TEMCMB-23.11

IHH HEALTHCARE WEIGHING US$1 BIL SALE
OF CHINA HOSPITALS p4

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2021 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 285/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Covid-19: Khairy says endemic phase still far away for Malaysia as he warns social curbs may return p2
Rakuten Trade trims FBM KLCI year-end target to 1,585, says corporate earnings
may still be affected next year p6
WORLD: Biden keeps powell as Fed chief, elevates Brainard to vice chair p22
Telenor, CP Group to merge Thai telecom units in US$8.6b deal p24

BLOOMBERG

Malaysian Bar says it is
non-partisan after Shafee
questioned its neutrality

Report on Page 3.

Tuesday november 23, 2021 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Health Covid-19: Khairy ing for a potential surge in cases.
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has warned says endemic The KlangValley’s ICU utilisation stood
that movement restrictions in the social phase still far
sector would be reintroduced if Covid-19 at 82%, while Negeri Sembilan’s was re-
cases overrun hospitals, and that Malay- away for Malaysia ported at 93%, according to the COVID-
sia’s transition into the endemic phase for as he warns social NOW website.
the disease would take a “long, long time”, curbs may return
according to a report by health news portal At a Malaysian Family corporate con-
CodeBlue on Monday. by seah eu hen tribution presentation here on Monday,
theedgemarkets.com Khairy again reminded the public to con-
“We’re nowhere near that right now. If tinue adhering to the standard operating
any countries feel they can declare victory, certain point, then red flags are raised and procedures set by the authorities, as he
they’re sorely mistaken,” Khairy was quot- we need to have a heightened alert system said Malaysia is still not out of the woods
ed as having told the virtual Global Town and we need to step down on certain so- in its Covid-19 battle.
Hall 2021 organised by the Foreign Policy cial activities,” he was quoted as saying.
Community of Indonesia last Saturday. “We know that this is a particularly
He reportedly told the media in Rem- stubborn virus. It’s not going anywhere
He also said Malaysia has been using bau on Sunday that the government would but we have to continue to move forward,
the buffer from the decline in Covid-19 not impose a total lockdown should cases reopening safely but at the same time en-
cases to plan public health responses in escalate, but that some movement restric- suring that our public healthcare system
anticipation of a simulated fourth wave tions would be imposed through a “height- is not crippled or paralysed,” he said, ac-
of the pandemic. ened alert system” instead. cording to Bernama.

“The greatest nightmare a health min- Meanwhile, new daily Covid-19 in- Khairy also reminded those who have
ister has is, of course, hospital capacity, es- fections and hospital admissions have already received their appointment for a
pecially critical care capacity, ICU (inten- steadily increased across the country booster dose to go for it, especially those
sive care unit) capacity. Once it breaches a over the past two weeks, CodeBlue re- above 40 years old and individuals with
ported, with Klang Valley hospitals brac- comorbidity.

“Whatever that is offered, take it. It will
not only help you in terms of ensuring
better coverage but also help other people
by bringing down the transmission risk,”
he added.

Malaysia’s new Covid-19 cases dipped
below 5,000 to 4,854 on Sunday (Nov
21). On Monday, 4,885 new cases were
recorded.

Khairy Read also:
Jamaluddin Datai Langkawi announces temporary
closure from Nov 22 after detecting
16 Covid-19 cases Click here

Covid-19: Over 2.5 million
adolescents in Malaysia fully
vaccinated as of Nov 21 Click here

Bloomberg 37% rise in compounds issued during
46th epidemiological week, says
Health DG Click here

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): The Ma- Malaysian “Of paramount importance is that the
laysian Bar on Monday stressed that it has Bar says it is Malaysian Bar must not be partisan in po-
always been apolitical and non-partisan in non-partisan litically related matters,” said the lawyer.
its affairs, after lawyerTan Sri Muhammad after Shafee
Shafee Abdullah questioned its neutrality. questioned its He questioned Kalidas for saying that
the prosecution’s decision to withdraw the
Shafee had earlier in the day criticized neutrality appeal in Tengku Adnan’s case was per-
the Bar over its statement on the prosecu- turbing as the appeals court’s decision to
tion’s decision to withdraw its appeal against BY HAFIZ YATIM acquit the former minister was not unan-
the Court of Appeal’s acquittal of former theedgemarkets.com imous, and also over the Bar president’s
cabinet minister Datuk SeriTengku Adnan remark that the AG himself had made the
Tengku Mansor in a corruption case. “We uphold principles of the rule of law decision to discontinue the appeal.
and justice, without regard for the personality
Malaysian Bar president AG Kalidas in question or those they are associated with. Shafee said the statement would have
said the Bar was merely seeking clarification been well received if the Bar had over the
from Attorney General (AG)Tan Sri Idrus “We raise questions and seek clarifi- years behaved consistently in all previous
Harun on the withdrawal of the appeal. cation from those who are accountable, decisions — regardless of who the AG or
particularly in matters or cases with high the accused were.
“It should be made clear that the focus public interest,” he added.
of the Malaysian Bar statement was to seek The Edge last week reported that the pros-
clarification from Idrus on the purported Shafee, in his statement, said the Malay- ecution was withdrawing its appeal against
decision to withdraw the appeal. sian Bar is endowed with perpetual succes- theTengku Adnan’s acquittal to the Federal
sion in that while individual office bearers Court, after having filed the notice of ap-
“It was not at all about the Court of Ap- come and go, the Bar remains the same peal on July 19, three days after the appeals
peal’s decision and, reading the statement incorporated body to account. court’s 2-1 majority decision to free the Pu-
in its entirety, it is clear that no aspersions trajaya member of Parliament.
were cast on the judiciary or anyone. “Yet,do the thoughts,statements and roles
of its previous individual presidents through The Court of Appeal bench, led by Jus-
“It is not uncommon for the AG or the years always remained consistent and took tice Datuk Suraya Othman, ruled that a
the AG’s Chambers to issue press releas- the direction of voicing the cause of justice sum of RM2 million received by Tengku
es providing further explanation to the without regard to their own interests or that Adnan was a political donation for use in
public on certain matters, including the of the Bar, uninfluenced by fear or favour, in two by-elections in 2016 and not directed
decision to withdraw charges or not to line with the perpetual succession of the Bar? to the ex-minister.
proceed with an appeal – that is precisely
the clarification we sought in our state- The minority judgment by Datuk Abu
ment,” Kalidas said. Bakar Jais, however, ruled otherwise, with
the judge upholding the High Court de-
He maintained that the Malaysian cision in December 2020 by Justice Mo-
Bar and the Bar Council (the Bar’s de- hamed Zaini Mazlan to convict Tengku
cision-making body of which he is the Adnan and sentence him to 12 months
chairman) have always been apolitical in jail and a RM2 million fine.
and non-partisan.

Lawyer supports Malaysian Bar’s call to AG for explanation
on appeal withdrawal in Ku Nan’s graft case

BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Lawyer Adnan while he was holding an important Shafee had written the article in re-
Surendra Ananth has defended the Ma- public office, said Surendra in a statement, sponse to the statement by Kalidas on
laysian Bar’s statement calling on Attorney in response to an article by lawyerTan Sri the move to withdraw the appeal against
General (AG)Tan Sri Idris Harun to explain Muhammad Shafee Abdullah accusing the the acquittal of Tengku Adnan.
the prosecution’s decision to withdraw its Malaysian Bar of being partisan.
appeal in former minister Datuk SeriTeng- CONTINUES ON PAGE 4
kuAdnanTengku Mansor’s corruption case.

Surendra, who is co-chair of the Ma-
laysian Bar Law Reform and Special Areas
Committee, said Bar president AG Kali-
das was merely asking Idrus to provide an
explanaton on the move to withdraw the
appeal in the Federal Court, despite the
fact that the Court of Appeal’s decision
to reverse the High Court’s conviction of
Tengku Adnan was not unanimius.

“There was a dissenting judgment.
The case concerns acts done byTengku

Tuesday november 23, 2021 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief

home

IHH Healthcare
weighing US$1
bil sale of China

hospitals

by Yantoultra Ngui & Zhang Dingmin
Bloomberg

(Nov 22): IHH Healthcare Bhd, a Ma- Parkway China opened its first medi- Private for-profit hospitals in China
laysian hospital group, is considering the cal centre in Shanghai in 2006, accord- have been the targets of several recent
potential sale of its China unit, in a deal ing to its website. It acquired medical deals. Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical
that could value the chain at as much as and dental clinic World Link Group in Group Co this month acquired a 70%
US$1 billion, according to people famil- 2007 and has facilities in Shanghai, Su- stake in Guangzhou Xinshi Hospital Co
iar with the situation. zhou and Chengdu. Parkway provides for 809 million yuan (US$127 million),
outpatient and inpatient care for adults according to a statement. DCP Capital is
The Kuala Lumpur-based company and children with over 40 specialties in talks to acquire maternity and pediat-
is in discussions with potential advisers such as cardiology, psychiatry, stress ric care hospital chain Meihua Hospital
on a possible sale of Parkway China, the management and traditional Chinese for US$400 million to US$500 million,
people said, asking not to be named as acupuncture. Bloomberg News reported in March.
the information is private.

Taikang Insurance Group and Shang-
hai Hongxin Medical Investment Hold-
ing Co are also weighing participating
in the sale, the people said. Taikang is a
minority shareholder in the Malaysian
firm’s mainland China portfolio, while
Shanghai Hongxin holds a stake in one
of its hospitals, according to a statement.

Deliberations are ongoing and may
not lead to a transaction, the people
said. A representative for IHH Health-
care declined to comment. Representa-
tives for Taikang and Shanghai Hongxin
didn’t immediately respond to requests
for comment.

from Page 3 ly in the government and now opposition, moved as the AG and even applied to
Surendra said in Lim Guan Eng’s case, be amicus curiae (watching brief) in the
Surendra in his statement noted that the Deputy Public Prosecutor in charge Federal Court to support Datuk Seri
the High Court found Tengku Adnan gave a statement explaining his reasons Najib Razak’s position on the constitu-
guilty in December 2020, and that the to withdraw the charge. tionality of Section 106(3) of the Income
appeal in the Court of Appeal was heard Tax Act 1967,” the lawyer added.
in April 2021. Most of the prosecutions that Shafee
cited in the article, he added, concern the Surendra said the Malaysian Bar may
“It was the same AG who was hold- Sedition Act 1949, which the Malaysian not be perfect and perhaps, its statements
ing office at all material times. Given Bar has consistently advocated for its ab- ought to be better drafted. However, he
the facts above, it was imperative that olition. said the statement on Tengku Adnan’s
the AG provide reasons for his decision appeal was necessary and timely.
to withdraw the appeal in the Federal As regards the charges laid against for-
Court,” he said. mer Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, Surendra “The focus should never be on the
said it concerned an act of whistleblowing personalities or actors, but rather on the
Surendra pointed out that the AG’s on his part. rule of law. If it just happens that the rule
discretion under the Federal Constitu- of law is often jeopardised where the per-
tion is no longer absolute. “The Federal “It could hardly be said that the pros- sonalities involved are from a particular
Court had on April 30, 2021 ruled that ecution was in the public interest. The divide, then so be it.That is what without
the AG’s discretion is subject to review,” government has in fact commenced pro- fear or favour means,” he said.
he said, referring to the apex court’s de- ceedings against National Feedlot Corpo- Read also: Shafee questions Malaysian
cision in the Datuk N Sundra Rajoo vs ration Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Dr Bar’s neutrality Click here
the AG and Government case. Mohamad Salleh.

On the Bar’s position on prosecution “In fact, the Malaysian Bar spoke up
involving politicians who were previous- when Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was re-

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

Tuesday november 23, 2021 6 TheEdge CEO morning brief

home

RakutenTrade
trims FBM

KLCI year-end
target to 1,585,
says corporate
earnings may
still be affected

next year

by sulhi khalid expected to improve in the second half of “Saving grace for the local bourse would
theedgemarkets.com next year (2H22) as we look towards 2023. be the prevailing low market valuations
that may limit outflows.
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Rakuten “On the latest corporate earnings, so far
Trade has slashed its FBM KLCI year-end I have seen that the corporate’s results in “Our low valuations may translate
target to 1,585 from 1,630 previously as 3Q are rather weak. Apart from technol- to low volatility thus foreign funds may
it did not foresee a valuation premium to ogy and plantation counters, the rest are deem our market as a safe haven for
return anytime soon despite the presence coming [in] weak and it is as expected due now,” he said.
of foreign funds. to the Movement Control Order (MCO)
implementation in the quarter. Looking ahead,Yee said regional vola-
In a virtual briefing on Monday (Nov tility is very much dependent on the situ-
22), RakutenTrade head of research Ken- “We expect corporate earnings growth ation on Wall Street.
nyYee said the research house anticipates to remain decent this year. However,
sentiments on the local bourse to be luke- growth for next year may be affected amid “Though volatility may have shrunk for
warm as overall trading participation is prevailing uncertainties,” Kenny said. now, we can expect it to heighten as taper-
expected to wane. ing is a reality now in the US plus possible
Meanwhile, Yee shared that the year- interest rate hike.
“For next year, we foresee the local to-date foreign outflows currently totalled
bourse to remain mundane for the first RM1.5 billion and he highlighted that “As such, we expect foreign funds to
half of next year (1H22) but sentiments are there were foreign inflows since August continue to flow into Malaysia as the an-
totalling RM3.9 billion. ticipated low volatility will act as a cushion
to any regional vagaries,” he said.

Bursa Energy tracts Bhd were also among the top 30 losers.
Index falls the Dialog slipped seven sen or 2.47% to
most on Monday
RM2.76; Hibiscus tumbled five sen or
as oil prices 6.1% to 77 sen; Yinson slid four sen or
extend losses 0.68% to RM5.85; Coastal lost 3.5 sen or
3.47% to 97.5 sen.
by tan siew mung
theedgemarkets.com Reuters reported that US crude prices
dropped in early trade on Monday, extend-
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Bursa En- ing big losses last Friday after Japan said on
ergy Index fell as much as 17.54 points or the weekend it was considering releasing
2.28% to 752.26 on Monday (Nov 22) oil reserves to help dampen prices.
morning as oil prices extended losses.
At the time of writing, USWestTexas In-
At 9.44am, the Energy Index had pared termediate (WTI) crude oil had fallen 0.26%
some losses at 754.19, still down 15.61 to US$75.54 (about RM316.29),while Brent
points or 2.03%. Crude oil slipped 0.24% to US$78.70.

