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MRT3 TENDER EXPECTED IN AUGUST, SAYS MRT CORP p2

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 168/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: BIMB confirms placing out 222m shares to raise near RM800m fresh capital p4
Significant opportunities for digital-only banks in Malaysia’s
‘fertile ground for fintech’, says S&P Global Ratings p6

WORLD: Bitcoin hits record high before landmark Coinbase IPO p14

BLOOMBERG

Grab to list in US

in record US$40b
SPAC deal

Report on Page 3.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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MRT3 tender expected in August,
says MRT Corp

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Mass Rap- BY ADAM AZIZ have ranged from RM20 billion to around
idTransport Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) theedgemarkets.com RM30 billion.
is anticipating scheduling the tender for the
Mass RapidTransit Line 3 (MRT3 Circle workers, he said, as construction manufac- On funding, Mohd Zarif said the govern-
Line) in August, said its chief executive of- turing results in a more conducive envi- ment is committed to supporting the pro-
ficer Datuk Mohd Zarif Hashim. ronment for employees in factories rather ject. At the same time, MRT Corp is also
than on-site. considering a private funding arrangement
The rail developer has already issued of around 10% to 30%, either under MRT
requests for information (RFI) to industry Further, Mohd Zarif said MRT Corp Corp or “from any of the industry players”.
players, as it intends to change the con- is also seeking local developers of rail elec-
struction methods as well as entice the trical and digital systems to run the trains. The tentative route for the Circle Line
development of local technologies. underlines 50km spanning 30 or more sta-
The rail chief did not pinpoint the exact tions around Kuala Lumpur, with 40% of
The project seeks to emphasise con- tender format for the MRT3 project but the route being underground. Mohd Zarif
struction manufacturing such as indus- said it will be “a different kind of tender hopes to finalise the alignment at the end
trialised building systems (IBS), and for award exercise” from the procurement for- of the three-month review of the project.
contractors to be well-versed in the build- mat undertaken in the past.
ing information modelling (BIM) that syn- The rail project itself is expected to be
chronises data across the entire construc- “This is not just a construction, but developed in five phases across 10 inter-
tion project. it is a large transformation, large change change stations.This will allow each phase
management program,” he said. between two interchange stations to begin
It is likely that participants must master operations independently.
the two methods “in order to participate” Eyeing 30% private funding,
in the tender process, said Mohd Zarif at development across five phases The mega project now is expected to
a briefing on the project today. MRT Corp did not elaborate on the cost be completed across 10 years, from seven
of the project, but said the latest media re- years previously. However, each phase can
This could also entice the employment ports “are not far off”. Analysts’ estimates be expected to commence operations be-
of Malaysian employees in favour of foreign tween five to seven years, Mohd Zarif said.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Grab to list in US in record
US$40b SPAC deal

(April 13):Grab Holdings Inc, Southeast BY YOOLIM LEE going public in NewYork in 2017. Among
Asia’s most valuable startup, is going pub- Bloomberg companies valued at US$100 billion or more,
lic in the US through a merger with blank- the stock is the No. 1 Asian performer since
cheque company Altimeter Growth Corp in BLOOMBERG the start of last year and trails onlyTesla Inc
what is the largest-ever deal of its kind. globally.
merchandise volume last year was US$12.5
The Singapore-based startup is set to have billion, more than doubling from 2018 even “The US and China have been big in-
a market value of about US$39.6 billion af- as competition from arch rival Gojek intensi- vestment markets for 20 years and before
ter the combination with the special purpose fied and the coronavirus pandemic restricted Sea, Southeast Asia wasn’t really on many
acquisition company of Brad Gerstner’s Al- people’s movements. investors’ radar screens,” said Gerstner, who
timeter Capital Management, the firms said has been following Grab since its 2018 ac-
in a statementTuesday. Grab is raising more The deal marks a remarkable turn for quisition of the regional business of Uber
than US$4 billion from investors including Grab. Under pressure from SoftBank Group Technologies Inc, another company he’s
BlackRock Inc, Fidelity International and Corp and other investors, the company had backed. “Now you have a second business
T. Rowe Price Group Inc as part of the big- been negotiating a possible merger with In- with a US$40 billion market cap, which is
gest US equity offering by a Southeast Asian donesia’s Gojek for most of 2020. But the going to be listed on the Nasdaq.This is a
company. talks ultimately collapsed around December huge moment for global investors realizing
and Gojek began talks withTokopedia, an- the renaissance that’s occurring in Southeast
The deal would make the ride-hailing and other local internet giant. Asia technology market.”
food-delivery giant the first Southeast Asian
tech unicorn to go public through Tan and Gerstner, both Harvard Busi- Tan founded Grab in his native
a SPAC and give it funds to ex- ness School graduates, began talking about a Malaysia as a taxi-hailing app in
pand. Grab is trying to take ad- deal early this year after being introduced by 2012 with Hooi LingTan, a Har-
vantage of a US-led SPAC listing common friends. Only about three months vard classmate. They kicked off
boom, even though it’s showing later, they reached an agreement for the re- operations in Kuala Lumpur as
signs of slowing amid increased cord transaction. what was then known as MyTeksi,
scrutiny by regulators. allowing users to book cabs.
Gerstner is no stranger to Southeast Asia,
“This is definitely one of the having invested in Singapore-based gaming Grab later relocated to Sin-
best internet companies,” Gerst- and e-commerce leader Sea Ltd.The Ten- gapore before expanding as a
ner said in an interview.“The run- cent Holdings Ltd-backed company has ride-hailing app from Indone-
way ahead is very long and very emerged as a stock-market sensation since sia to Vietnam, the Philippines,
wide for Grab if they continue to Cambodia and Myanmar. With
execute.” more than US$10 billion raised
from investors led by SoftBank
The combined entity’s stock over eight funding rounds, Grab
will trade on the Nasdaq in the became Southeast Asia’s largest
coming months under the ticker ride-hailing provider before ex-
GRAB. Altimeter Capital, which panding into food delivery, digital payments
orchestrated the initial public offering of and financial services across eight countries
Altimeter Growth in September, is putting in the region.
US$750 million into the company, about a Working toward profitability, Grab said its
fifth of the fresh funds raised. mobility-services business is making money
in all its markets, while food delivery is in
That, together with a three-year lock- the black in five of six markets.The company
up period for its sponsor shares, indicates said it had about 72% of Southeast Asia’s
Altimeter’s long-term commitment to the ride-hailing market, 50% of online food de-
company, Grab Chief Executive Officer An- livery and 23% of digital wallet payments last
thony Tan said. Altimeter, which manages year. Grab was previously valued at about
US$15 billion of assets, has also committed US$16 billion, a person with knowledge of
as much as US$500 million to a contingent the matter said.
investment to be equal to the total amount Among companies participating in the
of redemptions by Altimeter Growth’s share- cash injection, a so-called private investment
holders. in public equity, or PIPE, are Singapore’s
state-owned investorTemasek Holdings Pte,
“From sovereign wealth funds to mutual Janus Henderson Group Plc and Nuveen
funds, it is world-class investors who are in- LLC.The expected market value also reflects
vesting in us,”Tan said in an interview.“The the PIPE and SPAC proceeds of US$4.5
world is seeing the potential of Southeast billion, as well as a US$2 billion term loan,
Asia and how exciting this region is.” according to Grab.
Evercore Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and
Grab, the market leader in Southeast Asia Morgan Stanley advised Grab in the deal.
for so-called super apps for consumer ser-
vices, expects its addressable market to ex-
pand to more than US$180 billion by 2025,
from US$52 billion in 2020. Its total gross

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): BIMB BIMB confirms BIMB is the second financial group —
Holdings Bhd said today that it has set after AMMB Holdings Bhd which owns
the issue price of its private placement placing out 222m AmBank (M) Bhd — that has opted for
shares at RM3.58 apiece, which will raise share placement to raise capital.
RM795.55 million for the banking group, shares to raise LembagaTabung Haji is the controlling
confirming an earlier report by theedgemar- near RM800m shareholder of BIMB, with a 53.14% stake
kets.com. The placement, it said in a state- in the group. Other substantial sharehold-
ment, has been oversubscribed. fresh capital ers are the Employees Provident Fund
(EPF) with a 12.24% stake, Permodalan
BIMB said its joint placement agents Nasional Bhd (10.93%),Yayasan Pelabu-
BIMB Securities Sdn Bhd and Maybank ran Bumiputra (5.07%) and Retirement
Investment Bank Bhd completed the Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) (2.65%).
bookbuilding exercise today for the Besides Bank Islam, BIMB also owns
placement. BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR

“BIMB will be issuing 222,222,000 theedgemarkets.com a 59.45% stake in Syarikat Takaful Ma-
new shares, representing approximately
12.0% of the issued share capital of BHB, laysia Keluarga Bhd. SyarikatTakaful will
as at April 12, 2021, to the placees. The remain listed separately on the stock ex-
placement was oversubscribed with de- Substantial Shareholders change upon completion of BIMB’s re-
mand from both existing shareholders and of BIMB Holdings structuring exercise.
new investors.
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“The board has fixed the issue price Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra 5.07 The corporate exercise, however, was
at RM3.58 per placement share, which
represents a discount of approximate- Kumpulan Wang Persaraan reportedly delayed due to the Covid-19
ly 9.4% to the volume weighted average Diperbadankan 2.65 pandemic. On March 31, BIMB share-
price (VWAP) of BIMB shares for the five
market days up to and including April 12, holders voted on the plan at the group’s
2021 of RM3.9521,” it said. trading today, pending a material an- extraordinary general meeting and gave
nouncement by the group in relation to the green light for the exercise to proceed.
This morning, theedgemarkets.com re- funding exercise. It last settled at RM3.94, Under the plan, BIMB will also be pay-
ported that BIMB was proposing to place valuing the company at RM7.30 billion. ing cash consideration to warrant holders
out about 220 million new shares, priced The stock will resume trading tomorrow. for cancelling their exercise rights to the
between RM3.55 and RM3.50, to raise The share placement is part of the fi- warrants. Ultimately, Bank Islam will take
close to RM800 million in fresh capital, nancial group’s restructuring exercise, over BIMB Securities Sdn Bhd and the
citing sources. which will ultimately lead to Bank Islam stake held in Syarikat Takaful, as well as
taking over the listing status of BIMB. the listed status from the parent company.
BIMB’s share price had been drifting
lower over the past two weeks, dropping
from this year’s peak of RM4.40 in late
March.The counter was suspended from

