F r i day, d e c e m b e r 1 6 , 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 494/2022

ceoMorningBrief
 BOE SAYS INFLATION MAY HAVE PEAKED
AS RATES HIT 14-YEAR HIGH p16
F R I DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 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 494/2022

CEOMorningBrief HOME: PM pays last respects to Public Bank founder p2

Party chiefs to sign agreement on Unity Govt today p2
WORLD: Thailand raises power tariff for businesses as cost surges p17
FTX executives used ‘Korea’ account to mask giant Alameda liabilities p20
Bond traders dismiss Fed’s hawkish tone, bet on 2023 rate cuts p21

Comms ministry discussing price cuts with telcos — Fahmi

Report on Page 4.

Malaysian govt said to

terminate contracts of
all political appointees
Report on Page 3.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
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PM pays last
respects to Public
Bank founder
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Prime Min-
ister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Thurs-
day paid his last respects to Public Bank
Bhd founder Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow, who
died at the age of 92 on Monday (Dec 12).
The Prime Minister arrived at the Nir-
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 16): Party chiefs who
have expressed support for the Unity Gov-
ernment will sign an agreement today on
their cooperation, said Deputy Prime Min-
ister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Fadillah, who is also the chief whip of
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), said the
agreement would formalise their cooper-
ation with Pakatan Harapan in the Unity
Government led by Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“There will be a signing ceremony on Fri-
day involving all parties which have agreed
to the formation of the Unity Government.
There you (the media) can ask about the
contents of the agreement and its focus,” he
told reporters after a convocation ceremony
of the Institute of Malaysian Plantations and
Commodities here, yesterday.
Asked which party manifesto would be
2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
published by
(266980-X)
. 603-77218000
tel
Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
vana Centre Kuala Lumpur here at 4.50pm
and signed the condolence book before
spending about 15 minutes with the family
of the deceased.
Anwar in a post on his official Facebook
page previously described Teh’s passing
as a great loss to the banking sector and
the country.
Teh founded Public Bank in 1965 at age
35, and was appointed as the chief exec-
utive officer (CEO) and managing direc-
tor of the bank when business operations
commenced on Aug 6, 1966.
He stepped down as CEO and was reap-
pointed as non-executive chairman on July
1, 2002, before retiring on Dec 31, 2018.
Party chiefs to sign
agreement on Unity
Govt today
Bernama
implemented by the Unity Government,
Fadillah said the matter was not discussed.
“One of our priorities is related to the cost
of living,” said Fadillah, who is also the plan-
tation industries and commodities minister.
Fadillah said he will attend a GPS meet-
ing later that same day to study the con-
tents of the agreement.
Meanwhile, he said that as far as he
knew, the recent announcement of a 20%
salary cut involved only Cabinet ministers.
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No review of
Sosma for now,
says Saifuddin
Bernama
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 15): Home Minis-
ter Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
on Thursday (Dec 15) reiterated that the
Security Offences (Special Measures)
Act 2012 (Sosma) would not be amend-
ed for now.
However, there is a possibility of Sos-
ma being reviewed in the future, he told
reporters after visiting the Malaysia Vol-
unteers Corps Department (Rela) head-
quarters here.
“My stand is that laws are dynamic
and not static, and we have Parliament
to formulate and amend laws.
“We need to respond according to
the situation from time to time. And
should it be amended now? No. This is
my principle and stand at the moment,”
he said when asked to comment on DAP
deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo’s
call for him to reconsider his statement
on Sosma.
Saifuddin said on Tuesday that he
does not intend to review Sosma, and
that unlike the abolished Internal Se-
curity Act 1967, it does not provide for
detention without a trial.
On Wednesday, Gobind, the Daman-
sara Member of Parliament, urged Sai-
fuddin to reconsider his stand on Sosma,
saying it contradicts Pakatan Harapan’s
long-standing view that Sosma is oppres-
sive in nature.
The former communications and
multimedia minister suggested that Sec-
tions 6, 13, 14 and 18A of Sosma be
amended, as they are oppressive.
“There are several sections and claus-
es of Sosma which cannot be retained
forever, and should be given appropri-
ate consideration [for review] from time
to time, but for now, I have to say ‘no’
because I have been here (the Home
Ministry) for just two weeks,” Saifud-
din explained.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
H O M E
Malaysian govt
PETALING JAYA (Dec 15): The gov-
ernment is said to have terminated the
said to terminate
contracts of all political appointees in
government-linked companies (GLC),
contracts of
government-linked investment companies
(GLIC), statutory bodies and Ministry of
all political
Finance Inc companies.
News portals reported earlier on Thurs-
appointees
day that the Chief Secretary to the gov-
ernment, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, had di-
rected all ministries’ chief secretaries to
implement the directive from the Prime
Minister’s Department to terminate the BY KAMARUL AZHAR
political appointees’ contracts, with im- theedgemarkets.com
mediate effect.
Officials at the PM’s Office declined
to comment when contacted by The Edge.
The news was first reported by The Ma-
laysian Insight, which cited a letter signed
by Mohd Zuki.
The letter reportedly stated that the
Cabinet had decided on Dec 14 to ter-
minate the contracts of all politically ap-
pointed chairmen and boards of directors
of the organisations involved.
The move is seen as a follow through of
Pakatan Harapan’s previous election cam-
paign promise to do away with political
patronage, which it tried to do when it
changed the heads of GLCs, GLICs and
state-owned enterprises when it first came
into power in 2018.
Ex-BNM
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Malaysia
needs to relook at its existing taxation sys-
governor:
tem in order to have a more comprehensive
and equitable system, said former Bank
Malaysia needs to
Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Tan Sri
Muhammad Ibrahim.
relook at existing
He said an equitable tax system should
involve value-added tax and it should not
taxation system
become a political issue for better eco-
nomic growth.
Muhammad Ibrahim added that this
was to ensure that Malaysia has revenue
options and refrains from entering into
a debt trap over the long run, although
the country’s debt level is still relatively
lower, about 50% to 60%, compared to
Japan and some other countries with over
100% debt level.
He explained that the implication of
the debt trap will not only slow economic
growth down, but also affect financial mar-
kets such as the equity and bond markets,
which would lead to investors having less
confidence in Malaysia.
“As it is now, about 30% of the economy
does not pay tax because of the nature of the
tax system. “This includes a retired person
like me or others who could still afford to
spend and should be contributing their part,
as they still enjoy good roads, airports and Former BNM governor
schools,” he said at the 12th Malaysia-Chi- Tan Sri Muhammad Ibrahim.
3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
GLCs include companies that the
Malaysian government controls directly
through Khazanah, MoF Inc, KWAP and
BNM, or where GLICs and/or other feder-
al government linked agencies collectively
have a controlling stake.
There are currently five GLICs involved
in the GLC Transformation Programme:
Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Khaz-
anah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah), Lembaga
Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), Lem-
baga Tabung Haji (LTH) and Permodalan
Nasional Bhd (PNB).
When the PH government was ousted
after the 2020 Sheraton Move, the Peri-
katan Nasional government led by Tan
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that came to pow-
er blithely continued the practice, and so
did Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who
led the government after Muhyiddin was
forced to step down in August 2021.
In fact, the Institute for Democracy and
Economic Affairs had pointed out in Octo-
ber that there were a total of 234 political
appointments to federal statutory bodies
made under Ismail, a “worrying” increase
from the 139 seen under Muhyiddin.There
were 72 such appointments under the Tun
Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led PH, proof that
it is a practice hard to shake, compared to
the 233 recorded during his predecessor
Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration.
na Chamber Entrepreneurs Conference
(MCEC) here on Thursday (Dec 15).
He noted that excessive borrowing
would turn into negative or less growth
moving forward, and stressed the impor-
tance of national champions’ role in vari-
ous economic sectors.
“We need more national champions
like Petronas (Petroliam Nasional Bhd)
and Top Glove Corporation Bhd to be-
come global brands that not only create
high-paying jobs but also advance the in-
Bernama terest of the nation,” Muhammad Ibrahim
said, adding that a clear and cohesive plan
THE EDGE FILE PHOTO is needed for regulated entities to become
a national champion.
For example, he said BNM was suc-
cessful in turning domestic-centric bank-
ing institutions into regional forces to be
reckoned with, and the transformation of
the banking sector into a competitive and
heavy industry was a long process in nur-
turing these institutions into entities and
competing beyond national borders.
The 12th MCEC combines online
and physical facilitating interactions and
business matching for small and medium
enterprises between Malaysia and China,
while discussing the Regional Compre-
hensive Economic Partnership Agreement
(RCEP) further.
 f r i d a y d e c e m B ER 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
Comms ministry
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The Min-
istry of Communications and Digital is
discussing price
looking into the possibility of reducing
prices of services offered by local tel-
cuts with telcos
ecommunications companies (telcos).
Communications and Digital Minister
— Fahmi
Fahmi Fadzil said he had asked the Ma-
laysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission (MCMC) and the telcos
to conduct a study to fulfil the people’s
aspiration for cheaper telecommunica-
tions services.
“I am holding talks with the MCMC
and telcos to explore ways to reduce
costs. Many young people are hoping
that prices for the internet and lines can
be reduced. So, I have asked them to look
into what we can do now.
“Maybe in the coming weeks, I
will have a special announcement to
make,” he said in the ALFA programme
streamed on the Nasional FM Facebook
page on Thursday (Dec 15).
Also present was Broadcasting direc-
tor general Datuk Che Roslan Che Daud.
Fahmi also said he is studying the best
ways possible to improve the quality of
services, and resolve issues concerning
4G and 5G network reach in certain ar-
eas of the country.
“We are talking about 5G, but some
countries have started discussing 6G. So,
we have to move faster, and as the min-
Tycoon Syed
(Dec 15): Tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar
Albukhary is conducting a strategic re-
Mokhtar
view of conglomerate DRB-Hicom Bhd,
according to people with knowledge of
weighing options
the matter.
The businessman is in talks with po-
for DRB-Hicom,
tential advisers on options that could
involve a buyout of the firm, said the
sources say
people, who asked not to be identified
as the process is private. Syed Mokhtar
is also weighing a stake sale or other
ways to further streamline DRB-Hicom’s
businesses, the people said.
Syed Mokhtar owns 56% of the Kuala
Lumpur-listed firm through an invest-
ment vehicle, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. DRB-Hicom has a market
value of RM2.9 billion.
Deliberations are in an early stage and
no final decision had been made, said the
people. Representatives of DRB-Hicom
and Syed Mokhtar didn’t immediate-
ly respond to calls and emails seeking
comments.
Should Syed Mokhtar decide to buy
out DRB-Hicom, it would be the sec-
ond of the businessman’s companies to
recently delist from the local bourse.
MMC Corp, a company involved in
ports and logistics, power generation
4 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
ister responsible, I need to explore ways
to help this process,” he added.
On another matter, Fahmi reminded
content creators on various social media
platforms to always respect the law when
doing their work.
“There are limits. We respect the right
to freedom of expression, but we also
need to uphold the law, as spelt out in
the Rukun Negara…the supremacy of
Bernama the Constitution, the rule of law,” he
added.
Meanwhile, when speaking on the
bernama Face to Face programme on Traxx FM,
Fahmi said the new administration un-
der Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim is serious about tackling cyber-
security and data protection issues in
the country.
Fahmi said he would organise meet-
ings with social media providers and on-
line retailers regarding the matter.
“Our personal data is unique to us.
So, once we have that understanding,
we will not be so easy to give away data.
“This is why I’m going to have en-
gagement with Meta, TikTok and Twit-
ter and online retailers to make sure that
they move along with time. They under-
stand that this administration is serious
about cybersecurity, about data protec-
tion, and that they respond to our local
laws as well,” he added.
and engineering and construction, was
taken private in 2021.
DRB-Hicom bought a controlling
stake in domestic automaker Proton
Holdings Bhd in 2012 from state-owned
Khazanah Nasional Bhd. It sold 49.9%
of the firm in 2017 to China’s Zhejiang
Geely Holding Group Co, a deal that
also gave Geely a majority interest in
iconic British sports car brand Lotus
Cars.
The Malaysian conglomerate’s au-
by Elffie Chew tomotive division has a complex that
Bloomberg assembles about 17,000 units annual-
ly, with brands like Mercedes, Suzuki
and Isuzu, according to its website. As
a top defence contractor in the country,
DRB-Hicom is also involved with the
development, assembly and distribution
of military vehicles for the Malaysian
Armed Forces.
Its other interests include Bank Mua-
malat, a full-fledged Islamic lender, na-
tional postal service provider Pos Ma-
laysia Bhd as well as investments in real
estate, the website shows.
Read also: Is Syed Mokhtar consolidating
his interests in DRB-Hicom?
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
Private 5G: Accelerating Towards the
Fourth Industrial Revolution
By Nor Hisham Md Nordin
Mobile Business Architect, Business Technology, TM One
Analysts are reporting a rise of private 5G
adoption in a variety of verticals around the
world.
We believe the use of private 5G
constitutes a catalyst to help industries
move further in reaching their potential
offered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution
(4IR) approach to productivity. Analysts
are also reporting, the rise of private 5G
adoption in a variety of verticals around
the world.
We envisage a near-utopian ecology
built on hyper-connectivity in 4IR, enabling
a more intelligent handling of information
which will transform the way we work
and live. For instance, highly distributed
technology-enabled equipment will be
constantly exchanging information to
precisely guide demand planning and
decision-making. Evolving from electric
power and electronics, we stand on the
edge of a new digital revolution; one which
is rapidly blurring the lines between the
physical, digital and biological worlds.
In different parts of the world, we are
beginning to see glimpses of this super-
productive utopia. In Malaysia specifically,
manufacturers are gradually integrating
advanced technologies such as IoT and
AI analytics, moving into smart facilities
to enhance productivity and improving
the total cost of ownership. Oil and
gas companies, for example, which
face increased market volatility and a
generational workforce shift, are learning to
rely on robotics and AR/VR tech to remain
relevant in the digital future.
Additionally, geopolitical and economic
factors have exposed weak supply chains
globally, with shipping and port industries
turning to automation and sensing
technologies as part of their efforts to
address these challenges.
Malaysian businesses are slowly
becoming aware of the need to use digital
means to survive and thrive. With a lack of
awareness about the practical benefits of
4IR among local businesses (only 30%* of
manufacturers are aware of the concept!),
there is a need to reaffirm that the way
forward lies in understanding and tapping
the potential in digital strategies for growth
and productivity.
THE ROAD TO 4IR, WITH PUTTING
PRIVATE 5G ON THE FAST LANE
The main hurdle for countries to achieve
nationwide transformation lies in addressing
www.tmone.com.my
5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
gaps in their digital infrastructure. Despite
government policies and initiatives, such
as Industry4RWD and annual financial
incentives,- there must be a greater push
to further catalyse digitalisation and
automation to generate greater industrial
sustainability.
Private 5G may prove to be the
‘secret sauce’ for certain enterprises,
especially those operating in or linked
to manufacturing and related sectors.
