Economy

Global: IMF says global 'soft landing' in sight, raises 2024 economic growth outlook. The International Monetary Fund edged its forecast for global economic growth higher, upgrading the outlook for both the US and China — the world's two largest economies — and citing faster-than-expected easing of inflation. The IMF's chief economist, Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, said the global lender's updated World Economic Outlook showed that a "soft landing" was in sight, but overall growth and global trade still remained lower than the historical average. (Reuters)

US: Consumer confidence climbs to highest since end-2021. US consumer confidence increased in Jan to the highest level since the end of 2021 as Americans grew more upbeat about the economy and the job market amid more sanguine views about inflation. The Conference Board’s gauge of sentiment increased to 114.8 from a revised 108 a month earlier, data published showed. The Jan figure matched the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. (Bloomberg)

EU: German recession on cards for 1Q after end-of-year slump. The German economy shrank in the final three months of 2023, the statistics office said, with economists increasingly warning of another technical recession for Europe's largest economy in the 1Q of 2024. GDP contracted by 0.3% in the 4Q compared to the previous quarter, in line with analysts' expectations, according to a Reuters poll. (Reuters)

EU: Economy narrowly skirts recession, stagnates in fourth quarter. The euro zone economy stabilized in the fourth quarter of 2023, flash figures published by the EU’s statistics agency showed. The bloc narrowly avoided the shallow recession that was forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, following a 0.1% fall in GDP in the 3Q. (CNBC)

UK: Mortgage approvals reach 6-month high. British mortgage approvals hit a six-month high in Dec as interest rates dropped for the first time in more than two years, data published by the BoE showed. Approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, increased to 50,500 in Dec from 49,300 in Nov. (RTT)

Japan: Jobless rates eases to 2.4% in Dec. The unemployment rate in Japan came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4% in December, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said. That was beneath expectations for a reading of 2.5%, which would have been unchanged from Nov. (RTT)

Markets

Sapura Energy: Slapped with RM256m arbitration claim over alleged contract breaches in Taiwan wind farm project. Sapura Energy has been served with a EUR50m (RM256.16m) arbitration claim from the developer of the Yunlin offshore wind farm project over alleged contract breaches. The oil and gas engineering firm said it has, together with its wholly owned Sapura Offshore SB (SOSB), been served with a request for arbitration from Yunneng Wind Power Co Ltd, which has made a provisional claim of EUR50m for the alleged contract breaches. (The Edge)

Samaiden: Gets FiT approval for Johor plant. Samaiden Group’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Samaiden Biomass Energy SB has received its feed-in tariff (FiT) approval certificate from the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda). This approval authorises Samaiden Biomass Energy to construct and operate a biomass power plant with an installed capacity of seven MW in Tangkak, Johor. The plant is set to supply a net capacity of 6MW to Tenaga Nasional. The agreement is for 21 years and is scheduled to commence on Jan 22, 2027. (StarBiz)

Malayan Flour: Largest shareholders up stakes via mandatory RCULS conversion. The largest shareholders of Malayan Flour Mills (MFM) saw their stakes in the flour miller rise due to the mandatory conversion of redeemable convertible unsecured loan stocks (RCULS). MFM executive deputy chairman cum managing director Teh Wee Chye converted a total of 98.57m units of fiveyear 5% RCULS 2019/2024 into ordinary shares at five sen apiece, for an aggregate sum of RM49.28m. (The Edge)

SCIB: Defends land purchase without valuation as still fair and reasonable. Sarawak Consolidated Industries (SCIB) deems the RM21.62m cash it plans to fork out for five leasehold plots in Demak Laut Industrial Park in Kuching, Sarawak, as fair and reasonable, after taking into account the prices of comparable properties in the same location. This in response to Bursa Malaysia Securities’ query on how it could be satisfied with the price it has to pay for the parcels, measuring a total of 8.85ha (hectares), given that no valuation was carried out and the price was fixed by the seller, the Land and Survey Department of Sarawak. (The Edge)

Yinson: Acquires Peru solar power plant. Yinson Holdings’ renewables business unit, Yinson Renewables, has completed the acquisition of the 97 MWp Matarani Solar Project in Peru from Grenergy Renewables. The project is located in the Mollendo desert in the Arequipa region, one of the world’s highest solar irradiation areas. Most of the project’s energy has been contracted through a power purchase agreement with a bankable off-taker for the next 15 years. (StarBiz)

Avillion: Business as usual. Avillion continues to operate its business as usual after the company and its subsidiaries were listed as part of assets former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin failed to declare to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Avillion and its 23 subsidiaries were among the 71 assets listed in the MACC’s charge sheet against Tun Daim. Avillion and its subsidiaries are governed by and in compliance with Bursa Malaysia’s Listing Requirements, Rules and Guidelines. (StarBiz)

MARKET UPDATE

The FBM KLCI might open lower today after the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost ground on Tuesday as the market awaited a spate of high profile corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve convened for its monetary policy meeting. The Labour Department reported an unexpected rise in job openings, hinting that the market remains too solid for the Fed to consider cutting its key policy rate as soon as March. The S&P 500 declined 0.06% to end at 4,924.97 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.76% to 15,509.90 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35% to 38,467.31 points. In Europe, the pan-regional STOXX 600 index closed up 0.16% after earlier touching a fresh two-year high.

Back home, Bursa Malaysia snapped its six-day winning streak to close lower on Tuesday as investors took profit from recent gains amid caution in regional markets as worries over China’s property sector weighed on sentiment. The FBM KLCI slipped 2.64 points to end at 1,512.75 from Monday’s close of 1,515.39. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.11% to 36,065.86, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.32% to 15,703.45 while China’s SSE Composite Index slid 1.83% to 2,830.53.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 31 Jan 2024