Top Japan bankers see negative rates

to stay as BOJ roils market p17

w e d n e s day, d e c e m b e r 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m
Issue 499/2022

ceoMorningBrief
HOME: Vincent Tan pares stake in BCorp for ‘potential major acquisition in financial services segment’ p8
Toyo Ventures to issue ICULS to major shareholders to offset RM354 mil debt p9
Independent adviser BDO tells Comintel shareholders to reject takeover offer p10
WORLD: Home prices slip for fourth month with US market slowing p19
South Korea sends drones to Kim Jong Un’s airspace in unprecedented move p25

reuters

Will China’s
reopening
bring new
New govt
Covid-19
keeps
service tax
risks?
on delivery Report on Page 4.
services
on hold
Report on Page 6.
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
the edge ceo morning brief
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): The Min-
istry of Health (MOH) will continue to
step up its preparedness to face a possible
hike in the number of daily Covid-19 cas-
es and deaths following the surge of infec-
tions in China.
Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor
Hisham Abdullah said among the measures
to be taken was to increase the percentage of
booster dose uptake to reduce the severity
of infections and the risk of death.
“MOH is urging all eligible individuals
to take their booster dose of the Covid-19
vaccine so that the Malaysian population
gets optimal protection against Covid-19,” he
said in the statement on Tuesday (Dec 27).
The rising number of Covid-19 cases in
China was reported by the World Health
Organization (WHO) on Dec 21.
The MOH will also strengthen the
country’s Covid-19 management through
the digitilisation of health management by
improving the automated Find,Test,Trace,
Isolate, and Support (FTTIS) approach.
Through the approach, individuals
who conduct Covid-19 self-tests can re-
port their test results to the MySejahtera
application where positive cases will be
given a home surveillance order and re-
lease order digitally.
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 27): The implemen-
tation of the minimum wage order for em-
ployers with less than five workers has been
postponed again from Jan 1 to July 1, 2023.
Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar
in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 27) said the
decision was made after taking into account
the views of the many stakeholders, who
may be affected by financial and economic
uncertainties next year.
“After taking into consideration the will-
ingness of employers who only have less than
five workers, the Government has decided
to postpone the implementation of the order
for a minimum wage of RM1,500 for this
group from Jan 1 to July 1 next year,” he said.
The PGM 2022 took effect on May 1,
with a minimum wage of RM1,500 per
2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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H O M E
Health DG:
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following China’s
Covid-19 surge
Bernama
In addition, Dr Noor Hisham said the
ministry would also ensure that all Cov-
id-19 Assessment Centres (CAC) are ready
to receive a high number of patients.
The CAC’s operational functions in-
clude identifying patients who are suitable
for home quarantine, as well as evaluat-
ing and monitoring a patient’s progress
throughout the isolation period.
The CAC will also start Paxlovid (nir-
matrelvir or ritonavir) treatment for high-
risk Covid-19 patients, identify and coor-
dinate patients who need to be referred to
the hospital as well as assess and discharge
positive cases whose isolation period has
expired.
Minimum wage order
for employers with
less than five workers
postponed to July 1,
2023
Bernama
month for employers with five or more
workers in all sectors regardless of regions.
However, employers with less than five
workers have been exempted, as the imple-
mentation of the PGM was postponed to
Jan 1, 2023 previously.
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Dr Noor Hisham said the MOH had
also introduced the use of the antiviral drug
Paxlovid to the Covid-19 Clinical Care
Pathway since April 15 to treat patients
with mild to moderate symptoms (cate-
gories two and three) with priority given
to high-risk patients.
He said the use of such drugs and treat-
ments has also been extended to private
health facilities where the provision of the
drug to patients is free. However, patients
are still subject to consultation charges de-
termined by the private health facility.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, the
MOH would closely monitor the spread
of the infection in the community through
the implementation of surveillance activ-
ities involving sentinel locations of influ-
enza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute
respiratory infection (SARI) nationwide.
“It is also supported by whole genome
sequencing (WGS) activities to detect new
variants as well as environmental surveillance
through sewage water sampling from identi-
fied locations throughout the country,” he said.
He also advised the public to practise a
healthy lifestyle andTRIIS (Test, Report, Iso-
late, Inform and Seek) to prevent the spread
of Covid-19 and other diseases, in addition
to wearing face masks in crowded areas.
Meanwhile, Sivakumar said the six-
month extended postponement is hoped
to give employers in the category an op-
portunity to coordinate and balance their
financial needs.
“This will, more or less, help improve the
financial situation of companies having less
than five workers,” he said.
Nevertheless, Sivakumar said employers
having five or more workers will have to con-
tinue paying a minimum wage of RM1,500.
This includes employers carrying out
professional activities under the Malaysia
Standard Classification of Occupations.
“Employers who are not involved in the
postponement must comply with the order
by paying the minimum wage of RM1,500
per month to their workers.”
W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Will China’s reopening bring
new Covid-19 risks?
by Intan Farhana Zainul
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): The open-
ing up of China, after being cut off from
the rest of the world for almost three years
due to Covid-19 lockdown, spells both op-
portunities and risks for the global econ-
omy and markets.
While China’s reopening has been
much talked about as the potential cata-
lyst for economic growth in 2023, a surge
in Covid-19 cases in the world’s second
largest economy has raised concerns over
the outlook of the global economy.
This is as the surge occurs at a time
when China is preparing to drop inbound
quarantine rules, and remove caps on in-
ternational flights to and from the country.
Reuters has reported that China’s Zhe-
jiang, a big industrial province near Shang-
hai, was battling around a million new dai-
ly Covid-19 infections, a number expected
to double in the days ahead, the provincial
government said on Sunday (Dec 25).
As the world welcomes the return of
Chinese tourists, which totalled over 160
million in 2019, Malaysia is preparing for
a potential rise in cases amid the surge
in China, while Japan is already planning
to tighten controls for travellers from the
country from Friday (Dec 30).
Nonetheless, analysts who spoke to The
Edge view China’s reopening to be a boon
to global economy.
Rakuten Trade head of equity sales Vin-
cent Lau said a spike in Covid-19 cases
can be expected as experienced by other
countries which reopened their borders
previously.
“After being cautious for three years,
China would not open up the country if
it’s not confident,” Lau said.
“While there is some news suggesting
that the Chinese vaccines are not effective,
a greater share of the world population is
vaccinated… It will take time for things to
normalise.The Chinese government is also
taking on cautious steps in opening up its
economy by doing it in phases,” he said.
Meanwhile, MIDF Research head of
research Imran Yassin Md Yusof expected
the global Covid-19 outbreak that started
in early-2020 is unlikely to repeat as the
virus has evolved to a “milder version”,
and the world’s population has largely
been vaccinated.
While the worry is on China exporting
the virus to other countries, Imran pointed
4 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
out that travel restrictions would probably
apply since persons infected with Cov-
id-19 are not allowed to travel.
“Of course the spike in new cases re-
cently is worrying and may delay the reo-
pening. It very much depends on whether
China’s government will continue with its
Zero Covid policy.
“However, early indications suggest
that it may have pivoted to managing life
with Covid-19, similar to the rest of the
world,” Imran said. “In fact, many coun-
tries have stopped or put less emphasis
on the number of infections.”
Sentiment mixed as China joins
reopening
China, where Covid-19 originated from,
will reopen its borders to international
travellers on Jan 8, 2023. Inbound pas-
sengers will only be required to present
a negative test result obtained within 48
hours of boarding.
See also story on Page 16
Key Asian markets rose on Tuesday
(Dec 27) on the news. Japan’s Nikkei
225 gained 0.16% to 26,447.87, South
Korea’s Kospi rose 0.68% to 2,332.79.
In China, the Shanghai Composite
jumped 0.98% to close at 3,095.57 and
the Shenzhen Component rose 1.16%
to 11,106.5.
Elsewhere in Asia, Jakarta Composite
gained the most on Tuesday, closing 1.28%
higher at 6,923, while Singapore’s Straits
Times Index jumped 0.27% to 3,266.38
and Thailand Stock Exchange rose 1.01%
to 1,634.16.
In Malaysia, FBM KLCI closed slight-
ly higher by 0.01 point at 1,474.69 after
lacklustre intraday activities, with declines
in banking stocks on profit-taking.
Glove stocks, which took a beating this
bloomberg
year, gained amid the surge in China’s
Covid-19 cases.
Top Glove Corp Bhd rose 10.5 sen or
12.8% to 92.5 sen, Hartalega Holdings
Bhd jumped 13 sen or 7.69% to RM1.82,
Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd gained two
sen or 1.77% to RM1.15, and Supermax
Corp Bhd jumped 7.5 sen or 8.98% to
91 sen.
China ended its strict “Zero Covid”
control in early December, following a
series of protests that started in November.
Cases have exploded in the country
with a 1.4 billion population, but its na-
tional agency stopped publishing Covid-19
cases from Sunday, which led to World
Health Organization emergencies chief Dr
Mike Ryan calling for more information
about the latest numbers of infections.
“In China, what’s been reported is rel-
atively low numbers of cases in ICUs (in-
tensive care units), but anecdotally ICUs
are filling up,” Ryan was reported as saying.
On Saturday (Dec 24), China’s Na-
tional Health Commission said in a state-
ment that it recorded 397,195 cases with
symptoms on Friday (Dec 23), as well as
5,241 deaths. Some 15.38 million people
were identified as having had close contact
with patients, it said.
Amid the pandemic, the World Bank
has slashed its China’s economic growth
forecast for 2022, compounded by weak-
nesses in the property sector. It slashed
its 2022 gross domestic product growth
forecast for China to 2.7%, from 4.3%
earlier predicted in June. It also revised
its forecast for next year’s growth to 4.3%,
from 8.1% previously.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs last month
raised its estimate for China’s economic
growth to 4.5% for next year, citing the
exit from Zero Covid policy. UK-based
asset management Schroders plc expect-
ed China to grow by 5% in 2023, from
3% in 2022.
W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
New govt keeps service tax on
delivery services on hold
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): Prime Min-
ister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has de-
cided to further delay the imposition of
service tax on goods delivery services pro-
vided by delivery service providers, includ-
ing e-commerce platforms, until further
