ALL PAYMENTS FOR GOVT SERVICES TO BE MADE ON CASHLESS

BASIS BY 2022, SAYS TENGKU ZAFRUL p12

W E D N E S DAY, J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m
ISSUE 196/2021

CEOMorningBrief HOME: Wan Zulkiflee exits ExxonMobil board p6

Red Granite Pictures, NY law firm, Riza Aziz named in suit by 1MDB p8
Top Glove may post flat earnings growth for 3Q — analysts p9
WORLD: Alibaba kicks off spending spree with US$1b for cloud p19

KLK said to take over IJM Plantations

via cash or share swap deal
Report on Page 6.

SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE

EPF posts RM19.29 bil

gross investment income
for 1Q21, up 59% y-o-y
Report on Page 5.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
the edge ceo morning brief
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Malaysia’s coronavirus curve climbs again amid third infection wave
10000 Daily new cases
8000
6000
4000
2000
0 Bernama
Sept 1, 2020
Malaysia’s new
Covid-19 cases
rise to 5,566; fresh
record of 903
patients in ICU
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Malaysia’s new
Covid-19 infections rose to 5,566, following
four days of decline, bringing total cases to
627,652.
The number of patients in the intensive care
unit (ICU), meanwhile, hit a record for the
15th straight day at 903, with more than half of
them, or 458 individuals, placed on ventilators.
Covid-19 fatalities, however, remained be-
low 100 for the third consecutive day, declining
to 76 from 82 yesterday, said Health direc-
tor-generalTan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Selangor accounted for 18 of the latest
deaths, followed by Johor (13), Negeri Sem-
bilan (nine), Kuala Lumpur (eight) and La-
buan (seven).
Kelantan, Kedah, and Melaka registered
four deaths each, while Terengganu report-
ed three deaths. Perak and Pahang saw two
2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
published by
(266980-X)
tel. 603-77218000
Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
H O M E
7-day moving average
6,884
5,566
June 8, 2021
deaths each, while Sabah and Sarawak reg-
istered one death each.
Dr Noor Hisham said the number of ac-
tive cases in the country dropped to 82,797
as new recoveries came in higher than new
infections at 6,962. Total recoveries stood
at 541,319 or 86.3% of overall infections.
Of the new infections, Selangor remained
the worst-hit state with 1,524 cases, up from
1,374 reported yesterday. This was followed
by Sarawak (707), Negeri Sembilan (505),
Kuala Lumpur (466) and Johor (456).
Another 24 clusters detected
The Health Ministry said another 24 Cov-
id-19 clusters were reported in the 24 hours
as of noon today, raising the number of active
clusters nationwide to 730.
Fifteen of the new clusters were related
to workplaces. Five others were linked to
community clusters, three were related to
high-risk groups, and one was linked to re-
ligious activities.
The new clusters were detected in Selan-
gor, Sabah, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya,
Penang, Kelantan, Pahang, Sarawak, Perak,
and Negeri Sembilan.
To date, 2,385 clusters have been report-
ed, of which 1,655 have been declared ended.
Read also: Covid-19: Singapore sequencing
reveals delta variant crowding out others
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editor - in - chief. Azam Aris
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Six localities in
Sabah, one in
KL placed under
EMCO from June
10 — Ismail Sabri
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Six localities
in Sabah and one in Kuala Lumpur will be
placed under the Enhanced Movement Con-
trol Order (EMCO) fromThursday (June 10)
to June 23, said Senior Minister (Security)
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The EMCO in Sabah involves Kampung
Kebayau in Kota Belud; Kampung Batu La-
yar, Pulau Banggi (Kudat);Taman Wawasan
(Beaufort); Kampung Likas (Kota Kinabalu);
as well as Kampung Sungai Obar, Batu 7;
and Fasa 9B,Taman Indah Jaya (Sandakan).
Meanwhile, the EMCO in Kuala Lumpur
involves Kampung Sungai Penchala.
“This is to prevent movement and curb
transmission of the disease from these local-
ities as well as to facilitate the MOH (Min-
istry of Health) in carrying out early case
detection for immediate isolation,” he said
in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri also said the
EMCO at Ladang FGV Kalabakan Selatan,
Kalabakan, Sabah will be extended from to-
morrow until June 22 while the EMCO at
Felda Redong 1, Mukim Labis near Sega-
mat, Johor will be extended from June 10-23.
Meanwhile, the three EMCO localities in
Tanjung Manis, near Mukah, Sarawak, name-
ly the Isa anak Blone longhouse, Ben anak
Kuleng longhouse and Sekolah Kebangsaan
Telok Gelam will end tomorrow as scheduled.
The EMCO in Kampung Sungai Pukul,
Pulau Sebatik andTaman Desa Ranggu diTa-
wau, Sabah ends today, while the EMCO in
Kepulauan Tumpat, Mukim Sungai Pinang,
near Tumpat, Kelantan will end tomorrow,
both ahead of schedule.
W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Selangor Sultan
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Selangor’s The Selangor Sultan also expressed his
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah is shocked disappointment and displeasure towards an-

asks federal govt

that the state has only received 615,210 ti-vaccine groups in the state and stressed
doses of Covid-19 vaccine, and not 2.91 that their rhetoric could delay herd immunity.

to provide more
million as previously claimed. “His Highness hopes that people would
In a statement issued on his behalf, his not be easily influenced by such distorted

Covid-19 vaccine
private secretary Datuk Mohamad Munir understanding. His Highness believes that
Bani said the Sultan found the ratio of vac- vaccines can save the lives of individuals

doses to Selangor,
cine doses supplied to Selangor’s total popu- as well as communities, especially from
lation of 6.5 million unbalanced and unfair. dangerous epidemics such as Covid-19.

criticises anti-
“His Highness reminds that the state “His Highness is worried that if there are
of Selangor is the largest contributor to still individuals or groups who are adamant

Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP),
therefore priority should be given to the
state,” said Mohamad Munir.
The Ministry of Science, Technology
and Innovation (MOSTI) had previously
released data that claimed that 2.91 million
Covid-19 vaccine doses had been delivered
to Selangor as at May 30.
However, the Covid-19 ImmunisationTask
Force (CITF) later clarified that this figure
included stock in a distributor’s warehouse in
the state intended for nationwide distribution,
and that Selangor only received 615,210 Cov-
id-19 doses for statewide distribution.
Mohamad Munir added that Sultan
Sharafuddin hopes inoculation efforts will
be ramped up, as in the current situation,
the lives of the people should be given pri-
ority over other agendas.
“His Royal Highness hoped that the
vaccination group
BY IZZUL IKRAM
theedgemarkets.com
Special Committee on Covid-19 Vaccine
Supply (JKJAV) would speed up and in-
crease the number of vaccine doses avail-
able for the people of Selangor.
“His Majesty the Sultan of Selangor
also wants the number of vaccination cen-
tres (PPV) in the state of Selangor to be
increased, especially in rural areas.
“His Highness is of the view that giv-
ing vaccines on a drive-through basis or a
mobile clinic can speed up the process and
expand vaccination coverage,” the Sultan’s
private secretary added.
on not receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, the tar-
get of achieving herd immunity by the end of
this year would not be achieved, thus putting
the country in a more acute and dangerous
epidemic crisis,” Mohammad Munir added.
As at June 7, Malaysia reported 7,548
new Covid-19 cases, bringing total infec-
tions to 534,357.
Selangor reported the most cases out
of all the states and federal territories with
1,374 infections, bringing total cases in the
state to 203,520, which is also the highest
number of cumulative cases. The state has
consistently led in terms of new infections.
Read also: MEF urges employers to help
achieve herd immunity sooner, recommends
initiatives like time off work for vaccination
Click here

Malaysia Vaccine tracker

administered (mil)
Individuals receive first dose only Fully inoculated with second dose

64,436 vaccine 1.5 Total 3.64

administered: million 1,368,498

doses yesterday, 1.2

0.9
Population given at least
one dose of vaccine: 7.65%
Population fully inoculated: 3.45%
1,135,157

taking total shots 0.6

to 3.64 million 0.3

53,287

— Adham
BY SULHI KHALID
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Malaysia had
administered 3.64 million doses of Covid-19
vaccine as of yesterday, with 2.5 million peo-
ple having had their first shot and 1.14 mil-
lion people having received two doses, said
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba.
Based on the latest data from the Cov-
id-19 Immunisation Task Force, five ar-
eas with the highest numbers of people
who have received their first dose of vac-
cine are Kuala Lumpur (425,647), Se-
langor (362,081), Sarawak (249,088),
0
March 2
792
March 18
Source: Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF)
Johor (229,183) and Perak (201,153).
Meanwhile, Selangor has the highest
number of people who have been fully in-
oculated at 145,973, followed by Sarawak
(119,459), Perak (105,546), Kuala Lum-
pur (104,742) and Johor (98,996).
A total of 64,436 doses of vaccine were
administered yesterday, with 59,580 re-
ceiving their first dose and 4,856 receiving
their second dose.
National Covid-19 Immunisation Pro-
gramme Coordinating Minister Khairy Ja-
maluddin said the government is confident
June 7
2021
that the vaccination rate in the country
would hit 300,000 a day by August.
However, Khairy added this depends on
whether the vaccines arrive in the country
on schedule.
Malaysia’s daily number of newly con-
firmed Covid-19-infected individuals fell to
5,271 yesterday from 6,241 the day before,
helped mainly by the sharp drop in the
number of fresh cases reported in Selangor.
A total of 82 pandemic-linked deaths
were reported across the country, bring-
ing the total number of fatalities to 3,460.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
EPF posts RM19.29 bil gross investment
income for 1Q21, up 59% y-o-y
BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): The Em-
ployees Provident Fund (EPF) posted
a gross investment income of RM19.29
billion for the first quarter ended March
31, 2021 (1Q21), up 59% year-on-year
(y-o-y) from RM12.16 billion in 1Q20,
despite the uncertainties amid the ongo-
ing Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement today, the fund said it
registered RM14.28 billion in equities in-
come for the quarter, accounting for 74%
of total gross investment income, while
fixed income continued to contribute a
stable income of RM3.92 billion.
Income from real estate and infrastruc-
ture, and money market instruments came
in at RM710 million and RM380 million
respectively.
Including the cost write-down on list-
ed equities, which it said is a prudent
measure to ensure its long-term portfolio
remains healthy, the fund recorded a net
investment income of RM19.24 billion.
“The EPF’s solid performance for the
first quarter was a spillover from the glob-
al economic recovery that began in the
second half of last year.
“We believe that the vaccination roll-
outs as well as supportive fiscal and mon-
etary policies worldwide will play a key
role in facilitating economic activities and
growth,” said EPF chief executive officer
(CEO) Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.
He added that inflationary concerns
did not derail the positive trend in equity
markets, and that the fund took advan-
tage of the opportunity to “reposition our
holdings in stocks that are fundamentally
5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Summary of EPF’s 1Q2021 results
Portfolio Percentage of total Gross investment Percentage of
investment assets (%) income (RM bil) income (%)
Equities 44 14.28 74
Fixed Income Instruments 46 3.92 20
Money Market Instruments 6 0.38 2
Real Estate & Infrastructure 4 0.71 4
Total 100 19.29 100
strong but undervalued”. been disbursed.
The EPF’s investment assets stood Under the i-Lestari facility, a total of
at RM981.71 billion as at end-March, RM20.8 billion has been paid out to 5.27
with overseas investments accounting million members.
for 36% of the total, generating income “Our disciplined investment approach
of RM11.15 billion or 58% of the total and robust liquidity management guided
gross investment income recorded, mainly by SAA have been successful in minimis-
driven by foreign equities. ing the impact of substantial disburse-
By asset class, fixed income instru- ments on the EPF’s portfolio, allowing it
ments made up 46% of investments, fol- to sustain a steady performance in these
lowed by equities (44%), money market trying times.
instruments (4%), and real estate and in- “This reflects the fund’s commitment
frastructure (6%). to safeguarding our members’ retirement
The fund said its portfolio reflects its savings by preserving and enhancing the
diversification strategy to optimise returns value of those savings, while ensuring that
within tolerable risk limits as guided by their short-term needs are met without
strategic asset allocation (SAA), which compromising their long-term interests,”
had proven to be resilient in the face of said Amir Hamzah.
any challenging market environment, es- While the EPF remains cautious about
pecially during the Covid-19 pandemic the coming quarter amid downside risks
crisis. of the new highly transmissible Cov-
Meanwhile, on financial relief initia- id-19 variants, he assured members that
tives amid the pandemic, the EPF said a the EPF continuously takes the neces-
total of RM57.97 billion in i-Sinar with- sary measures to protect members’ sav-
drawals were approved for 6.49 million ings, supported by its strong governance
applicants, of which RM50.93 billion had framework.
He added that the EPF would continue
to strive to meet its mandate and strate-
gic targets of providing members with a
sustainable retirement.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

KLK said to IJM Plantations Bhd

Wan Zulkiflee
take over exits ExxonMobil
RM
2.5
RM2.46

IJM Plantations board

via cash or 2.0

share swap deal BY ADAM AZIZ

RM1.59 theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (June 8):Tan SriWan ZulkifleeWan

BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS 1.5 Ariffin said he respects the decision at the ExxonMobil
theedgemarkets .com June 1, 2020 June 8, 2021 Corp’s annual general meeting (AGM) last week not to
Source: Bloomberg
reappoint the former Petronas chieftain to the board of
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): IJM the oil major.
Plantations Bhd and Kuala Lumpur The oil and gas vet- SAM FONG/THE EDGE

Kepong Bhd (KLK) have request- According to its 2020 annual re- eran was among three
ed for suspension of trading of their port, IJM Plantations has a total of directors not reelect-
shares effective 2.30pm today, pend- 60,966 hectares (ha) in total planted ed to the board, amid
ing an announcement. area, of which 24,898ha are located pressure by sharehold-
In filings with the bourse, Bursa in Malaysia, while 36,068ha are in ers led by activist hedge
Malaysia said the structured warrants Indonesia. fund Engine No 1 for
relating to IJM Plantations and KLK Approximately 72% of its planted ExxonMobil to bet-
would also be suspended. areas comprise mature prime trees ter prepare for a car-
It is learnt that KLK is making an aged between eight and 20 years bon-zero future.
offer to take over IJM Plantations. old. Meanwhile, 12% of its planta- “It was indeed a
Shareholders of IJM Plantations will tions comprise mature young trees privilege for me to be
be given the option of either a cash aged four to seven years, followed appointed to the highly Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee
offer or share swap. by 11% immature trees aged one to prestigious ExxonMo- Wan Ariffin
According to sources, the takeo- three years, while the balance 5% are bil board.
ver deal is valuing IJM Plantations made up of mature trees aged above “Despite the short duration of my membership, I
in the range of RM2.50 to RM2.70 20 years. would consider my time with the board to be a valu-
per share. This would be the second ma- able experience with a world-renowned energy com-
IJM Plantations’ share price has jor acquisition related to KLK in pany,” Wan Zulkiflee said in a brief media statement.
been on an upward trend since May less than a year as its controlling Wan Zulkfilee also thanked the board members
21 after touching a low of RM1.55 on shareholder Batu Kawan Bhd took of ExxonMobil for their fellowship during his four-
Oct 5 last year. The stock has climbed Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd month stint with the oil major.
91 sen or 59% since then. (CCM) private recently after ac- “I wish to also commend the commitment and
The counter was last traded at quiring Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s professionalism of the management in leading Exxon-
RM2.46 prior to the suspension, (PNB) 56.32% stake in the latter for Mobil in its aspiration to responsibly meet the world’s
giving it a market capitalisation of RM292.97 million. energy needs, a pursuit that is also close to my heart.
RM2.12 billion. Batu Kawan launched an offer in “I fully understand the need to respect the outcome
Based on a valuation of RM2.70 November last year of RM3.10 per of the Annual Shareholders Meeting, which resulted in
per share, IJM Plantations will be val- CCM share it did not own, which the unseating of three of the existing board members.
ued at RM2.38 billion. was closed on Feb 2. “I wish the board well and I am confident that they
IJM Plantations’ substantial share- KLK rose 16 sen or 0.7% to will provide the necessary guidance and stewardship to
holders comprise IJM Corp Bhd RM21.76 prior to the suspension, DarrenWoods (ExxonMobil chairman and CEO) and his
(with a 56.2% stake) and the Employ- giving it a market capitalisation of team in navigating these challenging times and continuing
ees Provident Fund (EPF) (13.89%). RM23.52 billion. to create value for all stakeholders.Thank you,” he said.
Wan Zulkiflee was appointed to the board of Exxon-
Mobil on Feb 2 this year, after the group received blunt
Analyst ratings on IJM Plantations criticism that its directors lacked energy experience,
Research Call Target according to Reuters. He was the first non-American
house price in the company’s history to join the board.
(RM) With the preliminary AGM results announced by
AmInvestment Bank Sell 1.90 ExxonMobil on June 2, Wan Zulkiflee joins former
Hong Leong Investment Bank Buy 2.61 MetLife chief Steven Kandarian, and IBM CEO Sam-
KAF Seagrott & Campbell Buy 2.44 uel Palmisano and the board’s longest-serving member
Kenanga Investment Bank Outperform 2.30 in exiting the 12-member board.
RHB Research Buy 2.50 Wan Zulkiflee is currently serving as non-execu-
Affin Hwang Investment Buy 2.20 tive chairman of Malaysia Airlines Bhd and Malaysia
MIDF Amanah Investment Buy 2.62 Aviation Group Bhd, and was also appointed as chair-
TA Securities Holdings Buy 3.18
man of DRB-Hicom Bhd. The engineer by profession
led Petronas as president and group CEO from April
UOB Kay Hian Hold 2.00
2015 until June 2020.
Size: 275mm x 190mm
W E D N E S D AY JUNE 9, 2021 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): After news
broke over the weekend that Riza Shahriz
Aziz’s New York apartment was sold by
the United States authorities for US$16.8
million, the step-son of former prime
minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was also
named by 1Malaysia Development Bhd
(1MDB) in a US$250 million suit.
Besides 1MDB, three of its subsidiar-
ies 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, 1MDB
Energy Ltd and 1MDB Energy (Langat)
Ltd also named him and two of his com-
panies, namely Red Granite Pictures Inc
and Red Granite Capital Ltd, in the suit.
This is for funds allegedly obtained by
Riza and his two companies from 1MDB
and its three other subsidiaries between
2011 and 2012, which are allegedly mis-
appropriated.
The writ of summons filed by Messrs
Shearn Delamore at the High Court here
on May 7 also named New York-based
law firm Shearman and Sterling as the
fourth defendant.
This is one of the six suits filed by
1MDB in its multi-billion suits against
many individuals and companies.
In the writ sighted by theedgemar-
kets.com, 1MDB claimed that Riza, who
controlled the two Red Granite compa-
nies which produced the award-winning
“The Wolf of Wall Street”, ought to have
known that the monies that originated
from 1MDB were misappropriated to
them for their benefit.
It also claimed the US-based law firm
allowed Riza and Low Taek Jho, or Jho
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Har-
talega Holdings Bhd has complet-
ed its remediation of recruitment fees
totalling RM41 million, within eight
months of its commencement in No-
vember 2020, ahead of its initial
target.
In a statement, it said the reimburse-
ment was made to current workers who
joined the group prior to the implemen-
tation of its zero recruitment cost policy
on April 1, 2019 and had previously paid
recruitment fees to employment agents
during the recruitment process.
The group has appointed a reputa-
ble independent party to verify all re-
imbursements.
“In addition, Hartalega will reimburse
its current workers who joined under the
zero recruitment cost policy.
“Under this policy, Hartalega has
established four checkpoints, namely
during the interview stage in the source
country, before departure to Malaysia,
arrival in Malaysia and three months into
employment with Hartalega, to ensure
8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Red Granite
reckless indifference ... or failed to make
the necessary enquiries, that the funds
Pictures, NY law
in question were the proceeds of crime,”
the writ stated.
firm, Riza Aziz
Hence, 1MDB is seeking a declara-
tion that Riza is liable to account for the
named in suit
misappropriated funds and the unjust en-
richment of the use of the funds, and it
by 1MDB
is seeking the repayment of the misap-
propriated funds.
Besides this, 1MDB and its subsidi-
aries are also seeking that the two Red
BY HAFIZ YATIM Granite companies are liable to account
theedgemarkets.com for the misappropriation and unjust en-
richment from the result of the misap-
propriation, and that 1MDB and its sub-
sidiaries are entitled to the repayment.
Furthermore, it is also claiming that
Shearman and Sterling is liable to pay
damages and compensation for breach-
es of statutory and/or regulatory duty to
dishonest assistance and aiding and abet-
ting the transfer.
The 1MDB-related companies are also
seeking interests, costs and other relief
deemed necessary from all four defend-
ants.
The case has today been called up for
case management before senior assistant
registrar Noordura Mohamed Din, who
Low, to use its lawyer accounts to laun- had fixed Aug 17 for further case man-
der a substantial portion of the misap- agement via e-review.
propriations.
“The fourth defendant (Shearman and
Sterling) had knowledge, being either ac- Read also: July 28 fixed for case manage-
tual knowledge or knowledge which is ment of SRC’s suits against Najib, Umno
to be inferred from willful blindness or Click here
Hartalega
that workers are not required to pay any
fees,” said the group.
completes
It said it is conscious of the fact that
despite there being robust checkpoints
RM41m
in place, there could still be workers who
may not have reported any payments
recruitment fees
that they may have made, and there-
fore it has engaged with current workers
remediation
to countercheck on this matter as part
of its commitment to ensure that none
of its workers pays any fees to work at
Hartalega.
BY AHMAD NAQIB IDRIS The group has also rolled out the next
theedgemarkets.com phase of its remediation programme, en-
tailing the extending of the programme
to former workers of Hartalega who had
left the company on or after the policy
was implemented.
“Hartalega remains dedicated to the
welfare of its workers and will contin-
ue progressing in its social compliance
journey to ensure just and fair treatment
for all workers,” said the group.
At 12.30pm, Hartalega fell 25 sen or
2.9% to RM8.32, giving a market capi-
talisation of RM28.52 billion.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Top Glove may post flat earnings growth
for 3Q — analysts
KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): After re-
cording rapid profit growth in the past
few quarters, Top Glove Corporation
Bhd’s earnings could have peaked in the
March-May quarter but would start de-
clining thereafter amid lower glove prices,
said analysts.
Rakuten Trade Research’s head of eq-
uity sales Vincent Lau said it is also pos-
sible that the world’s biggest rubber glove
maker may report flat earnings growth for
the third quarter ended May 31, 2021
(3QFY21) compared with the preceding
quarter.
He said the group’s earnings could be
affected by lower average selling prices
(ASP) for its gloves products, adding that
this trend could continue as there will no
longer be a rush for gloves amid a more
competitive environment as new compa-
nies jump on the glove bandwagon while
existing glove makers ramp up their pro-
duction.
“Having said that, Top Glove’s earnings
could have peaked in 3QFY21,’ he told
The Edge, adding that demand for gloves
may also sustain as “new norms of Cov-
id-19 are expected to stay and buoy the
group’s earnings”.
Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd head of re-
search Loui Low also expects the demand
for gloves to stay, partially offsetting the
impact from the decline in the ASP.
“Demand for gloves is expected to
maintain as countries will continue to
stock up glove products to ensure suffi-
cient gloves supply due to increased health
awareness and to quell Covid-19, albeit
there is no rush to stock up gloves as wit-
nessed in the previous multiples waves over
the year,” said Loui.
However, he cautioned that spot pric-
es for gloves, which fuelled glove makers’
earnings in the previous quarters, are ex-
pected to drop with more countries, espe-
cially Western nations, making good pro-
gress in reaching herd immunity through
vaccination.
Fellow glove maker Supermax Corp
Bhd saw its net profit for the third quar-
ter ended March 31, 2021 drop 5.2% to
RM1 billion, from RM1.06 billion in the
preceding quarter, due to production losses
experienced at its Meru plants as workers
were placed under mandatory quarantine
in February.
On the other hand, Hartalega Hold-
ings Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter
ended March 31, 2021 grew 11.73% to
9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemarkets.com
Top Glove Corp Bhd
RM
9 Top Glove’s closing price of RM4.78 yes-
7 on Jan 4.
5 owing to the uncertainty arising from the
RM4.74 RM4.78
3 ing kicked out as a constituent of the FBM
June 1, 2020 June 8, 2021
Source: Bloomberg
RM1.12 billion, from RM1 billion in the
third quarter, due to higher sales revenue
and lower operation costs, offset by higher
raw material price.
MIDF Research, which has a “buy” call
for Top Glove is among reasearch outfits
with a positive view on the group’s finan-
cial performance. It has revised its earnings
estimates by 24.3% to RM10.53 billion for
FY21 after the group’s first half earnings
beat expectations.
MIDF analyst Ng Bei Shan expects Top
Glove to post better results in 3QFY21
driven by higher production capacity and
operational efficiency. The expected better
performance will be supported by produc-
tion capacity that may increase by around
7.5%, she said.
“We do not foresee major disruption
going forward due to the precautionary
measures taken. And the normalisation in
production is expected to yield positive
efficiency for the company,” Ng added in
a note earlier this year.
She also expects the group’s ASP for
nitrile rubber gloves to be adjusted by a
single-digit due to the slight softening of
raw material costs of 3% to 5%.
“Overall, we opine that its blended ASP
in 2HFY21 may surpass 1HFY21 due to
the high-base effect and potentially firm-
er prices of other products,” she added.
Ng said dividend yield for FY21 and
FY22 is 16.4% and 4.2% respectively. She
said the “buy” recommendation is prem-
ised on the positive outlook for Top Glove’s
earnings as well as attractive valuation.
She has kept the target price at RM8.29,
42% higher than yesterday’s closing price
of RM4.78.
Has Top Glove shares price hit rock-
bottom?
terday is half its peak value of RM9.60
reached on Oct 19 last year. Year to date,
the counter has fallen 13% from RM5.50
Some market observers foresee a further
downside risk to Top Glove’s share price
forced labour issue putting a dent on the
sentiment.
Against the backdrop of Supermax be-
KLCI in the recent semi-annual review
of the index, Top Glove may also be not
be spared from a selldown going forward.
“With Supermax dropping out from the
KLCI index, the weighting of glove mak-
ers in the gauge will decline. Hence, fund
managers may trim their exposure in the
glove companies,” said a head of research
requested anonymity.
“Hence, I expect the company’s shares
price may trend lower to RM3.30 to
RM3.60 level in the next three months,”
he added.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that
Top Glove may defer its listing in Hong
Kong as the group seeks to resolve the US
import ban on its products.
Experts said there are chances for de-
lays for the planned Hong Kong listing as
the US import ban is negative on environ-
mental, social and governance perception
among investors.
“To me, the timing to list in Hong Kong
is not good given the company’s ASP is
in downcycle. If the company delays the
plan to list in Hong Kong, it may not get
the value it intends to get initially,” said a
local head of research.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Yinson and
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Yinson my through green technology investments.
Holdings Bhd has entered into a deal with “Our plan is to replace existing infra-

