THE EDGE 17.02.2023

ceoMorningBrief friday, february 17, 2023 Issue 524/2023 www. theedgemarke ts. com Americans are losing key food subsidy as prices get higher p23 HOME: Nga: Buyers of ailing housing projects can seek loan restructuring with govt support letters p5 Dialog expanding into renewable fuel storage biz, posts highest quarterly revenue since 2018 p10 Fed govt disputes multibillion-ringgit compensation calculated by valuer in Jalan Duta land case p14 WORLD: US rates may be heading higher than Wall Street or the Fed think p16 Indonesia holds key rate as inflation, rupiah pressures subside p20 Report on Page 2. Govt lost RM799 mil on axed Putrajaya monorail project — AG’s Report 2021

friday february 17, 2023 2 The E dge C E O m o rning brief published by ( 2 6 6 9 8 0 - X ) tel . 603-77218000 Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia publisher + ceo . Ho Kay Tat editor-in-chief . Kathy Fong chief commercial officer . Sharon Teh chief operating officer . Lim Shiew Yuin editors . Jenny Ng . Tan Choe Choe Lam Jian Wyn to contact editors: [email protected] to advertise: [email protected] the edge ceo morning brief Read from desktop or mobile device. You can print in A4 to read. Set print mode to fit or shrink oversize page. to get on emailing list [email protected] Govt lost RM799 mil on axed Putrajaya monorail project KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The government lost an estimated RM812.91 million from the development of its administration capital Putrajaya with a large chunk of it — RM799.34 million — due to a monorail project that was put on hold in 2004, according to the latest Auditor General’s report. Of the monies spent on the monorail project, some RM797.18 million was utilised for its development, while another RM2.16 million was for the maintenance of a tunnel for the project that was never used, said the Auditor General’s Report 2021 Series 2 released on Thursday (Feb 16). Other components include the non-utilisation of a bus depot in Presint 14 (RM12.21 million) and the variation of utilisation of Park and Ride infrastructure in the federal administration capital (RM1.36 million). As at end-2021, completion of Putrajaya’s development according to components had a completion rate of between 31.6% and 115.7%. Plans for Putrajaya’s development as the government’s administrative capital was mooted in 1992 during the time of thenPrime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, with an estimated cost of RM20.09 billion according to the 7th Malaysia Plan. He stepped down in 2003. In 1997, a land transfer agreement (LTA) was inked between the Federal Land Commissioner, Syarikat Tanah dan Harta Sdn Bhd and Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd (PJH) to develop Putrajaya. Aside from the LTA, a concession agreement was inked between PJH and the government across three documents namely a land infrastructure agreement, government building concession agreement, and government quarters design and build agreement. “Due to changes in government policy, the planned development could not be fully completed,” the report said. “There are weaknesses in the implementation aspect of the integrated transportation system, as well as development of facilities for housing, education, and healthcare,” it said. by Syafiqah Salim & Adam Aziz theedgemarkets.com It added that the government did not clearly identify the body responsible to oversee the development of the mega project, be it ministry or department or local council. “No special committee was formed to conduct oversight of Putrajaya’s development,” the report said. Basic monorail infra built, no clear reason project was axed First proposed as an underground light rail transit (LRT) system, the mode of transportation was changed to monorail in 1997. However, a lack of documents hindered the audit from identifying the justification on the changes, as well as reason for the project to be put on hold, the report said. The monorail project covers two routes, namely Line 1 (13.2km) and Line 2 (6 km), as well as the monorail station at Putrajaya Sentral Terminal at Precint 7. Site visits showed that construction had started on several main infrastructures with basic structures erected. This includes a tunnel, a monorail station at Putrajaya Sentral Terminal, a railroad bridge and portions of elevated rail tracks. In Putrajaya’s initial structural planning, the monorail was envisioned to be the backbone of Putrajaya’s public transport system. As the project failed to take off, it impacted the feasibility of the city’s bus services — which the government had spent RM118.1 million on — as well as the use of related facilities such as park-and-ride facilities. Two park-and-ride sites developed for RM58.54 million were also not utilised for its original purpose, with part of them changed as a site for night markets. Including the monorail, the city’s planning incorporated six infrastructure planning for the public’s mode of transport, aside from a tram service (which did not start construction), Express Rail Link (ERL), bus transport, water transport, and pedestrian and bicycle paths. The last four projects were completed, although the water transport feature remained in use as a tourist attraction. Weaknesses in Putrajaya’s transport system subsequently led to traffic congestion and parking problems, especially during peak hours, the report added. Overall, the transport infrastructure was 66.7% completed as planned, with supporting infrastructure 33.3% completed. This audit involved 10 agencies including the Ministry of Federal Territories, Putrajaya Corp, Ministry of Transport Malaysia, PLANMalaysia, Putrajaya Public Works Department, Department of Lands and Mines, Property Management Division and Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Putrajaya had 109,202 residents as of 2020, which is 38.8% of the targeted 281,500 residents by that year under the Putrajaya Structural Planning 2025. In 2019, Putrajaya Corp reportedly said the monorail project, which involves an 8kmlong underground portion, will continue. Last year, then-minister of transport Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said he discussed the Putrajaya monorail project — among other transport infrastructures — with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir, who gave input on how the project could be developed. h o m e Due to changes in government policy, the planned development could not be fully completed… no special committee was formed to conduct the oversight of Putrajaya’s development.” — Auditor General’s Report 2021 on Putrajaya’s development

friday february 17, 2023 3 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The National Audit Department in its latest report said the government lost RM158.08 million due to losses in public funds, irregular payments and wastages across various ministries and agencies. This was a result of non-compliance in the financial management processes, said the Auditor General’s Report 2021 Series 2 released on Thursday (Feb 16). The report has identified RM116.95 million worth of public funds loss by various agencies, followed by irregular payments (RM26.03 million) and wastages (RM15.1 million). Among the incidents that resulted in losses of public funds, the largest portion was incurred by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) due to RM72.32 million in understated customs duties in duty-free islands, namely Langkawi and Labuan. It explained that this occurred as residential and vehicle ownership requirements were not complied with as well as due to inaccurate excise duties calculations. “Overall, there were weaknesses in the collection of customs duties for imported vehicles at duty-free islands,” the report said. The RMCD is under the Ministry of Finance’s purview. The report advised the RMCD to revise the terms for vehicle purchases brought in through a duty-free island, as well as ensure the compliance of guidelines issued specifically for vehicle assessment, and the customs division should carry out an audit on post-imported goods. Besides the RMCD, the Auditor General also underlined that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) as at Dec 31, 2021, had yet to receive RM37 million from the fund under the social obligations of the concession agreement for national paddy and rice industry management. The report recommended MAFI immediately establish a trust account and obtain the social obligation funds in accordance with the concession agreement to benefit the target group. Another instance of public funds loss identified by the Auditor General’s Office involved the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia’s (K-KOMM) Digital Content Grant, which involved wastage and loss of public funds amounting to RM4 million. The report also listed RM1.82 million in fines not imposed by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Prime Minister Department’s RM1.66 million in missed government quarters rental collections, and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) not imposing an RM149,178 penalty sum for violations of the Service Level Agreement. RM26.03 million public funds went into irregular payments The Auditor General’s Office’s report underlined that RM26.03 million of public funds were involved in irregular payments made by the PDRM, K-KOMM, MAFI and the Ministry of Defence (Mindef). The report said the PDRM made improper payments of RM17.76 million relating to a contract awarded to an undisclosed company for the provision of printing and mailing services of police summon notices, which carried a contract value of RM45 million. It said that the PDRM paid the company even before it printed and sent the summon notices as required. It also noted that the company also appointed a subcontractor without the PDRM’s approval. “PDRM should ensure that payments are made in accordance with the agreement and based on the actual number of summon notices printed and posted by the service company,” the National Audit Department said. Meanwhile, K-KOMM had made an irregular payment by disbursing RM4 million in by Izzul Ikram theedgemarkets.com AG’s Report 2021: RM158 mil lost by govt due to leakages, irregular payments and wastages Digital Content Grant to six companies, which were related to board members of the National Film Development Corp (FINAS), which went against the provisions of the FINAS Act 2018. Another RM3.25 million in Digital Content Grant was listed as an irregular payment as it was paid out before the companies completed their prior projects, which is against the grant’s terms and conditions. RM15.1 million in public fund wastages As for the RM15.1 million parked under wastages of public funds, the Auditor General said JPJ had ordered 1.83 million Malaysian driving licenses worth RM14.23 million, which went unused. “Ensure the usage of the cards is monitored frequently to allow an efficient use of cards and avoid unnecessary wastage,” the report recommended. Meanwhile, the report said MAFI had RM870,000 worth of machinery which went unutilised and had been damaged. The Auditor General’s Office advises the ministry to undertake a machinery requirement study and provide maintenance programmes in order for the machinery to be made available to paddy farmers. Identified losses in public funds Ministry/Agency Loss (RM mil) Royal Malaysian 72.32 Customs Department Understated customs duties for imported vehicles at duty-free islands. Ministry of Agriculture 37.00 and Food Industries Amount of social obligation fund not received. Ministry of 4.00 Communications Digital Content Grant (DKD) payment wastage and loss. and Multimedia Royal Malaysian Police 1.82 Fines not enforced. Prime Minister’s 1.66 Department Weakness in rental collection of government quarters in Putrajaya. Road Transport 0.15 Department Unimposed penalty sum. Irregular payments which used public funds Royal Malaysian Police 17.76 Payment not in line with terms of contract. Ministry of 7.31 Communications Disbursed DKD against terms and conditions, FINAS Act 2018. and Multimedia Ministry of Agriculture 0.73 and Food Industries Paid out rice subsidies to deceased paddy farmers. Ministry of Defence 0.23 Paid for change to road works before variation order was approved. Wastages of public funds Road Transport 14.23 Department 1.83 million Malaysian driver licenses left unused. Ministry of Agriculture 0.87 and Food Industries Machinery left unused and became damaged. Source: Auditor General’s Report 2021 Series 2

friday february 17, 2023 4 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The Ministry of Health (MOH) has been advised to conduct an assessment of the security levels of the MySejahtera and MyVAS applications as a whole, and make security enhancements to their respective systems and data. According to the Auditor General’s Report for the Year 2021 Series 2 released on Thursday (Feb 16), this is to overcome weaknesses in user account management for administrative and data matters, as well as data security that can invite the risk of account abuse and for data reliability to be questioned. The report stated that one Super Admin account had downloaded the private information of three million vaccine recipients from the MySejahtera application by using various internet protocol addresses. “The MOH must ensure that the management of MySejahtera dan MyVAS user accounts is implemented according to the ministry’s information and communications technology security policies. “The MOH must conduct data housekeeping to ensure data is always available, complete and reliable,” according to the report. Other weaknesses listed in the report included how 3.89 million records were uploaded more than a day after individuals were vaccinated, 1.12 million cyberattack attempts on MySejahtera from Oct 27, 2021, and 28,735 vaccination records showing individuals receiving vaccination after the vaccination centres were closed. It also stated how 1,657 individuals had more than one MySJ ID, while 1,543 individuals had between two and seven accounts involving 3,108 active MySJ IDs with their identities verified and having received vaccines. “Agencies need to refer to the Ministry of Finance for urgent and immediate procurement or payment to avoid any violation of regulations in force,” the report read. PUTRAJAYA (Feb 16): The National Audit Department does not set a period for ministries or departments to follow up on audit issues because it is complicated, involves various parties, and is time-consuming, said Auditor General Datuk Seri Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid. He said that government affairs involve various parties and not only the ministry in question, hence delaying the process. MoH advised to improve MySejahtera security as data on 3 mil accounts downloaded by ‘super admin’ Follow-up action after audit complex, involves various parties, says auditor general KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): A total 1.1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines procured by the government — comprising Cansino, Comirnaty and Astrazeneca — was found to have expired as of April 2022. Within that period, a total of 71.26 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been used up. Of the remaining balance of 11.59 million vaccine doses, 1.1 million vaccine doses expired by between one and 212 days, according to the Auditor-General’s 2019 Series 2 report released on Thursday (Feb 16). “However, the value of vaccine doses procured through government procurement that have expired cannot be determined by the audit. This is because the VMS [vaccine management system] check on the vaccines cannot be categorised based on the vaccine procurement method,” the report said. Of the total expenditure of RM10.691 billion allocated for the pandemic response, the Ministry of Health (MOH) spent about RM8.01 billion as of April 2022, while the remaining RM581.95 million was spent by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti). In terms of vaccine procurement, the MOH spent about RM4.46 billion out of RM5.58 billion to procure 75.88 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, consisting of Comirnaty, Astrazenecca, Corona and Convidecia vaccines. The total number of vaccines received during this period is 82.85 million doses, the report said. Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said certain parts of the procurement of the vaccines were signed off by the relevant minister without the approval or consent of the attorney general. Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin responded by saying that the entire procurement of vaccines was approved by Putrajaya and confirmed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which investigated the matter. 93 unused ventilators cause estimated loss of RM13.07 million On the other hand, 93 ventilators supplied to the MOH by the company known as “260790-T” could not be used, resulting in an estimated loss of RM13.07 million. “Only 28 of the 136 ventilators supplied by the company (260790-T) to the MOH facility can be used. “The remaining 108 ventilators could not be used because they were in unsafe condition and not suitable for use by patients. Of this total, 15 were returned to the manufacturer to be replaced, while 93 of the ventilators failed technical specification testing and performance and quantity testing,”” the report said. In addition, the report highlighted that there is an overstock of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the change in procedure for the use of PPE, as well as a lower number of Covid-19 patients. “The percentage of boot covers and protective suits used compared to the remaining stock is 2.2% and 3.1% respectively, with a remaining stock of 3.08 million pairs and 0.84 million pairs respectively. These two stocks can last up to 639 and 456 days respectively,” the report said. 1.1 mil Covid-19 vaccines expired as of April 2022 — AG’s report by Syafiqah Salim theedgemarkets.com Bernama Bernama “We caution a particular ministry, but this ministry depends on other ministries, so it cannot finish [the process] until that other ministry has settled it first. “There is also the restructuring of ministries, and when there is a Cabinet reshuffle, the components are moved to other ministries, so that is also among the things that cause delays,” he said during a media briefing on the Auditor General’s Report for the Year 2021 Series 2 here on Thursday (Feb 16). Read the full story

friday february 17, 2023 5 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): There are currently eight flood mitigation projects being carried out on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia that are collectively worth some RM1.64 billion, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change. These projects are meant to develop an integrated river basin, with RM1.2 billion for Kelantan’s Sungai Kelantan (RM699 million) and Sungai Golok (RM501 million), the ministry said in a written reply on Wednesday (Feb 15) to Che Alias Hamid (PAS-Kemaman), who asked for the latest status of the implementation of flood mitigation projects in the East Coast states. The ministry said RM344.5 million is being spent in Pahang for flood mitigation projects around Sungai Kuantan, while RM47.8 million is being spent on Sungai Semantan. In Terengganu, RM50.6 million is being spent for flood mitigation in Kemasik, while works on an integrated river basin for Sungai Kemaman are still being valued by the ministry, with approval expected in July this year. As for the Bukit Payung flood mitigation project in Marang, Terengganu, the ministry said it is still in the design stage, and is expected to be finalised in September. KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The government has not provided its final approval for the development of Kulim International Airport (KXP), pending the completion of the National Airport Strategic Plan (NASP) in August this year. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) said the study on NASP began in March last year and was expected to take 18 months to complete. “This study involves all 42 existing airports and will also examine the proposed construction of a new airport,” said the ministry in a Dewan Rakyat written reply dated Feb 15. The MOT was responding to a question from Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PAS-Alor Setar), who requested the latest status on the approval for the development of KXP and Kedah Aerotropolis at Sidam, Kedah. MOT said until Thursday (Feb 16), no approval was given for the establishment of an aerodrome for the KXP project, with the developer yet to submit the development’s Traffic Impact Assessment report, Social Impact Assessment report and Environmental Impact Assessment report to the government. Ongoing East Coast flood mitigation projects cost RM1.64 bil — ministry Putrajaya yet to finalise approval for Kulim International Airport, says Transport Ministry KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Buyers of “ailing” private housing projects can apply to their financiers for loan restructuring with supporting letters from the government, said Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming. Nga, in his written reply to Parliament, said his ministry will issue the letter through the Department of National Housing to affected buyers to help ease their financial burden. He said that a total of 429 housing projects had been categorised as ailing projects as of Jan 31, 2023, involving 70,727 residential units with a total of 29,147 buyers. The Teluk Intan Member of Parliament was responding to Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong, who also enquired about measures by the ministry to overcome ailing housing projects. A licensed private housing project is categorised as ailing when the sale and purchase agreement has lapsed, or when the project is delayed by more than 30% compared to its scheduled progress. Nga said the ministry had displayed a list of such housing projects on the Department of National Housing portal. “This list of projects can be used as a guide by potential homebuyers and financiers before approving a new housing loan and controlling progress payments to existing developers,” he said. The ministry has also frozen the housing development account for selected ailing projects to avoid irresponsible withdrawals of money by developers, and blacklisted developers and directors of these companies from applying for a new advertising permit as long as the existing ailing project has not been completed with a Certificate of Completion and Compliance. Nga said ailing projects with no progress on site for a long period of time are confirmed as abandoned projects in accordance with the Housing Development (Control And Licensing) Act 1966. Among the preventive measures, he said the government would hold a smart partnership programme with state governments, state housing and real estate boards, local authorities, government agencies, technical agencies, and developers. He said the ministry also plans a private housing forum with stakeholders and industry players, such as the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia and liquidators. “The ministry encourages the use of new technologies in construction, such as the industrialised building system and alternative building materials, to speed up the completion of housing projects at a cheaper cost without affecting the quality of construction,” Nga said. Nga: Buyers of ailing housing projects can seek loan restructuring with govt support letters by hailey chung theedgemarkets.com by chester tay theedgemarkets.com by chester tay theedgemarkets.com “MOT is always open to any proposals from private developers and state governments in relation to developing public infrastructure that are more competent from an economic point of view and improve consumer experience. “Nonetheless, these proposals to build new airports in Malaysia have to be truly viable, sustainable and fulfil the latest technical and commercial requirements set by CAAM (Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia) and Mavcom (Malaysian Aviation Commission),” said the ministry. Bernama The flood in Pasir Mas, Kelantan at end-2022.

friday february 17, 2023 6 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan has defended the government’s decision not to allow another round of special withdrawals from Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts, stressing that the median savings of contributors have fallen sharply due to such withdrawals previously. Ahmad said 8.1 million EPF members had withdrawn RM145 billion under the four special withdrawal schemes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Noting that the median EPF savings of all races prior to the pandemic in 2019 stood at RM16,600, he said it had fallen to RM8,100 in 2022 after the withdrawals. The median EPF savings of Bumiputeras below the age of 55 dropped significantly to RM4,900 last year, from RM15,500 in April 2020, he said at a press conference in the Parliament building. Among them, the seven million Malay contributors saw their median EPF savings declining to RM5,500 in 2022, from RM16,900 in April 2020. “Other Bumiputera members, totalling 1.4 million, were the most affected, with their savings dropping 18% from RM38 billion to RM31 billion, while their median savings declined 70% from RM10,600 to RM3,300,” he noted. Ahmad also said that the government had received various proposals for the upcoming Budget 2023, including for an increase in the limit on voluntary EPF contributions to RM100,000 a year, from the current RM60,000. “That is not certain yet. We have to wait for Budget 2023. There are many proposals. This is one of them,” he said. In the Dewan Rakyat earlier, Ahmad was asked to state the measures the government is taking to increase the EPF dividend rate to rebuild EPF savings at a faster rate by taking into account the long-term investment portfolio strategy and shortand medium-term global economic risks. “The reconstruction of the member’s savings balance is also very dependent on contributions and withdrawals trends of members. The EPF remains committed to continuing to provide competitive returns to contributors in an effort to increase their retirement savings balance,” he said. Ahmad also updated that as at September last year, EPF’s assets totalled at RM961.1 billion, of which 64% comprised domestic investments and the other 36% were overseas investments. Breaking down the investments by types, Ahmad said 48% were in fixed income instruments like Malaysian Government Securities, followed by 37% in equities listed on Bursa Malaysia, 4% in private companies (like its 49% stake in QSR Brands (M) Holdings), 7% in real assets, and 4% in money market instruments. Ahmad Maslan defends govt’s decision to disallow further special EPF withdrawals KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Fitch Ratings has affirmed Malaysia’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at “BBB+” with a stable outlook. In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 15), the international rating agency said Malaysia’s ratings balance a diversified economy with strong medium-term growth prospects against high public debt, a low revenue base relative to the operating expenditures, and political uncertainty that hinders long-term policymaking. Fitch said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth to moderate to 4.0% in 2023 (BBB median: 2.4%) and 4.8% in 2024, from an exceptional 8.7% in 2022, when the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and government-relief measures led to a rapid and broad recovery. “In 2023, we expect services to continue to gain from resilient domestic demand, contained inflation and a recovery in tourism-related sectors from the reopening of China. “Manufacturing and exports are likely to face headwinds from weaker global demand for electronics and commodities. The medium-term growth trend of 4.0- 5.0% remains robust,” it said. High government debt Fitch said it expects the general government debt-to-GDP ratio to decline from Fitch affirms Malaysia at ‘BBB+’ with stable outlook 2024, on strong GDP growth amid gradual consolidation. It said the ratio is expected to fall to about 73% by end-2023 (BBB median: 55.6%), from a peak of 77.6% in 2021. “Our debt figures include ‘committed guarantees’ on loans by government-linked companies and 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) net debt, which in 2021 totalled 14.2% of GDP. “The upcoming 1MDB global bond due March 2023 of US$3 billion, or 0.7% of GDP, will be fully redeemed and financed by government domestic issuance,” it said. The rating agency said fiscal policy plans of the newly elected government will only become clearer when the full Budget 2023 is retabled on Feb 24, but deficit reductions will be gradual, as the government is likely to avoid resorting to unpopular revenue measures. “We expect the central government deficit to decline to an average of around 4.5% of GDP in 2023-2025. “The main upside risks to our projections include greater expenditure rationalisation and substantial revenue mobilisation measures, such as reintroducing the goods and services tax,” it said. Read also: Fitch Ratings’ affirmation reflects confidence in current govt’s administration — PM by Surin Murugiah theedgemarkets.com by Chester Tay theedgemarkets.com Low Yen Yeing/The Edge Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur

friday february 17, 2023 7 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Luxembourg court bailiffs issued fresh seizure orders for two units of Malaysian state oil firm Petronas this week, following a bid by descendants of a former sultanate to enforce a US$15-billion (RM66-billion) award they had won against Malaysia, according to the heirs’ lawyer and court documents seen by Reuters. The Filipino heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu are seeking to enforce a US$14.9-billion award granted to them by a French arbitration court last year, amid a long-running dispute with the Malaysian government over a colonial-era land deal. Malaysia, which did not participate in the arbitration, maintains the process is illegal and has vowed to use all legal measures to prevent its assets, including state-linked companies, from being seized overseas. It obtained a stay on the award in France but the ruling remains enforceable overseas under a United Nations treaty on arbitration. On Thursday, Petronas confirmed the new seizure order for the two units and their parent company, but reiterated the heirs’ actions were baseless and the company will continue to defend its legal position. The Petronas Azerbaijan (Shah Deniz) and Petronas South Caucasus units were first seized in July 2022, but the Malaysian government said last month that the order had been set aside by a Luxembourg district court. On Tuesday, Luxembourg court bailiffs issued a second seizure order on the units and related bank accounts, court documents shared by the heirs’ lawyer, Paul Cohen, showed. Cohen, of British law firm 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, told Reuters the Luxembourg district court had indeed lifted the first seizure order on a minor issue that has since been addressed, but had not made a judgment on the merits of the arbitration. “There was a technical ruling that has now been effectively dealt with, and the freezing orders are once more in place on the Petronas assets in Luxembourg,” he said via email. The Luxembourg court could not be immediately reached for comment. Malaysia’s law minister did not respond to requests for comment. Read the full story SYDNEY (Feb 16): Petronas’ Gentari said on Thursday (Feb 16) it had finalised the purchase of Australian renewables firm Wirsol Energy, which has solar and battery energy storage systems and a pipeline of development projects. The deal has an enterprise value of A$1 billion (RM3.04 billion), according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The source could not be named as the information has not been made public. Gentari and Wirsol Energy did not respond to a request for comment on the sale price. Wirsol is comprised 422 megawatts in operating capacity and 765 megawatts of potential capacity in projects under development, Gentari said in a statement. Read also: Petronas set to buy Wirsol’s Australian renewable energy assets — sources SINGAPORE (Feb 16): US private equity firm TPG is in advanced talks to buy Malaysian private education assets owned by regional buyout firm KV Asia Capital in a deal that could be worth more than US$300 million, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. An agreement could be struck as early as the first quarter, one of the sources said. TPG, which has US$135 billion of assets under management globally, has been expanding in Southeast Asia in recent years, including in Malaysia. KV Asia last year appointed Rothschild & Co to explore a sale of Asia Pacific Education Holdings, the sources said, declining to be named because the talks are currently underway. TPG, KV Asia and Rothschild declined to comment. The growing number of affluent families in Southeast Asia has made education assets in the region attractive to investors. The sale of Advent International’s stake in Singaporean tuition chain The LearnPetronas’ Gentari finalises purchase of Australia’s Wirsol Energy TPG in talks to buy US$300 mil Malaysian education assets from KV Asia, say sources by Scott Murdoch Reuters by Rozanna Latiff Reuters by Yantoultra Ngui & Anshuman Daga Reuters of Information Technology operate out of two campuses and have more than 10,000 students, according to KV Asia’s website. Asia Pacific Education was bought by KV Asia and the education firm’s management team in 2018 from Malaysian government-linked private equity fund management company Ekuiti Nasional Bhd, according to an earlier press release. That deal was based on an enterprise value of RM725 million, but it included primary and secondary school operator Asia Pacific Schools, which was sold a year later for an undisclosed price. KV Asia focuses on investing in midsized Southeast Asian companies in sectors including consumer and healthcare, according to its website. Its current portfolio includes Indonesian beauty and personal care company PT Victoria Care Indonesia and Singapore-headquartered marine diesel engine services firm Power Diesel, the website shows. ing Lab has garnered interest from private equity firms including PAG and Platinum Equity, Reuters reported in November. Asia Pacific Education owns two tertiary institutions located in Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation and Asia Pacific Institute Petronas units in Luxembourg seized again in US$15 bil arbitration dispute

friday february 17, 2023 8 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Lynas Rare Earths Ltd said the closure of its Malaysian unit’s cracking and leaching part of its rare earths processing plant in Pahang will result in “hundreds of directs jobs and thousands of jobs lost or affected in our communities”. “Once they are gone, these jobs and intellectual property will be lost to Malaysia forever,” the Australian company’s chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 16). She was responding to Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang’s comment at a press conference on Wednesday that “there might be some jobs lost” following Putrajaya’s decision to maintain the previous operating conditions imposed on Lynas Malaysia Sdn Bhd in March 2020. The conditions include the shifting of the cracking and leaching process — which involves radioactive material — to outside of Malaysia. This means Lynas must stop importing and processing rare earths concentrate after July, and can only refine the materials at the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant, located in Gebeng, near Kuantan. The cracking and leaching of lanthanide concentrate cannot be done there. Lacaze, in her statement, said it was incorrect to suggest that the government’s decision was a choice between the economy or the environment “as evidence of the safe operation of Lynas is clear and validated by four separate reviews by expert scientists”. “Lynas has met our obligations under the terms upon which we were invited to invest in Malaysia, including employing Malaysians; 99% of employees at Lynas Malaysia are Malaysian. We were pleased to receive representatives from the Department of Atomic Energy and its board to our new RM1.7 billion Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility. “However, the deadline was arbitrarily applied to the licence conditions without regard to the time required to construct and ramp up to full production, a facility of this size and complexity, particularly during a global pandemic,” she claimed. “Lynas only seeks to be treated fairly and equitably as a foreign direct investor and for decisions to be made based on scientific evidence,” Lacaze added. Lynas says closure of cracking and leaching facility will result in loss of ‘hundreds of directs jobs’ KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Privately-held Tunas Capital Sdn Bhd — the vehicle of Datuk Chin Yoke Kan and Datuk Chin Yoke Choon — has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd following the disposal of 60 million shares that represents a 6% stake in the dry bulk operator on Thursday (Feb 16). Following the disposal, Yoke Choon and Yoke Kan have no more shares in Maybulk. The shares were acquired by Datuk Goh Cheng Huat, who bumped up his shareholding to 32%, or 320 million shares, Maybulk’s separate filing with Bursa Malaysia showed. The shares were purchased at 42.5 sen apiece, which is about 16.4% higher than the closing price of 36.5 sen on Thursday. Based on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, the 60 million shares would have cost Goh RM25.5 million. It should be noted that Goh is the founder and executive director of Eonmetall Group Bhd, as well as founder, deputy chairman and executive director of Leader Steel Holdings Bhd. Goh is also an executive director of Maybulk since May last year. Yoke Kan, Yoke Choon and Goh acquired their respective stakes in Maybulk in April last year from billionaire Robert Kuok Hock Nien. At that time, Yoke Kan and Yoke Choon Tunas Capital exits Maybulk as Eonmetall’s Goh raises stake to 32% acquired 60 million shares or a 16% stake in Maybulk via Tunas Capital, while Goh also purchased a 16% stake in Maybulk. Both Yoke Choon and Yoke Kan disposed of their shares and exited from the board following the plan to sell their grocery business to Maybulk fell through. About a month ago on Jan 13, Yoke Choon and Yoke Kan hived off 100 million shares or a 10% stake in Maybulk, trimming its stake to 6%, or 60 million shares. The shares were acquired by Goh who bumped up his shareholding to 26%, or 260 million shares. On the same day (Jan 13), both Yoke Kan and Yoke Choon resigned as executive directors of Maybulk while Ooi Tek Huat, the chief financial officer since May 18 last year, was appointed as an executive director. Shares in Maybulk closed unchanged at 36.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM365 million. Over the past year, the stock has depreciated 30.5% from 52.5 sen. by Justin Lim theedgemarkets.com by Justin Lim theedgemarkets.com reuters

friday february 17, 2023 9 The E dge C E O m o rning brief subscribe.theedgemalaysia.com *Prices indicated are for the Klang Valley only. Collection PRINT & DIGITAL PACKAGE PRICE 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RM270* DIGITAL ONLY PACKAGE PRICE 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RM200 Subscription THE EDGE MALAYSIA 1 PRINT + 3 DIGITAL ACCESS THE EDGE SINGAPORE 1 DIGITAL ACCESS THE EDGE MALAYSIA 3 DIGITAL ACCESS THE EDGE SINGAPORE 1 DIGITAL ACCESS

friday february 17, 2023 10 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Petronas Gas Bhd’s (PetGas) net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4QFY2022) fell 8.86% to RM412.55 million, from RM452.63 million a year ago, dragged by higher operating expenses relating to fuel gas and internal gas consumption expenses. Quarterly earnings per share slipped to 20.85 sen, from 22.87 sen for 4QFY2021. Also contributing to the lower profit was a lower share of profit from joint-venture companies, PetGas said, although foreign exchange and fund investments gains provided some offset. The weaker profit for the quarter was despite a 9.08% increase in revenue to RM1.63 billion from RM1.5 billion, mainly from the utilities segment, as a result of higher product prices due to higher fuel gas prices, it said. PetGas declared a dividend of 22 sen per share for the quarter, down 10 sen from 32 sen per share for 4QFY2021. Subsequently, its full-year dividend came in at 72 sen per share, from 82 sen last year. For FY2022, higher fuel gas and internal gas consumption expenses similarly contributed to a 17.27% decline in net profit to RM1.56 billion, from RM1.99 billion the year before. The group cited “a challenging exterPetGas says 4Q profit dragged by gas expenses, declares 22 sen dividend KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Dialog Group Bhd is setting up Terminal Langsat 3 at its terminal operations in Tanjung Langsat, Johor for storage of renewable fuel products with a capacity of 24,000 cubic metres. This involves emerging product lines like biodiesel, sustainable aviation fuel and their associated feedstock. The filing, however, did not disclose the estimated costs for the expansion plan, which will commence immediately and is expected to be completed by 4Q2024. The development is “largely in response to growing investor interest in low-carbon fuel alternatives”, Dialog said in a filing. “In essence, this gives terminals a new lease of life and new value in the energy transition,” Dialog said. Potential users, it said, include biofuel production companies, energy trading houses and multinational energy companies. The facility will be connected to truck loading bays and existing marine facilities, it said. As at end-2021, Dialog’s Terminal Langsat total capacity stood at 855,000 cubic metres. Excluding its latest announcement, it has additional space of 17 acres of land with capacity of approximately another 200,000 cubic metres to be added, its annual report showed. It also operates tank terminals across three phases in Pengerang with capacity totalling 3.83 million cubic metres, with 500 acres available for future development. Separately, Dialog posted a net profit of RM127.15 million or 2.25 sen per share in its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (2QFY23), down 0.6% year-on-year from RM127.88 million or 2.27 sen per share. The weaker bottom line is due to higher project and operation costs, it said. The group also incurred higher finance costs in the period. This is despite quarterly revenue rising 46.4% year-on-year to RM797.01 million from RM544.49 million in 2QFY22, on the back of higher business activities Dialog expanding into renewable fuel storage biz, posts highest quarterly revenue since 2018 by adam aziz theedgemarkets.com by adam aziz theedgemarkets.com across local and international operations. This was its highest topline since 3QFY18, when it booked revenue of RM867.37 million and net profit of RM118.84 million. For the six-month period ended Dec 31, 2022 (1HFY23), Dialog’s net profit slipped 1.5% to RM252.94 million or 4.48 sen per share from RM256.69 million or 4.55 sen per share. Revenue however rose 43.7% to RM1.51 billion, from RM1.05 billion. “As a leading integrated technical service provider that is diversified across the upstream, midstream, and downstream businesses of the energy sector, Dialog will remain focused and steadfast in the pursuit of its key long-term strategies,” it said. Dialog owns a controlling stake in Thailand onshore oilfield operator Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd, and has a 70% participating interest in the Baram Junior Cluster in Sarawak. In the downstream segment, Dialog is actively involved in plant maintenance services in the Pengerang petrochemicals project. It is also venturing into production of recycled polymer resin as well as hydrogen. Shares of Dialog settled down one sen or 0.39% at RM2.58, giving it a market capitalisation of RM14.57 billion. nal environment on the back of increasing fuel gas prices and unfavourable foreign exchange movement”. Full-year revenue rose 9.1% to RM6.16 billion, from RM5.65 billion, again supported by the utilities segment, although the segment’s operating profit was hardest hit due to the commodity price surge. PetGas also operates gas processing, transportation, and regasification businesses. On prospects, it sees lower revenue from the gas transportation and regasification segments, due to the new tariffs under the Regulatory Period 2 (2023-2025). Meanwhile, it said, the utilities segment Petronas Gas dividends 0 30 60 90 120 150 Dividend per share (sen) FY 2018 FY 2019 FY 2020 FY 2021 FY 2022 Financial year ends Dec 31 Source: Bursa Malaysia, company's annual report 72 72 82 127 82 will benefit from the imbalance cost passthrough surcharge adjustment to electricity tariffs in the first half of 2023. “The overall group performance for 2023 is expected to remain robust, while the volatility in foreign exchange and gas price movement may also have an impact on the group’s results,” it added. Shares in PetGas fell 24 sen or 1.35% to RM17.50, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM34.63 billion.

