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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 493/2022

CEOMorningBrief
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US TO ADD MORE THAN 30 CHINESE COMPANIES
TO TRADE BLACKLIST p16

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 493/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: TM consolidates business to strengthen fixed-mobile convergence p4
CAAM confirms CEO Chester Voo’s resignation, says Dec 31 last day p7

Top Glove expects another loss-making quarter after six months in the red p8
WORLD: FTX bankruptcy standoff heats up as Bahamas challenges US case p19
Chinese tycoon’s luxury prison in the sky shows wealthy can make up the rules p24

Govt mulls power tariff
hike for multinational

exporters, certain
profitable ‘giants’

Report on Page 3.

t h u r s d a y d e c e m B ER 1 5 , 2 0 2 2 2 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

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PUTRAJAYA (Dec 14):Yang di-Pertuan King has not Meanwhile, Anwar expressed confi-
Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin taken salary since dence that party leaders in the unity gov-
Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has not taken a start of Covid-19, ernment would support the motion of
salary since Covid-19 hit the country, be- confidence set to take place in Parliament
cause His Majesty is concerned with the says Anwar next week.
economic situation that has taken its toll on
the people’s livelihood, said Prime Minister Bernama “The leaders of Pakatan Harapan, Ba-
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. risan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak,
Bernama Gabungan Rakyat Sabah,Warisan and sever-
“I want to inform you that His Maj- al other parties have given their commitment.
esty has rejected taking his salary since
the start of Covid-19, much earlier than “God willing, we will be able to con-
me...I think it would be good if we make tinue...please pray for the best,” he said.
this clear,” Anwar told a press conference
after chairing the Cabinet meeting here on The vote of confidence for Anwar’s
Wednesday (Dec 14). leadership will be one of the main agen-
das in the First Session of the First Term
Anwar has previously stressed that of the 15th Parliament of Malaysia, sched-
he will not take any salary, both as the uled for two days from Dec 19.
PM and as the finance minister, to restore
the people’s confidence, especially in the In his maiden media conference after
unity government led by him. taking his oath as the PM on Nov 24, An-
war said the confidence vote is aimed at
Anwar was appointed as the 10th PM putting an end to any question of him be-
of Malaysia on Nov 24. ing the PM.

All members of the Cabinet have also Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah
agreed to take a 20% pay cut, which is their Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah (left) and
way of showing solidarity towards the peo- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at
ple and the tough times they are facing. Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur on Dec 3.

Malaysia, China Japan hopes for “I am sure that the relationship will
pledge to boost ties continued strong further develop and continue. When it
relationship with comes to cooperation, it is not one di-
Bernama Malaysia under rection.
new leadership
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Malay- “I hope both Japan and Malaysia will
sia and China are determined to con- Bernama continue to promote their strong eco-
tinue strengthening ties for the benefit nomic ties,” he told reporters after an
and prosperity of the people, as well as GEORGE TOWN (Dec 14): Con- award-presentation ceremony of Foreign
for bilateral interests, said Prime Min- sul-General of Japan in Penang, Minister’s Commendations for 2022 to
ister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.  Kawaguchi Yoshiyasu, hopes the Datuk Tomiyasu Ushiama,  here on
long-standing relations between Ja- Wednesday (Dec 14).
In a post on his official Facebook pan and Malaysia will continue to be
page on Wednesday (Dec 14), Anwar strengthened under Malaysia’s new Ushiama is the honorary advisor of the
said he had received a courtesy call from leadership. Perak Malaysian-Japanese Friendship So-
the Ambassador of China, OuyangYu- ciety.
jing, and his delegation on Tuesday, He expressed his hope for further col-
and held discussions during the meeting. laboration between both countries fol- According to data from the Ministry of
lowing the appointment of Datuk Seri InternationalTrade and Industry (MITI),
The discussions centred on bilateral Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia’s new prime Japan is one of Malaysia’s top sources of
cooperations, especially in attracting in- minister. foreign direct investment (FDI) in terms
vestment and bolstering trade, and en- of implemented manufacturing projects,
hancing relations among the people of with a total investment value of US$688
the two countries. million (US$1=RM4.405) recorded from
January to June this year.

In terms of trade, Japan accounted for
6.7% of Malaysia’s total trade, which rose
by 49.5%t year-on-year to RM17.11 bil-
lion in September 2022.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Prime Govt mulls power and pacify the public amid rising prices.
Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on tariff hike for Malaysia’s electricity tariff in 2022
Wednesday (Dec 14) indicated a potential multinational
increase in electricity tariffs on the horizon saw a surcharge of 3.7 sen per kilowatt
for multinational companies that export exporters, certain hour (kWh) for non-domestic users, while
and no subsidy for selected profitable “gi- profitable ‘giants’ maintaining a two sen rebate for domes-
ant” companies. tic users.
BY ADAM AZIZ
Speaking at a press conference, Anwar theedgemarkets.com This is despite analysts estimating the
said the government will not proceed with surcharge need to be at least 14 sen per
earlier suggestions to raise the blanket elec- Also to be excluded from higher tariffs kWh in the second half of 2022 (2H2022)
tricity tariff as it will burden the Malay- are agriculture-related companies and food to meet the rising fuel costs, and poten-
sian public. product manufacturers, Anwar added. tially higher in 1H2023.

This was as he acknowledged that the Rising electricity tariffs have become The situation has weighed on govern-
impact on government finances is “quite a common phenomenon globally as well ment coffers and the balance sheet of na-
high” at an estimated RM30 billion per as in the region, amid skyrocketing prices tional power company Tenaga Nasional
year “if nothing is done” moving forward. of coal and gas that fuel the power plants Bhd.
as economic demand returned post-pan-
“Earlier suggestion to increase the elec- demic while supply was constrained from In August, the government said it has
tricity tariff is not continued as this will under-investments and the Russia-Ukraine allocated RM5.8 billion to subsidise the
burden the people,” Anwar said. conflict. rising electricity costs, and provided guar-
antee forTenaga’s financing by up to RM6
“[Minister of Natural Resources, Envi- Despite the global trend, Malaysia, billion.
ronment and Climate Change] Nik Nazmi bogged by political tussles in recent years,
[Nik Ahmad] will make further announce- has seen ruling administrations keep elec- In the third quarter ended Sept 30,
ment that if [higher tariffs] are imposed, it tricity tariffs down in order to cap inflation 2022, Tenaga’s receivables rose to a re-
will only involve multinational exporters cord RM22.2 billion, mostly from higher
because the tariff is too low for them and costs of generation fuel, which needs to be
[electricity] subsidy should not be provided recouped from higher electricity tariffs in
to giant companies whose profits are high. the future under the imbalance cost pass
through mechanism.
“However for the people and the SMEs
(small and medium enterprises), they are The government is scheduled to an-
not affected,” he said. nounce the new tariff surcharge for
1H2023 before the end of this month.

PUTRAJAYA (Dec 14): Prime Minis- PM wants review On Oct 13, former PM Datuk Seri Is-
ter Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants the of Batu Puteh claim mail SabriYaakob, in a statement, said the
claim over Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca) to Cabinet had agreed for Malaysia to pro-
be reviewed through immediate and more via immediate, ceed with legal action at the ICJ on the
“meaningful” negotiations with Singapore, meaningful talks dispute involving the sovereignty over Batu
without jeopardising bilateral relations. Puteh, BatuanTengah (Middle Rocks) and
with S’pore Tubir Selatan (South Ledge).
“I have asked the attorney general (Tan
Sri Idrus Harun) for an explanation of the Bernama Ismail Sabri said the matter was agreed
controversial Batu Puteh claim which, as it upon after hearing the presentation and
stands, has been awarded to Singapore by BERNAMA proposals by the special task force to re-
the ICJ (International Court of Justice), view laws relating to sovereignty over the
and also any other arising implications. disputed islets on Oct 7.

“I asked that the matter be looked into, Separately, Anwar said the Cabinet
so that there can be more meaningful ne- meeting onWednesday also discussed sev-
gotiations with Singapore,” Anwar said at a eral other pending matters, including the
media conference after chairing the Cabi- Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report
net meeting here onWednesday (Dec 14). on issues faced by LembagaTabung Haji.

He said the chairman of the RCI, former
chief justiceTun Md Raus Sharif, had given
a briefing, and discussions will continue in
January on the issues concerned as well as
proposals on how to improve the manage-
ment of the Islamic financial institution.

The RCI was set up early this year in
accordance with the Commission of In-
quiry Act 1950 (Act 119) to investigate
management and operation issues faced
by Tabung Haji.

It was formed to enable further investi-
gations into arising issues, and for recom-
mendations to be submitted to the Govern-
ment to restore the image and confidence
of the people in Tabung Haji.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Telekom TM consolidates pursue our aspiration of becoming a lead-
Malaysia Bhd (TM) on Wednesday (Dec business to ing human-centred TechCo (technology
14) announced an internal reorganisation, strengthen company),” he said.
which involves the transfer of its business in fixed-mobile
Malaysia to a single operating entity named convergence Imri said that underTMTech, consum-
TM Technology Services Sdn Bhd (TM ers will continue to enjoy the fastest and
Tech). BY SURIN MURUGIAH widest all-in-one connectivity and digital
theedgemarkets.com content.
In a statement to the stock exchange,
the utility giant said the internal reorgan- easily tap into the right combina- He said enterprises and the public sec-
isation is anticipated to complete by Dec tion of solutions to meet the unique tor will also benefit fromTM’s digital and
31, 2023. needs of individual lifestyles and smart solutions, including cloud and data
businesses. centres, cybersecurity and smart industry
It said the reorganisation — which in- offerings.
cludes unifi,TM One andTMWholesale, “Furthermore, this reorgani-
among others — marks the next phase of sation aligns us to industry best He said the operating entity will also
the group’s transformation to be the en- practices, and will improve TM’s continue to championTM’s nation-build-
abler of a digital Malaysia, and to fur- competitive edge among Malay- ing efforts in expanding and modernising
ther improve its operational efficiencies, sian and international telcos and the country’s fibre network, data centres
streamline processes and simplify customer digital players, as we continue to
touchpoints to provide a more seamless and submarine cable systems.
customer experience. TM Tech will be led by TM’s ex-
isting senior management team,
TM said that incorporating its diverse and will bring together its diverse
businesses under TM Tech will also rein- talent under a single company,
forceTM’s fixed-mobile convergence lead- encouraging greater agility
ership, offering integrated fixed broadband, and cross-functional col-
mobile services, data services, digital con- laboration to improve
tent and innovative solutions to commu- service quality.
nities, businesses and the Government.

TM group chief executive officer Imri
Mokhtar said as digital lifestyles, increasing
competition and stakeholder expectations
reshape the industry, consolidating these
businesses into one operating entity will
allow the group to serve its diverse cus-
tomer segments better and deliver their
needs more quickly.

“Consolidating our suite of connectivity
and digital offerings will also enable us to

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13):The Cabi- Cabinet to decide DNB, a special purpose vehicle owned
net will decide on the direction of 5G net- on direction by the Government to develop 5G tech-
work implementation in the country, Com- of 5G network nology, is committed to speeding up the
munications and Digital Minister Fahmi schedule to implement 5G coverage at
Fadzil said. implementation, 80% of residential areas by 2024.
says Fahmi
He added that his ministry and the Min- Meanwhile, Fahmi said that Prime Min-
istry of Finance held a meeting on Monday Bernama ister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had asked
(Dec 12) to discuss the implementation the unity government Cabinet to prioritise
of the 5G network project by Digital Na- solving the problems of the people in the
sional Bhd (DNB). country, and not to focus on new branding
or slogans for each ministry.
“What’s important is we don’t want
this matter to be delayed.We do not want He said the matter is based on the
this thing to be incomplete. It has cost knowledge that Malaysians do not desire
us and no matter what, we need to settle leaders who focus on mere rhetoric, but
it immediately, so that Malaysians, small want a Government capable of solving
and medium enterprises, everyone can use their problems.
this infrastructure to help boost business
activities and daily life,” he said during an “People do not want to listen to rheto-
interview in the Bicara Naratif episode en- ric and slogans.The PM even cautioned,
titled “Building a New Narrative” by Ber- let’s not have new branding.We focus on
ita RTM in Angkasapuri onTuesday night. solving problems of the people,” he said.

Admitting that the matter could not In the hour-long programme, Fahmi
be solved instantly, Fahmi is confident also shared that the acronym for his min-
that the 5G issue needs to be resolved istry is KKD.
before embarking on the 6G network,
which he said is too soon for Malaysia. The ministry was previously known as
the Ministry of Communications and Mul-
timedia or K-KOMM.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

Fat Leonard American journalist Tom Wright.
may soon be In a tweet onTuesday (Dec 13),Wright
extradited to the
US byVenezuela, said Fat Leonard escaped from home de-
says US journalist tention in San Diego and was rearrested
in Venezuela, trying to get to Russia.
Wright
He said the US dodged a bullet as Leon-
BY SURIN MURUGIAH ard, a contractor who ran a multi-year cor-
theedgemarkets.com ruption scam at the heart of the US Navy,
has all kinds of dirt, including sexual kom-
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Ma- promat involving admirals.
laysian national Leonard Glenn
The journalist said the US doesn't rec-
Francis, a military contractor ogniseVenezuela's government, which has
better known as Fat Leonard complicated extradition proceedings.
may soon be extradited to
the US by Venezuela to face He said it's probably why Leonard chose
sentencing for master- to flee to Russia via Venezuela in the first
minding the worst public place.
corruption scandal in US
Navy history, according to “However, he got unlucky. US-Venezue-
lan relations are thawing: the US recently
eased sanctions onVenezuelan oil and the
Biden administration engaged in a prison-
er swap involving relations of President
Nicolas Maduro.

