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Published by Library KMPP, 2022-04-14 22:09:12

TheEdge150422

TheEdge150422

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

ISSUE 365/2022

CEOMorningBrief

SINGAPORE PM LEE SIGNALS LAWRENCE WONG
BECOMES NEW SUCCESSOR p16

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

ISSUE 365/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: PAC’s MySejahtera probe to call up three PM’s Department agencies on April 21 p5
UMNO to nominate Ismail Sabri as PM candidate in GE15 p13
Federal govt, Sabah agree to 4.7-fold increase in special grant p14

WORLD: Lagarde pinpoints June as moment for clarity on ECB pullback p17
Elon Musk makes US$43 bil unsolicited bid to take Twitter private p18

Maybank CEO: No pressure on
BNM to raise OPR

Report on Page 4.

Bursa Malaysia files
contempt proceedings
against Serba Dinamik
for failing to reveal FFU

Report on Page 3.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

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[email protected] Selangor, Malaysia

Senior citizens Covid-19 cases and vaccination Khairy: Asymptomatic
with high-risk progress in Malaysia close contacts no
comorbidities longer need to be
eligible for second On April 13, 2022 47,622
booster shot 7,639 quarantined even if not
Daily vaccine doses administered 97.6 fully vaccinated
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
theedgemarkets.com Daily booster administered 67.8

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14):Senior citizens % of adult population received
with high-risk comorbidities are eligible to re- two-dose vaccination
ceive a second Covid-19 booster shot four to
six months after their first booster dose,Health % of adult population received
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said onThursday. booster shots

Khairy also said that severely immuno- On April 13, 2022 10,052 BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
compromised individuals aged 12 and above Number of new cases theedgemarkets.com
may receive their first booster jab within 28
days of receiving the second Covid-19 vaccine. Local cases 10,031 KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Covid-19
close contacts who are asymptomatic will
“It is not mandatory but optional, and Imported cases 21 from April 22 no longer be required to un-
it will be made through appointments,” he dergo home quarantine even if they are
told a press conference. Category 1 5,715 not fully vaccinated, said Health Minister
Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy said those aged 60 and above who (no symptoms) (56.85%)
are healthy and not at risk for comorbidities Currently, the only group of asympto-
should discuss with their doctor whether a Category 2 4,272 matic individuals who had close contact
second booster vaccination would be rec- (mild symptoms) (42.5%) with Covid-19 patients who are exempted
ommended for them. from home quarantine are those who have
Category 3 31 received a booster shot.
Meanwhile, senior citizens who have re-
ceived a booster vaccination and have tested (with pnemonia) (0.31%) “Within five days after the last day of ex-
positive for Covid-19 can receive a second posure to a Covid-19 positive case, this close
booster vaccination three months after their Category 4 17 contact should always wear a face mask when
full recovery, he said. (with pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy) (0.17%)

The minister said Pfizer-BioNTech Category 5 17
Comirnaty’s vaccine is the recommended (critical and requiring assisted ventilation) (0.17%)
vaccine for a second booster dose based on
scientific data available. Number of new recoveries 15,893

On the booster shot for teenagers, Khairy Active cases 120,592
said: “We leave it to the parents to talk to
medical practitioners to make a decision. Daily Covid-19 deaths 22 leaving the house, avoid staying in crowded
There is no coercion.”
Hospital bed utilisation (%) 62.1 places, avoid visiting high-risk groups, ensure
The minister said the implementation of
this latest recommendation will not affect the Source: Ministry of Health good ventilation and make only one impor-
full vaccination status of high-risk individuals tant trip,” Khairy said at a press conference.
who do not receive a second booster dose.The “For example, there are some countries The minister also said there is a new
Health Ministry is currently updating clinical in continental Europe that do not recognise alternative for the RTK-AG Covid-19 test
guidelines detailing implementation, he said. Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines as first and through virtual consultation under the su-
booster doses,” he said. pervision of medical practitioners.
Khairy said the ministry has also received “Therefore, people who want to go He said this service is a telemedicine
requests from individuals who want to travel abroad can receive a second booster dose initiative offered digitally without the need
abroad to receive a second booster dose to at least one month apart after the first boost- for individuals to be physically present at a
meet the travel requirements. er dose to meet the requirements of going healthcare facility to receive their test results.
abroad,” he said. “This service is based on a document
As of March 31, a total of 701 individuals issued by the Malaysian Medical Council
had received digital certificates of exemp- (MMC), namely the MMC Advisory on
tion from vaccination for medical reasons. Virtual Consultation (during the pandem-
These individuals will also automatical- ic). This saves time and cost and reduces
ly receive a booster vaccination exemption. the risk of infection to others,” said Khairy.
“Individuals who are not eligible for a
booster vaccination for medical reasons, es- Read also:
pecially the primary Sinovac or Sinopharm
recipients or senior citizens who have not yet Covid-19: Recoveries exceeded new
received a digital vaccination exemption cer- cases on April 13 Click here
tificate will need to submit a new application.
“They must obtain confirmation from Covid-19 vaccination: 1,374,520
a medical practitioner and then submit an Malaysian children received at least one
application to the nearest district health de- dose as of April 13 Click here
partment,” said Khairy.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

Bursa Malaysia files contempt
proceedings against Serba Dinamik

for failing to reveal FFU

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): It ap- BY IZZUL IKRAM the bourse operator’s directive to dis-
pears Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd may theedgemarkets.com close the FFU.
not be out of the woods yet despite be-
ing compounded by the Securities Com- as a director” to ensure the group com- Bursa Malaysia filed an originating
mission Malaysia (SC) on Wednesday plied with the order. summons on Nov 25, 2021, to compel
(April 13) for submitting a false state- Serba Dinamik to disclose the FFU of
ment involving a revenue of RM6.01 bil- In all contempt proceedings, leave had the SIR dated Sept 30, 2021 conducted
lion for its financial period ended Dec to be gained by the court, and the con- by EY Consulting.
31, 2020 (FY20), which was previously temnor would then be given an oppor-
red-flagged by the company’s external tunity to answer or set aside the leave The High Court on Feb 7 this year
auditor KPMG. for contempt. decided in favour of Bursa Malaysia and
granted the order to compel the release
Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd had on “The first to fifth contemnors, as di- of the FFU, but both parties are to ap-
Wednesday filed contempt proceedings rectors of the defendant (Serba Dina- pear before the CoA after Serba Dinamik
against Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd mik) as at Feb 7, 2022, in defiance of filed an appeal against the High Court’s
and its directors in relation to the trou- the order, have caused or wilfully per- decision.
bled oil and gas (O&G) outfit’s failure mitted or contributed to the defendant’s
to reveal the fact-finding update (FFU) failure, neglect and/or refusal to comply No date has yet been fixed at the CoA
of its special independent review (SIR) with the terms of the order and therefore to hear Serba Dinamik’s appeal to set
done by Ernst &Young Consulting Sdn interfering with, or obstructing, the due aside the Feb 7 High Court order. How-
Bhd (EY Consulting). administration of justice,” Bursa Malay- ever, a case management on Tuesday at
sia said in the court documents sighted. the appellate court had fixed the matter
Bursa Malaysia filed an ex-parte ap- for further case management on May 11.
plication to seek leave (permission) from The bourse operator noted that Ser-
the court to proceed with committal pro- ba Dinamik and its directors clearly had Apart from Bursa Malaysia, Serba Di-
ceedings owing to Serba Dinamik’s fail- knowledge of the terms of the order namik is also involved in legal proceed-
ure to comply with a Feb 7 High Court based on the group’s Feb 8 bourse fil- ings with EY Consulting, as the compa-
order made by Judicial Commissioner ing of the High Court’s order and terms ny initiated a lawsuit against the latter
Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya that of the said order. on Nov 5 last year, in which the belea-
required the O&G company to reveal guered O&G group sought to restrain EY
the FFU within two market days from Timeliness of the committal Consulting from sharing any findings or
the date of the order. application opinions on the FFU.
Bursa Malaysia said it did not pursue
“The defendant had, in defiance of committal proceedings prior to this out The group’s originating summons and
the order, failed, neglected and/or re- of deference to the High Court and injunction application was dismissed by
fused to comply with the terms of the Court of Appeal (CoA), as Serba Dina- the High Court on March 8. However,
order and is therefore interfering with, mik had filed a stay application on the or- it is also appealing this High Court de-
or obstructing, the due administration der at the High Court and a subsequent cision at the CoA, and the matter has
of justice,” it said in a statement which appeal at the CoA after the application been fixed for case management on May
accompanied the application. at the High Court was dismissed. 9, 2022.

The documents filed by Bursa Malay- “In view of the train of events and Serba Dinamik’s separate legal action
sia’s solicitors Messrs Chooi & Company Bursa Malaysia’s deference to the High for an injunction to bar Bursa Malay-
+ Cheang & Ariff were sighted by theedge- Court and CoA in administering justice sia from forcing the company to reveal
markets.com from a file search done via and due process, Bursa Malaysia held its the FFU was also dismissed by the High
the e-court system, where the applica- hands in making an immediate applica- Court.
tion was filed before Wan Muhammad tion for committal proceedings.
Amin’s court. On Wednesday, four of Serba Dina-
“Bursa Malaysia commenced these mik’s top executives, namely Karim; Syed
Serba Dinamik also failed to get a stay committal proceedings as soon as the Nazim, who was chief financial officer
of the High Court decision on Monday. CoA dismissed [Serba Dinamik’s bid for (CFO) from June 2016 until mid-2020;
a stay] on April 11, 2022,” it said. its current group CFO Azhan Azmi; and
In the application, the bourse oper- vice president of accounts and finance
ator named the company along with its The bourse operator noted that as at Muhammad Hafiz Othman, were each
directors Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul Karim the date of application (April 13), Ser- compounded RM3 million each.
Abdullah, Datuk Awang Daud Awang ba Dinamik has yet to comply with the
Putera, Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib, Da- terms of the High Court order and that Another RM1 million compound was
tuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal and Noor disobedience continues even after the imposed on Hafiz for falsifying the ac-
Azri Noor Azerai as contemnors. group’s bid for a stay was dismissed by counting records of Serba Dinamik’s
the CoA. subsidiary.
If found in contempt, the firm could Read also: MSWG tells investing public to
be staring at a fine while the directors The legal entanglement between Bur- respect regulator’s decision to compound
themselves could be fined or jailed for sa Malaysia and Serba Dinamik stems Serba Dinamik officers Click here
their failure to take “all necessary steps from the latter’s failure to comply with

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Maybank CEO: SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE
No pressure on
BNM to raise

OPR

BY SEAH EU HEN
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Malayan “We believe that the rise in interest rate Datuk Seri
Banking Bhd (Maybank) group president will happen in the fourth quarter this year. Abdul Farid Alias
and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk So, we are looking at a [possible] 25 basis
Seri Abdul Farid Alias said on Thursday points increase,” he said. cord, according to BNM data on the central
(April 14) Maybank does not think there is bank’s website which dates back to 2004.
pressure on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) BNM said its Monetary Policy Com-
to raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) mittee on March 3, 2022 decided to main- The OPR has been maintained at
during the first three quarters of 2022 de- tain the OPR at 1.75% as the central bank 1.75% since July 7, 2020, when BNM
spite global central banks doing so because evaluated factors including the Rus- cut the rate from 2%.
Malaysia’s inflation “is not very acute.” sia-Ukraine conflict, which has emerged
as a key risk to global economic growth, On March 25, 2022, the Department
Speaking at a press conference in con- trade prospects, commodity prices and of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in
junction with Maybank’s virtual annual financial markets. a statement that Malaysia’s inflation, as
general meeting (AGM) here, Abdul Far- measured by the consumer price index
id said Maybank believes BNM will raise BNM is also mindful of lingering con- (CPI), increased 2.2% in February 2022
the OPR by 25 basis points to 2% in the cerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. from a year earlier.
fourth quarter of 2022.
The OPR at 1.75% is the lowest on re- The DOSM said the CPI rise was
“Our view right now is we do not think “mainly driven by the increase in trans-
that there is pressure for (the) central bank port group (3.9%) and food & non-alco-
to raise the OPR in the first three quar- holic beverages (3.7%).”
ters of the year.

