Bank Negara Malaysia deputy governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim : "We have now reached a critical juncture in our migration to e-payments.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.84% higher to US$52.95 per barrel at 3.33pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.08% to 4.3245 versus the US dollat at 3.41pm.
Top foreign stories
US oil output back near records, challenging Opec: American oil production is approaching record levels again, led by shale projects, potentially foiling efforts by Opec to support prices. US production has risen 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its 2016 lows to 9.3 million bpd now, not far from the all-time record set in 2015. — AFP
Singapore Q1 GDP likely to be revised higher on manufacturing boost: Singapore’s economy likely performed better than initially expected in the first quarter thanks to a surge in factory output, although the outlook is clouded by slowing exports to China, a poll shows. The median estimate by the 11 economists polled puts gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 2.7% in the January-March quarter from a year earlier. — Reuters
Bain to submit bid for majority stake in Toshiba chip unit: US buyout firm Bain Capital LP plans to bid around 1.5 trillion yen (US$13.5 billion) for a majority stake in Toshiba Corp’s chip business, sources said.
The bid will be made in partnership with South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc but the chip maker will not take a leading role due to anti-trust concerns, they said. — Reuters
Indonesia central bank urges S&P to upgrade credit rating from junk: Indonesia’s central bank has urged credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to raise its rating for Indonesia’s sovereign debt from junk bond status to reflect a number of recent reforms. S&P is the only one of the three major rating agencies to rate Indonesian sovereign debt so low. — Reuters
Top local stories
Malaysia’s economy beats estimates with 5.6% growth in Q1: Malaysia’s economy grew at a faster pace of 5.6% in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, exceeding the consensus of a 4.8% growth, powered by the manufacturing and services sectors. Bank Negara said the growth was underpinned by an increase in private consumption (6.6%), investments (12%) and exports (9.8%). — StarBiz
Bank Negara: More measures possible to deepen financial markets: Bank Negara is not ruling out the possibility of introducing another round of measures, if needed, to deepen Malaysia’s financial market, says governor Datuk Seri Muhammad Ibrahim. For now, he said, the central bank was in the midst of analysing the outcome of two measures that were introduced by the central bank on Dec 3, 2016, and March 13, 2017, respectively. — Bernama
Financial institutions close 238 suspicious accounts: Bank Negara is taking aggressive measures to combat illegal financial schemes as part of the central bank’s zero tolerance policy on operators and investors knowingly participating in illegal financial activities. Governor Datuk Seri Muhammad Ibrahim said, as at May 2, 2017, 238 suspicious accounts were closed by financial institutions. — Bernama
MAHB confirms sale of minority stake in Istanbul airport: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has confirmed the sale of a stake of less than 50% in the wholly-owned Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ASG) in Turkey. Managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali reiterated that the company would remain the major shareholder of ISG, but declined to give a time frame for the sale. — Bernama
Yong Tai sees 24.5% stake traded off-market: Property company Yong Tai Bhd saw 24.5% stake traded off-market at a steep discount to the current market price on Friday. Stock market data showed the stake, accounting for 107 million shares, were crossed at RM1.10 each. This was 39 sen below Thursday’s closing price of RM1.49. The buyer is likely to be Hong Kong-listed Co-Prosperity Holdings Ltd. It could have bought the block of shares from Sino Haijing Holdings Ltd unit Impression Culture Asia Ltd. — StarBiz
Vitrox results trounce expectations: Vitrox Corp Bhd’s latest quarterly results came in above Maybank Investment Bank Research’s expectations. “Despite a seasonally soft quarter, 1Q17 revenue hit a record high at RM70mil while core net profit of RM19mil came in at 30% of our and consensus full-year forecasts,” it said. — StarBiz
Tambun Indah earnings above forecast: Tambun Indah Land Bhd
’s net profit of RM24mil in the first quarter came in above Maybank Investment Bank Research’s expectation but in-line with consensus. Tambun Indah’s earnings accounted for 33% and 25% of Maybank and consensus full-year estimates, respectively, the research house said. — StarBiz
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