Below are the steps to change your water utility from the previous owner
1) Bring a full set copy of S&P
2) Bring a copy of your IC
3) Settle all the outstandings
4) RM100 as deposit
5) Check also which Syabas branch you need to go
If you want to cut the water for what so ever reasons:-
1) RM50 to cut & connect back the water
2) Formal letter signed by the owner stating reasons
Hmmm…i forgot to ask how long they will take to cut the water.
You can confirm with Syabas by calling PUSPEL 1800 – 88 – 5252
ON April 4, John left his semi-detached home in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, at 6.30am. He returned at about 1pm to find that it has been broken into. He lost RM45,000 and was badly traumatised, not so much by the loss but by the invasion into his private domain. John, 64, from Britain, says this is a gated and guarded (G&G) development and he pays about RM950 annually for the security service and maintenance. As a result of that incident, he has extended the wall behind his house by another five feet, bringing it to nine feet. He has also installed an alarm system. He suspects the thief or thieves must have climbed over the wall which separates his house from the public road. “I’m thankful my wife and daughter were not at home when they broke in,” he says. He and his family have been staying there for about two years. The project has about 300 houses.
When contacted, the residents’ association president says the development was completed four years ago and the break-in involving John’s house is a “minor thing.” In another project in Damansara Heights, one of the most upmarket residential suburbs in Kuala Lumpur, a relatively new development of about 18 months had three break-ins. The weak point in this G&G development was also a wall which was relatively low compared with the other retaining walls that encompassed the project. The police were called in and a camera was subsequently installed on that wall. “No one was hurt. It was the work of some petty thieves,” says a source from the company.
The break-ins in both the above two projects bring into focus several issues. The desire and need for security has resulted in various adaptation of the G&G concept. In John’s case, both he and the resident association president think they have bought into a G&G development because there is a perimeter wall and guards. Security presence and a perimeter wall do not constitute a project as a G&G. Conversely, there are some projects which are guarded but not gated. Whatever the adaptations may be, local council approval is needed, even for the installation of a boom gate. It is sad and speaks a lot about the country’s security system if people feel safer behind bars. Country Heights Kajang, for example, is guarded but not gated. Likewise, most parts of Bandar Utama. Seri Beringin in Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, has a perimeter wall and guards but it is not a G&G project.
Because of rising crime rate, Bangsar Baru residents are planning to turn the area into a gated and guarded community by permanently closing off roads and lanes which are accessible to motorists. So what constitutes a G&G project? Other than the perimeter wall and the guards, the G&G project essentially takes care of its own landscaping and amenities like garbage collection and landscaping. The monthly charges go into all these, including the maintenance of a pool, tennis courts and clubhouse, if there are such facilities. Innovative developers have also come up with single entrance/exit as a variant, without it being a G&G project. So, how will a home buyer know if he has bought into a landed strata project, in layman’s terms, a G&G? The only way is to check with the local council or the developer. A word of caution: There are developers who claim their project is a G&G, when it is an adaptation.
For many, an adaptation is good enough because security is their chief concern. Many are not bothered if there is a pool or a clubhouse. Incidentally, a new law will be tabled soon to govern G&G developments. Previously, it was just a set of guidelines. The bill will be used on a national level and will help to regulate such properties. The second issue pertains to security. What recourse do owners and residents have if there is a break-in? There is currently a case pending in court involving Sierramas, as a result of the breach in security. As most of the developers say: “Nothing is fool-proof. But we can have deterrents.” The other issue is the community. While John and his family were traumatised by the break-in, the residents’ association president considers it a “minor thing”. Which calls into attention the importance of co-operation among residents. After all, isn’t that what being a community is about?
As Home Buyers Association secretary-general Chang Kim Loong puts it: “The success of a G&G project depends on the residents to be the eyes and ears for each other.” While developers of such projects say G&G is the way to go, Chang says this is just a marketing strategy. “G&G is not something to be encouraged. It segregates the haves and the have-nots. It is a concept, not a deception. There is no legal compulsion to buy; it is just a matter of who can afford the lifestyle that comes with a cost and it appeals to the medium and upper echelons,” he adds. While certain quarters think this is just a marketing ploy to sell a lifestyle, it is undeniable that security and the increasing crime is making people feel more secure behind walls and bars. The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, in the second half of 2008, reported its findings in a survey that 89% of its respondents were concerned over public safety.
