Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and other memory chip companies are expected to enjoy record revenue and profits in 2017. — Reuters
Energy
Brent crude was 0.10% higher to US$51.02 per barrel at 3.37pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.19% to 4.2765 versus the US dollar at 3.34pm.
Top foreign stories
Indonesia president seeks to tap Haj fund to help fix infrastructure: Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo wants a national fund that arranges Haj pilgrimages to make investments in infrastructure projects that the country needs and the government itself cannot afford to build. On Wednesday, Widodo inaugurated the board of managers for a new independent Haj fund agency. The World Bank estimated this week there’s a funding gap of about US$500 billion between what Indonesia spends and what’s needed to deal with shortcomings. — Reuters
Nestle trims sales outlook as H1 growth fails to pick up: Swiss group Nestle expects its 2017 sales growth to be ”in the lower half” of its 2% to 4% target range and reported worse-than-expected underlying sales for the first half of 2017. Organic sales, which include volume and price increases, grew by 2.3% in the half, the same rate as the first quarter, trailing analyst estimates of 2.8% and slowing from the 3.5% growth rate a year earlier. — Reuters
Samsung Electronics expects continued chip boom after record Q2 profit: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said a memory chip boom that propelled it to record profit in the second quarter is likely to continue in the third, just as revenue is widely expected to benefit from sales of OLED screens to Apple Inc. Samsung’s operating profit rose 72.7% to 14.1 trillion won during the quarter, versus 14 trillion won estimated in July. Revenue rose 19.8% to 61 trillion won, also in line with its earlier estimate. — Reuters
Shell profits triples on stronger refining, oil prices: Royal Dutch Shell more than tripled its profits in the second quarter to beat forecasts boosted by strong refining operations and a rise in oil prices. Net income attributable to shareholders in the second quarter, based on a current cost of supplies and excluding exceptional items, rose 245% to US$3.6 billion, topping a company-provided analyst consensus of US$3.15 billion. — Reuters
Lloyds posts biggest half-year profit since 2009: Lloyds Banking Group’s biggest half-year profit since 2009 and an increase in interim dividends was clouded by ongoing misconduct charges, as the lender reported its first set of results since the bank exited government ownership. Britain’s largest retail bank reported a statutory pre-tax profit of 2.5 billion pounds (US$3.28 billion) on Thursday, about 4% higher than last year. It declared an interim dividend of 1 pence per share, up 18% on last year. — Reuters
Bond supply set to turn positive as central banks eye end of easy money: A scaling back of central bank cash injections into the world economy could lead next year to the first glut in sovereign debt issuance from major economies in four years. It would also push up borrowing costs by creating a larger pool from which to buy. — Reuters
Top local stories
Petronas sells stake in LNG 9 for RM2.14b to Thai oil company JV: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has disposed of a 10% stake in Petronas LNG 9 Sdn Bhd in Malaysia for US$500mil (RM2.14bil) to a unit of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd. — StarBiz
Five Malaysian companies on Forbes ‘Best under a billion’ list: Five Malaysian companies have made it to the top 200 publicly-traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region which are on Forbes 2017 “Best under a billion” list. The five are Elsoft Research Bhd, Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd, My E.G. Services Bhd, Pentamaster Bhd and Vitrox Corporation Bhd. — StarBiz
Digital economy to add over 20% to Malaysia’s GDP by 2020: The contribution of Malaysia’s digital economy to the gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to exceed the 20% target by 2020 from 17% now, says Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Datuk Jailani Johari. — Bernama
Petronas to hand over two blocks to PetroVietnam: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) subsidiary PC Vietnam Ltd will hand over Blocks 01 and 02, located at the Cuu Long basin, offshore Vietnam, to the host authority once the production sharing contract for the blocks expires on Sept 9, 2017. — StarBiz
GLC ExplorAce 2017 expected to rake in RM9b revenue: The GLC ExplorAce 2017, an annual event that brings together local entrepreneurs and vendors, is expected to generate revenue of at least RM9 billion under the vendor development programme, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said 21 anchor companies and 63 vendors from various sectors would participate in this year’s event on Aug 8. — Bernama
Property market expected to remain flat in next 6-9 months: The property market is expected to stay flat in the next six to nine months as demand and new launches remain subdued, given the current economic uncertainty. Jones Lang Wootton executive director Prem Kumar said the market was currently undergoing a consolidation period with the number of property transactions declining. — Bernama
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