DANAVEST

(Business Times) TOTAL cargo throughput at three Sarawak ports – Rajang, Kuching and Miri – experienced a drop of 23 to 40 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

(Business Times) MORE people have approached the Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) in the first quarter this year, but this is not solely attributed to the current economic slowdown. The waiting list for counselling sessions is getting longer, more public talks on personal finance management are held nationwide and packed briefing sessions at AKPK offices, especially in Penang and Johor Baru.

(Business Times) RENEGOTIATIONS on the free trade agreements (FTAs) between Malaysia and three other countries – the US, Australia and New Zealand – will begin in the middle of next month.

(Business Times) BANK Negara Malaysia is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2 per cent after its monetary policy committee meets tomorrow, economists say.

(Business Times) MOBILE virtual network operator, Tune Talk Sdn Bhd, expects to begin commercial operation in the second half of this year, said its chief executive officer, Jason Lo. Lo said the company would focus on services at super low calling rates with exciting incentives. Tune Talk, a member of the Tune Group of Companies, is a licensed network service and application service provider.

(Business Times) Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has invested over RM300 million to set up its non-chilled distribution centre in Bukit Beruntung, Selangor. The centre is expected to be opened this September, its chief operating officer, David Hobbs said.

(The Edge) Bank Negara Malaysia has been ordered by the Minister of Finance to assume control of Tahan Insurance Malaysia Berhad (Tahan) effective May 22 to safeguard the interests of Tahan’s policy owners. Bank Negara said on May 22 the order was made pursuant to subsection 59(4)(a) of the Insurance Act 1996. Tahan is a licensed general insurer with a market share of 1%.

(Business Times) THERE is no plan to reduce the biodiesel mandate of five per cent despite the high feedstock cost, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Datuk Hamzah Zainudin said today.

(Business Times) Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) plans to increase the scope and resiliency of its global network by joining a consortium to plan and develop a proposal to build an international undersea cable system.

(Business Times) HONG Leong Financial Group Bhd, a Malaysian banking group, climbed in Kuala Lumpur trading after winning approval to start talks with Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co for a strategic insurance partnership.

(Business Times) Construction of a 44.6km tunnel costing RM1.3 billion to channel raw water from Pahang to Selangor will start on June 1, and is expected to be ready in 2014. The project team director, Datuk Ir Ismail Mat Noor, said the construction of the tunnel would be the project’s first and most critical component which upon completion in five years’ time, would allow 1,890 million litres of raw water to be channelled daily.

(The Edge) Malaysia Airlines (MAS) would be offering more all inclusive low-fare bargains starting from RM48 for domestic travels beginning June 25 to Nov 30.

(The Edge) Most fund managers are still holding back from the stock market despite the ongoing rally, a sign that many have yet to be convinced that the gain in Malaysian equities is backed by firm economic fundamentals. As a local fund manager puts it, many in the fund management fraternity were taken aback by the spike in share prices within a short period despite weak corporate earnings.

(Bernama) Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) targets to commission the first nuclear power plant in Malaysia by 2025 if the government decides to include nuclear as an acceptable energy option. Head of nuclear energy unit TNB, Dr Mohd Zamzam Jaafar said TNB cannot ignore nuclear energy amid the uncertain future supply and volatile fossil fuel prices as well as gas resources.