It was also reported in the Ninth Malaysia Plan that public safety in Malaysia has deteriorated 21.5% between 1990 and 2004. The crime index rose 15.74% in 2006 from 171,604 cases in 2005 to 198,622 cases in 2006. Property crime made up 70% of the 2006 cases. Landed G&G developments are not unique to Malaysia. There are such projects in the United States, Britain and Europe and Asia. G&G projects initially started out with condominiums, essentially known as strata-titled projects. In Malaysia, concerns about security by home buyers, land issues and the opportunity to profit prompted the start of condominium living. All condominiums are strata developments, but the term strata is not limited to just condominiums today. The desire to be on level ground has resulted in landed-strata development and this is where the landed G&G, and its variation, come in.
Seri Beringin, a project by Syarikat Perumahan Pegawai Kerajaan Sdn Bhd (SPPK), was never sold as such. Instead, it has sought the approval of the local authorities, in this case City Hall, to have a perimeter wall and even “donated” a guardhouse. There are other projects in the country which come under this category. To enhance security, some of the residents have proactively grouped together to form a resident association to look into various security measures. Owners are allowed to put up their own barriers, like a higher wall as a form of deterrent – something John did to his Kota Damansara home.
For some landed G&G, particularly those in upmarket locations, high monthly rentals of RM10,000 and above has resulted in a large expatriate community. About 70% of Duta Nusantara (by SP Setia Bhd) in Seri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur are tenanted. Duta Nusantara, comprising mainly semi-detached and bungalow units, are fetching monthly rentals of between RM14,000 and RM18,000, while Duta Tropika, mainly semi-detached and triple-storey terraced, has lower rentals. Seri Beringin, not a G&G project, may be able to fetch rentals of between RM8,000 and RM10,000. This project is new and given time, may fetch higher rentals. In Damansara Heights, Idamansara residences by E&O group are being rented for between RM15,000 and RM18,000, agents say. Says an agent: “Because the rental is so good, there are many owners who prefer to let out the place instead of using it themselves, which accounts for the high-tenancy ratio. At the same time, there is demand, especially when the project has a good proportion of foreigners as foreigners tend to attract other foreigners.
They also tend to put a premium on security.” Whether G&G projects will fetch a premium depends pretty much on location and the set-up. Those located here and with good access, and are managed well, will have a better premium. Whether it promotes community living depends on certain factors including the overall land size of the entire project, the availability of public areas like parks and pools where residents can meet and chat. Smaller projects with a short strip of road with houses facing each other may not be ideal. After all, buyers who opt for this lifestyle also desire communal living, and this means a place to congregate other than by the roadside.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/18/business/3702815&sec=business
Filed under: Real Estate
The RM10,000 tax deduction for interest on housing loans will only be applicable for one
property which is not being rented out. The incentive also applies to Malaysian citizens
who will live on the property, whether it’s a house, flat, apartment or condominium. Inland
Revenue Board chief executive officer Datuk Hasmah Abdullah said the sales and
purchase agreement for the property had to be executed between March 10, 2009 , and
Dec 31, 2010. “The tax deduction is given for three consecutive years from the first year
the housing loan is paid and is effective from the year of assessment 2009. Also, if there
are two or more individuals who are eligible for the tax deduction, each individual is
allowed a deduction which is proportionate to the interest they had paid,” she said.
Hasmah said this deduction, however, would not exceed RM10,000 in total. (Star)
This means the property incentive in the mini budget is only for new purchases from March
10, 2009 onwards and does not include existing housing loans. This is to spur new sales
given the lacklustre demand for properties in the past year.
Filed under: Real Estate
surian tower will be ready by march 2009…good and bad news for me….
good news
this will create additional properties demand at damansara…rental would be good…purchasing may be….
bad news….
traffic jam..currently mutiara and KD have terrible jam during peak hours!!
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THE development of 360 acres in Mutiara Damansara by Boustead Properties Bhd will see the addition of another jewel in March with the completion of the 26-storey Surian Tower office building.
