TheEdge 160222

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

ISSUE 331/2022

CEOMorningBrief

RUSSIA SAYS SOME TROOPS ARE RETURNING TO BASE
AFTER DRILLS p17

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

ISSUE 331/2022

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Sapura Energy’s financial health seems to be deteriorating further p6
Farm Fresh inks IPO underwriting agreement p7

Genting HK’s unfinished Global Dream cruise ship attracts investors p9
Sime Darby Plantation to reimburse recruitment fees to foreign workers p11

SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE

Capital A needs
more capital to
build biggest MRO
facility in KLIA

Report on Page 5.

wednesday february 16, 2022 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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[email protected] Selangor, Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Malaysia’s Malaysia’s daily es).This was 8.21% higher compared with
daily Covid-19 cases rose to 22,133 on Covid-19 cases 155,673 active cases the previous day.
Tuesday (Feb 15) from 21,315 on Mon- rise to 22,133 on
day, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said. Feb 15; Sabah sees According to the MoH’s COVIDNOW
new record high portal, a total of 155,866 or 92.5% of the
This is the fifth consecutive day that the active cases were undergoing home quar-
figure has stayed above the 20,000 mark. by Syafiqah Salim antine.
theedgemarkets.com
Of the latest cases, 16,156 patients The current national average hospi-
were in Category 2, followed by 5,831 latest figures raised Malaysia’s cumula- tal bed occupancy rate is 66.1%. For the
in Category 1. There were 102 cases in tive confirmed infections to 3,083,683. KlangValley — comprising Selangor, Kua-
Category 3, followed by 24 in Category On Jan 1, the cumulative figure was la Lumpur and Putrajaya — the average
4 and 20 in Category 5, said MoH di- 2,688,925. occupancy rate is 61.6%.
rector-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham
Abdullah in a statement. Dr Noor Hisham said 7,584 individuals 56.8% of adult population boosted
have recovered from the coronavirus dis- The COVIDNOW portal showed that
Patients in Categories 1 and 2 have no ease over the past 24 hours, bringing total 13,373,479 people, representing 56.8%
symptoms or only mild symptoms, while recoveries to date to 2,868,538. of the country’s adult population, have re-
those in Category 3 have lung infections. ceived their booster dose.
Patients in Category 4 suffer from lung Active cases climbed further to 168,447
infections but also require oxygen, while on Monday (Feb 14), the highest level Meanwhile, 22,938,190 or 97.5% of
Category 5 refers to critical cases with since Sept 29 of last year (169,719 cas- the adult population have received their
organ damage and who need ventilator two-dose vaccination.
assistance.
For every 100,000 people by vaccination
Sabah topped the list with the most status in the country, the seven-day average
Covid-19 cases at 4,374, the highest dai- for unvaccinated persons infected with Cov-
ly number ever for the Borneo state. id-19 stood at 388.1, followed by 230.1 for
those with two-dose vaccination and 171.3
It was followed by Selangor (3,862), for those who had taken their booster dose.
Johor (2,780) and Penang (1,681). The

PUTRAJAYA (Feb 15): Travellers from Ma- Travellers from certificate is subject to the decision of other
laysia are now allowed to enter the Philippines Malaysia can now governments.
with proof of a complete vaccination certificate enter Philippines
in MySejahtera. with MySejahtera “Malaysia and the Philippines have also
agreed to continue their cooperation towards
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs vaccination verifying the authenticity of the Covid-19 vacci-
(Wisma Putra) in a statement, this follows an certificate nation certificates of both countries online with
agreement reached between the Malaysian and a safer and more secure system to facilitate the
Philippine governments on Monday (Feb 14) Bernama entry route of travellers who have been fully
to mutually recognise their Covid-19 vaccina- vaccinated,” the statement said.
tion certificates. acceptable proof of vaccination. Read also:
However, all of them were allowed to enter Malaysia’s Covid-19 R-nought at 1.38 as of
Travellers from the Philippines are now also Feb 14, says Health DG Click here
allowed to enter Malaysia with proof of a com- the republic later on Monday as a result of swift
plete vaccination certificate inVaxCertPH. action of the Malaysian Embassy in Manila. Covid-19 vaccination: Over 206,000
Malaysian children received first dose as of
“[However,] the entry of travellers is also According to Wisma Putra, the Malaysian Feb 14 Click here
subject to the current quarantine procedures government in principle recognises travellers
set by the authorities of both countries,” said who have been inoculated with vaccines ap- Covid-19: 270,000 children below 12 infected
the statement. proved under the emergency use listing by the in July-Dec last year Click here
World Health Organization or approved by the
The agreement also allows the Malaysian authorities of certain countries. Meanwhile, the Malaysia, Brunei agree in principle to
Embassy in Manila to assist seven Malaysians recognition of MySejahtera’s digital vaccination implementVTL, says Ismail Sabri Click here
stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport on Sunday to enter the Philippines for
official and business purposes.

On Monday, the media reported that the
seven Malaysians were stranded at the airport
after being informed by the Philippine author-
ities that the Malaysian digital vaccine certif-
icate in the MySejahtera application was not

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 16, 2022 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

wednesday february 16, 2022 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Ex-Goldman banker Leissner is ‘double
bigamist’, Ng lawyer says of star witness

by Patricia Hurtado bloomberg
Bloomberg

(Feb 15): A lawyer for former Goldman Ng is charged with conspiring to violate US anti-money-laundering law in a scheme to siphon billions
Sachs Group Inc banker Roger Ng assailed of dollars from 1MDB. He is the only former Goldman Sachs employee to stand trial in the US for a
Ng’s former boss and the government’s star scandal that stretched from Singapore to Hollywood to Wall Street.
witnessTim Leissner as a “double bigamist”
who was testifying against Ng only to save Agnifilo told the jury in Leissner bought homes “for all the wom-
himself. Brooklyn, NewYork that en in his life” and became a “mini version of
Leissner “used women, he [Jho] Low”, he said.The banker later mar-
“Tim Leissner used people,” defence law- used false intimacy, and ried former model and clothing executive
yer Marc Agnifilo told jurors on Monday now he’s trying to use my Kimora Lee Simmons, he said.
(Feb 14) in his opening statement in Ng’s client to get him to do his
federal conspiracy trial. He said Leissner jail time”. He also said Leissner had failed to take responsibility
was “married to two different women at the Leissner was having an for his crimes, Agnifilo told the jury.
same time, twice” and that he had an “illicit” affair with Jasmine Loo,
relationship with an executive of the Ma- then a general counsel for “He blamed it all on Kimora,” he said.
laysian fund Ng is accused of helping loot. 1MDB, and that the two “Watch how many people he blamed. But
had “a dark trust because the blame is on Leissner and Leissner alone.”
Ng is charged with conspiring to violate
US anti-money-laundering law in a scheme of their illicit, intimate Repeated assurances
to siphon billions of dollars from the fund romantic relationship”. AndyTai, a managing director at Goldman
known as 1Malaysia Development Bhd Sachs who worked on the 1MDB transac-
(1MDB). He is the only former Goldman fendant Roger Ng saw an opportunity to tions with Leissner and Ng, was the govern-
Sachs employee to stand trial in the US for get rich by cheating.” The trio paid bribes ment’s first witness.Tai said Goldman com-
a scandal that stretched from Singapore to to officials in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi to pliance officials repeatedly asked whether
Hollywood toWall Street. “look the other way”, he said. Jho Low or Datuk Seri Najib Razak, then
Malaysia’s prime minister, was involved in
Agnifilo told the jury in Brooklyn, New Agnifilo painted a very different picture the transactions.
York that Leissner “used women, he used for the jurors, hammering away at Leissner,
false intimacy, and now he’s trying to use who he said “started out in life as immoral”. He said Leissner assured them that nei-
my client to get him to do his jail time”. ther man had played a role in the transac-
He also said Leissner was having an affair “[Jho] Low set Leissner’s immorality on tions. Najib was convicted in a Malaysian
with Jasmine Loo, then a general counsel for fire,” he told them. court for his role in the 1MDB scandal.
1MDB, and that the two had “a dark trust ‘Mini version of Jho Low’
because of their illicit, intimate romantic Their partnership prompted the star banker Jho Low was charged along with Ng by
relationship”. to pursue a high-flying life of luxury like Jho the US and is a fugitive. Meanwhile, Ma-
Low and to seek out money to buy private laysian authorities have levelled allegations
He warned the jury to question Leiss- planes, yachts and homes in Beverly Hills just of securities law violations against Leissner,
ner’s credibility when Ng’s former boss takes like the Malaysian financier, Agnifilo said. Ng, Jho Low and Loo. Loo hasn’t been ac-
the stand, saying he repeatedly forged doc- cused of wrongdoing in the US.
uments, including divorce papers when he
was accused of being a bigamist. Tai continues his testimony onTuesday.
The trial is expected to last as long as six
And he said the FBI got Leissner to weeks.
make secret recordings with others about
the scheme but that he was never able to The case is US v. Low Taek Jho, 18-cr-
catch Ng in a crime. 538, US District Court, Eastern District of
NewYork (Brooklyn).
“There’s no recording of Roger,”Agnifilo
told the panel. “Not one.”

Earlier, in opening statements by the gov-
ernment, federal prosecutor BrentWible told
jurors that Ng had reaped US$35 million
in what he called a “brazen” scam.

‘Get rich by cheating’
Wible said Ng secretly agreed with Leissner
and Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho
(Jho Low) to help take hundreds of millions
of dollars raised for three bond transactions
tied to 1MDB originally designed for pro-
jects in Malaysia.

“This was a scheme to steal US$1 bil-
lion,” Wible said in his opening. “The de-

wednesday february 16, 2022 5 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Capital A needs more capital to build
biggest MRO facility in KLIA

by Seah Eu Hen We’re looking to reuters
theedgemarkets.com raise, actually, in
excess of RM400 Yin added that the RM2.6 billion raised by
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Capital A Bhd million to fund Capital A could carry it through FY22 when com-
(formerly known as AirAsia Group Bhd) has said the expansion and pared against the group’s balance sheet position.
that it is in the midst of raising more than RM400 growth [of ADE].”
million to build the country’s biggest integrated Maybank rated Capital A as a “buy”, with a
maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility — Capital A’s co- target price (TP) of RM1.31.
in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). founder and chief
executive officer (CEO) In a note on Jan 14, UOB Kay Hian Malay-
The megaproject will be undertaken by its Tan Sri Tony Fernandes sia’s analyst Jack Goh also believed that Capital
wholly-owned engineering arm, Asia Digital En- A could last through FY22 and FY23, provided
gineering (ADE). that its monthly operating cash burn remained
constant around RM68 million to RM 75 million.
The fundraising exercise comes within two
months after the aviation group completed its Goh rated the investment holding group with
rights issue last December that raised RM974.5 a “hold” call and aTP of 76 sen.
million. Prior to that, the group, which has
slipped into PN17 status, also raised RM336.48 However, CGS-CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd’s
million from the private placement of new shares analyst RaymondYap did not think Capital A was
and received a RM500 million credit facility out of the woods yet, rating it a “sell” and the low-
from Danajamin in 2021. estTP of nine sen among all 18 analysts covering
Capital A, according to Bloomberg data.
Capital A’s co-founder and chief executive
officer (CEO)Tan SriTony Fernandes said that In a note on Feb 10,Yap expected Capital A’s
the investment holding group would support negative shareholders’ equity situation to worsen
the growth of ADE. from RM3.2 billion as at 3QFY21 to RM5.6 bil-
lion by the end of FY22 while the diversification
“We’re looking to raise, actually, in excess of Capital A into digital businesses remained “in
of RM400 million to fund the expansion and the investment stage where they may consume
growth [of ADE],” Fernandes was quoted by significant amounts of cash resources, which is
Reuters as saying at the 2022 Singapore Airshow also because they are competing against estab-
on Tuesday (Feb 15). lished and well-funded competitors”.

Capital A announced that ADE will be build- To recap, Capital A has been in the red since
ing a 380,000 sq ft integrated MRO facility in FY19 as it reported net losses of RM283 million and
KLIA in mid-2022 and it is expected to be com- RM5.89 billion for FY19 and FY20, respectively.
pleted within two years.
For the cumulative nine months ended Sept
The statement highlighted that ADE’s new fa- 30, 2021, Capital A managed to narrow its net
cility will make it one of the largest in the region loss to RM2.23 billion from RM2.66 billion in the
as it will be able to provide heavy MRO services same period of FY20, despite its revenue falling by
for up to 14 commercial aircraft at any time. a third to RM1.02 billion from RM2.97 billion.

Turnaround from PN17 status remains Capital A’s shares were unchanged at 63 sen
in progress onTuesday’s market close, giving the investment
Capital A was classified as a PN17 company after holding group a market capitalisation of RM2.62
Bursa Malaysia rejected its application to extend billion based on 4.16 billion outstanding shares.
the 18-month relief period that ended on Jan 7. The group’s share price has declined 18 sen or
22.22% since the beginning of 2022.
The reason for its slide into the PN17 status
was due to the negative shareholders’ equity
position of RM3.2 billion as at its third quarter
ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21), which was a
result of a nine-quarter net loss streak begin-
ning from 3QFY19, even before the pandemic
hit in 2020.

