Companies like CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG) and AmBank Group Bhd may have to beef up their capital structures by 2019.
MarketWrap: Wall Street fell for a fifth straight session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and investors stewed over an impending vote in Britain on whether to leave the European Union. - Reuters
The DJIA lost 0.2% to end at 17,640.17, the S&P 500 fell 0.18% to 2,071.50 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.18% to 4,834.93.
Forex summary
*The ringgit gained 0.23% to 4.0885 per US$
*It was 0.06% lower to 4.6010 per euro
*Up 0.35% to 5.7951 to the pound sterling
*0.05% higher to 3.0231 per Singapore dollar
*0.08% higher to 3.0262 per Aussie
*Up 0.15% to 3.8596 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices fell for a fifth straight day on Wednesday, their longest losing stretch since February, on worries Britain might leave the European Union while the US Federal Reserve signalled plans for two US rate hikes this year despite slower growth expectations. Brent crude futures' front-month settled down 86 cents, or 1.7%, at US$48.97 a barrel. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Fed keeps interest rates unchanged, signals fewer future hikes: The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signalled it still planned to raise rates twice in 2016, though it said slower economic growth would crimp the pace of monetary policy tightening in future years. - Reuters
MSCI brush-off for China shares spells more pain for HK brokers: Hong Kong stock brokers' year has gone from bad to worse after index provider MSCI decided not to add mainland Chinese shares to a benchmark indexed tracked by US$1.5 trillion in global assets, dashing the hopes of a sector struggling with tumbling business. Average trading volumes on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the first five months of 2016 are down 43% on a year ago, and the stock market is down 30%, its worst performance since the global financial crisis. - Reuters
Slumping autos weigh on US manufacturing output: US manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in May as motor vehicles and parts production recorded its biggest drop in nearly 2-1/2 years, suggesting sustained weakness in the sector even as the overall economy appears to be gaining momentum. Other data on Wednesday showed underlying producer prices were subdued last month amid weakness in costs for health services, indicating inflation could remain tame for a while. - Reuters
Top local stories
New fix for the ringgit: Beginning July 18, the US dollar/ ringgit spot fixing will be based on market transaction data rather than submission of quotations by selected banks. The ringgit will be computed based on the weighted average volume of the interbank US dollar/ringgit forex spot rate transacted by domestic financial institutions between 8am and 3pm. It will be published at 3.30pm daily,” Bank Negara said. - StarBiz
Mobius still bullish on Malaysia: Mark Mobius, the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, remains bullish on Malaysia and sees sectors such as oil and gas and consumer products as attractive investment bets. - StarBiz
CIMB Group
proposes dividend-in-specie: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has proposed a special interim dividend, to be paid in PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk shares, to increase the public float of its Indonesian subsidiary, so as to comply with the Indonesia Stock Exchange listing regulations. - StarBiz
Chairman Isa defends Encorp's land purchase: Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad defended the acquisition of a piece of land in Bukit Katil, Malacca, by Encorp Bhd, which Felda owns, for RM583.6mil. He said as Felda could not develop the land by itself it tasked the job to Encorp. - StarBiz
Feasibility study on Penang undersea tunnel still on: In a surprising turn of events, Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd will complete the feasibility study on the proposed 7.2km undersea tunnel linking Penang island to Butterworth. Chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said the study, which is now 83% completed, would be ready in six months, contrary to earlier reports that it had been halted at the request of the state government. - StarBiz
Lotte shelves RM2bil Malaysia petrochemical IPO: Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest family-run conglomerate, has shelved plans to list its Malaysian petrochemicals business amid widening investigations at the parent, sources said. The group will postpone the planned share sale of Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Sdn Bhd until after the probes are resolved, they said. - Bloomberg
Top Glove cuts size of employees share grant: Top Glove Corp Bhd is reducing the size of its employees share grant plan from up to 15% to 10% of its share capital, in a move to reduce the dilutive effect on the company’s share capital. The move is also seen as another step to prepare the company for its secondary listing on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange where it plans to sell up to 20% of its capital. - StarBiz
AmBank to transform digital banking capabilities: AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank Group) wants to transform its digital banking capabilities and expects to launch new digital products over the next six months. - Bernama
Prasarana completes prequalification of LRT 3 project: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has completed the pre-qualification process of the RM9bil light rail transit line three (LRT 3) project, with the final leg being the system works packages leading up to the first set of contract to be awarded in two to three months. - StarBiz
Glomac pre-tax profit falls to RM121.5mil: Glomac Bhd’s pre-tax profit fell to RM121.5mil for the financial year ended April 30, 2016 from RM142.82mil a year earlier. Revenue rose to RM598.9mil from RM473.25mil previously. - Bernama
Daya Materials sees better H2: Daya Materials Bhd sees a better second half, having secured several long-term downstream contracts, and expects significant savings after the termination of its vessel charter. For its first quarter the group posted a net loss of RM29.2mil, with revenue from its oil and gas segment down by 86%. - StarBiz
Nexgram gets shareholders’ approval to replace auditors: Nexgram Holdings Bhd shareholders passed a resolution to replace the company’s auditors at an EGM as they await the result of a special audit. - StarBiz
Petronas seeks RM29.5bil loan for Rapid: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is seeking to raise US$7.2bil (RM29.5bil) for its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapd) project in one of the largest project financings from Asia in recent years, Thomson Reuters LPC reported.
Petronas has asked banks for underwriting commitments of at least US$500mil (RM2.05bil) by next week, LPC reported, citing sources. - Reuters
Hap Seng buys Kuala Selangor plots for RM228.75m: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd is buying 36 parcels of freehold agricultural land with an aggregate land size of 1,449.52 acres (586.6ha) in Kuala Selangor for RM228.75 million to develop a mixed development with an estimated gross development value of RM9.3 billion. - Edge FD
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