In today’s scenario, limited spectrum
and poor uplink speed in LTE (4G/
Long-Term evolution) are detrimental
when implementing next-gen industry
applications.
One example is the difficulty existing
technologies have in offering high
bandwidth and uplink speeds to enable
the uploading of high-definition video
feeds to cloud or application servers
in the event of unmanned inspection
and surveillance. The use of robots
integrated with AI and machine vision
Malaysian manufacturers are integrating advanced
technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and AI analytics,
signifying a move into smart facilities to enhance productivity
and improve the total cost of ownership. Private 5G will
accelerate this adoption towards the maximum 4th Industry
Revolution (4IR) potential.
that uses LIDAR (Light Detection and
Ranging) for example, to construct 3D
images of surrounding environments
for real-time movements further amplify
the issue. High bandwidths and reliable
mobile connectivity are needed to upload
these images to a cloud or servers with
high computing power.
The importance of private 5G in
achieving some part of the 4IR vision
should not be underestimated. It offers
the foundations on which to lay the
essential building blocks of 4IR (Big
Data, IoT, Cloud). In addition, private
5G addresses existing interference,
performance and bandwidth issues
faced by current wireless options such
as LTE and WiFi, by creating a closed
network with a dedicated spectrum,
capacity and infrastructure to meet a
company’s connectivity requirements.
Industries could realise improved
productivity and efficiency gains by using
three powerful features of private 5G —
eMBB (enhanced mobile broadband),
URLLC (ultra-reliable low latency
communications) and mMTC (massive
machine type communications). Offering
better coverage, higher bandwidth, low
latency, stronger reliability and tighter
security, these features are already
powering cutting-edge mobile/wireless
enterprise LANs.
IS PRIVATE 5G A UNIVERSAL
SOLUTION?
Even though the benefits offered by
private 5G are substantial, we must note
that this may not suit every sector in
Malaysia.
Many enterprises could meet their
needs by leveraging 5G products
offered over the public network
infrastructures, rather than a full private
5G implementation. For example, some
applications such as fleet management
and logistic will find the proposed
nationwide 5G coverage and in-building
solutions will be more than adequate to
serve their needs.
However, some manufacturing
companies will greatly benefit from a
private 5G setup. I have observed that
many factory floors envisioned moving
from wired to wireless processes, such
as unlicensed WiFi, but have held back
or been hampered by known interference
issues which eventually lead to
performance degradation. And LTE does
not completely solve the problem either!
The private 5G setup with the new
assigned spectrums, and its native
features are designed to address these
needs seamlessly.
Similarly, previous attempts to realise
immersive remote monitoring, by using
AR/VR, and remote operation control,
has not been truly effective. The missing
link between advanced devices such
as high-definition cameras mounted at
drones or robots, and centralised AR/VR/
visuals, has to be fulfilled by 5G as the
wireless mobile medium.
This of course will bring cost savings
and improve efficiency. In addition,
robots will be able to replace humans
in potentially dangerous situations,
replacing up to 50% to 100% of human
capital requirements. This will allow
companies to divert their most valuable
asset, people, to higher value tasks.
With the private 5G option, the ports
industry will also reduce cable wires of
rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes and
eliminate the need for manual handling
of heavy equipment, increasing the
* Source UTHM
Scan to register your interest
in TM One 5G Solution
safety and efficiency of operations. Crane
operators will also be more effective as they
will be able to operate multiple RTGs from a
central control room.
ACCELERATING DIGITAL MALAYSIA
Technology is just part of pioneering a
path to private 5G. Digital transformation is
a holistic journey, driven by and with people
at the centre of the endeavour.
As hardware becomes commoditised,
we will begin to see more manufacturing
and related industry-ready equipment
capable of working with 5G features. As
with all transformation efforts, investment
costs need to be justified. With the ROIs
of integrating private 5G still at an infancy
stage, enterprise leaders need to be on the
alert to see potential gains for their own
scenarios.
As we are all concerned with security,
private networks offer more control over
which devices are granted access. This is
especially important as the possibility of
connecting thousands (or even millions) of
additional devices massively amplifies the
cybersecurity risks of today’s value chains.
The secure handling of data should always
be front and centre of all business and
technological discussions.
TM One, the leading enterprise private 5G
service provider is best positioned to work
with Malaysian businesses in their digital
transformation. Our technical and industry
experts have an unparalleled understanding
of the local market. We are committed to
our customers’ transformation journey and
we believe that implementing Private 5G will
accelerate IR4.0 business transformation
outcomes for our customers.
We have worked hard to bring customised
offerings to meet every customer’s specific
needs, by leveraging our regional presence
and extensive platform of partnerships.
Coupled with our extensive nationwide
fibre infrastructure, we are always ready
to offer high service level agreement (SLA)
and roll out private 5G solutions anywhere
in Malaysia.
We maintain that private 5G poses
the potential to be a critical enabler for
accelerating 4IR adoption. With our clear
focus on human-centred digitalisation,
TM will continue to help carve a path to a
fruitful high-tech future for all.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15):The Securi-
ties Commission Malaysia (SC) has grant-
ed a conditional approval to Insas Bhd’s
proposal to list its stockbroking arm M &
A Securities Sdn Bhd via a reverse takeover
of furniture maker SYF Resources Bhd.
According to the bourse filing, SYF
Resources is required to revise some of
its proposals based on the terms by the
regulator.
One of the conditions that the SC has
set is that the consideration shares to take
over M&A Securities should be issued at
22 sen per share, instead of 14 sen as pro-
posed earlier.
As a result, Insas, which intends to in-
ject M&A Securities into SYF, will receive
1.009 billion new SYF shares, instead of
1.58 billion shares, for the sale of the stock-
broking arm at RM222 million.
Furthermore, the SC said the proposed
one-for-two renounceable rights issue will
have to be fixed at 22 sen per share, which
is higher compared with 14 sen per share
in the initial proposal.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15):Tethystron-
ics Technologies Company Ltd (TTCL),
an indirect shareholder of SilTerra Malay-
sia Sdn Bhd, has filed an arbitration notice
against the company and its sister company
DNeX Semiconductor Sdn Bhd (DDSB)
over a dispute concerning the appointment
of directors to the board of SilTerra.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Da-
gang Nexchange Bhd — the parent com-
pany of SilTerra and DSSB — said the dis-
pute arises from a clause in a shareholders
agreement that concerns SilTerra’s board
of directors.
The clause stipulates that SilTerra’s
board will comprise a maximum of five
directors unless unanimously agreed upon
by TTCL and DSSB; that the composition
of the board will be mutually agreed upon
by both companies; that the board will at
all times comprise two persons appoint-
ed by DSSB and three persons appointed
by TTCL; and that both companies have
the right to remove the person they have
respectively appointed as director.
“However, we have been advised that
the [agreement] is not binding in the re-
spondents for legal reasons that shall be
made clear in the formal reply to be filed
under the [Asian International Arbitration
Centre Arbitration Rules, 2021],” it said.
“Further, the respondents have been
advised they have legal authority and basis
to appoint additional directors. [DSSB]
has passed the necessary member’s written
resolutions (MWR) to appoint additional
directors in accordance to the prevailing
terms of the constitution,” it added.
6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Insas gets
conditional SC
nod for planned
RTO of SYF to list
M&A Securities
BY HAILEY CHUNG
theedgemarkets.com
The earlier proposed restricted issue
of 215.45 million new shares to eligible
directors and employees of the enlarged
SYF, including M & A Securities and its
subsidiaries and persons who have con-
tributed to the business of M&A will be
reduced to 157.8 million new shares.
The SC, however, granted approval for
the proposed exemption for Insas and its
persons acting in concert from the obliga-
SilTerra’s indirect
shareholder seeks
to block board
appointments
theedgemarkets.com
TTCL is seeking, among others, dec-
larations that the MWR and any of the
disputed board appointments are illegal,
null, void, and/or unenforceable.
It is also seeking a declaration that the
directors’ written resolution on Nov 21
to rescind a resolution of SilTerra’s board
passed on Nov 17 and any such resolution
passed with the votes of the impugned di-
rectors are illegal, null, void, and/or un-
enforceable.
TTCL is also seeking an order that
DSSB and SilTerra take the necessary
steps to comply with their obligations un-
der the shareholders’ agreement.
tion to undertake a mandatory take-over
to acquire the remaining SYF shares not
already owned by them upon completion
of the proposed acquisition.
SYF’s proposal to dispose of its rubber-
wood furniture manufacturing arm Seng
Yip Furniture Sdn Bhd to Mieco Chip-
board Bhd for RM50 million cash and
to sell two parcels of land in Cheras for
RM21.2 million cash will remain.
Therefore, the group’s proposed cash
distribution of 18 sen per ordinary share
comprising seven sen per share after com-
pletion of the proposed disposal of Seng
Yip and 11 sen per share after completion
of the proposed disposal of the freehold
land remains.
The announcement also stated that
SYF will be renamed as M & A Capi-
tal Bhd, which is different from the ini-
tial name of M & A Equity Holdings Bhd
proposed earlier.
SYF’s share price closed at 36 sen on
Thursday, giving it a market capitalisation
of RM207 million.
TTCL is the owner of Mimastronics
Technologies Company Ltd (MIMAS),
which owns a 40% stake in SilTerra. The
remaining 60% is owned by DNeX.
Meanwhile, TTCL’s ultimate owner is
Beijing Integrated Circuit Advance Manu-
facturing and High-End Equipment Equity
Investment Fund Centre (Limited Part-
nership), better known as CGP.
TTCL has also filed an originating sum-
mons and a notice of an ex-parte applica-
tion against SilTerra and DDSB seeking
injunctive relief and remedies, among oth-
ers, against the defendants.
In a separate statement, DNeX execu-
tive chairman Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin
Syed Mohamed Tahir said: “As a majority
shareholder, we have exercised our rights to
strengthen our position and to ensure that
SilTerra’s business continues to do well. Part
of the action taken was to strengthen the
SilTerra board by bringing in experienced
subject matter experts into the board. This
move by DNeX is governed by SilTerra’s
constitution.We have the right to nominate
directors as a majority shareholder pursuant
to SilTerra’s Constitution.These actions are
now being contested by TTCL.
“TTCL’s Originating Summons was filed
solely to obtain an injunction to restrain the
new board members from acting as Direc-
tors and exercising their rights as Directors
of SilTerra. However, TTCL is not seeking
any orders or relief to remove the new board
members in the said originating summons.”
Read the full story
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Astro Ma-
laysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit shrank to
RM5.8 million for its third quarter ended
Oct 31, 2022 (3QFY2023), compared to
RM105.9 million a year ago.
The media group’s earnings were
dragged down by sharply higher net financ-
ing cost of RM141.7 million, as a result of
foreign exchange loss of RM128.2 million
against a forex gain of RM25.3 million in
the previous corresponding quarter.
Its revenue also dipped to RM926.18
million from RM1.02 billion due to low-
er subscription revenue and merchandise
sales, which was partially offset by an in-
crease in advertising revenue, according
to the filing to Bursa Malaysia.
Its earnings per share fell to 0.11 sen,
from 2.03 sen in last year’s third quarter.
Nevertheless, the group announced its
third interim dividend single-tier dividend
of 0.75 sen per ordinary share for the fi-
nancial year ending Jan 31, 2023, to be
paid on Jan 13.
Year-to-date (9MFY2023), net prof-
it plunged to RM204.28 million from
RM334.29 million from the preceding
year’s corresponding period, partly due
to higher financing cost, offset by lower
tax expenses, depreciation of right-of-use
assets and depreciation of property, plant
and equipment.
Due to a decrease in merchandise sales
and subscription revenue, the group also
reported lower revenue of RM2.8 billion
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Eco World
International Bhd (EWI) recorded a bigger
net loss of RM95.73 million for the fourth
quarter ended Oct 31, 2022 (4QFY2022)
from RM56.26 million a year earlier, due
to further impairment on the group’s invest-
ment in EcoWorld-Ballymore in London.
This is the group’s highest quarterly net
loss since it was listed on the Main Market
of Bursa Malaysia in 2017.
Quarterly revenue rose to RM43.15 mil-
lion from RM34.75 million in 4QFY2021,
thanks to a higher number of units sold
and handed over to customers, EWI said
in a filing.
The revenue comprises the sales proceeds
from its property projects in Australia, name-
ly West Village and Yarra One, and the fees
for marketing services rendered by a subsid-
iary to the group’s joint venture in respect
of property sales of its projects in the UK.
For FY2022 as a whole, EWI suffered
a net loss of RM234.42 million com-
pared to a net profit of RM13.57 million
in FY2021. This is the group’s highest an-
nual net loss since its listing. Annual reve-
nue declined to RM159.96 million against
RM572.71 million previously.
7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Astro’s 3Q profit
drops amid
higher forex
losses, pays 0.75
sen dividend
BY SUFI MUHAMAD
theedgemarkets.com
in its year-to-date, from RM3.14 billion
(9MFY2022).
Commenting on its performance, group
chief executive office of Astro, Henry Tan,
said the group remained cash generative
and proactive in its capital management.
“We recorded normalised Patami of
RM73 million in 3QFY2023; Patami was
EWI posts bigger
4Q loss, but
manages to turn
net cash positive
BY HAILEY CHUNG
theedgemarkets.com
EWI achieved RM2.158 billion sales
in FY2022, 57% higher than the sales
achieved in FY2021, and 8% above its
RM2 billion sales target for FY2022.
“The higher sales achieved in FY2022
has enabled the group to turn net cash
positive earlier than anticipated with cash
balances having exceeded total borrowings
as at Oct 31,” the group said.
According to EWI’s financial statement,
its total borrowings as of Oct 31, 2022
stood at RM482.8 million, while cash and
bank balances totalled RM655.3 million.
With the net cash of RM172.5 mil-
lion, EWI said sufficient funds had been
impacted by higher unrealised forex loss
due to transponder finance lease liabilities
as the US dollar appreciated,” said Tan in
a statement.
“Going forward, we are continuously
investing in our transformation for long-
term and sustainable growth, focusing on
content, broadband, streaming, customer
experience, data, addressable advertising
and technology to better serve custom-
ers,” he added.
“We expect to continue aggregating the
best streaming apps and adding on lifestyle
apps which are relevant for Malaysians in
the near future.”
Tan also said that Astro’s addressable
advertising gained traction in the market to
enhance a unified audience measurement
on linear, on demand and OTT platforms.
“We expect addressable advertising to
have increased industry adoption over time
and to continue growing into the future.”
Meanwhile, in a separate bourse fil-
ing on Thursday (Dec 15), Astro said it
has appointed Mathew James Turner as
non-independent and non-executive alter-
nate director. Turner is currently the chief
financial officer of Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd
(UTSB) and director of UTSB subsidi-
ary, TGV Cinemas Sdn Bhd and Media
Innovations Holdings Pty Ltd in Australia.
At market close, Astro Malaysia Hold-
ings Bhd fell 0.5 sen or 0.70% to 71 sen,
with a market capitalisation of RM3.7
billion.
set aside to fully settle the medium term
notes (MTN) — the bulk of the group’s
total borrowings — when they mature in
May 2023.
EWI’s core business involves proper-
ty development outside Malaysia. It has
19 existing and upcoming projects in the
UK and Australia with a total gross de-
velopment value of 4.7 billion pounds
(RM25.59 billion) and A$700 million
(RM2.09 billion) respectively.
In 4QFY2022, the EcoWorld-Ballymore
development had a further impairment
amounting to RM37.95 million. EWI ex-
plained that changes in market environment
had led to a slowdown in sales, higher yield
for valuation of commercial properties and
higher weighted average cost of capital ap-
plied in determining the recoverable amount
of its investment in EcoWorld-Ballymore.
“Going forward, a longer time period
may be required to generate future sales
proceeds. However, the management will
steadfastly proceed to clear the invento-
ries,” the group said.
Read the full story
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Analysts cut Top Glove earnings estimates,

