Securities Commission should explain why institutional manipulation of the KLCI had been allowed to go on unchecked for the past few months through massive buys of TMT stocks in the last few minutes before the end of trading

Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang 

(Petaling Jaya, Monday): On Saturday, I had called on the  Securities Commission to explain whether it had investigated and found any market manipulation in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index (KLCI) soaring by 13.18 points in the last 30 seconds of trading on Wednesday (21.3.2001).

The local bourse had earlier in the day plunged to a 23-month low in early trading when investors dumped heavyweights.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index fell to the day's low of 638.5 points before rebounding strongly to close at 673.24 after institutional buying on the Big Three "TMT" stocks - Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd - especially in the last three minutes of trading.  The Three "TMT" stocks are government-controlled and represent about 35 percent of the weightage of KLCI  giving considerable leverage to the government to manipulate the composite index.

It has been conservatively estimated that RM19 million worth of purchases took place in the last three minutes on Wednesday for the Big Three "TMT" stocks to push up the KLCI to close at 673.24.

I have now been informed that such institutional manipulation of the KLCI through the massive purchase of TMT stocks in the last few minutes before the end of trading had been going on for the past few months.
 
On Friday  (23.3.2001) for instance, Maybank was pushed up 30 sen in the last 30 seconds with over RM7 million institutional purchases, as illustrated by the following transactions:
 

 
Tenaga was up 10 cents only in the last two minutes, but the volume done in the last two minutes was 405 lots @ RM12.50, totalling RM5.062 million.
 
Telekom upped 30  sen in the last 30 seconds of closing after institutional purchases of RM4.112 million comprising:
   
As a result of the RM16 million institutional interventions through the TMT stocks in the last two minutes before the end of closing on Friday, the KLCI was pushed up two points in the last 30 seconds of trading from 667.26 at 4.59 p.m. to 669.27 at 5 p.m.
 
The Securities Commission should explain why institutional manipulation of the KLCI had been allowed to go on unchecked for the past few months through massive buys of TMT stocks in the last few minutes before the end of trading and the Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin should give a special report on such institutional market manipulation of the KLCI through last-minute multi-million ringgit purchases of the TMT stocks in Parliament tomorrow.
 
(26/3/2001)
*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman