CIMB Equities Research has upgraded the Malaysian telecommunications sector from Underweight to Neutral
Energy
Brent crude was 1.9% higher to US$40.18 per barrel at 3.23pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.10% to 3.9117 versus the US dollar at 3.48pm.
Top foreign stories
Money and Power: China government’s link to Panama Papers firm: Long before the Panama Papers leaks put law firm Mossack Fonseca on front pages around the world, the company was already well known among a certain class of Chinese investor - and to the government. The tight-lipped firm says it has cooperated with authorities in Beijing and state-backed banks to help Chinese companies take their business international, according to information gleaned from transcripts of speeches by the company’s representatives and archived versions of its Chinese website. — Reuters
Shell under pressure to reduce spending: Royal Dutch Shell is under pressure from shareholders to cut annual spending below US$30 billion after buying BG Group to ensure it can maintain its dividend given the slow oil price recovery. — Reuters
China firm boosts self-driving tech with US$1b overseas deals: Chinese auto firm, Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp, said on Friday it is buying two foreign companies and their self-driving technologies for more than US$1 billion, as the world’s second-largest economy seeks to boost its foothold in the autonomous car market. — AFP
German exports rebound in Feb as sales to EU jump: German exports bounced back in February, rising at the strongest rate in five months and beating expectations as demand from the country’s European partners jumped. Seasonally adjusted exports rose 1.3% on the month in February after falling in two consecutive months. — Reuters
Shenzhen, Shanghai home sales plunge after rules tightened: Home sales in the red-hot property markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen tumbled sharply in the week after authorities made it tougher to buy homes in the cities to prevent a property bubble, surveys by a major Chinese realtor show. — Reuters
Top local stories
ANZ considering sale of AmBank stake: ANZ Banking Group is weighing the sale of its 24% stake AMMB Holdings Bhd
(AmBank) as Australia’s No. 4 bank steps up efforts to exit minority stakes in Asia, sources said. ANZ’s stake in Malaysia’s sixth-biggest lender is valued at about US$820 million. It first bought a 13.5% stake in 2006, boosting it to nearly 24% in 2007. — Reuters
1MDB subsidiary repays RM950m loan to Govt: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) subsidiary Plenitude Mentari Sdn Bhd has repaid the RM950mil standby credit facility provided by the Government. It said on Friday Plenitude Mentari paid in full all the principal and interest to the Government, which is its 100% shareholder. — StarBiz
First property transaction value decline in six years: The latest preliminary Property Market Report released by National Property Information Centre shows Malaysia’s property market transaction value fell by 8% to RM149.9bil in 2015. MIDF Research says this is the first decline in six years as the last fall noticed was in 2009 when transaction value dropped 8.3%. — StarBiz
Free extra data quota for Maxis users: Maxis said it will be upgrading all its existing MaxisONE plan customers to much higher data quotas at the same price. On its official Facebook page, CEO Morten Lundal and head of consumer business Dushyanthan Vaithiyanathan said MaxisOne customers with a 1GB plan will be upgraded to 5GB of data while those on 3GB will be upgraded to 8GB. — StarBiz
Reliance Pacific sees 6% stake crossed at steep discount: Travel and tour company Reliance Pacific Bhd saw 54.19 million of its shares traded off-market on Friday at a steep discount to its current price. Stock market data showed the shares, which account for a 6.31% stake, were crossed in a direct deal at 21.5 sen. At midday, the share price was down 0.5 sen to 37.5 sen. — StarBiz
Japan’s Rakuten Securities readies foray into Malaysia: Rakuten Securities is venturing into Malaysia, which will make it the first Japanese online securities house, after teaming up with K&N Kenanga Holdings on Friday. Nikkei reported that Rakuten will offer online brokerage services to investors in Malaysia with an eye toward acquiring a retail brokerage market share of around 20% in the future. — StarBiz
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