friday february 17, 2023 11 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Both Supermax Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd slipped into losses for the financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, as the operating landscape gets harsher as a result of the continued fall in average selling price and capacity glut. Kossan warned of “severely challenging” times ahead in its result announcement, pointing out that the headwinds, including higher energy and labour costs, will continue in 2023. Meanwhile, Supermax foresees competition to remain intense and will eat into profitability, while demand will continue to “moderate from the record highs”. Besides the shrinking sale volume, Supermax, which posted a net loss of RM108 million in its second financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (2QFY23), was also bogged down by an unrealised forex loss of RM55.2 million due to the weakening of the US dollar against the ringgit. Supermax posted a loss per share of 4.07 sen in the quarter under review, against earnings per share of 1.83 sen a year ago, the group’s bourse filing showed. Quarterly revenue was down 67% yearon-year (y-o-y) to RM174.79 million from RM523.54 million previously. The dismal performance dragged the group’s performance for the first six months of FY2023 to a net loss of Supermax and Kossan slip into quarterly losses as glove industry gets tougher KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (2QFY2023) rose 45% year-on-year to RM70.47 million from RM48.49 million, on the back of high oil and gas prices and as it achieved its highest average quarterly production ever. Earnings per share rose to 3.5 sen, from 2.42 sen in 2QFY2022, Hibiscus’s filing showed. The group declared a dividend of 0.75 sen per share. Quarterly revenue rose 150.74% to RM713.13 million, from RM284.4 million. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, Hibiscus’s net profit went down by 49.9% to RM70.47 million from RM135.26 million, despite revenue rising 17.91% to RM713.13 million, from RM604.77 million. In the latest quarter, Hibiscus incurred a one-off non-cash adjustment from the Energy Profits Levy regime in the United Kingdom amounting to RM104 million, which will be reversed in March 2028. In 2QFY2023, 1.3 million barrels of oil and condensate, and 0.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of gas were sold, contributing RM605.3 million and RM106.8 million to the total revenue, respectively. It estimates to sell approximately 7.3 million boe of oil, condenHibiscus 2Q net profit rises 45% as operations improve, declares 0.75 sen dividend by justin lim theedgemarkets.com sate and gas in the whole of FY2023. On production, Hibiscus produced an average of 19,912 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) of oil, condensate and gas — its highest in a quarter. Average operating expenditure (opex) stood at US19/barrel (bbl) in the Anasuria cluster and North Sabah; and slightly lower at US$16/bbl under the Peninsula Hibiscus group, it said. “While our financial performance in this quarter has benefitted from robust oil and gas prices, our operational performance is a testament to our effective management of our assets,” said Hibiscus managing director Kenneth Pereira. “We have seen considerable growth in 2QFY2023, which can be attributed to better performance from the Peninsula Hibiscus group assets and the Anasuria cluster,” he said. For the six months ended Dec 31, 2022 (1HFY2023), Hibiscus’s net profit more than doubled to RM205.73 million or 10.22 sen per share, from RM90.01 million or 4.48 sen per share. Similarly, revenue rose 148.15% to RM1.32 billion, from RM531.09 million. Hibiscus’ shares rose four sen or 3.64% to RM1.14, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.29 billion. RM102.36 million, versus a net profit of RM686.37 million a year ago. Revenue contracted 78.64% y-o-y to RM422.75 million from RM1.98 billion previously. Over at Kossan, it turned to a loss of RM2.49 million or 0.1 sen per share in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4QFY2022). In view of the harsh operating landscape, Kossan said it has placed its nearterm expansion plans on hold subject to the prevailing demand-supply situation. Shelving expansion plans has become a trend in the glove industry due to capacity glut globally. Despite the loss-making quarter, Kossan declared an interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share, payable on March 22, with an ex-date on March 7. Kossan’s quarterly revenue slumped to a five-year low of RM481.45 million — down almost 48% year-on-year (y-o-y) from RM924.56 million, the glove maker’s bourse filings showed. Compared to a year ago, it posted a net profit of RM218.67 million or earnings per share of 8.57 sen per share in 4QFY2021. For FY2022, Kossan’s net profit shrank to RM156.6 million, barely 5.5% of the RM2.86 billion that it made in the previous year. Annual revenue contracted 65% to RM2.32 billion from RM6.63 billion a year ago. Shares price of Kossan closed five sen or 4.63% higher at RM1.13, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.89 billion. Shares in Supermax rose 3.5 sen or 4.55% to 80.5 sen, translating into a market capitalisation of RM2.19 billion. by adam aziz theedgemarkets.com

friday february 17, 2023 12 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Jentayu Sustainables Bhd announced the completion of prerequisite tests for the commercial operation date (COD) for Telekosang Hydro One (TH1), a hydropower plant in Sabah. The completion of the tests was witnessed by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd representatives, Jentayu said in a statement. The plant is part of the Telekosang Hydro run-of-river project with combined generation capacity of 40mw between TH1 (24mw) and Telekosang Hydro Two (TH2) (16mw), according to reports. Jentayu had in June 2021 announced proposals to acquire the two companies which own the plants — Telekosang Hydro One Sdn Bhd and Telekosang Hydro Two Sdn Bhd — from Jentayu’s executive chairman Datuk Beroz Nikmal Mirdin. The related party transaction will be executed via an all-share deal, as part of Jentayu’s pivot into the renewable energy business. “The COD of TH1 is a major milestone towards fulfilling the conditions precedent of the injection of Telekosang Hydro into Jentayu Sustainables. The acquisition process is expected to be completed later this year,” Jentayu said. “Based on the tariff rate of RM0.24/ kWh under the Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement, Telekosang Hydro project is expected to generate an estimated cash flow of more than RM65 million per annum over the next 21 years,” the company said. Jentayu says commercial operation date prerequisite tests for Telekosang Hydro One completed KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): A wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FuelCell Energy Inc to collaborate on the development of large-scale electrolyser facilities in Asia, New Zealand and Australia intended to power hundreds of thousands of homes with green hydrogen. In a statement on Thursday (Feb 16), the companies said the facilities are being designed to greatly boost the efficiency of producing green hydrogen while reducing the cost. “Together, the companies expect to deliver electrolyser equipment to make largescale clean hydrogen production an easily accessible and viable energy option,” they said. The companies said the collaboration aims to tackle the stumbling blocks to producing green hydrogen, namely the cost of input electricity and the capital cost of the production facilities. FuelCell Energy’s solid oxide technology needs lower energy input compared to lower efficiency and low-temperature electrolysis, while MHB’s ability to modularise and build at scale is expected to lower the total capital cost of large-scale electrolyser projects. “We recently announced that we are accepting orders for our solid oxide electrolyser platform, the result of 20 years of research and development and testing. This collaboration with MHB is the next significant milestone, as we prepare to offer green hydrogen production for energy at a very large scale and lower cost,” said FuelCell Energy MHB inks MOU with FuelCell Energy to explore green hydrogen production technology by lam jian wyn theedgemarkets.com by sufi muhamad theedgemarkets.com Beroz, in the statement, said: “Telekosang Hydro is a testament to our commitment to utilizing the power of nature for a clean and reliable source of energy. “This project is expected to provide a long-term sustainable revenue stream and profitability to Jentayu Sustainables Berhad and would put us on a stronger financial footing as we continue to expand our footprint in the sustainable energy sector,” he added. According to Jentayu, Telekosang Hydro is Malaysia’s largest privately-owned cascading run-of-river hydropower plant. It has also managed to raise the world’s first greenfield mini-hydro green SRI Sukuk under the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar. For TH2, the COD prerequisite tests are targeted for completion in the next few months, a company spokesperson said. At market close, Jentayu Sustainables’ share price rose 0.5 sen or 0.59% to 85 sen. Its market capitalisation stood at RM322.47 million. The counter has gained 17.24% this year. chief commercial officer Mark Feasel. “We are excited about this collaboration, and look forward to working together to help decarbonise the globe,” he added. Meanwhile, MHB managing director and chief executive officer Pandai Othman said: “In addition to our involvement in carbon capture and storage space, we recognise that hydrogen also increasingly plays an important role in energy transition and decarbonisation.” “MHB is extremely pleased to be a goto-market partner to FuelCell Energy to provide a solution in expediting the production of hydrogen-fuelled clean energy. This MOU is part of MHB’s deliberate move to build a sustainable portfolio supporting the transition to a low-carbon future through collaboration with technology partners. “We are optimistic that both companies will empower global industries in their goals to achieve net-zero emission targets.” MHB shares closed half a sen or 0.68% lower at 73 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM1.17 billion.

friday february 17, 2023 13 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home Govt plans to increase water pollution fine to RM10 mil, jail sentence to 15 years KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change plans to increase the water pollution fine to RM10 million from RM100,000, and the jail sentence to 15 years from one year. Its Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Feb 16) that the current plan is to table this amendment under the Water Services Industry Act 2006 (Act 655) in June. Other amendments that the ministry plans under Act 655 are to list new offences that cause the closure of the water supply system, as well as to enable the water service licence holder to reclaim the restoration cost. At a press conference, Nik Nazmi added that the ministry also plans to amend the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) in two phases to curb pollution incidents, beginning with elements of compounding and penalties. — by Hailey Chung & Chester Tay Coastal Contracts to form EV charging biz In Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Coastal Contracts Bhd has teamed up with two companies to develop an electric vehicle charging system business in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. The marine oil & gas services and energy infrastructure solutions group said it will collaborate with MECOM Power and Construction Ltd and Singapore-based Yong Mui Global Pte Ltd (YMG) in the production, marketing, and operation of the EV charging systems business. The three entities will form a joint venture company incorporated in Singapore to obtain charger system qualification by government authorities in all three locations, said Coastal in a bourse filing. — by Priyatharisiny Vasu HR Ministry: 9% of Socso collection spent for emolument, benefits KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The Social Security Organisation (Socso) generally spends about 9% of its total collection for emolument cost and benefits for its staff, including board of directors, according to the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR). The ministry said Socso has collected RM5.01 billion in 2020, RM5.20 billion in 2021 and RM5.84 billion last year, figures which have yet to be audited. Emolument costs and benefits for staff and board of directors amounted to RM448.32 million in 2020, RM477.66 million in 2021 and RM516.85 million last year. “Basically, the ratio for Socso staff and board of directors’ emolument cost and benefits to total collection is 0.09:1.00, whereby [for] every RM1 collected, only nine sen [was] spent for emolument and benefits for staff and board of directors. “The remaining of the collection were spent for operating expenditure and for the purpose of interest payout by Socso,” said MOHR in a Dewan Rakyat written reply dated Feb 15. — by Chester Tay news In brie f Tengku Zafrul appointed as Umno Supreme Council member KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was appointed as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council on Thursday. He took the oath of office before the council meeting on Thursday night. Umno secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan in his tweet said Tengku Zafrul was appointed by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. “The Umno Supreme Council meeting on Feb 16 started with Senator Tengku Zafrul taking the oath as a council member appointed by the Umno president,” he said. — Bernama UMW Group’s Jan vehicle sales up 13% y-o-y to 28,235 units KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): UMW Group’s vehicle sales in January 2023 rose 13% year-on-year to 28,235 units from 24,972 units, on the back of higher bookings at both UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) and UMW’s associate company Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua). UMW said in a statement that UMWT started 2023 with the delivery of 6,786 units in January. It said the company plans to ramp up production for its backlog orders, especially for the orders that are eligible for the sales tax exemption, to be registered by March 31, 2023. The group said the Toyota Vios, Hilux and Corolla Cross continue to be the top-selling models for the month of January 2023. It said UMWT expects the demand and sales to be sustained throughout the year, supported by the introduction of new and facelift models. — by Surin Murugiah Cape EMS to raise RM155 mil from IPO at 90 sen per share KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): Main Market-bound Cape EMS Bhd has announced its initial public offering (IPO) price of 90 sen and an enlarged issued share capital of 923 million upon listing during its prospectus launch on Thursday (Feb 16). It will have a market capitalisation of RM830.7 million upon listing. The group also announced a dividend policy of up to 30% of profit after tax. Cape EMS, through its subsidiaries, is involved in aluminium die cast manufacturing, electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and supply of electronic products and related activities. The public issue of 173 million shares will raise RM155.7 million, while its retail offering was 54.2 million shares. From the proceeds, RM62.8 million, or 40.3%, was allocated for setting up a new cleanroom facility and purchase of new automated production lines for EMS operations. From its retail offering, 46.2 million shares (RM41.58 million) will be set aside for the Malaysian public. — by Sufi Muhamad

