Property:Boom or Bust?

Crystal-balling the near future circa 2011-2013, OSK Research  has postulated that the Malaysian   property  will see the biggest property boom ever in a decade to be led by medium- to high-end properties.

Thereafter, a possible slump may take place.

Let us read OSK Research's thinking on this.

It said a major mass housing boom will likely occur in the first half of this decade.

It added that the sector was already entering the early stage of a property "super cycle".

"Although the expected peak in 2012/13 may have dire consequences, the phenomenal boom that immediately precedes it gives investors an excellent opportunity to profit from the trend for at least the next 12 months.

"We, therefore, seize the opportunity to upgrade our property sector call to overweight from neutral," OSK Research said in its research note to investors yesterday.

Although location is key to identifying real estate opportunities, what is equally important but often overlooked is timing, it added.

It noted that the current 20-year boom in the medium- to high-end residential properties since the early 1990s might peak in 2012/13, after which mass affordable housing could dominate the real estate industry around 2015/16.

Stocks with focus in the medium- to high-end segment, such as Sunrise, YNH Property, IGB Corp and Bandar Raya Developments, are some of the best bets for the next 12 months.

"Mass housing developers, especially the 'fallen angels' such as LBS Bina and MK Land, may come to the fore as another major investment theme after that," OSK Research noted.

For "best of all worlds" exposure during this period, OSK Research recommends buying SP Setia.

It said the country's current boom in higher-end residential properties is probably in its longest "bull run" ever, spanning almost two decades since the early 1990s.

"This, unfortunately, has also given rise to the illusion of the infallibility of properties. We are now entering the final phase of this secular boom, which will be characterised by a period of fast-rising property prices in the medium- to high-end residential segment, particularly landed ones."

OSK Research observed that those born in the 1950s had become more risk-averse in their investments since 2003/04.

"As they approach retirement, they will divert a significant portion of their wealth into savings and traditionally perceived defensive asset classes such as real estate.

"However, their eventual absence may bring an end to the boom if there is no credible demand force to fill the void."

Emkay Group senior general manager Mazrita Mazlan said the wealthy do not mind paying a little bit extra as long as the properties are away from congested towns.

"As an example, MK Land (MK Land Holdings Bhd) will launch its Rafflesia high-end project, which has units starting at RM2 million apiece.

"Already the project has sold 100 units even before its launch," Mazrita claimed.

Mercury Securities head of research Edmund Tham said the boom will only benefit certain areas and selected developers.

"When it comes to the so-called boom, it depends on who you talk to. I believe there is a property overhang project in Mont'Kiara and some buyers are facing financing problems."

Independent property valuation surveyor Sharizal Supian said the trend right now is to go for boutique projects complete with gated communities and modern facilities and townships, such as UEM Land's Symphony Hill which saw units snapped up within days of its launch.

"The boom, however, only benefits the rich and does not benefit the general public," Sharizal said.

An Island & Peninsular Bhd executive said that only foreigners will benefit from Malaysia's property boom due to the cheaper ringgit. 

My Take:

The ringgit is heading northwards. It is not getting cheaper. Moreover high-end properties will face rental issues as FDI has not been forthcoming. Foreign expatriates have left for other more competitive nations.

Also the politics here has not been re-assuring of late and will deter property purchase by foreigners.

On the local scen, many foreign expatriates from Japan and Kore have apparently left the Mon't Kiara area towards KLCC and Ampang.

So it could be a zero-sum game here as far as high end residential units are concerned.

Positive Capital Flight Or....?

Is this just the appeal of plain economic sense or is there any more to it?

Angie Ng's article in the STAR is worth reading.

These are the oft touted reasons.

Situationally, he ringgit’s current strength and generally lower property valuations in the UK are drawing more Malaysian investors, both retail and institutional, to London and the latest to make the move is the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

The pension fund has allocated a war chest of £1bil (RM4.88bil) to invest in properties in the UK and has appointed ING Real Estate Investment and Deutsche Bank’s property investment arm RREEF to manage the investment. They will each invest £500mil in European property markets, focusing on the UK.

Lai Voon Hon says the strong ringgit will benefit the EPF

In a statement on Monday, the EPF said the investments would be for long term with expected annual yields of 6% to 7%.

Property consultants lauded the fund’s move as being prudent and far-sighted as the diversification of its property investment portfolio would ensure a more balanced portfolio and spread the risks to more developed markets outside Malaysia.

Henry Butcher Malaysia president Lim Eng Chong said London was a very active international real estate market where income asset class was a major sector of the financial market.

»London is no more a rock-bottom country but you have to have a permanent presence here to take advantage of investment opportunities« KUMAR THARMALINGAM

“Since last year, there has been an influx of foreign funds from Russia, the Middle East and the Far East, including China, into London to take advantage of the positive environment,” Lim told StarBizWeek.

“There’s much more depth and breadth in the UK market. Very often, its economy moves in different direction from Malaysia’s, thus affording a more balanced and resilient portfolio. Presently, the UK is only (barely) coming out of a recession and, although the market has started to move, there is still some way to go.”

London is also the financial capital of Europe and it is the de-facto choice capital in the EU for foreign companies.

“It is a very opportune time to invest in the UK property market now. The ringgit is at record high against the pound sterling while the historic low interest rates in the UK (interbank rate is only 0.5%) make yields attractive,” Lim pointed out.

He said commercial properties with strong convenants for at least seven years offered potential for upsides upon market recovery and there were deals which were bankable to capitalise on the low interest rates now.

Malaysia Property Inc chief executive officer Kumar Tharmalingam, who was in London when contacted, said the EPF was a well-regarded pension fund internationally with a reputation for prudent investments.

“London is no more a rock-bottom country but you have to have a permanent presence here to take advantage of investment opportunities. Using the old-boy network in the city of London that the EPF is doing is the right strategy. It has appointed probably the best property advisers and managers in Europe and I believe they will guide the fund to the right quality investments,” he said in an e-mail response.

Kumar said as the EPF had to guarantee a dividend on all contributions, “it will be looking to buy completed assets which have been tenanted and have a structured and forecast return that is tangible.”

He said at the height of the downturn in early 2009, yields of London assets went up as high as 8% but they had since gone back to their normal base of 5%.

“But with the pound sterling and the euro at historical lows since the mid-90s, this may be a good time to buy well-positioned assets where there is an opportunity for rent values and currency appreciation in the medium term,” Kumar said.

It has attracted many institutional funds, including South Korea’s National Pension Fund which purchased a building in Canary Wharf and also took a stake in Gatwick Airport in February.

Kumar, who made a quick check with some of the major property agents in London, said he was told an Asian sovereign fund had made bids for a business park near Heathrow Airport.

Ireka Development Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Lai Voon Hon, who was also responding from London, said with Europe heading towards a double-dip recession, a number of prime commercial properties with blue-chip tenants in the UK would be available to investors at very attractive yields.

“The advantage of UK commercial properties is that the lease is normally very long term so the income is fairly stable. As such, commercial properties with blue-chip tenants at high rental yields will be ideal for the EPF. The strong ringgit vis-a-vis the pound sterling is certainly to the EPF’s advantage,” he added.

According to CB Richard Ellis executive director Paul Khong, with the strengthening of the ringgit, investors are now able to buy more with the same ringgit compared with a year ago.

“The top favourite destinations for both institutional and individual investors are still the UK, Australia and Singapore markets,” he said.

So,is there something more to these overseas purchases or ............

Berjaya Assets: Another Feather in the Cap

Berjaya Assets Bhd (Bassets) is enroute to taking over the development of Lido Boulevard, the multi-billion ringgit integrated waterfront development project by Central Malaysia Properties Sdn Bhd (CMP) which has been unduly delayed.

As soon as negotiations are over, Bassets will work on the project almost immediately. The time-line for the wrapping up of negotiations is 6 months.

“The project will be in a better hand with Bassets handling it in terms of project management and the most important thing is the strong financial backing from Berjaya Group,” a source told StarBizWeek.

The source added apart from the strong financial backing from the conglomerate, Lido Boulevard would benefit from Berjaya’s marketing experience to market the property to local and foreign buyers.

The flagship project by CMP, a company linked to business tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, is a joint-venture between CMP and Johor State Secretary Inc.

The latter is an investment holding company of the Johor state government, which is also the land owner.

Tan owns 60% equity in CMP while the remaining 40% is held by CMP managing director Datuk Chan Tien Ghee. Both Tan and Chan made headlines recently when they bought over the Welsh’s Cardiff City Football Club.

CMP had in March this year awarded a deal worth RM238.6mil to the Belgium-based dredging company Jan De Nul to carry out reclamation works on the site.

