Upliftment of Trading Restrictions on Fima Securities

Kuala Lumpur, 26 July 1999

Fima Securities Sdn Bhd ("Fima"), formerly known as Capitalcorp Securities Sdn Bhd, is allowed to continue full trading as a licensed dealer with effect from 27 July 1999. The decision by the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange ("KLSE") to uplift the restrictions was reached after the company had regularised its financial position to the satisfaction of the Securities Commission ("SC") and KLSE. With the upliftment of the trading restrictions, Fima may resume normal trading activities as allowed under the Rules of the KLSE.

Fima is the first broker under the SC-Danaharta broker scheme to have had its trading restrictions removed since the introduction of this scheme, which was first announced on 3 November 1998. The SC views this as a notable achievement in ongoing efforts to resolve the problems of troubled brokers.

The trading restrictions had been imposed on Fima since 1 December 1997 following its failure to comply with the capital and other prudential standards of the securities laws and KLSE Rules. Special Administrators were subsequently appointed to the company on 4 January 1999 by Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd ("Danaharta"). The regularisation of Fima's financial position came about following the successful implementation of a workout proposal formulated by the Special Administrators.

As part of the workout plan, Fima has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent Financial Monitoring Accountant to monitor the performance of the company and the implementation of the workout proposal to further ensure the financial health of the company.

The SC continues to review the progress of the broker scheme and expects that the other ten brokers under Danaharta-appointed Special Administrators will also see a timely resolution.

SECURITIES COMMISSION MALAYSIA

Issued on behalf of the Securities Commission by Corporate Affairs Department. For assistance, please contact Soh Beng Choo at tel. no. (603) 654 8625 or Azmi Hariss Ibrahim at tel. no. (603) 654 8184 or fax no. (603) 651 5078.

Background information:

The Securities Commission (SC), a statutory body reporting to the Minister of Finance, was established under the Securities Commission Act 1993. It is the sole regulatory agency for the regulation and development of capital markets. The SC has direct responsibility for supervising and monitoring the activities of market institutions, including the exchanges and clearing houses, and regulating all persons licensed under the Securities Industry Act 1983 and Futures Industry Act 1993.

More information about the SC is available on its homepage at www.sc.com.my