Malaysia Morning News For March 8

Malaysia central bank holds policy rate as inflation eases
Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected, after inflation eased and an early rate hike this year helped to bolster the currency.
— Bangkok Post

Palm oil prices in KL drop to six-week low
Malaysian palm oil futures declined today, as traders feared the prospect of cancelled shipments to India and after forecasts made at an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur.
— The Sun Daily

Govt committed to strengthening fintech ecosystem
The government remains committed to strengthening the local financial technology (fintech) ecosystem.
— New Straits Times

Prudential Malaysia unit in talks with KWAP to sell 30% stake for $435m
British insurer Prudential PLC is in advanced talks with Malaysia’s No.2 pension fund to sell a 30-percent stake, valued at about $435 million, in its Malaysian unit to comply with new foreign ownership rules, people familiar with the matter said.
— DealStreetAsia

Pos Malaysia falls to Sept 2016 low
Shares of Pos Malaysia fell to a mid-September 2016 low of RM3.46 at midday on Wednesday as concerns about its courier business continued to weigh.
— The Star Online

SCH diversifies into fertiliser business with purchase of firm
SCH Group Bhd is diversifying into the fertiliser business through the acquisition of an 83.33% stake in PK Fertilizers (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd (PKF Sarawak) for RM19.05 million.
— The Sun Daily

No exciting choices for Malaysia’s voters
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, despite being at the center of the world’s biggest state financial scandal in recent years, known locally as 1MDB, is widely predicted by pundits to win the country’s upcoming election.
— Asia Times

Kaneka stays bullish with MIDA support
THE petrochemical industry is an important sector in Malaysia. It is no surprise for industry giants such as Kaneka Corp of Japan to have picked Malaysia as a base in the mid-1990s.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia eyes RM200bil in investments this year
Malaysia’s investment performance is expected to remain stable this year, with little growth, based on the Government’s projection of attracting RM200bil in investments for 2018.
— The Star Online

Affin Bank first bank to adopt Genesys solution
Affin Bank Bhd has become the first bank in Malaysia to have a contact centre equipped with the Genesys Contact Centre System leveraging on Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IPVPN) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
— New Straits Times

Transgraph: CPO 3-mth futures to trade below RM2,650, weaken to RM2,200 in next 6 mths
Crude palm oil (CPO) three-month futures are expected to trade below the RM2,650 level and to weaken to the RM2,200 range in the next five to six months, according to Transgraph Consulting Pvt Ltd founder, chairman and managing director Nagaraj Meda.
— The Edge Markets

Atta Global buys property development firm for RM12m
Atta Global Group Bhd is acquiring property development company Sungguh Gemilang Development Sdn Bhd for RM12 million.
— The Sun Daily

Malaysia’s richest man Robert Kuok’s wealth surges further to $14.8 billion
Robert Kuok is again Malaysia’s richest man this year, according to Forbes’ 2018 ranking of the world’s billionaires.
— Business Insider

Liow: Four years on, Malaysia still determined to find MH370
Malaysia is determined to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 even though four years have passed since it disappeared, says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
— The Star Online

Jobs become jail for Malaysia’s migrant workers
When the tightly folded piece of paper landed on the pavement, Siti didn’t expect it to contain a wretched plea for help.
— UCA News

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ producer to settle 1MDB lawsuit, agrees to pay $60 million
Los Angeles-based movie studio Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay $60 million to the US government in order to resolve allegations that it profited from a massive Malaysian corruption scandal involving government fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, or 1MDB.
— Investvine

Feature photo Bernard Spragg. NZ

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Malaysia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Malaysia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.