The Edge - 26 Jan 2022

COVID-19: GOVT MULLING FURTHER RELAXATION OF SOPS
ONCE BOOSTER VACCINATION IS COMPLETED — PM p2

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 321/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Shafee seeks to have hearing of Najib’s SRC criminal appeal at apex court only after June p5
RHB IB: Dual wholesale network will add another level of complexity and delay country’s 5G rollout p9

MACC finds new leads in LCS procurement case, two CEOs detained p10
Malaysia drops five spots to 62 in TI-M’s corruption index rankings p15
WORLD: IMF cuts 2022 world economic growth forecast to 4.4% on weaker US, China outlooks p18

SC: High Court increases jail sentence for formerTransmile
CEO Gan Boon Aun from one day to two years

Report on Page 4.

REUTERS

NFCorp, 10 others
in settlement talks

with govt on
RM250m lawsuit

Report on Page 3.

wednesday January 26, 2022 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Covid-19: Govt Covid-19 cases and vaccination Health DG: 162 new
mulling further progress in Malaysia variant of concern
relaxation of SOPs cases detected from
On Jan 24, 2022 10
once booster Daily Covid-19 deaths 45,208 Jan 23 to 25
vaccination is Active cases 202,296
completed — PM Daily vaccine doses administered 197,765 Bernama
Daily booster administered
% of adult population received 97.9 KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):A total of
two-dose vaccination 162 new Covid-19 cases which are cat-
% of adult population received 46.6 egorised as variant of concern (VOC)
booster shots were detected from Jan 23 to 25, said
Health director-generalTan Sri Dr Noor
On Jan 25, 2022 Hisham Abdullah.

Bernama Number of new cases 4,066 He said the Institute for Medical Re-
search (IMR) had identified 89 cases,
PUTRAJAYA (Jan 25): The government Local cases 3,624 Faculty of Medicine University of Ma-
is mulling further relaxation of the stand- laya (FOM-UM) detected 71 cases and
ard operating procedures (SOPs) once the Imported cases 442 Malaysia Genome andVaccine Institute
Covid-19 vaccination process in the coun- (MGI) (two cases), all of which were the
try, including the administration of booster Category 1 and 2 patients 4,016 Omicron variant.
doses, is completed, Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Ismail SabriYaakob said. (no symptoms, mild symptoms) (98.8%) “This brings the cumulative total cas-
es infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
He added that the matter, however, Category 3, 4 and 5 patients 50 (1.2%) which are categorised asVOC and var-
would depend on recommendations and iant of interest (VOI) to 7,056.
advice of the Ministry of Health (MoH). (with pnemonia, pneumonia requiring
“Of the total detected, 7,036 cases
“When the people are fully vaccinated oxygen therapy, critical and requiring wereVOC while 20 cases wereVOI,” he
and have received their booster doses, I said in a statement onTuesday (Jan 25).
believe we can give a little more relaxation assisted ventilation)
of the SOPs, but this will depend on the Dr Noor Hisham said overall, until
MoH’s recommendations,” he said when Number of new recoveries 3,559 to date, forVOC there were 6,188 Del-
addressing the Prime Minister’s Depart- ta variant cases, 601 (Omicron variant),
ment staff here on Tuesday (Jan 25). Source: Ministry of Health 233 (Beta variant) and 14 (Alpha var-
iant).
Ismail Sabri noted that if the SOPs are discussions with Indonesia and Thailand
too rigid, they would definitely affect the had been initiated, the increasing number Dr Noor Hisham said for the VOI
national tourism industry. of Covid-19 cases overseas still caused Ma- cases, there were 13 Theta variant cas-
laysia to suspend international travel. es, Kappa variant (four) and Eta vari-
Although the domestic tourism sector ant (three).
had been reopened, he said foreign tourists He added that the reopening of the in-
had yet to be allowed to enter the country ternational tourism industry would help On the latest Covid-19 cases, he said
and wage subsidies are still being given to revive the economy and make the situation 4,066 cases were recorded on Tuesday
tourism industry players. better for everybody in the country. with 50 cases (1.2%) in categoriesThree,
Four and Five while 4,016 cases (98.8%)
According to the prime minister, some Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri repeated that comprising Categories One andTwo.
countries had also relaxed their SOPs for the government had no plan to impose an-
foreign tourists and that is something for other movement control order (MCO) to “From the 4,066 cases, 442 are im-
Malaysia to consider. restrict the movement of the people and ported cases and 3,624 are local cases
the business sector. with 131 cases requiring treatment at
“That’s why we feel that if the people the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 65
have received their booster doses, we can “There have been rumours that the people cases requiring respiratory aid,” he said.
relax the SOPs a little more,” he explained. cannot go back to their hometown [during
Hari Raya] and that the business sector would He also announced that 13 new clus-
Ismail Sabri said that right now, the be closed [again]. I have announced before ters were reported on Tuesday, bring-
government is still being cautious about that there will be no MCO and travel restric- ing the number of active clusters to 244
reopening the country’s borders due to tions during Aidilfitri this year,” he stressed. while the infectivity rate (Rt) of Covid-19
Covid-19 infection concerns. in Malaysia on Monday was 1.09.
In an event in Bera, Pahang on Sunday,
He stated that even though the Ma- the prime minister said in the event there is
laysia-Singapore vaccination travel land an increase in cases in certain localities, the
(VTL) initiative had kicked off and VTL enhanced MCO targeted approach would
be used but only for the localities.

Read also: Khairy: No restrictions to be
imposed on unvaccinated children
Click here or turn to Page 16

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

HOME

NFCorp, 10 others in settlement talks
with govt on RM250m lawsuit

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Nation- BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM & SHAZNI ONG OnTuesday (Jan 25, 2022), High Court
al Feedlot Corp Sdn Bhd (NFCorp), its theedgemarkets.com Judicial Commissioner Anand Ponnudurai
chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh adjourned hearing of the case after law-
Ismail and nine others are in talks with to NFCorp by the government in Decem- yers representing the government and the
the Malaysian government to reach a set- ber 2007 to set up and operate a national accused informed Ponnudurai that both
tlement in the RM250 million lawsuit in- feedlot centre in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan. sides were in the midst of a settlement.
itiated by the government against them.
The government is seeking from the ac- Hearing of the case was originally
Mohamad Salleh and the nine others cused RM253.62 million, which includes scheduled to resume on Tuesday follow-
are accused of misappropriating RM118 accrued annual interest of 2% from May ing a postponement from 2021.
million from a RM250 million loan granted 1, 2019.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

A timeline of the NFCorp scandal

2006: NFCorp to recoup its RM250 million soft 2013:
loan to the company.
• The National Feedlot Centre (NFC) was set • On March 12, Mohamad Salleh, in his
up in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan to meet the • Meanwhile, the Opposition alleged that capacity as a director of NFCorp, was
goals and objectives of the National Meat government funds channelled to NFCorp charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT)
Policy (Ruminant Sector) 2006. had been misappropriated to purchase for using RM9,758,140 of the loan money to
luxury items and properties, as well as part-finance two units of condominiums in
• These include building the centre into a finance expensive trips abroad. Kuala Lumpur and transferring RM40 million
commercial and integrated cattle livestock into the account of National Meat and
centre, setting up a beef production system • In November, the Malaysian Anti- Livestock Corp Sdn Bhd in 2009.
through contract farming with a sustainable Corruption Commission (MACC) handed over
and integrated chain of product marketing investigations into the alleged multi-million 2019:
throughout Malaysia, and establishing an ringgit purchase of a luxury condominium in
integrated supply chain for beef production Bangsar by NFCorp to the police. • Then Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy
involving downstream and upstream Thomas filed a civil suit on May 31 against
activities. • Later that month, Inspector-General of NFCorp, Salleh, his three children and six
Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said Bukit Aman companies owned by his family to recover
• National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd had started a probe into NFCorp. the soft loan.
(NFCorp) was appointed as the NFC
integrator to mobilise the feedlot contract • In December, the police said that NFCorp's • Under the suit, the government sought
entrepreneurship on the centre’s land or purchase of two RM6.9 million luxury RM253.62 million, representing the sum
farms nearby by supplying primary input like condominiums was kosher as they were owed by NFCorp, with a 2% interest from
livestock food and calves. registered under a corporate firm and not in May 1, 2019.
the names of individuals.
2011: 2020:
2012:
• The Auditor-General's Report 2010, • On February 14, the government’s civil
which was released in October 2011, stated • In January, Shahrizat left her official roles suit against Salleh, his three children and the
that NFCorp — whose executive chairman to make way for further investigations by seven companies commence.
is then Women, Family and Community the MACC. Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak,
Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat who was then Prime Minister, confirmed that 2021:
Abdul Jalil’s husband, Datuk Seri Dr that assets in NFCorp were frozen over the
Mohamad Salleh Ismail — had failed to fulfil alleged misappropriation. • The government closed its case on March
the objective of its inception. 17 after calling seven witnesses. The trial
• The government appointed an accounting was then fixed for resumption on January 24,
• The report also highlighted NFC’s failure firm to carry out due diligence and a project 2022 with Salleh to take the stand to testify.
to achieve its target of 8,000 heads of cattle audit on the company.
that year. The RM74 million centre in Negri 2022:
Sembilan only achieved 3,289 heads of cattle • In February, police resubmit their
or 41% of the target. investigation papers to the Attorney- • The trial resumed on Jan 25, after a one-day
General’s Chambers (AGC), which then orders delay. Both parties had informed the court
• The report also stated that the government the police to carry out further investigations. that they are in the midst of a settlement
was considering taking legal action against for the RM250 million. If a settlement is not
reached, the trial will continue on May 17.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 26, 2022 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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SC: High Court SC flags FELDA
increases jail Invest, potential
sentence for clone of legitimate

formerTransmile entity FELDA
CEO Gan Boon
Aun from one day BY CHONG JIN HUN & SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemarkets.com
to two years
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The Se-
BY SULHI KHALID curities Commission Malaysia (SC)
theedgemarkets.com on Tuesday (Jan 25) flagged FEL-
DA Invest as a potential clone of the
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The Kuala statement on the revenue amount com- Malaysian government-backed Fed-
Lumpur High Court has allowed an ap- prised over RM333 million of fictitious eral Land Development Authority
peal by the Securities Commission Ma- sales. Gan’s conviction is under Section (FELDA).
laysia (SC) and increased the jail sentence 122B read together with Section 122(1)
for former Transmile Group Bhd’s CEO of the Securities Industry Act 1983. “Potential clone entity — FELDA
and executive director, Gan Boon Aun, Invest,” the SC said on its website.
from one day to two years. “Gan remains at large and the SC is
requesting members of the public who The regulator did not elaborate.
Gan remains at large. may know of his whereabouts to come At the time of writing on Tuesday,
In a statement on Tuesday (Jan 25), forward to assist the SC in locating Gan,” legitimate entity FELDA had not is-
the capital market regulator said the it said. sued a statement in response to the
High Court also upheld the initial fine SC’s statement.
of RM2.5 million imposed by the Ses- Transmile was caught in an account- The SC in an alert in November
sions Court on Aug 27, 2020. ing scandal in 2007 after auditors con- 2020 explained “clone firms” as per-
“The High Court Judge, Justice Mo- cluded that the air cargo service provid- petuated by companies that fraudu-
hamed Zaini Mazlan observed that, from er’s results for the financial years ended lently impersonate a legitimate en-
the efforts made by the SC to execute December 2005 and 2006 were grossly tity, including misusing the name
the warrant of arrest against Gan, he has overstated. and logo of a public listed company
been evading arrest, thus failing to attend (PLC) to dupe investors and solic-
the hearing of the appeal,” the SC said. Transmile suffered losses of RM126.3 it funds.
Gan was convicted for furnishing a million instead of making a profit of It said these clone firms offer
misleading statement, with intent to de- RM157.5 million in 2006. non-existent investment opportuni-
ceive, relating to Transmile’s revenue in ties, including shares in the PLCs,
the company’s Quarterly Report on Un- In 2005, it chalked up losses totalling promising unrealistically high returns
audited Consolidated Results for the Fi- RM369.6 million instead of the RM84.4 within a short span of time.
nancial Year ended Dec 31, 2006. million profit that was reported. In May 2020, the regulator also is-
According to the SC, the misleading sued an alert against fraudulent clone
It was later categorised as a Practice firms posing as licensed capital mar-
Note 17 (PN17) company in 2010, and ket intermediaries.
was eventually suspended and delisted
from the local bourse in 2011.

FROM PAGE 3 has to be completed by this year,” he said. terTan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s husband.
Earlier, senior federal counsel Azliza Besides Mohamad Salleh and NFCorp,
Ponnudurai said:“This is just not purely
a monetary claim. I also take into account Ali, who was representing the govern- the accused include the couple’s three chil-
that this is a national project. There is a ment, informed the court that the Attor- dren Wan Shahinur Izran, Wan Shahinur
possibility that this project may be revived. ney General’s Chambers had no objection Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah
to Mohamad Salleh’s application for post- besides six other companies owned by the
“I normally would be hard-pressed to ponement of the trial pending settlement family.
give the adjournment but seeing the facts talks with the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
of this case, I take it there is a good chance Mohamad Salleh is scheduled to en-
of the matter being settled. “We (the plaintiffs) have no objection ter his defence should the case continue
to the postponement (application) from in May.
“Under the circumstances, I would have the defendants. Any settlement of the case
to grant the adjournment to allow [the] will be reverted to the MoF,” Azliza said. The government is also seeking a per-
parties to pursue a settlement,” he said. sonal declaration from Mohamad Salleh
She subsequently proposed that the trial and his three children that they are per-
Ponnudurai, however, warned that in continues from May 17 to 20, 2022 should sonally liable for the RM118 million and
the event the settlement cannot be reached, the plannned settlement between the gov- that the money will be repaid by them to
he will not adjourn the trial any longer. ernment and accused is unsuccessful. the government.

He added that in the event of any delays, Mohamad Salleh is former women, Wan Shahinur Izran and Wan Izzana
the trial will continue remotely via Zoom. family and community development minis- were also directors of NFCorp.