notice, according to an official with the
Ministry of Finance (MOF).
The tax was first proposed in Budget
2022, which was tabled by then finance
minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul
Aziz under the administration of then prime
minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Originally meant to be gazetted and imple-
mented by July 1, 2022, the Royal Malaysian
Customs Department announced a month
prior to that that the new service tax — which
excludes food and beverage (F&B) delivery
services and logistics services — would be
deferred until a later date to be announced.
The later date was understood to be Jan
1, 2023. However, Anwar, who is also the
finance minister, has decided to postpone
the effective date of the new tax.
The MOF official, when contacted about
the effective date of the new tax, responded
via text to say: “PM dah tangguh kuatkuasa
(PM has postponed the enforcement).This
is the status for now... until further notice.
They did not inform us the reason.”
Anwar’s decision comes amid the rising
cost of living globally and in Malaysia, as
well as a still-nascent post-pandemic eco-
nomic recovery.
Currently, the service tax — which has
been set at 6% for all taxable services — is
only imposed on those who provide courier
delivery services involving documents or par-
cels not exceeding 30kg. They have to be li-
censed under Section 10 of the Postal Services
6 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
by chester tay
theedgemarkets.com
Act 2012, and are taxed under Group I, First
Schedule of Service Tax Regulations 2018.
More time likely needed to clarify
definitions, details
When contacted, Grant Thornton Malay-
sia’s head of indirect tax and transfer pric-
ing, Alan Chung, lauded the new govern-
ment’s move in postponing the service tax,
saying businesses likely will need more time
to seek further clarity on it.
He said while Customs organised a
briefing on Dec 9 with tax consultants
and other stakeholders about the expanded
service tax coverage, consultants from the
Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia have
noted several grey areas that ought to be
further clarified by the authorities.
Some of these grey areas included the
definition of F&B delivery as certain F&B
retailers also sell groceries, while a num-
ber of grocery stores have pastries among
their offerings.
“For example, does the delivery of frozen
fish, together with a carton of carbonated
drinks and pastries from the groceries — as
certain grocery stores have their own bakery
section — constitute F&B? We haven’t gone
through the details.The [current] definition
is open for interpretation,” he said.
According to Chung, the expansion
of service tax to cover delivery services
was proposed to address the disparity be-
tween service providers who are required
to charge the tax and those who are not.
“The main target of this is people who
impose delivery and handling charges [in the
Bloomberg
delivery of goods]. But what about retailers
who sell electronic equipment like refriger-
ators and televisions? Is it taxable when they
deliver to their customers, when delivery ser-
vices are not their main business?” he asked.
Another tax consultant pointed out that
certain transportation service providers
may be subject to the tax, despite logistics
services being exempted from it.
“The definition of logistics services is
not clear. Some argue that a service pro-
vider can only come under this category if
it involves an end-to-end logistics service,
from preparation [of the goods], to storage,
delivery and other related services.
“If not, this means transporters, who
provide basic moving service and do not
have a warehouse, will also be subject to
the service tax. This additional cost may
trickle down to consumers,” said a local
tax expert who declined to be named.
The good thing is the government is de-
laying it, so this gives the authorities time
to fine-tune the details, said Grant Thorn-
ton’s Chung. “I am pretty sure industry
players still have some issues. How many
are aware that they may be affected? The
devil is in the details, let’s not rest on our
laurels. With this extension, let us really
work and get things sorted out,” he added.
And other than regulatory clarity, it is
the right move to defer the implementa-
tion of the expanded service tax given the
current economic and business environ-
ment, where inflation has resulted in rising
costs pressuring not just households but
also businesses — especially micro, small
and medium enterprises — according to
Socio-Economic Research Centre execu-
tive director Lee Heng Guie.
W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Berjaya Corp
Bhd’s (BCorp) founder and major shareholder
Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun intends to pare
his stake to 19.6% from 26%, paving the way for
the diversified group’s potential acquisition of a
51% stake in a financial services company.
In a statement, BCorp, in which Tan is chair-
man, said it is in the midst of evaluating a po-
tential acquisition involving a licensed entity
governed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
under the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA).
Apart from banks, other businesses gov-
erned by BNM under the FSA include insur-
ance broking, money-broking, financial advi-
sory and digital banks.
The announcement also cast the limelight
on foreign insurance companies that have yet
to meet BNM’s 70% shareholding cap. These
companies include UK-based Prudential plc
and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.
BCorp is not new to the financial services
business. It is currently involved in provision of
insurance via its 30% stake in Berjaya Sompo
Insurance Bhd. Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte
Ltd owns the remaining 70% stake.
The group also wholly owns a stockbrok-
ing arm — Inter-Pacific Securities Sdn Bhd.
The tycoon has already started trimming his
stake in BCorp. Tan sold 400 million shares via
direct business transaction last Thursday (Dec
22). He owns a 12.95% direct interest and a
13.29% indirect interest after the share sales.
Meanwhile, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd’s
founder and managing director Tan Sri Lim
Kuang Sia emerged as a substantial sharehold-
er of BCorp.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27):Wellspire Hold-
ings Bhd, which is involved in the distribution
of consumer-packaged foods in Thailand, has
set its initial public offering (IPO) price at 23
sen per share.
Aiming to list on the ACE Market of Bursa
Malaysia on Jan 16, 2023, the IPO entails a
public issue of 124.6 million new shares, and
an offer for sale of 124.6 million existing shares,
according to a statement by the company on
Tuesday (Dec 27).
Based on its enlarged issued share capital
of approximately 712.13 million shares and
IPO price of 23 sen per share, the company will
have a market capitalisation of approximately
RM163.79 million upon listing.
Of the 124.6 million public issue shares, a
total of 36 million shares will be made availa-
ble to the Malaysian public, while 10 million
shares will be allocated to eligible directors,
employees of the group, and persons who have
contributed to the success of the group.The re-
maining 78.6 million shares will be allocated by
way of private placement to selected investors.
The company aims to raise approximate-
ly RM28.66 million from its IPO, of which
RM16 million will be utilised for the acquisi-
tion or construction of a warehouse and op-
8 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Vincent Tan pares
stake in BCorp
for ‘potential
major acquisition
in financial
services segment’
by Chester Tay
theedgemarkets.com
Lim bought 400 million shares or a 7.16%
stake, of which 120 million shares or 2.15%
are direct interest and 280 million shares or
5.01% were acquired through Kossan Hold-
ings (M) Sdn Bhd.
BCorp said Tan’s stake reduction was “to
facilitate the potential acquisition of a 51%
equity stake in the licensed entity”, without
disclosing the name of the acquisition target.
“In view of this, [Tan] has been carrying
out several share disposals to reduce his stake
in BCorp to not more than 19.6% which will
result in his effective interest in shares of the li-
censed entity to be not more than 10% if the po-
tential acquisition materialises,” the group said
in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday (Dec 27).
“The board of BCorp proposes to expand
and grow its financial services segment and
expects the contribution from this potential ac-
ACE Market-
bound Wellspire to
raise RM28.7 mil
from IPO at
23 sen a share
by Syafiqah Salim
theedgemarkets.com
erational facilities in Thailand, and RM5.96
million for working capital. Another RM6.7
million will be allocated to defray listing ex-
penses.
Wellspire chief executive officer and exec-
utive director Mo Guopiao said the company
distributes snack food products to 43 of its
sales and distribution points in the central,
northeastern, northern, and southern regions
of Thailand, allowing it to have a wide coverage
of end consumers for its snack food products.
“Our group’s capabilities have helped us to
establish a good track record over the years.We
quisition to contribute significantly to the earn-
ings and net assets of BCorp group,” it added.
Under FSA, individuals are allowed to own
no more than a 10% stake in a financial institu-
tion. Meanwhile, companies that are involved
in the gaming business are not permitted to
hold equity stakes in banks.
There was a “grandfathering rule” within
the financial services sector which referred to
an exemption given to certain individuals who
own more than a 10% stake in a financial in-
stitution prior to the FSA.
The rule has recently been widely dis-
cussed following the passing of Public Bank
Bhd’s founder Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow, who
owned a 23.41% stake in Public Bank through
0.64% direct shareholdings and 22.77% indi-
rect ownerships.
Apart from Public Bank, the other two lo-
cal banks whose shareholders have yet to re-
duce their individual shareholdings to meet the
FSA threshold are Hong Leong Bank Bhd and
AMMB Holdings Bhd.
Hong Leong Bank’s chairman Tan Sri
Quek Leng Chan owns over 64% stake via
Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd. Australia
and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd owns
21.64% shareholdings in AMMB, while Tan
Sri Azman Hashim has a 11.81% stake in the
banking group.
Shares of BCorp gained one sen to close at
29.5 sen on Tuesday, giving it a market capi-
talisation of RM1.76 billion.
Kossan shares, on the other hand, were
up two sen or 1.77% at RM1.15, valuing it at
RM2.94 billion.
believe that the business relationship with our
major customers, who are key retailers in Thai-
land, will continue to provide us with market
access to our products for end consumers, thus
allowing us to grow our footprint in Thailand.
“The forthcoming listing of Wellspire is an
important milestone for our group, and we be-
lieve that the IPO will strengthen our presence
in the industry, and allow us to raise our profile
to help us in our expansion plan,” he added.
On its financial performance, Wellspire’s
profit after tax and minority interests (Pata-
mi) more than tripled from RM3.12 million
for the year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY2019) to
RM11.83 million for FY2020. For FY2021,
Patami dipped to RM11.2 million, impacted
by the Covid-19 conditions in Thailand, its
fact sheet showed.
Revenue, however, increased for two
consecutive years from RM58.8 million for
FY2019 to RM119.71 million for FY2020,
and RM136.71 million for FY2021.
As of June 30, 2022, Wellspire’s cash and
bank balances stood at RM12.89 million, while
its total borrowings were at RM6.05 million.
TA Securities Holdings Bhd is the princi-
pal adviser, sponsor, sole underwriter and sole
placement agent for the IPO exercise.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

Toyo Ventures Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd

to issue ICULS 12
Vol (mil) RM
2.0

to major
RM1.88

1.5
shareholders 8 RM1.19

to offset 1.0

RM354 mil debt 4

0.5

0 0.0
by adam aziz
theedgemarkets.com
Nov 29, 2021 Dec 27, 2022

Source: Bloomberg
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Toyo Ven-
tures Holdings Bhd, whose share price has
gained 65% in the last week, is going to Toyo Ventures holds a 25-year con-

issue irredeemable convertible unsecured
loan stocks (ICULS) to settle RM354 mil-
lion worth of debts related to its Vietnam
power plant project.
Shareholder
cession to build, operate and transfer the
power plant in Hau Giang, Vietnam which
activist Lya
is expected to cost some US$3.25 billion
(RM14.96 billion).

Rahman of IIC
The manufacturer plans to issue 295 In 2021, Toyo Ventures entered into an
million ICULS at RM1.20 apiece to settle agreement to divest its stake in the pro-

the bulk of the RM355.15 million in debt
owed to three creditors: Ng Lu Siong @
Ng Soon Huat, Eng Lian (L) Inc (ELLI),
and Bukit Asa Sdn Bhd (BASB).
The three creditors are substantial
shareholders of Toyo Ventures. ELLI holds
8.27% in the company while Ng, who is
also a director in ELLI, has a direct stake
of 0.9% and an indirect stake of 14% in
the listed entity. BASB owns 5.73% in the
company.
The issuance was proposed following
the termination of a settlement agreement
in February this year to resolve its debts.
With a five-year tenure, the ICULS can be
converted into new Toyo Ventures shares
on a one-for-one basis.
Should the ICULS be converted, Ng
will hold as much as 74.67% indirect stake
in the company. However, it is not the in-
tention of the creditors and parties acting
in concert with them to undertake a man-
datory takeover offer for Toyo Ventures,
the company said.
It will hold an extraordinary general
meeting to seek shareholders’ approval for
the proposal.
ject to China Energy Engineering Invest-
ment Corp Ltd. On Oct 25 this year, Toyo
Ventures’ unit Toyo Ink Group Bhd en-
tered into a term sheet for key commercial
terms with Power Engineering Consult-
ing JS Company 2 in relation to the engi-
neering, procurement and construction,
commissioning and start-up of the project.
Prior to the latest announcement, Toyo
Ventures received an unusual market ac-
tivity (UMA) query from Bursa Securities
over the sudden spike in its share price.
Other than the proposed ICULS issu-
ance and the finalisation of the power plant
contract, Toyo Ventures said in its reply to
Bursa that it was not aware of any reports or
rumours that might have triggered the UMA.
In May, the company was similarly
slapped with an UMA after its share price
and traded volumes rose sharply.
Toyo Ventures’ share price, which closed
at its 10-month high of RM1.19 on Tues-
day — giving it a market capitalisation of
RM139.34 million — is up 47 sen or 65%
from 72 sen on Dec 20. In the same peri-
od, its warrants B have climbed 187% or
29 sen to 44.5 sen from 15.5 sen.
passes away
by adam aziz
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27):
Institutional Investors Council
Malaysia (IIC) adviser and coun-
cil member Jamaliah (Lya) Rah-
man passed away early on Tuesday
morning (Dec 27).
This was confirmed by the IIC
on its official website. “With deep
regret, we would like to inform you
of the sudden demise of Puan Ja-
maliah (Lya) Rahman early this
morning,” it said.
Lya Rahman was known for her
advocacy of corporate governance
(CG) and shareholder activism
matters, where she also raised per-
tinent issues related to the rights
of minority shareholders.
She was part of the Minor-
ity Shareholder Watch  Group
(MSWG) from 2001 to 2019,
where she was a general manager
who oversaw the team of analysts
undertaking corporate monitoring
activities.
She was also appointed as the
Asean CG expert representing
Malaysia from 2012 to 2019, and
headed the Asean CG assessment of
Malaysian public-listed companies
under the MSWG-Malaysia Cor-
porate Governance Index project.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Minority
shareholders of Comintel Corp Bhd have
been advised to reject a mandatory takeo-
ver offer launched by the company’s largest
shareholder Datuk Jackson Tan Kak Seng,
to acquire the remaining shares at 15 sen
apiece or RM24.97 million.
In an independent advice circular filed
with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday (Dec 27),
independent adviser BDO Capital Con-
sultants Sdn Bhd held the view that the
offer is “not fair and not reasonable” and
recommended that shareholders reject the
offer by Tan.
Tan is the sole director and sharehold-
er of JT Conglomerate Sdn Bhd (JTC),
which holds a 56.49% stake in Comintel.
BDO deemed the offer as not fair after
taking into consideration the offer price
represented a discount to the estimated fair
value of Comintel shares, closing market
price as at the last practicable date (LPD)
of Dec 20, and five-day volume-weighted
average price (VWAP) up to the LPD.
“The offer price of 15 sen represents a
discount of between 79.17% to 82.14%
against the estimated fair value per Comint-
el share of 72 sen to 84 sen,” BDO said.
The independent adviser added that the
offer price represents a discount of 82.86%
against the last closing market price as at
the LPD and 82.84% against the five-day
VWAP of Comintel shares up to the LPD.
Meanwhile, BDO also highlighted that
it is the intention of JTC to maintain the
listing status and not invoke the provisions
of subsection 222(1) of the Capital Mar-
kets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) to
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 27): Petroliam
Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has reached the
final investment decision (FID) for a near-
shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility
in Sabah.
The engineering, procurement, con-
struction and commissioning (EPCC) con-
tract for the project was awarded to the
winner of the dual-front-end engineering
design competition in October last year.
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ha-
jiji Noor said the LNG project is a step in
the right direction, as the state government
continues to pursue more deals to get ad-
ditional revenue via equity participation
for Sabah.
“The near-shore LNG project is an out-
come of a joint study between the state
government and Petronas to identify op-
timal gas monetisation options in order to
maximise long-term economic spin-offs
that will benefit the people of Sabah,” he
said in a joint statement with Petronas chief
operating officer Adnan Zainal Abidin on
Tuesday (Dec 27).
10 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Independent
adviser BDO
tells Comintel
shareholders to
reject takeover
offer
by Izzul Ikram
theedgemarkets.com
compulsorily acquire any remaining offer
shares from the dissenting shareholders for
which acceptances have not been received
prior to the closing date of Jan 6, 2023.
As such, BDO considered the offer as
not reasonable as Comintel shares will
remain tradable on the Main Market of
Bursa Securities, therefore still providing
shareholders with the opportunity to re-
alise their investment in Comintel shares
at the prevailing market prices in the open
market after the closing date.
Additionally, Comintel’s non-interest-
ed directors — Tan Sri Samshuri Arshad,
Wong Mun Wai, Lee Chai Bee and Low
Tuan Lee — concurred with BDO’s eval-
uation and recommendation, and also
recommended shareholders to reject the
takeover offer.
In the second half of this year, Comintel
secured a slew of projects, including two
Sabah’s first
near-shore LNG
development
reaches final
investment
decision
Bernama
The FID and the award of the EPCC
contract mark another significant milestone
for the project located at the Sipitang Oil
and Gas Industrial Park, where it is ex-
pected to produce two million tonnes per
annum of LNG.
The facility is scheduled to achieve com-
mercial operations by the second half of
2027.
construction projects in Damansara Perda-
na worth RM52.8 million and RM227.64
million, and a RM170 million housing con-
struction project in Kampung Kasipillay
from Butirjaya Maxim Development Sdn
Bhd. It also took over the abandoned Em-
pire Residence project in Sungai Buloh for
RM183.15 million from Mammoth Empire
Holdings Sdn Bhd.
JTC, Comintel’s white knight, emerged
as the company’s single largest sharehold-
er after entering a conditional share sale
agreement (SSA) with vendors to acquire
71.06 million Comintel shares (18.58%
stake) for 15 sen apiece. This was followed
by the subscription of another 145 mil-
lion new shares (37.91% stake) and 70
million new redeemable convertible pref-
erence shares (RCPS) at eight sen apiece
via a subscription agreement for a private
placement as part of the company’s reg-
ularisation plan.
On Nov 25, the agreements became un-
conditional pursuant to terms of the SSA,
and subsequently on Dec 5, JTC and in
turn, Tan emerged as Comintel’s largest
shareholder with 216.06 million Comintel
shares (56.49% stake).
On the same day the agreements be-
came unconditional, Comintel was hit
with the mandatory takeover offer from
Tan to acquire the remaining 166.44 mil-
lion Comintel shares (43.51% stake) for
15 sen apiece.
Shares in Comintel ended half a sen or
0.59% higher at 85.5 sen, giving the com-
pany a market capitalisation of RM327.04
million.
Meanwhile, Adnan, who is also the ex-
ecutive vice-president and chief executive
officer of Petronas’ gas business, said that
in view of the transition towards a low-car-
bon future, the group will continue to ad-
vocate greater use of natural gas.
“The development of the facility under
the Sabah Gas Masterplan will strengthen
both the position of the state and Malaysia
as a whole as an attractive natural gas hub,
contributing to the mutual prosperity of
Sabah and the nation.
“We will leverage our technological ex-
pertise for the development of the project
to unlock gas resources in an optimised
and environmentally-friendly manner,”
he said, adding that Petronas remains
resolute in supporting the Sabah gov-
ernment’s aspiration for its oil and gas
industry.
The near-shore LNG facility will ex-
pand Petronas’ global portfolio of LNG
assets, further strengthening the group’s
position as one of the world’s largest LNG
providers.
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Doubling down on bridging
the digital divide in Malaysia
T
here have been efforts by industry
leaders and relevant stakeholders
to propel the recovery of the nation’s
economy in 2022. The journey has exposed
the gaps and challenges in the way we op-
erate — providing us with an opportunity
to look things through from a different lens.
Improved access to technology and dig-
italisation are paramount to ensure that
everyone, irrespective of their status and
differences, will be able to meet future dig-
ital challenges.
As a leading global consumer internet
company, Sea Ltd is committed to driving
digital inclusion. Its efforts in 2022 have
included expanding online marketplace
inclusivity, supporting underserved com-
munities, refining its offerings to meet local
needs and gearing up for digital banking
— all part of its commitment to bridge the
digital divide in the country.
Marketplace inclusiveness
Sea’s subsidiary Shopee has made e-com-
merce accessible to everyone since its
launch in 2015. Thus far, the transform-
ative power of the platform has unlocked
growth in an inclusive ecosystem, driving
the local economy for sellers, brands and
local talent over time. Since October 2021,
the platform has witnessed the addition of
over 251,000 new local sellers.
Shopee offers an easy, secure and en-
gaging experience enjoyed by millions of
people daily, empowering anyone to buy
and sell anywhere, anytime. Companies
and entrepreneurs see the platform as an
opportunity to launch or expand their ex-
isting businesses, boosted by government
assistance programmes such as DE Dagang.
The ShopeeSapotLokal initiatives ensure
that underserved B40 sellers have the tools
they need to scale and succeed — in their
local language and addressing their specific
pain points — with valuable resources like
the Shopee University classes, ShopeeXperts
Programme and Bintang Komuniti Club. In
addition, the Shopee International Platform
develops them into exporters in a way that
alternative, smaller channels are not able
to, with access to markets beyond Malaysia.
Understanding buyers’ preferences and
behaviours when shopping online is pivotal,
as trends will influence the way e-commerce
adapts and changes. Through the Celebrat-
ing the Heart of Malaysians on E-Commerce
11
survey conducted during the third quarter of
2022, it was discovered that nine in 10 Ma-
laysians still prefer to shop online because
of the peace of mind they value.
In 2023, Shopee is giving all local mar-
ketplace sellers a strong head start with its
Shopee Growth Programme. All local sellers
are eligible to boost their store performance
and sales with a one-week free trial of the
highly popular Shopee RebateNOW where
buyers can enjoy 10% off of their purchas-
es between Jan 9 and 15. In addition, local
marketplace sellers can claim up to RM100
Free Ads credit for two months to enhance
their store visibility and traffic between
January and March.
Digital and financial literacy
In the recent Asean Digital Generation Re-
port, co-written by the World Economic
Forum and Sea, it was revealed that online
or mobile banking has become the second
most widely used app after social media.
Findings from 90,000 Asean respondents
surveyed, including Malaysian consumers
and micro, small and medium enterprises
THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
(MSMEs), show that there is keenness to
digitise financial services even more.
The survey also revealed several groups
that were digitally underserved, as well as
lacking in digital and financial literacy. Ru-
ral dwellers, women and micro-enterprises
were among the 79% of respondents who
lacked access to credit, insurance and in-
vestment products.
Digitalisation and inclusivity are nec-
essary to ensure these groups have equal
access to opportunities, and in return con-
tribute to the digital economy.
About 65% of the women surveyed have
adopted digital finance apps, compared
with men at 59%. One of the reasons for
the higher adoption among women was
the lack of formal borrowing channels from
commercial institutions — only 22% of
women in the survey received credit from
commercial banks, and only 19% used ad-
vanced financial products such as credit,
investments and insurance.
Access to digital banking services is
greatly dependant on the level of digital
and financial literacy. Better literacy rates
can ensure that Asean’s digital generation
can navigate financial services safely and
seamlessly.
In Malaysia, digitalisation and digital
literacy are the ways to improve financial
inclusion. Sea supports the narrowing of
the digital divide through the growth of
digital equity and the digital economy in
rural areas, thus creating jobs, reducing
poverty and improving the quality of life
among its dwellers.
Through Shopee, entrepreneurs across
the country are given access to knowledge,
training, tools and payment options that
enable them to participate in and grow their
businesses through the digital economy.
Also, with the advent of digital banking in
Malaysia, advanced financial services can
be offered to everyone, especially the un-
derserved communities.
Digital banking and more
To further significantly bridge the digital
divide, Sea is gearing up to start its digital
banking operations in Malaysia under a
consortium formed with YTL Digital Capital
Sdn Bhd, after being awarded a digital li-
cence by Bank Negara Malaysia in April 2022.
Through its digital banking platform, the
company aims to further remove barriers
for the unbanked communities, providing
more access for people to make and receive
payments as well as manage their financ-
es. It aims to promote inclusive trade and
sustainable development for vendors, as
well as drive inclusivity and accessibility
for all Malaysians.
Sea aims to offer products that are simpli-
fied to encourage more people to save, invest
and grow their savings. Its services will also
be equipped with personalised recommen-
dations according to one’s credit standing,
in effect promoting responsible financing.
The consortium has started hiring to fill
roles across multiple disciplines, including
the shaping of the C-level tier that will helm
the operations of the digital bank.
Sea is committed to empowering local
communities through its e-commerce and
digital banking efforts, while playing a key
role in supporting the Malaysian digital
ecosystem and, subsequently, growing the
nation’s digital economy.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 12 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

