A worker poses with a handful of nickel ore at the nickel mining factory of PT Vale Tbk, near Sorowako, Indonesia's Sulawesi - Reuters Photo.
Energy
Brent crude was 1.87% higher to US$40.80 per barrel at 2.20pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.25% to 4.0858 versus the US dollar at 2.44pm.
Top foreign stories
Iron ore glut seen easing path to China nod for Vale-Fortescue tie-up: Faced with an iron ore glut and a struggling steel industry, Beijing is expected to take a kinder view of a proposed tie-up involving Brazil’s Vale and Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group, sources say. China had previously attempted to block mergers of iron ore giants. — Reuters
India’s Kingfisher baron rejects claims he ‘absconded’: Indian entrepreneur Vijay Mallya, who left the country as banks sought to recover more than US$1 billion owed by his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines, has rejected suggestions he was an absconder and said he respected the law of the land. — Reuters
Ex-Hanlong head sentenced to eight years for insider trading in Australia: An Australian court jailed on Friday the former head of China’s Hanlong Mining Investment Pty Ltd for eight years, Australia’s corporate regulator said, in one of the country’s harshest sentences for insider trading. — Reuters
China rail giant lands record US$1.3b US contract: China’s largest train manufacturer won a billion-dollar deal to supply Chicago with rolling stock, it announced on Friday, as Beijing seeks to create high-tech firms capable of competing for lucrative contracts with foreign giants. — AFP
China steelmaker to cut up to 50,000 jobs: One of China’s largest steelmakers plans to shed up to 50,000 jobs, its chairman said, as the country struggles to reduce overcapacity while growth in the world’s second-largest economy slows. — AFP
Top local stories
Malaysia January factory output up 3.2%: Malaysia’s January industrial production rose 3.2% from a year earlier due to growth in its manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, government data showed on Friday. The figure was above the 2.1% rise forecast in a Reuters poll. — Reuters
Palm oil refiners call for removal of export duty: Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia has called on the Government to scrap export duty rates for processed palm kernel oil products to help the country’s refining sector, which is losing market share to the world’s biggest palm producer Indonesia. — Reuters
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