KUALA LUMPUR (April 19): The FBM KLCI ended a choppy trading week higher, inching up 0.14% or 2.34 points to 1,622.07, as investors reacted to speculation that the Government will revive the stalled Bandar Malaysia project.

In a statement shortly before the market close, Putrajaya confirmed that the project will be reinstated.

“The Bandar Malaysia project is definitely the biggest factor today. This is good for construction stocks too,” said TA Securities technical analyst Steven Soo.

“The index has had a choppy week but it looks to be more stable moving forward. There is plenty to look forward to provided there are no external headwinds,” Soo told theedgemarkets.com when contacted.

Shares of Ekovest Bhd and Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (IWC) rallied in afternoon trade. IWCity was in the run-up to participate as the master developer for the Bandar Malaysia project.

Both IWC and Ekovest have a common major shareholder in the form of property tycoon Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo.

Ekovest ended eight sen or 13.56% higher at 67 sen, while IWC firmed 16 sen or 18.6% to RM1.02.

Putrajaya, in its statement, said it welcomes the commitment by IWH-CREC to make an advance payment of RM500 million in addition to the original deposit sum of RM741 million to be paid within 60 days. IWH-CREC is a 60:40 joint venture between IWH and China Railway Engineering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd.

Soo said the psychological level for the KLCI is around 1,600 for now which is expected to hold for the next week.

“Next week expect it to trade in the range of up to 1,647,” he said.

A total of  2.52 billion shares valued at RM1.68 billion changed hands on Bursa Malaysia today.

Elsewhere in Asia, most indexes also closed higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% while South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.11% higher. In China, the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite rose 0.63% but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.54%.