“If they do not reach a settlement,this case

wednesday January 26, 2022 5 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge

Tan Sri Muhammad
Shafee Abdullah

Shafee seeks to have hearing of Najib’s SRC
criminal appeal at apex court only after June

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 25):Tan Sri Muhammad by Hafiz Yatim verse message to the appellant (Najib) and
Shafee Abdullah, the lead counsel for Datuk theedgemarkets.com the general public for a variety of reasons
Seri Najib Razak, had on Tuesday (Jan 25) including perception of justice,” he warned.
evening written to the secretary to Chief Jus- Shafee indicated that while the judg-
ticeTunTengku MaimunTuan Mat and the ments of the High Court and Court of He added that if the apex court were
Federal Court deputy registrar to only have Appeal are in English, the court evidence to allow them to adduce additional evi-
the hearing of the former premier’s appeal to and transcripts are not and hence, his team dence, it could change the appeal of the
set aside his conviction and sentence at the needs time to translate in its bid to get a subject matter.
Federal Court after June. Queen’s counsel (QC).
Citing the landmark decision made by
In his six-page letter, Shafee said it is During Monday’s (Jan 24) case manage- the apex court in theYahya Hussein Mohsen
not possible for the apex court to fix the ment, Shafee had indicated Najib’s intention Abdulrab vs Public Prosecutor case, where
hearing of the Pekan member of Parlia- of possibly hiring a QC to the final appeal. Yahya Hussein was allowed to adduce further
ment’s appeal in March this year, slightly evidence at the Court of Appeal that ordered
less than two months after the Court of In the letter, he said the former premier a re-trial of the matter, and the Federal Court
Appeal delivered its decision last Dec 8. “needed the advice and expertise from an bench that comprisedTengku Maimun and
experienced QC who have dealt with these two other judges deciding on appeal against
He added that parties have yet to re- complex issues”. the re-trial and granting a discharge and ac-
ceive the full records of appeal in relation quittal of the Iranian, the senior counsel said
to this case and noted that there are already “Many of the notes and documents are it shows the necessity to have separate hear-
121 volumes of documents from the High in the Malay language requiring some of ings and a reasonable time gap.
Court and the Court of Appeal, indicating the most critical ones to be ably translat-
that these may increase in the apex court. ed into English for Shafee and our other Thus, Shafee implored the apex court
senior counsel to effectively and physically for consideration for an appropriate alloca-
“Since parties have not been provided brief the QC,” the letter stated. tion of time for the main appeal to be heard.
with the full record of appeal, the appellant
cannot prepare a complete Petition of Ap- Probe on Zeti and Nor Yakcop “We gravely doubt any dates in April,
peal as we have to go through the appeal In the letter, Shafee also touched on Na- May or June can be workable. Howev-
records,” read the letter by Shafee’s firm jib’s application to adduce further evidence er, the additional evidence appeal can be
Messrs Shafee & Co dated Tuesday that for his case and mentioned the ongoing agreed on the current (March) date,” he
was sighted by several media. probe on former Bank Negara Malaysia said in the letter.
governorTan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz and for-
Following this, the senior lawyer indi- mer Minister in the Prime Minister’s De- The Federal Court is the final appeal
cated they would need an extension of time partment Tan Sri Nor MohamedYakcop. stage for the former premier to set aside his
to file the petition of appeal. conviction, jail sentence and fine which was
He said his team has no reservations upheld by the Court of Appeal last Dec 8.
A petition of appeal contains the grounds about the apex court hearing the applica-
which Najib intends to appeal at the Federal tion.The apex court had already fixed March In upholding the conviction and sen-
Court. During the Court of Appeal hearing, 15 and 16 as hearing dates for the matter. tence, the Court of Appeal described the
his firm had filed 307 grounds of appeal case as “a national embarrassment”.
against Justice Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd “Fixing the hearing date of the substan- Read also: Hearing of Najib’s application
Ghazali’s decision to convict and sentence tive appeal (the main appeal over conviction) for stay of SRC suit postponed as counsel
the former premier to 12 years’ jail and now without hearing the appeal to adduce unwell Click here
RM210 million fine. fresh evidence may deliver a wrong and ad-

wednesday January 26, 2022 6 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Consumer Senheng closes age its inventory, Lim noted that the effect
electrical and electronics retailer Senheng 20% below IPO of inflation can be felt across the board
New Retail Bhd faltered on its maiden trad- price on Main from electrical and electronics products to
ing day on Bursa Malaysia’s Main Market Market debut food and consumer goods.
on Tuesday (Jan 25).
by Seah Eu Hen “We are a bit lucky as we have good re-
It opened at 90 sen and rose to as high theedgemarkets.com lationships with our business partners, and
as RM1.01 before closing at 85.5 sen, rep- we managed to stock up on our inventory
resenting a 21.5 sen or 20.09% discount Senheng New Retail Bhd RM to try and offer the same prices for as long
from its initial public offering (IPO) price 1.10 as we could until our inventory runs out.
of RM1.07. Vol (mil)
8 IPO Price: RM1.07 1.05 “It seems like the trends, such as logis-
At 85.5 sen, the retail group had a mar- tics and chip shortages, could not be solved
ket capitalisation of RM1.28 billion. 6 by anyone now, so we have to pay a pre-
mium for the products. We expect prices
Senheng was also the day’s second most 1.00 to increase in the second half of the year,”
actively traded stock on the local bourse, Lim admitted.
with 163.55 million shares changing 4
hands. The trading volume was equiva- 0.95 However, the excess inventory held
lent to 10.9% of its issued share capital by Senheng would not be a big issue and
of 1.5 billion. 2 RM0.855 0.90 would not affect the group’s bottom line
as it is able to market and sell its products
The IPO, which raised RM267.5 mil- RM0.90 0.85 better than its competitors despite taking
lion, involved a public issue of 250 million 0 4.59pm slightly longer to deliver the products to
new shares and an offer for sale of 139.5 Jan 25, 2022 customers, according to him.
million existing shares. 8.59am
FY21 financial performance remained
Senheng is the largest consumer elec- Source: Bursa Malaysia ‘respectable’ despite lockdowns
trical and electronics chain retailer in Ma- The retail group on Jan 3 reported its finan-
laysia with a chain of 105 physical stores ing our fourth-quarter results next month cial results for the cumulative nine months
— operating under four different store con- and we hope that our investors will be hap- ended Sept 30, 2021, with a 21.22% in-
cepts, namely Grand Senheng Elite, Grand py. Our focus for the next two to three crease in net profit to RM34.05 million,
Senheng, Senheng and senQ — which are years will remain on growing revenue, net versus RM28.09 million a year ago, on the
located throughout Malaysia and online profit and the return on investment for our back of a 12.29% improvement in revenue
platforms, while carrying around 10,000 investors,” Lim replied when asked if the to RM987.72 million from RM879.6 mil-
stock-keeping units from over 280 different IPO timing was optimal. lion despite facing almost two months of
brands, according to its prospectus. store closures caused by Covid-19 pan-
He added that Senheng does not have demic-related measures.
At a virtual press conference following plans to expand overseas but instead plans
the listing ceremony onTuesday, Senheng to focus exclusively in Malaysia by becom- Meanwhile,TA Securities initiated cov-
executive chairman Lim Kim Heng said ing the “territory champion” within five erage of Senheng in a research note on Jan
that Senheng’s plan to grab a further 30% kilometres of its outlets. 6, with a target price of RM1.21, repre-
market share is not too difficult to achieve senting a 13.08% or 14 sen premium to
after the IPO as it had seen double-dig- When asked by theedgemarkets.com about its IPO price of RM1.07.
it growth before the Covid-19 pandemic. the impact of inflation and its plans to man-
The research house added that the IPO
“[If] you look at the global business en- price of RM1.07 would value the consumer
vironment, it seems like our timing is not electrical and electronics retailer based on
very right and, of course, we cannot de- a trailing price-earnings ratio of 28.8 times
mand a premium valuation. based on its calendar year 2020 earnings.

“But the fundamentals of our business
are on the right track.We will be announc-

SUBANG (Jan 25): Transport Minister Subang Airport airport, including occupying, using and
Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has reiterated still under MAHB controlling the airport until 2034 (under
that the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport the operating agreement) and 2067 (lease
in Subang remains under the management management, agreement).
and operational oversight of Malaysia Air- says transport
ports Holdings Bhd (MAHB). SKS Airways offers flights between
minister Subang to Pangkor Island beginning Jan
Speaking to the media onTuesday (Jan 26, Subang to Pulau Redang from Jan 31
25), he said any business capital done by Bernama and to PulauTioman from Subang and Jo-
MAHB is based on the operating agreement hor Bahru in the second quarter of 2022.
between the government and the company. The rights and operations of the Subang
Airport remain as stipulated under the lease With the commencement of the three
“Until now, MAHB is still authorised agreement with MAHB, where MAHB routes, there will be 12 scheduled flights per
to operate the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in would operate, manage and maintain the day at a full capacity of 228 passengers with
Subang so there is no change in that. all-in fares from RM160 one way.
Read also: MAHB: Pulau Pangkor STOL-
“Many people are of the view that the port will boost island’s tourism, economy
airport needs to be upgraded as every Click here
country has a city airport,”Wee said at the
launching of new airline SKS Airways on
Tuesday.

wednesday January 26, 2022 7 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Prudent risk management key to digital
bank profitability, says Maybank CEO

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Malayan by Seah Eu Hen He pointed out that Malaysia’s largest
Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) Group Presi- theedgemarkets.com banking group had made its foray into dig-
dent and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) ital banking as early as 2013 and it was a
Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias (pictured) said dalone basis, these digital banks will be challenging transition as the bank was in
digital banks have failed elsewhere because able to exist by only gaining market share. its comfort zone while its analytics were
they did not manage their risks well. Maybe if they are part of something else, fragmented as the data it had on its cus-
then you could use the data collected to tomers was organised based on product
Fielding a question from the audience benefit other verticals within a bank or a lines such as personal, hire-purchase and
during a panel discussion at MyFintech company. home financing.
Week 2022 onTuesday (Jan 25) on wheth-
er digital banks in Malaysia will also be “Payments processing alone costs too Hong Kong-based WeLab Ltd’s CEO,
unprofitable and eventually wound down much and is not making money for us, Simon Loong said it is an exciting time
such as the Royal Bank of Scotland’s digital hence it is available for free.We are aware for both the incumbent players and digi-
bank Bó or Australia-based Xinja, he ob- of the situation but we are not going to tal banks but is of the view that it will take
served: “A lot of digital banks operate the burn the barn; ultimately the difference is at least three to four years before the digi-
same way as a digital company, which is to in managing the risk.” tal banks are able to build something that
gain a lot of market share and scale from could prove the concept and address the
there.To do so, they raise a lot of funds to Abdul Farid pointed to DBS Bank’s basic needs of its customers, based on the
keep going with hopes to turn a profit later. physical and digital model in India and financial technology company’s experience
Polish digital-first mBank as successful ex- in Hong Kong and China.
“Paying for promotions to entice people amples despite the overwhelming majority
is important but I don’t think on a stan- of similar efforts having failed. “The differentiation in the product of-
ferings could be seen in the third or fourth
the edge file photo year but digital banks should not worry
about their peers but rather well capital-
ised incumbent banks which are current
market leaders and better positioned and
equipped to face the challengers, while the
second-tier incumbent banks might con-
tinue to fall off the digital banking space,”
Loong said.

He advised those venturing into the dig-
ital banking space to plan early in their re-
spective path to profitability.

“For example, payments processing does
not give you a lot [in profits] unless you
have a lot of value-added services to cap-
italise on. A lot of players are looking for
scale but that is not as important as prof-
itability and stability for key stakeholders
such as the regulators,” he added.

Maybank CEO on metaverse, disruptive techs:
We need to stop worrying and figure out what to do

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): The fi- by Seah Eu Hen better, but we need to make sure we
nancial sector should stop worrying theedgemarkets.com don’t get too excited. We need to un-
and instead start figuring out what to derstand what it is and what it isn’t,”
do about disruptions to the sector amid new technologies would evolve and con- Abdul Farid said during the discussion
the rise of cryptocurrencies, decentral- verge with the traditional finance sector. on digital banking.
ised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens
(NFTs) and the metaverse, said Malay- “These will evolve into something that South Africa-based TymeBank’s
an Banking Bhd (Maybank) group pres- might cross [into the traditional finance CEO, Tauriq Keraan, who was also on
ident and chief executive officer (CEO) sector] at some point. It will. It is both the panel, echoed similar sentiments and
Datuk Seri Abdul Farid Alias. exciting and worrying at the same time. said the disruptions could coexist with
We need to stop worrying and figure out traditional finance and that everyone
During a panel discussion at MyFin- what to do — banks, regulators. should be working together a lot more
techWeek 2022 onTuesday (Jan 25), he to address pressing issues such as ine-
said he is interested in seeing how these “These technologies will allow us to quality and poverty.
address issues like inequality so much

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The share of IMF: independent exchange-rate regimes could
cryptoassets and stablecoins in relation to Cryptoassets, be harder to maintain.
the money supply is currently small, thus stablecoins share
their impact on the monetary and finan- currently small, “Capital-flow volatility could increase,
cial system at this point is limited but their but could grow as could gross foreign-asset positions, po-
adoption and use could increase rapidly, tentially triggering balance-of-payments
which hastens the need for them to be reg- rapidly problems.
ulated, said the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). by Karina Imran “There is risk of fragmentation of pay-
Bernama ment systems, and of global ‘digital divide’,
“Cryptoassets are increasingly becom- stemming from differences in countries’
ing an attractive investment asset, includ- bloomberg access to new payment technologies and
ing for institutional investors, while stable- their capacity to leverage and regulate it,”
coins have the potential to become global, Adrian: Capital-flow volatility could increase, as he said.
if issued by big tech firms with large user could gross foreign-asset positions, potentially
bases that span countries,” said its finan- Adrian said to ensure that the inter-
cial counsellor and director, monetary triggering balance-of-payments problems. national monetary system remains stable
and capital markets department, Tobias and efficient, it is important that digital
Adrian. money is regulated, designed, and pro-
vided so that countries maintain control
There could be significant implications over monetary policy, financial conditions,
for the international monetary system if capital-account openness, and foreign-ex-
wide adoption of cryptoassets and stable- change regimes.
coins does indeed occur, he said in his
keynote speech on the second day of My- Payment systems must become more
Fintech Week 2022 on Tuesday (Jan 25). integrated, not fragmented, and must work
for all countries to avoid a digital divide,
He said widespread “currency sub- he added.
stitution” could potentially undermine
government’s control of monetary policy “We need clear legal frameworks to de-
and have an impact on domestic financial termine whether these new forms of mon-
conditions. ey are deposits, securities or commodities.
Clear regulations must be enacted so these
Additionally, Capital Flow Measures forms of money fully address risks to finan-
could be more easily circumvented and cial stability and integrity, consumer pro-
tection, and market contestability,” he said.