Maybank says 2022 economic forecast has not factored in
Russia-Ukraine war, sees second-order effect from conflict

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Ma- BY SEAH EU HEN compared to before.
layan Banking Bhd (Maybank) group theedgemarkets.com “The outlook that we have given with
president and chief executive officer
Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias said on of Malaysia and other countries in the respect to the [Malaysian] GDP growth
Thursday (April 14, 2022) that while Southeast Asian region. is about 6% and within the 5.3% to 6.3%
Maybank’s economic forecast for Malay- [growth forecast] that BNM (Bank Nega-
sia has taken into account the impact of “This is because Europe is a major ra Malaysia) has, [while Maybank’s Ma-
the country’s Covid-19 endemic transi- investor and trade partner for ASEAN laysia] inflation rate [forecast] is 2.7%
tion since April 1, 2022 from pandemic (Association of Southeast Asian Na- and the interest rate or OPR (overnight
status, the only event that has not been tions) and Malaysia.The secondary im- policy rate) [is seen] at about 2% by the
factored into Maybank’s forecast is the pact might be relatively significant but it end of this year looking at [the expected]
Russia-Ukraine war, which will have an depends on how things will evolve over 25-basis-point increase in the final quar-
impact on the global economy. time,” Abdul Farid said. ter of 2022,” Abdul Farid said.
Read also:
Speaking at a press conference in con- He said that the Malaysian economic Maybank says on track to meet goals
junction with Maybank’s virtual annual outlook that Maybank gave earlier this under five-year strategic M25 Plan
general meeting (AGM) here onThurs- year on the country’s gross domestic Click here
day, Abdul Farid said that although the product (GDP), inflation and interest
direct impact on the Malaysian economy rate had taken into account that the Cov- Maybank looks forward to playing
from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “is id-19 pandemic would become endemic major role in CBDC development
going to be insignificant”, he however in Malaysia at this point in time. Click here
cautioned that the Russia-Ukraine con-
flict’s impact on Europe’s economy as “We are on target when it comes to
a potential second-order effect, which the current progress [of the economy]
may or may not affect the economies that by April [2022] with regard to the
borders that will be reopened and more
activities will be permissible outside

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

PAC’s Lastly,the PAC also zoomed into the com- MySejahtera:
MySejahtera probe panies involved in the MySJ shareholder dis- Decision on whether
pute in court.
to call up three to relax check-in
PM’s Department “The proceeding is held through the pow- requirement
ers of the PAC under the Standing Order
agencies on 77(1)d and 77(5) in the Standing Orders of in a week or two,
April 21 the Dewan Rakyat, as well as Section III,Ar- says Khairy
ticle 11(b), General Circular No 2 (1982),”
BY ADAM AZIZ the statement added. Bernama
theedgemarkets.com
PAC’s proceedings on April 14 saw KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The
KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The Pub- the attendance of Finance Minister Teng- decision to relax the requirement to
lic Accounts Committee (PAC) will call up ku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Health check-in to premises using the MyS-
three agencies under the Prime Minister’s Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Treasury ejahtera application will be announced
Department nextThursday (April 21) to pro- Secretary-General Datuk Asri Hamidin @ within one to two weeks, said Health
vide explanations on the development and Hamidon. Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
procurement of MySejahtera, its chairman
Wong KahWoh said. During the nearly three-hour meeting, He said any decision would take
Tengku Zafrul presented in the first hour, into account the current developments
“The PAC is of the opinion that there is a followed by Khairy and Asri who took over in the country which has passed the
need to call other witnesses to provide further asTengku Zafrul had to leave for another ap- peak of the Omicron wave and is now
statements for this proceeding. pointment. Khairy later told reporters that in the midst of transition to the en-
his briefing took around two hours. demic phase.
“The PAC will call in three agencies under
the Prime Minister’s Department, namely “I briefed them on everything. From day “For this transition phase, whether
the National Security Council (MKN), the one till today (for MySejahtera). we are satisfied with the trend of in-
MalaysianAdministrative Modernisation and fections where we no longer need mi-
Management Planning Unit (MAMPU),and “I was transparent, I didn’t hide any- cro-detection, or we are brave enough
the National Cyber Security Agency (NAC- thing. All documents (regarding the app) to relax the MySejahtera check-in (re-
SA) on April 21,Thursday to attend [the pro- were shared with them [the PAC],” Khairy quirement), we will make (a decision
ceedings] and provide statement and explana- said after his briefing. on it).
tion on this issue,”Wong said in a statement.
The PAC investigation was initiated as “The MOH is monitoring in terms
Wong also said the PAC’s proceedings on news broke that MySejahtera’s developer En- of infection patterns and we will decide
Thursday (April 14) focused on five matters, tomo (M) Sdn Bhd is in a five-year licence within a week or two whether we will
including the contract award for the devel- agreement with its nominee’s subsidiary continue or not in terms of scanning
opment of the MySejahtera app to KPISoft MySJ for the transfer of the MySejahtera app the MySejahtera code for check-ins,”
Sdn Bhd in April 2020. to the latter for a RM338.6 million price tag. he said at a press conference in Par-
liament here on Thursday.
The proceedings also focused on the di- MySejahtera’s ownership also caught pub-
rect award of contract to MySJ Sdn Bhd — lic attention following a shareholder dispute Khairy was responding to a ques-
the current operator of the app — by the initiated by MySJ’s 7.03% shareholder P2 tion on the decline in the average num-
government in November 2021, and the Asset Management Sdn Bhd against Revolusi ber of check-ins using the MySejahtera
status of the government’s negotiation with Asia Sdn Bhd, Entomo Malaysia and MySJ. application, and whether its use was
the company. still relevant in the Transition to En-
Revolusi is a nominee for Entomo in hold- demic Phase.
Further, PAC also addressed the owner- ing the majority stake of 81.43% in MySJ.
ship of the MySejahtera app, including ap- He added that although the country
plication module, source code, intellectual The app was originally a corporate social is heading towards to endemic phase,
property and database, as well as the govern- responsibility (CSR) initiative by Entomo the standard operating procedures
ment’s commitment to protect the public’s Malaysia (then known as KPISoft (M) Sdn (SOP) of Covid-19 still require every
personal data in the app. Bhd).Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri individual to check-in using the app
said in September 2021 that the government except in open areas.
will pay for the usage of MySejahtera from
April 1, 2021 upon expiry of the one-year He said the use of the feature is
CSR period on March 31, 2021. still relevant to inform those found to
be casual contacts of a positive Cov-
In December 2021, the PAC said in its id-19 case.
‘Report on the Procurement and Utilisation
of Covid-19Vaccines by Malaysians’ that the “At the peak of the Omicron wave,
government should not be paying for the use we found that of the casual contacts
of MySejahtera as it was developed as a CSR who were notified by MySejahtera,
initiative. 45% were positive, and they had tak-
en steps to isolate themselves.
“The PAC is of the view that the CSR
concept has been used as a mechanism to “So, to say that this contact track-
secure government projects without under- ing system (MySejahtera application)
going the procurement due process,” the is no longer relevant, I do not quite
committee said. agree with it,” he said.

“The government should not be making
any payment for the MySejahtera app as the
usage is CSR in nature.

“The government must take over opera-
tions of the MySejahtera app without incur-
ring any additional costs as it is part of the
national healthcare system,” it added.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

Petronas
achieves first
hydrocarbon
from BukitTua
Phase-2B project
in Indonesia

Muhyiddin said the council was aware of the grievances of industry players and losses suffered by BY ADAM AZIZ
them, especially in the plantation, manufacturing and services sectors, due to labour constraints. theedgemarkets.com

Foreign worker “As mentioned by the Ministry of Plan- KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Petro-
recruitment: tation Industries and Commodities, dur- liam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) unit PC
National ing [the] Covid-19 [pandemic], no foreign Ketapang II Ltd (PCK2L) has achieved
workers came in to help harvest oil palm, so first hydrocarbon in BukitTua Phase-2B’s
Recovery Council the country lost more than RM10 billion, BTJTB-T2 well, located within the Keta-
urges to expedite and now the price of oil palm is quite high. pang Block, offshore East Java, Indonesia.
approval process If there is a further delay with no foreign
workers, it will add even more losses to our Petronas is the
Bernama country,” the former prime minister added. operator of the
Ketapang Block
PUTRAJAYA (April 14): The National As a short-term measure, Muhyiddin with 80% partic-
Recovery Council (MPN) recommends said the MPN proposes that conditional ipating interest
that the approval process for applications approval be given to applications that are through PCK2L
for the recruitment of foreign workers be being processed to expedite the supply of and Petronas
expedited by reducing bureaucracy as well foreign labour to the affected sectors. Carigali (Keta-
as simplifying and improving the approval pang) Ltd. The
process to meet urgent needs for workers In the long run, he said the MPN is of remaining 20%
in the relevant industries. the view that structural issues surround- is held by PT Saka Ketapang Perdana.
ing manpower shortages and dependence
MPN chairmanTan Sri MuhyiddinYas- on foreign labour need to be addressed “This milestone is part of the fourth
sin said the council was informed that out comprehensively. development project after Bukit Tua
of 4,561 foreign worker quota applications Phase 1, Phase 2A and Phase 3,” said
received, only 163 were being processed Meanwhile, when asked about the Petronas in a statement on Thursday
and had yet to be approved. council’s view on the relevance of scan- (April 14).
ning the MySejahtera code upon entering
At a press conference after chairing the each premises, Muhyiddin said it is up to “The project aims to produce 12,500
MPN meeting here on Thursday (April the Ministry of Health (MoH) to decide barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day,
14), Muhyiddin said the council was aware on the matter. and 30 million standard cubic feet
of the grievances of industry players and (mmscf) of gas per day through five
losses suffered by them, especially in the He noted that according to Health di- development wells,” it said.
plantation, manufacturing and services rector-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham
sectors, due to labour constraints follow- Abdullah, the MoH felt that this is still The BTJTB-T2 well was spudded
ing the reopening of all economic activities necessary because a lot of data is still being on Sept 30, 2021, and drilled with a
in the country. used to keep Covid-19 in check. target depth of 1,890m.

“That is why we leave it up to the MoH “As a progressive energy and solu-
to decide until when the MySejahtera sys- tions partner, this achievement demon-
tem will continue to be used,” the Bersa- strates our commitment to deliver a safe
tu president said, adding that the MPN and reliable supply of energy to Indone-
recommends to review the use of the app sia,” Petronas executive vice-president
as a contact-tracing tool, so that it can be and chief executive officer of upstream
more effective in the country’s transition Adif Zulkifli said.
to the endemic phase of Covid-19.
“The Bukit Tua Phase-2B project’s
first hydrocarbon will play an important
role in contributing to Indonesia’s target
to achieve one million barrels of oil per
day by 2030,” he added.

In offshore East Java, Petronas is also
the operator in the North Madura II
PSC. Across Indonesia, the national oil
firm is also a joint venture partner in six
other blocks located both onshore and
offshore in Sumatera, Natuna Sea, as
well as West Papua.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Carlsberg’s Sri REUTERS
Lanka ops not
affected by unrest
in the country so
far, says MD

BY SULHI KHALID
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Carlsberg cials to urge Sri Lankans working abroad Meanwhile, he said Malaysia’s transition
Brewery Malaysia Bhd said its business to send money home. to the endemic phase of Covid-19, with
in Sri Lanka has been doing well so far the reopening of international borders for
and that the group will continue to closely Committed to preserve margin travel and tourism, sends very encouraging
monitor the situation in the country, which Clini also shared that 2022 will be anoth- signals for the outlook of business recovery
is in the midst of an economic crisis. er challenging year, driven by escalating in this country.
commodity prices, additional cost pressure
Managing director (MD) Stefano Clini and uncertainties, geopolitical tensions and “This year, we will continue investing in
said the brewery group holds a 25% stake threats of new Covid-19 variants. our flagship brand Carlsberg, whilst inten-
in Sri Lanka’s Lion Brewery (Ceylon) Plc, sifying the premiumisation in 1664 Blanc,
and that operations there have been smooth When asked on the possibility of the Somersby Cider, Connors’ Stout Porter
up to this month, while “volume has been group raising the prices of its products amid and Asahi Super Dry.
increasing even”. the surging commodity prices, Clini de-
clined to comment but expressed his com- “Importantly, this year will mark our
“But of course, there’s always a risk but mitment to preserving the group’s margin. entry in the alcohol-free brew segment in
so far they have managed to keep the op- Malaysia,” Clini said.
eration running every day and every night. “It is true that the raw materials infla-
tion has been significant and we have taken The group also shared the expected ben-
“For the time being, this (Sri Lanka’s many measures in terms of managing our efits from RM110 million capital expend-
situation) is not going to decrease our belief costs. We have hedged our raw materials iture for its Shah Alam brewery upgrade,
in the level of investments in the country and been more efficient. Moving forward, which will modernise its production facil-
for the long term,” he told reporters dur- I cannot comment (on the pricing) but ities that deliver higher efficiency.
ing a media briefing after the group’s 52nd we have to keep focus to keep our costs
annual general meeting here onThursday. down,” he said. Shares in Carlsberg closed 12 sen or
0.55% higher at RM21.78 onThursday, val-
OnTuesday, Sri Lanka announced that uing the brewery group at RM6.66 billion.
it would temporarily default on its foreign
debts as it faced its worst economic crisis
in more than 70 years, while mass protests
had broken out over major power cuts
and the soaring costs of food and fuel,
which have prompted government offi-

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Practice Brahim’s makes Bursa on the latter’s decision to de-list its
Note 17 (PN17) in-flight caterer Brahim’s last ditch appeal securities.
Holdings Bhd has submitted an appeal to to Bursa to put off
Bursa Securities against the commence- delisting action However, Bursa will proceed to sus-
ment of delisting procedures on the secu- pend the trading of the company’s secu-
rities of the company. BY SHAZNI ONG rities from Friday (April 15), even though
theedgemarkets.com the decision on the company’s appeal is
In a bourse filing on Thursday (April still pending.
14), the loss-making Brahim’s said the outcome of the appeal will be released in
board of directors had on Thursday sub- due course,” it added. Brahim’s was classified as a PN17 status
mitted an appeal to the regulator against listed issuer on Feb 28, 2019 after its share-
the commencement of action to delist its On April 8, Brahim’s had announced holder equity fell below the 25% thresh-
securities on Bursa Malaysia. that Bursa had rejected its application and old. For the financial year ended Dec 31,
to suspend and subsequently de-list the 2021 (FY21), Brahim’s narrowed its net
“Given that the appeal was submit- securities of the company. However, it had loss to RM12.49 million from RM103.10
ted within the appeal timeframe, on or stated its intention to submit an appeal to million in FY20. Revenue fell 59.29% to
before April 14, the removal of the se- RM33.54 million from RM82.39 million
curities of the company from the official in that period.
list of Bursa on April 20 will be deferred
pending the decision by Bursa on the Brahim’s shares closed unchanged at
appeal,” it said. one sen on Thursday, bringing a market
capitalisation of RM3.07 million. A total
“An announcement in relation to the of 28.95 million shares were done.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Hibiscus denies
exploring
Singapore

SPAC listing

BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Hibiscus “Our recent acquisition of the Repsol or investment banks to make any submis-
Petroleum Bhd has clarified that it has assets in Malaysia and Vietnam, which sion for an SPAC listing.
not sought to make any submission to any is expected to result in diversification of
stock exchange for a special purpose acqui- Hibiscus’ portfolio to about 31% gas, is It said in the event that the company
sition company (SPAC) listing. a step forward towards a more resilient does elect to undertake any material cor-
portfolio. porate exercise, all internal approvals shall
In a bourse filing on Thursday (April be obtained prior to the appropriate dis-
14), the company in response to an article “With regard to decarbonising our op- closure being released.
titled “Hibiscus Explores Singapore SPAC erations, FY21 (the financial year ended
Listing” by Bloomberg said it had provided June 30, 2021) witnessed significant im- “In accordance with the company’s rig-
a statement to the newswire, which was provement in terms of absolute as well as orous diligence standards, the board and
only partially quoted. emissions intensity reductions (6% and management shall only recommend any
18% respectively) compared to our base such exercise if deemed to be in the best
The company said in a statement that year of FY20,” it said. interests of its shareholders,” it said.
it is always considering ways of enhanc-
ing shareholder value while also positively In its filing, Hibiscus added that it had Trading of the securities in Hibiscus
positioning the company for a future in not mandated nor appointed any advisors was halted for one hour from 9.22am to
which the world will transition to a lower 10.22am on Thursday.
carbon-emitting energy mix.

