Malaysia and Qatar will set up a RM6.2bn joint investment fund to boost investment in both countries and in the region. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said each country would contribute RM3.1bn to the fund with details on investments to be worked out later. (The Star)
The Securities Commission (SC) has finalised the eligible requirements for private retirement scheme (PRS) providers. In a statement, the SC said the eligible firms can now submit their applications for approval by 15 Feb 2012. The eligible guidelines for PRS firms include having relevant experience in fund management and RM1bn in assets, pension fund management or life insurance management. This also covers the operation and administration of retail or pension funds or life insurance business. (Business Times)
Singapore's purchasing managers' index fell to 48.7 in Nov from 49.5 in Oct, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management said. The PMI for electronics, a major export item for Singapore, expanded for a second straight month in Nov but the pace slowed to 50.9, compared to 52.1 in Oct. (Dow Jones)
South Korea: Economy expands more-than-estimated 0.8% on car, metal exports
South Korea’s economy expanded more than the central bank initially estimated in the third quarter as exports of cars and metal products increased. Gross domestic product grew 0.8% over the three months through September from the second quarter, compared with an October estimate of 0.7%, the Bank of Korea said in Seoul today. The economy expanded 3.5% from a year earlier, beating the bank’s October estimate of 3.4%. Europe’s debt crisis has weighed on Asia’s growth, with China recording the weakest manufacturing since 2009 for last month. (Bloomberg)
Japan has consistently emerged as one of the top five sources of foreign investments in Malaysia in recent years, according to Malaysian International Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. Last year, 13.8% of FDIs that flowed into Malaysia were from Japan. Approved Japanese investments in 2010 totalled RM4.02bn, and total investment for the first eight months of this year was RM2.46bn. (Malaysian Reserve)
China’s HSBC purchasing managers' index for the service sector fell to 52.5 in Nov (54.1 in Oct). (Reuters)
India’s HSBC services PMI fell to 53.2 in Nov from 49.1 in Oct. (Reuters)
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it might consider cutting key policy rates next year as growth-dampening factors from abroad were expected to persist and harm the domestic economy. The current BSP policy rates, which influence commercial interest rates, stand at 4.5 percent for overnight borrowing and 6.5 for overnight lending. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects remittances sent by migrant Filipinos to grow 5% in 2012 to hit at least PP21.105bn in 2012 from the estimated PP20bn in 2011 as demand for Filipino labor by employers in various parts of the globe remains robust. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Italy: Main parties hold fire on Monti’s plan
Italy’s main political parties are holding their fire on the government’s EUR30bn (USD40bn) austerity and growth plan, suggesting they won’t derail measures Prime Minister Mario Monti says are needed to save the nation and the euro. Monti appealed to lawmakers for support yesterday when he presented the plan to Parliament in Rome. Investors gave their backing, with Italian bonds gaining the most in almost four months and the yield difference with German bunds falling below 400 basis points for the first time since 31 Oct. (Bloomberg)
Italian prime minister Mario Monti unveiled a €30bn austerity package of tax rises, pension reforms and growth-boosting incentives, aims to raise more than €10bn from a property tax, impose a new levy on luxury items like yachts, raise value added tax, crack down on tax evasion and increase the pension age. Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said the measures would allow the goal of a balanced budget by 2013 to be met despite a forecast that GDP would contract by 0.4-0.5% in 2012. (Bloomberg, Reuters)
Standard & Poor‟s said Germany and France may be stripped of their AAA credit ratings as the debt crisis prompts 15 euro nations to be put on review for possible downgrade, depending on the result of a summit of European Union leaders on 9 Dec. (Bloomberg)
France and Germany have agreed on a series of reforms to address the euro zone sovereign debt crisis that will be presented to EU President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday, including: a treaty among the EU27 members, so that nobody feels excluded, but (they) are open to a treaty among the EA17 (euro members), with an option to opt-in for other members automatic sanctions in the event of a breach of the rule on deficits below 3% of GDP (Reuters)
Euro: Treaty rewrite sought by Merkel, Sarkozy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for a rewrite of the European Union’s governing rules to tighten economic cooperation in a demonstration of unity on ending the debt crisis. Stocks and the euro rose after Merkel and Sarkozy said that Europe’s two biggest economies were aligned on backing automatic penalties for deficit violators and locking limits on debt into euro states’ constitutions. The French leader said they aimed to reach consensus on the changes required by March. “We don’t have time -- we are conscious of the gravity of the situation,” Sarkozy said after the two met over lunch at the Elysee palace in Paris. “We want to go as fast as possible based on this agreement between France and Germany, which is open to others.” (Bloomberg)
Euro: S&P places 15 Euro nations on warning for downgrade
Standard & Poor’s said Germany and France may be stripped of their AAA credit ratings as the debt crisis prompts 15 euro nations to be put on review for possible downgrade. The euro area’s six AAA rated countries are among the nations to be placed on a negative outlook, and their credit ratings may be cut depending on the result of a summit of European Union leaders on 9 Dec, S&P said in a statement yesterday. “Systemic stress in the eurozone has risen in recent weeks and reached such a level that a review of all eurozone sovereign ratings is warranted,” S&P said in a statement. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone‟s composite purchasing manager index rose slightly to 47.0 in Nov from 46.5 in Oct. The PMI was still far below the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction. (Reuters)
Eurozone services purchasing managers' index registered a level of 47 in Nov, only slightly up from Oct. Levels below 50 imply falling activity. (BBC)
Eurozone investor sentiment dropped for the fifth month in a row in Dec as fears about the bloc's debt crisis weighs on the real economy, the sentix research group said. The index tracking eurozone investor sentiment shed 2.8pts to -24.0 in Dec. Economists expected a reading of -19.7. (Reuters, Bloomberg)
Eurozone retail sales rose 0.4% mom in Oct (-0.6% in Sep). On a yoy basis, retail sales declined 0.4% (-1.4% in Sep). Economists expected a 0.1% mom rise and a 0.8% yoy fall. (CNBC)
US: Services grow at slowest pace since 2010
Service industries in the US expanded in November at the slowest pace since January 2010 as employment cooled, a sign improvement in the biggest part of the economy will be uneven. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index unexpectedly fell to 52 last month from 52.9 in October, the Tempe, Arizona based-group said yesterday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a gain to 53.9. Falling home prices, slow wage growth and limited job gains may make it difficult for households to sustain the pace of spending after the holiday shopping season. (Bloomberg)
The US Institute for Supply Management‟s non-manufacturing index unexpectedly fell to 52 in Nov (52.9 in Oct), the group said. Economists called for an increase to 53.9. (Bloomberg)
US factory orders fell 0.4% in Oct (-0.1% in Sep), according to data from the Commerce Department. Economists forecast factory orders would fall 0.3%. (Bloomberg)
A measure of job prospects in the US climbed in Nov to a three-year high, helped by growth in the world‟s largest economy. The Conference Board‟s Employment Trends Index jumped 1.2% to 103.7 in Nov (102.4 in Oct), the highest level since Sep 08, figures from the group showed. On a yoy basis, the measure rose 6.4%. (Bloomberg)
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