TheEdge 080421

MR DIY BROTHERS, WESTPORTS’ GNANALINGAM,
GREATECH’S TAN JOIN FORBES BILLIONAIRES CLUB p2

THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 165/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun sell Caterham Cars to Japanese buyer p5
Grab to list in NewYork in largest SPAC merger; listing to value company at US$35 bil p7

WORLD: US trade deficit widened to record US$71.1 bil in February p17

All additional spending
under Emergency
Ordinance will be

gazetted, says Zafrul

Report on Page 3.

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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MR DIY brothers,Westports’
Gnanalingam, Greatech’sTan join

Forbes Billionaires Club

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): The Tan BY JOYCE GOH Hon and family (US$3.9 billion) andTop
brothers of MR DIY Group (M) Bhd — theedgemarkets.com Glove Corp Bhd’s Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee
Tan Yu Yeh and Tan Yu Wei — together Chai (US$3.5 billion).
with Westports Holdings Bhd’s Tan Sri Tan Eng Kee
G Gnanalingam are new entrants into Malaysian Robert Kuok, is listed under
Forbes’ billionaires list this year. Tan Sri G Gnanalingam Hong Kong, with an estimated net worth
of US$12.6 billion this year.
Also new on the list is Greatech Tech-
nology Bhd co-founder and chief executive Forbes’ 35th annual world’s billionaires
officer (CEO) Tan Eng Kee, with Forbes list has 2,755 billionaires, including 493
estimating his wealth to be US$1.1 bil- newcomers — in which it noted is “un-
lion (about RM4.54 billion).The Penang- precedented by any measure, especially in
based company is a maker of factory au- a year in which large economies around
tomation equipment. the world were hampered by the corona-
virus pandemic”.
In Forbes’ 35th annual world’s billion-
aires list released last night, Forbes estimat- Altogether they are worth US$13.1 tril-
ed Gnanalingam’s net worth to be about lion, up from US$8 trillion in the 2020
US$1.7 billion. list, Forbes added.

It also estimated MR DIY’sYuYeh’s net “This is a record-breaking year in mul-
worth to be about US$1.8 billion andYu tiple ways, with more newcomers than ever
Wei at about US$1.1 billion. before and more billionaires globally,” said
wealth assistant managing editor Kerry A
Forbes noted that the brothers’ wealth Dolan in a release.
comes from their respective stakes in the
home improvement retail chain. Amazon’s Bezos retains number one
spot; Buffett not among top five for first
MR DIY, listed in October last year, time in over two decades
has had the largest initial public offering
(IPO) on Bursa Malaysia since 2017, with In the release, Forbes noted that out-
a market capitalisation of RM10 billion, going Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos retains
raising approximately RM1.5 billion from the top spot in this year’s rankings for the
both institutional and retail investors. fourth consecutive year, with an estimated
net worth of US$177 billion.
From a listing price of RM1.60 in Oc-
tober 2020 over five months ago, MR DIY It also noted that Elon Musk (US$151
was trading 168% higher at RM4.29 so billion) rocketed into the number two spot,
far today. up from No. 31 in last year’s rankings,
while Bernard Arnault (US$150 billion) of
Other Malaysians on Forbes’ 2021 bil- LVMH remains in the third place, followed
lionaires list include Hong Leong Group’s by Bill Gates (US$124 billion) and Face-
Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, with an esti- book’s Mark Zuckerberg (US$97 billion).
mated wealth of US$9.7 billion, Anan-
da Krishnan (US$5.8 billion), Tan Sri Forbes also pointed out that this is the
Teh Hong Piow (US$5.7 billion), Tan first year without Warren Buffett among
Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary (US$1.2 the top five richest in more than two dec-
billion) and the glove guys — Hartale- ades, with him in the sixth place on the
ga Holdings Bhd chairman Kuan Kam list with an estimated net worth of US$96
billion.

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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All additional spending under Emergency
Ordinance will be gazetted, says Zafrul

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7):The feder- BY ADAM AZIZ opposition who felt it was “unnecessary”
al and state governments are required to theedgemarkets.com to abandon the relevant constitutional pro-
publish and gazette all additional spending visions during the Emergency period, as
done under the Emergency Ordinance that each type of debt,” added Zafrul. there are already sufficient provisions that
bypasses Parliament and State Assemblies, The provision also included another will allow the government to use parlia-
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku mentary process even during urgent times.
Abdul Aziz said today. amendment for proceeds from treasury
bills and government investment issuance IDEAS chief executive officer Tricia
This shows that the government is being (GII) not to be restricted for development Yeoh, in a statement today, said since the
transparent and strives to ensure account- expenditure — meaning it can be used King has decreed that Parliament could
ability and responsibility in implementing to fund operating expenditure during the be in session during this time, the gov-
any expenditure, said Zafrul in defending Emergency. ernment should utilise this opportunity to
the law which was introduced last week. seek parliamentary approval for financial
On that note, Zafrul referred to the Fi- policies and prove that it will handle this
“Taking into account the need for ad- nancial Procedure Act, which does not Covid-19 crisis with accountability.
ditional allocations in the ever-changing allow borrowings to finance government
circumstances and uncertainties of the operating expenditure. The implication The Emergency Ordinance was pro-
Covid-19 crisis, the federal and state gov- is that “the government must ensure that claimed by the King under Article 150
ernments need the flexibility to approve operating expenditure must not exceed of the Federal Constitution on Jan 11,
additional spending to address the health government revenue”, he said. citing the existence of a grave emergency
crisis, and meet their urgent needs to ad- threatening the security, economic life
dress the direct impact of this pandemic Federal government revenue is ex- and public order in the country due to
on their respective economies,” the min- pected to be at RM236.9 billion in 2021, Covid-19.
ister said in a statement. as opposed to operating expenditure of
RM236.54 billion, according to the Fis- Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Zafrul was referring to the temporary cal Outlook and Federal Government Yassin has guided for the Emergency Or-
financial provision, which allows additional Revenue Estimates, published by the dinance to end by August, pending the
expenditure by Putrajaya and state gov- ministry. King’s decision under the advice of an in-
ernments with the respective approval of dependent special committee, after which
the federal treasury or the menteri besar “Overall, any additional expenditure the 15th General Election is expected to
or chief minister of a state. incurred must comply with existing rules be held.
and legislation to ensure government dis-
Zafrul argued that the section relat- cipline and adherence to procedures.
ing to temporary financial provision in
the Emergency Ordinance is “not a new “This ordinance neither waives nor
provision”. voids the statutory debt limit, or
the Current Account Surplus re-
“Matters related to the presentation of quirement,” he added.
the annual budget and supplementary es-
timates were also carried out during the The gazette that was prom-
Emergency period from 1969 to 1971,” ulgated by the Yang di-Per-
he said. tuan Agong on March 31
has raised concerns among
On the question of accountability and think-tanks and the federal
transparency, the minister referred to a
circular published by the finance ministry
which “details the guidelines, governance
on additional expenditure, as well as the
processes for managing additional expend-
iture during the emergency period”.

“The governance guidelines will ensure
that the additional allocation for the year
is a necessary expenditure.

“The Ministry of Finance also takes
into account the government’s fiscal po-
sition before any application is consid-
ered,” he said, referring to the statutory
debt limit of 60% of GDP, and the cap
on offshore borrowings and treasury bills
at RM35 billion and RM10 billion
respectively.

“Despite the enforcement of
the ordinance, the debt limits
are still subject to the respec-
tive statutory provisions for

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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‘We are working with our airline
customers to find solutions,’ says

Airbus Asia-Pacific president

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): European BY KANG SIEW LI aircraft components and parts for our com-
plane maker Airbus says it is working with theedgemarkets.com plete range of civil aircraft as well as for
its cash-strapped airline customers across the A400M military transporter. Our key
the world including Malaysia to find solu- Anand Stanley Malaysian suppliers include Composite
tions as they struggle to stay afloat during Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd,
the Covid-19 pandemic. will be calibrated to match the demand,” Spirit Aerosystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd and
said Anand. SME Aerospace Sdn Bhd,” he added.
“The pandemic’s impact on airlines
around the world, including Asean and Anand also reaffirmed Airbus’ commit- There are currently about 300 Airbus
Malaysia, has been severe and prolonged. ment to Malaysia. commercial aircraft in Malaysia including
We are actively working with our airline the A320s, the A330s and the latest-gen-
customers to find solutions, which are on “Our commitment to the market be eration A350s, as well as 80 Airbus heli-
a wide range of issues and very different it the airlines, Malaysian air force, space copters in service in the country.
from airline to airline,” Airbus president and helicopter groups, and to our indus-
for Asia-Pacific Anand Stanley told se- trial presence here has not changed.While “Covid-19 has severely impacted the
lected Malaysian media today — his first our activity and procurement in the Ma- aviation sector. Recovery has been slow,
foreign press briefing since resuming the laysian supply base has not been at the but all the measures and protocols are in
post last July. pre-pandemic level because of pandemic place to enable a safe return to travel when
restrictions, but pre-pandemic period, we the borders reopen. All of our aircraft are
Based in Singapore, Anand is on a were procuring, investing and exporting fitted with the latest technology to ensure
three-day visit, having called onTransport US$400 million a year in Malaysia. the quality of air in the cabin.
Minister Datuk Seri DrWee Ka Siong and
AirAsia Group Bhd group chief executive “Once we move to the post-pandemic “We believe carriers in Malaysia are
officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes yesterday world, the commitment remains to our 14 well-positioned (for the recovery). They
and is scheduled to meet Malaysia Airlines major suppliers in Malaysia, and the 4,000 operate state-of-the-art Airbus fleets and
Bhd tomorrow. employees, partners and subcontractors in are tailored to the new market conditions
the region,” he said. and hence, these fleets are well-positioned
“I cannot discuss specific solutions re- in the post-pandemic world,” said Anand.
garding specific airlines because of the “Malaysia represents Airbus’ largest
broad range of discussions that are very supplier base in Southeast Asia while it In February, Airbus forecast that the
different from airline to airline and all these is the third largest market and hub in recovery in commercial air transport won’t
discussions are individually bound by con- Asia-Pacific after China and India. return to 2019 levels until some time be-
fidentiality agreements. tween 2023 and 2025.
“Today, 14 Malaysian companies are
“But the discussions are centred on producing aero structures, aviation and On its relationship with airline custom-
helping our airline customers during this ers following the bribery scandal that saw
challenging time and (helping them) be the company paying penalties of €3.6 bil-
prepared for the post-pandemic recovery,” lion plus interest and costs to the French,
he added. UK and US authorities last year, Anand
said: “We cannot comment on the activ-
AirAsia Group, together with AirAsia ities or actions of governments, but we
X Bhd (AAX), is one of Airbus’ largest comply and support any government in-
customers. AAX is currently in talks with vestigations.
its lessors and creditors to reconstitute
RM64.15 billion of debt into RM200 “We are very proud that we have a lot
million of debt. of long standing customers in the region.
Through this impact of the pandemic, we
Anand declined to reveal how its airline are working with our customers includ-
customers’ restructuring talks with Airbus ing those in Malaysia to help them find
have affected the latter’s aircraft production solutions in this challenging time. I had a
and delivery rates in the region except to meeting with the Transport Minister yes-
say that globally the company had reduced terday and I will be meeting with all our
its deliveries last year in response to the customers during this visit.”
market environment.
Commenting on his meeting with Fer-
In February, Airbus announced that it nandes, Anand said: “We had a very, very
managed to deliver 566 aircraft last year, good meeting and I strongly believe that
down 34% from the 863 it handed over low-cost carriers such as AirAsia play a key
in the previous year. This year, the com- role in enabling more and more people to
pany targets to at least achieve the same fly and that the low-cost carrier market will
number of commercial aircraft deliveries resume with strong growth post-Covid-19.
as in 2020. We are also working closely with Malaysia
Airlines, which I am looking forward to
“As we emerge in the world post-pan- meeting with (tomorrow).”
demic, our production and delivery rates

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Tony Fernandes, VT Holdings chief executive Ka- AirAsia forms
Kamarudin zuho Takahashi said in the statement new unit to offer
Meranun sell : “We have not only purchased a glob-
ally renowned performance car man- consultation
Caterham Cars ufacturer but become custodians of on setting
to Japanese a motoring legend.” up low-cost
buyer carriers
According to Caterham, the change
BY CHONG JIN HUN in the company’s ownership marks an BY KANG SIEW LI
theedgemarkets.com exciting moment in Caterham’s history theedgemarkets.com
asVT Holdings, which has assumed cus-
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7):Tan Sri todianship of the British brand, already KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): AirA-
Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamaru- has close connections to Caterham. sia Group Bhd, Southeast Asia’s larg-
din Meranun has sold UK-based Ca- est low-cost airline, has established a
terham Cars Ltd to Japan-headquar- VT Holdings has since 2009 oper- new entity within the group to pro-
tered automotive group VT Holdings ated as the official Japanese import- vide consulting services on setting up
as performance-car manufacturer Ca- er for Caterham’s Seven car model, a low-cost carrier (LCC), according
terham looks ahead to write the next Caterham said. to sources.
chapter of its corporate journey.
“As one of Japan’s largest retailer Called AirAsia Consulting Sdn
In a statement yesterday, Caterham groups — with over 200 showrooms Bhd, the new entity will provide con-
said VT Holdings had last Wednesday nationwide and investments in UK, sulting services to interested parties
(March 31, 2021) acquired Caterham Spain,Thailand and South Africa — who wish to set up a new LCC under
from “businessmen” Fernandes and VT Holdings is also the importer for a new brand, which will be franchised
Kamarudin. a collection of two and four-wheeled out by AirAsia, sources told theedge-
British brands, including Royal En- markets.com.
Fernandes is AirAsia Group Bhd field and Lotus in its home market.
executive director and chief executive AirAsia is currently working with
officer while Kamarudin is the budget “Motorsport, and the global track- a potential client who is interested in
airline’s executive chairman. day communities, have always played a the franchise model, they added.
central role in Caterham’s commercial
In Caterham’s statement, the com- success and has shaped the develop- The group has appointed Subashini
pany had however not disclosed the ment of our road-orientated vehicles. Silvadas to head the new entity as its
value of the transaction and specified chief executive officer.
why Fernandes and Kamarudin sold “The brand now joins a group led
Caterham to VT Holdings. by Takahashi, who shares the same It is understood that she has also
passions, having raced competitively been tasked to help the carrier to set
Graham Macdonald, chief exec- in JGTC, Super GT and Super Taikyu up AirAsia Cambodia operations in
utive of Caterham said in the state- championships for the past 20 years,” Phnom Penh.
ment: “As a team, we’re all excited Caterham said.
about starting to write the next chap- In the group’s financial results
ter for this very special brand.” JGTC stands for the Japan Grand for the third quarter ended Sept 30,
Touring Championship while Super 2020 released last November, AirA-
GT refers to the Super Grand Tour- sia Group president for airlines Bo
ing car racing series. Lingam stated that the carrier was
“actively exploring opportunities for
At the time of writing, Fernandes a local airline presence in IndoChina”.
and Kamarudin had not issued a
statement in response to Caterham’s A new carrier, if created, would be
statement on the change in Cater- the group’s fifth unit in Asia — after
ham’s ownership. the ones in Malaysia, Indonesia,Thai-
land and the Philippines.

Last year, AirAsia had shuttered
its operations in Japan. It also sold
32.67% of the 49% stake it held in
AirAsia (India) Ltd to Tata Group
for US$37.66 million. As part of the
transaction, there will be a call option
in respect of the remaining 16.33%
stake, exercisable by Tata at any time
after the transaction is completed.

AirAsia shares closed up 3 sen or
3% at RM1.03 today, bringing a mar-
ket capitalisation of RM3.91 billion.

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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BLOOMBERG

Malaysia’s
growth potential
strongest among

its peers —
Moody’s

BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Malaysia’s levels of education and greater IT adoption, a stable pool of financing for the govern-
growth potential is stronger than its peers, relative to other EM peers in ASEAN. ment and local funds.
according to Moody’s Investors Service
sovereign risk group vice president and an- “Combined with solid institutions that Malaysia’s reliance on external debts
alyst Christian Fang. have a track record of effective macroe- is also among the lowest among its peers,
conomic management, the high growth he viewed, adding that the large domestic
During its Inside Asian Series’ Media potential anchors Malaysia’s credit profile savings could continue to grow as a result
Roundtable, Fang noted that while in- and supports its debt carrying abilities,” of structural current account surpluses.
comes in the Malaysia are slightly below he added.
the average in its peer group — which in- He explained that this helps keep in-
cludes countries such as Indonesia, the However, he observed that Malay- terest rates anchored but does not nec-
Philippines,Thailand, Latvia, Mexico and sia demonstrates weaker fiscal and debt essarily mean that it will help with debt
Ireland — they are still higher than other metrics when compared against its peers. affordability.
emerging markets (EMs) in the region.
Fang noted that the government’s debt When asked how far Malaysia could
“Our estimate to Malaysia’s growth over burden is among the highest of its peers push its interest payments as a percentage
2021 to 2024 will be among the highest and will remain so in the medium term. of revenue before a proper review is war-
in its peer group. Here when I am looking ranted, Fang said Moody’s Sovereign Risk
at its peer group, I am referring to A2 to He added that another key credit weak- Group assesses a particular debt afforda-
BAA1 peers. Malaysia is rated A3 with a ness is Malaysia’s debt affordability — bility level, and its trajectory, and how it
stable outlook,” he said. namely interest payments as a share of performs against peers, noting that there
revenue — which is among the weakest are many metrics involved when looking
Fang noted that one reason for this when compared with peers. at a credit rating review.
strong growth potential is Malaysia’s eco-
nomic diversity and complexity. “Beyond the peer group and if we look Fang said given the number of mov-
across EMs, Malaysia’s revenue as a share ing parts, the group does not list down its
He added that Malaysia’s export basket of GDP (gross domestic product) is actu- thresholds for its credit rating.
includes a range of goods, from sophisti- ally quite low, which then results in inter-
cated goods such as electronics and elec- est payments as a share of revenue being He noted that the government has set
trical goods and chemicals to more basic among the highest despite the relatively low a 15% target for itself, and said that as it
exports such as food and commodities. interest rates. This is a structural feature currently stands, interest payments as a
of Malaysia’s credit profile,” Fang said. percentage of revenue stands at around
Moreover, Fang said Malaysia’s high 14%, leaving very little room for it to de-
quality of infrastructure also helps, with high That being said, what helps Malaysia is teriorate.
its large domestic savings, which provide

Malaysian institutions, policies still ‘credible’ despite
political changes, says Moody’s

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Moody’s BY ADAM AZIZ ment,” he said, referring to the change
says the political noise seen by investors theedgemarkets.com in federal government in 2018 and 2020.
in Malaysia has not been a dead weight
in its analysis on the nation’s sovereign institutional effectiveness, on macro-eco- “Macro-economic institutions as
ratings. nomic policymaking, on the investment well have not been a target of politics
climate, for instance — on the part of the in general, and policies have generally
Its sovereign risk group assistant vice credit profile that matters for Malaysia over remained sound.
president Christian Fang said this is be- the medium to long term,” Fang said at
cause institutions and policies have not the Moody’s Inside ASEAN Series’ Media “Even with the abolishment of GST
undergone “sharp” changes, despite Roundtable today in 2018, there was still the appetite for
changes in the government and among fiscal consolidation by the fiscal authori-
political coalitions. “We’ve seen institutions and policies ties. It hasn’t been a sharp change in the
remaining relatively credible and effective way these institutions have been run,”
“The way we assess political risk is through sweeping changes in the govern- he said.
really through the impact of politics on
CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Grab to list in billion ($46.9 billion), making it the largest FROM PAGE 6
NewYork in merger between a private business and a
largest SPAC blank cheque company. On the investment climate, Fang
merger; listing to also suggested that foreign investors
value company To prepare for the listing, Grab will raise have not been deterred “in a big way”
at US$35 bil some US$2.5 billion through a private in- by the political changes.
vestment in public equity (PIPE) deal.The
BY FELICIA TAN deal is often raised in tandem with a SPAC “One could even argue that some
theedgesingapore.com deal that lets accredited or institutional of the foreign investors are getting
investors buy stocks directly from a pub- used to the political noise.
Singapore-based technology com- lic company, usually below market price.
pany Grab looks set to finalise its “This is something you also see
listing in New York, according to Of the US$2.5 billion, some US$1.2 sometimes in other developed mar-
the Financial Times. billion will be funded by Altimeter for a kets, where you tend to have hung
total valuation of close to US$35 billion. parliaments but investors are aware
The group’s listing will take place with of the structural issues,” he said.
one of Altimeter Capital’s two Altimer Altimeter will also backstop or support
Growth special purpose acquisition com- the sale of any shares in the SPAC by pub- Moody’s has maintained Malay-
panies (SPAC), the fund Altimeter Growth lic shareholders upon the announcement sia’s A3 rating with stable outlook in
1, as soon as this week, according to the of the deal. January 2021, one month after Fitch
Financial Times’ sources. downgraded the nation to BBB+
Grab founder Anthony Tan will own with stable outlook, citing political
Altimeter Growth 1 raised US$450 mil- about 2% of the listed entity, while Soft- uncertainty as weighing on its pol-
lion in 2020. Its share price has risen 25% bank’sVision Fund, one of Grab’s leading icy outlook.
since its listing. investors, is said to stand to win big from
the listing. The next rating review by S&P —
The listing will value the Soft- currently at A- with stable outlook —
bank-backed tech group at some US$35 According to an anonymous banker, is scheduled for June this year.
Grab’s listing is “noteworthy” due to the
deal coming from Asia, particularly South- On investments, Malaysia is a
east Asia, “a region totally underrepresent- mixed bag with net foreign inflow
ed on US stock markets,” said the banker. in the bond market, net outflow in
the equity market, with arguments
The deal has not been finalised, accord- on the state of foreign direct invest-
ing to people close to the situation. Grab ments into the country, although the
and Altimeter declined to comment. trend has been persistently low over
the last decade across multiple fed-
The merger discussions are being ad- eral leaderships.
vised by Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.
The Opposition has called for gen-
BLOOMBERG eral elections to be held soon, and
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin has agreed to do so, as soon as
the state of Emergency is called off,
if the Covid-19 pandemic becomes
more manageable by August.

Read also:
Malaysia’s NPL level expected to
rise once debt relief measures end,
says Moody’s Click here

Moody’s: Malaysia’s 2021 GDP
growth could outpace forecast on
faster vaccination roll out Click here

Moody’s says current high
CPO prices not sustainable,
sees commodity at RM2,200 to
RM2,600/tonne in next 18 months
Click here

‘O&G services companies never
really recovered from 2016
downturn and prospects remain
weak’ Click here

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 7):The Feder- FMM appeals to to more automated processes and digital-
ation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) govt to lift freeze isation adoption take time and substantial
has called on the government to lift the on foreign worker investments. “In the meantime, businesses
freeze on foreign worker recruitment for recruitment to have to continue to sustain and grow, thus
the manufacturing sector, to support the support business their labour requirements must continue
pickup in business and assist the industry to be supported,” he said.
in its business recovery as orders and pro- recovery
duction start to gain momentum. He said the recovery of manufacturers,
BY TAN SIEW MUNG especially exporters and their supporting
FMM presidentTan Sri SohThian Lai theedgemarkets.com SMEs, must continue to be backed with
said in a statement that FMM has appealed the necessary initiatives, like manpower
to the government to allow the intake of “While the industry endeavours to fill support, without which their recovery
foreign workers for export-based compa- those vacancies with locals, foreign workers could be derailed.They may even land in
nies and companies, especially the small are usually employed to fill up general oper- deeper problems when they are not able
and medium enterprises (SMEs) that sup- ator-level jobs, which employers are finding to fulfil their orders during this critical
port the export market. it difficult to have them filled by locals due period, he said.
to the nature of the job or industry, and
“The recently released FMM-MIER job expectations of locals,” he pointed out. “FMM has always advocated for the
Business Conditions Survey 2H2020 re- need for the industry to gradually reduce
vealed that while manufacturers continued While manufacturers have started ex- their dependence on foreign workers with
to be cautious with their outlook, there ploring more proactive deployment of the changing manufacturing landscape as
were indications of improvements,” he said, digital and automation technologies to well as for the nation to transition into a
adding that sustaining operations in the lower the worker density in their opera- high-income economy.
past year has been challenging for many. tions — including reducing dependence
on foreign workers — he said the switch “However, in doing so, the government
“The industry over the past year has must have in place a more holistic, fair and
had to repatriate workers due to expiry transparent management and administra-
of the workers’ permits while some had tion of foreign workers in order to facilitate
their existing workers stuck at their home this transition to take place gradually via
country when the global lockdown was in- a market-based mechanism, which would
stituted and have since not been allowed to serve as a natural mechanism for indus-
reenter the country due to the pandemic tries to re-evaluate their business models,”
and closure of borders. he added.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7):Twelve plan- Plantation groups Downstream players, in particular, should
tation groups today voiced their opposition voice opposition be given the option to voluntarily contribute
to the government’s decision to order the to HRDF Levy or contribute a lower levy of 0.5%, they said.
plantation sector to contribute 1% towards inclusion, call for
the Human Resources Development Fund “This is taking into consideration of slow-
(HRDF) Levy. engagement er sales and exports during this Covid-19
pandemic and companies would appreciate
In a joint statement today, they stressed BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR the extra funds be channelled towards cover-
the importance of inclusive and effective theedgemarkets.com ing their business overheads.The utilisation
engagement with the relevant stakehold- of training funds will be much lower dur-
ers of the plantation sector on this matter. ty of Planters (ISP) and Sabah Employers ing this period, as it is difficult to nominate
Consultative Association (SECA). employees to participate in trainings, par-
“Such engagements will constructively ticularly those related to technical or skills-
facilitate towards an open and transparent The associations are appealing to the based, which would be more effective to be
platform to review the additional levy made human resources minister to expedite and carried out physically,” they said.
under the expansion of the compulsory facilitate an engagement between his min-
HRDF Order 2021. In doing so, this will istry officials and the industry representa- The associations also want the HRDF
be testimony to the government’s objective tives towards formulating win-win propo- to work closely with relevant associations
to attain win-win propositions in inclusive sitions pertaining to the plantation sector’s in drawing up and structuring training pro-
partnership with the private sectors, to- contribution to the HRDF levy. grammes that can be more relevant and
wards reviving the Malaysian economy in effective for the eventual contributors.
post-pandemic recovery period,” they said. They have proposed a contribution
waiver for at least another 12 months to They said if the training programmes
The 12 associations are Malaysian Palm allow for engagements between the indus- are deemed to be effective and useful, more
Oil Association (MPOA), Malaysian Estate try and government. employers in the sector would be encour-
Owners’Association (MEOA), Malayan Ag- aged to participate.
ricultural Producers Association (MAPA), They also feel that employers in the
Malaysian Employers’ Federation (MEF), plantation sector should be allowed to opt The associations also appealed to the
Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Asso- out of making HRDF payments, or make plantation industries and commodities
ciation (SOPPOA), Palm Oil Millers Asso- optional and voluntary contributions of a minister to recognise and appreciate the
ciation (POMA), Palm Oil Refiners Asso- lower HRDF levy threshold. plight of the industry under his care, and
ciation of Malaysia (PORAM), Malaysian take up the matter directly with the human
Oleochemical Manufacturers (MOMG), resources ministry.
Malayan Edible Oil Manufacturers’ Asso-
ciation (MEOMA), Malaysian Biodiesel Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri
Association (MBA), Incorporated Socie- M Saravanan signed a federal gazette to in-
clude the plantation industry in the HRDF
Act in February.

