ceo morning brief - 20210716

MoF: TABUNG HAJI TO UNDERGO OPERATIONAL REVAMP, TO BE MADE
PRESCRIBED FINANCIAL INSTITUTION UNDER BNM PURVIEW p6

F R I DAY, J U LY 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 218/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Berjaya Corp plans to privatise BLand, sell BToto and set up hospitality REIT, says Jalil p5
Ekovest deal to buy into IWH-CREC lapses after Bandar Malaysia deal fell through p7
Govt to launch National Energy Policy ‘soon’, says Mustapa p8
WORLD: Asia’s air travel may take three years to recover from Covid-19 pandemic p23

Daily Covid-19 cases could fall to 1,000 in October
with 150,000 second doses per day, says Health DG

Report on Page 3.

BERNAMA

World Bank: Benefits to
global growth ‘in the trillions’

if advanced economies
release extra vaccines

Report on Page 4.

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Covid-19: Vaccine tracker
Malaysia’s daily
cases hit new high Individuals who received the rst dose only Fully inoculated with second dose
of 13,215; 96%
show mild to no (mil) 4,641,026
4,003,266
symptoms 12.6475
Total
BY SULHI KHALID & SYAFIQAH SALIM 4 administered: million doses
theedgemarkets.com
Population given at least
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15) : Malaysia 3 one dose of vaccine: 26.41% (8.644 million individuals)
reported 13,215 Covid-19 infections on 2 Population fully inoculated: 12.23% (4.003 million individuals)
Thursday, a new record high daily figure,
up 1,597 from the 11,618 it recorded on 1 53,287 May 15 June 15 July 14
Wednesday. 0 792
2021
Selangor, the biggest new-case contrib- March 2 March 18
utor, saw daily cases breaching 6,000 for Target:
the first time with 6,120 infections, fol- Registration: 18.293 million people 26.18 million
lowed by Negeri Sembilan at 1,603 and (to be vaccinated)
Kuala Lumpur at 1,499. To date, total
cases in Selangor accounted for 35% or Individuals with at least one dose: 8.644 million
307,094 of 880,782 cumulative infections
found. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

The new cases were detected from the Source: Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF)
screening of 134,569 patients across the
country in the last 24 hours — the highest coronavirus were also reported, raising Malaysia’s Covid-19 infection
daily testing done so far — as the coun- the Covid-19 death toll to 6,613. curve rising again amid
try continues to ramp up health screen- ramped-up testing in Klang Valley
ing and close contact tracing in areas un- 60.9% of new cases under Category 1,
der enhanced movement control order or 35.1% under Category 2 15000 Daily new cases 13,215
EMCO. According to the ministry, 96% of the 12000 7-day moving average 10,303
13,215 cases are those who exhibit little
“Selangor conducted 50,891 tests, to no symptoms. That comprises 60.9% 9000
followed by Kuala Lumpur (15,693) and or 8,047 patients under Category 1 who
Negeri Sembilan (9,792),” Health direc- have no symptoms, and 31.1% or 4,637 6000
tor-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Ab- patients under Category 2, which are con-
dullah told a virtual media briefing today. sidered patients with mild symptoms as 3000
they don’t have lung infections.
The new infections pushed the number 0 July 15,
of active cases – which carry high trans- The remaining 531 cases are under Cat- Sept 1, Jan 1, 2021
mission risks – to a new high of 108,369 egory 3, 4 and 5, Dr Noor Hisham said. 2020 2021
from 101,359 previously, while new recov- Category 3 is for symptomatic patients
eries continue to come in below new infec- with lung infection, while Category 4 is Wednesday (July 14). Of these, 279,938
tions at 6,095.Total recoveries now stand for those needing oxygen supplementa- went to first-dose recipients while 154,890
at 765,800 or 86.9% of total infections. tion; Category 5 is for critical patients with individuals were given their second dose.
multiple organ complications. Cumulatively, 12.65 million Covid-19 vac-
Another 110 fatalities linked to the cine doses have been delivered nationwide.
Vaccination rate climbs to new high of
434,828 doses on July 14 CONTINUES ON PAGE 3
Malaysia’s daily vaccination rate climbed
to a new record high of 434,828 doses on

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Malaysia’s Daily Covid-19 to be infected with the variant.
daily Covid-19 cases are projected to fall cases could fall to “In the past, we learnt that a person
below 1,000 by October, if the country 1,000 in October
could administer 150,000 second doses with 150,000 second can get infected from another individual
per day, said Health director-general Tan through close contact of less than one me-
Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. doses per day, tre over a duration of 15 minutes.
says Health DG
Speaking at a media briefing today, Dr “Now, however, we are informed that
Noor Hisham reiterated the importance BY SULHI KHALID the Delta variant can infect someone in
of vaccination in curbing the spread of the theedgemarkets.com just 15 seconds, and the virus is airborne,”
virus and shared that currently 3.10 million he said, stressing that Malaysia is not the
people in the Klang Valley have received ’Delta variant can infect someone in only country facing the Delta variant.
at least one dose of the vaccine. just 15 seconds’
On the Delta variant, Dr Noor Hisham Meanwhile, the Health Ministry’s Klang
“A total of five million Covid-19 doses said it takes just 15 seconds for a person Valley Task Force chief Dr Chong Chee
will be given in the KlangValley areas and Kheong said virtual Covid-19 assessment
we expect all adult population in Klang centres (CACs) will be set up to manage
Valley to receive at least one dose by Aug 1. asymptomatic patients.

“When we ramp up vaccination, Cov- He said the virtual CACs will cater to
id-19 cases and hospital admission will be Category 1 and 2 patients.
reduced,” he said.
“Monitoring will be done virtually,
According to the Covid-19Vaccine Supply without having to be present at a CAC.
Access Guarantee Special Committee (JK- A digital home surveillance order (HSO)
JAV), 12.65 million Covid-19 vaccine doses will be issued through the MySejahtera
have been delivered nationwide as of July app,” he said.
14, comprising 8.64 million first doses and
slightly more than 4 million second doses. He said that although those under
HSO would not be given any wristbands,
In terms of percentage, 12.3% of the the infected person still needs to stay at
country’s 32.72 million population have home.
received both doses, while 26.5% have re- Read also: Govt mulls giving leeway to
ceived their first dose. those who are fully vaccinated, says PM
Muhyiddin Click here
Since July 1, a total of 1.78 million second
doses have been administered nationwide.

FROM PAGE 2 Malaysia to stop “For those who have yet to be vaccinat-
using Sinovac ed, they will receive the Pfizer vaccine.”
As at July 14, four million individuals or
12.23% of the country’s population have vaccine after supply The Government had previously said it
completed their two-dose regimen, while ends — Minister had secured 12 million Sinovac doses, as part
4.641 million have received their first jab. of a deal which would see State-linked firm
R0 rises to 1.19 BY ROZANNA LATIFF Pharmaniaga carrying out a fill-and-finish
The coronavirus’ basic reproduction Reuters process on the vaccine for local distribution.
number (R-naught or R0) in Malaysia
rose to 1.19 on July 14 from 1.16 the KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Malaysia’s The announcement to stop using Sino-
day before, with Terengganu having the Health Ministry onThursday said the coun- vac’s inactivated virus vaccine comes amid
highest R0 at 1.40, followed by Putrajaya try will stop administering the Covid-19 vac- increasing concern over its efficacy against
at 1.31, Kedah (1.19), Selangor (1.18), cine produced by China’s Sinovac once its new and more contagious variants of the
and Kuala Lumpur (1.17). supplies end, as it has a sufficient number of coronavirus.
other vaccines for its programme.
The R0 or Rt projects the average Neighbouring Thailand this week said
number of people that each new Cov- Malaysia’s inoculation drive will be it would use the AstraZeneca vaccine as
id-19 patient will infect, or what is largely anchored by the Pfizer-BioNTech a second dose for those who received the
termed the effective reproduction num- mRNA vaccine moving forward, Health Sinovac shot, while Indonesia is consider-
ber. An R0 of less than 1.0 means the Minister Adham Baba told a news con- ing a booster shot for those who received
infection is not spreading. ference with other top Ministry officials. the two-dose Sinovac course.

Read also: The Southeast Asian country has secured Other vaccines approved in Malaysia
12% of Selangor population about 45 million doses of the Pfizer-BioN- include those of AstraZeneca, China’s Can-
completed two-dose Covid-19 Tech vaccine, enough to cover 70% of the Sino Biologic and the Janssen vaccine of
vaccination, says MB Click here population, compared with 16 million doses Johnson & Johnson.
of Sinovac’s shot, the officials said.
Walk-ins allowed for yet-to-be Malaysia also plans on Friday to an-
vaccinated senior citizens in Kuala “About half of the 16 million have al- nounce its decision on whether to add the
Lumpur and Selangor Click here ready been distributed, so the rest will be vaccine of China’s Sinopharm, officials said.
used to cover second doses,” Adham said.
With 880,782 cases and 6,613 deaths
so far, Malaysia has one of Southeast
Asia’s highest per-capita infection rates,
but also one of its highest inoculation
rates, with about 26% of its 32 million
population receiving at least one dose of
a Covid-19 vaccine.

friday july 16, 2021 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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World Bank: Benefits to global
growth ‘in the trillions’ if advanced
economies release extra vaccines

by Cindy Yeap world bank
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Global The current supply World Bank
growth could add “several percentage shortages and president
points” and see benefits “in the trillions”
if advanced economies release their ex- logistical constraints David Malpass
tra vaccines to help developing countries mean that many
whose reopening has stalled due to lack countries in the 2020, the World Bank estimated that
of vaccines,World Bank president David region may not more than 40% of the world population
Malpass said. or almost 3.3 million people lived below
fully vaccinate their the US$5.50 line even though less than
Speaking to journalists in a special population until one-tenth of the world’s 7.9 billion people
online question and answer session on 2024 even as new lived on less than US$1.90 a day.
Thursday, Malpass said the World Bank variants emerge.
“strongly encourages advanced econo- In a special address in conjunction
mies to release their vaccine options in of uncertainty”, according to notes ap- with the release of the World Bank’s eco-
order to accelerate vaccinations in devel- pended in the World Bank’s June 2021 nomic monitor for Malaysian on June
oping countries”. edition of the Global Economic Pros- 23, coordinating minister for the coun-
pects report. try’s Covid-19 Immunisation Programme
“We call for the G20 to share doses, Khairy Jamaluddin slammed the World
provide financing to close the residual World Bank regional vice president for Health Organization-backed Covid-19
gaps and remove all barriers to export and East Asia and the Pacific Victoria Kwak- Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) pro-
import to finished vaccines.The current wa, who was also present at the briefing, gramme an “abysmal failure”, adding that
supply shortages and logistical constraints however, added that regional engagement the World Bank “owes it to developing
mean that many countries in the region being done by the Association of South- countries to be a strong voice for vaccine
may not fully vaccinate their population east Asian Nations (ASEAN) could help equity on the global stage [and has] to
until 2024 even as new variants emerge,” alleviate the turmoil in Myanmar that remind rich advanced countries that what
Malpass said in his opening remarks, add- stemmed from a military coup on Feb 1. has taken place has fallen short of respect-
ing that the World Bank has committed See also Covid-19 related news on Page 22 able and responsible global leadership”.
US$1.1 billion financing for vaccines to
countries in East Asia and the Pacific like Apart from Myanmar, other East Asia According to data on the GAVI Alli-
Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua and Pacific countries that also saw their ance’s (formerly Global Alliance for Vac-
New Guinea and the Philippines and is 2021 GDP forecasts trimmed by the cines and Immunisation) website at the
“eager to commit more”. World Bank include Thailand, Malay- time of writing, COVAX had delivered
sia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Vanuatu, 118 million vaccine doses to 135 par-
Already, 2021 gross domestic product Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Kiribati and the ticipants — only 6% of the two billion it
(GDP) growth in the East Asia (excluding Solomon Islands. targeted to distribute by end-2021.
China) region may be even slower than the
World Bank’s already twice-trimmed fore- On the vastly uneven recovery from
cast of 4% in June (4.4% in March, 4.9% Covid-19, Malpass said the World Bank
in January 2021 and 7.5% in June 2020), now expects Covid-19 to push 29 million
owing to a resurgence in Covid-19 cas- more people to live on less than US$5.50
es amid slower than expected vaccination a day by the end of 2021. In October
in several countries in the region as well
as ongoing political conflict in Myanmar.

Including China — which the World
Bank expects to grow 8.5% in 2021 (up
from 7.9% in January) — the region is
expected to expand by 7.7% this year,
faster than a 7.4% projection made in
January.

The World Bank’s 2021 GDP forecast
for Myanmar, which was trimmed to a
10% contraction in June from a growth
of 2% in January, for instance, could be
further trimmed, Malpass said in reply
to questions on Myanmar.