friday february 17, 2023 14 The E dge C E O m o rning brief home KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The Court of Appeal (COA) has dismissed the appeal of two Kuantan businessmen, challenging the policy of using Jawi script on business signboards in the area. In delivering the unanimous decision on Thursday (Feb 16), the three-member panel headed by appellate court judge Datuk Yaacob Md Sam ruled that there is “no irrationality, or unreasonableness or unlawfulness” of the directive by the state authority to implement the use of Jawi script on signages on business premises. Furthermore, the judge added that the policy to implement the use of Jawi script did not infringe Article 5 or Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. “With that, we dismiss the appeal of the appellants.The order of the High Court is affirmed,” he said. The other two judges on the panel were Datuk Ravinthran Paramaguru and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali. As this was a matter that involved public interest, the panel made no order as to cost. The businessmen — Jehan Abdullah and Dana Palan Arunachalam — were appealing against the Kuantan High Court decision which, among others, ruled that they had no locus standi to bring the legal action because they merely held a business licence but did not have business premises. Among others, the High Court also noted that Jawi script can be used to convey meaning in Bahasa Melayu, and therefore constitutes part of the national language. Initially, the businessmen were also joined by another — Phang Long Yen — in their judicial review application against the Kuantan Municipal Council and the Pahang government in 2020. However, Phang has since passed away, and was not a party to the appeal on Thursday. The panel on Thursday also found that the businessmen’s mode of application via a judicial review was correct. Applicants wanted to revoke directions to use Jawi on signboards Among others, the businessmen sought an order to revoke the Kuantan Municipal Council’s directions in an April 2019 letter for businesses to use Jawi on signboards on their premises. They also sought an order to quash the state executive council’s decision on March 1, 2018 to uplift the use of Jawi. They also wanted a declaration that Section 107 (2) of the Local Government Act 1976 is against Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. Read the full story Use of Jawi script on signboards does not infringe Federal Constitution, Court of Appeal rules KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): The federal government is disputing a valuer’s multibillion-ringgit estimates for mesne profit compensation in the Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd case involving land along Jalan Duta. The long-standing legal dispute, which spanned from 1957 to 2021, culminated in the courts ordering the government to pay compensation for tresspassing on the land. Mesne profits are “the rents and profits which a trespasser has, or might have, received or made during his occupation of the premises, and which therefore he must pay to the true owner as compensation for the tort which he has committed”, according to Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law. The valuer for Semantan Estate, CBRE | WTW chairman Foo Gee Jen, had estimated mesne profit without interest to be about RM3.1 billion for the period, while it may run to RM6.646 billion with simple interest and RM13.242 billion with compound interest. On Thursday (Feb 16), senior federal counsel Mohammad Al Saifi Hashim claimed in the High Court here that Foo’s estimates were incorrect, not based on court orders, and do not represent the actual claim made by the liquidator of Semantan Estate. Al Saifi showed the 2009 court order, which had ordered that the calculation should not be based on any interests charged. However, 59-year-old Foo responded that he had been asked by the liquidator to vary his calculations on three different scenarios, namely with no interest, with simple interest, and with compound interest. Al Saifi then pointed out that Section 11 of the Civil Law Act had stipulated that the calculation of interest upon interest is prohibited, to which Foo replied that he had no knowledge of the stipulation. Foo, who has been a professional valuer since 1987, agreed with Al Saifi that this is a legal opinion or issue, but maintained that he had been instructed by the liquidator of Semantan Estate to assist the court in showing the figures with simple and compound interests. Fed govt disputes multibillionringgit compensation calculated by valuer in Jalan Duta land case Counsel for Semantan Estate Ira Biswas objected to further questioning the interest calculation, saying it is a point of law, but judge Datuk Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh allowed Al Saifi to pursue it a little further. The witness who was testifying for Semantan Estate defended his valuation, which is now being disputed by the Valuation and Property Management Department (JPPH). High Court ruled govt tresspassed land in 2009 The land in question in the long-standing dispute covers 263.72 acres (106.72 hectares) now encompassing the National Archives, the government offices of the Inland Revenue Board, the Tun Razak hockey stadium, the Segambut roundabout, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Academy, the Shariah Court, and the Wilayah mosque. Read the full story Read also: RM3.1 bil gained since 1957 following Semantan land acquisition, says valuer Court dismisses Semantan Estate judicial review to re-acquire Duta land by Hafiz Yatim theedgemarkets.com by Tarani Palani theedgemarkets.com

friday february 17, 2023 15 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): DBS Group Holdings Ltd is considering raising its stake in an unlisted Chinese bank as Southeast Asia’s biggest lender looks to take advantage of growth opportunities across the Greater China region despite heightened geopolitical tensions. The Singapore-based lender is keen to explore increasing its holdings of Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank either before or after an expected initial public offering in the next few years, chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said on Thursday (Feb 16) during a briefing in Taiwan, without elaborating on the size of its planned investment. DBS also expects to see accelerated growth in Taiwan after its acquisition of Citigroup Inc’s retail banking business there, Gupta added. A higher level of perceived risk has surrounded growth opportunities in the Greater China region, as increased Chinese threats against Taiwan have raised geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington over the past year. This has triggered many Wall Street firms to reassess the risks of doing business in the region. “There will be tensions, obviously,” but it would never escalate to a war as “the world is too interconnected and global trade is too inDBS plots Greater China expansion as it plays down war risks WASHINGTON (Feb 16): US producer prices rebounded in January by more than expected, underscoring persistent inflationary pressures that could push the Federal Reserve to pursue further interest-rate increases in the months ahead. The producer price index for final demand jumped 0.7% last month, the most since June and bolstered by higher energy costs, according to data out on Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI climbed 6% from a year earlier. The median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for the index to increase 0.4% from a month earlier, and 5.4% from January 2022. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core PPI advanced 0.5% in January, and 5.4% from a year earlier. The data comes just days after the closely watched consumer price index showed lingering and still elevated inflationary pressures, despite the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy actions over the past year. The PPI, which is a measure of wholesale prices, has generally been cooling in recent months amid improving supply chains, a pullback in many commodities prices, and a tempering in goods demand. That said, inflation appears to be stickier than many anticipated. Looking ahead, the strength of the labour market, as well as global commodities prices will be key for the overall inflation picture. by Betty Hou & Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Bloomberg tertwined”, Gupta said. He added that even assuming the worst, domestic finances and banking in Taiwan will remain “resilient”. In China, DBS bought a 13% stake in the Shenzhen bank for S$1.1 billion (US$825 million or RM3.63 billion) in 2021 as part of a long-standing goal of growing in large emerging markets. Further sway over the bank would allow DBS to grow its business more aggressively in Asia’s largest economy. Shenzhen bank stake gives DBS greater access to China’s Greater Bay Area and the region’s supply chain, according to Gupta. “We think that this area will become the economic power house in decades to come.” DBS received regulatory approval at the end of last year to buy Citigroup’s Taiwan consumer business. The acquisition will accelerate DBS’ growth in Taiwan by at least 10 years and will make it the island’s biggest foreign bank by assets, according to the bank’s presentation. With 29 branches, DBS expects its credit card and unsecured credit loan business, wealth management assets and current deposits to all surge there. The acquisition will be completed this year, Lim Him Chuan, the bank’s Taiwan head, said at Thursday’s briefing. US producer prices exceed forecast in biggest gain since June by Reade Pickert & Jordan Yadoo Bloomberg “While producer prices are off their peaks, inflation is elevated and the monthly change in prices showed a move in the wrong direction last month,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said in a note. “These data will keep the Fed on track to raise interest rates further.” Services firm While the overall figure was bolstered by a 1.2% jump in goods prices, also the largest since June, some key services measures rose firmly. Hospital outpatient care increased 1.4% last month, while price indexes for auto retailing, portfolio management and airline services also moved higher. So-called other services increased 0.6%, the most in a year. Several categories from the PPI report, notably in healthcare, are used to calculate the personal consumption expenditures price gauge. Those figures will be released next week. Producer prices excluding food, energy, and trade services — which strips out the most volatile components of the index — increased 0.6%, the sharpest advance since March. The PPI report showed food prices dropped 1%, the most since December 2020, after a 0.9% slide at the end of 2022. Energy prices increased 5%, the most since June. Excluding the food and energy components, final demand for goods advanced 0.6%, the biggest advance since May. Other data out on Thursday showed applications for unemployment insurance held at a historically low level last week, while housing starts fell for a fifth month to the slowest annualised pace since mid-2020. Bloomberg Bloomberg Read the full story

friday february 17, 2023 16 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): Last year, most US investors and central bankers underestimated how high inflation would climb. Now they may be underestimating how high interest rates will need to go to bring it back down. In spite of the Federal Reserve’s most aggressive credit tightening campaign in four decades, the US economy and financial markets started the new year with a bang. Payrolls surged, retail sales jumped and equity prices soared. Combined with an inflation rate that’s proving sticky and running well above the Fed’s 2% target, that’s a recipe for more rate hikes from central bank Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues to cool things off. “There’s a good chance the Fed does more than the markets expect,” said Bruce Kasman, chief economist for JPMorgan Chase & Co. The risk is that tighter credit eventually catches up with the economy and triggers a recession, as consumers run down the financial buffers they built up during the pandemic. It’s those extra savings — Moody Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi reckons there’s still US$1.6 trillion left — and a vibrant jobs market that has allowed households to ride out soaring prices and borrowing costs. Investors are already upping their bets on how far the Fed will raise rates this tightening cycle. They now see the federal funds rate climbing to 5.2% in July, according to trading in the US money markets. That compares with a perceived peak rate of 4.9% just two weeks ago, and the central bank’s current 4.5% to 4.75% target range. ‘Remain prepared’ Economists are marking up their estimates of what’s known as the terminal rate — by Rich Miller Bloomberg US rates may be heading higher than Wall Street or the Fed think the highest point that the Fed will get to. Deutsche Bank Securities chief US economist Matthew Luzzetti this week raised his forecast to 5.6% from 5.1%, citing a resilient labour market, easier financial conditions and elevated inflation. Fed policymakers are sounding more hawkish as well. “We must remain prepared to continue rate increases for a longer period than previously anticipated, if such a path is necessary to respond to changes in the economic outlook or to offset any undesired easing in conditions,” Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Lorie Logan said on Feb 14. During their last forecasting round in December, Fed policymakers penciled in a peak rate of 5.1% this year, according to their median prediction. Fed watchers said they wouldn’t be surprised to see a higher number when the central bank releases new forecasts next month. “There are significant risks that they will probably continue hiking in the June and July meetings,” said Blerina Uruci, chief US economist at T Rowe Price Associates. Assuming the Fed also hikes in March and May, as it’s widely expected to, that would take the target range for the funds rate to 5.5% to 5.75%. Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Ken Rogoff told Bloomberg TV this week that he wouldn’t be surprised if rates end up at 6% to bring down inflation. ‘So much better’ Sebastian Mallaby, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wonders if politics may play role in tipping the Fed toward pressing ahead with rate increases this year rather than in 2024, when Americans will be voting for a president. “If the Fed has got to do some tightening, it’s so much better not to do it in an election year,” he said. Not everyone is on board with the need for higher rates. Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson ascribes some of the economy’s early-year strength to warmer-than-normal winter weather, and argues that further hikes would risk an unnecessary recession. It’s not just the strong January data, though, that has some economists rattled. It’s also data revisions that suggest the jobs market and inflation had more of a head of steam toward the end of 2022 than previously thought. “Inflation is getting worse,” former White House chief economist and Harvard University professor Jason Furman said in a Feb. 14 Brookings Institution discussion, after news that consumer prices rose by 0.5% last month — up from 0.1% in December. Actual and Forecast US Inflation | Furman pegs the underlying inflation rate right now at 3.5% to 4%. While that’s down significantly from six months ago, it’s still well above where the Fed wants it to be. ‘Early to chill’ Powell has declared that the disinflationary process has begun, but he’s also warned that the road back to the Fed’s target will be long and bumpy. The Fed chair has zeroed in on the labor market as a source of potential inflationary pressure, arguing that demand for workers is outstripping supply and that wages are rising too quickly to be consistent with the Fed’s 2% price goal. Payrolls have grown an average 356,000 per month over the last three months – well above the roughly 100,000 Powell has said is consistent with equilibrium – while unemployment has dropped to its lowest level since 1969. Companies have been loath to lay off workers after having had such a hard time staffing up as the economy emerged from pandemic lockdowns. The labour market also faces longer-term structural strains as more and more workers from the huge Baby Boom generation retire. “It’s very early to say the Fed has any reason to chill,” said Jens Nordvig, founder of Exante Data.