THURSDAY APRIL 8, 2021 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Ex-Ageson unit incurred RM24m cost
for RM11.5m worth of works done for KL
construction project, forensic audit reveals

BY TAN SIEW MUNG
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): A forensic According to Ageson, other than the 11 consultants and third parties that amount-
audit by Ferrier Hodgson MH Sdn Bhd invoices issued by MH Maju and progress ed to RM24.175 million.
revealed that the RM23.7 million construc- work certification issued by PMSB, Ferrier
tion cost incurred by former Ageson Bhd Hodgson had not sighted any other doc- “These payments were disguised in an
unit Prinsiptek (M) Sdn Bhd (PMSB) for umentary evidence that could substanti- elaborate scheme to siphon money out of
a construction project in Sentul here did ate the basis of the invoices issued by MH Prinsiptek to the detriment and loss of Age-
not commensurate with the progress billing Maju, as well as the value of work done by son,” the group said, alleging that the main
issued by the project’s quantity surveyor. MH Maju that was certified by PMSB. perpetrators in the illegal scheme were Chu
Jong and Chu Pak with the complicity of
In a statement, Ageson said the survey “Numerous cheques were issued to MH the others acting in concert with both of
certified that only RM2.8 million worth Maju and cleared for payment by the bank them.
of preliminary works and RM8.6 million on the same day, and there were a few oc-
of piling works had been done as at Nov casions where cheque receipts with identi- Ageson also alleged that Chu Jong and
22, 2017. cal amounts to the cheques were issued to Chu Pak had breached their duties as di-
MH Maju — deposited into PMSB’s bank rectors and their fiduciary duties owed to
“It is now clear that [Ageson’s ex-man- account immediately after PMSB’s cheques the company that resulted in eventual de-
aging director Datuk Foo Chu Jong] failed to MH Maju were cleared for payment,” mand by Maybank on the company’s cor-
to exercise his duty as the managing direc- added Ageson. porate guarantee.
tor by paying RM23.7 million in exchange
for works done with RM11.5 million. On The group said the latest findings “ce- It further claimed that the duo acted
April 2, 2021, we invited independent per- mented” its suit against Chu Jong, former with the intention of causing wrongful loss
sonnel to visit the construction site, and executive director Foo Chu Pak and five to the company, and breached their stat-
the photos taken proved that there had others for a breach of statutory duty and utory duties under Section 317A of the
been no development since June 2018,” conspiracy to injure the company. Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.
said the group.
The other defendants in the suit are MH Ageson is seeking an order of restitution
Ferrier Hodgson also found that PMSB Maju, Rapi Mulia, Fab Builders Sdn Bhd, damages against Chu Jong and Chu Pak
only issued one progress billing for RM11.5 Fatimah Kamaluddin, and Zairul Hasnan for RM23.77 million, along with damages
million to Qaiser Harta PMC — which Md Ariffin. in equity, damages for conspiracy includ-
awarded the construction contract to the ing aggravated damages and/or exemplary
company on Nov 17, 2017 — in the fi- Fatimah and Zariul are former directors damages.
nancial year ended June 30, 2018 (FY18). of Rapi Mulia.
As for the other defendants, it is seek-
PMSB then charged a portion of the The suit centres around a construction ing an order of restitution damages of
cost of RM8.8 million and profit of RM2.6 contract awarded to PMSB in 2016 for a RM3.492 million against MH Maju, an-
million that year. 44-storey apartment block, together with other RM12.678 million from Fab Builders
an eight-storey car park podium and amen- and RM6.282 million from Rapi Mulia,
Moreover, Ferrier Hodgson also found ities in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur. along with damages in equity, damages for
that the letters of award to MH Maju Hold- conspiracy including aggravated and ex-
ings Sdn Bhd dated Sept 14, 2016, Dec The contract, awarded by Qaiser Harta emplary damages, and costs of the action.
1, 2016, and April 4, 2017 could not have PMC, had a value of RM330.3 million.
been issued by PMSB as the project title At 3.01pm today, Ageson was un-
and MH Maju were not in existence at According to Ageson’s statement of changed at 13 sen, valuing the company
that time. claim, Ferrier Hodgson found that PMSB at RM147.21 million.
made bogus or dubius payments to certain
MH Maju, which is involved in machin-
ery rental and leasing, was only incorpo-
rated on Aug 29, 2017.

In addition, Ferrier Hodgson also
found that 93% of payments amounting
to RM22.6 million were made to MH Maju
(67.3%) and project contractor Rapi Mulia
Sdn Bhd (26%). However, the audit firm
estimated that PMSB only stood to make
RM22.04 million in profit from the project.

“Considering that the Ageson group
had sufficient knowledge and experience
in property development and the construc-
tion industry, was the amount for consul-
tation really necessary?” the group asked.

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 10 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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Macpie, Dataprep sink like rocks after
shooting up to multi-year highs
less than a month ago

BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS Dataprep Holdings Bhd RM Macpie Bhd Sen
theedgemarkets.com
4 0.6
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): The share
prices of Macpie Bhd and Dataprep Hold- 3 0.4
ings Bhd, which jumped to their respective
multi-year highs last month despite there 2
being no clear catalyst behind the surge,
have dropped sharply since. 0.2

Macpie, formerly known as Sterling 1 RM1.05 9.5 sen
Progress Bhd, closed at 9.5 sen today, April 7, 2021
down one sen or 9.5% from yesterday, 0 0.0 April 7, 2021
with some 185.9 million shares traded — March 17, 2020 March 12, 2020
making it among Bursa Malaysia’s most
actively traded for the day. It has a market Compiled on Feb 7, 2021 at 9pm Compiled on April 7, 2021 at 9:03pm
capitalisation of RM89.02 million. Source: Bloomberg Source: Bloomberg

Dataprep, meanwhile, fell five sen or in relation to the collaboration between Incidentally,there has also been no updates
4.6% to settle at RM1.05, for a market both companies for the eSukan.gg project. from Macpie on the HoA after the February
capitalisation of RM647.59 million. It was announcement. It should also be noted that
also among the day’s most actively traded, Macpie first announced the proposed the Macpie has been in the red since its second
with some 105 million shares done. 35% Techninier stake acquisition on Feb quarter ended June 30, 2020 (2QFY20). In
2, after inking a Heads of Agreement with its latest quarterly financials for 2QFY21, the
Both counters have seen wild swings in Datin Soh Meizhi for the acquisition, citing company posted a net loss of RM83,000, and
their share prices over the past few weeks. “great synergy” with the latter to deploy on- said the Covid-19 pandemic had negative-
line gaming events, digital conferences, mo- ly impacted its event management business.
Macpie, which is involved in event man- bile content creation and e-sports platform.
agement and retail and distribution man- Meanwhile, IT services provider Datap-
agement, touched a high of 55.5 sen on Since then, however, Macpie’s shares rep’s shares suddenly, which has been lan-
March 19 after climbing more than 200% have seen a correction, falling 26.13% to guishing below 50 sen since 2005, suddenly
in just two trading weeks, which led to an 41 sen on March 23. While it rebound- started rallying in mid-February and spiked
unusual market activity query from Bursa. ed to 46.5 sen three days later, the stock to its 20-year high of RM3.79 on March 15,
subsequently fell again. soaring 23-fold from 16.5 sen on Feb 11.
In response to the UMA query then,
Macpie cited an agreement concerning The decline was partly due to the con- When it hit RM1.44 on March 1, Bursa
the deployment of services to eSukan.gg, version of 10.29 million warrants into issued an UMA query asking the company
a government-linked e-sports portal, by shares, which resulted in a 23% drop on to explain the abrupt surge in its share price.
Techninier Sdn Bhd — a mobile game March 30. The counter, however, con-
platform developer in which it was plan- tinued to fall after that to reach its low of Dataprep, however, said it was not aware
ning to buy a 35% stake for RM90 million. 9.5 sen today. It has fallen 83% from its of any developments besides its announce-
peak of 55.5 sen on March 19. ment relating to a private placement exercise
However, the company deemed the de- in February and its acquisition of a 51%
velopment immaterial, as Macpie andTech- stake in multimedia hardware and compo-
ninier were in various stages of discussion nent distributor RIDAAAssociates Sdn Bhd.
with several parties for sponsorship deals
Since touching its 20-year high,the counter
saw a sharp contraction in share price from
March 16 onwards, which prompted Bursa to
issue a statement advising investors to exercise
caution in the trading of Dataprep’s shares.
The stock has declined 72.3% since then.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31,
2020, Dataprep posted a net loss of RM2.97
million, which it attributed to the inclu-
sion of a non-recurring professional fee of
RM1.45 million and an employee share
option scheme (ESOS)-based payment of
RM1.64 million in its operating expenses.

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 11 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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Awarding of Nestle Malaysia tainable as they have a much lower car-
projects: MoT invests RM150m bon footprint and they require less use of
lodges police natural resources such as water or land.
report against to set up
ASEAN’s first “By accelerating the roll-out of our
Sabahkini2 plant-based meal plant-based food and beverages, we are
over direct- solutions facility taking steps to shape a more sustainable
negotiation in Shah Alam future for all,” he added.
allegations
BY SULHI KHALID Meanwhile, Nestle executive vice pres-
Bernama theedgemarkets.com ident and CEO, zone Asia, Oceania and
Sub-Saharan Africa, Chris Johnson said it
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7):The Min- KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Nestle (Ma- has chosen Malaysia and Selangor as the
istry of Transport (MoT) has lodged a laysia) Bhd has invested a total of RM150 location of the new manufacturing hub fa-
police report against the Sabahkini2 million to set up a plant-based meal solu- cility as it has the right infrastructure, trade
news portal for publishing an allegedly tions manufacturing facility in Shah Alam. links and access to talent and capabilities.
defamatory article which linked its sec-
retary-general to the awarding of pro- The facility, which is the first in ASEAN “We are confident that with this new
jects under the ministry through direct and one of the only two in Asia, will cater to facility, we will be able to capture the ex-
negotiation. the rising demand for plant-based food and citing growth opportunities for plant-based
will supply local demand as well as exports. products in this region, which is a very
In a statement issued today, the min- important growth priority for the Nestle
istry refuted the claims and said that it Nestle Malaysia chief executive officer Group worldwide,” he added.
will seek legal advice in pursuing the next (CEO) Juan Aranols said Malaysians are be-
course of action. It said it is the Ministry coming interested in exploring alternatives to Located within Nestle’s existing Shah
of Finance (MoF) that is responsible for meat consumption, either because of health Alam Industrial Complex in Selangor, the
approving procurement through direct reasons or for environmental considerations. new production site, with a built-up area of
negotiation. approximately 6,000 sq m, has an annual
“For them, we have developed an excit- production capacity of 8,000 tonnes and is
“The tender of ‘Perolehan 10 Set (6 ing range of new products that provide an equipped with the latest food processing ma-
Car) Electric Train Set (ETS) Baharu’ excellent nutritional alternative supporting chinery and highly automated packing lines.
was advertised on Jan 23, 2020. After healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.
the tender period was closed, only three Nestle’s new plant has already commenced
tenderers submitted proposals and the “To also note that, compared to the production of its new Harvest Gourmet plant-
tender evaluation report was present- equivalent meat-based products, these based products for the out-of-home market
ed to the procurement board on June plant-based solutions are also more sus- and is soon to launch its consumer range,
23, 2020. to be available in retail nationwide and via
e-commerce.As at 11.37am, Nestle Malaysia
“All the tenderers did not meet the shares were unchanged at RM135.50, giving
passing marks for the financial and tech- it a market capitalisation of RM31.78 billion.
nical evaluation because they did not Read also: Nestle Malaysia to partner local
meet the criteria set out in the tender restaurants for meat-free menu Click here
document,” it said.
Former bank They were released by magistrate Shah
As such, it said, the government pro- president held Wira Abdul Halim at about 10am today.
posed a process through direct negoti- in ‘loan for non-
ation since the process for a retender existent project’ The three were among four people, in-
would take time, coupled with difficul- probe, released cluding a woman, who were picked up by
ties in getting companies registered under from remand the MACC on March 30 in the KlangValley
the train manufacturing category. and remanded.
BY HAFIZ YATIM
It said the government set the de- theedgemarkets.com However, the woman, who is understood
partment’s estimate of project procure- to be a consultant, was released on Friday
ment at RM587 million, but procure- PUTRAJAYA (April 7): The magistrate's (April 2), while the three men, including
ment through direct negotiation with the court here today allowed the release of a for- the former bank president who holds the
company that was awarded the contract mer bank president cum managing director title ‘Datuk’, had their original three-day
was RM456 million, a saving of RM131 and two other men who were detained since remand extended until today.
million. last Wednesday (March 31) to facilitate the
Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission's in- A source with the MACC confirmed
The statement was issued following a vestigations into the granting of a RM400 mil- their release.
report by Sabahkini2 on April 1 last year lion loan for an allegedly non-existent project.
with the title “Dulu di MOTAC disiasat The parties were arrested for allegedly
SPRM kini di MOT KSU buat ‘Runding receiving S$3.17 million (about RM8 mil-
Terus KTMB’ untuk kroni?” lion) as commission for approving a RM400
million loan for a project that is said to be
non-existent.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri
Azam Baki previously said the individuals
were being investigated under Section 16
of the MACC Act 2009 for allegedly tak-
ing kickbacks.

