CIMB's RM1.5bil bonds 2.6 times subscribed

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Bank Bhd's five-year RM1.5bil nominal value subordinated bonds was 2.6 times subscribed.

The bank said on Monday, the investors comprised of asset managers, insurance companies, statutory bodies, financial institutions and private banking investors.

The issue was launched with an initial size of RM1bil but was subsequently increased to RM1.5bil due to strong investor demand.

"Proceeds from the issue will be used for CIMB Bank's working capital purposes, which include refinancing the RM300mil subordinated debt redeemed in November 2007, as well as another US$300mil in subordinated debt which is callable in October 2008," it said.

CIMB Bank said the strong demand from investors amidst current market conditions further demonstrated investors' confidence in CIMB Bank.

It said this followed its recent upgraded senior rating to AA+ by Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd (MARC) and the issue rating of AA for the subordinated bonds.

"The success of this transaction also demonstrates the level of maturity and sophistication of the ringgit domestic currency debt capital markets as a reliable funding source for high grade Malaysian corporates," said CIMB's group chief executive Datuk Nazir Razak

URL: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...03&sec=business

guys...my public china select fund PCSF is going to the dogs...switching will mean selling it in the shit state that it is in now!!!!! what do i do .... it has been around only 8 months now.. too soon to speak you say? well at the peak of its drop last November ..i had my brilliant plan of leaving it as its to early ..and the same thing i said after elections...............its has been down hill all the way mate.!!!!!.. is there a light at the end of this "mining disaster in China"..... i need some expert advice? or any advice...... do you think it will recover...for sure the political situation here is only gonna get worse and the strengthening of the dollar in recent weeks is not helping either!!!

what do i do?????
i know i sound crazy ..but lets just say i have a lot to loose ..more like putting a bullet through my head situation..

Cheers!!!

should topup now. buy more PCSF.
the principle buy low sell high.

Remain Calm To All Investor

In the wake of the turbulence of stock markets in recent months, unit trust investors may be tempted to either sell or buy. However, investors are advised to remain calm and practise dollar cost averaging with their long-term goals in view.

When regional and global markets succumbed to panic selling in August 2007 and more recently in January 2008, the severity and sharpness of the correction was large enough to make unit trust investors ask themselves whether they should redeem now to stem further losses or buy more units at currently low prices. In fact, if they practise dollar cost averaging, they need not concern themselves with these timing issues. Dollar cost averaging enables investors to automatically buy more units when prices fall and fewer units when prices rise.

It is especially during times of market volatility that individual investors should remain focused on their long-term investment goals and keep their emotions from influencing their investment decisions. A disciplined and methodical approach to investing is the key to long-term investment success.

Unit trust investors are advised to buy and hold their investments for the medium to long term. The buy-and-hold principle is based on the notion that a good investment will generate reasonably attractive returns over the medium to long term. This also means that investors are able to distinguish between daily movements in the market and the underlying long-term value of their investments. Professional fund managers buy and hold for the medium to long term as they are prepared to wait patiently over several years for their investments to reach their intrinsic or fair values. For the unit trust investor, the 'buy-and-hold' strategy can also be applied by holding on to a well-selected unit trust fund over a period of at least three years.

There are some investors who believe they can achieve superior returns by timing the purchase and redemption of equity funds to profit from the stockmarket's short-term movements. These investors are tempted to engage in timing the market especially in an environment where equity markets are volatile. Such investors who wish to make quick gains in the stock market by switching from one fund into another fund will often be disappointed. Market timing strategies that are often recommended by 'investment experts' have seldom been successful. This is because stock markets are inherently volatile and are impossible to predict with numerous factors, both domestic and foreign, affecting daily and weekly fluctuations in stock prices.

Investors who wish to take a more active approach with their investments by timing the market will expose themselves to many risks. In order to profit from the market's short-term trends, the investor has to correctly predict the market's trend and its turning points.

Without the appropriate skills to discern signals and time the entries and exits, the market timer may not only miss opportunities, but also potentially suffer the blow of rapid losses. Also with a higher frequency of fund switching, investors will have to incur increased transaction costs.

Investors who are concerned about market volatility are advised to practise dollar cost averaging as this strategy enables investors to focus on the long-term investment goal and not worry about the prevailing level of the market. Dollar cost averaging is simply investing a fixed amount of money in a financial asset (such as a unit trust fund) on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, biannual) regardless of the market cycle. By investing a fixed amount on a regular basis, investors will buy more units when the market is lower and fewer units when the market is higher. This strategy will produce a lower average cost of investment than the average market price over any given period.