“We're hearing these developments
mean Leonard could soon be sent back
to the US Venezuela's top court in Octo-
ber gave the US until Dec 19 to formally
request his extradition,” said Wright.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Several ar- Flash flood risk dar Baharu involving the town area, Lubuk
eas in Johor, Kedah, Pahang, Perak and notice issued for Buntar town, Sungai Kecil and its sur-
Penang are at risk of flash floods within 24 five states over rounding areas.
hours in the event of significant heavy rain
or thunderstorms, the Irrigation and Drain- next 24 hours In Pahang, four districts are affected,
age Department’s (JPS) National Flood namely Kuantan (Kuantan town, Kua-
Forecasting and Warning Center said. Bernama la Kuantan, Pulau Manis, Sungai Ka-
rang);  Maran (Maran town, Chenor,
In a notice issued at 4pm on Wednes- Pekan); Pekan (Bebar, Langgar, Pekan,
day, the flood warning centre said four dis- Dong); Rompin and all surrounding areas.
tricts in Johor with locations at risk of flash
floods are Plentong; Kota Tinggi (Sedili As for Perak, the three districts affected
Besar, Sedili Kechil, Tanjung Surat, Ulu are Hillir Perak (Changkat Jong, Durian
Sungai Sedili Besar); Mersing (Bandar Pa- Sebatang); Kerian (Bagan Serai, Kuala
dang Endau, Padang Endau,Triang); and Kurau, Parit Buntar); Larut, Matang and
Muar (Bandar Maharani, Jalan Bakri, Ayer Selama (Bukit Gantang); and Perak Ten-
Baloi) and all surroundings areas.  gah (Bota, Layang Layang, Pasir Salak).

In Kedah, the districts affected are Ban- The ‘hotspot’ locations in Penang,
meanwhile are Seberang Perai Selatan
district (Mukim 11, Mukim 7, Nibong
Tebal) and the surrounding areas. 

The notice of preparedness was issued
to enable all residents, especially in risk ar-
eas, to be aware of the possibility of flash
floods during that period.

The flood warning centre advised the
public to comply with the instructions of
the authorities or flood disaster manage-
ment agencies.

The public can visit the website https://
publicinfobanjir.water.gov.my, Facebook
@PublicInfoBanjir and Twitter @JPS_In-
foBanjir for more information and updates.

Read also: Number of flood victims in
Pahang, Kelantan and Perak drops but
climbs in Johor

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

CAAM confirms Malaysia’s air safety ranking to Category 2 Penang Hill cable car
CEO ChesterVoo’s in November 2019 after the country failed project finally on,
to comply with the International Civil Avi-
resignation, says ation Organization’s safety standards. Hartasuma wins bid,
Dec 31 last day says CM
The news of his departure was unexpect-
theedgemarkets.com ed,given how the aviation safety regulator had Bernama
successfully managed to restore Malaysia’s air
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14):The Civil Avi- safety ranking to Category 1 just this October. GEORGE TOWN (Dec 14): The
ation Authority of Malaysia announced in Penang government today announced
a statement Wednesday that chief executive In the statement, Mohd Khairul lauded that the Penang Hill cable car project has
Datuk Captain ChesterVoo had tendered his Voo for having provided valuable leader- been awarded to local integrated rolling
resignation in October this year, confirming ship to the management of the aviation stock and rail services company Harta-
an earlier report byThe Edge on the same day, safety and security regulator. suma Sdn Bhd, involving an estimated
citing sources, ofVoo’s impending departure. investment amount of RM245 million. 
“The authority will continue to keep the
Voo’s last day is Dec 31 as CAAM had momentum strong, following various ac- Chief Minister Chow KonYeow, who
requestedVoo to delay his departure to en- complishments CAAM has achieved under is also Penang Hill Corporation (PHC)
able CAAM to undertake a smooth transi- the leadership of Datuk Captain Chester, chairman, said the project is expected to
tion process, and for an effective handover and this includes regaining Category 1 rat- take three years to complete. 
to the eventual successor to the position, ing of the International Aviation Safety As-
according to CAAM chairman Tan Sri sessment (IASA) by US FAA, the launch “A total of six companies participated
Mohd Khairul Adib Abdul Rahman. of the new Kuala Lumpur AirTraffic Con- in the call through the request for proposal
trol Centre (KLATCC), the introduction of for the Penang Hill cable car service, be-
“To ensure positive continuity, Datuk CAAM’s first client charter, and the success- fore the evaluation committee comprising
Captain Chester has agreed and together ful organisational restructuring of CAAM. various agencies evaluated the proposals
with the senior management of CAAM, according to the requirements set, before
have prepared a complete 2023 strategic “CAAM will continue with the various selecting Hartasuma Sdn Bhd.
plan for CAAM to implement moving for- initiatives and efforts to ensure its role as the
ward,” Mohd Khairul said, adding Voo’s regulatory body for the country’s civil avia- Following an open bidding process,
resignation letter had been accepted by tion industry is maintained in line with inter- the estimated investment by the suc-
Transport Minister Anthony Loke. national requirements,” Mohd Khairul said. cessful bidder is expected to be approx-
imately RM245 million and the project
Voo was appointed to his position in “The authority wishes to express our sin- is based on a concession period of 30
CAAM two and half years ago in June cere appreciation to Datuk Captain Chester for years," he told a media conference here
2020, shortly after the US Federal Avia- his unstinting dedication, passion, remarkable on Wednesday (Dec 14).
tion Administration (US FAA) downgraded work, and contributions made throughout his
service with CAAM and we wish him the very Chow said the alignment and suitabili-
best in all his future endeavours,” he added. ty of the project’s location had been taken
Read also: ChesterVoo resigns as CAAM into account by the evaluation commit-
CEO — sources tee, with the most-suitable alignment site
being near the Penang Botanic Gardens.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Capital A Capital A’sTeleport
Bhd’s logistics ventureTeleport has raised new raises new growth He said the project was awarded
growth capital of US$50 million (RM220 mil- capital of US$50 mil through a public-private partnership in-
lion) from large institutional credit investors volving design, finance, operations and
to extend its cross-border delivery capabilities BY SURIN MURUGIAH transfer or a subset of the joint venture
in all key Southeast Asian markets.  theedgemarkets.com partnership basis.

Capital A was formerly known as AirA- opportunity to build the leading cross-border “The successful bidder, Hartasuma
sia Group Bhd. logistics company in Southeast Asia,” he said. Sdn Bhd, is a pioneer in the local rail
industry and has nearly 30 years of ex-
In a statement onWednesday (Dec 14), Capital A saidTeleport had quadrupled its perience in the entire range of project
the group said Teleport will use the funds intra-Southeast Asian market share in terms implementation, from project manage-
to induct additional freighters, build criti- of cargo volume from 2% in 2021 to 9% as ment and logistics, international supply
cal hubs in Indonesia, the Philippines and at the third quarter of 2022, and grew its chain, testing and commissioning pro-
Malaysia, and further invest in technology e-commerce business six times year-on-year. tocols, and project financing.
that allows anyone to “teleport it” in 24
hours across Southeast Asia. The logistics venture of Capital A is “The company has successfully sup-
also currently serving three of the largest plied more than 400 rail cars for some of
Teleport chief executive officer Pete Cha- marketplaces in Southeast Asia, namely the biggest public transport projects in
reonwongsak said the company’s mission Shopee, Lazada and Zalora. Kuala Lumpur, and brings along a man-
from day one was to deliver consistently agement team with experience in the mass
better than anybody else in Southeast Asia. At 11.13am on Wednesday, Capital A rapid transit (MRT) line and the high-
was flat at 61 sen a share, with 1.91 mil- ly-successful Langkawi Cable Car,” he said.
“We believe if we guarantee next-day speed lion shares done. Read also: Nylex Malaysia inks letter
at a cost anyone can afford, everyone will of intent with CRRC on construction
choose to ‘teleport it’. “Today, we are prof- of LRT project in JB
itable, larger, and growing faster than the
pre-Covid [times].We are battle-tested, and
believe a challenging environment is the perfect

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13):Top Glove Top Glove nitrile gloves at this price,” he said.
Corp Bhd, which has been in the red for expects another On a more positive note, Top Glove is
two straight quarters, expects at least an-
other loss-making quarter ahead, before it loss-making seeing some increase in orders, Lim said, as
can return to profitability — probably in the quarter after six customers slowly deplete their glove stocks.
next nine to 12 months — amid a persisting months in the red This is expected to lift the group’s manu-
supply glut that has sent prices tumbling to facturing plant utilisation rate.
their “lowest in history”. BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemarkets.com “Orders started to come in in December
“When the company is loss making, and (we expect more in) January [next year],
it means that sales revenue is lower than should have bottomed. If not bottom, there so we can see the plant’s utilisation rate in-
costs of production.We have implemented is not much room for reduction anymore. crease to about 40% from 30% in the first
many steps to reduce our costs, and [the Most players are now in the loss-making quarter of our financial year (1QFY2023)...
cost structure] is much better than three position, including China, Thailand and There’s some light at end of the tunnel.
months ago. So the loss will be less going Malaysia, evenVietnam, if they are selling
forward, and we have to increase sales rev- This was evidenced by customers’ inven-
enue [to get back to profitability]. tory level on hand, with visibility of an aver-
age of one to two months, Lim said, down
“My estimate is that our loss will be re- from an average of three to five months over
duced in the next three months. In another the past six months.
six months, we should be able to break even.
Nine to 12 months from now, we should be Top Glove started its first quarter of
able to make some profit,”Top Glove chair- FY2023 with net loss widening to RM168.24
man and founderTan Sri LimWee Chai told million from RM52.59 million, as revenue
a virtual press briefing in conjunction with the for the three months ended Nov 30, 2022
release of the company’s quarterly earnings. dropped 36.11% to RM632.53 million from
RM990.1 million,dragged by lower sales and
In view of competition and oversup- lower average selling prices of its products.
ply in the industry, Lim noted that nitrile
gloves are now selling for as low as US$14 Sales volume or quantity sold has eased
(RM61.48) per 1,000 pieces. by about 48% from the corresponding quar-
ter last year (1QFY2022), when the group
“The average selling price for nitrile made a net profit of RM185.72 million on
gloves is already at the bottom, because the a revenue of RM1.61 billion.
lowest market selling price from Malaysia’s
manufacturers is US$17 [per 1,000 pieces], No dividend was declared for the quar-
while Chinese players are selling [at] US$14 ter under review.
and US$15. I think in the history of nitrile
gloves, this is the lowest. So, to us, we think it Top Glove’s share price closed un-
changed at 78.5 sen on Wednesday, giv-
ing the group a market capitalisation of
RM6.44 billion.

Top Glove posts Top Glove quarterly net profit and revenue
second straight
quarterly loss (RM mil) Net pro t/loss Revenue (RM mil)

amid softer 3000 2,357.79 7000
demand 2500 4,759 6000

BY JUSTIN LIM 2000 5000
theedgemarkets.com
1500 110.06 111.43 607.95 -168.24 4000
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14):Top Glove 1000 1,262 1,209 2,116 632.53 3000
Corp Bhd posted its second straight 2000
quarterly loss in the first quarter ended 500 1000
Nov 30, 2022 (1QFY2023), dragged by 0
lower sales and ongoing normalisation
of average selling prices (ASPs). -500 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 0

The group’s net loss widened quar- 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM168.24 mil-
lion from RM52.59 million, as revenue Financial year ends Aug 31 Source: Bursa Malaysia
dropped 36.11% q-o-q to RM632.53 Data compiled on Dec 14, 2022 2.50pm
million from RM990.1 million.
The group posted a net profit of said the softer financial performance was
RM185.72 million on revenue of RM1.61 attributed to the ongoing glove supply/
billion for the corresponding period of demand imbalance which saw custom-
the previous year (1QFY2022). Sales vol- ers holding off restocking activity as they
ume (quantity sold) eased by about 48% continued to deplete existing glove inven-
year-on-year. tory, coupled with a lack of urgency to
place orders in light of excess produc-
No dividend was declared for the tion capacity within the glove industry.
quarter under review.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 9
In a separate statement, Top Glove

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2022 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

Kenanga Growth
Fund sells entire

12.3% stake in
Apex Equity

BY PRIYATHARISINY VASU
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Apex Eq- Bhd had contravened securities laws, and Growth Opportunities Fund and Kenan-
uity Holdings Bhd said Kenanga Growth that ACE had knowingly been involved in ga BondEXTRA — are also among the
Fund has ceased to be a substantial share- the contravention. top 30 shareholders of Apex Equity.These
holder in ACE Credit (M) Sdn Bhd after it two funds combined hold a 4.99% stake
disposed of its entire 12.31% in the stock- The regulator claimed that Apex Secu- in the stockbroking group. All three funds
broking group. rities contravened the securities laws “as are managed by Kenanga Investors Bhd, a
ACE has become a controller of Apex Se- wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenanga In-
The stake, comprising 24.95 million curities, when ACE is not a fit and proper vestment Bank Bhd.
shares, were sold on Dec 9, the same day person” to do so.
on which ACE Credit (M) Sdn Bhd, which Apex Equity’s share price closed one
is part of the ACE Group, had sold 27.04 Apex Equity’s remaining substantial sen or 0.8% higher at RM1.22 onWednes-
million shares, or a 13.34% stake, in Apex. shareholders include Fun Sheung Devel- day, giving it a market capitalisation of
opment Ltd with a 15.78% stake, Concrete RM247.2 million. The counter has risen
Apex Equity announced Kenanga Parade Sdn Bhd (8.68%) andYenson In- 17% over the last five trading days and by
Growth Fund’s exit from the group in a vestments Limited (5.18%). 22% over the past 30 days.
Bursa Malaysia filing onWednesday (Dec
14).The selldown by ACE was announced Two other Kenanga funds — Kenanga
on Tuesday.