friday february 17, 2023 17 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Feb 16): China imposed fines and sanctions against two US defence companies in a further escalation of tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. Lockheed Martin Corporation and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp were added to a list of “unreliable entities” due to their participation in arms sales to Taiwan, China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. The companies were fined twice the contract value of their arms sales to Taiwan since September 2020, when the list first came into effect and would be required to pay within 15 days, according to the statement. China considers the democratically selfruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has long complained about the US supplying weapons to the island. A day before the announcement, China had warned that it would hit the US with “countermeasures” over violations of its sovereignty, and on Thursday blamed the US for jeopardising ties by overreacting in the ongoing spat over a balloon. However, the subsequent announcement of sanctions may further escalate that dispute. Washington contended that the balloon was spying and shot it down, while China claims it was a civilian airship collecting weather data that went off course. It’s unclear if the latest sanctions will prevent a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference this week. Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing this month, when the balloon controversy erupted. “It’s a message to the US, but also for domestic consumption — to demonstration China’s tough position,” said Dongshu Liu, an assistant professor specialising in Chinese politics at the City University of Hong Kong. “The economic consequences might not be as strong as the political ones — those companies don’t do business in China. They may face some limitation as a result of these new sanctions, but still, it’s largely politically symbolic.” Unclear effects As with previous sanctions announced against the firms and other US defence companies, these measures are likely to be largely symbolic, given both have little direct exposure to China. An email to Raytheon outside of business hours went unanswered, as did calls to Lockheed Martin. The Chinese government will ban trade with both firms, as well as blocking new investment from the two into China, the ministry said in a statement. If they don’t pay the fines within 15 days, the ministry may increase the fines, the statement said. In addition, it will cancel and prohibit work and residence permits for the companies’ senior managers and ban them from entry into the country. Read the full story China hits back at US with sanctions on Lockheed, Raytheon (Feb 16): China questioned whether the US genuinely seeks to repair ties damaged by the dispute over a balloon just as the two nations’ top diplomats head to a security conference in Germany, where they may have an opportunity to meet on the sidelines. The balloon saga “tests the US’s sincerity and capability to properly handle crises and stabilize relations with China,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. “The US cannot ask for communication and dialog on the one hand while sharpening differences and escalating crises on the other,” he said, later calling on Washington to “properly handle this unexpected, isolated incident” and put ties back on track. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, could hold their first talks since the balloon crisis kicked off nearly two weeks ago when they head to the Munich Security Conference starting Friday. The two had been considering a meeting, people familiar with the matter said, but China on Wednesday escalated the dispute by warning it will hit the US with “countermeasures” over the episode, which started when the the Biden administration shot down what it said was a spy balloon that had drifted over the entire continental US. Beijing didn’t say what those countermeasures would entail, but on Thursday the government announced sanctions and fines against two key American defence companies due to their participation in arms sales to Taiwan: Lockheed Martin Corp and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. The move comes after the Biden administration added Chinese firms to an export blacklist last week over what it argues are China warns US that rising tensions could jeopardize talks links to a military-backed global balloon espionage program. China has said the aircraft was a civilian device collecting weather data when it was blown off course. As the balloon crisis worsened, the US said Beijing rebuffed attempts to arrange a phone call between the two countries’ top defense officials. The Pentagon asked for a call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe right after the balloon was shot down on Feb 4, but China “declined our request,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement. The uproar soured ties that had been improving since President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Indonesia in November, the first in-person gathering between the leaders of the world’s biggest economies since the pandemic began. “I absolutely believe there need not be a new Cold War,” Biden said after the November talks. The US president may address the balloon crisis in a public address as early as Thursday, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the plans. Bloomberg by James Mayger, Fran Wang, Zibang Xiao & Lucille Liu Bloomberg bloomberg

friday february 17, 2023 18 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): BlackRock Inc star money manager Alister Hibbert is raising US$1 billion for his hedge fund following the worst ever annual loss for his equity-focused strategy. London-based Hibbert will reopen the BlackRock Strategic Equity Hedge Fund for additional cash from the end of March, according to an investor document seen by Bloomberg. The fund had been closed to new investments since 2019. Hibbert, who has long been one of the best-paid staffers at the world’s largest asset manager, ran US$7.6 billion in the hedge fund at the end of last year. He lost 12% during 2022, the biggest decline for the fund since it started in 2011 though still better than most equity indexes, as soaring inflation and volatile markets hurt his previously reliable wagers on growth stocks. His move comes at a challenging time for equity long-short hedge funds, which are facing an exodus of investors after years of mediocre returns. Last year, these funds suffered outflows of almost US$38 billion, the most for any hedge fund strategy, according to eVestment data, as they found themselves exposed to the steepest falls on some major equity markets since the financial crisis. “We have always sought to prove liquidity in the real world rather than rely on hypothetical projections,” the fund’s team led by Hibbert wrote in its annual letter. “In short, we see the current opportunity set ahead as a good time to offer the chance to top-up existing holdings to fundholders while continuing to evolve the client base via new client allocations.” Hibbert is one of the few fund managers who outperformed during the bull market that ended last year. That decline reduced assets under management from about US$9 billion in 2021. Still, his 325% return since launch was almost four times the gain achieved by average peers and also ahead of the S&P 500’s return during the same period. A spokesman for BlackRock declined to comment. The BlackRock fund’s performance also contrasts with must deeper losses at many of the world’s best-known equity-focused hedge funds. Light Street Capital Management’s hedge fund tumbled 54% in 2022, Tiger Global Management fell 56%, Lone Pine Capital’s losses hit 36%, and Whale Rock Capital Management’s fund suffered a 45% slide, Bloomberg has reported. Hibbert started the hedge fund with just US$13 million and turned it into one of the world’s largest long/short money pools, generating annualized returns of almost 14%. The fund manager, who has recorded only three annual declines in the strategy, was key to BlackRock’s expansion into active management and performance fees. He earned a nine-figure sum in 2020 — more than three times the size of Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink’s US$30 million payout. After taking an unprecedented net short stance on equities during the second quarter, the hedge fund was again mostly wagering on shares rising in the fourth quarter as inflation began to normalize, according to the investor document. It has also tightened its risk controls. “Although the fund enters the year with a lower-than-average gross exposure, we begin 2023 with higher conviction on the opportunity set for the portfolio and with an intention to add risk opportunistically,” the team wrote. “While the short-term outlook remains less clear than usual, many of the fund’s long-standing quality compounders now price at lower valuations than a year ago and we see very attractive entry points appearing for several cyclical industries.” BlackRock’s hedge fund star seeks US$1 bil after 12% loss (Feb 16): Credit Suisse Group AG says it has paid US$210 million to date to billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili in a long-running legal saga. The bank has paid in the sum “over time for the proceedings across all the plaintiff’s accounts,” a spokesperson for the Swiss lender said by email. The statement didn’t break out a figure for an ongoing trial in Singapore or give a time frame for when the money was paid out in a case of fraud that was only detected in 2015. The statement is the most detailed admission yet of how much the legal wrangling is costing Credit Suisse globally and emerged amid closing arguments at a twoday hearing in Singapore, which will mark the end of a trial that began in September. Georgian tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili sued the bank’s trust unit for US$800 million in damages and lost income he said he would have made over the years if his money had been safely invested. Patrice Lescaudron was convicted in 2018 for fraud over a scheme he ran to take money from Ivanishvili’s accounts to cover growing losses among other clients’ portfolios. Credit Suisse Trust has consistently argued that its responsibility was limited to administration of the assets belonging to Bidzina Ivanishvili and that it was the tycoon, or his Georgian business adviser, who called the shots on investment decisions and should be liable for any losses. Lescaudron was a lone wolf who hid his crimes from colleagues, according to the bank. Lee Eng Beng, a lawyer for the trust, conceded on Thursday that Credit Suisse agreed to compensate Ivanishvili for failing to “police the perimeter” of his wealth from theft by Lescaudron from the end of 2008 onward. There is “a duty to compensate for that loss,” he said in his closing arguments, as he sought to limit any broader fallout. “The duty does not extend to any liability for any losses from investment activity in relation to the assets managed in the trust account,” he added. Bermuda ruling The stakes for the Singapore trial are high. Credit Suisse has paid Georgian billionaire US$210 mil Ivanishvili in March won a US$607 million judgment from a Bermuda court, which ruled a local Credit Suisse life insurance unit there had turned a “blind eye” to Lescaudron’s fraud. CS Life is appealing that decision. Separate negotiations between the two sides appear to have stalled, according to a statement the Georgian put out in late January. The bank had initiated discussions but those were now little more than an “illusion of negotiations,” according to the release. Representatives for Credit Suisse and Ivanishvili declined to comment ahead of the hearing. Cavinder Bull, Ivanishvili’s lawyer, called out in his closing arguments the clear inconsistencies from the testimony of CS Trust employees that were troubling and meant they knew more than they were letting on. “CS Trust has run its defense in a totally dishonest manner, they have instructed their lawyer to dispute things they knew were true,” said Bull. Its own witnesses have said things that contradict the trust’s version of events and even “their own affidavits” he continued, stressing that these were employees running the trust at the time. “There’s no way that the trust did not know.” by Low De Wei & Hugo Miller Bloomberg by Nishant Kumar Bloomberg

friday february 17, 2023 19 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world WASHINGTON (Feb 16): A Chinese balloon that was shot down after crossing the continental US originally had a trajectory that would have taken it over Guam and Hawaii, but was blown off course by prevailing winds, a US official speaking on condition of anonymity said on Wednesday (Feb 15). The balloon, which Washington accuses Beijing of using for surveillance and China says was a civilian research vessel, drifted across Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, then Canada and the central US before it was shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina on Feb 4. The incident has further strained US-China relations and prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing last week. US military and intelligence agencies tracked the balloon from when it lifted off from Hainan Island near China’s south coast, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. During a regular briefing on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin did not answer a question about whether the balloon was intended to fly over Guam and Hawaii before it was blown off its trajectory, instead repeating the Chinese position that the US should not “overreact”. The US military said on Monday it had recovered critical electronics from the balloon as well as large sections of the vessel itself. KYIV (Feb 16): Russia rained missiles across Ukraine on Thursday and struck its largest oil refinery, Kyiv said, while the head of the Wagner mercenary group predicted the long-besieged city of Bakhmut would fall within a couple of months. Following a pattern of heavy bombardments after Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic gains, Russia launched 36 missiles in the early hours, Ukraine’s Air Force said. NATO alliance officials had met the previous day to plan more military support for Kyiv. The missiles triggered air-raid sirens and landed across Ukraine, including at the Kremenchuk refinery, where the extent of damage was unclear. About 16 were shot down, the Air Force added, a lower rate than normal. “Another massive missile attack by the terrorist state on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” the Defence Ministry tweeted. Ukraine said the barrage included three KH-31 missiles and one Oniks anti-ship cruise missile, which its air defences cannot shoot down. There was no word from Moscow on the missile strikes, and Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports. Police in Moldova, where parliament on Thursday approved a new pro-Western government, said they again found missile debris near the border with Ukraine. Meanwhile Belarus, which allowed Russia to use its territory to send troops into Ukraine at the start of the war, said it would only fight alongside its ally if it was attacked. Ukraine pounded by missiles, Russia eyes capturing Bakhmut by April by Max Hunder & Pavel Polityuk Reuters by Jonathan Landay Reuters Bolstered by tens of thousands of reservists, Russia has intensified ground attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine, and a major new offensive appears to be shaping as the first anniversary of its Feb 24 invasion nears. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, pulverised Ukrainian cities, destabilised the global economy and uprooted millions from their homes. Showing the scale of disruption, Germany said 1.1 million people arrived from Ukraine in 2022, exceeding its unprecedented migrant influx of 2015-16. ‘Their bodies are just piled up’ Russia’s current focus is on the small city of Bakhmut in Donetsk, one of two regions making up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland now partially occupied by Russia. In battles led by the Wagner group swelled by prison recruits, Russia has for months been pounding and encircling Bakhmut. Most of its pre-war population of about 70,000 people have left, leaving Ukrainian soldiers dug in. “They (the Russians) are sending a lot of troops. I don’t think that is sustainable for them to keep attacking this way,” said the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade’s press officer, Taras Dzioba. “There are places where their bodies are just piled up. There is a trench where... they just don’t evacuate their wounded or killed.” Dzioba spoke to Reuters as he stood near a Howizter battery outside a defensive bunker close to the Bakhmut front lines. Its capture would give Russia a stepping stone to advance on two bigger Donetsk cities further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. But Ukraine and allies say seizing Bakhmut would be a pyrrhic victory given the months it has taken and the huge losses they say Russia has sustained. In an interview with a pro-war military blogger, Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin forecast Bakhmut would fall by April, depending on how many men Ukraine threw into the fight and how well his men were supplied. “Because there are a huge number of problems that need to be solved. Naturally it will also depend on whether we continue to be bled,” he added, referring to the end of prisoner recruits. As Ukraine burns through munitions fast and clamours for heavier firepower, including tanks and fighter jets, NATO members are ramping up production and promised more during meetings in Brussels this week. Read the full story reuters reuters Downed Chinese balloon aimed for Hawaii but was blown off course, says US official

