budget" will boost the local economy and market, dealers said. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday the Cabinet has agreed to table a mini-budget at the next parliamentary sitting. A dealer said the government's move would boost investor confidence in the market in the medium to long term. "It is expected to lift the trading pattern and attract more foreign and local funds," he said. He said the stimulus measures in the US are also expected to help push the local market up as investors expect they to have a positive impact on the global economic fundamentals. "The local market is also expected to take the cue from Wall Street and regional markets' performance," he said. Meanwhile, analysts expect the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) to trade between 890 and 900 level next week. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the KLCI increased 12.19 points to 896.64 from 884.45 last week. The Industrial Index increased 8.71 points to 2,107.10, the Finance Index rose 212.51 points to 7,124.64 and the Plantation Index jumped 99.46 points to 4,549.51. The FBMEmas advanced 77.14 points to 5,871.13, the FBM30 added 84.39 points to 5,794.02 and the FBM2BRD rose 557.67 points to 3,925.11. The FBMMDQ, however, declined 563.17 points to 3,375.45. Volume declined to 1.314 billion shares worth RM2.045 billion from 795.144 million shares worth RM1.146 billion last week. The Main Board volume rose to 1.072 billion units worth RM1.995 billion from 691.130 million units worth RM1.119 billion previously. Volume on the Second Board rose to 286.572 million shares worth RM27.063 million from 208.746 million shares worth RM15.723 million last week. The Mesdaq Market volume rose to 52.837 million units valued at RM15.864 million from 18.232 million units worth RM5.950 million previously. Warrants rose to 87.411 million shares worth RM5.691 million from 23.697 million shares worth RM2.631 million last week. and#8212; Bernama
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KL tin mart to be range-bound next week
THE Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) is likely to be range-bound next week with prices expected to hover around US$11,000 to US$11,300 per tonne, dealers said. They said the KLTM's direction would continue to be heavily influenced by movements on the London Metal Exchange (LME). "If LME tin is down, KLTM will also go down," a dealer said. Japanese, European and local traders would continue to lend support to the market. The market, which was closed on Monday for the city day celebrations, would again be closed this Monday for the Thaipusam festival. The KLTM closed the week easier by US$50 from last Friday to US$11,050 a tonne. Similarly, LME tin declined US$50 to US$10,805 a tonne. Turnover dropped to 128 tonnes this week from 149 tonnes before with Japanese and local traders participating actively throughout the week. The premium, based on a formula that includes freight, insurance and other financial costs, stood slightly lower at US$450 a tonne on Friday compared with US$460 recorded at the end of last week. and#8212; Bernama
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Rubber seen firmer on China demand
MALAYSIAN rubber prices are expected to be firmer next week on improved sentiment aided by strong demand, particularly from China, dealers said. A dealer said that Chinese consumers have returned to the market after the long Lunar New Year holidays, buying rubber from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia to take advantage of a price drop. "As their inventories have declined, we believe that China would make more orders," he said. The country imported around 1.68 million tonnes of natural rubber in 2008. The dealer said the tight supply situation in the region brought about by the dry wintering season would lift prices further. There was still room for prices to improve further as the price locally was considered cheap compared with some regional markets. The market will be closed on Monday for the Thaipusam festival. The Malaysian Rubber Board official physical price for tyre-grade SMR 20 delined six sen to 499.00 compared with 505.00 sen per kg last Friday and latex in bulk eased one sen to 394.00 from 393.00 sen per kg. The unofficial sellers' closing price for tyre-grade SMR 20 was unchanged at 502.50 sen per kg while latex in bulk went up eight sen to 400.00 sen per kg from 392.00 sen per kg previously. - Bernama
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Ringgit likely to be softer
THE ringgit is likely to be softer next week against the dollar, as the greenback could hope to get a lift from a new US banking rescue plan expected to be unveiled on Monday, dealers said. The new plan, which is aimed at stabilising the American banking sector that is reeling from losses and recession, would be a another boost for the dollar, they said. This is because investors had traded the dollar cautiously for the past week by limiting their positions. For the week just ended, the local unit strengthened against the dollar on anticipation of a weaker-than-expected US jobs data for January. On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the ringgit rose against the greenback to 3.5950/6000 from 3.6080/6110 last Friday. The local unit fell against the Singapore dollar at 2.3909/3966 from 2.3862/3929 last week but was higher against the yen at 3.9328/9409 from 4.0362/0419 previously. Against the British pound, it was weaker at 5.2990/3078 from 5.1382/1439 last week while it firmed against the euro at 4.6005/6073 from 4.6442/6492 previously. - Bernama
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