MAS in touch with banks on Malaysia's 1MDB-Najib probe

Singapore's central bank says it is in contact with financial institutions in relation to Malaysia's probe into allegations hundreds of millions of dollars had been transferred to an account of Prime Minister Najib Razak. 

PHOTO: ST FILE

JUL 8, 201510:40 AM

[SINGAPORE] Singapore's central bank says it is in contact with financial institutions in relation to Malaysia's probe into allegations hundreds of millions of dollars had been transferred to an account of Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that investigators looking into debt-laden state-owned fund 1MDB had traced nearly US$700 million of money that came through a private bank account in Singapore into accounts in Malaysia they believed belonged to the prime minister.

Mr Najib has denied taking any money from 1MDB or any other entity for personal gain and is considering legal action.

On Tuesday, a task force investigating Malaysia's troubled state investment fund 1MDB said it had frozen half a dozen bank accounts following the WSJ's report.

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Wednesday that it will provide assistance to Malaysia and share information where it is legally able to. "In this connection, MAS has been in close contact with the relevant financial institutions," a MAS spokeswoman wrote in an email.

MAS did not name any banks, but its statement suggested its enquiries have expanded beyond the previous assistance it has provided for Malaysia's probe into 1MDB.

1MDB, a property-to-energy group whose advisory board is chaired by Mr Najib, is facing criticism over its debt of nearly RM42 billion (S$15 billion) and alleged financial mismanagement.

Earlier this year MAS said it was in touch with Malaysian regulators after Malaysia's government said 1MDB had redeemed US$1.1 billion from the Cayman Islands and parked it in the Singapore unit of Swiss private bank BSI.

MAS said on Wednesday that due to on-going investigations in Malaysia, it is unable to provide more details on its enquiries.

REUTERS

    
 

US-listed Chinese shares fall as home market teeters

JUL 8, 20157:08 AM

[NEW YORK] US-listed Chinese equities plummeted on Tuesday as Chinese share markets tumbled again and raised worries of broader financial problems in the world's number-two economy.

At mid-day, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba was the most heavily traded individual stock on the New York Stock Exchange, falling 2.5 per cent, while Internet search company Baidu fell 1.8 per cent.

Small companies suffered significantly bigger drops: Qihoo 360 Technology (-9.0 per cent), social networking platform Renren (-12.6 per cent) and streaming video provider Youku Tudou (-8.6 per cent).

The drops in US-listed Chinese companies come on the heels of a big retreat in Chinese stock markets that have bled an estimated US$3.2 trillion in value since mid-June and spurred talk of a bursting bubble.

In an effort to stem further sell-off, Chinese officials on Sunday ordered a halt to initial public offerings and moved to pour funds into the market.

On Monday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished 2.41 per cent higher helped by the announcement of support, but then fell 1.29 per cent Tuesday.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, dropped 5.34 per cent Tuesday, and Hong Kong followed its 3.18 per cent plunge Monday with another 1.03 per cent loss on Tuesday.

Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi said it was hard to tell where the bottom is for the Shanghai market.

"With investors' confidence towards the market shattered, it's really hard to tell when it will start to stabilize and recover from recent falls," he told AFP.

Tuesday's declines in Chinese bourses came on a bruising day for US stocks, with anxiety about a potential Greek exit from the eurozone also seen as a major culprit.

AFP

    
 

Hong Kong: Stocks plunge 4.74% at open

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

JUL 8, 20159:54 AM

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong equities plunged 4.74 per cent in the first few minutes of trade on Wednesday, tracking more heavy losses in Shanghai and a regional rout fuelled by fears about Greece's future in the eurozone.

The Hang Seng Index dived 1,184.79 points to 23,790.52 in the first few minutes of trade.

AFP

    
 

China trade halts hit US$2.2 trillion as state intervention fails

PHOTO: REUTERS

JUL 8, 201510:10 AM

[HONG KONG] A wave of Chinese companies halted trading in their shares and regulators unveiled new measures to prop up the value of small-cap stocks in the latest attempts to stem a rout that's wiped more than US$3.5 trillion of value.

At least 1,249 companies have halted trading on mainland Chinese exchanges, locking up US$2.2 trillion of shares, or about 33 per cent of China's market capitalization. The China Financial Futures Exchange raised margin requirements for sell orders on CSI 500 index futures, while China Securities Finance Corp. said it will buy more shares of small- and mid-cap companies.

The measures, which follow stock purchases by state- directed funds and interest-rate cuts by the central bank in recent weeks, failed to revive confidence among stock investors as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 7.5 per cent in early trading.

Selling by leveraged traders is weighing on the market, with the outstanding balance of margin debt on the Shanghai Stock Exchange falling by a record 8.5 per cent on Tuesday.

"The market has failed," said Hao Hong, a China strategist at Bocom International Holdings Co in Hong Kong. "The market has become less transparent, less efficient, and less fair."

BLOOMBERG