According to its executive director Datuk Ghazali Mohd Ali, this is part of the property developer’s efforts to add value to the current development: “Of the 360 acres of development, 20 acres are allocated for corporate office projects while the other 40 acres are for retail.”
“It will be the tallest building in this area. We will also build and maintain the roads here to ensure easy access, not just for those living here, but also for visitors as well. With the help of the authorities, we have managed to control the traffic here, though there is still room for improvement,” he said at a recent media briefing.
Ghazali: About two million people come to The Curve every month.
There are several access roads to Mutiara Damansara – via Persiaran Surian from Bandar Utama, Persiaran Surian from Kota Damansara, Jalan PJU 7/1 from Damansara Perdana and via Penchala Link from Kuala Lumpur.
Sited on prime area just beside Bandar Utama and with freehold title, Mutiara Damansara properties enjoy high appreciation value especially the residential units.
For example, he pointed out, when Mutiara Damansara first launched its bungalows and semi-Ds in 2002, the selling prices were RM1.3mil and RM843,000 respectively. Last year, he says, these units were changing hands for RM2.4mil and RM1.8mil respectively.
Boustead Properties is now preparing to launch its last residential development in the area, Mutiara Damansara Surian Residency, which will be its second condominium project after the Surian Condominium. The freehold development will have about 300 units of between 900 and 2,200 sq ft.
It will have two blocks of 23 and 25 storeys each and some low-rise units, priced at about RM400 psf.
The Surian Tower building, he says, will be eco-friendly as it will tap rain water through its ground reservoir for landscaping.
“We are building a car park above to give natural ventilation. Apart from that, we are using layers of sun shading louvres for energy consumption,” he adds.
The new office building will have over 300,000 sq ft of space for rental and each floor plate offers 15,000 sq ft of space with net lettable area of 12,000 sq ft.
“Our plan is to have about 60% anchor tenants while the balance would be for smaller companies. About 50% of the space has already been taken up,” he says, adding that Nestle (M) Bhd will be one of the anchor tenants.
Work on the building, a gross development value of RM165mil, started 1½ years ago. It was sold to Lembaga Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) for RM500 psf.
“Surian Tower will provide a total of 930 car parks to add to the existing 7,000 parking bays around The Curve area. This will help ease the shortage of parking bays around this area especially during the weekends,” says Ghazali.
The Curve, Malaysia’s first lifestyle pedestrianised shopping mall, is owned and developed by Mutiara Rini Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boustead Properties.
Currently, about 98% of the space at The Curve is occupied. Even so, he says, there is a long waiting list of new tenants eager to move in.
“About two million people come to The Curve every month. Traffic is high, which is a good sign for our tenants’ businesses. Some of them are, in fact, expanding their businesses here,” he says.
The Curve has about 70 food and beverage outlets, bistros and cafés, as well as, 250 shops plus 20 office suites.
Boustead Properties also plans to build a second Royal Bintang hotel (the first is The Royal Bintang Damansara) to be located behind Cineleisure which will have about 300 rooms and a convention centre.
“We plan to build an interlink connecting The Surian Tower to the hotel and straight to The Curve shopping mall. It would be fully air-conditioned, five metres wide with some shops along the way,” he says, adding to improve connectivity, the company is also hoping to have a physical link from the proposed new LRT station beside the Surian Tower.
Filed under: Real Estate, Stocks Investing | Tags: global financial crisis
this is how US faces the global financial crisis….banks still lend money to some1 who can’t pay (who is not eligible according to strict standard)…they make US citizen in debt up to their eyeball…irresponsible banks plus the complacent American citizens and US govt no regulations on banking system created the global crisis..
no market for our export means no jobs mean our economy will be in deep troubles.
so buying opportunities for us by end of march? pbbank at RM5?? prime properties auctioned?? hopefully i have lots of cash to grab all the opportunities.
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Eve Pidgeon, communications director for a nonprofit credit counseling service in Michigan, says she’ll never forget the day she realized she owed more than her home was worth.
“I was at work, saying, ‘Can you believe I can’t refinance my house?’” recalls Pidgeon, who had made timely payments on her 30-year mortgage for nine years and has a credit score over 800. “Then a [colleague] said, ‘You’re upside down — like our clients.’ I thought, ‘My God — I am?’ I thought that happened to people who had $50,000 on credit cards and refinanced into adjustable-rate mortgages.”