The works would take about 15 months to complete, once completed; about 38.11ha would be reclaimed land while 11.39ha would be on a piled concrete desk.

According to Wikipedia, major projects realised in part or whole by Jan De Nul include the expansion of Panama Canal, Australia’s Port Botany expansion, the Manifa Field Causeway and Island project in Saudi Arabia, the Palm Jebel Ali artificial island in Dubai and the adjacent Dubai Waterfront.

“Jan De Nul has set an office in the city (Johor Baru) but the reclamation works have not started as schedule due to the takeover exercise,” said the source.

About 6.8 million cu m of sand sourced from Teluk Ramunia on Johor’s southeast is needed for reclamation works. The sand will be transported by a dredger anchored at Stulang Laut near the Causeway, then pumped to the site via a 2km floating and sunken pipeline.

Located on 49.51ha, the project will be developed in phases stretching 2.4km along the Tebrau Straits from the now defunct Lot One shopping complex to the Harbour Master’s office.

The project comprises four main components – luxury condominiums, waterfront office suites, a hotel and a shopping mall.

Lido Boulevard, with a gross development value of RM4bil, is expected to take shape by 2016 and it will completely rehabilitate Lido Beach and give Johor Baru a facelift.

Bassets has clarified in a posting to Bursa KL that the controlling shareholders of Central Malaysia Properties Sdn Bhd (“CMP”) had in fact invited Bassets to consider taking up an equity stake in CMP, which is the developer of the multi-billion ringgit integrated waterfront development project known as “Lido Boulevard” along the Tebrau Straits in Johor.

Bassets is considering the proposal and an appropriate announcement will be made to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad in due course should the Company decides to proceed with the investment.
So, this looks like another positive cash-flow for Bassets.

Will the price of Bassets shares increase to factor in the new potential values?

We will see.

Saying Good-bye to Kara DioGuardi

Kara DioGuardi has left “American Idol.” joining the ranks of Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Ellen Degeneres.

“I felt like I won the lottery when I joined ‘American Idol’ two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave ‘Idol,” DioGuardi said in a statement.

“I am very proud to have been associated with ‘American Idol’ — it has truly been an amazing experience."

Joining a possible original panel  format of three judges will be Jennifer Lopez,Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and 'Ole Dog,' Randy Jackson.

“Kara is one of the world’s best songwriters,” said ‘Idol’ creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She has been passionate and committed to ‘Idol’ over the last two seasons. I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come.”

Yees, I did  find it hard to accept her after the irreplaceable Paula left the show. But after two seasons, I could see the purity and objectivity of her musical judgment which  she displayed most  at the last season of 'Idol'

I am going to miss her just as much as I miss Paula and certainly hard-hitting Simon Cowell.

As for Ellen, she should never have gotten on board at all!

Stocks-What to Expect for the Rest of 2010

Out of the 84 companies that we track, 24% fell short of expectations, higher than the 21% that failed to deliver in May. The percentage of companies that outdid expectations fell from 22% to 21% while the proportion of those that lived up to expectations declined from 57% to 55%. The number of sectors that missed the mark increased from three to four; they are industrial, insurance, oil and gas, and telcos. The number of sectors that did better than expectations also fell from five to three — automotive, media and building materials.

The year-on-year (y-o-y) EPS change for the KLCI moderated from a hefty 58% jump in 1QFY10 to 30% in 2QFY10. On quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, the EPS growth strengthened from 4% to 8%. The still-robust y-o-y and q-o-q earnings growth means that our forecasts could have run ahead of expectations and that despite the relatively good earnings performance in 2Q10, it was still below our projection.

The three-month period including the August results season was positive as we raised our core CY10 EPS by 2.1% while upping CY11 by 2.7%. The strong performance during the results season came mainly from the media, utilities, automotive, gaming and banking sectors. Shortfalls came from stocks in the industrial, insurance, oil and gas, and telcos.

The number of companies which saw earnings downgrades increased from 16 in May to 18, namely Bursa Malaysia Bhd, Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd, Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd, RGB International Bhd, Adventa Bhd, Guinness Anchor Bhd, Tomypak Holdings Bhd, Wellcall Holdings Bhd, MTD ACPI Engineering Bhd, Kurnia Setia Bhd, Petra Perdana Bhd, Wah Seong Corporation Bhd, Notion Vtec Bhd, JCY International Bhd, Maxis Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, MISC Bhd and Malaysian Airline System Bhd.

