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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2023 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 506/2023

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Inari tumbles amid knee-jerk selldown as Apple said to drop Broadcom chips p5
BCorp says acquisition target is MCIS Insurance, confirms The Edge report p6

MACC probe will prove misappropriation allegations against me, Bersatu are false, says Muhyiddin p14
WORLD: World’s biggest chipmaker TSMC misses sales forecasts as demand wanes p18
Jamie Dimon says Fed may need to hike interest rates beyond 5% p20

Will the govt extend the ICPT exemption
on green energy tariff?

Report on Page 2.

LOW YEN YEING/THE EDGE

Creditors granted
order to wind up
Serba Dinamik,
three subsidiaries

Report on Pages 3 & 4.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Will the govt extend the ICPT exemption
on green energy tariff?

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 11):The government is BY ADAM AZIZ tion — a wide gap between the two surcharges
understood to be assessing the reinstatement of theedgemarkets.com has emerged.
the imbalance cost pass-through (ICPT) mech-
anism on the Green Electricity Tariff (GET) The ICPT mostly passes on price swings in
following the expiry of ICPT exemption at end fossil fuel used in power generation, aside from
2022 for those who subscribed to the green en- renewable energy displacement costs.
ergy tariff, which totalled 1,995 users presently.
This raises the question as to whether sub-
The ICPT exemption, introduced during scribers to green energy in Malaysia should
the launch of the GET as a temporary incen- be exposed to the volatility of fossil fuel price
tive to encourage adoption of the scheme, was swings when the source of the energy they use
implemented throughout 2022. is not fossil-fuel based.

It is unclear whether the government will Meanwhile, it is unclear how much the tariff
proceed with the implementation of the ICPT imposed by renewable energy plants, such as
mechanism on GET starting this month, or to the hydro power dams, to the grid offtaker is.
extend the exemption.
In the solar space, the highest tariff under the
Details are still being drawn up, a spokes- Large Scale Solar 4 (LSS4) stood at 24.81/kWh.
person for the Ministry of Natural Resources, This is about the same as the energy price from the
Environment and Climate Change said when most expensive thermal plant currently, according
contacted by The Edge. The Energy Commis- to data from the grid offtaker, the Single Buyer.
sion, meanwhile, had yet to reply at press time.
Possible periodic review of GET surcharge
Under the GET scheme, subscribers pay a It is learnt that the government is also looking
surcharge of 3.7 sen/kWh to receive a Renewa- at a periodic review of the GET surcharge to
ble Energy Certificate (REC), and be certified reflect costs related to renewable energy instal-
as users of renewable energy as proof of carbon lation in the long run.
emissions reduction efforts.
According toTenaga Nasional Bhd’s website,
With the GET, carbon-conscious consumers the GET initiative’s 1,995 subscribers comprise
without their own renewable energy installation both domestic and non-domestic users, with total
can take up the grid’s renewable energy quota subscriptions of 336.58 gWh per month.
to improve their ESG — environmental, social
and governance — score.These consumers are Back to the 1H2023 ICPT surcharge of 20 sen/
also supporting further development of the local kWh, this is imposed on medium-voltage (MV)
renewable energy sector, as proceeds from the and high-voltage (HV) users as well as multina-
surcharge will be used to support the nation’s tional corporations (MNCs).The surcharge is set
RE development initiatives and agenda. at 3.7 sen per kWh surcharge on farmers and ani-
mal breeders as well as lower voltage (LV) non-do-
The scheme, first announced in late-2021, mestic users such as micro businesses. Domestic
was implemented at the start of 2022. When users receive a rebate of 2 sen/kWh in the period.
it was rolled out, the GET surcharge of 3.7
sen/kWh was on par with the ICPT surcharge On top of the GET and the ICPT tariff sur-
imposed on non-domestic users who did not charge (or rebate), electricity tariff in Malaysia
subscribe to the GET. includes a base tariff of 39.95 sen/kWh, which
takes into account transmission grid operations
However, under the new January-June 2023 and capital expenditure, returns on regulated as-
(1H2023) ICPT surcharge — which has risen set base under Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and pow-
to up to 20 sen/kWh following a surge in prices er purchase cost charged by power plants to the
of coal and natural gas used for power genera- grid.The base tariff is reviewed every three years.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Creditors granted order to wind up
Serba Dinamik, three subsidiaries

BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The High Lee Shih on behalf of the interim liq- The latest quarterly financial report
Court granted an order for six financial in- uidator said that Serba Dinamik and the shows that Serba Dimanik incurred a net
stitutions to wind up Serba Dinamik Hold- respondents had not filed the statement loss of RM104.6 million for the quarter
ings Bhd — an oil & gas firm that was of affairs, and that they had also failed to ended Sept 30.
embroiled in audit disputes and legal suits disclose where the assets are. In addition,
against its former external auditors, the the directors — some of whom are in SDIL To recap, in December 2021, the com-
stock exchange and the Securities Com- — also refused to divulge details. pany’s chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk
mission Malaysia (SC) — together with its Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah and three
three subsidiaries, Serba Dinamik Inter- However, Serba Dinamik announced to other top executives were charged with
national Ltd (SDIL), Serba Dinamik Sdn Bursa Malaysia that it is seeking legal ad- providing false reports to the SC.
Bhd, as well as Serba Dinamik Group Bhd, vice to appeal or set aside the winding-up
over debts totalling about RM5 billion. order granted against the group and three The four were charged upon the com-
wholly-owned units over debts of about pletion of the investigation on the com-
Judicial commissioner Ahmad Murad RM5 billion. pany by the SC in view of the audit is-
Abdul Aziz allowed a petition filed by sues flagged by its former external auditor
Standard Chartered Saadiq Bhd, HSBC The company said that following the KPMG in May 2021.
Amanah Malaysia Bhd, AmBank Islamic winding-up order, its directors have been
Bhd, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank rendered functus officio (without further While the minorities of Serba Dinamik
Bhd, United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) authority) save for residuary powers to ap- were licking their wounds and waiting for the
Bhd, and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, and peal against the order. truth to be revealed in the court, many jaws
granted an order to wind up the four dropped when the four executives were let
companies. Any further queries in regard to the af- off with just a compound, instead of being
fairs of Serba Dinamik are to be directed tried in court and possibly face jail time for
Upon being wound up, the companies to its liquidator, the group said in a bourse the offences they were charged with.
will be placed underVictor Saw, a liquida- filing on Tuesday.
tor from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). The four were compounded RM3 mil-
Serba Dinamik’s impressive earnings lion each. Nearly RM6 billion market cap
This is the largest insolvency case in growth in the past just disappeared over- was wiped off after its share price tumbled
the courts, according to Benjamin Daw- night after its external auditor KPMG to barely one sen before it was suspended
son who appeared for the bilateral lenders flagged accounting irregularities issues. on Dec 22 from RM1.61 in May 2021.
in HSBC Amanah and HSBC Bank given
the debt of RM5 billion. It incurred an annual net loss of The allegations of accounting irregu-
RM1.09 billion for the financial year ended larities at Serba Dinamik were brought
He said putting the case into context, June 30, 2022, and missed the deadline to to the daylight in May 2021 as its former
this is a case of a group of companies which submit an annual report to Bursa Malaysia. external auditor KPMG flagged several
has the largest debt owing in the insolven- sales transactions, receivables and payables,
cy court, and it does not have a credible including its IT contract abroad.
restructuring plan.
The court decision will mark the end of
There is no evidence to support the the final chapter of Serba Dinamik’s history,
value of their assets, or the buyers of their which is likely to be cited as an example of
assets, Dawson told the court, adding that corporate scandal and accounting irregular-
this is the situation the creditors had to ities, among other companies in the future.
deal with in the past year. Read also: Serba Dinamik seeking legal
advice over winding-up order
He added that in the judicial manage-
ment application, Serba Dinamik said that
it is eager to pay the creditors, but nothing
came out of that, with the group failing
to pay the creditors on Aug 31 and at the
end of 2022.

Five-year group financial overview (RM ’000)

FYE 2016 FYE 2017 FYE 2018 FYE 2019 FYE 2021
12 months 12 months 12 months 12 months 18 months

Revenue 2,168,329 2,722,318 3,283,174 4,529,621 8,606,169

Net finance costs (35,011) (33,936) (49,587) (181,251) (296,456)

(Loss)/profit before tax 267,934 346,071 437,625 544,828 (94,589)

Profit for the financial year

attributable to owners 246,124 308,087 391,477 496,640 (175,839)

of the company

Sources: Annual Report/Serba Dinamik

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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How a RM6 bil company falls into liquidation

May 25, 2021 — Serba Dinamik filed a Nov 9 — Serba Dinamik misses coupon US$7 million semi-annual coupon payment
short statement on Bursa Malaysia that payment for US$300 million sukuk. on outstanding US$222 million sukuk..
it was informed by its external auditor
KPMG on some statutory audit matters Nov 10 — Serba sued EY and seeks to Dec 14 — Serba Dinamik applied to
and that it was in the midst of appointing block the auditor from revealing any expunge EY’s findings update report which
an independent party to commence a findings from the review to any party. was submitted to Bursa Malaysia, claiming
special independent review (SIR) on the that it is “documentary hearsay evidence”
matter. This was two weeks after the group Nov 11 — Serba Dinamik failed to obtain
announced the change of its financial year an interim injunction against Bursa Dec 15 — Serba Dinamik said it sees
end to June 30, 2021 from Dec 31, 2020. Malaysia and EY to stop them from significant financial impact from the
releasing a report on the findings against US$222 million sukuk default.
May 26 — Serba Dinamik’s largest the company.
shareholder and group CEO Datuk Abdul Dec 20 — Mohamed Abu Hassan
Karim Abdullah said the company had Nov 24 — Serba Dinamik chairman Datuk stepped down as chairman, citing
taken steps to address the matter prior to Mohamed Ilyas Pakeer Mohamed and “biased regulatory prosecution aimed
the announcement independent director Johan Mohamed towards Serba Dinamik”, with the group
Ishak resigned, in protest against Bursa redesignating non-independent non-
May 28 — Serba Dinamik’s substantial Malaysia’s demands. Independent executive director Datuk Abdul Kadier
shareholder and independent director Datuk director Datuk Seri Mohamed Abu Hassan Sahib as its new chairman.
Abdul Kadier Sahib requested to remove redesignated as chairman.
KPMG as auditor and to appoint BDO Dec 28 — Serba Dinamik and top
instead. The request was called off on June 2. Meltdown in the stock that was executives charged by SC for submitting a
false statement to Bursa Malaysia.
May 29 — Serba Dinamik revealed the once investors’ darling RM
audit issues raised by KPMG. This involved Jan 6, 2022 — Serba Dinamik is classified
transactions and receivables amounting to 2.5 as a Practice Note 17 (PN17) company,
at least RM3.5 billion. after its external auditor expressed
2.0 a disclaimer of opinion on its audited
June 14-17 — Serba Dinamik announced financial statements for the 18-month
the appointment of new independent 1.5 financial period ended June 30, 2021.
directors led by new chairman Datuk
Mohamed Ilyas Pakeer Mohamed. 1.0 1 sen April 13 — Serba Dinamik and four top
0.5 65.6 sen Dec 22, 2022 executives have been compounded RM3
June 22 — Serba Dinamik’s revamped million each by the SC.
board of directors sued KPMG, which 0.0
resulted in the latter’s resignation as its Feb 10, 2017 April 28 — Datuk Syed Zaid Albar has
external auditor tendered his resignation as the executive
Source: Bloomberg chairman of the SC, just six months after his
June 24 — Four independent directors term was extended for a three-year period.
resigned in protest against the KPMG suit Nov 25 — Bursa Malaysia rejects Serba
Dinamik’s second request for extension to May 13 — Serba Dinamik and its four
June 29-July 2 — EY’s appointment as issue FY20 annual report. Bintai Kinden top executives are given a discharge and
Serba Dinamik’s independent reviewer deputy CEO Noor Azri Noor Azerai and acquittal, after paying total RM16 million
was finalised. accountant Abu Bakar Uzir appointed as compound the previous day.
independent directors on Serba Dinamik’s
Aug 2 — Serba Dinamik appointed Nexia board. Dec 23 — Serba Dinamik’s shares are
SSY PLT as its new external auditor, after suspended due to the company’s failure to
receiving the nod from KPMG. Nov 30 — High Court blocked the sharing submit its annual report for FY2022. The
of Serba Dinamik’s SIR factual findings counter last traded at one sen.
Oct 20 — Karim sold his entire 55.9 million update through the court system.
Serba Dinamik warrants. Jan 10, 2023 — The High Court allowed
Dec 8 — Serba Dinamik sought to recuse a petition by the six financial institutions
Oct 22 — Bursa suspended the trading of Justice Datuk Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin, to wind up Serba Dinamik Holdings
Serba Dinamik’s securities, and directed on grounds that he had served in the SC in Bhd, and its three subsidiaries — Serba
the company to reveal the factual findings the past. Dinamik International Ltd (SDIL), Serba
of EY’s independent review Dinamik Sdn Bhd and Serba Dinamik
Dec 9 — High Court dismissed Serba Group Bhd — over debts totalling about
Nov 8 — Serba Dinamik sued Bursa Dinamik’s application to recuse the RM5 billion. Licensed liquidator Victor
Malaysia for acting in excess of its power presiding judge. Serba Dinamik’s subsidiary Saw of PricewaterhouseCoopers is to be
on the audit review matter SD International Sukuk Ltd defaults on appointed as liquidator.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Inari tumbles amid knee-jerk selldown as
Apple said to drop Broadcom chips

BY SYAFIQAH SALIM Rating for Inari
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Inari Amer- Stockbroking firm Recommendation Target Price (RM)
tron Bhd, which saw its stock price fall by as
much as 25 sen or 8.9% to an intraday low BIMB Securities Sdn Bhd Buy 3.75
of RM2.55 onTuesday (Jan 10), is unlikely
to be affected by news that consumer elec- Nomura Buy 3.29
tronics giant Apple Inc might be dropping
Broadcom Inc’s chip from its devices. UOB KayHian Buy 3.10

Nonetheless, certain quarters believe JP Morgan Neutral 2.50
Inari’s short-term earnings prospects are
not that rosy. Like many chipmakers world- Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd Hold 2.48
wide, the group is expected to see a slow-
down in new orders as smart devices sales Source: Bloomberg
are likely to be weaker.
Inari Amertron Bhd RM tween FY2017 and FY2022, compared with
At the closing bell, Inari — which was 4.0 Apple’s 16% and Broadcom’s 32%.
among the top losers on Bursa — declined Vol (mil)
16 sen or 5.7% to settle at RM2.64, with 60 Concern from investors Apple may
about 30.17 million shares changing hands. slowly replace other chips, including
Based on its closing price, the technolo- 40 RM3.64 3.5 RF chips
gy company is valued at RM9.85 billion. 20 RM2.64 3.0 From the perspective of local analysts, in-
vestors are concerned that Apple may slowly
Citing people familiar with the matter, 2.5 replace other chips, including RF chips, with
Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that its own designs in the future.This may partly
Apple plans to replace Broadcom’s Wi- 0 2.0 explain Inari’s recent share price weakness.
Fi and Bluetooth chips, replacing the key Dec 20, 2021 Jan 10, 2023
chips with an in-house design by 2025. “[But], I don’t think that Inari is under
Source: Bloomberg panic selling. Many big funds are still hold-
It should be noted that Broadcom also ing on to their Inari shares for the longer
supplies other components to Apple — in- than RM1 billion in the RF division in the fi- term,” TA Investment Management Bhd
cluding radio-frequency (RF) chips and nancial year ending June 30, 2024 (FY2024). chief investment officer Choo Swee Kee
ones that handle wireless charging — told The Edge.
though the iPhone maker has been work- It is an open secret that Inari is heavi-
ing on customising those parts as well. ly dependent on US fabless chip design- He pointed out that there is an oversupply
er Broadcom, which is a key component in the semiconductor chip market, especially
Nevertheless, Stacy Rasgon, an analyst supplier to Apple. for the smartphone and personal computers
with financial services firm AB Bernstein, (PC) markets, which will affect Inari.
told Reuters that Apple’s decision is still likely For perspective, Singapore remains Inari’s
to hit Broadcom’s revenue by about US$1 largest geographical market, accounting for “Inari will have to ride through this ex-
billion (RM4.37 billion) to US$1.5 billion. 86% of the group’s revenue for the financial cess supply cycle and the outlook may turn
year ended June 30,2022 (FY2022),followed more positive once supply tightens again.
But Rasgon stressed that Broadcom’s by China (8%) and Malaysia (5%). We expect this process may take one year,”
RF chips are complex to design and man- Choo explained.
ufacture, and therefore, replacement is un- See also story on Page 17
likely in the short term. Inari saw its share price drop RM1.61 or
The Edge Malaysia weekly in its Sept 12- 38% from its peak of RM4.25 on Nov 19,
A channel check by The Edge, howev- 18, 2022 issue reported that most market 2021.The counter is currently trading at a
er, showed that Inari’s exposure to Broad- watchers generally assume that a large por- historical price-earnings ratio of 25.1 times,
com’s business is more on RF chips. In tion of Inari’s Singapore revenue actually while offering a dividend yield of 3.7%.
short, Inari should see muted impact, even comes from Broadcom, which operates its
if Broadcom’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips Asean sales office in the city state. Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd analyst
were to be replaced. RonnieTan commented, “Inari’s stock val-
Notably, Apple is Broadcom’s largest uation is still not attractive enough, despite
According to CGS-CIMB’s report on customer, accounting for about 20% of long-term fundamentals remaining intact.”
Nov 25, 2022, Inari expects to see a pick-up the chip maker’s revenue for the last fiscal
in RF utilisation to 80%-85% in the second year, which totalled nearly US$7 billion. Other analysts contacted by The Edge
quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (2QFY2023), declined to comment as they seek more
driven by better sales mix for newer-gener- Inari’s profits have almost matched those clarity from the company’s management
ation models, which require a longer testing of the two US tech heavyweights over the past about the impact of the Apple-Broadcom
period due to higher RF content value. five years.To illustrate, Inari’s profits grew at announcement.
a compound annual growth rate of 13% be-
The research firm learned from Inari’s Inari has 13 ‘buy’ calls, seven ‘hold’ rec-
management that the country’s largest out- ommendations and one ‘sell’ rating with a
sourced semiconductor assembly and testing consensus 12-month target price (TP) of
(OSAT) player is targeting revenue of more RM3.12, Bloomberg data showed.

BIMB Securities Sdn Bhd rated the
stock with the highest TP of RM3.75,
whereas the lowest TP of RM2.48 came
from Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Berjaya Corp BCorp says 2023 to facilitate the acquisition.
Bhd says it is in the midst of negotiations acquisition According to Section 92 of the FSA,
for the proposed acquisition of a controlling target is MCIS
stake in MCIS Insurance Bhd (MCIS Life) Insurance, individuals shall hold no more than a 10%
confirms stake in a financial institution.
It announced this in a brief bourse filing The Edge report
on Tuesday (Jan 10) night, confirming a The financial services business is noth-
report by The Edge Malaysia over the week- BY IZZUL IKRAM ing new to BCorp as the group is currently
end that the group was in talks with Sanlam theedgemarkets.com involved in the provision of insurance via
Ltd to purchase the South Africa-based its 30% stake in Berjaya Sompo Insurance
company’s 51% stake in MCIS Life. Bhd. The remaining 70% stake is held by
Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte Ltd. BCorp also
On Monday, BCorp told Bursa Malaysia owns a stockbroking arm, Inter-Pacific Se-
that it was “in the midst of negotiation with curities Sdn Bhd.
a potential seller of a licensed entity, sub-
ject to approval of Bank Negara Malaysia”. On Jan 6, Tan sold 40 million shares or a
0.7% stake in BCorp to his son-in-law SM
The Edge Malaysia, citing sources, had Faliq SM Nasimuddin for RM10 million, or
reported that BCorp had been in negoti- 25 sen per share. Subsequent to the divest-
ations with Sanlam since last year to buy ment,Tan is left with a 25.33% stake in BCorp.
its entire 51% stake in MCIS Life.
SM Faliq, who is deputy group execu-
Koperasi MCIS Bhd holds another tive chairman of Naza Group, is married
44.39% equity interest in MCIS Life, while toTan’s daughter ChryseisTan Sheik Ling.
the remaining shares are held by individuals,
according to MCIS Life’s filings with CTOS. Filings on the same day showed that
ChryseisTan, who is also BCorp’s non-ex-
BCorp first announced its intention to ecutive director, acquired the shares in two
pursue the acquisition of a licensed finan- tranches (34.52 million shares and 5.48
cial entity last month when the group also million shares) through her spouse.
said that its founder and major shareholder
Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun intend- Shares in BCorp ended two sen or
ed to pare his shareholding in the group 6.06% higher at 35 sen on Tuesday, giv-
to not more than 19.6% by end-January ing the group a market capitalisation of
RM2.09 billion.

CYBERJAYA (Jan 10): LBS Bina Group LBS Bina sets gic locations in an affordable price range,
Bhd has set a sales target of RM2 bil- RM2 bil sales which matches the needs of the public. In
lion for this year, it said at the group’s target, 12 new addition, we successfully handed over va-
annual media briefing on Tuesday (Jan launches for 2023 cant possession (VP) of 2,957 units worth
10). The group closed off 2022 with RM1.27 billion.
RM2.003 billion in property sales, sur- BY PRIYA DEVAN
passing its 2022 sales target of RM1.6 theedgemarkets.com “On reflection, being able to continu-
billion by 25%. ously launch our developments through-
SHAHRILL BASRI/ THE EDGE out 2022 was no easy feat in light of the
During his opening speech, executive challenging economic climate, a worsening
chairman Tan Sri Lim Hock San said: supply chain and geopolitical uncertain-
“We are glad to have finished 2022 on a ty,” he added.
strong note. Surpassing our 2022 property
sales target by 25% is an indication that Lim also announced the group’s plans
our developments are situated in strate- to launch 12 new projects in 2023.These
upcoming projects cover the KlangValley,
(From left) MGB Bhd executive director and deputy chief executive officer Isaac Lim, executive director Johor, Pahang, and Perak, with a total gross
and CEO Datuk Richard Lim, LBS Bina Group Bhd deputy CEO Datuk Seri Barry Lim Hock Seong, group development value (GDV) of RM2.09 bil-
lion and 4,021 cumulative units across all
managing director and CEO Datuk Wira Joey Lim Hock Guan, executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Hock property types.VP of LBS’ new launches
San, executive director Datuk Cynthia Lim Mooi Pang, executive director Datuk Seri Daniel Lim Hock in 2023 is forecast for 7,209 units across
all property types.
Sing, and deputy CEO Lucas Lim Kim Kiat at LBS’ 2023 media briefing on Jan 10.
LBS will launch 2,118 units worth a
total GDV of RM1.1 billion within the
Klang Valley, which has consistently pro-
vided LBS with the highest sales contri-
bution throughout the years. In KITA @
Cybersouth — the group’s township devel-
opment — LBS plans to launch single-sto-
rey link houses, double-storey link hous-
es and townhouses within KITA Bestari,
amounting to a total of 817 units with a
total GDV of RM418 million.
Read the full story

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Price control creates long term
distortions, say economists

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 11): The gov- BY CHESTER TAY new price control mechanism, said CHK
ernment’s intention to review the current theedgemarkets.com Consultancy founder and CEO Dr Ch’ng
mechanism of price control for essential Huck Khoon.
goods is generally laudable among econo- as disincentive towards farm production,”
mists, as the current artificial low prices are said Socio-Economic Research Centre ex- “Yes, they [the government] want to over-
discouraging supply and could eventually ecutive director Lee Heng Guie. come the problem of high cost of living; they
lead to a bigger problem such as threaten- also need to understand producers’ prob-
ing national food security. “The government’s primary focus is to lems. If you impose too many restrictions,
create competition; not protection in every producers will quit the industry and [this
Economists told The Edge that the new segment of the food supply chains — pro- will] result in less supply,” he explained.
price control mechanism, if materialised, ducer, procurement, stockpiling and food
should prioritise creating competition distribution system — so as to reduce costs, Singular Asset Management founder
among local producers, instead of an out- curb rent-seeking and plug leakages in the Teoh Kok Lin commented that it is crucial
right ceiling price in the name of protecting food management system,” he explained. for the government to take into considera-
consumers from rising inflationary pres- tion the cost of production to avoid similar
sure while disregarding cost of production. Lee also pointed out that price ceilings predicament of late, whereby producers
and controls cannot address scarcity, while are forced out of the business as ceiling
“[The government] may be reviewing to fixing prices at artificially lower levels will prices are lower than their costs.
make it more targeted for [a] narrower group merely enforce existing demand patterns,
of users in the lower income group, those that resulting in worse shortages for many con- “Any adjustment to the price control
would need it most,” said UOB Malaysia sumers down the line. mechanism should also be done gradu-
senior economist Julia Goh, when contacted. ally; while liberalising the market could
Government’s subsidies and ceiling encourage competition, which will push
“The government needs to keep in prices to make food affordable will bur- prices down, we cannot do it at one go
mind the spillover effect to other goods den the persistent budget deficits, and if and let global competitors come in and
and services that could cause overall pric- it becomes unsustainable, it will pose ma- kill the local producers,” he said.
es to spiral; if it is not properly controlled terial policy risks to the country’s credit-
or implemented, the cost of living could worthiness, he added. Asia Business Centre’s head of tax and
escalate further,” she commented. financial consulting Datuk ChuaTia Guan
Transparent and leak proof process concurred, saying that a gradual adjust-
DomesticTrade and Cost of Living Min- An effective mechanism should be able to ment could avoid shock to the market and
ister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub reportedly reach the targeted group in a transparent escalate inflation.
said onTuesday (Jan 10) that the government and leak-proof process, while being easy to
will review the mechanism for controlling administer, said Sunway University Busi- “Prior announcement of the holistic plan
prices of goods and setting ceiling prices. ness School professor of economics Dr of such removal should be made to enable
Yeah Kim Leng. both the producers and consumers to ad-
Apart from fuel, Malaysia also has price just their supply and demand respectively.
controls on other daily essentials, for instance “The implementation cost [should be]
chicken, egg, sugar, flour and cooking oil. minimal compared to the subsidy saving “A clear timetable for such removal of
[in the new mechanism],” he said. the price control would be welcomed in
“Stop market intervention. Govern- order to facilitate such adjustments,” he
ment’s regulatory interventions, though The government is also urged to be explained.
well intended, are often counterproductive. more sensitive in understanding produc-
They distort the functioning of the mar- ers’ business environment in reviewing the Chua said while the government’s effort
ket and the allocation of resources, as well to shield the people from inflationary pres-
sure is commendable, based on the world-
BLOOMBERG FILEPIX wide experience, it appears that allowing
the price of the goods to float according to
market forces is the only long-term solution.

“This would also make both the businesses
and the people more competitive,as they need
to fight for their survival and not over-rely on
the government’s subsidy,” he said.

Chua said price control is akin to a form
of broad-based subsidy, as public financial
resources may be diverted to those who
do not qualify for government assistance.

“This is due to the fact that to support
price control, subsidy is required to be
provided to producers. As such, removal
of price control would certainly ease the
government’s financial burden,” he said.

Read also: Mechanism for price control
to be reviewed soon, says Salahuddin

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 2023 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The labour Labour market number of employed persons in the servic-
market is on a steady path to recovery with the continues es sector continued to increase, especially in
unemployment rate in the country showing a wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage
downward trend with only 600,900 persons recovery, number services,and information and communication
in November 2022, compared with 602,000 of unemployed activities. Similar trends were also observed
in October 2022, said the Department of Sta- dips to 600,900 in the manufacturing, construction, agricul-
tistics Malaysia (DOSM). ture, mining and quarrying sectors,” he said.
Bernama
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Mohd Uzir noted that during the same
Uzir Mahidin in a statement on Tuesday “At the same time, the number of em- month, the unemployment rate of youths
(Jan 10) said the unemployment rate re- ployed persons continued to increase by aged 15 to 24 edged down by 0.2% to
mained at 3.6%, claiming the positive out- 0.2% month-on-month to 16.11 million 11.9%, recording the number of unem-
look was because of the development of persons (October 2022: 16.08 million per- ployed youths at 329,300 persons in com-
current economic activities in the country. sons),” he said. parison to 337,200 in October 2022.

“In November 2022, the labour market He also said that the employee’s catego- “As for the inactivity group, the number in
further strengthened in line with the de- ry, which covers 75.8% of total employed the foreign labour force continued to decline
velopment of current economic activities. persons, continued to record 12.21 million with a reduction of 0.02% to 7.24 million per-
Thus, the labour force situation continued persons, an increase of 0.1% in November sons (October 2022: 7.24 million persons).
to expand during the month, with an in- 2022 from October 2022’s 12.20 million
crease in the number of employed persons, persons, adding that the self-employed cat- “The main reason for [being] outside the
while the number of unemployed persons egories were also on an upwards trend, with labour force was because of housework/fam-
dropped,” he said. an increase of 0.5% to 2.85 million persons. ily responsibilities with 43.1%, followed by
schooling or training with 41.3%,” he said.
He said the labour force kept increasing “In terms of the economic sector, the
in November 2022 with an addition of 0.2% The head statistician also said the opera-
month-on-month to 16.71 million persons, tion of all economic and social activities until
compared with 16.68 million in October, the end of 2022 allowed the nation’s econo-
while the labour force participation rate rose my to grow rapidly, providing optimistic ex-
by 0.1 percentage point to register 69.8% pectations of a steady recovery in the labour
(October 2022: 69.7%). market in line with current positive economic
developments, especially in early 2023.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The labour Malaysia’s By type, MIDF Research shared that
market is expected to strengthen further in job market to employment growth was driven by employ-
2023, underpinned by upbeat momentum in improve in 2023 ers (+8.8% y-o-y), self-account workers
the domestic economy and modest expansion amid external (+8.4% y-o-y) and unpaid family workers
in the external sector, said MIDF Research. concerns, says (+5.5% y-o-y).
MIDF Research
It noted that Malaysia’s average jobless Meanwhile, the employee segment,
rate is expected to descend from 3.8% in Bernama which represents 75.9% of total employ-
2022 to 3.5% in 2023, but slightly higher ment, grew steadily by +1.8% y-o-y.
than the pre-pandemic level of 3.3%. with the unemployment rate staying at 3.6%
in November 2022. MIDF Research however highlighted
“Malaysia’s job market in 2023 is an- that the job patterns have shown signs of
ticipated to continue benefiting from firm “The labour force and employment moderation in the economy, amid a weak-
domestic demand, China’s reopening, the continued expanding +2.5% year-on-year ening external outlook.
revival of construction projects, expansion (y-o-y) and +3.2% y-o-y, respectively, sup-
of primary sectors thanks to elevated glob- ported by robust domestic economic growth The research house said that the regis-
al commodity prices, and modest external and upbeat external front. tered number of job vacancies in Malaysia
trade activities, was 326,300 in October 2022.
“Unemployment dropped further by
“In addition, we view that the recent- 13.5% y-o-y, marking 15 consecutive In the first 10 months of 2022, job va-
ly-concluded general election should reduce months of contraction rate,” it said. cancies remained the highest at 412,200
domestic politics temperature and allow for on average, it added.
better and smooth implementation of fiscal MIDF Research also said that for the
policy,” the research house said. youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment “This reflects a strong recovery in do-
rate was still at a double-digit rate of 11.9%, mestic economic activities, fuelled by robust
MIDF Research said initiatives for la- more than a two-year low, but higher than local demand and continuous expansion in
bour market recovery and domestic eco- the pre-pandemic rate (2019: 10.4%). the external sector.
nomic growth should be among major ele- Read also:
ments in the upcoming re-tabling of Budget On the other hand, it said that outside Foreign worker recalibration programme
2023 and the mid-term review of the 12th labour force had also reduced by -1.5% reintroduced for one year period
Malaysia Plan (12MP). y-o-y, registering the 13th-straight month
of negative growth rate. Mavcom aims to finalise airline consumer
It said steady expansion in primary sec- protection code review by June
tors, as well as construction and services
will prop up more employment opportu- Mavcom approves 291 more flights for
nities next year, thereby labour force and Chinese NewYear
employment are predicted to pick up by
+1.6% respectively this year.

MIDF Research also noted the contin-
ued recovery of Malaysia’s labour market,

wednesday january 11, 2023 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Anwar mooted tiring but also burdensome. Democracy Malaysia-
creation of unity is not only about elections, but also coop- registered cargo
eration between political parties,” he said. vessel missing
govt in Sabah
— Zahid Anwar and Ahmad Zahid met with Sa- in Indonesian
bah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor waters
Bernama yesterday to look for a solution to the po-
litical impasse. Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10):  Deputy
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Za- On whether action will be taken against JOHOR BAHRU (Jan 10): A Ma-
hid Hamidi has said that Prime Minister Sabah UMNO liaison committee chairman laysian-registered cargo vessel, MV
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim suggested the Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin over the re- Dai Cat 06, with five crew members
creation of a unity government in Sabah traction of support to Hajiji, Ahmad Zahid and ferrying metal pipes, was report-
to solve the political impasse in the state. said, “Several details need to be discussed ed missing in Indonesian waters on
and Insya-Allah, I will meet him soon.” Monday (Jan 9).
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno presi-
dent, said the suggestion would involve all Bung Moktar announced last Friday Johor Malaysian Maritime En-
parties in the federal government. that Sabah UMNO and BN had retracted forcement Agency director First Ad-
their support to Hajiji as Sabah chief min- miral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said his
“For Sabah, it won’t be hard to form a ister.The following day, five BN assembly- team, through the Maritime Rescue
unity government but the question of ac- men stated their stand to support Hajiji Sub Centre (MRSC) Johor Bahru,
ceptance is an aspect we have to address instead, and are part of the 44 assembly- received information regarding this
first,” he told reporters after attending an men said to be supporting Hajiji’s chief incident from the Langkawi MRSC
event with the media ministership and current administration. at 5.13pm on Monday.
here on Tuesday. More on Sabah stories:
BN,Warisan support formation of Sabah He said the information was
The Barisan Na- unity govt, say Bung Moktar received after a police report
sional (BN) chair- and Shafie was lodged by the ship’s agent at
man also urged all Anwar gives Hajiji his blessings to remain 12.22pm on the same day.
parties to keep  an
open mind about An- as Sabah chief minister Nurul Hizam said the agent
war’s suggestion. Sabah passes two Bills claimed that the cargo ship, operated
related to transfer of gas by three Malaysians and two Indone-
“I’m convinced that supply regulatory power sians, aged 20 to 57, had left the jet-
Sabahans do not want ty in Kampung Aceh, Perak on Dec
a state election as it 23, and was scheduled to arrive in
would not only be Kuching, Sarawak on Dec 31.

PETALING JAYA (Jan 10):The Ministry Mindef to “The vessel’s last location, detect-
of Defence (Mindef) will continue its plan continue with light ed through the automatic identifica-
to purchase 18 light combat aircraft, said tion system on Jan 1, was in Indone-
its minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. combat aircraft sian waters, 0.2 nautical mile from
procurement plan, the boundary of Johor waters.
He said the procurement of all 18 air- says Mohd Hasan
craft had been approved by the previous “However, an emergency position
administration. Bernama indicating radio beacon, believed to
be from the cargo ship, was detected
“We want the current Cabinet to ap- BERNAMA at 10.42pm [on Monday] at a posi-
prove what was approved (18 light combat tion 30 nautical miles northwest of
aircraft) by the previous administration. Pemankat, Indonesia,” he said at a
press conference at the Johor Mari-
“The acquisition of light combat aircraft time headquarters here onTuesday.
still remains at 18 and hopefully, as soon
as possible, but it needs to go through cer- He added that the emergency sig-
tain processes,” he told reporters after a nal was detected by the Malaysia Mis-
working visit at Subang Air Base, here on sion Control Centre and Singapore’s
Tuesday (Jan 10). Police Operations Command Centre.

He said his ministry will also look at pri- According to him, the cargo ship
orities and proposals to increase the assets was ferrying 527 pipes, valued at
of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) RM726,205.
because it involves a large allocation.
He also called on the maritime
“We want to complete what we should community with information on
have and what needs to be upgraded (air- the incident to contact the state
craft),” he said. maritime operations centre at (07)
219 9401.
Read the full story

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news In brief

Nestcon wins RM200 mil job for the project. The job is expected to be TT Vision’s IPO oversubscribed
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Nestcon Bhd’s completed on or before June 16, 2026, said by 89 times
unit secured a RM200 million contract the group in a stock exchange disclosure on KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): TT Vision
to build a 47-storey mixed commercial Tuesday (Jan 10). — by Chester Tay Holdings Bhd, which is en route for a listing
development comprising 320 serviced on Bursa Malaysia ACE Market, announced
apartment and 354 strata office with Tex Cycle to sell two factories that its initial public offering (IPO) of 23.4
facilities at Jalan Liew Weng Chee here. for RM19 mil million new shares was oversubscribed
Nestcon said the 41-month contract was KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Tex Cycle by 89.15 times by Malaysian investors.
awarded by Armada Istimewa Sdn Bhd Technology (M) Bhd has proposed to The company’s IPO involves 84.5 million
for undertaking the construction and dispose of two detached factories in new shares, of which 43 million have been
completion of earthworks, piling and pile Puchong for RM19 million, noting that allocated for private placement, plus an
caps, retaining wall, substructure, main they have increased in value since their offer for sale of 10.5 million shares from
building works and infrastructure works acquisition in 2004. “The proposed existing shareholders. The machine vision
disposal is expected to result in a gain equipment manufacturer said a total of
Kelington bags RM170 mil on disposal of approximately RM13.72 21,796 applications for 2.11 billion new
construction job at Kuching chip plant million,” the group said in a Bursa Malaysia shares, with a value of RM717.25 million,
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): End-to-end filing. The group is selling the two-storey were received from the Malaysian public
integrated engineering services provider and one-and-half-storey factories, located for the 23.4 million shares made available.
Kelington Group Bhd has secured a RM170 on leasehold land in Taman Perindustrian — by Hailey Chung
million contract to undertake construction Kinrara, to Sedaya Rasmi (M) Sdn Bhd. The
works at an integrated chip manufacturing total land area of the properties — which Read the full story
facility at the Sama Jaya Free Industrial are used as storage facilities — is 4088.63
Zone in Kuching, Sarawak. The contract was sq metres, said Tex Cycle. It added that Bintai Kinden ventures
awarded to its wholly-owned subsidiary proceeds from the disposal would be used into digital assets
Kelington Technologies Sdn Bhd by “a global for general working capital requirements KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Bintai Kinden
supplier of micro-electronic semiconductor in respect of its day-to-day operations to Corp Bhd is venturing in digital assets as
solutions”, the group said in a stock support its existing business operations. part of its treasury management and for the
exchange filing. The construction works, — by Hailey Chung longer-term needs in its business expansion.
which include architectural, structural, civil, In a statement on Tuesday, mechanical
mechanical, electrical and other process Haily wins RM38 mil contract and electrical (M&E) engineering services
utility works, is expected to be completed by to build shop offices specialist said the venture into digital assets
March 2024, said Kelington. — by Izzul Ikram KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Haily Group is via its unit Bintai Trading Sdn Bhd (BTSB).
Bhd has won a RM37.85 million contract The company said BTSB has an account
DNeX unit SilTerra’s board to build commercial properties for the with a digital currency exchange licensed by
composition frozen pending Crest@Austin development in Johor the Securities Commission Malaysia. Bintai
conclusion of suit Bahru. The construction specialist said Kinden executive director Azri Azerai said
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The parties its wholly-owned unit Haily Construction that this was an opportune time to venture
involved in a lawsuit concerning the Sdn Bhd accepted the letter of award from into digital assets as values across the board
appointment of SilTerra Malaysia Sdn RDC Arkitek Sdn Bhd. RDC Arkitek is the has fallen, especially among the main ones
Bhd’s directors have agreed that no architect appointed by Austin Senibong such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. — by Surin
changes be made to the composition of Development Sdn Bhd for the construction Murugiah
the board pending the conclusion of the of 77 units of three-storey shop offices
case. The parties are SilTerra and DNeX at Bandar Jaya Putra in Tebrau district. Read the full story
Semiconductor Sdn Bhd (DSSB), both of With this latest job win, Haily’s orderbook
which are controlled by Dagang Nexchange comprises 25 ongoing projects with a total Read also:
Bhd (DNeX), as well as Tethystronics contract value of RM631.16 million, its
Technologies Co Ltd (TTCL). In a bourse founder and executive director See Tin Hai Prasarana expects 1.2 million daily
filing, DNeX said a consent order was said in the statement. The ongoing projects ridership in 2023 with full Putrajaya
recorded at the High Court on Tuesday are expected to be progressively completed Line opening
(Jan 10), and it is to remain effective until between 2023 and 2024, he said.
the legal matter is disposed of. The consent — by Syafiqah Salim AWC inks MOU with two Indonesian
order also states that SilTerra’s board is firms
entitled to convene for subsequent meetings
on matters related to the company, but SC adds 10 entities to Investor Alert
cannot deliberate on the legal matter. “The List, three being potential clones
consent order will allow the board of SilTerra
to operate their business as usual with a Ex-minister Mohd Redzuan resigns
functional board,” DNeX said. — by Izzul Ikram as Boustead Holdings chairman

Read the full story

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Global Maybank IB
semiconductor maintains ‘buy’ on
MAHB with lower
sales to drop
4.1% in 2023 to TP of RM7.31
US$556.5 bil,
by Sufi Muhamad
says SIA theedgemarkets.com

by Surin Murugiah SIA said the figure was 2.9% lower than KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Maybank In-
theedgemarkets.com the October total of US$46.9 billiion. vestment Bank (MIB) maintains a“buy”but
a lower target price on Malaysia Airports
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Global semi- Monthly sales are compiled by theWorld Holdings Bhd (MAHB) as its turnaround
conductor industry sales are projected to fall Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) this year, driven by the increasing traffic, and
4.1% in 2023 after an estimated rise of 4.4% organization and represent a three-month China’s reopening,is expected to be offset by
in 2022, according to a recentWorld Semicon- moving average. the payables due to theTurkish government.
ductorTrade Statistics Organization (WSTS)
industry forecast — endorsed by the US-based SIA president and chief executive officer “We also flag that MAHB will likely re-
Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA). John Neuffer said global semiconductor sume paying dividends this year as it returns
sales decreased in November, largely due to profitability,” said the research house.
The forecast projects the industry’s world- to market cyclicality and macroeconomic
wide sales will be US$580.1 billion in 2022,up headwinds. Maybank IB noted that MAHB have to
from the 2021 sales total of US$555.9 billion. pay Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (ISG) its uti-
“Sales into the Americas were up com- lisation fees for financial year 2021-2022
In 2023, global sales are projected to pared to November 2021, while sales into (FY2021-FY2022) due to the Covid period.
reach US$556.5 billion. China decreased sharply on a year-to-year
basis.” While the group has received a discount
WSTS tabulates its semi-annual industry on the fees amounting to EUR$114.8 mil-
forecast by gathering input from an exten- SIA said that regionally, year-to-year lion per annum on December 28, 2022 pay-
sive group of global semiconductor compa- sales increased in November in the Amer- able by end of FY2025, Maybank IB was
nies that provide accurate and timely indi- icas (5.2%), Europe (4.5%), and Japan expecting all the fees to be waived.
cators of semiconductor trends. (1.2%), but decreased in Asia-Pacific/all
others (13.9%) and China (21.2%). “MAHB did not state the discount but
In a statement on its website on Mon- we estimate it to have been 45% based on
day (Jan 9), SIA said global sales fell 9.2% Month-to-month sales were down across the PSCs that ISG received in FY2021 and
year-on-year in November 2022 to US$45.5 all regions: Europe (1.0%), Japan (1.2%), FY2022 relative to FY2019,” according
billion from US$50 billion a year earlier. the Americas (1.4%), Asia-Pacific/all others to research analystYin ShaoYan.
(3.0%), and China (5.3%).
In addition,Yin expected that MAHB’s
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): CIMB CIMB, Genting, Malaysian pax traffic to average 90% of
Group Holdings Bhd, Genting Bhd and Hong Leong pre-Covid levels in financial year 2023 esti-
Hong Leong Bank Bhd are among the top Bank among mate (FY2023E), as currently the average
net buy stocks of foreign investors, accord- was 78% of pre-COVID levels in FY2023
ing to CGS-CIMB Research. foreign investors’ due to slower-than-expected return to ser-
top net buy stocks vice of Malaysian AirAsia’s aircrafts.
Foreign investors turned into the largest
net buyers last week (Jan 2 to 6) after net sell- — CGS-CIMB “Thus, we cut our FY2023 core net
ing in the week before.Their net buy value profit by 36%.Yet, we still expect MAHB
for Malaysian equities last week was RM72.3 by Syafiqah Salim to return to profitability in FY2023.”
million, the research outfit said in a report. theedgemarkets.com
Nevertheless, the domestic pax traffic is
Net buy value for CIMB was RM55.9 mil- CGS-CIMB also noted that local retail expected to average at 100% of pre-Cov-
lion, followed by Genting (RM26.5 million) investors turned into net buyers last week, id levels in FY2024E as Malaysia AirAsia
and Hong Leong Bank (RM25.2 million). with a weekly net buy value of RM53.1 returns its entire fleet to service by then,
million, while local institutional investors while the non-listed MYAirline expands
Shares in CIMB were up by 0.18% to turned into net sellers (RM32.2 million). its services.
RM5.72 at the time of writing on Tues-
day (Jan 10), Genting was unchanged at On the other hand, local nominees re- “Moreover, we now expect MAHB’s
RM4.75, while Hong Leong Bank was mained as net sellers for the third week, Malaysian international pax traffic to av-
down 0.97% to RM20.48 a share. with their net sell value last week falling erage at 85% of pre-Covid levels — 80%
47.7% to RM51.3 million. previously — in FY2024.”
The top three net sell stocks were Petro-
nas Chemicals Group Bhd (RM17.1 mil- “This is premised on 1.3 million Chinese
lion), Sime Darby Bhd (RM15.3 million), visitors or two-thirds of pre-Covid levels re-
andTIME dotCom Bhd (RM14.1 million). turning then. Net impact of the above is to
raise our FY2024 core net profit by 10%.”
At the time of writing, Petronas Chem-
icals was down 1.08% to RM8.28, Sime MIB has maintained its call to ‘buy’ with
Darby was 1.29% lower at RM2.29, but a target price of RM7.31 on MAHB.
TIME dotCom went up 0.2% to RM4.98.
Read also: Local producers to be hit by
new EU rule on carbon tax, says HLIB

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Malaysia to open through a thermal scanner and those who China’s
special lanes for are found to be ill or symptomatic, or had reopening
Chinese travellers made self-declarations or self-referrals, will a positive
at entry points undergo further examination. catalyst for
transportation
by Anisah Shukry “Right now, we’re worried not just and logistics,
Bloomberg about the cases from China, but other RHB says
countries that are experiencing a rise in
(Jan 10): Malaysia’s Immigration Depart- cases, such as the US, Japan, and others,” by Surin Murugiah
ment will provide special lanes for travellers said Health director general Tan Sri Dr theedgemarkets.com
from China at international entry points, Noor Hisham Abdullah. “We are moni-
the Ministry of Health (MOH) said amid toring the situation closely.” KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10):
concerns over a rapid outbreak of Covid-19 RHB Investment Bank Research
in the country. The number of new reported Covid-19 has maintained its “neutral” rating
cases in Malaysia has been on the decline, on the transportation and logistics
Travellers from China who are symp- while patients requiring hospitalisation sector and said China’s reopening
tomatic will be referred to health officials, dropped 2% last week. is a positive catalyst for the sector,
and will undergo throat swabs as well as driving throughput growth for both
RTK-antigen Covid-19 tests, said MOH The new measure comes amid growing seaports and airports in 2H2023.
officials in a media briefing in Putrajaya public pressure within Malaysia to tight-
on Tuesday (Jan 10). en entry requirements for visitors arriving Nevertheless, in a note onTues-
from China. Last month, Health Minister day (Jan 10), the research house said
The country has also stepped up screen- Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the country will hurdles that remain in its choppy
ing measures for all travellers broadly.Vis- test wastewater samples from all flights execution would act as a near-term
itors entering Malaysia will be screened from China for Covid-19. challenge, with the reopening likely
to be gradual.
Pre-pandemic, China was the third-larg-
est country in terms of tourist arrivals in It said tepid global economic
Malaysia. About 3.1 million Chinese tour- growth, underpinned by geopolit-
ists visited Malaysia in 2019, from the over- ical tensions and persistent supply
all 26.1 million arrivals, according to data chain disruptions, may also lead to
from Tourism Malaysia. relatively soft global trade flows for
the full year.
PUTRAJAYA (Jan 10): The Ministry of Covid-19: MOH
Health (MOH) has decided to maintain to examine seven “So, we reiterate our partiality
the Covid-19 standard operating procedure indicators before for diversified logistics playerTasco
(SOP) for now, and will examine seven key tightening SOP, Bhd,” it said.
indicators in the country, before deciding to says Health DG
tighten the SOP if necessary. Commenting onTasco, RHB IB
Bernama said that the sustainable outstand-
Health director general Tan Sri Dr Noor ing performance from the past few
Hisham Abdullah said the ministry will first extent of infectivity of the variant and the quarters has highlighted the impor-
monitor the situation in the country, and fur- severity or hospitalisation. tance of operational excellence and
ther strengthen public health control before management’s strategy in defying
taking action. Another indicator is an increase in cases of investor expectations of a contrac-
influenza-like illness and severe acute respira- tion in earnings due to the down-
“We will first monitor not only hospital tory infections at selected health facilities. If trending freight rate that has led to
admissions, but also many other indicators, the records show a sudden increase in cases, the share price underperformance
such as forecast cases, daily cases and so on. the ministry will take more detailed measures YTD.
to control them, he said.
“If the data shows improvement in all avail- “The stock’s below-peer val-
able indicators, we can discuss appropriate Noor Hisham added that another indicator uation of seven times presents a
action at that time,” he said during the health is the capacity of the public health system. For compelling investment proposition
minister’s engagement session with the media example, if bed occupancy and intensive care into the country’s leading integrat-
here on Tuesday (Jan 10). unit admissions of Covid-19 patients exceed ed logistics player with consistent
30%, the ministry will take appropriate action. earnings delivery,” it said.
Also present were Health Minister Dr Za-
liha Mustafa, Health deputy director-general Another indicator that will also be mon- It said risks to the sector include
(public health) Datuk Dr Norhayati Rusli, itored is an increase in death cases, which a worse-than-expected resurgence
and Institute for Clinical Research director is currently one per day, and if there is a of Covid-19 cases in China result-
Datuk Dr M Kalairasu. three-digit jump, the MOH will investigate ing in a longer-than-expected roll-
the extent of the severity of the virus, he said. ing lockdown.
Noor Hisham said indicators include Read also: Shelf life of Covid-19 vaccines
a sudden increase in imported cases (only extended — Dr Noor Hisham
three or four cases are recorded per month
currently), and the discovery of new variants
in sewage samples and at high-risk places.

“What worries us is that when a new variant
is found, we are not sure whether our vaccine is
effective or not.We will also check withWHO
(theWorld Health Organization) whether anoth-
er variant has been registered or not,” he said.

He said if a new variant other than Omi-
cron is detected, the MOH will monitor the

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MACC probe Two scheduled
will prove dates for Najib’s

misappropriation SRC review
allegations vacated, new
against me, dates pending

Bersatu are false, by Tarani Palani
says Muhyiddin theedgemarkets.com

by Hailey Chung KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Jailed for-
theedgemarkets.com mer prime minister Datuk Seri Najib
Razak’s review of the Federal Court’s
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): Former at Bersatu and I are now focused on the decision affirming his guilt and sentence
prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin alleged misappropriation of funds amount- in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case
is confident that the investigation by the ing to RM92.5 billion.When I was prime is now slated to take place for only a day
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission minister, the amount was RM83 billion on Jan 19, with further dates to be an-
(MACC) into allegations that his admin- but it has increased after that,” he said. nounced later.
istration had misappropriated billions of
ringgit would be proven wrong. He added: “Allegedly, I have instruct- Two other dates — Jan 20 and 26 —
ed certain individuals to collect 3%-5% which were initially scheduled, have been
“I have never taken even one sen that is commission from the entire fund to be de- vacated as one of the judges on the panel
not mine,” the Bersatu president said in a posited into Bersatu’s account. So, on this will not be available on those dates.
Facebook post onTuesday (Jan 10), adding assumption they slandered that Bersatu
that his party would give full cooperation had an election fund amounting to RM4.5 Deputy public prosecutor Mohamad
to the anti-graft body. billion, which was used during GE15. Ashrof Adrin Kamarul said that the Attor-
ney General’s Chambers and Najib’s law-
Muhyiddin was commenting on the “That is why Perikatan Nasional (the yers were informed by the Federal Court
MACC probe into the alleged misappropria- coalition in which Bersatu is a member) through an email last Friday (Jan 6).
tion of RM92.5 billion in government funds is said to have spent heavily and lavishly
meant for Covid-19 stimulus packages, by during GE15 until some Barisan Nasional Separately, Muhammad Farhan Sha-
his then administration. He also addressed (BN) political leaders accused PN of buy- fee, who is part of Najib’s team of lawyers,
claims that he had instructed certain indi- ing votes to win,” he said. also confirmed the matter when contacted.
viduals to collect 3% to 5% in commission
from the misappropriated funds, to be de- Muhyiddin said that as a political par- The apex court said that the matter had
posited into Bersatu’s account. ty, Bersatu has funds from contributions of to be vacated on the other remaining dates
those who support the party’s cause. in January, as one of the judges is involved
“[Claims of] the commission collection with continued hearing of another matter.
of 3% to 5% of the fiscal expenditure is also He said the party’s accounts are man-
fictitious. How can I collect commissions aged transparently, whereby every receipt The court is to revert back to the
from these expenses?Will the 10.6 million and expenditure is recorded, audited and counsels on other dates.
people who receive Bantuan Prihatin Na- presented in the annual general meeting, in
sional (BPN) give me a commission? Do accordance with the requirements of the par- Read the full story
the 2.96 million workers who receive wage ty constitution and the Societies Act 1966.
subsidies pay me a commission? Of course Read also:
not,” the Bersatu leader said. On PN’s lavish expenditure during Man detained over RM1 mil GLC
GE15, Muhyiddin said: “As a cost-sav- project
Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri ing measure, Bersatu printed PN flags and
Anwar Ibrahim said he was leaving it to merchandise in ‘bulk order’ two years ear- Power abuse:Two cooperative staff
the authorities to investigate the alleged lier, at a cost almost four times cheaper in remand
misappropriation of RM600 billion funds than if they were printed close to the elec-
by the previous government during the tion date.That is why PN decided not to False claim: Company director
Covid-19 pandemic. change the flag and logo used in GE15, remanded for four days
despite such a proposal. This is because
“Later, the issue of RM600 billion was we have stocked earlier”. Former company senior manager
not mentioned again,” said Muhyiddin. fined RM222,000 for corruption
“This is because a large part of this amount Muhyiddin accused the current govern-
is in the form of non-fiscal, which is not ment of being worried about PN’s strength, MACC nabs two over false claims
the expenditure of government funds.This especially with state elections set to be held worth RM20.3 mil
includes bank moratoriums and EPF with- in six states in Peninsular Malaysia in the
drawals that do not involve government next few months.
money.
“Because of that, the PH-BN govern-
“Fiscal funds, which involve govern- ment will continue to commit character
ment money, amount to RM92.5 billion. assassination against PN and me by throw-
Because of that, the accusations thrown ing various malicious accusations that are
baseless,” he claimed.

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world

(Jan 10): Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned Xi warns China was sentenced to what amounts to life in
officials against colluding with the business officials to avoid prison for taking bribes and other crimes.
world, underscoring that his government’s ‘collusion’ with
crackdown on the private sector will re- The message that graft cannot be allowed
main a concern for investors despite efforts big business to thrive in the Chinese political system is one
to boost the economy. that Xi delivers regularly. In December, just
Bloomberg News after securing a third term in power, Xi said
“Action should be taken to prevent the country had achieved an “overwhelming
leading officials from acting for any interest Bloomberg victory” in its battle against corruption but
group or power group, and to forestall any added that the work was “far from over.”
collusion between officials and business-
people,” Xi told a meeting of anti-corrup- Economic measures
tion regulators on Monday, according to Xi’s latest call to continue with the campaign
the official Xinhua News Agency. comes as his government abandons its Cov-
id Zero approach toward the coronavirus.
He also warned against “any infiltration On Sunday, China opened borders that had
of capital into politics that undermines the been largely closed for nearly three years
political ecosystem or the environment for after earlier doing away with quarantine
economic development”. camps, mass testing and snap lockdowns.

Xi’s government has recently eased Those policies had led to public anger,
a regulatory clampdown on tech giants with widespread protests erupting in late
like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd andTen- November, though the government has
cent Holdings Ltd, helping their shares insisted its policy changes were underway
rebound.Yet, questions remain over how before the demonstrations erupted.
far that approach will go given Xi has also
pledged to ensure “common prosperity”, in With Covid rules loosening, the govern-
part by reining in wealthy special interests. ment is stepping up efforts to bolster the
economy. China is considering a record quo-
Xi has made stamping out graft a cen- ta for local government bonds and widening
tral aspect of his leadership of the world’s the budget deficit.The economy is forecast
second-biggest economy over the past dec- to expand by 4.8% this year, compared with
ade.That approach has been popular with little growth in the US and a potential con-
the public and also served to weed out po- traction in the Eurozone, according to data
tential threats to his rule. The campaign compiled by Bloomberg.
has ensnared some 4.7 million officials,
the CCDI said in July. Read also: China to tighten scrutiny
of firms’ foreign debt next month
Last year, anti-corruption officials broke
up what they called a “political clique” led
by former police official Sun Lijun, who

China halts short-term visas in South Korea, first response to Covid curbs

SEOUL/BEIJING (Jan 10):The Chinese by Soo-hyang Choi & Yew Lun Tian On Thursday, South Korean police
embassy in South Korea has suspended Reuters tracked down a Chinese man who went
issuing short-term visas for South Kore- missing while awaiting quarantine after hav-
an visitors, it said onTuesday, the first re- held prior discussions with Beijing after ing tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival.
taliatory move against nations imposing being informed of its move, and will once
Covid-19 curbs on travellers from China. again convey its position. South Korea’s PresidentYoon Suk-ye-
ol has said the country’s quarantine and
The embassy will adjust the poli- “Our government’s enhanced quarantine border measures should focus strictly on
cy subject to the lifting of South Ko- measures on travellers from China are based the safety of its citizens without political
rea’s “discriminatory entry restrictions” on scientific and objective evidence,” min- considerations.
against China, it said on its official We- istry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk told a reg-
Chat account. ular briefing following the announcement. “No country in the world considers
quarantine and border control issues
A Chinese embassy official confirmed South Korea began requiring travellers to be a diplomatic, political, economic
the new measure. from China to undergo a PCR test upon or trade issue,” he told a meeting with
arrival from last week, joining a growing list health officials on Monday.
The announcement comes a day after of countries imposing border restrictions
Foreign Minister Qin Gang expressed con- amid concern over infections following Chi- “So any developed country in the
cern about the restrictions in a telephone na’s decision to end its zero-Covid policies. world would do that.That’s science, and
call with his South Korean counterpart Park we should only care about the safety and
Jin, according to China’s foreign ministry. Effective Thursday, arrivals are also re- health of the people.”
quired to provide a negative PCR result, tak-
Park told Qin that South Korea made its en within 48 hours of the beginning of the The latest tension dampened share
decision on scientific grounds, and asked journey to South Korea, or a rapid antigen prices of South Korean companies with
him to work together to help stabilise the test taken within 24 hours, while short-term heavy exposure to business with China,
Covid-19 situations in both countries, visa issuance has been suspended for Chi- sending cosmetics makers LG H & H and
Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement. nese nationals until the end of the month. Amorepacific down by more than 2% each
in late afternoon trade after early gains.
The South Korean ministry said it

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world

China deflation
pressure worsens

as economy
slumps, survey

shows

Bloomberg News Morgan Stanley omy to expand 5.7% year-on-year versus
joins Goldman the consensus estimate of 4.8%.
(Jan 10): Deflationary pressure in in bullish call on
China worsened in the fourth quar- Chinese assets The yuan and Chinese stocks have been
ter as the economy slumped, with on a tear on reopening optimism along
price-growth likely to be subdued Bloomberg News with supportive steps for the nation’s tech
even when the economy rebounds and property sectors.The currency post-
later this year, according to China (Jan 10): Morgan Stanley followed Gold- ed its best two-month performance since
Beige Book International (CBBI). man Sachs Group Inc. in ramping up bull- 1994 while the MSCI China Index has
ish bets on Chinese assets as the swift dis- climbed 49% from an October trough.
Companies recorded the weakest mantling of Covid Zero policies boosts the Goldman Sachs lifted its year-end yuan
growth in wages and input costs in the nation’s growth outlook. forecast to 6.5 per dollar while estimating
final three months of 2022 since mid- further gains for Chinese shares.
2020, CBBI said in a reportTuesday. It sees the yuan advancing to 6.65 per
Growth in sale prices also slowed to dollar by year-end, which amounts to a Morgan Stanley expects yuan strength
the worst level since late 2020, it said. 1.8% gain from current levels, strategists to be front-loaded, with the currency
including LauraWang wrote in a Jan 9 note. strengthening versus a basket of peers in
The report is based on surveys The bank also sees Chinese shares topping the first half of the year, before moderating
that CBBI, a provider of independ- global performance rankings in 2023. It in the second half following a recovery in
ent economic data, conducted with raised its end 2023 index target for the outbound travel.
4,354 businesses during the period. MSCI China Index to 80, which implies
a 13% gain from Monday’s closing level. Reports and commentaries in Chinese
Bloomberg media on Tuesday also showed expecta-
“We believe the market is under-appre- tions for a further gain in the currency as
“Short term disinflation is already ciating the far-reaching ramifications of the domestic economy recovers and over-
here, with sales price growth slow- reopening and the possibility that a robust seas funds flow into the country.
ing to a crawl,” it said. “The Covid cyclical recovery can occur despite linger-
blow to retail could push this into ing structural headwinds,” Wang’s team However, the optimism on the yuan isn’t
deflation in the first quarter.” wrote, adding that they expect the econ- universal. Citigroup Inc expects the yuan
rally to peter out on a pick-up in imports
Consumer inflation slowed to 1.6% and resident outflows. UBS Group AG sees
in November from 2.1% in the pri- the yuan at 6.8 per dollar at year-end.
or month, as Covid disruptions sup- Read also: China’s credit growth slows in
pressed demand, official data showed. December amid Covid waves
Economists polled by Bloomberg ex-
pect full-year inflation to remain rela-
tively subdued at 2.3% this year, even
as economic growth picks up.

Inflation will likely return after the
first quarter, but “will largely repre-
sent the making up of lost ground be-
fore fading,” CBBI said in the report.

Any sustained and substantial price
increases would require prolonged
policy easing, while China still faces
long-term deflationary pressures from
demographic challenges, it said.

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world

Apple plans to drop key Broadcom chip
to use in-house design

(Jan 10): Apple Inc’s push to replace the by Mark Gurman hone currently works with more than 100
chips inside its devices with home-grown Bloomberg wireless carriers in over 175 countries,
components will include dropping a key which necessities a lengthy and cumber-
Broadcom Inc part in 2025, according to Bloomberg some testing process.
people familiar with the situation, dealing
a blow to one of its biggest suppliers. Apple is developing an A cellular modem is what allows iP-
in-house replacement for hones to handle phone calls and connect to
As part of the shift, Apple also aims to that chip and is aiming to the internet while away fromWi-Fi, making
ready its first cellular modem chip by the start using it in its devices it the most critical part of the device for
end of 2024 or early 2025, letting it swap in 2025, the people said. most people. If Apple’s offering is inferior
out electronics from Qualcomm Inc, said In addition, it’s already to Qualcomm’s component, it could put
the people, who asked not to be identi- working on a follow-up the company’s flagship product at a sig-
fied because the plans are private. Apple version that will combine nificant disadvantage.
had been previously expected to replace
the Qualcomm part as soon as this year, cellular modem, Wi-Fi The long transition also could put Ap-
but development snags have pushed back and Bluetooth capabilities ple in a tricky position.The company will
the timeline. into a single component. still need to rely on Qualcomm for sever-
al years as it replaces the component in
Apple is Broadcom’s largest custom- Broadcom still supplies Apple with various devices.
er and accounted for about 20% of the other components — including radio-fre-
chipmaker’s revenue in the last fiscal year, quency chips and ones that handle wire- Apple first started work on its modem
amounting to almost US$7 billion. Qual- less charging — though the iPhone maker around 2018, opening an office in San
comm got 22% of its annual sales from the has been working on customizing those Diego near Qualcomm’s headquarters.
iPhone maker, representing nearly US$10 parts as well. To speed up development, the company
billion, though that company has warned acquired Intel’s modem unit in 2019 for
for years that its Apple reliance will wane. During a conference call last month, US$1 billion and opened additional offices
Broadcom chief executive officer HockTan in key areas known for wireless technology
Shares of Broadcom fell as much as expressed confidence that his company will development.
4.7% on the news before paring their de- maintain its foothold at Apple.
cline. The shares closed at US$576.89, The Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip effort
down 2%. Qualcomm slid as much as “We believe we have the best technology is newer, and a release will take longer.
1.6% before closing at US$114.61, down and delivering value to our customers,” he But Apple has already made some wireless
0.6%. Apple rose 0.4% to US$130.15. said. “There’s no reason to find something chips in the past, including the H2 pro-
else where you’re not the best.” cessor found in AirPods and the W3 chip
The moves will further upend a chip found in Apple Watches.
industry that makes billions of dollars With the shift away from Qualcomm
supplying Apple components. Already, modems, Apple plans to initially just use Apple and Qualcomm were embroiled
the world’s most valuable tech company its home-grown component in one new in a legal war over royalties and patents
has removed most Intel Corp processors product, such as a high-end iPhone mod- related to modems until a settlement in
from its Mac computers, opting instead to el. It will then gradually move away from 2019. At the time, Apple deemed the truce
use in-house chips known as Apple Silicon. Qualcomm modems during a period it necessary to bring 5G support to the iP-
Now the changes are hitting the biggest anticipates will take about three years — hone in 2020.The companies agreed that
makers of wireless electronics. similar to how it handled past transitions. Qualcomm would supply parts to Apple
through 2024.
The iPhone is Apple’s top moneymaker, But the swap hasn’t been easy so far.
generating more than half of its US$394.3 After aiming to launch its own cellular Apple also has had a strained relation-
billion in revenue last year.The phone also modem by this year, the company faced ship with Broadcom.Tan, the chipmaker’s
has helped fuel growth at Broadcom, which problems with overheating, battery life and CEO, has a reputation for tough negotia-
refers to Apple as its “large North Ameri- getting the component validated.The iP- tions and forced some customers to com-
can customer” during earnings calls.The mit to noncancelable orders during the
chipmaker makes a combined component pandemic-fueled supply crunch.
that handles both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
functions on Apple devices. In 2020, Apple said it was spending
a total of US$15 billion on purchases of
Apple is developing an in-house replace- Broadcom chips in an arrangement run-
ment for that chip and is aiming to start ning through the middle of 2023. But de-
using it in its devices in 2025, the people spite Apple being Broadcom’s top custom-
said. In addition, it’s already working on a er, Tan’s commitment to the market has
follow-up version that will combine cellular occasionally wavered. Prior to the 2020
modem,Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities agreement,Tan indicated that Broadcom
into a single component. might divest the business that supplies
chips to Apple.
A representative for Cupertino, Cali- Read also: Tata nears iPhone plant
fornia-based Apple declined to comment. takeover to grow Apple supply role
Broadcom and Qualcomm didn’t have an
immediate comment.

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world

World’s biggest expand its output capacity and handle more news In brief
chipmakerTSMC orders.Yet as electronics demand has plunged
misses sales forecasts amid rising interest rates and accelerating in- Xiaomi-backed China lidar firm
as demand wanes flation, TSMC last year reduced its capital Hesai nearing US IPO filing,
spending plans by about 10% to US$36 bil- sources say
by Debby Wu lion. Some analysts have warned it may fur- (Jan 10): Hesai Technology Co,
Bloomberg ther delay expenditure on expansion in 2023. a Chinese developer of sensor
technologies used in self-driving cars,
(Jan 10): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac- Shares of the company fell 27% last year — is planning to file for an initial public
turing Co’s fourth-quarter sales missed an- after doubling during the pandemic — and are offering in the US that could raise about
alysts’ estimates, signaling the global decline up about 8% this year. The global economic US$150 million, according to people
in electronics demand is starting to catch up slowdown has diminished consumer demand familiar with the matter. The Shanghai-
with the chip giant. for many products that TSMC chips go into, based startup is working with Credit
but the company and its customers still expect Suisse Group AG, Goldman Sachs Group
Revenue at the world’s biggest contract man- the long-term trend in electronics demand to Inc and Morgan Stanley on the first-
ufacturer of chips rose 43% to NT$625.5 bil- keep going up. time share sale, the people said, asking
lion (US$20.6 billion), according to Bloomberg not to be identified as the information is
calculations based on monthly numbers report- TSMC, which is the exclusive supplier of private. Hesai could file as early as next
ed byTSMC.That missed the NT$636 billion Apple Inc’s Silicon chips for iPhones and Macs, week, the people said.The firm, which
predicted by analysts on average, the first miss last month kicked off mass production of next counts Chinese smartphone maker
in two years. TSMC said its December sales generation chips and increased its investment Xiaomi Corp among its backers, has
advanced 24% to NT$192.6 billion. in the US state of Arizona to US$40 billion. received strong interest in the potential
listing from prospective investors, the
Hsinchu-basedTSMC,Taiwan’s most val- TSMC is under pressure to diversify the geo- people said. Chinese stocks listed in
uable company, has been spending heavily to graphic distribution of its advanced chipmaking the US got off to a flying start in 2023,
and is working with governments like the US with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China
and Japan on developing a more global footprint. Index gaining 14% in the first week of
Global policymakers and customers are increas- trading this year, its best start on record.
ingly leery of their technological reliance on an Discussions are ongoing and details
island Beijing has threatened to invade and have about the IPO such as size and timing
pushedTSMC to shift some production abroad. could change, the people said.
— Bloomberg
(Jan 10): Several senior dealmakers are leaving Nomura senior
Nomura Holdings Inc in Asia as the investment Asian bankers depart Read the full story
bank reacts to a slump in fees with broader global
cuts,according to people familiar with the matter. amid dealmaking Microsoft in talks to invest US$10
downturn bil in ChatGPT owner — Semafor
Hong Kong-based managing directors Mar- (Jan 9): Microsoft Corp MSFT.O is said
yannTseng, who joined the equity capital mar- by Lulu Yilun Chen, Joyce Koh to be in talks to invest US$10 billion
kets team last year, andWallaceWong in mergers & Elffie Chew into OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT,
and acquisitions are both departing, the people Bloomberg Semafor reported on Monday, citing
said, asking not to be identified discussing pri- people familiar with the matter. The
vate matters. Bernard Lim in Singapore is also While Nomura has been trying to diver- funding includes other venture firms
leaving, and the firm is closing its small Malaysia sify its revenue streams, a global plummet in and will value San Francisco-based
investment banking operation, the people said. dealmaking and stock issuance is complicating OpenAI at US$29 billion, the report
those efforts. Nomura’s investment banking said. OpenAI made the ChatGPT
The majority of reductions are focused on revenue fell 21% from a year earlier in the chatbot available for free public testing
areas where Nomura has limited scale, one of three months ended Sept 30. on Nov. 30. A chatbot is a software
the people said. application designed to mimic human-
Chief Executive Officer Kentaro Okuda last like conversation based on user
“2022 saw a material deterioration in global year tapped Christopher Willcox to oversee prompts. — Reuters
investment banking fee pools and, as a result, operations including global trading and in-
we have had to reduce headcount in certain ar- vestment banking, counting on theWall Street
eas,” a representative for Nomura said. “These veteran to bolster a division that generates
changes are designed to ensure we retain fo- roughly half of the brokerage’s total income.
cus in our key areas of competitive advantage,
while maintaining core capabilities to position In Asia, China’s regulatory crackdowns,
the platform for sustainable profitability.” stringent Covid policies, and rising political
tension with the US, have also forced compa-
Tseng and Wong did not immediately nies to put off capital-raising plans.
respond to requests for comment sent via
LinkedIn. Morgan Stanley considered cutting about
50 investment banking jobs in Asia Pacific af-
Globally, the world’s biggest investment ter dealmaking in the region plunged last year,
banks last year endured their worst period for people familiar said in November. Goldman
dealmaking and fundraising since 2016 after Sachs cut at least 25 roles in Asia, people fa-
surging interest rates and economic gloom miliar said in September.
chilled the sector, contributing to retrench-
ment and thousands of cuts.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to elimi-
nate about 3,200 positions, according to people
familiar with the matter earlier, adding to cuts at
Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG.

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world

Are markets underestimating
inflation again?

by Eva Szalay
Bloomberg

(Jan 10): Some of the world’s largest asset Leroux added that one of Analysts at BlackRock’s Investment In-
managers such as BlackRock Inc, Fidelity In- the biggest mispricings stitute also see high inflation persisting,
vestments and Carmignac are warning mar- in the market today is the with little hope that a recession will spur
kets are underestimating both inflation and the the Fed to cut rates. Instead, they expect
ultimate peak of US rates, just like a year ago. expectation that inflation will the Fed to taper its outsized hikes into
come down to 2.5% next year, smaller ones as the pain of the economic
The stakes are immense afterWall Street before adding that the world slowdown becomes clear, even if inflation
almost unanimously underestimated infla- is entering a macroeconomic stays above the bank’s 2% target.
tion’s trajectory. Global stocks saw US$18
trillion wiped out, while the US Treasury cycle comparable to “Central banks are unlikely to come to
market suffered its worst year in history. between 1966 and 1980. the rescue with rapid rate cuts in recessions
And yet, going by inflation swaps, expec- they engineered to bring down inflation
tations are again that inflation will be rel- nies will make a comeback, in his view, as to policy targets. If anything, policy rates
atively tame and drop toward the Federal negative real yields persist and central banks may stay higher for longer than the market
Reserve’s 2% target within a year, while will be unwilling to inflict too much pain. is expecting,” a team of analysts includ-
money markets are betting the central bank ing Jean Boivin, the head of the Institute,
will start cutting rates. On Thursday, Fed officials reiterat- wrote last week. BlackRock is underweight
ed the central bank’s hawkish stance with developed market equities and it prefers
That’s set markets up for another bru- comments that sought to dispel hopes for investment-grade credit to long-term gov-
tal ride, according to Frederic Leroux, a an imminent reversal in the policy path. On ernment bonds. 
member of the investment committee and Friday the European Central Bank’s Chief
head of the cross-asset team at €44 billion economist Philip Lane echoed that senti- Fidelity Investments’ director of global
(US$47 billion) French asset manager Car- ment, saying price pressures will remain macro JurrienTimmer told Bloomberg that
mignac, since worker shortages are likely to elevated even if surging energy costs ease. inflation remains a key risk to markets as
fuel higher-than-expected inflation. the Fed has repeatedly made it clear that
it wants to see the measure come down all
“Inflation is here to stay,” said Leroux the way to the 2% target, not just a slow-
in a phone interview. “After the crisis cen- down in price growth.
tral bankers thought they could decide the
level of interest rates. In the past two years Not all funds agree of course. Dutch
they realized they don’t inflation does.” asset manager Robeco, with €246 billion
under management, takes the view that
He added that one of the biggest mis- 2023 will be the peak for rates, the dollar
pricings in the market today is the expecta- and also inflation.This is mainly because
tion that inflation will come down to 2.5% of its expectations for a recession and poli-
next year, before adding that the world cymakers’ inability to engineer a soft land-
is entering a macroeconomic cycle com- ing, which it thinks will spark rate cuts.
parable to between 1966 and 1980. That
period saw energy shocks that drove US But Carmignac’s Leroux said the mar-
inflation into double digits twice. ket’s focus on the Fed’s potential pivot is
“a sideshow,” as there will be a point when
“We have to live in a very different envi- investors realize that inflation is stickier
ronment than before,” Leroux said. Gold, than they’d thought.
Japanese stocks and trusty, steady compa-
“At some point the market will have to
understand that more rate hikes are com-
ing,” he said.

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world

Jamie Dimon Jamie Dimon think there’s any harm done by waiting
says Fed may three or six months.”
(Jan 10): Jamie Dimon said the Federal need to hike
Reserve’s rate hikes might need to go be- interest rates The CEO of the biggest US bank made
yond what’s currently expected, but he’s his comments ahead of US inflation data
in favour of a pause to see the full impact beyond 5% due Thursday and fourth-quarter results
of last year’s increases. from top banks beginning Friday. Fed offi-
by Hannah Levitt cials slowed their rate hikes last month, rais-
There’s a 50% chance current expecta- Bloomberg ing borrowing costs by 50 basis points after
tions are correct in assuming the Fed will four consecutive 75 basis-point increases.
boost its benchmark rate to about 5%, and The target benchmark rate is 4.25% to 4.5%.
a 50% chance that the central bank will
have to go to 6%, the JPMorgan Chase & The wide-ranging interview took place
Co chief executive officer said in an in- Monday at JPMorgan’s annual health-care
terview aired Tuesday on Fox Business. investment-banking conference in San
Francisco — the first time it’s been held in
“I’m on the side that it may not be person since before the pandemic. Dimon,
enough,” Dimon said. “We were a little who has been an advocate for employees
slow getting going. It caught up. I don’t coming into the office, said about 60% of
JPMorgan’s workforce does so full-time
and “about the rest” are there half the time.

On the economy, Dimon reiterated
comments he made throughout much of
last year, saying that while the consumer
is still strong, heightened risks remain. He
cited the impact of Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and quantitative tightening.

While peers including Goldman Sachs
Group Inc and Morgan Stanley are laying
off employees, JPMorgan is “still in hiring
mode,” Dimon said, adding that he un-
derstands why firms are being cautious.
He said wage pressure has waned a bit as
attrition levels ease.

(Jan 10): Most of Wall Street expects fur- Wall Street is economic growth and corporate earnings
ther declines in equities in the first half of too pessimistic are pessimistic for the near term, making it
2023.This is making HSBC Bank Plc strat- on stocks, says “hard to see significant downside surpris-
egist Max Kettner turn more optimistic. HSBC strategist es.” He also expects inflation to cool faster
than consensus forecasts, accompanied by
After maintaining a “maximum under- by Sagarika Jaisinghani an improvement in consumer sentiment.
weight” position in stocks since August, the Bloomberg
strategist raised the asset class to neutral, US stocks rallied sharply last week as
citing a “very strong” consensus around a signs of easing price pressures fueled bets
recession and weak first-half for risk assets, that the Federal Reserve could further slow
signs of easing inflation, resilient econom- the pace of rate hikes. Still, some of that
ic growth, a reopening in China and the optimism has been tempered this week fol-
absence of a gas crisis in Europe. lowing hawkish comments by two central
bank officials. US stock futures edged low-
“We are now dipping our toes in,” Ket- er onTuesday as investors await remarks by
tner wrote in a note dated Jan 9. “Given Fed Chair Jerome Powell later in the day.
almost all of the factors to turn more con-
structive have indeed turned, the sequenc- Meanwhile, Kettner said the outlook for
ing of a weak first half for risk assets no stocks is gloomy in the second half as earn-
longer makes sense to us.” ings expectations prove “much more chal-
lenging to beat.” “This is likely the point
The strategist’s view is in stark contrast to where proper risk-off will take hold, with
most of his counterparts, including Michael overweight positions in developed market
Wilson at Morgan Stanley and Mislav Mate- sovereigns and defensives versus cyclicals
jka at JPMorgan Chase & Co, who have all in equities,” he wrote.
warned that the specter of recession will likely
compound the worst annual slump for stocks The strategist retained a preference for val-
since 2008, before a recovery in the second ue stocks over growth, although he said the lat-
half of 2023. Money managers have also ter “could make a stronger comeback” later in
braced for a stunted rebound, saying gains the first half if inflation cools more decisively.
will be concentrated in the last six months. Read also: US futures drop in the face
of hawkish Fedspeak
Kettner’s view is underpinned in part by
the extent of the bearish positioning among
investors. He said expectations for both

w e d n e s d a y j a n u a r y 1 1 , 2 0 2 3 21 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

(Jan 10): Group of Seven nations are aim- G-7 eyes two Russian diesel, for example, that is cur-
ing to design two price caps for Russian prices caps for rently sold to Europe will likely find buy-
refined petroleum products to account for Russian refined ers in Latin America and Africa. Europe,
those that trade at higher prices than crude, meanwhile, will likely be able to buy diesel
as well as those that sell at a discount, ac- petroleum from the Middle East and the US, which
cording to an official. products currently sell more to Latin America and
Africa. The official, who described it as a
As part of an effort to sanction Russia BY Kevin Whitelaw reshuffling of the trade across the Atlantic,
for its invasion of Ukraine, the European Bloomberg said it could bring higher shipping costs
Union is set to ban the import of refined since some shipments will be going over
Russian products on Feb 5 and to impose to data provided by Argus Media. That a longer distance.
price caps on exports to third countries, was less than half of where Brent futures
which would in particular affect diesel, settled on the same day. It’s unclear how Russia will respond to
naphtha and fuel oil. The exact mecha- the refined products move. Moscow ob-
nisms and the price levels are still being The refined petroleum ban is in some jected strongly to the price cap on crude
negotiated among G-7 nations and the EU. ways more complicated to design and im- oil. Russia has continued to sell oil, but
plement. Diesel and kerosene historical- the energy ministry said it introduce new
The refined products ban followed a ly trade at premium prices compared to monitoring regulations aimed at helping
European ban on Dec 5 of Russian crude crude, while fuel oil sells at a discount, the it limit any possible price discounts that
imports, along with a price cap mechanism official said.The prices have also been ex- are emerging.
that allows European companies to provide tremely volatile over the past year.
financing and insurance for crude exports The EU is set to review the crude oil
from Russia that are priced no higher than Some European officials have been wor- price cap level in mid-January and some
US$60 a barrel. ried about a shortage of diesel supplies as countries want to lower the cap by 5%.
the year goes on, but the G-7 official said The G-7 official noted that the market
The system, which is aimed at limiting the market should be flexible enough to has already helped produce lower prices,
Russia’s revenues while avoiding spikes in adapt. suggesting a formal bureaucratic change
oil prices, has been successful in both aims isn’t necessary.
so far, said the G-7 official, who spoke to
reporters on the condition of anonymity. The official said that China and India
Russia’s Urals grade crude, its top export have been able to negotiate lower crude
stream, was US$37.80 a barrel at the Baltic prices with Russia since the cap had been
Sea port of Primorsk on Friday, according introduced.

(Jan 10): China is importing a wider vari- China scoops were last near US$79 a barrel.
ety of Russian crudes, including the less- up rare Russian Arco is pumped from the Prirazlomnoye
er-known Arco grade, just as the nation oil as top buyer
doubles down on purchases. boosts imports field in the Arctic, and it is among three
grades shipped out of Murmansk, along
Buyers snapped up three cargoes of Bloomberg with Varandey and Novy Port. Six vessels
crude from the Arctic including the highly that loaded cargoes from Murmansk last
sulfurous and dense Arco variety for ar- reuters month were headed to India, another big
rival this month or in February, accord- buyer of Russian barrels amid the Ukraine
ing to Vortexa Ltd., with data showing into force. “Russia’s Arctic grades were war, Bloomberg tracking data show.Varand-
the first China-bound flows in Novem- among the Europe-oriented streams that ey has become popular with Indian users.
ber.Traders said the purchases may dis- since Dec 5 have to find new homes else-
place some Middle Eastern barrels, such where, and in all of those cases, it’s pretty While Varandey is relatively well-
as Iraq’s Basrah Heavy. much an India and China split.” known to Asian buyers, Arco and Novy
Port are less familiar in the region. Most
Another data and analytics firm, Kpler Sellers are indicating a discount of at Arco used to go to the UK and the Neth-
Ltd, said China’s latest round of pur- least US$10 a barrel to the ICE Brent erlands, while Novy Port also had a focus
chases included Varandey and a lighter price for March-arriving Arco on a deliv- on Dutch buyers, Katona said.
variety known as Novy Port. ered basis, more affordable than compa-
rable grades, traders said. Brent futures China this week issued around 112 mil-
Beijing’s warm relations with Moscow lion tons of crude-import quotas to refin-
have seen it boost imports of Russian oil ers and traders in its latest allocation for
since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, re- this year.The sizeable quota, coupled with
placing European and US buyers.The un- a generous fuel-export concession, could
usual purchases of Arctic oil come after support the nation’s crude purchases as well
China’s daily crude and condensate im- as refinery run rates in the coming months.
ports hit the second-highest on record last Read also:
month, according to Kpler. Independent Russia to try to limit oil discounts with
processors have sought to use up import market principles
quotas since late last year as the nation piv-
oted away from Covid zero, aiding demand. Oil steady as market awaits clarity on
Fed rate hike
“The rerouting of Arctic grades is ab-
solutely taking place,” saidViktor Katona,
Vienna-based lead oil analyst at Kpler,
highlighting the date when EU sanc-
tions on Russian crude imports came

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world

Bloomberg

US CFTC sues Coinbase to cut
trader over alleged workforce by 950
US$114 mil Mango in crypto slump

Markets crypto by Philip Lagerkranser
swaps scam Bloomberg

by Suvashree Ghosh (Jan 10): Coinbase Global Inc is laying
Bloomberg off about 950 employees, as workforce
reductions at crypto companies keep
(Jan 10): The US Commodity Futures Markets’ accounts he controlled to manip- piling up in a more than year-long in-
Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a law- ulate the price of perpetual swaps, push- dustry slump.
suit against crypto trader Avraham Eisen- ing up their price by 1,300% in a matter
berg for allegedly manipulating the price of of minutes. The largest US crypto exchange
swaps contracts as part of a scam to steal expects to book US$149 million to
US$114 million. He used the swaps as collateral to bor- US$163 million of restructuring
row and withdraw about US$114 million charges, according to a statement on
Eisenberg perpetrated a “a manipula- worth of cryptocurrencies, which came Tuesday. The overhaul will be “sub-
tive and deceptive scheme” in October to from the deposits of other investors on stantially complete” by the end of the
inflate the price of swaps offered by de- the exchange. The CFTC is seeking civil second quarter, it said.
centralised digital-asset exchange Mango monetary penalties and trading bans.
Markets, culminating in the misappropri- Coinbase embarked on the cuts
ation of the funds, the regulator said in a The Mango Markets incident was one “in response to the ongoing market
complaint Monday. of a number of hacks to hit decentralised conditions impacting the cryptoeco-
finance over the past year, adding to a pe- nomy, as well as ongoing business
Eisenberg was arrested in Puerto Rico riod of ignominy for crypto amid a US$2 prioritization efforts,” according to
last month and charged with fraud by pros- trillion rout in digital assets and the arrest the release.
ecutors in New York over the exploit. At of Sam Bankman-Fried over the implosion
one point, it looked like he was walking of the FTX exchange. Crypto’s bear market is entering its
away with about US$50 million worth of second year, and the industry has suf-
digital assets after the attack. He defend- fered a series of meltdowns that hurt
ed his actions as legal in the aftermath of its outlook, most lately the bankruptcy
the incident. of rival exchange FTX.With revenues
falling and profits evaporating, compa-
Eisenberg allegedly used two Mango nies across the sector have resorted to
steep cost cuts in past months.

(Jan 10): A spectacular turnaround in Dubai’s stunning rose 9% and villas 12.8% in that period.
Dubai’s property market last year saw the property rebound “I think the market will slowly taper off
Middle East’s financial hub break a dec-
ade-long record for total home sales and lifts sales, rents this year,” CBRE’s Khan said. The only
lifted rents to unprecedented levels. to record surprise that could change that would be
a sudden return of investors from China,
The city registered 90,881 residential by Zainab Fattah who were the fourth largest buying group
transactions in 2022, according to real estate Bloomberg in Dubai until a few years ago, he said.
adviser CBRE Group Inc — beating the previ- Those buyers tend to be interested in mid-
ous record of 81,182 deals in 2009. Ejari con- wealth after the invasion of Ukraine, and as scale investment properties as opposed to
tracts, or home rental agreements, increased bankers fled strict lockdowns in Asia.The Russian buyers, who focus more on the
11% in 2022 compared with a year earlier, arrivals also included Israeli investors, cryp- luxury end of the market, Khan said.
reflecting a growth in the city’s residents. to millionaires, and hedge fund executives
after the city eased social restrictions and About 70,000 homes are currently un-
“It’s been an incredible year,” CBRE’s liberalized laws to consolidate its position der construction in Dubai and that addi-
head of research Taimur Khan said in an as the region’s pre-eminent business center. tional supply will also help take pressure
interview. “This is the highest number of off rents and prices. But Khan expects the
transactions ever, partly because the supply The average annual rent for a villa — fam- number of properties actually finished in
of new homes is increasing, and because ily homes — in Dubai surged by about 25% 2023 to be lower as developers stagger the
the take up has been strong.” to 282,150 dirhams (US$76,817) in the year release of housing supply, he said.
to December and average apartment rents
Dubai’s property market has bucked the jumped 27% to 95,168 dirhams, according “I see a significant moderation in rental
trend in much of the world, where values to CBRE.The average price of apartments rates this year, particularly in some of the
have largely dropped amid surging interest core areas,” he said. “Last year’s rental rate
rates and an increasingly darkening eco- increases aren’t sustainable and we’re start-
nomic outlook. ing to see resistance with tenants voting
with their feet and moving to neighbour-
In expatriate-dominated Dubai, though, hoods they would’ve never considered a
home prices and rents have surged amid an couple of years ago.”
influx of Russians looking to protect their

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world

news In brief

Vietnam posts record 2022 trade Tencent’s TikTok-style video feed Bird flu outbreak sparks record
surplus with US as China deficit rises tripled views in 2022 slaughter of 10 million animals in
Japan
HANOI (Jan 10): Vietnam’s trade surplus (Jan 10): WeChat’s fledgling short-video feed
with the United States widened to tripled the number of its viewers in 2022, as (Jan 10): Japan has culled close to 10
US$94.9 billion last year, the highest the Tencent Holdings Ltd-owned messaging million birds in a record outbreak of
level on record, led by shipments of items app seeks to stem an outflow of traffic to rival avian influenza, as authorities struggle to
such as garments, shoes, smartphones, TikTok and its Chinese cousin Douyin. Total tamp down the disease that has already
electronics and wooden furniture, number of views on WeChat Channels surged, devastated poultry flocks worldwide.
customs data showed. The Southeast helped by a 400% rise in video views based The agriculture ministry said on Monday
Asian country has benefited from around on AI recommendations, as well as a 237% (Jan 9) that 9.98 million birds have been
15 free trade agreements helping boost jump in news video views, Tencent executives culled this season, surpassing a previous
its export-driven economy, which grew said during the company’s annual WeChat record in fiscal 2020. On Tuesday (Jan 10),
8% last year. Total exports in 2022 rose conference on Tuesday. That propelled growth it confirmed the disease at an egg farm
10.6% to US$371.85 billion. However, in Channels’ livestreaming e-commerce, in the Miyazaki prefecture that housed
economists warn Vietnam is facing with total gross merchandise value jumping about 100,000 hens. The outbreak in
headwinds, with weakening global demand more than 800%, they said. Channels, which Japan is adding to the unprecedented bird
already starting to impact its shipments executives said logged 200% viewer growth in flu epidemic sweeping the world. Culls
in December, when exports fell 14% from 2022, has become a strategic focus for Tencent, are curbing supplies of products from
a year earlier. Meanwhile, a trade deficit as the sprawling games and e-commerce giant eggs to foie gras, exacerbating the food
with China, which is the largest supplier fights to keep WeChat users’ attention in an inflation that’s hit consumer budgets the
of materials and equipment to Vietnam’s increasingly crowded contents market. Search past year. The agriculture ministry said the
labour-intensive manufacturing sector, growth at WeChat — China’s most ubiquitous disease has been found in at least 23 of the
widened to a record US$60.2 billion app — is slowing, with monthly active user country’s 47 prefectures this season. The
in 2022 from US$54.0 billion a year growth up just 14% in 2022, compared with a avian flu season traditionally begins each
earlier, according to Vietnam’s customs 40% jump the previous year. The payment and October, as migratory birds shed infected
data released on Monday. Vietnam’s smartphone backbone of Tencent’s sprawling droppings or saliva while leaving cool areas
imports from China last year rose 6.6% empire is under growing pressure to monetise of the northern hemisphere. — Bloomberg
to US$117.87 billion, led by products its offerings to offset the conglomerate’s
such as machinery, electronics, fabrics, struggling streaming and domestic games BMW clings to luxury-sales crown as
smartphones and components, the data operations. WeChat’s TikTok-style feature has Mercedes-Benz narrows gap
showed. Exports to the United States — been a bright spot in the company’s portfolio.
Vietnam’s largest export market — rose Executives have said advertising revenue (Jan 10): BMW AG outsold rival
13.6% to US$109.39 billion last year, with generated by the new service should surpass Mercedes-Benz AG for the second
the trade surplus climbing from US$81.0 one billion yuan (US$150 million) in the fourth year in a row by better navigating the
billion in 2021. — Reuters quarter. — Bloomberg supply-chain issues hampering global
auto production. Worldwide deliveries of
Pfizer CEO says there will be no generic Paxlovid for China BMW-branded cars fell 5% to 2.1 million
last year, edging out Mercedes, whose
(Jan 10): Pfizer Inc is not in talks with Chinese authorities to license a generic shipments slipped 1% to 2.04 million.
version of its Covid-19 treatment Paxlovid for use there, but is in discussions While both brands grew sales in the final
about a price for the branded product, chief executive Albert Bourla (pic) said on months of 2022, they couldn’t compensate
Monday. Reuters reported last Friday that China was in talks with Pfizer to secure for business lost during the first half, when
a license that will allow domestic drugmakers to manufacture parts shortages and the war in Ukraine
and distribute a generic version of the US firm’s Covid-19 crimped output. Carmakers have more
antiviral drug Paxlovid in China. Referring to that report, recently faced intensifying headwinds
Bourla speaking at JPMorgan’s healthcare conference in including soaring energy and borrowing
San Francisco, said “We are not in discussions. We have an costs. Tesla Inc shares plummeted amid
agreement already for local manufacturing of Paxlovid in concerns over demand in China, the
China. So we have a local partner that will make Paxlovid biggest auto market, where domestic
for us, and then we will sell it to the Chinese market.” Bourla players BYD Co, Xpeng Inc and Nio Inc
said the company had shipped thousands of courses of the make for intensifying competition. Both
treatment in 2022 to China and in the past couple of weeks, BMW and Mercedes saw sales drop in
had increased that to millions. On Sunday, China’s Healthcare China as stringent Covid lockdowns
Security Administration said that the country would not kept customers away from showrooms.
include Paxlovid in an update to its list of medicines Mercedes heavily discounted the price for
covered by basic medical insurance schemes as its flagship EQS electric sedan last year
the US firm quoted a high price for the Covid-19 in a move to reposition in a competitive
drug. — Reuters market. Deliveries of electric vehicles
were a bright spot for the German
Read the full story companies as they rolled out new battery-
powered models and sought to comply
with tightening emissions regulations. —
Bloomberg

w e d n e s d a y j a n u a r y 1 1 , 2 0 2 3 24 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

MARKETS

CPO RM 3,969.00-15.00 OIL US$ 79.940.29 RM/USD 4.3735 RM/SGD 3.2873 RM/AUD 3.0175 RM/GBP 5.3261 RM/EUR 4.7000

Top 20 active stocks

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

L&P Global Bhd 73.10 0.010 0.580 0.00 324.8

Cypark Resources Bhd 64.90 0.045 0.700 48.94 535.8

Top Glove Corp Bhd 47.30 -0.020 0.850 -6.08 6,806.2

Berjaya Corp Bhd 47.00 0.020 0.350 16.67 1,954.2

Tanco Holdings Bhd 42.70 0.040 0.385 14.93 686.2

Citaglobal Bhd 40.90 0.010 0.350 20.69 662.7

Tex Cycle Technology Malaysia 40.20 0.190 0.625 50.60 158.0

My EG Services Bhd 36.70 0.020 0.865 -0.57 6,433.8

Velesto Energy Bhd 35.30 0.000 0.160 6.67 1,314.5 World equity indices

Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd 32.40 -0.010 0.155 -29.55 791.8

SMTrack Bhd 31.90 0.000 0.045 -10.00 52.6 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
Inari Amertron Bhd 30.20 -0.160 2.640 1.15 9,854.6 DOW JONES 33,517.65 -112.96 -0.34 (%)
INDONESIA 6,622.50 -65.77 -0.98
Widad Group Bhd 28.90 -0.005 0.420 -2.33 1,179.8

GFM Services Bhd 28.50 0.010 0.205 -4.65 141.5 S&P 500 3,892.09 -2.99 -0.08 JAPAN 26,175.56 201.71 0.78

YX Precious Metals Bhd 28.2 0.025 0.3 33.33 111.6 NASDAQ 100 11,108.45 68.10 0.62 KOREA 2,351.31 1.12 0.05

Nylex Malaysia BHD 28 0.035 0.45 45.16 80.7 FTSE 100 7,696.33 -28.61 -0.37 PHILIPPINES 6,756.69 -33.55 -0.49

DS Sigma Holdings Bhd 26.6 0.005 0.64 0 307.2 AUSTRALIA 7,131.00 -20.33 -0.28 SINGAPORE 3,262.91 -42.76 -1.29

Mestron Holdings Bhd 24.20 -0.010 0.435 -3.33 406.2 CHINA 3,169.51 -6.58 -0.21 TAIWAN 14,802.96 50.75 0.34

CSH Alliance Bhd 24 -0.005 0.055 37.5 76 HONG KONG 21,331.46 -56.88 -0.27 THAILAND 1,691.41 0.29 0.02

SWS Capital Bhd 23.7 0.015 0.37 25.42 101.8 INDIA 60,115.48 -631.83 -1.04 VIETNAM 1,053.35 -0.86 -0.08

Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 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)

Compugates Holdings BHd 0.015 50.00 132.9 50.00 68.8 Vsolar Group Bhd 0.005 -50.00 5,329.3 -50.00 24.2

Tex Cycle Technology Malaysia 0.625 43.68 40,159.8 50.60 158.0 AT Systematization Bhd 0.010 -33.33 471.1 -33.33 60.0

Xidelang Holdings Ltd 0.025 25.00 310.0 0.00 52.9 Red Ideas Holdings Bhd 0.250 -30.56 50.5 -30.56 25.0

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd 0.025 25.00 546.1 0.00 38.3 Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.015 -25.00 1,548.5 -25.00 95.6

Watta Holdings BHD 0.600 20.00 259.9 12.15 50.7 Eduspec Holdings Bhd 0.015 -25.00 50.0 -25.00 45.7

Barakah Offshore Petroleum 0.030 20.00 926.5 20.00 30.1 Green Ocean Corp Bhd 0.015 -25.00 183.1 -25.00 31.7

Sarawak Cable Bhd 0.070 16.67 155.2 7.69 27.9 Sanichi Technology Bhd 0.020 -20.00 116.4 -20.00 28.1

Mclean Technologies Bhd 0.175 12.90 2,423.5 2.94 34.5 Jerasia Capital BHD 0.025 -16.67 20.0 -28.57 2.1

XOX Technology Bhd 0.045 12.50 2,641.4 0.00 40.2 ZEN Tech International Bhd 0.025 -16.67 3,520.8 25.00 20.2

Tanco Holdings Bhd 0.385 11.59 42,695.7 14.93 686.2 TECHNA-X Bhd 0.025 -16.67 9,716.1 0.00 55.4

Asia Media Group Bhd 0.150 11.11 9.6 0.00 35.9 UCrest Bhd 0.115 -11.54 6,685.6 -8.00 71.5

KYM Holdings BHD 0.600 11.11 7,010.9 12.15 91.1 Hubline Bhd 0.040 -11.11 2,542.0 0.00 171.6

Permaju Industries Bhd 0.050 11.11 139.2 11.11 96.8 Kanger International Bhd 0.040 -11.11 886.5 0.00 26.0

Scomi Energy Services Bhd 0.050 11.11 236.3 -9.09 23.4 BTM Resources BHD 0.085 -10.53 6,770.9 0.00 14.5

Ecobuilt Holdings Bhd 0.105 10.53 289.0 -4.55 40.2 Samaiden Group Bhd 0.765 -10.53 11,050.2 -4.97 294.5

Thriven Global Bhd 0.110 10.00 4,829.0 15.79 60.2 MQ Technology Bhd 0.045 -10.00 1308.0 -10.00 56.3

Unitrade Industries Bhd 0.235 9.30 11036.8 11.90 367.2 TWL Holdings Bhd 0.045 -10.00 3,093.2 28.57 179.2

YX Precious Metals Bhd 0.300 9.09 28,240.4 33.33 111.6 CSH Alliance Bhd 0.055 -8.33 24037.9 37.5 76.0

Komarkcorp Bhd 0.060 9.09 1,084.5 9.09 34.6 Versatile Creative Bhd 0.570 -7.32 542.5 -10.94 159.7

Nylex Malaysia BHD 0.450 8.43 27,972.3 45.16 80.7 Minda Global Bhd 0.065 -7.14 3014.9 -7.14 109.1

Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 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)

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 22.140 0.220 128.3 2.59 8,120.5 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 137.500 -2.000 58.60 -1.79 32,243.8

Tex Cycle Technology Malaysia 0.625 0.190 40,159.8 50.60 158.0 Imaspro Corp Bhd 5.340 -0.410 7.70 -8.72 427.2

Heineken Malaysia Bhd 24.940 0.180 102.0 -1.03 7,534.3 Hextar Technologies Solutions 28.880 -0.400 211.90 69.28 3,715.4

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 23.120 0.160 79.5 1.05 7,068.9 Ajinomoto Malaysia Bhd 13.800 -0.360 27.60 5.50 839.0

Computer Forms Malaysia Bhd 2.820 0.150 2,902.3 11.90 736.0 Hong Leong Financial Group 18.580 -0.280 66.90 -0.11 21,278.6

Watta Holdings BHD 0.600 0.100 259.9 12.15 50.7 New Hoong Fatt Holdings Bhd 2.730 -0.200 15.40 -4.88 225.7

QL Resources Bhd 5.800 0.090 619.2 5.26 14,115.2 MISC Bhd 7.300 -0.190 2,102.70 -2.67 32,585.3

UMW Holdings Bhd 3.630 0.080 1,040.5 4.61 4,240.9 Inari Amertron Bhd 2.640 -0.160 30,173.60 1.15 9,854.6

Ancom Nylex Bhd 1.140 0.080 10,973.9 10.68 1,025.2 United Malacca Bhd 5.330 -0.150 2.00 -3.09 1,118.1

Rapid Synergy Bhd 16.100 0.080 9.3 0.88 1,721.0 Petronas Gas Bhd 17.160 -0.120 348.10 0.23 33,955.0

Concrete Engineering Products 1.050 0.080 1.0 0.00 78.4 Red Ideas Holdings Bhd 0.250 -0.110 50.50 -30.56 25.0

K Seng Seng Corp Bhd 1.510 0.080 1,265.5 4.86 195.7 PPB Group Bhd 17.520 -0.100 262.80 0.46 24,923.9

Apollo Food Holdings 3.920 0.070 5.2 1.55 313.6 Hextar Global Bhd 2.360 -0.100 3,431.10 3.51 3,034.4

FAR East Holdings BHD 3.770 0.070 3.2 1.89 2,238.8 Samaiden Group Bhd 0.765 -0.090 11,050.20 -4.97 294.5

Petron Malaysia Refining 4.430 0.070 130.3 2.31 1,196.1 Hong Leong Bank Bhd 20.600 -0.080 1,766.60 0.19 44,655.0

AEON Credit Service M Bhd 12.840 0.060 73.0 2.07 3,278.2 Apex Healthcare Bhd 3.500 -0.080 108.40 -0.57 1,671.6

Malaysian Pacific Industries 31.220 0.060 130.2 8.55 6,209.5 Thong Guan Industries Bhd 2.420 -0.080 670.80 2.54 944.9

KYM Holdings BHD 0.600 0.060 7,010.9 12.15 91.1 Texchem Resources Bhd 1.900 -0.070 414.90 -9.52 226.4

South Malaysia Industries 0.850 0.055 3,155.3 39.34 178.4 YSP Southeast Asia Holdings 2.470 -0.070 242.40 -3.14 348.4

Padini Holdings Bhd 3.480 0.050 298.9 3.88 2289.5 Axiata Group Bhd 2.9 -0.07 3030.2 -6.15 26614

Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 10, 2023 Source: Bloomberg