KL must boost competitiveness

KL must boost competitiveness

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has to make its corporate sector more competitive and draw in more foreign investment to sustain its economic growth, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday.

In its annual report, Moody's maintained its Baa1 rating and stable outlook for Malaysia, citing an improved external financial position and a resilient electronics sector in the face of global volatility.

The agency said Malaysia was expected to record its sixth current account surplus this year, although it was likely to be lower than previous years.

Its liquidity position was also healthy as short-term external debt fell to a low level, while progress in corporate restructuring and a strengthened banking system further supported the ratings, it said.

But Moody's noted the economy has been hit by the global slowdown in demand for electronics products and by low levels of capital inflows. -- AFP

;AFP; ANPAf..r.. Moneymatter-China-jail-scam China jails six in financial scam JP/16/

China jails six in financial scam

SHANGHAI: China jailed six people involved in a scam to manipulate share prices of Shenzhen China Venture Capital Co, now known as Kangda'er Group, after a 10-month investigation and trial, state press reported on Wednesday.

The criminal sentences handed down by the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, mark the first time defendants in a stock manipulation case have been jailed, the China Daily said.

The six were sentenced to terms of up to four years in prison and fined up to 500,000 yuan (US$60,000) each, the newspaper reported, without providing further details.

Lu Xinjian and Zhu Huanling, considered the group's ringleaders, have fled the country and are still at large.

Meanwhile, Shanghai Huayua Industrial Development Co. was fined 23 million yuan for helping Lu raise 770 million yuan to fund his illegal activities.

Investors who lost money as a result of the stock rigging scheme will not be entitled to compensation because the court said the case was a criminal matter.

Courts have rejected plaintiff submissions for a civil compensation lawsuit, the report said. -- AFP

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Roh says no stimulus for economy

SEOUL: President Roh Moo-Hyun on Wednesday ruled out a stimulus package for South Korea's slowing economy, saying the step could trigger negative side-effects such as higher consumer and real estate prices.

"The economy is in a difficult situation. But the government will not take any short-term stimulus steps as it will trigger higher consumer prices and real estate prices," he said in a speech to the National Assembly.

Roh pledged that his administration would succeed in stabilizing real estate and consumer prices while continuing to push ahead with economic reforms.

The reformist president also said the economy is overcoming the shock of an accounting scandal at SK Global, the trading arm of SK Group, South Korea's third biggest conglomerate.

"If there had been no reforms, our economy would have collapsed again at the SK Global shock," he told legislators.

A third straight monthly trade deficit announced Tuesday was the latest in a series of bad news affecting South Korea's economy.

Consumer confidence tumbled to an 18-month low on Monday while consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than two years in March. -- AFP

;AFP; ANPAf..r.. Moneymatter-Singapore-manufacture-down S'pore manufacturing index down JP/16/

S'pore manufacturing index down

SINGAPORE: A leading indicator of Singapore's manufacturing sector declined for the first time in 12 months on weaker demand, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) said on Wednesday.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for March fell 0.7 points over the previous month to 49.7 "on lower new orders, a contraction in new export orders, a further contraction in production output, as well as further contraction in employment," the SIPMM said.

A reading below 50 points shows that production in the island's manufacturing industry shrank.

In the electronics sector, which accounts for nearly half of the output in manufacturing, the index declined 1.4 points to 49.4, snapping a four-month expansion streak.

Manufacturing is a crucial pillar of the Singapore economy, accounting for almost a quarter of the island's gross domestic product.

The bulk of output from the sector is exported to the world's major economies, particularly to the United States and the March PMI reading will likely add to fears the island will be hit hard by the fallout from the war in Iraq and a killer respiratory virus sweeping across the world. -- AFP