Royal Dutch Shell shut its Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, the largest in Europe, in late July following a fire.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.55% higher to US$47.14 per barrel at 3.34pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.02% to 4.2975 versus the US dollar at 3.44pm.
Top foreign stories
Chief of bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox pleads not guilty to embezzlement: The chief executive of defunct Mt. Gox pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges relating to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins and cash from what was once the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange. Mark Karpeles filed the plea in response to charges of embezzlement and data manipulation at the Tokyo District Court. — Reuters
Australia business conditions strongest since 2008: A measure of Australian business conditions climbed to its highest since early 2008 in June as sales and profits picked up across a range of industries, another sign the economy had regained its feet after stumbling early in the year. National Australia Bank’s index of business conditions rose 4 points to +15 in June, far above the long-run average of +5. — Reuters
Shell mulls LNG-Hub network as use by ships and trucks expands: Royal Dutch Shell Plc, which has spent more than US$50bil to buy natural-gas producer BG Group Plc, is looking to expand demand for the fuel in transport to ensure its output is consumed. The oil major is studying developing a global network of liquefied natural gas supply hubs for vehicles including ships. — Reuters
Western Digital says it matched rivals’ bids for Toshiba chip unit: Western Digital Corp said it matched rival bidders’ offers to acquire Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp’s flash memory unit ahead of a court hearing on Friday over whether to halt the auction process. Western Digital, in court documents filed on July 7, said it has made six proposals since February, including a proposal on June 27 matching the best offer. — Reuters
Electricity investment overtakes oil, gas for first time ever in 2016: Investments in electricity surpassed those in oil and gas for the first time ever in 2016 on a spending splurge on renewable energy and power grids as the fall in crude prices led to deep cuts, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday. Total energy investment fell for the second straight year by 12% to US$1.7 trillion compared with 2015, the IEA said. Oil and gas investments plunged 26% to US$650 billion, down by over a quarter in 2016, and electricity generation slipped 5%. — Reuters
China sovereign fund CIC profit rises, seeks more US direct investment: China’s sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) posted a 1.88% rise in 2016 net profit to US$75.3 billion, boosted by stronger returns from its overseas portfolio. Total investment income was US$83 billion in 2016, compared with US$76.7 billion in 2015. Its accumulated annualised investment return rose to 4.76% last year. — Reuters
Temasek’s portfolio rises to record S$275b: Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings reported a nearly 14% jump in its portfolio value to a record S$275bil (US$199bil) last year, bolstered by gains in shares of Chinese banks and of its mainstay Singapore companies. The gains in the portfolio for the year to March 31, 2017, compared with a 9% decline in its assets a year ago. — Reuters
Top local stories
Institutional investors to play lead corporate governance role: Institutional investors such as Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund to play their roles as active shareholders and ensure stronger corporate governance, says KWAP chief executive officer Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad. — StarBiz
Lotte Chemical opens flat at RM6.50: Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd, one of Malaysia’s biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) in recent years, made a steady debut on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia at its revised offer price of RM6.50 on Tuesday. — StarBiz
CompareAsiaGroup and its Malaysian outfit get RM215m from World Bank, Alibaba: Goldman Sachs-backed CompareAsiaGroup, an online personal finance platform, and its Malaysian outfit, CompareHero.my, received a total of US$50mil (RM215mil) in new funding from the International Finance Corp, a unit of the World Bank, and other investors investors that included Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. — StarBiz
AEC helps boost Malaysian exports: Malaysia’s exports have increased after the establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, with total exports to Asean markets rising to RM230.93bil in 2016 from RM213.4bil in 2014. — Bernama
Moody’s sees more intense competition for deposits: The merger of Malaysia Building Society Bhd
(MBSB) and Asian Finance Bhd (AFB) will lead to stiffer competition among smaller Islamic banks to secure deposits, says Moody’s Investors Service. It said on Tuesday such a deal would likely lead to the larger of the two financial institutions, MBSB, emerging as the surviving entity. — StarBiz
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