PRESS DIGEST - Malaysia - July 2

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)

-- Backbenchers Club chairman Tiong King Sing and two former transport ministers will be called before the Public Accounts Committee as part of investigations into the Port Klang Free Zone issue, committee chairman Azmi Khalid said.

-- Household loans, notably for residential properties, are expected to drive loans growth for many banks this year, industry players said.

BUSINESS TIMES (www.btimes.com.my)

-- Sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd plans to speed up selling stakes in government-linked companies (GLCs) over the next two to three years, its managing director Azman Mokhtar saod.

-- Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) (TENA.KL) is deferring a plan to build a 220-megawatts (MW) power plant in Prai, Penang, due to lower-than-expected electricity demand, TNB managing director Che Khalib said.

NEW STRAITS TIMES (www.nst.com.my)

-- There are no plans to introduce a third stimulus package as Malaysia wants to avoid incurring too high a fiscal deficit, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

-- Democratic Action Party (DAP) in nothern state of Kedah pulled out of the state government coalition on Wednesday after accusing Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) of being insensitive to the needs of the Chinese by demolishing an abattoir for pigs.

THE EDGE FINANCIAL DAILY (www.theedgemalaysia.com)

-- Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd BUCM.KL plans to establish a regional "bad bank" to manage some 10 billion ringgit to 11 billion ringgit in non-performing loans (NPLs) that have been written down to about one billion ringgit, its group chief executive Nazir Razak said.

THE MALAYSIAN RESERVE (www.themalaysianreserve.com)

-- Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which recorded a 22.3 percent jump in the realisable asset value of its portfolio in the first six months of 2009, has plans to undertake more independent power plant projects in the Middle East, its managing director Azman Mokhtar said.

THE SUN (www.sun2surf.com)

-- Pump priming will likely be the main driver to boost the domestic economy in the seocnd half of the year, thus improving investor confidence in the local bourse, industry players said.

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