The SFO declined to comment beyond stating its investigation into Tesco was continuing. Clarke was sacked as Tesco CEO in July 2014 after three years in the top job. Last month three former senior executives of Tesco accused of fraud and false accounting were told they would face trial next September.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.50% lower to US$55.72 per barrel at 3.48pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.24% to 4.2270 versus the US dollar at 3.58pm.
Top foreign stories
India seeks to raise up to US$1.7b from state-run reinsurer GIC Re’s IPO: State-run reinsurer General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re)’s initial public offering of shares next week seeks to raise as much 113.7 billion rupees (US$1.7 billion) in what will be India’s second-biggest IPO. — Reuters
Divided Uber board reaches peace with SoftBank, governance deal: Uber Technologies Inc’s fractured board declared peace on Tuesday, attempting to put months of strife behind it by unanimously passing a series of measures to shore up corporate governance, bring in major investor SoftBank and diminish the power of former chief executive Travis Kalanick. — Reuters
Japan’s Aeon lifts full-year profit forecast on restructuring boost: Aeon Co Ltd, Japan’s largest retailer by sales, upgraded its full-year earnings forecast by 2.6% on Wednesday, helped by restructuring at its struggling general merchandising stores. The supermarket and shopping mall operator said it expected operating profit to hit 200 billion yen (US$1.78 billion) in the year through February. — Reuters
Japan’s economy sees output exceed capacity the most in 9 years: Japan’s economy saw output exceed full capacity by the most in nine years in the April-June quarter, a Bank of Japan estimate showed, a positive sign for the central bank as it seeks to accelerate inflation to its elusive 2% target. The output gap stood at plus 1.22% in April-June, staying in positive territory for the third straight quarter. — Reuters
Tesco to pay first dividend since 2014-15 crisis, profit up 27%: Tesco said it would resume paying a dividend for the first time in three years, with strong demand for fresh food and cost savings helping Britain’s biggest retailer to lift first-half profit by 27. — Reuters
Top local stories
Bank Negara to expose non-compliant financial bodies by Jan 2018: Bank Negara will publish enforcement actions taken against financial institutions and intermediaries for non-compliance with rules and regulations. “We expect financial institutions to adhere to strong compliance and corporate governance standards. We have not hesitated to impose hefty fines when circumstances warranted such actions,” said governor Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim.
Advancecon clinches RM32m Gamuda Gardens contract: Advancecon Holdings Bhd has secured a RM32.76mil contract from Mujur Minat Sdn Bhd for site clearing, earthwork and ancillary works at Gamuda Gardens in Rawang. — StarBiz
Loss-making Perisai’s viability called into question by external auditors: Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd’s external auditors Baker Tilly AC have issued a statement of “matertial uncertainty related to going concern” on the company after auditing the company’s financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2017. — StarBiz
World Bank revises up Malaysia’s 2017 GDP to 5.2%: The World Bank has revised up Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for this year to 5.2% from 4.9% in June, on the back of a much stronger-than-expected growth of 5.7% in the first half of 2017. — Bernama
Better outlook seen for green sukuk: Green sukuk in Malaysia is expected to have a better outlook in the near term with the support from Bank Negara and Securities Commission, says Cagamas Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Chung Chee Leong. As banks in the country have started to focus on projects related to green environment, global warming and environmental sustainability, this could help drive the green sukuk trend, he said. — Bernama
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