20110822 1120 Local & Global Economic Related News.

The government has directed the  Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to study  measures to assist those earning below RM3,000  in facing the  problem of  increasing prices of goods and services. Second Finance Minister Datuk  Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said: "Pemandu is now scrutinising the study to be  formulated into a data base through a special laboratory set up for this purpose."  

• The laboratory would submit a summary on the study within the next two weeks, and this  would be handed over to the Finance Ministry before being reviewed again for inclusion  into the Budget 2012, he added. (Bernama)

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah also said that Malaysia  would be able to improve its GDP growth in 2H11 supported by a better output from the  petroleum sector. There is a need to achieve a 5.5% growth in 2H11 for Malaysia to  achieve its target this year, he said, adding that  factors affecting the Petroleum sector's  growth would be overcome during the period.  

• On the country's development expenditure, Ahmad Husni said the Implementation  Coordination Unit under the Prime Minister's Department had set up a monitoring system  which carries out checks weekly to ensure that all  developments plans are going in  order. (Bernama)     

Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd on last Friday announced an income dividend of 6.5 sen  per unit for the  Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 for the financial year ending 31 Aug  2011. This will be an increase of 0.15 sen per unit compared with the 6.35 sen dividend  given last year, PNB Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said. The dividend will  involve a payout of RM909.1m, which will be 17.7% higher than the payment of RM772.2m  made last year. (Bernama)  

The design works for the  100-storey Menara Warisan Merdeka is expected to be  completed by end of this year, said Permodalan Nasional Bhd President and Group Chief  Executive, Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman. "We have to see not only in terms of a  100-storey building but also the entire infrastructure, the roads and utilities," he said. The  integrated development project, worth RM5bn and to be built by PNB, will be located close  to the Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara in the city. Its completion is expected in  2015. (Bernama)  

Outgoing director-general of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA),  Datuk Jalilah Baba, said the recent U.S. credit rating downgrade may encourage more  U.S. companies to invest in Malaysia. She said that with the downgrade, U.S. investors would find it hard to get credit from their banks and "this is a push factor for them to go  outside of the country and find competitive countries to operate businesses".  

• "The U.S. will remain our major investor. I am confident the total investment for this year  will exceed RM50bn, based on the Jan-Jun’s total investment stood at RM28.6bn with  453 projects approved, and more than 400 still being negotiated," Jalilah noted.   
• Asked as to who would replace her, she said there was no indication as yet, with a  possible announcement today. (Bernama)    

The PM Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Sunday asked the Works Ministry to study the  possibility of abolishing one of the two toll collections on the Cheras-Kajang He said the  study should then be tabled to the Cabinet for perusal before the government could decide  on the issue which had for long been a woe for residents living around the area.

• "I mention this because I want to show to you that when we say 'people first', we really  want to do whatever possible to lighten the people's burden," he noted.   
• "On the Grand Saga toll, I will ask the Works Ministry to study the matter in depth and  bring it up to the Cabinet for us to see whether we can afford to do something about the  toll issue. (Bernama)  

Capital standards designed to fortify the  global financial system are eroding as  European officials, beset by a debt crisis, rewrite the regulations and U.S. rulemaking  stalls. The 27 member-states of the  Basel Committee on Banking Supervisionfought  over the new regime, known as Basel III, for more than a year before agreeing in Dec to  require banks to bolster capital and reduce reliance on borrowing.  

• Now, as they put the standards into effect in their own countries, European Union  lawmakers are revising definitions of capital, while the U.S. is struggling to reconcile the  Basel mandates with financial reforms imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act. (Bloomberg)     

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attempted to shut the door on common  euro-area  bonds as a means to solve the debt crisis, saying that she won’t let financial markets  dictate policy. Joint euro bonds would require European Union treaty changes that would  “take years” and might run afoul of Germany’s constitution, Merkel said. While common  borrowing might arrive at some point in the “distant future,” bringing in euro bonds at this  time would further undermine economic stability and so they “are not the answer right  now.” (Bloomberg)  

India aims to accelerate the pace of economic growth to 9% in the five years starting Apr  12 to help cut poverty, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. (Bloomberg)  

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China has nothing to  fear when it comes to itsinvestment in U.S. Treasuries. Biden and Wen both expressed  confidence in the U.S. economy, with the Chinese premier saying its stability “is in the  interest of the whole world.” (Bloomberg)  

U.S. payrolls climbed in 31 states in Jul, led by New York and Texas, while the jobless  rate increased in 28, painting a mixed employment picture the month before global stock  markets slumped. Employers in New York boosted staff by 29,400 workers, while those in  Texas added 29,300, figures from the Labor Department showed. Joblessness increased  by 0.4%pt in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and South Carolina. Nevada continued to lead  the nation in unemployment with a rate of 12.9%. (Bloomberg)  

Thailand’s people have given Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra a score of 6.59 out of  10 for her problem-solving ability while voicing their confidence that her government will be  able to improve the national economy, according to a survey conducted by the National  Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). (Thai Financial Post)  

Facing an uncertain global economic outlook, the  Thai government will focus on  strengthening the domestic economy, particularly  boosting incomes for farmers and  labourers, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat na Ranong said.  Thailand's economy relies too much on exports, the minister said, adding that GDP should  be restructured in the near future to derive 50% from exports and 50% from domestic  output. Kittirat did not give a time frame for achieving this ratio. (The Nation)  

Thailand’s opposition is getting ready to question the government on how it will finance  and implement its  populist policies, many of which do not reflect campaign pledges,  Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said. The two-day policy debate is scheduled to  kick off on Tuesday.

• The government has imposed a number of conditions on its campaign pledges, thus  making it difficult for voters to predict when these populist policies could yield results, he  said.  
• For example, the plan to increase the daily minimum wage to THB300 is limited to civil  servants and employees of state enterprises, not the general workforce, he said. (The  Nation)