Malaysia News Highlights - 21st Oct 2015

• Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on weaker buying demand in selected heavyweights, however, the benchmark index managed to hold above the 1,700 points level.There were 161 gainers, 193 loosers while 214 counters were unchanged, 1,258 untraded and 32 others were suspended.
  The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur key index down 3.84 points, after opening 2.32 points weaker at 1,715.88.
   
• The ringgit opened easier against the US dollar as it failed to arrest its continuing decline against the greenback.
   
• WCT Bhd has won a major infrastructure package at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX), valued at RM754.8 million.

• Affin Islamic Bank Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Maybank Islamic Bhd have jointly established a consortium named Raeed Holdings Sdn Bhd to develop a multibank platform to market investment account products.
   
• Glomac Bhd is appealing to Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank, to be more flexible in providing end financing for prospective home buyers, as the rejection rate for home loans in the industry for the first six months this year is more than 50%, which is a worrying trend.
   
• IOI Properties Group Bhd is buying land that is expected to generate an indicative gross development value (GDV) of RM20 billion within IOI City Resort from its major shareholders for RM1.58 billion.
   
• Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd have become the latest in the growing list of banks offering severance packages to its employees in an effort to reduce operational costs through a mutual separation scheme (MSS).
   
• BIMB Securities Research has maintained its “buy” call on WCT Holdings Bhd with a target price of RM1.75, 25.9% higher than the stock’s close of RM1.39 yesterday, after the company announced on Monday that it has secured a RM755 million infrastructure and roadway contract at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) in Kuala Lumpur.
   
• Amcorp Properties Bhd (AmProp), co-investment partnership with Grosvenor Asia Pacific Ltd and Nan Fung, has acquired 14 office and three retail units totalling about 39,000 sq ft comprising about 8% of net rentable area in a 44-storey residential cum commercial high rise building in Tokyo.