ACE, which was previously the second
biggest shareholder in Apex with a 14.98%
stake, now owns just 1.64% of the stock-
broking group.

On Dec 1, Apex Equity announced
that the Securities Commission Malaysia
is seeking a court declaration that its whol-
ly-owned subsidiary Apex Securities Sdn

FROM PAGE 8 more representative of actual consump- operating amidst several headwinds
tion levels and the glove industry’s true which have afflicted the industry for
In addition, ASPs for gloves contin- potential,” said Top Glove managing di- the past six months.
ue to adjust while the group contends rector Lim Cheong Guan.
with intensifying competition, particu- “This is expected as we go through
larly from regional glove manufactur- He observed that the group has been the process of normalisation which
ers, compounding the prevailing softer will precede our eventual recovery,”
glove demand. he noted.

Going forward,Top Glove expects to “In order to get through this chal-
derive some benefits from the declining lenging period, our immediate prior-
trend in raw material prices where av- ity is to ensure we operate efficiently
erage natural latex concentrate prices in view of lower capacity utilisation,
have declined by 7% to RM4.73 per kg maintain disciplined cost management
and nitrile latex prices have decreased and conserve as much cash as possi-
by 49% to US$0.91 (RM4.02) per kg ble. In tandem, we continue to adopt
year-on-year. a longer term perspective and focus
on the sustainability of our people,
While long-term prospects for the customers and financial performance,”
glove industry are positive, Top Glove he added.
anticipates the challenging environment
will persist into 2023. At the midday break, Top Glove’s
share price was two sen or 2.55% lower
“We are mindful that a period of at 76.5 sen, giving the group a market
adjustment is to be expected follow- capitalisation of RM6.28 billion.Year-
ing a major global pandemic. Howev- to-date, the stock has depreciated 68%
er, we are optimistic that glove supply/ from RM2.39 on Jan 3 this year.
demand will eventually rebalance to be

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Tough time ahead for plantation sector,
no more double-digit profit growth
in 2023 — analysts

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): It is un- BY SYAFIQAH SALIM At the time of writing, the Plantation
likely that plantation companies will con- theedgemarkets.com Index was up 0.96% or 64.31 points at
tinue to post double-digit profit growths 6,750.24.
in 2023, according to analysts, due to KL Plantation Index points
lower crude palm oil (CPO) prices, higher KLK, IOI Corp among top picks
energy costs, and costlier raw material. Vol (mil) 9000 Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) and
IOI Corp Bhd are among analysts’ top
CPO prices climbed to a high of 400 picks for the sector. According to Bloomb-
RM8,076.50 per tonne on March 22 erg data, KLK has garnered 11 ‘buy’ calls
before falling to a low of RM3,275 per 300 8000 and eight ‘hold’ calls, with a 12-month
tonne on Sept 28, statistics from the Ma- TP of RM24.71. IOI Corp, meanwhile,
laysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) showed. 200 7000 has nine ‘buy’ calls, seven ‘hold’ calls, and
It is currently trading at RM3,896.50 per three ‘sell’ calls, with a 12-month TP of
tonne — down 25.3% year-to-date from 100 6,748.01 RM4.21.
RM5,214 per tonne. 6,430.50 6000
“They are more integrated and the
“Compared with CPO prices at about 0 Dec 14, 2022 sensitivity to CPO prices is not as high
RM5,000 per tonne at the start of the as pure planters without downstream
year and now at about RM3,000 per Dec 14, 2021 activities,” said Hoe, who has both on
tonne, plantation companies are unlike- ‘buy’, with a TP of RM27.85 for KLK,
ly to see double-digit growth in 2023, Source: Bloomberg and RM4.60 for IOI Corp.
that’s for sure,” RHB research analyst
Hoe Lee Leng told The Edge when con- Bursa Malaysia Ringgit- At the time of writing, KLK was trad-
tacted on Wednesday (Dec 14). denominated FCPO Contracts ing at RM21.14 sen, up 14 sen from the
previous day’s close; IOI Corp was at
Hoe kept her CPO price assump- Vol (’000) RM RM3.77, up three sen.
tions of RM3,900 per tonne for 2023
and RM3,500 per tonne for 2024. “We 40 7000 Ng, who also has both stocks on
expect supply to improve further in 2024, ‘buy’, has set a TP of RM22.87 for KLK.
while pent-up demand seen in 2023 will 30 6000 “There are potential cost synergies from
moderate, leading to lower prices,” said the acquisition of IJM Plantation and
Hoe. 20 5000 downstream earnings that could help
cushion the impact of lower CPO prices.”
CGS-CIMB analyst Ivy Ng Lee Fang 10 4,607 4000
expects the earnings per share (EPS) of 3,942 Kenanga, meanwhile, named KLK its
the plantation stocks she tracks to de- 0 top pick based on its track record, ef-
cline 33% by 2023, driven by lower prices 3000 ficient upstream operations and strong
from CPO and higher costs. “We pre- Feb 15, 2022 regional presence. It rated the stock ‘out-
dict earnings to decline year-on-year in Dec 14, 2022 perform’, with a TP of RM25.50.
2023 versus 2022 due [to] expectation for Source: Bloomberg
CPO price to fall to RM3,800 per tonne KLK’s net profit eased 4% to RM2.17
in 2023, versus RM5,122 per tonne in billion in the financial year ended Sept
2022,” she told The Edge. 30, 2022 (FY2022) from RM2.26 billion
in FY2021, though revenue grew 36% to
Both Hoe and Ng remained ‘neutral’ RM27.15 billion from RM19.92 billion,
on the sector. as it was impacted by investment losses.

Kenanga Research, on the other hand, IOI Corp closed its FY2022 ended
downgraded the sector to ‘neutral’ from June 30 with a 23.74% net profit rise to
‘overweight’, as it trimmed its CPO price RM1.73 billion from RM1.39 billion in
assumption in 2023 by 5% to RM3,800 FY2022, as revenue climbed 38.46% to
per tonne, from RM4,000 previously. RM15.58 billion from RM11.25 billion.

“The KL Plantation Index has con- EU ban more a negative to small
tinued to hold up against the broader growers and farmers
market trend, underpinned by resilient The recent European Union (EU) deci-
food and fuel demand, asset-rich book sion to ban import of several products,
value and undemanding valuations amid such as palm oil, beef, soy, coffee, cocoa
global economic uncertainties. However, and timber, will also have an impact on
margins are facing pressures from easier the sector, albeit more in the medium
palm oil prices compounded by rising term and more for smallholders.
cost of labour, fertiliser and transporta-
tions,” said the research house. CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Malaysia Malaysia attracts the primary sector at RM15.5 billion or
has attracted a total of RM193.7 billion ap- RM193.7 bil 8%, it said.
proved investments in the services, man- approved
ufacturing and primary sectors involving investments MIDA chief executive officer DatukWira
2,786 projects from January to September in January- Arham Abdul Rahman said Malaysia en-
2022. joys a strong reputation internationally and
September 2022 investors have the confidence in investing
In a statement on Wednesday, Malay- in the country.
sian Investment Development Authority Bernama
(MIDA) said the total approved invest- “The nation has a solid foundation to
ments are expected to create 98,414 job It said five states that have recorded sig- provide opportunities for investors.With its
opportunities in the country. nificant approved investments include Jo- favourable business climate, the country is
hor (RM63.9 billion), FederalTerritory of poised to become the next major econom-
“This is a 2.5% increase compared with Kuala Lumpur (RM26.1 billion), Selangor ic hub.
the RM188.9 billion investments approved (RM25.7 billion), Sarawak (RM17.6 bil-
in the same period last year,” it said. lion) and Kedah (RM12.1 billion). “Malaysia offers companies what they
need to succeed in the international market-
Minister of InternationalTrade and In- MIDA said that in this period, the ser- place by capitalising on its strategic location
dustry (MITI) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul vices sector assumed a significant role on the Straits of Malacca, comprehensive
Abdul Aziz said Malaysia’s success in at- towards driving the country’s economic industrial ecosystem, dotted with abundant
tracting almost RM194 billion of approved recovery, accounting for 58.5% of total ap- natural resources, and having a young, tal-
investments in the first nine months of the proved investments with RM113.3 billion, ented and vibrant population,” he said.
year is a testament of its established standing which exceeded expectations from Janu-
as a gateway to ASEAN and an investment ary to September 2022 with an increase Arham said the government is working
destination of choice in Asia. of 60.9% against the same period in 2021. aggressively to attract more high-quality,
high-impact, capital-intensive projects in the
“Our robust supply chain network, com- This was followed by the manufactur- manufacturing and services sectors, which
petitive cost structure, simplified business ing sector at RM64.9 billion or 33.5% and are expected to contribute to the country’s
processes, cutting-edge innovation and tech- economic growth.
nology capabilities, and good talent base are
key ingredients in attracting investments and “The government focuses on the digital
driving sustainable growth in this country. economy, energy and high value manufac-
turing activities such as transport technol-
“Moving forward, MITI and its agencies ogy which include electric vehicle and its
will ensure that new investment opportuni- ecosystem that will have a significant eco-
ties will also build the appropriate capacity nomic potential and sustainable long-term
and talent base in targeted industries to de- growth,” he added.
velop the nation’s economy in a sustainable
manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, MIDA said foreign direct
investment (FDI) remained the major con-
tributor, at 67.5% or RM130.7 billion, while
domestic direct investment (DDI) contrib-
uted 32.5% or RM63 billion.

“It is to be noted that this is a 15% in-
crease compared with the FDI approved
in the same period in 2021.

“Of the total investments approved, Chi-
na dominated foreign investments totalling
RM49.2 billion, followed by the United
States (RM16.9 billion), the Netherlands
(RM16.5 billion), Germany (RM9.2 bil-
lion) and Singapore (RM8.7 billion),” it
added.

FROM PAGE 10 originate. The EU will have to formally statement onTuesday that EU’s regulation
adopt the regulation before it can take only targets the cultivation of commod-
The EU agreed to ban imports of these effect, and traders have 18 months to im- ities from developing economies as the
products, which have been identified as plement the rules. major challenge in protecting the global
“drivers of deforestation”, if they come environment.
from land deforested after Dec 31, 2020. “The impact is negative, but it is more
When the new rules come into force, all medium-term. But most likely it will hit “There are discrimination here as oth-
relevant companies will have to comply small growers and small farmers,” said er crops, such as rapeseed and sunflower,
with strict due diligence when placing their Hoe. “It will affect palm oil producers be- are not targeted. In addition, smallholders
products on the EU market. cause they will have to prove that the palm may struggle to comply and be excluded
oil produced is not from deforested areas, from the EU market,” he said.
Importing companies will have to prove which lead to higher administrative costs Read also: Palm oil imports to top buyer
that their products are free of deforesta- for planters,” added Ng. India surge on discount to rivals
tion, and they will have to demonstrate
“accurate geographical information on the MPOB director-general Datuk Dr
cultivated areas” from which the goods Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said in a

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Yu ‘shocked’ that Najib chose to open accounts
with AmBank, says politicians usually
preferred CIMB, Maybank

