CHINA ADVISER WARNS CHIPMAKING EXPORT CURBS ARE

‘JUST A START’, AS YELLEN VISIT LOOMS p19

T H U R S DAY, J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3 t h e e d g e m a l ay s i a . c o m
ISSUE 598/2023

CEOMorningBrief HOME: EPF explores basic income drawdown option p4

Scientex inks new deal to buy Johor land from S P Setia, now for RM548 mil p5
Proton posts best sales since 2012 in first half of 2023 p6
WORLD: Singapore’s central bank posts net loss of US$30.8 bil for
FY22/FY23 amid depressed market environment p21
Singapore to change tax rules to attract the super rich p22

EC: STATE POLLS

FIXED ON AUG 12
Report on Page 2.
REUTERS

Ringgit’s depreciation
exposes a structural
issue beyond BNM’s
control, say economists
Report on Page 3.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

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EC: State polls fixed on Aug 12

PUTRAJAYA (July 5):The upcoming elec-
tions for six states, namely Penang, Negeri
Sembilan, Selangor, Kelantan,Terengganu
and Kedah, will be held on Aug 12.
This was announced by Election Com-
mission (EC) chairman Tan Sri Abdul
Ghani Salleh in a press conference on
Wednesday (July 5) after he chaired the
commission’s special meeting pertaining
to the key state election dates.
Abdul Ghani said nomination day is to
fall on July 29, leaving candidates three
weeks to campaign. Writ issuance is to be
done on Wednesday.
He said early voting is to be held on Aug
8, while postal voting applications have
BY IZZUL IKRAM
theedgemalaysia.com
been open since June 15 and will close on
July 8 for Malaysians residing overseas, July
11 for agencies and organisations, and July
26 for media, military, police and election
personnel.
The upcoming state polls involve the as-
semblies of Penang, Negeri Sembilan and
Selangor, previously led by Pakatan Harapan
— which are now in a bloc with former po-
litical juggernaut Barisan Nasional (BN) as
the unity government — as well as Kelantan,
Terengganu and Kedah, long-time strong-
holds of Perikatan Nasional’s PAS.
All six state assemblies were recently dis-
solved to make way for the state polls, leav-
ing a total of 245 state assembly seats up for
grabs — 56 seats in Selangor, 45 in Kelantan,
40 in Penang, 36 in both Kedah and Negeri
Sembilan, and 32 in Terengganu.
According to Abdul Ghani, a total of 9.77
million individuals are eligible to vote in the
upcoming state elections, with 153,760 elec-
tion officials appointed to facilitate.
He said the state elections are estimated
to cost RM420 million.
This will be the first state elections
for PH and BN as the unity government
as well as the emergence of PN’s “green
wave” in GE15.

Run-up to the 2023 state polls

Less than six weeks to polling day

Aug 12 (Saturday)
Early voting: Aug 8 (Tuesday)
Nomination: July 29 (Saturday) Over half of eligible
6 states, 245 seats, 9.77 mil voters voters are under 40
Total voters (’000) Age category
GE14 results PH PAS BN
2,169.12
2,163.98

3,000
Selangor - 56 seats Kedah - 36 seats
1,695.88
1,380.45

2,000
1,035.26
661.91

51 14 18 15 3
491.11

Simple majority: 29 Simple majority: 19 1,000

146.88

3.75 mil voters 1.59 mil voters

28.99

Nov 2022: 3.68 mil Nov 2022: 1.57 mil

0
21 0
30 9
40 9
50 9
60 9
70 9
80 9
ab 89

90
-2
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
-

e
18

Negeri Sembilan - 36 seats Kelantan - 45 seats

ov

*As at July 5, 2023

Source: Election Commission of Malaysia

20 16 37 8
Simple majority: 19 Simple majority: 23 MALE
864,425 voters 1.41 mil voters Total voter (mil) %
Nov 2022: 850,865 Nov 2022: 1.4 mil
4.84 49.50
Penang - 40 seats Terengganu - 32 seats
FEMALE
Total voter (mil) %
37
Simple majority: 21
12 22
Simple majority: 17
10 4.94 50.50
1.23 mil voters 930,894 voters
Nov 2022: 1.23 mil Nov 2022: 922,856
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The deprecia-
tion of the ringgit over the past two decades
has revealed an underlying structural issue
with the nation’s currency valuation that
is more than what Bank Negara Malaysia
(BNM) can manage, economists say.
“We are putting too much [emphasis]
on BNM. If it is a structural matter, the an-
swer is in Putrajaya and not in BNM,” said
University Kebangsaan Malaysia economics
professor Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali at
the UOB Asset Management Mid-Year 2023
Outlook Forum on Wednesday (July 5).
Noor Azlan broke down the ringgit de-
preciation path into two phases since Ma-
laysia stopped pegging the local currency
to the US dollar at 3.8000 in 2005, saying
that the USD-MYR pair has been hovering
within the first band of around 3.8000 up
to 2015, before it moved to the next band,
fluctuating between 3.8000 and 4.6000.
“When you see the shift in the band, that
is likely more [of a] structural problem, are
University Kebangsaan Malaysia economics
professor Tan Sri Dr Noor Azlan Ghazali
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5):The US econ-
omy is not anywhere close to recession in
the next six- to 12 months, with the coun-
try’s labour market remaining strong and
with renewed demand for houses, says
UOB Asset Management (UOBAM).
Dharmo Soejanto, chief investment
strategist of UOBAM Invest in Singapore,
said that there were 10 million job openings
even after the US Federal Reserve (Fed)
raised interest rates by 500 basis points
since March 2022.
“It is very difficult for us to envisage a re-
cession coming from such a situation when
the labour market is still tight; people can
still demand higher wages,” Dharmo said
at the UOBAM Mid-Year 2023 Outlook
Forum on Wednesday (July 5).
He added that there is a re-acceleration
of new home sales, as people expect the
interest rates in the US to have stabilised.
“Basically, that suggests construction
3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
ferred destination [for investors],” he said.
Ringgit’s Noor Azlan also referred to the Interna-
tional Institute for Management Develop-
depreciation ment World Competitiveness report which
saw Malaysia’s ranking at 27th place in the
exposes a 2023 report, stating that the nation was far
from being top 15 back in 2010 to 2016.
structural issue “My concern is whether this movement
in the exchange rate is a reflection of the
beyond BNM’s interest rate differential per se or is it telling
us more than that,” he said during the panel
control, say discussion titled “Malaysia at Crossroads”
with UOB senior economist Julia Goh.
economists “BNM has a role to play, they have a
mandate [but] there is a limit as well. If
we look at the international reserve, are
BY HAILEY CHUNG we crossing below US$100 billion soon?
theedgemalaysia.com Things are not looking good, [the empha-
sis is] less on BNM, more on Putrajaya,”
we going to the third band? We have to be said Noor Azlan.
careful, everyone is talking about the federal UOB’s Goh, meanwhile, added that while
reserve, but no one is talking about whether “BNM’s hands are tied” in mitigating the ring-
Malaysia is still there in terms of being a pre- git’s depreciation, the central bank has provid-
ed corporations, businesses and individuals
PHOTOS BY
SAM FONG/ the avenue to hedge if volatility continues.
THE EDGE Based on UOB’s house view, she said the
US dollar strength may start to abate in the
next six months, “and if China’s economy re-
covers, we could see renminbi improve, that is
positive in terms of the spillover to the ringgit”.
Read also:
Despite volatile ringgit, Malaysian
economy remains firm, with access
to credit widely available
UOB senior economist BNM can afford to be more gradual
Julia Goh in raising OPR — economists
mo said interest rate will then depend on
No recession the inflation rate.
He believes that the Fed would put a
expected in the pause on interest rate hikes if the inflation
rate falls to 3%, cut interest rates if the in-
US over the flation rate falls below 2%, and continue
to raise interest rates if the inflation rate
next 12 months, does not drop.
The consumer price inflation in the US
says UOB Asset declined to 4% in May 2023, the lowest
since March 2021.
Management “If what I believe [no recession] is true
and the fact that core inflation remains
sticky, then the situation would be that
BY HAILEY CHUNG the Fed [might] hike rates more aggres-
theedgemalaysia.com sively in 2H2023, than what the market is
expecting. That would have implications.
activity would be fairly strong in the sec- “In my mind, a 6% Fed funds rate is not
ond half of 2023 (2H2023), which is an- impossible,” said Dharmo, adding that the
other engine of growth that would prevent bond market would sell off and equity mar-
recession,” Dharmo said. kets would be volatile under the scenario.
In light of a no recession scenario, Dhar- CO N TI N UES O N PAGE 4
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
EPF explores
basic income
drawdown option
BY SUFI MUHAMAD
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The Em-
ployees Provident Fund (EPF) is explor-
ing more options to enhance the national
pensions and retirement landscape, includ-
ing a basic income drawdown.
“This includes a basic income drawdown
option to strengthen our decumulation offer-
ings to provide members with an additional
source of retirement income,” said EPF chief
executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah
Azizan during his opening speech at the
No changes in asset allocation strategies amid
ringgit depreciation, says EPF CEO
BY SUFI MUH AMAD
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The Em-
ployee Provident Fund (EPF) said it will
remain guided by its Strategic Asset Allo-
cation (SAA) framework, amid the recent
depreciation of the ringgit.
EPF chief executive officer Datuk Seri
Amir Hamzah Azizan said that the weak-
ening of the local currency would not
dramatically shift its investments, as they
are made for the long-term, based on the
fund’s trading ranges and capabilities.
“For now, about 64% of total assets
are invested locally, so that base is always
[denominated] in ringgit,” he said at the
International Social Wellbeing Conference
2023 on Wednesday (July 5).
He noted that foreign currency ex-
change only comes into play for its real-
ised global investments.
In terms of market outlook for the sec-
ond half of 2023, Amir said: “Even if there
FROM PAGE 3
In terms of overall market view, UOBAM
Singapore head of multi asset strategy Antho-
ny Joseph Raza said both fixed income and
equities can perform in 2H2023.
“Within equities, we believe momentum
in the next few months would be good. Re-
gion wise, we still like Asia but we have put
a pause on China. For North Asian markets
likeTaiwan, we are still overweight,” Raza said.
4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
SHAHRILL BASRI/
THE EDGE
EPF chief executive officer
Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan
International Social Wellbeing Conference
2023 on Wednesday (July 5).
Amir said the EPF’s current disbursal
of its member’s savings in a lump sum at
55-years old may not be a wise step from
is market volatility and downwards trends,
there is still opportunity for us to make
money — as long as we pick the right stocks
and we can trade it”.
“The key for EPF is that it must be flex-
ible; it must be nimble, so we can manage.”
When asked about plans to sell assets,
Amir said such divestments are part and
parcel of normal business conditions and
would depend on the market price at the
given time.
“You must remember that EPF is a
long-term investment, so we looked at it
from that — we are guided by our strategic
asset allocation,” he said.
According to EPF’s annual report of
2021, the SAA is a framework with a goal
to create a diverse asset mix that can pro-
vide an optimal balance between expected
risk and return, which has contributed to
the fund’s positive investment performance.
This is to ensure that the fund remains
resilient to unprecedented shocks to the
financial ecosystem.
“Bond yields are as high as I have seen in
a decade. If you buy bonds, you can get 5%
to 7% type returns over the next year; that
looks pretty safe, with the fact that there is a
global slowdown,” he said.
Dharmo, meanwhile, acknowledged that
China’s valuation is relatively cheap, but there
are still uncertainties that lie in the outlook
of the world’s second largest economy, amid
continued tension with the US.
a social protection standpoint, as the sav-
ings will not last long.
“We have ways to encourage members
to take out their savings periodically. This
means they do not have to take it all at
once, maybe each month, enough for their
livelihood while the remaining savings can
be compounded.”
“That is basic income draw down.”
He noted that the compounded savings
could also continue to earn dividends.
“Schemes such as this will enable our
members to received better returns in the
future and they may live a better life.”
However, Amir noted that the basic in-
come draw down needed further study and
will be further discussed with the government.
“For now, we focus on encouraging
members to use existing schemes.”
Amir noted that the pension fund is
focused on extending its social protection
coverage, as well as enhancing members’
retirement savings adequacy.
According to him, the EPF is also look-
ing into Pillar 1 of the International Labour
Organisation’s Multi-Layer Framework,
through the introduction of a contributory
national pension.
Amir also said that a more inclusive
form of social protection is needed, as only
9.1% of intended beneficiaries are covered
in Malaysia, versus an average of 55.1%
for Asia and 12.8% for the world.
“Old-age dependency is also showing an
increase from every 10 working age adults
needed to support one older person in 2020,
to three working age adults in 2050.”
He noted that the benchmark used to de-
termine basic savings achievement by age is
RM240,000, which served as the minimum
target upon reaching the age of 55.
“This translates to RM1,000 per
month, over a 20-year retirement period.”
“As of May 2023, only 30% of our ac-
tive formal members meet basic savings by
age, while only 18% of our total members
meet the same threshold.”
“To compound matters is the blend of
other multiple factors, such as a low wage
structure, misalignment between full with-
drawal age and retirement age, inconsist-
ent contributions and under-employment,
as well as a low rate of financial literacy.”
“China is cheap relative to a lot of places
from a valuation point of view, in terms of its
economy still growing and monetary policy
relaxing. Unfortunately, the whole tension
between the US and China is dragging part
of that performance,” he said.
“If that doesn’t resolve, we have a struc-
tural discount on China. Ultimately, it would
be too cheap to ignore but for the next six
months, it’s probably still uncertain.”
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Scientex Bhd
is buying 960 acres of prime freehold land in
Tebrau, Johor Bahru from S P Setia Bhd for
RM547.65 million, after previously attempting
to buy the same plots of land but having to abort
the deal due to a condition not being fulfilled.
In 2021, the group’s wholly owned sub-
sidiary Scientex Quatari Sdn Bhd proposed
to buy the land for RM518.1 million, but the
purchase was terminated in March 2023 after
it failed to obtain a waiver of the bumiputera
equity condition imposed by the Economic
Planning Unit (EPU).
In a statement on Wednesday (July 5), Sci-
entex said the acquisition is subject to approval
by the Estate Land Board and the EPU of the
Prime Minister’s Department and if required,
the approval of Scientex’s shareholders.
Scientex intends to launch a new mixed
township development project on the land,
where an estimated 12,000 affordable homes
would be built. The project’s gross develop-
ment value is yet to be determined.
Its indirectly owned Scientex Lestari Sdn
Bhd on Wednesday inked a conditional sale
and purchase agreement with Pelangi Sdn
Bhd, a wholly owned unit of S P Setia.
Scientex Lestari is a joint venture between
Scientex Quatari, which holds a 70% stake,
and Datuk Azman Mahmud, who holds the
remaining 30% stake.
According to Scientex, the proposed ac-
quisition will be financed by internally gener-
ated funds and bank borrowings, with com-
pletion targeted for the first half of 2024. At
end-April, the group had RM621.4 million
in short-term borrowings and RM250 mil-
lion in long-term borrowings.
The land is accessible from major high-
ways such as the Senai Desaru Expressway,
and falls under the jurisdiction of the Johor
Bahru City Council.
Scientex said the land acquisition will sig-
nificantly expand its property development
footprint in Johor. Meanwhile, its total land
bank — across Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sem-
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Farm Fresh
Bhd (FFB) clarified that it willingly re-
leased information regarding the recent
current market price fluctuation and vol-
ume of its shares to the public, and not in
response to any unusual market activity
(UMA) query from Bursa Malaysia.
“... the announcement made by the
company yesterday (July 4) was volun-
tary to provide clarity to the public in re-
lation to the market price volatility and
trading volume of the FFB shares in Bur-
sa Malaysia vis-a-vis the recent develop-
ment concerning Australian milk produc-
tion as mentioned in Bega Group’s recent
announcement...” it said in a filing at noon
break on Wednesday (July 5).
5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
to create a vibrant township in Tebrau district
and contribute to Johor’s development,” said
Scientex chief executive officer Lim Peng Jin.
S P Setia to realise an estimated gain
of about RM438 mil
Separately, S P Setia said, the sale consid-
eration of RM547.65 million, calculated at
the rate of RM13.10 psf on gross land area,
was arrived at between the parties on a “will-
ing-buyer willing-seller” basis.
Upon completion of the land disposal,
the property developer will receive an esti-
mated gain of approximately RM438.3 mil-
lion while its net assets will increase by about
RM320.3 million and cash balance will rise
From left: Scientex chief operating officer — by RM441.4 million, its filing showed.
property Datuk Alex Khaw Giet Thye, Scientex
MD/CEO Lim Peng Jin, S P Setia CEO Datuk The proceeds from the exercise are expect-
Choong Kai Wai, and S P Setia chief operating ed to be used for investment into strategic
officer Datuk Zaini Yusoff project developments and repayment of bank
borrowings, S P Setia said.
Scientex inks
“The proposed disposal will improve the
group’s gearing level and allow acceleration of
new deal to buy
project development and growth of S P Setia’s
remaining townships in Johor,” it said, adding
Johor land from
that the exercise is in line with the group’s di-
rection to optimise and rebalance its land bank
S P Setia, now for
while maintaining an efficient capital structure.
Less than a month ago, S P Setia signed
RM548 mil
three inter-conditional sale and purchase
agreements with Mah Sing Group Bhd for the
disposal of about 500 acres of land in the Be-
ranang district in Ulu Langat for RM392.04
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM million. S P Setia will receive an estimated
theedgemalaysia.com RM31 million gain on completion of the dis-
posal in the second quarter of 2024.
bilan, Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah At Wednesday’s closing bell, Scientex’s
— would expand from approximately 6,700 share price was up five sen or 1.46% at
acres to around 7,660 acres. RM3.47, giving it a market capitalisation of
“The anticipated new mixed township devel- RM5.38 billion. S P Setia increased half a sen
opment in Tebrau district aligns with our vision or 0.89% at 56.5 sen, valuing it at RM2.28
of constructing 50,000 affordable homes across billion.
Peninsular Malaysia by 2028. As of June 30,
2023, we have reached the milestone of deliv-
ering 29,000 homes which reflects our steady Read also: S P Setia launches Setia i-Home
progress. This strategic expansion enables us sustainable features for future homes
Farm Fresh
Notably, Australia’s Bega Group
warned earlier this week that it could be
clarifies its UMA
facing a non-cash impairment of between
A$180 million-A$280 million (RM559.5
explanation is
million-RM870.3 million) due to a de-
cline in milk production volumes and ris-
voluntary, not
ing dairy ingredient prices.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tues-
due to query
day (July 4), Farm Fresh clarified that its
exposure to falling milk production is less-
er in Australia, compared to that of Bega,
which sources 100% of its milk require-
BY ISABELLE FRANCIS ment from Australian farmers.
theedgemalaysia.com Farm Fresh’s share price settled at 2.6%
lower or three sen at RM1.10 at noon
break, valuing the company at RM2.08
billion with 12.9 million changing hands.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
Proton posts
best sales since
2012 in first
half of 2023
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): National car-
maker Proton Holdings Bhd posted its best
cumulative sales numbers since 2012 in the
first half of 2023, with total sales reaching
77,321 units.
In a statement on Wednesday (July 5),
the company said it sold 14,351 units in
June (domestic and export), a 28.6% year-
on-year increase.
Proton said that for June, total industry
volume (TIV) is estimated to be 61,900
units and as a result, market share for the
carmaker is estimated at 23.2% while the
year-to-date market share figure has in-
creased again to 21.3%, an improvement
of 3.2% over the corresponding period
from 2022.
It added that this is the highest growth
figure amongst the top five brands in Ma-
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Koh Poh
Seng, who controls 46.13% in KPS Con-
sortium Bhd, has emerged as a substan-
tial shareholder of BTM Resources Bhd,
a day after it was announced that Bioalpha
Holdings Bhd’s founder William Hon Tian
Kok has taken up a substantial stake in the
company.
BTM Resources, which tops the most
actively traded list on Wednesday follow-
ing the news of Hon’s share acquisition,
is principally involved in the logging, saw
milling and trading of sawn timber, logs
and plywood. KPS Consortium is primari-
ly engaged in the manufacture of tissue-re-
lated products.
BTM Resources’ bourse filing on
Wednesday (July 5) showed Koh bought
137.78 million shares or 10.97% stake in
the loss-making timber company on July
3 (Monday).
The purchase raised Koh’s stake in
the company to 13.19% or 165.78 mil-
lion shares. A back-of-envelope calculation
indicated that the shares could have cost
Koh RM12.40 million, based on BTM
Resources’ closing price of nine sen a share
on Monday.
On Tuesday, BTM Resources an-
nounced that Hon, who is also Bioalpha’s
managing director and chief executive of-
6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Proton June 2023 – Individual model performance (including export)
Model No of Total Sales achievement for the month
units sold sales 2023
Saga 6,111 33,325 • Highest volume A-segment sedan
Persona
Exora
2,254
368
12,580
2,367
Iriz
X70
842
1,245
4,032
6,116
X50 2,449 17,562 • Highest volume B-segment SUV and
X90 1,082 1,339 • Highest volume D-segment SUV
Total 14,351 77,321
Source: Proton
laysia’s automotive market, which also
grew by 9.4% in the first half on the year.
Proton said its models performed out-
standingly in June with five models leading
sales in their individual market segments.
It said the Proton Saga retook the lead
for A-segment sedans by going over the
6,000-unit threshold for the third time
this year and ending the month with 6,111
units.
Cumulatively, 33,325 units have been
sold thus far, which is the model’s best
performance since 2012.
Proton Edar chief executive officer
Roslan Abdullah said the company’s per-
formance in the first half of 2023 is note-
worthy as it achieved its best start to a year
After Bioalpha founder,
KPS Consortium’s major
shareholder takes up
substantial stake in
BTM Resources
BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemalaysia.com
ficer, has acquired 60.51 million shares
in BTM Resources via off-market trades
last Friday (June 30). The purchase gave
Hon a total shareholding of 95.57 million
shares representing a 7.606% direct stake
in the company.
Meanwhile, two other substantial share-
holders have exited the company, accord-
ing to separate BTM Resources filings on
Wednesday, namelyYong Emmy and Mod-
ern Mode Sdn Bhd.
Yong disposed of 12.10 million shares or
a 0.96% stake in the company on Monday.
Post disposal,Yong was left with 56.27 mil-
lion shares or a 4.48% stake in the company.
Modern Mode offloaded 97.45 million
shares or a 7.76% stake in BTM Resourc-
es on the same day, leaving it with just
• Highest volume B-segment sedan
• Highest volume C-segment MPV
• 3rd highest volume B-segment hatchback
• 2nd highest volume C-segment SUV
overall best-selling SUV
since 2012 and was also on track for a fifth
consecutive year of sales growth.
“The numbers show demand for our
products remains strong despite projections
of a reduction in liquidity for consumers, and
this is proven by our growth rate outpacing
the overall market by over three times.
“For the second half of the year, Pro-
ton is confident we have the products and
promotional strategies in place to continue
our growth trajectory.
“We will also execute our plans to up-
date our range, launch our entry into the
Malaysian EV market with PRO-NET and
further improve the quality of our products
via investments announced this year to im-
prove our production capabilities,” he said.
500,599 shares or some 0.03% equity in-
terest in the company.
Another substantial shareholder, Datuk
Woo Thin Choy, has pared down his share-
holdings after disposing of 39.33 million
shares or a 3.13% stake. After disposing
of the shares, Woo was left with a 5.72%
stake, comprising a directly held 2.87%
(36 million shares) and an indirectly held
2.85% (35.85 million shares).
BTM Resources has been loss-making
for six consecutive years between FY2017
and FY2022.
In its latest quarter ended March 31,
2023 (1QFY2023), the group’s net loss
swelled to RM14.84 million, from RM1.86
million in 1QFY2022, due to lower reve-
nue and its share-based payments under
a Long Term Incentive Plan.
The share-based payments under its ex-
ecutive share grant scheme amounted to
RM11.47 million in 1QFY2023. Revenue,
meanwhile, dropped 41.38% to RM1.28
million, from RM2.18 million in 1QFY2022.
BTM Resources shares settled 0.5 sen
or 5.56% higher at 9.5 sen on Wednesday,
giving the company a market capitalisation
of RM119 million. The stock, which rose
to 11 sen a share at the start of the year,
dropped to a low of six sen in mid-January,
before gradually rising to its current level.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
SUNWAY MEDICAL CENTRE,
SUNWAY CITY SPEARHEADS ROBOTIC
PARTIAL KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
S
unway Medical Centre,
Sunway City (SMC) be-
came the first Southeast
Asian hospital to run a
robotic partial knee replace-
ment surgery using the ROSA
Robotic System with its first
surgery successfully performed
on May 31, 2023.
The private hospital in Sun-
way City, Selangor, is familiar
with using robotics technol-
ogy for patient treatment as
it has treated over 550 pa-
tients in the past three years
for surgeries involving total
knee replacement, total hip
replacement and partial knee
replacement.
In fact, SMC had initiated
a total hip replacement with
Mako SmartRobotics in Malay-
sia. It was also the first hospital
to acquire both Mako SmartRo-
botics and ROSA Knee System
machines in the country.
Dr Suhail Suresh, a consult-
ant orthopaedic surgeon at
SMC since 2009, says the ro-
botic knee operations under his
account had a 100% success
rate with zero mishaps.
“That’s a testimony to the
fact that we are used to
the system and can
deliver good re-
sults. We’re not
just starting out
on robot-
Dr Suhail Suresh
7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
Example of a technical measurement done with the ROSA Robotic System
software to determine the resection margin of the defected bone, the size
of the implant based on the bone cutting, as well as to assess
joint balancing and alignment.
ic surgery and we have expe- to patients’ hospital stays like-
rienced surgeons doing it,” ly shortened by half,” Suhail
he says. attests.
Suhail himself has per- On average, patients typi-
formed knee replacements cally get discharged from the
for over 20 years. His initial hospital within seven days after
years involved manual replace- their knee replacement surger-
ments before he embarked on ies, depending on their health.
computer-aided replacements However, Suhail has observed
in 2005, and now robotic sur- patients who underwent total
geries. knee replacement robotic sur-
As an expert, he confidently gery being discharged in just
assures that robotic-assisted three days.
surgeries brought in finer re- “For patients under partial
sults, providing better align- knee replacement robotics
ment, improved placement, treatment, they can even go
less blood loss and reduced back as soon as the day after
soft tissue damage in patients. the surgery,” he says.
“With its precision, the While a manual surgery
quicker recovery could require revisions for the
of robotic knee re- knee implants within 15 to 20
placement sur- years, he says that research
geries led showed robotic-assisted re-
placement surgeries had
far lower revision rates,
which meant extending
the longevity of the suc-
cessful treatment.
The ROSA Knee Sys-
tem used in SMC incor-
porates artificial intelli-
gence (AI) and robotics,
with the former making
up a big portion of the
system.
In a walk-through of
the process, he says patients
who require a robotic knee
replacement will first be given
a consultation before an X-ray
procedure for diagnosis.
The X-ray is conducted with
software calibration, which
makes precise marking points
on the patient’s bone and pro-
vides technical measurements
to allow surgeons to calibrate
the patient’s size and alignment.
While the ROSA Robotic
System has helped improve
the effectiveness of a doctor’s
practice in knee operations,
Suhail says doctors are still
principally in the driver’s seat
of the surgery.
“As a surgeon, I will run
through the plan suggested
by the system and see if this
suits my patient. If I want any
positions changed, I can always
overwrite the system, as I am
in control of it,” he explains.
Adopting robotics technol-
ogy in knee operations is vital,
as according to Suhail, statistics
have shown that 30.5% of peo-
ple aged 50 and above within
Greater Kuala Lumpur suffer
from osteoarthritis.
Partial knee replacement
surgery, an alternative to to-
tal knee replacement surgery
for osteoarthritis knees with
damage that involves one or
two components of medial,
lateral or patellofemoral com-
partments, brings great value,
especially for young osteo-
arthritis patients and osteo-
arthritis patients with early
diagnosis.
However, it is estimated
that only one in ten patients
will undergo a partial knee
replacement surgery as most
cases are not diagnosed early
and has shown signs of late rep-
resentation. Therefore, SMC’s
investment in robotic technol-
ogy is truly a game changer
for partial knee replacement
surgery.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Most firms observing some

Businesses
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): The RAM-
CTOS Business Confidence Index (BCI) sustainability practices

sanguine on next
continues to rise, climbing to 54.8 in the Of the 146 firms surveyed in 2Q, about
second quarter (2Q) 2023 from 51.4 in 75% said they had adopted at least one

three months’
the previous quarter, indicating businesses sustainability practice, with waste reduc-
remain sanguine about prospects for the tion and recycling being the most cited.

outlook —
next three months. Not surprisingly, ESG practices are
The improvement in sentiment was led more common among firms that are part

RAM-CTOS
by a positive outlook for sales and profita- of a global supply chain (80%) as they
bility, with the latter finally reverting to a may need to meet clients’ compliance

positive reading (51.6) after languishing
in a pessimistic territory in the last three
quarters.
“Following a round of price increas-
es in late 2022 to maintain margins, the
cost pressure faced by businesses may have
started to ease this year,” said RAM Hold-
ings and CTOS in a joint statement on
Wednesday.
Commenting on the improved senti-
ment, CTOS Digital Bhd group chief exec-
utive officer Erick Hamburger said CTOS
SME subscribers accessed 5% more credit
reports in 2Q compared to 1Q to evaluate
new customers, a good indicator that they
are ramping up operations and produc-
tivity in line with the improved 2Q BCI
sentiment.
The average CTOS SME Score rose by
two points from 307 in 1Q to 309 in 2Q.
This meas the average Malaysian SME
has “good” credit standing, which is im-
survey
Bernama
portant to access credit, Hamburger said.
Meanwhile, RAM Holdings GCEO and
executive director Chris Lee said firms may
be able to shift from “survival mode” to
growing their business again with a sales
pick-up in 2023.
Aside from pursuing operational im-
provements, an increasingly important de-
velopment that businesses should heed is
sustainability practices.
“In particular, firms with export deal-
ings or which are part of the global supply
chain will have to comply with new global
and domestic environmental, social and
governance (ESG)-related regulations that
are being rapidly introduced,” he said.
requirements versus those that are not
(68%).
Energy and resource conservation ini-
tiatives are also popular among the firms
surveyed, the statement said.
Meanwhile, 26% of respondents have
not adopted any sustainability practice.
This is more prevalent among small
and medium enterprises (27%) and mi-
cro firms (30%) as they face various im-
pediments to progress on this front.
“A lack of incentives was the most com-
mon hurdle, as cited by 45% of firms sur-
veyed. About 40% of respondents said it
is too expensive to adopt green practic-
es,” it said.
However, over half of the firms sur-
veyed, particularly those with multinational
clients, are keen to further adapt to sus-
tainability initiatives to become ESG-com-
pliant but the cost of compliance is a con-
cern, it added.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): LBS Bina
Group Bhd has partnered with a land own-
er to jointly undertake a RM1 billion gross
development value (GDV) mixed develop-
ment in Sungai Penchala, Kuala Lumpur.
The development will be carried out
atop six parcels of land measuring 6.97
acres, owned by Saga Tunas Sdn Bhd, in
phases over a five-year period, said LBS
Bina in a bourse filing.
“The development land is strategically
located within notable landmarks such as
Empire Damansara, IKEA Damansara,
eCurve, Bandar Utama, Mont’Kiara and
Sri Hartamas,” the property developer said,
adding that it is 8km and 7km away from
Mont’Kiara and Sri Hartamas respectively.
LBS Bina said its indirect wholly-owned
LBS Bina teams up subsidiary Sejuta Bina Sdn Bhd inked an
agreement with Saga Tunas on Wednesday
with land owner (July 5) for the joint development.
It said Saga Tunas is also a property de-
to undertake veloper, and its director and shareholder
Datuk Azizulkhir Abdul Wahab is also a
RM1 bil GDV director and shareholder of four of LBS
Bina’s indirect subsidiaries.
mixed development LBS Bina said the development will be
funded via a combination of internally gen-
in Sungai Penchala erated funds and bank borrowings.
The group did not disclose any further
details on the mixed development.
BY IZZUL IKRAM Touching on the terms of the agreement,
theedgemalaysia.com LBS Bina said Saga Tunas is entitled to a
cash consideration of RM67 million — form-
ing part of the land cost and 10% gross profit
generated from the development — upon
completion of the project, while Sejuta Bina
is entitled to all remaining sale proceeds.
The group said Saga Tunas’ entitlement
was arrived at based on negotiations after
taking into consideration an internal feasi-
bility study on the development potential
and prospects of the land, as well as the
indicative valuation of the land.
Shares in LBS Bina ended half a sen
or 1.14% lower at 43.5 sen on Wednesday,
giving the group a market capitalisation of
RM674.68 million.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): KYM Hold-
ings Bhd expects its financial year ending Jan
31, 2024 (FY2024) to continue to be chal-
lenging, amid continued volatility in paper
roll prices, the rise in the overnight policy
rate and the group’s foreign exchange ex-
posure, according to newly appointed chief
executive officer Darren Lee.
The group is dependent on paper rolls
it sources from Northern Europe as its raw
material, which means a lot of its purchases
are denominated in euros and US dollars
while the ringgit has been declining.
“It’s a difficult year, but we are cautious-
ly optimistic [about our financial perfor-
mance].
“We see a recovery in 3Q and 4Q as we
expect our export sales to pick up,” he told
reporters after the group’s annual general
meeting on Wednesday (July 5).
The industrial paper bag maker’s net
profit more than doubled to RM11.37
million in the first quarter ended April 30,
2023 (1QFY2024) from RM4.69 million a
year earlier, mainly due to a one-time gain
on the sale of a piece of land and building.
Revenue wise, the group saw a decline to
RM22.9 million from RM29.8 million, due
to lower selling prices and sales volumes as
the export market weakened.
Looking ahead, KYM aims to increase
export sales for its multiwall industrial paper
bags and gain more customers from over-
seas markets, said the CEO. The group’s
exports amounted to 30% in FY2023, led
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): A week after
claiming that the recent damage to its plant
site was an act of sabotage by an unidentified
crew of men, Bahvest Resources Bhd has
obtained a court order barring its mining
lease land owner Southsea Gold Sdn Bhd
from hindering its operations.
The gold miner said the ex parte (with-
out notice to the other party) injunction or-
der issued by the Sandakan High Court on
Tuesday (July 4) also restrains Southsea from
advancing its demands and resolution with
Bahvest’s wholly owned unit and mining
lease land operator, Wullersdorf Resources
Sdn Bhd, over their wrongful occupation dis-
pute, until the full disposal of the injunction.
The injunction application will be heard
inter partes (in the presence of both parties)
on July 17, said Bahvest in a filing with Bursa
Malaysia on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Southsea said in a statement
that it has filed a lawsuit at the Tawau High
Court seeking an order to compel Bahvest to
pay the remaining RM7 million it is owed,
as well as the removal of Bahvest’s building,
equipment, machineries and related structures.
The RM7 million is a tranche of the RM13
million non-refundable deposit Bahvest agreed
9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
KYM: FY2024
a difficult year
but export sales
recovery seen
from 3Q onwards
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM & KAYLA CHAN
theedgemalaysia.com
KYM: FY2024 a difficult year but export sales
recovery seen in 3Q onwards
by Indonesia (22%), Thailand (4%), and
Singapore (4%).
“Export is an important strategy that I
want to deploy as many countries have not
moved to paper bags yet. We will intensify
our business development and marketing
activities to further increase sales volume
Bahvest secures
injunction barring
Southsea from
hindering ops
BY IZZUL IKRAM
theedgemalaysia.com
to pay Southsea as part of the RM20.4 million
temporary settlement for the wrongful occu-
pation of the Bahvest’s mining structures on
Southsea’s mining lease land after the com-
pany’s sublease ended in April.
Southsea said Bahvest paid the RM6 mil-
lion tranche on May 10, while RM7 million
was to be made on May 29.
Southsea unaware of injunction order,
says Fui Ming
In response to Bahvest’s injunction order,
Southsea’s main shareholder Datuk Lo Fui
Ming told The Edge that it came as a sur-
prise to Southsea.
and orders from existing and new customers.
In the next few years, we will see 50%-50%
for imports and exports,” he said.
KYM also plans to roll out its new sus-
tainable and innovative product, its Top
Daeration Plastic Free Film ESG Sacks,
to the market in the second half of 2023.
Too early to talk about RE, EVs and tech
venture
It is too early to reveal the group’s plans for
diversifying its business into renewable en-
ergy (RE), electric vehicles (EVs) and tech-
nology sectors. Lee said.
The Edge reported last August that KYM
was looking to venture into these three busi-
ness segments in a bid to future-proof the
business and effect a valuation shift.
“Looking at our current valuation right
now, we are trading at a 21.5% discount to
net assets per share of 65 sen. Price-earnings
valuation is only less than six times. So I have
to go raise cash for my maiden acquisitions.
These plans actually take time [because] we
scout the entire landscape and see where we
can get the best value and returns,” he said.
As at end-April, KYM’s short-term
investments, fixed deposits with licensed
banks and cash and bank balances stood
at RM23.155 million. Short-term borrow-
ings were at RM27.78 million, while long-
term borrowings totalled RM13.85 million.
KYM’s share price closed unchanged at
51 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group at
RM77.83 million.
“We found out about the purported
court order vide the Bursa announce-
ment,” he added.
Addressing Bahvest’s claims that an
unidentified crew of men disrupted its
operations, Southsea said it will enforce
the implementation of enhanced security
measures at the two entrances of the min-
ing lease land.
“All individuals wishing to enter South-
sea’s mining lease land are required to
pre-register for a gate pass which must
be presented at the security checkpoints
together with their identity cards or pass-
ports for verification,” the company said
in its statement, adding the gate pass will
help track a record of all individuals enter-
ing the land to be presented to authorities
as and when required.
“It is an added measure to protect
against any wrongful allegations, in light
of recent events, including investigations
into alleged missing and/or stolen gold and
Bahvest’s announcement of the presence
of unauthorised crew,” said Southsea.
Bahvest shares closed half a sen higher
at 23 sen on Wednesday, giving the group a
market capitalisation of RM278.36 million.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
Companies
must come
up with clear
policy to protect
whistleblowers,
says Bursa
chairman
BY ANIS HAZIM
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Corporate
entities need to come up with a clear pol-
icy to protect whistleblowers, and en-
courage reporting to address corporate
misconduct within the organisation, said
Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul
Wahid Omar.
He said it is important for companies to
have a whistleblowing policy, especially to
provide trusted channels of communica-
tion for employees to report issues without
fear of repercussions.
“It is even more important [to create a]
culture of trust because the people (em-
ployees) must trust the system. They must
trust that their identity will be protected
and there will not be any reprisals,” Abdul
Wahid told reporters at the launch of the
Deloitte 2023 Asia Pacific Whistleblow-
ing (Conduct Watch) Survey Report on
Wednesday (July 5).
Bursa now the sole reference for investor relations matters
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Bursa Ma-
laysia announced on Wednesday (July 5)
that it will serve as the single point of ref-
erence for investor relations (IR) matters
to prevent redundancy and duplication
of functions.
In a statement, the exchange said it
has assumed the role of Malaysian In-
vestor Relations Association (Mira), fol-
lowing the discontinuation of the asso-
ciation on July 1.
Mira was established in 2007 by Bur-
sa Malaysia to develop and enhance IR
capabilities of public listed companies
(PLCs) through effective communica-
tion and the cultivation of stronger rela-
tionships between PLCs and the investor
community.
Bursa Malaysia said investor rela-
tions practitioners or professionals in
10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Bursa Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar said it is important for companies to have a
whistleblowing policy, especially to provide trusted channels of communication for employees to
report issues without fear of repercussions.
He said the whistleblowing policy within
a company should be entrusted to inde-
pendent parties.
“Most organisations, they will report
to someone internal or to an independ-
ent person in the system, for example to
senior independent director, audit com-
mittee chairman, chief integrity officer,
or chief auditor. So these are some of the
people that commonly are the focal point
for whistleblowing,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to the Deloitte
survey report, 93% of respondents have
or plan to have a whistleblowing pro-
gramme in the future, while the remain-
ing 7% do not plan to have a whistle-
blowing programme.
“The majority of these respondents
were from private companies with less
than 1,000 employees.
“The reasons provided for not having
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
theedgemalaysia.com
Bursa Malaysia PLCs, including former
Mira members, can expect further capac-
ity building support and guidance from
the exchange to enhance their skills and
knowledge.
“Bursa Malaysia is pleased to assume
the role previously held by Mira and looks
forward to expanding our efforts in ad-
vancing PLCs’ investor relations capabil-
ities and proactiveness, to raise the PLCs’
stature and appeal to investors globally,”
said its chief executive officer Datuk Mu-
hamad Umar Swift.
“Investor relations is a strategic func-
tion, to importantly communicate in a
credible and engaging manner on the
company’s performance and growth plans.
a whistleblowing programme were that
management did not see a need for one,
their organisations were too small, there
was a lack of resources and expertise and
there were no specific legal or regulatory
requirements to have one,” the report said.
The survey also showed that about 58%
of respondents see whistleblowing as a high
priority in their organisation, with the ma-
jority of both public listed companies and
private organisations recognising the im-
portance of whistleblowing.
Conducted between March 31 and May
1, the survey received responses from over
500 organisations throughout the Asia Pa-
cific region, including Japan, South Korea,
China, and Southeast Asia. The respond-
ents spanned over 10 different industries
and ranged from organisations with less
than 1,000 employees to those with over
50,000 employees.
The exchange is committed to contin-
ue providing PLCs and IR practitioners
with the necessary knowledge, training
or workshops and other essential re-
sources to effectively engage with their
shareholders and wider stakeholders,”
he added.
In recent years, Bursa Malaysia has
spearheaded several initiatives to enhance
PLCs’ visibility and accessibility to the in-
vestment community through more active
investor relations engagements.
“Notable initiatives to elevate best prac-
tices from an IR standpoint include the
PLC Transformation Programme, spe-
cifically through Guidebook 3 entitled
Strengthening Stakeholder Management &
Investor Relations, as well as the Investor
Relations and Public Relations Incentive
Programme,” the exchange said.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
RHB IB cuts 2023
Brent crude oil
price assumption
to US$81/bbl
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): RHB Invest-
ment Bank research has cut its 2023 Brent
crude oil price assumption to US$81/bbl
(barrel), from US$85/bbl, and maintained
its 2024-2025 projection at US$80/bbl.
In a regional sector update on Wednes-
day (July 5), the research house said global
oil demand is estimated to grow by two
mbpd (million barrels per day) this year,
thereby driving the market to a theoretical
deficit of 0.5-0.6mbpd in 2H2023.
“While it will take some time for the
market to get past the negative sentiment
arising from macroeconomic concerns and
uncertainties, we believe Opec+ is ready
for more severe production cuts — evi-
denced by the recent announcement of
the extension of voluntary cuts by Saudi
Arabia and Russia through August.”
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Kenan-
ga Research has upgraded the utilities
sector to “overweight” following its up-
grade on Tenaga Nasional Bhd (OP; TP:
RM10.64).
In a note on Wednesday (July 5), the
research house said it likes the sector for
its earnings defensiveness and decent div-
idend yields of 4%-6%.
It said that furthermore, their earn-
ings are backed by a regulated asset base
model which offers recurring dividends
for yield seekers.
“Recent easing fuel prices are positive
to Tenaga and Petronas Gas Bhd (MP;
TP: RM17.13) but negative for Gas Ma-
laysia Bhd (MP; TP: RM3.54) as lower
gas prices erode retail margins.
“Nonetheless, the earnings impact is
neutral over the long term given the fuel
cost pass-through mechanism.
11 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
REUTERS
“We lower our 3Q2023 and 4Q2023
projections to US$80/bbl and US$85/bbl,
largely premised on stronger fundamentals
as a result of higher demand.”
“We still expect a balanced market, with
an average theoretical deficit of 0.1mbpd
in 2023,” it said
The research house said that as oil pric-
es are projected to average at USD81/bbl
this year, this will continue to encourage
oil companies to maintain their capex and
opex spending plans — a boon for up-
stream services players.
“While we remain upbeat on the overall
level of oil & gas activities, we turn more
selective on stock picks.
“We prefer companies with resilient earn-
ings profiles, backed by solid order books.
“For Thailand, we like Bangchak (BCP),
and PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR),
which should see the positive effects of the
recovery of the retail business market,” it said.
RHB IB said Thailand is in an econom-
ic and tourism recovery, leading to high
demand for transportation and retail ac-
tivities in these companies’ branches and
service stations throughout the country.
The research house, which maintained
an “overweight” stance on the sector, said
its top picks are Malaysia Marine & Heavy
Engineering Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd,
BCP, and OR.
Kenanga Research
upgrades
utilities sector to
‘overweight’,YTL
Power top pick
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemalaysia.com
“Our top pick for the sector is YTL
Power International Bhd (OP; TP:
RM1.48) for the promising prospects of
PowerSeraya, defensive Wessex’s earnings
and its exciting new data centre and digi-
tal banking ventures,” it said.
Gaming sector
recovery trajectory
remains intact,
says HLIB
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Hong
Leong Investment Bank (HLIB)
research has maintained its “over-
weight” rating on the gaming sector
and said although it had a dismal
start in 2023, the research house be-
lieves the sector’s recovery trajectory
remains intact as Malaysia and Sin-
gapore’s tourist numbers still have
ample legs to go before returning to
pre-pandemic levels.
In its 2H2023 sector outlook,
the research house said with more
airlines reinstating capacities for in-
ternational routes (especially from
China), it expects casino operators
to stage a meaningful recovery in
2H2023 as inflow of leisure travel-
lers picks up steam.
“Meanwhile, lingering fear over
regulatory risks of number forecast
operators (NFOs) is expected to sub-
side in 2H2023 should operations re-
main status quo post-state polls.
“Maintain overweight rating on
the sector with top picks Genting Bhd
and Genting Malaysia Bhd,” it said.
HLIB said NFOs such as Sports
Toto Bhd logged noticeable im-
provements in ticket sales per draw
in 1QCY2023 (+12% q-o-q), re-
covering to circa 89% of pre-pan-
demic levels despite the Kedah ban
and special draws reduction start-
ing from January 2023, reinforcing
house view that both measures have
minimal impact on its ticket sales.
“We think ticket sales of NFOs
will remain resilient despite the Perlis
government’s announcement to stop
renewing operating licenses of NFO
outlets in the state in 2024.
“To note, Sport Toto’s four outlets
in Perlis merely represent less than 1%
of its total 657 outlets in Malaysia, im-
plying miniscule impact to ticket sales.
“However, we understand inves-
tors are jittery over the policy/regu-
latory risk due to the impending six
state polls, which have led to share
price of NFOs declining over the
past year,” it said.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Priceworth
International Bhd has proposed a cap-
ital reduction to eliminate its accumu-
lated losses.
The Sabah-based timber manufacturer
said the exercise entails the reduction of
RM210 million of its issued share capital,
which totalled RM441.85 million as at the
latest practicable date of June 6.
The corresponding credit of RM210
million, it said, will be used to eliminate the
group's accumulated losses of RM202.6
million as of Dec 31, 2022.
“The proposed capital reduction will
eliminate Priceworth's accumulated losses
via reduction and cancellation of the current
issued share capital of the company to more
accurately reflect the value of the underlying
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5):TA Securities
Research has valued Main-Market bound
MST Golf Bhd at RM1.20 a share — a
48.15% premium to its initial public offer-
ing (IPO) price of 81 sen a share — on the
back of the group’s strong profit growth,
coupled with its business plan to widen
coverage in existing markets and penetrate
regional countries amid robust demand for
golf clubs and other equipment.
MST Golf, which is slated to be listed
on July 20, is primarily involved in special-
ty retail and wholesale of golf equipment
which comprises golf clubs, golf appar-
els, and other accessories in Malaysia and
Singapore.
“We value the group at RM1.20/share
premised on PER 22x FY2024F EPS of
5.4 sen, in line with the local specialty store
peer MR DIY.
“We believe this is fairly justified by
the stock’s strong earnings growth of
26.7%/31.8% (which outperform its
peer’s consensus earnings growth of
21.5%/16.4%) in FY2023/FY2024 and
dividend payout of 30%, albeit the stock
has relatively smaller market capitalisa-
tion,” said the research house in a note
on Wednesday (July 5).
12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Priceworth
assets and the financial position of the com-
pany,” the group said in a filing with Bursa
plans RM210 mil
Malaysia on Wednesday (July 5).
Priceworth said the exercise will also en-
capital reduction
hance its financial profile with its bankers,
customers, suppliers, investors and other
to eliminate
stakeholders following the elimination of
the accumulated losses.
accumulated
Upon completion of the capital reduc-
tion, Priceworth will have an enlarged
losses
share capital of RM231.85 million, com-
prising 1.45 billion shares.
The exercise is expected to be com-
pleted by the fourth quarter of 2023, the
BY ANIS HAZIM group said.
theedgemalaysia.com Shares in Priceworth closed unchanged
at 15 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group
at RM232.27 million.
TA Securities
based sports (where participants compete
as individuals) played outdoors during
values Main
the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with
increased in interest arising from grow-
Market-bound
ing popularity of the sport as a result of
shifting paradigm in leisure activity be-
MST Golf at
haviour,” it said.
From FY2019 to FY2022, MST Golf’s
RM1.20 a share
revenue grew steadily by a three-year
CAGR of 19.6% to RM300.9 million while
net profit similarly grew 41.8% to RM29.1
million, mainly driven by the growing num-
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM ber of golf retail outlets, introduction of
theedgemalaysia.com the ilovegolf membership programme, and
strengthening of the US dollar, which led
According to TA Securities, MST Golf to higher selling prices.
saw a return on equity (ROE) of 40% in In line with the topline expansion, the
FY2022 versus MR DIY’s ROE of 36.6%. group’s net profit margin also increased
Citing a report by the independent from 5.3% in FY2019 to 8.9% in FY2022,
market research Vital Factor Consulting, thanks to better cost efficiency after the
the research house said the import value deployment of digitalisation progress.
of golf equipment in Malaysia grew at a TA Securities forecast the group’s rev-
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of enue and net profit to grow to RM386.6
32.4% to RM132.1 million in 2022, while million and RM36.9 million in FY2023,
Singapore’s import value of golf equipment while revenue and net profit for FY2024
grew by 33.8% last year. is estimated at RM471.3 million and
“Both region’s import growth was RM48.6 million.
mainly attributed by the increase in golf “For FY2025, we expect the group to
demand, as golf is one of the singular record higher net earnings of RM60.8 mil-
lion with a steady profit after tax margin
of 10%,” said TA Securities.
MST Golf ’s IPO comprises a public
issuance of 160 million new shares and
an offer for sale of up to 68 million exist-
ing shares. At 81 sen a share, it is expect-
ed to raise RM184.68 million, of which
RM129.6 million is from the issuance of
new shares.
RHB Investment Bank Bhd is the prin-
cipal adviser, sole underwriter, and sole
placement agent for its IPO.
Read also: PIVB assigns 37 sen fair val-
ue to ACE Market-bound DC Healthcare
T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 t h u r s d a y j u ly 6 , 2 0 2 3 14 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

news In brief

10 Chinese nationals arrested over

Apex Equity announces retirement of newly re-elected director Celine Leong crypto scam
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Apex Equity Holdings Bhd announced the retirement of KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Police has
Datuk Celine Leong Wai Leng as its executive director (ED) with immediate effect, arrested 10 Chinese nationals including the
less than three weeks after the 54-year-old was re-elected, albeit with opposition mastermind in connection with promoting
from certain substantial shareholders. The Kajang-based stockbroking firm made the a cryptocurrency investment scam at two
announcement to Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday (July 5), which came on the heels of its condominiums around Cheras here, on
Monday announcement that it had appointed former Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Monday. All arrested suspects, aged 19
Bhd CEO Norzilah Mohammed, 58, as its new ED. Leong was appointed to Apex’s board to 40, are believed to have been active in
in June last year as group deputy managing director and subsequently redesignated to the scam since May. Cheras district police
group ED in December, when the group appointed Farhash Wafa Salvador as executive chief ACP Zam Halim Mohamed said the
chairman. Her appointment into the board was made on the same day (June 20, 2022) syndicate’s modus operandi was to target
as another ED Lim Kok Eng, independent non-executive directors Woon Wai En, Rozana Chinese customers through phone calls and
Shamsuddin, and Datuk Ahmad Redza Abdullah. Leong was formerly group director of impersonate as customer service officers,
finance treasury at ACE Group, which was the substantial shareholder in Apex through and promote the investment in the Telegram
ACE Investment Bank Ltd (September 2017-July 2019) and ACE Credit (M) Sdn Bhd (July application. Speaking at a media conference
2019- December 2022). She was among five Apex board members offered for re-election at the Cheras district police headquarters,
in the group’s annual general meeting last month and managed to garner 55% support. he said victims who were deceived had to
The others who were re-elected are Farhash, Lim, Woon and Rozana. — by Chester Tay pay RM65 (100 yuan) to open an account on
the Bitcoin website www.icoin.com to be
registered. “After opening an account, they
Malaysia’s end-June palm oil stocks seen will be given an username and password to
at four-month high on slow exports access the website,” he said. Zam Halim said
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Malaysia’s palm oil victims would be asked after that to make
inventories likely stood at 1.86 million metric a number of financial transactions with an
tons by the end of June, rising by about 10.5% investment package in the currency of the
higher from a month earlier to stand at a four- victim’s choice. He said the syndicate was
month high amid sluggish exports, a Reuters believed to have been operating in China
survey showed on Tuesday. The median and the police is still investigating the matter
estimate for inventories from 10 traders and to determine whether the group that was
analysts polled by Reuters was 12% higher than carrying out activities in Malaysia had any
the 1.65 million metric tons recorded in June connection (with the syndicate in China).
Bestinet appoints Tengku Muda 2022. Production was forecast to fall 0.8% — Bernama
Pahang as board chairman to 1.51 million tons, with growing concerns
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Bestinet Sdn over the impact of El Nino-induced hot and Read the full story
Bhd (Bestinet), the sole operator of the dry weather during coming months. However,
government’s Foreign Workers Centralised output in the world’s second largest producer Former MP Abdul Aziz returns to
Management System, has appointed the may improve in the months ahead as estates Destini as independent director
Tengku Muda of Pahang, Tengku Abdul transition towards the peak crop season KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Engineering
Rahman Sultan Ahmad Shah (pictured) as the around September, Nagaraj Meda, Managing solutions provider Destini Bhd has
chairman of its board. Tengku Abdul Rahman, Director, TransGraph Consulting, said. Exports appointed Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir
who recently became a shareholder in the in June will likely remain little changed for a (pictured) as an independent and non-
company, has also assumed the mantle of second month, with expectations centring on executive director, effective Wednesday
the company’s director effective June 30, a gain of 0.7% to 1.09 million tons. Imports (July 5). Abdul Aziz, 60, previously held
2023 — taking over from Datuk Seri Mohd were expected to fall by 17%. The impact of the same position at Destini from Aug 30,
Amin Abdul Nor who has resigned as both El Nino weather conditions could put upward 2017 until May 18, 2018, according to the
chairman and director, Bernama reported, pressure on prices in July, as there are some company’s filing. The Umno politician was
citing a statement from Bestinet. Bestinet’s expectations for reduced crop yields over the member of parliament (MP) for Kulim-
chief executive officer Ismail Mohd Noor July-September, particularly in top producer Bandar Bahru from
was quoted as saying that Tengku Abdul Indonesia, said Marcello Cultrera, director at 2013 to 2018, after
Rahman’s fresh perspective is expected to Singapore-based commodities consultancy having earlier served
drive the company to even greater heights. Apricus 8 Pte Ltd. The Malaysian Palm Oil as a one-term Kedah
“Bestinet’s primary objective is to establish a Board (MPOB) is scheduled to release its data State Legislative
strong collaboration with our new chairman, on July 10. — Reuters assemblyman for
aiming to deliver enduring value to all public Kuala Ketil. Abdul
and private stakeholders. “The company Aziz is currently a
has maintained a steadfast commitment to non-independent and
serving clients by providing comprehensive non-executive chairman
information technology solutions, with a of Priceworth
particular focus on security, biometrics, and International
artificial intelligence,” he further said. — Bhd. — by
theedgemalaysia.com Anis Hazim
 t h u r s d a y j u ly 6 , 2 0 2 3 15 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

PUTRAJAYA (July 5): More than 60% of
the 156 investigation papers (IP) involv-
ing high-profile and public interest cases
opened by the Special Operations Division
(BOK) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) between 2020 and
June 8 this year involved politicians.
BOK senior director Datuk Tan Kang Sai
said the investigation resulted in the arrest of
a total of 211 individuals, with 91 of them
brought to court and involving 454 charges.
“During the same period, the MACC
also confiscated RM51,132,539 in cash,
forfeited property and cash amounting to
RM10,465,873.39 and issued compound
amounting to RM128,968,750,” he told
Bernama recently.
He said investigating high-profile and
public interest cases, especially concern-
ing financial transactions involving banks
and foreign financial institutions, had its
own challenges.
Investigating the money trail becomes dif-
ficult when the money involved is transferred
to accounts abroad because each country has
different laws to protect its banking system,
he said, adding that the banks and financial
institutions have the right not to cooperate
and to refuse to provide information to fa-
cilitate the investigation.
“As such, we see that most of the evi-
dence on money trail brought to the court
only involves local banks and financial in-
stitutions,” he said.
Tan said among the high-profile cases
which had been investigated by BOK were
the Indian community, workers and the
MACC: Over country’s automotive industry.
Another challenge facing BOK, he said,
150 investigative is when cases being investigated are sen-
sationalised by the media and politicians.
papers into “This allows parties involved to take the
opportunity to destroy important documents
high-profile cases such as financial transactions, and to flee.
“Today’s technological advancement
opened since 2020, also presents its own challenges where fi-
nancial transactions involving local banks
majority involved and financial institutions and even foreign
financial institutions can be carried out
politicians using only mobile phones.
“In view of the challenges, MACC en-
gages experts in accounting, engineering
Bernama and law as part of the BOK investigation
team to ensure a comprehensive investi-
the edge file photo gation before submitting the IPs to the
Attorney General’s Chambers,” he said.
He said BOK also uses Effective Inves-
tigation Management (EIM) and Man-
agement Team-based Investigation (MTI)
to enhance public confidence in MACC’s
authority as a relevant and pre-eminent
anti-corruption agency.
BOK is a special investigation unit un-
der the MACC established to investigate
high-profile and public interest cases as
well as those affecting the country’s security.
It was established in 2010 and is part
of MACC’s transformation initiative to
Op Mitra, Op Hire and Op Marii which achieve the objectives of the National Key
involved misuse of funds amounting to Result Area (NKRA) related to large-
hundreds of millions of ringgit provided scale corruption cases on procurement
by the government for the development of and enforcement.

