Belt tightening, spending cuts expected at Petronas

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIAN oil giant Petronas is expected to announce further spending cuts next week as it braces for earnings battered by the slump in crude prices that is also pressuring its global peers.

The grim outlook for state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd puts more pressure on South-east Asia's third largest economy, as the company accounts for nearly a third of the government's oil and gas-related revenue and provides a large number of jobs to Malaysians.