A Canadian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen, Pidgeon bought her home in 1999. Her mortgage broker said she qualified for a $240,000 loan — on her then-salary of $33,000 per year and her husband’s volatile income as a freelance photographer.
Passing Up the Big, Fabulous House
“Calculations for insurance, escrow for property taxes — none of that was considered,” recalls Pidgeon, who has two children. “Of course we wanted a big, fabulous house, but when I crunched the numbers, I thought, ‘If the cost of any one thing in our [budget] goes up, we’re going to be in a deficit every month.’ It put a lot of pressure on my marriage because my husband said, ‘You’re terrible at math; this is a professional who knows what he’s doing, and we should get this house.’”
Instead they bought a quaint 1918 Victorian for $135,000. Pidgeon, who eventually divorced and navigated a job layoff without ever missing a mortgage payment or accumulating high-interest credit card debt, has refinanced twice — from 8 percent to 6.8 percent, and then again to 6.3 percent, always locking in for 30 years. She wanted to refinance again when rates slipped under 5 percent, but widespread foreclosures have depressed her home’s value; comparable dwellings are selling at or below the $117,000 she still owes.
Pidgeon is emblematic of the financial insecurity afflicting millions of Americans who are being punished despite doing all the right things with their money. Hard work, steady savings, and thoughtful sacrifices haven’t protected their jobs, nest eggs, or home values from an economy twisted by fraud and stupidity, coldly indifferent to responsibility and productivity.
Homeowners Underwater
By one estimate, 12 million homeowners – one in six — are underwater
on their mortgages. In 20 major metropolitan areas, home prices dropped an average 18 percent in November compared to the year-earlier period, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index, released earlier this week.
Unemployment rose in all 50 states in December and surpassed 10 percent in two — Rhode Island and Pidgeon’s home state of Michigan. Moreover, in the year following October 2007 — the stock market’s peak — more than $1 trillion of stock held in 401(k)s and other defined-contribution plans evaporated, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
“The new insecurity doesn’t look like the old insecurity — grainy Dorthea Lange photos of Depression-era men and women, their weathered faces projecting despair and helplessness,” writes Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker in his book ‘The Great Risk Shift’. “Those who experience it have homes, cars, families, degrees. They’ve usually tasted the fruits of success, if sometimes only fleetingly. They very rarely end up on the streets or in shelters. For most, insecurity is a private experience, hidden away behind closed doors, felt in quiet despair.”
A Fair Question in Unfair Times
Consider a reader’s comment last week following my column on the difference between optimism and magical thinking. The poster wrote that he was a computer programmer who had been employed for 25 years, worked hard, lived frugally, and was now laid off. His 401(k) had lost half its value and his home equity had declined sharply.
“Please tell me again why you believe I should be optimistic?” he wrote. “Is it that you expect folks (suckers) in my situation to get up, brush off, and once again toil to accumulate wealth that will be seized from me in one way or another?”
That’s a fair question in unfair times. At the very least, we can mitigate the risks of having our hard-earned cash seized in the future by asking ourselves a series of questions:
1. Do you live within your means? How long could you live without your current income if you lost your job? Do you know exactly how much money comes in and where it goes each month? What areas of your budget could you slash immediately? What expenses can you cut back for the next year and reallocate toward a cash cushion?
2. If you consistently ratchet up your lifestyle to match rising income, can you
divert half of any raise, bonus, or other increase you receive into savings instead?
3. Have you considered a strategy to obtain severance or other benefits in the event you’re laid off? How up-to-date is your resume and network of contacts, and what would be the first five steps you would take to find a new position? Have you investigated your options for continuing or obtaining health insurance?
4. If you are living on two incomes, how can you shift your lifestyle and spending to rely on one for needs and the other for wants?
5. How well do your insurance policies protect you and the people you love? Have you shopped around for the lowest premiums?
6. If you carry high-interest, revolving debt, what is your plan for eliminating it, and how long will it take?
7. Do you have written goals — short-, medium- and long-term — for your money that reflect what you value most, with specific dollar amounts and time frames? Do you know how fast the cost of your goal is rising?