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 12 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Malaysia says South Korean and BNM’s international reserves slips BV Land to make LEAP market
Japanese firms to invest RM16.05 bil to US$108.6 bil as at March 31 debut on Friday
in coming years
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Bank Negara KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Property
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Malaysia said Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves developer and contractor BV Land
on Wednesday it had secured potential amounted to US$108.6 billion as at March Holdings Bhd will be making its debut
investments from South Korea and 31, 2021 compared with US$109.2 billion on Bursa Malaysia’s LEAP market on
Japan amounting to RM16.05 billion, as at March 15, 2021. In a statement today, Friday. In a statement, the group said
and export purchases of about RM986.2 the central bank said the reserves position its initial public offering entails the
million, to be realised in the coming was sufficient to finance 8.8 months of issuance of 13.57 million new shares,
years. The deals with South Korea and retained imports and was 1.2 times total which represents 10% of its enlarged
Japan came as Malaysia’s International short-term external debt. The reserves level share capital of 135.60 million shares. BV
Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri had taken into account the quarterly foreign Land managing director Datuk Goh Kang
Mohamed Azmin Ali wrapped up a week- exchange revaluation changes, it added. Beng said that based on the issue price
long trade mission to both countries on The main components of the international of 19 sen per share, the group would be
Tuesday. In a statement, the ministry reserves were foreign currency reserves raising RM2.58 million from the share
said South Korean firms had committed (US$100.9 billion), International Monetary float exercise. Part of this sum would
in the immediate term to invest a total Fund reserves position (US$1.4 billion), be used to acquire land in the Klang
of RM7.3 billion in Malaysia, and to Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (US$1.2 Valley, in line with its plan to expand into
purchase exports of Malaysian goods billion), gold (US$2.1 billion) and other mixed developments, he said. It added
amounting to RM70 million. Japanese reserve assets (US$3 billion). Its assets that it will be launching new projects in
companies, meanwhile, had agreed to as at March 31 amounted to RM503.44 the fourth quarter of 2021 with gross
invest RM8.75 billion ringgit and buy billion, with international reserves (gold, development value of RM49.4 million,
RM916.15 million of Malaysian products. foreign exchange and other reserves, including affordable houses priced
This includes a one billion ringgit including SDRs) making up RM451.09 billion below RM500,000. — by Arjuna Chandran
investment from Nippon Electric Glass to (equivalent to US$108.6 billion). — Bernama Shankar/theedgemarkets.com
produce glass fibre for the automotive,
construction and energy sector, the Samaiden proposes 1-for-2 bonus Paragon Globe plans 4-for-1 rights
ministry added. — Reuters issue of warrants, SIS scheme issue to raise up to RM56m

EcoFirst buys into Chan Sow Lin land KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Solar KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Paragon
for RM1.2b project, to welcome new engineering, procurement, construction Globe Bhd has proposed a rights issue to
substantial shareholders and commissioning (EPCC) service provider raise up to RM56 million to help pay for
Samaiden Group Bhd has proposed a bonus the purchase of a freehold plot in Johor
KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): EcoFirst issue of up to 105 million warrants on the Bahru, Johor, and fund the construction
Consolidated Bhd is acquiring a 51% basis of one warrant for every two existing of a medical centre in Sepang, Selangor.
stake in BCM Holdings Sdn Bhd, the shares. The warrants’ exercise price has been The rights issue of up to 746.62 million
owner of 4.18 acres of freehold land set at RM1.20. The entitlement date will be shares will be issued on the basis of four
in Sungai Besi, for RM81.6 million. The fixed later, the group said in a bourse filing. rights shares for every one share held
purchase consideration comprises Gross proceeds to be raised from the full on an entitlement date to be announced,
RM1.63 million cash and the issuance exercise of the warrants could reach RM126 the property developer said in a bourse
of 228.5 million new EcoFirst shares at million, which will be used for working capital. filing. The proceeds to be raised is based
35 sen apiece or RM79.97 million, the The group also proposed setting up a share on an illustrative issue price of 7.5 sen
group said in a statement. The share issuance scheme (SIS) involving up to 10% of per share. The rights issue is expected
issuance will result in the vendors of its total shares in issue (excluding treasury to be completed by the third quarter of
the stake — Yeoh Siok Choo and Tan shares) for eligible directors and employees. 2021. Paragon Globe shares closed 11
You Tiong — becoming substantial Samaiden closed 14 sen or 8.85% higher sen or 10.88% higher at RM1.07, giving
shareholders in Ecofirst with a at RM1.72, giving it a market capitalisation the group a market capitalisation of
combined 20% stake. “The purchase of RM361.2 million. — by Syafiqah Salim/ RM198.69 million. — by Syafiqah Salim/
consideration of RM81.6 million theedgemarkets.com theedgemarkets.com
represents a discount of RM983,000
(1.2%) to the adjusted net asset of Krishnan Tan resigns as IJM Plantations director, brother
BCM,” said EcoFirst. The land, located in takes over
the Chan Sow Lin area, is slated for the
development of 1,620 units of service KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Tan Sri Krishnan Tan has resigned as a non-
apartments. The project, which has been executive director of IJM Plantations Bhd due to heavy commitments
approved by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and involvement in other boards, the group said today. Krishnan, 68,
(DBKL), will have a gross development who had served as non-executive director since December 1993, will
value of RM1.2 billion, it said. Its be replaced by his brother Velayuthan Tan effective today. In a filing
estimated gross development costs with Bursa Malaysia, IJM Plantation said Velayuthan, 66, retired as the
stand at RM650 million, which the group
intends to fund via bank borrowings and CEO and managing director of IJM Plantations in May 2010. He
internally-generated funds. — by Adam was previously with Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd for five years
Aziz/theedgemarkets.com as assistant manager, before joining IJM Corporation Bhd in
1985. — by Syafiqah Salim/theedgemarkets.com

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 13 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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Defence raises questions about former
YR1M CEO’s credibility

PUTRAJAYA (April 7): The defence for BY HAFIZ YATIM & IZZUL IKRAM Jho Low used his associates to
Datuk Seri Najib Razak today raised ques- theedgemarkets.com benefit him
tions regarding the credibility of former However, Harvinderjit said that Jho Low
Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) chief SUHAIMI YUSUF/THE EDGE in fact was using all the people around him
executive officer (CEO), Ung Su Ling, who including Geh and Ung to do all these
had earlier claimed that the directions to Ung Su Ling questionable transactions which he him-
transfer the disputed sum of RM42 million self benefited from.
of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds came The defence further argued that based
from the former premier’s principal private on Suboh’s testimony alone in terms of Besides Geh, the defence also had yes-
secretary, the late Datuk Azlin Alias. contradiction, the former premier’s de- terday contended that not calling SeeYoke
fence should not have been called. Peng, the former chief financial officer of
However, BlackBerry messages re- Judge questions why Jho Low SRC, was detrimental to the prosecution’s
trieved from former AmBank relationship transferred money case in explaining the monetary transactions.
manager, Joanna Yu Ging Ping, showed As Harvinderjit tried to show the trans-
Ung had obtained the directive for the fer of money to the various accounts be- Geh, like Jho Low, has left the country
transfer from fugitive businessman Low fore ending with Najib’s two accounts, the and is wanted by the authorities.
Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low. chairman of the bench, Datuk Abdul Ka-
rim Abdul Jalil, questioned why Jho Low Harvinderjit also suggested today that
Najib’s lawyer Harvinderjit Singh fur- would transfer SRC’s RM27 million and See and Geh had played a role in the trans-
ther raised to the Court of Appeal bench RM5 million into Najib’s accounts. fer of money from SR utilising the 17 in-
that Ung’s background of having worked struction letters which also benefited the
together with Jho Low showed that there To this, the lawyer replied only Jho Low fugitive businessman.
was something ulterior towards the motive knows.
in transferring the money. The lawyer highlighted that a total of
Another member of the bench, Justice RM293 million of SRC funds had gone
To make her conduct questionable, the Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, further out in 2014 alone, and out of that amount,
lawyer said Ung, who was the 49th prose- asked how come Jho Low was allowed to con- RM42 million ended up in the former pre-
cution witness, admitted that she deleted trol SRC’s funds when he does not hold any mier’s accounts.
all her messages with Azlin a week after his post, and to this the lawyer could not answer.
death in a helicopter crash on April 4, 2015. The bulk of it, the lawyer suggested,
Justice Vazeer then asked further from was for the benefit of Jho Low and to make
Harvinderjit said Ung, being a trained law- the evidence there is inference that Jho matters worse, he had told the bankers
yer before entering the corporate world, would Low had caused the SRC money to go out. when transferring the money to Najib that
have kept the messages to back her claim. this was still part of the RM2.6 billion
Vazeer: Are you saying that the money Arab donation.
“But what she said was that she deleted from SRC is used to top up Najib’s ac-
the messages and then threw her phone counts following the various overdrawn? “The court and the judge had not fo-
away,” the lawyer said. cused on the movement of the other mon-
Harvinderjit:Yes.There are soft copy in- ies said to have benefited Jho Low and
“The witness admitted when being struction letters and the inference is made only looked at the RM42 million, wher-
cross-examined that being a lawyer she that Jho Low gave the instruction to Ter- eelse it was Jho Low who stole the money
should have kept the purported messages ence Geh, another operative of Jho Low. and orchestrated its movement,” Harvin-
with Azlin on the directive given. Her reply derjit said.
was that she had felt saddened over Azlin’s The prosecution’s case, Harvinderjit said,
passing and deleted his phone number and is that Jho Low is an operative for Najib The said funds from SRC had flowed
chat so as not to remind her.” but the defence is saying that he (Jho Low) through several companies, namely Putra-
benefited also from the transfer of money. jaya Perdana Construction Sdn Bhd and
Harvinderjit said it was as if Ung was Permai Binaraya Sdn Bhd, among others,
shifting the blame to Azlin, a person who “Their (prosecution) case that they try as well as through SRC subsidiaries Ihsan
had already passed away over the transfer, to show because Najib had contacted Jho Perdana Sdn Bhd and Gandingan Mentari
when in fact it was not true. Low with regard to the use of his credit Sdn Bhd before ending up in Najib’s two
card, then the court and judge can make AmBank accounts.
He added whenYu’s BBM message was an inference that the former premier con-
retrieved, it showed that Ung had in fact trolled him,” he added. The former premier has been found
received direction to transfer the money guilty of abuse of power, three counts of
from Jho Low. criminal breach of trust and another three
charges of money laundering in relation
“We say that Ung is not a credible wit- to SRC funds and he was sentenced to
ness and that her testimony should not 12 years’ jail and fined RM210 million.
have been relied on by the High Court in
calling Najib to enter into his defence.” The defence submission to set aside
Najib’s conviction and sentence contin-
Yesterday, Najib’s defence also raised is- ues tomorrow.
sues regarding former SRC director Datuk
Suboh MdYasin’s testimony when he admit- Read also: Internet outage caused disrup-
ted that his signatures could have been forged tion to Najib’s SRC appeal live feed, says
in some of the 17 SRC documents shown to Federal Court registrar Click here
him by the defence as the witness admitted
they could have been “cut and paste”.