“As part of this long-term energy transi-
tion strategy, we are looking at all forms of
funding structures.No strategy has been defi-
nitely mapped or decisions made in this area.

Selangor to be SHAH ALAM (April 14): The Minis- der JENDELA are to increase the number
given priority try of Communications and Multimedia of households with fibre optic connections
in 5G network (K-KOMM) will give priority to Selangor and the upgrade of the 3G transmitter sys-
upgrade, says in its efforts to implement and upgrade tem to 4G.
Annuar Musa 5G service networks, said MinisterTan Sri
Annuar Musa. He said under the JENDELA initiative,
Bernama Selangor had received a high allocation to-
“Under the National Digital Network talling RM5.34 billion for the upgrade of
Annuar Musa says (JENDELA) plan, there are three ongoing the telecommunications system in the state.
under the JENDELA programmes, firstly to increase the num-
initiative, Selangor ber of new 4G telecommunications towers, To date, 313 new telecommunications
has received a high while for the upgrade to 5G, the state of towers have been completed in the state,
allocation totalling Selangor will be given priority,” he said. while another 35 towers are still under
RM5.34 billion for construction.
the upgrade of the He said the other two programmes un-
telecommunications “In addition, a total of 7,197 trans-
system in the state. ZAHID IZZANI MOHD SAID/THE EDGE mitter stations have been upgraded to
4G and 652 others are still in progress. A
total of 419,896 premises now have fibre
optic connections and installation works
are ongoing on 196,422 other premises,”
he said at a moreh ceremony attended by
representatives of K-KOMM agencies, de-
partments and strategic partners here on
Wednesday night (April 13).

As for the Malaysian Family Digital
Economy Centre (PEDi) initiative, he
urged state constituencies that are still not
equipped with a PEDi to apply with the
ministry for immediate approval.

So far, 48 centres have been established
and are already in operation in Selangor.

FRIDAY APRIL 15, 2022 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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THE STATE OF THE NATION TONG’S PORTFOLIO CORPORATE
Court U-turn on G Part : Bursa has been a chronic Greater opportunity for
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Report GDP growth loss in sales and earnings monetise its C resources

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for Malaysia, despite $ that inflation is here to stay for a while, which would mean
SWN uncertainties $ more price controls and subsidies from the government. What

BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS AND CINDY YEAP $

CAPITAL does a growing subsidy bill mean, and is this a viable solution?

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Najib claims Koh, former chief financial officer Radhi Mo- Jho Low
US$8 bil suit hamad and former director of investments terminates law
against him and Kelvin Tan Kay Jim. firm representing
others an ‘abuse him and dad in
of process’ Previously, theedgemarkets.com reported that
seven other individuals had been dropped from 1MDB suit
BY TARANI PALANI the suit. They were former 1MDB directors
theedgemarkets.com Tan Sri Che Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Tan BY TARANI PALANI
Sri Ismee Ismail,Tan Sri Ong Gim Huat and theedgemarkets.com
LOW YEN YEING/THE EDGE Ashvin JethanandValiram, former CEOs Da-
tuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi and Mohd KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): In an
KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Former Hazem Abdul Rahman, and former chief fi- about-turn, Messrs Valen, Oh & Part-
prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak nancial officer AzmiTahir. ners has filed an application to the High
claimed that the suit by 1Malaysia Devel- Court to discharge itself from represent-
opment Bhd (1MDB) and its four subsid- Shahrol, Hazem and Ismee had testified as ing fugitive financier LowTaek Jho, bet-
iaries against him is an “abuse of process”. prosecution witnesses in Najib’s 1MDB abuse ter known as Jho Low, and his father
of power and money laundering criminal trial. Tan Sri Low Hock Peng, in the ongoing
In a statement of defence filed by his so- The former premier is charged with four counts 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)
licitors Messrs Shafee and Co dated March of abuse of power involving RM2.28 billion suit against them.
28, Najib said that as the initial “wrongdoers” and 21 counts of money laundering, including
were removed, the suit “casts suspicion and nine for illegal proceeds, five counts of using The firm said its appointment has been
is disingenuous” on the part of the plaintiffs. the illegal proceeds and seven for transferring terminated by Kobre & Kim LLP as the
the proceeds to other entities. instructing solicitors on the matter.
The former premier, however, did not
name the “wrongdoers” but merely said: “ Najib also asserted his right to remain The hearing of their application, which
It is apparent from the amended writ sum- silent in relation to allegations in his ongo- was submitted on April 8, has been fixed
mons that the wrongdoers that were initially ing criminal proceedings and added that the for May 12 following case management
named were removed.” statement of defence was filed without prej- on the matter onThursday.
udice to the ongoing matter.
“This casts suspicion and disingenuous on 1MDB and four of its subsidiaries
the part of the plaintiffs in the filing of this suit, Besides admitting to a few particulars, such are suing Low, his father, his mother
thus amounting to an abuse of process,” Najib as his address and his former positions as the Puan Sri Goh Gaik Ewe, as well as his
added in the 12-point statement of defence. chairman of the 1MDB board of advisors and sister May Lin and brother Taek Szen,
the finance minister, the Pekan Member of along with his associate Eric Tan Kim
In the suit, Najib and seven others are sued Parliament (MP) also denied “each and every” Loong for a total of US$3.78 billion.
on the grounds of financial loss due to abuse of allegation raised by the plaintiffs.
power and breach of fiduciary duties. It was previously reported on Jan 5
As such, he said the plaintiffs are “put to that Messrs Valen, Oh & Partners will
The defendants include former 1MDB strict proof” as to “each and every” allegation be representing Low, his father and his
executivesTerence Geh, CaseyTang, Jasmine raised in their statement of claim. mother, Goh. It is understood that the
Loo and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil. law firm is not discharging itself from
The 1MDB subsidiaries involved in this representing Goh.
Geh was 1MDB’s deputy chief financial suit are 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB
officer and Loo was formerly its general Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd and The subsidiaries in this suit are
counsel, while Tang was an executive direc- Global Diversified Investment Company Ltd 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB
tor of business development and former chief (formerly known as 1MDB Global Invest- Energy Ltd, 1MDB Energy (Langat)
investment officer. Nik Faisal was SRC In- ments Ltd). The plaintiffs are represented Ltd and Global Diversified Investment
ternational Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer by law firm Skrine. Co Ltd (formerly 1MDB Global In-
(CEO). All four individuals are still at large. vestments Ltd).
The suit is part of a larger 22 civil suits
The others who were named include filed in May 2021 to recover losses suffered Click here for the full story
1MDB’s former director of investments and by 1MDB and its subsidiary SRC.
chief investment officer Vincent Beng Huat
Separately, the High Court has set Aug
17 to hear Najib’s Mareva injunction matter
in relation to the suit.

On Feb 8, 1MDB along with its subsidiaries
obtained a Mareva injunction from the High
Court (commercial division) against Najib in
relation to their claim of US$681 million.

A Mareva injunction is a court order
which essentially freezes the defendant’s
assets to prevent any transfer of said assets
that the plaintiff is seeking to recover.

The Mareva injunction against the Pe-
kan MP allows him to withdraw only up to
RM100,000 monthly from his bank accounts.

Najib also faces another Mareva injunc-
tion revolving assets amounting to RM42
million in a separate suit.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Ar-
ief Emran Arifin granted SRC and one of its
subsidiaries, Gandingan Mentari Sdn Bhd,
the injunction on March 24.

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): PPB GSC owner RM400 million and will continue to fo-
Group Bhd, the owner of Golden Screen optimistic of cus on opportunities in water, sewage and
Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC), is optimistic recovery, targets infrastructure projects,” he added.
that lifting of movement controls, relaxa- to introduce 50
tion of social restrictions and a strong line- new screens Last year, CQ completed two water
up of movie blockbusters would boost cin- treatment plants in Johor and Sarawak
ema admissions. Bernama worth RM87 million and secured three wa-
ter projects in Sarawak, Johor and Kedah
In the group’s 2021 annual report filed utilities segment will see a steady recov- worth RM212 million, bringing its order
with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday (April ery in 2022 with the relaxation of social book to a total of RM360 million as of
14), the group anticipates its film exhibi- restrictions and recovering markets. Dec 31, 2021.
tion and distribution segment to deliver
better financial results on a year-on-year “We now qualify to participate in gov- As for its investment properties and
basis as the recovery momentum picks up ernment tenders as a main contractor for property development segment, PPB said
in 2022. water and sewage projects, and the market its Megah Rise residential construction is
has recognised us as a capable infrastruc- nearing completion by the second quarter
PPB managing director Lim Soon Huat ture works contractor, thus opening more of 2022 (2Q22), adding that it is focusing
said the group has outlined several de- opportunities for the group. on the retail mall’s scheduled opening in
velopment plans for the year, such as the 4Q22.
GSC Rewards programme to drive ad- “The group’s subsidiary Chemquest
missions as well as retain and attract new Sdn Bhd (CQ) has tendered for water “The management is also reviewing po-
cinemagoers while simultaneously building projects in Malaysia and Brunei worth tential new developments in Penang and
customer loyalty. Bedong, Kedah,” Lim added.

“We are launching eight BIG cinema As for the grains and agribusiness seg-
halls to provide a better immersive expe- ment, PPB forecasts margin pressures to
rience, and opening at least two Happy persist due to the volatile commodity mar-
Food Co outlets during the year. ket prices and high freight costs in 2022,
noting that the segment experienced a de-
“GSC also targets to introduce new cline due to the unprecedented high raw
cinemas in Bintulu, Johor, Kuala Lum- material costs due to global supply shocks
pur, and Putrajaya, with a total of 50 new and supply chain disruptions.
screens,” he said.
“We are committed to optimising op-
In September 2021, GSC completed erational efficiencies through our group’s
the acquisition of 18 cinema assets from extensive grain procurement experience
MCAT Box Office Sdn Bhd and Reel En- and technical competency to mitigate the
tertainment Holdings Sdn Bhd, increasing impact of rising raw materials and operat-
its domestic market share to more than ing costs,” he said.
50%. Read also: Massimo bread maker says
prominent new players’ entry introduced
The PPB group’s diversified businesses keen competition in industrial baking
include agribusiness, consumer products, scene Click here
property development, environmental en-
gineering and utilities.

Lim said the group is optimistic that its

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): FSBM FSBM’s external It said the application of the going con-
Holdings Bhd’s external auditor, Moore auditor raises cern basis of accounting is based on the
Stephens Associates PLT, has noted a ma- material assumption that the group will be able to
terial uncertainty that may cast a significant uncertainty realise its assets and liquidate its liabilities
doubt on the information and technology in the normal course of business.
service provider’s ability to continue as a BY SULHI KHALID
going concern. theedgemarkets.com If the regularisation plan is not ap-
proved, the application of the going con-
In its report filed with Bursa Malaysia cash flows,” said Moore Stephens. cern basis of accounting may be inappro-
by FSBM, the auditor said it was unable The auditor also pointed out that priate, it added.
to verify by alternative means the opening
balances making up the statements of fi- FSBM incurred a net loss of RM9.27 mil- “Moreover, as at the date of this re-
nancial position for the financial year end- lion for FY21, and that the group’s liabili- port, we were unable to obtain sufficient
ed Dec 31, 2020 (FY20), FY19 and FY18. ties exceeded its assets by RM5.31 million. appropriate audit evidence to evaluate the
appropriateness of management’s use of
“Since the opening balances enter Moore Stephens also said that FSBM’s the going concern basis of accounting for
into the determination of the financial ability to continue as a going concern is the group.
performance and cash flows, we were highly dependent on the submission, ap-
unable to obtain sufficient appropriate proval and subsequent implementation of “Therefore, we were unable to form
audit evidence as to whether the adjust- the group’s regularisation plan. an opinion as to whether the use of going
ments made are appropriate in respect of concern assumption in the preparation of
the loss for the financial year reported in the accompanying financial statements of
the statement of comprehensive income the group is appropriate,” the auditor said.
and the net cash flows from operating
activities reported in the statement of Shares in FSBM ended one sen or
3.23% higher at 32 sen on Thursday, val-
uing the company at RM45.22 million.

