IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Malaysia cuts growth forecast

Malaysian Central Bank on Friday revised down this year's growth forecast to 5 percent, after its gross domestic product in the second quarter came in sharply below its expectation of 4.5 percent. Central bank governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the first half GDP growth of 4.9 percent was lower than expected, thus the bank has revised down its full year growth to reflect recent global tensions.

Non-oil exports surge in Singapore