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Tan Sri Top Glove’s politan International School, according to
Dr Lim Wee Chai, founder and execu- billionaire its annual report. The University of Cy-
tive chairman of the world’s largest rub- founder buys berjaya focuses on medical programs. Its
ber glove producer Top Glove Corp Bhd, stake in education shares have tripled this year.
has emerged as a minority shareholder in company
Malaysian private education group Minda SMR Education Sdn Bhd, controlled by
Global Bhd. The shares of Minda Global Minda’s group managing director and chief
soared. executive officer Palaniappan Ramanathan
Chettiar, is the largest shareholder with a
“This is a private investment, separate 53.5% stake, according to Bloomberg data.
from the Top Glove Group,” Lim said by
email. “I have always been passionate BY YANTOULTRA NGUI
about education as it is instrumental in Bloomberg
enabling people, organizations and nations
to advance.” not to be identified as the information is
private.
Minda didn’t respond to requests for
comment on the transaction. Its shares Lim is Top Glove’s largest shareholder
surged as much as 58% to 19 sen onTues- with a 33.6% stake that’s valued at US$3.3 Tan Sri Dr
day, the highest since March 2018. Its trad- billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Lim Wee
ing volume of 679 million shares is more Lim also owns a stake in a property de- Chai
than 20 times the 20-day average for this veloper Tropicana Corp Bhd, in which
time of day and the stock is the most-trad- he is chairman.
ed security by volume on the bourse.
Minda runs institutions including
Lim bought the shares in a recent place- the University of Cyberjaya, Asia Met- SUHAIMI YUSUF/THE EDGE
ment and holds less than 5% of the Cyber- ropolitan University and Asia Metro-
jaya-based company, according to people
with knowledge of the matter, who asked

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Significant opportunities for digital-only
banks in Malaysia’s ‘fertile ground for
fintech’, says S&P Global Ratings

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): S&P BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS the wealth of proprietary customer data
Global Ratings sees significant oppor- theedgemarkets.com collected on their platforms on consum-
tunities for digital-only banks in Malay- ers and merchants to drive initial growth
sia, although new entrants will face an sortium and SEA Group — with strong and support credit underwriting of their
uphill battle in the competitive market digital competency in their existing do- planned digital banks,” S&P stated in
amid operational and credit challenges. mains. the report.

The ratings agency believes that Ma- Grab has 40,000 active private-hire Given the lower capital threshold re-
laysia has a fertile ground for fintech. drivers, 6,000 GrabFood riders, and quired in Malaysia of RM300 million
more than 12,000 GrabFood and Grab- versus Singapore’s S$1.5 billion, it add-
In a report today, it said the country’s Mart merchants in the city-state, while ed that smaller fintech companies with
market infrastructure offers a highly sup- its consortium partner Singapore Tel- strong technology are also well-placed
portive environment for digital banks and ecommunications Ltd (Singtel) is the to succeed.
fintech to flourish, citing reasons such country’s largest telecom operator, with
as high internet and mobile phone pen- 4.3 million mobile subscribers and a Even so, the ratings agency opined
etration rates as well as the rise in pop- market share of more than 50%, it added. that digital-only banks will not be an
ularity of mobile and internet banking immediate threat to established lenders.
even before the pandemic. Meanwhile, SEA Group, the parent of
e-commerce platform Shopee, registered “In such a competitive market, new
S&P noted that the successful appli- monthly traffic of 14.1 million hits on its entrants face an uphill battle. In addition
cants for digital bank licences in Ma- Singapore website in the fourth quarter to having to carry a much riskier port-
laysia will likely share similar business of 2020 amid the pandemic. folio, new players face many regulatory
profiles as the two successful applicants and operational constraints,” it said.
in Singapore — the Grab-Singtel con- “We believe both companies can use
CONTINUES ON PAGE 7

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): PPB Group GSC owner industry, which dropped 71%.
Bhd, which wholly owns Golden Screen confident “Cinema closures which resulted in ma-
Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC), is confident that of cinema
the film exhibition and distribution sector recovery after jor box office releases being delayed, divert-
will recover as Covid-19 cases are brought Covid-19 took ed or simultaneously released to stream-
under control after the pandemic took an unprecedented ing services during the pandemic, will put
unprecedented toll on the film industry as toll on industry further pressure on box office collections,”
cinemas were forced to shut for prolonged he said.
periods, and film releases were deferred BY TRISTAN DIELENBERG
or diverted to other distribution channels. theedgemarkets.com “For GSC, the various movement re-
strictions meant that we were only open for
PPB managing director Lim Soon Huat gradual but sustained recovery to take place about six months throughout 2020, and
said in the diversified group’s latest annual from the third quarter of 2021 as consum- physical distancing requirements reduced
report, which was filed with Bursa Malay- er sentiment improves, in tandem with an available capacity by 50%.We also incurred
sia today, that for 2021, PPB believes that anticipated surge in ‘revenge spending’ due higher operating costs on stringent health
the impact from Covid-19 will be less se- to pent-up demand. and safety SOPs (standard operating pro-
vere than in 2020, although the group ex- cedures).
pects near-term growth to be affected by “GSC will however continue to be pru-
the reintroduction of stricter containment dent and ensure stringent cash flow man- “To mitigate the impact and preserve
measures to curb the outbreak. agement, and explore other revenue sourc- cashflow, GSC cut all non-essential spend-
es,” he said. ing and stopped all capital expenditure.
“The film exhibition and distribution Other measures included furloughing of
segment performance will be weighed down Looking back, Lim said cinemas in Ma- contract workers and negotiating for rental
by intermittent cinema closures, reduced laysia have struggled to recover as operators waivers and reductions,” Lim said.
seating capacity, and possible deferment were unable to reliably predict the timing
of major movie title releases. Management and duration of government-mandated According to him, GSC refocused its
is confident that this sector will recover as movement restrictions. efforts to reach customers and maintain
Covid-19 cases are brought under control. brand awareness with its strong presence
He said Malaysia’s box office collections on social media.
“The Covid-19 vaccine rollout from fell 85% to RM138 million in 2020 from
February 2021 is also expected to lift sen- RM905 million in 2019, largely mirroring These efforts included the development
timent and dampen the spread of the vi- the revenue performance of the global film of a line of GSC-branded merchandise and
rus,” he said. GSC’s own e-commerce platform, accord-
ing to him.
Lim said GSC is confident of the longer-
term prospects of the film exhibition and In Malaysia, Lim said GSC operates
distribution industry notwithstanding the across 33 locations with 339 screens across
present operating environment, and con- the country.
tinues to prepare for the eventual recovery
of the sector. In Vietnam, PPB owns a 40% stake in
Galaxy Studio Joint Stock Co, which op-
In line with the above, he said GSC en- erates in 18 locations with 108 screens na-
tered into an agreement in February 2021 tionwide, according to him.
to acquire cinema assets from the former
operators of the MBO cinema circuit. According to PPB’s website, PPB via
PPB Leisure Holdings Sdn Bhd owns a
“The asset acquisition is targeted to 100% equity stake in GSC.
complete by end-June 2021 and we expect
this acquisition to accelerate our recovery PPB’s diversified businesses include
when the operating environment returns flour milling, property development and
to normalcy. solid-waste management services, accord-
ing to the group.
“Looking ahead, the industry’s recovery
will depend largely on the control of Cov- PPB also owns an 18.6% equity interest
id-19 cases and the vaccine programme in Singapore-listed agribusiness groupWil-
roll-out. With this in mind, we expect a mar International Ltd, according to PPB.

On Bursa today, PPB’s share price fell
six sen or 0.32% to RM18.58 for a market
value of about RM26.38 billion.

FROM PAGE 6 shakeup to the competitive landscape when “The gap with the most digital-focused
new players join the game, but instead, in- banks in the region is still significant. For
The credit cycle triggered by Covid-19 cremental changes are likely to lead to a example, technology investment (exclud-
has shown how difficult it can be for small more dynamic, diversified industry. ing human resources) at DBS was S$1.09
digital banks to stay afloat during a crisis, it billion (RM3.354 billion) in fiscal 2020
said, adding that even if all five digital banks The ratings agency expects the two larg- (ended Dec 31, 2020), roughly 17% of its
navigate the three- to five-year foundational est banking groups — Malayan Banking overall operating expenses. China-based
phase laid out by Bank Negara Malaysia, Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd — WeBank Co Ltd, 30%-owned by Tencent
their combined market share is unlikely to to be the best placed to fend off the new Holdings Ltd, committed 25% of its oper-
reach 0.5% of total banking sector assets. competition, given their established digital ating expenses to research and development
infrastructure, diversified earnings profiles in 2019, and over 50% of its headcount
The Malaysian banking regulator has and large customer bases. works on IT, meaning it has a completely
announced that up to five digital banking different employee skill profile to traditional
licences will be granted by the first quar- Nevertheless, S&P sees “further room banks,” it pointed out.
ter of 2022. for even the leading Malaysian banks to
increase investment in technology”.
S&P does not expect an immediate

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):The Secu- SC reprimands “Investors are urged to immediately
rities Commission Malaysia (SC) has rep- Remitano, seeks cease trading through the platform and to
rimanded Remitano for operating a digital to block access withdraw all their investments before Re-
asset exchange (DAX) in Malaysia without mitano’s website is blocked and becomes
authorisation from the regulator. to its website inaccessible in Malaysia,” said the SC.

Remitano provides an escrowed P2P BY SURIN MURUGIAH The SC said it had over the last two
Bitcoin marketplace. theedgemarkets.com years intensified its efforts in combating
illegal investment schemes through various
In a statement today, the regulator said tered Market Operator (RMO) is an of- anti-scam awareness campaigns launched
the entity has also been included on the fence under Section 7 of the Capital Mar- under the SC’s lnvestSmart platform, to
SC’s Investor Alert list. kets and Services Act 2007. constantly remind investors to exercise
caution before investing in schemes, par-
The SC said it views this transgression “If a person is convicted, he may be li- ticularly those offered on social media and
as serious and is working with the Ma- able to a fine not exceeding RM10 million messaging platforms.
laysian Communications and Multime- or imprisonment for a term not exceeding
dia Commission (MCMC) to block Re- ten years, or both. It added that these campaigns were
mitano’s website. conducted through television, radio, so-
cial media platforms and websites, includ-
SC said it has also written to Google ing an anti-scam dedicated page on the
and Apple to disable the operation of Re- SC’s website.
mitano’s mobile applications in Malaysia.
The SC’s Investor Alert list has also
“Operating a DAX without obtaining been updated regularly, accompanied by
SC’s approval to be registered as a Regis- media announcements and InvestSmart’s
social media postings to alert members of
the public on the updates.

