Sliding value: Toshiba Corp's market value is currently 973 billion yen (RM38.2bil), less than half its value in mid-December. Just under a decade ago, the firm was worth almost 5 trillion yen (RM196bil).
Energy
Brent crude was 0.15% higher to US$45.29 per barrel at 3.33pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.05% to 4.2887 versus the US dollar at 3.34pm.
Top foreign stories
Noble shares jump after Abu Dhabi fund discloses 5% stake: Shares in embattled commodity trader Noble Group surged on Friday after an Abu Dhabi Financial Group equity fund disclosed that it had purchased a 5% stake. The equity fund, Goldilocks Investment Co, said it had bought the stake in purchases on Monday and Tuesday for almost S$31 million (US$22.3 million). — Reuters
Australian banks face ‘Pandora’s box’ of taxes after state hike: A second Australian state on Friday said it was open to charging its own bank tax, raising fears the federal government has opened a ”Pandora’s box” by slapping its own A$6.2 billion (US$4.7 billion) levy on major lenders in its May budget. A day after South Australia state infuriated the banking sector by announcing a A$370 million tax on five big lenders, Western Australia said the option was ”attractive” and analysts warned investors to brace for more tax hikes. — Reuters
Toshiba asks regulators for extension on financial filing: Toshiba Corp said on Friday it has asked regulators for an extension for filing its annual financial statement by over a month as it has not been able to obtain approval from its auditor. — Reuters
Ireland raises 3bil euros from ”milestone” AIB share sale: Ireland raised 3 billion euros (US$3.35 billion) on Friday by returning Allied Irish Banks (AIB) to the stock market in one of the largest bank listings since the financial crisis, achieving a price close to the bank’s book value. — Reuters
Top local stories
Zhejiang Geely buys Proton, Lotus stakes for RM1b: DRB-Hicom Bhd and Zhejiang Geely Holdings Group have signed the final agreement, which sees the latter acquiring 49.99% in Proton Holdings Bhd and 51% of luxury sports car brand Lotus in a deal worth RM1bil. Zhejiang Geely is buying the Proton stake for RM460.30mil, of which RM170mil is in cash and the remaining RM290m will be in form of a transfer of the former’s sports utility vehicle (SUV) platform Boyue for RM290mil. Zhejiang Geely will also pay 100 million pounds (RM540mil) for the Lotus stake. — StarBiz
US$100b Forest City hit by China capital controls: The dream of a Malaysian version of Shenzhen — largely funded by Chinese developers and buyers — with hotels, offices, golf courses, tech parks and thousands of ritzy new apartments, is having to adapt after China’s government clamped down on an exodus of money for investment in overseas property. — Bloomberg
SC introduces clearing as a new regulated activity: The Securities Commission (SC) has introduced amendments to its regulatory framework to include clearing for securities and derivatives as a new regulated activity. The SC said this framework would decouple clearing and trading functions into two distinct regulated activities, allowing intermediaries to specialise in their niche services. — StarBiz
Maybank rolls out Alipay-enabled merchant terminals, eyes Chinese tourists: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) rolled out its first batch of Alipay-enabled merchant terminals in Malaysia as it focuses on growing number of tourists from China who spend about RM9bil in the country. It said this would enable the estimated three million tourists from China this year to use contactless payments. — StarBiz
Bina Darulaman issues RM50m sukuk: Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB) has issued its maiden RM50 million Sukuk Wakalah, the first tranche of its seven-year RM100 million Sukuk Wakalah Programme. BDB said it planned to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including infrastructure development, potential land bank acquisitions and working capital requirements of existing and future projects. — Bernama
Affin Hwang declares income distribution of RM106.65m for 20 funds: Affin Hwang Asset Management Bhd has declared a total of RM106.65mil in distribution for 20 funds. The income distributions were distributed across the company’s close-ended funds, selected series funds, syariah-compliant funds, World Series funds as well as bond/fixed income funds, it said. — Bernama
Wing Tai minority shareholders advised to accept RM1.80 offer: The minority shareholders of property company Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd have been advised to accept the takeover offer of RM1.80 a share from the Cheng family of Singapore. Independent adviser Mercury Securities and Wing Tai’s non-interested directors had concurred that the minorities accept the offer although it was not fair based on the fair value basis but seen as reasonable as it is illiquid. — StarBiz
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
