Data galore: According to Maxis, the upgrade is based on the increasing data usage trend.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.48% lower to US$51.57 per barrel at 3.16pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.02% to 4.3485 versus the US dollar at 3.23pm.
Top foreign stories
China coal miner said to vie for Singapore mobile carrier M1: A coal producer based in China’s Shanxi province and China Broadband Capital are among bidders for US$1.4 billion Singapore wireless carrier M1 Ltd, sources said. Shanxi Meijin Energy Co and China Broadband have separately submitted first-round offers, they said. The potential sale of Singapore’s third-largest carrier comes as the city-state prepares for the roll-out of a fourth mobile operator, with TPG Telecom Ltd, slated to begin wireless services in 2018. — Bloomberg
Samsung Elec flags stronger Q2, to cancel treasury shares: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Thursday flagged stronger earnings and announced a cancellation of treasury shares after posting a solid first-quarter profit boosted by the memory chip business, sending its shares to a new high. Samsung rejected a call from US activist hedge fund Elliott to split itself in two but accepted part of the fund’s proposals, revealing plans to cancel its existing treasury shares worth over US$35 billion by 2018. — Reuters
Deutsche Bank Q1 profit surges on debt trading: Deutsche Bank more than doubled its first-quarter net profit to 575 million euros (US$627 million), benefiting from lower legal costs for past misdeeds and a rebound in debt trading. Germany’s flagship lender beat expectations of analysts who had expected the bank to post a first-quarter net profit of 522 million euros. — Reuters
STMicro posts solid quarterly growth for first time in 6 yrs: STMicroelectronics, Europe’s third largest semiconductor maker, on Thursday posted solid double-digit revenue growth on demand for its phone and industrial sensors that marks a turnaround from six years of sales declines. The chipmaker forecast 5% growth in revenue for the current second quarter compared to the first quarter and around 12.3% year-to-year, and said it was on track to meet 2017 objectives. — Reuters
Airbus Q1 profit slides on weak pricing, higher costs: Europe’s Airbus on Thursday posted a steeper than expected 52% drop in first-quarter profit, weighed by weaker prices as it changes to new models and higher production costs, but reaffirmed targets for higher profits for the year. The planemaker said adjusted operating profit fell to 240 million euros (US$261.7 million) as revenues rose 7% to 12.988 billion. — Reuters
S.Korea’s Kia invests in Indian factory after China troubles hit profit: South Korean carmaker Kia Motors Corp signed a deal on Thursday to invest about US$1.1 billion to build its first factory in India, aiming to tap a fast growing market at a time when its China sales are sagging. Production at the factory in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh state, would begin in the second half of 2019, the company said. — Reuters
United to offer passengers up to US$10,000 to surrender seats: United Airlines said on Thursday it would offer passengers who volunteer to forfeit their seats on overbooked flights up to US$10,000 as part of the carrier’s efforts to repair the damage from the rough removal of a passenger. The offer came after rival Delta outlined plans to offer up to US$9,950 in such cases. — Reuters
Top local stories
Engtex secures RM60m contracts in Q1, tenders RM300m jobs: Pipe manufacturer Engtex Group Bhd has secured five pipe supply contracts worth RM60mil in the first quarter of 2017 and it is also tendering for more than RM300mil jobs nationwide. The new contracts raised the company’s orderbook to RM170mil as at March 31, 2017. — StarBiz
Maxis posts higher normalised Q1 profit after-tax of RM510m: Maxis Bhd posted a 5.4% higher normalised profit after tax of RM510mil for the first quarter while service revenue was stable at RM2.129bil, underpinned by strong average revenue per user. Revenue rose 0.8% to RM2.157bil, while earnings per share were 6.7 sen compared with 6.9 sen a year earlier. It declared an interim dividend of five sen a share. — StarBiz
Westports registers net profit of RM141mil for Q1: Westports Holdings Bhd posted a lower first-quarter net profit of RM140.9mil.Its revenue rose 13% to RM520.9mil, while earnings per share was lower at 4.13 sen against 5.02 sen previously. — StarBiz
Astro and Turner form strategic joint venture: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd has partnered Turner Asia Pacific to form a strategic joint-venture in Warner TV and co-production, distribution of Asian content for global reach. This is alongside the distribution of Astro content and carriage of the channel on Astro and Tribe. — Bernama
Nestle maintains advertising expenditure in 2017: Nestle (M) Bhd
expects to maintain its advertising expenditure (adex) this year at the 2016 level of close to RM500mil. CEO Alois Hofbauer says Nestle will not cut its adex spend for traditional print media but instead will boost its e-commerce store, moving forward in line with the new digital trend. — StarBiz
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