The Edge 25032022

MALAYSIAN PM UNDER PRESSURE TO
VOID POLITICAL STABILITY PACT p14

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 353/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Big Four telcos seek ‘typical M&A’ process for DNB’s equity stake offer p5
Poh Kong 2Q net profit surges 159% on higher gold prices p11

WORLD: Oil prices fall as US, allies consider further oil stock release p16
Russia stocks jump as trade resumes after month-long break p17

Is Malaysia entering a
high inflation cycle?

Report on Page 3.

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Khairy: No test or quarantine required
to cross Malaysia-Singapore land border

for fully vaccinated travellers

KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Fully vacci- BY SHAZNI ONG Covid-19 cases and vaccination
nated travellers are allowed to cross the land theedgemarkets.com progress in Malaysia
border between Malaysia and Singapore from
April 1 without the need to undertake a Cov- “The Thai government is only willing to On March 23, 2022 27,592
id-19 test both before departure and upon accept travelling tourists.While for daily and 20,308
arrival. frequent travellers, discussions are still ongoing Daily vaccine doses administered
between Malaysia andThailand. 97.5
Announcing this on Thursday (March Daily booster administered
24), Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin “For now, the general protocol for gener- 66.1
said they are also not required to undergo al travellers applies to those travelling from % of adult population received
any quarantine. Thailand,” he said. two-dose vaccination

These are specific protocols for all travellers Repeal of procedures for travellers from % of adult population received
who cross the land border between the two April 1 booster shots
countries, Khairy told a press conference in Khairy also announced that eight procedures
Parliament onThursday (March 24). have been repealed for travellers from April 1 On March 23, 2022
in conjunction with the reopening of the coun-
For those travelling by air between Malaysia try’s borders. Number of new cases 22,491
and Singapore, they no longer need to undergo
quarantine and Covid-19 testing upon arrival. They include the list of 18 high-risk coun- Local cases 22,109
tries, the use of digital tracker, Home Quaran-
“For all travellers who have complet- tine Application (HQA), travellers through the Imported cases 382
ed Covid-19 vaccinations that are passing One-Stop Centre (OSC) programme,Langkawi
through the Malaysia-Singapore air border, International Tourism Bubble (LITB), Cov- Category 1 10,601
they just need to do Covid-19 testing two days id-19 RT-PCR detection test counter by the
prior to departure. They do not need to go Ministry of Health at KLIA,and MyTravelPass. (no symptoms) (47.14%)
through quarantine and perform Covid-19
testing upon arrival,” he added. Vaccines recognised by Malaysia Category 2 11,725
On another matter, Khairy said the Ministry (mild symptoms) (52.13%)
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Datuk of Health recognises travellers who have com-
Seri Ismail SabriYaakob had spoken on the pleted their full Covid-19 vaccination regimen Category 3 71
phone with his Singapore counterpart Lee approved by the World Health Organisation
Hsien Loong regarding the reopening of the (WHO) under its Emergency Use Listing. (with pnemonia) (0.31%)
land border between the two countries.
In addition, he said Malaysia will also al- Category 4 44
The two prime ministers agreed to allow low vaccines which have been approved for (with pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy) (0.20%)
all travellers who have been completely vac- usage by regulatory authorities in other coun-
cinated to cross the land border without the tries even though they are not included in the Category 5 50
need to perform Covid-19 testing or under- WHO Emergency Use Listing. (critical and requiring assisted ventilation) (0.22%)
go quarantine.
The list of types and brands of these vac- Number of new recoveries 26,234
Two entry points for travel by land to cines will be updated from time to time,he said.
Thailand Active cases 248,863
Khairy also announced that starting April 1, “For example, Zifivax (China, Indonesia,
travel by land between Malaysia andThailand Pakistan), Minhai (China, Indonesia), CoviVac Daily Covid-19 deaths 65
will be allowed, but there will be only two en- (Cambodia, Russia), Medigen (Taiwan), Zy-
try points at the initial stage, namely the Bukit CoV-D (India),Turkovac (Turkey) and Cov- Hospital bed utilisation (%) 65.10%
Kayu Hitam-Sadao and Wang Kelian-Wang ifenz (Canada),” he said.
Prachan entry points. Source: Ministry of Health

Read also:
Health Ministry announces protocols
for all travellers entering Malaysia
from April 1 Click here
Khairy:Two million people set to lose
vaccination status on April 1 Click here
Moderna sees 1-in-5 odds of dangerous
future Covid variant Click here

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Is Malaysia entering a high
inflation cycle?

KUALA LUMPUR (March 25): Glob- BY JUSTIN LIM According to him, the source of infla-
al inflationary pressures have risen in the theedgemarkets.com tion for this year is expected to come from
eye of a perfect storm underpinned by strengthening demand and supply con-
supply disruptions, surging energy and and potential subsidy rationalisation pro- straints, including rising production costs.
commodity prices, and increased demand grammes.
amid economic reopening. “By components, we opine that ris-
“Escalating oil prices are also adding ing food prices will be among the key
Back in Malaysia, most economists pressure to Malaysia’s government fuel contributors to upward price pressures.
expect inflation to trend higher this year subsidy bill and raising the flag for the Following the broad rise in commodity
to reflect the rise in commodity prices government to refocus on the fuel subsi- prices, food prices could increase further.
and wages, but do not expect inflation dy rationalisation plan in order to manage As a net importer of foods, Malaysia will
to accelerate rapidly like in the US as the burgeoning subsidy bill and rebuild fis- also incur higher imported inflation, and
domestic fuel subsidies limit the upside. cal space to respond to future challenges. rising prices of animal feed and fertilisers
This potential subsidy rationalisation pro- will also contribute to higher food prices.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) gramme, alongside expiry of government’s In addition, increase in wages and pro-
expanded 2.3% year-on-year in January price control schemes and post-pandemic longed supply disruptions will add to ris-
2022.The Department of Statistics Ma- labour shortages, are expected to drive in- ing production costs, and suppliers may
laysia is expected to release the February flation higher towards year-end. pass on more cost increases to consumers
figure on Friday (March 25). by raising selling prices,” he added.
“Minimum wage hike, coupled with the
When contacted, Socio-Economic Re- existing labour shortage issues, will then fur- Last month, Bank Negara Malaysia
search Centre (SERC) executive director ther accelerate the uptrend in private sector (BNM) governorTan Sri Nor Shamsiah
Lee Heng Guie expects this year’s infla- wage growth, affirming the second-round MohdYunus said the nation is “nowhere
tion to trend higher in the range of 3% effects on inflation in the later part of the near” the risk of very-high inflation be-
to 3.5%, compared with 2.5% recorded year.With all these prevailing risks, we keep cause upward consumer price pressure
last year to reflect the effect of imported our above-consensus inflation forecast of had mainly been due to Covid-19-pan-
inflation on food inflation coupled with average 3% for this year,” both Goh and demic-driven supply-chain disruptions
wage-push inflation as businesses seek to Loke said in a Feb 24 note. even as demand recovers in tandem with
protect their margins. improving economic conditions due to
Meanwhile, MIDF Research economist Covid-19 vaccination progress.
He explained that wage growth is the Abdul Mui’zz Morhalim foresees that the
key driver for inflation.The proposed ris- overall consumer price index (CPI) infla- Businesses to embrace rising costs
ing minimum wage rates will ultimately tion will be in a range of 2% to 3%, capped and downside risk to economic
create a labour cost “snowball effect” for by domestic fuel subsidy. growth
employers, pushing labour costs higher SERC’s Lee said businesses need to pre-
across all positions. “With the inflation outlook remaining pare for rising inflation and interest rates.
manageable, we don’t foresee hyperinfla- Against this backdrop, he sees the down-
UOB Malaysia senior economist Ju- tion risk in Malaysia. While high inflation risk of the outlook for Malaysia’s economy.
lia Goh and economist Loke Siew Ting is a risk to the growth outlook, we expect
agreed that risks to inflation are still tilted inflation will not accelerate strongly in the “When inflation goes higher, it will
to the upside. coming months. curb consumers’ spending and corpora-
tions have to bear higher business costs.
Among the key upside risks are glob- “In addition, the high oil prices will not If they cannot fully pass down the costs,
al supply chain disruptions, escalating result in high inflation in energy prices, lim- hence earnings will be affected.
commodity prices, higher wages due to ited by the cap imposed on domestic fuel
post-pandemic labour shortages and re- prices and diminishing low-base effect,” CONTINUES ON PAGE 4
vised national minimum wage, expiry Abdul Mui’zz told The Edge.
of government’s price control schemes,

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Ark In- Ark Invest CEO it peaked in 2019. Once the supply shock
vest chief executive officer (CEO) Cathie says traditional is over, we think the big surprise will be
Wood has said the traditional finance sec- finance will be lower oil prices,” she said.
tor will be disrupted “in an enormous way” disrupted ‘in an
by developments in the blockchain space, enormous way’ Looking ahead,Wood said investment op-
adding that other industries will also likely by blockchain portunities will arise whenever there is a con-
be transformed by new applications arising vergence of new technologies, such asTesla
from blockchain technologies. BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS which is converging robotics, autonomous
theedgemarkets.com vehicles, energy storage and AI technologies.
During a webinar hosted by Affin
Hwang Asset Management, the futurist She also mentioned non-fungible to- She also noted another key convergence,
and prominent female fund manager on kens, which will be the first global, private, which is happening around genomic se-
Wall Street said these are some of the areas digital, and immutable property rights sys- quencing, AI and CRISPR gene editing,
of Ark Invest’s focus, which has outlined tem, although she admitted that the tech- which she believes will result in the next jump
five innovation platforms, namely DNA se- nology is not perfect yet. in healthcare as this would eventually cure
quencing, adaptive robotics, energy storage, diseases that were thought to be incurable.
artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. “I think many people are thinking about
the metaverse as [video] games and so “Disruptive innovation is highly defla-
“The combination of DeFi (decentral- forth, but this is a much bigger idea than tionary. This deflationary pull is going to
ised finance), blockchain technology and just games. We think it’s going to impact get bigger and bigger as these technologies
digital wallets is going to hollow out tra- every sector,” she said. scale,” said Wood.
ditional financial firms,” she said.
Another segment that will see major dis- Reuters reported earlier that the Wood
Going further into the developments in ruptions, she said, is the energy sector, amid has seen her fortunes wane over the past
the blockchain sector,Wood said that block- the pivot towards electric transportation. year as her flagship tech innovation fund
chain technologies are revolutionary in three slid more than 50%, losing US$13 billion
ways, the first of which would be a money Wood said Ark believes demand for oil in market value.
revolution, which involves Bitcoin, and Ether, will continue to fall in the years ahead,
the currency of the Ethereum network. adding that the current high prices amid REUTERS
the oil supply shock will accelerate the de-
“These are the first global, private, dig- struction of oil demand. Cathie
ital, rules-based monetary systems in his- Wood
tory.This is a big idea,” she said. “In fact, demand for oil is below where

“Secondly, we have the financial ser-
vices revolution with the rise of DeFi and
digital wallets, which will transform the
industry. And thirdly, blockchain tech-
nologies are giving rise to the metaverse,
which we think is the next generation of
the internet,”Wood added.

FROM PAGE 3 icy increasing domestic business cost, Lee an endemic phase and a possible easing
sees there is a need for the government to of geopolitical risks could provide ammu-
“Globally, people are seeing a risk of relook at the GDP outlook for this year. nition for further monetary policy nor-
high inflation and long periods of infla- malisation in 3Q22, bringing the OPR to
tion and there will be lower (econom- Malaysia’s economic performance in 2.25% by end-2022,” they added.
ic) growth, especially in the US. They 2021 showed a recovery momentum with
also worry if they make a wrong poli- growth of 3.1% compared to a contraction They stated that the Central Bank kept
cy could push their economy into reces- of 5.6% in 2020. a wait-and-see approach to assess the im-
sion. In China, its “zero-Covid” policy has pact of Russia-Ukraine conflict and oth-
prompted more stringent lockdowns and Economists expect BNM to raise OPR er prevailing risk events on the domestic
it may cause the economy to slow down... up to 50 bps in 2022 growth and inflation outlook before ad-
all this (consequences) will hit Malaysia’s On the monetary policy outlook, the build- justing its monetary policy stance.
export demand,” Lee added. up of domestic inflation pressures togeth-
er with sustaining growth momentum and MIDF’s Abdul Mui’zz, who is expect-
With all the prevailing risk, Lee said more aggressive US Federal Reserve (Fed) ing 6% GDP growth this year, foresees
his risk assessment to Malaysia’s economy monetary policy tightening would justify an BNM raising the OPR by 25bps to 2% in
tilted to the downside. Currently, SERC interest rate hike by Bank Negara Malaysia the second half this year (2H2022), bring-
has projected a gross domestic product (BNM) as early as in the second quarter ing the monetary policy to a more normal
(GDP) growth of 5.2% for 2022. (2Q) this year, said UOB Malaysia’s Goh level on the back of sustained economic
and Loke. growth and manageable inflation outlook.
SERC’s forecast is lower than the gov-
ernment’s projection of 5.5% to 6.5% — “A sooner-than-expected rate increase The OPR — which has been main-
underpinned by continued expansion in will also help to preserve some room be- tained at 1.75% since July 7, 2020 — is
global demand and higher private-sector tween Malaysia’s overnight policy rate the lowest on record.
expenditure, according to BNM. (OPR) and the US Fed Funds rate, and
maintain exchange rate stability.Thus, we In 2020, the Central Bank slashed the
Considering the latest developments, expect the OPR to be raised twice this year. OPR four times for a cumulative 125bps
including the indirect impact brought — as the economy was marred by a pan-
from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “Thereafter, a successful transition into demic with a 5.6% contraction in GDP
US’s move towards tighter monetary pol- compared to 4.4% growth in 2019.

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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Big Four telcos KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): In- InvestKL attracted
seek ‘typical M&A’ vestKL secured RM2.46 billion worth RM2.46b worth
process for DNB’s of investments through 13 global servic- of investments via
equity stake offer es hubs, which created 2,281 regional 13 global services
executive jobs, in 2021, according to its hubs in 2021
BY ADAM AZIZ chief executive officer Muhammad Azmi
theedgemarkets.com Zulkifli. BY SULHI KHALID
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Malay- Speaking at an event in Kuala Lumpur
sia’s big four telco operators are seeking an on Thursday (March 24), Azmi shared the Ministry of International Trade and
approach “that is typical of any major merg- that InvestKL’s achievement in 2021 Industry to position Greater KL as an in-
ers and acquisitions process” after being was the best it had recorded over the vestment gateway into Malaysia.
offered equity stakes in 5G infrastructure last decade.
vehicle Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB). “With over 100 success stories, our fa-
Since its inception in 2011, he pointed cilitation ensures all investors enjoy a swift,
Celcom Axiata Bd, DigiTelecommuni- out that InvestKL has attracted a total of smooth, and accelerated investment jour-
cations Sdn Bhd, Maxis Bhd and U Mobile RM18.3 billion in approved and commit- ney,” he said.
Sdn Bhd said in a joint statement that they ted investments via the establishment of
have “officially expressed interest” to the 116 global services hubs by leading mul- Of the 13 global services hubs in 2021,
Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of tinationals and fast-growing companies. 60% are from the US, UK and Europe
Communications and Multimedia to fur- while the remaining 40% are from Asia.
ther understand and explore the stake offer. This in turn created 16,392 regional
executive jobs for Malaysians, Azmi noted. “The companies are Ingredion, Quan-
The four mobile network operators tum, VF Corporation and FedEx (US),
(MNOs) added they would like to discuss “Our pipeline remains strong, and we Hannover Re (Germany), Akzo Nobel
and seek input from the government on are well-poised to advance Malaysia’s sus- (Netherlands), Radius Payment Solutions
the details of the offer. tainable agenda by targeting high-level and (UK), Commerzbank (Germany), FWD
niche investments, specifically in the areas
“The MNOs are keen to collaborate of digital technology, global services, and Insurance and Plaza Premium Group
with (the two Ministries) and look forward innovative offerings. (Hong Kong), Pan Pacific International
to an approach that is typical of any major Holdings Group and Cultural Conven-
mergers and acquisitions process. “The “We are targeting a total of RM35 bil- ience Club (Japan), and CRCC (Chi-
MNOs have recommended setting up pro- lion in investments by 2030 despite the na),” he said.
ject teams to align on processes such as due challenges of global economic vola-
diligence,transaction timelines and other ad- tility, rising energy prices and Read also: Multilingual and multi-
ministrative matters,” the telco players said. geopolitical uncertainty,” he cultural talent, pro-business gov-
said. ernment help instil confidence
Putrajaya announced its decision to of- among investors, says InvestKL
fer a 70% equity stake in DNB to MNOs Meanwhile,Azmi stressed CEO Click here
on March 16, following a pushback by the that investors want to build
industry players against the single whole- a sustainable future while
sale network (SWN) model. Malaysia is im- pursuing the environmen-
plementing the SWN model for 5G infra- tal, social, and governance
structure roll-out, where DNB will own 5G agenda.
infrastructure assets nationwide and lease it
to MNOs, as opposed to MNOs developing He highlight-
and owning their own towers, as practised ed that Invest-
during the 4G roll-out. KL is working
closely with
Two MNOs, namely YES under YTL
Communications Sdn Bhd, and Unifi Mo- Malaysia’sTime about US$500 million to US$600 million
bile underTelekom Malaysia Bhd, signed up Dotcom weighs sale in a deal, the people said.
for DNB’s 5G rollout pilot in mid-Decem- of data centers unit
ber 2021. Potential bidders including industry play-
BY MANUEL BAIGORRI AND ELFFIE CHEW ers and infrastructure funds have expressed
Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and UMobile had Bloomberg preliminary interest in the stake, the people
instead proposed a dual wholesale network said.The company may keep a minority in-
(DWN) with the MNOs as the shareholders (March 24): Time Dotcom Bhd, a Ma- terest in the data centers, they said.
of the second wholesale network provider. laysian telecommunications provider, is
considering strategic options for its data Considerations are at an early stage
Negotiations to hammer out the details, centers business, according to people fa- and the company could still decide
including how much the telcos would be miliar with the matter. against selling any part of the business,
paying for the 70% in DNB alongside they said. A representative for Time
wholesale capacity take-up commitments The company is working with financial didn’t immediately respond to requests
in it, are targeted for completion by end- advisers on a strategic review for Aims Data for comment.
June. Under DNB, Malaysia’s 5G network Centre that may lead to a stake sale, the
coverage is targeted to reach 80% of the people said, asking not to be identified be- Listed on the Malaysian stock exchange
population by end-2024. cause the matter is private.Time could raise since 2001, Time offers fixed-line voice
and broadband services to consumers and
businesses, as well as enterprise solutions
in areas such as cloud and security. Beyond
Malaysia, it has stakes in providers in Viet-
nam and Thailand, according to its latest
annual report.

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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BNM evaluating “As an example, BNM has recently co- Zuraida:
potential of central operated with the central banks of Austral- Malaysia remains
ia, Singapore and South Africa through
bank digital the Dunbar project to develop a shared committed to
currency, says platform prototype which enables interna- implementing
deputy minister tional settlements using various CBDCs by
reducing dependency on intermediaries. nationwide
Bernama adoption of B20
“This prototype platform has the po- palm biodiesel
KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Bank Ne- tential to reduce the cost and time taken
gara Malaysia (BNM) is actively evaluat- to carry out cross-border transactions,” BY SEAH EU HEN
ing the potential of a central bank digital the deputy minister said during a wind- theedgemarkets.com
currency (CBDC) driven by the growing ing-up debate on the motion of thanks for
technology and payment landscape. the Royal Address for his ministry in the KUALA LUMPUR (March 24):
Dewan Negara on Thursday (March 24). Plantation Industries and Com-
Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk modities Minister Datuk Zuraida
Mohd Shahar Abdullah said the CBDC According to Mohd Shahar, the outcome Kamaruddin said that Malaysia re-
is different from a cryptocurrency in that of the project would be used by BNM and the mains committed to implementing
the former would be a digital currency is- other central banks to develop a more effi- nationwide adoption of the B20
sued by the central bank to achieve public cient next-generation payment infrastructure. palm oil biofuel programme de-
policy objectives, such as increasing ef- spite current high crude palm oil
ficiencies of cross-border payments and He also explained that, in line with the prices.
progressing financial inclusion. government’s stand, cryptocurrencies such
as Bitcoin are not suitable for use as pay- The B20 palm oil biofuel pro-
ment instruments due to various obstacles, gramme to manufacture biofuel with
including price fluctuations, exposure to a 20% palm oil blend for the trans-
cyberthreats, lack of scalability and nega- port sector was first introduced in
tive impact on the environment. January 2020, two months before the
Covid-19 pandemic caused a setback
Hence, such currencies are not recog- to its progress.
nised as legal tenders in Malaysia.
The minister added that the
KUALA LUMPUR (March 24):The gov- Govt to review B20 palm oil biofuel programme
ernment will review the petroleum product petroleum product is also part of the government’s
subsidy mechanism. National Agri-commodity Policy
subsidy, says 2021-2030 announced on March
Deputy Finance Minister I Datuk deputy minister 9, 2022.
Mohd Shahar Abdullah said any subsidy
mechanism would be reviewed and refined Bernama “Despite the [current] high price
to ensure the subsidy could directly ben- of palm oil, the government is com-
efit the people. cluding options to reduce the reliance on mitted to maintaining the biodiesel
direct taxes and broaden the revenue base blending ratio and plans to introduce
He added that the Ministry of Finance by shifting to tax based on consumption, higher biodiesel blends such as B30
had been given the mandate to hold en- such as exploring the scope of taxes and in the future.
gagements with various agencies and re- the sales and service tax rate.
lated companies to refine the steps in the “As of today, the biodiesel mar-
implementation of targeted petrol subsidy Mohd Shahar added that the govern- ket continues to rise as biodiesel
rationalisation. ment would also explore new tax revenue has been introduced to over 60
sources, such as capital gains and digital countries worldwide,” Zuraida said
He was responding to an additional economy taxes. in her keynote address at the 3rd
question from Datuk Wira Amiruddin Palm Biodiesel Conference in Yo-
Hamzah (Kubang Pasu-Pejuang) and He said the government had no inten- gyakarta, Indonesia on Thursday
Datuk Seri Salim Sharif (Jempol-Ba- tion to reduce the corporate tax rate to (March 24).
risan Nasional) on the approach taken attract more foreign investment, adding
for targeted petroleum product sub- that corporate tax had been reduced by Zuraida added that Malay-
sidisation in Parliament on Thursday one percentage point to 24% from 25%. sia had been involved in the de-
(March 24). velopment of palm oil biodiesel
“The government always pays atten- since the 1980s, highlighting that
Mohd Shahar said that every US$1 tion to announcements of changes in tax a field trial using B50 and B100
(about RM4.23) per barrel increase in treatment in regional countries, with active biodiesel was conducted in Germa-
crude oil prices will bring RM300 mil- involvement at the international level, to ny in collaboration with Mercedes-
lion in extra revenue to the government. ensure Malaysia stays competitive,” he said. Benz Group AG (formerly known
as Daimler-Benz) with 300 buses
“But every US$1 per barrel will have He was responding to a question by in the 1990s.
an implication of RM600 million and it is Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof
not break-even as we implement a ceiling (Alor Gajah-Bersatu) on the suggestion
price. For example, we [have] set a ceiling to offer a lower tax rate to attract foreign
price of RM2.05 per litre for RON95 but investment.
the actual price is RM3.70 per litre and
the government bears RM1.65,” Mohd
Shahar explained.

He said the government would consid-
er several medium-term tax measures, in-

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 22):The High High Court allows Shafee & Co appeared for Najib.
Court has allowed SRC International Sdn SRC’s application The plaintiffs filed the application for
Bhd and its subsidiary Gandingan Mentari
Sdn Bhd’s application for an inter-partes for second the Mareva injunction on Feb 9, a day af-
Mareva injunction to be imposed on Datuk Mareva injunction ter SRC’s former parent company 1MDB
Seri Najib Razak or his agent from trans- had obtained a worldwide ex-parte Mareva
ferring or dissipating his assets amounting against Najib injunction to bar Najib from transferring
to RM42 million. or causing the dissipation of US$681 mil-
BY HAFIZ YATIM lion of his assets.
The order was granted on Thursday theedgemarkets.com
(March 24) by Judicial Commissioner Da- Najib was reported to have applied to
tuk Mohd Arief Emran Arifin.The parties Thirdly, the former Umno president is set aside the 1MDB Mareva injunction,
were suddenly called and informed that he entitled to draw up to RM100,000 a month the hearing of which was fixed on May 6.
would deliver his decision. for his ordinary living and legal expenses,
and the amount is inclusive to the ad in- Both companies filed the suit against
Initially, Mohd Arief Emran had fixed terim Mareva injunction that was grant- Najib in May last year for breach of fidu-
April 27 to deliver the decision after hav- ed last month to 1Malaysia Development ciary duties, knowing receipt of the funds,
ing heard the Mareva injunction applica- Bhd (1MDB). dishonest assistance, tort of misfeasance
tion with both parties present onTuesday. and abuse of power.
Mohd Arief Emran also fixed the next
The court directed that Najib, who is case management on May 13. On March 22, SRC and Gandingan
also Pekan member of Parliament, must Mentari’s lawyers argued that Najib’s con-
not remove, dispose of, deal with or di- SRC and Gandingan Mentari were viction by the High Court on July 28, 2020,
minish the value of any of his assets in represented by M Nagarajah, Syafi- and the Court of Appeal upholding the
and outside of Malaysia, of up to RM42 naz Vani, Clament Tay, Lisa Yong from conviction with regards to the RM4 billion
million, pending the final determination Messrs Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partner- KWAP loan and three counts each of crim-
of the suit. ship, while Muhammad Farhan Shafee inal breach of trust and money laundering
and Thilagan Mehanathan from Messrs involving RM42 million are grounds for
Besides this, the court directed that the court to grant the Mareva injunction.
the former premier must disclose to the
plaintiff’s solicitors in writing his assets, Najib had been sentenced to 12 years
in or outside of Malaysia, up to the value in jail and a RM210 million fine, which
of RM42 million within 30 days after the was also upheld by the Court of Appeal,
order has been served on Najib. and is awaiting his final appeal before the
Federal Court.

(March 24):The jury in the trial of a for- Jury in ex- pay US$60 million to settle claims brought
mer Goldman Sachs Group Inc bank- Goldman banker by the US Department of Justice that it
er finally got a look at hard proof of the trial shown receipts financed the movie and other pictures with
treasures bought with money allegedly instead of jewels stolen 1MDB money.
looted in the multibillion-dollar 1Ma-
laysia Development Bhd (1MDB) cor- BY PATRICIA HURTADO Prosecutors claim an entity controlled
ruption scandal. Bloomberg by Jho Low also used 1MDB money to buy
five artworks from Christie’s auction house
But jurors didn’t get to see the actual BLOOMBERG for US$58.3 million, including US$51.8
US$23 million necklace with a pink dia- million spent on a Jean-Michel Basquiat
mond big enough to be a paperweight that Jurors didn’t get to see the actual US$23 million painting titled Dustheads.
was created by prestigious NewYork jewel- necklace with a pink diamond big enough to be a
ler Lorraine Schwartz for Datin Seri Ros- paperweight that was created by prestigious New More invoices were shown to the jury
mah Mansor, the wife of former Malaysian and also a thumbnail picture of Dustheads.
prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. York jeweller Lorraine Schwartz for Rosmah.
Schwartz, who has designed for celebri-
They weren’t even shown a photo of ties like Beyonce, Adele and Blake Lively,
the necklace.They saw an invoice. could have been a witness in the case. But
she instead gave a statement that prosecu-
And so it went on Wednesday (March tors entered into the official court record.
23) in the Brooklyn Federal Court, where
prosecutors were winding down their case Jho Low contacted Schwartz in June
and showing jurors how billions of dollars 2013, asking the jeweller to create a pink
diverted from three US$6.5 billion 1MDB diamond necklace with a heart-shaped gem
bond transactions by Malaysian financier at its centre for Rosmah, the jeweller’s re-
LowTaek Jho (Jho Low) were used to buy cords showed. But while Rosmah asked for
luxury items. an 18-carat diamond, “Ms. Schwartz said
she only had a 22-carat pink diamond”,
Jho Low is also accused of diverting and a US$23 million deal was struck for
funds from 1MDB to Najib’s stepson, Riza the larger stone.
Aziz, who was a friend of the financier, to
help produce TheWolf ofWall Street. Schwartz later personally delivered the
necklace to Rosmah while she was staying
The jury was shown a photo of the plas- aboard a yacht with Jho Low off the coast
tic case for the DVD of the film and a of Monaco, the records showed. Rosmah
screenshot from the credits thanking Jho later bought an additional US$1.3 mil-
Low for his support. Aziz’s Red Granite lion in jewellery from Schwartz in 2014,
production company agreed in 2018 to records showed.

FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2022 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Four sub- Serba Dinamik following strong opposition from financial
sidiaries of Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd subsidiaries institutions which were the creditors in the
have withdrawn their applications to be withdraw all applications.
placed under judicial management in order applications
to help restructure their financial health. for judicial The creditors in attendance on Thurs-
management day’s (March 24) proceedings were HSBC
The application for withdrawal was sub- Bank Malaysia Bhd,HSBCAmanah,MBSB
mitted by Serba Dinamik Group Bhd, Ser- BY HAFIZ YATIM Bank Bhd, Bank Rakyat, Hong Leong Is-
ba Dinamik Sdn Bhd, SD Control Sdn theedgemarkets.com lamic Bank, six other financial institutions
Bhd and Serba Dinamik Development Sdn which are syndicated lenders, Orient Arotek
Bhd on Wednesday (March 23) through A scheme of arrangement under Section Engineering & Trading Sdn Bhd, Perisind
Messrs Syed Ibrahim & Co. 366 of the Companies Act 2016 permits Samudra Sdn Bhd, Izin Budi Sdn Bhd,Yicai
compromises and arrangements with the Construction Sdn Bhd, Bank Pembangu-
“Our firm (Serba Dinamik) has received creditors and/or members of the compa- nan Malaysia Bhd and another company.
instructions to withdraw the originating ny which are facing financial difficulties.
summons for the four cases as the creditors The six syndicated lenders were MIDF
are opposed [to them being] placed under Earlier this month, Nadzarin dismissed Amanah Investment Bank Bhd, AmBank
judicial management,” the letter from the the four companies’ applications to be Islamic Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd,
law firm stated. placed under interim judicial management UOB, HSBC Amanah and Standard Char-
tered Saadiq Bhd, which were represented
Their applications were initially fixed by Datin Jeyanthini Kannaperan.
to be heard on Thursday.
HSBC Bank Malaysia and HSBC
Following their withdrawal bid, judicial Amanah were represented separately by
commissioner NadzarinWok Nordin, who Benjamin Dawson, while Claudia Cheah
presided over the afternoon proceedings, and KarenTan appeared for Hong Leong
struck off all their judicial management Islamic Bank, Datuk John Clark Sumugod
applications and ordered the four to pay for Bank Rakyat and MBSB, and Wafiy
a total cost of almost RM300,000 to the Azman for Bank Pembangunan.
financial institutions and creditors who
were opposed to their initial applications. During earlier proceedings in the past
month, the court was told that the four
Serba Dinamik cited strong opposition companies had liabilities of RM6.45 bil-
from creditors and financial institutions lion while its assets were said to be worth
that had lent the subsidiaries money as RM7 billion.
the reason for the withdrawal of the ap-
plications. The four Serba Dinamik subsidiaries on
Feb 11 made an announcement to Bursa
Its legal counsel Mak Lin Kum told the Malaysia that they had applied to be under
court that Serba Dinamik is now consid- judicial management to revive the financial
ering a scheme of arrangement and will health of the group.
inform the creditors of the plan.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Several Witnesses in to share information or documents on an
witnesses including bank officers in Singa- Singapore to give intelligence basis.
pore have agreed to have their statements statements in ex-
recorded to facilitate an investigation into BNM governor’s Mohd Kamarudin said the authorities
the case involving Datuk Dr Tawfiq Ay- in Singapore had given their consent for
man, the husband of former Bank Negara husband case the investigation team to head to the coun-
Malaysia (BNM) governorTan Sri Dr Zeti — Bukit Aman try in December 2021 and February this
Akhtar Aziz, who was linked to 1Malaysia year, but the trips could not be made due
Development Bhd (1MDB). Bernama to several factors.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Inves- REUTERS Earlier, the media reported thatTawfiq
tigation Department director Datuk Mohd via legal firmTetuan Jagjit, Ariff & Co had
Kamarudin Md Din said a team of inves- issued a statement to clarify that he had
tigating officers will visit the city state on never received any form of bribes from
March 29 and 30 to record statements and anybody.
gather documents.
The statement was made after former
“Once the statements and documents Goldman Sachs bankerTim Leissner tes-
are obtained, we will be able to refer the tified in the trial against his former officer
investigation paper to the Attorney-Gener- Roger Ng in the High Court in Brooklyn,
al’s Chambers,” he told a press conference NewYork recently, with Leissner reported
here on Thursday (March 24). to have mentioned Tawfiq’s involvement
in the corruption of the joined project be-
Mohd Kamarudin said several witness- tween PetroSaudi and 1MDB during the
es had been called to give their statements trial.
so far and other witnesses would be called
depending on the situation. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-
mission earlier reported that at least RM65
Previously, he said Singapore’s Com- million linked to 1MDB funds was with-
mercial Affairs Department had agreed for drawn from Singapore and kept in a com-
the investigation team to visit the country pany owned by Tawfiq.

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): The Guan Eng graft when a perceived contradiction was point-
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission trial: MACC officer ed out to him.
(MACC) officer who recorded the final
statement of the late Ewein Bhd founder agrees there are Officer agrees Ewe’s claim that Lim ‘no
Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng agreed with Lim contradictions longer untouchable’ is illogical
Guan Eng’s defence in court that there are in late Ewein
contradictions in the statement he recorded founder’s final One of the points raised by the defence
by hand with the businessman compared to which Nazree agreed did not make sense
with Ewe’s prior statements. statement was how Ewe had, according to Nazree’s
hand-written statement, described Lim as
There are a total of six statements re- BY HAFIZ YATIM & IZZUL IKRAM “no longer untouchable” because of the
corded from Ewe before he plunged to theedgemarkets.com collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) gov-
his death in the early hours of the morn- ernment, which the late businessman had
ing from his condominium in Penang last SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE cited as one of the reasons he was allegedly
Oct 5. willing to give the additional statement.

Four of them were recorded by Superin- Nazree agreed with Gobind that this was
tendent Muhammad Nazree Mansor, one of ‘tak masuk akal’ (illogical) because Ewe’s
which is the final controversial one that Naz- final statement had been recorded on Aug
ree took down by hand.The remaining two 14, 2021, while the PH government had
were recorded by another MACC officer. already fallen much earlier — in February
2020. Ewe’s first statement to the MACC,
Nazree, the 15th prosecution witness in given on July 3, 2021, was also after the PH
Lim’s undersea tunnel graft trial, initially government collapsed.
disagreed with Lim’s lead counsel Gobind Click here to read the full story
Singh Deo that there were contradictions Read also: Guan Eng ‘very happy’ Penang
in the statements when he was quizzed undersea tunnel MoU inked before
on the matter and shown Ewe’s previous Chinese and Malaysian PMs, court told
statements. Click here

However, as the senior lawyer highlight-
ed the contradictions one by one, Nazree
eventually agreed there were differences.
At times, he said he had no knowledge of it

KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): The Prosecution 2018. The charge under Section 403 of
prosecution in the High Court has re- amends two of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up
quested an amendment to two of four four charges to five years with whipping and a possible
charges faced by Muar Member of Par- against Syed fine if convicted.
liament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Saddiq as he
where the young politician maintained his The amendment put in particulars of
not guilty plea. continues to Rafiq Hakim in the charge sheet, while
claim trial in the first charge, Syed Saddiq is now
Syed Saddiq, 29, a former youth and charged with only abetment that carries
sports minister, in the first amended charge BY HAFIZ YATIM the same punishment with CBT.
is accused of abetting then Armada Bersa- theedgemarkets.com
tu’s assistant treasurer-general Rafiz Hakim Syed Saddiq, who was represented by
Razali, who was entrusted with control of Syed Saddiq, Gobind Singh Deo and Haijan Omar,
Armada funds — with committing crimi- who was claimed trial.
nal breach of trust (CBT) of RM1 million
of the party’s funds from its CIMB Bank represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Da-
Bhd account. Gobind Singh tukWan ShaharuddinWan Ladin, who ap-
Deo and Haijan peared with Mohd Afif Ali and DPP Noor
The purported offence took place at Omar, claimed Syafina Mohd Radzuan, also informed
CIMB Bank Bhd, Menara CIMB, Kuala Justice Mohamed Zaini Mazlan that the
Lumpur Sentral on March 6, 2020, where trial. prosecution had already sent six bundles
the politician is charged under Section 406 of documents to be used in the trial.
and read together with Section 109 of the SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE
Penal Code. Besides this, the Johor-born politician
is also faced with two money launder-
On the second amended charge, ing charges, namely two transactions of
Syed Saddiq faces a charge of misusing RM50,000 from his Maybank Islamic Bhd
RM120,000 in donations meant for the account into his Amanah Saham Bumi-
14th general election campaign collected putera account, which are believed to be
through a Maybank Islamic Bhd account proceeds of illegal activities.
owned by Armada Bumi Bersatu Enter-
prise, resulting in Rafq Hakim to dispose Syed Saddiq is alleged to have commit-
of it. ted the acts at a bank in Jalan Persisiran
Perling, Taman Perling here on June 16
The act was allegedly committed at and June 19, 2018.
Maybank Islamic Bhd, Taman Pandan
Jaya here between April 8 and April 21, Justice Zaini maintained the trial dates
on June 7 to 10, 20 to 22 and 27 to 28, as
well as July 4 to 8, 13 to 15 and 18 to 22.