The number of earnings upgrades, meanwhile, slipped from 23 to 19, ie Proton Holdings Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, AMMB Holdings Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Ann Joo Resources Bhd, Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd, Genting Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, PLUS Expressways Bhd, Media Chinese International Ltd, Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd, KL Kepong Bhd, JobStreet Corporation Bhd, Uchi Technologies Bhd, Unisem (M) Bhd, DiGi.Com Bhd, AirAsia Bhd, Suria Capital Holdings Bhd and YTL Power International Bhd.

Looking at the sectoral changes for reported profits, the numbers were relatively positive in absolute terms. CY10 reported earnings were cut for five (eight previously) out of 18 categories.

Earnings were reduced most for the insurance, oil and gas, technology and telco sectors. We upped our forecasts for 10 sectors, against five previously, with the upgrades coming mainly from the gaming, auto, conglo and F&B sectors. For CY11, we scaled back our earnings numbers for five sectors (seven previously) while raising them for eight categories (seven previously).
Since the big jump in profit forecast in November 2009, earnings estimates have been creeping up for CY10 and spiked up again in August 2010. Consensus forecasts were similar but August EPS still trails behind that of May. For CY11, both our and consensus forecasts have shown a gradual upgrade in recent months.

We expect EPS to rebound a strong 30% in CY10, still higher than consensus growth estimate which has bounced back from 14% three months back to 24%. Our CY11/12 growth forecast of 13% is also ahead of consensus. Our EPS forecasts are 1%-6% above consensus estimates.

The KLCI net profit growth to nominal GDP growth ratio for 2010/11 is in positive territory. We still believe that the figures are achievable as we are coming out of an economic recession, and the same pattern was seen in 1999 after two consecutive years of earnings contraction. However, the ratio should be declining for future years as growth moderates.

The Malaysian economy grew, albeit at a slower pace of 8.9% y-o-y in 2Q (10.1% in 1Q), thanks to continuing high domestic consumption, investment amid slower exports. The 2Q10 GDP growth was a shade higher than our estimate of 8.6% but markedly above consensus (7.9%). On q-o-q basis, real GDP growth was 3.5% in 2Q (-2.6% in 1Q). In 1H10, real GDP strengthened 9.5% (-5.1% in 1H09). Domestic demand continued to propel growth, with private consumption providing a strong lift to 2Q10 GDP. Consumer spending rose 7.9%, much higher than 5.1% in 1Q. Total fixed investment also picked up steam, expanding 12.9% in 2Q (5.4% in 1Q) largely on continuing fiscal support while private investment activity also increased.

Net trade had a negative impact on 2Q10 GDP growth as import growth outpaced that of exports. Gross exports grew at a slower pace of 13.8% y-o-y in 2Q (19.3% in 1Q), lower than import growth of 21.9% (27.5% in 1Q). As such, net trade contributed to a pullback in GDP growth, subtracting 5.3% percentage points (ppts) from 2Q10’s GDP growth (-2.7 ppts in 1Q). Also, inventory restocking added 6.3 ppts to overall growth (+8.1 ppts in 1Q).

We expect inventory correction to weigh down GDP growth in 2H10. The services sector showed 7.3% expansion in 2Q (8.5% in 1Q) while the manufacturing sector grew 15.9% (17% in 1Q), followed by the construction (4.1%), agriculture (2.4%) and mining (1.9%) sectors.

The 2Q10 GDP data underscore our view that the strong rebound peaked in 1Q as the effects of fiscal measures and inventory restocking fade in 2H10. The bottom line remains that the growth outlook for the Malaysian economy is still positive but growth will be at a more sustainable pace in 2H10. A softer global environment, coupled with the diminishing low-base effect, is expected to restrain export growth in 2H10. Higher interest rates are expected to cool household demand. As such, we estimate real GDP growth to slow to around 5% in 2H10 from 9.5% in 1H10, taking this year’s GDP estimate to 7%. For 2011, we maintain our real GDP growth estimate of 5.5%.

The 2Q10 results season disappointed as the revision ratio fell from 1.1 times to 0.9 time. This was a negative surprise for us as it comes on top of the relatively uninspiring major results seasons in February and May. This means that positive earnings surprises for the broader market could be dissipating and market EPS remains driven primarily by the larger caps, particularly the banks. The banking sector has largely topped expectations and lifted market EPS for four-five quarters in a row.