8. Do you understand how your money is invested, how much risk you’re taking, and what expenses and fees you are paying? Do you understand the tax implications of your financial decisions (and your geographic choices)? If not, are you making an effort to learn about these critical areas of your portfolio?
9. Are you taking good care of your health to reduce the risk of financially devastating medical costs?
10. Do you give as much energy to your family and friends as you do to your finances? (Losing your shirt is a lot more painful when you go through it alone.)
The Risks We Face
“Studies consistently suggest that we are good at some kinds of risk assessments and very bad at others,” Hacker writes. “And unfortunately, the kinds of risks that we face today — diffuse, interwoven, mounting, uncertain — are precisely those we are most likely to overlook. Economic losses for families are often like system failures in engineering — they cascade from seemingly small events into major crises. Yet few of us worry much about the small events that can set off the chain.”
Pidgeon says she never imagined she’d be in her first home nearly a decade after she bought it, but she is focused on the positive. “If I could [refinance], I could gain a few hundred dollars in my monthly surplus and use it to stimulate the sagging local economy,” she says. “But my priority was to move to the States and make the most of my education and my career, and raise a wonderful family in a safe, comfortable, and loving environment. Whether I’m paying 6.3 percent or 4.5 percent, I feel very proud that I accomplished that.”
http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/137398
KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd will reduce their Base Lending Rate (BLR) and Islamic Financing Rate (IFR) by 55 basis points from 6.5% to 5.95% from Feb 3.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Hong Leong Bank said the cut in the BLR followed Bank Negara’s move to cut the overnight policy rate by 75 basis points on Jan 21.
“The reduction of BLR/IFR would translate into lower cost of financing for our customers and businesses,” it said.
It added the lower borrowing costs would support the central bank’s objective to promote domestic economic activities.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/28/business/20090128181535&sec=business
Filed under: Real Estate, Stocks Investing | Tags: bank negara, global finaancial crisis
Global financial crisis already affects the real economy since 2 months ago. The economy is getting worst especially in US &Europe. US & Europe are the market for most of Malaysian products. It will affect Malaysian economy by end of Q1.
I think our market is already affected that is why Bank Negara cuts OPR by 75 basis points which are a lot.
Troubles time ahead for unprepared ones and opportunities time for those who are prepared for this one.
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By CATHERINE RAMPELL Furloughs, wage reductions, hiring freezes and shorter hours simply did not do enough. A year into this recession, companies across the board are resorting to mass job cuts. Home Depot, Caterpillar, Sprint Nextel and at least eight other companies announced on Monday they would cut more than 75,000 jobs in the United States and around the world — a gloomy start to the workweek for employees anxious about holding their own as the economy sinks. Caterpillar, the maker of heavy equipment, is slashing its payrolls by 16 percent. Texas Instruments said late in the day that it would eliminate 3,400 jobs, or 12 percent of its work force. Jobs began disappearing in home building and mortgage operations early in the recession, then across finance and banking more generally. Now the ax is falling across large swaths of manufacturing, retailing and information technology, taking out workers from New York to Seattle. Just last week, Microsoft announced its first significant job cuts ever. Because companies like Microsoft have invested in their workers’ skills and knowledge, they usually delay major work force reductions as long as they can. But with orders for new products and services drying up and financing tight, employers are looking to shrink their costs drastically and are slashing their payrolls, anticipating a protracted decline for business in 2009. Monday’s parade of negative news comes after months of announcements from other prominent companies like Citigroup, General Electric, Nokia and Harley-Davidson. On Wednesday, the tally of mass layoffs for December will be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Already, the bureau says the United States economy has shed 2.55 million jobs since the recession began, pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.2 percent last month. The latest round of job cuts — and the additional rounds likely to come as these move through the economy — mean more pain ahead for states as unemployment insurance claims rise and deplete state budgets. Congress has proposed setting aside $43 billion to assist the states and to provide for new and current recipients of unemployment checks. That money is intended to increase the weekly benefit amounts; to extend how long people can collect payments; to cover more types of workers, like