friday february 17, 2023 20 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): India’s plan to lift a key trade barrier on solar modules will deliver a blow to the nation’s ambition of quickly expanding local production, according to domestic manufacturers. Officials are considering a relaxation of rules for the next two years that restrict imports from China and other foreign producers, because local plants can’t keep up with rising demand. The proposal risks stalling efforts by Indian companies to expand local production, a step that’s seen as crucial to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s targets to both raise the use of renewable energy and encourage more manufacturing under his “Make in India” campaign. “Such volatile changes in government policy show that businesses can’t be dependent on policy support,” said Vinay Rustagi, managing director at Bridge To India, a renewable energy consulting firm. “It’s a dampener for domestic manufacturing prospects.” Module maker RenewSys India Pvt wants to seek more clarity before pushing ahead with any expansions, and may need to reduce current output, according to chief executive officer Avinash Hiranandani. India is aiming to install 280 gigawatts of solar generation by 2030, compared to about 64 gigawatts now, as it overhauls its coal-dominated power grid. That would require the addition of 27 gigawatts of capacity every year for the rest of the decade — more than double the volume installed last year, according to BloombergNEF forecasts. Members of the Asean bloc of nations, which has a free trade agreement with India, could add as much as 15 gigawatts of annual module imports over the next two years, according to Rustagi. A major increase in trade with China — which previously supplied India with nearly 80% of modules — remains unlikely because of a 40% tariff imposed last year, he said. India’s plan to ease solar import curbs is rattling local makers India cuts windfall tax on crude, aviation turbine fuel and diesel (Feb 16): Bank Indonesia (BI) held its benchmark interest rate as cooling inflation and a stronger rupiah allowed a pause in one of Southeast Asia’s most aggressive tightening cycles post pandemic. The central bank left its seven-day reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 5.75% on Thursday (Feb 16), as seen by 26 of 28 economists in a Bloomberg survey. It’s the central bank’s first hold since July, before it embarked on 225 basis points of rate hikes to get a grip on surging food and fuel prices. The outlook for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has changed significantly since. Inflation dipped to a five-month low in January, aided by lower transport cost and an extensive government push to distribute food supplies across markets and villages. The gauge is seen by BI to return to the 2%-4% target by the second half of this year, governor Perry Warjiyo reiterated on Thursday. He said inflation had eased due to the tight policy, while seeing no damage to the economic recovery from the current monetary settings. Meanwhile, the rupiah is by far the best performing currency in Asia, gaining more than 2.5% year-to-date. Though it’s weakened slightly this month amid bets of a still-hawkish US Federal Reserve, the currency should be underpinned by a healthy trade surplus and a bid to lure back more exporters’ dollar earnings. Warjiyo has telegraphed the rate pause since January, saying policymakers have done enough to tamp down price pressures. Attention now turns to economic growth, as Indonesia’s export sector — its star performer in 2022 — starts to show weakness from lower commodity prices. Retail sales and imports likewise remain soft, though consumer optimism is steadily improving. BENGALURU/NEW DELHI (Feb 16): India has cut its windfall tax on crude oil and exports of aviation turbine fuel and diesel, according to a government notification dated Feb 15. Windfall tax on crude was cut to 4,350 rupees (US$52.60) per tonne from 5,050 rupees per tonne, effective Thursday (Feb 16). The government also cut export tax on aviation turbine fuel to 1.50 rupees per litre from 6 rupees per litre, and reduced export tax on diesel to 2.50 rupees per litre from 7.50 rupees per litre, the notification said. India had in July imposed the windfall tax on crude oil producers and levies on exports of gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel after private refiners wanted to make gains from robust refining margins in overseas markets, instead of selling it cheap at home The cuts came as Indian refiners continued to stock up discounted Russian fuel amid a steady increase in domestic consumption. The windfall taxes had been weighing on profits of Indian refiners and explorers, with companies like Reliance Industries, Vedanta Ltd, Oil India and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd flagging the impact in their latest quarterly results. Indonesia holds key rate as inflation, rupiah pressures subside by Claire Jiao & Grace Sihombing Bloomberg by Rajesh Kumar Singh Bloomberg by Nallur Sethuraman & Nikunj Ohri Reuters reuters reuters

friday february 17, 2023 21 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): Tesla Inc terminated dozens of employees Wednesday at its plant in Buffalo, New York, one day after Autopilot workers at the facility announced a union campaign, organizers said in a complaint. In a filing with the US National Labor Relations Board, the union Workers United accused Tesla of illegally terminating the employees “in retaliation for union activity and to discourage union activity.” The union asked the labour board to seek a federal court injunction “to prevent irreparable destruction of employee rights resulting from Tesla’s unlawful conduct.” Several of the terminated employees had been involved in labour discussions, according to the union, including at least one who was a member of the organizing committee. “This is a form of collective retaliation against the group of workers that started this organizing effort,” said Jaz Brisack, a Workers United organizer who is helping spearhead the Tesla union drive. The terminations are “designed to terrify everyone about potential consequences of them organizing, as well as to attempt to cull the herd,” she said. Tesla officials including Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and the company’s human resources chief did not respond to inquiries. Tesla disbanded its press-relations team in 2020. An organizing committee of 25 employees, who label data for Tesla’s Autopilot system, sent an email to Musk early Tuesday with their intent to unionize. Arian Berek, one of the organizers, was among those terminated Wednesday, according to the union’s filing. “I feel blindsided,” Berek said in a statement provided by the union. “I got Covid and was out of the office, then I had to take a bereavement leave. I returned to work, was told I was exceeding expectations and then Wednesday came along.” Tesla’s Buffalo factory employs more than 800 Autopilot analysts, non-engineering roles that contribute to Tesla’s automated-driving development, including by identifying objects in images its vehicles capture and helping its systems recognize them on the road, according to the union. The company dismissed hundreds of workers performing these jobs in California last year, Bloomberg reported in June. In addition to job security and increased pay, employees have said they seek a say in workplace decision-making, and want to curb monitoring, metrics and production pressure that they claim are harmful to their health. They say Tesla monitors their keystrokes and tracks how long they spend per task and how much of the day they spend actively working. This leads some to avoid taking bathroom breaks, several employees previously told Bloomberg News. On Wednesday, the day after Bloomberg News quoted several Tesla employees discussing their workplace concerns, the company sent staff a message announcing new sections of its policy on workplace technology usage. The changes included a directive to “Protect the confidentiality, integrity and security of all Tesla Business Information,” according to a copy viewed by Bloomberg News. Workers United successfully organized hundreds of Starbucks Corp stores last year, after securing a landmark win at a Buffalo cafe six miles from the Tesla plant. by Josh Eidelson Bloomberg Tesla just terminated dozens in response to new union campaign, complaint alleges The union has said it also aims to organize the roughly 1,000 manufacturing employees at the facility. On Tuesday, Tesla workers circulated leaflets at the plant to both groups of employees, with links to a website where they could sign union cards. Sara Costantino, an Autopilot worker and member of the organizing committee, said the Wednesday terminations are galvanizing more workers to support the union effort. “It’s pretty clear the message they’re sending. They’re trying to scare us,” Costantino said. “And it’s really I think backfiring on them.” “It has really opened people’s eyes to the fact that this is why we need a union,” she said. Federal law prohibits retaliating against workers for taking collective action about workplace conditions, including by organizing unions. Complaints filed with the NLRB are investigated by regional offices. If labour board officials find merit in the allegations and the company doesn’t settle, they prosecute the claims before an agency judge, whose ruling can be appealed to board members in Washington, and from there to federal appeals court. The agency has the authority to order fired workers reinstated with backpay, but not to make companies pay punitive damages. A bipartisan group of US labour board members ruled in 2021 that Tesla repeatedly violated federal law in Fremont, including by “coercively interrogating” union supporters and firing one because of his activism. Tesla has denied wrongdoing and is appealing that ruling. Read also: Tesla to open US charging network to rivals in US$7.5 bil federal programme bloomberg

friday february 17, 2023 22 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, had earlier “gaps” in its regulatory compliance that have since been closed, chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann said in an interview. An initially small staff was stretched thin as the company tackled international expansion, compliance and cybersecurity after starting up in 2017, he said. “It’s a tremendous burden,” Hillmann said Wednesday. “As a result, there were some gaps in our compliance system in the first two years.” Hillmann said Binance is in settlement discussions with US regulators but added he can’t provide a time-line or potential settlement amounts. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hillmann said remediations will be “likely a fine, could be more....We just don’t know. That is for regulators to decide.” The Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have been probing Binance over the last few years. The exchange has also faced calls for more transparency about its asset reserves and corporate structure. Hillmann said Binance can’t discuss “ongoing conversations” with regulators, while adding that they have been “very collaborative”. “It’s greatly to the benefit of users,” he said. “We just want to put it behind us.” The DOJ, IRS, SEC and CFTC didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours. In January, Binance was named among counterparties to digital-asset platform Bitzlato, which has been accused of processing millions of dollars in illegal funds. This month, a New York regulator told Binance’s partner Paxos Trust Co to stop minting a Binance-branded stablecoin known as BUSD. The regulator told Paxos to halt new issuance over unresolved issues tied to Paxos’s oversight of its relationship with Binance. The SEC separately has sent Paxos a notice alleging that BUSD, the third-largest stablecoin, is an unregistered security. Binance’s team of compliance experts has expanded dramatically over the last two years to more than 750, Hillmann said. The company recently hired a new chief compliance officer, Noah Perlman, who was previously chief operating officer at Gemini Trust, a smaller crypto exchange. Binance says it had compliance ‘gaps’ and is continuing talks with US regulators ZURICH (Feb 16): Nestlé, the world’s biggest food group, will raise prices further this year, chief executive officer Mark Schneider said on Thursday (Feb 16), after more expensive ingredients contributed to full-year net profit missing analyst expectations. He declined to comment on the planned level of price increases, which he said are necessary to offset the damage caused by commodity price rises. For consumers, whose spending power has already been cut by inflation at multi-decade highs, they are likely to add to concerns about strained household budgets and weakened economies. The maker of Nescafé instant coffee and KitKat chocolate bars raised prices by 8.2% last year, but that did not fully offset the impact of increased costs of ingredients on margins. “Our gross margin is down about 260 basis points — that is massive. That is after all the pricing we have done in 2022,” Nestlé plans price hikes as costs eat into profits ‘Mixed emotions’ after rare miss Real internal growth — a company indicator of sales volumes — rose only 0.1% for the year, weighed down by North America and the Nespresso business. Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman said he expected “almost all” of the lower-than-estimated volumes would be the result of Nestlé rethinking the variety of products it makes and supply chain constraints. The question will be how much of the volume weakness persists from these factors into the first half of the year, Ackerman added. Schneider said that in most cases, the impact on volumes did not signal consumers trading down to cheaper private label products. Shareholders’ net profit fell to 9.27 billion Swiss francs (RM44.28 billion), missing expectations for 11.58 billion francs, although the consensus forecast did not account for the impairment at Nestlé’s Aimmune subsidiary last year, analysts said. “Nestlé’s fourth-quarter and second-half results will cause some mixed emotions,” Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said, adding that Nestlé’s water, confectionary and health science businesses contributed. “Nestlé rarely misses, and that was a miss,” he said. Shares in Nestlé were marginally down on Thursday. Nestlé said it targets organic sales growth — which cuts out the impact of currency moves and acquisitions — in a range of 6% to 8% in 2023. During 2022, the company’s reported sales increased 8.4% to 94.4 billion Swiss francs. by John Revill Reuters by Olga Kharif Bloomberg Schneider told reporters. “We have some markets, like the US and UK, where we see strong continued inflation, and other markets like China and like here in Europe…where inflation is more muted,” Schneider said. The rest of the packaged goods industry has also increased prices to cope with surging costs for almost all raw materials, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compounded the impact of pandemic-related supply chain logjams. bloomberg

friday february 17, 2023 23 The E dge C E O m o rning brief world (Feb 16): As the cost of living in the US has gone up, government subsidies to help people pay for basics have disappeared one-by-one. Up next on the chopping block: Emergency allotments of a food-assistance program that supports 30 million Americans living in 32 states. Enhanced benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are ending in February, meaning families and individuals will get at least US$95 less per month, with some seeing cuts of US$250-a-month or more. Households with kids will, on average, lose out on an extra US$223 each month, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. As of early February, New Jersey was the only state that had plans to top up benefits for its residents as the federal program winds down. Through SNAP, low-income families and individuals receive cash benefits loaded onto a card that can be used to buy groceries at authorized stores. The cuts will hit as inflation continues to send food prices in the US to new highs. Though there are signs that inflation has peaked, food prices were up 10.1% in January from a year ago. A dozen eggs now cost more than a pound of ground beef — for the first time on record. “Right now people are really up against it,” said Ellen Vollinger, SNAP director at the Food Research & Action Center, an anti-hunger advocacy group. “There’s not a lot of cushion to absorb this.” Americans have slowly seen pandemic-era benefits disappear over the last year and a half. A few months after expanded by Kelsey Butler & Molly Smith Bloomberg Americans are losing key food subsidy as prices get higher unemployment benefits ended, extended child tax credits went away, too. Universal free school lunch got cut last fall. Next month, families receiving benefits under the Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, program, will no longer be able to use waivers to buy baby formula from different manufacturers, instead of just the one their state is contracted with. All this has hit low-income Americans, who rely most on government support, particularly hard just as the price of just about everything has spiked in the last year. “There aren’t more corners to cut,” said Cee Williams, a 45-year-old from the Bronx, New York, whose SNAP benefits will shrink come March. The consultant and graduate student said the US$260 a month she got from the program helped subsidize groceries so she could afford her medical expenses. In February, she got an automated text from her benefits administrator saying to expect less next month. She’s still waiting for more details on how much less she’ll get. “I’m just going to eat less food, honestly,” she said. A bounty of government cash helped alleviate economic inequality in the US during the early years of the pandemic. A 2022 study found that the emergency allotments kept 4.2 million people above the poverty line in the last quarter of 2021, cutting poverty by 10%. Declines were highest for Black and Latino Americans, both populations that typically have higher rates of food insecurity as is. Almost 4 million children were lifted out of poverty because of monthly payments to families. As that government stimulus has disappeared, poverty and food insecurity have rebounded. Data from the US Census Bureau showed that 11.2% of adults said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in January, compared to 9.8% in April and May 2020. Separate figures from the Urban Institute estimate roughly one in five US adults experienced food insecurity in the middle of 2022 when inflation peaked, rebounding to the share reported during the early days of the pandemic. In 18 states, enhanced SNAP benefits already expired, offering a preview of what’s to come nationwide. Propel, a tech company that surveys SNAP users monthly, found that those living in states without the extra benefits were more likely to skip meals, eat less or rely on others for food than those that still had the boost in place. A January survey of 4,100 SNAP recipients across the country found that 23% had visited a food pantry and 29% had skipped meals in the last month, both increases from December. More money spent on food leaves less for other basics, which can hit children, people who are disabled and the elderly particularly hard. “It’s not just their food money. Now they’re going to take it out of their medicine money, or their heating, or their electrical bills,” said Beth Shapiro, executive director of Citymeals on Wheels, a nonprofit that delivers meals to elderly New Yorkers. “It becomes a real health issue.”

friday february 17, 2023 24 The E dge C E O m o rning brief MARKETS Top 20 active stocks World equity indices Top gainers (ranked by %) Top losers (ranked by %) Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM) NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET (MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) My EG Services Bhd 349.56 0.000 0.695 -20.11 5162.40 Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd 191.56 -0.030 0.185 -15.91 945.10 Betamek Bhd 95.06 0.030 0.610 18.45 274.50 Sapura Energy Bhd 84.46 0.000 0.050 42.86 799.00 Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd 64.25 0.000 0.230 21.05 222.90 Top Glove Corp Bhd 55.86 0.065 0.840 -7.18 6726.20 YBS International Bhd 51.27 0.085 0.680 36.00 172.60 Perdana Petroleum Bhd 47.18 0.010 0.195 56.00 432.40 Nylex Malaysia BHD 45.35 0.075 0.630 103.23 113.00 Velesto Energy Bhd 43.44 -0.005 0.235 56.67 1930.70 Revenue Group Bhd 41.50 0.015 0.515 -23.70 248.30 Vestland Bhd 39.48 0.020 0.420 0.00 417.60 Iris Corp Bhd 36.96 0.000 0.120 -7.69 391.50 Ea Technique M Bhd 36.57 0.020 0.325 91.18 172.40 Tanco Holdings Bhd 34.04 -0.020 0.440 31.34 800.20 CSH Alliance Bhd 31.70 0.005 0.050 25 69.1 Econpile Holdings Bhd 31.35 0.010 0.230 35.29 326 Bumi Armada Bhd 31.17 0.000 0.590 22.92 3491.6 Careplus Group Bhd 31.14 0.020 0.365 -23.16 209 Hartalega Holdings Bhd 29.42 0.130 1.65 -2.94 5638.8 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Pegasus Heights Bhd 0.010 100.00 1,483.5 0.00 108.2 EA Holdings Bhd 0.015 50.00 250.0 0.00 96.8 Iqzan Holding Bhd 0.045 50.00 572.5 28.57 10.0 Red Ideas Holdings Bhd 0.045 50.00 50.0 -87.50 4.5 DGB Asia Bhd 0.020 33.33 6,021.1 33.33 35.7 XOX BHD 0.020 33.33 749.7 33.33 101.0 Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.025 25.00 332.3 25.00 159.3 Mlabs Systems Bhd 0.025 25.00 105.1 25.00 36.2 Sanichi Technology Bhd 0.025 25.00 900.0 0.00 35.1 Aldrich Resources Bhd 0.030 20.00 1,425.1 0.00 33.4 Lambo Group BHD 0.030 20.00 3,986.8 -45.45 46.2 SMRT Holdings Bhd 0.235 17.50 22,907.4 62.07 104.6 PUC BHD 0.035 16.67 384.1 0.00 60.2 YBS International Bhd 0.680 14.29 51,271.1 36.00 172.6 Nylex Malaysia BHD 0.630 13.51 45353.8 103.23 113.0 Ho Wah Genting BHD 0.135 12.50 23,558.6 17.39 89.4 Kanger International Bhd 0.045 12.50 2,102.8 12.50 29.2 Saudee Group Bhd 0.045 12.50 11,135.9 0.00 51.3 Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.045 12.50 8,471.6 -35.71 19.9 Sapura Resources Bhd 0.460 12.200 167.9 35.29 64.2 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Anzo Holdings Bhd 0.005 -50.00 12,778.1 -66.67 5.6 MMAG Holdings Bhd 0.015 -25.00 1,662.2 -40.00 36.3 Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd 0.185 -13.95 191,557.4 -15.91 945.1 Oversea Enterprise Bhd 0.100 -13.04 204.9 5.26 113.5 Mikro MSC Bhd 0.175 -12.50 2,676.8 -16.67 103.1 Sentoria Group Bhd 0.075 -11.76 1,475.0 -16.67 41.8 Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.040 -11.11 94.2 0.00 83.1 ABM Fujiya Bhd 0.390 -9.30 26.0 -9.30 70.2 Tower Real EstateInvestment Trust 0.450 -9.09 48.6 -1.10 126.2 Microlink Solutions Bhd 0.800 -8.57 7,698.8 -12.57 857.9 Scope Industries Bhd 0.215 -8.51 22,819.9 16.22 248.0 Sarawak Cable Bhd 0.110 -8.33 1,531.8 69.23 44 KNM Group Bhd 0.055 -8.33 8,709.2 10.00 202.2 FCW Holdings BHD 1.110 -7.50 0.4 6.73 277.5 Securemetric Bhd 0.125 -7.41 3,146.9 25.00 72.1 Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd 0.255 -7.27 12241.9 10.87 177.2 Sinaran Advance Group Bhd 0.065 -7.14 269.0 -13.33 59.5 Euro Holdings Bhd 0.130 -7.14 9,896.3 8.33 114.6 Fast Energy Holdings Bhd 0.200 -6.98 5992.666 53.85 41.4 Lotus KFM BHD 0.145 -6.45 45.0 0.00 147.8 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Nestle Malaysia Bhd 135.500 -1.500 62.00 -3.21 31,774.8 Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 26.240 -0.460 199.00 21.59 9,624.3 Heineken Malaysia Bhd 29.220 -0.380 157.70 15.95 8,827.3 Petronas Dagangan Bhd 22.160 -0.280 165.50 -3.65 22,014.9 United Plantations BHD 15.600 -0.260 146.50 1.96 6,447.5 Petronas Gas Bhd 17.500 -0.240 489.10 2.22 34,627.8 Negri Sembilan Oil Palms BHD 3.600 -0.190 0.50 2.86 252.7 PMB Technology Bhd 5.020 -0.180 1,008.70 19.52 6,340.4 Perusahaan Sadur Timah M PERSTIMA 4.840 -0.120 3.70 10.25 624.8 Hong Leong Capital Bhd 6.170 -0.110 1,047.00 -1.75 1,523.4 Carlsberg Brewery M Bhd 24.680 -0.100 77.20 7.87 7,545.9 FCW Holdings BHD 1.110 -0.090 0.40 6.73 277.5 D&O Green Technologies Bhd 4.770 -0.080 1,919.90 11.45 5,903.6 Sam Engineering & Equipment M 5.020 -0.080 100.5 1.83 2718.8 Shangri-La Hotels Malaysia Bhd 3.210 -0.080 290.10 -6.96 1,412.4 Microlink Solutions Bhd 0.800 -0.075 7,698.80 -12.57 857.9 Bonia Corp Bhd 2.710 -0.070 136.4 19.38 543.1 Ajiya BHD 1.790 -0.060 3,035.10 12.58 511.5 HongLeong Financial Group Bhd 18.140 -0.060 346.10 -2.47 20,774.7 Power Root Bhd 2.040 -0.060 1,144.80 -1.92 862.6 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) Malaysian Pacific Industries 33.740 0.740 115.9 17.32 6,710.8 Panasonic Manufacturing M BHD 26.080 0.520 25.4 13.89 1,584.2 HextarTechnologies Solutions 26.500 0.500 84.1 55.33 3,409.2 Paragon Union BHD 2.520 0.260 936.5 35.48 211.3 Kesm Industries Bhd 8.720 0.210 10.8 24.22 375.1 Kotra Industries Bhd 6.350 0.210 39.8 -3.79 939.8 MISC Bhd 7.480 0.150 2,784.9 -0.27 33,388.8 Hartalega Holdings Bhd 1.650 0.130 29,421.6 -2.94 5,638.8 Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd 5.260 0.130 0.1 9.58 2,419.6 MBM Resources BHD 3.700 0.110 549.6 12.80 1,446.3 Aurelius Technologies Bhd 2.910 0.090 2,368.1 59.02 1,146.5 Kein Hing International Bhd 2.570 0.090 744.4 21.23 279.9 YBS International Bhd 0.680 0.085 51,271.1 36.00 172.6 Ajinomoto Malaysia Bhd 14.020 0.080 8.0 7.19 852.4 Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd 7.000 0.080 1,985.4 6.71 11,614.3 Nylex Malaysia BHD 0.630 0.075 45353.8 103.23 113 Dayang EnterpriseHoldings Bhd 1.550 0.070 9,065.2 18.32 1,794.5 Top Glove Corp Bhd 0.840 0.065 55862.8 -7.18 6726.2 Chin Hin Group Bhd 4.220 0.060 1,596.8 30.65 7,466.9 Rapid Synergy Bhd 16.480 0.060 1.70 3.26 1,761.7 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) DOW JONES 34,128.05 38.78 0.11 S&P 500 4,147.60 11.47 0.28 NASDAQ 100 12,687.89 97.00 0.77 FTSE 100 8,018.17 20.34 0.25 AUSTRALIA 7,410.31 58.10 0.79 CHINA 3,249.03 -31.46 -0.96 HONG KONG 20,987.67 175.50 0.84 INDIA 61,319.51 44.42 0.07 INDONESIA 6,895.66 -18.87 -0.27 JAPAN 27,696.44 194.58 0.71 KOREA 2,475.48 47.58 1.96 PHILIPPINES 6,815.91 -6.18 -0.09 SINGAPORE 3,311.23 30.41 0.93 TAIWAN 15,550.50 117.61 0.76 THAILAND 1,658.29 10.90 0.66 VIETNAM 1,058.29 10.09 0.96 Data as compiled on Feb 16, 2023 Source: Bloomberg CPO RM 3,977.00 -20.00 OIL US$ 85.21 0.12 RM/USD 4.3162 RM/SGD 3.2646 RM/AUD 3.0117 RM/GBP 5.2406 RM/EUR 4.6460