The Reserve Bank of India is keeping the country's key policy rate unchanged at 8%, but is reducing the mandatory amount of bonds lenders must park at the RBI by 50 basis points to 22.5% of deposits, starting in mid-June - AFP Photo.
Energy
Brent crude was down 1.23% to US$44.83 per barrel at 3.40pm
Forex
Ringgit up 0.05% to 4.0345 versus the US dollar at 3.50pm.
Top foreign stories
Pokemon Go eludes cloning attempts by big game studios: Top video game companies, caught off-guard by the runaway success of Pokemon Go, are wrestling with how to play catch-up to the augmented reality app that has become a worldwide phenomenon. Nearly a dozen executives at companies from Sony Corp to Angry Birds creator Rovio said Pokemon Go would be a tough act to follow, and some even said a challenge would not be worth it. — Reuters
Rajan keeps Indian policy rate on hold at last RBI review: India’s central bank governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.50% at his final policy review after inflation hit a nearly two-year high, but said the policy stance remains “accommodative.” — Reuters
BP seeks buyers for China petchem JV stake in up to US$3b deal: British oil major BP is seeking buyers for its 50% stake in a Chinese petrochemicals joint venture, its single largest investment in China, in a deal that would fetch US$2 billion-US$3 billion, people familiar with the matter said. — Reuters
Rising German imports narrow trade surplus at end of weak Q2: A rise in German imports outstripped a modest gain in exports in June, data showed on Tuesday, narrowing the trade surplus to 21.7 billion euros (US$24.03 billion) from a revised 22.1 billion euros in May, as Europe’s largest economy ended the second quarter struggling to maintain its strong momentum from the start of the year. — Reuters
Top local stories
Petronas Chemicals Q2 earnings down 17% to RM462m: Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd
said its earnings fell 17% to RM462mil in its second quarter mainly due to assets write-off amounting to RM241mil due to the cancellation of an elastomers project. Its revenue declined 3.1% to RM3.20bil as lower average product prices offset the impact of higher sales volume and stronger US dollar. It declared an interim dividend of seven sen a share. — StarBiz
Taliworks Q2 net profit rises to RM76.19mil: Taliworks Corp Bhd’s net profit for its second quarter surged more than 700% to RM76.19mil from RM9.49mil in the previous corresponding period, mainly attributed to the significant increase its toll operations arising from the impact of toll hike. Revenue rose to RM76.83mil from RM73.30mil a year earlier, mainly due to higher contribution from the water and toll business. — StarBiz
TNB gets a lift from Ulu Jelai hydroelectric project: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)’s RM4.2bil Ulu Jelai Hydroelectric project will further boost the utility’s ability to meet the surge in demand at peak hours. TNB said the new green energy power plant, once completed in the third quarter this year, will increase TNB’s hydro installed capacity to 2,533 MW. — StarBiz
Govt mulls taxing digital business platform, says Johari: The Government is studying the possibility of imposing a tax on digital business platforms to create a level playing field between online and non-online businesses, Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abdul Ghani said. Companies providing digital business platforms generate billions of ringgit in revenue but do not pay tax due to the absence of a tax structure for this kind of business, he said. — Bernama
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