part-timers; and to help states distribute benefits more quickly. It is based largely on an estimate that the unemployment rate will rise to 8 to 9 percent this year even with a stimulus package, according to the proposal summary from the House Appropriations Committee. But if unemployment soars into double digits, as some economists expect, the financing may not be enough. “The economy is deteriorating at a faster clip than even the most dreary forecasts had expected,” said Joseph Brusuelas, an economist who, bucking the current job market trend, will soon start a new job at Moody’s Economy.com. “At the current trend, $43 billion will not be sufficient should we breach 9 percent unemployment and maybe reach into the double digits.” President Obama cited the layoff announcements in remarks Monday urging Congress to approve an $825 billion economic stimulus package of tax cuts, emergency benefits and public spending projects. “These are not just numbers on a page,” he said. “As with the millions of jobs lost in 2008, these are working men and women whose families have been disrupted and whose dreams have been put on hold.” Charles DiGisco, of Randolph, N.J., is one casualty of the downturn. He said he had been looking for work since Sept. 18, when he lost his job as a vice president for sales and marketing at Master Cutlery, a knife maker. He frequently hears a familiar refrain from would-be employers: “We would hire you, but we’re not hiring anybody.” His family’s monthly expenses are four times what Mr. DiGisco collects from unemployment, and he said his family was selling two of its three cars and might dispose of some stocks or dip into retirement funds to keep paying the mortgage. “It takes me 20 years to save it, and it takes me five months to go through it,” Mr. DiGisco said. While stimulus spending on public works may take some time to get going, some companies could bring back displaced workers quickly if the government initiative generated new orders. Caterpillar, for example, had announced buyouts, wage freezes and work stoppages around the holidays because of “a dramatic decline in orders,” said Jim Dugan, a spokesman for the company, based in Peoria, Ill. On Monday, the company said that a total of 15,000 permanent and temporary jobs, out of about 125,000, would have been eliminated by the end of this week, and that it would trim 5,000 more by the end of the first quarter. Should orders for earthmovers and other heavy equipment improve, which some expect as countries around the world start building bridges, highways and other public works to help create jobs, Caterpillar can recall some workers quickly. Many companies, though, may not rush to increase staffs even if business begins to pick up. Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, said downturns often motivate companies to restructure business models permanently, meaning jobs they cut now are unlikely to be replaced. “Structural change is put into overdrive because of the recession,” he said, “so who knows for sure how a company like Microsoft will fare?” Sprint Nextel, which announced Monday that it was eliminating 8,000 jobs, or roughly 14 percent of its work force, is similarly facing some tough restructuring decisions as it continues to hemorrhage subscribers. After the worst holiday shopping season in decades, retailers are letting employees go in droves. More than 66,600 retailing jobs were lost in December, the worst period since the late 1930s. Home Depot, the home improvement retailer, said Monday it would cut 7,000 jobs, or 2 percent of its workers. Some 5,000 cuts will come through store closings, largely of its upscale Expo chain; the rest will come from corporate support, many at its Atlanta headquarters. Carol B. Tomé, Home Depot’s chief financial officer, said the company had explored ways to save Expo, but “as we kept looking at alternatives, the business kept getting softer and softer.” Finally, she said, executives simply realized, “we can’t fix it.” For most of last year, relatively healthy demand for exports gave global companies like Caterpillar a cushion. But with downturns deepening across Europe and Asia, and the dollar strengthening, global demand for costlier American goods has faltered. “There really isn’t any hiding place for companies anymore,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist at IHS Global Insight. “The recent numbers coming in from the rest of the world are disastrous.” Jack Healy, Stephanie Rosenbloom, Louis Uchitelle and Jenna Wortham contributed reporting.
PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara has slashed its overnight policy rate (OPR) by 75 basis points to 2.5%, its single largest cut since the OPR was introduced in April 2004, outlining its growing concern on economic growth.
The ceiling and floor rates of the corridor for the OPR were correspondingly reduced to 2.75% and 2.25% respectively while the statutory reserve requirement (SRR) was also reduced from 3.5% to 2%, effective Feb 1, the central bank said.
“With the heightened downside risks to growth, the magnitude of the reductions in the OPR and the SRR is aimed to be pre-emptive in providing a more supportive monetary environment for the domestic economy,” Bank Negara said in a statement yesterday.