Investors were reminded to trade only
with Recognized Market Operators that
are registered with the SC.

Those who trade with unlicensed or
unregistered entities or individuals are not
protected under Malaysian securities laws
and are thus exposed to risks such as fraud
and money laundering.

The SC said the public should alert
the commission if they came across any
suspicious websites or receive any unso-
licited phone calls or emails offering un-
authorised investment schemes, especially
those that offer high returns with little or
no risks.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Engineer- UWC engaged by capabilities and marks our ability in keep-
ing support services provider UWC Bhd key customer to ing up to trend in the development and
has been engaged by a key customer to develop tester manufacturing of new products for this
develop a tester for its 5G product. for 5G product fast-paced technology sector,” said UWC
executive director and group CEO Datuk
In a statement today, the group said BY SYAFIQAH SALIM Ng Chai Eng.
it “has received a 5G product from a key theedgemarkets.com
customer, Customer B, to develop and “The development of 5G will continue
manufacture the world’s highest frequency ty) and 5G smart devices such as smart- to grow exponentially globally as techno-
5G OTA (over-the-air) chamber”. phones and tablets,” said the group. logical advancement will need to rely on
strong network infrastructure.Therefore,
The group did not identify Customer UWC said it has been a strategic part- we are very optimistic [about] the total
B, except to say that it is a “leading tech- ner to Customer B in supporting the man- addressable market for 5G.
nology company that helps enterprises, ufacturing of its test equipment which is
service providers and governments accel- en-route for mass production roll-out. “We take years to develop a product
erate innovation to connect and secure with our clients, starting from the prod-
the world”. All capital expenditure earmarked for uct development stage where UWC pro-
this product will be financed internally by vides value-added engineering solutions
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, UWC UWC, the group said. that will translate into [a] smooth manu-
said the 5G tester will provide a measure- facturing process during mass production.
ment environment for characterizing wire- “This new milestone continues to af- This product once again signals the confi-
less and antenna system performance of firm our partner’s confidence in UWC’s dence of our clients in UWC,” he added.
devices at millimetre-wave frequencies.
UWC’s share price rose nine sen or
“It will provide performance, function- 1.43% to close at RM6.40, valuing the
al and protocol testing of networks. The group at RM7.04 billion.The counter saw
tester is geared towards the automotive 1.7 million shares traded.
industry (vehicle-to-vehicle connectivi-

WEDNESDAY APRIL 14, 2021 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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SapuraOMV’s SapuraOMV explained that the Je- Holiday Inn
Sarawak unit inks run gas field development is the lat- Resort in
final investment est and largest operated project for
SapuraOMV, and is expected to pro- Penang put up
decision duce some 500 MMscfd of gas when for sale
agreement for it comes onstream in 2024. Gas pro-
Jerun gas field duced from the field will be sold to BY CHUNG YING YI
with partners the customers in Bintulu including the theedgemarkets.com
Petronas LNG complex.
BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): The
theedgemarkets.com The SK408 Jerun development is former Holiday Inn Resort in Batu
SapuraOMV’s third major upstream gas Ferringhi, Penang has been put up
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Sapu- development in East Malaysia, having for sale, following its closure after 41
raOMV Upstream’s subsidiary Sapu- first started with the development and years of operation. The iconic land-
raOMV Upstream (Sarawak) Inc has commencement of production from the mark joined a list of hotels in the area
inked a final investment decision (FID) SK310 B15 gas field in 2017, and com- that has been devastated by the Cov-
for the Jerun gas field development in pletion of SK408 Phase 1 development id-19 pandemic and the Movement
Sarawak with its partners, paving the comprising Gorek, Larak, Bakong fields Control Order. Knight Frank has been
way for the full execution of the project. in 2019/2020. appointed as an exclusive agent.

“We are very proud to be a key gas Gross production from these fields “We are excited to have been ap-
supplier to a PETRONAS, as we con- stands at 575 MMscfd (96 kboed). pointed as this prime beachfront hotel
tinue to pursue our agenda to deliv- When Jerun comes onstream, it will add has so much potential. The hotel is
er clean energy to Asia. Jerun is part a further 500 MMscfd (83 kboed) of sold with vacant possession, so there
of our strategic investment to become production. is great flexibility for the new owner
one of the leading independent oper- to renovate and rebrand either as an
ating companies in the region,” said SapuraOMV’s partners under owner-operator or under an interna-
SapuraOMV chairman Tan Sri Shahril SK408 PSC are Sarawak Shell Bhd tional brand name.There is potential
Shamsuddin. (30%) and Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd for the purchaser to create two hotels,
(30%). creating a more upscale hotel with di-
rect beach frontage at the Beach wing
SapuraOMV is a strategic part- and a more affordable offering at the
nership between Sapura Energy Bhd Ferringhi Tower to the rear,” said
and OMV Exploration & Production Knight Frank Malaysia executive di-
GmbH, a subsidiary of Austria’s OMV rector of capital markets James Buck-
Aktiengesellschaft. ley in a press release.

Shares in Sapura Energy closed un- Holiday Inn Resort is a 4-star free-
changed at 14 sen today, valuing it at hold hotel with two separate buildings
RM2.24 billion. — FerringhiTower and BeachWing —
and includes an additional 7.69 acres
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): CIMB CIMB Group of development land with views of the
Group Holdings Bhd intends to redeem to redeem Andaman Sea. Overlooking Batu Fer-
the outstanding RM1 billion worth of ringhi beach on the Straits of Malacca,
debt under the financial services provid- outstanding debt the hotel is strategically located along
er’s RM10 billion bond scheme on the under RM10b Batu Ferringhi street.
outstanding amount’s first optional re- bond scheme
demption date on May 25, 2021. “As the Covid-19 vaccination
BY CHONG JIN HUN progress ramps up in Malaysia and
“Please be informed that, pursuant to theedgemarkets.com across the world, investors are becom-
clause 6.5 of the trust deed dated May 6, ing more optimistic about the hotel
2016, CIMB Group intends to redeem ture, and that RAM Rating Services Bhd sector. People are very keen to have a
the outstanding RM1 billion capital secu- had assigned an “A1/Stable” rating to the holiday and we expect resorts to ben-
rities (stock code: PZ160007) in whole on debt securities. efit greatly, as soon as interstate travel
the first optional redemption date of May is lifted,” said Buckley.
25, 2021 at the redemption amount,” said CIMB Investment Bank is the princi-
CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, which is ad- pal adviser for the RM10 billion nominal Knight Frank Penang executive di-
vising CIMB Group on the RM10 billion value additional tier-one capital securities rector Mark Saw said there is also a
nominal value additional tier-one capital programme, while Pacific Trustees Bhd tremendous opportunity when invest-
securities programme. is the trustee. ing in the hotel to expand by virtue of
the contiguous vacant lands.This is a
CIMB Investment Bank said this in a On Bursa Malaysia today, CIMB rare chance, given most of the hotels
filing yesterday evening on Bank Nega- Group’s share price had risen two sen along Batu Ferringhi have limited land
ra Malaysia’s (BNM) Fully Automated or 0.47% to RM4.27 at 10.11am , giv- for additional facilities.
System for Issuing/Tendering (FAST) ing it a market capitalisation of about
website. RM42.36 billion.

It was previously reported that CIMB
Group had proposed to raise RM10 bil-
lion under the additional tier-1 capital
securities programme to strengthen the
financial services entity’s capital struc-

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Singapore’s Pine Labs acquires GenM prices US$1b senior unsecured Offshore Branch and DBS Bank Ltd
Malaysia-based e-commerce notes are the joint global coordinators. The
platform Fave in US$45m deal KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Genting notes’ joint bookrunners and joint lead
Malaysia Bhd’s (GenM) wholly-owned unit managers are Citigroup, JP Morgan,
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Singapore- GENM Capital Labuan Ltd has priced its CIMB, Labuan Offshore Branch, DBS
incorporated merchant commerce offering of US$1 billion of 3.88% senior and BNP Paribas. GenM said the notes
platform Pine Labs has acquired unsecured notes due 2031. In a bourse have been sold in the US only to qualified
e-commerce and fintech firm Fave in a cash filing, GenM said the notes will be fully institutional buyers, and to certain
and equity deal valued at over $45 million, and unconditionally guaranteed by the non-US persons in offshore transactions
for joint global expansion, the companies group, and that the proceeds will be used outside the US. — by Arjuna Chandran
said on Tuesday. In a joint statement, by the company and/or its subsidiaries Shankar/theedgemarkets.com
the companies said Fave’s investors to refinance borrowings and for capital
will receive an all-cash payout, while (including investment) and working capital. MHB unit bags EPCIC contract for
founders and key Fave employees will Both Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Jerun offshore gas field in Sarawak
receive both cash and shares of Pine Labs. and Fitch Ratings Ltd have assigned a BBB
Fave counts Sequoia India, China-based rating to the notes, which are expected KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Malaysia
SIG Asia Investments and Indonesian to be listed and quoted on the Singapore Marine and Heavy Engineering
venture capital firm Venturra Capital as its Exchange, and listed but not quoted for Holdings Bhd (MHB) has secured a
investors. Pine Labs became an investor trading on Bursa Malaysia. Citigroup contract to undertake the engineering,
in Fave last July, when both formed a Global Markets Singapore Pte Ltd, JP procurement, construction, transportation
strategic partnership. Fave operates in Morgan (SEA) Ltd, CIMB Bank Bhd, Labuan and installation, and hook-up and
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, after commissioning services (EPCIC) for the
acquiring Groupon Inc’s businesses in BNM adds two companies to money Jerun gas field, located offshore Sarawak.
those markets in 2016 and 2017. It will be services business alert list The contract was bagged from SapuraOMV
launching in India this year. — Reuters KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Bank Negara Upstream Inc and involves the construction
Malaysia (BNM) has updated and added two of a 15,000-tonne topside, 10,000-tonne
CapitaLand onboards seven malls new companies to its financial consumer alert jacket and 5,000-tonne piles of central
onto GrabMart platform list of money services businesses. The central processing platform (CPP), the group
bank said via Twitter @ BNM_official that the said in a statement. “It also includes the
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): CapitaLand companies are Oscar Saloon Photo Studio design engineering of a 30-inch carbon
Malaysia, a unit of Singapore-listed and SMJ Mulya Enterprise. Oscar Saloon steel pipeline with a length equivalent
CapitaLand Ltd, said it is the first mall Photo Studio is located in Sri Rampai, Setapak, to 80km distance from this CPP to the
operator in Malaysia to onboard seven Kuala Lumpur, while SMJ Mulya Enterprise existing E11R-B platform to commingle
malls in its portfolio onto Grab’s Malls operates from Taman Melur and Kampung with the existing trunkline to Petronas
by GrabMart platform. The seven are: Tasek Permai in Ampang, Selangor. They are Malaysia LNG Plant in Bintulu,” it said.
Queensbay Mall in Penang, Melawati Mall among entities issued with court orders for On completion, the facilities will be
in Taman Melawati and five owned by carrying out money services business without installed in the Jerun gas field, which lies
CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) — a licence under the Money Services Business in the SK408W block, offcoast Bintulu.
Gurney Plaza in Penang, a majority interest Act 2011. — Bernama SapuraOMV Upstream (Sarawak) Inc is
in Sungei Wang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, 3 the operator of the SK408W block, with
Damansara in Petaling Jaya, The Mines Jade Marvel proposes private Sarawak Shell Bhd and Petronas Carigali
in Seri Kembangan and East Coast Mall placement, one-to-two share split Sdn Bhd holding 30% equity stake, each.
in Kuantan. In a statement, CapitaLand KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Jade Marvel — by Syafiqah Salim/theedgemarkets.com
Malaysia’s head of retail Eddie Lim said an Group Bhd has proposed to place out not
omnichannel strategy to support shoppers more than 10% of its issued share capital
and retailers was catalysed by the greater to private investors to be identified, at an
adoption of digitalisation in the retail indicative price of RM1.04, to raise up to
sector during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, RM13.18 million, for property development
with over 50 CapitaLand tenants listed on and repayment of bank borrowings. The
Malls by GrabMart, it said shoppers can actual issue price of the placement shares will
mix and match their orders from different be determined at a later date. Jade Marvel is
stores in the same mall and have the orders also proposing a share split of every existing
delivered, and pay only one delivery fee. share to two shares, to improve share trading
CMMT is listed on Bursa Malaysia and has liquidity and encourage greater participation
a market capitalisation of RM1.46 billion. — by investors. The proposals are expected to be
by Lynette Hew/theedgemarkets.com completed by the second quarter of calendar
year 2021, the group said. Jade Marvel shares
were last traded at RM1.08, giving a market
capitalisation of RM136.93 million. — by Tan
Siew Mung/theedgemarkets.com

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Trial judge placed unwavering reliance
on ‘interested witness’ Ahmad Husni’s

testimony, says Najib’s counsel

PUTRAJAYA (April 13): Questions sur- BY HAFIZ YATIM & IZZUL IKRAM Najib has been convicted of all seven
rounding the impartiality of former Sec- theedgemarkets.com charges with regards to abuse of power in
ond Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad relation to the issuance of the GG [gov-
Husni Hanadzlah’s testimony during the SUHAIMI YUSUF/THE EDGE ernment guarantees], where he allegedly
SRC International Sdn Bhd trial involving received the RM42 million. He has also
former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the Court been convicted of three counts of criminal
emerged at the Court of Appeal today. of Appeal today at the Palace of breach of trust, and another RM42 million
Justice, Putrajaya. for money laundering.
Najib’s defence questioned trial judge
Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali’s un- was treated “like an office boy” in relation For this, he was sentenced to 12 years
wavering reliance on the former minister’s to SRC matters and was not allowed to go jail and fined RM210 million.
testimony in ordering Najib to enter his to Switzerland — wholesale. Why was Najib chairing Cabinet
defence and eventually finding him guilty. meeting where two govt guarantees
He reasoned that the witness said he were given?
Lawyer Farhan Read, who is part of was barred by Najib from retrieving the As Farhan made his submissions on the
Najib’s defence team, said the court had to frozen funds in Switzerland out of spite, government guarantees, Justice Datuk Ab-
take into consideration that Ahmad Husni, after a fallout between the two which led dul Karim Abdul Jalil asked the lawyer as
who testified for the prosecution, is an in- to Ahmad Husni’s resignation as Second to why Najib had chaired the two Cabinet
terested witness who may want to see the Finance Minister out of spite. meetings discussing the guarantees in Au-
former prime minister implicated. gust 2011 and March 2012, which led to
It was previously reported that no one KWAP approving the RM4 billion loans.
The lawyer further cited the cross-ex- knows the current status of the RM4 bil- Abdul Karim: Why was he sitting in the
amination of the former Second Finance lion loaned by the Retirement Fund Inc Cabinet meeting during the [discussion
minister to show that Ahmad Husni has (KWAP) to SRC in 2011 and 2012. of the] two GG? Was he sitting as PM or
“an axe to grind, especially after he ad- Finance Minister or what?
mitted to being upset because he believed Farhan added that Justice Nazlan had Farhan: He was sitting as PM.
that the former premier was the source of also omitted from his judgment that the Abdul Karim: Why was that?
allegations of sexual harrassment and graft government gave a short-term loan to pre- Farhan: The reason is that the Finance
against him. vent SRC from defaulting on its repayment Minister has to be there to table the GG?
to KWAP. Abdul Karim: Are you certain?
Farhan further read the court transcript Farhan: I may have to do some research
during the trial of the cross-examination “It was Husni who proposed to extend further.
between lead counselTan Sri Muhammad SRC a short-term loan of RM100 million
Shafee Abdullah and Ahmad Husni. to enable it to pay back its loan to KWAP,” To this, the judge cut short on the ar-
Shafee: So you were upset because there Farhan stated, adding that the judgment guments.
were so many allegations against you? had instead said the proposal came from
Ahmad Husni:Yes. Najib. Abdul Karim earlier in the hearing to-
Shafee: Did you associate that tuduhan day also asked if the Finance Ministry’s
[accusation] with Datuk Seri Najib? These, he added, show the inconsisten- former secretary Datuk Maliami Hamad
Ahmad Husni:Yes.Why? cies in the High Court’s judgment against was pressured while preparing the guar-
Shafee: I am not interested in your why. the former premier. antees, to which Farhan agreed, but said
You associated [the allegations] with Najib? that it was part of Maliami’s task to prepare
Ahmad Husni:Yes.Why? the necessary documents for the Cabinet
Shafee: You think Najib was behind the meeting in a hurry.
report against you including the sexual har-
assment of your own staff? The hearing continues tomorrow with
Ahmad Husni:Yes.The whole story. the prosecution finally starting their sub-
Defence believes Ahmad Husni’s missions on why the conviction should be
testimony made out of spite maintained.
Farhan said that instead of carefully evalu-
ating Ahmad Husni’s testimony, the court Read also: SRC appeal: Defence concludes
took his story — which included how he submissions after six days Click here

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SUHAIMI YUSUF/THE EDGE

Rosmah at the Palace of Justice, Putrajaya

Rosmah’s counsels say Sri Ram should
voluntarily withdraw as prosecutor
before defence case begins

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Former BY HAFIZ YATIM and whenTan SriTommyThomas was the
Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal theedgemarkets.com Attorney-General.
Sri Ram should voluntarily withdraw from
continuing in prosecuting Datin Seri Ros- director Saidi Abang Samsudin between “There was indeed a letter pertaining
mah Mansor before the start of her defence January and April 2016 through her aide to the appointment of Datuk Seri Gopal
case in June, say her counsels. Datuk Rizal Mansor. Sri Ram to conduct the prosecution of
the appellant (Rosmah) but that letter was
Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, who is She also faces two charges of receiving dated on July 8, 2020, that is after the
one of the counsels for the wife of former a total of RM6.5 million — RM1.5 million appellant was charged in court and that
prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, and RM5 million from Saidi between Dec letter was signed by the present AG Tan
said the defence had a look at the former 20, 2016 and Sept 7, 2017 at her official res- Sri Idrus Harun.
top judge’s appointment letter given by the idence in Seri Perdana, Putrajaya and also
prosecution as instructed by the Court of her private residence in Jalan Langgak Duta. “On that score, two of the three condi-
Appeal on Thursday. tions which [Rosmah’s defence] had asked
Rosmah’s trial began on Feb 4, 2020 for have not been met,” she said after the
“Our decision following yesterday’s with 23 prosecution witnesses testifying. bench collectively evaluated the document.
meeting is that we feel he should volun-
tarily withdraw before the start of our cli- OnThursday, a three-member Court of Meanwhile, DPP Ahmad Akram Ghar-
ent’s defence. Otherwise, we will apply to Appeal bench led by Justice Datuk Suraya ib told theedgemarkets.com, when contact-
court in due course,” he told theedgemar- Othman has asked the prosecution to pro- ed, that Sri Ram will continue to appear
kets.com when contacted. duce Sri Ram’s letter of appointment to for the prosecution during Rosmah’s de-
Rosmah’s defence team within three days. fence stage as his appointment is still in-
He, however, declined to specify their tact, and will respond to whatever action
next course of action should Sri Ram de- This follows Rosmah’s appeal seeking Rosmah’s defence may initiate against the
cline to withdraw from the case. Sri Ram’s appointment letter from the former top judge.
prosecution. Her defence has claimed More court stories:
High Court judge Justice Mohamed that the former top judge was supposed High Court sets May 5 for case management
Zaini Mazlan had on Feb 18 ordered Ros- to only prosecute in 1Malaysia Develop- of IRB’s RM68m tax suit against Jho Low’s
mah to enter her defence after finding a ment Bhd cases. right-hand man ‘Fat Eric Click here
prima facie case against her graft charges
and fixed nine days beginning June 9 to Justice Zaini dismissed the application Umno lawyerTania Scivetti gets stay
hear her defence. resulting in last Thursday’s appeal at the order to halt Bar Council’s disciplinary
Court of Appeal. proceedings against her Click here
She had informed the court that she will
testify under oath from the witness stand. Justice Suraya along with Datuk Abu
Bakar Jais and Datuk Ghazali Cha re-
Rosmah, 69, is charged with soliciting viewed Sri Ram’s employment letter,
a RM187.5 million bribe out of a total of where they found that Sri Ram’s appoint-
RM1.25 billion project that was awarded ment letter was not dated on or before Nov
to then Jepak Holdings Sdn Bhd managing 15, 2018, when Rosmah was first charged

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):New Covid-19 Daily new clusters, while one is linked to religious activity
cases in Malaysia jumped to 1,767 — the sec- Covid-19 cases and the remainder is a detention centre cluster.
ond highest in two months — as of noon today jump to 1,767;
compared with 1,317 yesterday. The recent Sarawak records The four workplace clusters are the Jalan
highest level was 1,854 on April 9. 607 new infections Puncak Borneo cluster in Sarawak with 61 in-
fections, the Jalan Raja Laut cluster in Kuala
This is the 15th straight day of staying above BY SYAFIQAH SALIM Lumpur (20), the Jalan Hishamuddin cluster
the 1,000 mark, lifting the number of active theedgemarkets.com in Kuala Lumpur (nine),and the LebuhWawa-
cases, which has been on the climb for six con- san cluster involving Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur
secutive days, to 16,300. REUTERS and Negeri Sembilan (11).

Of the new infections, 1,758 were local The three community clusters are the Ta-
transmissions while nine were imported cas- banak cluster (15 cases) and the Kampung
es. Sarawak topped the list with most new Cov- Gayang cluster in Sabah (23), as well as the
id-19 cases at 607, followed by Selangor (483) Taman Malim Jaya cluster in Melaka (13).
and Kuala Lumpur (133).
The detention cluster is the Jalan Salleh
Twelve Covid-19 related deaths were also cluster in Johor (23 cases).
reported — four in Sabah, four in Sarawak,
three in Selangor and one in Terengganu. All Meanwhile, the Jalan Bukit Belinda clus-
were Malaysians aged between 37 and 89 years, ter — linked to religious activity — detected
according to Health director-general Tan Sri in Negeri Sembilan registered 15 infections.
Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
So far, 1,478 clusters have been reported
A total of 1,290 Covid-19 patients have by the ministry, while 1,134 have been de-
recovered from the disease today. The total clared ended.
number of recoveries was 346,295 or 95.2%
of overall infections, said Dr Noor Hisham in Among the clusters that reported the highest
a statement. infections today are theTapak Bina Persiaran
Cybersouth cluster in Selangor (137 cases), be-
On clusters, the Health Ministry has iden- sides the Jalan Puncak Borneo cluster (60) and
tified nine more Covid-19 clusters, compris- the Jalan Bambangan cluster in Sarawak (47).
ing four workplace clusters, three community
The country’s Covid-19 tally increased to
363,940.

Malaysia’s coronavirus curve shows signs of flattening Read also:
Covid-19 vaccine: Manufacturing,
6000 Daily new cases 7-day moving average industrial workers in Penang, Selangor
given priority Click here
5000
EMCO in four localities in Sabah, four
4000 villages in Pahang from Wednesday
Click here
3000
Tawau police to track down residents who
2000 1,767 flee from EMCO localities Click here
1000 1,516

0 April 13, 2021
Sept 1, 2020

BENGALURU (April 13): US federal US calls for REUTERS
health agencies on Tuesday recommend- pause on J&J’s
ed pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine reviewing rare blood clots in four people in
(J&J) single-dose Covid-19 vaccine after the United States who received the shot.
six recipients developed a rare disorder BY MANAS MISHRA Read also: Fauci: AstraZeneca shot is
involving blood clots. Reuters good if safety issues can be overcome
Click here
The US Centers for Disease Control As of April 12, more than 6.8 million
and Prevention (CDC) will hold an ad- doses of the J&J vaccine had been admin-
visory meeting on Wednesday to review istered in the United States.
the cases.
The company’s shares were down 3%
All the six recipients were women be- before the opening bell. The move from
tween the ages of 18 and 48. One woman the US regulators comes less than a week
died and a second in Nebraska has been after Europe’s drugs regulator said it was
hospitalised in critical condition, the New
York Times reported, citing officials.

The CDC and the US Food and Drug
Administration said in a joint statement
that the adverse events appear to be ex-
tremely rare right now.

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LONDON (April 13): Bitcoin hit a record Bitcoin hits REUTERS
of US$62,741 on Tuesday, extending its record high
2021 rally to new heights a day ahead of before landmark James Butterfill of digital asset manager
Coinbase’s initial public offering. Coinbase IPO CoinShares.

The largest US cryptocurrency ex- BY THYAGARAJU ADINARAYAN “During this most recent period have
change’s listing on the Nasdaq onWednes- & TOM WILSON witnessed a similar profit-taking round,
day is considered a landmark victory for Reuters which now looks to have run its course.”
cryptocurrency advocates.
US$1.5 billion of the digital currency for The multi-fold rise in cryptocurren-
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, its balance sheet. For the past two weeks, cies is also driven by investors seeking
which has growing mainstream acceptance it had traded in a tight range. high-yielding assets amid low interest rates.
as an investment and a means of payment,
rose as much as 5% on Tuesday. Smaller “When Bitcoin markets create new
rival Ethereum also reached a record high highs the price often range-trades and
of US$2,205. we witness a round of profit-taking,” said

Major firms including BNY Mellon,
Mastercard Inc and Tesla Inc are among
those to have embraced or invested in cryp-
tocurrencies.

Bitcoin topped US$60,000 early last
month, fuelled by Tesla’s move to buy

NEW YORK (April 13): New York City NYC real estate Tether Gold, where each token represents
(NYC) real estate mogul Kent Swig has mogul secures one troy fine ounce of physical gold.
secured a minimum of US$6 billion in gold US$6 billion in
reserves to back his new cryptocurrency. gold for new Both gold and cryptocurrencies have
attracted renewed interest over the past
The value of the digital token, DIGau, crypto year from investors seeking a hedge against
will be pegged to the market price of the inflation. Gold has risen 14% since Janu-
precious metal, guaranteed by liens Swig BY DEVON PENDLETON ary 2020, while the price of Bitcoin — the
and partner Stephen Braverman’s compa- Bloomberg most widely circulated cryptocurrency —
ny, Dignity Gold, secured against mining is hovering around record highs of about
claims in Nevada and Arizona. What we’re doing is applying US$61,000.
the world’s stable backing
“Gold was one of the original rock-solid of a lot of things to a very Still, the combination of gold and cryp-
backings of all currencies,” Swig, 60, said advanced technology.” to has a poor track record, with several at-
in an interview. “We’re not reinventing the tempts to combine variations of the two
wheel here.What we’re doing is applying BLOOMBERG gaining little traction. Cryptocurrency dev-
the world’s stable backing of a lot of things otees tend to disdain bullion, with Bitcoin
to a very advanced technology.” Kent Swig even gaining the moniker “digital gold” as
it is promoted as a modern-age alternative.
A third-generation real estate investor
and owner of realty firm Brown Harris Swig said it took him 18 months of
Stevens, Swig became interested in cryp- worldwide hunting for gold assets to se-
tocurrencies after learning more about the cure the US$6 billion of reserves.Though
concept from his teenage son. open to gold deposits anywhere, having
the deposits located in the US gives add-
So-called stablecoins are cryptocurren- ed credibility and transparency to the to-
cies whose value can be pegged to an ex- ken, he said.
ternal reference, which could be a physical
asset like gold or the US dollar. That, in Along with the pledge and security
theory, provides more price stability — a agreement, Dignity Gold has a forward
buffer against the huge swings seen in dig- purchase agreement for gold produced
ital currencies like Bitcoin. from the mines, which are located in Lin-
coln County, Nevada, and Mohave Coun-
Coin issuers like Swig and Braverman’s ty, Arizona.
Dignity Gold, parent of DIGau’s issuer,
must hold the value of their reserve curren- DIGau will be unique as a gold-backed,
cy at all times, to assure investors there is US-based crypto security that pays a divi-
a backstop against the price falling below dend to token holders, according to Swig.
the fiat currency. The token will be issued in accordance
with the various regulatory processes of the
Tether, one of the best-known stable- Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
coins, has been dogged by speculation for and other bodies.
years that it was not backed one-to-one
with US dollars, as claimed.Tether’s issuer While wealthy individuals and family
agreed in February to provide quarterly offices are increasingly investing in digital
reports to NewYork as part of a settlement currencies, few have yet to launch their
over allegations that it hid the loss of funds own.
and lied about reserves.
“In general, the business of cryptocur-
Tether also has a gold-backed product, rencies is extraordinary,” Swig said.

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US consumer
prices increased
in March by most

since 2012

BY READE PICKERT ,LIZ CAPO MCCORMICK,
ELIZABETH DEXHEIMER & SOPHIE CARONELLO

Bloomberg

WASHINGTON (April 13): US consumer points, declined at the start of the pandemic said any meaningful increase in prices will
prices climbed in March by the most since amid lockdowns and widespread business likely prove temporary.
2012, adding to evidence of budding infla- closures.When compared to those depressed
tionary pressures, as the economy reopens figures, the year-over-year increases for Amid supply chain bottlenecks, supply
and demand strengthens. March-May will appear abnormally large. shortages and surging input costs, producers
are already feeling the pinch of rising costs.
The consumer price index increased Long-term Treasury yields remained While not all cost increases will be pushed
0.6% from the prior month after a 0.4% higher, while inflation expectations briefly through to consumers – given a variety of
gain in February, according to Labor De- extended gains on the day and the dollar different measures firms can take to offset
partment dataTuesday. A jump in the cost edged higher. US stock futures held lower costs – sustained pressures in the production
of gasoline accounted for almost half the after the data were released. pipeline raise the risk of an acceleration in
overall March advance. The median esti- consumer inflation.
mate in a Bloomberg survey of economists The latest figures on consumer prices add
called for a 0.5% rise. fuel to an already heated debate about the Recent survey data highlighted develop-
path of inflation in the US, especially on the ing cost pressures.The Institute for Supply
Excluding volatile food and energy com- heels of last week’s Labor Department data Management’s latest figures showed more
ponents, the so-called core CPI increased showing a stronger-than-expected surge in than half of service providers reported pay-
0.3% from a month earlier, the most in sev- producer prices. ing higher prices in March, the largest share
en months and reflecting rising rents and since 2011.The ISM’s manufacturing sur-
auto insurance. Some analysts and economists argue a vey showed about 72% of manufacturers
wave of pent-up demand, paired with tril- said the same – the second-most since 2008.
The monthly advance in the widely fol- lions of dollars in government spending, Recently, some company executives have
lowed index led to an outsize 2.6% increase will spur a sustained upward movement in mentioned plans to raise prices for their
in the overall CPI from March 2020, when inflation. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve offi- products
the pandemic depressed demand and pric- cials, including Chair Jerome Powell, have
ing power.The core measure rose 1.6% from
12 months ago.

The year-over-year changes are distorted
by a phenomenon known as the base effect.
The CPI, like many other economic data

FRANKFURT (April 13): Investor con- German investors Recent data also showed a surprise drop
fidence in Germany’s economic recovery turn gloomy as in the nation’s industrial output in February.
unexpectedly deteriorated after the govern- more virus curbs
ment signalled a further tightening of pan- prepared Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann
demic restrictions. has said the country’s recovery may take
BY CAROLYNN LOOK hold later than previously expected. The
A gauge of expectations fell to 70.7 in Bloomberg institution predicted in December that out-
April from 76.6 in the previous month, ac- put would grow 3% this year, a prospect it
cording to a survey by the ZEW institute, the outlook for exports is better than in said is looking less likely now.
missing estimates for an improvement. A the previous month.”
measure of expectations for the eurozone Read also:
also fell. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s co- China’s robust exports, surging imports
alition has drafted legislation that would boost economic recovery; outlook
While the inclusion of general practition- shift the power to impose Covid-19 restric- challenging
ers in Germany’s vaccination campaign has tions to the federal government from region- “China’s exports rose sharply in March
significantly bolstered the pace of inocula- al leaders, and includes plans for nightly while imports growth surged to the highest
tions, potentially bringing forward the time curfews as well as more non-essential store in four years in yet another boost to the
when lockdowns can be lifted, the country closures. nation’s economic recovery, signalling
and the rest of the currency bloc are still improving global demand amid progress in
in the midst of a third wave of infections. worldwide Covid-19 vaccination.”
Click here
“Fears of a stricter lockdown have led
to a decline in expectations for private con-
sumption,” ZEW president Achim Wam-
bach said in a statement. “Nevertheless,

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Credit Suisse to US$5.4 billion — equivalent to more than half Facebook faces
pay out another of the total assets under management when German bid to
US$1.7 billion of the funds were suspended, Credit Suisse said. halt collection of
Greensill-linked WhatsApp data
Switzerland’s second-biggest bank has
fund assets been reeling from its exposure to the collapse BY STEPHANIE BODONI
first of Greensill Capital and then Arche- Bloomberg
BY JOHN REVILL gos Capital Management within a month.
Reuters (April 13): One of Germany’s toughest
Its asset management unit was forced last data regulators is seeking an adminis-
ZURICH (April 13): Credit Suisse has month to shut US$10 billion of supply chain trative order that would stop Facebook
made further progress in winding down finance funds that invested in bonds issued Inc. from collecting user data from its
funds connected with Greensill Capital and by Greensill after the UK firm lost credit in- WhatsApp unit.
is able to distribute another US$1.7 billion surance coverage shortly before filing for in-
to investors, the bank said on Tuesday. solvency. The regulator in the city of Hamburg
is seeking an “immediately enforceable
This takes the total distribution so far The bank has since suspended the order” before May 15 over concerns that
to US$4.8 billion, the bank said, following funds’ managers and changed the head policy changes could lead to the use of
an earlier payout of US$3.1 billion. of its asset management unit. such data for wider marketing and ad-
vertising purposes.
The bank said it has so far collected “We remain acutely aware of the uncer-
US$2 billion from receivables redeemed tainty that the wind-down process creates “WhatsApp is now used by almost
when the four supply chain finance funds for those of our clients who are invested in 60 million people in Germany and is by
(SCFFs) were suspended on March 1. the funds,” Credit Suisse said in a statement. far the most widely used social media
application, even ahead of Facebook,”
This, along with the cash position in the “We are doing everything that we can to Johannes Caspar, the data commis-
SCFFs and the earlier payout, comes to provide them with clarity, to work through sioner, said in a statementTuesday. “It
issues as they arise and, ultimately, to return is therefore all the more important to
cash to them.” ensure that the high number of users,
which makes the service attractive to
The bank said it was in contact with many people, does not lead to an abu-
Greensill’s administrators and would con- sive exploitation of data power.”
tinue to work towards recovering money.
It would provide a further update on the WhatsApp delayed the introduc-
progress made by the end of April 2021. tion of a new privacy policy earlier this
year after confusion and user backlash
(April 13): China ordered 34 internet corpo- China orders forced the messaging service to better
rationsTuesday to rectify their anti-competi- 34 tech firms to explain what data it collects and how it
tive practices within the next month, signaling curb excesses shares that information with its parent
that Beijing’s scrutiny of its most powerful company.The U.K.’s top data-protec-
firms hasn’t ended with the conclusion of BY ZHEPING HUANG tion regulator told lawmakers in Janu-
a probe into Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Bloomberg ary that millions of people have stopped
usingWhatsApp in favor of alternative
Shares in Tencent Holdings Ltd. and baba’s arch-rival, both slid more than 3%. messaging services such as Telegram
Meituan extended losses after the State “The base line of policies cannot the and Signal.
Administration for Market Regulation is-
sued a stern statement emphasizing it will crossed, the red line of laws cannot be Facebook officials declined to im-
continue to eradicate abuses of informa- touched,” SAMR said in the statement on mediately comment.The company will
tion and market dominance among other Tuesday. The 34 firms must undergo com- have a chance to respond to the allega-
violations. Also summoned to the ad-hoc plete rectification after conducting internal tions at a hearing, the regulator said.
meeting onTuesday were industry leaders checks and inspections over the next month,
includingTikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., and make a pledge to society to obey rules “Up to now there has been no supervi-
search leader Baidu Inc. and JD.com Inc. on operating legally, the antitrust watchdog sory review of the actual processing oper-
said in its statement. SAMR will organize ations betweenWhatsApp and Facebook
The meeting — organized jointly with follow-up inspections and companies that that we are aware of,” Caspar said.“There
the cyberspace and tax regulators — came continue to engage in abuses like forced ex- is reason to believe that the provisions
days after Beijing wrapped up a four-month clusivity — a practice that “flagrantly tram- that will enable and expand the sharing
probe into Alibaba by slapping a record pled and destroyed” market order — after of data betweenWhatsApp and Facebook
$2.8 billion fine on the tech giant for abuse the rectifications will be dealt with severely. will be unlawfully enforced due to the
of market dominance.The penalty was less lack of voluntary and informed consent.”
severe than many feared and helping lift a “This is positive because the SAMR is
cloud of uncertainty hanging over found- giving the platforms one month to review He said the formal case was opened
er Jack Ma’s internet empire. It also came their practices, rather than dish out fines and “to prevent unlawful mass data sharing, if
after the Chinese central bank ordered an penalties without warning,” Bloomberg In- necessary, and to put an end to unlawful
overhaul of his Ant Group fintech titan. telligence senior analyst Vey-Sern Ling said. consent pressure on millions of people.”
“They are using Alibaba as an example to
Alibaba’s shares have gained 7% since, deter misbehavior from the rest of the indus-
but Tencent and Meituan have fallen on try players. If these companies toe the line,
concerns they could be targeted next. On industry competition can become healthier.”
Tuesday, regulators warned internet com-
panies to “heed Alibaba’s example,” reaf-
firming their intent to abolish forced exclu-
sivity among other practices.Tencent was
down slightly while Meituan and JD, Ali-

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BlackRock,Temasek to raise billions
for carbon-cutting start-ups

(April 13):Two of the world’s most pow- BY ERIK SCHATZKER “We’re going to be testing this, we’re
erful money managers are joining forc- Bloomberg going to be building it, we’re going to
es to build a business on climate-change have proof of concept and then we’ll
investing and raise one of the largest REUTERS see,” he said. “This is not tens of bil-
venture-capital funds dedicated to car- lions of dollars. It may lead to those types
bon-cutting technologies. The pools of money of large-scale investments, but it doesn’t
dedicated to clean need to be that large-scale.”
BlackRock Inc. and Singapore’s Te- tech are growing, but
masek Holdings Pte. formed a new firm, managers tend to focus Temasek, a state-owned investor that
Decarbonization Partners, to take stakes either on the bleeding oversees about US$230 billion, has
in startups that have the potential to re- edge of innovation or pledged to reduce net-carbon emissions
duce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels cash-flowing assets by its portfolio companies to half their
and meet the goal of zero-carbon emis- such as solar arrays 2010 level by 2030 and to zero by 2050.
sions in three decades.They’re commit- and wind farms. Because it controls Singapore Airlines,
ting a total of $600 million to the effort, one of Temasek’s priorities is finding a
including US$300 million of seed capital early-stage investing, where the risk of sustainable and cost-effective alternative
for a US$1 billion first fund, and raising failure is high, and anticipates holding to jet fuel.
the rest from outside investors. its stakes for 20 years or longer. Anoth-
er, Energy Impact Partners, has raised Pillay and Fink described their shared
Eventually, Decarbonization Partners US$1.7 billion, mainly from power util- interest in making green hydrogen a prac-
aims to manage billions across multiple ities and industrial companies. tical replacement for fossil fuels. Decar-
funds, BlackRock Chief Executive Of- bonization Partners also is targeting tech-
ficer Larry Fink said in an interview with More money is flowing into carbon-re- nologies in battery storage, autonomous
BloombergTelevision, adding, “I look at this lated investing. Dealmakers Chamath Pa- driving and power grid reliability, as well
as one of the greatest investment oppor- lihapitiya and Ian Osborne plan to raise as materials and process innovation for
tunities over our lifetimes.” at least US$1 billion for a publicly trad- industries and infrastructure.
ed vehicle. Venture funding for climate
Although renewables are displacing tech startups totaled US$16 billion in As the world’s largest asset manag-
coal in power generation and electric 2019, up from about US$400 million in er, New York-based BlackRock has the
vehicles can be cost-competitive with 2013, according to a PwC report pub- reach and client relationships to mar-
gasoline-driven cars, there are no viable lished last year. shal capital into new investment vehicles.
solutions for problems like large-scale Just last week, it raised US$4.8 billion
storage of energy or clean alternatives The first climate-investing boom be- to buy renewable-power facilities and
to carbon-intensive cement and steel tween 2006 and 2011 ended poorly, with separately raised US$1.5 billion from
production. Hydrocarbons still dominate venture funds losing more than half the Temasek, the California State Teachers’
much of the economy because they’re US$25 billion invested. One notable Retirement System and others for two
cheap and easy to transport. bankruptcy was Solyndra, a solar-panel exchange-traded funds. The ETFs use
startup with financing backed by U.S. proprietary research and analytics to find
Today, the pools of money dedicated taxpayers. stocks that’ll benefit in the low-carbon
to clean tech are growing, but manag- transition.
ers tend to focus either on the bleeding Decarbonization Partners will operate
edge of innovation or cash-flowing as- like a traditionalVC fund, asking investors Fink has taken a vocal stance in the
sets such as solar arrays and wind farms. to lock up money for about a decade and fight to reduce carbon emissions, declar-
BlackRock andTemasek are zeroing in on targeting annualized returns of about 20%. ing climate change an investment risk and
late-stage VC, the point at which start- Fink offered US$5 billion as a longer-term pushing for sustainability. In his annual
ups need greater amounts of capital to goal for assets under management. letter to CEOs in January, he said com-
manufacture at scale and expand into panies must disclose plans for making
new markets. their business models compatible with
a net-zero economy.
“As you look at the transition to green-
er options, there is obviously a need to ad- Temasek and BlackRock already are
dress the gulf between the cost of what’s partners in a Chinese asset-management
available today and the cost curve of those business and Temasek is one of Black-
solutions,” Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Rock’s top shareholders. Pillay, who takes
CEO of Temasek International, said. over as Temasek CEO in October, said
“That’s why private capital is required, he’ll judge the new venture’s success on
to give these solutions a chance of making two measures: the speed at which its in-
it to commercialization, to where the cost vestments help achieve carbon abatement
curves can be brought down to the lev- in the economy, and profitability.
els of non-green options or even lower.”
“We’re not going to look at sacrificing
Breakthrough EnergyVentures, found- returns,” he said. “We may have to wait
ed by Bill Gates in 2015, is currently the longer, given the early-stage element of
largest VC player in sustainable energy. this partnership, but we do believe the
It has raised more than US$2 billion for returns will come.”