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Former BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM & TARANI PALANI Shafee: Did Datuk Seri Najib ever tell
AmBank relationship manager Joanna theedgemarkets.com the bank as an instruction, I don’t want
Yu said at the 1Malaysia Development funds to come in under my name, put it
Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial that she Jho Low chides Yu because bank under a pseudo name?
was “shocked” that former prime minister statement sent to PMO
Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been inter- Recalling another incident,Yu said that on Yu: No.
ested in opening private bank accounts at one occasion,AmBank had sent a bank state- Shafee: The way you are describing
AmBank. ment to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). is as though the bank thinks the money
Jho Low then warned her that bank state- is not kosher.
Testifying as the 41st prosecution wit- ments are to be strictly sent to former 1MDB Yu: We were told that there is a lot of
ness in the trial on Wednesday (Dec 14), chief investment officer Nik Faisal Ariff Ka- international scrutiny [...] so can it be sent
Yu was answering questions from defence mil, Najib’s mandate holder for the accounts. to an account number for the PM.
lawyer Tan Sri Shafee Abdullah, who had Yu, under further questioning from Sha-
asked her about the opening of Najib’s Yu said she wasn’t sure how the state- fee, said she accepted Jho Low’s request
AmPrivate Islamic accounts with the bank. ment was sent to the PMO.The statement for the codenames to be true and believed
was for one of the credit cards associated he was representing Najib at that time.
She said that fugitive financier LowTaek with the accounts. Shafee: And you took it that Jho Low
Jho or Jho Low, whom she had known from was representing the truth?
his other dealings with the bank, had told “It didn’t go out from us. I don’t know,” Yu: Yes, that he was representing Najib.
her about opening these accounts for Najib. she said. Shafee reiterated the question of wheth-
erYu assumed that Jho Low was represent-
She then said that she was “shocked” to She agreed with Shafee’s suggestion ing the truth.
hear that someone of Najib’s stature would that there was a call subsequently from “Yes, I didn’t check,”Yu said.
want to open accounts with AmBank, as Jho Low, who spoke to her in a “telling off Najib, 69, is on trial on four counts of
usually, prime ministers would choose fashion” regarding the matter. abuse of power and 21 counts of money
banks such as CIMB Bank or Maybank. laundering, involving RM2.28 billion of
Yu added that there were instances 1MDB funds.
Shafee: Who suggested that Najib open wherein statements were accumulated The funds had flowed many channels and
an account at AmBank? and then passed to Nik Faisal when she ended up in Najib’sAmBank accounts,which
saw him next. were handled by Jho Low and Nik Faisal.
Yu: I was told by Jho Low that Najib In another case previously, Najib was
wanted to open an account. I was a bit Codenames for accounts suggested by found guilty of abuse of power in relation
shocked that he (Najib) being the prime Jho Low to a RM4 billion loan given by Retirement
minister wanted to open the account with Shafee also asked the witness about code- Fund (Inc) (KWAP) to 1MDB’s former
AmBank. names that were assigned to Najib’s ac- subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd
counts.Among them were AmPrivate Bank- between August 2011 and March 2012.
Shafee: Was your bank so low that you ing-MR (account ending 694), AmPrivate
didn’t expect this?  Banking-1MY (account ending 880), Am- Former AmBank relationship manager
Private Banking-1MY (account ending Joanna Yu seen at the Kuala Lumpur
Yu: No but I don’t recall in my dealings, 898), and AmPrivate Banking-MY (account High Court on Wednesday, Dec 14,
[politicians] would usually go to CIMB ending 906). 2022, for the 1MDB-Tanore trial.
or Maybank.
Shafee asked Yu how this came to be, ZAHID IZZANI/THE EDGE
Yu further clarified that based on the and she replied that Jho Low had reiterat-
obvious choices like Maybank and CIMB, ed that these accounts were to be treated
she did not expect a prime minister to bank with the strictest confidence.
with AmBank.
Yu said Jho Low mentioned that the
Shafee: So who suggested to the PM accounts and related transactions were to
[to open accounts with AmBank]? be “private and confidential” and asked if
there could be a private account number
Yu: I don’t know. I was just informed assigned to them.
by Jho Low that Najib wanted to open an
account with the bank. She said she found out and that code-
names could be introduced for accounts.
Shafee: It could have been that Jho She said that when the codenames were
Low suggested [your bank] because he was assigned, there was a letter prepared to
familiar with AmBank. inform the central bank.

Yu: It could have been. Yu however confirmed that she did not
Yu previously said that she had known personally call Najib to find out if he had
Jho Low when the bank gave loans to a indeed asked for the codenames to be giv-
company called Majestic Masterpiece Sdn en to his accounts.
Bhd, which was connected to Jho Low.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): An inves- Najib himself gave ment using just one cheque on Dec 21,2013.
tigating officer from the Malaysian An- Meanwhile, Nurzahidah said the inves-
ti-Corruption Commission (MACC) told Shahrir RM1 mil tigation also found that Shahrir had never
the High Court here on Wednesday (Dec declared receiving the fund, even if it was
14) that her investigation revealed that Da- cheque, says deemed as his income.
tuk Seri NajibTun Razak himself gave the MACC officer She said it was confirmed by Shahrir’s
cheque of RM1 million toTan Sri Shahrir taxation information for the years 2013 to
Ab Samad in 2013. 2018 that there were no declarations of in-
come exceeding RM1 million in Form BE
MACC assistant superintendent Nurza- submitted by the former Felda chairman.
hidahYacop, 35, said the former prime min- Shahrir, 72, was charged with money
ister was also the one who wrote and signed Bernama
his AmIslamic Bank cheque before giving it
to Shahrir,when they were at the Prime Min- laundering, by not stating his real income
ister’s Office in Putrajaya on Nov 27, 2013. other RM118,485 into the Sutera Auto Sdn in the Income Tax Return Form for As-
Bhd’s account,” he said. sessmentYear 2013, which is a violation of
Nurzahidah said the following day, Nurzahidah said this when reading her Section 113(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act
there was a deposit of RM1 million witness statement at the trial of the former 1967, on the RM1 million, believed to be
in Shahrir’s Public Bank account and sev- Johor Bahru member of parliament who from unlawful activities, which he received
eral withdrawals were made from that ac- was charged with failing to declare RM1 from Najib through a cheque.
count involving RM997,285 between Dec million which he received from Najib to He was charged with committing the of-
2, 2013, and March 31, 2014. the Inland Revenue Board (IRB). fence at IRB, Duta Branch, Govern-
On Aug 8, the 7th  prosecu- ment Office Complex, Jalan Tuan-
“Of the total withdrawals, RM543,800 tion witness, Sutera Auto Sdn ku Abdul Halim here on April 25,
were used to implement the Puri Lang- Bhd account executive Rozana 2014.
kasuka Housing Rehabilitation (Seri Khalid, 43, told the court that The charge, framed under
Anugerah) Project in Larkin, Johor Bah- Shahrir bought a Honda Civic Section 4(1)(a) of the Anti-Mon-
ru, and RM10,000 were forTaman Kebuh Hybrid car, worth RM118,485, ey Laundering,Anti-Terrorism Fi-
Teh UMNO branch. and completed the pay- nancing and Proceeds of Unlawful
Activities Act 2001, provides a max-
“Apart from that, a total of RM443,485 imum fine of RM5 million, or impris-
were believed to have been withdrawn for his onment for up to five years, or both if
(Shahrir) personal use,including RM200,000 Tan Sri Shahrir
which were transferred into Public Bank fixed Ab Samad
deposit accounts belonging to his wife Shahri- found guilty.
zan Abdullah and daughter Marisa Diyana, The trial before judge Datuk Mu-
RM115,000 were transferred into Shahrir’s hammad Jamil Hussin continues on
fixed deposit account at Maybank, and an- ZAHID IZZANI/THE EDGE Thursday (Dec 15).

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14):  A wit- I did not know “In that session, Rozman was present,
ness told the Sessions Court here on Rozman had and only declared that he had no interest
Wednesday that he did not know former interest in LLPM in the Labuan Malay Chamber of Com-
Labuan MP Rozman Isli had an interest merce (DPLM) because he was no longer
in Labuan Liberty Port Management Sdn —Witness the president of the chamber,” he said.
Bhd (LLPM).
Bernama Meanwhile, Simsudin agreed with the
Labuan Port Authority (LPL) former suggestion of Rozman’s counsel Muham-
board member Simsudin Sidek, 53, said in the port operator of the terminal for a pe- mad Rafique Rashid Ali, that the politician
the LPL board meeting held at Hotel Le riod of 10 years, in addition to receiving did not try to make or influence the deci-
Meridien, KL Sentral, on July 25, 2019, several applications from other companies sion in any meeting to appoint LLPM as
Rozman never declared that his father and interested in becoming the operator of the the operator of the port terminal
younger brother, namely Isli Siput @ Ali Labuan port,” he said.
and Tony Noolan, were shareholders of Rozman, 57, is accused of having used
the company. He said this when reading his witness his position as an official of a public body,
statement at the trial of Rozman, who is namely the deputy chairman of the Labuan
The 13th prosecution witness said he facing charges of using his position to ob- Port Authority, to obtain the bribe at the
and Rozman were members of the LPL tain bribes, namely a contract as an oper- TKSU Meeting Room, Level 9, Ministry
board present at the meeting to discuss the ator of the Labuan Port LibertyWharf for ofTransport Malaysia, JalanTun Hussein,
appointment proposal paper in the port LLPM, in which his father and younger Precinct 4, Putrajaya between 2.30 and
operator selection process. brother have an interest. 5.30pm on March 21, 2018.

“The meeting was also informed that Simsudin said on Dec 12, 2019, the LPL The charges were framed under Section
the management had received feedback board meeting held at Hotel Le Meridien, 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
from three companies, namely Bintulu Port Putrajaya called Johor Port Bhd, Straits Inter Commission (MACC) Act and punisha-
Sdn Bhd, Labuan; LLPM; and LP Multi Logistics Bhd and LLPM for a presentation ble under Section 24(1) of the same Act,
Terminal Sdn Bhd regarding technical and and question and answer session. which carries a maximum sentence of 20
cost proposal papers. years in prison and a fine five times the
value of the bribe, or RM10,000, which-
“The chairman of the meeting, Chan ever is higher, if convicted.
Foong Hin informed that he received a
letter from the MalaysianTransport Min- The trial before Judge Rozina Ayob con-
ister regarding the appeal by LLPM to be tinues Dec 20.

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Merits of Malaysian mothers appealing
citizenship for their overseas-born
children to be heard in full

PUTRAJAYA (Dec 14): The Federal BY HAFIZ YATIM last year that allows children born overseas
Court on Wednesday (Dec 14) allowed theedgemarkets.com to Malaysian mothers to receive citizenship
the appeal by Malaysian mothers whose in this country.
children are born overseas and not grant- BLOOMBERG
ed Malaysian citizenship here to be heard The appellate court in a two-to-one
on its full merits. Constitution should be interpreted to majority decision ruled that the word “fa-
prohibit gender discrimination in mat- ther” in the Federal Constitution under
The bench, led by Chief Judge of Sabah ters concerning citizenship given that the Second Schedule, Part II, Section 1(b)
and SarawakTan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Article 8(5) was not also amended to cannot extend to “mothers” and that only
Hashim,allowed three questions posed in two exclude “citizenship” as a subject not the Parliament can rewrite the Consti-
appeals by Mahisha Sulaiha Abdul Majeed falling under Article 8 at the time when tution for these amendments, in allow-
and Suriani Kempe, who is the president of Article 8(2) of the Federal Constitu- ing the appeal by the minister, NRD and
the Association of Family Support & Wel- tion was amended to generally prohibit government..
fare for Selangor and Kuala Lumpur (Fam- gender discrimination.
ily Frontiers), and six other mothers over a However, the bench, which also in- “The court cannot in its own whim and
Court of Appeal (COA) decision in August. cluded Federal Court judges Datuk Ver- fancy change the Constitution,” judge Da-
non Ong Lam Kiat and Datuk Mary Lim tuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said, who led the
The respondents in the appeal, the Na- Thiam Suan, also ruled that Suriani’s two majority, had said.
tional Registration Department (NRD) other questions can be raised during sub-
director-general, the Home Minister, and missions on the merits. COA judge Datuk S Nantha Balan,
the Malaysian Government, did not oppose Suriani’s questions concern the issue of who was in the minority, ruled that the
the questions posed.The respondents were dual citizenship: whether it has any bearing article of the Constitution was discrimi-
represented by senior federal counsels Ah- on the determination of citizenship, and con- natory in saying that the mother’s blood-
mad Hanir Hambaly and Liew Horng Bin. cern Article 159 of the Federal Constitution: line is “inferior” to the father’s bloodline.
whether it can be construed to prohibit the
Initially Mahisha, who was represent- court’s powers to interpret on fundamen- “The primary question is whether there
ed by senior counsel Datuk Dr Cyrus Das tal liberties and whether citizenship can be is a conflict. In my view, there is plainly and
and Raymond Mah, posed three questions brought up during submissions on the case. blatantly conflict. It’s saying the mother’s
of law, while Suriani and the others, who In civil cases at the Federal Court, the bloodline is inferior to father.... Any which
were represented by Datuk Dr Gurdial Sin- losing party has to obtain leave (permis- way one looks at it, this is discrimination
gh Nijar, Abraham Au and Joshua Andran, sion) from the bench before the merits of against the mother,” he said in upholding
posed 12 questions of law to be decided by the appeal is heard based on questions the High Court decision.
the apex court. of law posed to the apex court judges for
determination. The High Court in September last
However, after submissions by both par- Appeal follows COA reversing year ruled that Article 8(2) of the Feder-
ties and as the bench indicated that there landmark decision al Constitution on equality prohibits dis-
should not be a lot of questions for the The appeal follows the COA reversing, on crimination based on gender.This would
bench to decide, the court decided that the Aug 5, a High Court’s landmark decision mean that the word “father” in Section
10 questions posed by Suriani be subsumed 1(b) should include mothers.
or incorporated into Mahisha’s questions.
This is when judge Datuk AkhtarTahir
This means that the questions posed ruled the word “father” in the Constitution
by Mahisha would be adopted for deter- must be read to include mothers and that
mination, namely: their children are entitled to citizenship by
• Whether a person who was born outside operation of the law.

the Federation to a Malaysian mother He adjudged that Article 14(1)(b) of
is a citizen of Malaysia by operation of the Federal Constitution together with the
law pursuant to Article 14(1)(b) read Second Schedule, Part II, Section 1(b) of
with Part II Section 1(b) of the Second the Constitution, pertaining to citizenship
Schedule of the Federal Constitution; rights, must be read in harmony with Arti-
• Whether the term “father” in Part II cle 8(2) of the Federal Constitution, which
Section 1(b) of the Second Schedule prohibits discrimination on the basis of
to the Federal Constitution under Ar- gender.
ticle 14 on citizenship should cease to
be read literally in a discriminatory There has been much criticism over the
way after the coming into force of the reversal and the Family Frontiers repre-
amendment to Article 8(2) of the Fed- sentatives have met several politicians to
eral Constitution in September 2001 seek a resolution on the matter through a
which prohibits gender discrimination; constitutional amendment.
• Whether Article 8(2) of the Federal
Government lawyers had submitted
that any amendment to the Constitution
concerning citizenship must gain approval
from the Rulers Council.

