The benchmark palm oil contract for January delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange was 0.2 percent lower at 2,713 ringgit ($650.13) a tonne at the close of trade, down for a fifth straight session. It had earlier touched its lowest since Oct. 19 at 2,709 ringgit.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.40% lower to US$62.47 per barrel at 2.54pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.12% to 4.1560 versus the US dollar at 3.04pm.
Top foreign stories
Alibaba goes offline with US$2.9b stake in China’s top grocer: Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Monday it would invest HK$22.4 billion ($2.87 billion) for a major stake in China’s top hypermart operator, Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, part of a wider push into offline retail. The Alibaba, Auchan Retail and Ruentex Group alliance would target opportunities in China’s US$500 billion food retail sector. - Reuters
Thai Q3 GDP grows at best annual pace in years: Thailand posted third-quarter economic data that show it is on a firmer recovery track, after years of sluggishness, though economists say it needs higher private investment and government spending to stay there sustainably. On an annual basis, the economy expanded 4.3% in the third quarter, the best pace for any period since the first quarter of 2013, — Reuters
Toshiba US$5b stock issue results in huge dilution but delisting risk removed: Toshiba Corp’s plan to raise some US$5.4 billion through a sale of new shares will help it avoid a delisting, but will also see more 30 overseas investors, including activist funds, own 35% of the embattled conglomerate. — Reuters
Goldman Sachs sees Fed raising rates four times in 2018: Goldman Sachs said it expects a tight US labour market and more normal inflation picture will lead the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates four times next year. “The US economy heads into 2018 with strong growth momentum and an unemployment rate already below levels that Fed officials view as sustainable,” Goldman’s economists wrote in note. — Reuters
Top local stories
Bank Negara governor says ringgit is not fairly valued: The ringgit is ”far from reflecting its fair value,” Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim said, signalling a desire for the exchange rate to build on its recovery from a sharp selloff last year. “The ringgit is now priced more efficiently and increasingly more reflective of Malaysia’s strong fundamentals,” as the influence of external factors have waned, he said. — Reuters
Bank Negara cautions banks not to chase deposits: Bank Negara has cautioned banks not to rush and compete for deposits in an effort to show a good loan-to-deposit ratio at year’s end. Governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim, describing it as “disruptive behaviour”, said this was especially for corporates, where their short-term deposit shifting would push up rates and create significant distortions. — StarBiz
BMI Research: General election unlikely to dent investor confidence: BMI Research believes the general election is unlikely to lead to a significant loss in investor confidence in Malaysia and expects the business environment to remain positive. The research house upgraded its real GDP forecast for 2017 and 2018 to 5.9% and 5.5%, respectively, from 5.3% and 5.0%. — StarBiz
Sime Darby gets shareholders’ nod for demerger: Sime Darby Bhd shareholders approved the company’s proposed demerger to create three listed companies at the EGM on Monday. — StarBiz
Minister: EU recommendation against palm oil discriminatory, unacceptable: The recent recommendation by the European Environmental Committee to exclude palm oil use from Renewable Energy Directive (RED) as early as 2021, is discriminatory and unacceptable, said Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong. He said the recommendation was also against World Trade Organisation principles as other oils and fats could still be used for biofuels under the RED until 2029. — StarBiz
Stronger ringgit, higher Indian import duty hurt CPO exports: A stronger ringgit and a steep rise in India’s import duty on crude palm oil (CPO) have dampened exports of Malaysian palm oil products by 6.25% in the first 20 days of November. Intertek Testing Services data showed exports of Malaysian palm oil products fell to 891,926 tonnes during the period from 951,339 tonnes. — Bernama
Survey: Efficient hiring process highly important to job seekers: One in two job seekers (53%) say they develop a negative impression of the prospective employer if the hiring process takes a long time. The Randstad Candidate Expectations survey found 89% of job seekers are more likely to reject an offer if the process takes more than four weeks. — StarBiz
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