Nonetheless, Capital A has gone through
many rounds of fundraising exercises, which
saw it raise RM2.6 billion, as well as a whole-
sale change of its corporate strategy from an
aviation group to an investment holding group.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd’s analyst Sam-
uelYin ShaoYang in a note on Jan 17 highlight-
ed that the cause for the PN17 status was due to
Capital A’s balance sheet, not its cash flow.

wednesday february 16, 2022 6 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Sapura Energy’s financial health seems
to be deteriorating further

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): The wind- by adam aziz “They are short-term contracts, but it
ing-up petitions by vendors against Sapura
Energy Bhd’s subsidiaries signalled potential- theedgemarkets.com is positive to see certain idle drilling assets
ly further deterioration in its financial health.
are being utilised again,” the analyst said.
Five Malaysian units of Sapura Energy Sapura Energy has 12 drilling assets, ac-
owed 10 vendors some RM47.5 million for cording to its official website.
supply of materials and products, services, Sapura Energy Bhd Sapura Energy also has exploration
as well as crane rental and vessel chartering.
Vol (mil) Sen and production (E&P) assets through its
Analysts told The Edge that the situ- 500 50% unit Sapura OMV Upstream (M) Inc.
ation is largely expected, considering its 20 Returns from the segment were currently
balance sheet and cash flow positions in
recent quarters. 400 reinvested in the business with meaning-
15 ful contribution expected only from 2025
A more optimistic analyst with a local onwards, its president and chief executive
research house suggested that the situa- 300 12 sen officer Datuk Mohd AnuarTaib said in an
tion currently is insulated among Sapura 200 10 interview with The Edge in July last year.
Energy’s Malaysian entities.
The drilling and E&P businesses are early
“It is unclear how Sapura Energy man- beneficiaries of higher oil prices, which are
ages its cash flow across its many opera- 100 5 trading at a seven-year high of over US$90/
tions around the world, but hopefully the 4.5 sen bbl currently. Still, the two businesses con-
current management will be able to contain
the issues within its Malaysian operations. 0 0 tinued to post pre-tax losses in the nine
Jan 20, 2021 Feb 15, 2022 months ended Oct 31, 2021 (9MFY22).
He noted, however, that the company
is likely unable to tap into new financing. Source: Bloomberg The current management led by An-
“Its asset sale will be key [to support its uar Taib has been taking steps to address
cash flow],” the analyst said. the company’s operations and financial
Sapura Energy largest shareholders positions.
Others, however, pointed out that po- Holder Name % farmThinesctaalnlacteiollnatiinoYnuonflitnh,eTaoifwfsahnotrheiswyienadr
tential buyers would likely push for fire is a sign that the company is not afraid of
sale prices, especially as the cash-strapped Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd 40.4 biting the bullet to address unprofitable
company struggles to obtain fresh funds contracts.
from both banks and the capital markets. Sapura Holdings Sdn Bhd 10.55
Still, the latest episode showed that not
Among the five subsidiaries served with KWSP 2.89 only the financial position of Sapura Ener-
the petitions, Sapura Offshore Sdn Bhd is the gy has not improved, instead it may have
parent of several units which own the group’s Jurudata Sdn Bhd 1.96 further deteriorated.
vessels.These include its pipe laying vessels
Sapura 1200 and Sapura 3500, as well as The Vanguard Group Inc 1.88
its float-over launch barge Sapura FLB-1.
Amanah Saham Bumiputera 3 1.37
Another affected unit, Sapura Fabrica-
tion Sdn Bhd, includes Qatar, Abu Dha- BlackRock Inc 1.11 Sapura Energy needs to further pac-
bi,Taiwan and Brunei as principal places
of business. It also operates the 273-acre Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin 1.09 ify its lenders and vendors. The group
Lumut fabrication yard, which also serves
clients in Australia and Brazil. Source: Bloomberg has breached a covenant in relation to its

A senior analyst with a regional bank RM10.3 billion financing facilities, but it
opined that the winding-up petitions could has secured a conditional waiver from the
mean that Sapura Energy simply does “It will be interesting to see how the lenders and are “in the midst of fulfilling
not have the financial means to pay off its current management can turn the com- the conditional requirements” without
vendors, and that more petitions may be pany around… but it will be very tough.” elaborating.
served against the company soon. In 9MFY22, Sapura Energy’s net oper-
Market improvements insufficient ating cash flow came in at RM197.24 mil-
“In the worst case scenario, [its 40%
parent] Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) When announcing the petitions, Sapura lion before finance costs of RM399.68 mil-
could either let it go, or privatise the com- Energy highlighted that “none of the sub- lion. Cash equivalents stood at RM589.63
pany. The question is would PNB inject sidiaries are major subsidiaries”, which million, against current liabilities of
more funds [after the RM2.68 billion in- contribute to 70% or more of the group’s RM4.38 billion — after excluding the
jection in 2018]?” the senior analyst said. pre-tax profit or total assets employed on aforementioned RM10.3 billion facilities.
a consolidated basis. It also desperately needs a favourable
“One thing to look at now, is how its oth- This could mean Sapura Energy may outcome from the stretched negotiations
er engineering and construction contracts be focusing its resources on its core oper- with clients over its contractual claims and
could be affected, if it is unable to purchase ations and assets. Covid-19 provisions, which are estimated
new materials and to procure the neces- One other research analyst opined that to be between RM800 million and RM1
sary services.This is their bread and butter. while the situation appears dire, other billion.
business divisions have shown some im- Shares of Sapura Energy settled un-
provements. changed at 4.5 sen on Feb 15. Its market
“One less talked about improvement is capitalisation stood at RM719.06 million
in the drilling division, where utilisation has compared with RM4.3 billion as at end-
improved for three consecutive quarters. 2019.

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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Dairy pro- Farm Fresh inks Last Friday, Bloomberg, citing sources,
ducer Farm Fresh Bhd has signed an un- IPO underwriting reported that Farm Fresh had attracted
derwriting agreement in conjunction with almost 30 cornerstone investors, including
its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main agreement Aberdeen Standard Investments and AIA
Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities. Group Ltd, in a planned IPO.
by syafiqah salim
In a statement on Tuesday (Feb 15), theedgemarkets.com Great Eastern Life Assurance, Frank-
Farm Fresh said it signed the agreement lin Templeton Investment and some Ma-
with CIMB Investment Bank Bhd (CIMB group one step closer to its planned debut laysian state funds had also signed on,
IB), Maybank Investment Bank Bhd, Affin on the Main Market of Bursa. and the first-time share sale is expected
Hwang Investment Bank Bhd, AmInvest- to raise about RM1 billion, according to
ment Bank Bhd, Hong Leong Investment “In the span of 12 years, we have grown Bloomberg.
Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd. into a strong dairy producer despite stiff
competition,” he said. Bloomberg also reported that Farm
The IPO — of up to 743.2 million or- Fresh’s IPO is set to be the country’s big-
dinary shares in Farm Fresh — compris- Meanwhile, CIMB IB CEO Jefferi gest since last June, when CTOS Digital
es an offer for sale of up to 520.2 million Hashim said: “CIMB is proud to play Bhd, which runs a credit reporting agency,
existing shares (offer shares) and a public an instrumental role in the IPO of Farm and its shareholders raised RM1.21 billion.
issue of 223 million new shares. Fresh, a company that has grown rapidly
in the Malaysian dairy space. CIMB IB is the sole principal advis-
The 743.2 million IPO shares comprise er and a joint global coordinator, joint
an institutional offering of up to 687.4 mil- “Farm Fresh’s combination of innovative bookrunner, joint managing underwriter
lion IPO shares and a retail offering of 55.7 products and business model has proven its and joint underwriter of Farm Fresh’s IPO.
million issue shares. resilience in a challenging economic envi- Maybank IB is a joint global coordinator,
ronment and is poised for further growth as joint bookrunner, joint managing under-
Farm Fresh is expected to be listed in the economy recovers,” said Jefferi. writer and joint underwriter.
the first quarter of 2022.
Affin Hwang IB, AmInvestment, Hong
Farm Fresh group managing director and Leong IB and RHB IB are joint underwrit-
group chief executive officer (CEO) LoiTuan ers of the IPO.
Ee said the underwriting agreement takes the

Duopharma’s Duopharma Biotech Bhd’s quarterly earnings since 1QFY20
4Q net profit
slips on higher Net pro t (RM mil) Revenue (RM mil)
cost challenges, 20 200
declares 1.8 sen
15 166.45 171.84
dividend
158.71 17.61 155.44 145.44
1Q
10 143.33 133.77 134.09 150

5 14.73 14.13 16.19 15.39 16.96 15.72 100
4Q 4Q
13.56 2Q 3Q 2Q 3Q
FY20 FY21
0

1Q

Duopharma’s nancial year ends on Dec 31 Source: Bursa Malaysia

by izzul ikram mainly due to lower sales and higher expend- “This is evident in the government’s in-
theedgemarkets.com iture in the reporting quarter. creased allocation for the healthcare sector
in Budget 2022,” he said in a statement,
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Duophar- Quarterly revenue fell 15.36% from adding that several developments are set to
ma Biotech Bhd’s net profit for the fourth RM171.84 million in 3QFY21 on lower bolster the group’s earnings in the upcom-
quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4QFY21) demand from the private ethical sector and ing quarters.
slipped 2.94% to RM15.72 million from public health sector as sales gradually tapered
RM16.19 million a year ago because of off in the final quarter of the calendar year. “This includes a RM375 million tender
higher costs. accepted by the government for the supply of
For the full financial year ended Dec 31 Insugen-Insulin Recombinant Human For-
Earnings per share amounted to 1.67 sen (FY21), the group’s net profit increased mulations to the Ministry of Health, Malay-
from 1.72 sen a year earlier, according to 12.07% to RM65.68 million from RM58.61 sia for three years through December 2024.
the pharmaceutical group’s filing with Bursa million in the year prior, on higher sales
Malaysia onTuesday (Feb 15). throughout FY21 as compared to FY20. “In addition, the contract to supply phar-
maceutical and non-pharmaceutical prod-
However, revenue rose 8.47% to Likewise, full-year revenue rose 12.16% ucts to government hospitals and clinics has
RM145.44 million from RM134.09 mil- to RM639.18 million against RM569.9 mil- been extended for 12 months until end-2022.
lion a year ago. lion mainly due to higher sales to the con-
sumer healthcare and public health sector. “The company may also enjoy potential
The group has declared a second inter- savings of more than RM10 million upon
im dividend of 1.8 sen per share; share- Moving forward, Duopharma group the completion of some qualifying assets by
holders may elect to reinvest their dividend managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul 2024, following the Budget 2022 announce-
in new shares. Shatar said that despite operational and ment and the gazette of the FinanceAct 2021
cost challenges, the group is confident of that the period for the additional reinvest-
Compared to the immediate preceding its long-term prospects as it believes that ment allowance will be extended to the year
quarter, Duopharma’s net profit slipped demand for healthcare and pharmaceutical of assessment 2024,” he elaborated.
7.35% from RM16.96 million in 3QFY21 products will continue to grow.

wednesday february 16, 2022 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Low Yen Yeing/The Edge

Local steel
makers have no
control over the
rising steel prices,
say associations

Fresh contributions from EPF members, along with maturing investment assets, would help to offset by Sulhi Khalid
the withdrawal trend, said an analyst. theedgemarkets.com

Economists On special withdrawals under the EPF’s KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15):Amid rising
see 2021 EPF i-Sinar, i-Lestari and i-Citra facilities, the prices of building materials such as iron
dividend rate at economist reckoned that the withdrawals and steel,domestic steel bar manufacturers
would likely not have a severe impact on have no control over the rising steel pric-
5.2% to 6% the fund’s dividend performance. es that result in higher building material
costs, said Malaysian Iron and Steel Indus-
by Zairina Zainudin & S Kisho Kumari He observed that the economy was able try Federation (MISIF) and Malaysia Steel
Bernama to grow in 2021 and the unemployment rate Association (MSA) in a joint statement.
trended down to 4.2% in December 2021
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): The Em- from as high as 5.3% in the middle of 2020. The duo noted that the domestic steel
ployees Provident Fund (EPF) is expected prices are subject to global supply and de-
to declare a handsome dividend payout for Therefore, fresh contributions from EPF mand dynamics.
2021, ranging between 5.2% and 6%, on members, along with maturing investment assets,
the back of the fund’s higher gross invest- would help to offset the withdrawal trend, he said. Both associations highlighted that steel
ment and better capital market performance, bar users, such as contractors and hous-
economists said. Datuk Shazali Abu Mansor, a professor ing developers, have been able to import
of economics at i-CATS University College steel bars at zero import duties without the
Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief econo- Kuching, expects the EPF dividend rate to need for an approved permit since 2008.
mist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said be between 5.5% and 6% in view of the
the EPF’s gross investment in the first nine better investment performance. “Steel bar prices rose in the first half of
months of 2021 was already 7.7% higher 2021, owing primarily to strong demand
year-on-year at RM48.02 billion. “Dividends should increase in tandem resulting from global economic recovery
with income. It should be more than 5.2% and hike in raw material prices, particular-
“In that sense, there could be a chance for 2021. If [it’s] less than that, then it is ly scrap, iron ore and coking coal, due to
that the dividend rate could be better than not justified,” he said. supply tightness and global supply chain
in 2020. I think it should at least match the disruptions.
2020 level if not better,” he told Bernama AmBank group chief economist and
and estimated that the dividend would likely research head Anthony Dass said despite “Coupled with the Chinese govern-
be between 5.2% and 5.4% for 2021. some domestic challenges, the overall per- ment’s tight control over steel production
formance of the local capital market was and the removal of export rebates, the in-
In 2020, the pension fund manager de- favourable, hence the dividend payout is creasing raw material costs are reflected
clared a dividend of 5.2%, with a payout expected to hover between 5.45% and 6%. in rising steel prices.
amounting to RM42.88 billion for conven-
tional savings, and 4.9% for Shariah savings, “With the economy starting to rebuild, “In addition, rising energy prices, such
with a payout totalling RM4.76 billion. more people will be employed and at the as a 64% increase in natural gas tariff in
same time, more jobs would be created from 2021 in Malaysia, as well as a surge in in-
Mohd Afzanizam said the chance for a new lines of businesses that will rebuild EPF ternational freight costs also contributed
better dividend rate for 2021 would be high- savings,” he said. “However, for the savings to the increase in imported material costs
er should corporate earnings for the fourth level to reach 2019 levels, it will depend on and steel prices,” it said.
quarter turn out better. how much of the future contributions they
can place in the EPF. The associations added domestic steel
Furthermore, the EPF had also been di- bar prices have constantly been below Chi-
versifying its portfolios into overseas mar- “At the same time, the coverage and ade- na prices.The duo reiterated that the tra-
kets and incomes from foreign equities had quacy of social protection,particularly towards jectory of domestic steel prices tracks the
made a significant contribution to its total the self-employed and those in the informal international price trend, particularly Chi-
income, he noted. sector, must be strengthened,” Dass added. na steel prices, as the country accounts
for more than half of global crude steel
“The portfolio diversification strategy On the outlook for 2022, Mohd Afza- production.
has really paid off and it could be translat- nizam noted that a rising interest rate en-
ed into a sustainable dividend rate going vironment would help the EPF’s revenue MISIF and MSA also pointed out that
forward,” he added. from fixed income and money market in- they are not aware of any cartel dominance
struments as the issuance of new bonds in the iron and steel industry.
would be pegged at a higher rate, which
translates into a higher coupon rate. According to both associations, steel
products account for approximately 3%
“Perhaps, the EPF’s strategic asset allo- of total housing project costs.
cation will help to guide the fund navigate
through these turbulent times,” he said. “We welcome engagements with rele-
vant ministries and associations for further
deliberation,” the statement said.

wednesday february 16, 2022 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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Genting HK’s sentatives for Genting Hong Kong didn’t im- IRB files appeal
unfinished Global mediately respond to a request for comment. againstTNB
Lim still holds about 75% of shares in Genting on RM1.81b
Dream cruise Hong Kong and heads other Genting business- additional tax
ship attracts es, although there are no cross shareholdings. claim

investors Both Lim and German government officials by Seah Eu Hen
blamed the other for MVWerften’s bankruptcy. theedgemarkets.com
by Arne Delfs & K Oanh Ha German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said
Bloomberg his government did everything in its power to KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15):
save MV Werften, saying the state had offered Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)
(Feb 15): Billionaire Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay a loan of €600 million (RM2.84 billion) on the said on Tuesday (Feb 15) that it
is among several investors interested in pur- condition that Genting provides an addition- has been notified by the Inland
chasing the Global Dream mega luxury liner al €60 million, plus guarantees for the federal Revenue Board (IRB) of the lat-
that was under construction at Genting Hong funds. Genting turned that down, Habeck said. ter’s notice of appeal to the Court
Kong Ltd’s now-insolvent shipbuilder MV of Appeal (CoA) on Monday (Feb
Werften in Germany. In his letter to creditors explaining Gen- 14) over the RM1.81 billion tax
ting’s slide into provisional insolvency, Lim claim for the year of assessment
Several serious interested parties are in accused the current German government of 2018 against the utilities group.
talks to buy the unfinished ship, said Chris- not honouring the previous government’s
toph Morgen, the German court-appointed agreement to provide the capital that didn’t In a filing onTuesday,TNB said
provisional insolvency administrator for the require a personal guarantee. that the appelate court has fixed
shipbuilder. Morgen is optimistic a deal could March 28 for case management.
come together, but thinks it won’t likely hap- reuters
pen before next month because the case is To recap, the Kuala Lumpur
complex, he said at a briefing at the shuttered Worker stand near the cruise liner Global Dream, High Court had allowedTNB’s ju-
shipyard in Wismar on Monday. which is still under construction at the shipbuilding dicial review application to chal-
lenge the additional tax assessment
MV Werften’s provisional insolvency in hall of the MV Werften shipyards which are of RM1.81 billion by IRB.
early January proved to be a turning point insolvent, in Wismar, Germany Jan 13, 2022.
for Genting Hong Kong, which became the The High Court in delivering
world’s biggest cruise operator to seek court Henning Groskreutz, a union leader from its judgment agreed with TNB’s
assistance to safeguard its assets during the the local IG Metall chapter, said that the ship- submissions that the sum is con-
pandemic when it filed a windup petition yard will still need between €500 million and sidered reinvestment allowance
days later. Genting reported a record loss of €600 million to finish the ship. “We will need (RA).
US$1.7 billion (RM7.12 billion) in May as this money in order to be able to convince the
the pandemic ravaged the cruising industry. workers to stay here,” Groskreutz said. Many At market close on Tuesday,
workers have already left and have started at TNB’s share price was one sen
Lim, who has resigned as Genting Hong other employers because there’s high demand or 0.11% higher at RM9.13, giv-
Kong’s chairman and chief executive officer, for such skills. ing it a market capitalisation of
contacted Morgen to express interest in pur- RM52.28 billion based on 5.71
chasing the ship at the beginning of the pro- Habeck said the government would be will- billion outstanding shares.
visional insolvency process, Morgen said.The ing to subsidise the final construction of the
insolvency administrator said he hopes to find Global Dream with a “new reliable investor”. The utilities group is currently
“a better solution for the ship” than Lim. trading at 13.04 times earnings,
“If there’s a reliable finance plan, we could according to Bloomberg data.
“My impression is that he would only like make the same offer like over Christmas,”
to buy it if nobody else would be interested Habeck said,adding that Genting didn’t want to
in order to get it cheap and possibly to finish contribute financially to complete the ship.“We
the ship somewhere else,” said Morgen, who don’t want to throw money out of the window.”
added he hasn’t heard from Lim since. “I
hope that we won’t depend on this, because Genting’s Crystal Cruises brand shut its US
we now have strong interest from many other office and terminated employees last week.The
possible investors.” closing of Crystal Cruises’ operation in Miami
came after two of its ships were seized in the
The 342-metre liner, which Genting dubbed Bahamas after a fuel supplier sought the action
the Global Dream and which is set to be the for US$4.6 million in unpaid fuel bills.
world’s biggest vessel by passenger capacity, was
heralded as ushering in a new era of mega ships Dream Cruises Holding Ltd, an indirect
tapping into Asia’s growing cruising market.The non-wholly owned unit of Genting Hong
ship was about 72% complete when the German Kong that has also filed a winding up peti-
government and Genting couldn’t agree in De- tion, will continue to operate its fleet in the
cember on plans to finance US$620 million to region, the company said.
help finish it and keep the shipyard in business,
according to a letter Lim wrote to creditors.

A spokeswoman for Genting Bhd,which Lim
heads as CEO, declined to comment. Repre-

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Kenanga launches fully AI-driven
robotic investment adviser

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Kenanga by justin lim ic and at currencies and commodities too,”
Investment Bank Bhd aims to grow its cus- theedgemarkets.com said Llyod.
tomer base via its newly launched Kenan-
ga Digital Investing (KDI) — the market’s to them over time as well. So we are real- “When you combine the two of them
latest fully automated artificial intelligence ly excited about this product as a starting together (KDI Save and KDI Invest), which
(AI)-driven robo-adviser designed to sim- point,” he said. is based upon Kenanga’s own cash manage-
plify how Malaysians save and invest. ment treasury functions, they take inflation
Licensed by Securities Commission Ma- to the process, as well as the investment
“Our specific headline numbers we are laysia, the KDI platform offers two core which looks at global opportunities.
looking to bring on board are fairly con- products, namely KDI Save and KDI Invest.
servative: between 50,000 to 75,000 [new] “We feel it’s a good way to build an
customers [to sign up] through this pro- KDI Save allows users to earn daily investment that’s diversified to overcome
gramme alone (KDI platform). [As] I men- returns on their savings with no lock-in some of these challenges. Of course, these
tioned I feel this is such a great product, period and zero management fees. From are large macro economic situations that
we certainly hope to beat some of those now till the end of the year, KDI Save of- need to be handled carefully but based
numbers,” its group chief digital officer fers a 3% fixed interest rate. upon a diversified portfolio, we feel this
Ian Lloyd told a press conference after a is a strong proposition for people to in-
virtual launch of KDI. He was replying to Meanwhile, for KDI Invest, customers vest,” he said.
a question about Kenanga’s target for new can grow their wealth with access to global
sign-ups in the next 12 months. investment opportunities through US-listed Lloyd said KDI’s portfolio design is a
ExchangeTraded Funds (ETFs) at a most game-changer for wealth management.
Lloyd said he is confident the product’s competitive fee.
offering and value proposition will be able He said the system selects suitable port-
to help the group deliver the target. Amid the accelerating inflation in the folios to help customers achieve their in-
market, Lloyd said KDI is a platform for vestment goals in line with each custom-
“We look at these as [starter products], investors to hedge inflation and maxim- er’s personal risk preferences, adding that
the ways to get people on board and con- ise returns due to its diversified product the AI monitors global market conditions
sider that [they had] never saved or invest- offerings and industry-leading savings in- and rebalances customers’ portfolios au-
ed as much as before. These terest rate. tomatically, giving them peace of mind
open up gateways to de- that their portfolio is being taken care of
livering other services “We do look at a range of different asset around the clock.
classes and products that we invest in for
KDI Invest. These include indices which Robo-advisers aim to make investing
simple by removing the guesswork in stock
track the entire market, namely the Unit- and fund picking, but not all robo-advisers
ed States, Europe, the UK, Japan, are the same.
Australia, Malaysia. [We] also
[look] at bonds from the US, Llyod said KDI employs technology to
Europe, as well as Asia Pacif- monitor global markets and to react to new
investing opportunities.

He explained the technology analyses
thousands of data points each day, incorpo-
rating information from across continents
and asset classes, to develop investment
portfolios, without the influence of human
emotions.These portfolios aim to generate
sustainable returns while managing risk.

“KDI is another step in our vision to
make investing accessible to everyone.With
initial investments as low as RM250, cus-
tomers can invest in global equities.We are
proud to launch KDI Save, a cash man-
agement product with one of the highest
returns in the market, while KDI Invest
provides [a] gateway to the global markets
at an affordable fee,” said Lloyd.

KDI Invest is completely free for in-
vestments below RM3,000 while inves-

tors above that limit will be charged a
management fee of between 0.3% to
0.7% per annum, making it
what Kenanga touts as
one of the most competi-
tive robo-adviser platforms
in the market now.

