The Edge & The Sun - 09 Februari 2024

CEOMorningBrief FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024 ISSUE 715/2024 theedgemalaysia.com CHINA’S CONSUMER PRICES SUFFER STEEPEST FALL SINCE 2009 AS DEFLATION RISKS STALK ECONOMY p18 HOME: LTAT chairman retires a week after CEO’s resignation p4 Reneuco’s auditor not able to gather sufficient evidence to form an audit opinion p6 Top gainers and losers in the Year of the Water Rabbit p10 WORLD: Fed officials signal wariness to cut rates too soon, despite inflation progress p19 Unilever takes sales hit in Indonesia over anti-Israel boycotts p22 Mahathir’s sons confirm they have yet to submit assets declaration to MACC, ask for ‘patience and understanding’ SAM FONG/THE EDGE FILE PHOTO Report on Page 3. Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir Mirzan Mahathir

friday february 9, 2024 2 The E dge C E O m o rning brief published by ( 2 6 6 9 8 0 - X ) tel . 603-77218000 Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia publisher + ceo . Ho Kay Tat editor-in-chief . Kathy Fong chief commercial officer . Sharon Teh chief operating officer . Lim Shiew Yuin editors . Jenny Ng . Tan Choe Choe Lam Jian Wyn to contact editors: [email protected] to advertise: [email protected] the edge ceo morning brief Read from desktop or mobile device. You can print in A4 to read. Set print mode to fit or shrink oversize page. to get on emailing list [email protected] Putrajaya meeting on Feb 22 to discuss preparation for El Nino, haze, says Nik Nazmi El Nino: Selangor has water storage to last for nine months KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): A meeting will be held on Feb 22 in Putrajaya to discuss the country’s preparation for the effects of El Nino and haze. Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the meeting would involve various ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. “As we know, [this year] is predicted to be hotter and drier than usual. It started last year, which also the hottest year ever recorded. We want to ensure the best preparation,” he told a press conference after attending a dialogue session on the post-28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Bernama Note: Dear readers, there will be no CEO Morning Brief on Tuesday (Feb 13, 2024) as we are taking a break for Chinese New Year. We will be back on Wednesday (Feb 14, 2024). For the latest news during the holidays, check out https://www.theedgemalaysia.com/. SHAH ALAM (Feb 8): Selangor has about nine months’ supply of water to cater for the needs of the population to mitigate the impact of the current El Nino phenomenon in the country. State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Izham Hashim said the dams in the state have water storage for consumer use for six months while the water retention ponds can last for three months. “We are now in the process of ensuring all supplies are connected to enable us to use the water when needed,” he told the media during a working visit to the Klang River conservation project site here on Thursday. He said the state government’s efforts were in line with a study conducted by the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), which expects intensity currently affecting the world is expected to continue until the middle of this year. He said the phenomenon started in the middle of last year, and can continue for up to 18 months. Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi said the ministry also held discussions on measures to overcome the problem of peatland fires and transboundary haze with the parties involved, including from Indonesia. On Oct 4 last year, he said that Malaysia had sent a letter to Indonesia with regard to cooperation under the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. The letter was sent to his counterpart in Indonesia, following instructions from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for coordination to resolve the transboundary haze issue. the country to be hit by drought in 2026. “We plan and make preparations, the country was last hit by drought in 2014 and the cycle of the phenomenon will repeat itself and we have to make preparations and hope it’s not severe,” he said. On his visit on Thursday, Izham said the project involves work to deepen and widen the 56km Klang River as well as to strengthen the slopes and to construct bunds that are expected to be completed in 2028, involving a cost of RM700 million. He said efforts to dredge the river, however, are difficult due to the piles of rubbish and sediments that have accumulated at the bottom of the river for up to two to three metres high, compared to the river’s depth of four metres. “Huge items such as tyres and furniture as well as plastics affect the technical condition of the excavator, causing disruptions to its daily operations. We hope that with the addition of a Cutter Suction Dredger, this problem can be managed better,” he said. Izham said the project aims to increase the Klang River capacity by 40% when fully completed. home Change (UNFCCC) and the National Climate Change Bill on Thursday. Malaysian Meteorological Department director general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah was reported as saying on Thursday that the El Niño phenomenon with strong Bernama

friday february 9, 2024 3 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has recovered RM23.91 million in funds and assets linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) from 2023 to date. In a statement on Thursday, the commission said the funds and assets were recovered through confiscation via court process as well voluntary surrender involving five individuals as well as repatriation to the government. MACC said RM556,275.64 was obtained on Aug 30, 2023 from 1MDB officer Nurzahid Taib, who had received 1MDB funds for Project Maximus and Project Catalyze. The sum was deposited into the account of Turquoise Coast Offshore Inc. It said on Sept 29, a sum of US$972,251.25 (RM4,551,399.45) was returned voluntarily to the government by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s special officer Datuk Amhari Effendi Nazaruddin via wire transfer from BSI Bank Switzerland. Meanwhile, the MACC said that on Nov 8, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the forfeiture of three units of condominium worth RM7.05 million owned by Najib’s foreign affairs adviser Mohammad Kamal Yan Yahaya. The commission said Mohammad Kamal had received the 1MDB funds through MACC says has recovered RM23.91 mil of 1MDB funds and assets from 2023 to date KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Businessmen Mirzan Mahathir and Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir, the sons of former two-time prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have confirmed that they have yet to submit the declaration of assets as requested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), but maintained that they are still within the 30-day time frame given by the graft buster. The deadline given by MACC to declare their assets was 30 days from the date the notice was served. Mirzan was handed the notice on Jan 17 and Mokhzani on Jan 26. In a joint statement issued by their legal firm, Messrs Zharif Nizamuddin, on Thursday, the brothers said they are in the midst of compiling available information and engaging with relevant parties to assist and advise on the process. “MACC has requested a list of assets going back to 1981, the year our father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, became prime minister. “The task at hand in collating 43 years’ worth of information is an impossible endeavour and we ask for patience and understanding to address MACC’s request,” the statement read. Furthermore, Mirzan and Mokhzani said they have not been informed of the specifics of the investigation by MACC other than that it pertains to their former prime minister father. “To avoid any misrepresentation or prejudgement, it would seem appropriate for all parties to apply restraint when comMahathir’s sons confirm they have yet to submit assets declaration to MACC, ask for ‘patience and understanding’ by Emir Zainul theedgemalaysia.com by Surin Murugiah theedgemalaysia.com menting on this case, especially when we have not been informed of the specifics of the investigation other than it pertains to our father,” the brothers said. The statement was issued in response to MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki’s statement on Tuesday that both the businessmen had yet to submit their assets declaration as requested by the commission as part of an ongoing investigation. Media reports quoted Azam as saying in a press conference in Kuching that the duo could be charged if they fail to submit the assets declaration within the stipulated time. However, they can still appeal to extend the period when it ends. On Jan 18, MACC confirmed it had summoned Mirzan, the eldest of Mahathir’s children, to facilitate an ongoing investigation. The commission said it had served Mirzan a notice under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009 to declare all movable and immovable assets in his possession, whether inside or outside the country, within 30 days. The order was said to be an extension of MACC’s investigation regarding the information in the Panama Papers as well as Mirzan’s business activities involving the sale and purchase of government-linked companies. Meanwhile, Mokhzani was called up by the commission on Jan 26 to be investigated under the MACC Act and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. Project Magnolia, Project Maximus and Project Catalyze into the account of Spring Elite International Ltd at BSI Bank, Singapore. The MACC said the three recoveries were in the aftermath of trial of Goldman Sachs bank Roger Ng Chong Hwa at the Brooklyn Federal Court in the US. Following that, the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Feb 5 ordered the forfeiture of assets of fugitive Low Taek Jho’s associates, namely Jerome Lee Tak Loong and his spouse Koay Ying Ying, in Malaysia and Singapore worth RM11.754 million. The MACC added that in total, from 2019 to date, it has recovered RM29.03 billion of 1MDB assets through its asset recovery special task force in collaboration with foreign agencies. On Jan 18, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission confirmed it had summoned Mirzan, the eldest of Mahathir's children, to facilitate an ongoing investigation. Sam Fong/ The Edge Read also: Najib’s appeal to reinstate RM1.9 mil malfeasance suit against ex-AG Tommy Thomas to be heard in Oct

friday february 9, 2024 4 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) chairman Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor has retired from the board with immediate effect, just a week after chief executive officer Datuk Ahmad Nazim Abd Rahman departed. This also comes over a month after it was reported that the planned restructuring of the armed forces pension fund had been put on hold, following a change of the head of the Ministry of Defence. Mohamed Affandi spent two and a half years as the chairman of LTAT since his appointment back in August 2021, which the fund said was marked by an unwavering commitment to bolstering its corporate governance. “His leadership has been instrumental in achieving significant milestones, notably securing approval for an amendment to the Tabung Angkatan Tentera Act 1973, aimed at fortifying LTAT’s corporate governance framework,” LTAT said in a statement on Thursday. “During his stewardship, LTAT inaugurated the Investment Risk Policy and Guidelines, a pivotal measure ensuring the safeguarding of LTAT’s investments while optimising its risk-return profile,” it added. LTAT chairman retires a week after CEO’s resignation KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): The High Court here has struck out a lawsuit brought by subcontractors of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project, Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd (CAD) and its wholly owned unit Contraves Electrodynamics Sdn Bhd (CED), against Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC) and its directors, over the termination of their contracts. The Kuala Lumpur High Court has allowed BHIC and its wholly-owned unit BHIC Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd’s (BHIC DT) applications to strike out the suit. Likewise, the court also allowed BHIC directors Salihin Abang and Vice Admiral Datuk Syed Zahiruddin Putra Syed Osman’s bid to strike out CAD and CED’s claims against them. The court also ordered Sylvia Sinniah, who, based on CAD’s website, is its CEO, to personally pay BHIC and BHIC DT RM15,000 costs, and another RM15,000 in costs to Salihin and Syed Zahiruddin. CAD is a 51:49 JV between BHIC DT and RD Investment AG, a unit of German defence firm Rheinmetall AG, while CED is a wholly owned subsidiary of CAD. A month ago, CAD and CED filed a notice of discontinuance to drop BHIC’s 20.77%-owned unit Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS, now known as Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd or LNS) from the suit. No reason was provided for the notice of discontinuance. However, The Edge Malaysia weekly reported in April 2023 that BNS had reached a settlement agreement with both CAD and CED, citing a term sheet it saw. According to The Edge Malaysia weekly, BNS was to pay CAD roughly RM479.72 million, based on the current exchange rate, as settlement to resolve commercial issues between them in regards to the LCS project. Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that the government has made good progress in its move to take over LNS and in turn the RM11.22 billion LCS project, with Minister of Finance Inc-owned Ocean Sunshine Bhd having a 79.23% stake in the company and is to acquire the rest from BHIC for a nominal RM1. This planned acquisition was announced back in August last year but has yet to materialise as parties have yet to fulfil conditions precedent. While it remains unknown which specific conditions precedent is causing the RM1 deal’s completion to lag, the conditions precedent include the execution of a conditional intercompany trade receivables reorganisation agreement between BHIC and BNS to settle the repayment of RM383.94 million or any other amount owed by BNS to BHIC. Other prerequisites involve obtaining the necessary written consent from BNS’ lenders and BHIC’s financiers or creditors. RM470.8 mil in outstanding amounts, allegations of fiduciary breaches To recap, CAD and its unit initiated the suit against BNS, BHIC, BHIC DT, Salihin, and Syed Zahiruddin back in September 2022 after BNS terminated 12 letters of awards (LOAs) issued to them for the procurement, engineering, integration and supply of equipment and weaponry to build six LCS. It is understood that BNS terminated CAD and CED as intermediaries of the project to allow BNS to negotiate directly with the relevant original equipment manufacturers. This came amid allegations of misconduct, illegality and fraudulent dealings concerning the LOAs issued to the subcontractors, in the wake of a Public Accounts Committee report on LCS project delays and cost overruns. Under its responding legal action, CAD and CED sought a court declaration that the LOAs were still valid as well as BNS to pay the pair RM470.8 million in alleged outstanding amounts. Meanwhile, the pair sought a declaration that Salihin and Syed Zahiruddin — who sat on their boards — allegedly breached their fiduciary duties owed to CAD and CED, and that BHIC and BHIC DT dishonestly assisted, aided or abetted the directors’ alleged breach. Other claims sought included a declaration that BHIC, BHIC DT, Salihin and Syed Zahiruddin allegedly wrongfully procured and/or induced CAD and CED’s original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) under the LCS project to breach their respective LOAs with CAD and CED, and an injunction order to restrain the defendants from communicating with the OEMs for any purpose of the scope of work under the 12 LOAs for the LCS project. Shares in BHIC were untraded on Thursday. The group’s share last traded on Feb 6, when it closed at 49.5 sen. Court strikes out LCS subcontractors’ lawsuit against BHIC, directors by Izzul Ikram theedgemalaysia.com by Izzul Ikram theedgemalaysia.com Read the full story bernama

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2024 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

friday february 9, 2024 6 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Independent adviser Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd has deemed the unconditional mandatory takeover offer for KUB Malaysia Bhd by JAG Capital Holdings Bhd major shareholder Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani as “not fair and not reasonable”, advising shareholders to reject the offer. According to a circular note in KUB’s bourse filing on Thursday, Inter-Pacific said that the offer price of 60 sen per share is unfair, representing a discount ranging between 68 sen (53.13%) and 73 sen (54.89%) over the estimated value per KUB share derived using the sum-of-parts valuation (SOPV) methodology, ranging from RM1.28 to RM1.33, before completion of the takeover. It also represents a discount ranging from 47 sen (43.94%) to 75 sen (55.56%) compared to the estimated value per KUB share using the SOPV methodology, ranging from RM1.07, after completion of the takeover. Inter-Pacific said that the offer is unreasonable since KUB shares, including any new ones from redeemable convertible preference share conversion, will still be tradable on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia if JAG Capital intends to maintain KUB’s listing status. This provides shareholders with the opportunity to potentially realise their investment at prevailing market prices after the closing date, though there is no guarantee that prices and trading volume will remain the same. Independent adviser deems KUB Malaysia takeover offer ‘not fair and not reasonable’, tells shareholders to reject offer KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Reneuco Bhd’s external auditor Al Jafree Salihin Kuzaimi PLT has issued a disclaimer of opinion for the group’s 15-month financial statements ended Sept 30, 2023 (FY2023) due to insufficient appropriate audit evidence. The auditor stated the view in its audit report which was submitted to Bursa Malaysia Securities by Reneuco on Thursday, along with the group’s FY2023 annual report. Thursday is the final deadline before the stock exchange initiates a process to suspend the trading of the group’s shares. Following the submission of the annual report, Reneuco said there will be no suspension in the trading of its shares. Reneuco has however been classified as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company based on the disclaimer of opinion issued by the auditor. Disclaimer of opinion simply means that an auditor does not express an opinion. It is one of the four conclusions — the other three being unqualified, qualified and adverse opinion — by audit firms in expressing whether a set of financial statements provides a true and fair view of a company’s financials. In the case of Reneuco, its auditor’s basis for disclaimer of opinion mainly revolved around the veracity of the group’s trade receivables, trade payables, revenue and costs of sales. In view of these doubts, the auditor has requested Reneuco’s audit committee to conduct special independent review (SIR) and technical due diligence and cost-performance review on three local projects to ascertain the veracity of transactions related to them. These procedures have yet to be completed due to time limitation and hence Al Jafree said it is unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence on the veracity of trade receivables amounting to RM37.14 million, trade payables of RM1.44 million, revenue of RM40.34 million and cost of sales totalling RM7.24 million in FY2023. The auditor also said it could not obtain enough evidence for the cumulative revenue of RM321.26 million and cost of sales amounting to RM196.31 million between FY2020 and FY2023. Al Jafree also said it could not obtain sufficient audit evidence on transactions entered between companies linked to Reneuco’s “previous major shareholder”, which gave rise to revenue of RM33.62 million and cost of sales amounting to RM30.93 million in wholly-owned Reneuco Engineering Sdn Bhd during “previous financial years”. Another area that the auditor could not obtain sufficient evidence was recognition of other income at Reneuco’s wholly-owned Reneuco International (L) Ltd, involving the RM10.58 million withdrawal of invoices from foreign suppliers and reversal of contract liabilities from foreign projects amounting to RM11.33 million. The two matters relating to Reneuco Engineering and Reneuco International were brought to the attention of the Audit Committee and covered under the scope of the SIR, said the auditor. Al Jafree said there were also significant outstanding matters related to Reneuco Engineering, Reneuco International and another two wholly-owned units, Reneuco Digital Sdn Bhd and Reneuco RE Sdn Bhd. “There are significant matters which we require that are outstanding at the date of our report and we have not been able to compile sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for our audit opinion. “Consequently, we were unable to determine whether any adjustments to the financial statements were necessary,” said the auditor. For FY2023, Reneuco posted a net loss of RM117.04 million, versus a net profit of RM6.04 million during the 12-month FY2022, while revenue fell 54% to RM64.6 million from RM140.38 million. The group has cash and bank balances of RM14.5 million as at FY2023, with deposits and prepayments amounting to RM9.83 million, while also bearing shortterm borrowings of RM20.78 million and long-term debts of RM73.63 million. Shares of Reneuco closed two sen or 40% higher at seven sen on Thursday, valuing the group at RM78.54 million. Reneuco’s auditor not able to gather sufficient evidence to form an audit opinion by Chester Tay theedgemalaysia.com by Choy Nyen Yiau theedgemalaysia.com Read the full story

friday february 9, 2024 7 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): A group of minority shareholders, who claimed to own at least 10% stake in Kumpulan Jetson Bhd, are making a second attempt to call for an extraordinary general meeting to replace the group’s incumbent board of directors. They sought to remove the entire board, including chairman Tunku Nooruddin Tunku Shahabuddin, executive director (ED) Edward Ng Kah Jiun, non-executive directors Louise Paul a/l Joseph Paul, Hong Cheong Liang and Goh Rui Yee, according to Jetson’s stock exchange filing on Thursday. Ng was appointed into Jetson’s board in March 2023 as non-executive director, before he was re-designated as ED seven months later in October. This group of shareholders consist of 11 members, namely Tee Chee Beng (1.77%), Chang Yin Yee (1.64%), Lee Yee Wee (0.41%), Chong Wan Ying (2.28%), Shaun Sai Wen Fei (0.97%), Teoh Chor Eng (1.18%), Timothy Yip Tim Joon (0.09%), Tey Giap Leong (0.56%), Cherry Low Choon Tow (0.62%), Alicia Low Choon Muei (0.07%) and Joe Tee Chang Chee Lup (0.62%). They are naming Chee Beng, Chee Lup, Chuan Sieh Yee, Boey Sook Yen and Melvin Ong Kok Ho as the new set of board members for the loss-making industrial anti-vibration products maker. Jetson has been loss-making since the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016. These shareholders requested to convene an EGM to deliberate on the resolutions that they are proposing, including to remove persons from office of director and to appoint further directors to the board. Chee Beng joined Jetson in March 1980 as finance and adminstration manager and was appointed as the director of Jetson Construction Sdn Bhd in November 2001. The notice of requisition disclosed that the 74-year-old was formerly an ED of Jetson from August 2017 to October 2022. Chee Beng, together with a slightly different 10-member shareholders group, had in December last year claimed that they collectively control at least 10% stake in Jetson and requested an EGM to replace board members. However, the requisition was rejected later the same month as Jetson’s secretarial agent and share registrar Securities Services (Holdings) Sdn Bhd found that the group of shareholders’ stake amounted to 9.45%, below the required 10% threshold to be eligible to call for an EGM. Read the full story Kumpulan Jetson minority shareholders making second attempt to remove incumbent board members KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): KNM Group Bhd non-executive chairman Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra has upped his stake in the company to 11.75%, after MAA Group Bhd purchased a 2.25% stake in the group for RM15.04 million. According to bourse filings on Thursday, MAA acquired 91 million shares or a 2.25% stake in the financially troubled oil and gas engineering firm via a direct business transaction for RM15.04 million. This raised Yaacob’s indirect shareholding in KNM to 475.2 million shares or an 11.75% stake, split between MAA (10.8%) and Melewar Industrial Group Bhd (MIG) (0.94%). Yaacob controls a 41.82% stake in MAA via Melewar Equities Sdn Bhd and Melewar Acquisitions Ltd. He also holds 46.9% indirect stake in MIG. Based on back-of-the-envelope calculations, the shares in the Practice Note 17 (PN17) group KNM were purchased at about 16.5 sen apiece — nearly double Thursday’s close of 8.5 sen. Notably, the 16.5 sen per share price tag is near the counter’s one-year high of 17.5 sen seen back on Oct 6 last year. KNM was embroiled in a shareholder tussle in the final quarter of 2023, after a dissenting coalition led by German businessman Andreas Heeschen sought to replace the group’s Yaacob-led board with its own appointees — which includKNM chairman ups stake by 2.25% at near double market price for RM15 mil ed Johor royalty Tunku Kamariah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, sister of current King of Malaysia, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar. In the run-up to the extraordinary general meeting on Oct 16, KNM’s share price saw a sharp increase to the aforementioned one-year peak. However, at the bout’s climax, Yaacob rallied shareholders’ majority support, retaining his and all but one of KNM board’s seats, while all of the Heeschen-Tunku Kamariah group failed to be appointed. Since then, KNM said it has continued its turnaround plan. Recently, KNM said it remains in close cooperation with the majority of its lenders towards achieving a mutually acceptable resolution in relation with the settlement of its debts, via the monetisation of its non-core assets and listing of its crown jewel, German-based equipment manufacturer Borsig GmbH. Heeschen first emerged as a substantial shareholder with a 7.91% stake or 320 million shares on Aug 29, before later increasing it to 8.25% or 333.6 million shares in the days leading up to the EGM. Shares in KNM ended unchanged at 8.5 sen, valuing the group at RM324.8 million. Shares in MAA closed down half a sen or 1.43% at 34.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM89.79 million. by Izzul Ikram theedgemalaysia.com by Chester Tay theedgemalaysia.com KNM Group Bhd non-executive chairman Tunku Datuk Yaacob Khyra has upped his stake in the company to 11.75%, through MAA Group Bhd, with a 2.25% purchase for RM15.04 million. The stake was believed to be purchased at about 16.5 sen apiece — nearly double Thursday’s close of 8.5 sen. the edge file photo

friday february 9, 2024 8 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): MGB Bhd’s indirect wholly owned unit MGB International for Industry (MGBI) has secured two purchase orders, totalling approximately 94.5 million riyals (RM119.55 million), from Saudi Arabia-based Sany Alameriah Industrial (SA). In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday, the group said the purchase orders are in relation to a contract signed between SA and SALD Industrial Company for the supply and installation of precast elements consisting walls, staircases, beams and hollow core slabs for 400 villas in the Roshn Alarous development. The Roshn Alarous, located north of Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a highly prestigious development that extends over four million square meters and will offer more than 18,000 residential units once all phases have been fully developed. MGBI inked a joint-venture agreement with SA in July last year, in which the company will operate SA’s precast concrete factory. This marks MGB’s first international project, and a well-timed entry into the kingdom’s property development and housing sector. The kingdom has reportedly undertaken substantial reforms, such as the introduction of the Saudi Housing Programme in 2018, in line with its Vision 2030, with an aim to increase accessibility to affordable, quality, safe and well-located housing in order to raise homeownership to 70% by 2030. Therefore, MGBI’s expertise in mass construction of affordable housing positions the company advantageously, as it can potentially secure new contracts in the future, according to MGB. MGB said the entire scope of supply and installation of precast elements shall be completed within 14 months from the commencement date, which is the date of receipt of advance payment or when the approved shop drawing is submitted, whichever is later. “The purchase orders will have no effect on the share capital and shareholding structure of the company, but they are expected to contribute positively to revenue and gross profit of the company,” said MGB. For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2023, MGB’s net profit jumped threefold to RM36.32 million from RM11.38 million the year before, as revenue climbed 42.65% to RM666.5 million from RM467.22 million. Shares in MGB were unchanged at 63.5 sen at Thursday’s noon break, giving the construction arm of LBS Bina Group Bhd a market capitalisation of RM372.76 million. MGB secures two purchase orders worth RM120 mil from Saudi Arabia-based Sany Alameriah Industrial KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Dataprep Holdings Bhd said its Indonesian unit has inked an agreement for a 30-year concession to develop and maintain passive telecommunication infrastructure in Bandung, Indonesia. This follows its January announcement that subsidiary PT Dataprep Teknologi Indonesia Tbk (DTI) had been selected as the lead consortium member to construct and maintain the infrastructure. Dataprep said that PT Jaringan Pintar Bersama — a unit of DTI — has inked an agreement with PT Bandung Infra Investama (Perseroda) Tbk for the concession. “The estimated investment for the next three years of development period is approximately IDR313 billion (around RM95.4 million).” Dataprep did not elaborate on its shareholding in the consortium. The loss-making digital services company is in net-cash position, with cash of RM14.81 million at end-September, against total borrowings of RM4.71 million. Retained losses stood at RM74.89 million, against share capital of RM148.78 million. “The passive telecommunication infrastructure development will include development and maintenance of underground telecommunication infrastructure including the ducting, manhole and hand hole for installation of fibre optics and construction of telecommunication microcell pole,” it added. The project, Dataprep said, is based on a public-private partnership initiative utilising the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. Its two consortium partners include PT Bintang Trans Khatulistiwa Tbk and PT Raka Mitra Bersama Tbk. PT Bandung Infra Investama (Perseroda) is an entity owned by “Badan Milik Daerah Kota Bandung” incorporated, it added. Shares of Dataprep slipped half a sen or 3.7% to 13 sen at noon market break, valuing the group at RM92.51 million. KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Perdana Petroleum Bhd wholly owned subsidiary Perdana Nautika Sdn Bhd has secured two separate contracts totalling RM14.3 million from ROC Oil (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd and T7 Marine Sdn Bhd. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, Perdana Petroleum said the group has received an RM8.4 million worth of contract from ROC Oil (Sarawak) on Dec 14, 2023 to provide a unit of anchor handling tug and supply (AHTS) vessels. “The vessel will assist and/or service drilling rigs, offshore installations, derrick barges, towing and anchor jobs in the Sarawak region,” Perdana Petroleum said. Dataprep unit inks 30-year concession for Bandung passive telco infra project, sees RM95 mil investment over three years Perdana Petroleum bags contracts worth a total of RM14.3 mil from ROC Oil and T7 Marine by Adam Aziz theedgemalaysia.com by Luqman Amin theedgemalaysia.com by Syafiqah Salim theedgemalaysia.com The contract will commence for 120 days from the first week of January 2024, with an option to extend for up to 30 days. In a separate filing, Perdana Petroleum also announced that the group has secured a RM5.9 million contract from T7 Marine on Jan 24, 2024 to provide a unit of accommodation work barge (AWB). “The barge will come with crew and equipment to perform a continuous service as per the agreed scope of works to support T7 Marine’s project activities,” the filing read. The contract will start between Feb 6 and Feb 20, 2024, for a duration of up to 50 days, with extension options that can be exercised from the commencement date. Perdana Petroleum said that the contracts won are expected to contribute positively to its earnings and net assets for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024. The group added that the contracts will not have any effect on its share capital and shareholding structure. Perdana Petroleum shares closed half a sen or 2% higher at 25.5 sen on Thursday, with 3.84 million shares traded. Its market capitalisation stood at RM555.29 million. The stock has risen 27.5% year to date and 34.21% over the past year.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2024 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF H O W T O E N T E R Download entry forms on bmspa.theedgemalaysia.com For enquiries, contact The Edge Corporate Communications at: [email protected] S U B M I S S I O N D E A D L I N E All entries must reach The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd, Lobby Level, Menara KLK, No. 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor by 5pm, Wednesday, 21 February 2024 Awards results audited by Deloitte AWA R D S O B J E C T I V E Promote sustainable real estate in Malaysia through recognition of: • Malaysia’s best property management practices • Property in Malaysia designed and built for sustainability NO W OPEN fO R ENTRIES ( No F ees required ) • All Residential, Office, Mixed Development, Specialised and Retail properties managed in-house/by property building managers • Strata and Non-strata buildings • Re-purposed buildings ALSO OPEN fOR SUBMISSION ( No F ees required ) • The Edge Malaysia’s responsible developer: Building sustainable development Award • The Edge-iLAM Malaysia’s sustainable Landscape Award Enter now! PRESENTED By MAiN PARTNER SUPPORTED By

