News Bits | 5 July 2012

Highlights of the day

§  Economics (External Trade): May 2012: Strong but an unsustainable rebound [download report]

Both Malaysian exports and imports grew faster above and beyond expectation in May. Exports grew by 6.7% y-o-y while imports increased by 16.2% y-o-y. Trade surplus shrank to RM4.61bn, which is the lowest surplus since July 2002 when it was RM4.08bn. We do not expect the strong growth in exports to be sustainable in the coming months. We continue to expect exports to grow slower than imports as the domestic economy powers on amid weak demand growth from several of Malaysia’s major trading partners.

Other reports

§  Newz Bits [download report]

Other Malaysian news

§  Construction: MRT Corp awards two more jobs

§  Genting Malaysia: Restructures UK subsidiaries

§  MMC: To submit proposal on KTMB

§  Alliance Financial: Unit targets 18% loan growth target

§  Trinity: Denies state funds used in rescuing company

§  Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor: Dismisses CFO

§  Construction: MRT Corp call for 31 tenders in 3Q

§  Economy: RON97 petrol price dips to RM2.60

Global news

§  Europe: Euro-area manufacturing, services output shrinks fifth month

§  Europe: France raises taxes on rich, companies to narrow budget gap

§  Europe: Finland contests no seniority clause in Spanish bank bailout

§  Europe: UK services weaken

§  China: Services expand at slowest pace since August

§  South Korea: FDI rises most in six quarters

Visit ECM Libra at https://www.ecmlibra.com/ecmlsmy

Our on-line trading portal at www.ecmmoney.com