In view of the mixed August results season, we are keeping our end-2010 KLCI target of 1,450 points which is based on an unchanged 2011 P/E of around 14 times. The strong YTD performance of the KLCI, stoked in recent weeks by foreign funds, could take a pause before picking up pace later in the year. We now introduce our end-2011 KLCI target of 1,520 points, based on 13 times 2012 EPS or a 15% discount to the three-year moving average P/E of 15.3 times to factor in global uncertainties as well as a gradual slowdown in the domestic economy and market EPS growth.

The 1,520-point target implies a P/BV of 2.2 times, close to the mid-cycle P/BV of 2.3 times. We maintain our Overweight stance on Malaysia in light of the potential catalysts of 1) the disclosure of Part 2 of the New Economic Model, 2) the award of 10th Malaysia Plan construction contracts, especially the mammoth RM36 billion MRT project, and 3) the announcement of the 2011 Budget in 4Q.

Nonetheless, we remain optimistic about stockmarket prospects for 2H10 as domestic newsflow on policy liberalisation and transformation programmes will remain strong. There should be low-lying fruits for the reaping during the period and potentially spilling over to 1H2011 as well. Also, Malaysia’s low-beta defensive qualities, strengthening ringgit (US$:RM exchange forecast to hit 3.05 by end-2010) and recent inclusion in China’s QDII are factors that should encourage continued inflows for the market. Already, we have seen net foreign purchases of Malaysian equities boosting foreign ownership in July to 20.8%, the highest level since October 2009. This is positive as slight inflows could have a significant impact on stock prices given the market’s relatively low liquidity.

Longer term, however, the true test of the government’s ability to deliver on transformation promises made is likely to be seen only from 2H2011 onwards. Any misses on this front could be a sore disappointment for the market. Although progress made so far has been encouraging, particularly on the Government Transformation Programme, we should not underestimate resistance to change from certain quarters. Already, there is frustration over changes in policy on sports betting, GST and petrol price hike. It is imperative that the government’s efforts to liberalise the economy and transform both the government and the economy yield results as the next general elections must be held by mid-2013.

We have removed the oil and gas sector from our preferred sector picks after downgrading Petra Perdana and Wah Seong due to their poor results. We continue to like the banking sector for its heavy weighting in the market and its stronger-than-expected performance over the past year. The sector continues to anchor earnings growth for the broader market. The rubber glove sector has come under some selling pressure of late due to hiccups in earnings as a result of high latex prices. We believe the earnings hiccup is temporary and weakness in share prices provide investors with a cheaper entry point.

Banking — We maintain our Overweight rating on the banking sector given the positive earnings outlook. Banks rank among the key beneficiaries of the economic recovery, which will lead to increased business activities and investment banking deal flow. We envisage a better operating environment in 2010, with projected loan growth of 11%-12% (versus 7.8% in 2009) and stable gross NPL ratios of 3.7%-3.8%. This, coupled with healthy growth in non-interest income, will help banks to achieve our projected net profit growth of about 26% in 2010. The potential share price triggers are (1) strong earnings growth, (2) increase in investment banking income, (3) stronger growth potential for overseas operations, especially in Indonesia, and (4) potential GP write-backs.

Construction — Investor sentiment on the construction sector is likely to remain positive in the coming months. This is backed by recent news-flow suggesting that the implementation of projects (public and PFI) is underway, which also addresses concerns over execution. Several tenders have closed since the beginning of the year, suggesting that project awards, both public and private sector jobs, will be a key theme for the sector in 2H10. We expect the government to press ahead with the award of rural infrastructure projects (East Malaysia), IWTS, and PFI jobs, ahead of mega projects like the LRT extension/upgrade. The likely approval and rollout of the proposed RM36 billion MRT project will be a bonus for the sector. We continue to Overweight the construction sector, with WCT and Gamuda as our top picks.

