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c o m
ISSUE 204/2021

CEOMorningBrief
 S&P AFFIRMS MALAYSIA’S ‘A-’ FOREIGN CURRENCY AND ‘A’ LOCAL
CURRENCY RATINGS, BUT SAYS OUTLOOK REMAINS NEGATIVE p3
W E D N E S DAY, J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m
ISSUE 204/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Sunway announces trading suspension pending announcement, amid talks that
Singapore’s GIC wants to buy stake in its medical centre p3
Petronas’ operating cash flow, liquidity key in responding to short-term shocks — group CEO p8
WORLD: Vaccine shortages hit global supply programme, halting roll-outs p16
US opens US$500 million fund for relatives of Boeing 737 MAX victims p17

Generali to acquire majority stake in AXA Affin

joint ventures, all of MPI Generali in RM1.3b deals
Report on Page 4.

Serba Dinamik appoints

Najib’s lawyer to sue KPMG
for alleged negligence
Report on Page 5.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

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H O M E

Malaysia Vaccine tracker

Individuals who received the first dose only Fully inoculated with second dose
administers record 3
(mil)
Total 6.05
235,623 Covid
administered: million doses 2,717,684
2.5 Population given at least
2 one dose of vaccine: 13.38%
vaccines in a day; 1.5
(4.38 million individuals)
Population fully inoculated: 5.09%
1,666,757

new infections stay

1
0.5 53,287

below 5,000 0 792

March 2 March 18
2021
May 15 June 21

Registration: 15.65 million people

Target:
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM Individuals with at least one dose: 4.38 million 26.18 million
theedgemarkets.com (to be vaccinated)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Malaysia
Source: Covid-19 Immunisation Task Force (CITF)
administered 235,623 doses of Covid-19
vaccines yesterday (June 21) — the highest
since the national vaccination programme Malaysia’s coronavirus in Sarawak, five in Kuala Lumpur, four in
started on Feb 24 — while new Covid-19 infection curve turning Melaka, three each in Sabah and Labuan, and
cases stayed below the 5,000-mark for the downward amid the FMCO one each in Pahang, Perlis and Terengganu.
second day running today. Daily recoveries outpaced fresh infec-
A total of 181,840 individuals received 10000 Daily new cases tions for the 16th straight day with a total of
their first dose of vaccine yesterday, and 7-day moving average 5,557, resulting in active cases falling further
53,783 received their second jab, according 8000 to 62,027 today. Total recoveries increased
to latest data from the Covid-19Vaccine Sup- 6000
to 639,181.
ply Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV). 5,412 The seven-day moving average of vaccine
4,743
Kuala Lumpur remained as the state or 4000 doses administered in the country climbed to
federal territory with the highest number 194,709, while seven-day moving average of
of first dose administered at 724,684 as of 2000 daily Covid-19 cases declined further to 5,412.
yesterday, followed by Selangor (642,249), According to the World Health Organiza-
0
Sarawak (610,485) and Johor (377,190). tion, Malaysia has the third highest number
Meanwhile, Selangor saw 208,031 peo- of coronavirus infections in ASEAN with
ple completing their two-dose vaccination, a total of 705,762, behind Indonesia (2.02
followed by Sarawak (186,008), Johor tered 1,566 cases, compared with 1,346 yes- million) and the Philippines (1.37 million).
(167,469) and Perak (150,200). terday, Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement.
Cumulatively, 6.05 million Covid-19 vac- Kuala Lumpur came in second, report-
cine doses have been administered since the ing 635 cases versus 310 yesterday. Read also:
beginning of the vaccine roll-out, with 1.67 They were followed by Negeri Sembilan
million people fully vaccinated nationwide. (585), Sarawak (507), Johor (239), Penang Govt completed purchase, payments for
(195), Sabah (193), Melaka (167), Kelan- vaccine supplies, says PM Click here
4,743 new Covid-19 cases registered tan (165), Kedah (142), Pahang (131), La-
New Covid-19 infections rose slightly to buan (104), Perak (68), Terengganu (37), Govt to assess actual situation before
4,743 today (June 22), from 4,611 yes- Putrajaya (seven), and Perlis (two). deciding on phase two of National
terday, said Health Director-General Tan A total of 77 Covid-19 related fatalities Recovery Plan Click here
Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. This rep- were reported in the 24 hours as of noon to-
resents a 6.87% positivity rate from a total day, raising the country’s death toll to 4,554. Vaccination in N. Sembilan set to reach
of 69,064 people tested across the country. Thirty two deaths were reported in Selangor, 80% in October with 20,000 doses daily,
Selangor — the worst-hit state — regis- 12 in Negeri Sembilan, eight in Johor, seven says Khairy Click here
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 3 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

S&P affirms interest paid by the general government

exceeding 15% of revenue.

Malaysia’s ‘A-’ S&P said the downward ratings pressure

could also build if political stability in Ma-

foreign currency laysia deteriorates such that policymaking

becomes materially less predictable, or if

and ‘A’ local the country’s external position weakens

such that the economy’s gross external fi-

currency ratings, nancing needs surpass its current account

receipts plus usable reserves. Sunway announces
but says outlook S&P said it may revise the outlook to
stable over the next 12 to 24 months if trading suspension
remains negative the Malaysian economy grows consider-
ably faster than forecasted, or the policy
pending
environment becomes more conducive to
credible fiscal consolidation.
announcement,
BY AHMAD NAQIB IDIRS This, it said, would produce a stronger fis- amid talks that
theedgemarkets.com cal performance than expected, leading to a
quicker stabilisation of government finances Singapore’s
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): S&P Glob-
al Ratings today affirmed its “A-” long-
On the reduction in its GDP growth
forecast for Malaysia, the ratings agency
GIC wants to
term and “A-2” short-term sovereign credit said it expects the majority impact of the buy stake in its
ratings on Malaysia, besides also affirming tightened MCO to economic activity to be
its ‘A’ long-term and ‘A-1’ short-term local felt in the second quarter of 2021. medical centre
currency ratings on the country. “The recovery will likely be gradual in
“The outlook on the long-term ratings the third quarter, owing to the cautious
remains negative,” the ratings agency said reopening that the government has indi- BY SYAFIQAH SALIM
in a statement. cated. Critically, some economic sectors theedgemarkets.com
S&P also lowered its real gross domestic are allowed to operate with strict safety
product (GDP) forecast for Malaysia to procedures, subject to approval under a KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Sun-
4.1% from 6.2%, to account for the impact positive listing process. As such, activity way Bhd announced in a bourse fil-
of the tightening of the Movement Control will not be affected to the same extent as ing today that trading in its securities
Order (MCO) since June 1. during the first MCO in the second quar- will be suspended from 9am tomorrow
It said the affirmed ratings reflect Ma- ter of 2020,” it said. (Wednesday, June 23), pending an an-
laysia’s strong external position, monetary S&P expects Malaysia’s economic recov- nouncement from the group. Its struc-
policy flexibility and record of supporting ery to gain pace as the national vaccination tured warrants will also be suspended
sustainable economic growth, although it plan progresses, and targets are met for a at the same time.
said the nation’s elevated government debt border reopening of activities, including the Shares of Sunway rose four sen
stock and evolving fiscal policy settings targeted decline in positive cases to less than or 2.3% to close at RM1.78 today,
temper these strengths. 4,000 per day, improvement in the capacity translating into a market capitalisa-
“The negative outlook reflects endur- utilisation of key healthcare infrastructure, tion of RM8.78 billion. It saw some
ing pressures on Malaysia’s fiscal and debt and 10% inoculation of the population. 5.91 million shares exchanging hands.
settings, which have been further under- It noted that the Malaysian economy The Edge Malaysia weekly reported
mined by a worsening domestic Covid-19 has a record of resilience following periods over the weekend, citing sources, that
situation this year. of adversity, adding that the manufacturing Sunway might sell a strategic stake in
“Higher fiscal deficits in 2020 and this sector is well-oriented to take advantage of its healthcare asset to Government of
year, alongside a more muted near-term a global surge in demand for electronics. Singapore Investment Corp (GIC).
economic recovery, will keep the Malay- “Malaysia has a mature electrical and It wrote that Sunway might be
sian government’s net indebtedness close electronics sector that supplies components making an announcement about the
to 70% of GDP. Heightened political un- and finished products to major global play- sale of between 20% and 25% equi-
certainty compounds the challenges that ers. We expect this sector to drive strong ty interest in its healthcare business
the government will face in rapidly con- exports over the next one to two years, in as early as this week, if all went well.
solidating its finances over the next two to particular,” said the agency. A Sunway spokesperson declined
three years,” S&P said. Malaysia’s economy is likely to grow at to comment when asked about the
It added that Malaysia’s ratings could an above-trend rate in 2022 and 2023, it possibility of the Singaporean sov-
face downward pressure over the next 12 said, before settling toward a more sustain- ereign wealth fund GIC buying into
to 24 months, if economic growth suffers a able long-term rate of expansion, in line the company’s healthcare unit.
deeper or more prolonged downturn than with its historical performance. Two separate sources familiar with
expected, or if a weaker commitment to Sunway, however, said the deal was
fiscal consolidation is evident, as both these on the cusp of being concluded.
situations could result in the faster accu- Click here to read the full story
mulation of net general government debt.
This deterioration could be indicated by Read also: Sunway may sell stake in
a change in net general government debt Read also: S&P’s ratings affirmation a healthcare arm to Singapore’s GIC
surpassing 4% on a sustained basis, net sign of confidence in our economy, says Click here
indebtedness surpassing 80% of GDP, or Tengku Zafrul Click here
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Generali to acquire majority stake

in AXA Affin joint ventures, all of
MPI Generali in RM1.3b deals
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Italy’s larg- BY JUSTIN LIM in Multi-Purpose Insurans Bhd — a P&C
est insurer Generali is proposing to buy a theedgemarkets.com insurance subsidiary of MPCHB to create
70% stake in AXA Affin Life Insurance MPI Generali.
(AALI), a 53% stake in AXA Affin Gener- MPCHB is a wholly-owned subsidiary
al Insurance (AAGI), as well as enlarge its of MPHB Capital Bhd.
current stake in MPI Generali Insurance To recap, MPHB Capital announced
Bhd from 49% currently to 100%. on Bursa Malaysia in August last year that
In a statement, Generali said it will ac- it was seeking BNM’s green light to start
quire a 49% stake currently held by AXA talks with Generali Asia on the divestment
and a 21% stake currently held by Affin of its 51% stake in MPI Generali.
Bank Bhd in AALI, while it will purchase In a separate statement, Affin Bank Bhd
a 49.99% stake in AAGI from AXA and a president and group CEO Datuk Wan Ra-
further 3% stake from Affin and minority zly Abdullah Wan Ali said he is looking
shareholders. forward to growing businesses together
Generali also plans to buy its joint-ven- with Generali.
ture partner Multi-Purpose Capital Hold- “As shareholder of both the insurance
ings Bhd (MPCHB) out of MPI Generali entities, we hope to create synergistic
Insurance. growth opportunities for AAGI and AALI
The total consideration for the com- leverages the skills, experience and exper- and reinforce our commitment to offering
bined transactions is RM1.29 billion sub- tise of all the staff of the combined busi- holistic financial solutions to our customers
ject to closing adjustments, said Generali ness,” it added. and enhance the overall customer expe-
in a statement. The transactions are expected to be rience through the future bancassurance
As a result of the transactions, Generali concluded in the second quarter of 2022. partnership with Generali,” he commented
will operate in Malaysia through two com- HSBC is acting as exclusive financial on the group’s partnership with Generali.
panies — one in the property and casualty adviser to Generali on the transactions. Affin currently owns 51% in AALI and
(P&C) segment and the other in the life Law firm Wong & Partners is acting as 49.95% in AAGI. Upon completion of the
segment. legal adviser. transaction, Affin’s eventual shareholding
In the P&C segment, Generali said both Jaime Anchústegui Melgarejo, chief in both AALI and AAGI (MergeCo) will
AAGI and MPI Generali will be merged executive officer international of Gener- be reduced to 30%.
following the transactions, creating one ali Group, said the transactions are fully Affin said the entry of Generali as the
of Malaysia’s leading general insurance aligned with Generali’s strategy to strength- new major shareholder of AALI and AAGI
operations, with Generali holding a 70% en its leadership position in high potential (MergeCo) will enable the group to mone-
stake while Affin Bank will hold the re- markets like Malaysia, which represents a tise part of its investments in the insurance
maining 30%. very attractive opportunity as it is home businesses, the proceeds of which will be
“The acquisitions will position Generali to a growing middle-class population and reallocated to fund business growth in its
as one of the leading insurers in the Ma- with an insurance penetration rate that is core banking business.
laysian market, creating the second largest still relatively low compared to other more “From the AAGI merger, there will be
P&C insurer by market share and enter- mature markets in the Asian region. enhanced brand equity for Affin via owner-
ing the country’s life insurance segment,” Meanwhile, Generali Asia’s regional of- ship of a larger scale general insurer in Ma-
Generali added. ficer Rob Leonardi said this is an exciting laysia which is expected to be the second
Generali said it has submitted an ap- time for Generali in Malaysia and for the biggest general insurance provider with an
plication to the local regulator in order group’s growth strategy in Asia. estimated gross written premium (GWP)
to acquire the remaining shares of MPI “Over the last five years we have enjoyed of more than RM2 billion and total assets
Generali Insurance held by MPCHB. The working together with our business partner of more than RM6 billion,” it added.
transactions are subject to the approvals of to reshape MPI Generali and now we can Affin believes that with the new part-
the Minister of Finance and Bank Negara further optimise our strategic position, se- nership with Generali, being one of the
Malaysia (BNM). cure economies of scale for more efficient largest global insurance groups, both in-
Generali will also enter into an exclusive operations and deliver even greater value surance entities will be poised to scale
bancassurance agreement with Affin Bank for our customers. We have ambitions to greater heights.
for the sale of conventional P&C and life further transform and strengthen our busi- Affin shares closed up two sen or 1.18%
insurance products. ness in this important market and look to RM1.72, valuing it at a market capital-
“Generali, AXA, Affin Bank and MPHB forward to working with our customers, isation of RM3.65 billion.
Capital are working together to obtain the employees, agents, partners and distrib- MPHB Capital’s share price added 14
required regulatory approvals. Generali utors on this journey,” Leonardi added. sen or 8.92% to settle at its more than
will commence the necessary integration Generali has been active in Malaysia four-year high of RM1.71, for a market
planning to develop an organisation that since 2015, when it acquired a 49% stake capitalisation of RM1.22 billion.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Serba Dinamik
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): After de- Mohamed Nor Abu Bakar quit after he was
liberation, Serba Dinamik Bhd’s board made an independent director.

appoints
has decided to take legal action against its To recap, Serba Dinamik has been em-
external auditor KPMG PLT, which has broiled in an auditing dispute with KPMG,

Najib’s lawyer
shone the limelight on the oil & gas outfit after its auditor highlighted discrepan-
for the wrong reasons, after it raised red cies involving transactions to the tune of

to sue KPMG
flags on its client’s financial accounts. RM4.54 billion to the company’s inde-
It alleged that KPMG had been neg- pendent directors last month. The issues

for alleged
ligent and breached its contractual and raised were based on the financial accounts
statutory duties to the group. for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2020.

negligence
“We filed the action early this morning. The company has announced that its
We wanted to do it last night. [After filing board had agreed in principle to appoint
the action this morning], we served a copy Ernst &Young Advisory Services Sdn Bhd
of the writ on KPMG. (EY) as its independent reviewer to “assess
“The court documentation has not BY KATHY FONG the veracity and accuracy” of the matters
been officially sealed. We are not allowed theedgemarkets.com highlighted by KPMG.
to give a copy [of the court document],” It said an updated announcement will
the group’s legal consultant Tan Sri Mu- be made upon the finalisation of terms
hammad Shafee Abdullah told a media Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and conditions of the said appointment.
briefing today. Muhammad Shafee cur- Since the audit issues were made known
rently represents former prime minister RM to the investing public, the company’s insti-
Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his SRC In- 2.0 tutional investors, including the Employee
ternational Sdn Bhd and 1Malaysia De- Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan
velopment Bhd corruption trials. Nasional Bhd, have voiced concerns over
Shafee pointed out that KPMG had the company’s governance.
1.5
raised the red flags in an inappropriate man- RM1.57 Meanwhile, institutional shareholders
ner. “KPMG should have resorted to meet- have cut their stake in the company.
ing the client and raising the (audit) issues The EPF had sold 17.12 million shares
one by one to find out the answers,” he said. 1.0 between June 2 and June 15, leaving it with
Meanwhile, the company’s newly-ap- 351.73 million shares or 9.48%.
pointed chairman Datuk Mohamed Ilyas Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadan-
Pakeer Mohamed claimed that the external RM0.63 kan, which had a 5.2% stake in Serba Dina-
0.5
auditor “has blown the audit issues out of June 1, 2020 June 22, 2021 mik, ceased to be a substantial shareholder
proportion”. as of June 1, after disposing of 26.18 million
According to him, the issues raised by Source: Bloomberg shares or 0.7% between May 31 and June 1.
KPMG are not related to the company’s This occurred while Serba Dinamik’s
revenue nor its bottomline. “Serba Dinamik two largest shareholders were buying further
is a healthy company,” he told the media. This is a big sum for an oil & gas com- into the company. Serba Dinamik found-
Serba Dinamik said KPMG’s red flag- pany… shareholders have suffered,” said er and group chief executive officer Datuk
ging has tarnished its corporate image. “It Mohamed Ilyas, who was appointed to the Dr Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah had since
has portrayed that there are a lot of inappro- board as independent director last week. raised his stake to 27.07% as of May 31.
priate things happening in Serba Dinamik.” He was redesignated as the chairman Karim reiterated his stance that the
“As a result, the company’s market of the board two days later. management “has done nothing wrong”
capitalisation has lost over RM3 billion. The company’s former chairman Datuk at the media briefing today.

Amid suit against KPMG, Serba Dinamik yet to appoint

EY for independent review
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Serba Di- BY ADAM AZIZ that it is suing KPMG over negligence,
namik Holdings Bhd has yet to finalise theedgemarkets.com breach of contract and breach of statu-
the appointment of Ernst & Young (EY) tory duty, after the auditor raised certain
to conduct the independent review over audit issues in the company’s books in-
the audit matters flagged by its external volving some RM4.54 billion in trans-
auditor. actions for the 12-month period ended
Speaking at a press conference today, Dec 31, 2020.
Serba Dinamik's legal counsel Tan Sri At the press conference, Muhammad
Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said the de- Shafee also pointed out that the idea to
cision still lies with its board of directors. conduct an independent review was first
“This process of appointing an in- mooted by KPMG.
dependent reviewer and whether it will “EY’s name was bandied about as a
be EY, they are still [deliberating],” said probable auditing company to conduct
Muhammad Shafee. the independent review.
Serba Dinamik today announced CO N TI N U ES O N PAG E 6
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

What
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Serba Di- work with your auditor when you pay them a
namik Holdings Bhd today conducted a few hundred thousand ringgit and they dictate

Serba Dinamik
press conference — the second one af- what to do? They should be working with us,
ter the company’s audit issues have been not taking our money and behaving like this.

said on its
made known. The company seemed to They are behaving like official gangsters,
have sprung a surprise by announcing its hiding behind the veil of whatever act they

audit issues
civil suit against external auditor KPMG, have. I have got all the information, I spoke
on grounds of negligence, breach of con- to SC and I spoke to Bursa. I think you
tractual and statutory duties. better clarify your information.
The legal action was taken after KPMG
red-flagged several issues on Serba Dina- BY ADAM AZIZ What is the latest update on
mik’s bills and transactions to the tune of theedgemarkets.com the appointment of EY for the
RM4.54 billion in the 12-month period independent audit review?
ended Dec 31, 2020. Shafee: This process of appointing an in-
The press conference was attended dependent reviewer and whether it will be
by its newly appointed chairman Datuk EY, they are still [deliberating].
Mohamed Ilyas Pakeer Mohamed, Serba The idea [for a review] was started by
Dinamik group managing director (MD), KPMG, and KPMG started with a com-
chief executive officer (CEO) and larg- pletely wrong process and a lack of inves-
est shareholder Datuk Dr Mohd Abdul tigation. It is therefore in the interest of
Karim Abdullah, and Serba Dinamik le- the company to set aside the sort of ideas
gal counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee that the auditor has suggested.
Abdullah.
The following are the main issues that Mohd Abdul Karim (MD and CEO): Why did Serba Dinamik have to
the host addressed in the slightly more One of the issues raised is that the auditor appoint three more independent
than an hour long briefing: did not look at alternative procedures to directors when it already had three?
determine the amount disputed.The issues Mohd Abdul Karim: Independent di-
Why is Serba Dinamik suing KPMG? raised by KPMG could have been resolved rectors play an important role… we need
Shafee (legal counsel): We found no in- if KPMG resorted to the usual method of credible and more qualified independent
fringement of law or non compliance of meeting the clients, raising the issues one directors to help the company face these
provision. The key content is missing for by one and to see if the client would be able difficult challenges. We cannot be just sit-
KPMG to do whistle-blowing to the Secu- to answer the issues raised. ting in the room and conducting videocon-
rities Commission Malaysia (SC). As a re- If we do not pursue this legal path, there ferences, but there is very minimal effort to
sult of unfavourable red-flagging of issues, are so many restrictions by the authorities speak to authorities, substantial sharehold-
the SC acted purely on what KPMG said against things like issuing statements. Now ers like EPF (Employees Provident Fund).
and raided the premises of this company. we do have that freedom to express our It has to be a more action-oriented mo-
We hope that KPMG takes the cue that side of the story. tion to be taken, talking to people and also
the relationship is no longer tenable, and they to explain the real issue behind this.We feel
will resign as the auditor. Another suggestion Some say the suit against KPMG is a the additional independent directors with
is for the board of directors to suggest for distraction to the actual issue by Serba the relevant qualifications and experience
shareholders to ask for an EGM (extraor- Dinamik. Can you comment? and network will play an important role to
dinary general meeting) to remove them. Mohamed Ilyas: I don’t know where you sail through these difficult times.
That is the fastest way to do so and to ensure get your information from, but I think you
the audit process can be completed quickly. should verify your information. If KPMG can
mislead our directors, Bursa and the SC with Click here to read the full story
Mohamed Ilyas (chairman): KPMG trivial issues, I don’t think we are supposed
has been negligent for many times, and to work with them anymore. This is why we
kept the company in a lurch for 59 days took the decision to take legal action on them. Read also: Serba Dinamik CEO: Block
[without response]. There is negligence, Plus they (KPMG) mentioned they were 7 deal not a related party transaction as I
plus the red flags on trivial issues. going to stop the audit process. How can you didn’t take up shares personally Click here

FROM PAG E 5 Abdul Karim Abdullah, who also attended late May, after which the group said it
“The idea was started by KPMG, and the press conference. intends to resolve the issue in order to
KPMG started with a completely wrong “In terms of the timeline, we will work prepare for its annual report publication
process and a lack of investigation… It is out the necessary timeline to meet the dead- by Oct 31, 2021.
therefore in the interest of the company to lines imposed onto the company. It should According to the company, KPMG
set aside the sort of ideas that the auditor be manageable,” Mohd Karim added. said it would stop the audit process un-
has suggested,” Muhammad Shafee said. On June 14, Serba Dinamik said its less and until Serba Dinamik undertook
“What has been announced on the board had agreed in principle to appoint the independent review.
independent review is status quo, and EY as the independent reviewer to assess Shares of Serba Dinamik closed in the
it will remain as what it is,” said Serba the veracity and accuracy of the matters green today, rising 2.5 sen or 4.17% to
Dinamik largest shareholder and group highlighted by KPMG. 62.5 sen, valuing the oil and gas services
chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohd The audit issue first came to light in group at RM2.31 billion.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Dhaya Maju LTAT granted extension of

ad-interim injunction until July 26
BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemarkets.com

PUTRAJAYA (June 22): Dhaya Maju

LTAT Sdn Bhd, the company involved in
the Klang Valley Double Tracking Project
2 (KVDT2) dispute, has today been giv-
en an extension of its ad-interim injunc-
tion against the Malaysian government,
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka
Siong and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd
(KTMB) until July 26, when the hearing
of its appeal is scheduled.
A three-member Court of Appeal
bench led by Justice Datuk Wira Ka-
maludin Md Said allowed the extension
of the injunction, also known as an Erin-
ford injunction, which was due to expire
on June 24.
This is despite a serious objection
made by KTMB counsel Sean Yeow
Huang Meng to the extension as he told
the bench about the revocation of the li- Dhaya Maju LTAT had also in anoth- “We are ready to resume the KVDT2
cense given to Dhaya Maju LTAT. er suit named the Malaysian government project. We look forward to the govern-
The extension was granted after senior and Wee as defendants due to an amount ment’s forthcoming decision on the set-
federal counsel Azliza Ali for the Malay- owed to them following the cancellation tlement agreement to allow the company
sian government and Wee had no objec- of them being the KVDT2 project con- to continue and complete the KVDT2
tions to the extension. tractor after completing 24% of the pro- project,” the statement said.
“The court unanimously allows the ject. However, the company had on June
ad-interim injunction until July 26,” Jus- 14 withdrawn this suit at the High Court. Bench advises parties to concentrate
tice Kamaludin said. The company also filed a judicial re- on submissions on Section 29 of GPA
Sitting with him on the bench were view against the government to stop the Justice Kamaludin also told parties in to-
Justices Datuk Lee Heng Chong and Da- re-tendering process pending the disposal day’s proceedings to concentrate on their
tuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali. of the present suit. submissions on Section 29 of the Gov-
Dhaya Maju LTAT counsel Ashok Ku- In an immediate response, Dhaya ernment Proceedings Act 1956 (GPA)
mar Mahadev Ranai had earlier sought Maju said they highlighted to the Court as the issue had yet to be decided by the
an extension of the injunction given by of Appeal today that it is important for Federal Court.
the High Court until Thursday (June 24), the extension of the interim order to be “This issue of Section 29 GPA has
pending the disposal of its appeal that is granted, or else the company’s applica- not been decided by the Federal Court
scheduled to be heard on July 26 at the tion would be rendered null. and parties should focus on this matter
Court of Appeal. The decision today maintains the (come July 26),” he said.
On June 4, High Court Justice Da- status quo — which is that the govern- Section 29 of GPA concerns the na-
tuk Lim Chong Fong allowed an applica- ment cannot call for new tenders for the ture of relief sought by or against the
tion by the government, Wee and KTMB KVDT2 project. government, including injunctions or for
to lift the injunction that the court had “Although there were objections raised the recovery of land or other property.
granted earlier to Dhaya Maju. by counsel for KTMB, the court was of According to Section 29(1), the court
However, Justice Lim granted the the view that these arguments are to be shall not make an order for the delivery
company’s application for the Erinford made during the hearing itself and ac- of the land or other property, but it may
injunction extension until June 24, result- cordingly granted the ad interim Erinford instead declare that the aggrieved party
ing in this present appeal today. injunction until July 26, 2021.” is entitled to the said land or property.
The company had named the Malay- The company has also streamlined its two Sometime in September 2020, when
sian government, Wee, KTMB and Opus civil suits into one action for consistency. Perikatan Nasional was the government
Consultants (M) Sdn Bhd as defendants This means it will be dealing with all and Wee was Transport Minister, the
in this present suit in a bid to stop the unresolved issues and remaining claims government announced the revocation
government from taking over the project in a single suit before the High Court. of Dhaya Maju LTAT as the contractor
and appointing new contractors follow- Dhaya Maju said it strongly believes of the project, resulting in the compa-
ing a study done by Opus Consultants in its right to defend the sanctity of the ny seeking an injunction to prevent the
that found that the project could be con- contract the government has entered into termination. However, it failed to secure
structed at a lower cost. for the KVDT2 project. the injunction.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

SUHAIMI YUSUF/THE EDGE

BAT withdraws
judicial review
against MoH
after reaching
mutual
settlement
over product
BY ADAM A ZIZ
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): British

American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd
(BAT) said its wholly-owned subsid-
iary Commercial Marketers and Dis-
tributors Sdn Bhd (CMD) had de-
cided to withdraw the judicial review Muhammad Taufik defines 'liquidity plus' as 'the liquidity business as normal plus the need to also
filed against the Ministry of Health contend with contingencies'.
(MoH) in the Kuala Lumpur High
Court following a mutual settlement

Petronas’
with the ministry. He was responding to a question on
In a filing with the bourse, it said whether Petronas would have enough mon-

operating cash
there is no material financial impact ey to help the government as the country
on the company and its subsidiaries contends with the economic impact of the

flow, liquidity key

arising from the withdrawal of the pandemic.
judicial review application. According to him, Petronas had, during

in responding to
BAT added that there is also no li- the start of the pandemic in early 2020,
ability imposed on the group arising undertaken an initiative known as “liquid-

short-term shocks
from the withdrawal of the application. ity plus”.
On Nov 14, 2019, the group said Muhammad Taufik defines “liquidity

— group CEO
the MoH had revoked its approval plus” as “the liquidity business as nor-
granted on July 12, 2018 for CMB to mal plus the need to also contend with
sell Dunhill HTL-Cigarillo (Cigarillo) contingencies”.
as a non-cigarette tobacco product. He said the contingencies that Petronas
In a letter dated Oct 21, 2019 sent BY EMIR ZAINUL had to anticipate include its subsidiaries’
to CMD, the ministry said that it theedgemarkets.com financial constraints.
found, upon analysis of Cigarillo, that According to him, Covid-19 has offered
the product falls within the definition KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Petro- the oil and gas (O&G) sector a host of chal-
of a cigarette under the Control of liam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president lenges, including deferred projects besides
Tobacco Product Regulations 2004, and group chief executive officer (CEO) projects’ cost escalation.
and that it will be required to com- Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz On the question of assisting the govern-
ply with the restrictions applicable said the key financial indicator for the ment: Muhammad Taufik said : “We (Pe-
to cigarettes under the regulations. Malaysian national oil company is the tronas) always govern this answer around
That led to BAT filing the appli- cash flow from operations to ensure affordability.”
cation for a judicial review in No- that the group is able to response to He said Petronas will need to earmark
vember 2019. short-term shocks to the firm and the between RM40 billion and RM50 billion
At the noon break today, BAT was country’s economy as the world con- for capital expenditure (capex) within the
four sen or 0.3% higher at RM14.46, tends with the impact of the Covid-19 next five years.
giving it a market capitalisation of pandemic. For the first quarter ended March 31,
RM4.13 billion. Muhammad Taufik, who was speaking 2021 (1QFY21), Petronas’ profit after tax
to Astro Awani in an interview yesterday (PAT) rose to RM9.3 billion from RM4.52
evening, said Petronas is managing its billion a year earlier, according to the com-
cash flow from operations to a degree pany’s quarterly financial report.
of health. Revenue, however, fell to RM52.55
“The rest of the year (2021) is still a billion from RM59.59 billion, while net
question mark. The rest of 2021 is sub- cash generated from operating activi-
ject to lot of uncertainties,” Muhammad ties dropped to RM14.34 billion from
Taufik said. RM17.64 billion, the company said.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 9 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

MAA Group
proposed
to take over
Turiya at 18 sen
per share

Analysts raise
BY ADAM AZIZ Axiata is rated ‘good’ overall in RHB’s pro-
theedgemarkets.com prietary environmental, social and govern-

target prices for ance (ESG) benchmark,” said Tan.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): MAA He added that the estimated merger

Axiata and Digi

Group Bhd is acquiring a 57.78% synergies are “higher than expected” as
stake in Turiya Bhd from Ithmaar the guided synergies to the tune of RM8

following signing of
Bank BSC for RM23.8 million in a billion are ahead of RHB’s and market
bid to extend a mandatory takeover estimates of RM5 billion to RM7 billion.

proposed merger
offer on the machinery and chemicals In the case of Digi.Com, the higher TP
manufacturer. was given after building in cost synergies
MAA, which is involved in invest- and higher net debt, having noted that the
ment holding and insurance business, overall merger construct is positive (from
proposed to acquire 132.15 million BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR lower competition, balance sheet strength
Turiya shares from Ithmaar Bank at theedgemarkets.com perspectives), with initial synergies estimat-
18 sen per share. It also intends to ed at a higher-than-expected RM8 billion.
maintain Turiya’s listing status on KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Analysts “Digi.Com scores highly in RHB’s EGS
Bursa Malaysia. have upgraded their target prices (TPs) rating at 3.3,” Tan said.
Shares of Turiya were trading at or for Axiata Group Bhd and Digi.Com Bhd For FY21, FY22 and FY23, Tan fore-
below the offer price between mid- following the inking of transaction agree- cast Digi.Com to post RM1.11 billion,
2018 until August last year. Since Au- ments for the proposed merger of Celcom RM1.17 billion and RM1.16 billion re-
gust last year,Turiya’s share price has Axiata Bhd and Digi.Com (MergeCo). spectively in net profit.
mainly hovered above the 20 sen level. In separate notes to clients, RHB Re- The analyst projected that Axiata will
The counter surged 1.5 sen or search analyst Jeffrey Tan raised his TPs for post net profits of RM946 million, RM1.09
6% to 26 sen before the counter the counters. In the case of Axiata,Tan’s TP billion and RM1.18 billion for FY21, FY22
was halted from trading in light of is now higher at RM4.75 from RM3.80. and FY23 respectively.
MAA’s offer. For Digi.Com, the RHB analyst increased Meanwhile, Kenanga’s Lim noted that the
Turiya’s largest shareholder is his TP to RM4.78 from RM4.18 previously. merger values Celcom at 9.4 times forward
Empire Holdings Ltd, which holds He also upgraded both Axiata and Digi. enterprise value/earnings before interest, tax-
a 59.45% stake in Turiya through Ith- com to “buy” calls from “neutral” previously. es, depreciation and amortisation (EV/EBIT-
maar Bank. Empire Holdings is a ve- Meanwhile, Kenanga Research’s Lim DA), which the analyst deemed as “fair”.
hicle for Tan Sri Dr Mohan Swami. Khai Xhiang also raised the TPs for both Axiata’s stake in the MergeCo would
The manufacturer has swung counters but maintained the calls on both lift its Malaysian company’s profit by 14%,
from profit to loss in recent years. It Axiata and Digi.Com. Lim added.
was in the red for financial year 2017 Lim maintained the research house’s On Digi.Com, the Kenanga analyst
(FY17) to FY19 (ended March 31). “market perform” call on Digi.Com, while explained that it was switching its TP for
Then in FY20, Turiya returned to raising the TP to RM4.25 from RM3.75. the counter to that of the MergeCo, and
the black, registering a net profit of As for Axiata, the analyst maintained temporarily switched its valuation method
RM455,000 on revenue of RM18.26 the “outperform” call and raised the TP to discounted cash flow (DCF) from EV/
million. For its latest FY21, it booked for the counter to RM4.45. EBITDA.
a net profit of RM586,000 on reve- At the time of writing today, Digi.Com was “We have ascribed a forward 10.5 times
nue of RM18.92 million. higher by 15 sen or 3.47% at RM4.47, while EV/EBITDA multiple to the MergeCo’s
Trading of Turiya and MAA Axiata was up five sen or 1.26% at RM4.03. FY22 EBITDA of RM6 billion. The 10.5
shares was suspended from 2.30pm In a note today, RHB’s Tan stated that times sits between Digi.Com’s ascribed 11.6
to 3.30pm today amid the announce- based on the guidance of RM8 billion or times and the merger-implied forward 9.4
ments. RM800 million per annum in cost synergies times for Celcom.The 9% discount from the
Turiya shares fell one sen or from the merger, and interest savings (RM2 Digi multiple accounts for: i) Celcom’s lower
4.08% to 23.5 sen after the tempo- billion cash fromTelenor and Digi.Com), Axi- profitability; and ii) integration risks. With
rary suspension was lifted, valuing ata’s earnings for the financial year ending Dec synergies likely to meaningfully contribute
the group at RM51.6 million. 31, 2022 (FY22) will see a 13% accretion. earliest in FY23, we caution against the nu-
MAA shares rose one sen or “Pending further clarity of the scope of merous headwinds that the mobile operators
1.27% to 80 sen, valuing the group cost savings/synergies with detailed work will continue to face in the near future as
at RM209.65 million. to start in the integration planning phase, separate entities, which we have accounted
we leave our forecasts unchanged for now. for in our existing estimates,” Lim viewed.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Yinson partners expansion in renewable energy and take

part in the continent’s vast growth in the

Chile-based green energy space.

Meanwhile, Verano’s CEO Dylan Rud-

Verano to ney said the group is excited to announce

this collaboration with Yinson which al-

progress 800mw lows them to grow quickly in several dif-

ferent geographies.

pipeline of solar “We share common goals and values,

with their ambition to become a leading

projects in Latin independent power producer (IPP) for

renewable energy, their speed and com-

America mitment to drive the global transition

to a net carbon-zero future. Combining
global scale and project development ex-

Mulpha’s unit pertise means that we can provide the

BY JUSTIN LIM most attractive clean energy solutions for

to sell entire
theedgemarkets.com the market,” Rudney added.
Founded in 2012, Verano has sourced,

37.81% stake in KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Yinson provided initial investments and devel-
Holdings Bhd has agreed to collaborate oped renewable energy projects in Lat-

New Zealand’s
with Chile-based renewable energy de- in America for nearly a decade. Verano
veloper Verano Capital Holdings SpA to has an existing portfolio in excess of 1

Education undertake renewable energy projects in gigawatt (GW), with 23 sold projects in
Chile, Colombia and Peru. operation generating 284,900 megawatt

Perfect for In a bourse filing, the company said hour (mwh) of clean energy and offset-
the collaboration, which will be carried ting 258,602 tonnes of carbon dioxide

RM1.31b out through its wholly-owned subsidiary per year.

Yinson Renewable Pte Ltd, has initially Yinson diversified into renewables in
targeted to progress a pipeline of over 2019, and targets to become one of the
800 megawatt (mw) of utility scale solar leading clean energy IPPs globally. The
Bernama projects, of which 330mw are expected group said its renewables footprint is rap-
to be consented to within the next six idly expanding, positioning the segment
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Mul- to 12 months. as a major revenue stream.
pha Credit Sdn Bhd (MCSB) has en- “Yinson and Verano will focus on com- Last year, it established the green tech-
tered into a transaction to dispose of pleting the consenting process for the nologies division with the aim of acceler-
its entire equity interest in New Zea- most advanced projects in this collabora- ating the transition to a net carbon zero
land’s Education Perfect Group Lim- tion, and subject to Yinson’s final invest- world through investments in green tech-
ited (EPGL). ment decisions, Yinson and Verano aim nologies.
MCSB is an indirect wholly-owned to begin construction on the first 100mw Apart from renewable energy and
subsidiary of diversified conglomerate within the next six months,” it added. green technologies, Yinson is also in-
Mulpha International Bhd (Mulpha). Due to their strategic locations,Yinson volved in offshore production and off-
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia to- said these projects are expected to enable shore marine businesses.
day, Mulpha said the disposal repre- the group and Verano to offer attractive Yinson shares closed down two sen
sents the entire 37.81% in EPGL for power offtake prices to energy buyers. or 0.4% to RM4.97, for a market capi-
NZ$455 million or approximately Yinson’s chief executive officer (CEO) talisation of RM5.47 billion. There were
RM1.31 billion. for renewables David Brunt said this 474,000 shares traded.
Mulpha said the proposed disposal collaboration with Verano represents a Year to date, the stock has fallen 15%
of MCSB’s investment in EPGL after a unique opportunity to drive the group’s from RM5.82 on Jan 4.
3.5-year holding period will strengthen
the group’s cash flow position and is
in line with the group’s strategy and
investment philosophy.
“The transaction value was arrived
at on a willing buyer and willing seller
basis through direct negotiations, af-
ter a competitive bid process, with the
purchaser taking into account present
and future earnings of the business.
“The disposal, excluding the earn-
out provision, is expected to result in a
net gain of approximately NZ$146.22
million or approximately RM422.50
million, after deducting all incidental
costs relating to the proposed dispos-
al,” it said.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 11 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

IF YOU ARE
NOT PART OF
THE SOLUTION
YOU WILL BE
PART OF
THE PROBLEM
Vaccinations reduce infections and save lives*

Get yourself vaccinated

Get your family, friends and colleagues

to register for vaccination

Join the race to build herd immunity

*Covid-19 Vaccines Advice

– World Health Organization

*Benefits of Getting Covid-19 Vaccines

– US Centre For Disease Control & Prevention

THIS IS A COMMUNITY SERVICE MESSAGE ON FIGHTING COVID-19

 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 12 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Astro’s 1Q net
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Astro Ma- winning local content for millennials and
laysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit in its first Disney+ Hotstar with amazing content at

profit almost
financial quarter ended April 30, 2021 an incredible value. Customers can look for-
(1QFY22) jumped 91% year-on-year ward to more exciting additions as we push

doubles on
(y-o-y) to RM141.25 million from RM73.84 ahead with our ambition to be Malaysia’s
million, as its earnings before interest, tax, #1 aggregator of the best streaming services.

higher EBITDA,
depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) “Our Ultra and Ulti Box, already in over
rose 13% y-o-y to RM374 million from 300,000 homes are giving customers a new

declares 1.5 sen

RM330.2 million. viewing experience. Astro GO, enhanced
At the same time, its EBITDA margin with ‘pre-access’ and ‘download’ features,

dividend
improved by 3.8 percentage points to 35.2% has 1.4 million monthly active users with an
in 1QFY22, from 31.4% a year prior. average weekly viewing time of 213 minutes,
The company said the higher EBITDA while On Demand videos streamed tripled
and EBITDA margin were due to lower to 100 million. Our broadband base grew
content costs and impairment of receivables, BY ARJUNA CHANDRAN SHANKAR around 80% y-o-y, as more customers bun-
offset by higher merchandise costs, mar- theedgemarkets.com dled broadband with their content packages
keting and distribution costs and licence, for convenience and value,” said Tan.
copyright and royalty fees, as a percentage Meanwhile, Astro chairmanTun Zaki Azmi
of revenue. In addition, lower net financing stated that Astro has posted a strong recovery
cost also boosted Astro’s bottomline. in 1QFY22 amid the reimposition of lock-
The group’s quarterly revenue inched down measures, noting that the group con-
up 0.8% to RM1.06 billion from RM1.05 tinues to be cash generative, cost disciplined
billion in 1QFY21, its bourse filing and proactive in its capital management.
showed, due to higher advertising reve- On its outlook, Astro said the operating
nue, merchandise sales and others, though environment remains challenging amid na-
the rise was partially offset by a decrease in tionwide lockdowns, even as Malaysia rolls
subscription revenue. The group declared out its vaccination programme.
a dividend of 1.5 sen for FY22, payable Prolonged lockdowns may impact As-
on July 23. It declared a dividend of one tro’s revenue, in particular advertising and
sen in 1QFY21. enterprise revenue, it added. It noted that it
On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, In a statement, Astro chief executive of- will continue to optimise cost and actively
however, Astro’s net profit declined 15.84% ficer (CEO) Henry Tan said the group’s manage its capital to further strengthen its
from RM167.83 million amid lower EBIT- FY22 promises to be an action-packed year. balance sheet.
DA due to higher net finance costs q-o-q. “We continue to execute on our strategy Shares in Astro closed 5.93% or seven
Its latest quarterly revenue dipped from and in June, we introduced two new stream- sen higher at RM1.25, valuing it at RM6.52
RM1.11 billion in 4QFY21. ing services: sooka featuring live sports and billion. It saw 13.98 million shares done.

ACE Market-
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): ACE Mar- ing space in Manila and the business will
ket-bound homegrown human capital man- mainly focus on the provision of HCM and

bound Ramssol
agement (HCM) solutions and technology student management solutions as well as
provider Ramssol Group Bhd aims to raise HCM technology applications.

seeks RM25.1m
RM25.1 million from its initial public offering “We aim to start the operation there
(IPO) on Bursa Malaysia on July 13, 2021 to within 12 months upon listing,” he told

from IPO
partly fund its regional business expansion. a virtual press conference following the
Ramssol said of the RM25.1 million pro- launching ceremony today.

for regional
ceeds, about RM2.5 million will be utilised The prospectus showed that over the
for business expansion into the Philippines. past four financial years ended between

expansion
“RM6.3 million will be allocated for the Dec 31, 2017 (FY2017) and Dec 31, 2020
expansion of Feet’s (an in-house employee (FY2020), Ramssol’s revenue was mainly
engagement mobile application) as well as generated from Malaysia, Singapore and
that of third-party collaboration platform, Thailand, with the collective revenue con-
Lark, in Southeast Asia. Bernama tribution from these countries at 93.38%,
“While RM4.1 million will be utilised 95.19%, 90% and 86.72% respectively.
for research and development (R&D) ex- employees and business associates of Ramssol “In the past four financial years, the
penditure, RM7.6 million for working cap- and its subsidiaries, 38.96 million for private group’s revenue was mainly generated
ital and the remaining RM4.6 million for placement to selected investors, and an offer from the provision of HCM and student
listing expenses,” it said in a statement is- for sale of 22.304 million existing shares by management solutions with revenue con-
sued in conjunction with its virtual pro- way of private placement to selected investors. tribution at 82.42%, 81.34%, 91.14% and
spectus launch today. Based on the IPO price of 45 sen, Rams- 60.59% respectively,” it said.
Ramssol’s IPO involves 78.064 million sol’s market capitalisation upon listing shall As at FY2020, the company’s total as-
shares, comprising a public issue of 55.76 be around RM100.37 million, it added. sets stood at RM19.8 million, total liabil-
million new shares, of which 11.2 million On its expansion into the Philippines, ities at RM13.0 million, gearing ratio at
new shares will be allocated for the Malaysian chief executive officer Cllement Tan said 0.56 times and operating cash flow at about
public and 5.6 million for eligible directors, the company had identified a co-work- RM1.71 million.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

O&G firm Reservoir Link dives into solar

RESERVOIR LINK

BY ADAM AZIZ
theedgemarkets.com

KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Just about

one year after its listing on Bursa Malaysia,
oil and gas (O&G) well services group Res-
ervoir Link Energy Bhd is making inroads
into the fast-growing, highly competitive
solar energy market.
It may not be the first local-listed O&G
services group to do so. But Reservoir Link
executive director Thien Chiet Chai is rath-
er upbeat about the partnership with Solar
Bina Engineering Sdn Bhd, which is one
of the industry leaders with more than a
decade of experience in the segment.
“Renewables are something we’ve been
wanting to do,” said Thien. “We [Reser-
voir Link] actually bid for LSS4 (Large
Scale Solar) but unfortunately it was not
successful, so when the opportunity came
to venture into the space with [Solar Bina
founder] Eric Lee, we took it without hes-
itation,” said Thien.
Under a deal worth RM21.17 million,
Reservoir Link will acquire 51% in special
purpose vehicle Founder Energy Sdn Bhd
from Solar Bina’s Lee, which will house
identified assets, equipment and manpower This is coupled with the profit guarantee “While the EPCC market is quite com-
that are transferred from Solar Bina. totalling RM13.836 million in the two years petitive, the size of the pie is huge — we
In a nutshell, Solar Bina undertakes upon the completion of the acquisition — are talking about more than 1,000mw DC
construction of solar PV projects across which makes up to an average of RM3.53 capacity available. And there are not many
Peninsular Malaysia, and has participated million per year for Reservoir Link’s 51% players of a size that is capable of under-
in projects from all LSS bidding rounds in equity portion in Founder Energy. taking large-scale projects,” said Lee.
the country. It is also a supplier of related Comparatively, the annualised guaran-
equipment including solar mounting sys- tee sizes up to 30% to Reservoir Link’s net Well services prospects still intact
tems and AC/DC inverters. profit of RM11.76 million in financial year On Reservoir Link’s core business, Thien
It has the construction totalling 655mw 2020 (FY20). said the group is rather comfortable in
in solar generation capacity under its belt, While the acquisition will be part-fund- terms of contract replenishments, as the
of which 355mw or 54% has been installed, ed via the issuance of 18.15 million new group have been seeing contract renewals
with the other 300mw still under devel- Reservoir Link shares to Lee at 70 sen from existing clients.
opment. apiece, the profit guarantee — all else equal For FY20 ended Dec 31, 2020, Reser-
It is also negotiating 215mw worth of — ensures growth in Reservoir Link’s earn- voir Link booked a net profit of RM11.76
projects under the latest LSS4 bidding ings per share, instead of a dilution. million on revenue of RM87.53 million, up
round quota that was announced by the It should be noted that Solar Bina is not 21.5% and 9.4%, respectively, from FY19
government on March 12, 2021. yet a solar plant owner, although the man- levels — when it was yet to be listed. This
Aside from the sizeable order and tender agement has made clear it is in the pipeline. was partly thanks to lumpy payments from
books, Reservoir Link’s confidence towards In the meantime, Founder Energy will works in Mauritania for client Petronas
its prospects arises from the strong long- also utilise Reservoir Link’s existing con- Carigali.
term relationship Solar Bina has with its nections from past projects to tap into the “In Mauritania, the pace of their
clients — including a handful of the listed fast-growing markets across ASEAN. well-abandonment activities has been pick-
names in the solar business. “The industry is growing very fast, and ing up,” said Thien.The group’s order book
“We are confident about Solar Bina’s Reservoir Link will provide the support is now at an estimated RM150 million,
track record,” said Thien. “With a market needed to tender for bigger projects in a which could last the group for another two
share of about 20%, 30% in this space, bigger market,” Lee said. years, he added.
that represents about RM500 million to Lee also commented that margins have Shares of Reservoir Link settled at
RM600 million worth of projects in LSS4 been manageable amid the competitive 52.5 sen on Tuesday, valuing the group at
alone.” market. From a cost perspective, prices RM150 million. The counter has gained
Lee will also sign an executive agree- have been trending up for solar panels, 11.5 sen from its initial public offering
ment to lead Reservoir Link’s solar division which clients sometimes procure sepa- price of 41 sen. The stock was listed on
for the next five years. rately. July 15, 2020.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

NEWS IN BRIEF

SC flags Citibank International

Investment Plan Worldwide among OM Holdings rises as much as 13.6% OM Holdings Ltd
potential clone entities on Main Market debut
RM
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): The KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Australia-listed
3.0
Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) mining firm OM Holdings Ltd (OMH), which
has blacklisted Citibank International made its debut on the Main Market of Bursa
2.9
Investment Plan Worldwide, which is a Malaysia today, rose as much as 35 sen or RM2.83
Citibank clone operating a fraudulent 13.62% to RM2.92. This is the first cross- 2.8
scheme. In a statement to theedgemarkets. listing on Bursa and the Australian Securities
com today, the SC said Citibank Exchange (ASX). At the opening bell, the 2.7 RM2.75
International Investment Plan Worldwide manganese ore and ferro-alloy producer
“is an illegal investment scheme that climbed 15 sen or 5.84% to RM2.72. On 2.6
misuses the name of a legitimate market close, it settled at RM2.83, still up IPO price: RM2.57
2.5
financial entity, in this case Citibank”. 26 sen or 10.12% from its listing price of 9am 4.58pm
In a statement on the SC’s website, the RM2.57 apiece. The counter, which was the June 22, 2021
regulator said Citibank International third top gainer today, saw 599,300 shares Source: Bloomberg
Investment Plan Worldwide is an entity traded. The group’s executive chairman
“carrying on unlicensed capital market and chief executive officer (CEO) Low Ngee
activities”. The SC said it had included Tong told a virtual press conference that for infrastructure remained strong, amid
Citibank International Investment Plan the group’s immediate focus is to expand the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are in a very
Worldwide into its investor alert list, its mining project in Australia and raise the niche market. The order books are filled
which comprises unauthorised websites, output of its Sarawak plant. It also plans out for most of this year,” he said. — by Tan
investment products, companies and to convert to metallic silicon to produce Siew Mung/theedgemarkets.com
individuals. At the time of writing today, higher value-added products, and diversify
Citibank Bhd had not issued a statement into the aluminium, chemicals and solar
in response to the SC’s announcement. — downstream industries. He said demand Click here to read the full story
by Lynette Hew/theedgemarkets.com

BNM’s international reserves up at White Horse disposes of land in

US$111b as at June 15 Vietnam for RM113m
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Bank KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Ceramic tile
Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international maker White Horse Bhd is disposing of
reserves stood at US$111 billion (about a piece of leasehold land with buildings
RM460.93 billion) as at June 15, 2021, in Vung Tau, Vietnam for RM113.45
up from US$110.9 billion as at May 31. million. The group is selling the land
In a statement today, the central bank measuring 278,511 square metres to TCS clinches RM555m mixed-use
said the reserves position is sufficient to Vietnam’s Viglacera Tien Son Joint development contract in Setapak
finance 8.2 months of retained imports Corp, it said in a bourse filing. White KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Construction
and 1.1 times total short-term external Horse said the disposal is expected to firm TCS Group Holdings Bhd has secured
debt. It said the main components of improve its bottom line in the long run a RM555 million contract for a mixed-use
the international reserves were foreign as the ceased operation in Vietnam development known as J.Satine in Setapak.
currency reserves (US$102.3 billion), would reduce its loss position, besides The project comprises 3,600 units of
its International Monetary Fund (IMF) consolidating the production facility Residensi Wilayah apartments, 661 units
reserves position (US$1.4 billion), special in Malaysia. The expected gain from of small office or home office (SOHO)
drawing rights (SDRs) (US$1.2 billion), the disposal is RM58.3 million, the and 42 commercial units, the group said
gold (US$2.1 billion) and other reserve group added. — by Syafiqah Salim/ in a statement. J.Satine is a joint venture
assets (US$4 billion). — Bernama theedgemarkets.com between Platinum Victory Group and Jakel
Group’s property development arm. TCS
DNeX appoints two directors, including Hon Hai’s Dr Chen Wei-Ming intends to fund the three-year contract via
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) has today (June 22) internal funds or borrowings. TCS group
appointed two directors, namely Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd’s Dr Chen Wei-Ming managing director Datuk Tee Chai Seng
and oil and gas veteran Datuk Robert Fisher. In Bursa Malaysia filings today, IT services said the contract, the fourth secured by the
provider DNeX said Chen, who is a Taiwanese, had in 2017, joined Hon Hai, known group this year, enhances TCS’ outstanding
globally as Foxconn Technology Group, as vice president and special assistant to the order book to RM1.6 billion besides
group’s founder Terry Guo. DNeX said Chen “has served on the board of Hon Hai group providing the group earnings visibility for the
subsidiaries including Sharp, Foxsemicon, Shun Sin Technology, and Socle Technology”. next three financial years. “Looking ahead,
On Fisher, DNeX said he has 45 years of experience in the oil and gas industry with notwithstanding the exacting operating
expertise and experience in senior management of oil and gas downstream and upstream landscape, our prospects remain intact
businesses, including production and project development. Hon Hai had on June 10, 2021 premised upon our improved order book
become a substantial shareholder in DNeX with a 5.032% stake, following the acquisition and the accelerated mass rollout of Covid19
of DNeX shares by Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd. — by Sulhi Khalid/theedgemarkets.com vaccination in Malaysia,” Tee added. — by
Syafiqah Salim/theedgemarkets.com
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 15 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

SHAHRIN YAHYA/THE EDGE

Senior lawyer
tells AG, Bar
Council Sri Ram
should not act
for law firm sued
by 1MDB while
prosecuting Cops record
fund’s cases statements
from 11
Manjeet Singh Dhillon

individuals
BY HAFIZ YATIM from the concerned civil suits or from
theedgemarkets.com acting for Wong & Partners and Chia. A

over report on
message has to be sent, more so when
KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): Former senior members of the Bar are involved,”

minister held
Malaysian Bar president Manjeet Singh he said in the email to both of them.
Dhillon has written to Attorney General Kalidas had thanked Manjeet for

at roadblock
(AG) Tan Sri Idrus Harun and Malay- bringing this matter to the Bar’s atten-
sian Bar president AG Kalidas about tion, saying he was concerned about
his concerns over former Federal Court ethical standards and the real possibil-
judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram rep- ity of conflict.
resenting law firm Wong & Partners in “However, at the moment, there is Bernama
relation to a civil suit against the firm, very little for the Bar Council to go on
while he is also involved in the prose- because we are not privy to all the de- KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): The
cution of 1Malaysia Development Bhd tails of the different suits and hence the police have recorded statements from
(1MDB) cases. line of conflict is unclear. 11 individuals to facilitate investiga-
Manjeet wrote to both of them last “We will monitor the matter includ- tion into a report uploaded on a web-
month following a report by theedgemar- ing by holding a watching brief so that site involving a minister who was al-
kets.com quoting Sri Ram as saying that when more details are revealed we will legedly detained at a roadblock last
there was no conflict in him represent- be in a position to make an assessment month.
ing the law firm while continuing with and decide whether or not it is a situ- Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation
the prosecution. ation of conflict,” said the Malaysian Department director Datuk Seri Abd
A copy of the correspondence. in Bar president. Jalil Hassan said the statements were
which Kalidas had responded, was sight- On May 7, four law firms were en- recorded under Section 112 of the
ed by theedgemarkets.com, while Idrus gaged in filing 22 suits by 1MDB and Criminal Procedure Code.
has yet to do so, despite Manjeet hav- its former subsidiary SRC International “The investigation paper will be
ing sent a follow-up email on the matter Sdn Bhd. referred to the Attorney-General’s
three days ago (June 19). The 1MDB suit filed against Wong Chambers (AGC) for further action.
The senior lawyer said while Sri Ram & Partners, which was previously its le- We advise the public not to make any
is a close friend whose ability and talent gal representative, involves purported speculation or spread rumours about
is well known, he was of the view that fraud, where the company sought a sum the case,” he said in a statement today.
both the AG and the Bar should per- of US$1 billion and payment of legal He said the investigation was ongo-
suade the former Federal Court judge fees of RM664,821.21. ing to identify the individuals respon-
to remove himself from representing the The case is coming up tomorrow sible for uploading the post, and to
law firm and its partner Brian Chia in at the High Court (Commercial) divi- record statements of other individuals
the suit. sion before Judicial Commissioner Liza related to the case.
“If the above (media) report is cor- Chan Sow Keng for case management. Abd Jalil said disseminating any
rect, there is a major conflict issue aris- Sri Ram had maintained there is no form of fake news on social media
ing as Sri Ram ... has been privy to an conflict of interest in this instance and platforms is an offence under Section
amazing amount of material in his in- that he has to defend Chia as he is an 233 of the Communications and Mul-
volvement in closely related matters for important prosecution witness in the timedia Act 1998.
the AG’s Chambers. 1MDB-Tanore trial as well. Earlier, a report alleging that Plan-
“Regrettably this is a situation where “There is no conflict. Brian is an im- tation Industries and Commodities
neither the cab rank rule of being a bar- portant witness for me in the ongoing Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin
rister arises nor to the right of a counsel 1MDB-Tanore trial,” he said. Aman Razali was stopped at a road-
of choice. “He is a member of Wong & Partners block in Perasing, Terengganu went
“I am frankly of the opinion that it and is the primary target for the suit. viral on social media after it was up-
behoves the AG and the Malaysian Bar I have to defend him in both arenas,” loaded onto a portal on May 28.
to have Sri Ram removed as counsel said Sri Ram.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

BLOOMBERG

Vaccine China to keep

shortages hit Covid-19 border
global supply restrictions for
programme, another year
halting roll-outs BY KEITH ZHAI & SHA HUA
Dow Jones
BY JAMES PATON & CORINNE GRETLER cine-access non-profit Gavi, the Vaccine
Bloomberg Alliance, another group known as CEPI, SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (June 22):
or the Coalition for Epidemic Prepared- Beijing is planning to keep its pandemic bor-
LONDON/ZURICH (June 22): A string ness Innovations, and the WHO. It es- der restrictions in place for at least anoth-
of nations across Africa, Asia, and other tablished a global purchasing and distri- er year as officials fret over the emergence
regions have run out of Covid-19 vaccines bution pool, particularly for less-wealthy of new variants and a calendar of sensitive
or are on the brink of doing so, months af- nations that were unable to strike large events, according to people familiar with the
ter receiving first shipments from a global pre-purchase deals or manufacture their matter, despite a coronavirus vaccination
programme meant to equitably distribute own vaccines. campaign that has topped one billion doses.
the life-saving shots. Its goal is to deliver 1.8 billion doses The provisional timeline of the second
When the supplies arrived in develop- to more than 90 lower-income economies half of 2022 was set during a mid-May
ing countries earlier this year through the by early 2022. So far, it has shipped only meeting of the country’s cabinet, or State
Covax effort, they were seen as an im- 88 million — about as many as the num- Council, attended by officials from China’s
portant step in narrowing a glaring gap ber of doses already administered in the Foreign Ministry and National Health Com-
in global access. US states of California, Texas, and New mission, among other government bodies,
Today, many of those same countries York, according to Bloomberg’s Vaccine one of the people said.
are facing vaccine shortages and are un- Tracker. The programme is heavily reli- The cautious attitude is being driven by
sure when they will receive donations ant on AstraZeneca plc’s two-dose vac- a pair of events that officials are eager to
from wealthy countries. cine, but has been hamstrung by delays have go off without a hitch next year: the
A World Health Organization (WHO) in shipments from a key manufacturer of Winter Olympics in February and a once-
adviser on Monday said that of 80 low- those shots, the Serum Institute of India, a-decade power transition within the ruling
er-income countries that had received after the country halted exports to tackle Chinese Communist Party towards the end
vaccines through the programme, about a devastating outbreak at home. of the year. At the Communist Party Con-
40 were either out of vaccines or on the gress, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is widely
verge. Vaccine gap expected to seek an additional term beyond
“Well over half of countries have run The supply shortages have exacerbated the customary two-term limit.
out of stock and are calling for addition- vaccine inequality.Wealthy countries have By largely restricting new visas to those
al vaccines,” the adviser, Bruce Aylward, administered 68 doses per 100 people on who have received a Chinese vaccine and
told reporters. “But in reality it’s probably average, compared with just two doses maintaining requirements for an enforced
much higher.” per 100 in Africa, according to the WHO. hotel quarantine of at least 14 days upon ar-
In the race to end the pandemic, it is Disease experts have warned that as long rival, Chinese officials have sought to neutral-
vaccine against virus. Slowdowns in in- as the coronavirus continues to circulate ise risks from imported cases, the people said.
oculation programmes can leave room widely, it will have more opportunities After the coronavirus first exploded in
for problematic new variants to emerge to mutate into new variants that could the central city of Wuhan last year, Chinese
that could reignite infection counts or put be more transmissible or evade vaccines. authorities initially condemned countries
already vaccinated people back at risk. Supply uncertainty could undermine such as the US that imposed restrictions
Countries without rich health budgets confidence in vaccine programmes in on travel to and from China.
can be forced onto the more-expensive countries that are struggling to fight But as China contained the virus inside
private market. And if supplies do not get Covid-19 on top of other health threats. its borders and the situation worsened
restocked, vulnerable populations of old- “It takes so much effort to put in place abroad, Beijing has been among the most
er people and health workers can be left a vaccination programme, it doesn’t help fastidious in maintaining border controls.
only partially vaccinated while awaiting peoples’ trust in their government and The country aggressively smothers out-
the delivery of second doses. health systems,” said Els Torreele, a health breaks as they appear through a combina-
Seven countries in Africa have used all researcher at University College London. tion of targeted lockdowns, mass testing,
of their Covax stocks, according to the “You’re talking about countries where and centralised quarantines.
WHO, while others in Asia, Latin Amer- there’s already a lot of fragility.” In recent weeks, China has ramped up
ica, and beyond are at risk of exhaust- its initially sluggish vaccination campaign.
ing their supplies. In response, many are On Sunday, authorities said it had surpassed
slowing or halting vaccine programmes Click here to read the full story one billion shots. As of June 10, Our World
while they await new shipments or look in Data said that 16% of the country’s pop-
for alternate sources. ulation had been fully vaccinated.
Covax was set up last year to ensure Read also: EU takes up option to buy 150
equitable access to vaccines around the million more Moderna Covid-19 vaccines
globe, and was organised by the vac- Click here Click here to read the full story
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

US opens US$500
REUTERS

million fund
for relatives of
Boeing 737 MAX
victims
Family members holding photographs of victims perished in two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes
BY DAVID SHEPARDSON that killed 346 people as Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg testified before a Senate
Reuters Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on “aviation safety” and the grounded 737
MAX on Capitol Hill in Washington, the US on Oct 29, 2019.

WASHINGTON (June 22): A US$500 mil- Air lawsuits, it still face numerous lawsuits
lion US victim compensation fund for the Boeing Co agreed to in Chicago federal court by families of the
relatives of 346 people killed in two fatal Boe- compensate the heirs, Ethiopian crash asking why the MAX con-
ing 737 MAX crashes opened on Monday, relatives, and beneficiaries tinued flying after the first disaster.
the claim administrators told Reuters. of the passengers who died The DOJ settlement includes a fine of
The fund is part of a settlement with the in Lion Air Flight 610 and US$243.6 million and compensation to
Department of Justice (DOJ). Boeing Co airlines of US$1.77 billion over fraud con-
in January agreed to pay US$500 million to
Ethiopian Airlines Flight spiracy charges related to the plane’s flawed
compensate the heirs, relatives, and benefi-
302 in 2018 and 2019. design.
ciaries of the passengers who died in Lion The DOJ said in January, “Boeing’s em-
Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight ployees chose the path of profit over candor
302 in 2018 and 2019. fraud over the certification of the 737 MAX by concealing material information from the
Each eligible family will receive nearly following a Lion Air crash on Oct 29, 2019 FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) con-
US$1.45 million and money will be paid and an Ethiopian Airlines disaster on March cerning the operation of its 737 MAX air-
on a rolling basis as claim forms are sub- 10, 2019. plane and engaging in an effort to cover up
mitted and completed, said administrators The settlement allowed Boeing to avoid their deception.”
Ken Feinberg and Camille Biros in a joint criminal prosecution but did not impact civil Some lawmakers said the government
statement. Families have until Oct 15 to litigation by victims’ relatives that continues. did not go far enough, while Boeing said
complete claim forms. In July 2019, Boeing named Feinberg and it has taken numerous steps to overhaul its
The DOJ and Boeing did not immedi- Biros to oversee the distribution of a separate safety culture.
ately comment. US$50 million to the families of those killed Congress ordered a major overhaul of
The fund is part of a US$2.5 billion DOJ in the crashes and the new fund’s distribu- how the FAA certifies new airplanes in De-
settlement reached in January with Boeing tion follows a similar formula. cember and directed an independent review
after prosecutors charged the company with While Boeing has mostly settled Lion of Boeing’s safety culture.

Aluminum is
LONDON (June 22): Aluminum has over- Orders for metal stored in warehouses
taken copper as the second-best performer tracked by the LME paint a similar picture.

outperforming
on the London Metal Exchange this year as So-called canceled warrants for copper hit the
a tight global market helps to offset worries lowest level in nearly a decade on Monday,

copper as China
about China’s planned release of strategic while aluminum orders have jumped to the
reserves. highest level since the start of the pandemic.

cracks down on
Prices for the metal used in cars and cans The signs of a tight aluminum market
are up more than 21% this year on the LME, have arisen during a rapid turnaround in the

prices
compared with an 18% gain for copper and industry. Demand for the metal used in cars
48% for leading performer tin. Copper and and planes was hit hard as travel ground to a
aluminum have both been buffeted by Chi- halt early on in the pandemic, but it’s since
na’s efforts to tame price inflation in com- snapped back strongly, while curbs on pol-
modities markets over the past month, but BY MARK BURTON lution in China have dramatically altered the
so far aluminum is proving more resilient Bloomberg outlook for supply. Now, Chinese authorities
as signals from the physical market point to are juggling the need to cut carbon emissions
diverging supply conditions. while also trying to put the brake on a ral-
That divergence is highlighted by the pre- ly in aluminum prices by releasing strategic
miums paid by buyers to receive metal in the reserves of the metal.
Asian market, which are widely watched as a Aluminum traded little changed at
barometer of spot demand. In Japan, alumi- US$2,406 a ton as of 11:57 a.m. on the
num consumers are paying the biggest sur- LME, down nearly 8% from its peak in mid-
charges since 2015, while Chinese buyers May. Copper edged higher to US$9,204 a
are enjoying the lowest premiums for copper BLOOMBERG ton, down more than 14% from a record
since at least 2017. high struck last month.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

Carlos Ghosn
(June 22): Two-and-a-half years after Car- doing everything that we can to avoid mak-
los Ghosn’s arrest, Nissan Motor Co. is still ing losses three years in a row,” Uchida said.

looms over
struggling to emerge from the scandalized During the course of the roughly two-
affair involving the former chairman and hour meeting, executives were also quizzed

Nissan annual
chief executive officer. about media reports indicating individuals
Shareholders at the Japanese automak- at Nissan had conspired to have Ghosn ar-

meeting years
er’s annual meeting on Tuesday repeatedly rested, which Uchida said had no merit.
questioned executives about the events Another shareholder opposed the re-elec-

after arrest
surrounding Ghosn’s 2018 arrest, sug- tion of directors who were present when
gesting that Nissan was perhaps better Ghosn was removed because the matter
off during the former auto executive’s era should have been handled internally with-
of management. out damaging Nissan’s brand value, he said.
“Under Ghosn’s leadership there were a BY RIVER DAVIS Ghosn, who escaped trial in Japan at
lot of good things.There were a lot of beau- Bloomberg the end of 2019, is now residing in Leba-
tiful flowers within Nissan,” one said during non and has denied the charges of financial
questioning at the company’s headquarters centives and discounts — those are evil? misconduct. Greg Kelly, the former Nissan
inYokohama, pointing to a period four years Even with incentives it’s better to sell cars director who was arrested alongside Ghosn,
ago when the three-way alliance of Nissan, don’t you think?” is fighting the charges against him in an
Renault SA and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Makoto Uchida, who took over as CEO ongoing trial in Tokyo.
topped global sales volumes. a year after Ghosn’s arrest, stuck behind At the end of the annual meeting,
Nissan has posted two straight years of Nissan’s current strategies, arguing that shareholders approved the reappointment
losses since Ghosn was arrested on charges much of the pain the company is feeling of Uchida and 11 other directors. Re-
of financial misconduct, albeit as the global today stems from brand damage caused by nault is Nissan’s biggest shareholder with
automotive industry as a whole has faced pursuing volume too intensively in the past. a 43% stake in the Japanese automaker.
numerous disruptions from the pandemic “Nissan is making steady progress with its Another proposal that would have seen
and a crippling shortage of semiconductors. business transformation plan,” with April Nissan and Renault’s alliance agreement
Last year, Nissan unveiled a turnaround and May performance exceeding expecta- disclosed was rejected.
plan that involves breaking away from the tions, Uchida said. “With regard to the former chairman,
Ghosn-era strategy of selling cars at steep The automaker posted a 151 billion yen we have caused concern to shareholders,”
discounts to increase market share, which ($1.4 billion) operating loss in the recently Uchida said. “Trust is not something that
cut into profits. ended fiscal 2020 year and is targeting flat can be built back over night. However, we
The shareholder was not convinced: “In- annual profit for the current year. “We’re are seeing signs of recovery.”

Google in EU
BRUSSELS (June 22): Google was in the lishers to auction ad space, and AdX which
EU antitrust spotlight again on Tuesday is one of several marketplaces which can

crosshairs again
as regulators opened an investigation into manage auctions.
whether its digital advertising business gives Google’s plan to remove browser cookies

with advertising
the Alphabet unit an unfair advantage over and also to stop tracking Android users via
rivals and advertisers. a tool known as an advertising identifier will

antitrust inquiry
The European Union competition en- also be looked at.
forcer’s move marks a new front against Reuters reported exclusively last week that
Google and follows more than €8 billion the EU competition enforcer would inves-
(US$9.5 billion) in fines over the past decade tigate Google’s digital advertising business
for blocking rivals in online shopping, An- BY FOO YUN CHEE before the end of the year.
droid smartphones, and online advertising. Reuters Google’s ad tech business is also under
The European Commission said it would fire in the United States, with the Depart-
investigate whether Google distorts com- technology to sell ads on their website and ment of Justice, joined by some states,
petition by restricting third party access to apps. suing last year for abusing its dominance
user data for advertising purposes on web- “We will also be looking at Google’s poli- in search ads. A group of states led by
sites and apps, while reserving such data for cies on user tracking to make sure they are in Texas in a later lawsuit focused on an-
its own use. line with fair competition,”Vestager added. ti-competitive behaviour on the network
“We are concerned that Google has made Google said it would engage construc- side of the house.
it harder for rival online advertising services tively with the Commission. A new EU inquiry could end up target-
to compete in the so-called ad tech stack,” “Thousands of European businesses use ing all of Google’s ad empire. According to
European Competition Commissioner Mar- our advertising products to reach new cus- market researcher eMarketer, Google could
grethe Vestager said in a statement. tomers and fund their websites every sin- control 27% of global online ad spending
Google generated US$147 billion in reve- gle day. They choose them because they’re this year, including 57% for search ads and
nue from online ads last year, more than any competitive and effective,” a Google spokes- 10% of display.
other company in the world, with ads includ- person said. While the figures may not appear to rep-
ing search,YouTube, and Gmail accounting The Commission said its investigation resent a monopoly at first glance, advertis-
for the bulk of its overall sales and profits. would span Google services, including Dis- ers and rivals contend that Google’s various
About 16% of its revenue came from the play & Video 360 and Google Ads to buy softwares play a role in so many facets of
company’s display or network business, in online display advertisements on YouTube, the market that the company is impossible
which other media companies use Google Google Ad Manager which is used by pub- to avoid.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 19 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

The chip shortage, which began in ear-

Chipmaker nest in late December, was caused in part Where the
by automakers miscalculating demand for
GlobalFoundries semiconductors in the pandemic. It was ag- world’s richest
gravated by electronics manufacturers plac-
plans US$6b ing more chip orders as work-from-home 1% are gaining
practices fuelled a surge in sales of computers
expansion in and other devices. wealth the fastest
Large chipmakers including Intel Corp
Singapore, US, have warned that the shortage will last well
into next year. Intel announced in March a
Germany
BY BEN STUPPLES
$20 billion plan to expand its advanced chip & MARION HALFTERMEYER
making capacity, while Taiwan’s TSMC said Bloomberg
in April it will invest $100 billion over the
BY ARADHANA ARAVINDAN next three years. (June 22): The share of the wealth held
Reuters As well, governments, including those of by the richest 1% in nations including
the United States and Japan, have intervened the US, China, Brazil and India jumped
SINGAPORE (June 22): Chipmaker to urge faster supplies. Earlier this month, the in the fallout from the pandemic, fueled
GlobalFoundries said on Tuesday it will United States approved $54 billion in funds by efforts to curb the effects of the virus,
spend $6 billion to expand capacity at its fac- to increase U.S. production and research into according to Credit Suisse Group AG.
tories in Singapore, Germany and the United semiconductors and telecom equipment. Brazil’s rich boosted their share by
States amid a chip shortage that is hurting Caulfield said funding for GlobalFound- 2.7% last year to make up almost 50%
automakers and electronics firms globally. ries’ expansion plan included investments of the nation’s wealth, the most of 10
The U.S.-based company, owned by Abu from governments and pre-payments from countries cited in the Swiss bank’s Global
Dhabi’s state-owned fund Mubadala, said customers. Wealth Report released Tuesday.
it will invest more than $4 billion in Singa- The $4 billion investment in Singapore is The richest 1% in eight of the 10 na-
pore, and $1 billion each in the others over the first of a phased expansion programme tions boosted their share of the wealth last
the next two years. The unlisted company’s planned by the company for the next five to year, primarily due to interest rates cuts
Singapore operations contribute about a third 10 years, the CEO said. He did not specify following the Covid-19 outbreak, Credit
of its revenue. a total amount. Suisse said in a report Tuesday.
“I think the next five to eight years, we’re The new Singapore fab will add capacity The report highlighted the rapid gains
going to be chasing supply not demand as an of 450,000 wafers per year, taking the cam- in fortunes across the world — the world’s
industry,” GlobalFoundries CEO Thomas pus’s total to 1.5 million, and the company 500 richest people added US$1.8 trillion
Caulfield told a media briefing. He added expects to begin production in early 2023. to their combined net worth last year,
that the company was prioritising automo- Most of the added production will come on- according to the Bloomberg Billionaires
tive customers. line by end 2023. Index — but also increasing disparities.
Tuesday’s expansion is in addition to the The factory will make chips for cars and “The top wealth groups are relative-
company’s previously announced plan to in- 5G technology, with long-term custom- ly unaffected by reductions in the over-
vest $1.4 billion in 2021 alone to expand its er agreements already in place. It will add all level of economic activity and, more
manufacturing capacity. about 1,000 jobs in Singapore. importantly, they have also benefited
from the impact of lower interest rates
on share prices and house prices,” the
BERLIN (June 22):The German state will report stated.
have to invest “gigantic” sums in industry Merkel predicts The Gini coefficient — a more broad-
to remain competitive in hi-tech sectors, based measure of inequality that captures
as the coronavirus pandemic recedes and ‘gigantic’ German changes at both ends of the spectrum —
the world transitions to clean energy, out- increased during 2020 in all of the 10
going Chancellor Angela Merkel said on state investment nations selected for the study except in
Tuesday. the US, where it fell marginally, Credit
Addressing a BDI industry association in industry after Suisse said. Global household wealth to-
conference, Merkel said that although Ger- taled US$418 trillion at the end of 2020,
man industry had come through the cri- pandemic rising 7.4% from 12 months previously,
sis relatively well compared to other Eu- it added.
ropean countries, some sectors may need Rapid wealth creation, inequality and
further aid. BY MADELINE CHAMBERS government deficits are driving move-
“We will have to spend gigantic sums,” Reuters ments around the world to tax the wealthy.
Merkel told the conference, highlighting US President Joe Biden is seeking
the high-tech sector and singling out ar- term in a September election. “Without to increase capital-gains taxes and the
tificial intelligence, quantum computing, state aid, the expansion of microchip pro- amounts that wealthy heirs pay when they
batteries and microchips. Firms would duction in Europe will not be possible.” inherit assets. An independent UK com-
have to invest themselves, she said, and Merkel also said, however, that after the mission in December called for a one-
indicated some state aid would have to be rescue and stimulus programmes needed off wealth levy to raise about 260 billion
continent-wide. to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on pounds (US$361 billion), while other
“There are many areas where we won’t Europe’s biggest economy, public finances nations including Argentina and Bolivia
be able to get ahead without state money,” must be brought back into order in com- have already raised funds in the past year
said Merkel, who is not running for a fifth ing years. from measures targeting the rich.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

Jokowi sends tax judges Jeremy Poon,WallyYeung and John-

HK court upholds son Lam.

overhaul bill to “When personal safety of jurors and their

decision for no jury family members is under threat and due ad-

parliament for ministration of justice might be impaired,

in first national there is a real risk that the goal of a fair trial

more revenue by jury will be put in peril.”

security trial Police say Tong carried a sign reading
“Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our
times” and drove his motorbike into officers
BY GRACE SIHOMBING & ARYS ADITYA BY MARIUS ZAHARIA during a protest on July 1, knocking several
Bloomberg Reuters down on a narrow street before falling over
and getting arrested.
BLOOMBERG HONG KONG (June 22): Hong Kong’s It was the first day on which the security
Court of Appeal upheld on Tuesday a court law that Beijing imposed on the city, targeting
decision to deny a trial by jury to the first what China deems as secession, separatism,
person charged under a new national secu- terrorism and collusion with foreign forces,
rity law, a landmark decision that marks a was in force.Tong, 24, was charged with in-
Joko departure from the global financial hub’s citing separatism and terrorism.
Widodo common law tradition. In February, Secretary for Justice Teresa
Last month, the Court of First Instance Cheng informed the defendant’s legal team
in the High Court ruled that Tong Ying-kit his trial would be heard by three judges ap-
would face a trial without jury, citing “a per- pointed for national security cases instead
ceived risk of the personal safety of jurors and of a jury, citing risks to jurors’ safety.
JAKARTA (June 22): Indonesia’s par- their family members”. His lawyer appealed. Tong then filed for a judicial review of
liament is set to begin discussing a bill “Although jury trial is the conventional the decision, which High Court Judge Alex
to overhaul the tax code, as the country mode of trial in the Court of First Instance, it Lee in the Court of First Instance rejected.
seeks much-needed state revenue to help should not be assumed to be the only means
it bolster the economy. of achieving fairness in the criminal process,”
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has according to a summary of the decision by Click here to read the full story
asked lawmakers to begin deliberations
in a letter dated May 5, House Speaker
Puan Maharani said in plenary session on On Thursday, lawmakers are expected to
Tuesday. Parliament will appoint a com- Thai Parliament vote on the first reading of their proposed
mission to discuss the bill and make a amendments, which include changes to gen-
decision on how to progress. allows referendum eral election rules. That’s the same day that
The proposed changes might include pro-democracy activists plan to return to
a new 35% income tax bracket for those as protesters plan the streets, with several gatherings scheduled
earning five billion rupiah (US$347,000) in Bangkok after a six-month hiatus during
or more, levies on top polluters, a multi- comeback the first half of this year due to Covid-19
layered value-added tax structure, as well outbreaks.
as another round of tax amnesty, Finance Although the process for a plebiscite and
Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in BY RANDY THANTHONG-KNIGHT overhaul of the charter has been endorsed,
May. It is unclear whether the version of Bloomberg Thailand’s Parliament probably won’t pur-
the bill sent to parliament includes all of sue more significant changes any time soon
those revisions. (June 22): Thailand’s Parliament has un- as it focuses for the next several months on
The government needs to reform taxa- locked a process for an overhaul of the con- making minor changes that wouldn’t require
tion to help it bring the budget deficit back stitution, one of the key of demands by a any public endorsement.
under the legal limit of 3% of gross do- youth-led protest movement that has swept
mestic product (GDP) by 2023.The cap the nation in the past year. Senate powers
was temporarily lifted last year to allow Lawmakers in the Senate and the Low- Some proposals — including limits to powers
aggressive stimulus spending as South- er House voted to endorse a bill that would held by an appointed Senate — aren’t likely
east Asia’s largest economy suffered its pave the way for a public poll on rewriting to be endorsed by the military-backed Par-
first recession in more than two decades. the charter.The ballot followed a Constitu- liament, and most lawmakers have already
The shortfall surged to more than 6% of tional Court decision in March that ruled a rejected any changes to chapters concern-
GDP last year, the highest level since at referendum must be held before any over- ing the monarchy after protesters broke a
least 2004 based on Bloomberg data. haul, delaying a process sought by protesters long-held taboo about publicly discussing
Indonesia joins nations from the UK to for a more democratic charter. the royal institution.
Brazil to scrounge for new revenue sourc- Activists allege the constitution, drafted Discussions on overhauling the constitu-
es in a bid to cut reliance on debt to off- under a military regime, was instrumental in tion began late last year to placate a grow-
set the pandemic’s long-lasting impact. helping coup leader-turned-premier Prayuth ing protest movement started by youth-led
Standard & Poor’s recently said it could Chan-Ocha and his backers retain power groups in mid-2020. Dozens of pro-democ-
be “challenging” for Indonesia to return after elections in 2019.They’re seeking a re- racy activists face charges including sedition
to the 3% budget-deficit target by 2023, vamp, along with Prayuth’s resignation and and insulting the monarchy, which carry sen-
as fiscal consolidation will likely begin greater transparency from the monarchy, tences as long as 15 years, as a result of their
only next year. which sits at the apex of power in Thailand. demonstrations.
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

Nvidia hedges against crypto hangover

with chips just for miners
BY IAN KING
Bloomberg

(June 22): Nvidia Corp. has an unlikely

message for some of its most voracious cus-
tomers: please don’t buy our latest high-
end computer-graphics chip.
The GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, a $1,199
graphics card, and the RTX 3070 Ti,
which costs about half that amount, have
had some of their capabilities deliberate-
ly stripped out. Nvidia wants them to be
the exclusive preserve of its core gamer
customer base and is nixing the products’
ability to effectively mine cryptocurrencies
like Ethereum and Bitcoin, seeking to dis-
courage miners from snapping up all the
supply to build massive crypto-processing
farms. Instead, Nvidia is pushing a chip
just for the miners. BLOOMBERG

Nvidia’s extreme action is one result When the market price

of the rising influence of cryptocurren- of digital currencies
cies, touching on the retail market, the soars, miners tend to
environment and the worlds of finance move on from graphics
and technology. Virtual currencies have cards to pricier custom
been in the news as the preferred ransom
payment method of cyber attackers. Elon
chips optimized for the
Musk tweets about them more often than
algorithm they target.
he does about his carmaker, Tesla Inc. And
as they attract new investors and partici-
pants daily, cryptocurrencies have grown of its price in two trading days.
more unpredictable and hungrier for the To hedge against another round of this
hardware used to generate them. boom and bust, Nvidia has limited the
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive so-called hash rate on its newest graphics
officer, is swimming against this crypto chips and some existing products, a change
tide. His company needs to avoid a re- that makes them inefficient for mining.
peat of the 2017 run-up in demand for Importantly, that limitation has no impact
its graphics chips, which are the most ef- on the chips’ ability to make the gaming
ficient off-the-shelf chips for solving math world more realistic in a way that players
problems to create the codes that are the will pay heavily for. Shortages, compounded by the Cov-
basis of cryptocurrencies. The problem for the most valuable U.S. id-19 pandemic’s pressure on supply
While surging demand is rarely a bad chipmaker is the difficulty in knowing ex- chains and demand across the gaming
thing, in the past this particular trend has actly how many graphics cards it’s sell- industry, have led to speculation in the
heralded a crash — when the market price ing to gamers — a more consistent mar- cards. A quick check on EBay and other
of digital currencies soars, miners tend to ket with foreseeable surges in demand online retailers shows second-hand Nvidia
move on from graphics cards to pricier cus- around gift-giving seasons and marquee cards — of models that preceded the RTX
tom chips optimized for the algorithm they game releases — and how many wind up 3080 Ti — being offered at more than $500
target. That has left graphics-card makers in the hands of crypto miners. Often, those more than the price Nvidia wants for its
with a drop in demand even more sudden groups overlap. new top-tier model.
than the initial surge — and a glut of un- Instead of buying finished PCs, cryp- Huang said he thinks crypto mining
sold inventory made worse by a flood of to miners build a processing infrastruc- will continue and that the currencies are
used cards into the second-hand market ture more akin to a data center or a super- here to stay. He told reporters at the Com-
as miners dumped them. computer: lots of task-specific components putex show this month that he’s hoping
In November 2018, having just wit- strung together into a unified system. A that digital currency markets have reached
nessed such a reaction, Nvidia had to cut crypto farm is essentially the biggest ac- the size that will make the special-purpose
its annual sales forecast to $2.7 billion, fall- cumulation of processors that the min- chips a worthwhile investment.
ing $700 million shy of analysts’ estimates. er can assemble to generate tokens. One
That disappointment caused investors to graphics card is good. Many graphics cards
dump the stock, resulting in a loss of 20% are better. Click here to read the full story
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 22 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

W O R L D

A record buyout is just the start

as wealthy flee US tax hike
BLOOMBERG

BY MELISSA KARSH, MICHELLE F DAVIS

& DEVON PENDLETON
Bloomberg

NEWYORK (June 22): For 110 years, four

generations of Mills family members earned
their money by expanding their great-grand-
father’s Chicago apron business into a med-
ical supplier that ranked among the nation’s
largest private companies.
But soon after Democrats turned their at-
tention towards raising taxes for the wealthy
this year, the family signed a deal to cash
out billions.
It was no coincidence, according to peo-
ple close to the more-than-US$30 billion
transaction, which sold part of Medline In-
dustries Inc to a consortium of Wall Street
investors in the healthcare industry’s biggest executive noted, because by this fall in the
leveraged buyout. The threat of subjecting A combination of high US there will be too many sellers crowding
billions in proceeds to additional capital valuations on companies into the market.
gains taxes motivated the clan to get it done and potentially higher “It’s clear from a seller’s perspective —
before the end of 2021, when higher rates taxes in the future whether family-owned or private equity
could take effect, the people said. is proving to be a sponsor-owned — that there is increasing
Such manoeuvres are suddenly in the debate,” said Rick Landgarten, the global
works throughout the opaque world of pri-
potent motivator. head of healthcare and real estate advisory
vate US corporations, as founders and their teams at Barclays plc, said in an interview.
offspring discreetly consult tax experts and hasty hiring spree to increase staffing 50%. They are asking “Can I get (it) done this
bankers with a pointed question: How much They are signing up millionaire owners of year? Because I expect sometime later this
might they save by selling quickly? companies, eager to start the process of sell- year or early next year for there to be tax-
Suddenly, in just a matter of a few ing at least part of what they have built. rate increases.”
months, the vast dealmaking machinery “For as long as we’ve been in business,
that caters to wealthy entrepreneurs has it’s the most vibrant” market yet, chief ex- Calling lawmakers
started buzzing with a level of activity that ecutive officer Duane Donner said. More The irony is that Democrats have not even
some industry veterans said they have not than half of his clients hail from nearby states coalesced around a plan yet.
seen before, potentially setting up a cascade and Texas, where the firm has two outposts. President Joe Biden has proposed rais-
of sales for later this year. A combination of “We’ve got more engagements than we’ve ing the capital gains tax rate to 39.6% from
high valuations on companies and poten- ever had.”The No 1 reason, he said: “Taxes.” 20% for those earning US$1 million. But
tially higher taxes in the future is proving to In the Midwest, the co-founder of an any such measure almost certainly faces
be a potent motivator. online marketing company is giving up his months of negotiation before it could be
A spokesperson for the Mills family did dream of stepping into a less active role and passed. More than 20 House Democrats
not respond to messages seeking comment letting the business keep growing in coming from high-tax states have threatened to reject
on the role taxes played in the deal — a mo- years under the next generation. Now, sell- Biden’s tax plans unless they also address the
tive that has not been reported before. Ear- ing just makes more financial sense, he said, so-called SALT cap imposed under former
lier this month, the Chicago Tribune quoted speaking on the condition his company not president Donald Trump. And recently, a
Medline president Andy Mills as saying the be identified. He and his partners are in the new debate has broken out among Demo-
goal of the sale was to strengthen the busi- midst of setting up their exit. crats over whether to also seek an even more
ness while unlocking cash for family mem- Founders are not the only owners fac- controversial wealth tax.
bers whose net worth was tied up in it. About ing pressures. In Manhattan, Boston and Meanwhile, company owners are eager
20 to 30 of them will benefit. other hubs of the private equity world, sen- for certainty — pressing tax experts, bank-
The family may be worth about US$30 ior managers are talking with companies in ers, and even their congressional represent-
billion, according to the Bloomberg Billion- their portfolios about potentially reducing atives to specify how much higher tax bills
aires Index. or selling stakes this year to lower tax liabil- will jump if they wait to sell in the future.
Many scenes are playing out far beyond ities and maximise returns, executives and Many are concerned that Democrats may
Wall Street’s gilded towers: In an old, brick their advisers said in interviews. They are thwart such an escape anyway, by making
roofing-supply building in Birmingham, Al- also looking for opportunities to buy com- any capital gains tax hike retroactive.
abama, executives atop boutique M&A firm panies that may come up for sale because
Founders Advisors are settling into a fresh- of tax changes. Company owners would be
ly expanded office space and completing a smart to get out now, one private equity Click here to read the full story
 W E D N E S D AY J U N E 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 23 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

M A R K E T S

CPO RM 3,556.00-9.00 OIL US$ 74.51-0.39 RM/USD 4.1605 RM/SGD 3.0850 RM/AUD 3.1162 RM/GBP 5.7636 RM/EUR 4.9429

Top 20 active stocks

NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
SERBA DINAMIK HOLDINGS BHD 576.2 0.025 0.625 -64.49 2318.5
MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 273.4 -0.020 0.160 -65.22 181.8
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 217.2 0.000 0.035 -56.25 137.4
VSOLAR GROUP BHD 167.7 0.000 0.015 -62.50 55.0
PRIVASIA TECHNOLOGY BHD 103.1 0.005 0.235 46.88 144.3
QES GROUP BHD 83.0 0.030 0.890 201.69 742.4
KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 80.0 -0.005 0.060 -58.62 165.0
PROGRESSIVE IMPACT CORP BHD 78.7 0.010 0.210 90.91 137.6
KOMARKCORP BHD 76.5 0.000 0.130 -75.63 75.1
DAGANG NEXCHANGE BHD 71.7 0.005 0.835 271.11 2005.1 World equity indices
GREENYIELD BHD 66.7 -0.010 0.305 60.53 101.8 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
HEXTAR INDUSTRIES BHD 63.9 0.040 0.315 5.00 58.6 (%) (%)
MANAGEPAY SYSTEMS BHD 59.8 -0.005 0.26 73.33 202.7 DOW JONES 33,876.97 586.89 1.76 INDONESIA 6,087.84 91.59 1.53
RADIANT GLOBALTECH LTD 51.3 0.005 0.375 4.17 197.0 S&P 500 4,224.79 58.34 1.40 JAPAN 28,884.13 873.20 3.12
SYSTECH BHD 49.9 -0.015 0.315 57.50 108.9 NASDAQ 100 14,137.23 87.65 0.62 KOREA 3,263.88 23.09 0.71
OLYMPIA INDUSTRIES BHD 48.0 -0.020 0.125 38.89 127.9 FTSE 100 7,082.08 19.79 0.28 PHILIPPINES 6,870.41 43.24 0.63
SASBADI HOLDINGS BHD 46.5 0.02 0.255 70 108 AUSTRALIA 7,342.20 106.89 1.48 SINGAPORE 3,109.20 -8.67 -0.28
INDUSTRONICS BHD 41.7 0 0.27 50 67.5 CHINA 3,557.41 28.23 0.80 TAIWAN 17,075.55 12.57 0.07
HB GLOBAL LTD 41 0.02 0.38 162.07 213.4 HONG KONG 28,309.76 -179.24 -0.63 THAILAND 1,599.23 -1.90 -0.12
M3 TECHNOLOGIES BHD 40.16 0.01 0.07 7.7 59.7 INDIA 52,588.71 14.25 0.03 VIETNAM 1,379.97 7.34 0.53
Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 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)
FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD 0.045 28.57 21511.2 -93.08 286.7 EDARAN BHD 0.850 -15.00 25856.1 93.18 49.2
CHINA OUHUA WINERY HOLDINGS 0.050 25.00 1554.2 -16.67 33.4 OLYMPIA INDUSTRIES BHD 0.125 -13.79 47972.7 38.89 127.9
M3 TECHNOLOGIES ASIA BHD 0.070 16.67 40159.9 7.69 59.7 BORNEO OIL BHD 0.035 -12.50 18417.9 -12.50 241.6
HEXTAR INDUSTRIES BHD 0.315 14.55 63924.3 5.00 58.6 HUBLINE BHD 0.040 -11.11 2929.1 -20.00 166.4
K SENG SENG CORP BHD 1.270 14.41 8704.8 117.09 146.3 JOE HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 11.11 1.96 63.6 122.4
PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 14.29 4875.2 -55.56 40.4 MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.160 -11.11 273404.9 -65.22 181.8
GLOBALTEC FORMATION BHD 0.625 13.64 35552.1 50.60 168.2 LIEN HOE CORP BHD 0.360 -10.00 10.1 38.46 119.7
MQ TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.085 13.33 3969.1 -37.04 62.1 XIDELANG HOLDINGS LTD 0.050 -9.09 4133.5 -28.57 105.8
SCANWOLF CORP BHD 0.415 12.16 23052.4 80.43 43.6 GLOBAL ORIENTAL BHD 0.355 -8.97 14558.9 -26.04 161.4
MARINE & GENERAL BHD 0.140 12.00 4825.9 -24.32 101.3 KNUSFORD BHD 0.730 -8.75 14.0 -0.68 72.7
XOX BHD 0.050 11.11 1833.5 -54.55 196.8 LBI CAPITAL BHD 0.685 -8.05 503.1 4.58 70.4
JADE MARVEL GROUP BHD 1.000 11.11 314.9 5.26 126.8 KANGER INTERNATIONAL BHD 0.060 -7.69 79977.1 -58.62 165.0
TIGER SYNERGY BHD 0.055 10.00 985.2 -54.17 80.8 ENCORP BHD 0.305 -7.58 4858.3 29.79 96.5
AE MULTI HOLDINGS BHD 0.055 10.00 1228.1 -57.69 36.0 ORION IXL BHD 0.065 -7.14 19996.5 -18.75 55.7
CME GROUP BHD 0.055 10.00 642.0 -8.33 53.3 SEACERA GROUP BHD 0.200 -6.98 414.5 -16.67 96.3
DGB ASIA BHD 0.060 9.09 1393.1 -73.33 81.1 INNITY CORP BHD 0.740 -6.92 921.5 92.21 103.2
MPHB CAPITAL BHD 1.710 8.92 4338.5 56.88 1222.7 FREIGHT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS 0.745 -6.88 2985.6 62.84 416.0
NPC RESOURCES BHD 1.900 8.57 16.7 0.00 216.1 AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD 0.070 -6.67 7763.0 -62.16 300.2
PINEHILL PACIFIC BHD 0.445 8.54 171.7 3.49 66.7 KPS CONSORTIUM BHD 0.525 -6.25 6.5 3.96 77.6
SASBADI HOLDINGS BHD 0.255 8.51 46495.7 70 108 HUA YANG BHD 0.305 -6.15 4,778.5 8.93 107.4
Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 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)
GENETEC TECHNOLOGY BHD 5.610 0.330 889.5 224.28 282.2 MALAYSIAN PACIFIC INDUSTRIES 38.520 -1.420 225.7 48.38 7661.5
LPI CAPITAL BHD 14.060 0.180 15.5 2.48 5601.3 KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 20.840 -0.660 288.0 -11.99 22477.1
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO M’SIA 14.600 0.180 157.8 3.69 4168.7 NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 134.000 -0.600 92.6 -3.53 31423.0
K SENG SENG CORP BHD 1.270 0.160 8704.8 117.09 146.3 PETRONAS DAGANGAN BHD 18.900 -0.300 134.4 -11.68 18776.3
HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 18.160 0.160 67.9 0.55 20797.6 PANASONIC MANUFACTURING 32.800 -0.200 2.4 6.49 1992.5
NPC RESOURCES BHD 1.900 0.150 16.7 0.00 216.1 HARTALEGA HOLDINGS BHD 8.200 -0.180 3956.3 -32.45 28023.2
MPHB CAPITAL BHD 1.710 0.140 4338.5 56.88 1222.7 UNISEM M BHD 7.440 -0.180 413.1 20.39 6000.7
CYCLE & CARRIAGE BINTANG BHD 2.950 0.120 543.7 68.57 297.2 EDARAN BHD 0.850 -0.150 25856.1 93.18 49.2
GENTING BHD 5.170 0.110 5610.6 17.87 19907.5 KOSSAN RUBBER INDUSTRIES 3.510 -0.120 1670.0 -20.29 8956.2
DIGI.COM BHD 4.420 0.100 7636.7 6.76 34365.5 GENTING PLANTATIONS BHD 7.100 -0.120 582.9 -27.06 6370.1
WIDETECH MALAYSIA BHD 3.130 0.100 4.5 421.67 140.1 CENTRAL GLOBAL BHD 2.080 -0.100 17292.6 485.92 189.3
JADE MARVEL GROUP BHD 1.000 0.100 314.9 5.26 126.8 COMPUTER FORMS MALAYSIA BHD 3.620 -0.090 3.0 60.18 148.4
SAM ENGINEERING & EQUIPMENT 7.180 0.080 24.5 -2.58 971.8 SUPERMAX CORP BHD 3.560 -0.090 8093.1 -39.10 9318.8
CARLSBERG BREWERY MALAYSIA 21.940 0.080 94.7 -5.59 6708.1 ATA IMS BHD 2.500 -0.090 3107.0 5.04 3007.2
TIME DOTCOM BHD 14.180 0.080 275.2 8.56 8574.8 DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD 33.880 -0.080 15.2 -9.65 2168.3
MICROLINK SOLUTIONS BHD 2.480 0.080 104.9 11.71 598.4 CI HOLDINGS BHD 3.550 -0.080 230.2 86.84 575.1
HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 24.240 0.080 72.9 5.30 7322.9 KESM INDUSTRIES BHD 11.060 -0.080 9.5 -18.56 475.7
PETRONAS GAS BHD 15.840 0.080 344.6 -7.51 31343.1 D&O GREEN TECHNOLOGIES BHD 4.860 -0.070 3515.1 113.16 5733.1
GLOBALTEC FORMATION BHD 0.625 0.075 35552.1 50.60 168.2 KNUSFORD BHD 0.730 -0.070 14.0 -0.68 72.7
SUPERCOMNET TECHNOLOGIES 1.670 0.070 860.5 -9.73 1206.5 MEGA FIRST CORP BHD 3.63 -0.070 591.2 5.22 3438.9
Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Jun 22, 2021 Source: Bloomberg