Oil and gas stock Hengyuan Refining According to Reuters, WTI and Brent
Company Bhd was the fifth top loser on the prices slumped around 3% last Friday.
bourse, falling 11 sen or 2.64% to RM4.05. Read also:
LNG tanker rates reach all-time high on rising
Dialog Group Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum demand Click here or turn to Page 25
Bhd,Yinson Holdings Bhd and Coastal Con-
Fill demand gap with natural gas amid
escalating energy prices — Petronas executive
VP Click here

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2021 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): AirAsia Group AirAsia posts in the period under review.
Bhd’s net loss for its third quarter ended Sept 30, RM887m losses in On prospects, AirAsia said it expects the
2021 (3QFY21) rose 4.1% to RM887 million 3Q, assures it has
from RM851.78 million in the corresponding sufficient liquidity airline business’ current sales momentum and
quarter last year, as the Malaysian and Indone- reduced cashburn trend to continue into the
sian markets continued to face travel restrictions as it plans more fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q21).
amid Covid-19 containment efforts. Teleport, digital
“Other than the aviation industry,we are see-
The net loss was also due to investment in expansions ing traction in our aircraft engineering mainte-
technology, talent and network as AirAsia con- nance business under Asia Digital Engineering,
tinued to scale up its digital super app and its BY ADAM AZIZ cargo and last mile deliveries under Teleport,
air cargo divisionTeleport, the company said in theedgemarkets.com airasia superapp and Bigpay,” it said.
a bourse filing.AirAsia’s digital business was in
the red in the quarter. RM2.23 billion from RM2.66 billion, even as It also saidTeleport is converting two A320
revenue fell by a third to RM1.02 billion from passenger aircraft into cargo-only planes while
However, the group posted improved mar- RM2.97 billion. leasing one freighter aircraft, and is working on
gins on the back of its cost containment meas- leasing another two freighter aircraft targeted
ures, despite serving 82% less passengers year- Negative net operating cash flow in the nine- to be made available in 3Q22.
on-year, at 351,971 in 3QFY21 versus 1.9 month period narrowed 44% to RM653.3 mil-
million in 3QFY20. Similarly, its number of lion from RM1.17 billion. Net negative cash “We have also completed two batches of re-
flights fell 82% to 2,876, from 16,305. flow was even narrower at RM128.7 million, negotiation of lease terms with our lessors,which
from just under RM2 billion in 9MFY20, part- will see a lower lease rental per aircraft in the
Quarterly revenue fell 36.9% to RM295.89 ly supported by RM336.46 million raised from future and we expect to complete the renegotia-
million from RM468.94 million. Half of the share placements,higher proceeds from borrow- tions with all lessors by end of the year,” it said.
latest quarter’s revenue or RM157.76 million ings and lower repayments, and an absence of
came fromTeleport, it added. payment on interest on financing lease liabilities In addition, the group is undertaking its
RM1 billion rights issue of securities that was
While Malaysia and Indonesia continued to approved by shareholders recently.
be affected by travel restrictions, AirAsia said
its Philippines operations “demonstrated strong “Through these various fundraising exercises
performance” on relaxed travel restrictions, as and cost containment measures that the group
well as the removal of testing and quarantine is working on, the board foresees it will have
for fully-vaccinated passengers. sufficient liquidity to sustain the business op-
erations throughout 2021 and 2022,” it added.
For its nine months ended Sept 30, 2021
(9MFY21), AirAsia’s net loss narrowed to Shares of AirAsia fell two sen or 1.9% to
close at RM1.03, giving it a market capitalisa-
tion of RM4.01 billion.

Tuesday november 23, 2021 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Berjaya Berjaya Land to In March 2016, Berjaya Land and two
Land Bhd, controlled by tycoon Tan Sri seek leave from related companies — Berjaya Tagar Sdn
Vincent Tan, is still fighting hard to un- the Federal Court Bhd and Berjaya City — had initiated
dertake the Selangor Turf Club (STC) on COA decision the legal action against the Selangor gov-
project that was mooted 17 years ago in to cancel Selangor ernment, Country Planning Department
2004, despite the hurdles along the track, Turf club plan (JPBD) and six other state agencies.
including lawsuits.
by tan siew mung Berjaya Land announced in Novem-
Berjaya Land said it will seek leave from theedgemarkets.com ber 2017 that it had won a judicial review
the Federal Court on the recent Court of application against the Selangor govern-
Appeal (COA) decision to cancel its STC Citing lawyer Datuk Kamaruzaman ment and the Selangor Town and JPBD,
plan. This case for the company against Arif, the report said, the COA’s decision paving the way for the relocation of STC
the Selangor state government — that had on Nov 3 set aside the Shah Alam High to Bukit Tagar.
gone through two administrations since Court order dated Nov 9, 2017 which al-
this went to the courts — had been on- lowed judicial review of Berjaya Land and In 2004, BerjayaTagar had entered into
going since 2016. two others against the Selangor state gov- an agreement with STC for the acquisition
ernment and one other party. of three parcels of leasehold land meas-
“Berjaya Land Bhd is a responsible cor- uring a total of 245 acres in Sungai Besi
porate citizen and will always be guided “The panel of judges of the Court of for RM640 million, of which RM35 mil-
by the rule of law. While we respect the Appeal found that there was no legitimate lion will be paid in cash and the balance
decision of the Court of Appeal, the com- expectation for the respondent,” the report of RM605 million will be satisfied by a
pany will apply for leave to appeal to the cited Kamaruzaman as saying. transfer to STC of 750 acres of land in
Federal Court to set aside the decision Bukit Tagar with a newly built turf club.
of the Court of Appeal and restore the According to him, the unanimous de-
decision of the Shah Alam High Court cision was made by a three-judge pan- Berjaya Tagar had proposed to acquire
of Nov 9, 2017,” Berjaya Land told The el of COA chaired by Datuk Lee Swee the Bukit Tagar land from Berjaya City, a
Edge when contacted on the latest court Seng, who also ordered the respondents subsidiary company of Berjaya Corpora-
decision on the matter. to pay RM20,000 to the Selangor state tion Bhd, and to appoint Berjaya City as
government. the turnkey contractor of the new turf club.
Last week, Sinar Harian reported that the
Selangor state government had succeeded in However, Berjaya Land had not re-
its appeal to cancel the implementation of ceived the necessary approvals due to a
the proposed construction of STC, includ- change in the Selangor state government
ing construction of an Equestrian Sports after the 2008 general election.
Center (ESC) in BukitTagar, Hulu Selan-
gor, that has one of the largest horse racing At the time of writing, Berjaya Land
gambling establishments in Asia. is down half sen to 23 sen, valuing the
group at RM1.18 billion.Year-to-date, it
has risen 21%.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22):The investi- MITRA funds: is discussing the matter with the respective
gation into 10 companies that received the Probe into ministry to prevent recurrence.
Malaysian IndianTransformation Unit (MI-
TRA) grants is almost complete, said Malay- 10 companies Prior to this, it was reported that the
sian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) almost complete MACC was reviewing all applications, ex-
chief commissionerTan Sri Azam Baki. penditure reports and programmes said to
— MACC have been implemented by recipients of the
Azam said the investigation papers will MITRA allocations from 2019 to 2021.
be submitted to the deputy public prose- Bernama
cutor in the near future to determine the This was in view of the arrest of several
next course of action. company directors on suspicion of being
involved in the misappropriation of MI-
He said investigations into other compa- TRA funds.
nies are ongoing and the MACC is work-
ing together with the Ministry of National A total of 337 companies, associations
Unity to set up a special task force to look and non-governmental organisations
into other claims. (NGOs) were identified to have been ap-
proved grant allocations by MITRA from
“The MACC has seized all reports sub- 2019 to 2021, with an allocation of about
mitted by the companies from 2018 to 2020,” RM203 million.
he told reporters after launching the anti-cor-
ruption awareness campaign in public trans-
port, a joint initiative between the MACC
and MRT Corp, at the Muzium Negara
MRT Station here on Monday (Nov 22).

He said the MACC is still investigating
two aspects, namely the elements of crime
and improvements in the procedures and
grant allocation system.

Azam admitted that there were flaws
in the system and procedures adopted by
the government, adding that the MACC

Tuesday november 23, 2021 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): The Eco- Govt in final Europe, causing an energy crisis in that
nomic Planning Unit (EPU), in collabo- phase of continent.
ration with ministries and agencies, is in
the final phase of developing a long-term developing The minister said the inability for in-
and comprehensive National Energy Policy National Energy termittent renewables to supply a reliable
2021-2040 (NEP). source of electricity had put further pres-
Policy, says sure on the supply of fossil fuels, caus-
Minister in the Prime Minister’s De- Mustapa ing energy commodity prices to increase,
partment (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa which in turn increases the price of elec-
Mohamed said the NEP would contrib- Bernama tricity in Europe.
ute towards achieving long-term energy
security at competitive pricing while at the edge file photo “Thanks to the policies that the gov-
the same time ensuring its environmen- ernment has put in place, Malaysia is not
tal sustainability. witnessing global demand for natural gas facing an energy crisis as experienced in
surpassing its supply, causing the liquefied Europe.
“This is very important as investors natural gas (LNG) spot price for Asia and
are increasingly demanding solutions and in many parts of the world to skyrocket to “The government, through EPU, the
practices aligned with environment, social levels never before seen. Ministry of Energy and Natural Resourc-
and governance (ESG) principles,” he said es and agencies such as Petronas, Energy
in his ministerial address at the virtual Ma- He noted that the willingness of Asian Commission andTenaga Nasional Bhd are
laysian Gas Symposium (MyGAS 2021) buyers to pay a premium and outbid others constantly taking appropriate measures to
on Monday. have attracted LNG supplies away from ensure continuous energy security for our
country,” he said.
Mustapa said the NEP will be aligned to
the Paris Agreement as Malaysia had com- Mustapa noted that the Malaysian gas
mitted to voluntarily reducing the intensity industry brings in more than RM135 bil-
of its greenhouse gas emission by 45% of lion annually to the wider economy and
gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. has been contributing to Malaysia’s over-
all socio-economic well being through the
He said Malaysia, in this case, had also creation of quality jobs, supporting eco-
committed to being a carbon-neutral coun- nomic output, boosting external trade,
try at the earliest by 2050. and nurturing locals into becoming trade
global players.
“Natural gas, combined with other low
carbon and renewable gases such as hy- “The Oil and Gas Services and Equip-
drogen and biogas, is expected to play an ment (OGSE) sector, predominantly made
important role both in the NEP and in up of local businesses and talents, is also
our strategy to achieve carbon neutrality. a significant contributor to the nation’s
economy, especially Malaysia’s gas sector.
“We need a vibrant and sustainable nat-
ural gas industry.To achieve this, the EPU “Earlier this year, I launched the Na-
is also developing the Natural Gas Roadm- tional OGSE Industry Blueprint 2021-
ap, or NGR, as a key component of the 2030 to facilitate our OGSE’s adoption
overall National Energy Policy,” he said. of ESG principles and energy transition,”
he said.
Mustapa said on Monday the world is

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Petroliam ‘Petronas did not state governments in the form of dividends,
Nasional Bhd (Petronas) did not hide its hide financial cash payments and taxes,” he said.
financial performance and achievements
as alleged by some quarters, Minister in performance and He said Petronas is committed to main-
the Prime Minister’s Department (Econ- achievements’ taining a stable business and investment
omy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said. ecosystem that is conducive to the growth
Bernama and sustainability of the country’s oil and
He said Petronas had cultivated ac- gas industry.
countability as a company practice with tioned why Petronas’ financial performance
regular reporting of its progress and via the annual report was concealed. “This, in turn, enables the active in-
achievements, especially quarterly and volvement of the state governments in in-
annual financial performances, on a web- “Petronas’ effectiveness and capability vestment opportunities in the oil and gas
site that is accessible to the public even in developing the oil and gas sector over industry based on commercial terms and
though Petronas is not listed on the stock the years have contributed a lot to the de- technical feasibility,” he added.
exchange. velopment of the country,” Mustapa said. More Parliament stories:
Manufacturing projects worth
“Besides that, Petronas announces He said Petronas had upstream op- RM450.5b approved from 2016 to June
its financial performance through media erations in more than 20 countries and 2021, Dewan Rakyat told Click here
statements on a quarterly basis and also downstream operations in more than 90
briefings to the media on a semi-annual countries. Poverty eradication projects expected to
basis,” he said during a question-and-an- start in February 2022, says Mustapa
swer session in Parliament on Monday “As of 2020, a total of RM1.2 trillion Click here
(Nov 22). had been contributed to the federal and

Mustapa was replying to a question
from Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tan-
gau (Pakatan Harapan-Tuaran) who ques-

T u e s d a y n o v e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 10 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Petronas Petronas dle Eastern urea plants amid demand re-
Chemicals Group Bhd’s (PCG) net profit Chemicals sees covery as Covid-19 restrictions eased.
for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021
(3QFY21) jumped more than threefold 3Q net profit Although polymer prices were lower by
to RM1.96 billion from RM471 million a jump more about 5% compared to 2QFY21, urea and
year earlier, driven by higher petrochemical than threefold methanol prices grew strongly by about
product prices. to RM1.96b, 25% and 10% respectively.
declares 10 sen
In a bourse filing on Monday (Nov 22), “Through our operational and commer-
PCG said revenue for the quarter rose 67% dividend cial excellence, we performed well by op-
to RM5.8 billion from RM3.5 billion on the timising our production and sales against
back of higher crude oil prices,improved glob- by Surin Murugiah market movements,” he said.
al demand and a tight supply environment. theedgemarkets.com
On its outlook, Sazali said current mar-
It declared a special dividend of 10 sen “However, product prices remained ket conditions augur well for PCG.
per share, amounting to RM800 million, relatively high following Hurricane Ida
to be paid on Dec 30. in August that disrupted supply in North “We may see some reduction in demand
America and prolonged downtime in Mid- due to the resurgence of Covid-19 infections
For the cumulative nine months, PCG’s and China’s policy to reduce energy intensity
net profit surged to RM5.28 billion from and limit total energy consumption.
RM1.16 billion earlier, on the back of rev-
enue RM16.05 billion versus RM10.53 “Nonetheless, other offsetting factors
billion previously. such as the natural gas shortage in Eu-
rope and OPEC+ production decisions
In a separate statement, PCG managing may continue to support crude oil pric-
director and chief executive officer Datuk es and, in turn, the prices of our prod-
Sazali Hamzah said that the group initially ucts,” he said.
expected the market recovery to be mod-
erate from 3QFY21 onwards. At the midday break on Monday, PCG
was traded unchanged at RM8.31, valuing
it at RM66.48 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Petronas PetGas posts operating costs, mainly relating to inter-
Gas Bhd’s (PetGas) net profit for the third 3Q net profit nal gas consumption and utilities.
quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) of RM580.8m,
slipped 1.72% to RM580.84 million from declares 18 sen On a quarterly basis, PetGas saw its
RM591.01 million due to unfavourable net profit grow 32.29% from RM439.07
foreign exchange movement. dividend million, while revenue was up 3.17% from
RM1.38 billion for the immediate preced-
Quarterly revenue, however, rose by Shazni Ong ing quarter (2QFY21).
1.45% to RM1.43 billion from RM1.41 theedgemarkets.com
billion, mainly contributed by higher rev- For the cumulative nine-month period,
enue from its utilities and regasification million relating to translation of US dol- PetGas’ net profit rose 2% to RM1.54
segments in line with higher sales volumes lar-denominated assets and liabilities dur- billion from RM1.51 billion, whereas rev-
and a new revenue stream from liquefied ing the quarter in contrast to a gain of enue slipped 1.23% to RM4.15 billion
natural gas ancillary services respectively. RM94.3 million registered for the cor- from RM4.2 billion.
responding quarter of the previous year.
Earnings per share dipped to 29.35 sen On its prospects, PetGas said its per-
from 29.87 sen in line with the drop in This was despite PetGas seeing its formance in FY21 is expected to remain
profit, the gas infrastructure and central- gross profit higher by 7.7% or RM56.9 resilient despite the ongoing pandemic as
ised utilities company said in a filing with million with a higher contribution from the group’s business model and long-term
Bursa Malaysia on Monday (Nov 22). the regasification segment due to lower contracts ensure steady revenue streams,
particularly for the gas processing, gas
PetGas declared a third interim divi- transportation and regasification busi-
dend of 18 sen per share, payable on Dec ness segments.
20, bringing its total dividends so far to
50 sen for FY21. “The group’s gas transportation and
regasification business segments are an-
PetGas said the group recorded an un- ticipated to continue contributing posi-
realised foreign exchange loss of RM10.4 tively to the group’s earnings under Reg-
ulatory Period 1 tariffs.

