Dialog shares fall on Petronas project delay

Published: Wednesday July 31, 2013 MYT 3:29:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday July 31, 2013 MYT 4:32:29 PM

By Nadya Ngui

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Dialog Group Bhd fell to a low of 2.79 on Wednesday on news that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) would delay its multi billion ringgit Pengerang refinery project in Johor to late 2017.

The project was set to be the Malaysia’s largest-ever infrastructure project, spanning across 2,000ha and costing RM62.13bil.

At 3.13pm, it was down 18 sen to RM2.82 with 22.76 million shares done between RM2.79 and RM3.

The FBM KLCI fell 18.31 points to 1,776.77. Turnover was 1.3 billion valued at RM1.8bil. There were 727 losers, 91 gainers and 291 counters unchanged.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said the delay would likely have a negative impact on the local oil and gas players.

“Dialog is currently the existing player with exposure to Pengerang by virtue of its deepwater independent terminal.

“The first phase is set to be operational by first quarter 2014 but we believe that the second phase may be delayed as well as the tank capacity was dedicated for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project,” it said.

Reuters said Petronas had already put back the project from late 2016 to early 2017 in June and revised the final investment decision (FID) to the first quarter next year, citing state government problems in relocating villages and graves from the 2,000ha site, five times the size of New York’s Central Park.

“As a result of the revised FID date, the Rapid refinery is scheduled to be ready for start-up in the fourth quarter of 2017 and the remaining plants within the complex is scheduled to be commissioned in 2018,” it said.

Tags / Keywords: Stocks

View the original article here

Shares dip, dollar steady before Fed - Reuters

1 of 3. An investor smokes in front of an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Shanghai June 25, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Aly Song

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON | Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:52am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares and oil dipped and the dollar held firm on Wednesday in muted trade as investors steered clear of big bets ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and data offering a window on the health of the U.S. economy.

Global growth in the months ahead is pegged to the rate of recovery in the U.S. economy and investors are worried an early withdrawal of support from the U.S. central bank by tapering back in its bond purchases could threaten the outlook.

"Traders globally seem to be in a wait-and-see mode before the outcome of the Fed's meeting on the timing of quantitative easing tapering," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Asset Management in Tokyo.

A fall in retail sales in Europe's economic powerhouse Germany added to investor concerns there, leading the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 down 0.3 percent and the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index .STOXX50E down 0.4 percent in early trade.

Ahead of the Fed policy statement due at1400 ET (1800 GMT), the dollar index .DXY, which tracks the greenback's performance against a basket of major currencies, had inched up 0.1 percent to 81.877.

The index had hit a five-week trough earlier this week as investors bet the Fed would reassure markets that interest rates would remain low for a long time even if it started scaling back stimulus this year.

Meetings of other major developed world central banks in coming days, including the European Central Bank on Thursday, and the key U.S. payrolls report on Friday are also prompting investors to stay on the sidelines.

Following a weak session for equities in Asia, the MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS was down 0.25 percent. Chinese stocks .CSI300 rose 0.5 percent after the government pledged to keep growth stable in the second half of the year.

Brent crude prices eased 0.2 percent to around $106.70 a barrel, extending a 0.6 percent decline on Tuesday but remain up 4.5 percent this month and on course for their best monthly gain since August last year.

Gold gained 0.5 percent. It is up 8.2 percent so far this month, on track to snap a three-month losing run and mark its biggest monthly rise since January 2012, but it is down 20 percent since the beginning of 2013.

German bonds were lower though traders said this was largely due to investors making way for an upcoming sale of new 30-year government bonds. The selling lifted the current German 30-year yield by 2 basis points to 2.5 percent.

(Editing by John Stonestreet)

View the original article here

Euro surveys lift shares after China disappoints - Reuters

1 of 9. Traders work at their desks in front of the DAX board at the Frankfurt stock exchange June 20, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Remote/Lizza David

By Richard Hubbard

LONDON | Wed Jul 24, 2013 5:07am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Evidence of an economic revival in the euro zone and strong sales from technology bellwether Apple lifted world shares and the euro on Wednesday, offsetting earlier disappointing factory data from China.

Factories in the currency bloc increased output for the first time in well over a year, July's PMI index showed, after activity in Germany and France hit multi-month highs.

The data drove the euro to a one-month high against the dollar, helped extend a rally in European shares .FTEU3 and sent German bond futures down 0.3 percent.

MSCI's world equity index .MIWD00000PUS edged 0.1 percent higher to be up over 9.0 percent since its late-June lows.

Chief economist Chris Williamson of data compiler Markit said the German reading, which came in above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, indicated Europe's largest economy could grow by up to 0.4 percent in the third quarter.

"It's a very encouraging picture, it's pretty broad-based. Germany is leading the pack followed by France but even the (euro zone) periphery ... is seeing a return to growth in manufacturing," s Williamson said.

An earlier equivalent reading from China suggested the world's second largest economy was steadily losing momentum, knocking Asian stock markets and contributing to a 55 cent per barrel drop in Brent oil prices to below $108. Brent traded at $108.02 at 0844 GMT.

"This print could reignite fears of a Chinese hard landing," said Annette Beacher, head of Asia-Pacific research at TD Securities in Singapore. "We expect economic growth to continue moderating towards 7 percent."

PILLAR OF SUPPORT

China, which accounts for 40 percent of global copper demand and is a major importer of other raw materials, has been the pillar of support for commodity prices in recent years.

The Australian dollar, heavily exposed to Chinese demand, slipped 0.4 percent to $0.9254, down from a near one-month high of $0.9320.

The U.S. dollar rose 0.4 percent to 99.84 yen, moving away from a one-week low of 99.13 yen touched on Tuesday.

The dollar index .DXY extended gains, adding 0.3 percent to 82.153 after skidding to a one-month low of 81.926 on Tuesday.

Worries over a slowdown in China were fanned further when Japan reported exports to its giant near-neighbor had dropped to 4.8 percent in June from 8.3 percent in May.

Apple earlier said revenues from China dived 43 percent from the previous quarter, but that did not prevent it from posting better-than-expected sales and profits after the U.S. market closed on Tuesday, helped by 51 percent sales growth for its iconic mobile phone.

The results lifted company's shares by 5 percent in after-hours trade, saw technology stocks in Europe gain .SX8P and helped set the stage for a firmer start on Wall Street when trading resumes later.

(Editing by Catherine Evans, John Stonestreet)

View the original article here