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Sime Darby Plantation to reimburse
recruitment fees to foreign workers

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Sime Dar- by Sulhi Khalid independent migrant worker rights spe-
by Plantation Bhd (SDP) announced on theedgemarkets.com cialist Andy Hall.
Tuesday (Feb 15) several changes and
improvements to its governance struc- “SDP is also engaging law firms in each Looking back, SDP said that in Au-
tures, policies and procedures which in- country of origin to manage the disburse- gust 2021, SDP rolled out its revised re-
clude the planned reimbursement of re- ment of funds.The full costs of these legal sponsible recruitment procedure (RRP)
cruitment fees to the oil palm plantation firms will be borne by SDP. Our foreign and decided to focus initially on piloting
group’s current foreign workers and es- workers will not be required to pay any the new procedure in the company’s up-
tablishment of an improved responsible fees to receive their monies,” SDP said. coming Indonesian worker recruitment
recruitment procedure to ensure that activities.
SDP’s operations are free of the scourge The sinking fund established for for-
of forced labour. mer foreign workers covers those who had SDP said it set up a management com-
worked for SDP since Nov 1, 2018, ac- mittee specifically to manage the RRP In-
SDP group managing director Moham- cording to the company. donesian pilot project and this committee
ad Helmy Othman Basha said that since was involved over several months in short-
the imposition of the Withhold Release SDP said its former foreign work- listing eight recruitment agents in Indo-
Order (WRO) by the US Customs and ers were from Indonesia, India, Bang- nesia to be engaged for further due dili-
Border Protection (CBP) in December ladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and gence and auditing engagement through
2020, SDP has undertaken comprehen- Cambodia. an open tender exercise.
sive audits both internally and with inde-
pendent organisations. “SDP has a register of former foreign A total of 19 Indonesian agencies en-
workers and will be reaching out to them tered into the initial stages of the open
“Much work has gone into ensur- over the next few weeks.Where necessary, tender process, according to SDP.
ing that SDP’s operations are free of advertisements will be taken out to con-
the scourge of forced labour. However, tact foreign workers or their next of kin. “SDP has worked with Mr Hall since
that is only half of our goal today. We October 2020 to revise our RRP and
also want to make sure that both gov- “Independent auditors have been ap- guidelines that govern the hiring of our
ernance and structural improvements pointed to verify the lists of foreign work- foreign workers. This new policy places
are entrenched, and that critical culture ers and payment amounts.They will also heavy emphasis on the appointment of
change takes root quickly, to eliminate sign off on payments when they are made. suitable recruitment agents via open ten-
any persistent recalcitrance. ders, with appropriate checks and balances
According to SDP, the company has to ensure workers are no longer exploit-
“We are taking today’s challenges as an committed to ensuring zero recruit- ed or encumbered with recruitment fees.
opportunity to create a positive change,” ment fees for foreign workers since
Mohamad Helmy said in a statement. 2017, with the implementation of its “SDP will conduct regular due dili-
Human Rights Charter. gence on appointed recruitment agents to
SDP said in the statement it will re- establish that they are licensed and have
imburse 15,078 current foreign workers However, in light of the fees foreign credible track records. Our selected agents
an aggregate sum of RM38.55 million. workers have had to pay which were un- chosen through the transparent open ten-
known to SDP and despite the existence der process will undergo mentoring and
Additionally, SDP is setting aside a of the zero-fee policy, SDP said it has re- training to address any gaps in their un-
sinking fund amounting to RM43.47 vised and developed a more robust system derstanding of our requirements.
million to reimburse 19,565 former for- covering the entire process of appointing
eign workers. recruitment agents in collaboration with “Their performance will be monitored
to ensure contractual accountability for
“All reimbursements will be paid in compliance with ethical and transpar-
a single lump sum payment to foreign ent recruitment standards, as well as our
workers. Current foreign workers will be own policies and standards. During the
informed of the reimbursement details in recruitment process, workers’ terms of em-
writing and receive their monies on Feb ployment will be transparently and clear-
17, 2022.They have full access to various ly defined in native dialects/languages, to
channels of communication to raise any prevent any form of coercion, intimidation
questions or concerns.The 15,078 workers or deception. Any recruitment agents who
come from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, do not comply with our ethical policies
Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and standards will have their contracts
and Pakistan. terminated to prevent them from working
with SDP again,” SDP said.
“A Sinking Fund Governance Commit- Click here to read the full story
tee (SFGC) has been established to over- Read also: GFP-SPO to be common lan-
see the reimbursement process to former guage across palm oil certification schemes
foreign workers.The SFGC is chaired by — CPOPC Click here
SDP’s senior independent director and
comprises directors, senior management,
and external legal expert MrWilson Ang,
partner of Norton Rose Fulbright (Asia)
LLP.

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news In brief

IOI Corp appoints Kong Sooi Lin Court affirms Petronas Carigali’s RM50,000 fine for failing to ensure safe
as director work system
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): IOI Corp Bhd
announced on Tuesday (Feb 15) Datuk PUTRAJAYA (Feb 15): The Court of Appeal here on Tuesday (Feb 15) affirmed a RM50,000
Kong Sooi Lin’s appointment as the fine against Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for failing to ensure a safe work system which resulted
plantation group’s independent and non- in the death of a worker eight years ago in Kemaman, Terengganu. A three-member bench
executive director, effective Wednesday led by Justice Datuk Hanipah Farikullah unanimously dismissed Petronas Carigali Sdn
(Feb 16). “Kong has over 30 years of Bhd’s appeal after ruling that there was no appealable error by the High Court in finding
investment banking experience and has the appellant guilty under Section 15 (1) Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA).
extensive equity and debt transaction “Based on Section 15 (1) OSHA 1994, the duty of the appellant (Petronas Carigali) is to ensure
expertise, having advised on numerous safety and health at work. The appellant failed to ensure the contractor complied with the Job
highly profiled and industry-shaping Method Statement and failed to carry out a Job Hazard Analysis. Therefore, the appellant’s
corporate exercises in Malaysia and Asia appeal is dismissed and the decision at the High Court is affirmed,” she said. — Bernama
Pacific. “Kong began her career with Ernst
& Whinney (now known as Ernst & Young) MSM, Wilmar Sugar collaborate to set Berjaya Assets 2Q net loss narrows
and Arthur Anderson & Co and then joined up sustainable sugar supply chain on lower impairment of receivables
Bumiputra Merchant Bankers Bhd under
corporate banking in 1989. “In 1994, she KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): MSM Malaysia KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Berjaya Assets
joined CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and had Holdings Bhd (MSM) and Wilmar Sugar Pte Bhd’s net loss narrowed to RM1.97 million
been with CIMB Group Holdings Bhd for Ltd signed an agreement in December 2021 to for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021
25 years until her retirement from CIMB collaborate in the establishment of a sustainable (2QFY22), from RM13.27 million a year prior,
Investment Bank as its chief executive sugar supply chain. “MSM and Wilmar Sugar thanks to lower impairment of receivables
officer in March 2019,” IOI Corp said in a will embark on joint efforts to assist and support recorded by its property investment, hotel
bourse filing. — by Syafiqah Salim each other to pilot an approach to enable and recreation business segments. Loss per
sustainable raw sugar sourcing within MSM and share came down to 0.08 sen from 0.52 sen,
Malaysia Airlines’ parent to lease 25 Wilmar Sugar’s joint supply chain by focusing according to the group’s filing. Quarterly
737 MAX jets from Air Lease Corp on traceability reporting of sugar supplies revenue slipped 5.83% to RM41.38 million,
SINGAPORE/SYDNEY (Feb 15): Air Lease and monitoring of sustainability performance from RM43.95 million a year earlier,
Corp will lease 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets to based on the NDPE Sugar Policy,” it said the primarily due to lower contributions from
Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s parent, to be delivered statement. MSM group chief executive officer the group’s gaming and property investment
between early 2023 and 2026, through the Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad said the outcome business segments. On a quarter-on-quarter
lessor’s order book with the manufacturer. from collaborating with Wilmar Sugar, one of basis, the group’s net loss narrowed from
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) group chief the prominent players in the sugar commodity, RM17.33 million in the immediate preceding
executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said the and its NDPE Sugar sustainability programme quarter, as revenue almost doubled from
deal is part of a restructuring of the terms of enable MSM to establish concrete raw sugar RM21.38 million on the back of higher
the airline’s order book with Boeing. “As part traceability and sustainable practices in sales of theme park tickets generated by
of the terms, we were given options to swap line with MSM’s environmental, social and its hotel and recreation business segment
our order book aircraft with leased aircraft,” governance (ESG) framework commitment and resumption of business of the group’s
he said at a Singapore Airshow forum on — Bernama Sarawak-based number forecast operating
Tuesday (Feb 15). Last year, MAG said it had unit Natural Avenue Sdn Bhd. Similarly, for
agreed with Boeing to take delivery of the the cumulative six months ended Dec 31,
planes from 2024. It was originally scheduled 2021, the group’s net loss also narrowed to
to take delivery in 2020, but the 737 MAX RM19.3 million, from RM20.83 million in the
was grounded worldwide after two crashes, same period a year ago, while revenue fell
prompting several airlines and lessors to 33.73% to RM62.76 million from RM94.71
cancel orders. — Reuters million. — by Izzul Ikram

MARC revises Tropicana’s sukuk outlook to negative

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) has revised the outlook
for Tropicana Corp Bhd’s RM1.5 billion sukuk wakalah and RM2 billion perpetual sukuk
programmes to negative from stable, while maintaining the A+IS and A/S ratings. In a
statement, MARC said the revised outlook reflects its increasing concern over the rise in
Tropicana’s borrowings, which stood at RM4.5 billion (including the outstanding perpetual
sukuk) as at end-September 2021 from RM2.8 billion when the initial rating was assigned
in April 2020. The rating agency noted that Tropicana indicated in April 2020 that any
increase in borrowings would be mitigated by proceeds from asset disposals. “MARC
Ratings notes that the planned disposals have not materialised as at date, although we
understand that the group is making efforts to finalise some disposals by mid-2022. “As
a result of the increase in borrowings, the group’s coverage metrics have weakened,” said
MARC analysts Lim Wooi Loon, Umar Abdul Aziz and Taufiq Kamal. — by Seah Eu Hen

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PORT DICKSON (Feb 15): The Min- Govt expects chickens at RM5.90 per kg and the retail
istry of Agriculture and Food Industries chicken, price of standard chicken at RM8.90 per
(MAFI) expects the supply of chick- kg and a five sen subsidy for each egg in
ens and eggs to stabilise in the next four egg supplies all categories until June 4.
months to meet domestic demand fol- to stabilise
lowing various incentives and subsidies in four months He said the ministry had also organised
provided to industry players, especially engagement sessions with entrepreneurs and
poultry farmers. Bernama farmers after the subsidy announcement with
them, giving assurances to increase the pro-
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee On Feb 9, the government agreed duction capacity of chicken and egg supplies
said the incentives and subsidies would ease to provide a subsidy of 60 sen per kilo- as usual to meet domestic demand.
industry players’ burden in the face of rising gramme (kg) to poultry farmers by taking
costs, including raw materials. into account the farm-level price of live In the meantime, Ronald reiterated
that the government’s move to allow the
He said a new subsidy was announced import of whole chickens is temporary to
last week, which is being arranged with address the issue of the supply shortage
the industry, adding that the government in the country until it stabilises.
had listened to problems faced by players
in the industry. In another development, Ronald said
MAFI’s efforts to implement the CDERT
“The government has taken action to through FAMA are timely and in line with
cover some of the implications of the in- the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia (the Ma-
crease in the cost of producing the coun- laysian Family) that the responsibility in
try’s food supply. dealing with disasters do not lie solely with
enforcement teams.
“We give it four months [as farming]
chickens takes 30 to 40 days, so it needs He said FAMA is entrusted with pro-
to take some time [for the supply to stabi- viding trained personnel to help prepare
lise],” he told reporters after attending the food kits for the National Disaster Man-
Federal Agricultural Marketing Authori- agement Agency (NADMA) during dis-
ty’s Emergency Response Support Team asters to be distributed to target groups.
(CDERT FAMA) training programme
launched by Minister in the Prime Min- “This training is also one of the ele-
ister’s Department (Special Functions) ments that can improve the quality of de-
Datuk Dr Abd Latiff Ahmad here onTues- livery of FAMA’s role as an implementing
day (Feb 15). agency in strengthening food security dur-
ing crises and disasters,” he said.

KUCHING (Feb 15): The Constitution Sarawak Chong Chieng Jen (Pakatan Hara-
of the State of Sarawak (Amendment) Bill assembly passes pan-Padungan), meanwhile, raised the is-
2022, which contains a clause to change sue of the term “premier” in the bill which
the designation of the “chief minister” to bill to change could be confusing once translated into
“premier”, was passed by the State Legis- ‘chief minister’ Bahasa Malaysia.
lative Assembly on Tuesday (Feb 15). title to ‘premier’
He said the august house should have
Tabled by State Tourism, Creative In- Bernama made a stand to come up with a standard
dustry and Performing Arts Minister Da- term for the title in Bahasa Malaysia be-
tuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, that they hold and exercise. fore proceeding to pass the bill.
the bill was passed with more than two- “The designation of ‘assistant minis-
thirds majority when 67 members voted Baru Bian (PSB-Ba’Kelalan), on the
in favour, while six members opposed it. ters’ is restyled as ‘deputy ministers’ to other hand, in his debate speech said the
better reflect their functions and respon- bill is unconstitutional as the Federal Con-
Abdul Karim said the amendment is sibilities,” he said. stitution at the moment refers to Sarawak’s
in accordance with the amendment to the head of executive as the chief minister and
Federal Constitution enforced last week. Meanwhile, Datuk SeriTiong King Sing nowhere in the nation’s supreme law is
(GPS-Dudong) when debating the bill said the position mentioned as the “premier”.
Explaining the adoption of the word Sarawak should strive for more autonomy
“premier” to substitute “chief minister” powers by passing appropriate resolutions “It would be better to take concrete
under Article 6(3) of the Sarawak Consti- or amending other related portions of the steps to benefit Sarawak and Sarawakians
tution, he said it is a similar set-up prac- State Constitution. tangibly rather than rushing into a name
tised in other Commonwealth regions. change that may bring some self-gratifi-
“Matters involving the interests and cation but may ultimately be criticised for
“The head of the federation is styled as rights of the people of Sarawak must be being unconstitutional,” he said.
the prime minister and heads of regions prioritised. So too must subjects involving
constituting the federation are styled as household income, employment opportu- But Fazzruddin Abdul Rahman
premiers, while the other subregions or nities and infrastructure development in (GPS-Tupong) said changing the title
states are headed by chief ministers,” he Sarawak,” he said. provides a distinction of Sarawak’s chief
said. executive to that of the chief ministers of
Melaka and Penang.
Also proposed in the bill is the redesig-
nation of the term “assistant minister” to “What is more important is the spirit be-
“deputy minister”. hind the introduction of this new word or
title to signify the difference among the three
Abdul Karim said the redesignation is partners forming Malaysia,” he added.
necessary in view of the responsibilities

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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): MACC MACC’s Azam republished on Dec 15 last year.
chief commissionerTan Sri Azam Baki has Baki questions In her statement of defence (filed on
called whistleblower K Lalitha’s employ- Lalitha’s ability
ment history and her ability as an investi- as an investigative Feb 3), she claimed that her sources for
gative reporter into question. the reports were reliable and credible.
reporter
Azam raised these issues in his reply to Azam claimed that the reports were “sen-
her statement of defence filedTuesday (Feb by Tarani Palani sational, scandalous and offensive and were
15) over a report written by her over his theedgemarkets.com written and republished with malicious intent
2015 purchase of shares that was carried by to give a bad perception to the readers that the
the outlet Independent News Service (INS). plaintiff was a corrupt civil servant or one who
has abused his position as a senior MACC
He said Lalitha claimed that she worked official for his or his sibling’s interests”.
with Center to Combat Corruption and
Cronyism (C4 Center) in her statement He claimed that the reports have tar-
of defence filed on Feb 3 this year but the nished his reputation and is asking that
center had made statements to the con- they cease to be republished, for the ar-
trary on Jan 14 this year. ticles to be deleted and an apology to be
published in the media.
This he said was an attempt to mislead
the court. He is also seeking RM10 million in gen-
eral damages, aggravated damages, interest,
C4 Center had earlier released a state- costs and other reliefs deemed fit by the court.
ment to clarify that Lalitha had ceased to
be an employee of the center since Decem- In a press conference on Jan 5 address-
ber 2020 and that she is an independent ing the allegations, Azam said his share
journalist and consultant. trading account had been used by his
younger brother to purchase shares in 2015.
They added that they were not linked
to her work with INS. The following day, the Securities Com-
mission Malaysia (SC) said it would con-
In his reply filed onTuesday at the Kua- duct an inquiry into the matter and sub-
la Lumpur High Court, Azam pointed to sequently appeared to clear him of any
this as among the reasons to question Lal- offence on Jan 18.
itha’s ability as an “investigative reporter”.
The SC said it could not conclusively
He is suing Lalitha over two articles establish if he had breached Section 25(4)
titled “BusinessTies Among MACC Leader- of the Securities Industry (Central Deposi-
ship: How Deep Does It Go? (Part 1)” and tories) Act 1991 (SICDA), which provides
“Business Ties Among MACC Leadership: that a trading account must be opened in
How Deep Does It Go? (Part Two)” that the name of the beneficial owner or au-
were published on INS on Oct 26 and thorised nominee.

PUTRAJAYA (Feb 15):The Court of Ap- Court of but all the applications were rejected by
peal had on Tuesday (Feb 15) upheld the Appeal upholds the Malaysian government.
High Court’s 2019 decision to grant Ma-
laysia citizenship to a 15-year-old girl born 15-year-old A DNA test was done to prove that her
to a Malaysian father and Filipino mother girl’s Malaysian Malaysian father and Filipino mother are
because the High Court had interpreted her biological parents.
the law correctly in its verdict. citizenship
The High Court, which had in 2019 de-
In a unanimous decision onTuesday, the by hafiz yatim clared the girl a Malaysian citizen based on
three-member Court of Appeal bench, com- theedgemarkets.com the Federal Constitution, had also directed
prising judges Datuk Gunalan Muniandy, the Malaysian government to issue her a
Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said and Datuk citizenship certificate and an identity card.
Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, said the court
did not agree with submissions by the Ma- At the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, the
laysian government, Home Affairs Ministry girl was represented by lawyers Annou Xavi-
and National Registration Department to er and Larissa Ann Louis while senior feder-
not grant Malaysian citizenship to the girl. al counsel Liew Horng Bin represented the
Malaysian government, Home Affairs Min-
Gunalan said: “In our judgment, this istry and National Registration Department.
court finds the High Court judge had in- Read also:
terpreted the law correctly.Therefore, we Appellate court dismisses Cambodian
find there is no clear error of law in the woman’s appeal for Malaysian
High Court in arriving at the decision.” citizenship Click here

The girl, who was born in Perak in No- Court grants interim stay on former
vember 2006, was indicated as a non-citizen Bangladeshi diplomat’s deportation
in her birth certificate because her parents Click here
registered their marriage in January 2008.

Her father had applied three times for
her Malaysian citizenship in February
2008, October 2011 and December 2012

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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): High Court Shafee’s bid to Shafee is facing two money laundering
judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin has expunge witness charges involving RM9.5 million, which the
dismissedTan Sri Muhammad Shafee Ab- prosecution alleged was received from for-
dullah’s bid to expunge certain parts of In- statement mer prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
land Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB) of- in money
ficer Syed Nasrul Fahmi Syed Mohamad’s laundering case Shafee is also facing two charges of
witness statement in the senior lawyer’s dismissed making false statements to the IRB.
RM9.5 million money laundering trial.
by Timothy Achariam On the money laundering charges in-
Jamil, in his ruling onTuesday (Feb 15), theedgemarkets.com volving the RM9.5 million, the prosecution
said the portions Shafee is seeking to ex- alleged that Shafee received the payment in
punge are relevant to prove the charges Zahid Izzani Mohd Said/The Edge two tranches comprising a RM4.3 million
levelled against the lawyer. portion in 2013 and a RM5.2 million por-
Shafee is facing two money laundering charges tion in 2014.
With that, the judge dismissed the ap- involving RM9.5 million, which the prosecution
plication. He also said Shafee’s legal team On Sept 13,2018,Shafee,who was charged
could always cross-examine the witness to alleged was received from former prime under the Anti-Money Laundering,Anti-Ter-
determine the accuracy and truthfulness minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. rorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful
of the said witness statement. Activities Act 2001, pleaded not guilty to the
charges of receiving proceeds from unlawful
Submissions on the application began activity via cheques issued by Najib.
last Thursday morning after Syed Nasrul
read his witness statement in chambers. Previously, it was reported that the
money was remitted into Shafee’s CIMB
Representing Shafee was lawyer Harvin- Bank Bhd account.
derjit Singh while deputy public prosecu-
tor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz represented the The prosecution had alleged that Sha-
prosecution team. fee received a cheque for RM4.3 million
on Sept 13, 2013 and another cheque for
Harvinderjit said Syed Nasrul had given RM5.2 million on Feb 17, 2014.
conclusions on issues regarding Muham-
mad Shafee’s case, the verdict of which Shafee was alleged to have committed
can only be decided by the court. both offences at CIMB Bank’s branch,
which bears the address J2 & K1, Taman
“Syed Nasrul was giving his legal opin- Tunku in Bukit Tunku here.
ion on these matters despite not having a
legal background. He was charged under the IncomeTax
Act 1967 under which he faces two charges
“The witness had spoken about docu- of being involved in transactions of pro-
ments which have not been produced as ev- ceeds from unlawful activity by making
idence before the court,” Harvinderjit said. inaccurate statements to the IRB.

Afzainizam had subsequently rebutted The lawyer was alleged to have commit-
the defence team’s assertions on Syed Nas- ted the offences at the IRB’s Duta branch
rul’s witness statement. along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim here.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15): Datin Seri Rosmah’s solar An affidavit to recall former Jepak Hold-
Rosmah Mansor’s solar hybrid graft trial has hybrid graft trial ings Sdn Bhd managing director Saidi
been postponed yet again due to her counsels’ Abang Samsudin for further examination
close contact with a Covid-19 positive case. hits another will also be heard then.
Covid-19 related
Datuk Akberdin Abdul Kader, one of This is not the first time the trial has been
her counsels who has tested positive, was snag, matter postponed due to the party’s close-contact
in close contact with other members of adjourned until status. Last December, the trial was post-
her defence team — Datuk Jagjit Singh poned several times due to Rosmah’s own
and Azrul Zulkifli Stork. Feb 23 close contact with a Covid-19 positive case.

Reading from a letter informing the by Tarani Palani Rosmah is accused of seeking RM187.5
High Court of the development, Judge Mo- theedgemarkets.com million or a 15% cut of a RM1.25 billion
hamed Zaini Mazlan said that Akberdin project from Saidi in 2016 for helping to
was diagnosed with Covid-19 on Saturday have to be quarantined for seven days in secure the project.
(Feb 12), while Jagjit and Azrul Zulkif- accordance with the latest standard oper-
li were in contact with him on Thursday. ating procedures. The project was for an integrated hybrid
power generation system involving solar
Jagjit, who was present in the court ear- The new date is set for Feb 23, when panels, maintenance and operation of die-
lier, left before the case was in session on former First Lady of Malaysia (FLOM) sel generators for the supply of electricity
the judge’s order. department head Datuk Seri Siti Azizah to 369 schools in rural Sarawak.
Sheikh Abod will be cross-examined.
“Jagjit and Azrul Zulkifli were with him Rosmah, the wife of former prime min-
(Akberdin) on the 10th, which means they ister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is also ac-
too would have to be quarantined. That cused of accepting an additional RM6.5
was why I asked him (Jagjit) to leave,” the million from Saidi — through her aide
judge said. Datuk Rizal Mansor back then — as a re-
ward for helping the company obtain the
The court was informed that Akberdin, said project via direct negotiations with
who had received two doses of the Cov- the Ministry of Education.
id-19 vaccine but yet to be boosted, would

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April 18 fixed for decision on i-Serve Online
Mall’s judicial review leave application

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 15):The High by Shazni Ong related to i-Serve Online Mall and its
Court has fixed April 18 to deliver its theedgemarkets.com affiliates, following the filing of its judi-
decision on i-Serve Online Mall Sdn cial review and a report that appeared on
Bhd’s leave application for a judicial re- pur and Selangor had been raided in an theedgemarkets.com on Jan 27.
view challenging the freezing of several operation led by the National Anti-Fi-
of its accounts by Bank Negara Malaysia nancial Crime Centre with BNM as the ‘Partial release of accounts done in
(BNM) since last November. lead agency. bad faith’
When contacted by theedgemarkets.com,
The court on Tuesday (Feb 15) heard On Nov 18, i-Serve Online Mall is- a spokesperson said i-Serve Online Mall
an objection by the Attorney General’s sued a statement claiming BNM’s press had argued that BNM acted in bad faith
Chambers (AGC) to the application on release was inaccurate. It is understood when it granted the variation orders for
the grounds that the judicial review would that i-Serve Online Mall has since issued only 10 accounts on the eve of the expiry
be academic as the freeze orders issued a letter of demand against BNM for mak- of the freeze orders.
since November last year had been su- ing a false and defamatory press release.
perseded by new seizure orders made i-Serve Online Mall also argued that
recently. On Jan 26, i-Serve Online Mall, its the law relating to freeze orders had
shareholders Datuk Goh Hwan Hua and changed and that parliament had enacted
Lawyers for i-Serve Online, howev- Boon Soon Heng, Goh’s wife Datin Neow new Sections 44 and 44A to protect the
er, argued that the judicial review was Ean Lee, i-Serve Technology & Vacations rights of persons subject to freeze orders.
still relevant considering that more than Sdn Bhd, Advance Digital Ventures Bhd
30 accounts of the company and that of and Trillion Cove Holdings Bhd filed the The AGC took the position that leave
other applicants continued to be frozen. judicial review application against BNM should not be granted on the basis that
and its officers, challenging the freeze the investigative powers of BNM in the
Following this, Justice Datuk Wan Ah- order. present matter was not amenable to ju-
mad Farid Wan Salleh fixed April 18 to dicial review and that the legal action
deliver his decision on whether or not Goh said in his affidavit that BNM’s was academic since the freeze orders had
to grant leave. action was tainted with mala fide (bad in- lapsed.
tention), illegality and an abuse of power.
In judicial review cases, leave or per- A freeze order made under the An-
mission has to be granted to ensure that In the judicial review application, ti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Fi-
the application is not frivolous, vexatious i-Serve Online Mall named six respond- nancing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activ-
or an abuse of the court process. ents: BNM, the central bank’s financial ity Act 2001 (AMLATFPUA) shall cease
intelligence and enforcement department to have effect after 90 days from the date
Federal counsel M Kogilambigai ap- (FIED) director Mohd Fuad Arshad, of the order.
peared for the AGC, while i-Serve Online FIED manager Sarah Syamimi Mohd
Mall and the other applicants were rep- Suhaimi, FIED officers Muhammad i-Serve Online Mall is also seeking a
resented by Datuk DP Naban, Chetan Banjumaswira Ishak and Maisarah Na- certiorari order to quash the freeze or-
Jethwani and Amiratu Al Amirat. jla Mansor as well as the AGC’s deputy ders that BNM issued on Nov 11 last
public prosecutor Kamal Baharin Omar. year under the AMLATFPUA’s Section
In mid-November last year, BNM is- 44, and damages suffered in relation to
sued a press release stating that 22 prem- In late January, BNM issued a letter the issuance of the orders.
ises linked to i-Serve Online Mall and to lift the freezing of some 10 accounts
its related affiliates across Kuala Lum- theedgemarkets.com understands that
BNM served on solicitors of i-Serve
Online Mall the new seizure orders on
Tuesday morning before the court hear-
ing.The company spokesperson claimed
that the new orders were backdated to
Jan 28, which was not disclosed to the
court earlier.