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Poh Kong 2Q ment, aided by higher retail gold prices. Poh Huat 1Q
net profit surges Compared with the immediate preceding net profit soars
159% on higher 59.43% on better
quarter, Poh Kong’s net profit surged 442% profit margins
gold prices from RM5.42 million in 1QFY22 as reve-
nue jumped 132% from RM175.29 million BY TAN SIEW MUNG
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM previously. theedgemarkets.com
theedgemarkets.com
For the six months ended Jan 31, cumu- KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Fur-
KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): Poh Kong lative net profit rose 33.73% to RM34.77 niture manufacturer Poh Huat Resourc-
Holdings Bhd reported a 159% jump in million from RM26 million a year earlier. es Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first
net profit for the second quarter ended Jan Six-month revenue was up by 28.34% to quarter ended Jan 31, 2022 (1QFY22)
31, 2022 (2QFY22) to RM29.35 million RM581.75 million against RM453.29 mil- surged 59.43% to RM15.35 million from
from RM11.35 million in the same quar- lion in the prior year. RM9.63 million a year ago, driven by bet-
ter last year, contributed by the uptrend in ter profit margins.
gold prices. On prospects, Poh Kong said the revival
of the economy would undoubtedly translate Its revenue for 1QFY22, however, de-
Earnings per share rose to 7.15 sen in into a gradual recovery, with higher global clined 0.38% to RM182.96 million from
2QFY22 compared with 2.77 sen in 2QFY21, growth and sustained policy support provid- RM183.66 million a year earlier, its filing
the gold jeweller and retailer’s filing with Bur- ing a further boost to the overall economy. with Bursa Malaysia showed.
sa Malaysia onThursday (March 24) showed.
“The group will continuously monitor the The company did not declare any div-
Poh Kong’s quarterly revenue climbed impact of the current uncertainties of our idend for the latest quarter.
75.66% to RM406.46 million from operations, uphold and honour our financial
RM231.39 million.This was due to higher obligations and evaluate our performance on It said following the production halts
demand for gold jewellery and gold in- a continuous basis,” it explained. under the nationwide full Movement Con-
vestment products amid the gradual reo- trol Order 3.0 (FMCO 3.0), its Malaysian
pening of the economy and market senti- The group is confident that it has put in factories resumed operations on Sept 11,
place adequate measures to meet the chal- 2021, and production activities recovered
lenges ahead for the financial year ending from October 2021 onwards with its work-
July 31, 2022. force returning to normal level.

Poh Kong shares finished up two sen or Its productions and shipments were
2.42% to 84.5 sen on Thursday, giving it a higher compared with in the previous
market value of RM344.66 million. It saw year’s corresponding reporting period as
some 1.2 million shares traded. it ramped up production to fulfil orders
from US importers, which were placed
KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): My- MyNews bleeds during FMCO 3.0.
News Holdings Bhd’s net loss narrowed to for eighth
RM7.86 million in the first quarter ended consecutive InVietnam, the group recorded a sim-
Jan 31, 2022 (1QFY22) from RM8.94 mil- quarter ilar recovery in production and shipment
lion a year ago on higher revenue achieved, levels following the resumption of opera-
thanks to the increase in number of outlets BY JUSTIN LIM tions at both its manufacturing facilities
and footfall upon relaxation of the full lock- theedgemarkets.com in Binh Duong and Dong Nai districts in
down in October 2021. mid-October 2021.
year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM139.44 million
However, the results were partly dragged from RM98.65 million a year earlier, its filing Overall, the group’s gross profit im-
by higher administration expenses, selling and with Bursa Malaysia showed.The group did proved from RM28.36 million in the
distribution expenses and other expenses. not declare any dividend for the latest quarter. previous year’s corresponding period to
RM35.64 million for the current report-
Administration expenses surged 17.6% Looking forward, in view of improved bot- ing period.
to RM8.37 million from RM7.12 million tom line and top line, the group said it will
a year ago due to the addition of new tal- continue to increase its outlets, namely CU Going forward, Poh Huat said it is
ents and spending on marketing materials stores, myNEWS SUPERVALUE and my- working closely with all stakeholders in
to promote the new CU brand which had NEWS CVS stores. ensuring stability in its supply chain, re-
its first outlet opened in April 2021. sumption and continuity of its manufac-
Additionally, it intends to expand on- turing operations and rescheduling order
Selling and distribution expenses increased line order delivery on demand by working shipments to its customers so that the in-
36.9% to RM27.15 million from RM19.84 closely with strong partners. terests of all stakeholders are safeguarded.
million during the same period, mainly due
to the increase in number of CU outlets and The group is hopeful for a continuing While demand for furniture remains
longer operating hours brought about by the business improvement as Malaysia is set strong, it highlighted that movement re-
lifting of full lockdowns. to enter the endemic phase of Covid-19 in strictions and concerns over the continued
April 2022 with all restrictions on business high cases and more contagious variants
Meanwhile, other expenses were up operation hours removed. remain, and that the group continues to
11.9% to RM15.28 million from RM13.65 face challenges in manpower.
million due to the increase in depreciation of Shares in MyNews settled unchanged at
property, plant and equipment from RM4.88 74 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM505 Poh Huat shares closed three sen or
million to RM6.4 million. million. 2.11% lower at RM1.39, valuing the
group at RM395.18 million.
The group recorded losses per share of
1.15 sen in the period — its eighth consecu-
tive loss-making quarter — against losses per
share of 1.3 sen in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the group jumped 41.34%

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Liew Kok Wing succeeds Chung Soo In a statement on Thursday (March 24), Landmarks’ proposed asset sale
Kiong as Sunway Construction the construction group said Liew’s to Blumont is fair and reasonable,
group MD on April 1 appointment is part of the group’s shareholders told
Sunway Construction Group succession plan. Liew, 53, has Landmarks Bhd’s proposed disposal
Bhd (SunCon) has appointed been MD of Sunway Construction of its Indonesian hospitality assets to
Liew Kok Wing as group Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned Singapore-listed Blumont Group Ltd is fair,
managing director (MD) subsidiary of the group, since Jan reasonable and not detrimental to the non-
beginning April 1. He replaces 1, 2020. He was appointed to the interested shareholders of the company,
Chung Soo Kiong who will be board of SunCon on Jan 7, 2020, according to independent adviser FHMH
taking up another position and served as the alternate Corporate Advisory Sdn Bhd. Recall that
within the Sunway director to Chung. — by Landmarks proposed last October to sell
Group of companies. Sulhi Khalid its entire stakes in five subsidiaries to
Blumont for a combined S$63.4 million
Datasonic obtains RM22.5m PA Resources bags new RM550m (about RM195.1 million), which would be
contract to supply security contract to supply materials to fully satisfied via the issuance of 12.68
documents to NRD First Solar billion new shares in Blumont at S$0.005
Datasonic Group Bhd has received a PA Resources Bhd has received a further (approximately 1.5 sen) per share. On
RM22.5 million contract to design, print, one-year extension of its agreement to completion of the deal, Landmarks will
supply and deliver various security supply raw materials to the First Solar have 29.3% in Blumont’s enlarged issued
documents to the National Registration group for the production of photovoltaic share capital. The transaction is deemed
Department (NRD). The contract from modules. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, a related party transaction as Landmark’s
the Home Ministry was awarded to the aluminium extrusion company said the executive deputy chairman, chief executive
Datasonic’s wholly-owned subsidiary extended contract is worth about RM550 officer and substantial shareholder Mark
Datasonic Technologies Sdn Bhd for million, and will be effective until July 1, PA Wee is also the controlling shareholder of
a period of 36 months from May 1, Resources clinched the deal with First Solar Blumont. Under the deal, it is disposing of
according to its bourse filing on Thursday in 2018. The initial three-year agreement its 49% stake in Mendol Investments Pte
(March 24). The RM22.5 million contract had a contract value of RM600 million. In Ltd, 100% interest in Hinako Investments
marks the second contract Datasonic May last year, the group secured a two- Pte Ltd, 60% in Prime Holdings Pte Ltd,
has obtained in 2022, with the first being year extension to the agreement with an 60% in Enggano Investments Pte Ltd and
a RM50.12 million contract to supply approximate value of RM800 million. — by 60% in Mesawak Investments Pte Ltd. — by
the NRD with MyKad, MyTentera and Syafiqah Salim Sulhi Khalid
MyPOCA raw cards and consumables
announced on Feb 17. — by Seah Eu Hen RM24.79 million. The drop in revenue was Solarvest to build solar rooftops
due to lower billings from construction as for Lotus’s Malaysia at RM20.1m
Wong Engineering’s 1QFY22 the Kuchai Lama project approaches its Solarvest Holdings Bhd has been
net profit slumps 88% y-o-y to completion stages offset by higher sales appointed by NEFIN Group as the
RM243,000 from manufacturing driven by strong engineering, procurement, construction,
Wong Engineering Corp Bhd’s net demand by customers from the electrical and commissioning (EPCC) solutions
profit slumped by 87.92% year-on-year and electronics (E&E) sector. — by Justin Lim provider for a rooftop solar photovoltaic
(y-o-y) in the first quarter ended Jan 31, (PV) project involving hypermarket chain
2022 (1QFY22) after its construction Lotus’s Malaysia, said the clean energy
and property development segment specialist. The total contract price for
slipped into losses due to lower billings the project is fixed at RM20.1 million
and share of loss from an associate and is expected to achieve commercial
company. In a filing with the bourse, the operations on July 31, 2022, according
manufacturer of high precision stamped to Solarvest’s bourse filing on Thursday
and turned metal parts said its net profit (March 24). Solarvest said the project
fell to RM243,000 from RM2.01 million will involve 12 stores and one fresh
a year before. Its revenue also shrank by distribution centre for Lotus’s Malaysia,
25.28% y-o-y to RM18.52 million from with an estimated cumulative capacity of
7.98 megawatts-peak (MWp). — by Seah
Eu Hen

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(March 24): Sun Life Financial Inc is near- Sun Life nears expanded Sun Life deal is poised to take
ing an agreement to expand its partnership US$400m over AIA partnership with CIMB, one of
in Indonesia with Malaysian lender CIMB the people said.
Group Holdings Bhd, according to people Indonesia deal
with knowledge of the matter. with CIMB An enhanced partnership could ensure
— sources Sun Life’s presence in Indonesia, which
CIMB, which owns a 91.5% stake in has about 274 million people.The Cana-
Indonesia’s PT Bank CIMB Niaga, is in BY MANUEL BAIGORRI & ELFFIE CHEW dian insurer has had a bancassurance deal
advanced talks with Sun Life over the so- Bloomberg with CIMB in Indonesia since 2009. Sun
called bancassurance deal in the Southeast Life took control of PT CIMB Sun Life
Asian country, the people said. Under such in 2016.
an agreement, an insurer typically pays an
upfront amount to sell its products in the The Malaysian lender and Sun Life are
bank’s branches. A pact could be valued finalising details of a deal and talks could
at about US$400 million (about RM1.69 still fall apart, the people said.
billion), said the people, who asked not
to be identified as the process is private. Sun Life actively looks for opportuni-
ties that add scale, a representative said in
CIMB was considering renegotiating response to Bloomberg queries, declining
terms of its bancassurance partnerships in to comment further. A representative for
Indonesia, including its arrangement with CIMB declined to comment, while a rep-
Hong Kong-based insurer AIA Group Ltd, resentative for Bank CIMB Niaga didn’t
Bloomberg News reported in October.The immediately respond to requests for com-
ment.

Reducing LOW YEN YEING/THE EDGE
compliance costs
key for sustainable Ng (left) with Tong
house prices, says at the launch of the
Rehda Institute’s “Housing Forward
— Understanding
latest report
Costs and
BY WONG KING WAI Sustainable Prices”
theedgemarkets.com
research report

PETALING JAYA (March 24):The Real The report highlighted four compliance not ultimately impact house prices.
Estate and Housing Developers’ Associa- costs issues, which are over-regulation that Some other recommendations to reduce
tion (Rehda) Institute launched its “Hous- adds to cost but not necessarily to the val-
ing Forward — Understanding Costs and ue of houses, overzealous planning require- compliance costs, which total 21 in the re-
Sustainable Prices” research report at its ments that reduce sellable lands, cross-subsi- port, include the government taking over
Regional Housing Conference held at Sun- dies that create price distortion, and lengthy social housing development.
way Resort in Bandar Sunway on Thurs- approval process that is unproductive, result-
day (March 24). ing in costly delays and creating uncertainty. Ng said that if the government takes
over the development of social housing,
The objectives of the report were to find Ng said that all levels of the government then houses can be built on lands owned
out what the costs contributing to the over- should work together with developers and by the government that are close to public
all increase in development costs and pric- NGOs to better understand how the in- transport like the LRT, MRT and buses,
es were, and to provide practical solutions crease in compliance cost actually leads and this will allow developers to focus on
and recommendations to reduce costs so to higher house prices. developing products for the open market.
that house prices will be affordable for the
rakyat. “What is important at the end of the day He also suggested that private devel-
is that, if we can mitigate the compliance opers could contribute a sum, which the
Said Rehda Institute chairman Datuk cost impact, then there is a higher chance government can use to build social hous-
Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip at the media brief- that, moving forward, house prices can be ing on lands that the government owns.
ing, “This report is based on a thorough kept at a more sustainable level in terms
understanding of what causes house prices of price increase,” added Ng. Another recommendation was for a
to move up because of the cost, in particu- standardised and transparent bumiputera
lar, compliance costs, which is part of the He suggested that the government unit release mechanism for unsold bumi-
overall costs.” should do a cost-benefit analysis by involv- putera units to be released back to the de-
ing all stakeholders — property developers, veloper.The report revealed that as at June
Also at the launch of the report was professional consultants and so on — in a 2020 there are 6,121 unreleased bumiputera
Rehda Malaysia acting president Datuk discussion before imposing any new com- units surveyed from 136 developers, which
N K Tong. pliance cost, to ensure the cost imposed will translates to RM3.8 billion in tied up re-
sources and RM4.6 billion in holding costs.