the edge file photo

Saifuddin said approvals for matters

Home ministry
to submit name
of NRD officer in
alleged bribery
to MACC
Bernama
PUTRAJAYA (July 5): The Home Minis-
try (KDN) will hand over to the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
the name of a National Registration De-
partment (NRD) officer alleged to have
solicited for money from applicants for
Malaysian citizenship.
Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasu-
tion Ismail said he himself had received a
complaint regarding the alleged corruption
involving the officer concerned.
“I have contacted Tan Sri Azam Baki
(MACC chief commissioner) to hand over
to the MACC the name of the individu-
al for investigations to continue,” he said
at a press conference here on Wednesday
(July 5).
He said the individual was alleged to
have contacted applicants and asked for
a large sum of money if they wanted their
applications to be approved.
such as citizenship and birth certificates
do not require any payment.
“We have a committee in the NRD that
will make decisions based on the law and
circulars, from verifying the validity of doc-
uments, whether there is merit, to recom-
mending whether to pass them or not.
“Actually, they (applicants) need only
to come to collect their documents once
approved. If any officer contacts you asking
for money (fees) to approve the document
and so on, ignore it because this is not a
practice in governance now,” he stressed.
Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri An-
war Ibrahim said he had received informa-
tion that there was an element of abuse of
power in the NRD when the process of
obtaining a citizenship certificate required
a certain fee for those who were eligible
for citizenship.
In response to the prime minister’s
statement, the NRD said in a statement
on Tuesday that it is committed to tackling
corruption by implementing improvements
to the procedure for issuing identification
documents.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
PUTRAJAYA (July 5): The Chinese na-
tionals linked to the commotion at the
Chinese nationals
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
(KLIA) last week have returned to their
linked to KLIA
home country on Wednesday (July 5),
said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-
commotion have
mission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan
Sri Azam Baki.
returned home
“We have recorded statements from
the two women, and we cannot stop them
from returning home,” he told reporters
here on Wednesday.
Azam said the MACC had recorded
statements from 14 individuals regard-
ing the incident, namely the two Chinese
nationals, one VIP, eight immigration of-
ficers and other witnesses.
He said the issue of corruption
emerged after one of the women was con-
tacted by a Chinese man who claimed to
be an agent of a company appointed by
the KLIA management to handle those
who had been given Not-To-Land (NTL)
notices by the Immigration Department.
“I confirmed that there is an external
party involved in contacting the woman
in question for the purpose of helping to
buy a plane ticket and setting a manage-
ment fee, so we will conduct an investiga-
tion and track down the agent,” he said.
KUALA LUMPUR (July 5): Former
prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mo-
hamad’s claim that efforts promoting a
“Malaysian Malaysia” will destroy “Tan-
ah Melayu” and replace it with a multira-
cial country is baseless from the aspect of
the Federal Constitution, according to a
legal expert.
Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik
Mahmood, the head of National Profes-
sors Council (MPN) Governance, Law and
Management Cluster, said Article 153 of
the Federal Constitution recognises the
special position and rights of Malays and
Bumiputeras without denying others their
rights, and therefore there can be no op-
pression of any race in the country.
“We live by the Constitution; all rac-
es enjoy equitable rights but the Ma-
lays enjoy privileges. We do not consider
this nation as a Malay country; this is a
multiracial country where the majority
is Malay,” he told Bernama when con-
tacted on Wednesday.
The law lecturer at Taylors University
said Article 153 of the Federal Constitu-
tion entrusts the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
with the responsibility to protect the rights
and privileges of Malays and Bumiputeras
in the Borneo states as well as the legiti-
mate interests of other races as specified
in this provision.
“He (Dr Mahathir) was speaking in the
16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Azam Baki:
He further said the MACC’s inves-
tigation found that there is a company
responsible for managing travellers who
had been served with NTL notices at
KLIA since 2017.
However, he said the commission
wants to find out whether it was done
according to procedures or otherwise.
Azam said 41 Chinese nationals, in-
cluding the woman involved, were is-
sued with NTL notices on the day of
the incident.
Bernama “MACC is also looking into the system
and procedures concerning the issuance
of NTL notices, including the process
BERNAMA that must be followed until the Chinese
woman is granted entry (into the coun-
try),” he said.
In another development, Azam con-
firmed that the MACC had received in-
formation about a National Registration
Department officer who allegedly asked
for money to issue citizenship certificates.
“We will start an investigation as soon
as possible,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Home Minister
Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
said he had received a complaint regard-
ing the alleged corruption involving the
officer concerned.
Constitution
political context of attempts to make this
country multiethnic and sideline the inter-
guarantees
ests of the Malay race, (but) this is difficult
to be implemented because there are con-
rights of
stitutional provisions which clearly state
that Malay privileges are protected by the
Malays without
Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Conference
of Malay Rulers,” he added.
jeopardising
In dismissing Dr Mahathir’s conten-
tion that disunity among the Malays
others — law
would cause them to lose political pow-
er and dominance, Nik Ahmad Kamal
professor
said this was unlikely to happen because
every government was bound by the Fed-
eral Constitution.
“In the Malaysian context, Malays form
Bernama the majority race, so the issue of Malays be-
ing controlled by other races does not arise.
Every government that comes to power,
regardless of how many Malay component
parties it has, is still bound by the consti-
tution,” he said.
Nik Ahmad Kamal said it is indisput-
able that Malays enjoy dominance in the
country because they comprise the major-
ity in the Cabinet and the Prime Minister
is a Malay.
Read also: Malay NGOs argue High
Court’s ruling on allowing use of Tamil,
Chinese for teaching in vernacular schools
Professor Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmood is unconstitutional
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
Expect status quo
in six states after
state polls, says
political analyst
Sivamurugan
Bernama
GEORGE TOWN (July 5): The Unity
Government is expected to remain in power
in Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan
after the state elections on August 12, said
political analyst Prof Dr P Sivamurugan.
Sivamurugan said Perikatan Nasional
(PN), meanwhile, will continue to govern
Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
“It will probably be status quo in the
six states involved in the polls, with proba-
bly reduced majority wins and Malay seats
(constituencies) going to be more shaky.
“If there is no internal sabotage, the par-
ties in the coalition will be able to win, but
each party must also look into the choice of
SEREMBAN (July 5): Pakatan Harapan
(PH) is optimistic that its alliance with Ba-
risan Nasional (BN) will enable it to retain
Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Penang in
the coming state elections, said PKR dep-
uty president Rafizi Ramli.
He said the findings of monthly research
done in these PH-held states showed a high
level of voter satisfaction with the current
state administrations.
He said Negeri Sembilan, led by Men-
teri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun,
obtained the highest mark from voters with
a 75% approval rating.
“In the studies done from January
to May, one common question asked is
whether they support and are satisfied with
the existing state government.
“Seventy-five per cent of voters in Neg-
eri Sembilan say they are satisfied with
the current state government, the highest
approval rating among the six states. We
pray that this situation will persist,” he said
when speaking at the MADANI Tour Cer-
amah for the Sikamat state constituency
here on Tuesday night.
Rafizi did not give the data for the other
states but said he was confident with the
level of support shown by voters, especially
those aged 30 and above.
PAS-ruled Kedah, Terengganu and
Kelantan are also scheduled to hold their
state elections soon.
Meanwhile, Aminuddin, in his speech,
17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
candidates and internal party issues while
not playing up issues pertaining to race,
religion and royalty (3R).
“This is to ensure that the country can
move forward and political harmony is
maintained. Only then will the next gen-
eration be able to see this is the mould that
fits the current situation,” he told reporters
when met at Universiti Sains Malaysia here
on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Sivamurugan said Paka-
tan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional
(BN) need to enlighten voters as many are
confused following their alliance after the
15th general election (GE15).
He said it was important to inform that
the coalition was necessary for political sta-
bility and that a strong and stable govern-
ment is needed to govern the country.
“This is because they (political parties)
were rivals before suddenly joining forces,
but this is not new, since 1969, this has been
happening and it is important that the par-
ties’ top leadership explain the importance
of this cooperation,” he said.
He said the PH and BH machinery must
also meet and shed light on this matter with
their loyal voter base and at the same time
win the support of new voters.
PH confident
of retaining three
states in coming
polls
Bernama
said he believed that in line with the for-
mation of the Unity Government at the
federal level, the PH-BN cooperation had
become stronger and could continue to
lead the state.
Aminuddin said PH and BN would
campaign together in all seats to be con-
tested by the two coalitions to ensure that
candidates of Unity Government parties
would win in the state polls.
Selangor polls:
Amanah to
contest eight
seats
Bernama
SHAH ALAM (July 5): Parti Amanah
Negara (Amanah) has confirmed that it
will contest eight seats in the Selangor
state election next month.
Selangor Amanah chairman Izham
Hashim said the eight seats are the state
constituencies won by the party in the
14th general election (GE14), name-
ly Sabak, Meru, Pandan Indah, Hulu
Kelang, Morib, Seri Serdang, Sungai
Ramal and Taman Templer.
“We (parties in the Unity Govern-
ment) have already got our respec-
tive number of seats; in the current
phase we are open to swapping seats
(with other parties in the Pakatan
Harapan-Barisan Nasional alliance)
but that (process) will be on mutual
agreement.
“So far, we have heard (regarding
seat swapping) but there is nothing
yet, we still have time... We don’t just
want to contest but also want to see if
we can win at that place,” he said at a
press conference after making a visit
to the location of the Persiaran Mo-
hktar Dahari road-widening project
in Puncak Perdana here on Wednes-
day (July 5).
He said the seat swapping based on
mutual agreement is expected to be
completed by the middle of next week.
Commenting further, Izham said the
party is expected to field 50% new fac-
es, in addition to maintaining a 30%
quota for female candidates.
“Amanah candidates are expected
to be balanced. I can’t announce any
names yet, but I can tell you there will
be a combination of incumbents, new
faces and old people who have been
given a new lease of life,” he said.
Voters in Selangor, Kedah, Kelan-
tan, Terengganu, Penang and Negeri
Sembilan will go to the polls on Aug
12, following the Election Commission
(EC)’s decision to hold simultaneous
state elections in the six states.
When announcing this on Wednes-
day, EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Ghani
Salleh said nominations would be held
on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8.
The Selangor State Assembly has
56 seats.
 t h u r s d a y j u ly 6 , 2 0 2 3
Rosmah files leave
to appeal on failed
judicial review to
disqualify Sri Ram
and nullify the
solar graft case
by Hafiz Yatim
theedgemalaysia.com
PUTRAJAYA (July 5): Datin Seri Rosmah
Mansor’s lawyers filed a notice of motion
to seek leave (permission) from the Feder-
al Court to appeal over the June 22 Court
of Appeal (COA) decision that dismissed
her appeal to nullify her solar hybrid trial.
The motion with five questions of law
was filed by her solicitors from Messrs Ak-
berdin & Co on Tuesday (July 4).
This follows questions surrounding
when the judicial review by Rosmah should
have been filed to challenge the then senior
deputy public prosecutor Datuk Seri Gopal
Sri Ram’s (now deceased) fiat.
The five questions are:-
• Whether the computation of the three
months period under Order 53 Rule
3(6) of the Rules of Court 2012, should
take effect after the applicant (Rosmah)
has exhausted a similar application at
the criminal court, ie after the decision
of the Federal Court on May 27, 2022,
in keeping with the phrase “when the
decision is first communicated to the
applicant” under the said rule?
• Whether the applicant should be granted
an extension of time under Order 53 Rule
3(7) of the said Rules of Court 2012, to
file a judicial review application given that
she has given good reasons under the said
rule, that is to exhaust a similar applica-
tion first at the criminal court.
• Bearing in mind that the primary issue
in the judicial review application was
the illegality of the criminal proceedings
which rendered the entire criminal tri-
al of the applicant to a nullity, whether
the COA having regard to the overrid-
ing interest of justice and not only the
technical compliance of Order 53 Rule
3(6) of the Rules of Court, ought to
have granted an extension of time af-
ter invoking the three months date line
to commence from May 21, 2021 (the
third version of the fiat).
• Which of the two conflicting decisions
in the case of Menteri Besar Pahang
vs Seruan Gemilang Sdn Bhd, (2010)
18 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Low Yen Yeing/The Edge
where one of the two judges decid-
ed that the computation of the three
months period under Order 53 Rule
3(6) of the Rules of Court should take
into effect from the Federal Court’s de-
cision, and the other judges disagreed
is preferable? As such, which would be
the correct interpretation of “when the
decision is first communicated to the
applicant” under the said rule?
• Having made a finding that the High
Court judge had erred in the deci-
sion that the leave application has to
be filed within three months from Nov
15, 2018, the date Rosmah was charged
in court, or within three months from
the April 8, 2021 (the date the COA al-
lowed her appeal) with the consent of
the senior deputy public prosecutor for
the applicant to obtain the first version
of fiat dated July 8, 2020, whether the
COA on its own motion impose a three
months date line to commence from
May 21, 2021, when the applicant was
not given an opportunity to be heard on
the new date? And the respondents had
not raised the issue during submissions
On July 22, a three-member COA
bench, ruled there is no merit in Rosmah’s
appeal, where it ruled the judicial review
application was filed out of time and there
were no valid grounds for the court to ex-
ercise its discretion to grant an extension.
Rosmah’s lawyers had applied for her
criminal appeal, scheduled to be heard
from July 11 to 14 at the COA, to be ad-
journed pending the disposal of her leave
to appeal and possibly the apex court to
hear the merits of her appeal first.
The COA has fixed Friday (July 7) to
hear the application to adjourn.
Rosmah, 71, had on Sept 1, last year
been found guilty by the High Court in
Kuala Lumpur on all three counts of graft
relating to a solar hybrid project for 369
rural schools in Sarawak beginning 2016.
For her guilt, she was sentenced to 10 years
in jail and fined RM970 million.
Company director
gets RM2.4 mil
penalty for failure
to file tax returns
Bernama
JOHOR BAHRU (July 5): A recycling
company director incurred a penalty of
RM2,437,433, in addition to a fine of
RM18,000 at the Magistrates Court
here on Wednesday (July 5), for her
failure to file tax returns for the assess-
ment years of 2021 and 2022, involving
a taxable income of more than RM3.3
million.
Magistrate Nurzihan Abdul Reh-
man imposed the sentence on Wong
Siew Lan, 49, who pleaded guilty as
charged, and ordered an imprisonment
of 12 months if she failed to settle the
fine.
Wong was charged under Section
77A(1) of the Income Tax Act 1967,
which requires her to furnish a tax re-
turn in the prescribed form C for years
of assessment 2021 to 2022 to the Di-
rector General of Inland Revenue.
She failed to file the returns for the
taxable income of RM1,827,149 for the
assessment year 2021 and RM1,558,176
for 2022, which meant she should have
paid a tax of RM812,478 for both the
years combined.
Under Section 112(1A) of the In-
come Tax Act 1967, the offence is
punishable by a fine not exceeding
RM20,000, or an imprisonment of up
to six months, or both, in addition to a
special penalty of triple the tax payable,
upon conviction.
Prior to sentencing, Wong, a mother
of five, who was unrepresented, pleaded
for leniency.
She said her children were still in
school, and her elderly mother and
mother-in-law depended on her, add-
ing that she had also paid taxes of
RM120,000 (RM60,000 each) for both
2021 and 2022.
However, Inland Revenue Board sen-
ior counsel Norhidayah Yasin request-
ed a commensurate sentence due to
the fact that the RM120,000 paid was
a mere fraction of the payable tax of
RM812,478.
Nurzihan then ordered Wong to pay
a fine of RM18,000 and a penalty of
RM2,437,433, to be paid in installments
to the Inland Revenue, with effect from
July 5.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (July 5): China’s
export controls on metals used in making
semiconductors are “just a start”, an influ-
ential trade policy adviser said on Wednes-
day (July 5), as it ramps up a tech fight with
the US days before US treasury secretary
Janet Yellen visits Beijing.
Shares in some Chinese metals compa-
nies rallied for a second session, with inves-
tors betting that higher prices on gallium
and germanium, which Beijing’s export
restrictions target, could boost revenues.
Germanium is used in high-speed com-
puter chips, plastics, and in military appli-
cations such as night-vision devices as well
as satellite imagery sensors. Gallium is used
in building radars and radio communica-
tion devices, satellites and light-emitting
diodes (LEDs).
China’s abrupt announcement of con-
trols from Aug 1 on exports of some gal-
lium and germanium products, also used
in electric vehicles (EVs) and fibre optic
cables, has sent companies scrambling to
secure supplies and bumped up prices.
Announced on the eve of US Independ-
ence Day and just before Yellen’s planned
visit to Beijing from Thursday (July 6), ana-
lysts said it was clearly timed to send a mes-
sage to the Biden administration, which
has been targeting China’s chip sector and
pushing allies such as Japan and the Neth-
erlands to follow suit.
China’s move has also raised concerns on
whether restrictions on rare earth exports
could follow, they said, pointing to how it
curbed shipments 12 years ago in a dispute
with Japan. China is the world’s biggest pro-
ducer of rare earths, a group of metals used
in EVs and military equipment.
Analysts have described Monday’s (July
3) move as China’s second, and so far the
biggest, countermeasure in the long-run-
ning US-China tech fight, coming after it
banned some key domestic industries from
purchasing from US memory chipmaker
Micron in May.
BEIJING (July 5): China has cancelled
a trip by European Union (EU) foreign
policy chief Josep Borrell scheduled for
next week, an EU spokesperson said on
Tuesday (July 4).
No reasons were given for the cancel-
lation, which comes as Europe seeks to
reduce risks created by its close economic
relationship with China, which Brussels
has dubbed an “economic competitor and
a systemic rival”.
“Unfortunately, we were informed by
the Chinese counterparts that the envis-
aged dates next week are no longer possible
and we must now look for alternatives,”
spokesperson Nabila Massrali told Reuters
19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
China adviser
warns chipmaking
export curbs are
‘just a start’, as
Yellen visit looms
BY BRENDA GOH
Reuters
If restrictions targeting
China’s high-technology
sector continue then
countermeasures
will escalate.
On Wednesday, former vice commerce
minister Wei Jianguo told the China Daily
newspaper that countries should brace for
more should they continue to pressure China,
describing the controls as a “well-thought-
out heavy punch” and “just a start”.
“If restrictions targeting China’s
high-technology sector continue then
countermeasures will escalate,” added Wei,
who served as vice commerce minister in
2003-2008 and is now the vice chairman
of state-backed think tank China Center
for International Economic Exchanges.
China cancels planned
trip by Europe’s top
diplomat Borrell
BY YEW LUN TIAN & MARTIN QUIN POLLARD
Reuters
in a written statement on Tuesday.
A spokesman for China’s foreign minis-
try declined to say why this visit was can-
celled when asked at a daily briefing in
Beijing on Wednesday (July 5), but did not
The Global Times state media tabloid, in
a separate editorial published late on Tues-
day, said that it was a “practical way” of
telling the US and its allies that their efforts
to curb China from procuring more ad-
vanced technology was a “miscalculation”.
The Chinese commerce ministry
did not respond to a request for fur-
ther comment.
Curbs on exports to China
Washington is considering new restrictions
on the shipment of high-tech microchips
to China, following a series of curbs over
the past few years.
The US and the Netherlands are also
expected to further restrict sales of chip-
making equipment to China, part of ef-
forts to prevent their technology from be-
ing used by China’s military.
A day after China unveiled the curbs,
Chinese President Xi Jinping repeated a
call for “stable and smooth functioning
of regional industrial and supply chains”
in a virtual address to leaders attending
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
summit, according to state media reports.
Shares in Chinese metals companies
such as Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germa-
nium Industry Co and Yunnan Chihong
Zinc & Germanium Co surged for a second
session on Wednesday, with local media
reporting that a rise in germanium prices
would boost revenue growth for the firms.
Gallium at 99.99% purity in China was
trading at 1,775 yuan (RM1,155) a kg on
Tuesday, unchanged day-on-day, but up
6% week-on-week and 4% year-on-year,
respectively, Shanghai Metal Exchange
Market data on Refinitiv Eikon showed.
It was, however, 46% lower from the same
period a year ago.
China’s germanium ingot was priced
at 9,150 yuan per kg on Tuesday, also flat
on the day and on the week, Refinitiv data
showed. It was down 4% month-on-month
and up 4.6% year-on-year, respectively.
write off hopes of another attempt at a visit.
“We welcome High Level Represent-
ative Borrell to visit China at the earli-
est time convenient to both sides,” for-
eign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin
told reporters. “We are willing to maintain
communication with the EU about this.”
Borrell was due to visit Beijing on July
10 to meet his Chinese counterpart and
discuss “strategic issues” including human
rights and Russia’s war in Ukraine, the
EU’s ambassador to China said on Sun-
day (July 2).
Read the full story
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3 20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

