BERNAMA The Malaysian National News Agency articles from March 2000

BERNAMA The Malaysian National News Agency archives from March 2000

TERENGGANU SULTAN ARRIVES IN SABAH FOR SEVEN-DAY WORKING VISIT.
March 30, 2000... KOTA KINABALU, March 30 (Bernama) -- The Sultan of Terengganu Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin and Permaisuri Nur Zahirah arrived here today for a week-long working visit in Sabah. The royal couple arrived on board a Royal Malaysia Airforce...

SECURITY ON POLLING DAY IN SANGGANG ASSURED, SAYS PAK LAH.
March 30, 2000... MENTAKAB, March 29 (Bernama) -- Security on polling day for the Sanggang by-election on Saturday is assured and all voters can come out to cast their votes safely, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. He advised...

MALAYSIA BEAT THAILAND 3-2 TO TOP GROUP.
March 30, 2000... SHAH ALAM, March 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia gave a sterling performance when they beat South East Asian champion Thailand 3-2 in a Asian Cup first leg qualifying round match at Shah Alam Stadium tonight. They finished top of the table in...

OPENING MALAYSIAN FOREIGN EXCHANGE, MARCH 30.
March 30, 2000... US 3.7995/8005 S'PORE 2.2109/2128 YEN 3.5946/5966 DM 1.8508/8520 STERLING 6.0469/0523 EURO 3.6198/6223

MAJOR CURRENCIES OPEN MIXED AS DOLLAR/YEN UNCHANGED IN TOKYO.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Major currencies were traded mixed against the ringgit this morning in quiet early trading as the unchanged dollar/yen rate in Tokyo this morning affected regional trends. Most major currencies, except...

KLSE UPDATE: 9:30 AM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 9:30 am today, there were 428 gainers, 133 losers and 152 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 985.87 up 0.74 points, the Emas Index was at 259.39 up 0.30...

KL SHARES OPEN HIGHER ON CONTINUED RETAIL INTEREST.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Share prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) opened higher today due to continued retail interest on second liners. A dealer said the market, however, took on a volatile swing in the first...

MONEY RATES STABLE AS MARKET RESUMES.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Domestic money rates were stable this morning with short-term rates only receiving modest interest but they failed to move much from current levels. A dealer said the market did not react at all to Bank...

KLSE UPDATE: 10:00 AM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 10:00 am today, there were 464 gainers, 148 losers and 140 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 986.61 up 1.48 points, the Emas Index was at 259.73 up 0.64...

KLOFFE CONTRACTS OPEN HIGHER, MAINTAIN MARGINAL GAINS.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Futures contracts traded on the Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (KLOFFE) opened higher today and maintained their marginal gains thereafter. A dealer said that futures investors...

KLIBOR FUTURES UNTRADED THIS MORNING.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Three-month Klibor futures on the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (Commex) were still untraded as at 10:00 am this morning. As it was still early in the morning, players had yet to enter the...

KL SHARES EASIER AT MID-MORNING.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Share prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) were easier at mid-morning due to retail profit taking. A dealer said there were only marginal gains on the second liners and market participation...

EXCHANGE RATES ISSUED BY MALAYAN BANKING BHD: MARCH 30.
March 30, 2000... SELLING BUYING BUYING TT/OD TT OD 1 US DOLLAR 3.8250 3.7750 3.7650 1 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR 2.3480 2.3010 2.2850 1 BRUNEI DOLLAR 2.2360 2.1910 2.1830 1 CANADIAN DOLLAR 2.6330 2.5810 2.5690 1 DEUTSCHEMARK 1.8790 1.8230 1.8130...

KLSE UPDATE: 11:30 AM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 11:30 am today, there were 365 gainers, 307 losers and 163 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 983.79 down 1.34 points, the Emas Index was at 258.85 down...

QL RESOURCES CONFIDENT OF MEETING PROFIT FORECAST.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Second board debutante QL Resources Bhd is confident that its forecast group pre tax profit of RM18.8 million for the year ending April 1, 2000 would be achieved from RM14.4 million previously, said...

RUMOURS ON ASSEMBLYMAN'S DEATH PAS' PLOY TO CONFUSE VOTERS - KENG YAIK.
March 30, 2000... MENTAKAB, March 30 (Bernama) -- Rumours of another by-election will be held in Pahang following the "death" of Ketari assemblyman Datuk Loke Koom Kam is a dirty tactic by PAS to confuse voters in the Sanggang by-election on Saturday. ...

