Energy
Brent crude was 0.73% higher at US$50.99 per barrel at 3.39pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.05% to 4.0347 versus the US dollar at 3.47pm.
Top foreign stories
Temasek unit issues US$510m private equity bonds in Singapore: A unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings issued on Wednesday US$510 million worth of bonds backed by cash flows from 34 private equity funds. The bonds, which were subscribed more than eight times, were aimed at tapping investors in private equity beyond the traditional base of a select group of wealthy individuals. - Reuters
Abe pledges to boost economy as upper house poll campaign begins: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began an upper house election campaign on Wednesday with a pledge to rev up the economy as surveys showed his ruling bloc ahead, despite doubts over Abe’s growth recipe and his push to revise the pacifist constitution. — Reuters
McDonald’s gets bids from Beijing Tourism, Sanpower for China, HK sale: McDonald’s Corp has received more than half a dozen bids for its planned sale of China and Hong Kong stores, including offers from Beijing Tourism Group, Sanpower and ChemChina in a deal worth about US$3 billion, sources said. McDonald’s is offering a 20-year master franchise agreement to buyers as part of the deal, but has placed restrictions which has discouraged some private equity firms from participating in the process, the people added. — Reuters
Asia sentiment hits year high as China’s economy steadies: Sentiment at Asia’s biggest companies climbed to its highest in a year in the second quarter of 2016, helped by signs that China’s economy was slowly steadying, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed. — Reuters
Apple free to take bite out of India after rule change: The gleaming glass atriums and blue-clad “geniuses” that herald the arrival of an Apple store could soon be landing in India, after the government cleared the way for it to open in the rapidly growing smartphone market. — AFP
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