China Construction Bank Malaysia first foreign commercial bank to get licence in 6 yrs
China Construction Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (CCBM) is the first foreign commercial bank to be granted a banking licence in Malaysia in six years. CCBM is the third China-based bank in Malaysia. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak described the establishment of CCBM as timely after the recently concluded Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. CCB chairman Wang Hongzhang said Malaysia is an important hub for CCB to expand its business in its international markets.

ASEAN’s May PMI signals weaker improvement as performance slips
Manufacturing output across the ASEAN region showed signs of a slowdown in May, reflecting weaker increases in new orders and production, which may have weighed on business confidence. IHS Markit said this in its Nikkei ASEAN Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Manufacturing performance across ASEAN, as registered in the index report, slipped from 51.1 in April to 50.5 in May. Latest PMI data indicated that only four of the seven ASEAN member countries – the Philippines, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia – covered by the survey saw growth across their manufacturing sectors, down from six in April. “If this trend continues, employment prospects across the region are likely to be affected, especially when evidence of spare capacity in the sector is expected to hold back hiring.”

Global passenger traffic for April rose by 10.7%, says IATA
Global passenger traffic data for April 2017 rose by 10.7% compared to April 2016, which was the fastest pace in six years. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said April capacity (available seat kilometers or ASKs) increased by 7.1%, and load factor climbed 2.7 percentage points to 82.0%- a record for the month of April. It said the strong performance is supported by a pick-up in global economic activity and lower airfares. IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said April showed us that demand for air travel remains at very strong levels.

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