India in talks
NEW DELHI (July 5): India has dis- None of the officials wanted to be
cussed a possible deal to supply more named, as talks are ongoing.

to supply green
than 11 million metric tonnes a year of India’s renewable energy ministry, an
green hydrogen to the European Union Indian government spokesperson and a

hydrogen to EU,
and Singapore, who in turn would invest communications officer at the EU office
in these Indian clean energy projects, in New Delhi did not immediately reply

Singapore —
three government officials and one in- to requests for comment.
dustry source said. The meetings hosted by the Indian

sources
Reuters reported on Tuesday that New
Delhi will consider bilateral agreements
which would allow countries to use car-
bon credits linked to producing so-called
green hydrogen, which is made using re-
newable energy.
India and the EU explored green hy-
drogen agreements for 10 million metric
tonnes per annum, under which business-
es in the bloc could invest in projects in
India and claim carbon credits, one of
the officials, who attended a meeting on
Wednesday in New Delhi, told Reuters.
Singapore is looking to get 5 million
green ammonia through
metric tons per annum of green ammo-
nia through similar bilateral agreements,
which is equivalent to another 1-1.5 mil-
lion metric tons a year of green hydrogen,
another official said.
The officials did not give details on
the length or the starting year of such
contracts.
Green ammonia, generally the pre-
ferred form in which the fuel is transport-
ed, is a green hydrogen derivative.
government on Wednesday were also at-
tended by Indian renewable companies
including Avaada Group, Renew Power
and ACME Group.
BY SARITA CHAGANTI SINGH “The bilateral agreements being dis-
Reuters cussed with the EU and Singapore pres-
ent a significant business opportunity for
Indian green hydrogen manufacturers,”
Avaada chairman Vineet Mittal said.
Singapore is looking Indian companies such as Reliance In-
to get 5 million metric dustries, Indian Oil and Adani Enterprises
tons per annum of have big plans for green hydrogen.
Countries around the globe are turning
to hydrogen to drive a transition away from
bilateral agreements. fossil fuels to address global warming.
India last year sought to further its am-
bitions to become a major green hydrogen
exporter through the approval of a 174.9
billion rupees (US$2.13 billion) incentive
plan and a target to produce five million
tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
REUTERS Read also: Singapore’s central bank
pumps US$6 bil into climate transition

Earth keeps
(July 5): Global temperatures have the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
smashed through records this week, un- Change said in March in a report summa-

breaking
derscoring the dangers of ever-increasing rising five years of its own research. Global
greenhouse gas emissions generated from greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut to

temperature
burning fossil fuels. 60% below 2019 levels by 2035, according
The average worldwide temperature to the report, and climate-related risks are

records due to
reached 17°C on Monday (July 3), just rising with every increment of warming.
above the previous record of 16.9°C in “Our world needs climate action on all