TAKE RULERS' ADVICE, PM TELLS EXPLOITERS OF ISLAM.
March 30, 2000... JITRA, March 30 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on political leaders who exploited Islam for their own ends to heed the advice of the Malay Rulers who are determined to reunite Malays and Muslims divided...

KLSE UPDATE: 12:30 PM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 12:30 pm today, there were 379 gainers, 309 losers and 163 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 982.94 down 2.19 points, the Emas Index was at 258.72 down...

DEMOCRACY IN UMNO NOT TICKET TO DESTROY PARTY, SAYS MAHATHIR.
March 30, 2000... JITRA, March 30 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the democracy in Umno is not a ticket to bring destruction to the party. "Democratic practices are meant to bring out the best results and not lead to...

KL SHARES EASIER, PLAYERS CAUTIOUS AT MIDDAY.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Share prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange was down at midday today as retail investors took up a cautious stance and went selective, a dealer said. Retailers' snatchings toned down at mid-morning...

KLIBOR FUTURES SLIGHTLY LOWER AT MIDDAY.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Three-month Klibor futures on the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (Commex) slipped slightly at midday in extremely quiet trading. Only one contract was traded before the lunchbreak, in which...

NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT IN SOUTH THAILAND NOT CONTROLLED BY MALAYSIANS.
March 30, 2000... IPOH, March 30 (Bernama) -- Entertainment outlets in South Thailand are not controlled by Malaysian businessmen and the cities in the region noted for their "night entertainment" also offer other interesting things, a senior Thai tourist...

TIN PRICE ENDS FIRMER AT RM20.28 PER KG.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- The tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) ended relatively firmer today on improved buying interest, said a dealer. The local metal added two sen to RM20.28 sen per kg today on the back of...

MEGAT MUHAIYADIN APPOINTED WORKS MINISTRY SECRETARY-GENERAL.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Sarawak Federal Secretary Datuk Megat Muhaiyadin Megat Hassan has been appointed Works Ministry Secretary-General effective April 1. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali announced...

EXPORT FROM TIMBER SECTOR LAST YEAR TOTALS RM6.23 BILLION.
March 30, 2000... KUCHING, March 30 (Bernama) -- The total export from the timber sector of Sarawak last year came to about RM6.23 billion, an increase of 23 percent from RM5.03 billion in 1998. Sarawak Timber Association (STA) chairman Datuk Lau Hui Kang...

GOVT APPROVES RM100 MLN LOAN FOR OIL PALM REPLANTING.
March 30, 2000... BANGI, March 30 (Bernama) -- The government has approved a RM100 million soft loan for individual smallholders to replant oil palm, Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said here today. The loan, approved by the Cabinet...

SABAH FOUNDATION TO CONTINUE SOCIAL PROGRAMMES DESPITE REVENUE LOSS.
March 30, 2000... KOTA KINABALU, March 30 (Bernama) -- The Sabah Foundation will proceed with its social and welfare programmes despite losing revenue from illegal logging in its forest concession areas. Its Deputy Director Datuk Mohamed Tahir Jaafar said...

KYM SEES EXCITING TIMES AHEAD.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- If things run according to the script, this will be an exciting year for KYM Holdings Bhd, which is pursuing new business ventures to take it away from an over-reliance on the ever-tightening margins of the...

GO THE E-COMMERCE WAY, SMIs URGED.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Small and Medium scale Industry (SMI) participants were today urged to do business the E-commerce way, currently the fastest growing business trend. "This (E-commerce) is the way business will be...

MOHAMED ISA RETURNED AS NSBA PRESIDENT.
March 30, 2000... SEREMBAN, March 30 (Bernama) -- Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad was returned unopposed as the Negeri Sembilan Boxing Association (NSBA) president at the association's AGM here last night. Also return unopposed were NSBA...

SOUTHERN BANK-BAN HIN LEE MERGER TO COMPLETE BY JULY.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Southern Bank Bhd (SBB)is set to complete the whole merger transactions with Ban Hin Lee Bank (BHLB) by July this year, said the bank's chief executive director, Datuk Tan Teong Hean today. "We are...

BANK NEGARA EXCHANGE RATES: MARCH 30.
March 30, 2000... THE FOLLOWING IS THE BEST QUOTATIONS AVAILABLE FROM COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KUALA LUMPUR AT 11.30 A.M. TODAY, ISSUED BY BANK NEGARA: (UNITS OF FOREIGN CURRENCY PER UNIT OF MALAYSIAN RINGGIT) (BUYING TT/O.D) (SELLING O.D) US DOLLAR:...