“It is an abuse of investigative pow-
ers when an enforcement agency, like
BNM, having already frozen the com-
panies’ 45 business accounts for already
three months, now wants to extend them
for another nine months.

“BNM has not informed what else
they needed whereas the plaintiffs have
fully cooperated. It is irrational and per-
verse to kill a company in this manner es-
pecially in this post-pandemic economic
recovery stage of the country,” said the
spokesperson, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

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Russian Defence Ministry Handout via Reuters

Russian Glencore sets
servicemen aside US$1.5 bil
drive tanks as graft probes
during military
exercises in near end
the Leningrad
Region, Russia, by Thomas Biesheuvel
in this handout Bloomberg
picture released
Feb 14, 2022. LONDON (Feb 15): Glencore Plc said
it expects corruption probes by US, UK
Russia says a ban on further expansion of the North At- and Brazilian authorities to be resolved
some troops are lanticTreaty Organisation that would include this year, as the world’s biggest commodity
returning to base a refusal of future membership for Ukraine. trader reported its highest-ever profit and
They have rejected his demands but offered almost US$4 billion in shareholder returns.
after drills talks on other security issues including on
missile restrictions and measures to build con- A settlement — Glencore has set
by Henry Meyer fidence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lav- aside US$1.5 billion — would remove a
Bloomberg rov described those proposals as “construc- big question mark over the company and
tive” and recommended to continue talks at clear the slate for new Chief Executive Of-
MOSCOW (Feb 15): Russia announced the the meeting with Putin, while also extending ficer Gary Nagle.The investigations over-
start of a pullback of some forces after drills efforts to attain the broader guarantees. shadowed the final years of his predeces-
that raised US and European alarm about a sor and major Glencore shareholder Ivan
possible military assault on Ukraine. The ruble rose on the news, strengthening Glasenberg, who ran the company for al-
1.3% against the US dollar to 75.5518 as at most two decades before selecting Nagle
Markets rallied on news of the withdrawal 12:53pm in Moscow. Oil retreated from the to replace him.
as investors took the move as a positive sign highest since 2014 as traders weighed a pos-
of possible de-escalation by Russia amid a sible cooling in the crisis. Brent futures fell as The company has been under investi-
major diplomatic push following weeks of much as 2.1% to trade below US$95 a bar- gation by the DoJ since 2018, relating to
warnings from the US and Europe about the rel while futures in NewYork also slumped. possible corruption and money launder-
risks of a conflict.The Kremlin has consist- ing. The probes have spooked investors
ently denied it plans an attack and President The pullback was announced hours be- and refocused attention on some of the
Vladimir Putin endorsed continued diplo- fore Putin is due to meet in Moscow with fundamental questions of commodities
macy with theWest at talks with his foreign German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the latest trading.The secretive industry was tradi-
minister on Monday. Western leader to hold talks with him on tionally willing to do business in some of
the crisis. Putin had separate phone calls on the poorest and corrupt countries, often
Units of theWestern and Southern mili- Saturday with US President Joe Biden and relying on middlemen to help secure deals.
tary districts are already loading equipment French President Emmanuel Macron, who
onto road and rail transport after completing also travelled to Moscow last week for nearly “We recognize that there has been mis-
their drills and will begin returning to their six hours of talks with the Kremlin leader. conduct in this company historically and
permanent basesTuesday, Defence Ministry there were flaws in our culture and we’ve
spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video After warning that a Russian invasion worked very hard to correct that,” Nagle
posted on its website. Other military units could take place as soon as this week, the told reporters on Tuesday. “We want to
are continuing drills at training grounds in US has evacuated its embassy from Kyiv and complete these investigations, put a line
Russia and “as soon as the combat training urged American citizens to leave Ukraine. under that and move forward.”
activities are completed, the troops, as always, The Kremlin has dismissed US claims as
will” return to their bases, he said. “hysteria”, while accusing the government A fine of US$1.5 billion would be a big
in Kyiv of preparing to try to retake regions black mark for a blue-chip company and
The US and NATO have warned that in eastern Ukraine held by Russian-backed one of the largest ever under the US For-
Russia has massed some 130,000 troops near separatists by force. Ukraine denies this. eign Corrupt Practices Act, but is dwarfed
the border with Ukraine in preparation for by Glencore’s profit — the company re-
a possible invasion and demanded a with- Some of the troops on exercise on Belarus ported record core earnings of US$21.3
drawal to ease tensions. Russia has rejected have moved closer to the border than expect- billion, nearly double a year earlier.
the accusations while saying movements of ed, according toWestern intelligence officials.
forces on its own territory are an internal They added their intelligence showed there A possible fine and further sanctions
matter. Russia is continuing its largest drills were currently 100 Russian battalion tactical have long been seen as a value destructive
in years in neighbouring Belarus that are due groups massed near Ukraine’s borders and overhang on the stock, and the chance to
to finish on Feb 20 and is conducting naval 14 more in transit.The officials did not de- remove it by the end of the year is likely to
exercises in the Black Sea that are scheduled tail the evidence behind their assessments. be welcomed by investors.The company
to wrap up on Sunday. said the timing and outcome of investiga-
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu tions in Switzerland and the Netherlands
Putin has called for the US and its allies to told Putin on Monday that some of Russia’s remains uncertain but would expect any
give sweeping security guarantees, including massive military exercises have already con- possible resolution to avoid duplicative
cluded, while others will end later. penalties for the same conduct.
Read also: Oil drops from 7-year high as Rus-
sia says some troops return to base Click here Click here to read the full story

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bloomberg Tuesday (Feb 15).The companies’ boards Starbucks
have approved the transaction, which they faces backlash
Intel to buy expect will close in about 12 months. in China over
Israel’sTower police incident
Semiconductor Shares in Tower were up 43% during
for US$5.4b pre-market trading inTel Aviv onTuesday. at store
Intel advanced less than 1% in NewYork.
by Ian King by Sophie Yu & Brenda Goh
Bloomberg Gelsinger, who took the CEO job a year Reuters
ago, is betting he can compete with Tai-
(Feb 15): Intel Corp agreed to acquire wan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co bloomberg
Tower Semiconductor Ltd for about (TSMC) in the chip-foundry market — the
US$5.4 billion (about RM22.61 billion), contract manufacturing of semiconductors BEIJING (Feb 15): Starbucks is battling
part of chief executive officer (CEO) Pat for other companies. His comeback plan its second bout of public fury in China
Gelsinger’s push into the outsourced for Intel involves modernising its factories in less than three months after an inci-
chip-manufacturing business. and building new ones aimed at restoring dent described by the US coffee giant as
its leadership in chip technology. a “misunderstanding” at one of its stores
Intel will pay US$53 per share in cash sparked criticism from online users and
for Tower, according to a statement on WithTower, Intel is acquiring custom- state media.
ers and expertise.The chip-foundry indus-
try requires experience in handling differ- The company came under scrutiny on
ent types of chips and designs. Intel has Monday (Feb 14) after a user onWeibo
previously had little success in that area said that a number of police officers had
because of a lack of commitment to it, been eating outside a Starbucks store in
Gelsinger has said. Intel’s factories have the south-western city of Chongqing be-
historically produced only its own designs. fore they were told by staff to move away.

Tower makes power management chips, The user’s description of the incident
image sensors and a variety of other semi- quickly went viral on theTwitter-like plat-
conductors. Its customers include Analog form, prompting the ruling Communist
Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc, according party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily news-
to data compiled by Bloomberg. paper to issue a commentary in which it
called Starbucks “arrogant”.
What the move doesn’t provide is scale.
Tower had annual sales of about US$1.3 Chinese consumers and media have
billion last year, a fraction of TSMC’s become more aggressive about protect-
US$56 billion. ing customer rights and monitoring the
Click here to read the full story behaviour of big brands, especially from
overseas.
LONDON/BENGALURU (Feb 15): Blackstone,
Blackstone Inc is leading a €21 billion partners bet In December, Starbucks apologised
(US$23.81 billion) recapitalisation of US$24 billion on and carried out inspections and staff
Mileway, the biggest operator of urban hunger for urgent training across all its roughly 5,400 stores
warehouses in Europe, as the private eq- in China after a state-backed newspa-
uity giant increases its bet on demand delivery per said two of its outlets used expired
for rapid goods delivery. ingredients.
by Lawrence White & Bhargav Acharya
Rather than list or seek a private sale, Reuters Starbucks apologised on itsWeibo ac-
the US investor is opting to recapitalise count late on Monday for “inappropriate
the logistics company, Europe’s largest The recapitalisation is subject to a “go- communications”, saying the whole thing
owner of last-mile logistics, as consumers shop” process, which will start immediate- was a misunderstanding.
worldwide increasingly demand same- ly and will run for up to 75 days, Black-
day delivery of food and other items. stone said. But it said its staff had never chased
away policemen or tried to file complaints
“Logistics is one of our highest con- That process allows Mileway time to see against them.
viction themes globally and the sector if a better deal can be found for shareholders. Click here to read the full story
continues to prove its resiliency and
strong growth potential,” James Sep- Mileway has over 1,700 assets across
pala, Blackstone’s head of real estate 10 major European countries with a team
Europe, said. of over 350 employees across 26 offices,
according to the company’s website.
Blackstone launched Mileway in 2019
to operate the more than 1,000 logistics Blackstone said the majority of the
assets the private equity firm has bought funding for the recapitalisation would
to build up its last-mile business to de- come from existing investors.
liver goods to tenants in its properties.

Existing investors in Mileway have
been offered a chance to retain or in-
crease their shareholding, or exit for
cash, the company said.

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BANGKOK (Feb 15):Thailand will allo- Thailand sets US$1.3 Imported EVs from countries that have cer-
cate about 43 billion baht (US$1.3 billion) billion budget for tain types of trade agreements withThailand
through 2025 to promote domestic use of will see levies waived if the tax rate is no more
electric vehicles (EVs) as part of the gov- EV production-hub than 40%. Imports from other countries will
ernment’s efforts to make the country a effort have rates trimmed using 40% as a benchmark.
major EV production hub.
by Prim Chuwiruch & Anuchit Nguyen Car and truck buyers will receive subsi-
Taxes and excise tariffs will be cut on Bloomberg dies of as much as 150,000 baht, depend-
imports and buyers will be offered sub- ing on a vehicle’s battery capacity.
sidies, according to a statement after the Taxes and excise tariffs
cabinet approved a series of measures on will be cut on imports Electric motorcycles will receive a sub-
Tuesday. The incentives should help the sidy of 18,000 baht per unit, according to
country meet a target that at least 30% of and EV buyers will the statement.The government’s EV plan
total car output in 2030 will be EVs, it said. be offered subsidies. is a keystone of its target to help Thailand
achieve 100% zero-emission vehicle pro-
“The measures approved will help propel charging stations, surged about 8%. duction by 2035, according to the state-
Thailand into becoming a major EV produc- Of the 43 billion baht, three billion baht ment. Southeast Asia’s second-biggest
tion hub, like the Detroit of Asia,” government economy is also bidding to retain its sta-
spokesmanThanakornWangboonkongchana will be set aside as part of the 2022 budget, tus as a regional auto manufacturing hub
said after the meeting in Bangkok.“This will while the rest will be spread over the next as global producers pivot to EVs.
increase the competitiveness of EVs domesti- three fiscal years.
cally, promote use of sustainable automotive Many of the world’s largest automakers
products that don’t cause pollution, and allow have production facilities in Thailand, in-
for faster EV adoption nationally.” cludingToyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor
Co, and Ford Motor Co.
Energy Absolute Pcl, a producer of Read also:Thailand cuts excise tax on die-
electric buses and boats as well as bat- sel to counter soaring inflation Click here
teries, jumped 4.3%. Delta Electronics
(Thailand) Pcl, a maker of auto parts and