friday february 9, 2024 10 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home TUESDAY MAY 18, 2021 4 THEEDGE CEO MOTABLE SAMPLE FONT/COLOUR Top 25 gainers and losers with market caps from RM100 mil to RM500 mil Company Name Change Change Last Market Cap (%) (RM) Price (RM) (RM mil) SMRT Holdings 425.71 0.745 0.92 416.72 TAS Offshore 205.13 0.4 0.60 105.74 Pelikan International Corp 175.28 0.156 0.25 147.79 PWF Corp 163.53 0.574 0.93 283.10 Minetech Resources 160.00 0.08 0.13 231.96 FSBM Holdings 157.69 0.205 0.34 161.79 Synergy House 147.83 0.51 0.86 427.50 Salutica 146.30 0.395 0.67 281.63 Sarawak Consolidated Industries 144.83 0.21 0.36 227.29 MCE Holdings 139.01 1.012 1.74 214.99 Seal Inc 125.53 0.295 0.53 222.52 Econpile Holdings 119.35 0.185 0.34 481.95 Marine & General 115.79 0.11 0.21 148.40 Avaland 112.50 0.135 0.26 371.53 SHH Resources Holdings 109.68 0.68 1.30 129.99 Parkson Holdings 107.41 0.145 0.28 321.69 MN Holdings 104.69 0.335 0.66 268.25 Magma Group 104.17 0.125 0.25 231.58 Hua Yang 100.00 0.16 0.32 140.80 Netx Holdings 100.00 0.055 0.11 103.17 Epicon 87.80 0.18 0.39 229.00 Uzma 83.87 0.52 1.14 441.44 TPC Plus 81.58 0.155 0.35 106.34 Ewein 75.70 0.405 0.94 283.49 Wellspire Holdings 72.73 0.28 0.67 473.56 K Seng Seng Corp -40.00 -0.6 0.90 135.16 Scope Industries -40.91 -0.09 0.13 149.98 Komarkcorp -41.82 -0.115 0.16 167.80 DS Sigma Holdings -41.88 -0.263 0.37 175.20 Ecoscience International -42.61 -0.245 0.33 123.42 Hextar Capital -43.29 -0.355 0.47 207.84 Fitters Diversified -45.12 -0.037 0.05 105.36 South Malaysia Industries -45.54 -0.51 0.61 128.06 Senheng New Retail -45.54 -0.255 0.31 457.50 MMAG Holdings -47.50 -0.095 0.11 178.05 Harn Len Corp -49.09 -0.405 0.42 236.92 InNature -49.46 -0.318 0.33 229.41 Ta Win Holdings -50.00 -0.03 0.03 103.06 Daythree Digital -50.40 -0.315 0.31 148.80 Texchem Resources -54.44 -1.159 0.97 113.58 Coraza Integrated Technology -55.74 -0.51 0.41 199.92 Kobay Technology -58.67 -1.59 1.12 363.08 Artroniq -58.75 -0.413 0.29 118.31 ECA Integrated Solution -60.94 -0.585 0.38 217.14 Edelteq Holdings -62.33 -0.455 0.28 146.45 Revenue Group -68.94 -0.455 0.21 113.75 Widad Group -70.24 -0.295 0.13 387.06 Velocity Capital Partner -71.43 -0.05 0.09 124.33 Imaspro Corp -78.30 -4.655 1.29 103.20 YNH Property -85.83 -3.725 0.62 325.02 Rapid Synergy -92.60 -15.26 1.22 130.41 * Data compiled as of Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 9): While the Water Rabbit symbolism is associated with Yin Water or Gui element that is similar to mist, rain or snow, and is thought to bring a gloomy year, the FBM KLCI seems to have shrugged off this element towards the end of the Chinese lunar calendar year. Just before the Year of the Water Rabbit draws to a close and we welcome the Year of the Wood Dragon on Feb 10, the KLCI managed to surpass the stiff resistance level of 1,500 points on Jan 15. Nevertheless, the optimism in the early part of the year might not represent positivity for the stock market for the rest of the year. This is because the KLCI also breached the 1,500 points around the same time last year, before it trended lower for most of the first half of 2023. Looking back throughout the year of the Water Rabbit, the water element can be seen in effect for the KLCI, as the index lagged behind some of its regional peers. With an increase of just 0.8% throughout the year, the benchmark index lagged behind the Jakarta Composite Index’s 5.24% return and the Philippines Stock Exchange Index‘s 15.32%. Nevertheless, the KLCI is ahead of Singapore’s Straits Times Index (STI) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index (SET), as both of these indices were in the red for 2023. The STI declined by 4.58% in 2023, while the SET was drowned, with a return of -17.21%. On the other hand, the midcap index Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 Index had a good year in the year of the Water Rabbit, surging 12.31%, while the FBM Small Cap Index saw a decent 6.24% increase during the year. FTSE Bursa Malaysia ACE Index, meanwhile, declined 14.12%. Some sectors had benefitted so far throughout the year of the Water Rabbit. The utilities sector was the biggest gainer during the year with 78.08% increase, followed by the property sector (36.04%) and the construction sector (34.14%). Meanwhile, the industrial products and services had a bad year under the Water Rabbit sign, declining 8.56% during the year, followed by the technology sector (-7.64%) and consumer products and services (-5.92%). by Anis Hazim & Hee En Qi theedgemalaysia.com Top gainers and losers in the Year of the Water Rabbit continues on Page 11

friday february 9, 2024 11 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home from Page 10 Small-cap down the rabbit hole It is worth highlighting that the Water Rabbit seemed to have startled in the final month of its year as the stock market saw several penny stock counters experiencing significant drops. Subsequently, the three biggest losers among companies with a market capitalisation between RM100 million and RM500 million for the Rabbit year were Rapid Synergy Bhd (-92.6%), YNH Property Bhd (-85.83%) and Imaspro Corp Bhd (-78.3%), which saw prominent investor Dr Yu Kuan Chon as the common substantial stakeholder. Interestingly, Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB) managed to finish the race with a striking leap of 144.83% throughout the Rabbit year and land among the top gainers. This comes despite the counter hitting limit-down several times in January, plummeting from RM1.16 to 29 sen within the same week. Top gainers Among the super big cap companies with more than RM10 billion market capitalisation, YTL Power International Bhd topped the list of gainers as it hopped by 467.38% throughout the Water Rabbit year. Meanwhile, its 55.6%-parent YTL Corp Bhd leapt by 322.02% within the lunar year. Both of the stocks hit their all-time highs in December last year. Other property giants also emerged as super big-cap gainers, including IOI Properties Group Bhd (89.24%), Sunway Bhd (79.08%) and Gamuda Bhd (32.67%). The trend continued for the group of companies with RM1 billion to RM10 billion market cap, as companies related to the construction and building material industries such as UEM Sunrise Bhd (329.17%), WCE Holdings Bhd (191.67%) and Hume Cement Industries Bhd (190.22%) emerged among the top gainers. Among the mid-caps (RM500 million to RM1 billion), Central Global Bhd (224.62%) topped the list, followed by PBA Holdings Bhd (216.08%) and Teo Seng Capital Bhd (180.33%) Despite the penny stock selling wave, a total of 18 counters among the small caps recorded a gain of at least 100% in the Water Rabbit year. The top gainer was SMRT Holdings (425.7%), followed by TAS Offshore Bhd (205.1%), Minetech Resources Bhd (175.3%), Pelikan International Corp Bhd (163.5%) and PWF Corp Bhd (160%). Top losers For the big caps with over RM10 billion market cap, the biggest declines were led by Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd (-31.71%), MR DIY Group (M) Bhd (-25.19%) and Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (-18.35%). Meanwhile, Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (-12.25%) and its subsidiary Hong Leong Bank Bhd (-5.96%) were the only two financial institutions that witnessed a loss in the Rabbit year. The biggest laggards among the stocks in the RM1 billion to RM5 billion market cap category were dominated by the manufacturing and technology industries due to the delay in the recovery of global demand. Electrical and electronics (E&E) plastic products manufacturer SKP Resources topped the losers list with a decline of 56.4% since the Rabbit year, followed by Hextar Industries Bhd (-49.32%) and Dagang NeXchange Bhd (-45.45%). Of the stocks in the RM500 million to RM1 billion market cap category, Oppstar Bhd was unable to buck the downtrend in the technology sector and topped the losers list with a loss of 53.31%. Berjaya Food Bhd came in a close second (-43.09%) as its brand Starbucks faced immense boycott pressure from Malaysian consumers due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian crisis. TUESDAY MAY 18, 2021 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF TABLE SAMPLE FONT/COLOUR Top gainers and losers with market caps above RM10 bil Company Name Change Change Last Market Cap (%) (RM) Price (RM) (RM bil) YTL Power International 467.38 3.30 4.00 32.41 YTL Corp 322.02 1.76 2.30 25.22 IOI Properties Group 89.24 1.00 2.11 11.62 Sunway 79.08 1.21 2.74 15.02 Gamuda 32.67 1.24 5.04 13.79 TIME dotCom 27.94 1.21 5.55 10.26 Inari Amertron 22.89 0.60 3.20 12.00 Fraser & Neave Holdings 22.43 5.30 28.92 10.61 Tenaga Nasional 19.45 1.76 10.78 62.39 Telekom Malaysia 16.01 0.80 5.82 22.34 CIMB Group Holdings 14.10 0.77 6.23 66.44 Malayan Banking 12.57 1.03 9.26 111.68 KLCCP Stapled Group 12.33 0.81 7.38 13.32 Kuala Lumpur Kepong 11.67 2.33 22.32 24.07 AMMB Holdings 11.05 0.43 4.29 14.19 Malaysia Airports Holdings 10.31 0.74 7.91 13.20 Sime Darby 9.67 0.22 2.46 16.77 Westports Holdings 7.47 0.27 3.87 13.20 Petronas Gas 7.43 1.23 17.78 35.18 IHH Healthcare 6.29 0.36 6.13 53.99 RHB Bank 5.50 0.29 5.58 23.92 Public Bank 5.38 0.22 4.37 84.82 IOI Corp 5.22 0.20 3.99 24.75 Genting Malaysia 4.85 0.13 2.81 15.93 CelcomDigi 4.27 0.17 4.22 49.51 MISC 4.25 0.30 7.33 32.72 Sime Darby Plantation 3.67 0.16 4.46 30.84 Genting 0.73 0.03 4.81 18.52 QL Resources -2.65 -0.16 5.74 13.97 Petronas Dagangan -3.06 -0.68 21.44 21.30 Maxis -4.37 -0.17 3.76 29.45 Hong Leong Bank -5.96 -1.21 19.00 41.19 Axiata Group -7.93 -0.24 2.75 25.24 Nestle Malaysia -9.14 -12.12 120.40 28.23 Press Metal Aluminium Holdings -11.24 -0.59 4.62 38.07 PPB Group -12.21 -2.09 15.00 21.34 Hong Leong Financial Group -12.25 -2.28 16.30 18.67 Petronas Chemicals Group -18.35 -1.51 6.71 53.68 MR DIY Group M -25.19 -0.49 1.44 13.60 Hap Seng Consolidated -31.71 -2.14 4.61 11.48 * Data compiled as of Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 12 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Solar District Cooling Group Bhd’s proposed initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia would involve up to 118.67 million shares, according to its prospectus exposure with the Securities Commission Malaysia. Of the 118.67 million shares, 21.19 million shares will be for the public via balloting, followed by 21.19 million shares for eligible directors, employees and persons who have contributed to the success of the group, while the remaining 76.29 million shares are for private placement to selected investors. Solar District Cooling is principally involved in the provision and maintenance of building management systems, solar thermal systems and energy-saving services. The company also undertakes system and equipment maintenance projects comprising gas fired chillers and chilled water systems. Solar District Cooling said it intends to utilise the IPO proceeds to finance its headquarters expansion, allocations for tender bonds and/or performance bonds for Solar District Cooling Group eyes IPO of up to 118.67 mil shares to raise funds for expansion KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade recorded a sales value of RM143.9 billion in December 2023, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). In a statement on Thursday, the department said wholesale and retail trade sales value for the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q2023) recorded a total of RM428.8 billion, bringing the whole year’s total sales to RM1.7 trillion. Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase of 4.8% yearon-year (y-o-y) for wholesale and retail trade in December was driven by the retail trade sub-sector, which rose 5% or RM3 billion to register RM62.4 billion. “Wholesale trade also expanded by registering [an increase of] 4.4% or RM2.6 billion to RM62.9 billion, followed by motor Wholesale and retail trade saw highest monthly sales of RM143.9 bil in December, says DOSM Bernama by Luqman Amin theedgemalaysia.com Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin Low Yen Yeing/The Edge future projects, purchase of materials for solar thermal systems and energy-saving services, general working capital, and capital expenditure, as well as listing expenses. The prospectus exposure did not specify the targeted allocation for each section of the funds to be raised. On the financial front, Solar District Cooling reported a profit after tax (PAT) of RM5.18 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), up from RM4.23 million for FY2021. It logged a PAT of RM1.98 million for FY2020. The prospectus exposure also stated that the company does not have a formal dividend policy. Solar District Cooling’s non-independent managing director Edison Kong is deemed to hold 90% of the group’s share capital, while non-independent executive director Eileen Liuk holds the remaining 10%. Post IPO, their deemed interest will be diluted to 64.8% for Edison Kong and 7.2% for Eileen Liuk. Mercury Securities is the principal adviser, sponsor, underwriter and placement agent for the IPO. vehicles with a growth of 5.9% or RM1.0 billion to settle at RM18.6 billion,” he said. Mohd Uzir noted that the 5.8% increase in 4Q2023 for wholesale and retail trade was underpinned by the wholesale trade sub-sector, which rose RM9.8 billion or 5.4% to RM189.4 billion. In addition, he said wholesale and retail sales ended 2023 with a 7.7% increase, spurred by retail trade, which increased RM59.7 billion or 9% to settle at RM720.8 billion. In a separate statement, the DOSM said Malaysia’s volume index of wholesale and retail trade registered a growth of 4.2% y-o-y in 4Q2023 to reach 153.1 points, bringing the overall performance for 2023 to 5.6%. The chief statistician said the increase was attributed to the motor vehicles sub-sector, which soared 9.8%, followed by wholesale trade (4.6% better) and retail trade (up 2.9%). “For quarter-on-quarter comparison, the volume index edged up 0.8%, supported by motor vehicles, which grew 3.7%,” Mohd Uzir added. Read also: Services sector revenue hit RM2.3 tril in 2023, says DOSM

friday february 9, 2024 13 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has completed the acquisition of KAF Equities Sdn Bhd via CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, and the entity will be rebranded as CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd. The stockbroking arm will be headed by Ruzi Rani Ajith as the chief executive officer, reporting to Novan Amirudin coCEO of Group Wholesale Banking, CIMB Group. Ruzi is leaving her position as the CEO and Malaysia country head of the previous stockbroking joint venture CGS-CIMB Securities to take on the current role. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, CIMB said CIMB Securities will provide a full suite of equities services and will complement other products within the Group Wholesale Banking franchise from financing, cash management, treasury and markets and investment banking advisory. These offerings, it added, will be provided to institutional and corporate clients with immediate effect. “We are pleased to integrate stockbroking into our Wholesale Banking offerings in Malaysia as we complete our end-toend value proposition for our clients. We will be adopting a phased approach in our rollout, starting with wholesale clients and expanding our offerings in the future. “We will invest in effective technologies that complement our vision for CIMB Securities to be the brokerage of the future, as we solidify our position to be the trusted partner in the Malaysian capital market,” said CIMB Group CEO Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad. In April last year, The Edge broke the story, citing sources, that CIMB had inked a deal to acquire 100% of KAF Equities from KAF-Seagroatt & Campbell Sdn Bhd, one of the oldest stockbroking firms in the country. CIMB completes acquisition of KAF Equities, rebrands stockbroking arm as CIMB Securities KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): NationGate Holdings Bhd is acquiring Hesechan Industries in Perai, Penang for RM25 million in cash, as it seeks to acquire additional manufacturing space to facilitate its business expansion. In a bourse filing on Thursday, the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider announced that it had entered into a share sale agreement with the vendor, Heap Seong Chan Company Sdn Bhd, to acquire Hesechan as a wholly owned subsidiary. Hesechan is principally involved in the business of warehousing and logistics services. According to the filing, the present paidup share capital of Hesechan is RM2 million comprising two million ordinary shares, with Heap Seong Chan being its sole shareholder. NationGate said the purchase consideration was made after considering, among other factors, the market value of a property in the Perai Industrial Estate reported at RM25 million as of December 2023. The net book value of the property as of July 2023 was RM4.64 million. It said the property, which comprises four factories and an office block, is used for Heap Seong Chan’s business activities related to warehousing and general carriers. “The acquisition represents a strategic investment for expansion, and is undertaken in line with NationGate and its subsidiaries’ long-term plan to grow its business. As the group intends to continue expanding its business, it envisages the requirements of additional manufacturing space to facilitate the expansion,” it stated. Furthermore, NationGate believes that the prospects of the acquisition remain favourable. NationGate acquires Hesechan Industries in Penang for RM25 mil cash by Hee En Qi theedgemalaysia.com by Emir Zainul theedgemalaysia.com It was later revealed in CIMB Investment Bank’s first quarter of 2023 (1QFY23) financial statement that the cost of the acquisition was RM147.94 million. Then in late December, CIMB said it had completed the sale of its residual 25.01% stake in CGS-CIMB Securities International Pte Ltd (CSI) and 25% shareholding in CGS-CIMB Holdings Sdn Bhd (CCH) to CGS International Holdings Ltd (CGI), which was formerly known as China Galaxy International Financial Holdings Ltd. CGI is a subsidiary of China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd (CGS), the fourth largest securities firm in China by revenue in the first half of 2023. CIMB said it will receive an estimated gross proceeds of RM780 million for the sale of the 25.01% and 25% stakes, bringing total proceeds for the sale of its 100% original stockbroking business since 2018 to about RM2.5 billion. On Thursday, CIMB updated that the collaboration with CGS in the retail and wealth business remains in place to help a continuing and seamless service for individual clients. At market close, CIMB’s share price rose three sen, or 0.48%, to close at RM6.23 with a market capitalisation of RM66.44 billion. “[Facing] the fast-paced nature of the electrical and electronics industry, coupled with the continuously changing technological landscape globally, the group’s relentless effort in bringing up the value chain of the manufacturing services rendered shall keep us ahead in this competitive market. “The group intends to continuously strive for technological advancement and cost-effectiveness, and build strong collaboration in its supply chain ecosystem to better position itself in the EMS market,” it stated. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter ending March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024). On the financial front, NationGate noted that the impact of the acquisition on its gearing could only be determined based on the final breakdown of the funding sources to finance the acquisition. For 3QFY2023, the company reported a gearing ratio of 0.31 times, compared with 1.39 times as at Dec 31, 2022. Meanwhile, it reported a net profit of RM44.89 million for the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2023 (9MFY2023), 29% lower compared with RM63.09 million for 9MFY2022. At Thursday’s close, NationGate saw its share price rise by five sen or 3.68% to RM1.41, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.92 billion. nationgate.com.my

friday february 9, 2024 14 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home news In brie f RCE Capital sees marginal net profit decline in 3Q KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): RCE Capital Bhd’s net profit slipped a marginal 1.7% to RM34.56 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (3QFY2024), from RM35.18 million a year earlier, on higher directors’ remuneration and staff costs as well as allowances for impairment loss on receivables. Earnings per share eased to 4.72 sen from 4.8 sen, according to the consumer financing firm’s bourse filing on Thursday. This was despite a 7.16% rise in quarterly revenue to RM87.41 million from RM81.57 million previously, due to higher profit and fee income. Meanwhile, for the first nine months of FY2024, RCE Capital posted a 5.53% increase in net profit to RM109.69 million, as compared with RM103.94 million in the same period a year ago. This was on the back of a 7.56% rise in revenue to RM259.2 million from RM240.99 million previously, as well as higher other income. Looking at the remaining quarter of FY2024, RCE Capital said the rising trend in Malaysia’s gross domestic product leads towards rising consumer spending momentum, which will in turn potentially translate to higher demand for financing. — by Izzul Ikram Resintech turns profitable in 3Q amid higher revenue, lower administrative expenses KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Plastic pipes and fittings maker Resintech Bhd posted a net profit of RM1.18 million for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (3QFY2024) versus a net loss of RM1.24 million a year earlier, on the back of higher revenue. The better showing was also helped by lower administrative expenses of RM1.58 million which was down by 21.6% from RM2.02 million previously and lower other operating expenses of RM447,000, a drop of 78.7% from RM2.1 million previously, the group’s bourse filing showed. Earnings per share stood at 0.6 sen, versus a loss per share of 0.85 sen in 3QFY2023. Quarterly revenue increased 19.68% to RM26.38 million from RM22.04 million previously. For the first nine months of FY2024, Resintech reported a net profit of RM4.18 million against a net loss of RM1.51 million in the previous corresponding period. Nine-month revenue rose 19.14% to RM79.12 million from RM66.41 million on increased demand with a corresponding improvement in margin attributed to higher productivity and efficiency. — by Justin Lim Spritzer inks JV agreement to develop housing project in Perak KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Spritzer Bhd, the country’s largest bottled water manufacturer, has entered a joint-venture (JV) agreement to develop a residential housing project in Perak’s Larut Matang district, where the group is based. In a bourse filing on Thursday, Spritzer said the JV with construction firm KNP Development Sdn Bhd presents a good opportunity for the group to establish a foothold in the property development industry. Under the deal, Spritzer will bear the cost and expenses to build houses on a 5.78- acre (2.34-hectare) piece of land provided by KNP. The estimated cost was not mentioned in the filing. KNP will be entitled to 15% of the sale proceeds. The entitlement will be paid based on the actual collection of progressive claims from the end purchasers on a monthly basis. Spritzer, on the other hand, will be entitled to the rest of the sale proceeds. It is set to be the absolute beneficial owner of the land upon the complete satisfaction of KNP’s entitlement. — by Hee En Qi Sunway unit establishes RM1 bil sukuk wakalah programme KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Sunway Velocity Three Sdn Bhd has established an Islamic medium-term note programme of up to RM1 billion in nominal value based on the shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar, namely the Asean Green Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk Programme. Sunway Velocity Three is a 60%-owned subsidiary of Sunway City Sdn Bhd, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunway Bhd. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Sunway said Sunway Velocity Three had lodged the required information and relevant documents related to the programme with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) pursuant to the SC’s Guidelines on Unlisted Capital Market Products under the Lodge and Launch Framework. “The proceeds from the issuance of the Asean Green SRI Sukuk Wakalah shall be utilised towards, inter alia (among other things), part-financing the total project cost in relation to the development of the three-block serviced apartments under the Sunway Velocity 3 project,” it said. United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd is the sole principal adviser, lead arranger and lead manager for the Asean Green SRI Sukuk Programme. — Bernama Southern Acids to buy out Firstview Development for RM23 mil KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Southern Acids (M) Bhd announced that the company has entered in a share sales agreement (SSA) to acquire the remaining 10% stake or 300,000 ordinary shares in Firstview Development Sdn Bhd from Low Mong Hua Sdn Bhd for a total cash consideration of RM23.5 million. Postacquisition, Firstview Development — which is engaged in oil palm plantation and milling activities, and currently owns two subsidiaries in Indonesia, PT Mustika Agro Sari and PT Wanasari Nusantara — will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Acids. The purchase consideration will be settled in six instalments, with the first payment of RM1.5 million to be made upon signing of the SSA, and the remaining payments to be made annually from 2025 to 2028. According to Southern Acids, the purchase consideration was arrived at on a willingbuyer willing-seller basis, after taking into account the net assets, earnings potential and growth prospects of Firstview Development. The group opined that the proposed acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy to focus on its milling and cultivation segment and to facilitate the continuing growth of its main business in this segment. — by Luqman Amin

friday february 9, 2024 15 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KINABATANGAN (Feb 8): Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya wants coordination between the Sabah Water Department (JANS) and the Public Works Department (JKR) to tackle the issue of high non-revenue water (NRW) rate in Kinabatangan due to frequent pipe leaks. JANS, Sabah JKR instructed to address high NRW rate in Kinabatangan — Shahelmey Floor price of paddy purchase in Sabah, Sarawak RM1,300/tonne from Feb 15 KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): The Ministry of Works will ensure the construction of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway (LPB) project can completed this year, said Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi. He said the work progress of the project had reached 98.91%. “Some changes still need to be done to the design, because of soil problems at the locations involved. That’s why the work progress of the project has yet to reach 100%,” the minister said at a press conference after delivering his New Year mandate and monthly assembly with the ministry’s staff at the Public Works Complex here on Thursday. Regarding the Sabah LPB project, Nanta said the work progress had achieved almost 87% for Phase 1A involving 15 work packages. For the Phase 1B package, which involves 19 work packages, it is in the tender process, he added. In another development, Nanta said the West Coast Expressway involving the Perak alignment is scheduled for opening next month. “It will serve as an alternative route to the North-South Expressway (PLUS), especially to reduce congestion during festive seasons. “These megaprojects will also help boost the country’s economy and development,” he said. Earlier, Nanta, when addressing the staff of the ministry, told them to be proactive in carrying out their tasks, and not just wait for complaints from the people, especially regarding road issues. “I understand that many complaints have been acted upon immediately, but there are also complaints that take too long to be dealt with...this affects the people’s trust in us. “Therefore, the main thing I want to emphasise here is that there is no need to wait for complaints to carry out road repair, and don’t sweep [complaints] under the carpet. Stop the attitude of waiting for issues to get viral first to act,” he said. SIMANGGANG, Sarawak (Feb 8): The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) has set the floor price for paddy purchase in Sabah and Sarawak at RM1,300 per tonne starting from Feb 15. Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said the decision was made to increase the country’s rice production and standardise the floor price of paddy purchases in both states with the peninsula. “At present, the price of paddy purchase in Sabah and Sarawak is relatively low, around RM900 to RM1,100 [per tonne]. This determination can help increase farmers’ income and encourage them to increase rice production,” he said. He said this when speaking at a ceremony during a visit to Jelapang Padi Batang Lupar at Dewan Nangkai Stumbin here on Thursday. Also present were his deputy Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup; Sarawak Deputy Minister of Food Industry, Commodities and Regional Development Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail; and Sri Aman Development Agency (Sada) chairPan Borneo Highway project in Sarawak to be completed this year, says works minister Bernama Bernama Bernama Shahelmey, who is also the Sabah Minister of Works, explained that with the Pan Borneo Highway construction project now in its final stages, the installation of new pipes could proceed smoothly. “I hope this matter can be resolved within the next year or two. “Considering that the Pan Borneo Highway project is in its final stages and there are no major alignment changes, I believe the installation of new pipes in the affected areas can continue,” he told reporters during his visit to the Batu Putih Water Treatment Plant in Sukau near here on Thursday. According to Shahelmey, the plant has a capacity to produce four million litres per day (MLD), but the demand is only 1.05 MLD. While new pipe construction is underway, he asked JANS to find suitable and effective solutions to reduce the NRW rate so that treated water produced can be delivered to consumers. man Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim. Mohamad said for the long term, the government needs to strengthen the nation’s food security by focusing on expanding paddy cultivation areas in Sabah and Sarawak by expanding the Ala Sekinchan Large-Scale SMART Padi Field Programme (SMART SBB) nationwide. He added that the government’s target to increase the national rice self-sufficiency level could reach 80% by 2030 compared to the current achievement of 62.6% Agriculture and Food Security minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu (left) and his deputy Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup visiting the Jelapang Padi Batang Lupar on Wednesday. He said the government's target to increase the national rice self-sufficiency level could reach 80% by 2030 compared to the current achievement of 62.6%. bernama