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Ex-AG Apandi tears up while testifying
in defamation suit against Kit Siang

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Former BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM by claiming that he was directly involved
attorney-general (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed theedgemarkets.com in the scandal.
Apandi Ali was moved to tears in the High
Court here today while testifying in his He said the role of the AG is “not a Today, Mohamed Apandi was moved
defamation suit against veteran politician walk in the park”. to tears as he responded to yesterday’s
Lim Kit Siang whose article, Mohamed cross-examination conducted on him by
Apandi claimed, implied that the ex-AG’s “The job had taken a toll on my health. Kit Siang’s lawyers Sangeet Kaur Deo and
abetted the 1Malaysia Development Bhd I was admitted to IJN (the National Heart Ramkarpal Singh.
(1MDB) scandal. Institute) for stress [due to] work,” he said.
Yesterday, Sangeet and Ramkarpal asked
Mohamed Apandi was chronicling to- Mohamed Apandi said today his role as Mohamed Apandi if he had ever read in-
day his 2015-2018 tenure at the Attor- the AG then was not only limited to being ternational articles regarding the 1MDB
ney-General’s Chambers (AGC) of Ma- a public prosecutor as he was also the legal scandal. Mohamed Apandi said “no”.
laysia in the hearing today before High adviser to the government.
Court Judge Datuk Azimah Omar. Today, Mohamed Apandi claimed that
“As far as the legal adviser’s [role was Kit Siang’s lawyers had failed to appreciate
“I never lobbied to be the AG; I was concerned], I must explain that it was not how busy the role of an AG is.
a Federal Court judge looking for retire- limited to the federal government.
ment but then I was appointed as the AG. “I didn’t have time to read local news-
“It’s also the legal adviser for all the papers, what more foreign news [about
“And this was the sacrifice I made,” states in Malaysia and also the ministries 1MDB],” the ex-AG claimed.
Mohamed Apandi added. within the government,” he said.
During the hearing today, Mohamed
Mohamed Apandi, represented by He said he had thousands of investiga- Apandi also defended himself against alle-
lawyer M Visvanathan, said today judg- tion papers which he delegated to his of- gations that he had covered up cases when
es retire at 66 but he was appointed the ficers, except for high-profile cases which he was the AG.
AG at 65. his team handled.
“When I dealt with an investigation, it’s
As Mohamed Apandi’s eyes became Mohamed Apandi was testifying today done objectively without being influenced
teary, Visvanathan asked the court for a in his defamation suit against Kit Siang, [by factors including] whether the suspect
break. who is the DAP Member of Parliament was a member of a political party or [was
(MP) for Iskandar Puteri, after Kit Siang’s of a certain] race.
Mohamed Apandi, who subsequent- article dated May 6, 2019 implied Mo-
ly apologised to the court, also thanked hamed Apandi’s abetment in the 1MDB “This emphasised my impartiality as
the court for giving him time to explain scandal. the AG that I don’t see political parties,”
his situation as he had “suppressed” his he claimed.
emotions for a long time. It was reported that Mohamed Apandi
said the article had tainted his reputation The trial continued this afternoon be-
fore Justice Azimah.

Former prosecutor: Apandi never pressured us to exonerate Najib

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): A mem- BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM in perusing the Investigation Papers.
ber of a task force set up to investigate theedgemarkets.com Apandi is suing Lim Kit Siang over an
the 1MDB scandal told the High Court
here today that former Attorney-General The others assigned to the task force were article written by the veteran politician
Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali had never former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com- on May 6, 2019, in which he called for
pressured them to exonerate former Prime mission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan the former Attorney-General to explain
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abduk Razak Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, Budiman Lutfi Mo- why he “aided and abetted in the 1MDB
in relation to the 1Malaysia Development hamed, Noor Zalizan Lazarous, Saiful Haz- scandal”.
Bhd (1MDB) scandal. mi Mohd Saad and Nazran Mohd Sham,
who were all DPPs at that time. When asked by Visvanathan if Apan-
Testifying in Apandi’s lawsuit against di had “aided and abetted in the 1MDB
DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang, Muhamad Apandi’s lawyer M Visvanathan had scandal”, Anas disagreed with the sug-
Anas Mahadzir, 43, who currently is a asked Anas a series of questions regarding gestion.
Shah Alam Sessions Court judge, testi- their findings and the task force.
fied that when he was a deputy public “No. He did not aid and abet the for-
prosecutor (DPP) in 2015, he was put in Visvanathan: Had there been any pres- mer Prime Minister,” he replied.
the task force to investigate the troubled sure from Apandi to exonerate Najib?
sovereign wealth fund. Anas then said that the task force had
Anas:There was no pressure on myself recommended that further investiga-
He said that Apandi’s only instruc- and the team to exonerate Najib. tions be conducted into 1MDB before
tions to the task force that consisted of any charges were drawn up.
five other DPPs was to “be objective” in Visvanathan:To the best of your knowl-
their investigations and brief him on their edge, was there any pressure to exonerate He also said that they never received
recommendations. Najib? any orders from Apandi to close the in-
vestigation.
Anas:There was no pressure. He (Apan-
di) in fact instructed all of us to be objective The trial continues tomorrow morn-
ing before Justice Datuk Azimah Omar.

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Malaysia will Malaysia waiting According to an EMA twitter posting, a
decide whether to proceed with using the As- for EMA report press briefing on EMA’s safety committee
traZeneca vaccine for the National Covid-19 (PRAC) conclusion on the review of Astra-
Immunisation Programme after getting the to decide on Zeneca and blood clots is planned for 4pm
European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) find- AstraZeneca Central European Time (CET) today, or
ings on the vaccine. vaccine — Khairy 10pm Malaysian time.

Coordinating Minister for the Immuni- Bernama Meanwhile, Khairy said 80% of the vac-
sation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin said cines supplied to Malaysia had been dis-
the report by the European Union agency pensed to the people, and efforts need to
will determine whether there is a causal link be ramped up in June if the country is to
between the use of the vaccine and throm- achieve its target of vaccinating 80% of its
bosis or blood clots. population by December.

“We will determine whether or not to go “At 80% that is quite efficient, the utilisa-
ahead with it, or we go ahead with it (but) tion of the capacity that has been delivered.
with caution,” he said at the ASEAN Health- The supply is still short,” he said.
careWebinar 2021 organised by CARI ASE-
AN Research and Advocacy and the ASE- Asked if media practitioners would be
AN Business Advisory Council here today. considered as frontliners for the vaccination
programme, he said they would be added to
Khairy said Malaysia still has time to de- the list soon with a certain number of slots
cide as the AstraZeneca vaccine is coming offered per media organisation.
from the COVAX Facility only in May.
“We have received appeals from many
He said the issue of AstraZeneca vaccine people to be included as frontliners, and we
was also discussed at the Covid-19Vaccine have approved domestic trade enforcement
Supply Access Guarantee Special Commit- officers who are going out there.The media
tee meeting onTuesday. will be included too,” he said.

Malaysia posts Malaysia’s coronavirus curve shows signs of flattening
1,139 new
6000 Daily new cases 7-day moving average
Covid-19 cases;
four deaths 5000
reported
4000
BY SULHI KHALID
theedgemarkets.com 3000

2000 1,139
1000 1,281

0 April 7, 2021
Sept 1, 2020

KUALA LUMPUR (April 7): Malay- es, further trimming down the number of The Tembok Choh Dua detention
sia reported 1,139 new Covid-19 cas- active cases — which carry transmission centre cluster in Johor reported 19 cas-
es today — down from 1,300 yester- risks — down to 14,097.Total recoveries, es, while the Highline cluster of imported
day — bringing the cumulative number meanwhile, stood at 339,067. cases involving the crew of a ship docked
of confirmed infections in the country off Pengerang, Kota Tinggi saw five cas-
to 354,468, according to Health direc- Patients in intenstive care stood at es to date.
tor-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham 194, with 86 requiring respiratory help.
Abdullah. So far, the ministry has identified a to-
The Ministry of Health has also iden- tal of 1,431 Covid-19 clusters, of which
According to him, 1,126 cases were tified 10 new infection clusters, with six 1,077 have been declared ended, includ-
locally transmitted while 13 were im- of them linked to workplaces, two from ing 10 that ended today. That leaves 354
ported. the community, and one each involving a active clusters.
detention centre and imported cases from
Four Covid-19-related deaths were a ship docked in the waters of Johor. Sixty-four clusters reported new infec-
also reported — two in Sarawak and tions today.
one each in Kuala Lumpur and Johor, The six new workplace clusters are
bringing the overall death toll to 1,304, Jalan Simpang Balak in Selangor involv- The clusters that reported the highest
said Dr Noor Hisham in a statement. ing 20 cases, Jalan Keretapi in Selan- numbers of Covid-19 cases today were
gor (81 cases), Sungai Kluang Empat in Sungai Kawi (119 cases), Jalan Padang
Of the new infections, all but 13 Penang (33), Jalan Padang Benggali in Benggali (20 cases), and Penjara Jalan
were locally transmitted cases. Sarawak Penang (42), Jalan Bangunan Kerajaan Harapan (19 cases).
topped the list with most new infections in Sarawak (37) and Persiaran Indah- Read also: MySejahtera can be expand-
at 332, followed by Selangor (294) and pura Utama in Johor (11). ed to become super app, says Saifuddin
Johor (102). Click here
Meanwhile, the two new community
Meanwhile, recoveries slightly edged clusters are Sungai Kawi in Sarawak (127)
out new infections today with 1,199 cas- and Jalan Persiaran Putri in Johor (15).

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REUTERS

EU regulator finds possible link between
AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots

BRUSSELS (April 7): The European Reuters Oxford University published data from
Medicines Agency (EMA) said onWednes- an earlier trial with two different efficacy
day that it had found a possible link be- Both the EMA and the readings as a result of a dosing error.
tween AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine World Health Organization
and reports of very rare cases of blood clots Last month,AstraZeneca published ear-
in people who had received the shot. have said the benefits ly results of its US late-stage clinical trial
outweigh the risks of the showing the shot was 79% effective, but
Safety concerns have prompted more had to scramble to release more data after
than a dozen countries in recent weeks vaccine. “The risk of a rare rebuke from US health officials, who
to suspend use of the vaccine, which has mortality from Covid is said the data was outdated.
been given to tens of millions of people in much greater than the risk
Europe, after reports linking it to a brain of mortality from these Scientists are exploring several possi-
blood clotting disorder in a few dozen re- rare side effects,” EMA’s bilities that might explain the rare brain
cipients. executive director Emer blood clots. One theory suggests the vac-
Cooke said on Wednesday. cine triggers an unusual antibody in some
EU health ministers have been told that rare cases; other investigators are looking
the EMA’s decision on the safety of the tion of getting a serious clot are vanishingly into a possible link with birth control pills.
vaccine will have immediate implications small, compared to the risks from possible
for vaccination plans and to require a co- Covid-19 infection, which can also cause But many experts say there is no de-
ordinated response, a letter seen by Reu- similar clots, or from many other widely finitive evidence, and that it is not clear
ters showed. used drugs such as the birth control pill. whether or why AstraZeneca’s vaccine
would cause a problem not shared by other
The letter was sent by the Portuguese Both the EMA and the World Health vaccines that target a similar part of the
presidency of the EU on Tuesday to in- Organization have said the benefits out- coronavirus.
vite health ministers for an extraordinary weigh the risks of the vaccine.
virtual meeting on Wednesday, to be held While many countries have resumed
immediately after the decision by the EU “The risk of mortality from Covid is using the shot, some have imposed age re-
drugs regulator. much greater than the risk of mortali- strictions, with younger women perceived
ty from these rare side effects,” EMA’s to be more vulnerable.
The EMA announcement is a fresh set- executive director Emer Cooke said on Read also:
back for the vaccine, which is sold at cost, Wednesday. WHO says AstraZeneca benefits
for a few dollars a dose, and is by far the outweigh risks, assessing latest data
cheapest and most high-volume launched AstraZeneca has said previously its Click here
so far. After extensive use in Britain and studies have found no higher risk of blood
mainland Europe, it is set to be the main- clots in those vaccinated than in the gen- Study of Astra vaccination in children
stay of vaccination programmes in much eral population. paused, Oxford says Click here
of the developing world.
But the shot has faced questions since
Experts say that, even if a causal link late last year, when the drugmaker and
between the vaccine and blood clots is
proved, the risks to the general popula-

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US trade deficit
widened to

record US$71.1
bil in February

BY OLIVIA ROCKEMAN
Bloomberg

(April 7):The US trade deficit widened in ers scrambling at a time when inventories ary, while exports of the chips dropped more
February to a record high as solid house- are lean. than US$400 million to US$4.8 billion.
hold and business demand kept imports
running ahead of shipments to overseas Global supply chains were put to the Imports fall
customers. test in late March after a massive contain- Imports of motor vehicles and consumer
er ship blocked the Suez Canal for days, goods declined in February, while the val-
The gap in trade of both goods and forcing carriers and other vessels to weigh ue of industrial supplies, that include oil,
services increased to US$71.1 billion in costly and time-consuming voyages around increased.
February from a revised US$67.8 billion Africa.
a month earlier, according to Commerce The merchandise-trade deficit rose about
Department data releasedWednesday.The Total imports decreased 0.7% to 3% to US$88 billion, while the nation’s sur-
median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of US$258.3 billion, while exports fell 2.6% plus in services trade fell to US$16.9 billion,
economists called for a US$70.5 billion to US$187.3 billion. the smallest since 2012.
shortfall. A decline in exports exceeded a
drop in the value of imports during the Meantime, a global shortage of semicon- The US goods trade shortfall with China
month as severe winter weather disrupted ductors has been causing automakers like widened in February to a three-month high
two-way trade. Ford Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co to of US$30.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted
scale back production, further impacting basis. Adjusted for inflation, the merchan-
The US deficit has been widening fair- global trade. dise-trade gap widened to a record US$99.1
ly consistently on a monthly basis since billion in February from US$96.1 billion.
reaching a more than three-year low in The value of imported semiconductors
February 2020. was little changed at US$5 billion in Febru-

Merchandise imports have been pour-
ing into the nation’s ports, leading to ship-
ping container shortages that have driven
up freight rates and left domestic produc-

WASHINGTON (April 7):The economic IMF says private debt against prematurely with-
growth from controlling the global pan- controlling virus drawing fiscal support in a way that slows
demic in all countries via vaccination can raise US$1 the recovery. To help meet pandemic fi-
would generate more than US$1 trillion in tril in tax revenue nancing needs, the IMF suggested that
additional tax revenue in advanced econ- policy makers could consider temporary
omies by 2025, underlining the benefit of BY ERIC MARTIN taxes on high incomes or wealth.
investing in shots, according to the Inter- Bloomberg
national Monetary Fund. While advanced and many emerging
in most countries are projected to stabilize markets have seen lower average interest
Nations should continue to spend to or decline as growth rebounds. payments, low-income countries face fi-
support health-care systems and house- nancing challenges, given limited market
holds until Covid-19 spread is curbed Countries have announced US$16 access and little scope to raise revenue, the
globally and the economic recovery trillion in fiscal actions in the past year, IMF said.Those nations need help through
strengthens, the IMF said in its Fiscal the fund said. The average fiscal deficit grants, concessional financing and in some
Monitor report released on Wednesday. in advanced economies surged fourfold cases debt restructuring.
to 11.7% in 2020 from 2.9% of GDP in
Vaccination will “more than pay for itself, 2019. In emerging markets, it doubled to Uncertainty on fiscal outlooks is unusu-
providing excellent value for public money 9.8% of GDP from 4.7%. Low-income ally high, with faster-than-expected vaccina-
invested in ramping up global vaccine pro- developing countries saw deficits grow tions holding the potential to hasten the end
duction and distribution,” the IMF said. to 5.5% of GDP on average from 3.9%. of the pandemic, boost revenue collection
and reduce the need for fiscal support. On
Spurred by spending to combat the vi- Policy makers will need to balance the the other hand, a deeper economic down-
rus and buffer economies, average public risks from large and growing public and turn or an abrupt tightening in financial
debt globally reached a record 97% of gross conditions could hold back the recovery.
domestic product in 2020, 13 percentage
points higher than predicted before the Last week the IMF warned that the pan-
pandemic. Debt to GDP is projected to demic may leave deep scars, with the world
stabilize at around 99% this year, the IMF economy in 2024 about 3% smaller than
said. Over the medium term, those ratios anticipated before the Covid-19 outbreak.

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Dimon says ‘fintech and big tech are here’
as banks lose ground

NEWYORK (April 7): Jamie Dimon, who BY HANNAH LEVITT “I have little doubt that with excess sav-
built the biggest and most profitable US Bloomberg ings, new stimulus savings, huge deficit
bank in history, is warning shareholders spending, more QE, a new potential in-
his industry’s disruption by technology is BLOOMBERG frastructure bill, a successful vaccine and
finally at hand. Shadow lenders are gain- euphoria around the end of the pandemic,
ing ground. Traditional banks are being Jamie Dimon the US economy will likely boom,” he said.
consigned to a shrinking role in the finan- “This boom could easily run into 2023.”
cial system. At 65, Dimon is the most prominent
executive in global banking, serving as a It could all add up to a Goldilocks mo-
“Banks have enormous competitive spokesman for the industry, while leading ment, according to Dimon, where growth
threats — from virtually every angle,” the a titan of both Wall Street and consumer is fast and sustained while inflation ticks
JPMorgan Chase & Co chief executive of- lending. He’s run the company since the up gently. Threats to that outcome in-
ficer wrote in his annual letter to share- end of 2005, and is the only CEO still clude virus variants and a rapid or sus-
holdersWednesday. “Fintech and BigTech at the helm after steering a major bank tained jump in inflation that prompts rates
are here… big time!” through the financial crisis. to rise sooner.
Boom into 2023 ‘Terribly wrong’
The letter expands on predictions Di- Dimon struck optimistic notes about the But for all the brightness in economic out-
mon has offered for years, this time de- prospects for the coronavirus pandemic to look, Dimon found cause for far darker
claring many of those threats have now ar- end with a US economic rebound, which he laments. The pandemic has thrust pro-
rived. Financial-technology firms are more credited in part to the government and banks. found inequities and their devastating ef-
formidable, offering easy-to-use, fast and fects into the spotlight. On issues such as
smart products, he said. Shadow banks Unprecedented federal rescue pro- health care and immigration, people have
— a group that includes investment funds grams blunted unemployment and avert- lost faith in the government’s ability to
and online platforms offering financing to ed further economic deterioration, he said. solve problems, he said.
companies and consumers — are winning Banks entered the crisis strong, able to
market share too. help communities weather the storm. And “Americans know that something has
while lenders also benefited from US stim- gone terribly wrong, and they blame this
Those groups have outpaced the growth ulus, they built up buffers against future country’s leadership: the elite, the power-
of banks by some measures, often thanks to loan losses and performed well in stress ful, the decision makers — in government,
less regulation.They have also done “a ter- tests, he said. in business and in civic society,” he wrote.
rific job in easing customers’ pain points” “This is completely appropriate, for who
with slick online platforms, he said. Dimon also pointed to US consumers, else should take the blame?”
who used stimulus checks to reduce debt
“While I am still confident that JPMor- to the lowest in 40 years and stashed them That fuels populism on the right and left,
gan Chase can grow and earn a good re- in savings, giving them — like corporations he said.“But populism is not policy, and we
turn for its shareholders, the competition — an “extraordinary” amount of spend- cannot let it drive another round of poor
will be intense, and we must get faster and ing power once lockdowns end.The latest planning and bad leadership that will simply
be more creative,” the CEO wrote. “Ac- round of quantitative easing measures will make our country’s situation worse.”
quisitions are in our future, and fintech is have created more than US$3 trillion in
an area where some of that cash could be deposits at US banks, a portion of which He even put it in economic terms: He
put to work.” can be lent out, he said. estimates wide-ranging “dysfunction” has
cut a percentage point off the US growth
The 65-page letter (plus a page of foot- rate. He suggested studying solutions
notes) is Dimon’s longest yet, following abroad, pointing to apprenticeship pro-
last year’s abbreviated one that came less grams in Germany, health care in Singa-
than a week after he returned to work from pore and infrastructure in Hong Kong.
emergency heart surgery. As always, it is
wide-ranging, touching on topics from fi- “Fixing America’s problems is going to
nancial regulation to China to inequality take hard work. But if we divide them into
and institutional racism. their component parts, we will find many
viable solutions,” he said. “With thoughtful
Despite a warning just two days ago analysis, common sense and pragmatism,
from Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc- there is hope.”
Connell that corporate leaders should
refrain from taking stances on divisive Read also:
political issues, Dimon wades into areas JPMorgan’s Dimon says ‘this boom
including immigration, health care and could easily run into 2023’
education. “Unprecedented federal rescue programs
have blunted unemployment and averted
“Our problems are neither Democrat- further economic deterioration.”
ic nor Republican — nor are the solu- Click here
tions,” Dimon wrote. “Unfortunately,
however, partisan politics is preventing
collaborative policy from being designed
and implemented, particularly at the fed-
eral level.”

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(April 7): In the debate over whether China China as a safe That China could be a refuge for bond
can vie with Treasuries as a haven during haven is winning investors isn’t new, but the discussion is be-
times of turmoil, more bond investors are over more bond ing revived as the country’s economy powers
lining up on the side of China. out of the pandemic and becomes a bigger
investors force in global markets.
Ashmore Group Plc, one of the biggest
emerging-market firmswith almost US$100 BY SELCUK GOKOLUK & JOHN AINGER China’s government bonds are now in-
billion under management,added to the cho- Bloomberg cluded, or on a phased path to inclusion, in
rus onWednesday with a report making the major international bond indexes.
case for Chinese debt in strategic portfoli- growing contingency that’s turning to China.
os. Ashmore points to China’s strong per- Investors at JPMorgan Asset Manage- To Luca Paolini, the chief strategist at
formance in the first quarter in the face of PictetWealth Management, there’s a good
losses across global bond markets. ment and Brandywine Global Investment chance China will outperform in the long
Management LLC are also among those term. The nation’s debt is up 0.7% this
“China’s emergence as a new and credi- who have voiced a preference for Chinese year in dollar terms and the 10-year yield
ble safe haven destination for bond holders debt and back the view that the country can stands at 3.2%, almost double the rate
should gradually chip away at the status of be a viable haven. for Treasuries.
the dollar and USTreasuries as the only safe
place to hide,” said Gustavo Medeiros,Ash- “We have a long-term view of China,
more’s deputy head of research. which is very optimistic, because of valu-
ation, because of very responsible central
With the rout in US Treasuries forcing banks, because of flows, because of a decline
investors to question their positions, there’s a in inflation,” said Paolini.

Still, it’s a view with some controversy
and the world of Chinese debt is vastly dif-
ferent from the $21 trillionTreasury market.

For starters, it’s about a fraction of the
size of the US, and international funds
must wade through rounds of paper work
to access it.

China is also looking to curb a rap-
id buildup in financial leverage, which
means the central bank may guide bor-
rowing costs higher.

“I would not yet call them a safe haven,”
said JimVeneau, head of Asian fixed income
at AXA Investment Managers.

“The market is still partially closed/con-
trolled and China is still in the very early
stages of deleveraging, a process that was
put on hold due to the trade war and Covid.”

(April 6): Palm oil suffered another blow Planters ordered ization cannot ban imports without proper
as Sri Lanka banned imports of the world’s to destroy oil-palm justifications and the latest move could techni-
most-consumed cooking oil and told plant- as Sri Lanka joins cally be challenged,” said SathiaVarqa, owner
ers to get rid of all the tropical trees in the of Palm Oil Analytics in Singapore. “A tem-
country. boycott porary ban is fine but not a permanent ban
as non-discrimination is the basic principle
The island nation joined some other coun- BY ANUSHA ONDAATJIE of theWTO.”
tries in bashing palm oil.The US has stopped & ASANTHA SIRIMANNE
inbound shipments from some top producers Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka’s cabi-
in Malaysia, on allegations of forced labour Bloomberg net spokesman, told reporters onTuesday that
in the second-biggest grower, while the EU the government may review the latest order.
plans to phase out palm-based biofuels by strategies at Kaleesuwari Intercontinental.
classifying the commodity from large plan- “Sri Lanka is a top producer of coconut oil The country has around 11,000 hectares
tations as unsustainable. and palm oil could pose a threat to that sec- (27,181 acres) of palm plantations — just over
tor,” he said, adding the nation annually buys 1% of the total area planted with tea, rubber
Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa 200,000 tons to 250,000 tons of palm oil. and coconut, CAL Research said in a note.
ordered companies and other entities grow-
ing oil palm to remove the trees in a phased Sri Lanka’s Director-General of Customs Read also:
manner.They have been asked to uproot 10% has been advised to refrain from clearing palm France signals progress in US talks on
of the trees each year and replace the fields oil cargoes, the statement said. At the same global and digital tax
with rubber or other environment-friendly time, the cultivation of oil palm will be com- “France is open to agree to raise its suggested
crops, according to an official statement late pletely banned, it added. minimum tax from 12.5%, after US Treasury
Monday. Secretary JanetYellen outlined plans for a
“The members of theWorldTrade Organ- 21% levy.”
“Palm oil imports don’t help their cash Click here
crops, while oil palm plantations could lead to
deforestation in the country,” said Gnanase-
karThiagarajan, head of trading and hedging

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Shell to make While the industry is recovering, it Prosus to raise as
first profit from still has some way to go before it has ful- much as US$14.6
oil output since ly healed. bil fromTencent

pandemic Despite Chief Executive Ben van share sale
Beurden saying Shell was on the “right
BY LAURA HURST side” of moves in the market for liquefied BY LONI PRINSLOO & KAT VAN HOOF
Bloomberg natural gas in January — when prices rose Bloomberg
to record highs — first-quarter trading and
(April 7): Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it ex- optimization results in its integrated gas (April 7): Prosus NV plans to raise as much
pects to make the first profit from pumping unit will be “significantly below average.” as $14.6 billion from the sale of shares in
oil since the start of the pandemic. Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings
The company’s guidance on cash flow Ltd. to fund growth ventures.
Shell’s upstream unit, which largely was disappointing, said RBC analyst Biraj
handles the exploration and production Borkhataria. TheAmsterdam-listed e-commerce firm
of crude, was able to capture “the upside will sell a 2% stake inTencent, reducing its
from the current commodity price envi- Shell said working capital will increase holding to just under 29%, according to a
ronment“ in the first quarter, the company as a result of higher commodity prices, statement onWednesday.The price range
said on Wednesday. which will affect cash flow in its integrated was set at HK$575.00 to HK$595.00, a
gas, upstream and chemical units. In the discount to the last trading price.
While earnings from natural gas, refin- fourth quarter, the Anglo-Dutch major was
ing and chemicals helped Shell to post an unable to cover spending and its dividend Prosus is cashing on one of the all-
overall profit last year, its core business re- from free cash flow, even as oil prices con- time great venture-capital investments.
ported consistent losses after energy pric- tinued their recovery from historic lows. Naspers Ltd., the company’s Cape-Town-
es plunged due to Covid-19. The return based parent, invested just $32 million
to profit upstream is another signal that “Operationally, the business appears in Tencent in 2001, when it was an ob-
the industry is recovering from the his- to be performing below expectations,” scureWeb firm.The shares are now worth
toric slump. Borkhataria said.This is a probably a short- about $239 billion.
term issue and “we do not think it materi-
The turn of fortune isn’t limited to ally alters the investment case into 2021.“ Prosus has committed not to sell any
Shell. European peer BP Plc on Tuesday furtherTencent shares for at least the next
said that it had achieved its $35 billion net- Performance at the division that refines three years, the company said. Naspers sold
debt target a year earlier than expected, and markets fuels, which was profitable for a similar size stake in 2018, a year before
a threshold at which it can restart share most of 2020, improved slightly compared spinning off the shareholding and most of
buybacks. to the fourth quarter, Shell said. Oil trad- its other businesses into what is now Prosus.
ing results will be average.
Shell’s B shares rose 1.5% to 1,375.4 Prosus shares fell as much as 5% in
pence as of 8:40 a.m. in London. The severe winter storms in Texas, Amsterdam.
which crippled the state’s infrastructure
and shut down a swath of oil and gas fields,
will have an adverse impact on adjusted
earnings of about $200 million, Shell said.

