Morning: Brief

GLOBAL FUNDS ABANDON CHINA BLUE CHIPS
IN US$11 BIL SELLOFF p15

T H U R S DAY, AU G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 t h e e d g e m a l ay s i a . c o m
ISSUE 625/2023
CEOMorningBrief HOME: AGC to represent Dr M, Nor Yakcop in Halim Saad’s suit p2

Hibiscus annual revenue exceeds RM2 bil for the first time; plans dividend, share consolidation p4
Arul Kanda, Irwan Serigar fail in bid to strike out 1MDB’s US$6.59 bil lawsuit p11
WORLD: US economy near stalling point as consumer demand weakens, survey says p16
India set to ban sugar exports for first time in seven years p17
THE EDGE FILE PHOTO
KLK to buy major stake

in Boustead Plantations
from LTAT, followed
by MGO
Report on Page 3.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 2 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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H O M E
AGC to represent Dr M, Nor Yakcop

in Halim Saad’s suit
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): The Attor- BY HAFIZ YATIM ber 2000, giving Halim the right to buy
ney General’s Chambers (AGC) is said to theedgemalaysia.com the 32.6% stake in Renong from UEM for
be preparing to defend Tun Dr Mahathir RM3.165 billion.
Mohamad and Tan Sri Nor MohamedYak- BLOOMBERG The Renong shares would only be trans-
cop, along with the government, against the ferred to Halim upon full settlement. Hal-
suit filed earlier this month by corporate im claimed that he made the first payment
figure Tan Sri Halim Saad. of RM100 million to UEM on Feb 14,
Halim claimed in his suit that he suf- 2001 for the share purchase. An extension
fered losses due to efforts by the authorities till Sept 12 was granted for the second
to stop his bid to take over United Engi- instalment, as Halim needed more time
neers Malaysia Bhd (UEM), which owned to raise funds.
prized assets such as the North South Ex- At the same time, Halim was also
pressway’s toll concession. planning a bid to take UEM private. He
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's counsel
Sources told The Edge that the offer had Rafique Rashid Ali confirmed that the
claimed that he had acquired financing for
been made to Nor Mohamed and Dr Ma- Attorney General's Chambers would the share purchase and the general offer
hathir. Nor Mohamed, a former minister represent the former premier, but he to buy out UEM then.
in the Prime Minister’s Department, is would apply to the court to hold a watching As a result of the intervention from
said to have agreed to the chambers rep- brief for the 98-year-old statesman. Dr Mahathir, Nor Mohamed, and the
resenting him. government, Halim alleged that he suf-
The chambers had filed to represent fered financial losses and this constituted
the duo on Tuesday (Aug 22) as the events a breach of his constitutional rights under
took place in 2001, when they were part the constitution.
of the government. Article 8(1) stipulates that all persons
When contacted by The Edge, Dr Ma- are equal before the law, and entitled to
hathir’s counsel Rafique Rashid Ali con- the equal protection of the law while Ar-
firmed that the AGC would represent ticle 13(1) stipulates no person shall be
the former premier, but he would apply deprived of property save in accordance
to the court to hold a watching brief for with the law and (2) no law shall pro-
the 98-year-old statesman. Tan Sri Halim Saad named Tun Dr Mahathir vide for the compulsory acquisition or
Halim had named Dr Mahathir, Nor Mohamad, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed and the use of property without adequate com-
federal government as defendants in the suit.
Mohamed and the federal government pensation.
as defendants in the suit, which is prem- Dr Mahathir, in his reaction to the
ised on the breach of his constitution- suit, questioned the timing and manner
al rights under Article 8(1) and Articles in which Halim filed it, as it took place
13(1)(2) of the Federal Constitution by right before the six state elections on
the Malaysian government where upon Aug 12.
the instructions of Dr Mahathir and Nor The former prime minister said he
Mohamed — in his capacity as special would contest the suit and answer the al-
economic adviser to Dr Mahathir — pro- legations in court through his lawyers.
ceeded with the purchase of a 32.69% “I have nothing to hide,” the 98-year-
stake in Renong Bhd from UEM, a unit old statesman said.
of Renong. Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop is said to The suit has been fixed for case man-
This, Halim added, is pursuant to the have agreed to the Attorney General's agement on Sept 13 at the KL High
Chambers representing him.
put option exercised by UEM in Decem- Court.
H O M E
KLK to buy major stake in Boustead

Plantations from LTAT, followed by MGO
BY SYAFIQAH SALIM & JOSE BARROCK
theedgemalaysia.com Boustead Plantations Bhd Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd
Vol (mil) RM Vol (mil) RM
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): Kuala 5 1.5 10 24
Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) is believed
RM1.37
to be buying a 33% stake in Boustead 4 8
Plantations Bhd from Lembaga Tabung 1.2
Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), according to RM22.50 22
3 6
sources.
0.9
Sources told The Edge that LTAT will RM0.74
2 4 RM20.98
retain a roughly 35% stake in Boustead 20
Plantations. 0.6
LTAT’s stake sale comes on the heels 1 2
of the privatisation of Boustead Planta-
tions’ parent company — Boustead Hold- 0 0.3 0 18
ings Bhd — two months back. Boustead Aug 3, 2022 Aug 23, 2023 Aug 3, 2022 Aug 23, 2023
Holdings is the single largest shareholder Data compiled as at 5pm, (Aug 23, 2023) Data compiled as at 5pm, (Aug 23, 2023)
Source: Bloomberg Source: Bloomberg
of Boustead Plantations with a 57.42%
stake, followed by LTAT with a 10.59%
stake. Collectively, LTAT owns a 68% at a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 times. 74% of its total landbank of 97,400 ha.
stake in Boustead Plantations prior to the Dividend yield stood at 5.95%. This consists of 23,300 ha in Peninsular
share disposal. Boustead Plantations has suspended Malaysia, 38,700 ha in Sabah and 10,300
Upon completion of the deal, KLK is the trading of its shares on Thursday (Aug ha in Sarawak.
obliged to make a mandatory general offer 24). In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, it On its financial front, Boustead Plan-
(MGO) for Boustead Plantations, whose said the trading suspension is pending tations reported an 89% drop year-on-
share price hit a record high of RM1.37 on material announcement. year in its first quarter ended March 31,
on Wednesday (Aug 23). Boustead Plantations owns 42 operat- 2023 (1QFY2023). It attributed substan-
Boustead Plantations’ share price has ing oil palm plantation estates, including tial earnings contraction to lower palm
staged a strong rebound from a low of 16 plantation estates in Peninsular Malay- product prices and the adverse impact
64 sen on June 8. It has more than dou- sia, as well as 26 in Sabah and Sarawak, of fresh fruit bunches valuation.
bled within three months to RM1.37 on and 10 palm oil mills, comprising three Its net profit shrunk to RM5.22 million
Wednesday, which was higher than its net mills in Peninsular Malaysia, five in Sabah from RM435.16 million in 1QFY2022,
assets per share of RM1.30 as at March and two in Sarawak. while revenue shed 38% to RM199.74
31, 2023. Its latest annual report stated that million from RM324.16 million.
Closing at RM1.37, Boustead Planta- 72,300 ha of the group’s landbank is uti- As at end-March, Boustead Plantations
tions was valued at RM3.068 billion, and lised for oil palm cultivation, representing had short term borrowings of RM451.9
million and long-term borrowings of
BOUSTEADPLANTATIONS.COM.MY RM379.7 million. Cash and bank bal-
ances stood at RM99.2 million.
Third acquisition by KLK

Boustead Plantations will be the third
major acquisition by KLK and its parent
company Batu Kawan Bhd within three
years.
To recap, Batu Kawan took over Chem-
ical Co of Malaysia Bhd (CCM) in March
2021 at the peak of the Covid-19 pandem-
ic. KLK then made an offer to buyout
IJM Plantations Bhd, including IJM Corp
Bhd’s 56.2% stake in IJM Plantations.
Batu Kawan bought 56.32% of CCM
from Permodalan Nasional Bhd and un-
dertook an MGO for the remaining shares
it did not own in the chemical and poly-
mer manufacturer.The RM519.86 million
deal strengthened Batu Kawan’s market
position as a chlor-alkali chemical man-
ufacturer.
H O M E
Hibiscus annual
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Hibiscus basis, this represented an increase of 55%
Petroleum Bhd’s annual revenue surpassed or 2.5 MMboe from FY2022,” it added.
revenue exceeds
the RM2 billion mark for the first time For FY2024, the group expects to sell
in the financial year ended June 30, 2023 7.5 to 7.8 MMboe of oil, condensate and
RM2 bil for the

(FY2023), as it incorporated the full-year gas, 6% to 10% more than the 7.1 MMboe
contribution from the assets of Peninsula it achieved in FY2023.
first time; plans

Hibiscus Group (formerly Repsol Explo- Hibiscus managing director Dr Ken-
ración’s upstream assets), which it acquired neth Gerard Pereira said the group is
dividend, share
in January last year for US$212.5 million. pleased that its annual revenue achieved
Net profit for the year came in at the RM2 billion mark for the first time,
consolidation
RM400.52 million, down 38% from with the full-year contribution of Penin-
RM652.94 million in FY2022, mainly be- sula Hibiscus Group’s assets, and “look
cause the previous year had incorporated forward to increasing our output by 6%
a negative goodwill or bargain purchase to 10% in FY2024, as evidenced by our
gain of RM317.32 million, its bourse fil- BY ISABELLE FRANCIS larger production volume guidance of 7.5
ing showed. theedgemalaysia.com to 7.8 MMboe”.
Excluding the negative goodwill, full- The group is also continuing its work
year earnings grew 19.3% from FY2022, The decline in quarterly revenue, to- to increase production in Malaysia and
with earnings before interest, taxes, depre- gether with higher taxes of RM44.55 the UK, he said.
ciation and amortisation rising to RM1.27 million — as opposed to a tax credit in “With its first steel cut in May 2023, the
billion from RM1.08 billion, as group rev- the corresponding quarter last year — SF30 waterflood Phase 2 project in North
enue climbed 38% to RM2.34 billion from led to a lower fourth quarter net profit Sabah is underway and on track to see first
RM1.7 billion. of RM123.28 million, versus RM255.39 oil in calendar year 2024 (CY2024). The
The jump in group revenue came despite million previously. Ebitda for 4QFY2023 environmental statement and field devel-
a lower fourth quarter revenue of RM503.6 came in at RM326.48 million, compared opment plan approvals and the granting of
million, down 42% from RM868.37 million with RM384.39 million previously. the production consent for the Teal West
in the corresponding quarter last year, as The group declared a third interim div- field are major achievements that will re-
its North Sabah operations were impacted idend of half a sen per share, translating sult in the prolongation of the economic
by a planned major maintenance campaign into total dividends of two sen for FY2023, life of the Anasuria Cluster. We look for-
that took place from April to August and comparable to its payout for FY2022. ward to the first oil from Teal West in late
an ongoing well intervention campaign, Hibiscus said it sold 4.5 million barrels CY2024/early CY2025.”
which resulted in the segment’s revenue (MMbbl) of oil and condensate through-
more than halving to RM133.74 million out FY2023, with 2.6 million barrels of oil
from RM316.04 million. equivalent (MMboe) of gas. “On a combined Read the full story
KERIAN (Aug 23): Property developer MK Land then signed a solar power
MK Land Holdings Bhd is planning to MK Land plans more purchase agreement with Tenaga Nasion-
have more solar farms in northern Penin- al Bhd in August 2021, for a period of 21
sular Malaysia, especially Kedah, follow- solar farms after years upon the site’s commissioning on
ing the success of its first renewable en-
ergy project, the 10.95 megawatt (MW)
Kerian solar project Dec 30, 2022.
Kamarulzaman said the solar PV plant
large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant success was completed seven months ahead of
in Kerian, Perak. schedule and it proved SCSB’s capabili-
Solar Citra Sdn Bhd (SCSB) director ties and commitment to engineering de-
Kamarulzaman Abu Bakar said the pilot Bernama livery and technical solutions for the LSS4
project in Lembah Beriah, Kerian has project.
started supplying solar power to Tenaga Kamarulzaman said this after cele- “The solar farm uses more than 32,000
Nasional Bhd since June and projects a brating MK Land’s success in achiev- solar panels, costing a total of RM52 mil-
profit of almost RM400,000 a month. ing commercial operations for the 10.95 lion, and it is capable of generating 11 MW
“Based on the success in Lembah Be- MW plant under the Large-Scale Solar 4 (megawatts) of electricity to the Bukit Mer-
riah, SCSB was selected on Aug 8 by the (LSS4) scheme. ah main intake substation as a new ener-
Energy Commission to be a solar energy Also present for the celebratory event gy source.
producer under the Corporate Green Pow- were MK Land chairman Felina Mustapha “Through Goodwe, we utilised the lat-
er Programme (CGPP) in Kulim, Kedah. Kamal, Solarvest Holdings Bhd manag- est innovations in technology to produce
“SCSB, together with Total Energies ing director Lim Chin Siu and GoodWe solar inverter equipment, medium-volt sta-
Renewables SAS, was awarded a 30 MW Malaysia technical service manager Mu- tions, as well as power line communication
quota for a 52-hectare farm that is three hammad Farhan Zainuddin. technology for easy long-distance control
times the size of Lembah Beriah, for op- In July 2021, SCSB appointed Atlantic through medium-voltage alternate cables
erations commencing in 2025,” he said Blue Sdn Bhd, a unit of Solarvest, as the to reduce system costs,” he added.
at a press conference here on Wednesday engineering, procurement, construction Kamarulzaman said SCSB is playing its
(Aug 23). and commissioning (EPCC) solutions pro- part in building renewable energy assets
SCSB is a wholly owned subsidiary of vider for the 16-hectare Lembah Beriah throughout the peninsula and contribut-
MK Land Resources Sdn Bhd, which in project, while GoodWe was the sub-con- ing to the country’s aspiration to achieve
turn is a unit of MK Land. tractor, as well as the inverter supplier. carbon neutrality by 2050.
H O M E
Berjaya-Naza JV’s challenge against

MOF over vehicle fleet termination
to be heard on Thursday
THE EDGE FILE PHOTO
BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemalaysia.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): The hear-

ing for tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee
Yioun’s Berjaya Group and Naza Group’s
joint venture (JV)’s application for leave
(permission) for judicial review to chal-
lenge the Finance Ministry (MOF), gov-
ernment and Spanco Sdn Bhd over the
termination of a vehicle fleet project has
been fixed for Thursday (Aug 24).
High Court judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal
Md Shahid fixed the hearing date for the
leave application.
The JV, Cekap Urus Sdn Bhd, is 51%
owned by Berjaya, 29% owned by Naza
Corporation Holdings Sdn Bhd and 20%
owned by Tunku Tun Aminah Sultan Ibra- Naza initially submitted its bid sometime He further alleged that Cekap Urus re-
him Ismail. in November 2017, but the RFP was ter- ceived credible information that a video
In the application filed on April 20 via minated, and the government through the recording of the meeting had made its way
Messrs Pierre Chuah and Associates, Ce- Public Private Partnership Unit at the Prime to Spanco, the incumbent concession hold-
kap Urus sought leave for a declaration Minister’s Department (Ukas) offered Naza er of the fleet. He also claimed the draft
that the MOF and government’s decision to re-submit its bid, and the company made contract had been leaked and circulated.
to cancel or terminate the letter of intent its second bid in April 2018. Following this, the plaintiff claimed that
(LOI) for the supply and management of Following the 14th general election, Ce- it wrote to the deputy secretary general of
government vehicle fleet, awarded to Ce- kap Urus claimed that the second RFP was Treasury (Investment) on Jan 20, 2020, to
kap Urus via a letter dated Dec 11, 2019, terminated and a new RFP was made in place on record its concerns over the pur-
is invalid, null and void, and has no effect. January 2019. Naza and Berjaya through ported leak and plead for the finalisation
It also sought a declaration that the Cekap Urus made a joint bid for the new of the draft contract.
government and the ministry’s decision RFP on Feb 28, 2019. It further submitted a letter to then fi-
to award Spanco the fleet project through Spanco also made a bid for the project, nance minister Lim Guan Eng on Jan 21,
direct negotiation is invalid, null and void, which is for a period of 15 years, said Ab- 2020, to complain about the purported
and has no effect. dul Rahim. leaks and wanted one of the two officers
Besides this, Cekap Urus is seeking a who was present, i.e. Azizatul Yusna, to be
certiorari order to quash the government Bid success and first meeting removed from the committee to negotiate
and ministry’s decision on Jan 25 this year Abdul Rahim claimed that after the LOI the draft contract.
in dismissing Cekap Urus’ appeal against was issued, Cekap Urus was invited to the Cekap Urus claimed that it had two sub-
the decision to terminate the LOI. first meeting with the MOF’s Public Asset sequent meetings with Ukas and other rele-
It is also seeking a mandamus order Management (PAM) on Jan 9, 2020, which vant parties after that in January and Febru-
to compel the government and MOF to was chaired by PAM secretary Dr Anuar ary 2020, where the company was required
carry out the necessary action in the letter Ariffin and head of vehicle management to provide further explanation and support-
awarded to Cekap Urus on Dec 11, 2019. Azizatul Yusna Ahmad Yusuff. ing documents on the calculation method
Furthermore, pending determination of “The meeting was not only unfruitful employed and revise it to make it cheaper.
the matter, Cekap Urus is also seeking a and it started to raise a lot of questions and On Feb 14, 2020, Cekap Urus had pro-
stay of the government and ministry’s deci- doubts about transparency and genuineness vided a written explanation on the calcula-
sion, and damages and costs to be assessed. of the negotiations to process and finalise tion and rental rates, and at the same time
In the affidavit in support by Cekap the draft contract,” alleged Abdul Rahim. wrote to Lim to express again its dissatis-
Urus director Datuk Abdul Rahim Mohd Abdul Rahim said in the meeting, the faction that AzizatulYusna was totally unfit
Zin, sighted by The Edge, the company company was told of the need to amend to negotiate the draft contract.
claimed that Spanco was offered the con- the draft contract and resubmit again. He Cekap Urus claimed that it was invited
cession agreement for a period of 25 years further claimed there were adverse com- to four other meetings between Feb 24,
from October 1993, for the vehicle fleet ments made about the JV’s joint bid. One 2020 and March 5, 2020, to discuss the
project. When it expired in December of those comments, he alleged, was as if draft contract.
2018, the government decided to select a speaking on behalf of Spanco and further
new concessionaire and came out with a undermined Cekap Urus as the winner of
request for proposal (RFP). the fleet project. Read the full story
H O M E
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Sime Dar- dend of 3.25 sen, albeit lower than the 10
by Plantation Bhd said it expects its finan- Sime Darby sen paid out last year.
cial year ending Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023) The latest quarterly results brings Sime
to remain challenging, as its net profit for Plantation expects Darby Plantation’s net profit for the cu-
the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 mulative six months ended June 30, 2023
(2QFY2023) fell by 53% to RM380 mil- FY2023 to remain (1HFY2023) to shrink 71% to RM449 mil-
lion, from RM812 million a year ago. lion from RM1.53 billion a year ago. Six-
Based on its results disclosed on Bursa challenging as 2Q month revenue was down by 16% to RM8.37
Malaysia on Wednesday (Aug 23), the group billion, from RM9.97 billion a year ago.
said its earnings were impacted by the lower net profit falls 53% Moving forward, the group said price vol-
average realised crude palm oil (CPO) and atility is expected to continue in the near
palm kernel (PK) prices. term, as geopolitical crises and global mac-
In a separate statement, it said the real- BY HAILEY CHUNG roeconomic conditions add to prevailing un-
ised CPO prices declined 28% year-on-year theedgemalaysia.com certainties.
(y-o-y) to an average of RM3,765 per met- “The rebound in CPO and other com-
ric tonne (MT) in 2QFY2023, compared to REUTERS modity prices was mainly driven by the in-
RM5,213 per MT recorded in the previous creasingly uncertain weather conditions in
corresponding period. key oilseed regions, as well as the escalation
The group added that average realised PK of the Russia-Ukraine war,” it said.
prices declined by 47% y-o-y to RM1,767 per As for FFB production, Sime Darby Plan-
MT, from RM3,339 per MT in 2QFY2022, tation expects to see steady increase as the
affected by the decline in demand in the ole- group progresses into the peak production
ochemicals industry. period in the coming months.
With the decline in quarterly net profit, “The group is optimistic that its FFB
Sime Darby Plantation’s earnings per share production will improve, as it continues to
dropped to 5.5 sen from 11.7 sen. Revenue downstream segment reported lower reve- improve field conditions in its Malaysian op-
recorded for 2QFY2023 fell 23% year-on- nue by 55%, affected by weaker profits from erations,” it said.
year to RM4.31 billion, from RM5.59 billion. the Asia Pacific bulk and differentiated refin- “These efforts complement the group’s
The group said its upstream segment was eries due to lower margins and demand, and commitment to continue its transformational
also affected by the marginal decline in fresh lower share of profits from a joint venture. initiatives to mechanise, automate and digi-
fruit bunch (FFB) production and lower oil It elaborated that finance costs increased talise its operations in Malaysia.”
extraction rate, exacerbated by higher operat- to RM49 million, due to higher interest rates Sime Darby Plantation’s share price was
ing expenditure, mainly from higher fertiliser affected by the increase in benchmark lending six sen or 1.37% lower at RM4.33 during
prices and labour costs. rates, partially mitigated by lower borrowings. Wednesday’s noon break, bringing it a market
It explained that the reduction in FFB “Average interest rate was 5.1% per an- capitalisation of RM14.38 billion.
production was due to the group’s acceler- num, as compared to 2.4% per annum in
ated replanting programme in Indonesia to the corresponding quarter,” Sime Darby
address poorer yielding and aged palm areas Plantation wrote in its review in the latest Read also: El Nino may cause CPO pric-
with new higher yielding planting materials. financial report. es to hit, even exceed RM4,000 per tonne
Besides that, Sime Darby Plantation’s Nonetheless, the group declared a divi- in 2H2023 — Sime Darby Plantation MD
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23):WCE Hold- operations due to the cessation of capital-
ings Bhd saw its net loss widen to RM26.41 WCE Holdings isation of interest expenses for completed
million for the first quarter ended June 30, sections. Nonetheless, the group said it is
2023 (1QFY2024) from RM14.13 million posts bigger net still expecting a surplus from toll operations
a year earlier, mainly due to the RM37.2 mil- before accounting for this interest expense.
lion interest cost for the completed sections of loss in 2Q due to The toll project is divided into 11 sec-
the West Coast Expressway (WCE) project. tions, of which four sections — Section 5
Revenue rose 10.29% to RM116.04 mil- interest payments (Bandar Bukit Raja - Kapar), Section 8
lion from RM105.21 million in 1QFY2022, (Hutan Melintang - Teluk Intan), Section 9
contributed by construction activities and the for highway project (Kampung Lekir - Changkat Cermin) and
toll revenue segments, the highway conces- Section 10 (Changkat Cermin - Beruas)
sionaire said on Wednesday (Aug 23). — have been opened to traffic.
“The toll concession segment has report- BY SYAFIQAH SALIM WCE Holdings is targeting to complete
ed a loss before tax in the current quarter theedgemalaysia.com another four sections by March 31, 2024.
mainly due to interest expense incurred in These are Section 1 (Banting - South Klang
relation to project financing for completed has a concession period of up to 60 years Valley Expressway or SKVE); Section 2
sections of the WCE project,” said the group effective from Dec 20, 2013. (SKVE - Shah Alam Expressway or Kes-
in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. “The interest expense was capitalised as as); Section 6 (Bandar Bukit Raja Utara
The WCE project involves the devel- part of the infrastructure development ex- - Assam Jawa) and Section 11 (Beruas -
opment of 233km of tolled highway from penditure prior to the completion of con- Taiping South).
Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak (in- struction works,” the group said.
cluding 40km of highway to be constructed WCE Holdings said the group is expect-
later). The build-operate-transfer project ed to incur losses in the early years of toll Read the full story
H O M E
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Premier life- The group attributed the improved earn-
style property developer Eastern & Oriental ings to the increase in revenue of RM3.6
Bhd (E&O) anticipates an improvement in E&O expects million from the property segment and RM5
earnings in the coming quarters, driven by million from the hospitality segment.
its encouraging sales performance and a sta- better quarters At present, the company has five ongo-
ble market environment. ing projects with a total gross development
Speaking at a media and analysts’ results ahead on higher value (GDV) of RM2.5 billion.The projects
briefing onWednesday (Aug 23), E&O man- consist of The Meg and Arica in Andaman
aging director Kok Tuck Cheong said that sales, stable Island Phase 1, Conlay and The Peak in
Malaysia’s property market is anticipated to Kuala Lumpur and Avira in Johor Bahru.
improve — especially in strategic locations property market No dividend plans this year
— which bodes well for the group’s outlook.
“The tourism sector is also witnessing E&O executive chairman Datuk Tee Eng
a steady recovery driven by the rise in de- BY ANIS HAZIM Ho said that the group has no plans to pay
mand for hotel bookings. As such, we are theedgemalaysia.com out any dividend this year as it plans to fo-
cautiously optimistic that we will be able to cus on the land reclamation of Andaman
execute our plans and strategies to bring the Island in Penang.
group to greater heights,” Kok said. “I don’t think [there’ll be dividends]
As at first quarter ended June 30, 2023 this financial year because a lot of funds
(1QFY2024), the company’s property sales are going to the reclamation [of Andaman
stood at RM269.2 million — 74% of the Island],” Tee, who controls 48.38% of the
total coming from Penang, 13% from Johor company, said.
and 12% from Klang Valley; unbilled sales Currently, the cost of land reclamation
stood at RM999.3 million. for Andaman Island Phase 1 stands at RM1
“We are pleased with the promising re- billion, while infrastructure construction
sults to commence the beginning of our fi- ing higher occupancy rates, coupled with cost is about RM500 million.
nancial year.The visible strong take-up rates higher demand for banqueting services for The last time E&O declared a dividend
of our two newly launched properties at the corporate and private events. was in FY2020, with the first and final
Andaman Island [in Penang], namely The In 1QFY2024, E&O posted a net profit single-tier dividend of one sen per share
Meg and Arica reflect our track record and of RM32.95 million against a net loss of amounting to RM14.3 million.
market recognition as a lifestyle developer,” RM1.65 million a year ago, on the back of At 4.44pm, shares of E&O were 3.5 sen
he said. improved revenue. Its quarterly revenue rose or 8.43% higher at 45 sen, which translates
Likewise, he noted that the group’s hotels 11.5% to RM85.4 million, versus RM76.6 into a market capitalisation of RM700.83
in Malaysia and London are also experienc- million previously. million.
Amway issues Amway’s financial performance For the second financial quarter end-
in the past five years ed June 30 (2QFY2023), it posted a net
profit warning profit of RM17.74 million, an 18.5%

Net profit (RM mil) Revenue (RM mil) increase from RM14.98 million a year
for FY2023 amid 1,514.80

before, due to price hikes and lower op-
80 2000
erating expenses. However, its quar-
1,485.90
weaker consumer terly revenue was marginally lower at

60 972.30 1,153.50 1500
966.30 RM343.69 million, against RM354.62
spending 716.51 million a year ago.

