Malaysia‟s inflation is moderating and growth is within expectations, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar said. Meanwhile, she also said that Asia’s domestic demand has become a more important growth source. Asia transforming into global consumers from producers and Asia has policy space to boost domestic demand, Zeti said. Asia is affected by quantitative easing and policy spillovers. Asia doesn‟t have the preconditions to pursue a single currency as it‟s costly to put preconditions in place for a single currency, Zeti said. (Bloomberg)
Malaysia must create conditions for competition to flourish on the basis of merit in order for the country to transform itself to a high-income nation, said CEO of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), Datuk Seri Idris Jala. He also said that it was important to implement all the Strategic Reform Initiatives identified in the New Economic Model to create conditions for competitiveness, productivity and profitability. When asked about the impact of minimum wage on investment, Jala said that the introduction of a wage floor was needed in order to make sure the lower strata of society, including foreign labour, were able to share in the country‟s prosperity. (Malaysian Insider)
Sarawak's manufacturing sector attracted RM8.4bn in investments last year, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan. Of the total, RM4.3bn or 51.2% was from domestic investors while the remaining RM4.1bn or 48.8% came from overseas, he said. Sarawak moved one rung up to third spot among the states in investments last year after Penang (RM9.1bn) and Selangor (RM8.7bn), he added. (Bernama)
Small and medium enterprises (SME) will have an easier way to market their products abroad. Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir said the government had inked an agreement with foreign hypermarkets in Kuala Lumpur to sell these products at their outlets overseas. The government had set up promotional programmes and branding for SME products at foreign markets with help from various government agencies, he said. (NST)
Malaysia remains Southeast Asia‟s biggest tablet computer market, raking in US$374m (RM1.1bn) sales last year, according to GfK group. Technology lovers in this region snapped up more than 1.6m tablets over the 12-month span of 2011. GfK‟s retail tracking of tablet sales in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, found that five out of these six countries registered consistent expansion over each previous quarters. (BT)
Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee held the policy rate at 3.00% in its meeting today, citing that the rate is appropriate for the current economic condition and inflation scenario. (The Nation)
China’s final HSBC manufacturing PMI rose to 49.3 in Apr from 48.3 in Mar. (Bloomberg)
India’s HSBC-Markit manufacturing PMI rose to 54.9 in Apr (54.7 in Mar), breaking two consecutive months of decline. (WSJ)
Indonesia’s Danareksa consumer confidence index declined in Apr to 83.4 from 84.8 in Mar. (Bloomberg)
Bank Indonesia's retail sales index was 115.5 in Mar, up from a revised 110.0 in the previous month, driven by strong sales of household goods. (Reuters)
Indonesia is expected to announce the ceiling on single shareholder stakes in commercial banks this month. Indonesian central bank governor Darmin Nasution was quoted last week as saying that it would likely issue the new regulation this month. The Financial Times in an interview with some Jakarta bankers said that the authorities were looking at a 50% limit, with Halim Alamsyan, Bank Indonesia's deputy governor, saying "the plan is to put a threshold on the maximum ... ownership [of shares] for an individual or entity." (Financial Daily)
Japan’s total vehicle sales grew 93.7% yoy in Apr (71.8% in Mar), whilst standard-vehicle sales growth notched up to 92.0% from 78.2% in Mar. (Bloomberg)
Japan’s monetary base fell 0.3% yoy in Apr to ¥121.5tr (-0.2% in Mar), whilst labour cash earnings grew 1.3% yoy in Mar (a revised 0.1% in Feb), almost six times the survey estimate of 0.2%. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone unemployment rose to 10.9% in Mar (10.8% in Feb), equaling the record high of 15 years ago as Italy and Spain joblessness rose. This matches economists‟ expectations. In the wider 27-nation European Union, unemployment was steady at 10.2%. (Reuters)
The Eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to 45.9 in Apr (47.7 in Mar), the lowest in 34 months and is just a shade lower than the consensus estimate of 46. The output sub-index slumped to 46.1 from Mar's 48.7 and below a flash reading of 46.4, chalking up a five-month low. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
The ADP National Employment Report showed the US private sector added 119,000 jobs last month, below economists' expectations for a gain of 177,000 jobs. (Reuters)
New orders for manufactured goods in the US dropped 1.5% mom in Mar after a revised 1.1% rise in Feb as demand for transportation equipment and a range of other goods slumped. (Reuters)
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