friday february 9, 2024 16 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown has filed an appeal to set aside her conviction and two-year prison sentence for defaming Sultanah Nur Zahirah, the Sultanah of Terengganu. The London-based journalist filed her appeal to the High Court through her lawyers at Messrs Guok Partnership on Thursday, a day after the Kuala Terengganu Magistrate’s court sentenced her in absentia in her criminal defamation case. “In the notice of appeal, [Rewcastle-Brown] is also seeking for the court to exercise supervisory and revisionary powers to set aside the order,” lawyer Guok Ngek Seong, who is representing the investigative portal’s founder, told The Edge when contacted. On Wednesday, Magistrate Nik Mohd Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri found Rewcastle-Brown guilty of defamation and ordered her prison sentence to start immediately. It was reported that the court found that the prosecution had proven a prima facie case against her. Rewcastle-Brown was charged in absentia with criminal defamation in September 2021. She was charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code, which states that whoever defames another can be jailed up to two years, or fined, or both. An arrest warrant was also issued against her. Previously, the journalist’s counsels had sent two letters of representations to the Attorney General’s Chambers seeking to drop the charge. However, they were both rejected. The case revolves around a passage in the book titled The Sarawak Report: The Inside Story of the 1MDB Exposé. Sultanah Nur Zahirah, the wife of the Sultan of Terengganu, had also filed a RM100 million civil suit against Rewcastle-Brown and two others over the same alleged offence, claiming she had been defamed in Rewcastle-Brown’s book via this passage: “Jho (fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low) was also friendly with a key player in Terengganu, the wife of the Sultan, whose acquiescence was needed to set up the fund and he later cited her support as having been crucial to his obtaining the advisory position”. The Sultanah alleged that Rewcastle-Brown’s statement was disparaging to her, and that it could be taken to mean that she was involved in corrupt practices, and interfered with the state’s administration. On Oct 31, 2022, The High Court dismissed the Sultanah’s suit on the grounds that the statement in question was not defamatory. However, the appellate court allowed the Sultanah’s appeal last December. A three-member panel found that the impugned statement was indeed defamatory and awarded damages of RM300,000 and cost of RM120,000. Sarawak Report editor appeals against conviction, jail sentence in defamation case KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): The Sessions Court here has allowed the temporary release of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s passport for his trip to Thailand next week. Judge Azura Alwi allowed Muhyiddin’s application. His passport has been held under the custody of the court as he is still facing money laundering charges although his corruption charges were struck out by the High Court last year. Muhyiddin, in his application for the temporary release filed on Jan 31, told the court he had to go to Thailand, specifically Bangkok, to attend the grand opening of a restaurant there on Feb 15. Muhyiddin said his visit would also encompass meeting with a Malaysian businessman in Thailand to discuss matters beneficial to bilateral ties between both nations. Muhyiddin’s trip is slated to be for eight days until Feb 23. The prosecution in the case had objected to Muhyiddin’s application, stating that it was not an urgent matter for Muhyiddin to travel to Thailand. However, Azura allowed the temporary release of his passport, citing that Muhyiddin is not a flight risk. The judge said the court has a wide discretion to allow or disallow the return of his passport. She said that despite Muhyiddin’s Thailand trip not being urgent, she allowed it as she looked closely at the circumstances. She said that while he has travel restrictions, it is not appropriate for Muhyiddin to stop living his life, as long as he has not been convicted. Muhyiddin was represented by Amer Hamzah, while the deputy public prosecutor was Nuralis Mat. Previously, the Pagoh Member of Parliament had tried but failed to have his passport returned permanently. Azura said Muhyiddin’s reasons for wanting a permanent release of his passport needed more concrete reasoning — for amending the bail conditions — other than the fact that the four abuse of power charges against the Bersatu president had been struck out. She said that while the four charges were struck out, there are still three more money laundering charges against Muhyiddin, which had not been heard. Muhyiddin gets temporary release of passport for Thailand trip She also said Muhyiddin was at liberty to apply for the release of his passport from the court. The Perikatan Nasional chairman faces three charges of money laundering under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001. This includes two charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM195 million from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which was deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account. The offences were allegedly committed at CIMB Bank Menara KL Branch, Jalan Stesen Sentral, here between Feb 25 and July 16, 2021, and between Feb 8 and July 8, 2022. Muhyiddin was also charged in the Shah Alam Sessions Court on March 13 last year with receiving money from illegal activities amounting to RM5 million, and the case was transferred to the Sessions Court here for a joint trial. The Sessions Court then set Feb 15 this year to hear Muhyiddin’s bid to strike out the three money laundering charges. The court will also hear the prosecution’s bid to stay the proceedings, pending their appeal in the Court of Appeal against the striking out of the four abuse of power charges. The appeal will be heard on Feb 28 and 29 this year. by Timothy Achariam theedgemalaysia.com by Tarani Palani theedgemalaysia.com

friday february 9, 2024 17 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home PUTRAJAYA (Feb 8): The Court of Appeal on Thursday upheld the acquittal of Samirah Muzaffar and two teenagers for the murder of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan in 2018. A three-member appellate bench led by Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera unanimously upheld the Shah Alam High Court decision in acquitting them and ruled there was no prima facie case for them to enter their defence. “The bench affirmed the Shah Alam High Court findings and the appeal by the prosecution is dismissed,” said Vazeer who sat together with judges Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk Azahari Kamal Ramli. Samirah Muzaffar, 48, who is Nazrin’s widow, was charged with the two teenagers who are now 21, and 18, and along with their former Indonesian maid Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, for killing Nazrin, 45, at his house in Mutiara Damansara between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am the following day. The 18-year-old boy who is currently in the United Kingdom pursuing his studies was present during zoom proceedings. On June 21, 2022, the Shah Alam High Court judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman had acquitted the trio without their defence being called. However, the High Court ruled Nazrin’s death was due to a petrol fire that happened at his home that fateful day. In allowing the defence appeal over Ab Karim’s finding that Nazrin’s death could have been due to the petrol blast, Vazeer said while the Fire and Rescue Services Department witness testified there were traces of petrol, a finding by the Chemistry Department had proven otherwise. Vazeer said even the police tracker dogs which were brought in, also did not found traces of petrol that is alleged to have caused the fire. “The court found that the fire was not staged,” he said. The appellate bench in dismissing the prosecution’s appeal ruled the High Court made the right decision in acquitting the trio. Vazeer said there were inconsistent findings by the pathologists who examined Nazrin’s body, as the first pathologist classified the victim’s death as due to blunt force trauma to the head and blast-related injury while the second classified the death due to blunt force trauma. The judge said the bench could not accept the prosecution’s suggestion that as the trio were the last with the deceased, defence should be called on them to rebut. “The prosecution failed to establish the crucial element of the offence merely because they were last seen with the deceased that led to the presumption of guilt of the trio. The last seen with the accused is not sufficient to determine and possibly convict the accused if there is nothing connecting them,” he said. He added that the prosecution also failed to prove any motive in the incident, as it earlier suggested that Samira was having a bad relationship with her husband. “However, text messages a few days before the incident and other testimonies even from the deceased’s sibling in the trial proved otherwise,” Vazeer said. “The court has combed all the evidence and there is no cogent evidence of motive to kill the deceased,” he added. Court criticises the prosecution and police The bench also criticised the prosecution for putting a joint murder charge on all of them including the Indonesian maid. Samirah, he said, had told investigators that she had sent the maid home due to the death of her mother in Bandung and it was the prosecution’s contention that the maid was sent back to hide the crime. Furthermore, a search on Eka’s Facebook revealed that she was working in a coffee shop in Kuching after that. “There is no iota of evidence of common intention in the murder of the deceased. Eka’s presence in Kuching was not sought by the authorities in bringing her back. It is as if the police were never serious in pursuing this to bring her to court,” Vazeer said. “There is no evidence to show all four were culpable for the offence. This is a fatal flaw to the prosecution’s case and to say that the person is still at large is misleading for the prosecution,” the judge added. For these reasons, the three-member bench upheld the High Court decision to acquit the three. Samirah and the two teenagers were represented by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Rahmat Hazlan and LS Leonard while Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim led the prosecution. Shafee: Samirah and children traumatised After the proceedings, Shafee and Leonard told the court that this was a matter of unfortunate incident but was pursued by the Fire and Rescue Services Department to suggest it was murder, when it should be the police leading the investigation. Shafee and Leonard said Samirah and the two teenagers were traumatised as a result of the incident as one of the teenagers was sent to a school for juveniles as a result of this. “Can you imagine how traumatised he is? It is good that he managed to get out and due to his academic results he managed to continue with his studies. For Samirah, can you imagine being accused of murdering her husband and this would impact her if she decides to remarry as she is still young,” Leonard added. Meanwhile, one of Nazrin’s relatives said they just wanted to know what happened to him. by Hafiz Yatim theedgemalaysia.com COA upholds acquittal of Samirah, two teenagers in Cradle Fund CEO murder case bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 18 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world BEIJING (Feb 8): China’s consumer prices suffered their steepest fall in more than 14 years in January while producer prices also dropped, ramping up pressure on policymakers to do more to revive an economy low on confidence and facing deflationary risks. The world’s second-biggest economy has been grappling with slowing prices since early last year, forcing policymakers to cut interest rates to spur growth even as many developed economies were focused on taming stubbornly high inflation. The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.8% in January from a year earlier, after a 0.3% drop in December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month from a 0.1% uptick the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.5% fall year-on-year and a 0.4% gain month-on-month. The annual CPI decline in January was the biggest since September 2009, mainly led by a sharp drop in food prices, but analysts warn the overall deflationary impulse in the economy risks becoming entrenched in consumer behaviour. “The CPI data today shows China faces persistent deflationary pressure,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “China needs to take actions quickly and aggressively to avoid the risk of deflationary expectation to be entrenched among consumers.” The world’s second-biggest economy has struggled to regain momentum since the end of Covid curbs in late 2022, and nervous investors have dumped Chinese stocks amid a deepening property crisis and local government debt risks. Global demand has also remained relatively soft, with an official survey showing activity in China’s vast manufacturing sector contracting in January. Chinese stocks retreated shortly after the weak CPI data before rebounding again, helped by the recent rapid-fire support measures. Entrenched deflation? The economy grew 5.2% in 2023, meeting the official target of around 5%, but the recovery has been much shakier than investors had expected. Policy insiders expect Beijing to maintain a growth target similar to last year of around 5%. China’s central bank in late January announced the deepest cut to bank reserves in two years, sending a strong signal of support for the fragile economy but analysts say policymakers need to do more to lift confidence and demand. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.4% from a year earlier, down from a 0.6% gain in December. CPI rose 0.2% last year, missing the official target of around 3%, the 12th straight year that inflation had undershot annual targets. “Deflation/Disinflation is becoming entrenched,” said Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at Union Bancaire Privee in Hong Kong, in a note to clients. “The decline is testament to weak domestic consumption. We think a massive stock market sell-off is partially to blame for the decline in sentiment and associated consumption,” Casanova added. The data also pointed to persistent factory gate deflation, keeping the pressure on manufacturers as they try to recover lost business. The producer price index (PPI) slid 2.5% from a year earlier in January after a 2.7% fall the previous month, compared with a 2.6% slide forecast in the Reuters poll. Factory-gate prices were down 0.2% from a month earlier, after falling 0.3% in December. Prolonged factory deflation is threatening the survival of smaller Chinese exporters who are locked in relentless price wars for shrinking business. “The People’s Bank of China really ought to deliver stronger policy support,” Union Bancaire Privee’s Casanova said. “We would prefer to see broad-based interest rate cuts in February, but that remains unlikely given the lack of policy space and issues in policy transmission.” China’s consumer prices suffer steepest fall since 2009 as deflation risks stalk economy BEIJING (Feb 8): China’s central bank on Thursday said it would keep policy flexible and precise to boost domestic demand, while maintaining price stability, amid signs of a patchy economic recovery and rising deflationary risks. In its quarterly policy implementation report, the People’s Bank of China said the authorities face some difficulties and challenges in promoting an economic recovery amid global uncertainties. “Prudent monetary policy should be flexible, moderate, precise and effective... and keep the scale of social financing and the money supply in line with the expected goals of economic growth and price levels,” the bank said. The central bank will “strengthen policy coordination and cooperation, effectively support promoting consumption, stabilising investment, expanding domestic demand, and maintaining prices at a reasonable level”, it said. The world’s second-largest economy has been grappling with weak consumer demand and slowing prices, forcing the central bank to ease policy, although it faces limited room to manoeuvre due to worries over capital flight and yuan stability. Data on Thursday showed China’s consumer prices fell at their steepest pace in more than 14 years in January while producer prices also dropped, ramping up pressure on policymakers to do more to revive an economy low on confidence and facing deflationary risks. The PBOC said it would “promote the marketisation of deposit interest rates to drive the overall interest rate level downward.” The bank added that it would also make good use of its pledged supplementary lending facility to support the property market, which weighs heavy on China’s economic growth prospects despite having once being a pillar of the economy. The bank reiterated that it would keep the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable level. China’s central bank to keep policy support for economy Reuters by Qiaoyi Li & Ryan Woo Reuters bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 19 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world India’s central bank holds rates, keeps focus on ‘last mile of disinflation’ (Feb 8): Four US Federal Reserve (Fed) officials suggested on Wednesday they don’t see an urgent case for lowering interest rates, adding to a roster of policymakers in recent days who made clear a cut isn’t likely until May at the earliest. Governor Adriana Kugler, Boston Fed president Susan Collins, Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari and Richmond’s Thomas Barkin were all non-committal on when the US central bank can start reducing the Fed’s benchmark lending rate from a two-decade high, despite a marked improvement in inflation last year. The remarks largely echo the message delivered over the past week by Fed chair Jerome Powell, who emphasised that the US central bank isn’t ready to begin rate cuts until policymakers are sure inflation is headed towards the Fed’s 2% target, making a cut in the March 19-20 meeting unlikely. Investors have pared bets on a March rate reduction, and are setting their sights on the Fed’s subsequent decision on May 1, but still see a slim possibility of an earlier move. Kugler, in her first public remarks since joining the Fed in September, said she’s optimistic that inflation progress will continue, but stopped short of offering a timeline for when officials may be able to reduce borrowing costs. “At some point, the continued cooling of inflation and labour markets may make it appropriate to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate,” Kugler said at the Brookings Institution in Washington, adding that she’ll be watching economic data closely to verify that inflation is continuing to decline. Fed officials signal wariness to cut rates too soon, despite inflation progress by Craig Torres, Christopher Anstey & Catarina Saraiva Bloomberg by Swati Bhat & Sudipto Ganguly Reuters MUMBAI (Feb 8): India’s central bank left rates unchanged on Thursday, signalling that interest rate cuts may be some time away as it focuses on the “last mile of disinflation” towards its 4% medium-term target and the economy remains resilient. The six-member monetary policy committee, consisting of three Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and three external members, left the key repo rate unchanged at 6.50%, for the sixth straight meeting. The RBI raised rates by 250 basis points between May 2022 and February 2023. All but one of the 60 economists in the Jan 10-Feb 1 Reuters poll expected the central bank to hold rates. Monetary policy must continue to be actively disinflationary, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in his statement. “The last mile of disinflation is always the most challenging and that has to be kept in mind,” Das said. The commitment to achieve inflation of 4% on a durable basis has to continue, he said at a press conference following the review. Five out of six members voted in favour of the rate decision and the monetary policy stance of ‘withdrawal of accommodation’, which was also left unchanged. Committee member JR Varma voted for a 25 basis point cut in rates and a neutral stance. Economists see the central bank holding off on rate cuts till the second half of 2024. “The central bank is likely to change its stance in the first quarter of 2024- 25 and start its rate cut cycle only by the second quarter,” said Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank. “However, the chances of rate cuts coming in later than expected rather than sooner are increasing, given the RBI’s cautiousness on inflation,” Gupta said. Read also: BOJ rules out rapid rate hikes, signals ending risky asset buying Collins, who doesn’t vote on monetary policy this year, said she’s looking for more evidence that inflation is on track towards 2% before moving to cut interest rates, though that step is likely “later this year”. “Seeing sustained, broadening signs of progress should provide the necessary confidence I would need to begin a methodical adjustment to our policy stance,” Collins said at the Boston Economic Club. She added it will be appropriate to begin easing policy before year end. In an interview on CNBC on Wednesday morning, Kashkari — also a non-voter this year — said officials would like to see “a few more months” of inflation data before cutting interest rates, adding that he thinks two to three cuts will likely be appropriate for 2024. “We’re not looking for better inflation data. We’re just looking for additional inflation data that is also at around this 2% level,” the Minneapolis chief said. “If we get to see a few more months of that data, I think that will give us a lot of confidence.” bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 20 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 8): The US goods-trade deficit with China shrank to the smallest total since 2010 last year, reflecting a decline in imports from its geostrategic rival that will be welcomed in Washington. The excess of imports over exports to China was US$279 billion (RM1.3 trillion), US Commerce Department data showed Wednesday. As a share of GDP, the goods deficit with China came in at just 1%, the lowest level since 2002. Chinese imports have faced higher tariffs since former president Donald Trump imposed protectionist measures against the country during his administration. The Biden administration has also sought to reduce China’s role in US supply chains, and to bolster trade with strategic allies and partners instead. “The data for 2023 have confirmed that the geographical pattern of US imports is shifting away from China and toward other partners,” said Maeva Cousin, a senior global economist at Bloomberg Economics. “Tariffs since 2018 have been a major driver of these shifts, but we are now seeing some early signs that US trade diversification might be broadening to other categories as well.” By contrast with the trend with China, the US goods deficits with Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and others soared to new highs. Deficits also hit a record with Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and India, underscoring the emerging shift in global trade flows as years of geopolitical tensions, rising tariffs and supply-chain snarls force a re-shuffling of manufacturing production around the world. The shortfall with European nations threatens to meet with a response should Trump win re-election in November. His team is targeting the European Union for a potential slew of punitive trade measures designed to address long-standing grievances should he retake office, Bloomberg News reported. A likely starting point in a second Trump administration would be the EU’s inclusion in a broad minimum 10% tariff, which would also be applied to China. To be sure, the 2023 decline in imports from China can’t be pinned solely on tariffs and geopolitics alone. Fluctuating currencies, well-stocked US inventories and softer consumer demand also contributed. Production was also shifting long before the trade war, spurred by rising labour costs in China. Another factor: the imposition of Trump’s tariffs likely led to US importers under-reporting how much they bought from China, according to 2021 analysis by Federal Reserve economists. US trade deficit with China narrows to lowest since 2010 WASHINGTON (Feb 8): The US Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday projected a slightly smaller US$1.507 trillion (RM7.1 trillion) federal deficit for fiscal 2024 as increased revenues from stronger growth and employment offset higher costs for clean energy tax credits and public debt interest. The CBO said the deficit would dip this year from US$1.695 trillion in fiscal 2023, but resume its march upward to US$1.772 trillion in fiscal 2025, hitting US$2.579 trillion in fiscal 2034. The figures are based on current tax and spending laws and assume that individual tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017 expire at the end of 2025, pushing revenues higher in later years. The CBO also projected a slightly smaller cumulative 10-year deficit, to US$20.016 trillion for the fiscal 2025-2034 period, compared with last year’s estimate of a US$20.314 trillion deficit for 2024-2033. The CBO said a key reason for the lower longer-term deficit projections was legislation passed last June to impose caps on discretionary spending programmes, which cut the 10-year deficit by US$2.6 trillion from projections a year ago. Claiming credit Overall, the report shows little shift in the US budget trajectory as Congress struggles to reach consensus on issues such as aid for Ukraine and Israel as well funding for government agencies as a new government shutdown deadline looms in March. US CBO forecasts slightly smaller US$1.5 tril deficit for 2024 But both Republicans and Democrats sought to take credit for the slightly improved fiscal outlook. “Today’s CBO baseline reveals that when Republicans stand firm on fiscal responsibility and force Congress to reduce spending, America’s fiscal outlook improves,” House of Representatives Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arrington said in a statement, adding that his fellow Republicans’ insistence on spending cuts had strengthened US balance sheets. Senate Budget Committee chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, attributed the improvement to economic growth sparked by President Joe Biden’s economic polices. “Today’s CBO baseline confirms that Democrats’ investments to jumpstart our recovery and promote a stronger economy worked: CBO is now projecting faster economic growth, lower deficits, and lower unemployment,” Whitehouse said. Read the full story by David Lawder Reuters by Enda Curran Bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 21 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world WASHINGTON (Feb 8): China has sought to “cheat” and “steal” its way to matching Taiwan in chip technology, but has yet to succeed despite investing huge sums, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Washington said on Wednesday, while holding out the prospect of more Taiwanese semiconductor investment in the US. In a wide-ranging interview with Reuters, Taiwan’s representative Alexander Yui cast doubt on reports that China’s chipmakers are on the cusp of making next-generation smartphone processors, and refuted charges by Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 US presidential election, that Taiwan was taking American semiconductor jobs. Yui, who arrived in Washington in December, replacing Hsiao Bi-khim, now the island’s vice president-elect, also said he hoped the US Congress would pass a supplemental security funding bill that would help Taiwan with its defenses. But he played down prospects that Washington would stockpile weapons there to deter against any military actions by China, which claims the democratically governed island as its territory. “They don’t really follow the rules. They cheat and they copy, etc. They steal technology,” Yui said of China’s chipmakers, adding he had doubts about whether they could make viable next-generation processors as early as this year amid US efforts to curb Beijing’s development of advanced technologies. China bid to ‘cheat’ its way to chip prominence failing — Taiwan’s US envoy (Feb 8): Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Thursday that the two nations need to work closely to defend security and oppose foreign interference. Xi said China and Russia need to have close strategic cooperation, adding that they should work together to safeguard their sovereignty, security and development interests, state broadcaster China Central Television reported. The two leaders have been growing their relationship in the nearly two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Just weeks before the war began, Xi agreed to a “no-limits” friendship with Putin during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and signed a series of long-term energy supply deals. Since then, both men have made diplomatic trips to each others’ capitals. Xi went to Moscow in March last year, where Putin told him that Russia was ready to Xi tells Putin both nations need to oppose foreign meddling Bloomberg by Michael Martina & David Brunnstrom Reuters China’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but it routinely denies charges of economic espionage. Washington says China uses its huge market and control over supply chains to coerce countries to transfer strategic technology, and that its extensive cyber theft makes it the top threat to US technological competitiveness. Taiwan’s spy catchers have investigated numerous Chinese companies suspected of illegally poaching semiconductor engineers and other tech talent. US companies are restricted by Washington from providing technology without a special license to certain Chinese chipmakers, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), over their alleged work with China’s military. “Those [Chinese] companies that they have spent billions of dollars on have basically floundered,” Yui said. Read the full story Xi noted that China-Russia relations had always maintained “healthy and stable development.” discuss China’s proposal for ending the war. Then in October, Putin met with Xi in Beijing where the Russian president attended China’s Belt and Road Forum — a “project of the century” for Xi intended to expand Chinese soft power via a web of infrastructure investment. During Thursday’s phone call, Xi also told Putin that China is willing to strengthen international multilateral cooperation with Russia. On the last day of the year, the leaders exchanged New Year greeting messages. Xi noted that China-Russia relations had always maintained “healthy and stable development”. China seeks security along its border with Russia while tapping its neighbour as a new market for some of its cars, televisions and smartphones. The world’s second-largest economy also wants to take advantage of knocked-down prices for Russian oil and gas. The two leaders also confirmed willingness to promote joint energy projects despite sanctions, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. The call lasted an hour. Meanwhile, China’s imports from Russia last year surged by the most ever in dollar terms. That jump came as many Western businesses avoid doing business with Russia and their governments hit Moscow with sanctions. A reliable Russia also can help Xi as he rolls out his vision for an alternative to the US-led world order, and help him protect China’s core interests — including its position on Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Both men have made diplomatic trips to each others’ capitals. Bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 22 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 8): British American Tobacco plc shares rose the most in nearly four years, after it said it was trying to overcome regulatory hurdles to sell at least part of its stake in Indian company ITC, valued at more than £14 billion (US$17.7 billion or RM84.09 billion). BAT has “been actively working for some time on completing the regulatory process required to give us the flexibility to monetise some of our shareholding”, it said in full-year results released on Thursday. ITC is India’s biggest cigarette maker, but the company has diversified into other businesses, including luxury hotels. BAT owns a 29% stake. Chief executive officer Tadeu Marroco told analysts the potential stake sale in ITC comes as BAT looks for better balance sheet flexibility. It has owned a stake in ITC for over 100 years, and the shareholding has been subjected to numerous regulatory restrictions, he added. Owen Bennett, an analyst at Jefferies, said it was the “strongest signal yet” around the potential stake sale. “This would be a big positive,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst James Edwardes Jones, “accelerating BAT’s deleveraging and bringing the all-important share buy-back timeline closer for investors.” Shares rose 7% in morning trading on Thursday, BAT’s biggest intraday gain since March 2020 and the sharpest rise on the FTSE 100. The company’s stock has fallen nearly 20% over the past year. ITC shares fell as much as 5.4%. BAT plc in biggest gain since 2020 on plan to sell stake in ITC LONDON (Feb 8): Britain’s Unilever said on Thursday that fourth-quarter sales growth in Southeast Asia had been hurt by shoppers in Indonesia boycotting brands of multinational companies “in response to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East.” The maker of Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is among several Western brands that have seen protests and boycott campaigns against them - particularly in countries with large Muslim populations — over their perceived pro-Israeli stance in the Israel-Hamas conflict. McDonald’s this week posted its first quarterly sales miss in nearly four years, partly due to the conflict in the Middle East. The company said the war had “meaningfully impacted” performance in some overseas markets. Unilever takes sales hit in Indonesia over anti-Israel boycotts Maersk says Red Sea crisis poses uncertainty to 2024 earnings by Richa Naidu Reuters by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Reuters by Andy Hoffman Bloomberg In Indonesia, home to more than 200 million Muslims, Unilever’s fourth-quarter sales declined by double-digits, the company said, adding that it has “since seen some improvement to customer and consumer uptake in January”. Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher said the company was otherwise “not seeing material impacts to our supply chain” as a result of the Israel-Hamas conflict and related attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. “There are some small interruptions obviously for some key ingredients and on shipping and so forth. So there’s some delay but I wouldn’t call it material,” Schumacher said on a call with journalists. “We are working with big forwarders and carriers and I’m aware of them taking longer routes,” he added, saying that much of Unilever’s products and materials are sourced locally and regionally to where they’re sold. Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s board last month called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The brand announced in July 2021 that it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and parts of East Jerusalem, saying selling ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories was “inconsistent with our values”. In 2022, Unilever sold its interest in Ben & Jerry’s operations in Israel. Read also: Unilever looks to claw back market share as inflation eases bloomberg bloomberg COPENHAGEN (Feb 8): Maersk on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profits below expectations and said it expects 2024 earnings well below last year's level amid oversupply of container vessels although uncertainty remains around the impact from Red Sea disruptions. The company said it expects underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of between US$1 billion and US$6 billion (RM4.7 billion and RM28.6 billion) this year, compared with US$9.6 billion achieved last year. "High uncertainty remains around the duration and degree of the Red Sea disruption with the duration from one quarter to full year reflected in the guidance range," the company said in a statement. Ebitda dropped to US$839 million in the fourth quarter from US$6.54 billion a year earlier, lagging analysts' expectations of US$1.13 billion.