(Feb 15): Singapore authorities are urging Singapore urges initiating transaction notifications for fund
banks to impose stronger security measures banks to step up transfers through PayNow and interbank
to prevent more phishing scams after one payments for amounts as low as one cent.
of the city state’s biggest lenders was hit by security after DBS incident
a serious case of fraud. scams, glitches OCBC’s phishing scam is the second tech-
nical incident to hit a Singapore bank in
Banks need to expand their fraud sur- by Faris Mokhtar recent months. In November, DBS Group
veillance capabilities, LawrenceWong, the Bloomberg Holdings Ltd suffered one of its worst dig-
finance minister and deputy chairman of ital disruptions in the past decade when
the Monetary Authority of Singapore log-in credentials and one-time passwords thousands of customers were unable to log
(MAS), said in Parliament onTuesday (Feb (OTPs) to phishing websites, enabling the onto its online and mobile platforms. Earli-
15).They must also increase their ability to scammers to take over their accounts. er this month, the MAS said DBS Bank Ltd
immediately block suspicious activity and Wiped out needed to boost its regulatory capital by
reach out to customers to verify transac- Many customers shared stories with local me- about S$930 million following the glitches.
tions before they are processed, he said. dia about their life savings being completely
wiped out and expressed frustration over the The MAS is now intensifying scrutiny
Beyond existing measures, the MAS bank’s slow response when they tried to call its of major financial institutions’ fraud sur-
will expect banks to develop more versa- hotline.The event also raised questions about veillance mechanisms and working with
tile algorithms using artificial intelligence safeguards amid Singapore’s push to position the industry to create a framework to clar-
and machine learning to detect suspicious itself as a tech and digital banking hub. ify how losses arising from scams can be
transactions,Wong said. Authorities are also shared among consumers and financial in-
exploring whether to let customers freeze their “This is by far the most serious phishing stitutions. It plans to publish its findings for
own account without having to contact their scam we have seen involving spoofed SMSes consultation within the next three months.
bank if they suspect it has been compromised. impersonating banks,”Wong said to lawmak-
ers who put forward 39 questions about the “Financial institutions should bear an ap-
Currently, lenders are exploring ex- incident.“I should add that this was not a cy- propriate share of losses arising from scams,
panding the use of biometric technology berattack on OCBC, but a phishing scam on but care must be taken to ensure that any com-
and accelerating the use of mobile banking OCBC’s customers who were deceived into pensation paid to customers does not weak-
apps for customer authentication, author- providing their banking credentials and OTPs en their incentive to be vigilant,”Wong said.
isation and delivery of bank notifications, on scam websites set up by the scammers. At
which could make it harder for scammers, no time was the bank’s own systems breached.” Read also:
saidWong, who was speaking in his capac- Singapore home sales remain resilient
ity as the MAS’ deputy chairman. OCBC has since made full goodwill after property curbs Click here
payouts to all affected customers and
Wong’s comments come after a Decem- tightened its security measures, such as Hong Kong sells premium land site
ber incident at Oversea-Chinese Banking for record-breaking price Click here
Corp (OCBC) when about 790 customers
of Singapore’s second-largest bank lost a
total of S$13.7 million (US$10.2 million
or about RM42.63 million) in scams. An
investigation by OCBC revealed that the
victims had provided their online banking

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world

bloomberg growing economic and political uncertain- Toyota supplier
ties,” ZEW President AchimWambach said joinsTSMC in
German investor Tuesday in a statement. “Financial market building new
confidence grows experts expect an easing of pandemic-relat-
on hope of looser ed restrictions and an economic recovery chip factory
in the first half of 2022.” in Japan
virus curbs
Germany’s economy started the year on by Shiho Takezawa
by Alexander Weber, Harumi Ichikura a weak footing. Services are reeling from Bloomberg
& Kristian Siedenburg record Covid-19 infections, manufactur-
Bloomberg ing firms are held back by shortages of TOKYO (Feb 15): Japan’s Denso Corp,
parts and raw materials, and a standoff the world’s second-biggest automotive
FRANKFURT (Feb 15): Investor confi- with Russia over Ukraine has added pres- parts supplier by sales, is joining a pro-
dence in Germany’s economic recovery im- sure on energy costs. ject led byTaiwan Semiconductor Man-
proved further as the country edges closer ufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) to build
to loosening its coronavirus restrictions. The pandemic’s omicron wave has since its first chip plant in Japan with Sony
shown signs of peaking, with the number of Group Corp.
The ZEW institute’s gauge of expecta- patients in intensive-care facilities less than
tions rose to 54.3 in February, from 51.7 half the level of early December. That’s TheToyota group company will invest
the previous month. An index of current prompted calls to ease some restrictions. US$350 million in a joint venture (JV) be-
conditions also increased. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said initial steps tweenTSMC and Sony set up for the plant
could be taken as soon as this week. in Kumamoto prefecture, south-western
“The economic outlook for Germany Japan, it said in a statement on Tuesday.
continues to improve in February despite Recent business surveys also indicated Japanese newspaper Kumamoto Nichinichi
that manufacturing bottlenecks are starting Shimbun reported on the funding earlier,
to ease. If confirmed, a high order back- saying that Denso would be a major cus-
log, as well as strong household finances, tomer for the new plant.
could fuel a strong rebound in the com-
ing months. A lack of semiconductor and parts
shortages have caused output delays for
The conflict at the Ukrainian border consumer electronics to automobiles
presents a key risk, as any further escala- across the globe. Shoppers looking to
tion threatens to hurt natural gas supplies buy new cars have been forced to wait
and increase costs for firms and consumers for weeks or months as automakers strug-
already suffering from the fastest inflation gle to produce vehicles, and the prices of
in decades. used cars have surged. The shortage is
even threatening automakers’ plans to
Russia announced on Tuesday that it’s push electric cars.
pulling back some troops. Oil retreated
from the highest since 2014 as a result. “Semiconductors are becoming in-
creasingly important in the automotive
LONDON (Feb 15):The UK doubled the UK doubles industry as mobility technologies evolve,
interest on its green retail bond following interest rate on including automated driving and elec-
rate hikes by the Bank of England (BOE), green retail bond trification,” Koji Arima, Denso’s chief
after its first effort was criticised for offer- as BOE hikes executive officer, said in the statement.
ing paltry returns. “Through this partnership, we contribute
by Greg Ritchie to the stable supply of semiconductors
The new bonds, helping finance the UK Bloomberg over the medium to long term and thus
government’s environmental projects, will to the automotive industry.”
offer a fixed annual equivalent rate of 1.3% imum limit of £100,000 per person per
over a three-year term, according to a state- issue.The UK also sold green gilts aimed Denso will take a stake of more than
ment from NS&I, a state-backed savings at institutional investors last year, breaking 10% in the venture, while Sony said last
bank.That compares with a 0.65% rate of records at the time for size and demand. November that it would also be a minor-
interest in its debut offering in October. ity shareholder.The construction of the
Individuals are increasingly being of- factory is slated to begin this year, with
Since then, the BOE’s key rate has risen fered the chance to invest directly in gov- production starting by the end of 2024.
from 0.1% to 0.5% with more increases ernments’ climate aims. UK local councils
expected in the coming months. If market have been targeting their residents, while The envisioned US$8.6 billion plant
pricing is correct, even the new 1.3% rate the Hong Kong government announced will make products as advanced as 12-na-
may soon look like a poor investment, with details of its own debut retail green bond nometer chips. It will be built next to Sony
traders betting on the BOE rate hitting on Tuesday. Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp’s
2.25% as soon as next year. plant, and the chips will likely be used
Read also: Hong Kong to raise US$770 mil- for Sony’s image sensors and cars.
“Since we launched Green Savings Bonds lion in first retail green bond Click here
in October 2021, average rates among fixed Click here to read the full story
term products have increased, along with the
bank base rate,” said NS&I chief executive
Ian Ackerley.“This new issue means that sav-
ers can save at a new competitive rate whilst
also supporting the UK’s green agenda.”

The minimum investment for the sav-
ings bonds is £100 (US$135) with a max-

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NEWYORK (Feb 15): US authorities are Morgan Stanley which, if any of them, may be suspected
scrutinizing howWall Street firms includ- among block- of wrongdoing.
ing Morgan Stanley handle block trades,
as part of a long-running probe into stock trading firms said Investment banks typically spearhead
transactions typically big enough to move to face US probe block trades. The firms acquire a slug of
markets, according to people with direct stock from an investor — such as hedge
knowledge of the matter. by Matt Robinson, Gillian Tan funds, private equity firms or venture cap-
& Sridhar Natarajan ital firms — at a discount, before parce-
The behind-the-scenes inquiry has Bloomberg ling the shares out discreetly to buyers.
been looking into how banks execute The aim is to price the blocks at a slim
the trades with help from outside market bloomberg premium, and to avoid sending a stock’s
makers, the people said. The Securities price into a dive before the transaction is
and Exchange Commission began inves- completed, which can inflict losses.
tigating in 2018, and after initial inquir-
ies and what appeared to some outsiders Banks have long strived to keep a lid
as a lull in the case, officials sought more on the unregistered stock offerings, typi-
information, with the Justice Department cally negotiating them outside of market
opening its own probe, the people said. hours to reduce the potential for stocks
It’s unclear what evidence prompted the to drop while arrangements are being
additional inquiry. made.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc also has Yet price declines before the trades have
received requests for documents, the Wall raised concerns for years that some inves-
Street Journal noted in a report on the tors may be abusing access to confidential
probe earlier Monday. information.

Spokespeople for the SEC, Justice De- Some funds that have received subpoe-
partment, Morgan Stanley and Goldman nas from the government serve as banks’
Sachs declined to comment.The opening “liquidity providers” for the deals, ready
of investigations does not mean charg- to buy up blocks, including those that
es will necessarily follow. While multiple have few interested buyers, the Journal
firms have received inquiries, it’s not clear reported, citing unidentified people with
knowledge of the matter.

(Feb 15): Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Buffett’s Bill Gates, as saying he would not buy Mi-
Hathaway Inc acquired nearly US$1 bil- Berkshire bought crosoft shares because of potential conflicts
lion of shares in Activision Blizzard Inc Activision shares of interest.
before Microsoft Corp agreed to buy the before Microsoft
video game maker for US$68.7 billion, Gates ended his 16-year run on Berk-
according to a Monday regulatory filing. takeover shire’s board in 2020. Buffett had been
a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Berkshire said that as of Dec 31, it by David Randall, Svea Herbst-Bayliss Foundation but resigned in 2021.
owned 14.7 million shares worth about & Jonathan Stempel
US$975 million of the “Call of Duty” Reuters In the fourth quarter, Berkshire also
maker. added to its stake in oil company Chevron
reuters Corp, while reducing its holdings in health-
Microsoft announced its plan to buy care companies including Bristol-Myers
Activision Blizzard on Jan 18, in its largest Squibb Co and Abbvie Inc.
ever acquisition.
Apple Inc remains Berkshire’s largest
Activision shares are up 23% this year common stock holding.
to US$81.50, though they remain well be-
low the proposed US$95 per share take- Stock sales and Buffett’s six-year
over price, reflecting potential antitrust drought in buying large whole compa-
concerns. nies have contributed to Berkshire’s re-
cord US$149.2 billion cash stake as of
Another prominent investor, Daniel Sept 30, 2021, despite at least US$21.9
Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point, bought billion of stock buybacks that year.
2 million Activision shares in the fourth
quarter. Berkshire is expected to disclose more
about its stock purchases, buybacks and
Berkshire disclosed its Activision stake cash on Feb 26, when it releases year-end
in a filing detailing its US-listed stock in- results and Buffett’s widely read annual
vestments as of Dec 31. shareholder letter.

Investors monitor Berkshire’s invest- The Omaha, Nebraska-based company
ments closely to see where Buffett and his also owns dozens of businesses including
investment managersTodd Combs andTed the BNSF railroad, Geico auto insurance
Weschler see value. and Dairy Queen ice cream.

The filings do not say who bought and Warren Buffett Read also: Musk donated over US$5.7
sold what, though Buffett generally han- billion in Tesla shares to charity in No-
dles larger investments. vember Click here

Other media have quoted Buffett, a
longtime friend of Microsoft co-founder

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world

Sea’s US$16b wipeout portends
trouble beyond India shutout

by Yoolim Lee
Bloomberg

(Feb 15): Sea Ltd lost more than US$16 The Free Fire game was the highest gross- But its links to the world’s No. 2 econo-
billion of value in its biggest daily market ing mobile game in India in the third quar- my remain strong. Founded in 2009 by Li,
drop after India abruptly banned its most ter of 2021, according to industry tracker GangYe and David Chen, a majority of its
popular mobile gaming title. Investors are App Annie. JPMorgan analyst Ranjan Shar- senior executives either hail from or have
growing concerned the ban may just be the ma slashed his price target by about 40% strong links with China.
start of the company’s troubles. to US$250, citing heightened nervousness
around Sea’s gaming franchise. Tencent, Sea’s long-time backer, is un-
Singapore-based Sea went public in 2017 dergoing a national security review in the
and quickly became the most valuable com- The ban on Free Fire could curb Sea’s US. Last month, the internet giant divulged
pany in Southeast Asia, based on its potential overall digital entertainment business, limit- plans to sell US$3 billion of Sea stock to re-
to expand its offering of gaming,e-commerce ing its ability to bankroll Shopee’s expansion duce its holding to 18.7% from more than
and financial services beyond its home turf. into new markets, said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, 20%, while eventually taking its voting in-
New Delhi’s decision to ban Free Fire — a an analyst at Lightstream Research who pro- terest down to less than a tenth.
lucrative title for the company — highlighted vides research reports on Smartkarma.“With
Sea’s challenges from geopolitical tensions Free Fire banned in India, the state of Shop- Some analysts viewed that move as an
as well as mounting competition from rivals ee’s expansion in India is at risk,” he said. effort to clear up questions about Sea’s ori-
like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Lazada. gins and who calls the shots at the company.
Sea remains one of Southeast Asia’s big- But apart from any attempt to assuage those
India has banned hundreds of Chinese gest success stories, an online retail and en- concerns,Tencent’s gradual retreat is in itself
apps over the past two years, but the ex- tertainment empire that generates almost a potentially significant blow to the company.
pansion of that policy to Sea took manage- US$10 billion of annual revenue. Some 32
ment and investors by surprise.The startup of 33 analysts still maintain buy or overweight WhileTencent is Sea’s largest shareholder,
was founded by Forrest Li, who was born ratings on the stock. Its stable of global back- it’s adopted much the same hands-off approach
in China but is now a Singaporean citizen. ers include Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment it takes with other investees in China. But its
Its biggest shareholder isTencent Holdings Management. The superstar fund manag- backing was instrumental in Sea’s ascendancy
Ltd, the Chinese social media giant. er bought more than 145,000 shares on especially in past years, when it ranked among
Monday, according to Ark data compiled the world’s best-performing stocks.
“India is seen as one of the next major by Bloomberg.
growth drivers for Sea’s e-commerce and Leveraging Tencent’s enormous global
gaming arm outside Southeast Asia,” said The most immediate question is whether distribution platform and business model,
Angus Mackintosh, founder of CrossASE- Sea can appeal India’s decision and reverse Free Fire rapidly garnered more than a billion
AN Research, which publishes reports on it — or, if it fails, whether that ban will ex- downloads on Google Play, ranking it among
Smartkarma.“With the Free Fire ban, there’s tend to its other businesses in the world’s the most popular titles in the world. Li has
a risk that the authorities would also turn fastest-growing internet economy. been candid about relying onTencent’s ex-
on the Shopee app, and Sea could lose that pertise, particularly in Sea’s early days, and
upside for growth.” On the face of it, Delhi has little justifi- his attempt to emulate its business practices.
cation for going after the company. Sea is
Investors worry that India could potential- officially a Singaporean enterprise — it’s It’s unclear how Tencent’s sell-down
ly also ban Shopee, the second pillar of Sea’s registered there and most of its workforce, would affect that relationship. Both sides
business, where it had about 300 employees including Li and his lieutenants, operate have affirmed they will continue to work to-
and 20,000 local sellers as of December. On out of the city-state. Executives have open- gether. ButTencent itself is now embarking
Monday, Li reassured shareholders at its an- ly championed programs to aid employ- on an overseas expansion after Chinese reg-
nual general meeting that the company had ment and education in Singapore, among ulators launched a crackdown on the gaming
a grip on the situation. He didn’t comment other things. sector at home — meaning it will inevitably
on the Free Fire ban in India. vie with Sea for some of the same gaming
Representatives for Singapore’s Ministry audiences — just not in India.
The markets didn’t buy it. Sea’s NewYork of Foreign Affairs and India’s Ministry of
stock plunged more than 18% overnight as Home Affairs had no immediate comment “Any kind of cracks in the revenue stream
analysts scrambled to parse India’s reasoning on the matter. from gaming will be picked up on by the
and reassess Sea’s growth prospects. Shares investment community,” Mackintosh said.
have lost almost two-thirds of their value
since October.

“Sea is a Singaporean company and we
aim to partner in India’s digital economy
mission,” the company said in a statement
in response to queries from Bloomberg News.
“We are committed to protecting the pri-
vacy and security of our users in India and
globally, we comply with Indian laws and
regulations, and we do not transfer to or
store any data of our Indian users in China.”

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MARKETS

CPO RM 5,638.00-19.00 OIL US$ 93.92-2.56 RM/USD 4.1860 RM/SGD 3.1102 RM/AUD 2.9899 RM/GBP 5.6786 RM/EUR 4.7497

Top 20 active stocks

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

Dagang NeXchange Bhd 124.90 -0.020 1.130 48.68 3565.5

Ta Win Holdings BHD 120.70 0.015 0.160 28.00 546.3

SMTrack Bhd 112.8 0.005 0.210 10.53 143.7

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd 97.8 0.010 1.140 39.88 2288.6

AHB Holdings Bhd 96.1 0.025 0.240 84.62 89.8

Sapura Energy Bhd 88.2 0.000 0.045 -10 719.1

Pasukhas Group Bhd 60.6 -0.005 0.020 -20 30.2

Meridian Bhd 54.2 0.000 0.065 0 58.8

KNM Group Bhd 54.2 0.005 0.185 23.33 680 World equity indices

D’Nonce Technology Bhd 53.9 -0.005 0.295 -11.94 110.8

Saudee Group Bhd 53.7 -0.005 0.055 0.00 54.5 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%)
Hextar Industries Bhd 46 -0.040 0.265 65.63 304 DOW JONES 34,566.17 -171.89 -0.49 (%)
INDONESIA 6,807.50 73.01 1.08
AbleGroup Bhd 44.2 0.035 0.180 50 47.5

Senheng New Retail Bhd 39.4 0.045 0.875 0.00 1,312.5 S&P 500 4,401.67 -16.97 -0.38 JAPAN 26,865.19 -214.40 -0.79

Widad Group Bhd 34.2 0.000 0.335 -8.22 922.1 NASDAQ 100 14,268.59 14.75 0.10 KOREA 2,676.54 -27.94 -1.03

Coraza Integrated Technology 34 0.080 0.850 0 364.1 FTSE 100 7,586.83 55.24 0.73 PHILIPPINES 7,309.94 -51.21 -0.70

Velesto Energy Bhd 33.9 -0.005 0.140 16.67 1150.2 AUSTRALIA 7,206.93 -36.98 -0.51 SINGAPORE 3,421.38 0.18 0.01

PUC BHD 33.7 -0.005 0.150 3.45 221.5 CHINA 3,446.09 17.21 0.50 TAIWAN 17,951.81 -45.86 -0.25

Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd 33.1 0.005 0.465 1.09 450.6 HONG KONG 24,355.71 -200.86 -0.82 THAILAND 1,701.45 16.76 0.99

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 31.1 0.450 4.690 24.73 32434.7 INDIA 58,142.05 1736.21 3.08 VIETNAM 1,492.75 20.79 1.41

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

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

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

Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.015 50.0 2727.4 50.00 66.3 MCOM Holdings Bhd 0.050 -50.000 1.0 900.00 9.4

TPC Plus Bhd 0.230 27.8 60.1 21.05 70.9 Daya Materials Bhd 0.005 -50.000 3211.0 -50.00 10.2

Dolomite Corp Bhd 0.025 25.0 102.2 -16.67 14.8 Pegasus Heights Bhd 0.010 -33.330 3954.3 0.00 107.7

AbleGroup Bhd 0.180 24.1 44,171.40 50.00 47.5 Metronic Global Bhd 0.015 -25.000 1257.9 -25.00 32.5

Jerasia Capital BHD 0.085 21.4 98.0 -46.88 7.0 Pasukhas Group Bhd 0.020 -20.000 60,582.20 -20 30.2

Ageson Bhd 0.030 20.0 2,450.90 -25.00 46.8 AE Multi Holdings Bhd 0.030 -14.290 840 0 64.9

Scomi Group Bhd 0.030 20.0 759.4 50.00 32.8 Hextar Industries Bhd 0.265 -13.110 45965.4 65.63 304.0

XOX Networks Bhd 0.040 14.3 344.5 33.33 45.4 Xidelang Holdings Ltd 0.035 -12.500 2316.8 0.00 74.1

Malaysian Genomics Resource 1.340 13.6 18835.8 15.52 166.4 XOX Technology Bhd 0.045 -10.000 78.0 -10.00 40.2

G3 Global Bhd 0.085 13.3 27605.9 6.25 184.0 Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.045 -10.000 308.5 0.00 71.9

PGF Capital Bhd 0.715 12.6 73.7 3.62 114.4 Sapura Resources Bhd 0.350 -9.090 44.3 -11.39 48.9

Oversea Enterprise Bhd 0.135 12.5 25757.6 12.50 153.2 Sinmah Capital BHD 0.165 -8.33 1362.4 13.79 55.7

AHB Holdings Bhd 0.240 11.6 96136.9 84.62 89.8 Saudee Group Bhd 0.055 -8.330 53676.5 0 54.5

Iqzan Holding Bhd 0.050 11.1 100.0 0.00 11.1 BSL Corp Bhd 0.445 -8.250 29595.1 -56.37 97.3

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 4.690 10.6 31084.6 24.73 32434.7 Woodlandor Holdings Bhd 1.450 -7.640 2964.3 88.31 58.0

Coraza Integrated Technology 0.850 10.4 33962.7 0.00 364.1 PMB Technology Bhd 17.900 -7.060 666.2 45.77 3809.1

Ta Win Holdings BHD 0.160 10.3 120692.3 28.00 546.3 Concrete Engineering 0.960 -6.800 7.3 10.34 71.6

Country Heights Holdings BHD 1.630 10.1 1140.9 -7.91 445.9 Vortex Consolidated Bhd 0.070 -6.670 2261.3 7.69 51.2

Subur Tiasa Holdings Bhd 1.480 9.6 1544 40.95 278.7 Reach Energy Bhd 0.070 -6.670 4692.8 16.67 76.7

Chuan Huat Resources BHD 0.535 9.18 5 11.46 90.2 Multi-Usage Holdings BHD 0.585 -6.400 24.0 -2.50 33.0

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

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

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

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 25.520 1.160 6933.2 17.17 27,514.50 PMB Technology Bhd 17.90 -1.36 666.2 45.77 3809.1

Genting Plantations Bhd 7.950 0.550 5216.6 18.66 7,132.70 Malaysian Pacific Industries 36.98 -0.64 441.10 -25.08 7355.2

Hong Leong Financial Group 19.500 0.500 787.6 12.46 22,332.30 Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd 3.87 -0.25 2136.4 19.08 1625.4

Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 4.690 0.450 31084.6 24.73 32,434.70 ViTrox Corp Bhd 7.85 -0.18 1065.2 -21.18 7414.8

Batu Kawan Bhd 25.300 0.420 52.90 11.45 9971 Dutch Lady Milk Industries BHD 32.20 -0.16 6.6 -3.94 2060.8

PPB Group Bhd 17.020 0.420 1,579.10 -0.47 24,212.60 Petron Malaysia Refining 4.70 -0.14 175.5 7.31 1269.0

Formosa Prosonic Industries 3.820 0.320 2029.2 1.87 966.70 Woodlandor Holdings Bhd 1.45 -0.12 2964.3 88.31 58.0

Chin Teck Plantations BHD 7.800 0.260 30.70 10.64 712.60 Dufu Technology Corp Bhd 3.36 -0.12 1741.3 -21.68 1776.5

Negri Sembilan Oil Palms BHD 3.620 0.240 29.40 17.53 254.1 Petronas Gas Bhd 17.26 -0.12 825.1 -4.11 34152.9

Riverview Rubber Estates BHD 3.430 0.230 3.9 8.20 222.40 Perusahaan Sadur Timah M’sia 3.99 -0.11 33.8 1.27 515.1

AEON Credit Service M Bhd 15.100 0.220 114.6 10.87 3,855.10 Panasonic Manufacturing 28.48 -0.10 8.8 -1.45 1730.0

Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd 5.150 0.200 13.8 7.29 2369 Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 20.02 -0.10 42.0 -0.30 6121.1

Imaspro Corp Bhd 2.390 0.190 385.50 -3.63 191.20 Pecca Group Bhd 3.34 -0.10 262.6 -2.34 642.7

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 23.980 0.180 105.9 -3.07 8,795.30 Thong Guan Industries Bhd 2.45 -0.09 914.2 -12.5 941.9

British American Tobacco M’sia 12.680 0.160 121 -9.3 3620.5 AME Elite Consortium Bhd 1.71 -0.09 905.2 -9.52 1095.6

Ta Ann Holdings Bhd 4.260 0.160 3,312.00 21.37 1876.4 Scientex BHD 4.55 -0.09 755.6 -5.01 7057

Malaysian Genomics Resource 1.340 0.160 18835.8 15.52 166.40 Ann Joo Resources Bhd 1.96 -0.08 2648.1 7.69 1063.8

Country Heights Holdings BHD 1.63 0.15 1140.9 -7.91 445.9 Heineken Malaysia Bhd 20.08 -0.08 71.4 -3.65 6066.1

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings 6.84 0.14 14747.5 18.34 55241.3 Central Global Bhd 1.04 -0.07 1758.4 -21.80 105.9

United Malacca Bhd 5.440 0.130 48.8 5.43 1141.1 Apex Healthcare Bhd 2.57 -0.07 50.2 -4.46 1224

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