Chinese President Xi Jinping. - AFP
Energy
Brent crude was flat at US$54.46 per barrel at 2.33pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.03% to 4.4780 versus the US dollar at 2.43pm.
Top foreign stories
China’s Xi calls for wide-ranging measures to regulate hot property market: President Xi Jinping said China’s approach to regulating its red-hot property market will include financial, fiscal, tax, land and regulatory measures as Beijing looks to develop a long-term mechanism for an industry prone to speculation. China’s home prices rose at the fastest pace on record in November. - Reuters
Ford expands Australian R&D budget after manufacturing halt: Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it will boost spending on design capability in Australia by A$150 million (US$109 million) in 2017 at a plant where the company shuttered production in October. The company said it will now spend a total of A$500 million on Australian research and development over three years. — Reuters
WTO rules largely in favour of Taiwan in steel row with Canada: A dispute panel of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) largely ruled in favour of Taiwan on Wednesday on its complaint over anti-dumping duties imposed by Canada on some of its steel goods. The ruling, related to certain carbon steel welded pipes and certain provisions of Canada’s underlying legislation, found that Canada had contravened the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement but that Taiwan had failed to establish some points. — Reuters
US returns Alibaba website to counterfeits blacklist: The United States on Wednesday put a division of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Taobao, back on a blacklist of “notorious markets” known for selling counterfeit goods and violating intellectual property rights. — Reuters
Australia’s Fortescue beats competitors to secure exploration leases: Fortescue Metals Group secured 42 mining and exploration leases in the world’s biggest iron ore precinct last financial year ahead of competitors being notified the land was even available, parliamentary documents show. — Reuters
Top local stories
Petronas agrees to study two oil fields in Iran: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) signed an agreement to study two oil fields in Iran, joining international companies from Russia to France that plan to help boost the Persian Gulf nation’s oil and gas production. Petronas signed a memorandum of understanding to assess the South Azadegan and Cheshmeh Khosh oil fields, said National Iranian Oil Co deputy director Gholam-Reza Manouchehri at a signing ceremony in Tehran, — Bloomberg
PNB announces income distribution for ASB, ASN: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd has announced an income distribution of 6.75 sen per unit and bonus of 0.50 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) for financial year ended Dec 31, 2016. The Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) subsidiary also declared an income distribution of 5.00 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN). — Bernama
Petronas output cut poses minimal impact to Govt reserves: Second Finance Minister Datuk Johari Abd Ghani says Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)’s plan to reduce output in January 2017 would not significantly affect the government’s reserves. He said the impact of the reduction would be compensated by a rise in crude oil prices. — Bernama
Hai-O and Huawei announce collaboration for co-branded smartphones: Hai-O Enterprise Bhd has inked a collaboration agreement with Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, beginning with the co-branding of the Huawei Mate 9 smartphone. — StarBiz
Bank Negara’s international reserves at RM399.7b: The international reserves of Bank Negara remained unchanged at RM399.7bil (equivalent to US$96.4bil) as at Dec 15, 2016. — StarBiz
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