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Factory output contracted for the sixth consecutive month in July, year-on-year, performing worse than private-sector forecasters had tipped. The latest manufacturing data, which showed output sliding 6.1 per cent last month (July), came in way below the 4 per cent decline forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll.
Traditional Chinese medicine retailer Eu Yan Sang International reported on Wednesday a net loss of S$3.6 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, compared to a net profit of S$1.61 million for the year-ago period. For the full year, net profit plunged 70 per cent to S$4.56 million from S$15.03 million a year ago.
The probe into China Fishery Group Ltd for a securities offence has wiped out some US$600 million (S$840 million) from group shares and its US currency bonds. The Singapore-dollar notes have barely reacted. Money managers say the divergence illustrates the lack of depth in Singapore's junk bond market.
The Malaysian ringgit continued its freefall after foreign exchange markets opened on Wednesday (Aug 26), sinking to new lows below 3.05 to the Singapore dollar. At 8.25 am, the ringgit was trading at 3.0549 to the Singdollar, significantly lower than its close of 3.0154 on Tuesday.
Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd said on Wednesday (Aug 26) that it strongly denies that Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) is considering pulling out of a plan to help restructure 1MDBs debts.
China's yuan reversed earlier declines to close slightly stronger against the dollar on Wednesday, with volumes surging to the second biggest since records were available. Traders said the market was increasingly divided over the currency's direction after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) on Tuesday cut the one-year benchmark bank lending rate by 25 basis points and reserve requirements by 50 basis points for most big banks.
