Malaysian share prices closed 0.47 percent higher on Wednesday on a technical rebound, dealers said. They said stocks linked to the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in the southern Johor state posted strong gains, after Singapore pledged to help Malaysia develop the multi-billion-dollar project.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index was up 6.31 points at 1,352.41 on turnover of 1.014 billion shares worth 2.027 billion ringgit (596.2 million dollars) while winners led losers 627 to 251, with 281 stocks unchanged. At the close, the ringgit was quoted at 3.4008/4058 to the dollar.
"We saw a broad-based rebound led by stocks linked to the Iskandar Development Region (IDR)," said Teoh Cheng Guan, head of retail research at Kenanga Investment Bank.
Both Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong had an informal two-day meeting on the resort island of Langkawi aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
Abdullah said he had pitched for investment from Singapore to develop the massive IDR project in southern Johor state into a major regional hub. At the close, UEM World, which owns a sizeable landbank in the IDR, added 0.20 ringgit to 3.96 and unit UEM Builder gained 0.08 ringgit to 1.54. Index heavyweights, Tenaga added 0.10 ringgit to 11.60, Maybank gained 0.10 ringgit to 12.50, while Telekom Malaysia fell 0.10 ringgit to 10.20.