Sedutan sebahagian daripada rencana the Age (9/9/2000) dan AsiaWise (18/5/2001) mengenai Malaysia. Rencana the Age tersebut ditulis ketika Daim mengeluh langkahnya dipinda - dan rencana Asiawise mendedahkan bagaimana Maybank sedang bergelut dengan NPL hasil perkahwinan yang kelihatan seperti dipaksa namun kerap digambarkan sebagai 'suka sama suka'. Sudah tentu hutang lapuk itu akan menjejaskan prestasi bank tersebut dan saham-sahamnya apatah lagi sekarang musim demam MSCI dan harga saham menurun dengan banyaknya yang menjadi kolateral dalam bank ini dan bank yang telah ditelannya. BSKL adalah antara bursa yang paling teruk terjejas di rantau ini dan ia dijangka terjejas lagi dengan paparan baru MSCI. Ini bermakna nilai saham kolateral yang dipegang oleh bank semakin tidak berharga.

CDRC dijangka akan dibubarkan pada tahun 2000 lagi kerana berjaya menelan atau bermain hutang bersama rakan-rakannya Danamodal dan Danaharta tetapi apa yang berlaku sekarang CDRC telah diperpanjangkan lagi hayatnya baru-baru ini kerana NPL sudah meningkat. dan masih ada RM9 bilion terjerat.

Ini membayangkan penyakit masih ada ia cuma disembunyikan sahaja atau tidak dirawat dalam artikata yang sebenarnya kerana kuman tersayang masih ada dan tetap dipelihara. Jika ekonomi Malaysia sudah segar dan bugar, sudah lama kesemua agensi ini dibubarkan sahaja. Malah LRT sudah lama diselamatkan tanpa tertangguh tempohnya. Ini menunjukkan Malaysia masih parah tercedera dan sedang menuju lumpuh yang tiada taranya seperti nasib yang menimpa Anwar juga kerana rawatan yang sebenarnya oleh pakar sengaja diketepikan demi menjaga imej dan ego seorang diktator yang sudah tua. Akibatnya - ramai akan hidup merana kerana bank yang sudah tercedera itu tentunya sudah sukar memberi pinjaman kepada sesiapa termasuk kepada penyokong kuat UMNO juga. Ia sudah tidak semudah dulu lagi kerana bank pun sakit juga.

-Ulasan Kapal Berita-

http://www.theage.com.au/bus/20000909/ A54881-2000Sep8.html

Asians struggle to clean up their acts

By MICHAEL BACKMAN

Saturday 9 September 2000

Malaysia set up three important agencies to swiftly deal with the effect of the economic crisis. Danaharta was established to buy non-performing loans from the financial sector. Danamodal was set up to recapitalise financial institutions, and the Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee (CDRC) was established to help troubled corporate debtors work through their debts with creditors.

Many commentators within and outside Malaysia have commented on the efficiency and speed with which these bodies acted. Banks were recapitalised almost immediately, non-performing loans were reduced from almost 20 per cent to 7.9 per cent six months ahead of schedule. The CDRC is likely toclose by the end of this year because it will have finished its job.

Despite Malaysia's relative success in climbing out of recession, reform has not been the steady onwards march it could have been.

Late last year, finance minister Daim Zainuddin announced a plan to force Malaysia's 58 financial institutions to merge into six groups.

The idea was to create large banks with strong capital bases so they better compete in the age of globalisation.

Several key bankers bitterly protested to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, including one who broke down in tears. Dr Mahathir subsequently reversed much of the plan.

Earlier this year Mr Daim announced a plan to force the country's 64 stockbroking firms to merge into 15 larger brokers.

Under intense lobbying from the business sector, this plan also was reversed.

"The government has now bought itself a huge problem," Mr Daim said. The backdowns have shown how easily the government can be pressured by vested interests.

"Malaysians are not ready for globalisation," added Mr Daim. "Everyone in business wants his niche. When globalisation comes, Kuala Lumpur will be full of niches."

http://www.asiawise.com/mainpage.asp?
mainaction=50&articleid=1663

The Malaise in Southeast Asia's Markets [Portions]

By Nigel Elder, AsiaWise

18 May 2001 10:30 (GMT +08:00)

While many bourses around the world have started to show tentative signs of a recovery, Southeast Asia has continued to struggle. There is still a lack of confidence over the state of the region's banks as they have largely failed to eradicate their high levels of bad debts. With the soundness of the financial structure open to question, overseas investors have opted to ignore the region and have chosen safer, more solid markets.

Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) has been one of the worst performing markets this year, extending the downtrend it has been in since the beginning of last year. It is now trading at 24-month lows and looks set to head even lower. The 61.8% retracement line is providing some support, although it would not be a surprise to see this broken. The inability to mount any sort of rally at these levels, despite the strengthening world markets, does not bode well and could see the index test its March 1999 lows of 500.

The index's main problem has been worries over the weighting changes in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). The index is dependent on a handful of large-cap stocks and the likely cut in the big-caps with smaller free floats will weigh heavily on the index. Firms like Tenaga Nasional and Telekom Malaysia are under the most pressure because of this, although the sell-off has not been limited to these two stocks alone. Other index heavyweights like Maybank and Berjaya Sports have also seen their shares fall by over 60% in the last two months on growing concerns over their debt situation.

Maybank's mergers with PhileoAllied Bank and Pacific Bank have resulted in an increase in the bank's bad debt provisions -- on top of a 54% decrease in net income in the third quarter. There has also been an increase in nonperforming loans and that is further pressuring the stock, although the majority of the increase has come from the mergers.

Berjaya Sports holds a high level of corporate loans and that has investors shying away from the stock due to perceptions of poor management at the company. Although management is attempting to reduce the loans, the measures taken have been more dilutive than beneficial to the company, which has yet to see a rebound in its share price.

http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/010520/15/pmsi.html

Sunday May 20, 2:03 PM

`Malaysia CDRC Chmn: Panel's Life May Be Extended - Report

KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Malaysia's state-backed Corporate Debt Restructuring Committee, or CDRC, may continue to operate beyond June if its task isn't completed by then, The Star newspaper reported Sunday, quoting Chairman C.Rajandram.

Rajandram said more companies had applied for the panel's help to resolve their debt problems due to poor market conditions in the last few months.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange's benchmark Composite Index has lost about one-quarter of its value since February.

"We will walk out when we have solved the problems and there are no more applications," Rajandram was quoted saying in the report.

"Initially, we had looked at a certain period. But this may be extended if all the issues are not resolved by then," he said.

"As long as the corporate and banking sector requires our mediating role, we will continue to play our part," he added.

Rajandram said the panel has eight outstanding applications with debts worth 9 billion ringgit ($1=MYR3.80).

Last month, the central bank said the CDRC had resolved 44 cases with debts totaling MYR27.6 billion as at end-March.

The Malaysian government set up the CDRC, and two other agencies - Danaharta Nasional to acquire non-performing loans, and Danamodal Nasional to recapitalize banks - in 1998 to help companies and banks hurt by the Asian financial crisis.