10/02/2012 (Business Times) - Bursa Malaysia Bhd's (Bursa Malaysia) profit after tax and minority interest (PATMI) for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2011 rose 29 per cent to RM146.2 million from RM113 million in the same period of 2010. Total revenue rose 16 per cent to RM420.1 million, from RM361 million recorded previously.

"Our securities and derivatives markets recorded improvements in trading as a result of increased participation by both domestic and foreign investors.

"This helped us achieve a 15 per cent growth in operating revenue to RM381.3 million from RM331.3 million in 2010," said its chief executive officer Datuk Tajuddin Atan in a statement here today.

He said trading revenue from the securities market was up 15 per cent to RM193 million for the year under review compared to RM167.9 million in 2010.

On the derivatives front, Tajuddin said trading revenue in 2011 rose 36 per cent to RM51.2 million.

Total derivatives contracts traded increased by 37 per cent to 8.45 million in 2011, from 6.15 million a year earlier, while foreign and domestic participation in the market grew by 57 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Contracts traded for the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index Futures (FKLI) went up 24 per cent to 2.48 million, compared to 1.99 million in 2010.

Crude Palm Oil Futures contracts, on the other hand, increased 45 per cent to 5.87 million against 4.06 million the previous year.

Bursa Malaysia retained its position as the world's top sukuk listing destination for the third consecutive year in 2011.

As at Dec 31, 2011, 48 sukuk representing 19 programmes were listed on Bursa Malaysia by 17 issuers.

"Global demand for sukuk has remained high and in Malaysia, we continue to be encouraged by the positive outlook for sukuk issuance in 2012," he said.

Moving forward, Bursa Malaysia will continue to identify collaborative opportunities to improve the market eco-system as evident by its participation in the ASEAN collaboration initiative.

It also expects to introduce new features to its trading system to create a more vibrant and efficient trading environment.

"Market volatility is expected to persist in 2012 unless there is more clarity on how the global economy will pan out.

"However, the Malaysian economy is expected to remain resilient due to its strong fundamentals, robust domestic demand as well as the government's ongoing economic reform initiatives," Tajuddin added. -- Bernama