friday february 9, 2024 23 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world NEW YORK (Feb 8): A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Apple of overpaying chief executive Tim Cook and other top executives by tens of millions of dollars by miscalculating the value of performance-based stock awards. US district judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan said the iPhone maker described its pay methods in detailed compensation tables in its 2023 proxy statement, “precisely” as securities laws and US Securities and Exchange Commission rules require. Rochon also found no proof that Apple’s board of directors acted improperly in awarding pay, and said the plaintiff, a pension fund affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, did not give the board enough time to consider its objections before suing. Lawyers for the pension fund did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The plaintiff said Apple in 2021 awarded US$92.7 million (RM441.3 million) and in 2022 US$94 million of perforApple defeats lawsuit claiming it overpaid CEO Tim Cook, others (Feb 8): TikTok and Meta Platforms Inc are attacking European Union (EU) regulators in court for slapping them with larger fees than rivals to enforce the bloc’s new content moderation rules. ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok took the European Commission to court on Tuesday, and Meta filed its challenge a day earlier, filings showed. Both companies are attacking the EU’s method of calculating these charges, saying they’ll end up paying a much larger share than other tech giants who might even have a bigger user base. “We disagree with the fee, and are appealing on a number of grounds, including the use of flawed third-party estimates of our monthly active user numbers as a basis for calculating the total amount,” TikTok said in a statement on Thursday, after its appeal appeared on the EU General Court’s website. The EU’s landmark Digital Services Act forces social media companies to hire more content moderators, and use risk mitigation methods to decrease the spread of harmful content, while online marketplaces have to trace sellers, and allow customers to flag illegal products. Companies that fail to comply could face fines as high as 6% of annual revenue, or even be banned from the bloc if they repeatedly break the rules. Under EU rules, companies that have been designated as very large online platforms — those with more than 45 million monthly acTikTok and Meta take aim at EU’s content moderation laws by Stephanie Bodoni Bloomberg by Jonathan Stempel Reuters tive users in Europe — are required to divvy up costs needed to enforce the new rules based on the number of users they have. “Our decision and methodology are solid,” the EU watchdog said in a statement on the appeals. “We will defend our position in court.” It added that all tech firms concerned had already paid the fees due by December. Meta said while it supports the objectives of the new rules and had already made changes to comply with them, it disagrees “with the methodology used to calculate these fees”. “Currently, companies that record a loss don’t have to pay, even if they have a large user base or represent a greater regulatory burden,” it said in a statement. This means “some companies pay nothing, leaving others to pay a disproportionate amount of the total”, Meta added. Read also: PayPal forecasts flat 2024 earnings amid streamlining process HSBC partners with Google to hit US$1 bil climate tech finance goal The EU’s landmark Digital Services Act forces social media companies to hire more content moderators, and use risk mitigation methods to decrease the spread of harmful content, while online marketplaces have to trace sellers, and allow customers to flag illegal products. mance-based restricted stock units to Cook and four other executives, though its compensation committee intended to award just US$77.5 million each year. It attributed the alleged error to the committee’s improper calculation of the RSUs’ fair values at the time of the grants, and said it misled shareholders who would be casting advisory votes on executive compensation, known as “sayon-pay.” Cook’s compensation totalled about US$99 million in both 2021 and 2022, including more than US$82 million of stock awards each year, Apple proxy filings show. His total pay declined to US$63.2 million for 2023. The four other Apple executives were each awarded more than US$26 million in each of the three years. Bloomberg reuters

friday february 9, 2024 24 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 8): Singapore lawmakers on Wednesday rejected an opposition motion suggesting the government should further dip into the national reserves to help offset rising costs. During the seven hour debate in parliament over the use of the city-state’s undisclosed level of reserves, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the pile must be protected as a “precious resource” and strategic advantage in the event Singapore finds itself in a jam, reiterating his stance. Lee also challenged opposition parties to campaign on the issue if they don’t agree. The next general election must be held by November 2025 but could come much sooner. “As long as the PAP government is in power, this is what we will do,” the PM said. “If any other political party thinks that this is not the right approach, if they truly believe that we should dip into our reserves more, then bring it to the ballot box.” Singapore has tapped billions of dollars from its reserves over the years, both as a way to weather times of economic hardship and to shield lower-income households from surging costs of living. During the pandemic, it drew-down a total of S$40 billion (RM142 billion) from 2020- 2022 to help fund its Covid-19 response, which included isolation facilities, testing and vaccines. Pritam Singh, the leader of the opposition, meanwhile called for more transparency over the secretive nature of the reserves and advocated for a committee to be established to assess their health. “In fact, MPs have to vote on drawdowns of passed reserves, even if they don’t have any idea how much we will have left after a drawdown,” Singh said on Wednesday. “These realities close off mature and civil conversations on the reserves.” The initial opposition motion called on the government “to review its current budget and reserve accumulation policies in order to help present-day Singaporeans reduce their financial burdens and improve their quality of life.” Lee has said he will hand over the leadership to his deputy Lawrence Wong before the country’s next general election, and signalled the transition could come as early as 2024. Read also: Singapore’s budget to focus on jobs, cost of living relief Singapore rejects opposition motion to review reserves policy (Feb 8): Singapore rejected a bid for a prime state land parcel for the first time in more than a decade, judging it to be too low. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) rejected the sole S$770 million (RM2.73 billion) bid from a consortium led by local developer GuocoLand Ltd, a statement showed Thursday. The offer had been “assessed to be too low”, the authority said. The offer for the Marina Gardens Crescent site, which is located in the central business district near a major tourist attraction, was nearly 30% lower on a persquare-foot basis than another plot in the vicinity sold last year. It suggests developers are growing cautious about the outlook for the city’s property market, which has shown signs of cooling in recent months. “That bid was a bit opportunistic and pessimistic thinking that prices will fall, but the government holds a different view that property values will be sustained or rise,” said Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, a property portal. “It’s the government indirectly signalling to the market not to try and lowball.” The site will now be made available on a so called “Reserve List” allowing interested tenderers to submit bids with a minimum price that is acceptable to the government. GuocoLand didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. Rejections of land bids in the city-state, while rare, are not unheard of. The last major rejection under Singapore’s Government Land Sales Programme, in which state land is released for development, was Singapore rejects major land bid for first time in over a decade in 2011, when the URA nixed a joint offer from units of UOL Group Ltd and Singapore Land Group Ltd for a commercial parcel. More recently, authorities rejected a sole offer in 2020 for a site in the city’s north, although it was for the specific purpose of building a dementia care village. Developers are expected to “remain cautious when it comes to land acquisition and bidding due to increased costs and risks associated with development”, said Chia Siew Chuin, head of residential research for Singapore at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “As a result, land bids should remain measured.” by Low De Wei Bloomberg by Philip J Heijmans Bloomberg The Marina Bay Sands waterfront promenade in Singapore bloomberg bloomberg

friday february 9, 2024 25 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world SINGAPORE (Feb 8): Collin Chiew, formerly the chief executive officer of AON Singapore, has been charged with corruption and money-laundering offences. Chiew, who was later a director of corporate solutions agency AIA Hong Kong, was charged with taking S$668,000 (RM2.37 million) in bribes, while he was in charge of AON and as a director of AIA. The bribes were said to be paid by three former directors of Fullerton Healthcare Group (FHG), a vertically integrated healthcare platform in Asia. The FHG directors, David Sin, Daniel Chan and Michael Tan, were charged on Feb 8, for bribing Chiew and falsifying accounts, said the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in a statement. Sin is the former chairman of the board of Fullerton Healthcare Corporation, while Chan and Tan were formers director at FHG. This is not the first time Chiew was accused of corruption. In December 2023, he was accused of taking S$240,000 in bribes on two occasions between December 2017 and May 2018 from FHG as well. The bribes were obtained through Straits Priority Consulting. On Feb 8, he was charged with three additional counts of corruptly obtaining gratification in relation to S$384,000 of bribes. The bribes were obtained when Chiew was CEO of AON on several occasions from 2015 to 2018. They were said to be given by Chan in a bid to advance FHG’s business interests. Chan himself was charged with four counts of conspiring with two others to bribe Chiew. Chiew was also charged with one count of obtaining bribes in 2019 when he was the director of AIA. There, he obtained another S$320,000 from Chan to advance the business interests of FHG with AIA. Chan and Sin also face one count of conspiring to corruptly give gratifications to Chiew. In addition, Chan was charged with eight counts of falsifying accounts. According to several media reports, Chan faked entertainment claims from 2016 to 2019 defraud Fullerton Healthcare Corporation and Fullerton Health China to bribe Chiew. Fullerton Health was in the news in October 2016 after its initial public offering (IPO) was delayed following complaints received by the regulators. The offering was meant to be priced at S$1.52 per share to raise $213 million at the time. In May 2018, Fullerton Health was said to eye a US IPO after it failed to list in Singapore. AON Singapore’s former CEO, Fullerton Healthcare’s ex-directors charged with graft TOKYO (Feb 8): Japan’s SoftBank Group returned to profit for the first time in five quarters on Thursday, as the Japanese tech investment firm was buoyed by an upturn in portfolio companies, sparking hope it was emerging from a period of retrenchment. Net profit totalled ¥985.5 billion (US$6.6 billion or RM31.6 billion) in the three months to December, versus a ¥744.7 billion loss in the same period a year earlier. Founded by chief executive Masayoshi Son, SoftBank and its Vision Fund investment arm have gone through a difficult period of slashing investment activity and selling down assets. Stakes in high-growth startups were particularly hit as risk appetite waned during the pandemic and its aftermath. While SoftBank’s results are often volatile, Thursday’s numbers could give investors some relief: quarterly net income surpassed market expectations and the closely watched Vision Fund arm booked an investment profit of ¥600.73 billion. SoftBank was again on a growth trajectory,” chief financial officer Yoshimitsu Goto told a briefing, adding that market conditions and the future outlook were both “very positive”. The Vision Fund business — which includes two funds by that name — was helped as valuations increased for holdings such as ride-hailing company Didi Global, TikTok owner ByteDance and robotics firm AutoStore Holdings. Meanwhile, its investment in office-sharing company WeWork was written down to zero in the quarter. “There have been higher valuations in recent funding rounds for Vision Fund companies. It looks like the environment for tech startups is taking a positive turn,” said Rolf Bulk, an analyst at New Street Research. SoftBank posts first profit in five quarters with US$6.6 bil net income SoftBank shares jumped 11% on Thursday to their highest level since September 2021, helped by an upbeat revenue forecast provided by chip design unit Arm on Wednesday. Investors are increasingly looking to see whether SoftBank will return some money to shareholders. SoftBank may look to sell Arm shares at current “elevated levels” and buy back some of its own shares, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal said in a note to clients before SoftBank’s earnings were released. SoftBank also netted US$1.825 billion in gains on the T-Mobile US shares it received last year after conditions in its 2020 deal to sell US mobile carrier Sprint to T-Mobile were met. The gains reflect an accounting time lag in assessing the fair value of the shares. Son is known for having made canny bets on emerging technology such as on mobile internet and today’s big names such as e-commerce platform Alibaba, helping transform SoftBank into a tech investment powerhouse. However, some of his more recent wagers have turned sour, most notably WeWork that was once privately valued at US$47 billion but filed for bankruptcy in November. Read also: SoftBank-backed Cohesity to buy Veritas data security unit, create US$7 bil firm by Anton Bridge Reuters theedgesingapore.com Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore reuters

friday february 9, 2024 26 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 8): Bitcoin approached US$45,000 (RM214,628) for the first time in almost a month with the US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) holding the digital currency seeing a steady inflow of cash from investors and risk appetite rising across financial markets. The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 1.6% to US$44,872 on Thursday. Bitcoin last traded above US$45,000 on Jan 12, the day after the ETFs began trading. After being weighed down initially by outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the funds have seen net inflows for nine consecutive trading sessions. “Bitcoin appears set to resume its march up after the Grayscale outflows finally tapered off,” said Caroline Mauron, a co-founder of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provider Orbit Markets. “We expect the bitcoin-halving narrative to gather momentum over the next few weeks, which should help drive a rally through the psychologically important US$50,000 level,” Mauron said, referencing the event anticipated in April where the blockchain’s network protocol will reduce rewards for verifying transactions by half. The quadrennial halving cuts the quantity of bitcoin that miners receive for operating power-hungry computers that secure the network by solving complex puzzles. Halving is key to capping the supply of bitcoin at 21 million tokens. Rewards drop to 3.125 coins per block from 6.25 coins in the upcoming event. Digital tokens initially surged at the start of the year, extending an intense bull-run which saw bitcoin rising by nearly 160% in 2023, outpacing gold and stocks. Much of that rally was attributed to anticipation of the Securities and Exchange Commission approving launch of the spot bitcoin ETFs in the US. It did so on Jan 10, allowing almost a dozen issuers to offer spot BTC ETFs. Bitcoin approaches US$45,000 with US spot ETFs showing steady inflows (Feb 8): Oil supermajors returned more cash to shareholders than ever before last year as management teams reined in spending on new projects to free up cash for dividends and buybacks. There may be more to come. Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp, Shell Plc, TotalEnergies SE and BP Plc spent US$113.8 billion (RM541.8 billion) on 2023 dividends and share repurchases despite a slump in crude prices. The outlays were more than 10% higher than a year earlier, when Russian’s invasion of Ukraine threw global energy markets into disarray, swelling oil-industry profits. The 2023 cash return was 76% higher than the average payout during the industry’s 2011-2014 heyday, when crude hovered above the US$100 mark and the supermajors dominated major equity indexes. Oil CEOs are aggressively expanding share buybacks in a bid to resuscitate stock valuations trading 40% or more below the broader market. The companies have cut back spending on major developments since the Covid-19 pandemic, partly due to concerns about glutting markets and also to free up cash for dividends and buybacks. But investors so far appear largely unconvinced, with Big Tech trading at double the valuation. Oil-industry cash flows are widely regarded as cyclical, too reliant on Opec diktats and under threat from the nascent transition away from fossil fuels. Big Oil wants to convince investors otherwise. Executives at all five supermajors indicated they may pay out even more this year, so long as commodity prices stay healthy. CAIRO (Feb 8): Egyptian women traditionally receive a gold jewellery set, or “shabka”, on their engagement. But as surging prices and a weakening currency have driven up demand for the precious metal, some are getting silver instead. The trend is a measure of an economic crisis in which inflation has been running at more than 30% and the central bank has allowed the currency to weaken 50% against the dollar, with more devaluation expected. “Silver is the new gold,” said a salesman at a Cairo silver store who only gave his first name, Abanob. In the year to Jan 30, the price of a gram of 21 carat gold rose more than 120% to 3,875 Egyptian pounds (RM598), data from the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce showed. Demand for gold coins and bars surged nearly 58% from 2022 to 2023, according to the World Gold Council’s annual report. Eman Mahmoud, a 51-year-old mother of three, said she had to opt for silver when buying jewellery for a friend’s new baby. “A small 18-carat earring weighing less than a gram is more than 3,000 pounds. I can’t afford that as a gift anymore so I bought a silver necklace for around 1,900,” she said. “It’s not the same, I know, but it still has value.” Those who can have sought safety in foreign currency or property. Read the full story Big Oil’s blockbuster US$114 bil investor payout is most ever ‘Silver is the new gold’ as Egyptians try to protect savings by Kevin Crowley Bloomberg by Sarah El Safty & Farah Saafan Reuters by Suvashree Ghosh Bloomberg bloomberg reuters

friday february 9, 2024 27 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 8): Staffers at China’s main securities regulator had been working around the clock for weeks on ways to prop up the nation’s tumbling stock market when the bombshell dropped. Late Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported that their boss Yi Huiman had been ousted, becoming the biggest Communist Party casualty of a US$5 trillion (RM23.8 trillion) sell-off that’s undermining confidence in the fragile economy. The announcement sent shockwaves across the industry and within the China Securities Regulatory Commission, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Prior to the Xinhua news, there had been no internal announcement from the Communist Party’s organisation department, which typically shares key personnel changes internally before they go public, the people said. The departure of Yi, a surprise to even high-ranking CSRC officials, underscores the growing sense of alarm within President Xi Jinping’s government over the speed and scope of the market meltdown that’s now entering its fourth year. Wu Qing, a close ally of Premier Li Qiang, is taking over as chairman of the regulator. The CSRC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. China watchers say the move may signal additional measures to revive the world’s second-largest stock market. An earlier flurry of support in the runup to the Lunar New Year holiday, when exchanges are closed for six days beginning Friday, had failed to restore investor confidence. “This is long overdue in my opinion, if one chief cannot do the job, then maybe we should give someone else a chance,” said Jiang Liangqing, managing director at Zhuhai Greenbamboo Private Fund Management. “At the minimum, a new broom sweeps clean and he could be more bold in taking action instead of just words.” Anticipation of more fulsome efforts to end the rout had been mounting for days, after Bloomberg News reported that regulators led by the CSRC planned to brief President Xi on the markets as soon as Tuesday. There’s been no public disclosure yet on whether Xi had that briefing. Xi’s markets shakeup surprised insiders, showing alarm over rout BEIJING (Feb 8): The new head of China’s market regulator is tough on insider trading, fights fires fast, works closely with Communist Party leaders and has managed a stock exchange — a perfect profile for someone taking charge of the country’s cratering stock markets. Wu Qing, nicknamed the ‘broker butcher’ after an earlier regulatory stint, takes over as chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) at a time when China’s stock markets are near their weakest levels in five years. Several rounds of warnings against short-selling, trading bans and other steps his predecessor Yi Huiman took failed to arrest the slide. “Wu is good at regulating capital markets and he is very much a ‘firefighter’ at this juncture,” said a person involved in economic and financial policy discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the topic’s sensitivity. “He has rich experience in stock market operations and showed some achievements in regulating brokerages and funds, including in Shanghai.” Still, some investors remain apprehensive Wu’s tough approach may stifle markets while authorities take the long road to fixing the economic malaise that has battered stock prices. “Wu Qing is known as a fierce regulator, and Chinese officials are looking to significantly cut down on short selling and other trading activity that might negatively affect market prices,” said Eric Croak, president of wealth management firm Croak Capital. “Regulatory changes take time to affect the markets but this should be seen as positive news for Chinese investors and, considering Wu Qing’s track record, could create a fairly significant decline in short-selling activity in 2024.” Wu and the CSRC did not respond to a request for comment. ‘Firefighter’ Wu becomes China’s market regulator after rout by Kevin Yao, Joe Cash & Samuel Shen Reuters Bloomberg It was not known what role Yi had, if any, in that planned briefing. China’s latest measures, including curbs on short-selling and purchases by state-owned entities, had some effect this week as the main equity gauge jumped three straight sessions to pare declines for the year. China’s “national team” bought about 70 billion yuan in shares over the past month, Goldman Sachs Group Inc estimated in a report Monday. At least 200 billion yuan is needed to stabilise the market, according to the US bank. “Government buying might help circuit-break the downward spiral, but we think reforms, policy consistency, and plans to address structural macro headwinds are required to re-rate China equity,” the Goldman analysts wrote. If history is any guide, more gains may be afoot. The past two sackings of CSRC chiefs heralded extended equity rallies. The benchmark CSI 300 Index rose more than 40% in almost a two-year span after Liu Shiyu replaced Xiao Gang in 2016. The gauge jumped more than 80% over two years after Liu was ousted for Yi in 2019. Major market interventions in China have rarely been smooth, however. And the country’s economy is facing bigger challenges than during previous market slumps: The property crisis shows no sign of ending, geopolitical tensions with the US continue to simmer and foreign investors are wary of a government that has clamped down on private enterprise. Bloomberg Read the full story Read the full story

friday february 9, 2024 28 The E dge C E O m o rning brief MARKETS Top 20 active stocks World equity indices Top gainers (ranked by %) Top losers (ranked by %) Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM) NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET (MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Pegasus Heights Bhd 255.60 0.000 0.005 0.00 54.1 EA Holdings Bhd 213.20 -0.005 0.005 -50.00 32.3 Widad Group Bhd 82.50 0.015 0.125 -74.23 387.1 Minetech Resources Bhd 55.70 0.000 0.130 -10.34 232.0 Reneuco BHD 49.50 0.020 0.070 -68.18 78.5 Sarawak Consolidated 46.70 0.025 0.355 -62.03 227.3 UCrest Bhd 40.70 -0.010 0.120 -25.00 89.0 TWL Holdings Bhd 39.00 0.000 0.040 33.33 208.6 Velesto Energy Bhd 37.10 0.010 0.265 15.22 2,177.1 Sarawak Cable Bhd 36.10 0.005 0.130 -65.33 51.9 HE Group Sdn Bhd 35.40 0.045 0.390 0.00 171.6 Bina Puri Holdings BHD 34.00 0.005 0.070 -17.65 236.2 YTL Power International Bhd 28.90 -0.040 4.000 57.48 32,408.6 YTL Corp Bhd 28.80 0.060 2.300 21.69 25,218.1 UEM Sunrise Bhd 28.70 0.060 1.030 26.38 5,210.2 Handal Energy Bhd 26.90 -0.005 0.085 -29.17 31.7 Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd 24.70 0.020 0.605 35.96 2,702.8 YNH Property Bhd 24.10 -0.020 0.615 -85.53 325.0 Ekovest BHD 23.60 0.010 0.525 7.14 1,556.8 Key Asic Bhd 20.80 0.000 0.050 -16.67 69.9 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Key Alliance Group Bhd 0.010 100.00 65.2 0.00 36.8 Compugates Holdings BHd 0.015 50.00 201.0 0.00 82.5 XOX BHD 0.015 50.00 1,154.0 0.00 77.9 Reneuco BHD 0.070 40.00 49,526.9 -68.18 78.5 Talam Transform Bhd 0.020 33.33 50.0 33.33 85.9 Saudee Group Bhd 0.030 20.00 1,173.0 20.00 46.9 Kumpulan Jetson BHD 0.285 18.75 10,831.0 3.64 76.4 Oversea Enterprise Bhd 0.065 18.18 146.9 8.33 147.4 Sentoria Group Bhd 0.065 18.18 5,755.7 -27.78 39.9 MNRB Holdings Bhd 1.620 14.08 12,047.5 32.79 1,268.6 Widad Group Bhd 0.125 13.64 82,475.5 -74.23 387.1 Teo Guan Lee Corp BHD 1.280 13.27 60.1 7.56 108.6 HE Group Sdn Bhd 0.390 13.04 35,385.7 0.00 171.6 Green Packet Bhd 0.045 12.50 1,821.1 12.50 89.8 MyTech Group BHD 0.465 12.05 375.1 32.86 104.1 Sapura Energy Bhd 0.050 11.11 3,352.3 11.11 918.8 PDZ Holdings Bhd 0.050 11.11 1,661.3 0.00 29.4 Kobay Technology BHD 1.120 10.89 1,644.3 -15.79 363.1 MMAG Holdings Bhd 0.105 10.53 19,200.9 10.53 178.0 Pasdec Holdings Bhd 0.320 10.34 1.1 1.59 128.1 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) EA Holdings Bhd 0.005 -50.00 213,243.6 -50.00 32.3 Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.010 -33.33 400.0 -33.33 63.7 MQ Technology Bhd 0.020 -20.00 279.0 -20.00 30.4 CME Group BHD 0.020 -20.00 1,092.5 -33.33 21.0 Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.025 -16.67 0.2 -44.44 17.8 Mercury Industries BHD 0.830 -13.54 32.0 -11.70 53.4 Progressive Impact Corp Bhd 0.075 -11.76 1,899.0 -21.05 49.2 China Ouhua Winery Holdings 0.045 -10.00 4,218.0 -18.18 30.1 Velocity Capital Partner Bhd 0.045 -10.00 3,894.8 0.00 - Destini Bhd 0.100 -9.09 4,701.2 0.00 166.4 Avillion BHD 0.055 -8.33 725.4 10.00 62.3 Waja Konsortium Bhd 0.055 -8.33 296.1 -8.33 61.3 Trive Property Group BHD 0.055 -8.33 161.2 -31.25 69.5 Kanger International Bhd 0.060 -7.69 1,552.8 -7.69 43.9 UCrest Bhd 0.120 -7.69 40,735.6 -25.00 89 Eng Kah Corp Bhd 0.480 -6.80 103.0 26.32 56.7 IQ Group Holdings Bhd 0.760 -6.75 3.5 3.40 66.9 Luster Industries Bhd 0.070 -6.67 405.4 0.00 211.6 Ivory Properties Group Bhd 0.070 -6.67 160.0 -12.50 34.3 Dolphin International Bhd 0.150 -6.25 153.2 -9.09 20.1 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Malaysian Pacific Industries 26.080 -0.520 160.5 -7.52 5,188.1 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 120.400 -0.400 81.8 2.38 28,233.8 Hong Leong Bank Bhd 19.000 -0.200 390.1 0.53 41,186.6 Kesm Industries Bhd 6.700 -0.150 15.2 -5.23 288.2 Heineken Malaysia Bhd 24.880 -0.140 79.7 3.07 7,516.2 Apollo Food Holdings Bhd 5.510 -0.140 2.0 -4.34 440.8 British American Tobacco 8.860 -0.130 825.6 -4.63 2,529.8 Mercury Industries BHD 0.830 -0.130 32.0 -11.70 53.4 Dutch Lady Milk Industries 23.780 -0.120 12.8 2.68 1,521.9 Khind Holdings Bhd 2.560 -0.110 3.8 0.00 107.6 Genting Bhd 4.810 -0.110 7,156.5 4.11 18,521.3 IQ Group Holdings Bhd 0.760 -0.055 3.5 3.40 66.9 Infomina Bhd 1.490 -0.050 623.7 -10.78 895.9 Chin Hin Group Bhd 3.790 -0.050 238.8 7.37 6,706.1 QL Resources Bhd 5.740 -0.050 2,659.1 0.53 13,969.2 Eurospan Holdings BHD 1.100 -0.050 1.0 -18.52 48.9 DKSH Holdings Malaysia Bhd 4.420 -0.040 604.4 -3.49 696.8 Petronas Dagangan Bhd 21.440 -0.040 49.8 -1.83 21,299.7 Westports Holdings Bhd 3.870 -0.040 851.6 6.03 13,196.7 Malayan Cement Bhd 4.680 -0.040 210.2 10.64 6,131.7 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 22.320 0.300 776.6 2.29 24,070.7 Ajinomoto Malaysia Bhd 16.660 0.260 61.2 4.78 1,012.9 Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 19.680 0.240 215.1 2.07 6,017.1 MNRB Holdings Bhd 1.620 0.200 12,047.5 32.79 1,268.6 Sunway Construction Group 2.630 0.160 12,248.6 35.57 3,391.0 Teo Guan Lee Corp BHD 1.280 0.150 60.1 7.56 108.6 PPB Group Bhd 15.000 0.140 341.4 3.59 21,339.0 LPI Capital Bhd 12.580 0.120 36.9 5.18 5,011.7 United Plantations BHD 19.920 0.120 98.3 11.91 8,262.5 Kobay Technology BHD 1.120 0.110 1,644.3 -15.79 363.1 PBA Holdings BHD 2.320 0.110 2,239.1 58.90 767.9 Wellcall Holdings Bhd 1.850 0.100 2,176.1 10.78 920.4 SHL Consolidated Bhd 2.300 0.100 20.5 12.20 556.9 Sunway Bhd 2.740 0.090 15,898.1 33.01 15,021.1 MCE Holdings Bhd 1.740 0.090 1,039.9 20.83 215.0 Riverview Rubber Estates BHD 3.310 0.080 29.5 0.91 214.7 AEON Credit Service M Bhd 6.010 0.080 376.6 7.90 3,068.8 K Seng Seng Corp Bhd 0.900 0.080 2,041.5 2.27 135.2 Sam Engineering & Equipment 3.690 0.070 383.4 -7.56 1,999.1 KLCCP Stapled Group 7.380 0.070 200.1 4.09 13,323.4 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 Source: Bloomberg CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) DJIA * 38,677.36 156.00 0.40 S&P 500 * 4,995.06 40.83 0.82 NASDAQ 100 * 17,755.07 182.34 1.04 FTSE 100 * 7,628.75 -0.83 -0.01 AUSTRALIA 7,639.25 23.41 0.31 CHINA 2,865.90 36.21 1.28 HONG KONG 15,878.07 -203.82 -1.27 INDIA 71,428.43 -723.57 -1.00 INDONESIA 7,235.15 -12.26 -0.17 JAPAN 36,863.28 743.36 2.06 KOREA 2,620.32 10.74 0.41 PHILIPPINES 6,850.16 20.12 0.29 SINGAPORE 3,142.91 -13.24 -0.42 TAIWAN 18,096.07 36.14 0.20 THAILAND 1,388.60 -11.42 -0.82 VIETNAM 1,198.53 10.05 0.85 Data as compiled on Feb 8, 2024 * Based on previous day’s closing Source: Bloomberg CPO RM 3,874.00-3.00 OIL US$ 80.070.86 RM/USD 4.7725 RM/SGD 3.5487 RM/AUD 3.1068 RM/GBP 6.0280 RM/EUR 5.1464

Malaysian Paper www.thesun.my RM1.00 PER COPY RM1 FRIDAY FEB 9, 2024 SCAN ME No. 8455 PP 2644/12/2012 (031195) Smooth going for river rehab project Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants committees set up to ensure Rural and Regional Development Ministry initiatives implemented with integrity, reliability and accountability. Tabs on 62 programmes Crackdown on ‘energy sticks’ Health Director-General Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan wants online ads on unregistered nasal inhaler products snuffed out. Report on — page 4 NEW YEAR JOY ... Patriarch Stewart Oong and wife Tracy Chiam are all smiles as their children and grandchildren gather ahead of the reunion dinner for Chinese New Year at their family home in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. – MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN Deepening and widening of Klang River as part of Klang Valley long-term flood mitigation strategy on track, says Selangor exco. Report on — page 5 Better Malaysia Foundation, in collaboration with MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd and Kriyalakshmi Mandir Shree Sai Gurukul Kuala Lumpur, treat 200 Flat Jinjang Utara folk to lunch and present them with groceries, toiletries and ang pow in conjunction with Lunar New Year. CNY cheer for underprivileged Report on — page 3 Report on — page 2

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 2 Committees to be set up to monitor ministry initiatives PUTRAJAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has instructed that several committees be set up to monitor the implementation of 62 programmes under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry. Ahmad Zahid, who is also rural and regional development minister, said the committees would not only help attain the objectives of the programmes concerned, but also guarantee that they are conducted with integrity, reliability and accountability. “The ministry needs to be more futuristic in planning its development for the long term,” he said at the ministry’s monthly assembly yesterday. He said he wants the programmes to be reoPanel members to help attain objectives of programmes and ensure integrity, reliability and accountability in execution, says Zahid GRIDLOCK ... Motorists heading out of Kuala Lumpur for the Chinese New Year holidays experienced a bumper-to-bumper crawl on the Karak Highway yesterday. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN 250,000 Indonesians expected to cast ballots in M’sia KUALA LUMPUR: Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Datuk Hermono expects around 30% of the 832,420 Indonesians residing in Malaysia who are registered as voters to fulfil their responsibility in the 2024 Indonesian general election. He said this is based on the turnout trend shown in several previous elections. Hermono said six polling centres would be opened on Sunday for the early voting process for registered voters in Malaysia, namely at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur (222,945 voters), Johor Bahru (2,684), Penang (5,375), Kota Kinabalu (2,811), Tawau (20,247) and Kuching (2,988). He added that the election exercise through mobile ballot boxes is also being carried out from Feb 1 until tomorrow at Indonesian settlements, factories and farms. Hermono said the Indonesian Foreign Election Committee conducted postal voting for 156,367 voters in Malaysia on Jan 2 with the cooperation of Pos Malaysia. He said the voting process for Indonesians residing in Malaysia often receives attention in the home country because it involves the largest number of overseas voters. He added that the number of registered voters in Malaysia is about 47.55% of the total 1.75 million voters in the worldwide overseas voter register for this election. Hermono said to ensure the smooth flow of the voting process in Kuala Lumpur, a total of 1,500 Indonesian Foreign Election Committee personnel are involved and they have received good cooperation from the Malaysian police and Foreign Ministry. “Thank you to the Malaysian government because to date, we have received full support to carry out the polls smoothly and peacefully.” About 240 million Indonesians will exercise their democratic right in the 2024 general election on Feb 14 to elect a president, vicepresident, members of the People’s Consultative Assembly and representatives of local legislatures. – Bernama Back efforts to ensure justice for all humanity: PM KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on all parties to support efforts to ensure justice for all humanity. Anwar in a post on his Facebook page in conjunction with the Isra and Mi’raj celebration on Wednesday said this effort must begin from within oneself until justice for all humanity, including the Palestinian people, could be achieved. He said the lessons of Isra and Mi’raj are evergreen, noting that Baitul Maqdis in Palestine is the place from where Prophet Muhammad ascended to the heavens on the blessed occasion. “Therefore, we must support all efforts to ensure that justice is upheld, starting from within ourselves to justice for humanity. Free Al-Quds! Free Palestine! “May injustice be eradicated and the people be protected.” Anwar added that Muslims are required to be steadfast in performing the five daily prayers, showing compassion and kindness to the poor and eradicating lying and greed, all of which are prerequisites for advancing the nation’s rise and progress. “While the Isra and Mi’raj journey reinforced faith in his (Muhammad’s) prophethood, it also revealed 1,001 lessons related to matters of faith and character for a servant (of Allah). Therefore, its lessons are almost obligatory to be pondered upon throughout the ages.” Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in a post on his Facebook page said Isra and Mi’raj are significant and historical events in the life of Prophet Muhammad. He said it is a miracle that reminded Muslims of the greatness of Allah and the exemplary nature of the Prophet. – Bernama Umno to fulfil Najib’s wishes to seek full pardon PUTRAJAYA: Umno’s decision to continue seeking a full pardon for Datuk Seri Najib Razak is to fulfil the wishes of the former prime minister and his family, said Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. “However, it’s only right that the efforts be made with full respect for the 17th King of Malaysia, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, because His Majesty has the power (of pardon) as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.” Ahmad Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, was speaking after attending the Rural and Regional Development Ministry’s monthly assembly here yesterday. Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the former prime minister would be submitting a new application for a full royal pardon. On Feb 2, the Pardons Board for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya reduced Najib’s 12-year jail sentence by half, indicating that he is set to be released on Aug 23, 2028. According to the statement issued by the Pardons Board Secretariat, the fine to be paid by Najib has also been cut to RM50 million from the original RM210 million. – Bernama implemented by July and the implementation process done as well as possible so that their priorities could be re-arranged to have a greater impact on the people. He added that the ministry is also directly involved in the implementation of the nationallevel Bumiputera Economic Congress to be held from Feb 29 to March 2 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Ahmad Zahid told reporters after the assembly that as of Feb 2, only 33.4% or 8,173 profiles of ministry staff, out of a total of 24,471, have been registered with the Central Database Hub system. He said he believes this is due to doubts among the staff concerned about sharing their data, Bernama reported. “However, we have worked on several steps and we will make sure to reach 100% registration by the middle of this month.” The Central Database Hub, now considered the most comprehensive database established by the government, is a system containing individual and household profiles of citizens and permanent residents in Malaysia. Its objective is to provide a safe, comprehensive and near realtime national main database that enables more accurate data analytics to be produced as well as for policy formulation and data-driven decision-making processes, besides enabling targeted policy implementation to balance the fiscal position. Malaysians aged 18 and above are encouraged to register and update their information in the system to ensure that those eligible are not left out from receiving targeted subsidies, assistance and social protection provided by the government. Anwar extends CNY greetings KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has wished the Chinese community a happy and prosperous new year. “The Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, means strength and charisma as well as creativity and confidence. “Therefore, in order to boost the spirit of these universal principles, we as Malaysians must continue to be determined to become an advanced and Madani society,” he said in a post on his Facebook page. He said the government would work harder to achieve a more prosperous and prominent Malaysia. “The economy must be developed equitably, sustainably and benevolently, damage must be avoided and unity strengthened.” Anwar also uploaded a Chinese New Year video message on his Facebook page. – Bernama