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Tuanku Muhriz: Judicial Appointments
Commission Act should be incorporated

into Federal Constitution

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13) : The Yang BY HAFIZ YATIM The persons selected to the commission,
di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan,Tuan- theedgemarkets.com the rulers said, must not only be independent
ku MuhrizTuanku Munawir, has proposed from any form of political influence but also
that the Judicial Appointments Commission Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan be inclusive, reflecting the diversity of the
(JAC) Act 2009 be made part of the Federal Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir. country’s multi-racial society and the com-
Constitution, to better ensure that the ap- position of the federation, namely the Pen-
pointment of judges is independent. is always maintained and protected. It is insular Malaysia states, Sabah and Sarawak.
the judiciary to whom we entrust to pro-
As the Federal Constitution is the su- tect the fundamental principles embodied “The inclusion of members from diverse
preme law of the country,Tuanku Munawir in our Federal Constitution. and independent backgrounds will allow more
said the recent political developments in stakeholders to be represented, thus, broaden-
Malaysia had led to many discourses on “Judges are bound to uphold their judi- ing the expertise in the judicial appointments
the constitution. cial oath steadfastly and constantly remind process whilst maintaining the commission’s
themselves that their decisions have a pro- independence,” saidTuanku Muhriz.
He said matters pertaining to govern- found impact on society.Thus, the appoint-
ance of the nation required Malaysians to ment of independent and competent judges For this reason, he urged the civil soci-
consult and be guided by the constitution. is crucial to ensuring that this aim is met.” ety and other stakeholders to take the lead
for meaningful discussions to achieve the
“Hence, firstly, there is a need to appreciate The ruler, who had emphasised the aspiration of judicial independence as a
the importance of the Federal Constitution need to reform the existing judicial ap- means to uphold the Federal Constitution.
and its role in our democratic society. Once we pointment process in his recent address at
have this appreciation, we as a nation will be the 260th Rulers Conference, touched on “Lest we forget, the rakyat go to court
guided in the manner in which we are expect- the subject again on Wednesday. to seek and obtain justice. Be it a criminal
ed to discharge our responsibilities,” he said. appeal, an appeal against the decision of
“Whilst the primary intention of the the government or one of its agencies, or
For this, the judiciary has a constitutional commission (JAC) is to uphold the inde- a private matter,the public sees the courts
role to perform as it is the guardian of the con- pendence of the judiciary, it appears that as their avenue to seek justice,” he said.
stitution, he said, adding that the judiciary is its governing provisions may not be in ac-
the ultimate bulwark against unconstitution- cordance with such intent. As it stands, the Hishamudin: Things will change for
al legislation or excesses in administration. prime minister appoints five of the nine the better
members of the commission. Meanwhile Hishamudin in his speech said
The Negeri Sembilan ruler said thisat he is optimistic that with strong public
the launching of the book “Upholding “Under the constitution, the PM also has awareness of the importance of an inde-
The Federal Constitution: The Judicial the final say in the appointment of judges to pendent judiciary and fundamental lib-
Thoughts of Datuk Seri Hishamudin the superior courts.We need to be guided by erties, and the very recent change in the
Yunus” on Wednesday (Dec 13). Hisha- the principle of separation of powers of the political landscape of Malaysia, things will
mudin is a retired Court of Appeal judge, executive, the legislature and the judiciary. change for the better in the country.
who is currently a consultant at the law
firm Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership. “To achieve this, some reforms need to “I am confident that the new leadership
be considered to strengthen the independ- in the Judiciary, under Tun Tengku Mai-
Present at the event were Chief Justice ence of the commission, and ultimately the mun at the helm, will restore public confi-
TunTengku MaimunTuan Mat, and some judiciary.We could introduce diverse and dence in the administration of justice in this
30 judges of the Federal Court, Court of independent mechanisms when it comes country; and that the judiciary will function
Appeal and High Court, and retired judg- to the selection of the five eminent persons in a better environment than before.
es.They includedTan Sri Mohamad Ariff on the commission,” he said.
MdYusof, who was also a former Speaker “As we stand here today, there are al-
of the Dewan Rakyat. ready a number of seminal pronounce-
ments by the Federal Court such as the
Judicial independence is imperative Doctrine of Basic Structure, the Doctrine
Tuanku Muhriz, who has a legal back- of the Separation of Powers, upholding
ground, said he had been advised that it fundamental liberties, the unconstitution-
was equally important to have the JAC Act ality of ouster clauses, judicial independ-
made part of the Federal Constitution and ence and the judiciary’s power of judicial
not remain a separate legislation enacted review. All these bring about a much-need-
by Parliament. ed breath of fresh air. They must be ap-
plauded and celebrated,” he added.
Presently, Part IX of the Federal Con-
stitution touches on judicial appointment Hishamudin had written about 750
and powers but it does not stipulate how judgments when he was at the High Court
judges should be chosen. and Court of Appeal, including some land-
mark decisions which continue to be re-
Stressing that independence was the es- ferred to today.
sence of the judiciary,Tuanku Muhriz said:
“It is imperative that judicial independence

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(Dec 14): The Biden administration plans REUTERS ities that jeopardised US national security.
to put Yangtze Memory Technologies and The Chinese government had appeared
more than 30 other Chinese companies on US to add more
a trade blacklist that would prevent them than 30 Chinese to be cooperating with US authorities to pre-
from buying certain American components, ventYangtze Memory and other firms from
deepening tensions between the world’s two companies to being added to the Entity List.That involved
economic superpowers. trade blacklist China’s Ministry of Commerce helping do-
mestic companies through end-use checks
The US Department of Commerce will BY JENNY LEONARD required by the US, including disclosures
add China’s leading maker of memory chips Bloomberg about products and operations.
and the others to the so-called Entity List
as early as this week, according to a person ing equipment in October, puttingYangtze Yangtze Memory, based inWuhan, is the
familiar with deliberations who asked not Memory and other companies on a list for country’s largest 3D NAND semiconductor
to be named discussing a sensitive matter. further scrutiny at the time. maker, producing memory chips that go into
smartphones and other computing devices
Companies on the Entity List are blocked At the time, the US Commerce Depart- in competition with the likes of Samsung
from buying technology from US suppliers ment added 31 organisations includingYang- Electronics Co.The firm had been in talks to
unless they get a special export licence from tze Memory to what’s known as the Unveri- supply Apple Inc, which would have marked
Commerce. That designation’s earlier use fied List, which means American authorities a significant step for China’s tech industry,
decimated HuaweiTechnologies Co’s con- are not able to prove that those companies but that has since been put on hold.
sumer smartphone business and hampered are not supporting the Chinese military.That
the efforts of Semiconductor Manufactur- set in motion a 60-day countdown during The Financial Times was first to report
ing International Corp to grow into China’s which the companies would have to prove Commerce’s intention to blacklistYangtze
chipmaking champion. their businesses were not involved in activ- Memory.

The US has “politicised and weaponised US officials imposed the latest chip re-
economic cooperation”, Chinese Foreign strictions by explaining they are necessary
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on to stop China from becoming more of an
Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Bei- economic and military menace.The Biden
jing, adding that Washington’s actions dis- administration wants to ensure the country’s
rupted supply chains. China would take steps chipmakers don’t secure the capability to
to protect the rights of its companies, he said. make advanced semiconductors that would
bolster China’s military.
A representative forYangtze Memory de-
clined to comment. China has sharply criticised the US
moves, arguing that the American govern-
The latest move would represent an es- ment is trying to stop its rise. This week,
calation in the US-China conflict over tech- China filed a dispute with the World Trade
nology.The Biden administration unveiled Organization trying to overturn US-imposed
a sweeping set of restrictions on China’s trade controls, arguing they will disrupt glob-
ability to buy semiconductors and chipmak- al trade.

Senate bill would bar Huawei from US finance system

(Dec 14): US lawmakers have introduced Bloomberg Foreign Ministry spokesmanWangWen-
legislation that could cut Huawei Tech- bin said onWednesday at a regular press
nologies Co and other foreign firms from BLOOMBERG briefing, in response to a question about
the world’s largest financial system, in the the bill. “The US is ruining international
latest attempt to curb China’s technolog- port inWashington for finding ways to curb rules,” he said.“China will take measures
ical ambitions. China’s influence, and Huawei in particu- to uphold the legitimate and legal rights
lar. Last month, the Federal Communica- and interests of Chinese companies.”
The Senate bill, whose sponsors in- tions Commission barred Huawei and other
clude Senate Majority Leader Chuck telecommunications firms including ZTE US lawmakers are also seeking to ban
Schumer, a NewYork Democrat, would Corp from selling electronics in the US, on Chinese-owned video appTikTok, which
ban US companies from participating in grounds they posed risks to data security. the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
significant transactions with foreign firms warned could control millions of users’
that produce 5G technology and engage Beijing opposedWashington’s distortion software, steal information, launch hack-
in industrial espionage. If Huawei were of the concept of national security, Chinese ing attacks or conduct influence opera-
so designated, it would effectively halt its tions.
access to US banks.
China has denounced measures by the
“We cannot allow Huawei and the US to restrict the capacity of its technol-
Chinese Communist Party to have ac- ogy sector, including sweeping sanctions
cess to Americans’ personal data and our that limit its access to advanced chipmak-
country’s most sensitive defence systems,” ing equipment.
said Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Read also: TikTok security deal’s pros-
Republican who also backed the bill.“We pects are clouded by FBI’s doubts, state
must address the dire threat these Chinese bans
companies pose to our national security.”

The legislation comes amid broad sup-

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world

China blasts China asks banks
‘bullying’ US for to buy bonds via
flexing economic prop desks after
might on trade market slump

by Bryce Baschuk by Jonas Bergman
Bloomberg Bloomberg

(Dec 14): China unleashed its harshest pub- (Dec 14): China asked some of the na- Bloomberg-compiled data. The spread
lic critique to date of President Joe Biden’s tion’s biggest banks to help stabilise the has widened 35 basis points so far this
trade policies, saying the US administration domestic bond market, after a wave of month, heading for the biggest monthly
has become a “destroyer of the multilateral fund redemptions by retail investors jump since March 2015.
trading system.” fuelled the biggest credit selloff since
2015, according to people familiar with That has prompted firms, includ-
“Clearly, the United States is a ‘unilat- the matter. ing many LGFVs, to pull a cumula-
eralist and bullying hegemonist,’” said Li tive 84 billion yuan (US$12.1 billion)
Chenggang, China’s ambassador to the Regulators asked lenders to buy bonds of planned bond sales since the start of
WorldTrade Organization, in prepared re- via their proprietary trading desks, said November, according to data compiled
marksWednesday in Geneva. the people, who spoke on condition of by Bloomberg.
anonymity to discuss a private matter.
In his comments, delivered during the The goal is to absorb the selling pressure Regulators are expanding efforts to
quadrennialWTO review of America’s trade caused by retail withdrawals from some support the market after a meeting with
policies, Li said Biden’s policies are remi- of those same banks’ wealth management market participants last week in which
niscent of his predecessor’s “America First” products, the people said. they asked the nation’s biggest insurers
approach to international commerce. to buy bonds being offloaded by wealth
The so-called window guidance on products. At the time, banks raised the
Washington “has put its own interests bond purchases includes notes issued prospect of stepping in with their pro-
above the global common interests, bully- by Chinese local government financing prietary trading desks.
ing other members to obey by leveraging its vehicles, one of the people said.
economic and technological power,” he said. Such intervention has had a limit-
The People’s Bank of China didn’t ed impact so far. Bonds issued by local
The Biden administration, meanwhile, immediately respond to request for a government financing vehicles led de-
offered no apologies for a more assertive comment. clines in China’s onshore credit mar-
approach and said it’s adapting its trade pol- ket on Wednesday, with yields on some
icies to confront a “new, more challenging The guidance underscores regulators’ notes surging 10 basis points, according
era.” US Ambassador Maria Pagan said concern that a downward spiral of fund to traders.
America will always determine what’s in redemptions and falling bond prices may
its own national security interests — not stoke financial instability.While China’s China’s onshore bond market may
the WTO. local debt market has proved resilient to face selling pressure totalling 497 bil-
turmoil in the property industry and wid- lion yuan (US$72 billion) from redemp-
“We will not apologize for this,” Pa- er economy in recent years, bond prices tions of wealth products and bond mu-
gan said in prepared remarks obtained by have slumped rapidly since early No- tual funds in December, according to
Bloomberg News. “This is a fundamental at- vember, as investors shifted money out an estimate from brokerage Shenwan
tribute of sovereignty.” of fixed-income products and into risk- Hongyuan Group Co, based on what it
ier assets on signs of economic recovery.
“We now find ourselves in far different called an extreme scenario.
circumstances that require careful exam- Yield premiums on three-year
ination of some long-held assumptions,” AAA-rated corporate bonds have
Pagan said. climbed to the highest level since Au-
gust 2020, according to
The diplomatic finger-pointing comes as
the US alleges China has exploited so-called Bloomberg
grey areas in theWTO’s rule book to mas-
sively subsidize its domestic industries via
programs like Made in China 2025. China
alleges — and theWTO has verified —that
the US betrayed its international obligations
when it unilaterally imposed tariffs.