Shell will report its first quarter results
on April 29.

(April 7): Singapore now accounts for one- Tiny Singapore trol.The country also plans to vaccinate its
third of global cruise travelers, a testament accounts for entire population by the end of the year.
to the nation’s ability to contain the corona-
virus and resume operations at a time when one-third of global While the vaccine roll out in the U.K.
many other countries are still struggling. cruise travellers and the U.S. is also progressing well, virus
cases are still surging in Europe and parts
The city-state, which contains a popu- BY FARIS MOKHTAR of South America.The Centers for Disease
lation of 5.7 million on an island smaller Bloomberg Control and Prevention in the U.S. said
than New York City, was able to achieve cruise operations could start by mid-sum-
what it has because of its robust health safe- the cruises have been extended until Oc- mer after the country’s largest operator,
ty framework, Singapore Tourism Board tober.Two operators are offering the trips, Carnival Corp., threatened to relocate ships
Chief Executive Officer Keith Tan said at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Genting to other markets.
a conference Wednesday. Cruise Lines.
However Tan downplayed Singapore’s
Singapore began offering so-called cruis- People said they felt safer going on a dominance, noting that cruising in most
es to nowhere last year after authorities in- cruise than going to some places in Sin- other places of the world is yet to restart,
troduced a SafeCruise certification, which gapore “because everyone is tested before hurting an industry that was worth $150
all operators have to obtain before they set they go on the cruise,”Tan said. “So hav- billion in 2018.
sail. It spells out standards companies must ing that framework of assurance has been
achieve, including mandatory Covid testing a major cornerstone of our success.” “Let me just say this in context — one-
prior to boarding, ensuring safe distancing third of global cruise throughput in a time
and frequent cleaning and sanitizing. Singapore has done a stellar job getting when virtually all other cruise destinations
the spread of the coronavirus under con- and cruise ports have stopped or are not
To date, more than 120,000 residents moving at all is nothing to crow about,”Tan
of Singapore have taken a cruise — many said.“Over the next few months, I certainly
multiple times. Because of the overwhelm- believe there will be more resumption of
ing demand, heightened by the fact inter- cruise business in the Caribbean, and in
national travel remains largely off limits, the Mediterranean as well.”

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 21 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

Activists get their moment with
a US$20 bilToshiba bid

TOKYO (April 7):The surprise takeover BY GEAROID REIDY, MIN JEONG LEE, it may make make proposals to manage-
bid forToshiba Corp is a palpable demon- STEPHEN STAPCZYNSKI & PAVEL ALPEYEV ment, boosting its stake to more than 7%.
stration of the growing influence in corpo-
rate Japan of activist investors, who have Bloomberg “Any successes of this nature will prob-
gone from largely impotent onlookers to ably snowball and lead to more activity,”
kingmakers in the space of just a few years. Activist investors have said Damian Thong, an analyst at Mac-
increasingly been quarie Group Ltd. “There is a sense that
The offer from CVC Capital Partners, a large part of Japan’s industrial base is
while still in the early stages, comes just flexing their muscle in being run inefficiently, resulting in ap-
weeks after Toshiba Chief Executive Of- Japan in recent years, as parent undervaluation of Japanese con-
ficer Nobuaki Kurumatani lost a landmark corporate governance glomerates.”
shareholder vote, forcing an independent
investigation into alleged issues with vot- reforms promoting Kioxia options
ing at its annual general meeting last year. shareholder value have One open question for Toshiba is the fu-
ture of Kioxia Holdings Corp, its former
That loss has piled pressure on Kuru- meant management memory-chip division in which its still
matani, who barely won re-election at last can no longer dismiss holds the biggest stake. Kioxia is focused
year’s meeting and is seen as unlikely to on going public as soon as this summer
survive another. The vote was triggered such pressure. in an IPO that could value the business
by Toshiba’s largest shareholder, the se- at more than US$36 billion, Bloomberg
cretive Singapore-based hedge fund Eff- promoting shareholder value have meant News reported last week.
issimo Capital Management. management can no longer dismiss such
pressure.Tokyo Dome Corp will be delist- Alternatively, Micron Technology Inc
Any deal for Toshiba faces legal hur- ed this month after acquisition by a white and Western Digital Corp are each to be
dles, and analysts say that investors such knight last year to fend off pressure from interested in acquiring the firm, the Wall
as Effissimo would likely insist on a sub- activist investor Oasis Management Co. Street Journal reported.
stantial premium from Tuesday’s closing
price. But the episode shows that the in- Once a storied name in Japan, Toshi- IfToshiba secures a reasonable market
fluence of activism in Japan is becoming ba has faded dramatically since its glory valuation for Kioxia, and its core business-
hard to deny. days after years of management missteps es attract multiples similar to those of its
and scandal.The conglomerate invented Japan peers,Thong said he sees scope for
“There have been false dawns before,” flash memory three decades ago, but it over 1 trillion yen of shareholder value cre-
said JustinTang, head of Asian research at was forced to sell most of its prized chip ation. That would imply a Toshiba share
United First Partners in Singapore. business in 2018 because of losses in its price of over 6,500 yen per share, while
nuclear-power operation. That deal led the deal reported by the Nikkei sets the
“But activism is taking hold now.” to an infusion of cash — but also a large price at about 5,000 yen apiece.
contingent of more vocal shareholders.
Flexing muscles Last week, Singapore fund 3D Investment Mio Kato of LightStream Research sees
The Japanese conglomerate saidWednes- Partners became the latest investor to say a low possibility of the deal going through
day it would seek more information about under current terms, and expects volatile
the bid as it weighs the proposal.The Nik- trading for Toshiba’s shares in the near
kei, which first reported the deal, said term, depending on how things develop.
CVC plans to propose to take Toshiba Toshiba’s shareholders, especially activists,
private through a tender offer that could will want a rather “steep price,” he wrote
be worth more than US$20 billion.That in a note published on SmartKarma.
would make it the largest private-equity
led buyout since 2013, and CVC’s biggest Given the sensitivity around sever-
acquisition on record. al of Toshiba’s businesses, including its
deep involvement in decommissioning
While there are many hurdles to a deal the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nu-
taking place,Toshiba shares rose by their clear power plant, government approv-
daily limit of 18% to 4,530 yen per share al would be required for the deal, Chief
at the close in Tokyo. Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said
Wednesday.
“Considerable value would be created
simply by simplifying ownership and clar- It’s unclear if a foreign firm such as
ifying governance by taking the company CVC would be allowed to take control of
private,” said Nicholas Benes, an expert on Toshiba.The relationship between CVC
Japanese corporate governance. “Precise- and Toshiba executives — with Kuru-
ly because of that, one would very much matani a former Japan president and
hope that this is a case where Toshiba will external director Yoshiaki Fujimori still
be open to other bids, by both other PE employed by the firm — has also raised
firms, as well as strategic acquirers.” eyebrows.

Activist investors have increasingly been “This could simply be an attempt to
flexing their muscle in Japan in recent buy time for Kurumatani,” Kato said.
years, as corporate governance reforms

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 22 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

Commodity shipping rates are
surging and rally isn’t over

(April 7): For a glimpse of how quickly and BY ISIS ALMEIDA, RACHEL GRAHAM than loading the containers commonly used.
unevenly economies are recovering from the & ANNIE LEE “The arbitrage between the Pacific and
pandemic, look no further than the market Bloomberg
for shipping raw materials. the Atlantic got to such a high level that it
Rebounding made sense to ship in bulk,” Cetinok said.
Rising demand for everything from soy- manufacturing in the
beans to steel has sent the cost of hauling dry Asian nation and huge Getting creative
goods soaring more than 50% this year. Man- imports of American Grain traders also had to get creative, with
ufacturing, which first picked up in China, is many Midwestern companies that usually
now accelerating elsewhere, and countries are crops to feed an ship specialty grains in containers opting for
stepping up commodity purchases to rebuild expanding hog herd bulk freight. In Brazil, top crop trader Car-
stockpiles after running them down during gave dry-bulk rates gill Inc even booked a Capesize vessel able to
lockdowns that slowed port operations and carry 180,000 tons of bulk grains, to pick up
hit economic activity globally. a first leg up. soybean meal, shipping data showed.

Analysts say the rally isn’t over, with rates east coast of South America, a positive fac- “With the spreads we’ve seen, it has be-
to carry unpacked commodities like grains, tor for Panamaxes, he said. come so much cheaper to take one cape in-
iron ore and coal — known as dry bulk — stead of three supras or two panamaxes and
expected to remain high this year and pos- The big American corn shipments in the people have been creative,” Lindstrom said,
sibly into 2022. second quarter will also coincide with increas- adding that some traders have also been rent-
ing coal volumes, another commodity that ing Capesizes and splitting them up to carry
That’s a stark turnaround for a mar- helped boost the cost of dry bulk shipping. various commodities as a way to cut costs.
ket that slid to a four-year low less than 12
months ago, and comes amid a tight supply A trade spat between Australia and Chi- Cargill confirmed the cargo. The com-
of vessels. It’s also happening as the uneven na left more than 70 ships carrying over 8 pany is “uniquely positioned” to do such
recovery scrambles movements of ship con- million tons of coal stranded late last year, deals as it has a long-term fleet and a team
tainers, which carry everything from furni- reducing the supply of vessels. specialized in combining cargoes that would
ture to packed commodities like coffee and have normally been shipped on smaller ves-
white sugar. While that situation has eased, roughly 35 sels, known as parcelling, said Jan Dieleman,
carriers remained stranded and unavailable head of Cargill’s ocean transportation busi-
“If you roll back a little bit and remember to take on new trips as of earlier this week. ness in Geneva.
what the world looked like and what the sen-
timent was around the world this time last The fracas has had another consequence: Rates for Capesizes jumped 7.2% to
year, there was a great deal of uncertainty,” coal is now traveling longer distances. Aus- US$22,468 a day onWednesday, the high-
said Burak Cetinok, head of research at Ar- tralia is now sending coal farther, to places est for the time of year since at least 2014,
row Shipbroking Group. “But now that we like India, and China is buying more of the according to data from the Baltic Exchange
are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, the fuel from countries including Colombia and in London.
industrial sector is now building inventory. South Africa. That resulted in more use of
So that’s adding to strong shipments.” Panamax ships rather than the biggest vessels. Adding to the congestion, some 90 bulk
carriers were stranded in the Suez Canal af-
Freight costs started to recover as top “Most of the coal coming out of Australia ter the giant container ship Ever Given got
commodities buyer China emerged from going into China is carried by the largest stuck in one of the world’s most important
the pandemic faster than other countries. dry-bulk carriers, Capesizes,” Cetinok said. shipping chokepoints.The blockage lasted
“After this shift, most of that is downsized for only six days, but added to the overall
Rebounding manufacturing in the Asian to Panamax businesses, so to carry the same tightness of the dry bulk market, said Ralph
nation and huge imports of American crops same amount of coal with smaller ships, it Leszczynski, head of research at shipbroker
to feed an expanding hog herd gave dry-bulk requires more ships.” Banchero Costa & Co.
rates a first leg up. Arbitrage opportunity
The uneven recovery has also brought some There will be congestion as vessels stuck
The nation’s imports are so big that they surprises. in the Suez arrive at destination at the same
helped send the cost of hauling in Panamax time, though experts don’t expect it to have
ships — those meeting the size limits for China fired up its steel mills well ahead a significant impact on rates.
the Panama Canal — to the highest level of other countries, creating a massive dif-
in more than a decade. ference between prices there and in North All of that is happening just as the fleet
and South America.At the same time Amer- of bulk ships isn’t expected to grow, with
Some traders have even likened it to the icans and Europeans started buying up Chi- very few orders on the books.
Great Grain Robbery of the 1970s, when na-made goods online during the pandem-
the Soviets quietly bought millions of tons ic, snarling traffic for containers commonly President Joe Biden’s economic stimu-
of American supplies. used to ship steel products. lus and infrastructure packages also bode
well for commodity demand and therefore
“We’ve had very strong US shipments The result: things like hot rolled coil are freight rates.
that continued well into the first quarter being loaded into bulk vessels to be shipped to
and we are still going to see high corn ship- the Americas, an operation that takes longer “We are quite positive for this year and
ments out of the US going forward,” said next year,” said Lars-Christian Svensen,
Peter Lindstrom, head of research at Nor- chief commercial officer at Golden Ocean
wegian shipping firm Torvald Klaveness Group Ltd. “Dry commodities have been
Group. That will happen at the same time a bit dormant for the past few years, but
as the peak of the export season from the they’re taking off at the moment.”