KLSE UPDATE: 3:00 PM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 3:00 pm today, there were 307 gainers, 416 losers and 137 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 979.98 down 5.15 points, the Emas Index was at 257.85 down...

TH GROUP INJECTS US$18 MLN FOR INCUBATOR PROJECT.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- TH Group Bhd has so far injected US$18 million into its subsidiary, Internet Technology Asia Ventures Sdn Bhd (ITAV), to be channelled into the latter's incubator project. "This is sufficient (US$18...

KLSE UPDATE: 3:30 PM.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- At 3:30 pm today, there were 286 gainers, 445 losers and 133 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 979.82 down 5.31 points, the Emas Index was at 257.45 down...

M'SIAN FIRM SCORES AT INTERNET WORLD ASIA INDUSTRY AWARDS.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Asiatravelmart.com, Asia's first Internet-based on-line travel reservation system (TRS), has added another prestigious award to its list at the Internet World Asia Industry awards presentation recently. ...

PLASTIC RECYCLING FACTORY DESTROYED IN PRE-DAWN FIRE.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- A plastic recycling factory at 6.5 Mile, Jalan Puchong near here was destroyed in a fire early today. Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said four fire trucks with 40 men were despatched to Promakt...

BCB SETS UP TASK FORCE TO PROBE LEAKS.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd (BCB), one of two banks whose staff were alleged to have leaked out information to other parties, has set up a high level task force to investigate the matter. ...

INDIAN CO. ENTERS E-COMMERCCE PACT WITH CAMTECH OF MALAYSIA.
March 30, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 30 (Bernama) -- The Indian company, IEC Softwares, has entered into an agreement with Camtech Asia of Malaysia to provide e-commerce solutions, according to Mumbai datelined reports in the Indian media. The report, which...

BCB SPENDS RM17.4 MLN FOR NEW ATM CARDS.
March 30, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd (BCB) has spent RM17.4 million out of its RM160 million IT budget for the year for the replacement of its existing Juwara and Choice automated teller machine (ATM) cards. ...

MAJOR CURRENCIES MIXED AT THE OPENING.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Major currencies were traded mixed this morning in slim trade, with the volatility of the U.S. dollar in international markets affecting movements. The Singapore dollar, deutschemark and euro were...

UMNO YOUTH HITS OUT AT STRAITS TIMES ARTICLE.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Umno Youth today questioned the sincerity of Singapore's Straits Times newspaper in preserving good ties between Malaysia and Singapore. Commenting on an article in the paper critical of Malaysia's...

KLSE UPDATE: 9:30 AM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 9:30 am today, there were 205 gainers, 214 losers and 150 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 980.59 down 0.98 points, the Emas Index was at 258.00 down...

MONEY MARKET HOLDS STEADY AT THE OPENING.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian money market held steady at the opening as players awaited for the release of the 1999 Bank Negara Annual Report later today. A dealer said players would be interested to know whether...

EXCHANGE RATES ISSUED BY MALAYAN BANKING BHD: MARCH 29.
March 29, 2000... SELLING BUYING BUYING TT/OD TT OD 1 US DOLLAR 3.8250 3.7750 3.7650 1 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR 2.3590 2.3130 2.2970 1 BRUNEI DOLLAR 2.2360 2.1920 2.1840 1 CANADIAN DOLLAR 2.6390 2.5870 2.5750 1 DEUTSCHEMARK 1.8860 1.8310 1.8210...

KLIBOR FUTURES UNTRADED AT THE OPENING.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Three-month Klibor futures on the Commodity and Monetary Exchange of Malaysia (Commex) were still not traded at 10.05 am this morning. A dealer said players remained sidelined at this point because...

KLOFFE CONTRACTS OPEN LOWER.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The futures contracts traded on the Kuala Lumpur Options and Financial Futures Exchange (KLOFFE) opened lower today. A dealer said the futures investors were cautious while even some squared-off their...

KLSE UPDATE: 10:00 AM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 10:00 am today, there were 148 gainers, 448 losers and 141 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 975.54 down 6.03 points, the Emas Index was at 256.69 down...

KLSE UPDATE: 10:30 AM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 10:30 am today, there were 237 gainers, 391 losers and 138 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 977.96 down 3.61 points, the Emas Index was at 257.49 down...

KLSE UPDATE: 11:30 AM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 11:30 am today, there were 279 gainers, 366 losers and 167 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 976.05 down 5.52 points, the Emas Index was at 257.25 down...