“The group’s gas processing segment
is expected to remain stable on the back
of its strong and sustainable income
stream under the second term of the 20-
year gas processing agreement effective
from 2019 until 2023.

“The group’s utilities segment con-
tribution will be driven by customer de-
mand, underpinned by economic con-
ditions,” it said.

At 12.30pm, PetGas shares settled un-
changed at RM16.40, giving it a market
capitalisation of RM32.45 billion.

T U E S D A Y N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 11 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

OUT OF THE LABS,
INTO THE REAL LIFE
By Dzuleira Abu Bakar, Chief Executive Officer, Technology Park Malaysia

E xactly 111 years ago, Penang-born
epidemiologist Dr. Wu Lien-Teh
was tasked with identifying and
combating the deadly pneumonic plague
which broke out in China and killed over
60,000 people. To fight the disease, he
invented the precursor to what is known
today as the N95 mask. That this was a
Malaysian invention, has largely
remained under the radar, perhaps
because no one wanted to be reminded
of that deadly pandemic.

As Malaysia’s first Nobel prize nominee
in 1935, his work left an indelible mark
on how infectious diseases are controlled
and managed—for he also implemented
quarantines, progressive sterilisations
and more, ending the Manchurian
disease in under a year.

Today, humanity stands again at a In Malaysia, innovation is often Singapore. According to industry Malaysian innovation to commercialisa-
critical juncture. Advances in technology hampered by a number of things – a research, a 1% increase in Gross Domes- tion.
have enabled us to develop and receive culture that celebrates the tenets of tic Expenditure on Research and Devel- In short, MRANTI will be the glue that
vaccines faster than possible before, stay science, lack of funding access, a opment (GERD) – which is the total holds and strengthens the links between
informed and connect more seamlessly. fragmented ecosystem, limited resources expenditure allocated to R&D by a all the individual parts of our ecosystem,
As the lights dim in our physical spaces, (including skilled talent), policies that nation – can potentially increase a so that if you have an idea that could
we shift to the virtual to keep our bright have yet to catch up to potential, and country’s GDP by between two and change the world, you will know to seek
sparks going; encouraging the invention tedious bureaucracy. 10%. all your answers from MRANTI.
of innovative solutions to solve our While Malaysia wisely diversified from a Fortunately, the 12th Malaysia Plan Nowhere in the region do you have a
current problems. commodities-based economy, into (RMK12) has set the GERD to 2.5%, place as promising as Malaysia to be a
high-end manufacturing and services while also increasing the percentage of hub for innovation to take flight.
MRANTI will be the glue that that saw us thrive through the 70s and R&D expenditure for GERD by the According to KPMG, Asia holds a
holds and strengthens the links 80s, it has yet to ride the innova- private sector, from 44% to 70%. leading position in the world for innova-
between all the individual parts tion-driven growth wave necessary to In that regard, we want our R&D to shift tion, with more than 50 per cent of the
of our ecosystem, so that if you transition into a high-income economy. its focus from acquiring scientific knowl- top innovation hubs based in this region.
have an idea that could change For example, our research institutes and edge to application into real-world And among cities in the Asia-Pacific,
the world, you will know to seek higher education institutions produce scenarios. In simple words, our research Kuala Lumpur is ranked ninth as a
all your answers from MRANTI. amazing discoveries each year, churning needs to be geared toward solving real leading technology innovation hub.
We call this ‘ROI” – Return On Ideas out research papers and inventions in problems. Additionally, the Global Innovation
or Return On Innovation; a term to their laboratories and R&D facilities, but For this to take place, a ‘whole-of-econo- Index 2021 ranked Malaysia third after
describe the value gained from the their ideas don’t see the light of day for my’ approach is required. A study by China and Thailand for most innovative
commercialisation of an innovation or years or even decades. Harvard found that the innovation country in the upper middle-income
ideas. The term is inspired from the Fledgling startups, inventors and scien- capacity of a nation is largely determined group category, but it is our goal to be
conventional Return on Investment, tists enthused with new ideas, struggle to by the number of scientists and among the Top 20 Global Startup
which refers to gains made from labour make sense of the various funding and engineers in the country, the stock of Ecosystems and to be ranked on the
employed or capital deployed. In support mechanisms available to them in knowledge that the society has accrued, Global Innovation Index (GII). We want
innovation, ROI provides a razor-sharp fragmented chunks. They want to show- the public policy environment and the an ecosystem that can stand tall with the
focus for innovators, inventors and case how their proprietary inventions maturity of business clusters. As such, best in the world; an ecosystem with low
companies to work towards the can change our lives, but lack the knowl- the RMK12 has set a target to double reliance on government but is driven by
end-game: Creating tangible impact edge and resources to get from the our current ratio of 58 researchers to the private sector; has a steady pipeline
and worth from an idea, taking it whiteboard to the boardroom. every 10,000 in the labour force to 130 of domestic and international high
from seed to tree. It is outcome and According to data from the World Bank, per 10,000, by 2025. skilled tech-talent, promotes open flow
impact driven, and provides intentionali- there were 1,017 patent applications But more significantly, innovation of innovation and knowledge and
ty for innovators while welcoming from Malaysia in 2019. That was by no requires robust interaction between capable of producing Deep Tech
prospective investors. Achieving ROI in means the lowest in the world, but it was these individual parts, for the innovation solutions and leading-edge business
this case calls for the need for speed, nowhere close to the number of patent ecosystem really is only as strong as its models; and is able to commercialise
synergy and scalability. applications made in the same year in weakest link. Otherwise, many discover- them.
China (1.2 million applications), and ies remain just that: discoveries. To be frank, it is about time we capital-
GETTING FROM THE the United States (285,113 applica- ised on our potential. We need to do the
WHITEBOARD TO THE tions). Our numbers were also only a MRANTI: IN FAST necessary for the good of all Malaysians
BOARDROOM fraction of the patents filed in the East MOTION FROM IDEAS TO and for our shared prosperity, shifting
Asia and Pacific region (1,671,876 IMPACT away from our silos.
While our innovation ecosystem today applications). Despite our researchers The time is now to break our state of
brims with the potential of bright minds producing over 120,000 research publi- Enter the Malaysian Research Accelera- stasis, in order to orchestrate our recov-
and inventions, it is also fragmented and cations since 2013, with 39% of them tor for Technology and Innovation, ery from the pandemic, and usher
perhaps unconsolidated. To be absolute- being high-impact, we still ranked 70 out MRANTI. Malaysia into the future we all want to
ly candid, our ROI is far from where we of 131 in the ‘knowledge creation’ Formed through the consolidation of the see: a Malaysia unafraid to invent, to
want it to be, or more importantly, where sub-component of the Global Innova- Malaysian Global Innovation and experiment, and a nation that gives rise
we know it can be. tion Index 2020. Creativity Centre (MaGIC) and Tech- to game-changing innovations. In our
Malaysia currently spends 1% of its nology Park Malaysia (TPM), this new coming series, we will expound on the
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on agency will marry the hardware and strategy required to achieve these goals.
R&D; less than half of other frontier the software needed to accelerate
economies like Korea, Taiwan and

T u e s d a y n o v e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 12 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

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Ta Ann anticipates Ta Ann Holdings Bhd quarterly net profit and annual net profit
record FY21 as 3Q
profit surges 141% Quarterly net profit Annual net profit

y-o-y, declares (RM mil) 103.293 (RM mil) 218.405
20 sen dividend 120 250

by Syafiqah Salim 80 74.137 200
theedgemarkets.com 40 42.769 40.975
150 119.252
0 100 78.198 45.09

50 54.19

-40 -21.181 0
3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q FY FY FY FY 9MFY

FY2020 FY2021 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22):Ta Ann Hold- Source: Bursa Malaysia average selling price for plywood products.
ings Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter end- Moving forward,Ta Ann said the last quar-
ed Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) surged 141.51% It declared a second interim dividend of
year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM103.29 million from 20 sen per share, payable on Jan 24, 2022. ter of 2021 should see stability on CPO, FFB
RM42.77 million, amid higher average sell- The payout is double the 10 sen it declared and its export timber products on the back
ing prices of crude palm oil (CPO), fresh fruit in the corresponding period last year. This of a gradual opening up of major economies.
bunches (FFB) production and export logs. raised its year-to-date dividends declared to
30 sen, versus 10 sen a year ago. It said the easing of the government’s
Quarterly revenue expanded 37.77% to movement control policy starting mid-Oc-
RM486.86 million from RM353.37 million, Compared to the 2QFY21, Ta Ann’s tober is expected to help improve the group’s
the timber and oil palm player’s bourse fil- net profit climbed 39.33% from RM74.14 manpower in both estates and mill opera-
ing showed. The group also recognised a million, as revenue rose 6.92% from tions, which will potentially lead to growth
gain of RM26.09 million from the changes RM455.34 million. in FFB and CPO production.
in the fair value of the biological assets in
3QFY21, versus a gain of RM1.64 million For the nine months ended Sept 30 “Barring any unforeseen circumstances,
in 3QFY20, it said. (9MFY21), the group’s net profit soared the board of directors anticipates a record
230% to RM218.4 million from RM66.27 profit in terms of financial performance for
The group said it has been seeing favour- million in 9MFY20, as cumulative revenue the financial year 2021,” it added.
able commodities prices due to global short- jumped 50.09% to RM1.28 billion from
age of raw materials including food items, RM854.68 million.The better performance Ta Ann shares rose 1.9% or six sen to
mineral resources and computer chips cur- was contributed by higher achievement of close at RM3.21 apiece, giving it a market
rently, as a result of interruptions of supply FFB sales volume, coupled with the higher capitalisation of RM1.43 billion.
chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Malaysian Maybulk back in has seen freight rates hit a decade high and
Bulk Carriers Bhd (Maybulk) reported a the black in 3Q this has been exacerbated through stringent
net profit of RM113.58 million for the on higher charter Covid-19 protocols enforced at various ports,
third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021, com- particularly in China, creating supply chain
pared with a net loss of RM5.95 million rates, lower bottlenecks.
a year prior, on higher charter rates, and operating expenses
lower operating expenses from a smaller “Changes to trade patterns such as Chi-
fleet size and vessel disposal. by Seah Eu Hen nese coal sourcing have been accretive in
theedgemarkets.com tonne mile terms. All these factors are set
Quarterly revenue grew 37.55% to against a backdrop of historically low fleet
RM58.68 million, from RM42.66 million proceeds of RM269.94 million, which result- growth due to the poor dry bulk market in
previously, the group’s bourse filing showed. ed in a total gain on disposal of RM98.01 the last decade,” said Maybulk.
million.
For the first nine months of the year, the However, the group noted that dry bulk
group booked RM160.64 million in net prof- Charter rates for the group increased charter rates have softened notably since late
it, compared with a net loss of RM29.0 mil- 114% to US$17,225, from US$8,067 last October with China restricting steel output,
lion in the previous corresponding period, year, while hire days reduced by 36% to as well as imposing a cap on coal prices for
while revenue grew to RM158.92 million 1,928 days from 2,990 days due to smaller domestic suppliers. Ship sale and purchase
from RM133.99 million. fleet size. activities have also slowed down, as potential
buyers are holding back in anticipation of a
The turnaround was achieved by a On its prospects, the group said the global correction in asset prices.
non-recurring gain on disposal of property, economy has experienced a firm rebound
plant and equipment of RM98.01 million in 2021, and seaborne dry bulk trade is ex- The group expects freight rates to remain
and gain on de-recognition of a joint ven- pected to grow at 1.7% next year. volatile going into 2022, with global growth
ture of RM6.87 million, against a loss on likely to slow down from 2021 levels, despite
liquidation of subsidiaries of RM539,000 “This rebound in the dry bulk market the current port congestion and logistics in-
for the nine-month period. efficiencies.

Maybulk had completed the disposal of Shares of Maybulk traded half sen or
a handy-size vessel, M.V. Alam Sejahtera, 0.84% higher at 60 sen per share on Mon-
and two supramax-size vessels, M.V. Alam day (Nov 22), giving the group a market
Molek and M.V.Alam Madu, with total net capitalisation of RM600 million.

T U E S D A Y N O V E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 13 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

The
world’s ƈrst
digital bank

And how and why it came to pass

I n October 1994, Stanford Credit Union in the
US became the first institution globally to let its
customers access banking functions via the new
World Wide Web, according to Forbes.

On Oct 6, 1995, Presidential became the first US
bank to offer its bank accounts over the internet.

And only in 1997 did the bank begin to offer online account

statements and real time PC banking, such as fund transfers

between accounts in the bank.

In June 1995, in Malaysia, Phileo Allied Bank launched

PalDirect, an online banking and stock trading platform, after

18 months of research and development. Transaction value

exceeded RM200 million within a month, with exponential

growth onwards.

On Aug 8, 1996, Phileo launched PALWORLD, an e-commerce

and payment platform via Windows that allowed online

shopping, airline ticketing and so on. (Note, Alibaba was founded

on April 4, 1999, and Amazon went into online bookselling in July

1995).

In September 1996, ONE Account was created by Phileo,

which combined all the deposits, loans and trading accounts of

its customers into one, and was enabled online.

While Alibaba and Amazon grew into global giants, Phileo

was forcefully taken over under the guise of consolidating the

banking sector and died prematurely. The moral of the story is

that property rights, governance and rule of law are extremely

important. This book, published in 2003, gives some insight into

the above … and some stories yet to be told.

November 2021

The book was published in 2003.

Limited print copies in English available on
books.theedgemarkets.com and Shopee.
Hard cover: RM70 | Soft cover: RM45
* FREE delivery within Malaysia for purchases via
books.theedgemarkets.com

OR

download the digital editions absolutely FREE.
* Available in English, Bahasa Melayu & Chinese.