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 3 KUALA LUMPUR: Some 200 residents of Flat Jinjang Utara here were treated to groceries consisting rice, onions, potato, salt, instant noodles, meehun, sardine cans, crackers, coffee and tea by the Better Malaysia Foundation (BMF) on Sunday as part of its annual Chinese New Year celebration activities. BMF also partnered with MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, which sponsored 2kg of sugar for each recipient, while Kriyalakshmi Mandir Shree Sai Gurukul Kuala Lumpur sponsored toiletries such as towels, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, apart from a sumptuous lunch for them and the 20 volunteers from Berjaya Corp, Yayasan My First Home and the Flat Jinjang Utara Residents Association. BMF and Kriyalakshmi Mandir also distributed ang pow to the beneficiaries at the event, which was officiated by BMF vice-chair Datin Seri Sunita Rajakumar. Also present was Berjaya Corp director Penelope Gan. Sunita said: “We worked with the resident association to select the beneficiaries, who included those in the B40 category, differently-abled and single parents who are not receiving any other assistance for Chinese New Year. “The sad thing is that due to their financial constraints, almost all of them will be celebrating at home. So, we wanted to lift their spirits and put a smile on their faces. “At least by getting the groceries, the residents will be able to prepare a decent meal for themselves during their reunion dinner.” Sunita also said the annual event has been organised by BMF since its launch in 2000, as part of its philosophy to give back to society, especially the less fortunate, adding that it does the same for Hari Raya, Aidilfitri, Deepavali, Wesak Day and other major celebrations. “As (Berjaya Group founder and adviser) Tan Sri Vincent Tan’s foundation, BMF supports various community and charitable causes that include educational programmes, medical and health causes and humanitarian aid. “The BMF team, which is made up of volunteers and staff from all walks of life, have brought their unique expertise and resources to enable us to achieve our goals each year. “While there is more that can be done, there is no doubt we are making a significant impact. We don’t measure our success through just facts and figures but through happy faces and heartwarming feedback.” The event was also supported by volunteers from Yayasan My First Home (YMFH), which is another of Tan’s foundations, as well as staff from Berjaya Group, who helped the residents carry the groceries back to their homes. YMFH general manager Nambee Ashwin Nambiar, who was among the volunteers, said the event allowed him to do something for charity. “Tan Sri has always impressed on the staff of his foundations and Berjaya Group that there is nothing better than to give back to society in whatever form. Even volunteering our time to assist in charitable events becomes a blessing, and that’s why we are all here to lend support to BMF,” he said. The National Cancer Society Malaysia, which has always partnered with BMF for such events, also took part by conducting free health screenings for the beneficiaries. A recipient, Ng York Hong, 80, said he was elated to receive the goods. “Life can be difficult at times, and I feel happy to know that we have not been forgotten. “I wish I could thank Tan Sri for being so kind to the elderly and others who need similar help,” he said. Resident Chew Ah Sun, 69, said: “I was quite surprised when told by the residents association that an organisation is coming to give us a lot of free groceries and even ang pow. “This is the first time I am getting such things, and I hope they will come every year to help us out.” New name for energy, utilities ministry PUTRAJAYA: The Energy Transition and Public Utilities Ministry is now officially known as the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry, or Petra. The name change was proposed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also the portfolio minister, and approved by the Cabinet at its meeting yesterday. Petra said yesterday the change is to reflect the true role and responsibility of the ministry concerning its transformation efforts in the field of energy and water. “The purpose is to ensure the government’s aspirations through the functions and duties of this ministry can be understood more clearly by the general public through the new name.” The selection of Petra as the acronym was determined through a competition that was opened to staff of the ministry as well as departments and agencies under it. A total of 105 suggestions were received and Petra was selected, it said, adding that the acronym refers to the selection of selected letters associated with the name of the ministry. “Energy transition is expressed symbolically in the first three letters, while water transformation is also expressed symbolically through the last three letters of the acronym. The energy and water sectors, which are the most important components in our lives, and the well-being of the people will be supported by this ministry,” it said, adding that “Petra” will be used in all official business matters by the ministry. – Bernama CNY goodies for underprivileged Penang water tariff second lowest in country GEORGE TOWN: Although Penang has raised its water tariff, it is still the second-lowest average domestic rate in Malaysia after Terengganu, said Penang Water Supply Corporation CEO K. Pathmanathan. He said the new average rate for domestic consumption of up to 35 cubic metres (m) per month is RM0.86 for every m, which is 1,000 litres, and the minimum charge per month is RM6.20. “The new domestic water rate in Penang was billed effective Feb 1, which is in line with the new Federal Government Regulation published on Jan 31. “Data from 2023 shows about 77.3%, or 460,350 of the 590,290 domestic water users in Penang, were billed for the use of 35m or less last year,” he said in a statement. He added that through the new tariff, new rates were set for other types of water usage that were charged from Feb 1. The rate for bulk domestic water supply services is a flat rate of RM1.73 per m, with a minimum charge of RM17.30 per month. Pathmanathan said “bulk domestic” refers to the use of water through bulk meters, especially by property management bodies responsible for high-rise residential buildings, gated communities, estate quarters and government quarters. He said the rate for non-domestic water supply services, which is 0 to 35 m is RM1.57 per m while above 35 m, it is RM2.17 per m and the minimum charge is RM15.70 per month. “The rate for water supply services for houses of worship and welfare institutions is a flat rate of RM0.67 per m and a minimum charge of RM6.70 per month while for shipping, it is a flat rate of RM7.07 per m and a minimum charge of RM70.70 per month.” He said the PBA group of companies expects to generate an additional income of RM86 million this year as a result of the implementation of the new rate and that it would be mainly used to finance water supply infrastructure development projects in Penang. “Among the infrastructure development projects are the new 1,350mm Sungai Perai “river-crossing” pipeline across the river, pipeline replacement projects and critical new pipelines statewide as well as urgent projects outlined in the Penang Water Contingency Plan 2030 to ensure water supply sufficiency until 2030.” Last month, Syarikat Air Terengganu CEO Abdul Karim Endut said the new water tariff for domestic users in Terengganu has been increased by 16 sen every m effective Feb 1 and the adjustment would see the minimum charges for domestic users to rise from RM4 to RM5.80 per month. – Bernama Former senate president nominated for Nobel Prize KUALA LUMPUR: Former senate president Tan Sri Adam Kadir has been nominated for this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, the prestigious annual award by the Swedish Academy. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established via the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel and has been awarded annually since 1901 to an author from any country who has in his words “in the field of literature provided the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction”. Confirming his nomination, Adam said this was the third time in a row since 2022 that he had been nominated. “Hopefully, I’ll be third-time lucky,” he said, adding that he had written 17 books apart from hundreds of articles, essays and columns in local newspapers and magazines. Adam, 81, said as a general rule, past winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature had been nominated three times. The nomination has been on the criterion of a life-long work with up-to-date writing productions. No Southeast Asian writer has ever won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Rabindranath Tagore of India was the first Asian to have made it in 1913. – Bernama Gan presenting mandarin oranges to residents, accompanied by Sunita (right). – PIC COURTESY OF BMF oBetter Malaysia Foundation, partners distribute groceries, ang pow to Flat Jinjang Utara residents █ BY JOSHUA PURUSHOTMAN [email protected]

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 4 26,000 Armed Forces veterans eligible for RM300 aid LABUAN: More than 26,000 of the 41,000 non-pensionable Armed Forces veterans are eligible for a RM300 Household Living Aid, or Bantuan Sara Hidup. Its Veterans Affairs Department director-general Mej-Jen Zambery Jefry Darus said the monthly aid has been disbursed since September last year. He said the assistance is subject to specific criteria, targeting those classified as hardcore poor falling below the Poverty Line Income with a monthly earning of RM1,169 or less. “The department acknowledges the importance of addressing the needs of these veterans,” he said after officiating at a dialogue with Labuan veterans, widows, and their representatives at Menara Perbadanan Labuan here yesterday. He said the deparment is in discussions with the government to relax the current terms and conditions, advocating for extending the aid to all 41,000 non-pensionable veterans. Zambery said the overall veterans community comprises more than 168,000 individuals nationwide, including 78,000 non-pensionable veterans, widows, and dependents. Earlier, he said 33,042 veterans nationwide benefited from the department’s welfare schemes, receiving total assistance amounting to RM62.57 million in 2023. Zambery added that the welfare assistance schemes include support for household living, schooling, admission to higher education institutions, patients’ equipment and disaster relief. He underscored the Defence Ministry’s unwavering commitment to the well-being of the veterans, making it a key focus area. “In the face of economic uncertainty and rising living costs, the department aims to devise effective strategies to enhance the standard of living for our veterans,” he said. Zambery’s working visit, until Feb 14, encompasses Labuan and Sabah, and includes events such as the veteran cakna programme, dialogue sessions and the Warrior Fund Campaign Charity Run. – Bernama Over 2,800 buses inspected for roadworthiness KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 2,801 buses inspected at 28 terminals since Feb 1 in an operation for the Chinese New Year and school holiday season were found to be operating at a highly satisfactory level. Road Transport Department (RTD) senior director (enforcement) Datuk Lokman Jamaan said the inspections were conducted to ensure that the buses being used were able to operate smoothly without any issues. “The RTD also conducted technical inspections on tyres, brake systems and safety equipment of the buses to ensure smooth journeys, and to provide passengers with safe and comfortable public transport services to their destinations. “Logbook inspections were also conducted to monitor the trips of the vehicles involved,” he said at a media briefing on the special operation at the Southern Integrated Terminal on Wednesday. Lokman said the inspections were also aimed at minimising accident rates and fatalities during the festive season. He added that the use of public transport for long-distance travel or returning to hometowns would help reduce traffic congestion and the risk of accidents. Lokman said 13 of 44 buses checked did not meet the set safety standards and were not allowed on the road. “RTD also conducted screening tests on 187 bus drivers, and four were found to be using illegal substances. The cases have been handed to the National Anti-Drugs Agency for further action,” he said. The public is urged to report complaints directly or through the MyJPJ e-complaint application, or email to [email protected]. – Bernama Ministry clamps down on sale of ‘energy sticks’ KUALA LUMPUR: Following public complaints, the Health Ministry is acting against the online sale of unregistered “energy sticks”, which are a form of nasal inhaler products that can damage the mucus in the nasal cavity and cause injuries, bleeding and infections. Health Director-General Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said the ministry’s Pharmacy Enforcement Division (PED) is also set to promptly enforce the removal of such advertisements. “Initial investigations reveal that the energy sticks are not registered with the Drug Control Authority, which contravenes the provisions of the Drug Sale Act 1952. “Sellers found offering these unregistered products for sale will face strict enforcement measures,” he said, adding that the ministry is monitoring e-commerce platforms where advertisements and sale of such products have been detected. With a shelf life of three years, energy sticks are small, two-pronged nasal inhalers, typically having flavours such as peppermint oApart from monitoring online platforms and removing advertisements, sellers to face stern action, says Health DG █ BY QALIF ZUHAIR [email protected] Cheras punter wins RM10.9m jackpot KUALA LUMPUR: Dreams turned into reality for a punter from Cheras as he emerged Magnum 4D’s first jackpot winner for this year. He won the grand prize of RM10.9 million on Jan 28, using two sets of his chosen numbers – 7474 and 3964 – on the Jackpot system play-16 that resulted in his lucky win. When asked about his plans, the thoughtful winner said: “I intend to invest in property and diversify my investments to optimise different opportunities. “The community also holds a special place in my heart and part of my winnings will go towards charity, specifically offering scholarships to B40 students.” A Magnum 4D company representative in a statement congratulated this year’s first jackpot winner. “It is also truly a joyous celebration to ring in the Year of Dragon. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winner and look forward to more inspiring and incredible stories from our future winners,” the statement read. Report errant bus drivers, public told ALOR SETAR: Bus passengers are advised to report rude drivers and those who do not adhere to traffic regulations. Kedah Road Transport Department director Aman Shah Hashim said offences committed by bus drivers include using handphones while driving and driving recklessly. “The public can report by sending video footage through the MyJPJ app,” he said at the Shahab Perdana Bus Terminal on Wednesday night. He added that the department would also conduct undercover operations in buses to detect unethical drivers on the road. The RTD will focus on hotspot locations in Kota Setar, Kuala Muda and Kulim to reduce accident statistics involving express buses. – Bernama FESTIVE CHEER ... Chinese New Year gift bags being distributed by KL-Karak Expressway operator Anih Berhad staff to travellers at the Gombak toll plaza yesterday. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN and grape. They are encapsulated in a 2g bar resembling a vape and are designed to allegedly provide users with energy and freshness. Public Health Malaysia, which is an outreach of the Health Ministry and emphasises the protection, prevention and promotion of a healthy way of life for the community, said on its Facebook page that energy sticks feature a double-hole design for nasal insertion. “They bear resemblance to drug consumption as its method of use through nasal inhalation or snorting poses psychological risks, potentially encouraging users to experiment with other substances, thus presenting a danger.” Energy sticks are widely sold on e-commerce platforms like Shopee and Lazada at prices ranging from RM2.50 to RM10. Muhammad Radzi said Regulation 7(1)(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Control Regulations 1984 provides that individuals found guilty of selling unregistered health products be fined not exceeding RM25,000 or jailed for up to three years for the first offence. “For subsequent offences, an individual may be fined not exceeding RM50,000 or jailed for up to five years. Companies that violate the regulation can be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offence and up to RM100,000 for subsequent offences.” He urged consumers to verify the authenticity of items marketed as “health products” before purchasing them, and ensuring they bear a hologram sticker and a Malaysian product registration number. The registration status of a product can be checked at the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency’s website under the “Product Status” section, or by contacting the National Pharmacy Call Centre at 1-800-88-6722. The ministry, he said, is committed to safeguarding public health through continuous monitoring, and encouraged the public to report the sale of unregistered products to the Health Ministry’s PED. Muhammad Radzi said reports can be submitted through the ministry’s website, the Public Agency Complaint Management System portal, nearby pharmaceutical enforcement branches, or by calling 03-7841- 3200. Meanwhile, Malaysia Retail Electronic Cigarette Association president Datuk Adzwan Ab Manas said energy sticks are not e-cigarettes. “There have been instances where statements from various people and sellers have linked this product to e-cigarettes,” he said. On Feb 6, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek called on parents and schools to deter students from using energy sticks and highlighted the urgency of addressing and combating the use of such products.

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 5 MACC recovers RM23 million in 1MDB assets PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recovered more than RM23 million in funds and assets linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) between 2023 and this month. In a statement yesterday, MACC said the funds and assets, which were returned to the government, were recovered through forfeiture processes, including in courts, and voluntary surrender from five individuals. It said the success was the result of the tracking and recovering process carried out by its Anti-Money Laundering Division in 2023 and the latest, on Feb 5. MACC said RM556,275.64, which was deposited into the account of Turquoise Coast Offshore Incorporated, was successfully recovered on Aug 30, 2023 from 1MDB officer Nurzahid Taib, who received the funds for the Maximus and Catalyze projects. It said on Sept 29 last year, a total of US$972,251.25 (RM4,551,399.45) was returned voluntarily to the government by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak’s special officer Datuk Amhari Effendi via wire transfer from BSI Bank Switzerland. On Nov 8 last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered the forfeiture of three condominium units worth RM7.05 million owned by Najib’s foreign affairs adviser Mohammad Kamal Yan Yahaya. MACC said Kamal received funds through the Magnolia, Maximus and Catalyze projects into the account of Spring Elite International Ltd at BSI Bank in Singapore. “The three recoveries were made following the trial of former Goldman Sachs banker Ng Chong Hwa, better known as Roger Ng, at the Brooklyn Federal Court in the US in February 2022 for alleged complicity in the misappropriation of 1MDB funds.” – Bernama Muhyiddin allowed release of passport KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court allowed an application by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for a temporary release of his passport to travel to Thailand. Judge Azura Alwi, who granted the application yesterday, ordered the passport to be given to the former prime minister and to be returned on Feb 23. She said although there were several restrictions imposed on Muhyiddin, it was not appropriate to prevent him from living his life and fulfilling his responsibilities until he was found guilty of the charges against him. “The court also found no evidence that the applicant is a flight risk.” The Bersatu president applied for the temporary release of his passport on Jan 31 to travel to Bangkok to attend the opening of a restaurant owned by his close friend, who is a Malaysian. Muhyiddin, 76, is facing two charges of allegedly receiving proceeds from unlawful activities amounting to RM195 million from Bukhary Equity Sdn Bhd, which was deposited into Bersatu’s CIMB Bank account. – Bernama Last two bodies of water surge tragedy found TAPAH: The search and rescue operation for victims of a water surge tragedy at Sungai Kenjur in Bidor has been concluded, following the discovery of the last two bodies at around 9am yesterday. District police chief Supt Mohd Naim Asnawi said the body of two-year-old Hanum Marissa Azam was found at the Kampung Poh bridge, three kilometres from where she was last scene, while her elder sister Hanna Mikayla Azam, seven, was found 600m from the site. “Following the discovery of the bodies, the incident command centre at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kampung Poh is now closed.” At about 4pm on Wednesday, six members of a family and their domestic helper, were trapped in the water surge tragedy during a picnic. Four of the victims, a woman, her son and two daughters were swept away by the strong current, while three others survived, including the helper. The body of the woman, Aszura Bani, 37, was found later in the afternoon and the body of her four-year-old son, Hafiy Muhayat Azam, was found at 9.45pm on Wednesday. Mohd Naim said the picnic and recreational site is closed to the public until the investigation is completed. State Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon said the tragedy occurred due to weather conditions and strong currents, preventing the victims from saving themselves. She advised the public to be cautious when engaging in recreational activities near rivers and water sources. “With the unpredictable weather conditions, I advise the public to limit activities (at places near water) to avoid any untoward incidents.” – Bernama Klang River rehabilitation project flowing smoothly SHAH ALAM: Efforts to deepen and widen the Klang River as part of a long-term flood mitigation strategy for the Klang Valley is on track, said Selangor executive councillor for Infrastructure and Agriculture Izham Hashim. He was speaking during a presentation on the Klang River Rehabilitation Project, an initiative carried out by special purpose vehicle Landasan Lumayan Berjaya Sdn Bhd, which was formed through a joint-venture between Menteri Besar Incorporated subsidiary Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (45%) and Berjaya Land Bhd subsidiary Berjaya Hartanah Bhd (55%). “This project is in line with the Selangor government’s mission to revitalise the river and develop it after years of neglect and industrialisation. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2028,” he said, adding that the initiative will sustainably transform 27,960ha of the surrounding land. The project, which is part of the Selangor government’s efforts to safeguard water security and protect the people and economy from the impacts of flooding and drought, reinforces the state’s commitment to disaster resilience, adaptation and readiness. Izham said by improving water storage and climate-proofing infrastructure, the project reflects the UN-Water Agenda call to build resilient communities and safeguard the environment against the impacts of climate change and water-related disasters. The project, which is a comprehensive two-part Integrated Water Resources Management exercise, will also bring new economic opportunities and sustain the well-being of those around it. “The first part of the project will deepen and widen 56km of the river to expand its capacity to mitigate flood risks and improve water quality, while the Izham said the project reflects the UN-Water Agenda call to build resilient communities and safeguard the environment against the impacts of climate change and water-related disasters. – AMIRUL SYAFIQ/THESUN oWorks include deepening and widening of waterway, strengthening critical infrastructure and enhancing disaster resilience: Selangor exco █ BY ALLEN WONG [email protected] Police sergeant charged over rape of teenager IPOH: A sergeant was charged in a Sessions Court yesterday with raping a teenager in a car. Sharil Amir Shaari, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad. The policeman was charged with raping the 16-year-old girl in a car in a parking lot at Seri Iskandar at about 4pm on Jan 12. The charge, framed under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code, provides 20 years’ jail and whipping. Sharil was granted bail of RM5,000 in one surety and ordered not to intimidate the victim. The court set March 25 for mention for submission of documents. DPP Qurratu’aini Khalifah prosecuted while Sharil was represented by lawyer Ahmad Shamil Azad Abdul Hamid. – Bernama second part will reinforce soil embankments and bund construction to strengthen critical infrastructure and enhance disaster resilience.” Izham said the project consists of three key engineering components, which include design (hydrology and hydraulic analysis, bund improvement and slope protection work, as well as flood wall requirements) and construction and subsequent maintenance. Twelve zones within four main blocks along its 56km length downstream of the river have been identified as the most vulnerable to potential flooding, due to its shallow depth caused by decades of sediment build-up. Phase 1 consists of critical improvement works as it covers the high-risk sections of the last 10km of the river to its mouth and Port Klang. “Initial dredging operations in Block 3, Zone 8, which is upstream of Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam, has resulted in the removal of 130,000 cubic metres of rubbish. “In mid-February, dredging work will expand into zones 6 and 7 within Block 3, before moving into Block 1 (zones 1 and 2 within Port Klang) by early July. “The improvement works in Block 3, which covers 14.3km from Kg Bukit Lanchong to Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam and Block 1 will further improve river capacity and resilience.” He said the rubbish and sediment accumulated on the riverbed has led to its capacity being severely compromised, with 40% of the dredged material consisting of tyres, furniture and plastic items, which severely affected the dredger’s technical condition and disrupted its operations. Under the project, a total of 77,389 tonnes of solid waste was removed from the river between 2016 and 2021. “The amount has gradually dropped from 1,500 tonnes per month in 2016 to 850 currently. The water quality index, which used to be categorised as highly contaminated at Class 5, is now at Class 3 for 48% of the days in a year,” he said, adding that the target for the next two years is to achieve Class 3 or better, for 70% of days in a year.

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 6 @thesundaily FOLLOW ON TWITTER Malaysian Paper KUALA LUMPUR: Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a branch of computer science developed to simulate human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and act like humans – is a double-edged sword in that it can be used for beneficial or nefarious purposes. AI can be applied to orchestrate sophisticated scams, one of which involves the use of AIgenerated deepfake technology that enables scammers to create realistic audio and video impersonations of trusted individuals. Commenting on the use of AI by fraudsters, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak Data Science Centre research fellow Syahrul Nizam Junaini warned that Malaysia will not be exempt from facing such crimes, in line with the increasing use of AI technology in the country. “These perpetrators often target individuals based on information gleaned from social media,” he said, adding that AI used in scams typically involve sophisticated software capable of analysing and replicating an individual’s visual and audio characteristics. “This technology can mimic one’s speech patterns, speaking style, intonation and even facial expressions to the extent that it becomes challenging to distinguish between genuine and fake.” Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Department of Information Security and Web Technology senior lecturer Dr Noor Zuraidin Mohd Safar suggested comprehensive collaboration among stakeholders as a preventive measure against AI-related crimes. “AI technology will constantly evolve and Malaysia must be prepared for this. Stakeholders, including police, cybersecurity (authorities) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) must have expertise in AI technology with their focus on ecommerce and e-banking,” he said. “AI also has the ability to serve as a preventive tool as it can identify suspicious data,” he said, adding that there is a need to develop a system to empower law enforcement agencies to detect and address activities perceived as fraudulent or at risk of becoming so. He said to do this, the government must be prepared to invest in creating a secure cybersecurity system, Bernama reported. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said last month the department anticipates a surge in police reports linked to AI due to the widespread adoption of the technology globally. He said AI can be misused and solving such cases could pose a great challenge to the CCID. “Our investigative technology must be enhanced to keep up with the development of AI.” BNM was quoted in a media report as saying that it too views AI technology as one of the “new tools” that online fraudsters are likely to employ in the future. While Malaysia has not recorded any case of crimes involving AI, numerous incidents of such nature have been reported in other countries. A businessman in China, identified as Guo, was nearly cheated of 4.3 million yuan (about RM2.8 million) in May last year after he was tricked by a scammer who used AI to impersonate his close friend. It was reported that the “friend” wanted to borrow some money and persuaded Guo to transfer the sum. Fortunately, the businessman realised he was being scammed after finding out his friend’s identity had been stolen and he had no knowledge of the transaction. Guo alerted the police and the bank involved and recovered 3.4 million yuan. In the United States early last year, a woman was contacted by a person who said her daughter had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom. To convince the mother, the “kidnapper” used AI to mimic the voice of the girl. The case shocked US authorities as the cloned voice, generated using AI, was highly convincing. AI potential new ‘weapon’ for scammers oAlthough no cases in M’sia yet, law enforcement agencies must be prepared with secure cybersecurity system: Expert KUALA LUMPUR: The National Film Development Corporation (Finas) has been asked to review and study improvements that can be made to the compulsory screening scheme to improve the quality of local film production. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said there is a small problem with the existing scheme and that has caused certain parties to take advantage of it by completing films that just meet the requirements. “This is not good for the film ecosystem in our country. So, I have asked Finas to review and study the compulsory screening scheme and to look at two things. One is the process of creating the script to ensure it is prepared before production and is of high quality. “The second is the marketing aspect. If we look at the films that didn’t succeed at the box office, it is partly due to a lack of marketing and only relying on the compulsory screening scheme. So, I also asked Finas to investigate this,” he said after attending an engagement session and gettogether with cinema operators on Wednesday. Fahmi expressed hope more local films would be able to penetrate the overseas markets, especially in Asean countries, more so since Malaysia will be the chairman of Asean next year and also ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2026. “My intention is for the production of more Malaysian films that are not only shown in Malaysia but also can be screened overseas. And of course, we prioritise Asean.” – Bernama Move to improve local film quality

