Economy

Global: IMF says global growth picking up as US tax cuts take hold. The IMF warned policymakers to be on guard for the next recession even as it predicted global growth will accelerate to the fastest pace in seven years as US tax cuts spur businesses to invest. The fund raised its forecast for world expansion to 3.9% this year and next, up 0.2 ppt both years from its projection in Oct. That would be the fastest rate since 2011, when the world was bouncing back from the financial crisis. (Bloomberg)

US: Trump makes first big trade move with tariffs aimed at Asia. President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines, his first major trade move after repeated threats to crack down on what he sees as unfair foreign competition. The US will impose new duties of as much as 30% on foreign-made solar equipment, the US Trade Representative’s office said. The president also approved tariffs starting as high as 50% on imported washing machines, according to USTR. (Bloomberg)

US: Congress votes to end shutdown, sending spending bill to Trump. Congress voted to end the US government shutdown after three days by passing a temporary spending bill, prolonging the fight over a politically charged immigration proposal for at least another three weeks. The 266-150 House vote sends the measure to President Donald Trump, who is likely to sign it Monday evening. The impasse broke after Senate Democrats accepted a deal from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would fund the government through Feb 8. (Bloomberg)

Malaysia: Economy to strengthen between March and May. Malaysia's economy will continue to strengthen between March and May of 2018 based on the latest indices, says the Statistics Department. It said the leading index and coincident index showed a good performance in Nov 2017 as compared to the preceding month. At the same time, both diffusion indexes remained above 50.0, as it expects the economy will continue to strengthen in March to May. The leading index, which monitors the economic performance in advance, expanded 1.0% in Nov 2017 to 121.3 points from 120.1 points in Oct 2017. (StarBiz)

Markets

Seacera: Lands RM202.8m housing project in Terengganu. Seacera Group has landed a contact worth RM202.8mto build houses for government staff in Terengganu. Seacera said its unit Seacera Builders SB had accepted a letter of award from Fire Global Development SB to undertake a mixed development housing project in Setiu. It said the tenure of the contract is 60 months from the building plan approval of the project. Seacera added that the project was targeted for government staff, and it planned to build 989 units of landed houses with an expected GDV of RM242m. (The Edge)

Sumatec: Partner CaspiOilGas in gas deal with Kazakhstan co. Sumatec Resources’ business partner CaspiOilGas LLP signed a presale gas agreement with Kazakhstan-based NIPIneftegas Consortium (NIPI). The deal includes the sale of 6.2bn cubic metres of gas to NIPI over 15 years at market gas price. Sumatec said the NIPI-led consortium will convert the gas into petroleum products through a proprietary gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology. "The proposed capital expenditure (capex) for the gas utilisation plan which is tied to the gas development production agreement between SRB (Sumatec) and COG (CaspiOilGas) will start at USD60m (about RM236.5m) and the total capex of the plant over the period to bring it to full capacity will be USD360m (about RM1.42bn). The first phase of the plant operation is expected to start in 2019. (The Edge)

GHL: Starts Alipay payment services in Philippines this month. GHL Systems will commence offering Alipay payment acceptance services to Philippine in-store and online merchants this month. GHL said the roll out will start with physical merchants this month and eventually extend to e-commerce merchants. The Philippines marks the third Asean country after Malaysia and Thailand, where GHL has tied-up with Alipay to offer a next generation payment option to merchants. (The Edge)

Pasukhas: Sells Indonesian steam coal to Taiwan firm for RM25m. Pasukhas Group has secured a contract for the sale and delivery of one vessel of steam coal valued at USD6.35m or RM25m to a Taiwanese company. The construction company said its unit Pasukhas Products SB had inked the deal with the Taiwanese counterpart for the sale and delivery of the coal at the anchorage point of South Kalimantan, Indonesia. (StarBiz)

ManagePay: Unit gets ministry nod for money lending business. ManagePay Systems' unit has received the go-ahead from the government to start its money lending business targeting both individuals and businesses. It said ManagePay Resources SB had received the letter of approval from the moneylenders and pawnbrokers division of Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government. The money lending business is over and above MPay's Quickash peer-to-peer (P2P) financing platform. (StarBiz)

Oil and Gas (Overweight): Petronas says LNG cargo deliveries not affected by pipeline leakage. Petronas has confirmed that its liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo deliveries are not affected by the gas leak incident at Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) located in Long Luping, Lawas, Sarawak on January 10. Petronas said gas supply to customers remained unaffected although gas supply from the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) to Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu had been stopped to ensure safety at the incident site. It added that investigations into the cause of the gas leak incident are ongoing and Petronas was working closely with the authorities and community to ensure the people’s safety at all times. (Bernama)

Market Update

US stocks resumed their upswings after lawmakers agreed on a short-term spending bill that would end the government shutdown, with investors turning their attentions toward forthcoming earnings announcements. The likes of Novartis, General Electric, Intel and Louis Vuitton are due to report this week. Crude oil prices also bounced higher after OPEC and Russia said output cuts will continue until the end of this year. On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.8% and 1.0% respectively. Most European equities were also a notch higher, with earnings reports remaining the primary focus though investors are also keeping a wary eye on the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on January 25. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.2% and 0.3%, though UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2% amid Brexit-related developments. Asian markets ended mostly higher after recovering from bouts of weakness earlier in the day. The Bank of Japan will be in focus this week, on its policy decision upon conclusion of its two-day meeting. While no moves are expected, investors will look out for comments from the BOJ’s governor and its latest price and growth forecasts for signs that it is closer to joining global peers in scaling back on its loose monetary policies. Market-wise, both the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng indices gained 0.4% while the Straits Times Index and FBM KLCI rose 0.5% and 0.2%. Japanese benchmarks were largely unchanged meanwhile.

Seacera Group has secured an RM202.8m contract for a mixed development housing project in Terengganu. ManagePay Systems has conditionally secured a moneylending license from the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, and plans to commence operations in April this year. Sumatec Resources’ business partner CaspiOilGas LLP has signed a presale gas agreement with Kazakhstan-based NIPIneftegas Consortium (NIPI), which includes the sale of 6.2bn cubic metres of gas to NIPI over 15 years at market prices.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 23 Jan 2018