TPs after surprise 1Q profit miss
BY JUSTIN LIM Big four glove makers comparison
theedgemarkets.com
Company Recommendation Average **Closing YTD
12-month price change
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Analysts target price
have slashed their earnings estimates and (RM) (%)
target prices (TPs) for Top Glove Corp Top Glove Buy: 1, Hold: 3, Sell: 18 0.61 0.785 -70.66
Bhd after the glove maker’s latest financial Hartalega Buy: 1, Hold: 7, Sell: 13 1.67 1.57 -73.30
result came in below their expectations. Supermax Buy: 0, Hold: 3, Sell: 7 0.61 0.81 -45.58
At a glance, Bloomberg data showed that Kossan Buy: 3, Hold: 8, Sell: 8 1.10 1.10 -44.27
the average 12-month TP for Top Glove ** closing price on Dec 14, 2022
rated by analysts is 61 sen — 22% lower Source: Bloomberg
than Top Glove’s closing price of 78.5 sen
on Wednesday (Dec 14) — with the lowest cost per unit due to the low utilisation rate,” the weaker sales order and lower utilisation
TP at 32 sen. MIDF Research said in a note on Thursday. rate which resulted in higher production cost
Against the backdrop of persistent head- This came after Top Glove on Wednes- per unit,” MIDF Research added.
winds, MIDF Research trimmed its earn- day announced a core net loss of RM131.4 CGS-CIMB Securities also cut its earn-
ings projection for Top Glove by 77.8% million for the first quarter ended Nov 30, ings forecasts and downgraded itsTP forTop
for the financial year ending Aug 31, 2023 2022 (1QFY2023) and missed the research Glove to 46 sen (from 50 sen), citing that it
(FY2023) and 60.7% for FY2024. house’s expectations. believes the current valuations have yet to
The research house now anticipates Given the downward earnings adjustment, fully account forTop Glove’s weak near-term
the group to deliver an annual net prof- MIDF Research has lowered its TP to 42 outlook and supply-led industry dynamics in
it of RM56.1 million in FY2023 and sen, from 54 sen previously, with a “sell” call. the global glove sector. The research outfit
RM129.2 million in FY2024, compared “We remain cautious about Top Glove’s had a “reduce” call for the group.
to RM235.97 million in FY2022. FY2023 outlook mainly due to its inability According to the research house,
“This is after accounting for a lower uti- to increase the ASP as customers can easily Top Glove’s 1QFY2023 core net loss of
lisation rate of 33.8% for FY2023 and 38% switch to other glovemakers that offer cheap- RM152.7 million was a negative surprise.
for FY2024, reduced ASP [average selling er prices. Besides, we think that the group It is now anticipating Top Glove to deliver
price] estimate of US$18.30 and US$20 may remain in the red for the next one to two a net loss of RM311 million in FY2023.
per 1,000 pieces, and higher production quarters before attaining break-even due to To recap, Top Glove said during the re-
sults briefing on Wednesday that it expects
at least another loss-making quarter ahead,
Stockbroking firms’ TPs and recommendations for Top Glove before it can return to profitability — prob-
Stockbrocking firm Recommendation Target price (RM) ably in the next nine to 12 months — amid
CLSA Securities Sell 0.32 a persisting supply glut that has sent prices
Maybank IB Sell 0.35 tumbling to their “lowest in history”.
TA Securities Sell 0.45
Top Glove started its first quarter
of FY2023 with net loss widening to
JP Morgan Underweight 0.45
RM168.24 million from RM52.59 million,
CGS-CIMB Reduce 0.46 as revenue for the three months ended Nov
BIMB Securities Sell 0.48 30, 2022 dropped 36.11% to RM632.53
Public Invest Underperform 0.53 million from RM990.1 million, dragged by
HLIB Research Sell 0.53 lower sales and lower ASPs of its products.
MIDF Sell 0.54 Sales volume or quantity sold has eased
Macquarie Underperform 0.55 by about 48% from the corresponding
Affin Hwang Sell 0.55 quarter last year (1QFY2022), when the
RHB Research Sell 0.57 group made a net profit of RM185.72 mil-
KAF Sell 0.58 lion on a revenue of RM1.61 billion.
Kenanga Underperform 0.60
No dividend was declared for the quar-
ter under review.
AmInvestment Sell 0.60
Top Glove was among the top 20 active
Citi Sell 0.60 stocks on Bursa Malaysia in mid-morning
Credit Suisse Underperform 0.62 trade on Thursday. The counter saw 13.26
JF Apex Securities Sell 0.68 million shares transacted so far.
Nomura Neutral 0.68 Top Glove shares fell as much as 4.46%
UOB KayHian Hold 0.74 or 3.5 sen to 75 sen, before paring some
Sadif Investment Strong sell 0.97 loss to end at 76 sen at the midday break.
HSBC Buy 1.81 Still, it was down by 2.5 sen or 3.18%. At
*KAF and HSBC’s date of review was during September 2022 76 sen, the group had a market capitali-
Source: Bloomberg sation of RM6.24 billion.
F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): RHB In-
vestment Bank Research said that reces-
sion fears for 2023 are over-done and that
it was bullish on the outlook.
In a Global Economics & Market Strat-
egy report on Thursday (Dec 15), RHB
IB said its 2023 global asset allocation is
overweight equities, market weight fixed
income, and underweight cash.
The research house said it believes that
some US equity markets are at early stages
of a bull market.
“We have been US dollar (USD) bulls
since December 2020. Peak USD strength
is behind us and we believe the greenback
will depreciate against Asian currencies
from 2Q2023-4Q2023.
“Our top pick in global equity markets
is the US and specifically the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA) Index.We expect
the DJIA Index to print a total return of
around 10-15% in 2023,” it said.
RHB continued to advocate buying In-
dia on dips and selling China on rallies,
adding that Southeast Asia will remain re-
silient in 2023.
“In fixed income, we advocate selecting
long-duration government bonds in the
US and Southeast Asia.
“In credit, we favor the US relative to
emerging markets (EM) high-yield bonds
as China-related risks will likely impinge
on sentiment for EM as an asset class. The
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The prop-
erty sector would remain challenging mov-
ing into 2023, with a lot of market correc-
tion needing to be put in place, due to a
clear oversupply of properties in certain
sectors and locations in the country, said
developers.
Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd manag-
ing director Mohd Imran Mohamad Sal-
im said the impact of the Covid-19 pan-
demic on the property market was very
obvious, including inflation, interest rates
hikes, productivity lag, labour shortages,
as well as issues in the supply chain which
either drive up cost or reduce productivity.
At the same time, property sales were im-
pacted due to the movement control order
(MCO) and the lockdowns implemented
throughout 2020 and 2021, he said dur-
ing a Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd’s
MARC360 webinar on Thursday (Dec 15),
themed “Property Outlook 2023”.
“We have a challenging few years ahead
(and) what is very important to note now is
that we see industry players who are really
looking into their business fundamentals.
“The developers are now focusing on
keeping their costs low, while looking into
the sort of products to put out there,” he
said.
10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Recession
fears for 2023
are over-done,
says RHB IB
Research
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemarkets.com
average returns in fixed income, we believe,
could be in the high single digits,” it said.
RHB IB said that in Southeast Asia,
GDP growth will slow to trend in 1H23,
followed by a recovery in 2H2023.
It said resilient labour market condi-
tions, tail winds from past loose fiscal and
monetary policies, and resilient US growth
is likely to keep the region well support-
ed in terms of economic activity in 2023.
It said the main area of weakness in
1H2023 will be real exports, where we
expect further weakening before recover-
ing in 2H23.
“Real exports in Southeast Asia will
mirror the deceleration we are expect-
ing in US private consumption growth in
1H2023 followed by a recovery in 2H2023.
2023 another
tough year
for property
sector as supply
glut persists –
developers
Bernama
Mohd Imran said the industry is also
figuring out the means and ways to launch
its products, as there is very clearly an over-
supply of properties in certain sectors and
locations in the country.
He said that to address this, developers
would come up with very innovative ways
to do sales and promote their products,
or even to extend migrating out from one
property sector to another.
“For example, a lot of developers
are moving away from certain sectors
of housing to industries development,
while some are just purely focusing on
Malaysia
“In Malaysia, our outlook for 2023 remains
cautiously optimistic amidst resilient do-
mestic demand, with private consumption
as the main driver of economic growth.
“Nevertheless, headwinds from the
external front are likely to weigh on the
economy. On the domestic front, issues of
limited fiscal space, elevated living costs
and labour shortages are likely to persist.
The research house said in Singapore,
growth momentum may slow into 1H2023
on the back of easing export demand and
worsening global economic conditions.
“We do not expect a technical reces-
sion (defined as two consecutive quarters
of negative sequential growth) in 2023.
“In Thailand, the gradual reopening of
China’s borders will be a boon to its tour-
ism-related industries.
“We are cautious about growth in In-
donesia as inflation stays elevated amidst
moderating commodity prices,” it said.
Read also:
YX Precious Metals is staging a
breakout, says RHB Retail Research
Aemulus set to propel northwards, says
RHB Retail Research
niche commercial developments.
“A lot of developers are also giving all
kinds of different offerings to help inves-
tors or property buyers pick up the existing
stock,” he said.
Mohd Imran also noted that for con-
sumers, now is a very good time to pur-
chase as the property sector is experiencing
the cycle to address stock which is readily
available, in addition to a lot of innovative
offerings.
He said that as new developments are
being planned, the market meanwhile will
definitely see a cost increase due to the cur-
rent supply of material and labour costs.
On the mismatch in the current pricing
issue, Mohd Imran said there is a need
for the adoption of better practices in the
property sector or policies that could help
both the buyer and developer mitigate the
current difficult situation in the property
sector, as well as be more flexible in the
future.
“So, I do not see a demand drop in the
long term. However, we are hopeful to see
certain policies improve, especially on ac-
cess to end financing.
Read the full story
 f r i d a y d e c e m B ER 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 11 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