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Sealink’s auditor raises doubt over IHH Healthcare, Sequoia India and LPI Capital’s 1Q net profit down 25%
group’s ability to continue as going EDBI part of investors in med tech on lower investment income and
concern start-up Us2.ai contribution from insurance unit

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Sealink SINGAPORE (April 14): IHH Healthcare KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): LPI Capital Bhd
International Bhd said its independent — a Singapore Exchange and Bursa posted a lower net profit of RM61.53 million
auditor has raised an uncertainty relating Malaysia-listed healthcare operator — for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022
to the offshore marine support vessel and investment company Heal Partners (1QFY22), down 25.25% from RM82.31
operator’s going concern in view of are leading a US$15 million series A million a year earlier. Lower investment
the current economic conditions and round in medtech start-up Us2.ai. IHH income and profitability of its wholly-owned
Covid-19. The auditor, Grant Thornton Healthcare CEO Kelvin Loh says that insurance subsidiary Lonpac Insurance Bhd
Malaysia PLT, in its report noted that the company is looking to support and contributed to the group’s lower profit,
Sealink’s financial statement for the make cutting-edge clinical tools and according to its bourse filing. Revenue fell
year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21) showed care more accessible and affordable for 9.77% to RM397.74 million from RM440.79
that the group incurred a net loss of patients, through its investments in digital million, mainly due to a 7.2% or RM28.5
RM65.37 million. “As of that date, the health companies like Us2.ai. “[This will] million decline in gross earned premiums in
total current liabilities of the group and enhance the delivery of care by doctors the general insurance segment. Compared
of the company exceeded their total [and] will speed up the diagnosis of heart with 4QFY21, net profit declined by 15.79%
current assets by RM68.58 million and conditions for the public,” he explains. from RM73.07 million, while revenue
RM8.87 million respectively,” the report The round also has participation from dipped 7.26% from RM429.04 million.
further noted. Grant Thornton also noted existing investors like Sequoia India and According to LPI Capital chairman Tan Sri
that the Covid-19 outbreak has brought EDBI — the corporate investment arm Dr Teh Hong Piow, Lonpac’s profitability
uncertainties to the offshore marine of Singapore’s Economic Development in 1QFY22 was partly affected by the
sector. “These events or conditions Board (EDB). The Singapore-based Us2. additional cost of RM6.4 million incurred
indicate the existence of a material ai has developed an artificial intelligence for the reinstatement of reinsurance after
uncertainty which may cast doubt on (AI) powered software that can fully last December’s floods. The result was
the group’s and the company’s ability to automate a complete echocardiography, also affected by an increase in technical
continue as a going concern. The ability of a heart ultrasound report. The new funds reserves. Looking ahead, he said demand
the group and of the company to continue will be used to drive the company’s plans for insurance is expected to increase as the
as a going concern is dependent on the for clinical implementation in the US, economy recovers, and foresees that LPI will
success of future operations of the group Europe and Asia. It will also go towards report a satisfactory performance for the
and of the company and the continued the expansion of commercial activities rest of FY22. — by Syafiqah Salim
financial support from their bankers and a with leading pharmaceutical companies,
major corporate shareholder. Our opinion research labs and imaging providers CIMB Group aims to double AUM
is not modified in respect of this matter,” globally. — by Amala Balakrishner/ under Preferred segment by 2025
the auditor added. — by Shazni Ong theedgesingapore.com
KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): CIMB Bank
Click here for the full story Click here for the full story Bhd and CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd have
strengthened their offerings for emerging
CCK Consolidated seeks to buy Indonesian seafood exporter for RM34 mil and affluent clients across the ASEAN
region and aim to double the assets under
KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Integrated poultry firm and retail player CCK Consolidated management (AUM) under the banking
Holdings Bhd has proposed to acquire the entire stake in Indonesia-based PT Bonanza group’s Preferred segment by 2025. The
Pratama Abadi for US$8 million (RM33.74 million) cash. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia CIMB banking group noted that the total
on Thursday (April 14), the group said its wholly-owned subsidiary PT Adilmart has ASEAN wealth market generates annual
entered into a conditional sale share agreement with Mitsumoto Corp Ltd, Seven Star revenue of around RM40 billion, and is
Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Harvest Bonanza Sdn Bhd and Miradewi Rosadi for the acquisition. expected to grow rapidly between 2020
PT Bonanza is principally engaged in processing and freezing shrimp for local and export and 2025 with a forecast compound
sales including principal products such as frozen raw shrimp, frozen cooked shrimp annual growth rate of over 13%. “As such,
and frozen nobashi ebi shrimp. In a separate statement, CCK group managing director the bank is doubling down on providing
Tiong Chiong Hiiung said based on the best-in-class service and personalised
latest audited figures as at Dec 31, 2020 solutions to meet the changing needs of
for PT Bonanza, total revenue amounted today’s emerging and affluent ASEAN
to US$14.8 million (about RM60 million), segment,” it said in a statement on
while earnings were just below US$1 Thursday. — Bernama
million (about RM4 million). “In addition
to adding size and scale to our prawn
segment, this proposed acquisition is
also earnings accretive for CCK, with a
purchase consideration at 8.7 times PE
multiple,” he added. — by Sulhi Khalid

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UMNO to Seri Ahmad Maslan said this was en- Muhyiddin:
nominate Ismail dorsed at the Supreme Council meet- Bersatu open to
ing chaired by party president Datuk discussions with
Sabri as PM Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. other political
candidate in
Several other matters agreed upon parties
GE15 at the meeting include continuing the
efforts to support the tabling of the Bernama
Bernama Anti-Party Hopping Bill without com-
promising on calls by any party try- PUTRAJAYA (April 14): Parti Pribumi Ber-
the edge file photo ing to frustrate the move or attempt satu Malaysia (Bersatu) is still open to discus-
to change its meaning to other forms sions with other political parties in facing the
KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The of legislation, Ahmad said. 15th general election (GE15),said its president
UMNO Supreme Council today unan- Tan Sri MuhyiddinYassin.
imously proposed party vice-president “UMNO is of the view that the
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the Anti-Party Hopping Bill must be im- He said discussions are still going on with
Prime Minister candidate for the 15th mediately realised as a manifestation like-minded parties to achieve victory in GE15.
General Election (GE15). to ensuring that the rights of voters
are always protected and respected,” “I think that during this fasting month, the
UMNO secretary-general Datuk he said in a media statement. discussions are a bit slow. But after Raya, when
the situation permits and if any of the parties
Meanwhile, Ahmad said the party are keen or interested to at least meet up and
will hold a special General Assem- discuss the strategies in facing the election in
bly on May 14 to amend the UMNO a united manner and avoid contesting against
Constitution pertaining to the party’s each other in the alliance, we can work to-
election period, followed by a Hari wards this.
Raya Aidilfitri celebration.
“This does not depend on my side alone.
Ahmad also said that the Supreme It would be better if the other parties agree
Council is not in favour of extending that this step is apt for us to win in the coming
the Memorandum of Understanding general election,” Muhyiddin told the media
(MoU) on Transformation and Politi- after chairing the National Recovery Council
cal Stability, which expires on July 31. meeting here onThursday (April 14).

The Supreme Council met before On April 2, the former prime minister in
the party’s breaking of fast event at a Facebook post after the Johor state election
Dewan Tun Razak 3, World Trade said that he was approached by a number of
Centre here. Among those present political party leaders who opined that it would
were Ahmad Zahid, Deputy President be better for the political parties other than
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, Ismail Barisan Nasional to forge another coopera-
Sabri and MCA president Datuk Seri tion to avoid multi-cornered contests in GE15.
Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Read also: Anwar yet to decide on de-
fending Port Dickson seat in GE15
Click here

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): DAP is DAP will not OnWednesday, Bernama reported that
sticking to its stand that it will not accept accept party- Kit Siang, who is also the MP for Iskan-
any party-hoppers. hoppers — sec-gen dar Puteri, had rejected the party’s Cen-
tral Executive Committee proposal to be
Its secretary-general Anthony Loke Bernama a mentor, but would always be available to
Siew Fook said the decision applies to for- offer his views on the party’s new direction.
mer DAP members and individuals from at a virtual press conference on Thursday
other parties (outsiders). (April 14). Meanwhile, at the press conference,
Loke announced who will be the party
He said this in a response to a report On the party’s decision to propose DAP representatives in the Pakatan Harapan
saying that former Melaka assemblyman stalwart Lim Kit Siang to be a mentor, (PH) presidential council. This includes
Datuk Norhizam Hassan Baktee is eyeing a Loke added that it was based on the for- himself, Lim Guan Eng (DAP’s national
chance to become a Member of Parliament mer’s seniority. chairman), Gobind Singh Deo (deputy
(MP) in the coming general election by chairman), Nga Kor Ming (vice-chair-
contesting as an Umno or DAP member. ”The position is not in the party struc- man) and M Kulasegaran (vice-chairman).
ture and not in the party constitution. His
“The case is very clear. He (Norhizam) role would be like an advisor … we respect Also included are Steven Sim Chee Ke-
hopped out [of DAP] when we were down, his decision not to take up the offer,” Loke ong (DAP’s national organising secretary),
but is now thinking of coming back [to us]. noted. Dr KelvinYii LeeWuen (the DAP Socialist
Youth chief) and Chong Eng (the Wom-
“He lost in the [Melaka] state election en’s wing chief).
last November [after hopping out of DAP]
and wants a new platform to make a come- The PH coalition is made up of DAP,
back, but he can forget about it. We have PKR and Amanah.
many other good candidates,” Loke said

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): The Federal govt, affecting the federal government’s finan-
amount of the new special grant for Sa- Sabah agree to cial position.
bah has been increased by 4.7-fold from 4.7-fold increase
RM26.7 million to RM125.6 million for in special grant “If a new amount agreed by both par-
2022, according to a joint statement by ties is reached before 2026, then the new
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Bernama amount will be used to replace the special
Yaakob and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk grant payment for Sabah starting 2022,”
Seri Hajiji Noor. bloomberg it said.

As stated in the statement, the amount The statement also stated that the
will continue to increase every year for the agreement was made without prejudice
period between 2023 and 2026 based on to the obligations and rights of the federal
the rate mutually agreed by both parties. government and the Sabah government to
continue to review the special grant under
The amount was increased after the Article 112D of the Federal Constitution
federal government and the Sabah gov- by taking into account the financial po-
ernment reached an agreement on the sition of the federal government and the
review of the special grant to Sabah under needs of the Sabah government.
Article 112D of the Federal Constitution
onThursday, following several discussions It said the Sabah government also has
and negotiations by the Finance Ministry the right to rely on the original formula
and the Sabah government, with most of as stated in Article 112C and Part IV of
the terms agreed on Feb 14, 2022. the 10th Schedule of the Federal Con-
stitution.
This marks an important review as the
last review was done in 1969. Implementation of the review on the
special grant includes the right of both
The new agreement also covers other the federal government and the Sabah
matters, including for the federal gov- government to refer the matter to an in-
ernment and the Sabah government to dependent assessor (if no agreement is
continue negotiations on the 40% reve- reached) as stated in Article 112D (6)
nue claim by Sabah. of the Federal Constitution.

According to the joint statement, this is Click here for the full story
to get a new amount for the special grant
that can balance Sabah’s needs without

KUALA LUMPUR (April 14): Coun- Country Garden dismissed Country Garden Danga Bay’s
try Garden Danga Bay Sdn Bhd said on Danga Bay says appeal for a judicial review against the
Thursday (April 14) the property devel- to compensate earlier decision of the Kuala Lumpur
oper respects the Federal Court’s decision house owners High Court and Tribunal of Home Buy-
on Wednesday to not grant the company after developer ers Claims to award damages to the sev-
permission to appeal against late-delivery fails to get apex en buyers.
compensation claims by seven purchasers court permission
of properties developed by the firm within On Thursday, Country Garden Dan-
Danga Bay in Johor Bahru. to appeal ga Bay said it would like to confirm that
the company’s financial status is resilient
Country Garden Danga Bay said in a by Hafiz Yatim with strong support from parent company
statement it will “compensate house own- theedgemarkets.com Country Garden Holdings (CGH).
ers” for late delivery of vacant possession
after the Federal Court decided not to Among others, Country Garden Danga
grant the company permission to appeal Bay said that despite the impact of Cov-
against the purchasers’ claims. id-19-driven movement restrictions and
turbulence in the Chinese real estate in-
“Country Garden Danga Bay has al- dustry in 2021, RAM Rating Services Bhd
ways respected the interests of house had reaffirmed its AA3/Stable rating for
owners and continued to strive to provide CGH’s Malaysian unit’s RM1.5 billion
better services to the residents as well as Islamic bond or sukuk programme.
surrounding communities,” Country Gar-
den Danga Bay said. “During the pandemic, the company
(Country Garden Danga Bay) observed
OnWednesday, the Federal Court dis- certain rules and regulations in order to
missed Country Garden Danga Bay’s curb [the spread of] Covid-19 infections
motion for leave or permission to appeal with [the] intention to protect our staff.
against damages or compensation award-
ed to the seven buyers for late delivery of “We are limiting physical presence and
their service apartments. number of manpower,” Country Garden
Danga Bay said.
It was reported that the properties’ va-
cant possession was delivered after more As Malaysia transitions to the endemic
than four years from the originally-sched- phase since April 1, 2022, Country Garden
uled delivery date. Danga Bay said it will mobilise manpower
in phases to undertake overdue property
In July 2021, the Court of Appeal also maintenance work.