Scan the QR code now for more information.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Guan Guan Chong in industrial chocolate in Europe.
Chong Bhd’s net profit fell 26.35% to 3Q net profit “Hence, we believe the decision to ex-
RM34.46 million for the third quarter end- falls on higher
ed Sept 30, 2021, from RM46.78 million freight costs, to pand Schokinag’s capacity is necessary to
a year earlier, on higher freight costs and invest RM50m in support the team in their growth ambition,
competitive margins committed last year. German plant and we will continue to evaluate other ex-
pansion options where needed to capture
The group said quarterly revenue grew by seah Eu hen the ongoing opportunities,”Tay said.
18.6% to RM988.1 million from RM841.6 theedgemarkets.com
million, on the back of contributions from On the group’s prospects, Guan Chong
the group’s newly acquired Schokinag vious corresponding period. said cocoa consumption is showing signs of
Holding GmbH, and an increase in over- Schokinag’s growth outpaced the en- improvement in the European and Ameri-
all sales tonnage, the group said in a state- can markets and the industry is positive on
ment on Monday. tire group for the same period as Guan the demand despite the higher vaccination
Chong’s revenue expanded at a meagre rates in some countries, the effectiveness
Guan Chong declared a second interim 6.5% to RM2.83 billion, from RM2.66 of vaccines against the new Covid-19 var-
dividend of one sen per share, to be paid billion a year earlier. iants still remains uncertain.
on Jan 20.This brings total dividend pay-
out so far in the current year to two sen Nine-month net profit, meanwhile, The group added that container short-
or RM20.8 million in total. fell 40.46% to RM104.74 million from age will persist throughout the whole of
RM175.92 million previously. next year but expects it to slightly ease off
Guan Chong said it plans to invest after the second quarter of 2022 and im-
RM50 million in capital expenditure in “We finally made our long-overdue vis- prove more in the second half next year.
the next two years for Schokinag, after a it to Schokinag in October, and we were
recent visit by the management to the Ger- happy to physically meet the team to dis- The high freight costs will likely reduce
man plant. cuss operation optimisations and growth the price competitiveness of its products
strategies,” said Guan Chong managing coming from Asia, as compared to prod-
The visit is the first after the group had director and CEO BrandonTay Hoe Lian. ucts from European and American mar-
completed a RM138 million takeover in kets, the group said.
January 2020, due to delays caused by the “The better performance in
Covid-19 pandemic. Schokinag, even without new capacity Tay said the group is seeing signs of
put in, is not only a good indication of demand for cocoa products and ingre-
The RM50 million investment, Guan economic recovery in the European re- dients recovering in tandem with econ-
Chong said, will fund capacity expansion gion, but also a reflection of our Ger- omies reopening and higher vaccination
of the plant in anticipation of the recov- man team in growing our market share rates worldwide.
ery in Europe as borders open up in the
continent. “The commencement of the Ivory
Coast factory mid-2022 will also be time-
The group said growing revenue con- ly to capture the growing demand trend,”
tribution from Schokinag necessitated he added.
the expansion. For the nine months end-
ed Sept 30, Schokinag recorded an in- Guan Chong shares slipped 14 sen or
crease in revenue of 21% to RM689.2 4.83% to close at RM2.76, giving the com-
million from RM570 million in the pre- pany a market capitalisation of RM2.91
billion.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Hit by the Hong Leong markets semiconductor devices and elec-
Movement Control Order (MCO), Hong Industries 1Q net tronic components.
Leong Industries Bhd saw its net profit
plunge 98.69% to RM662,000 for the first profit plunges The group’s share price closed un-
quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (1QFY22), 99% due to MCO, changed at RM9 on Monday, valuing the
from RM50.72 million a year earlier. group at RM2.95 billion.The counter has
declares 17 sen fallen 12.79% from its high of RM10.32
Earnings per share plummeted to 0.21 dividend on June 9.
sen from 16.14 sen, according to the More corporate results:
group’s bourse filing. by syafiqah salim BP Plastics 3Q profit grows 30.5%,
theedgemarkets.com plans three sen special, interim
Quarterly revenue dropped 57.56% to dividends Click here
RM276.99 million, from RM652.66 mil- said the group, adding that its performance Hextar Global’s 3Q net profit falls
lion in the same period last year. for the full financial year ending June 30, 42% to RM7.21m on global supply
2022 is expected to be satisfactory. chain disruption Click here
Hong Leong Industries said the sharp Lay Hong incurs losses in 2Q on
fall in earnings was due to the curtail- Hong Leong Industries declared an in- lower production of processed poultry
ment of the group’s production for two terim dividend of 17 sen per share, to be products and higher raw material
months that led to lower sales across paid on Dec 21. costs Click here
product segments.
Hong Leong Industries manufactures
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the net ceramic tiles, assembles motorcycles, and
profit also dived 98.34% from RM39.84
million in the immediate preceding quar-
ter, as revenue declined 40.28% from
RM463.8 million, partly due to a share
of loss in associated companies.

“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to
be the greatest uncertainty to be managed,”

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22):After report- CGS-CIMB cuts the back of a 96% rise in revenue to RM4.1
ing strong growth in its latest quarterly results, Pharmaniaga’s billion against RM2.09 billion previously.
Pharmaniaga Bhd’s earnings for the fourth TP, says 4QFY21
quarter ending Dec 31, 2021 (4QFY21) “The results substantially beat our ex-
are expected to taper off quarter-on-quarter earnings to pectation, with 9M21 core EPS [earnings
(q-o-q), after it has finished supplying the taper off q-o-q per share] already exceeding our FY21F
Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to the Ministry forecast by 56% (45% above Bloomberg
of Health (MoH) in 3QFY21, while being by syafiqah salim consensus), on better-than-expected sales
affected by seasonally weaker concession or- theedgemarkets.com contribution/margin from the supply of
ders, said CGS-CIMB Research. filled-and-finished Sinovac Covid-19 vac-
cine doses and lower-than-expected inter-
However, the fall in earnings may be est cost,” said CGS-CIMB analysts.
partly cushioned by the supply of Sinovac
Covid-19 booster doses to selected local However, CGS-CIMB has trimmed its
private hospitals or clinics soon, after con- target price for the stock to RM1 (from
ditional approval was granted by the Drug RM1.06 previously), while reiterating its
Control Authority on Nov 17, as well as “add” rating, on expectations of a decline
export of the filled-and-finished Sinovac in Pharmaniaga’s earnings in the upcom-
Covid-19 vaccine to Myanmar and poten- ing financial years.
tially other markets, according to CGS-
CIMB analysts Sherman Lam Hsien Jin Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB)
and Syazwan Aiman Sobri in a note on Research, which has maintained its “buy”
Monday (Nov 22). call on Pharmaniaga, has also cut its TP
for the stock to RM1.04 from RM1.13.
Pharmaniaga’s net profit for 3QFY21
surged by 35 times to RM49.84 million “We lower our PE [price-earnings] mul-
from RM1.44 million a year earlier, as rev- tiple on Pharmaniaga to 18.5x (at +1SD
enue skyrocketed to RM2.12 billion from above five-year mean) tagged to FY22
RM624.8 million a year ago, driven by EPS, from 21.5x previously as we believe
growth across its concession, non-conces- that the supply of booster shots is unlikely
sion and Indonesian businesses. to garner the same amount of doses re-
quired as compared to the previous mass
For the cumulative nine-month period vaccination programme,” said its analyst
(9MFY21), the pharmaceutical group’s net Sophie Chua Siu Li.
profit rose 156.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Click here to read the full story
RM86.68 million from RM33.82 million on

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Kenanga Kenanga upgrades provements in cost-to-income ratio read-
Research has upgraded Affin Bank Bhd to Affin Bank to ings,” said Chua.
“market perform” (from “underperform”),
with a higher target price of RM1.55 ver- ‘market perform’ Affin Bank’s net profit for 3QFY21
sus RM1.40 previously, as the group’s lat- after 3Q results jumped more than twofold to RM133.2
est financial results for the quarter ended beat expectations million from RM48.72 million for the cor-
Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) beat the research responding quarter a year ago amid an
house’s expectations. by syafiqah salim improved business performance and low-
theedgemarkets.com er operating expenses and allowances for
“Post results, we raise our FY21E/ impairment losses.
FY22E earnings (estimates) by 29%/17%. Kenanga said this will leverage en-
We improve our loan growth assump- hanced channels to boost Affin’s wealth For the nine months ended Sept 30,
tions from 6%/2% to 9%/4%, lower [our] management businesses with better in- 2021, the bank’s net profit rose 33.5% to
credit cost assumption for FY21E from surance contributions from the Generali RM320.09 million from RM239.69 mil-
59bps (basis points) to 52bps and im- venture, which is going to be completed by lion as revenue climbed 1.8% to RM1.67
prove [our expectations for its] associate the first half ending June 30, 2022. billion from RM1.64 billion.
performances.“That said, our assump-
tions for FY22 still lag behind manage- “Improving demand for loans from the On top of Kenanga’s earnings revi-
ment’s PBT (profit before tax) target as ongoing economic reopening will also help. sion, the research house also increased
we are still wary of the strength of NOIIs Meanwhile, management hopes to keep its Gordon Growth Model (GGM)-de-
(non-interest incomes) going forward as NIMs (net interest margins) manageable rived price-to-book value for Affin’s stock
trading sentiment remains tepid, which by capturing a larger retail share with the to 0.32 times from 0.29 times previously.
could affect the take-up of wealth man- help of digital platforms.
agement products,” said Kenanga Re- Chua said sentiment on the stock will
search analyst Clement Chua in a note “Amid enlarged income streams, man- improve progressively if it is able to deliver
to clients on Monday (Nov 22) agement hopes that efforts to keep costs in accordance with the targets of the bank’s
stable would translate into significant im- management towards FY22.
From Kenanga’s previous engagement
with the bank’s management, several am- “That said, the group ROE (return on
bitious targets have been set for FY22, equity) is relatively moderate among its
specifically a PBT of more than RM1 banking peers,” the analyst added.
billion.
At the time of writing on Monday,
shares in Affin Bank were unchanged at
RM1.68.This valued the bank with a mar-
ket capitalisation of RM3.57 billion.

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news In brief

PM launches Keluarga Malaysia Pestech wins Philippine substation contract worth RM157m
Pass, encourages public to use
public transport KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Pestech International Bhd said its unit has secured a contract from
the National Grid Corp of the Philippines (NGCP) to upgrade the South Luzon substations
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): The introduction worth around RM156.91 million. The contract, secured from NGCP, comprises an offshore
of the Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) portion worth US$23.46 million (RM98.18 million), while the onshore portion is valued at
Pass by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd is hoped 710.76 million pesos (RM58.72 million). “The project aims to cater [to] the load growth and
to encourage the public to use public provide N-1 contingency to various substations for NGCP in the South Luzon Region. This
transport for leisure or to visit the various involves capacity additions, replacement of old and obsolete substation equipment and
tourist attractions in the Klang Valley. Prime reconfiguration of the existing substations to ensure reliability and flexibility of the electrical
Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob network for achieving sustainable growth of NGCP’s power network,” Pestech said. It expects
said at a price of only RM15, the travel pass the project to contribute to its financial years ending June 30, 2022 to 2023. — by Adam Aziz
enables four people in a group to enjoy
one-day unlimited rides on Prasarana- Top Glove included in Dow Jones Govt-backed DanaInfra to issue
owned bus and train services on Saturday, Sustainability Indices for third RM1.145b worth of Islamic bonds
Sunday or any public holiday at a price of consecutive year
RM15. The services include the Light Rail KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Top Glove KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): DanaInfra
Transit (LRT), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), the Corp Bhd has been named to the Dow Nasional Bhd, which has been mandated
Monorail and the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) under by the Malaysian government to raise
“This means that each person in the group the emerging markets category for the money to finance the country’s Mass Rapid
of four will only have to pay RM3.75 to use third consecutive year. In a statement, the Transit (MRT) and Pan Borneo Highway
rail and bus services operated by Rapid KL glove maker said it ranked among the top Sarawak projects, will issue a combined
all day long,” he said when launching the 10% globally in the healthcare equipment RM1.145 billion worth of Islamic bonds
travel pass on Monday. He also announced and supplies category in the S&P Global or sukuk across four tranches of Islamic
the Transit Package for Small and Medium Corporate Sustainability Assessment as at medium-term notes (IMTNs) on Thursday
Enterprise (SME) Owners, which will be the score date of Nov 12, an improvement (Nov 25) under DanaInfra’s existing RM71
implemented by Prasarana subsidiary from last year when it stood among the billion Islamic commercial papers (ICP)
Prasarana Integrated Development Sdn Bhd top 19% of its peers. Top Glove said it and IMTN programme. According to the
(PRIDE) from March next year, which will joined two other Malaysian companies Bond and Sukuk Information Exchange
allow SME owners to conduct business at — Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd and (BIX) website, DanaInfra’s four tranches
eight LRT stations along the Kelana Jaya LRT MISC Bhd — in the 2021 index. It is the of IMTNs, which have tenures of seven
Line. The stations are in Subang Alam, Alam only Malaysian healthcare manufacturing to 29 years, will pay annual profit rates of
Sutera, Putra Heights, Puchong Industrial company and one of three healthcare between 3.68% and 4.57%. The proposed
Park, Awan Besar, IOI Puchong Jaya, Plaza industry companies to be included in this four tranches of IMTNs comprise the
Rakyat and SS18. “Under the package, 20 year’s DJSI under the emerging markets seven-year RM100 million IMTN which
retail spaces, each measuring 80 to 400 sq category. The DJSI is operated by rating pays an annual profit rate of 3.68%, the
ft, will be offered to SME owners through agency S&P Global which evaluates 14-year RM615 million IMTN which
lot drawing,” he said, adding successful companies around the world in terms of offers an annual profit rate of 4.23%, the
applicants will also enjoy a special rental environmental, social and governance 20-year RM195 million scheme which
structure for a year, including a three- (ESG) criteria. — by Seah Eu Hen pays an annual profit rate of 4.48% and
month rental exemption. The details will be the 29-year RM235 million scheme which
announced by PRIDE soon. — Bernama Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge offers an annual profit rate of 4.57%,
according to BIX. The seven-year RM100
BNM international reserves at rose 29.03% to US$4 billion from US$3.1 million IMTN will mature on Nov 24,
US$116.5b as at Nov 15 billion. The central bank reported that the 2028, while the 14-year RM615 million
International Monetary Fund reserves IMTN will mature on Nov 23, 2035, BIX
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Bank Negara position, Special Drawing Rights, and gold indicated. Meanwhile, the 20-year RM195
Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves remained unchanged from Oct 29 at US$1.4 million scheme will mature on Nov 25,
rose to US$116.5 billion as at Nov 15, up billion, US$6.1 billion, and US$2.2 billion, 2041, while the 29-year RM235 million
0.34% from US$116.1 billion reported on respectively. BNM’s assets totalled RM543.5 scheme will mature on Nov 25, 2050,
Oct 29. In a statement, the central bank billion as at Nov 15. — by Seah Eu Hen according to BIX. All four IMTN schemes
said the reserves position is sufficient to to be issued by DanaInfra are “[Malaysian]
finance 8.1 months of retained imports government-guaranteed”, BIX said.
and is 1.2 times total short-term external — by Syafiqah Salim
debt. Among the five main components of
the international reserves, only the foreign
currency reserves and other reserve
assets saw changes since the last report
by the central bank on Oct 29. Foreign
currency reserves declined by 0.48% to
US$102.8 billion from US$103.3 billion
previously, while other reserve assets