Rubber gloves — We remain positive on the rubber glove sector in view of the sustainability of demand and the manufacturers’ pricing power. The Malaysian rubber glove sector is advancing well ahead of its competitors from other countries, thanks to continuous innovations in glove technology and manufacturing process. We retain our Overweight stance on the rubber glove sector as demand remains resilient regardless of the condition of the global economy. All the glove stocks under our coverage remain as Outperforms.
Potential re-rating catalysts include the continuing uptick in demand from the healthcare industry, ongoing capacity expansion and strong earnings growth. Supermax and Latexx remain our top picks. We like Supermax as prospects for the company are improving thanks to its growing OBM segment as well as potential earnings growth from upcoming capacity expansion plans. Potential share price triggers for Latexx include improving earnings ability, driven by its major expansion plans and move towards premium products.

In the past three months, we had far more downgrades than upgrades. We upgraded several media companies and downgraded quite a few plantation stocks. All in all, the number of stocks we upgraded edged up to eight (seven leading up to May) while the number downgraded rose to 14 (eight leading up to May). The downgrade-to-upgrade ratio was 1.75:1 in August against 1.1:1 in May. The greater number of downgrades is due to a combination of weaker-than-expected results and strong share price performances which stretched valuations.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, September 3 2010.

Capital flight - April to June 2010

 

Lee Wei Lian's article in the Malaysian Insider today will give you a mindful and eyeful of what is occurring in the economics of the country.

The trend continues from the earlier quarter, so it seems.

Malaysians invested more money abroad than what the country managed to attract as foreign direct investment in the second quarter of this year,  a CIMB report revealed  today.

Direct investment abroad (DIA) by Malaysian companies came in at RM6.2 billion, out-pacing the RM5.9 billion in foreign direct investment into the country.

The flow of money heading out in the second quarter saw a sharp increase from the first quarter of this year when only RM3.8 billion was recorded as DIA.

In the first quarter, Malaysia managed to attract RM5.1 billion in foreign investments, compared with the RM3.8 billions Malaysians invested abroad.

While Malaysians are sending more money abroad, Malaysia’s balance of payments deficit dropped sharply from RM19.6 billion in the first quarter to RM1.9 billion in the second quarter of the year.

“Overall, the strength of financial account remains weak and a sustained net inflow of capital would depend on the successful implementation of the New Economic Model (NEM) and Tenth Malaysia Plan,” said the CIMB report.

The Najib administration has been trying to open up the economy in a bid to make it a high income nation but was met with opposition from conservative vocal Malay rights group Perkasa which wants the status quo maintained despite widespread criticism that four decades of affirmative action has made the nation uncompetitive.

The government will also have to address the persistent net investment outflows as domestic private investment is a key element in its developed high income nation strategy.

The National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) had submitted Part Two of the New Economic Model (NEM) to the Prime Minister today.

The second and final report from the NEAC was reported to contain 53 key policy measures aimed at eliminating cross-cutting barriers to a high income, sustainable and inclusive economy by 2020. It will be incorporated into the Economic Transformation Programme report to be released next month.

The research report noted that the reduction in balance of payments deficit was largely due to a marked reduction in errors and omission outflows (E&O).

The second quarter RM18.8 billion in E&O was down from RM30.5 billion in the first quarter, reflecting smaller foreign exchange revaluation losses as the ringgit appreciated moderately against major foreign currencies.

The CIMB report also noted that the nation’s current account surplus almost halved to RM16.2 billion in the second quarter from RM30.4 billion in the first quarter due to a lower trade surplus in goods amid widening services outflows.

“Reflecting a softer global demand, we expect the current account surplus will narrow further in the second half,” said the report.

It estimated current account surplus for 2010 to be RM103.2 billion or 13.7 per cent of GDP down from RM107.7 billion or 14.3 per cent of GDP previously.

The report said that E&O as a percentage of total merchandise trade and excluding foreign exchange revaluation had widened to between 4 and 6 per cent in the first half of the year as compared with 0.3 and 3 per cent during the period 2001-2009.

“As a rule of thumb, an “E&O” of not more than 5.0 per cent of total merchandise trade suggests no strong evidence of massive capital flight,” said the report.

The Legend Lives On!

The 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival will honour Bruce Lee.

Lee remains a legendary figure in the worlds of both martial arts and film thirty years after his demise.

“The 70th Anniversary: Bruce Lee to the Future” tribute will be part of the Winds of Asia Middle-East section at the festival where Bruce will be brought back to prominence again. Once more, we are reminded of his mark both in the world of action movies and in the martial arts.

Bruce only acted in 4 films namely, The Big Boss, The Fists of Fury, The Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon. The last film, Game of Death, remained uncompleted at his death and had to be re-edited for a quiet release.