Israel grants Intel US$3.

2 bil for new US$25b chip plant,

biggest-ever company investment in country p14
w e d n e s day, d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 t h e e d g e m a l ay s i a . c o m
Issue 692/2023

ceoMorningBrief HOME: MAHB, Türkiye’s IC seeking deal on second Istanbul airport p3

Petronas Carigali, PTTEP collaborate in O&G deals offshore Sarawak p5
Number of flood victims continues to rise as more relief centres activated p5
WORLD: Thailand plans new minimum wage hike, keeps inflation target next year p15
Japan penalises biggest property insurers for price fixing p22
Zahid Izzani/the edge malaysia

Zahid to oppose
Malaysian Bar’s
bid to challenge
his conditional
discharge
Report on Page 2.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
the edge ceo morning brief
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KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Datuk Seri
Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is set to oppose
the Malaysian Bar’s application seeking
court permission to initiate a judicial re-
view of the attorney general’s decision to
halt proceedings against him on Sept 4.
Zahid’s lawyer, Guok Ngek Seong, said
they would file an affidavit and argument to
contest the application before Jan 11, 2024.
“The hearing for the Malaysian Bar’s
application to obtain permission from the
court to initiate the judicial review is set
for Jan 11, 2024, before Judge Datuk Am-
arjeet Singh.
“Whether the attorney general will also
object to the judicial review application will
be known during the hearing proceedings
of the application,” he said when contact-
ed on Tuesday.
On Sept 4, the High Court here grant-
ed Zahid a discharge not amounting to an
acquittal (DNAA) for 47 charges related
to criminal breach of trust, corruption,
and money laundering involving Yayasan
Akalbudi funds, after the prosecution in-
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Minis-
ter in the Prime Minister’s Department
(Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk
Seri Azalina Othman Said on Tuesday
called for an immediate investigation into
the recruitment agents responsible for
duping migrant workers to secure jobs
that were not available.
Her call came after media reports on
Monday that the police arrested a group
of 171 Bangladeshi men who were walk-
ing in a large group in Pengerang, Johor,
as captured in a video that went viral.
Azalina, who is also the Pengerang
Member of Parliament, described the
incident in her constituency as “only the
tip of the iceberg”, saying that the com-
panies involved should be investigated to
determine how legitimate migrant work-
ers could be exploited and enticed with
promises of work in Malaysia.
“These are crimes against humanity.
We must not tolerate violations of human
rights, including in the business sector.
It is time to take firm action against ir-
2 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
published by
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. 603-77218000
tel
Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
Zahid to oppose
Malaysian Bar’s
bid to challenge
his conditional
discharge
Bernama
The association is seeking an
order annulling the attorney
general’s decision and a
declaration that it is null and
void, asserting that it exceeded
the jurisdiction and authority
granted to the attorney general.
Azalina calls for
investigation into
duped Bangladeshis
over job promises, says
Pengerang incident
‘tip of the iceberg’
Bernama
responsible businesses,” she said in X, for-
merly known as Twitter, on Tuesday.
At the same time, Azalina also com-
mended Human Resources Minister Ste-
ven Sim Chee Keong for extending as-
sistance to the deluded migrant workers.
“As the Pengerang MP, I had reached
out to YB Steven Sim, as I am told that
about 2,500 of these duped migrants are
in Pengerang.The culprits behind this syn-
dicate must be held accountable, and im-
publisher + . Ho Kay Tat
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formed that the Attorney General’s Cham-
bers sought to halt proceedings against
Zahid to scrutinise new evidence.
The Malaysian Bar Association, in an ap-
plication filed on Dec 2, named the attorney
general and Ahmad Zahid as respondents.
The association is seeking an order an-
nulling the attorney general’s decision and
a declaration that it is null and void, assert-
ing that it exceeded the jurisdiction and
authority granted to the attorney general.
The Malaysian Bar is also requesting
a mandamus order instructing the attor-
ney general to act in accordance with the
law, including prosecuting Zahid again if
deemed appropriate, as per Section 254A
of the Criminal Procedure Code.
It also seeks an order compelling the
attorney general to provide information
and documentation justifying the decision
to apply for a DNAA against Zahid.
The Malaysian Bar contends that the
attorney general acted beyond jurisdiction
and that the decision was unreasonable
and irrational.
mediate investigations must be carried
out on who issued these permits with
no jobs available,” she added.
Sim in a media report on Monday said
that his ministry would aid the duped Bang-
ladeshi men on “humanitarian grounds”,
as the case involving their detention was
beyond the ministry’s jurisdiction.
Besides that, he said the ministry
would also summon the employers men-
tioned in the foreigners’ document and
the involved agencies to assist them in
the investigation later this week.
On Monday, Kota Tinggi district
police chief Supt Hussin Zamora said
a group of 171 Bangladeshi men was
heading towards the Bayu Damai po-
lice station to press charges against their
agents, as they claimed they had yet to
be employed after three to six months.
He said all of them, aged between 19
and 43, had valid documents, and they were
handed over to the Immigration Department
for overstaying in the country under Section
15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 3 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

MAHB,Türkiye’s
(Dec 26): IC Holding AS and Malaysia Air- to operate the Turkish airport in 2008 for
ports Holdings Bhd agreed to collaborate for 20 years. In 2013, it agreed to raise its

IC seeking
Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen, asTurkish compa- holding in to 60% by acquiring a 40%
ny explores acquiring a stake in the airport. stake held by Indian partner GMR Infra-

deal on second
Discussions are at a preliminary stage structure Ltd. for €225 million. It bought
between Malaysia Airports and IC Hold- the remaining 40% from Türkiye’s Limak

ing, a Turkish infrastructure company and
airport operator, and may or may not re-
sult in IC Holding acquiring a stake at the
airport, according to people, who asked
not to be named as the deliberations are
confidential.
IC Holding declined to comment. Ma-
laysia Airports said it is entering a “stra-
tegic collaboration” with IC Holding but
refrained from disclosing further details.
Sabiha Gokcen Airport named Serhat
Sogukpinar as the new chief executive as
part of the collaboration, according to a
separate statement on Tuesday. Sogukpinar
currently serves as head of IC’s transpor-
tation and infrastructure group.
The airport, which lies southeast about
an hour’s drive from the city of almost
17 million people, served almost 34 mil-
lion passengers between January and No-
vember, up 21% from year ago, making
it the third-busiest airport in the country
Istanbul airport
by Ercan Ersoy, Taylan Bilgic &
Anuradha Raghu
Bloomberg
in terms of customers, according to state
airports authority DHMI.
IC Holding operates the smaller Kutahya
airport in Türkiye and has taken on turnkey
projects to build airfields in Vietnam, Bul-
garia, Russia, Saudi Arabia as well as other
parts of Turkey, according to its website.The
Ankara-based group sold its 49% stake in
Antalya Airport, Türkiye’s second-largest,
to TAV Havalimanlari Holding AS for €360
million (RM1.8 billion) in 2018. Fraport AG
is the other partner in the airport.
Malaysia Airports was part of a con-
sortium that won a €1.9 billion contract
Holding in 2014 for €285 million.
The Asian company previously had in-
tentions to sell a stake in the airport, and the
asset drew some interest from internation-
al investors as well as from Turkish Airlines
before the pandemic hit the world in early
2020.Turkish Airlines’ offer for an 80% stake
in 2018 valued the airport at almost €940
million, Bloomberg reported at the time.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated Sabiha Gok-
cen’s second runway. The construction of
the strip had been delayed for years as the
country focused on completing the main
Istanbul Airport. Erdogan said that the new
runway’s operation would double Sabiha
Gokcen airport’s capacity. Investment for
the expansion was about US$970 million,
Erdogan said.
Talks on a possible stake sale in the air-
port company was first reported by Turkish
website tclira.com.

MAHB’s passenger MAHB passenger movement in Malaysian and Turkish airport network
(mil) International passengers Domestic passengers
movement up 22.3% 12

y-o-y to 9.6 mil in

November 8

5.6 5.7 5.3 5.0 4.7

5.3 5.3
4.8 4.9 4.8
by Choy Nyen Yiau 4.3
4
theedgemalaysia.com

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Malaysia 4.2 3.9 4.5 4.3 4.6
Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) saw a 0
22.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in Jan Feb Mar Apr May
passenger movement in both its Malay- Source: MAHB
sian and Turkish airport network, reaching
9.6 million passengers in November, com-
pared to 7.86 million in the same month including four weekly flights from KLIA
the previous year. to the United Arab Emirates by Batik Air
In its monthly passenger traffic snapshot Malaysia, Rajasansi and Thiruvananthapu-
to Bursa Malaysia, MAHB disclosed that ram, as well as twice-weekly flights by Ma-
Malaysia accounted for 6.6 million pas- laysia Airlines.
sengers, while the remaining three million Additionally, MAHB said Firefly also
came from the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen initiated five weekly flights from Penang
International Airport (SGIA). International Airport to Don Mueang,
Local airports in Malaysia registered 3.4 Bangkok.
million passengers for international sec- “The average load factor for the do-
tors and 3.9 million for domestic sectors mestic sector in November recorded above
in November, despite the off-peak travel 80% for the second consecutive month,
season and minor structural changes in with the airline’s seat capacity offered at
the domestic landscape. 66% of pre-pandemic levels, indicating
MAHB attributed the sustained traf- positive recovery in domestic air travel
fic growth to the launch of new services, demand,” it said.
4.9 5.4 5.4 5.0 5.1 4.9
June July Aug Sept Oct Nov
2023
Meanwhile, MAHB’s Turkish operation
also maintained its double-digit growth
trend, with SGIA’s total passenger move-
ments in November showing a 12.4% year-
on-year increase, totaling three million pas-
sengers and surpassing 2019 levels by 3.5%.
Of this, international passengers record-
ed an increase of 10.7% to 1.5 million, and
domestic passengers saw a 14.3% increase
to 1.4 million over November 2022.
Shares in MAHB closed one sen lower
at RM7.34 on Tuesday, giving the group a
market capitalisation of RM12.25 billion.
The stock has gained nearly 12% year to
date, and hit a high of RM7.80 in early
September.
w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 4 TheEdge CEO morning brief
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Petroliam
Nasional Bhd (Petronas) subsidiary Petro-
nas Carigali Sdn Bhd has tied up with PTT
Exploration and Production (PTTEP) in
oil and gas (O&G) exploration and pro-
duction offshore Sarawak.
In line with the collaboration, Petronas
Carigali has inked a memorandum of un-
derstanding (MOU) and two technical as-
sistance agreements (TAAs) with PTTEP
for the development of Blocks SK405B
and SK410B in Sarawak.
The MOU covers the scope of poten-
tial evacuation of production from Block
SK405B through D35/D21/J4 production
sharing contract (PSC) facilities, Post 1976
Balingian PSC facilities and Bintulu Crude
Oil Terminal operated by Petronas Carigali.
Meanwhile, the first TAA covers the
study and design works for Block SK405B
fields into the same Petronas Carigali-op-
erated facilities.
The second TAA is for the assistance of
engineering design for the potential con-
struction, tie-in works, pipeline and cable
crossings of Block SK410B for Lang Leb-
ah’s gas evacuation to the Bintulu Addi-
tional Gas Supply Facilities 2, as well as
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): The num-
ber of disaster victims in Kelantan, Pahang,
Selangor and Terengganu has increased to
25,938 as of 4pm Tuesday, compared to
25,438 at noon.
According to the latest report issued by
the National Disaster Command Centre of
the National Disaster Management Agency
(Nadma), the total number of active tem-
porary relief centres in the four states has
also increased to 231 from 199.
“Kelantan recorded the highest num-
ber of affected districts and flood victims,
with eight districts and 15,145 victims; fol-
lowed by Terengganu with seven districts
and 10,199 victims; Pahang with three
5 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Petronas
try in the long run,” he said in a statement
on Tuesday.
Carigali, PTTEP
PTTEP country manager Kanok In-
tharawijitr said PTTEP currently operates
collaborate
eight PSCs in Sarawak with a production
volume of about 15 thousand barrels of
in O&G deals
oil per day and 200 million standard cubic
feet per day of gas.
offshore Sarawak
“In Sarawak, we have a number of
developments forthcoming including
SK410B and SK405B. We highly appre-
ciate and value this collaboration since it
Bernama will enable the parties to advance the suc-
cess of our projects,” he added.
for the potential production and handling PTTEP holds 49.5% participating in-
of Lang Lebah’s condensate at the Bintulu terest in the Block SK405B PSC, with
Integrated Facilities. MOECO Oil (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd holding
Petronas Carigali senior general man- 25.5% and Petronas Carigali holding 25%.
ager of Sarawak Asset Anuar Ismail said For Block SK410B PSC, PTTEP and
the collaboration would enable both par- Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration
ties to drive progress by leveraging Pet- Company each holds 42.5% interest with
ronas Carigali’s expertise and technology the remaining 15% held by Petronas
through continued focus on cost optimisa- Carigali.
tion and operational excellence to ensure
supply security, particularly in Sarawak.
“We look forward to working together Read also: Petronas plans 300 facilities
with PTTEP towards our common aspi- improvement projects yearly from 2024
ration in growing Malaysia’s energy indus- to 2026
bernama
districts and 590 victims; and Selangor
with one district and four victims,” the
report stated.
It said Terengganu recorded the highest
number of active relief centres with 125,
followed by Kelantan (92), Pahang (13),
and Selangor (one).
The report also stated that out of the
13 relief centres opened in Pahang, one in
the Cameron Highlands district was to ac-
commodate victims of a landslide incident,
involving 87 people from 17 families. Nine
other flood relief centres were opened in
Raub and three more in Lipis.
According to Nadma, one relief centre
was opened in the Kuala Langat district in
Selangor to house four people from one
family.
The report further mentioned that as of
Number of flood
now, three flood-related fatalities have been
recorded in Kelantan, with two cases involv-
victims continues
ing a boy in Kota Bharu and a girl in Pasir
Mas on Tuesday, while another case involv-
to rise as more
ing a girl in Pasir Mas occurred last Sunday.
relief centres
Read also:
activated
Alert-level continuous rain warning for
Terengganu, Pahang and Johor until
Wednesday
Bernama
Kelantan to hold further discussions
with federal govt to overcome floods
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 6 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

MFM says
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Malayan ing in the anti-competitive agreement in
Flour Mills Bhd (MFM) said the recent relation to any discussion on price-re-

MyCC’s finding is
decision by the Malaysia Competition lated matters on poultry feed, and to
Commission (MyCC) regarding an al- submit a monthly report on changes in

without merit; to
leged price-fixing infringement with the poultry feed prices.
imposition of a RM70.02 million financial MyCC also required Dindings Poul-

file an appeal
penalty on its 51%-owned joint venture
(JV) unit is “without merit”.
The group and the JV unit Dindings
Poultry Development Centre Sdn Bhd
“strongly challenge” MyCC’s finding of
the said infringement and are in con-
sultation with an external legal counsel
to take the “necessary and appropriate
action” to appeal the decision and apply
for a stay of the decision in the interim,
according to its stock exchange filing on
Tuesday (Dec 26).
MFM said Dindings Poultry received
MyCC’s notice on Dec 22, where the
authority maintained its finding of
price-fixing infringement with the impo-
sition of a financial penalty of RM70.02
million.
Dindings Poultry is directed to cease
and desist from participating and engag-
by Chester Tay
theedgemalaysia.com
try to review and enhance its existing
competition law compliance training
programme and to enrol all employees
and board members involved directly in
pricing determination of poultry feed
price in such a programme.
MyCC had investigated Dindings
Poultry and four other feedmillers for
allegedly colluding in a “chicken feed
cartel” to fix poultry feed prices.
The total penalties imposed on the
five companies amounted to RM415.5
million, the largest amount of fines that
the quasi-judicial body has ever imposed
in its 12-year history.
Last Friday, PPB Group Bhd said its
80%-owned subsidiary, FFM Bhd, will
challenge MyCC’s findings of a price-fix-
ing infringement by the company involv-
ing poultry feed.

Read also:

MyCC imposes record fines of RM416

mil on five feedmillers for price fixing in
‘chicken feed cartel’

Kenanga sees no impact on PPB from

MyCC fine on FFM

TCS Group
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): TCS — TCS’ second largest shareholder and
Group Holdings Bhd is making a cash also Tee’s spouse — collectively hold

proposes 2-for-5
call to raise working capital for its exist- 243.16 million shares or a 56.68% stake.
ing construction projects. TCS said that it has obtained the un-

rights issue with

The construction firm has proposed dertaking from Tee and Koh to meet the
to undertake a renounceable rights issue minimum subscription level.

