20120405 1017 Local & Global Economy Related News.

The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) aims to collect RM110bn in taxes this year (RM109.7bn in 2011). CEO Datuk Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar said every year about 50% of the tax receipts come from companies, 25% from petroleum, 17% from individuals and the rest from other forms of taxes. He said news of Petronas' plan to lower its annual dividend to the government was of no worry to the IRB as revenue would come from new oil exploration areas. The IRB was also targeting 2.8m taxpayers, who would be e-filers this year, from the 2.5m who used the e-filing system last year. "We will also be putting our suggestion for mandatory e-filing in this country," he said. Individual taxpayers who choose to submit their forms via e-filing will now have up to 15 May to do so, he added. Previously, the deadline was on 30 Apr. (BT)

The Job Outlook Index, as measured by JobStreet.com, registered 55 pts in 1Q12 (49 pts in 4Q11). A higher index means that the industries are creating jobs and employment, while a lower index means the reverse with lesser jobs on offer. In 1Q12, some 43% of the survey respondents felt that the general job outlook would be slightly or much better in the next 12 months (31% in 4Q11), 29% said the outlook would remain the same while the balance 28% felt it could be slightly or much worse. (BT, Starbiz)

Philippines: March inflation unexpectedly eases to 30-month low
Philippine inflation unexpectedly slowed to a 30-month low in March as gains in transport costs eased, supporting the central bank‟s decision to cut interest rates twice in the first quarter. Consumer prices rose 2.6% from a year earlier, after a 2.7% advance in February, the National Statistics Office said yesterday. Inflation may accelerate in the coming months after the government approved an increase in minimum fares for jeepneys, a common form of public transport, and as wage boards study petitions to raise the minimum pay. (Bloomberg)

The Philippine government spent PP134.7bn in Jan to pay its debts, 7% higher than the PP125.8bn paid in the same month last year. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices for cars continued to rise across the board in Singapore. The open category saw the biggest increase - up S$4,489 to S$84,590. (Channel News Asia)

Indonesia expects to finish this year the revision of the negative-investment list in a bid to allow more FDI flowing into several key sectors, including the telecommunication, pharmaceutical and health care, and education sectors. (Jakarta Post)

Indonesia’s consumer confidence index weakened to a nine-month low of 107.3, though an index of above 100 means consumers in general are still optimistic. (Reuters)

With Indonesia’s new state budget approving less electricity subsidies, state power company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) says it may reduce the consumption of oil-based fuels to cut spending, which could lead to blackouts. PLN’s oil-based fuel consumption, previously expected to reach 7.5m kiloliters this year, might be cut to 6m kiloliters. (Jakarta Post)

Indonesia has canceled plans to raise the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) to Rp4,100/litre, from Rp3,100/litre (US$0.33) currently. (Jakarta Post)

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister suggested Wednesday that Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina should sell RON 90 gasoline to prevent excessive fuel-subsidy disbursement. (Jakarta Post)

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Thailand is winning back the confidence of foreign investors after last year's devastating floods, which submerged a main industrial belt and disrupted supply chains across the world. (WSJ)

Vietnam’s export value of garments and textiles reached US$1.15bn in Mar, making them the country's largest export earners with US$3.23bn in total earnings in 1Q12, the General Statistics Office reported. (Vietnam News)

Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said he is stepping up plans to revamp the Communist-led country's bloated state sector that have led to a series of debilitating credit-rating downgrades and pressured Vietnam's fragile currency. (WSJ)

The US is to begin easing sanctions on Myanmar following the weekend by election victory by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her allies, starting with a relaxation on travel by Myanmar officials and on financial transactions and investment. (FT)

India: Services PMI falls, bolstering case for cut in rates
Indian services grew at the slowest pace in five months in March, bolstering the case for a cut in interest rates to support economic expansion. The Purchasing Managers‟ Index fell to 52.3 from 56.5 in February, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said yesterday. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The report follows a decline in the manufacturing PMI for March that signaled slower Indian factory-output growth as the highest borrowing costs since 2008 sap domestic demand and the debt crisis in Europe crimps exports. The Reserve Bank of India is juggling the need to shield growth with inflation risks from a weaker rupee, rising energy costs and government spending. (Bloomberg)

China: Speeds opening as QFII quota increased to USD80bn
China accelerated the opening of its capital markets by more than doubling the amount foreigners can invest in stocks, bonds and bank deposits as the government shifts its growth model to domestic consumption from exports. The China Securities Regulatory Commission increased the quotas for qualified foreign institutional investors to USD80bn from USD30bn, according to a statement on its website yesterday. Offshore investors will also be allowed to pump an extra 50bn yuan (USD7.95bn) of local currency into the country, up from 20bn yuan. China has pledged this year to free up control of the yuan and liberalize interest rates as the government deepens reforms to revive growth and offset slowing exports and a cooling housing market. (Bloomberg)

Australia: Export slump intensifies rate-cut pressure
Australia unexpectedly posted back-to-back trade deficits as coal and metal exports slumped, sending the currency lower and intensifying pressure on the central bank to resume cutting interest rates. Imports outpaced exports by AUD480m in February, from a revised AUD971m deficit a month earlier, the first consecutive shortfalls in two years, a Bureau of Statistics report showed yesterday. The data boost the case for Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens to lower rates at the 1 May policy meeting because overseas shipments account for about a quarter of gross domestic product. (Bloomberg)

UK: House prices surge most in almost three years
U.K. house prices rose the most in almost three years in March, boosted by demand from first-time buyers before the expiry of a tax holiday on some home purchases, Halifax said. Prices jumped 2.2% from February to an average GBP163,803 (USD260,300), the mortgage unit of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in a statement in London yesterday. That‟s the biggest monthly increase since May 2009. From a year earlier, values were up 0.8%. (Bloomberg)

Eurozone retail sales fell 0.1% mom in Feb (a revised +1.1% in Jan), matching economists’ median forecast. On a yoy basis, the measure fell 2.1%, worse than economists’ projections for a 1.2% fall. (BBC)

The final reading of the Eurozone composite PMI came in at 49.1 in Mar, up from 48.7 estimated initially (49.3 in Feb), whilst the services PMI was revised up to 49.2 from 48.7 initially estimated (48.8 in Feb). (BBC)

EU: ECB keeps rate at 1% as economy shrinks, German price risks
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged as policy makers balance the threat of inflation in Germany against the need to fight the sovereign debt crisis. ECB officials meeting in Frankfurt yesterday kept the benchmark rate at a record low of 1%. While nations from Greece to Spain are battling recessions and record unemployment, workers in Germany are winning some of the biggest pay increases in 20 years, widening the gaps between Europe‟s largest economy and its euro-area peers. (Bloomberg)

The IMF approved a €5.17bn loan instalment for Portugal after "good progress" in the country's economic program. This approval is part of a three-year €27.6bn loan program. (AFP)

Wall Street down on stimulus doubt, Spain debt sale
US stocks fell for a second day on Wednesday as investors contemplated a world without monetary stimulus and a poorly received bond auction in Spain suggested the effects of Europe‟s funding operations were waning. Spanish borrowing costs jumped at bond auctions, raising concerns that the rally in the troubled sovereign debt of euro-zone peripheral nations may be coming to an end. The yield on Spain‟s 10-year bond leaped to 5.7%, its highest since January. Stocks continued to feel the fallout from the minutes from the Federal Reserve‟s latest meeting, published on Tuesday. The DJIA fell 124.80 pts, or 0.95%, to 13,074.15. The S&P 500 Index lost 14.42 pts, or 1.02%, to 1,398.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 45.48 pts, or 1.46%, to 3,068.09. (Financial Daily)

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner repeated the Obama administration's view that the eurozone has enough resources to resolve its public debt crisis. He added that the US was far behind on reforming the country’s housing finance system, whilst the biggest threats to the economy would come from the fallout from the European debt crisis and higher oil prices. (AFP)

The US ISM non-manufacturing index fell to 56 in Mar (57.3 in Feb), still topping the average for the previous economic expansion ending Dec 2007 of 55.3. Economists expected a fall to 56.8. (Bloomberg)

US: Service industries kept expanding in March
Service industries in the U.S. grew in March, capping the strongest quarter in a year and indicating the world‟s largest economy will keep generating jobs. The Institute for Supply Management‟s non-manufacturing index fell to 56 from a one-year high of 57.3 in February, the Tempe, Arizona-based group‟s data showed yesterday. Last month‟s reading still topped the average for the previous economic expansion. Another report showed companies added an estimated 209,000 workers to payrolls in March. Sales at businesses like restaurants and retailers are climbing as an improving labor market shores up household incomes and confidence in the face of more expensive gasoline. (Bloomberg)

The number of jobs in the US non-farm private business sector increased by a seasonally-adjusted 209,000 in Mar, down from a revised 230,000 in Feb, payrolls firm ADP said. This fell short of analysts’ estimate of 217,000. In 1Q12, monthly employment gains averaged 207,000 jobs, compared with 156,000 for all of 2011. (AFP)