As winding-up petitions pile up,

new KNM CEO maintains company
has creditors’ support
mohd izwan mohd nazam/The Edge

by Adam Aziz
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): KNM

Group Bhd, which has defaulted on more
debts this quarter, said it is getting its act
together to monetise its subsidiary Borsig
Group and address its liquidity issues, after
the recent change of management in the
Practice Note 17 (PN17) company.
Despite recent legal actions by suppliers
and creditors, newly minted KNM chief
executive officer Ravindrasingham Balas-
ingham told The Edge in an interview that
the company has the support of creditors
in its bid to raise cash through a Singapo-
rean listing of Borsig.
Ravi, who took up the CEO position a
week after KNM’s admission into PN17
status in October, said the group had to go
through with a proposal to dispose of its
100% stake in Borsig to GSV for €220.8
million (RM1.04 billion) due to an ex-
clusive agreement inked by the previous
management.
“They signed black and white, we (the
board) had to follow… At one point they
wanted €30 million in discounts, but the
board said, ‘No way.’
“It reached a point where the board had
to decide whether this was something we
could carry on doing, so we decided no,”
said Ravi, an investment banker who had
a stint in corporate Malaysia as a former
CEO of Malaysia Merchant Marine Bhd.
An initial public offering to sell a 49%
stake in Borsig, if it goes well, would take
up to nine months to materialise, he said.
Meanwhile, KNM also took a non-exclu-
sive approach to see if other offers came
up, he added. KNM bought Borsig for
€350 million in 2008.
Scheme of arrangement
Within this quarter, KNM has received
a number of winding-up petitions from
suppliers.
Following the recent default of US$23
million (RM101.73 million) and €68.5
million in credit facilities, one creditor,
TransAsia Private Capital Ltd, exercised
its right to take over a 45% stake in KNM
subsidiary, KNM Process Systems Sdn
Bhd, that was collateralised.
“However, I also have a letter of support
from the same parties saying that they are
KNM Group Bhd chief executive officer Ravindrasingham Balasingham
working closely with us,” explained Ravi,
adding that this was presented to financial
institutions as KNM sought for financing
support.
It was noted that on Dec 15, the group
secured a restraining order as well as
a separate court order for a proposed
scheme of arrangement to address its
debt obligations.
The latest default occured on Monday
(Dec 26), related to a US$3.4 million pay-
ment due to Bank of China (Malaysia)
Bhd.
According to its filing, KNM has until
Oct 31, 2023 to submit a regularisation
plan or risks being delisted by Bursa
Securities.
For KNM, the Borsig sale is critical.
While it fell into PN17 status just recently,
on Oct 31, it already defaulted on its debt
a year ago in November 2021, namely a
2.78 billion Thai baht (RM355.25 mil-
lion) bond.
Since then, it has been loss-making for
five consecutive quarters, as credit lines
dried up and it was unable to execute pro-
jects due to a working capital squeeze.
The group has changed its financial year
end to June 30, from Dec 31. In the first
quarter ended Sept 30, 2022, KNM’s net
loss came in at RM68.97 million against
revenue of RM83.41 million — down
68% quarter-on-quarter — from revenue
of RM262.69 million previously, when it
saw a net loss of RM74.38 million.
Retained losses stood at RM1.23 bil-
lion, with borrowings totalling RM1.21
billion against cash of RM63.48 million.
In the meantime, KNM is working
with customers to secure payments for
smaller milestones and advance pay-
ments, Ravi said.
While Ravi asserted that the crown jewel
Borsig is doing well with a net cash posi-
tion and full order books in the medium
term, KNM is not seeking a waiver from
Borsig’s creditors to repatriate that cash
to support its operations.
“We don’t want to jeopardise Borsig
in any way. The trade lines are important,
and Borsig is the biggest earner,” he said.
Borsig’s contribution represents around
67% of KNM’s revenue, he added.
“We are PN17 not because of insolven-
cy, but because of liquidity issues.
“Any project company would have gone
through a patch like ours at some point.
All the exercises will release us from the
situation,” Ravi said.
Read also: KNM triggers another default
W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): ACE Mar-
ket-bound design-and-build contractor
Vestland Bhd is expecting to have another
year of solid performance in 2023, accord-
ing to group managing director Datuk Liew
Foo Heen.
At a press conference on Tuesday (Dec
27) in conjunction with the launch of the
prospectus for Vestland’s initial public of-
fering (IPO) of 240.8 million shares at 33
sen apiece, Liew said his optimism is sup-
ported by the company’s RM947.4 million
current outstanding order book as well as
RM2 billion strong tender book.
“With our listing expected to be complet-
ed next month, we expect this milestone to
positively enhance our access to funding, our
corporate image, and significantly increase our
business competitiveness in terms of cost of
funds and human capital to secure more pro-
jects, and increase our revenue and earnings.”
Liew said Vestland foresees more gov-
ernment jobs to be up for grabs in 2023.
The company looks forward to securing
more of these jobs. One-third of its current
outstanding order book comprises govern-
ment projects.
In addressing headwinds the group may
face in 2023, Liew assured that Vestland will
mitigate the impact of building material short-
ages with its technology and design capabil-
ities. He said labour shortage issues are ex-
pected to ease in the coming months.
Vestland’s IPO comprises a public issue of
170 million new shares, as well as an offer for
sale of 70.8 million existing shares at 33 sen
apiece. At the offer price, it is estimated to have
a market capitalisation of RM311.6 million
upon listing, which is slated for Jan 31, 2023.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27):TA Securities
Research has valued ACE Market-bound
electronics manufacturing services (EMS)
provider NationGate Holdings Bhd at 70
sen a share, on the back of the company’s
expansion plans, as well as strong growth
in the electrical and electronics industry.
TA Securities, which does not have a rat-
ing for the stock, said the stock’s value is also
based on the consideration of the group’s
established track record attested to by its
long-term strategic business relationships
with multinational corporations.
The research house’s target price of 70
sen is 84.21% higher than the company’s
issue price of 38 sen apiece.
Based on its enlarged share capital and
issue price, NationGate is expected to
have a market capitalisation of RM788.1
million after its debut on Jan 12, 2023,
making it the largest listing on the ACE
Market of Bursa Malaysia. It is seeking
to raise RM165.5 million in the initial
public offering (IPO), with the bulk of the
14 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
ACE Market-
bound Vestland
anticipates strong
2023 on robust
order book
by Izzul Ikram
theedgemarkets.com
Shahrill Basri/ TheEdge
Vestland Bhd group managing director
Datuk Liew Foo Heen (left) and Aminvestment
Bank Bhd chief executive officer Tracy Chen
Wee Keng at the launch of the prospectus for
Vestland's IPO at Hilton Kuala Lumpur.
Of the public issue, 47.22 million new
shares will be made available for applica-
tion by the Malaysian public, followed by
another 27.75 million shares for eligible
TA Securities
values ACE
Market-bound
NationGate at
70 sen a share
by Syafiqah Salim
theedgemarkets.com
proceeds used to repay bank borrowings.
Going forward,TA Securities has project-
ed that the EMS provider’s revenue would
grow at a three-year compound annual
growth rate of 10.8% to RM1.04 billion,
and its core earnings by 22.3% to RM104.9
million, for financial year 2024 (FY2024).
The research house expects growth to be
driven by increased orders from its major cus-
directors, employees and persons who have
contributed to the success of Vestland, and
95.04 million new shares by way of private
placement to identified Bumiputera inves-
tors approved by the Ministry of Interna-
tional Trade and Industry.
From the listing exercise,Vestland expects
to raise RM56.1 million, whereby RM33.5
million (59.71%) has been earmarked for
working capital, RM10.8 million (19.25%)
for performance bonds and cash deposits
for construction projects, RM7.5 million
(13.37%) for the acquisition of a new head
office, and RM4.3 million (7.67%) to defray
estimated listed expenses.
Vestland is primarily involved in the con-
struction of private developments, industri-
al buildings and government projects. The
company started as a pure build contractor
in 2011, but has since expanded its scope of
work to become a design-and-build contrac-
tor in 2020. In 2021, the group expanded its
business to include civil engineering works.
According to the prospectus, the group
posted a profit after tax (PAT) of RM10.67
million for the six-month period ended
June 30, 2022 (6MFY2022), higher than
a PAT of RM4.2 million achieved for the
same period a year earlier. Revenue also
grew to RM139.91 million for 6MFY2022,
from RM66.53 million for 6MFY2021.
Notably, the PAT of RM10.67 million
for 6MFY2022 was also higher than the
RM10.64 million logged for the entire
FY2021, RM7.01 million for FY2020,
and RM7.17 million for FY2019.
AmInvestment Bank Bhd is the princi-
pal adviser, sponsor, placement agent and
underwriter for the listing exercise.
tomers within the networking and telecommu-
nications and industrial instruments industry.
“In addition, we also expect the group
to capture new opportunities via its ex-
pansion plans, coupled with rising adop-
tion of electrical content within traditional
and non-traditional end-user markets, such
as automotive and consumer electronics.
Meanwhile, near-term visibility is also sup-
ported by NationGate’s unbilled purchase
orders of RM369.6 million as at Nov 14,”
it said in a note to clients.
As at end-June, NationGate’s net debt
stood at RM234 million, with a gearing of
1.6 times. On a pro forma basis, TA Secu-
rities said fresh proceeds of RM165.5 mil-
lion from the IPO are expected to see the
group’s gearing narrow to 0.5 times.
NationGate currently does not have any
formal dividend policy.
“As we assume a dividend payout of
20% across FY2022-24, we forecast for-
ward yields at 1.9%, 2.2%, and then 2.7%,”
the research house added.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 15 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

news In brief

Infomina’s Thai unit secures US$28 mil purchase agreement

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Infomina Bhd’s subsidiary Infomina (Thailand) Co Ltd
(Infomina TH) has received a purchase agreement from The Siam Commercial Bank
Public Company Ltd (SCB) to provide upgrade and transformation solutions to SCB’s
core banking applications for US$28.44 million (RM125.14 million). Infomina said the
agreement is for the provision of technology application and infrastructure operations,
maintenance and support services, as well as to provide solutions to improve and
implement the SCBX Group Application Programming Interface gateway. SCBX Group’s
businesses comprise banking business, consumer finance and digital financial services and Construction of ECRL project
a digital technology group, the filing said. — Bernama affected by floods
PASIR PUTEH (Dec 27): About 70% of the
construction work at Section 1 and 2 of the
Techbond buys adhesives, Ranhill Utilities wins RM38.5 mil East Coast Rail Line (ECRL), covering 82
chemical producing unit from PPB, job from JKR kilometres from Tunjong, here, to Setiu, in
Robert Kuok for RM57 mil KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Ranhill Utilities Terengganu, was affected by the floods that
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 27): Techbond Bhd’s unit secured a RM38.5 million contract occurred last week. Malaysia Rail Link Sdn
Group Bhd is spending RM57.25 million from the Public Works Department (JKR) to Bhd (MRL) construction manager (Section
cash to acquire a company that produces upgrade the piping system for treated water 1 and 2) Mohd Azemi Abdullah said the
adhesives and its related chemicals under supply at the Royal Malaysian Navy Base in locations affected by the flood involved
the business empire of tycoon Robert Lumut, Perak. The project, which will be fully preliminary works, such as forest clearing,
Kuok. The industrial adhesives producer funded by JKR, is estimated to span 27 months and are in the low-lying area. “The earthwork
entered into an agreement to buy 99.57% starting from Jan 6, 2023, and be completed by is affected by rainwater (flooding), so in
stake in Malayan Adhesives and Chemicals March 27, 2025, according to Ranhill Utilities terms of engineering, we are not allowed to
Sdn Bhd (MAC) from Chemquest Sdn Bhd, in a Bursa Malaysia filing. The project was do the work,” he told reporters after handing
which is 55% owned by PPB Group Bhd secured by its wholly owned subsidiary Ranhill over donations for flood victims at the Bukit
and 45% owned by Kuok Brothers Sdn Water Services Sdn Bhd (RWS) through a Abal Penggawa office here today. However,
Bhd. Techbond, which is 72% controlled competitive tender exercise by JKR. The scope Mohd Azemi said the flood did not cause
by managing director Lee Seng Thye via of the design-and-build project comprises the delay in the construction work including the
his private vehicle Sonicbond Sdn Bhd, replacement of existing old pipes to mild steel bridge construction. “Only if it rains, we have
intends to make several offers to acquire pipes varying from 150 millimetres to 500 to stop operation, except for work that is at
the remaining 0.43% stake in MAC from millimetres in diameter with a total length of a height of more than two metres from the
minority shareholders, namely Melina 61 kilometres, construction of a new booster ground level.” — Bernama
Mahmood, Amanah Raya Bhd (administrator pumping station, and refurbishment of existing
for estate of Mohamed Yakin Long) and reservoirs and ancillary equipment. — by Jan 10 hearing for lawyer’s bid to
Datuk Musa @ Ayob Saad. — by Chester Tay Chester Tay challenge royal pardon for Anwar
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 27): The Federal Court
on Tuesday (Dec 27) fixed Jan 10 to
Acquisition of KL Tower the edge hear lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul
management ownership being Aziz’s application for leave to challenge
examined, says Fahmi the legality of a royal pardon granted to
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 27): The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Communications and Digital Ministry in 2018. The date is a replacement of an
(KKD) is examining the acquisition of the earlier hearing date initially fixed for Nov
ownership of the management of Kuala 15 but which had to be deferred, as one
Lumpur Tower (KL Tower) from Telekom of Anwar’s counsels contracted Covid-19.
Malaysia Bhd (TM) through its subsidiary The new hearing date was confirmed by
Menara Kuala Lumpur Sdn Bhd (MKLSB) Anwar’s counsel J Leela, when contacted by
by Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd. Minister Fahmi theedgemarkets.com, as case management
Fadzil said he will receive a comprehensive was done before apex court deputy
briefing on this matter from TM on Jan 3, registrar Mazuliana Abdul Rashid. Mohd
2023 after receiving a detailed briefing on Khairul Azam named the Federal Territory
the KL Tower management concession from Pardons Board and Anwar as respondents
KKD on Dec 14. “I understand that the KL in the suit. On Sept 21 last year, a three-
Tower management concession is now in member Court of Appeal bench led by
its third interim period until Dec 31, 2022 Datuk Has Zanah Mehat struck out the
by MKLSB. “KKD is closely monitoring the said he takes seriously the issues raised on appeal by overturning the High Court’s
issue and is ready to give its full cooperation social media as well as questions regarding decision in September 2020. It ruled that
should the authorities conduct any the takeover of the ownership of KL Tower the decision made pursuant to an exercise
investigation regarding this issue,” he said management from TM through its subsidiary of a royal prerogative of mercy cannot be
in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 27). Fahmi MKLSB by Hydroshoppe. — Bernama varied or confirmed by the court, and as
such is not justiciable. — by Hafiz Yatim
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
China reopens borders to world
in removing last Covid Zero curbs
(Dec 27): China will no longer subject in-
bound travellers to quarantine from Jan
8, putting the country on track to emerge
from three years of self-imposed global
isolation under a Covid Zero policy that
battered the economy and stoked historic
public discontent.
People arriving in China will only be
required to obtain negative Covid-19 test
results within 48 hours of departure, ac-
cording to a statement from the Nation-
al Health Commission on Monday. That
compares with the current requirement of
eight days isolation — five days at a desig-
nated quarantine hotel, or central facility,
followed by three days at home.
The government said it will facilitate
visa applications for foreigners who need
to travel to China for everything from busi-
nesses and studies to family reunions, while
outbound tourism, which dwindled to al-
most nothing during the pandemic, will re-
sume in an orderly fashion. Current limits
on the number of international flights be-
tween China and the rest of the world and
passenger capacity will also be removed,
according to the statement.
The country also downgraded the man-
agement of Covid from the top level to
the second highest, effectively removing
the legal justification for aggressive Covid
Zero restrictions. Still, the National Health
Commission (NHC) said it will continue
to monitor the virus’ spread and vowed to
take appropriate measures to suppress the
peak of Covid-19 outbreaks.
The NHC also said China will enhance
the treatment of severe patients by boosting
the supply of life-saving medical devices,
such as ventilators, and the capacity of in-
tensive care units (ICUs). It will also repur-
pose quarantine facilities into hospitals for
treating Covid-19 patients.The country has
already ramped up the share of ICU beds
from less than four per 10,000 people to
10.6 in about a month’s time while anoth-
er 70,000 beds across the country can be
converted for intensive care, Jiao Yahui, a
senior NHC official overseeing hospitals,
said in a separate People’s Daily interview
published on Tuesday.
Name change
In another sign of downgrading the im-
pact of the virus, the government changed
the Chinese name of Covid-19 from “new
coronavirus pneumonia” to “new corona-
virus infections”. Omicron’s much reduced
virulence compared to the ancestral strain
16 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
The government
said it will facilitate
visa applications for
foreigners who need
to travel to China
for everything from
businesses and studies
to family reunions, while
outbound tourism, which
dwindled to almost
nothing during the
pandemic, will resume
in an orderly fashion.
that emerged from Wuhan means most
people are sickened with only mild upper
respiratory tract infections, authorities said.
“The new coronavirus will linger in na-
ture for a long time to come,” according
to the statement. “It has become much
less virulent than before and the disease it
causes will gradually turn into a common
respiratory disease.”
The world’s second-largest economy
has been largely cut off since early 2020,
when China first imposed a blanket ban
on overseas travellers. While it later lifted
the outright restriction, it kept in place an
intricate web of testing and bureaucratic
requirements around international flights
that discouraged most travellers and ef-
fectively kept it sealed off from the world.
Easier travel
Easier travel into and out of China is likely
to benefit the many countries across the
globe that rely on Chinese tourists. And
the recent loosening of testing and isola-
tion requirements for travel within China
may also boost domestic tourism revenue,
which declined 26% over the week-long
National Day holiday in October, com-
pared with the same period last year.
China’s abrupt U-turn on Covid Zero
has upended economists’ and investors’
expectations, complicating estimates
for how its policies will affect econom-
ic growth.
While there is likely to be substantial
short-term headwinds as cases increase
and residents frequently stay at home, dis-
rupting a raft of activities, the policy shift
paves the way for a fuller recovery once
the first major wave of infections passes.
China has pledged to revive consumption
and support the private sector in 2023, and
economists have said signals are clear that
the focus is on boosting gross domestic
product, with policymakers likely to target
growth of 5% or higher.
Dialing back on Covid-19 controls will
“help minimise the outbreak’s social and
economic impact to the greatest possible
extent”, the NHC’s Liang told report-
ers at a briefing in Beijing on Tuesday
afternoon.
“It finally feels as if China has turned
the corner,” said Colm Rafferty, chairman
of the American Chamber of Commerce
in China. “We firmly believe that the abil-
ity for people from both countries to meet
face-to-face once again will help facilitate
a more positive trajectory in the bilateral
relationship.”
Read also:
China to issue new passports, Hong
Kong permits as Covid Zero comes dow
China revises 2021 GDP growth up to
8.4% from 8.1%
Most Asian currencies, stocks rise on
easing of Chinese Covid-19 curbs
Japan will require tests for visitors
coming from reopened China
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
(Dec 27): Top executives at Japan’s biggest
banks are expecting negative interest rates
to linger and see little immediate earnings
boost after a surprise move by the nation’s
central bank pushed lenders’ shares up by
13% last week.
Earnings won’t enjoy a meaningful lift
unless the Bank of Japan scraps negative
interest, according to three senior execu-
tives, who asked not to be identified dis-
cussing central bank policy in public.
But the BOJ is unlikely to immediately
raise interest rates — even after a change
of governor in April — unless an outsider
is chosen to lead the institution, one exec-
utive said. It may be difficult for insiders to
break with existing policy, the person added.
Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg
see BOJ veterans as the best choices for the
position, with current Deputy Governor
Masayoshi Amamiya and former deputy
governor Hiroshi Nakaso leading the list.
The central bank may also risk losing a
chance to hike rates if the global econo-
my suffers a sharp slowdown next year,
another executive said.
The lukewarm reaction from executives
compares with investors and strategists who
are growing more bullish on Japan bank
stocks, saying the BOJ’s move to allow 10-
year bond yields to rise to around 0.5% is a
precursor to a broader policy shift. Goldman
TOKYO (Dec 27): Japanese Reconstruc-
tion Minister Kenya Akiba tendered his
resignation to Prime Minister Fumio
Kishida on Tuesday (Dec 27), becoming
the fourth minister to leave the Cabinet
appointed by Kishida in August.
Three other ministers have quit in close
succession due to scandals, some involv-
ing funding and ties with the Unification
Church.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s
close links with the religious group were
revealed after the killing of former premier
Shinzo Abe, and have been cited by public
opinion poll respondents as a reason be-
hind Kishida’s low approval ratings.
“I take my responsibility very serious-
ly as the one who appoints [ministers],”
Kishida told reporters after confirming that
Akiba had quit.
“By rising to my political responsibil-
ities, I hope to be fulfilling my duties as
the PM,” he said.
Opposition parties have accused Akiba
of involvement in election law violations
and of ties with the Unification Church, al-
though Akiba has denied any wrongdoing.
“There was not a single thing that I did
that breached the law,” Akiba said to re-
porters gathered at the PM’s office, after
he submitted his resignation to Kishida.
17 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
bloomberg
BOJ policy. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial
Group Inc, the nation’s largest bank, also
declined to comment.
Shares of Japan’s benchmark index of
banking stocks surged 13% last week in the
wake of the policy adjustment which caught
global financial markets by surprise.
Morgan Stanley strategists upgrad-
ed their view on Japanese lenders “as a
hedge”, saying the move is positive for
bank earnings and valuations as they lifted
Top Japan
the sector to overweight from equal weight.
Still, Bank of Japan Governor Haru-
bankers see
hiko Kuroda on Monday stressed that the
bank’s latest tweaks on its bond yield con-
negative rates
trol programme were not the beginning
of an exit of monetary easing, but a way
to stay as BOJ
to make it sustainable and run smoothly.
Mizuho estimates it will see a ¥35 billion
roils market
(US$263 million) boost annually in profit
from lending and markets operations, if the
policy rate is raised to 0% from -0.1% and
yields on five-year and 10-year Japanese gov-
by Taiga Uranaka ernment bonds at 0.15% and 0.4% respec-
Bloomberg tively, according to an earnings presenta-
tion in November. The lender is constantly
Sachs Group Inc sees an “increased likeli- examining the potential impact of various
hood”, of abandoning negative interest rates. scenarios, a spokesman for Mizuho said.
Spokespeople for Japan’s second- and Sumitomo Mitsui estimates a 10-ba-
third-biggest lenders, Sumitomo Mitsui sis point increase in the policy rate will
Financial Group Inc and Mizuho Finan- increase profit by about ¥20 billion, ac-
cial Group Inc, declined to comment on cording to a bank spokesman.
Fourth minister
“It was a difficult decision to make, but
I tendered my resignation to the PM, as
exits Kishida’s
I felt I must not hamper the debates in
Parliament,” he added.
four-month-old
Akiba will be replaced by former recon-
struction minister Hiromichi Watanabe,
Cabinet in Japan
Kishida said.
Kishida said Mio Sugita, the parliamen-
tary vice-minister for internal affairs, had
also submitted her resignation.
by Sakura Murakami In early December, Sugita retracted and
Reuters apologised for a number of past comments,
including calling sexual minorities “un-
bloomberg productive”.
Speculation has mounted that Kishida
plans to overhaul his Cabinet by early next
month to boost his sagging popularity, with
the Sankei newspaper reporting last Fri-
day that some ruling party members have
floated Jan 10 as a possible date.
Kishida did not rule out a reshuffle, but
played down the possibility that it could
happen within the next week or two.
“I don’t mean to say I won’t ever con-
sider a Cabinet reshuffle, I’m just saying
I’m not considering one over the NewYear
holidays,” he said.
Read also: Japan inks LNG deals with
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida US, Oman to secure fuel supply
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 18 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
w o r l d
Home prices slip
(Dec 27): The US housing market con-
tinued to sag in October as the impact of
for fourth month
higher mortgage rates and concerns over
the economy rattled buyers and sellers.
with US market
Prices fell 0.5% from September, the
fourth consecutive monthly decline for a
slowing
seasonally adjusted measure of home pric-
es in 20 large cities, according to the S&P
CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.
The market began downshifting earli-
er this year as the Federal Reserve started by Jennifer Epstein
hiking its benchmark interest rate, with the
goal of easing high inflation that has been
driven in part by skyrocketing housing costs.
Rates for 30-year, fixed mortgages
reached 7.08% in October — and again in
November — although they have since re-
treated, Freddie Mac data showed.With bor-
rowing costs roughly double where they were
at the start of the year, and inflation leaving
less savings to put toward a down payment,
homebuyers have pulled back. Sellers are also
reluctant to list their properties, yet houses
that are on the market are lingering and get-
ting discounted as demand slumps.
“As the Federal Reserve continues to
move interest rates higher, mortgage fi-
nancing continues to be a headwind for
home prices,” Craig Lazzara, managing
director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in
a statement on Tuesday. “Given the con-
tinuing prospects for a challenging mac-
roeconomic environment, prices may well
continue to weaken.”
Even as prices fall on a monthly basis,
Twitter won’t
WASHINGTON (Dec 27): Twitter head
Elon Musk has confirmed that the social
go bankrupt
media platform is no longer “in the fast
lane to bankruptcy”, reported dpa, the
anytime soon,
German Press Agency.
However, Musk said that there is a lot
says Elon Musk
that needs to be done on the platform.
“But overall, it seems to be going in a good
direction,” he said.
Musk said over the weekend on the All-
In podcast that the company will not be
filing for bankruptcy soon.
He said, “We have the expenses reason-
ably under control, so the company’s not
in the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore. It
has been quite a roller coaster. It has its
highs and lows, to say the least, but overall,
it seems to be going in a good direction.”
Following the podcast, Musk tweeted
saying that Twitter is not secure yet and
there is still “much work to do”.
The Twitter boss further shared on the
podcast: “My error rate and sort of being
the chief twit will be less over time, but
in the beginning, we’ll make a lot more
mistakes, because I’m new. Hey, I just got
here, man.”
He added, “If you look at the actual
19 TheEdge CEO morning brief
they are still higher than they were a year
ago, although the rate of gains has declined.
A nationwide gauge was up 9.2% in Octo-
ber from a year earlier, down from 10.7%
in September.
In the 20-city index, the largest annual
price gains were in Miami;Tampa, Florida;
and Charlotte, North Carolina. In Miami,
prices were up 21% year-on-year. San Fran-
cisco saw the smallest increase, at 0.6%.
In October from September, prices fell
Bloomberg the most in Las Vegas, declining 1.3%, and
Phoenix, which declined 1.2%, according
to the seasonally adjusted index.
Miami, San Francisco, and
Dallas each had a 0.9%
month-on-month
decrease.
Bloomberg
amount of improvement that has happened
at Twitter in terms of having costs that
aren’t insane and shipping product that, on
balance, is good, I think that’s great. We’re
executing well, and getting things done.”
The billionaire first warned about the
prospect of bankruptcy for Twitter just a
few weeks after he took over the social
media platform.
Sharing Twitter’s financial troubles in
Bernama his first email to employees in Novem-
ber, he wrote, “After purchasing Twitter
reuters for about US$44 billion (RM194.52 bil-
lion) at the end of October, Musk imme-
diately made some drastic changes to the
platform, as he focused on free speech.
Soon, the company lost half of its top 100
advertisers, which made up a large chunk
of Twitter’s revenue.”
Musk has been trying to generate in-
come for the social media company ever
since, including charging US$8 a month
for the Twitter Blue check mark (US$11
for iPhone users).
Read also: Tesla to run reduced output in
Shanghai in January, plan shows
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Dealmakers grapple with unprecedented
US challenge to mergers
by Anirban Sen & Diane Bartz
Reuters
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Dec 27):
Investment bankers and deal lawyers ac-
customed to regulatory hurdles to their
mergers face an unprecedented challenge
under U.S. President Joe Biden — antitrust
watchdogs who are undaunted when they
lose such battles in court.
The U.S. Justice Department and Fed-
eral Trade Commission (FTC) have at-
tempted to thwart 22 mergers since Biden
came into office in January 2021, accord-
ing to a Reuters review of announcements
from the agencies.
That outnumbers the antitrust challeng-
es during the first two years of former Pres-
ident Barack Obama’s first term in office
and is twice as many as in Donald Trump’s
first two years, the Reuters analysis shows.
While comprehensive data going back
decades is unavailable, Joel Grosberg, an
antitrust lawyer at McDermott,Will & Em-
ery LLP, said more mergers are entangled
in U.S. antitrust litigation now than at any
point in his 25-year career.
“It’s a combination of the FTC and
(Justice Department) being willing to liti-
gate and the fact that companies are fight-
ing back,” Grosberg said.
The regulators managed to stop 15 out
of the 22 deals, many without a court fight
as companies gave up and walked away
from their agreement. More recently, they
have lost four attempts to block mergers
in court, though they are appealing two
of the cases.
These losses have not soured regulators’
appetite for challenging mergers. Biden’s ap-
pointees — FTC Chair Lina Khan and DoJ
antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter — are press-
ing on, arguing that corporate consolidation
has gone too far, harming consumers and
workers at a time of rampant inflation.
“Without question, what is clear about
this team compared to their predecessors
is that they are not haunted by the possi-
bility that they might lose these cases,” said
former FTC chair and George Washington
University Law School antitrust professor
William Kovacic.
Kanter told U.S. lawmakers in Sep-
tember his department would not “back
down from bringing meritorious cases.”
In a letter in August, Khan told Senator
Elizabeth Warren she believed asset sales
to remedy competition issues with merg-
ers frequently fell short.
20 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Bankers and lawyers
are advising merger
partners to prepare
for long battles with
regulators. They
are pushing for
contracts with more
time to complete a
deal, to account for
the possibility of
antitrust lawsuits.
In response to a request for comment,
an FTC spokesperson referred Reuters
to recent comments that Khan made in
her congressional testimony in Septem-
ber about the effects of past consolidation
and the need for stronger enforcement.
The Justice Department did not imme-
diately respond to requests for comment.
The biggest deal currently at stake is
Microsoft Corp’s US$69 billion bid for
“Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard
Inc. The FTC has sued to stop it, argu-
ing it would allow Microsoft’s Xbox to get
exclusive access to Activision games and
put it in a position to dominate the gam-
ing market. Microsoft is fighting back and
last week told a judge the deal would ben-
efit gamers and gaming companies alike.
Cary Kochman, global co-head of M&A
at Citigroup, said deals are taking longer to
be approved, forcing companies to “dribble
the ball” and “delay engagement on poten-
tial transactions” until the regulatory land-
reuters
scape becomes clearer.” Citigroup was not
an advisor on the Microsoft-Activision deal.
Bracing for battle
Bankers and lawyers are advising merger
partners to prepare for long battles with reg-
ulators.They are pushing for contracts with
more time to complete a deal, to account for
the possibility of antitrust lawsuits.
“As you’re negotiating things like inter-
im operating covenants that govern what
you can and cannot do between signing
and closing, you should view them through
the lens of having to live with them for 12
to 18 months in some cases,” said Melissa
Sawyer, global head of the M&A group at
law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
Break-up fees that acquirers agree to pay
their targets if their deal gets shot down by
antitrust regulators are also on the rise.This
year’s U.S. total of US$22.6 billion accounts
for 4.6% of deal value, according to Refinitiv,
the highest level since the first eight months
of 2013, when dealmakers worried about
Obama’s antitrust crackdown.
Many companies facing merger challeng-
es say they will fight on, emboldened by the
four court losses of the Justice Department
and FTC. These include lawsuits to thwart
health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc’s
US$8 billion bid to buy health-technolo-
gy firm Change Healthcare and life scienc-
es company Illumina Inc ‘s US$7.1 billion
acquisition of cancer test developer Grail.
“For the vast majority of deals, when we
assess them from an antitrust perspective,
we as advisors believe those deals can get
done,” said Edward Lee, corporate partner
at law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 21 TheEdge CEO morning brief
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Texas Pacific sues holdout investors
after 4,000% stock surge
(Dec 27): One of the biggest landowners
in Texas oil country doubled returns to
investors in 2022. It is starting the new
year by suing some of them as a dispute
over the future direction of the company
spills into a Delaware court.
Texas Pacific Land Corp, a land bank
created out of a 19th-century railroad bank-
ruptcy, shelved plans to issue new stock last
month after shareholders balked at the im-
plicit dilution of their holdings and the pros-
pect of executives inexperienced in deal-
making looking for acquisitions.
Texas Pacific management has been
vague about what it intends to do with
the new shares but has taken its biggest
holders to court so it can push through the
issuance in February.That puts a company
in the odd position of suing investors —
including entities run by two of its own
directors — who have seen the stock swell
more than 4,000% in the past decade and
dividends almost triple in the past year to
US$32 (RM141.50) a share.
“Going on an acquisition spree fund-
ed with the equity of TPL (Texas Pacific
Land Corp) is something that has never
happened in the history of the trust going
back to when it was formed in the 1880s,”
said Chadd Garcia, portfolio manager
with Schwartz Investment Counsel, a top-
10 Texas Pacific shareholder. As a result
of the dispute, the company “has the most
disliked board and management”.
Texas Pacific’s unusual business mod-