Singapore’s
Singapore’s SMRT Corp Ltd’s corporate structure and develop innovative business
venture arm to co-invest an undisclosed solutions in order to make transportation

SMRT co-invest
amount in an autonomous vehicle start- sustainable through the adoption of clean
up named MooVita Pte Ltd. and environmentally sound technologies.

in autonomous
In a statement today, Yinson said the “The co-investment in MooVita pre-
co-investment with SMRT Ventures aims sents a wonderful opportunity to contribute

vehicle start-up
to accelerate the development, commer- back to the sustainable transportation infra-
cialisation and international expansion of structure in Singapore, and there are future

MooVita
MooVita’s driverless solutions, beginning
with the deployment of safe and comfort-
able driverless solutions for public trans-
portation and the urban environment.
“This is achievable by leveraging onYin-
son’s extensive experience in the logistics
solution and energy industries, as well as
SMRT Ventures and the transport ecosys-
tem in Singapore,” the energy infrastruc-
ture and technology group said.
It added that as the lead investor in this
fundraising round by MooVita, the invest-
ment marksYinson’s first foray into mobil-
ity — one of the three segments alongside
marine and energy that it is actively ear-
marking under its newly establishedYinson
Green Technologies Division.
Yinson’s group executive vice president
for new ventures and technology, Eirik Bar-
clay, said the investment is in line with
the division’s ambition of accelerating the
global transition into a low carbon econo-
plans to operationalise the technology in
Malaysia, whereYinson was founded and is
currently headquartered,” Barclay added.
MooVita co-founder and chief operat-
BY IZZUL IKRAM ing officer Dilip Limbu said the compa-
theedgemarkets.com ny will focus on advancing its driverless
technologies, building a fleet of driverless
shuttle buses, and additionally expediting
the deployment of MooVita’s driverless
public transport solutions starting from
Singapore and Malaysia.
The start-up was established in 2016,
specialising in designing and deploying
roadworthy autonomous vehicles in urban
cities. It is developing a component-based
driverless software solution, which trans-
forms various vehicle types into autono-
mous vehicles for varying driving condi-
tions and applications.
Yinson’s share price closed 13 sen or
2.58% lower at RM4.90, giving the group
a market capitalisation of RM5.39 billion.

Serba Dinamik
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Serba Di-
Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd
namik Holdings Bhd shares continued its

falls to new low

downtrend and fell to a new low today, a
RM
week after the group announced that its 2.0

of 61 sen over a
auditors have raised certain audit issues.
The counter fell as much as 15.5 sen

week after audit

or 20.26% to an intraday low of 61 sen
amid selling pressure. The stock eventu-
ally settled at 62 sen, still down 14.5 sen
or 18.95%.
Since the audit issue of the firm was
made public at the end of May, the counter
has lost about 61.49%, with some RM3.69
billion market capitalisation wiped off.
The counter was the most actively trad-
ed stock today, with 535.31 million shares
done.
Meanwhile, counters linked to Serba
Dinamik group managing director and
chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Dr
Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah, namely
KPower Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated
Industries Bhd (SCIB) were feeling the
heat as well.
KPower sank 11 sen or 9.82% to an
intraday low of RM1.01 before settling at
RM1.04. The stock has declined 38.46%
since Serba Dinamik’s audit issues were
made known. SCIB, on the other hand,
closed at its intra-day low of 85 sen after
retreating eight sen or 8.6%. The stock
issues were raised
BY TAN SIEW MUNG
theedgemarkets.com
has fallen 42.57% after Serba Dinamik’s
audit issues emerged.
Mohd Abdul Karim, who is the larg-
est shareholder of Serba Dinamik, is con-
trolling a 27.07% stake in the oil and gas
(O&G) firm. He also holds a 32.36% stake
in KPower and 36.8% of SCIB.
The selldown of these stocks started
when Serba Dinamik’s external auditor
KPMG raised questions over the compa-
ny’s past transactions of over RM3 billion.
In response, Mohd Abdul Karim said
on May 29 that Serba Dinamik “has done
nothing wrong”. The company also de-
scribed KPMG as acting in an “unfair”
and “peculiar” manner for going straight
1.5
RM1.57
1.0
RM0.62
0.5
June 1, 2020 June 8, 2021
Source: Bloomberg
to the company’s independent directors
to address the audit issues — instead of
briefing the management first.
Serba Dinamik’s second-largest share-
holder Datuk Abdul Kadier Sahib, who
held 16.25% in the company, even want-
ed to remove KPMG as its external au-
ditor, but then changed his mind after
the proposal came under fire from both
the Minority Shareholders Watch Group
(MSWG) and the Institutional Investors
Council Malaysia.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 11 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

IF YOU ARE
NOT PART OF
THE SOLUTION
YOU WILL BE
PART OF
THE PROBLEM
Vaccinations reduce infections and save lives*

Get yourself vaccinated

Get your family, friends and colleagues

to register for vaccination

Join the race to build herd immunity

*Covid-19 Vaccines Advice

– World Health Organization

*Benefits of Getting Covid-19 Vaccines

– US Centre For Disease Control & Prevention

THIS IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE MESSAGE ON FIGHTING COVID-19