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(March 24): Malaysian Prime Minister Da- Malaysian PM vote — once he was confident of his party’s
tuk Seri Ismail SabriYaakob is under pres- under pressure victory. Still, the pact with the opposition
sure from his party to call off a confidence to void political prevents him from making the move be-
and supply agreement with the opposition, stability pact fore July 31 this year.
a move that could allow the government to
dissolve Parliament earlier than planned. BY ANISAH SHUKRY The opposition have maintained that
Bloomberg their rejection of the bill has no bearing
This was after opposition lawmakers on their agreement with the government.
rejected a bill that would have enabled the tion, which is expected to happen this year The MoU states that Pakatan Harapan
government to renew for another five years owing to pressure from UMNO. Ismail would only either support or abstain from
its powers to detain suspects without trial Sabri on Saturday said he would dissolve voting from bills that served as de facto
for up to 28 days.The bill was defeated by Parliament — a precursor to a nationwide confident votes, and Wednesday’s bill did
a majority of two votes, with 50 MPs ab- not fall under that category.
sent, according to the Parliament Speaker
on Wednesday. “UMNO-BN must immediately exit the
shackles of this weak cooperation,” UMNO
The defeat was “humiliating” and vi- president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hami-
olated the so-called Memorandum of di wrote on FacebookThursday.“All of this
Understanding on Transformation and only strengthens my belief that UMNO
Political Stability inked between the gov- must rise up and return as a strong, big
ernment and opposition alliance Pakatan and respected political power.”
Harapan last year, according to leaders of
ruling party the United Malays National Still, it’s in Ismail Sabri’s best interests
Organisation. to extend the pact and delay the nation-
wide vote so that he can remain in power
“The spirit and purpose of the MoU for as long as possible, said Oh Ei Sun,
was clear, for a stable and harmonious ad- senior fellow at Singapore Institute of In-
ministration and to support the PM as he ternational Affairs. The election is only
manages the country’s recovery,” said Mul- due in July 2023, and there has been no
timedia and Communications MinisterTan guarantee from UMNO that Ismail Sabri
Sri Annuar Musa, an UMNO leader. “To would continue to be their prime minis-
me, Pakatan Harapan, particularly DAP, ter candidate.
must accept the fact that the PM is no
longer tied to this MoU.” “But if the opposition says ‘no, we
don’t want to continue with the MoU’,
The Prime Minister’s Office did not and UMNO’s mainstream faction pulls
immediately respond to a request for com- the rug from beneath his feet, then Ismail
ment. would have no choice but to call for a gen-
eral election,” Oh said.
At stake is Malaysia’s next general elec-

KUALA LUMPUR (March 24): The An- Anti-Party Wan Junaidi said there is no problem for
ti-Party Hopping Bill will be tabled at a spe- Hopping Bill the special sitting to be held in the month
cial parliamentary sitting, which has been to be tabled of Ramadan as the Dewan Rakyat sitting
scheduled for April 11, said Minister in the on April 11 had previously been held during the fast-
Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament ing month.
and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tu- Bernama
anku Jaafar. “There’s no need to worry as the prime
BLOOMBERG minister has assured that we will table this
Wan Junaidi said he had discussed the Bill and leave it to the MPs (Members of
date with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Parliament) to decide for themselves.
SabriYaakob.
“The prime minister also said that if we
“I had the opportunity to discuss this with are not able to debate on the Bill in one day,
the prime minister and we have agreed to the special sitting can be held over two days,”
hold a meeting on April 11 for us to debate Wan Junaidi said.
on the Anti-Party Hopping Bill.
The minister was previously reported to
“Under Regulation 11 (3), it is indeed have said that several proposed constitutional
the power and the right of the prime minis- amendments would be tabled during the De-
ter to discuss with the Speaker [of the De- wan Rakyat sitting, including the Anti-Party
wan Rakyat] but the date was set within 14 Hopping Bill and limiting the prime minis-
days,” Wan Junaidi said when winding up ter’s term to two terms.
the debate on the Constitutional (Amend-
ment) Bill 2022 in the Dewan Rakyat here This would be in line with the recommen-
onThursday (March 24). dation of Ismail Sabri, who wants the Bill to
be expedited after the government signed the
He said this in reply to a question from Memorandum of Understanding onTrans-
Lim Guan Eng (Pakatan Harapan-Bagan) formation and Political Stability with Pakatan
who stood up to ask when the special par- Harapan on Sept 13, 2021.
liamentary sitting would be held to enable
both sides including the opposition to pre- However, the Bill could not be tabled dur-
pare accordingly. ing the current Dewan Rakyat sitting to ob-
tain the views and input of all parties involved.

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West united in support for Ukraine
but EU split on Russian energy ban

BY MARINE STRAUSS AND
GABRIELA BACZYNSKA
Reuters

BRUSSELS (March 24): NATO offered The bloc has struggled to implement port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Russia
Kyiv new military assistance and assigned the sanctions already agreed, with Russian denies targeting civilians.
more troops to its eastern flank onThursday oligarchs’ wealth largely untouched weeks
as London and Washington imposed fresh since the invasion of Ukraine. “Putin has already crossed the red line
sanctions on Moscow in a show ofWestern into barbarism,” British Prime Minister
unity against Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukraine is a former Soviet republic that Boris Johnson said as London unveiled re-
wants to join the EU and NATO, plans strictions on Gazprombank and Alfa Bank,
NATO, G7 and EU leaders who were that are anathema to Moscow, which at- as well as on the stepdaughter of Russian
meeting in Brussels, however, fell short of tacked Ukraine by land, air and sea on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
satisfying pleas by Ukrainian PresidentVo- Feb. 24. Putin has said his “special opera-
lodymyr Zelenskiy for a significant boost tion” is designed to destroy Ukraine’s mili- “The harder our sanctions ... the more
to military aid and tighter sanctions against tary capabilities and capture what Moscow we can do to help Ukraine ... the faster this
Russian PresidentVladimir Putin. regards as dangerous nationalists. thing can be over,” Johnson said.

The European Union squabbled over The Russian invasion has killed thou- NATO has, however, turned down re-
cutting Russian energy links with Germa- sands and driven a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 peated pleas by Kyiv to defend Ukraine’s
ny, the key opponent of an embargo, though million people from their homes. skies and said it would not send troops to
NATO leaders agreed to help Ukraine pro- Ukraine for fear of being dragged into a
tect itself against any chemical, biological or WARNING TO CHINA full-on military confrontation with nucle-
nuclear attacks. NATO, which has already beefed up its ar-armed Russia.
eastern flank to 40,000 troops spread
A US official saidWashington and allies from the Baltic to the Black Sea, agreed “We remain united and resolute in our
were also working to provide Kyiv with an- onThursday to set up new combat units in determination to oppose Russia’s aggres-
ti-ship missiles. Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. sion, aid the government and the people
of Ukraine, and defend the security of
Britain slapped sanctions on more Rus- The alliance also warned that China all allies,” NATO leaders said in a joint
sian lenders and the United States targeted should “abstain from supporting Russia’s statement.
dozens of Russian defense companies and war effort in any way, and to refrain from Read also:
members of the ruling class.Addressing the any action that helps Russia circumvent US hits Russian lawmakers, defense
27 EU member countries, Latvia demanded sanctions”, a comment echoed by Fin- sector with new sanctions Click here
a ban on Russian energy imports. land’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin. US targets Russia’s giant stash of gold
in newest sanctions Click here
“Energy sanctions are a way to stop mon- “If China helps Russia, then the sanctions EU’s top diplomat says Russia has
ey flowing into Putin’s war coffers”, said won’t work as we want them to work,” she no interest in negotiating ceasefire in
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Karins said on arriving to the EU summit being Ukraine for now Click here
held after a NATO and a G7 one. North Korea fires possible ICBM in
“The most logical place to move forward largest test since 2017 Click here
is in oil and coal. We have to stop Putin. The U.S. official said the G7 and the
Because if we do not stop Putin, Putin will EU — which will hold a summit with
not stop.” China on April 1 — would make clear
any transactions involving Russian gold
His Estonian colleague opted for tar- reserves were covered by sanctions in
geting oil and gas to prevent revenue from a move aimed at stopping Russia from
energy sales from financing the war. But evading the penalties.
the bloc did not get unanimous support for
further sanctions. The month-long invasion has hit residen-
tial areas, schools and hospitals in Ukrainian
The prime minister of Luxembourg said cities including Kharkiv and the besieged
the bloc needed to keep some options open
in case the crisis worsens, and his Dutch
peer said no new sanctions would be agreed
on Thursday.

The EU has only been reducing its re-
liance on Russian energy very slowly and
the industry has largely been exempt from
sanctions - the biggest loophole in meas-
ures that have otherwise frozen Russia out
of world commerce.

EU leaders are expected, however, to
agree at their summit to jointly buy gas
and hope for a deal with U.S. President Joe
Biden to secure additional U.S. liquefied
natural gas supplies.

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LONDON (March 24): Crude prices fell Oil prices fall Adding to concerns about available sup-
on Thursday as the United States and its as US, allies ply, slow progress in talks on a deal between
allies discussed a possible further coordi- consider further world powers and Iran overTehran’s nuclear
nated release of oil from storage to help oil stock release work means prospects for Iranian crude re-
calm energy markets in the wake of Rus- turning to the market have been pushed back.
sia’s invasion of Ukraine. BY ROWENA EDWARDS
Reuters “Unless Iran is allowed back to the mar-
Benchmark Brent fell by US$1.99, or ket quickly it is hard to see how further
1.6%, to US$119.61 a barrel by 1403 Kazakhstan’s Caspian Pipeline Consortium price increase, potentially above the recent
GMT. terminal had completely halted following peaks, can be avoided,” PVM oil broker
storm damage. Tamas Varga said.
USWestTexas Intermediate (WTI) was
down US$2.10, or 1.8%, to US$112.82 Investors were also waiting to see how White House national security adviser
a barrel. Western sanctions will be tightened on Jake Sullivan said onWednesday the Unit-
Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. ed States and its allies had made progress
“With respect to the emergency stock- in Iran nuclear talks but issues remained.
piles, these are ongoing discussions and all Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch
those tools are certainly on the table,” US said sanctions were unlikely to have a ma- “A lifting of Iranian export restrictions
energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a jor impact on the oil market because they would help alleviate the immense tight-
news conference at the headquarters of the “will probably not include an oil embargo ness prevalent in crude markets right now,”
International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris. by the EU, as a number of countries that consultancy JBC Energy said in a note,
are heavily depend on Russian oil — such adding that Iran was already preparing to
IEA executive director Fatih Birol said as Germany — have opposed this.” ramp up exports.
IEA countries were united in seeking to rad- Read also:
ically reduce Russian oil and gas imports. Thursday’s price fall was capped by a China is quietly taking cheap Russian
drop in US crude in the Strategic Petrole- crude as India buys more Click here
Further adding to bearish sentiment, um Reserve, which fell to the lowest level
officials of the Organization of the Petro- since May 2002, the US Energy Informa- OPEC officials tell EU of unease about
leum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have tion Administration said on Wednesday. proposed ban on Russian oil, sources
expressed to the EU their unease about a say Click here
proposed ban on Russian oil, OPEC sourc-
es said.

Trading was volatile though. Earlier in
the session WTI and Brent rose by around
US$2 a barrel on lingering supply concerns
including reports that crude exports from

TOKYO (March 24): Asian importers of Asian gas buyers contracts,according to Japan Oil,Gas and Met-
Russian gas were scrambling on Thurs- puzzle over Putin’s als National Corporation’s (JOGMEC) data.
day after Russian PresidentVladimir Putin
said “unfriendly” countries must pay for demand for Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas, the country’s
Russian gas in roubles, in the latest jolt to payment in roubles two biggest local gas suppliers, also were
global energy markets after Moscow’s in- checking details on the rouble requirement,
vasion of Ukraine. BY YUKA OBAYASHI & HEEKYONG YANG company spokespersons said onThursday.
Reuters
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were Tokyo Gas, one of Japan’s largest LNG
on the list of countries deemed unfriend- REUTERS buyers, declined to comment on any details
ly. They all import liquefied natural gas of its long-term contract for 1.1 million
(LNG) from the Sakhalin-2 and Yamal Sakhalin-2, to change the currency of tpy with Sakhalin Energy, including what
LNG projects in eastern Russia. payment from the U.S. dollar, a compa- currency it can use for payment.
ny spokesperson said. The spokesperson
Putin said on Wednesday that Russia, added that the country’s biggest power Sakhalin Energy is 50% owned by Russia’s
which calls its actions in Ukraine a “special generator will keep gathering information. Gazprom, with Shell holding a 27.5% stake
military operation”, would continue to supply while the rest is held by Japan’s trading compa-
gas in volumes and prices fixed in contracts A thermal power and fuel joint venture be- nies Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp. Shell
but would require payment in Russian roubles. tweenTokyo Electric Power Company Hold- said on Feb. 28 that it would quit the project
ings and Chubu Electric Power, JERA buys and the Japanese government has said Shell’s
Japan, the biggest importer of Russian about 2 million tonnes a year (tpy) of LNG exit did not impact Japan’s energy imports.
LNG in Asia, had no idea how Russia from the Sakhalin-2 project under long-term
would enforce that requirement. Mitsui and Mitsubishi are checking de-
tails of the Russia’s announcement, their
“Currently, we’re looking into the situ- spokesmen said.
ation with relevant ministries as we don’t Read also:
quite understand what (Russia’s) intention No Russian gas, please: This may be
is and how they would do this,” Finance first LNG tender to specifically ban
Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in parliament. outcast state Click here

Japan imported 6.84 million tonnes of Europe gas rises as supply risks mount
LNG from Russia in 2021, according to with Putin’s rouble demand Click here
Refinitiv trade flow data, making up nearly
9% of its LNG imports.