KLSE UPDATE: 12:30 PM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 12:30 pm today, there were 443 gainers, 246 losers and 148 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 984.90 up 3.33 points, the Emas Index was at 259.22 up 1.18...

AGONG RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY.
March 29, 2000... BANGKOK, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was today conferred an honorary doctorate in Sociology and Anthropology by Thammasat University, Thailand's second oldest university. The degree...

TIN PRICE ENDS LOWER ON LACK OF INTEREST.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The tin price on the Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) ended the day lower at RM20.26 sen per kg on lack of interest, said a dealer. The dealer said the metal shed 11 sen from yesterday's close of RM20.37...

TAIYO YUDEN TO INVEST ANOTHER RM380 MILLION IN SARAWAK.
March 29, 2000... KUCHING, March 29 (Bernama) -- Taiyo Yuden, a Japanese company producing electronic ceramic chips capacitor, will invest another RM380 to build three more factories under its expansion programme in Sarawak. Minister for Industrial...

KLSE UPDATE: 3:00 PM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 3:00 pm today, there were 530 gainers, 184 losers and 136 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 984.47 up 2.90 points, the Emas Index was at 259.39 up 1.35...

1,500 DELEGATES EXPECTED FOR AUIAC 2000.
March 29, 2000... KUCHING, March 29 (Bernama) -- About 1,500 local and overseas delegates are expected for the second Australian Universities International Alumni Convention (AUIAC) 2000 here from Aug 24 to 27. With "Globalisation and A New World Order" as...

DELL COMPUTER CHIEF EXECUTIVE RECEIVES "DATUKSHIP" AWARD FROM PENANG.
March 29, 2000... PENANG, March 29 (Bernama) -- Dell Computer Corporation chairman and chief executive Datuk Michael S.Dell today received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) (honourary) medal from the Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Dr Hamdan Sheikh Tahir here....

DANAMODAL GETS FULL REPAYMENT FROM FIVE RECAPITALISED BANKING INSTITUTIONS.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Five of the 10 local banking institutions (BIs) which needed to be recapitalised by Danamodal Nasional Bhd has fully repaid the agency, amounting to RM2.39 billion. Danamodal said that in line with...

ALI: NO COMPELLING NEED TO CHANGE RINGGIT PEG.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- There is no compelling need to revise the current peg of ringgit at 3.80 to the U.S. dollar as it has proven to be the main driver towards the fast recovery of the export sector, said Bank Negara Malaysia...

ALI: BANK NEGARA TO KEEP INFLATION BETWEEN 3-4 PCT.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Bank Negara Malaysia will keep domestic inflation rate at three to four percent as anything above that level will be a source of discomfort, said its governor Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman. "Even...

MINISTRY ORGANISES COMMUNICATION AND MULTIMEDIA EXPO.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Energy, Communications and Multimedia Ministry will organise the Asean Comunications and Multimedia Expo and Forum on Oct 30-Nov 2. Ministry secretary-general Datuk Nuraizah Abdul Hamid said the...

DIGI HITS 600,000 MARK.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd has hit the 600,000 mark in subscriber base in less than five years since its mobile services was launched, making it the third leading mobile telecomunications provider in...

SG SECURITIES UPGRADES M'SIA'S GDP T0 7.8 PCT.
March 29, 2000... SINGAPORE, March 29 (Bernama) -- SG Securities has revised its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for Malaysia to 7.8 percent this year in a wave of upgrades for several Asian economies. Maintaining its bullish outlook, SG Securities...

YANG DI-PERTUAN BESAR PRESENTS BURSARIES.
March 29, 2000... SEREMBAN, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Ja'afar and his son Tunku Laxamana Tunku Naquiyuddin today presented bursaries to 68 students and welfare aid to several mosques in the state at a ceremony at...

SECURITY COMMISSION DOES NOT PROTECT SHARE MARKET MANIPULATORS.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Finance Ministry today denied allegations that the Security Commission (SC) attempted to protect two businessmen involved in share market manipulation resulting in four counters listed on the Kuala...

NO CONTEST FOR UMNO'S TOP TWO POSTS APPROPRIATE, SAYS ISA.
March 29, 2000... SEREMBAN, March 29 (Bernama) -- Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad being returned unopposed and Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi winning the deputy presidency uncontested are the right decisions for the good of the party, said...

LAND GIFT FOR HARDCORE POOR TO IMPROVE LIVELIHOOD.
March 29, 2000... TEMERLOH, March 29 (Bernama) -- Every family receiving aid under the Development Programme for Hardcore Poor (PPRT) in Pahang will get about 1.6 hectares of land to work on, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said. The government will...