 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): The Minis-
try of Finance (MoF), under the recently
launched MyDIGITAL, will ensure that
payments for all government services will
be made on a cashless basis by 2022, its
Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Teng-
ku Abdul Aziz said.
He said this will lead to higher trans-
actional security, better coordination,
enhanced communications on anti-cor-
ruption initiatives, and greater ease of
sharing information.
MyDIGITAL is the nation’s digital
economy blueprint — envisioning how
the country will move towards a more
digitally connected economy on the In-
dustrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) path.
“As at the end of last year, 60% of the
government’s total collection was through
e-payment,” he said in his speech when
officiating the Malaysian Institute of Ac-
countants (MIA) Conference 2021 today.
Tengku Zafrul said the government
had worked continuously to ensure good
governance, more efficient and effective
public service delivery, as well as curbing
leakages, fraud and corruption.
So far, the government has pushed for
digitalisation on various ends, including
modernising public service delivery and
curb corruption, as this will reduce di-
rect contact points between citizens and
public officials.
Tengku Zafrul said the government
had shifted to electronic identification
cards and biometric proof of identity for
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Berjaya
Corp Bhd (BCorp) said today it has di-
vested its entire 51% stake in Berjaya Auto
Alliance Sdn Bhd (BAASB) comprising
6.12 million ordinary shares to Bermaz
Auto Bhd (BAuto) and other sharehold-
ers of BAASB for a cash consideration of
RM6.67 million.
BAASB is involved in the distribution
of vehicles under the Peugeot marque in
Malaysia.
Commenting on the divestment, BCorp
Group Chief Executive Officer Jalil Rash-
eed said the group is in the process of
transforming into a diversified consum-
er group with a focused business vertical.
He said in a statement today that this
divestment is part of the restructuring and
rationalisation exercise to divest BCorp’s
non-core assets to create and enhance
shareholder value.
“With Bermaz being part of the BCorp
Group previously, we recognised that it
would be more synergistic for Bermaz to
acquire BAASB.
“Bermaz’s capabilities and expertise
in the automotive industry have been
12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
All payments
for govt services
to be made on
cashless basis
by 2022, says
Tengku Zafrul
Bernama
identification of citizens, expediting direct
government assistance to ensure inclu-
siveness, accessibility, transparency and
accountability.
So far, direct aids have been done
mostly on a cashless basis, where appli-
cation and payments for Bantuan Priha-
tin Rakyat and Geran Khas Prihatin are
made electronically and online.
He added that as an important influ-
encer and advocacy of informed decisions,
accountants also play a key role in driving
digitalisation, and the MIA had contin-
uously put efforts in encouraging digital
leadership and transformation through
the MIA’s Digital Technology Blueprint.
“We also appreciate the MIA’s advo-
cacy of tax governance that focuses on
addressing non-compliance and systemic
inefficiencies.
BCorp divests
51% stake
in Peugeot
distributor
Berjaya Auto
Alliance to
Bermaz Auto,
others
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
theedgemarkets.com
proven by their tremendous success and
impressive track record in running the
Mazda business, and we are confident
that they will be able to do well in rep-
licating the same business success for
Peugeot,” said Jalil.
“By broadening the tax base — in-
cluding taxation of the shadow economy,
improving tax compliance and adminis-
tration matters — this will enhance tax
collection, which is critical to enable the
government to deliver more assistance
during times of crisis, as well as for the
nation’s developmental expenditures
and longer-term reform agendas,” he
said.
He stated that the MIA had been advo-
cating that sustainable development goal
reporting should be included in corpo-
rate reporting, and this is very valuable
as accountants bring unique skills and
expertise within the global discourse and
engagement on sustainability.
Specifically, he said accountants are
uniquely qualified to measure and as-
sign climate impact costs, such as carbon
and greenhouse gas emissions, to provide
independent assurance of sustainabili-
ty processes and impacts, and to issue
reports and communications on these
impacts to support decision-makers and
influence positive change.
Themed “Navigating a Sustainable
Future with Agility and Resilience”, the
three-day conference is aimed at upskill-
ing accountants with future-relevant
competencies to support and drive the
global sustainability agenda by leverag-
ing the profession’s core competencies
and ethics to advocate for business con-
tinuity and sustainability, climate solu-
tions and digital empowerment.
Meanwhile in a separate statement,
BAuto said it had acquired an additional
35% stake in BAASB from BCorp for a
cash consideration of RM4.58 million or
at RM1.09 per BAASB share.
Following the acquisition, BAuto’s stake
in BAASB has increased from 20% to 55%
and BAASB is now a subsidiary of BAuto.
The company said the acquisition —
funded entirely via internally-generated
funds — represents an opportunity for
BAuto to acquire a strategic controlling
stake in BAASB which holds the distribu-
torship of renowned Peugeot marque vehi-
cles in Malaysia and facilitate the consoli-
dation of BAASB’s results into the BAuto
Group.
“There are no material financial effects
to BAuto Group and no approvals are re-
quired from the shareholders and relevant
authorities,” it said.
At the closing bell today, shares of
BCorp fell half a sen or 1.64% to 30 sen,
giving the group a market capitalisation of
RM1.57 billion. Meanwhile, BAuto rose
three sen or 2.11% to RM1.45, bringing
its market value to RM1.69 billion.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): S&P Glob-
al Ratings said today that the rating on
Genting Bhd (BBB/Negative/--) will come
under further pressure if the lockdown in
Malaysia and capacity restrictions in Sin-
gapore are extended, and the group cannot
offset the impact of these curbs through
other financial means.
The rating agency said in a statement
that Genting’s delayed recovery in oper-
ations and elevated capital expenditures
continue to offer thin rating headroom over
the next 12 to 18 months.
“The recovery of the company’s debt-
to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax-
es, depreciation and amortisation) ratio to
below three times and ratio of funds from
operations to debt to over 30% could be
pushed beyond 2022, if lockdown and ca-
pacity restrictions persist,” it said.
It added that the recently imposed
lockdown in Malaysia and capacity curb
in Genting’s two key operating countries
will likely weaken earnings and operating
cash flow for the rest of the first half of
2021, adding further pressure on its cred-
it quality.
With confirmed cases in Malaysia
trending down from over 7,000 daily in
early June, Genting’s operations for 2021
may not recover to its level of expectations
unless vaccination rate speeds up signifi-
cantly in Malaysia, said S&P.
According to S&P, Malaysia’s inter-
state travel ban has already lowered the
company’s first-quarter 2021 revenue and
EBITDA by 26% and 54% respectively,
compared with the fourth quarter of 2020.
Nevertheless, it believed the grand
opening of Resorts World Las Vegas LLC
(RWLV; BBB-/Negative/--) later this
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Fitch Solu-
tions sees a worsening of political risks in
Malaysia as more citizens become increas-
ingly dissatisfied with the government’s
handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research house said in a note to-
day pointed out that this could further en-
hance the already profound political risks
in Malaysia, which in turn will adversely
affect policymaking and policy continuity,
as well as social stability.
The dissatisfaction arose from a resur-
gence in Covid-19 cases — which have
swelled to thousands, touching fresh highs
— while coping with multiple lockdowns
and confusing instructions amid high-pro-
file cases of celebrities and politicians flout-
ing social distancing and lockdown rules.
Fitch Solutions also said public anger
could also affect the unity of the Perikatan
Nasional (PN) government led by Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and
13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Genting rating
Covid-19 and is supportive of RWLV’s
business ramp-up for the rest of 2021, it
under pressure
added.
Similarly, revenue from Genting’s New
if Malaysia’s
York operations in the first quarter of 2021
returned to 70% of pre-pandemic levels
lockdown
and the US operations could now recover
faster than it had expected given operating
extended — S&P
hours normalised from April.
Meanwhile, Genting’s UK operations
also restarted in mid-May after a long clo-
sure since the middle of last year, it noted.
BY TAN SIEW MUNG “We believe Genting is striving to con-
theedgemarkets.com trol its negative discretionary cash flow by
adding flexibility in its investment plans
and contemplating plans to dispose of non-
core assets,” it said.
Following the completion of its Ma-
laysian theme park and RWLV, Genting’s
main pending project is the Resorts World
Sentosa 2.0 expansion, said S&P.
“While this would continue to elevate
the company’s investment plans, we expect
the timing and level of investments to be
partly dependent on current operational
conditions.
“The group’s large cash balance will
support its ongoing expansionary spend-
ing and periods of negative discretionary
cash flows,” it said.
Genting’s asset disposal plans include
Genting Malaysia Bhd’s (BBB/Negative/--)
month will support Genting’s diverse busi- planned disposal of a UK hotel, which S&P
ness mix and soften current operational expects to be completed in the first half
headwinds in Southeast Asia. of this year.
Visitations to the Las Vegas Strip had Genting closed 12 sen or 2.37% high-
recovered to about 70% of pre-pandemic er at RM5.18 today, valuing the group at
levels in April 2021, according to S&P. RM19.91 billion.
Furthermore, the high proportion of Meanwhile, Genting Malaysia ended 10
fully vaccinated individuals in the US at sen or 3.48% higher at RM2.97, giving it
42% has reduced the anxieties around a market cap of RM16.79 billion.
Worsening
from 66.7 previously, to reflect these risks.
It also added that the worsening situa-
outbreak
tion — despite the declaration of the state
of emergency in January that Muhyiddin
in Malaysia
said was aimed at tackling the third wave
of the pandemic — was an aggravating fac-
poses further
tor of the dissatisfaction of the electorate.
“Indeed, perceptions are likely to have
political risk, says
turned significantly against Muhyiddin,
and it is likely that the move is now viewed
Fitch Solutions
more widely as a bid to stave off challenges
to his rule, which he had been vulnerable
to due to a slim majority in Parliament
rather than a sincere attempt to control
BY TAN SIEW MUNG the outbreak,” it said.
theedgemarkets.com The research house added that it had
consistently been highlighting various risks
expects an escalating blame game over the to government unity since the inception
issue ahead of the general election. of the PN government in March last year,
Accordingly, Fitch Solutions revised and its views continued to play out amid
downward its short-term political risk in- the worsening public fallout over the gov-
dex score for Malaysia to 65.2 out of 100, ernment’s handling of the pandemic.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): FGV Hold-
ings Bhd’s wholly-owned unit FGV Inte-
grated Farming Holdings Sdn Bhd (FG-
VIF) today signed an agreement to buy
the entire 100% equity interest in MSM
Perlis Sdn Bhd, which owns about 4,500
hectares in Chuping, Perlis for RM175
million.
MSM Perlis is a wholly-owned sub-
sidiary of MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd
(MSM), which in turn is 51% owned by
the FGV group.
The share sales agreement is in con-
tinuation to the binding term sheet previ-
ously signed between MSM and FGVIF
on April 30, 2021.
“The disposal is following the discon-
tinuation of non-strategic operations in
MSM Perlis as part of MSM’s rational-
isation strategies to streamline profita-
bility and develop operational capability.
“MSM will be conducting an extraor-
dinary general meeting (EGM) to obtain
approval from its shareholders, which is
scheduled by the third quarter of 2021
(3Q21). The transaction is targeted to
complete before the end of the year,”
FGV and MSM said in a joint state-
ment today.
MSM group chief executive officer
(CEO) Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad
said extraordinary income would be re-
alised as part of the proposed dispos-
al, with an estimated gain of RM91.6
million.
“It is also to enhance our operation-
al front, particularly on the utilisation
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Nestcon
Bhd, a building and infrastructure con-
struction services provider, aims to raise
RM45.1 million via its initial public of-
fering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE
Market.
In a statement today in conjunction
with its prospectus launch, Nestcon group
managing director Datuk Dr Lim Jee Gin
said the group plans to utilise the proceeds
raised via the IPO exercise to pave ways
for stronger growth.
“Part of the proceeds will be allocated
to set up an industrialised building system
(IBS) facility, as well as to upgrade our
software systems to reduce dependency
on human labour and improve operation-
al efficiency.
“Correspondingly, we intend to ac-
quire more equipment and machineries
to strengthen our technical capabilities to
take on larger projects as well as further
expand and penetrate into other segments
such as renewable energy,” he said.
The group will allocate RM16.5 million
(36.6%) for repayment of bank borrow-
14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
FGV to acquire
MSM Perlis
for RM175m
Bernama
factor and yield improvement in MSM
Sugar Refinery (Johor) Sdn Bhd (MSM
Johor).
“Aside from the disposal, the acceler-
ated planned rectification works at MSM
Johor will also support MSM’s target to
reach a minimum UF (utilisation factor)
rate of 50% by the third quarter of the
year,” Syed Feizal said.
Meanwhile, FGV has earmarked the
11 parcels of agricultural and industrial
land owned by MSM Perlis for the de-
velopment of the FGV Chuping Agro
Valley (FCAV) by FGVIF, a new sector
under the group.
The development would consist of
high-value integrated cash crop planta-
tion activities, such as MD2 pineapples
and harumanis mangoes, as well as dairy
farming, it said.
The FGV group’s officer-in-charge
and group divisional director of logistics
and support businesses sector Azman Ah-
mad said the group is looking forward to
the development and expansion of the
FCAV project in order to realise FGVIF’s
strategic initiatives.
Nestcon to raise
RM45.1m from
IPO, prices new
shares at 28 sen
apiece
BY IZZUL IKRAM
theedgemarkets.com
ings, RM11 million (24.3%) for working
capital, RM6.6 million (14.7%) for ac-
quisition of machineries and equipment
for business expansion in the civil engi-
neering and infrastructure division, RM6
million (13.3%) for establishing an IBS
facility for the building division and the
remaining RM4 million (8.9%) to defray
the estimated listing expenses.
Nestcon is issuing 161 million new
shares, representing approximately 25%
“This is in line with the government’s
proposition to bolster the domestic eco-
nomic sector and provide employment
opportunities in efforts to reduce the im-
pact of the pandemic,” he said.
To date, the group has hired more than
50 employees and field workers for the
project, and in addition, a total area of
60 hectares have been allocated for the
agropreneur programme under the con-
tract farming scheme for the MD2 pine-
apple project.
“The first batch of agropreneur re-
cruitment is expected to be in July 2021.
“FGVIF has already commenced the
ground work of 1,200 hectares of MD2
pineapple plantations, where we target
to complete the development by 2025,”
added Azman.
Since the cessation of its sugar cane
plantations, MSM Perlis continued to
manage the agricultural land with rubber,
oil palm and mango plantations, but due
to an unsustainable performance associ-
ated with high operating cost of main-
taining the plantation activities, it ceased
its plantation sector on June 30, 2019.
Meanwhile, MSM Perlis’ sugar refin-
ery operations were discontinued a year
later following MSM’s capacity rational-
isation to consolidate the production in
the new refinery, MSM Johor.
The unfavourable location of MSM
Perlis (distance from ports), its small ca-
pacity and high-cost facility caused the
operations to be uneconomical, the state-
ment said.
of the enlarged share capital, at an issue
price of 28 sen per share.
The group stated that 32.2 million new
shares will be made available to the Ma-
laysian public, 32.2 million new shares to
eligible directors, employees and persons
who have contributed to the success of the
group, 80.5 million new shares to bumiput-
era investors by way of private placement
approved by the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry (MITI), and the re-
maining 16.1 million new shares to select-
ed investors by way of private placement.
Applications for the public issue are
open from today to June 17, and Nestcon
is slated to be listed on the ACE Market
on June 29.
Based on the share capital of 643.8 mil-
lion shares, Nestcon is expected to have a
market capitalisation of RM180.27 mil-
lion.
For the IPO exercise, M&A Securities
Sdn Bhd is Nestcon’s adviser, sponsor,
underwriter and placement agent, while
Eco Asia Capital Advisory Sdn Bhd is the
financial adviser.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Accountants have important role in
leading good corporate governance
— MIA president
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Accountants
have an important role in taking the lead
in good corporate governance, ensuring
integrity, trustworthiness and good repu-
tation of businesses and the country.
At the Malaysian Institute of Account-
ants (MIA) Conference 2021, its president
Dr Veerinderjeet Singh said that one key
area of governance that is vital to sup-
port the nation’s future sustainability is
tax transparency, tax administration and
tax governance, as well as highlighting the
importance of integrating environmental,
social and governance (ESG) into business
and corporate reporting to meet market
and investor demand.
“The MIA’s stance is that tax trans-
parency is also a key factor to be consid-
ered under the governance aspect of ESG.
Importantly, stronger tax governance and
compliance are vital in order to improve
tax collection, which is needed to finance
the nation’s proposed stimulus, digi-
tal transformation, talent upskilling and
sustainable development programmes,”
he said.
He added that by virtue of their ex-
pertise and competencies, accountants
should also be taking the lead in fighting
corruption, fraud and other leakages that
threaten the development of the nation.
“In everything that we do, especially in
public practice and the public sector, the
profession must always uphold our code
of ethics and our core values of account-
ability, integrity and trust in the public
interest,” Veerinderjeet added.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri
Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that ac-
counts are an important influence and
advocate of informed decisions, adding
that accountants play a key role in driv-
ing digitalisation, applauding the MIA’s
Digital Technology Blueprint.
Tengku Zafrul added that another area
related to this is the adoption of inte-
grated reporting. He highlighted that the
MIA is the national trainer appointed
by the International Integrated Report-
ing (IR) Council and that the institute
had been a champion in advocating the
adoption of IR.
The minister stated that while the mo-
mentum of IR among public listed com-
panies is to be lauded, IR is something of
the story of public-sector value creation
15 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR
theedgemarkets.com
and to build public trust through increased
transparency and accountability.
“Of course, the MIA’s support and
guidance, as the government began im-
plementing financial reporting standards
and gradually shifting to accrual-based
accounting, have also been invaluable in
enhancing public-sector finance. The gov-
ernment’s embracing of public-sector fi-
nancial management has even been the
subject of global comparative case studies,
with Malaysia and the MIA as role mod-
els,” he added.
American Institute of Certified Profes-
sional Accountants president and chief ex-
ecutive officer (CEO) and Association of
International Certified Professional Ac-
countants CEO Barry C Melancon stated
that the development of ESG standards
and auditing is something that the indus-
try is working on.
“The accounting side has been de-
veloped over a century. We are talking
about a more agile and rapid space of
time as it relates to ESG,” Melancon
said, adding that there is active work
being done to establish a board that
develops sustainability standards on a
global basis, akin to the International
Finance Reporting Standards (IFRS)
now in place.
Melancon added that the tentative
date of execution for these global ESG
standards is November 2021, but noted
that there two unknowns in terms of how
the US and Europe will respond to such
standards.
What to expect in global economy?
During a panel discussion,World Bank East
Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Research
Center senior economist Tobias Pfutze stat-
ed that moving forward, slow or limited
vaccination roll-outs or vaccine hesitancy
in regions with high infection rates will be
a major source of uncertainty. He noted
that Covid-19 is likely to be endemic in
large parts of the world with the risk of vac-
cine-resistant variants developing.
He added that in terms of fiscal policy,
sustained support will be needed in the
short to medium term, and that there is
risk of sovereign debt crises in emerging
economies.
At the same time, Pfutze added that the
pandemic had given rise to a larger state
in the form of more social protection and
redistribution, with more efficient spend-
ing and higher revenue collection.
According to Bank Islam chief econo-
mist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid,
the country has fiscal space, but has to
decide on what sort of fiscal stimulus it
wants amid the overall context of the do-
mestic and global economies.
Academy of Sciences Malaysia fellow
and Professor Emeritus Professor Dr Jomo
Kwame Sundaram said there is a need to
keep one’s ears close to the ground to see
what is happening with the local economy.
He stated that stay-in-shelter lockdowns
are a very blunt instrument and not very
effective, and viewed that this had result-
ed in a resurgence in Covid-19 cases at
the locations.
The economist said there is a need to
ensure greater accountability in govern-
ment spending, adding that this should
not curb government spending.
“If we are going to prevent the recession
from becoming longer-term depression, we
really need to supplement private spending
with government spending,” Jomo said,
emphasising the need for bolder fiscal pol-
icy, but with stronger checks and balances.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