JERA, Japan’s biggest LNG buyer, has
not received any notification from Sakha-
lin Energy, the joint venture that operates

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 17 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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Russia stocks jump as trade resumes
after month-long break

REUTERS

Reuters

(March 24): Energy and metal firms led promise Russia’s rainy-day fund will buy other were ready to park their rubles in
a jump in Russian stocks on Thursday as shares was also underpinning the market. shares, so as to somehow save them from
trading resumed after almost a month’s inflation,” he said.
suspension, reflecting soaring global pric- “The overall sentiment is supported by
es for oil, gas, and other commodities on the confidence that the finance ministry The benchmark MOEX stock index
fears the Ukraine crisis will threaten supply. will buy stocks,” BCS said. ended the short trading session 4.4%
higher at 2,578.51 points, having earlier
The market was also underpinned by The government said on March 1 reached a day peak of 2,761.17.
a government commitment to supporting that it would use up to one trillion ru-
stocks, leading a senior US official to dis- bles (US$10.4 billion) from the Nation- The dollar-denominated RTS index fell
miss the limited resumption of trading as a al Wealth Fund to buy battered Russian 9% on the day to 852.64, pressured by the
“a charade: a Potemkin market opening”. stocks, although it was not clear whether weaker ruble, according to MOEX data
any purchases were being made onThurs- that was suspended in the Eikon terminal.
Stocks had not traded on Moscow’s day.
bourse since Feb 25, the day after Pres- The negative impact of sanctions was
ident Vladimir Putin sent troops into The finance ministry did not immedi- clear in some sectors, with shares in Rus-
neighbouring Ukraine, prompting West- ately respond to a request for comment. sia’s second-largest lender VTB down
ern sanctions aimed at isolating Russia 5.5%. And with most European airspace
economically and then Russian counter- ‘Potemkin market opening’ closed to Russian planes, flagship carrier
measures. A senior US official said Moscow’s com- Aeroflot sank 16.44%.
mitment to buying amounted to artificially
The reaction has cut off Russian finan- propping up shares, and called the limited Trading apps of major brokerages with
cial markets from global networks and sent resumption “a Potemkin market opening”. leading banks, including Sberbank,VTB,
the ruble currency tumbling. Stocks had and Alfa, reported temporary problems
also plunged immediately after Moscow “This is not a real market and not a with processing clients’ orders following
launched what it called “a special military sustainable model — which only under- the restart.
operation” to disarm and “denazify” its scores Russia’s isolation from the global
southern neighbour. financial system,” deputyWhite House na- Ruble firms
tional security adviser Daleep Singh said The ruble, meanwhile, extended its recov-
Restrictions on trade with foreigners in a statement. ery, gaining 1.3% to trade at 96.5 against
and a ban on short selling remained in the dollar in Moscow trade by 1502 GMT.
place on Thursday as the Moscow Ex- Trading in Russian companies listed on
change cautiously resumed equities trad- the London Stock Exchange remains sus- The currency had hit its strongest level
ing. On Friday, more securities, including pended. Prices of some instruments had in three weeks at 94.975 on Wednesday
corporate bonds and Eurobonds will be plunged to almost zero before the bourse after Putin said Russia would start selling
traded, the central bank said. halted trading of them in early March. its gas to “unfriendly” countries in rubles.

“We will do everything possible to open The Moscow Exchange said 567,000 Against the euro, the ruble was 2.1%
all segments of the stock market soon,” Bo- private investors had accounted for 58.2% higher at 105.75, pulling further away from
ris Blokhin, head of Moscow Exchange’s of Thursday’s trading volume, with 121 an all-time low of 132.4 it hit in Moscow
stock market department, said. professional participants conducting the trading earlier in March, but far from levels
remainder. of around 90 seen before Feb 24.
Stellar gains
The short session saw energy firms make “Today the first step was made in our Russia resumed trading of OFZ treasury
stellar gains, with gas producer Novatek, new reality,” said Elbek Dalimov, head of bonds on Monday with the central bank
oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil and gas gi- equity trading at Aton brokerage, add- helping stabilise the market with interven-
ant Gazprom up 12%-18.5%. ing that trading orders were limited with tions, the amount of which it has not yet
non-residents, who hold more than half the disclosed.
Brent crude oil, a global benchmark free float on the market, sidelined.
for Russia’s main export, was trading near Yields of benchmark 10-year OFZ
US$120.6 per barrel onThursday, having “In the morning we saw a huge number bonds, which move inversely to their prices,
jumped more than 20% from a month ago of retail investors who on the one hand stood at 13.68% after hitting an all-time
as worries about supply disruptions from were closing short positions and on the high of 19.74% on Monday.
the Ukraine crisis drive up prices.

Shares in mining giant Nornickel also
gained 10.2%.

Novatek and Nornickel pared losses
sustained since before Feb 24 by the ses-
sion’s close. Fertiliser producer Phosagro
closed at a record high.

“Large bids to buy Russian shares have
been seen since the market opening,” BCS
Brokerage said in a note, adding that a

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 18 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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(March 24): The U.S. audit watchdog said U.S. says erg News reported earlier this month. Howev-
speculation about a deal that would keep speculation of er, under the plan the CSRC would still seek
hundreds of Chinese companies from being deal on China to retain some ability to withhold sensitive
being kicked off American stock exchanges stock listings is data from inspection by the PCAOB.
is “premature.”
premature Since Congress passed the law in 2020, the
In a statement on Thursday, the Public PCAOB and Securities and Exchange Com-
Company Accounting Oversight Board said BY BEN BAIN mission have been laying the groundwork for
that while it continues to meet with Chinese Bloomberg identifying and delisting companies that don’t
regulators, it’s unclear if Beijing authorities comply. Firms face removal if they shirk re-
will ultimately permit U.S. inspectors to fully “While we will continue our work to find quirements for three straight years, meaning
review the audit papers of companies. The practical solutions to address the concerns they could be kicked off the NewYork Stock
regulator added that any agreement would of PRC authorities, ultimately, full access to Exchange and Nasdaq as soon as 2024.
only be a “first step” and that the PCAOB relevant audit documentation is necessary
would then investigate to ensure that the deal to carry out our mandate on behalf of inves- In its statement onThursday, the PCAOB
is being followed. tors,” the PCAOB said in a statement. “This said it continues to meet with CSRC author-
is not negotiable, even with respect to issuers ities to try to reach an agreement that allows
WhileWashington and Beijing have been in sensitive industries.” American inspectors “the access required to
at odds for two decades over the mandate that inspect and investigate completely auditors
all companies that trade publicly in the U.S. The China Securities Regulatory Com- headquartered in mainland China and Hong
grant access to audit work papers, the issue mission is weighing a proposal that would al- Kong.” The U.S. watchdog said it required
prompted action on Capitol Hill at the end low U.S. regulators to inspect audit papers for “full access to audit work papers, firm per-
of theTrump administration, when American some companies as soon as this year, Bloomb- sonnel, and any other relevant information
lawmakers required that non-compliant firms related to such audit engagements.”
be delisted.The law is particularly threaten- Read also: China’s Weibo says will evalu-
ing to companies based in China and Hong ate options following SEC addition under
Kong because Beijing has refused to grant HFCCA Click here
access to corporate audits, citing national se-
curity concerns.

(March 24): Xi Jinping andVladimir Putin de- China envoy website, which was then blocked in China.
clared a “no limits” friendship between Chi- says Xi-Putin Xiao Bin, a research fellow at the state-
na and Russia before the Olympics began.Two
months and a war later, Beijing’s envoy to the friendship backed Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
US has added an important caveat. actually does last week noted that China and Russia’s strategic
have a limit partnership “emerged from a state of no war”,
“China and Russia’s cooperation has no for- saying that the subsequent invasion had changed
bidden areas, but it has a bottom line,”Ambas- Bloomberg those dynamics. “Therefore, China-Russia re-
sador Qin Gang told state-backed broadcaster lations certainly have upper limits, which are
PhoenixTV onWednesday.“That line is the ten- REUTERS the interests of the Chinese people,” he wrote
ets and principles of the United Nations Char- on the website of the China-United States Ex-
ter, the recognised basic norms of international something we’re watching every day”. change Foundation.That post is still available
law and international relations.” Some prominent Chinese scholars have on China’s internet.

“This is the guideline we follow in bilateral suggested Beijing should calibrate its rela- “In other words, relations should be con-
relations between China and any other coun- tionship with Moscow. In a now-censored strained to areas that don’t harm those inter-
try,” Qin added, responding to a question about commentary, Hu Wei, a vice-chairman for ests,” Xiao added.
Beijing’s commitment to Moscow following its the State Council-affiliated Public Policy
Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine. Research Center, advocated in early March Still, other prominent commentators have
for a clear break from Russia “as soon as advocated for close China-Russia relations. Hu
The remarks are the first from a Chinese of- possible”, in a post republished by the Cart- Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Communist
ficial clarifying a lengthy joint statement released er Center’s US-China Perception Monitor’s Party backed GlobalTimes newspaper, called
by the two countries last month that heightened Russia the “most important partner” for China
concerns among US allies about a rejuvenated in a recentWeibo post.
China-Russia bloc. Since the invasion, China
has sought to portray itself as neutral: Issuing “If the US successfully drives a wedge be-
statements supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty tween China and Russia, Russia will immedi-
and expressing concern about civilian casualties, ately face a strategic checkmate,” he wrote.“In
while supporting Putin at the United Nations a future conflict between China and the US,
and blaming the US for provoking the war by ex- China will also face a losing game.”
panding the North AtlanticTreaty Organisation. Read also:
US lifts Trump-era tariffs on 352 Chinese
Xi has faced more pressure to distance him- products Click here
self from Putin, with President Joe Biden in
a Friday call cautioning the Chinese leader US current account deficit biggest on record
against providing military or sanctions assis- in 2021 Click here
tance to Moscow. Jake Sullivan, the US national
security adviser, saidWednesday administration
officials “have not seen the Chinese government
move forward on the supply of weapons, but it’s

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 19 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