Forecasts beyond 2021 for Myanmar
had been withdrawn “due to high degree

friday july 16, 2021 5 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Berjaya Corp plans to privatise
BLand, sell BToto and set up
hospitality REIT, says Jalil

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Berjaya by Tan Siew Mung He said BCorp plans to fully exit the
Corp Bhd (BCorp) plans to privatise sub- theedgemarkets.com China hospitality market by end-2021.
sidiary Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) and sell
Berjaya SportsToto Bhd (BToto) under the The idea is that over a “The idea is that over a longer term, I
diversified group’s strategic transformation longer term, I (BCorp) (BCorp) would love to have a hospitality
plan, which includes a proposed hospitality REIT, which owns, just five-star hotels, not
real estate investment trust (REIT). would love to have a operated by us, but owned by us,” he said.
hospitality REIT, which
BCorp group chief executive officer owns, just five-star hotels, Abdul Jalil also fielded questions on mo-
(CEO) Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed said to- not operated by us, but bile telecommunication network provider
day BCorp has not set a timeline to priva- owned by us,” he said. U Mobile Sdn Bhd whereTan is chairman.
tise BLand but he hopes BCorp will “do
it sooner rather than later”. systems besides property investment and Abdul Jalil said U Mobile’s listing may
development. take place in the first quarter or middle of
“There is an element of funding. It will next year (2022).
cost money to take the stock (BLand) off According to BToto’s filing with Bursa
the market. Malaysia on June 3, 2021, BCorp owned As BCorp is not a major shareholder
direct and indirect stakes of 2.524% and of U Mobile, he said the timing of U Mo-
“Whether that money is best spent tak- 46.048% respectively in BToto as at May bile’s listing is not something that BCorp
ing the stock off the market or spending 31, 2021. can decide.
it elsewhere, that’s the difficult decision I
have to make,” Abdul Jalil said at a virtual BLand’s Bursa filing on June 22, 2021 Abdul Jalil is spearheading BCorp’s
event organised by MIDF Amanah Invest- indicated that BCorp held direct and in- transformation into a high-performing
ment Bank Bhd today. direct stakes of 7.611% and 71.018% in organisation under the 2021-2024 stra-
BLand respectively as at June 18, 2021. tegic plan for the group.
As BLand owns a lot of companies,
Abdul Jalil said BCorp sees the need to Meanwhile, BCorp plans to set up a On June 15, 2021, BCorp said in a
rationalise BLand, and the best way is to hospitality REIT which focuses on five-star press release which was attached to its
privatise BLand. hotels in developed countries including Ja- Bursa filing that BCorp’s strategic plan
pan as the group plans its exit from other will transform the conglomerate into a con-
Abdul Jalil said BCorp plans to sell hospitality markets where BCorp sumer group with focused core business
BToto as the number forecast operator is is no longer competitive. segments, each led by respective sector
in a highly regulated business. heads with oversight from the group CEO.
Abdul Jalil said BCorp is
According to him, BCorp’s preference slowly exiting hospitality mar- BCorp said the group’s five business
is to focus on businesses that are not high- kets in China and Vietnam segments will be reorganised under the
ly regulated. and that the group has put retail, food and beverage, property, hos-
its resorts and hotels in Sri pitality and services segments.
He said BCorp has not, however, put Lanka, Vietnam and the
a timeline on the planned sale of BToto Philippines up for sale as Notable elements of BCorp’s strate-
and that BCorp will sell BToto when the BCorp is no longer com- gic plan include asset divestments
price is right. petitive in these markets. worth RM2 billion over two
years and RM5 billion over
“I’m not too much in a rush (of selling Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed five years, reduction of
BToto), because it gives good dividends,” BCorp’s debt level from
he said. RM5 billion to RM2.5
billion over three years
He said BCorp may expedite its BToto and dividend policy for all
disposal plan when BCorp gets dividends operating companies, ac-
from other businesses. cording to BCorp.
At 5pm today, BCorp’s
BCorp’s website indicates that the group, share price closed up 1.5
which was founded byTan SriVincentTan sen or 5.77% at 27.5 sen,
CheeYioun, is a diversified entity with busi- which values the group at about
nesses including food and beverage, prop- RM1.48 billion.
erty investment and development, besides
lottery, hotel and car dealership operations. Sam Fong/The Edge filepix

BCorp said its subsidiaries comprise
BLand, BToto, Berjaya Food Bhd and
REDtone Digital Bhd.

According to BCorp, BLand’s core
businesses include property investment
and development besides lottery and ho-
tel operations while BToto’s principal ac-
tivities includeToto betting operations,
manufacturing and distribution of
computerised lottery and voting

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The Cab- MoF:Tabung under the Commissions of Enquiry Act
inet has agreed to undertake a revamp of Haji to undergo 1950 (Act 119) to investigateTabung Haji
Lembaga Tabung Haji (Tabung Haji) to issues.
improve its operations and management, operational
the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said today. revamp, to be MoF said today the RCI is to review
made prescribed Tabung Haji’s audit findings by consultants
This will include a new operating mod- from 2014 to 2018, as well as the recovery
el for the pilgrim fund, which will be re- financial measures undertaken by the pilgrim fund
viewed jointly by the Prime Minister’s De- institution under up until 2020 — based on the findings of
partment, MoF, Bank Negara Malaysia the consultants.
(BNM) andTabung Haji, the ministry said BNM purview
in a statement. “However, as decided by the Cabinet
BY ADAM AZIZ on July 14, 2021, this commission’s scope
Putrajaya also plans to list the institu- theedgemarkets.com will not include the continuing revamp
tion as a prescribed Islamic financial insti- and restructuring efforts that are being
tution under the purview of BNM under undertaken to improve the governance in
Section 223 of the Islamic Finance Ser- Tabung Haji,” the ministry said.
vices Act 2013, and will review theTabung
Haji Act 1995 for that. Tabung Haji has been subject to re-
structuring efforts since 2018, after the
“The aspect of governance, integrity Pakatan Harapan administration found
and reputation of Tabung Haji as an Is- the fund had more liabilities than assets
lamic finance savings institution is crucial amid high exposure to the equity market
to improve the stability of Tabung Haji’s and several business deals that went south.
financial position, to secure and protect
the rights of Malaysian depositors and hajj Between 2014 and 2017, Tabung Ha-
pilgrims. ji’s assets grew at an average of 8.7% each
year to RM70.4 billion from RM54.7 bil-
“As stated in theTabung Haji Act 1995, lion. According to consultants’ findings in
depositors’ savings remain safe and secured 2018, however, its net asset dropped to
by the government,” the statement said. RM64.6 billion — below its total liabilities
of RM75.5 billion then. This resulted in
The decisions were reached during the the restructuring in order to allow the fund
Cabinet’s meeting onWednesday (July 14). to continue paying hibah (dividend) to de-
positors, as the Tabung Haji Act requires
On Wednesday evening, deputy prime the fund to have assets above liabilities
minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob before any payout can be done.
announced that the government would set
up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI)

Malaysia Airlines
launches tender

for sale for
A380-800 jets

BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Malaysia ment is convinced that the 380 doesn’t Under its debt restructuring process,
Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) — via its fit the future plan,” Reuters quoted him MAG was reported to have said it se-
wholly-owned unit MAB Pesawat Sdn as saying. cured savings in liabilities worth RM15
Bhd — has launched a tender for the sale billion, and conserved RM4.2 billion
of its six Airbus A380-800 superjumbos. MAG is restrategising its business to through network cuts and cost-saving.
position itself as a global travel group
According to the tender notice sight- and expanding beyond the airline busi- The group will invest the bulk of a
ed by The Edge, interested parties have ness, Izham had told a press briefing. capital injection of RM3.6 billion from
until Aug 12 to send their proposals. its largest shareholder Khazanah Na-
Izham had also announced that MAG sional into the airline’s growth, includ-
In May, MAG chief executive officer would take delivery of its Boeing 737 ing its digital business, maintenance,
Captain Izham Ismail announced that MAX jet orders from 2024, over a course repair, overhaul and aircraft deliveries,
the national carrier will be retiring the of three to four years. Izham said.
A380s, following completion of its debt
restructuring. The group was originally scheduled The chief executive had also projected
to take delivery of the jets last July, but capacity at about 63% of pre-crisis level
“We are cognizant of the challenges to following worldwide grounding of the for Malaysia Airlines by the end of this
sell this aeroplane, but we are still look- 737 MAX after two crashes, several air- year, with the group hoping to break even
ing at ways and means to dispose of our lines and lessors cancelled their orders and become cash flow-positive by 2023.
380 fleet. At the moment, the manage- for the jet.

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Ekovest Ekovest deal Resources Sdn Bhd holds 63.13% in IWH.
Bhd said today it will not proceed with its to buy into Aside from the Bandar Malaysia project,
heads of agreement (HOA) with Iskan- IWH-CREC
dar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) lapses after Ekovest also last month called off plans
to buy into the Bandar Malaysia project, Bandar Malaysia to purchase 96.27 acres of land in Pulai,
following the lapse of Putrajaya’s RM7.4 deal fell through Johor from IWH for RM944.62 million,
billion sale of 60% in the project to a joint citing rising Covid-19 cases and the na-
venture of IWH. BY ADAM AZIZ tionwide lockdown.
theedgemarkets.com
On Wednesday, it was announced that It was the second time the two par-
IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd’s proposed acquisi- ties called off the Iskandar Malaysia land
tion of 60% in Bandar Malaysia from the sale.The first time, the agreement lapsed
Ministry of Finance’sTRX City Sdn Bhd after the parties failed to agree on the
(TRXC) for RM7.4 billion lapsed in May pricing, which was initially agreed at
as the parties involved did not meet the RM1.05 billion.
conditions precedent for the deal.
Shares of Ekovest settled unchanged at
IWH-CREC is a 50:50 joint venture 39.5 sen on Thursday, valuing the group
between IWH and China Railway Engi- at RM1.06 billion.
neering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, another counter linked to
“The company wishes to announce that tycoon Lim, IskandarWaterfront City Bhd’s
it has been notified by IWH on July 15, shares also closed unchanged at 37.5 sen,
2021 that the restated and amended share to value the group at RM340.88 million.
sale agreement executed between TRXC
and IWH-CREC had lapsed,” said Ekovest
in its filing today.

“Consequence on the above, the com-
pany and IWH will no longer proceed with
the HOA dated Dec 8, 2020 as it is now
deemed null and void,” it said.

The HOA entailed Ekovest taking up
40% in a special-purpose vehicle which
would in turn control 50% in IWH-
CREC. At the time, Ekovest said its total
investment commitment for the proposed
participation and investment in the Ban-
dar Malaysia project was approximately
RM1.48 billion.

IWH and Ekovest share Tan Sri Lim
Kang Hoo as common shareholder. The
businessman controls 30.8% in Ekovest,
while Lim’s investment vehicle Credence

MARAN (July 15): The local authorities Local authorities Zuraida said this at a press confer-
(PBTs) have the power to close down fac- have the power ence after attending the Community
tories that violate the Covid-19 standard to close factories Vaccine Mobilisation (MOVAK) out-
operating procedures (SOPs), said Hous- reach programme in Kampung Sereng-
ing and Local Government (KPKT) Min- — Zuraida kam and Kampung Orang Asli Merbau,
ister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin. here, today.
Bernama
She said PBTs could enforce the Pre- Also present at the event were Deputy
vention and Control of Infectious Diseas- Housing and Local Government Minister
es Act (Act 342) together with the Local Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Abd Muttalib and
Government Act 1976 (Act 171). Deputy National Unity Minister Datuk
Seri Ti Lian Ker.
“On June 29, the federal government del-
egated the power to local authorities to take Yesterday, Selangor Local Government
action against any party, including individ- and PublicTransport Committee chairman
uals, companies and factories who do not Ng Sze Han reportedly said local authori-
comply with the SOPs and they (the par- ties did not have the power to close down
ties) can be compounded through Act 342. factories to curb the spread of Covid-19
because the power was under the federal
“Local authorities throughout the coun- government.
try can enforce it, so there is no issue of Read also: Loading, unloading non-essen-
PBTs not being able to close factories be- tial cargo allowed in EMCO areas for lim-
cause they can use Act 342 and supported ited number of days, saysWee Click here
by Act 171 which gives them the power to
close (these places) and take court action
(against them),” she said.

