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Malaysia's biggest ever REIT jumps 3.9% on debut
Moody’s: Malaysia's election outcome assures pro-growth policy
Now you can use your mobile phone in S'pore to report dirty toilets

Malaysia's biggest ever REIT jumps 3.9% on debut

Posted: 08 May 2013 07:12 PM PDT

Published: Thursday May 9, 2013 MYT 10:13:00 AM

KUALA LUMPUR: KLCC Property Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Malaysia's biggest, rose as much as 3.9 percent to 7.53 ringgit per unit on Thursday.

The trust, which is a stapled REIT that bundles existing shares of KLCC Property -- owner of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, and units of KLCC REIT, raises no new money. The corporate restructuring was unveiled in November in a bid to lure yield-hungry investors.

KLCC REIT houses assets in excess of 15 billion Malaysian ringgit.It will be three times bigger than the Sunway REIT . ($1 = 2.9635 Malaysian ringgit) - Reuters

Moody’s: Malaysia's election outcome assures pro-growth policy

Posted: 08 May 2013 07:11 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional's retention of the federal government assures the continuation of Malaysia's pro-growth policy, says Moody's Investor Services.

It said the outcome supports the stable outlook for the sovereign and government-related issuers (GRIs) including Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas, A1 stable).

Below is the credit outlook issued by the international ratings agency on Thursday:

On May 5, Malaysia's (A3 stable) ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, retained its majority in parliamentary election, winning 133 of 222 seats in the national legislature.

The opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, increased its representation to 89 seats from the 82 it won in the 2008 election, and, according to preliminary results, won the popular vote.

Barisan Nasional's retention of government assures the continuation of Malaysia's pro-growth policy, an outcome that supports the stable outlook for the sovereign and government-related issuers (GRIs) including Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas, A1 stable).

But at the same time, Barisan Nasional's populist fiscal agenda clouds the prospects for fiscal reform.

With growth policies intact, the government is set to continue, if not accelerate, the development initiatives under its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

The ETP has been particularly successful in reviving private investment.

Since its promulgation in 2010, private gross fixed-capital formation averaged annual growth of 16.6% during 2010-12, up from 2.9% during 2005-09.

Budgetary support for household consumption has further bolstered domestic demand, providing a significant offset to the relative weakness in net exports, in view of Malaysia's heavy reliance on external trade.

Similarly, the election's completion and the additional fiscal transfers promised during the campaign should help sustain the momentum of investment and economic growth over the next two years.

Nevertheless, the long-term sustainability of government finances is contingent on fiscal reform, where the prospects are not so clear given the underlying features of Barisan Nasional's victory.

Although Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was sworn in on Monday, the opposition as of Wednesday had not officially conceded, citing irregularities in voting, and preliminary results reveal that the opposition had won the popular vote.

Consequently, Barisan Nasional's need to shore up electoral legitimacy may influence the pace of fiscal consolidation.

Already, it seems certain that populist spending measures brought up in both the budget passed last fall and during the election campaign will add to the burden of near-term government expenditure.

Moreover, the prospective implementation of a goods-and-services tax to diversify and increase the sources of government revenue may be as politically difficult as before.

But subsidy reform may be more tenable; Najib has publicly expressed his desire to reduce government spending on subsidies, while intending to use existing direct cash transfer programs to help the poor adjust to higher prices.

In the near-term, we expect the government to continue conducting fiscal policy in line with prevailing rules, including the requirement that current expenditures cannot exceed current revenues, as well as the 55% debt ceiling for direct government obligations.

Status quo for Petronas and other Malaysian GRIs. Notably, the Barisan Nasional victory helps to preserve the status quo with regards to GRIs.

As part of its electoral platform, Pakatan Rakyat sought to address higher living costs by "abolishing monopolies," which threatened various GRIs' prevailing business models.

These include Petronas and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (Baa1 stable), as well as Axiata Group Bhd (Baa2 stable) and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (A3 stable), both of which operate in a more competitive market.

With Petronas in particular, the threat of an increased royalty payout and the redistribution of oil profits in the form of lower petrol prices would likely have resulted in a material deterioration in its credit profile.

Petronas' financial health and dominance in the domestic oil and gas sector is important to the sovereign given the state oil company's significant contribution to federal government revenues. Petroleum-related income has typically exceeded 30% of total federal government revenue.

Now you can use your mobile phone in S'pore to report dirty toilets

Posted: 08 May 2013 07:09 PM PDT

Published: Thursday May 9, 2013 MYT 10:09:00 AM

SINGAPORE: For those on the go, finding a clean toilet in Singapore and giving feedback on the best and worst commodes is now in hand with a new app for mobile phones and tablet computers.

The Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS) already has the LOO Connect service on its toilet.org.sg website that allows people to pinpoint and comment on public facilities and to see those given three, four or five stars.

With the new app for Android smartphones and tablets, the non-profit group said it was "leveraging on the 'crowdsourcing' trend and technology to recognise clean toilets and encourage socially responsible behaviour".

"The mobile app also facilitates the collection of information by the RAS volunteers during mystery audits of toilets under the Happy Toilet Programme," it said in a statement.

A similar app for iOS devices will be out in July, it said.

An RAS survey last year showed the foulest toilets in Singapore - a wealthy Southeast Asian city-state where the government runs regular campaigns to promote cleanliness and courtesy - tend to be in coffee shops, markets, bus terminals, food courts and subway stations.

The cleanest are in government offices, hospitals and restaurants.

Bad design and poor cleaning were cited in the survey as causes of dirty toilets. But the overwhelmingly worst offenders - at 79 percent - were identified as "irresponsible users". - Reuters

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 8 Mei 2013