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ECB to tighten ing and said it reserved the right to do so when- NEWS IN BRIEF
banks’ access ever it sees fit.
to loans after BLOOMBERG
pandemic-era Under the decision, the ECB will gradually re-
move measures that have allowed banks to borrow Philippine central bank stands
largesse more easily from the central bank, including at a pat, but sees 2022 inflation above
time of high market stress in the spring of 2020, by target
BY FRANCESCO CANEPA mobilising additional collateral worth 240 billion. MANILA (March 24): The Philippine
Reuters central bank left key interest rates
It will start in July by no longer accepting “fall- steady on Thursday to shore up a
FRANKFURT (March 24):The European Cen- en angels”, or bonds that have lost their invest- domestic economy facing risks from
tral Bank will tighten banks’ access to its liquidity ment-grade rating during the pandemic, and in- global uncertainties, but it raised
from July by phasing out exceptionally easy collat- creasing certain “haircuts”, or valuation discounts, inflation forecasts and highlighted
eral rules introduced at the onset of the coronavirus on the loans that banks post as collateral. its readiness to temper increasing
pandemic, the ECB said onThursday. price pressures. The Bangko Sentral
The process will end in December 2024 when ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept the rate on the
The move marks another step towards ending the last tranche of the ECB’s latest multi-year loans, overnight reverse repurchase facility at
the extraordinary support measures the bank de- another plank of its pandemic-response, is repaid. 2.0% for an 11th straight policy meeting,
ployed to cushion the economic impact of Cov- as predicted by all 17 economists in a
id-19.The ECB has already wound down a massive “This gradual phasing out allows ample time March 15-21 Reuters poll. The interest
money-printing scheme and opened the door to for the Eurosystem’s counterparties to adapt,” the rates on the overnight deposit and
its first interest rate hike in a decade. ECB said in a statement. lending facilities were likewise kept at
1.5% and 2.5%, respectively. Average
In a sign of continued support for the euro The ECB also reaffirmed a waiver on Greek inflation could breach the upper end
zone’s weakest members, however, the ECB will government bonds for as long as it keeps invest- of the 2%-4% target range in 2022 by
continue to let banks post Greek government ing the proceeds from its Pandemic Emergency reaching 4.3%, higher than the February
bonds as collateral despite their junk-credit rat- Purchase Programme (PEPP). forecast of 3.7%, BSP governor Benjamin
Diokno said. For 2023, average inflation
In a hopeful sign for other countries with lower was seen at 3.6%, higher than the
credit ratings, such as Cyprus, Portugal or Italy, previous projection of 3.3%. — Reuters
the ECB added that it may disregard agencies’
ratings again in the future. Barclays says global recession
unlikely, cuts growth expectations
“The ECB’s Governing Council reserves the BENGALURU (March 24): A global
right to deviate also in the future from credit rat- recession is unlikely despite the raging
ing agencies’ ratings if warranted,” the ECB said. war in Ukraine, Barclays said on Thursday,
even as the brokerage cut its 2022 growth
NEWYORK (March 24): Russia’s pariah status ‘Unprecedented’ forecast to 3.3% from 4.4% before the
in the international investor community after cash flows from conflict. Barclays, which also raised its
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine may be behind China may be global inflation expectations to 5.6%
“unprecedented”cash flows out of China,the In- related to Russia’s from 3.2%, said the main impact of the
stitute of International Finance said onThursday. war is a supply side shock for both energy
status — IIF and food. “Higher prices for energy and
Many emerging market and global investors food will squeeze real wages, dragging
are faced with steep write-downs of their Russian BY RODRIGO CAMPOS consumption lower and complicating the
holdings due to sanctions across the world that Reuters growth/inflation trade-off for central
were triggered by last month’s invasion, which banks,” Barclays economists wrote.
made Russia “uninvestable” for some. while the rest of EM holds up. The brokerage’s action comes after the
Investors may fear that if China will actively International Monetary Fund (IMF)
“At this stage it is too early to say if the war is warned that the deepening crisis in
driving outflows or if other factors are to blame,” support Russia’s invasion, it would put it in line Ukraine could lead it to lower its global
said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the IIF. for a round of sanctions similar to Moscow’s. growth forecast. The IMF projected global
growth of 4.4% in January. — Reuters
“But we think these outflows are notable “While we’re in this situation, I think there
enough to at least raise the possibility that Rus- is going to be concerns that if China would re- Read also: UN: World economy set to slow
sia’s invasion of Ukraine may be pushing global ally support Russia ... could they be included in on war’s ‘strong headwinds’ Click here
markets to look at China in a new light.” sanctions as well,” said Rick Meckler, partner at
Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.
He said the Russia link would be consistent
with the relatively recent nature of the observed “Russia was very eye-opening.After all,you’re
outflows. talking about companies with quite significant
market caps.”
Flows to Chinese debt and equity portfolios
have mostly held up even through a stock and OnWednesday, the head of NATO said the
bond selloff triggered by a shift in policy from Western military alliance worries that China
Beijing that pressured the property sector and could support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
came to a head last year. while the Biden administration warned Beijing
not to take advantage of business opportunities
Net monthly foreign flows to emerging mar- created by sanctions.
kets outside of China had all but stopped in the
last quarter of 2021 and the trend continued China has not condemned Russia’s actions
into 2022. in Ukraine, though it has expressed deep con-
cern about the war.
But daily high-frequency numbers compiled
by the IIF show a dramatic shift in flows from a
mid-December peak, especially out of Chinese
stock portfolios, exacerbated in late February.

What is unprecedented, says the IIF,
is that investors are pulling out of China

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 20 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

NEWYORK (March 24): BlackRock Inc’s BlackRock’s Russian stock market, according to figures
chief executive, Larry Fink, said onThurs- Fink says Russia- supplied by the asset manager this month.
day that the Russia-Ukraine war could end
up accelerating digital currencies as a tool Ukraine crisis Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a
to settle international transactions, as the could accelerate “special operation.”
conflict upends the globalization drive of digital currencies
the last three decades. The conflict’s impact on global supply
BY DAVIDE BARBUSCIA chains - already hammered over the past
In a letter to the shareholders of the Reuters two years because of the coronavirus crisis
world’s largest asset manager, Fink said the - is expected to contribute to inflationary
war will push countries to reassess curren- BlackRock had suspended the purchase of pressures that are pushing global central
cy dependencies, and that BlackRock was any Russian securities in its active index banks to tighten monetary policies and
studying digital currencies and stablecoins portfolios following Moscow’s invasion of reverse COVID-19-driven accommoda-
due to increased client interest. Ukraine. tive measures.

“A global digital payment system, “Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken “While companies’ and consumers’ bal-
thoughtfully designed, can enhance the to countless stakeholders, including our ance sheets are strong today, giving them
settlement of international transactions clients and employees, who are all looking more of a cushion to weather these diffi-
while reducing the risk of money laun- to understand what could be done to pre- culties, a large-scale reorientation of sup-
dering and corruption”, he said. vent capital from being deployed to Rus- ply chains will inherently be inflationary,”
sia.We believe this is the definition of our said Fink.
That appeared to strike a different tone fiduciary duty,” Fink said.
from May of last year, when Fink raised He said central banks were dealing with
some concerns around volatility and said it BlackRock Inc’s total client exposure to a dilemma they had not faced in decades,
was too early to determine whether cryp- Russia had declined to less than $1 billion having to choose between living with high
tocurrencies were just a speculative trad- earlier this month from $18 billion be- inflation or slowing economic activity to
ing tool. fore Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine led to contain price pressures.
Western sanctions and the closure of the
In the letter onThursday, the chairman Energy prices have jumped as sanc-
and CEO of the $10 trillion asset manag- tions on Moscow prompted companies
er said the Russia-Ukraine crisis had put and countries to reassess supply chains
an end to the globalization forces at work and to try to reduce dependence on Rus-
over the past 30 years. sian commodities.

Access to global capital markets was “Energy security has joined the energy
a “privilege, not a right,” he said, adding transition as a top global priority,” Fink
said.

Nickel turmoil
is back as prices
spike 15% again

to hit limit

BY MARK BURTON & JACK FARCHY
Bloomberg

LONDON (March 24): Nickel surged by future. But the sharp two-day jump will While Tsingshan holds an outsized
the 15% exchange limit for a second day be piling pressure on its banks and bro- short position on the LME, there are
in London, putting the spotlight back on kers who have to make margin calls of many other industrial users and phys-
bearish position holders just two weeks their own to cover short positions on the ical traders who hold short positions to
since the market was roiled by an historic LME when prices rise. hedge their price risk, raising the threat
short squeeze. of another squeeze if those parties need
“Ultimately the short position is still to buy their positions back, or brokers
Nickel futures remained locked at the out there, and they will have to close it seek to close them out to avoid further
price limit by late morning on the Lon- out,” Michael Widmer, head of metals margin calls.
don Metal Exchange (LME), as the latest research at Bank of America Corp, said Click here to read the full story
spike extended a period of unprecedented by phone from London. Sharp daily price
turmoil for the market. Prices soared over moves are likely to continue “at least until
250% over two trading sessions in early the short position is out of the market”.
March during the short squeeze centered
on China’sTsingshan Holding Group Co,
before the market was suspended.

Tsingshan struck a deal with its banks
to avoid further margin calls, allowing
the market to reopen last week, and said
it would reduce its short position in the

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 21 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

Dubai’s biggest IPOs to go ahead while issuers elsewhere NEWS IN BRIEF
IPO in 15 years sit on the sidelines.
seeks to raise GIC-backed South Korean super
Dubai missed out entirely on an IPO app to take on Grab and GoTo in
US$2.2b rush that swept the Middle East last year SEA
and saw offerings draw in tens of billions (March 24): South Korea super app
Bloomberg of dollars of demand.To boost trading vol- Toss is set to take on competitors Grab
umes and catch up with rivals Abu Dhabi and GoTo in Southeast Asia, with its
(March 24): Dubai’s main power and wa- and Riyadh, the city set out a plan to list 10 planned expansion into four more
ter company is looking to raise as much as state-owned companies, including DEWA, countries in the region. According to a
US$2.2 billion (RM9.3 billion) in its initial in the hope that would then encourage oth- report in the Financial Times on March
public offering, in what would be the emir- er private and family-owned businesses to 24, Toss is seeking to enter Indonesia,
ate’s biggest listing since DPWorld in 2007. go public. Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines
after venturing into Vietnam in
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority Heavily reliant on tourism and real 2019. The super app also intends to
(DEWA) will sell 3.25 billion shares at estate, the city has seen just one US$95 expand in India. Toss is owned by Viva
2.25 dirhams (RM2.59) to 2.48 dirhams million IPO since 2017, data compiled by Republica, one of South Korea’s most
apiece, valuing the utility at US$33.8 billion. Bloomberg show. Meanwhile Abu Dhabi valuable fintech start-ups, which is
The listing marks the first step in Dubai’s broke a four-year listings hiatus with three seeking to raise US$1 billion from its
ambitious plan to reinvigorate its flagging offerings in 2021, the largest of which — international investors in 2Q2022.
capital markets. Adnoc Drilling — attracted over US$34 The start-up is backed by Singapore’s
billion in orders. sovereign wealth fund GIC, Paypal
DEWA is seeking to take advantage of and Sequoia Capital China. Some of
strong investor interest for new share of- DEWA has said it will aim to pay an NASDAQ-listed Grab’s investors include
ferings in the region even as equity mar- annual dividend of 6.2 billion dirhams for Singaporean state holding company
kets around the world are roiled by Rus- the next five years.The top end of the IPO Temasek and Softbank. On March 15,
sia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation pricing gives it a dividend yield of about 5%. the GoTo group announced its intention
and hawkish central bank policies. High to carry out an initial public offering
oil prices have been a boon for the ener- The utility plans to price the shares on (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange
gy-rich Persian Gulf, however, allowing April 6 and start trading in the second week (IDX) that is expected to raise at least
of April. IDR 15.2 trillion (US$1.1 billion). —
theedgesingapore.com
Citigroup Inc, Emirates NBD Bank and
HSBC Holdings Plc are managing the share Olam delays big London IPO
sale. Credit Suisse, EFG-Hermes, First Abu of food ingredients unit, cites
Dhabi Bank and Goldman Sachs Group market conditions
Inc. are also involved as bookrunners. SINGAPORE (March 24): Commodity
trader Olam Group has delayed the
Samsung But the shares on sale matched the planned second-quarter London
Electronics shares amount that Hong Ra-hee, the mother of listing of its food ingredients unit,
Samsung Electronics vice-chairman JayY a deal sources had said could raise
worth US$1.1b Lee and wife of deceased Samsung patri- about £2 billion (US$2.64 billion),
sold in block deal arch Lee Kun-hee, agreed to keep in trust citing market volatility amid the war
with Kookmin Bank in October, according in Ukraine. Singapore-based Olam’s
— term sheet to a Samsung Electronics filing that month. shares skidded 6% after the unit,
Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) said
BY JOYCE LEE The trust agreement period was due to on Thursday it does not currently
Reuters end by April 25, the filing showed. expect its initial public offering (IPO)
to take place in the second quarter, as
SEOUL (March 24): Samsung Electron- Since patriarch Lee died in 2020, Sam- previously anticipated, given market
ics shares worth about US$1.1 billion sung’s controlling family decided to use conditions. “This is clearly not positive
(about RM4.65 billion) were sold in a shares in affiliated companies to pay part but not unexpected given that Russia
block deal on Thursday (March 24), ac- of more than US$10 billion in inheritance and Ukraine are among the largest
cording to a document, which some ana- tax, people with direct knowledge of the global wheat producers, besides other
lysts attributed to the Samsung conglom- matter previously told Reuters. products,” said Justin Tang, head of
erate’s controlling family raising cash to Asian research at investment advisory
meet a big tax bill. The tax code allows payment in in- firm United First Partners. The IPO by
stalments, with one-sixth of the total to Olam’s unit would have ranked as one
About 19.9 million Samsung Electron- be paid first, and the remainder over five of London’s largest issues in recent
ics shares were sold by Kookmin Bank at years with an annual interest rate. Even years. — Reuters
68,800 won (about RM238.72) per share, in instalments, analysts expect over two
a discount of 2.4% toWednesday’s closing trillion won to be due annually. Click here to read the full story
price of 70,500 won, a term sheet of the
deal seen by Reuters showed. “The owner family is likely to sell addi-
tional shares to secure funds for inheritance
Samsung Electronics did not have a tax,” said Choi Kwan-soon, an analyst at
comment on the sale. SK Securities.

Samsung Electronics’ share price was
down 1% at 69,900 won in early afternoon
trade on Thursday, versus a 0.5% fall in
the wider market.

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Kook-
min were the bookrunners for the sale.

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 22 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

(March 24):The company formerly known Meta trades like roughly two thirds of the stocks in the S&P
as Facebook is cheaper than the average value stock after 500 Index, according to data compiled
value stock. But that’s still not cheap US$500 billion by Bloomberg. By comparison, the average
enough for bargain hunters in the stock valuation in the Nasdaq 100 Stock Index
market. rout is 24 times and the S&P 500 Value Index
is more than 16.
The problem is that many investors BY JERAN WITTENSTEIN
have lost confidence in Meta Platforms Reuters While Meta’s shares have bounced from
Inc’s ability to expand its core business a two-year low on March 14, they’re still
and deliver a payoff from its big spend- the S&P 500 Value Index of companies down 44% from the September record.
ing in pursuit of its so-called metaverse such as tractor maker Deere & Co that
strategy shift. are inexpensive relative to profits. That’s For Jason Benowitz, a senior portfo-
never happened before in Meta’s tenure lio manager with Roosevelt Investment
Heightened competition, lack of visi- as a listed company. It’s less pricey than Group, there are too many unknowns
bility on its metaverse shift and regulato- — from the outlook for growth to the
ry risks make it “challenging to be excit- metaverse pivot — to buy the stock at this
ed about Meta’s stock at current levels,” point. Even so, it’s surprising that other
Lightshed Partners analysts including investors don’t seem to be diving in due
Richard Greenfield said in a report on to its valuation.
Wednesday.
“It is striking that many people aren’t
Meta’s shares trade at valuation lower stepping in,” Benowitz said in an interview.
than a value stock “Right now it just feels like a black hole.”

