KWAP plans £270m UK asset sale

Malaysia's second-largest pension fund is planning a £270 million (RM1.7 billion) sale of an office building in central London, responding to a government call to repatriate funds to prop up the country's ailing stock and currency markets.

Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), which has about RM120 billion of assets, is finalising an agreement to sell an office building at 88 Wood Street in the City of London that it bought in 2013 for £215 million, according to the fund's chief executive officer Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad. As well as getting a higher sale price, the fund will benefit from the sharp rise in sterling against the ringgit over the past two years.

KWAP, as the state-owned fund is known, expects to be able to repatriate the funds back to Malaysia by the end of the first quarter to invest in local markets, Wan Kamaruzaman said. He didn't name the buyer of the London office building.

Malaysia's stock market may recover next year as a result of recent government measures, Wan Kamaruzaman said. As well as repatriating funds from the United Kingdom, KWAP is contributing to a RM20 billion capital injection into ValueCap Sdn Bhd, a fund-management company set up in 2002, which will be used to stabilise local markets. Other contributors to ValueCap are sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd and state-owned investment fund Permodalan Nasional Bhd.

"Our market looks reasonably attractive next year after two negative years," Wan Kamaruzaman said. He said he expects ValueCap to become "a significant player in the local market as it supports undervalued shares."

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia index has fallen 4.3 per cent so far this year after dropping 5.7 per cent last year. For foreign investors, the losses have been magnified by the 19 per cent plunge in the ringgit against the US dollar this year, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia this year.

Saudi to boost petrol prices by more than 50 per cent

On Monday it was raising petrol prices by more than 50 percent for some products from Tuesday as it cuts a range of subsidies after posting a record budget deficit.

Prices will also increase for electricity, water, diesel and kerosene under the cuts decided by the council of ministers headed by King Salman, the official SPA news agency reported.

The council decided to raise the price of higher-grade unleaded petrol to 0.90 riyals (US$0.24) per litre from 0.60 riyals, a hike of 50 percent, and for lower-grade petrol to 0.75 riyals (US$0.20) from 0.45 riyals per litre, a 67 percent rise.

Petrol prices in the kingdom have been the cheapest in the Gulf and some of the lowest in the world.

National oil conglomerate Aramco said on Twitter it was immediately closing petrol stations until midnight on Monday, when it will resume sales at new prices.

The cabinet said the increase was in line with international energy prices.

Prices will also rise for other fuels including natural gas, diesel and kerosene and for heavily subsidised electricity and water, but details were not immediately available.

Saudi Arabia is following in the footsteps of the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, which became the first Gulf state to liberalise fuel prices earlier this year.

Kuwait lifted subsidies on diesel and kerosene at the start of 2015 and plans other cuts early next year, especially on electricity and petrol.

Other Gulf states are considering similar measures.

The International Monetary Fund has estimated the direct cost of energy subsidies in the Gulf states at US$60 billion. If indirect costs like environmental and road traffic expenses are counted, the expense rises to US$175 billion.

The IMF has said that if Saudi Arabia raised its fuel prices to Gulf levels, it will save around US$17 billion annually. 

Ringgit higher against greenback at opening

The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today on positive sentiment following an increase in oil prices, dealers said.

At 9 am, the ringgit was quoted at 4.2850/2900 from 4.2900/2970 on Tuesday.

The dealer said oil prices rose on Tuesday ahead of potentially bullish inventory data and as traders moved to close out bearish bets before the end of 2015.

It was reported that the global benchmark, brent crude, rose US$1.06 or 2.9 per cent to US$37.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The ringgit was also higher against other major currencies.

Against the Singapore dollar, it rose to 3.0323/0380 from 3.0421/0488 yesterday and vis-a-vis the British pound, the local note strengthened to 6.3491/3586 from 6.3844/3957.

Compared to the euro, the ringgit improved to 4.6822/6881 from 4.7130/7211 while rising against the yen to 3.5551/5602 from 3.5631/5698. 

KWAP plans UK sale in asset repatriation move

 Malaysia's second-largest pension fund is planning a 270 million pound (USD402 million) sale of an office building in central London, responding to a government call to repatriate funds to prop up the country's ailing stock and currency markets.
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan), which has about RM120 billion (USD28 billion) of assets, is finalising an agreement to sell an office building at 88 Wood Street in the City of London that it bought in 2013 for 215 million pounds, according to the fund's chief executive officer Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad. As well as getting a higher sale price, the fund will benefit from the sharp rise in sterling against the ringgit over the past two years.
"We are selling the property because we stand to benefit from real estate and foreign-currency gains," Wan Kamaruzaman said in an interview in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week. "It's also in line with the government call to repatriate gains back to invest in the domestic market."
The government had asked state organisations like KWAP in August to look for ways to sell overseas assets and repatriate the proceeds. Najib said last month that government-linked companies plan to bring home assets worth a total RM627 million during 2015.

Malaysia: Stocks end 10 points lower

Malaysian shares closed lower on Monday with the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index slipping 10.18 points to 1,629.960.Some 1.58 billion lots, valued at RM1.59 billion were traded. Losers outnumbered gainers 782 to 177

Straits Times Index 2,815.04 -19.59 Volume Value Rise Fall Unchanged 953.3M 827.8M 106 279 392
Hang Seng Index	21,309.85	-154.20
KLCI	1,629.96	-10.18
Nikkei 225	18,883.42	-347.06
South Korea KOSPI	1,927.82	-20.80
Dow Jones Index	17,265.21	-309.54

Hong Kong: Shares close to 2-month low :-

Hong Kong's benchmark stock index fell for the eighth straight session to a more than 2-month low on Monday, as investors braced for possibly higher US interest rates later this week.

But the gauge managed to erase much of its earlier loss after a strong rally in China share markets helped offset the gloom in global markets.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.7 per cent, to 21,309.85, the lowest close since Sept 30. But the China Enterprises Index , which tracks Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, gained 0.1 per cent, to 9,315.91 points.

The market got some inspiration from Shanghai, where stocks had their best day in a month, on factory activity data that offered some early evidence that China's economy was stabilising.

Commodity-linked curriences rise in Asia

The dollar eased against most rivals in Asian trade on Thursday, with commodity-linked units enjoying support from a slight uptick in oil prices, while its Australian counterpart surged on the back of a strong jobs report.

The retreat in the greenback comes just a week before the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting where it is widely expected to hike interest rates, with some economists suggesting the move has been priced into the US unit.

Ringgit climbs with stocks as 1MDB's asset sales buoy finances

The ringgit headed for the longest stretch of gains in a month and stocks rose on optimism debt-ridden state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd is close to finalising the sale of property assets for US$2.6 billion.

Shrinking gold trade prompts SGX to refine contract

Just over a year ago, Singapore Exchange Ltd. started gold trading to help bolster the country's role as a bullion hub in Asia, the world's largest consuming region. Transactions slumped to zero in November and the bourse is now trying to revitalize the market.

"Volumes haven't been spectacular," William Chin, vice president of commodities at the exchange, said in an interview. "One of the key reasons is the contract specification itself, and this is quite normal across different products. You don't always get it right the first time round."