Bursa Malaysia Registers 145% Growth In 2007 Half Year Net Profit, Declares 156% Increase In Interim Gross Dividend

Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia) today announced a net profit of RM135.2 million for the half year ended 30 June 2007, a 145% increase compared to the net profit of RM55.2 million for the corresponding period last year. The strong half year performance has also surpassed the annual net profit for 2006 which was at RM108.9 million. Bursa Malaysia also declared an interim gross dividend of 32 sen per share, a 156% increase from the gross dividend of 12.5 sen per share for the first half of 2006.

Bursa Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Yusli Mohamed Yusoff said, “The sterling performance in the last two quarters augurs well for the rest of the year. Despite the volatility, our market is still rated as one of the region’s best performing markets. The Malaysian equities and derivatives markets have continued to achieve high trading values and volumes respectively which are reflected in the Group’s increase in revenues. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index broke numerous records for the past months and our derivatives products have shown marked increase in volumes and open positions.”

Bursa Malaysia’s operating revenue for the half year ended 30 June 2007 grew by 87% to RM239.2 million from RM127.8 million in the same period last year. This growth is attributed to a buoyant and volatile equity market which traded at a daily average trading value (on-market and direct business) of RM2.7 billion compared to RM1.1 billion recorded in the corresponding period last year. The bullish equity market contributed to a strong increase in revenue from the equity market by 123% to RM164.5 million from RM73.9 million in the corresponding period last year. Additionally, velocity for the period under review rose to 62%, compared to 35% in the first half year of 2006.

On the derivatives front, the number of contracts recorded an improvement with a total of 3.2 million contracts traded in the period under review compared to 1.6 million in the previous corresponding period. The derivatives market also posted a 77% increase in trading revenue to RM23.7 million for the period ended 30 June 2007 from RM13.4 million in the first half of 2006. The uptrend was largely due to high interest in crude palm oil futures (FCPO) and Kuala Lumpur Index futures (FKLI) contracts.

Dato’ Yusli said, “On an annualised basis, our derivatives market saw a 56% growth in the volume of contracts traded and this has certainly surpassed our target of 40% this year. The heightened interest is mainly due to higher volatility of crude palm oil prices supported by the reduction of transaction fees and revision of FCPO contract specifications undertaken by the Exchange in order to accelerate market growth.”

Bursa Malaysia also declared an interim gross dividend of 32 sen per share or a net dividend of 23.36 sen per share, which represents a payout of 90% of the Group’s net profit for the period ended 30 June 2007. The payout is 15% higher than the Group’s dividend policy of minimum 75% dividend payout. The interim dividend will be paid out to its shareholders by early August 2007.

Commenting on the progress of the Group’s KPIs, Dato’ Yusli said that Bursa Malaysia is on track to meet its annual return on equity (ROE) target of 16.8%, as the annualised ROE for the half year was 31.7%.

Moving forward, Bursa Malaysia is gearing up to meet market demand in the second six months of the year. “The exchange is sharpening its strategic focus to boost market liquidity and velocity through improving trading efficiencies and access as well as broadening our product base. To further boost the market’s competitiveness, attractive products and services are already in the pipeline for the rest of the year,” added Dato’ Yusli.

The next important wave of products and services is its equity Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), US Dollar crude palm oil futures contracts, Direct Market Access and transferring the equity market to the Bursa Trade trading platform. Bursa Malaysia is also looking at launching futures on the FTSE Bursa Malaysia 30 Index (FBM30 Futures), which would enable investors to hedge and gain direct exposure to a pool of liquid and free float adjusted stocks. Additionally, Bursa Malaysia is expecting to kick off its retail market plan within the next few months.

The financial results for the first half of 2007 is available on Bursa Malaysia’s website (www.bursamalaysia.com).