Breakfast briefing: Wednesday, April 5 (Update)

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.

MarketWatch: US stocks were little changed on Tuesday, as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the first-quarter earnings season and fretted about President Donald Trump's ability to deliver on tax reform and other promises. DJIA rose 39.03 points, or 0.19%, to 20,689.24, the S&P 500 gained 1.32 points, or 0.06%, to 2,360.16 and the Nasdaq added 3.93 points, or 0.07%, to 5,898.61.- Reuters

Energy

Oil prices on Tuesday rose to a near one-month high, supported by an unplanned production outage in the North Sea and expectations of a drawdown in US crude and product inventories. Brent LCOc1 futures rose US$1.05, or 2% to settle at US$54.17 a barrel.  - Reuters

Forex summary

*The ringgit gained 0.02% to 4.430 per US$

*It lost 0.15% to 4.7311 versus euro

*Down 0.15% to 5.5143 per pound sterling

*Down 0.08% to 3.1695 per Singapore dollar

*0.06% lower to 3.3529 per Aussie

*0.01% higher to 4.0010 per 100 yen

 

Top foreign stories

ChemChina, Syngenta win US antitrust approval for deal: The China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, has won US antitrust approval to buy Switzerland's Syngenta AG, in a deal worth US$43 billion, on condition that it divest three products, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. - Reuters

Shoe retailer Payless files for US bankruptcy, to close 400 stores: Discount footwear retailer Payless ShoeSource said it had filed for Chapter 11 protection on Tuesday with a plan to restructure debt and immediately close 400 underperforming stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. - Reuters

Airbnb, Xiaozhu in talks over overseas collaboration: Chinese home-sharing platform Xiaozhu is in talks with its US counterpart Airbnb to cooperate says the partnership was also likely to cover China, but talks were in early stages. - Reuters

Top local stories

Improving trade prospects lead to higher GDP forecasts: Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie says Malaysia’s gross domestic product could grow by up to 5% this year on strong export growth. MIDF Research said on Tuesday it too will revise upward its forecast, coming on the heels of revisions by Standard Chartered Bank and RHB Research Institute. - StarBiz

MUFG a substantial shareholder in CIMB with 5.11% stake: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) has emerged as a substantial shareholder in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd with a 5.11% indirect stake after the Morgan Stanley Group bought just over 24 million shares in CIMB on March 29. - StarBiz

Bank Negara okays Development Bank of Sarawak: Bank Negara has approved the string up of Development Bank of Sarawak, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said. The bank would operate on a financial model that would help fund the state’s strategic projects in an effort to promote socio economic transformation catch-up plan (2017-2030). - Bernama

Thumbs up for Sime Darby’s maritime city plan: The plan to turn Carey Island into an integrated “maritime city” has received the thumbs up from analysts, as it will unlock the value of land there owned by Sime Darby Bhd. On Monday, Sime Darby inked a memorandum of understanding with MMC Corp Bhd and India-based Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd to explore developing an integrated maritime city on Carey Island, Selangor, worth US$22.78bil. - StarBiz

HSS seeks transfer to Main Market: Ace Market-listed HSS Engineers Bhd is proposing to migrate to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia, saying it met all the regulatory requirements for the Main Market transfer and would proceed with the application. - StarBiz

Pos Malaysia gets ready to unleash Tigers Global strategic plan: Pos Malaysia will announce on Wednesday its plans for a “strategic business collaboration for a regional e-fulfilment hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)” that involves a company called Tigers Global Logistics Sdn Bhd. - StarBiz

Majority of public-listed firms prefer to outsource internal audit functions: The majority of publicly listed companies in Malaysia in 2016 preferred to outsource their internal audit functions, with outsourcing being more prevalent in smaller-sized companies, a study by the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia shows. - StarBiz

Growing demand for fintech in Islamic finance: The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) sees growing demand for financial technology (fintech) within the Malaysian Islamic financial services system, as customers seek alternatives that prove to be more resilient. IFSB secretary-general Jaseem Ahmed said demand for fintech within Islamic finance had increased following the global financial crisis. - StarBiz

Mudajaya unit wins Prasarana job: A unit of Mudajaya Group Bhd has been awarded a RM58.3mil contract by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd for works on the light rail transit line three (LRT 3) project from Bandar Utama to Johan Setia, Klang. The contract entails the supply of pre-cast pier caps and other related works for the LRT 3 project. - StarBiz

Daya Materials clarifies vessel disposal: Daya Materials Bhd has clarified that the cash payment of US$82.74mil for the proposed disposal of its offshore subsea construction vessel, Siem Daya 1 is the full and final settlement of the facility of up to US$84mil granted by the existing financier, Daya Maritime Ltd. - StarBiz

Strict new palm oil measures voted in: The European parliament on Tuesday voted to implement tough new palm oil resolutions, which if enforced would see its elimination from use in biofuels and stricter regulations on production and certification enforced throughout the continent. - Edge FD

Amanah Harta Tanah PNB eyes more asset buys: Bursa Malaysia-listed real estate investment trust Amanah Harta Tanah PNB plans to buy more assets this year to further bolster its financial performance amid the slump in the property market. - Edge FD

Ajiya sees 22% earnings deviation between audited, unaudited accounts: Ajiya Bhd saw a deviation of over 22% between its unaudited and audited  financial statements for the year ended Nov 30, 2016. It said there was a RM4.22 million deviation in terms of profit after tax and minority interests between the two sets of financial statements after its external auditor Ernst & Young completed the audit for the FY16 accounts. - Edge FD

CIMB sees region’s capital market revival driving profit growth: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz says Initial public offerings and corporate bond issuance in South-East Asia this year could help drive earnings growth of as much as 15%. Still, CIMB is expected to miss its own goal of a 15% return on equity by end-2018 in an industry hurt by higher capital requirements and slower economic growth. - Edge FD

Voir seeks to raise up to RM11.52m via private placement: Voir Holdings Bhd plans to raise between RM7.92 million and RM11.52 million via a private placement to fund its construction projects and for working capital. - Edge FD