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TO REMAIN LOW AT 2.9 PCT IN 2000.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The labour market is expected to tighten in 2000 with unemployment rate remaining low at 2.9 percent, Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman said today. Speaking at a press conference in...

TWO MORE NOMINATIONS FOR MAHATHIR AND ABDULLAH.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who have already secured enough nominations to win the two two posts in Umno uncontested in the May party elections, received obtained...

KL SHARES UP IN MID AFTERNOON AHEAD OF BNM ANNUAL REPORT.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Share prices on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) rose higher in the afternoon as retail players continued to push the market up, a dealer said. This was despite the pending release of Bank Negara...

NIIT BAGS S$14 MILLION CONTRACTS IN ASEAN.
March 29, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Indian software major, NIIT, has bagged a prestigious S$4.5 million software order from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) for maintaining its Road Information Management Systems. NIIT, an MSC...

AKN'S RM55 MILLION BONDS ON RATING WATCH.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The A3 rating of AKN Technology Bhd's RM55 million non-convertible redeemable secured bonds has been put on Rating Watch with a developing outlook by Rating Agency Malaysia Bhd (RAM). The watch is...

KLSE UPDATE: 4:30 PM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- At 4:30 pm today, there were 461 gainers, 260 losers and 152 counters traded unchanged on the Kuala Lumpur stock Exchange. The KLCI was at 985.10 up 3.53 points, the Emas Index was at 259.03 up 0.99...

LITRAK'S RM535 MILLION GNIF REAFFIRMED AT P2.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The short term rating of P2 assigned to toll road operator Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd's (Litrak) RM535 million Guaranteed Notes Issuance Facility (GNIF) 1996/2009 has been reaffirmed by Rating Agency...

MALAYSIA MAKES HEADSTART IN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, which made a headstart in infrastructure investments in information technology, is next embarking on raising the potential output by increasing the efficiency of capital investments, said Bank...

ISLAMIC BANKING GAINING MORE GROUND IN BANKING INDUSTRY.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Islamic banking sector's total assets, riding on the strong and early economic recovery, continued to increase strongly by RM14.1 billion or 65.3 percent to RM35.8 billion as at end-1999, Bank Negara...

CHALLENGES AHEAD TO PROMOTE DYNAMIC & INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The challenge ahead for Malaysia's financial sector is to promote a dynamic and innovative financial system that can support the country's economic transformation, said Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri...

CAGAMAS RECORDS LOWER PROFIT OF RM220.4 MLN FOR 1999.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Cagamas Bhd, the national mortgage corporation, recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM220.4 million in 1999 compared with RM240.2 million in 1998, its chairman Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman said today....

RESUME DIALOGUE, GOH URGES PAKISTAN AND INDIA.
March 29, 2000... SINGAPORE, March 29 (Bernama) -- Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong has urged warring Pakistan and India to resume dialogue. "We know the magnitude of the task, and are aware of the long road and the difficulties ahead. But South Asia...

CGC TO BE RE-ORGANISED TO SUPPORT SMES, SAYS ALI.
March 29, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- The Credit Guarantee Corporation (CGC) is being reorganised to enhance its guarantee functions and to provide a more effective channel to support small and medium scale enterprises (SMES), Bank Negara...

DOPE TEST: COACHES MAY BE NEXT - ISTAF.
March 28, 2000... KUANTAN, March 25 (Bernama) -- Sepaktakraw could be among the first sports in the world to impose random dope tests on national coaches involved in international championships. As the first step towards this, the International Sepaktakraw...

PENANG OFFERS TO HOST 2008 THOMAS/UBER CUP FINALS.
March 28, 2000... PENANG, March 25 (Bernama) -- Penang has offered to stage the 2008 Thomas/Uber Cup finals and hopes that the Badminton Association of Malaysia gives its blessings to this proposal. Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the presence...

THAILAND AND NORTH KOREA DRAW 0-0.
March 28, 2000... SHAH ALAM, March 25 (Bernama) -- North Korea held favourites Thailand to a goalless draw in the Asia Cup Group Eight qualifying tournament at the Shah Alam Stadium here tonight. However, the North Koreans should be given credit as they...

GOOD START BY THE MALAYSIAN WITH A 3-0 WIN OVER CHINESE TAIPEI.
March 28, 2000... SHAH ALAM, March 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysia made a good start when they beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 in their opening match of the Asia Cup Group 8 qualifying round at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight. The homesters opened the account in the 34th...