news In brief

UEM Sunrise injects Johor plots Petronas lifts suspension against

into JV with CapitaLand to expand Deleum unit
Nusajaya Tech Park KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Deleum Bhd
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): UEM Sunrise said Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas)
Bhd is injecting freehold plots measuring a has lifted its suspension against the
total of 94.9ha in Johor into its joint venture group’s indirect subsidiary Deleum
with CapitaLand Development of Singapore Technology Solutions Sdn Bhd (DTS).
— Nusajaya Tech Park Sdn Bhd (NTPSB) — DTS — formerly Deleum Primera Sdn
for the expansion of new industrial phases in Bhd — received a letter from Petronas
the Nusajaya Tech Park in Iskandar Puteri. stating that the uplift was effective
In a statement, UEM Sunrise said its indirect Shell Malaysia appoints Siti Hurrairah from Monday (Dec 12), said Deleum
wholly owned Nusajaya Rise Sdn Bhd has Sulaiman as country chair in a bourse filing. “DTS is required to
inked two sale and purchase agreements KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Shell Malaysia has submit an application to renew its licence
with NTPSB, which is jointly owned by UEM appointed Siti Hurrairah Sulaiman as its new for a period of one year in accordance
Sunrise’s wholly owned UEM Land Bhd and country chair, effective from Jan 1, 2023. In with Petronas Licensing & Registration
CapitaLand’s indirect unit Ascendas Land a statement, the company said Siti Hurrairah requirements, and subject to compliance
(Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, for the sale of the plots will oversee all Shell Malaysia businesses, in with other terms and conditions imposed
for RM289.2 million. The 94.9ha comprise: addition to her role as the senior vice-president by Petronas,” added Deleum. The group
27.4ha in Mukim Tanjung Kupang, Johor for the upstream business in the country. Siti expects the uplift of the suspension to
Bahru, made up of four agriculture plots Hurrairah will succeed Datuk Ivan Tan, who improve its future prospects. On March
and one plot with buildings erected; and will be taking on the role of the executive vice- 26, 2021, DTS was suspended from
67.5ha in Mukim Pulai, Johor Bahru, made president, wells, for the Shell group and who participating in the national oil company’s
up of four more blocks of agriculture land. will be based in The Hague, Netherlands. “Siti tender and contracts amid reports of
The transaction is to expand Nusajaya Tech Hurrairah will be the first female country chair alleged unethical and integrity issues
Park, currently home to many multinational and senior vice-president of upstream for Shell from the company, linked to operations
corporations, including small and medium- Malaysia,” said the company. — Bernama of Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd. — by Sufi
sized enterprises. NTPSB is the developer of Muhamad
Nusajaya Tech Park. “With the acquisition of Omesti disposes 12.63% stake in
these extended lands, NTPSB will own and Microlink for RM74.25 mil ERL to resume KLIA Ekspres, KLIA
develop an industrial park measuring a total KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Omesti Bhd’s Transit services from Jan 3 next year
size of 150.1ha or 371.0 acres, offering an wholly-owned subsidiary Omesti Holdings Bhd KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Express Rail
estimated total GDV (gross development (OHB) has entered into share sale agreements Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) will resume its Kuala
value) of RM1.5 billion, to be developed over with Gading Sari Ventures Sdn Bhd and Mary Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)
an anticipated development timeframe of Anne Woon Lai Kheng for the disposal of 135 Ekspres and KLIA Transit services from
eight to ten years,” said UEM Sunrise. million ordinary shares in Microlink Solutions Jan 3, 2023, to cater to the increasing
— by Sufi Muhamad Bhd for RM74.25 million. In a filing with Bursa passenger ridership. ERL in a statement
Malaysia, Omesti said the proposed disposal on Thursday (Dec 15) said that the
represented 12.63% of the total number of resumption was made after it had been
issued shares of Microlink at an average of running combined train services following
55 sen per share. “Following the disposals, the drop in passenger ridership due to the
OHB now holds a balance of 390.59 million Covid-19 pandemic. “With the resumption
Microlink shares, representing 36.55% equity of the dedicated services, the KLIA
interest in the company,” said the technology Ekspres will run every 20 minutes during
group. Proceeds from the proposed disposals morning and evening peak hours,” read the
would be used to pare down its borrowings and statement. The statement said the KLIA
for working capital. — Bernama Transit frequency would also be revised to
run every 15 minutes during weekday peak
hours, with the peak hours extended to
Axis REIT declares fourth income distribution of 2.09 sen per unit 8pm from 7pm currently, adding that the
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has declared KLIA Ekspres train departure point would
a fourth interim income distribution of 2.09 sen per unit bringing its total income revert to the Departure Hall platform.
distribution for the year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022) to 9.51 sen. The 2.09 sen — Bernama
distribution, in respect of the period from Oct 1 till Dec 22, will be paid on Jan 20
next year. The ex-date is Dec 29 and the entitlement date is Dec 30. Of the 2.09 sen
distribution, 1.75 sen is taxable and 0.34 sen non-taxable, according to the group’s
bourse filing. On Oct 19, Axis REIT announced its third interim income distribution
of 2.45 sen per unit, along with its financial results for 3QFY2022. Its net property
income for the quarter climbed 12.54% to RM64.64 million from RM54.64 million a
year earlier, on the back of rental income from newly acquired properties. The REIT
also reported revenue of RM71.71 million, an increase of 16.39% compared with
RM61.61 million for 3QFY21 due to higher property income. — by Sufi Muhamad
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

1MDB-Tanore trial: Former AmBank

manager thought she was not to contact
Najib about his accounts as he was PM
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Former
AmBank relationship manager Joanna
Yu told the court on Thursday (Dec 15)
that it might have been her own percep-
tion that she was not to approach Datuk
Seri Najib Razak when she was handling
his personal accounts with the bank as he
was the prime minister at the time.
She was answering questions from de-
fence lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee
Abdullah, who was asking her about Na-
jib’s AmPrivate Islamic accounts with the
bank during the 1Malaysia Development
Bhd-Tanore (1MDB-Tanore) trial, so-
named because it involved 1MDB’s deal-
ings with Tanore Finance Corp, a company
the prosecution contends is linked to fugi-
tive financier Low Taek Jho (Jho Low), and
through which 1MDB’s money had been
allegedly siphoned into Najib’s accounts.
Yu said it was her perception that “pro-
tocol-wise” only AmBank’s then managing
director Cheah Tek Kuang and Jho Low
had access to Najib.
“Protocol-wise, I was told he was the
PM... protocol-wise, we don’t deal directly
BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM &
TARANI PALANI
theedgemarkets.com
He also argued that the prosecution
would, at the end of its case, submit that
the letters have been found to be a fab-
rication.
If the trial judge was leaning towards
admitting the letters, then it should be
marked only as documents received by the
bank, and not on its authenticity, he added.
The trial judge, he argued, can make a
determination on its authenticity later at
the end of the prosecution’s case.
Citing case laws, Muhammad Shafee
countered that the principle of estoppel —
which prevents a person from contradicting
what is implied by a previous action or by
a previous pertinent judicial decision —
Yu said it was her
perception that
“protocol-wise”
only AmBank’s then
does not apply when the accused is trying
to maintain a defence.
“The prosecution is saying cut off their
foot and knees so that they can’t walk and
they can’t do the defence because these
documents form one of the very basis of
the defence...” Muhammad Shafee said.
“They are basically saying that the en-
tire defence has been chopped off. [If that’s
the case,] my client might as well plead
guilty,” he added.
The letters were later admitted as evi-
dence in the case, merely for the purpose
of establishing that the documents exist
and that the bank had received them. The
veracity of the documents will be deter-
mined by the trial judge later.
Najib, 69, is on trial on four counts of
abuse of power and 21 counts of money
laundering involving RM2.28 billion of
1MDB funds.
The trial before High Court judge Da-
tuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah will con-
tinue on Jan 27.
ZAHID IZZANI MOHD SAID/THE EDGE

with the PM,” she said. managing director

Below is an excerpt of Yu and Muham-
mad Shafee’s exchange:
Muhammad Shafee: Who told you
this?
Yu: Cheah and Jho Low, they would
meet the PM, not people like us.
Muhammad Shafee: Who told you
this frightening story about the PM? That
protocol-wise, [you] can’t meet the PM...?
Yu: It’s perhaps my own perception.
Muhammad Shafee: No one told
you this?
Yu: I thought the PM of Malaysia won’t
have time to meet me.
Yu then said she had never tried to con-
tact Najib.
Arab donation letters admitted as
evidence on existence, not veracity
During Wednesday’s proceedings, Muham-
mad Shafee wanted Yu to identify several
letters that have been described as ‘Arab
donation letters’ to prove that the mon-
ies that went into Najib’s private accounts
were just that — donations — so that they
could be admitted as evidence. This was
objected to by the prosecution.
The letters, addressed to Najib, were
Cheah Tek Kuang
and Jho Low had
access to Najib.
from the former governor of Madinah
Province, Saud Abdulaziz Majid Al Saud,
and dated between 2011 and 2014. They
stated, among others, that the donations
to Najib was a gesture of “good faith” and
was a gift for the work he had done in
governing Malaysia, in line with Islamic
principles.
During Thursday’s submissions, sen-
ior public prosecutor Datuk Seri Go-
pal Sri Ram argued that the defence’s
attempt to admit the letters was “an
exercise in futility”, as the court was
bound by the findings made in Na-
jib’s SRC International Sdn Bhd
case.
“The High Court, Court of
Appeal and the Federal Court Former AmBank
have given no weight, given zero relationship manager
Joanna Yu: I thought
weight, to those letters.... If it
the PM of Malaysia
were to be put as defence (ev- won’t have time to
idence), we say it will come meet me.
to nothing,” the former Fed-
eral Court judge said.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): The High
Court has deferred delivering its verdict
on former Repco Holdings Bhd chairman
Low Thiam Hock’s appeal against his con-
viction and sentence with regards to his
offence of market manipulation of Repco
shares in 1997.
This follows Judicial Commissioner
(JC) Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid wanting
the defence, led by lawyers Tan Sri Mu-
hammad Shafee Abdullah and New Sin
Yew, to put in their written submissions
on the sentencing before Azhar delivers
the decision, as the JC noted that the SC,
represented by deputy public prosecutor
(DPP) Shoba Venu Gobal, had already pro-
vided the submissions on this in February.
“I noticed there is no submission ten-
dered over sentencing by the defence.
Hence, we will fix another date before the
end of this year after Christmas for this,”
Azhar said on Thursday (Dec 15).
Shafee earlier noted that the court can
use its discretion to deliver the verdict first
and the parties could submit on sentencing
if the guilty verdict is upheld, while Shoba,
who appeared with SC DPPs Mohd Izzud-
din Mohamad and Mohd Hafiz MohdYu-
soff, also indicated the same.
However, Azhar preferred that the writ-
ten submissions on the sentencing be put
in by the defence and fixed Dec 28 to de-
liver his decision.
The Sessions Court had in 2016 found
60-year-old Low, better known as Rep-
co Low, guilty of market manipulation of
PASIR MAS (Dec 15): All the aid and in-
centives given by the previous government
to flood victims will be continued, includ-
ing the Bantuan Wang Ihsan of RM1,000
to each household, said Deputy Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi.
He said the aid would only be given to
registered and eligible flood victims.
“This payment will be made soon be-
fore the flood recedes, and before victims
return to their respective homes.
“Based on past experience, we found
that the number of registered flood victims
is not the same as the number of applica-
tions,” he said after visiting flood victims
at Sekolah Kebangsaan Gual Tok Deh here
on Thursday (Dec 15).
Also present were Kelantan Menteri Be-
sar Datuk AhmadYakob, Deputy Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department Da-
tuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong, and Rantau
Panjang Member of Parliament Datuk Siti
Zailah Mohd Yusoff.
Zahid, who is also the rural and regional
development minister, said the Govern-
ment, together with the implementing
13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Court defers
delivering verdict
on Repco Low’s
appeal
BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemarkets.com
Repco shares and sentenced him to five
years’ jail and a RM5 million fine, which
he is presently appealing against.
The former chairman of Rep-
co was charged under Section
84(1) of the Securities Industry
Act 1983 for carrying out acts
calculated to create a mislead-
ing appearance, with respect
to the price of Repco shares
on the Kuala Lumpur Stock
Exchange on Dec 3, 1997.
Former Repco
Holdings Bhd
chairman
Low Thiam Hock
ZAHID IZZANI MOHD SAID/THE EDGE
Aid, incentives
for flood victims
by previous govt
to continue,
says Zahid
Bernama
agencies, will continue to take proactive
measures to ensure the aid could be chan-
nelled smoothly and in an orderly manner.
Prior to this, the previous adminis-
tration under Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri
Yaakob announced RM10,000 for each
household affected by floods in Tereng-
ganu and Kelantan.
He said the aid would include RM2,500
for the purchase of essential goods, a dis-
count for vehicle repair, a RM500 rebate
for purchase of electrical appliances, and
repair of houses damaged in the floods.
Low was initially acquitted without his
defence being called, and the decision was
upheld by the High Court. But the Court
of Appeal reversed the decision and or-
dered him to enter his defence, and the
trial resumed in the Sessions Court be-
fore another judge, which ended in his
conviction.
In October, Low’s defence team submit-
ted that the Sessions Court judge had erred
in not taking into consideration the expert
witness and empirical research to show that
it was not market manipulation as alleged
in the charge, but an averaging in.
The prosecution, meanwhile, said the
Sessions Court did not err in its decision
and the conviction as there was suf-
ficient appreciation of evidence
by the learned Sessions Court
judge specific to the mens rea
(criminal intent) of Low when
he made the purchases of the
Repco shares.
Read also: Prosecution’s star
witness unwell, court post-
pones Shahrir Samad’s
case to Dec 22
Zahid said the Government is also
committed to continuing any project that
had been approved by the previous ad-
ministration, such as flood mitigation,
which will be implemented as soon as
possible.
“During the special Parliament session
this Dec 19, the Government will table
the emoluments and expenses for ongoing
projects,” he said.
On damaged roads in rural areas, Zahid
said the matter is being coordinated for
immediate implementation by the ministry.
In a related development, Ahmad Zahid
said the Government will also continue
to carry out long-term flood management
to overcome the country’s flood problems
until 2100.
He said it would be carried out in phas-
es over a 78-year period.
“[These] flood mitigation projects,
which involve huge allocation, will be
carried out in phases in areas that often
experience floods,” he said, adding that
the projects would include deepening of
river estuaries to facilitate the flow of wa-
ter to the sea.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
BERNAMA
BN, PH yet to
discuss pact for
next year’s state
polls, says
Tok Mat
Bernama
REMBAU (Dec 15): Barisan Na-
sional (BN) has yet to hold talks on
collaborating with Pakatan Hara-
pan (PH) in the six state elections
next year, said BN deputy chairman
Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Mohamad, who is also the Umno
deputy president, said the parties
involved need to hold discussions
first before making any decision on
collaborating.
“Let the parties involved hold
talks because nothing has been dis-
cussed yet,” he told reporters after
attending the Rembau Area Farm-
ers’ Organisation meet-the-custom-
ers day here on Thursday (Dec 15).
Next year, state elections will be
held for Selangor, Penang, Negeri
Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and
Terengganu.
PH secretary general Datuk
Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
was quoted as saying on Wednes-
day that PH had not decided yet
if it will work with BN in the six
state elections, as the coalition is
now focused on strengthening the
working relationship with BN in
the Unity Government.
14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Wider
understanding
of development
needed for holistic
progress, says
Sultan Nazrin
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): An alter-
native understanding of development is
crucial in keeping up with changes in
global dynamics and modern challenges
that threaten the very basis of the pro-
gress achieved, said Sultan of Perak Sul-
tan Nazrin Shah.
The Perak Ruler said a wider under-
standing of development must include
both in the expected external and unex-
pected inner aspects such as the intellec-
tual, spiritual and civilisational sense.
“We must be clear that a nation’s de-
velopment is linked not only to how much
money we have, or to how many modern
buildings and highways we can construct.
“There are countries with the finest
state-of-the-art buildings that money can
buy, yet unemployment and poverty — in
the sense of economic, as well as spiritual
poverty — are still widespread.
“True development entails holistic
progress in all areas and must include its
non-material elements and inner dimen-
sions,” said Sultan Nazrin.
The Perak Ruler said this when launch-
ing the late Royal Professor Ungku Abdul
No law to regulate
Airbnb, Melaka
state assembly told
Bernama
MELAKA (Dec 15): The Melaka State
Legislative Assembly was on Thursday
(Dec 15) told that the absence of a specif-
ic law to regulate the operation of Airbnb
makes it difficult for the state government
to monitor various issues related to the
service, especially on the safety of guests.
Airbnb lets property owners rent out
their spaces to travellers looking for a
place to stay.
Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid’s book enti-
tled “Vision of Development” at the In-
stitute of Islamic Understanding Malay-
sia (IKIM) here on Thursday (Dec 15),
in conjunction with IKIM International
Forum entitled the “Royal Professor Un-
gku A Aziz, Expanding the Frontiers of
Development”.
Paying tribute to the late Ungku Ab-
dul Aziz, he said his holistic vision and
approaches should encourage people to
rethink and expand their understanding
of development.
Sultan Nazrin said the renowned acad-
emician was not only an outstanding econ-
omist and an institution builder but also
a far-sighted thought leader and develop-
ment thinker.
“Ungku Abdul Aziz was also rightly cel-
ebrated for his contribution to the Muslim
ummah, and we should not forget that his
concern for the affairs of Islam and Mus-
lim society went well beyond the idea of
establishing Tabung Haji, which is admired
throughout the Muslim world.
“He fully embraced the inner, more
spiritual dimensions of development, at
the same time as pursuing its outer ma-
terial and worldly concerns,” said Sultan
Nazrin.
His Highness said Ungku Abdul Aziz’s
universal vision of development and reli-
gion should not be an obstacle to econom-
ic progress but should be a motivation for
expanding the frontiers of development to
be more comprehensive and civilisational.
Also present at the ceremony were Min-
ister in the Prime Minister’s Department
(Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im
Mokhtar, IKIM director-general Prof Dr
Mohd Azam Mohd Adli, and former Bank
Negara governor and Ungku Abdul Aziz’s
daughter Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz.
State Tourism, Heritage and Culture
Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad
Jailani Khamis hopes that the Ministry
of Tourism, Arts and Culture would look
into the matter, as there is no law requir-
ing the registration of Airbnb operators.
“We cannot monitor matters related to
safety, insurance and cleanliness of Airb-
nb,” he said in response to a supplemen-
tary question by Low Chee Leong (Pa-
katan Harapan-Kota Laksamana) on the
status of Airbnb registration in the state.
To an original question from Dr
Mohd Aleef Yusof (Perikatan Nasion-
al-Sungai Udang) on efforts to revive
the hotel industry, Muhammad Jailani
said it could be done through recruit-
ment for the workforce, especially from
outside the state, through internship pro-
grammes.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
Understanding the
risks of tax arrears
and how to resolve
them for the
coming new year
T
he importance of settling
your tax arrears with the
Inland Revenue Board of
Malaysia (IRBM) cannot
be understated. Tax arrears are the
amount of tax that remain unpaid by
the taxpayer after the period stipu-
lated by the IRBM.
The law stipulates that individuals
who receive an employment income,
and not a business income, have to
pay their annual tax no later than
April 30 every year. As for individ-
uals who own a business, they are
required to declare all their annual
tax amounts no later than June 30
every year.
For companies, it is mandatory
to pay all their tax amounts within
seven months after the closing date
of their accounting period.
Risks, penalties and legal
proceedings
Regardless of whether individuals
are unable to pay their tax arrears
within the period stipulated or ne-
glected the payment on purpose
15
or by accident, there are ramifica-
tions. For starters, the tax arrears
will continue to increase with the
higher amount of outstanding tax,
resulting in higher taxes.
Failing to settle your tax arrears
will also result in restricted overseas
travel. Thus, those who have yet to
settle their tax arrears may be barred
from leaving the country by the Im-
migration Department of Malaysia.
Furthermore, there is the possi-
bility of taxpayers being subject to
legal action for failing to settle their
tax arrears. This could include the
confiscation and auctioning of mov-
able properties and in certain cases,
bankruptcy or liquidation actions may
be taken. Both the court costs and in-
terests will also be claimed against the
taxpayers based on the court order.
How to better understand
and educate yourself on
taxation
The best way to safeguard your
interests and position is by under-
standing the rules and regulations
THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
of Malaysian income tax laws. Tax-
payers are encouraged to refer to
the official IRBM portal at www.
hasil.gov.my. EduZone, which is a
platform for taxation education,
is also an important resource with
brochures, articles and videos relat-
ed to taxation available to visitors.
Taxpayers can visit IRBM’s of-
ficial social media channel and the
portals of certified taxation firms
that specialise in taxation for fur-
ther information. Avoid sourcing
information from unofficial social
media channels and accounts as
the information could have been
obtained from unverified sources.
Taxpayers should also be wary of
scams and calls requesting for tax
payments. Always contact IRBM
to get confirmation before making
any transaction.
Additionally, taxpayers can uti-
lise IRBM’s MyTax App to track their
latest tax position. The one-stop
centre allows taxpayers to check
their tax status and outstanding
balance, declare their taxes as well
as access the latest tax information
from IRBM.
The statement of tax position
can also be downloaded from the
e-Lejar application through MyTax.
Alternatively, taxpayers can make
enquiries into their payment records
and tax position by contacting the
collection department at the branch
handling their file or calling the Hasil
Care Line.
Seek help and assistance
Understanding the challenges tax-
payers face when it comes to tax-
ation matters, the IRBM has set
up several channels for the public
to access information and provide
feedback. This includes contacting
the IRBM through the Hasil Care
Line at (03) 8911 1000/ (03) 8911
1100 (overseas), and through the
Hasil Live Chat and customer feed-
back form on IRBM’s official portal
at www.hasil.gov.my as well as on
IRBM’s official Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram accounts.
For taxpayers who are unable
to fully settle their outstanding tax
amount, they can contact the IRBM
to discuss instalment payments. The
IRBM instalment payment method
is subject to prior approval and re-
quires taxpayers to provide doc-
umentation such as monthly cash
flow statements, latest months’
bank statements, a list of monthly
commitments and the number of
proposed instalments. Taxpayers
can also lodge an appeal on the tax
increase imposed and the appeal
will be considered by IRBM based
on the merits of each case.
Based on the information pro-
vided here, taxpayers can limit
their tax arrears through proper
information and communication
with the IRBM. Do ensure your tax
arrears are settled no later than Dec
30, 2022, and make sure to keep
expense receipts on year 2022 for
tax relief purposes.
To find out more, visit the official
IRBM portal at www.hasil.gov.my
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
BOE says inflation may have peaked
as rates hit 14-year high
(Dec 15): The Bank of England said
Britain’s inflation rate may already have
peaked and that two of its policy mak-
ers believe interest rates are already high
enough to drain pricing pressure.
The UK central bank lifted its bench-
mark lending rate a half point to 3.5%, the
ninth increase in a year aimed at taming
soaring prices and the highest level since
the start of the global financial crisis in
2008.
“The majority of the committee judged
that, should the economy evolve broadly
in line with the November Monetary Pol-
icy Report Projections, further increases
in bank rate may be required,” Governor
Andrew Bailey wrote in a letter to Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.
The BOE’s half-point increase was in
lock-step with moves of the same size from
the US Federal Reserve last night and the
European Central Bank later Thursday.
Divisions on the BOE’s nine-member
Monetary Policy Committee along the
bank’s estimate that the UK is already
in recession may further slow the pace of
rate rises in the coming months. Governor
Andrew Bailey said risks to the outlook
for inflation remain tilted to the “upside”
and that the BOE remains determined
to bring inflation back to its 2% target.
“Inflation may be coming down but it
would be premature for the BOE to claim
victory,” said Karen Ward, chief market
strategist EMEA at JP Morgan Asset Man-
agement. “The BOE may be able to mod-
erate the pace and speed of interest rate
hikes, but we believe we are at least 100bps
from the peak.”
UK money market traders pared rate
hike wagers, pricing interest rates will rise to
4.52% by August compared to 4.61% before
Thursday’s half-point increase.The pound
fell against both the euro and the dollar.
Hunt appeared to take pressure off the
BOE to raise rates in his first exchange of
letters with the governor since he became
16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BY REED LANDBERG & PHILIP ALDRICK
Bloomberg
chancellor. His predecessors had urged the
bank to act “forcefully” against rising in-
flation — an implicit direction that the
government was watching the committee
closely. Hunt dropped that language.
“I know that the MPC will continue to
take the action necessary,” Hunt wrote.
The letters are triggered every quarter if
inflation strays more than 1 percentage
point away from the 2% target.
In a statement from the Treasury after
the decision, Hunt acknowledged higher
rates will be difficult for many households.
“I know this is tough for people right now,
but it is vital that we stick to our plan, working
in lockstep with the Bank of England as they
take action to return inflation to target,” Hunt
said. “The sooner we grip inflation the better.”
The BOE’s MPC split three ways on
the decision. Six members including Bai-
ley voted for the half-point rise. Catherine
Mann favored three-quarters of a point,
while Silvana Tenreyro and Swati Dhingra
backed leaving rates unchanged.
Minutes of the meeting showed the ma-
jority of policy makers considered “the la-
bour market remained tight, and there had
been evidence that inflationary pressures in
domestic prices and wages that could indi-
cate greater persistence and thus justified a
further forceful monetary policy response.”
For Dhingra and Tenreyro, previous rate
rises had yet to have a full impact on the
economy and were “more than sufficient”
to bring inflation back to target.
The panel dropped guidance that it is-
sued in November, when it said the path
for interest rates implied by financial mar-
kets was too aggressive.The minutes said
the majority of the panel now believe
further increases in bank rate might be
required — if the economy evolves in
line with its November forecast.
Officials at the BOE estimate the
economy is slightly stronger than it antici-
pated in November. Gross domestic prod-
uct in the fourth quarter probably will fall
0.1% following a decline of 0.5% in the
third quarter.
The government’s fiscal package re-
leased last month will support the econo-
my next year but depress output in three
year’s time, the BOE said. GDP will be
0.4% stronger at the end of 2023 than
previously forecast, but it will be 0.5%
weaker at the end of 2025, according to
the central bank’s estimates.
The government’s cap on energy bills
from April will bring headline inflation
down by 0.75 of a percentage point in the
second quarter, the BOE said.
The BOE is dealing with the highest
level of inflation in four decades and signs
that it is becoming embedded in wage-set-
ting. That has led to the fastest monetary
tightening cycle since the late 1980s.
The BOE also said:
• It will publish a market notice at 6pm
Friday outlining the progress of gilt
sales under its quantitative tightening
program
• the pace of its corporate bond sales
is running ahead of schedule, which
“would permit an earlier unwind of
the portfolio than initially anticipated”
• QT sales and redemptions have re-
duced the BOE’s stock of bonds by
£44 billion this year
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
W O R L D
Thailand raises
BANGKOK (Dec 15): Thailand will in-
crease retail power tariff for commercial
power tariff for
users by about 21% from next month to
help electricity producers cope with rising
businesses as
cost of imported natural gas.
The average tariff for electricity users
cost surges
in agriculture, commerce, manufacturing
and services sectors will increase to 5.69
baht (16 cents) per unit during the Janu-
ary-April period, from 4.72 baht currently,
the Energy Regulatory Commission said BY PATHOM SANGWONGWANICH,
in a statement on Thursday. SUTTINEE YUVEJWATTANA &
The regulator left the tariff for house- ANUCHIT NGUYEN
hold users unchanged. Bloomberg
While the latest hike will ease the liquid-
ity crunch faced by state utility Electrici-
ty Generating Authority of Thailand that
has borne the cost of subsidising a part of
the electricity charges for the public and
commercial users, it may also stoke retail
inflation. The Federation of Thai Indus-
tries on Wednesday said companies will
be forced to increase product prices by
5%-12%, if the government went ahead
with tariff increase.
The regulator said the hike was neces-
sitated by the higher cost of imported nat-
ural gas, to bridge a shortfall in gas supply
from the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar.
Goldman says
(Dec 15): Commodities will be the
best-performing asset class once again in
commodities
2023, handing investors returns of more
than 40%, according to Goldman Sachs
will gain 43% in
Group Inc.
The Wall Street bank said that while
2023 as supply
the first quarter may be “bumpy” due to
economic weakness in the US and Chi-
shortages bite
na, scarcities of raw materials from oil to
natural gas and metals will boost prices
after that.
Goldman predicted a multi-year
commodities supercycle in late 2020. BY PAUL WALLACE
It has stuck to that view even as energy Bloomberg
prices dipped in recent months due to
China’s coronavirus restrictions and a
global economic slowdown suppress-
ing demand.
“Despite a near doubling year-on-year
of many commodity prices by May 2022,
capex across the entire commodity com-
plex disappointed,” Goldman analysts in-
cluding Jeff Currie and Samantha Dart
wrote on Dec 14. “This is the single most
important revelation of 2022 — even the
extraordinarily high prices seen earlier this
year cannot create sufficient capital inflows
and hence supply response to solve long-
term shortages.”
The bank expects the S&P GSCI Total
Return Index — a leading measure of com-
modity-price movements — to rise 43%
in 2023. That would add to gains of 24%
so far this year. US stocks, by contrast,
17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
“Rising electricity cost will add to pro-
duction cost, which is already under pres-
sure from higher wages and interest rates,”
said Nattaporn Triratanasirikul, an econo-
mist at Kasikorn Research Center. “Pro-
ducers will eventually need to pass on the
costs to consumers. This will raise the risk
that headline inflation may exceed the tar-
get again next year.”
Shares of producers Global Power Syn-
ergy Pcl and B.Grimm Power Pcl jumped
more than 3% each in Bangkok, after the
tariff hike announcement. The companies
will benefit from sales to their industrial
customers, Capital Nomura Securities Pcl
BLOOMBERG wrote in a note.
Thailand, which generates about 55%
of its electricity from natural gas, has spent
billions of dollars in subsidies to cap pow-
er and diesel prices during the pandemic,
after the Ukraine war sent prices of most
fuels soaring.
Thai gas buyers have also been hurt by
the decline in baht against the US dollar
that has fueled import costs, prompting
the government to reduce the import of
liquefied natural gas via spot purchases till
the end of the year, and increase the use
of diesel in power plants.
are down around 16%, while government
bonds have also fallen.
Goldman’s far from alone among ana-
lysts and investors in being bullish on com-
modities. Many say a lack of exploration
for new oil fields and investment in mines
has led to dwindling stockpiles and tight
markets. The top 15 commodity-focused
hedge funds have increased their assets
by 50% this year to US$20.7 billion, ac-
cording to preliminary data from Bridge
Alternative Investments Inc.
“Without sufficient capex to create
spare supply capacity, commodities will
remain stuck in a state of long-run short-
ages, with higher and more volatile prices,”
Goldman’s analysts said.
The bank forecasts that Brent crude
will climb to US$105 a barrel in the final
quarter of 2023, up from US$82 today.
It sees copper jumping to US$10,050 a
ton from around US$8,400, and Asian
benchmark liquefied natural gas rising
from US$33 per million British thermal
units to US$53.10.
Still, some rival analysts are skeptical,
saying economies are too fragile for com-
modities to gain much more.
“The tide could be turning,” Citigroup
Inc analysts, led by Ed Morse, said this
month. “The possibility of a global reces-
sion poses a threat to an asset class that
has experienced a renaissance over the past
two years.”
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
HONG KONG (Dec 15): A small group of
HSBC’s Hong Kong-based retail investors
is seeking support to put a resolution to the
bank’s 2023 annual meeting calling on it
to restore its pre-pandemic dividend and
set a plan to spin off assets. HSBC “under-
performs its peers, violates dividend com-
mitments and ignores shareholders’ inter-
ests”, Ken Lui, the convener of the group
of shareholders calling for the spin-off of
HSBC Asia’s business, said in a newspa-
per advertisement on Thursday (Dec 15).
The London-headquartered lender,
opposed to breaking up its business, dis-
missed the possibility of the proposal gain-
ing traction among large shareholders.
“The conversations we’ve had with oth-
er institutional investors are that they also
do not believe there is an economic case
for splitting the bank,” a spokesperson for
HSBC said in written reply to a Reuters
query. Shareholders including Lui began
pushing for the spin-off earlier this year.
Their latest effort comes weeks after top
HSBC shareholder Ping An Insurance
Group Co of China made its first public
comments on the spin-off push, urging
the lender to aggressively reduce costs and
dispose of assets.
Lui said he had not reached out to Ping
An, but would welcome the Chinese insur-
er to join his group’s campaign.
Hong Kong is HSBC’s biggest mar-
ket and home to many retail shareholders.
Some who are outside Lui’s group have
also vocally supported Ping An’s spin-off
proposal.
But they are unlikely to have the heft to
force a vote on a break-up, analysts said.
HSBC said in August a spin-off would
mean potential long-term hits to its cred-
it rating, tax bill and operating costs, and
would bring immediate execution risks.
Dividend suspension
Hong Kong retail shareholders have been
particularly upset since HSBC scrapped
SINGAPORE (Dec 15): Citigroup Inc will
wind down its consumer banking business in
China, in a move that will affect about 1,200
local employees, the bank said on Thursday.
The group had announced plans in
April 2021 to exit its Chinese consumer
banking business, as part of a global strat-
egy to withdraw from consumer franchises
in 14 markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and Mexico.
Citi will explore options for around
1,200 employees who will be affected, in-
cluding helping them continue to work at
Citi in China or across the bank’s global
network, it said in a statement.
The exit will also affect deposits, insur-
18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
HSBC’s
he had contacted about 500 investors in
HSBC, from individuals to institutions.
disgruntled
Under Britain’s Companies Act of
2006, 100 minority shareholders with the
Hong Kong retail
same demand could propose a resolution
in the annual meeting of HSBC in April
shareholders
2023, he said.
It would call for a return to quarterly
campaign for
payments totalling US$0.51 (RM2.25)
a share per year, HSBC’s usual pre-pan-
spin-off
demic rate, and for the management to
prepare a definite spin-off plan.
The HSBC spokesperson said: “We are
targeting a dividend payout ratio of around
BY SELENA LI 50% for 2023 and 2024.”
Reuters But the quarterly dividend payout
could be at a lower level than the histor-
its formerly stable dividend in 2020 dur- ical US$0.10 per share, the spokesper-
ing the Covid-19 pandemic, when the son said. The bank usually paid US$0.10
Bank of England asked lenders to con- per share for three quarters, followed by
serve capital. US$0.21 for the final quarter.
The bank has resumed paying a divi- The bank remains “on track to hit all of
dend but not quarterly, and retail investors our financial targets”, including a return
are dissatisfied with payouts that, overall, on tangible equity of at least 12% from
are smaller than before. 2023 onwards, according to an emailed
The bank has said repeatedly this year statement.
that it will resume quarterly dividends be- Hong Kong-listed HSBC shares were
ginning in early 2023. down 1.77% on Thursday, while the
Lui told Reuters that for the campaign, benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 1.55%.
Citi to wind
ance, mortgages, investments, loans and
cards at the consumer banking business.
down consumer
“While we explored multiple strategic
options for our China consumer business
banking in China,
over the past several months, we believe that
this path makes the most sense and we are
affecting about focused on a seamless transition for our cli-
ents, partners and colleagues,” said Titi Cole,
1,200 staff
Citi’s CEO of Legacy Franchises.
As part of the wind-down process, Citi
will continue to pursue sales of portfoli-
os within its Chinese consumer banking
BY XIE YU business, the statement said.
Reuters
Read the full story
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
Grab to
implement
cost cuts, cites
uncertain
macroeconomic
situation —
CEO in memo
BY ANSHUMAN DAGA
Reuters
SINGAPORE (Dec 15): Grab Holdings
Ltd, Southeast Asia’s biggest ride-hail-
ing and food delivery firm, is rolling out
cost-cutting measures to cope with an un-
certain macroeconomic situation, the Sin-
gapore-based company’s chief executive
told staff in a memo.
The measures include a freeze on
most hirings, salary freezes for senior
managers and cuts in travel and expense
budgets, according to the memo, whose
contents were confirmed by a company
spokesperson.
“None of these decisions were easy, but
are meant to help us get leaner and fitter,
as we accelerate even faster towards sus-
tainable, profitable growth,” CEO Anthony
Tan said in the memo, which was sent to
the staff on Wednesday and was viewed by
Reuters. “More so than ever, all Grabbers
need to adopt a frugal and prudent mind-
set as we prepare for 2023.”
Last month, Grab raised its 2022 reve-
nue forecast, reported a narrower adjusted
operating loss and said its food and grocery
delivery business broke even three quar-
ters ahead of the company’s expectations.
19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
REUTERS
Tan said in the memo that Southeast
Asia has not, and will not, be spared from
rising prices and interest rates, and the
consequent effects on growth.
Grab’s new measures “will also help us
avert knee-jerk reactions that may inter-
rupt our plans down the road”, he said.
Decade-old Grab, a household name in
eight Southeast Asian countries, has been
trying to stem losses by focusing on high-
er-paying customers and lowering spend-
ing on incentives. Grab, which operates in
480 cities in eight countries, had about
8,800 staff at the end of 2021.
In September, Grab’s chief operating of-
ficer Alex Hungate told Reuters that the com-
pany did not envision having to undertake
mass layoffs as some rivals, including Uber
Inc, have done. Instead, Hungate said, the
company would selectively hire, while reining
in its financial-services ambitions.
The memo circulated on Wednesday
said Grab would “freeze the majority of
current open job requisitions which are not
in offer stage”. Tan wrote that requests to
backfill and fill critical roles would need
to be approved.
Certain leaders at the company would
not be eligible for raises in their upcom-
ing reviews, while the travel and expense
budget will be reduced by another 20%
from the last guidance, according to the
memo.
Grab has more than five million regis-
tered drivers and more than two million
merchants on its platform. It caught global
attention in 2018 when it acquired Uber’s
Southeast Asian business after a costly five-
year battle.
Tan said the company has been cautious
with how it has spent money over the past
two years, streamlining some businesses,
tapering down incentives as well as slow-
ing down hiring. These measures, Tan said,
had helped Grab get closer to its profit-
ability goals.
Foxconn ends
most ‘closed-
loop’ restrictions
in iPhone city
BY DEBBY WU & GAO YUAN
Bloomberg
(Dec 15): Foxconn Technology Group,
the primary assembler of iPhones for
Apple Inc, is easing most anti-Covid re-
strictions at its factory in Zhengzhou,
China — a facility that had become a
flashpoint in the country’s efforts to con-
tain infections.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai
Precision Industry Co, said it is end-
ing its “point-to-point” system, in which
employees had to restrict daily move-
ments to between their dormitories and
the campus, according to a statement on
its official WeChat account on Wednes-
day night.
China has been moving away from
its long-standing Covid Zero approach,
which had hurt economic activity and
sparked widespread discontent. Fox-
conn’s move comes after local author-
ities lifted the “high-risk Covid” status
on the area around the plant earlier this
week. Zhengzhou had already relaxed its
virus-elimination measures for most of
the city, ending mandatory Covid test-
ing to enter public areas.
China’s government is easing restric-
tions despite climbing infections and
relatively low vaccination rates among
the elderly. Almos one million people in
China may die from Covid-19, as the
government rapidly abandons pandem-
ic curbs, according to a new study by
researchers in Hong Kong.
“Foxconn will now need to address
the potential increase in sickened staff
and a possible shortage of workers,” said
Will Wong, senior research manager at
IDC. Many workers may be afraid to
leave their homes ahead of family gath-
erings during Chinese New Year next
month, he said. “More initiatives will
need to be taken to appease staff, other
than financial compensation.”
Foxconn also said it has reopened its
on-site cafeterias and will no longer pro-
vide three free meals per day. The lack
of access to cafeterias in what’s known
as iPhone City had become a significant
hurdle to keeping workers fed during
the pandemic, sparking an exodus of
thousands of employees.
CO N TI N U ES O N PAGE 20
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
FTX executives used ‘Korea’ account
to mask giant Alameda liabilities
BY GILLIAN TAN & ANNIE MASSA
Bloomberg
(Dec 15): A GitHub account bearing the
name of former FTX executive Nishad
Singh authored code that hid Alameda
Research’s ballooning liabilities on the
now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange,
according to internal documentation re-
viewed by Bloomberg News.
The documentation, in the form of com-
ments associated with specific lines of code,
offers clues to the origins of a mysterious
account on FTX that a regulator alleges
helped mask mounting debts of its sister
trading firm Alameda Research. The re-
lationship between the two firms, and al-
leged misuse of FTX customer funds, led
to criminal charges against founder Sam
Bankman-Fried.
Singh, who was FTX’s engineering di-
rector, has not been charged with a crime.
GitHub is a programming code reposito-
ry that companies and individual software
developers use to store and share code.
GitHub is frequently used to allow develop-
ers to work together. It wasn’t immediately
clear whether any other FTX employees
had access to the account.
The GitHub account bearing his name
annotated the code snippets reviewed by
Bloomberg with comments including “Ko-
rea KYC” and “BD expenses accounts,”
the documentation reviewed by Bloomberg
News showed. The later was tied to a “Ko-
rea expenses” account.
Alameda shunted debts, which soared to
US$8 billion, to an FTX customer account
that wasn’t easily identifiable as belong-
ing to Alameda, the US Commodity Fu-
tures Trading Commission alleged in a civil
complaint Tuesday. Bankman-Fried, who
founded Alameda and FTX, called it “our
Korean friend’s account” and directed it to
be created at least partially to mask Alame-
da’s gaping liabilities, the CFTC alledged.
FROM PAG E 19
Restrictions at the Zhengzhou campus
had reverberated throughout the country
and beyond. Foxconn first shut its cafeterias
and limited workers’ movements in October,
attempting to limit an outbreak of Covid
infections. That led to food shortages and
trash-filled facilities, prompting workers to
depart Zhengzhou by the thousands.
After Foxconn teamed up with local
20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
The so-called Korean account enjoyed
the same privileges of Alameda’s main ac-
count and sub-accounts, including exemp-
tions from parts of FTX’s risk manage-
ment policies, the lawsuit said.
Singh and representatives for Bank-
man-Fried and FTX didn’t immediately
respond to requests for comment. Bank-
man-Fried is being held without bail at a
jail in the Bahamas awaiting an extradition
hearing in February.
Though Alameda enjoyed virtually un-
limited access to FTX customer funds
for its own trading purposes since the ex-
change was created, the firm began to spi-
ral in May, after a US$60 billion crypto
ecosystem built on tokens TerraUSD and
Luna collapsed, and lenders demanded
payments. That led Alameda to ramp up
its use of FTX customer funds, regula-
tors alleged.
Do Kwon, a South Korean national
who was behind TerraUSD, is reportedly
authorities to hire new staff, the workers
revolted in November over compensation
and safety practices. Violent protests broke
out as hundreds of workers clashed with
security personnel.
Apple and Hon Hai warned that they
would lose iPhone production because of the
troubles in Zhengzhou, which makes all of
Apple’s high-end Pro models.The shortfall
is likely to be close to six million iPhone Pro
BLOOMBERG
in Serbia. A South Korean court issued an
arrest warrant for him in September on
allegations that he violated capital-mar-
kets laws.
Months after the jarring round of mar-
gin calls began, Bankman-Fried contem-
plated closing down Alameda around Sep-
tember, according to the CFTC complaint.
He drafted a Twitter thread to announce
its closure, saying “I feel really uncertain
what’s right!” But Alameda never shut.
Bankman-Fried was jailed on Tuesday
after US authorities brought eight criminal
charges against him, including fraud and
conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The US Securities and Exchange Com-
mission also sued him.
The CFTC complaint described the
“Korean account” as a sub-account of
Alameda that was not opened under an
“alameda-research.com” identifier and not
otherwise readily identifiable as being an
Alameda-associated account.
units, Bloomberg News reported in November.
Meal expenses will now be deducted
from staff wages, the company said, add-
ing that it will provide 15 yuan per day of
subsidies from Dec 16 to Dec 31 to those
who work regularly.
The company will continue to provide
free meals to Covid patients who choose
to stay at company-appointed accommo-
dations, it added.
 f r i d a y d e c e m B ER 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 21 TheEdge CEO morning brief

w o r l d

Bond traders dismiss Fed’s hawkish tone,

bet on 2023 rate cuts
by Liz Capo McCormick,
Michael MacKenzie & Garfield Reynolds
Bloomberg

(Dec 15): Bond investors just don’t seem to

buy what the Federal Reserve is selling: that
benchmark interest rates will keep moving
higher and stay there for an extended period.
The policy sensitive two-year Treasury
yield initially surged after the Fed’s quar-
terly forecasts released Wednesday showed
officials expect the central bank to raise its
key rate to over 5% in 2023, according to
the median estimate of policy makers.That’s
well above what futures traders are pricing in.
But yields soon erased their increase, even
as Powell signaled the central bank still has
“some ways to go” in its campaign to rein
in the fastest bout of inflation since the ear-
ly 1980s. Other bonds saw yields down on
the day after the Fed Chair’s press confer-
ence. Short-end yields ticked up on Thurs-
day, with the two-year rate climbing 4 basis
points to 4.25%, while its 10-year peer was
steady at 3.48%.
The reaction likely reflects some signals in
the Fed’s forecasts that point to a slowdown
in growth, which may have bolstered spec-
ulation that the central bank will still wind
up cutting rates next year to get the econ-
omy going again. Officials cut their 2023
growth forecasts, for example, and see an
expansion of just 0.5%, and increased their
prediction for the unemployment rate.The
median estimate for the Fed’s policy rate in
2024 is also now around 4.1%.
The dot-plot revisions and downgrades
for growth and employment are “as close to
a recession call from the Fed as I can ever
recall,” said George Goncalves, head of US
macro strategy at MUFG Securities Amer-
icas Inc. “This is a Fed that wants to make
Wednesday, when it made the widely antic-
ipated decision to raise them by half a per-
centage point after four straight three-quar-
ter point moves. The rate is now in a range
of 4.25% to 4.5%.
The Fed in its statement said it antici-
pated further increases to make policy tight
enough to pull inflation back toward its 2%
target. Powell underscored that message be-
fore reporters.
“With the market already priced about a
5% cash rate in the next six months, the Fed
dots are just catching up, so I am not sur-
prised at the more muted bond
market response,” said Kellie
Wood, a fixed-income money
manager at Schroders Plc in
Sydney. “The market believes
inflation will fall alongside ag-
gressive Fed tightening.”
When asked about
the rate cuts be-
ing priced
Fed officials weren’t even pondering yet the
idea of easing ahead.
“Our focus right now is really on mov-
ing our policy stance to one that is restrictive
enough to ensure a return of inflation to our
2% goal over time,” he said. “I wouldn’t see
us considering rate cuts until the committee is
confident that inflation is moving down to 2%.”
The market appears to be ignoring the
Fed’s message, said Bill Dudley, a Bloomb-
erg Opinion columnist and senior adviser to
Bloomberg Economics.
“If you look at what Powell said and what
the projections were, these were hawkish
remarks and hawkish projections,” he said
on Bloomberg Television.
Read also: Fed policymakers see
higher interest rates for longer
bloomberg

sure the inflation job is done.” into the

Swaps traders expect the Fed to keep eas- market,
ing up on the pace of its rate hikes as it did Powell said
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