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The Phileo story re-lived

KUALA LUMPUR (April 15): Online bank- by Dorothy Teoh Building on the PALDIRECT template,
ing, stock trading, bill payments and shopping theedgemarkets.com Phileo launched PALWORLD in August
are things that we take for granted today. 1996. A PC-based product, PALWORLD
Zoom link for the talk on April 22 from 10-
But there was a time, less than 30 11am: monashmalaysia.info/BLT. Meeting offered the same range of services as
years ago, when these were unheard ID: 817 1144 0847 Passcode: 254304.) its predecessor but with additional
of in Malaysia.That is, until a small vices group offering a suite of services. Its features such as electronic shopping.
bank, a new kid on the block, came ultimate business vision was to provide uni-
along and shook up the banking and versal banking — credit/lending facilities, PALWORLD was followed a
stockbroking industries with a slew of asset management and investment adviso- month later by oneACCOUNT
innovative products that introduced ry, payment transactions, deposits, stock which combined the features of
these services to the Malaysian public. exchange transactions, underwriting and both current and savings accounts
financial analyses, corporate advisory and and the interest rates of a fixed de-
And, in the process, raised not just so on, all under one roof. As the book The posit account.
a few eyebrows but also hackles. Phileo Story:ATriumph of the Spirit notes, it
“was already getting there”, until its demise It was a simple idea but a
The story of these innovations by less than 10 years later put an end to all that. ground-breaking one. The book
the Phileo Group will be the subject quotes then-CIMB CEO Tan Sri
of a talk by lawyer Philip Koh, who Phileo used IT to compete with larger and Nazir Razak as saying:“Services that
was appointed adjunct professor at Monash more established players in the financial ser- Phileo provided were based on very, very sim-
University Malaysia earlier this year. Titled vices industry.PALDIRECT,launched in June ple ideas… Until Phileo, nobody had both-
“The Story of Innovation in Malaysia’s Fi- 1995, was a first in the banking/stockbroking ered to upgrade their technological systems
nancial and Capital Markets: The Rise and industry. By using a basic terminal and key- to achieve something like oneACCOUNT.”
Demise of Phileo Group”, the April 22 we- board that they could buy from the bank (a oneACCOUNT was followed by PAL-
binar is organised by the Business Law and hire purchase scheme was available for this), VIRTUAL KIOSK (readers may remem-
Taxation Department of Monash. customers would be connected to the bank’s ber the one at 1Utama Shopping Centre)
own system and be able to conduct banking in June 1997, PALTELLER, the first PAL-
“After having read The Phileo Story, I am transactions such as obtaining up-to-date in- VIRTUAL KIOSK at a McDonald’s called
truly convinced that Philip could not have formation on their accounts and placing fixed PAL@McDonald’s, and “lifestyle banking”
chosen a more appropriate topic than this,” deposits, access KLSE stock prices and place via arrangements with a bookshop and café in
said Associate Professor Dr AdnanTrakic in buy or sell orders, and pay some utility bills. Bangsar.According to The Phileo Story,“The
an email interview.Adnan is head of the Busi- PhileoAllied Bank in Greenlane, Penang, was
ness Law andTaxation Department, School PALDIRECT later developed a web- perhaps the first bank branch in the country
of Business, Monash University Malaysia. based option that was made accessible on to boast its own little café.”
computers, a precursor to online trading Night banking had been introduced at
“The Phileo story is about innovation and that other banks eventually adopted. PhileoAllied Bank’s SS2 branch in 1995 and
creativity. But it is also about hard work and was later extended to the USJ Subang and
dedication. It is about treating your employ- But in its efforts to better serve custom- PulauTikus, Penang, branches.
ees and customers with the utmost respect. ers, PALDIRECT ruffled feathers. Koh not- “So innovative were many such initiatives
Perhaps the central message is one of the need ed that bringing about convergence between that the then dynamic CEO of Citibank
to be good and excel at whatever it is you banking and securities dealing on a web was quoted in local media (The Star) that
do.This is a useful message to not only indi- platform “disintermediated market players Citi watches Phileo as Phileo understood
viduals and businesses aspiring to succeed in and also lowered transaction costs”. the power of technology innovations… Be-
their endeavours but also to authorities and fore there was Lazada and Shopee, Phileo
regulators when dealing with economic and By bypassing the middlemen, Phileo had also embarked on building a consumer
regulatory challenges,” added Adnan. was able to give its trading customers a re- product platform. All these were achieved
bate of up to 20% which would have gone through a very capable team that the CEO
Koh was a corporate lawyer when he was towards brokers’ fees, leading to claims of assembled and drove internally,” said Koh.
introduced to two young men,Tong Kooi Ong undercutting, and a battle between Phileo “In the webinar, I hope to explore how a
(nowTan Sri) and Rudy Koh, who were em- and the KLSE. group with entrepreneurial energies pushed
barking on the formation of a financial services the boundaries of financial and capital mar-
group called PhileoAllied Group.Tong, who kets competitiveness for Malaysia, shook
was group CEO of Phileo, is chairman ofThe up the oligopolistic players and caught the
Edge Media Group which includesThe Edge attention of even regional and international
Communications Sdn Bhd, publisher of The players,” said Koh. He added that he would
Edge and CEO Morning Brief. also explore why Phileo was not permitted
to continue its journey.
Koh, who had then spent five years in aca- PhileoAllied Bank and PhileoAllied Se-
demia at the University of Malaya and a dec- curities were merged with Maybank in Janu-
ade in legal practice during which he was in- ary 2001. In 1999, the group achieved profit
volved in several celebrated public law cases, after tax of RM214 million, the best in its
later joined the Phileo Group as an executive short history. For the financial year ended
director. “I wanted to experience corporate Jan 31, 2000, it recorded pre-tax profit of
life from within to see for myself the dynamics RM211 million on turnover of RM902 mil-
and management and board room practices lion, its highest ever.
which can either destroy or enhance share-
holder value,” he said in an email interview.

Phileo grew from a stockbroking outfit
at its launch in 1992 into a financial ser-

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BLOOMBERG

Indonesia says
Russia has the
right to attend

G-20 next
week

Wong: It is my privilege to be called upon to lead this team. I will do my utmost to uphold this BY YUDITH HO
responsibility. But as we have been reminded many times, the right to lead cannot be inherited. Bloomberg

Singapore PM Wong together with Health Minister (April 14): Indonesia, which holds the
Lee signals Ong Ye Kung and Education Minister rotating Group of 20 presidency, said
Chan Chun Sing came to the fore as poten- Russian delegates have been invited to
LawrenceWong tial successors to Lee after his designated join a meeting of global finance chiefs
becomes new heir, Heng Swee Keat, shocked Singapore inWashington next week, holding firm
successor by stepping aside in April last year. At the despite growing pressure to exclude
time, Lee said the goal was to identify a the country over its war in Ukraine.
BY RANJEETHA PAKIAM, FARIS MOKHTAR successor among younger leaders before
& PHILIP J HEIJMANS the next election due in 2025. Russian Finance Minister Anton
Bloomberg Siluanov and central bank Governor
Wong’s rise isn’t surprising given that he Elvira Nabiullina have the right to at-
(April 14): Prime Minister Lee Hsien won over the public with “strong leader- tend the meeting virtually or physical-
Loong announced that Finance Minister ship” in handling the pandemic, said Nydia ly, since Indonesia is in no position to
Lawrence Wong has been chosen as the Ngiow, Singapore-based managing direc- disinvite any member without consen-
new leader of the so-called fourth gener- tor at BowerGroupAsia, a strategic policy sus, said Wempi Saputra, an expert
ation team, effectively paving the way for advisory firm. staff at Indonesia’s Finance Ministry.
him to become the next premier.
“It’s important for the other two front Indonesia is also in discussions
A consultation process found “over- runners to show support and coalesce over whether to invite representa-
whelming support” forWong among cabi- around him, which I expect they will do tives from Ukraine who will address
net ministers, Lee said in a Facebook post soon,” she said. “Wong has an important G-20 countries on the impact of the
on Thursday night. task ahead of him in garnering confidence war on the world’s economic outlook,
in the 4G leaders.” Saputra added.
“Singapore will always need a strong
team in charge, with a leader who can bring Chan offered his congratulations to Officials from Southeast Asia’s
others together, and draw out the best of Wong after the announcement. “I deeply largest economy have repeatedly said
each team member,” Lee added. “I have appreciate the camaraderie that we have all delegates from the world’s 20 big-
every confidence that Lawrence and his shared over the years and look forward to gest economies will be invited despite
team will continue to give their best for continue working closely with him and the protests from countries like the US
Singapore and Singaporeans.” team to tackle the challenges and seize the and Australia over Russia’s potential
opportunities ahead of us,” he said. attendance, particularly at the No-
In a separate post, Wong said he was vember summit in Bali.
“humbled and grateful” to lead his col- Wong’s tenure as finance minister since
leagues. May 2021 has been coloured by govern- “Indonesia’s position is under-
ment efforts to move the economy further stood by all G-20 members — some
“It is my privilege to be called upon to out of Covid-era crisis mode, gradually may disagree and others may agree
lead this team,” he said. “I will do my ut- easing the support for consumers and busi- — but all of them understood,” said
most to uphold this responsibility. But as nesses that has helped the city-state bounce Saputra.
we have been reminded many times, the back from its worst contraction since inde-
right to lead cannot be inherited.” pendence more than a half-century ago. In From its formation in 2009,G-20’s
February, Wong used his maiden budget mission is to be the main forum for
speech as Finance Minister to raise taxes discussing global coordination to
for the wealthiest 1% and announce an achieve strong, sustainable, balanced
increase in consumption taxes to rebuild and inclusive growth, so Indonesia will
finances after the pandemic. uphold that mandate, Saputra said.
“We have said to the members that
it is time, despite the geopolitical ten-
sion, to focus on international eco-
nomic cooperation,” he added.

Read also:Yellen says Russia should
be expelled from G20, US may boy-
cott some meetings Click here

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(April 14): European Central Bank Pres- Lagarde in raising borrowing costs, the faster time-
ident Christine Lagarde signaled officials’ pinpoints June table for withdrawing stimulus that it un-
next meeting in June will start the clock as moment for veiled in March underlines an increasing
ticking toward interest-rate hikes as they clarity on ECB focus on taming price pressures.
determine an exact end to asset purchases
to combat growing inflation risks. pullback “Upside risks surrounding the inflation
outlook have also intensified, especially in
Speaking after the ECB renewed a BY CAROLYNN LOOK & ALEXANDER WEBER the near-term,” Lagarde said. “We are very
pledge to conclude bond-buying in the Bloomberg attentive to the current uncertainties and
third quarter but declined to be more pre- are closely monitoring the incoming data.”
cise, Lagarde said policy makers gather-
ing in eight weeks’ time will have to in- Those numbers include perceptions of
corporate an “element of judgment” as the trajectory for consumer prices, which
they assess fresh economic forecasts amid Lagarde said are shifting higher. “The last
heightened uncertainty caused by the war thing we want to see is inflation expecta-
in Ukraine. tions at risk of being de-anchored,” she
said.
Facing inflation that’s almost four times
their 2% target alongside threats to the Lagarde also commented on reports the
euro zone’s pandemic rebound, officials ECB is crafting a tool to deploy should
are cautiously winding down stimulus and bond yields advance excessively on the
contemplating “gradual” rate hikes “some euro zone’s periphery as quantitative eas-
time after” the termination of asset pur- ing is wound down. She said flexibility is
chases. crucial to monetary policy going forward,
and that officials could build a new instru-
Markets are currently pricing in quar- ment “in short order” if required.
ter-point increases in September and De-
cember that would bring the deposit rate Investors recently have been focused on
to zero. what would happen if the war in Ukraine
leads to a ban on imports of oil and nat-
“Our forward guidance will be deter- ural gas from Russia. Germany, Europe’s
mining and helping us determine at the biggest economy, was warned this week
June projection meeting if we decide to it could face a 220 billion-euro (US$240
terminate net asset purchases, what ex- billion) hit to output over the next two
actly will be the policy going forward in years in the event of a sudden embargo.
terms of rates,” Lagarde saidThursday by
video link from her home as she recovers Lagarde said such a step would have
from Covid-19. a “significant impact.” Nevertheless, she
stressed that the path toward normalizing
Increases in borrowing costs could fol- monetary policy is appropriate in light of
low “anywhere between a week to several the dangers to inflation.
months” after the end of quantitative eas-
ing, she said. “The journey has begun, it is moving
along as predicted,” Lagarde said. “We
While the ECB is still well behind the want to have both flexibility and move
Federal Reserve and the Bank of England gradually and keep all the options open.”

(April 14): Turkey kept interest rates un- Turkey keeps need to keep the current-account in check.
changed for a fourth straight month despite rates unchanged “In this context, the committee decided
a surge in inflation past 60%, putting more
onus on the central bank’s unconventional again as lira’s to strengthen the macroprudential policy
policies to tether the lira. calm buys time set,” the bank said, leaving the door open
for fringe measures that might be used to
The Monetary Policy Committee held BY PAUL ABELSKY keep credit growth strong without further
its benchmark at 14% onThursday, as fore- Bloomberg stoking inflation.
cast by all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg,
prolonging a pause in place since it halted US$800 billion economy increasing- Under pressure from President Recep
a series of rate cuts at the end of last year. ly vulnerable at a time of intensifying Tayyip Erdogan, a self-described “enemy”
global tightening led by the US Federal of interest rates, the central bank led by
The decision reflects a risky balanc- Reserve. Governor Sahap Kavcioglu has yet to sig-
ing act that hinges on keeping Turkey’s nal it’s anywhere near a policy adjustment
currency stable for longer with measures Turkish policy makers said in Thurs- after ending last year with 500 basis points
that include foreign-exchange sales by state day’s decision that they were keeping an in monetary easing.The multiple rounds
banks and a costly program to shield savers eye on the nation’s current account with of rate cuts triggered a collapse in the cur-
from lira weakness. Rather than adding to higher energy prices widening the trade gap. rency and touched off inflation.
Turkey’s rate buffer, authorities are now The central bank is also assessing growth Click here for the full story
leaning even more heavily on other policies in long-term investment loans against the Read also: South Korea steps up inflation
that could bring in more hard currency and fight with surprise rate hike Click here
boost the central bank’s reserves.

Deepening trade imbalances and the
world’s most negative borrowing costs
when adjusted for prices have made the

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world

Elon Musk makes US$43 bil unsolicited
bid to takeTwitter private

(April 14): Elon Musk has made a “best by Maxwell Adler & Giles Turner verification marks to premium users. One
and final” offer to buy Twitter Inc, saying Bloomberg tweet suggested Twitter might be dying,
the company has extraordinary potential given that several celebrities with high
and he is the person to unlock it. reuters numbers of followers rarely tweet.

The world’s richest person will offer Elon Musk’s full letter to Twitter’s Unsatisfied with the influence that
US$54.20 per share in cash, representing board: comes with being Twitter’s largest in-
a 54% premium over the Jan 28 closing I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential vestor, he has now launched a full take-
price and a valuation of about US$43 bil- to be the platform for free speech around the over, one of the few individuals who can
lion.The social media company’s shares globe, and I believe free speech is a societal afford it outright. He’s currently worth
soared 18% in pre-market trading. imperative for a functioning democracy. about US$260 billion according to the
Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, compared
Musk, 50, announced the offer in a fil- However, since making my investment I with Twitter’s market valuation of about
ing with the US Securities and Exchange now realise the company will neither thrive US$37 billion.
Commission on Thursday, after turning nor serve this societal imperative in its current
down a potential board seat at the compa- form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a In a letter toTwitter’s board, Musk said
ny.The billionaire, who also controlsTesla private company. he believesTwitter “will neither thrive nor
Inc, first disclosed a stake of about 9% serve [its free speech] societal imperative
on April 4. Tesla shares fell about 1.5% As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of in its current form. Twitter needs to be
in pre-market trading on the news. Twitter for US$54.20 per share in cash, a transformed as a private company”.
54% premium over the day before I began
Twitter said that its board would re- investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over The takeover is unlikely to be a drawn-
view the proposal and any response would the day before my investment was publicly out process. “If the deal doesn’t work,
be in the best interests of “all Twitter announced. My offer is my best and final given that I don’t have confidence in man-
stockholders”. offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to agement nor do I believe I can drive the
reconsider my position as a shareholder. necessary change in the public market,
The bid is the latest saga in Musk’s I would need to reconsider my position
volatile relationship with Twitter. The Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will as a shareholder,” said Musk.
executive is one of the platform’s most- unlock it.
watched firebrands, often tweeting out Musk informed Twitter’s board over
memes and taunts to @elonmusk’s more the previous weekend that he thought the
than 80 million followers. He has been company should be taken private, accord-
outspoken about changes he’d like to con- ing to Thursday’s statement.
sider imposing at the social media plat-
form, and the company offered him a seat The US$54.20 per share offer is “too
on the board following the announcement low” for shareholders or the board to ac-
of his stake, which made him the largest cept, said Vital Knowledge’s Adam Cris-
individual shareholder. afulli in a report, adding that the compa-
ny’s shares hit US$70 less than a year ago.
After his stake became public, Musk
immediately began appealing to fellow Although Musk is the world’s richest
users about prospective moves, from turn- person, how he will find US$43 billion
ing Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters in cash has yet to be revealed.
into a homeless shelter and adding an edit
button for tweets to granting automatic “This becomes a hostile takeover offer
which is going to cost a serious amount of
cash,” said Neil Campling, head of TMT
research at Mirabaud Equity Research.
“He will have to sell a decent piece of
Tesla stock to fund it, or a massive loan
against it.”

Musk has hired Morgan Stanley as his
adviser for the bid. The offer price also
includes the number 420, widely recog-
nised as a coded reference to marijua-
na. He also picked US$420 as the share
price for possibly taking Tesla private in
2018, a move that brought him scrutiny
from the SEC.

“There will be host of questions
around financing, regulatory, balanc-
ing Musk’s time (Tesla, SpaceX) in the
coming days,” said Dan Ives, analyst at
Wedbush. “But ultimately based on this
filing it is a now or never bid for Twitter
to accept.”

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world

ISTANBUL (April 14): Russia threatened Russia warns gion but said that Putin has already ordered
to deploy nuclear weapons in and around of nuclear the military to prepare plans for boosting
the Baltic Sea region if Finland and Sweden build-up if defences along Russia’s western frontiers.
join the North AtlanticTreaty Organization
(NATO) as tensions fuelled by President Finland, Sweden Medvedev said he hoped that “reason”
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine spread. join NATO would prevail and the countries would de-
cide not to join the alliance.
“In this case, there can be no talk of by Benjamin Harvey
non-nuclear status for the Baltic,” Dmitry Bloomberg Russia’s border with Finland runs for over
Medvedev, deputy chief of Russia’s Security 1,300 kilometres, more than the total length
Council and former president, said in aTel- bloomberg of its frontier with current NATO members.
egram post onThursday, suggesting Russia If the countries join the alliance, “we will
may deploy Iskander missiles, hypersonic according to the Center for Strategic and In- need to seriously strengthen our land forc-
weapons, and nuclear-armed ships in the ternational Studies, aWashington think tank. es and anti-aircraft and deploy substantial
region. Moscow has never publicly confirmed that. naval forces in the Gulf of Finland basin”,
Medvedev said.
Medvedev’s comments are among the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov de-
most detailed threats Russia has issued over clined to comment on the possibility nuclear Though the initiatives to consider NATO
the prospect that its north-western neigh- weapons may be deployed in the Baltic re- membership picked up in both countries only
bours may join the alliance after decades of after the invasion, Medvedev said Russia’s
staying out. But both Finland and Sweden move was not to blame.At the same time, he
this week said they were stepping up consid- suggested that while keeping Ukraine out of
eration of the issue in the wake of Russia’s the western alliance was a key goal of Rus-
invasion of Ukraine. sia’s operation there, the Kremlin sees the
situation with Finland and Sweden region
But Lithuanian President Gitanas Nause- differently.
da dismissed the threats as “empty”, accus-
ing Russia of already placing tactical nuclear “We don’t have territorial disputes with
weapons in the Kalinigrad exclave on the those countries like we do with Ukraine,”
Baltic.“I don’t know if one can deploy some- he said. “For that reason, the price of their
thing anew that’s already been deployed,” membership for us is different.”
Nauseda told a press conference inVilnius. Read also: Russia says crippled warship to be
towed back to port, as Ukraine claims missile
Russia based Iskander missiles, which hit Click here
can carry both nuclear and conventional
warheads, in Kaliningrad starting in 2018,

Russian companies, banks could reap windfall
from depositary receipt delisting

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (April by Sinead Cruise & Carolina Mandl ucts. Banks could still charge the fees, even
14): Russian companies and global banks Reuters though their hand was forced, according
including BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, to three sources.
Citigroup and JPMorgan could profit if over these companies.
Moscow moves to de-list Russian compa- Depositary receipts are certificates issued For example, an investor in Rosneft
nies’ depositary receipts from foreign ex- with 150 million depositary receipts rep-
changes, according to two people familiar by a bank representing shares in a foreign resenting the same number of shares in the
with the matter. company traded on a local stock exchange. company could be on the hook for $7.5
They allow investors to dabble in overseas million in cancellation fees, according to
The potential windfall is due to the fees stocks in their own geography and time zone. Reuters’ calculations.
that bank issuers of depositary receipts can
contractually charge investors when they There are more than 30 depositary re- Sweeping Western sanctions could
cancel the product. It is unclear how much ceipts on Russian companies including Gaz- make it challenging for banks to transfer
companies and banks could make or if banks prom , Rosneft , Lukoil and Norilsk Nick- the cash to some companies.
will charge the fees and risk angering inves- el issued by BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank,
tors who say it would be unfair given the ex- Citigroup, JPMorgan, among others, trading Regardless, some investors say the fees
traordinary circumstances which have been on U.S. and European markets. should not apply. One global asset man-
triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ager told Reuters that if Russia passes the
Under standard agreements, depositary de-listing law there should be no fees as
However, the fees could potential- receipts can be canceled by the issuer or the investors would have no choice in the mat-
ly translate into hundreds of millions of investor. When that happens, the investor ter. The other two sources, however, say
dollars according to Reuters’ calculations typically gets cash from the sale of the un- banks still have to cover their costs.
based on fee data provided by the sources. derlying shares, although they have the right
to take custody of the shares instead. BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, JPMor-
Assailed byWestern sanctions, Moscow gan and Citigroup declined to comment.
is preparing to de-list Russian company Banks charge an administration fee, typi- Russian companies did not respond to a
depositary receipts from foreign exchanges cally around $0.05 per receipt, which may be Reuters emails seeking comment.
and convert them into local Russian secu- shared with the companies, two sources said. Click here for the full story
rities in a bid to reduce foreigners’ control
If Moscow de-lists Russian depositary re-
ceipts, banks will have to cancel the prod-

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(April 14): Chinese President Xi Jinping Xi says China been barred from leaving their homes.
said his government will stick to its ze- must stick to While there have been a few signs of eas-
ro-tolerance approach to Covid-19 even Covid zero policy ing, such as allowing Shanghai, Guangzhou
as public anger simmers in Shanghai and even as costs and six other cities to cut quarantine time
economic costs mount. for some people, senior officials have also
mount publicly argued that China must stick to
“Prevention and control work cannot be its strict approach.
relaxed,” Xi said during a trip to the island Bloomberg
province of Hainan, the official Xinhua That strategy has involved mass testing,
News Agency reported late on Wednesday reuters long quarantine and mostly closed borders.
(April 13), the same day the financial hub In addition to the social cost, the econom-
saw a record 27,719 new cases. ic damage has been similarly substantial,
with factories forced to shut and supply
Officials implementing Covid zero need chains clogged.
to adhere to the principle of “people first
and life first”, Xi said. “Persistence is vic- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has repeat-
tory,” he added. edly warned of risks to economic growth,
and the central bank is expected to cut
Xi, who is likely to seek a third five-year its key policy interest rate for the second
term during a Communist Party congress time this year on Friday and reduce the
later this year, is facing one of the biggest reserve requirement ratio within days to
tests of his tenure. The lockdown of tens help bolster the economy.
of millions in the city of Shanghai and the
north-eastern province of Jilin has fuelled Covid zero has also added to tensions
widespread criticisms of his government’s with the US, which this week ordered
response to the highly infectious Omicron all non-emergency staff at its consulate
variant. in Shanghai to leave the Asian nation,
prompting a spokesman for the nation’s
Residents short of groceries, medi- Foreign Ministry to accuseWashington of
cal care and patience have been making “attacking and smearing” China.
a rare display of a pushback as they’ve

(April 14): Hong Kong will begin a phased Hong Kong rolls frustrated at their struggles to get basic
easing of social distancing measures next back some virus food and medical care as daily infections
week as the world’s deadliest Covid-19 climb to almost 28,000. Cases peaked at
outbreak wanes. measures as more than 60,000 in Hong Kong, which
deadly wave ebbs never locked down or conducted man-
Restaurants will be able to stay open datory mass testing, though the latter is
for dining-in until 10pm, and can have up by Sarah Zheng still likely.
to four people per table starting April 21, Bloomberg
government officials announced Thurs- Lam said the government hasn’t given
day. Gyms, museums and cinemas can reuters up on its plans — initially announced in
re-open, while bars will stay shut. February — for mandatory citywide test-
People wearing PPE walk at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai- ing. Its implementation depends on timing
The city will also lift a ban on private Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, amid the Covid-19 and capability, and an announcement will
gatherings of more than two households pandemic, in Hong Kong, China, March 22, 2022. be made in due course, she said.
and allow four people to congregate in
public, up from two people currently. in a world that’s chosen to live with the vi- More easing
Beaches and pools will remain closed rus, is under unprecedented pressure from Hong Kong’s social distancing measures
for now. the highly-transmissible omicron variant. will be relaxed in three phases over three
months, though Lam wouldn’t give details
The move to gradually ease restric- Shanghai has been locked down for on timing or a threshold for future easing.
tions comes as daily infections fall below weeks with residents growing increasingly
1,300 and follows the moderate relaxa- The city, with the help of the central
tion of the city’s travel quarantine earlier government, has boosted its testing and
this month. Still, the government’s adher- isolation capacity in recent months after
ence to China’s Covid Zero approach, as the surge in cases overwhelmed its re-
life in rival financial hubs like Singapore sources. Hong Kong can send infected
normalises, continues to rankle the busi- people to quarantine facilities or allow
ness community and erode Hong Kong’s residents to isolate at home, and officials
global stature. have signalled they’re keen to ramp up
contact tracing.
“Any measure that enables Hong Kong
to resume normal operations will inevita- “With this greater capacity, it would be
bly bring risks of transmission,” and infec- very, very unreasonable and perhaps un-
tions are still relatively high despite their acceptable to the majority of Hong Kong
recent decline, Chief Executive Carrie people to continue to close all these prem-
Lam said at the briefing. Safeguards like ises and allow people no chance to lead
rapid tests and existing social distancing a normal life,” Lam said. “This is a very
rules make the risks manageable, she said. balanced and prudent approach in order
to meet the needs of Hong Kong.”
The Covid Zero approach, which only
China and Hong Kong continue to pursue

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(April 14): Sequoia Capital India’s Shailen- Sequoia’s Singh the due diligence process, people familiar
dra Singh has stepped down from the left Zilingo board with the matter said.
board of troubled Zilingo Pte Ltd following amid accounting
questions about the high-profile Singapore probe — sources The concerns centred on the way that
start-up’s accounting practices, according Zilingo accounted for transactions and rev-
to people familiar with the matter. BY OLIVIA POH & FARIS MOKHTAR enue across a platform spanning thousands
Bloomberg of small merchants, Bloomberg News report-
Singh, the managing director of the in- ed. Singapore regulators said the company
fluential venture capital firm, resigned as a BLOOMBERG had not filed annual financial statements
director about a week ago after the depar- since 2019.
tures of Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd’s Xu
WeiYang and Burda Principal Investments Bose has disputed allegations of
Ltd’s Albert Shyy, said the people, ask- wrongdoing and contended her suspen-
ing not to be identified because the move sion was due in part to her complaints
hadn’t yet been made public. All three about harassment. She has hired an at-
firms have been prominent backers of the torney to represent her, Abraham Ver-
fashion e-commerce platform once hailed gis of Providence Law Asia, and called
as a symbol of Southeast Asia’s booming the investigation a “witch hunt”, ac-
Internet economy. cording to correspondence reviewed
by Bloomberg News.
Sequoia and Zilingo declined to com-
ment. Sequoia plans to appoint a replace- Bose and her lawyer declined to comment.
ment and still holds the board seat. The clash represents a dramatic turn
of fate for one of Singapore’s most cele-
Zilingo has suspended chief executive brated start-ups. Zilingo was founded by
officer Ankiti Bose and begun an investi- Bose and chief technology and product
gation into its financial practices, Bloomb- officer Dhruv Kapoor in Singapore seven
erg News reported on Tuesday (April 12). years ago to help small businesses across
The company had been trying to raise South and Southeast Asia sell their goods
US$150 million (about RM634.72 mil- online. Its valuation surged at one point
lion) to US$200 million with help from to almost US$1 billion and Bose became
Goldman Sachs Group Inc when investors a regular speaker on technology and the
began to question its finances as part of promise of Southeast Asia.