Bank Negara last reduced the OPR in November by 25 basis points to 3.25%, its first cut since May 2006.
The sharper deterioration of the global economy is expected to have a greater impact on the Malaysian economy with the large decline in external demand already seen.
“These developments have also affected labour market conditions. Under these circumstances, the urgent implementation
of policy measures will be key towards ensuring the Malaysian economy continues to experience positive growth in 2009,” Bank Negara said.
Inflation continued to decelerate to 4.4% in December 2008, a seven-month low from 5.7% the month before, due largely to lower fuel prices.
The deceleration is expected to continue in line with the weaker demand conditions and lower imported inflation.
Lower inflation essentially allows policy-makers the flexibility to lower rates.
Aseambankers chief economist Suhaimi Illias said the pace of the deterioration on the global front was creating the urgency for the central bank to act aggressively and that he did not expect such large quantum of reductions in both borrowing cost and SRR, which is the amount of reserve capital that banking institutions place with the central bank.
A lower SRR translates into more loanable funds to consumers.
“Its drastic move also seems to suggest that the central bank is done with cutting rates at least for the first half of the year,” he said.
Citi Asia Pacific economics and market analysis vice-president Kit Wei Zheng described Bank Negara’s move as “very bold” and “probably a sign that recession may be hitting home.”
Exports and industrial production have been falling for the past months alongside layoffs and a fall in loan approvals.
The Government is targeting a 3.5% growth this year with certain quarters projecting 2.5%, the lowest growth rate in at least eight years.
Citi is expecting at least a further 50 basis points cut to 2% by mid-year, with more cuts possible depending on the evolution of incoming data.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/22/business/3085020&sec=business
Filed under: Real Estate, Stocks Investing | Tags: credit card bubble, global financial crisis, world war 3
Previously in my last post on global financial turmoil,
I mentioned the phases in the global financial turmoil…i want to relook back at what phases are we in…
OK back to the global financial turmoil. For me there would be 4 phases.
1) Bankcrupties of Banks
- Wachivia – bankrupt
- Washington Mutual- bankrupt
2) Bankcrupties of Investment Banks
- Lehman Brothers
- Bear Stern
- Morgan Stanley
3) Bankcrupties of Hedge Funds
- the most popular is Madoff
4) Impact to main street (e.g automobile companies, retailers etc)
- Big 3 request for bail outs
- lots of companies lay off their workers -
I would like to add the 5th one…Credit card bubble. we know americans are really having lots of credit card debts.. it is a matter of time before they credit card companies will be having the same problems as the other financial institutions.
Malaysian economy is already affected especially in the electronics sector. We will only feel the impact by H1, 2009. As I said this will be opportunity to buy stocks and properties.
But there is worst, if this is true, there is no point to invest and quite scary prediction by Mathias Chang. World War III
it seems all central banks have cut their BLR to stimulate the economy. when Malaysia will feel the impact? when the stocks will go down and create opportunity for me? so i expect we will see the impact in Q1 2009 or Q2 2009.
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The decision by Western Digital, the world’s second-largest hard-disk drive manufacturer,
to close its Sarawak plant in the Samajaya Jaya Free Industrial Zone (SJFIZ) here due to
the global economic meltdown will affect 1,500 workers, state assistant minister for
Industrial Development Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said. He said the affected workers, all
locals, including 500 engineers and technicians accounted for 10% of the 15,000 workers
in the electronic industry at SJFIZ. (Bernama)
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Vietnam cut the benchmark interest rate to 8.5% from 10% effective Dec. 22, marking the
biggest reduction this year, to avert an economic slowdown. Policy makers also reduced
the refinancing rate to 7.5% from 9%. (Bloomberg)
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The Bank of Japan cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.1% from 0.3%, increased
purchases of government debt and announced plans to buy commercial paper for the first
time as the deepening recession starves companies of funds. (Bloomberg)
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The Bank of Thailand will try to use monetary policy to boost the nation’s economy,
Deputy Governor Atchana Waiquamdee said. “Our focus is how to pull the economy out of
the slowdown as much as we can,” Atchana said. “We can’t expect much help from fiscal
spending amid political instability.” (Bloomberg)