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world

China’s new Covid-19 approach is to
‘let it rip’, analyst says

(Dec 14): China seems to be embracing a by Shirley Zhao abrupt about turns — they usually stress
fast and explosive Covid reopening, a risky & Rebecca Choong Wilkins test new policies in local experiments be-
approach that’s worrying observers given fore rolling them out nationally,” he said.
the vast country’s vulnerabilities. Bloomberg “The government now seems to have final-
ly been convinced that the old approach
Since embarking on a landmark shift bloomberg was leading to disaster.The protests were
away from its zero-tolerance policy just a important but I think the pivotal issue is
week ago, China has dismantled most of The rapid reversal is the tanking economy.”
its internal restrictions, casting aside the resulting in an eruption New Year risk
stringent playbook used to eliminate the Economists have had to quickly revise
virus for the past three years. of cases, particularly their forecasts for how China’s reopen-
in Beijing where the ing may play out, as curbs fell away and
The rapid reversal is resulting in an once expansive PCR cases surged.
eruption of cases, particularly in Beijing
where the once expansive PCR testing ap- testing apparatus China is now on track to be free of
paratus appears to have been abandoned. appears to have been Covid restrictions by the end of March,
The spread is so significant it’s rendered Bloomberg Economics chief Asia economist
official Covid statistics all but meaningless, abandoned. The Chang Shu wrote in a note Wednesday.
and seen hospitals in the capital already spread is so significant That’s three months ahead of her earlier
overwhelmed. estimate, which presumed a more con-
it’s rendered official trolled exit.
“Logic doesn’t seem to apply here,” Covid statistics all but
Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief pharmaceu- meaningless, and seen Still, major uncertainties remain, in-
tical analyst Sam Fazeli said in a TV in- hospitals in the capital cluding the Lunar NewYear holiday in late
terview. China’s mindset since pivoting already overwhelmed. January. Often dubbed the world’s biggest
away from Covid Zero is “there’s not so temporary migration, it’s the most signif-
much we can do, we’ve done the best we it would be a gradual process. But again, icant travel period of the year in China. It
can.We’ve got the blueprint for what the you know, this speaks to the outpouring risks becoming a super-spreader event that
West did and what happened, so let’s just of anger and anxiety that people have had drives up the death toll and overwhelms
let it rip — which is what I think is going around Zero Covid.” the healthcare system, Chang said.
on”, Fazeli said. Milder strain
While it’s difficult to gain insight into Chi- The abrupt policy change could also
The unexpected about-turn — most nese government decision-making, Pres- erode public confidence and give rise to
economists, and Bloomberg Economics, ident Xi Jinping may have calculated that misinformation and conspiracy theories,
were expecting a gradual, controlled exit the current Covid strain in circulation is said Jeremy Lim, an adjunct associate
from Covid Zero — is raising alarm given mild enough to risk a rapid lifting of con- professor at the National University of
China is in the midst of a cold winter, its trols, said Drew Thompson, visiting sen- Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of
elderly vaccination rate is still well below ior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Public Health.
other countries and the country’s health- School of Public Policy at the National
care system is under-resourced. University of Singapore. “In general, a clear plan to transition
from Zero Covid to living with Covid, in-
It’s unclear whether China has had time The pandemic has forced governments cluding milestones, rough timelines and
to stockpile anti-virals and other contin- around the world to draw on different pol- how resources will be deployed would have
gencies needed to handle what top Covid icymaking frameworks, and China is no been very helpful to share publicly in ad-
adviser, Zhang Wenhong, called a “mas- exception, said Richard McGregor, senior vance,” said Lim. “Policies may change
sive” looming outbreak. fellow for East Asia at the Lowy Institute overnight but people do need time to come
in Sydney. to terms with new situations and change
The rapid shift reflects people’s frus- their behaviours.”
tration at Covid Zero, said Steven Lynch, “China doesn’t usually make such
managing director of the British Chamber Read also:
of Commerce in China. China to hold meeting on economic
targets despite Covid
Snap lockdowns, frequent mass testing
and mandatory quarantine for all those Amundi says Chinese stocks have further
exposed to Covid were hallmarks of the upside after big rally
stringent approach, which worked during
the initial wave in Wuhan, but became al- Morgan Stanley lifts China GDP
most impossible to maintain as the virus forecast on reopening, easing
became more contagious in 2022.

The tough measures weighed on the
world’s second-largest economy and dis-
rupted people’s lives, culminating in a re-
markable weekend of protests across Chi-
na’s major cities.

“I wasn’t expecting China’s exit strate-
gy to be so rapid,” said Lynch. “I thought

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world

Binance says Bloomberg
outflows have
stabilised, warns of FTX bankruptcy
‘bumpy’ recovery standoff heats
up as Bahamas
by Suvashree Ghosh & Sidhartha Shukla challenges
Bloomberg US case

SINGAPORE/MUMBAI (Dec 14): Binance The crypto billionaire by Steven Church
Holdings Ltd founder Changpeng“CZ”Zhao also sought to reassure Bloomberg
said outflows from the largest cryptocurrency
exchange have “stabilised”, while warning his employees, saying (Dec 14): Bahamian liquidators are
employees that the industry’s recovery from set to scuffle with US-based bank-
rival FTX’s collapse will be “bumpy”. in a memo to staff that ruptcy lawyers over the remains of
Binance is in a strong Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire
In a tweet on Wednesday, Zhao said Wednesday, highlighting a key tension
“things seem to have stabilised” and that financial position hanging over the downfall of FTX.
“deposits are coming back in.” He had ear- and “will survive any
lier said that Binance saw about US$1.14 The sides have traded jabs in recent
crypto winter”. days through a series of unusually color-
ful court filings about who can access
billion of net withdrawals on Tuesday.  sensitive FTX data. US-based lawyers
Customers pulled funds from Binance’s have accused Bahamanian officials of
platform this week amid a lack of confi- working closely with Bankman-Fried,
dence in the crypto sector, following the “We maintain hot wallet balances to en- who was arrested in Nassau on Mon-
implosion of FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried, sure that we always have more than enough day. Bahamian liquidators said they’re
FTX’s co-founder, has been charged with funds to fulfill withdrawal requests and we entitled to the information so they can
fraud for allegedly misappropriating bil- top up hot wallet balances accordingly,” the clean up a locally based subsidiary.
lions of dollars of customer money. Binance spokesperson said in the email.
Binance saw a record daily net outflow of Hot wallets are digital repositories for to- The conflict intensified Monday
Bitcoin and Ether in terms of numbers of to- kens that are connected to the internet. as Bahamas court officials demand-
kens on Tuesday, according to research firm Binance in a November blog post shared ed that millions of dollars of compa-
CryptoQuant. A net 40,353 Bitcoins and details of digital-asset wallet addresses with ny-owned real estate on the island
278,017 Ether tokens were withdrawn, the fig- tokens worth about US$69 billion.  nation be removed from oversight by
ures indicate.The crypto billionaire also sought Last week, the exchange released a a US judge. That effort, if success-
to reassure his employees, saying in a memo proof of reserves report. The document, ful, could give the liquidators control
to staff that Binance is in a strong financial based on a snapshot review by accounting of millions of dollars more in assets. 
position and “will survive any crypto winter”. firm Mazars, showed the exchange having
“While we expect the next several sufficient crypto assets to balance its total “The Bahamian courts that have ju-
months to be bumpy, we will get past this platform liabilities.  risdiction over the real estate cannot rec-
challenging period — and we’ll be stronger The report also acknowledged limita- ognize this court’s orders,” the liquida-
for having been through it,” he wrote in the tions as it didn’t amount to a full financial tors argued, citing local law.They want
memo, which was seen by Bloomberg News.  audit that would give a clearer picture of the holding company that owns the real
A net US$256 million flowed into Bi- Binance’s overall health. estate — which includes the company’s
nance in the past 24 hours as of 12:25 p.m. in “We are working collaboratively with headquarters and a smattering of resi-
Singapore onWednesday, according to data Mazars to share all relevant financial in- dences — to be removed from the US
from blockchain analytics firm Nansen. Over formation with them, so that they can verify bankruptcy, according to court papers.
the past seven days, there was a net outflow the accuracy of all the data we have shared,
of US$1.2 billion. Nansen’s snapshot doesn’t as well as our process for extracting the The move escalates a battle be-
take into account Bitcoin movements. data,” the spokesperson said.“We are work- tween officials in the Bahamas and
Responding to questions about the re- ing on getting the next update for addition- an American team of restructuring ex-
cent outflows and concerns about transpar- al tokens published as soon as possible.” ecutives. Each side has previously ar-
ency, a spokesperson said by email:“People Binance Coin, the native token of Zhao’s gued that it should be leading the hunt
deposit and withdraw assets everyday for a ecosystem, could be viewed as an arbiter of for FTX assets to repay creditors.The
variety of different reasons. User assets at investor sentiment toward the exchange. Over Americans, on Monday, accused the
Binance are all backed 1:1 and Binance’s multi-year periods, it has significantly out- Bahamas of meddling in their efforts
capital structure is debt free.” performed a gauge of the largest 100 tokens. by asking Bankman-Fried and one of
But it is down about 4% so far this week, even his co-founders, Gary Wang, to mint
Things seem to have stabilised.Yesterday was as the wider gauge has added roughly 2%, new digital coins worth hundreds of
not the highest withdrawals we processed, not according to data compiled by Bloomberg. millions of dollars and then turning
even top 5.We processed more during LUNA or that money over to Bahamian regula-
FTX crashes.Now deposits are coming back in. tors — all while FTX was imploding.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) Decem- Read also: Binance withdrawals hit
ber 14, 2022 US$1.9 bil in 24 hours, data firm says Read the full story

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UK inflation eases more than expected
from most in 41 years

by Andrew Atkinson & Liza Tetley
Bloomberg

(Dec 14):UK inflation dipped from a 41-year The decline was largely up this year compared to falling a year ago.”
high in November, raising the possibility that due to the cost of petrol Policymakers are expected to deliver their
the worst of the cost-of-living squeeze is over. and used cars. Food and
non-alcoholic beverages ninth rate increase in borrowing costs in a
Consumer prices rose 10.7% from a year prices rose 16.4%, the year onThursday in an effort to stop a wage-
earlier, the Office for National Statistics said most since September price spiral from taking hold, with further
Wednesday, down from 11.1% in October. hikes signalled in the first half of 2023.
Economists expected a rate of 10.9%. 1977, with bread and
cereals gaining the “I know families and businesses are strug-
The decline was largely due to the cost gling here in the UK,” Chancellor of the Ex-
of petrol and used cars. Food and non-alco- most in that category. chequer Jeremy Hunt said in a statement.
holic beverages prices rose 16.4%, the most “Getting inflation down so people’s wages
since September 1977,with bread and cereals pubs rose sharply, particularly for whiskey, go further is my top priority.”
gaining the most in that category. wine and gin.
Evidence is mounting that inflation has
Fuel prices were unchanged between Oc- “Tobacco and clothing prices also rose, peaked in the US too, stoking hopes that
tober and November, compared with a 7.2% but again by less than we saw this time last the Federal Reserve will be able to pause its
rise in the same months in 2021.The effect year,” said Grant Fitzner, chief economist at rate-hiking cycle soon. US consumer prices
was to bring down the annual rate of infla- the ONS.“This was partially offset by prices rose 7.1% in November and have declined
tion in the latest month. in restaurants, cafes and pubs which went in each of the past five months.

The slowdown will be welcomed by UK inflation by contrast has risen faster
households desperate for relief after a surge than expected in most of the past 1 1/2 years,
in energy and food bills. However, it will do fuelling demands from workers for higher
little to shift the interest-rate debate at the pay. Unions representing train drivers, nurses
Bank of England, where officials expect in- and border agents plan strikes between now
flation to remain above the 2% target until and the end of the year, putting pressure on
well into 2024 despite the economy falling Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government
into a recession. to ease wage restraints.

