Morning: Brief
Morning: Brief
Morning: Brief
H O M E
H O M E
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
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
BY HAFIZ YATIM
theedgemalaysia.com
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
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 8 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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
51.20
46.90
36.80
76.90
37.31
HONOURING MALAYSIA’S
BEST PERFORMING
MID-CAP COMPANIES
2023
TO BE REVEALED SOON
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 10 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
NEWS IN BRIEF
H O M E
Ex-1MDB CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy and former treasury secretary general Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah
H O M E
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,
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 13 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 14 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 15 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
Global funds
abandon China
blue chips in
US$11 bil selloff
Bloomberg
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
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 16 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 17 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
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
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
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
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 ag- ed 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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 20 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
W O R L D
Shell taps
Goldman Sachs to
explore Singapore
refinery sale
— sources
BY TRIXIE YAP, CHEN AIZHU & FLORENCE TAN
Reuters
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
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 26 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 27 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
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%.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 28 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
W O R L D
BLOOMBERG
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.
T H U R S D AY A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 3 29 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 3,850.0020.00 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