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(April 13): U.S. regulators are throwing an- SPAC boom faces contracts in an entity’s own equity, such as
other wrench intoWall Street’s SPAC ma- new SEC threat warrants issued by a SPAC, requires careful
chine by cracking down on how accounting with accounting consideration of the specific facts and cir-
rules apply to a key element of blank-check cumstances for each entity and each con-
companies. crackdown tract,” the officials said in the statement.

The Securities and Exchange Commis- BY BEN BAIN, HEATHER PERLBERG, The SEC issued its guidance after a firm
sion is setting forth new guidance that GILLIAN TAN & CRYSTAL TSE asked the agency how certain accounting
warrants, which are issued to early inves- Bloomberg rules applied to SPACs, according to an-
tors in the deals, might not be considered other person familiar with the matter. It’s
equity instruments and may instead be Marcum that was reviewed by Bloomberg. unclear how many companies will be im-
liabilities for accounting purposes. The In a SPAC, early investors buy units, pacted by the move and not all warrants
move, reported earlier by Bloomberg News, will be affected. Still, regulators consider it
threatens to disrupt filings for new spe- which typically includes a share of common likely to be a widespread issue. Firms will
cial-purpose acquisition companies until stock and a fraction of a warrant to purchase be expected to review their statements and
the issue is resolved. more stock at a later date.They’re consid- correct any material errors, said the person.
ered a sweetener for backers and have thus
The accounting considerations mark the far been considered equity instruments for The shift would spell a massive nuisance
latest effort by the SEC to clamp down on accounting purposes. Sponsor teams — the for accountants and lawyers, who are hired to
the white-hot SPAC market. For months, the management of a SPAC — are also typical- ensure blank-check companies are in compli-
regulator has been raising red flags that inves- ly given warrants as part of their reward to ance with the agency. SPACs that are already
tors aren’t being fully informed of potential find a deal, on top of the founder shares. public and that have struck mergers with
risks associated with blank-check companies, targets may have to restate their financial re-
which list on public stock exchanges to raise In a statement late Monday, SEC officials sults, the people familiar with the matter said.
money for the purpose of buying other entities. urged those involved in SPACs to pay attention
to the accounting implications of their trans- More than 550 SPACs have filed to go
The SEC began reaching out to ac- actions.They said that a recent analysis of the public on U.S. exchanges in the year to
countants last week with the guidance on market had shown a fact pattern in transactions date, seeking to raise a combined US$162
warrants, according to people familiar with in which “warrants should be classified as a billion, according to data compiled by
the matter. A pipeline of hundreds of fil- liability measured at fair value, with changes Bloomberg. That exceeds the total for all
ings for new SPACs could be affected, said in fair value each period reported in earnings.” of 2020, during which SPACs raised more
the people, who asked not to be named than every prior year combined.
because the conversations were private. “The evaluation of the accounting for
The deluge has overwhelmed those re-
“The SEC indicated that they will not de- sponsible for reviewing filings at the SEC,
clare any registration statements effective un- triggered a surge in liability insurance rates
less the warrant issue is addressed,” accord- for blank-check companies and fueled mar-
ing to a client note sent by accounting firm ket anxieties that the bubble is about to burst.

TOKYO/ISMAILIA/LONDON (April 13): Dislodged and salvage operation costs. He has also
A ship that blocked the Suez Canal for al- ship held in said he hopes to settle matters amicably.
most a week in March has not been given Suez Canal as
clearance to leave the waterway as discussions compensation International supply chains were thrown
continue over a compensation claim made talks continue into disarray when the 400-metre Ever Giv-
to the vessel’s owner Shoei Kisen, an official en ran aground in the canal on March 23.
from the Japanese company said onTuesday. BY YUKA OBAYASHI, YUSRY MOHAMED
& JONATHAN SAUL Specialist rescue teams took six days
The Ever Given has been in a lake sepa- Reuters to free the vessel, delaying the passage of
rating two sections of the canal since it was more than 400 ships and causing others
dislodged on March 29, as the Suez Canal to divert around Africa.
Authority (SCA) conducts investigations.
Industry sources told Reuters last week that
Yumi Shinohara, deputy manager with reinsurers were set to foot most of the bill for
owner Shoei Kisen’s fleet management depart- the ship’s grounding, with payouts expected
ment, confirmed the canal had made a com- to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
pensation claim but gave no further details.
Ships typically have protection & in-
A source with the Suez Canal Authority, demnity (P&I) insurance, which covers
who declined to be named, told Reuters a third-party liability claims including en-
court order had been issued for the ship vironmental damage and injury. Separate
to be held, adding that negotiations were hull and machinery policies cover vessels
still taking place. against physical damage.

Results of the SCA’s investigation were Shoei Kisen’s Shinohara said the vessel’s
expected to be announced by the end of P&I insurer UK Club had received com-
the week, two canal sources added. pensation claims for the delays. The UK
Club told Reuters “a handful of claims” had
SCA Chairman Osama Rabie said on been received, declining further comment.
Egyptian TV last week that the Ever Giv- Read also: More Asian countries thick-
en would not leave until the investigation skinned about FX manipulator tag
was finished and compensation paid. He Click here
also said the canal had borne “great mor-
al damage” as well as shipping fee losses

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China Huarong’s worsening bond
rout stokes market contagion

BLOOMBERG

BY RICHARD FROST &
REBECCA CHOONG WILKINS

Bloomberg

HONG KONG (April 13): Growing pan- sults by the March 31 deadline, with Caixin ments, deviating from the original mandate
ic over the financial health of one of Chi- attributing the delay to plans for a signifi- of disposing bad debt. Lai was put to death
na’s largest bad-debt managers spilled into cant financial restructuring.The stock has earlier this year for bribery after a brief trial,
the broader market, as traders circulated a been suspended in Hong Kong since April an unusually harsh sentence for such a crime.
Caixin report that openly considered the 1. The company has until the end of the
worst-case scenario for the company. month to release its final earnings report. The company is one of the four state-
China Huarong’s biggest shareholder is the owned entities set up by China’s govern-
China Huarong Asset Management Co’s country’s Ministry of Finance. ment in 1999 to help clean up a banking
US$300 million 3.375% bond due May system riddled with bad debt. It listed in
2022 tumbled 13.1 cents on the dollar to Bonds linked to the Hong Kong after a US$2.5 billion initial
76.1 cents, while a 5% bond maturing in company have plunged public offering in 2015.
2025 fell 12.1 cents to 77.3 cents, Bloomb-
erg-compiled prices show. In a commentary this month after China Huarong and its subsidiaries have
dated Monday, Ling Huawei, managing China Huarong failed some US$42 billion worth of offshore and
editor of Caixin Media and CaixinWeekly, local bonds outstanding and 41% of that
discussed the possibility of a China Hua- to publish its 2020 will come due by the end of next year, ac-
rong bankruptcy. preliminary results by cording to Bloomberg-compiled data. Dollar
the March 31 deadline. bonds make up about US$22 billion of its
The firm’s dollar bonds edged up from outstanding notes.
session lows, after Bloomberg reported Chi- “Market speculation of a restructuring
na’s finance ministry is mulling transferring with haircuts for Huarong International Because the debt load is so large and the
its stake in China Huarong to a unit of the bondholders is heavily damaging investor company was previously seen as a safe bet,
nation’s sovereign wealth fund that invests sentiment,” said ChangWei Liang, a macro the securities are widely held by both local
in financial companies. Some notes rose strategist at DBS Bank Ltd in Singapore. and international investors. Institutional
as much as 2 cents, though are still set for “The continued silence of Chinese author- investors such as BlackRock Inc and Gold-
record closing lows. ities on the predicament of a strategic state- man Sachs Group Inc previously disclosed
owned institution as large as Huarong is they held Huarong bonds, had exposure to
Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch also worrisome, as investors had anticipated them via fund products or both, according
Ratings saidTuesday they will review their at least a modicum of reassurance.” to data compiled by Bloomberg.
ratings of China Huarong for a potential
downgrade, following a similar announce- It’s unclear whether Chinese leaders China Huarong has started trimming
ment from rival S&P Global Ratings last have discussed the fate of China Huarong’s non-core assets, amid regulatory pressure
week. The company is considered an in- bondholders or outlined specific measures to return to its roots. Net income slumped
vestment-grade issuer by all three agencies. that the fund would take, if it assumes con- 92% in the first half of 2020 from a year
trol of the China Huarong stake. earlier, as the value of some assets dropped
The selloff spread to other high-yield in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.The
Chinese dollar notes onTuesday, with some China Huarong has been under a shadow company’s stock market value has tumbled
property bonds falling by a record. Asia’s since its then-chairman Lai Xiaomin came to about US$5 billion, from US$15 billion
investment-grade dollar debt spreads wid- under investigation in 2018. Under his watch, when it listed.
ened as much as 3 basis points, while a the company expanded into areas including Read also:What’s next for Huarong? The
gauge of Asia credit risk widened for a sev- securities trading, trusts and other invest- best and worst-case scenarios Click here
enth straight day, set for the longest rising
streak since 2018.