Meta’s stock plunged after a catastroph- Uncertainty about Chief Executive Of-
ic quarterly earnings report in February, ficer Mark Zuckerberg’s foray into the
fueling a historic selloff that has lopped metaverse might be holding some back.
off about US$500 billion in market val- “Whether or not Meta can become an
ue since the stock’s peak in September. operating system for the metaverse is
A flurry of ratings downgrades followed, obviously unknowable at this point, al-
with analysts from JPMorgan Chase & beit there is actually a far more funda-
Co to BMO Capital Markets cautioning mental question of whether Zuckerberg’s
investors on its cloudy outlook. metaverse vision ever plays out or at least
within an investable timeframe,” Green-
Meta now sells for less than 15 times field said.
estimated earnings, making it cheaper than

(March 24): Alphabet Inc’s Google will Google tests Across the app’s lifetime, Spotify has been
begin letting some apps bill users directly letting apps like installed nearly 1 billion times from the
as an alternative to paying through Goog- Spotify offer own Google Play store, Sensor Tower added.
le, a concession amid mounting antitrust
concerns over app store fees. billing The move isn’t likely to spur Apple to
make similar changes. For one, the compa-
The new system, which Google is fram- BY MARK BERGEN, LUCAS SHAW ny has said it doesn’t make revenue deals
ing as an experiment, starts with streaming & MARK GURMAN with individual developers, regardless of
giant Spotify Technology. If a user choos- Bloomberg their size. More importantly, the iPhone
es to pay Spotify directly instead of using maker last year said it would allow media
Google’s billing system, Spotify won’t have provide an alternative billing system after reg- apps, including music apps like Spotify,
to give Google its entire 15% fee, accord- ulatory action. In that market, Google said it to link users to the web to complete pay-
ing to a person familiar with the matter. was reducing app makers’ fees by 4%.The ments, which would circumvent Apple’s
A Google spokesperson said the company new update is meant to work across the globe. 15% to 30% fee entirely. However, that
hasn’t sorted out the financial terms yet. solution wouldn’t allow Spotify to build
In 2021, consumers spent US$133 an embedded payment system within their
“This is a significant milestone and the billion on apps, two-thirds of it on Ap- app as will now be allowed on Android.
first on any major app store — whether ple’s platform, according to SensorTower.
on mobile, desktop, or game consoles,” Epic Games Inc, the maker of Fortnite,
Sameer Samat, a Google vice president, has sued Apple over the cut it takes from
wroteWednesday in a blog post.The exec- App Store transactions.
utive said Google would be sharing more
“in the coming months.” In July, three dozen States sued Google,
alleging that the company illegally abused
Both Google and Apple Inc have faced its power over the app industry through
pressure from lawsuits and in Congress for the Google Play store on mobile devices.
requiring app makers to use their payments The States called the 30% commission
systems. Google takes a 30% commission “extravagant” in the complaint.
on most app store purchases and subscrip-
tions, but lowered the fee in recent years to Separately, Congress is pushing to reg-
15% for media providers like Spotify. Spo- ulate app stores through the Open App
tify is one of several companies that have Markets Act, which has the best chance of
complained about the inability to use their becoming law among Bills aimed at reining
own billing systems on mobile app stores. in BigTech. Other major tech companies,
such as Microsoft Corp, have lobbied in
In South Korea, Google was forced to favour of the bill.

F R I D A Y M A R C H 2 5 , 2 0 2 2 23 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

MARKETS

CPO RM 5,989.00-78.00 OIL US$ 102.314.29 RM/USD 4.1950 RM/SGD 3.0939 RM/AUD 3.0733 RM/GBP 5.5285 RM/EUR 4.6329

Top 20 active stocks

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

CSH ALLIANCE BHD 345.5 -0.020 0.15 52.63 100.2

LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 60.8 -0.005 0.08 7.14 60.6

SIAB HOLDINGS BHD 58.8 0.020 0.24 0 115.1

PASUKHAS GROUP BHD 45.1 0.005 0.03 0 42.9

FARM FRESH BHD 44.4 -0.040 1.66 0 3084.2

VELESTO ENERGY BHD 40.1 0.005 0.11 -8.33 903.7

HIBISCUS PETROLEUM BHD 39.7 0.010 1.22 49.69 2449.2

FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 37.9 0.005 0.04 -12.5 223

WIDAD GROUP BHD 36.3 -0.005 0.360 -1.37 990.9 World equity indices

DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 35.3 0.010 1.04 36.84 3282

CAPITAL A BHD 33.8 0.030 0.66 -16.46 27200 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
KPOWER BHD 29.5 0.040 0.505 20.24 274.1 (%) INDONESIA 7,049.69 53.57 0.77
DOW JONES 34,358.50 -448.96 -1.29 JAPAN 28,110.39 70.23 0.25
JADE MARVEL GROUP BHD 29.0 0.015 0.77 16.67 248.0 KOREA 2,729.66 -5.39 -0.20
PHILIPPINES 7,082.61 73.18 1.04
NWP HOLDINGS BHD 28.8 -0.005 0.24 -2.04 126.3 S&P 500 4,456.24 -55.37 -1.23 SINGAPORE 3,399.70 35.44 1.05
TAIWAN 17,699.06 -32.31 -0.18
SAPURA ENERGY BHD 25.1 0.000 0.03 -40 479.4 NASDAQ 100 14,447.54 -206.79 -1.41 THAILAND 1,680.89 2.94 0.18
VIETNAM 1,498.26 -4.08 -0.27
BUMI ARMADA BHD 23.3 0.005 0.43 -9.57 2,510.5 FTSE 100 7,477.92 17.29 0.23
Source: Bloomberg
VS INDUSTRY BHD 22.8 -0.04 1.01 -26.28 3855.7 AUSTRALIA 7,387.07 9.20 0.12

TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 22.6 0.035 0.24 0 417.4 CHINA 3,250.26 -20.77 -0.63

MY EG SERVICES BHD 21.4 0.005 0.98 -8.88 7200.9 HONG KONG 21,945.95 -208.13 -0.94

OPCOM HOLDINGS BHD 20.3 0.035 0.80 -16.75 221.9 INDIA 57,602.19 -82.63 -0.14

Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022

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)

MNC WIRELESS BHD 0.03 50 7571.7 100 68.6 FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.01 -33.33 6,564 0 59

EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.02 33.33 2838.5 33.33 60.9 VSOLAR GROUP BHD 0.010 -33.33 1,766.8 -33.33 48.3

PASUKHAS GROUP BHD 0.025 25 45134.5 0 42.9 TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.02 -25.00 234.9 -25 64.4

GREEN OCEAN CORP BHD 0.025 25 66.4 -16.67 52.8 AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.020 -20.00 14,498.9 -33.33 115.6

PERMAJU INDUSTRIES BHD 0.06 20 3824.5 0 115.6 AE MULTI HOLDINGS BHD 0.020 -20.00 510.0 -33.33 43.3

JOE HOLDING BHD 0.03 20 1228.6 -14.29 91.8 CSH ALLIANCE BHD 0.145 -12.12 345,502.1 52.63 100.2

BORNEO OIL BHD 0.03 20 459.1 0 224 ASIA BRANDS BHD 0.47 -10.48 3.8 -6 109.3

AGESON BHD 0.03 20 250.6 -25 46.8 REACH ENERGY BHD 0.050 -9.09 828.0 -16.67 54.8

SANICHI TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.03 20 20 20 42.1 SC ESTATE BUILDER BHD 0.05 -9.09 400.0 -33.33 53.7

TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 0.24 17.07 22596.1 0 417.4 MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 0.910 -9.00 12.0 -6.19 40.2

FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.035 16.67 37931.7 -12.5 223 TWL HOLDINGS BHD 0.055 -8.33 56,996 -8.33 134.5

BRAHIM’S HOLDINGS BHD 0.08 14.29 6144.9 -15.79 24.6 ASTRAL ASIA BHD 0.11 -8.33 979.1 -4.35 72.6

KHEE SAN BHD 0.12 14.29 0.3 -14.29 16.5 PESTECH INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.60 -7.75 8,151.7 -26.99 588.5

WAH SEONG CORP BHD 0.72 12.5 2269.7 9.09 557.5 PARAGON GLOBE BHD 0.19 -7.32 42.8 -5 141.9

MCE HOLDINGS BHD 1.19 12.26 16.1 -9.85 66.8 LAMBO GROUP BHD 0.07 -7.14 589.3 -23.53 100.1

CAELY HOLDINGS BHD 0.49 11.36 7923.8 36.11 126.1 KIM TECK CHEONG CONSOLIDATED 0.13 -7.14 286.5 -10.34 88.6

HO WAH GENTING BHD 0.15 11.11 11424.6 -26.83 95.8 THRIVEN GLOBAL BHD 0.135 -6.90 39.6 -6.9 73.8

MERIDIAN BHD 0.05 11.11 107.5 -23.08 45.2 G3 GLOBAL BHD 0.070 -6.67 1,691.6 -12.5 151.5

NETX HOLDINGS BHD 0.1 11.11 3.2 -31.03 83.6 MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.07 -6.67 478.7 -6.67 91.9

ORIENTAL FOOD INDUSTRIES 1.06 10.99 992.4 15.22 254.4 LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.08 -6.25 60,771.7 7.14 60.6

Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA BHD 22.18 0.72 459.2 10.46 6781.5 MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 37.58 -0.42 272.1 -23.87 7474.5

NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 136 0.6 53.9 1.34 31892 BATU KAWAN BHD 26.12 -0.20 11.20 15.07 10285.3

PMB TECHNOLOGY BHD 17.86 0.58 98.8 45.44 4175.7 SOUTHERN ACIDS MALAYSIA BHD 3.95 -0.14 58.0 2.33 540.9

HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 22.90 0.54 122.0 9.88 6918 HONG LEONG BANK BHD 20.40 -0.10 1633.4 9.56 44221.4

PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 21.94 0.44 164.1 6.50 21796.4 TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD 4.85 -0.10 1427.8 -11.82 18302.4

AEON CREDIT SERVICE M BHD 14.50 0.30 87.6 6.46 3702 MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 0.91 -0.09 12.0 -6.19 40.2

IMASPRO CORP BHD 2.95 0.27 137.5 18.95 236.0 PENTAMASTER CORP BHD 3.99 -0.09 2675.0 -28.11 2838.2

UNITED MALACCA BHD 5.57 0.15 36.9 7.95 1168.4 VITROX CORP BHD 8.02 -0.08 947.5 -19.48 7575.4

BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO 12.44 0.14 165.7 -11.02 3552.0 FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 21.52 -0.08 229.1 -13.02 7893.1

MCE HOLDINGS BHD 1.19 0.13 16.1 -9.85 66.8 SAM ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT 4.80 -0.08 123.2 -14.29 2598.7

KESM INDUSTRIES BHD 9.05 0.13 29.1 -26.3 389.3 PPB GROUP BHD 17.06 -0.08 339 -0.23 24269.6

TIME DOTCOM BHD 4.28 0.12 2141 -6.43 7813.6 UWC BHD 3.95 -0.07 1696.6 -36.39 4350.4

RIVERVIEW RUBBER ESTATES BHD 3.66 0.11 3.1 15.45 237.4 SYARIKAT TAKAFUL MALAYSIA 3.50 -0.07 1449.7 -5.41 2924.7

ORIENTAL FOOD INDUSTRIES 1.06 0.11 992.4 15.22 254.4 TRADEPLUS S&P NEW CHINA 5.15 -0.07 3.5 -12.71 48.4

DKSH HOLDINGS MALAYSIA BHD 4.86 0.09 516.3 1.25 766.2 ALLIANZ MALAYSIA BHD 12.58 -0.06 28.9 -2.18 2238.7

RAPID SYNERGY BHD 10.78 0.08 342 11.13 11500 HONG LEONG INDUSTRIES BHD 9.12 -0.06 115.1 -0.65 2913.6

GENTING MALAYSIA BHD 2.95 0.08 9276.0 5.65 16712.4 D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 4.70 -0.06 4519.6 -20.34 5814.6

GENETEC TECHNOLOGY BHD 2.62 0.080 7188.5 -13.68 1784.9 ANCOM BHD 3.67 -0.06 743.8 19.16 1040.3

WAH SEONG CORP BHD 0.72 0.08 2269.7 9.09 557.5 GENTING PLANTATIONS BHD 8.72 -0.06 229.2 32.28 7823.6

REVENUE GROUP BHD 1.67 0.08 8384.5 7.74 778.6 ASIA BRANDS BHD 0.47 -0.06 3.8 -6.00 109.3

Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Mar 24, 2022 Source: Bloomberg