of up to 243.6 million new shares at 12
sen per share, coupled with free warrants
to raise up to RM29.23 million, accord-
ing to its filing with Bursa Malaysia.
The issue price of 12 sen is at a 27% dis-
count over itsTuesday’s closing of 16.5 sen.
In a bourse filing, the company said
the rights issue with warrants entails the
issuance of two rights shares for every five
existing TCS shares held on an entitle-
ment date to be announced later.
The rights issues come with 146.16 mil-
lion free detachable warrants on the basis
of three warrants for every five rights shares
subscribed for the proposed exercise.
As at Dec 7 — being the latest prac-
ticable date (LPD) — the issued share
capital of TCS was RM66.16 million,
free warrants
by Anis Hazim
theedgemalaysia.com
comprising 429 million shares and 180
million outstanding existing warrants.
TCS is also seeking an exemption for
its managing director and largest share-
holder Datuk Tee Chai Seng and persons
acting in concert (PACs) with him from
the obligation to undertake a mandato-
ry takeover offer for the remaining TCS
shares and warrants not already owned
by them.
Tee and his PAC, Datin Koh Ah Nee
The company will not enter into any
underwriting arrangement for the re-
maining rights shares not subscribed for
by other entitled shareholders given that
the minimum subscription level will be
fully satisfied through the undertakings.
TCS noted that it is not the inten-
tion of Tee and his PAC to undertake
the mandatory offer or to privatise the
company via the proposed rights issue
with warrants.
It will also seek shareholders’ approv-
al for the proposed exemption at an ex-
traordinary general meeting (EGM) to
be convened.
The proposed cash call is expected
to be completed in the second quarter
of 2024.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
gbg.com.my
Gabungan AQRS
claims RM89 mil
from Econpile,
CCCC for SUKE
sub-contract
termination
by Anis Hazim
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Gabungan
AQRS Bhd is claiming RM89.74 million
from Econpile Holdings Bhd for what
it alleged was wrongful termination of a
sub-contract under Package SUKE-CA3
of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated
Expressway (SUKE) project in 2016.
The sub-contract, worth RM389.07
million, was to complete the foundation
for the SUKE project.
It was awarded by AQRS’ unit Gabun-
gan Strategik Sdn Bhd (GSSB) to Econ-
pile (M) Sdn Bhd (EMSB) and its joint
venture (JV) partner China Communica-
tion Construction Company (M) Sdn Bhd
(CCCC) back in December 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Green
Packet Bhd has announced the resigna-
tion of its executive director Leong Seng
Wui effective Dec 29.
Leong, 43, tendered his resignation as
director on Dec 1 “to pursue other inter-
ests”, the digital solutions provider said in
a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday.
Leong, who has held the position since
February 2022, ceased to become a sub-
stantial shareholder in the group after he
disposed of all his shares in March.
Prior to the disposal, Leong owned
124.34 million shares, or 8.91% of the
issued shares of Green Packet, which he
acquired in January 2022.
Besides serving on Green Packet’s
board, Leong has also been on the board
of Revenue Group Bhd since Jan 17.
He also served as a director of Classita
7 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
However, in January 2022, CCCC is-
sued a notice of termination to GSSB for
fundamental breach and/or refusal to per-
form their fundamental obligations under
the sub-contract, of which GSSB has ac-
cepted and reserved their rights to dam-
ages following the terminations.
Econpile noted that EMSB has com-
pleted its scope of work as stipulated in
the JVA as of the date of the termination.
“CCCC and EMSB have submitted
the final claim for the work done under
the sub-contract amounting to RM485.93
million with a balance due amounting to
RM143.38 million and requested payment
thereof by way of their letter dated Nov 10,
2023 to GSSB,” Econpile said in its filing.
But GSSB is now seeking a dam-
age and/or compensation in the sum of
RM89.74 million or such other amount
as assessed by the arbitral tribunal, joint-
ly and severally from CCCC and EMSB
with interest and costs.
The arbitration shall be conducted and
administered by the Asian International Ar-
bitration Centre (AIAC) with the seat of ar-
bitration in Kuala Lumpur, Econpile said.
“Due to the preliminary status of the mat-
ter, the financial impact arising from the no-
tice of arbitration is still being assessed and
cannot be ascertained yet,” said Econpile.
Nonetheless, Econpile said that the arbi-
tration is not expected to have any operational
impact on the group, and assured that it will
make the necessary announcements on further
developments of the matter when necessary.
At market close on Tuesday, Econpile
shares settled half a sen or 1.69% higher to 30
sen, valuing the group at RM418.16 million.
The stock has risen over 80% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, Gabungan AQRS finished
unchanged at 33.5 sen, with a market cap-
italisation of RM179.54 million.
Leong Seng
Wui resigns as
Green Packet’s
executive director
by Sulhi Khalid
theedgemalaysia.com
Holdings Bhd since June 2022 and April this
year. Between May 30, 2018 and Oct 25,
2019, he also sat on the board of XOX Net-
works Bhd (previously known as Macpie Bhd).
Shares in Green Packet finished un-
changed at four sen, valuing the group at
RM80.11 million.
Ho Hup to challenge
adjudication
decision in favour
of Ecobuilt over
payment dispute
by Choy Nyen Yiau
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Ho Hup
Construction Co Bhd said its unit will
challenge an adjudication decision re-
quiring the company to pay RM23.16
million to Ecobuilt Holdings Bhd’s whol-
ly-owned subsidiary, Eko Bina Sdn Bhd.
Golden Wave Sdn Bhd, 52.5%-owned
by Ho Hup, is involved in a payment
dispute with Eko Bina concerning a ser-
viced apartment and commercial units
project in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
In a bourse filing on Tuesday, Ho Hup
said Golden Wave has filed a lawsuit in
the Kota Kinabalu High Court seeking to
set aside the entire adjudication decision
under the Construction Industry Pay-
ment and Adjudication Act, citing con-
cerns of natural justice and impartiality.
“The adjudicator has not acted im-
partially and/or has acted in excess of
jurisdiction in ignoring the declara-
tion made by the High Court on July
11, 2023, that the claimed amount is
a disputed debt and failing to consider
the substantial direct payments already
made by Golden Wave to the nominat-
ed sub-contractors and nominated sup-
pliers, which would amount to double
recovery for Eko Bina,” said Ho Hup.
The court has fixed Jan 18 to hear
the matter.
Ho Hup said Golden Wave had also
initiated arbitration on the dispute with
Eko Bina and plans to seek a stay of
the adjudication decision pending the
arbitration.
Pending the outcome of the proceed-
ings, Ho Hup said there is currently no
financial impact on the group’s earnings
and net assets. There is also no no oper-
ational impact to the group.
On Dec 20, Ecobuilt Holdings an-
nounced that Eko Bina was awarded
RM23.16 million after obtaining an ad-
judication decision in its favour in the
case against Golden Wave.
Golden Wave is also obligated to bear
the costs of adjudication of RM61,289 and
the legal costs of RM30,000 for Eko Bina.
Eko Bina had initiated legal action
over the payment dispute on Aug 10.
w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
Kenanga
Research sees
inflation at 2.5%
to 3% in 2024
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Further
improvement in the supply chain and a
reduction in global demand may help to
keep inflation within the 2.5%-3.0% range
next year, said Kenanga Research.
Despite expectations of a deceleration
in global growth next year, Malaysia’s gross
domestic product is projected to continue
its expansion, potentially growing by more
than 4.0% year-on-year (y-o-y), it said.
“With domestic inflation anticipat-
ed to remain comfortably below the
3.0% threshold on average, we foresee
no inclination for rate cuts on Bank
Electricity tariff surcharge on high consumption
households in 1H2024 extended to Sabah,
Kulim Hi-Tech Park
by Adam Aziz
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): High elec-
tricity consumption households, alongside
commercial and industrial (C&I) users in
the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) in Kedah
will be charged 6.5 sen per kilowatt-hour
(kWh)surcharge on their electricity tariffs
for the first six months of 2024.
The rate is higher than the 5.39 sen
per kWh surcharge imposed on com-
mercial and industrial (C&I) users in
KHTP in 2H2023.
The affected households will be im-
posed the surcharge for the months
when monthly electricity usage exceeds
1,500kWh, according to a statement by
the Energy Commission.
Meanwhile, households with con-
sumption below the threshold will see
no change in their tariffs, as they will
remain without any surcharge imposed.
In Labuan, a surcharge of 7.21 sen
per kWh is imposed on high-consump-
tion households, as well as high-con-
sumption C&I electricity users — up
from 2.11 sen per kWh in 2H2023.
Meanwhile, the other categories are
excluded from the surcharge, including
low-consumption households; low-volt-
age C&I users comprising micro, small
9 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) agenda.
“Consequently, BNM is likely to uphold
the status quo, maintaining the overnight
policy rate at 3.0% throughout 2024,”
Kenanga said in a note on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, the research house antici-
pates Malaysia’s headline inflation to maintain
a 0.1%-0.2% month-on-month growth, driv-
en by the potential resurgence of food prices,
amid the looming possibility of a stronger El
Niño weather phenomenon in 2024.
This, along with other external factors
such as escalating geopolitical tensions, pos-
es an additional risk of pushing prices higher.
“On the domestic front, the confluence
of the government’s subsidy rationalisation
plan, an increase in the service tax, and the
implementation of the progressive wage
model is expected to heighten Malaysia’s
inflationary pressures,” it said.
Last Friday, the Department of Statistics
Malaysia said the country’s November head-
line inflation slowed to 1.5% y-o-y (Octo-
ber: 1.8% y-o-y), a 33-month low and below
Kenanga’s and market estimates of 1.7%,
due to lower-than-expected food prices.
and medium enterprises (categories
CM1 and ID1); as well as water and
sewerage service providers.
The adjustment follows last Friday’s
announcement by the EC on the intro-
duction of surcharge for high-consump-
tion households under the latest imbalance
cost pass-through (ICPT) adjustment, in
line with government’s ongoing efforts to
ensure subsidies are more targeted.
Around 99% of users in Sabah, La-
buan and KHTP are not affected by the
latest adjustments, the EC said.
Around RM161.7 million is ear-
marked to fund the electricity subsi-
dies for users in Sabah and Labuan for
1H2024, on top of another RM730,000
for KHTP consumers, it added.
Read also:
No electricity tariff change for
businesses in 1H2024; rebate removed
for households with bills above
RM220
TNB’s ICPT receivables to drop
further in 1H2024 amidst removal of
high-consumption household rebates,
says TA Securities
Foreign funds extend
inflow, bought
RM112.3 mil in local
equities last week
— MIDF
by Surin Murug iah
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Foreign
fund inflow into domestic equities on
Bursa Malaysia extended for a second
week with a net total of RM112.3 million
last week, a slight drop from RM143.4
million the prior week.
In its weekly fund flow onTuesday (Dec
26), MIDF Research said during the week,
every trading day except last Monday (Dec
18) witnessed net foreign inflow.
It said foreigners were net sellers last
Monday at RM26.5 million.
“The stocks experiencing the most out-
flows on this day were Public Bank Bhd
(RM37.2 million), RHB Bank Bhd (RM27.4
million), and Gamuda Bhd (RM14.0 mil-
lion). “For the week, the top three sectors
with the highest net foreign inflows were fi-
nancial services (RM202.0 million), tech-
nology (RM23.3 million), and property
(RM18.3 million), while the top three sec-
tors with the highest net foreign outflows
were healthcare (RM69.4 million), consumer
products and services (RM40.7 million) and
utilities (RM28.2 million),” it said.
The research house said that after two
consecutive weeks of net buying, local
institutions switched to being net sellers
at RM106.7 million.
“The sector that recorded the highest
net outflows by this investor group was fi-
nancial services (RM384.3 million).“Local
retailers continued to be net sellers of do-
mestic equities for two consecutive weeks,
totalling RM5.6 million,” it said.
MIDF said this amount was significant-
ly more moderate compared to the previ-
ous week’s outflow of RM225.5 million.
“In terms of participation, there were
marginal increases in average daily trad-
ing volume (ADTV) among local retailers
(0.9%), and local institutions (0.4%), but a
decline among foreign investors (29.0%),”
it said. Commenting on the international
markets, MIDF said out of the 20 major in-
dices it monitors, 13 recorded weekly gains.
“The top performers were the FTSE
100 (1.60%), South Korea’s Kospi
(1.40%) and the Nasdaq Composite In-
dex (1.21%). “The top decliners were
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (2.69%),
the FBM KLCI (0.55%), and India’s
Sensex (0.53%),” it said.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
SSF 2QFY2024
revenue falls
20% q-o-q on
weaker sales
by Sulhi Khalid
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): SSF Home
Group Bhd, which listed in October 2023,
saw revenue in the second quarter end-
ed Oct 31, 2023 (2QFY2024) fall 20.3%
quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM31.23
million, from RM39.31 million, due to
lower sales contribution from retail outlets.
It booked a net loss of RM3.64 million
or 0.57 sen per share in 2QFY2024, com-
pared with a net profit of RM2.65 mil-
lion or 0.44 sen per share in 1QFY2024,
mainly due to one-off listing expenses of
approximately RM3.2 million incurred for
the current quarter.
For the six months ended Oct 31
(6MFY2024), SSF had a net loss of
RM995,000 or 0.16 sen per share on
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Mercu-
ry Securities Group Bhd has declared its
maiden dividend of 0.5 sen per share or
RM4.47 million, after revenue for the three
months ended Oct 31, 2023 (3QFY2024)
rose 19.9% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) on
higher brokerage fees, underwriting and
placement fees.
Quarterly revenue rose to RM8.71 mil-
lion, from RM7.26 million in 2QFY2024.
Profit before tax prior to one-off list-
ing expenses stood at RM4.6 million,
down from RM4.91 million q-o-q, due
to credit loss provisions and higher head-
counts as part of efforts to enhance ca-
pacity.
Including listing expenses of RM3.93
million, Mercury Securities booked a net
loss of RM422,000 or 0.15 sen per share
in 3QFY2024, compared with a net profit
of RM3.73 million or 0.51 sen per share
in 2QFY2024.
For the nine-month period ended Oc-
tober (9MFY2024), Mercury Securities
booked a net profit of RM8.38 million
or 3.06 sen per share, from revenue of
RM27.41 million.
“Our credible performance this quar-
ter, evidenced by a meaningful increase
in revenue and a healthy gross profit mar-
gin, demonstrates the effectiveness of our
business strategies,” the company said in
a statement.
10 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
a revenue of RM70.63 million.
Moving forward, SSF intends to open
more retail outlets to various towns and
cities in Malaysia, in particular the north-
ern and southern regions.
“Additionally, in order to further
strengthen and expand its market share
with new customers, the group will con-
tinuously launch additional rewards and
promotional activities for its existing and
new members.
“The group’s SSFHOME mobile ap-
plication will be upgraded to include im-
proved user interface with web view access,
new payment module to enable purchases
to be made over the mobile application
and integration to the Group’s new en-
terprise-wide resource planning system,”
it said.
“The group expects that the addition
of payment module and improved user
interface will enable them to expand their
reach and provide customers with an in-
creased channel to purchase the group’s
products,” it added.
Shares in SSF finished half a sen or
2.04% higher to 25 sen, unchanged from
its initial public offering (IPO) price. At
its close, the group had a market capital-
isation of RM196 million.
Mercury
Securities
revenue up 19%
q-o-q, declares
0.5 sen dividend
by Adam Aziz
theedgemalaysia.com
“Looking ahead, Mercury Securities
is steadfast in the group’s commitment
to driving revenue growth and optimising
operating costs,” it said.
Key initiatives include expanding its
share margin financing portfolio, en-
hancing its online trading platform with
algorithmic capabilities to increase mar-
ket share, enlarging its proprietary trad-
ing teams and adding corporate finance
personnel to further expand the corporate
finance division, it said.
Mercury Securities’ share price fell eight
sen or 12.7% to close at 55 sen, giving the
group a market capitalisation of RM491.15
million. The counter is still up 120% from
its listing price of 25 sen in September
this year.
Ajiya shareholders
advised to accept
‘not fair, but
reasonable’
takeover offer
by Sulhi Khalid
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Independ-
ent adviser BDO Capital Consultants
Sdn Bhd recommended that shareholders
of Ajiya Bhd accept the unconditional vol-
untary takeover bid by Chin Hin Group
Bhd and other joint offerors, deeming the
offer price of RM1.53 per share as “not
fair, but reasonable”.
In a circular note filed on Ajiya’s
bourse filing on Tuesday, BDO Capital
said the offer price per share is unfair
as it represents a discount of 40 sen or
20.73% for each Ajiya share, based on
revalued net asset value approach.
However, it deemed the offer as rea-
sonable especially for those holding a
significant number of Ajiya shares, con-
sidering it provides an opportunity to
realise their investments.
“Notwithstanding the above, holders
who wish to exit their investments in
Ajiya can consider selling Ajiya shares in
the open market if they are able to ob-
tain a price higher than the offer price,
net of transaction cost,” it said.
Chin Hin made a mandatory general
offer (MGO) to acquire Ajiya, which
supplies building materials, at RM1.53
apiece. Its shareholding, together with
parties acting in concert, exceeded 50%
on Dec 13.
Chin Hin first emerged as a substan-
tial shareholder in Ajiya in March 2022
with a 24.68% stake in the company, as
it sought to expand its building materials
division. It intends to maintain Ajiya’s
listing status after the MGO, which val-
ues Ajiya at RM466 million.
In the nine months ended Aug 31,
2023 (9MFY2023), Ajiya’s net profit
more than tripled to RM68.25 million or
23.43 sen per share, from RM19.58 mil-
lion or 6.8 sen per share.This was despite
revenue dropping 2.14% to RM215.18
million, from RM219.88 million.
Shares in Chin Hin closed three sen
or 0.81% higher to RM3.75, giving it a
market capitalisation of RM6.64 billion.
Year to date, the stock has soared 15.38%.
Meanwhile, shares in Ajiya closed un-
changed at RM1.52, giving it a market
capitalisation of RM462.97 million.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): Marine &
General Bhd through its wholly-owned sub-
sidiary TKH Marine (L) Ltd has disposed
of a vessel, JM Sutera 7, to Narsimhaa Ship-
ping Inc, Liberia, for a cash consideration of
US$5.8 million (RM27.2 million).
In a bourse filing on Tuesday, the offshore
marine support services provider said that
the disposal of the vessel, acquired in 2018,
was reached on a willing buyer and willing
seller basis, and will enable the group to
realise its original investment in the vessel.
The proceeds from the disposal will al-
low the group to reinvest in revitalising its
fleet, thereby enhancing its ability to better
serve customers, it said.
The group added that the disposal will
not have any effect on the issued and paid-
up capital and shareholdings of its substan-
tial shareholders, and instead, the gain will
contribute positively to the group’s earnings,
net assets, and gearing.
Marine & General’s net profit for
the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2023
(2QFY2024) fell 50.7% to RM8.22 million
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 26): The pub-
lisher and writer of the book titled “Gay
is OK! A Christian Perspective” are seeking
leave to appeal to the apex court to remove
a ban imposed by the government follow-
ing a ruling by the Court of Appeal.
The matter was confirmed by lawyer
Edmund Bon Tai Soon, who acted for Ger-
akbudaya publisher Chong Ton Sin and
author Ngeo Boon Lin.
He said 11 legal and constitutional
questions had been filed to obtain leave
from the Federal Court for the merit of
the complaint to be heard.
“The leave application will be heard on
Feb 28 next year,” he said in a statement
on Tuesday.
On Sept 25, the Court of Appeal al-
lowed the home minister and the Malay-
sian government’s appeal to reinstate the
order to ban the said book.
A three-member panel of judges compris-
ing Justices Datuk Azizah Nawawi, Datuk M
Gunalan and Datuk Wong Kian Kheong, in
a majority decision, allowed the duo’s (home
minister and Malaysian government) appeal
to set aside the High Court decision.
Azizah and Wong made the majority de-
cision in favour of the home minister and
the Malaysian government, while Gunal-
an dissented.
In the majority decision, Wong said he
and Azizah had gone through the contents
of the book and its title, and on an objective
evaluation, they were satisfied that the book’s
entire contents and its title gave a general
message that the lifestyle of homosexuality
is not prohibited by Christianity.
11 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Marine &
from RM16.67 million a year ago, despite
higher revenue, mainly due to a non-recur-
General to
ring depreciation adjustment made in the
previous year, following the extension of
dispose of vessel
the useful life of its offshore support ves-
sels (OSVs) from 15 to 20 years.
for RM27.2 mil
Quarterly revenue jumped 11.9% to
RM91.83 million from RM82.1 million
for 2QFY2023, attributed to higher fleet
utilisation and charter rates for both OSVs
by Choy Nyen Yiau and tankers, in line with the continued in-
theedgemalaysia.com crease in oil drilling activities and the general
economic recovery in the region.
marine-general.com.my For the six-month period ended Oct 31,
2023 (1HFY2024), the group’s net profit
recorded a marginal decrease of 0.6% to
RM15.63 million from RM15.72 million
for 1HFY2023, while revenue saw an in-
crease of 12.1% to RM176.46 million from
RM157.42 million previously.
Shares in Marine & General settled 1.5
sen or 7.32% higher at 22 sen on Tuesday,
giving the group a market capitalisation of
RM155.46 million. Since the beginning of
the year, the stock has risen 109.52%.
Publisher, writer
of publication of the book, until the gazette
of the ban, this does not disabuse the exist-
seek final appeal
ence of the likelihood of prejudicial to public
order, morality and public interest.
against ban on
Wong said that under the Printing Presses
and Publications Act 1984, it was not neces-
“Gay is OK!
sary to give the book publisher and author
the right to be heard. He also said Section 7
A Christian
of the Act did not require the home minister
to give reasons for the ban, adding that in
Perspective” book
any event, the home minister had provid-
ed reasons in the gazette to ban the book.
In his dissenting decision, Gunalan said
High Court judge Datuk Noorin Badarud-
Bernama din did not err when she allowed the re-
spondents’ judicial review. He said the
ehakiman.gov.my judge had given adequate consideration
to the facts and circumstances as a whole,
and had correctly applied the principles
of law before coming to her decision to
allow the judicial review.
On Feb 22 last year, the High Court
allowed a judicial review brought by the
duo to quash the order issued by the home
minister to ban the book.
On Dec 18, 2020, the Home Ministry
banned the book under Section 7(1) of
the Printing Presses and Publications Act.
On Feb 17, 2021, the duo filed the ju-
He said the judges who decided on the dicial review claiming that the ban on the
majority decision were satisfied that a rea- book was irrational and disproportionate,
sonable minister would reach the decision as no untoward incidents were triggered
on a ban due to the likelihood of the book by the book since its publication over sev-
being prejudicial to public order, morality en years ago.
and public interest. The High Court lifted the ban, prompt-
He said even though there were no un- ing the home minister and the Malaysian
toward incidents for a period of more than Government to appeal to the Court of
seven years from September 2013, the date Appeal.
w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 12 TheEdge CEO morning brief
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
BEIJING (Dec 26): President Xi Jinping
vowed on Tuesday to resolutely prevent an-
yone from “splitting Taiwan from China in
any way”, the official Xinhua news agency
reported, a little more than two weeks be-
fore Taiwan elects a new leader.
China views democratically-governed
Taiwan as its own territory, despite the
strong objections of the government in
Taipei, and has ramped up military and
political pressure to assert its sovereign-
ty claims.
Taiwan holds presidential and parlia-
mentary elections on Jan 13 and how the
island handles relations with China is a
major point of contention on the cam-
paign trail.
At a symposium commemorating the
130th anniversary of the birth of for-
mer Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who
in 1949 defeated the Republic of China
government in a civil war which then
fled to Taiwan, Xi said “the complete
reunification of the motherland is an ir-
resistible trend”.
“The motherland must be reunified,
and inevitably will be reunified,” Xinhua
cited Xi as telling senior officials from the
Communist Party.
China must deepen integration between
the two sides, promote the peaceful de-
TAIPEI (Dec 26): The frontrunner to be
Taiwan’s next president accused the main
opposition party on Tuesday of betraying
the anti-communist ideals of its forefathers
and being overtly pro-China, in a stinging
attack ahead of next month’s election.
Vice President Lai Ching-te, the rul-
ing Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP)
presidential candidate, said in a second
live televised pre-election policy address
that while the Kuomintang (KMT) par-
ty had once led the fight against China’s
communists, its current party leaders “not
only don’t oppose the communists, they
are pro-communist”.
The Jan 13 presidential and parliamen-
tary elections are taking place against the
backdrop of increased military and polit-
ical pressure from China to assert its sov-
ereignty claims over democratically gov-
erned Taiwan.
China has called Lai a dangerous sep-
aratist and portrayed the vote as a choice
between war and peace.
“Every time there is an election in Tai-
wan, China most certainly interferes, hop-
ing to support a pro-China administra-
tion,” Lai said as he stood next to KMT’s
presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih.
Lai lauded former president Chiang
Ching-kuo — son of Taiwan’s postwar
strongman ruler Chiang Kai-shek — for
13 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
reuters
velopment of relations across the Taiwan
Xi vows to
Strait, and “resolutely prevent anyone from
splitting Taiwan from China in any way”,
prevent anyone
he said.
The report made no mention of us-
‘splitting Taiwan
ing force against Taiwan, though China
has never renounced that possibility.
from China’
It also did not mention the upcoming
election.
China says the Taiwan election is an
internal Chinese affair but that the is-
by Ben Blanchard land’s people face a choice between war
Reuters and peace and any attempt at Taiwan in-
dependence means war.
Over the past year and a half Chi-
na has staged two rounds of major war
games around Taiwan and regularly sends
warships and fighter jets into the Tai-
wan Strait.
The Chinese government has repeatedly
denounced the frontrunner to be Taiwan’s
next president, Lai Ching-te from the rul-
ing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),
as a dangerous separatist and has rebuffed
his calls for talks.
Both the DPP and Taiwan’s main op-
The motherland must be position party the Kuomintang (KMT),
reunified, and inevitably which traditionally favours close ties with
will be reunified.” China but denies being pro-Beijing, say
only the island’s people can decide their
future.
his opposition to communism, but added
Taiwan presidential that when China threatens Taiwan, KMT
leaders like former president MaYing-jeou
frontrunner now criticise Taiwan for provoking China.
“I want all the country’s people to judge:
accuses opposition is the KMT worthy of Mr Ching-kuo?”
China has described the election as an
party of being internal Chinese matter and that interfer-
ence accusations are an effort by the DPP
‘pro-communist’ to win votes.
Speaking to reporters after the event,
Hou denounced what he said was slander
by Ben Blanchard & Yimou Lee and efforts to paint the party red, the col-
Reuters our of China’s communist party.
“We don’t need to have an election by
reuters fabricating slander and painting [us] red,
and we don’t need manipulation by ide-
ology,” Hou added.
Polls show Lai in the lead by varying
margins though Hou has been closing the
gap.The third presidential candidate is for-
mer Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je from the small
Taiwan People’s Party, but he has trailed
in the polls since an attempt to form a
joint ticket with the KMT collapsed in
acrimony last month.
Taiwan presidential frontrunner Lai Ching-
te accused the opposition Kuomintang
(KMT) party of being 'pro-communist' in
a second live televised pre-election policy
address on Tuesday.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
CAIRO/GAZA/JERUSALEM (Dec 26):
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya-
hu has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until
Hamas is destroyed, defying global calls
for a ceasefire amid concerns the conflict
could spread with US and Iran-aligned
forces again attacking each other.
Netanyahu, who visited Israeli troops
in northern Gaza on Monday, told law-
makers from his Likud Party that the war
was far from over and dismissed what he
cast as media speculation his government
might call a halt to the fighting.
“We are not stopping. The war will con-
tinue until the end, until we finish it, no
less,” Netanyahu.
JERUSALEM (Dec 26): Israel’s govern-
ment agreed to give Intel Corp a US$3.2
billion (RM14.82 billion) grant for a new
US$25 billion chip plant it plans to build
in southern Israel, both sides said on Tues-
day, in what is the largest investment ever
by a company in Israel.
The news comes as Israel remains locked
in a war with Palestinian militant group Ha-
mas in the wake of the Oct 7 Hamas attack on
Israel, and is a big show of support by a major
US company and a generous offer by Israel’s
government at a time when Washington has
increased pressure on Israel to take further
steps to minimise civilian harm in Gaza.
Intel shares were up 1.9% at US$48.90
in pre-market Nasdaq trading on Tuesday.
The expansion plan for its Kiryat Gat
site that is 42km from Hamas-controlled
Gaza is an “important part of Intel’s ef-
forts to foster a more resilient global supply
chain, alongside the company’s ongoing
and planned manufacturing investments
in Europe and the US”, Intel said in a
statement.
Under chief executive officer Pat Gel-
singer, Intel has invested billions in build-
ing factories across three continents to re-
store its dominance in chip-making and
better compete with rivals AMD, Nvidia
14 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
reuters
Washington has for weeks pressured Israel
to take further steps to minimise civilian
harm by designating safe areas and clearing
humanitarian routes for people to escape.
But the death toll keeps rising and Israeli
operations have intensified.
In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal
on Monday, Netanyahu reiterated three
prerequisites for peace: Hamas must be
destroyed, Gaza must be demilitarised, and
Palestinian society must be deradicalised.
Retaliating against Hamas for its dead-
ly Oct 7 cross-border rampage, Israel has
been under pressure from its closest ally
Israel PM says the US to shift operations in Gaza to a
lower-intensity phase and reduce civilian
Hamas must be deaths.
Nearly 20,700 Gazans have been killed,
destroyed for peace; including 250 in the last 24 hours, accord-
ing to authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
US, Iran-backed US forces have come under attack by
Iran-backed militants in Iraq and Syria
militants clash over Washington’s backing of Israel in its
war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In the latest tit-for-tat clash, the US
by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, military carried out retaliatory air strikes
Bassam Masoud & Em ily Rose on Monday in Iraq after a drone attack
Reuters by Iran-aligned militants on a US base in
Erbil left one US service member in criti-
cal condition and wounded two other US
personnel, officials said.
and Samsung. The new Israeli plant is the
Israel grants Intel latest investment by the US chipmaker in
recent years.
US$3.2 bil for new Intel plans to spend more than €30
billion (US$33 billion or RM153.08 bil-
US$25 bil chip lion) to develop two chip-making plants in
Magdeburg, as part of a multibillion-dollar
plant, biggest- investment drive across Europe to build
chip capacity. Berlin has pledged big sub-
ever company sidies to attract Germany’s biggest-ever
foreign investment.
investment in In 2022, Intel said it would invest up
to US$100 billion to build potentially the
country world’s largest chip-making complex in Ohio,
and rivals Samsung andTaiwan Semiconduc-
tor Manufacturing Co or TSMC also have
by Steven Scheer announced big investment plans in the US.
Reuters Israel’s finance and economy ministries
said Intel’s investment, especially in this
Bloomberg period and in light of the global compe-
tition to attract significant investments in
the field of chips, is a significant expression
of confidence in Israel’s economy.
They said the investment has direct fis-
cal benefits for Israel that will be signifi-
cantly higher than the state’s grant.
Read also: Israel sees defence spending
climbing US$8 bil as war rages
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 15 TheEdge CEO morning brief

w o r l d

reuters

Thailand plans
Labour Minister Phipat Ratchakitprakarn
told reporters.

new minimum
The current minimum wage is 328-354
baht varying between different parts of the

wage hike, keeps

country with the committee agreeing to
raise the pay threshold range to 330 baht

inflation target
to 370 baht.
Companies have warned that increasing

next year
wages at a time when borrowing costs were
increasing and Southeast Asia’s second-larg-
est economy was lagging behind its regional
peers could make industries less competitive.
by Orathai Sriring & Separately, Thailand’s cabinet on Tues-
Chayut Setboonsarng day approved the central bank’s headline
Reuters inflation target range of 1% to 3% for
2024, unchanged from this year.
BANGKOK (Dec 26): Thailand will in- The announcement came afterThailand’s
crease its minimum wage in January, the headline inflation rate came in at -0.44% in

Singapore Nov
government said on Tuesday, confirming November, the lowest in nearly three years.
a previous deal while planning to raise it Deflationary pressures come from gov-

further in March.
A wage committee, comprised of gov-
ernment, employers and employee rep-
resentatives, had previously agreed to in-
crease the daily minimum wage by 2.37%,
effective in January, but Prime Minister
Srettha Thavisin deemed the hike too low.
Srettha said the committee would meet
in January to seek a further wage hike to be
announced in March. “There is no need to
raise wages once a year,” he told reporters.
Srettha’s ruling Pheu Thai party cam-
paigned on a populist platform with a key
plank of raising the daily minimum wage
to 400 baht (RM53.38), despite concerns
over competitiveness.
“Another investigation covering local
wage rates and professional groups will
conclude in March... [to determine] ar-
eas and groups that can increase wages,”
JAKARTA (Dec 26): Indonesian defence
minister and presidential candidate Prabowo
Subianto cemented his lead in the polls af-
ter candidates took part in televised debates
ahead of the looming Feb 14 election.
A Dec 23-24 poll released by Indikator
Politik Indonesia on Tuesday showed that
Prabowo, who is running with President Joko
Widodo’s 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabu-
ming Raka, would secure 46.7% of the vote.
Indikator placed former Central Java
governor Ganjar Pranowo as his closest
opponent, with 24.5% of the vote, while
former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan
had the support of 21% of those polled.
A poll by Kompas this month gave
Prabowo 39.3% of the vote and placed
Anies as his closest opponent with 16.7%,
followed by Ganjar 15.3%.
Indikator’s survey was conducted after
televised debates between the presidential
candidates on Dec 12 and candidates for
vice president on Dec 22.
ernment policies that reduced energy pric-
es and falling meat prices.
The inflation target, which guides mon-
etary policy, is reviewed each year and the
range of 1% to 3% is supportive of eco-
nomic growth, finance ministry spokes-
man Pornchai Theeravet, who also heads
the fiscal policy office, said in a statement.
The cabinet also approved a 3.48 trillion
baht draft budget bill for the 2024 fiscal year
which will go to parliament next week.
The government approved reduced
property fees for another year, with some
transfer fees cut to 1% from 2% and some
mortgage registration fees to 0.01% from
1%, Pornchai told reporters.
The reduction will cost the government
five billion baht in lost revenue but will
boost growth by a further 0.5 percentage
points, he said.
Indonesia
presidential
candidate Prabowo
cements lead in polls
by Fransiska Nangoy
Reuters
A decision by the country’s constitutional
court this October paved the way for Gibran
to run in the elections, raising widespread
concern about the deepening of dynastic pol-
itics in the world’s third-largest democracy.
During the televised debate Gibran de-
fended his father’s economic agenda, espe-
cially development of the new capital city.
Three more debates are expected be-
fore the election.
core inflation
slows to 3.2%
y-o-y
by Xinghui Kok
Reuters
SINGAPORE (Dec 26): Singapore’s
key consumer price gauge slowed to
3.2% in November on the year, in
line with expectations, official data
showed on Tuesday, and headline
inflation fell to 3.6%.
In a joint statement, the Mone-
tary Authority of Singapore and the
trade ministry said headline and core
inflation were projected to average
3.0%–4.0% and 2.5%–3.5% respec-
tively in 2024.
The core inflation rate — which
excludes private road transport and
accommodation costs — slowed
from 3.3% in October, while head-
line inflation dropped from 4.7%
in October, and was lower in No-
vember than economists’ forecast
of 3.8%.
The central bank is set to review
monetary policy settings next month
after it changed the frequency of pol-
icy reviews from a semi-annual to a
quarterly schedule.
Manufacturing data, also released
on Tuesday, showed that manufac-
turing output increased 1.0% in
November on a year-on-year basis.
Read also: Indonesia investigat-
ing cause of deadly blast at Tsing-
shan-linked nickel plant
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 16 TheEdge CEO morning brief

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 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
Iron ore surges
past US$140 to
the highest since
June 2022
by Liz Yee Xing Ng
Bloomberg
(Dec 26): Iron ore rallied to its highest
since June 2022, showing Beijing’s efforts
to stem the property market’s decline in re-
cent months may be paying dividends.
Futures in Singapore rose above
US$140 (RM651.40) a tonne amid thin
trading on Tuesday. Optimism is build-
ing that China’s economic recovery and
its steel-intensive property sector are fi-
nally gaining momentum, after a subdued
post-pandemic reopening in the past year
disappointed investors.
Last Thursday (Dec 21), China’s biggest
state-owned banks launched this year’s third
round of rate cuts as authorities boost efforts
to lift economic activity.The salvo comes af-
ter Beijing in November announced a one
SINGAPORE (Dec 26): High food pric-
es in recent years have prompted farmers
worldwide to plant more cereals and oil-
seeds, but consumers are set to face tight-
er supplies well into 2024, amid adverse
El Nino weather, export restrictions and
higher biofuel mandates.
Global wheat, corn and soybean prices
— after several years of strong gains — are
headed for losses in 2023 on easing Black
Sea bottlenecks and fears of a global re-
cession, although prices remain vulnerable
to supply shocks and food inflation in the
New Year, analysts and traders said.
“The supply picture for grains certain-
ly improved in 2023 with bigger crops in
some of the key places which matter. But
we are not really out of the woods yet,” said
Ole Houe, director of advisory services at
agriculture brokerage Ikon Commodities
in Sydney.
“We have El Nino weather forecast until
at least April-May, Brazil is almost certain-
ly going to produce less corn, and China
is surprising the market by buying larger
volumes of wheat and corn form the in-
ternational market.”
El Nino and food production
The El Nino weather phenomenon, which
brought dryness to large parts of Asia this
year, is forecast to continue in the first half
of 2024, putting at risk supplies of rice,
17 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
trillion yuan (RM651.6 billion) plan to boost
urban revitalisation, providing relief for the
steel-intensive property sector amid a wave
of developer defaults.
With heightened anticipation for better
demand, steel mills that have depressed iron
ore stockpiles to keep operations lean may
now face restocking pressure should needs
exceed supplies.
The recent weekly commercial housing
transaction data showed positive improve-
Global 2024 staple
food supplies to be
strained by
dry weather,
export curbs
by Naveen Thukral
Reuters
wheat, palm oil and other farm products
in some of the world’s top agricultural ex-
porters and importers.
Traders and officials expect Asian rice
production in the first half of 2024 to drop
as dry planting conditions and shrinking
reservoirs are likely to cut yields.
World rice supplies tightened this year
already after the El Nino weather phenom-
enon cut into production, prompting In-
dia, by far the world’s biggest exporter, to
restrict shipments.
While other grains markets were losing
value, rice prices rallied to their highest in
15 years in 2023, with quotations in some
Asian export hubs gaining 40%-45%.
India’s next wheat crop is also being
threatened by lack of moisture, which
ment and bolstered bullish sentiment, said
Atilla Widnell, managing director at Nav-
igate Commodities Pte in Singapore. “We
maintain that Iron Ore futures should quite
easily target US$145-158 a tonne at least
by next quarter.” said Widnell.
Iron ore climbed 1.5% to US$140.55
a tonne at 3.58pm in Singapore. Futures
in Dalian were 1.3% higher, while steel re-
bar and hot-rolled coil both advanced in
Shanghai.
could force the world’s second-largest
wheat consumer to seek imports for the
first time in six years as domestic inven-
tories at state warehouses have dropped
to their lowest in seven years.
Farmers down under
Come April, farmers in Australia, the
world’s No 2 wheat exporter, could
be planting their crop in dry soils, after
months of intense heat curbed yields for
this year’s crop and ended a three-dream
run of record harvests.
This is likely to prompt buyers, includ-
ing China and Indonesia, to seek larger
volumes of wheat from other exporters
in North America, Europe and the Black
Sea region.
“The (wheat) supply situation in the
current 2023/24 crop year is likely to de-
teriorate compared to last season,” Com-
merzbank wrote in a note.
“This is because exports from impor-
tant producer countries are likely to be
significantly lower.”
On the bright side for grain supplies,
South American corn, wheat and soybean
production is expected to improve in 2024,
although erratic weather in Brazil is leav-
ing some doubt.
Read the full story
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
BENGALURU (Dec 26): AstraZeneca
said on Tuesday it will buy China-based
Gracell Biotechnologies for up to US$1.2
billion (RM5.56 billion), as the An-
glo-Swedish pharma company furthers
its cell therapy ambitions.
The cash deal aimed at bolstering As-
traZeneca’s portfolio values US-listed
Gracell at US$2 per ordinary share or
US$10 per American depositary share in
Gracell, plus a non-tradable contingent
value right of 30 US cents per ordinary
share, if certain regulatory milestones
are met.
Shares in China-based Gracell surged
65% in pre-market trading in the US.
AstraZeneca is one of the biggest drug-
makers in the Asian country, which ac-
counted for 13% of the company’s total
sales in 2022.
“The proposed acquisition of Gracell
will complement AstraZeneca’s existing
capabilities and previous investments in
cell therapy, where we have established
our presence in CAR-T and T-cell receptor
therapies in solid tumours,” AstraZene-
ca’s oncology research and development
(Dec 26): China said it is sanctioning a
US company and two human rights re-
searchers over work related to Xinjiang,
escalating a dispute between the nations
over allegations of forced labour.
China was freezing any assets held in
the nation by Kharon, Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular
press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, refer-
ring to a Los Angeles-based company that
identifies sanctions and compliance risks
for organisations.
Edmund Xu, a directer of investiga-
tions at Kharon, and Nicole Morgret
were also barred from entering China
and had any assets there frozen. Mor-
gret’s LinkedIn page describes her as an
analyst at the Center for Advanced De-
fense Studies.
Chinese companies were also barred
from working with Kharon, Xu or Morgret.
The moves are largely symbolic, because
they are unlikely to have much business
or property in China.
Earlier this month, the US sanctioned a
pair of Chinese officials, saying they were
linked to human rights abuses against mi-
nority groups, including Uyghurs in Xin-
jiang, a far western region of China.
Over the summer, the US expanded a
ban on imports from the Xinjiang region
by placing two more companies on its so-
called entity list. Those were the first ad-
ditions since an American law targeting
forced labour in the area took effect in
mid-2022.
18 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Bloomberg
vice-president Susan Galbraith said in a
AstraZeneca
statement.
Autologous CAR-T is a cell therapy
to buy China-
created by reprogramming a patient’s im-
mune T-cells, a key part of the body’s
based Gracell
immune response, to target disease-caus-
ing cells. Gracell’s FasTCAR platform
Biotechnologies
enhances T-cell fitness and could poten-
tially improve the effectiveness of treat-
in US$1.2 bil deal
ment in patients.
AstraZeneca will also acquire Gracell’s
cash, cash equivalents and short-term in-
vestments of US$234.1 million as of Sept
by Urvi Dugar 30, 2023, and the deal is expected to close
Reuters in the first quarter of 2024, according to
the statement.
Last month, AstraZeneca agreed to
a licensing deal for an experimental an-
ti-obesity pill from China’s Eccogene, and
in August it announced a contract man-
ufacturing deal with CanSino Biologics
for its messenger RNA technology vaccine
programme.
AstraZeneca signed three licensing
deals with Chinese companies, chief
executive officer Pascal Soriot said ear-
lier this year.
China sanctions
has once again concocted and spread false
narratives related to Xinjiang”.
US company, two
China has been accused of sending mil-
lions of minorities to re-education camps
human rights
in Xinjiang as a way to curb terrorism.
Beijing has countered that the facilities
researchers over
provide vocational education, helping bring
prosperity to the region.
Xinjiang work
The nation has sanctioned Ameri-
can people and companies before over
Xinjiang and other issues. In 2021,
Beijing sanctioned former US officials
Bloomberg who were instrumental in shaping the
Trump administration’s confrontational
reuters stance towards China. Beijing has also
sanctioned US arms firms over sales
to Taiwan.
The latest move comes as ties between
China and the US improve following a
meeting between presidents Joe Bid-
en and Xi Jinping in November. Those
discussions led to cooperation on the
fentanyl issue and to high-level military
dialogue.
Read also:
Chinese gaming firms unveil share
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention buy-backs after regulatory move
Act bars imported goods partly or wholly unnerved investors
made in Xinjiang, unless companies can
prove the products have no ties to forced
labour. China cracks down on hundreds of
China has long denied it uses forced millions of dollars of government
labour. On Tuesday, Mao said “the US investment scams
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
UK economy
forecast to narrow
GDP gap with
Germany by 2038
by Tom Rees
Bloomberg
(Dec 26):The UK will be Europe’s best-per-
forming major economy in the next 15 years,
narrowing the gap with Germany and ex-
tending its lead over France, according to
new long-run forecasts.
The Centre for Economics and Business
Research (CEBR) predicted that gross do-
mestic product (GDP) growth in the UK
will settle between 1.6% and 1.8% in the
period up until 2038, helping it retain its
position as the world’s sixth-largest economy.
The forecasts published Tuesday predict
that the UK will shake off an economic ma-
laise lasting years that has been defined by
Brexit and a string of shocks, including the
pandemic and surging inflation.
Britain’s economy has been hampered by
anemic productivity growth since the financial
WASHINGTON (Dec 26): Apple filed
an appeal on Tuesday of a decision to ban
imports of Apple Watches based on a com-
plaint from medical monitoring technology
company Masimo after US President Joe
Biden’s administration declined to veto a
government tribunal.
The US International Trade Commis-
sion’s (ITC) order will go into effect on
Dec 26, barring imports and sales of Apple
Watches that use patent-infringing technol-
ogy for reading blood-oxygen levels. Apple
has included the pulse oximeter feature in
its smart watches starting with its Series 6
model in 2020.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai
decided not to reverse the ban following
careful consultations, and the ITC’s de-
cision became final on Dec 26, the Trade
Representative’s office said Tuesday.
“We strongly disagree with the USITC
decision and resulting exclusion order, and
are taking all measures to return Apple
Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2
to customers in the US as soon as possi-
ble,” Apple said in a statement on Tuesday.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed the
company has appealed the ban to the US
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
in Washington. The ITC last week rejected
Apple’s request to pause the ban during
the appeal process.
19 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
crisis with labour supply problems also emerg-
ing in recent years. It has led to the Bank of
England to take a more pessimistic view on the
UK’s growth prospects in the coming years.
Under CEBR’s long-run world economic
rankings, the UK is expected to grow faster
than all of the eurozone “big four” econo-
mies — France, Germany, Italy and Spain
— but not as rapidly as the US.
“The fundamentals of the UK economy
are still very much strong,” said Pushpin Sin-
gh, senior economist at CEBR. “London’s
status as a financial and advisory services
hub enduring, along with the wider strength
of the services sector across the UK, will
push UK growth.”
He said the economic impacts of Britain
leaving the European Union have “either
Apple files appeal
after Biden
administration
allows US trade
tribunal’s ban
on Apple Watch
imports
by Blake Brittain
Reuters
Representatives for Masimo did not im-
mediately respond to a request for com-
ment on Tuesday.
“Our litigation expert predicted that a
potential Apple appeal would extend the
‘final’ ITC case verdict roughly another
year,” analysts at Stifel said in a note.
Apple has paused its sales of its Series
9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches in the United
States since last week, though the watches
remain available from other retailers in-
cluding Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart
as of Tuesday.
pixabay
been exaggerated or have not been explored
enough yet.”
The economics consultancy expects Chi-
na to overtake the US as the world’s largest
economy in 2037 with a doubling in world
GDP being driven by developing economies
catching up with their advanced peers.
By 2038, Italy will drop out of the world’s
top 10 economies by size, replaced by South
Korea. The US and Germany will slip down
the rankings, while India and Brazil — two
developing economies with large popula-
tions — will rise within the top 10.
France will underperform the UK par-
ticularly due to its large public sector and
high tax levels, while Germany’s manufac-
turing slowdown will help Britain narrow
the gap, according to Pushpin.
The ban does not affect Apple Watch SE,
a less expensive model, which will continue
to be sold. Previously sold watches will not
be affected by the ban.
Masimo has accused Apple of hiring
away its employees, stealing its pulse oxi-
metry technology and incorporating it into
the popular Apple Watch.
A jury trial on Masimo’s allegations
in California federal court ended with a
mistrial in May. Apple has separately sued
Masimo for patent infringement in federal
court in Delaware and has called Masimo’s
legal actions a “maneuver to clear a path”
for its own competing smart watch.
A presidential administration has not ve-
toed an ITC ruling since 2013, when president
Barack Obama’s administration overturned an
import ban on Apple’s iPhones and iPads in
the company’s patent dispute with Samsung.
The Biden administration in February
chose not to veto a separate import ban on
Apple Watches based on a patent-infringe-
ment complaint from medical technology
company AliveCor. The ITC has placed
the ban on hold for other reasons.
Apple’s wearables, home and acces-
sory business, which includes the Apple
Watch, AirPods earbuds and other prod-
ucts, brought in US$8.28 billion (RM38.3
billion) in revenue during the third quarter
of 2023, according to a company report.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
Ousted Binance founder CZ’s fortune
grew by US$25 bil in 2023
(Dec 26): He may be headed to prison next
year after pleading guilty to US criminal
charges in November, yet 2023 held a sil-
ver lining for former Binance Holdings Ltd
chief executive officer Changpeng Zhao
(pic): His estimated wealth ballooned by
almost US$25 billion (RM115.7 billion)
this year.
Toward the end of a year when bitcoin
rebounded more than 160% following a
market collapse in 2022, Zhao tops a list
of crypto entrepreneurs who saw their esti-
mated net worth surge in 2023, according
to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Coin-
base Global Inc CEO Brian Armstrong and
twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklev-
oss also had billions of dollars restored to
their fortunes.
“Investment in crypto is not for the faint
of heart; you need to be prepared for the
spectacular ups and downs,” said Campbell
Harvey, a finance professor at Duke Uni-
versity who studies digital-asset markets.
“There is a reason that these investors are
billionaires, and it is not luck. They are not
tempted to dump their holdings in down
markets. They believe in the long-term op-
portunities this space offers.”
The growth in wealth for Zhao, who
goes by his initials CZ, is more than five
times the size of the US$4.3 billion in fines
that Binance agreed to pay to US author-
ities. His fortune, currently estimated at
more than US$37 billion, is derived from
his controlling stake in Binance, the world’s
biggest crypto exchange, which he found-
ed. Even though Binance has lost some
market share this year, the exchange has
benefited from increases in trading vol-
umes that accompanied the rebound in
crypto markets. Zhao, who did not respond
to a request for comment for this story,
also owns some Bitcoin and Binance’s own
coin, BNB, though those holdings aren’t
included in the Billionaires Index.
In November, he and Binance pleaded
guilty to anti-money laundering and US
sanctions violations under a sweeping set-
tlement with the US that allows the crypto
exchange to continue operating. Zhao also
agreed to personally pay a US$50 million
fine under the deal that required him to
step down as CEO, but lets him retain his
ownership stake in the exchange.
Zhao faces as many as 10 years in pris-
on yet is expected to get no more than 18
months under a plea deal that appears to
have saved him from the harsh penalties
that other prominent crypto criminals have
20 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
by Olga Kharif
Bloomberg
The growth in wealth
for Zhao is more than
five times the size of
the US$4.3 billion
in fines that Binance
agreed to pay to US
authorities. His fortune
is currently estimated
at over US$37 billion.
bloomberg
faced. The Justice Department hasn’t re-
vealed yet what length of term it will seek.
In late November, a federal judge in Seattle
ruled that Zhao can’t return to his home in
the United Arab Emirates for now. Zhao’s
sentencing is scheduled for Feb 23.
Zhao’s wealth is still a far cry from its
peak of nearly US$97 billion at the begin-
ning of 2022, and it’s even down from its
year-to-date high of US$50.4 billion in
July, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Zhao isn’t the only billionaire who ben-
efited from the crypto rebound in 2023,
which was fuelled in part by the Binance
settlement that removed an overhang from
the market, as well as by optimism that the
US will finally approve exchange-traded
funds that invest directly in Bitcoin.
Here are some of the other big crypto
winners in 2023:
• Coinbase Global Inc CEO Brian Arm-
strong’s wealth has risen by US$5.8
billion year to date to US$7.2 billion,
per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Coinbase’s shares have rallied almost
400% so far this year, and Armstrong
is calculated to hold about a 16% stake
in the firm. Armstrong did not respond
to a request for comment.
• Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam’s
estimated wealth swelled by US$1.8
billion in 2023 to a total of about
US$2.5 billion, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is
estimated to hold about 5% of Coin-
base. The SEC sued Coinbase in June
for operating as an unregistered secu-
rities exchange, broker, and clearing
agency. Coinbase is fighting the case
in court. Ehrsam did not respond to
a request for comment.
• Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who
co-founded the Gemini Trust crypto
exchange and have stockpiled millions
of bitcoin, have each seen their wealth
balloon by US$1.4 billion this year
to US$2.7 billion, according to the
Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gem-
ini has been locked in a months-long
battle with crypto lender Genesis and
its parent company Digital Currency
Group over a joint crypto-lending pro-
gramme. The SEC has alleged that the
so-called Earn programme represented
an unregistered offer and sale of secu-
rities. Tyler Winklevoss described the
lawsuit as amounting to a “manufac-
tured parking ticket.” The New York at-
torney general sued Gemini and DCG
for allegedly defrauding customers of
US$1.1 billion. DCG said it will fight
the state’s allegations, while Gemini
said it disagreed with the AG’s deci-
sion to sue the exchange. The twin
brothers did not respond to requests
for comment.
• DCG founder Barry Silbert’s wealth
grew by US$1.5 billion this year to
an estimated US$2 billion. DCG has
been selling off or closing businesses
in the past year in the wake of subsid-
iary Genesis filing for bankruptcy in
January. Silbert declined to comment
for this story.
• On the other hand, the imprisoned
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO
of crypto exchange FTX who has been
convicted of massive fraud, has an esti-
mated net worth that’s holding steady
at US$0, after peaking at US$25.9 bil-
lion in March of last year, per Bloomb-
erg Billionaires Index.
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
Goldman’s
painful 2023
lesson on China
forces rethink of
emerging markets
by Selcuk Gokoluk
Bloomberg
(Dec 26): Goldman Sachs Group Inc’s
head of global currency, rates and emerg-
ing-markets strategy says he’s learned two
main lessons from one of the biggest — and
most-common — bad calls of 2023: the bet
on post-pandemic China’s reopening boom.
At the beginning of the year, Goldman
was among the chorus of Wall Street banks
pinning their hopes for a bright 2023 in part
on recovery in China, with strategists includ-
ing Kinger Lau predicting a 15% rally in the
Chinese stock market.The expectation was
that a bounce in the world’s second-largest
economy would be the wave that lifted all
boats, helping emerging markets globally
to a banner year.
Instead, Chinese stocks fell more than
15%, while many emerging markets did
just fine.
“The first lesson is that you want to treat
EM (emerging markets) and EM ex-China
differently,” Goldman’s Kamakshya Trivedi
said in an interview. “Chinese assets have
(Dec 26): The number of whistleblowers
receiving awards from the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped
sharply in fiscal year 2023, even as more
tips poured in than ever before, and a sin-
gle informant received the largest payout
in agency history.
The agency received more than 18,000
tips in the fiscal year ending Sept 30, a
50% jump from the previous year, ac-
cording to the SEC whistleblower pro-
gramme’s annual report to Congress. But
only 68 tipsters got any money, compared
to more than 100 in each of the previous
two years.
Interviews with attorneys who partici-
pate in the program and a review of SEC
decisions — along with court cases chal-
lenging some of those decisions — portray
a programme straining under the weight
of its success. The lure of huge payouts,
such as the US$279 million (RM1.3 bil-
lion) that went to one tipster last year,
with no growth in the program’s staffing
or budget, may be taxing the SEC’s ability
21 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
been pretty uncorrelated with a lot of oth-
er EM assets for some time: that has been
true on the equity side and also the fixed-in-
come side.”
The second lesson, he said, is about the
resilience of broader emerging markets, even
in the face of an “aggressive hiking cycle by
the Fed (Federal Reserve), a strong dollar
and a slowing China. That is a pretty bad
combination of circumstances for EM assets
and despite that, EM assets have performed
resiliently.”
Strip out China, in fact, and emerg-
ing-market stocks have gained 16% this
year, compared with just 4.4% for the
MSCI emerging-market benchmark in-
dex where Chinese stocks are included,
and account for nearly 30% of the total
index by weight.
SEC payouts to
whistleblowers
plummet despite
record surge in tips
by John Holland
Bloomberg
to keep up with the intent of the legisla-
tion authorising it, attorneys say.
“They need more resources. The SEC
is very good at evaluating whistleblower
disclosures and prioritising action, but
surely when you have 18,000 tips, there’s
a real risk that serious harm to investors
will be missed,” Washington attorney Ja-
son Zuckerman of Zuckerman Law said.
Written into the Dodd-Frank financial
reform law of 2010, the whistleblower law
was created to make sure tips about finan-
“From an emerging-markets standpoint,
the biggest disappointment was the con-
tinued deceleration that we saw in China
despite the cheap valuations, and that was
a drag on EM assets all year,” Trivedi said.
The main reason for the resilience seen in
developing-country markets was policy ac-
tion,Trivedi said. Emerging-market central
banks hiked interest rates early, proactively
and aggressively to address the coming in-
flationary shock, he said.
“The fact that they were ahead of the
game compared to a lot of developed mar-
kets I think definitely helped them,” he said.
“That macro combination is looking much
better than what it has been, and that is a
pretty positive thing for EM assets. We ex-
pect to see positive total returns in EM as-
sets next year.”
cial wrongdoing aren’t ignored, as they
were before Bernie Madoff ’s US$64.8
billion Ponzi scheme unravelled.
At its core, the SEC says its whistle-
blower programme is about money, both
the amount recovered on behalf of de-
frauded investors and the amount awarded
to those who helped to expose fraud. Since
its 2010 inception, the programme has re-
covered more than US$6 billion and paid
out nearly US$2 billion to informants.
Last year it awarded nearly US$600
million, although more than half came in
just two awards. One was the US$279 mil-
lion to the tipster credited with uncovering
a US$1 billion fraud at Swedish telecom
LM Ericsson. Another US$104 million
was shared by “seven whistleblowers, in-
cluding foreign nationals ... for reporting
misconduct at an entity’s subsidiaries in
three jurisdictions,” the agency said in its
annual report.
Read the full story
 W e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3
Japan penalises
biggest property
insurers for
price fixing
by Erica Yokoyama, Nao Sano
& Taiga Uranaka
Bloomberg
(Dec 26): Japan’s financial regulator pe-
nalised the country’s largest property and
casualty insurers for colluding to fix prices
in contracts with corporate clients.
The Financial Services Agency has is-
sued business improvement orders on the
core units of Tokio Marine Holdings Inc,
MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc and
Sompo Holdings Inc, said Finance Minister
Shunichi Suzuki at a briefing on Tuesday.
The investigation has rocked Japan’s
casualty insurance sector, which has also
been under fire for failing to detect fraud-
ulent auto insurance claims. The three
groups command about 90% of the entire
market worth roughly ¥9 trillion (RM290
billion) in annual net premium revenue,
according to data by the industry associ-
ation and companies.
Suzuki said it is regrettable that Sompo Ja-
pan Insurance,Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire
Insurance, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and
Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance had engaged
in price-fixing, and urged the firms to take
drastic measures to prevent a recurrence.
The “inappropriate behaviour was wide-
TOKYO/BEIJING/SEOUL (Dec 26): Ja-
pan’s Mitsui and Co has decided to pull
its employees out of Russia’s Arctic LNG
2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, the
Sankei newspaper reported on Tuesday,
citing several sources, in yet another blow
for the project.
At the same time, Mitsui’s joint ven-
ture with Japan’s JOGMEC is expected
to retain its stakes in the Arctic LNG 2,
the report said. Mitsui declined to com-
ment, while JOGMEC was not immedi-
ately available for comment.
Arctic LNG 2, located on the Gydan
peninsular north of the Arctic circle, is a
key element in Russia’s strive to boost its
global share on the global LNG market
to 20% by 2030 from 8% now.
It’s also a part of Russia and China’s
‘no limits’ partnership, developed as Mos-
cow has been diverting its vast energy
resources from Europe to the commod-
ity-hungry Asia amid Western sanctions
22 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
spread, repeated, and continuous, which I
think was highly malicious”, Suzuki said.
Problems including pressure on sales staff
to increase profits were identified, he added.
The subsidiaries of Tokio Marine and
Sompo Japan, as well as MS&AD, said in
response that they will make company-wide
efforts to improve their business operations.
Under pressure
The FSA separately said the insurers were
likely to have felt compelled to maintain
their profitability as their fire insurance
businesses were suffering from losses due
to an increase in the frequency and severity
of natural disasters around 2018.
On top of a lack of compliance aware-
ness, the firms may have had a diminished
sense of market competition given their
shareholding relationships with corporate
clients, the regulator found.
Mitsui to pull
employees out of
Russia’s Arctic
LNG 2 — Sankei
by Yuka Obayashi & Liz Lee
Reuters
against the Kremlin over the conflict in
Ukraine.
It has already faced difficulties due to
US sanctions and a lack of gas carriers.
Fearing the backlash from the sanc-
tions, foreign shareholders suspended
participation in the project, renouncing
their responsibilities for financing and for
offtake contracts for the plant, the daily
Kommersant reported on Monday.
Under the business improvement order,
the insurers have to submit a plan detailing
management responsibility and measures
to boost governance by the end of Feb-
ruary. They also need to make progress
reports every three months until the plan
is completed. There are no fines imposed
under these orders.
Besides the FSA, the Japan Fair Trade
Commission is also conducting its own in-
vestigation to determine whether the insur-
ers breached the anti-monopoly law. The
commission has started on-site inspection
of the insurers.
Despite the probes, shares of the three
insurance groups have jumped this year.
MS&AD has gained 27% in Tokyo trad-
ing, while Tokio Marine has climbed 22%
and touched a record earlier this month.
Sompo, which also recently hit fresh highs,
is up 15%.
China’s state oil majors CNOOC Ltd
and China National Petroleum Corp
(CNPC) each have a 10% stake in the
project, which is controlled by Novatek,
Russia’s largest LNG producer and owner
of a 60% stake in the project.
France’s TotalEnergies and a consor-
tium of Japan’s Mitsui and Co and JOG-
MEC also have a 10% stake each.
With three trains, Arctic LNG 2’s ca-
pacity is meant to be 19.8 million tonnes
per year and 1.6 million tonnes per year
of stable gas condensate. Its first LNG
tankers were expected to set sail in the
first quarter of next year, according to
Novatek.
Read the full story
Read also: MUFG brokerage JV sued
again over Credit Suisse AT1 losses
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 2 7 , 2 0 2 3 23 TheEdge CEO morning brief

M A R K E T S

CPO RM 3,733.00 41.00 OIL US$ 76.24 -0.31 RM/USD 4.6943 RM/SGD 3.5273 RM/AUD 3.1594 RM/GBP 5.9471 RM/EUR 5.1262

Top 20 active stocks

NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Minetech Resources Bhd 105.3 0.020 0.155 181.82 237.0
Sarawak Cable Bhd 97.7 0.080 0.280 330.77 111.7
Mercury Securities Group Bhd 96.5 -0.080 0.550 0.00 491.2
Bina Puri Holdings BHD 95.7 -0.010 0.085 112.50 286.6
Leform Bhd 85.5 -0.010 0.410 98.64 607.2
Widad Group Bhd 81.6 0.000 0.470 9.30 1,455.3
Top Glove Corp Bhd 78.4 -0.005 0.920 1.66 7,367.5
SMTrack Bhd 70.8 0.005 0.050 0.00 61.1
Velesto Energy Bhd 60.5 0.005 0.230 53.33 1,889.6
Sarawak Consolidated Industries 53.5 0.010 0.900 520.69 576.2 World equity indices
Asdion Bhd 51.9 0.010 0.100 5.26 47.4 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
Careplus Group Bhd 45.5 0.005 0.440 -7.37 261.6 (%) (%)
Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd 43.7 0.040 0.750 177.78 690.8 DJIA * 37,385.97 -18.38 -0.05 INDONESIA 7,237.52 27.90 0.39
Ekovest BHD 35.9 0.015 0.495 45.59 1,467.9 S&P 500 * 4,754.63 7.88 0.17 JAPAN 33,305.85 51.82 0.16
Tanco Holdings Bhd 34.2 0.000 0.585 74.63 1,175.7 NASDAQ 100 * 16,777.40 19.99 0.12 KOREA 2,602.59 3.08 0.12
Reneuco BHD 31.5 -0.015 0.210 -42.47 231.2 FTSE 100 * 7,694.73 2.78 0.04 PHILIPPINES 6,501.00 31.77 0.49
UEM Sunrise Bhd 27.3 0.015 0.845 231.37 4,274.4 AUSTRALIA 7,501.55 -2.57 -0.03 SINGAPORE 3,139.98 -0.34 -0.01
Mestron Holdings Bhd 24.8 -0.005 0.435 -3.33 433.7 CHINA 2,898.88 -19.93 -0.68 TAIWAN 17,751.73 146.89 0.83
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd 23.0 -0.020 5.780 -0.34 61,644.3 HONG KONG 16,340.41 -280.72 -1.69 THAILAND 1,413.45 4.62 0.33
Critical Holdings Berhad 22.6 -0.020 0.615 -3.13 229.3 INDIA 71,336.80 229.84 0.32 VIETNAM 1,122.25 4.59 0.41
Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg * Based on previous day’s closing
Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg

Top gainers (ranked by %) Top losers (ranked by %)

NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL) (%) (RM MIL)
AT Systematization Bhd 0.010 100.00 8,595.7 -33.33 67.9 Fintec Global Bhd 0.005 -50.00 8,217.3 -50.00 29.6
XOX BHD 0.015 50.00 1,287.6 0.00 75.8 AE Multi Holdings Bhd 0.010 -33.33 85.0 -60.00 21.6
Sarawak Cable Bhd 0.280 40.00 97,676.0 330.77 111.7 Advance Information Marketing Bhd0.075-31.82 4,713.9 -43.78 8.8
Zelan Bhd 0.070 27.27 12,646.8 0.00 59.1 Talam Transform Bhd 0.015 -25.00 286.0 0.00 64.4
ZEN Tech International Bhd 0.025 25.00 10,195.7 25.00 65.7 Reach Energy Bhd 0.030 -14.29 2,303.3 -33.33 63.9
See Hup Consolidated Bhd 1.100 23.60 7.0 -4.35 87.4 Mercury Securities Group Bhd 0.550 -12.70 96,507.4 0.00 491.2
Alam Maritim Resources Bhd 0.030 20.00 1,187.4 20.00 46.0 BSL Corp Bhd 0.035 -12.50 1,863.8 -48.22 67.6
Vizione Holdings Bhd 0.060 20.00 2,835.1 9.09 122.8 Tri-Mode System M Bhd 0.315 -11.27 4.6 -19.23 52.3
Ark Resources Holdings Bhd 0.320 18.52 37.5 12.28 22.3 Innity Corp Bhd 0.400 -11.11 0.6 -3.61 55.8
Cheetah Holdings Bhd 0.135 17.39 589.0 22.73 65.6 Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.040 -11.11 17,179.5 -42.86 26.0
Ta Win Holdings BHD 0.035 16.67 465.1 -36.36 120.2 Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.085 -10.53 95,687.0 112.50 286.6
Handal Energy Bhd 0.115 15.00 13,127.9 -25.81 30.6 ASTEEL Group Bhd 0.090 -10.00 0.4 -21.74 43.6
Minetech Resources Bhd 0.155 14.81 105,346.4 181.82 237.0 Lien Hoe Corp BHD 0.285 -8.06 1.5 -17.39 94.7
PBA Holdings BHD 1.300 13.04 4,685.1 71.05 430.3 Malayan United Industries Bhd 0.060 -7.69 2,973.2 -20.00 193.5
mTouche Technology Bhd 0.045 12.50 342.0 -10.00 41.7 Jati Tinggi Group Bhd 0.275 -6.78 16,029.7 0.00 107.7
D’Nonce Technology Bhd 0.140 12.00 938.9 21.74 60.8 Southern Steel Bhd 0.620 -6.77 50.0 5.98 369.7
Pasukhas Group Bhd 0.140 12.00 925.9 -6.67 26.7 Sinaran Advance Group Bhd 0.070 -6.67 60.0 -6.67 64.0
Majuperak Holdings Bhd 0.335 11.67 0.7 34.00 95.3 Reneuco BHD 0.210 -6.67 31,470.7 -42.47 231.2
Sapura Energy Bhd 0.050 11.11 6,666.0 42.86 799.0 Meridian Bhd 0.075 -6.25 13.2 -37.50 17.0
Asdion Bhd 0.100 11.11 51,869.4 5.26 47.4 Impiana Hotels Berhad 0.255 -5.56 5,320.4 183.33 241.0
Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg

Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM)

NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL) (%) (RM MIL)
Nestle Malaysia Bhd 121.000 1.500 25.8 -13.57 28,374.5 Hong Leong Bank Bhd 18.500 -0.480 1,720.4 -10.02 40,102.8
Hong Leong Financial Group 16.500 0.220 1,324.3 -11.29 18,896.5 Allianz Malaysia Bhd 18.380 -0.280 47.0 29.80 3,271.1
HextarTechnologies Solutions 22.220 0.220 8.4 30.25 2,858.6 PPB Group Bhd 14.520 -0.180 84.7 -16.74 20,656.1
See Hup Consolidated Bhd 1.100 0.210 7.0 -4.35 87.4 Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 28.320 -0.160 38.2 31.23 10,387.2
Ideal Capital Bhd 3.000 0.200 8.0 76.47 1,500.0 Kluang Rubber Co Malaya BHD 3.620 -0.130 0.7 -8.15 225.0
Harrisons Holdings Malaysia 8.590 0.190 19.1 29.56 588.2 United Plantations BHD 17.940 -0.120 151.4 22.52 7,441.2
PBA Holdings BHD 1.300 0.150 4,685.1 71.05 430.3 New Hoong Fatt Holdings Bhd 3.230 -0.120 12.3 12.54 267.0
Ajinomoto Malaysia Bhd 16.100 0.140 5.7 23.09 978.9 Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia 19.520 -0.100 47.5 -14.69 5,968.2
Zhulian Corp Bhd 1.660 0.120 1,126.4 -8.84 763.6 Rapid Synergy Bhd 29.400 -0.100 239.2 84.21 3,142.8
Malaysian Pacific Industries 28.000 0.120 421.5 -2.64 5,569.1 Genting Plantations Bhd 5.560 -0.090 214.7 -10.93 4,988.2
LPI Capital Bhd 12.020 0.120 13.1 -4.91 4,788.6 Batu Kawan Bhd 20.420 -0.080 5.5 -8.43 8,032.8
FAR East Holdings BHD 3.600 0.100 8.0 -2.70 2,137.8 Mercury Securities Group Bhd 0.550 -0.080 96,507.4 0.00 491.2
Hartalega Holdings Bhd 2.750 0.100 11,007.6 61.76 9,386.5 Pentamaster Corp Bhd 4.600 -0.070 1,205.9 3.84 3,272.1
Amway Malaysia Holdings Bhd 5.700 0.100 24.3 17.75 937.0 YNH Property Bhd 4.450 -0.060 2,399.0 5.20 2,351.8
British American Tobacco M BHD 9.280 0.090 70.3 -17.29 2,649.7 QL Resources Bhd 5.730 -0.060 1,999.1 3.99 13,944.9
Sarawak Cable Bhd 0.280 0.080 97,676.0 330.77 111.7 Westports Holdings Bhd 3.640 -0.060 561.8 -4.21 12,412.4
DKSH Holdings Malaysia Bhd 4.600 0.080 7.2 6.94 725.2 Innity Corp Bhd 0.400 -0.050 0.6 -3.61 55.8
Lotte Chemical Titan Holding 1.400 0.080 4,833.0 -1.41 3,188.6 Ayer Holdings Bhd 6.850 -0.050 0.9 3.79 512.7
Kelington Group Bhd 2.150 0.080 6,164.3 56.93 1,386.3 MISC Bhd 7.300 -0.050 551.0 -2.67 32,585.3
Teck Guan Perdana BHD 1.720 0.070 2.1 -2.82 69.0 Comintel Corp Bhd 1.430 -0.050 122.0 76.54 647.1
Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Dec 26, 2023 Source: Bloomberg