Traditional finance and DeFi players will converge, says banker

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The financial by Ahmad Naqib Idris “Many people who are thinking about
industry will likely see different forms of fi- theedgemarkets.com it are actually more worried about business
nance, from traditional institutions like cen- process regulatory expertise, rather than
tral banks and banks, working together with forms, while other platforms that have been purely the technology,” he said.
decentralised finance (DeFi) players, said Citi developed on public blockchains like Ethere-
managing director, head of Asia Pacific bank- um are Maker, Compound and Aave. This highlights the importance of regu-
ing,capital markets and advisory,Jan Metzger. latory relationships, added Metzger, as the
Bank for International Settlements (BIS) traditional institutions have built their re-
During a panel discussion on the con- Innovation Hub adviser and solution architect lationships over decades — an advantage
vergence of traditional finance and DeFi, Daniel Eidan noted that there used to be some that fintech start-ups lack.
he said that many of the incumbents are friction between the traditional finance world
looking at partnering with DeFi players to and these new technologies a few years ago. Therefore, he said that it is important
bring solutions to their clients. for new players to partner incumbents to
However, he pointed out that regulators be able to deploy their solutions.
“Many of the traditional banks in the around the world have since warmed up to
world will be partnering with DeFi players the potential of these new technologies. Asked if he sees any threats emerging from
to bring solutions to their clients. I think the DeFi, Metzger said one of which would be
evolving landscape will be quite interesting. “I work at BIS and our clients are the cen- in ensuring that the regulatory framework is
tral banks. I find it fascinating that a lot of in place and making sure that companies are
You will also see some of the underlying these central banks are looking at distributed learning and operating within that framework.
technologies like blockchain may be used infrastructure, blockchain and DLTs (distrib-
either in a fully distributed way or internal- uted ledger technologies) and things like that There needs to be some level of trust,
ly to bring some platform or service to its as a potential new system to roll out within he said, as a negative event such as a cy-
clients,” said Metzger. the jurisdictions that they operate in,” he said. berattack resulting in loss of assets would
really hurt the development.
DeFi platforms offer financial services, Meanwhile, Metzger said Citi’s clients are
such as those offered by traditional banks, not worried about the robustness of the un- Besides that, he said there are other risks
allowing users to earn interests on, borrow derlying technology, but rather they are con- involved, as certain segments of the econo-
and lend their cryptocurrencies and digital cerned about the operational details, such as my, especially those involving middlemen,
assets, without the need for any intermediary. how KYC (Know-Your-Customer) require- would be disrupted.
ments can be met, whether the platform sur-
Some of the big cryptocurrency ex- vives in the long term, or what the regulatory However, Metzger said that big econom-
changes, for instance Coinbase and Bi- landscape would look like going forward. ic transitions like these in the past have typi-
nance, offer DeFi services on their plat- cally created more jobs than those that have
been lost.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Digital Na- RHB IB: Dual as per DNB’s estimates,” he said.
sional Bhd (DNB) contends that a dual wholesale Tan said DNB is hopeful that the four
wholesale network (DWN) model, while
not inconceivable, would invoke more chal- network will add MNOs will ink 5G wholesale agreements.
lenges, delay 5G execution, and contribute another level of This follows numerous engagements
to excess capacity in the long run, accord- complexity and
ing to RHB Investment Bank on Monday. delay country’s and adjustments made to commercial
terms within the reference access offer
After meeting with DNB, RHB Invest- 5G rollout (RAO) — to be published by February.
ment Bank analyst Jeffrey Tan said in a
note that DWN would also negate DNB’s by Tan Siew Mung Aside from earlier pushbacks on pricing
strategic supply-driven model/mandate, theedgemarkets.com and the duration of the wholesale contract
resulting in potentially higher cost to serve (10 years), he said DNB is of the view that
as traffic and revenue will be shared. pay-per-use (PPU) basis at a lower price, the “decision” ultimately boils down to
he added. MNOs having to come to terms with the
He also said DNB believes that a con- need to relinquish control over their net-
sortium wholesale network would also con- “DNB contends that the initial cover- works, with the focus turning to innovative
travene the current regulatory framework age capacity (7,509 sites) would translate products, services and solutions.
as mobile network operators (MNOs) will into a steady state outlay of RM36 million
also offer 5G retail services. per month per telco (RM432 million per “MNOs now have the option to sign
annum or RM3.4 billion over 10 years). on a five-year agreement with the option
“The government had previously stated for another five-year renewal.With MNOs
that it would make a decision on the single “This works out to a blended price/cost granted the flexibility to invest in their own
wholesale network (SWN) this month,” per GB of 13 sen (based on RM30,000 core network via MCMC’s new access list
Tan noted. per Gbps per month). The outlay would (published on Dec 15, 2021), we believe
be significantly lower than the cumulative they can still look to roll out unique and
He also said DNB asserted that the con- RM7 billion to RM9 billion capex that the differentiated offerings (more so within the
sortium model proposed is not new and pre- MNOs would need to invest on their own, enterprise segment) with the application
viously mooted under the Pakatan Harapan individually (without the SWN) into FY30 of network slicing (a feature within a 5G
government with MNOs unable to agree on core network) and control their customer
the operating model and strategic objectives. journey and relationships,” he said.

Tan noted that under a cost recovery Tan maintained “neutral” on the sector
model, the wholesale pricing would see withTelekom Malaysia Bhd, Axiata Group
MNOs committing to a minimum coverage Bhd and OCK Group Bhd as his top picks.
capacity (1,200Gbps) as a pre-requisite.
Key risks, according to him, are compe-
Additional capacity demand (beyond tition, weaker-than-expected results, and
the coverage commitment) would be on a regulatory setbacks.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): CGS-CIMB CGS-CIMB: believe smaller MNOs (such asWebe and
Research has downgraded the telecom- Telcos may have Yes) may be able to compete more effec-
munications sector to “underweight” and to pay substantial tively versus the big four MNOs”.
said an in-depth look at Digital Nasional 5G wholesale fees
Bhd’s (DNB) commercial offer shows that “Our back-of-the-envelope calculation
mobile network operators (MNOs) may from FY23 suggests that Webe may be able to offer a
have to pay substantial 5G wholesale fees 150GB 5G plan for RM60/month and still
from financial year 2023 (FY23) onwards. by Surin Murugiah earn an EBITDA (earnings before inter-
theedgemarkets.com est, taxes, depreciation and amortisation)
In a sector update on Monday (Jan 24), margin of above 30%.
the research house estimated that each commercialisation may be three to five
MNO may be charged substantial min- years away. “In this scenario, incumbent MNOs
imum wholesale fees of RM303 million/ may have to raise their plan quotas to
RM403 million/RM432 million/RM432 “While DNB pays for 5G capex (cap- stay competitive, resulting in an inability
million in FY23/24/25/26 respectively ital expenditure), we think MNOs’ capex to monetise 5G traffic growth or worse
based on DNB’s commercial offer and will not drop much in FY22 to FY24 due experience an ARPU (average revenue per
timeline for site roll-outs. to: i) JENDELA’s (National Digital Net- user) decline/market share loss,” it said.
work) 4G coverage/speed targets; and ii)
“For Maxis Bhd (“reduce”; target price still growing 4G traffic. The research house downgraded Maxis
[TP]: RM3.80), we project this could fur- from “hold” to “reduce”, with a revisedTP
ther rise to RM577 million to RM1.5 bil- “MNOs’ capex may fall from FY25 as of RM3.80 (with a 20% discount applied to
lion per annum in FY27 to FY31, driven they offload more 4G traffic onto DNB’s its discounted cash flow-based fair value).
by traffic volume growth,” it said. 5G network when coverage is wider and
5G device penetration is higher, in our “We continue to prefer the fixed segment
CGS-CIMB added that MNOs may view,” it said. due to better revenue growth prospects,more
not be able to generate much extra mo- benign competition and less regulatory risk.
bile revenue from 5G in the near term to CGS-CIMB noted that when DNB’s
midterm due to: i) a lack of unique “kill- 5G coverage exceeds 90% in FY27, “we “Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) remains
er” use cases; and ii) still limited coverage our top Malaysian telecommunications
in the first few years; while iii) 5G device company (telco) pick, with an unchanged
penetration will take time to rise. DCF-based TP of RM7.50.

“We do see potential for new 5G en- “Key upside risks: lower 5G wholesale
terprise revenue streams, but wide scale fees, cancellation of the single wholesale
network or MNOs being offered equity
stakes in DNB,” it said.

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Court grants Boustead Naval Shipyard
a further three-month extension of
restraining order

MACC finds by Shazni Ong months following a winding-up petition by
new leads in LCS theedgemarkets.com MTU Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd in July
2020 over a debt of RM56.04 million.
procurement KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The Kuala
case, two CEOs Lumpur High Court has granted finan- On March 29, 2021, the winding-up
cially distressed Boustead Naval Shipyard petition was struck out.
detained Sdn Bhd (BNS) a further three-month
extension of a restraining order pursuant Prior to that, BNS had in October 2020
Bernama to a scheme of arrangement. obtained an ad interim restraining order to
restrain its scheme creditors from initiat-
PUTRAJAYA (Jan 25): The Malaysian The order was granted by Judicial Com- ing legal proceedings against the company.
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) missioner Liza Chan Sow Keng during a
detained two chief executive officers on BNS hearing at the High Court onTuesday The ad interim restraining order will
Monday (Jan 24) after finding new leads in (Jan 25), with Lee Shih and Nathalie Ker not restrain or stay the continuation of le-
its investigation into the procurement of six of Lim CheeWee Partnership acting on be- gal proceedings brought by MTU Services
littoral combat ships (LCS) to be built by half of the company, which is a subsidiary and Ingat Kawan (M) Sdn Bhd.
Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS). of Boustead Holdings Bhd.
Since then, it is understood that other
According to an MACC source, the in- theedgemarket.com is given to under- creditors have intervened in the ongoing
dividuals aged 49 and 79, were detained stand that the court granted the extension court proceedings over the scheme of ar-
when they were at the MACC headquar- of the restraining order for three months rangement.
ters here to give their statements. effective from Dec 2, 2021 (and up to
March 2, 2022). This is part of BNS’s They include Contraves Sdn Bhd, Ax-
The source said both individuals were ongoing scheme of arrangement. ima Concept SA, Contraves Advanced
suspected of committing malpractice and Devices Sdn Bhd, Contraves Electrody-
receiving bribes through payments to three On Oct 4, 2021, BNS was granted an namics Sdn Bhd andTyco Fire, Security
companies abroad. extension of a restraining order by the & Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, as well as
High Court to Dec 2, 2021, in addition iXblue SAS, iXblue Sdn Bhd and Protank
One of them is also suspected of receiv- to permission to hold a creditors’ meeting Mission Systems Sdn Bhd.
ing bribes from a sub-contractor appointed for a scheme of arrangement.
to handle the project, the source added. Financial institution creditors are Bank
Earlier on June 2, 2021, Chan had Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd, AmBank
The source said the case investigation is granted BNS a three-month restraining Islamic Bhd, AmBank (M) Bhd, Affin
now focused on offences committed under order and leave to proceed with a scheme Hwang Investment Bank Bhd, Bank
Section 16 of the MACC Act 2009 for re- of arrangement with its creditors. The Muamalat Malaysia Bhd, Affin Bank
ceiving bribes and also Section 409 of the court had also granted an order for BNS Bhd, Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia
Penal Code for criminal breach of trust. creditors to meet, and, if thought fit, ap- Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd and Kuwait
prove the scheme of arrangement. Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd.
Section 409 carries an imprisonment
term of not less than two years and not It also granted a restraining order on pro- Boustead’s share price closed the day
more than 20 years, along with whipping ceedings against BNS or its assets for three 1.83% or one sen lower to 53.5 sen, which
and also a fine. translates into a market capitalisation of
RM1.08 billion.
On Nov 21 last year, Royal Malaysian
Navy Veterans Association (PVTLDM) MUI venture arm KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Diversified
president First Admiral (R) Mohamad is lead investor group Malayan United Industries Bhd
Imran Abd Hamid lodged a report with in perfume- (MUI), through its venture arm Pan Ma-
the MACC concerning a project to con- subscription laysia Ventures Sdn Bhd, has emerged as
struct six LCS which failed to be delivered the lead investor in designer perfume-sub-
as scheduled. service provider’s scription service provider Scentses + Co’s
seed-funding round seed-funding round under a strategic part-
The project, worth RM9.128 billion, nership that will allow Scentses + Co and
was awarded to BNS by the government by Syafiqah Salim MUI to effectively offer a more holistic
through the Ministry of Defence, with theedgemarkets.com retail experience that focuses on online and
RM6 billion already paid. offline purchasing experiences to better ap-
peal to new consumer preferences.

In a joint statement on Tuesday (Jan
25), MUI and Scentses + Co however did
not specify how much money Pan Malay-
siaVentures has invested in Scentses + Co,
which was launched in July 2020.

continues on Page 12

W E D N E S D A Y J A N U A R Y 2 6 , 2 0 2 2 11 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

|P R E S E N T E D B Y |M A I N P A R T N E R |S U P P O R T I N G P A R T N E R |S U P P O R T E D B Y

ENDORSED BY

MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards (BMSPA) introduced by EdgeProp Malaysia in 2017 to
benchmark Malaysian property management practices against the best-in-class globally, has not only
raised the bar for the industry, but also kick-started the urgently-needed conversation among property
stakeholders for Malaysian real estate to be designed, built and maintained sustainably.
To step up the efforts to promote the awards and its objectives, the awards will now be hosted by
The Edge Malaysia and will assume the name, The Edge Malaysia Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards.

AWARDS OBJECTIVE HOW TO ENTER Enntoewr !
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through recognition of: bmspa.theedgemarkets.com
• Malaysia’s best property management
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All entries must reach The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd,
NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES Lobby Level, Menara KLK, No. 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
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(NO FEES REQUIRED) by 5pm, Friday, 11 March 2022

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Landscape Award

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Bank Negara Analysts: BNM the research house said, adding that pri-
Malaysia (BNM) has been seen to be more seen more vate-public partnerships feature promi-
accommodative in facilitating alternative nently in FSB3, more so in the context of
financing needs and new business models accommodative digitalisation.
in the Financial Sector Blueprint 2022- towards
2026 (FSB3) which was unveiled recently. Public Investment Bank believes despite
facilitating short-term volatilities, the eventual nor-
Public Investment Bank Bhd said alternative malisation of rates in 2022 and expected
structural changes are inevitable as busi- financing needs economic recoveries will bring about asset
nesses today try to survive with increased in Financial quality improvements and loan growth.
digitalisation. Sector Blueprint
2022-2026 ‘’We do not see conditions getting sig-
“This period of resource allocation nificantly worse than 2020/2021,” the re-
could be fraught with challenges and un- Bernama search house said, adding that it is main-
certainties, but will enable organisations taining a neutral view on the banking
to be more efficient,” it said in a research making up 18.2% of total net premiums/ sector with a positive bias given its lagging
note. “The financial sector has been called contributions (2010: 12.6%). valuations relative to the broader market.
upon to facilitate this transition, with BNM
playing a pivotal supporting role.’’ ‘’The rapid evolution of the global fi- Meanwhile, AmInvestment Bank Bhd is
nancial landscape, advancements in tech- maintaining an “overweight” stance on the
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri nology, coupled with potential shifts in sector. AmInvest Research said the interest
Zafrul Abdul Aziz launched the blueprint. global supply chain linkages suggests that rate uptrend will benefit the underlying
the financial sector could possibly look very net interest margins of banks.
In his foreword, Zafrul said the launch different yet again by 2026.
of the FSB3 “is timely” as Malaysia em- There will be lower provisions for loan
barks on a new level of growth post-pan- ‘’Partnerships and collaborations have losses as new applications for financial assis-
demic, underpinned by a robust financial resulted in notable progress, with growth tance tapers off while overseas operations in
sector that is capable of navigating the on- seen in digital payments as a result of col- Indonesia,Thailand, and Singapore stabilise.
coming challenges and capturing new op- laboration between banks, e-commerce
portunities. platforms, e-wallet players, and PayNet,’’ Key targets to be achieved by 2026 un-
der the blueprint includes narrowing the
With a greater global focus on climate gap between Malaysia’s financial literacy
change, the FSB3 will also facilitate the scores and the average score of the Organi-
country’s transition towards a greener and sation for Economic Co-operation and De-
more climate-resilient economy. velopment (OECD) members; increasing
e-payment per capita at the compound an-
The research house said much has been nual growth rate of more than 15%; achiev-
achieved by Malaysia in a relatively short ing an insurance/takaful penetration rate
period. of 4.8% to 5% of the GDP and achiev-
ing faster, cheaper and more accessible
In terms of financial inclusion, sub-dis- cross-border payments.
tricts with a population of at least 2,000
people with access to financial services The central bank will work closely
have increased to 96% (2011: 46%). with the government to review the taxa-
tion framework to encourage the growth
Ninety-nine per cent of the population of alternative finance.
living in sub-districts now have access to fi-
nancial services versus 82% in 2011, while For insurance and takaful, solutions
96% of customers have deposit accounts like trade credit protection and special-
compared to 87% in 2011, the research ised products to manage risks in emerg-
note said. ing growth areas such as renewable energy
projects will be offered to mitigate the risk
Globally, Malaysia now commands an of finance providers and firms.
18.4% market share of total Islamic finan-
cial assets as of 2020. On Islamic finance, the focus will be to
continue deepening Malaysia’s financial
At home, Islamic banking now makes and capital markets.
up 41% of total system financing compared
to 22.7% in 2010 with takaful business

from Page 10 lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The cross-brand collaboration aims
“The synergy between both brands has to leverage a rapidly increasing e-com-
Speaking to The Edge, a MUI spokes- merce market that has been buoyed by
person said Scentses + Co “is not MUI’s already borne fruits for The MUI Group’s the [Covid-19] pandemic accelerating
first venture-capital investment”. retail and hotel subsidiaries, namely MJ digitalisation and normalising online
Department Stores Sdn Bhd (Metrojaya) shopping. With pandemic restrictions
In the statement, MUI and Scentses + and Corus Hotels Sdn Bhd, with Scentses easing, the partnership will allow Scent-
Co said the collaboration between both + Co’s digital approach in helping attract a ses + Co and The MUI Group to effec-
companies is set to be beneficial to MUI younger demographic of customers. Con- tively offer a more holistic retail expe-
as it will see MUI tap into Scentses + Co’s versely, the physical presence of The MUI rience that focuses on both online and
forte in digital marketing to complement Group’s subsidiaries has provided Scentses offline purchasing experiences to better
MUI’s digitisation and online-to-offline +Co’s customers with a plethora of offline appeal to new consumer preferences,”
transformation plan while MUI retools its value-added services such as self-collection the statement read.
business strategies in the new normal as for their convenience and promotional offers.
the global community contends with the

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The Federa- Critical to FMM said the situation must be ad-
tion of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) develop dressed in order to aid business revival,
opined that it is critical and expeditious for otherwise the recovery could be derailed.
Malaysia to have a foreign worker recruit- foreign worker
ment policy based on a system that sup- recruitment We urge the concerned authorities to
ports sector- and company-demand-based put their act together to resolve, facilitate,
requirements in order to accelerate busi- policy and system and approve the importation of foreign
ness and economic recovery. — FMM workers urgently, Soh said.

The policy must be supported by “a cred- Bernama “The post-pandemic business landscape
ible, consistent, and transparent system”, is very competitive,” he said, adding that
FMM said in a statement on Tuesday. Patrick Goh/The Edge companies may lose customers. They also
risk possible relocation of manufacturing
While FMM is supportive of the remov- Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai base by the principal companies.
al of the special quota for foreign workers
to certain parties, which could be open FMM is also seeking more clarity on the
to “possible misuse and abuse” resulting foreign worker recruitment process includ-
in excessive entry and the possibility of ing the changes that have been introduced.
foreign worker human trafficking issues, These include the standard operating proce-
business operations have been hampered dures on foreign workers’ entry and the new
by acute manpower challenges in the un- terms agreed upon in the memorandum of
skilled manpower positions. understanding with the source countries.

The statement, signed off by president It is also requesting the details be re-
Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, said FMM had leased early including having engagements
previously indicated that in order for in- with stakeholders to ensure that the pro-
dustries — especially export-based com- cedures are workable and result in a win-
panies — to return to pre-pandemic level, win outcome for all.
the general skill labour conditions this year
must have more than a 600,000-strong Soh said “any changes should be pro-
foreign labour workforce. gressive and enhance efficiency of the sys-
tem” including moving the entire process
This is to fill the gaps that arose as a re- online, preferably involving only one min-
sult of the sharp drop in foreign workers in istry/agency for approval.
the manufacturing sector in 2021 compared
with pre-Covid-19 in 2019.This came about Soh also thanked the government for de-
because employers were unable to get re- ferring the implementation of the multi-tier
placements for their foreign workers who levy mechanism to July 1 this year. He is also
had returned to their respective countries. seeking details of the multi-tier levy to give
industries the time to plan and adjust to the
new system and to factor in any rise in cost.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Touch Touch ‘n Go Ong says the
‘n Go (TnG) will be launching a new to launch new card will
version of its card that has the capa- allow users to
bilities of tapping into near-field com- new-version easily top up
munication (NFC) technology in the card with NFC their balance
next few weeks. capability, says using an NFC-
TNG Digital CEO enabled port via
TNG Digital Sdn Bhd chief executive the TnG eWallet
officer (CEO) Ignatius Ong said the new Bernama application.
card will allow users to easily top up their
balance using a NFC-enabled port via the He said the digitisation of commerce and this does not mean that we gravitate fully
TnG eWallet application. the payment industry had gone into over- back to cash transactions or limited digital
drive in the past two years as a result of the payment systems,” he said.
“The Touch ‘n Go card that we have Covid-19 pandemic, with customers opting
in circulation for the last 20 years does for alternative payment methods. Khairuan further explained that consum-
not have the capability to directly top up ers’ behaviour is shifting drastically and wheth-
from the eWallet because you need a spe- “We saw a more than 100% growth in er they will move back to cash transactions
cific card reader to actually do the trans- Financial Process Exchange (FPX), one of post pandemic is unclear. He said PayNet
actions for security reasons,” Ong noted the platforms to facilitate e-commerce trans- needs to observe the situation “for a couple
during a panel discussion on the second actions operated by PayNet in 2020, and a of months” to come to a conclusion, and only
day of the MyFintechWeek 2022 onTues- more than 70% growth in 2021. then will the company be able to recommend
day (Jan 25). how it needs to maintain e-commerce trans-
“As more businesses open their doors actions as a primary form of payments.
In the same panel discussion, Payments for face-to-face transactions, I hope that
Network Malaysia (PayNet) retail pay-
ments director Khairuan Abdul Rahman
added that towards the fourth quarter of
2021, e-commerce transactions dropped
slightly as the economic sector reopened
and more businesses started to operate
physically.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Hibiscus Pe- Hibiscus yond,” said Hibiscus Petroleum managing
troleum Bhd said onTuesday (Jan 25) that Petroleum director Dr Kenneth Gerard Pereira.
its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Pen- completes
insula Hibiscus Sdn Bhd had successfully acquisition of According to him, almost 50% of the pro-
completed the acquisition of the entire eq- FIPC from Repsol duction comprises gas, and the addition of
uity interest in Fortuna International Pe- gas production is expected to present a better
troleum Corporation (FIPC) from Repsol. by Tan Siew Mung balance to the group’s asset portfolio in terms
theedgemarkets.com of price stability, markets and operations.
Hibiscus Petroleum noted in a state-
ment that out of the purchase price of sitioned to build on the successful opera- He also said such diversification rep-
US$212.50 million (about RM890.06 mil- tional track record of its other producing resents a key aspect of the group’s energy
lion), the net amount paid at completion assets in the UK and Malaysia. transition strategy as natural gas is regarded
was US$123.65 million after taking into as an important bridging fuel as the world
account various adjustments, including the “The completion of this acquisition brings transits to a lower carbon energy mix.
deposit paid of US$15 million. to a close the process which began when we
first bid for these assets and opens a new “Finally, this transaction has been made
It said that the completion came short- chapter in the group’s next phase of growth, possible with the strong support of our share-
ly after all conditions were fulfilled as an- holders, industry regulators both in Malaysia
nounced on Jan 20, 2022. “We welcome on board the Repsol team andVietnam as well as our business partners.
into the Hibiscus family and look forward
According to Hibiscus Petroleum, the to working together on further enhancing “Our current partnership with Petro-
asset portfolio comprises interests and op- value from these assets in 2022 and be- liam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Petronas
eratorship under five production sharing Carigali Sdn Bhd will be further strength-
contracts in Malaysia and Vietnam. ened, and we are excited to forge a new
working relationship with PetroVietnam as
Hibiscus Petroleum said the group’s av- we expand our geographic footprint into
erage daily oil and gas production is pro- Vietnam,” he said.
jected to increase almost threefold.
Hibiscus Petroleum's share price slipped
As the operator of the newly acquired 2.5 sen to settle at 85.5 sen, valuing the
assets, it added that the group is well po- group at RM1.72 billion.

news In brief

Affin Bank exercises call option on its RM1b bond Aimflex redesignates Serba Dinamik
co-founder Awang Daud as
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Affin Bank Bhd has exercised the call option to redeem its RM1 non-executive chairman
billion worth of subordinated medium term notes (MTN), based on information on Bank Negara
Malaysia (BNM)’s Fully Automated System for Issuing/Tendering (FAST). Notably, the bond KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): ACE Market-
has an expiry date of Feb 5, 2117. “We, the facility agent, wish to inform that the issuer, Affin listed Aimflex Bhd has redesignated Datuk
Bank Bhd, had today issued Notice of Exercise of Call Option on its intention to redeem Stock Awang Daud Awang Putera from executive
UN170018 in full on Feb 7, 2022. The letter enclosing the call notice has been distributed to the chairman to non-executive chairman with
noteholders by the trustee via email on Monday (Jan 24),” it said. — by Sulhi Khalid effect from Tuesday (Jan 25). Awang Daud,
62, currently holds 171 million direct shares,
Axiata appoints EPF’s Nurhisham Syed Jalaludin is new Bioalpha representing a 28.98% stake in the group,
Hussein as new director chairman as Abdul Rahman steps down according to Aimflex’s filing with the bourse.
He joined the board on Aug 19, 2020 as the
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Axiata Group KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Bioalpha Holdings group’s non-independent non-executive
Bhd has appointed the Employees Bhd said its independent non-executive chairman chairman, before being redesignated as
Provident Fund’s Chief Strategy Officer Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat has stepped down executive chairman on Feb 16, 2021. Awang
Nurhisham Hussein as a non-independent from his position, effective Tuesday (Jan 25). After Daud is also the co-founder of Serba Dinamik
and non-executive director, effective serving the company for nearly nine years, the Holdings Bhd, according to the filing. “He
Tuesday (Jan 25). In a bourse filing, Axiata health supplement group said in a bourse filing that was later redesignated as deputy managing
said Nurhisham’s division will oversee Abdul Rahman resigned “to pursue other corporate director in 2016. Currently he is a non-
corporate strategy, communications, interests”. Abdul Rahman, who holds 583,333 independent and non-executive director,
human resources, economic research, and direct shares in Bioalpha, also sits on the boards a member of investment committee and
enterprise project management. “Prior of directors of several public listed companies management committee of Serba Dinamik,”
to holding this position, he headed the including Hiap Teck Venture Bhd, Malaysian said Aimflex, adding that Awang Daud has
economic research team at the EPF. He Industrial Development Finance Bhd, Dagang over 40 years of experience in the field of
joined EPF after a stint with Malaysian NeXchange Bhd, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding mechanical engineering. Aimflex through
Rating Corp Bhd (MARC), producing Bhd and MCE Holdings Bhd. In a separate filing, its subsidiary companies is principally
country reports, developing economic Bioalpha said it has redesignated its independent involved in manufacturing and modification
viewpoints and making quantitative non-executive director Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin of specialised automation machines. On
forecasts,” said the group. Axiata shares Syed Salim as its independent non-executive Monday (Jan 24), Luster Industries Bhd
closed at RM3.71, down 1.59% or six sen chairman. According to Bioalpha, Syed Jalaludin announced that it was acquiring 100 million
with some 2.28 million shares traded. Its was the longest chairman of Bank Rakyat Malaysia shares or a 8.169% stake in Aimflex for RM22
market capitalisation is RM34.04 billion. and a founding director of the Capital Market million or 22 sen per share. It entered into a
— by Syafiqah Salim Development Fund board. — by Syafiqah Salim form of transfer of securities on Friday (Jan
21) with Awang Daud. — by Syafiqah Salim

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Malaysia drops five spots to 62 in
TI-M’s corruption index rankings

reuters

by Ahmad Naqib Idris
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Malaysia the suspension of parliament during the pending high profile cases, as well as a
dropped five spots to rank 62 in the glob- Movement Control Order and the con- public dashboard to monitor the imple-
al rankings of Transparency International tinued lack of political will from various mentation of and disclose progress of the
Malaysia’s (TI-M) Corruption Percep- administrations in fighting institutional National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP).
tions Index (CPI) 2021, marking the sec- corruption.
ond consecutive year that the country has The MACC also has to be reformed
seen a decline in the rankings. Besides that, other factors included the into truly independent, reporting directly
appointments of politicians without expe- to parliament, recommendedTI-M, while
During a briefing on Tuesday, TI-M rience to head government-linked compa- public officials found guilty of corruption
president Dr Muhammad Mohan said nies and government-linked investment should be compelled to vacate their offi-
Malaysia’s score fell below the 50-point companies, lack of progress on amend- cial positions, even while they are going
mark to 48 for 2021, from 51 and 53 in ments to the Whistleblowers Protection through the appeal process.
2020 and 2019 respectively. Act 2010, as well as the continued adverse
findings and repeated governance failures “TI-M also urgently calls for full imple-
The CPI uses a scale of zero to 100, observed in the Auditor General’s annu- mentation of the NACP, acceleration of the
with lower scores indicating higher cor- al report. tabling of the Political Financing Act, the
ruption. independence and transparency of key in-
On the other hand, TI-M lauded the stitutions like the MACC and the Attorney
A total of 180 countries and territories positive developments so far, including General’s Chambers, an anti-hopping law to
were scored, with two-thirds of countries the memorandum of understanding be- stop party hopping, implementation and em-
scoring below 50.The global average CPI tween the government and Pakatan Hara- powerment of Undi 18, and the enactment
score stood at 43. pan which included the reduction in the of parliamentary reforms,” said Muhammad.
minimum voting age to 18, automatic voter
Among the ASEAN countries, Malay- registration, Malaysia Agreement 1963, Looking ahead, he said the public must
sia ranked third after Singapore (score of Anti-Hopping Law or recall elections, par- play its role in calling out corruption — not
85) and Brunei (score of 60). Notably, liamentary reforms and limiting the tenure only by protesting but also communicating
Singapore was the only Asian country to of the prime minister to 10 years. through social media — and added that there
make it to the top 10, ranking fourth af- must be space for the people to speak up.
ter Denmark, Finland and New Zealand. It also viewed positively the judicial in-
dependence displayed in ongoing corrup- “The rakyat needs to be the eyes and
Meanwhile, among selected Islam- tion cases. ears. If there is wrongdoing, it should be
ic countries, Malaysia ranked sixth af- exposed.That is how it is.The public has
ter the UAE, Qatar, Brunei, Oman and To improve Malaysia’s CPI score, the to play a part in this.
Saudi Arabia. non-profit made several suggestions in-
cluding narrowing the scope of the Offi- “I am appealing to everyone. We need
“We need to be very concerned about cial Secrets Act, so that matters of public to say no to corruption. Our country must
our declining CPI score. With reforms interest such as directly negotiated con- be known for its integrity, not for its cor-
coming though, we can improve our scores, tracts can be released, while only matters ruption,” said Muhammad.
and for a start, we should be aiming for related to national security are protected. Read also: MACC takes serious note of
above 50 points,” said Muhammad. CPI 2021, will make proposals Click here
It also mooted for a platform which
He highlighted several reasons that provides regular updates on the status of
could be the factors behind Malaysia’s
declining score, including the stall in in-
stitutional reforms.

“The last four governments have lacked
political will to table the Political Financ-
ing Bill. As a result, money politics is still
rampant, both during elections and as a
scheme for corruption.

“The proposed IPCMC (Independ-
ent Police Complaints and Misconduct
Commission) Bill was revised to a wa-
tered down, ineffective bill. There also
has been no progress on reforms to the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC), which were recommended in
2015,” he said.

Muhammad also pointed out the ac-
quittals or discharges not amounting to
acquittal to high profile personalities in
several corruption cases with no clear clari-
fication from the Attorney General’s office,

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Khairy: No aged to register their children on the My- Marina: Dr
restrictions to Sejahtera (MySJ) application in order to Mahathir’s
be imposed on protect their children against the Covid-19 health shows
unvaccinated infection. improvement

children “Register your children (aged five to 11) Bernama
for #PICKids on MySJ. Protect them from
Bernama COVID-19,” he said in his latest tweet. KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): The
health of former prime minister Tun
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Health Last week, Khairy announced that the Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pictured), who
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the gov- appointment booking system for child vac- is being treated at the National Heart
ernment will not impose restrictions on cination through MySJ would be open at Institute (IJN), showed improvement
children, aged five to 11, who do not get the end of this month, kicking off in the on Tuesday (Jan 25), according to his
inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine. Klang Valley. daughter Datin Paduka Marina Ma-
hathir.
He said this group will not be penalised Through this initiative, the Health Min-
like those who are not vaccinated in the istry (MOH) is targeting 70% of children, She said Dr Mahathir’s appetite had
adult group because the Covid-19 Immu- from five to under 12 years of age in the improved and he could joke with family
nisation Programme for Children (PICK- education system, to be given a single dose members who were by his side.
ids) is not mandatory. of the Pfizer (children) vaccine within two
months from the programme’s launch in “Tun Dr Mahathir was also told of
However, he said, parents are encour- early February this year, and 80% to be the well-wishes sent by so many parties
fully vaccinated within six months. including foreign leaders and members
of the public.
The MOH currently does not allow cer-
tain freedoms to the anti-vaccine group “Tun Dr Mahathir and the family are
that are being enjoyed by fully vaccinated very touched and would like to thank
individuals, which among others include everyone for their prayers for his speedy
permission to dine-in at restaurants. recovery,” Marina, who is Dr Mahathir’s
eldest child, said in a statement.
KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25):The Associ- Application
ation of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), Asso- period for URUS Marina said Dr Mahathir also told
ciation of Islamic Banking and Financial the public not to be unduly worried
Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), Associa- extended until about his health condition, adding
tion of Development Finance Institutions March 31 that her father would continue to be
of Malaysia (ADFIM) and Agensi Kaun- treated at IJN under the watch of local
seling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) by Tan Siew Mung specialists.
announced on Tuesday (Jan 25) that the theedgemarkets.com
closing date for the submission of applica- “For now, IJN does not allow visi-
tions for the Financial Management and To ease the application process, cus- tors apart from close family members,”
Resilience Programme (Program Penguru- tomers with loan/financing facilities from she added.
san dan Ketahanan Kewangan or URUS) multiple banks only need to apply with any
had now been extended until March 31, one of their banks where they currently Last Saturday, Marina said in a state-
2022 from Jan 31, 2022. have performing facilities under an existing ment that Dr Mahathir’s condition was
repayment assistance programme. stable and he was responding well to
The entities said in a statement that treatment following the elective proce-
eligible bottom 50% income group (B50) For eligible B50 customers who had dure performed on Jan 8 this year.
customers who are in need of further fi- signed up for banks’ flood relief assistance
nancial assistance may apply for URUS programmes, the URUS application clos- Dr Mahathir was discharged from
with their banks by March 31. ing date had been extended until July 31, IJN on Jan 13, after being admitted on
2022 or upon the expiry of the flood relief Jan 7 to undergo the elective procedure
They added that individual customers assistance programme, whichever is earlier. which was conducted by a team of doc-
who are under an existing repayment assis- tors from the institute and Universiti
tance programme provided by banks as at “Customers who are still in need of fi- Malaya Medical Centre on Jan 8.
Sept 30, 2021 and meet all of the following nancial assistance but do not qualify for
criteria may apply for URUS: URUS are encouraged to contact their
○ B50 customers with gross monthly banks to discuss other repayment arrange-
ments that can be tailored to their financial
household income of RM5,880 or circumstances,” the statement read.
lower;
○ Who are experiencing loss of employ- The entities also reminded customers
ment or income reduction of at least not to engage with any third parties claim-
50%; and ing to be agents/representatives of banks in
○ Whose loan/financing facility is still relation to repayment assistance matters
performing (not in arrears exceeding — as banks and the AKPK do not appoint
90 days) as at the date of the URUS or authorise any third parties or agents to
application. act on their behalf for this purpose.
Eligible customers who wish to apply
for URUS may do so via their banks’ In-
ternet banking or telephone banking chan-
nels or walk-in at branches.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25): Badmin- Norza confirms well as the country’s professional players,
ton Association of Malaysia (BAM) pres- Zii Jia can who are also nurtured by BAM.
ident Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria turn pro
has granted national men’s singles ace Lee Meanwhile, Zii Jia, at a press conference
Zii Jia (pictured) his wish — to become a Bernama onTuesday, declined to comment on news
professional player. report that he rebuffed a RM1 million of-
the qualifiers for the Thomas Cup and fer made by BAM in a bid to get him to
“Confirmed,” Mohamad Norza said Uber Cup Finals. stay with them.
in a brief response to Bernama when he
was asked to clarify the statement made In the meantime, the Kedahan urged BAM deputy president Datuk Seri
by Lee Zii Jia in his Facebook post on everyone to continue to support BAM as Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunos said both
Tuesday (Jan 25). sides were satisfied with the outcome of
the meeting, which was held to discuss an
This came after Zii Jia wrote that he appeal on Monday by Zii Jia against his
had received the blessings from Moham- two-year suspension by BAM for quitting
ad Norza to become a professional player the national body.
following a private heart-to-heart meet-
ing with Mohamad Norza together with On Friday (Jan 21), Jahaberdeen an-
his parents. nounced that BAM would not register Zii
Jia for any international competitions for
“I am happy that we have now resolved a two-year period effective from Jan 18.
this issue with BAM after receivingTan Sri’s
blessings to become a professional player. This was following the 23-year-old play-
er’s decision to resign from BAM on Jan
“My past and future achievements will 11 to turn professional, saying he could
always be the product of Tan Sri Norza, not take the pressure and “regimented life-
BAM and Malaysia. I am forever thankful style” in BAM.
thatTan Sri guided, nurtured and gave me
the opportunity to serve the country that However, BAM on Monday confirmed
I love,” said Zii Jia. that Zii Jia had submitted an appeal letter
regarding their decision and promised to
Thus, the current world No 7 said he find the best solution immediately.
will represent Malaysia at the Badminton Read also: BAM-Zii Jia meeting positive,
AsiaTeam Championships (BATC) 2022 settlement to be announced next week,
to be held at the Setia City Convention says BAM deputy president Click here
Centre in Shah Alam, Selangor from Feb
15-20. The tournament will also serve as

SHAH ALAM (Jan 25): Parti Pribumi Johor polls: Muhyiddin said PN will approach
Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) PresidentTan Muhyiddin the Johor election based on experiences
Sri MuhyiddinYassin said onTuesday (Jan may not defend learned when contesting the Melaka state
25) he may not defend the Gambir seat in Gambir seat election, while also being mindful of an
the upcoming Johor state election. increase in the electoral roll following the
Bernama automatic registration of those aged 18
He said this is to enable him to fully and above as voters.
focus on important matters at the parlia- bloomberg
mentary and federal levels as well as to “We will give serious attention to how
manage party affairs. On suggestions that PN cooperates we can attract the support of youths,
with other parties for the state election, young voters and those who have never
“I may not contest but this is up to the he said the coalition was open to views voted but have been automatically regis-
(collective) leadership. I want to pave the and proposals as long as they are in line tered by the Election Commission.
way for many more personalities in Jo- with PN’s struggles.
hor, especially for this seat, but it is up to On younger candidates for the Johor
them as to who gets to contest there. We election, Muhyiddin said: “We want to
will decide,” he told reporters after chair- give them a chance as I understand as
ing the Johor Bersatu Liaison Committee this the era of the young, but a combina-
meeting here on Tuesday night. tion of young and seasoned is reasonable.
There is no party that sidelines its older
Muhyiddin, who is also Johor Bersatu members entirely to field its young, but
chairman, said all 26 party divisions in Jo- these are early days and so, there is no fi-
hor have mobilised their election machin- nal decision yet.”
ery for the 56 state seats to be contested. Read also:
Anwar: PH willing to field young candidates
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) chair- in Johor state election Click here
man also said that Bersatu’s PN coalition
partners, PAS and Gerakan are of the view Syed Saddiq may contest in Johor polls
that PN should contest all the 56 seats — State MUDA chief Click here
up for grabs.

“Early preparations have begun, and
from a cooperation point of view, PAS
has confirmed it will be with PN while
there are no issues from Gerakan and the
Sabah-based parties,” he said.

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IMF cuts 2022 world economic growth forecast
to 4.4% on weaker US, China outlooks

WASHINGTON (Jan 25):The Internation- by Eric Martin IMF projections:
al Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its world Bloomberg • The fund slashed its forecast for growth
economic growth forecast for 2022 as the
Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, cit- bloomberg in the US by 1.2 percentage points to
ing weaker prospects for the US and China 4%.The revision reflects removal of as-
along with persistent inflation. at short notice,” Gopinath said.“In parallel, sumptions for a positive impact from
bold, and effective international cooperation President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better
The global economy will expand 4.4% should ensure that this is the year the world social-spending plan, which stalled in
this year, down from an estimate of 4.9% in escapes the grip of the pandemic.” Congress; earlier withdrawal of Federal
October, theWashington-based IMF said in Reserve support; and continued sup-
itsWorld Economic Outlook onTuesday.The While the IMF sees the Omicron variant ply-chain bottlenecks.
fund forecast 3.8% growth for 2023, up from weighing on growth in the first quarter, it ex- • It trimmed China’s growth forecast by 0.8
the prior projection, but cumulative expan- pects the negative impact to fade starting in percentage point to 4.8%, citing disrup-
sion for the two years will still be 0.3 per- the second quarter, assuming that the global tions caused by the pandemic,the nation’s
centage point less than previously forecast. surge in infections abates and the virus does zero-tolerance policy for Covid-19, and
not mutate into new variants that require disruption in the housing sector.
The US, the world’s largest economy, saw more restrictions on mobility. • The IMF cut its growth forecasts for
its forecast cut on the outlook for President Brazil and Mexico by 1.2 percentage
Joe Biden’s spending agenda and China, the Supply-chain disruptions are spurring points to 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively,
second biggest, on challenges in real estate. more broad-based inflation than anticipated, with the fight against inflation already
the IMF said, with the annual rate project- prompting tighter monetary policy that
The world economy expanded 5.9% last ed to average 3.9% in advanced economies will weigh on domestic demand.
year, the IMF estimated, the most in four this year, up from a prior 2.3% estimate, and • India will see the fastest growth among
decades of detailed data. That followed 5.9% in emerging and developing nations. major economies at 9% from 8.5%, due
a 3.1% contraction in 2020 that was the to credit-growth improvements.
worst peacetime decline in broader figures The IMF sees the faster pace for cost- The projections assume that bad health
since the Great Depression. of-living increases easing gradually later outcomes from Covid-19 recede to low
this year, assuming price expectations re- levels in most countries by the end of this
Central banks that slashed interest rates main well anchored, as shipping bottle- year, vaccination rates improve and treat-
to soften the economic decline caused by necks ease and major economies respond ments become more available. Risks are
the pandemic face pressure to tighten pol- with interest-rate increases. tilted to the downside, with new variants
icy to confront surging consumer prices, threatening to extend the pandemic.
threatening to curtail the growth rebound. Advanced economies raising interest Bringing the pandemic to an end depends
Governments also have less fiscal space for rates may create risks for financial stabil- on ending vaccine inequality, the IMF said.
spending to address health needs and buoy ity and emerging-market and developing The fully vaccinated share of the population
their economies after piling up record debt. economies’ capital flows, currencies, and is about 70% for high-income countries but
fiscal positions after debt levels increased, less than 4% for low-income nations. Eighty-
‘Be ready’ the IMF said. International cooperation six nations,accounting for 27% of the world’s
“The last two years reaffirmed that this will be needed to preserve nations’ access population, fell short of the 40% vaccination
crisis and the ongoing recovery are like no to cash and facilitate orderly debt restruc- level for the end of last year that the IMF
other,” Gita Gopinath, who became the turing where needed, the fund said. estimated is needed to curb the pandemic.
fund’s No 2 official this month after three The world also suffers from deep ine-
years as its chief economist, wrote in a blog quality in Covid-19 testing, with testing
accompanying the report. rates about 80 times higher in high-income
nations than low-income countries.
“Policymakers must vigilantly monitor a
broad swathe of incoming economic data,
prepare for contingencies, and be ready to
communicate and execute policy changes