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Govt to launch To prepare the OGSE industry for the AmBank
National Energy ESG journey, he noted that the players initiates fresh
must equip themselves with the right
Policy ‘soon’, skills and knowledge to navigate the statutory
says Mustapa path ahead. demand against
Falcon Energy
Bernama The industry has to keep pace with
the changing rules of the game, and to- BY ADAM AZIZ
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The gov- day, that means integrating ESG into theedgemarkets.com
ernment will launch the National Energy business practices to stay relevant and
Policy soon as a guide for the develop- competitive, he said. KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): AmBank
ment of Malaysia’s energy sector, par- (M) Bhd, via its Labuan offshore branch,
ticularly as the industry transitions to a “We are faced with the reality that has initiated a fresh statutory demand
low-carbon future, said Minister in the those who refuse to evolve — or evolve against Singapore-listed Falcon Ener-
Prime Minister’s Department (Econ- too slowly — may be left behind, or swal- gy Group Ltd to seek from the latter a
omy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. lowed by the competition.” loan repayment sum of US$24.28 mil-
lion (about RM101.88 million).
He said the Covid-19 pandemic gave Meanwhile, Malaysia Petroleum Re-
the energy industry an opportunity to sources Corporation (MPRC) president/ Falcon Energy chairman and chief
implement major changes and embrace chief executive officer MohdYazid Ja’afar executive officer Tan Pong Tyea said in
sustainability by adopting environmen- said the oil and gas (O&G) industry has a filing today with the Singapore Ex-
tal, social and governance (ESG) criteria more pressure to comply with the ESG change that the oil and gas support ser-
in the oil and gas services and equipment requirements as the players were at high- vices provider had received the statutory
(OGSE) sector despite being hit hard er scrutiny due to their nature of oper- demand dated yesterday (July 14) from
by the pandemic. ations that may have negative impact the solicitors of AmBank’s Labuan off-
on the environment and public at large. shore branch.
“Globally, demand for ESG funds
rose 29% to nearly US$1.7 trillion in “In fact, in the ESG industry report “The statutory demand demands, in-
the last quarter of 2020,” he said in his card for O&G published by S&P Global ter alia, payment of a sum of US$24.28
keynote address during the first series Ratings in February last year, the sector million, being the alleged amount out-
of National OGSE Sustainability Forum has higher negative exposure to environ- standing as at July 13, 2021 under vari-
held virtually today. ment and social factors over the short, ous term loans and revolving credit facil-
medium and long term,” he said in his ities, including interest and late payment
In addition to the recently launched presentation at the forum. interests.
the National OGSE Industry Blueprint
2021-2030, the National Energy Policy However, Mohd Yazid pointed out “The company is seeking legal advice
is also vital to enable OGSE businesses that it was not easy for companies to with respect to the statutory demand.
to make the decisions today that will adopt sustainable practices, especially Further announcements will be made
help shape a cleaner, more sustainable for OGSE companies due to the com- by the company and the board via SGX-
future for generations to come. plexities of reporting and assessments, NET as and when there are material
among others. developments in compliance with the
Currently, there are only 32 local listing rules of the Singapore Exchange
OGSE companies that have adopted “We are cognisant of the challenges Securities Trading Ltd,”Tan said.
sustainability reporting. faced by the companies to adopt these
sustainability concepts, but this is an According to him, Falcon Energy re-
Out of this, only one com- important step in efforts to transform mains committed to the company’s re-
pany, Dialog Group Bhd, is the sector to be robust and resilient,” structuring and will continue to engage
on the Dow Jones Sustaina- he said, adding that MPRC would be in discussions with its principal lenders
bility Indices, a benchmark identifying initiatives and collaborative and any other key stakeholders in rela-
tracking the stock perfor- efforts to ensure more holistic adoption tion to the restructuring.
mance of leading compa-
nies in terms of economic, of sustainability practices for the However, there is no assurance or rea-
environmental, and social sectors. sonable certainty that any discussions or
criteria. The half-day National any restructuring options will materialise
OGSE Sustainability Fo- or be successfully concluded, he said.
Mustapa said the low rum is co-organised by the
adoption suggests Economic Planning Unit of “Shareholders and investors are ad-
that ESG aware- the Prime Minister’s Depart- vised to exercise caution when dealing
ness remains une- ment and MPRC. in the shares of the company,”Tan said.
ven among OGSE
players — even AmBank is an operating unit under
among public-list- Bursa Malaysia-listed AMMB Hold-
ed companies — ings Bhd.
what more among
the less informed At Bursa’s 12:30pm break today,
small and medi- AMMB’s share price settled unchanged
um enterprises at RM2.86 for a market value of about
(SMEs). RM9.47 billion based on the group’s
3.31 billion issued shares.

FRIDAY JULY 16, 2021 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Sime Dar- Sime Darby “We would like to thank the commis-
by Plantation Bhd (SDP) has dissolved its Plantation sion, particularly Mr Hall, for their work
Expert Stakeholder Human Rights Assess- dissolves Human and support over the past months”, said
ment Commission. Rights Assessment SDP managing director Mohamad Helmy
Commission Othman Basha.
In a statement, the group said the disso-
lution was one to provide more time for an BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR Impactt’s evaluation of SDP’s labour prac-
independent evaluation of labour practices theedgemarkets.com tices across its Malaysian operations was to
to be carried out. have been submitted to the panel, after which
SDP’s operations, after the United States SDP, Impactt and the panel would have pro-
SDP said while it had hoped to complete Customs and Border Protection imposed ceeded to agree on remediation plans.
the labour practices assessment by May, a Withhold Release Order (WRO) on oil
the strict movement restrictions imposed produced from its Malaysian plantations. The statement said since the assessment
in Malaysia due to Covid-19 has resulted in is incomplete, SDP has been unable to en-
Impactt Ltd — an ethical trade consultant The panel included human rights activ- gage with the commission as anticipated,
— not being able to finish its assessment. ist Andy Hall, Australian Human Rights owing to the health and safety risks arising
lawyer Professor Justine Nolan and a rep- from the pandemic.
Following this, SDP’s Sustainability resentative from the National Union of
Committee will take over the oversight Plantation Workers. According to Reuters, As soon as it is possible, the evaluation
function of the evaluation exercise. both Hall and Nolan have resigned from will resume, SDP said, adding that it will
the panel effective today. work with Impactt and other key stake-
Independent director Datuk Henry Bar- holders to review its operations.
low chairs the Sustainability Committee, SDP said Hall will continue working
with the other members being senior in- with the group to review and improve its “Whilst Impactt has carried out impor-
dependent director and chair of the Board foreign worker recruitment processes. tant work, we appreciate the limitations of
Governance and Audit Committee Datuk a remote assessment, and the need to ver-
Zaiton Mohd Hassan, chair of the Board This work will involve collaborating in a ify and evaluate data collected. “We want
Risk Management Committee Zainal Abi- programme aimed at creating a new stand- to address any gaps in our operations and
din Jamal, chair of the Board Nomination ard for the ethical recruitment of foreign thus, will continue to work proactively.
and Remuneration Committee Datuk Hali- workers, it added.
pah Esa, andTunku Alizakri Raja Muham- “We are moving forward, working with
mad Alias. Impactt and key stakeholders to protect
the rights of workers and keep them safe,”
The commission was first established on Mohamad Helmy added.
March 1. Both Impactt and a Stakehold-
er Consultation Panel make up the panel. SDP was the ninth-largest value loser
on the local bourse today, declining 18 sen
Impactt and the commission were ap- or 4.81% to RM3.56, valuing the group at
pointed to undertake an evaluation of RM24.62 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Malakoff Malakoff buys It explained that the land was a good
Corp Bhd is buying a parcel of leasehold land from recovery facility as it is located in an indus-
industrial land in Klang from Media Prima trial zone, is compatible with the surround-
Bhd for RM25 million. sister company ing land use in accordance with the De-
Media Prima partment of Town and Country Planning
The land deal came roughly two weeks for RM25 mil Malaysia requirements; and has a buffer
after Media Prima announced its plan to of more than 500 meters to the nearest
buy back the freehold property in Bang- BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR sensitive receptors.
sar where its Balai Berita headquarters is theedgemarkets.com
located from Permodalan Nasional Bhd On the other hand, Media Prima said
(PNB) for RM156.4 million.The price tag ry warehouses in Kawasan Perindustrian in its filing with Bursa that the land sale is
is higher than the RM118.7 million tag at Bandar Sultan Sulaiman, Klang. expected to give rise to a one-off net gain
which Media Prima sold to PNB in 2018. of RM12.09 million.
The purchase will be funded through
The two companies have a common internally-generated funds. Media Prima noted that the rationale is
shareholder, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al- to reduce its bank borrowings, allowing it
Bukhary. The power producer, which bought the to preserve cash reserves towards meeting
waste management company Alam Flo- the cash flow requirements of its business
Hence, the latest land deal is deemed ra Sdn Bhd three years ago, said the tract operations.
a related party transaction, as Malakoff purchased will allow AFES to develop a
is an 18.37%-owned associate company recovery facility as an offsite facility to han- “The proposed disposal is in line with
of MMC Corp Bhd, the flagship of Syed dle various types of waste and to expand the Group’s strategy in disposing of prop-
Mokhtar, who is also a major shareholder its environmental business segment in line erties located in non-strategic locations
of Media Prima holding a 31.9% stake. with its strategic plan. without immediate development poten-
tial,” Media Prima said.
In a statement, Malakoff said that its Malakoff took over Alam Flora from
wholly-owned unit Alam Flora Environ- DRB-Hicom Bhd, another flagship of Syed Media Prima expects its borrowings
mental Solutions Sdn Bhd (AFES) had Mokhtar, for RM944 million cash in 2018. to decline to RM100.85 million, from
signed a sale and purchase agreement with RM125.49 million as of Dec 31, 2020.
Media Prima’s wholly-owned unitThe New Its gross gearing ratio would decline to
Straits Times Properties Sdn Bhd for the 0.49 times, from 0.54 times, while its net
land purchase. gearing ratio would decline to “not mean-
ingful” levels, from 0.01 times, the bourse
The land measures 23,370 sq m, and filing added.
contains two single-storey detached facto-

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Newly list- Yenher ends capital market for its business expansions.
edYenher Holdings Bhd ended its maiden maiden trading Cheng said the group will continue to
trading day at 90 sen, five sen or 5.26%
lower compared with its initial public of- day at below strengthen its presence in the domestic
fering (IPO) price of 95 sen. IPO price market by tapping into the growth of the
local animal health and nutrition industry
The animal health and nutrition product BY SYAFIQAH SALIM while exploring new markets to widen its
manufacturer, the third IPO on the Main theedgemarkets.com global footprint.
Market this year, saw 61.83 million shares
change hands, equivalent to almost 58% Yenher Holdings Bhd Yenher is planning to expand its foot-
of 106.9 million sharesYenher offered for print into overseas markets such as Myan-
the listing exercise. sen mar, Bangladesh and China, which have
robust livestock industry and immerse op-
The stock opened at 99.5 sen, a 4.74% 1.00 portunities.
premium over its IPO price, and climbed to 98.5 sen
a high of RM1, but soon pared gains to a “We aim for these three markets because
low of 87.5 sen within the first trading hour. 0.95 IPO price: 95 sen of their population and big livestock siz-
es.We have been in the animal health and
Based on the offer price of 95 sen a 0.90 90 sen nutrition product industry for the past 30
share,Yenher is priced at a trailing price- 0.85 years and we have got a significant market
to-earnings ratio of 12.2 times of its cal- share within Malaysia.
endar year 2020 core earnings, according 0.80 4:58pm
to a TA Securities Research. 9am July 15, 2021 “We are confident that we can get por-
tions in those markets,” saidYenher’s depu-
Yenher raised RM61.2 million from the Source: Bloomberg ty general manager of finance Lim SekYang
listing exercise that cost it RM3.8 million. at a virtual media briefing today.

The company has earmarked RM31 Meanwhile, Cheng said that the com-
million for the construction of a new good pany intends to adopt a dividend policy of
manufacturing practice (GMP)-compliant a 40% payout ratio.
manufacturing plant, RM9.7 million for
purchases of new machinery and equip- For the first quarter ended March 31,
ment while RM16.71 million will be for 2021, the group posted a net profit of
working capital. RM4.94 million and a revenue of RM58.79
million, contributed by its manufacturing
Yenher’s group managing director and distribution activities.
Cheng MoohTat, who holds a 7.5% stake,
said the IPO exercise has given the group RHB Investment Bank Bhd was the sole
the opportunity to gain better access to the principal adviser, sole underwriter and sole
placement agent for the IPO.

Sheet metal
fabricator Coraza

Integrated
Technology seeks

ACE market
listing

BY TAN SIEW MUNG to the Malaysian public, and eligible direc- Coraza Integrated Technology is prin-
theedgemarkets.com tors and employees, while 79.96 million cipally involved in the fabrication of sheet
will be issued by way of private placement metal and precision machined compo-
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Sheet metal to selected investors. nents, as well as the provision of related
fabrication firm Coraza Integrated Tech- services.
nology Bhd has filed a draft prospectus The group plans to use the IPO pro-
for an initial public offering (IPO) on the ceeds to build a new factory with an es- Sheet metal, which is metal formed by
ACE market. timated construction cost of RM14.28 industrial process into thin, flat pieces,
million. is one of the fundamental forms used in
According to its draft IPO prospectus metalworking, as it can be cut and bent
posted on the Securities Commission Ma- It also plans to use part of the proceeds into various shapes and sizes. It is used in
laysia website, the proposed IPO will in- to extend its existing factory, purchase new the making of countless everyday objects.
volve 139.21 million shares, comprising machinery, implement enterprise resource
117.79 million new shares and an offer for planning system, and repay its bank bor- The group’s profit after tax for the finan-
sale of up to 21.42 million existing shares. rowings. cial year ended Dec 31, 2020, rose 84.52%
to RM6.31 million, from RM3.42 million
Of the 117.79 million new shares to be M&A Securities has been appointed a year ago, as revenue grew 42.82% to
issued, 21.42 million each will be allocated as the IPO adviser, sponsor, underwriter RM83.69 million from RM58.59 million.
and placement agent.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Petronas unit prepares to drill Bumi Armada appoints former EPF around US$250 billion assets under
Mexico oil and gas exploration well CEO Tunku Alizakri as independent management, it said. It added that Alizakri
director is currently a board member of Kwasa
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Petroliam Utama Sdn Bhd, Battersea Project Holding
Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) operating KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Bumi Armada Company Ltd, and Battersea Project
unit PC Carigali Mexico Operations Bhd has appointed former Employees Land Company Ltd. — by Izzul Ikram/
S.A. de C.V. is reported to be preparing Provident Fund (EPF) chief executive officer theedgemarkets.com
for the initial drilling of Mexico’s (CEO) Tunku Alizakri Alias as an independent
offshore Bacalar-1EXP oil and gas director effective today. In a bourse filing, Solarvest bags RM87.5m EPCC job
exploration well under a project which Bumi Armada said the 51-year-old has 20 for solar PV plant in Kedah
Petronas owns a 60% stake. According years of experience in senior management KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Solarvest
to Petronas’ joint venture (JV) partner and board-level roles in multiple sectors and Holdings Bhd said its wholly-owned
PT Medco Energi Internasional Tbk’s industries, which include retirement fund, subsidiary has secured a contract worth
latest monthly exploration report, financial services, central banking, healthcare, RM87.5 million for a large-scale solar
PC Carigali is expected to “continue media and telecommunication, plantation, oil photovoltaic (PV) plant in Kulim, Kedah.
drilling preparation” for the oil and gas and gas, and property development. Alizakri’s Its unit will be the main engineering,
well. “Estimated spud on mid-August last executive role was as CEO of EPF, the procurement, construction and
2021,” said the Indonesia-based Medco seventh largest global retirement fund with commissioning (EPCC) contractor for the
Energi, adding that gross exploration 20.76MW plant. The project was secured
cost for well is US$4.42 million Prihatin Special Grant 4.0 is open from Energy ES Sdn Bhd (Energy ES), the
(about RM18.55 million). The well is for new applications from July 15 project owner and incorporated joint
reportedly located within Mexico’s — Tengku Zafrul venture company of Savelite Engineering
Block 12 oil and gas field in the Gulf Sdn Bhd, Moderntent Development Sdn
of Mexico. Petronas holds a 60% KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Registration Bhd and Frasers Construction (M) Sdn Bhd.
stake in Block 12 while Medco Energi for new Prihatin Special Grant (GKP) 4.0 The project shall start from the execution
and Thailand-based PTT Exploration applications is open online from today until July of the EPCC agreement and its completion
and Production Public Co Ltd hold 31, said Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri will be based on the scheduled commercial
a 20% stake each. — by Lynette Hew/ Zafrul Abdul Aziz. “With this new registration operation date of the solar power purchase
theedgemarkets.com process, some of the micro small and medium agreement executed between Energy ES
enterprises (SMEs) that did not get the approval and the Energy Commission, said Solarvest
Ireka secures RM124m previously and have not received GKP will still in a bourse filing. — by Syafiqah Salim/
construction job in Terengganu have an opportunity to submit applications for theedgemarkets.com
verification again. Micro SMEs that are eligible
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Ireka Corp for GKP 4.0 are businesses that fulfil the micro Kelington unit secures storage tank
Bhd has secured a construction project SME criteria and are also registered with the construction contract
in Terengganu worth RM124.39 million Companies Commission of Malaysia, local KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Kelington
from Wanland Metro Sdn Bhd to build authorities or Inland Revenue Board as at June Group Bhd said today its wholly-owned
two blocks of 16-storey apartment, 30, 2021,” he said in a statement today. Payments subsidiary Kelington Technologies Sdn
together with single storey terrace under the RM1 billion GKP 4.0 allocation will Bhd yesterday secured from Stolthaven
houses, double storey terrace houses be made in September (RM500) and November (Westport) Sdn Bhd an approximately
and double storey shophouses at (RM500) this year for both current GKP RM50 million contract to construct oil
Dendong in Besut. The contract period recipients and approved new applicants. Current products storage tanks at Port Klang
will be 208 weeks – almost four years — GKP recipients do not have to reapply. Overall, a in Selangor. According to Kelington
starting Aug 1, the group said in a bourse total allocation of RM6.1 billion has been or will bourse filing today, the 15-month
filing. Ireka’s share price closed 0.5 sen be channelled under GKP to almost one million project that started yesterday (July 14,
or 0.75% higher at 67 sen today, valuing micro SMEs since the Covid-19 pandemic began, 2021) is expected to be completed by
the group at RM122.29 million. — by Tan Tengku Zafrul said. — Bernama October 2022, and contribute positively
Siew Mung/theedgemarkets.com to its earnings and net assets for the
financial years ending Dec 31, 2021
Kejuruteraan Asastera to raise RM106 mil via private placement for RE and Dec 31, 2022. — by Syafiqah Salim/
projects, debt repayments theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd (KAB) plans to raise RM106.13
million via a private placement for its renewable energy business and the repayment of
bank borrowings. In a bourse filing, KAB said it would be issuing 169.18 million shares
or 10% of its total share capital of 1.69 billion shares to third party investors. The
estimated amount to be raised is based on the placement’s illustrative issue price of 63
sen. KAB’s share price closed at 85 sen today, valuing it at RM1.44 billion. The stock
has climbed 40% from 61 sen on July 5. Of the proceeds, RM50 million will be used for
its renewable energy projects, of which RM35 million will be for solar power projects
and RM15 million will be for clean energy generation projects; RM25 million will be
used to pare down bank borrowings. As of June 22, the group’s borrowings stood at
RM32.6 million. The placement is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of
the year. — by Arjuna Chandran Shankar/theedgemarkets.com

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NOT PART OF
THE SOLUTION

YOU WILL BE
PART OF

THE PROBLEM

Vaccinations reduce infections and save lives*
Get yourself vaccinated

Get your family, friends and colleagues
to register for vaccination

Join the race to build herd immunity

*Covid-19 Vaccines Advice

– World Health Organization

*Benefits of Getting Covid-19 Vaccines

– US Centre For Disease Control & Prevention

THIS IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE MESSAGE ON FIGHTING COVID-19

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Consortium “The matter was then raised to the State Bloomberg
awarded Penang Executive Council for approval. I confirm
undersea tunnel that this decision was presented byYB Da- Agong to officiate
tuk Seri State Secretary at the state council 2021’s first
project had meeting on Jan 30, 2013.
highest score Dewan Rakyat
“The purpose of the presentation was sitting on Sept 6,
— witness for the consideration of appointing Con-
sortium Zenith BUCG for the project com- says speaker
by emir zainul prising three major roads and the undersea
theedgemarkets.com tunnel.The Technical and Finance Com- Bernama
mittee agreed with the recommendation
Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge by the secretariat that the consortium ob- KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The
tained the highest marks,” he said. Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Ab-
Datuk Lim Hock Seng dullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah
Consortium Zenith BUCG is a joint Shah will officiate the opening cere-
KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Consortium venture between Zenith Construction Sdn mony of the first meeting of the fourth
Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd was awarded the Bhd and China Railway Construction Ltd, term of the14th Parliament on Sept 6.
Penang undersea tunnel project in 2013 in addition to Beijing Urban Construction
because it had obtained the highest score Group (BUCG), Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Dewan Rakyat speaker Datuk
among the eight shortlisted companies for Juteras Sdn Bhd. Azhar Azizan Harun said he had re-
the overall technical and financial assess- ceived notification on the matter from
ment at the request for proposal stage, the Yesterday, Hock Seng had told the court Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Sessions Court heard today. that Guan Eng had instructed him in 2011 Yassin as the Leader of the House in
to contact two BUCG representatives con- accordance with the Standing Order
Former Penang executive councillor cerning a proposal for the construction of 11(2) of the Dewan Rakyat.
Lim Hock Seng said there were two ten- the undersea tunnel.
der briefings held on Nov 29 and Dec 14, “The first meeting of the fourth
2011, both of which he attended. In the same year, the state signed a term of the 14th Parliament 2021
memorandum of understanding with will sit for 15 days from Sept 6 to 30.
Testifying in former Penang chief minis- BUCG for the construction of the 6.5km
ter Lim Guan Eng’s graft trial, Hock Seng Penang-Butterworth undersea tunnel and “The second meeting will take
said a total of 60 local and foreign compa- three major roads.The signing of the MoU place from Oct 25 to Dec 16,” he
nies submitted their pre-qualification ex- was witnessed by then prime minister Da- said in a statement today.
ercise to participate in the tender briefing. tuk Seri Najib Razak and his then Chinese
counterpart Wen Jiabao. Azhar said he had also been in-
Subsequently, eight companies were formed by the prime minister that for
found eligible to participate in the re- The three major roads are a 4.2km by- the benefit of the public, it was im-
quest for proposal stage, namely China pass from Gurney Drive to LebuhrayaTun portant to hold a special Parliament
State Construction Engineering Corpo- Dr Lim Chong Eu, a 4.6km bypass be- session first before convening the first
ration Ltd & VST Cemerlang Sdn Bhd, tween Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu meeting, in accordance with the Stand-
Setia Precast Sdn Bhd, ECK Construc- and Bandar Baru Air Itam, and a 12km ing Order 11 (3) of the Dewan Rakyat.
tion Sdn Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, Zambina paired road from JalanTanjung Bungah to
Wawasan Sdn Bhd, IJM-CRGL JointVen- Teluk Bahang. Guan Eng faces four charg- Azhar said His Majesty had given
tures, Consortium Zenith BUCG Juteras es, the first two of which are framed under his consent for the prime minister to
& Sri Tinggi JV and WCTDaewoo Joint the MACC Act 2009 and the other two hold the special meeting even though
Ventures. under the Penal Code. the Emergency proclaimed on jan 11
is still in effect.
Following the assessment, Consortium The DAP secretary-general is accused
Zenith BUCG came out on top and was of using his position as the then chief min- “In this regard, Dewan Rakyat sec-
appointed the developer for the multibil- ister to solicit gratification to help Con- retary Dr Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin
lion-ringgit project, said Hock Seng. sortium Zenith BUCG secure the tunnel will issue a notification to all members of
project. He is alleged to have sought 10% Parliament (MPs) informing them that
of the profit to be made by the company the Dewan Rakyat (special session) will
from Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd sen- sit for five days, namely from July 26 to
ior executive director Datuk Zarul Ahmad July 29 and on Aug 2 at 10am,” he said.
Mohd Zulkifli.
Azhar also reminded all MPs to al-
Guan Eng is also accused of using his ways adhere to the standard operating
position as the then chief minister to re- procedures set to ensure that the special
ceive RM3.3 million in gratification for session takes place in a safe environment.
himself as an inducement for helping the
company secure the project valued at
RM6.3 billion.

For the third and fourth charges, Guan
Eng is accused of causing two plots of land
belonging to the Penang government worth
RM208.8 million to be disposed of to two
companies linked to the tunnel project.

Guan Eng has pleaded not guilty to
all four charges. The trial before Ses-
sions Court judge Azura Alwi continues
tomorrow.

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Sri Ram says AG’s May 21 letter should
dispel doubts over his senior DPP
appointment in Rosmah case

KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): Former by hafiz yatim to questions over the former top judge’s
Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri theedgemarkets.com appointment to prosecute her case.
Ram told the High Court here today that
Attorney-GeneralTan Sri Idrus Harun has Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge ‘An appointment letter needs to be
issued a fiat or appointment letter to him produced before a private lawyer
dated May 21, 2021 to clear any doubt over Sri Ram: The second letter by Idrus is to clear conducts a trial’
his appointment as senior deputy public any doubt as to the first letter that I had the Senior lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh, who ap-
prosecutor or DPP in Datin Seri Rosmah authority to prosecute Rosmah. There have peared with Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kad-
Mansor’s solar hybrid project graft case. been arguments that I cannot conduct the er for Rosmah, said a private lawyer’s ap-
pointment should have been shown first in
Sri Ram said the letter issued by Idrus prosecution in this case. court, before he or she is allowed to con-
is in addition to the July 8, 2020 letter is- duct a trial.
sued by Idrus to him. Code (CPC), which does not require an
appointment letter or fiat is produced.This “This is the required procedure,
“The second letter by Idrus is to clear is unlike if my appointment was made un- whether it falls under Section 376, 377
any doubt as to the first letter that I had der Section 377 or 379 of the CPC,” he or 379 of the CPC. If a person is to con-
the authority to prosecute Rosmah.There added. duct a trial, a person who is other than a
have been arguments that I cannot conduct DPP should have produced a letter in-
the prosecution in this case. “Section 376(3) of the CPC is a writ- forming the court of his appointment,”
ten law. It empowers the public prosecutor Jagjit said.
“However, the letter dated May 21 to appoint DPP to exercise the function
should have cleared the air over my ap- of the public prosecutor. Accordingly, the Jagjit also questioned as to why the May
pointment and it should be looked at in public prosecutor is by virtue of Section 21, 2021 letter was only produced on Mon-
that way,” he said. 50 entitled to appoint a DPP with retro- day, whereas the prosecution had last filed
spective effect,” he said. an affidavit on May 31.
The senior lawyer also pointed to Sec-
tion 50 of the Interpretation Act 1948 Questions surrounding Sri Ram’s ap- The prosecution could have produced
(1967), which stipulates that any au- pointment to conduct Rosmah’s trial were the letter then, Jagjit added.
thority empowered by written law to ap- raised when the Court of Appeal ordered
point a person to exercise any function the prosecution earlier this year to produce “Why was this letter not filed when they
can make that appointment with retro- his letter of appointment, a copy of which last filed the affidavit on May 31? This is
spective effect. the bench then extended to Rosmah’s de- why I say the possibility of an afterthought
fence team. and a ‘web of deceit’ to cover the deficien-
This, he said, is in addition to former cy by the prosecution,” he said.
attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thom- Sri Ram, who was appointed byThomas
as’s affirmation of an affidavit that he had to oversee 1MDB-related cases in August “If that is the case as Sri Ram claims,
orally appointed him to prosecute Rosmah 2018, appeared for the prosecution when then Idrus himself should have affirmed
in this case. Rosmah was first charged for graft in No- the affidavit but he did not,” the senior
vember that year. This subsequently led lawyer said.
Those two letters, Sri Ram said, should
be read in context to that effect. If the Akberdin also argued that Section
court does not see it that way, it should 376(3) of the CPC should not be read in
still consider, as shown in Section 50 of the isolation, and impressed upon the court
Interpretation Act, that any authority can that there is a procedural need to produce
retrospectively appoint a person. the appointment letter before the start of
the trial.
Sri Ram was submitting on his own
in Rosmah’s application to bar him from “Why did he (Sri Ram) produce a
representing the prosecution as the senior letter at the 1MDB trial and not here?
DPP, and to declare the trial where she You cannot blow hot and cold with re-
had been ordered to enter her defence gards to procedures. When Datuk Su-
a nullity. laiman Abdullah and Datuk V Sitham-
baram were appointed to conduct the
He also stressed that despite being the SRC International case, they had let-
senior DPP, how he conducts the case is ters of appointment. Similar with Tan
still within the AG’s control. Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah in con-
ducting the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
The former Federal Court judge added (sodomy) appeals.
that his appointment was not limited to
handling cases involving 1Malaysia De- “Why then was there no specific let-
velopment Bhd but also this case. Hence, ter of appointment in our case, until the
he said there should not be any questions one produced on May 21?” Akberdin
about the validity of his appointment. questioned.

“My appointment was made under Sec- co n tin u es o n Pag e 15
tion 376 (3) of the Criminal Procedure

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KUALA LUMPUR (July 15): The High Lokman Adam out by the court against Lokman.
Court here has held former Umno su- found in contempt “The prosecution submits that the ac-
preme council member Datuk Lokman
Noor Adam in contempt of court and of court for cused be imprisoned.We urge your Lord-
sentenced him to one month in prison for intimidating ship to hand out a sentence that would stop
intimidating a witness in former premier key 1MDB trial (other) offenders dead in their tracks,” Sri
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia De- Ram said.
velopment Bhd (1MDB) trial. witness
He also said the sentence will be a com-
Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah, in by Timothy Achariam fort to future witnesses that they will not
delivering his decision today, found Lok- theedgemarkets.com be victimised and can give evidence in
man had intimidated Najib’s former special comfort.
officer, Datuk Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin, Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge
who is a key witness in the case, and im- “Your ruling will be an umbrella for
posed the custodial sentence after taking Lokman at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex witnesses to come forward and testify.The
into consideration mitigating and aggra- today (July 15). respondent (Lokman) has followers and
vating factors by both counsels. we don’t want others to get encouraged
truth,” Sequerah said, adding there was to do similar acts.Therefore, we move for
However, Lokman’s lawyerTan Sri Mu- an element of mala fide (bad intention) imprisonment,” he said.
hammad ShafeeAbdullah told the judge they in Lokman making those statements after
will be appealing the conviction and sentence lodging the police report. On Oct 22, 2019, Justice Sequerah
at the Court of Appeal and thus asked for a granted leave to then Attorney-General
stay of the conviction and sentence. “I find that the act of the respondent gives (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas to initiate
rise to real interference and interference into committal proceedings against Lokman
In response, deputy public prosecutor the administration of justice, which consti- for the contempt of court act perpetrated
Mohamad Mustafa P Kunyalam said there tutes contempt of court,” the judge surmised. on two occasions on Sept 25, 2019.
are no exceptional circumstances that justifies
Lokman being granted a stay of execution. During mitigation of Lokman’s sen- On Jan 14, 2020, Justice Sequerah re-
tence, ad hoc prosecutor Datuk Seri Go- jected Lokman’s application to set aside
Shafee argued that Lokman is a first- pal Sri Ram argued that Lokman had the leave obtained by the AG. Lokman
time offender and had never been involved shown no remorse for his actions and also lost two appeals in the Court of Ap-
in any criminal activity before, and should asked that a custodial sentence be meted peal and the Federal Court respectively to
thus be granted the stay. overturn the High Court’s ruling.

The judge subsequently granted the Thomas initiated the committal pro-
stay pending disposal of the appeal, with ceedings against Lokman to seek an order
a bond sum of RM3,000 with one surety. for Lokman to be committed to prison or
be fined for his action.
Earlier, Justice Sequerah said Lokman’s
threats against the witness in 2019 do con- According to Thomas, on Sept 25,
stitute harassment and amounted to inter- 2019, Lokman uttered words in a video
ference in administering justice and the interview constituting an express or im-
court process. plied threat against Amhari Efendi for hav-
ing given evidence in the former Prime
Lokman made the threats at a press Minister’s trial in the High Court.
conference after lodging a police report
against Amhari. On the same day, Lokman lodged a po-
lice report against Amhari Efendi, who was
“It is imperative that a witness should the eighth prosecution witness, in respect
be free to give evidence in a trial.The po- of the evidence given by him in the trial.
lice report (made by Lokman) does not
exonerate him. The statements he made The object or purpose of the respond-
were to threaten the witness and detract ent’s act was to harass and intimidate Am-
him from testifying,” the judge said. hari Efendi, other witnesses and any po-
tential witnesses who may come forward to
“It is not the business of the respondent give evidence against Najib in the 1MDB
(Lokman) to make sure witnesses tell the trial, said Thomas.

from Page 14 Should the court allow Sri Ram to out of a total of RM1.25 billion pro-
continue leading the prosecution and dis- ject awarded to Jepak Holdings’s Saidi,
Akberdin also argued that the purport- miss the defence’s application to nullify through her aide Datuk Rizal Mansor.
ed oral go-ahead given by Thomas is a the present proceeding, then Rosmah’s More court stories:
legal fallacy, saying three Federal Court defence would resume on Oct 5, 6, 7. Penang ‘Datuk’ claims trial to 58 counts
cases have shown that a letter of appoint- of money laundering totalling RM9.22m
ment must be produced. Rosmah was ordered in February by Click here
Justice Zaini to enter her defence to three
He also questioned the prosecution’s graft charges in relation to the solar hybrid SFI’s appeal against failure to strike out
move of filing another affidavit yesterday, case for 369 rural schools in Sarawak. suit against Syed Mokhtar-linked firm to
something which he said they should have be heard on Oct 6 Click here
completed in May – a deadline previously She was accused of having received a
set by the High Court registrar. total of RM6.5 million from Jepak Hold-
ings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi
Following the submissions, Justice Abang Samsuddin between Dec 20, 2016
Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said he would and Sept 7, 2017. She was also charged
deliver his decision on the matter on with soliciting a RM187.5 million bribe,
Sept 9.

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LONDON (July 15): OPEC forecast on OPEC sees world OPEC and forecast more supplies from ri-
Thursday that world oil demand would oil demand vals in 2022, including US shale producers.
rise in 2022 to reach a level similar to be- reaching pre-
fore the pandemic, led by growth in the OPEC+ agreed in April to gradually
United States, China and India. pandemic level ease output cuts from May to July.Thurs-
in 2022 day’s report showed OPEC production in
The Organization of the Petroleum June rose 590,000 bpd to 26.03 million
Exporting Countries said in its monthly by Alex Lawler bpd.
report that demand next year would rise Reuters
by 3.4% to 99.86 million barrels per day OPEC+ has yet to decide on plans for
(bpd), and would average more than 100 2022 demand growth, although US oil use the rest of 2021 after a dispute between
million bpd in the second half of 2022. would stay just below 2019 levels. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emir-
ates disrupted talks. Reuters reported on
“Solid expectations exist for global World economic growth was expect- Wednesday that the two had reached a
economic growth in 2022,” OPEC said. ed to slow to 4.1% next year from 5.5% compromise.
“These include improved containment of in 2021, still supported by government
Covid-19, particularly in emerging and de- stimulus and with the outlook “depend- The report implies a wider supply defi-
veloping countries, which are forecast to ing primarily on Covid-19-related devel- cit in the fourth quarter of 2021, assuming
spur oil demand to reach pre-pandemic opments”, OPEC said. OPEC+ does not agree a further increase
levels in 2022.” and based on Iran, Libya and Venezue-
Oil was trading below $74 a barrel after la, which are exempt from OPEC+ cuts,
The report reflects OPEC’s confidence the OPEC report was released.The price sticking to their June production levels.
that demand will recover robustly from the has climbed more than 40% this year with
pandemic, allowing the group and its allies the help of supply cuts by OPEC and its The report forecast a 2.1 million bpd
to further ease record supply curbs made allies, a group known as OPEC+. rise in supply from OPEC’s rivals in 2022
in 2020. Some analysts have said world oil More supply coming as higher prices spur investment. OPEC
demand may have peaked in 2019. The report showed higher output from sees output of US shale oil, another term
for shale, rising by 500,000 bpd in 2022,
In the report, OPEC also maintained after a contraction this year.
its prediction that demand would grow by
5.95 million bpd or 6.6% in 2021. The extra barrels will limit growth in
demand for OPEC crude next year but
OPEC forecast oil demand in China OPEC still sees the world needing 28.7
and India would exceed pre-pandemic million bpd from its members, up 1.1 mil-
levels next year. It said the United States lion bpd from 2021 and, in theory, allowing
would make the biggest contribution to higher OPEC production.

China’s economic
growth more
than halves in
second quarter

by Kevin Yao & Gabriel Crossley
Reuters

BEIJING (July 15): China’s economic id-19 crisis, buoyed by solid export de- shifting to an easier policy stance after
growth more than halved in the second mand and policy support, data in recent the People’s Bank of China announced
quarter from a record expansion in the months suggest some loss in momentum. last week it would cut the amount of
first three months of the year, as slowing Higher raw material costs, supply shortag- cash that banks must hold as reserves.
manufacturing activity, higher raw material es and pollution controls are weighing on The move released about 1 trillion yuan
costs and new Covid-19 outbreaks weighed industrial activity, while small Covid-19 (US$154.64 billion) in long-term liquid-
on the recovery momentum. outbreaks have kept a lid on consumer ity to bolster the recovery.
spending. Click here to read the full story
Gross domestic product (GDP) ex-
panded 7.9% in the April-June quarter With growth softening, investors are
from a year earlier, official data showed watching to see if the central bank is
on Thursday, missing expectations for a
rise of 8.1% in a Reuters poll of economists.

Growth slowed significantly from a re-
cord 18.3% expansion in the January-March
period, when the year-on-year growth rate
was heavily skewed by the Covid-induced
slump in the first quarter of 2020.

While the world’s second-largest econo-
my has rebounded strongly from the Cov-

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LONDON (July 15): UK companies add- UK companies tion is what happens when wage subsidies
ed payrolls at a record pace in June, as the hire at record for furloughed workers end on Sept 30.
reopening of the economy triggered an un- pace as economy While the number of people receiving the
precedented scramble for staff. benefit has fallen sharply — new ONS es-
reopens timates Thursday put the figure as low as
The number of employees on company 1.1 million — many of them are likely to
books climbed by 356,000, the Office for Na- by Andrew Atkinson, Libby Cherry, find themselves out of work come the au-
tional Statistics said Thursday. Demand for Eamon Akil Farhat, Lizzy Burden tumn. Economists expect the jobless rate
staff rose,with vacancies in June alone increas- & Deirdre Hipwell to reach 5.2% by the end of the year.
ing to a record 962,000, up 7% from May. Bloomberg
Another risk facing the economy is that
“The rise in vacancies confirms the cautioned that the figures are being dis- removing most of the remaining restrictions
ongoing struggle to hire staff,” said torted by the pandemic. on July 19 may trigger a spike in corona-
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the virus infections, making consumers more
British Chambers of Commerce. “The The increase reflected depressed wages cautious about going out and spending.
recruitment difficulties faced by firms go a year earlier, the loss of low-paid jobs and
well beyond temporary bottlenecks. Staff the return to full-time work of staff who The number of vacancies increased to
shortages may drag on any recovery.” were previously furloughed on just 80% of 862,000 in the second quarter, above the
their pre-pandemic salary.The ONS esti- pre-pandemic level for the first time. De-
The figures come a day after Bank of mates underlying pay growth is running at mand for staff increased across most sec-
England Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden 3.9% to 5.1%, and at between 3.2% and tors of the economy last month.
highlighted the unexpected buoyancy of 4.4% when bonus payments are excluded.
the labour market and signaled that offi- Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Su-
cials may soon have to consider whether For the Bank of England, the key ques- nak hailed the latest labour market data
to withdraw emergency stimulus to keep as evidence that the economy is “bounc-
inflationary pressures in check. ing back.”
Click here to read the full story
Wages including bonuses rose an an-
nual 7.3% in the three months through
May, the fastest on record. Statisticians

NEW YORK (July 15): Applications for Jobless claims fall Continuing claims for ongoing state
US state unemployment insurance fell last to pandemic low, benefits fell to a 3.24 million in the week
week to a fresh pandemic low, indicating ended July 3. That could reflect more
dismissals are easing, as business condi- underscoring Americans taking jobs and falling off bene-
tions improve and firms look to increase US rebound fit rolls, now that the US$300 weekly sup-
headcounts. plement has ended in many states.
by Olivia Rockeman, Chris Ma rr
Initial claims in regular state pro- & Peyton Forte States including Minnesota, Missis-
grammes decreased by 26,000 to 360,000 Bloomberg sippi and Wyoming — which have ended
in the week ended July 10, Labor Depart- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for
ment data showed Thursday.The median Lawsuits in some of those states chal- self-employed workers — saw no initial
estimate in a Bloomberg survey of econo- lenging the governors’ legal authority to claims in that programme last week.
mists called for 350,000 initial applications. end the aid could restore the halted ben-
efits or keep them in place, until they of- Initial claims in Indiana, Missouri,Ten-
The drop in new unemployment claims ficially expire in September. nessee andTexas jumped last week, which
is in line with a broader economic recov- could reflect attempts to transition to reg-
ery in the US, with businesses back to full ular state programmes, now that PUA has
capacity and demand for travel and leisure been phased out in those states.
surging.
Georgia, Kentucky and Rhode Island
Even so, initial claims remain above reported the biggest declines in initial
pre-pandemic levels and employers contin- claims last week.
ue to point out trouble with finding quali-
fied workers, which could be holding back
the pace of the labour market recovery.

“Conditions in the labour market have
continued to improve, but there is still a
long way to go,” Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell told the House Financial
Services Committee Wednesday.

“Job gains should be strong in com-
ing months, as public-health conditions
continue to improve and as some of the
other pandemic-related factors currently
weighing them down diminish,” he said.

More than half of US governors have
announced plans to end enhanced federal
unemployment benefit programmes early,
amid an ongoing debate about whether
they are holding back job growth.

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Facebook and Multiple major tech platforms are on Tesla correlation
Instagram will the offensive to attract and keep social to big tech breaks
media personalities with new payments
invest over and services. down. Blame
US$1 bil in Bitcoin
content creators TikTok has committed to spending
US$2 billion to support creators over by Joanna Ossinger
by Sheila Dang & Elizabeth Culliford three years. Snap Inc’s Snapchat used Bloomberg
Reuters to pay creators a total of US$1 million
per day to post popular short-form videos SINGAPORE (July 15):Tesla Inc’s shares
(July 15): Facebook Inc will spend US$1 on its service and says it still distributes have become less correlated with those of
billion on social media creators through millions per month to support creators large US technology companies ahead of
the end of 2022, in a fight for top talent through its Spotlight program. the electric-vehicle maker’s earnings re-
announced in a week when TikTok be- port and Bitcoin may be the reason why.
came the first rival mobile app to hit 3 “With the 3 billion install milestone,
billion global downloads. TikTok is the fifth non-game app to The 20-day correlation betweenTesla’s
join a tier that’s historically been the stock price and the Nasdaq 100 index has
Facebook’s investments will include exclusive domain of Facebook,” said fallen from 0.83 on June 17 to 0.14 as of
bonus programs to pay creators who hit mobile insights firm Sensor Tower in Wednesday. A decline can also be found in
certain milestones on its apps, includ- a Tuesday report. the relationship between the EV compa-
ing photo-sharing service Instagram, and ny’s shares and the NYSE FANG+ index,
fund users to produce content, the com- Facebook said its bonuses so far are by which includes the biggest tech firms such
pany said. invitation only. On its main platform vid- as Facebook Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com
eo creators and online gamers will receive Inc and Netflix Inc.Tesla reports earnings
The social media giant is opening a monthly bonus if they hit milestones like on July 26.
its wallet to woo creators with major broadcasting a certain number of hours to
fan followings from platforms like Al- earn Stars, a form of digital tipping that “Tesla is highly correlated to megacap
phabet Inc’s YouTube and short video fans can use to pay their favorite creators tech” and “this relationship has really de-
app TikTok. during live-streamed videos. coupled in the near term,” Amy Wu Sil-
verman, derivatives strategist at RBC Cap-
Instagram’s bonus programs will in- ital Markets, said in emailed comments.
clude incentives to use Reels, its copycat “When I ask around, the feedback I get is
TikTok feature that showcases short-form that this is related to their Bitcoin expo-
video clips. Creators will earn money sure and how it will have to be accounted
based on how their Reels videos perform, for when they report earnings.”
the company said.
Tesla in February disclosed a US$1.5
LOS ANGELES (July 15): Netflix Inc, Netflix plans billion investment in Bitcoin, after favora-
marking its first big move beyond TV to offer video ble comments about the largest cryptocur-
shows and films, is planning an expan- games in push rency from Chief Executive Officer Elon
sion into video games and has hired a beyond films,TV Musk.The move sparked speculation that
former Electronic Arts Inc and Facebook other companies would follow — though
Inc executive to lead the effort. by Lucas Shaw & Mark Gurman few have.Tesla has since sold a portion of
Bloomberg the holdings, and Musk has emerged as a
Mike Verdu will join Netflix as vice critic of Bitcoin for reasons including en-
president of game development, reporting bring more prestigious movies to its line- ergy consumption.
to Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters, up.The company remains well ahead of
the company said on Wednesday. Verdu streaming rivals such as Disney+ or HBO Tesla has dropped almost 4% this
was previously Facebook’s vice president Max, but it added fewer subscribers than month, while the Nasdaq 100 is up more
in charge of working with developers to expected in its most recently reported than 2%. Bitcoin has dropped from a peak
bring games and other content to Oculus quarter. of almost US$65,000 in mid-April to about
virtual-reality headsets. US$32,500 amid a broad retreat in in-
Pushing into games would be one of vestor appetite for speculative assets like
The idea is to offer video games on Netflix’s boldest moves yet. Video games cryptocurrencies.
Netflix’s streaming platform within the give Netflix another way to lure new cus-
next year, according to a person familiar tomers and also offer something none of Silverman noted thatTesla also has “ex-
with the situation.The games will appear its direct competitors currently provides. tremely steep” skew, a measure of how
alongside current fare as a new program- Walt Disney Co, AT&T Inc’sWarnerMe- expensive bearish options are relative to
ming genre — similar to what Netflix did dia and Amazon.com Inc all have access bullish ones.
with documentaries or stand-up specials. to live sports, but they don’t have gaming
The company doesn’t currently plan to within their main video services. “This is highly unusual forTesla which
charge extra for the content, said the per- spends a lot of the time with ‘inverted
son, who asked not to be identified be- Click here to read the full story skews’ because both institutions and re-
cause the deliberations are private. tail adore buying out-of-the-money call
options in the name,” she said.Those look-
Netflix has been seeking ways to keep ing for bearish trades might do well to use
growing, especially in more saturated put spreads to take advantage of the high
markets such as the US. That’s includ- skew, Silverman added.
ed building out its kids’ programming,
opening an online shop to sell merchan-
dise, and tapping Steven Spielberg to

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(July 15): Zomato Ltd’s US$1.3 billion Zomato US$1.3b Other deals
initial public offering was fully subscribed IPO fully sold as Already, Zomato and Paytm’s popularity
on the first day, a vote of confidence for India unicorns among institutional investors is prompt-
a market where a cluster of homegrown ing the other unicorns the country has
startups are preparing to go public. line up been minting at a rapid pace to consider
going public. Among those are cosmetics
Zomato, an online food delivery plat- by Nupur Acharya & Baiju Kalesh retailer Nykaa E-Retail Pvt and Policyba-
form, got bids for about 749 million shares Bloomberg zaar Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd.
against 719.2 million shares on offer. A Credit Suisse Group AG report this
Its IPO is set to be India’s biggest since Inc, India’s leading fintech firm is seek- year found there are about 100 unicorns
March 2020, according to data compiled ing around US$3 billion in what could be in India with a combined market value of
by Bloomberg, and the largest sale was 40% the country’s largest debut ever. Its share- US$240 billion, in sectors from e-com-
subscribed on its first day. holders this week approved a resolution to merce and fintech to education, logistics
sell 120 billion rupees (US$1.6 billion) and food delivery.
“Startups that are big enough and ma- of new shares, people familiar with the
ture have outgrown the venture capital and matter said. A public presence also means in-
private equity funds’ ability to invest,” said creased disclosure, an issue for many of
Manisha Girotra, country head for Moe- These two unicorns — or privately held these loss-making startups.
lis & Co. “These companies which need startups valued at at least US$1 billion
larger pool of capital to grow are the ones — are coming to a market already enjoy- “Given that a number of these com-
readying to go to the public market.” ing blockbuster listings for a few months. panies operate in the consumer segment,
About US$5.6 billion has been raised in retail investors may identify with these
Internet-based consumer companies initial public offerings on Indian stock ex- companies a lot more,” said Devendra
have become more popular as the pan- changes so far in 2021, according to data Agrawal, founder of Dexter Capital
demic fueled the adoption of digital tech- compiled by Bloomberg. UBS Group AG Ltd. “However, the companies would
nologies.The high investor recognition is expects the annual tally to be more than now be required to report their perfor-
a boon when they sell stock. Blackrock double last year’s US$4.6 billion. mance every quarter and will be under
Inc and Fidelity International Ltd were pressure to deliver on profitability much
among the dozens of anchor investors that Stocks that have debuted this year are sooner.
piled into Zomato’s float, resulting in the up by an average of 62%, according to
company receiving about 35 times more data compiled by Bloomberg — buoyed by Zomato’s losses stood at 6.82 billion
bids than it had expected to sell, people a liquidity-fueled stock market that has rupees (US$91.7 million) for the nine
with knowledge of the matter said earlier. defied one of the world’s worst Covid-19 months ended December 2020, accord-
outbreaks. ing to the IPO draft prospectus it filed
Another closely watched initial public with the Indian market regulator, while
offering is the pending deal by digital pay- Paytm parent One 97 Communications’s
ment startup Paytm, also backed by Jack consolidated losses for the financial year
Ma’s Ant Group. ended March 2021 were at 17.01 billion
rupees.
With investors also including SoftBank
Group Corp and Berkshire Hathaway

SEOUL (July 15): SoftBank Group Corp’s SoftBank invests US$2.7 billion in Coupang and the value
Vision Fund II is investing about US$1.7 US$1.7b in of that stake in the e-commerce company
billion inYanolja Co, giving South Korea’s grew more than 10 times to US$28 billion
largest travel app extra capital ahead of an Yanolja ahead at the end of March after the IPO.
initial public offering. of IPO
Yanolja has considered a dual listing in
The Seoul-based startup said it plans to by Sohee Kim Seoul and overseas, Bloomberg News has
use the money to expand geographically Bloomberg reported. It announced in November it’s
and push efforts to bring digital technolo- selected Mirae Asset Daewoo Co as a lead
gies to the travel and hospitality industry. geographic exposure,” said Bloomberg In- arranger along with Samsung Securities
The deal will boostYanolja’s valuation to telligence analyst Anthea Lai. “The coun- Co as a co-underwriter with a goal to go
more than 10 trillion won (US$9 billion), try’s advance in mobile connectivity defi- public this year.The startup, which is also
according to people familiar with the mat- nitely helps strengthen SVF’s investment the world’s largest property management
ter. The company declined to comment thesis there.” software provider after Oracle Corp, is still
on the latest valuation and the amount of exploring options and the size and location
stake that SoftBank will acquire. Shares ofYanolja’s investor SBI Invest- of its IPO haven’t been finalized.
ment Korea Co soared 13% in Seoul, while
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has another investor, AJU IB Investment Co, Backed by Singaporean sovereign
been expanding his investments in South gained 5.3%. wealth fund GIC Pte and Booking Hold-
Korea, a strategy that paid off as Coupang ings Inc, Yanolja has been expanding its
Inc pulled off the country’s largest IPO in Yanolja, founded by former motel business to include leisure activities and
more than a decade.The e-commerce gi- manager Lee Su-jin in 2005 originally as transport along with hotel bookings.With
ant helped SoftBank post the highest profit a short-stay hotel-booking service, is hop- its acquisition of Indian lodgings manage-
ever for a Japanese company in May, and ing to tap resurgent interest in Korea’s tech ment platform eZeeTechnosys in 2019, the
paved the way for a wave of Korean start- scene. SoftBank’s Vision Fund invested startup says it is now the world’s largest
up debuts from PUBG-developer Krafton cloud-based hotel management solution
Inc to Kakao Pay. provider. Despite Covid-19 lockdowns, it
reported a 44% increase in sales and a 16.1
“South Korea could be one of the many billion won profit for 2020.
markets that are diversifying Softbank’s