40 1000 Earnings per share for 2QFY2023 grew
to 10.79 sen, from 9.11 sen previously.
20 500 Amway declared a second single tier in-
54.50
51.20
46.90
36.80
76.90
37.31
BY JUSTIN LIM terim dividend of five sen per share, payable

theedgemalaysia.com 0 0 on Sept 22.
FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 6M For the cumulative six months ended
FY2023*
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Amway June 30 (6MFY2023), its net profit grew
(M) Holdings Bhd issued a profit warn- Financial year ends Dec 31 6.15% to RM37.31 million, from RM35.15
ing for the financial year ending Dec 31, *For the six months ended June 30, 2023 million a year before, although revenue
Sources: Bursa Malaysia,
2023 (FY2023) as inflation took a toll on Company’s annual report fell 3.93% to RM716.51 million, from
consumers’ purchasing power and appe- RM745.85 million in the Jan-June period
tites to spend. of last year.
“The group’s operating environment re- revenue and coupled with the costs associ- It said the better earnings for 6MFY2023
mains challenging largely due to both infla- ated with critical business investments and was due to an increase in prices as well as
tion which affects consumers’ ability and inflationary pressure, the group also foresees lower sales incentives and lower spending
willingness to spend, as well as a softer de- a reduction in profit for 2023,” it added. on operating expenses.
mand for health supplements post-Covid-19 The group’s net profit more than doubled Amway’s share price gained one sen on
pandemic,” said Amway in quarterly result to RM76.9 million in FY2022 on annual rev- Wednesday (Aug 23), giving the group a
announcement to Bursa Malaysia. enue of RM1.514 billion. Earnings per share market capitalisation of RM884 million.
“In tandem with the expected decline in soared to 46.8 sen from 22.3 sen in FY2021. Year-to-date, the stock has increased 11%.
Presented by
HONOURING MALAYSIA’S
BEST PERFORMING
MID-CAP COMPANIES
2023
TO BE REVEALED SOON
H O M E
NEWS IN BRIEF
MBM Resources declares special

SC reprimands auditor for violation of auditing standards dividend despite weaker 2Q earnings
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): The Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) Audit KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): MBM Resources
Oversight Board (AOB) has publicly reprimanded Yean Wai Nye, a partner of TH Kuan Bhd’s second quarter net profit fell 29.88%
& Co. In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 23), the SC said as the engagement partner to RM51.93 million, from RM74.06 million a
responsible for the audit of a public interest entity (PIE), Yean had failed to comply year before, amid a lower contribution from
with the relevant International Standards on Auditing, particularly regarding the its motor trading, auto parts manufacturing,
valuation of goodwill. SC said Yean failed to challenge the key assumptions used for and share of results of associates. Earnings
the financial projections and assess the appropriateness of the expert’s work as audit per share for the quarter ended June 30,
evidence in auditing the management’s impairment assessment of goodwill. The AOB 2023 (2QFY2023) declined to 13.29 sen,
stressed that the impairment assessment of goodwill is crucial in light of economic from 18.94 sen previously. Revenue sank
uncertainties and an evolving business environment, hence it requires due care and 3.13% to RM539.57 million from RM557.02
sound judgement. The SC said compliance with the auditing standards when auditing million in 2QFY2022, the group’s bourse
the financial statements of a PIE is a condition of registration for AOB registrants. filing showed. Despite the weaker quarterly
Thus, the AOB would not hesitate to take action against auditors for non-compliance results, the group has declared a first interim
with the auditing standards and registration conditions, it said. — by Surin Murugiah dividend of six sen per share and a special
dividend of 20 sen per share, both payable
on Sept 22. — by Justin Lim
THE EDGE
Pos Malaysia posts RM27 mil net Read the full story
loss in 2Q, sees improved full-year
results Apex Healthcare sees 14-fold
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Pos rise in 2Q net profit, but warns of
Malaysia Bhd continued to bleed in its challenging 2H
second quarter ended June 30, 2023 KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Apex Healthcare
(2QFY2023) with its net loss widening Bhd posted a more than 14-fold rise in net
to RM27 million from RM5.25 million profit to RM329.48 million for the second
posted a year ago. Loss per share quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023),
swelled to 3.45 sen from 0.67 sen. This from RM23.49 million a year ago. Earnings
is Pos Malaysia’s 20th consecutive Serba Dinamik was informed on Aug 16 it per share climbed to 46.13 sen from 3.30
quarterly net loss. Revenue fell 10.06% might be delisted from Bursa Malaysia on sen. Revenue rose marginally by 2.76%
Aug 28 unless it appeal to Bursa Securities
to RM465.2 million from RM517.26 to RM215.03 million from RM209.25
on or before Aug 23.
million in 2QFY2022, according to million last year, driven by the sales of
the national post and courier service pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare
provider’s bourse filing on Wednesday Serba Dinamik submits appeal products and medical devices to both private
(Aug 23). For the first six months of against de-listing and public sector customers. Revenue was
FY2023, the group’s net loss ballooned to KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Serba also driven by strong overseas demand for
RM54.67 million, an increase of 53.48% Dinamik Holdings Bhd has submitted an its Xepa product, especially in Singapore,
over RM35.62 million in the previous appeal to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd the pharmaceutical group said in a filing to
January-June period, as revenue (Bursa Securities) against the de-listing Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday (Aug 23).
declined 5.41% to RM947.47 million of the company’s securities on the local The group declared an interim dividend
from RM1 billion. “We operate in a very exchange. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia of 2.5 sen per share, payable on Sept 19.
challenging environment, and we will on Wednesday (Aug 23), the oil and gas For the first six months of FY2023, Apex
continue to navigate those challenges service provider said this is in relation Healthcare saw a nine-fold jump in net profit
by focusing on our variable costs, to the company being classified as an to RM353.77 million, from the RM39.26
network rationalisation and commercial affected listed issuer under the Practice million in the same period last year, thanks
workstreams,” Pos Malaysia group chief Note 17 (PN17) of the Main Market Listing to improved operating profit posted by its
executive officer Charles Brewer said Requirements of Bursa Securities on subsidiaries and significantly increased
in a statement. “We are fully focused on Aug 16, 2023. On Aug 16, Serba Dinamik net-of-tax contribution from its associated
improving our financial performance, said it might be de-listed from the Main company Straits Apex Group Sdn Bhd.
embracing digital technology, enhancing Market of Bursa Malaysia on Aug 28, Half-year revenue grew 8.39% to RM460.83
the customer journey and championing after Bursa Securities decided to reject million from RM425.17 million on the back
sustainability for a greener and cleaner its application for an extension of time to of the economic recovery and with demand
future. Our unwavering focus is on submit its regularisation plan unless an for pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare
creating a business model that prioritises appeal against the de-listing is submitted to products and medical devices remaining
the welfare of our employees, customers, Bursa Securities on or before Aug 23, 2023. firm. Apex Healthcare expects the business
and the environment,” Brewer added. The company fell into the PN17 status on environment to be more challenging in the
Going forward, Brewer said the group is Jan 6, 2022 and its securities trading on second half of the year due to slow economic
cautiously optimistic and anticipates an Bursa Malaysia has been suspended since growth in its key markets. The group has
improved result for the group in FY2023. December 2022 until further notice for direct operations in Malaysia, Singapore,
— by Justin Lim failure to submit its annual report 2022. — Vietnam and Myanmar, according to its
Bernama annual report. — by Anis Hazim
H O M E
THE EDGE FILE PHOTOS
Ex-1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former treasury secretary general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah
Arul Kanda, Irwan Serigar fail in bid to

strike out 1MDB’s US$6.59 bil lawsuit
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): Former 1Ma- BY TIMOTHY ACHARIAM unsustainable because the court had yet to
laysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief ex- theedgemalaysia.com determine that 1MDB suffered losses of
ecutive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy and US$1.83 billion and US$3.5 billion from
former treasury secretary general and 1MDB trust, which resulted in the strategic devel- the transactions, as well as who was to be
board member Tan Sri Mohd Irwan Ser- opment company suffering losses amounting held responsible for the losses. Arul Kanda
igar have failed in their bid to strike out a to US$1.83 billion in relation to its invest- applied to strike out the suit in June last year.
US$6.59 billion lawsuit filed by the statement in 1MDB-Petrosaudi Ltd, which was Raja Ahmad, however, said the dismissal
owned fund against them. converted into stakes in Brazen Sky Ltd and of the striking out application was not the
High Court Judicial Commissioner Da- then converted into an investment in Bridge end for Arul Kanda and Mohd Irwan, and
tuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Global Fund. assured that the court will hear their argu-
Mohzan in dismissing the striking out bid It also alleged that Arul Kanda and Mohd ments when the matter goes to trial.
said the matter was not suitable to be decid- Irwan committed a breach of trust and con- “The dismissal of these two applications is
ed via affidavits to the court and summary spiracy by misappropriating US$3.5 billion not the end for the defendants as rest assured
judgement. of 1MDB money and paying it to Aabar In- that this court will eventually give its utmost
“As a result of analysis of all the argu- vestments PJS Ltd — a shell company pre- attention and consideration to the same argu-
ments and issues presented to me and raised tending to be a subsidiary of International ments raised by the defendants herein along
by the parties, it is clear that the issues pre- Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) — with some other available defences raised at
sented to me including allegations of fraud and subsequently paying another US$1.265 the appropriate stage of proceedings when
and conspiracy, cannot be decided and re- billion to IPIC in May 2017. the time comes, which is the trial itself,” he
solved merely by affidavits. 1MDB also claimed that Mohd Irwan said, adding that this also applies to the plain-
“All of the issues before me cannot be re- had conspired with Arul Kanda to cause tiff in the case, which is 1MDB.
solved by a simple straightforward approach. the fund to implement an employment ex- Raja Ahmad further explained that the
In other words the assessment of the facts in tension agreement that resulted in it paying issues raised by 1MDB in the suit “merit
front of me prevents me from being able to RM2.91 million to Arul Kanda, regardless of further and thorough” investigation by the
dispose of all the issues in a summary man- 1MDB’s interests, causing it to suffer losses court process of a trial.
ner as requested by the defendants,” he said. and damage. Counsels Datuk Lim CheeWee, Brendan
He said the matter needs to go to trial, Among others, the strategic development Navin Siva, Aida Haryani Salamon and
and the court needs to hear witnesses from company is seeking US$6.59 billion from the Wong Sze Some appeared for 1MDB.
all three parties to come to a decision. duo as a result of the purported breaches, Arul Kanda was represented by lawyers
1MDB filed the suit in May 2021 against and the return of the RM2.91 million from Lee Leong Soon and Hing Hong Jer, while
the duo for alleged breach of fiduciary duty, Mohd Irwan in relation to the employment Mohd Irwan’s legal team comprised counsels
breach of trust and conspiracy to misappro- extension agreement. Lavinia Kumaraendran, MavinThillainathan
priate 1MDB funds as well as to execute an Mohd Irwan applied to strike out the and Amitaesh Theva.
employment extension agreement. suit against him in February last year, on Raja Ahmad then ordered Arul Kan-
In its statement of claim, 1MDB claimed grounds that the legal action was prema- da and Mohd Irwan to each pay costs of
that both Arul Kanda and Mohd Irwan were ture as 1MDB’s claim over its Brazen Sky RM10,000 to 1MDB, and fixed Sept 14
liable for breach of duties and breach of investment and its payment to Aabar were for further case management.
H O M E
REUTERS THE EDGE
(1H2023), it had already received about