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 23 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

SPAC bubble fears lead Hong Kong,
Singapore down cautious path

(April 7): Hong Kong and Singapore are BY KIUYAN WONG, ISHIKA MOOKERJEE An index that tracks SPACs has slid 21%
trying to get in on the boom in blank check & ABHISHEK VISHNOI since mid-February.
company listings, while safeguarding investors Bloomberg
from what some say is a bubble about to burst. Ronald Chan, founder and chief in-
Investors and dealmakers vestment officer of the Hong Kong-
Authorities in the Asian financial hubs are in both cities are now based Chartwell Capital Ltd., said the
mulling tighter frameworks than in the U.S. questioning whether city should avoid taking a leading role
for listings of special purpose acquisition com- the tighter scrutiny will in SPACs, calling it a “massive bubble.”
panies.The U.S.-led dealmaking boom has hamper their ability
raised about $100 billion so far this year even to attract SPACs. In Hong Kong, there’s also added concern
though it’s now showing signs of fizzling amid of a set back in the financial hub’s efforts to
increased scrutiny by regulators. Singapore’s minimum market value im- tame the wilder side of its market after years
plies a valuation of the target company of of combating shell companies that were seen
“They are a bit too late to the party so more than $1 billion, which is relatively as a hotbed for stock manipulation.
it’s good that they are cautious,” said Justin hard to find among Southeast Asian compa-
Tang, head of Asian research at United First nies, said StefanieYuenThio, joint manag- “The last thing we wish to see is to over-
Partners in Singapore.“The euphoria in this ing partner at legal firmTSMP Law Corp. throw or disrupt the long, hard-earned ef-
space means that caution is highly warranted.” ‘Price taker’ fort against shell and reverse takeovers,”
“The market expects and has priced in Chan said.
Pushed by the government, Hong Kong is U.S.-style SPAC terms,” she said. “We need
said to target having its regime in place by the to be a ‘price taker’ on this or risk missing SPAC listings are spared from the level of
end of the year.The plan, which is still being the boat entirely.” scrutiny imposed in Hong Kong on a regu-
formulated, would set special conditions for lar IPO, including stringent disclosures and
sponsors of SPACS, including having a track Depending on market feedback on the due diligence by sponsors that could hold
record of managing money, and that SPAC consultation,which is open untilApril 28,Sin- the banks themselves responsible.
acquisitions will have to meet the existing gapore aims to have its framework in place by
standards for initial public offerings. midyear,Tan Boon Gin,chief executive officer Star CEOs
of SGX RegCo, said at a briefing last week. That’s a concern for investors, said Chris-
It’s in a race with Singapore, which is Hong Kong, meanwhile, is looking to have tine Chow, a board director at Lon-
now further along after last week releasing a consultation paper ready for feedback by don-based International Corporate Govern-
a consultation paper on its plan. Singapore June at the earliest, people familiar have said. ance Network, whose members represent
Exchange Ltd.’s regulatory arm is proposing more than $54 trillion in assets under man-
a minimum S$300 million ($225 million) SPACS raise money from investors with agement.“Without that transparency, inves-
market capitalization.The U.S. has no such a plan to acquire another company within tors might be buying into the brand name
floor. It’s also proposing stricter criteria for two years. But a big concern now is that of a private equity firm or a star CEO or
warrants and share redemptions. with boom in such deals, there will be few founder,” Chow said.
viable companies available for them to ac-
Investors and dealmakers in both cities are quire down the line. Hong Kong is now losing out on deal
now questioning whether the tighter scrutiny from some of its biggest names such as
will hamper their ability to attract SPACs. Adrian Cheng, who are preparing to or
have raised such funds in the U.S. Hori-
Marcia Ellis, a partner in Hong Kong at zonVentures, a firm backed by billionaire Li
Morrison & Foerster LLP, said too many Ka-shing, this year took its three financial
“safeguards” in the framework “could kill technology holdings — Hippo Enterprises
flexibility, which may render it unattractive Inc., Doma and Bakkt — public in SPACs
to SPAC sponsors.” deals valued at $10 billion in total.

Listing through a SPAC can be com-
pleted in a matter of weeks compared with
the 12 months it would take to go public
in the regular way.

But Hong Kong’s legal framework also
offers other hurdles. In the U.S. investors
are able to seek class action suits against
wrongful statements, enabling market reg-
ulators there to have a lighter touch.

Chartwell Capital’s Chan said Hong
Kong can take a roundabout approach and
still benefit from the boom.

He proposed the city should look at set-
ting up a “SPAC Connect” system where
investors could access and trade SPACs
listed elsewhere, offloading the regulato-
ry burden of accounting fraud and insider
trading to the foreign venues.

T H U R S D A Y A P R I L 8 , 2 0 2 1 24 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

MARKETS

CPO RM 4,079.0041.00 OIL US$ 62.36-0.38 RM/USD 4.1307 RM/SGD 3.0844 RM/AUD 3.1556 RM/GBP 5.7148 RM/EUR 4.9120

Top 20 active stocks

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

BERJAYA CORP BHD 255.9 0.045 0.450 136.84 2250.9

DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 191.4 0.055 0.860 282.22 1949.9

MACPIE BHD 186.0 -0.010 0.095 -60.00 89.0

MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 170.4 -0.005 0.040 -50.00 48.1

EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 134.6 0.000 0.020 0.00 44.5

DATAPREP HOLDINGS BHD 105.0 -0.050 1.050 483.33 647.6

PERMAJU INDUSTRIES BHD 90.4 0.010 0.220 25.71 157.3

FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 88.3 -0.015 0.455 -30.00 2855.7

HIAP TECK VENTURE BHD 84.3 0.025 0.495 7.61 691.6 World equity indices

SEACERA GROUP BHD 80.1 0.000 0.230 -4.17 110.7

LION INDUSTRIES CORP BHD 74.4 0.075 0.860 24.64 585.5 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
PA RESOURCES BHD 74.1 0.035 0.515 47.14 614.7 (%) INDONESIA 6,036.62 33.85 0.56
DOW JONES 33,430.24 -96.95 -0.29 JAPAN 29,730.79 34.16 0.12
KTG BHD 70.0 0.030 0.270 -5.26 185.8 KOREA 3,137.41 10.33 0.33
PHILIPPINES 6,651.71 61.60 0.93
JAG BHD 60.1 0.020 0.435 61.11 223.9 S&P 500 4,073.94 -3.97 -0.10 SINGAPORE 3,196.38 -11.25 -0.35
TAIWAN 16,815.36 75.49 0.45
BERJAYA LAND BHD 58.6 0.015 0.445 134.21 2189.6 NASDAQ 100 13,578.46 -19.70 -0.14 THAILAND 1,563.10 -16.56 -1.05
VIETNAM 1,242.38 2.42 0.20
LUSTER INDUSTRIES BHD 54.6 0.005 0.235 34.29 679.8 FTSE 100 6,882.33 58.78 0.86
Source: Bloomberg
MATANG BHD 52.3 -0.005 0.120 41.18 217.2 AUSTRALIA 6,928.02 42.16 0.61

YKGI HOLDINGS BHD 48.2 0.015 0.240 9.09 101.0 CHINA 3,479.63 -3.34 -0.10

WIDAD GROUP BHD 47.7 0.015 0.510 -35.85 1395.6 HONG KONG 28,674.80 -263.94 -0.91

CONNECTCOUNTY HOLDINGS BHD 47.4 -0.010 0.225 9.76 178.5 INDIA 49,755.15 553.76 1.13

Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021

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)

SKB SHUTTERS CORP BHD 0.895 25.17 30.4 49.17 35.8 TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.030 -14.29 770.5 0.00 128.9

MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 1.010 24.69 280.2 31.17 44.6 SAND NISKO CAPITAL BHD 0.280 -13.85 468.1 -13.85 24.0

LB ALUMINIUM BHD 1.020 13.97 33065.7 45.71 253.5 EKA NOODLES BHD 0.070 -12.50 1506.1 0.00 21.8

PASDEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.400 12.68 12907.7 60.00 160.1 MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 0.040 -11.11 170437.7 -50.00 48.1

EVERSENDAI CORP BHD 0.315 12.50 17859.4 0.00 246.0 MNC WIRELESS BHD 0.040 -11.11 666.3 -11.11 70.4

KTG BHD 0.270 12.50 70025.5 -5.26 185.8 NEXGRAM HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 -10.00 2652.3 0.00 123.9

ANN JOO RESOURCES BHD 2.400 12.15 12052.6 52.87 1295.6 M3 TECHNOLOGIES ASIA BHD 0.045 -10.00 823.3 -30.77 34.7

AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.095 11.76 30360.4 -48.65 401.8 MACPIE BHD 0.095 -9.52 185989.8 -60.00 89.0

PJBUMI BHD 0.290 11.54 1.0 3.57 23.8 CHEETAH HOLDINGS BHD 1.860 -9.27 869.6 264.71 213.6

CENTRAL GLOBAL BHD 1.980 11.24 42249.9 457.75 178.2 FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.050 -9.09 8030.3 -37.50 172.3

TOP BUILDERS CAPITAL BHD 0.100 11.11 8794.5 -13.04 58.8 BERTAM ALLIANCE BHD 0.105 -8.70 270.2 -19.23 21.7

BERJAYA CORP BHD 0.450 11.11 255926.5 136.84 2250.9 TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 0.055 -8.33 1927.5 10.00 77.5

PARAGON GLOBE BHD 1.070 10.88 532.0 76.86 199.7 ADVANCE INFORMATION 0.280 -8.20 16.6 5.66 67.8

ARK RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 0.465 10.71 20.3 60.34 29.4 STELLA HOLDINGS BHD 0.800 -8.05 2.0 -1.23 53.6

AYS VENTURES BHD 0.415 10.67 43717.5 29.69 157.9 SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.240 -7.69 25933.6 -50.52 43.7

BENALEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.165 10.00 7839.1 10.00 140.1 SCC HOLDINGS BHD 0.420 -7.69 236.3 10.53 59.3

MALAYAN UNITED INDUSTRIES BHD 0.110 10.00 17155.3 10.00 322.6 ARTRONIQ BHD 0.500 -7.41 8778.4 -0.99 144.5

YLI HOLDING BHD 0.390 9.86 543.2 -13.33 40.1 EURO HOLDINGS BHD 4.060 -7.31 3087.3 40.00 3255.7

LION INDUSTRIES CORP BHD 0.860 9.55 74354.7 24.64 585.5 IDIMENSION CONSOLIDATED BHD 0.070 -6.67 100.0 -12.50 19.0

CHINA OUHUA WINERY HOLDINGS 0.060 9.09 243.4 0.00 40.1 MAGNA PRIMA BHD 0.560 -6.67 8.0 -36.36 186.3

Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 136.500 1.000 121.2 -1.73 32009.3 MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 40.000 -0.460 222.5 54.08 7955.9

PETRONAS GAS BHD 15.980 0.340 962.8 -6.69 31620.1 EURO HOLDINGS BHD 4.060 -0.320 3087.3 40.00 3255.7

VITROX CORP BHD 16.040 0.340 68.0 9.12 7572.7 CHEETAH HOLDINGS BHD 1.860 -0.190 869.6 264.71 213.6

ANN JOO RESOURCES BHD 2.400 0.260 12052.6 52.87 1295.6 MR DIY GROUP M BHD 4.060 -0.190 13289.4 30.13 25483.0

RAPID SYNERGY BHD 8.300 0.230 195.7 25.76 887.2 HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.440 -0.180 36.0 10.51 7685.4

FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 30.780 0.220 73.3 -4.05 11289.4 KESM INDUSTRIES BHD 12.580 -0.140 37.1 -7.36 541.1

SIME DARBY PLANTATION BHD 4.700 0.210 3640.7 -5.81 32357.5 SHANGRI-LA HOTELS MALAYSIA 3.700 -0.100 90.9 -7.96 1628.0

CENTRAL GLOBAL BHD 1.980 0.200 42249.9 457.75 178.2 GENETEC TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.770 -0.090 137.8 175.72 217.7

MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 1.010 0.200 280.2 31.17 44.6 MI TECHNOVATION BHD 4.100 -0.090 1879.6 4.06 3058.6

HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 17.700 0.200 195.7 -1.99 20270.8 KOBAY TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.700 -0.080 50.1 96.65 479.9

SKB SHUTTERS CORP BHD 0.895 0.180 30.4 49.17 35.8 STELLA HOLDINGS BHD 0.800 -0.070 2.0 -1.23 53.6

D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 4.680 0.180 6683.7 105.26 5465.3 KECK SENG MALAYSIA BHD 3.600 -0.070 14.0 -6.25 1293.5

KELINGTON GROUP BHD 2.290 0.180 9356.8 35.50 736.0 ENG KAH CORP BHD 1.700 -0.060 365.2 70.00 120.5

MALAYAN BANKING BHD 8.480 0.170 5912.5 0.24 96790.7 YINSON HOLDINGS BHD 5.300 -0.060 1146.4 -7.83 5646.1

WESTPORTS HOLDINGS BHD 4.350 0.150 1358.0 1.16 14833.5 BIMB HOLDINGS BHD 3.940 -0.050 1012.7 -7.51 7303.4

TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 4.910 0.140 15173.4 -19.77 38307.2 DATAPREP HOLDINGS BHD 1.050 -0.050 105040.5 483.33 647.6

ATA IMS BHD 3.260 0.140 1801.6 36.97 3921.3 FREIGHT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS 1.430 -0.050 816.8 56.28 399.3

COMPUTER FORMS MALAYSIA BHD 2.840 0.140 17.1 25.66 116.4 SAND NISKO CAPITAL BHD 0.280 -0.045 468.1 -13.85 24.0

SAMAIDEN GROUP BHD 1.720 0.140 2918.5 8.18 361.2 MSM MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 1.760 -0.040 5294.5 208.77 1237.2

ALLIANZ MALAYSIA BHD 13.620 0.140 151.6 -7.85 2413.0 SERN KOU RESOURCE BHD 2.170 -0.040 481.5 21.91 569.9

Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg