TheEdge 140422

US, ALLIES ‘WILL NOT BE INDIFFERENT’TO THOSE WHO
UNDERMINE RUSSIA SANCTIONS, YELLEN WARNS p17

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m

ISSUE 364/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Govt agrees to settle wrongful termination suit by former AG Apandi p2
Genting Malaysia tipped to win full casino licence in NewYork p5

Khazanah places out more CIMB shares to raise up to RM438 mil as price recovers p6
Hibiscus explores Singapore SPAC listing, sources say p6

WORLD: Southeast Asia’s tourism industry begins uneven recovery p19

Minimum wage: Some employment sectors
to be given flexibility — Saravanan

Report on Page 4.

SC compounds Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah
Serba Dinamik,
top execs RM3 mil
each for submitting
false revenue that
KPMG flagged Report on Page 3.

Syed Nazim Syed Faisal Azhan Azmi Muhammad Hafiz Othman

thursday april 14, 2022 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Govt agrees to settle wrongful termination
suit by former AG Apandi

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):The government by Hafiz Yatim In the suit, Apandi is also seeking declara-
had on Wednesday amicably settled a suit filed theedgemarkets.com tions that Dr Mahathir had committed mis-
by former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Mo- feasance and misconduct in public office, and
hamed Apandi Ali against it over alleged breach Without prejudice, the that the former premier had caused and in-
of contract and wrongful termination from his government agreed duced the breach of contract between him
post as the country’s chief legal adviser in 2018. to settle this legal and the government.
action without the
The settlement was recorded before High admission of liability. He also wants declarations that there was a
Court Justice Datuk Akhtar Tahir, where the With the settlement, failure of compliance with Article 145 of the
terms of the settlement were not disclosed and Federal Constitution over his service termina-
the government did not admit liability. the suit against former tion, and that his termination was not in accord-
prime minister Tun Dr ance with the law.
“Without prejudice, the government agreed
to settle this legal action without the admission Mahathir Mohamad In addition, Apandi is seeking special dam-
of liability. and the government ages totalling RM2.23 million, general damag-
is struck off, without es, exemplary and punitive damages, costs and
“With the settlement, the suit against former liberty to file afresh.” other relief deemed fit by the court.
prime ministerTun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and
the government is struck off, without liberty to — Datuk Dr Baljit Singh The defendants stated in their defence that
file afresh,” said Apandi’s lawyer Datuk Dr Bal- Sidhu, Apandi’s lawyer there was no abuse of power by Dr Mahathir
jit Singh Sidhu, who appeared with Datuk Dr as former premier in the termination of Apan-
Abd Shukor Ahmad and Nor Shahadah Saari. sam fong/the edge di’s service as the AG and of his contract as a
legal officer.
No order was made as to costs.
Senior federal counsels Donald Joseph Apandi was appointed when Datuk Seri Najib
Franklin, Shariah Shapiee and Abdul Hakim Razak was the prime minister. He replacedTan
Ab Keram @ Ab Karem appeared for the Sri Abdul Gani Patail, who was removed after
defendants. it was learnt that he was leading a special task
Last Sept 29, it was reported that there force to investigate 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
was no settlement in the suit as the parties
did not want to go into mediation. Fol- He was eventually replaced byTan SriTommy
lowing that, the High Court had fixed trial Thomas in July 2018, when Pakatan Harapan
dates of April 18 to 22 before the settlement came to power and Dr Mahathir replaced Najib
was arrived at on Wednesday. as the prime minister.
The High Court had earlier allowed
Apandi’s application for access to corre- Thomas resigned as AG in February 2020,
spondence between Dr Mahathir or the and was replaced by Tan Sri Idrus Harun, who
then government with the Yang di-Pertu- is also formerly a Federal Court judge and pre-
an Agong, or any other documents relating viously was also the solicitor-general.
to his termination as a federal counsel that Read also:
initially led to his appointment as the AG.
No settlement in Apandi’s suit against Dr
Former AG filed RM2.23 million suit Mahathir, govt over his removal Click here
in 2020
Apandi filed a suit against Dr Mahathir AGC refuses to enter mediation with
and the government in October 2020, ex-AG Apandi over latter’s RM2 mil
seeking a declaration that his termina- termination suit Click here
tion as the AG was unlawful.

thursday april 14, 2022 3 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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SC compounds Serba Dinamik,
top execs RM3 mil each for submitting

false revenue that KPMG flagged

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Serba Di- by Adam Aziz The issue with the FY20 revenue was
namik Holdings Bhd and four top execu- theedgemarkets.com first raised by KPMG to the Serba Di-
tives have been compounded RM3 million namik board in May 2021. At the time,
each by the Securities Commission Malay- Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd KPMG also flagged Serba Dinamik’s sales
sia (SC) for submitting a false statement transactions, trade receivables and paya-
involving a revenue of RM6.01 billion for Revenue 144.88 Net pro t bles, material on site balances, as well as
its financial period ended Dec 31, 2020 (RM bil) 310.02 (RM mil) how it was unable to verify the counter-
(FY20), which was previously red-flagged 8 387.90 parties involved.
by the company’s external auditor, KPMG. 496.64 800
6 631.75 Following the revelation, KPMG re-
The four individuals were chief executive 600 fused to resign off on the FY20 accounts
officer and group managing director Datuk 4 128.24 as Serba Dinamik’s external auditor, which
Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, executive -332.44 400 resulted in Serba Dinamik suing KPMG
director Datuk Syed Nazim Syed Faisal who 2 for alleged negligence and for breaching
was chief financial officer (CFO) from June 1.24 200 its contractual and statutory duties as the
2016 until mid-2020, its current group CFO 0 2.71 0 external auditor.This led KPMG to resign
Azhan Azmi, and vice president of accounts 3.28 from its post, citing the lawsuit hindred its
and finance Muhammad Hafiz Othman. -2 4.53 -200 ability to continue to discharge its duties
6.01 as the company’s auditor.
The compounds settled the criminal -4 2.59 -400
charges they face for submitting a false 0.98 Subsequently, Bursa Securities ordered
statement of the RM6.01 billion revenue Serba Dinamik to conduct a special in-
for FY20 to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd FY16 dependent review on KPMG’s claims, for
on Feb 26, 2021. FY17 which Serba Dinamik appointed Ernst &
FY18 Young Consulting Sdn Bhd (EY Consult-
Muhammad Hafiz was also compound- FY19 ing) to do.
ed an additional RM1 million for falsifying FY20
the accounting records of Serba Dinamik’s 6MFP21* However, Serba Dinamik then sued
subsidiary, the SC said in a statement. 6MFY22 Bursa for acting “in excess of power” when
Financial year end changed to instructing that the SIR be conducted. It
The compounds follow the public prose- June 30, 2021 from Dec 31, 2020 also sued EY Consulting to restrain the
cutor’s decision to accept the representation Source: Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd, latter from making its findings or opinions
made to the Attorney General’s Chambers Bursa Malaysia on the company public.
by Serba Dinamik and the individuals in-
volved regarding the charges pending in Serba Dinamik’s criminal charges for While the SC’s criminal charges against
court, the SC said. A representation letter the falsification of revenue were framed Serba Dinamik have now been settled with
is typically sent either to reduce a charge under Section 369(a)(B) of the CMSA, the compounds, Serba Dinamik is still fac-
or have the charges dropped. while the four individuals were charged ing Bursa in court, after the latter filed a
under Section 369(a)(B), read together civil suit against the group for failing to
The compounds were issued under Sec- with Section 367(1) of the same Act, which comply with its directive to release the
tion 373(1) of the Capital Markets and would have brought a maximum jail term factual finding update (FFU) of the SIR
Services Act (CMSA) with written consent of 10 years and a maximum fine of RM3 by EY Consulting. The High Court had
of the public prosecutor. million if one is convicted for the offence. ruled in Bursa’s favour to compel Serba
Dinamik to reveal the findings, a ruling
“This (RM3 million) is the maximum Section 369(a)(B) of the CMSA stip- which Serba Dinamik has failed to ob-
amount of compound permissible under ulates that a person who, with the intent tain leave from the Court of Appeal on
Section 369(a)(B) of the CMSA for sub- to deceive, makes or furnishes any false Monday to stay, while it appeals the High
mission of false information in the com- or misleading statement or report to the Court’s decision.
pany’s financial statement,” the SC said. commission, a stock exchange, a derivatives
exchange or an approved clearing house Meanwhile, it is understood that the
Muhammad Hafiz’s additional RM1 relating to the affairs of a listed corpora- SC is considering bringing proceedings
million compound is also the maximum tion, commits an offence. to bar the four individuals charged from
amount permissible under Section 368(1) being directors of the company.
(b)(i) of the CMSA, for falsifying Serba
Dinamik Sdn Bhd’s accounting records. It has been almost six months since
the shares of Serba Dinamik were first
For perspective, Mohd Abdul Karim’s suspended from trading on Oct 22, 2021.
CEO and directorship in Serba Dinamik The counter last settled at 35 sen — down
entitled him to a RM4.96 million remu- 78.26% since the audit issue first came
neration package in the 18 months ended to light — giving the oil and gas engi-
June 30, 2021, comprising salary, fees and neering group a market capitalisation of
other emoluments, while Syed Nazim took RM1.3 billion.
home RM1.23 million, according to the
company’s latest annual report.

thursday april 14, 2022 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Minimum According to Saravanan, the imple- bloomberg
wage: Some mentation of the minimum wage rate is
employment in line with the National Wage Consulta- ‘Indonesian helpers
sectors to be tive Council Act 2011 (Act 732), which to be paid according
given flexibility needs to be reviewed once every two years.
— Saravanan to current
“If not now, when? The Act (Act 732) minimum wage’
Bernama stipulates that it needs to be reviewed once
every two years. If I don’t do it, people Bernama
PUTRAJAYA (April 13): Several employ- will criticise me, that I violated the Act,”
ment sectors, including the informal sec- he said. KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Indo-
tor, will be given flexibility when the im- nesian domestic helpers will be paid not
plementation of the RM1,500 minimum On the Microcredential HRD Corp less than the minimum wage enforced in
wage rate comes into effect on May 1, said initiative, Saravanan said that it serves as Malaysia,said Human Resource Minister
Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri a conduit between institutions of higher Datuk Seri M Saravanan.
M Saravanan. learning and industry in Malaysia. We are
targeting to offer 50,000 micro qualifica- The minister in a statement on
Among them are those earning income tion training places to Malaysians by the Wednesday (April 13) said the matter was
by doing odd jobs, companies employing end of this year (2022). among the contents of the Memorandum
fewer than five workers and those that are of Understanding on the Recruitment
facing huge losses like the hospitality and He also said more than three million and Protection of Indonesian Domestic
tourism sectors, he said. micro training placements will be offered Helpers in Malaysia signed on April 1.
in the next five years.
Saravanan said by emphasising similar “I hope there will be no more confu-
flexibility given when the minimum wage Microcredential HRD Corp was intro- sion about wages of Indonesian domestic
order was implemented in 2012, the gov- duced to enable individuals who attend helpers after this,” he added.
ernment would also give a period of one short courses to be professionally recog-
year of flexibility for any party in need and nised and evaluated, based on their key The current minimum wage is
it could be extended according to the Min- knowledge, skills and attitudes. RM1,200.The government has approved
ister’s purview. the minimum rate of RM1,500 a month
It is a short course that focuses on spe- nationwide from May 1.
“Odd-job workers are still earning cific professional skills based on industry
RM500 to RM600 salary. If I force com- needs and recognised by employers. The matter was announced by Prime
panies to pay them RM1,500 they will soon Minister Datuk Seri Ismail SabriYaakob
be out of a job,” he said to reporters at the Previously, it was reported that the when winding up the debate at the 2021
launch of the Microcredential HRD Corp Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Umno General Assembly, and would be
initiative here on Wednesday. Dr Noraini Ahmad, said that micro-certi- enforced earlier in large companies and
fication courses paved the way for greater government-linked companies.
On March 19, Prime Minister, Datuk academic accreditation, depending on the
Seri Ismail SabriYaakob, announced that credit transfer policy at institutes of higher
Malaysia will implement the RM1,500 learning and existing professional qualifi-
minimum wage starting May 1 nationwide. cation bodies.

“I am confident that, with the initiative,
it will help solve incompatibility issues be-
tween existing human resource expertise
and the demands by employers, the indus-
try and the labour market in Malaysia,”
Saravanan said.

More details on the initiative can be
found at https://hrdcorp.gov.my/ms/
microcredential-bm/.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Parkson Auditor flags cate that a material uncertainty exists that
Holdings Bhd said its external auditor has material may cast significant doubt on the group’s
reported a material uncertainty that may ability to continue as a going concern.
cast significant doubt on the group’s ability uncertainty over
to continue as a going concern. Parkson’s ability to “The ability of the group to continue
continue as going as going concern is dependent on attain-
This is in respect of the retailer’s audit- ing future profitable operations and con-
ed financial statements for the 18-month concern ditions,” the auditor was quoted as saying
period ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), Park- in its report.
son said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. by Sulhi Khalid
theedgemarkets.com Not a PN17 company
The group said the auditor, Grant In a separate filing, Parkson said it has re-
Thornton Malaysia PLT, referred to a assessed its condition and concluded that
note in the financial statements which in- it does not trigger any Practice Note 17
dicated that Parkson reported a net loss (PN17) prescribed criteria based on its
of RM129.93 million for FY21, and that results for FY21.
its current liabilities exceeded its current
assets by RM1.49 billion. “Hence, the company is not an affected
listed issuer pursuant to PN17 of [Bursa’s
“These events or conditions, along with
other matters as set forth in [the note] indi- continues on Page 5

thursday april 14, 2022 5 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Genting Genting Malaysia pire City — held a natural advantage due
Malaysia Bhd and MGM Resorts are seen tipped to win full to likely concerns over community support
as strong favourites to win full casino li- casino licence in and economic development.
cences in NewYork after Governor Kathy
Hochul reached a budget deal with senate NewYork “Demonstrating evidence of local sup-
leaders over the weekend to fast-track ca- port and zoning approval is required for
sino legislation. by Surin Murugiah all applicants.
theedgemarkets.com
Macau-based Inside Asian Gaming (IAG), “This could be the most challenging
a publication devoted to provide the latest in- part of the process, which is one of the rea-
formation on gaming industry developments sons we believe Empire City and RWNYC
in Asia onTuesday (April 12) reported that are front runners for two of the three li-
under the deal, NewYork can issue licences cences,” said DeCree.
for up to three downstate casinos, depending
on the attractiveness of bids, with the New DeCree also noted that economic ac-
York State Gaming Facility Location Board tivity and business development, including
now expected to run a competitive process maximising revenues received by the state
similar to the upstate casino selection pro- and localities, are the primary criteria for
cess conducted several years ago. awarding licences.

It said the legislation sets a minimum “This is another key reason we view Em-
licence fee of US$500 million but gives the pire City and RWNYC as likely winners.
NewYork State Gaming Commission the
option to accept higher bids. “In addition, capital investment and
job creation are key factors. The remain-
Slot and table tax minimums are set at ing criteria include mitigating the potential
25% and 10% respectively but could also impact on host communities, workforce
be increased as part of the bidding process. enhancement, sustainability and diversi-
ty,” he said.
Citing CBRE Equity Research analyst
John DeCree, it said that the existing elec- IAG said DeCree estimated the total
tronic table game (ETG)-only casinos — addressable market in NewYork at US$4.8
Genting Malaysia’s Resorts World New billion in gross gaming revenue, estimating
York City (RWNYC) and MGM’s Em- that MGM’s Empire City could generate
US$1.28 billion in gaming revenue and
US$1.45 billion in total revenue annually.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): S&P Glob- S&P Global from Page 4
al Ratings anticipates Malaysia’s policy rate Ratings expects
to increase by 50 basis points or less this Malaysia’s OPR to Main Market Listing Requirements],”
year due to the inflationary impact of the increase this year the retailer said.
Russia-Ukraine conflict and capital outflow
pressure amid a more hawkish US Federal Bernama Parkson triggered PN17 criteria in
Reserve (Fed). October 2020 after its auditor issued
These have put pressure on the region’s an audit opinion on material uncer-
S&P Asia-Pacific chief economist Lou- central banks to raise policy rates to anchor tainty related to a going concern.
is Kuijs said higher inflation and rising inflation expectations, retain credibility,
US interest rates are weighing heavily on support the national currency or head off This came as the group’s share-
Asia-Pacific economies. financial instability. holders’ equity, on a consolidated ba-
sis as at June 30, 2020, of RM1.59
Given the current environment, he said “However, as the effect of the conflict billion was less than 50% of its issued
S&P expects that in regions where infla- and the US Fed shift weigh on economic share capital of RM4.15 billion.
tion already exceeds targets, or which are growth, we anticipate some central banks
vulnerable to capital flight, central banks to tighten as little as possible, or not at However, pursuant to the PN17 re-
will be forced to raise interest rates. all,” added Kuijs. lief measures granted to affected listed
issuers by Bursa Securities, Parkson
However, where neither inflation nor was not classified as a PN17 listed is-
capital flight is a major issue, central bank- suer, and was not required to comply
ers will focus on growth. with the PN17 obligations for a peri-
od of 12 months from Oct 15, 2020.
“This will result in a three-speed policy
setting across Asia-Pacific. “Subsequently, Bursa Securities via
its letter dated Feb 17, 2021 extended
“Many economies are likely to see sig- the 12-month period to 18 months
nificantly higher rates. Some may lift rates for the affected listed issuer to reas-
moderately, while the rest (China and Ja- sess its condition and make the an-
pan) probably will not tighten at all,” he nouncement [on] whether it continues
said. to trigger any of the prescribed criteria
under PN17 of the Main LR (Main
He said Asia-Pacific’s monetary policy- Market Listing Requirements),” the
makers will face difficult trade-offs this year group said.
as the Russia-Ukraine conflict is adding
to global inflation, while the increasingly Shares in Parkson finished 0.5 sen
hawkish US Fed is tightening its policies or 2.63% lower at 18.5 sen, giving it
and had signalled that it would significantly a market capitalisation of RM212.55
reduce its balance sheet. million.

thursday april 14, 2022 6 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Khazanah places Within Khazanah’s portfolio, CIMB Hibiscus
out more CIMB is parked in Khazanah’s commercial bas- explores
shares to raise up ket, comprising investments which the Singapore
to RM438 mil as latter may monetise whenever the right SPAC listing,
price recovers value exists. sources say

by Tan Choe Choe This latest offering comes seven by Elffie Chew & Yantoultra Ngui
theedgemarkets.com months after Khazanah similarly placed Bloomberg
out 138.4 million shares in the banking
KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Khazan- group last September. That placement, SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR
ah Nasional Bhd is trimming its stake in representing about 1.4% in CIMB, was (April 13): Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd is
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd by placing completed at RM4.80 per share, raising considering listing a special purpose
out 83 million shares representing 0.8% gross proceeds of RM664.5 million for acquisition company in Singapore
in the banking group in an accelerated the sovereign wealth fund following an that could raise as much as S$200
placement. accelerated bookbuilding. million (RM620.38 million), accord-
ing to people familiar with the matter.
According to a summary of the of- At the time, Khazanah said in a state-
fer sighted by theedgemarkets.com, the ment that the placement had trimmed The Malaysian independent oil and
price range is set between RM5.10 and its CIMB stake to 25.6%, and that the gas explorer has held talks with po-
RM5.28 per share for the book building exercise was part of its ongoing efforts tential advisers on the potential SPAC
that opened onWednesday and closed the to rebalance its portfolio and recycle its initial public offering, said the people,
same night. The price range represents investments into new assets in Malay- who asked not to be identified as the
a discount of up to 3.4% to the stock’s sia and globally, including new invest- information is confidential.The blank-
closing price of RM5.28 on the day. ments under its Dana Impak or Impact check company, which could raise
Fund, which is intended to catalyse new S$150 million to S$200 million, will
The sale, which will trim Khazanah’s growth areas, build Malaysia’s economic look for acquisition targets in the re-
shareholding in CIMB from 25.72% to competitiveness and increase national re- newable energy sector, the people said.
24.91%, is expected to raise between silience while driving priority socio-eco-
RM423.3 million and RM438.2 million nomic outcomes. Discussions are at an early stage
for Khazanah. Post-transaction, Khaz- and the Kuala Lumpur-based compa-
anah — CIMB’s largest shareholder — CIMB’s share price, which slumped to ny could decide not to proceed with
will be subject to a 60-day lock-up on as low as RM2.79 in end October 2020, the plan, the people said.
its stake. has since been on a recovery path, reach-
ing as high as RM5.58 in February this “As part of this long-term energy
Upsize option for this placement is to year. transition strategy, we are looking at
be confirmed. CIMB is a joint bookrun- all forms of funding structures,” a
ner for the placement. Though it saw a sharp drop to as low representative for Hibiscus said in re-
as RM4.64 last month following news sponse to Bloomberg News queries,
that the group was being sued by a doz- adding no decision has been made.
en account holders over a banking error The company declined to comment
that caused their monies to be frozen, the on a SPAC listing plan.
counter recovered to its current level of
RM5.28, which gives the group a market Singapore’s IPO market has been
capitalisation of RM53.97 billion. dominated by SPAC listings this year.
Blank-check companies raised about
US$316 million (RM1.34 billion)
through first-time share sales in the
city-state, accounting for 95% of all
the funds raised via IPOs in the coun-
try, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.

Hibiscus itself was the first SPAC
to be listed on the Malaysian bourse
in July 2011. It became an oil and
gas exploration firm a year later after
acquiring a 35% stake in Lime Pe-
troleum Plc, whose assets included
concessions in the Middle East.The
company has since grown its portfolio
to include energy assets in Australia,
Malaysia, the UK and Vietnam, ac-
cording to its website.

THURSDAY APRIL 14, 2022 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

The
world’s ƈrst
digital bank

And how and why it came to pass

I n October 1994, Stanford Credit Union in the
US became the first institution globally to let its
customers access banking functions via the new
World Wide Web, according to Forbes.

On Oct 6, 1995, Presidential became the first US
bank to offer its bank accounts over the internet.

And only in 1997 did the bank begin to offer online account

statements and real time PC banking, such as fund transfers

between accounts in the bank.

In June 1995, in Malaysia, Phileo Allied Bank launched

PalDirect, an online banking and stock trading platform, after

18 months of research and development. Transaction value

exceeded RM200 million within a month, with exponential

growth onwards.

On Aug 8, 1996, Phileo launched PALWORLD, an e-commerce

and payment platform via Windows that allowed online

shopping, airline ticketing and so on. (Note, Alibaba was founded

on April 4, 1999, and Amazon went into online bookselling in July

1995).

In September 1996, ONE Account was created by Phileo,

which combined all the deposits, loans and trading accounts of

its customers into one, and was enabled online.

While Alibaba and Amazon grew into global giants, Phileo

was forcefully taken over under the guise of consolidating the

banking sector and died prematurely. The moral of the story is

that property rights, governance and rule of law are extremely

important. This book, published in 2003, gives some insight into

the above … and some stories yet to be told.

November 2021

The book was published in 2003. Listen
to the
Limited print copies in English available on Podcast
books.theedgemarkets.com and Shopee.
Hard cover: RM70 | Soft cover: RM45
* FREE delivery within Malaysia for purchases
via books.theedgemarkets.com

OR

download the digital editions absolutely FREE.
* Available in English, Bahasa Melayu & Chinese.

Scan the QR code now for more information.

thursday april 14, 2022 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Zahid: I started charitable foundation
because I had disposable income
from my RM120,000 salary in 1997

Low Yen Yeing/The Edge

by Timothy Achariam
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Former “I state that I had never ordered any- Testifying in the
deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ah- one to useYayasan Akalbudi funds for my defence stage of
mad Zahid Hamidi told the High Court private use,” he said. his criminal trial
that he started his charitable foundation where he is charged
Yayasan Akalbudi because he had dispos- The Umno president has opted to testify with 47 charges
able income from his RM120,000 salary under oath from the witness stand, with the involving criminal
to use for charitable purposes. prosecution given the opportunity to ques- breach of trust (CBT),
tion the accused during cross-examination. corruption and
Testifying in the defence stage of his money laundering
criminal trial where he is charged with 47 Zahid also testified that his current charges in relation to
charges involving criminal breach of trust salary from the government per month is the charitable fund,
(CBT), corruption and money laundering RM50,000 as well as returns on invest- Zahid said that in
charges in relation to the charitable fund, ment of RM50,000 a month. 1997, he was earning
Zahid said that in 1997, he was earning RM120,000 a month.
RM120,000 a month. He also declared that he had RM2 mil-
lion in savings in his Bank Islam account. The offences were allegedly committed
“At that time, I was earning RM120,000 at the Affin Bank Bhd branch on Jalan
a month and I used roughly RM30,000 to On Jan 24, Justice Sequerah ordered Bunus, off Jalan Masjid India here, be-
RM40,000 for myself and my family, and Zahid to enter his defence on the 12 CBT tween Jan 13, 2014 and Dec 23, 2016.
the rest I used for charitable purposes and charges, eight for corruption and 27 for mon-
religious donations,” he said in reading ey laundering involving tens of millions of The charges, under Section 409 of the
his sworn testimony before Justice Datuk ringgit belonging to the foundation. Penal Code, provide for a jail term of be-
Collin Lawrence Sequerah onWednesday tween two and 20 years, and with whipping
(April 13). The judge ruled that the prosecution and a fine upon conviction.
had proven all the ingredients of all the
Zahid said that he was earning charges and successfully made out a prima Zahid was also charged with eight
RM120,000 a month from being the chair- facie case against the accused. counts of bribery, where he was alleged
man of Bank Simpanan Nasional as well as to have accepted bribes from three com-
the chief executive officer (CEO) of four On March 19,2021,the prosecution closed panies, namely Mastoro Kenny IT Con-
different companies. its case after calling 99 witnesses, including sultant & Services, Datasonic Group Bhd
Zahid’s former special officer Datuk SeriWan and Profound Radiance Sdn Bhd, as an
He said he was the CEO of Kretam Ahmad Wan Omar, legal firm Lewis & Co inducement for him, in his capacity as the
Holdings Bhd,Tekala Corp Bhd, Ramatex partner B Muralidharan,money changer Omar home minister then, to help the companies
Bhd dan Seng Hup Bhd. Ali Abdullah and Zahid’s former executive sec- to obtain MyEG projects, supply passport
retary Major Mazlina Mazlan @ Ramly. chips and to be appointed as the operator
“My monthly earnings from salaries, of the migrant visa one-stop centres in Pa-
allowances and bonuses from all five en- The trial began on Nov 18, 2019. kistan and Nepal respectively.
tities were roughly about RM120,000 a For the CBT charges, Zahid was alleged
month,” he said. to have used the funds to make six pay- He was charged with committing the of-
ments for his personal credit card usage, fences, framed under Section 16(a)(B) of
“My impression was that I had this sala- insurance policy and licences for his per- the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
ry to give for the well-being of the rakyat,” sonal vehicles, remittances to a law firm Act 2009, at the Maybank branch at Data-
he said, adding that charity had been his and contributions to the Royal Malaysia ran Maybank on Jalan Maarof, Bangsar here
life’s motto. Police Football Association. between July 15, 2016 and March 15, 2018.

He added that it was his parents’ wish Zahid also faces 27 charges of money
for him to begin a charity foundation to laundering by engaging in direct transac-
help others. tions involving income from illegal activities
between March 29, 2016 and April 11, 2018.
The Bagan Datuk Member of Parlia-
ment said that this was why he decided All the offences were allegedly commit-
to start a charitable foundation that year ted at Malayan Banking Bhd, the Dataran
known as “Yayasan Budi”, which was later Maybank branch, Level 1, Tower A, No.
changed to “Yayasan Akalbudi”. 1 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar and Marhaba
Enterprise Sdn Bhd, LG 1.15, Fahren-
“The reason I startedYayasan Budi was heit88, 179 Jalan Bukit Bintang here be-
to conduct religious and charitable works tween March 29, 2016 and April 11, 2018.
for all people who need it and not just the
people of Bagan Datuk only,” he said.

He further testified that he had never
asked anyone to use funds from Yayasan
Akalbudi for his own personal use.

thursday april 14, 2022 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Former Madinah: I was Prior to this, the witness agreed that she
auditor-general (AG) Tan Sri Madinah not aware no was not involved with the auditing process
Mohamed admitted in the High Court confirmation of 1MDB and that an auditee cannot in-
on Wednesday (April 13) that she was not letter was sent struct the auditor doing the audit to do
aware that there was no confirmation let- something.
ter sent to 1Malaysia Development Bhd to 1MDB before
(1MDB) before the final audit report done final audit tabled The 12th prosecution witness also
by the National Audit Department was sent agreed that the finalisation of the 1MDB
to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). to PAC audit report was done during Ambrin’s ten-
ure and that Ambrin was the ultimate au-
Madinah, the 12th prosecution witness by Hafiz Yatim ditor general.
in Datuk Seri Najib Razak and former theedgemarkets.com
1MDB chief executive officer Arul Kanda Ambrin was AG from 2006 to Febru-
Kandasamy’s audit tampering trial, agreed said the 1MDB audit was done during her ary 2017.
with the latter’s counsel Datuk N Sivanan- predecessor Tan Sri Ambrin Buang’s time
than that the issuance of a confirmation sometime in 2015 and 2016. Madinah, also when asked during
letter was an important step in the audit- cross-examination by Sivananthan, said she
ing process. She was also asked by Arul Kanda’s law- was not aware that her predecessor Ambrin
yer about the non-presence of a manage- had told the court that he was in full con-
“I am not aware that this particular step trol of the report.
(confirmation letter) did not take place and ment letter issued by her department
it should have been done,” she agreed. after an exit conference was done, to She had previously testified in the trial
which Madinah replied that she was that the 1MDB audit report had been tam-
Sivananthan: Would you agree that the not aware that such a letter was not pered with and had reiterated that notion
confirmation letter is a final opportunity issued by her department. earlier when she testified at the PAC pro-
for the auditee (1MDB) to challenge or Madinah agreed with Sivanan- ceedings in 2018.
amend the findings? than that the management let-
ter should have been issued. During the present audit tampering
Madinah:Yes. trial, Madinah had told the court she
Sivananthan: It is an important step Madinah: I am not aware was shocked that the 1MDB report was
in the auditing process? that this particular step tampered with after being told about
Madinah: Yes. (confirmation letter) did not this by audit director Datuk Nor Sal-
Sivananthan: Are you aware that wani Muhammad.
such a confirmation letter to 1MDB take place and it should have
does not exist in the National Audit been done. Madinah was testifying in Najib and Arul
Department files? Kanda’s trial with regards to the purported
Madinah: No, I am not Low Yen Yeing/ tampering of the 1MDB report that was
aware. the edge prepared and tabled to the PAC.
Sivananthan: Is it possi-
ble your department missed The hearing before Justice Mohamed
out this step? Zaini Mazlan will continue on May 20,
Madinah:Yes. with the re-examination of Madinah by
Madinah, who was AG appointed senior Deputy Public Prosecu-
from February 2017 to 2019, tor Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram and possibly,
the continued testimony of Najib’s former
principal private secretary Tan Sri Shukry
Mohd Salleh.

MACC: Probe into US$10 mil Rohana Rozhan allegedly
received from Tim Leissner still ongoing

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):The Ma- by Adam Aziz Goldman’s arrangement of 1MDB’s bond
laysian Anti-Corruption Commission theedgemarkets.com issuance totalling US$6.5 billion, testified
(MACC) said it is still investigating in a US court in late February this year that
the allegation that Datuk Rohana via text with the media. he gave Rohana the US$10 million for the
Rozhan had received US$10 As such,Azam asked mem- property she wanted after she threatened to
million,reportedly money from expose his involvement in the 1MDB scan-
1Malaysia Development Bhd bers of the public not to spec- dal towards the end of their relationship.
(1MDB), from former Gold- ulate about the case.
man Sach Group Inc banker Rohana, who was the group chief ex-
Tim Leissner. He was speaking in re- ecutive officer of Astro Malaysia Holdings
sponse to news reports, in- Bhd from 2011 until January 2019, gave
“According to anti-money cluding Utusan which wrote, her statement to the MACC on the mat-
laundering division director and citing sources, that Rohana had ter on Feb 25.
deputy commissioner Mohamad Zamri agreed to return the US$10 mil- Read also: Perak airport land sale: MACC
Zainul Abidin, the investigation process is lion — which is the price of a London records statements from three witnesses
still ongoing in relation to the related as- home that she allegedly bought in 2013 Click here
sets,” said MACC chief commissionerTan using monies given by Leissner — to the
Sri Azam Baki in a brief response shared government.
Leissner, who received kickbacks from

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AirAsia Malaysia BIMB denies
to reinstate using third party
to broker shares
flights to India

by Seah Eu Hen by Sulhi Khalid
theedgemarkets.com theedgemarkets.com

SEPANG (April 13): AirAsia Malaysia said (From left) Bo, Sushma and Riad at the press KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Bank Is-
onWednesday (April 13) that the budget air- conference on Wednesday (April 13). Bo says that lam Malaysia Bhd (BIMB) has reminded
line is preparing to reinstate flights from the members of the public who are interested
country to India starting from May to cater AirAsia Malaysia plans to quickly re-establish in its shares to place deposits and invest
to an expected increase in travel demand in flights to India as Malaysia is seen as a gateway to with licensed brokerage companies.
line with Covid-19 vaccination-driven reo-
pening of international borders. the ASEAN region. The group said it is aware of the exist-
ence of a scam share brokerage website
In a statement, AirAsia Malaysia chief “This is why we are accelerating and we using a logo similar to its official logo to
executive officer (CEO) Riad Asmat said want to quickly establish as many flights as cheat the public into investing in BIMB
the airline is preparing for a resumption of possible in various parts of India. shares.
flights to many core destinations in India
including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, “This is to highlight to everyone in Ma- “BIMB wishes to reiterate that it has
Kochi, Kolkata andTiruchirappalli. laysia, India and across the region as well no affiliation with the website and will not
that [flight] connectivity has started. use such a method or investment plat-
The statement was issued to reporters form to obtain the public’s investment
covering the airline’s press conference here “We will continue [to expand more in BIMB shares.
in conjunction with the announcement of routes] and hopefully by December, we will
the planned resumption of its Malaysia-In- return to pre-pandemic levels,” he added. “Customers and members of the pub-
dia flights, which were halted due to global lic are advised to exercise caution and not
pandemic-driven movement restrictions. Sushma said in the statement that In- fall prey to any fake websites or social
dia already reopened both its international media accounts using BIMB’s logo and
“To celebrate the resumption of 30 addi- borders to tourists in October 2021 and its corporate information,” BIMB said in a
tional weekly flights to India launching this commercial airspace from March 27, 2022. statement.
month and next month, AirAsia Malaysia
is offering guests and travel agents a 20% The Malaysian government, meanwhile, Mohd Izwan/The Edge
discount to all Indian destinations from Ma- announced the reopening of the country’s
laysia through the airasia Super App from international borders from April 1 in tandem The group also advised customers to
today until May 1, 2022, along with a com- with the transition to the Covid-19 endem- refer to and use BIMB’s official platform
plimentary 20kg check-in baggage allowance ic phase on vaccination progress since the for any transaction.
for each booking. outbreak began in early 2020.
It also reminded customers to never
“Book now by clicking on the ‘Flights’ “With the opening of both countries’ bor- disclose personal details to anyone, includ-
icon on the Super App for the travel period ders, we are confident that two-way traffic ing their username (ID), account number,
between May 1, 2022 and March 25, 2023,” will resume smoothly and grow progressively. credit/debit card number, PIN/password,
the statement read. and i-access code (IAC).
“This is an important step in reconnect-
Riad said India is one of AirAsia Malay- ing India and Malaysia as people-to-people “BIMB would never request custom-
sia’s most important markets. connectivity lies at the foundation of this ers’ details nor instruct them to perform
important partnership. any deposit or payment via a third-party
“We have been preparing rigorously to platform, website or link,” the group said.
assure all of our guests a safe, seamless and “AirAsia Malaysia has been offering low-
convenient travel experience.With borders cost flights to India since 2008, connecting “BIMB would like to advise the pub-
being reopened across the region, AirAsia travellers from Kuala Lumpur to multiple lic to remain cautious and not fall prey
Malaysia will continue to review and add destinations in India.We warmly welcome to scam tactics via phone calls or Macau
onto our expanding network to cater for the resumption of direct commercial flights Scam, where the callers pretend to rep-
increasing demand for air travel, including between India and Malaysia after two long resent the regulatory authorities.
the 30 weekly flights from Malaysia to India years,” Sushma added.
launching by the end of May. “Those who receive such suspicious
Capital A Bhd wholly-owns AirAsia Avi- calls are advised to disconnect the call
“Furthermore, with a total of 71 weekly ation Group, which oversees four airlines, immediately and not follow an unknown
flights to be operated by the end of 2022, namely AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Philip- person’s instructions to perform any bank-
AirAsia Malaysia will be soon returning to pines, AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indo- ing transaction,” added BIMB.
pre-Covid-19 capacity, flying more than 140 nesia.
weekly services to and from India,” he added.
Capital A, which was formerly known as
Also present at the press conference were AirAsia Group Bhd, closed up one sen or
AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd group CEO Bo 1.45% at 70 sen onWednesday, which val-
Lingam and High Commission of India in ued it at about RM2.91 billion.
Kuala Lumpur official C Sushma.
The company’s latest-reported number of
Bo said that AirAsia Malaysia plans to issued shares stood at 4.16 billion, according
quickly re-establish flights to India as Malay- to a filing with Bursa Malaysia on April 6.
sia is seen as a gateway to the ASEAN region.
Read also: Capital A to launch flying taxis in
Southeast Asia – report Click here

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Malaysia Aviation Sunway, Malaysia Aviation ink MoU
Group says its to explore broad collaborative initiatives
business on
track to become by Syafiqah Salim of the MoU between the two companies
theedgemarkets.com on Wednesday (April 13).
profitable by 2023
SUBANG JAYA (April 13): Malaysia The MoU is for a period of two years,
by Syafiqah Salim Aviation Group and Sunway Group and its material impact would be broad,
theedgemarkets.com have signed a memorandum of under- according to Malaysia Aviation Group
standing (MoU) to explore wide-rang- chief sustainability officer Philip See.
SUBANG JAYA (April 13): Malaysia Avi- ing joint initiatives that include new
ation Group Bhd, the parent company of business opportunities, joint marketing “That is because our [Malaysia Avia-
Malaysia Airlines Bhd, said its business is campaigns, and branding and promo- tion] customer segments that we operate
on track to become profitable by 2023. tional activities. in are also so broad. As we see how we
have moved from the pandemic phase
“We are determined to be profitable by Sunway Malls & Theme Parks chief to the transition to endemic, our cus-
2023. We also want our business to reach executive officer HC Chan said the col- tomer segments are evolving as well.We
pre-pandemic levels by 2024 and 2025,” laboration aims to leverage each oth- are just at the beginning of the journey
said the group’s chief sustainability officer, er’s strengths and strong presence in a [for this MoU],” he said.
Philip See. range of industries including aviation,
property, education, medical tourism Through this MoU, Malaysia Air-
See was speaking to reporters onWednes- and hospitality. lines will be appointed as the preferred
day (April 13) after the group signed a Mem- airline of Sunway, reflecting Sunway’s
orandum of Understanding (MoU) with “Malaysia remains a touristic des- confidence in the airline’s premium and
Sunway Group, to explore joint initiatives tination that has so much to offer. We reliable services across the airline’s net-
including new business opportunities, joint believe with this partnership, it is time work, both locally and internationally.
marketing campaigns,and branding and pro- for revitalisation and recovery for these Malaysia Aviation is the parent company
motional activities in a number of indus- sectors once again, putting Malaysia on of Malaysia Airlines.
tries including aviation, real estate, education, the map of the world,” Chan told report- Click here for the full story
medical tourism and hospitality. ers at a media briefing after the signing

See, who is also the chief executive officer target by 2025. Achieving that is not easy
of Malaysia Aviation-owned Firefly, said because the airline business has very low
the group’s broader goal from the partner- margins,” he said.
ship with Sunway is to increase its ancillary
revenue from the 3%-4% range in 2019. He added: “The expansion [of the
group] involves many things. First of all,
See said Malaysia Aviation aims to dou- it’s about going beyond selling airline tick-
ble its ancillary revenue by 2025, but did ets, getting a bigger share of the wallet from
not specify any target. other areas of the travel experience and
changing certain business models. That’s
“We can’t tell you the exact target for why this partnership with Sunway is very
this partnership.We have set up a long-term important.”
business plan, and the goal is to be at the

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Zhulian Zhulian 1Q net tuating foreign currency exchange.
Corp Bhd’s net profit jumped 116.01% profit more The group also cautioned that the
to RM26.15 million for the first quar- than doubles,
ter ended Feb 28, 2022 (1QFY22), from strengthening or weakening of the ringgit
RM12.11 million a year earlier, thanks declares three against the US dollar will have an impact
mainly to a RM14 million net gain from sen dividend on its performance as all export revenues
the disposal of land in Indonesia. are transacted in the US currency.
by Shazni Ong
Quarterly revenue, however, slipped theedgemarkets.com “The group ensures its business’ long-
16.59% to RM34.57 million from term survival by adapting to the con-
RM41.44 million previously due to over- stant market demand changes whenever
all weak consumer sentiment associat- possible while it remains cautious about
ed with Covid-19, the group said in a the economic impact caused by the pro-
bourse filing. longed Covid-19 pandemic.

The multilevel marketing (MLM) “The group is committed to continu-
group declared its first interim dividend ously improving its business operational
of three sen per share, payable on June 8. efficiency and maintaining sufficient cash
flows in the year 2022,” it added.
On prospects, Zhulian said its MLM
business is closely linked to the sentiment Besides Malaysia, Zhulian also
of general consumer market and the fluc- operates in Thailand, Indonesia and
Myanmar.

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):The UMW UMW’s As a result, UMW added, Perodua had
group’s automotive sales continued to im- automotive sales achieved 25% of its sales target for the
prove in March 2022 as both UMW Toy- up 48% m-o-m in year of 247,800 units.
ota Motor (UMWT) and UMW associate
company Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua March 2022 Its top-selling models in the first quar-
Sdn Bhd (Perodua) registered better fig- ter of the year were the recently face-lifted
ures compared to the previous month. by Surin Murugiah Myvi, followed by the Axia and Bezza.
theedgemarkets.com
In a statement on Wednesday (April While the Covid-19 pandemic and
13), UMW said it delivered 35,246 units in the previous month. component supply issues continue to lin-
in March, 48% higher than the 23,853 In the first quarter of 2022, Perodua ger, Perodua is reportedly working closely
units sold in February, as it continued to with its suppliers and dealers to minimise
ramp up production to fulfil its encour- sold 61,624 units, 6% higher than the the impact on its customers.
aging outstanding order book. 57,909 units registered in the same pe-
riod of 2021. UMW Holdings Bhd president and
It said UMWT’s sales surged by 32% group chief executive officer Datuk Ah-
to 8,487 units in March, compared with mad Fuaad Mohd Kenali said the group
the 6,432 units registered in the preced- was pleased with the improved sales reg-
ing month. istered by both UMWT and Perodua in
March, supported by the strong order
In the first quarter of 2022, it added, book.
UMWT sold 22,447 units, 31% higher
than the 17,151 units sold in the corre- “Both companies are on track to
sponding period of 2021. achieve their sales targets for the year,
and are ramping up production based on
The top-selling models in the first the available capacity to expedite the de-
quarter of this year were the Hilux,Vios, livery of vehicles to customers.
Corolla Cross and Yaris, it noted.
“Furthermore, both companies plan
The group also said UMWT launched to introduce several all-new and facelift
Season 5 of theToyota Gazoo Racing Fes- models this year to drive sales and achieve
tival in March. their targets,” he said.

Meanwhile, it said Perodua’s sales in- At 10.30am onWednesday, UMW had
creased to 26,759 units in March, 54% dipped two sen to RM3.33, valuing it at
higher than the 17,421 units registered RM3.89 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Digi. Digi confident of “We look forward to the exciting
Com Bhd is confident of delivering a ro- delivering robust prospect of creating a Malaysian market
bust performance in 2022, underpinned performance in leader through the proven capabilities
by sharp execution of its strategic prior- of the two established operating com-
ities, said chief executive officer (CEO) 2022 — CEO panies and the strength of two inter-
Albern Murty. national telecommunications leaders,
Bernama Axiata and Telenor.
He said postpaid, fibre and business
are the key growth drivers, and Digi Murty: We look forward to working closely “This underpins a shared vision to
will continue to bring best-value prod- with the government in charting Malaysia’s create value through product and mar-
uct propositions and innovative digital ket innovation and high-quality data
solutions to the market. 5G deployment. connectivity to all Malaysian consum-
ers and businesses to power the nation’s
“Our business modernisation journey digital ambitions in the years to come,”
is progressing well, with critical infor- he added.
mation technology transformation pro-
jects in the pipeline to enhance digital Murty said 5G networks are among
experience for our customers and boost the critical infrastructure in the devel-
organisational capabilities. opment of this digital ambition and Digi
is committed to supporting the govern-
“We continue to work closely with ment’s MyDIGITAL initiative.
the Malaysian Communications and
Multimedia Commission, including “[We] look forward to working closely
on Universal Service Provision initia- with the government in charting Malay-
tives, which will strengthen our ability sia’s 5G deployment.
to provide high-quality and affordable
digital connectivity to communities in “We continue to draw inspiration
rural and remote areas,” he said in Digi’s from our customers, who are the life-
Integrated Annual Report 2021 released blood of our business, recognising that
on Wednesday (April 13). we play a crucial role in enabling them
to make real, positive impact, big and
On another note, Murty said the pro- small, in the world today,” he added.
posed merger of Celcom Axiata Bhd and
Digi’s wholly-owned unit Digi Telecom- To date, Digi has 10.3 million con-
munications Sdn Bhd announced last sumers and business customers, and it
year is proceeding as planned at this is offering mobile connectivity, Internet
time. services and digital solutions through
the 4G Long-Term Evolution network.

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Dagang DNeX’s North According to him, further discussions
NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) said its recent Sea oilfield were ongoing with the UK regulator
North Sea oilfield development’s decar- development (NSTA) and supply chain to decarbonise
bonisation options may include wind the oilfield development through integra-
power generation. decarbonisation tion with floating offshore wind.
options may
This follows Monday’s announcement Based on the DNeX’s 2021 annual
that its 90%-owned subsidiary Ping Petro- include floating report, Ping is an independent upstream
leum Ltd’s final investment decision on its offshore wind company focused on shallow water offshore
proposed crude oil production within the power generation production and development opportunities
Avalon oilfield in the North Sea was antici- in the North Sea, the UK and Malaysia.
pated for later this year after the UK’s North by Shazni Ong
SeaTransition Authority (NSTA) indicated theedgemarkets.com It specialises in late-life oil and gas (O&G)
it had “no objection” to Ping’s planned de- properties, with an emphasis on brownfield
velopment concept for the oilfield. Shahril Basri/The Edge redevelopment of producing fields.

“We are not able to share more details He also said the proposed development The company has an office in Aberdeen
on the development yet as we are firming concept comprised tie-back of Avalon oil and a 50% stake in Anasuria Operating Co
up our development concept for final in- production wells to a reused floating pro- (AOC), a joint venture with fellow Ma-
vestment decision and field development duction storage and offloading facility, which laysian firm. AOC operates the Anasuria
plan for regulatory approval. had spare ullage to provide an offtake route cluster of fields in the central North Sea,
for nearby stranded oil discoveries. 110 miles east of Aberdeen.
“[Notwithstanding that] decarbonisa-
tion options and pursuit of net zero ob- “A successful low-cost O&G operator,
jectives are being evaluated as part of the Ping devotes its efforts towards preserving
development plan, which may include a energy supply and exploring possibilities
floating offshore wind power generation,” by acquiring important production assets
the company said in an email query reply in fiscally transparent locations.
to theedgemarkets.com on Wednesday.
“Ping continues to seek new strategic
DNeX group managing directorTan Sri partnerships as well as further acquisitions
Syed Zainal Abidin Syed MohamedTahir towards building an attractive portfolio of
said in Monday’s statement that the next exploration and production assets,” it said
step for Ping was to submit the company’s in the report.
field development plan for Avalon to the
NSTA by the third quarter of 2022. Ping is led by its managing director
Zainal ‘Abidin Abd Jalil who was appoint-
Syed Zainal Abidin noted that receiving ed on June 30 last year. He is also an ex-
“no objection” to the proposed develop- ecutive director of DNeX Group’s energy
ment concept from the NSTA represent- business unit as well as a former Malakoff
ed a material opportunity to expand and Corp Bhd chief executive officer.
diversify Ping’s portfolio of oil assets in
full accordance with the UK’s production As at 2.59pm, DNeX’s share price
and emissions-reduction targets. was two sen or 1.94% higher at RM1.05,
bringing a market capitalisation of
RM3.28 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Global Crypto platform over seven months, and it noted that users
cryptocurrency platform Luno has gained Luno says in South Africa, the company’s most active
more than 10 million customers across 40 market, had the longest holding time at an
countries, and Malaysia is one of its strong- Malaysia one of its average of 10 months.
est markets as 12% of its new customers over strongest markets
the past six months are based in the country. Meanwhile, in the past 12 months, Sin-
Bernama gaporean users had the highest value of
Luno Malaysia country manager Aar- first deposits at US$76 (about RM321.21),
on Tang (pic) said on average, Malaysians compared to Nigeria, one of Luno’s big-
deposit RM100 when they open an ac- gest markets that recorded an average first
count and tend to hold on for an average deposit of US$10.
of eight months.
Since its launch in 2013, Luno has ena-
“In the past year, 32% of new customers bled over US$52 billion of cryptocurrency
bought Bitcoin, while 23% bought Ethere- to be safely transacted and its customers
um,” he said in a statement onWednesday have stored in excess of US$1 billion.
(April 13).
“Luno aims to bring crypto to over one
He noted that the number of female us- billion people by 2030, and there is incred-
ers in Malaysia had grown more than sev- ible demand for cryptocurrencies in many
enfold in the past year, rising from 16,000 emerging and frontier markets.
in 2020 to more than 120,000 in 2021.
“In the last year, Luno grew its cus-
In the past six months, Luno had secured tomer base in Indonesia by 83%, almost
one million new customers, and its customer doubling its customers in the region, and
base had grown 35% year-on-year. provided one million more South Africans
with access to cryptocurrencies for the first
It said that as of March 11, 2022, the time,” it added.
average holding time for a Luno user was

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KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): RHB Re- RHB Research from NYK Line’s logistics network put it
search expectsTasco Bhd to book a robust seesTasco on on a path towards steady volume growth.
year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in the upcom- track for record-
ing results for the fourth quarter ended breaking year The duo continue to like the firm for its
March 31, 2022 (4QFY22) on strong per- undemanding valuation and positive earn-
formances underpinned by buoyant volume by Tan Siew Mung ings momentum despite Covid-19-related
throughputs and favourable freight rates. theedgemarkets.com challenges.

Its analysts Lee Meng Horng and Raja (+0.3% and +10.1% y-o-y). This is alongside multiple growth ave-
Nur Aqilah Raja Ali said in a note on This would be further complemented nues driven by capacity expansion, tax in-
Wednesday (April 13) that they expectTas- centives and forays into new markets, such
co to continue its strong growth momen- by the projected 5.3% to 6.3% gross do- as food retail, healthcare and e-commerce,
tum and end FY22 with record earnings. mestic product growth for 2022, driven in they said.
part by gross exports that are projected to
Underlying operations would be buoyed grow by 10.9%, they added. However, they left their earnings esti-
by the strength of its contract logistics mates unchanged, maintaining their con-
solutions, as well as the robust growth for They also said the tightness in air and servative stance.
ocean and airfreight forwarding, on elevat- ocean freight markets is expected to persist
ed freight rates, they said. in view of port congestions, which points The analysts maintained “buy” onTasco
to a positive outlook forTasco’s freight for- but revised down their target price (TP) to
Besides, they said tax savings from its warding segment as freight rates remain ele- RM1.90 from RM2.14.
integrated logistics services scheme are vated and are further supported by demand
also expected to kick in from this quarter from a diverse clientele base across vari- The TP is now pegged at 19 times tar-
onwards. ous economic sectors, namely its sizeable get price-to-earnings (P/E) from 22 times
exposure to the electrical and electronics FY23 forecast earnings per share after tak-
Tasco’s results are slated to be released segment and new business wins. ing into account the rising yield environ-
on April 28. ment and higher risk premiums related to
They think Tasco’s ease of access to external events, they said.
Meanwhile, with the impending broader in-demand cargo spaces — in the face of
economic reopening, both analysts expect supply chain disruption — to meet cus- At 11.6 times forward P/E, they said the
stable growth in volume throughputs to be tomers’ urgent shipping needs and backing stock trades at an undemanding multiple to
a boon to an integrated logistics solutions its historical mean and regional third-party
provider like Tasco. logistics peers.

Citing the Department of Statistics At the time of writing on Wednesday,
Malaysia, the analysts said the export Tasco had risen two sen or 1.68% to
and import volume indices continued RM1.21, valuing the group at RM952
to see uptrends in January (+7% and million.
+18% y-o-y respectively) and February
Over the past one year, the counter has
risen 5.22%.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): Hong Le- HLIB Research anese buyers stock up in preparation for
ong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research cautiously the Japanese fiscal new year, which started
said it is “cautiously optimistic” on Heve- on April 1, 2022.
aBoard Bhd’s FY22 prospects, as the tem- optimistic on
porary halt in the group’s particleboard HeveaBoard, “Management also shared that they have
factory’s operations in January of this year keeps it on ‘buy’ submitted applications to bring in foreign
will be partially offset by the shipment of withTP of 63 sen workers mainly to its RTA segment.With
deferred finished goods from the previous authorities in the midst of relaxing the in-
quarter, coupled with strong sales volume by Izzul Ikram take of foreign workers as well as the open-
of the group’s ready-to-assemble (RTA) theedgemarkets.com ing of Malaysia’s borders on April 1, the
furniture segment. worker intake will enhance the capacity of
its RTA segment significantly,” he added.
In a note on Wednesday (April 13),
HLIB analyst Tan Kai Shuen said Hevea- The HLIB analyst said that in order
Board decided to temporarily halt its parti- to mitigate a labour shortage risk, Hevea-
cleboard segment operations in January to Board is to spend RM10 million in capi-
clear finished goods in its warehouse and tal expenditure (capex) to automate more
rebuild its raw material inventory, follow- processes in its RTA segment.
ing a build-up in the former and the latter
running low. “In addition, HeveaBoard is also spend-
ing another RM20 million to construct a
“HeveaBoard took the opportunity dur- new hostel that will be in full compliance
ing the downtime period to perform its to the Housing Act with a capacity of 1,500
two-week annual maintenance.The factory workers for its RTA segment,” he added.
resumed its operations in February and raw
material supply is back to a healthy level Meanwhile, on a good note for the
by March,” he added. group’s particleboard segment, Tan said
the segment’s sales volume to the Japanese
While HeveaBoard’s particleboard seg- market has increased significantly since the
ment was undergoing a momentary hiccup, second half of FY21, with the latter now
Tan said the group’s RTA segment ran at being one of its major export markets.
full force to cater for an increased sales Click here for the full story
volume from the Japanese market as Jap-

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CoA sets aside High Court
dismissal of Azmin’s bid to strike

out Gombak voters’ suit

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13): The by Tarani Palani On Feb 24, 2020, Mohamed Azmin,
Court of Appeal (CoA) has set aside an theedgemarkets.com who was then PKR deputy president, re-
earlier High Court decision to dismiss signed from the party after it announced
Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed ‘Representations were under the that it would be sacking him and oth-
Azmin Ali’s application to strike out a banner of PH’ ers over the ‘Sheraton Move’. He later
suit where 10 Gombak voters were su- Mohamed Azmin’s counsel Nizamuddin on joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia
ing him for alleged deceit and breach of Wednesday argued that the Gombak MPs (Bersatu).
fiduciary duty. made no personal representations as per the
voters’ statement of claim (SOC) but rath- Grey area over MP’s freedom of
This comes as the CoA allowed Mo- er only made representations under “the association
hamed Azmin’s appeal on the matter on banner of” Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto. Nizamuddin also argued that the matter
Wednesday (April 13). would also infringe upon Mohamed Az-
JusticeYaacob also pointed out that it min’s freedom of association as per Arti-
In a unanimous decision, a three-mem- has been established that a political man- cle 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.
ber panel led by Justice DatukYaacob Md ifesto is not binding by law.
Sam said it found that there were appeala- “It is his right to be associated in PKR,
ble errors by the High Court and that the To this, Shanmuga agreed that a mani- to be disassociated from PKR and later
respondents’ claim was “bound to fail”. festo is not binding. However, he said the [to be associated] in Bersatu,” he said.
voters were not asking for the manifesto
“We find that the respondents’ claim to be enforced or were only solely con- Shanmuga said the Bukit Antarabang-
is obviously unsustainable.The action by cerned with the manifesto. Rather, they sa assemblyman’s freedom of association
respondents is bound to fail,” he said, were looking at the “combination of ac- was not disputed, however there was a
adding that there was no necessity for tions by Azmin”. grey area surrounding his individual free-
the matter to go to full trial. dom and his fiduciary duties as an MP.
“It is a combination of actions done
He also added that with this, the earlier by Azmin. First, he said he was stand- “But what is the interplay between his
High Court decision is set aside. ing to get rid of corrupt public officials. individual and fiduciary duties as MP
Then, he contributed to the collapse of is what we say ought to be considered
Justices Datuk Lee Heng Cheong and the government causing his expulsion from at trial,” he said, adding that this was a
Datuk Hashim Hamzah also sat on the his party and formed a coalition with the novel question.
panel. very people he said were corrupt,” he said,
highlighting the SOC. He also added that the voters were
The panel delivered their decision on seeking a declaration that Mohamed Az-
Wednesday following submissions from “The key is not [the] manifesto but min had breached his fiduciary duty, not
both parties during proceedings via Zoom. what [Mohamed] Azmin said was his to compel him to be removed from his
commitment to the manifesto,” added parliamentary or state seat.
The panel added that as this was a Shanmuga.
matter of public interest, the court made Nizamuddin had also submitted that
no order as to cost. it cannot be established if the voters had
voted for Mohamed Azmin or if their bal-
Mohamed Azmin, who is also Interna- lots were not categorised as spoiled votes.
tional Trade and Industry Minister, was
represented by Nizamuddin Hamid and He contended that as per election laws,
Nurul Najwa Zainuddin. While the re- if the ballot papers have been destroyed,
spondents were represented by K Shan- mere oral evidence was insufficient.
muga, Kee HuiYee, NYohendra, Zarifah
Zuhayra and Surendra Ananth. To this Shanmuga argued that oral
evidence was permissible as per the Evi-
Mohamed Azmin is appealing High dence Act 1950 in the event that original
Court Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir’s deci- contents had been destroyed.
sion to dismiss the former’s application
to strike out the suit. Amongst other things, he argued that
it was for the trial judge to assess the
In delivering his decision in June last voters’ oral evidence if they indeed voted
year, Justice Akhtar said there were tri- for Mohamed Azmin.
able issues in the matter. The trial was
set to take place from June 7 to June 10 When contacted, counsel Yohendra
this year. said he was still awaiting instructions
from his clients on whether to appeal
The suit was filed in November 2020
by 10 registered voters from the Gom- this decision.
bak parliamentary constituency against
Mohamed Azmin for alleged de- Datuk Seri Mohamed
ceit and breach of fiduciary Azmin Ali
duty through the “Sheraton
Move” that caused the Paka- Mohd Suhaimi Mohamed Yusuf/The Edge
tan Harapan government to
collapse in February 2020.

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PUTRAJAYA (April 13): A three-member Country Danga the Housing Development Act (Control
Federal Court bench on Wednesday (April Bay loses appeal and Licensing Act) 1966 (HDA).
13) dismissed a motion for leave to appeal
by Johor developer Country Danga Bay Sdn at apex court The tribunal had previously awarded the
Bhd against damages awarded to seven buy- over late delivery property owners between RM13,834.78
ers over late delivery of their service apart- and RM32,682.26 each in damages for the
ments. Some of the buyers received vacant claims late delivery of their parcels in the apart-
possession more than four years late. ment block.
by Hafiz Yatim
Chief JusticeTunTengku MaimunTuan theedgemarkets.com They had paid the deposits for their re-
Mat ruled that the developer did not pass the spective properties between May 17, 2013
threshold set under Section 96 of the Courts In civil cases at the apex court, leave and Oct 5, 2013 while the sales and pur-
of Judicature Act 1964 for the court to grant (permission) has to be gained before the chase agreements (SPAs) were signed on
leave (permission) to hear merits of the case. merits of an appeal can be heard on ques- Dec 30, 2013.
tions of law.
Country Danga Bay was also ordered The developer was under contract to
to pay a total sum of RM50,000 in costs Last July, the Court of Appeal also dis- complete the properties within 48 months.
to the seven house buyers. missed the developer’s appeal for a judi-
cial review, and upheld the decision of the Vacant possession of the properties was
“The court was not persuaded to grant Kuala Lumpur High Court and theTribu- given between Sept 25, 2017 and March 11,
leave for the case due to settled case laws nal of Homebuyers Claims that awarded 2019, leading to the buyers claiming LAD.
that had been previously decided,”Tengku damages to the seven buyers.
Maimun said. A representative of the affected house
The appellate bench found there was buyers, Justin Leong said the home owners
Represented by senior counsel Datuk no misdirection by then High Court judge could breathe a huge sigh of relief follow-
Dr Cyrus Das,Yap Yeow Han and Lilian Datuk Nordin Hassan (now a Court of ing the win as the developer had dragged
Saw, the company had posed five questions Appeal judge) and ruled that the tribu- the buyers through four Malaysian courts
of law to the bench that also comprised nal itself had the jurisdiction to hear the over a period of four years.
Federal Court judges Datuk P Nalini and liquidated ascertained damages (LAD)
Datuk Mohd Zabidin Md Diah. claims filed within the time frame that is He claimed that some of the properties
set out under Section 16N(2)(a) or (b) of bought are damaged and require exten-
The decision on Wednesday was con- sive repairs due to water leakage and poor
firmed by the housebuyers’ counsel Viola workmanship.
Lettice DeCruz to theedgemarkets.com.
She appeared with Claudia Lynette Silva. “The developer is currently running out
of funds and not paying monthly mainte-
Lawyers Albert Soo and Koh Kean nance for its unsold units. As house buyers,
Kang appeared for the National House- we may take recovery actions to auction
buyers Association. off the developer’s assets if the developer
is unable to pay up,” Leong added.

KUALA LUMPUR (April 13):The first dose PICKids: First dose Covid-19 cases and vaccination
of the Covid-19 vaccine under the National of vaccine won’t be progress in Malaysia
COVID-19 Immunisation Programme for Chil- offered after May
dren (PICKids) will not be offered after May On April 12, 2022 45,550
15, said Deputy Health Minister I Datuk Dr 15 — MOH 8,283
Noor Azmi Ghazali. Daily vaccine doses administered 97.6
Bernama
He said the deadline was set by the Cov- Daily booster administered 67.8
id-19 Immunisation Task Force for Children obtained for a fee at private facilities,” he said.
(CITF-C) due to the low take-up of the vac- However, he said the deadline would not % of adult population received
cine which could lead to high vaccine wastage. two-dose vaccination
involve vaccination for children born in 2017
“In order to avoid wastage of children’s who have not reached the age of five on May % of adult population received
Covid-19 Comirnaty vaccine that is not used 15, adding that vaccination details for this group booster shots
within six months after being released by the will be announced soon.
manufacturer, a deadline must be set. Click here for the full story On April 12, 2022

“Therefore, from May 16 this year the Min- Read also: Number of new cases 9,002
istry will no longer offer the first dose of the New Covid-19 cases below 10,000 mark for
Comirnaty and CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccines third consecutive day on April 12 Click here Local cases 8,950
to children aged five to 12,” he said in a state- Over 195,000 Malaysian children fully
ment on Wednesday. vaccinated against Covid-19 as of April 12 Imported cases 52
Click here
PICKids kicked off in February and as of Category 1 4,759
yesterday, only a total of 1,371,120 or 38.6%
of children in the country have received the first (no symptoms) (52.87%)
dose, while 195,865 children have completed two
jabs of the vaccine.The CITF-C chairman said Category 2 4,176
parents whose children have yet to get the jabs (mild symptoms) (46.39%)
would have to decide before the May 15 deadline.
Category 3 26
“After the deadline, the Cominarty Cov-
id-19 vaccine for children will no longer be of- (with pnemonia) (0.29%)
fered at any public and private health facilities
in Malaysia.The Coronavac vaccine can only be Category 4 20
(with pneumonia requiring oxygen therapy) (0.22%)

Category 5 21
(critical and requiring assisted ventilation) (0.23%)

Number of new recoveries 16,986

Active cases 126,455

Daily Covid-19 deaths 30

Hospital bed utilisation (%) 60

Source: Ministry of Health

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WASHINGTON (April 13): Countries US, allies ‘will not “special military operation”.
that are seeking advantage by failing to be indifferent’ Yellen said Biden’s multilateral ap-
condemn Russia’s “heinous war” against to those who
Ukraine are being short-sighted and will undermine proach had enabled the Group of Seven
face consequences if they undermine advanced economies to impose significant
Western sanctions, US Treasury Secre- Russia sanctions, costs on Russia, and made clear they were
tary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday. Yellen warns acting in support of a rules-based global
order that protects peace and prosperity.
The United States and its partners BY ANDREA SHALAL & DAVID LAWDER
“will not be indifferent” to actions that Reuters She said the same approach — and
undermine the sweeping sanctions they shared values — could help solve other
have imposed on Moscow and Russian void left by others”,Yellen said, without big issues, such as climate change, ending
President Vladimir Putin over the inva- naming any specific countries. the Covid-19 pandemic, and supporting
sion, she warned in wide-ranging remarks low-income countries.
prepared for an event hosted by the At- “Such motivations are short-sighted.
lantic Council think tank. The future of our international order, Yellen said changes were also needed
both for peaceful security and economic to “modernise our existing institutions —
Yellen said the war between Russia and prosperity, is at stake,”Yellen said. “And the (International Monetary Fund) and
Ukraine had redrawn the world economic let’s be clear, the unified coalition ... will the multilateral development banks —
outlook and the Biden administration was not be indifferent to actions that under- so that they are fit for the 21st century”.
resolute in its commitment to hold Russia mine the sanctions we’ve put in place.”
accountable for its “horrific conduct” and Her calls come after Biden said Rus-
its violations of international law. Yellen’s remarks come days after Pres- sia to be excluded from the Group of 20
ident Joe Biden warned India, which has major economies.
“Rest assured, until Putin ends his hei- not imposed sanctions on Moscow, that
nous war of choice, the Biden Admin- buying more oil from Russia was not in “Some may say that now is not the
istration will work with our partners to India’s interest and could hamper the US right time to think big,” she said, cit-
push Russia further towards economic, fi- response to the war in Ukraine. ing the war and the lingering pandemic.
nancial, and strategic isolation,” she said. “Yet, I see this as the right time to work
Washington and its allies have sought to address the gaps in our international
The Russian invasion had galvanized to pressure India, China and other financial system that we are witnessing
many countries and companies to take “fence-sitters” to take a clear stance op- in real time.”
a unified stance and severe business ties posing Russia and what it has called a
with Moscow, in a way that could help US officials began crafting proposals
shape the global response to other “unmet to create the IMF, the World Bank and
global challenges”,Yellen said. the post-war international financial ar-
chitecture in 1941, early in World War
But some countries were still “sitting Two, and a new architecture was needed
on the fence, perhaps seeing an oppor- now, she said.
tunity to gain by preserving their rela-
tionship with Russia and backfilling the “As then, we ought not wait for a new
normal.We should begin to shape a bet-
ter future today,” she said.

(April 13): Russia will find new buyers Putin says Asia, luring buyers with deep discounts.
for its oil, natural gas and coal both at Russia will find The US has banned outright imports of
home and abroad as some traditional cus- new markets as crude oil and products from the nation,
tomers reject its deliveries, said President West rejects oil and the UK is set to follow suit by year-end.
Vladimir Putin.
exports In the first six days of April, Russian
While most countries haven’t imposed output dropped the most in almost two
direct sanctions on Russian energy sales Bloomberg years to about 10.52 million barrels a day,
in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, according to Bloomberg calculations based
shipments have been curtailed as buyers on data from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-
look elsewhere or grapple with logistical TEK unit.The decline of almost 500,000
problems. At a meeting with government barrels a day from March production lev-
and company officials on Wednesday, the els came due to overstocking at Russian
Russian leader acknowledged publicly for oilfields and refineries. The IEA sees the
the first time that the nation has export country’s output down by 1.5 million bar-
problems that require a solution. rels a day for April as a whole.

“As for Russian oil, gas, coal, we will be On coal, Japan and the European Union
able to raise their domestic consumption, are planning to phase out Russian supplies.
stimulate higher complexity of feedstock The EU has indicated that it is open to
processing and raise energy supplies to oth- wider energy restrictions as the Kremlin’s
er parts of the world — somewhere, where military aggression in Ukraine shows no
they are really needed,” Putin said at the signs of easing, but hasn’t agreed on any
meeting, which was broadcast on Russian sanctions on natural gas.
state TV channel Rossiya 24. Read also: Finland to make decision on
NATO entry in coming weeks not months
Many key traditional buyers are refusing Click here
to take Russian oil cargoes, or have pledged
to do so once contracts expire.The nation
has been able to redirect some oil flows to

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LONDON (April 13): British consumer UK inflation at to ease the burdens by providing support
price inflation leapt to its highest level in 30-year high of worth around £22 billion (US$29 billion
three decades last month, intensifying the 7% in March, or about RM121.02 billion) this financial
pressure on embattled Prime Minister Boris year,” Sunak said after the data.
Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak adding to
to ease the cost-of-living squeeze. pressure on govt Jack Leslie, a senior economist at the
Resolution Foundation think tank, said Su-
The annual inflation rate climbed to 7% BY DAVID MILLIKEN & WILLIAM SCHOMBERG nak would come under pressure to do more.
in March from 6.2% in February, its high- Reuters
est since March 1992 and by more than “The sheer scale of this inflation-led
expected by most economists in a Reuters Street office at a time of Covid-19 restric- squeeze on living standards makes it all
poll, official data showed on Wednesday tions, leading to calls from political oppo- the more remarkable how little support the
(April 13). nents for them to resign. chancellor provided in his spring statement,
a decision that will surely have to be revisit-
The month-on-month rise was the high- Sunak — previously seen as a leading ed before the autumn budget,” Leslie said.
est for the time of year since the Office for candidate to succeed Johnson as the prime
National Statistics’ (ONS) records began minister — has seen his popularity slide British inflation has seen an unprece-
in 1988. after a budget statement in March, which dented rise over the past year, following
the public judged did too little to ease cost- a similar pattern of most other advanced
Broad-based price rises, ranging from of-living pressures, and recent revelations economies as energy prices surged and pan-
vehicle fuel to food and furniture, were be- of his wife’s tax avoidance. demic supply-chain difficulties persisted.
hind the increase.
“I know this is a worrying time for many Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24
Households are facing the biggest cost- families, which is why we are taking action has pushed energy prices even higher, and
of-living squeeze since records began in last month Britain’s Office for Budget Re-
the 1950s, according to Britain’s budget sponsibility forecast that inflation would
forecasters, and the inflation overshoot is peak at a 40-year high of 8.7% in the final
further bad news for the government too. quarter of 2022.
Click here for the full story
Johnson and Sunak were fined by po-
lice on Tuesday for attending a June 2020
birthday party for Johnson at his Downing

(April 13):The Bank of Canada raised its in- Bank of Canada another in June,” Derek Holt, head of capital
terest rate by half a percentage point in its big- delivers jumbo markets economics at Bank of Nova Scotia,
gest hike in 22 years and said rates are poised rate hike with said in an email. “The combination of say-
to move significantly higher as it moves ag- more to come ing they are further away from a neutral rate
gressively to wrestle inflation down from a that is now estimated to be higher, alongside
three-decade high. BY ERIK HERTZBERG expedited worries about unmoored inflation
Bloomberg expectations, indicates much greater concern
Policy makers led by GovernorTiff Mack- that they are overstimulating conditions and
lem increased the central bank’s overnight inflation expectations well-anchored.” have to address this at a quickened pace.”
benchmark to 1% on Wednesday. Macklem In what officials described as a “substan- Click here for the full story
said he expects rates will return to what they Read also:
consider the “neutral range” of 2% and 3%. tial upward revision,” inflation is now seen New Zealand hikes rates by 50bps, biggest
The bank also said it will stop replacing its averaging near 6% in the first half of 2022, in over 20 years, as inflation risks grow
holdings of maturing government bonds on before easing to about 2.5% in the second Click here
April 25, a process known as quantitative half of next year and to around its 2% target Soaring prices reach Asia to bring global
tightening. by the end of 2024. inflation in sync Click here
BOJ’s Kuroda vows easy policy, warns
“The economy can handle higher interest Inflation is projected to average 5.3% in of economic hit from rising import costs
rates, and they are needed,” Macklem said at 2022, versus forecasts in January of 4.2%. Click here
a news conference in Ottawa. Price growth will slow to 2.8% on average Japanese yen falls to 20-year low as dollar
in 2023, versus previous forecasts of 2.3%. outlook bright Click here
Short-term bonds fell, pushing Canada’s China will use timely RRR cuts to support
benchmark two-year yield to 2.335% as of “This isn’t the last 50+ move and I’d expect economy, state media cites cabinet Click here
10.47am Ottawa time, about 3 basis points
higher than immediately before the decision.
The loonie strengthened slightly to C$1.2634
per US dollar.

The policy actions mark an acceleration of
what’s expected to be one of the most force-
ful monetary tightening campaigns ever by
the Bank of Canada, a tacit recognition from
the central bank that it needs to quickly exit
from ultra-loose policy before inflation be-
comes sticky.

“There is an increasing risk that expecta-
tions of elevated inflation could become en-
trenched,” the central bank said in its rate
statement, adding it will “use its monetary
tools to return inflation to target and keep

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SINGAPORE/BANGKOK/MANILA Southeast Asia’s Singapore and the Philippines have
(April 13): Two years after tourism in tourism industry large outbound markets compared toThai-
Southeast Asia ground to a halt, travel- land, said Brendan Sobie, an independent
lers are getting back on planes as entry begins uneven aviation analyst.
and Covid-19 quarantine rules are lifted in recovery
the region, but a full recovery will be slow Asia, though, is lagging a recovery in
and some long-time hotspots are falling BY CHEN LIN, CHAYUT SETBOONSARNG & other regions including Europe, which
out of favour. NEIL JEROME MORALES eased restrictions months ago.
Reuters
International airline bookings to South- Domestic and international traffic with-
east Asia reached 38% of pre-pandemic REUTERS in the Asia Pacific this year will only reach
levels by late March, according to travel 68% of 2019 levels and hit pre-pandemic
firm ForwardKeys.They were at less than Locals and tourists watch a sunset from Phuket traffic by 2025, a year behind the rest of
10% of 2019 levels at the start of the year. Island’s Phromthep Cape, Thailand, April 9, 2022. the world, the International AirTransport
Association said.
Singapore and the Philippines led a “If another country does not have en-
sharp uptick in bookings. try requirements, people would rather go For example, visitors to Singapore
there … less hassle.” surged nearly four times in February from
“We are the first to cut all the red tape,” a year earlier, when the city-state had re-
said Philippines tourism minister Bernadette Bookings are a forward-looking indi- stricted entry. But that was just 9% of ar-
Romulo-Puyat. “Tourists are quite happy cator, and arrival figures also include re- rivals in February 2020 and included an
because upon arrival, they are free to go.” turning locals. influx of holders of work visas from Ma-
laysia and India.
These countries now require vaccinated
travellers to only perform a rapid antigen Thailand will take until 2026 to make
test before arrival, whereas more com- a full recovery, the governor of its central
plicated requirements in Thailand have bank said on Monday. In 2019, tourism ac-
knocked the former tourist favourite out counted about 12% of the country’s gross
of the top league. domestic product (GDP).

The ForwardKeys data showed Singa- Travel and tourism in Southeast Asia
pore and Philippines bookings were at 72% — known for its white sand beaches, his-
and 65% of 2019 levels, respectively, while torical architecture and warm climate
Thailand was at just 24%. — contributed US$380.6 billion to the
region’s GDP in 2019, or 11.8% of the
“The on-arrivals PCR can cost 2,000- total, according to World Travel & Tour-
2,500 baht (US$60-US$75) and can cost ism Council.
a lot especially for groups, (making) people Click here for the full story
hesitant to travel,” said Marisa Sukosol
Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels
Association.

Easier passage for vaccinated Singapore residents
and LTP holders at land checkpoints from Friday

SINGAPORE (April 13): Singapore will BY MASSITA AHMAD residents and LTP holders, must submit
lift the health declaration requirement for Bernama a health declaration before proceeding
travellers arriving via land checkpoints, with immigration clearance.
in particular for those who commute ALBERT CHUA/THE EDGE
across the border daily for employment The health declaration is to be sub-
and studies, effective Friday (April 15). For those who get vaccinated outside the mitted via the SG Arrival Card e-service,
republic, their vaccination records must be which is available on the ICA’s website
On its website onWednesday, the Im- transmitted to Singapore’s Ministry of Health or mobile application.
migration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
said this is to provide greater convenience system upon their first entry. As for all other travellers arriving via
for fully vaccinated Singapore residents land checkpoints, they are still required
— citizens and permanent residents — Those in both categories must not have to submit a health declaration via the
and long-term pass (LTP) holders given travel history to any country/region in the SG Arrival Card e-service within three
the volume of traffic at these checkpoints. restricted category in the past seven days. days prior to their arrival in the city state.

However, they have to meet some Since March 27, 2020, all travellers ar- This includes non-fully vaccinated
conditions. For those who get vacccinat- riving in Singapore, including Singapore Singapore residents and LTP holders,
ed in Singapore, their vaccination status and all short-term visitors, as well as all
must be reflected in the TraceTogether travellers who have travel history to any
and/or HealthHub apps. country/region in the restricted catego-
ry in the past seven days, according to
Meanwhile, for those who get vacci- the ICA.
nated outside the republic, their vacci-
nation records must be transmitted to It noted that the health declaration
Singapore’s Ministry of Health system requirement continues to apply to all
upon their first entry. travellers, including Singapore residents
and LTP holders, arriving via air or sea.

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WORLD

China hesitates on bailing out Sri Lanka,
Pakistan as debt soars

Bloomberg

(April 13): Over the past few years, the US Sri Lanka’s top diplomat in Beijing China’s development banks are act-
has accused China of using “debt diploma- this week said he was “very confident” ing to preserve returns and it “would be
cy” to make developing nations across the that China will come through with credit difficult for them to easily accede to Sri
world more dependent on Beijing. support, including US$1 billion for the Lanka’s requests for deferrals”, said Mat-
country to repay existing Chinese loans thew Mingey, a senior analyst at Rhodium
Yet the cases of Sri Lanka and Pakistan due in July. In an interview with Bloomb- Group’s China Macro & Policy team who
— both friends of China facing dire finan- erg, Ambassador Palitha Kohona said the researches economic diplomacy.
cial situations as inflation soars — show process often takes months and he didn’t
that President Xi Jinping’s government is see any delay. ‘Sinking ships’
becoming more reluctant to pull out the “Credit conditions back in China aren’t
checkbook. China still hasn’t made good “Given the current circumstances, there making things any easier for them,” he add-
on a pledge to re-issue loans totalling US$4 aren’t that many countries that can step out ed. “Ultimately, Sri Lanka needs the IMF.”
billion that Pakistan repaid in late March, to the pitch and do something,” he said.
and it hasn’t responded to Sri Lanka’s pleas “China is one of those countries that can Sri Lanka said Tuesday it would expe-
for US$2.5 billion in credit support. do something very quickly.” dite talks with the IMF after it halted pay-
ments on foreign debt to preserve dollars
While China has pledged to help both Still, China’s role in helping to resolve for essential food and fuel imports. Paki-
countries, the more cautious approach re- ongoing crises in South Asia may be lim- stan’s new government also plans to work
flects both a refining of Xi’s signature Belt ited despite its status as a major creditor. with the IMF to stabilise the economy, ac-
and Road Initiative as well as a hesitancy to A Shanghai-based scholar who researches cording to Miftah Ismail, a former finance
be seen interfering in messy domestic po- China’s overseas lending said new credit minister and a senior ruling party leader.
litical situations. Pakistan got a new prime lines are harder to approve as authorities
minister on Monday after parliament boot- emphasise risk management at financial China’s ability to assist either country
ed out former cricket star Imran Khan, institutions including policy banks. The with a balance-of-payments crisis is lim-
and Sri Lanka’s leader is facing pressure scholar asked not to be named due to rules ited, particularly as Beijing’s financial as-
from protesters to step down. for speaking with the media. sistance is almost always tied to specific
projects, said Muttukrishna Sarvananthan,
“Beijing has for the past couple of years ‘Small but beautiful’ principle researcher at the Point Pedro In-
been rethinking its external lending be- Xi highlighted the importance of a more stitute of Development in Sri Lanka. Chi-
cause their banks realised they were carry- cautious approach at a high-level Belt and na’s policy of non-interference in internal
ing a lot of debt with countries whose pros- Road symposium in November. “It is nec- affairs prevents it from offering the type
pects of paying back were quite limited,” essary to implement risk prevention and of advice needed for countries to emerge
said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at control systems,” Xi said. He called on out of a financial crisis, he added.
the S Rajaratnam School of International participants to make “small but beautiful”
Studies at Nanyang Technological Uni- projects a priority for foreign cooperation “Even the IMF appears to be moving
versity. “This came on top of a tightening and “avoid dangerous and chaotic places”. very slowly — if not abandoning — the
economic situation at home which also requests of both Pakistan and Sri Lanka
required a lot of spending, so there was Earlier this month, Jin Liqun, president for their assistance,” Sarvananthan said.
less appetite to just throw money around of the China-backed Asian Infrastructure “Which sane bilateral donor country or
wantonly.” Investment Bank, encouraged Sri Lanka international financial institution would
to turn to the IMF for help in a meeting pour money into sinking ships in both Pa-
China is currently facing its own eco- with Kohona. kistan and Sri Lanka.”
nomic troubles, with lockdowns to contain
the country’s worst Covid outbreak since
early 2020 shutting down the technology
and financial hubs of Shanghai and Shen-
zhen. Premier Li Keqiang on Monday told
local authorities they should “add a sense
of urgency” when implementing policies
as analysts warn the official growth target
of a 5.5% is now in jeopardy.

China has become the world’s largest
government creditor over the past decade,
with its state-owned policy banks lending
more to developing countries than the In-
ternational Monetary Fund or the World
Bank in some recent years. The opacity
around the terms and scale of some of that
lending has been criticised, especially as
the pandemic exacerbates debt problems
in poorer countries.

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(April 13):The accumulation of inventory Chipmakers “There is a concern by investors that
by chipmakers has usually been a sign of argue inventory customers have stockpiled inventory,” Ma-
impending doom for the industry. As com- build-up signals hendra-Rajah said in an interview.“There’s
panies raced to meet demand that built up a concern by customers that there’s no in-
during the pandemic, they amassed a huge increased ventory available for them.”
stockpile of chips. demand
Not everyone is convinced.
Ordinarily, gluts are followed by a BY IAN KING “Over the last several months, inventory
plunge in prices and a struggle for chip- Bloomberg levels have become elevated within nearly
makers to find buyers. That concern is every end market segment, as compared
why investors are selling semiconductor to the pockets of inventory that we iden-
stocks this year after three years of gains. tified in prior quarters,” said Chris Caso,
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semi- an analyst at Raymond James. “The pat-
conductor Index has dropped 23% so far tern unfortunately looks eerily similar to
in 2022 compared with a slide of 7.7% by our analysis at this point in 2018 — which
the S&P 500 Index. preceded the subsequent industry down-
turn by six months.”
But many companies argue this time is Investors and analysts will be seeking
different. Executives from Analog Devices clues to which view is correct as the in-
Inc, Micron Technology Inc and Broad- dustry’s largest companies give their latest
com Inc are among those who say inven- quarterly updates in the next two weeks.
tory is rebounding from dangerously low Many chipmaker management teams are
levels and they’re only building what’s re- sticking to the assertion that the industry
quired to meet the growing demand for is still only at the beginning of a massive
their products. expansion fueled by ever increasing num-
bers of items that are getting computer-like
Analog Devices Chief Financial Officer functionality. In the past, orders for person-
Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said that look- al computers and smartphone components
ing at inventory in aggregate, whether in determined the health of the industry. Now,
value or measured in days, doesn’t give company executives say demand is more
as accurate a picture as it has in the past. widely distributed and less prone to swing
More devices use chips now, so higher from gluts to shortages.
stockpiles reflect what’s needed to satisfy Last week, the Analog Devices manage-
these new markets rather than an impend- ment team repeated their belief that semi-
ing glut. Based on what Analog Devices conductor sales, which took about 45 years
is seeing, there might be some pockets of to reach US$500 billion, will double to
inventory build-up, but in general there’s US$1 trillion within the next 10 years.
healthy demand and not enough supply,
he said.

(April 13): WeWork Inc is trying to WeWork wants ed conference-room booking software, a
strengthen its technology credentials with to be a tech digital marketing company and a product
a new software product it hopes to sell to that used smartphone data to track how
employers. company again, groups of employees flowed throughout
sort of an office. After WeWork’s failed attempt
The co-working company will part- at an initial public offering in 2019, some
ner with the real estate software maker BY ELLEN HUET of those side businesses were sold off to
Yardi Systems Inc to develop WeWork Bloomberg trim expenses.
Workplace, a tool that will let companies
manage their employees and their office Neumann had pitched WeWork to in- WeWork succeeded at its second at-
space the same way WeWork does. The vestors as a technology company, empha- tempt to go public.When it did so last fall
software, which can be used for tasks such sizing a spate of acquisitions that includ- under the current CEO, Sandeep Mathra-
as booking conference rooms, coordinat- ni,WeWork told investors it was building
ing flexible desk usage with hybrid work- a three-part business model: renting out
ers and analyzing which spaces are used office space, providing on-demand options
the most, is set to debut this summer, the such as renting a desk for a day and selling
company plans to announce Wednesday. a newly created software service,WeWork
Workplace.
Yardi’s existing tools help landlords and
asset managers oversee their property op- The idea is that even employers who
erations and finances.WeWork’s core busi- don’t rent space from WeWork might
ness is renting out desks and offices, but choose to pay for its software tools, es-
the company has also worked to expand pecially given the more complex logistics
beyond that in recent years — though not of a workforce that wants to spend some
as far afield as the bewildering choices of days at the office and other days at home.
its co-founder and former chief execu- In January,WeWork said its first customer
tive officer, Adam Neumann, who oversaw for this product was pharmaceutical com-
WeWork’s expansion into an elementary pany Organon & Co, which already had
school and residential co-living. leases withWeWork in dozens of locations.

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WORLD

(April 13): Prices for wind and solar power Global renewable on natural gas from Russia, further boost-
in major global markets have climbed near- power prices ing robust demand for renewables.
ly 30% in a year as developers have strug- soar on heavy
gled with chaotic supply chains and surging The war has been “the last straw for a
costs for everything from shipping to parts demand, chaotic market where there was already a lot of
to labor, according to a report published on supply chain price tension,” Oscar Perez, a partner at
Wednesday. Spain-based fund manager and renewa-
BY NICHOLA GROOM & ISLA BINNIE ble energy developer Q-Energy, said in an
Contract prices for renewables jumped Reuters interview.
28.5% in North America and 27.5% in Eu-
rope in the last year, according to a quar- Aggravating challenges in North Amer- Higher costs for renewables in Europe,
terly index by LevelTen Energy that tracks ica, the sector is uncertain whether U.S. along with the continent’s aggressive cli-
the deals, known in the industry as power lawmakers will extend tax breaks for re- mate policies, should boost the appeal of
purchase agreements (PPAs). newable energy facilities, part of President pricier technologies like green hydrogen
Joe Biden’s climate change agenda. Devel- and biofuels, according to Raymond James
In the first quarter alone, prices rose opers also are worried about a U.S. Com- analyst Graham Price.
9.7% in North America and 8.6% in Eu- merce Department investigation initiated
rope, LevelTen said. this year that could result in tariffs on solar For now, soaring prices have not slowed
panel imports from Asia, pushing up costs. demand, LevelTen said. In a poll the com-
Economic, logistical and labor market pany conducted of 21 sustainability and
disruptions during the coronavirus pandem- “There’s just intractable problems right energy advisers, 75% said their clients have
ic have worsened since the Russian invasion now with our supply chain,” Reagan Farr, accelerated or maintained procurement
of Ukraine, reversing a decade of cost de- chief executive of U.S. solar developer Sil- plans, according to the report.
clines for the renewable energy sector. icon Ranch, said in an interview.
“It’s not about demand,” Luigi Sacco,
There is a risk higher costs could slow In Europe, the war in Ukraine has led head of PPA origination at Milan-based Fal-
demand growth at a time when the United governments to try to reduce dependence ck Renewables, said. “Demand is there but
Nations has called for clean energy to ex- supply is struggling a bit in several markets.”
pand more rapidly to avoid the worst effects
of a warming climate. One factor luring buyers to renewables
is the soaring cost of fossil fuels.
“We still need keep the foot on the
gas here,” Rob Collier, vice president of “The ready alternative to renewable gen-
LevelTen’s energy marketplace, said in an eration right now is gas, and gas prices are
interview. up 100% as well,” Farr said. “So you pick
your poison.”

(April 13):The International Energy Agency IEA cuts oil activity slows in the world’s second-biggest
cut its forecast for global oil demand this year demand forecast economy.
after China reimposed lockdowns to contain
the spread of a resurgent coronavirus. as China The IEA noted that Saudi Arabia and
reimposes other members of the Organisation of Pe-
With the weaker demand outlook and the lockdowns troleum Exporting Countries have refused
massive release of emergency oil reserves by to open the taps faster, partly from a belief
IEA members, the agency now sees global BY GRANT SMITH that markets didn’t face a genuine shortage,
markets in balance for much of the year. Bloomberg and partly to preserve the OPEC+ coalition
Crude prices have already lost most of their they lead with Russia.
gains since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, to Oil surged well above US$100 a barrel
trade near US$100 a barrel in NewYork on following Russia’s attack on its neighbour. OPEC+ members managed to provide
Wednesday. While prices have eased, they are still high just 10% of the supply increase scheduled
enough to stoke inflationary pressures and for March, according to the IEA.The 19 co-
“Prices are now back to near pre-inva- exacerbate a cost-of-living crisis for millions alition members, which have been engaged
sion levels, but remain troublingly high and of consumers. To counter this, IEA mem- in a pact to stabilise markets since the start
are a serious threat for the global economic bers announced last week that they will de- of the pandemic, added a mere 40,000 bar-
outlook,” the IEA said in its monthly report. ploy 240 million barrels from emergency rels a day as diminished investment erodes
While the market looks balanced now, “the reserves, the biggest stockpile release in the production capacity across the group.
outlook is mired in uncertainty”. agency’s history.
China’s outbreak The clash over policy between OPEC+
The Paris-based agency, which advis- World oil consumption will expand by 1.9 and the IEA — which has openly expressed
es most major economies, lowered projec- million barrels a day to average 99.4 million disappointment with the cartel’s inaction
tions for world fuel consumption this year a day this year, according to the IEA. China’s — came to a head last month with OPEC
by 260,000 barrels a day, with a particularly fierce “zero Covid” policy has diminished abandoning the agency as one of its data
steep reduction of 925,000 a day for China demand growth, as millions are locked down sources.
in April. Still, global demand remains on in their homes, imports drop and business Read also:
track to increase this year. Record Permian well permits point to
growing US oil supply Click here
The IEA also dialled back estimates for
the loss of Russian supplies from an inter- China’s oil champion prepares Western
national boycott over its military aggression. retreat over sanctions fear Click here
Production in April may be 1.5 million bar-
rels a day lower than the prior month —
roughly half the drop that was previously
expected. Those losses may still double in
May, the IEA said.

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world

news In brief

China’s imports unexpectedly fall as Covid-19 curbs convulse trade outlook bloomberg

BEIJING (April 13): China’s imports unexpectedly fell in March as Covid-19 curbs LME’s closely watched inventory
across large parts of the country hampered freight arrivals and weakened domestic data delayed in latest snafu
demand, while export growth slowed, prompting analysts to expect a worsening (April 13): The London Metal Exchange
in trade in the second quarter. The softer trade figures are likely to reinforce (LME) was hit by a delay to its closely
expectations of more policy support from the government, with an adviser on watched daily report on metal moving in
Wednesday calling for cuts in banks’ reserve requirements and interest rates to boost and out of its warehouse network, the
a flagging economy. Inbound shipments fell 0.1% in March from a year earlier, marking latest technical setback for the exchange
the first decline since August 2020, customs data showed on Wednesday. That as it tries to move past last month’s
compared with a 15.5% gain in the first two months of the year and an 8% increase traumatic short squeeze in the nickel
forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The decline was broad-based. China’s imports market. Inventories tracked by the LME
of crude oil tumbled 14% in March and gas import volumes were the lowest since have been plunging, putting traders on
October 2020. Purchases of copper fell 8.8%, as Covid outbreaks hurt manufacturing high alert for potential squeezes. The
and industrial demand for some raw materials remained soft. Exports — a major driver publication of the daily data at 9am often
of the economy — rose 14.7% in March, beating analyst expectations for a 13% rise, causes sharp price moves as investors
although slowing from a 16.3% gain in January-February. — Reuters react to shifts in spot supply, and the
zinc market in particular has come
Singapore says Glencore was GSK to buy Sierra Oncology for US$1.9 under scrutiny in recent weeks after
supplier of tainted fuel bil in boost to blood cancer ops big outflows. The report was eventually
published at about 10.30am. The LME
(April 13): Preliminary investigations by LONDON/BENGALURU (April 13): Britain’s had made no public comment about
Singapore authorities into reports that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sought to bolster the issue but earlier sent an email to
tainted fuel had been sold to several ships its cancer business on Wednesday by primary members, software providers and
found that Glencore supplied the fuel. agreeing to a US$1.9 billion deal to buy US operational contacts saying the inventory
Glencore Singapore Pte informed the drug developer Sierra Oncology, the latest report had not been published, and it was
Maritime Port Authority that, on receiving move to fend off pressure from activist investigating the cause of the delay. The
reports of its fuel being contaminated, the shareholder Elliott. GSK has been facing snafu is the latest in a string of technical
company tested its blended product and mounting calls to shore up its drug pipeline setbacks for the LME, including a glitch-
found that one sourced from overseas was since Elliott built up a significant stake in ridden effort to reopen its nickel market
tainted. At the time of testing, Glencore the company last year. The deal also comes after a week-long suspension in the wake
had sold part of the affected fuel to as it prepares to spin off its large consumer of a historic short squeeze. — Bloomberg
PetroChina Co, which then supplied ships healthcare business, which includes brands
in Singapore, the MPA said in a statement such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil
Wednesday. Glencore and PetroChina painkillers, in July, in the biggest shake-up for
have supplied the affected fuel to about the company in two decades. Shareholders in
200 ships in the Port of Singapore to date, Sierra, which focuses on targeted therapies
authorities said. Of these, about 80 ships for the treatment of rare forms of cancer, will
have reported various issues with their receive US$55 per share of common stock in
fuel pumps and engines. — Bloomberg cash, GSK said. — Reuters

Google to invest US$9.5 bil in US Former Swiss ‘banker of the year’ jailed in bloomberg
offices, data centres this year high-profile fraud trial

BENGALURU (April 13): Alphabet Inc’s ZURICH (April 13): Former Raiffeisen
Google said on Wednesday (April 13) Switzerland chief executive officer (CEO) Pierin
it plans to invest about US$9.5 billion Vincenz was sentenced to jail for nearly four
(about RM40.19 billion) across its US years on Wednesday at the end of a fraud trial
offices and data centres this year, up from which exposed his huge strip club bills and misuse
US$7 billion last year. Google said the of company expenses. After one of Switzerland’s
investment will create at least 12,000 highest-profile corporate crime trials in decades,
full-time jobs in 2022 and focus on Zurich’s district court convicted Vincenz, a former
data centres in several states, including Swiss “banker of the year” who was charged with
Nevada, Nebraska and Virginia. The making millions through illicit deals while he was
company will open a new office in Atlanta CEO of the bank. Vincenz, who was acquitted on
this year, and expand its data centre in several counts, was fined 840,000 Swiss francs
Storey County, Nevada, it added. “It might (US$900,600) and ordered to pay nearly 1.6
seem counterintuitive to step up our million francs in damages to compensate firms in
investment in physical offices even as we which he was involved, as the court also found the
embrace more flexibility in how we work, 65-year-old guilty of using business expenses for
yet we believe it’s more important than private purposes. — Reuters
ever to invest in our campuses,” Google
said in a statement. — Reuters

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world

Vegas, Macau ... Dubai? Global casinos
raise bets on gambling in the Gulf

DUBAI/HONG KONG (April 13):It’s been by Lisa Barrington & Farah Master win a top prize of 10 million dirhams.
the subject of quiet speculation among diplo- Reuters The game was deemed Sharia compli-
mats and executives for years, but now glob-
al casino bosses are setting their sights on reuters ant by virtue of there being an “exchange
a once improbable prize: gambling in the of value” in the purchase of the collectable
United Arab Emirates. “gaming has not been part of the planning or bottle.
and there are no updates to our plans”.
Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), one of the small- Horse racing fans at some UAE race-
er and lesser-known of the seven emirates, A year ago Dubai, traditionally the most courses can also enter for free a ‘pick six’
said earlier this year that it planned to regu- liberal emirate, denied rumours circulating competition across a number of races for
late gaming in some resorts.On the same day, on social media and among the business the chance to win 40,000 dirhams.
LasVegas casino giantWynn Resorts said it community that several hospitality venues
would build a resort licensed for gaming, or had been granted gambling licences. Yet, while RAK’s intentions are clear, big
gambling, on a man-made island. question marks remain over how it or oth-
The UAE government media office, as er emirates would actually license gaming,
The announcements could mark a water- well as the media offices of the emirates of until a prohibition is removed from the fed-
shed moment for the Gulf, a region that has Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, did not re- eral penal code, which was overhauled as
traditionally imposed stricter Islamic rules spond to requests for comment on RAK’s recently as January.
than other parts of the Middle East, and plan to regulate gambling and whether they
one where gambling has long been off-limits. planned to make similar shifts. RAK stressed that its regulations, being
Emirates vs Saudi developed by the recently created Depart-
Currently, those seeking a flutter head to The prospect of casinos plays out against ment of Entertainment and Gaming Regu-
the likes of Lebanon’s Casino du Liban or the backdrop of intense competition in the lation, would push for responsible gaming.
some upmarket Egyptian hotels. Gulf, with business and tourism hub UAE
vying with rapidly-opening Saudi Arabia to “Gaming is a responsible form of enter-
Yet times may be changing. become the go-to destination in a region piv- tainment and leisure tourism that takes into
Two sources familiar with the matter told oting away from oil. consideration community, cultural and so-
Reuters that gambling in some form would cial norms,” the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism
be permitted in the UAE, but that it would The UAE,where foreigners make up 90% Development Authority told Reuters.
be up to each emirate to decide whether and of the population, has already moved in oth-
how to regulate it, similar to how Sharjah er areas to keep first mover advantage over It did not answer questions about how
prohibits alcohol sales unlike other emirates. Saudi Arabia, the largest and most conserv- its plans would work alongside the federal
The sources said it would happen soon, with- ative Gulf state. prohibition.
out providing a specific timeframe.
Other global casino and hotel brands The Emirates switched to a Satur- Wynn told Reuters that the definition of
which have moved into the UAE could ben- day-Sunday weekend this year to move closer gaming and types of games permitted would
efit should RAK pave the way for other emir- to global markets, from the Friday-Saturday be determined by the regulator.
ates to follow – with many eyes on the bigger break common in many Muslim nations. In
and glitzier jackpot of Dubai, a global tourist the past 18 months, the UAE has overhauled Foreigners only?
magnet, where gaming is currently banned. laws and regulations, including decriminal- RAK’s gaming regulations are being shaped
Caesars Palace, which opened in Dubai in ising alcohol consumption and pre-marital by those of Singapore and the United States,
2018 and is the only one of U.S. giant Cae- cohabitation. according toWynn Resorts andVitaly Uman-
sars Entertainment’ resorts globally without sky, a gambling industry analyst at the San-
a casino — told Reuters that it would examine The country has also found ways to offer ford C Bernstein investment company in
any possibility of offering gambling in Dubai. some potentially lucrative games of chance. Hong Kong who is familiar with the Wynn
“That acceptance now that there is going project.
to be the potential of gaming in the UAE, in In 2020 a national “Loto” was launched,
whatever form it’s going to be, allows people for example. Players purchased a “collect- “Like Singapore, the country is looking to
like Caesar’s and MGM as well to look at able” picture of an iconic UAE scene, such gaming to help drive tourism and has allowed
that closely,” said Anthony Costa, region- as the Burj al Arab hotel, for 35 dirhams gaming to occur in an integrated resort for-
al president at Caesars Palace. “I think it’s ($9.50) and were entered into a draw. Now mat for just such purpose,” Umansky said.
wonderful.” players seeking to enter the draw purchase
“Like anybody, if a license is able to be a bottle of water to be donated to charity to He added that gaming in RAK would
bid for, any global gaming company is going likely be limited to foreigners.
to want to be actively involved in the con-
versation,” he added. The UAE also appears unlikely to de-
About 10 km along Dubai’s coast from velop resorts that rely primarily on gaming
the Caesars resort, digging has begun on revenues, or foreground gaming, with slots
another artificial outcrop to support a lux- and tables forming part of a wide entertain-
ury resort by Las Vegas gambling stalwart ment offering.
MGM Resorts International.
When asked whether it would consider “The regulatory environment would be
introducing gaming at the resort, MGM said the kind that hides the casino, kind of like
Singapore but even more so. It won’t be like
Vegas where the casino is out there,” Uman-
sky said ofWynn’s proposals, which are cur-
rently in the design phase.

Caesar’s Costa said big resort brands did
not necessarily need to operate their gaming
side: “They are great hotels in themselves.”

t h u r s d a y a p r i l 1 4 , 2 0 2 2 25 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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My EG Services Bhd 25.50 0.01 1.000 -6.54 7385.5 CHINA 3,186.82 -26.51 -0.82 TAIWAN 17,301.65 310.74 1.83

Sapura Energy Bhd 25.40 -0.005 0.035 -30.00 559.3 HONG KONG 21,374.37 55.24 0.26 THAILAND 1,674.34 -4.12 -0.25

Dagang NeXchange Bhd 24.80 0.040 1.070 40.79 3376.6 INDIA 58,338.93 -237.44 -0.41 VIETNAM 1,477.20 21.95 1.51

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 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)

Pegasus Heights Bhd 0.010 100.00 1899.6 0 107.7 Metronic Global Bhd 0.015 -25.00 2,633 -25.00 32.5

XOX BHD 0.020 33.33 24172.4 -33.33 97.9 Eduspec Holdings Bhd 0.020 -20.00 7,871.9 33.33 60.9

Meridian Bhd 0.060 20.00 4288.4 -7.69 54.3 ECM Libra Group Bhd 0.175 -14.63 44.5 -2.78 84.0

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd 0.030 20.00 1499.3 20 46 Top Builders Capital Bhd 0.030 -14.29 2,560.2 -14.29 21.2

AE Multi Holdings Bhd 0.030 20.00 1154.1 0 64.9 Xidelang Holdings Ltd 0.030 -14.29 510.1 -14.29 63.5

Fast Energy Holdings Bhd 0.065 18.18 47994.4 -31.58 43.5 Vortex Consolidated Bhd 0.170 -12.82 189,187.3 161.54 182.4

Sanichi Technology Bhd 0.035 16.67 1256.6 40 49.1 Sapura Energy Bhd 0.035 -12.50 25,354.9 -30.00 559.3

Scomi Energy Services Bhd 0.035 16.67 716.4 -36.36 16.4 Impiana Hotels Bhd 0.035 -12.50 334.2 -53.33 50.6

MNC Wireless Bhd 0.040 14.29 9384.6 166.67 91.5 Aldrich Resources Bhd 0.035 -12.50 195.0 -12.50 39.0

Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.040 14.29 1085.8 0 254.9 Advance Information 0.125 -10.71 17 -3.85 33.3

Permaju Industries Bhd 0.085 13.33 24041.6 41.67 163.8 Jerasia Capital BHD 0.045 -10.00 3,398.9 -71.88 3.7

Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.045 12.50 3777.1 0 71.9 ATA IMS Bhd 0.480 -9.43 157,952.5 -21.31 577.4

XOX Technology Bhd 0.045 12.50 824.5 -10 40.2 Barakah Offshore Petroleum 0.050 -9.09 7,139.3 -37.50 50.1

Iqzan Holding Bhd 0.045 12.50 131.7 -10 10 Securemetric Bhd 0.110 -8.33 198.7 0.00 63.4

Milux Corp BHD 0.975 12.07 4519.8 1.56 229.2 Tanco Holdings Bhd 0.510 -8.11 36877.632 112.50 887

Mieco Chipboard BHD 0.750 11.11 13863.6 36.36 750 Astral Asia Bhd 0.115 -8.00 100.1 0.00 75.9

Digistar Corp Bhd 0.050 11.11 5907.4 -16.67 39.1 Artroniq Bhd 1.080 -7.69 2,860.9 75.61 343.3

PDZ Holdings Bhd 0.050 11.11 152.3 11.11 29.1 Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd 1.890 -7.35 870.4 80.00 355.9

Kumpulan Jetson BHD 0.205 10.81 4957.5 -2.38 54.9 Caely Holdings Bhd 0.450 -7.22 1,525.5 25.00 116.0

Catcha Digital Bhd 0.225 9.76 421.2 40.63 30.3 AbleGroup Bhd 0.140 -6.67 4,036.3 16.67 36.9

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 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 34.46 1.02 11.6 2.80 2205.4 Petronas Dagangan Bhd 21.18 -0.34 308.90 2.82 21041.4

AEON Credit Service M Bhd 15.5 0.6 419.1 13.8 3957.3 Heineken Malaysia Bhd 24.00 -0.34 217.3 15.16 7250.4

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 22.46 0.400 231.8 -9.22 8237.8 Genting Plantations Bhd 9.00 -0.20 685.0 36.53 8074.8

Malaysian Pacific Industries 32.54 0.200 349.0 -34.08 6472.1 PPB Group Bhd 17.16 -0.16 192.7 0.35 24411.8

Ayer Holdings Bhd 6.00 0.200 15.0 7.33 449.1 Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd 1.89 -0.15 870.4 80.00 355.9

Hong Leong Bank Bhd 20.58 0.160 1023.8 10.53 44611.6 DKSH Holdings Malaysia Bhd 4.68 -0.11 171.4 -2.50 737.8

United Plantations BHD 16.30 0.160 571.1 17.44 6736.8 Favelle Favco Bhd 2.54 -0.10 1732 5.83 585.1

Kobay Technology BHD 4.05 0.140 2535.9 -32.84 1312.9 Hartalega Holdings Bhd 4.61 -0.10 3865.4 -19.55 15754.5

Frontken Corp Bhd 2.84 0.120 3128.3 -29.00 4465.6 Artroniq Bhd 1.08 -0.09 2860.9 75.61 343.3

Telekom Malaysia Bhd 4.88 0.120 2061.0 -11.27 18415.7 APM Automotive Holdings Bhd 2.10 -0.09 6.2 7.69 410.5

Hextar Global Bhd 1.91 0.110 5166.2 20.89 2486.1 Complete Logistic Services Bhd 4.40 -0.08 66.5 75.30 566.1

ViTrox Corp Bhd 7.69 0.110 487.2 -22.79 7263.7 Atlan Holdings Bhd 2.80 -0.07 21 2.94 710.2

Milux Corp BHD 0.98 0.105 4519.8 1.56 229.2 Rapid Synergy Bhd 11.12 -0.06 11.5 11.76 1188.7

Negri Sembilan Oil Palms BHD 3.80 0.100 10.6 23.38 266.8 ATA IMS Bhd 0.48 -0.05 157952.5 -21.31 577.4

Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd 5.2 0.100 1.3 8.33 2392 Top Glove Corp Bhd 1.76 -0.05 23524.4 -32.05 14092.6

Hong Seng Consolidated Bhd 2.52 0.090 1224.9 -6.32 6436.6 CIMB Group Holdings Bhd 5.28 -0.05 17585.3 -3.12 53969.3

Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd 5.03 0.090 1016.6 54.77 2112.6 Maxis Bhd 3.85 -0.05 1638.4 -20.42 30131.1

Thong Guan Industries Bhd 2.44 0.090 409.3 -12.86 939.3 Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd 3.73 -0.05 1373.0 30.42 5774.4

Ta Ann Holdings Bhd 5.99 0.08 2680.7 70.66 2638.4 Malayan Cement Bhd 2.72 -0.05 815.9 6.67 3563.7

IHH Healthcare Bhd 6.44 0.08 1521.1 -12.26 56689.4 Ancom Nylex Bhd 3.71 -0.05 244.4 20.45 1070.8

Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2022 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Apr 13, 2022 Source: Bloomberg