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 7 Sharif tipped to win Pakistan polls ISLAMABAD: Millions of Pakistanis voted yesterday in an election marred by allegations of poll rigging, with the country’s most popular politician in jail and a military-favoured candidate tipped to win. Adding to the concerns about the integrity of the vote, authorities announced just before polls opened that they had suspended mobile telephone services across the country “to maintain law and order” following a bloody election campaign – including two blasts on Wednesday that killed 28 people. Pollsters had predicted a low oAllegations of rigging mar election ENTHRALLED ... Visitors watch a show with sculptures of a 140m-long dragon and God of Fortune around the Supertrees observatory at Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon tomorrow. – AFPPIX Rescuers use bare hands to search for landslide survivors MANILA: Rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to dig through mud yesterday in a desperate search for survivors of a landslide in the Philippines as the number of missing nearly doubled to 90, an official said. Two days after the rain-induced landslide hit the mountainous gold-mining village of Masara on southern Mindanao island, searchers were in a race against time and weather. At least seven people were killed and 31 injured when the landslide destroyed houses and engulfed three buses and a jeepney waiting for workers from a gold mine on Tuesday night. Ninety people are missing, up from the previously reported 48, disaster agency official Edward Macapili of Davao de Oro province said, citing police data. “It is everybody’s hope that people are still alive,” Macapili said. “Our rescue team is in a hurry because every second counts when it comes to human life.” The landslide left a deep, brown gouge down the mountain. Rescuers pulled a person alive from the mud 11 hours after it hit, Macapili said. “So there’s a chance,” he added. Police, soldiers and rescuers from Davao de Oro and the nearby Davao del Norte province have been deployed to Masara to help the search and retrieval operation. While rescuers were using heavy earth-moving equipment in places, they had to rely on their bare hands and shovels in areas where they believed there were bodies, Macapili said. “The soil that covered the buses was very thick – it could almost cover a two-storey building,” he said. At least 20 mine workers are believed to be entombed in the vehicles. Landslides are frequent hazards across much of the archipelago nation owing to the mountainous terrain, heavy rainfall and widespread deforestation from mining, slash-and-burn farming and illegal logging. Rain has pounded parts of Mindanao on and off for weeks, triggering dozens of landslides and flooding that have forced tens of thousands of people into emergency shelters. Huge earthquakes have also destabilised the region in recent months. Hundreds of families from Masara and four nearby villages have had to evacuate from their homes and shelter in emergency centres for fear of further landslides. – AFP B R I E F SINDIA TO END MYANMAR BORDER DEAL NEW DELHI: India’s Interior Minister said yesterday that he had “recommended the immediate suspension” of a free movement border agreement with Myanmar, from where thousands have fled since fighting between the junta and its opponents surged last year. Amit Shah said the Foreign Ministry was “in the process of scrapping” the deal, which allows those living in border zones to venture a short distance into their neighbouring nation’s territory without a visa. Shah said it was necessary “to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure” of regions bordering Myanmar. That includes India’s restive Manipur state, where more than 200 people have been killed since clashes broke out last May between the Meitei majority and Kuki community. Many of those who have fled to India from Myanmar share ethnic ties with the Kukis. Parts of Myanmar near the Indian border have seen frequent clashes since Arakan Army fighters attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since a 2021 military coup. – AFP ANIES OPPOSES MOVING CAPITAL JAKARTA: Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan has portrayed himself as the anti-establishment candidate in Indonesia’s presidential campaign, climbing to second place in polls on the back of a message that includes opposing a costly capital move to Borneo. The former education and culture minister is expected to face frontrunner Prabowo Subianto in any potential second-round runoff vote. He had been floundering in last place but in recent weeks his opposition to President Joko Widodo’s legacy move to shift Indonesia’s political centre away from Jakarta has helped his campaign come alive. A former lecturer, the 54-year-old has been viewed as outclassing his rivals in the presidential debates and praised for offering an alternative, with rights groups complaining of democratic gains being rolled back under Widodo. Baswedan said in December if elected he would govern from Jakarta instead of Nusantara, set to open in August on the east coast of Borneo. – AFP turnout from the country’s 128 million eligible voters following a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by the jailing of former prime minister Imran Khan, and the hobbling of his Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf party by the military-led establishment. The Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz is expected to win the most seats in today’s vote, with analysts saying its 74-year-old founder Nawaz Sharif has won the blessing of the generals. Outside a polling station in Islamabad, 22-year-old psychology student Haleema Shafiq said she was determined to vote. “I believe in democracy. I want a government that can make Pakistan safer for girls,” she told AFP. But another voter expressed the doubts of many. “My only fear is whether my vote will be counted for the same party I cast it for. At the same time, for the poor it does not matter who is ruling – we need a government that can control inflation,” said Syed Tassawar, a 39-year-old construction worker. Polling stations opened at 8am (11am) and were due to close at 5pm (8pm), with voters already inside allowed another hour. Officials deployed more than 650,000 army, paramilitary and police personnel to provide security for an election already marred by violence. On Wednesday, at least 28 people were killed and more than 30 wounded by two bomb blasts outside the offices of candidates in southwestern Pakistan, in attacks claimed hours later by the Islamic State group. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said “precious lives have been lost” in recent militant attacks in Pakistan and “security measures are essential to maintain law and order situation and to deal with potential threats”. “It has been decided to temporarily suspend the mobile service across the country,” the spokesman said in a statement. Web watchdog organisation NetBlocks warned the suspension posed a danger to the integrity of the election. “The practice is inherently undemocratic and is known to limit the work of independent election observers and cause irregularities in the voting process,” NetBlocks director Alp Toker said. “The ongoing election day internet blackout in Pakistan is amongst the largest we’ve observed in any country in terms of severity and extent.” The Foreign Ministry said the land borders with neighbours Iran and Afghanistan would also be closed to all traffic as a security measure. Nearly 18,000 candidates are standing for seats in the national and four provincial assemblies, with 266 seats directly contested in the former – an additional 70 reserved for women and minorities – and 749 places in the regional parliaments. – AFP Prabowo leads Indonesia presidency race JAKARTA: Prabowo Subianto, who was accused of rights abuses while serving as a military chief during the dying days of the Suharto dictatorship, is the favourite to win next week’s presidential election. The defence minister has opened a wide lead in polls owing to his vast wealth, nationalist verve in populist speeches and strongman credentials as chief of the influential military. “At 18, I signed a vow, I was ready to die for the people and the nation. I have not revoked the vow. I am ready if God summons me,” the front-runner told a rally last month. NGOs and former army bosses have accused him of ordering the abduction of democracy activists at the end of Suharto’s rule in the late 1990s. He remains accused of ties to the Suharto family as an ex-husband of one of the dictator’s daughters. But the 72-year-old candidate has rehabilitated his image as a “cute grandpa” in a bid to lead the world’s third-biggest democracy and replace his former rival Joko Widodo. While Prabowo is promising more of Widodo’s economic development, the prospect of his presidency is causing alarm among rights groups that democratic gains made since the end of authoritarian rule could be rolled back. “I am still concerned that Prabowo could roll back reforms achieved with tears and blood of my fellow student activists,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. “This could be the end of our hard-won freedom,” he added. Prabowoo has amassed a 20- point lead over his two opponents at around 46%, according to several polls, after picking Widodo’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate. Analysts say Prabowo’s chances are being helped by Widodo’s popularity and support, as well as younger Indonesians. For Prabowo, victory would cap a decades-long battle to win high office in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. – AFP

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 8 /thesundaily FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK Malaysian Paper PNG PM vows close ties with Australia CANBERRA: Papua New Guinea’s prime minister yesterday became the first Pacific Island leader ever to address Australia’s parliament, vowing close ties despite loud overtures from China. Hailing long relations and Australia’s pivotal role in his country’s 1975 independence, James Marape said nothing would come between the two nations. In recent years, Beijing has tried to chip away at US and Australian influence across the South Pacific, including in Papua New Guinea. The Pacific Islands are replete with natural resources and sit at a geostrategic crossroads that could prove strategically vital in any military dispute over Taiwan. Chinese state-backed firms have poured investment into the region, while Beijing has offered much-needed loans and security aid, launching a battle for influence. But amid suggestions that Papua New Guinea may sign a deal that would allow Chinese police to deploy to his country, and Australia’s doorstep, Marape said Sydney remained an indispensable partner. “In a world of many relations, with many nations, nothing will come in between our two countries, because we are family – through tears, blood, pain and sacrifice,” he said. “We are there for each other as mates, especially when times are tough.” Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia 49 years ago and has remained highly dependent on Australian aid to survive. “I speak to you in the language you taught me,“ Marape said in English, saying his main message was to say “thank you” to “all who have stayed with us for the last 49 years”. But he also vowed that Papua New Guinea would move from donor recipient to “economically independent and strong”. – AFP B R I E F SFUKUSHIMA PLANT OPERATOR REPORTS LEAK TOKYO: An estimated 5,500 litres of radioactive water leaked from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant but no sign of contamination has been detected outside the facility, its operator said yesterday. A spokeswoman from Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said the leak was detected at part of the plant that processes contaminated water. “We estimate that roughly 5.5 tonnes (5,500 litres) of water leaked” on Wednesday morning, but “there have been no significant changes” at posts monitoring radioactivity, she said. Tepco plans to remove soil from the area that may have been contaminated. The Fukushima plant was wrecked by a huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It was one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. Wednesday’s leak took place at a facility which processes the water before most radioactive elements are filtered out at a different, advanced facility known as ALPS. – AFP ECUADOR DECRIMINALISES EUTHANASIA QUITO: Ecuador decriminalised euthanasia on Wednesday, becoming the second Latin American country to allow the procedure, in response to a lawsuit brought by a terminally ill patient. With seven of its nine judges voting in favour, the country’s Constitutional Court opened the door for doctors to help an untreatable patient die without going to jail. The penalty for homicide “cannot be applied to a doctor who performs an active euthanasia procedure to preserve the rights to a dignified life,” the ruling said. The lawsuit was brought in August by Paola Roldan, suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive neurological disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In her complaint, Roldan contested an article of the Ecuadorian penal code, which considers the procedure a homicide carrying a sentence of between 10 and 13 years in prison. – AFP ‘N. Korea used cyberattack US$3b loot for nuke weapons’ NEW YORK: United Nations (UN) sanctions monitors are investigating dozens of suspected cyberattacks by North Korea that raked in US$3 billion (RM14 billion) to help it further develop its nuclear weapons programme, according to excerpts of an unpublished UN report reviewed by Reuters. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continued to flout Security Council sanctions,” a panel of independent sanctions monitors reported to a Security Council committee. “It further developed nuclear weapons and produced nuclear fissile materials, although its last known nuclear test took place in 2017,” wrote the monitors, who also said Pyongyang had continued ballistic missile launches, put a satellite into orbit and added a “tactical nuclear attack submarine” to its arsenal. North Korea has long been banned from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile oPanel probing 58 cases involving cryptocurrency related firms launches by the 15-member Security Council. Since 2006, it has been subject to UN sanctions, which the council has repeatedly strengthened to try and cut off funding for its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) development. “The panel is investigating 58 suspected DPRK cyberattacks on cryptocurrency-related companies between 2017 and 2023, valued at approximately US$3 billion, which reportedly help fund DPRK’s WMD development,” the monitors wrote. North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report by the sanctions monitors. Pyongyang has previously denied allegations of hacking or other cyberattacks. The UN report is due to be released publicly later this month or early next month, diplomats said. North Korean hacking groups subordinate to the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), Pyongyang’s primary foreign intelligence agency, reportedly continued with a high number of cyber attacks, the sanctions monitors said. “Trends include DPRK targeting of defence companies and supply chains, and increasingly sharing infrastructure and tools,” according to the monitors, who report twice a year to the 15- member Security Council. Any further action against North Korea by the council is unlikely as it had been deadlocked for several years on the issue. China and Russia instead want the sanctions to be eased to convince Pyongyang to return to denuclearisation talks. Moscow and Pyongyang also vowed last year to deepen military relations. The US has accused North Korea of supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, which North Korea and Russia have denied. “The panel is investigating reports from member states about supplies by DPRK of conventional arms and munitions in contravention of sanctions,” the sanctions monitors wrote. Under UN sanctions imposed in 2017, all countries were also required to repatriate North Koreans working abroad to stop them earning foreign currency for the North Korea. “The panel investigated reports of numerous DPRK nationals working overseas earning income in violation of sanctions,” the sanctions monitors wrote. They said North Korea continues to access the international financial system and engage in illicit financial operations in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. US Senate defeats border deal WASHINGTON: Republicans in the US Senate on Wednesday defeated a bipartisan effort to bolster border security that had taken months to negotiate, but said they could still approve aid for Ukraine and Israel that had been tied up in the deal. By a vote of 49-50, largely along party lines, the Senate failed to approve a US$118 billion (RM562 billion) bipartisan package that would tighten immigration laws, help Ukraine fight a Russian invasion and bolster Israel. The measure needed 60 votes to advance in the chamber, which Democrats control by a 51-49 margin. For months, Republicans have insisted that any additional aid to the two US allies must also address the high numbers of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border. But many Republicans promptly rejected the package when it was released on Sunday, even though it contained many of their priorities. Former president Donald Trump, who has pressed them to reject any compromise, has made calls for tight controls of immigration a feature of his campaign to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election. Only four of the Senate’s 49 Republicans voted for the bill. “Some have been very clear with me they have political differences with the bill,” said Republican Senator James Lankford, one of the negotiators. “They say it’s the wrong time to solve the problem, let the presidential election solve the problem.” Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, another one of the deal’s authors, said she was baffled by the sudden shift in fortune. “Three weeks ago, everyone wanted to solve the border crisis,” she said. “Yesterday, nobody did.” Still, the defeat of the bill left open the possibility that Congress could yet provide much-needed aid to US allies. The Senate was expected to vote yesterday on a US$96 billion package that strips out the immigration provisions but leaves the foreign aid intact. An aide to Republican Senator Roger Wicker had predicted that a foreign-aid package would get well over 60 votes in the 100-seat chamber – a rare show of cross-party support. – Reuters HEADING HOME... Travellers waiting for trains at the Shanghai Hongqiao railway station during the Spring Festival travel rush ahead of Chinese New Year. – REUTERSPIX

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 9 DOHA/TEL AVIV: Mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt scrambled to forge a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in their four-month-old war in the Gaza Strip after America’s top diplomat on a Middle East mission said there was still hope for a deal. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he saw room for negotiation, and a Palestinian Hamas delegation led by senior official Khalil Al-Hayya was due to travel yesterday to Cairo for ceasefire talks with Egypt and Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected Hamas’s latest offer, calling it “delusional”, and Hamas urged Palestinian armed factions to go on fighting. “There are clearly non-starters in what (Hamas has) put forward,” Blinken said on Wednesday at a late-night press conference in a Tel Aviv hotel, without specifying what the non-starters were. “But we also see space in what came back to pursue negotiations, to see if we can get to an agreement. That’s what we intend to do.” Before heading back to the US, Blinken was due to hold meetings in Israel yesterday, including with family members of hostages still held in Gaza who have clamoured for Netanyahu to make winning their freedom his top priority. Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, proposed a ceasefire of four-and-ahalf months, during which all hostages held in Gaza would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from Gaza and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war. The Hamas offer was a response to a proposal drawn up by US and Israeli spy chiefs and delivered to Hamas last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Israel would be willing to let Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar go into exile in exchange for the release of all hostages and an end to the Hamas government in Gaza, a half-dozen Israeli officials and senior advisers have told NBC News. In response to the Hamas plan, Netanyahu renewed a pledge to destroy the movement, saying there was no alternative for Israel but to bring about its collapse. “Surrendering to the delusional demands of Hamas... will not only not bring the release of the hostages, it will invite another massacre. It will invite a grave disaster for the state of Israel that none of our citizens is willing to accept,” the Israeli leader told reporters on Wednesday. “Continued military pressure is a necessary condition for the release of the hostages,” Netanyahu said. Israel began its military offensive after Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct 7. Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with thousands more feared buried under rubble in Israel’s offensive since then. – Reuters Ukraine’s Hungarians divided over war SIURTE: In the village of Siurte in Ukraine’s westernmost corner, home to a large Hungarian community, many fighting-age men say they live in fear of being conscripted. Ukrainian men over the age of 27 can be called up to the front to help defend the country from the Russian invasion. “My husband doesn’t dare to go out, go shopping or take the kids to school because he’s afraid of being drafted,” said a woman. She hoped the war would soon end with a ceasefire, echoing the rhetoric of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who claims that Ukraine cannot win. Jozsef, a man in his 40s who declined to give his surname, said he was extra cautious when driving to the nearby city of Uzhhorod in case he was “taken to a drafting centre”. He said he tended to agree with Orban, who has cultivated close ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and did not want to become a pawn in a conflict he has “nothing to do with”. “Some say the war is fought by the US against Russia through Ukraine,” he added, echoing a narrative often peddled by Hungary’s pro-government media. Orban has also claimed that ethnic Hungarians are being forced into the Ukraine military and dying at the front in large numbers, without providing evidence. The issue has become all the more sensitive with Kyiv pushing to drop the conscription age to 25 as the war drags on. More than 100,000 ethnic Hungarians live in the region of Transcarpathia that borders Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania – though many have fled to Hungary since the start of the war. Part of the Austro-Hungarian empire until World War I, Transcarpathia is closer to Budapest than Kyiv. – AFP Gaza ceasefire hopes alive oMediators scramble to hold more talks to iron out issues Nepali mercenaries fight for Russia KATHMANDU: Nepali mercenaries lured by promises of a passport and cash are fighting for Russia in Ukraine. While Nepali soldiers-for-hire can bank in a month nearly double what they could earn in a year back home, conditions are brutal and many have been killed or wounded. “I watched my friends die in front of me,” said Surya Sharma, who asked to use a pseudonym for legal reasons. Shortly after the 24-year-old underwent basic training with Russian forces, his unit was attacked on their way to a frontline in eastern Ukraine. “When the bombs and bullets were raining, I thought my life was ending, that that was it,” he said. “I was there to die.” Combining tough Himalayan terrain with grinding poverty, Nepal has long been a source of ferocious soldiers to fight others’ wars, with the British army’s Gurkhas the best-known example. But it is only legal for Nepalis to sign up for combat with a foreign military if there is a government agreement in place – which only applies to Britain and India. From early on in its war in Ukraine, Russia has used mercenaries, including the paramilitary group Wagner, before its aborted mutiny last June. Neither Russia nor Ukraine will provide figures for how many foreign fighters are in their militaries, nor the number they are holding as prisoners of war. But the Nepali government says more than 200 of the country’s citizens have enlisted in the Russian army. Sharma believes there could be 10 times as many, including students, ex-soldiers and even former Maoist combatants. “We were among the early ones to join, but now there are many Nepalis, there must be 2,500 to 3,000,” he said. At least 12 Nepalis have been killed and another five are prisoners of war in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu said. Returnees say the true number of dead is also much higher, and according to local media Nepalis have fought for Ukraine too. To attract fighters, Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered Russian citizenship, which allows recipients to work, on top of monthly salaries as high as US$2,200 (RM10,485). That tempts some in a country with a GDP per capita of little more than US$1,300. Nepal has banned its citizens from working in Russia or Ukraine in any capacity, to try to prevent their recruitment. – AFP Smoke billows over the southern Lebanese border village of El-Khiam during Israeli bombardment, amid cross-border tensions with Lebanon as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. – AFPPIX B R I E F SRUSSIAN FORCES STORM FRONTLINE TOWN KYIV: Large numbers of Russian forces are pushing to capture the frontline Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, its mayor said yesterday, escalating a months-long effort to capture the industrial hub. Moscow launched a costly bid in October to seize the town, which has been caught up in fighting since 2014, when it briefly fell to separatists. “Unfortunately, the enemy is pressing from all directions,” said mayor Vitaly Barabash. The capture of Avdiivka would provide a much needed victory for Russia to bring home, in the run-up to the second anniversary of its fully-fledged invasion of Ukraine and its March presidential election. It is located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which the Kremlin claims is part of Russia, along with four other Ukrainian territories that Moscow says it has annexed. Barabash characterised the fighting as “very hot” and “very difficult”. – AFP TUCKER CARLSON TO AIR PUTIN INTERVIEW WASHINGTON: Tucker Carlson’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin was to air as scheduled. In a post on Instagram, Carlson said the sit-down would be broadcast at 6pm Eastern (7am today) on his website. The former Fox News host, a key ally of 2024 election candidate Donald Trump and a vocal opponent to US military aid for Ukraine, travelled to Moscow for Putin’s first interview with a Western journalist since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. Carlson’s visit to Moscow has been covered heavily by Russian state media, which has long highlighted the US celebrity’s anti-Ukraine talking points. Carlson’s surprise scoop also comes as US aid to Ukraine has dried up due to Republican opposition in Washington, leaving Ukrainian forces scrambling for ammunition. The White House said that Putin should not be given an uncritical outlet to justify his war in Ukraine. – AFP

10 FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 Should fathers express affection? Q: My father was a no-nonsense man who did not share his feelings. He taught me to be tough, to work hard and make my way in life. My wife is upset because I treat my son the same way. Should fathers show affection towards their sons? Focus on the Family Malaysia: We understand that your upbringing lacked a paternal connection, which undoubtedly influenced your character. While it may have toughened you, it also left an emotional void. You should reassess not only your relationship with your son but also your feelings and needs. Are you certain that deep down you are harbouring feelings of hurt or resentment towards your father for his emotional detachment? Is it possible that you are inadvertently projecting these feelings onto your son by replicating your father’s behaviour? Meanwhile, remember that your son will face adversities in life. Your role as a father is to stand by his side, offering support and guidance. Instead of adding to his burdens, strive to be his ally – offering encouragement, solace, inspiration and companionship. Love and compassion are the foundations of fatherhood. Many men underestimate the profound need their sons have for affection, approval and verbal affirmation. Boys also benefit greatly from appropriate physical affection from their fathers. It is common for fathers to unintentionally impose their interests and expectations onto their sons, hoping they will mirror their own lives. Resist this temptation. Instead, empower your son to embrace his unique talents and passions, guiding him towards becoming himself. In doing so, you and your son will find fulfilment and success. Q: After years of being single, I looked forward to marriage as I thought it would bring me happiness. Isn’t that the essence of marriage? Yet, why is it not fulfilling? Why am I not happy being married? Focus on the Family Malaysia: “… and they lived happily ever after” – is the quintessential ending to fairy tales and the aspiration of every couple exchanging vows. However, pinning happiness as the sole objective of marriage is unrealistic. Happiness, by its nature, is transient. It fluctuates with the ebb and flow of life’s circumstances. When things go well, we are elated, when challenges arise, happiness can elude us. It is a fact that our spouses cannot be our constant source of happiness. Despite their best efforts, there will inevitably be moments of disappointment over the course of a lifetime together. There is also a deeper issue to consider: prioritising personal happiness above all else in marriage suggests a self-centred approach, focused solely on what one can gain from the relationship. Such self-gratification can destroy a relationship. This does not mean that individual happiness is not important but it should not be your primary goal. True happiness comes from a deep commitment and willingness to place your spouse’s well-being above your own. To truly serve your spouse, you need to find a balance between meeting your needs and hers. Engage in activities that rejuvenate and fulfil you while also nurturing your relationship. When spouses selflessly devote themselves to each other’s happiness, they lay the groundwork for a fulfilling life together. The article was contributed by Focus on the Family Malaysia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and strengthening the family unit. It provides a myriad of programmes and resources to the community, including professional counselling services. For more information, visit family.org.my. Comments: [email protected] Food for thought – Chinese New Year traditions in cuisines CHINESE New Year is a cherished time for family reunions, exchanging of red envelopes and communal meals to strengthen social bonds. The ancient Chinese adage “Food is the first priority for the people” (min yi shi wei tian) underscores the significance of food in Chinese culture, reflecting its rich traditions, beliefs and customs. Therefore, it is no wonder that food carries profound symbolism during Chinese New Year, conveying deep meanings and taboos that enrich the celebration’s language and rituals. Tradition on the table Pineapple tarts, known as huang li bing or feng li su, are a favourite among Malaysian Chinese during Chinese New Year. Interestingly, in the Hokkien dialect, “pineapple” is pronounced as ong lai, where ong symbolises prosperity and lai represents arrival. These delectable cookies are imbued with auspicious meanings, signifying the arrival of prosperity. They consist of a delightful combination of sweet-sour pineapple jam crafted from fresh pineapples, encased within a savoury and buttery pastry. The harmonious blend of fragrant aromas and delightful flavours makes for an irresistible culinary experience. Nian gao (rice cake), aptly named “New Year cake”, is a traditional dish made from sticky glutinous rice. The term nian gao holds a deeper connotation, symbolising positive growth and advancement, reflecting aspirations for elevated status and enhanced success. This dish can be enjoyed in its original form or commonly prepared by sandwiching a slice of nian gao between sweet potato or yam slices, then coating them in egg or cornstarch before frying. The golden hue of the fried layer evokes the appearance of a gold bar, symbolising wealth and prosperity. Pineapple tarts UNDER ONE ROOF COMMENT by Dr Gan Yee Chin Lao yu sheng Bak kwa Nian gao Lao yu sheng, often referred to as “Chinese-style sashimi”, carries profound symbolism during Chinese New Year celebrations. The term lao conveys the action of fishing or scooping up while yu sheng denotes sashimi. In Chinese tradition, the word yu (fish) shares pronunciation with “surplus”, symbolising the desire for abundance and prosperity in the coming year. The dish boasts a vibrant array of ingredients, including slices of salmon sashimi, carrots, cabbage, celery, ginger, peanuts and crispy crackers, creating a visually colourful presentation. All the ingredients are artfully arranged on a large platter, and everyone uses chopsticks to toss them high in the air while uttering auspicious wishes. It is believed that the higher the toss, the greater the fortune bestowed. Bak kwa, commonly referred to as dry jerky, derives its name from the Hokkien dialect. The preparation of dried jerky involves grilling marinated pork slices over a charcoal fire. The jerky is square-shaped and boasts a vibrant red colour. In Chinese culture, red symbolises good luck and blessings. Additionally, there is a historical significance tied to the tradition of consuming dry jerky during the New Year. In times of poverty and limited access to food, meat was a rare indulgence reserved for special occasions. The convenience of jerky slices, which are easy to carry and has a long shelf life, has since made them a popular festive treat, carrying forward the tradition of New Year’s celebrations. Avoiding unlucky foods To ensure an auspicious New Year, there are certain dishes that many Chinese prefer to avoid. Bitter gourd (ku gua) is among the foods to avoid due to its association with the word ku, meaning “bitter” in Chinese. This connection leads people to steer clear of bitter gourd and any dishes containing it as it symbolises bitterness or hardship in life. Seafood squid (you yu) is another item on the taboo list, largely due to its association with the slang term chao you yu (fired squid), which translates to “you are fired”. The negative connotation of job loss linked to this seafood makes it an inauspicious choice for most Chinese, prompting its avoidance. Chinese culinary places significant emphasis on homonyms – words with similar pronunciation but differing meanings. The mentioned dishes represent just a fraction of the intricate tapestry of culinary symbolism. There are a vast array of variations among the Chinese communities worldwide. As families gather around dining tables during this festive period, they participate in a tradition that bridges generations, reinforcing a sense of community and preserving heritage. When elders offer guidance on food choices, it goes beyond mere nourishment, it is a heartfelt expression of well-wishes for a joyful Chinese New Year. The writer is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics at Universiti Malaya. Comments: [email protected]

FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2624/5 E: [email protected] Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 F: 03-7784 4424 SCAN ME E: [email protected] December wholesale, retail trade hits record RM143.9b PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade recorded the highest monthly sales value amounting to RM143.9 billion in December 2023, with the fourth quarter of the year registering RM428.8 billion. For the whole of 2023, total sales reached RM1.7 trillion. In a statement yesterday, Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “The increase of 4.8% year-on-year for wholesale and retail trade in December 2023 was driven by the retail trade sub-sector, which rose 5% or RM3 billion to RM62.4 billion. Wholesale trade expanded by 4.4% or RM2.6 billion to RM62.9 billion, followed by motor vehicles with a growth of 5.9% or RM1 billion to RM18.6 billion.” For monthly comparison, the increase of 1% from November was contributed by retail trade, which went up 1.8%. This was followed by the motor vehicles Retail sales in the food, beverages and tobacco subsector rose 9.9% year-on-year in December. – BERNAMAPIC oTotal sales value for fourth quarter of 2023 is RM428.8b, while for full year it amounts to RM1.7 trillion: Statistics Department Malaysia Airlines rolls out MHrail in tie-up with AccesRail PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines has introduced MHrail, providing passengers seamless rail connections via a single booking. In line with this initiative, the airline expanded its partnership with AccesRail, the world’s leading provider of air-rail intermodal solutions. This collaboration allows customers to book onward train connectivity, unlocking the opportunity to explore neighbouring cities from Seoul and London when travelling with the airline. Malaysia Airlines customers can now book Korail KTX train tickets for routes to and from Incheon International Airport in South Korea. Additionally, customers can book train tickets between London Heathrow in the United Kingdom and destinations along the East Coast via the London North Eastern Railway and the West Coast with Avanti West Coast. This expansion complements the existing rail route offered through this partnership on the Great Western Railway. Tickets are available for purchase on Malaysia Airlines’ official website and all Global Distribution Systems travel agencies. Through this partnership, Malaysia Airlines customers can connect to and from their international flights onto rail routes operated by these railways and various railways, facilitated by AccesRail’s “9B” carrier code. Malaysia Aviation Group chief commercial officer of airlines Dersenish Aresandiran said, “With the introduction of our new MHrail product, we provide passengers with a seamless avenue to purchase both flight and train tickets, making it convenient for our guests to explore neighbouring cities and enjoy onward connections upon arrival in London or Seoul through a single itinerary and ticket.” AccesRail business development vice president Andrew Popescu said that AccesRail and Malaysia Airlines have worked together for many years with interline opportunities that have expanded the airline’s route network and they are excited to be deepening their Malaysia Airlines-AccesRail cooperation. Bank Negara’s international reserves at US$114.8b on Jan 31 KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves amounted to US$114.8 billion (RM547.5 billion) as at Jan 31, 2024. The central bank said the reserves position was sufficient to finance 5.4 months of imports of goods and services and was 1.0 time the total short-term external debt. “The reserves level has taken into account the quarterly foreign exchange revaluation changes,” it said in a statement yesterday. The main components of the reserves were foreign currency reserves which stood at US$102.2 billion, followed by International Monetary Fund reserves (US$1.4 billion), special drawing rights, or SDR (US$5.8 billion), gold (US$2.6 billion) and other assets (US$2.8 billion). Total assets stood at RM632.12 billion, comprising gold and foreign exchange and other reserves, including SDR (RM527.17 billion), Malaysian government papers (RM13.01 billion), deposits with financial institutions (RM1.23 billion), loans and advances (RM24.41 billion), land and buildings (RM4.13 billion) and others (RM62.18 billion). BNM said capital and liabilities comprised paid-up capital (RM100 million), reserves (RM187.03 billion), currency in circulation (RM166.71 billion), deposits by financial institutions (RM169.29 billion), federal government (RM5.08 billion) and others (RM38.99 billion), Bank Negara papers (RM31.68 billion), allocation of SDR (RM29.74 billion), and other liabilities (RM3.52 billion). – Bernama Malaysia, Indonesia to strengthen palm oil collaboration KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation and Commodities and the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) plan to strengthen collaboration between Malaysia and Indonesia to benefit the palm oil industry in both countries. Following a visit by a CPOPC delegation yesterday, Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the matters discussed included disseminating information to the world on the high standards in palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia. “Palm oil production is vital to Malaysia’s economy, and we are the second largest producer globally after Indonesia,” he said in a post on his official X account. Johari said the effort undertaken with the CPOPC is among the strategies to promote Malaysia’s palm oil industry and make the commodity the global vegetable oil of choice. “This is also to ensure the global community is aware of palm oil’s benefits,” he said. On Monday, Egyptian ambassador Ragai Tawfik Said Nasr visited Johari to discuss making Egypt a gateway to expand Malaysia’s palm oil exports to Africa through the Suez Canal Economic Zone. – Bernama sub-sector, which grew 2.7%. However, the wholesale trade subsector recorded a negative growth of -0.4%. Looking at the performance across sub-sectors, Mohd Uzir said the growth of 5% year-on-year in retail trade was contributed by sales in non-specialised stores, which grew 6.3% or RM1.4 billion to RM23.8 billion. Other groups in this sub-sector also recorded positive growth namely specialised stores (5.8%), household goods (5.9%), food, beverages and tobacco (9.9%), automotive fuel (2.4%), cultural and recreation goods (2.5%), sales in stalls and markets (6.6%), and sales not in stores, stalls or markets (1.1%). For month-on-month comparison, sales of the retail sub-sector rose 1.8%, supported by non-specialised stores (1.8%), specialised stores (3.2%), household goods (1.3%), and food, beverages and tobacco (1.9%). Mohd Uzir said in the wholesale trade sub-sector, the increase of 4.4% year-on-year in this month was supported by other specialised wholesale, which rose RM1.4 billion or 6.2% to RM23.9 billion. This was followed by household goods (5.3%), agricultural raw materials and live animals (5.4%), food, beverages and tobacco (1.4%), machinery, equipment and supplies (1.1%), non-specialised trade (2.1%), and wholesale on a fee or contract basis (0.4%). On a monthly basis, wholesale trade continued to record negative growth with -0.4%, mainly due to other specialised wholesale (- 1.2%), household goods (-1.7%), and non-specialised trade (-1.3%). Mohd Uzir said the year-onyear growth of 5.9% for the motor vehicles sub-sector in December was fuelled by sales of motor vehicles parts and accessories, which surged 10.9% or RM0.5 billion to RM4.7 billion. This was followed by sales of motor vehicles (4.4%), and maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (12.3%). For monthly comparison, the sub-sector expanded 2.7%, attributed to sales of motor vehicles (4.7%), motor vehicle parts and accessories (0.7%), and maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (0.9%). On a quarterly performance, the 5.8% increase in the fourth quarter last year for wholesale and retail trade was underpinned by the wholesale trade sub-sector, which rose RM9.8 billion or 5.4% to RM189.4 billion. This was followed by retail trade which elevated 4.5% or RM7.9 billion to record RM184.4 billion. The motor vehicle sub-sector grew with 12.3% or RM6 billion to reach RM55 billion in the quarter. As for quarterly comparison, the sector climbed 0.9%. Mohd Uzir said, “Wholesale and retail ended 2023 with a 7.7% increase, accumulating the total sales to RM1.7 trillion, spurred by retail trade which increased RM59.7 billion or 9% to settle at RM720.8 billion. This was followed by wholesale trade, which expanded with 5.2% to RM747.1 billion. The motor vehicles subsector recorded higher sales than in 2022, up 12.3% to RM205.7 billion.”

