The price of crude is languishing under $50 a barrel, far below the level many Gulf producers need to balance their budget
Energy
Brent crude was 0.91% lower to US$51.31 per barrel at 3.44pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.01% the 4.2857 versus the US dollar at 3.54pm.
Top foreign stories
S. Korea to hike taxes on conglomerates and the rich: South Korea imposed stiff tax hikes on Wednesday, targeting leading conglomerates, high-income individuals and investors with large holdings of South Korean shares as President Moon Jae-in seeks to tackle income inequality and fund increased welfare benefits. The top marginal corporate income tax rate will be raised to 25% from the current 22% for corporations with more than 200 billion won (US$179 million) of taxable income a year, the finance ministry said. — Reuters
Lufthansa second-quarter profit soars 69%: German airline group Lufthansa reported zooming earnings in the second quarter on Wednesday, as increased passenger demand and lower fuel costs lent tailwinds to its business. Net profit between April and June stood at 740 million euros (US$875 million), up 69.3% from a year earlier. — AFP
Sunac to sell up to US$1b bonds to refinance debt from shopping spree for assets: Sunac China, one of the country’s biggest asset buyers in the past year, is planning to sell up to US$1 billion in dollar-denominated bonds to raise funds to refinance its debt, after a six-month, 100 billion yuan (US$14.9 billion) shopping spree for theme parks, a video streaming company and a carmaker. — South China Morning Post
Japan’s ANA Q1 profit rises 80% on international routes, low-cost arm Peach: ANA Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest airline by revenue, on Wednesday said first-quarter operating profit rose 80% to 25.4 billion yen (US$229.3 million) due to brisk business on international routes and after taking control of low-cost arm Peach Aviation Ltd. That compared with an average estimate of 18.8 billion yen from two analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. — Ruters
Aramco pits London against New York as Saudis pick venue for IPO: Saudi Arabia crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will soon decide where to list Saudi Aramco’s shares in its initial public offering after government officials heard a presentation on the listing process last week. The kingdom plans to list on the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh and choose to sell shares on at least one bourse outside the country. That choice pits the top global financial centers, London and New York, against each other for a sale that could value the largest oil exporter at as much as US$2 trillion. — Bloomberg
Top local stories
Bank Islam, US-based Cognizant to push ahead with digital banking: Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) has inked a strategic collaboration with US-based Cognizant to lay the foundation for digital banking platform across the bank’s entire network. Bank Islam CEO Khairul Kamarudin said there is no investment cost involved in the partnership as the parties will leverage on each other’s strengths. — StarBiz
CCM Duopharma, CCM to undertake corporate exercise: Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd (CCM) and its pharmaceutical subsidiary CCM Duopharma Biotech Bhd will be undertaking a corporate exercise. Both companies requested voluntary suspension of trading in their shares on Wednesday pending the announcement. — StarBiz
EPF wants informal sector workers to join retirement savings scheme: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is calling for more people working in the informal sector to contribute to the 1 Malaysia Retirement Savings Scheme to ensure a secure financial future. Employees in the informal sector are those who are neither taxed nor monitored by the government. — Bernama
KUB gets shareholders’ nod for RM100m Sabah land purchase: KUB Malaysia Bhd received an almost unanimous 99.9% shareholder approval for the acquisition of a brownfield oil palm plantation land in Sabah for RM100.4mil. The purchase of 1,534ha by KUB Malua Plantation Sdn Bhd will increase the group’s total plantation landbank to 8,866ha from 7,332ha currently. — StarBiz
1MDB board to handle payment due to IPIC, says Johari: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) will handle the payment due to International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani. The payment, which fell due on July 31, was being handled at the 1MDB board level, he said. — Bernama
RAM sees Malaysia exports growth slowing to 17.5% in June: RAM Ratings expects Malaysia’s export growth to slow to 17.5% in June, versus 32.5% in May, due to slower demand for exports from China and Singapore. The agency also expects imports to expand at a slower pace of 12.6%, compared with 30.4% in the preceding month. — StarBiz
General takaful on track for 20% share of insurance industry by 2020: The general takaful industry is on track to reach 20% market share in the insurance sector by 2020 from 12.6% now, said Hong Leong MSIG Takaful Bhd. — Bernama
Business confidence on the uptick: RHB Research Institute said in its latest economic update that it expects private investment to grow 7.7% in 2017, from 4.3% last year, underpinned by ongoing infrastructure projects and a pickup in exports. This comes on the heels of an increase in the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research’s business conditions index, which was up 1.4 points to 114.1 in the second quarter, its highest level in four years. — StarBiz
CIMB Research sees stronger FY17 earnings for AWC: CIMB Equities Research expects facilities management company AWC Bhd
to record stronger quarter-on-quarter net profit of RM5mil to RM6mil in the fourth quarter results, in line with its expectations. It said this would likely come on the back of higher progress billings, especially in the environment and engineering divisions. — StarBiz
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