Chinese investment-grade dollar bond
spreads widened by as much as 8 basis
points, while prices on the nation’s high-
yield notes fell as much as 3 cents on the
dollar, according to credit traders.The CSI
300 Index of stocks fell 0.2%.

“Huarong is a US$22 billion curve and
as a distressed situation, it dwarfs anything
that we have seen in the Asia credit mar-
ket before,” said Owen Gallimore, head of
trading strategy at Australia & New Zea-
land Banking Group. “This is a fatal event
for a few trading desks and small funds.”

Bonds linked to the company have
plunged this month after China Huarong
failed to publish its 2020 preliminary re-

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MARKETS

CPO RM 4,042.0080.00 OIL US$ 63.780.50 RM/USD 4.1353 RM/SGD 3.0823 RM/AUD 3.1500 RM/GBP 5.6880 RM/EUR 4.9211

Top 20 active stocks

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

MINDA GLOBAL BHD 735.6 0.055 0.175 191.67 231.3

LUSTER INDUSTRIES BHD 222.8 -0.025 0.220 25.71 636.5

CNI HOLDINGS BHD 119.2 0.020 0.215 138.89 153.2

BERJAYA CORP BHD 103.7 -0.030 0.400 110.53 2000.8

DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 101.0 0.005 0.820 264.44 1888.9

PERMAJU INDUSTRIES BHD 99.2 -0.010 0.180 2.86 128.7

FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 91.6 -0.055 0.405 -37.69 2543.5

KTG BHD 89.6 -0.015 0.245 -14.04 168.8

BORNEO OIL BHD 81.0 -0.005 0.045 12.50 302.0 World equity indices

PASUKHAS GROUP BHD 70.0 0.000 0.025 -64.29 41.3

QES GROUP BHD 63.9 0.040 0.560 89.83 467.1 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE

SMRT HOLDINGS BHD 60.7 0.020 0.185 42.31 82.4 (%) (%)
DOW JONES 33,745.40 -55.20 -0.16 INDONESIA 5,927.44 -21.13 -0.36
BINTAI KINDEN CORP BHD 58.4 0.010 0.470 -23.58 179.1

EA HOLDINGS BHD 56.9 0.000 0.030 0.00 152.2 S&P 500 4,127.99 -0.81 -0.02 JAPAN 29,751.61 212.88 0.72

SDS GROUP BHD 56.3 0.060 0.420 71.43 170.4 NASDAQ 100 13,819.35 -25.70 -0.19 KOREA 3,169.08 33.49 1.07

MACPIE BHD 53.3 -0.005 0.080 -66.32 75.7 FTSE 100 6,884.80 -4.32 -0.06 PHILIPPINES 6,457.79 -60.85 -0.93

AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 53.0 -0.010 0.090 -51.35 380.6 AUSTRALIA 6,976.92 2.97 0.04 SINGAPORE 3,187.90 13.97 0.44

LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 49.1 -0.040 0.360 -60.66 185.2 CHINA 3,396.47 -16.48 -0.48 TAIWAN 16,824.91 -34.79 -0.21

METRONIC GLOBAL BHD 48.7 0.000 0.060 -40.00 100.1 HONG KONG 28,497.25 43.97 0.15 THAILAND 1,541.12 -25.22 -1.61

KNM GROUP BHD 44.3 -0.005 0.185 -9.76 606.6 INDIA 48,476.83 593.45 1.24 VIETNAM 1,248.33 -4.12 -0.33

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2021 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

MINDA GLOBAL BHD 0.175 45.83 735634.4 191.67 231.3 EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.015 -25.00 5172.6 -25.00 33.4

KAMDAR GROUP M BHD 0.320 25.49 3030.4 20.75 63.4 DAYA MATERIALS BHD 0.015 -25.00 756.2 0.00 30.6

TRANSOCEAN HOLDINGS BHD 0.880 18.12 1081.7 11.39 36.1 LAMBO GROUP BHD 0.020 -20.00 36562.3 -33.33 99.8

SDS GROUP BHD 0.420 16.67 56257.1 71.43 170.4 PRICEWORTH INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.020 -20.00 2022.3 -33.33 90.1

BERTAM ALLIANCE BHD 0.115 15.00 402.9 -11.54 23.8 SANICHI TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.170 -17.07 11270.8 -69.09 34.1

SASBADI HOLDINGS BHD 0.160 14.29 33206.3 6.67 67.1 MTOUCHE TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.025 -16.67 7020.0 -66.67 33.1

PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 14.29 4660.9 -55.56 40.4 SENTORIA GROUP BHD 0.205 -16.33 13221.9 46.43 114.3

OSK VENTURES INTERNATIONAL 0.535 13.83 183.3 9.18 105.1 SENI JAYA CORP BHD 1.540 -13.48 978.0 92.50 62.4

SAND NISKO CAPITAL BHD 0.340 13.33 550.6 4.62 29.2 KEY ALLIANCE GROUP BHD 0.035 -12.50 4546.8 -30.00 82.4

SMRT HOLDINGS BHD 0.185 12.12 60705.6 42.31 82.4 MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 0.035 -12.50 10132.8 -56.25 42.1

OCB BHD 0.715 11.72 2086.3 27.68 73.5 FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.405 -11.96 91648.3 -37.69 2543.5

NEXGRAM HOLDINGS BHD 0.050 11.11 4785.0 11.11 137.7 HUBLINE BHD 0.040 -11.11 8543.1 -20.00 166.4

CNI HOLDINGS BHD 0.215 10.26 119160.8 138.89 153.2 GETS GLOBAL BHD 2.400 -11.11 5379.9 17.07 681.6

FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.055 10.00 10880.4 -31.25 189.5 LUSTER INDUSTRIES BHD 0.220 -10.20 222787.6 25.71 636.5

CME GROUP BHD 0.060 9.09 6797.7 0.00 52.8 DATAPREP HOLDINGS BHD 0.755 -10.12 26935.7 319.44 465.6

DPI HOLDINGS BHD 0.625 8.70 18058.5 125.09 304.2 AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.090 -10.00 53042.1 -51.35 380.6

EP MANUFACTURING BHD 0.380 8.57 22.1 18.75 60.0 LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.360 -10.00 49057.1 -60.66 185.2

ENRA GROUP BHD 0.650 8.33 239.0 0.00 87.7 SC ESTATE BUILDER BHD 0.090 -10.00 7304.7 50.00 93.4

XIDELANG HOLDINGS LTD 0.065 8.33 6445.5 -7.14 137.6 MERIDIAN BHD 0.225 -10.00 13268.1 -47.06 130.4

KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.065 8.33 6710.3 -55.17 166.7 BORNEO OIL BHD 0.045 -10 80962.5 12.5 302

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 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)

MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 41.700 1.900 217.4 60.63 8294.0 NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 135.800 -0.700 46.6 -2.23 31845.1

UNISEM M BHD 8.240 0.260 1243.2 33.33 6590.3 VITROX CORP BHD 15.700 -0.600 228.8 6.80 7412.2

DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD 35.900 0.160 2.7 -4.27 2297.6 RAPID SYNERGY BHD 7.990 -0.340 238.4 21.06 854.1

TRANSOCEAN HOLDINGS BHD 0.880 0.135 1081.7 11.39 36.1 GETS GLOBAL BHD 2.400 -0.300 5379.9 17.07 681.6

AMWAY MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 5.630 0.120 6.4 -1.34 925.5 BLD PLANTATION BHD 8.850 -0.270 23.2 6.63 827.5

IGB BHD 2.880 0.120 258.3 11.63 2538.8 SENI JAYA CORP BHD 1.540 -0.240 978.0 92.50 62.4

PANASONIC MANUFACTURING 31.460 0.120 1.9 2.14 1911.1 HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD 9.460 -0.240 7888.3 -22.08 32401.4

SERN KOU RESOURCE BHD 2.300 0.100 2055.7 29.21 604.5 PRESS METAL ALUMINIUM HOLDING 10.000 -0.180 2178.8 19.19 40381.1

UWC BHD 6.400 0.090 1704.1 30.61 7044.0 TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 5.080 -0.170 20118.1 -16.99 40660.7

KHIND HOLDINGS BHD 3.440 0.090 166.1 17.41 137.8 LPI CAPITAL BHD 13.900 -0.160 91.5 1.31 5537.5

SCIENTEX BHD 4.210 0.090 2084.8 -0.39 6528.0 HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 17.300 -0.160 135.1 -4.21 19812.7

CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 23.840 0.080 103.3 2.58 7289.0 GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 5.780 -0.160 2168.0 27.03 7236.6

OCB BHD 0.715 0.075 2086.3 27.68 73.5 MR DIY GROUP M BHD 4.100 -0.130 6764.9 31.41 25734.1

TASCO BHD 1.150 0.070 6608.0 52.82 920.0 MALAYSIA AIRPORTS HOLDINGS 6.520 -0.120 1398.6 10.14 10817.9

XIAN LENG HOLDINGS BHD 1.600 0.070 2546.7 180.70 152.7 HONG LEONG BANK BHD 18.220 -0.120 595.8 0.11 39495.8

VSTECS BHD 2.700 0.070 661.3 34.33 482.0 SUPERMAX CORP BHD 4.460 -0.120 16169.5 -25.79 11674.7

SCICOM MSC BHD 1.320 0.070 3963.1 41.94 469.2 PPB GROUP BHD 18.520 -0.120 271.8 0.00 26346.5

KAMDAR GROUP M BHD 0.320 0.065 3030.4 20.75 63.4 CENTRAL GLOBAL BHD 2.130 -0.110 13014.9 500.00 191.7

OSK VENTURES INTERNATIONAL 0.535 0.065 183.3 9.18 105.1 HAP SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD 8.150 -0.110 106.2 -5.23 20290.8

UNITED PLANTATIONS BHD 14.460 0.060 237.8 -0.41 5976.3 PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP 7.88 -0.1 1754.8 6.06 63040

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2021 Source: Bloomberg