The week at a glance 13 November 2016

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ta04480Sabah & Sarawak

OceanMight sees 400,000 hours of zero LTI for Sabah project

OceanMight Sdn Bhd, the Oil & Gas Unit and associate company of KKB Engineering Bhd, recorded a significant milestone of 400,000 Man-Hours with ZERO Lost Time Injury (LTI) for its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of WHP for Repsol Oil & Gas Malaysia Ltd (Repsol) Kinabalu Redevelopment Project. This contract comprised approximately 4,500MT of works.

 

Palm oil’s green body comes under fire from activists

Some activist groups are withdrawing support for the palm oil body that provides sustainability certificates for the industry, saying it is biased toward producers and its complaints panel is flawed. Aidenvironment, an Amsterdam-based green group, could become the latest to cut ties with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) over what it calls poor handling of a complaint against major palm producer IOI Group.

 

Petronas includes Kimanis in Malaysian crude oil basket

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has included Kimanis crude oil into the Malaysian crude oil basket to determine the Malaysian Crude Oil Official Selling Price (MCO OSP) effective Jan 1, 2017. The current basket references the Labuan, Miri Light and Kikeh crude oil.

 

EAGA contributes towards asean economy

The East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) is a stable and highly competitive region as proven by its real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annual growth rate of 4.7 per cent in 2014, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan. He said the growth rate was similar to that of the ASEAN economy, an indication of the sub-region’s market potential.

 

Ambank opens new branch in Kota Kinabalu

AmBank Group Bhd is continuing its commitment to serve Sabahans with the opening of its 12th branch in the state at Plaza Shell on Friday. Chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim said the new branch is designed to be customer-friendly, supported by the latest technology to ensure a fast turnaround time and efficient delivery.

 

National

‘Too early to predict possible downside risks of Trump’s win on Malaysia’s economy’

It’s too early to predict the possible downside risks to Malaysia’s economy following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, said Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor, Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim. However, the Governor gave an assurance the central bank was well-prepared to face the risks.

 

EPF to invest more in infrastructure sector

The Employees Provident Fund is ready to park more funds in the infrastructure sector by setting aside three per cent of its allocation for the segment.

The EPF asset size currently stands at RM690 billion, of which 51 per cent is fixed income, equities (36 per cent) and alternative investment (10 per cent).

Infrastructure, private equity and real estate investment is categorised under alternative investment by the EPF.

UOB optimistic of impact on economies of Trump’s pledge to boost infrastructure spending

United Overseas Bank Malaysia (UOB Malaysia) is cautiously optimistic of the long-term impact on the US as well as the global economies of the pledge by US president-elect, Donald Trump, to boost infrastructure spending. Economist Julia Goh said this came at a time when fiscal policy was needed to play a greater role in resuscitating global growth.

 

Malaysia’s economy grows 4.3 pct in 3Q16

Malaysia’s economy expanded 4.3 per cent in the third quarter driven mainly by domestic consumption and net exports, said Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim. The economy grew 4.0 per cent between May and June this year.

 

BNM acts to ensure markets do not price ringgit excessively

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is taking measures to ensure the markets do not price the ringgit excessively and out of sync, while providing the necessary liquidity in the foreign exchange market. The central bank, through the Financial Markets Committee (FMC), said it was also in close engagement with all market participants to update and monitor the market situation.

 

MAMSB: Indian travellers can exchange Rs500, Rs1,000 with Banks in India, Reserve Bank of India

Travellers to India by Dec 30, 2016 can exchange the existing Rs500 and/or Rs1,000 notes with the banks in India or the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said The Malaysian Association of Money Services Business (MAMSB). MAMSB said this was guided by the notification and frequently-asked-questions issued by the RBI and India’s Ministry of Finance.

 

Final 3 shortlisted strategic partners suit Proton’s vision

The final three shortlisted potential foreign strategic partners for Proton all have the criteria that can propel the national carmaker to greater heights, Proton Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Kenali said. He said the final three shortlisted automotive players or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) remain the frontrunners as the company believes they would be able to provide good technology and know-how, sharing best practices with Proton.