NEWS IN BRIEF

George Kent gets shareholders’

nod for RM624 mil glove-related Microlink partners Danapuri to pursue digital transformation projects in
investment West Africa, Bangladesh
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): George KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Malaysian technology firm Microlink Solutions Bhd and Danapuri
Kent (Malaysia) Bhd has received its Sdn Bhd — a member of Bangladesh-based Dipon Group — have formed a strategic joint
shareholders’ green light to design venture (JV) to pursue digital transformation projects in Bangladesh and the West Africa
and build a glove manufacturing plant region. A JV entity, Microlink Technologies Sdn Bhd — in which Microlink will own a 51%
in Lumut Port Industrial Park, Perak, stake while Danapuri will hold 49% — has been set up for the collaboration. In a statement,
for about RM624.1 million. It expects Microlink said the parties will work together under the JV to secure and execute contracts
to expand this glove manufacturing for clients in both the public and private sectors, and will cover key territories like Bangladesh
facility construction business locally and the West Africa region, including but not limited to the Republic of Guinea. Microlink said
and internationally, to cater to strong the initial focus for the new JV will be the provision of digital courts technology and a digital
demand from existing and new glove business registry platform, leveraging proprietary solutions as developed by Microlink’s
manufacturing players wishing to expand parent company, Omesti Bhd. — by Tan Siew Mung/theedgemarkets.com
their production capacity. Shareholders
also approved today the group’s proposed
subscription of 40% equity interest in K-One gets authority’s greenlight to sell
Dynacare Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned low dead-volume disposable syringes
unit of Johan Holdings Bhd, for RM40 KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Electronic
million, or RM1 per share. In a statement, manufacturing services provider K-One
chairman Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock said the Technology Bhd said it has received approval
contract would boost the engineering’s last Friday from the Medical Device Authority
company’s order book significantly. “The (MDA), an agency under the Health Ministry,
contract also marks our entry into the to sell low dead-volume (LVD) disposable
glove manufacturing facility construction syringes with needle in Malaysia. Hence,
space. Demand for such facilities remains the group will sell the LDV syringes as an
strong,” he said, adding the group’s Latitude Tree suspends ops at two authorised representative of Anhui Kangda
investment into Dynacare would provide factories in Kapar after 13 workers Medical Products Co Ltd based in China.
an important new stream of sustainable test positive for Covid-19 “The MDA has approved 12 LDV syringes
and recurring long-term income to its KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Furniture maker with needle in total, consisting of 1 ml and
shareholders. — Bernama Latitude Tree Holdings Bhd has suspended 3 ml LDV syringes respectively with each
the operations of two factories in Kapar, having six different combinations of needle
BHIC inks MoU with Airbus Defence Selangor from today until June 18, after gauges (ranging from 23G to 25G) and
and Space on MRO facilities 13 positive Covid-19 cases were detected lengths (ranging from 19 mm to 38 mm)
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Boustead among its workers. Both factories are to suit various market requirements,” said
Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd expected to resume operations in stages K-One. K-One said the approval is timely as
(BHIC) has inked a memorandum of starting from June 19. “The temporary the government is stepping up the roll out
understanding (MoU) with Airbus suspension of both factories is expected to of Covid-19 vaccinations, adding demand
Defence and Space as the latter seeks to result in delay for the shipment of several for LVD syringes is expected to increase
explore the joint development of military orders to its customers in the US and locally,” in the months ahead. — by Syafiqah Salim/
aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul it said in a filing, adding management is theedgemarkets.com
(MRO) capabilities in Malaysia. In a in talks with the affected customers to
statement, BHIC said the two partners reschedule the order deliveries and does Apollo Food unit ordered to close as
will collaboratively look into how to not expect there to be any material adverse part of measures to curb Covid-19
leverage their respective expertise to impact on its revenue and earnings. It said KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Apollo Food
advance local MRO capabilities for other production facilities at different Holdings Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary
military fixed wing aircraft platforms, in locations in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in Johor Bahru has temporally stopped
support of the operators’ fleet. — by Sulhi remain fully operational. — by Syafiqah Salim/ operations for disinfection purposes to help
Khalid/theedgemarkets.com theedgemarkets.com curb the spread of Covid-19. In a bourse filing,
the confectioner said Apollo Food Industries
(M) Sdn Bhd had received a notice from the
BNM’s international reserves rises to US$110.9b as at May 31 Ministry of Health (MoH) yesterday, asking
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) said its international the firm to close until June 13 and disinfect its
reserves amounted to US$110.9 billion as at May 31, up 0.27% from US$110.6 premises. It hopes to resume its operations on
billion as at May 12. The reserves position is sufficient to finance 8.4 months June 14 or earlier, subject to the approval of
of retained imports and is 1.1 times total short-term external debt, BNM said the relevant authorities. “Given the evolving
in a statement. The central bank said its international reserves as at May 31 circumstances, the group is unable to quantify
included US$103.2 billion in foreign currency reserves and US$1.4 billion worth or determine the impact of Covid-19 on
of International Monetary Fund (IMF) reserves. Also included were US$1.2 billion the financial and operational results of the
worth of IMF-linked special drawing rights, US$2.1 billion worth of gold and US$3 group arising from the temporary stoppage
billion in other reserve assets. — by Tan Siew Mung/theedgemarkets.com of operations,” the group said. — by Arjuna
Chandran Shankar/theedgemarkets.com
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Rumour
has it that all political party leaders will be
called separately for an audience with the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdul-
lah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah
concerning the country’s current situation.
Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) Infor-
mation chief Ulya Aqamah Husamudin, for
one, said that the party chairman, Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad, will be called for an
audience with the King on Thursday.
“The official letter from the palace was
received last week. However, the time for
the audience has yet to be ascertained,” he
told Bernama when contacted here today.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu)
Information chief Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan
and MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong
Sin Woon, when asked the same question,
said they had no information on the matter,
while Gerakan president Datuk Dr Dominic
Lau Hoe Chai and MIC president Tan Sri S.
A. Vigneswaran, said they had not received
any invitation from Istana Negara regard-
ing an audience with Al-Sultan Abdullah.
UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri
Mohamad Hasan, on the other hand, said
he was not sure whether or not UMNO had
received such an invitation.
“I heard so. But I have not been to the
office...I’m not so sure whether UMNO has
received such a letter or not,” he said.
On a different note, Parti Keadilan Rak-
yat (PKR) secretary-general Datuk Seri Sai-
KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): The Fed-
eral Territory Islamic Religious Council
(MAIWP) and the Johor Islamic Religious
Council have both filed an application
to intervene in the government’s appeal
against a High Court decision to annul
the ban on the use of the word “Allah” by
non-Muslims in Malaysia.
Lawyer Annou Xavier confirmed with
theedgemarkets.com that in case man-
agement today conducted via Zoom, the
Court of Appeal registry set July 12 for
the next case management to allow the
respective parties to file affidavits for their
intervener applications, as well as the At-
torney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to file
its appeal records.
In her decision, Justice Datuk Nor Bee
Ariffin ruled that the circular issued fol-
lowing the 1986 Cabinet directive is null
and void.
She said the circular, which was signed
by a Home Ministry officer and not a min-
ister, provided a blanket ban over the use
of the four words, which was not the di-
rective’s intention.
“The directive on the prohibition that
it would result in a threat in public order
is not supported. In fact, the directive is
17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Tun M to meet
Abidin, former Health director-general Prof
Tan Sri Dr Mohamad Taha Arif and for-
with Agong on
mer Sabah State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti
Wakiman.
Thursday, other
The committee was set up under Sec-
tion 2 of the Emergency (Essential Powers)
party leaders
Ordinance 2021 and will advise the Yang
di-Pertuan Agong on the ongoing Emer-
yet to receive
gency and when it should end.
The National Security Council and the
invitations
Prime Minister’s Department will be sec-
retariats for this committee.
Bernama
fuddin Nasution Ismail told Bernama to re-
fer the matter Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu
Hassan, who is a member of a committee
for ending the Emergency declaration.
“Refer to Khairuddin...he might have
more information than us,” he said.
On Feb 9, the Prime Minister’s Of-
fice announced the appointment of 19
members of the committee, chaired
by former Chief Justice Tun Arifin
Zakaria.
Other members include former
Chief Secretary to the Govern-
ment Tan Sri Samsudin Osman,
former Inspector-General of
Police Tan Sri Norian Mai,
former Chief of Defence
Force Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal
Johor, FT Islamic
Umno and PAS were reported to have
pressured the government to appeal against
councils seek to
the High Court decision delivered on
March 10.
intervene in govt’s
The court ruled that the use of the word
Allah by non-Muslims is allowed.
appeal against
The court has also ruled that the
words Baitullah, Kaabah and solat, which
court’s rule to
non-Muslims are banned from using as
per the Cabinet decision in 1986, could
allow use of ‘Allah’
also be used by the Christian community
for teaching purposes as they have been
by non-Muslims
in use in Sabah and Sarawak and some
parts of Peninsular Malaysia for more than
400 years.
Court of Appeal Judge Nor Bee, sitting
BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM as the High Court judge, allowed the ju-
theedgemarkets.com dicial review filed by Jill in August 2008
after the seizure of eight compact discs
deemed irrational and perverse,” she said. containing the word “Allah” by the Home
The lawyer was acting on behalf of Jill Ministry at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal
Ireland, a Melanau clerk from Sarawak (LCCT) in Sepang.
who sought a judicial review in the High Although the CDs were returned, she
Court. went ahead with the judicial challenge that
Malay-speaking Christians in Malay- included a challenge of the circular issued
sia, especially those living in Sabah and by the Home Ministry over a ban of the use
Sarawak, have been using the word Al- of the four words — Allah, Baitullah, solat
lah — the Arabic term for God — for and Kaabah — unless there is the written
generations. word “Christian” published in front.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1 18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

The Edge Malaysia Affordable

Urban Housing Excellence
Award is an exercise to recognise
outstanding affordable housing
projects for the urban middle-
income group undertaken
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The Edge Malaysia developers in Malaysia.
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Awards, the anchor awards of The Edge Malaysia impressive projects
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The Edge Malaysia-PAM Green
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demonstrate sustainable design that
is innovative and outstanding while
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to the community.
The Edge Malaysia-PEPS Value Creation Excellence
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• Entry forms can be downloaded for free from

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1
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Mutiara Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, by
5PM, FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
(June 8): Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s
cloud division has pledged $1 billion to
support startups in Asia, marking one of its
largest outlays since the tech giant pledged
to boost spending and move past a bruising
antitrust investigation at home.
The $1 billion will be the initial funding
for Project AsiaForward, which aims to nur-
ture 100,000 developers and tech startups
over the next three years, Alibaba said in a
statement Tuesday. The company aims to
build a million-strong talent pool by provid-
ing training for developers, as well as con-
necting entrepreneurs with venture capital
and other opportunities.
Jack Ma’s e-commerce titan said last
month it will invest all incremental profits
into areas like technology and e-commerce,
after Chinese antitrust regulators imposed a
record $2.8 billion fine that drove the firm to
its first quarterly loss in nine years. Chinese
tech giants from Alibaba toTencent Holdings
Ltd. and Meituan have all pledged to dra-
matically boost spending, as Beijing’s crack-
down on the industry forces companies to
find new growth drivers.
“We are seeing a strong demand for
cloud-native technologies in emerging ver-
ticals across the region, from e-commerce
and logistics platforms to fintech and online
entertainment,” Jeff Zhang, president of Alib-
aba Cloud Intelligence, said in the statement.
“Our focus on innovation and data center
(June 8): India’s Paytm is asking employees
to decide whether they want to sell shares
in the digital payments pioneer’s planned
initial public offering, taking another step
toward what could be the country’s largest
stock market debut ever.
The startup, formally called One97 Com-
munications Ltd., sent the “offer for sale”
to its staff Monday as it prepares to file for
the IPO, according to documents reviewed
by Bloomberg News. Paytm’s board has ap-
proved the offering plans in principle and
is finalizing the draft red herring prospec-
tus, which could be filed as soon as the first
week of July, according to a person familiar
with the matter.
One97 Communications “is proposing
to undertake an initial public offering of its
equity shares (“Equity Shares”), subject to
market conditions, regulatory, corporate and
other approvals, and other relevant consider-
ations, in accordance with applicable law, and
has received an in-principle approval from
the board of directors of the Company in this
regard,” Amit Khera, One97’s secretary, said
in the notice to employees and shareholders.
The company, whose investors include
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., SoftBank Group
Corp. and Ant Group Co., is seeking to
raise about 218 billion rupees (US$3 bil-
19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Alibaba kicks off
spending spree
with US$1b
for cloud
BY COCO LIU
Bloomberg
REUTERS
investments, as well as talent development
is in anticipation of a digital-first future.”
Alibaba’s cloud business, modeled on
Amazon Web Services, grew from the needs
of its massive online shopping operation
to become one of the e-commerce giant’s
biggest growth engines. But its expansion
is slowing in the wake of competition from
Tencent and Huawei Technologies Co. Its
cloud revenue rose just 37% in the March
India’s Paytm
moves ahead
with planned
US$3b IPO
BY SARITHA RAI
Bloomberg
REUTERS
lion) at a valuation of around US$25 billion
to US$30 billion, Bloomberg News reported
in May. Coal India Ltd. raised more than
150 billion rupees in 2010 in the country’s
largest IPO so far.
One97, last valued at US$16 billion ac-
cording to unicorn tracker CB Insights, is
part of a new generation of promising start-
ups emerging in India. During one historic
quarter, the slowest pace since 2014, after
a major customer pulled out.
ByteDance Ltd.’s viral video service Tik-
Tok decided to drop Alibaba as a cloud pro-
vider during the period and instead relied
more on its own inhouse servers and Amer-
ican rivals such as AWS, a person familiar
with the matter said, asking not to be iden-
tified talking about a private decision.
Alibaba Cloud is opening its first data-
center in the Philippines by the end of this
year and will build an innovation center in
Malaysia. Currently operating in 75 so-called
availability zones in 24 regions, the firm has
also launched a third datacenter in Indonesia.
It was the No. 3 Infrastructure-as-a-Service,
or IaaS cloud provider globally in 2020, be-
hind Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.,
according to industry researcher Gartner.
“Our strategic roadmap for APAC in-
cludes targeted investments to facilitate the
digital transformation of local businesses,”
Selina Yuan, general manager of Alibaba
Cloud Intelligence’s international business
unit, said in the statement. “We see these
investments as all the more timely given the
impact of the pandemic and the sharp rise in
demand for digital business tools.”
Fierce rival Tencent said last week it’s
launching four datacenters in Bangkok,
Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Tokyo, giving
its cloud business a presence in 27 regions
worldwide.
week in April, six startups reached valuations
of US$1 billion or more — unicorn status
in the tech industry.
Paytm’s public market debut will include
a mix of new and existing shares to meet
regulatory obligations in India. The coun-
try’s regulations require that 10% of shares
are floated within two years and 25% with-
in five years.
The offer for sale, or OFS, will allow em-
ployees to sell their shares as part of the IPO.
The documents state that Paytm’s board has
given its preliminary approval to the debut,
but formal approval cannot take place until
the prospectus is finalized.
If existing shareholders want to sell more
in aggregate than allowed during the IPO, the
ability to sell stock will be determined on a
pro-rata basis, according to the documents.
Morgan Stanley is working with Paytm
on the offering. Paytm declined to comment
on the listing.
Employees can participate in the IPO by
consenting to offer all or part of their equity
shares, a decision that would need to be fi-
nalized before the filing of the first of the of-
fering documents to the country’s regulator.
Equity shares not sold during the offering
would be locked-in for a one-year period,
the notice said.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Fastly says it
fixed outage that
took down swath
of internet
BY AMY THOMSON & NATE LANXON
Bloomberg
(June 8): Websites across the internet were
temporarily unavailable on Tuesday, includ-
ing the New York Times, Bloomberg News,
Reddit Inc, and the UK government, af-
ter services from content-delivery network
Fastly Inc went down.
Fastly, which helps push data quickly
around the internet, said that it had fixed
the issue that caused a global outage of its
services just before noon London time, about
an hour after it first disclosed the problem.
The websites that had been down earlier in
the day appeared to be restored.
SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (June 8): Bit-
coin slumped to a two-week low, with some
analysts pointing to the recovery of Colonial
Pipeline Co’s ransom as evidence that crypto
is not beyond government control.
The largest token tumbled as much as
8.2% to US$31,645 in New York trading.
The wider Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto In-
dex fell as much as 12%, with altcoins such
as Ethereum, Litecoin, and EOS dropping
more.
The fact that investigators “could trace the
untraceable and seize it might be undermin-
ing the libertarian, free-of-government-con-
trol case”, said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market
analyst at Oanda. The implications of that
may have provoked the selling, he said.
The US recovered almost all the Bitcoin
ransom paid to the perpetrators of the cy-
berattack on Colonial last month in a sign
that law enforcement is capable of pursuing
online criminals even when they operate out-
side the nation’s borders.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
was able to find the Bitcoin by uncovering the
digital addresses the hackers used to transfer
the funds, according to an eight-page seizure
warrant released by the Department of Jus-
tice on Monday.
While the FBI’s ability to track and re-
coup the crytocurrency may go against the
anti-establishment ethos that led to the de-
velopment of Bitcoin, it can also been seen
as a positive sign for the sector as it seeks
broader mainstream acceptance.
Meanwhile, strategists are watching key
technical levels for Bitcoin.
20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
The fault shows the reliance that the most
popular pages on the internet have on a few
big technology firms to help them distribute
content and host users. Fastly’s technology
is one of a handful that acts as a high-level
website and application hosting service that
large enterprises use to serve content to mil-
lions of users simultaneously. Downdetector,
a website that tracks service outages across
the internet, reported spikes in user-reported
issues with websites from Amazon and Spo-
tify to Twitch, Shopify and Etsy on Tuesday.
Rather than hosting all website content
on a single set of servers in one location,
Fastly puts cloud infrastructure in dozens
of locations to let people download from a
server closest to them.
Fastly’s shares dipped about 2.5% in
trading before markets opened in NewYork.
The San Francisco-based company’s shares
surged more than 300% in 2020 after traffic
increased during the Covid-19 lockdowns
with more people working from home,
though the stock has fallen so far this year.
A representative for Fastly didn’t imme-
diately respond to a request for comment.
Bitcoin extends
drop to levels
last seen in May’s
crypto sell-off
BY JOANNA OSSINGER & ERIC LAM
Bloomberg
“The major price support stands at the
US$30K level, and a slide below this handle
could run into stops and accelerate the sell-
off in the short run,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya,
senior analyst at Swissquote.
Oanda’s Halley said a break below
US$30,000 could lead to “another capitu-
lation”. Evercore ISI’s Rich Ross sees a test
of support around US$29,000.
Bitcoin is still up 14% this year but the
token has plunged from a peak of almost
US$65,000 in mid-April, casting a pall over
the cryptocurrency sector. The sell-off was
exacerbated by billionaire Elon Musk’s pub-
lic rebuke of the amount of energy used by
the servers underpinning the token. Harsh
Chinese regulatory oversight also soured the
mood.
The virtual currency — which has more
than tripled over the past year — is now
in a “cooling off period” that could last
“a few months” longer, said Vijay Ayyar,
head of Asia-Pacific at crypto exchange
Luno Pte Ltd.
Americans
pocketed US$4
billion in Bitcoin
profits last year
BY JOANNA OSSINGER
Bloomberg
SINGAPORE (June 8): Bitcoin’s me-
teoric rise has minted scores of crypto
millionaires and US investors are taking
the lion’s share of riches.
American traders locked in US$4.1
billion in profits trading Bitcoin last
year, three times more than the next
highest country, according to esti-
mates from Chainalysis. The New
York-based research firm published
a report ranking the top 25 countries
with the biggest realised gains.
Whether it is the belief that cryp-
to can be an inflation hedge against
rampant central-bank money printing
or the simple desire to make a quick
buck from the famously volatile asset,
crypto has captivated retail and pro-
fessional traders around the world.
“Investors in nearly all countries
saw the biggest increases towards the
end of the year,” wrote researchers at
Chainalysis. “That’s when US inves-
tors really broke away from the pack,
with most of their gains coming from
activity on Coinbase.”
China came in second on the list,
with US$1.1 billion in profits, fol-
lowed by Japan, the UK, Russia, and
Germany. Smaller emerging-market
countries, such as Vietnam, Turkey,
and the Czech Republic were also
among the top 25.
Chainalysis said its estimates are
derived from tracking transaction
data from crypto services, though
the decentralised nature of the tech-
nology makes it impossible to know
where the parties of any individual
deal are located.
The frenzy over crypto trading
took off late last year as big-name
investors such as Paul Tudor Jones
endorsed Bitcoin. Prices quadru-
pled in 2020, finishing the year near
US$29,000.
The bull market roared through
the early months of 2021, with pric-
es surging past US$60,000, only to
crash in May, amid tougher regula-
tory scrutiny in China and criticism
from Elon Musk. Bitcoin slipped 4%
to trade near US$33,000 on Tuesday.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
NEW YORK (June 8): US job openings
rose in April to a fresh record high, along
with the number of people who voluntarily
left their jobs, underscoring fervent labour
demand and turnover as businesses emerge
from pandemic-related restrictions and the
economy strengthens.
The number of available positions climbed
to 9.3 million during the month, the highest
on data back to 2000, from an upwardly re-
vised 8.3 million in March, the Labor De-
partment’s Job Openings and LaborTurnover
Survey, or JOLTS, showed on Tuesday.The
increase in vacancies was broad.
The number of people who voluntar-
ily left their jobs increased to four mil-
lion in April, while the quits rate rose to
a series-high of 2.7%. The figure suggest-
ed workers are growing more confident
in their ability to find other employment.
While companies are hiring as the economy
reopens, child care obligations, lingering health
concerns, skills mismatches, and enhanced
unemployment benefits have kept some Amer-
icans from returning to the labour force.The
CANBERRA (June 8): The World Trade
Organization (WTO) must have a binding
dispute settlement system to address the
growing use of economic coercion, Aus-
tralia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison will
say on Wednesday, as Canberra moves to
win the support of G7 nations in its dis-
pute with China.
Relations with China, already rocky af-
ter Australia banned Huawei from its nas-
cent 5G broadband networking in 2018,
cooled further after Canberra called this
year for an independent investigation into
the origins of the coronavirus pandemic,
first reported in central China last year.
China responded by imposing tariffs on
Australian commodities, including wine
and barley and limited imports of Aus-
tralian beef, coal, and grapes, moves de-
scribed by the United States as "economic
coercion".
Australia has said it will not bow to Chi-
nese pressure and has launched an appeal
to the WTO over China’s imposition of
21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
US job openings
559,000 in May after a 278,000 gain in
April, which suggested that hiring efforts
jump to fresh
started paying off last month. Still, the pay-
rolls figure came in below estimates and
record high
leaves the labour market 7.6 million jobs
short of pre-pandemic levels.
of 9.3 million
A broader labour market recovery will
require a faster pace of hiring in the leisure
and hospitality industry, which was hardest
hit by pandemic lockdowns. Accommoda-
BY OLIVIA ROCKEMAN tion and food service job openings jumped
Bloomberg 349,000 in April, while hiring rose 232,000.
Manufacturing vacancies climbed by
number of vacancies exceeded hires by 3.2 102,000 in April, while hiring declined.
million in April, the biggest gap on record. A separate report on Tuesday from the
Hiring challenges have been so acute in National Federation of Independent Busi-
recent months that half of all US states have nesses (NFIB) showed that small business
announced plans to phase out federal unem- optimism eased in May for the first time in
ployment insurance programmes early in an four months as firms grappled with a lack
effort to encourage people to look for work. of labour and higher prices.The NFIB said
Meanwhile, employers have been offering last week that small-business owners had a
bonuses, raising wages, and adding bene- record share of unfilled positions in May.
fits like health insurance to attract workers. Total hires increased to 6.1 million in
The latest jobs report from the Labor April from six million, while the hires rate
Department showed payrolls increased by held at 4.2%.
BLOOMBERG Read also:
US trade gap narrows for first time in
2021 as exports jump
“Exports increased to US$205 billion, the
most since January 2020, while imports
dropped to US$273.9 billion.The data show
a pullback in imports after demand from
American consumers stuck at home during
the Covid-19 pandemic sent US purchases
to repeated records.”
Click here
Australian
tariffs totalling more than 80% that has
effectively stopped a billion-dollar trade
PM to call for
in its tracks.
But with the appeal likely to take years,
WTO reform
Morrison will call on G7 countries to en-
dorse reform of the WTO ahead its min-
as tensions with
isterial conference in November.
“The most practical way to address
China mount
economic coercion is the restoration of
the global trading body’s binding dispute
settlement system,” Morrison is expected
to say on Wednesday, according to speech
BY COLIN PACKHAM extracts seen by Reuters.
Reuters “Where there are no consequences for
coercive behaviour, there is little incentive
BLOOMBERG for restraint.”
Morrison will say many world leaders
have expressed support for Australia’s
stance, but like-minded countries must
now strengthen cooperation.
Scott “Liberal democracies will always be
Morrison most persuasive based on the power of
their example, not their pitch or their
preaching.”
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
TPG-backed
PropertyGuru
eyes US$2b Thiel
SPAC deal
— sources
BY ION LI & ELFFIE CHEW
Bloomberg
(June 8): Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd, the
blank-check company backed by billionaires
Richard Li and Peter Thiel, is in advanced
talks to merge with Singapore’s online real
estate firm PropertyGuru Pte, according to
people with knowledge of the matter.
The special purpose acquisition com-
pany has been in discussions with Proper-
tyGuru on the potential deal, which could
be announced as soon as next month, said
the people, who asked not to be identified
as the information is private. A transaction
could value the combined firm at as much
as US$2 billion, the people said.
Shares in Bridgetown 2 Holdings rose
5.7% in pre-market trading in New York.
PropertyGuru, backed by private-equi-
(June 8): Chinese regulators have in-
structed major creditors of China Ever-
grande Group to conduct a fresh round
of stress tests on their exposure to the
world’s most indebted developer, accord-
ing to people familiar with the matter.
Authorities led by the Financial Stabil-
ity and Development Committee, China’s
top financial regulator, recently told lend-
ers including Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China Ltd to assess the potential
hit to their capital and liquidity should
Evergrande run into trouble, the people
said, asking not to be identified discuss-
ing a private matter. It’s unclear whether
the results will lead to any official action.
While it’s not the first time regulators
have required banks to report their Ever-
grande exposure, the directive suggests
concerns about the company’s financial
health have become serious enough to
once again reach the upper levels of Chi-
na’s government.
Evergrande bonds and shares have
slumped in recent weeks amid a drum-
beat of negative news, from late payments
on short-term debt by some of its affili-
ates to a media report that authorities are
scrutinizing the developer’s dealings with
a bank in which it owns a major stake.
Angst over Evergrande’s debt pile is re-
22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
ty firms KKR & Co and TPG Capital, is
considering a US listing through a merger
with a SPAC and has held preliminary talks,
Bloomberg News reported in March.
Deliberations are ongoing and could
still be delayed or fall apart, the people
said. PropertyGuru Chief Executive Of-
ficer Hari V Krishnan said the company is
always looking to any beneficial scenario to
fund its growth but declined to comment
further. A representative for Bridgetown
2 Holdings declined to comment.
Founded by entrepreneurs Steve Mel-
huish and Jani Rautiainen in 2007, Prop-
ertyGuru has become a household name
in property-crazed Singapore. The real
estate marketplace also has operations in
countries including Vietnam, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Thailand.
The company scrapped plans for an
China tells banks
to stress test
their Evergrande
exposure
Bloomberg
surfacing about nine months after the last
liquidity scare at billionaire Hui Ka Yan’s
property behemoth, which reached a deal
with investors in September to avoid re-
payments that would have placed a sig-
nificant strain on the junk-rated compa-
ny’s balance sheet. Evergrande’s dollar
initial public offering on the Australian
stock exchange back in 2019 over valua-
tion concerns. In September, it announced
US$300 million in new funding from in-
vestors including existing backers KKR
and TPG. Last week, the startup inked a
deal for REA Group Ltd’s operating enti-
ties in Malaysia and Thailand, marking the
biggest acquisition in its 14-year history.
Bridgetown 2 Holdings raised about
US$300 million in a US IPO in January.
The blank-check company set out in its
prospectus that it will focus on targets in
the so-called “new economy sectors” in-
cluding technology, financial services or
media in Southeast Asia.
Bridgetown Holdings Ltd, the first SPAC
backed by Li and Thiel, is in advanced talks
to merge with Indonesia’sTraveloka, Bloomb-
erg News reported in April.
bonds rallied at the end of last year and
had traded in a relatively stable range
until they began tumbling anew at the
end of May.
In a response to questions from
Bloomberg, Evergrande denied that reg-
ulators had asked banks to perform stress
tests without saying how it knew that to
be the case. The company added that
its operations remain normal, echoing a
statement earlier this week. The developer
has said that it was compliant in dealings
with Shengjing Bank Co, the lender in
which it owns a stake, and that various
“rumors,” including that it was resorting
to widespread price discounts, are false.
Evergrande has said it will arrange pay-
ment of a “very small amount” of com-
mercial paper issued by some affiliates
that hadn’t been repaid on time.
Evergrande creditors including ICBC
and China Minsheng Banking Corp
didn’t immediately respond to requests
for comment. Nor did the People’s Bank
of China and the China Banking and In-
surance Regulatory Commission.
Evergrande has long been a source of
angst for Chinese regulators.
Click to read full story
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Chinese jeweller
Chow Tai Fook
profit jumps
108%, eyes
expansion
BY DONNY KWOK & TWINNIE SIU
Reuters
HONG KONG (June 8): Hong Kong-list-
ed Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd
reported a forecast-beating 108% jump in
annual profit on Tuesday, thanks to one-off
Covid-19-related rent concessions, an un-
realised gain on gold loans and foreign ex-
change gains.
China’s largest jeweller by market val-
ue said net profit surged to HK$6.03 bil-
lion (US$777 million) from HK$2.9 billion
in 2019. That compared with a forecast of
HK$5.23 billion profit by 14 analysts, Ref-
initiv SmartEstimate data showed.
It was the highest annual profit since
2014.
A Covid-19-related rent concession
amounted to HK$127.6 million as com-
pared with HK$16.2 million in fiscal 2020,
while net foreign exchange gain amounted to
HK$336.4 million against HK$234 million
loss in a year ago period.
Revenue for the year to March 31 rose
23.6% to HK$70.16 billion from HK$56.75
billion a year earlier, driven by retail expan-
BENGALURU (June 8): British American
Tobacco raised its annual revenue growth
forecast on Tuesday as the cigarette maker’s
focus on e-cigarettes and tobacco-heating
devices pays off, sending its shares up 2%.
The London-listed company said it ex-
pected revenue growth of more than 5%
at constant currencies, above its previous
range of 3% to 5% for the year to Decem-
ber. It stuck to its growth expectation for
adjusted earnings per share in the mid-sin-
gle digit range.
The maker of Lucky Strike and New-
port cigarettes said its “new category” re-
duced risk products had gained share in all
key markets, including the United States
and Japan, with the company adding 1.4
million new customers in the first quarter.
The company, which sells Vuse e-cig-
arettes and glo tobacco heating products,
said users of its new category products
now totaled 14.9 million.
“The upgrade and delivery around
reduced risk products is particularly en-
23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
REUTERS
sion amid improving consumer sentiment
in mainland China and a softer gold price
in the second half of the fiscal year.
“As we are optimistic about the mid- to
long-term growth in the mainland China
market, we will focus on our mainland Chi-
na’s business development in the coming fu-
ture,” chairman Henry Cheng said in a state-
ment to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
“We will continue our retail expansion
strategy through penetrating into lower tier
cities and leveraging franchisees’ local knowl-
edge,” he added.
The retail network expanded to 4,591
point of sales (POS) by the end of March,
with a net addition of 741 POS.The compa-
ny plans to add at least 700 POS in mainland
China in fiscal 2022 but may close 10 to 15
POS in Hong Kong and Macau.
Same-store sales surged 31.9% in main-
land China but plunged 41.3% in Hong
Kong and Macau as major border crossings
remained closed during the period.
Shares of Chow Tai Fook slid 0.3% on
Tuesday prior to the results statement, com-
paring to a 0.02% fall in the benchmark
Hang Seng index.
BAT hikes sales
growth outlook
amid shift to
e-cigarettes
BY SIDDHARTH CAVALE
& PUSHKALA ARIPAKA
Reuters
couraging”, Jefferies analyst Owen Ben-
nett wrote.
BAT’s comments show more custom-
ers in the United States are switching to
e-cigarettes before a possible U.S. ban on
menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars.
BAT said it expected its full-year sales
volumes to show a better performance
than the broader industry, which is ex-
pected to see a 3% slide this year. BAT
Tesla’s
China-made
vehicle sales
surged 29% in
May — auto
association
BY YILEI SUN & TONY MUNROE
Reuters
BEIJING (June 8): Tesla Inc sold
33,463 China-made electric cars in
May, including exports, a 29% jump
from April, according to data from
the China Passenger Car Association
(CPCA) on Tuesday.
China’s overall passenger vehicle
sales jumped 1.1% to 1.66 million cars
in May from a year earlier, CPCA said.
Tesla’s China sales — accounting
for nearly a third of its total sales —
is closely watched as a sign of the US
company’s health in its second big-
gest market, where the company has
invested heavily and often changed
its own marketing playbook to attract
customers.
Tesla makes its Model 3 sedans
and Model Y sport utility vehicles in
Shanghai. In April, it sold 25,845 Chi-
na-made cars, down from 35,478 in
March.
said it expected sales to be boosted by a
recovery in markets such as Bangladesh,
Pakistan and Vietnam.
The outlook for the U.S. industry vol-
umes remained unclear, BAT said, blam-
ing “macro-economic and fiscal” uncer-
tainties.
The company also said it was seeing
strong uptake of its oral nicotine prod-
ucts in Sweden and Norway, where it now
controls more than 50% volume share in
both markets.
“We continue to expect 2021 to be a
pivotal year for the business, with acceler-
ating new category revenue growth (and)
a clear pathway to new category profita-
bility,” BAT Chief Executive Jack Bowles
said in a statement.
BAT has invested nearly 500 million
pounds ($707 million) in its new cate-
gory products business last year and has
set a target of achieving 5 billion in sales
for the business by 2025 and 50 million
customers by 2030.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Despite danger and cost,
Japan gambles on successful Olympics
(June 8): The Tokyo Olympic Games is
reaching the point of no return.
With seven weeks until the opening
ceremony, the Japanese government, the
International Olympic Committee and
major stakeholders are gambling polit-
ical reputations and billions of dollars
on staging a games that could lift global
spirits and show how we could begin a
return to normality. Or, in the worst case,
create a superspreader event that savages
Japan’s tottering economic recovery and
blights the image of the world’s biggest
sporting showcase.
Mired in controversy since the coro-
navirus outbreak caused it to be delayed
in early 2020, the games has become a
weather vane for opinion on how gov-
ernments and populations should beat
the virus. Initially, the goal was to delay
the 205-nation spectacle until the pan-
demic was under control. But as months
passed and vaccine rollouts struggled to
quench new outbreaks, the tournament
has become symbolic of a divide between
those who want to keep restrictions until
Covid is stamped out, and those driv-
en by the financial and reputational cost
of not holding the event, even while the
threat remains.
Here’s what’s at stake, whether the
Olympics go ahead or are canceled at
the last moment, from the reputation of
Japan’s top political echelon to the invest-
ments of sponsors, governments and or-
ganizers, as well as the health of the city’s
population and the dreams and well-be-
ing of the world’s greatest athletes.
The economy
Scrapping the Olympics could inflict a
direct economic loss of as much as 1.8
trillion yen (US$16.4 billion), accord-
ing to Takahide Kiuchi, an economist at
Nomura Research Institute Ltd. But the
economic fallout could run much wider
than that. As well as the lost spending
by participants, their entourages and lo-
cal residents, the cancellation would be a
blow to the mood of the nation that could
depress spending and investment across
the economy. Organizers are already hav-
ing to count the cost of a ban on over-
seas spectators, whom Tokyo had hoped
would help pay for all the stadiums and
infrastructure built for the event.
Yuki Masujima of Bloomberg Eco-
nomics goes even further, with a worst-
case analysis that sees most of this year’s
24 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BY ISABEL REYNOLDS, YUKO TAKEO
& GERRY SMITH
Bloomberg
BLOOMBERG
projected growth wiped out should the
games be axed. His 1.7 percentage-point
hit to the economy is based on a worsen-
ing local Covid outbreak triggering the
cancellation of the event and forcing the
government to extend restrictions.
Even worse would be the Olympics
going ahead and turning into a super-
spreader event. While it’s not his main
scenario, Kiuchi says that could put Japan
into an emergency that would be more
costly than calling off the games.
On the other hand, a successful Olym-
pics could have the reverse effect, not
only bringing in revenue and boosting
spending, but lifting the mood of com-
panies and households. In an ideal case,
it would propel a shrinking economy in
emergency mode into a recovery that
would be further fueled by an acceler-
ating vaccination drive.
It might also have an even larger effect
globally, sending a signal of optimism
around the hundreds of nations that tune
in to watch their athletes compete.
The politicians
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
is gambling his job on pulling off a suc-
cessful games in the face of opposition
to the event from the general public and
many top business leaders. He faces a
party leadership election by September
and general election that has to be held by
October. While his ruling Liberal Demo-
cratic Party is unlikely to be toppled by a
splintered opposition in the national vote,
Suga’s prospects are more precarious.
His support rates are at their lowest
since he took office in 2020 and a cata-
strophic Olympics and public backlash
could propel Suga toward the revolving
door that dispatched six premiers in five
years before his predecessor.
Even a safe and successful games may
not bolster Suga’s public approval rating.
While the typical trajectory shows voters
in host countries turn from curmudg-
eonly to exuberant when the Olympic
flame is lit, he still faces judgment on his
handling of the nation’s vaccine rollout.
Others have also found that the games
can be double-edged. U.K. Prime Min-
ister David Cameron got no particular
boost from London 2012, according to a
survey following the games, despite wide-
spread praise of the event. By contrast,
then-London Mayor Boris Johnson be-
came a favorite to take over as premier
following the games.
The medics
Japan’s medical establishment is becom-
ing increasingly nervous about bringing
together 78,000 people from around the
world for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Organizers had initially planned to
have about 10,000 doctors, nurses and
medical staff on standby for the games,
but have had to cut that number to about
7,000 because of the need for staff to
deal with ongoing outbreaks. And organ-
izers are struggling to meet even that.
Only 80% of the reduced goal has been
achieved, according to Seiko Hashimoto,
president of the organizing committee.
That’s almost half the original goal.
“We have strong reservations about
hosting the Olympics at the expense of
the lives and health of patients and nurs-
es,” said Susumu Morita, secretary-gen-
eral of the Japan Federation of Medical
Worker’s Unions.
Failure to ensure enough medical
support for the spectators, athletes and
delegations, could mean a decision to
ban not only overseas fans, but also local
spectators, leaving athletes performing in
empty arenas.
Click here to read full story
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
Jeff Bezos plans to travel to space
on Blue Origin flight
(June 8): Jeff Bezos will go to space next
month when his company, Blue Origin,
launches its first passenger-carrying mis-
sion.
The 57-year-old, who plans to travel
alongside his brother, Mark, made the an-
nouncement in an Instagram post Monday.
The scheduled launch next month will be
about two weeks after the billionaire plans
to step down as chief executive officer of
Amazon.com Inc.
“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve
dreamed of traveling to space,” Bezos said
in the post. “On July 20th, I will take that
journey with my brother. The greatest ad-
venture, with my best friend.”
Blue Origin is one of several high-pro-
file space-tourism companies backed by
a wealthy entrepreneur, alongside Elon
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies
Corp. and Richard Branson-backed Vir-
gin Galactic Holdings Inc. Both of those
companies are making plans to carry pay-
ing customers.
Blue Origin is auctioning off a seat on its
New Shepard rocket for the July 20 flight,
an 11-minute trip to suborbital space that
will reach an altitude of about 100 kilom-
eters (62 miles). The spot will be the only
one available for purchase on the flight,
and the proceeds will go to a Blue Origin
foundation that promotes math and sci-
ence education.
25 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BY RICHARD CLOUGH
Bloomberg
Ever since I was
five years old, I’ve
dreamed of traveling
to space.” — Jeff Bezos
The high bid stood at US$2.8 million
Monday morning, according to the com-
pany’s website. Bidding will end June
12 with a live online auction. It will be
Blue Origin’s 16th flight.
The company has said that customers
will have a four-day experience, includ-
ing three days of preflight training at the
company’s launch site near Van Horn,
Texas. Blue Origin has built accommo-
dations, including a cafeteria. The space
capsule will be a first-class experience,
with reclining leather seats designed to
cushion the force of zipping into space.
The capsule also has “the largest win-
dows in spacecraft history,” according
to Blue Origin’s website, so passengers
REUTERS
can take in the view.
Branson, 70 years old, plans to fly
on a Virgin Galactic flight to suborbi-
tal space, perhaps as early as this sum-
mer. The timing of that launch had been
in doubt after several test failures and
got back on track last month with a
successful flight to space carrying two
pilots.
John Glenn was the oldest person to
fly in space, at 77, when he hitched a ride
aboard a space shuttle as a U.S. senator
in 1998. Glenn had been the first Amer-
ican to orbit the earth, as a National
Aeronautics and Space Administration
astronaut in 1962.
Bezos has been slowly selling off his
stake in Amazon to invest in Blue Origin.
In 2017 he said he spends about US$1
billion a year on the sideline. He has
compared space tourism to stunt-flying
barnstormers, who helped fuel public
fascination with aviation and made it a
common mode of transportation. Bezos
has said he envisions millions of people
living and working in space, and lower-
ing the cost of space travel with rockets
that can be reused like airplanes is the
first step.
The billionaire plans to hand the reins
as Amazon’s CEO to Andy Jassy on July
5. Amazon shares were little changed at
10:49 a.m eastern.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 9 , 2 0 2 1
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 4,049.00-80.00 OIL US$ 70.84-0.65 RM/USD 4.1213 RM/SGD 3.1127 RM/AUD 3.1915 RM/GBP 5.8264 RM/EUR 5.0168
Top 20 active stocks
NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
SERBA DINAMIK HOLDINGS BHD 535.3 -0.145 0.620 -64.77 2300.0
DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 343.5 0.040 0.850 277.78 2026.1
HIBISCUS PETROLEUM BHD 154.9 0.050 0.705 21.55 1402.2
NWP HOLDINGS BHD 132.6 0 0.185 -26 97.4
TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 132.5 0.000 0.150 200.00 229.0
MMC CORP BHD 114.8 0.110 1.800 100.00 5481.1
JOE HOLDING BHD 110.5 0.000 0.045 -59.09 138.0
ZELAN BHD 106.1 -0.015 0.150 30.43 126.7
GRAND-FLO BHD 100.1 0.050 0.685 110.77 410.9
PRIVASIA TECHNOLOGY BHD 90.7 -0.035 0.235 46.88 144.3
LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 86.6 -0.035 0.310 -66.12 175.7
PUC BHD 69.8 0.005 0.160 0.00 142.2
KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 67.4 -0.010 0.065 -55.17 178.7
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 63.4 0.000 0.035 -56.25 131.1
QES GROUP BHD 56.2 -0.050 0.740 150.85 617.3
HB GLOBAL LTD 56.1 0.015 0.310 113.79 174.1
FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 55.4 0.000 0.045 -93.08 286.7
YONG TAI BHD 54.3 -0.025 0.270 -15.63 363.6
SANICHI TECHNOLOGY BHD 52.1 0.005 0.080 -71.67 112.2
PASUKHAS GROUP BHD 51.75 0 0.02 -71.43 33.1
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
AHB HOLDINGS BHD 0.155 24.00 12821.5 -11.43 40.3
ENCORP BHD 0.340 23.64 5682.4 44.68 107.5
SENTORIA GROUP BHD 0.215 22.86 8031.5 53.57 119.9
SCOMI GROUP BHD 0.055 22.22 42251.4 83.33 52.8
SEE HUP CONSOLIDATED BHD 1.480 20.33 793.5 48.00 118.5
PAN MALAYSIA CORP BHD 0.135 17.39 19170.8 3.85 95.6
GIIB HOLDINGS BHD 0.345 13.11 7794.7 -43.90 125.2
HEXTAR INDUSTRIES BHD 0.265 12.77 1403.3 -11.67 49.3
GENETEC TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.240 12.77 589.1 145.09 203.5
PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 12.50 7209.2 -50.00 45.5
WMG HOLDINGS BHD 0.135 12.50 1354.4 0.00 60.0
CJ CENTURY LOGISTICS HOLDINGS 0.500 12.36 2601.4 16.28 293.5
ONLY WORLD GROUP HOLDINGS 0.455 12.35 5824.2 30.00 181.6
IJM PLANTATIONS BHD 2.460 11.82 5689.6 35.16 2166.2
SCOMI ENERGY SERVICES BHD 0.095 11.76 1112.2 0.00 44.5
ABLEGROUP BHD 0.150 11.11 11354.9 25.00 39.6
PAN MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 0.100 11.11 4194.6 -4.76 92.9
ES CERAMICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.560 10.89 16739.9 14.29 282.1
SAND NISKO CAPITAL BHD 1.170 10.38 16394.3 260.00 120.7
CENSOF HOLDINGS BHD 0.44 10 34705.8 66.04 243
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
GENETEC TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.240 0.480 589.1 145.09 203.5
CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 22.700 0.460 226.0 -2.32 6940.5
HONG LEONG BANK BHD 18.900 0.360 1411.7 3.85 40969.9
HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 18.220 0.360 473.4 0.89 20866.3
NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 136.000 0.300 40.9 -2.09 31892.0
CI HOLDINGS BHD 3.040 0.270 563.7 60.00 492.5
IJM PLANTATIONS BHD 2.460 0.260 5689.6 35.16 2166.2
SEE HUP CONSOLIDATED BHD 1.480 0.250 793.5 48.00 118.5
PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 18.980 0.240 212.0 -11.31 18855.8
PPB GROUP BHD 18.720 0.220 446.7 1.96 26631.1
HAP SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD 8.250 0.220 288.7 -4.07 20539.8
MALAYSIA AIRPORTS HOLDINGS 6.100 0.220 2502.8 3.04 10121.1
RAPID SYNERGY BHD 8.300 0.190 11.0 25.76 887.2
PHARMANIAGA BHD 5.240 0.180 14937.0 4.80 1372.8
GENTING PLANTATIONS BHD 7.850 0.170 995.7 -19.36 7043.0
KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 21.760 0.160 117.3 -8.11 23469.3
PECCA GROUP BHD 4.590 0.150 1121.0 195.57 842.1
CIMB GROUP HOLDINGS BHD 4.600 0.150 30592.0 6.98 46065.2
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 24.220 0.140 138.0 5.21 7316.8
GENTING BHD 5.180 0.120 11113.0 18.10 19946.0
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
26 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DOW JONES 34,630.24 -126.15 -0.36 INDONESIA 5,999.37 -70.57 1.16
S&P 500 4,226.52 -3.37 -0.08 JAPAN 28,963.56 -55.68 0.19
NASDAQ 100 13,802.89 32.12 0.23 KOREA 3,247.83 -4.29 -0.13
FTSE 100 7,102.43 25.21 0.36 PHILIPPINES 6,809.72 45.80 0.68
AUSTRALIA 7,292.59 10.70 0.15 SINGAPORE 3,167.14 -8.67 -0.27
CHINA 3,580.11 -19.44 -0.54 TAIWAN 17,076.21 -7.70 -0.05
HONG KONG 28,781.38 -5.90 -0.02 THAILAND 1,612.88 0.29 0.02
INDIA 52,275.57 -52.94 -0.10 VIETNAM 1,319.88 -38.90 -2.86
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
MTOUCHE TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.090 -25.00 14753.8 -73.60 15.9
DAYA MATERIALS BHD 0.015 -25.00 280.1 0.00 30.6
PRICEWORTH INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.015 -25.00 3953.3 -50.00 67.6
PEGASUS HEIGHTS BHD 0.015 -25.00 50469.2 -40.00 158.8
EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.015 -25.00 18433.4 -25.00 36.4
VSOLAR GROUP BHD 0.020 -20.00 3431.7 -50.00 59.8
SERBA DINAMIK HOLDINGS BHD 0.620 -18.95 535314.4 -64.77 2300.0
ADVANCE INFORMATION 0.280 -18.84 27.9 5.66 67.8
TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.025 -16.67 265.8 -16.67 107.4
SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.145 -14.71 34404.6 -65.22 36.8
ORION IXL BHD 0.065 -13.33 3125.2 -18.75 55.7
KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.065 -13.33 67417.0 -55.17 178.7
PRIVASIA TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.235 -12.96 90676.1 46.88 144.3
NEXGRAM HOLDINGS BHD 0.035 -12.50 4237.1 -22.22 99.7
BORNEO OIL BHD 0.035 -12.50 10447.1 -12.50 240.7
ADVENTA BHD 1.520 -11.63 11576.7 -0.65 232.2
JAG BHD 0.370 -10.84 22738.4 37.04 190.5
LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.310 -10.14 86607.1 -66.12 175.7
TA WIN HOLDINGS BHD 0.135 -10 44967 80 286
DOLOMITE CORP BHD 0.045 -10.00 695.4 -60.87 26.6
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD 34.040 -0.460 48.2 -9.23 2178.6
MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 38.000 -0.400 109.4 46.38 7558.1
COMPUTER FORMS MALAYSIA BHD 3.710 -0.350 91.8 64.16 152.1
ADVENTA BHD 1.520 -0.200 11576.7 -0.65 232.2
UNISEM M BHD 7.360 -0.160 207.9 19.09 5935.3
AYER HOLDINGS BHD 5.350 -0.150 0.1 -4.46 400.5
SERBA DINAMIK HOLDINGS BHD 0.620 -0.145 535314.4 -64.77 2300.0
YINSON HOLDINGS BHD 4.900 -0.130 979.1 -14.78 5220.3
ANN JOO RESOURCES BHD 2.280 -0.130 4579.2 45.22 1235.4
TRANSOCEAN HOLDINGS BHD 3.780 -0.130 120.7 378.48 170.5
TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 4.780 -0.120 31120.2 -21.90 38261.0
UWC BHD 5.280 -0.120 1487.8 7.76 5811.3
CAREPLUS GROUP BHD 1.720 -0.120 17504.3 -15.88 946.1
KOTRA INDUSTRIES BHD 2.370 -0.110 18.4 -20.74 350.6
HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD 8.460 -0.110 9637.8 -30.31 28926.1
SUPERMAX CORP BHD 3.820 -0.100 14269.4 -34.65 9999.4
Y&G CORP BHD 0.905 -0.095 94.3 61.61 197.7
COMFORT GLOVE BHD 1.900 -0.090 6846.3 -35.38 1102.8
NEGRI SEMBILAN OIL PALMS BHD 3.030 -0.080 27.5 -5.31 212.7
AME ELITE CONSORTIUM BHD 2.49 -0.080 765.7 1.63 1063.5
Data as compiled on Jun 8, 2021 Source: Bloomberg