Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir said foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Malaysia are on track to reach US$10bn this year (US$9.1bn in 2010) despite a gloomy outlook for the U.S. economy.
- "We have now more eggs in the basket, meaning we are not overly dependent on one or two sources of investment like the U.S. and Europe," he said.
- “We have signed FTAs with a number of countries and regions. The FTAs are not limited just to trade but also for investment,” he noted. (Bernama)
Crime has come down. Performance Management and Delivery Unit’s (Pemandu) strategies are working and the data has been verified in five different ways, according to director of crime, NKRA, Eugene Teh. The five different ways are classification of crimes, check and see whether the police officers are actually where they are supposed to be, external checks by fiver experienced people from overseas, external audit by PwC and data checks against other third-party data.
- “The data may not be 100% correct but the direction the data is showing is not wrong either. We are trying to put as many checks in place without overburdening the system,” he said. (Financial Daily)
Iskandar Malaysia attracted about RM95bn in committed investments from Jan-Jun 2011, according to Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) CEO Ismail Ibrahim. This was more than double the cumulative RM47bn target for the fiver years up to 2010. From 2011 to 2015, Iskandar Malaysia is targeted to achieve RM73bn in investments.
- “More good news on investments are coming to Iskandar but let PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak or Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman do the appropriate announcements,” Ismail added.
- Irda has spent about RM339m in 1H11 from RM945m in 2011 on infrastructure projects and related activities.
- Ismail said RM214m would be disbursed in 2H11, bringing total spending to RM553m. (Starbiz)
The manufacturing sector will spearhead Sarawak's transformation into a knowledgebased economy, characterised by more value-added activities in line with objectives of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. He said that the first phase of SCORE had surpassed expectations, having successfully put in place the foundations to attract investors for a list of earmarked priority industries and projects. (Bernama)
The MY Rapid Transit (MRT) project and other Entry Point Projects (EPPs) will be able to boost domestic demand and provide the buffer for Malaysia’s continued growth amid the increasingly uncertain global economy, said PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. On whether the government would be able to stick to the budget this year, he said: “We can defend our budget but out economic growth will be subjected to external demand as well. If the external economy falls by 1%, the country’s GDP will contract by 0.4%.” (NST)
Foreign investors bought a net US$3.7bn of long-term U.S. assets in Jun, down sharply from US$24.2bn in May. (WSJ) U.S. net foreign capital outflows measured US$29.5bn in Jun, compared with outflows of US$48.8bn in May. (WSJ)
U.S. homebuilder confidence remained weak in Aug, as the National Association of Home Builders' housing index held steady at 15. The reading matched economists’ expectations. (WSJ, Bloomberg)
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will expand public housing and medical benefits and tighten curbs on foreign workers, after a backlash over the cost of living led to record opposition gains in the May elections. The government will raise salary thresholds and require better educational qualifications for some foreign workers, Lee said, stressing the nation needs to ensure policy adjustments don’t hurt Singapore’s attractiveness to investors. (Bloomberg)
China’s finance ministry said local governments’ debts are controllable, seeking to damp concern that the nation’s record lending boom will lead to a jump in bad loans. China will speed up studying a mechanism for local governments to sell bonds, an unidentified official from the Ministry of Finance said. They should no longer set up companies to fund public projects off their balance sheet or guarantee their debt, the official said. (Bloomberg)
World sugar prices may range between 23-28cents a pound as China, the secondbiggest user, and Indonesia increase imports, draining a global surplus of 4m metric tons, the International Sugar Organization said. (Bloomberg)
Remittances sent home by Philippine citizens overseas rose at a faster pace in Jun, helping sustain consumer spending and economic growth. Money sent from abroad increased 7% yoy to US$1.737bn in Jun (+6.9% in May), the central bank said. (Bloomberg)
Thai Finance Minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala announced five policy priorities. He said he would give financial aid to flood victims, continue tight fiscal policy and tight monetary policy, ensure manufacturers were not hurt by the government’s plan to raise the minimum wage to THB300/day, and improve private and public sector cooperation. (Bangkok Post)
The Thai government will implement its promised policy to reduce fuel prices over the short term to lower the cost of living, Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said. Mr Pichai said his ministry planned to terminate levy collections on premium petrol (95), regular petrol (91) and diesel.