In addition, investors are also advised to rebalance their portfolios regularly at least once a year to ensure that their portfolio allocation reflects their investment objectives and risk profile. Thus if, as a result of an uptrend in stock prices, an investor's equity exposure has exceeded a level consistent with his risk tolerance, he can trim a portion of the equity funds and switch into bond or money market funds to rebalance the asset allocation accordingly. Maintaining a target asset allocation reduces the risk that the portfolio becomes too concentrated in a single asset class.

In conclusion, unit trust investors should always focus on achieving their medium to long-term investment goals. The practice of dollar cost averaging and regular portfolio rebalancing are effective tools that help investors remain focused on the long term horizon and prevent them from over-reacting to short-term movements of the stockmarket.

Copyright 2008 by Public Mutual



This post has been edited by MX510: Mar 25 2008, 05:32 PM

keep it first... bear in mind Unit trust concepts are long term investments...

have you consider topping up?

hi,

I just want your opinion about investing money in some 'koperasi' is it just the same as investing in the unit trust.

My friend that works at Koperasi Taqwa said that it is more convenience than other unit trust.

Move to boost non-ringgit bonds

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government's proposal to liberalise the bond market approval framework announced at the launch of Invest Malaysia 2008 may see the issuance of more non-ringgit denominated debt.

The liberalisation would involve the extension of the "deemed approved" process to all domestic or foreign issuers that have been rated AAA by domestic rating agencies or a minimum BBB rating by foreign agencies.

The "deemed approved" process would also be extended for the issuance of non-ringgit bonds by all local and foreign issuers with a minimum BBB rating by foreign agencies.

Additionally, ringgit bond issuers that have been accorded "deemed approved" status would be exempted from trust deed and trustee requirements.

Currently, there is an existing "green lane" process for bond offerings made by highly-rated bond issuers in which such issuances were "deemed approved" and issuers only had to submit applications to the Securities Commission as a matter of formality.

According to Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd vice-president and head of fixed income research Tan Chee Wee, this was done to encourage the issuance of non-ringgit denominated securities, which was currently minimal compared with ringgit-denominated securities.

He said according to Practice Note 1A issued by Bursa Malaysia, non-ringgit denominated bonds had to have a rating of at least A- for it to be fast-tracked.

Tan was commenting on the speech by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at yesterday's Invest Malaysia 2008 launch.

"As of January 2008, the corporate debt market has RM208.8bil outstanding while the government debt market has RM225.2bil outstanding," Tan told StarBiz.

He said the measures to liberalise the approval framework would also increase the market size, making it more competitive and vibrant.

Tan said there was no question of the bonds' quality despite the liberalised approval framework.

"They'll still have to go through the rating agencies first where the bonds will be assessed on risks and then the Securities Commission will go through the reports," he added.

RAM Rating Services Bhd managing director Wong Fook Wah said in an e-mail statement that the company welcomed the establishment of a third rating agency in the country.

"We welcome another agency, especially if there are credible shareholders to ensure the new agency operates on international standards like RAM. Competition is good for the market," he said.

Wong was commenting on the Government's proposal to allow the establishment of a third rating agency in the country.

URL: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...57&sec=business

yes, suprise some people treat it as stock, those short term investment ...

The other question is - how safe it is compared to UT.

Invest in UT or "koperasi", it is basically all about trust, aka you trust them to handle your money.

There is some crisis of "koperasi" during 70's to 80's. Ask you parent or older ages people will know.

I am not sure what's provided for UT in Malaysia, however in SG, service provider provides UT buyers with chart and some form of tools for analysis. I am long into UT, but buying in and selling out over a certain horizon period. Say holding for few to several months and then selling off... wait for correction and go in again... if nothing really matter, will just hold for long period of time including the correction unless there is a reversal in trend like now. ... but will buy back when the timing is right or when I am more comfortible with the situation.

To me its a matter of timing. I had done this several times over the last 8 yrs. My last selling, before Dec 08 when oil price cross US$100..... and I had been waery of data coming out of US and was aware about 2008. So in 2007 some where towards the end of the year, I was already monitoring closely. then decided enough is enough... sold all my holdings including stock. I believe if you spend some time and do your home work, there is hope, like myself. In SG, UT is available online and charges is as low as 1.5%. So I don't need to go to agent to buy any and let them earn my commission.