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(July 15): The tailwinds lifting the Hong Hong Kong’s Even after then-US President Donald
Kong bourse’s prospects are blowing from booming IPO Trump signed a measure into law in De-
east and west: China is applying heavy market set for lift cember that could delist Chinese firms
scrutiny on overseas listings as well as its from China curbs from American exchanges in a dispute
homegrown exchanges, sending compa- over accounting rules, Chinese companies
nies to consider going public in the Asian by Vinicy Chan, Ishika Mookerjee still managed to raise nearly US$13 billion
financial hub. & John Cheng through first-time share sales in the US this
Bloomberg year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
Logistics and delivery firm Lalamove
is the latest weighing moving its US ini- It isn’t just Chinese The Hong Kong exchange’s share of
tial public offering plan to Hong Kong, IPO hopefuls that are the funds raised in listings by Chinese
following Beijing’s pledge to tighten cy- looking to the city to companies had been declining in recent
bersecurity oversight that could block raise funds. Hong Kong’s years, Bloomberg data shows. HKEX at-
startups from holding first-time share tracted 37% of Chinese listings in 2020,
sales outside the country. China’s strict- financing flexibility down from 41% in 2019 and 53% the
er screening for its Nasdaq-style STAR and the availability of year before.
board has also prompted companies such offshore capital are
as Neusoft Medical Systems Co to switch drawing many A-share In the wake of Didi Global Inc’s US$4.4
to Hong Kong. listed companies to seek billion US IPO and China’s subsequent
a second listing there. crackdown, authorities in Beijing are pro-
“The bulk of offshore listings are still posing giving themselves the power to
happening in Hong Kong, so there might “It’s quite flexible to go into a top-up block a Chinese firm from listing overseas
be a trigger for more listings,” said David placement and do a convertible bond in even if the unit selling shares is incorpo-
Chin, head of investment banking for Asia Hong Kong, compared with the require- rated outside China — a threat that makes
Pacific at UBS Group AG. ments in the A-share market,” Highfield a Hong Kong offering a safer, while still
said. technically offshore, alternative.
The prospect of capturing rerouted ac-
tivity helped make Hong Kong Exchanges Hong Kong’s relatively streamlined list- Companies have raised US$32 billion
& Clearing Ltd the world’s top-perform- ing procedures are another attractive fea- through Hong Kong listings in 2021 so
ing major bourse this month. The stock ture. In China, it could take a company far, nearly double last year’s total by this
has gained nearly 10% in July to beat 11 months to win regulatory approvals, price point in the year and a record for the pe-
of its peers with a market value of US$10 the deal and finally debut. China Three riod, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
billion and above, according to data com- Gorges Renewables Group Co, the year’s
piled by Bloomberg. biggest IPO in China, first announced its Raising the bar
intention to list in April 2020 and only Even as it stands to attract more aspir-
It isn’t just Chinese IPO hopefuls that started trading in June this year. ants, Hong Kong’s listing rules are get-
are looking to the city to raise funds. Hong Under pressure ting tighter, said SharnieWong, an analyst
Kong’s financing flexibility and the availa- Chinese regulators’ moves in the last two at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Requirements
bility of offshore capital are drawing many weeks are also tipping the scales in Hong are more relaxed in the US,”Wong added.
A-share listed companies to seek a second Kong’s favour.
listing there, according toTucker Highfield, In May, the exchange toughened its
co-head of Asia Pacific equity capital mar- profit requirements for listing on the main
kets at Bank of America Corp. board starting in 2022.The regulations in-
clude a minimum aggregate profit threshold
ChinaTourism Group Duty Free Corp of HK$80 million (US$10 million) in the
is planning a second listing in Hong Kong company’s three most recent financial years.
that could raise at least US$5 billion, po-
tentially one of the year’s biggest in the city. Still, Chinese companies that had aimed
Shenzhen-traded cosmetics manufacturer for US markets will find Hong Kong easier
Yunnan Botanee Bio-Technology Group to navigate than Shenzhen or Shanghai.
Co and biomedical product maker Imeik
Technology Development Co are seeking “It’s unlikely that a lot of these com-
to sell shares in Hong Kong. panies can meet the domestic listing re-
quirements,” said UBS’ Chin.

SINGAPORE (July 15): China’s nation- World’s largest accounting rules and guidance for pollu-
al carbon market will become the world’s CO2 market tion rights for industries beyond the pow-
biggest as begins trading on Friday. starts trading on er sector.
Friday in China
The system, will initially cover more Still, the market is not expected to have
than 2,200 companies in China’s power by Krystal Chia any impact on the amount of emissions
sector, the Shanghai Environment and En- Bloomberg in its early days. There’s potential that a
ergy Exchange said in a statement on its surplus of permits will mean even pow-
website. The market previously missed a er generators who pollute too much will
June 30 deadline to launch. be able to buy them at a cheap price and
won’t be incentivized to become greener,
China aims to rapidly expand the mar- according to some analysts.
ket to add more heavy polluting industries,
Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Europe’s market started in 2005 and
Zhao Yingmin said at a press conference covers industries from power generation to
on Wednesday. Zhao added that authori- cement and steel manufacturers. It will be
ties will quickly work on setting emissions expanded to include maritime transport.

f r i d a y j u ly 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 21 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

TSMC forecasts OnThursday,TSMC said on an analyst UK’s Revolut
sustained chip call that the auto chip shortage will gradually rockets to
demand, easing reduce for its customers from this quarter
but expects overall semiconductor capacity US$33 billion
of auto chip tightness to extend possibly into next year. valuation after
shortage Softbank-backed
The Taiwanese firm, which also makes
by Yimou Lee & Ben Blanchard chips for Qualcomm Inc, had previously fundraising
Reuters flagged a US$100 billion expansion plan
over the next three years, as fifth-genera- by Lawrence White
TAIPEI (July 15): Taiwan Semiconductor tion (5G) telecommunications technology Reuters
Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) posted and artificial intelligence applications drive
record quarterly sales and forecast revenue global demand for advanced chips. LONDON (July 15): British-based digi-
for the current quarter to jump by at least tal banking app Revolut has raised around
a fifth, boosted by a pandemic-led surge in “Our second-quarter business was main- US$800 million in a new funding round led
global demand for semiconductors that pow- ly driven by continued strength in high per- by Softbank’sVision Fund andTiger Global
er smartphones, laptops, and cars. formance computing (HPC) and automo- Management, valuing the company at around
tive-related demand,” said chief financial US$33 billion.The fundraising makes Revolut
Revenue for April-June at TSMC, the officerWendell Huang. Britain’s most valuable fintech firm and on
world’s largest contract chipmaker and a paper it is now worth slightly more than the
major Apple Inc supplier, climbed 28% to “Moving into the third quarter, we expect market capitalisation of mainstream lender
a record US$13.29 billion. our business to be supported by strong de- NatWest.
mand for our industry-leading 5 nanometre
For the quarter ending in September, and 7 nanometre technologies, driven by London-based Revolut was worth just
TSMC forecast revenue of US$14.6 billion all four growth platforms, which are smart- US$5.5 billion when it raised US$500 mil-
to US$14.9 billion, compared with US$12.1 phone, HPC, IoT (internet of things), and lion in early 2020, and had been eyeing a val-
billion in the same period a year earlier. For automotive-related applications.” uation of around US$20 billion as recently
the second quarter,TSMC said profit rose as June, according to media reports at the
11% to T$134.4 billion (US$4.81 billion) Analysts are bullish aboutTSMC’s busi- time.Such stellar valuations are increasingly
from a year earlier. ness in the coming quarters, citing strong common in the fintech sector, with payment
demand for the company’s most advanced 5 company Wise valued at US$11 billion last
TSMC’s business has been supported by nanometre node technology as well as its up- week in London’s biggest-ever tech listing.
a global chip shortage that has forced auto- coming 3 nanometre node, which is sched-
makers to cut production and hurt manu- uled to enter trial production later this year. Founded in 2015 by former Credit Su-
facturers of smartphones, laptops, and even Click here to read the full story isse trader Nik Storonsky and developerVla-
appliances during the pandemic. Read also:TSMC Is considering building dyslavYatsenko, Revolut has won more than
a chip plant in Japan, CEO says Click 16 million customers with products including
here foreign exchange, stock trading, and crypto-
currencies, undercutting mainstream banks’
LONDON (July 15): Binance is not author- Binance prices. It has yet to translate that rapid growth
ised to carry out activities in Italy, the coun- unauthorised, says into profitability, however, with its annual loss-
try’s market watchdog said on Thursday, Italian regulator, as es doubling last financial year on investment
joining a string of global regulatory moves crackdown widens in risk controls.
against the cryptocurrency exchange.
by Tom Wilson Revolut has in recent years accelerated
Binance Group companies are not au- Reuters its global expansion, pushing into markets
thorised to provide investment services and including the United States, Australia, and
activities in Italy, despite sections of its web- Regulators inThailand, Japan, Germany, Japan.The fresh cash will mainly be used to
site offering information in Italian, Consob and the United States have also targeted the help product development, and marketing
said in a statement. platform recently. in countries that Revolut is expanding into,
particularly the US and India, chief financial
“Savers are invited to make use of their Binance offers a wide range of services to officer Mikko Salovaara told reporters.
utmost diligence in order to make their in- users across the globe, from crypto spot and
vestment choices in full awareness, verifying derivatives trading to tokenised versions of The fundraising would not affect the time-
in advance that the websites through which stocks. Its Italian-language channel on the table for any potential listing of Revolut, he
they make the investment can be attributed Telegram messaging site has over 25,500 said.“We think eventually we will be a pub-
to authorised subjects,” it said. members. lic company but have no immediate plans to
list,” he said.
A spokesperson for Binance did not im- Trading volumes in June were US$668
mediately respond to a request for comment. billion, up almost tenfold from July 2020, The investment round was endorsed by
It has previously said it took a collaborative data from CryptoCompare showed. Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak, who
approach to working with regulators and wants to grow the country’s fintech industry
takes its compliance obligations seriously. to help keep the financial sector competitive
following the UK’s departure from the Eu-
Britain’s financial watchdog last month ropean Union.
barred Binance — one of the world’s biggest
exchanges — from carrying out regulated “We want to see even more great British
activities in the UK. fintech success stories like Revolut,” he said.

f r i d a y j u ly 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 22 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

(July 15): A new initiative aims to over- Covid-19 vaccine “We always knew that scaling up man-
come bottlenecks that have hampered the makers take aim ufacturing would be as big a challenge as
production and global rollout of Covid-19 at bottlenecks to actually finding and developing effective
shots, linking manufacturers with suppli- speed production vaccines,” said Thomas Cueni, director
ers of vital materials. general of the International Federation of
by James Paton Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associa-
The platform, led by the Coalition for Bloomberg tions in Geneva. “This is the biggest vacci-
Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, will nation program in the history of mankind.”
serve as a marketplace that matches up that they were promising just because of
buyers and sellers of filters, lipids, vials, one small thing like a filter,” Melanie Sav- Unequal access
bioreactor bags and other key supplies ille, CEPI’s director of vaccine research Facing criticism, the US earlier this year de-
used to make vaccines.The goal is to ac- and development, said in an interview. cided to help India by sending items needed
celerate production of tens of millions of “This is a very practical solution for the for shots as part of an aid package.The Biden
doses that can flow to Covax, the global short term.” administration also started sharing vaccines
distribution program that has fallen short abroad after the country took the initial hun-
of its initial targets. The head of Serum Institute of India, dreds of millions of doses made on its soil.
which is licensed to make vaccines from Wealthy nations have obtained most of the
Manufacturers see tackling component AstraZeneca Plc and Novavax Inc., warned limited supplies of vaccines produced so far.
shortages as a way to address the inequi- earlier this year that a US law blocking the
table access to vaccines that has left low- export of key items including bags and fil- Vaccine supply chains can involve more
er-income countries behind in the race to ters would probably cause serious bottle- than 100 components.The new platform
immunize.They have focused on eliminat- necks. Novavax’s own production, mean- will focus on several areas, including lipids.
ing bottlenecks and trade barriers, arguing while, has been held up by shortages. Messenger RNA, the genetic material at the
against proposals to waive patent protection heart of the Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc
for shots.With an estimated 11 billion dos- shots, needs a protective shell composed
es needed to escape the pandemic, some of four different types of the fatty material
producers are struggling to hit full capacity. — collectively called a lipid nanoparticle
— so that it can enter human cells.
“What we’re actually seeing is manu-
facturers unable to deliver the vaccines The new marketplace will allow man-
ufacturers and suppliers to confidential-
bloomberg ly lodge requests or offers to Oslo-based
CEPI.The program gives suppliers a way
to allocate unused materials and mobilize
idle stock from vaccine programs that have
failed or plan to scale down. It also could
tap surplus supplies from manufacturers
not involved with vaccines.

“It’s not the only thing that needs to
happen,” CEPI’s Saville said. “Our objec-
tive is to get those doses of vaccines out
in a timely manner, and that’s why we’re
looking at multiple approaches.”

BANGKOK (July 15): AstraZeneca has Thailand says Deputy Health Minister Sathit Pitut-
asked Thailand to extend the timeline AstraZeneca acha told MCOT television station that
for the delivery of 61 million doses of its asked to delay AstraZeneca had requested to delay the
Covid-19 vaccine by five months, a deputy delivery of all 61 million doses it pledged
minister said on Thursday, a move likely delivery of toThailand from itsThai production facil-
to further disrupt the country’s sluggish 61 million ity from December this year to May 2022.
vaccine roll-out. vaccine doses
AstraZeneca did not immediately re-
The reported request points to a slow by Panarat Thepgumpanat spond to a request for comment on Sathit’s
production ramp-up at its local manu- & Panu Wongcha-um statement.
facturing partner, which had initial pro- Reuters
duction and delivery issues, even as As- Sathit also said the drug maker had the
traZeneca reassured it would be back on production glitches earlier and is in a le- capacity to produce 15 million doses of
track from this month to meet its sup- gal battle with the European Union over vaccine per month at the Siam Bioscience
ply commitments to Thailand and other shipment delays, while its vaccine has been production facility it is contracted with in
Southeast Asian nations. linked to rare cases of blood clotting. Thailand and that capacity could expand
in the future.
The comments come a day after Thai-
land said it was considering curbing exports AstraZeneca was now promising to de-
of the locally produced AstraZeneca vac- liver 40% of what is produced at that facility
cine doses to fight its own crisis, sparking toThailand, Sathit said, adding thatThai-
concerns of vaccine protectionism. land will ask the company for more doses.
Click here to read the full story
TheThailand dispute marks a fresh set-
back for the drug maker which had other

f r i d a y j u ly 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 23 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

Asia’s air travel may take three years to
recover from Covid-19 pandemic

(July 15): Asian air travel may take another by Elizabeth Low Just this week, Indonesia — the largest
three years to recover fully from the devas- Bloomberg economy in Southeast Asia — surpassed
tation wrought by the pandemic, lagging India’s tally of daily cases, marking a new
behind rebounds in other regions and of- bloomberg center for the highly-contagious delta variant.
fering a stern headwind for refiners mak- Elsewhere, Malaysia has been struggling to
ing jet fuel. contain a recent outbreak, Seoul in South
Korea has imposed its toughest restrictions
It’ll take until 2024 for international air yet, and Japan is preparing to host the Olym-
travel across the region to reach pre-virus pic Games without spectators.
levels, a year after global traffic hits that
milestone, according to the International While there have been Bubble trouble
AirTransport Association. Similarly, con- signs some countries While there have been signs some countries
sultancy Energy Aspects says jet fuel con- including Singapore are including Singapore are rethinking their
sumption will reach pre-pandemic volumes rethinking their Covid- Covid-zero stance to open up, it’s likely in-
only in 2023-2024. zero stance to open up, ternational travel will still take longer than
it’s likely international the rest of the world to restart. Australia’s
The drawn-out timelines highlight the plan to launch a quarantine-free travel bub-
difficulties facing Asia and the likely con- travel will still take ble with the city-state is now more likely to
sequences for jet fuel, a traditionally prized longer than the rest of occur only by the end of the year, according
part of the oil-products market. Low rates to an Australian diplomat.
of vaccination in many countries, the chal- the world to restart.
lenge posed by the fast-spreading delta “We expect passenger traffic for inter-
variant, and persistent lockdowns have all national Asia-Pacific to restart in early
set back the recovery even as the US and 2022 at the earliest,” an IATA spokesper-
Europe press on. All that means Asia’s avi- son said in an email interview. “We don’t
ation industry is unlikely to offer signifi- think that the variant situation will im-
cant support to the region’s hard-pressed prove, so governments are unlikely to start
refineries, which process crude from the lifting controls before vaccination becomes
Middle East and elsewhere into fuels. sufficiently widespread to limit commu-
nity contagion.”
Both North America and Europe have
seen strong demand during the holidays, That means a longer struggle for Asian
with the European Union relaxing quar- refiners. Given the differentiated recov-
antine and lockdown requirements, ac- ery, some processors have been looking
cording to Mayur Patel, regional sales di- to Europe and the US as outlets for jet
rector for Japan and Asia Pacific at OAG, fuel, shipping more to both regions.With
an aviation analytics firm. “Sadly, the lackluster demand, the margin for mak-
same cannot be said for Asia, where the ing jet fuel in Asia has sunk to US$5.99 a
low level of vaccination rates, sudden barrel atWednesday’s close compared with
and sharp lockdowns, and inconsistent US$15.54 in December 2019, Bloomberg
regulations frustrate any real attempt at Fair Value data show.
a recovery,” he said.
Asia’s jet fuel usage accounted for a
third of global consumption in 2019, ac-
cording to Energy Aspects. Right now, the
region’s overall flight numbers — domestic
and international — are 70% of pre-virus
levels, but if China is excluded are only
40%, according to George Dix, an analyst.
“We currently expect Asian jet demand
will not reach pre-pandemic levels until
2023-2024, although domestic travel will
have largely recovered by the end of 2022.”

Given the challenges, regional refiners
will continue to redirect kerosene, which
includes jet fuel, into the gasoil pool this
quarter, aiming to tap into winter fuel
heating demand the following quarter,
according to Sri Paravaikkarasu at ener-
gy consultancy FGE. “The full recovery
of international air travel has a long way
to go,” she said.

f r i d a y j u ly 1 6 , 2 0 2 1 24 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

MARKETS

CPO RM 4,080.00 46.00 OIL US$ 76.48 -0.01 RM/USD 4.2015 RM/SGD 3.0990 RM/AUD 3.1257 RM/GBP 5.8176 RM/EUR 4.9506

Top 20 active stocks

NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)

Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd 425.0 0.045 0.455 -74.15 1687.9

LKL International Bhd 176.4 0.04 0.315 -65.57 178.5

Careplus Group Bhd 172.4 0.230 1.990 -2.68 1096.6

Pasukhas Group Bhd 111.1 -0.035 0.195 -45.96 37.2

Saudee Group Bhd 107.4 0.000 0.265 -36.44 188.8

Sarawak Consolidated IND BHD 99.2 0.085 0.735 -48.24 360.6

YBS International Bhd 89.6 0.04 0.475 156.76 117.1

Lambo Group BHD 76.2 0.005 0.015 -50.00 74.8

Meridian Bhd 70.8 0.025 0.18 -57.65 135.6 World equity indices

AT Systematization Bhd 64.7 0.005 0.07 -62.16 304.8

Yenher Holdings 61.8 -0.05 0.9 0 270 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE

ManagePay Systems Bhd 57.4 0 0.235 56.67 197.7 (%) (%)
DOW JONES 34,933.23 44.44 0.13 INDONESIA 6,046.75 67.54 1.13
Metronic Global Bhd 55.8 0.010 0.045 -55.00 93.6

Rubberex Corp M Bhd 55.5 0.095 0.935 -33.21 778.2 S&P 500 4,374.30 5.09 0.12 JAPAN 28,279.09 -329.40 -1.15

Adventa Bhd 54.2 0.35 1.82 18.95 278.1 NASDAQ 100 14,900.44 25.90 0.17 KOREA 3,286.22 21.41 0.66

HLT Global Bhd 53.1 0.11 0.915 -19.74 647 FTSE 100 7,039.65 -51.54 -0.73 PHILIPPINES 6,727.93 -107.48 -1.57

Vizione Holdings Bhd 53 -0.025 0.135 -66.25 138.1 AUSTRALIA 7,335.92 -18.78 -0.26 SINGAPORE 3,139.98 -13.17 -0.42

KPower BHD 50.4 0.06 0.81 -55.19 366.4 CHINA 3,564.59 36.09 1.02 TAIWAN 18,034.19 188.44 1.06

Kanger International Bhd 50.4 0.005 0.07 -51.72 195.7 HONG KONG 27,996.27 208.81 0.75 THAILAND 1,572.01 2.31 0.15

NCT Alliance Bhd 47.8 -0.005 0.57 75.38 341.9 INDIA 53,158.85 254.80 0.48 VIETNAM 1,293.92 14.01 1.09

Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

Top gainers (ranked by %) Top losers (ranked by %)

NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL) (%) (RM MIL)

Lambo Group BHD 0.015 50.000 76226.7 -50.00 74.8 China Ouhua Winery HLDGs Ltd 0.040 -20.00 55.0 -33.33 26.7

Quality Concrete Holdings Bhd 1.32 29.41 456.5 32 76.5 Impiana Hotels Bhd 0.050 -16.67 6455.0 -37.50 61.8

Metronic Global Bhd 0.045 28.570 55774.2 -55.00 93.6 Vizione Holdings Bhd 0.135 -15.63 53033.7 -66.25 138.1

Adventa Bhd 1.820 23.810 54228.8 18.95 278.1 Pasukhas Group Bhd 0.195 -15.22 111067.9 -45.96 37.2

Fintec Global Bhd 0.030 20.000 3526.6 -62.50 124.4 Y&G Corp Bhd 1.360 -12.26 982.8 142.86 297.1

PJBUMI Bhd 0.330 20.000 1023.7 17.86 27.1 OCB Bhd 1.040 -10.34 4428.8 85.71 107.0

Berjaya Land Bhd 0.290 18.370 21841.6 52.63 1426.9 Mlabs Systems Bhd 0.045 -10.00 92.7 -43.75 54.4

Jasa Kita BHD 0.135 17.390 1259.4 28.57 60.7 Kumpulan H&L High-Tech Bhd 4.240 -9.59 5480.1 192.41 155.1

Meridian Bhd 0.180 16.130 70755.4 -57.65 135.6 Widetech Malaysia BHD 3.930 -8.60 929.4 555.00 175.9

Sin Heng Chan Malaya Bhd 0.550 14.580 902.9 18.28 133.0 Trive Property Group BHD 0.06 -7.69 1247.4 -55.76 63.2

LKL International Bhd 0.315 14.550 176435.7 -65.57 178.5 BarakahOffshorePetroleumBhd 0.065 -7.14 760.8 18.18 54.3

Dolomite Corp Bhd 0.040 14.290 292.0 -65.22 23.6 AbleGroup Bhd 0.130 -7.14 772.3 8.33 34.3

HLT Global Bhd 0.915 13.66 53122.8 -19.74 647 M3 Technologies Asia Bhd 0.065 -7.14 8223.4 0.00 58.1

Pharmaniaga Bhd 1.040 13.660 25402.5 4.00 1362.4 Iqzan Holding Bhd 0.065 -7.14 200.0 -43.48 12.0

Key Asic Bhd 0.125 13.640 35585.1 56.25 158.6 UMS Holdings BHD 2.640 -6.71 427.0 46.67 107.4

Sarawak Consolidated IND BHD 0.735 13.080 99186.3 -48.24 360.6 Box-Pak Malaysia BHD 1.260 -6.67 2.9 -5.97 151.3

Careplus Group Bhd 1.990 13.070 172416.9 -2.68 1096.6 AirAsia X Bhd 0.07 -6.67 1465.1 -6.67 290.4

INIX Technologies Holdings Bhd 0.095 11.760 4582.8 -68.85 44.3 MQ Technology Bhd 0.075 -6.25 995.8 -44.44 54.8

Komarkcorp Bhd 0.145 11.540 4149.4 -72.81 83.7 Digistar Corp Bhd 0.075 -6.25 9291.8 -17.62 58.6

UCrest Bhd 0.34 11.48 47105.2 119.35 211.4 KYM Holdings Bhd 0.385 -6.1 803.8 10 57.7

Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM)

NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL) (%) (RM MIL)

Hartalega Holdings Bhd 7.64 0.38 7888.7 -37.07 26109.4 Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd 42.380 -0.940 111.9 63.25 8429.2

Kesm Industries Bhd 11.58 0.38 10.4 -14.73 498.1 Kumpulan H&L High-Tech Bhd 4.240 -0.450 5480.1 192.41 155.1

Adventa Bhd 1.82 0.35 54228.8 18.95 278.1 Widetech Malaysia BHD 3.93 -0.37 929.4 555 175.9

Heineken Malaysia Bhd 22 0.3 45.6 -4.43 6646.2 Petronas Dagangan Bhd 18.680 -0.360 82.2 -12.71 18557.7

Quality Concrete Holdings Bhd 1.32 0.3 456.5 32 76.5 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 133.000 -0.200 33.4 -4.25 31188.5

Top Glove Corp Bhd 4.04 0.28 45000 -33.2 32338.6 Carlsberg Brewery (M) Bhd 21.100 -0.200 128.0 -9.21 6451.3

Careplus Group Bhd 1.99 0.23 172416.9 -2.68 1096.6 Y&G Corp Bhd 1.36 -0.19 982.8 142.86 297.1

Kossan Rubber Industries 3.28 0.21 13555.2 -25.51 8369.3 UMS Holdings BHD 2.640 -0.190 427.0 46.67 107.4

Supermax Corp Bhd 3.5 0.21 41838.6 -40.13 9161.7 Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 3.560 -0.180 3962.7 -28.32 24619.9

Hong Leong Industries Bhd 9.31 0.21 48.7 4.72 2974.3 Southern Acids Malaysia BHD 3.730 -0.170 2.0 -1.84 510.8

MR DIY Group M Bhd 3.51 0.18 5341.6 12.5 22030.9 OCB Bhd 1.040 -0.120 4428.8 85.71 107.0

Hong Leong Bank Bhd 18.36 0.18 1214.7 0.88 39799.3 Harrisons Holdings (M) Bhd 4.390 -0.110 10.8 11.99 300.6

Lysaght Galvanized Steel Bhd 2.2 0.17 5.5 -5.98 91.5 D&O Green Technologies Bhd 5.100 -0.110 7189.2 123.68 6036.7

Comfort Glove Bhd 1.99 0.17 14325.9 -32.31 1155.1 AEON Credit Service M Bhd 12.000 -0.100 62.1 0.00 3063.7

Duopharma Biotech Bhd 3.04 0.14 2291.2 -10.06 2147.2 Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 19.700 -0.100 476.5 -16.81 21242.2

Pharmaniaga Bhd 1.04 0.125 25402.5 4 1362.4 Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 26.300 -0.100 71.6 -18.02 9646.3

British American Tobacco (M) Bhd 14.68 0.12 151 4.26 4191.6 Box-Pak Malaysia BHD 1.260 -0.090 2.9 -5.97 151.3

Genetec Technology Bhd 18.2 0.12 704.4 952.02 921.3 Transocean Holdings BHD 4.180 -0.080 546.9 429.11 188.5

Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd 17.86 0.12 78.9 -1.11 20454.1 Teo Guan Lee Corp BHD 2.660 -0.070 215.9 141.82 108.4

HLT Global Bhd 0.915 0.11 53122.8 -19.74 647 SKB Shutters Corp Bhd 1.74 -0.070 303.6 190 76.6

Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jul 15, 2021 Source: Bloomberg