“While these figures suggest inflation has Unlike the US, where gasoline prices have
peaked, it nevertheless remains at a precari- tumbled and power markets are mostly insu-
ously high rate which is having a real impact lated from overseas trends, UK energy pric-
on people and businesses,” said SurenThiru, es have spiralled ever higher this year after
economics director at the Institute of Char- Russia choked off supplies of natural gas to
tered Accountants in England &Wales.“With Europe.
inflationary pressures looking more broad-
based, the pace of easing is likely to be slow.” Producer input and output prices are
normally released alongside the CPI data.
Core inflation, which excludes energy, However, the ONS decided not to publish
food, alcohol and tobacco prices, eased to them this month following the discovery of
6.3% growth from 6.5% in October. problems that are now under investigation.

Alcohol prices in restaurants, cafes and

Read also: EU plans to propose €10 bil
investment in Southeast Asia

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Oil prices may the OPEC+ coalition to reverse its latest Adnoc is said to
rally next year as production cuts. pick lead banks
Russian exports for mega IPO
The IEA acknowledged that Russian
sink, IEA says exports have continued to swell despite its of gas unit
repeated predictions that an international
by Grant Smith boycott would slash shipments. Moscow’s by Dinesh Nair, Swetha Gopinath
Bloomberg oil shipments climbed to a seven-month & Anthony Di Paola
high of 8.1 million barrels a day in No- Bloomberg
(Dec 14): Oil prices could rally next year vember, although revenue fell due to lower
as sanctions squeeze Russian supplies and prices, according to the report. (Dec 14): Abu Dhabi National Oil Co
demand beats earlier expectations, the In- has chosen banks to lead an initial pub-
ternational Energy Agency said. Russia’s resilience also contribut- lic offering of its natural gas business
ed to shallower cutbacks than expected next year, people with knowledge of the
Russia’s output — which defied the from OPEC+, the IEA said. The 23-na- matter said.
agency’s previous predictions of collapse tion group led by Saudi Arabia reduced
this year — is poised to plunge 14% by the supplies last month by just a quarter of State-owned Adnoc picked Goldman
end of the first quarter, the Paris-based the two million barrels-a-day it had an- Sachs Group Inc, Bank of America Corp
IEA said in a report onWednesday. If that nounced, as many members were already and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC as joint
forecasts holds true, it could reverse the pumping below their designated quotas. global coordinators of the proposed share
recent trend in oil futures, which have re- sale, the people said, asking not to be
treated to US$80 a barrel in London after But global markets are on track to identified because the information is
their worst weekly slump in four months. tighten up in 2023, according to the IEA. private.

“While lower oil prices come as a wel- Russian output will finally begin to The deal is set to become one of Abu
come relief to consumers faced by surging buckle this month as European Union Dhabi’s largest-ever listings. Adnoc an-
inflation, the full impact of embargoes sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine nounced last month it will combine its
on Russian crude and product supplies force the country to shut in about 400,000 liquefied natural gas and gas-processing
remains to be seen,” the IEA said. “As barrels a day, the agency predicts. arms in a new unit. It said it will sell
we move through the winter months and a minority share of the business, to be
toward a tighter oil balance in the sec- Production will tumble from current called Adnoc Gas, through an Abu Dhabi
ond quarter, another price rally cannot levels of about 11.2 million barrels a day IPO in 2023.
be ruled out.” to 9.6 million a day by the end of the first
quarter, according to the report. Presi- Deliberations are ongoing, and details
The IEA, which advises major econ- dent Vladimir Putin said last week that of the potential listing could change, the
omies, bolstered forecasts for global oil the country would reduce output rather people said. Adnoc is also inviting banks
demand in 2023 by 300,000 barrels a than sell to buyers at the capped price to pitch for bookrunner roles on the of-
day amid vigorous growth in India and level demanded by the G-7. fering, the people said.
surprising resilience in China. Consump-
tion will grow by 1.7 million barrels a day Meanwhile, “buoyant” consumption Representatives for Adnoc, Goldman
next year to average 101.6 million a day. of gasoil in emerging economies suggests Sachs and Bank of America declined to
that world oil demand will grow at a fast- comment.A spokesperson for FAB didn’t
Still, it’s a softer warning on prices er rate next year than previously estimat- immediately respond to a request for
than recent messages from the agency, ed. India has led the expansion in recent comment outside regular business hours.
which a few weeks ago was highlighting months, but will be overtaken again by
the risk of a supply squeeze and urging China next year as the Asian giant emerg- Adnoc Gas will be one of the world’s
es from strict “Covid Zero” restrictions, largest gas-processing entities with a ca-
the IEA said. pacity of 10 billion cubic feet a day across
eight onshore and offshore sites. It will
“While restriction levels in the coun- have a pipeline network of more than
try remain high, the stage is now set for a 3,250 kilometers (2,019 miles).
progressive reopening in 2023,” according
to the report. Japan’s Mitsui & Co, BP Plc andTo-
talEnergies SE own stakes in Adnoc’s
LNG arm, while its gas processing busi-
ness counts Total, Shell Plc and Thai-
land’s PTT Pcl as minority shareholders.

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(Dec 14): Billionaire Anil Agarwal is strug- Billionaire History gets made! ???? Happy to an-
gling to find financial backers for a planned Agarwal struggles nounce that the new Vedanta-Foxconn sem-
semiconductor factory in India with an in- iconductor plant will be set up in #Gujarat.
vestment of as much as 1.54 trillion rupees to get backers Vedanta’s landmark investment of ₹1.54
(US$18.6 billion), according to people fa- for US$19 bil lakh crores will help make India’s #At-
miliar with the matter. manirbhar Silicon Valley a reality. (1/4)
chip unit — Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved)
Agarwal’s representatives met with large September 13, 2022
funds from the Middle East, Singapore, by Anto Antony
and the US over the past three months Bloomberg The investors to whom Agarwal pitched
to garner financing commitments for the the plan raised concerns about the group’s
manufacturing business, the people said, iPhones, to build a chipmaking facility in limited experience in the sector, and its
asking not to be named as the information the state of Gujarat. The partners, with stretched financial situation, they said.
is not public. All the funds gave the op- little experience running large chip op-
portunity a pass leaving them with almost erations, were betting on rising semi- While Agarwal had initially tweeted that
no backers for the project, they Vedanta Ltd, his India unit, was making the
said, without providing conductor demand while announcing chip plant investments, he backtracked a few
further details. the plan. days later to say that the manufacturing busi-
ness would fall within the purview ofVolcan.
The tycoon had Volcan Investments Ltd, the family
announced in Sep- trust of Agarwal, is not looking for any To be sure, the venture plans an initial
tember that his external investors to finance the semicon- investment of US$2 billion for the plant
Volcan group had ductor and display project, its spokesman that is expected to be set up in two years.
joined forces with said in an emailed statement. The Indian government is also offering to
Hon Hai Precision bear half the costs for such projects under
Industry Co, the as- Billionaire Anil Agarwal. a production incentive plan.
sembler of most of
the world’s While Vedanta Ltd boasts an invest-
ment-grade rating, Moody’s Investors Ser-
bloomberg vice classifies its majority owner,Vedanta
Resources Ltd, as high-yield.Volcan is the
ultimate parent of both entities.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Global Global banking Our estimates for
banking sector credit losses will amount sector credit losses banks’ credit losses are
to around US$2.1 trillion over the three grounded in our base
years to end-2024, according to S&P Glob- to be US$2.1 tril case economic forecasts,
al Ratings. over three years which see a sharp GDP

In a statement on Tuesday (Dec 13), to end-2024, slowdown in 2023,
the global rating agency said its base case says S&P while — unemployment
sees higher but manageable credit losses
ahead for banks across the globe. by Surin Murugiah historically a key
theedgemarkets.com driver for bank credit
S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Os-
man Sattar said China’s commercial bank- its base case represent a significant down- losses — remains
ing system accounts for just more than side risk to our forecasts for credit losses. contained,” Sattar said.
one-half of this total, reflecting its sheer
size in a global context. It said that in particular, weaker eco- rowers would likely push more of them
nomic performances could result in higher toward default.
He said in terms of customer loans, the corporate insolvencies, where leverage is
Chinese banking system is approximately extremely high, fueling higher credit losses. S&P Global said falling residential and
the same size as the US, Japanese, Ger- commercial property prices across much of
man, and UK banking systems combined. The agency said the high levels of in- the world could further undermine house-
debtedness of many sovereigns diminish hold or corporate confidence.
Sattar said global banks enter 2023 with their capacity to provide support to their
broadly healthy capital and solid balance economies, exposing banks more directly
sheets, and their net interest margins will to borrowers facing repayment stresses.
continue to benefit from higher interest
rates. It said that although higher interest
rates will boost banks’ net interest mar-
He said this should provide comfortable gins, should rates rise higher or faster than
headroom to absorb higher losses without we expect — for example, to address per-
depleting capital. sistent inflation concerns — the resulting
pressures on household and corporate bor-
“Our estimates for banks’ credit losses
are grounded in our base case economic
forecasts, which see a sharp GDP slow-
down in 2023, while — unemployment
historically a key driver for bank credit
losses — remains contained,” Sattar said.

S&P Global said the harsher economic
and financing conditions than envisaged in

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HSBC to stop Martin, a campaigner at Share Action. MUFG in
funding new HSBC is among the biggest banks to talks to invest
O&G fields US$200 mil in
confirm it would not support oil and gas Ant-backed
by Lawrence White & Simon Jessop projects that received final approval after
Reuters the end of 2021, a move the International Indonesian
Energy Agency has said is needed for the fintech Akulaku
LONDON (Dec 14): HSBC will stop world to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
funding new oil and gas fields and expect by Manuel Baigorri & Elffie Chew
more information from energy clients over Others to have committed to this in- Bloomberg
their plans to cut carbon emissions, the clude Britain’s biggest domestic bank
banking giant said on Wednesday, as part Lloyds. (Dec 14): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
of a wider update of its sector policy. Group Inc is in talks to invest about
HSBC said it would continue to finance US$200 million in Akulaku Inc, an In-
Activist groups that have been critical energy companies at the corporate level donesian online lender backed by Jack
of HSBC in recent years mostly hailed to help them overhaul their businesses Ma’s Ant Group Co, according to peo-
the move by one of the biggest lenders to and drive development of cleaner energy ple familiar with the matter.
energy companies in the world as a keenly sources, and would assess their strategic
awaited update that will drive companies plans annually. MUFG, as Japan’s biggest lender
towards a cleaner future. as known, is negotiating the terms of
Covering everything from biomass a potential financing for Akulaku, as
“HSBC’s announcement sets a new projects to hydrogen, nuclear and ther- it seeks to expand its presence in the
minimum level of ambition for all banks mal coal, the policy was aimed at driving Southeast Asian nation, the people said.
committed to net-zero,” said Jeanne progress across regions with different en- The funds could give the startup a val-
ergy systems, Celine Herweijer, HSBC’s uation of around US$1.5 billion, the
Chief Sustainability Officer, told Reuters. people said, asking not to be identified
because the matter is private.
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and
a resultant surge in energy costs, the poli- An investment by MUFG in Aku-
cy was also “pragmatic” she said, and the laku would add to the capital raised
bank would continue to finance existing by the company including a US$100
oil and gas fields to ensure supply fell over million fundraising from Thailand’s
time with demand. Siam Commercial Bank Pcl earlier in
the year, the people said. Other inves-
“It’s not no new fossil fuel investment tors including private equity firms have
as of tomorrow.The existing fossil fuel en- shown interest in investing in Akulaku,
ergy system needs to exist hand-in-hand the people said.
with the growing clean energy system,”
Herweijer said. Considerations are ongoing and
talks could still fall apart, the people
“The world cannot get to a net-zero said. Representatives for Akulaku and
energy future without energy companies MUFG declined to comment.
being at the heart of the transition.”
Founded in 2014,Akulaku offers dig-
To ensure oil and gas companies are ital banking, consumer credit, digital in-
on-track, the bank would now ask for new vestment and insurance brokerage ser-
information, including production levels vices, according to its website. It operates
beyond 2030, she added. in Indonesia,Vietnam, Malaysia and the
Philippines, the site shows. Earlier in the
(Dec 14): GoTo Group sold a stake in GoTo sells stake year,Akulaku had been considering a US
Indonesian convenience store operator in store operator listing via a merger with a blank-cheque
Alfamart to focus on its main internet busi- to focus on main company that could have valued the com-
nesses and assuage investor concerns. bined entity at about US$2 billion, people
businesses familiar with the matter said at the time.
The Jakarta-based ride-hailing and
e-commerce company sold the stock for by Ol ivia Poh Bloomberg
a total of 1.5 trillion rupiah (US$96 mil- Bloomberg
lion or RM422.96 million), according to a
statement onWednesday (Dec 14). GoTo watch list for any unusual trading activity.
made a “significant gain” on the minority The management held a meeting with
investment, chief financial officer Jacky
Lo said. investors last Thursday, in which they
said GoTo had enough funds to last until
Shares in GoTo, hurt by the expiry of a it reaches profitability, and that it’s con-
lockup of major shareholders’ stakes that sidering asset sales — comments that did
freed them to reduce their holdings, contin- little to halt the stock’s slide.
ued their plunge after a brief jump onTues-
day snapped 16 straight sessions of losses. Shares in Alfamart, also known as Sum-
ber AlfariaTrijayaTbk PT, have more than
GoTo shares dropped by as much as 7% doubled this year.
onWednesday — the daily limit — hitting
93 rupiah in Jakarta trading.The stock has
declined more than 70% since its April
debut, which has prompted the Indone-
sian stock exchange to put GoTo on its

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world

Chinese tycoon’s luxury prison in the sky
shows wealthy can make up the rules

(Dec 14): The arrested Chinese property by Jonathan Browning nese developer that ran into trouble in 2018
tycoon Zhang Li has a novel way to avoid Bloomberg only to see it stall again at the start of this
a London jail — lock himself in his own year. It got a rescue loan from a group of
luxury tower block. A luxury apartment private equity firms in the summer.
is clearly going to
While Zhang, the co-founder of Guang- be much nicer than Still, even as the torrent of capital that
zhou R&F Properties Co, prepares to fight once flowed to London from China dries
his extradition to the US on bribery charg- prison,” Tom Smith, up, R&F is continuing to market proper-
es, his lawyers were working hard to get a professor in law at ties in the district. A one-bedroom apart-
him out of a London prison and on bail the University of the ment on the second floor of its Thames
this week. City tower was on sale for over £1.1 mil-
West of England, lion, according to marketing material seen
Not only did they offer the joint-high- said. “That certainly by Bloomberg.
est security that Britain’s courts have ever suggests a two-tiered
accepted of £15 million (US$16 million), system that says if you Zhang was arrested on Nov 30 at Lon-
but the lawyers said that as a condition he have means, you can don’s Heathrow Airport on a flight from
would be confined to a 5-bedroom pent- buy your freedom.” Singapore, according to a filing from the
house apartment on the 43rd floor of an lawyers for the US. He’s wanted over al-
R&F-owned tower by the River Thames. Chinese property legations that he provided kickbacks and
tycoon Zhang Li. funds to San Francisco officials to win per-
Guarded by ex-military personnel on mits for construction.
12-hour shifts, one operative told a judge
that he planned to replicate the security Zhang then paid for accommodation
measures of a prison on the property de- and gifts when the official traveled to China
veloper. That kind of protection doesn’t on vacation, the US alleges.The total bribes
come cheap at £200,000 a month, and all paid are estimated at between US$40,000
paid for by Zhang himself. and US$70,000.

The highly unusual measures highlight R&F said earlier on its official WeChat
the extent to which the wealthiest people account that it planned to fight what it
can construct their own options with- called “false allegations” that Zhang was
in a faltering British justice system that charged with bribery “for hosting a dinner
wouldn’t be available to anyone else. The in China for a former public affairs exec-
number of prisoners waiting for their trial utive in San Francisco and providing him
in England and Wales has soared to a 14- with hotel accommodation.”
year high.
The US had opposed bail and warned
Two-tiered that the private security company
“A luxury apartment is clearly going to be had little to no obligations to
much nicer than prison,”Tom Smith, a pro- the court. But Judge John
fessor in law at the University of the West Zani disagreed, telling
of England, said. “That certainly suggests the lawyers that he in-
a two-tiered system that says if you have tended to grant bail
means, you can buy your freedom.” while Zhang fights
his case.
The bail conditions were disclosed at a That will be
court hearing, where lawyers acting for the months away. In the
US government warned that Zhang was a meantime Zhang will
potential flight-risk, saying that the tycoon be in his apartment.
had the “resources and ability to flee.” The only time he’s al-
lowed out will be to go
“Anyone else considered to be as risky to court, handcuffed to
would simply be remanded in custody,” a security guard.
Smith said. Should the 69-year-
old be sent to the US and
Zhang is to be confined at one of R&F’s is found guilty he faces as
high-rise blocks in London’s Nine Elms long as 20 years
district, one of dozens of high-priced apart- in prison.
ment projects packed into the narrow strip
of land along the river where sales
have stagnated during the pan-
demic.

Zhang’s lawyers declined
to comment.

The firm bought the UK
project from another Chi-

T H U R S D A Y D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 2 2 25 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 4,130.0052.00 OIL US$ 88.781.81 RM/USD 4.4065 RM/SGD 3.2443 RM/AUD 2.9988 RM/GBP 5.3528 RM/EUR 4.6011

Top 20 active stocks

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

SNS NETWORK TECHNOLOGY BHD 91.10 0.020 0.270 0.00 435.5

ADVANCE SYNERGY BHD 63.20 0.005 0.175 59.09 442.6

TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 63.00 0.000 0.785 -69.69 6,285.8

DATAPREP HOLDINGS BHD 55.30 -0.005 0.250 -69.14 168.7

BORNEO OIL BHD 44.10 0.000 0.025 -16.67 223.3

EURO HOLDINGS BHD 40.70 0.000 0.120 -75.26 105.8

NWP HOLDINGS BHD 37.50 0.005 0.205 -16.33 116.3

DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 32.50 0.015 0.540 -28.95 1,704.4

INDUSTRONICS BHD 29.90 -0.005 0.095 -13.64 41.6 World equity indices

WIDAD GROUP BHD 27.70 0.000 0.425 16.44 1,169.8

MALAYSIA STEEL WORKS KL BHD 25.50 0.010 0.385 22.22 260.9 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE

HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD 25.00 0.000 1.570 -72.60 5,365.4 (%) (%)
DOW JONES 34,108.64 103.60 0.30 INDONESIA 6,801.75 -8.57 -0.13
MY EG SERVICES BHD 23.90 0.005 0.905 -15.42 6,731.4

MALAYAN UNITED INDUSTRIES BHD 21.60 0.000 0.080 14.29 258.1 S&P 500 4,019.65 29.09 0.73 JAPAN 28,156.21 201.36 0.72

YEW LEE PACIFIC GROUP BHD 21.60 -0.005 0.385 0.00 205.0 NASDAQ 100 11,834.21 127.77 1.09 KOREA 2,399.25 26.85 1.13

IRIS CORP BHD 20.60 0.000 0.140 -22.22 456.8 FTSE 100 7,477.68 -25.21 -0.34 PHILIPPINES 6,615.07 32.69 0.50

MESTRON HOLDINGS BHD 19.80 -0.015 0.430 26.47 400.1 AUSTRALIA 7,251.30 48.03 0.67 SINGAPORE 3,278.57 7.29 0.22

PERTAMA DIGITAL BHD 19.20 -0.050 1.690 191.38 732.4 CHINA 3,176.53 0.20 0.01 TAIWAN 14,739.36 216.40 1.49

INFOMINA BHD 19.00 0.000 1.210 0.00 727.5 HONG KONG 19,673.45 77.25 0.39 THAILAND 1,633.36 7.45 0.46

APEX EQUITY HOLDINGS BHD 18.40 0.010 1.220 20.70 247.2 INDIA 62,677.91 144.61 0.23 VIETNAM 1,050.43 2.98 0.28

Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 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)

FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.015 50.00 628.0 50.00 88.8 GREEN OCEAN CORP BHD 0.020 -20.00 5,600.8 -33.33 42.2

ALDRICH RESOURCES BHD 0.040 33.33 6,533.1 0.00 44.5 FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.020 -20.00 3,444.3 -50.00 127.4

TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.020 33.33 500.0 0.00 85.9 MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 0.020 -20.00 21.8 -33.33 29.0

AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.020 33.33 13,322.1 -33.33 120.0 G3 GLOBAL BHD 0.025 -16.67 1,861.2 -68.75 72.6

COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.020 33.33 630.2 33.33 91.7 DOLPHIN INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.025 -16.67 3,761.0 -64.29 33.4

ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD 0.025 25.00 1,590.2 0.00 38.3 IQZAN HOLDING BHD 0.040 -11.11 6.3 -20.00 8.9

TECHNA-X BHD 0.030 20.00 689.9 -60.00 66.4 PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 -11.11 31.5 -11.11 23.3

AE MULTI HOLDINGS BHD 0.030 20.00 605.6 0.00 64.9 SAPURA ENERGY BHD 0.040 -11.11 9,735.0 -20.00 639.2

CME GROUP BHD 0.035 16.67 30.0 -41.67 35.1 YGL CONVERGENCE BHD 0.135 -10.00 374.8 -6.90 34.5

APPASIA BHD 0.120 14.29 7,220.0 26.32 129.2 SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.045 -10.00 6,802.5 -18.18 51.3

JERASIA CAPITAL BHD 0.040 14.29 51.0 -75.00 3.3 MQ TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.050 -9.09 7,887.3 0.00 62.6

TWL HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 14.29 4,627.1 -20.00 159.3 GFM SERVICES BHD 0.200 -9.09 8,038.3 2.56 138.1

CSH ALLIANCE BHD 0.045 12.50 470.1 -52.63 62.2 CONCRETE ENGINEERING 0.955 -9.05 23.4 9.77 71.3

GAGASAN NADI CERGAS BHD 0.315 12.50 445.8 -17.11 237.2 SARAWAK CABLE BHD 0.055 -8.33 322.2 -73.81 21.9

HUBLINE BHD 0.045 12.50 166.1 12.50 193.0 MTOUCHE TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.055 -8.33 2.0 -38.89 51.0

SERSOL BHD 0.190 11.76 1,257.3 -12.04 112.9 SC ESTATE BUILDER BHD 0.060 -7.69 301.1 -20.00 64.4

GIIB HOLDINGS BHD 0.095 11.76 571.7 -26.92 56.2 KOMARKCORP BHD 0.065 -7.14 166.5 -43.48 37.5

S&F CAPITAL BHD 0.095 11.76 195.0 5.56 52.3 TRIVE PROPERTY GROUP BHD 0.065 -7.14 495.4 116.67 82.1

IMPIANA HOTELS BHD 0.100 11.11 289.5 -73.33 28.9 PAOS HOLDINGS BHD 0.27 -6.9 3 -15.63 48.9

CYL CORP BHD 1.120 10.89 2,769.1 138.30 112.0 JASA KITA BHD 0.140 -6.67 202 27.27 62.9

Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 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)

NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 138.300 0.900 48.3 3.06 32,431.4 KESM INDUSTRIES BHD 7.230 -0.270 3.90 -41.12 311.0

MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 30.700 0.720 178.9 -37.80 6,106.1 TIME DOTCOM BHD 5.080 -0.120 4,725.40 15.05 9,329.9

HEXTARTECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS 13.720 0.700 172.7 446.61 1,765.1 FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 22.000 -0.120 67.40 -11.08 8,069.1

PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 22.000 0.380 327.4 6.80 21,856.0 AJIYA BHD 1.570 -0.110 2,302.90 40.18 448.6

HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.700 0.220 231.3 23.32 7,763.9 CAN-ONE BHD 3.310 -0.110 14.90 -10.30 636.0

AYER HOLDINGS BHD 6.500 0.200 30.9 16.28 486.5 CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 23.000 -0.100 178.90 14.54 7,032.2

LPI CAPITAL BHD 13.060 0.180 17.1 -7.11 5,202.9 CONCRETE ENGINEERING 0.955 -0.095 23.40 9.77 71.3

BLD PLANTATION BHD 10.260 0.140 2.8 13.87 959.3 RIVERVIEW RUBBER ESTATES BHD 3.600 -0.090 1.00 19.07 233.5

QL RESOURCES BHD 5.650 0.130 3,446.0 23.63 13,750.2 HONG LEONG INDUSTRIES BHD 9.210 -0.080 15.00 0.33 2,942.3

TENAGA NASIONAL BHD 9.340 0.130 3,715.5 0.00 53,733.7 PTT SYNERGY GROUP BHD 1.030 -0.070 42.00 15.08 92.7

PPB GROUP BHD 17.680 0.120 249.1 3.39 25,151.6 PERAK TRANSIT BHD 1.290 -0.060 5,814.80 113.22 901.9

ALLIANCE BANK MALAYSIA BHD 3.720 0.110 1,166.8 30.07 5,759.0 MICROLINK SOLUTIONS BHD 0.930 -0.050 8,672.30 50.00 994.0

CYL CORP BHD 1.120 0.110 2,769.1 138.30 112.0 POWER ROOT BHD 2.190 -0.050 463.90 66.73 923.6

KOTRA INDUSTRIES BHD 6.630 0.110 64.0 109.81 981.2 FIAMMA HOLDINGS BHD 1.230 -0.050 839.90 105 600.9

AJINOMOTO MALAYSIA BHD 12.000 0.100 177.0 -22.08 729.6 LTKM BHD 1.370 -0.050 1,402.30 0.74 196.1

KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 21.100 0.100 1,052.2 -3.12 22,749.1 TIEN WAH PRESS HOLDINGS BHD 0.880 -0.050 10.00 -24.14 127.4

HENGYUAN REFINING CO BHD 3.610 0.100 1,137.7 -6.72 1,083.0 SIGNATURE INTERNATIONAL BHD 2.720 -0.050 354.10 97.10 788.4

GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 5.160 0.100 4,580.2 -23.33 6,464.6 PERTAMA DIGITAL BHD 1.690 -0.050 19,247.60 191.38 732.4

PETRON MALAYSIA REFINING 4.330 0.100 196.1 -1.14 1,169.1 GHL SYSTEMS BHD 0.945 -0.045 2,334.60 -45.69 1078.7

D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 4.380 0.100 3493.9 -25.76 5419.2 CHIN HIN GROUP PROPERTY BHD 1.17 -0.04 1787.2 30 556.7

Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Dec 14, 2022 Source: Bloomberg