TEMCMB-16.06.22

ECB acts to stem nascent Italian crisis
with Pledge of new tool p15

thursday, june 16, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

Issue 394/2022

ceoMorningBrief

HOME: AAX to focus on medium-haul flights for commercial viability going forward p3
Reimpose GST on its merits, not just to raise tax revenue or provide more subsidies — Grant Thornton p4

Scomi Group gets another reprieve from delisting p11
WORLD: Baidu in talks to sell majority stake in iQIYI, China’s answer to Netflix — sources p18

Bill Gates blasts crypto, NFTs as based on ‘greater-fool’ theory p20

BoardtaurtosCsoalemley
intensifies

Report on Page 2.

thursday june 16, 2022 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Boardroom tussle at Caely intensifies

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15):The board- by sulhi khalid Meanwhile, it claimed four new direc-
room tussle at Caely Holdings Bhd has theedgemarkets.com tors have been appointed to the board,
intensified with the extraordinary general namely Leong, Datuk Kang Chez Chiang,
meeting (EGM) requisitionists claiming liefs sought at the Kuala Lumpur High Ng Keok Chai and Krishnan Dorairaju.
victory in removing nine directors from the Court by the company. Leong is an executive director of Green
existing board on Wednesday (June 15). Packet Bhd.
“All members who are present today
This is despite group executive chair- should be aware that, in defiance of the Citing the EGM adjournment being
man Datuk Loh Ming Choon declaring ongoing legal proceedings, they may find invalid, the requisitionists said: “Firstly,
that the EGM is adjourned pending final themselves in contempt of court.” Article 82 of the company’s constitution
determination of the lawsuit in court. Requisitionists: Nine directors clearly states that any adjournment has
removed, four new members to be put to vote and shall be determined
In a Bursa Malaysia filing onWednesday appointed by poll. Despite Loh being advised by the
(June 15), the Perak-based lingerie firm Separately, a statement released on company secretary of the same, his advice
said Loh had been advised by the group’s Wednesday contradicting the group’s filing was ignored.
legal adviser that the subject matter of the on the local bourse said nine Caely board
EGM was sub judice and that it could not members have been removed, including “Secondly, there is no injunction ob-
lawfully continue with the EGM, which Loh Ming Choon, Mohamad Hanafiah tained by the company to adjourn the
carries 12 resolutions. Zakaria, Sin Hock Min,Wong Siaw Puie, EGM. As far as the Kuala Lumpur High
Ng Mei Choo, Khoo ChenYeng and Koh Court suit NoWA-24NCC-178-03/2022
Three shareholders who collective- Mui Tee. filed by the requisitionists is concerned,
ly hold at least 10% stake in the group the requisionists’ intention to withdraw
— namely Leong Seng Wui, Kok Kwang Two new board members — execu- the same was made known to the compa-
Lim andValhalla Capital Sdn Bhd — made tive vice chairman Datuk Jovian Mand- ny during the case management on June
their first attempt to call for an EGM to agie and independent director Sandraru- 13, 2022,” it said.
remove the existing board members in Feb- ben Neelamagham — who were appointed
ruary this year. before the EGM have also been removed. The requisionists also claimed that the
Jovian is the son-in-law of Prime Minister shareholders present then unanimously
On March 16, Caely commenced a Datuk Seri Ismail SabriYaakob. appointed Leong as the new chairman.
lawsuit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Niche Unity Consultants Sdn Bhd was
against the trio as well as five others in a Only one existing director Datin Fong appointed as the independent scrutineer
challenge against their voting rights and NyokYoon remains on the board. of the EGM.
the nomination of themselves or nominees
at an EGM. Caely has been in the spotlight in
the past two months after the Malay-
On March 18, the trio filed a lawsuit sian Anti-Corruption Commission is-
against Caely to declare that they were sued a freeze order on all of its bank
entitled to call and hold an EGM sub- accounts in April.
ject to any protocol or requirement as
determined by the court to ensure a fair On Monday, Caely announced that its
and smooth running of the EGM. auditorVirdos Lima Consultancy (M) Sdn
Bhd could not continue with its foren-
Two months later on May 19, the trio sic audit as critical information was not
requested for another EGM to discuss var- available.
ious issues, including the removal of newly
appointed executive chairmanWong Siaw At market close on Wednesday, shares
Puie and six other existing directors. in Caely were up 5.5 sen or 14.86% to
42.5 sen, giving it a market capitalisation
In supporting the decision to adjourn of RM109.75 million.
the EGM, Caely said: “The chairman fore-
warned that this EGM and the decisions Penang-based businessman Datuk Seri
that the members present are being asked Goh Choon Kim is the largest shareholder
to take this morning interfere with the re- of Caely with a 21.05% stake.

thursday june 16, 2022 3 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): AirAsia X AAX to focus terest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
Bhd (AAX) will focus on medium-haul on medium- of RM6.08 million in 3QFY22.
flights moving forward to ensure com- haul flights for
mercial viability as part of its strategy to commercial However, Benyamin said with the
swing the airline back to profit, accord- viability going operating costs it cut after the restruc-
ing to its chief executive officer (CEO) turing process, the airline can return to
Benyamin Ismail. forward profitability after its operations scale up
and recover.
“The key thing in our strategy is to have by Izzul Ikram
a model that flies profitably, we have to theedgemarkets.com He noted that AAX remains confident
make sure that is very important for the in returning to pre-Covid-19 pandemic
company to survive, and also route deci- “[Our long-haul destinations to Europe] capacity, but noted that it will take time as
sions that are commercially viable for the will only be these two (London and Istan- it waits for the market to open up.
business itself,” he said at an AAX event bul), I do not think we would be adding
held on Wednesday (June 15). any more. I think these are the only two “Internally, we have projected that [we
that we feel would work,” Benyamin told will return to] pre-Covid-19 capacity in
Aligned with this, Benyamin announced reporters on Wednesday. two years,” he added.
the airline’s seven new medium-haul routes
— namely from Kuala Lumpur to New Del- AAX was handed a lifeline after it gar- Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the
hi, Sydney, Seoul (Incheon),Tokyo (Hane- nered near unanimous support from its airline was loss-making since FY18 — with
da), Sapporo (Chitose) and Osaka (Kansai), creditors in the face of its RM63.5 billion a full-year net loss of RM312.7 million
as well as from Osaka to Honolulu. worth of debts — whereby it would only — followed by net losses of RM489.48
need to pay 0.5% of what it owed under million in FY19, and RM1.34 billion in
However, he added that the budget air- the restructuring process. the 12-month period ended Dec 31, 2020.
line — known for its long-haul flights — has
also planned long-haul flights from Kuala On the back of this, the airline was lift- Benyamin noted that the airline cur-
Lumpur to London, Dubai and Istanbul. ed to the black for the third quarter ended rently has six aircraft operating and plans
March 31, 2022 (3QFY22) with a net prof- to have 15 planes in service by the end of
He noted that these new long-haul it of RM33.62 billion after writing back a 2022 — five in storage and are to undergo
routes to Europe are exceptions to their similar amount back to profit. maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)
medium-haul shift in focus as it sees an services, while the other four are to be ac-
opportunity to capitalise on rising demand Meanwhile, excluding the provision quired and added to its fleet.
as travel restrictions are lifted. write-back, AAX logged a loss before in-
“Generally there are bottlenecks in all
“Generally medium-haul is the model, MRO services, but we foresaw this issue
but I think we saw the pent-up demand ahead of time so we planned our schedules
of going to Europe, especially London. for all checks coming, so as it is there is
Also, the fact that we have been able to one aircraft going in every month.
restructure the business, [which resulted
in] cheaper costs, it looked more feasible “So hopefully by January [2023], the
for us to do it. five planes I mentioned earlier will be ser-
viceable and flying hopefully by then,” he
added.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Malaysia Malaysia ranks positions in several sub-factors, including
has been ranked 32nd in the 2022 Inter- 32nd in 2022 management practices (14th), scientific
national Institute for Management De- IMDWorld infrastructure (16th) and health and en-
velopment (IMD)World Competitiveness vironment (25th).
Ranking (WCR), down by seven positions Competitiveness
from the 25th spot in 2021. ranking IMD WCC chief economist Christos
Cabolis said besides inflationary pressure
In a statement, the centre said Thai- Bernama affecting most economies, other global
land (33rd from 28th) and Indonesia challenges affecting the competitiveness
(44th from 37th) also tumbled down their Nonetheless, China still tops the of countries include variants of COV-
rankings respectively, driven by the slow Asia-Pacific (APAC) economies along with ID-19.
re-opening of the economy post-COV- Singapore (third), Hong Kong (fifth) and
ID-19 compared with the European Un- Taiwan (seventh). This includes the number of infected
ion (EU) and the United States (US). people around the world; differing national
Singapore reaches the third spot, up policies to address COVID (the ‘zero-tol-
The Asia region also saw China drop from fifth, enjoying its topmost position erance COVID’ policy versus the ‘moving
one spot to 17 from 16, reversing China’s in the APAC region. Its recovery stemmed on from COVID’ policy); and the invasion
strong upward trend in recent years, sig- from substantial improvements in the do- of Ukraine by Russia.
nalling a poor economic recovery exacer- mestic economy (first from 15th), employ-
bated by its zero-COVID strategy. ment (third from 18th), public finance The 2022 WCR assessed 63 econo-
(sixth from 12th) and productivity and mies, via hard data, where 333 compet-
“Going forward, China needs to re- efficiency (ninth from 14th). itiveness criteria selected as a result of
structure the economy from manufactur- comprehensive research using econom-
ing to high-value services and from invest- However, it remained in relatively low ic literature, international, national and
ment to consumption. regional sources and feedback from the
business community, government agen-
“It also needs to build a unified national cies and academics, and survey responses
market to enhance long-term economic (100 executives per economy on average)
prosperity, and it will only achieve its so- from senior executives, collected from 56
cio-economic development goals by us- local partner institutes.
ing a macroeconomic policy mix,” it said.

thursday june 16, 2022 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Reimpose GST on its merits, not just to
raise tax revenue or provide more subsidies

— GrantThornton

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15):The goods by Syafiqah Salim and the difference collected under SST
and services tax (GST) is a far superior theedgemarkets.com may not be a lot.
consumption tax system compared to the
sales and services tax (SST) and should be Alan Chung “The question then, can we reduce the
reimposed on its merits as a better, more 6% GST rate whilst increasing the govern-
transparent system, not just to raise tax GST and that it would take time to nego- ment’s collection? It is a fallacy to think
revenue and provide more subsidies, ac- tiate changes between contracting parties. we can both collect higher taxes and yet
cording to GrantThornton Malaysia PLT. not burden the public. It is a double-edged
“GST is therefore a longer-term meas- sword that cuts both ways and you cannot
“While there is a need to assist the rak- ure and not ideal to address the current have the cake and eat it too,” said Chung.
yat in challenging times, I hope the main and immediate issues. Different measures
reason for reimplementing the GST is not should be adopted and these include im- Then, how about introducing different
to provide more subsidies.The resources proving and broadening the existing con- GST rates for different categories of goods
of the government should be concentrat- sumption taxes, which may also include or services, such as subjecting luxury goods
ed to (sic) longer term measures that will stamp duties apart from SST. SST has a to higher taxes?
improve resilience without over reliance on narrower base, which can be broadened
subsidies,” said the audit, tax and advisory by subjecting more goods and services “This is a possibility we must consider
firm’s senior executive director for indi- to tax. This would include the expiry of with care, as introducing more rates will in-
rect tax and transfer pricing, Alan Chung. sales tax exemptions for motor vehicles...,” evitably increase the complexity of the sys-
Chung said. tem and create more uncertainties. From
He was responding to questions from ‘A fallacy to think we can collect more our experience when the GST was im-
The Edge about plans to reinstate the GST, taxes and not burden the public’ plemented, there were disputes even with
with the depletion of government resources Chung noted that 2017 was when GST merely a standard rate and zero-rate. Add-
for subsidies being cited as a main factor was last in effect for a full 12 months, with ing another rate may create more doubts in
to do so. RM44.35 billion collected that year, com- the application of GST rates,” Chung said.
pared to 2019’s RM27.67 billion collect-
Malaysia replaced the SST tax regime ed for SST, which made a lot of people How about raising the threshold for
with the GST on April 1, 2015, with a 6% assume there was room to lower the GST businesses to register and charge GST?
tax rate. This, however, was reversed in rate due to the higher GST collections.
September 2018, when the GST — which “This has negative implications that also
the public blamed for rising cost of living “However, the gross GST collection needs to be carefully considered. Firstly,
and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had been reported without accounting for while this will lessen the burden of the
pledged to abolish if it came to power — GST refunds. The total amount of GST rakyat, it is counterintuitive as it reduces
was repealed after PH took control of Pu- refunds is not publicly available, except the collection of GST with less business-
trajaya following the collapse of the Barisan that a total RM19.47 billion of refunds es registered. Secondly, businesses that
Nasional government, while the SST was was outstanding as of 2018. These out- are not registered will not be entitled to
reimplemented. standing GST refunds averaged to roughly claim GST input tax, thereby increasing
RM6.5 billion per year for the period GST their cost of business which will ultimately
While there has been speculation the was in effect, and this is before accounting translate to them charging higher prices,”
GST could be reinstated soon, Prime Min- for refunds...The total net GST collection Chung said.
ister Datuk Seri Ismail SabriYaakob said therefore, is significantly lower than the The risk of becoming an unfortunate
the government had yet to decide on the gross RM44.34 billion collected in 2017 scapegoat for price increases
matter and was merely looking into the Chung, however, cautioned that reintro-
possibility of doing so. ducing the GST now, amid prices surging
everywhere as global inflationary pressures
“A salaried man on the street who draws climb, could end up making the tax an un-
a fixed monthly salary would look into his fortunate price increase scapegoat.
expenditure if he cannot get a raise from
his employer. Likewise, measures could “In 2015, the Price Controls and An-
be taken to review excessive expenditures ti-profiteering Act 2011 was amended to
instead of bolstering revenues.This would prevent price increases as a result of the
include rationalising subsidies to target the implementation of GST. Unfortunately,
needy,” Chung said on ways the govern- the provisions were extremely complicated
ment could shore up its revenue without and embodies complex mathematical cal-
raising taxes. culations that are difficult to understand,
much less enforce. Simpler mechanisms
If the government is serious about re- would be required to effectively control
introducing the GST, then it should be prices,” Chung said.
announced ahead of time to give business-
es time to implement changes, bearing in Click here for the full story
mind that businesses might have long-term
contracts that did not take into account

thursday june 16, 2022 5 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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reuters

Headwinds for
automotive

sector to continue
in 2023, says
RAM Ratings

by Syafiqah Salim
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Some of the have its own zero-rating period,” he said. (SST) exemption through the end of 2022.
headwinds the automotive sector is facing, The analyst added that car prices are And if the SST exemption is extended,
such as rising car prices, potentially tighter
financing, the weak Malaysian ringgit and expected to continue to rise, which is large- total industry volume could rise further to
higher car ownership, are likely to persist ly unavoidable due to higher raw material, about 630,000 units by 2022, according
through 2023, according to RAM Ratings. parts and logistics costs exacerbated by the to RAM’s Inn.
weak Malaysian ringgit.
Speaking at a virtual webinar of the The SST exemption was originally sched-
“RAM Insight Series:The Malaysian Auto- “Many manufacturers in the [automo- uled to end on Dec 31, 2020, but has been
motive Sector - Is theWorst Over andWhere tive] sector are very sensitive to forex [for- extended three times — first to June 30,
DoWe Go From Here?”onWednesday (June eign exchange] fluctuations. In addition, 2021, then to Dec 31, 2021, and most re-
15), RAM Ratings analyst Ben Inn said the consumer demand for cars will also be cently to June 30 of this year.The exemption
auto sector faces many uncertainties. dampened by higher inflation, concerns was introduced as part of the Penjana stim-
about the economy, potentially tighter fi- ulus package to mitigate the impact of the
“Unfortunately, quite a lot are negative nancing, and the higher cost of car own- first Covid-19 Movement Control Order,
[in terms of uncertainties and regulatory fac- ership due to rising interest rates and the which took effect in March 2020.
tors]. On the regulatory front, even if the rationalisation of fuel subsidies.
sales tax exemption is extended, we do not However, if the SST exemption is not
currently see it stretching until 2023. Meanwhile, during the panel session, extended, Bermaz Auto does not expect
Bermaz Auto Bhd group chief executive of- a drastic drop in car demand.
“On top of that, there’s the new MITI ficer and executive director Datuk Francis
[Ministry of InternationalTrade and Indus- Lee Kok Chuan said the Malaysian Auto- “If the SST exemption is not extended,
try] excise tax calculation and the possible motive Association has been lobbying for there will be a knee-jerk reaction. But I
reintroduction of the GST, which could also another round of car sales and services tax think things will normalise a little bit after
a few months,” Lee added.

More needs to be done for EV industry in Malaysia, says automakers

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): The by Syafiqah Salim competitive in the long run.
government should adopt a more com- theedgemarkets.com “And I think if this infrastructure is
prehensive policy to encourage electric
vehicle (EV) manufacturers to make To build an ecosystem for battery-pow- not built properly, it’s (the EV sector)
Malaysia an automated hub, say auto- ered vehicles, there is a need for reliable only going to be a blip for the Malaysian
makers. batteries and infrastructure to support EV environment,” he added.
charging in the Malaysian environment,
“I have to say that battery prices are said Low Seng Chee, the CEO of APM Under Budget 2022, to support the
high, and about 40% of the cost of EVs Automotive Holdings Bhd. development of a domestic EV industry,
comes from the battery. Coupled with the government has proposed to provide
the impact of high raw material costs, I “If we do not have a battery, sustain- full exemptions from import and excise
think we should take a longer-term view able support and infrastructure, we will duties and sales tax, as well as road tax
on this sector,” Bermaz Auto Bhd group lose out to our neighbours like Thailand (up to 100%) for EVs, said RAM Rat-
chief executive officer (CEO) and exec- and Indonesia, and we are not going to be ings analyst Ben Inn.
utive director Datuk Francis Lee Kok
Chuan said at a virtual webinar of the “Starting this year, the Malaysian gov-
“RAM Insight Series:The Malaysian Au- ernment has introduced tax incentives to
tomotive Sector — Is the Worst Over encourage the adoption of EVs among
and Where Do We Go From Here?” on consumers and manufacturers. While
Wednesday (June 15). we are slower than some of our ASE-
AN neighbours, we have at least started
On Monday,Transport Minister Da- the ball rolling just as global EV sales are
tuk Seri DrWee Ka Siong said new pol- accelerating,” said Inn.
icies are needed to develop and improve
the infrastructure required for the growth He said combined sales of battery
of the electric car sector. electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid elec-
tric vehicles worldwide increased 120%
in 2021, from 41% in 2020.

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thursday june 16, 2022 7 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): In a rare Najib okays as a moral responsibility instead of an LOS
move, former prime minister Datuk Seri 1MDB’s US$3 bil because the MoF did not intend to issue
Najib Razak in 2013 instructed the Min- bond support letter any form of guarantee by the government.
istry of Finance (MoF) to issue a letter issuance without
of support (LOS) for 1Malaysia Devel- due diligence — She said Goldman Sachs had request-
opment Bhd’s (1MDB) US$3 billion ed that the proposed letter of comfort be
(about RM13.26 billion) bond issue with- MoF official changed to an LOS, which would hold
out the usually required due diligence for the Malaysian government liable should
the preparation of such document, which by Timothy Achariam & Tarani Palani 1MDB default on its debt repayment.
placed the responsibility on the Malaysian theedgemarkets.com
government to repay 1MDB’s debt, ex- “As far as I can recall, the MoF sug-
MoF deputy secretary-general Datuk Siti Jan 15, 2013 from Najib. Goldman Sachs gested that the LOS would not have any
Zauyah Md Desa told the High Court here was the lead arranger for 1MDB’s US$3 legal binding clause. However, Goldman
on Wednesday (June 15, 2022). billion bond issue then, according to her. Sachs did not agree because if there was
no government undertaking, it would be-
Siti Zauyah said the Malaysian govern- According to her, the normal proce- come unbankable and the loan would not
ment has to bear the repayment of 1MDB’s dure for an LOS included due diligence be realised,” she said.
debt under the US$3 billion bond issue that would take some time as the process
because 1MDB failed to repay its debt, required feedback from companies con- On March 14, 2013, Najib signed the
which was undertaken to finance the de- cerned primarily about their operations LOS for 1MDB’s US$3 billion bond issue,
velopment of the estimated RM40 billion and their financial statements. according to Siti Zauyah.
Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) property pro-
ject along Jalan Tun Razak here. Once the due diligence was complet- According to Siti Zauyah, 1MDB had
ed, the MoF would prepare a Cabinet in 2012 formed a joint venture with Aabar
“Usually due diligence would be conduct- paper for the Cabinet’s approval, accord- Investments PJS Ltd to develop TRX.
ed for the issuance of an LOS. But in this ing to her.
case, there was no information to conduct It was reported that the prosecution in
due diligence.The LOS was processed based Following the Cabinet’s approval, the the 1MDB-Tanore trial argued that a por-
on the then prime minister’s instruction. MoF’s law department would begin draft- tion amounting to US$681 million, out of
ing an LOS, she said. the US$3 billion, was transferred to Najib’s
“As a result, the government current- bank accounts between March 21, 2013
ly has to bear the repayment of 1MDB’s Looking back, Siti Zauyah said the and April 10, 2013.
debt based on the LOS issued by the gov- MoF’s stance was to issue a letter of com-
ernment signed by [Najib] in 2013,” Siti fort for 1MDB’s US$3 billion bond issue According to news reports, Najib on
Zauyah testified onWednesday before High Sept 20, 2018 pleaded not guilty to 25
Court Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Se- charges linked to abuse of power and mon-
querah during the 1MDB-Tanore trial. ey laundering over hundreds of millions
of dollars received in his personal bank
Siti Zauyah said she received instruc- accounts.
tions to prepare the LOS via a letter dated
It was reported that the 25 charges in-
cluded four counts of abuse of power in-
volving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds.

“1MDB clause which gave Najib power over financial
decisions was added without consultation”

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15):Article 117 by Timothy Achariam & Tarani Palani other M&As of companies under MoF Inc.
of 1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB) theedgemarkets.com These articles only applied to 1MDB,” she
constitution which gave then prime minis- said, reading from her witness statement.
ter Datuk Seri Najib Razak power to ap- referred to the MoF Inc division,” she said.
prove the appointments of directors, the MoF Inc is a corporate body established She said that she did not know how
senior management team as well as mat- the clauses were added, as the prepara-
ters relating to financial commitments was under the Minister of Finance (Inc) Act tion was done by 1MDB’s company sec-
added without consulting Minister of Fi- 1957 which provides MoF Inc with the retary, before it came under MoF Inc’s
nance Inc (MoF Inc), according to a for- authority to enter into contracts, acquisi- purview. 1MDB was under the Tereng-
mer Ministry of Finance (MoF) official. tions, purchases, possessions, holdings and ganu state and was formerly known as
to maintain tangible and intangible assets. Terengganu Investment Authority before
Testifying in the 1MDB-Tanore trial 1MDB was a company owned by MoF Inc. it came under the purview of MoF Inc.
on Wednesday, former MoF deputy sec-
retary-general (policy) Datuk Siti Zauyah Now retired, Zauyah said that Article 117 One of the clauses in Article 117
Mohd Desa said that 1MDB had not con- also gave Najib power over any financial specifically requires the prime minis-
sulted her division, which was MoF Inc at commitment (including investments), which ter’s written approval for any financial
that time, over the preparation of 1MDB’s was likely to affect government guarantees. commitment by 1MDB including invest-
memorandum and articles of association. ments, restructuring or other matters re-
Testifying before Justice Datuk Collin lating to guarantees issued by the federal
“I would also like to state that the prepa- Lawrence Sequerah in Najib’s trial over government, national interests, national
ration of the M&A for an MoF Inc company the misappropriation of more than RM2 security or federal government policies,
should be referred to the Ministry of Finance billion of 1MDB funds, Zauyah said that with Malaysia’s federal government to
in accordance with the Minister of Finance Article 117 does not appear in any other make the “final and conclusive” decision
(Inc) Act 1957 (Revised 1989). However, company owned by MoF Inc. on what amounts to national interests,
amendments to the 1MDB M&A were not national security and national policies.
“I wish to state that Articles 68, 93 and
117 in 1MDB’s M&A are not present in any

thursday june 16, 2022 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge Halmi had told her division that they were Adib’s family
dealing with the MoF directly, of which the drops contempt
Siti Zauyah: I confirm [that] my division did accused in this case Najib was minister.
not know and was not informed if 1MDB [had] suit against
obtained approval related to the investment with She also alluded to a report dated Dec TommyThomas
PSI directly through the MoF (the ministry itself) 23, 2009 when a meeting took place where
MoF Inc took note that the JV between by Timothy Achariam
without going through my division. 1MDB and PSI was still at the stage of theedgemarkets.com
identifying investments that can generate
1MDB bypassed immediate income for 1MDB. KUALA LUMPUR (June 15):
MoF Inc as it Mohd Kassim Abdul Hamid, the
Shahrol was at this meeting. father of the late firefighter Mu-
was dealing with They were evaluating a request from hammad Adib Mohd Kassim, has
Najib directly, Shahrol, who had asked for a RM5 billion decided to end committal proceed-
says ex-MoF government guarantee which was previous- ings against former Attorney-Gen-
deputy sec-gen ly issued to Terengganu Investment Au- eral Tan Sri Tommy Thomas.
thority (TIA) to be transferred to 1MDB,
by Timothy Achariam & Tarani Palani for the purpose of this JV. According to a statement, legal
theedgemarkets.com It should be noted that TIA was trans- firm Mohd Zubir Embong & As-
ferred to MoF Inc from the Terengganu sociates, which represents Adib’s
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Despite state government and rebranded 1MDB. family, said that they had with-
1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) be- Siti Zauyah testified that in the meeting it drawn their appeal in the Feder-
ing a company under the Ministry of Finance was also agreed that the National Audit De- al Court, and confirmed that the
(MoF), specifically MoF Inc, the state invest- partment (NAD) continue its due diligence Attorney-General’s Chambers
ment arm never sought MoF Inc’s approval and for 1MDB to cooperate with NAD. (AGC) had also withdrawn their
when it entered into a joint venture (JV) with It was also agreed in the meeting that appeal.
PetroSaudi International Ltd (PSI), opting Shahrol would get the approval of the JV
instead to go directly through then finance company with PSI to submit information The statement read that the
minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak. on 1MDB’s intention for the investment. family wanted to end the appeal
Furthermore,it was agreed that 1MDB will so as to not prolong the matter in
Testifying at the 1MDB-Tanore trial, submit an interim audited report to the MoF. court.
the prosecution’s 26th witness former Min- However, none of this came to pass as
istry of Finance deputy secretary-general 1MDB had bypassed MoF Inc. “The family of the late Adib con-
Datuk Siti Zauyah Mohd Desa said she “The management of 1MDB informed siders that the contempt of court
was unclear about the investment purpose me that they will report directly to the then proceedings againstThomas and the
of 1MDB with PSI because 1MDB did prime minister and minister of finance AGC have been resolved,” it said.
not seek the opinion or consideration from (Najib),” she said.
MoF Inc, which was her division. She also said Shahrol had been uncoop- “We hope that the family is al-
erative and had dodged the ministry’s many lowed to carry on with their lives
MoF Inc is a corporate body established requests for meetings to sort out issues. and look forward to start anew,” it
under the Minister of Finance (Incorpora- “I would also like to state that during the added.
tion) Act 1957.The Act provides the authori- period 1MDB was an MoF Inc company,
ty for MoF Inc to enter into contracts, acqui- my division did not get any corporation from The firm also noted that while
sitions, purchases, possessions, holdings and 1MDB through its [then] CEO Shahrol. this was settled, it did not change
to maintain tangible and intangible assets. “We have called him a few times to the fact of the Shah Alam Coroner’s
have a discussion on particular issues but Court findings that Adib’s death was
“I confirm [that] my division did not it would be cancelled at the last minute. a criminal act.
know and was not informed if 1MDB “Therefore, many things that were car-
[had] obtained approval related to the ried out by 1MDB didn’t get MoF’s opinion “It does not change the fact that
investment with PSI directly through the nor was it reported to MoF,” she said before Adib was beaten, which the coroner
MoF (the ministry itself) without going Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah. confirmed in its decision on Sept 27,
through my division,” she said. The 40:60 JV involved 1MDB under- 2019, and that his murderer is not
taking an equity investment of US$1 bil- caught until today.
She said that the 1MDB management lion, while PSI would inject US$1.5 billion
which was led by then chief executive of- worth of assets. “The family’s decision to with-
ficer (CEO) Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim After the JV agreement was signed,PSI said draw the appeal does not mean that
its US$1.5 billion asset injection into the JV efforts to find Adib’s killer should
company entailed a US$700 million advance be stopped by the PDRM (police)
for 1MDB, which meant 1MDB owed PSI. as investigations have no time lim-
Through the instructions of Shahrol, it,” it said.
1MDB had diverted US$700 million from
the US$1 billion JV equity investment into Muhammad Adib suffered seri-
an account belonging to Good Star Ltd, on ous injuries in the riots at the Sri
grounds that PSI said Good Star was its af- MahamariammanTemple in USJ25,
filiate.The company was actually associat- Subang Jaya on Nov 27, 2018, and
ed with fugitive financier Low Taek Jho or died from his injuries while being
Jho Low and was subsequently used to pay treated at the National Heart Insti-
bribes and kickbacks. tute on Dec 17, 2018.

thursday june 16, 2022 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Chong DAP rep claims itself permits the piercing of corporate
Zhemin, a former director of Perak Corp fraud in Perak veil, and PCB subsidiaries may be deemed
Bhd (PCB), onTuesday (June 14) claimed Corp’s scheme of an extension of the parent company, be-
that the state-owned company’s scheme of arrangement cause the board and management of PCB
arrangement is fraudulent as it had con- subsidiaries failed to maintain independ-
cealed its assets at the group level in a bid by Justin Lim ence from PCB.This subjects PCB’s sub-
to defraud its creditors. theedgemarkets.com sidiaries’ assets to inclusion in the PCB
scheme of arrangement,” the DAP law-
He has called on the police to launch an “PCB’s argument that the assets of maker contended.
investigation into PCB’s scheme of arrange- these subsidiaries are separate legal en-
ment under Section 421 of the Penal Code. tities from PCB and not that of the ap- Chong also pointed to an affidavit filed
plicants to the scheme of arrangement at the Ipoh High Court by former PCB
“It is crystal clear that the PCB scheme is also flawed and cannot hold water. In chief executive officer Mohamed Shafeii
of arrangement is fraudulent and there is PCB’s annual report 2021, it is disclosed Abdul Gaffoor on May 31, 2021 that re-
a concerted effort to conceal the company that almost all the directorship of PCB vealed the total assets of PCB and PCBD
assets to defraud the creditors and justi- subsidiaries are taken up by the directors amounted to approximately RM1.33 bil-
fying paying the creditors only 10 sen for or senior management staff of PCB.This lion, which was not disclosed in the scheme
every ringgit owed,” said Chong, who is proves that PCB as the parent company of arrangement.
also Keranji state assemblyman. actively participated in the management
of its subsidiaries, effectively acting as a “In PCB scheme of arrangement page
Chong contended that PCB’s public ‘shadow director’ of its subsidiaries.This 17, it was represented by PCB that the es-
announcement to Bursa Malaysia on June timated net realisable value available for
10 stating that its scheme of arrangement the creditors amount to RM10,080,550.00
was prepared at company level basis and which can be used to repay a total creditors’
not at group level basis is an open admis- [debt] amounting to RM176,660,867.00
sion that it had intentionally excluded all hence trying to justify the estimated recov-
subsidiaries and its assets from its scheme ery amount of RM0.06 for every RM1.
of arrangement, and that it had not taken
into account the value of its subsidiaries “It is clear that PCB intentionally, de-
in the scheme of arrangement. liberately and consciously concealed the
total assets of PCB worth RM1.33 billion
“This shows that PCB intentionally, de- which was listed down in Shafeii’s affidavit
liberately and consciously leaves out its to defraud the creditors,” he maintained.
subsidiaries which is an asset to PCB in the
scheme of arrangement. PCB shareholding “PCB is well aware of the affidavit filed
in these subsidiaries including PCB Equity by Mohamed Shafeii, however PCB made
Sdn Bhd, PCBTaipan Sdn Bhd, Casuarina no effort to challenge the authenticity and
Meru Sdn Bhd, Lumut MaritimeTerminal accuracy of this affidavit,” Chong said
Sdn Bhd, Rungkup Port Sdn Bhd, PCB of the company which is 52% owned by
Development Sdn Bhd (PCBD) and other the Perak government via Perbadanan
subsidiaries can be sold to third party and Kemajuan Negeri Perak.
PCB is well aware that the consideration Click here for the full story
received can be used to pay off PCB cred-
itors,” he stressed.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): Berjaya Berjaya Food to International Trade and Industry Datuk
Food Bhd, which operates the Starbucks announce JV with Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali on SPC Group’s
and Kenny Rogers’ Roasters franchise in planned Malaysian investments, which in-
Malaysia, is set to announce a joint venture Paris Baguette clude construction of production facilities
(JV) with international bakery operator Singapore and the launch of Paris Baguette bakeries
Paris Baguette Singapore. in the country.
by Shazni Ong
The JV signing ceremony is scheduled theedgemarkets.com According to South Korea-based SPC
to be held next Monday (June 20) at Ber- Group’s website, its subsidiaries include
jaya Times Square Hotel, according to an food biotechnology firm Samlip General
invite sent out to the media. Food Co Ltd, food distributor GFS, and
the bakery chain Paris Croissant.
“Paris Baguette is a French-inspired
bakery brand that is operated by SPC Paris Baguette Singapore’s website stat-
Group and is the number one bakery chain ed that the company was founded in 1988.
in South Korea.
“Our origins were formed in 1945, in
“To date, there are over 3,400 stores in the heart of a small bakery in South Korea
South Korea, and more than 440 locations named Sangmidang.The spirit of Sangmi-
across the United States, China, France, dang, which is to not leave a single piece of
Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Sin- bread unchecked, is still with us 76 years
gapore,” the invite read. later. In 1988, Paris Baguette began with
its first store in South Korea. And now, we
In April last year, SPC Group’s top are an international fast-casual bakery and
officials were reported to have discussed franchise specialising in French-inspired
with Malaysian government officials in- goods,” it said.
cluding Senior Minister and Minister of

T H U R S D A Y J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 10 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

Official Solar Partner Supported By

The Edge Malaysia Top Property Developers The Edge Malaysia The Edge Malaysia Affordable
Awards, the anchor awards of The Edge Malaysia Urban Housing Excellence
Property Excellence Awards, was established in Outstanding
2003 to rank Malaysia’s best property players based Overseas Project Award is an exercise to recognise
on their quantitative and qualitative attributes. Award is an exercise outstanding affordable housing
projects for the urban middle-
The Edge Malaysia-PEPS Value Creation Excellence to recognise
Award is an exercise to measure the capital impressive projects income group undertaken
undertaken wholly wholly by private sector property
appreciation of properties between the property by Malaysian private
developers’ selling price and the subsequent resale developers in Malaysia.
sector property
price in secondary transactions. developers in other The Edge Malaysia-PAM Green
Excellence Award is an exercise to
countries. recognise property developments that
demonstrate sustainable design that
is innovative and outstanding while

contributing positively
to the community.

>>>NSUOWBMOIPSESNIOFNORS • Entry forms can be downloaded for free from
theedgemarkets.com and edgeprop.my.

• For enquiries, please contact Corporate Communications at
The Edge at 603-7721 8244 or [email protected]

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

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No. 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
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47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, by

5PM, FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2022

t h u r s d a y j u n e 1 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

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Scomi Group EcoWorld RM1.53 billion — 52% higher than the
gets another International RM1.01 billion recorded for the same sev-
reprieve from in the red in en-month period last year.
2Q amid lower
delisting revenue, higher “Embassy Gardens and London City
share of losses Island continue to be the biggest contrib-
theedgemarkets.com utors to sales and reservations, generating
in JVs RM549 million and RM304 million re-
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Bur- spectively,” it added.
sa Securities has granted a further by izzul ikram
extension of time until Nov 30 to theedgemarkets.com EWI president and chief executive of-
ailing oil and gas service provider ficer Datuk Teow Leong Seng noted that
Scomi Group Bhd to submit its reg- KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): EcoWorld the group’s London City Island and Em-
ularisation plan for approval. International Bhd (EWI) posted a net loss bassy Gardens projects continued to lead
of RM67.35 million for the second quarter the sales performances, while its Australian
In a bourse filing on Wednesday ended April 30, 2022 (2QFY22) against projects saw a “good uptick” in demand.
(June 15), Scomi, a Practice Note 17 a net profit of RM11.3 million a year ago
(PN17) company, said the regulator’s as revenue plunged 70%. Teow said the group’s strategy has been
decision was made after considering to focus on the monetisation of completed
the written and oral presentations be- In a bourse filing on Wednesday (June stocks at the EW-Ballymore and Australian
fore the appeals committee including 15), the property developer said the net loss projects and selectively evaluate new op-
the fact that Malayan Banking Bhd was in line with its revenue for the quarter portunities for growth towards reinvesting
— Scomi’s largest creditor with the falling 69.26% to RM33.08 million from its cash reserves.
RM151.27 million owed to the bank RM107.56 million, owing to fewer units
representing 55.9% of the company’s sold being handed over to customers as well “Our monetisation strategy has pro-
outstanding liabilities — had agreed as its share of losses in joint ventures (JVs). gressed well, enabling us to repay all the
to accept a settlement sum of RM8 project development loans for our Austral-
million in cash from a third party The developer said there had been a re- ian projects as well as the bank borrowings
identified by Scomi as settlement. vision of profit margins on EW-Ballymore for our EW-Ballymore JV.
projects and higher inventory holding costs
Trading of Scomi’s shares was as a result of a longer period of time taken “At the group level we have also begun
suspended on April 20, following for sales realisation. EW-Ballymore is its receiving some repayment of our share-
Bursa Securities’ rejection on April maiden JV in the United Kindom. holders’ advance from EW-Ballymore,”
11 of its request for a further exten- he added.
sion of time to submit its regulari- “Following the above revision of project
sation plan.The securities of Scomi profit margins and longer period of time However,Teow said that selling prices
were supposed to be delisted on April expected to realise the sale proceeds, an for properties have not increased in tan-
22, but it submitted an appeal against impairment on investment in EW-Bally- dem with the resurgence in demand over
the delisting to Bursa Securities. more amounting to RM36.16 million was the last seven months.
recognised,” it added.
Still, Bursa Securities said it will “This is because market sentiment con-
delist the securities of Scomi from Bur- On a quarter-on-quarter basis, EWI’s tinues to be weighed down by inflationary
sa Malaysia in the event that the com- net loss widened from RM14.66 million concerns and rising interest rates, com-
pany fails to submit the regularisation in 1QFY22, as revenue dropped 32.83% pounded by geopolitical tensions caused
plan by Nov 30, and if it fails to obtain from RM49.24 million. by the ongoing conflict between Russia
the approval for the implementation of and Ukraine,” he added.
its regularisation plan and does not ap- In a statement, EWI said it is on track
peal within the stipulated time frame. to achieve its RM2 billion sales target for On the upside, Teow noted that rents
FY22, as its sales plus reserves as at May in London — particularly at the group’s
Scomi fell into PN17 status in 31, 2022 (seven months) amounted to EW-Ballymore projects — have been on
December 2019, after its sharehold- the rise due to their prime location, trans-
ers’ equity spread fell to less than port accessibility and excellent liveability.
25% of its issued share capital, and
its equity dropped below RM40 mil- “Such rental growth augurs well for an
lion based on its financial results for eventual price recovery which should help
the quarter ended June 30, 2019. us to achieve better overall returns from
the sale of our completed properties for
the benefit of our shareholders,” he said.

Shares in EWI ended half a sen or
1.35% lower at 36.5 sen, giving the group a
market capitalisation of RM864.47 million.

t h u r s d a y j u n e 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 12 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

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news In brief

Cocoaland to present F&N takeover Datasonic bags RM10 mil contract from Perkeso for data analytics hub services
offer to shareholders
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Security-based ICT solutions provider Datasonic
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): The board Group Bhd on Wednesday (June 15) announced it had secured a RM9.66 million
of directors of Cocoaland Holdings contract from Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (Perkeso) to provide services for the
Bhd will present a takeover offer from development of a data analytics hub for the Employment Insurance System (EIS).
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) to In a bourse filing, Datasonic said its wholly-owned subsidiary Datasonic Technologies
shareholders for consideration after Sdn Bhd (DTSB) had received and accepted a letter of award (LoA) dated June 10
taking into account the preliminary views from Perkeso. Under the terms of the LoA, DTSB is required to furnish a performance
of its independent adviser, Malacca bond for the amount of RM96,590 to Perkeso, with the validity period commencing
Securities Sdn Bhd, Cocoaland said in from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2028. The Perkeso contract is for a period of five years
a bourse filing. On June 3, F&N said it commencing from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2027. — by Shazni Ong
proposed to privatise its 27.66%-owned
associate Cocoaland by buying the TIME dotCom suing online tabloid Hong Seng identifies Negeri
remaining Cocoaland shares it did not over fake news article Sembilan as suitable location
own at RM1.50 each in a move which for Malaysia Green Valley
would help F&N expand into other KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): TIME dotCom
packaged-food segments and grow the Bhd is suing www.celebseek.com, a little- KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Hong Seng
buyer’s overseas markets. It proposed to known tabloid over a fake news article which Consolidated Bhd on Wednesday announced
pay RM488.15 million cash for the 325.43 purportedly linked TIME dotCom commander- that it has issued a letter of intent (LoI) to
million Cocoaland shares not owned by it, in-chief Afzal Abdul Rahim to the remand of Invest NS to explore the possibilities towards
which represented 72.34% of Cocoaland’s a completely unconnected individual who forming a strategic partnership for the
share capital. F&N is expected to fund was reported to have been remanded in development of five parcels of leasehold land
the proposed privatisation via bank connection to some enforcement action in in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan measuring
borrowings. F&N gave the board of Johor. In a bourse filing on Wednesday (June approximately 284.75 acres into Malaysia
Cocoaland no later than 5pm on June 15), TIME dotCom said the tabloid website Green Valley (MGV). Invest NS is a solution
17, 2022 to revert with its decision on had a history of attracting attention via centre set up by the Negeri Sembilan state
whether to put forward the proposed “clickbait” articles. “We wish to categorically government to assist investors in setting up
privatisation to Cocoaland’s shareholders state that this incident has nothing to do new operations and expanding their existing
for consideration. — by Sulhi Khalid whatsoever with TdC (TIME dotCom) or our operations in the state. In a statement, Hong
commander-in-chief,” it said. The company said Seng said MGV is envisioned to be a green
GFM bags RM367.2 mil five-year it had also filed a complaint with the Malaysian industrial park designed for research and
facilities management contract Communications and Multimedia Commission development, and manufacture cost effective
for Istana Negara and the police. — by Surin Murugiah and sustainable renewable energy products
and the related supply chain businesses.
KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Integrated “MGV will be a centre of excellence in
facilities and services management building a green value chain in Southeast
GFM Services Bhd has secured a letter Asia to strengthen the clean energy value
of acceptance from the Public Works chain across the upstream, midstream and
Department (JKR) to provide facilities downstream segments in Southeast Asia
management services for Istana which will enable and spur the local small-
Negara, Kuala Lumpur. In a statement and medium-sized enterprises to be more
on Wednesday (June 15), the group competitive,” it said. — by Shazni Ong
said the RM367.2 million contract will
span a period of five years from June Citraglobal Bhd plans Citaglobal Engineering buy for RM140 mil,
15, 2022 until June 14, 2027. GFM is five-to-one share consolidation
also the owner of a university asset
concessionaire, KP Mukah Development KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Citaglobal Bhd (formerly known as WZ Satu Bhd) on
Sdn Bhd, for Universiti Teknologi MARA Wednesday announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with TIZA
(UiTM) Mukah campus in Sarawak. Shares Global Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Citaglobal Sdn Bhd) for the proposed acquisition
in GFM closed five sen or 2.7% higher to of the entire equity interest in Citaglobal Engineering Services Sdn Bhd (CESSB). The
19 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of proposed acquisition is for an indicative purchase consideration of RM140 million via
RM109.32 million. — by Sulhi Khalid the issuance of 736.84 million new shares in Citaglobal at an issue price of 19 sen per
share. In a statement, Citaglobal said the proposed acquisition comes with an aggregate
net profit guarantee of RM60 million for three full financial years of 2022, 2023 and
2024. In conjunction with the proposed acquisition, Citaglobal is proposing to undertake
the proposed share consolidation to consolidate every five shares into one share. TIZA
Global’s shareholding in the company will increase from nil to more than 33% upon
issuance of the consideration shares. As a consequence, TIZA Global and its persons acting
in concert (PACs) will be obligated to extend a mandatory offer to acquire all the remaining
securities in Citaglobal not already owned by TIZA Global and its PACs. — by Shazni Ong

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KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Maxis Bhd Maxis forms Maxis noted that all solutions and use
has formed a 5G alliance in Malaysia to 5G alliance cases will be powered by its Maxis Pro-
spur technological breakthroughs and in- to accelerate grammable Network, which it claimed is
ternet of things (IoT) enterprise solutions industry-wide Malaysia’s most advanced, programmable
in a bid to accelerate industry-wide 5G 5G adoption software-defined network.
adoption.
by Izzul Ikram “There is no doubt that 5G will bring
In a statement on Wednesday (June theedgemarkets.com exciting benefits to individuals, businesses
15), the telecommunications giant said and government in strengthening Malay-
the Maxis 5G Alliance (M5GA) comprises deployment of innovation, that will be ena- sia’s competitiveness in the region.
global and local technology and industry bled through 5G and ubiquitous converged
partners, innovators and lighthouse cus- network connectivity,” it added. “At Maxis, we are committed to fos-
tomers from diverse industries. tering and investing in innovation in the
Maxis highlighted that MIMOS is to country and we are proud to have an es-
The 16 initial members of the M5GA provide access to its 5G and artificial in- teemed group on board which will enable
are Advantech,Amdocs, CrescoNet, Cisco, telligence innovative hub to develop and members to work together to grow and
Google Cloud, Global System for Mobile test use cases, while Maxis will provide an leverage this symbiotic ecosystem to unlock
Communications Association (GSMA), experiential journey via its Maxis Business the lucrative value of IR4.0 (industrial rev-
Huawei, LLVision, Microsoft, MIMOS, Innovation Centre which will showcase the olution 4.0) technologies like IoT, cloud,
Motorola Solutions, NEC, Omron, Real- use cases. edge computing, VR (virtual reality) and
wear, SAS and Vodafone. AR (augmented reality),” said Maxis chief
GSMA will facilitate knowledge trans- enterprise business officer Paul McManus.
“The alliance will co-create, commer- fer and training via its quarter forum and
cialise and scale 5G use cases and inno- 5G insights. Shares in Maxis closed three sen or
vative solutions across industries to drive 0.91% lower at RM3.25, giving the group
digital transformation and innovation,” a market capitalisation of RM25.44 billion.
Maxis said. Read also: DNB, Ericsson demonstrate
high-definition voice call over Malaysia’s
“This community is expected to grow 5G network Click here
as the M5GA is intended to be an open
collaboration across all organisations that
can help to turbo-charge the adoption and

KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): ACE Mar- Orgabio to raise shares in Orgabio, representing 39% of
ket-bound instant beverage premix manu- RM30 mil its enlarged share capital of 247.9 mil-
facturer Orgabio Holdings Bhd is seeking via IPO on lion shares, at an issue price of 31 sen per
to raise RM29.97 million from its initial share, said to be a price-earnings ratio
public offering (IPO) for business expan- ACE Market, (PER) of 10.1 times based on its perfor-
sion in its direct selling segment and ex- to list on July 5 mance for the financial year ended June
port market after seeing strong demand 30, 2021 (FY21).
for the past four years. by Hailey Chung
theedgemarkets.com Orgabio is scheduled to be listed on the
During its virtual prospectus launch on ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities
Wednesday (June 15), the company said EveryDay and BrogaHill, mainly sold in Bhd on July 5, 2022 and is expected to
most of the proceeds, RM16 million or pharmacies, clinics and hospitals. have a market capitalisation of RM76.8
53.4%, is allocated for the construction million.
of its new factory in Semenyih, Selangor, Orgabio founder and executive deputy
which is estimated to be completed by chairman Datuk Ean Yong Tin Sin said The company noted that the IPO has
August 2023, to double its current man- the company plans to expand its customer secured traditional healthcare group
ufacturing capacity of annual output to base in the direct selling segment, expand Hai-O Enterprise Bhd, which Orgabio
230 million sachets. export sales as well the range of prod- has a working relationship with for more
uct offerings and market presence of its than 10 years, as its cornerstone investor.
“We see the demand for the instant house brands.
3-in-1 beverages as people’s choice dur- Orgabio experienced a profit uptrend
ing the movement control order (MCO) Orgabio will further utilise RM8.14 as it posted a record RM7.6 million net
[implemented to curb the Covid-19 pan- million (27.2%) of the proceeds for work- profit for FY21 compared with RM5.6
demic] because it is convenient and easy ing capital requirements, mainly to pur- million for FY20 and RM2.3 million for
to prepare at home. chase supplies used for the manufacture FY19. For the first half of FY22, it has
of its products. recorded RM2.7 million in net profit and
“Based on the current high inflation RM34.8 million in revenue.
and price of goods becoming expensive, Another RM2.23 million (7.4%) is allo-
people also considered buying instant 3-in- cated for the acquisition of new machinery Commenting on the fluctuation in raw
1 beverages because of reduced spending to support and enhance the efficiency of material prices,Tin Sin said Orgabio has
power,” Orgabio chief executive officer its existing manufacturing activities. begun to pass on the increase in cost of
Ean Yong Hien Voon told the press after supplies to its customers by increasing the
the prospectus launch. The IPO exercise entails the pub- selling prices progressively in order to im-
lic issue of 96.67 million new ordinary prove the company’s gross profit margins.
Orgabio is principally involved in the
provision of instant beverage premix man- “We provide our customers with three
ufacturing services to third party brand months’ advanced notice on the changes in
owners, contributing 99% of its revenue. prices and upon agreement, new purchase
The company also has its house brands orders with the adjusted pricing will be
issued for future orders,” he said.

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bloomberg

Malaysia eases
ban on exports
of live premium
chicken, says

ministry

by Anuradha Raghu Cabinet agrees tary constituencies, involving an allocation
Bloomberg to additional of RM2.7 million.
interventions
(June 15): Malaysia partly eased a ban to address food According to Ronald, the additional ab-
on chicken exports, allowing poultry im- supply issues attoirs and overseas processing plants were
porters to resume bringing live premium — minister aimed at increasing and diversifying the im-
chickens. port sources of poultry and meat supplies.
Bernama
Exports of live coloured birds including “For the supply of chicken, 18 new plant
kampung and black chicken, as well as all KUALA LUMPUR (June 15):The Cabinet sources have been proposed from eight
chicken-based products and parent stock onWednesday agreed to the implementation countries while for beef/buffalo meat/mut-
day-old chicks are permitted, the Agricul- of three additional interventions to tackle ton supplies there will be 94 new ruminant
ture and Food Industries Ministry said the country’s food supply issues to boost abattoirs,” he said.
in a statement onWednesday (June 15). domestic food production, said Agriculture
and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Meanwhile, he said a total of 2,487
Malaysia halted exports of all live poul- Ronald Kiandee. applications for subsidy claims totalling
try, whole carcasses chilled and frozen RM178.16 million have been approved by
meat, and chicken parts at the start of The interventions, said the minister, are MAFI.
the month in a bid to curtail rising local the Malaysian Family Community Garden
prices and ensure sufficient domestic sup- Programme, Fresh Frozen Fish or Q-Fish This follows the government’s decision
plies. Chicken nuggets, patties and sausag- Stockpile Programme as well as addition- to approve the disbursement of subsidies at
es were also banned.The decision on live al abattoirs and processing plants overseas. the rate of RM0.60 per kilogramme from
chickens was a major blow to Singapore, Feb 5 until March 30 and RM1.40 per
which imports about a third of its supply “Some 1,350 recipients comprising com- kilogramme for the period of April 1 un-
from its neighbour. munity members, entrepreneurs, and coop- til June 30.
eratives, involved in the production chain
The export halt on commercial broiler of the community garden, are expected to Ronald saidWednesday’s Cabinet meet-
chicken, which make up the bulk of Sin- benefit from a RM30 million allocation for ing also noted the status of the national food
gapore’s chicken imports from Malaysia, the 2022 community garden programme. supply presented by MAFI and in general,
remains, according to the statement. supply is still sufficient and the supply of
“The Q-Fish programme to cover fish chicken also improved in the first and sec-
About 98% of Malaysia’s live bird ex- supply shortage during the rainy and mon- ond weeks of June 2022.
ports go to Singapore, with the remainder soon season, involves a stockpile of 1,000
shipped toThailand and Pakistan, accord- metric tons with an allocation of RM7 He said the Technical Committee To
ing to the agriculture ministry.The city- million.” Tackle Food Security Issues will also con-
state bought 46.3 million birds in 2021, tinue to meet weekly to refine measures and
the data show.Almost all Malaysian chick- He said for the programme, 135 fisher- interventions in addressing national food
ens imported by Singapore are purchased men’s markets and 103 Malaysian Fisher- supply issues.
as live animals, which are then slaughtered ies Development Authority outlets will be
and chilled, according to the Singapore utilised as marketing channels with storage These include monitoring the food sup-
Food Agency. facilities to be established in 222 parliamen- ply status and implementing follow-up ac-
tions on all initiatives and intervention meas-
The decision to allow the special ex- ures designed to address food supply issues.
emptions come after several rounds of dis-
cussion with industry players and breeder “The government is monitoring the na-
groups, the ministry said onWednesday, tion’s food security status continuously to
adding that the chicken supply situation in ensure the people have access to adequate,
the country is recovering and is expected safe, nutritious food at affordable prices.
to stabilise this month.
“The government is also concerned
Malaysia’s move to ban chicken ex- about food producers who play an impor-
ports was part of a series of government tant role in ensuring the availability of food
measures aimed at easing domestic pric- within Malaysian families,” he added.
es as nations around the world battle ris-
ing food costs, partly driven by the war in
Ukraine crimping food supplies. Indone-
sia temporarily banned palm oil exports,
India restricted wheat and sugar exports,
and Serbia and Kazakhstan have imposed
quotas on grain shipments.

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ECB acts to stem nascent Italian
crisis with Pledge of new tool

BY CAROLYNN LOOK, ALEXANDER WEBER
& JANA RANDOW
Bloomberg

(June 15): The European Central Bank Given the ECB’s previous record, it That crisis was ultimately tamed by the
sought to stave off a resurgent sovereign-debt also could take much longer, especially if OMT program. Meanwhile market stress
crisis with the promise of a new tool to curb more hawkish members of the Governing at the onset of the pandemic was addressed
market stress, winning some respite just as Council object.With the central bank for- with another emergency bond-buying pro-
investors shifted focus to an impending in- bidden by treaty from conducting mon- gram.
terest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve. etary financing, avoiding the creation of
a tool that may incite legal challenges in Officials have repeated recently that
With Italian bond prices gaining after countries like Germany is likely to be key. they’re ready to devise new instruments
days of gyrations where at one point yields as required, but have disappointed markets
breached 4% — a level last seen during tur- It took the institution years to devise with a lack of detail on their plans.
moil in 2014 — a pledge by officials to devise a credible answer to the previous sover-
a measure against turbulence while following eign-debt crisis. Even then, when former Their initial response remains using re-
the US with hikes of their own may have tem- President Mario Draghi sought to stem investments of their pandemic purchase
porarily persuaded investors of their resolve. the turmoil with his so-called OMT tool, program with more versatility, a position
then Bundesbank President Jens Weid- reiterated onWednesday by Dutch central
“They have sent a signal that they have mann fought against it in court. governor Klaas Knot.
fully committed to ensure the functioning
of the monetary-policy transmission,” said Given memories of the market vola- “The first line of defense is flexibility”
Piet Christiansen, chief strategist at Danske tility of those years, Italian officials have in PEPP reinvestments, he said in Milan.
Bank. “They have also bought themselves sought in vain to keep ambitions for rate “If that doesn’t work we can resort to an-
some time.” increases in check. other instrument.”

Despite the distraction of a big Fed de- On May 31, Bank of Italy Governor Ig- Given that position — as detailed by one
cision driving financial-market volatility nazioVisco called for hikes to be “orderly.” of the more hawkish members of the Gov-
and ECB officials’ insistence that no tool Meanwhile Draghi — now prime minister erning Council — it’s no surprise that things
was needed yet, speculation on Italian debt of Italy — spoke out last Thursday, as the haven’t been made clearer by this stage.
forced their hand to act at a hastily con- ECB met, to observe that there’s still spare
vened emergency meeting onWednesday, capacity in the euro-zone economy and that “I see today’s statement as the bare min-
the eve of a one-day holiday in Frankfurt. inflation there is mainly supply driven. imum of what could be expected,” Chris-
tiansen at Danske said. “But also the most
First trailed as deliberations on the de- An adviser of his, Francesco Giavazzi, realistic outcome.”
ployment of a first defense using reinvest- went further in comments this week. Read also:
ments from their pandemic emergency bond World’s central banks got it wrong, and
purchase program, the discussion widened “The ECB is raising rates to respond economies pay the price Click here
to the development of a broader strategy. to the increase in inflation with the wrong Swiss stir market excitement with ‘close
Officials ultimately declared that they will instrument,” he said at an event in Rome. call’ rate decision Click here
speed up “the completion of the design of a “We don’t have inflation from demand like Thai Government at odds with Central
new anti-fragmentation instrument.” in the US but instead have inflation linked Bank over raising rates Click here
to gas prices.”
“The pandemic has left lasting vulner-
abilities in the euro-area economy which A different tool to address market stress
are indeed contributing to the uneven would open a new chapter in the ECB’s
transmission of the normalization of our relationship with bond markets, which
monetary policy across jurisdictions,” the has been fractious ever since debt-laden
Governing Council said. Greece first succumbed to turmoil more
than a decade ago.
It’s not clear what timetable the ECB
has in mind. Last week, policy makers
pledged to stop bond purchases on July
1, and to deliver interest-rate increases at
a decision three weeks later and in Sep-
tember. Christiansen at Danske suggests
those two meetings are the most obvious
moments for an announcement unless
market events force a faster response.

“This should also give the ECB the op-
portunity to raise key rates more quickly and
aggressively, as spread widening is limited
to a certain extent,” said Ulrike Kastens, an
economist at DWS International GmbH.
She predicts an announcement in July.

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NEW JERSEY (June 15): Global oil sup- IEA sees world oil barrels a day by the start of next year to
ply will struggle to meet rising demand supply struggling 8.7 million a day, the agency said. Still, the
next year, meaning consumers will con- to meet demand IEA noted that the country’s output has so
tinue to face tight fuel markets, the Inter- far proved surprisingly resilient, increas-
national Energy Agency (IEA) said in its in 2023 ing in May despite its initial predictions
first assessment of 2023. of a sharp drop.
BY GRANT SMITH
A resurgent Chinese economy will Bloomberg To try and keep the market in equilib-
bolster consumption, while tighter sanc- rium next year, the OPEC+ would need
tions on Russia will curtail oil output, the REUTERS to open the taps even wider. But the coa-
agency forecast in its latest monthly report. lition’s reserves of idle output are already
The Organization of Petroleum Export- is-based IEA said on Wednesday. depleted and largely confined to Middle
ing Countries and its partners (OPEC+) In 2023, growth in global demand is set East heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the
would need to deplete its spare production United Arab Emirates. By the end of 2023,
capacity to historically low levels to satisfy to accelerate to 2.2 million barrels a day, the group’s spare capacity could drop to
demand, it said. while non-OPEC+ supplies will expand by a historic low of just 1.5 million barrels a
1.9 million a day.World consumption will day, the IEA said.
The estimates from the IEA suggest lit- average 101.6 million barrels a day, sur-
tle prospect of respite for households from passing pre-pandemic levels, the IEA said. “The market is looking stretched,”To-
high energy prices. Crude has climbed ril Bosoni, head of the IEA’s markets and
more than 50% this year to trade near Russian output will come under severe industry division, said in a Bloomberg Tel-
US$120 a barrel in London, as supplies strain as a partial European Union embar- evision interview. “As we flip into 2023, as
fail to satisfy the post-pandemic rebound go takes effect, slumping by three million OPEC+ bumps up against their capacity
in fuel demand. constraints, oil demand recovers — espe-
cially for China.”
Rampant inflation is battering the glob- More pain
al economy, raising expectations of sharp For the rest of this year, motorists may
interest rate increases and a possible re- need to brace for “more pain at the pump
cession.The political urgency to tackle the just as pent-up demand is unleashed dur-
problem was underscored by Tuesday’s ing the peak driving and summer cooling
announcement that President Joe Biden season”, the agency warned.
would travel to Saudi Arabia next month
in an effort to stabilise relations with the Click here for the full story
world’s biggest crude exporter.
Read also: Biden demands oil compa-
Capacity constraints nies explain lack of gasoline as prices rise
“Global oil supply may struggle to keep Click here
pace with demand next year, as tighter
sanctions force Russia to shut in more
wells and a number of producers bump
up against capacity constraints,” the Par-

(June 15): European natural gas prices Gas surges in seen in early June continues, putting the
jumped as reduced supplies raised con- Europe as heat continent in a good position to withstand
cerns about the pace of refilling storage wave clashes with any supply shocks in the winter.
sites in time for next winter, just as a heat
wave boosts demand for cooling. supply cuts But the recent outages could hamper
the plan.
Benchmark futures rose as much as 8%, BY VANESSA DEZEM & ELENA MAZNEVA
increasing for a third day. A liquefied nat- Bloomberg Dutch front-month gas futures, the
ural gas export facility in the US — a vital European benchmark, were 2.4% higher
source of supply for Europe — will remain the region is now losing supply from the at 99.39 euros per megawatt-hour as of
shut for longer than initially anticipated east and the west, and the continent could 11:54 am in Amsterdam. They rose 16%
following a fire last week. At the same time, be in for a winter season of sustained high onTuesday to the highest level in a month.
technical issues have curbed Russian flows prices as a result,” said Xi Nan, vice pres- The UK equivalent jumped as much as
through a major pipeline to Germany by ident for gas and LNG markets at Rystad 7% on Wednesday.
about 40%. Energy A/S.
Power prices tracked gas, with the
The bout of intense heat that’s grip- Storage sites across Europe have been month-ahead German contract ris-
ping Europe is pushing up gas demand getting a boost of injections, with facilities ing almost 6% to 216 euros per meg-
and further tightening the market. The more than half full as companies tap all awatt-hour, the highest intraday level
continent, which has relied on US LNG available resources. Eurasia Group esti- since May 13.
to fill the gap resulting from lower Russian mates most would be topped up by late Click here for the full story
flows, may have to compete more fiercely August if the pace of boosting inventories Read also: Australia’s key power grid
with Asian buyers to secure spare supply suspends spot market to ensure supply
as they rush to replenish storage facilities Click here
before demand peaks again in the winter.

“This will make it harder for Europe
to meet its storage targets this summer as

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(June 15): BP Plc acquired a stake in and will BP to lead giant fuel by the end of the decade from a network
lead one of the world’s largest clean energy green hydrogen of global projects.
projects, which aims to supply green hydro-
gen from Australia to key markets including project in TheWestern Australian project will “serve
South Korea and Japan. WesternAustralia as a long-term clean energy security contrib-
utor in Asia Pacific, helping countries such
The London-based energy giant will add BY DAVID STRINGER & LAURA HURST as South Korea and Japan to decarbonize,”
a 40.5% interest in the Asian Renewable En- theedgemarkets.com Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, BP’s executive vice
ergy Hub, which was previously estimated president of gas and low carbon energy, said
to cost about US$36 billion. The project and renewable power, is forecast for rapid in the statement. “It also reflects our belief
aims to install 26 gigawatts of solar and wind growth this decade, and global output could that Australia has the potential to be a pow-
capacity over a vast 6,500-square-kilome- jump as much as 18-fold to about 11.6 mil- erhouse in the global energy transition.”
ter (2,500 square miles) stretch ofWestern lion tons a year by 2030 with strong policy
Australia’s Pilbara region, an area bigger support,according to BloombergNEF.Devel- BP is aiming to diversify its portfolio to
than Delaware. opment of a global trade in the zero-emissions capture rising demand for clean energy and to
fuel is seen as crucial to enable decarboniza- meet investors’ calls for lower greenhouse gas
BP declined to disclose details of the cost tion of heavy industry such as steelmaking, emissions. Chief Executive Officer Bernard
of the acquisition, citing commercial confi- luring governments and companies to pump Looney is expanding the firm’s solar and wind
dentiality.The company’s interest in the pro- billions of dollars into the nascent industry. units, and targeting a 10% share of “core”
ject was first reported last month. hydrogen markets over the next decade.
French oil and gas majorTotalEnergies SE
Once fully developed, AREH would pro- saidTuesday it would buy a 25% stake in the The company began a hiring campaign
duce about 1.6 million tons of green hydro- green hydrogen business of Indian billionaire late last year for a fledgling hydrogen busi-
gen, or 9 million tons of green ammonia, a Gautam Adani’s conglomerate. Meanwhile, ness, but investments so far have been on a
year,BP saidWednesday in a statement.Other Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest wants smaller scale. A separate project in Western
partners had previously said exports could his Fortescue Future Industries unit to pro- Australia is investigating the prospects of pro-
begin as soon as 2027. duce an initial 15 million tons a year of the ducing green hydrogen at the firm’s shuttered
Kwinana oil refinery.
The project would also supply renewable
power to local customers in the Pilbara, the Following BP’s entry into the project,
center of Australia’s iron ore export sector InterContinental Energy will own 26.4% of
that hosts mines operated by producers in- AREH, CWP Global 17.8%, and Macquarie
cluding BHP Group and RioTinto Group. Capital and Macquarie’s Green Investment
Group 15.3%, according to the statement.
Green hydrogen, produced using water

China’s solar
industry reels
as material cost
nears decade-high

Bloomberg

(June 15):The cost of a key material for solar caught many in the industry off guard after But some rooftop solar projects in China
panels in China is nearing its highest level in a new and expanded plants opened late last year, have already been cancelled or delayed, accord-
decade, squeezing profits even as companies temporarily easing tight supplies. Global de- ing toYinYeze, an analyst with Beijing-based
ramp up production to meet the world’s grow- mand for panels has risen more than expected Solarbe. Rooftop solar accounted for more than
ing renewable power needs. amid a massive buildout in China’s interior half of China’s new capacity last year, andYin
and Europe’s urgent need to reduce reliance said developers tend to be more profit-con-
The average price of the most expen- on Russian gas. scious because most of them are private rather
sive grade of polysilicon reached 268.5 yuan than state-owned companies.
(US$40) a kilogramme onWednesday, accord- “I’m honestly still surprised by the polysili-
ing to the China Silicon Industry Association. con price rise,” said Jenny Chase, lead solar ana- “When more developers have to consider
Last year, it soared three-fold to as much as lyst at BloombergNEF.“It is tough on developers whether to cancel or postpone projects due to
272.2 yuan, the highest since 2011, as demand who have signed power purchase agreements low profitability, that will lower installation ca-
outran supply. at low prices in 2019, 2020, and early 2021, pacity,”Yin said.
and are now trying to actually build projects Read also: China’s factories perk up, but
The higher prices are rippling through the which make little economic sense.” weak consumption points to slow econom-
solar supply chain, much of which is centred ic recovery Click here
in China, raising the cost of solar panels and More polysilicon capacity is expected to
hurting profits at manufacturers and develop- come online in the fourth quarter this year,
ers. Certain projects have become unprofitable which should lead to a fall in prices, Chase said.
and installations have slowed in some locations,
even as global demand remains elevated amid
efforts to meet climate targets and reduce de-
pendence on fossil fuels.

The renewed rise in polysilicon prices has

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Baidu in talks to sell majority stake in iQIYI,
China’s answer to Netflix — sources

HONG KONG (June 15): China’s inter- BY JULIE ZHU & KANE WU than 100% to iQIYI’s average share price
net search engine giant Baidu Inc is in Reuters over the past three months of US$3.97.
talks to sell its controlling stake in iQI- The streaming firm’s shares have lost 70%
YI Inc, China’s answer to Netflix, in a as it seeks to sharpen its focus on devel- in the past year amid a broader Chinese
deal that could value all of iQIYI at about oping its capital-intensive artificial intelli- tech sell-off.
US$7 billion, two people with knowledge gence and autonomous driving units, the
of the matter said. first two sources said. US-listed shares of iQIYI were down
4.7%, while Baidu rose 4% in pre-market
Baidu, which owns 53% of iQIYI and Terms of the deal have not yet been trading on Wednesday.
holds more than 90% of its shareholder finalised and are subject to change, said
voting rights, plans to sell all its holdings the sources, who declined to be identified Baidu, whose businesses range from
in the Chinese video streaming service due to confidentiality constraints. internet search to electric vehicles, with
firm, the two people and another two expansion into cloud services, robotaxis,
sources familiar with the matter said. Baidu did not respond to a request and autonomous driving in recent years,
for comment. has tapped Bank of America to work
While cinemas have struggled with on the potential sale, the second pair of
Covid-19 lockdowns, China’s online video “This is purely market rumour,” iQIYI sources said.
market is booming. Domestic consulting said in an emailed statement to Reuters,
firm Zhiyan forecasts 2022 revenue is set without providing further comment. Bank of America did not offer any im-
to climb to 163 billion yuan (US$24 bil- mediate comment.
lion), up 17% year-on-year. The iQIYI stake has drawn initial in-
terest from a number of financial sponsors iQIYI hits, losses
Nasdaq-listed iQIYI, the No 2 player and state-owned companies, said three of The stake sale plan drawn up by Baidu,
in China’s video streaming market after the sources, including Hong Kong-based worth nearly US$50 billion by market val-
Tencent Holdings’ Tencent Video, has a private equity firm PAG. ue, comes against the backdrop of China’s
market value of US$4 billion. Baidu’s tar- regulatory crackdown since late 2020 on
geted valuation of US$7 billion for the China Mobile, the world’s largest mo- firms from technology, private education,
whole company in its divestment would bile network operator by subscribers and and other sectors, which hammered their
represent a price of about US$8.13 per owner of streaming service Migu Video, shares and forced some to scale back ex-
share compared with its latest close of is also among potential buyers, two of the pansion in non-core areas.
US$4.67. people with knowledge of the matter said.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index,
The divestment plan, not previously PAG declined to comment. China which tracks Chinese companies trad-
disclosed by Baidu, comes after the firm Mobile did not respond to a request for ed on Wall Street, is down 50% over the
deemed iQIYI to be a non-core asset, and comment. past year.

If Baidu achieves its valuation target, Snaring iQIYI would give a potential
that would represent a premium of more buyer the chance to dive into the main
market for full-length TV shows and
REUTERS movies.

Tencent Video and iQIYI, as well as
smaller rival Youku, owned by Alibaba
Group Holding, offer movies, drama se-
ries, and reality shows — both original
content and material bought from other
producers.

iQIYI has made several hit drama se-
ries, including “The Long Night” and
“TheWind Blows From Longxi”. Its orig-
inal variety shows, “The Rap of China”
and “The Big Band”, have also been ma-
jor topics on social media.

On the flip side, cash-burning iQI-
YI has barely broken even in its 12-year
history. In the January-March period, it
delivered a quarterly profit for the first
time since 2016, when it started to report
quarterly earnings.

It recorded a net income of 169 million
yuan (US$25 million) in the first quar-
ter of the year, compared with a net loss
of 1.3 billion yuan in the same period a
year earlier, but its revenue dropped 9%
to 7.3 billion year-on-year.

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Apple’s US$2 tril
market valuation
on shaky ground

BY SUBRAT PATNAIK
Bloomberg

(June 15):Apple Inc.’s run as a US$3 trillion stronger-than-expected inflation data. Fur- as investors fled from growth names for safer
stock proved fleeting.Now its grip on a US$2 ther increases are expected this year. All of assets. Amazon is also close to falling below
trillion market value is looking wobbly, too. that could deepen the selloff in tech stocks, US$1 trillion.
which are particularly vulnerable to higher
After briefly surpassing US$3 trillion in interest rates as they weigh on the current Analysts have grown cautious, too. Over
January, the iPhone maker has lost more valuation of companies’ future profits. the past three months, they’ve cut their es-
than US$800 billion in capitalization as tech timates for Apple’s fiscal third-quarter earn-
stocks plunged.With concern growing that The FAANG cohort — Facebook own- ings by 7.8%, according to data compiled
the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate increases er Meta Platforms Inc., Apple, Amazon. by Bloomberg. Revenue projections are down
could tip the US into recession, the US$2 com Inc., Netflix Inc. and Google parent about 4.2% over the same period.The stock
trillion milestone is looking precarious.Apple Alphabet Inc. — were poster children of the also has the lowest share of analyst buy rat-
closedTuesday at US$2.15 trillion. two-year bull market, rallying at breakneck ings in more than a year.
speed to scale historic valuations.That quick- Click here for the full story
“In the same way that Apple benefited ly evaporated this year with the group losing
from the Fed-fueled bull market, it will suf- a combined US$2.6 trillion in market value
fer as the low interest rate and quantitative
easing subsidies fade,” said David Trainer,
chief executive officer at investment research
firm New Constructs.

Economists predict the Fed will raise
interest rates Wednesday by at least half a
percentage point, with some predicting a
0.75-point increase in the wake of Friday’s

(June 15): SoftBank Group Corp is consid- SoftBank mulling from the FTSE 100, where it once was the
ering listing some of its stake in chip design- additional largest tech company in the index.
er Arm Ltd on the London Stock Exchange,
switching from an earlier plan to only use London listing Arm sells and licenses technology that’s
the US market, according to people familiar for Arm IPO — used by semiconductors in everything from
with the matter. smartphones to supercomputers.The per-
sources vasiveness of its products has made its
If it decides to also list in the UK, the planned IPO a closely watched event in
Japanese company will likely still conduct BY IAN KING & GILES TURNER the US$550 billion (about RM2.43 tril-
its initial public offering (IPO) in NewYork, Bloomberg lion) chip industry.
according to the people, who asked not to
be identified because the matter hadn’t BLOOMBERG The chip technology provider’s path to
been made public.The size and timing of becoming a publicly traded company again
the sale hasn’t been finalised and plans for to ensure there would be a listing in Arm’s has been complicated by the slump in sem-
the listing still may change, according to home country. iconductor shares this year. Investors have
the people. sold chip-related equity, concerned that a
However, a secondary UK listing comes huge run-up in industry earnings sparked
Arm, which SoftBank acquired in 2016, with limitations, including ARM’s exclusion by shortages will end with a supply glut
is based in Cambridge, England. Arm was as demand slows and more production is
one of the UK’s most important technolo- brought on line.
gy companies before the purchase and still
has the majority of its operations there. An SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said he
IPO that would list only in the US would plans to sell a portion of Arm before the end
be a blow to the UK government and cap- of the company’s financial year next March.
ital market.
Tokyo-based SoftBank is seeking a val-
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has led uation of at least US$60 billion for Arm,
overtures to the senior SoftBank manage- Bloomberg has reported. It’s aiming for a
ment in a attempt to convince them to list higher amount than it would have gotten
ARM in the UK, according to people fa- from its proposed sale of the chip designer
miliar with the matter. Earlier this week, to Nvidia Corp.That deal collapsed in the
Chris Philp, the UK’s minister for tech and face of opposition from regulators.
the digital economy, told reporters that the Click here for the full story
government is working with the company

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REUTERS BTS pop band “I felt like I needed time to spend on
triggers US$1.7 bil my own,” the group’s leader RM said in the
Bill Gates blasts hour-long video, which features the band
crypto, NFTs as stock rout on discussing past successes as well as each oth-
based on ‘greater- shift to solos er’s quirks while sharing food and wine.“It’s
not like we’re disbanding,” another member
fool’ theory BY YOUKYUNG LEE known as Suga said.
Bloomberg
BY MARK BERGEN BTS will “remain active as a team while
Bloomberg (June 15): Shares of Hybe Co, the agency taking individual journey to further achieve
that manages the South Korean pop phe- personal growth”, Hybe said in a statement.
(June 15): Billionaire Bill Gates dismissed nomenon BTS, plunged by a record after
cryptocurrency projects such as non-fun- the band said its members will focus on in- In the nine years since their debut, BTS
gible tokens (NFTs) as shams “based on dividual projects for a while. has racked up record-breaking hits and video
the greater-fool theory” at a climate con- views, including the fastest accumulation of
ference on Tuesday (June 14), reviving Hybe sank as much as 28% onWednes- No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 since
past criticisms of digital assets. day (June 15) in Seoul, touching its low- Michael Jackson. The group also became
est level on record since its trading debut in the first Asian group since 1963 to top Bill-
“Obviously, expensive digital images of October 2020 and wiping out as much as board’s all-genre Hot 100 chart with their
monkeys are going to improve the world US$1.7 billion in market value. The stock English-language single “Dynamite”.At the
immensely,” Gates said sarcastically while pared the loss to finish 25% lower, after the end of May, the seven members met with
speaking at an event in Berkeley, Califor- agency said the group will “remain active US President Joe Biden at theWhite House
nia hosted by TechCrunch. He said he’s as a team”. Shares are down nearly 60% and spoke out against hate crimes.
neither long nor short the asset class. this year, significantly underperforming the
broader equity benchmark. Cultural loss
Gates has criticised crypto before, BTS is so huge that a government minister
sparring with Elon Musk last year over Bangtan Boys, more commonly called fretted that it would cause a “cultural loss
whether Bitcoin is too risky for retail in- BTS, made the announcement to pursue for mankind” if the band had to suspend its
vestors and the environmental harm of solo projects in aYouTube video post that work to enlist. Military service is mandatory
mining coins. Speaking on Tuesday as has already attracted more than 10 million for men in South Korea, which is still tech-
the founder of Breakthrough Energy views.The singers said the time apart would nically at war with North Korea.
Ventures, the climate-focused fund he be healthy for the band and urged fans not
began in 2015, Gates noted the difficul- to take the development as negative. The band’s oldest member Jin, 29, needs
ty of recruiting SiliconValley engineers to to sign up for military service before the end
work in industries like chemicals and steel BLOOMBERG of this year unless a related law is revised to
production in need of lower greenhouse allow for an exemption.
gas emissions.
Worries about the band’s future had bat-
Bitcoin plunged more than 15% on tered Hybe shares even beforeWednesday’s
Monday and another 5.4% on Tuesday, plunge, as the agency relies on the hitmaker
part of a broader crypto sell-off fuelled for most of its sales.The slump means that
by higher-than-forecast US inflation and the entertainment firm has given up almost
the halt of withdrawals by lending plat- all gains since its trading debut.
form Celsius. Popular NFT collections,
including the celebrity-favoured Bored Hybe may face sharp downgrades to its
ApeYacht Club, are also being hit hard. profit and revenue estimates this year and
next year, said Lee Hyein, an analyst atYu-
Gates also defended digital banking ef- anta Securities Korea Co.
forts he had supported through his philan-
thropic foundations, which he described If Hybe confirms that BTS won’t resume
as “hundreds of times more efficient” than concerts this year, its revenue in the period
cryptocurrencies. will likely be 25% lower than previously es-
timated, while profit will be cut as much as
Michael Bloomberg, the founder and 33%, Lee wrote in a note.
majority owner of Bloomberg LP, is a back-
er of Breakthrough EnergyVentures.

Read also: Crypto hedge fund’s ominous
tweet is latest shock to market Click here

T H U R S D A Y J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 21 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

NEWS IN BRIEF

Thai PM faces no-confidence vote with elections of Prayuth’s cabinet. The house is likely to hold a debate next
just months away month before voting on the motion. The government is unfazed
by the no-confidence vote and expects to emerge unscathed
(June 15): Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha will like it did during a vote on the first reading of the budget for
face a no-confidence vote in parliament with the opposition fiscal year 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan
set to grill his government on a range of issues including told reporters on Tuesday. Prayuth won parliament backing for
economic mismanagement while the ruling coalition grapples the US$93 billion annual budget 278 to 198 votes early this
with internal divisions. The opposition parties submitted the month. Thailand is due to call a general election by March next
no-confidence motion to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai on year. — Bloomberg
Wednesday (June 15) that also targets 10 senior members

WHO to convene emergency India plans 5G airwaves auction by Alibaba’s SCMP Poaches Former
meeting on monkeypox amid spread end-July to spur rollout Expedia, AOL Exec for new CEO

ZURICH (June 15): The World Health (June 15): India will auction 5G airwaves (June 15): The South China Morning Post
Organization (WHO) will hold an by the end of July when three private- has picked Expedia’s Asian head Catherine
emergency meeting to assess whether sector operators — Reliance Jio Infocomm So to become its new chief executive
the current spread of monkeypox Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea officer, putting a technology and media
constitutes a public health emergency Ltd — are expected to compete as they veteran at the helm of the news outlet
of international concern, or PHEIC. A gear up to roll out ultra-speedy networks. owned by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
special committee will meet next week The federal government plans to sell So replaces Gary Liu, who will leave in
to advise on the spread in non-endemic 72 gigahertz of telecom spectrum for a July to oversee crypto-spinoff Artifacts
countries, Hans Kluge, regional director 20-year tenure, according to a statement Lab, the SCMP said in a statement.
of the WHO for Europe, said at a media from the Ministry of Communications. The Harvard-educated So, who’s also
briefing on Wednesday. A PHEIC is the The auction will be held for airwaves in worked at Groupon, Star TV and AOL
WHO’s highest alert level, and such a various frequency bands ranging from 600 Time Warner, will focus on growing
declaration can be used to encourage megahertz to 26 gigahertz. “It is expected the newspaper’s global readership and
nations to cooperate on countermeasures, that the mid and high band spectrum will expanding its commercial opportunities.
while letting the agency recommend steps be utilized by telecom service providers to She is the second woman to lead the
such as travel advisories. Monkeypox, roll-out of 5G technology-based services,” storied organization after Kuok Hui
which has been afflicting developing the Ministry said in the statement, Kwong, daughter of former owner Robert
countries for years, has spread across without specifying how much the Kuok, who held the role between 2008
Europe and the US in recent weeks. The government is looking to collect through and 2012. So’s appointment means the top
virus belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus, the sale. — Bloomberg two leadership positions at the paper are
which includes the variola virus, the cause both filled by women, with Tammy Tam as
of smallpox, but it is less contagious and Editor in Chief. — Bloomberg
symptoms are milder. A large proportion
of cases have been among men who have Qualcomm wins court fight against
sex with men, and many have occurred US$1 bil EU antitrust fine
within sexual networks, though anyone
can contract the disease. — Bloomberg LUXEMBOURG (June 15): US chipmaker
Qualcomm on Wednesday (June 15) won
Click here for the full story Click here for the full story its fight against a €997 million (US$1.05
billion or about RM4.62 billion) fine
Shanghai to mass test whole city every weekend till end July imposed by European Union (EU) antitrust
regulators four years ago for paying Apple
(June 15): Shanghai will conduct mass testing to detect Covid-19 cases in residential to use only its chips and blocking out
compounds every weekend through the end of July as authorities remain wary of rivals such as Intel Corp. The European
new infection chains that can spawn wider outbreaks. A temporary lockdown will also Commission in its 2018 decision said the
be imposed on those residential complexes where a Covid case was detected in the anti-competitive practice took place from
week leading up to the weekend testing, Zhao Dandan, an official with the Shanghai 2011 to 2016, with Qualcomm paying
Municipal Health Commission said at a briefing on Wednesday. The lockdown would billions of dollars to Apple to use its chips
be lifted once everyone in the compound has been tested, he said. Shanghai residents in all its iPhones and iPads. The General
need to take nucleic acid tests at least once a week until the end of July. Employees Court, Europe’s second highest, annulled
at supermarkets, barbershops, drugstores, shopping malls and restaurants need to the EU finding, dealing EU antitrust
conduct such tests daily. Delivery workers need to do both nucleic acid and antigen chief Margrethe Vestager a major blow.
tests on a daily basis. Staff at banks, gas companies and industrial entities should do “A number of procedural irregularities
an antigen test everyday. China is setting up tens of thousands of lab testing booths affected Qualcomm’s rights of defence and
across the largest cities in the belief that frequent swabbing can help uncover infection invalidated the commission’s analysis of the
chains early and avert economically-crushing lockdowns. — Bloomberg conduct alleged against Qualcomm,” judges
said. The EU competition enforcer can
appeal on matters of law to the EU Court of
Justice, Europe’s highest. — Reuters

T H U R S D A Y J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 22 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

WORLD

(June 15): Indonesian President JokoWido- Indonesia’s the world’s food distribution.
do made sweeping changes to his Cabinet, Jokowi reshuffles In the latest round of measures, Joko-
replacing the trade and agrarian chiefs af- Cabinet as food
ter a series of policy u-turns failed to over- wi’s administration slashed the maximum
come shortages of cooking oil and other prices surge crude palm oil export levy by nearly half
vital foodstuffs amid soaring inflation. in another step to speed up shipments and
BY SORAYA PERMATASARI “flush out” its overflowing stockpiles.This
The reshuffle by Jokowi, as he is known, AND GRACE SIHOMBING was after lifting a temporary export ban on
is the third such Cabinet change in his Bloomberg the commodity last month.
second term in office and will see Zulkifli
Hasan take over from Muhammad Lutfi were unveiled. Still, it’s difficult for anyone to ensure
asTrade Minister, and HadiTjahjanto re- The government had resorted to a smooth supplies of cooking oil in a sprawl-
placing Sofyan Djalil as Agrarian Minister. ing archipelago of 17,000 islands.
flurry of measures including price caps,
Southeast Asia’s largest economy is sen- export bans and subsidies to stave off Industry players say the distribution
sitive to rising food and fuel prices that the food crisis, as supply chain disrup- line from producers to retailers are messy,
make up a high proportion of the house- tions and poor weather wreak havoc in which complicates Jokowi’s plan to cool
hold budget and have, in turn, led to an- domestic prices.
ti-government protests over the years. Bulk
cooking oil prices stubbornly stayed well As it is, rising food costs are expected
above a government threshold of 14,000 to lift consumer prices by 4.05% in June,
rupiah ($0.95) a kilogram. according to Indonesian central bank’s lat-
est weekly estimate, pushing it beyond its
The new Ministers are allies of Jokowi, full-year target of 2%-4%.
as the president is popularly known. Hasan
is a deputy speaker in the legislature and “The new Trade Minister is also fac-
a top official from the National Mandate ing a wider challenge to secure domestic
Party that’s part of Jokowi’s coalition.Tjah- food supply amidst the increasing global
janto is a former national military chief. food protectionism, export bans in various
countries,” said Josua Pardede, economist
The new Trade Minister “will sort out at Bank Permata in Jakarta. “Food secu-
the export issue, but more importantly to rity is also highly related to our inflation
ensure sufficient domestic food supply.We outlook.”
need to guard that,” Jokowi told report- Click here for the full story
ers in Jakarta after the Cabinet changes

TOKYO (June 15): Bank of Japan (BOJ) Weak yen, central bank will eventually be forced to
governor Haruhiko Kuroda faces one of hawkish Fed abandon its yield-curve-control policy,
the stiffest challenges of his career this make this one with chief investment officer Mark Dow-
week as he looks for a way to maintain of Kuroda’s ding calling it “untenable”.
stimulus without pushing the yen even toughest calls
further below its 24-year lows. “Kuroda is in a tight spot,” said Mari
BY TORU FUJIOKA Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa
While the consensus view is that the Bloomberg Securities. “But he will stick with easing
central bank will stick with all its main this time and try hard not to make things
policy settings, Kuroda risks accelerating BLOOMBERG any worse.”
a slide in Japan’s currency, ratcheting up
the strain on his control of yields and ex- The currency set a fresh 24-year low
acerbating public angst over rising prices. of 135.59 against the dollar earlier on
Wednesday amid a wave of renewed weak-
There is another outsized problem ness following stronger-than-expected US
too: a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate increase inflation figures at the end of last week.
that looks set to be even larger than the That data has ratcheted up the likelihood
half-percentage point hike previously ex- of the Fed widening the gulf between US
pected by economists. The Fed decision and Japanese monetary policies at a fast-
comes just hours before the BOJ’s two- er pace.
day policy meeting starts onThursday and
its impact may still be roiling markets as Click here for the full story
Kuroda and his board mull their decision.
Read also:
Kuroda has repeatedly insisted that Why the yen is so weak and what that
the bank will continue easing persistently means for Japan Click here
to ensure an economic recovery from the
pandemic.That leaves BOJ watchers most Haruhiko Kuroda Japan govt bond futures collapse,
likely on the lookout for possible tweaks yields test band despite BOJ’s heavy
to address the yen’s weakness and rising hand Click here
yields.

But analysts and investors will also be
on alert for the kind of surprise Kuroda
has pulled in the past. BlueBay Asset Man-
agement is among hedge funds betting the

t h u r s d a y j u n e 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 23 T h e E d g e C E O m o r n i n g b r i e f

world

The Saudi investment king
who no longer rules alone

DUBAI (June 15):The prince who’s the by Hadeel Al Sayegh & Saeed Azhar Krane, research fellow at Rice Universi-
international face of Saudi business may Reuters ty’s Baker Institute.
no longer be able to call all the shots.
reuters Alwaleed’s investment style has fo-
For years, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, cused on new opportunities that could
Saudi Arabia’s self-styled Warren Buffett, Prince Alwaleed be very lucrative but carry risk, as well as
has made hundreds of millions of dollars looking at undervalued assets, said one
by investing in companies from Citigroup The PIF deal was struck at Kingdom of the sources with knowledge of King-
to Uber to Twitter with almost complete Holding’s lowest share price this year, dom’s business.
autonomy. with no premium. Bankers who usually
work with the PIF or Alwaleed were not “The PIF is essentially buying a stake
Now, his Kingdom Holding invest- engaged for this deal, two sources famil- in Prince Alwaleed’s successful investing
ment firm counts Saudi Arabia’s Pub- iar with the matter said. track record. As long as Alwaleed demon-
lic Investment Fund (PIF) as a minority ‘Change of tack’ strates he can still pick winners, Saudis
shareholder and the powerful sovereign The Saudi state took direct controlling will benefit,” said Jim Krane, author of
wealth fund is unlikely to sit on the side- stakes in the businesses of some Saudi “Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Sur-
lines, sources familiar with the matter entrepreneurs detained in 2017, includ- vival in the Persian Gulf.”
said. ing the Binladen construction group and
media company MBC, as part of the set- Alwaleed rose to international prom-
The wealth fund, which is at the heart tlements securing their release. inence after making a big successful bet
of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Sal- on Citigroup in the 1990s and he was an
man’s ambitious plan to diversify the Sau- Analysts said, however, that the inter- early investor in Apple.
di economy, will want Kingdom Hold- vention in Kingdom Holding marked a
ing’s investment committee to have more shift in strategy by the Saudi government, The prince and Kingdom also made
power over decision making than in the as the other stakes are being held by the a joint investment of US$300 million in
past, two sources with knowledge of Ministry of Finance (MoF) rather than Twitter in 2011 and he raised his stake
Kingdom’s business told Reuters. the wealth fund. in 2015. Last month, he agreed to roll
a stake now worth US$1.89 billion into
“(PIF) will want to be an active inves- “It is an indication of a change of Elon Musk’s takeover deal, rather than
tor,” said a sovereign wealth fund investor tack,” said James Swanston, Middle East cashing out.
in the Gulf. “The investment commit- and North Africa economist at Capital Succession
tee of Kingdom Holding is essentially Economics. “With PIF now holding the While PIF’s move may affect Prince Al-
Alwaleed, and I can’t imagine the PIF stake, it may now be seen more as an in- waleed’s room for manoeuvre, Kingdom
being at the whims of the prince.” vestment opportunity.” Holding will benefit from the sovereign
wealth fund’s political and financial clout
The PIF, Kingdom Holding, Prince The PIF’s role is to earn enough in- when it comes to dealmaking, the two
Alwaleed and his spokesman all declined come through investments to develop new sources close to Kingdom said.
to comment when contacted by Reuters sectors in the Saudi economy whereas the
about what PIF’s minority stake would Ministry of Finance is more the guardian Since becoming a more active investor
mean for future investments. of day-to-day spending and is much less in 2015, the sovereign wealth fund has
strategic or interested in risk, said Jim taken some bold steps to raise its profile
Alwaleed, 67, had long kept a tight in the world of business and sport.
grip on Kingdom’s shares, owning all but
5% traded on the Saudi stock market It took a US$3.5 billion stake in Uber
until PIF purchased a 16.87% stake for before its listing, invested US$45 billion
US$1.5 billion last month. in Softbank’s inaugural technology fund,
bought 80% of British soccer club New-
The deal came more than four years castle United last year and has disrupted
after Prince Alwaleed was swept up in the world of golf with its new LIV league.
an anti-corruption drive ordered by the
Crown Prince and held for nearly three The PIF now manages more than
months at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton along US$600 billion of assets though its in-
with scores of royals, senior officials and vestment record has been mixed.
businessmen.
It made a huge profit from investing in
Most detainees were released after electric vehicle maker Lucid before it list-
reaching financial settlements and Prince ed, but its Softbank investment has been
Alwaleed said in March 2018 that he had more volatile as rising rates and geopo-
struck a confidential and secret deal with litical instability whiplashed high-growth
the government. tech stocks.

It was not clear whether the PIF pur- The wealth fund is backing the Crown
chase was related to the settlement. A Prince’s mega projects in his Vision 2030
spokesman for Prince Alwaleed, the economic diversification plan.
grandson of Saudi Arabia’s first king Ab-
dulaziz and Lebanon’s first prime min- Click here for the full story
ister Riad Al Solh, has said it was purely
a business deal.

T H U R S D A Y J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 24 T H E E D G E C E O M O R N I N G B R I E F

MARKETS

CPO RM 5,638.00-210.00 OIL US$ 119.94-1.23 RM/USD 4.4137 RM/SGD 3.1776 RM/AUD 3.0609 RM/GBP 5.3407 RM/EUR 4.6278

Top 20 active stocks

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

SAPURA ENERGY BHD 155.8 0.005 0.050 0.00 799

MQ TECHNOLOGY BHD 129.00 -0.005 0.040 -20.00 50.0

UNITRADE INDUSTRIES BHD 65.38 -0.015 0.285 0.00 445.3

MNC WIRELESS BHD 57.30 -0.005 0.015 0.00 34.3

DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 55.00 -0.035 0.875 15.13 2,761.7

TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 48.7 -0.020 1.01 -61.00 8087.3

WIDAD GROUP BHD 45.30 -0.005 0.355 -2.74 977.1

LGMS BHD 34.39 -0.010 0.770 0.00 351.1

KNM GROUP BHD 34.10 0.000 0.145 -3.33 533.1 World equity indices

TECHNA-X BHD 30.70 -0.005 0.045 -40.00 99.7

SANICHI TECHNOLOGY BHD 29.10 0.005 0.030 20.00 42.1 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE

TA WIN HOLDINGS BHD 24.9 0.000 0.085 -32.00 290.9 (%) (%)
DOW JONES 30,364.83 -151.91 -0.50 INDONESIA 7,007.05 -42.83 -0.61
HIBISCUS PETROLEUM BHD 20.80 -0.060 1.170 43.56 2,354.5

FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 19.60 0.000 0.010 0.00 59.2 S&P 500 3,735.48 -14.15 -0.38 JAPAN 26,326.16 -303.70 -1.14

JADE MARVEL GROUP BHD 19.60 0.005 0.905 37.12 296.9 NASDAQ 100 11,311.69 23.37 0.21 KOREA 2,447.38 -45.59 -1.83

NWP HOLDINGS BHD 19.30 0.000 0.270 10.20 142.1 FTSE 100 7,276.76 89.30 1.24 PHILIPPINES 6,319.42 -155.11 -2.40

MY EG SERVICES BHD 18.80 -0.025 0.855 -20.09 6,314.6 AUSTRALIA 6,601.03 -85.00 -1.27 SINGAPORE 3,105.85 -3.04 -0.10

MALAYSIAN GENOMICS RESOURCE 17.90 0.010 0.710 -38.790 88.2 CHINA 3,305.41 16.50 0.50 TAIWAN 15,999.25 -48.12 -0.30

PUBLIC BANK BHD 15.60 -0.030 4.480 7.69 86,959.9 HONG KONG 21,308.21 240.22 1.14 THAILAND 1,593.54 -9.49 -0.59

PRESS METAL ALUMINIUM HOLDINGS 13.90 -0.140 4.840 -16.26 39,879.8 INDIA 52,541.28 -152.29 -0.29 VIETNAM 1,213.93 -16.38 -1.33

Data as compiled on Jun 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 15, 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)

COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.015 50.00 53.5 0.00 68.8 AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.010 -33.33 3,534.6 -66.67 60.0

PASUKHAS GROUP BHD 0.020 33.33 732.3 -20.00 38.1 NEXGRAM HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 89.8 0.00 44.2

TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.025 25.00 59.9 25.00 107.4 CHINA AUTOMOBILE PARTS 0.010 -33.33 754.2 0.00 13.6

TOYO VENTURES HOLDINGS BHD 0.555 21.98 5025.4 -60.64 59.4 MNC WIRELESS BHD 0.015 -25.00 57,288.9 0.00 34.3

SCOMI ENERGY SERVICES BHD 0.03 20.00 101.1 -45.45 14 IMPIANA HOTELS BHD 0.020 -20.00 1,418.1 -73.33 28.9

FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.030 20.00 1087.6 -25.00 191.2 ADVANCE INFORMATION 0.095 -17.39 89.6 -26.92 25.3

SANICHI TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.030 20.00 29053.8 20.00 42.1 JERASIA CAPITAL BHD 0.030 -14.29 1,407.7 -81.25 2.5

AE MULTI HOLDINGS BHD 0.030 20.00 393.5 0.00 64.9 GREEN PACKET BHD 0.060 -14.29 2,851.8 -25.00 95.7

SAPURA RESOURCES BHD 0.310 16.98 0.2 -21.52 43.3 FAST ENERGY HOLDINGS BHD 0.035 -12.50 6,277.1 -63.16 25.8

XOX TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.035 16.67 1055.9 -30.00 31.3 TOP BUILDERS CAPITAL BHD 0.035 -12.50 1,490.5 0.00 24.7

CAELY HOLDINGS BHD 0.425 14.86 1937.3 18.06 109.8 RAMSSOL GROUP BHD 0.290 -12.12 1,860.3 -63.29 64.7

LFE CORP BHD 0.125 13.64 0.1 -10.71 100.2 EFFICIENT E-SOLUTIONS BHD 0.190 -11.63 8.0 -9.52 134.7

CWG HOLDINGS BHD 0.350 12.90 14.1 -23.91 57.3 ARK RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 0.270 -11.48 5.0 -16.92 18.8

SINARAN ADVANCE GROUP BHD 0.090 12.50 4747.3 50.00 82.3 MALAYSIA SMELTING CORP BHD 2.500 -11.35 4,737.2 -23.08 1050.0

SAPURA ENERGY BHD 0.05 11.11 155828.9 0.00 799 MQ TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.040 -11.11 128,969.0 -20.00 50.0

KEY ASIC BHD 0.050 11.11 248.1 -28.57 68.2 HO WAH GENTING BHD 0.125 -10.71 6,555.7 -39.02 79.9

SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.050 11.11 242.2 -9.09 49.6 KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.045 -10.00 456.1 -77.5 27.1

REACH ENERGY BHD 0.050 11.11 121.0 -16.67 54.8 PROGRESSIVE IMPACT CORP BHD 0.090 -10.00 8.2 -14.29 59.0

KIA LIM BHD 0.320 10.34 15.0 -34.02 19.8 PUC BHD 0.045 -10.00 2,281.3 -68.97 73.1

TRIVE PROPERTY GROUP BHD 0.060 9.09 139.0 100.00 75.8 TECHNA-X BHD 0.045 -10.00 30,710.7 -40.00 99.7

Data as compiled on Jun 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 15, 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)

DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD 33.16 0.460 8.7 -1.07 2122.2 NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 133.200 -2.200 51.3 -0.75 31235.4

FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 20.12 0.240 327.3 -18.67 7379.6 KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 24.000 -0.700 1708.1 10.19 25875.7

CI HOLDINGS BHD 2.88 0.100 58.300 1.05 466.6 PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 20.400 -0.660 293.7 -0.97 20266.5

TOYO VENTURES HOLDINGS BHD 0.56 0.100 5025.4 -60.64 59.4 BATU KAWAN BHD 24.040 -0.600 15.7 5.90 9461.2

ADVANCED PACKAGING 2.80 0.090 6.8 7.69 54.9 BLD PLANTATION BHD 9.030 -0.460 0.4 0.22 844.3

CARZO HOLDINGS BHD 1.82 0.090 3.3 6.43 160.7 HENGYUAN REFINING CO BHD 5.050 -0.400 5474.1 30.49 1515.0

QL RESOURCES BHD 5.09 0.080 1859.1 11.38 12387.3 KESM INDUSTRIES BHD 7.020 -0.330 20.7 -42.83 302.0

DKLS INDUSTRIES BHD 2.25 0.080 7.5 28.57 208.6 MALAYSIA SMELTING CORP BHD 2.500 -0.320 4737.2 -23.08 1050.0

CHIN HIN GROUP BHD 3.43 0.080 714.9 31.42 3034.5 MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 29.520 -0.320 182.9 -40.19 5871.4

SENI JAYA CORP BHD 2.47 0.070 5.6 -6.44 119.9 PETRONAS GAS BHD 16.240 -0.300 1109.7 -9.25 32134.6

FARM FRESH BHD 1.60 0.060 3144.6 0.00 2972.7 PPB GROUP BHD 15.740 -0.300 1025.9 -7.95 22391.7

CAELY HOLDINGS BHD 0.43 0.055 1937.3 18.06 109.8 PETRON MALAYSIA REFINING 6.490 -0.220 760.8 48.17 1752.3

MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 0.81 0.050 44.0 -16.49 35.8 PANASONIC MANUFACTURING 26.800 -0.200 2.5 -7.27 1628.0

SUNMOW HOLDINGS BHD 0.85 0.050 101.2 -15.00 198.8 HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 24.260 -0.200 155.9 16.41 7328.9

AME ELITE CONSORTIUM BHD 1.63 0.050 369.4 -13.76 1044.3 HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD 2.980 -0.190 13795.5 -47.99 10184.0

LION POSIM BHD 0.54 0.045 33 -3.57 123.0 SIME DARBY PLANTATION BHD 4.600 -0.190 4599.4 22.34 31812.3

SAPURA RESOURCES BHD 0.31 0.045 0.2 -21.52 43.3 HAP SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD 7.170 -0.190 114.2 -6.88 17850.9

PGF CAPITAL BHD 1.05 0.040 456.2 52.17 168.0 CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 22.600 -0.180 73.6 12.55 6909.9

YSP SOUTHEAST ASIA HOLDINGS 1.97 0.040 58.8 2.07 277.7 TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD 4.980 -0.170 3383.5 -9.45 18793.0

CWG HOLDINGS BHD 0.35 0.040 14.1 -23.91 57.3 KHIND HOLDINGS BHD 2.680 -0.160 1 -29.66 107.4

Data as compiled on Jun 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg