Kuroda:
Energy
Brent crude was down 0.62% to US$51.33 per barrel at 3.39pm.
Forex
The ringgit was flat at 4.3215 versus the US dollar at 3.40pm.
Top foreign stories
Chinese insurer PICC Group plans US$2b Shanghai share offering: PICC Group, parent of China’s biggest non-life insurer, said it plans to sell not more than 4.6 billion shares in Shanghai, pending approvals from its shareholders and Chinese regulators, as it seeks fresh funds to expand. The deal is valued at about US$2 billion. — Reuters
Indonesia central bank seen holding key rate despite tepid Q1 growth: Indonesia’s central bank will likely keep its key rate unchanged on Thursday, despite tepid first-quarter growth, as it anticipates a possible rate hike in the United States in June. Bank Indonesia (BI) is expected to hold the 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 4.75%. — Reuters
BoJ’s Kuroda says told Abe will continue with ultra-easy policy: Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he told premier Shinzo Abe that the central bank will continue its ultra-easy monetary policy in a meeting held on Wednesday. In his first such meeting since January, Kuroda said he did not receive any particular request from Abe on monetary policy. — Reuters
Top local stories
Treasury sec-gen confirms master developer sought for Bandar Malaysia: TRX City Sdn Bhd will be conducting a request for proposal process to seek interested parties to be play the role of master developer of Bandar Malaysia, says Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah. Irwan, however, said the site would remain under the 100% ownership of the finance ministry. — StarBiz
Irwan appointed chairman of TRX and Bandar Malaysia: Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah has been appointed chairman of both TRX City and Bandar Malaysia. His new duties include heading a team with overall responsibility for these projects, as well as the monetisation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s remaining real estate assets. — StarBiz
Scientex raises RM156m from private placement: Scientex Bhd has raised RM156mil through a private placement, involving the issuance of 20 million new shares at RM7.80 apiece. The company said the placement of 4.3% of new shares to institutional investors were two times oversubscribed. — StarBiz
Mah Sing plans affordable housing in Titiwangsa, GDV RM650m: Mah Sing Group Bhd has taken its affordable housing objective a step further with a proposed residential condominium near the Taman Titiwangsa in Kuala Lumpur. The units have an indicative price starting from RM485,000 per unit with built-up from 850 sq ft. — StarBiz
April inflation up 4.4% on fuel hike: Malaysia’s inflation rate rose 4.4% in April from a year ago mainly due to the petrol price hike, the Statistics Department said. Inflation was just below the 4.5% annual pace forecast in a Reuters poll, and was down from March’s 5.1%, the highest rate in eight years. — StarBiz
Inta Bina public offer oversubscribed nearly 43 times: Building contractor Inta Bina Group Bhd’s offer of 26.76 million new shares to the public under its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed 42.74 times. - StarBiz
Minimal impact on Sime from sale of Australia, NZ auto distribution business: Sime Darby Bhd
’s plans to sell its PSA brands in Australia And New Zealand will have minimal impact on the conglomerate’ earnings, UOB Kay Hian Research said in a report. The disposal involves only the distribution business and as such is not expected to have a significant impact on Sime’s earnings, it said. - StarBiz
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