1,670 complaints, which were about 60%
of the total in 2022.
Speaking to the media at the Annual
Signature Financial Planning Symposium
organised by the Financial Planning Asso-
ciation of Malaysia (FPAM) on Wednes-
day (Aug 23), Jawahar Ali said that most
of the complaints the SC received were
on illegal schemes promoted through so-
Cooperatives
cial media.
He said that perpetrators of these scams
told to audit
usually use sponsored Facebook ads, fake
websites, or create public Telegram groups
their accounts
to promote investment packages that are
usually accompanied by fake testimonies,
SC sees rapid and certificates purportedly issued by var-

ious agencies.
increase in scam “Interested investors will then be asked Bernama

to message the representatives to begin in-
complaints since vesting directly.These ‘investments’ usually KUCHING (Aug 23): Cooperatives
promise unrealistic returns, such as invest- are reminded to audit their accounts,
pandemic ing RM300 to have returns in thousands in line with the provisions under Sec-
of ringgit within a few hours. tion 60 of the Cooperative Societies
“Investment opportunities like this Act 1993.
through social media are scams. Investors Deputy Entrepreneur Develop-
Bernama should also be careful if they are asked to ment and Cooperatives Minister Sar-
deposit money into personal [bank] ac- aswathy Kandasami said that fail-
PETALING JAYA (Aug 23): The Securi- counts. As of now, investors have lost tens ure to comply with this requirement
ties Commission Malaysia (SC) has seen a of millions through investment scams,” would result in cooperatives losing
rapid increase in complaints and enquiries Jawahar Ali added. eligibility for the facilities available
on unlicensed activities and scams since He said that the SC had taken various under the Malaysia Cooperative So-
the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic in intervention actions and initiatives to alert cieties Commission (SKM).
2020. the public. She added that one of the main
SC consumer and investor gener- “In 1H2023, the SC took two en- reasons why cooperatives fail to pre-
al manager Jawahar Ali Ameer Ali said forcement actions, issued 170 alert lists, pare financial statements for auditing
that the commission received 1,799 [with] 95 website blocks, six Instagram was the lack of exposure to book-
complaints in 2020, followed by 3,475 account blocks, 74 Telegram account keeping.
complaints in 2021, 2461 complaints in blocks, as well as 58 blocks on Face- “We find that most cooperatives
2022 and, as of the first half of this year book,” he said. that do not carry out audits are
small and micro cooperatives. We
understand that most of them are
facing problems after the Covid-19
SC reprimands
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): The Secu- pandemic, which has affected their
rities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) Audit businesses.
auditor for
Oversight Board (AOB) has publicly rep- “Therefore, we take various ap-
rimanded Yean Wai Nye, a partner of TH proaches to provide assistance to
violation
Kuan & Co. help them recover,” she told report-
In a statement on Wednesday (Aug 23), ers after the briefing on Coopera-
of auditing
the SC said as the engagement partner re- tive Financial Statement Reporting
sponsible for the audit of a public interest Guidelines (Amendment) 2020 here
standards
entity (PIE), Yean had failed to comply on Wednesday (Aug 23).
with the relevant International Standards As of Dec 31 last year, there were
on Auditing, particularly regarding the val- 15,315 cooperatives registered under
uation of goodwill. SKM, with a total membership of
SC said Yean failed to challenge the key BY SURIN MURUGIAH 7.3 million people, Saraswathy said.
assumptions used for the financial projec- theedgemalaysia.com “In Sarawak, there are 1,159
tions and assess the appropriateness of the registered cooperatives, with over
expert’s work as audit evidence in auditing The SC said compliance with the au- 310,000 members.
the management’s impairment assessment diting standards when auditing the finan- “These statistics prove that the
of goodwill. cial statements of a PIE is a condition of cooperatives in Sarawak have suc-
The AOB stressed that the impairment registration for AOB registrants. cessfully increased the people’s con-
assessment of goodwill is crucial in light Thus, the AOB would not hesitate to fidence in their roles and significance
of economic uncertainties and an evolving take action against auditors for non-com- in helping the government deal with
business environment, hence it requires pliance with the auditing standards and the rising cost of living,” she said.
due care and sound judgement. registration conditions, it said.
H O M E
Swatch gets
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Swatch In its application, the company said it
Group (M) Sdn Bhd has been granted has not received any complaints from the
permission to
leave (permission) to challenge the gov- public since it began selling the items. It
ernment’s seizure of its “rainbow theme” also said the colours of the rainbow and
challenge seizure
watches three months ago. celebrating pride represent international
Leave was granted during proceedings human rights for greater respect of cele-
of ‘rainbow’
in chambers before High Court judge brating love for all genders and races with-
Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh on out discrimination.
watches after no
Wednesday (Aug 23) following no objec- While the authorities said the watches
tions from the Attorney General’s Cham- have elements of LGBTQ and amount-
objections from
bers (AGC) to the Swiss watchmaker’s ap- ed to a violation of the Printing Presses
plication. and Publications Act 1984, the company
AGC
Senior federal counsel Farah Shuhada pointed out that the watches have never
Ramli appeared for the AGC while Nizam been gazetted as prohibited publication
Bashir appeared for Swatch. that necessitated the seizures.
Following this, parties will now argue The company said without any such
the substantive issues in the application BY TARANI PALANI gazette, the seizures are illegal. It added
on another date. Case management for theedgemalaysia.com that the watches are not a form of publi-
the matter has been set for Sept 6. cation, and neither are they a type of “pro-
Swatch’s leave application was initially SWATCH MALAYSIA hibited item”.
set for hearing last month but had been It further claimed that the seizure notic-
postponed following the amendments to es did not adequately inform the company
the company’s judicial review application. on the grounds or basis for the seizure, and
Among the amendments is an order that the seizures were illegal, irrational and
to quash the decisions and actions of the inconsistent.
Home Ministry officers on the searches of Founded in Switzerland in 1983,
Swatch stores and seizures of the watches. Swatch has had a presence in Malaysia
This is in addition to its orders sought in since 1995. According to the company,
the application filed in June where Swatch Malaysian buyers make up 80% of its sales
was looking to quash the notice of seizure, here, while foreigners contribute the re-
and for the return of the watches. maining 20%.
The international brand is also seeking 16 different locations nationwide between Earlier this month, the Home Ministry
aggravated and exemplary damages. May 13 and 15, 2023.The total retail value gazetted an order prohibiting publications
It named the minister, the Home Min- of the watches amounted to RM64,795. related to the watches.
istry’s secretary general, the ministry’s en- The watches were part of the compa- The provision gazetted on Aug 9 stipu-
forcement division secretary, and the gov- ny’s “Pride collection” in reference to the lates that printing, importing, reproducing,
ernment as respondents. international human rights movement held publishing, selling, producing, circulating,
The company claimed that 172 watch- in June which celebrates lesbian, gay, bi- distributing or possessing such a publi-
es had been seized by the authorities in sexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. cation is strictly prohibited in Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): The manent ban, prompting the duo to seek
co-owners of Crackhouse Comedy Club Crackhouse Comedy legal recourse.
have withdrawn their legal action against
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as the
owners withdraw In the course of exchanging documents
for the matter, it was confirmed that there
duo were not blacklisted from operating legal action as duo was no such ban by DBKL. Essentially,
businesses in the capital indefinitely. DBKL had merely withdrawn the club’s
Pravin Mahentharan, the lawyer for not blacklisted from permit rather than impose a blacklist on
the club’s co-owners Mohamad Rizal
Johan Van Geyzel and Shankar Santhi-
operating in KL the duo.
Jalaluddin, then Federal Territories
ram, confirmed this during court pro- indefinitely Ministry, and the Malaysian government,
ceedings on Wednesday (Aug 23) before who were also named in the initial appli-
High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh cation, had been dropped as respondents
Serjit Singh. BY TARANI PALANI because the alleged contested decision was
“DBKL had confirmed in their affidavit theedgemalaysia.com made by the city hall.
in reply that [the duo] were not blacklisted The co-owners were seeking sever-
and are allowed to operate businesses in versial stand-up routine at the club in al declarations, one of which is that the
Kuala Lumpur,” he said. Taman Tun Dr Ismail in July 2022. Fol- decision by DBKL and the mayor to re-
Following this, the court struck out the lowing this, then deputy federal territories voke Crackhouse Comedy Club’s licence
application and made no order as to costs. minister Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias had is against the law, irrational, unwise, un-
Lawyer Khalisa Badrul Amini appeared announced DBKL’s ban, which was car- constitutional, and should be declared null
for the respondents, DBKL and then Kuala ried in the news. and void.
Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Both Mohamad Rizal and Shankar had They were also seeking aggravated and
Ngah. then written to DBKL seeking clarification exemplary damages, along with other relief
The legal action came after a contro- but received no reply addressing the per- given by the court with no order as to costs.
W O R L D
Global funds
abandon China
blue chips in
US$11 bil selloff
Bloomberg
(Aug 23): Global investors have been shed-

ding China’s blue-chip stocks during the
longest stretch of outflows on record, show-
ing even the nation’s industry leaders are
falling out of favour as a rout deepens.
Foreign investors sold 6.2 billion yuan
(RM4.02 billion) of Kweichow Moutai Co
during Aug 7-18, making China’s largest
liquor maker the most heavily sold stock Group Co of China, and EV maker BYD
via trading links with Hong Kong. It was Their departure comes Co saw selling of at least 2.9 billion yuan
followed by 4.7 billion yuan of selling each as a prolonged housing each through Aug 18.
for leading renewables stock LONGi Green slump raises the risk An analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence also
Energy Technology Co and major lender of broader financial shows emerging market funds have turned
China Merchants Bank Co, according to contagion, making the more bearish on Chinese stocks, deepen-
the latest data on individual stocks availa- ing their average underweight position to
ble on Bloomberg.
nation’s equity benchmark almost 100 basis points as of the second
Overseas funds have been fleeing the
among the worst global quarter from 24 basis points three months
mainland market, offloading the equivalent performers this month earlier. They were overweight by 40 basis
of US$10.7 billion (RM49.8 billion) in a with a nearly 8% loss. points as of end-2022.
13-day run of withdrawals through Wednes- The selling streak is showing little sign
day (Aug 23), the longest since Bloomb- of cooling. Overseas funds shed another
erg began tracking the data in 2016. Their ly evaporated. Foreigners had moved into 10.5 billion yuan on Wednesday. A top-per-
departure comes as a prolonged housing the market en masse back then, only to forming Chinese macro hedge fund blamed
slump raises the risk of broader financial leave again now in droves as economic data global capital for sinking the country’s
contagion, making the nation’s equity continue to disappoint and stimulus fails stocks, calling them a “bunch of aimless
benchmark among the worst global per- to impress. flies” that stir up market volatility. That
formers this month with a nearly 8% loss. The 10 most-sold stock by foreigners said, foreign funds own less than 4% of
The CSI 300 Index is now trading at in the latest rout were among the 50 larg- total A-shares outstanding, according to
its lowest since November as optimism fol- est ones on the CSI 300. Major distiller a report this month from China Interna-
lowing the July Politburo meeting quick- Wuliangye Yibin Co, Ping An Insurance tional Capital Corp.
BRICS bloc
(Aug 23): China’s economic slowdown Chinese company earnings and stock prices
opens doors for other nations to draw a big- on equities in peer countries has declined
dealmakers see
ger share of investment targeted at emerg- “precipitously” over the past three years.
ing markets, according to executives attend- “It presents a huge opportunity for oth-
upside from a
ing an annual BRICS summit. ers, especially India,” said Onkar Kanwar,
The deceleration, characterised by a the chairman of the BRICS Business Coun-
China slowdown
property slump, soaring municipal debt and cil and of Indian tyremaker Apollo Tyres
a youth unemployment crisis, has jolted fi- Ltd. “India has carried out reforms, more is
nancial markets as investors ponder what it expected, and on the whole we are well-pre-
might mean for commodities amid waning pared to welcome those who want to set
demand from the world’s second-largest BY ILYA ARKHIPOV & SUDHI RANJAN SEN up shop in India.”
economy. Bloomberg China remains the dominant player in
Policymakers from the US to New Zea- BRICS, which includes Brazil, Russia, In-
land have sounded warnings, with major But business leaders attending the fo- dia and South Africa — its gross domestic
mineral producers like Brazil, Australia and rum this week in Johannesburg said they product is more than twice the size of the
South Africa under pressure. Softer de- don’t see a slowdown in China having a other members combined. Despite its re-
mand for electronics will impact trade-de- dramatic spillover effect, and that its recent cent travails, the Chinese economy contin-
pendent economies like South Korea and travails could in fact help other members ues to be one of the best performers, with
Taiwan, while companies from Nike Inc of the club. Their views dovetail with those the International Monetary Fund expecting
to Caterpillar Inc have already taken a hit of Goldman Sachs Group Inc strategists, growth of 5.2% this year.
to their earnings from China’s slowdown. who say the knock-on effect of weakening CO N TI N U ES O N PAG E 16
W O R L D
US economy near
(Aug 23): US business activity approached by a further fall in factory output,” said
the stagnation point in August, with growth Chris Williamson, chief business econo-
stalling point
at its weakest since February as demand for mist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
new business in the vast service sector con- Consumer demand posed a substan-
as consumer
tracted. tial drag on revenue for firms, as new
S&P Global said its flash US Compos- business and orders contracted for firms
demand weakens,
ite PMI index, which tracks manufactur- across all sectors. New business in the
ing and service sectors, fell to a reading of service sector declined for the first time
survey says
50.4 in August from 52 in July, the biggest in six months, falling to 49.2 from 51.0
drop since November 2022.While August’s the month prior.
reading was the seventh straight month of Both manufacturing and service sec-
growth, it was only fractionally above the 50 tor businesses tamed price hikes in order
level separating expansion and contraction BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE to attract more customers and slowed
as demand weakened for both manufactured Reuters headcount growth to compensate for re-
goods and services. surgent input costs.
For months, a strong labor market and REUTERS Wednesday’s cool reading may be
resilient consumer spending has increasingly viewed positively by the Fed, which is
assuaged fears of recession, and led to up- keen to see activity cool to lower inflation.
ward revisions of GDP growth forecasts. But
Wednesday’s (Aug 23) data painted a more
tepid picture about the economy. Read also:
Service sector business activity growth
was the slowest since February at 51.0 in US new home sales rise to highest level
August, and the Manufacturing PMI fell in over a year
deeper into contraction territory at 47.0 With mortgage rates at the highest level in
down from 49.0 in July, the fourth straight “A near-stalling of business activity in more than two decades, most homeowners
month of contraction. August raises doubts over the strength of are unwilling to move, keeping inventory
Wednesday’s data was worse than expect- US economic growth in the third quar- on the resale market extremely limited.
ed, with economists polled by Reuters pre- ter. The survey shows that the service That’s encouraged prospective buyers to
dicting that the services index would be 52.2 sector-led acceleration of growth in the seek out new construction, and builders are
and the manufacturing index would be 49.3. second quarter has faded, accompanied also throwing in more incentives.
FROM PAG E 15
That lags the 5.9% predicted in India,
but is well ahead of Brazil, Russia and
South Africa, which are all expected to
grow by less than 1%.
“The Chinese economy has strong resil-
ience, tremendous potential and great vital-
ity,” President Xi Jinping said in a speech
delivered on his behalf by Commerce Sec-
retary Wang Wentao at the summit. “The
fundamentals sustaining China’s long-term
growth will remain unchanged. The giant
ship of the Chinese economy will continue
to part waves and sail ahead.”
Some analysts have warned that Xi
doesn’t have good options to reverse course
and his country could be headed for Japa-
nese-style drift after decades of rampant ex-
pansion.That would spell bad news for other
countries dependent on exports to China. tions between his country and China. “I is 20% owned by Industrial and Commer-
As the BRICS meetings kicked off, signs would not say this is critical.” cial Bank of China, expects shifts in China’s
that China was becoming more forceful in Jai Shroff, the chief executive officer of economy to shake up global supply chains.
supporting its domestic markets provided Indian agro-chemical firm, UPL Ltd sees “The Chinese economy is clearly changing
a jolt to its peers. Emerging-market stocks climate change and a shortage of funding and increasingly focusing on consumption,
ended a nine-day losing streak and curren- for sustainable agriculture as bigger threats less on investment, he said. “This is an op-
cies including South Africa’s rand, Brazil’s than a downturn in China. portunity to bring industrialisation and end
real and India’s rupee all gained. “As economies grow, people spend more of value chains to Africa,” because it becomes
China has “been growing for a long time on food and they are unlikely to suddenly more expensive to produce in China, he said.
and now this is some kind of satiation,” said cut back,” he said. “That insulates our busi- Xi stated as much, when he committed to
Sergey Katyrin, the president of Russia’s ness in difficult times such as now. his country importing more “quality prod-
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who Sim Tshabala, the CEO of Standard ucts” from South Africa following talks with
has played a role in facilitating trade rela- Bank Group Ltd, Africa’s largest lender that its President Cyril Ramaphosa.
W O R L D
India set to ban

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Aug 23): India any possibility of exports,” said another
is expected to ban mills from exporting government source.
sugar exports
sugar in the next season beginning Octo- Retail inflation in India jumped to a
ber, halting shipments for the first time in 15-month high of 7.44% in July and food
for first time

seven years, as a lack of rain has cut cane inflation to 11.5% — its highest in over
yields, three government sources said. three years.
in seven years
India’s absence from the world market India’s sugar production could fall 3.3%
would be likely to increase benchmark pric- to 31.7 million tonnes in the 2023/24 season.
es in NewYork and London that are already “We’ve allowed mills to export large vol-
trading around multi-year highs, triggering umes of sugar during the past two years,”
fears of further inflation on global food mar- BY RAJENDRA JADHAV said the third government source. “But
kets. & MAYANK BHARDWAJ we also have to ensure sufficient supplies
“Our primary focus is to fulfil local Reuters and stable prices.”
sugar requirements and produce ethanol India surprised buyers last month by
from surplus sugarcane,” said a govern- which together account for more than half imposing a ban on non-basmati white rice
ment source who asked not to be named in of India’s total sugar output — have been exports. New Delhi also imposed a 40%
line with official rules. “For the upcoming as much as 50% below average so far this duty last week on exports of onions as it
season, we will not have enough sugar to year, weather department data showed. tries to calm food prices ahead of state
allocate for export quotas.” Patchy rains would cut sugar output in elections later this year.
India allowed mills to export only 6.1 the 2023/24 season and even reduce plant- A Mumbai-based dealer with a global
million tonnes of sugar during the current ing for the 2024/25 season, an industry trade house said lower output in Thailand
season to Sept 30, after letting them sell official, who declined to be named, said. was also expected to reduce shipments and
a record 11.1 million tonnes last season. Local sugar jumped this week to their major producer Brazil would alone not be
In 2016, India imposed a 20% tax on highest level in nearly two years, prompt- able to fill the gap.
sugar exports to curb overseas sales. ing the government to allow mills to sell
Monsoon rains in the top cane growing an extra 200,000 tonnes in August.
districts of the western state of Maharash- “Food inflation is a concern. The re- Read also: Sugar surges on concerns of
tra and the southern state of Karnataka — cent increase in sugar prices eliminates India export curb as output drops
Thailand’s
BANGKOK (Aug 23): Thailand’s billion- up in opposition, and the populist heav-
aire former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was yweight Pheu Thai, twice toppled by the
billionaire ex-PM
hospitalised on his first night in prison after military, agree to form a government with
his historic return from self-exile, officials army-backed parties.
Thaksin moved to
said on Wednesday (Aug 23), citing con- Thaksin returned on a private jet to
cern about his heart and blood pressure. cheering crowds on Tuesday before being
hospital on first
The influential founder of Thailand’s whisked away to a court then to a jail, in
populist Pheu Thai Party was transferred dramatic scenes that stole the spotlight
night in jail
to a police hospital overnight, 15 hours af- from fellow tycoon Srettha Thavisin, who
ter a vaunted homecoming from 15 years was chosen as prime minister hours later.
abroad to avoid jail, that coincided with his
political ally being elected prime minister ‘VVIP’ treatment
in a parliamentary vote. BY PANARAT THEPGUMPANAT The unimpeded return of Thailand’s most
The Corrections Department said the & PANU WONGCHA-UM divisive politician and Srettha’s surprising-
74-year-old Thaksin was transferred in the Reuters ly smooth ascent to the top job will add
early hours of Wednesday after being una- to speculation that Thaksin had struck a
ble to sleep and experiencing chest tight- REUTERS deal with long-time enemies in the mil-
ness and high blood pressure on his first itary and conservative establishment for
night in prison. his safe return and, possibly, an early re-
“Physicians agreed that to prevent dan- lease from jail.
gerous risks to his life, he be transferred Thaksin and Pheu Thai have denied
to the police hospital,” it said. that.
Soponrat Singhajaru, a senior doctor,
confirmed his condition had improved
since he was admitted. A representative Read the full story
for Thaksin declined to comment.
Thaskin, a hugely popular prime minister
among many voters for pro-poor policies, was Read also:
ousted in a 2006 military coup and was in
self-exile two years later when he was sen- Top Thai fund sees foreign investors
tenced to jail for graft and abuse of power. returning with Srettha as PM
His hospitalisation is the latest twist in
chaotic few months in Thai politics that Former Thai prime minister Thaksin
saw the progressive Move Forward par- Shinawatra gestures at Don Mueang airport in Thailand economic recovery ‘not all
Bangkok, Thailand, on Aug 22, 2023.
ty triumph in a May election then end wine and roses’, says central bank chief
F R I D AY A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 2 3 18 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O NO UR I N G M ALAYS IA’ S
B E ST P E RF O RM ERS IN
ESG EXC ELLEN C E
In Collaboration With
Main Automotive Knowledge Partner Auditor Official

Partner Partner (Funds Category) Broadcast Partner
W O R L D
More trouble
(Aug 23):The eurozone’s two largest econo- rescue the German economy has evapo-
mies are deteriorating quickly, with services rated,” said Cyrus de la Rubia, Hamburg
ahead for the

following manufacturing into a deep slump. Commercial Bank’s chief economist. Fac-
Flash Purchasing Managers’ Indexes for toring in the latest report, his GDP now-
eurozone’s two
August show worse-than-expected contrac- cast model indicates the economy is set
tions in private-sector activity in Germany for a contraction of almost 1%.
biggest economies
and France. Firms in both countries saw Euro-area PMI data later on Wednes-
weakening demand and reported drops in day are expected to reveal a similar level
order backlogs that suggest more trouble of contraction to July. Earlier numbers
ahead. from Australia pointed to a deepening
S&P Global’s gauge for Germany BY JANA RANDOW contraction, while a measure for Japan
dropped to 44.7 — the lowest in more than Bloomberg showed solid growth. UK numbers are
three years — from 48.5 in July. A similar likely to indicate slight expansion, while
measure for France held steady at 46.6, Output in French services fell at the figures from the US are predicted to show
still far below the 50 threshold for growth. quickest pace in 2 1/2 years in August, stable growth.
The results add to evidence that dwin- while manufacturing declined for a sev-
dling global demand, high inflation and enth month. New orders dropped for a
the European Central Bank’s aggressive fourth straight month. At the same time, Read also:
monetary-tightening cycle are taking their inflation pressures eased.
toll on the economy. “The French economy is stuck in a rut,” UK private sector posts surprise
Investors scooped up German debt, said Norman Liebke, an economist at Ham- contraction as high rates bite
sending the 10-year yield tumbling nine burg Commercial Bank. “We might be head- “UK private sector firms suffered their first
basis points to 2.56%, while traders aged for a contraction in the third quarter.” contraction in seven months, revealing the
gressively pared interest-rate wagers and Germany’s problems are worse. Servic- growing economic toll of higher interest rates
now see a 60% chance of a further quar- es shrank for the first time in eight months, and the squeeze on households.”
ter-point hike compared with 80% earlier. crushing hopes that the sector would be
The euro fell 0.3% against the US dollar able to cushion the country’s devastating
to US$1.0813, the lowest since mid-June. industry slump. Investors expect ECB rate-hike pause in
“It strengthens the hands of those argu- What’s more, prices are once again on the September after dismal PMIs
ing for a pause in September,” said Dirk rise. Services firms in particular faced a steep “Traders now price in a roughly 40% chance
Schumacher, an economist at Natixis SA. and accelerated increase in expenses due to of a 25 basis point move in September
“The economy is clearly not doing well higher fuel costs and sustained wage gains. compared with a more than 50% chance
given these figures.” “Any hope that the service sector might they saw only on Tuesday.”
(Aug 23): Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry ners should not deduct costs amounting
told partners in the giant Kashagan oil ven- to US$13 billion. If the state is successful,
ture it will press ahead with arbitration in a
US$13 billion (RM60.54 billion) dispute,
Kazakhstan digs it could receive a greater share of revenue
from the field.
a blow to the international majors that had
hoped for a settlement.
in for US$13 bil North Caspian Operating Co (NCOC),
the joint venture that runs the project, said
The government has gone back on signals
in July that it may cease arbitration, people
fight with oil the partners “believe they have acted in ac-
cordance with the production-sharing agree-
familiar with the matter said, asking not to
be named discussing private information.
majors ment, Kazakhstan’s legislation and applica-
ble standards and best practices.” NCOC
While the door for talks remains open, the cited “a number of contentious issues,” but
ministry has rejected a proposal that Ka- BY NARIMAN GIZITDINOV declined to elaborate given the “confidential
zakhstan drop its claims in exchange for Bloomberg nature of the proceedings.”
investment pledges. The companies are also facing a
Companies including Eni SpA, Shell BLOOMBERG US$5.1 billion fine for allegedly break-
Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp and TotalEnergies ing environmental rules. While they have
SE — which have invested about US$55 denied being at fault in both cases, they
billion in Kashagan — are being sued by have been searching for a way to settle the
the government amid allegations of unap- disputes with the government, Bloomberg
proved spending. reported in May.
The row in Central Asia’s largest Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry declined
oil-producing nation underscores the dif- to comment, as did Total. Exxon didn’t re-
ficulty of developing big energy projects spond to an email seeking comment, while
with complex production-sharing agree- Eni wasn’t immediately available. Shell di-
ments. Shell chief executive officer Wael rected requests for comment to NCOC.
Sawan said last month that the company’s One potential settlement that had been
Companies including Eni SpA, Shell Plc, Exxon
future spending in Kazakhstan would de- Mobil Corp and TotalEnergies SE — which have
under discussion would have involved the
pend on whether the government offers invested about US$55 billion in Kashagan — are construction of a gas-processing plant to
the right investment climate. being sued by the Kazakhstan government amid serve Kazakhstan’s domestic market. That
Kazakhstan claims the Kashagan part- allegations of unapproved spending. suggestion wasn’t accepted, the people said.
W O R L D
Huawei is building a secret network

for chips, trade group
(Aug 23): The leading association of glob- BY IAN KING & DEBBY WU tions that require them to check into clients
al chip companies is warning that Huawei Bloomberg if there are any suspicious circumstances,
Technologies Co is building a collection like purchases inconsistent with the cus-
of secret semiconductor-fabrication facil- REUTERS tomer’s needs.
ities across China, a shadow manufactur- “If there’s a red flag, then you have an
ing network that would let the blacklisted obligation to investigate,” said Kevin Wolf,
company skirt US sanctions and further a partner with the law firm Akin Gump
the nation’s technology ambitions. who worked on BIS policy at the Com-
Huawei, a controversial telecommunica- merce Department.
tions gear maker at the heart of US-China “Absent a red flag, there is no affirma-
tensions, moved into chip production last tive duty to verify or go beyond the com-
year and is receiving an estimated US$30 pany’s representations.”
billion (RM139.6 billion) in state funding The SIA presentation has set off alarm
from the government and its home town bells at member companies and within the
of Shenzhen, according to the Washing- Biden administration since it was published
ton-based Semiconductor Industry Asso- the country’s military capabilities. in April. The US is weighing more strin-
ciation. It’s acquired at least two existing Chinese companies are largely allowed gent export controls on China.
plants and is building at least three oth- to buy older-generation chipmaking equip- China’s Communist Party has blasted
ers, the group said in a presentation to its ment, machines that use 28-nanometer the American government for its restric-
members seen by Bloomberg. technology or above. But blacklisted com- tions on technology exports to the coun-
The US Commerce Department put panies like Huawei are prohibited from try, arguing the US is trying to contain its
Huawei on its entity list in 2019, eventually such purchases without a license and those economic development.
prohibiting it from working with American exceptions are rare. Beijing has also vowed to develop its
companies in almost all circumstances. But Huawei, PXW, Fujian Jinhua and the own local alternatives for chips, production
if Huawei is constructing and buying facil- other companies identified by SIA as part machinery and critical tech components.
ities under the names of other companies of the network did not respond to requests China is pouring unprecedented amounts
without disclosing its involvement, as the for comment. Beijing has voiced fierce op- of money into its domestic semiconductor
SIA said, the telecom giant may be able to position to American export controls and industry.The SIA estimates there are at least
circumvent those restrictions to indirectly made counter-accusations that the US also 23 fabrication facilities in the works in the
purchase American chipmaking equipment subsidises its own national champions. country with planned investments of more
and other supplies that would otherwise “These developments were already pub- than US$100 billion by 2030, according to
be prohibited. licly reported on by multiple media out- the presentation. By 2029 or 2030, China
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of lets months before SIA simply highlighted is on track to have more than half the in-
Industry and Security, in response to ques- these news items at an association meeting dustry’s global capacity in older-generation
tions from Bloomberg News about the SIA discussing market trends,” the SIA said in semiconductors, those made with 28-nm or
warnings, which haven’t been previously an emailed statement. 45-nm technology, the group said.
reported, said it’s monitoring the situation It’s not clear why the association is “China is roughly spending as much
and is ready to take action if necessary. It sounding the alarm on these issues now. in subsidies as the rest of the world com-
has already blacklisted dozens of Chinese The Washington-based lobbying group bined,” said Chris Miller, author of Chip
companies beyond Huawei, including two represents the majority of the world’s sem- War: The Fight for the World’s Most Crit-
the SIA says are part of Huawei’s network iconductor makers, including Intel Corp, ical Technology. “So the numbers are ab-
— Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co solutely enormous.”
Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co, or PXW. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing US and European officials have grown
“Given the severe restrictions placed on Hua- Co. Its members also include companies increasingly concerned about China’s mas-
wei, Fujian Jinhua, PXW and others, it is no that produce chipmaking equipment, such sive investments in so-called legacy chips,
surprise that they have sought substantial as Applied Materials Inc and the Nether- even though they are not prohibited un-
state support to attempt to develop indige- lands’ ASML Holding NV. der last year’s Biden rules. Such chips are
nous technologies,” BIS said in a statement Certain members of the lobbying group more than adequate for many military ap-
to Bloomberg. “BIS is continually reviewing will face competition from Chinese rivals plications, and they’re widely used in key
and updating its export controls based on if they’re successful in building domestic markets such as electric cars.
the evolving threat environment and, as ev- production facilities, but SIA members like The size of the projected financial
idenced by the Oct 7, 2022 rules, will not ASML and Nvidia Corp lose revenue from support for Huawei is also staggering. At
hesitate to take appropriate action to protect China as American export controls become US$30 billion, the money would be almost
US national security.” stricter. The association may be trying to as much as the manufacturing incentives
The Biden administration levied export warn members to be cautious in working in the US Chips and Science Act that will
controls last October that prevent all Chi- with companies that could have hidden ties be split among multiple companies.
nese companies from acquiring certain ad- to blacklisted entities like Huawei.
vanced semiconductors and chipmaking Under BIS regulations, American sup-
equipment, a move aimed at restricting pliers have “know your customer” obliga- Read the full story
W O R L D
Shell taps
Goldman Sachs to
explore Singapore
refinery sale
— sources
BY TRIXIE YAP, CHEN AIZHU & FLORENCE TAN
Reuters
SINGAPORE (Aug 23): Shell is consid-

ering a sale of its Singapore refining and
petrochemical plants as part of a broad-
er strategic review and has hired invest-
ment bank Goldman Sachs to explore a
potential deal, said several sources close
revenue and outlined plans to increase to the matter.
Grab brings investment in e-commerce. The global energy major’s new CEO,
While Grab leads Southeast Asia’s Wael Sawan, is targeting spending cuts
forward breakeven ride-hailing and delivery markets, over the next two years to boost prof-
it has yet to reach profitability as it itability while remaining committed to
target after losses spends on growth and competition achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
from rivals such as Indonesia’s GoTo Those efforts include the review of en-
narrow weighs on prices. The company, which ergy and chemicals assets on Singapore’s
had been one of Southeast Asia’s hot- Bukom and Jurong islands, announced
test startups, has struggled since it in June, as the group seeks to repurpose
BY OLIVIA POH went public via a merger with a US its energy and chemical parks globally
Bloomberg blank-cheque company less than two to offer more low-carbon solutions to
years ago. Its shares have fallen about customers.
(Aug 23): Grab Holdings Ltd brought 70% since. “Our strategic review is ongoing and
forward its profitability target after post- Grab, working to reverse years of we are exploring several options including
ing a narrower loss in the second quar- losses, said in June that it’s cutting more divestment,” a Shell spokesperson told
ter, buoyed by extensive cost cuts at the than 1,000 jobs in its biggest round of Reuters on Wednesday (Aug 23).
ride-hailing and food-delivery company. layoffs since the pandemic, in a sign of Singapore’s position as a regional trad-
The stock advanced about 4% in growing pressure from investors for the ing and marketing hub remains impor-
pre-market trading after Grab said on internet firm to slash expenses further. tant, she added.
Wednesday that it expects to break even Rivals Sea and GoTo eliminated thou- Companies that are reviewing Shell’s
in the third quarter, rather than the fourth sands of jobs last year. Singapore assets include Asia’s largest
quarter as previously projected. The com- Grab’s gross merchandise value, or refiner, China’s Sinopec, as well as global
pany also said its adjusted full-year loss the total value of goods and services trading companies Vitol and Trafigura,
before interest, taxes, depreciation and it provides, grew 4% to US$5.24 bil- the sources said.
amortisation will be US$30 million to lion in the second quarter. While that’s For trading companies, the site is seen
US$40 million, rather than the loss of down from double-digit rates in the past as a potential oil storage and distribution
US$195 million to US$235 million it years, growth accelerated from 3% pace hub, some of the sources said.
forecast in May. in the previous quarter. Goldman Sachs, Sinopec, Trafigura
Adjusted loss on that basis shrank Further scaling back on incentive and Vitol declined to comment.
to US$20 million in the second quar- spending, or targeting them at active The Bukom refinery, Shell’s only
ter, Grab said, versus analysts’ average spenders, should increase revenue wholly owned refining and petrochemi-
estimate for a loss of US$64.6 million. earned per dollar of gross merchan- cals centre in Asia, can process 237,000
Revenue rose 77% to US$567 million, dise value (GMV) without compro- barrels per day (bpd) of crude. Built in
topping estimates and dispelling some mising user retention. However, that 1961, it was Singapore’s first refinery.
fears that rising inflation and a gloomy will probably come at the expense of The complex also houses a one million
economic outlook would damp custom- GMV growth, particularly as food tonnes per year (tpy) ethylene cracker and
er spending. delivery demand normalises, said a 155,000 tpy butadiene extraction unit.
Grab is among Southeast Asian inter- Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nathan These are integrated with a monoethyl-
net giants that are treading a fine balance Naidu. ene glycol (MEG) plant at Shell’s petro-
between spending on growth and focus- Chief executive officer Anthony Tan chemicals site on Jurong Island.
ing on profitability. Investors rewarded has said that the job reductions weren’t In March, Shell decided not to pro-
GoTo Group last week after it cut its a “shortcut to profitability”. He said ceed with two projects it was studying
2023 loss projection, while punishing the company was on track to become to produce biofuels and base oils in Sin-
Sea Ltd after it reported disappointing profitable, even without the cuts. gapore.
W O R L D
Country Garden
(Aug 23): Country Garden Holdings Co, market value of Bloomberg’s index for
the distressed Chinese developer that ear- the securities, mostly issued by build-
leaves investors
lier this month missed interest payments ers, has shrunk to only about US$44.7
on some dollar bonds, is leaving investors billion from some US$131.8 billion two
in dark on exact
in the dark about the exact date the grace years ago.
period ends. Lack of clarifications from Country
default deadline
That’s adding to signs of opaqueness Garden or involved parties on the build-
in the nation’s offshore junk debt market, er’s missed interest payments and more
which has lost US$87 billion (RM404.9 generally on its debt plans make “it hard
billion) in the past two years. to gauge recovery and derive fair value”,
One of China’s biggest developers, BY PEARL LIU said Zerlina Zeng, senior credit analyst
Country Garden must repay a com- Bloomberg at CreditSights. “This probably also con-
bined US$22.5 million in two coupons tributes to the poor trading liquidity of
within the grace period, otherwise cred- 6 was a Sunday, which meant the effective these high-yield, distressed China prop-
itors could call a default that would be due date was the next business day, Aug erty bonds.”
the developer’s first on such debt. That 7. Should one count the 30-day grace pe- Several analysts at major global banks
would threaten even worse impact than riod from Aug 6 or Aug 7? The document have recently mentioned in notes either
defaulted peer China Evergrande Group doesn’t specify. Country Garden declined Sept 5 or Sept 6 as the deadline for the
given Country Garden has four times as to comment. end of the grace period, underscoring the
many projects. China’s worsening property debt cri- lack of consensus.
But there’s uncertainty whether the sis has prompted a slew of developers in- “We believe we should use the sched-
grace period ends Sept 5 or Sept 6, rais- cluding Evergrande to use grace periods uled payment date as day 0, but we are
ing the risk of legal wrangling if payment in recent years. In many cases, doing so not certain given it was Sunday,” Moody’s
straddles those dates. The ambiguity has only bought time before they eventu- Investors Service said when asked about
stems from differing interpretations of ally went on to default, adding to record the matter. The rating firm downgraded
standard wording in the offering mem- debt failures. Country Garden deeper into junk territory
orandum. The document defines an Growing concerns that the same fate at Caa1 earlier this month.
“event of default” as delinquency “in could strike Country Garden, which The trustee for the bond, Citicorp In-
payment of interest which continues for had 1.4 trillion yuan (RM910 billion) ternational Ltd, also declined to comment.
30 days”. of total liabilities at the end of last year,
That’s clear enough. But what makes have dragged Chinese junk dollar bonds
things uncertain is that the due date of Aug deeper into distress under 65 cents. The Read the full story
EV maker
VinFast’s wild
rally makes it as
big as Ford and
GM combined
BY BAILEY LIPSCHULTZ
Bloomberg
(Aug 23): Vinfast Auto Ltd shares sky-

rocketed 109% to add US$44 billion
(RM204.78 billion) in market value to the
Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker on ing company that went public via a spe- fortune of Vietnam’s richest man careen-
Tuesday (Aug 22), extending a raucous cial-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) ing from US$21.2 billion last Friday to
week since it went public. merger this year, trading above US$35 a US$43.4 billion on Tuesday, according to
The stock’s now 251% surge from piece after its tie-up with Black Spade Ac- the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
an Aug 15 debut has vaulted its market quisition Co. Just 1.3 million shares are cur- Additionally, many companies that
capitalisation back above US$84 billion, rently available for trading, meaning inves- merged with blank check firms have had
making its paper value much larger than tors should brace for volatility as lower-float rallies that fizzle out in the days and weeks
General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. stocks are prone to see big swings. after a deal closes, when the social media
Tuesday’s rally came as more than 19 mil- The jump in the share price gave a buzz subsides. De-SPACs that have made
lion shares changed hands, with investors US$20.1 billion boost to the wealth of the their debut this year have seen a medi-
flipping the stock that has a small portion company’s chairman and founder, Pham an slump of about 45%, with 15 of them
of shares available for trading. Nhat Vuong. The wild moves in the shares, wiping out more than 80% of their value,
VinFast continues to be the top-perform- which Vuong controls 99% of, sent the according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
Qatar wealth
fund invests
US$1 bil in
Ambani’s retail
arm
BY PR SANJAI & CHRIS KAY
Bloomberg
three years ago from a series of major inves-
(Aug 23): Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund The subsidiary headed tors, including the sovereign wealth funds
invested 82.78 billion rupees (RM4.6 by Ambani’s daughter, of Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United
billion) into India’s biggest brick-and- Isha, has undertaken a Arab Emirates, along with General Atlan-
mortar retailer as Asia’s richest man swath of acquisitions tic, KKR & Co and Silver Lake Partners.
Mukesh Ambani looks to rapidly expand as it challenges global It reported earnings before interest,
its operations and take on global com- taxes, depreciation and amortisation that
petitors including Amazon.com Inc and
rivals who are trying jumped 34% to 51.5 billion rupees in the
Walmart Inc.
hard to establish a toe quarter through June compared to the same
The Qatar Investment Authority’s pur- hold in India’s highly period a year earlier.
chase translates into a stake of 0.99% in competitive retail However, Reliance Retail only accounts
Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd sector dominated by for just over a tenth of the oil-to-consumer
“on a fully-diluted basis,” the Mum- mom-and-pop stores. conglomerate’s earnings and is currently
bai-based firm said in a statement on eating up a more than a third of the group’s
Wednesday (Aug 23), adding that it val- capital expenditure, ICICI Securities an-
ues the company at US$100 billion. ment “a strong endorsement” of India’s alysts wrote in a report published earlier
The deal comes as Ambani’s conglom- economy and Reliance’s retail business. on Wednesday. Reliance’s retail revenue
erate is also considering a public listing growth has “not kept pace” with that “par-
for Reliance Retail and has started buying ‘Particularly striking’ ticularly striking” spending, they added.
back shares in the unit and giving them It’s also the latest foray by Qatar’s sovereign Still, the QIA “is committed to support-
to their employees as stock options. The wealth fund into a family-led Indian con- ing innovative companies with high-growth
subsidiary headed by Ambani’s daughter, glomerate this year. QIA increased its bets potential in India’s fast growing retail mar-
Isha, has undertaken a swath of acqui- in the South Asian nation having picked ket,” said chief executive officer Mansoor
sitions as it challenges global rivals who up a 2.7% stake in fellow Indian billionaire Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud. “We are looking
are trying hard to establish a toe hold in Gautam Adani’s green energy business after forward to Reliance Retail Ventures Lim-
India’s highly competitive retail sector the tycoon was hit by a damaging short-sell- ited, with its strong vision and impressive
dominated by mom-and-pop stores. er attack in January. growth trajectory, joining our growing and
Isha Ambani called the QIA’s invest- Reliance Retail raised over US$6 billion diverse portfolio of investments in India.”
Adani Group
(Aug 23): Adani Group posted record after shortseller Hindenburg Research
profit in the quarter ended June on the accused it of widespread corporate mal-
quarterly profit
back of its infrastructure and renewable feasance, wiping out at one point more
energy businesses, bolstering the finances than US$150 billion (RM698.56 billion)
jumps 42% in
of Gautam Adani’s business empire as it in value from its listed companies. Adani
seeks to shore up investor confidence and has denied any wrongdoing.
boost to liquidity
resume fundraising months after a dam- Since the shortseller attack, the embat-
aging attack from a shortseller. tled conglomerate has managed to raise
The ports-to-power conglomerate said billions from GQG Partners and Qatar In-
June quarterly earnings before interest, vestment Authority that purchased shares
tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped BY PR SANJAI held by its founders. It is also in talks with
42% from the same period a year ago to Bloomberg international banks to refinance loans tak-
235 billion rupees (RM13.24 billion), the en out last year to acquire Ambuja Ce-
highest the group has seen for a single ti-decadal earnings predictability and vis- ments Ltd.
quarter and nearly as much as the profit ibility,” the company said in a statement. Still, investors are waiting for a finding
it earned for the full fiscal year of 2019. The profitability also buoyed the com- from Indian markets watchdog Securities
The strong performance posted by its pany’s liquidity, with cash balance at the and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) that
infrastructure and utility businesses across end of June up 4.2% from the end of has looked into some of the allegations
its flagship entity Adani Enterprises Ltd as March, at 421 billion rupees. Improved made by Hindenburg. Sebi has asked the
well as its green energy and cement arms liquidity position could help improve in- nation’s Supreme Court for an extension
“gives a high level of stability and mul- vestor confidence more than six months to wrap up its probe by the end of August.
W O R L D
India celebrates
BENGALURU (Aug 23): An Indian gratulated India on the landing. “Roskos-
spacecraft landed on the rugged, unex- mos congratulates Indian colleagues on the
‘victory cry’ as
plored south pole of the moon on Wednes- successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3
day (Aug 23) in a mission seen as crucial spacecraft,” it said in a post on its Tele-
Chandrayaan-3
to lunar exploration and India’s standing gram channel.
as a space power, just days after a similar “Exploration of the moon is impor-
spacecraft lands
Russian lander crashed. tant for all mankind. In the future it may
“This moment is unforgettable. It is become a platform for deep space explo-
on the moon
phenomenal. This is a victory cry of a ration.”
new India,” said Prime Minister Naren- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
dra Modi, who waved the Indian flag as at the BRICS summit, congratulated his
he watched the landing from South Africa Indian counterpart during their bilateral
where he is attending a BRICS summit. BY NIVEDITA BHATTACHARJEE meeting, a video clip shared by the Rus-
Scientists and officials clapped, cheered Reuters sian foreign ministry showed.
and hugged each other as the spacecraft The Chandrayaan-3 is expected to re-
landed and people across India broke out REUTERS main functional for two weeks, running a
in celebration, setting off firecrackers and series of experiments including a spectrom-
dancing in the streets. eter analysis of the mineral composition
“India is on the moon,” said S So- of the lunar surface.
manath, chief of the Indian Space Re- The moon rover will take a few hours
search Organisation (ISRO) as the Chan- or a day to come out of the spacecraft,
drayaan-3 spacecraft landed, making India Somanath told reporters, adding that the
the fourth nation to successfully land a landing has given India confidence to ex-
spacecraft on the moon after the US, Chi- tend its reach to possible voyages to Mars
na and Russia. and Venus.
This was India’s second attempt to land India is also planning to launch a mis-
People watch a live stream of Chandrayaan-3
a spacecraft on the moon and comes less spacecraft’s landing on the moon, inside an
sion in September to study the sun, So-
than a week after Russia’s Luna-25 mis- auditorium of Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad manath said. A human space flight is also
sion failed. People across the country were August 23, 2023. planned and, while no official date has
glued to television screens and said prayers been announced, preparations are likely
as the spacecraft approached the surface. in Hindi and Sanskrit. In 2019, ISRO’s to be ready by 2024.
Nearly seven million watched the You- Chandrayaan-2 mission successfully de-
Tube live stream. ployed an orbiter but its lander crashed.
Chandrayaan means “moon vehicle” Russia’s space agency Roskosmos con- Read the full story
(Aug 23): China vowed to take “necessary Korea, where the condiment is crucial in
steps” to safeguard food safety and the ma-
rine environment after Japan set a date to
China threatens action the preparation of kimchi. Insan Inc surged
as much as a 30% daily limit, and Daesang
begin flushing treated nuclear wastewater as Japan sets nuclear Holdings Co as much as 26%.
from the Fukushima site into the Pacific Tokyo Electric Power Co is preparing to
Ocean. wastewater release begin a process to release about 1.3 million
“This act blatantly transfers the risk of cubic metres of wastewater — equivalent in
nuclear pollution to neighbouring coun- volume to about 500 Olympic-size swim-
tries, including China and the internation- BY DAVID STRINGER ming pools — from the Fukushima site over
al community,” China’s Deputy Foreign Bloomberg a period of at least 30 years. The waste has
Minister Sun Weidong said in a statement. been generated in part as the utility works
“It is extremely selfish and irresponsible. lion) last year. Hong Kong, which imported to cool wrecked reactors following the 2011
China expresses serious concern and strong about ¥209 billion worth of the goods, on meltdown that ranks as the world’s worst
opposition.” Wednesday confirmed it will extend import atomic accident since Chernobyl.
Beijing, which has criticised Japan’s pro- curbs on products from seafood to seaweed Kishida has rejected China’s complaints
posal as unsafe and questioned the accuracy from some areas. over the safety of the strategy and pointed
of its testing regime, “will take necessary Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred Goden- to a two-year review by the International
measures to firmly safeguard the marine en- ya previously said it would seek alternative Atomic Energy Agency, which concluded
vironment, food safety and public health”, suppliers for key ingredients sourced from there would be a negligible impact on peo-
if the water releases go ahead as planned Japan, and new trade curbs will threaten to ple and the environment.
from Thursday (Aug 24), he said. crimp sales for Japan’s major seafood pro- Japan’s ambassador to China, Hideo
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishi- ducers. Maruha Nichiro Corp wins about Tarumi, who was summoned for talks with
da, who on Tuesday confirmed plans to 5% of revenue from destinations in Asia Sun, criticised Beijing for making what he
start the wastewater releases, is preparing outside its domestic market, according to claimed are unsupported claims and of-
to meet with China’s Premier Li Qiang data compiled by Bloomberg, while Nishi- fered to continue talks on the issue. It’s
next month, NTV reported. moto Co generates around 8% of sales out- unacceptable for China to tighten curbs
China’s retaliation threatens agricultural side of Japan, North American and Europe. on Japanese food products if not based on
and seafood purchases from Japan, which Suppliers of sea salt and related prod- scientific evidence, Japan’s foreign ministry
totalled about ¥278 billion (RM8.88 bil- ucts jumped in Tuesday trading in South said in a statement.
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
Robotics firm
seeks up to
US$314 mil in
Korea’s top
2023 IPO
BY FILIPE PACHECO & SHINHYE KANG
Bloomberg
23). Orders from funds will be taken be- when LG Energy Solution executed its
(Aug 23): Doosan Robotics Co is seek- tween Aug 28 and Sept 15, and the final jumbo US$11 billion offering.
ing to raise as much as 421.2 billion won price is set to be announced on Sept 19, Robotics became one of the hottest sec-
(RM1.4 billion) through an initial public after which individuals can place bids. tors in South Korea this year as the govern-
offering that’s set to be the largest in South The listing could give a boost to South ment and major local companies, including
Korea this year. Korea’s dormant IPO market after only Samsung Electronics Co, stepped up in-
The company, with Seoul-listed Doo- one debut larger than US$100 million vestments. Samsung bought a stake in Kos-
san Co as its biggest shareholder, is offer- this year, according to Bloomberg-com- daq-listed startup Rainbow Robotics earlier
ing 16.2 million shares at 21,000 won to piled data.Total proceeds amassed through this year, and Hyundai Motor Group bought
26,000 won each, according to a prospectus new share sales are down 88% to US$1.6 a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics Inc.
filed to the regulator on Wednesday (Aug billion versus the same period last year, from SoftBank Group Corp in 2020.
Bitcoin rival
(Aug 23): This month’s crypto retreat may er OrBit Markets. Some fast-money traders
get worse if key charts for Ether, the sec- have made short-term bets on a moderate
Ether’s perilous
ond-largest token, prove prophetic. Ether retreat based on macro developments,
Both Ether and a gauge of the top 100 but others with a longer term perspective are
chart outlook
coins have shed about 12% so far in August, positioning for a lift from pending approv-
the most since November last year, as the als of the first US exchange-traded funds
adds to crypto
prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates investing in Ether futures, Mauron added.
hurts demand for speculative investments. A rough potential launch date for the first
gloom
Ether as a result has traced a head-and- of those ETFs is Oct 11 if the US Securities
shoulders price pattern, a technical study that & Exchange Commission allows the prod-
signals further declines and posits a potential ucts to go ahead, according to Bloomberg In-
downside price of US$1,100 (RM5,123). telligence ETF analysts James Seyffart and
The token edged up 1% to US$1,649 as of BY AKSHAY CHINCHALKAR & Eric Balchunas.
8:23am Wednesday (Aug 23) in London. SUVASHREE GHOSH At the same time, the kind of hype that
Meanwhile, Ether’s Bollinger bandwidth Bloomberg preceded the first bitcoin futures ETFs in
is close to the narrowest in data compiled the US back in 2021 is absent, stoking some
by Bloomberg going back to 2018.The band- breached the lower band, signaling a volatility doubts as to whether similar vehicles for
width is the gap between the upper and lower spike may lead to losses rather than gains. Ether will excite a durable rally in the token.
bands in a Bollinger study, a popular way of “The summer lull appears to be over and Bitcoin rose about 1% to US$26,112,
gauging volatility. the market is feeling a little nervous following while smaller cryptoassets such as BNB
Technical analysts often view a tight some very sharp moves last week amid low and Solana also posted gains. Bitcoin has
Bollinger bandwidth as a harbinger of in- liquidity,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder rebounded 58% year-to-date from last year’s
creased swings in an asset. Ether has also of digital-asset derivatives liquidity provid- crypto rout, while Ether is up 37%.
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
conviction behind price moves, the theory

goes, suggesting that when falling shares are
accompanied by increased trading volume, Bank of
further decline in share price is possible.
“Laszlo was always thoughtful, and I Singapore
would say at some times iconoclastic, be-
The Hungarian-born Laszlo Birinyi rose to
cause he didn’t necessarily go with con- appoints Jacky
ventional wisdom,” Mike Holland, chair-
prominence as a top market forecaster in the
1990s by using money flow analysis, which gauges man of Holland & Co, a New York-based Ang as global
investment management firm, said in a
whether a stock is likely to rise or fall based on
how many shares are traded at different prices. 2013 interview. “He went with where his COO
facts and methods take him. It was always
interesting to listen to him.”
Laszlo Birinyi, Birinyi advised selling internet shares Reuters
shortly before the dot-com era bubble burst
who pioneered in the early 2000s. He was among the first (Aug 23): Bank of Singapore, one of
to tell investors to start buying US equi- Asia’s largest private banks, said on
money flow ties when the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index Wednesday (Aug 23) former Credit
reached a 12-year low on March 9, 2009. He Suisse executive Jacky Ang was ap-
analysis, dies at 79 predicted in August 2015 that stocks would pointed as its global chief operating
“come out OK” as a six-day rout sent the officer.
S&P 500 into a correction. The index went Ang, who is succeeding Sonjoy
BY JOSEPH CIOLLI & MAX ABELSON on to rally 13% through Nov 3. Phukan, will take charge on Sept 13,
Bloomberg “My approach is to dissect the stock the lender said.
market,” Birinyi was quoted as saying in Ang, with an industry experience
(Aug 23): Laszlo Birinyi, the investment the The Heretics of Finance: Conversations of more than two decades, will sup-
adviser who created an analysis for us- with Leading Practitioners of Technical port chief executive officer Jason
ing money flows to determine likely stock Analysis (2009). “I ask, ‘What is going on Moo in the bank’s strategic steer-
moves, has died. He was 79. in the market? What are the trends and ing while overseeing the execution
He died on Aug 21 after struggling the dynamics?’ Then I let the market tell of its key initiatives.
with multiple health issues, said his wife, me the story.” The veteran banker will also
Jill Costelloe Birinyi. She called him “a He founded Birinyi Associates Inc in spearhead the lender’s transforma-
brilliant, quiet, private person who was a 1989 as a research and money manage- tion efforts and have oversight of the
true American immigrant story.” ment firm that analyses flows and histor- governance and operations, the com-
The Hungarian-born Birinyi rose to ic stock market data. The Westport, Con- pany added.
prominence as a top market forecaster in necticut-based firm serves institutional and Earlier this year, Bank of Sin-
the 1990s by using money flow analysis, high-net-worth individuals. gapore appointed Moo as its CEO
which gauges whether a stock is likely to amid growing competition in Asia’s
rise or fall based on how many shares are private banking industry.
traded at different prices.The data shows the Read the full story
OSLO (Aug 23): Meta Platforms is break- Meta breaks GDPR rules,” she told the court,
ing European data privacy rules in Norway, Facebook owner speaking on the last day of a two-day hearing.
the country’s data regulator told a court on Meta told the court on Tuesday it had
Wednesday (Aug 23), in a case that could Meta breaks privacy already committed to ask for consent from
have wider European implications.
Meta has been fined one million crowns rules, Norway users and that Datatilsynet used an “expe-
dited process” that was unnecessary and
(RM438,480) per day since Aug 14 for
breaching users’ privacy by harvesting user regulator tells court did not give the company enough time
to answer.
data and using it to target advertising at The regulator has said that it was un-
them. clear when, and how, Meta would seek con-
So-called behavioural advertising is a BY GWLADYS FOUCHE sent from users and that, in the meantime,
business model common to Big Tech. Reuters users’ rights were being violated.
The owner of Facebook and Instagram Datatilsynet could make the fine per-
is seeking a temporary injunction against BLOOMBERG manent by referring its decision to the Eu-
the order, which imposes a daily fine for ropean Data Protection Board, which has
the next three months. the power to do so, if it agrees with the
The fine is valid as Meta is not re- Norwegian regulator’s decision.
specting European General Data Pro- That could also widen the decision’s
tection Regulation (GDPR), said Hanne territorial scope to the rest of Europe. Da-
Inger Bjurstroem Jahren, a lawyer repre- tatilsynet had yet to take this step.
senting the regulator, Datatilsynet. Norway is not a member of the Euro-
“There is no discussion on whether the pean Union but is part of the European
company is in violation of these rules ...Today single market.
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 3,850.0020.00 OIL US$ 82.69-1.34 RM/USD 4.6592 RM/SGD 3.4317 RM/AUD 2.9921 RM/GBP 5.8901 RM/EUR 5.0359
Top 20 active stocks

NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
PERDANA PETROLEUM BHD 202.52 0.050 0.235 88.00 521.4
PARKSON HOLDINGS BHD 105.92 0.045 0.365 170.37 419.3
WIDAD GROUP BHD 72.30 0.000 0.440 2.33 1362.4
BAHVEST RESOURCES BHD 62.29 -0.050 0.315 3.28 390.5
MY EG SERVICES BHD 52.19 0.005 0.805 -6.58 5961.4
KNM GROUP BHD 48.26 -0.005 0.085 70.00 343.7
AWANBIRU TECHNOLOGY BHD 46.88 0.045 0.220 -41.33 173.4
TANCO HOLDINGS BHD 40.21 0.000 0.545 62.69 1066.8
RAMSSOL GROUP BHD 37.70 0.035 0.440 0.00 108.0
BUMI ARMADA BHD 37.10 0.005 0.510 6.25 3020.6 World equity indices
ICON OFFSHORE BHD 36.19 0.005 0.090 -5.26 243.6 CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
SARAWAK CONSOLIDATED 34.85 0.000 0.440 203.45 281.7 (%) (%)
BOUSTEAD PLANTATIONS BHD 34.46 0.090 1.370 112.40 3068.8 DJIA * 34,385.81 96.98 0.28 INDONESIA 6,921.41 4.96 0.07
M & A EQUITY HOLDINGS BHD 31.52 0.025 0.325 62.76 542.7 S&P 500 * 4,409.65 22.10 0.50 JAPAN 32,010.26 153.55 0.48
UEM SUNRISE BHD 31.21 0.005 0.635 149.02 3212.1 NASDAQ 100 * 15,065.66 156.70 1.05 KOREA 2,505.50 -10.24 -0.41
JAKS RESOURCES BHD 30.29 -0.005 0.205 -12.77 469.4 FTSE 100 * 7,270.76 39.19 0.54 PHILIPPINES 6,179.63 -32.76 -0.53
AIMFLEX BHD 28.63 0.000 0.215 43.33 315.8 AUSTRALIA 7,148.42 26.81 0.38 SINGAPORE 3,174.18 14.30 0.45
UCREST BHD 28.50 -0.010 0.195 56.00 144.7 CHINA 3,078.40 -41.93 -1.34 TAIWAN 16,576.90 139.29 0.85
VELESTO ENERGY BHD 25.63 0.000 0.235 56.67 1930.7 HONG KONG 17,845.92 54.91 0.31 THAILAND 1,549.01 3.41 0.22
CAPITAL A BHD 25.57 0.000 1.010 61.60 4252.4 INDIA 65,433.30 213.27 0.33 VIETNAM 1,172.56 -7.93 -0.67
Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 * Based on previous day’s closing 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)
FINTEC GLOBAL BHD 0.010 100.00 715.0 0.00 59.2 KEY ALLIANCE GROUP BHD 0.005 -50.00 82.3 0.00 18.4
JOE HOLDING BHD 0.015 50.00 1,990.4 -25.00 45.9 BCM ALLIANCE BHD 0.010 -33.33 245 -60.00 20.3
XOX BHD 0.020 33.33 3,207.6 33.33 101.0 MMAG HOLDINGS BHD 0.010 -33.33 1000.7 -60.00 24.2
SINARAN ADVANCE GROUP BHD 0.065 30.00 1,141.2 -13.33 59.5 TECHNA-X BHD 0.010 -33.33 507.4 -60.00 22.1
PERDANA PETROLEUM BHD 0.235 27.03 202,518.7 88.00 521.4 KOMARKCORP BHD 0.035 -22.22 997.9 -36.36 40.4
AWANBIRU TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.220 25.71 46,883.0 -41.33 173.4 IQZAN HOLDING BHD 0.025 -16.67 212.5 -28.57 5.5
XOX NETWORKS BHD 0.030 20.00 115.2 0.00 34.1 PUC BHD 0.030 -14.29 140.2 -14.29 54.6
NYLEX MALAYSIA BHD 0.285 18.75 24,884.8 -8.06 51.1 TWL HOLDINGS BHD 0.030 -14.29 2,747.9 -14.29 134.9
PDZ HOLDINGS BHD 0.035 16.67 372.2 -12.50 20.3 SAUDEE GROUP BHD 0.030 -14.29 10,171.1 -33.33 44.6
AMLEX HOLDINGS BHD 0.430 14.67 100.0 -6.52 115.3 BAHVEST RESOURCES BHD 0.315 -13.70 62,292.7 3.28 390.5
EDUSPEC HOLDINGS BHD 0.040 14.29 1,700.0 -60.00 42.6 TA WIN HOLDINGS BHD 0.035 -12.50 2,666.1 -36.36 120.2
PARKSON HOLDINGS BHD 0.365 14.06 105,927.4 170.37 419.3 MTOUCHE TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.040 -11.11 166.0 -20.00 37.1
HUBLINE BHD 0.045 12.50 759.8 12.50 193.0 INDUSTRONICS BHD 0.040 -11.11 80.5 -46.67 28.3
ASIA BRANDS BHD 0.560 12.00 5.1 1.82 130.3 CN ASIA CORP BHD 0.240 -11.11 21,916.5 -2.04 58.7
PRIVASIA TECHNOLOGY BHD 0.110 10.00 4,852.9 15.79 67.5 MGB BHD 0.700 -10.26 139.5 34.62 414.2
INNITY CORP BHD 0.385 10.00 0.1 -7.23 53.7 VIZIONE HOLDINGS BHD 0.045 -10.00 1,028.8 -18.18 92.1
LOTUS KFM BHD 0.290 9.43 7,820.8 100.00 295.5 GOLDEN LAND BHD 0.245 -9.26 50.0 -12.50 52.6
EFFICIENT E-SOLUTIONS BHD 0.180 9.09 10.0 -5.26 127.6 SALUTICA BHD 0.600 -9.09 8,551.2 126.42 254.1
RAMSSOL GROUP BHD 0.440 8.64 37,703.7 0.00 108.0 CITRA NUSA HOLDINGS BHD 0.050 -9.09 150.0 -23.08 36.0
LIEN HOE CORP BHD 0.320 8.47 153.1 -7.25 106.4 KAMDAR GROUP M BHD 0.160 -8.57 0.7 -3.03 31.7
Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM) Top losers (ranked by RM)

NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP (RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL) (%) (RM MIL)
PANASONIC MANUFACTURING 21.280 0.140 8.3 -7.07 1292.7 NESTLE MALAYSIA BHD 130.900 -0.600 51.6 -6.50 30,696.1
MALAYAN CEMENT BHD 3.980 0.140 1720.2 87.74 5214.6 HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP 18.360 -0.360 145.3 -1.29 21,026.7
AYER HOLDINGS BHD 7.000 0.100 2.5 6.06 524 KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD 22.500 -0.280 732.2 0.63 24,264.8
GLOBETRONICS TECHNOLOGY BHD 1.500 0.090 3667.6 30.49 1006.6 PETRONAS CHEMICALS GROUP 6.800 -0.210 6,113.9 -20.93 54,400.0
BOUSTEAD PLANTATIONS BHD 1.370 0.090 34,462.3 112.40 3,068.8 HEINEKEN MALAYSIA BHD 25.720 -0.180 150.6 2.06 7,770.0
UNITED U-LI CORP BHD 1.130 0.080 850.4 -5.83 246.1 KECK SENG MALAYSIA BHD 4.290 -0.160 78.5 19.83 1,541.4
RAPID SYNERGY BHD 23.380 0.080 71 46.49 2499.2 PETRONAS GAS BHD 17.140 -0.140 950.6 0.12 33,915.5
YINSON HOLDINGS BHD 2.600 0.070 2,411.4 7.00 7,557.4 PPB GROUP BHD 15.760 -0.140 437.8 -9.63 22,420.2
BINTULU PORT HOLDINGS BHD 5.150 0.070 176.6 7.29 2,369.0 KAWAN FOOD BHD 1.720 -0.130 1,175.7 -22.52 622.1
ORIENTAL FOOD INDUSTRIES 1.200 0.060 538.1 -10.45 288.0 FRASER & NEAVE HOLDINGS BHD 25.500 -0.100 48.4 18.16 9,352.9
EG INDUSTRIES BHD 1.530 0.060 1,524 183.33 688.8 VITROX CORP BHD 7.760 -0.100 215.8 1.44 7,335.7
CSC STEEL HOLDINGS BHD 1.240 0.060 579.6 5.98 457.9 SOUTHERN ACIDS MALAYSIA BHD 3.400 -0.090 2.0 -6.85 465.6
ASIA BRANDS BHD 0.560 0.060 5.1 1.82 130.3 IHH HEALTHCARE BHD 5.920 -0.080 3,985.2 -3.23 52,137.4
ANALABS RESOURCES BHD 1.500 0.060 3.3 8.70 163.4 KHIND HOLDINGS BHD 2.620 -0.080 2.1 -15.48 110.1
HEXTARTECHNOLOGIES SOLUTIONS 28.240 0.060 26.7 65.53 3633 MGB BHD 0.700 -0.080 139.5 34.62 414.2
AMLEX HOLDINGS BHD 0.430 0.055 100 -6.52 115.3 IOI CORP BHD 3.970 -0.080 6,994.5 -1.98 24,628.7
UMS-NEIKEN GROUP BHD 0.980 0.050 3.3 1.55 77.2 KLUANG RUBBER CO MALAYA BHD 3.700 -0.070 1.0 -6.57 230.0
PERDANA PETROLEUM BHD 0.235 0.050 202,518.7 88.00 521.4 TENAGA NASIONAL BHD 9.990 -0.070 3456.2 3.74 57815.4
MSM MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BHD 1.150 0.050 3926.8 35.29 808.4 SIME DARBY PLANTATION BHD 4.320 -0.070 1,729.1 -7.10 29,875.9
MANULIFE HOLDINGS BHD 1.920 0.050 102.2 -4.48 421.4 KLCCP STAPLED GROUP 6.800 -0.070 19.8 1.34 12,276.3
Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 Source: Bloomberg Data as compiled on Aug 23, 2023 Source: Bloomberg

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GLOBAL FUNDS ABANDON CHINA BLUE CHIPS

IN US$11 BIL SELLOFF p15

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Top 20 active stocks

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

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

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