I had learn my lesson over these several years of investing.. However, I tend to have better of luck in UT investment except through agent where I lost quite an amount but can't do anything. My last sell off for UT, I lost something like SG$1.5k in 3 funds averaging 10%. seeing something not right in hte market. I am still tracking these funbs because my online service provider provide benchmark lost tracking update via email.... I am glad I sold... average lost for these 3 funds is >20% (biggest lost >40% for 1 fund)

Whatever is written in that article, although make senses, I don't really buy that story because if I can do it, so are you. Its unlike Stock, you can't rush it... but certainly, you can do is watch the trend. 2007 UT investment profit for me ~ 15% and that too was after a correction, highest ever UT profit, 69% in <1 yr (total ~$15K)... If I hold on to it.... I think its all gone case now... You be your own judge and decide the next best action.... Sometimes, its wise not to see too much into what you loose, once sold, move over and forget it. try another time buy when market sentiment turns for the better,. you can always make profit again to cover lost... but remember, you will decide when to cut lost and take profit.. thats what I had done over these 8 yrs.

Loose some $$, hoping to buy lower when prices drop further. To hold on?.. when it bleed further and loose even more, then buy more to average the pricing? yes and no... decisiveness is important to further reduce lost... like what I did.. there is no perfect formula, but its all but YOU

Hi rhoads,
We as consultants would try our best to always advise our clients to invest only 'what you can afford to lose', not what you need in the near term. It is also meant to say that we only get our clients to invest the amount of money that is not needed for at least 5 years and above, because we believe that the risk of losing will be reduced severely at the end of 5 years. If you plan to use the money within these 5 years, do not invest them in unit trust.
Now since your money is in there and if you really need to use it, then you can sell at a loss. Unless your case is not an emergency, then you can still hold PCSF for at least one year and hope to cut loss.

HwangDBS targets 6%-8% return from latest fund

KUALA LUMPUR: HwangDBS Investment Management Bhd targets an annual return of 6% to 8% for its newly launched Asia Aspire Capital Protected Fund that invests in Australian treasury bills and 10 global brands.

Chief executive officer and executive director Teng Chee Wai said that in a bullish market, the fund would invest in these global brands that would benefit from rising consumer spending and affluence among the Asian middle-class.

"We hope to capitalise on the increasing affluence of Asia's households and rising consumption of the middle-income class," he said at the launch of the fund yesterday.

The investments would be made in companies involved in the financial services, luxury fashion, consumer electronics, motor vehicles and telecommunications sectors such as Apple, Nokia, Ping An Insurance, Standard Chartered Bank and Toyota.

In a bearish market, the fund will automatically switch to defensive assets - one-month Australian treasury bills - which have a yield of 7.6% a year.

The fund is available until May 10 at selected third-arty distributors, including ABN AMRO Bank Bhd, Affin Bank Bank Bhd, Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, AmPrivate Banking, CIMB Wealth Advisors Bhd, EON Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and Standard Chartered Bank (M) Bhd.

Teng also said HwangDBS hoped to launch five to six more funds this year.

The group currently manages 26 funds with a total value of RM6bil.

URL: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...96&sec=business

COME JOIN US at Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia 2008!

We look forward to meeting you, so come and visit us at the Maybank Booth at
No. 7, Melaka International Trade Centre from Sat 19 April to Mon 28 April 2008.

Here's your chance to find out more about our Maybank products and services - from Internet Banking via Maybank2u.com, to Funding & Deposits, Credit Cards, Maybank Islamic products and Etiqa insurance. We also have some great packages and special offers for you.

So mark your calendar and join us for product promotions, educational and career talks, contests, prizes and more.

Click here to find out more about Minggu Amanah Saham Malaysia.

URL: http://www.maybank2u.com.my/highlights/msam/index.html

Launch of Public China Titans Fund (PCTF) & Public Islamic Optional Growth Fund (PIOGF)

Click on the picture for more info

Hey man...these are meant only for internal circulations...not to be publish for public.

If u wan to use the info...u have to retype the things on your own, dun take n put in here bulat-bulat

I personally feel Public Mutual has launched a lot of funds starting year 2007. And guess what, there is not-really-a-point to launch so many different types of funds just to get money from us. It's better they focus more (rather than launching new funds on an interval of a month) on the existing funds so that those existing buyers feel more confident to towards their funds...

They're the biggest player for the mean time.

Declaration of Distribution of Financial Year Ended 31st March 2008

PAGF - 15.00 sen per unit
PRSF - 10.00 sen per unit