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CEOMorningBrief THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2023 ISSUE 613/2023 theedgemalaysia.com SERC SEES LOCAL ECONOMY COOLING IN 2H2023 ON TEPID CONSUMPTION AND WEAKER EXPORTS p4 HOME: Bersatu questions if caretaker Selangor MB can cancel PJD Link project p2 Bursa Securities rejects GIIB’s private placement amid MACC charges against directors p7 Another PDZ shareholder emerges as substantial shareholder in Fitters Diversified p8 Dubai skyscraper draws interest from KLCC Property, China’s CIC, Saudi fund p10 WORLD: US plans US$103 bil debt sale, says issuance to keep rising p17 Report on Page 16. Thaksin-linked Thai party plans to form govt without poll winner, nominate property tycoon as PM WWW.KLSENTRAL.INFO Report on Page 3. Cabinet has approved in principle KL Sentral redevelopment, says Loke

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF published by ( 2 6 6 9 8 0 - X ) tel . 603-77218000 Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6, Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia publisher + ceo . Ho Kay Tat editor-in-chief . Kathy Fong chief commercial officer . Sharon Teh chief operating officer . Lim Shiew Yuin editors . Jenny Ng . Tan Choe Choe Lam Jian Wyn to contact editors: [email protected] to advertise: [email protected] the edge ceo morning brief Read from desktop or mobile device. You can print in A4 to read. Set print mode to fit or shrink oversize page. to get on emailing list [email protected] Bersatu questions if caretaker Selangor MB can cancel PJD Link project KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has questioned the right of Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to reject the application for the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) project, since he is currently only the caretaker Selangor menteri besar. “[Can] the caretaker government or caretaker menteri besar make impactful decisions such as this? After the announcement was made, various individuals and non-governmental organisations welcomed the decision, but rightly questioned the validity and legality of such an announcement and undertaking made by the caretaker MB,” said Bersatu’s legal and constitutional bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif. Sasha also questioned why Amirudin only announced the cancellation of the project on Monday (July 31), the third day of campaigning for the Selangor state election. “Why was this announcement made during the election period, and not at any point earlier?” she asked. Sasha also slammed Amirudin for saying on Tuesday evening that the PJD Link project may be revived if it complies with the KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Four Petaling Jaya residents who filed legal action against the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) want the Selangor government to give its firm commitment to reject any future highway development in the area. The four, who are part of the “Say No to PJD Link” movement led by lawyer T Chakaravarthi, in a statement on Wednesday (Aug 2) said that while they welcome caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari’s announcement of the cancellation of the project, there are subsequent news quoting Amirudin as saying that the project may be revived if some conditions are met. “With such an unclear caveat, we are concerned that there will be an attempt to introduce another version of the PJD Link.” They noted that in the past, there was a proposal for the Kinrara Damansara HOME BY LAM JIAN WYN theedgemalaysia.com BY HAFIZ YATIM theedgemalaysia.com requirements set by the state government. “Is he playing the fool with the hearts and minds of PJ voters? Or is this unprincipled campaigning being practised by Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN)? “Amirudin is also standing as a candidate in Sungai Tua, and he has no business making promises such as this in the midst of election campaigning,” said Sasha. The proposed PJD Link is a 25.4km elevated highway that cuts across Petaling Jaya to connect Damansara and Bandar Kinrara in Selangor. On Monday, Amirudin announced that the Selangor government had rejected the PJD Link application, as it was “not satisfied with the plans proposed”, especially in relation to its social impact on Petaling Jaya residents. According to him, the highway had received approval in principle from the BN federal Cabinet on Nov 12, 2017, which was led by then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. Following this, the proposal was brought to the Selangor State Economic Action Council on Sept 3, 2020, which then allowed for studies to be done involving Petaling Jaya residents. Amirudin was already the menteri besar of the PH-led state government at the time. The proposal was then presented to the federal Cabinet on Nov 12, 2021. The proposal’s approval required the Selangor government’s go-ahead, said Amirudin, referring to a concession agreement that was signed in April 2022 by the Perikatan Nasional-BN federal government, led by then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Four residents want Selangor govt’s firm commitment to reject future highway development in PJ Expressway (Kidex), only for it to be cancelled, and then the PJD Link was mooted. They said residents in Petaling Jaya would not want to experience such an episode again. “Now that it is clear that the overwhelming majority do not wish for such a highway [to] be built, both the federal and state governments should reject any similar proposals from the outset, and not grant approvals (be it conditional or otherwise), which would unnecessarily drag the community through such an ordeal again,” they added. They said that rumours of the development of a mega highway being imminent had caused anxiety and restlessness among the community, resulting in protests and campaigns in the past four years to oppose it. The four also requested for the government to declassify the PJD Link concession agreement, and also provide the public with the environment impact assessment, transport impact assessment and social impact assessment, which they had requested in their judicial review application. They said that if their demands are not met within a week, they would assume that there is no serious commitment by the Selangor government to reject future proposals for a mega highway similar to Kidex or the PJD Link, and that there is no intention by the authorities to provide them with the documents in their judicial review application. Read the full story

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Stressing the need for the government to improve its social protection scheme, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) said the legal coverage of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should be extended to all workers in the labour force. As of Dec 31, 2022, more than 40% of the workforce is not covered under any formal pension and retirement programme in Malaysia, noted MIER in a statement after holding a dialogue on Budget 2024 attended by key representatives from government, industry leaders, investment bankers, and academics. “Currently, the legal coverage of the workforce under a formal pensions and retirement programme is at 56% (EPF only: 47% of the labour force), which is 12% lower than the global average of 68%,” said MIER. It noted that the EPF is exploring a mechanism to extend its mandatory coverage to the uncovered segments of the labour force (80% of the labour force by 2035) through a phased approach with differentiated contribution rates for different work segments. “The proposed mechanism is to increase the individual’s accountability in saving to ensure income during retirement and thus optimising the government’s longterm fiscal expenditure in social spending for the elderly,” said MIER. The extension, it said, will focus on three main work segments, namely contract for service workers (formal and informal), business owners, and independent workers/self-employed. For Budget 2024, MIER said the government can consider announcing the long-term policy direction towards mandatory EPF coverage of all workers in the labour force by implementing Phase 1 (voluntary opt-out mechanism). This includes mandatory coverage for formal contracts of service workers in the public sector (employers: 2%; employees: 2%), and auto-registration of more than 550,000 Malaysians attaining the age of 18 into EPF and the Social Security Organisation (Socso). It also includes collaboration with platform providers through auto-registration and auto-deduction mechanisms for more MIER: Extend EPF coverage to all workers, starting with optout mechanism PUTRAJAYA (Aug 2): The Cabinet has on Wednesday (Aug 2) approved in principle the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) proposal regarding the redevelopment of Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station (KL Sentral), the main public transport hub in the capital, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke. Loke said the redevelopment of KL Sentral will involve privatisation, with an estimated cost of over RM1 billion. He added that KL Sentral will be redeveloped in collaboration with the Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB), the developer of the entire KL Sentral project, without involving financial implications to the government. “In return, MRCB will get air rights to build commercial buildings or condominiums, and the government will get a modern, sophisticated station for passenger needs,” he said in a press conference here on Tuesday. Loke said the original architecture of KL Sentral was for a capacity of only 100,000 passengers a day, but now it reaches 200,000 passengers a day. Although the government has agreed in principle, it is still subject to further discussion between the Prime Minister’s Department’s Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) and MRCB, where both parCabinet has approved in principle KL Sentral redevelopment, says Loke Bernama BY JUSTIN LIM theedgemalaysia.com ties are given a maximum period of two years for the purpose of discussion, he said. “If they can finalise the cooperation earlier, then the redevelopment can be accelerated. For MOT it is an important, strategic project, which needs to be given priority,” he said. Among the conditions set by the government through the redevelopment proposal is that KL Sentral must be redeveloped first before any other development can be started by MRCB. During the redevelopment, Loke said KL Sentral will continue to operate as usual, and assured that it will not involve any relocation of the station. “Once the station is completed, then MRCB will be given the right to develop their projects,” said Loke. Read also: Only one theory test needed to obtain car, motorcycle driving licence starting Sept 15 JPJ branches ordered to take down ‘no physical road tax’ notice, says Loke than 300,000 gig workers to the EPF, and collaboration with the regulatory body to auto-register more than 450,000 informal sector workers, the self-employed and gig workers (non-platform) to the EPF. MIER also called for the introduction of a contributory national pension scheme (CNP), which it said is a pivotal step in establishing a multi-pillar pension framework. The research outfit said that the CNP will be supported by the EPF as a key institution in managing old-age income security risks by providing a basic lifelong income stream for the elderly. MIER also suggested that the government establish a national social protection floor through universal cash transfer programmes. It said the government should move towards universal benefits to strengthen the currently weak social contract and build higher trust levels among citizens. “The proposed cash transfer programmes will include universal children’s allowance, a payment of RM100 per month per child for all children aged 0-17. “A universal social pension for the elderly, whereby RM100 per month is given for all elderly people aged 70 and above. This can be accorded to all regardless of socio-economic status,” it said. Read the full story ZAHID IZZANI/THE EDGE Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Malaysia’s economic growth is expected to cool in the second half of 2023 (2H2023) to 4%-5%, reflecting a decline in exports and tepid consumer spending amid a moderate global economic environment, according to the Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC). The research outfit’s executive director Lee Heng Guie said the normalisation of domestic demand, which has already eroded the base effect, sticky core inflation and high cost of living, as well as policy uncertainties awaiting the outcome of the six state elections will continue to weigh on the health of the economy. “The robust consumer spending we have seen before may not happen again. Based on our data, it has normalised due to inflation, and high cost of living. There will be growth, albeit at a slower pace. Cash stimulus has been spent, and [the] revenge spending we saw in [the] post pandemic [period] has already faded,” said Lee at a briefing on the SERC Quarterly Economic Tracker report on Wednesday (Aug 2). However he said the stable labour market, lower unemployment rate, accommodative interest rate and stronger investment approvals that amounted to RM71.4 billion in the first quarter of this year, will continue to provide support to the growth of the economy. Lee also stressed the need for strategic policies to be rolled out by the government, that will provide better clarity for the country’s economic participants. “Directives such as the New Industrial Master Plan would provide a strategic direction for high quality and value-added industries to accelerate Malaysia‘s industrial growth by stimulating innovation, boosting technology adoption, tackling global concerns, and ensuring economic stability and inclusivity,” he added. Globally, Lee foresees that China’s significant slowdown in economic growth could be a risk for trading partners like Malaysia, in which the slowdown could deprive important Chinese demand for raw materials and consumer goods. He added that exports earned from China’s robust demand in the past could fade. “China’s high youth unemployment data is a cause for concern, which has hit about 21% in June. The Chinese real estate sector has also been under pressure for the last one year, which has not been fully addressed,” he said, adding that over in the United States, a recession risk is very much on the cards in the next six months. Lee said the overall picture is that monetary tightening is clearly slowing and likely to pause in the second half of year 2023. Inflation may have peaked, but upside risks could make the monetary policy tightening more challenging. “Ultimately, central bank policy moves will be driven by the current and expected path of inflation,” he said at the briefing. The research house expects headline inflation to range between 2.8% and 3.3% this year, easing from an estimated 3.5% last year. It also forecasts the central bank would pause its overnight policy rate at 3% this SERC sees local economy cooling in 2H2023 on tepid consumption and weaker exports BY PRIYATHARISINY VASU theedgemalaysia.com year, taking into account the global growth concerns, moderating domestic economic growth and easing inflation. “There is, however, renewed inflation pressure following the changes in domestic fuel subsidy policy and also the impact of a weakening ringgit. “If such a scenario plays out, BNM will have no choice but to hike rates further if the growth continues at a steady pace,” Lee said. The research house also expects headline inflation to average at 2.8% for this year, although core inflation is expected to stay elevated. Amid stable labour market conditions, the research firm expects growth in private consumption to continue normalising as consumers tighten discretionary spending in response to inflation and rising cost of living. Private consumption in 1Q2023 grew by 5.9% and is expected to increase by between 4.5% and 5.0% in 2023-2024. “We have reasons to expect a moderate pace of households’ consumption as they exercise discretion between necessities, consumer durables and non-necessities in coping with rising cost of living. “In addition, higher interest rates (borrowing costs) would mean higher debt service payments for higher-debt borrowers. 53.4% of total household loan accounts have floating-rate loans,” Lee said. Read also: MIDF Research expects Malaysia’s GDP growth to moderate at 4.2% in 2023 Malaysia’s GDP continued to expand by 5.6% y-o-y in 1Q, supported largely by resilient consumer spending Real GDP Growth (%; 2015=100) Source: Socio-Economic Research Centre Year-on-Year Quarter-on-Quarter (sa) -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 1Q 2018 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2019 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2020 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2021 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2022 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2023 Note: BNM adopted Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) as policy rate since 2004. Sources: BNM; Federal Reserve; DOSM, Socio-Economic Research Centre Real Interest Rate (OPR minus inflation) -5.0 5.4 June 0.6 -6.0 -4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 %

