Initiative To Spur Cross-Border Flows Welcomed
The latest industry initiative to help spur cross-border flows of syariah-compliant funds is likely to get bigger and help promote Islamic finance to the world. The formation of International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (ILM) was announced by Bank Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz at the Global Islamic Finance Forum. ILM would be able to help Islamic banks meet any liquidity shortages and pave the way for the establishment of a bigger international liquidity management consortium comprising Islamic banks. ILM is a collaborative effort by 11 central banks or monetary agencies and two multilateral organisations and will start operations in the first half of 2011. ILM will issue short-term papers in international reserve currencies, such as the US dollar and euro, as part of efforts to enhance cross-border flows. The initiative will support trade activities and establish a common denominator in business transactions.

Mutiara Goodyear Bullish On Outlook
Property developer Mutiara Goodyear Development has lined up four projects worth RM2.1b for the next 12 months. Mutiara’s Executive chairman Hamidon Abdullah said he was bullish on next year’s outlook, describing the market as buoyant. Mutiara’s new projects in Bandar Sunway, Kajang and Cyberjaya in Selangor and in Butterworth, Penang, are gated communities targeting the middle-to upper-income groups, expected to appeal to buyers looking for a safe and secure environment. “We are working with big international names to integrate green technology into the development. It will be a reference project for Penang, placing us on the map with the big boys,” Hamidon said. In the financial year ended 30 April 2010, Mutiara posted RM3.2m net profit on revenue of RM52.6m.

OSK Maintains Sell On Hai-O
OSK Research said the road to recovery for Hai-O’s multi-level marketing (MLM) business is longer than expected as membership growth and buying sentiment among members has slowed down further. Meanwhile, Hai-O announced that it is venturing into the property business, another non-core business, after diversifying into the technology business earlier. “While this could help reduce the company’s reliance on the MLM business, we are concerned that the group is taking on more risk since its MLM business is struggling to regain its footing locally and establishing itself in Indonesia. Maintain Sell,” it said.