KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on Tuesday, with the key index slipping 0.45 per cent amid a lack of catalysts and mild profit-taking following recent gains, in contrast with regional markets. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declined 7.97 points to 1,672.35 from Monday’s close of 1,680.32. The benchmark index started the day 1.91 points lower at 1,678.41 and moved between 1,667.82 and 1,679.26 throughout the day. On the broader market, gainers beat losers by 624 to 506, while some 531 counters were unchanged, 988 untraded, and 11 suspended. Turnover improved to 2.66 billion units worth RM2.76 billion against Monday’s 2.53 billion units worth RM2.40 billion.
After a long wait, finally the EPF announced the dividend for the year 2011 and it comes to many surprises at 6% as global economy is too volatile throughout the whole year. Anyway, it is a good news to majority Malaysians as the payout is slightly 0.2% higher than the year before. PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Board has declared a dividend of 6% for 2011 the highest in the last 10 years. In a statement yesterday, EPF said the dividend, an increase of 20 basis points over the 5.8% paid out in 2010, translates to RM24.47bil being distributed to its members. “2011 marks another commendable achievement for the EPF. “Despite the challenging investment landscape, it was the strongest performance since 2001 that affirms our long term and prudent investment strategy combined with continuous efforts by our investment team,” said EPF chairman Tan Sri Samsudin Osman. The dividend payout of the RM24.47bil was derived after deducting net impairment allowance on financial assets...