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 14 @thesundaily FOLLOW ON Malaysian Paper INSTAGRAM PETALING JAYA: Services sector revenue registered growth of 6.6% year-on year in the fourth quarter of 2023 to RM591.4 billion according to Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth of 6.6% was contributed by favourable performance in all segments of the services sector with significant increase recorded in wholesale & retail trade, food & beverages and accommodation segment which rose RM25.1 billion to reach RM450.9 billion. This was followed by information & communication and transportation & storage segment (+RM6.1 billion, 8.1%), professional, real estate and administrative & support service segment (+RM3.1 billion, 8.8%), and private health, private education, arts, entertainment & recreation and personal services and other activities segment (+RM2.3 billion, 12.3%). Looking at analysis by quarter-on-quarter comparison, total revenue for services sector posted an increase of 1.3% (+RM7.3 billion) as compared to the third quarter of 2023. The growth was also propelled by wholesale & retail trade, food & beverages, and accommodation segment, which grew 1% (+RM4.3 billion). This was followed by information & communication and transportation & storage segment (+RM1.3 billion, 1.6%), professional, real estate and administrative & support service segment (+RM1.1 billion, 3%), and private health, private education, arts, entertainment & recreation and personal services and other activities segment (+RM0.6 billion, 3.2%). Mohd Uzir disclosed that the total revenue of the services sector in 2023 was RM2.3 trillion, which is an increase of 8.4% as against the previous year (2022: RM2.1 trillion). This performance was spurred by the wholesale & retail trade, transportation & storage and information & communication sub-sectors which increased by 7.7% (+RM119.1 billion), 15.8% (+RM20.4 billion) and 5.3% (+RM8.6 billion), respectively compared to 2022. However, Mohd Uzir said there are subsectors that have not yet surpassed the prepandemic (2019) revenue value which were food & beverage (-1.4%), arts, entertainment & recreation (-24.4%), and personal services and other activities (-23.9%). This was due to the several activities related to the tourism industry still in the recovery phase after the opening of international borders starting April 1, 2022 and has not yet surpassed pre-pandemic levels. In terms of e-commerce income, he said, “It recorded RM291.9 billion, grew 1.7% yearon-year in the fourth quarter of 2023. For quarter-on-quarter comparison, income of ecommerce increased marginally by 0.8%. In 2023, the overall value of e-commerce income grew 4.9% as against last year to record a value of RM1.2 trillion.” Mohd Uzir added, “The number of persons engaged in this sector was 4.4 million persons, increased 79.3 thousand persons, or 1.8% year-on-year. The rise was driven by wholesale & retail trade sub-sector with an increase of 40.4 thousand persons, or 2.1%, followed by the transportation & storage sub-sector (+15.1 thousand persons; 4.2%). For quarter-onquarter, the number of persons engaged grew by 0.5%, which amounted to 23.4 thousand persons.” Carlsberg Malaysia reports RM333.2m net profit for FY23 PETALING JAYA: Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd reported a 6.3% decline in revenue to RM2.3 billion, while net profit registered a 5.1% increase to RM333.2 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY23). The decline in revenue was due to lower sales in Malaysia and Singapore as a result of the shorter sales period during Chinese New Year last year, and as consumers pulled back on discretionary spending. The higher earnings are the result of a lower tax charge due to the absence of Prosperity Tax 2022 of RM21.6 million in FY23, coupled with the recognition of deferred tax income of RM11.3 million relating to reinvestment allowance for the new bottling line installed last year. An increase in share of profit from Sri Lanka-based associate company, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, also contributed to the higher earnings. The group’s earnings per share for FY23 was 108.99 sen, an increase of 5.1%, versus 103.70 sen in FY22. For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (Q4’23), the group’s net profit grew 39.7% to RM84 million versus the corresponding quarter in 2022, while its revenue declined 5.3% to RM580.5 million. The increase in net profit for the quarter is due to the absence of Prosperity Tax of RM6.8 million, recognition of deferred tax income of RM11.3 million and the absence of one-off expenses of RM5.5 million incurred in Q4’22 pertaining to the disposal of the old bottling line, despite the higher marketing expenses for the quarter. The board of directors recommend a final dividend of 31 sen per share, subject to the shareholders’ approval. Upon approval, it will bring the total declared dividend for FY23 to 93 sen per share. This year, Carlsberg Malaysia has planned capital expenditure of RM92 million for a new canning line and filtration system which aims to deliver higher production automation, flexibility and capacity. This initiative will reduce energy and water consumption as aligned with the group’s “Together Towards Zero and Beyond” agenda. Services sector revenue rises to RM591.4b in Q4 oAll segments contributed to 6.6% year-on-year growth in final quarter of 2023 ‘Malaysian economy to remain healthy in 2024’ KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economy is expected to grow between 4% and 5% in 2024, boosted by domestic spending and foreign direct investment (FDI), according to Interpacific Asset Management. Its chief economist and fund manager Datuk Dr Nazri Khan said the relentless effort by the current government to bring in more foreign investment is an indication that global investors have increased their confidence in Malaysia, which bodes well for the domestic markets. He said the government remains committed to its economic reform efforts to attract highvalue investments through catalytic blueprints and initiatives under the Madani economic framework, the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030. “Among the sectors that will benefit from these strategies is the construction sector where the government has allocated RM72.3 billion for transportation, water and energy. “Meanwhile, the technology sector in Malaysia is also expected to expand further with the National Digital Economy Programme and Malaysia’s 5G deployment,” he told Bernama. On inflation, Nazri anticipates a slight rise in the cost of goods and products due to the subsidy rationalisation which could have some impact on inflation. “However, we are not expecting the inflation rate to move towards the August 2022 peak of around 4.5% to 4.7%. “With the inflation rate in Malaysia stable at 2.0% after coming through August 2022, we do not expect any changes to the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) for 2024,” he said. With a lower inflation rate position currently, Nazri said, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is expected to remain neutral in its monetary stance for 2024. He said the central bank would not remain static in its decision should the landscape change and he believes a wait-and-see strategy would be implemented before any decisions could be reached specifically on the OPR. “We are favouring the OPR to be maintained throughout 2024 as the central bank has kept a neutral stance on its policy in the last few monetary meetings. “This is an indication that BNM may be well positioned to let the OPR remain at 3%,” he said. B R I E F SLOCAL MANUFACTURING SECTOR TO SEE ROBUST RECOVERY IN H2’24: KENANGA IB KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s manufacturing sector is expected to see a robust recovery in the second half of 2024 (H2’24), and the manufacturing index is forecasted to expand 4.6% this year, said Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga IB). In a note, it said the manufacturing sector’s recovery will be driven by the technology upcycle in H2’24 and China’s gradual postpandemic recovery. The bank also expects Malaysia’s gross domestic product growth to expand further to 4.9% this year. – Bernama ITMAX GETS RM47.2M VARIATION ORDER FROM KL CITY HALL KUALA LUMPUR: ITMAX System Bhd, a company primarily involved in supply, installation and provision of public space networked systems, announced that it has been awarded a RM47.2 million variation order (VO) from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). ITMAX has been involved in the supply, installation and maintenance of networked lighting systems in Kuala Lumpur for DBKL since 2016. In addition to its responsibilities under the existing networked lighting systems contract with DBKL, ITMAX, under this VO, is required to upgrade the light-emitting diode street lights including replacing the defective and out-of warranty street lights.

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 15 Or download app on the AppStore or Google Play ENJOY A SEAMLESS READING EXPERIENCE. Read our iPaper at https://www.thesun.my/ MGB takes orders for precast elements for 400 villas in Jeddah PETALING JAYA: A construction and property development solutions provider and subsidiary of LBS Bina Group Bhd, MGB Bhd’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary MGB International For Industry (MGBI), has accepted two purchase orders from Sany Alameriah (SA) for about RM119.5 million in relation to a contract signed between SA and SALD Industrial Company for the supply and installation of precast elements. These elements include walls, staircases, beams, and hollow-core slabs for 400 villas in the ROSHN Alarous development located north of Jeddah. These orders are made under the joint venture agreement signed between MGBI and SA on July 27, 2023, wherein SA will secure a minimum order of 270,000m of precast concrete products within three years. MGBI expects to complete the orders within 14 months from the date it receives the approved shop drawing or advance payment whichever is later. MGB Group executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Hock San remarked that by firmly establishing themselves in Jeddah, they look forward to delivering quality workmanship and products to their clients and continue to seek opportunities to promote their expertise as a total construction solutions provider through the use of Value Driven Technology. Hong Leong AM distributes RM449m across 19 funds KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Asset Management Bhd (Hong Leong AM) has declared income distributions amounting to RM449 million for 19 funds, for the period commencing Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023. It said that while market volatility and uncertainty is expected to persist in 2024 due to various macro events across the world, Hong Leong AM will remain focused on applying appropriate strategies to continuously deliver potential growth and opportunities to its investors. In addition, as a recognition of the company’s investment team which has consistently achieved risk-adjusted performances relative to their peers, four of Hong Leong AM’s EPF-Members Investment Scheme (MIS) approved funds – Hong Leong Asia-Pacific Dividend Fund, Hong Leong Dividend Fund, Hong Leong Dana Makmur and Hong Leong Dana Maa’rof – have collectively received 20 Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards 2023 for both Malaysia and Global Islamic category. Toyota wraps up 2023 as No. 1 non-national automaker SHAH ALAM: UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd (UMWT) wrapped up 2023 maintaining its top position as the overall non-national automaker, showcasing continued market leadership for the third year in a row. As the first month of 2024 unfolded, the company achieved a total of 6,276 units, for both Toyota and Lexus. UMW Toyota Motor president Datuk Ravindran K said, “Our success is a reflection of our dedication to delivering high-quality vehicles and an unparalleled ownership journey. We appreciate the positive reception from the market and our customers, acknowledging our diverse model range and forward-thinking approaches. As we continue to set new benchmarks, our focus remains on providing meaningful and innovative mobility.” In 2023, Toyota continued its leadership as the top non-national automaker in 2023, selling its highest-ever total sales of 108,107 units (Toyota and Lexus), securing a substantial 32% overall non-national passenger vehicle market share (Toyota only). In the SUV segment, the brand sold 22,533 units with a notable 19.6% non-national market share. The brand’s leadership extended to the pickup segment, where Toyota emerged as the market leader with 27,447 registered units in 2023, translating to a 47.2% non-national market share. In the panel van segment, Toyota’s dominance was evident with 3,424 registrations in a market of 3,424 securing a commendable 100% non-national market share. The company also expanded its footprint with the inauguration of a new 3S outlet in Nibong Tebal, Penang in the first week of February. UMWT is poised to unveil its next groundbreaking initiative this month, in its Beyond Zero event, marking Toyota’s resolute commitment to the journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050. PTP sets shift volume record GELANG PATAH: Port of Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd (PTP), a joint venture between MMC Group and APM Terminals, secured another milestone when the terminal successfully set a new shift volume record with 13,725 quayside moves in a single 12- hour shift, breaking its own previous shift record of 13,700 moves set in 2023. The latest milestone also enabled the terminal to set a new 24-hour movement record of 27,290 quayside moves or 43,664 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit). Commenting on this achievement, PTP CEO Mark Hardiman said this latest milestone further underscores PTP’s position as the largest transshipment hub terminal in Malaysia. “PTP’s strategic approach to continuously enhance efficiency and optimise its footprint has served tremendously in keeping the terminal’s competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive global market. Our concerted efforts to grow are accompanied by significant emphasis on our port asset upgrades and infrastructure works aligned with our ESG agenda and digital strategy roadmap,” he added. He said this achievement is not possible without the outstanding dedication and PTP also achieves new feat with a 24-hour movement record of 27,290 quayside moves or 43,664 TEUs. oTerminal achieves new milestone by handling 13,725 quayside moves in 12 hours, surpassing last year’s 13,700 commitment from everyone to set up the right and sustainable business conditions to their day-to-day operations and focus in delivering best customer services to all stakeholders. Port of Tanjung Pelepas is Malaysia’s largest transshipment hub with the capacity to handle 13 million TEUs annually. The port delivers reliable, efficient and advanced services to major shipping lines and box operators, providing shippers in Malaysia and abroad extensive connectivity to the global market. PTP is currently ranked 15th among the world top container ports.

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 16 China consumer prices suffer quickest drop in 14 years “China needs to take actions quickly and aggressively to avoid the risk of deflationary expectation to be entrenched among consumers,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. January’s 0.8% drop in the consumer price index, announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, marked the fourth straight month of deflation and was much bigger than the 0.5% fall forecast in a survey by Bloomberg News. The reading was the worst since the second half of 2009, during the global financial crisis. And a 2.5% plunge in the producer price index – which measures the cost of goods leaving factories – signalled continued weakness. China slipped into deflation in July for the first time since 2021 and, apart from a brief rebound in August, have been in constant decline since. “The primary drag on inflation continued to be food prices, which fell by 5.9% year-on-year, the lowest level on record,” said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at bank ING. However, Song pointed to figures showing costs rising month-on-month. “While a far cry from the above-target inflation levels seen in many other economies, these numbers do not imply China is stuck in a deflationary spiral,” Song said in a note. “We see a high likelihood that January’s data could mark the low point for (year-on-year) inflation in the current cycle.” China’s sinking prices are in stark contrast with the rest of the world, where inflation remains a persistent bugbear, forcing central banks to ramp up interest rates. While deflation suggests goods were cheaper, it poses a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases, hoping for further reductions. A lack of demand can then force companies to cut production, freeze hiring or lay off workers, while potentially also having to discount existing stocks – dampening profitability even as costs remain the same. In reaction to the woes in the world’s number two economy, markets have been among the worst-performing globally in recent months. On Wednesday, the chairman of China’s securities regulator, Yi Huiman, was replaced after overseeing a sell-off that has wiped trillions off companies’ valuations. The losses have prompted pledges of support, with President Xi Jinping also becoming more involved, though observers say the moves would not solve the country’s deeper economic problems, which needed to be addressed to fully restore optimism. – AFP Pedestrians walking past a Softbank branch along a street in Tokyo. – AFPPIC o‘Bazooka’ stimulus plan needed to restore confidence, say analysts San Miguel-led group makes top offer in Philippine airport bid MANILA: A consortium led by Philippine conglomerate San Miguel Corp offered to give the national government 82% of airport revenues under its bid to operate and upgrade the country’s main international airport, the Transportation Ministry said. SMC SAP & Co Consortium is one of the three bidders still in the running to win a government contract to modernise the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after one of the investors, Asian Airport Consortium, was disqualified over technical issues. The offers of the two other bidders – India’s GMR Airports Consortium and Manila International Airport Consortium, composed of the country’s richest families, were way below SMC SAP & Co’s group at 33% and 26% respectively. The winning bidder will be announced on Feb 14, and the agreement, which covers a 15-year concession that is extendable by another 10 years, is expected to be signed next month. The ageing airport, the fifth largest in Southeast Asia, needs an upgrade to solve chronic flight delays and passenger congestion. Some travel service firms have ranked the airport as one of the worst for international business travellers and for passenger queuing times. NAIA handled a record 48 million passengers in 2019 despite its design capacity of only 32 million passengers. The upgraded airport aims to serve at least 60 million passengers annually from the current 35 million. Previous attempts to modernise the gateway were abandoned due to disputes between airport authorities, contractors and potential bidders. – Reuters SoftBank posts first profit in five quarters TOKYO: Japan’s SoftBank Group returned to profit for the first time in five quarters yesterday, as the Japanese tech investment firm was buoyed by an upturn in portfolio companies, sparking hope it was emerging from a period of retrenchment. Net profit totalled ¥985.5 billion (RM31 billion) in the three months to December, versus a ¥744.7 billion loss in the same period a year earlier. SoftBank shares jumped 11% yesterday to their highest level since September 2021, helped by an upbeat revenue forecast provided by chip design unit Arm overnight. Founded by chief executive Masayoshi Son, SoftBank and its Vision Fund investment arm have gone through a period of slashing investment activity and selling off assets. Stakes in high-growth startups were particularly hit under the higher interest rate environment that followed the coronavirus pandemic. While SoftBank’s results are often volatile, yesterday’s numbers could give investors some relief. SoftBank’s closely watched Vision Fund arm booked an investment profit of ¥600.73 billion. “There have been higher valuations in recent funding rounds for Vision Fund companies. It looks like the environment for tech startups is taking a positive turn,” said Rolf Bulk, an analyst at New Street Research. SoftBank has ramped up new investment activity, including ¥309 billion together with wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as US$1.45 billion in new Vision Fund investment. The Vision Fund unit was helped by higher valuation of such firms as ride hailing company Didi Global, TikTok owner ByteDance and robotics firm AutoStore Holdings, while its investment in office-share firm WeWork was written down to zero in the quarter. SoftBank also netted US$1.825 billion in gains on the T-Mobile US shares it received last year after conditions in its 2020 deal to sell US mobile carrier Sprint to T-Mobile were met. Alibaba boosts share buyback by US$25b BEIJING: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group will increase its share buyback programme by US$25 billion (RM119 billion), the company announced on Wednesday, as it published disappointing quarterly results. In the quarter ending March 31, Alibaba posted sales of 260.3 billion yuan (RM175 billion), up 5% year on year, the firm said in a statement – but below analysts’ forecasts. The leading tech company faces fierce competition from rivals such as JD.com, Pinduoduo and Douyin, China’s version of video app TikTok. Alibaba’s quarterly net profit (October to December) came to 14.4 billion yuan, a drop of 77% year on year, the statement said. “Our board of directors approved an increase of US$25 billion to our share repurchase programme, demonstrating our confidence in the outlook of our business and cash flow,” chief financial officer Toby Xu said in the statement. The buyback programme will run until the end of March 2027, the group said. The firm’s existing buyback programme was already one of the largest in China, amounting to around US$9.5 billion last year alone, according to Bloomberg. Wednesday’s unexpected announcement caused a stir in the markets, briefly sending Alibaba’s US-listed shares up by more than 5% in trading before the open. A pioneer in Chinese online shopping, the group is listed in New York and Hong Kong. Based in Hangzhou, Alibaba is a key player in China’s digital sector and is considered a barometer of consumer spending in the world’s second-largest economy. Alibaba’s disappointing sales figures revealed on Wednesday add to the uncertainty surrounding the group, which had a turbulent 2023, with a major restructuring programme facing setbacks. In November, it announced the cancellation of a planned spin-off of its cloud computing business due to US restrictions on computer chips. Citing national security concerns, the US has said it wants to limit Chinese companies’ access to cutting-edge technologies, notably by restricting exports of semiconductors to China. – AFP BEIJING: Chinese consumer prices fell in January at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, data showed yesterday, piling pressure on the government for more aggressive moves to revive the country’s battered economy. Officials have struggled for months to kickstart economic growth as they battle a range of headwinds, including a prolonged property-sector crisis, soaring youth unemployment and a global slowdown that is hammering demand for Chinese goods. Policymakers have in recent months announced a series of targeted measures as well as a major issuance of billions of dollars in sovereign bonds, aimed at boosting infrastructure spending and spurring consumption. But that, and recent announcements including central bank interest rate cuts and measures to boost lending, have had little impact so far. And analysts warn a “bazooka” stimulus plan is needed to restore confidence. The gains reflect an accounting time lag in assessing the fair value of the shares. Son is known for having made canny bets on emerging technology such as on mobile internet and today’s big names such as Alibaba, helping transform SoftBank into a tech investment powerhouse. – Reuters

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 17 WASHINGTON: Two US Federal Reserve officials indicated on Wednesday that the nation’s central bank is on track to tackle inflation, but that it is still too soon to begin lowering interest rates. Fed policymakers have said in recent months that they are making good progress in bringing inflation down towards its long-run target of 2%, and signalled in December that they expect to cut interest rates three times this year. That was because high interest rates have pushed the Fed’s favoured inflation gauge down from a high of more than 7% in 2022 to an annual rate of less than 2% over the last six months. At the same time, hiring and economic growth have remained robust, raising hopes of an end to high interest rates. But speaking at events in Washington on Wednesday, two voting members of the Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee indicated that the time had not yet arrived to do so. “We have a labour market that is at historic levels of strength,” Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin told an event in the city. “Job gains, unemployment, job openings, initial jobless claims, all of these metrics are very strong and inflation is coming down. “So I’m very supportive of being patient, you know, to get to where we need to get.” Speaking earlier the same day, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler also indicated she believed the US central bank should pause for a little longer before acting on interest rates. “At some point, the continued cooling of inflation and labour markets may make it appropriate to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate. “I am pleased by the progress on inflation, and optimistic it will continue, but I will be watching the economic data closely to verify the continuation of this progress.” Futures traders appear to have taken recent comments by Fed officials to heart, dialing back their expectations of a March rate cut over the last month, according to an AFP analysis of data from CME Group. They have assigned a probability of more than 65% that the US central bank will have begun lowering interest rates by the time of its following meeting in May. – AFP Meta challenges EU over content moderation law fees BRUSSELS: Facebook owner Meta announced on Wednesday it would challenge in court an EU demand for fees under a content moderation law. The European Commission last year put Meta’s Facebook and Instagram on a list of “very large” online platforms that face tougher rules under the new Digital Services Act (DSA). Companies on the list must pay fees to the commission, the EU’s executive arm, to bankroll enforcement of the DSA. Meta supported the DSA’s aims and had introduced measures to comply, “but we disagree with the methodology used to calculate these fees”, a company spokesman said. “Currently, companies that record a loss don’t have to pay, even if they have a large user base or represent a greater regulatory burden, which means some companies pay nothing, leaving others to pay a disproportionate amount of the total,” the spokesman said in a statement. The DSA law demands the platforms do more to clamp down on illegal and harmful content, including the dissemination of disinformation. It also requires them to do more to protect online consumers from fraud. It is part of the EU’s bolstered legal weaponry to rein in Big Tech, alongside another law that seeks to curb the dominance of the world’s biggest tech firms. The commission deems platforms that have at least 45 million active monthly users in the European Union – equivalent to 10% of the bloc’s total population – to be “very large”. The DSA law came into force last year for bigger companies but all firms must be compliant by Feb 17 this year. The fee is calculated “in proportion to the size of the service” and does not exceed “an overall ceiling (set at 0.05% of the annual worldwide net income) for each provider”, an European Commission spokesman said. – AFP Fed officials urge patience on rate cuts oPolicymakers watching economic data to verify inflation continues to go down Disney earnings beat forecasts as streaming losses narrow SAN FRANCISCO: Disney on Wednesday reported higher than expected profit in the final three months of last year as it strives to adapt to a shift from television to streaming. During the earnings announcement, Disney chief Robert Iger also revealed that the entertainment giant is acquiring a “small equity stake” in Fortnite-maker Epic Games, and will release a sequel to its high-grossing animated film Moana. Iger also boasted that Disney+ streaming service will be the exclusive online stage for Taylor Swift’s recent concert film starting on March 15. “Audiences are going to absolutely love the chance to relive the electrifying Taylor Swift Eras tour whenever they want,” Iger said of bringing it to Disney+. Disney is looking to tap into the passion for video games in general and Fortnite in particular with a US$1.5 billion (RM7.2 billion) stake in Epic, according to Iger. The plan is to integrate Disney storytelling into Fortnite, and expand the franchise into its theme parks and merchandise, Iger said on an earnings call. The entertainment giant reported a net income of US$2.15 billion on revenue of US$23.5 billion, about the same amount of money it brought in during the same quarter a year earlier. “Our strong performance this past quarter demonstrates we have turned the corner and entered a new era,” Iger said. He added that Disney is focused on “building streaming into a profitable growth business, reinvigorating our film studios, and turbocharging growth in our parks and experiences”. A day earlier, Disney-owned ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery said they reached agreement on a new streaming platform for live sports content. The platform would combine the sports offerings of the three networks in one product with content from the top US leagues and is planned to be launched later this year. The product is targeted at “cord-cutters” who prefer to subscribe to streaming services rather than traditional cable TV packages. Consumers would be able to bundle the sports product with existing broader streaming offerings from Disney+, Hulu and Max. “This initiative could bring in a major audience for Disney as it reaches households outside the pay TV ecosystem while its linear channels continue to see declining viewership,” said Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley. Disney has been under significant pressure ever since Iger left the company only to be brought out of semi-retirement more than a year ago when his successor underperformed. – AFP A visitor dressed as Minnie Mouse taking a selfie at Shanghai Disney Resort. – REUTERSPIC Uber posts first annual net profit since IPO SAN FRANCISCO: Ride-hailing giant Uber on Wednesday reported its first annual net profit since the company went public in 2019. Uber booked a net profit of US$1.9 billion (RM9 billion) last year, compared with a loss of US$9.1 billion in 2022, according to a statement. The earnings marked an important milestone for the company, after surviving its tumultuous early years of defying regulators and amassing losses under the stewardship of former CEO and cofounder Travis Kalanick. “Last year was an inflection point for Uber, proving that we can continue to generate strong, profitable growth at scale,” said current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Uber’s customer base was “larger and more engaged than ever, with our platform powering an average of nearly 26 million daily trips last year”, he added. Over the full year of 2023, Uber reported US$37.3 billion in sales, up 17% and beating Wall Street expectations, thanks in part to the growing popularity of its food delivery service. The company’s shares have doubled in value in the past year. – AFP The Uber headquarters in San Francisco. – AFPPIC