- The fuel levy exemption would last for six months to a year, when people would have higher incomes because of the government's plans to give credit cards to farmers and raise the daily minimum wage to THB300 and the starting salary for new graduates to THB15,000 a month, he said.
- "Once people have higher incomes, fuel prices will be raised gradually to reflect the real cost in the long run. (Bangkok Post)
Singapore: Retail sales rise at faster pace as jobs spur spending
Singapore‟s retail sales growth accelerated in June as an expanding job market encouraged purchases of luxury goods, telephones and computers. The retail sales index rose 10.9% from a year earlier after climbing a revised 9.6% in May, the Statistics Department said. Tourists are visiting the city in record numbers, drawn by Genting Singapore and Las Vegas Sands Corp.‟s casino complexes on the island, which include shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. Employers have expanded payrolls to meet demand for goods and services after a record pace of economic growth in 2010, boosting wages and increasing consumer spending. (Bloomberg)
Japan: Economy shrinks less than expected on quake rebuilding
Japan‟s economy contracted less than economists estimated in the second quarter as reconstruction work counters the effects of the record 11 Mar earthquake and a strengthening yen. GDP shrank at an annualized 1.3% rate in the three months ended 30 June, marking three consecutive quarters of declines, the Cabinet office said. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that the world‟s third-biggest economy will probably resume its expansion this quarter after pledging yesterday to take “bold action” to curb yen gains if necessary. The nation‟s former top currency official Eisuke Sakakibara said Japan‟s currency may rise to a postwar record, threatening the profits of exporters from Toyota Motor Corp to Sony Corp just as global growth slows. (Bloomberg)
China: July gas demand rises 25%; fuel consumption gains 5%
China‟s natural gas consumption rose to the highest in five months as the world‟s biggest energy user doubled imports to meet demand for the less-polluting fuel. Apparent demand, or domestic production plus net imports and minus inventory changes, climbed 25% in July from a year earlier to 10.3 billion cubic meters, the highest since February, the National Development and Reform Commission said. Consumption in the first seven months gained 22% to 73.4bn cubic meters. China is seeking to boost the use of gas to cut carbon emissions and rely less on coal. Gas imports doubled last month from a year earlier to 2.7bn cubic meters. (Bloomberg)
China: Raised holdings of US treasuries as global demand wanes
China boosted its holdings of US government debt by 0.5% to USD1.17 trn in June, the third straight monthly increase, while other foreign investors were sellers of Treasuries for the first time since 2009. Chinese raised its note and bond holdings by USD1.655bn to a record USD1.16trn and ownership of bills by USD1.57bn to USD4.55bn. The bill purchases were the first since January by the largest foreign lender to the US as the Federal Reserve completed its USD600bn in purchases in June. (Bloomberg)
US: Manufacturing in New York Fed regions shrinks for third month
Manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly contracted in August for a third straight month as orders dropped and managers became less optimistic about the future, signaling the industry that has led the economic recovery is at risk of stumbling. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York‟s so-called Empire State Index fell to minus 7.7 from minus 3.8 in July. The bank‟s six-month outlook gauge dropped to the third-weakest level on record. Weaker demand from consumers and businesses, coupled with slowing growth in emerging economies and Europe, means factories are ratcheting down production.. (Bloomberg)
US stocks rise as S&P500 erases last week’s losses
US and European stocks rose, erasing all of last week‟s losses for the S&P 500 Index, as companies announced USD27bn in global deals after equities traded near their cheapest relative to earnings since 2009. The S&P 500 advanced 2.2% to 1,204.49 after losing 1.7% last week. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9% to 11,482.90. Google agreed to buy Motorola Inc.‟s Motorola Mobility for USD12.5bn while Time Warner Cable Inc. agreed to buy Carlyle Group‟s Insight Communications Co. for USD3bn in cash. Provimi SA said Cargill Inc. offered to buy the company for an enterprise value of EUR1.5bn. (Bloomberg)
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