More economical option: Nissan hopes its new "near-electric" hybrid
Energy
Brent Crude was 0.02% lower to US$53.37 per barrel at 3.44pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.34% to 4.2455 versus the US dollar at 3.52pm.
Top foreign stories
Nissan takes EV battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf: Nissan Motor Co Ltd launched a revamped version of its Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc’s Model 3 and hoping to beat off criticism of limited driving ranges dulling EVs’ mass-market appeal. — Reuters
Japan’s Q2 GDP seen revised down on smaller capex gains: Japan’s economy likely grew at a slower pace than initially estimated in the second quarter, on expected downward revisions in capital spending growth, The world’s third-largest economy is seen expanding at an annualised pace of 2.9% in April-June, a poll of 17 analysts found. — Reuters
Australia economy rebounds in Q2 amid infrastructure bonanza: Australia’s economy rebounded last quarter as consumers and government spent freely after a weather-beaten start to the year, while a long downturn in mining investment finally loosened its deadening grip on growth. Wednesday’s GDP report showed the economy expanded 0.8% in the second quarter, up from 0.3% in the first quarter. — Reuters
Apple in standoff over India’s anti-spam app: Apple Inc’s refusal so far to approve the Indian government’s anti-spam iPhone app is infuriating regulators, potentially harming the company’s efforts to sell more products in the country. — Bloomberg
Top local stories
Malaysia palm oil stocks seen rising on robust production: Malaysian palm oil stocks likely rose for a second month in August, inching towards the 2 million tonne mark as output in the world’s second-largest producer of the commodity remains near its strongest in two years, a Reuters poll showed. — Reuters
RAM: Power sector needs RM13b to finance facilities: RAM Ratings estimates that independent power producers (IPPs) need another RM13.3 billion to finance forthcoming facilities, such as large-scale solar plants, with local bonds and sukuk markets as key funding sources. — Bernama
Miti: Malaysia’s total trade exceeds RM1 trillion in first seven months this year: Malaysia’s total trade soared to RM1.008 trillion in the first seven months of 2017, up 22.7% from a year earlier, said the international trade and industry ministry. — Bernama
Hap Seng sees 38m shares traded off-market 13% below market price: Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd saw 38 million shares, or 1.5% of its paid-up capital, traded in an off-market deal on Wednesday afternoon at RM7.83 each. At the transaction price of RM7.83, this was RM1.22 or 13.4% below the Tuesday closing price of RM9.05.— StarBiz
Bank Negara reserves rise: Bank Negara’s international reserves increased by US$100mil from a fortnight ago to US$100.5bil as at Aug 30, 2017 – the highest since July 2015. — StarBiz
Naza Kia appoints new CEO: Naza Kia Malaysia, the official distributor of KIA vehicles in Malaysia, has appointed Ivan Kuan Thai Woon its new chief executive officer with immediate effect. — Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