el revolves around charging oil explorers
access fees to its land, selling them raw
materials needed to drill wells, and taking
a cut of the proceeds from crude and nat-
ural gas production. The US$19 billion
22 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
by Mitchell Ferman
Bloomberg
Texas Pacific
management has been
vague about what it
intends to do with
the new shares but
has taken its biggest
holders to court so it
can push through the
issuance in February.
company has been this year’s second-best
performer in the Russell 1000 Energy In-
dex and is on course for its best annual
performance since 2016.
Even Warren Buffett is a fan.Texas Pacif-
ic was the second stock Buffett ever bought,
when in his teens he surmised that the land
bank’s strategy of collecting fees while re-
purchasing stock was a long-term winner. At
Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual meeting
in April, the billionaire said that as more oil
was discovered in the Permian, the compa-
ny’s approach “ought to work out well for
anybody that sat around for a long time”.
Texas Pacific is “generally agnostic
across the various capital allocation op-
tions, and the company strives to allocate
capital to what we believe provides the
highest return for our shareholders”, a
spokesperson said, noting that executives
have been saying for two years that they
are always looking for deals.
“Specific to potential [merger-and-ac-
quisition activities], it depends on a num-
ber of factors,” Shawn Amini, Texas Pacif-
ic’s vice president of finance and investor
relations, said in an email. “Basically, we’re
trying to solve for deploying capital to-
wards the highest return uses.”
The shares were little changed at
US$2,498 at 10.24am in New York.
Armed security
Shareholders have objected to manage-
ment steps that would upend the com-
pany’s century-old business model and
expressed scepticism about an executive
team with little history of dealmaking.
Schwartz Investment’s Garcia and oth-
er investors were alarmed in November
when four armed officers turned up at
the annual meeting at the Renaissance
Dallas Hotel. Texas Pacific said it hired
security because it expected the meeting
“might be well attended and wanted to
ensure safety for a large group”.
Texas Pacific planned to present the pro-
posal to allow management to issue addi-
tional shares but postponed that amid inves-
tor opposition. A week later, the company
sued major shareholders Horizon Kinetics
LLC and SoftVest LP, claiming they violated
an agreement requiring them to support the
measure, according to court filings. Horizon
is led by Murray Stahl while SoftVest is led
by Eric Oliver, both Texas Pacific directors.
Texas Pacific sued in Delaware because
it is among more than 1.8 million compa-
nies — including more than 60% of Fortune
500 firms — incorporated in the state. Its
chancery judges are business-law experts
who hear cases without a jury, often on a
fast-track basis. Judge Travis Laster is over-
seeing the case in Wilmington.
February request
The investment firms, which filings indicate
own a combined 22% ofTexas Pacific, argued
the agreement doesn not bar them from op-
posing the additional-shares proposal. Stahl
and Oliver won their board seats in the after-
math of an earlier court battle with Texas Pa-
cific over efforts to convert it from a trust into
a C-corporation. Both men declined through
a spokesman to comment for this story.
In the latest suit, Texas Pacific asked the
court to resolve the case in early February
trial — just days before the shelved propos-
al is set to be considered by the company’s
board.The dissenting shareholders are pro-
posing an April trial, court filings showed.
w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2 23 TheEdge CEO morning brief
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Philippine PLDT
(Dec 27): PLDT Inc is in talks with sup-
pliers and vendors to cancel some projects
to cancel projects
and seek discounts as the Philippines’ big-
gest phone company by revenue aims to
to cut US$860 mil
cut its 48-billion peso (US$860 million)
spending overrun.
“The discussion also includes the possible
replacement of certain projects that will be
cancelled, with new projects that will improve
revenue growth and customer experience,”
PLDT said in a statement to the Philippine
Stock Exchange on Tuesday (Dec 27).
PLDT shares climbed 2.6% on Tues-
day, recovering some lost ground since its
record 19% drop on Dec 19. Earlier in the
day, the company disclosed that Chairman
Manuel Pangilinan and President Alfredo
Panlilio bought PLDT shares on the day
of the record plunge.
PLDT is under probe by the bourse and
the Securities and Exchange Commission
after announcing on Dec 16 that it exceed-
ed its four-year capital outlays from 2019
by 48 billion pesos, raising concerns over
corporate governance and fiscal controls
at the nearly 100-year-old company that
also has one of the largest capitalisation
among Philippine firms.
Japan’s Kyocera to invest US$9.8 bil
for chips over FY2023-FY2025 —
report
TOKYO (Dec 27): Japan’s Kyocera
Corp plans to invest ¥1.3 trillion
(US$9.77 billion or RM43.19 billion) for
manufacturing facilities and development
of semiconductor-related products over
three years starting in the financial year
2023 (FY2023), the Nikkei daily reported
on Tuesday. To fund the expansion for
parts such as ceramics for chip-making
equipment, Kyocera is looking to borrow
up to around ¥1 trillion, using its 15%
stake in KDDI Corp as collateral, president
Hideo Tanimoto told Nikkei in an interview.
— Reuters
Akulaku confirms US$200 mil
investment from MUFG
(Dec 27): Akulaku, a Southeast Asian
banking and digital finance firm, will work
with MUFG companies across Southeast
Asia on technology, product development,
financing, and distribution, it said in a
statement on late Monday. MUFG is the
second strategic investment of Akulaku
this year after US$100 million (RM442.31
million) from Thailand’s Siam Commercial
Bank. Morgan Stanley is Akulaku’s
financial adviser for this transaction. —
Bloomberg
24 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
The company said last week an ongoing
review of what happened showed there was
“no fraud, no anomalies, no evidence of
overpricing, and no unrecorded transac-
tions in relation to the overrun”. PLDT
chairman Pangilinan said there will be no
overspend
write-off of assets purchased with the bulk
of the overspend that included 5G cell sites
for its mobile network.
The previously unreported spending
by Manolo Serapio Jr will be booked from this year and next,
Bloomberg and could stretch to 2024 should there
be delays, it said in the stock exchange
bloomberg filing, made in response to reports in the
Philippine Daily Inquirer which the bourse
had asked PLDT to clarify.
PSE President Ramon Monzon in a
Dec 22 interview said the exchange had
asked PLDT to clarify its announcement
that it did not uncover any anomaly, over-
pricing nor unrecorded transactions when
PLDT’s own review is ongoing.
The company, in a separate statement
to the exchange on Tuesday, said its “fo-
rensic investigation is still ongoing. Thus
far, no fraudulent transaction, procure-
ment anomaly, or loss has been identified
or uncovered.”
news In brief
India plans US$2 bil incentive for green hydrogen industry, sources say
NEW DELHI (Dec 27): India is planning a US$2 billion incentive programme for the green
hydrogen industry, three sources told Reuters, in a bid to cut emissions and become a
major export player in the field. The 180-billion-rupee (US$2.2 billion) incentive aims to
reduce the production cost of green hydrogen by a fifth over the next five years, said a
senior government official and an industry manager working in renewable energy. It would
do this in part by increasing the scale of the industry, they said. The current cost in India
is 300 rupees to 400 rupees per kg, said the manager. The US and the European Union
have already approved incentives worth billions of dollars for green hydrogen projects.
Hydrogen can be used as a fuel. It is made by splitting water with an electrical process,
electrolysis. If the devices that do that, electrolysers, are powered by renewable energy, the
product is called green hydrogen, a fuel free of greenhouse emissions. The Indian aid could
be announced in the Feb 1 budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, said the government
official. All sources declined to be named discussing a budget proposal. — Reuters
Read the full story
Russian rouble falls to 70 vs US dollar as sanctions weigh
MOSCOW (Dec 27): The Russian rouble weakened on Tuesday, struggling to consolidate a
slight recovery from last week’s slide as the market comes to terms with the prospect of lower
export revenue in the wake of restrictions on Russian oil. The rouble lost about 8% against
the US dollar last week and is on course for a monthly decline after an oil embargo and price
cap came into force. The finance ministry has said the recent slump was related to recovering
imports. At 0742 GMT the rouble was 1.2% weaker against the US dollar at 70.10, but still some
way off the almost eight-month low of 72.6325 struck last week. “At the end of December, the
rouble is likely to remain extremely volatile as the market will need to find a new equilibrium
under changed trade flows and increased sanctions pressure,” BCS World of Investments said in
a note. “This week, the rouble is expected to fluctuate in the range of 68-71 (per dollar).” Against
the euro, the rouble lost 1.1% to 74.35. Against the yuan, it was down 1.9% at 9.95. — Reuters
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
South Korea
sends drones to
Kim Jong Un’s
airspace in
unprecedented
move
by Shinhye Kang & Jon Herskovitz
Bloomberg
(Dec 27): South Korea sent drones across
the border into North Korea for the first
time on Monday (Dec 26), an unprece-
dented tit-for-tat military move after Kim
Jong Un’s regime dispatched five un-
manned aerial vehicles into its air space.
The exchange of drones, which briefly
stopped flights from taking off at major air-
ports near Seoul, came as Kim opened a ma-
jor political meeting to set security, economic
and political policy for the coming year, the
official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
reported on Tuesday. He has spent the past
year improving his atomic arsenal, showing no
interest in returning to nuclear disarmament
talks that have been stalled for three years.
Kim’s regime sent five drones across
the border on Monday, the first time he
has done so in more than five years. The
first one crossed the border at 10.25am
and returned after flying for about three
hours. Four more were detected Monday
afternoon and later vanished from radar,
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Yonhap News Agency said one may have
come into the Seoul area to possibly take
photos of the presidential office, but the De-
fense Ministry dismissed the claim. South
Korea’s military said it responded to the
drone incursion by scrambling fighter jets
and military helicopters, with local media in-
cluding Yonhap saying about 100 shots were
fired at North Korean drones that broached
its airspace near western coastal islands.
South Korea later deployed manned and
unmanned reconnaissance assets to areas
close to the border and into North Korea
that conducted reconnaissance and photo-
graphed military facilities, the JCS said in
a statement. The move is consistent with
South Korea’s strategy over the past year
to respond to North Korean provocations
with similar manoeuvres.
PresidentYoon SukYeol said the in-
cursion showed the need for South
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
said the incursion showed the need for
South Korea to bolster its defenses.
25 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Korea to bolster its defences. “We were plan-
ning to establish a drone unit for surveillance
and reconnaissance on North Korea’s major
military facilities, but with what happened
yesterday as an opportunity, we will expedite
the establishment of the drone unit as much
as possible,” he said at a cabinet meeting.
Kim has found space to ratchet up ten-
sions as the US and its allies focus on Rus-
sia’s war in Ukraine. The moves increase
the risks for the first major deadly clash
in years, such as when North Korea bom-
barded the South Korean border island of
Yeonpyeong with artillery in 2010.
“Kim may not have sat across the table
from the US president to barter pretenses
of tension reduction for concessions, but
he was still able to get away with a record
number of weapons tests without more than
a slap on the wrist,” said Soo Kim, a policy
analyst with the Rand Corp who previously
worked at the Central Intelligence Agency.
“To his benefit, the Russia-Ukraine war
and rising tensions with China have, in some
ways, diverted our attention away from the
North Korean weapons threat,” she said.
Kim Jong Un has fired off a record 70
ballistic missiles so far this year as he has
been modernising his inventory to make the
weapons easier to hide, quicker to deploy and
more difficult to shoot down. He has tested
missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons
to US allies South Korea and Japan, as well
as firing off intercontinental ballistic missiles
with ranges to hit the American mainland.
South Korea has said it’s expecting Kim to
test a nuclear bomb in the near future.
North Korea on Nov 18 test-fired an
ICBM with Kim’s daughter on hand for
the launch, marking her first official ap-
pearance in state media. The move sig-
nalled that there’s another generation ready
to take over the Cold War’s last continuous
family dynasty and it will depend on nu-
clear weapons for its survival.
Kim Jong Un has used year-end, multiday
political events to make major speeches at
their conclusion. In his opening comments,
“he stressed the need to lay out more excit-
ing and confident struggle policies based on
valuable facts that achieved practical advance