August 2016, according to data from the
National Centres for Environmental Pre-
diction. The threshold only lasted a day.
On Tuesday (July 4), the average temper-
ature hit 17.2°C.
The new highs illustrate the extremity
of 2023’s summer in the northern hemi-
sphere, and bring into focus the slow pace
of global progress on curbing emissions.
“It’s a death sentence for people and
ecosystems,” said Friederike Otto, a senior
lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Cli-
mate Change and the Environment. The
El Nino weather phenomenon is set to
push global temperatures higher, she said.
The heat this summer has already put
millions of people around the world at risk.
China is experiencing a scorching new heat
wave less than two weeks after tempera-
tures broke records in Beijing. Extreme
heat in India last month has been linked
to deaths in some of its poorest regions.
global warming
BY WILL MATHIS & AARON CLARK
Bloomberg
Last week saw a dangerous heat dome cov-
er Texas and northern Mexico, while the
UK baked in its hottest June on record.
El Nino conditions have developed in
the tropical Pacific for the first time in sev-
en years and will trigger a surge in temper-
atures, according to the World Meteorolog-
ical Organisation (WMO). “The onset of
El Nino will greatly increase the likelihood
of breaking temperature records,” WMO
secretary-general Petteri Taalas said in a
Tuesday statement.
It’s likely the world will exceed 1.5°C
of warming “in the near term,” with ef-
forts on climate action still insufficient,
fronts — everything, everywhere, all at once,”
UN Secretary General António Guterres said
in a statement at the time. Guterres has urged
nations to rapidly accelerate plans to phase
out the use of fossil fuels.
Attention will focus on the state of efforts
to limit global warming as nations gather for
the COP28 annual UN climate summit in
Dubai later this year, with expectations al-
ready low on the potential outcomes.
Diplomats left a two-week preparatory
meeting from COP28 held in Germany
last month disappointed by inter-country
bickering and what some described as a
lack of ambition from the United Arab
Emirates, this year’s host nation.
Any failure to achieve progress that sig-
nificantly boosts the prospects for holding
the global average temperature below 1.5°C
of warming could see some countries, par-
ticularly vulnerable small island states, start
to question the multilateral climate process.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
Singapore’s
central bank
posts net loss of
US$30.8 bil for
FY22/FY23 amid
depressed market
environment
BY KHAIRANI AFIFI NOORDIN
theedgesingapore.com
SINGAPORE (July 5): The Monetary
Authority of Singapore (MAS) has re-
corded a net loss of S$30.8 billion
(RM106 billion) for the financial year
ended March 31, recording a small in-
vestment gain amid a challenging market
environment of bond and equity markets’
poor performance.
This was, however, outweighed by neg-
ative currency translation effects and inter-
BANGKOK (July 5): Thailand’s parlia-
ment will vote for a new prime minister
on July 13, house speaker Wan Muhamad
Noor Matha said on Wednesday (July 5).
The announcement comes a day after
Wan Noor was endorsed as house speaker,
a role in which he is able to call for a joint
sitting of the country’s bicameral legisla-
ture to vote on the next prime minister.
The election-winning Move Forward
party and populist Pheu Thai trounced
conservative rivals in a May ballot, secur-
ing 151 and 141 seats in the 500-member
lower house, respectively.
Together with six other parties they are
expected to propose Move Forward lead-
er, the US-educated Pita Limjaroenrat as
21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
est expenses on domestic money market
operations. The MAS tightened monetary
policy three times over the period to damp-
en inflationary pressures.
This led to a broad appreciation of the
SGD against the currencies that the OFR
(Official Foreign Reserves) held, resulting
in significant negative currency translation
effects as the MAS’ financial results are
reported in the SGD.
Total expenditure of S$13.7 billion was
largely due to interest expenses on MAS
bills and other borrowings for domestic
money market operations. As the SGD in-
terest rates rose together with the increase
in global interest rates, the MAS incurred
higher interest expense in its conduct of
money market operations.
For this financial year, there is no con-
tribution to the consolidated fund, nor re-
turn of profits to the government.
As a conservative measure to ensure that
the MAS remains well-capitalised relative
to its assets, the central bank increased its
issued and paid-up capital by S$25 bil-
lion to S$50 billion in this financial year.
As at March 31, total capital and reserves
of MAS was S$34.3 billion, down from
S$40.1 billion the year prior.
REUTERS
Thai parliament
to vote for prime
minister on July 13
Reuters
the next premier to replace the incumbent
Prayuth Chan-ocha.
However, with 312 votes the alliance
is short of the 376 votes that Pita needs
in the joint sitting, which includes a con-
servative-leaning 250-member senate, who
were appointed during military rule.
Singapore
struggles to fix
power market
after wild price
swings
BY ISABEL JOY KUA &
STEPHEN STAPCZYNSKI
Bloomberg
(July 5): Singapore is struggling
to attract new players to its vola-
tile power market, threatening to
unwind reforms aimed at boosting
competition and reducing electric-
ity bills for consumers.
Surging spot power prices over
the last two years prompted an exo-
dus of retailers, after it became un-
profitable to continue operations.
The nation’s regulator introduced
a price cap last month to help tame
these wild price swings, but partic-
ipants are calling for more action
to help revive the fledgling futures
market.
“I haven’t seen any new entrants
in the last two years,” said Matthijs
Guichelaar, chief executive officer
of Flo Energy, one of the few inde-
pendent retailers still active in the
market along with seven incumbent
power generation companies. “The
futures market has zero liquidity.”
Singapore fully liberalised its
power sector in 2018, for the first
time allowing consumers to choose
electricity providers. This resulted
in a slew of independent retailers
entering the wholesale electricity
market to compete with the state-
owned utility. Most, however, were
forced to bow out from operations
after spot power prices spiked.
The global energy crisis, which
started to gain pace in 2021, dealt a
heavy blow to energy retailers not just
in Singapore but across the world in
countries like the UK and Japan. In-
dependent retailers don’t have power
plants, and instead purchase electric-
ity from the spot market for custom-
ers, like households and businesses.
That leaves the retailers particu-
larly exposed as prices have jumped
as much as 3,000% intraday. Sin-
gapore consumers are somewhat
protected, as they are charged at
a fixed rate.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
(July 5):The Monetary Authority of Singa-
pore (MAS) will change the tax incentives
it gives to single family offices in an effort
to boost the hiring of locals and investment
in the country’s equity markets.
Tax incentives will also be adjusted to en-
courage these firms to invest in climate-re-
lated projects and undertake more philan-
thropy through Singapore, MAS managing
director Ravi Menon said at a briefing after
the release of its annual report.
“Given our great success in being able
to attract so much wealth here, we can af-
ford to ask wealth to play a bigger role in
our society and in our economy,” Menon
said. His comments come after outgoing
MAS chairman Tharman Shanmugarat-
nam said last month that the firms’ contri-
butions to these areas will be recognised.
Family offices — the firms set up by
the ultra rich to manage their affairs and
investments — are currently able to get
tax exemptions on a range of investments
in Singapore. That’s helped fuel a surge in
the number of single family offices based
in the city-state from 400 at the end of
2020 to 1,100 in 2022.
Even though the increase of family of-
fices has boosted the overall assets under
management, much of that wealth isn’t
seen to be invested within Singapore —
blunting expectations that their enlarged
presence would result in a flood of local
NEW YORK (July 5): The collapse of two
US auto dealers and a growing pile of de-
linquent car loans are threatening to deliver
losses in a corner of Wall Street that, until
now, has been a sea of calm: the asset-backed
securities market.
Bonds backed by car loans made by US
Auto Sales and American Car Center, two
used-car dealers that shut their doors earlier
this year, have been veering into distress in
recent weeks. Borrowers have been falling
behind on payments, and Citigroup believes
that some of the riskiest parts of three differ-
ent asset-backed deals could fail to return
principle to investors.
Any lost principle would be a rare event
in the ABS market, where subprime auto
bonds haven’t failed to return investors’
money since the 1990s, Citigroup said.
Prices on a bond issued by US Auto Sales,
owned by private equity firm Milestone
Partners, have dropped to distressed lev-
els, trading at a little over 18 cents on the
dollar on June 26, according to Trace data.
The disruption is a major test for the
subprime auto ABS market, where issu-
ance grew by more than 70% to US$40.5
billion (RM188.5 billion) in the five years
through 2021, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg News.
22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Singapore to
change tax rules
to attract the
super rich
BY DAVID RAMLI &
CHANYAPORN CHANJAROEN
Bloomberg
Tax incentives will
also be adjusted to
encourage these firms to
invest in climate-related
projects and undertake
more philanthropy
through Singapore.
jobs. The planned measures aim to fix this.
Single family offices seeking so-called
13O and 13U tax exemptions must meet
minimum asset under management and
business spending requirements. Some of
the changes to the tax structure are:
• Encouraging participation in blended fi-
Subprime auto
bondholders face
possible first hit
in decades
BY CARMEN ARROYO
Bloomberg
“The economy is not doing well and
there’s a flood of shaky issuers that are go-
ing out of business” in the auto market, John
Kerschner, head of US securitised prod-
ucts at Janus Henderson, said in an inter-
view. When lenders do fail, “it’s hard to get
borrowers to pay back their debt, especially
because sometimes it’s not clear where to
send the payments”.
Milestone Partners didn’t reply to a re-
quest for comment, while a spokesperson
forYork Capital, which backed ACC before
the bankruptcy filing, declined to comment.
As the Federal Reserve ends quantita-
tive easing and tightens the money supply,
credit is harder to come by across the econ-
omy. Consumers, meanwhile, are burning
nance structures, including those support-
ing the region’s transition to net zero. For
grants that these entities provide to sup-
port such structures with no expectations
of income or return of principal, author-
ities will recognise as S$2 (RM6.89) for
every dollar spent, among incentives
• All investments in non-listed Singapore
operating companies including private
credit will be recognised
• Recognition of twice the amount in-
vested in Singapore-listed equities, and
eligible exchange traded funds, as well
as unlisted funds that invest primarily
in locally listed equities
The bulk of wealth flows into Singapore
is from institutional investors, rather than
family offices or wealthy people, according
to Menon. The single family offices, that
apply for and are granted tax incentives,
managed about S$90 billion of assets as
at 2021, less than 2% of the S$5.4 trillion
total assets managed in Singapore, he said.
Separately, the MAS said that it will
take more action to boost surveillance and
defence against money laundering risks
in the sector. Among the measures, it will
require all single family offices to notify
the regulator when they start operations
as well as maintain a business relationship
with a MAS-regulated financial institution.
A public consultation on these proposals
will be released soon, Menon said.
through their pandemic-era savings.
The deterioration of the bonds issued by
ACC and US Auto Sales comes months after
both companies announced they were clos-
ing their dealerships. Both firms transferred
the collection of payments on their loans,
known as servicing, to Westlake Portfolio
Management after going bust. A spokes-
person for Westlake declined to comment.
“The bonds are deteriorating in part”
because it takes a few months to transfer
the servicing of the loans “and meanwhile
consumers may cease making payments,”
Eugene Belostotsky, a securitised products
strategist at Citi, said in an interview. “The
lenders went under because borrowers were
not paying back the debt, now that’s just
accelerating.”
Moody’s Investors Service further down-
graded some of US Auto Sales ABS in late
June, for moving the E note of the 2022 deal
to a C rating. The ratings firm noted that
there are shortfalls in the pools of money
available to pay bondholders, because deal-
erships haven’t fully reimbursed trusts for
items like unearned vehicle service contract
payments.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
New players can
enter Korea’s
banking sector
for first time
in 30 years
BY SHINHYE KANG
Bloomberg
(July 5): South Korea will allow new do-
mestic players to enter its banking industry
for the first time in 30 years, a move meant
to boost competition in a sector dominated
by five major lenders.
The country’s financial regulator will al-
low financial firms to apply for nationwide
commercial bank licenses, the Financial
Services Commission said in a statement
on Wednesday (July 5), the first time it’s
doing so since 1992.The move is seen pav-
ing the way for competition that could help
lower interest rate costs for consumers.
Lenders made record profits during the
Covid pandemic and “paid their interest
income as bonuses and dividends for em-
ployees and shareholders rather than re-
turning it to citizens,” the FSC said in the
statement.
Daegu Bank, a regional banking unit of
DGB Financial Group Inc, may become
the first firm to take advantage of the ex-
panded rule, with an intention to trans-
TOKYO/SINGAPORE (July 5): Japan’s
biggest maritime port was crippled by an
alleged Russian cyberattack, disrupting
cargo as operators rushed to prevent a
wider delay in shipments.
Ransomware — used by hackers to lock
access to files or systems unless a payment
is made — caused a container terminal
at the Port of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture
to suffer an outage on Tuesday morning,
the Nagoya Harbor Transportation Au-
thority said on Wednesday. The authority
said operations are expected to resume on
Thursday at 8:30 am local time.
As more Asian ports automate and
move away from paper documentation,
hackers pose a growing problem to the
region’s shipping networks. Cyber crimi-
nals have been targeting European ports
in recent years, with pro-Russia groups
claiming responsibility for an attack on
one of the continent’s biggest ports just
last month.
The Nagoya port authority said Rus-
sia-based ransomware group Lockbit 3.0
23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
form into a nationwide bank, according
to the statement.
The government’s move comes after
President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this year
criticised banks for having what it called a
“money feast”: booking “easy” profits from
the gap between interest rates on deposits
and those on loans, while paying their exec-
utives big bonuses as borrowers struggled
to pay high interest rates.
The top five Korean banks — Kook-
min Bank, Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana
Bank, Woori Bank and NongHyup Bank
— posted a combined 12.7 trillion won
(RM45.1 billion) in net income last year,
surging about 18% from the prior year.
The lenders handed out two trillion won
in bonuses to employees last year, accord-
ing to the regulator.
Following President Yoon’s criticism,
financial regulators launched a task force
to prepare measures to break down what
they view as an oligopoly in the industry.
Meanwhile, the antitrust watchdog began a
probe into major lenders to assess whether
they colluded on loan rates.
South Korean banks aren’t alone in fac-
ing criticism for excessive profits during
a time of surging inflation and high costs
for consumers. New Zealand is starting a
market study into competition in the sec-
tor for personal banking services to ensure
the market is working well for citizens. UK
lawmakers have criticised the largest banks
for offering stingy savings rates to custom-
ers. And in the US, President Joe Biden
called out banks, among other companies,
for charging excessive fees.
Ransomware
attack hits Japan’s
biggest port,
delaying cargo
BY NICHOLAS TAKAHASHI, ANN KOH
& GRACE HUANG
Bloomberg
was responsible for the hack, Kyodo News
reported on Wednesday. Ransomware at-
tackers tend to target vulnerabilities in
VPNs and remote desktop protocols,
said Mihoko Matsubara, NTT Corp’s
chief cybersecurity strategist. She said
such breaches account for 80% of ran-
somware attacks in Japan.
“Its crucial for companies to update or
patch software they use for their business
operations,” Matsubara said.
Japan’s firms
offer biggest
pay hikes
in 30 years,
wage growth
broadens
Reuters
TOKYO (July 5): Japanese firms
offered the biggest pay hikes in
three decades at this year’s negoti-
ations with workers, the country’s
largest trade union group said on
Wednesday (July 5), a develop-
ment economists say will help re-
vive anaemic consumer demand.
A survey conducted by Rengo,
Japan’s umbrella trade union group,
showed pay hikes first reported by
unions at the largest employers
in March were now broadening
to workers at small and medium
enterprises (SMEs), or those with
unions of 300 or fewer members.
The final survey of 5,272 un-
ions affiliated with Rengo showed
an average pay hike of 3.58%, or
10,560 yen per month, the biggest
increase since 3.9% seen in 1993.
Among them, SMEs raised wages
by 3.23%, also the fastest pace in
three decades.
Wage growth is one of the key
trends the Bank of Japan (BOJ)
is closely watching as it consid-
ers if and when it should unwind
its ultra-loose monetary stimulus.
BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda
has repeatedly stressed the need
to keep policy accommodative un-
til wages increase enough to keep
price growth sustainably around
its 2% target.
“Rising prices and a chron-
ic labour crunch are driving up
wages, which will continue to rise
next year. What’s important from
now on is to bring real wages to
positive territory,” said Hisashi
Yamada, economist and Hosei
University professor.
“Rising wages will help stabi-
lise inflation at 2% towards next
year, keeping the central bank un-
der pressure to scrap yield curve
control sooner or later.”
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (July 5):
Fresh signs emerged on Wednesday that
China is facing yet more challenges in its
property debt crisis.
Defaulted developer Shimao Group
Holdings Ltd failed to find a buyer for a
US$1.8 billion project at a forced auction,
even at a heavy discount. Sino-Ocean Group
Holding Ltd saw its bonds tumble on news
that the state-backed builder told some cred-
itors it has been working with two major
shareholders on its debt load.
They’re the latest indications that China’s
two-year real estate crisis is likely to remain
one of the biggest drags on the world’s sec-
ond-largest economy. A brief rebound after
the nation scrapped Covid restrictions has
quickly faded, with home sales resuming
declines and property investment worsen-
ing — hurting markets ranging from iron
ore to high-yield bonds.
“Investors are disappointed with the slow
recovery of the housing market,” said Anitza
Nip, Union Bancaire Privee (UBP)’s head
of fixed income research for Asia. “The re-
covery path appears to be even longer than
what the market had initially anticipated
earlier this year.”
The nation’s second-largest developer by
sales, China Vanke Co, said last week that
the home market is “worse than expected,”
joining a chorus of investors and analysts
who have become bearish on the sector.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc recently raised
its projected default rate for Chinese high-
yield property dollar bonds.
FRANKFURT (July 5): Germany’s mar-
ket for commercial real estate plunged to
the lowest level since at least 2017, in the
latest sign of the turmoil triggered by soar-
ing interest rates.
Deal volumes in the first half of 2023
declined 50% from the previous six months
to €14.9 billion (US$16.2 billion), accord-
ing to data provided by real estate firm JLL.
The figure was about two-thirds below the
average over the past five years.
The standstill in Germany mirrors
developments across European countries
such as Sweden, Ireland and the UK.
Commercial property markets have seized
as buyers and sellers struggle to agree on
pricing.
Rising interest rates have driven up bor-
rowing costs, prompting potential property
investors to demand higher yields. That
results in lower offer prices, and owners
are resisting granting steep discounts to
book values on concerns that could cause
debt ratios to surge.
The effects are also visible in the Ger-
man market for residential real estate, with
BNP Paribas Real Estate saying in sepa-
24 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
China property
pain worsens with
failed auction,
Sino-Ocean rout
BY CHARLIE ZHU, EMMA DONG, JACKIE CAI,
WEI ZHOU, DOROTHY MA & PEARL LIU
Bloomberg
No buyers bid for Shimao’s land port-
folio in Shenzhen, even though the asset
was offered at a price 20% lower than its
appraised value, according to results posted
on online auction site JD.com.
That will likely add hurdles to Shimao’s
debt restructuring, Bloomberg Intelligence
property analysts Kristy Hung and Lisa Zhou
wrote in a note.The developer’s onshore com-
mercial property unit purchased the land —
spanning an area equivalent to 34 football
fields — in 2017 for 24 billion yuan (US$3.3
billion), a record in Shenzhen at the time.
Its original plan was to build a landmark
complex with a 500-metre skyscraper, but
the project ran into trouble last year after the
company missed some payments on high-
yield trust products used to fund the construc-
tion. Citic Trust Co, which manages the trust
project, seized the asset and sued Shimao’s
unit, according to the auction documents and
Shimao’s company filing.
German
commercial
property deals
tumble 50% to
five-year low
BY STEVEN ARONS & JACK SIDDERS
Bloomberg
rate release Wednesday that deals in the
segment plunged 69% below the 10-year
average in the first half of the year.
The industry may even face a decade
of limited earnings growth, investment
bank Stifel said in a note on Wednesday,
downgrading the ratings on German res-
idential landlords LEG Immobilien SE,
TAG Immobilien AG and Vonovia SE to
sell and prompting their shares to decline.
The “seemingly endless party of growth”
in real estate supported by ever-cheaper
Meanwhile, China Life Insurance Co
and Dajia Life Insurance Co sent a work-
ing group to Sino-Ocean regarding a holistic
risk mitigation plan, people familiar with the
matter said. That added to concerns that
even China’s state-backed developers aren’t
immune to the industry’s unprecedented
liquidity squeeze.
Sino-Ocean bonds slumped further
Wednesday, putting prices at just half their
start-of-week levels. A two billion yuan on-
shore note due next month, the company’s
next maturity, plunged 34.6% and saw trad-
ing suspended twice. A Sino-Ocean dollar
bond due 2024 fell to a record low at about
15 cents. Shares dropped as much as 4.4%
in Hong Kong.
This week’s bond selloff at Sino-Ocean
was kicked off by people familiar with the
matter saying that a state-owned sharehold-
er-led working group of the developer had
engaged China International Capital Corp
to conduct due diligence on the firm.
China’s renewed housing slump has
fuelled expectations for the government
to issue more stimulus measures. Adding
to the economy’s woes, figures on Wednes-
day showed China’s services sector slowed
in June.
Yet, support measures have so far been
modest, keeping pressure on developers fac-
ing mounting debts.
“Investors are concerned not only about
credit risk on individual names now, but also
about the sector as whole, as the restructur-
ing process remains slow,” UBP’s Nip said.
finance has reached an end, with a “pro-
tracted hangover” now ahead, analysts in-
cluding Denese Newton said in the note.
Still, there are signs the pace of the con-
traction in commercial property deals is
slowing, with year-on-year drops getting
less severe, according to the JLL data. Halt-
ing the declines would be the first step
toward an eventual rebound.
Certainty about the future path of inter-
est rates could help get the market going
again by making it easier for buyers and
seller to find common ground. Markets
currently expect the European Central
Bank to end the historic series of interest
rate hikes later this year.
“There is a realistic chance that price
expectations could converge by the end
of the year” if the ECB stops raising rates,
BNP said. This “would significantly im-
prove planning security for both buyers
and sellers” and usher in a rebound.
Still, deals volumes will likely remain
at a low level for the rest of the year,since
the flagging German economy will provide
“very little, if any, tailwind” to the real es-
tate industry, BNP said.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
Europe’s biggest
IPO raises
US$1.8 bil for
Templeton-led
fund
BY IRINA VILCU & ANDRA TIMU
Bloomberg
(July 5): Franklin Templeton-managed Fon-
dul Proprietatea raised 8.1 billion lei (US$1.8
billion or RM8.37 billion) in Romania’s larg-
est ever initial public offering (IPO) and this
year’s biggest share listing in Europe.
About 78 million shares, or 17.3%, in hy-
dropower utility Hidroelectrica SA will be sold
at 104 lei each in the IPO, close to the middle
of the indicated range, according to a regulato-
ry statement onWednesday. Romania’s biggest
producer of electricity is set to start trading
on the Bucharest Stock Exchange on July 12.
The proceeds of Europe’s biggest public
offering since Porsche AG will go directly
to Fondul’s coffers and are likely to be dis-
tributed to shareholders. Hidroelectrica, val-
LONDON: American Equity Investment Life
Holding Co accepted a US$4.3 billion (RM20
billion) cash and stock takeover bid from an
arm of Canadian investment giant Brookfield.
Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd agreed to
buy all the shares in the US insurer it does
not already own for US$55 apiece, accord-
ing to a statement on Wednesday (July 5).
The offer represents a 35% premium to
American Equity’s closing price on June
23, the last full trading day before Bloomb-
erg revealed Brookfield’s interest.
The deal to snap up one of the last
remaining independent annuities pro-
25 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
ued at about 47 billion lei, is poised to gain
from the increased visibility and potential
new funding opportunities for its ambitious
renewable energy investments.
The boost in liquidity following the list-
ing may help the Bucharest Stock Exchange
secure a long-awaited upgrade by MSCI to
emerging-market status. The sale of a mi-
nority stake in the company also fulfills one
of the milestones in Romania’s recovery and
resilience plan, helping to unlock €29 bil-
lion (RM146.86 billion) in European Union
(EU) funding.
“We have been waiting for this listing for
over 10 years,” Energy Minister Sebastian
Burduja said in a statement. “Listing means
transparency, capitalisation and is an indi-
cator of a modern economy.This is the path
to follow for other state-owned companies
in the energy sector.”
The Romanian IPO — the world’s
third-largest of 2023 — according to data
compiled by Bloomberg, could help rekindle
Europe’s market for share listings. Thyssen-
krupp AG’s Nucera hydrogen unit is raising
€526 million, while transaction processor
CAB Payments Holdings aims to raise as
much as £333 million in its IPO.
Read the full story
American Equity
accepts Brookfield’s
US$4.3 bil takeover
BY DINESH NAIR
Bloomberg
viders in the US boosts Brookfield Re-
insurance’s assets under management to
around US$100 billion. In recent years,
private equity heavyweights ranging from
Thames Water
investors appear
reluctant to fork
out fresh cash,
says Ofwat
BY MUVIJA M & WILLIAM JAMES
Reuters
LONDON (July 5): Investors in ailing
British water company Thames Water ap-
pear to be reluctant to put in more cash,
the country’s regulator Ofwat said on
Wednesday (July 5), as its boss defended
the oversight of the heavily indebted sector.
Thames Water, which supplies about
27% of Britain’s population, is seeking to
raise an additional £1 billion (RM5.91
billion) in equity to help upgrade its in-
frastructure and cope with the rising cost
of its £14 billion debt pile.
Its fate has shone a light on the wider
water sector in Britain which racked up
debt after it was privatised and which
has sparked a public outcry in recent
years by releasing raw sewage into riv-
ers and seas.
“The company is talking to inves-
tors about securing new equity,” Ofwat
boss David Black said. When asked by
BBC radio if investors were reluctant,
he said: “yes.”
“Thames are looking for new finance
to come to the business in the early part
of next year.”
He added that he expected compa-
nies to want to charge higher consum-
er bills in the next regulatory cycle, to
fund upgrades to infrastructure, and
that while it had been the job of water
companies to control their debt levels,
the regulator now had stronger powers
to manage the sector.
Blackstone Inc to KKR & Co and Apollo
Global Management Inc have invested in
such companies as a way of gathering more
capital they can plow into alternative assets.
Brookfield has emerged as the world’s
most acquisitive investment firm this year as
the biggest private equity funds slow down
amid a dearth of financing. The Canadian
group agreed in June to buy Middle Eastern
payment processor Network Internation-
al Holdings plc for £2.2 billion (RM12.98
billion), and it’s leading a consortium that
struck an A$18.7 billion (RM57.91 billion)
deal for Australia’s Origin Energy Ltd.
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
(July 5): China’s largest banks cut rates for
the nation’s US$453 billion (RM2.11 trillion)
corporate US dollar deposits for the second
time in a matter of weeks, according to people
familiar with the matter, as authorities inten-
sify measures to shore up the struggling yuan.
At least nine banks, including the four big
state lenders, removed the spread they previ-
ously offered over the US Secured Overnight
Financing Rate (SOFR) for corporate clients,
the people said, declining to be identified dis-
cussing private information. Before the latest
reduction, banks were offering 5.7% for one-
year deposits, down from 6% about a month
ago. The SOFR stands at 5.09%.
Retail investors have seen even bigger
reductions. State lenders this week slashed
one-year rates on household deposits to
about 2.8% from 4.5-5% earlier.That com-
pares to 1.65% for similar period yuan de-
posits. Lower deposit rates may help sup-
port the yuan by making it less attractive
for companies and consumers to convert
their cash holdings into dollars.
The move to cut rates on corporate de-
posits “will help narrow the rate differen-
tial to some extent, but the gap is still quite
large,” said Xiaojia Zhi, head of research,
Credit Agricole CIB Hong Kong Branch.
“Many clients have some flexibility to move
between onshore/offshore accounts for li-
quidity management.”
NEW DELHI (July 5): Africa has become
the second-largest recipient of credit from
India as the country tries to catch up with
China in expanding its influence in the re-
source-rich continent.
Forty-two African nations received
about US$32 billion (RM148.9 billion) or
38% of all credit extended by India in the
last decade — just a few percentage points
below its neighbours, Harsha Bangari, the
managing director of India’s Export Im-
port Bank said in an interview.
The bank is an instrument of India’s
“economic diplomacy”, Bangari said, add-
ing that the South Asian nation has also
opened up 195 project-based lines of credit
worth about US$12 billion across Africa,
three times the number it has in its own
region in the last decade.
“Africa has made good use of credit
lines,” extended for projects that include
health care, infrastructure, agriculture and
irrigation and India is seeing a steady in-
crease in demand, she said.
Despite the recent efforts by India
to engage with countries in the world’s
second-largest continent, the nation has
lagged behind its bigger and wealthier
neighbour in making inroads in Africa.
While China’s loans to Africa have dipped
since 2016, overall in the 10 years to 2020,
26 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
China banks
cut rates for
US$453 bil
corporate US
dollar deposits
Bloomberg
Chinese authorities are stepping up ef-
forts to stabilise the nation’s currency after it
dropped toward the lowest level in 15 years
against the greenback amid concern about the
strength of the economic recovery.While other
major economies have been raising bench-
mark interest rates, China cut policy interest
rates last month for the first time in nearly a
year, signalling looser monetary policy.
Banks have limited room to further lower
the deposit rate for corporate clients due to
the risk companies will shift funds offshore to
capture the better yield, the people said.The
recent move was made under the guidance
of the nation’s forex market self-disciplinary
mechanism, they said.
While China’s capital controls prevent in-
dividuals from moving sizable funds outside
India increases
Africa lending
in the race to
counter China
BY SUDHI RANJAN SEN
Bloomberg
it pledged US$134.6 billion to African
nations, according to data from Boston
University’s Global Development Policy
Center. That’s almost 11 times more than
what India has offered.
China has also made an early move to
tap mineral resources in Africa. The North
Asian nation is tapping new centres of lith-
ium supply, helping it navigate a tight mar-
ket for a key metal for electric vehicles.
The country is also the biggest buyer of
bauxite from Guinea, which holds one of
the world’s largest reserves of the ore used to
make alumina and is invested in developing
the world’s biggest untapped deposit of high-
grade iron ore in the West African nation.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing didn’t
reply to a request for comment.
of the mainland, including to Hong Kong,
companies have more leeway to do so.
The China FX Market Self-Regulatory
Framework didn’t immediately reply to a
Bloomberg fax seeking comment.
Chinese banks increased dollar deposit
rates earlier this year to lure clients, as rising
yields on the greenback boosted the appeal of
dollar-denominated assets at the expense of
yuan securities. Chinese firms held US$453
billion of foreign currency deposits at the end
of May, according to central bank data, while
households had US$125 billion.
The size of corporate deposits may be
larger than official data shows. China’s firms
have around US$912 billion parked as US
currency deposits in the country’s banking
system, up from US$758 billion at the end
of 2019, according to a recent research note
by Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd.
The moves show the People’s Bank of
China (PBOC) will consider “multiple op-
tions” to rein in the pace of yuan deprecia-
tion, Zhi said.
The PBOC said last week it will adopt
“comprehensive measures and stabilise ex-
pectations” about the currency. The central
bank will also “resolutely prevent risks of big
fluctuations”, it said in its quarterly monetary
policy report.The yuan was last down 0.3%
to about 7.24 per dollar after touching a low
of 7.27 last week.
However, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s government has pushed for greater
reach into Africa, boosting both economic
and diplomatic links. As the continent deals
with the economic fallout of the pandemic
and Russia’s war in Ukraine, New Delhi
is seeing an opportunity to push deeper
into the continent.
In the last nine years, 18 of the 25 new
Indian embassies or consulates were in Af-
rica. In February, India hosted 48 African
countries at the Voice of Global South sum-
mit. Modi has also been championing India
as a representative of the Global South and
using platforms like its presidency of the
Group of 20 nations to draw attention to
the debt crises in developing economies.
“We are trying to think 25 years from
now,” India’s Foreign Minister Subrah-
manyam Jaishankar said in a speech on
June 28. “And ask ourselves where are we
likely to be in 2047 and what should we
be doing now to prepare for it.”
China’s quantum of financing is bigger
than India, but New Delhi let’s governments
decide what they need and doesn’t burden
them with the sort of vanity projects Beijing
is often critiqued for, Bangari said.
“If you see the projects which India has
supported you will see they bring a lot of
benefits to the economy.”
 T H U R S D A Y J U LY 6 , 2 0 2 3
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 3,896.0034.00 OIL US$ 76.600.35 RM/USD 4.6520 RM/SGD 3.4407 RM/AUD 3.1041 RM/GBP 5.9148 RM/EUR 5.0682
Top 20 active stocks
NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
BTM RESOURCES BHD 71.86 0.005 0.095 11.76 119.4
SARAWAK CONSOLIDATED 67.89 0.005 0.475 227.59 304.10
PARKSON HOLDINGS BHD 52.79 0.025 0.215 59.26 247.0
TWL HOLDINGS BHD 46.55 0.000 0.035 0.00 146.6
WIDAD GROUP BHD 41.09 -0.005 0.415 -3.49 1,216.9
MALAYSIA BUILDING SOCIETY BHD 39.70 0.040 0.695 13.01 4984.2
KNM GROUP BHD 33.92 0.000 0.080 60.00 323.5
CLASSITA HOLDINGS BHD 31.60 0.000 0.085 -76.71 29.9
AHB HOLDINGS BHD 29.11 -0.005 0.150 25.00 91.2
UEM SUNRISE BHD 27.94 0.005 0.310 21.57 1,568.1
ARTRONIQ BHD 27.58 -0.040 0.775 9.15 254.4
BUMI ARMADA BHD 26.70 -0.005 0.49 2.08 2902.1
CYPARK RESOURCES BHD 26.49 0.065 0.805 71.28 629.6
AHMAD ZAKI RESOURCES BHD 25.98 0.000 0.250 51.52 149.1
JADI IMAGING HOLDINGS BHD 25.86 -0.015 0.030 -64.71 32.3
WCE HOLDINGS BHD 25.58 -0.030 0.650 113.11 1,942.0
MY EG SERVICES BHD 25.29 0.000 0.740 -14.12 5,480.0
VELESTO ENERGY BHD 24.33 0.015 0.235 56.67 1,930.7
FARM FRESH BHD 23.44 -0.040 1.100 -31.68 2,059.1
TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 22.30 0.010 0.525 56.72 1009.2
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.010 100.00 1,163.5 0.00 59.2
DGB ASIA BHD 0.010 100.00 411.5 -33.33 18.8
XOX BHD 0.015 50.00 1,575.3 0.00 75.8
NEXGRAM HOLDINGS BHD 0.015 50.00 2,672.4 -78.57 9.7
BCM ALLIANCE BHD 0.015 50.00 22.2 -40.00 30.5
SCOMI ENERGY SERVICES BHD 0.045 28.57 10,337.7 -18.18 21.1
CME GROUP BHD 0.030 20.00 310.0 0.00 31.0
G3 GLOBAL BHD 0.030 20.00 2,870.5 0.00 113.2
SDS GROUP BHD 0.690 15.00 4,738.6 -6.76 282.6
BINA PURI HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 14.29 253.1 0.00 134.8
MERIDIAN BHD 0.080 14.29 13.4 -33.33 18.1
SAPURA ENERGY BHD 0.040 14.29 1,361.2 14.29 639.2
EG INDUSTRIES BHD 1.340 13.56 9,722.3 148.15 555.1
PARKSON HOLDINGS BHD 0.215 13.16 52,794.8 59.26 247.0
YLI HOLDING BHD 0.390 13.04 1,383.3 30.00 40.1
INDUSTRONICS BHD 0.045 12.50 1,144.2 -40.00 31.8
GDB HOLDINGS BHD 0.190 11.76 7,076.5 -19.15 178.1
EVERSENDAI CORP BHD 0.145 11.54 7,620.8 -6.45 113.2
PAPPAJACK BHD 0.880 11.39 8,360.5 55.75 676.0
MULTI-USAGE HOLDINGS BHD 0.540 11.34 5.1 -7.69 30.5
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 22.960 0.680 1,467.2 2.68 24,760.9
SAM ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT 4.880 0.180 424.2 -1.01 2,643.0
EG INDUSTRIES BHD 1.340 0.160 9,722.3 148.15 555.1
HENGYUAN REFINING CO BHD 3.200 0.150 406.5 -9.09 960.0
LPI CAPITAL BHD 11.980 0.140 67.2 -5.22 4,772.6
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO 10.260 0.120 68.9 -8.56 2,929.5
MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 28.700 0.100 117.5 -0.21 5,708.3
FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 25.400 0.100 33.7 17.70 9,316.2
PAPPAJACK BHD 0.880 0.090 8,360.5 55.75 676.0
SDS GROUP BHD 0.690 0.090 4,738.6 -6.76 282.6
CHIN HIN GROUP BHD 4.480 0.090 2,406.3 38.70 7,927.0
AMWAY MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 5.370 0.090 0.3 10.93 882.8
MALAYAN CEMENT BHD 3.200 0.090 788.5 50.94 4,192.6
UWC BHD 3.280 0.080 902.0 -18.41 3,613.5
ECONFRAME BHD 0.930 0.075 3,447.0 2.76 315.8
SIME DARBY PLANTATION BHD 4.370 0.070 1,322.5 -6.02 30,221.7
CYPARK RESOURCES BHD 0.805 0.065 26,486.9 71.28 629.6
SUNWAY CONSTRUCTION GROUP 1.630 0.060 269.5 4.49 2,101.7
MALAYSIA SMELTING CORP BHD 2.060 0.060 459.4 34.64 865.2
MULTI-USAGE HOLDINGS BHD 0.540 0.055 5.1 -7.69 30.5
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
27 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DOW JONES 34,291.72 -126.75 -0.37 INDONESIA 6,718.98 37.22 0.56
S&P 500 4,447.94 -7.65 -0.17 JAPAN 33,338.70 -83.82 -0.25
NASDAQ 100 15,255.85 47.16 0.31 KOREA 2,579.00 -14.31 -0.55
FTSE 100 7,446.73 -72.99 -0.97 PHILIPPINES 6,512.39 -2.08 -0.03
AUSTRALIA 7,253.17 -25.87 -0.36 SINGAPORE 3,185.38 -18.39 -0.57
CHINA 3,222.95 -22.40 -0.69 TAIWAN 17,056.43 -84.34 -0.49
HONG KONG 19,110.38 -305.30 -1.57 THAILAND 1,508.87 -6.44 -0.42
INDIA 65,446.04 -33.01 -0.05 VIETNAM 1,134.62 2.62 0.23
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
JADI IMAGING HOLDINGS BHD 0.030 -33.33 25,864.5 -64.71 32.3
MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.01 -33.33 687.5 -60.00 24.2
COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 70.0 0.00 55.0
REACH ENERGY BHD 0.030 -14.29 85.1 -33.33 63.9
MTOUCHE TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.040 -11.11 164.3 -20.00 37.1
MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 0.970 -11.01 39.4 0.52 62.4
JAG BHD 0.305 -10.29 17,996.7 -9.56 193.3
KNUSFORD BHD 0.450 -10.00 2.0 -25.00 44.8
VIZIONE HOLDINGS BHD 0.050 -9.09 832.8 -9.09 102.3
INGENIEUR GUDANG BHD 0.105 -8.70 634.3 -12.50 145.3
SINARAN ADVANCE GROUP BHD 0.055 -8.33 64.1 -26.67 50.3
NETX HOLDINGS BHD 0.065 -7.14 1,152.6 8.33 59.8
CABNET HOLDINGS BHD 0.195 -7.14 29.0 -13.33 34.9
LIEN HOE CORP BHD 0.280 -6.67 21.9 -18.84 93.1
ICON OFFSHORE BHD 0.070 -6.67 880.7 -26.32 189.5
PAN MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 0.070 -6.67 12,863.3 0.00 65.0
YGL CONVERGENCE BHD 0.140 -6.67 4.0 7.69 35.8
SPRING ART HOLDINGS BHD 0.150 -6.25 100.3 -16.67 62.4
SEALINK INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.075 -6.25 137.0 -25.00 37.5
SELANGOR DREDGING BHD 0.450 -6.25 20.0 3.45 191.8
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 130.300 -1.500 60.1 -6.93 30,555.4
DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES 21.500 -0.500 26.5 -28.90 1,376.0
PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 21.880 -0.320 68.4 -4.24 21,736.8
VITROX CORP BHD 7.800 -0.200 132.6 1.96 7,373.1
RAPID SYNERGY BHD 21.100 -0.180 19.1 32.21 2,255.5
MERCURY INDUSTRIES BHD 0.970 -0.120 39.4 0.52 62.4
GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.450 -0.110 904.8 -8.06 5,575.1
QL RESOURCES BHD 5.290 -0.110 1,085.3 -3.99 12,874.0
HONG LEONG CAPITAL BHD 6.060 -0.100 2,994.8 -3.50 1,496.2
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 26.200 -0.100 21.4 3.97 7,915.0
TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD 4.870 -0.080 2,372.8 -9.81 18,613.0
PERTAMA DIGITAL BHD 2.720 -0.070 9,882.2 54.55 1,189.2
HONG LEONG INDUSTRIES BHD 8.880 -0.060 90.1 -3.48 2,836.9
CI HOLDINGS BHD 3.150 -0.060 22.0 7.51 510.3
MR DIY GROUP M BHD 1.530 -0.060 7,127.4 -23.50 14,433.8
YOONG ONN CORP BHD 1.320 -0.050 3.0 4.76 209.4
KNUSFORD BHD 0.450 -0.050 2.0 -25.00 44.8
PJBUMI BHD 0.870 -0.050 3,907.8 -3.33 71.3
TENAGA NASIONAL BHD 9.080 -0.050 2,250.1 -5.71 52,549.0
NEGRI SEMBILAN OIL PALMS BHD 3.500 -0.050 16 0 245.7
Data as compiled on Jul 5, 2023 Source: Bloomberg