Opec moots US$80 as new ‘fair’ oil price: Nearly a year after oil markets entered a deep downward spiral, unmoored from the US$100-a-barrel mark that had anchored them for years, some Opec members are publicly talking for the first time about a new “fair” price for their crude. Oil ministers from Iraq, Venezuela and Angola said a price of US$75 or US$80 a barrel – barely US$10 above the going rate – could be just fine. — Reuters
US growing at ‘modest’ to ‘moderate’ pace: US economic activity expanded from early April to late May and growth was expected to continue at a “modest” to “moderate” pace. In its Beige Book report, the Federal Reserve said most of its regional Fed banks reported that while manufacturing had either held steady or increased, growth was tempered by the downturn in the oil and gas industry. — Reuters
Fed’s Bullard cites near-term economic concerns: St Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard, known as a policy hawk, on Wednesday cited near-term concerns looming over America’s economy, adding his voice to a chorus of US central bankers who are cautious about the economic outlook. — Reuters
China may free up bank deposit rates: The People’s Bank of China is likely to remove the ceiling on bank deposit rates soon, instead of raising the cap again, a central bank official said. The move would mark a landmark reform towards allowing market forces to determine the cost of credit to help rebalance the world’s second-largest economy. When the central bank cut interest rates in May, it lifted the ceiling for deposit rates to 1.5 times the benchmark. — Reuters
Global chip sales to grow at modest pace in 2016: The US-based Semiconductor Industry Association expects the global chip industry to grow at a modest pace across all regions. It endorsed the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organisation’s global semiconductor sales forecast of a 3.4% growth for 2016 (US$358.9bil in total sales) and 3% growth for 2017 (US$369.6bil). It said WSTS projected US$347.2bil sales in 2015, up 3.4% from the 2014 sales total. — StarBiz
Thai consumer confidence at 11-month low: Thai consumer confidence slipped for a fifth straight month in May, a survey showed, as low commodity prices and worries over the faltering economy hurt consumption. The consumer confidence index of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce fell to 75.6 in May, lowest since June last year, from 76.6 in April. — Reuters
Nippon Life in talks to buy NAB insurance ops: Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance Co is in early talks to buy National Australia Bank Ltd’s insurance business for 200 to 300 billion yen (US$1.6bil-US$2.4bil), the Nikkei business daily reported. If completed the deal would be Nippon Life’s biggest overseas acquisition. — Reuters
Banks wary of doing Fifa business after scandal: The disclosure that some of the world’s largest banks had been used as a conduit for bribes allegedly paid to football officials has prompted the banks to scrutinise their ties with Fifa, and could make it more difficult for the sport’s powerful governing body to move money around the world. — Reuters
Alibaba unit to raise funds for media acquisitions: Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd, the film and entertainment unit of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said it plans to raise US$1.6bil in a share offering to select investors to finance media-related acquisitions. The deal comes after a rally that nearly doubled the shares of the company over the past year. — Reuters
Japan’s Rakuten plans US$1.5bil new share offering: The online retailer said it is raising funds through new share issue to repay debt.
Top local news
Star Media Group hosts third learning series for SOBA awards: Star Media Group is running its third Learning Series workshop in conjunction with the Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) 2015. The workshop, at Menara Star, is open to the public from various organisations mainly from up and coming non listed local companies as well as small and medium enterprises. — StarBiz
S. Korea’s Coway to explore Malaysian market: South Korea’s largest water and air-purifier maker Coway Co Ltd plans to expand into 15 new areas in the country in the second half of this year. A top official said the expansion is driven by the strong performance of its unit Coway (M) Sdn Bhd, which posted sales of RM268mil last year, up 22% on 2013. — Bernama
1MDB won’t affect banking sector risks, says RAM: The 1Malaysia Development Bhd issue won’t result in a wider systemic risk to the banking sector, says RAM Ratings Services Bhd. The banking system is still very strong and adequately capitalised, and it still maintains its forecasts, says CEO. — StarBiz
Glove makers climb on MERS outbreak in S. Korea: Glove makers rose at midday today, bucking the cautious market, following news that the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea had spread. At 12.30pm, the world’s biggest glove maker Top Glove rose 12 sen to RM5.42, Kossan added 12 sen to RM6.70, Hartalega
gained five sen to RM8.34 and Supermax was up four sen to RM2.01. — StarBiz
Tanjung Bin plant to start ops in March 2016: Malakoff Corporation Bhd said its Tanjung Bin Energy boiler successfully ignited using fuel oil on May 31. The plant is expected to start operations on March 1 next year. — StarBiz
Ethical sukuk adds to market width: Malaysia’s efforts to create a market for ethical Islamic bonds (sukuk) are the latest in a series of Government-led initiatives to develop Islamic finance, but further expansion will require a greater buy-in from a sometimes reluctant private sector. — Reuters
Market sentiment to remain weak on foreign selling: Market sentiment on the local bourse is expected to remain weak in the near term due to continuous selling by foreign institutions, says BIMB Securities Research. It said foreign funds were net sellers yesterday, taking out RM163.2mil, and there was also a lack of fresh catalysts, with the index hovering around 1,745 to 1,750 points.
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