while persevering
all difficulties”,
KCNA said.
reuters
news In brief
South Korea’s former president
Lee granted special pardon
SEOUL (Dec 27): South Korean President
Yoon Suk-yeol granted a special pardon
on Tuesday (Dec 27) to former president
Lee Myung-bak, who was convicted of
corruption and other charges and who
has in recent years been suffering from
poor health. Lee, 81, who was president
from 2008 to 2013, has been serving
a 17-year sentence for corruption,
embezzlement and bribery since 2018,
though he has often been released
temporarily for medical treatment.
In June, prosecutors suspended Lee’s
imprisonment, upon his request, citing
his deteriorating health. The pardon,
effective on Wednesday, will cancel the
remaining 15 years of jail. — Reuters
Read the full story
Bloomberg
Taiwan extends mandatory military
service amid China tensions
(Dec 27): Taiwan has announced it
is extending its compulsory military
service to one year from the current
four months, a signal to Beijing and
Washington it is serious about defending
itself. President Tsai Ing-wen said at a
press briefing on Tuesday in Taipei that
the change coming in 2024 was necessary
to ensure international support and
that China’s expansionism threatened
regional stability. “This was an extremely
difficult decision, but it is unavoidable
for Taiwan’s survival,” she said, speaking
alongside Premier Su Tseng-chang,
Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, and
other top officials. “As long as Taiwan is
strong enough, Taiwan will not become
a battlefield.” Taiwan’s government is
working with the US — its main military
backer — to fortify its defences against
the possibility of an invasion by China,
which claims the island as part of its
territory. Last week, US lawmakers
passed a US$1.7 trillion (RM7.52 trillion)
spending bill that included US$2 billion in
weapons funding for Taiwan. — Bloomberg
Read the full story
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
Wall Street’s big banks score
US$1 tril of profit in a decade
by Max Abelson & Hannah Levitt
Bloomberg
(Dec 27): Malick Diop felt something shift-
ing on Wall Street.
He joined Morgan Stanley in the grim
days of 2009, when big banks were trying
to pay back taxpayer bailouts and deflect
public fury. But four years later, the ire
was fading and ambition was the order
of the day.
“It really felt like, for the first time, the
job and the career weren’t defined by the
context of the financial crisis,” Diop said.
“We are past this now. And now it’s time
for us to do new deals.” In the years that
followed, his rise to managing director
traced a new boom. He helped orches-
trate a multibillion-dollar deal with Soft-
Bank Group, whose breakneck investments
defined an era, then closed a huge spe-
cial-purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
merger at the height of that rush.
Diop did not know it, but he was playing
a small role in something almost unfath-
omably lucrative: The first trillion-dollar
decade for the six giants of US banking.
That is not US$1 trillion (RM4.42 trillion)
of total revenue, it is pure profit.
Such a haul did not seem possible be-
fore the decade began, when Wall Street
was the target of a global protest move-
ment and politicians at both ends of the
spectrum were seething over bailouts or
aiming to break up too-big-to-fail lenders.
They swelled instead, outpacing cor-
porate America so handily that JPMorgan
Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, and
even hobbled Wells Fargo & Co are on
track to make more profit over those 10
years than all but a few publicly traded US
companies, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs
Group Inc, and Morgan Stanley are not
far behind. And together the six are poised
to make even more next year.
While much of the world’s attention
was focused on the riches minted by Sili-
con Valley, banks were gaining momentum.
There is not one way to explain how they
pulled it off: Volatility juiced Wall Street’s
trading hauls, investment bankers like Diop
rode a dealmaking boom, and Donald
Trump boosted bottom lines by slashing
taxes. Likewise, there is not one reaction
across the industry to the milestone.
“Sometimes there’s this sense that the
fact that they profited that much is some-
how terrible, and I just don’t think that’s
26 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
the case,” said Betsy Duke, a former Fed-
eral Reserve (Fed) governor who chaired
Wells Fargo’s board until 2020. “About
everything you could throw at the financial
system has been thrown at it in the last 10
years. These banks have not just survived
but they’ve actually thrived.”
In a decade of public anger at the
banks, tougher rules, geopolitical havoc,
the pandemic, and some treacherous mar-
ket swings, banks “were able to cope with
all of that, and not only cope with it but
earn US$1 trillion”, Duke said.
Analyst estimates showed the six banks
are quickly closing in on that feat — US$1
trillion in a 10-year period — and that if
they do not reach the milestone at the end
of this month, they will sometime in the
first few weeks of 2023. It is not just the
scale of profit that is so startling, though,
but the industry’s ability to push through
scandals and thrive anew.
Ten years ago, JPMorgan, now the most
profitable and valuable US bank by market
capitalisation, was in the doghouse after
the London Whale trading fiasco.Wells was
on top of the big six, the most valuable
and the sole member of the group pulling
in more than US$20 billion. Although its
earnings were later derailed over revela-
tions of consumer abuses, analysts see it
nearing that level again in 2023.
What did not transform over those years
is the broad outline of the business: Banks
sell stocks and bonds, trade financial instru-
ments, advise on corporate takeovers, man-
age wealth, handle payments and lend. Back
in 2013, some traders were already mourning
the casino-style risk-taking that Dodd-Frank
of 2010 threatened, even if Washington was
still hammering out the exact rules.
Paying for scandals
To get out of the shadow of the global cri-
sis, the banks had to pay. In 2014, Bank
of America agreed to a record-breaking
US$16.7 billion settlement to end probes
into shoddy mortgage practices, passing
JPMorgan’s US$13 billion. By then, some
banks were mining new veins of profit that
got them into trouble.
Employees insideWells Fargo, under pres-
sure to meet sales targets, set up millions of
accounts for customers who had not asked
for them, the most famous in a series of scan-
dals that ultimately spanned most of its busi-
nesses. And in Malaysia, Goldman Sachs
finished raising billions of dollars in 2013
for a state-owned investment fund known
as 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB),
which was then pilfered by a group includ-
ing the former prime minister.
“My biggest regret in the last decade was
not stopping the 1MDB transaction,” said
former Goldman partner Robert Mass, a
compliance executive. “Each issue was vet-
ted, in some cases multiple times, but in the
end the answers that we received satisfied
us.” Mass, who now teaches philosophy at
Hunter College in New York, said the firm
was “misled by our own people, who were in
on the bribe, in a way that we had no reason
to doubt and could not disprove”. He was
not sure if he learned any lessons, “other
than to be less trusting”.
Read the full story
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m B E R 2 8 , 2 0 2 2
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 4,130.0052.00 OIL US$ 88.781.81 RM/USD 4.4065 RM/SGD 3.2443 RM/AUD 2.9988 RM/GBP 5.3528 RM/EUR 4.6011
Top 20 active stocks
NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Top Glove Corp Bhd 149.50 0.105 0.925 -64.29 7,406.8
Borneo Oil Bhd 136.60 0.000 0.025 -16.67 241.9
Metronic Global Bhd 135.50 -0.005 0.020 -83.62 30.6
Advance Synergy Bhd 72.10 0.000 0.175 59.09 442.6
Cypark Resources Bhd 69.40 0.055 0.440 -51.65 259.1
Careplus Group Bhd 49.40 0.045 0.505 -51.44 289.2
GFM Services Bhd 49.40 0.025 0.240 23.08 165.7
Berjaya Corp Bhd 45.00 0.010 0.295 18.00 1,647.1
Industronics BHD 41.60 0.000 0.090 -5.59 43.8
Dagang NeXchange Bhd 40.61 -0.020 0.510 -32.89 1,609.7
ZEN Tech International Bhd 38.63 0.000 0.035 -69.57 28.3
Vinvest Capital Holdings Bhd 31.75 0.000 0.190 -58.70 184.1
SNS Network Technology Bhd 31.00 -0.010 0.245 0.00 395.1
Public Bank Bhd 30.00 -0.140 4.300 3.37 83,466.0
Citaglobal Bhd 29.60 -0.005 0.290 23.40 544.6
Infoline Tec Group Bhd 28.90 -0.165 0.835 0.00 303.3
Velesto Energy Bhd 26.00 0.000 0.155 29.17 1,273.4
PT RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 25.05 -0.060 0.520 0.00 278.2
TECHNA-X Bhd 24.60 -0.010 0.020 -73.33 44.3
Ecoscience International Bhd 24.5 -0.07 0.47 0 159.8
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Vsolar Group Bhd 0.010 100.00 2,560.4 -33.33 48.3
Talam Transform Bhd 0.020 33.33 1,820.0 0.00 85.9
Sunmow Holdings Bhd 0.830 29.69 0.1 -17.00 194.2
Alam Maritim Resources Bhd 0.025 25.00 2,883.0 0.00 38.3
Mlabs Systems Bhd 0.025 25.00 1,882.0 -16.67 36.2
Focus Dynamics Group Bhd 0.025 25.00 2,599.3 -37.50 159.3
AE Multi Holdings Bhd 0.025 25.00 558.4 -16.67 54.1
Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd 1.190 23.32 4,066.0 -15.60 127.3
PUC BHD 0.035 16.67 401.6 -75.86 60.2
Pinehill Pacific Bhd 0.425 16.44 20.0 -18.27 63.7
Cypark Resources Bhd 0.440 14.29 69,376.8 -51.65 259.1
Top Glove Corp Bhd 0.925 12.80 149,504.2 -64.29 7406.8
CSH Alliance Bhd 0.045 12.50 7,439.9 -52.63 62.2
PDZ Holdings Bhd 0.045 12.50 229.5 0.00 26.2
Jadi Imaging Holdings Bhd 0.090 12.50 1,902.2 -14.29 96.9
Sapura Resources Bhd 0.330 11.86 9.2 -16.46 46.1
Sentoria Group Bhd 0.095 11.76 3154 -45.71 53.0
Parlo Bhd 0.095 11.76 1,986.9 -36.67 44.6
GFM Services Bhd 0.240 11.63 49,371.2 23.08 165.7
Maxim Global Bhd 0.205 10.81 56.1 -12.77 256.8
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 21.740 0.540 362.0 -0.18 23,439.1
Genting Plantations Bhd 6.400 0.370 232.5 -2.91 5,742.1
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 21.400 0.260 42.6 -13.50 7,849.1
Heineken Malaysia Bhd 25.620 0.260 17.2 22.94 7,739.8
Batu Kawan Bhd 21.640 0.260 10.4 -4.67 8,512.8
Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd 1.190 0.225 4,066.0 -15.60 127.3
Sime Darby Plantation Bhd 4.570 0.220 1,521.4 21.54 31,604.8
Petronas Gas Bhd 16.800 0.200 284.9 -6.12 33,242.7
Malaysian Pacific Industries 29.660 0.200 92.9 -39.91 5,899.3
Sunmow Holdings Bhd 0.830 0.190 0.1 -17.00 194.2
PMB Technology Bhd 4.150 0.170 467.7 68.97 5,236.2
Petronas Dagangan Bhd 22.160 0.160 529.5 7.57 22,014.9
IOI Corp Bhd 4.040 0.140 2,826.7 8.31 25,080.2
D&O Green Technologies Bhd 4.330 0.140 1,184.4 -26.61 5,357.3
Kotra Industries Bhd 6.490 0.140 49.0 105.38 960.5
Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd 3.600 0.130 1,821.3 -6.98 1,080.0
Hartalega Holdings Bhd 1.820 0.130 23,365.5 -68.24 6,219.8
Panasonic Manufacturing 22.980 0.120 3.4 -20.48 1,395.9
Press Metal Aluminium Holdings 4.790 0.110 1,525.4 -17.13 39,467.8
Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd 8.510 0.110 1171.2 -4.6 68080
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
27 TheEdge CEO morning brief
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DOW JONES 33,203.93 176.44 0.53 INDONESIA 6,923.03 87.22 1.28
S&P 500 3,844.82 22.43 0.59 JAPAN 26,447.87 42.00 0.16
NASDAQ 100 10,985.45 29.31 0.27 KOREA 2,332.79 15.65 0.68
FTSE 100 7,473.01 3.73 0.05 PHILIPPINES 6,564.90 23.87 0.36
AUSTRALIA 7,107.69 -44.81 -0.63 SINGAPORE 3,266.38 8.68 0.27
CHINA 3,095.57 30.01 0.98 TAIWAN 14,328.43 43.30 0.30
HONG KONG 19,593.06 -86.16 -0.44 THAILAND 1,643.16 16.36 1.01
INDIA 60,927.43 361.01 0.60 VIETNAM 1,004.57 19.36 1.97
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Pegasus Heights Bhd 0.005 -50.00 1,790.5 -50.00 54.1
Key Alliance Group Bhd 0.010 -33.33 9,364.9 -33.33 36.8
Fintec Global Bhd 0.010 -33.33 5,769.8 0.00 59.2
TECHNA-X Bhd 0.020 -33.33 24,563.7 -73.33 44.3
EA Holdings Bhd 0.010 -33.33 1,551.1 -50.00 64.5
Perak Corp BHD 0.255 -27.14 1.6 -39.29 25.5
Anzo Holdings Bhd 0.015 -25.00 909.3 -50.00 16.7
Compugates Holdings BHd 0.015 -25.00 3,495.8 0.00 68.8
Pasukhas Group Bhd 0.015 -25.00 673.0 -40.00 28.6
Metronic Global Bhd 0.020 -20.00 135,479.5 -83.62 30.6
Eduspec Holdings Bhd 0.020 -20.00 350.0 33.33 60.9
KNM Group Bhd 0.050 -16.67 6,991.5 -66.67 183.8
Infoline Tec Group Bhd 0.835 -16.50 28,868.7 0.00 303.3
DFCITY Group Bhd 0.400 -15.79 10.0 -9.09 42.2
Boustead Heavy Industries 0.360 -14.29 3.3 -25.00 89.4
Aldrich Resources Bhd 0.030 -14.29 355.7 -25.00 33.4
Nylex Malaysia BHD 0.310 -13.89 12777.2 -78.47 55.6
Digistar Corp Bhd 0.065 -13.33 2,338.2 -63.89 16.9
Ecobuilt Holdings Bhd 0.1 -13.04 130 -35.48 38.2
Ecoscience International Bhd 0.470 -12.96 24463.5 0 159.8
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Infoline Tec Group Bhd 0.835 -0.165 28,868.70 0.00 303.3
Signature International Bhd 2.390 -0.150 1,623.40 73.19 692.7
Malayan Banking Bhd 8.640 -0.140 5,170.20 4.10 104,147.7
Public Bank Bhd 4.300 -0.140 30,010.00 3.37 83,466.0
DKSH Holdings Malaysia Bhd 4.420 -0.130 30.30 -7.92 696.8
Harrisons Holdings Malaysia 6.780 -0.120 3.00 41.25 464.3
Hextar Global Bhd 2.290 -0.100 3,360.00 44.94 2,944.4
Hong Leong Bank Bhd 20.460 -0.100 651.70 9.88 44,351.5
Classic Scenic Bhd 1.020 -0.100 1,469.10 47.83 252.4
DRB-Hicom Bhd 1.600 -0.100 5,437.10 11.89 3,093.2
Transocean Holdings BHD 1.940 -0.100 34.00 -37.42 126.3
AMMB Holdings Bhd 4.140 -0.100 2,845.70 30.60 13,701.0
Allianz Malaysia Bhd 13.920 -0.100 33.70 8.24 2,477.3
Perak Corp BHD 0.255 -0.095 1.60 -39.29 25.5
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd 5.650 -0.090 23,532.20 3.67 60,257.8
RHB Bank Bhd 5.650 -0.090 5,940.10 5.21 23,997.7
LGMS Bhd 1.120 -0.090 4,018.90 0.00 510.7
Harn Len Corp Bhd 1.960 -0.090 2,583.30 180.00 401.9
Kelington Group Bhd 1.370 -0.080 2,007.60 -20.35 880.9
Coastal Contracts Bhd 2.38 -0.08 1315.3 73.72 1258.6
Data as compiled on Dec 27, 2022 Source: Bloomberg