(April 14): A unit of Chinese developer Unit of Chinese a rally in the valuation of Chinese real
Longfor Group Holdings Ltd got the developer set estate owners and developers, but that
green light for the largest Hong Kong rebound has been fading in recent days.
listing in seven months in what would for biggest Hong
be a measure of investor confidence in Kong IPO since In Hong Kong, IPO activity has been
the troubled sector. subdued so far this year, with the amount
September raised slumping 90% to US$1.9 billion
The property management subsidi- compared to the same period of 2021,
ary Longfor Intelligent Living Ltd has BY FILIPE PACHECO & VINICY CHAN and deals have been on the smaller side.
won approval for an initial public offer- Bloomberg The latest real estate listing of more than
ing (IPO) that may raise around US$1 US$100 million was Jinmao Property
billion (about RM4.23 billion), accord- mand for shares in some Chinese real Services Co. Its shares are down about
ing to people familiar with the matter. estate firms and their units as many of 27% since their debut on March 10.
At that size, it would the largest IPO in them remain shut from selling bonds at a
the financial hub since Dongguan Rural time when the credit market has reached Still, Longfor Intelligent’s parent
Commercial Bank Co’s US$1.2 billion an inflection point. Policy promises in company has more solid credit met-
deal in September. the middle of last month helped spark rics and stronger liquidity than peers,
according to Moody’s Investors Ser-
It would be testing appetite for shares vice and Bloomberg Intelligence. Long-
tied to China’s problematic real estate for Group’s 81% rebound in contracted
industry, which has been roiled by mul- sales in March from February may help
tiple debt defaults and slumping new- its operations, including land acquisi-
home prices over the past few months. tions, BI analysts Daniel Fan and Adrian
The IPO may also indicate a period of Sim wrote in a note.
recovery in the market after extreme vol-
atility because of the war in Ukraine and Longfor Intelligent runs develop-
Beijing’s regulatory crackdown. ments including residential commu-
nities and shopping malls across Chi-
Longfor Intelligent hasn’t decided na, and has over 1,500 projects under
yet when to launch the IPO, delibera- management, according to a preliminary
tions are ongoing and details could still prospectus filed with the Hong Kong’s
change, said the people, who asked not exchange. CCB International Hold-
to be identified as the information is ings Ltd, China International Capital
private. Corp, HSBC Holdings plc and JPMor-
gan Chase & Co are joint sponsors of
If the company raises the expected the deal.
amount, it would hint that there is de-

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MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (April 13): In- India open to swaps. Sri Lanka has also sought another
dia is willing to commit up to another $2 additional US$2 bil $500 million credit line for fuel.
billion in financial assistance to Sri Lanka aid for Sri Lanka
while also supporting the island nation with with eye on China China has extended a $1.3 billion syndi-
food and fuel, five sources told Reuters, as cated loan and a $1.5 billion-yuan denomi-
New Delhi tries to regain ground lost to — sources nated swap, while negotiations are ongoing
China in recent years. for more loans and credit lines.
by Swati Bhat & Aftab Ahmed
Sri Lanka, hit by its worst economic cri- Reuters One of the sources said New Delhi was
sis since independence in 1948 and on the keen for its southern neighbour to cut its reli-
brink of its first debt default, has been asking ance on China. Sri Lanka has an outstanding
friendly nations including India and China debt of about $3.5 billion with China — or
for credit lines, food and energy.The Asian 10.8% of the island’s total — and Beijing
giants have already committed billions of has also built ports and roads in the country.
dollars in financial support.
“We want them to reduce their debt
“We are definitely looking to help them levels from China and we want to become
out and are willing to offer more stronger partners,” said the source.
swap lines and loans,” said an In-
dian source aware of various dis- Cutting ties
cussions with Sri Lanka. India has also sent ships with
sugar, rice and wheat — items of
A senior government source in which it has a surplus, unlike Chi-
New Delhi said Sri Lanka’s warn- na — to Sri Lanka ahead of the
ing on Tuesday of defaulting on country’s Sinhala andTamil New
debt payments was a worry, but Year onThursday.
that “we can still give them up to
$2 billion in swaps and support”. Four of the sources said though
New Delhi had not formally made
Another source familiar with cutting Sri Lanka’s reliance on Bei-
Sri Lanka’s thinking said it was jing a condition for offering help, it
seeking India’s help to roll over had been able to make the Sri Lan-
some $2 billion in dues, such as kans realise that it was in a better po-
those owed to the South Asia-fo- sition to support them than China.
cussedAsian Clearing Union.The
source said the response had been Sri Lanka is due to formally
positive from India. start loan negotiations with the
International Monetary Fund on
All the sources had direct Monday, and one of the Indian
knowledge of the matter or had sources said that would be critical
been briefed on it, but they de- in New Delhi agreeing to more
clined to be named as the dis- aid for the country.
cussions were private.
Sri Lanka’s central bank said on
India’s government and its Tuesday it had become “challeng-
central bank, as well as Sri Lan- ing and impossible” to repay exter-
ka’s foreign and finance minis- nal debt, as it tries to use its dwin-
tries, did not immediately re- dling foreign exchange reserves to
spond to requests for comment. import essentials like fuel. Street protests have
gone on for more than a month against short-
India has so far committed $1.9 billion to ages of fuel, food, power and medicine.
Sri Lanka in loans, credit lines and currency

(April 14): Growing calls for the European Indian backdoor crude to energy-starved Europe.That would
Union to ban Russian oil imports may be for Russian oil weaken the argument of some EU countries,
overlooking a crucial flaw in its strategy to weakens calls for which are calling for punishing the Kremlin
punish Moscow: India. European ban by not funding its energy sales.

The South Asian nation is becoming a by Debjit Chakraborty “That is the cost of sanctions or self-sanc-
huge buyer of Russian oil, snapping up crude Bloomberg tioning,” said Jonathan Leitch, an oil ana-
cargoes that are going unwanted by Euro- lyst atTurner, Mason & Co. Shipping Urals
pean importers. And with several Europe- plex it is for the EU to untangle itself from grade Russian crude to India and refining
an countries and oil majors self-sanctioning Russian energy imports.Though the bloc is it to then sell it to Europe, “adds a lot of
Russian purchases and starving themselves making strenuous efforts to move away from unnecessary tonne/miles and gives a larger
of fuel, India is already profiting from selling its oil and gas, a country like India could keep profit to the Indian refiners and results in a
diesel onward to Europe. profiting by selling fuel made from Russian higher retail price for the consumer.”

If Europe adopts official sanctions on Indian refiners — state-run and private
Russian crude and fuel, prices will likely — have stepped up processing Russian bar-
surge, and India could profit even more from rels from last month onwards and the vol-
refining Russian oil to fuels it then sells to umes will rise as more shipments start ar-
Europe for more money. riving this month and next after processors

It’s a plot twist that reflects how com- continues on Page 23

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world

Mad dash to Steel demand shaken by the war in Ukraine and rising in-
quit Russian growth to slow flation,” said MaximoVedoya, chairman of
coal triggers in 2022 as war the association’s economics committee.
Asian price rally threatens outlook
Steel’s ubiquity in manufacturing and
by Stephen Stapczynski by Eddie Spence construction makes it a key barometer for
Bloomberg Bloomberg global economic growth. High commodity
prices — including for steel — are threaten-
(April 14): Asian coal prices kept ral- (April 14): Steel demand growth will slow ing to fuel inflation while also hitting output.
lying — taking the gain in April to this year as consumption in Russia and TheWorld Steel Association expects steel de-
more than 20% — as Japanese and Ukraine slumps in the wake of the war, mand growth to rebound to 2.2% in 2023,
South Korean utilities avoided Rus- according to the World Steel Association. but adds that the forecast is highly uncertain.
sian fuel.
Consumption will rise just 0.4% to “Inflation is a problem in many mar-
Several Japanese power generators 1,840.2 million tons in 2022, a slower pace kets,” Edwin Basson. director-general of
are seeking cargoes to replace Rus- than last year’s 2.7% increase, the industry theWorld Steel Association, said in a pres-
sian coal after Tokyo said last week group said Thursday.The war in Ukraine entation. “It will have a dampening effect
it would ban imports, according to will cause steel demand in the European on steel use.”
traders with knowledge of the matter. Union to contract as the recovery from
Seoul hasn’t yet prohibited the trade, the pandemic is delayed. Demand in China — the world’s top
but Korea Southern Power Co issued producer and consumer of steel — will
a coal purchase tender onWednesday “The expectation of a continued and sta- remain flat this year, despite government
with a clause specifically excluding ble recovery from the pandemic has been stimulus focused on infrastructure. Chi-
shipments from Russia. nese demand collapsed in the second half
of 2021 after the country tried to rein in
Newcastle coal futures for April its real estate sector.
have risen around 7% this week to
US$312 a ton on Wednesday, the Other countries including the US
highest since March 25, according and India are expected to see substantial
to ICE Futures Europe. growth in demand this year.

Russia is the third-largest suppli- from Page 22 tively strong level” of 860,000 barrels a day
er of power-station coal, so the bans in March, according toVortexa.
by Japan and the European Union, aggressively bought the cargoes shunned by
which said earlier this month that it others, according to refinery officials, who It is very difficult “and in some cases im-
would prohibit shipments, are set to asked not to be named discussing internal possible to trace the heritage of oil products,”
significantly tighten markets. About business matters. Turner’s Leitch said.“I can’t see how, even if
18% of global coal exports came from they wanted to, European product import-
Russia in 2020, according to Australia India’s diesel exports in March were ers would be able to reject certain Indian
& New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. the highest since April 2020 when they hit diesel volumes due to them being refined
847,000 barrels a day, according to Jane Xie, from Russian crude.”
Tokyo didn’t give a specific time a senior oil analyst at the data and analytics
frame for its ban, but many Japanese firm Kpler in Singapore. “About 30% have Relying on Russia
and South Korean utilities have de- ended up in Europe where prices of ultra Europe, which relied on Russia for about a
cided not to sign new contracts to low sulfur diesel were US$100 a ton costlier fifth of its diesel imports in 2019, has been
purchase Russian coal. China will than in Singapore last month.” scrambling to find alternatives as concerns
likely absorb the Russian fuel des- mount over the prospect of supplies run-
tined for Japan, Morgan Stanley said State-run refiners including Indian Oil ning out.
in a note. Chinese imports of Rus- Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp have been
sian coal will increase 30% this year, buying Russia’s flagship Urals grade and its India’s proximity to European markets
the bank said, citing channel checks. Sokol crude, according to refinery officials. gives it an advantage over other Asia Pacif-
While the refiners mostly sell domestically, ic refiners. Xie estimates that a voyage from
they have stepped up exports in order to Jamnagar to Rotterdam would take about 22
cash in on higher international prices, the days, while a trip from Ulsan in South Korea
officials said. to Rotterdam trip could take about 38 days.

