Commuters pass Grab transport booking service app advertisements at a train station in Singapore February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
Energy
Brent crude was 0.13% lower to US$51.93 per barrel at 3:47pm.
Forex
Ringgit was down 0.09% to 4.2708 versus the US dollar at 3.55pm.
Top foreign stories
PM May: UK looking to replicate EU’s external trade deals after Brexit: Britain is looking at ways to replicate the trade deals that the European Union has with countries outside the bloc when it exits the EU in March 2019, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday. The freedom to strike new trade deals independently of the EU has been highlighted by the government as a major benefit of Brexit, but businesses have repeatedly voiced concerns about how existing trade relationships will work after leaving the bloc. — Reuters
Toyota joins Grab’s US$2.5b fund raising, unveils tie-up: Toyota Motor Corp’s trading arm became the latest participant in ride-hailing firm Grab’s current financing round that is expected to raise US$2.5 billion, led by Chinese peer Didi Chuxing and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Toyota Tsusho Corp, in which Toyota Motor is the biggest stakeholder, has invested an undisclosed sum in Grab, the companies said. — Reuters
Moody’s says G-20 GDP growth to exceed 3%, warns of geopolitical risks: Moody’s Investors Service kept its forecast for G-20 economic growth at just over 3% for this year and next, but warned of geopolitical risks, US protectionism and spillovers from global monetary tightening and China’s deleveraging measures. The ratings agency said surprisingly strong data in the first half of the year prompted it to raise 2017 growth forecasts for China to 6.8% from 6.6%, for South Korea to 2.8% from 2.5%, and for Japan to 1.5% from 1.1%. — Reuters
Uber officially welcomes as CEO Expedia’s Dara Khosrowshahi: Uber Technologies Inc officially welcomed its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who has led online travel business Expedia Inc for 12 years, in a note sent to employees of the world’s biggest ride-services company late on Tuesday. — Reuters
Hyundai resumes production in China: Hyundai Motor Co said on Wednesday it had resumed production in China after operations at its four Chinese factories were suspended last week due to supply disruption. This comes after the South Korean automaker said in a filing with the stock exchange that it was in talks with a parts supplier to resolve the issue. — Reuters
Top local stories
Maybank Q2 earnings rise 42.9% to RM1.65bil: Maybank Bhd’s earnings for the second quarter rose 42.9% to RM1.65bil. Revenue was slightly lower at RM10.92bil versus RM10.94bil a year earlier. For the six months to June 30, net profit was about 30% higher to RM3.36bil.It declared a dividend of 23 sen for the quarter, up from 20 sen in the year-ago period. — StarBiz
Axiata Q2 profit more than doubles to RM407m: Axiata Group Bhd posted RM407.2mil in net profit for the second quarter, more than double last year’s RM188.9mil on improved overall operational performance. Revenue rose to RM6.05bil, its highest quarterly revenue to date, compared with RM5.31bil a year ago. Its earnings per share stood at 4.50 sen against 2.10 last year. Axiata declared an interim dividend of five sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017. — StarBiz
Axiata’s edotco buys 13,000 towers in Pakistan for RM4b: Axiata Group Bhd’s infrastructure arm, Edotco Group Sdn Bhd, is buying 13,000 towers assets in Pakistan for US$940mil (RM4.01bil), said president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim. The acquisition would make Edotco as 8th largest independent tower company in the world. — StarBiz
Irwan: “Wait and see” if 1MDB makes IPIC payment: “Wait and see” - this was Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah’s reply when asked if 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) would be settling the balance of its settlement to the International Petroleum Investment Co PJSC (IPIC) due on Thursday. — StarBiz
FGV Q2 earnings dip 64.8% on-year to RM25.9m: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd’s second-quarter earnings dropped RM47.78mil or 64.8% on-year to RM25.91mil. Earnings per share dipped to 0.7 sen from two sen a year earlier. For the six months to June 30, net earnings totalled RM28.38mil compared with a loss of RM7.38mil a year earlier on an 8.3% higher revenue of RM8.55bil. — StarBiz
GPacket narrows losses to RM5.5mil in Q2: Green Packet Bhd narrowed its second-quarter net loss to RM5.53mil from RM31.76mil a year ago. Revenue rose 7% to RM82.69mil from RM77.53mil a year earlier. For the first six months, Green Packet’s net loss stood at RM10.9mil on revenue of RM162mil. — StarBiz
CIMB Treasury not behind rumour about 10% inheritance tax: CIMB Group has refuted a rumour on social media that CIMB Treasury is the source of information about a proposed 10% inheritance tax in the coming Budget proposals. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the CIMB Group clarified that neither the group nor any of its subsidiaries has made any official statement on any proposed inheritance tax in Malaysia. — StarBiz
StanChart Research raises Malaysia’s 2017 GDP growth forecast to 5.4%: Standard Chartered Global Research has raised its 2017 GDP growth forecast for Malaysia to 5.4% from 4.6% underpinnewd by the strong first-half performance but it expects second half to moderate. — StarBiz
July industrial production up 7.1%: The Producer Price Index (PPI) for July 2017 rose 7.1% to 106.0 versus a year earlier. The statistics department said the mining index recorded the highest increase of 24%, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (7.8%), manufacturing (5.9%), electricity and gas supply (1.7%) and water supply (0.4%). — Bernama
RAM Ratings assigns AAA rating on SME Bank: RAM Rating Services has assigned the AAA/Stable/P1 financial institution ratings on Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Bhd (SME Bank). It said the ratings reflected its expectation of strong government support, underscored by its strategic role in the Government’s socio-economic agenda to develop the SME sector. — StarBiz
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