PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - July 14
Following are the main stories in Malaysian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE STAR (www.thestar.com.my)
-- About three-quarters of the country is in a tinder box zone where forest fires can easily ignite, the Meteorological Department's Fire Danger Rating System said.
-- The spat between Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) over claims that a Selangor state executive council member has links with the underworld has taken a turn for the worse, with the fight even reaching the state assembly.
-- AirAsia Bhd (AIRA.KL) plans to defer taking delivery of eight Airbus A320 aircraft for 2010 and may opt to do the same for another eight aircraft the following year, said its group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes.
BUSINESS TIMES (www.btimes.com.my)
-- The decision on whether foreign hypermarkets will be allowed to open convenience stores using the franchise concept will be known at the end of this month.
-- Global companies such as Britain's largest retailer Tesco plc (TSCO.L) and Malaysian gaming group Genting Bhd (GENT.KL) say high cash levels kept them resilient in economic downturns.
NEW STRAITS TIMES (www.nst.com.my)
-- Prime Minister Najib Razak said he has no plans to call a snap election although an opposition leader had suggested he would do so after acknowledging the prime minister's substantial rise in his popularity rating since he took office.
-- Calling it a "high-profile case", police on Monday began investigations into allegations that a Selangor executive councillor had been using his office for meetings with members of the underworld.
THE EDGE FINANCIAL DAILY (www.theedgemalaysia.com)
-- CIMB Investment Bank Bhd has become the first underwriter of an initial public offering (IPO) to exercise a "green shoe" option and price stabilisation mechanism, a Securities Commission regulation that has been in place since January 2008.
THE MALAYSIAN RESERVE (www.themalaysianreserve.com)
-- A key shareholder of Glomac Bhd (GLOM.KL), the property developer whose unit is constructing a 36-storey office tower in the immediate neighbourhood of the Petronas Twin Towers, does not rule out the company being a target of a takeover, though there are no known moves on the company currently, its executive chairman Mohamed Mansor Fateh Din said.
THE SUN (www.sun2surf.com)
-- The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized files on allocation expenditure by seven Selangor assemblymen from the Petaling District Office and interviewed recipients of the money, it was revealed on Monday.
-- Banks, including those not impacted by the financial crisis, should have a clear strategy to ensure that they continue to be relevant in an evolving financial market landscape, Pricewaterhouse Malaysia partner Soo Hoo Kyoo Yean said.
-- The European Union (EU) will further develop projects in the fisheries, services and forestry sectors with the respective local ministries to boost trade with Malaysia, said EU-Malaysia cooperation programme manager Pablo Iglesias Rumbo.
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