SERC SEES LOCAL ECONOMY COOLING IN 2H2023 ON TEPID

CONSUMPTION AND WEAKER EXPORTS p4

T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 t h e e d g e m a l ay s i a . c o m
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CEOMorningBrief HOME: Bersatu questions if caretaker Selangor MB can cancel PJD Link project p2
Bursa Securities rejects GIIB’s private placement amid MACC charges against directors p7
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Thaksin-linked Thai party plans

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nominate property tycoon as PM
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Cabinet has approved

in principle KL Sentral
redevelopment, says Loke
Report on Page 3.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Parti Pribu-
mi Bersatu Malaysia has questioned the
right of Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to re-
ject the application for the proposed Pet-
aling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) pro-
ject, since he is currently only the caretaker
Selangor menteri besar.
“[Can] the caretaker government or care-
taker menteri besar make impactful deci-
sions such as this? After the announcement
was made, various individuals and non-gov-
ernmental organisations welcomed the deci-
sion, but rightly questioned the validity and
legality of such an announcement and un-
dertaking made by the caretaker MB,” said
Bersatu’s legal and constitutional bureau
deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif.
Sasha also questioned why Amirudin
only announced the cancellation of the pro-
ject on Monday (July 31), the third day of
campaigning for the Selangor state election.
“Why was this announcement made
during the election period, and not at any
point earlier?” she asked.
Sasha also slammed Amirudin for saying
on Tuesday evening that the PJD Link pro-
ject may be revived if it complies with the
Four residents want Selangor govt’s firm commitment to reject
future highway development in PJ
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Four Pet-
aling Jaya residents who filed legal action
against the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link
(PJD Link) want the Selangor government
to give its firm commitment to reject any
future highway development in the area.
The four, who are part of the “Say No
to PJD Link” movement led by lawyer T
Chakaravarthi, in a statement on Wednes-
day (Aug 2) said that while they welcome
caretaker Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk
Seri Amirudin Shari’s announcement of
the cancellation of the project, there are
subsequent news quoting Amirudin as
saying that the project may be revived if
some conditions are met.
“With such an unclear caveat, we are
concerned that there will be an attempt to
introduce another version of the PJD Link.”
They noted that in the past, there was
a proposal for the Kinrara Damansara
2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
published by
(266980-X)
. 603-77218000
tel
Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
Bersatu questions
if caretaker
Selangor MB can
cancel PJD Link
project
BY LAM JIAN WYN
theedgemalaysia.com
requirements set by the state government.
“Is he playing the fool with the hearts
and minds of PJ voters? Or is this unprinci-
pled campaigning being practised by Paka-
tan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN)?
“Amirudin is also standing as a candi-
date in Sungai Tua, and he has no business
making promises such as this in the midst
of election campaigning,” said Sasha.
The proposed PJD Link is a 25.4km
elevated highway that cuts across Pet-
aling Jaya to connect Damansara and
BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemalaysia.com
Expressway (Kidex), only for it to be can-
celled, and then the PJD Link was mooted.
They said residents in Petaling Jaya
would not want to experience such an
episode again.
“Now that it is clear that the over-
whelming majority do not wish for such
a highway [to] be built, both the federal
and state governments should reject any
similar proposals from the outset, and not
grant approvals (be it conditional or oth-
erwise), which would unnecessarily drag
the community through such an ordeal
again,” they added.
They said that rumours of the devel-
opment of a mega highway being immi-
nent had caused anxiety and restlessness
among the community, resulting in protests
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Bandar Kinrara in Selangor.
On Monday, Amirudin announced that
the Selangor government had rejected the
PJD Link application, as it was “not satis-
fied with the plans proposed”, especially
in relation to its social impact on Petaling
Jaya residents.
According to him, the highway had re-
ceived approval in principle from the BN
federal Cabinet on Nov 12, 2017, which
was led by then prime minister Datuk Seri
Najib Razak.
Following this, the proposal was
brought to the Selangor State Economic
Action Council on Sept 3, 2020, which
then allowed for studies to be done involv-
ing Petaling Jaya residents. Amirudin was
already the menteri besar of the PH-led
state government at the time.
The proposal was then presented to the
federal Cabinet on Nov 12, 2021. The pro-
posal’s approval required the Selangor gov-
ernment’s go-ahead, said Amirudin, referring
to a concession agreement that was signed
in April 2022 by the Perikatan Nasional-BN
federal government, led by then prime min-
ister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
and campaigns in the past four years to
oppose it.
The four also requested for the govern-
ment to declassify the PJD Link concession
agreement, and also provide the public
with the environment impact assessment,
transport impact assessment and social im-
pact assessment, which they had requested
in their judicial review application.
They said that if their demands are
not met within a week, they would as-
sume that there is no serious commit-
ment by the Selangor government to re-
ject future proposals for a mega highway
similar to Kidex or the PJD Link, and
that there is no intention by the authori-
ties to provide them with the documents
in their judicial review application.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
PUTRAJAYA (Aug 2):The Cabinet has on
Wednesday (Aug 2) approved in principle
the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) propos-
al regarding the redevelopment of Kuala
Lumpur Sentral Station (KL Sentral), the
main public transport hub in the capital,
said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
Loke said the redevelopment of KL
Sentral will involve privatisation, with an
estimated cost of over RM1 billion.
He added that KL Sentral will be rede-
veloped in collaboration with the Malay-
sian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB),
the developer of the entire KL Sentral pro-
ject, without involving financial implica-
tions to the government.
“In return, MRCB will get air rights to
build commercial buildings or condomini-
ums, and the government will get a modern,
sophisticated station for passenger needs,” he
said in a press conference here on Tuesday.
Loke said the original architecture
of KL Sentral was for a capacity of only
100,000 passengers a day, but now it reach-
es 200,000 passengers a day.
Although the government has agreed
in principle, it is still subject to further
discussion between the Prime Minister’s
Department’s Public Private Partnership
Unit (UKAS) and MRCB, where both par-
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Stressing the
need for the government to improve its
social protection scheme, the Malaysian
Institute of Economic Research (MIER)
said the legal coverage of Employees Prov-
ident Fund (EPF) should be extended to
all workers in the labour force.
As of Dec 31, 2022, more than 40% of the
workforce is not covered under any formal
pension and retirement programme in Malay-
sia, noted MIER in a statement after holding
a dialogue on Budget 2024 attended by key
representatives from government, industry
leaders, investment bankers, and academics.
“Currently, the legal coverage of the work-
force under a formal pensions and retirement
programme is at 56% (EPF only: 47% of the
labour force), which is 12% lower than the
global average of 68%,” said MIER.
It noted that the EPF is exploring a mech-
anism to extend its mandatory coverage to
the uncovered segments of the labour force
(80% of the labour force by 2035) through
a phased approach with differentiated con-
tribution rates for different work segments.
“The proposed mechanism is to in-
crease the individual’s accountability in
saving to ensure income during retirement
and thus optimising the government’s long-
term fiscal expenditure in social spending
for the elderly,” said MIER.
The extension, it said, will focus on
three main work segments, namely con-
3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
ZAHID IZZANI/THE EDGE
Cabinet has
approved in
principle KL Sentral
redevelopment,
says Loke
Bernama
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook
MIER: Extend
EPF coverage
to all workers,
starting with opt-
out mechanism
BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemalaysia.com
tract for service workers (formal and infor-
mal), business owners, and independent
workers/self-employed.
For Budget 2024, MIER said the gov-
ernment can consider announcing the
long-term policy direction towards man-
datory EPF coverage of all workers in the
labour force by implementing Phase 1 (vol-
untary opt-out mechanism).
This includes mandatory coverage for for-
mal contracts of service workers in the pub-
lic sector (employers: 2%; employees: 2%),
and auto-registration of more than 550,000
Malaysians attaining the age of 18 into EPF
and the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
It also includes collaboration with plat-
form providers through auto-registration
and auto-deduction mechanisms for more
ties are given a maximum period of two
years for the purpose of discussion, he said.
“If they can finalise the cooperation
earlier, then the redevelopment can be
accelerated. For MOT it is an important,
strategic project, which needs to be given
priority,” he said.
Among the conditions set by the gov-
ernment through the redevelopment pro-
posal is that KL Sentral must be redevel-
oped first before any other development
can be started by MRCB.
During the redevelopment, Loke said
KL Sentral will continue to operate as usu-
al, and assured that it will not involve any
relocation of the station.
“Once the station is completed, then
MRCB will be given the right to develop
their projects,” said Loke.
Read also:
Only one theory test needed to
obtain car, motorcycle driving licence
starting Sept 15
JPJ branches ordered to take down
‘no physical road tax’ notice, says Loke
than 300,000 gig workers to the EPF, and
collaboration with the regulatory body to
auto-register more than 450,000 informal
sector workers, the self-employed and gig
workers (non-platform) to the EPF.
MIER also called for the introduction
of a contributory national pension scheme
(CNP), which it said is a pivotal step in es-
tablishing a multi-pillar pension framework.
The research outfit said that the CNP
will be supported by the EPF as a key in-
stitution in managing old-age income se-
curity risks by providing a basic lifelong
income stream for the elderly.
MIER also suggested that the government
establish a national social protection floor
through universal cash transfer programmes.
It said the government should move to-
wards universal benefits to strengthen the
currently weak social contract and build
higher trust levels among citizens.
“The proposed cash transfer pro-
grammes will include universal children’s
allowance, a payment of RM100 per month
per child for all children aged 0-17.
“A universal social pension for the el-
derly, whereby RM100 per month is given
for all elderly people aged 70 and above.
This can be accorded to all regardless of
socio-economic status,” it said.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
Malaysia’s GDP continued to expand by 5.6% y-o-y in 1Q,
supported largely by resilient consumer spending
Real GDP Growth (%; 2015=100)
Year-on-Year
20
15
10
5 0.0
0
-5
-10
-15
-20
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Source: Socio-Economic Research Centre
SERC sees local economy cooling in 2H2023
on tepid consumption and weaker exports
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Malaysia’s
economic growth is expected to cool in the
second half of 2023 (2H2023) to 4%-5%,
reflecting a decline in exports and tepid
consumer spending amid a moderate glob-
al economic environment, according to the
Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC).
The research outfit’s executive direc-
tor Lee Heng Guie said the normalisation
of domestic demand, which has already
eroded the base effect, sticky core inflation
and high cost of living, as well as policy
uncertainties awaiting the outcome of the
six state elections will continue to weigh
on the health of the economy.
“The robust consumer spending we
have seen before may not happen again.
Based on our data, it has normalised due
to inflation, and high cost of living. There
will be growth, albeit at a slower pace. Cash
stimulus has been spent, and [the] revenge
spending we saw in [the] post pandemic
[period] has already faded,” said Lee at a
briefing on the SERC Quarterly Econom-
ic Tracker report on Wednesday (Aug 2).
However he said the stable labour mar-
ket, lower unemployment rate, accommo-
dative interest rate and stronger investment
approvals that amounted to RM71.4 bil-
lion in the first quarter of this year, will
continue to provide support to the growth
of the economy.
Lee also stressed the need for strategic
policies to be rolled out by the govern-
ment, that will provide better clarity for
the country’s economic participants.
“Directives such as the New Industrial
Master Plan would provide a strategic di-
rection for high quality and value-added in-
4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Real Interest Rate (OPR minus inflation)
%
6.0
Quarter-on-Quarter (sa)
4.0
2.0
-2.0
-4.0
-5.0
-6.0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2023
Note: BNM adopted Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) as policy rate since 2004.
Sources: BNM; Federal Reserve; DOSM, Socio-Economic Research Centre
BY PRIYATHARISINY VASU
theedgemalaysia.com
dustries to accelerate Malaysia‘s industrial
growth by stimulating innovation, boost-
ing technology adoption, tackling global
concerns, and ensuring economic stability
and inclusivity,” he added.
Globally, Lee foresees that China’s sig-
nificant slowdown in economic growth
could be a risk for trading partners like
Malaysia, in which the slowdown could
deprive important Chinese demand for
raw materials and consumer goods.
He added that exports earned from Chi-
na’s robust demand in the past could fade.
“China’s high youth unemployment
data is a cause for concern, which has hit
about 21% in June. The Chinese real es-
tate sector has also been under pressure
for the last one year, which has not been
fully addressed,” he said, adding that over
in the United States, a recession risk is very
much on the cards in the next six months.
Lee said the overall picture is that mon-
etary tightening is clearly slowing and likely
to pause in the second half of year 2023.
Inflation may have peaked, but upside risks
could make the monetary policy tightening
more challenging.
“Ultimately, central bank policy moves
will be driven by the current and expected
path of inflation,” he said at the briefing.
The research house expects headline
inflation to range between 2.8% and 3.3%
this year, easing from an estimated 3.5%
last year.
It also forecasts the central bank would
pause its overnight policy rate at 3% this
5.4
June
0.6
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
year, taking into account the global growth
concerns, moderating domestic economic
growth and easing inflation.
“There is, however, renewed inflation
pressure following the changes in domestic
fuel subsidy policy and also the impact of
a weakening ringgit.
“If such a scenario plays out, BNM will
have no choice but to hike rates further if
the growth continues at a steady pace,”
Lee said.
The research house also expects head-
line inflation to average at 2.8% for this
year, although core inflation is expected
to stay elevated.
Amid stable labour market conditions,
the research firm expects growth in private
consumption to continue normalising as
consumers tighten discretionary spending
in response to inflation and rising cost of
living.
Private consumption in 1Q2023 grew
by 5.9% and is expected to increase by
between 4.5% and 5.0% in 2023-2024.
“We have reasons to expect a moderate
pace of households’ consumption as they
exercise discretion between necessities,
consumer durables and non-necessities
in coping with rising cost of living.
“In addition, higher interest rates (bor-
rowing costs) would mean higher debt ser-
vice payments for higher-debt borrowers.
53.4% of total household loan accounts
have floating-rate loans,” Lee said.
Read also: MIDF Research expects
Malaysia’s GDP growth to moderate at
4.2% in 2023
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Malaysian
national oil company Petroliam Nasional
Bhd (Petronas) is among the region’s top
10 cash holders, which collectively held
US$532 billion or 40% of the total Asian
cash balance as at end-2022, according
to a report by Moody’s Investors Service.
Petronas has been accorded an A2 rat-
ing with a stable outlook, Moody’s said.
Besides Petronas, the other nine com-
panies comprised seven from China, and
one each from South Korea and Taiwan.
“Three major Chinese national oil com-
panies — China Petrochemical Corporation
(Sinopec Group, A1 stable), China National
Petroleum Corporation (CNPC, A1 stable),
and China National Offshore Oil Corporation
(CNOOC, A1 stable), as well as Petronas (A2
stable), are the only four oil and gas (O&G)-
based companies in the top 10 cash holders.
“Together, they held 86% of the O&G
sector’s cash balance at the end of 2022.
These companies maintain high cash bal-
ances through the O&G price cycle, which
reflects their strong liquidity and prudent fi-
nancial policies,” Moody’s said in a statement.
The international credit rating company
said a high cash balance provides a buffer
against industry cyclicality and allows a
company to act quickly on potential ac-
quisition opportunities.
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Analysts an-
ticipate that the banking sector will stay in
a positive trajectory in the second half of
the year despite a slower growth in business
loans reported.
According to the Bank Negara Malay-
sia (BNM) Monthly Highlights report for
June 2023, Malaysia’s credit to the private
non-financial sector was broadly sustained
at 3.9%, compared with 4% in May 2023,
although credit to businesses grew at a
slower pace of 2.6%, versus 2.8% previ-
ously.
In a note on Wednesday (Aug 2),
Maybank Investment Bank Bhd analyst
Desmond Ch’ng maintained a “positive”
rating on banks, even though loan growth
of 4.4% in June 2023 currently trails its
full-year loan growth forecast of 5% for
the year.
“Nevertheless, we expect a pick-up in
loan growth in the second half (2H) [of
2023] amid easing inflationary pressures,
stable interest rates and a stronger ring-
git,” said Ch’ng.
Moreover, as margin pressure is abating,
he expects it should contribute to better
interest margins in the 2HFY2023.
The analyst noted that the current ac-
count savings account (CASA) ratio con-
tracted for the sixth consecutive month,
but by a lower 4.2% year-on-year (y-o-y)
6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Petronas among
region’s top 10
cash holders,
rated A2 by
Moody’s with a
stable outlook
Bernama
Analysts remain
upbeat on banking
sector in 2H2023
BY ANIS HAZIM
theedgemalaysia.com
compared to 4.9% y-o-y in May 2023.
“The industry’s CASA ratio neverthe-
less improved to 29.3% end-June 2023
from 28.9% end-May 2023 and compares
against a pre-Covid CASA ratio of 26.5%
end-Dec 2019,” he said.
He observed that headline inflation
eased further to 2.4% in June 2023 from
2.8% in May 2023, and as a result, opined
that the return on deposits turned posi-
tive for the first time since Feb 2021, and
this relieves pressure on interest rate hikes.
Maybank Investment’s preferred bank
stocks are CIMB Group Holdings Bhd
with a “buy” call and a target price (TP)
of RM6.15, AMMB Holdings Bhd (Buy,
TP: RM4.15), Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd
(Buy, TP: RM4), Hong Leong Bank Bhd
(Buy, TP: RM22.70), Hong Leong Finan-
cial Group Bhd (Buy, TP: RM22.20) and
RHB Bank Bhd (Buy, TP: RM6.40).
Moody’s said the technology, media
and telecommunications (TMT), O&G,
and property sectors dominate the region’s
cash pile.
“TMT companies hold a quarter of the
cash pile, helped by strong cash flow gen-
eration. O&G companies ranked second
in cash holdings, supported by elevated
energy prices. The property sector ranked
third, despite a contraction in cash hold-
ings in 2022.”
Overall, Moody’s said the cash holdings
of rated non-financial companies in Asia
(excluding Japan) will hold steady at around
US$1.3 trillion in the next 12-18 months, as
investment-grade companies, which account
for most of the cash holdings, maintain their
significant cash positions.
Moody’s report examined the cash hold-
ings of 214 non-financial companies in Asia
(excluding Japan) as of June 30, 2023.
It said cash continues to bear an im-
portant role in supporting a company’s
liquidity and is vital for operational needs,
corporate solvency and the ability to pay
off short-term liabilities as they come due.
Furthermore, ample cash allows a com-
pany to seize investment opportunities as
they arise, and acts as a buffer against
unexpected expenses or downturns in a
business.
CGS-CIMB Research analyst Winson
Ng, who also reiterated his “overweight”
call on banks, said that the research house
is “not overly concerned about the mod-
eration in loan growth”.
“We are not overly concerned about
the weakening of the loan growth as even
if loan growth disappoints, we do not ex-
pect loan growth in 2023 to be far be-
low our projected 4% to 5%, and every
1% point cut in our loan growth projec-
tion would only lower our calendar year
of 2024 (CY2024) forecast net profit by
0.8%, based on our estimate,” said Ng.
He viewed June’s month-on-month
(m-o-m) drop of RM796.5 million in gross
impaired loans (GIL) positively, as it was
the largest m-o-m decline in 1H2023.
“This lowered the banking industry’s GIL
ratio from 1.8% at end-May 23 to 1.76% at
end-Jun 23. Based on the latest trends, we
think that GIL ratio should peak soon. Hence,
we see minimal risk of GIL ratio surpassing
our end-2023 projection of 2%,” he said.
The analyst is also positive on the bank-
ing sector following the potential further
quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) decline in the
second quarter of 2023 (2QFY2023) in
loan loss provisioning (LLP).
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
Bursa Securities
rejects GIIB’s
private placement
amid MACC
charges against
directors
BY ANIS HAZIM
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Bursa Se-
curities has rejected GIIB Holdings Bhd’s
proposed private placement, citing pending
charges against several of its directors un-
der the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-
mission (MACC) Act 2009.
“Based on the representations made in
the additional listing application (ALA)
in relation to the proposed private place-
ment as well as the various announcements
made by GIIB, Bursa Securities took note
that there are certain charges made against
certain directors of GIIB pursuant to the
MACC Act of which the matters are still
pending the decision by the court,” said
GIIB in a filing on Wednesday (Aug 2).
“Given that corporate governance prac-
tices by the listed issuer and its directors is
one of the key areas that Bursa Securities
takes into consideration when processing
the ALA, the MACC charges have given
rise to concerns on the corporate govern-
ance practices. As such, Bursa Securities
is unable to consider the ALA,” the com-
pany added.
The rubber-related compounds manu-
Mudajaya
secures ECRL
works worth
RM195.1 mil
BY REYANNA NG
theedgemalaysia.com
7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
facturer had in April proposed to under-
take the private placement of up to 81.96
million new shares, or 10% of its issued
share capital, to raise up to RM6.97 mil-
lion for its working capital.
In May, MACC remanded GIIB chief
executive officer (CEO) Tai Boon Wee,
together with executive directors Tai Qi-
yao and Wong Ping Kiong, relating to an
invoice for a sum of RM24,000 issued
by GIIB’s 51%-owned subsidiary GIIB
Healthcare Products Sdn Bhd over the
sale of gloves.
Earlier this year, MACC had also
charged both Boon Wee and Wong under
Section 18 of the MACC Act for alleged-
ly furnishing fake documents to auditor
Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT.
Last month, Boon Wee relinquished his
executive chairman post but is staying on
as CEO. Datuk Seri Wan Adnan Wan Ma-
mat replaced Boon Wee as non-executive
chairman.
GIIB shares closed down half a sen or
5% on Wednesday, giving the group a mar-
ket capitalisation of RM56.17 million.
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Mudajaya
Group Bhd has secured a contract worth
RM195.1 million for works related to the
East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) in Terengga-
nu from the development’s main contrac-
tor, China Communications Construction
(ECRL) Sdn Bhd.
In a bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug
2), Mudajaya said its wholly owned Mu-
dajaya Corp Bhd had accepted the letter
of award on Aug 1, 2023, to undertake the
construction and completion of stations,
ancillary buildings and other associated
works for the rail project.
The project is targeted to be completed
by 2026, with a construction period of 32
months from the date of site possession.
Mudajaya shares closed unchanged at
18.5 sen on Wednesday, valuing the group
at RM347 million.
AMMB says
in talks with
Great Eastern
over MetLife
Malaysian
arm sale
BY KAYLA CHAN
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2):
AMMB Holdings Bhd has be-
gun preliminary discussions with
Great Eastern Holdings Ltd over
the sale of MetLife Inc’s Malay-
sian venture.
The transaction could value
AmMetLife Insurance Bhd, which
the US company jointly owns with
Kuala Lumpur-listed AMMB, at
US$250 million (RM1.13 billion)
to US$300 million, said Bloomb-
erg, citing people familiar with the
matter.
In a bourse filing on Tuesday
(Aug 1), AMMB said the dis-
cussions are part of its business
review.
“It is crucial to note that these
talks are still at a very preliminary
stage. At this juncture, there is no
certainty that we will enter into any
definitive or binding agreement,”
it said.
It was reported on Monday that
Great Eastern is in talks to buy
MetLife’s Malaysian venture.
T h e s u b s i d i a r y o f O ve r -
sea-Chinese Banking Corp is
conducting due diligence on Am-
MetLife and seeking regulatory
approval to clinch the deal, said
the people.
On Wednesday, AMMB said it is
committed to abiding by the exact-
ing disclosure requirements that it
is governed by.
“Accordingly, any and all an-
nouncements related to this mat-
ter will be made in strict accordance
with the Main Market Listing Re-
quirements of Bursa Malaysia Se-
curities,” it said.
At the midday break, AMMB
slipped eight sen or 2.09% to
RM3.75, with 886,700 shares
traded.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Florence
Wong Wei Wei, a substantial shareholder
of PDZ Holdings Bhd, has secured sub-
stantial shareholder status in Fitters Di-
versified Bhd as well.
She raised her stake in Fitters Diver-
sified to 7.98% or 186.85 million shares,
after acquiring 105 million shares in the
one-stop fire protection specialist on the
open market on June 28, according to
the company’s bourse filing on Wednes-
day (Aug 2).
Fitters Diversified did not reveal the
purchase price. Based on the company’s
closing price of four sen on June 28, a
back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates
that Wong could have acquired the stake
for about RM4.2 million.
Notably,Wong is the second PDZ share-
holder to acquire a substantial sharehold-
ing in Fitters Diversified in recent days.
Slightly over two weeks ago, PDZ executive
director Ho Jien Shiung reemerged as a
substantial shareholder of Fitters Diversi-
fied, after increasing his stake to 10.35%
or 242.21 million shares through the ac-
quisition of another 5.37% stake or 125.71
million shares.
Ho had ceased to be a substantial share-
Another PDZ
shareholder
emerges as
substantial
shareholder in
Fitters Diversified
BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemalaysia.com
holder of Fitters Diversified in April af-
ter disposing of 40 million shares in the
company to reduce his stake to 4.53% or
106.11 million shares.
Over the past month, Fitters Diversified
saw two of its shareholders ceasing to be
substantial shareholders.
On June 30, Sanichi Technology Bhd
ceased to be a substantial shareholder af-
ter it dumped its entire equity interest of
6.7% or 156.92 million shares in Fitters
Diversified.
Meanwhile, Arena Evolusi Sdn Bhd’s
substantial shareholder status ceased on
June 27, after it offloaded 73.8 million
shares or a 3.15% stake, cutting its stake
in the group to 4.3%.
Besides Ho and Wong, Fitters Diver-
sified’s other substantial shareholders are
Cita Realiti Sdn Bhd with a 10.31% stake,
Sanichi founder and group managing di-
rector Datuk Seri Dr Jacky Pang Chow
Huat (8.12%) and Pembinaan Viana Sdn
Bhd (7.18%).
Interestingly, Sanichi is the largest
shareholder in PDZ with a 13.42% stake
in the company, while Wong is the second
largest shareholder with 9.87%.
Pang is not new to the investing fraternity,
as he holds stakes in several listed entities.
He hogged the limelight in late March when
he sold his 49.76% stake in Computer Forms
(M) Bhd after the stock plunged from its
peak at around RM2.90 to 22 sen.
More recently, on Monday, Pang
emerged as a substantial shareholder of
Apex Equity Holdings Bhd with a 9.69%
stake in the stockbroking firm.
Shares in Fitters Diversified closed un-
changed at four sen, giving the company
a market capitalisation of RM99 million.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Vinvest files lawsuit against EA

Hiap Teck JV company ignites new blast furnace plant Holdings over loss of shares
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Hiap Teck Venture Bhd said that its 27.3%-owned KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Technology and
joint venture (JV) company, Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd (ESSB) — has ignited its newly construction firm Vinvest Capital Holdings
completed 1,380 cu m blast furnace plant on Tuesday (Aug 1). In a bourse filing on Bhd has initiated a civil action in the High
Wednesday (Aug 2), Hiap Teck shared that with the successful ignition of the new Court over the alleged loss of its shares in
blast furnace, ESSB’s production capacity will increase from the current 700,000 EA Holdings Bhd. “This includes urgently
tonnes of steel slabs and billets to 2.7 metric tonnes annually. ESSB’s production applying for the necessary prohibitory
is mainly targeted to be sold locally to satisfy domestic demand and also to export injunctive orders to stop further derogation
to neighbouring countries, principally in Southeast Asia and North Asia. ESSB of the company’s rights over those shares,”
is primarily involved in the manufacturing, selling and dealing in a range of steel said Vinvest in a bourse filing. The injunction
products utilising the blast furnace. Hiap Teck said the completion of ESSB’s new application against EA Holdings was called
blast furnace plant will significantly expand ESSB’s revenue and earnings, therefore up for hearing on Wednesday (Aug 2), and
contributing positively towards the future performance of the Hiap Teck group. — by an interim injunction was granted by the
Reyanna Ng court, added Vinvest. Vinvest emerged as a
substantial shareholder of EA Holdings in
November 2021 after acquiring 1.1 billion
Kawan Food CEO Ng Hooi Kai shares or a 17.82% stake in the company,
vacates office at 2.11 sen per share or a total of RM23.21
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Kawan Food million. EA Holdings, in a separate filing, said
Bhd said Ng Hooi Kai has vacated his it was served with the writ and a notice of
office as chief executive officer (CEO) injunction application by Vinvest on Tuesday
with effect from Wednesday (Aug (Aug 1). “The injunction application was
2). This follows the expiration of his called up for hearing on Aug 2, 2023. An
contract, said the homegrown frozen ad interim injunction was granted by the
food manufacturer in a filing with Bursa High Court,” said EA Holdings. It added that
Malaysia. Ng, 61, was appointed as the the writ and the injunction application are
group CEO in January 2021. He has fixed for case management on Aug 11. EA
a direct interest of 0.019% or 72,000 Holdings did not provide further details on
shares in the group. — by Anis Hazim the case. — Anis Hazim
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

Main Sponsor Official Car Supporting Sponsor

honouring
Malaysia’s outstanding
corporate performers

TM

is your company
one of them?
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
Dubai skyscraper
draws interest
from KLCC
Property, China’s
CIC, Saudi fund
BY ARCHANA NARAYANAN &
NICOLAS PARASIE
Bloomberg
(Aug 2): China Investment Corp, Malay-
sia’s KLCC Property Holdings Bhd and
Saudi Arabia’s Hassana are among poten-
tial bidders for a stake in an office tower
in the heart of Dubai’s financial district,
according to people with knowledge of the
matter.
Its owners, Brookfield Asset Manage-
ment and state-owned Investment Corp of
Dubai, may sell a stake of as much as 49%
in ICD Brookfield Place, whose tenants in-
clude JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of
America Corp the people said, asking not to
be identified because the talks are private.
The joint venture has received interest
from more than a dozen entities globally,
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Hong Le-
ong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research
maintained its “hold” call on Frontken
Corp Bhd at RM3.27, with a higher tar-
get price (TP) of RM3.07 (from RM3),
after the surface engineering service pro-
vider’s performance missed expectations
for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023
(2QFY2023).
Frontken’s net profit slipped by 0.89%
to RM31.91 million for 2QFY2023, from
RM32.2 million for 2QFY2022, due to
lower revenue from its Taiwan and Singa-
pore units due to weaker semiconductor
demand. Revenue fell 5.5% to RM121.5
million, from RM128.20 million previously.
HLIB’ s TP of RM3.07 was derived
from valuations rolled forward based on
an unchanged price-earnings multiple of
30 times FY2024 earnings per share (EPS)
from FY2023 EPS.
Analyst Tan J Young said in a research
note the company’s risk and reward pro-
file remains balanced, notwithstanding its
seven-nanometre-and-below technology
leadership, and its strong balance sheet or
net cash of RM378 million or 23.9 sen per
share to support its expansion in Taiwan
and Singapore.
Tan said the company’s core net profit
of RM29 million brought the first half of
10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
including sovereign wealth and pension
funds, the people said. At least one candi-
date showed interested in buying the whole
tower, two of the people said.
The companies are working with Emir-
ates NBD Capital and JPMorgan on the
sale, Bloomberg has previously reported.
Final decisions haven’t been made and
the companies may decide not to sell the
stake, the people said. Representatives
for ICD Brookfield and CIC declined to
comment. Representatives for KLCC and
Hassana didn’t immediately respond to an
emailed request for comment.
KLCC Property, or KLCC REIT, is
Malaysia’s largest self-managed stapled
security that owns the iconic Petronas
Twin Towers.
The sale talks come amid a surge in
demand for top-tier office space in Dubai,
where rents have outpaced hubs like Lon-
don and New York as businesses expand
into the financial hub known for its love
of glitzy construction.
ICD Brookfield Place is an equal-
ly-owned joint venture partnership between
ICD and Brookfield.The skyscraper, which
towers more than 900 feet (274 meters)
over the city’s financial district, opened just
as the pandemic spread globally. It has 46
elevators serving 53 floors, and indoor gar-
dens to escape the summer heat.
HLIB Research
maintains ‘hold’ on
Frontken but cuts
FY2023-25 core
net profit forecasts
BY SUFI MUHAMAD
theedgemalaysia.com
FY2023’s sum to RM53 million, which
missed expectations — accounting for 33%
of HLIB’s full-year forecast, and 36% of
the consensus.
“Taiwan Plant 2 began to generate rev-
enue in 2QFY2023, and is expected to
improve in 3QFY2023,” he said of Front-
ken’s semiconductor segment.
“Singapore was a major disappointment
impacted by a lacklustre memory segment.
“It sees no hurry to have a presence in
the US, and continues to explore avenues
with partners.”
Tan trimmed his core profit after tax
and minority interest forecasts for Front-
ken by 21% for FY2023, 7% for FY2024,
and 8% for FY2025.
Datasonic
anticipates
challenging FY2024
amid elevated
market ambiguities
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
Bloomberg
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Datason-
ic Group Bhd anticipates the financial
year ending March 31, 2024 (FY2024)
to be challenging, amid the elevated
market ambiguities arising from ongo-
ing macroeconomic issues.
In a statement on Wednesday (Aug
2) following the security-related inte-
grated information and communica-
tions technology solutions provider’s
annual general meeting, executive
deputy chairman Datuk Abu Hanifah
Noordin nevertheless said the company
is resolute in pursuing its strategic plans
with prudent management.
“The group has identified promising
areas of growth that we can capitalise
on to further expand our business,” he
said.
Abu Hanifah said FY2023 was cer-
tainly a remarkable year for Datasonic,
as it capitalised on the business rebound
following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This led to the delivery of our
best-ever top-line performance at
RM344.7 million, and our second-high-
est-ever bottom-line results at RM76.4
million.
“Beyond the financial accomplish-
ments, what truly mattered to us was
Datasonic’s ability to meet the pent-
up demand, and ensure seamless
and timely delivery of passports and
MyKads.
“This achievement not only solid-
ified our established track record, but
also reinforced our unwavering com-
mitment and contribution to national
security,” he said.
Abu Hanifah said demand for pass-
ports is expected to remain on an up-
ward trend, which bodes well for Da-
tasonic.
He said Datasonic will be gradu-
ally ramping up the production of its
manufacturing of polycarbonate data
pages, and growing the number of Ma-
laysian passports that are 100% made
in Malaysia.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 11 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Datuk Seri

Anwar’s
Anwar Ibrahim’s defamation suit against
Datuk Awang Solahuddin Hashim over the

defamation suit
Pendang Member of Parliament’s com-
ments that the prime minister was “vin-

against Pendang
dictive and vengeful” will go to trial in July
2026.

MP to go to trial
Anwar’s lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair
confirmed the matter with the press fol-

lowing a case management for the matter
on Wednesday (Aug 2) before High Court
judge Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh.
Trial dates are July 13-16, and 20-21,
2026.
“The court directed parties to complete
the pretrial documents latest by Nov 30,
2023 and to file interlocutory applica-
tions, if any, within one month from to-
day’s date,” he said.
Anwar filed the suit against the PAS
politician in March this year over Awang
Solahuddin’s comments made in the Par-
liament lobby.
The Pakatan Harapan chief claims the
remarks insinuated that he was vindic-
tive and had abused his power in office
to achieve his personal political agenda.
The Pendang MP in turn cited the de-
fence of fair comment and contended that
the criminal charges against ex-PM Tan
in July 2026
BY TARANI PALANI
theedgemalaysia.com
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, among others, con-
tradicted Anwar’s claim of not practising
politics of vengeance.
He also highlighted the “Operasi Lalang
crackdown” during the Mahathir admin-
istration which happened six years after
he took office.
In comparison, Awang Solahuddin said
Anwar’s political rivals were brought to
court within months after taking office in
November last year.
In reply, the PKR chief said that this
BERNAMA
was “totally absurd and untenable” and
asserted that the burden of proof is on the
PAS man to prove the allegations.
Anwar is seeking general, aggravated
and exemplary damages and compensa-
tion, as well as an injunction order to re-
frain the defendant or his agents from re-
publishing the alleged defamatory remarks.
Read also: Ahmad Zahid’s trial vacated
for the day as he attends Cabinet meeting

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): A mother,
who is one of 14 plaintiffs challenging the
validity of state laws concerning unilater-
al conversion, will know on Sept 12 if she
can proceed with committal proceedings
against the Kota Tinggi Islamic Council’s
officers for alleged harassment.
High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal
Md Shahid set the date, following a brief
ex parte (single-party) hearing for leave or
permission on Wednesday (Aug 2).
Ahmad Kamal said that as this concerns
contempt, he needs time to further study
the cause papers and submissions before
arriving at a decision.
Earlier, lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan sub-
mitted that one of the plaintiffs was al-
legedly harassed after the main suit was
filed in March.
“While [the plaintiff] was at home, a
van arrived with five individuals from the
Kota Tinggi [Islamic Council], and they
scolded her in relation to the case, and
also for not wearing a tudung. They also
spoke to her children, and interviewed
them without her consent,” he told the
court on Wednesday.
The Kota Tinggi Islamic Council falls
under the purview of the Johor govern-
ment, which is one of the defendants in
the suit.
He added that the actions of the of-
ficers of the religious authorities were akin
Unilateral
Conversion:
Mother to know on
Sept 12 if she can
commence contempt
proceedings against
Johor religious
officers
BY TARANI PALANI
theedgemalaysia.com
to impeding the course of justice, as the
particular plaintiff now feels fearful, and
is afraid to continue with the suit.
The lawyer asked for leave to be grant-
ed, so that the authorities could come to
the court, and explain themselves in the
inter partes stage.
The committal proceedings also known
as contempt proceedings were initiated in
April, a month after the suit was filed. The
particular plaintiff had also filed a police
report regarding the incident.
The 14 plaintiffs — including kinder-
garten teacher M Indira Gandhi — filed
the originating summons earlier this year
seeking to nullify unilateral conversion in
several states and the federal territories.
Besides Johor, the other defendants in
the suit are the governments of Perlis, Mel-
aka, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and
the federal territories.
The government of Pahang, which
was initially also a defendant, was re-
moved from the suit last month, as it had
amended its state laws to prevent unilat-
eral conversion.
The plaintiffs claimed that the state
enactments contravene Article 12 (4) of
the Federal Constitution, as interpreted in
Indira’s landmark 2018 case on unilateral
conversion.
Article 12(4) states that the religion of
a person aged under 18 is to be decided
by his “parent or guardian”. In the land-
mark decision, the apex court ruled that
the word “parent” in said article is to be
interpreted as “parents” if both are still
alive. Therefore, both parents’ permission
is needed in conversion cases.
The plaintiffs also argued that according
to Article 75 of the Federal Constitution,
the federal law shall prevail over any state
law that is inconsistent with it. Therefore,
they said that the state enactments allow-
ing unilateral conversion should be de-
clared void.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
SEMENYIH (Aug 1): The Unity Gov-
ernment has never sidelined any race
in the country but rather, all initiatives
and policies introduced are inclusive,
said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim.
Disapproving claims by some parties
that the Unity Government was bias, An-
war said assistance from and initiatives by
the Unity Government will be enjoyed by
every level of society, without any prefer-
ence for race or religion.
The prime minister said the government
does not have much money, but remains
committed to serving the people sincerely
without any vested interest, so that what-
ever money the government has, can be
used to assist the people.
“The money that the government has,
is not much…but because we do not swin-
dle or use it for personal interest...there is
still a blessing from the Almighty (Allah
SWT) to use the money to assist the rak-
yat (the people).
“I stressed that ‘whether you like it or
not; whether you support (the Unity Gov-
BERNAMA
MIC pledges support for Anwar’s leadership,
BN-PH candidates in state polls
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): MIC pres-
ident Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran gave his
assurance that the party would assist the
election machinery to ensure victory for
candidates from the unity government
during the state polls.
The MIC, which is a component of
Barisan Nasional (BN), pledged its full
support for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibra-
him’s leadership as the prime minister
throughout the five-year term.
During a special meeting with An-
war held at the MIC headquarters on
Wednesday (Aug 2), Vigneswaran and
other MIC leaders made the pledge in
front of the prime minister by rising from
12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Anwar: Unity
Govt not biased,
all initiatives are
inclusive of all
races
Bernama
ernment) or not, we will never change this
position to support every single citizen in
this country’,” he said when speaking at
the Unity Tour in conjunction with the
Selangor election in Semenyih, Kajang on
Tuesday (Aug 1) night.
The prime minister said among in-
itiatives introduced for all races in the
country is the government’s effort to
eradicate poverty, especially the hard-
core poor.
However, while the Unity Government
Bernama
their seats as a symbolic gesture to pledge
their support.
Also present at the meeting was Depu-
ty Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad
Zahid Hamidi, who is also the BN and
Umno president.
Vigneswaran, during a press conference
held later, said the party will go down to
the ground to assist candidates from BN-
PH, especially in constituencies where
there are Indian majority voters.
BN’s component parties MCA and
MIC had earlier declared that candi-
dates from the two parties would not be
is fully committed to assist the rakyat in
eradicating hardcore poverty, there are
members of Parliament (MPs) from PAS
who chide such efforts.
“MPs from PAS claim that since we
have the government, we can solve the is-
sue of poverty… they forget that even the
administration of Khalifah Umar Abdul
Aziz took two years and three months to
solve the problems of poverty.
“I am very firm with the issue because
I have directed that this year, all govern-
ment machinery, ministers and agencies
must work hard to put a full-stop to the
issue of hardcore poverty in the country,”
Anwar said.
The prime minister also gave his as-
surance that the Unity Government will
ensure that assistance to the people will
always be inclusive, and it will not sideline
any race in the country.
Read also: Voters: PH-BN coalition’s of-
fers in manifesto realistic, implementable
and covers all segments of society
MIC president Tan Sri SA
Vigneswaran with Prime
Minister Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim
contesting in the state polls held in six
states, namely Selangor, Negeri Sem-
bilan, Penang, Kelantan, Kedah and
Terengganu.
The Election Commission has set Aug
12 for polling and Aug 8 for early voting.
Read also:
Anwar says will consider MIC’s request
for greater representation in govt
State polls: Kelantan BN confident
of winning 16 seats
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
Presented by

HONOURING MALAYSIA’S
BEST PERFORMING
MID-CAP COMPANIES

2023

TO BE REVEALED SOON
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
After Bintulu
Port, MASwings
takeovers, Sarawak
negotiating
another request
Bernama
KUCHING (Aug 2): After obtaining pos-
itive feedback regarding the takeovers of
Bintulu Port and MASwings, the Sarawak
government is in the midst of negotiating
with the federal government to give due con-
sideration to one more request, said Tan Sri
Abang Johari Tun Openg.
The Sarawak premier, however, did not
disclose the latest state government’s re-
quest, saying that the matter would be an-
nounced before year end.
“There are three matters for which we
are in negotiations [with the federal govern-
ment], and maybe [the third matter] will be
returned to Sarawak.
“The matters are [the takeovers of] Bin-
tulu Port and MASwings, which have [re-
ISKANDAR PUTERI (Aug 2): Forest City,
a mega mixed development project on four
reclaimed islands in Johor waters, is pro-
ceeding according to plan.
The development, near Tanjung Pelepas
Port, is on 2,832.79 hectares (7,000 acres)
over four islands.
In a statement on Wednesday (Aug
2), Forest City regional deputy president
Syarul Izam Sarifudin said although the
global real estate market is relatively slow
due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the long-
term plan for sustainable development in
the area remains.
He said the company is still optimistic
about developing the artificial islands with
real estate as its core business and “does not
see any need to change the existing plan,
especially for the first ten years from 2015
to 2025”.
The first phase (2015-2020) is to com-
plete residences as well as some infrastruc-
ture and business space to accommodate
the existing community while the second
phase (2020-2025) will explore further in-
vestment opportunities, especially in trade,
financial and high-tech industrial hubs, the
statement said.
“However, unforeseen factors such as
the Covid-19 pandemic and the slow glob-
al economy had impacted the development
momentum. But (the project) remains as in
14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
ceived positive feedback from the federal
government], while on the third matter, just
wait for [my announcement],” he told re-
porters after attending the 5th anniversary
dinner of the Sarawak Public Communica-
tion Unit here on Tuesday night (Aug 1).
The Sarawak government had expressed
its desire to take over the administration of
Bintulu Port since January, followed by a
proposal to take over MASwings, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines Bhd,
in June.
In the meantime, Abang Johari said an
announcement would be made soon regard-
ing the establishment of the state’s Sovereign
Wealth Future Fund.
“I will announce the details [of the es-
tablishment of the fund].This is a very stra-
tegic institution. I will hold a special press
conference regarding the matter,” he said.
In November last year, the Sarawak leg-
islative assembly unanimously passed the
Sovereign Wealth Future Fund Board Bill
2022, with the state government making an
initial allocation of RM8 billion.
Abang Johari, when tabling the Bill,
said the fund would be managed in a
professional and transparent manner by
a board of guardians, comprising experts
and professionals in the fields of finance
and investment.
Forest City project
progressing according
to development plan,
says regional deputy
president
Bernama
the original master plan,” he said.
Syarul Izam also said the company is
prepared to review and re-evaluate Forest
City’s development plans after 2025 if there
is a need to do so.
He added that Forest City is being pro-
moted actively in Hong Kong, South Ko-
rea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines and
Indonesia and 100 international real estate
agents have been appointed to attract buyers
from these countries.
“We also welcome local traders interested
to rent shop units in Forest City. The area
is surrounded by various industrial sectors
such as ports, factories and government ad-
ministration,” he said.
Read the full story
PKNPk embarks
on initiatives worth
RM500 mil to spur
socioeconomic
growth in Perak
BY SURIN MURUGIAH
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Per-
badanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak
(PKNPk) is actively driving soci-
oeconomic growth with initiatives
worth RM500 million.
In a statement on Wednesday
(Aug 2), the state agency said it is
driving transformative initiatives via
strategic property developments as
a catalyst for economic impact and
job creation.
PKNPk said it aims to create a
holistic ecosystem to boost Perak’s
attractiveness, which incorporates
the development of infrastructure,
digital connectivity, telecommunica-
tions, green solutions, housing and
industrial property developments, as
well as port and logistics.
PKNPk’s flagship programmes
for Perak Sejahtera entail property
development, green technology, hos-
pitality & tourism, minerals, digital
economy, ports and logistics.
A year into the Perak Sejahtera
Development Plan 2030, PKNPk
has made tangible progress in fu-
tureproofing the state’s econom-
ic roadmap for the next 10 years,
PKNPk chief executive Datuk Redza
Rafiq Abdul Razak said.
“The Perak Sejahtera plan is dy-
namic, realistic and visionary, and
it is an ongoing effort to solidify the
state’s economic outlook, while cre-
ating a positive impact on the people
of Perak,” he said.
Redza Rafiq said PKNPk’s role
via Perak Sejahtera 2030 extends be-
yond direct economic gains.
“With a view to creating a mul-
tiplier impact, Perak and Perakians
stand to benefit from greater finan-
cial opportunities, investments, el-
evating social standards, and con-
tributing to comprehensive societal
advancement.
“The emphasis on sustainable in-
dustrial development underscores
PKNPk’s dedication to a greener
and sustainable future growth for
Perak,” he said.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
H O M E
Letters of demand
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): Communica-
tions and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil on
sent to duo over
Wednesday (Aug 2) sent a letter of demand
to independent preacher Ahmad Dusuki
Rawang mosque
Abd Rani over slanderous claims that he
had given a political talk at a mosque in
allegation, says
Rawang on July 30.
Lawyer Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi said a
Fahmi’s lawyer
similar notice was also sent to the owner
and administrator of Facebook account
“N13 Kuang”.
Asheeq Ali said the slanderous state-
ments issued by both individuals through
the Facebook and Instagram accounts were
Melaka set to
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): The Melaka
state government is confident of achiev-
notch RM7.6 bil
ing investments worth RM7.6 billion by
the end of this year, surpassing the initial
investments
target of RM5 billion, said chief minister
Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.
by year-end,
He said Melaka has received almost
RM6 billion worth of investments so far
says CM
and he believes that the remaining amount
can be fulfilled through investments from
China and Germany in the future.
“We are expecting an investment of RM5
billion this year from Texas Instruments and
we are confident of receiving RM2.6 bil-
lion worth of investment from China and
Germany by the end of this year,” he told
reporters at the sidelines of the state legis-
lative assembly here on Wednesday (Aug 2).
It was reported that Minister of Invest-
ment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk
Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said Texas Instru-
ments plans to invest RM14.6 billion to
expand operations in Kuala Lumpur and
Melaka, with production in both locations
expected to commence as early as 2025.
Out of that total potential investment,
RM5 billion is to be invested in Melaka,
creating 500 jobs.
While winding up the debate, Ab Rauf
said the state government is reviewing sev-
eral matters that need attention, to ensure
the vibrancy of the investment sector in the
15 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
Communications and Digital
Minister Fahmi Fadzil
intended to tarnish Fahmi’s good name
and further portray him as someone who
had disobeyed the order issued by Sul-
tan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris
Shah, by supposedly holding a political
talk in a mosque.
Fahmi, who is also Pakatan Harapan
communications director, demanded
among others, for the slanderous state-
ments be withdrawn, and for an open
apology from both individuals within
24 hours.
If these demands are not met within
the 24-hour period given, Fahmi’s rep-
resentatives have been instructed to file a
defamation suit against both individuals
immediately, the lawyer said.
Fahmi had on Tuesday refuted and ex-
pressed his disappointment with the slan-
derous claims that he had delivered a po-
litical speech at the mosque, saying that
he was ready to fully cooperate with the
Selangor Islamic Religious Department
(Jais) if he is called in for questioning.
On Wednesday, Selangor police chief
Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed
Bernama that there were no political elements in
Fahmi’s speech at the mosque on Sunday.
state, which includes participation by the
private sector to receive quality investments.
He said the state government will also
prioritise existing and new growth areas
that have high-added values, led by the
tech sector and including high-technology
semiconductor manufacturing.
The state government is also targeting
development in new industrial areas such as
the MCorp Hi-Tech Park on an area of 2,023
hectares (ha) in Alor Gajah, 243.5ha at Elkay
industrial park in Lipat Kajang, Jasin, and
Bernama at the Melaka Waterfront Economic Zone
(M-WEZ) encompassing 809.3 hectares.
BERNAMA “Development will also be carried out
for a new industrial area known as the Ger-
man Industrial Park and the Melaka In-
dustrial Master Plan that outlines the di-
rection of Melaka’s industries in five years.
“Facilitating all matters relating to in-
vestment or facilitate and not frustrate,
Invest Melaka Bhd will be tasked to form
the Melaka state investment advisory com-
mittee as an investment facilitator,” he said.
Ab Rauf noted that technical and voca-
tional education and training (TVET) will
continue to be supported through partner-
ships with industry players, especially in the
manufacturing sector.The allocation of con-
ducive centralised labour quarters will be
implemented in a targeted manner in all dis-
tricts in Melaka, starting in 2025, he noted.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

(Aug 2): Pheu Thai, a party linked to for-
mer prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
said it will form a new coalition with pos-
sible backing of conservative parties to end
a political stalemate that has gripped the
country since the May election.
It will seek to form a government without
Move Forward — the party that won the
most seats on May 14 — after disbanding an
eight-party, pro-democracy alliance under
Pita Limjaroenrat, Pheu Thai’s leader Chol-
nan Srikaew told a briefing on Wednesday
(Aug 2). The new Pheu Thai-led coalition
will nominate property tycoon Srettha Tha-
visin for the prime minister’s post, he said.
Pheu Thai is pursuing a new alliance,
after Thailand’s military-appointed Senate
and conservative parties rejected the coa-
lition that included Move Forward. Pita’s
bid to secure parliamentary endorsement
was twice blocked by pro-establishment
lawmakers opposed to his party’s pledge
to amend the royal insult law, or Article
112 of the criminal code.
To pacify the conservatives, Pheu Thai
pledged to leave the law protecting the roy-
als unchanged, while promising to overhaul
the military-drafted constitution to usher
in democratic reforms.
“This is the way to preserve the nation’s
key institution as the spiritual heart of all
Thais, and to push for what the people
wanted,” Cholnan said.
investors are still very cautious about polit-
Thaksin-linked ical uncertainty until the prime ministerial
vote result is clear,” said Rakpong Chaisu-
Thai party plans to parakul, an analyst at KGI Securities Pcl.
Angry pro-democracy activists gath-
form govt without ered outside Pheu Thai’s headquarters in
Bangkok, with some protesters spraying
poll winner, red paint across the building’s entrance,
burning effigies, and shouting that the par-
nominate property ty had “betrayed the people”.
Pheu Thai will announce the make-up
tycoon as PM of its coalition on Thursday, Cholnan said,
declining to confirm whether the new bloc
will include the military-backed United
BY PATPICHA TANAKASEMPIPAT Thai Nation or Palang Pracharath. Bhu-
Bloomberg mjaithai’s Anutin Charnvirakul said he
hadn’t talked to Pheu Thai recently, and
the party will decide on the prime minis-
terial vote when there’s more information.
Pheu Thai is pursuing Also on Thursday, the Constitutional
a new alliance, after Court will decide if it needs to scrutinise
Thailand’s military- a Parliament move to deny Pita a second
appointed Senate and shot at the top job. Should it reject a peti-
conservative parties tion by the nation’s ombudsman, Parlia-
ment can proceed with a fresh vote for the
rejected the coalition that prime minister’s post on Friday.
included Move Forward.
Read the full story
Investors reacted to Pheu Thai’s an-
nouncement with cautious optimism that
saw stocks rallying briefly before ending low- Read also: Thailand raises key rate again
er, while the baht trimmed its losses. “Most as inflation lingers, but exports a worry

Rice supply faces

Aug 2): Thailand has urged farmers to er rice output in the main harvest season.”
reduce their rice planting to save water Thailand’s central region was expect-

new threat as
following poor rainfall, a move that poses ed to account for almost 14% of total
a fresh threat to global supply after In- rice-growing area in 2023 and forecast to

Thailand urges
dia banned some shipments of the grain. make up about 19% of the main paddy
Farmers in the key central region have harvest in 2023/24, according to the Min-

already planted most of their rice but
the government is encouraging a switch
to other crops that need less water, ac-
cording to a statement from Surasri Kid-
timonton, the secretary-general of the
Office of the National Water Resources.
Thailand, the world’s second-biggest
rice exporter, is seeing less rain as the na-
tion braces for a potential drought next
year with the onset of the El Niño weather
pattern. Cumulative rainfall so far in the
central region is about 40% below normal
levels and the move to curb planting of the
grain is to help conserve water for house-
hold consumption, according to Surasri.
Rice prices in Asia surged to the highest
in more than three years last month after
India — the world’s biggest exporter —
banned some of its shipments. The grain
is essential to the diets of billions of people
and further price gains would burden con-
sumers with additional inflationary pressure.
“It’s impossible to ask farmers to stop
crop curbs
BY ANUCHIT NGUYEN & MAI NGOC CHAU
Bloomberg
BLOOMBERG
planting when prices are this good,” said
Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president
of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. “We’re
more concerned that intermittent rainfall be-
tween August to October will result in a low-
istry of Agriculture. Water levels in major
reservoirs in the area are at about 51% of
capacity, said Surasri.
The government previously warned
that El Niño could lead to unusually low
rainfall, and advised farmers to grow one
crop this year instead of the usual two.
However, any potential shortage from
Thailand could be offset by higher ship-
ments from Vietnam, which are likely to
exceed its target for the year.
Vietnam exported 21% more rice in
the first six months than a year earlier,
with shipments increasing to the Philip-
pines, China and Indonesia, according
to the Customs Department. The nation
says an increase in overseas sales won’t
affect its food security.
India is by far the world’s biggest rice ex-
porter, accounting for 40% of global trade,
while Thailand andVietnam make up 15%
and around 14%, respectively, according to
the US Department of Agriculture.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
(Aug 2): The US Treasury boosted the size
of its quarterly sale of longer-term debt
for the first time in over 2½ years, testing
dealers’ appetites amid an increase in gov-
ernment borrowing needs so alarming it
spurred Fitch Ratings to cut the US sov-
ereign rating from AAA.
The Treasury said it will sell US$103
billion (RM465.25 billion) of longer-term
securities at its so-called quarterly re-
funding auctions next week, which span
3-, 10- and 30-year Treasuries. That’s up
from a US$96 billion total last time, and
slightly larger than most dealers had ex-
pected.
The bump in issuance showcases the
rising borrowing needs that contributed
to Tuesday’s decision by Fitch Ratings to
lower the sovereign US credit rating by
one level, to AA+. Fitch said it expects
US finances to deteriorate over the next
three years.That’s from an already enlarged
position — the Treasury is pencilling in
some US$1 trillion worth of issuance in
all this quarter.
Ahead of the announcement, dealers
(Aug 2): The fallout from Fitch Ratings’
downgrade of the US puts the focus on
the countries still holding onto the coveted
top credit grade.
Economies with the highest credit rating at
S&P Global Ratings, Fitch and Moody’s In-
vestors Service include Germany, Denmark,
Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland,
Luxembourg, Singapore and Australia. Canada
is rated AAA by two of the rating companies.
Fitch’s downgrade of the US sovereign
follows the cut by S&P in 2011, leaving
Moody’s as the only major rating company
keeping its top-tier grade for the world’s
largest economy. Fitch said the cut reflects
expected fiscal deterioration and a growing
government debt burden after repeated
debt-limit stand-offs.
So far, concerns that the rating agen-
17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
US plans
US$103 bil debt
sale, says issuance
to keep rising
BY LIZ CAPO MCCORMICK
Bloomberg
had also laid out expectations for stepped-
up issuance of other securities, and for
the boosts in sales to stretch into 2024,
which the Treasury confirmed on Wednes-
day (Aug 2).
“While these changes will make sub-
stantial progress towards aligning auction
sizes with intermediate- to long-term bor-
rowing needs, further gradual increases will
likely be necessary in future quarters” the
department said in a statement.
Part of that deterioration is thanks to
higher interest the Treasury now pays on
World’s shrinking
AAA debt options
include Singapore,
Norway
BY TANIA CHEN
Bloomberg
cies may shift their gaze to the remaining
bloc are premature, according to Beren-
berg Capital Markets.
“Every country is different, and has its
own growth pattern — its own tax and
spending structures, so it doesn’t suggest
its debt. The Treasury has also said its tax
receipts have been weaker than expect-
ed. And in the meantime, the Federal Re-
serve’s continuing runoff of its holdings
of Treasuries, of up to US$60 billion a
month, requires the government to sell
more to the public.
The scale of future increases of longer-
term debt issuance will depend on the fis-
cal picture and on how long the Fed keeps
shrinking its bond portfolio, the Treasury
said on Wednesday.
US debt managers also detailed plans
over coming months to lift sales of nominal
Treasuries of all other maturities, in dif-
fering amounts depending on the security.
Part of the rationale for boosting sales
of coupon-bearing debt — as notes that
pay interest are known — is to ensure
that the share of debt made up by bills,
which mature in short-term spans of up
to a year, doesn’t exceed the recommend-
ed range.
Read the full story
any contagion to other countries,” senior
economist Mickey Levy said on Bloomberg
Television. “No country that has the strength
of the US has been affected by this.”
For Kevin Muir, a former trader who
now writes the MacroTourist newsletter,
US securities are over-owned in the global
financial community, and the downgrade
could lead to a re-weighting among some
investors towards the assets of other coun-
tries. But for other market participants,
it won’t change their view about the US.
“Is Canada really a better credit than the
US? Or Luxembourg?” Muir wrote. “The US
is the world’s dominant power, and surely they
have done some ill-advised things like wav-
ing a gun around threatening to shoot their
own financial system with a default, but we
all know they will eventually pay their bills.”
Read also:
Fitch cuts US credit rating to AA+;
Treasury calls it ‘arbitrary’
Wall Street falls after Fitch
downgrades top-tier US rating
What analysts say about US credit
downgrade by Fitch
Gold gets safety boost as Fitch’s US
downgrade shakes markets
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
(Aug 2): US consumers are still spending
like it’s 2021 — but that will soon change
as they run out of cash, according to a
report from the Brookings Institution.
Real income growth has slowed to lev-
els below the pre-pandemic trend, accord-
ing to the report published Tuesday by
Wendy Edelberg, director of the Hamilton
Project, and Sofoklis Goulas, a fellow at
the Brookings-led think tank. Meanwhile,
consumers kept their spending habits from
a couple of years ago, when forced in-
activity and Covid government support
payments bolstered their savings.
Much of that wealth gained since
2019 dissipated by the first quarter of this
year, the authors said. Meanwhile, per-
sonal consumption rebounded in June —
adjusted for inflation— by the most since
the start of the year, according to data
from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
“If households were to sustain their
current spending trends and increasingly
finance spending with borrowing, finan-
cial health could deteriorate in a worry-
ing way,” the analysts wrote.
Households saw “remarkable” gains
in real wealth early in the pandemic, as
personal savings rates soared to above
30% during the pandemic lockdowns
— when the US government provided
billions in fiscal support. But since then,
those savings rates have plummeted to
4.6% in May and as low as 3% last year,
(Aug 2): Economists at Bank of America
Corp revoked their forecast for a reces-
sion in the US, becoming the first large
Wall Street bank to officially reverse its call
amid growing optimism about the econom-
ic outlook.
The change comes just a week after Fed-
eral Reserve chair Jerome Powell told re-
porters that the central bank’s own econo-
mists are no longer forecasting a recession.
“Recent incoming data has made us
reassess our prior view that a mild reces-
sion in 2024 is the most likely outcome
for the US economy,” BofA economists,
led by Michael Gapen, wrote in a note to
clients on Wednesday (Aug 2).
“Growth in economic activity over the
past three quarters has averaged 2.3%, the
unemployment rate has remained near all-
time lows, and wage and price pressures
are moving in the right direction, albeit
gradually,” they wrote.
The resilience of the US economy this
year, despite the most aggressive Fed tight-
ening cycle in decades, has forced many
on Wall Street to repeatedly revise their
forecasts for when the country will fall into
18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Americans’
spending set to
slow as income
dips below 2019
trend
BY ALEX TANZI & MICHAEL SASSO
Bloomberg
near a historic low, the report showed. A
stock market retreat and weaker income
growth ate into the initial wealth gains, and
the deterioration in finances was faster for
nonwhite and lower income households.
BofA joins Fed
in reversing
recession call
amid growing
optimism
BY READE PICKERT & SWATI PANDEY
Bloomberg
recession. Now, with recent data show-
ing persistent strength in hiring alongside
moderating inflation, forecasters are be-
ginning to rethink their recession calls al-
together.
In addition to upward revisions to their
forecasts for US GDP growth in 2023 and
2024, the BofA economists altered their
expectations for when and how the Fed
cuts rates. The bank’s economists now see
them beginning later — June 2024 — and
proceeding at a slower pace.
Household real wealth surged to about
US$15 trillion (RM68.1 trillion) during
the current business cycle that began in
2019, but had been as high as US$27 tril-
lion at the end of 2021. And while house-
holds in the top income quintile gained
nearly US$300,000 in wealth on average
since the pandemic began, those in the
bottom quintile gained about US$8,500,
the report data showed.
American spending strength con-
founded the analysts.
The trend “is surprising given the
weakness in real income, weak consum-
er sentiment, moderate gains in wealth
since 2019, and increasing debt obliga-
tions,” they wrote.
They caution that households will
likely see increased difficulties servicing
debt and covering basic household needs.
Changing tune
While a few economists, including those
at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs
Group Inc, have maintained throughout
the past year that the US would skirt a re-
cession despite the rapid run-up in interest
rates, most banks have taken the other side.
Still, Deutsche Bank AG’s Peter Hooper
and Matthew Luzzetti say the line between
a mild recession and a soft landing is “in-
creasingly fine,” a sentiment increasingly
echoed by others in the recession camp.
A recent survey of business economists
showed a strong majority now say the odds
of the US entering a recession in the next
12 months are 50% or less.
In a recent speech, Cleveland Fed presi-
dent Loretta Mester nodded to the change
in tune among businesses in her region.
At the end of 2022, “many of our business
contacts were telling us they expected the
economy to enter a recession this year,”
Mester said. “Now, most think there won’t
be a recession this year.”
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
Chinese cities tightened property firms’
access to escrow funds — sources
BY CLARE JIM & ZIYI TANG
Reuters
HONG KONG/BEIJING (Aug 2): Some
Chinese city governments have made it
harder for developers to access tens of bil-
lions of dollars from property sales held in
escrow accounts, people familiar with the
matter said, raising risks the cash-strapped
companies will be squeezed even more.
The moves are aimed at ensuring the
completion of more unfinished projects at
the city level, they said, at a time home sales
are sliding and the future of the whole sec-
tor is uncertain.
The tightening appears to run contrary
to the plan of the central Chinese govern-
ment, which has assured help to stabilise a
sector that has been hit by both a years-long
liquidity crunch and slumping demand.
“That’s like a Catch-22 dilemma,” said
Gary Ng, an Asia-Pacific senior economist
at Natixis, adding that while local govern-
ments may want to ensure that all housing
projects can be delivered, it is hard for de-
velopers to do it without access to liquidity.
The curbs may mean private develop-
ers, who have been hit harder by the crisis
in the sector, will have lower capital usage
efficiency, and can imply a larger credit risk
for some small developers, said Ng.
Chinese developers are allowed to sell
residential projects before completion, but
are required to put those funds in escrow
accounts. Local city governments permit
them to withdraw a portion of the funds,
depending on the progress of construction.
As defaults rippled across the property
sector, regulators last year relaxed some es-
crow rules in an effort to ease the liquidity
stress for developers, enabling them to finish
construction work on apartments.
Some city governments, however, have
started curbing developers’ access to the
escrow funds from the second quarter of
this year, as the outlook for the sector wors-
ened, with sales trending down since April
on weak demand and the economic out-
look darkening.
Senior executives at three Chinese devel-
opers said they were not able to withdraw
funds even after the completion of some
projects. “It is a general phenomenon now,”
said one of them, whose firm had not yet
defaulted on any debt.
Two of them said that more than 80%
and 90% of their cash respectively is now
trapped in the escrow accounts, and efforts
to withdraw funds for construction purposes
19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
Chinese developers
are allowed to sell
residential projects
before completion,
but are required to put
those funds in escrow
accounts. Local city
governments permit
them to withdraw a
portion of the funds,
depending on the
progress of construction.
had been thwarted by the local authorities.
That compared to around 30% before
the sector was hit by the debt crisis in mid-
2021, and around 60% in the early days of
the crisis, according to analysts.
The two executives, who declined to be
named as they were not authorised to speak
to the media, said they believe the tighter
access was a result of local authorities want-
ing to ensure there is enough capital for
completing home construction in the cities.
“It has become very difficult again in
the past few months for us to withdraw
money from the escrow accounts,” said an
executive at one of the developers that had
defaulted on its debt obligations. “At the
end of last year, it had been easier after the
government easing.”
In the first half of this year, funds that
developers used for property development
reached nearly seven trillion yuan (US$977
billion or RM4.43 billion), and about a third
of that was from down payments and presale
funds, according to data from the National
Bureau of Statistics.
China’s Housing Ministry did not re-
spond to Reuters’ request for comment on
the tightening of developers’ access to es-
crow funds.
The Hang Seng Mainland Properties
Index reversed direction from a 0.7% rise
to fall as much as 0.5% in the afternoon ses-
sion after the Reuters report, before closing
down 0.1% on Wednesday (Aug 2).
Faltering housing demand
The new measures come as property de-
mand is sluggish — China’s property sales
between May and June showed the largest
monthly drop this year, based on sales by
floor area, and investment in property also
slumped.
A person who works at a state bank in
a city in the Hunan province, speaking on
the condition of anonymity, said the local
housing authority had ordered the bank to
implement stricter rules for withdrawals of
escrow funds.
Under those rules, the authority has asked
the bank to make escrow funds available only
to developers with other sources of funding
to cover construction costs, said the person.
Hunan’s housing regulator did not re-
spond to a request for comment.
Another developer said some banks are
also holding up the funds, as they now eval-
uate a firm’s different projects across cities
together, so that presale proceeds from one
could be used to cover the construction of
another development in another city.
In cities such as Hefei and Xiamen, the
local governments manage the accounts
of a batch of developers together, so sales
from one project could be used to cover the
construction cost of a different developer,
executives at two other developers said.
The Hefei and Xiamen governments
did not respond to requests for comment.
Read also:
China puts pressure on local governments
in pro-growth push
“China is stepping up its policy support for the
economy, pressuring local governments to speed
up the sale of bonds to fund infrastructure
spending.”
Chinese, HK stock rally fades as Beijing’s
incremental support disappoints
“Chinese and Hong Kong stocks pulled back
onWednesday (Aug 2), after a recent rally
that was spurred by stimulus hopes, as some
investors booked profits in the absence of
concrete and forceful measures by Beijing to
shore up a flagging economy.”
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
(Aug 2): SoftBank Group Corp’s semicon-
ductor unit Arm Ltd is targeting an initial
public offering (IPO) at a valuation of be-
tween US$60 billion (RM272.55 billion)
and US$70 billion as soon as September,
a sign of bullish interest in artificial-intel-
ligence (AI) chips, according to people fa-
miliar with the matter.
The roadshow is scheduled to start the
first week of September with pricing for
the IPO the following week, said one of
the people, asking not to be named be-
cause the talks are private. The latest tar-
get for Arm’s valuation underscores a shift
in market mood in favour of technologies
linked to generative AI and chips. Earlier
this year, bankers were pitching a range
of valuations for the chip designer from
US$30 billion to US$70 billion, Bloomb-
erg News has reported.
SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son, and
Arm chief executive officer Rene Haas long
considered the bottom of that range too
low. Arm executives may still be gunning
for a valuation of as high as US$80 billion,
but the odds of achieving such a target
are uncertain, one of the people said. The
chip company is looking to raise as much
as US$10 billion in the IPO, Bloomberg
News has reported.
Arm has “had a hugely important but
behind-the-scenes and not-very-well-
understood role for a very long time”,
CHIBA, Japan (Aug 2): The Bank of Ja-
pan (BOJ)’s decision last week to tweak
its bond yield control policy was aimed at
making its massive stimulus more sustaina-
ble, not a prelude to an exit from ultra-low
interest rates, its deputy governor Shinichi
Uchida said on Wednesday.
Uchida said there was still a long way
to go before conditions fall in place for the
BOJ to raise its short-term interest rate
target from the current -0.1%.
“We made our policy more flexible to
patiently continue with monetary eas-
ing,” Uchida said. “Needless to say, we
do not have an exit from monetary easing
in mind.”
He added that the BOJ stood ready to
step in to stem sharp rises in long-term in-
terest rates, even before the 10-year bond
yield hits the newly set 1.0% cap.
“Depending on the speed of the moves,
we will step in to stop the rise,” Uchida told
reporters after meeting business leaders in
Chiba prefecture. “If economic and price
conditions remain roughly unchanged, I
don’t expect interest rates to rise sharply.”
Under a policy called yield curve con-
trol (YCC), the BOJ has guided short-
term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year
bond yield around 0%. It also set an allow-
21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
SoftBank’s Arm
targeting US$60
bil-plus value for
September IPO
— sources
BY MIN JEONG LEE, GILES TURNER
& IAN KING
Bloomberg
Arm made a confidential
filing for a US listing
in April. A handful of
big industry names,
including Nvidia Corp
and Intel Corp, have been
engaged in preliminary
talks to become anchor
investors in the IPO,
which could be the year’s
biggest market debut.
BOJ deputy
governor
dismisses chance
of early exit from
ultra-easy policy
BY LEIKA KIHARA
Reuters
ance band of 0.5% up and down around
the 10-year yield target.
The central bank last week stunned
markets by modifying YCC to allow long-
term interest rates to rise more freely, in
line with increasing inflation.
While the bank left unchanged its inter-
est rate targets and the allowance band, it
said it would now allow the 10-year yield
to rise by as much as 1%.
There was a risk that inflation could ac-
celerate further and put upward pressure
on long-term interest rates, Uchida said.
By allowing yields to rise more freely, the
BOJ could avoid causing volatile moves
said Bob O’Donnell, the president of
TECHnalysis Research. “There’s this
raised awareness now of what Arm does,
and the role that it plays.”
The chip company is looking to raise
as much as US$10 billion in the IPO,
Bloomberg News has reported. At the top
end, Arm’s debut should be the largest
from the tech industry since Alibaba Group
Holding Ltd in 2014 and Meta Platforms
Inc (then Facebook Inc) in 2012. It lands
during a dry stretch for IPOs, given glob-
al economic uncertainty and the war in
Ukraine.
SoftBank and Arm declined to com-
ment. SoftBank shares fell 3.7%, as the
benchmark Nikkei index slid 2.3% on
Wednesday (Aug 2).
Arm made a confidential filing for a US
listing in April. A handful of big industry
names, including Nvidia Corp and Intel
Corp, have been engaged in preliminary
talks to become anchor investors in the
IPO, which could be the year’s biggest
market debut.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan
Chase & Co, Barclays plc and Mizuho Fi-
nancial Group Inc were named as IPO
banks in the filing, Bloomberg News has
reported.
Read the full story
in bond and currency markets, he added.
“Every policy has its positive effects, but
it also always comes with costs. There is
no free lunch for any policy,” Uchida said
in a speech.
“When inflation expectations rise, not
only the easing effects but also the side
effects strengthen. It is necessary to strike
an optimum balance between the two,”
he said.
The BOJ did not have a pre-set schedule
in mind on how soon it could raise interest
rates, Uchida told the news conference.
“If economic and price conditions
change from now, we might need to re-
spond. If they don’t change much and
long-term rates don’t move much, how-
ever, our current policy is quite robust,”
he said, suggesting that the BOJ was done
fine-tuning YCC for now.
He also said the BOJ would maintain
the yield targets until inflation sustainably
and stably hits its 2% target.
“Japan’s deflationary mindset is start-
ing to change. By nurturing this change,
we can achieve our 2% target,” he said.
Read also: Japan’s 10-year yield hits nine-
year peak as BOJ hints at room to rise
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

China to curb
(Aug 2): China’s internet overseer laid service, slid about 4%, while social me-
out regulations Wednesday (Aug 2) to dia app Weibo Corp shed more than 5%

kids’ mobile
prevent minors from spending too much of its value. Tencent fell more than 3%.
time on their smartphones, dealing a po- ByteDance, the world’s most valuable

use in blow
tential blow to Tencent Holdings Ltd and start-up, isn’t publicly traded.
other social media leaders. The regulator said platform provid-

to Tencent,
The regulations published by the Cy- ers will be responsible for enforcement,
berspace Administration of China (CAC) although it didn’t specify penalties for

represent some of the harshest restric-
tions on internet use in the world, as wor-
ries fester about online addiction. Among
other things, “non-adult” children won’t
be allowed to access the internet from
mobile devices from 10pm to 6am, the
agency said in a draft of rules published
on its website. Other restrictions include
a maximum of two hours’ mobile usage
for kids between the ages of 16 to 18.
Beijing since 2021 has pursued cam-
paigns to alleviate the burden on minors
and their families, and combat what it
views as social ills. It imposed limits
on online gaming for kids and declared
for-profit after-school tutoring illegal,
measures regarded as intended to both
lessen financial burdens and promote
healthier activities. At one point in 2021,
state-backed media referred to gaming as
“spiritual opium”.
Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance
Ltd’s TikTok-like Douyin are among the
most popular and heavily used internet
services in China, attracting a dispro-
portionate number of minors. The CAC
didn’t name any services except to say
ByteDance
Bloomberg
BLOOMBERG
that platforms will be responsible for
ensuring they meet the CAC’s require-
ments, which include promoting lullabies
for children under three and educational
news and entertainment content to those
under 12.
Chinese technology shares were down
in the late afternoon in Hong Kong,
mostly extending losses from the morn-
ing. Kuaishou Technology, a short video
violations. Companies in China are typ-
ically held accountable for implement-
ing such government regulations. Under
previous rules limiting game play for mi-
nors, companies required real-name reg-
istrations for users and then introduced
technology to cut off customers outside
of authorised times.
The agency specified certain measures
to ensure compliance, including periodic
checks and assessments, as well as access
to both technology and data on request
— not atypical requirements in China,
which since 2021 has laid down legisla-
tion that gave the government greater
control of data nationwide.
“To strengthen protection of minors,
in past years, the CAC has continued
to push the construction of an internet
model for youths, expanded its reach, im-
proved its functions and enriched age-ap-
propriate content,” the agency said in the
regulations, which seek public feedback
and may change. “They’ve had a posi-
tive impact in lessening youth internet
addiction and curbing the impact of un-
desirable information.”

BENGALURU (Aug 2): Apple is likely to
report a dip in iPhone sales in the April-
June quarter, as shoppers held out for a
new model in a slow economy, making it
important for the company to detail how
it is using artificial intelligence (AI) to aug-
ment growth, analysts said.
The world’s most valuable firm will wrap
up Big Tech earnings on Thursday (Aug 3),
with a likely 1.6% drop in total quarterly
revenue, according to Refinitiv, its steepest
drop in third-quarter revenue since 2016.
IPhone sales likely fell more than 2% in
the period, according to 24 analysts polled
by Visible Alpha, compared with a nearly
3% increase a year earlier, and a 1.5% rise
in the quarter ended March.
The quarterly report could mark a break
from an upbeat earnings season for the likes
of Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft
that have shown resilience in their cloud
businesses and an uptick in digital ad sales.
“Apple is not immune to general mac-
roeconomic trends, and will continue to set
the pace [for the smartphone industry] for
quite some time,” said Bob O’Donnell, the
founder of TECHnalysis Research.
With details of the new iPhone 15 ex-
pected next month — which could sport
Analysts expect the more universally accepted USB-C port
on some models — iPhone sales could get
largest 3Q revenue a small nudge in the July-September quar-
ter, said analysts, who predicted a mixed
drop for Apple since bag of results for the period.
2016 as iPhone Apple traditionally does not provide a
quarterly outlook, but analysts expect the
sales slow company to elaborate how it is using AI to
improve its upcoming products.
The company has so far avoided buz-
BY YUVRAJ MALIK zwords like AI at its events, in a contrast
Reuters with tech giants including Alphabet and
Microsoft. Last month, Bloomberg News
BLOOMBERG reported that Apple had quietly built its
own framework to create large language
models known as “Ajax”.
“We expect Apple’s updated comments
on its AI aspirations to be a focus,” analysts
at Well Fargo wrote in a research note, add-
ing that any commentary around the tech-
nology could boost the stock.
Apple shares have gained more than 50%
so far this year, compared with a nearly 37%
increase in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
(Aug 2): Singapore’s rental price growth
slowed in the second quarter, cooling a
years-long boom that has sapped afforda-
bility and threatened to dent the city-state’s
appeal as a finance hub.
An index of private residential prices
rose 2.8% from the previous three months,
the smallest gain since 2021, Urban Rede-
velopment Authority figures show.
The growth in rental costs is expected to
ease further as new units become available,
with about 20,000 private housing com-
pletions due this year alone — the highest
annual supply since 2017. Government
measures have also helped relieve the spike
in rents that has rattled tenants.
“Even expatriates with accommodation
allowances were reconsidering their leasing
options, as the cost of living in Singapore had
grown exceptionally,” said Nicholas Keong,
head of residential and private office at Knight
Frank Singapore. He expects rental prices to
NEW DELHI (Aug 2): India has found
multiple deficiencies among drugmakers
following wide-ranging inspections across
the industry, including a lack of raw ma-
terials testing, the health ministry said on
Wednesday (Aug 2).
Indian authorities have stepped up scru-
tiny of drugmakers in recent months after
some cough syrups made in the country
were linked to the deaths of at least 95 chil-
dren overseas.
Recent risk-based inspections of 162 fac-
tories and 14 public laboratories found is-
sues including “poor documentation, lack of
process and analytical validations, absence
of self-assessment, absence of quality failure
investigation, (and) absence of internal prod-
uct quality review”, it said in a statement.
It also flagged an absence of raw ma-
terials testing, a lack of measures to avoid
cross-contamination, an absence of pro-
23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Singapore’s
sky-high rents
show first signs
of cooling
BY SELINA XU
Bloomberg
further ease in the remainder of 2023 with
“the steady completion of new inventory.”
Island-wide leasing contracts for private
apartments over the past three months were
at the lowest since the start of the pandem-
ic, with April and May volumes down 9.2%
from a year ago, according to Knight Frank.
The high-end market, in particular, has
seen the biggest reversal. Rents in the ul-
India finds string of
deficiencies among
drugmakers after
risk tests
BY KRISHNA N DAS & SHIVAM PATEL
Reuters
fessionally qualified employees, and faulty
design of manufacturing and testing areas.
India’s US$41 billion (RM185.2 billion)
pharmaceutical industry is one of the big-
gest globally, known for providing cheaper
alternatives to Western products, but the re-
cent cough syrup-related deaths have hurt
that image.
The government has stopped production
tra-luxury segment slumped almost 4% in
the second quarter, against the 9% gain in
the previous quarter, according to Knight
Frank’s analysis of Urban Redevelopment
Authority data.
Property agents have been feeling the
pinch. Sunita Gill, co-founder of real es-
tate consultancy Singapore Luxury Homes,
has seen some of her expat clients relocate
to Dubai. The government’s latest cooling
measures — doubling stamp duties for for-
eigners to 60% — has also deterred poten-
tial investors, leading to lower demand for
luxury rentals, she said.
“We’re personally witnessing a 10-15%
reduction for properties listed for more than
two months,” said Gill. “The luxury real es-
tate market in Singapore may have become
saturated recently with an abundance of high-
end properties available for rent.”
Since the pandemic, the city-state has
largely defied a global property slowdown
as an influx of wealth from China and other
countries fanned the market. Singapore tied
with New York for the city with the fastest
pace of rental growth at one point last year,
and recently slid to second spot.
Meanwhile, discontent over renting
costs has become a political problem. Al-
though rental hikes have impacted expats
more acutely since they are less likely to
own homes, a survey last year showed that
two in three Singaporeans between the ages
of 22 to 29 are choosing to rent due to in-
sufficient savings. In July, a YouGov poll
found that over half of respondents think
the government needs do more to regu-
late rents and provide additional support
based on income.
Read the full story
at four drugmakers so far after contaminants
were flagged in their cough syrups by agen-
cies including the World Health Organiza-
tion.The companies deny any wrongdoing.
The ministry said it has upgraded “Good
Manufacturing Practices” under the Drugs
and Cosmetics Rules to check the deficien-
cies found during the inspections.
The upgrade includes the introduction
of quality risk management, product qual-
ity review, supplier audit and approval, and
validation of equipment.
Large drugmakers have been given six
months and small manufacturers 12 months
to transition to the upgraded manufacturing
requirements, the ministry said.
India has tightened its testing of cough
syrup exports since June, making it man-
datory for companies to obtain a certificate
of analysis from a government laboratory
before exporting products.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
Niger reopens borders with several
neighbours a week after coup
NIAMEY (Aug 2): Niger announced
overnight that it was reopening its borders
with several of its neighbours, a week after
a coup that has been condemned by foreign
powers and raised fears of a wider conflict
in West Africa’s Sahel region. Defence chiefs
from regional bloc ECOWAS will start a
two-day meeting in the Nigerian capital,
Abuja, on Wednesday (Aug 2) to discuss
the situation in Niger, where ECOWAS
has threatened to use force if soldiers
Hugo Boss stays strong in tough
China, US markets
GDANSK (Aug 2): German fashion house
Hugo Boss on Wednesday raised its full-
year outlook after reporting a 20% jump in
second-quarter sales, as a brand revamp
and marketing push helped it overcome
sector-wide sluggish demand in China
and the US. The premium fashion group
has stayed resilient in the slowing US and
European markets, while boosting sales in
Asia, despite China having a slower recovery
than expected. Its business in EMEA and the
Americas benefited from a pick-up in tourism,
Hugo Boss said, while currency-adjusted
revenue in China increased 56% from a year
earlier, making the Asia-Pacific region the
strongest for the company. In the first six
months of the year, the retailer opened 17
new Boss stores across all three regions, with
a particular focus on China. Group quarterly
sales grew to 1.03 billion euros (US$1.13
billion) on a currency-adjusted basis, from
878 million euros a year earlier, broadly in
line with analysts’ expectations, as both the
Boss and Hugo brands gained market share,
especially among younger consumers. The
company expects its annual sales to grow
12% to 15% and reach 4.1 billion euros to
4.2 billion euros, compared with its previous
forecast for about 10% growth to four billion
euros. — Reuters
Read the full story
Solar giant LONGi expects profit
surge on strong market demand
(Aug 2): China’s largest solar company
reported profit surge in the first half
thanks to strong market demand amid
lower panel costs. LONGi Green Energy
Technology Co is expected to see net
income increase 41.6% to 9.18 billion yuan
(RM5.7 billion) in the first half, according
to the preliminary results released by the
company Wednesday (Aug 2). Preliminary
24 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
NEWS IN BRIEF
do not reinstate the elected president. A
delegation from the regional bloc was also
expected to arrive in Niger’s capital Niamey
on Wednesday to start talks with the junta,
led by General Abdourahmane Tiani. “The
land and air borders with Algeria, Burkina
Faso, Mali, Libya and Chad are re-opened
from August 1, 2023,” a junta spokesperson
said on state television. The junta closed
the borders last Wednesday, at the same
time that it announced that it had removed
democratically elected President Mohamed
Bazoum from power. Niger’s coup was the
Starbucks revenue misses estimates
as US growth slips
(Aug 2): Starbucks Corp’s quarterly sales fell
short of analysts’ estimates as traffic growth
slowed in the US. Higher prices and add-ons
to beverages helped bolster profit. The chain’s
comparable sales, a key gauge of how existing
stores are performing, rose 10% in three
months through July 2 from the prior year,
trailing the average estimate of analysts polled
by Bloomberg. Sales by that metric rose 7%
in North America as transactions advanced
1%, slower than last quarter. Revenue in the
company’s fiscal third quarter was a record
US$9.2 billion (RM41.76 billion), Starbucks
said, but that still fell just short of expectations.
Meanwhile, adjusted earnings per share of US$1
beat the 95-cent average analyst estimate.
The company said improved productivity and
higher prices helped to boost operating margin
to 17.3%, above market estimates. Starbucks
on Tuesday (Aug 1) said it expects earnings per
share to expand by 16% to 17% in its fiscal 2023
year, while it had previously forecast growth on
the low end of its 15% to 20% long-term goal.
It maintained its outlook for revenue-growth
and same-store sales. The company said it still
expects China comparable-sales growth in the
low- to mid-single digits. Chief financial officer
Rachel Ruggeri said on a call with analysts that
Starbucks is “pleased with the consistency
of demand” in that market, fuelled by new
products, more stores and other factors. —
Bloomberg
revenue was expected to be 64.7 billion
yuan, the company statement said.
China’s domestic solar installation saw
rapid growth in the first half as prices
throughout the supply chain plunged since
the beginning of the year. The country
added 78.4 gigawatts of solar power in the
first six months, nearing last year’s record-
breaking full-year instillation of 87.4
gigawatts, and is forecast to add as much
as 140 gigawatts in 2023. The country
seventh military takeover in less than three
years in West and Central Africa, where
some of the coup-hit countries have banded
together in opposition to the rest of the
15-nation regional bloc. European countries
started evacuating their citizens this week
after Mali and Burkina Faso, also ruled by
military juntas, said they would consider
any regional intervention in Niger to be a
declaration of war and would come to its
defence. — Reuters
Read the full story
Beijing’s deadly storms brought
heaviest rainfall on record
(Aug 2): The deluge of rain that triggered
floods and killed at least 20 people in
northern China this week was the heaviest
to hit Beijing since record-keeping began
in the 19th century. The worst-affected
spot of the capital recorded 29.3 inches
(74.4 centimetres) of rain from Saturday
(July 29) through Wednesday, the Beijing
Meteorological Bureau said in a social
media post. That’s the most ever in data
going back to 1883 — nearly three decades
before the fall of the Qing dynasty. The
record rainfall comes just six weeks after
Beijing notched its highest temperature
ever at 41.8C (107F). The whiplash of
weather extremes is highlighting the
rising threat that climate change is posing
to China’s economy. The remnants of
Typhoon Doksuri caused widespread
flooding and damage, and forced nearly a
million people to be evacuated from their
homes in Beijing and neighboring Hebei
province this week. Danger from the rain
had eased in the capital by Wednesday,
but authorities warned that storms are
heading north, toward regions that are key
hubs for coal-mining and crops. Officials in
Harbin said they were closing some ferry
terminals, construction sites and schools in
the northeastern city on the Songhua river
until 3pm Thursday in case of flooding. —
Bloomberg
also exported over US$29 billion of solar
equipment in the first half, an 13% increase
from 2022, as more countries work to
scale up renewables amid more frequent
extreme weather events, according to
China Photovoltaic Industry Association.
However, Chinese solar companies also
face increasing trade barriers and more
competitions overseas as countries work
to establish clean energy supply chain
domestically. — Bloomberg
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
(Aug 2): A sharp split between two federal
judges in New York has boosted and then
dragged down cryptocurrency values in
recent weeks, as investors look for clarity
on a crucial question: Is crypto a security?
Shares in Coinbase Global Inc, which
runs the biggest crypto exchange in the
US, soared 24% on July 13 after US Dis-
trict Judge Analisa Torres, weighing a Se-
curities and Exchange Commission law-
suit against Ripple Labs, found that the
company’s XRP token wasn’t a security
when sold to individual investors on pub-
lic exchanges. The SEC had argued that
it was — and an unregistered one at that.
Then, on Tuesday (Aug 1) morning,
Coinbase sank as much as 9.5% a day af-
ter US District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled in
an SEC case against Terraform Labs Pte
Ltd and its co-founder, Do Kwon, that the
company’s Terra USD token may indeed
be a security when sold to retail investors.
Neither of the rulings, by judges who sit
one floor apart in the Manhattan federal
courthouse, has any direct effect on a sepa-
rate SEC case claiming Coinbase is illegally
operating as an unregistered securities ex-
change. But all three cases depend, to some
extent, on whether cryptoassets can be reg-
ulated under decades-old securities laws.
‘Fanboy culture’
The split also showed that the legal uncer-
tainty surrounding crypto regulation is affect-
ing the shares of Coinbase and the value of
individual cryptocurrencies, several of which
rose on Torres’s ruling and fell on Rakoff’s.
Some of that impact can be chalked up
NEWYORK (Aug 2): Sam Bankman-Fried,
the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX
cryptocurrency exchange, on Tuesday (Aug
1) said he never meant to intimidate witness-
es at his scheduled October fraud trial, and
there is no reason to jail him.
In a letter to US district judge Lewis
Kaplan in Manhattan, Bankman-Fried said
prosecutors mischaracterised his intentions
in giving a NewYork Times reporter the writ-
ings of former romantic partner Caroline El-
lison, who is expected to testify against him.
“Mr Bankman-Fried’s contact with the
NewYork Times reporter was not an attempt
to intimidate Ms Ellison or taint the jury
pool,” his lawyer, Mark Cohen, wrote in
the letter. “It was a proper exercise of his
rights to make fair comment on an article
already in progress.”
Bankman-Fried, 31, has pleaded not
guilty to stealing billions of dollars in FTX
customer funds to plug losses at his hedge
fund Alameda Research, where Ellison was
the chief executive.
He has been largely confined to his
25 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Crypto assets
surge and sink on
the words of two
New York judges
BY BOB VAN VORIS, CHRIS DOLMETSCH
& YUEQI YANG
Bloomberg
The split also showed
that the legal uncertainty
surrounding crypto
regulation is affecting the
shares of Coinbase and
the value of individual
cryptocurrencies, several
of which rose on Torres’s
ruling and fell on Rakoff’s.
to the inherent volatility of the asset class,
said Richard Levin, chair of the financial
technology and regulation practice at the
law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scar-
borough LLP.
Part of the mid-July run-up was “over-
blown, driven by a bit of a fanboy culture”,
Levin said.
But there’s no question that Monday’s
ruling in the Terraform case “reinjected”
FTX’s Bankman-
Fried, seeking
to avoid jail,
denies witness
tampering
BY LUC COHEN
Reuters
parents’ Palo Alto, California home on a
US$250 million (RM1.13 billion) bond
since his December 2022 arrest.
Ellison is one of three former mem-
bers of Bankman-Fried’s inner circle who
pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed
to cooperate with the US Attorney’s of-
uncertainty for investors over the status of
crypto tokens, said Gordon Grant, head of
sales and trading at Genesis Global Trading.
‘Scar tissue’
“Market price action seems to suggest it’s
thrown a little bit of cold water on the initial
enthusiasm” from the Ripple ruling, Grant
said. That, along with a hack of the decen-
tralised crypto exchange Curve Finance,
contributed to the declines of some altcoins,
crypto tokens other than Bitcoin, he said.
Investors now have some “scar tissue” over
the crypto regulatory progress, Grant said.
“Just when you thought you get a little
clarity,” he said, “you didn’t.”
So the industry will have to navigate its
way amid the regulations and court rulings
currently shaping the crypto landscape,
said Andrew St Laurent, a partner with
Harris St Laurent & Wechsler LLP, who
thinks the prospect of a legislative solution
is years away at best.
The Ripple decision “gave some hope to
the crypto industry”, because Torres found
that some conduct fell outside the scope of the
securities laws, St Laurent said. But Rakoff’s
opinion is “pretty straight up the middle”,
similar to other legal decisions in the space.
“We have seen some agreements this
year the SEC has hammered out,” he said.
“Maybe you’ll see more safe harbours and
people can try to push agreements through
with regulators to get their currencies in
the non-security area.”
Read the full story
REUTERS
fice in Manhattan.Kaplan barred Bank-
man-Fried from speaking about the case
and asked both sides to submit written
arguments about possible jail.
Prosecutors may respond to Bank-
man-Fried’s letter by Thursday. It is not
known when Kaplan will rule.
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3 26 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

Binance did
(Aug 2): Binance users traded US$90 na-based users,” a company spokesman
billion (RM408.6 billion) of cryptocur- told the WSJ.

monthly
rency related assets in a single month The exchange has also been under
in China, where cryptocurrency trad- the scrutiny of US regulators like the

transactions
ing has been illegal since 2021, the Wall Commodity Futures Trading Commis-
Street Journal reported on Tuesday (Aug sion (CFTC) and the Securities and Ex-

worth US$90 bil

1) citing internal figures and current and change Commission (SEC).
former employees of the exchange. The CFTC sued Binance for operat-

in banned China
The transactions made China Bi- ing what it said were an “illegal” exchange
nance’s biggest market by far, account- and a “sham” compliance program, while

ing for 20% of volume worldwide, ex-
cluding trades made by a subset of very
large traders, the WSJ said. The news-
paper did not specify the month during
which the transactions were made.
Binance’s origins lie in China,
though the world’s largest crypto ex-
change withdrew from mainland China
in 2017 during a regulatory crackdown.
It did not immediately respond to a
market — WSJ
Reuters
Reuters request for a comment on the
Journal report.
“The Binance.com website is blocked
in China and is not accessible to Chi-
the SEC sued Binance and CEO Chang-
peng Zhao saying that Binance artificially
inflated its trading volumes, diverted cus-
tomer funds, failed to restrict US custom-
ers from its platform and misled investors
about its market surveillance controls.
The exchange is also under investiga-
tion by the US Justice Department over
possible money-laundering and sanc-
tions violations, Reuters has reported.

Worldcoin
LONDON (Aug 2): Worldcoin will ex- last week said they were joining in order
pand its operations to sign up more users to receive the 25 free Worldcoin tokens

says will allow

globally and aims to allow other organi- the company says verified users can claim.
sations to use its iris-scanning and identi- “I don’t think we are going to be the

companies,
ty-verifying technology, a senior manager ones generating universal basic income. If
for the company behind the project told we can do the infrastructure that allows

governments to
Reuters. for governments or other entities to do so
Co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Alt- we would be very happy,” Macieira said.

use its ID system

man,Worldcoin launched last week, requir-
ing users to give their iris scans in exchange
for a digital ID and, in some countries, free
cryptocurrency as part of plans to create
an “identity and financial network”.
In sign-up sites around the world, peo-
ple have been getting their faces scanned
by a shiny spherical “orb”, shrugging off
privacy campaigners’ concerns that the
biometric data could be misused. World-
coin says 2.2 million have signed up, most-
ly during a trial period over the last two
years. Data watchdogs in Britain, France
and Germany have said they are looking
into the project.
“We are on this mission of building the
biggest financial and identity communi-
ty that we can,” said Ricardo Macieira,
general manager for Europe at Tools For
Humanity, the San Francisco and Ber-
lin-based company behind the project.
Worldcoin raised US$115 million
(RM522.1 million) from venture capital in-
vestors including Blockchain Capital, a16z
crypto, Bain Capital Crypto and Distrib-
uted Global in a funding round in May.
Macieira said Worldcoin would contin-
ue rolling out operations in Europe, Latin
America, Africa and “all the parts of the
world that will accept us.”
Worldcoin’s website mentions various
possible applications, including distin-
guishing humans from artificial intelli-
BY NETTE NOESTLINGER, MATTHIAS BAEHR
& ELIZABETH HOWCROFT
Reuters
In sign-up sites around
the world, people have
been getting their
faces scanned by a
shiny spherical “orb”,
shrugging off privacy
campaigners’ concerns
that the biometric data
could be misused.
Worldcoin says 2.2
million have signed
up, mostly during
a trial period over
the last two years.
gence, enabling “global democratic pro-
cesses” and showing a “potential path”
to universal basic income, although these
outcomes are not guaranteed.
Most people interviewed by Reuters at
sign-up sites in Britain, India and Japan
Companies could pay Worldcoin to use
its digital identity system, for example if
a coffee shop wants to give everyone one
free coffee, then Worldcoin’s technology
could be used to ensure that people do
not claim more than one coffee without
the shop needing to gather personal data,
Macieira said.
“The idea is that as we build this in-
frastructure and that we allow other third
parties to use the technology.”
In future, the technology behind the
iris-scanning orb will be open-source, Ma-
cieira added.
“The idea is that anyone can in the fu-
ture build their own orb and use it to ben-
efit the community that it’s aiming for,”
he said.
Privacy concerns
Regulators and privacy campaigners have
raised concerns about Worldcoin’s data col-
lection, including whether users are giving
informed consent and whether one com-
pany should be responsible for handling
the data.
Worldcoin’s website says the project is
“completely private” and that the biome-
tric data is either deleted or users can opt
to have it stored in encrypted form.
Read the full story
 T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 3 , 2 0 2 3
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 3,916.0044.00 OIL US$ 85.340.43 RM/USD 4.5425 RM/SGD 3.3967 RM/AUD 2.9906 RM/GBP 5.8042 RM/EUR 4.9879
Top 20 active stocks
NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
UEM SUNRISE BHD 117.80 0.05 0.505 98.040 2554.50
KNM GROUP BHD 96.60 -0.01 0.090 80.000 364.00
WIDAD GROUP BHD 68.00 0.01 0.430 0.000 1309.60
VELESTO ENERGY BHD 65.80 0.01 0.235 56.670 1930.70
YTL POWER INTERNATIONAL BHD 42.70 0.07 1.450 102.800 11748.10
MALAYSIAN RESOURCES CORP BHD 39.20 0.01 0.375 27.120 1675.30
EP MANUFACTURING BHD 38.80 0.03 0.955 -4.020 210.40
TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 37.60 0.01 0.555 65.670 1072.00
ES CERAMICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 36.30 0.02 0.315 43.180 166.70
REVENUE GROUP BHD 36.20 0.01 0.265 -60.740 146.50
YTL CORP BHD 33.70 0.03 1.180 103.450 12937.60
SARAWAK CONSOLIDATED 29.80 -0.01 0.435 200.000 278.50
TOP GLOVE CORP BHD 27.90 -0.02 0.920 1.660 7367.50
CAPITAL A BHD 25.20 0.00 0.920 47.200 3835.50
DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 24.40 -0.01 0.465 -8.820 1467.70
MY EG SERVICES BHD 24.00 0.00 0.760 -11.800 5628.10
ADVANCE SYNERGY BHD 23.10 0.01 0.165 -5.710 417.30
KEY ASIC BHD 23.00 0.01 0.080 23.080 111.50
SCOMI ENERGY SERVICES BHD 22.00 0.00 0.005 -90.910 2.30
UCREST BHD 21.90 0.01 0.165 32.000 122.40
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
TALAM TRANSFORM BHD 0.015 50.00 640.100 0.00 64.40
XOX BHD 0.020 33.33 2478.90 33.33 101.0
ZEN TECH INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.020 33.33 70.000 0.00 52.6
QUALITY CONCRETE HOLDINGS 1.200 16.50 29.3 -9.09 69.6
MENTIGA CORP BHD 0.620 15.89 852.900 9.73 43.4
GREEN PACKET BHD 0.040 14.29 559.300 -27.27 79.8
KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.040 14.29 2021.300 0.00 26.0
EA TECHNIQUE M BHD 0.170 13.33 12434.300 0.00 90.2
CATCHA DIGITAL BHD 0.475 13.10 14902.500 156.76 210.5
PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD 0.370 10.45 7003.900 57.45 165.5
CAM RESOURCES BHD 0.500 9.89 5678.600 44.93 91.3
UEM SUNRISE BHD 0.505 9.78 117811.100 98.04 2,554.5
HONG SENG CONSOLIDATED BHD 0.060 9.09 14529.200 -72.73 306.5
THRIVEN GLOBAL BHD 0.125 8.70 409.300 31.58 68.4
PAN MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 0.065 8.33 6057.300 -7.14 60.4
SHH RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 1.090 7.92 0.100 65.15 109.0
NETX HOLDINGS BHD 0.070 7.69 214 16.67 64.4
DS SIGMA HOLDINGS BHD 0.385 6.94 3788.800 0.00 184.8
ES CERAMICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.315 6.78 36342.900 43.18 166.7
KEY ASIC BHD 0.080 6.67 22962.5 23.08 111.5
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
HEXTARTECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS 26.600 0.280 4.9 55.92 3,422.1
APOLLO FOOD HOLDINGS BHD 4.510 0.180 300.90 16.84 360.8
QUALITY CONCRETE HOLDINGS 1.200 0.170 29.3 -9.09 69.6
PARAGON UNION BHD 2.890 0.120 78.2 55.38 242.3
MENTIGA CORP BHD 0.62 0.085 852.9 9.73 43.4
SHH RESOURCES HOLDINGS BHD 1.090 0.080 0.1 65.15 109.0
RAPID SYNERGY BHD 22.760 0.080 36.1 42.61 2,433.0
YTL POWER INTERNATIONAL BHD 1.450 0.070 42,747.5 102.80 11,748.1
VITROX CORP BHD 7.930 0.060 943.5 3.66 7,496.4
UCHI TECHNOLOGIES BHD 3.480 0.060 1,904.3 8.05 1,588.5
CATCHA DIGITAL BHD 0.475 0.055 14,902.5 156.76 210.5
DKSH HOLDINGS MALAYSIA BHD 5.080 0.050 33.7 18.09 800.9
CHIN HIN GROUP BHD 4.350 0.050 278.8 34.67 7,696.9
PERAK TRANSIT BHD 1.120 0.048 5,193.4 -12.50 817.2
UEM SUNRISE BHD 0.505 0.045 117,811.1 98.04 2,554.5
CAM RESOURCES BHD 0.500 0.045 5,678.6 44.93 91.3
SMIS CORP BHD 0.850 0.045 0.6 6.92 35.8
HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 18.340 0.040 140.1 -1.40 21,003.8
IMASPRO CORP BHD 4.890 0.040 290.3 -16.41 391.2
KERJAYA PROSPEK PROPERTY BHD 0.780 0.040 2,309.3 27.87 286.8
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
27 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DJIA * 35,630.68 71.15 0.20 INDONESIA 6,854.51 -31.99 -0.46
S&P 500 * 4,576.73 -12.23 -0.27 JAPAN 32,707.69 -768.89 -2.30
NASDAQ 100 * 15,718.01 -38.99 -0.25 KOREA 2,616.47 -50.60 -1.90
FTSE 100 * 7,666.27 -114.58 -1.49 PHILIPPINES 6,483.28 -110.52 -1.68
AUSTRALIA 7,354.60 -96.11 -1.29 SINGAPORE 3,325.02 -48.77 -1.45
CHINA 3,261.69 -29.26 -0.89 TAIWAN 16,893.73 -319.14 -1.85
HONG KONG 19,517.38 -493.74 -2.47 THAILAND 1,548.49 -7.57 -0.49
INDIA 65,605.52 -853.79 -1.28 VIETNAM 1,220.43 2.87 0.24
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 * Based on the previous days’ closing Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
EA HOLDINGS BHD 0.005 -50.00 250.1 -66.67 32.3
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.005 -50.00 122.6 -50.00 29.6
KEY ALLIANCE GROUP BHD 0.005 -50.00 413.6 0.00 18.4
DGB ASIA BHD 0.005 -50.00 238.0 -66.67 9.4
COMPUGATES HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 350 0.00 55
METRONIC GLOBAL BHD 0.010 -33.33 92.9 -50.00 15.3
JOE HOLDING BHD 0.010 -33.33 535.0 -50.00 30.6
MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 358.0 -60.00 24.2
MLABS SYSTEMS BHD 0.015 -25.00 5.0 -25.00 21.7
G3 GLOBAL BHD 0.020 -20.00 1,176.8 -33.33 75.5
SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.025 -16.67 543.0 -44.44 28.5
ALAM MARITIM RESOURCES BHD 0.025 -16.67 226.0 0.00 38.3
JOHAN HOLDINGS BHD 0.050 -16.67 54.0 -9.09 58.4
MATRIX PARKING SOLUTION 0.150 -16.67 750.0 0.00 33.4
WMG HOLDINGS BHD 0.085 -15.00 42.0 -10.53 37.8
SC ESTATE BUILDER BHD 0.030 -14.29 185.1 -33.33 32.2
ZELAN BHD 0.030 -14.29 3,804.9 -57.14 25.3
PUC BHD 0.030 -14.29 100.0 -14.29 54.6
VIZIONE HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 -10.00 695.6 -18.18 92.1
MINETECH RESOURCES BHD 0.045 -10.00 10,003.3 -18.18 68.7
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 132.000 -0.900 57.2 -5.71 30,954.0
MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 28.660 -0.340 90.8 -0.35 5,700.4
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.800 -0.300 241.1 2.38 7,794.1
CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 20.800 -0.200 84.1 -9.09 6,359.6
AJINOMOTO MALAYSIA BHD 16.300 -0.180 22.6 24.62 991.0
FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 24.900 -0.160 250.4 15.38 9,132.8
RIVERVIEW RUBBER ESTATES BHD 3.310 -0.150 512.4 -8.64 214.7
DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES 21.360 -0.140 7.3 -29.37 1,367.0
QL RESOURCES BHD 5.350 -0.130 964.5 -2.90 13,020.1
AEON CREDIT SERVICE M BHD 11.920 -0.120 56.6 -5.25 3,043.3
PETRONAS GAS BHD 17.000 -0.120 372.2 -0.70 33,638.4
KOTRA INDUSTRIES BHD 5.390 -0.120 21.2 -18.33 799.4
GREATECH TECHNOLOGY BHD 4.480 -0.120 446.8 -7.44 5,616.0
HONG LEONG BANK BHD 19.400 -0.100 1,430.9 -5.64 42,053.7
PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP 6.750 -0.100 4,177.3 -21.51 54,000.0
MI TECHNOVATION BHD 1.490 -0.100 5,714.6 14.62 1,334.6
PRESS METAL ALUMINIUM 4.950 -0.100 1,502.7 1.43 40,786.1
D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 3.860 -0.100 428.7 -9.81 4778.7
MALAYAN CEMENT BHD 3.110 -0.090 313.6 46.70 4,074.7
AIRASIA X BHD 2.260 -0.090 13,013.0 296.49 1,010.4
Data as compiled on Aug 2, 2023 Source: Bloomberg