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world

(Jan 25) Jerome Powell’s (pictured) first four Powell’s legacy forecasts only once a quarter.
years as Federal Reserve chair were defined is at stake in Fed Right now, their baseline from Decem-
by saving the U.S. economy from the his- pivot to beat back
toric challenge of the pandemic. His sec- ber doesn’t look fully credible, says Anna
ond term — and his legacy — will be about inflation Wong, chief U.S. economist for Bloomb-
saving the economy from overheating. erg Economics.
Bloomberg
Powell and his colleagues on the Federal “They have the unemployment rate fall-
Open Market Committee, who meetTues- bloomberg ing to 3.5% this year, below their long-
day (Jan 25) andWednesday, are wrestling run sustainable rate, and staying there in
with how to quell the highest inflation in near zero, in December 2015. Back then, the next two years, and yet inflation drifts
a generation without stalling labour mar- the Fed’s preferred inflation index rose by down back down to 2.1% in 2024,” she
ket gains. 0.2% over the prior 12 months, compared said.
to 5.7% in the most recent reading.
The risks of error in this quest for a Meanwhile, they forecast their policy
soft landing are big: move too fast and the As the Fed chair prepares for his first rate would rise to just above 2% — not
economy tips back into recession. Go too press conference of the year, critics see two even reaching what they view as restric-
slow and inflation gets entrenched. pressing areas for more clarity: the pace tive territory.
of rate increases and the balance sheet.
Powell’s emergency support of finan- “Despite retiring the word ‘transitory’
cial markets in 2020 as Covid-19 spread One hitch in Fed communication is that that forecast still suggests that they think
helped stage a solid recovery in 2021.The officials talk a lot about their baseline pro- inflation is mostly supply driven and will go
68-year-old’s dexterity won backing from jection.They don’t have a good way to de- away on its own,” saidWong, who forecasts
both parties and ultimately his nomination scribe their collective response to a rapidly the Fed will have to raise the benchmark
by President Joe Biden to a second term. evolving outlook, and they refresh their policy rate five times this year.

Now, “that legacy is being challenged” Some officials are starting to publicly
by inflation that’s too high and the Fed’s second guess their December estimates.
response which to some appears too slow,
said Tim Duy, chief economist at SGH St Louis Fed President James Bullard
Macro Advisors. “It is going to be hard says that it might take four increases to
to glide path prices back to the 2% tar- slow down prices instead of three as he
get” quickly without inducing a recession. had thought. Governor ChrisWaller argued
three hikes was still his baseline forecast,
Officials are expected to signal a rate but cautioned that four or even five moves
hike in March after their meeting ends in 2022 may be needed if inflation fails to
Wednesday. But Powell may need to open abate as expected.
the door to more increases this year than
the three projected in their December fore- With the committee already shifting,
casts. Some urge that Powell suggest that Powell has a chance at hisWednesday press
every meeting is live for a potential rate conference to open the door to a rate path
hike if warranted. with more than three increases this year.
Click here to read the full story
He will have to balance that message Read also:
with the Fed’s commitment to a new BOE silence leaves investors seeing
framework that pledges to let the labour signal for action on rates Click here
market to run hot in pursuit of broad- In surprise move, Singapore tightens
based and inclusive gains. There is also monetary policy on inflation risks
the issue of financial market fragility.The Click here
S&P 500 has slid more than 7% since the
end of last year, in part because of nerves
surrounding the Fed’s tightening.

Plus, US central bankers are operating
in a very different inflation climate than
the last time they lifted interest rates from

reuters

LONDON (Jan 25): British Prime Min- UK PM Johnson
ister Boris Johnson (pictured) on Tuesday says talking to US
said he was discussing banning Russia from
the Swift global payment system with the about banning
United States. Russia from Swift
payment system
Asked about the Swift payment sys-
tem and whether Britain would ban Rus- by William James & Alistair Smout
sia, Johnson said: “There is no doubt Reuters
that that would be a very potent weap-
on.”

“I’m afraid it can only really be de-
ployed with the assistance of the United
States though.We are in discussions about
that,” he told lawmakers.

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(Jan 25): Singapore state-owned investor Singapore’s UK-listed private equity firm Bridgepoint,
Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has bought Temasek acquires which agreed to buy the business in 2015 from
testing company Element MaterialsTech- rival 3i Group plc, began exploring a sale late
nology from buyout firm Bridgepoint Bridgepoint last year, Bloomberg News previously reported.
Group plc for an undisclosed amount. testing business
Temasek pre-empted a bidding pro-
Temasek, which was already a minor- by Aaron Kirchfeld & Manuel Baigorri cess that was expected to draw interest
ity owner of the business, acquired the Bloomberg from other buyout firms as well as strate-
London-based company that generates gic investors. Cinven Ltd and the Cana-
annual revenue of about US$1 billion The company, which can trace its history da Pension Plan Investment Board were
(about RM4.19 billion) and has grown back almost two centuries, has more than among parties reported to be interested.
at over 20% a year in the past decade, 200 laboratories across 30 countries em-
according to a statement on Tuesday ploying over 7,000 scientists, engineers The sale of Element marks one of the
(Jan 25). The value of the deal is almost and other technical staff. largest by Bridgepoint since it went pub-
US$7 billion, Bloomberg News reported lic in a July initial public offering. The
on Monday. buyout firm currently has a market cap-
italisation of US$4.1 billion.
Element Materials tests and certifies
products and materials used in industries Bank of America Corp, Goldman
ranging from oil and gas to aerospace. Sachs Group Inc and Rothschild & Co
advised Element on the deal.

DUBAI (Jan 25): A United Arab Emir- One of biggest- Chimera Investment, the Abu Dhabi
ates investment firm linked to an influen- ever tech funds firm’s parent company, was among the
tial member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family wins backing of institutional investors that contributed to
has emerged as a backer of one of the UAE royal’s firm the fund’s US$5 billion first close, accord-
largest funds in venture capital history, ing to Fikry.
joining forces with New York-based Al- by Farah Elbahrawy, Ben Bartenstein Growth, pre-IPO
pha Wave to deploy US$10 billion with & Nicolas Parasie “The focus in terms of stage of investment
a focus on India. Bloomberg is growth and pre-IPO (initial public of-
fering), yet the fund will be making earlier
Chimera Capital, part of a business The tie-up underscores bets to be able to penetrate star companies
empire overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin the Gulf region’s earlier and be able to back them along their
Zayed, said the Alpha Wave Ventures II growth trajectory,” Fikry said.
Fund will target companies that have yet growing prominence
to go public, focusing on a range of assets as a conduit of capital The fund has already invested in com-
from financial technology to artificial in- panies like Revolut, Monzo Bank Ltd, and
telligence and life sciences. following a year of Indian electric vehicle manufacturer Ola
record tech investments Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd.
Alpha Wave, originally named Falcon
Edge Capital, will work with it to identify that reached US$621 The effort builds on a relationship over
and manage investment opportunities in billion globally. the past three years between Chimera and
pursuit of “a global mandate with a spe- Alpha Wave, an alternative asset manager
cial focus on India”, Seif Fikry, Chimera’s rich emirate has an array of vehicles, from founded a decade ago and led by Rick Ger-
chief executive officer, said in an emailed Mubadala Capital to ADQ’s Abu Dhabi son, Navroz Udwadia, and Ryan Khoury.
reply to Bloomberg questions. Growth Fund, dedicated to diversifying Gerson is also a co-founder and board
the economy beyond hydrocarbons. member of Mubadala-backed Abu Dha-
The fund’s second close at US$10 bil- bi Catalyst Partners.
lion puts the haul in the same league as in- SheikhTahnoon, a brother of the UAE’s
vestment vehicles by Andreessen Horowitz, de facto ruler and the country’s national se- The partnership with AlphaWave cov-
Tiger Global Management, and Sequoia curity adviser, presides over many of these ers a period when Chimera began manag-
Capital. Chimera said the fund’s backers investments. His interests range from Royal ing third-party money and launched five
include a mix of large institutional inves- Group, the parent company of Chimera exchange-traded funds. Its first venture
tors, and it expects the ticket size could Capital, to wealth fund ADQ, Group 42, capital fund closed a month ago at just
range from “tens of millions to hundreds”, and First Abu Dhabi Bank. US$75 million but won the backing of
according to Fikry. Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s second-biggest
Apart from finance, he has been on the sovereign wealth fund.
The tie-up underscores the Gulf re- frontlines of the UAE’s diplomatic engage-
gion’s growing prominence as a conduit ments with regional heavyweights such as Chimera’s latest foray into venture cap-
of capital for global names like SoftBank Saudi Arabia,Turkey, Iran, and Qatar. ital dramatically steps up ambition, with
Group Corp and Silver Lake, following a the expectation of “playing a much more
year of record tech investments from Latin Fikry said his company is “fully aligned active role with the investee companies”,
America to China that reached US$621 with the emirate’s strategy of becoming a according to Fikry.
billion globally. hub of home-grown asset managers and
funds”. The new fund “allows large institutional
Mubadala, ADQ investors to deploy significant amounts of
It also marks the latest effort by Abu Dha- capital in growth-stage companies”, he said.
bi, a city that is among the few globally to
manage over US$1 trillion in sovereign Read also: Big IPO winners in India take a
wealth capital, to plow its energy wind- beating in global equity selloff Click here
fall into technology investments. The oil-

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bloomberg ior-management staff by 5%.The company Ericsson tops
is making ice cream, beauty and personal forecast as 5G
Unilever to cull care independent units as it reorganises its demand offsets
15% of senior businesses into five groups. China troubles
managers to
Jope is at a crucial juncture, coming un- by Supantha Mukherjee
accelerate der increasing pressure to chart a new course Reuters
revamp as the company’s share price lags rivals.
STOCKHOLM (Jan 25): Ericsson beat
Bloomberg Among the departing senior managers quarterly core earnings forecasts onTues-
is Sunny Jain, a former Amazon.com Inc day, sending its shares up 8% as global
(Jan 25): Unilever Plc plans to cut 15% executive who replaced Jope as president of demand for telecoms equipment for 5G
of its senior managerial positions to speed Unilever’s beauty and personal-care arm in networks offset more market share losses
decision-making after activist investor 2019.That business, which has been grow- in mainland China.
Nelson Peltz built a stake in the consum- ing at the slowest pace of Unilever’s three
er-goods giant. major divisions, is being broken up into two The Swedish company has been losing
under the new organisation. business in China since Sweden banned Chi-
Alan Jope (pictured) is making his big- na’s Huawei from its 5G roll-out.China now
gest job cuts since becoming chief executive Unilever’s decision to also separate its accounts for a low single digit proportion of
officer three years ago, eliminating about Foods and Refreshments business into two group revenue, down from more than 11%
1,500 positions as Unilever also reduces jun- separate entities will bring more transpar- before the Swedish ban, Ericsson said.
ency to the performance of its ice-cream
operations, which includes brands such as However, that has been offset by robust
Ben & Jerry’s, Klondike and Magnum and demand elsewhere.
has been speculated by some analysts as a
potential disposal target. “We have seen North America continue
to grow very strongly and we grew there by
Jope is seeking to reorganise the foods 16% in the quarter in constant currency,”
business around healthier habits, aiming to chief financial officer Carl Mellander said.
build a portfolio of plant-based meat and
dairy alternative brands that will generate While a resurgent Nokia has been in-
1 billion euros (RM4.73 million) worth of creasing competition in several markets, Er-
revenue by 2025. He also has expanded in icsson was also able to grow in Europe and
the fast-growing vitamins, minerals and sup- Latin America in its fiscal fourth quarter.
plements space with the acquisition of Olly
Nutrition in 2019. China had an early start in rolling out
5G networks — which promises faster
The company employs about 150,000 speeds and development of technologies
people globally. such as remote surgery — but other coun-
Click here to read the full story tries are catching up. Ericsson has so far
signed 170 5G contracts.
ZURICH (Jan 25): Credit Suisse warned Credit Suisse’s
onTuesday that it was likely to make a net problems mount “We think we are still relatively early in
loss in the fourth quarter (4Q) as the scan- as lender warns the 5G roll-out if you look on the globe,
dal-hit lender flagged fresh legal costs and so we will continue to see good demand
said business in its trading and wealth man- on 4Q profit for 5G going forward,” chief executive of-
agement divisions had slowed. ficer Börje Ekholm told a conference call.
by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
“Profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 Reuters The company’s quarterly adjusted op-
will be negatively impacted by litigation erating earnings rose to 11.9 billion Swed-
provisions of approximately 500 million and reform its risk management culture, an ish crowns (US$1.28 billion) from 11 bil-
Swiss francs, partly offset by gains on real effort set back by the abrupt departure of lion crowns a year ago, beating analysts’
estate sales of 225 million Swiss francs,” the chairman brought in just nine months mean forecast of 10.3 billion crowns, ac-
the embattled lender said in a statement, earlier to lead that transformation. cording to Refinitiv data.
adding the legal hits primarily related to
settlement of legacy cases from its invest- Switzerland’s second-largest lender an- While Ericsson’s total quarterly revenue
ment banking business. nounced plans in November to rein in its rose 2% to 71.3 billion crowns, beating esti-
investment bankers and plough money into mates of 68.33 billion crowns, sales in main-
Combined with other charges, it said looking after the fortunes of the world’s rich land China declined by 1.8 billion crowns.
this was expected to result in a reported as it tries to curb a freewheeling culture that
pre-tax income or loss of “approximately has cost it billions in a string of scandals. Mainland China will likely see a drop
break-even” for 4Q. in revenue for at least one more quarter,
It said on Tuesday its investment bank Mellander said.
That would be before the deduction of a would also be affected by a slowdown in
previously announced impairment charge transaction-based revenue. Click here to read the full story
of around 1.6 billion francs (US$1.75 bil-
lion) on remaining investment banking-re- Read also: IBM beats revenue expectations
lated goodwill on its books. on cloud, consulting strength Click here