India’s Nayara Energy Ltd, which is Indian Oil and Bharat Petroleum didn’t
backed by the Russian oil producer Rosneft respond to emails seeking comment.
PJSC, has also bought some Russian crude,
according to two Indian traders. India has pushed back on the entreaties of
Western nations to scale back the country’s
“Like any other refinery, Nayara Ener- relationship with Moscow, saying it wants to
gy optimizes its crude basket with the aim continue buying cheap Russian oil to protect
to achieve the best option for our refinery,” its own interests.
the company said in an emailed response to
questions. “Feedstock is supplied through While Indian companies’ purchases of
ongoing agreements and spot trades. In par- Russian oil are a tiny fraction of the total
allel, we are augmenting our product sales amount imported from overseas, the cheap
through appropriate channels.” price at which they are being offered the oil
from state-run Russian companies could be-
Though Europe is planning to phase come a boon. Such purchases would make
out Russian coal purchases, the EU hasn’t imports even more attractive for Indian re-
stopped using Russian oil. In fact, exports of finers than spot purchases from traders.
Russian diesel to Europe are seen at a “rela-

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world

Troops burn
villages in
Myanmar

heartland, seek to
crush resistance

by Wa Lone and Poppy McPherson
Reuters

(April 14): Rubble and ashes, overlooked The photos, largely confirming the local ground. He said these people told him
by a single golden pagoda, are almost all media reports, are among the strongest that the military had increased attacks in
that remain of the wood and brick hous- evidence to date that the military is using Sagaing over the past few months, with
es most people had built for themselves widespread arson to step up its assault on soldiers leading ground assaults and jets
in the quiet riverside village of Bin in the resistance in the central Sagaing region, carrying out air strikes.
Buddhist heartland of central Myanmar. where residents have told Reuters there is
armed opposition to the junta. The junta, which overthrew the demo-
Bin is one of more than 100 villages par- cratically elected government of Aung San
tially or completely burned by Myanmar’s “It’s a campaign of terror,” Tom An- Suu Kyi on Feb 1, 2021, has declared any
military since the start of this year, its homes drews, the United Nations special envoy opposition to it illegal and says the military
among more than 5,500 civilian buildings for human rights in Myanmar, told Reuters. is seeking to restore order in the country.
razed as troops try to suppress opposition to “If you live in an area or village that they Myanmar’s military did not respond to
last year’s coup, according to media reports (the junta) think is particularly supportive requests for comment for this story. Over
collated by activist group Data For Myanmar. of those that have taken up arms then you the past few months the junta has accused
are, in their view, the enemy.” opposition forces of burning villages, with-
Dozens of satellite images reviewed out presenting evidence.
by Reuters, supplied by US earth-imag- Andrews, who is based in the United Click here for the full story
ing company Planet Labs and US space States, told Reuters he has spoken by phone
agency NASA, show widespread torching with several witnesses and other people
of villages in the central part of the country. providing him with information on the

news In brief

TSMC sees 2Q sales surge, says chip Indonesia’s wealth fund signs US$2.7 bil toll road investment
capacity to stay tight this year JAKARTA (April 14): Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund on Thursday (April 14)
TAIPEI (April 14): Taiwan Semiconductor signed two agreements to invest in toll roads on the islands of Sumatra and Java
Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) has worth more than 39 trillion rupiah (US$2.72 billion or about RM11.49 billion),
forecast an up to 37% jump in current- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said. The Indonesia Investment Authority (INA)
quarter sales and said it expects chip signed a heads of agreement with state construction firm Hutama Karya to invest
capacity to remain very tight this year, in three parts of the Trans Sumatra toll road, said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani
amid a global crunch that has kept order Indrawati, who also attended the signing ceremony in Jakarta. The INA also
books full and allowed chipmakers to signed a confirmation of the start of a transaction with Waskita Toll Road, a unit of
charge premium prices. TSMC, the world’s another state-owned construction firm, namely Waskita Karya, for two parts of the
largest contract chipmaker and a major Trans Java toll road, she said. The signings are the INA’s first concrete steps since
Apple Inc supplier, forecast revenue of forming a toll road fund last year of up to US$3.75 billion, with Caisse de dépôt et
US$17.6 billion to US$18.2 billion in the placement du Québec (CDPQ), APG Asset Management and a unit of the Abu Dhabi
quarter ending June 30, up from US$13.29 Investment Authority (ADIA) as co-investors. — Reuters
billion a year earlier. TSMC is working to
address supply chain challenges with tool Johnson says Sunak can be UK chancellor as long as he wants
suppliers to help them expand capacity, LONDON (April 14): UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an emphatic endorsement
chief executive officer CC Wei told an of Rishi Sunak, saying the Chancellor of the Exchequer can remain in post despite recent
online earnings briefing, referring to a revelations about his personal and financial affairs. When asked at a press conference on
cycle of shortages where makers of chip Thursday if Sunak — whose popularity among voters has tumbled — can stay in his job
equipment are struggling to find the for “as long as he wants it”, Johnson replied with an immediate and firm: “Yes.” The British
chips needed for equipment to supply press has been filled with speculation that Sunak may be shuffled out of his post over the
chipmakers like TSMC. — Reuters summer, following reports about his family’s tax affairs and his possession of a US green
card while already a cabinet minister. He has also been criticised over his response to
Read also:Uniqlo owner sees big profit drop soaring living costs. — Bloomberg
in China, sounds alarm on yen Click here

f r i d a y a p r i l 1 5 , 2 0 2 2 25 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

MARKETS

CPO RM 6,294.00159.00 OIL US$ 107.11-1.67 RM/USD 4.2318 RM/SGD 3.1234 RM/AUD 3.1527 RM/GBP 5.5574 RM/EUR 4.6175

Top 20 active stocks

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

Key Alliance Group Bhd 334.00 0.000 0.010 -33.33 36.8

Permaju Industries Bhd 293.80 0 0.085 41.67 163.8

Pappajack Bhd 108.90 0.040 0.525 0.00 350.7

MNC Wireless Bhd 64.30 -0.005 0.035 133.33 80

Sapura Energy Bhd 59.20 0.005 0.040 -20.00 639.2

TWL Holdings Bhd 53.40 0.000 0.085 70.00 278.5

Ekovest BHD 47.90 0.035 0.485 16.87 1307.5

Sarawak Consolidated 45.20 0.025 0.250 21.95 145.5

Vizione Holdings Bhd 42.40 0.000 0.105 31.25 214.8 World equity indices

Vortex Consolidated Bhd 41.60 0.015 0.185 184.62 198.5

G3 Global Bhd 37.50 0.005 0.085 6.25 184 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
CSH Alliance Bhd 34.70 -0.010 0.125 31.58 172.7 DOW JONES 34,564.59 344.23 1.01 (%)
INDONESIA 7,235.53 -27.25 -0.38
ATA IMS Bhd 34.00 -0.010 0.470 -22.95 565.3

Saudee Group Bhd 33.00 0.000 0.060 9.09 59.5 S&P 500 4,446.59 49.14 1.12 JAPAN 27,172.00 328.51 1.22

Tanco Holdings Bhd 32.70 -0.075 0.435 81.25 756.6 NASDAQ 100 14,217.29 277.05 1.99 KOREA 2,716.71 0.22 0.01

Kanger International Bhd 30.50 0.000 0.070 -65.00 41.9 FTSE 100 7,584.68 3.88 0.05 PHILIPPINES 6,984.90 89.54 1.3

Brahim’s Holdings Bhd 29.00 0.000 0.010 -89.47 3.1 AUSTRALIA 7,523.43 44.42 0.59 SINGAPORE 3,335.85 -6.37 -0.19

Dagang NeXchange Bhd 27.90 -0.02 1.050 38.16 3313.5 CHINA 3,225.64 38.82 1.22 TAIWAN 17,245.65 -56 -0.32

China Ouhua Winery Holdings 24.10 -0.005 0.080 -33.33 53.4 HONG KONG 21,518.08 143.71 0.67 THAILAND 1,674.34 -4.12 -0.25

Matang Bhd 23.20 0.005 0.115 27.78 249.8 INDIA 58,338.93 -237.44 -0.41 VIETNAM 1,472.12 -5.08 -0.34

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

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

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

Fintec Global Bhd 0.015 50.00 690.2 50 88.5 Jerasia Capital BHD 0.035 -22.22 4,923 -78.13 2.9

Metronic Global Bhd 0.020 33.33 670.8 0 43.4 Green Ocean Corp Bhd 0.020 -20.00 1,195.5 -33.33 42.2

Eduspec Holdings Bhd 0.025 25.00 3446.3 66.67 76.2 Tanco Holdings Bhd 0.435 -14.71 32,713.0 81.25 756.6

Talam Transform Bhd 0.025 25.00 335.2 25 107.4 Mlabs Systems Bhd 0.030 -14.29 394.0 0.00 43.5

Borneo Oil Bhd 0.030 20.00 289.6 0 224 MNC Wireless Bhd 0.035 -12.50 64,338.1 133.33 80.0

JOE HOLDING BHD 0.035 16.67 1703.7 0 107.1 BCM Alliance Bhd 0.035 -12.50 1,738.3 16.67 71.2

Xidelang Holdings Ltd 0.035 16.67 200.2 0 74.1 Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.040 -11.11 2,573.2 -11.11 63.9

Sapura Energy Bhd 0.040 14.29 59177 -20 639.2 Digistar Corp Bhd 0.045 -10.00 1,809.8 -25.00 35.2

Impiana Hotels Bhd 0.040 14.29 491.1 -46.67 57.8 CME Group BHD 0.050 -9.09 259.8 -16.67 48.4

TPC Plus Bhd 0.220 12.82 83.1 15.79 67.8 Parkson Holdings Bhd 0.170 -8.11 10,142 -10.53 195.3

Sarawak Consolidated 0.250 11.11 45165.2 21.95 145.5 Fast Energy Holdings Bhd 0.060 -7.69 15,101.8 -36.84 40.1

Green Packet Bhd 0.105 10.53 10281 31.25 146.5 Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd 0.680 -7.48 210.8 -51.77 72.8

Heng Huat Resources Group 0.350 10.06 1357 13.64 247.7 CSH Alliance Bhd 0.125 -7.41 34,676.2 31.58 172.7

Khee San BHD 0.120 9.09 236.9 -14.29 16.5 Theta Edge BHD 0.690 -6.76 1,152.2 -18.82 74.0

Vortex Consolidated Bhd 0.185 8.82 41569.2 184.62 198.5 Marine & General Bhd 0.070 -6.67 200 27.27 50.7

Hwa Tai Industries BHD 0.635 8.55 1052.4 -9.93 47.5 Kia Lim Bhd 0.355 -6.58 18.6 -26.80 22.0

Pappajack Bhd 0.525 8.25 108886.7 0 350.7 Olympia Industries Bhd 0.075 -6.25 401.8 -11.76 76.8

Ekovest BHD 0.485 7.78 47904.7 16.87 1307.5 Lambo Group BHD 0.075 -6.25 391.2 -11.76 115.5

Cheetah Holdings Bhd 0.210 7.69 17458.5 90.91 102.1 mTouche Technology Bhd 0.075 -6.25 228.5 -16.67 69.5

KEN Holdings Bhd 0.570 7.55 17 -3.39 102.2 Sapura Resources Bhd 0.300 -6.25 106.0 -24.05 41.9

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

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

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

Malaysian Pacific Industries 33.20 0.66 239.5 -32.74 6603.4 LPI Capital Bhd 13.94 -0.24 125.80 -0.85 5553.5

Rapid Synergy Bhd 11.38 0.26 31.4 14.37 1216.5 Hong Leong Capital Bhd 6.25 -0.23 2075.0 -14.15 1543.1

Petronas Dagangan Bhd 21.38 0.200 106.6 3.79 21240 Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 27.06 -0.20 738.3 24.24 29174.9

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 22.66 0.200 58.8 -8.41 8311.2 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 133.50 -0.20 27.6 -0.52 31305.8

Kluang Rubber Co Malaya BHD 4.18 0.150 16.8 5.56 261.1 BLD Plantation Bhd 9.00 -0.20 2.0 -0.11 841.5

Hong Leong Bank Bhd 20.72 0.140 1268.9 11.28 44915.1 ViTrox Corp Bhd 7.50 -0.19 500.0 -24.70 7084.7

Press Metal Aluminium 6.60 0.140 9007.7 14.19 54381.5 D&O Green Technologies Bhd 4 -0.15 3952.6 -32.2 4948.6

Hong Leong Financial Group 19.50 0.140 266.5 12.46 22332.3 Pentamaster Corp Bhd 3.43 -0.15 3161.0 -38.20 2439.8

Sungei Bagan Rubber Co Malaya 3.50 0.130 8.5 8.02 232.2 CIMB Group Holdings Bhd 5.14 -0.14 16418.3 -5.69 52538.3

Complete Logistic Services Bhd 4.53 0.130 50.8 80.48 582.8 United Plantations BHD 16.18 -0.12 162.0 16.57 6687.2

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 21.78 0.120 266.1 8.47 6659.2 Negri Sembilan Oil Palms BHD 3.68 -0.12 5 19.48 258.3

Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd 5.15 0.120 1545.7 58.46 2163 Oriental Holdings BHD 6.60 -0.11 34.9 25.71 4094.4

AEON Credit Service M Bhd 15.6 0.100 301.5 14.54 3982.8 Heineken Malaysia Bhd 23.90 -0.10 41.5 14.68 7220.1

Berjaya Food Bhd 3.75 0.100 215.3 74.42 1352 Dufu Technology Corp Bhd 2.58 -0.09 1252.6 -39.86 1365.0

PMB Technology Bhd 18.5 0.100 59.7 50.65 4331.2 Kesm Industries Bhd 8.41 -0.09 6.5 -31.51 361.8

Panasonic Manufacturing 29.00 0.100 0.9 0.35 1761.6 Tanco Holdings Bhd 0.44 -0.08 32713.0 81.25 756.6

IHH Healthcare Bhd 6.52 0.080 1821.6 -11.17 57393.6 Dutch Lady Milk Industries BHD 34.38 -0.08 8.8 2.57 2200.3

British American Tobacco 12.82 0.080 178.2 -8.30 3660.5 NPC Resources BHD 1.92 -0.08 3 2.67 218.4

Petron Malaysia Refining 4.8 0.07 81.6 9.59 1296 Greatech Technology Bhd 3.93 -0.07 4850.4 -41.6 4920.9

IJM Corp Bhd 1.88 0.06 6908.5 23.68 6638.5 Southern Acids Malaysia BHD 3.88 -0.07 100.8 0.52 531.3

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


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