By KINIBIZ
As we move past the first overnight policy rate (OPR) review this year, which saw Bank Negara Malaysia’s Monetary Policy Committee keeping the OPR at 3.25% on Thursday, the week ahead will be particularly interesting to observe. There are two reasons why.
The first reason is that Parliament will start discussing the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) on Tuesday. Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed has called for MPs to debate the matter objectively as Malaysia eyes amendments for 26 laws and regulations should Parliament ratify the agreement.
The second reason is that on Thursday, prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is expected to announce the recalibration of Budget 2016 after global crude oil prices fell below the projected US$48 per barrel when the Budget was drawn up last year. Will the government now cut its own expenses as opposed to shifting more burden onto Malaysian shoulders?
As we look forward to next week, however, here are some of the best news, analyses and comments we published over this past week for your reading pleasure this weekend:
Government’s turn to cut expenses. In 2015, we Malaysians saved the day by delivering RM17 billion in extra revenue from GST as oil prices collapsed. Now it’s time for the government to deliver by cutting the exorbitantly high supplies and services expenditure as oil prices fall further. Read here.
Will oil rout kill Petronas’ RM130 bil Canadian project? With the crude oil prices falling to record lows after record lows, Petronas is eyeing spending cuts as well as reportedly mulling voluntary separation for some of its staff. But Petronas’ mammoth RM130 billion LNG project in Canada looks doomed, although it still insists on proceeding with the high-risk venture. Read here.
SRR cut will free some RM5 billion in loans. Bank Negara Malaysia announced on Jan 21 that it is reducing the statutory reserve requirement from 4% to 3.5%, effectively freeing up some RM5 billion in funds into the system. This may help relieve some of shrinking net interest margin (NIM) pressure on banks but the effect may be marginal. Read here.
After flat 2015, car sales tipped to fall this year. Malaysian automotive sales are tipped to slow this year on weak sentiment and tight financing rules after a strong end to 2015 that saw national marques claw back some overall market share from non-nationals. Read here.
After a tough 2015, crunch time for Proton in 2016. Technically 2015 was a record year for Malaysian auto sales. Then again statistics have a way of showing you different things depending on how you look at it and what shade of aviators you have on. And things don’t look good for Proton considering how last year went and what awaits this year. Read here.
Floor price for petrol is a bad, bad idea for the Rakyat. Roughly one week before the much-anticipated Budget 2016 review that will be announced on Jan 28, one federal minister told Malaysians that the government is studying whether it needs to impose a floor price for petrol. But it’s a bad, bad idea for the public. Read why here.
Three years later, Protasco ends up in court. There was a puzzling diversification into oil and gas and there was also a puzzling discrepancy in terms of valuations. A court proceeding recently commenced against a former director may shed more light on Protasco’s mysterious misadventure in 2012. Read here.
The case against open APs. Another year has gone by, and the International Trade and Industry Ministry has once again – this time indefinitely – postponed the abolishment of open approved permits beyond its scheduled deadline. So what’s up with the flip-flopping? Read here.
If you like these stories, you will not want to miss out on our latest bimonthly magazine, out now on major newsstands. At just RM15, Issue 019, featuring State of The World as the cover story, contains a curation of our more timeless features and commentaries that you should not miss out on.
Because whether you prefer online or print, morning coffee tastes so much better when you have the sharpest reads in town to sip to.
— by Khairie Hisyam Aliman, News Editor
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