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THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Analysts anticipate that the banking sector will stay in a positive trajectory in the second half of the year despite a slower growth in business loans reported. According to the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Monthly Highlights report for June 2023, Malaysia’s credit to the private non-financial sector was broadly sustained at 3.9%, compared with 4% in May 2023, although credit to businesses grew at a slower pace of 2.6%, versus 2.8% previously. In a note on Wednesday (Aug 2), Maybank Investment Bank Bhd analyst Desmond Ch’ng maintained a “positive” rating on banks, even though loan growth of 4.4% in June 2023 currently trails its full-year loan growth forecast of 5% for the year. “Nevertheless, we expect a pick-up in loan growth in the second half (2H) [of 2023] amid easing inflationary pressures, stable interest rates and a stronger ringgit,” said Ch’ng. Moreover, as margin pressure is abating, he expects it should contribute to better interest margins in the 2HFY2023. The analyst noted that the current account savings account (CASA) ratio contracted for the sixth consecutive month, but by a lower 4.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) compared to 4.9% y-o-y in May 2023. “The industry’s CASA ratio nevertheless improved to 29.3% end-June 2023 from 28.9% end-May 2023 and compares against a pre-Covid CASA ratio of 26.5% end-Dec 2019,” he said. He observed that headline inflation eased further to 2.4% in June 2023 from 2.8% in May 2023, and as a result, opined that the return on deposits turned positive for the first time since Feb 2021, and this relieves pressure on interest rate hikes. Maybank Investment’s preferred bank stocks are CIMB Group Holdings Bhd with a “buy” call and a target price (TP) of RM6.15, AMMB Holdings Bhd (Buy, TP: RM4.15), Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd (Buy, TP: RM4), Hong Leong Bank Bhd (Buy, TP: RM22.70), Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (Buy, TP: RM22.20) and RHB Bank Bhd (Buy, TP: RM6.40). Analysts remain upbeat on banking sector in 2H2023 KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Malaysian national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is among the region’s top 10 cash holders, which collectively held US$532 billion or 40% of the total Asian cash balance as at end-2022, according to a report by Moody’s Investors Service. Petronas has been accorded an A2 rating with a stable outlook, Moody’s said. Besides Petronas, the other nine companies comprised seven from China, and one each from South Korea and Taiwan. “Three major Chinese national oil companies — China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group, A1 stable), China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, A1 stable), and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC, A1 stable), as well as Petronas (A2 stable), are the only four oil and gas (O&G)- based companies in the top 10 cash holders. “Together, they held 86% of the O&G sector’s cash balance at the end of 2022. These companies maintain high cash balances through the O&G price cycle, which reflects their strong liquidity and prudent financial policies,” Moody’s said in a statement. The international credit rating company said a high cash balance provides a buffer against industry cyclicality and allows a company to act quickly on potential acquisition opportunities. Petronas among region’s top 10 cash holders, rated A2 by Moody’s with a stable outlook Bernama BY ANIS HAZIM theedgemalaysia.com Moody’s said the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), O&G, and property sectors dominate the region’s cash pile. “TMT companies hold a quarter of the cash pile, helped by strong cash flow generation. O&G companies ranked second in cash holdings, supported by elevated energy prices. The property sector ranked third, despite a contraction in cash holdings in 2022.” Overall, Moody’s said the cash holdings of rated non-financial companies in Asia (excluding Japan) will hold steady at around US$1.3 trillion in the next 12-18 months, as investment-grade companies, which account for most of the cash holdings, maintain their significant cash positions. Moody’s report examined the cash holdings of 214 non-financial companies in Asia (excluding Japan) as of June 30, 2023. It said cash continues to bear an important role in supporting a company’s liquidity and is vital for operational needs, corporate solvency and the ability to pay off short-term liabilities as they come due. Furthermore, ample cash allows a company to seize investment opportunities as they arise, and acts as a buffer against unexpected expenses or downturns in a business. CGS-CIMB Research analyst Winson Ng, who also reiterated his “overweight” call on banks, said that the research house is “not overly concerned about the moderation in loan growth”. “We are not overly concerned about the weakening of the loan growth as even if loan growth disappoints, we do not expect loan growth in 2023 to be far below our projected 4% to 5%, and every 1% point cut in our loan growth projection would only lower our calendar year of 2024 (CY2024) forecast net profit by 0.8%, based on our estimate,” said Ng. He viewed June’s month-on-month (m-o-m) drop of RM796.5 million in gross impaired loans (GIL) positively, as it was the largest m-o-m decline in 1H2023. “This lowered the banking industry’s GIL ratio from 1.8% at end-May 23 to 1.76% at end-Jun 23. Based on the latest trends, we think that GIL ratio should peak soon. Hence, we see minimal risk of GIL ratio surpassing our end-2023 projection of 2%,” he said. The analyst is also positive on the banking sector following the potential further quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) decline in the second quarter of 2023 (2QFY2023) in loan loss provisioning (LLP). Read the full story

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Mudajaya Group Bhd has secured a contract worth RM195.1 million for works related to the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) in Terengganu from the development’s main contractor, China Communications Construction (ECRL) Sdn Bhd. In a bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug 2), Mudajaya said its wholly owned Mudajaya Corp Bhd had accepted the letter of award on Aug 1, 2023, to undertake the construction and completion of stations, ancillary buildings and other associated works for the rail project. The project is targeted to be completed by 2026, with a construction period of 32 months from the date of site possession. Mudajaya shares closed unchanged at 18.5 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM347 million. Mudajaya secures ECRL works worth RM195.1 mil AMMB says in talks with Great Eastern over MetLife Malaysian arm sale KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Bursa Securities has rejected GIIB Holdings Bhd’s proposed private placement, citing pending charges against several of its directors under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009. “Based on the representations made in the additional listing application (ALA) in relation to the proposed private placement as well as the various announcements made by GIIB, Bursa Securities took note that there are certain charges made against certain directors of GIIB pursuant to the MACC Act of which the matters are still pending the decision by the court,” said GIIB in a filing on Wednesday (Aug 2). “Given that corporate governance practices by the listed issuer and its directors is one of the key areas that Bursa Securities takes into consideration when processing the ALA, the MACC charges have given rise to concerns on the corporate governance practices. As such, Bursa Securities is unable to consider the ALA,” the company added. The rubber-related compounds manuKUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): AMMB Holdings Bhd has begun preliminary discussions with Great Eastern Holdings Ltd over the sale of MetLife Inc’s Malaysian venture. The transaction could value AmMetLife Insurance Bhd, which the US company jointly owns with Kuala Lumpur-listed AMMB, at US$250 million (RM1.13 billion) to US$300 million, said Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. In a bourse filing on Tuesday (Aug 1), AMMB said the discussions are part of its business review. “It is crucial to note that these talks are still at a very preliminary stage. At this juncture, there is no certainty that we will enter into any definitive or binding agreement,” it said. It was reported on Monday that Great Eastern is in talks to buy MetLife’s Malaysian venture. The subsidiary of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp is conducting due diligence on AmMetLife and seeking regulatory approval to clinch the deal, said the people. On Wednesday, AMMB said it is committed to abiding by the exacting disclosure requirements that it is governed by. “Accordingly, any and all announcements related to this matter will be made in strict accordance with the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Malaysia Securities,” it said. At the midday break, AMMB slipped eight sen or 2.09% to RM3.75, with 886,700 shares traded. facturer had in April proposed to undertake the private placement of up to 81.96 million new shares, or 10% of its issued share capital, to raise up to RM6.97 million for its working capital. In May, MACC remanded GIIB chief executive officer (CEO) Tai Boon Wee, together with executive directors Tai Qiyao and Wong Ping Kiong, relating to an invoice for a sum of RM24,000 issued by GIIB’s 51%-owned subsidiary GIIB Healthcare Products Sdn Bhd over the sale of gloves. Earlier this year, MACC had also charged both Boon Wee and Wong under Section 18 of the MACC Act for allegedly furnishing fake documents to auditor Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT. Last month, Boon Wee relinquished his executive chairman post but is staying on as CEO. Datuk Seri Wan Adnan Wan Mamat replaced Boon Wee as non-executive chairman. GIIB shares closed down half a sen or 5% on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM56.17 million. Bursa Securities rejects GIIB’s private placement amid MACC charges against directors BY ANIS HAZIM theedgemalaysia.com BY REYANNA NG theedgemalaysia.com BY KAYLA CHAN theedgemalaysia.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME NEWS IN BRIEF KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Florence Wong Wei Wei, a substantial shareholder of PDZ Holdings Bhd, has secured substantial shareholder status in Fitters Diversified Bhd as well. She raised her stake in Fitters Diversified to 7.98% or 186.85 million shares, after acquiring 105 million shares in the one-stop fire protection specialist on the open market on June 28, according to the company’s bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug 2). Fitters Diversified did not reveal the purchase price. Based on the company’s closing price of four sen on June 28, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that Wong could have acquired the stake for about RM4.2 million. Notably, Wong is the second PDZ shareholder to acquire a substantial shareholding in Fitters Diversified in recent days. Slightly over two weeks ago, PDZ executive director Ho Jien Shiung reemerged as a substantial shareholder of Fitters Diversified, after increasing his stake to 10.35% or 242.21 million shares through the acquisition of another 5.37% stake or 125.71 million shares. Ho had ceased to be a substantial shareAnother PDZ shareholder emerges as substantial shareholder in Fitters Diversified BY JUSTIN LIM theedgemalaysia.com holder of Fitters Diversified in April after disposing of 40 million shares in the company to reduce his stake to 4.53% or 106.11 million shares. Over the past month, Fitters Diversified saw two of its shareholders ceasing to be substantial shareholders. On June 30, Sanichi Technology Bhd ceased to be a substantial shareholder after it dumped its entire equity interest of 6.7% or 156.92 million shares in Fitters Diversified. Meanwhile, Arena Evolusi Sdn Bhd’s substantial shareholder status ceased on June 27, after it offloaded 73.8 million shares or a 3.15% stake, cutting its stake in the group to 4.3%. Besides Ho and Wong, Fitters Diversified’s other substantial shareholders are Cita Realiti Sdn Bhd with a 10.31% stake, Sanichi founder and group managing director Datuk Seri Dr Jacky Pang Chow Huat (8.12%) and Pembinaan Viana Sdn Bhd (7.18%). Interestingly, Sanichi is the largest shareholder in PDZ with a 13.42% stake in the company, while Wong is the second largest shareholder with 9.87%. Pang is not new to the investing fraternity, as he holds stakes in several listed entities. He hogged the limelight in late March when he sold his 49.76% stake in Computer Forms (M) Bhd after the stock plunged from its peak at around RM2.90 to 22 sen. More recently, on Monday, Pang emerged as a substantial shareholder of Apex Equity Holdings Bhd with a 9.69% stake in the stockbroking firm. Shares in Fitters Diversified closed unchanged at four sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM99 million. Vinvest files lawsuit against EA Holdings over loss of shares KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Technology and construction firm Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd has initiated a civil action in the High Court over the alleged loss of its shares in EA Holdings Bhd. “This includes urgently applying for the necessary prohibitory injunctive orders to stop further derogation of the company’s rights over those shares,” said Vinvest in a bourse filing. The injunction application against EA Holdings was called up for hearing on Wednesday (Aug 2), and an interim injunction was granted by the court, added Vinvest. Vinvest emerged as a substantial shareholder of EA Holdings in November 2021 after acquiring 1.1 billion shares or a 17.82% stake in the company, at 2.11 sen per share or a total of RM23.21 million. EA Holdings, in a separate filing, said it was served with the writ and a notice of injunction application by Vinvest on Tuesday (Aug 1). “The injunction application was called up for hearing on Aug 2, 2023. An ad interim injunction was granted by the High Court,” said EA Holdings. It added that the writ and the injunction application are fixed for case management on Aug 11. EA Holdings did not provide further details on the case. — Anis Hazim Kawan Food CEO Ng Hooi Kai vacates office KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Kawan Food Bhd said Ng Hooi Kai has vacated his office as chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from Wednesday (Aug 2). This follows the expiration of his contract, said the homegrown frozen food manufacturer in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. Ng, 61, was appointed as the group CEO in January 2021. He has a direct interest of 0.019% or 72,000 shares in the group. — by Anis Hazim Hiap Teck JV company ignites new blast furnace plant KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Hiap Teck Venture Bhd said that its 27.3%-owned joint venture (JV) company, Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd (ESSB) — has ignited its newly completed 1,380 cu m blast furnace plant on Tuesday (Aug 1). In a bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug 2), Hiap Teck shared that with the successful ignition of the new blast furnace, ESSB’s production capacity will increase from the current 700,000 tonnes of steel slabs and billets to 2.7 metric tonnes annually. ESSB’s production is mainly targeted to be sold locally to satisfy domestic demand and also to export to neighbouring countries, principally in Southeast Asia and North Asia. ESSB is primarily involved in the manufacturing, selling and dealing in a range of steel products utilising the blast furnace. Hiap Teck said the completion of ESSB’s new blast furnace plant will significantly expand ESSB’s revenue and earnings, therefore contributing positively towards the future performance of the Hiap Teck group. — by Reyanna Ng

