MONEY MASTER

MUKHRIZ RESIGNS, AHMAD BASHAH SWORN IN AS KEDAH MB Malaysia's political tension seem to have gone one tension up, with former PM's Mahathir's son, Mukhriz Mahathir being replaced by Ahmad Bashah as the Kedah Menteri Besar (MB). Mukhriz out, Bashah in Mukhriz said he was removed because of his criticism of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over 1Malaysia Development Bhd and the RM2.6 billion donation. Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah, aged 66 was sworn in as the new Kedah Menteri Besar (MB) last Thursday. This has ended the state's leadership crisis after Mukhriz was being told that he no longer had the support of the majority in the state assembly. Ahmad Bashah, who led the revolt against Mukhriz is the deputy chief of Kedah UMNO. This is probably a sign of a weakened influence from the Mahathir's camp. LEMBAGA TABUNG HAJI (LTH) announces 5% dividend, 3% bonus Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) announced an annual dividend of 5% for 2015 for its depositors. Thi...

PETRONAS to cut spending by RM50 bil over 4 years PETRONAS out of gas? Over the week, Wall Street Journal reported that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) plans to slash as much as 50 billion ringgit ($11.4 billion) in capital and operating expenditure over the next four years, according to an internal memo sent to staff by its chief executive officer. Petronas is the Malaysian government’s biggest source of revenue, covering as much as one third of the annual budget, even after cuts in subsidies and the introduction of new taxes to diversify sources of income.  Petronas confirmed that it had circulated the memo as part of “ongoing efforts to optimize costs to address the impact of the continuous fall in crude oil prices.”  The firm has been hit by a slump in oil prices, which have fallen over 70% over the past 18 months. BANK NEGARA RESERVES FALL TO US$95.1 billion Bank Negara Malaysia's international reserves fell by a marginal 0.21% to US$95.1 billion in the...