REUTERS

‘Mother of all pivots’ in 2023 spurs

top Asia fund to eye yen
BY RUTH CARSON & MALAVIKA KAUR MAKOL
Bloomberg

(Dec 15): One of Asia’s best-performing

bond funds says the yen is the “main vehi-
cle” investors should target when the last
anchor to the world of rock-bottom inter-
est rates lifts off.
“If you’re talking about pivots, this is
the mother of all pivots,” when the Bank
of Japan decides to tweak monetary poli-
cy, said Omar Slim, a money manager at
PineBridge Investments. “The way that the
market will respond to this, the obvious one
will be potential appreciation of the yen.”
The yen has climbed more than 11%
from its October nadir amid government
intervention, hopes for a slowing of US
rate hikes and speculation over the pos-
sibility of a shift from the BOJ some time
next year. The risks of such a pivot became
more entrenched on Wednesday, follow-
ing a report officials were weighing the
possibility of a policy review in 2023 — a
precursor of policy changes in the past.
Authorities look to be defending the
yen around 145 per dollar and “it seems
that the sweet spot for them, at least at
this point seems to be the 120, 130 kind
of level,” said Slim. 
The Japanese currency traded around
the 136.70 level on Thursday.
Investors have begun to scenario plan
the capitulation of the last dove among ma-
jor central banks, which has the potential to
unleash a wrecking ball across everything
from stocks to bonds. And while some have
speculated that a BOJ lift-off could trig- it was bludgeoned to a three-decade low Policy makers will have to manage the
ger higher bond yields everywhere, Slim of 151.95 per dollar this year.  process “without causing a lot of dam-
doesn’t see a huge spillover to Treasuries.  age to pension plans, to banks’ balance
“The story around the Fed is so strong Bond bear sheets, to insurance balance sheets and
that it’s going to overwhelm what other safe The Singapore-based fund manager so on,” he said.
haven bond markets do,” he said.  sees the BOJ potentially adjusting policy Slim is negative on Japanese bonds
Slim, who helps manage PineBridge’s through different mechanisms: altering the whose yields have been kept artificially
Asia Pacific Investment Grade Bond Fund amount it spends buying government debt low for years to keep borrowing costs at
that beat 92% of peers over the past five and exchange-traded funds to stimulate the rock bottom.
years, joins Fidelity International and economy, and allowing the cap on bench- “It would be very courageous for anyone
T Rowe Price in favouring the yen, after mark yields to drift.  here to be constructive on JGBs,” he said.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 2
An aerial view of Southwest Cay, also known as Pugad Island, controlled by Vietnam,
and part of the Spratly Islands in the disputed South China Sea on April 21, 2017.
Vietnam in big
push to expand
South China Sea
outposts, says
US think tank
BY DAVID BRUN NSTROM
Reuters
WASHINGTON: Vietnam has conduct-
ed a major expansion of dredging and
landfill work at several of its South Chi-
na Sea outposts in the second half of
this year, signalling an intent to signif-
icantly fortify its claims in the disputed
waterway, a US think tank reported on
Wednesday (Dec 14).
Washington’s Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) said the
work in the Spratly Islands, which are also
claimed by China and others, had created
roughly 420 acres (170 hectares) of new
land and brought the total area Vietnam
had reclaimed in the past decade to 540
acres (220 hectares).
Basing its findings on commercial satel-
lite imagery, CSIS’s Asia Maritime Trans-
parency Initiative (AMTI) said the effort
included expanded landfill work at four
features and new dredging at five others.
“The scale of the landfill work, while
still falling far short of the more than 3,200
acres of land created by China from 2013
to 2016, is significantly larger than previ-
ous efforts from Vietnam and represents a
major move toward reinforcing its position
23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
REUTERS
in the Spratlys,” the report said.
Vietnam’s Washington embassy did not
immediately respond to a request for com-
ment on the report.
AMTI said Vietnam’s midsized out-
posts at Namyit Island, Pearson Reef and
Sand Cay were undergoing major expan-
sions, with a dredged port capable of host-
ing larger vessels already taking shape at
Namyit and Pearson.
Namyit Island, at 117 acres (47 hec-
tares) and Pearson Reef, at 119 acres (48
hectares), were both now larger than Sprat-
ly Island at 97 acres (39 hectares), which
had been Vietnam’s largest outpost. Ten-
nent Reef, which previously only hosted
two small pillbox structures, now had 64
acres (26 hectares)of artificial land, the
report said.
AMTI said Vietnam used clamshell
dredgers to scoop up sections of shallow
reef and deposit the sediment for landfill, a
less destructive process than the cutter-suc-
tion dredging which China had used to
build its artificial islands.
“But Vietnam’s dredging and landfill
activities in 2022 are substantial and signal
an intent to significantly fortify its occupied
features in the Spratlys,” the report said.
“(W)hat infrastructure the expanded
outposts will host, remains to be seen.
Whether and to what degree China and
other claimants react will bear watching,”
it said.
China claims most of the South China
Sea and has established military outposts
on artificial islands it has built there. Tai-
wan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the
Philippines all have overlapping claims in
the sea, which is crisscrossed by vital ship-
ping lanes and contains gas fields and rich
fishing grounds.
Indonesia
ratifies
extradition
agreement
with Singapore
BY CHANDRA ASMARA
Bloomberg
(Dec 15): Indonesia’s parliament
has approved a long-awaited extra-
dition treaty with Singapore, making
it easier to repatriate fugitives who
escape to the rich city-state.
Lawmakers voted in favour of the
bill during a plenary session in Ja-
karta on Thursday, with President
Joko Widodo set to sign it into law
soon.The extradition treaty was part
of a bilateral agreement signed be-
tween Indonesia and Singapore
leaders in January.
The city-state’s proximity and the
high number of travellers between
the two countries “makes Singa-
pore the final destination or transit
place for many wrongdoers”, said
Yasonna Laoly, Indonesia’s minis-
ter of law and human rights, at the
hearing. “This extradition cooper-
ation will make it easier for law en-
forcement to solve criminal cases
in Singapore.”
Indonesia has pursued an extra-
dition treaty with Singapore since
1998 to bring fugitives home to be
punished. Southeast Asia’s largest
economy has argued that corrupt
individuals have used the wealthy
neighbouring city-state as a hiding
place, though Singapore countered
that such claims have no basis. Both
countries had signed an earlier ex-
tradition treaty in 2007 though In-
donesia’s parliament did not ratify it.
The new treaty will cover 31
crimes including corruption, mon-
ey laundering, bribery and terror-
ism funding that took place up to
18 years in the past. Extradition
requests will be based on the fugi-
tives’ citizenship status at the time
they committed the offence. Indo-
nesia has said that one reason why
it’s hard to capture fugitives hiding
overseas is because they tend to
change their citizenships to evade
prosecution.
 F R I D AY D E C E M B E R 1 6 , 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)
ADVANCE SYNERGY BHD 190.30 0.015 0.190 72.73 480.5
PT RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 50.50 0.065 0.575 0.00 307.6
NYLEX MALAYSIA BHD 49.60 0.065 0.280 -80.56 50.2
TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 45.40 -0.050 0.735 -71.62 5,885.4
PESONA METRO HOLDINGS BHD 42.30 -0.020 0.200 -16.67 139.0
AHB HOLDINGS BHD 37.00 -0.010 0.140 7.69 52.6
SNS NETWORK TECHNOLOGY BHD 36.70 -0.015 0.255 0.00 411.3
INFOMINA BHD 35.10 0.130 1.340 0.00 805.7
DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 35.00 -0.020 0.520 -31.58 1,641.3
DATAPREP HOLDINGS BHD 29.70 -0.010 0.240 -70.37 161.9
ICON OFFSHORE BHD 26.80 0.005 0.095 63.51 257.0
MQ TECHNOLOGY BHD 24.90 0.000 0.050 0.00 62.6
MY EG SERVICES BHD 24.80 -0.020 0.885 -17.29 6,582.6
NWP HOLDINGS BHD 24.40 0.000 0.205 -16.33 116.3
CYPARK RESOURCES BHD 21.10 0.020 0.415 -54.40 244.4
CITAGLOBAL BHD 20.40 0.015 0.275 17.02 516.4
JADE MARVEL GROUP BHD 20.00 -0.020 0.340 -48.48 147.9
BERJAYA CORP BHD 19.90 0.005 0.290 16.00 1,622.4
PERTAMA DIGITAL BHD 19.80 0.080 1.770 205.17 767.0
MALAYAN UNITED INDUSTRIES BHD 19.70 0.005 0.085 21.43 274.2
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
NYLEX MALAYSIA BHD 0.280 30.23 49,601.4 -80.56 50.2
KEIN HING INTERNATIONAL BHD 1.670 29.46 2,208.3 62.14 181.9
JOE HOLDING BHD 0.025 25.00 0.1 -28.57 76.5
EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.025 25.00 610.0 66.67 76.2
FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.025 25.00 4,220.1 -37.50 159.3
DOLPHIN INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.030 20.00 3,444.2 -57.14 40.1
CHINA OUHUA WINERY HOLDINGS 0.075 15.38 648.2 -37.50 50.1
IQ GROUP HOLDINGS BHD 1.030 13.19 1,161.6 -4.63 90.6
PT RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 0.575 12.75 50,509.6 0.00 307.6
SAPURA ENERGY BHD 0.045 12.50 3,958.9 -10.00 719.1
PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 12.50 125.0 0.00 26.2
ANCOM LOGISTICS BHD 0.140 12.00 6,870.1 -17.65 66.3
ORGABIO HOLDINGS BHD 0.395 11.27 13,669.4 0.00 97.9
INFOMINA BHD 1.340 10.74 35,059.2 0.00 805.7
TECHNODEX BHD 0.105 10.53 2,060.3 -8.70 88.6
PERMAJU INDUSTRIES BHD 0.055 10.00 114.6 -8.33 106.5
LFE CORP BHD 0.115 9.52 1817.1 -17.86 92.2
TOWER REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT 0.470 9.30 14.0 -16.07 131.8
WATTA HOLDINGS BHD 0.535 9.18 6.9 3.88 45.2
SARAWAK CABLE BHD 0.060 9.09 227.8 -71.43 23.9
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
HEXTARTECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS 14.600 0.880 111.5 481.67 1,878.3
AJINOMOTO MALAYSIA BHD 12.840 0.840 69.0 -16.62 780.7
KEIN HING INTERNATIONAL BHD 1.670 0.380 2,208.3 62.14 181.9
RIVERVIEW RUBBER ESTATES BHD 3.790 0.190 6.5 25.36 245.8
INFOMINA BHD 1.340 0.130 35,059.2 0.00 805.7
BATU KAWAN BHD 21.440 0.120 8.8 -5.55 8,434.2
IQ GROUP HOLDINGS BHD 1.030 0.120 1,161.6 -4.63 90.6
FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 22.100 0.100 84.5 -10.67 8,105.8
HARRISONS HOLDINGS MALAYSIA 6.350 0.100 8.8 32.29 434.8
LYSAGHT GALVANIZED STEEL BHD 1.990 0.090 4.0 6.99 82.7
PERTAMA DIGITAL BHD 1.770 0.080 19,752.2 205.17 767.0
DRB-HICOM BHD 1.540 0.080 9,179.1 7.69 2,977.2
MALAYSIA AIRPORTS HOLDINGS 6.450 0.070 2,873.1 7.86 10,701.8
PRESS METAL ALUMINIUM 4.930 0.070 3,710.2 -14.71 40,621.3
PT RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 0.575 0.065 50,509.6 0.00 307.6
NYLEX MALAYSIA BHD 0.280 0.065 49,601.4 -80.56 50.2
MASTER-PACK GROUP BHD 2.450 0.060 139.7 46.71 133.8
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO 11.320 0.060 59.8 -19.03 3,232.2
AYER HOLDINGS BHD 6.550 0.050 5.0 17.17 490.3
PGF CAPITAL BHD 1.180 0.050 1327.3 71.01 191.5
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
24 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DOW JONES 33,966.35 -142.29 -0.42 INDONESIA 6,751.86 -49.89 -0.73
S&P 500 3,995.32 -24.33 -0.61 JAPAN 28,051.70 -104.51 -0.37
NASDAQ 100 11,740.92 -93.29 -0.79 KOREA 2,360.97 -38.28 -1.60
FTSE 100 7,460.42 -35.51 -0.47 PHILIPPINES 6,566.80 -48.27 -0.73
AUSTRALIA 7,204.78 -46.52 -0.64 SINGAPORE 3,273.75 -4.82 -0.15
CHINA 3,168.65 -7.88 -0.25 TAIWAN 14,734.13 -5.23 -0.04
HONG KONG 19,368.59 -304.86 -1.55 THAILAND 1,620.28 -13.08 -0.80
INDIA 61,799.03 -878.88 -1.40 VIETNAM 1,055.32 4.89 0.47
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.010 -33.33 2,200.0 0.00 59.2
COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.015 -25.00 1,380.2 0.00 68.8
DGB ASIA BHD 0.015 -25.00 208.0 -50.00 26.8
TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.015 -25.00 3,390.0 -25.00 64.4
AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.015 -25.00 7,846.1 -50.00 90.0
ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD 0.020 -20.00 122.6 -20.00 30.6
METRONIC GLOBAL BHD 0.020 -20.00 1,622.0 -83.62 30.6
SERBA DINAMIK HOLDINGS BHD 0.020 -20.00 492.5 -94.29 74.2
AE MULTI HOLDINGS BHD 0.025 -16.67 190.1 -16.67 54.1
XIDELANG HOLDINGS LTD 0.025 -16.67 18.0 -28.57 52.9
CME GROUP BHD 0.030 -14.29 7.0 -50.00 30.0
ECOMATE HOLDINGS BHD 0.760 -14.12 6,556.3 52.00 266.0
TWL HOLDINGS BHD 0.035 -12.50 4,746.4 -30.00 139.4
JERASIA CAPITAL BHD 0.035 -12.50 25.0 -78.13 2.9
PRIVASIA TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.110 -12.00 5,394.7 15.79 67.5
SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.040 -11.11 1,011.1 -27.27 45.6
KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.040 -11.11 182.9 -80.00 25.5
CSH ALLIANCE BHD 0.040 -11.11 840.3 -57.89 55.3
KNM GROUP BHD 0.045 -10 1068 -70 165.4
REACH ENERGY BHD 0.050 -9.09 1679.8 -16.67 54.8
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.200 -0.500 74.50 20.92 7,612.9
TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD 5.100 -0.300 18,442.70 -7.27 19,487.2
KOTRA INDUSTRIES BHD 6.410 -0.220 84.10 102.85 948.6
MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 30.500 -0.200 94.50 -38.21 6,066.3
AEON CREDIT SERVICE M BHD 12.600 -0.200 91.80 -7.15 3,216.9
PENTAMASTER CORP BHD 4.490 -0.190 1,242.30 -19.10 3,193.8
PPB GROUP BHD 17.500 -0.180 278.10 2.34 24,895.5
GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 5.000 -0.160 1,332.90 -25.71 6,264.2
DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES 30.360 -0.140 1.00 -9.43 1,943.0
MAXIS BHD 3.750 -0.130 4,825.30 -22.49 29,363.1
TENAGA NASIONAL BHD 9.210 -0.130 2,577.60 -1.39 52,985.8
ECOMATE HOLDINGS BHD 0.760 -0.125 6,556.30 52.00 266.0
PANASONIC MANUFACTURING 22.880 -0.120 4.80 -20.83 1,389.9
CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 22.880 -0.120 42.10 13.94 6,995.5
KOBAY TECHNOLOGY BHD 2.950 -0.110 390.30 -51.08 956.3
SAM ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT 4.880 -0.110 371.10 -12.86 2,643.0
D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 4.270 -0.110 528.40 -27.63 5,283.1
GENTING PLANTATIONS BHD 5.910 -0.110 196.80 -10.35 5,302.4
DIGI.COM BHD 3.700 -0.100 4,827.20 -15.14 43406.6
UNISEM M BHD 2.87 -0.1 312.3 -29.66 4629.5
Data as compiled on Dec 15, 2022 Source: Bloomberg