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF is your company one of them? honouring Malaysia’s outstanding corporate performers TM Main Sponsor Official Car Supporting Sponsor

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research maintained its “hold” call on Frontken Corp Bhd at RM3.27, with a higher target price (TP) of RM3.07 (from RM3), after the surface engineering service provider’s performance missed expectations for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023). Frontken’s net profit slipped by 0.89% to RM31.91 million for 2QFY2023, from RM32.2 million for 2QFY2022, due to lower revenue from its Taiwan and Singapore units due to weaker semiconductor demand. Revenue fell 5.5% to RM121.5 million, from RM128.20 million previously. HLIB’ s TP of RM3.07 was derived from valuations rolled forward based on an unchanged price-earnings multiple of 30 times FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) from FY2023 EPS. Analyst Tan J Young said in a research note the company’s risk and reward profile remains balanced, notwithstanding its seven-nanometre-and-below technology leadership, and its strong balance sheet or net cash of RM378 million or 23.9 sen per share to support its expansion in Taiwan and Singapore. Tan said the company’s core net profit of RM29 million brought the first half of FY2023’s sum to RM53 million, which missed expectations — accounting for 33% of HLIB’s full-year forecast, and 36% of the consensus. “Taiwan Plant 2 began to generate revenue in 2QFY2023, and is expected to improve in 3QFY2023,” he said of Frontken’s semiconductor segment. “Singapore was a major disappointment impacted by a lacklustre memory segment. “It sees no hurry to have a presence in the US, and continues to explore avenues with partners.” Tan trimmed his core profit after tax and minority interest forecasts for Frontken by 21% for FY2023, 7% for FY2024, and 8% for FY2025. HLIB Research maintains ‘hold’ on Frontken but cuts FY2023-25 core net profit forecasts (Aug 2): China Investment Corp, Malaysia’s KLCC Property Holdings Bhd and Saudi Arabia’s Hassana are among potential bidders for a stake in an office tower in the heart of Dubai’s financial district, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Its owners, Brookfield Asset Management and state-owned Investment Corp of Dubai, may sell a stake of as much as 49% in ICD Brookfield Place, whose tenants include JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The joint venture has received interest from more than a dozen entities globally, including sovereign wealth and pension funds, the people said. At least one candidate showed interested in buying the whole tower, two of the people said. The companies are working with Emirates NBD Capital and JPMorgan on the sale, Bloomberg has previously reported. Final decisions haven’t been made and the companies may decide not to sell the stake, the people said. Representatives for ICD Brookfield and CIC declined to comment. Representatives for KLCC and Hassana didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. KLCC Property, or KLCC REIT, is Malaysia’s largest self-managed stapled security that owns the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. The sale talks come amid a surge in demand for top-tier office space in Dubai, where rents have outpaced hubs like London and New York as businesses expand into the financial hub known for its love of glitzy construction. ICD Brookfield Place is an equally-owned joint venture partnership between ICD and Brookfield. The skyscraper, which towers more than 900 feet (274 meters) over the city’s financial district, opened just as the pandemic spread globally. It has 46 elevators serving 53 floors, and indoor gardens to escape the summer heat. Dubai skyscraper draws interest from KLCC Property, China’s CIC, Saudi fund Datasonic anticipates challenging FY2024 amid elevated market ambiguities BY ARCHANA NARAYANAN & NICOLAS PARASIE Bloomberg BY SURIN MURUGIAH Bloomberg BY SUFI MUHAMAD theedgemalaysia.com KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Datasonic Group Bhd anticipates the financial year ending March 31, 2024 (FY2024) to be challenging, amid the elevated market ambiguities arising from ongoing macroeconomic issues. In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 2) following the security-related integrated information and communications technology solutions provider’s annual general meeting, executive deputy chairman Datuk Abu Hanifah Noordin nevertheless said the company is resolute in pursuing its strategic plans with prudent management. “The group has identified promising areas of growth that we can capitalise on to further expand our business,” he said. Abu Hanifah said FY2023 was certainly a remarkable year for Datasonic, as it capitalised on the business rebound following the Covid-19 pandemic. “This led to the delivery of our best-ever top-line performance at RM344.7 million, and our second-highest-ever bottom-line results at RM76.4 million. “Beyond the financial accomplishments, what truly mattered to us was Datasonic’s ability to meet the pentup demand, and ensure seamless and timely delivery of passports and MyKads. “This achievement not only solidified our established track record, but also reinforced our unwavering commitment and contribution to national security,” he said. Abu Hanifah said demand for passports is expected to remain on an upward trend, which bodes well for Datasonic. He said Datasonic will be gradually ramping up the production of its manufacturing of polycarbonate data pages, and growing the number of Malaysian passports that are 100% made in Malaysia. Read the full story

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 11 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): A mother, who is one of 14 plaintiffs challenging the validity of state laws concerning unilateral conversion, will know on Sept 12 if she can proceed with committal proceedings against the Kota Tinggi Islamic Council’s officers for alleged harassment. High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid set the date, following a brief ex parte (single-party) hearing for leave or permission on Wednesday (Aug 2). Ahmad Kamal said that as this concerns contempt, he needs time to further study the cause papers and submissions before arriving at a decision. Earlier, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan submitted that one of the plaintiffs was allegedly harassed after the main suit was filed in March. “While [the plaintiff] was at home, a van arrived with five individuals from the Kota Tinggi [Islamic Council], and they scolded her in relation to the case, and also for not wearing a tudung. They also spoke to her children, and interviewed them without her consent,” he told the court on Wednesday. The Kota Tinggi Islamic Council falls under the purview of the Johor government, which is one of the defendants in the suit. He added that the actions of the officers of the religious authorities were akin to impeding the course of justice, as the particular plaintiff now feels fearful, and is afraid to continue with the suit. The lawyer asked for leave to be granted, so that the authorities could come to the court, and explain themselves in the inter partes stage. The committal proceedings also known as contempt proceedings were initiated in April, a month after the suit was filed. The particular plaintiff had also filed a police report regarding the incident. The 14 plaintiffs — including kinderUnilateral Conversion: Mother to know on Sept 12 if she can commence contempt proceedings against Johor religious officers KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s defamation suit against Datuk Awang Solahuddin Hashim over the Pendang Member of Parliament’s comments that the prime minister was “vindictive and vengeful” will go to trial in July 2026. Anwar’s lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair confirmed the matter with the press following a case management for the matter on Wednesday (Aug 2) before High Court judge Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh. Trial dates are July 13-16, and 20-21, 2026. “The court directed parties to complete the pretrial documents latest by Nov 30, 2023 and to file interlocutory applications, if any, within one month from today’s date,” he said. Anwar filed the suit against the PAS politician in March this year over Awang Solahuddin’s comments made in the Parliament lobby. The Pakatan Harapan chief claims the remarks insinuated that he was vindictive and had abused his power in office to achieve his personal political agenda. The Pendang MP in turn cited the defence of fair comment and contended that the criminal charges against ex-PM Tan Anwar’s defamation suit against Pendang MP to go to trial in July 2026 BY TARANI PALANI theedgemalaysia.com BY TARANI PALANI theedgemalaysia.com Read also: Ahmad Zahid’s trial vacated for the day as he attends Cabinet meeting garten teacher M Indira Gandhi — filed the originating summons earlier this year seeking to nullify unilateral conversion in several states and the federal territories. Besides Johor, the other defendants in the suit are the governments of Perlis, Melaka, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and the federal territories. The government of Pahang, which was initially also a defendant, was removed from the suit last month, as it had amended its state laws to prevent unilateral conversion. The plaintiffs claimed that the state enactments contravene Article 12 (4) of the Federal Constitution, as interpreted in Indira’s landmark 2018 case on unilateral conversion. Article 12(4) states that the religion of a person aged under 18 is to be decided by his “parent or guardian”. In the landmark decision, the apex court ruled that the word “parent” in said article is to be interpreted as “parents” if both are still alive. Therefore, both parents’ permission is needed in conversion cases. The plaintiffs also argued that according to Article 75 of the Federal Constitution, the federal law shall prevail over any state law that is inconsistent with it. Therefore, they said that the state enactments allowing unilateral conversion should be declared void. Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, among others, contradicted Anwar’s claim of not practising politics of vengeance. He also highlighted the “Operasi Lalang crackdown” during the Mahathir administration which happened six years after he took office. In comparison, Awang Solahuddin said Anwar’s political rivals were brought to court within months after taking office in November last year. In reply, the PKR chief said that this BERNAMA was “totally absurd and untenable” and asserted that the burden of proof is on the PAS man to prove the allegations. Anwar is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary damages and compensation, as well as an injunction order to refrain the defendant or his agents from republishing the alleged defamatory remarks.

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME SEMENYIH (Aug 1): The Unity Government has never sidelined any race in the country but rather, all initiatives and policies introduced are inclusive, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Disapproving claims by some parties that the Unity Government was bias, Anwar said assistance from and initiatives by the Unity Government will be enjoyed by every level of society, without any preference for race or religion. The prime minister said the government does not have much money, but remains committed to serving the people sincerely without any vested interest, so that whatever money the government has, can be used to assist the people. “The money that the government has, is not much…but because we do not swindle or use it for personal interest...there is still a blessing from the Almighty (Allah SWT) to use the money to assist the rakyat (the people). “I stressed that ‘whether you like it or not; whether you support (the Unity Government) or not, we will never change this position to support every single citizen in this country’,” he said when speaking at the Unity Tour in conjunction with the Selangor election in Semenyih, Kajang on Tuesday (Aug 1) night. The prime minister said among initiatives introduced for all races in the country is the government’s effort to eradicate poverty, especially the hardcore poor. However, while the Unity Government Anwar: Unity Govt not biased, all initiatives are inclusive of all races Bernama is fully committed to assist the rakyat in eradicating hardcore poverty, there are members of Parliament (MPs) from PAS who chide such efforts. “MPs from PAS claim that since we have the government, we can solve the issue of poverty… they forget that even the administration of Khalifah Umar Abdul Aziz took two years and three months to solve the problems of poverty. “I am very firm with the issue because I have directed that this year, all government machinery, ministers and agencies must work hard to put a full-stop to the issue of hardcore poverty in the country,” Anwar said. The prime minister also gave his assurance that the Unity Government will ensure that assistance to the people will always be inclusive, and it will not sideline any race in the country. Read also: Voters: PH-BN coalition’s offers in manifesto realistic, implementable and covers all segments of society MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim BERNAMA MIC pledges support for Anwar’s leadership, BN-PH candidates in state polls KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): MIC pres- Bernama ident Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran gave his assurance that the party would assist the election machinery to ensure victory for candidates from the unity government during the state polls. The MIC, which is a component of Barisan Nasional (BN), pledged its full support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s leadership as the prime minister throughout the five-year term. During a special meeting with Anwar held at the MIC headquarters on Wednesday (Aug 2), Vigneswaran and other MIC leaders made the pledge in front of the prime minister by rising from their seats as a symbolic gesture to pledge their support. Also present at the meeting was Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the BN and Umno president. Vigneswaran, during a press conference held later, said the party will go down to the ground to assist candidates from BNPH, especially in constituencies where there are Indian majority voters. BN’s component parties MCA and MIC had earlier declared that candidates from the two parties would not be Read also: Anwar says will consider MIC’s request for greater representation in govt State polls: Kelantan BN confident of winning 16 seats contesting in the state polls held in six states, namely Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu. The Election Commission has set Aug 12 for polling and Aug 8 for early voting.

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF TO BE REVEALED SOON HONOURING MALAYSIA’S BEST PERFORMING MID-CAP COMPANIES Presented by 2023

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME ISKANDAR PUTERI (Aug 2): Forest City, a mega mixed development project on four reclaimed islands in Johor waters, is proceeding according to plan. The development, near Tanjung Pelepas Port, is on 2,832.79 hectares (7,000 acres) over four islands. In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 2), Forest City regional deputy president Syarul Izam Sarifudin said although the global real estate market is relatively slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the longterm plan for sustainable development in the area remains. He said the company is still optimistic about developing the artificial islands with real estate as its core business and “does not see any need to change the existing plan, especially for the first ten years from 2015 to 2025”. The first phase (2015-2020) is to complete residences as well as some infrastructure and business space to accommodate the existing community while the second phase (2020-2025) will explore further investment opportunities, especially in trade, financial and high-tech industrial hubs, the statement said. “However, unforeseen factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the slow global economy had impacted the development momentum. But (the project) remains as in the original master plan,” he said. Syarul Izam also said the company is prepared to review and re-evaluate Forest City’s development plans after 2025 if there is a need to do so. He added that Forest City is being promoted actively in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia and 100 international real estate agents have been appointed to attract buyers from these countries. “We also welcome local traders interested to rent shop units in Forest City. The area is surrounded by various industrial sectors such as ports, factories and government administration,” he said. Read the full story Forest City project progressing according to development plan, says regional deputy president KUCHING (Aug 2): After obtaining positive feedback regarding the takeovers of Bintulu Port and MASwings, the Sarawak government is in the midst of negotiating with the federal government to give due consideration to one more request, said Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. The Sarawak premier, however, did not disclose the latest state government’s request, saying that the matter would be announced before year end. “There are three matters for which we are in negotiations [with the federal government], and maybe [the third matter] will be returned to Sarawak. “The matters are [the takeovers of] Bintulu Port and MASwings, which have [reKUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNPk) is actively driving socioeconomic growth with initiatives worth RM500 million. In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 2), the state agency said it is driving transformative initiatives via strategic property developments as a catalyst for economic impact and job creation. PKNPk said it aims to create a holistic ecosystem to boost Perak’s attractiveness, which incorporates the development of infrastructure, digital connectivity, telecommunications, green solutions, housing and industrial property developments, as well as port and logistics. PKNPk’s flagship programmes for Perak Sejahtera entail property development, green technology, hospitality & tourism, minerals, digital economy, ports and logistics. A year into the Perak Sejahtera Development Plan 2030, PKNPk has made tangible progress in futureproofing the state’s economic roadmap for the next 10 years, PKNPk chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq Abdul Razak said. “The Perak Sejahtera plan is dynamic, realistic and visionary, and it is an ongoing effort to solidify the state’s economic outlook, while creating a positive impact on the people of Perak,” he said. Redza Rafiq said PKNPk’s role via Perak Sejahtera 2030 extends beyond direct economic gains. “With a view to creating a multiplier impact, Perak and Perakians stand to benefit from greater financial opportunities, investments, elevating social standards, and contributing to comprehensive societal advancement. “The emphasis on sustainable industrial development underscores PKNPk’s dedication to a greener and sustainable future growth for Perak,” he said. ceived positive feedback from the federal government], while on the third matter, just wait for [my announcement],” he told reporters after attending the 5th anniversary dinner of the Sarawak Public Communication Unit here on Tuesday night (Aug 1). The Sarawak government had expressed its desire to take over the administration of Bintulu Port since January, followed by a proposal to take over MASwings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Bhd, in June. In the meantime, Abang Johari said an announcement would be made soon regarding the establishment of the state’s Sovereign Wealth Future Fund. “I will announce the details [of the establishment of the fund]. This is a very strategic institution. I will hold a special press conference regarding the matter,” he said. In November last year, the Sarawak legislative assembly unanimously passed the Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board Bill 2022, with the state government making an initial allocation of RM8 billion. Abang Johari, when tabling the Bill, said the fund would be managed in a professional and transparent manner by a board of guardians, comprising experts and professionals in the fields of finance and investment. After Bintulu Port, MASwings takeovers, Sarawak negotiating another request PKNPk embarks on initiatives worth RM500 mil to spur socioeconomic growth in Perak BY SURIN MURUGIAH theedgemalaysia.com Bernama Bernama

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 15 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF HOME KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): The Melaka state government is confident of achieving investments worth RM7.6 billion by the end of this year, surpassing the initial target of RM5 billion, said chief minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh. He said Melaka has received almost RM6 billion worth of investments so far and he believes that the remaining amount can be fulfilled through investments from China and Germany in the future. “We are expecting an investment of RM5 billion this year from Texas Instruments and we are confident of receiving RM2.6 billion worth of investment from China and Germany by the end of this year,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the state legislative assembly here on Wednesday (Aug 2). It was reported that Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Texas Instruments plans to invest RM14.6 billion to expand operations in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, with production in both locations expected to commence as early as 2025. Out of that total potential investment, RM5 billion is to be invested in Melaka, creating 500 jobs. While winding up the debate, Ab Rauf said the state government is reviewing several matters that need attention, to ensure the vibrancy of the investment sector in the Melaka set to notch RM7.6 bil investments by year-end, says CM KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil on Wednesday (Aug 2) sent a letter of demand to independent preacher Ahmad Dusuki Abd Rani over slanderous claims that he had given a political talk at a mosque in Rawang on July 30. Lawyer Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi said a similar notice was also sent to the owner and administrator of Facebook account “N13 Kuang”. Asheeq Ali said the slanderous statements issued by both individuals through the Facebook and Instagram accounts were Letters of demand sent to duo over Rawang mosque allegation, says Fahmi’s lawyer Bernama Bernama state, which includes participation by the private sector to receive quality investments. He said the state government will also prioritise existing and new growth areas that have high-added values, led by the tech sector and including high-technology semiconductor manufacturing. The state government is also targeting development in new industrial areas such as the MCorp Hi-Tech Park on an area of 2,023 hectares (ha) in Alor Gajah, 243.5ha at Elkay industrial park in Lipat Kajang, Jasin, and at the Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone (M-WEZ) encompassing 809.3 hectares. “Development will also be carried out for a new industrial area known as the German Industrial Park and the Melaka Industrial Master Plan that outlines the direction of Melaka’s industries in five years. “Facilitating all matters relating to investment or facilitate and not frustrate, Invest Melaka Bhd will be tasked to form the Melaka state investment advisory committee as an investment facilitator,” he said. Ab Rauf noted that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) will continue to be supported through partnerships with industry players, especially in the manufacturing sector. The allocation of conducive centralised labour quarters will be implemented in a targeted manner in all districts in Melaka, starting in 2025, he noted. BERNAMA intended to tarnish Fahmi’s good name and further portray him as someone who had disobeyed the order issued by Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, by supposedly holding a political talk in a mosque. Fahmi, who is also Pakatan Harapan communications director, demanded among others, for the slanderous statements be withdrawn, and for an open apology from both individuals within 24 hours. If these demands are not met within the 24-hour period given, Fahmi’s representatives have been instructed to file a defamation suit against both individuals immediately, the lawyer said. Fahmi had on Tuesday refuted and expressed his disappointment with the slanderous claims that he had delivered a political speech at the mosque, saying that he was ready to fully cooperate with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) if he is called in for questioning. On Wednesday, Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed that there were no political elements in Fahmi’s speech at the mosque on Sunday. Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD Aug 2): Thailand has urged farmers to reduce their rice planting to save water following poor rainfall, a move that poses a fresh threat to global supply after India banned some shipments of the grain. Farmers in the key central region have already planted most of their rice but the government is encouraging a switch to other crops that need less water, according to a statement from Surasri Kidtimonton, the secretary-general of the Office of the National Water Resources. Thailand, the world’s second-biggest rice exporter, is seeing less rain as the nation braces for a potential drought next year with the onset of the El Niño weather pattern. Cumulative rainfall so far in the central region is about 40% below normal levels and the move to curb planting of the grain is to help conserve water for household consumption, according to Surasri. Rice prices in Asia surged to the highest in more than three years last month after India — the world’s biggest exporter — banned some of its shipments. The grain is essential to the diets of billions of people and further price gains would burden consumers with additional inflationary pressure. “It’s impossible to ask farmers to stop Rice supply faces new threat as Thailand urges crop curbs (Aug 2): Pheu Thai, a party linked to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said it will form a new coalition with possible backing of conservative parties to end a political stalemate that has gripped the country since the May election. It will seek to form a government without Move Forward — the party that won the most seats on May 14 — after disbanding an eight-party, pro-democracy alliance under Pita Limjaroenrat, Pheu Thai’s leader Cholnan Srikaew told a briefing on Wednesday (Aug 2). The new Pheu Thai-led coalition will nominate property tycoon Srettha Thavisin for the prime minister’s post, he said. Pheu Thai is pursuing a new alliance, after Thailand’s military-appointed Senate and conservative parties rejected the coalition that included Move Forward. Pita’s bid to secure parliamentary endorsement was twice blocked by pro-establishment lawmakers opposed to his party’s pledge to amend the royal insult law, or Article 112 of the criminal code. To pacify the conservatives, Pheu Thai pledged to leave the law protecting the royals unchanged, while promising to overhaul the military-drafted constitution to usher in democratic reforms. “This is the way to preserve the nation’s key institution as the spiritual heart of all Thais, and to push for what the people wanted,” Cholnan said. Thaksin-linked Thai party plans to form govt without poll winner, nominate property tycoon as PM BY PATPICHA TANAKASEMPIPAT Bloomberg BY ANUCHIT NGUYEN & MAI NGOC CHAU Bloomberg planting when prices are this good,” said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. “We’re more concerned that intermittent rainfall between August to October will result in a lowRead the full story Read also: Thailand raises key rate again as inflation lingers, but exports a worry Pheu Thai is pursuing a new alliance, after Thailand’s militaryappointed Senate and conservative parties rejected the coalition that included Move Forward. Investors reacted to Pheu Thai’s announcement with cautious optimism that saw stocks rallying briefly before ending lower, while the baht trimmed its losses. “Most er rice output in the main harvest season.” Thailand’s central region was expected to account for almost 14% of total rice-growing area in 2023 and forecast to make up about 19% of the main paddy harvest in 2023/24, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Water levels in major reservoirs in the area are at about 51% of capacity, said Surasri. The government previously warned that El Niño could lead to unusually low rainfall, and advised farmers to grow one crop this year instead of the usual two. However, any potential shortage from Thailand could be offset by higher shipments from Vietnam, which are likely to exceed its target for the year. Vietnam exported 21% more rice in the first six months than a year earlier, with shipments increasing to the Philippines, China and Indonesia, according to the Customs Department. The nation says an increase in overseas sales won’t affect its food security. India is by far the world’s biggest rice exporter, accounting for 40% of global trade, while Thailand and Vietnam make up 15% and around 14%, respectively, according to the US Department of Agriculture. investors are still very cautious about political uncertainty until the prime ministerial vote result is clear,” said Rakpong Chaisuparakul, an analyst at KGI Securities Pcl. Angry pro-democracy activists gathered outside Pheu Thai’s headquarters in Bangkok, with some protesters spraying red paint across the building’s entrance, burning effigies, and shouting that the party had “betrayed the people”. Pheu Thai will announce the make-up of its coalition on Thursday, Cholnan said, declining to confirm whether the new bloc will include the military-backed United Thai Nation or Palang Pracharath. Bhumjaithai’s Anutin Charnvirakul said he hadn’t talked to Pheu Thai recently, and the party will decide on the prime ministerial vote when there’s more information. Also on Thursday, the Constitutional Court will decide if it needs to scrutinise a Parliament move to deny Pita a second shot at the top job. Should it reject a petition by the nation’s ombudsman, Parliament can proceed with a fresh vote for the prime minister’s post on Friday. BLOOMBERG

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD (Aug 2): The fallout from Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of the US puts the focus on the countries still holding onto the coveted top credit grade. Economies with the highest credit rating at S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody’s Investors Service include Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore and Australia. Canada is rated AAA by two of the rating companies. Fitch’s downgrade of the US sovereign follows the cut by S&P in 2011, leaving Moody’s as the only major rating company keeping its top-tier grade for the world’s largest economy. Fitch said the cut reflects expected fiscal deterioration and a growing government debt burden after repeated debt-limit stand-offs. So far, concerns that the rating agencies may shift their gaze to the remaining bloc are premature, according to Berenberg Capital Markets. “Every country is different, and has its own growth pattern — its own tax and spending structures, so it doesn’t suggest World’s shrinking AAA debt options include Singapore, Norway (Aug 2): The US Treasury boosted the size of its quarterly sale of longer-term debt for the first time in over 2½ years, testing dealers’ appetites amid an increase in government borrowing needs so alarming it spurred Fitch Ratings to cut the US sovereign rating from AAA. The Treasury said it will sell US$103 billion (RM465.25 billion) of longer-term securities at its so-called quarterly refunding auctions next week, which span 3-, 10- and 30-year Treasuries. That’s up from a US$96 billion total last time, and slightly larger than most dealers had expected. The bump in issuance showcases the rising borrowing needs that contributed to Tuesday’s decision by Fitch Ratings to lower the sovereign US credit rating by one level, to AA+. Fitch said it expects US finances to deteriorate over the next three years. That’s from an already enlarged position — the Treasury is pencilling in some US$1 trillion worth of issuance in all this quarter. Ahead of the announcement, dealers US plans US$103 bil debt sale, says issuance to keep rising BY LIZ CAPO MCCORMICK Bloomberg BY TANIA CHEN Bloomberg Read also: Fitch cuts US credit rating to AA+; Treasury calls it ‘arbitrary’ Wall Street falls after Fitch downgrades top-tier US rating What analysts say about US credit downgrade by Fitch Gold gets safety boost as Fitch’s US downgrade shakes markets any contagion to other countries,” senior economist Mickey Levy said on Bloomberg Television. “No country that has the strength of the US has been affected by this.” For Kevin Muir, a former trader who now writes the MacroTourist newsletter, US securities are over-owned in the global financial community, and the downgrade could lead to a re-weighting among some investors towards the assets of other countries. But for other market participants, it won’t change their view about the US. “Is Canada really a better credit than the US? Or Luxembourg?” Muir wrote. “The US is the world’s dominant power, and surely they have done some ill-advised things like waving a gun around threatening to shoot their own financial system with a default, but we all know they will eventually pay their bills.” Read the full story had also laid out expectations for steppedup issuance of other securities, and for the boosts in sales to stretch into 2024, which the Treasury confirmed on Wednesday (Aug 2). “While these changes will make substantial progress towards aligning auction sizes with intermediate- to long-term borrowing needs, further gradual increases will likely be necessary in future quarters” the department said in a statement. Part of that deterioration is thanks to higher interest the Treasury now pays on its debt. The Treasury has also said its tax receipts have been weaker than expected. And in the meantime, the Federal Reserve’s continuing runoff of its holdings of Treasuries, of up to US$60 billion a month, requires the government to sell more to the public. The scale of future increases of longerterm debt issuance will depend on the fiscal picture and on how long the Fed keeps shrinking its bond portfolio, the Treasury said on Wednesday. US debt managers also detailed plans over coming months to lift sales of nominal Treasuries of all other maturities, in differing amounts depending on the security. Part of the rationale for boosting sales of coupon-bearing debt — as notes that pay interest are known — is to ensure that the share of debt made up by bills, which mature in short-term spans of up to a year, doesn’t exceed the recommended range.

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD (Aug 2): Economists at Bank of America Corp revoked their forecast for a recession in the US, becoming the first large Wall Street bank to officially reverse its call amid growing optimism about the economic outlook. The change comes just a week after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told reporters that the central bank’s own economists are no longer forecasting a recession. “Recent incoming data has made us reassess our prior view that a mild recession in 2024 is the most likely outcome for the US economy,” BofA economists, led by Michael Gapen, wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday (Aug 2). “Growth in economic activity over the past three quarters has averaged 2.3%, the unemployment rate has remained near alltime lows, and wage and price pressures are moving in the right direction, albeit gradually,” they wrote. The resilience of the US economy this year, despite the most aggressive Fed tightening cycle in decades, has forced many on Wall Street to repeatedly revise their forecasts for when the country will fall into recession. Now, with recent data showing persistent strength in hiring alongside moderating inflation, forecasters are beginning to rethink their recession calls altogether. In addition to upward revisions to their forecasts for US GDP growth in 2023 and 2024, the BofA economists altered their expectations for when and how the Fed cuts rates. The bank’s economists now see them beginning later — June 2024 — and proceeding at a slower pace. BofA joins Fed in reversing recession call amid growing optimism (Aug 2): US consumers are still spending like it’s 2021 — but that will soon change as they run out of cash, according to a report from the Brookings Institution. Real income growth has slowed to levels below the pre-pandemic trend, according to the report published Tuesday by Wendy Edelberg, director of the Hamilton Project, and Sofoklis Goulas, a fellow at the Brookings-led think tank. Meanwhile, consumers kept their spending habits from a couple of years ago, when forced inactivity and Covid government support payments bolstered their savings. Much of that wealth gained since 2019 dissipated by the first quarter of this year, the authors said. Meanwhile, personal consumption rebounded in June — adjusted for inflation— by the most since the start of the year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. “If households were to sustain their current spending trends and increasingly finance spending with borrowing, financial health could deteriorate in a worrying way,” the analysts wrote. Households saw “remarkable” gains in real wealth early in the pandemic, as personal savings rates soared to above 30% during the pandemic lockdowns — when the US government provided billions in fiscal support. But since then, those savings rates have plummeted to 4.6% in May and as low as 3% last year, Americans’ spending set to slow as income dips below 2019 trend BY ALEX TANZI & MICHAEL SASSO Bloomberg BY READE PICKERT & SWATI PANDEY Bloomberg Read the full story Changing tune While a few economists, including those at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc, have maintained throughout the past year that the US would skirt a recession despite the rapid run-up in interest rates, most banks have taken the other side. Still, Deutsche Bank AG’s Peter Hooper and Matthew Luzzetti say the line between a mild recession and a soft landing is “increasingly fine,” a sentiment increasingly echoed by others in the recession camp. A recent survey of business economists showed a strong majority now say the odds of the US entering a recession in the next 12 months are 50% or less. In a recent speech, Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester nodded to the change in tune among businesses in her region. At the end of 2022, “many of our business contacts were telling us they expected the economy to enter a recession this year,” Mester said. “Now, most think there won’t be a recession this year.” near a historic low, the report showed. A stock market retreat and weaker income growth ate into the initial wealth gains, and the deterioration in finances was faster for nonwhite and lower income households. Household real wealth surged to about US$15 trillion (RM68.1 trillion) during the current business cycle that began in 2019, but had been as high as US$27 trillion at the end of 2021. And while households in the top income quintile gained nearly US$300,000 in wealth on average since the pandemic began, those in the bottom quintile gained about US$8,500, the report data showed. American spending strength confounded the analysts. The trend “is surprising given the weakness in real income, weak consumer sentiment, moderate gains in wealth since 2019, and increasing debt obligations,” they wrote. They caution that households will likely see increased difficulties servicing debt and covering basic household needs.

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD Chinese developers are allowed to sell residential projects before completion, but are required to put those funds in escrow accounts. Local city governments permit them to withdraw a portion of the funds, depending on the progress of construction. HONG KONG/BEIJING (Aug 2): Some Chinese city governments have made it harder for developers to access tens of billions of dollars from property sales held in escrow accounts, people familiar with the matter said, raising risks the cash-strapped companies will be squeezed even more. The moves are aimed at ensuring the completion of more unfinished projects at the city level, they said, at a time home sales are sliding and the future of the whole sector is uncertain. The tightening appears to run contrary to the plan of the central Chinese government, which has assured help to stabilise a sector that has been hit by both a years-long liquidity crunch and slumping demand. “That’s like a Catch-22 dilemma,” said Gary Ng, an Asia-Pacific senior economist at Natixis, adding that while local governments may want to ensure that all housing projects can be delivered, it is hard for developers to do it without access to liquidity. The curbs may mean private developers, who have been hit harder by the crisis in the sector, will have lower capital usage efficiency, and can imply a larger credit risk for some small developers, said Ng. Chinese developers are allowed to sell residential projects before completion, but are required to put those funds in escrow accounts. Local city governments permit them to withdraw a portion of the funds, depending on the progress of construction. As defaults rippled across the property sector, regulators last year relaxed some escrow rules in an effort to ease the liquidity stress for developers, enabling them to finish construction work on apartments. Some city governments, however, have started curbing developers’ access to the escrow funds from the second quarter of this year, as the outlook for the sector worsened, with sales trending down since April on weak demand and the economic outlook darkening. Senior executives at three Chinese developers said they were not able to withdraw funds even after the completion of some projects. “It is a general phenomenon now,” said one of them, whose firm had not yet defaulted on any debt. Two of them said that more than 80% and 90% of their cash respectively is now trapped in the escrow accounts, and efforts to withdraw funds for construction purposes had been thwarted by the local authorities. That compared to around 30% before the sector was hit by the debt crisis in mid2021, and around 60% in the early days of the crisis, according to analysts. The two executives, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said they believe the tighter access was a result of local authorities wanting to ensure there is enough capital for completing home construction in the cities. “It has become very difficult again in the past few months for us to withdraw money from the escrow accounts,” said an executive at one of the developers that had defaulted on its debt obligations. “At the end of last year, it had been easier after the government easing.” In the first half of this year, funds that developers used for property development reached nearly seven trillion yuan (US$977 billion or RM4.43 billion), and about a third of that was from down payments and presale funds, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. China’s Housing Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the tightening of developers’ access to escrow funds. Chinese cities tightened property firms’ access to escrow funds — sources BY CLARE JIM & ZIYI TANG Reuters The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index reversed direction from a 0.7% rise to fall as much as 0.5% in the afternoon session after the Reuters report, before closing down 0.1% on Wednesday (Aug 2). Faltering housing demand The new measures come as property demand is sluggish — China’s property sales between May and June showed the largest monthly drop this year, based on sales by floor area, and investment in property also slumped. A person who works at a state bank in a city in the Hunan province, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the local housing authority had ordered the bank to implement stricter rules for withdrawals of escrow funds. Under those rules, the authority has asked the bank to make escrow funds available only to developers with other sources of funding to cover construction costs, said the person. Hunan’s housing regulator did not respond to a request for comment. Another developer said some banks are also holding up the funds, as they now evaluate a firm’s different projects across cities together, so that presale proceeds from one could be used to cover the construction of another development in another city. In cities such as Hefei and Xiamen, the local governments manage the accounts of a batch of developers together, so sales from one project could be used to cover the construction cost of a different developer, executives at two other developers said. The Hefei and Xiamen governments did not respond to requests for comment. BLOOMBERG Read also: China puts pressure on local governments in pro-growth push “China is stepping up its policy support for the economy, pressuring local governments to speed up the sale of bonds to fund infrastructure spending.” Chinese, HK stock rally fades as Beijing’s incremental support disappoints “Chinese and Hong Kong stocks pulled back on Wednesday (Aug 2), after a recent rally that was spurred by stimulus hopes, as some investors booked profits in the absence of concrete and forceful measures by Beijing to shore up a flagging economy.”

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD CHIBA, Japan (Aug 2): The Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s decision last week to tweak its bond yield control policy was aimed at making its massive stimulus more sustainable, not a prelude to an exit from ultra-low interest rates, its deputy governor Shinichi Uchida said on Wednesday. Uchida said there was still a long way to go before conditions fall in place for the BOJ to raise its short-term interest rate target from the current -0.1%. “We made our policy more flexible to patiently continue with monetary easing,” Uchida said. “Needless to say, we do not have an exit from monetary easing in mind.” He added that the BOJ stood ready to step in to stem sharp rises in long-term interest rates, even before the 10-year bond yield hits the newly set 1.0% cap. “Depending on the speed of the moves, we will step in to stop the rise,” Uchida told reporters after meeting business leaders in Chiba prefecture. “If economic and price conditions remain roughly unchanged, I don’t expect interest rates to rise sharply.” Under a policy called yield curve control (YCC), the BOJ has guided shortterm interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year bond yield around 0%. It also set an allowance band of 0.5% up and down around the 10-year yield target. The central bank last week stunned markets by modifying YCC to allow longterm interest rates to rise more freely, in line with increasing inflation. While the bank left unchanged its interest rate targets and the allowance band, it said it would now allow the 10-year yield to rise by as much as 1%. There was a risk that inflation could accelerate further and put upward pressure on long-term interest rates, Uchida said. By allowing yields to rise more freely, the BOJ could avoid causing volatile moves BOJ deputy governor dismisses chance of early exit from ultra-easy policy (Aug 2): SoftBank Group Corp’s semiconductor unit Arm Ltd is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of between US$60 billion (RM272.55 billion) and US$70 billion as soon as September, a sign of bullish interest in artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, according to people familiar with the matter. The roadshow is scheduled to start the first week of September with pricing for the IPO the following week, said one of the people, asking not to be named because the talks are private. The latest target for Arm’s valuation underscores a shift in market mood in favour of technologies linked to generative AI and chips. Earlier this year, bankers were pitching a range of valuations for the chip designer from US$30 billion to US$70 billion, Bloomberg News has reported. SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, and Arm chief executive officer Rene Haas long considered the bottom of that range too low. Arm executives may still be gunning for a valuation of as high as US$80 billion, but the odds of achieving such a target are uncertain, one of the people said. The chip company is looking to raise as much as US$10 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg News has reported. Arm has “had a hugely important but behind-the-scenes and not-very-wellunderstood role for a very long time”, SoftBank’s Arm targeting US$60 bil-plus value for September IPO — sources BY MIN JEONG LEE, GILES TURNER & IAN KING Bloomberg BY LEIKA KIHARA Reuters Read also: Japan’s 10-year yield hits nineyear peak as BOJ hints at room to rise in bond and currency markets, he added. “Every policy has its positive effects, but it also always comes with costs. There is no free lunch for any policy,” Uchida said in a speech. “When inflation expectations rise, not only the easing effects but also the side effects strengthen. It is necessary to strike an optimum balance between the two,” he said. The BOJ did not have a pre-set schedule in mind on how soon it could raise interest rates, Uchida told the news conference. “If economic and price conditions change from now, we might need to respond. If they don’t change much and long-term rates don’t move much, however, our current policy is quite robust,” he said, suggesting that the BOJ was done fine-tuning YCC for now. He also said the BOJ would maintain the yield targets until inflation sustainably and stably hits its 2% target. “Japan’s deflationary mindset is starting to change. By nurturing this change, we can achieve our 2% target,” he said. said Bob O’Donnell, the president of TECHnalysis Research. “There’s this raised awareness now of what Arm does, and the role that it plays.” The chip company is looking to raise as much as US$10 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg News has reported. At the top end, Arm’s debut should be the largest from the tech industry since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2014 and Meta Platforms Inc (then Facebook Inc) in 2012. It lands during a dry stretch for IPOs, given global economic uncertainty and the war in Ukraine. SoftBank and Arm declined to comment. SoftBank shares fell 3.7%, as the benchmark Nikkei index slid 2.3% on Wednesday (Aug 2). Arm made a confidential filing for a US listing in April. A handful of big industry names, including Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp, have been engaged in preliminary talks to become anchor investors in the IPO, which could be the year’s biggest market debut. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Barclays plc and Mizuho Financial Group Inc were named as IPO banks in the filing, Bloomberg News has reported. Read the full story Arm made a confidential filing for a US listing in April. A handful of big industry names, including Nvidia Corp and Intel Corp, have been engaged in preliminary talks to become anchor investors in the IPO, which could be the year’s biggest market debut.

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD BENGALURU (Aug 2): Apple is likely to report a dip in iPhone sales in the AprilJune quarter, as shoppers held out for a new model in a slow economy, making it important for the company to detail how it is using artificial intelligence (AI) to augment growth, analysts said. The world’s most valuable firm will wrap up Big Tech earnings on Thursday (Aug 3), with a likely 1.6% drop in total quarterly revenue, according to Refinitiv, its steepest drop in third-quarter revenue since 2016. IPhone sales likely fell more than 2% in the period, according to 24 analysts polled by Visible Alpha, compared with a nearly 3% increase a year earlier, and a 1.5% rise in the quarter ended March. The quarterly report could mark a break from an upbeat earnings season for the likes of Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft that have shown resilience in their cloud businesses and an uptick in digital ad sales. “Apple is not immune to general macroeconomic trends, and will continue to set the pace [for the smartphone industry] for quite some time,” said Bob O’Donnell, the founder of TECHnalysis Research. With details of the new iPhone 15 expected next month — which could sport the more universally accepted USB-C port on some models — iPhone sales could get a small nudge in the July-September quarter, said analysts, who predicted a mixed bag of results for the period. Apple traditionally does not provide a quarterly outlook, but analysts expect the company to elaborate how it is using AI to improve its upcoming products. The company has so far avoided buzzwords like AI at its events, in a contrast with tech giants including Alphabet and Microsoft. Last month, Bloomberg News reported that Apple had quietly built its own framework to create large language models known as “Ajax”. “We expect Apple’s updated comments on its AI aspirations to be a focus,” analysts at Well Fargo wrote in a research note, adding that any commentary around the technology could boost the stock. Apple shares have gained more than 50% so far this year, compared with a nearly 37% increase in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite. Analysts expect largest 3Q revenue drop for Apple since 2016 as iPhone sales slow (Aug 2): China’s internet overseer laid out regulations Wednesday (Aug 2) to prevent minors from spending too much time on their smartphones, dealing a potential blow to Tencent Holdings Ltd and other social media leaders. The regulations published by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) represent some of the harshest restrictions on internet use in the world, as worries fester about online addiction. Among other things, “non-adult” children won’t be allowed to access the internet from mobile devices from 10pm to 6am, the agency said in a draft of rules published on its website. Other restrictions include a maximum of two hours’ mobile usage for kids between the ages of 16 to 18. Beijing since 2021 has pursued campaigns to alleviate the burden on minors and their families, and combat what it views as social ills. It imposed limits on online gaming for kids and declared for-profit after-school tutoring illegal, measures regarded as intended to both lessen financial burdens and promote healthier activities. At one point in 2021, state-backed media referred to gaming as “spiritual opium”. Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance Ltd’s TikTok-like Douyin are among the most popular and heavily used internet services in China, attracting a disproportionate number of minors. The CAC didn’t name any services except to say that platforms will be responsible for ensuring they meet the CAC’s requirements, which include promoting lullabies for children under three and educational news and entertainment content to those under 12. Chinese technology shares were down in the late afternoon in Hong Kong, mostly extending losses from the morning. Kuaishou Technology, a short video China to curb kids’ mobile use in blow to Tencent, ByteDance service, slid about 4%, while social media app Weibo Corp shed more than 5% of its value. Tencent fell more than 3%. ByteDance, the world’s most valuable start-up, isn’t publicly traded. The regulator said platform providers will be responsible for enforcement, although it didn’t specify penalties for violations. Companies in China are typically held accountable for implementing such government regulations. Under previous rules limiting game play for minors, companies required real-name registrations for users and then introduced technology to cut off customers outside of authorised times. The agency specified certain measures to ensure compliance, including periodic checks and assessments, as well as access to both technology and data on request — not atypical requirements in China, which since 2021 has laid down legislation that gave the government greater control of data nationwide. “To strengthen protection of minors, in past years, the CAC has continued to push the construction of an internet model for youths, expanded its reach, improved its functions and enriched age-appropriate content,” the agency said in the regulations, which seek public feedback and may change. “They’ve had a positive impact in lessening youth internet addiction and curbing the impact of undesirable information.” Bloomberg BY YUVRAJ MALIK Reuters Read the full story BLOOMBERG BLOOMBERG

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD NEW DELHI (Aug 2): India has found multiple deficiencies among drugmakers following wide-ranging inspections across the industry, including a lack of raw materials testing, the health ministry said on Wednesday (Aug 2). Indian authorities have stepped up scrutiny of drugmakers in recent months after some cough syrups made in the country were linked to the deaths of at least 95 children overseas. Recent risk-based inspections of 162 factories and 14 public laboratories found issues including “poor documentation, lack of process and analytical validations, absence of self-assessment, absence of quality failure investigation, (and) absence of internal product quality review”, it said in a statement. It also flagged an absence of raw materials testing, a lack of measures to avoid cross-contamination, an absence of professionally qualified employees, and faulty design of manufacturing and testing areas. India’s US$41 billion (RM185.2 billion) pharmaceutical industry is one of the biggest globally, known for providing cheaper alternatives to Western products, but the recent cough syrup-related deaths have hurt that image. The government has stopped production at four drugmakers so far after contaminants were flagged in their cough syrups by agencies including the World Health Organization. The companies deny any wrongdoing. The ministry said it has upgraded “Good Manufacturing Practices” under the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules to check the deficiencies found during the inspections. The upgrade includes the introduction of quality risk management, product quality review, supplier audit and approval, and validation of equipment. Large drugmakers have been given six months and small manufacturers 12 months to transition to the upgraded manufacturing requirements, the ministry said. India has tightened its testing of cough syrup exports since June, making it mandatory for companies to obtain a certificate of analysis from a government laboratory before exporting products. India finds string of deficiencies among drugmakers after risk tests (Aug 2): Singapore’s rental price growth slowed in the second quarter, cooling a years-long boom that has sapped affordability and threatened to dent the city-state’s appeal as a finance hub. An index of private residential prices rose 2.8% from the previous three months, the smallest gain since 2021, Urban Redevelopment Authority figures show. The growth in rental costs is expected to ease further as new units become available, with about 20,000 private housing completions due this year alone — the highest annual supply since 2017. Government measures have also helped relieve the spike in rents that has rattled tenants. “Even expatriates with accommodation allowances were reconsidering their leasing options, as the cost of living in Singapore had grown exceptionally,” said Nicholas Keong, head of residential and private office at Knight Frank Singapore. He expects rental prices to further ease in the remainder of 2023 with “the steady completion of new inventory.” Island-wide leasing contracts for private apartments over the past three months were at the lowest since the start of the pandemic, with April and May volumes down 9.2% from a year ago, according to Knight Frank. The high-end market, in particular, has seen the biggest reversal. Rents in the ulSingapore’s sky-high rents show first signs of cooling tra-luxury segment slumped almost 4% in the second quarter, against the 9% gain in the previous quarter, according to Knight Frank’s analysis of Urban Redevelopment Authority data. Property agents have been feeling the pinch. Sunita Gill, co-founder of real estate consultancy Singapore Luxury Homes, has seen some of her expat clients relocate to Dubai. The government’s latest cooling measures — doubling stamp duties for foreigners to 60% — has also deterred potential investors, leading to lower demand for luxury rentals, she said. “We’re personally witnessing a 10-15% reduction for properties listed for more than two months,” said Gill. “The luxury real estate market in Singapore may have become saturated recently with an abundance of highend properties available for rent.” Since the pandemic, the city-state has largely defied a global property slowdown as an influx of wealth from China and other countries fanned the market. Singapore tied with New York for the city with the fastest pace of rental growth at one point last year, and recently slid to second spot. Meanwhile, discontent over renting costs has become a political problem. Although rental hikes have impacted expats more acutely since they are less likely to own homes, a survey last year showed that two in three Singaporeans between the ages of 22 to 29 are choosing to rent due to insufficient savings. In July, a YouGov poll found that over half of respondents think the government needs do more to regulate rents and provide additional support based on income. BY SELINA XU Bloomberg BY KRISHNA N DAS & SHIVAM PATEL Reuters Read the full story

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 24 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF Niger reopens borders with several neighbours a week after coup NIAMEY (Aug 2): Niger announced overnight that it was reopening its borders with several of its neighbours, a week after a coup that has been condemned by foreign powers and raised fears of a wider conflict in West Africa’s Sahel region. Defence chiefs from regional bloc ECOWAS will start a two-day meeting in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Wednesday (Aug 2) to discuss the situation in Niger, where ECOWAS has threatened to use force if soldiers do not reinstate the elected president. A delegation from the regional bloc was also expected to arrive in Niger’s capital Niamey on Wednesday to start talks with the junta, led by General Abdourahmane Tiani. “The land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad are re-opened from August 1, 2023,” a junta spokesperson said on state television. The junta closed the borders last Wednesday, at the same time that it announced that it had removed democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum from power. Niger’s coup was the seventh military takeover in less than three years in West and Central Africa, where some of the coup-hit countries have banded together in opposition to the rest of the 15-nation regional bloc. European countries started evacuating their citizens this week after Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by military juntas, said they would consider any regional intervention in Niger to be a declaration of war and would come to its defence. — Reuters Read the full story Hugo Boss stays strong in tough China, US markets GDANSK (Aug 2): German fashion house Hugo Boss on Wednesday raised its fullyear outlook after reporting a 20% jump in second-quarter sales, as a brand revamp and marketing push helped it overcome sector-wide sluggish demand in China and the US. The premium fashion group has stayed resilient in the slowing US and European markets, while boosting sales in Asia, despite China having a slower recovery than expected. Its business in EMEA and the Americas benefited from a pick-up in tourism, Hugo Boss said, while currency-adjusted revenue in China increased 56% from a year earlier, making the Asia-Pacific region the strongest for the company. In the first six months of the year, the retailer opened 17 new Boss stores across all three regions, with a particular focus on China. Group quarterly sales grew to 1.03 billion euros (US$1.13 billion) on a currency-adjusted basis, from 878 million euros a year earlier, broadly in line with analysts’ expectations, as both the Boss and Hugo brands gained market share, especially among younger consumers. The company expects its annual sales to grow 12% to 15% and reach 4.1 billion euros to 4.2 billion euros, compared with its previous forecast for about 10% growth to four billion euros. — Reuters Read the full story Starbucks revenue misses estimates as US growth slips (Aug 2): Starbucks Corp’s quarterly sales fell short of analysts’ estimates as traffic growth slowed in the US. Higher prices and add-ons to beverages helped bolster profit. The chain’s comparable sales, a key gauge of how existing stores are performing, rose 10% in three months through July 2 from the prior year, trailing the average estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg. Sales by that metric rose 7% in North America as transactions advanced 1%, slower than last quarter. Revenue in the company’s fiscal third quarter was a record US$9.2 billion (RM41.76 billion), Starbucks said, but that still fell just short of expectations. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share of US$1 beat the 95-cent average analyst estimate. The company said improved productivity and higher prices helped to boost operating margin to 17.3%, above market estimates. Starbucks on Tuesday (Aug 1) said it expects earnings per share to expand by 16% to 17% in its fiscal 2023 year, while it had previously forecast growth on the low end of its 15% to 20% long-term goal. It maintained its outlook for revenue-growth and same-store sales. The company said it still expects China comparable-sales growth in the low- to mid-single digits. Chief financial officer Rachel Ruggeri said on a call with analysts that Starbucks is “pleased with the consistency of demand” in that market, fuelled by new products, more stores and other factors. — Bloomberg Beijing’s deadly storms brought heaviest rainfall on record (Aug 2): The deluge of rain that triggered floods and killed at least 20 people in northern China this week was the heaviest to hit Beijing since record-keeping began in the 19th century. The worst-affected spot of the capital recorded 29.3 inches (74.4 centimetres) of rain from Saturday (July 29) through Wednesday, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said in a social media post. That’s the most ever in data going back to 1883 — nearly three decades before the fall of the Qing dynasty. The record rainfall comes just six weeks after Beijing notched its highest temperature ever at 41.8C (107F). The whiplash of weather extremes is highlighting the rising threat that climate change is posing to China’s economy. The remnants of Typhoon Doksuri caused widespread flooding and damage, and forced nearly a million people to be evacuated from their homes in Beijing and neighboring Hebei province this week. Danger from the rain had eased in the capital by Wednesday, but authorities warned that storms are heading north, toward regions that are key hubs for coal-mining and crops. Officials in Harbin said they were closing some ferry terminals, construction sites and schools in the northeastern city on the Songhua river until 3pm Thursday in case of flooding. — Bloomberg Solar giant LONGi expects profit surge on strong market demand (Aug 2): China’s largest solar company reported profit surge in the first half thanks to strong market demand amid lower panel costs. LONGi Green Energy Technology Co is expected to see net income increase 41.6% to 9.18 billion yuan (RM5.7 billion) in the first half, according to the preliminary results released by the company Wednesday (Aug 2). Preliminary revenue was expected to be 64.7 billion yuan, the company statement said. China’s domestic solar installation saw rapid growth in the first half as prices throughout the supply chain plunged since the beginning of the year. The country added 78.4 gigawatts of solar power in the first six months, nearing last year’s recordbreaking full-year instillation of 87.4 gigawatts, and is forecast to add as much as 140 gigawatts in 2023. The country also exported over US$29 billion of solar equipment in the first half, an 13% increase from 2022, as more countries work to scale up renewables amid more frequent extreme weather events, according to China Photovoltaic Industry Association. However, Chinese solar companies also face increasing trade barriers and more competitions overseas as countries work to establish clean energy supply chain domestically. — Bloomberg

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 25 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD NEW YORK (Aug 2): Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, on Tuesday (Aug 1) said he never meant to intimidate witnesses at his scheduled October fraud trial, and there is no reason to jail him. In a letter to US district judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried said prosecutors mischaracterised his intentions in giving a New York Times reporter the writings of former romantic partner Caroline Ellison, who is expected to testify against him. “Mr Bankman-Fried’s contact with the New York Times reporter was not an attempt to intimidate Ms Ellison or taint the jury pool,” his lawyer, Mark Cohen, wrote in the letter. “It was a proper exercise of his rights to make fair comment on an article already in progress.” Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at his hedge fund Alameda Research, where Ellison was the chief executive. He has been largely confined to his parents’ Palo Alto, California home on a US$250 million (RM1.13 billion) bond since his December 2022 arrest. Ellison is one of three former members of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the US Attorney’s ofFTX’s BankmanFried, seeking to avoid jail, denies witness tampering (Aug 2): A sharp split between two federal judges in New York has boosted and then dragged down cryptocurrency values in recent weeks, as investors look for clarity on a crucial question: Is crypto a security? Shares in Coinbase Global Inc, which runs the biggest crypto exchange in the US, soared 24% on July 13 after US District Judge Analisa Torres, weighing a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Ripple Labs, found that the company’s XRP token wasn’t a security when sold to individual investors on public exchanges. The SEC had argued that it was — and an unregistered one at that. Then, on Tuesday (Aug 1) morning, Coinbase sank as much as 9.5% a day after US District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled in an SEC case against Terraform Labs Pte Ltd and its co-founder, Do Kwon, that the company’s Terra USD token may indeed be a security when sold to retail investors. Neither of the rulings, by judges who sit one floor apart in the Manhattan federal courthouse, has any direct effect on a separate SEC case claiming Coinbase is illegally operating as an unregistered securities exchange. But all three cases depend, to some extent, on whether cryptoassets can be regulated under decades-old securities laws. ‘Fanboy culture’ The split also showed that the legal uncertainty surrounding crypto regulation is affecting the shares of Coinbase and the value of individual cryptocurrencies, several of which rose on Torres’s ruling and fell on Rakoff’s. Some of that impact can be chalked up to the inherent volatility of the asset class, said Richard Levin, chair of the financial technology and regulation practice at the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. Part of the mid-July run-up was “overblown, driven by a bit of a fanboy culture”, Levin said. But there’s no question that Monday’s ruling in the Terraform case “reinjected” Crypto assets surge and sink on the words of two New York judges BY BOB VAN VORIS, CHRIS DOLMETSCH & YUEQI YANG Bloomberg BY LUC COHEN Reuters fice in Manhattan.Kaplan barred Bankman-Fried from speaking about the case and asked both sides to submit written arguments about possible jail. Prosecutors may respond to Bankman-Fried’s letter by Thursday. It is not known when Kaplan will rule. The split also showed that the legal uncertainty surrounding crypto regulation is affecting the shares of Coinbase and the value of individual cryptocurrencies, several of which rose on Torres’s ruling and fell on Rakoff’s. Read the full story uncertainty for investors over the status of crypto tokens, said Gordon Grant, head of sales and trading at Genesis Global Trading. ‘Scar tissue’ “Market price action seems to suggest it’s thrown a little bit of cold water on the initial enthusiasm” from the Ripple ruling, Grant said. That, along with a hack of the decentralised crypto exchange Curve Finance, contributed to the declines of some altcoins, crypto tokens other than Bitcoin, he said. Investors now have some “scar tissue” over the crypto regulatory progress, Grant said. “Just when you thought you get a little clarity,” he said, “you didn’t.” So the industry will have to navigate its way amid the regulations and court rulings currently shaping the crypto landscape, said Andrew St Laurent, a partner with Harris St Laurent & Wechsler LLP, who thinks the prospect of a legislative solution is years away at best. The Ripple decision “gave some hope to the crypto industry”, because Torres found that some conduct fell outside the scope of the securities laws, St Laurent said. But Rakoff’s opinion is “pretty straight up the middle”, similar to other legal decisions in the space. “We have seen some agreements this year the SEC has hammered out,” he said. “Maybe you’ll see more safe harbours and people can try to push agreements through with regulators to get their currencies in the non-security area.” REUTERS

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 26 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF WORLD LONDON (Aug 2): Worldcoin will expand its operations to sign up more users globally and aims to allow other organisations to use its iris-scanning and identity-verifying technology, a senior manager for the company behind the project told Reuters. Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Worldcoin launched last week, requiring users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free cryptocurrency as part of plans to create an “identity and financial network”. In sign-up sites around the world, people have been getting their faces scanned by a shiny spherical “orb”, shrugging off privacy campaigners’ concerns that the biometric data could be misused. Worldcoin says 2.2 million have signed up, mostly during a trial period over the last two years. Data watchdogs in Britain, France and Germany have said they are looking into the project. “We are on this mission of building the biggest financial and identity community that we can,” said Ricardo Macieira, general manager for Europe at Tools For Humanity, the San Francisco and Berlin-based company behind the project. Worldcoin raised US$115 million (RM522.1 million) from venture capital investors including Blockchain Capital, a16z crypto, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global in a funding round in May. Macieira said Worldcoin would continue rolling out operations in Europe, Latin America, Africa and “all the parts of the world that will accept us.” Worldcoin’s website mentions various possible applications, including distinguishing humans from artificial intelligence, enabling “global democratic processes” and showing a “potential path” to universal basic income, although these outcomes are not guaranteed. Most people interviewed by Reuters at sign-up sites in Britain, India and Japan last week said they were joining in order to receive the 25 free Worldcoin tokens the company says verified users can claim. “I don’t think we are going to be the ones generating universal basic income. If we can do the infrastructure that allows for governments or other entities to do so we would be very happy,” Macieira said. Companies could pay Worldcoin to use its digital identity system, for example if a coffee shop wants to give everyone one free coffee, then Worldcoin’s technology could be used to ensure that people do not claim more than one coffee without the shop needing to gather personal data, Macieira said. “The idea is that as we build this infrastructure and that we allow other third parties to use the technology.” In future, the technology behind the iris-scanning orb will be open-source, Macieira added. “The idea is that anyone can in the future build their own orb and use it to benefit the community that it’s aiming for,” he said. Privacy concerns Regulators and privacy campaigners have raised concerns about Worldcoin’s data collection, including whether users are giving informed consent and whether one company should be responsible for handling the data. Worldcoin’s website says the project is “completely private” and that the biometric data is either deleted or users can opt to have it stored in encrypted form. Worldcoin says will allow companies, governments to use its ID system (Aug 2): Binance users traded US$90 billion (RM408.6 billion) of cryptocurrency related assets in a single month in China, where cryptocurrency trading has been illegal since 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday (Aug 1) citing internal figures and current and former employees of the exchange. The transactions made China Binance’s biggest market by far, accounting for 20% of volume worldwide, excluding trades made by a subset of very large traders, the WSJ said. The newspaper did not specify the month during which the transactions were made. Binance’s origins lie in China, though the world’s largest crypto exchange withdrew from mainland China in 2017 during a regulatory crackdown. It did not immediately respond to a Binance did monthly transactions worth US$90 bil in banned China market — WSJ Reuters BY NETTE NOESTLINGER, MATTHIAS BAEHR & ELIZABETH HOWCROFT Reuters na-based users,” a company spokesman told the WSJ. The exchange has also been under the scrutiny of US regulators like the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The CFTC sued Binance for operating what it said were an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program, while the SEC sued Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao saying that Binance artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds, failed to restrict US customers from its platform and misled investors about its market surveillance controls. The exchange is also under investigation by the US Justice Department over possible money-laundering and sanctions violations, Reuters has reported. Reuters request for a comment on the Journal report. “The Binance.com website is blocked in China and is not accessible to ChiIn sign-up sites around the world, people have been getting their faces scanned by a shiny spherical “orb”, shrugging off privacy campaigners’ concerns that the biometric data could be misused. Worldcoin says 2.2 million have signed up, mostly during a trial period over the last two years. Read the full story

THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2023 27 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF MARKETS Top 20 active stocks World equity indices Top gainers (ranked by %) Top losers (ranked by %) Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM) NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET (MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) UEM SUNRISE BHD 117.80 0.05 0.505 98.040 2554.50 KNM GROUP BHD 96.60 -0.01 0.090 80.000 364.00 WIDAD GROUP BHD 68.00 0.01 0.430 0.000 1309.60 VELESTO ENERGY BHD 65.80 0.01 0.235 56.670 1930.70 YTL POWER INTERNATIONAL BHD 42.70 0.07 1.450 102.800 11748.10 MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP BHD 39.20 0.01 0.375 27.120 1675.30 EP MANUFACTURING BHD 38.80 0.03 0.955 -4.020 210.40 TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 37.60 0.01 0.555 65.670 1072.00 ES CERAMICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 36.30 0.02 0.315 43.180 166.70 REVENUE GROUP BHD 36.20 0.01 0.265 -60.740 146.50 YTL CORP BHD 33.70 0.03 1.180 103.450 12937.60 SARAWAK CONSOLIDATED 29.80 -0.01 0.435 200.000 278.50 TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 27.90 -0.02 0.920 1.660 7367.50 CAPITAL A BHD 25.20 0.00 0.920 47.200 3835.50 DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 24.40 -0.01 0.465 -8.820 1467.70 MY EG SERVICES BHD 24.00 0.00 0.760 -11.800 5628.10 ADVANCE SYNERGY BHD 23.10 0.01 0.165 -5.710 417.30 KEY ASIC BHD 23.00 0.01 0.080 23.080 111.50 SCOMI ENERGY SERVICES BHD 22.00 0.00 0.005 -90.910 2.30 UCREST BHD 21.90 0.01 0.165 32.000 122.40 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.015 50.00 640.100 0.00 64.40 XOX BHD 0.020 33.33 2478.90 33.33 101.0 ZEN TECH INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.020 33.33 70.000 0.00 52.6 QUALITY CONCRETE HOLDINGS 1.200 16.50 29.3 -9.09 69.6 MENTIGA CORP BHD 0.620 15.89 852.900 9.73 43.4 GREEN PACKET BHD 0.040 14.29 559.300 -27.27 79.8 KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.040 14.29 2021.300 0.00 26.0 EA TECHNIQUE M BHD 0.170 13.33 12434.300 0.00 90.2 CATCHA DIGITAL BHD 0.475 13.10 14902.500 156.76 210.5 PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD 0.370 10.45 7003.900 57.45 165.5 CAM RESOURCES BHD 0.500 9.89 5678.600 44.93 91.3 UEM SUNRISE BHD 0.505 9.78 117811.100 98.04 2,554.5 HONG SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD 0.060 9.09 14529.200 -72.73 306.5 THRIVEN GLOBAL BHD 0.125 8.70 409.300 31.58 68.4 PAN MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 0.065 8.33 6057.300 -7.14 60.4 SHH RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 1.090 7.92 0.100 65.15 109.0 NETX HOLDINGS BHD 0.070 7.69 214 16.67 64.4 DS SIGMA HOLDINGS BHD 0.385 6.94 3788.800 0.00 184.8 ES CERAMICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.315 6.78 36342.900 43.18 166.7 KEY ASIC BHD 0.080 6.67 22962.5 23.08 111.5 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) EA HOLDINGS BHD 0.005 -50.00 250.1 -66.67 32.3 FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.005 -50.00 122.6 -50.00 29.6 KEY ALLIANCE GROUP BHD 0.005 -50.00 413.6 0.00 18.4 DGB ASIA BHD 0.005 -50.00 238.0 -66.67 9.4 COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 350 0.00 55 METRONIC GLOBAL BHD 0.010 -33.33 92.9 -50.00 15.3 JOE HOLDING BHD 0.010 -33.33 535.0 -50.00 30.6 MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 358.0 -60.00 24.2 MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 0.015 -25.00 5.0 -25.00 21.7 G3 GLOBAL BHD 0.020 -20.00 1,176.8 -33.33 75.5 SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.025 -16.67 543.0 -44.44 28.5 ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD 0.025 -16.67 226.0 0.00 38.3 JOHAN HOLDINGS BHD 0.050 -16.67 54.0 -9.09 58.4 MATRIX PARKING SOLUTION 0.150 -16.67 750.0 0.00 33.4 WMG HOLDINGS BHD 0.085 -15.00 42.0 -10.53 37.8 SC ESTATE BUILDER BHD 0.030 -14.29 185.1 -33.33 32.2 ZELAN BHD 0.030 -14.29 3,804.9 -57.14 25.3 PUC BHD 0.030 -14.29 100.0 -14.29 54.6 VIZIONE HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 -10.00 695.6 -18.18 92.1 MINETECH RESOURCES BHD 0.045 -10.00 10,003.3 -18.18 68.7 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 132.000 -0.900 57.2 -5.71 30,954.0 MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 28.660 -0.340 90.8 -0.35 5,700.4 HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.800 -0.300 241.1 2.38 7,794.1 CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 20.800 -0.200 84.1 -9.09 6,359.6 AJINOMOTO MALAYSIA BHD 16.300 -0.180 22.6 24.62 991.0 FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 24.900 -0.160 250.4 15.38 9,132.8 RIVERVIEW RUBBER ESTATES BHD 3.310 -0.150 512.4 -8.64 214.7 DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES 21.360 -0.140 7.3 -29.37 1,367.0 QL RESOURCES BHD 5.350 -0.130 964.5 -2.90 13,020.1 AEON CREDIT SERVICE M BHD 11.920 -0.120 56.6 -5.25 3,043.3 PETRONAS GAS BHD 17.000 -0.120 372.2 -0.70 33,638.4 KOTRA INDUSTRIES BHD 5.390 -0.120 21.2 -18.33 799.4 GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.480 -0.120 446.8 -7.44 5,616.0 HONG LEONG BANK BHD 19.400 -0.100 1,430.9 -5.64 42,053.7 PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP 6.750 -0.100 4,177.3 -21.51 54,000.0 MI TECHNOVATION BHD 1.490 -0.100 5,714.6 14.62 1,334.6 PRESS METAL ALUMINIUM 4.950 -0.100 1,502.7 1.43 40,786.1 D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 3.860 -0.100 428.7 -9.81 4778.7 MALAYAN CEMENT BHD 3.110 -0.090 313.6 46.70 4,074.7 AIRASIA X BHD 2.260 -0.090 13,013.0 296.49 1,010.4 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (RM MIL) HEXTARTECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS 26.600 0.280 4.9 55.92 3,422.1 APOLLO FOOD HOLDINGS BHD 4.510 0.180 300.90 16.84 360.8 QUALITY CONCRETE HOLDINGS 1.200 0.170 29.3 -9.09 69.6 PARAGON UNION BHD 2.890 0.120 78.2 55.38 242.3 MENTIGA CORP BHD 0.62 0.085 852.9 9.73 43.4 SHH RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 1.090 0.080 0.1 65.15 109.0 RAPID SYNERGY BHD 22.760 0.080 36.1 42.61 2,433.0 YTL POWER INTERNATIONAL BHD 1.450 0.070 42,747.5 102.80 11,748.1 VITROX CORP BHD 7.930 0.060 943.5 3.66 7,496.4 UCHI TECHNOLOGIES BHD 3.480 0.060 1,904.3 8.05 1,588.5 CATCHA DIGITAL BHD 0.475 0.055 14,902.5 156.76 210.5 DKSH HOLDINGS MALAYSIA BHD 5.080 0.050 33.7 18.09 800.9 CHIN HIN GROUP BHD 4.350 0.050 278.8 34.67 7,696.9 PERAK TRANSIT BHD 1.120 0.048 5,193.4 -12.50 817.2 UEM SUNRISE BHD 0.505 0.045 117,811.1 98.04 2,554.5 CAM RESOURCES BHD 0.500 0.045 5,678.6 44.93 91.3 SMIS CORP BHD 0.850 0.045 0.6 6.92 35.8 HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 18.340 0.040 140.1 -1.40 21,003.8 IMASPRO CORP BHD 4.890 0.040 290.3 -16.41 391.2 KERJAYA PROSPEK PROPERTY BHD 0.780 0.040 2,309.3 27.87 286.8 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE (%) DJIA * 35,630.68 71.15 0.20 S&P 500 * 4,576.73 -12.23 -0.27 NASDAQ 100 * 15,718.01 -38.99 -0.25 FTSE 100 * 7,666.27 -114.58 -1.49 AUSTRALIA 7,354.60 -96.11 -1.29 CHINA 3,261.69 -29.26 -0.89 HONG KONG 19,517.38 -493.74 -2.47 INDIA 65,605.52 -853.79 -1.28 INDONESIA 6,854.51 -31.99 -0.46 JAPAN 32,707.69 -768.89 -2.30 KOREA 2,616.47 -50.60 -1.90 PHILIPPINES 6,483.28 -110.52 -1.68 SINGAPORE 3,325.02 -48.77 -1.45 TAIWAN 16,893.73 -319.14 -1.85 THAILAND 1,548.49 -7.57 -0.49 VIETNAM 1,220.43 2.87 0.24 Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 * Based on the previous days’ closing Source: Bloomberg CPO RM 3,916.0044.00 OIL US$ 85.340.43 RM/USD 4.5425 RM/SGD 3.3967 RM/AUD 2.9906 RM/GBP 5.8042 RM/EUR 4.9879