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): A new New judge to The suit is part of six suits seeking over
judge will be appointed to preside over the be appointed in US$23 billion filed by 1MDB on May 7
US$1.83 billion civil suit filed by 1Malaysia 1MDB’s US$1.83b against various individuals and companies
Development Bhd (1MDB) against Sau- that it alleged were involved in the siphon-
di national Tarek Obaid — who runs Pet- suit against ing of funds from the investment fund in
roSaudi International Ltd and PetroSaudi PetroSaudi, a financial scandal that spanned several
Holdings (Cayman) Ltd — and three foreign Tarek Obaid countries. In addition, its former subsidi-
banks, among others, as the current judge ary SRC International Sdn Bhd had filed
has been moved to a different High Court. by Timothy Achariam another 16 suits against various individuals,
theedgemarkets.com former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib
In case management on Monday, judi- Razak and other office-bearers.
cial commissioner Quay Chew Soon re- an issue with him hearing the case.
vealed to lawyers representing the plaintiff 1MDB is suing Deutsche Bank, two 1MDB obtained a court order from Quay
and defendants that he has been trans- to serve the court documents out of jurisdic-
ferred to the Penang High Court by the Swiss banks — Coutts & Co Ltd in Zu- tion on Coutts, JPMorgan,Tarek, Mahony,
Chief Judge of Malaya Federal Court and rich and JP Morgan Ltd in Geneva — PetroSaudi International and PetroSaudi
will not be hearing the case. the two PetroSaudi firms, Tarek, as well Holdings, as they are based overseas.
as his right-hand man Patrick Maho- Read also:
Kuala Lumpur High Court senior as- ny, for negligence, breach of contract, 1MDB asset forfeiture: High Court fixes
sistant registrar Syeela Marlina Uttaman breach of fiduciary duties, conspiracy May 23-27, 2022 to hear case over items
then set Feb 8, 2022 for case management. and dishonest assistance. The suit fol- seized from Najib, two others at Pavilion
lows the fraudulent transfer of at least Residences Click here
During the last case management on Oct US$1.83 billion from 1MDB to Pet- Court of Appeal fixes March 16 for both
18, Quay had disclosed to the parties that he roSaudi and Tarek on the pretext that Najib’s appeals in relation to Goldman
had worked with Messrs Skrine before his ap- 1MDB was purchasing equity stakes in Sachs and Zeti Click here
pointment as judicial commissioner in 2019. energy projects that PetroSaudi Interna- Zahid’s trial postponed toWednesday as
tional had allegedly secured in its ven- his lawyer suffers gout flare-up Click here
It should be noted that Skrine had ren- ture overseas. However, these projects Global Royalty to re-file suit against
dered advice to Deutsche Bank, which is one did not exist. Rosmah over jewellery worth US$14.57m
of the defendants in the case, in relation to Click here
1MDB transactions involving Coutts & Co
Ltd in Zurich and JP Morgan Ltd in Geneva.

Quay then said he, however, was not privy
to the advice Skrine gave Deutsche Bank.

The lawyers were supposed to delib-
erate on this and state if there were any
issues in him hearing the case, and they
stated for the record that they did not have

PUTRAJAYA (Nov 22): A former Melaka Ex-Melaka PWD He (Khalid) lost his appeal which was up-
PublicWorks Department (PWD) director director jailed held by the High Court on Feb 11, last year.
was sent to jail for 15 months and ordered
to pay a fine of RM5 million, after he lost 15 months, fined Khalid, who was on RM350,000 bail
his final appeal against his conviction on RM5 mil for graft, pending his final appeal in the Court of
13 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering Appeal, will have to serve his jail sentence
money laundering. starting Monday (Nov 22).
Bernama
A three-member Court of Appeal bench On the corruption charges under Section
led by Justice Datuk Hanipah Farikullah 15 months jail sentences and RM31 million 165 of the Penal Code, Khalid was charged
dismissed Datuk Khalid Omar’s final ap- fine on four other money laundering charges. with receiving RM196,200 in bribes at the
peal against his 15 months jail sentence Melaka PWD office at Jalan Taming Sari
for the 13 corruption charges. Khalid, 61, was appealing against his 15 between March 2014 and August 2016.
months jail term and RM36 million fine
She said Khalid’s conviction was safe as the meted out on him by the Melaka Sessions Khalid was also charged for money laun-
court agreed with the Sessions Court judge’s Court in July 2018, after finding him guilty dering involving over RM5.2 million, in the
decision,which was upheld by the High Court, on 13 counts of corruption and five counts form of RM206,396.16 in the Amanah Sa-
that the defence had failed to raise a doubt of money laundering. ham Bumiputera 2 account; RM506,735.92
that the monies received from sub-contrac- inTabung Haji account; RM1,984,798.08
tors were used for the department’s social and The Sessions Court had sentenced him in an Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 ac-
sports activities as claimed by Khalid. to 15 months’ jail for each of the 13 counts count and over RM2.13 million in an
of corruption, and 15 months’ jail and Amanah Saham Didik account.
In the court’s unanimous decision, RM36 million fine, in default five months’
she also affirmed Khalid’s conviction on jail for each of the five counts of money The offences were committed at several lo-
one money laundering charge involving laundering, and ordered the sentences to cations in the state, between Sept 1, 2015 and
RM375,000 in cash, which he committed run concurrently. Aug 15, 2016 and the charges were framed
in a house in Taman Merdeka Jaya, Batu under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money
Berendam, Melaka on Aug 15, 2016. Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and
Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
Justice Hanipah who sat with Justices Da-
tuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Datuk Che He was represented by a team of law-
Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, however, allowed yers led by Ragunath Kesavan, while the
Khalid’s appeal to set aside his conviction, prosecution team was led by deputy public
prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Leaders Saifuddin confirms reuters
of China and Southeast Asian countries Myanmar’s
met on Monday without a representative Datuk Seri Saifuddin
of Myanmar, with the military-ruled nation no-show at China- Abdullah
skipping another international summit af- ASEAN summit
ter its neighbours excluded its junta chief. Saifuddin said ASEAN members were
by liz lee “still very hopeful” a visit to Myanmar by
Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reuters a special ASEAN envoy would materialise.
Saifuddin Abdullah confirmed information
provided by several sources that a diplo- but made no specific reference to the absence. He added that ASEAN was “appre-
mat expected to represent Myanmar at the China had lobbied ASEAN for Min ciative of China’s role” on the Myan-
virtual meeting did not show up. mar issue.
Aung Hlaing to be allowed to attend, but
Myanmar boycotted summits hosted by the that met stiff opposition. “That shows in many ways how ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASE- and China respect each other’s position
AN) last month, rejecting ASEAN’s insistence The no-show could be a blow to Chi- and were willing to come to some kind of
that it be represented by a non-political figure. na, a key source of trade and investment understanding,” he said.
in Myanmar and one of its few diplomat- Read also:
ASEAN made the unprecedented call ic allies during its decades of sanctions Xi tells Southeast Asian leaders China
to exclude military chief Min Aung Hlaing and international isolation. does not seek ‘hegemony’ Click here
over his failure to take agreed steps to solve or turn to Page 23
a deadly crisis triggered by the Feb 1 coup Claims in South China Sea will not
he led against an elected government. hinder ASEAN-China relations, says
Saifuddin Click here
Saifuddin said that as of Sunday, ASE-
AN countries excluding Myanmar had
agreed with China that Myanmar’s am-
bassador to Beijing would join the meet-
ing, hosted by China President Xi Jinping.

“There was an empty chair on Myanmar’s
side, but at least there was some kind of con-
sensus as to who will represent Myanmar,” he
told a briefing, adding that by Monday, My-
anmar had not given word of its attendance.

“At least there was a name.”
Myanmar’s junta had no immediate
comment and a spokesman could not im-
mediately be reached. Other ASEAN coun-
tries had no immediate official comments.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong posted a screenshot of the meeting
with all countries present except Myanmar,

GEORGE TOWN (Nov 22): Former Pulau Jerejak Judge Tun Abd Majid then recorded
Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s issue:Teng the consent judgment.
defamation suit against the state’s former
Barisan Nasional chairman Teng Chang apologises to When met outside the court, Mureli
Yeow over an article on Pulau Jerejak has informed that Teng as the defendant had
been resolved, afterTeng apologised to Lim agreed to pay RM75,000 in costs (for the
in the High Court here on Monday. legal fees of the High Court and Appeal
Court) to Lim as the plaintiff.
Guan Eng, settlesTeng read out his statement of apology
before High Court Judge Datuk Seri Tun In April 2017, Lim filed a suit naming
Teng, who is also former Penang Gerakan
defamation suitAbd MajidTun Hamzah. chairman, Star Media Group Bhd news
“I hereby unconditionally and un- editor David Tan and journalist Crystal
reservedly apologise to Lim Guan Chiam Shiying, as the defendants.
Eng and retract the impugned
Bernama In his statement of claim, Lim claimed
that Teng had given the permission and/
statements that I made in the or caused the defamatory and false state-
press conference on Nov 15, above,” he said. ments to be written and published in the
2016, which were then published Case management had been set newspaper and its website through the oth-
in The Star, The Star Online, Ming for Monday, however, both parties er defendants.
Daily and Sin Chew Daily on Nov agreed to settle it through a con-
16, 2016. sent judgement. He claimed that the defendants had ma-
“I regret the hard- Lim, who was repre- liciously published a defamatory and false
ship and difficul- sented by counsel Da- statement in an article titled “Pulau Jere-
ties caused to tuk N Mureli, attended jak land sale questioned” dated Nov 16,
Lim Guan Eng the proceedings while 2016, which referred to the plaintiff (Lim).
due to the pub- lawyer Kek BoonWei
lication of the Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge represented Tek. Lim’s legal action against the other de-
fendants had been settled previously.

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MOE to issue
new timetable
for SPM 2021
examination,
says Radzi Jidin

Bernama Sulaiman reports Sulaiman, 55, was greeted by state sec-
for duty as retary Datuk Kamel Mohamad and staff
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22):The Edu- of the state administrative office when he
cation Ministry (MOE) is to issue a new Melaka’s 13th arrived in his official vehicle at 8.25am.
Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2021 chief minister
schedule soon, says Senior Education He then clocked in at the office entrance
Minister Datuk Dr. Radzi Jidin. Bernama at 8.30am before attending a brief cere-
mony and a photo session with state de-
Speaking via a video recording upload- MELAKA (Nov 22): Datuk Seri Sulaiman partment heads. This is the second time
ed on his Facebook account, Dr. Radzi Md Ali began his official duties as the 13th Sulaiman has been appointed the chief
said his ministry had received a lot of feed- chief minister of Melaka from his office at minister after having been sworn in the
back from parents and SPM 2021 candi- Kompleks Seri Negeri, Ayer Keroh here first time in March last year.
dates regarding the 2021 SPM schedule on Monday morning (Nov 22).
which was released by the ministry. The Lendu state assemblyman took his
oath of office as the 13th Melaka chief
“We (the MOE) take into account minister at Dewan Seri Utama of the gov-
all views expressed and I have had a ernor’s office here early on Sunday after
discussion with the Examination Board Barisan Nasional won the Melaka state
and the ministry’s senior management election on Saturday.
to look into all viewpoints and state-
ments made and take the necessary ac- Melaka state Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge
tion to analyse each view. election: Guan Eng
congratulates BN, Guan Eng: Although we are disappointed,
“God willing, we at the MOE will we must not give up and continue our fight
issue a new schedule regarding SPM admits Pakatan because political struggle is not temporary but a
2021 in the near future.Thank you,” he Harapan’s
said in the recording that lasted slightly weaknesses continuous endeavour.
more than a minute.
Bernama
The video that was also shared in the
ministry’s official Facebook account re- GEORGE TOWN (Nov 22): DAP secre- “Although we are disappointed, we must
ceived positive comments from netizens tary-general Lim Guan Eng on Monday not give up and continue our fight because
who expressed thanks and gratitude. (Nov 22) congratulated Barisan Nasional political struggle is not temporary but a con-
(BN) on its victory in the recent Melaka tinuous endeavour,” he told reporters outside
Radzi also expressed his appreciation state election and admitted that there were the High Court here on Monday.
to parents and 2021 SPM candidates weaknesses in the Pakatan Harapan (PH)
for their views regarding the 2021 SPM election machinery. Guan Eng was attending the proceed-
examination timetable which was an- ings of his defamation suit against former
nounced before this. He said the absence of face-to-face cam- Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow
paigns was one of the factors which ad- concerning an article on Pulau Jerejak.
On Nov 17, the MOE issued a state- versely affected the effort to woo Melaka
ment announcing that the examination voters and the weaknesses in the election In the Melaka state election on Satur-
timetable for SPM, Sijil Tinggi Agama machinery must be rectified, especially in day, BN captured 21 of the 28 seats con-
Malaysia (STAM) and the Ujian Penca- terms of social media campaigning. tested, while PH won five seats and Peri-
paian Bahasa Antarabangsa (UPBA) for katan Nasional took two seats.
2021 is ready and can be downloaded “We need to intensify and strengthen
from the Examination Board official web- social media campaigns. In fact, we cannot The election was held with strict stand-
site at http://lp.moe.gov.my/ beginning win elections by relying on social media ard operating procedures which prohibited
from the date the statement was issued. alone. We need to see the voters face-to- candidates from organising physical cam-
face and interact with them. paigns with the voters in their respective
The announcement of the schedule re- constituencies.
ceived mixed reactions from parents and
students. The media also reported that
there were parties who requested that the
SPM 2021 schedule which will take place
on March 3 to 20, 2022 be reviewed, es-
pecially for examination papers held on
Friday and Sunday.

This is because Friday is the day Mus-
lims perform Friday prayers,while Sunday
is the day Christians attend mass.

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world

(Nov 22): President Joe Biden selected Biden keeps worst downturn in modern American his-
Jerome Powell for a second four-year Powell as Fed tory and put us on the path to recovery.”
term as Federal Reserve chair while el- chief, elevates
evating Governor Lael Brainard to vice- Brainard to Biden added, “I’m confident that Chair
chair, keeping consistency at the US cen- Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping
tral bank as the nation grapples with the vice chair inflation low, prices stable, and delivering
fastest inflation in decades and the lin- full employment will make our economy
gering effects of Covid-19. by Cr aig Torres & Nancy Cook stronger than ever before.”
Bloomberg
The move, announced by the White He also singled out what he called their
House on Monday, rewards Powell for Federal chairman Jerome Powell “deep belief that urgent action is needed
helping rescue the US economy from the to address the economic risks posed by cli-
pandemic and tasks him with protecting amid the challenges of persistent inflation. mate change, and stay ahead of emerging
that recovery from a surge in consumer Biden, in a written statement, called risks in our financial system.”
prices. A Republican, Powell faces what
will likely be a smooth confirmation in the economic recovery so far a “testament Brainard and Powell have similar views
the Senate, where he was backed for his to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and on monetary policy, but differ over bank
first term as chair in an 84-13 vote and to the decisive action that the Federal Re- regulation with Brainard opposing at near-
whose members he subsequently worked serve has taken under Chair Powell and ly every step Powell’s modest rollbacks of
hard to woo. Dr. Brainard to help steer us through the some of the tough curbs imposed on banks
after the financial crisis.
Brainard would replace Richard Clar-
ida in the vice-chair slot and may face Brainard, 59, was appointed a Fed
opposition from Senate Republicans for governor in 2014 by President Barack
her confirmation. She was interviewed Obama. In 2020, Biden considered pick-
by Biden for the chair position and was ing her as Treasury Secretary, before he
seen as a strong contender for the sep- picked Janet Yellen.
arate job of vice chair for supervision,
which remains vacant. A graduate of Harvard University,
Brainard served in Bill Clinton’s White
Biden plans to announce that nomina- House as deputy national economic ad-
tion along with additional picks for open viser. In 2009, under Obama, she joined
seats on the Board of Governors beginning the Treasury and became undersecretary
in early December, theWhite House said. for international affairs in 2010.