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 18 market extended its meteoric rise this week. On Tuesday, the London price of cocoa scaled an all-time pinnacle at £4,248 per tonne and New York hit a 46-year high point at US$5,288 per tonne. “It seems only a matter of time before the cocoa price in New York approaches the all-time high of US$5,379 per tonne set in 1977,” noted Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch. Prices last year topped previous peaks from 2011, when the market had been rocked by fears over the impact of post-election violence in Ivory Coast. Declining production has been a major catalyst for the price explosion over the past 12 months. An increasing number of farmers in West Africa have reported plant diseases after particularly heavy rains that favoured the spread of black pod disease, which blackens and rots pods. The plant needs a delicate balance of alternating sunshine and precipitation in order to flourish. Last July was a particularly rainy in Ivory Coast’s south, just as plants were flowering. As a result, Ivorian regulator the Coffee-Cocoa Council suspended the sale of export contracts. “It’s a very tough crop. We will reach perhaps 1,900 tonnes compared to almost 3,000 tonnes last year,” Sylla told AFP. “But there are cooperatives where it is worse, not even 200 or 300 tonnes.” Industry estimates suggest cocoa shipments at Ivory Coast ports tumbled by 35% between October and the end of January from a year earlier. Producers face fresh turmoil due to the resurgence of the El Nino climate phenomenon threatening western Africa. “This means that the cocoa market is also likely to face a supply deficit in the current 2023/24 crop year, the third in a row,” warned Fritsch. El Nino unleashes freak weather, causes drought in some areas and flooding in others, and is expected to last until April. “Traders are worried about another short production year and these feelings have been enhanced by El Nino that is threatening West Africa crops with hot and dry weather,” added analyst Jack Scoville at Price Futures Group. Climate change is already posing a major challenge for farmers. In Ghana, six regions grow the cocoa bean: the Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Volta and Western regions. However, due to dwindling soil fertility and fluctuating rainfall, production has shifted towards the west of the nation. Top global producer Ivory Coast and number two Ghana together accounted for almost 60% of the 2022/2023 worldwide harvest, according to estimates from the Abidjan-based International Cocoa Organisation. – AFP READ OUR HERE /thesun Malaysian Paper Egypt leader orders 50% hike in minimum wage CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered a 50% raise to the minimum wage on Wednesday, as prices soar two years into an economic crisis. “Based on the state’s duty to support the citizen under the current circumstances, I have directed the government to enact a package of social protection measures that include raising the minimum wage by 50%, to reach 6,000 pounds (RM925) a month,” he said in a statement. The move includes salary increases for public sector doctors, teachers and nurses, and will see the tax exemption ceiling raised by 33% for both public and private sector workers, his spokesman Ahmed Fahmy said. Ahmed said it was introduced to “lighten the cost of living burden on citizens” – buckling under the weight of an economic crisis that began in March 2022 and showed no signs of easing. A delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has agreed to a US$3 billion (RM14 billion) loan facility for Egypt, recently emphasised the “critical importance of strengthening social spending to protect vulnerable groups” and “ensure adequate living conditions for low and middle-income households”. But loan tranches and programme reviews have been repeatedly delayed until Cairo moves forward on economic reforms – including a “fully flexible exchange rate”, the IMF says. In one year, the Egyptian pound lost half its value against the US dollar in successive devaluations. But, according to analysts, the government has propped up the currency since early last year to stem runaway consumer prices. With a severe foreign currency crunch crippling trade, the cost of living in the import-dependent economy has nevertheless continued to rise. Inflation peaked at nearly 40% last August, and has since eased to 35% year-on-year, according to the latest official data. Experts, however, say inflation figures fail to reflect the actual rise in the cost of living. In stores across the country, consumers report prices rising by the day. – AFP EVs cannot advertise as ‘zero emissions’ in UK LONDON: Britain’s advertising regulator ruled on Wednesday that BMW and MG Motors could not claim that their electric vehicles (EVs) are “zero emissions” because of the environmental impact of their manufacturing and power generation. “We understood that when electric vehicles were driven no emissions were produced,” the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) wrote about a Google ad for BMW seen in August 2023. “However, in other circumstances, such as the manufacture or charging of an electric vehicle using electricity from the national grid, emissions were generated.” The German manufacturer said the “zero emission cars” label was inserted because of Google’s automatic keyword feature. “We welcomed BMW’s assurance that the claim would not be repeated in the future,” ASA said. A second decision followed an advert for Chinese-owned British carmaker MG Motor, also seen on Google last August, that claimed its models were “zero emissions”. “The ad made the claim ‘zero emissions’ without material information that was required to allow consumers to understand on what it was based,” ASA said, adding: “The ad must not appear again in its current form.” Colin Walker, head of transport at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, called the decisions “very strange” given the government’s efforts to promote electric cars. “It is accepted practice that cars of all fuel types are assessed by the CO2 they emit from their exhaust pipes. “It seems perverse that car manufacturers, in an effort to meet targets they have been set under this mandate for the number of zero emission vehicles that they have to sell, are being told that they can’t market those vehicles as zero emission.” – AFP Russian economy boosted by military orders MOSCOW: Russia’s economy grew 3.6% last year thanks to a boost in military spending because of the offensive in Ukraine although long-term economic challenges remain, official data showed on Wednesday. The government Rosstat statistics agency published the figures in a statement. In 2022, gross domestic product had contracted by 1.2% after the initial effects of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow after it sent troops into Ukraine. The 2023 result shows the economy has largely absorbed the effect of the sanctions, finding ways around them by changes in supply lines and trade partners and through government intervention. Economic activity was supported by favourable energy prices, easy credit conditions and strong domestic demand because of the defence sector, as well as rising salaries to attract workers in sectors experiencing labour shortfalls. And, despite a major increase in federal spending, public deficit has remained contained at 1.9% of gross domestic product, the Finance Ministry said. The auto sector – a symbol of Russia’s openness to foreign capital now dominated by Chinese manufacturers – and banking have recovered well from the exit of major European firms and heavy sanctions. Another boost for the Russian government has been its ability to reduce its budget dependency on oil and gas revenues. The sector represented around half of federal revenues in 2022. That proportion dropped to just one third last year. While Western powers are trying to come up with new sanctions to hamper the economy, particularly the arms industry, the process has been slowed down by divisions within the United States and the EU. Despite Russia’s relatively positive economic situation, the economy still faces many long-term challenges whose effect is difficult to gauge at this stage. The economy last year saw what observers have called a “cycle of overheating” due to the transition because of sanctions. The rise in domestic demand is largely the result of an increase in military orders rather than a particularly favourable context for the economy’s main sectors. More than half a million Russians have joined the defence industry since 2022, according to President Vladimir Putin, a number that shows the efforts required to sustain the campaign in Ukraine despite the human and economic toll. This dependency on military investment will increase even more this year, with the government planning a 70% increase in defence spending which will make up 30% of federal spending and 6% of GDP – a first for modern Russia. – AFP Cocoa prices smash records LONDON: Cocoa prices are smashing records almost daily in London and New York as bad weather destroys crops in Ghana and Ivory Coast, leading to a supply crunch. The two West African nations are the world’s biggest producers of the commodity that is mostly used to make chocolate. “In 20 years I have never seen a harvest like this,” lamented Siaka Sylla, president of a trade cooperative of 1,500 farmers in Divo, southern Ivory Coast. “The rain has spoiled our crops.” With those troubled harvests, demand is way outstripping supply. Cocoa prices have more than doubled since the start of 2023. The rocketing prices risk threatening demand, at a time when the world’s major economies are already grappling with elevated inflation. The cocoa Workers collecting dry cocoa beans in front of the store of a cooperative in the Ivory Coast village of Hermankono. – AFPPIC oSupply crunch after bad weather destroys crops in Ghana and Ivory Coast

BIZ & FINANCE BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 20 MARKETS/FROM THE BROKERS SUNBIZ presents extracts of a selection of commentaries and research reports received from stockbrokers on counters that could be of interest to investors. [ Compiled by SunBiz Team DISCLAIMER: The information is extracted from stockbrokers’ commentaries and research reports and do not represent the views or opinions of Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd. It is not a solicitation, recommendation or an offer to buy or sell the equities featured. Sun Media Corporation shalll not be liable or responsible for any consequences resulting from usage of the information. MALAYSIA’s eyewear market is expected to record an accelerating 5-year CAGR (2024-28F) of 6.6%, on the back of increased screen time leading to vision issues and a growing population with presbyopia due to an aging population. We believe this opportunity will be well captured by FPHB considering its market leading position with an extensive store network of 189 outlets as of Q3’23 and various store formats to cater to consumers of different income groups. We highlight this business has consistently shown steady growth and superior profitability (FY22 net margin of 15% vs peer average of 10%). Moving forward, the group is planning to open 20 outlets (inclusive of 10 franchised stores) in FY24F, which will support our forecasted 12% and 11% growth in segmental revenue and PBT. Venturing into the F&B business in 2012, management has accumulated valuable experience and expertise in managing both the F&B retail and central kitchen operations. As such, we look forward to more stable earnings. Plans for this segment include the expansion of the Komugi bakery outlets (3-4 outlets targeted for FY24F) and to secure more corporate customers to fill up the capacity of its central kitchen (current utilisation rate: 70%). On top of that, it is also looking to launch a frozen yogurt brand in view of the growing demand and lucrative profitability. We forecast FPHB to grow at a 5-year CAGR of 30% to RM40.2 million in FY25F – driven by the steady demand for optical and F&B products, outlet expansions, healthy SSSG, and market share gains. Initiating coverage with a BUY and DCF-derived RM1.02 TP, 48% upside and c.6% yield. CARLSBERG BREWERY’s FY23 results missed expectations on weaker-than-expected profit margin. Core net profit of RM319m (- 4% YoY) met 95% and 96% of our and Street’s estimates. The negative deviation could be attributed to higher-than-expected input costs and/or marketing spending. Post results, we trim FY24F-25F earnings by 3% and introduce FY26F earnings (+8% YoY). Correspondingly, our DDM-derived TP drops to RM22.20 (inclusive of a 6% ESG premium), which implies 20x FY24F P/E and represents a discount to peer Heineken Malaysia (HEIM MK, BUY, TP: RM30). This is justified by the latter’s market leadership in Malaysia and higher dividend payout ratio. YoY, FY23 revenue fell 6% to RM2.3 billion with Malaysia (-7%) and Singapore (-4%) due to normalisation of demand from a high base as well as soft consumer sentiment on the back of inflationary pressures. In addition, the timing of the Lunar New Year (2023: Jan 22 Jan vs 2024: Feb 10) was unfavourable to the company’s FY23, with the 2023 festive sales partially frontloaded in FY22. As a result, FY23 core PBT dipped 8% to RM419 million, with margin eroding by 0.4 ppt to 18.6%, which we believe is a function of higher input costs notwithstanding the full reflection of ASP adjustments. QoQ, Q4’23 revenue jumped 13% to RM581 million on positive year-end seasonality but Q4’23 core net profit fell 6% due to marketing expenses incurred ahead of the Lunar New Year. Maintain BUY with new RM22.20 TP from RM22.70, 14% upside and 5% yield. MNRB’s Q3’24 net profit of RM85 million (+47% YoY, +104% QoQ) took 9M FY24 net profit to RM196 million (+310% YoY) – above our previous full-year forecast of RM155 million. Positively, the reinsurance business benefited from lower claims, given the large flood claims in the previous year, while the general takaful business continued to see robust motor premium growth. That MNRB’s Q3’24 earnings were a strong beat may also be attributable to mainly to strong investment returns (+203% QoQ) – 9M FY24 investment return more than doubled YoY. The reinsurance business turned in a net profit of RM150 million for 9M FY24 versus RM29 million for 9M FY23. The muchimproved performance was due to lower claims, given than 9M FY23 results were impacted by the Great Malaysian Flood. The better results were also due to higher investment income. The general takaful business saw its revenue jump 33% YoY in 9M FY24 due to robust motor premiums and higher agency sales. Its net profit surged as a result of the higher revenue as well as better investment income and wakalah fees. The family takaful business saw its revenue decline YoY due to lower revenue from its bancatakaful and agency channels, but net profit held up due to higher investment income. Investment income continued to surprise positively, alongside lower claims. Our forecasts are raised by 56%/18%/20% respectively for FY24-FY26E (largely to factor in higher investment income assumptions) and we maintain our BUY call. Our Gordon Growth Model-derived TP is raised to RM1.70 from RM1.40 on rolling forward valuations to FY25 from CY24 (COE: 10.6%, ROE: 6.8%, LT growth: 3.5%). FOREIGN CURRENCY SELLING TT/OD BUYING TT BUYING OD 1 US Dollar 4.828 4.694 4.684 1 Australian Dollar 3.171 3.046 3.03 1 Brunei Dollar 3.597 3.493 3.485 1 Canadian Dollar 3.586 3.491 3.479 1 Euro 5.215 5.049 5.029 1 New Zealand Dollar 2.968 2.858 2.842 1 Singapore Dollar 3.597 3.493 3.485 1 Pound Sterling 6.111 5.919 5.899 1 Swiss Franc 5.517 5.39 5.375 100 Bangladesh Taka 4.486 4.194 3.994 100 Danish Kroner 71.69 65.99 65.79 100 New Taiwan Dollar N/A N/A N/A 100 Chinese Renminbi 67.62 64.77 N/A 100 Hongkong Dollar 62.46 59.36 59.16 100 Indian Rupee 5.92 5.56 5.36 100 Indonesian Rupiah 0.032 0.0289 0.0239 100 Japanese Yen 3.269 3.167 3.157 100 Norwegian Kroner 46.89 43.12 42.92 100 Pakistan Rupee 1.76 1.65 1.45 100 Philippines Peso 8.76 8.26 8.06 100 Saudi Arabian Riyal 130.29 123.69 123.49 100 South African Rand 26.53 23.96 23.76 100 Sri Lanka Rupee 1.59 1.46 1.26 100 Swedish Kroner 47.58 43.34 43.14 100 Thailand Baht 14.17 12.58 12.18 100 Arab Emirates Dirham 133.1 126.23 126.03 100 Qatar Riyal 134 127.21 127.01 Exchange Rates Source: Malayan Banking Bhd/Bernama Ringgit falls against dollar as US rate cut hopes fade KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit closed lower against the US dollar yesterday as the greenback stayed firm amid fading hopes of an early US rate cut as well as China’s disappointing economic data, dealers said. At 6pm, the ringgit fell to 4.7705/7745 against the US dollar from Wednesday’s closing rate of 4.7570/7645. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said China’s consumer price index (CPI) came in lower than expected at -0.8% year-on-year in January and this represents the fourth month in a row where the economies have been experiencing deflationary trend. SPI Asset Management managing director Stephen Innes said that on Wednesday Federal Reserve officials conveyed a unified message, underscoring a clear consensus of which March rate cuts are not on the agenda. The ringgit was traded mixed against a basket of major currencies. It improved vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.2068/2100 from 3.2159/2212 at Wednesday’s close, depreciated against the British pound to 6.0251/0302 from 6.0095/0190 previously and slipped versus the euro to 5.1445/1488 from 5.1233/1314. The local note was traded mostly lower versus other Asean currencies. The ringgit declined against the Singapore dollar to 3.5471/5506 versus 3.5415/5474 on Wednesday and was also lower against the Indonesian rupiah at 305.0/305.5 compared to 304.2/304.8 yesterday. It slipped versus the Philippine peso to 8.53/8.54 from 8.50/8.52 but was better versus the Thai baht to 13.3191/3362 from 13.3650/3917. Graphjet eyes Nasdaq debut with US$1.49b valuation KUALA LUMPUR: Graphjet Technology Sdn Bhd, a green graphite producer, is eyeing a Nasdaq debut with a US$1.49 billion (RM7.1 billion) pro-forma enterprise value following the greenlighting of its de-Spac transaction by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Graphjet said this development is a milestone in its journey towards becoming a publicly traded entity that not only signifies the company’s business growth but also its commitment to shaping a green supply chain ecosystem globally. A de-Spac is a process that enables a privately held operating company to become public by merging with an already-public shell company known as a special-purpose acquisition company (Spac). Following the merger’s completion, the operating company becomes public and can use the dissolved shell company’s capital. In a statement yesterday, its co-founder and CEO Aiden Lee Ping Wei, said the company’s success is rooted in continuous innovation, especially in green technology. “Our research efforts ensure we remain at the forefront of sustainable graphite production. We are not just producing green graphite but also at the forefront of developing advanced green battery anode materials. This move underscores our role in the global shift towards renewable energy solutions. “This is a prime example of how local resources can fuel global technological advancements. This listing is more than a corporate milestone; it is a message about Malaysia’s role in the sustainable technology narrative,” he said. Graphjet shared that the company actively participates in global efforts to establish sustainable supply chains in the battery and graphite industries. – Bernama MNRB Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM1.70 Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd Buy. Target price: RM22.20 Focus Point Holdings Bhd Buy. Target price: RM1.02 Source: RHB Research Source: RHB Research Feb 8, 2024: RM19.68 Source: Maybank Investment Bank Feb 8, 2024: RM0.71 Feb 8, 2024: RM1.62

LYFE LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 22 /thesuntelegram FOLLOW ON TELEGRAM Malaysian Paper prepared for a burst of flavours that will leave your tastebuds tingling with delight. Sambal prawns are a perfect choice for those seeking a vibrant and zesty addition to their festive spread. 0 Ingredients - 500g large prawns, peeled - 3 tablespoons of sambal paste - 2 tablespoons of tomato paste - 1 onion, thinly sliced - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste - 1 tablespoon brown sugar - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil - Fresh cilantro for garnish 0 Instructions 1. Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. 2. Add minced garlic and sliced onion, saute until softened. 3. Stir in sambal paste, tomato paste, tamarind paste and brown sugar. 4. Add prawns and cook until they are fully coated in the spicy sauce. 5. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot. Kam Heong prawns Kam heong prawns – a dish that encapsulates the aromatic and flavourful essence of Malaysian cuisine. The combination of curry leaves, dried shrimp and a medley of spices creates a symphony of taste that is both bold and irresistible. Kam heong prawns are a celebration of diverse flavours, making them an excellent addition to your CNY reunion dinner spread. 0 Ingredients - 500g large prawns, cleaned - 2 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked - 1/4 cup of curry leaves - 3 cloves garlic, minced - 1 red chilli, sliced - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of soy sauce - 1 tablespoon curry powder - 1 tablespoon of sugar - Vegetable oil for cooking 0 Instructions 1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok over mediumhigh heat. 2. Add minced garlic and dried shrimp, stir until fragrant. 3. Toss in curry leaves and sliced red chilli. 4. Add prawns and stir-fry until they turn pink. 5. Mix in oyster sauce, soy sauce, curry powder and sugar. 6. Continue cooking until the prawns are fully coated and the flavours meld together. 7. Serve hot, garnished with additional curry leaves. As you prepare for the grand CNY reunion dinner, these prawn recipes promise to add a touch of culinary brilliance to your festivities. May your reunion dinner be filled with joy, prosperity and the delightful taste of these prawn masterpieces. PRAWNS are a must have during Chinese New Year (CNY) feasts, especially the reunion dinners, as the item, when served whole with head and tail, is symbolic of the completeness of life. Another reason for its popularity during the festive period is that the Cantonese word for prawn sounds like laughter, thus associating prawn dishes with joy and happiness. Here we compiled a list of delectable prawn recipes for you to try this Chinese New Year. Butter prawns Indulge in the rich and creamy goodness of butter prawns, a dish that perfectly marries succulent prawns with a luscious buttery sauce. This recipe boasts a perfect blend of flavours – the sweetness of the prawns is complemented by the savoury notes of butter. With its velvety texture and delightful taste, butter prawns are sure to leave your guests craving more. Elevate your reunion dinner with this decadent creation, embodying the spirit of abundance and prosperity. 0 Ingredients - 500g large prawns - 1/2 cup butter - 3 cloves garlic, minced - 1 tablespoon of condensed milk - Salt and pepper to taste - Fresh cilantro for garnish 0 Instructions 1. Heat butter in a pan over medium heat. 2. Add minced garlic and saute until fragrant. 3. Add prawns and cook until they turn pink and opaque. 4. Pour in condensed milk, stirring to coat the prawns evenly. 5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 6. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot. Sweet and sour prawns Add a burst of vibrant flavours to your reunion dinner with sweet and sour prawns. This dish is a harmonious dance of sweet and tangy notes, perfectly encapsulating the essence of joy and positivity. The succulent prawns are bathed in a tantalising sauce that strikes a delightful balance, making it an ideal choice for celebrating the Chinese New Year. Share the sweetness of the season with your loved ones through this delectable creation. 0 Ingredients - 500g medium-sized prawns, cleaned - 1/2 cup of pineapple chunks - 1 bell pepper, diced - 1/4 cup of ketchup - 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar - 2 tablespoons brown sugar - 1 tablespoon of soy sauce - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil 0 Instructions 1. Heat vegetable oil in a wok over mediumhigh heat. 2. Add minced garlic and saute until golden brown. 3. Add prawns and cook until they start to turn pink. 4. Stir in pineapple chunks, bell pepper, ketchup, rice vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce. 5. Simmer until the sauce thickens and the prawns are fully cooked. 6. Serve hot and garnish with chopped green onions. Sambal prawns Spice up your CNY reunion dinner with the bold and fiery flavours of sambal prawns. This dish pays homage to the rich heritage of Southeast Asian cuisine, combining the heat of sambal with the sweetness of prawns. As you embark on this culinary adventure, be Prawn perfection oElevate your CNY reunion dinner with exquisite shellfish delights Butter prawns – PICS BY PINTEREST Sweet and sour prawns. Sambal prawns Kam heong prawns █ BY THASHINE SELVAKUMARAN

LYFE LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 23 Kueh bangkit This traditional cookie hails from Peranakan cuisine. Kueh bangkit is a delicate, coconutflavoured cookie that melts in your mouth. The intricate moulds used to shape these cookies often depict traditional symbols like phoenixes and dragons, emphasising the cultural richness of the Chinese New Year. Nian gao While not exactly a cookie, nian gao is a sticky rice cake that holds a significant place in Chinese New Year celebrations. Sliced and panfried until crispy, this treat symbolises the promise of growth, progress and the continual rise of fortune throughout the year. Love letters (kueh kapit) Love letters or kueh kapit are thin, crispy wafers often rolled into cylindrical shapes. These delightful cookies symbolise the exchange of well-wishes and affectionate messages during the festive season. Enjoy the layers of crispy goodness as you spread love and joy. Osmanthus flower jelly Elevate your Chinese New Year dessert spread with osmanthus flower jelly. These dainty, translucent delights are infused with the delicate fragrance of osmanthus flowers. A symbol of auspicious beginnings, these treats are both visually stunning and a delight to the senses. Sugee cookies Sugee cookies, enriched with semolina and almond flour, boast a rich and buttery flavour. These crumbly treats often come adorned with almond slivers, representing the promise of a bountiful harvest. Indulge in the decadence of Sugee cookies as you celebrate the abundance of the new year. Red date rolls Red date rolls are a nutritious delight filled with red dates, symbolising good health and happiness. The chewy texture and natural sweetness of red dates make these treats a wholesome addition to your Chinese New Year cookie collection. Walnut cookies Walnut cookies are a perfect blend of crumbly goodness and the nutty richness of walnuts. Shaped like tiny walnuts, these cookies are believed to bring success and happiness. Embrace the auspicious vibes as you savour the delightful crunch of these symbolic treats. Peanut cookies Embrace the earthy goodness of peanut cookies during your Chinese New Year celebrations. These crumbly delights, packed with finely ground peanuts, symbolise longevity and good health. The act of sharing peanut cookies with family and friends signifies hope for a long and fulfilling life. Lotus seed mooncake While mooncakes are traditionally associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, lotus seed mooncakes have found their way into Chinese New Year festivities. These mini mooncakes, filled with sweet lotus seed paste, represent family unity and harmony. Share these round treats as you gather with loved ones, fostering a sense of togetherness in the coming year. As you prepare to welcome the Year of the Dragon, let the aroma of these delectable Chinese New Year cookies fill your home with warmth and joy. These treats are sure to sweeten the festivities and create lasting memories with loved ones. May the coming year be filled with prosperity, good health and joy from sharing delicious moments together. Happy Chinese New Year. Tradition in every bite AS the Chinese New Year approaches, families across the globe gear up to usher in good fortune and prosperity. One essential aspect of this festive season is the delectable array of Chinese New Year cookies that grace our tables. From crispy delights to melt-in-your-mouth treats, these cookies hold a special place in the hearts and stomachs of celebrants. Many of them also have symbolic meanings to usher in good tidings for the new year. Here are some must-have cookies that will add sweetness to the festivities. Pineapple tarts Symbolising wealth and prosperity, pineapple tarts are a staple during Chinese New Year celebrations. These bite-sized pastries feature a crumbly exterior filled with luscious pineapple jam. The golden colour of the tart represents good luck and is an auspicious treat during the festivities. Almond cookies Almond cookies, with their delicate almond flavour and crumbly texture, have stood the test of time. Shaped like traditional Chinese coins, these cookies are believed to bring good luck and fortune. Share these treats with loved ones as you exchange wishes for a prosperous year ahead. Sesame seed balls Also known as jin dui, these deep-fried glutinous rice balls are coated in sesame seeds, creating a crispy outer layer with a chewy, sweet filling. Symbolising family unity, these golden orbs are a delightful addition to any Chinese New Year celebration. Pineapple tarts – PICS BY PINTEREST oThe symbolic significance of Chinese New Year cookies █ BY THASHINE SELVAKUMARAN Almond cookies Sesame seed balls Kueh bangkit Nian gao Love letters Osmanthus flower jelly Sugee cookies Red date rolls Walnut cookies Peanut cookies Lotus seed mooncake

SCAN ME powered by Contributing Editor Keshy Dhillon / [email protected] Editorial T: 03-7784 6688 F: 03-7785 2624/5 E: [email protected] Advertising T: 03-7784 8888 F: 03-7784 4424 E: [email protected] FRIDAY | FEB 9, 2024 A clear winner I NTRODUCED towards the end of 2023, the S70 was one of the most highly anticipated new Protons simply because it was the first Bsegment sedan the company has introduced in a few years. We shall debate whether it is a B or C-Segment model shortly, but every new Proton introduced in the past few years has been an SUV, and the S70 is a refreshing addition. The S70 can be viewed as the successor to previous Proton sedans such as the Inspira and the Preve, but it does not share any technical similarities. In fact, the S70 is based on the Geely Emgrand which is a left-hand drive model in markets such as in China and the Philippines. But it is not a simple rebadge, though the new Proton shares a number of commonalities with the Geely and is largely the same in terms of design except for a new grille and updated bumpers. Proton did localise the S70 and says that it has been “tuned for Malaysian roads”. According to a PowerPoint slide shared by Proton before a recent media drive, Proton spent 75,000 man-hours on testing the new car, 260,000 man-hours was also spent for R&D for Design Engineering. Proton’s engineers drove the car for a total of 1.2 million kilometres during road testing, and 453 new parts were developed to turn the Geely Emgrand into the Proton S70. So, no. It is definitely not a simple rebadge. The flagship variant, which is what we reviewed is officially known as the Flagship X and sits above three other variants. Prices for the S70 start at RM73,800 and goes up to RM94,800 for the top-of-the line variant. During the launch, Proton said the S70 is a CSegment model with B-Segment prices. Though we think that is far-fetched because the S70 is smaller than its C-Segment competitors, but the more for less marketing strategy is something Proton has used before and is in fact ingenious. The reality is, the Proton S70 is closer to the Honda City and the Toyota Vios than it is to the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla Altis. Even so, it has the competition beat in almost everything, pricing in particular. The Honda City ranges in prices from RM84,900 to RM99,900. There’s also the most expensive City which is the hybrid variant that costs RM111,900, but because there’s no S70 hybrid, we shall leave that out of this. Then there is the Toyota Vios which ranges in price from RM89,600 to RM95,500. So the Proton S70 is definitely the most obvious choice. But the S70 is not only cheaper, but it also has an interior that is hugely impressive as well. The minimalist interior is similar to that of the Proton X50 and offers clean lines without the clutter of buttons and dials to distract you. It is also remarkably well built. Short of getting it stuck in mud and the beach, we drove it over all types of roads, and there was nothing that buzzed or rattled. A few makers have tried the minimalist design approach and failed because the important buttons such as the air-conditioning controls and even audio controls are located deep inside in the infotainment system, which can be distracting. But the S70 has physical buttons for the airconditioning, while audio controls are located on the steering wheel. We would have preferred physical buttons for the audio as well so that the passenger can get to it easily, but we can live with Proton took some time to introduce a B-Segment sedan, but it delivered a winner █ BY KESHY DHILLON The 1.5-litre, turbocharged engine makes 150PS and 226Nm of torque and can be frugal depending on how you drive. The interior of the S70 is minimalist and well built.