Credit Suisse has been trying to turn
the page on a slew of negative headlines

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China warns of reuters Shimao, which has defaulted on a trust loan
export woes due and extended asset-backed securities payments
to less stimulus Chinese state- this month, sold a commercial land in Shanghai
owned property last week to a company owned by the Shang-
overseas hai municipal government for 1.1 billion yuan.
firms step
Bloomberg in to rescue The property management arm of state-
cash-strapped backed developer China Resources Land ac-
(Jan 25): A rapid withdrawal of stimulus developers quired property services businesses ofYuzhou
by some countries could hurt China’s Group and Jiangsu Zhongnan Construction
exports, an official with the Ministry of by Clare Jim this month for a total of 3.3 billion yuan.
Commerce said, as he warned of “un- Reuters
precedented” difficulties ahead this year. “For sure we will see more of these deals,
HONG KONG (Jan 25): Chinese state- because the central government has made the
The outlook for international trade owned property firms are expected to acquire order,” said Oscar Choi, founder and CIO of
this year is clouded by uncertain de- more assets from cash-strapped private de- Oscar and Partners Capital Ltd. “Large state-
mand as global economic growth is ex- velopers, analysts said, as Beijing steps up owned enterprises will need to respond and act.”
pected to lose steam amid Covid out- efforts to stabilise and tighten control over
breaks, there are labour shortages, and a crisis-hit sector that accounts for a quarter Choi expects SOEs will not go beyond
supply chain disruptions and inflation of its economy. assets and management property business
are rising, Li Xingqian, head of the to directly acquire stakes in the distressed
MOFCOM’s foreign trade department, The market has seen over half a dozen developers, as Beijing wants to stop short of
told reporters at a Tuesday briefing. deals in recent weeks following easing of rules direct bailouts and keep only the “meaning-
to issue debt for quality property firms, and ful” players in the market.
“Global systemic risks are on the initiatives by local governments to facilitate
rise due to unbalanced economic re- asset disposal for distressed firms. “Equity investment will be a last resort ...
coveries,” he said in Beijing. “The (Beijing’s) broad principle is save the market
overly fast withdrawal of stimulus pol- State-owned China Overseas Land & Invest- and not individual developers.”
icies by some countries could trigger ment (COLI) is buying stakes of Shimao Group
contractions in demand, fluctuations and Agile Group in a joint venture project for Distressed assets
in prices and in turn affect the exports a total of 3.7 billion yuan (US$585 million). With a growing list of embattled private de-
of Chinese industry.” velopers now scrambling for cash to meet
Regulatory curbs on borrowing have driv- debt obligations, pay suppliers and workers,
China’s exports surged nearly 30% en China’s property sector into crisis, high- and complete construction work, more such
last year to a record high on the back of lighted by China Evergrande Group, once deals are in the offing.
strong global demand, with the nation’s the country’s top-selling developer but now
factories humming along while produc- the world’s most indebted property company. Shimao is putting 36 of its projects worth
tion in other countries was disrupted 77 billion yuan on sale, according to local
by virus outbreaks. But the growth is In the last two months, Beijing has taken mediaThe Paper onTuesday.The firm could
widely expected to soften this year due a string of measures to restore stability in the fetch up to 23.6 billion yuan in cash after re-
to difficulty in exceeding 2021’s record sector hit by defaults on offshore debt obliga- paying the debt pledged to the assets.
levels and a likely decline in demand for tions, credit rating downgrades and a selloff
work-from-home technology and health in developers’ bonds and stocks. “Many more private developers are going
care equipment as other nations return to end up in the hands of state-owned ones;
to more normal consumption patterns. Those measures included urging banks to Shimao is just one case of money,” said Ali-
provide appropriate lending to developers, cia Garcia Herrero, Natixis Asia Pacific chief
Foreign shipments are also threat- making issuance of interbank notes and as- economist.
ened by developed countries’ push to set-backed securities easier, and not including
bring manufacturing back home, rising M&A related loans in the debt ratio caps for Major private developer Sunac China has
material costs, clogged transportation state-owned enterprises (SOEs). also been disposing of its assets in recent months
routes and a shortage of key compo- to buyers including state-owned Beijing Capital
nents like semiconductors, Li said. The sector is seeing a spurt in dealmak- Group and Zhuhai-based Huafa Group, media
ing as a result. reported, raising over 20 billion yuan.
“Developed economies’ pursuit of re-
shoring of industries is dividing markets Shimao and Sunac declined to comment.
and reducing the efficiency of global While state-supported deals would send a
resource allocation,” he said. China’s positive signal to the market and ease the cash
small exporters are squeezed by “sharply crunch of the sellers for a short while, devel-
higher” costs and stalling profits despite opers said it will not be enough to solve the
rising revenues, he added. debt crisis in the sector.

Still, the government is confident “There are so many distressed assets in the
that full-year trade growth will be kept market, how much can the SOEs buy?” said a
within a “reasonable” range, helped by senior official of a developer based in eastern
expanding new markets and a boost in China, who declined to be named because
credit for exporters which will strength- he was not authorised to speak to media.
en their ability to deal with foreign ex-
change risks, Li said. Among China’s top 30 developers, assets
owned by state-owned firms are worth 6.2 tril-
lion yuan,just 48% of their private counterparts,
according to ANZ, and they generally have low-
er leverage ratios than their private counterparts.

“We doubt how successful ‘nationalising’
the property sector can be, if there is such a
plan,” ANZ said in a report last week.

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JPMorgan AmEx raises
agrees to 49% revenue forecast
VivaWallet stake after card spending
in fintech deal jumps to record

by Hannah Levitt by Jenny Surane
Bloomberg Bloomberg

NEWYORK (Jan 25): JPMorgan Chase prolific year for buying and taking stakes NEWYORK (Jan 25):American Express Co
& Co has agreed to take a 49% stake in in smaller firms since at least the financial (AmEx) is putting the pandemic behind it,
Greek payment firmVivaWallet, the lat- crisis. Chief executive officer Jamie Dimon boosting forecasts for revenue and profit af-
est in the bank’s streak of acquisitions has described a landscape full of compet- ter spending on its cards surged to a record.
and investments as it seeks to stay ahead itive threats and said he will spend what-
of the competition. ever it takes to stay ahead.That point was Revenue will climb as much as 20% this
punctuated earlier this month by the firm’s year while earnings could reach US$9.25 to
The deal is subject to regulatory ap- higher expense guidance for this year. US$9.65 a share, the company said in a state-
provals, and financial terms were not ment onTuesday. AmEx has long said 2022
disclosed. Bloomberg reported in No- Athens-based Viva Wallet focuses on would be the year it reaches goals originally
vember that JPMorgan was weighing a serving small- and medium-sized busi- set two years ago, before the pandemic took
potential investment inVivaWallet, and nesses in 23 European countries. Its ser- hold. But the new targets far surpass even
that at the time Viva Wallet was consid- vices include bill pay, virtual debit card those goals, which predicted revenue growth
ering seeking a valuation of at least €1.5 issuance, and merchant cash advance. in the range of 8%-10% and per-share profit
billion (US$1.7 billion). of US$8.85-US$9.25.
JPMorgan’s payment business is fo-
“The European payment landscape cused on growing its merchant-acquir- “We are raising our aspiration to generate
is fragmented yet large in terms of op- ing capabilities in Europe.The stake in sustainable revenue and earnings growth,”
portunity, with more than 17 million Viva Wallet “will set the stage to devel- chief executive officer Steve Squeri said in
merchants ready to implement scalable op future international products and the statement. “Longer term, as the econo-
payment solutions,”Takis Georgakopou- services across European” small- and my reaches a steady state, our aspiration is to
los, JPMorgan’s global head of payments, medium-sized businesses, according achieve revenue growth in excess of 10% and
said on Tuesday in a statement. “This is to the release. earnings-per-share growth in the mid-teens.”
a big focus area for added growth.”
Jefferies Financial Group advised Overall spending on AmEx’s network
The announcement marks JPMorgan’s Viva Wallet on the sale, according to soared 29% to US$368.1 billion in the final
first deal in 2022, on the heels of its most the statement. three months of last year, even as the highly
contagious Omicron variant disrupted hol-
DUBAI (Jan 25):Wynn Resorts Ltd, the Casino operator iday plans around the world and started a
LasVegas-based hotel and casino operator, Wynn plans fresh round of lockdowns.The spending surge
plans to develop a multibillion-dollar resort resort with helped push revenue up 30% to US$12.1
off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, billion in the quarter, which was higher than
which is set to include a “gaming area”. gaming facilities analysts had predicted.
in UAE
The project on Ras al-Khaimah’s Al Shares of the company rose 3.2% to
Marjan Island comes as the emirate’s by Zainab Fattah US$164.06 at 7.06am in early New York
Tourism Development Authority, known Bloomberg trading.
as RAKTDA, formed a new division to
regulate what it called “integrated re- troversial in the Muslim world. AmEx also said it would raise its quarterly
sorts”, which are set to include gaming Wynn Resorts’ planned resort will dividend for the first time since 2019, boosting
facilities, according to an emailed state- the payout 20% to 52 cents a share begin-
ment from the authority. include a hotel with more than 1,000 ning this quarter, according to the statement.
rooms that is also set to include a gaming
The new government authority will area along with meeting and convention AmEx — long known for its travel and
set the rules for “licensing, taxation, facilities and entertainment. dining perks — has been revamping some
operational procedures, and consumer of its most popular products and focusing
safeguards” needed to regulate gaming It will consider the “social, cultur- more on wellness and lifestyle benefits as the
in those resorts, it said. “The foremost al, and environmental landscape of the pandemic drags on. When it overhauled its
priority of this new division is to create Emirate and cover licensing, taxation, Platinum card last year, the NewYork-based
a robust framework that will ensure re- operational procedures, and consumer company added statement credits for enter-
sponsible gaming at all levels.” safeguards”. tainment products, such as SiriusXM or Au-
dible subscriptions, as well as US$25 a month
Rumours swirled for months last year towards membership with the high-end fitness
about plans to allow gambling within club Equinox.
the United Arab Emirates. But the gov-
ernment denied such plans were being The company has vowed to spend more
considered. Allowing gambling is con- on marketing in recent quarters as it seeks
to add new customers. Overall costs jumped
29% to US$9.8 billion, topping the US$9.31
billion average estimate.

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BRUSSELS (Jan 25): A group of investors A US$10.4 trillion toring those pledges will be key, and the
that includes Allianz SE and the California investor group UN has said it plans to create a mechanism
Public Employees’ Retirement System has is ratcheting up for policing net-zero claims.
set itself new targets for reducing green- climate targets
house gas emissions, amid concerns that In a speech at COP26, UN Secre-
time is running out to prevent the planet by John Ainger tary-General Antonio Guterres said
from overheating. Bloomberg GFANZ should apply stricter membership
criteria by adopting the tougher targets
The United Nations-convened Net Zero bloomberg and transparency of the Net Zero Asset
Asset Owner Alliance, a group of 69 inves- Owners Alliance.
tors with US$10.4 trillion of assets, now re-
quires members to slash between 49% and Pledges:
65% off their carbon footprint by the end • The group’s new protocol covers 14
of the decade, according to a statement on
Tuesday. Crucially, the target includes so- economic sectors, twice as many as the
called Scope 3 — also known as financed inaugural edition, including agriculture,
emissions — which typically make up 95% chemicals, and carbon-intensive indus-
to 97% of an investor’s emissions. tries like concrete and aluminium.
• Members of the Alliance are aiming to
“Every company is challenged to follow have sector targets in place by 2025 that
the lead ofAlliance members and adjust busi- cover 70% of financed emissions.
ness models, develop plans for the transition • Asset classes covered now include car-
to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future,” bon-intensive infrastructure debt and
said Guenther Thallinger, chair of the Alli- equity, in line with Partnership for Car-
ance, in a statement.“Action is needed now.” bon Accounting Financials’ carbon ac-
counting framework.
The finance industry has unveiled a • The recommended decarbonisation
flurry of commitments to reduce emissions range for absolute emissions reduc-
since climate talks in Scotland last year. tions for the period 2020 to 2025 should
range between 22% and 32%.
In November, the Glasgow Financial • To date, 30 members have already set
Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) said it 2025 targets.
had enlisted firms representing US$130
trillion in assets to the cause. But moni-

bloomberg

Warren Buffett to
host Berkshire’s
annual meeting
in-person this

year

Bloomberg

(Jan 25): Warren Buffett’s (pictured) said that he hoped that meeting would be and Greg Abel, a Berkshire vice-chairman,
“Woodstock for Capitalists” will finally the last time that investors couldn’t attend were the only two executives fielding ques-
meet in person again — for the first time his “Woodstock for Capitalists” event in tions given their proximity to Omaha.The
in three years. person. next year, Buffett joined Munger on stage
closer to Munger’s home in Los Angeles.
His Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual Shareholders normally flock to Oma-
meeting, which normally draws thousands ha to watch Buffett, 91, and his business Buffett’s company also disclosed that
to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, is partner Charlie Munger, 98, sit on a stage Buffett’s much anticipated annual letter
currently being planned for an in-person for hours to entertain shareholder ques- will be posted on Feb 26. That report
event on April 30, the company saidTues- tions on topics ranging from investment should detail more about the meeting,
day (Jan 25) in a statement.The event will decisions to life lessons. In 2020, Buffett the company said.
also still be webcast.

“At this time, we are planning for an
in-person meeting,” Berkshire said.

Berkshire, like many companies around
the world, switched to a virtual meeting in
2020 as the pandemic bore down across
the US and kept it in a virtual format last
year as well. During his announcement that
the 2021 meeting would be virtual, Buffett

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bloomberg

Bitcoin’s price Indonesia
tumble tests regulator says
resilience of financial firms
crypto miners banned from

by Olga Kharif & Josh Saul facilitating
Bloomberg crypto sales

PORTLAND/NEWYORK (Jan 25): Bit- machines, mostly the Bitmain S19 Pro, by Gayatri Suroyo
coin miners are facing a crucial test in the have less to worry about. CleanSpark, with Reuters
wake of the token’s 50% plunge from an operations in Georgia and upstate New
all-time high. York, mines about 10 Bitcoins per day and JAKARTA (Jan 25): Indonesia’s Finan-
spends between US$5,000 and US$6,000 cial Services Authority (OJK) on Tues-
While many mining operations made a in operating costs to mine each coin. day warned that financial firms are not al-
handsome profit during Bitcoin’s run-up lowed to offer and facilitate sales of crypto
last year, the recent decline could punish “So even at US$33,000 per Bitcoin, assets amid a boom in crypto trading in
those with less efficient operations. we’re still tremendously profitable,” Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Schultz said.
Mining — which uses powerful comput- “OJK has strictly prohibited financial
ers, or servers, to solve math problems and Such actions also put pressure on service institutions from using, marketing,
order transactions on Bitcoin’s blockchain less-efficient competitors, as adding more and/or facilitating crypto asset trading,”
— is a costly business, fraught with regu- computers to the network makes it more the regulator said in a statement posted
latory and environmental concerns, and a difficult to earn tokens. Even if Bitcoin’s on Instagram.
price drop only complicates the situation. price were to stay constant, miners’ rev-
enues by the end of 2022 are expected It warned that the value of crypto as-
Miners that are not as efficient, or to fall by a third simply due to increased sets often fluctuates and that people buy-
signed more expensive power contracts, competition, according to BitOoda. How- ing into the digital assets should fully un-
could get pushed out or gobbled up, said ever, an industry shake-out could disrupt derstand the risks.
Matt Schultz, executive chairman of miner those expectations.
CleanSpark Inc. “Please beware of allegations of Ponzi
“We are all competing for the same scheme scams in crypto investments,” it
“When oil prices drop, the less-efficient amount of Bitcoin every day,” said Char- added, without elaborating.
producers inWestTexas shut down. Same lie Schumacher, a representative for Mara-
thing is happening here,” he said. thon, which recently ordered more mining The warning follows similar concerns
gear. “If we find ourselves in a situation by the central banks ofThailand.
The sell-off comes at a vulnerable time where it’s unprofitable for other miners to
for the industry as Russia’s central bank operate because they have much higher Trade in crypto assets is surging in
has proposed a ban on miners — meaning cost, we — because of our size and scale — Indonesia, with total 2021 transactions
about 15% of all Bitcoin mining power would earn more Bitcoin in that situation.” reaching 859 trillion rupiah ($59.83 bil-
may need to relocate, by some estimates lion), up from just 60 trillion rupiah in
— and while the sector was able to bounce During the crypto winter of 2018, when 2020, media reported, citing trade min-
back after a similar block in China, there many businesses shuttered and sold their istry data.
could be more casualties this time around. machines, daily miner revenues dropped
about 85% and Bitcoin’s network hashrate Indonesia allows sales of crypto assets
Shares of CleanSpark, Marathon Dig- — a measure of the computing power sup- in the commodities exchange and trading
ital Holdings Inc, Bitfarms Ltd, and Hut porting it — dropped by more than 80%, is supervised by the trade ministry and the
8 Mining Corp are all down more than according to Blockchain.com. Commodity FuturesTrading Regulatory
30% this year. However, companies that Agency, not by the OJK.
have used their excess cash — either from Already there are signs of similar pres-
Bitcoin’s rally, public offerings or newly is- sure. Current prices on the older mining The ministry is currently facilitat-
sued debt — to buy more efficient mining equipment have been sliding for months, ing the set up of a separate bourse for
equipment are likely to fare better. per Hashrate Index. Additionally, Bit- digital assets, called the Digital Futures
coin’s network hashrate has begun to fall Exchange, which officials say will be
With Bitcoin trading near US$36,700, after hitting an all-time seven-day-av- launched in the first quarter.
miners with older machinery — which erage high on Jan 19, Blockchain.com
makes up about 23% of computers sup- data showed. However, crypto currencies cannot le-
porting the network — are dangerously gally be used for payments in the country.
close to the threshold where they may not “Over time, if price declines continue
make enough to cover electricity costs, let — or if Bitcoin’s price stagnated at cur- pixabay
alone labour and other expenses, research rent levels and hashrate increased — some
from BitOoda, a digital asset fintech firm, of the miners would eventually have to
showed. shut down older-generation machines,”
said Sam Doctor, chief strategy officer of
Meanwhile, those with newest mining BitOoda. “But overall network hashrate
servers would only be threatened with a is high enough that even large declines in
shutdown if Bitcoin were to fall as low as it should not threaten the integrity of the
US$20,000, BitOoda said. network.”

That means companies like CleanSpark
that have recently sprung for more efficient

w e d n e s d a y J a n u a r y 2 6 , 2 0 2 2 26 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 5,250.00 -10.00 OIL US$ 87.07 0.80 RM/USD 4.1898 RM/SGD 3.1176 RM/AUD 2.9966 RM/GBP 5.6487 RM/EUR 4.7337

Top 20 active stocks

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

Dagang NeXchange Bhd 180.60 -0.070 0.860 13.16 2713.6

Senheng New Retail Bhd 163.50 -0.215 0.855 0.00 1282.5

Coraza Integrated Technology 79.9 -0.005 0.810 0 346.9

SMTrack Bhd 61.8 -0.005 0.190 0 125.2

G3 Global Bhd 44.8 0.000 0.070 -12.5 151.5

AHB Holdings Bhd 41.8 -0.005 0.125 -3.85 39.8

Widad Group Bhd 38.8 0.005 0.375 2.74 1032.2

Dataprep Holdings BHD 32.1 0.005 0.560 -30.86 376.9

OPCOM Holdings Bhd 31.8 0.010 0.945 -1.05 255.7 World equity indices

Green Ocean Corp Bhd 31.5 -0.005 0.030 0 63.3

Hextar Industries Bhd 30.8 0.005 0.215 34.38 246.7 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE

Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd 28.9 0.010 0.450 -2.17 436.1 (%) (%)
DOW JONES 34,364.50 99.13 0.29 INDONESIA 6,568.17 -86.99 -1.31
NCT Alliance Bhd 28 -0.005 0.520 0.97 458

My EG Services Bhd 25.6 -0.015 0.935 -12.62 6,915.8 S&P 500 4,410.13 12.19 0.28 JAPAN 27,131.34 -457.03 -1.66

Kanger International Bhd 23.7 -0.005 0.020 0 119.6 NASDAQ 100 14,509.58 71.18 0.49 KOREA 2,720.39 -71.61 -2.56

Inari Amertron Bhd 22.2 -0.040 3.250 -18.75 12039.1 FTSE 100 7,343.70 46.55 0.64 PHILIPPINES 7,288.21 35.57 0.49

Parlo Bhd 21.2 -0.005 0.160 6.67 69.9 AUSTRALIA 6,961.63 -177.92 -2.49 SINGAPORE 3,239.97 -43.38 -1.32

Metronic Global Bhd 20.1 -0.005 0.015 -25.00 32.5 CHINA 3,433.06 -91.04 -2.58 TAIWAN 17,701.12 -287.92 -1.60

Ta Win Holdings BHD 19.6 0.000 0.125 0 426.7 HONG KONG 24,243.61 -412.85 -1.67 THAILAND 1,637.87 -2.67 -0.16

Impiana Hotels Bhd 19.2 0.000 0.045 -40 65 INDIA 57,824.87 333.36 0.58 VIETNAM 1,479.58 39.87 2.77

Data as compiled on Jan 25, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 25, 2022 Source: Bloomberg

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

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

Scomi Group Bhd 0.025 25.0 4.00 25.00 27.3 Fintec Global Bhd 0.010 -33.330 696.3 0.00 58.8

Talam Transform Bhd 0.025 25.0 1088.8 25.00 107.4 Pegasus Heights Bhd 0.010 -33.330 7006.2 0.00 107.7

XOX BHD 0.030 20.0 5595.7 0.00 142.8 Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.010 -33.330 1,673.00 0 44.2

DGB Asia Bhd 0.030 20.0 524.1 0.00 48.7 Metronic Global Bhd 0.015 -25.000 20057.5 -25.00 32.5

Ageson Bhd 0.030 20.0 13080.4 -25.00 46.8 Senheng New Retail Bhd 0.855 -20.090 163548.6 0.00 1282.5

Xidelang Holdings Ltd 0.040 14.3 1644.2 14.29 84.6 Kanger International Bhd 0.020 -20.000 23690.4 0.00 119.6

XOX Networks Bhd 0.040 14.3 10,879.50 33.33 45.4 Dolomite Corp Bhd 0.025 -16.670 110 -16.67 14.8

Marine & General Bhd 0.090 12.5 4.0 63.64 65.1 KPower BHD 0.350 -14.630 12164.9 -16.67 190.0

Aldrich Resources Bhd 0.050 11.1 10931.2 25 55.7 AE Multi Holdings Bhd 0.030 -14.290 2962.8 0.00 64.9

Sapura Energy Bhd 0.050 11.1 6812.4 0.00 799.0 Green Ocean Corp Bhd 0.030 -14.290 31540.0 0.00 63.3

Sapura Resources Bhd 0.400 9.6 0.1 1.27 55.8 Alam Maritim Resources Bhd 0.030 -14.290 255.6 20.00 45.9

Scomi Energy Services Bhd 0.060 9.1 60.2 9.09 28.1 MyTech Group BHD 0.655 -13.820 3701.0 -29.57 146.6

TWL Holdings Bhd 0.060 9.1 10389.4 20.00 154.2 Jasa Kita BHD 0.095 -13.640 30.0 -13.64 42.7

CME Group BHD 0.060 9.1 9240.0 0.00 58.1 Idimension Consolidated Bhd 0.100 -13.040 12123.8 -23.08 27.2

Chuan Huat Resources BHD 0.510 7.4 0.5 6.25 86.0 Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber PLC 0.425 -12.370 165 -5.56 143.1

Menang Corp M Bhd 0.515 7.3 7.9 -4.63 247.6 Fibon Bhd 0.380 -11.630 80.2 -7.32 37.1

Lebtech Bhd 0.910 7.1 1.0 -2.67 124.2 Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd 1.170 -11.360 55.7 -17.02 125.2

Ecobuilt Holdings Bhd 0.160 6.7 57.8 3.23 61.2 Malaysia Pacific Corp Bhd 0.080 -11.110 12.0 -20.00 23.0

Bonia Corp Bhd 1.490 6.4 946.8 54.40 298.6 Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.040 -11.110 3427.8 0.00 254.9

BTM Resources BHD 0.170 6.3 16 3.03 29.1 DFCITY Group Bhd 0.425 -10.53 5.1 -3.41 44.9

Data as compiled on Jan 25, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 25, 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)

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 25.420 0.420 111.2 2.75 9,323.50 Nestle Malaysia Bhd 132.30 -0.70 52.0 -1.42 31024.4

Petronas Dagangan Bhd 19.380 0.260 126.2 -5.92 19,253.10 Malaysian Pacific Industries 39.12 -0.38 341.90 -20.75 7780.8

Syarikat Takaful M Keluarga 3.660 0.100 818 -1.08 3,058.40 Kesm Industries Bhd 10.20 -0.34 30.4 -16.94 438.7

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd 5.820 0.100 929.3 -2.68 9,656.50 Dutch Lady Milk Industries BHD 32.02 -0.32 7.2 -4.47 2049.3

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd 3.140 0.090 2,797.80 4.67 6767.5 PPB Group Bhd 16.28 -0.32 309.2 -4.80 23159.9

Rapid Synergy Bhd 8.840 0.090 58.30 -11.16 945.00 Senheng New Retail Bhd 0.86 -0.22 163548.6 0.00 1282.5

Bonia Corp Bhd 1.490 0.090 946.80 54.40 298.60 Hartalega Holdings Bhd 5.34 -0.19 3861.3 -6.81 18249.2

Padini Holdings Bhd 2.900 0.080 66.5 3.57 1,907.90 Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd 3.32 -0.16 761.1 2.15 1394.4

Carlsberg Brewery M Bhd 20.240 0.080 45.30 0.80 6,188.30 Panasonic Manufacturing M 28.84 -0.16 7.4 -0.21 1751.9

Genetec Technology Bhd 2.560 0.070 5,921.40 -15.66 1744 Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd 1.17 -0.15 55.7 -17.02 125.2

TIME dotCom Bhd 4.320 0.070 261.5 -6.09 7,886.70 Petron Malaysia Refining & MKT 4.24 -0.14 54.4 -3.20 1144.8

Box-Pak Malaysia BHD 1.190 0.070 10 -6.30 142.90 IHH Healthcare Bhd 6.33 -0.14 8432.9 -13.76 55693.6

Lebtech Bhd 0.910 0.060 1 -2.67 124.20 Hong Leong Capital Bhd 7.01 -0.14 2998.6 -3.71 1730.7

Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd 2.210 0.060 173.5 0.45 1843.7 D&O Green Technologies Bhd 4.45 -0.13 4622.9 -24.58 5505.3

Riverview Rubber Estates BHD 3.280 0.060 10 3.46 212.7 PIE Industrial BHD 3.00 -0.13 672.5 -21.05 1152.1

Seni Jaya Corp BHD 2.700 0.050 577.60 2.27 131.00 Kobay Technology BHD 4.45 -0.13 576.3 -26.2 1442.6

CB Industrial Product Holding 1.270 0.050 460.3 8.55 607.30 Thong Guan Industries Bhd 2.56 -0.12 1063.9 -8.57 984.2

Dialog Group Bhd 2.630 0.050 4,513.80 0.38 14840 DiGi.Com Bhd 3.82 -0.12 3897 -12.39 29700.5

YNH Property Bhd 2.640 0.040 64.9 -0.38 1395.2 Aurelius Technologies Bhd 2.01 -0.12 9130.8 -14.83 719.9

Timberwell BHD 0.695 0.04 194 19.83 61.9 Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 3.88 -0.12 1974.6 3.19 26833

Data as compiled on Jan 25, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jan 25, 2022 Source: Bloomberg