Powell, 68, has enjoyed bipartisan sup- Powell’s second term is going to be very
port, including fromTreasury Secretary Ja- different from his first. While the econo-
netYellen and other Democrats, although my is rebounding, inflation is running at
progressive Democrats such as Massachu- a three-decade high, Covid-19 cases re-
setts Senator Elizabeth Warren lobbied main elevated and strained supply chains
Biden to choose someone more aligned present big uncertainties.
with them on overseeing banks and bat-
tling climate change. Powell also had to Some officials are already suggesting
answer for an ethics scandal after trading the Fed may need to pull back its massive
revelations by some senior Fed officials. asset-purchase program faster than now
planned and Powell will also be presiding
Biden’s choice of Powell will also likely over a committee with a number of mem-
win approval from investors by ensuring bers who likely want to raise interest rates
continuity at the central bank as it begins sooner than he does.
withdrawing ultra-easy monetary policy
Powell said this month he won’t con-
sider hiking rates until the labor market
shows greater signs of healing.

BENGALURU (Nov 22): Athenahealth Hellman & tion and medical imaging.
will be bought by private equity firms Friedman, Bain Privately held Athenahealth offers a
Hellman & Friedman LLC and Bain Capital to buy
Capital for US$17 billion, the latest sign Athenahealth for software that can be used to organize
of rising interest in companies driving patient visits, document patients’ clinical
the healthcare sector’s shift to the cloud. US$17 billion records and track and collect payments.

Demand for artificial intelligence by Amruta Khandekar Its purchase, announced on Monday,
and cloud-based solutions that increase Reuters is expected to close in the first quarter
productivity and protect patient data of 2022.
have boomed during the COVID-19
pandemic. Evergreen, hedge fund Elliott’s pri-
vate equity arm, and investment firm
Microsoft Corp earlier this year Veritas had taken Athenahealth private
struck a US$16 billion deal to buy Nu- in 2019 in a US$5.7 billion deal.
ance Communications Inc, a provider
of intelligent solutions such as clinical The company was then merged with
speech recognition, medical transcrip- Virence Health, a healthcare software
provider that Veritas had previously ac-
quired from General Electric Co.

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world

BEIJING (Nov 22): Chinese President Xi Xi tells Southeast had “cast off the gloom of the ColdWar” —
Jinping told leaders of the 10-country Asso- Asian leaders when the region was wracked by superpower
ciation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) China does not competition and conflicts such as theVietnam
at a summit on Monday that Beijing would War — and had jointly maintained regional
not “bully” its smaller regional neighbours, seek ‘hegemony’ stability.
amid rising tension over the South China Sea.
by Gabriel Crossley, Rozanna Latiff China frequently criticises the United
Beijing’s territorial claims over the sea & Martin Petty States for “ColdWar thinking” whenWash-
clash with those of several Southeast Asian Reuters ington engages its regional allies to push back
nations and have raised alarm from Wash- against Beijing’s growing military and eco-
ington toTokyo. reuters nomic influence.

But Xi said China would never seek he- Chinese President Xi Jinping US President Joe Biden joined ASEAN
gemony nor take advantage of its size to co- leaders for a virtual summit in October and
erce smaller countries, and would work with found China’s maritime claim to the sea had pledged greater engagement with the region.
ASEAN to eliminate “interference”. no legal basis.
The summit was held without a repre-
“China was, is, and will always be a good “This does not speak well of the relations sentative from Myanmar, Malaysia’s Foreign
neighbour, good friend, and good partner between our nations,” said Duterte, who will Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said
of ASEAN,” Chinse state media quoted Xi leave office next year and has been criticised on Monday.The reason for the non-attend-
as saying. in the past for failing to condemn China’s ance was not immediately clear,and a spokes-
conduct in the disputed waters. person for Myanmar’s military government
China’s assertion of sovereignty over the did not answer calls seeking comment.
South China Sea has set it against ASEAN ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, In-
membersVietnam and the Philippines, while donesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Phil- ASEAN sidelined Myanmar junta lead-
Brunei,Taiwan, and Malaysia also lay claim ippines, Singapore,Thailand andVietnam. er Min Aung Hlaing, who has led a bloody
to parts. Myanmar no-show crackdown on dissent since seizing power on
Xi told the summit that China and ASEAN Feb 1, from virtual summits last month over
The Philippines onThursday condemned his failure to make inroads in implementing
the actions of three Chinese coastguard ves- an agreed peace plan, in an unprecedented
sels that it said blocked and used water can- exclusion for the bloc.
non on resupply boats headed towards a Phil-
ippine-occupied atoll in the sea. Myanmar refused to send junior rep-
resentation and blamed ASEAN for depart-
The United States on Friday called the ing from its non-interference principle and
Chinese actions “dangerous, provocative, and caving toWestern pressure.
unjustified”, and warned that an armed at-
tack on Philippine vessels would invoke US China lobbied for Min to attend the sum-
mutual defence commitments. mit, according to diplomatic sources.
Read also: China to buy US$150b worth of
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told agricultural goods from ASEAN, in efforts to
the summit hosted by Xi that he “abhors” the boost ties — GlobalTimes Click here
altercation and said the rule of law was the
only way out of the dispute. He referred to a
2016 international arbitration ruling which

TAIPEI (Nov 22): Taiwan firms operating Choose a side, wan independence to earn money in Chi-
in China need to draw a line between them- China tells na, the office added.
selves and independence supporters, China’s
government said on Monday after punishing Taiwan firms “The majority of Taiwanese business-
a major Taiwanese firm ostensibly for busi- as it punishes men and enterprises must distinguish right
ness violations. conglomerate from wrong, stand firm, draw a clear line
with the Taiwan independence separatist
China, which claims democratically-ruled by Ben Blanchard forces, and take practical actions to main-
Taiwan as its own territory, has heaped pres- Reuters tain the peaceful development of cross-
sure on the island to accept Beijing’s rule. It strait relations,” it said.
said earlier this month it would hold those accusations against the company.
who support the island’s formal independ- But it added in a separate sentence that While the Far Eastern Group has not re-
ence, including companies, criminally liable. sponded to requests for comment, one of its
those who support Taiwan independence listed units, Far Eastern New Century Corp,
China’s official Xinhua news agency said threatened peace and stability and harmed said its textile operations in China had been
early on Monday that law enforcement agen- the interests of the Chinese people. inspected by law enforcement in the second
cies across China had punishedTaiwan’s Far quarter, who did find problems over tax, fire
Eastern Group, which has interests ranging “They and their connected companies safety and environmental protection.
from hotels to petrochemicals, for a series and financiers must be punished in accord-
of problems, from tax to fire safety, and that ance with the law,” it said. It added it had made almost all the chang-
the investigation was continuing. es that had been required, having been fined
China welcomesTaiwanese companies, 36.5 million yuan (US$5.72 million).
In a statement late on Monday answer- but does not allow those who supportTai-
ing a question on whether the move was Taiwan’s government has yet to com-
linked to the government’s targeting of ment. Taiwan says it is already an inde-
“stubbornly pro-Taiwan independence” pendent country called the Republic of
forces, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did China, its formal name, and that Beijing
not draw a direct link, repeating Xinhua’s has no right to speak for it or pressure its
elected representatives.

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BANGKOK (Nov 22): Norway’s Telenor Telenor, to raise its stake in Intouch to 42.3% so far.
andThai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand CP Group to Telenor and CP Group’s merged com-
Group (CP Group) agreed to merge their mergeThai
telecom units in Thailand in a roughly telecom units in pany will have “revenue market share in
US$8.6 billion deal to create a firm with US$8.6b deal the low 40% that is similar to AIS,”Telenor
more than half the mobile subscribers in CEO Sigve Brekke told media. “AIS is still
the Southeast Asian country. by Radhika Anilkumar & a big brother when it comes to profitability
Chayut Setboonsarng so we will learn as we go.”
The deal, flagged byTelenor on Friday Reuters
and subject to regulatory approvals, is likely The combined company will be listed
to give ownership of a third of the merged The news comes months afterThai power on the Thai stock exchange.
entity each to Telenor and CP Group. producer Gulf Energy Development offered
to buy Intouch Holdings , which controls “Telenor’s decision to amalgamate its
The partnership will arm the two com- AIS, though Gulf Energy has only managed Thailand holdings with True is hardly sur-
panies better against current market leader prising, given its ASEAN subsidiary’s M&As
Advanced Info Service Pcl (AIS) and give and exits,” analystThapana Phanich said in
them a deeper pocket to face mounting a co-branded research report from Jefferies
investment costs for 5G. and TISCO Securities, referring to a simi-
lar deal struck in Malaysia earlier this year.
Telenor will merge its Total Access
Communication (Dtac) with CP Group’s “Dtac has little hope of beating its ri-
True Corporation for a share exchange ra- vals, or even surviving, in the long run”.
tio of 10.221 True shares per Dtac share.
Telenor believes regulators will view the
reuters deal favourably, Chief Financial OfficerTone
Hegland Bachke told a conference call.

“We are positive that we will reach reg-
ulatory approval,” she said.

The offer of 47.76 baht (US$1.45) per
Dtac share represents a premium of 15.8%
to its Friday close and the offer of 5.09
baht (US$0.1549) per True Corp share
represents a premium of 17.8% to its close
on the same day.

Dtac and True Corp shares rose 10%
and 11.5%, respectively, on Monday while
the benchmark Thai index was up 0.3%.

Citi is advising Telenor and JPMorgan
is advising CP Group.

STOCKHOLM (Nov 22): Ericsson on Sweden’s It has more than 1 million registered
Monday agreed to buy cloud communi- Ericsson snaps developers and more than 120,000 busi-
cations firmVonage in a $6.2 billion all-cash up cloud firm ness customers.
deal, as the telecom gear maker moves to
broaden its 5G portfolio. Vonage in “That’s where magic happens when de-
US$6.2bil deal velopers use theVonage platform to create
The deal, one of the largest in Ericsson’s applications for various enterprises,” Mel-
history, follows its US$1.1 billion purchase by Supantha Mukherjee lander said.
of Cradlepoint last year which gave it access & Helena Soderpalm
to tools that can connect devices using the Reuters The acquisition marks a new phase af-
so-called Internet of Things over a 4G or ter a period of restructuring and refocus-
5G network. “We see this acquisition as strengthening ing since Borje Ekholm took over as CEO
Ericsson’s vertical integration and prod- in 2017.
US-based Vonage makes Application uct offering within the cloud space, but
Programming Interface (API), which helps we also deem the price-tag quite steep,” Ericsson had branched out into mul-
different software communicate with each said Danske Bank Credit Research analyst ti-media in the early 2000s but struggled to
other. Mads Rosendal. fit its purchases into its operations, weigh-
ing on margins and profits.
“Vonage is complementary to what we Vonage, which operates across sectors
have built in enterprise so far... Cradlepoint such as healthcare, finance, education and “The transaction builds upon Ericsson’s
was one of the big stepping stones as well in transportation, had sales of US$1.4 billion stated intent to expand globally in wire-
building an enterprise presence,” Ericsson in the 12-month period to Sept. 30, 2021, less enterprise, offering existing customers
CFO Carl Mellander told Reuters. with a margin on adjusted earnings before an increased share of a market valued at
interest, tax and depreciation of 14% and US$700 billion by 2030,” Ericsson said
Ericsson will pay US$21 for each out- free cash flow of US$109 million. in a statement.
standingVonage share, a 28% premium to
Friday’s closing price and a 34% premium It said it expected the Vonage deal to
to the average of the last three months, a boost earnings per share — excluding non-
price analysts said was high. cash amortisation impacts — and free cash
flow from 2024 onwards.
Ericsson shares fell 3.8% in early trade,
on track for their worst day since July and The deal is expected to close in the first
the worst performer on the pan-European half of 2022, subject toVonage shareholder
STOXX 600 index. approval, regulatory approvals, and other
conditions.

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LNG tanker A branch of Cosmo Energy Holdings' because the plan has not been made public.
rates reach Cosmo Oil service station is seen in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Mat-
all-time high on
rising demand Japan, December 17, 2015. suno said on Monday nothing had been
decided, while Kishida said on Saturday
by Surin Murugiah Japan working the government was in the process of con-
theedgemarkets.com on release of sidering what it could do legally.
oil reserves after
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Spot US request “We would have to change our law and
rates for liquefied natural gas (LNG) — sources that would take time. But some are arguing
tanker freight rates in the Asia Pacific re- that private stockpiles can be released,”
gion rose to new records, on the back of by Ritsuko Shimizu, Yoshifumi Takemoto said the second source.
surging demand for LNG and increased & Aaron Sheldrick
shipments of U.S. gas to Asia. Reuters “We need to expand the definition so
they can be released,” the official said, add-
LNG freight assessor Spark Com- TOKYO (Nov 22): Japanese officials are ing that no tender is imminent.
modities last week said Pacific spot working on ways to get around restrictions
LNG freight rates jumped above on releasing national reserves of crude oil Traders said they had received no no-
US$300,000 per day to a new record in tandem with other major economies to tifications of a tender.
high. dampen prices, four government sources
with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. Japanese private companies including
Spark Commodities said the spot refiners hold about 175 million barrels of
price for LNG tankers to deliver fuel in While Prime Minister Fumio Kishi- crude and oil products as part of the Stra-
December in the Pacific region jumped da signalled his readiness over the week- tegic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), enough for
to an all-time high of US$316,750 per end following a request fromWashington, around 90 days’ consumption, according
day, up by 9% compared to the previ- the world’s fourth-biggest oil buyer is re- to state agency Jogmec, which administers
ous week. stricted on how it can act with its reserves the SPR and handles releases after policies
— made up of both private and public are decided.
It said this beat the previous record stocks — which typically can only be used
for spot LNG rates set last winter when in times of shortage. Oil companies’ reserves have been
a cold snap in Asia drove LNG prices tapped during the 1991 Gulf War and
and freight rates to records. One of the sources said the govern- following the 2011 earthquake and tsu-
ment was looking into releasing from the nami disasters. The state’s portion in the
Those records were beaten in the portion of the state-held stocks outside SPR has never been used and Japan has
past few weeks when spot LNG prices the minimum amount required as a legal an “absurd” level of petroleum stocks on
in Asia jumped to well above US$30 workaround. hand, according to Fereidun Fesharaki,
per metric million British thermal units chairman of Facts Global Energy.
(MMBtu) last month. Officials are also looking at private
stocks that are part of the national reserve, “There is no way the Japanese gov-
Now LNG freight rates have also which some advisers argue can be released ernment will do anything unless the US
exceeded last winter’s all-time highs without restrictions, a second source said. asked,” Fesharaki said in a phone interview.
and are five times higher than in early
September. “We have no choice but to come up The resource-poor country’s excessive
with something” after a request from the attention to maintaining reserves comes
Meanwhile, the spot LNG freight United States, a third source told Reuters. from a mindset among bureaucrats who
rate in the Atlantic basin jumped by All of the sources declined to be identified were around during the oil crises of the
5% from the previous weeks’ estimate 1970s and 1980s, Fesharaki said. “Un-
to US$254,250 per day this week, ac- til that group dies off there won’t be any
cording to Spark Commodities data. change.”

Rising prices and LNG demand Brent crude recovered from earli-
started to push spot LNG freight rates er losses and was up around 0.5% af-
to over US$200,000 per day in October, ter prices plunged on Friday, a decline
as traders scrambled to book vessels. that was largely attributed to impending
lockdowns in Europe rather than plans
A monthly cash settled LNG freight to release oil.
future based on the Spark25S Pacific
160 Tri-Fuel diesel electric (TFDE) The Biden administration made the un-
propulsion ships assessment as pub- usual request to other major economies to
lished by Spark Commodities showed consider releasing oil from their strategic
the rate for Spark25S for the Nov 20- reserves as high prices are starting to pro-
Dec 20 period at US$273,250/ day duce unwanted inflation and undermine
and at $US223,500/ day for Spark30S, recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
respectively.
Citing government sources, theYomi-
Read also: Asia’s big three LNG buyers uri newspaper said Japan and the United
ramp up November imports as Europe States would coordinate an announcement
struggles Click here of the release of oil reserves as early as
this week.

Japan’s oil reserve held 145 days’ worth
of daily petroleum consumption at the end
of September, according to official data,
well above the minimum 90 days required
by law.

Private-sector reserves total 90 days’
worth, also exceeding the minimum 70
days’ requirement.

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MUMBAI (Nov 22): Rising prices of com- An excavator works among photovoltaic solar climate change at the European Bank for
modities needed for renewable energy will panels at the Gujarat solar park under construction Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
increase the costs of setting up new green in Charanka village in Patan district of the western
power projects, but this will be balanced Vaibhav Chaturvedi, fellow at the Coun-
by better access to funds and economies of Indian state of Gujarat April 14, 2012. cil on Energy, Environment and Water
scale, policy advisers and an investor said. (CEEW), saw “greenflation”, or the costs
‘Greenflation’ associated with going green, as a concern,
The rising costs, as well as supply chain a risk for especially in the short-term.
problems for some of the commodities and
goods needed for green projects, won’t be renewable energy, “Underlying commodity prices are ris-
a long-term threat to the economic viabil- but long-term ing everywhere in the world,” he said.
ity of clean energy, they told the Reuters viability intact
Global Markets Forum last week. Prices of metals such as tin, aluminium,
BY DIVYA CHOWDHURY copper, nickel cobalt, that are essential to
Overhead costs that will fall with econ- Reuters energy transition technologies, have risen
omies of scale include items such as per- between 20% and 91% this year.
mit fees, labour costs for installations and
customer acquisition costs. But Chaturvedi saw the lowering cost
of finance as a “big leverage” to counter
Overall costs for the industry will trend the increase in underlying costs.
downwards as there are few barriers to
scaling up, said Harry Boyd Carpenter, Allied Market Research projects the
managing director for green economy and global renewable energy market, valued at
over US$881 billion in 2020, to more than
double to nearly US$2 trillion by 2030.

Gauri Singh, deputy director-general at
the International Renewable Energy Agen-
cy (IRENA), argued that despite inflation
and supply chain disruptions, decreasing
financing costs helped in record generation
of 260 gigawatts of energy from renewable
sources last year.

“You will not actually get cheap money
for anything that’s a climate risk.Whereas
for renewables, the market is softening,”
Singh said.

SYDNEY (Nov 22): Australian small Australian Other publications that have secured
publishers will get a leg up in their fight tycoon to help deals with Google but not Facebook
to secure licensing deals with Google small publishers include TV broadcaster SBS, the main
and Facebook after the country’s richest strike deals with source of foreign language news, and the
person said his philanthropic organisa- Google, Facebook Conversation, which publishes public af-
tion would seek a collective bargaining fairs commentary by academics.
arrangement for them. BY BYRON KAYE & RENJU JOSE
Reuters The ACCC Chair Rod Sims has also
The Minderoo Foundation, owned by on several occasions expressed concern
Andrew Forrest, chairman of iron ore REUTERS about whether Facebook is approaching
miner Fortescue Metals Group, plans to the law in the right spirit.
help 18 small publishers by applying to have secured deals, many small publishers
the Australian Competition and Consum- have been left out in the cold, criticising The law allows for Australia’s govern-
er Commission (ACCC) on their behalf Facebook in particular for its reluctance ment to set fees if negotiations between
so they can negotiate together without to take their calls. tech giants and news providers fail, but
breaching competition laws. at present rejected companies have been
left with little recourse as they wait for
The move was welcomed by publish- the government to review the law next
ers including the Star Observer, Austral- March as planned.
ia’s oldest LGBTQ title, which like some
other small publishers did not get a deal The 18 small publishers being helped
with Facebook despite having secured a include online publications that attract
deal with Google. multicultural audiences and focus on is-
sues at a local or regional level, Emma
Forrest’s extra clout as well as the dif- McDonald, director of Frontier Technol-
fering approaches to small publishers by ogy, a Minderoo Foundation initiative,
Google and Facebook could build mo- said in a statement.
mentum for the Australian government
to intervene and set fees. Google reiterated that “talks are con-
tinuing with publishers of all sizes.” Face-
Australia broke new ground with a law book said it “has long supported smaller
that has since March required the two independent publishers.”
tech giants to negotiate with Australian
outlets for content that drives traffic and The foundation’s move comes after
advertising to their websites. ACCC late last month allowed a body
representing 261 radio stations to nego-
But while most major news providers tiate a content deal.

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Covid-19 shots borders to foreign travellers this month. Pfizer’s Covid-19
from China and The UK decision should allow tens of vaccine trial
India recognized
by UK for visitors thousands of Chinese students given home- data shows long-
grown shots to attend school there. Uni- term efficacy in
Bloomberg versities have received record numbers of
undergraduate applications from Chinese adolescents
(Nov 22): China and India’s Covid vac- nationals, according to an October report
cines have been approved by the UK for released by UCAS, a UK universities ad- by Mrinalika Roy
travel into the country, clearing the way for mission service provider. Sinovac and Sin- Reuters
tourists and foreign students who have been opharm shots are the most widely used in
fully immunized with them to enter. China, which has vaccinated more than BENGALURU (Nov 22): Pfizer Inc said on
80% of its 1.4 billion population. Monday its Covid-19 vaccine provided strong
Immunizations from China’s Sinovac long-term protection against the virus in a late-
Biotech Ltd, state-owned Sinopharm, and China accounts for the majority of foreign stage study conducted among adolescents aged
India’s Bharat Biotech International Ltd students in the UK, and their families con- 12 to 15 years.A two-dose series of the vaccine
have joined the list that the UK uses to grant tribute significant revenue to universities there was 100% effective against Covid-19, meas-
entry with proof of full vaccination, accord- every year, data from UK’s Higher Education ured seven days through over four months after
ing to a notice issued by the Department Statistics Agency shows. More than 4,500 the second dose, the company said.
for Transport and Department of Health Chinese students applied for undergraduate
and Social Care on Monday. admission to colleges and universities in the The long-term data will support planned
UK this year, an increase of about one-third submissions for full-regulatory approval of the
Now all seven Covid shots that have re- since the global Covid-19 pandemic began. vaccine in the age group in the United States
ceived emergency backing from the World and worldwide. Pfizer and BioNTech will seek
Health Organization will be recognized by Visitors to the UK who are not fully vac- clearance for a 30-microgram dose of the vac-
the UK, including India’s Covaxin, which cinated are required to get Covid tests and cine for those aged 12 and above.
got the agency’s nod in early November.The quarantine for 10 days.
UK is following Australia, which last month The vaccine was authorised for emergency
expanded the number of shots it recognizes, use in people aged 12-15 years by the US Food
and the US, which said it would accept all & Drug Administration in May, and granted
WHO-approved vaccines when it opened its full approval for use in people aged 16 and
above in August.

SINGAPORE (Nov 22): A return to stricter Singapore health ing with the virus as endemic. Around 94%
Covid-19 curbs in Singapore will be a “last minister says of those eligible have been vaccinated, while
resort”, Health Minister OngYe Kung said return to strict 23% of the total population has received a
on Monday, as the city-state partially eased booster shot.
limits on social gatherings and dining out Covid-19 curbs a
under its calibrated reopening approach. last resort Among its latest easing measures, limits
on social gatherings and dining out were
Ong also said the international travel by Aradhana Aravindan eased from two to five people, still restrictive
and tourism hub would continue to open Reuters compared to many other countries.
“travel lanes” with more countries for vac-
cinated visitors. frame on when Singapore would reach a Authorities have also tightened measures
“new normal”, but he hoped the country’s against unvaccinated people, effectively bar-
Singapore is gradually granting small high vaccination rates and the current roll- ring them from dining out or entering malls
groups of vaccinated people increased lib- out of booster shots meant it would continue and will begin to charge them for Covid-19
erties, resuming in-person business events to ease restrictions. treatment if they refused a vaccine by choice.
and permitting quarantine-free travel from
select countries as it ramps up its vaccine “I hope that whatever liberty that we now Travel hub
booster programme. gradually, progressively can return back to Singapore has been expanding quarantine
the people, we can keep them for next year, free travel from more than a dozen coun-
“I feel it’s important to do it this way, even as a new wave arrives,” said Ong. tries, including Britain, France, Germany,
because it minimizes the chance of us hav- Australia, Canada and the United States via
ing to backpedal too frequently,” Ong told Singapore was one of several so-called Cov- so-called vaccinated “travel lanes.”
Reuters in an interview on Monday for the id-zero countries that enforced some of the
upcoming Reuters Next conference. world’s strictest measures to keep infections It will start these lanes with Malaysia and
and deaths from the pandemic — at around India at the end of the month.The lanes al-
“You can’t rule out having to throttle back 252,200 and 662, respectively — relatively low. low fully vaccinated people to enter the is-
sometimes, but it should always be a last resort, land without quarantining if they pass their
because it’s extremely frustrating for people.” This year, it switched to a strategy of liv- Covid-19 tests.

Singapore has vacillated between tight- “It is important for us to establish this,
ening and easing restrictions for its popula- as such a small outwardly oriented country,
tion of 5.45 million in recent months as, like we need to connect with the world,” said
many countries, it was hit by a fresh wave Ong. “For the foreseeable future, I think
of infections fuelled by the Delta variant. vaccinated travel lanes will be the norm.”

Ong said it was too difficult to put a time-

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China property moguls use billions
of their own cash on rescues

(Nov 22): Billionaire owners of Chi- Bloomberg mire Sun for his outspoken style, bold
nese developers have dipped into their expansion plans and ability to weather
own pockets for at least US$3.8 billion Here’s more on some of the tycoons: adversity. His net worth is estimated at
to save their troubled companies from Hui Ka Yan, Evergrande US$4 billion, according to the Bloomb-
default, as a cash crunch engulfs the Hui, who fought his way from poverty in erg Billionaires Index.
industry. rural Henan province to build one of the
world’s largest property companies, was Hui Wing Mau, Shimao
From sales of luxury assets to stakes urged by Chinese authorities to use his Born in the southern province of Fujian,
in sought-after listed companies, the personal wealth to alleviate Evergrande’s Hui was sent to the countryside to work
personal balance sheets of China’s prop- debt crisis. as a barefoot doctor before emigrating
erty tycoons have become key for inves- to Hong Kong as a textile worker. After
tors to determine whether developers He has injected more than US$1 returning to his hometown in his 30s, he
will meet their debt obligations. Found- billion into Evergrande since July, ac- started his property career by developing
ing chairmen of at least seven real estate cording to China Business News.That’s one of China’s earliest three-star hotels,
companies have tapped their wealth in about an eighth of his estimated US$7.7 residences and resorts. Now, Shimao has
recent weeks to support the firms. billion wealth, according to the Bloomb- a line of luxury hotels in some of the best
erg Billionaires Index. But it remains un- spots in China’s biggest cities.
The efforts underscore how the li- clear whether Hui’s fortune is big and
quidity crisis is more desperate than pre- liquid enough to make a sizable dent in The three floors he pledged for loans,
vious squeezes, when real estate firms the developer’s total liabilities, which in the world’s most expensive office
were able to reap cash from sales blitzes swelled to more than US$300 billion building The Center in Hong Kong,
or by offloading trophy assets. Now, with as of June. are a trophy in his estimated US$5.6
China’s home sales and prices falling, Sun Hongbin, Sunac billion fortune. Hui is also a member
banks growing reluctant to lend, and Sun’s roller-coaster career has includ- the Chinese People’s Political Consul-
yields in the offshore bond market soar- ed a stint in prison and the forced sale tative Conference, an advisory body to
ing, many developers are counting on of another developer he once predicted the central government.
their founders as a last resort. would become the nation’s largest. He
turned Beijing-based Sunac into a com- Lin Zhong, Lin Feng, CIFI
The magnates’ moves stand in con- pany known for acquiring assets of trou- Lin Zhong, a graduate of Xiamen Uni-
trast with counterparts overseas, where bled rivals, such as Oceanwide Holdings versity in southern China, co-found-
the concept of limited liability generally Co’s city-centre projects in Shanghai and ed a property brokerage with a young-
shields owners’ personal wealth from Beijing in 2019. er brother in 1992 and turned it into
creditors’ claims. The boundary isn’t so a developer two years later. When pri-
clear in China. Sun served time in prison in the ear- vate home ownership was introduced in
ly 1990s after being convicted for em- 1998, Lin made a bold decision to move
“In China, regulators can pressure bezzlement — a ruling that was later the firm’s headquarters to Shanghai to
the large or controlling shareholders overturned. Many retail investors ad- embark on a nationwide expansion.
to mix their personal assets with the
company’s and treat the two as insep- Lin’s other younger brother Lin Feng,
arable,” said Zhiwu Chen, director of who was in high school when Lin Zhong
the Asia Global Institute at the Uni- founded CIFI, joined the firm right after
versity of Hong Kong. “It’s also partly completing a master’s degree.
because the controlling shareholders,
especially founders, often do treat the Zhang Li, Li Sze Lim, R&F
company’s assets as if they were their The team-up between Zhang Li, a for-
personal property.” mer government official in southern
Guangzhou city, and Li Sze Lim, a
At least for now, such moves have Hong Kong native and a former trad-
boosted sentiment among bondholders. er, was rare in China’s property sector.
The two, known to each other when Li
China Evergrande Group’s 8.25% Sze Lim travelled between the territory
dollar bond due next year has rebound- and Guangzhou, made their name by
ed to around 30 cents on the dollar from purchasing a large land parcel in subur-
a record low of 22.7 cents a month ban Guangzhou and later selling it for
earlier, after its Chairman Hui Ka Yan a big profit.
raised funds by disposing of personal
assets and pledging shares. While it’s R&F made a push into the hotel busi-
unclear how the money was used, the ness in 2017 when it splurged US$2.9
property giant has averted default three billion to buy Dalian Wanda Group Co’s
times by paying overdue bond interest. 77 hotels. R&F is now the world’s biggest
Notes of Sunac China Holdings Ltd, deluxe hotel owner, with 91 in opera-
Guangzhou R&F Properties Co, Shimao tion and another 45 under development.
Group Holdings Ltd and CIFI Hold-
ings Group Co all rose after news of
their founders’ support, detailed below.

T u e s d a y n o v e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 29 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

World tax talks turn to getting US passage:
We’re not ‘stupid’

by William Horobin &
Christopher Condon

Bloomberg

(Nov 22): Negotiators hammering out de- The more that those reallocated prof- The US Chamber of Commerce, one
tails of a transformative new global cor- its are taken from tax havens rather than of the country’s largest lobbying groups,
porate tax regime are shaping the deal to a company’s home nation, the less Wash- says it doesn’t have enough details to de-
maximize its chance of winning acceptance ington has to lose. cide whether to back or oppose the tax
in the US, whose companies face the big- reallocation component of the new tax
gest impact from the overhaul. All the options currently under serious regime — known as Pillar One.
consideration would be very close to reve-
US Treasury officials and the Organ- nue-neutral for Washington, according to Corporate reaction
ization for Economic Cooperation and a senior US Treasury official, who spoke “There is a possibility that Pillar One could
Development, which brokered October’s on condition of anonymity because details be an improvement over the hodge-podge
agreement among almost 140 nations, see of the talks aren’t public. system we have right now,” said Curtis
two fundamental ways of broadening sup- Dubay, the chamber’s senior economist.
port in a politically dividedWashington — Saint-Amans said he expects there will “But if the details are such that it sub-
technical tweaks to ensure the US doesn’t be some middle ground between reallocat- stantially raises taxes on US business, is
lose revenue, and an appeal to corporate ing entirely from tax havens or entirely from targeted at US business and is bad for our
lobbies that it’s a less-bad option than go- the headquarter countries. He also pointed economy, we will strenuously oppose it.”
ing without a global pact. out thatWashington would win new taxing
rights with regard to 50 or 60 foreign multi- The OECD deal is drafted to apply only
A key plank of the plan is a controversial national firms that operate in the US to 45 or 50 US companies, limiting its effect.
move to create new rights for governments
around the world to tax a group of about “There is even a possibility that it is “In terms of lobbying at the Senate,
100 companies, almost half of which are fiscally favorable,” Saint-Amans said. you have taken away 7,000 to 8,000 com-
American. It would require some form of panies — and that has a big impact,” said
backing in Congress, where President Joe The second key approach is deliver- Saint-Amans at the OECD.
Biden faces opposition from Republicans. ing on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s
prediction earlier this year that corporate Technology-sector trade groups, includ-
Failing US approval, the entire agree- leaders will swing round to pushing Con- ing the Information Technology Industry
ment would collapse, undermining public gress to approve the deal. Council and the Computer and Commu-
finances on both sides of the Atlantic and nications Industry Association, have praised
reigniting unilateral measures and trade The argument revolves on showcasing the agreement — especially its elimination of
tensions that have made life difficult for how the alternative to the agreement would digital-service taxes.Amazon issued a state-
multinationals. A rare triumph for mul- be far worse for multinationals.That means ment welcoming the “consensus-based solu-
tilateral diplomacy in recent years would not only the return of digital-services taxes tion for international tax harmonization.”
also be obliterated. imposed on the likes of Amazon.com Inc.,
but a host of unilateral measures intended But Daniel Bunn, vice president of
“We’re not completely stupid — so to capture revenue from companies that in- global projects at the Tax Foundation
we created a mechanism so that US rat- creasingly have shifted profits to tax havens. in Washington, said sectors beyond tech
ification is a no-brainer,” Pascal Saint- worry about higher taxes and compliance
Amans, the OECD’s top tax official, said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow based burdens in adapting to the new system.
on Wednesday at a briefing of France’s in Brussels at the German Marshall Fund,
economic journalist association AJEF. said that’s a powerful argument, not because Looking at the landscape inWashington,
“There’s a serious chance of success.” businesses like the new agreement, but be- Saint-Amans said,“You might say the prob-
cause the international landscape has been ability of the US Senate ratifying a mul-
The October accord featured a global tipping toward chaos for years. tilateral convention — based on the track
minimum tax of 15% and an agreement record — is close to zero. In reality, and I’m
allowing a share of profits earned by multi- Companies “want an open trading sys- not just saying that because I’m paid to, the
national giants to be taxed based on where tem that has a degree of predictability,” Kir- chances of a ratification by the Senate are
they generate revenue. kegaard said.“They may not like a 15% tax, not 100%, but they are well above zero.”
but they understand that the status quo is not
Leaders want the first-in-a-century on offer.The alternative is infinitely worse.”
overhaul of international corporate taxes
implemented in 2023.To meet that time-
line, the text of the final deal needs to be
ready in the spring of 2022, in advance
of a multilateral convention by the end of
June, according to the Paris-based OECD.

Technical talks have only recently start-
ed. One focus is how to deliver the Oc-
tober agreement’s promise to reallocate
profits so that they’re taxed in places where
companies actually operate.

t u e s d a y n o v e m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 30 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

MARKETS

CPO RM 4,998.0099.00 OIL US$ 80.06-0.22 RM/USD 4.1812 RM/SGD 3.0783 RM/AUD 3.0458 RM/GBP 5.6403 RM/EUR 4.7386

Top 20 active stocks

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

PDZ Holdings Bhd 136.00 -0.010 0.050 -90.81 25.10

Metronic Global Bhd 59.90 -0.010 0.015 -85.00 32.5

Scope Industries Bhd 57.30 -0.070 0.365 22.75 421.1

Dagang NeXchange Bhd 53.80 0.025 0.850 277.78 2682

NWP Holdings Bhd 50.9 0.01 0.355 42 186.9

JAG Bhd 42.2 0.015 0.38 40.74 229.80

CTOS Digital Bhd 33.1 -0.1 1.87 0 4114

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd 30.8 -0.04 0.78 34.48 1565.8

KNM Group Bhd 30.7 -0.005 0.165 -19.51 551.3 World equity indices

Tanco Holdings Bhd 29.2 0 0.27 440 451.6

Hiap Teck Venture Bhd 27.5 0.015 0.535 16.3 924.7 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
Inari Amertron Bhd 26.9 -0.01 4.24 54.49 15649.7 DOW JONES 35,601.98 -268.97 -0.75 (%)
INDONESIA 6,723.39 3.12 0.05
AirAsia Group Bhd 26 -0.02 1.03 16.38 4015

Pasukhas Group Bhd 25.9 0.01 0.045 -87.53 52.1 S&P 500 4,697.96 -6.58 -0.14 JAPAN 29,774.11 28.24 0.09

Fintec Global Bhd 24.6 0 0.015 -81.25 81.5 NASDAQ 100 16,573.34 90.37 0.55 KOREA 3,013.25 42.23 1.42

Widad Group Bhd 23.3 0 0.38 -52.2 1039.9 FTSE 100 7,247.85 24.28 0.34 PHILIPPINES 7,282.67 2.10 0.03

My EG Services Bhd 22.7 -0.01 1.05 9.38 7779 AUSTRALIA 7,353.08 -43.47 -0.59 SINGAPORE 3,237.08 4.74 0.15

YBS International Bhd 21.1 0.055 0.58 213.51 143.2 CHINA 3,582.08 21.71 0.61 TAIWAN 17,803.54 -14.77 -0.08

Bumi Armada Bhd 20.8 -0.005 0.485 38.57 2864.9 HONG KONG 24,951.34 -98.63 -0.39 THAILAND 1,650.80 5.74 0.35

Impiana Hotels Bhd 19.4 0.005 0.08 0 111.5 INDIA 58,427.33 -1208.68 -2.03 VIETNAM 1,447.25 -5.10 -0.35

Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

Pasukhas Group Bhd 0.05 28.6 25933.2 -87.53 52.1 Metronic Global Bhd 0.015 -40.00 59870.5 -85.00 32.5

Key Alliance Group Bhd 0.03 25.0 1490.0 -50.00 63.9 Khee San BHD 0.130 -23.53 2577.8 -51.85 14.9

Talam Transform Bhd 0.03 25.0 1,010.90 -16.67 107.4 Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.020 -20.00 179.40 -55.56 88.3

Dolomite Corp Bhd 0.04 16.7 30.6 -69.57 20.7 Trive Property Group BHD 0.050 -16.67 301.4 -63.13 52.7

Heng Huat Resources Group 0.86 13.9 6802.7 249.75 120.1 Borneo Oil Bhd 0.025 -16.67 2028.8 -37.50 181.3

Efficient E-Solutions Bhd 0.21 10.8 2558.4 13.89 145.4 PDZ Holdings Bhd 0.050 -16.67 136005.0 -90.81 25.1

Elsoft Research Bhd 1.05 10.5 10507.5 32.08 708.5 Scope Industries Bhd 0.365 -16.09 57314.4 22.75 421.1

YBS International Bhd 0.58 10.5 21138.5 213.51 143.2 Brahim’s Holdings Bhd 0.115 -14.81 9384.1 -65.15 35.3

Kesm Industries Bhd 14.42 10.2 535.40 6.19 620.3 Kia Lim Bhd 0.440 -14.56 842.6 54.39 27.3

M3 Technologies Asia Bhd 0.06 10.0 200.1 -15.38 49.1 Mlabs Systems Bhd 0.035 -12.50 228.0 -56.25 50.7

Nova MSC Bhd 0.11 10.0 6022.6 22.22 128 JOE HOLDING BHD 0.035 -12.50 750.0 -68.18 107.1

AYS Ventures Bhd 0.69 9.5 19236.1 115.63 262.5 MyTech Group BHD 1.000 -12.28 5660.3 733.33 223.8

Bertam Alliance Bhd 0.12 9.1 50.0 -7.69 29.8 Hubline Bhd 0.040 -11.11 870.8 -20.00 171.6

Ageson Bhd 0.06 9.1 4747.8 -53.85 77.9 Lambo Group BHD 0.045 -10.00 980.0 -93.40 53.9

Atta Global Group Bhd 0.45 7.1 63.8 1.12 94.7 BCM Alliance Bhd 0.045 -10.00 9380 -81.18 70.4

Milux Corp BHD 1.65 7.1 6088.7 189.47 387.8 KYM Holdings BHD 0.445 -9.18 2866.1 27.14 66.7

Artroniq Bhd 0.40 6.8 4325.9 -21.78 114.1 Iqzan Holding Bhd 0.050 -9.09 295.2 -56.52 11.1

CYL Corp BHD 0.48 6.7 1.0 2.13 48.0 Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd 0.105 -8.70 83.9 -47.5 30.2

AirAsia X Bhd 0.08 6.7 1999.6 6.67 331.9 Pan Malaysia Holdings Bhd 0.055 -8.33 411.50 -47.62 51.1

Impiana Hotels Bhd 0.08 6.7 19360.1 0.00 111.5 Priceworth International Bhd 0.06 -7.69 1145.8 -80 30

Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

Kesm Industries Bhd 14.42 1.34 535.4 6.19 620.30 Genetec Technology Bhd 42.500 -1.020 240.9 2356.65 2212.9

ViTrox Corp Bhd 20.20 0.40 153.9 37.41 9,539.80 Sam Engineering & Equipment 20.240 -0.760 146.5 174.63 2739.5

Heineken Malaysia Bhd 22.24 0.32 86.3 -3.39 6,718.70 Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 25.500 -0.320 314.00 -20.51 9352.9

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 20.80 0.20 310 -12.16 22,420.00 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 133.500 -0.300 44.8 -3.89 31305.8

Genting Plantations Bhd 7.04 0.16 78.3 -27.68 6,316.30 Ayer Holdings Bhd 5.230 -0.280 0.3 -6.61 391.5

Batu Kawan Bhd 21.86 0.16 0.5 22.12 8,621.30 PMB Technology Bhd 12.400 -0.280 61.2 170.74 2634.9

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings 5.74 0.14 6,214.40 36.83 46357.5 AEON Credit Service M Bhd 14.060 -0.220 49.9 17.17 3589.6

United Plantations BHD 13.84 0.12 47.50 -1.29 5,720.10 TAFI Industries Bhd 2.690 -0.170 13216.1 346.14 333.4

Malaysian Genomics Resource 2.30 0.12 14,749.10 125.49 285.70 Guan Chong Bhd 2.760 -0.140 600.8 3.37 2908.3

D&O Green Technologies Bhd 5.92 0.12 3,494.70 159.65 7,096.00 MyTech Group BHD 1.000 -0.140 5660.3 733.33 223.8

Negri Sembilan Oil Palms BHD 3.18 0.11 2 0.64 223.20 Dialog Group Bhd 2.700 -0.130 9267.5 -21.74 15234.5

Milux Corp BHD 1.65 0.11 6088.7 189.47 387.80 Khind Holdings Bhd 4.260 -0.130 74.6 45.39 170.7

Heng Huat Resources Group 0.86 0.11 6802.7 249.75 120.1 Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd 4.050 -0.110 175.1 -32.39 1215.0

Seni Jaya Corp BHD 2.75 0.10 150.80 243.75 133.50 Formosa Prosonic Industries 3.870 -0.110 763.5 70.48 976.6

Petronas Dagangan Bhd 19.90 0.10 69.3 -7.01 19,769.70 Dutch Lady Milk Industries 33.000 -0.100 2.7 -12.00 2112.0

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 20.50 0.10 75.80 -11.79 6,267.80 Malaysia Airports Holdings 6.270 -0.100 1310.2 5.91 10403.1

Elsoft Research Bhd 1.05 0.10 10,507.50 32.08 708.5 QL Resources Bhd 4.800 -0.100 294.7 -17.24 11681.6

Hong Leong Financial Group 17.10 0.10 128 -5.32 19,583.70 CTOS Digital Bhd 1.870 -0.100 33,155.6 0.00 4,114.0

Hong Leong Capital Bhd 7.50 0.09 2,256.20 21.16 1,851.70 UMW Holdings Bhd 3.200 -0.090 56.7 -5.88 3738.5

CI Holdings Bhd 3.30 0.09 40.00 73.68 534.6 ATA IMS Bhd 1.510 -0.080 6565.4 -36.55 1,816.30

Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Nov 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg