GOVT TO DECIDE ON 5G WHOLESALE MODEL BY JANUARY 2022,

SAYS ANNUAR p4
W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1 w w w. t h e e d g e m a r k e t s. c o m
ISSUE 294/2021

CEOMorningBrief
HOME: Travellers to Malaysia must now take PCR test 48 hours before boarding flights — Khairy p2
Sapura Energy slips to all-time low amid concerns of likely distressed asset sales p7
Ringgit seen appreciating to RM4.09 against US dollar on vaccine-driven economic recovery
— MIDF Research p16
WORLD: Indonesia issues new stock market rules aimed at luring tech listings p23
THE EDGE FILE PHOTO

Court to deliver
Najib’s appeal verdict
today; bid to adduce
new evidence rejected
Report on Page 3.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 2 TheEdge CEO morning brief

the edge ceo morning brief published by publisher + . Ho Kay Tat

ceo

Read from desktop or mobile device. editor - in - chief

You can print in A4 to read. Set print (266980-X)
mode to fit or shrink oversize page.
. 603-77218000
tel
Level 3, Menara KLK, 1 Jalan PJU 7/6,
to get on emailing list Mutiara Damansara, 47810, Petaling Jaya,
ceomorningbrief@bizedge.com Selangor, Malaysia
. Kathy Fong
chief commercial officer . Sharon Teh
chief operating officer . Lim Shiew Yuin
editors . Jenny Ng . Joyce Goh
Tan Choe Choe . Lam Jian Wyn
to contact editors : eeditor@bizedge.com
to advertise : advertising@bizedge.com

h o m e

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Further plication, Khairy said in a statement.

preemptive Covid-19 measures will be
implemented for travellers from abroad
starting Wednesday in light of the discov-
ery of the Omicron variant, said Health
Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said with 43 countries reporting cas-
es of the new variant as of Dec 6, a tempo-
rary travel restriction had been imposed on
eight countries, namely Botswana, Eswati-
ni, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namib-
ia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
All travellers entering Malaysia, mean-
while, will be required to take a pre-depar-
ture Covid-19 PCR test 48 hours before de-
parting, shortened from 72 hours currently.
Those travelling under the land and air
vaccinated travel lane (VTL), Langkawi
International Tourist Bubble (LITB) and
the One Stop Centre (OSC) for short-term
business travellers will be required to be fully
vaccinated and take the Covid-19 Antigen
Travellers to The Minister said Malaysians and
Malaysia must non-Malaysians travelling from countries
which have reported Omicron cases will be
now take PCR test required to wear a digital tracking device
throughout the quarantine period.
48 hours before For those travelling from countries with
temporary travel restrictions, a mandatory
boarding flights quarantine at the predetermined quarantine
station will be required regardless of vacci-
— Khairy nation status.
As for those travelling from countries
which had reported community trans-
by seah eu hen mission of the Omicron variant (Austral-
theedgemarkets.com ia, France, Norway, the UK and the US),
they will have to observe home quarantine
Rapid Testing (RTK-Ag) self-test on the depending on their vaccination status.
second, fourth and sixth day upon arrival
as well as taking a professionally adminis-
tered RTK-Ag test on the third and fifth day. Read also: Discussions on Malaysia-Thai-
All test results under this category must land VTL expected to progress during
be reported through the MySejahtera ap- PM’s visit Click here

SHAH ALAM (Dec 7): A total of 157,000
COVID-19 vaccine booster shots would be
given for free to Selangor residents begin-
ning Wednesday (Dec 8) under the SelVax
Booster Programme, said Menteri Besar
Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said residents aged 18 and above and
who had received two doses of vaccine could
get the booster jab via walk-in to the nearest
Selcare clinic.
“The list of the Selcare clinics involved in
the SelVax Booster Programme is available
on the website, https://selcareclinic.com/
our-clinic/ or via the SELangkah applica-
tion,” he said at a news conference, here, on
Tuesday (Dec 7).
The public is however, advised to reg-
ister first with the SELangkah application
for the booster dose to avoid congestion at
the clinics involved.
“The booster shot given is that of the
Sinovac vaccine which is suitable for recip-
ients of the two earlier doses of any vaccine
received.
“This dose is for better immunisation for
the public against the viral disease and like
Covid-19: Selangor
to give 157,000
vaccine booster
shots for free
from Dec 8
Bernama
the other vaccines, Sinovac has also been
proven to reduce the health risk of the viral
infection.
“All information on receiving the boost-
er dose through the SelVax Booster Pro-
gramme will be conveyed by the clinics
involved through the MySejahtera appli-
cation,” said Aminudin,
He added that the programme would also
be implemented in certain localities based
on requests made by the state assemblymen.
“Besides that, the state government will
be extending the COVID-19 Assessment
Centre’s Management Progamme and mon-
itoring of self-quarantined patients through
the SELangkah application to boost re-
sponse to this pandemic
“Through this system, patients can be
evaluated fast and referred for further treat-
ment through the telehealth system or ad-
mitted to the quarantine centres and hospi-
tals to avoid having brought-in-dead cases
during the quarantine period,” he said.
Up to Nov 26, there were 616,980 cases
monitored through the SELangkah system
which managed to identify 38,809 cases of
deteriorating health conditions while iso-
lating themselves at home.
Read also:
Covid-19: 4,965 new cases on Dec 7,
says Health DG Click here
Covid-19: 86.6% of adolescents in
Malaysia vaccinated as of Dec 6
Click here
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 3 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

Court to deliver Najib’s appeal verdict today;

bid to adduce new evidence rejected
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 7): The Court of Ap-
peal will deliver its verdict on Datuk Seri
Najib Razak’s appeal to set aside his con-
viction and sentence in the SRC Interna-
tional Sdn Bhd trial on Wednesday (Dec
8) as originally scheduled.
This follows the appeals court’s de-
cision on Tuesday to dismiss the former
premier’s application to adduce fresh oral
evidence.
The three-member bench compris-
ing Justices Datuk Abdul Karim Ab-
dul Jalil, Datuk Has Zanah Mehat and
Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera ruled
that there “were no exceptional circum-
stances” which merited adducing the new
evidence.
In a unanimous decision, the bench
surmised that Najib’s bid to adduce the
evidence by calling Malaysian Anti-Cor-
ruption Commission (MACC) chief
commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki and
former SRC investigating officer Rosli
Hussein to be examined was not nec-
essary as it did not fulfil the criteria as
stated in Section 61 of the Courts of
Judicature Act (1964).
Citing two cases, namely R v Parks and
Murugayah v PP, Justice Abdul Karim said
Najib had failed to “cumulatively satisfy”
the requirements of the law.
He said the elements required for new
evidence to be allowed — credibility, rel-
evance and evidence — were not available
in this case.
“The additional evidence is not neces-
sary to the substantive appeals and no ex-
ceptional circumstances have been shown.
Hence the application is hereby dismissed,”
the judge said.
He then said the decision on wheth-
er or not to set aside Najib’s conviction
and 12-year jail term and RM210 million
fine would go on as planned on Wednes-
day morning.
‘We will proceed at 9am’
The judge advised Najib and his team
of lawyers, who were all under isolation
and attended Tuesday’s proceedings via
Zoom, to do the same on Wednesday and
attend the decision virtually if they could
not make it to court.
“Whatever will be, we will proceed at
9am tomorrow,” Abdul Karim said.
They had been asked by the court
to attend the submissions despite their
claim that they were on home isolation
after coming in close contact with a Cov-
by Timothy Achariam
theedgemarkets.com
Photos by Malaysian Judiciary
Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil
Datuk Has Zanah Mehat
Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera
id-19-positive patient, who is the mother
of one of Shafee’s legal team members.
Najib was threatened with arrest by Ab-
dul Karim earlier on Tuesday because of
his no-show in court in the morning.
Claiming that Najib’s and his MySe-
jahtera status showed that they were in
close contact with a Covid-19-positive
patient, Shafee said they would not be
allowed to attend court in person. He also
said that they were waiting to conduct
PCR tests to see if they were infected.
Although Shafee tried very hard to get
the submissions postponed, the judge
insisted they be made on Tuesday as
scheduled.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk V
Sithambaram said the application by Na-
jib and Shafee was done in bad faith with
the sole purpose of delaying the appeal
decision.
“I submit they (Najib and his lawyers)
kept it (the application) up their sleeves un-
til after the appeal hearing and just before
the decision date. The fact they intended
to file [it now] shows that it is mala fide
and its purpose is to scuttle or delay to-
morrow’s decision,” he said.
‘Not fresh evidence’
Sithambaram also asserted that the evi-
dence Shafee tried to adduce on behalf
of his client was not fresh evidence but
an “ingenious” way to have a retrial even
though the Court of Appeal had not made
a decision yet.
He said the new evidence bid was a
“fishing expedition” by Shafee, stressing
that it had nothing to do with the case.
In his supporting affidavit, Najib said
the evidence that he was seeking to ad-
duce in the application was a cumula-
tion of matters from several events, state-
ments and public announcements that
happened recently.
Najib said he made the application fol-
lowing the MACC statement on Nov 19
regarding funds forfeited from former Bank
Negara Malaysia governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti
Akhtar Aziz’s husband Datuk Tawfik Ay-
man’s company in Singapore. The funds
were allegedly from fugitive businessman
Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low.
The funds totalling US$15.4 million
recovered from Cutting Edge Industries
Ltd (CEIL) owned by Tawfik and anoth-
er person were recently returned to the
MACC from the island republic.
co nti nues o n Pag e 4
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): The Cabinet
will make the final decision on the single
wholesale model for the roll-out of the 5G
network by January 2022 after receiving
feedback from telecommunications com-
panies and industry players.
Communications and Multimedia Min-
ister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the Cabi-
net is still discussing on whether to deploy
5G via a single wholesale network (SWN)
system or have multiple systems to allow
some competition.
However, he said that for now, Dig-
ital Nasional Bhd (DNB) will continue
with its plan of delivering 5G services
via the SWN.
“The Cabinet is seeking a second opin-
ion or views from industry players on the
matter.
“We will look at the advantages and
disadvantages of both models,” he told
reporters after witnessing the signing of
a joint venture (JV) between CS Cloud
Sdn Bhd and Cloocus Co Ltd here on
Tuesday (Dec 7).
DNB was established by the govern-
ment in February to build and manage
the 5G network.
Annuar also noted that DNB is offering
wholesale 5G services to all mobile net-
work operators in the country from this
month at no cost.
He said the first phase of the offer
is applicable to all 5G live sites that
would be ready throughout Putrajaya,
FROM PAGE 3
Najib said the evidence was not availa-
ble during his SRC trial, where in his de-
fence a total of 18 other witnesses testified
besides himself.
“Tawfik and his two sons signed a stat-
utory declaration to state that they were
the beneficial owners of CEIL’s account
where the US$15.4 million was repat-
riated and consented to the Singapore
Commercial Affairs Department making
an application for it to be transferred to
1Malaysia Development Bhd’s (1MDB)
account.”
The funds were said to be from Iron
Rhapsody Ltd, a company based in the
British Virgin Islands that was operated
by Tawfik and one of his sons.
Najib’s affidavit stated that between
2008 and 2009, Iron Rhapsody received
US$16.219 million from companies owned
by Jho Low as a result of 1MDB’s Islamic
Medium Term Notes of RM5 billion that
were flipped in 2009.
Further, Najib said former attorney
general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas in an
interview recently admitted that he had
known about Tawfik’s alleged involve-
4 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
Govt to decide
on 5G wholesale
model by January
2022, says Annuar
Bernama
ment since 2019. Tommy stated that the
matter was still under investigation at
that time.
The former premier said the opening
of his accounts in AmBank and the re-
ceiving of monies into the accounts were
manipulated by Jho Low and his cohorts.
‘Evidence reveals Zeti’s complicity’
“I verily believe that the evidence that has
been credibly discovered and verified re-
veals the complicity of Zeti of Jho Low’s
schemes.
“I believe that Zeti’s role in facilitating
Jho Low resulted in no red flags or irreg-
ularities being raised on matters regarding
the transactions in my accounts between
2011 and 2015 and further provided the
means for Jho Low to carry out his ma-
nipulation,” Najib added.
He further claimed that information re-
garding Zeti and her family was purposely
not disclosed to him and the public at large
by the prosecution.
This followed Zeti’s appointment by
former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Moham-
ad to be part of the Council of Eminent
Persons.
Cyberjaya and certain parts of Kuala
Lumpur.
By next year, the roll-out will focus on
other populated areas, including in Penang,
Johor Baru, Sabah and Sarawak, as the
second phase, he added.
Annuar said the government aims to
reach 80% of the populated areas of the
country in three years.
On the JV between CS Cloud and Cloo-
cus, Annuar said it would boost cooper-
ation and business opportunities in the
digital economy.
“I hope this partnership can set an ex-
ample for other companies and will be ex-
panded to include other sectors that will
benefit local businesses,” he said.
Shafee argued on Tuesday that Zeti
and her family had known Jho Low since
2008 and were bribed by him. This was
why she did not raise matters regarding
Najib’s accounts to him during that time,
the lawyer claimed.
He also claimed that Zeti had sup-
pressed evidence of 1MDB and Jho Low’s
involvement in the matter.
On July 28 last year, High Court judge
Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali found Najib
guilty on all seven charges in the SRC case.
He was found to have abused his power
by using his positions, as prime minister
and finance minister, to approve two loans
of RM2 billion each by Retirement Fund
Inc (KWAP) in 2011 and 2012.
He was also convicted of three counts
each of criminal breach of trust and mon-
ey laundering of RM42 million of SRC
funds, which ended up in his person-
al accounts between Dec 26, 2014, and
Feb 10, 2015.
Read also: Hearing of Najib’s stay bid in
civil suit by SRC rescheduled to Jan 25
Click here
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1 5 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

E-boutique: bellross.com
Malaysia Boutiques +603-9212 4456
100m water-resistant
41mm
Automatic
New BR 05 GMT

TIME INSTRUMENTS
FOR URBAN EXPLORERS
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): ATA IMS
Bhd said nearly 300 of its workers resigned
in the first week of December after the
company implemented a “zero overtime
on Sunday” policy.
The policy was implemented because
some of its managers had allowed their
workers to work beyond the number of
hours permitted, said the electronics man-
ufacturing services provider which recently
lost its major customer Dyson amid alle-
gations of forced labour.
Clarifying a report by Reuters on Sunday
(Dec 5) titled “Dyson splits with Malay-
sia supplier, stoking concern over migrant
worker treatment”, ATA IMS said its com-
pany policy strictly adheres to Malaysian
labour law, which permits up to 104 hours
on normal working days in a month.
“If workers perform overtime, it is sole-
ly on a voluntary basis. The company pays
workers double pay for working on Sundays
and triple pay for working on public holidays.
“In certain months, which have four
Sundays and public holidays, a few man-
agers had allowed their workers to work
beyond the number of hours allowed.
“ATA IMS views this seriously and has
taken remedial measures effective immedi-
ately to ensure that this does not reoccur.
“The company has started implement-
ing a ‘zero overtime on Sunday’ policy; that
unfortunately resulted in the resignations
of close to 300 local and foreign workers
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Malaysia is now
awaiting consideration from source countries,
namely Indonesia, in relation to the mechanism
to bring in foreign workers for the oil palm plan-
tation sector, said the Ministry of Plantation
Industries and Commodities (MPIC).
Deputy Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Wee
Jeck Seng said, based on discussions with the
Indonesian government recently, the ministry
found that the republic is still considering to
send its workers to Malaysia even though it
had previously agreed to do so.
“Indonesia’s priority is to finalise the
memorandum of understanding on the re-
cruitment and protection of Indonesian
domestic workers in Malaysia.
“That’s what I said, that we depend on
foreign workers but also depend on source
countries which have agreements to send
their workers to our country,” he told the
Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Dec 7).
Wee was replying to a supplementary
question from Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk
Intan) on the shortage of foreign workers
who were brought in for the palm plan-
tation sector.
Wee added that this obstacle was not
only a loss to the palm industry but also
to government revenue.
6 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
H O M E
ATA IMS
says workers
resigned after
it implemented
‘zero overtime on
Sunday’ policy
BY SEAH EU HEN
theedgemarkets.com
in the first week of December 2021,” the
company added in a statement.
ATA IMS said all of its workers on its
premises have valid work permits, adding
however that it faced challenges with re-
gard to work permits during the Movement
Control Order due to limited operating
capacity in government offices.
It also said it employs 222 supervisors
within the entire business unit, who diligently
perform their duties to ensure the smooth
running of their divisions and the well-being
of the employees under their supervision.
“In reference to Reuters’ reporting, only
one supervisor was engaged in a highly un-
common incident of coaching employees
on what to say to auditors,” it said, stressing
Oil palm
plantations:
Malaysia awaits
consideration
from source
countries for
foreign workers
Bernama
He hoped the process of foreign work-
ers’ entry into palm plantation could be
expedited to address this loss faced by the
sector.
Answering a question from Nga on the
estimated loss due to the shortage of work-
ers in harvesting and collection of fresh
fruit bunches (FFB),Wee said the shortage
of workers in these activities amounted to
25,471 as of August 2021.
“With the average productivity for har-
that this is not a company policy and that
action has been taken against the person.
ATA IMS also noted that there are ex-
ternal whistle-blowing channels available
in multiple languages operated by inde-
pendent third parties and supported by the
Malaysian government and the company’s
human resources department.
The company explained that any report
through these channels goes directly to its
customers’ legal teams and the Malaysian au-
thorities, but “these complaints were not pre-
viously raised through any of these channels”.
Referring to another Reuters report on
Nov 25, ATA IMS said Johor police issued
a statement on Nov 27 stating that they had
not received any report regarding the alleged
physical abuse by the police of its former
worker named Dhan Kumar Limbu.
“The company had also engaged a
prominent law firm, which conducted an
independent audit. Based on its findings,
the law firm concluded that the allegation
made by the aforesaid worker was unjus-
tified and unsubstantiated, and unlikely
to have taken place,” the company said.
Shares of ATA IMS closed 1.5 sen or
3.53% higher at 44 sen, giving the company
a market capitalisation of RM524.04 million.
Read also: SKP Resources steps up ef-
forts to improve migrant workers’ welfare
Click here
vester and collector of two tonnes of FFB
per day per worker, the total FFB that
cannot be harvested amounted to 50,942
(tonnes) per day.
“Taking into account working days of
26 days a month, the estimated FFB that
cannot be harvested totalled 1.3 million
tonnes per month, equivalent to 15.9 mil-
lion tonnes per year,” he said.
He said at the average price of crude
palm oil of RM4,555 per tonne, the loss
due to the shortage of employment in Au-
gust 2021 would amount to RM14 billion
per year.
The estimated loss increased 56% and
more than 100% compared with 2020 and
2019, whereby loss from the shortage of
employment for these years were estimated
at RM9 billion and RM6 billion respec-
tively.
Previously, MPIC Minister Datuk Zu-
raida Kamaruddin said Malaysia would re-
ceive 32,000 foreign workers in the palm
plantation sector in October this year.
Read also: Malaysian palm oil sustainably
produced, does not involve permanent for-
est reserves — ministry Click here
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1 7 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

H O M E

Sapura Energy
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Sapura Ener- Sapura Energy Bhd
gy Bhd emerged as the top actively traded RM

slips to all-
counter on the local bourse on Tuesday 0.18
(Dec 7) as its shares hit an all-time low

time low amid

of 4.5 sen.
At the opening bell, the stock opened
0.12

concerns of likely
one sen or 12.5% lower at seven sen be-
RM0.13
fore falling to an intraday low of 4.5 sen.

The stock then tumbled three sen or
37.5% to close at five sen. It was the most
actively traded stock on the local bourse
with 400.38 million shares changing hands,
almost 10 times its 200-day trading aver-
age of 47.86 million shares.
At five sen, the oil and gas (O&G) ser-
vice provider is valued at RM798.95 million.
On Monday (Dec 6), UOB KayHian
downgraded its call on Sapura Energy to
“sell” and cut its target price to three sen
(from 10 sen).
“We foresee further selling pressure [on
Sapura Energy] given rumours of its dis-
tress and urgency to sell assets have reached
main oil and gas newspapers, the timeline
to review covenant waivers is nearing, a low
likelihood of selling assets at a decent price,
continued losses, and potentially lower lev-
erage to renegotiate covenants after changes
in key personnel.
“While developments may be choppy,
we assume a worst-case bankruptcy sce-
distressed
asset sales
BY SULHI KHALID
theedgemarkets.com
nario,” the research house said.
UOB KayHian added that depending on
developments, there is a chance that selling
pressure may persist when markets start to
price Sapura Energy similar to other PN17
O&G stocks (which also faced covenant
breaches, liquidity issues or loan defaults).
On Dec 2, global energy news portal Up-
streamonline reported that cash-strapped
Sapura Energy failed to qualify for Petroliam
Nasional Bhd’s prized Kasawari phase two
front-end engineering and design contract,
with the contractor’s financial woes said to
be a determining factor.
0.06
RM0.05
0.00
Dec 7, 2020 Dec 7, 2021
Source: Bloomberg
Sapura Energy accumulated losses of
RM6.24 billion at end-July after the lat-
est kitchen-sinking exercise in the second
quarter ended July 31, 2021 (2QFY22), on
top of the record quarterly loss of RM4.23
billion in 4QFY20 — largely due to asset
and goodwill impairment then.
Its total borrowings grew to RM10.88
billion, with its net gearing hitting 1.33
times. Meanwhile, net assets per share
shrank to 48 sen.
Click here to read the full story

Westports
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Westports dex and will no longer be a deletion from
Holdings Bhd rebounded on Tuesday (Dec the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 Index.

Holdings shares
7) on bargain-hunting following sell-off Westports will be an addition to FTSE
on Monday (Dec 6) in the aftermath of Bursa Malaysia KLCI Reserve List,” said

rebound on being
its missing out being on the benchmark FTSE Russell and Bursa Malaysia.
FBM KLCI constituents list. For Inari Amertron, FTSE Russell and

added to FTSE
The port operator’s shares rose as Bursa Malaysia said the outsourced semi-
much as seven sen or 1.72% to RM4.14 conductor assembly and test firm will be an

Bursa Malaysia
at mid-morning trade on Tuesday. addition to FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI
At Tuesday’s noon break, Westports Index and will be a deletion from FTSE

KLCI Reserve List

Holdings pared gains at RM4.10, still up
three sen or 0.74%.
The counter closed at RM4.08, still up
by one sen or 0.25%, valuing the group at
RM13.91 billion.
On Monday, the stock closed down
eight sen or 1.97% to RM4.07 as investors
weighed on its exclusion from the KLCI
30 constituents list.
Prior to this, Westports Holdings was
set to be included as one of the 30 constit-
uents of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI,
replacing Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd fol-
lowing the latest semi-annual review of
the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index Series
released last Thursday (Dec 2).
However, in a joint statement on
Monday (Dec 6), FTSE Russell and
Bursa Malaysia said Westports Holdings
was edged out from the FBM KLCI con-
stituents list, while Inari Amertron Bhd
will be included in the latest semi-annual
BY JUSTIN LIM
theedgemarkets.com
review of the index constituents.
The changes will be effective on Dec
20, 2021 (Monday).
“Westports will no longer be an addi-
tion to FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI In-
Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 Index.
As a result, Inari Amertron will no
longer be an addition to FTSE Bursa Ma-
laysia KLCI Reserve List.
Inari Amertron shares rose as much as
15 sen or 3.89% to RM4 on morning trade
before it pared some gains at RM3.90 at
noon break on Tuesday. At RM3.90, the
group is valued at RM14.42 billion. The
stock saw 23.04 million shares exchanging
hands, making it among the top 20 most
actively traded stocks on Bursa Malay-
sia so far.
The counter closed at RM3.91, up six
sen or 1.56%, giving it a market capitali-
sation of RM14.5 billion.
Meanwhile, FTSE Russell and Bursa
Malaysia said other details announced ear-
lier remained unchanged.
Click here to read the full story
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 8 TheEdge CEO morning brief

Sime Darby Property Determined

to be a Force for Good
The leading property developer in Malaysia aims to develop a more sustainable tomorrow
by upholding its commitment to the environmental, social and governance principles.

T
he latest buzzword in the corporate world is an
acronym – ESG. Although short in stature, the
three letters that stand for Environmental, So-
cial and Governance have a long-term effect
on businesses, collectively forming a group of
factors that has now become an important
element in determining the value of an organisation.
According to the PwC 2021 Global Investor ESG Sur-
vey, companies that fail to act on ESG issues risk losing
investors, and the research concludes that the guiding
principles are now possibly regarded as crucial determi-
nants for leading investors around the world.
Almost 49 percent of the respondents showed read-
iness to divest from companies that don’t take adequate
actions on ESG issues. A majority of them also shared that
how a company manages its ESG risks and opportunities
would also influence their business decision-making process.
That sentiment is reciprocated in a recent Reuters
article titled “ESG Trends: Improving and Standardising
Disclosure”, which also states that poor environmental
performance and undesirable corporate impacts may re-
sult in operational disruptions as well as cause negative
reputational effects.
The article elaborates that business leaders, some
of whom may be driven by personal goals, are paying
close attention to the trend, demanding to see that “their
companies are effectively grappling with the realities of
social change, the challenges of operations environmental
impacts, and opportunities to engage with community
stakeholders.”
Understanding the importance of well-designed and
carefully implemented ESG practices, Sime Darby Proper-
ty is determined to deliver on these commitments via its
company-specific 2030 Sustainability Goals (“2030 SGs”)
which are aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goals.
Consisting of 18 Goals, the 2030 SGs focus on the
company’s efforts towards creating positive impact across
four sustainability-strategic spheres, namely “Decarbonise
Our Operations & Products”, “Good Biodiversity Practices”,
“Shape Inclusive Resilient Communities” and “Socially
Responsible Organisation”.
The Goals allow the company to contribute towards
the betterment of society, play an active role in reducing
carbon footprint, and create long-term economic value
responsibly. The company also measures its performance
through its Sustainability Strategy Framework, and inclu-
sion in global sustainability indices such as MSCI ACWI
Small Cap Index, FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia, Emerging
and ASEAN 5 Index series and Carbon Disclosure Project.
Sime Darby Property Group Managing Director, Dato’
Azmir Merican believes that as the nation’s pioneer prop-
erty developer, the company has a great responsibility in
maintaining a scorecard on how the company manages
ESG for its business and stakeholders.
“Firstly, it is heartening to see sustainability finally
receiving the attention and importance that it deserves.
This concept may still be new to some organisations but
Sime Darby Property has actively trailblazed on this journey
since 2007, and we are proud to continue our mission in
generating positive impacts in the three pillars of People,
Planet and Prosperity,” he said.
Adding that sustainability is now a hallmark of Sime
Darby Property’s business and a signature element in all
that the company stands for and achieves, Dato’ Azmir
said: “We have already set the wheels in motion towards
achieving net zero carbon, on top of being an industry
leader in sustainability as well as health and safety.
“We will continue our engagements with stakehold-
ers for crucial feedback to help us identify and minimise
risks, as well as optimise the opportunities to embed sus-
tainability in our operations. We are a Force for Good and
our 2030 Sustainability Goals will guide us in the right
direction,” he said.
co n ti n ues o n Pag e 9

Sime Darby Property is focused on implementing sustainable elements in its townships and products, as seen in its flagship township of the City of Elmina
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 9 TheEdge CEO morning brief

major uplift to be future-ready. The Competition is not

just about designing a house with a green façade but is
also a platform to push participating architects to disrupt
the way we design and build people-centric homes,”
he elaborated.
We are a Force for The ongoing Competition is just the first step in cre-
Good and our 2030 ating a fully sustainable development, an idea that is
Sustainability Goals will currently being perfected via Sime Darby Property’s Pro-
ject Arc at Taman Subang Ria in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
guide us in the right Touted as the backbone for sustainable development,
direction. the project will be designed as a new era of community
placemaking to bring to life the pulse of the township.
“We look at this as an opportunity to showcase what
can transpire when great minds come together, and
ideas are brought to life. Project Arc will be a testbed
for our technology and where the community can come
and experience the township of the future.
“There are so many ideas that we can incorporate in
our developments to suit people’s evolving lifestyles. We
are very keen on experimenting with battery-powered
homes, and can you imagine the monumental impact it
would have on the industry in Malaysia when Sime Darby
Property successfully makes it a reality? I am just excited
thinking about the possibilities,” Dato’ Azmir enthused.

Making conscious environmental impacts

If you want to make a joke about a property developer
that tries to conserve the environment – don’t worry,
Sime Darby Property gets the irony and in fact would
be the first to point out the paradox.
“Climate change is one of the biggest global chal-
lenges that humanity faces and as a responsible property
Dato’ Azmir Merican, Sime Darby Property’s Group Managing Director developer, Sime Darby Property is taking the necessary
actions to change the way we do things to minimise
from Pag e 8 Sustainability is surely at the forefront with Sime our operations’ impact on nature,” said Dato’ Azmir.
The 2030 SGs cover key components of sustaina- Darby Property. The company, in collaboration with the He added: “It is that realisation that pushes us to
ble communities ranging from supporting the economy Malaysian Institute of Architects, organised the Concept introduce sustainable features in our homes that are
to developing affordable homes and tackling climate Home 2030 Competition in August 2021 to redesign the designed to offset the impact on the environment and
change. Despite the debilitating pandemic beginning quintessential Malaysian terrace homes to fit the wants rejuvenate our townships. Our future aspirations will be
last year, the company had exceeded its initial targets of today, while anticipating the needs of tomorrow. The in support of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit
set for the year 2020, in which 15 out of the 18 Goals Competition winners will be announced in January 2022. global warming and achieve a climate-neutral world
were achieved within the first 12 months of implement- “Let’s be frank, our terrace homes have had the by mid-century.”
ing the 2030 SGs. same look and feel for decades and are in need of a co n ti n u es o n Pag e 10
Sime Darby Property proves to be on the right track
in maintaining good ESG practices as evinced in the
World Economic Forum’s “Davos Manifesto 2020: The
Universal Purpose of a Company in the Fourth Industrial
Revolution”, which emphasises that in addition to share-
holders, businesses should also serve customers, employ-
ees, suppliers, and communities. The study showed that PEOPLE PLANET PROSPERITY
businesses are finding a balance between purpose and
Human Resources Climate Change Financial Performance
profit, with respondents stating that a company’s efforts
to increase their positive impact on society was among Customer Satisfaction Carbon Reduction Economic Growth
their top five expectations for Industry 4.0. Safety & Health Healthy Green Spaces Job Creation
Human Rights Living Water Bodies Operational Excellence
Designing for the future Urban Farming Waste & Water Management Quality Products
As an innovative property developer, Sime Darby Prop-
erty is well ahead in understanding how its decisions
Economic Development Flood Management Renewable Energy
today can impact the social and environmental factors Security Green Products Affordable Housing
of the future. Biodiversity
It has built over 24 townships and developments in
Malaysia within almost 50 years, with a distinguished
presence in the United Kingdom as part of the Malaysian United Nations Sime Darby Property
consortium to rejuvenate the iconic Battersea Power Sustainable Development Goals 2030 2030 Sustainability Goals
Station in Central London.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 10
Carbon Disclosure Project (“CDP”)
Sime Darby Property is the only Malaysian property developer to be rated by
the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for carbon management (C-Rated) and
Supplier Engagement rating (-B-Rated).
CDP is, a not-for-profit global organisation that runs a global disclosure
system, for corporations to measure and manage risks and opportunities on
A symbolic handover of 6,000 boxes of essential food packs to Selangor Menteri Besar, YAB Dato’ Seri
Amirudin bin Shari by Dato’ Azmir Merican (right) for the Bakul Makanan Selangor Programme
TheEdge CEO morning brief
climate change, water security and deforestation. For Sime Darby Property,
these ratings provide the foundation to achieve its company specific 2030
Sustainable Goals.
Beyond CDP, Sime Darby Property is also a constituent of various local
and global sustainability indices, including MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index, FTS-
E4Good Bursa Malaysia, Emerging and ASEAN 5 Index series.
f ro m Pag e 9
Sime Darby Property continues to exercise its
Operational Eco-efficiency Programme which covers the
management of the company’s carbon, water, and waste
footprints. Since 2011, Sime Darby Property has planted
over 100,000 trees within its townships to help mitigate
the effects of climate change and last year, more than
21,000 endangered trees red-listed by the International
Union for Conservation Nature (“IUCN”) were planted,
bringing it closer to meeting its goal of planting 50,000
IUCN trees by 2030.
“The Elmina Central Park in the flagship township of
the City of Elmina epitomises our efforts in supporting
‘Good Biodiversity Practices’ as it allows the company to
study and preserve biodiversity and tackle climate crisis,”
said Dato’ Azmir.
Shaped like a basin, the Central Park transforms into a
natural floodplain in the unlikely occurrence of a ‘once in a
thousand years’ flood (engineered to Q1000), providing
insights on how to design wetlands and forest areas into
parklands to complement as flood mitigation infrastructure.
Sime Darby Property has joined forces with the Tropi-
cal Rainforest Conservation & Research Centre to develop
its Elmina Rainforest Knowledge Centre and the Elmina
Living Collection Nursery, to collect Endangered, Rare &
Threatened tree species’ seeds from the adjacent 2,700-
acre rainforest reserve and plant them within its townships.
co n ti n u es o n Pag e 11
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 11 TheEdge CEO morning brief

from Pag e 10
The eco-efficiency programme also aims to reduce
water intensity by 30 percent and achieve zero waste by
2030 through recycling, reducing, reusing, and repurpos-
ing materials in the company’s operations and construction
activities. The company actively conducts recycling efforts
with residents in three of its townships, namely Bandar
Bukit Raja, Bukit Jelutong and Saujana Impian in Selangor,
to reduce waste and adopt the circular economy principle.
Sime Darby Property is also focused on the ongoing
implementation of sustainable elements in its townships
and products, designed to include a variety of sustainable
and eco-positive features.
The company conscientiously introduces energy-effi-
cient and renewable energy elements in its products, as
evidenced by its collaboration with TNBX, a subsidiary
of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, to install Solar Photovoltaic
panels, smart meters and home energy management
systems at all 513 units of Ilham Residence in the City
of Elmina. This first of its kind partnership in Malaysia is
in line with the Company’s strategic sphere to “Lead in
Sustainable Technology Solutions”.
Upholding its social responsibility
In support of the “Shape Inclusive & Resilient Communi-
ties” principle, Sime Darby Property has launched develop-
ments via the ‘Inspirasiku’ effort, under the people-centric
Rumah Selangorku solution by the Lembaga Perumahan
dan Hartanah Selangor, to provide communities with qual-
ity accommodations at affordable prices starting from
RM200,000. Sime Darby Property aims to build 15,000
affordable homes that are below RM600,000 by 2030.
In May, the company successfully completed its inaugural
Economic Empowerment Programme aimed to empow-
er the B40 communities living within its Ara Damansara,
Bandar Bukit Raja, Bukit Subang and Putra Heights town-
ships in Selangor. The participants were equipped with
social media marketing knowledge and the opportunity
to enhance their e-commerce business skills, with close to
80 percent of the 49 participants successfully increasing
their monthly income during the 6-month programme.
“We know we can make an impact and are keen to
extend this programme at our other townships. The success
stories show how the programme makes a resonating dif-
Sime Darby Property partnered with MERCY Malaysia to distribute daily meal packs
to frontliners at the Titiwangsa Stadium COVID-19 Assessment Centre
A participant of the Economic Empowerment
Programme who managed to increase her
monthly income
ference in our participants’ livelihoods,” said Dato’ Azmir.
Sime Darby Property also works via its philanthropic arm
Yayasan Sime Darby (“YSD”) to uplift the community and
had doubled its efforts during the pandemic, to assist with
COVID-19 relief efforts at all levels.
In support of the Government’s Tabung Cerdik and
Program Bakul Prihatin Negara initiatives, the company
through YSD contributed RM4.0 million and RM1.0 mil-
lion respectively towards the funds to benefit more than
1,800 students and 20,000 families.
“In Selangor, we contributed 6,000 essential food
packs to the Bakul Makanan Selangor programme for
distribution across the state to B40 communities affected
by the pandemic. We also partnered with the Malaysian
Medical Relief Society to provide a month’s worth of packed
meals for those on duty at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre
at Titiwangsa Stadium in Kuala Lumpur,” said Dato’ Azmir.
While in Negeri Sembilan, transportation and logistics
support were provided to the COVID-19 Low-Risk Quaran-
tine and Treatment Centre at Nilai Indoor Stadium dur-
ing the peak period of the COVID-19 spread in July 2021.
“Internally, we reintroduced the COVID-19 CSR Relief
fund to respond immediately to requests for assistance
whether in-kind or for financial assistance. We have also
been assisting welfare homes within and around our town-
ships to ensure that their essential needs are met during
these trying times,” added Dato’ Azmir.
The significance and importance of Environmental,
Social and Governance factors have increased in recent
years, playing a more vital role in the economic and wid-
er societal debates. These ESG principles also carry more
weight now than they did pre-pandemic, illustrating how
these factors have become far more central to an organi-
sation’s business approach.
“As the leading property developer in Malaysia, we are
pushing the boundaries on ESG and sustainability today,
allowing us to reimagine how sustainable townships of
tomorrow can be designed and built,” said Dato’ Azmir.

Sime Darby Property’s Sustainability Report 2020

The Sime Darby Property Sustainability Report 2020 encapsulates the company’s journey
of reporting its progress and challenges in Global Reporting Initiative-aligned sustainable
material issues.
The report reflects the company’s close to 50 years of experience in building sustainable
townships and communities across Malaysia, and communicates the company’s approach
in embracing and embedding sustainability in its business policies, management, and daily
operations.
It also highlights Sime Darby Property’s achievements in meeting the global standards
of ESG policies, as well as providing a glimpse on how the company overcomes challenges
in creating positive impacts that will benefit the communities of today without sacrificing
the generations of tomorrow.
To read more about Sime Darby Property’s sustainability journey and reports, visit
www.simedarbyproperty.com/sustainability.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
PETALING JAYA (Dec 7): Phase 2 of
IOI City Mall by IOI Properties Group
Bhd will be fully tenanted and operation-
al for business in the second quarter of
2022 (2Q22).
According to a statement on Dec 6, IOI
Properties Group CEO Datuk Voon Tin
Yow said IOI City Mall’s Phase 2 began
in 2018 and has been progressing even in
the midst of numerous lockdowns during
the pandemic. IOI City Mall is located
within IOI Resort City in Putrajaya and
it will become the biggest retail, enter-
tainment-cum-shopping mall in Malaysia.
“This new phase of ICM (IOI City
Mall) will add an additional 1 million sq
ft of net lettable area (NLA), bringing the
total NLA to 2.5 million square feet. De-
spite the unpredictable market environ-
ment in recent years, we have managed
to secure around 70% tenants for the
new phase, and more and more tenants
are signing up. Those which have signed
up in the 70% group for Phase 2 include
current and trendy brands such as Best
Denki, Food Empire, MajuHome, Nitori,
Objet, Valiram Group and many others,”
he added.
According to the statement, the mall
will house 11 anchor tenants. AEON,
GSC, Proton, IOI Sports Centre and IOI
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Retail Group
Malaysia (RGM) is projecting a 6% growth
in Malaysia’s retail sales for 2022 as the
country’s retail industry looks forward to
a recovery from the impact of Covid-19
pandemic-driven movement restrictions
of almost two years.
In RGM’s retail industry report for No-
vember 2021, the group, which interviewed
members of the Malaysia Retailers Asso-
ciation (MRA) and Malaysia Retail Chain
Association (MRCA) on their retail sales
performance for the second half of 2021,
however, said few challenges remain for
the nation’s retail sector.
“The high [number of] daily positive
[Covid-19] cases remains worrisome. A po-
tential fourth-wave pandemic is haunting
Malaysian retailers. Non-essential retail-
ers cannot afford another forced closure
of physical stores.
“A new Covid-19 variant discovered re-
cently is now spreading rapidly across the
world. This will affect economic recoveries
around the world as well as in Malaysia.
“[The] Malaysian government has de-
cided to delay the country’s transition into
the endemic phase due to uncertainty over
the virus pandemic,” RGM said.
The grop said foreign tourist arrivals
may be affected due to the current Cov-
id-19 pandemic development and that
12 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
Grand Hall are the new tenants joining the
Phase 2 of IOI City current ones, which are Lotus’s, Harvey
Norman, HomePro, Parkson, Icescape Ice
Mall marks it as Rink and District 21 Indoor Adventure
Theme Park.
biggest retail mall Voon stated the mall has had a steady
occupancy rate of around 98% to 99%
upon completion since its opening of Phase 1 in 2014.
IOI City Mall has a catchment custom-
in 2Q22 er population of about 3.1 million people,
from the various townships mushrooming
along the south corridor of South Klang
by Fatin Najihah Valley Expressway. IOI Resort City has
theedgemarkets.com good access to six major highways, with
12 ingress or egress points that direct-
ioi properties ly serve this development. It is also only
a 20-minute drive to the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport.
IOI City Mall’s Phase 2 complements
the existing interior and exterior designs
of the mall, with a central glass atrium
that brings in natural light through the
six-storey building. Phase 2 also houses
a 40,000 sq ft exhibition hall, a new cin-
ema concept with an IMAX hall, a mod-
ern dining arcade, a new rooftop sports
centre and a gymnasium, in addition to
retail outlets.
Voon: Phase 2 of IOI City Mall will add an
additional 1 million sq ft of net lettable area. Click here to read the full story
“In September, RGM estimated a 0.8%
Retail Group growth rate for [Malaysia’s] retail sales for
2021. However, this projection needs to re-
Malaysia projects vised downwards again [to a 0.5% growth],
taking into consideration the worse-than-ex-
6% growth in pected growth during the third quarter (3Q21)
as well as a revision of the 4Q21 estimate.
Malaysia’s 2022 “RGM expects the retail industry to
gain momentum in its recovery by the end
retail sales despite of this year. For 4Q21, the growth rate
estimate has been revised upwards from
lingering pandemic 12.7% (estimated in September) to 18.3%.
“Retailers are hopeful that retail sales
concerns will climb in December due to two up-
coming major festivals — Christmas and
Chinese New Year,” the group added.
by Tan Siew Mung For 3Q21, Malaysia’s retail sales de-
theedgemarkets.com clined 27.8% from a year earlier, while
cumulative nine-month retail sales con-
such sentiment would affect retail busi- tracted 11.9% compared to the same pe-
nesses that have been dependent on lei- riod a year ago, RGM said.
sure travellers. The 3Q21 decline was below market
Meanwhile, the recent spike in prices of expectations of a 15.1% contraction, a
many consumer goods may continue into forecast made in September, according
next year, according to RGM. to the group.
“The rising cost of living will affect the “Retailers in Malaysia operated with
purchasing power of Malaysian households strict social distancing measures under the
in 2022,” the group said. recovery movement control order during
For 2021, RGM said it had revised the same quarter a year ago (3Q20).
its full-year retail industry sales growth “On the other hand, most retailers were
forecast for Malaysia from 0.8% in Sep- forced to shut down during the first-half
tember to 0.5%. period of 3Q21,” RGM said.
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Astro — Championing ESG,
making lives better
F
or a long time, many young Malaysians would
have been sniggered at when they attempted
to speak English. For them, putting together a
sentence, let alone holding a conversation in
English, would have been an arduous task. The
added ridicule worsened the situation and saw
rapid deterioration in their use of the language.
Recognising this, Astro threw a challenge to its team to
create content that could help young Malaysians improve
their command of the English language.
After an in-depth study, which included market
research among parents and students and school visits
across the country to gain first-hand knowledge of the
current situation, the team realised they were faced with
a gargantuan task.
The team also knew that it was a cause too impor-
tant to give up. Further brainstorming sessions were
held and finally a Eureka moment emerged — a come-
dic approach to promote conversational English. And
with that, Malaysia’s most successful edutainment pro-
gramme, the hugely popular and award-winning Oh My
English! was born.
With its light-hearted, comedic approach to learning
English, Oh My English! became an immediate pop-culture
phenomenon trending on social media and a rallying cry
for Malaysians from all walks of life to commit to speak-
ing better English. With consumers demanding more, six
seasons of exciting plots, unforgettable characters and
13 TheEdge CEO morning brief
Astro’s Oh My English is the first ever Malaysian
finalist at the International Digital Emmy Awards
rib-tickling stories were produced, garnering more than
35 million YouTube views and a TV viewership of more
than nine million annually.
Oh My English! is the first-ever Malaysian show to be
Astro Hostels allow more time
for study and less on commuting
a finalist at the International Digital Emmy Awards. It was
awarded a grant by the US government to film a special
programme in America.
For Astro, the awards and accolades were not the most
important factor. The greatest satisfaction came from know-
ing that the wheels had been set in motion for future gen-
erations and that the show had inspired young Malaysians
to learn and improve their English.
Astro group CEO Henry Tan sums it up nicely, “Educa-
tion is very dear to our hearts and is one of the content
pillars at Astro. As a media entertainment company, our
challenge is to make education entertaining and fun while
transforming lives.”
Astro is committed to leveraging its strengths to
create a lasting positive social impact by championing
education and being the voice for better education
through its foundation, Yayasan Astro Kasih. Astro is
no stranger to sound environmental, social and gov-
ernance (ESG) practices, and its biggest contribution is
in the social space, as the group currently serves more
than 5.7 million households, more than 16.8 million
weekly radio listeners (FM and digital) and in excess
of 14.3 million digital monthly unique visitors, giving
it not only a wide reach but also deep and almost in-
timate connection with the rakyat.
Its strong ESG commitment is reflected in its commend-
able FTSE Russell’s ESG Ratings of 4.2 out of 5 in 2020.
co n ti n u es o n n ex t Page
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Astro launched Upped, a free online education portal to help millions of students
from pre v i ous Pag e
Championing education
Astro firmly believes that education is the key to building
the next generation and for the progress of our nation.
The group has been championing education for more than
a decade now with over RM120 million invested in a wide
array of learning content.
Astro’s successful Tutor TV and the hugely popular
TVIQ channels are made available for free across all its
platforms, whether you are in the living room or on the
go and accessing the channels through mobile devices.
In addition, Astro has played a great part in supporting
schools through its Kampus Astro programme, equipping
some 10,500 government schools with decoders and TVs,
enabling more than five million students nationwide to
have access to 16 learning channels for free.
To ensure the learning materials are up to date, Astro
invested RM7 million in 2020 to produce content to help
those revising for exams. It also launched Upped, a free
online education portal that benefits millions of students.
Astro’s SMK Study Squad is currently the foremost ac-
ademic programme with more than 2.6 million viewers.
In November 2021, Astro launched SPM Pro+, its mul-
ti-platform academic learning IP to help Form 4 and 5
students with revisions for the national examinations.
Astro’s commitment to education includes providing a
conducive learning environment for students, which result-
ed in the building of three Astro Hostels for SK Magandai
and SK Malinsau in Sabah and SK Sungai Paku in Sarawak.
This effort helps 220 students annually save a precious four
hours of their time commuting to school daily.
Emily Joinin, a former student of SK Magandai, said she
was in Standard 3 when the programme was introduced.
14 TheEdge CEO morning brief
“Instead of walking hours daily to school, I stayed at the
new Astro Hostel and was able to spend more time on my
studies. I also enjoyed Astro learning workshops, especially
the English classes, where I learnt songs that taught me
grammar and helped me improve my vocabulary.”
Emily later went on to be the first student from SK
Magandai to score 5As in the UPSR examination in 2014
and became the captain of Malaysia’s under-15 girls’
football team in 2017. She is currently pursuing a teach-
ing degree at the Keningau Teachers’ Training Institute.
It is heartwarming that these hostels and tutorial work-
shops led to an improvement in the UPSR passing rate of SK
Magandai students from 42% in 2010 to a credible 63% in
2019, and a 100% pass rate in science at all three schools
in the same year. To further extend Kampus Astro’s reach
to more students in remote areas, the group collaborated
with Starfish Malaysia to install TV sets and Astro decod-
ers in the foundation’s hostels and youth centre last year.
Content that builds
Astro strives not only to expand its reach, but also to create
quality content with strong social values.
OlaBola, a movie that tells of our national football
team’s road to qualification for the 1980 Olympics, was
made to unite Malaysians and relive the glory days when
Malaysians of all races played, laughed, cried and cele-
brated our diversity.
OlaBola turned out to be a phenomenal success as
the beautiful story on how multiracial Malaysian football
players worked hard through thick and thin to overcome
barriers and unite for the sake of the nation resonated
powerfully with Malaysians. Recognising this effort, The
Edge commended and honoured Astro with a special award
for public service at The Edge Billion Ringgit Club 2017.
The same spirit continued with this year’s Merdeka
documentary, Tanah Tumpahnya Darah Kita, reminding
viewers of the sacrifices made by our forefathers and their
families, who risked their lives by giving their all so that we
can enjoy a good life in a peaceful Malaysia.
Doing good for the good of all
While Astro creates countless beautiful moments for Ma-
laysians every day with exciting live sporting events, trust-
worthy news programmes and gripping entertainment
content, it also focuses on leveraging its reach to galvanise
the public to do good.
During the pandemic in 2020, Astro continued its ef-
forts to be a voice for good by airing more than 16,000
hours of public service announcements across its plat-
forms to deliver messages on health and safety as well
as social issues.
On its radio platform, the KamiCare campaign helped
amplify these messages, while the team went to the ground
to distribute care packs to the public to encourage proper
hygiene. A food donation drive helped raise 3.5 tonnes
of daily necessities for families affected by the lockdown.
On the product development front, Astro is also com-
mitted to creating sustainable solutions. It has reduced its
environmental footprint by making the latest Ultra Box
40% smaller than its predecessors as well as refurbishing
and recycling more than 325,000 Astro decoders in 2020.
While the group has made good strides in the ESG
sphere, it recognises that sustainability requires a long-term
commitment and efforts. Astro is humbled to be on board
and will remain steadfast in championing education and
will continue to be a voice for good for issues that matter.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Cooperation between BNM, MAS on
linking DuitNow and PayNow among
topics discussed — Tengku Zafrul
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Cooperation
between both Bank Negara Malaysia
(BNM) and the Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) to commence a phased
linkage of Malaysia’s DuitNow and
Singapore’s PayNow real-time payment
systems were among the topics discussed
with Singapore, said Finance Minister
Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
The first phase of the linkage, which
will be launched in the fourth quarter of
2022, allows customers of participating
financial institutions to make real-
time fund transfers between Malaysia
and Singapore using a mobile number.
“Customers will also be able to make retail
payments by scanning QR codes displayed
at merchants’ storefronts. The project
will enable more seamless payments for
the high volume of remittances between
Malaysia and Singapore, which reached
RM4.2 billion in 2020,” Tengku Zafrul
said at the end of his two-day working
visit to Singapore on Tuesday. He said
it will also cater to travellers between
both countries, which saw sizeable
pre-pandemic traffic of about 12 million
arrivals yearly on average. — Bernama
Bank Negara’s international reserves
expand to US$116.7b as at Nov 30,
2021
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Bank Negara
Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves
expanded to US$116.7 billion (RM493.6
billion) as at Nov 30, 2021 from US$116.5
billion as at Nov 15, 2021. In a statement
on Tuesday (Dec 7), the central bank
said the reserves position is sufficient to
finance eight months of retained imports
and is 1.3 times total short-term external
debt. BNM said the main components of
the international reserves were foreign
currency reserves (US$103.9 billion), IMF
reserves position (US$1.4 billion), special
drawing rights (SDRs) (US$6.1 billion),
gold (US$2.2 billion), and other reserve
assets (US$3.1 billion). — Bernama
15 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
news In brief
Axiata redesignates former Khazanah MD Shahril as its chairman
effective Jan 1, 2022
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Axiata Group Bhd has redesignated former Khazanah
managing director Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan as its new chairman effective
Jan 1, 2022. In a statement on Tuesday (Dec 7), the telecommunication giant said
Shahril, 51, will be replacing Tan Sri Ghazzali Sheikh Abdul Khalid, who is retiring
on Dec 31, 2021. Ghazalli, 75, was first appointed to the board in March 2008
and assumed the role of the chairman of the board on Nov 1, 2018 following a
short duration as interim chairman from mid-2018. Under his stewardship, Axiata
expanded its footprint across 11 countries within ASEAN and South Asia, not
just in its core business of mobile telecommunications but also that of telecoms
infrastructure and digital businesses, the group added. — by Sulhi Khalid
Cypark inks MoU with Huawei Ireka Corp secures RM468 mil
Malaysia for long-term cooperation housing project in Terengganu
on renewable energy projects KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Ireka
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): Cypark Corporation Bhd has secured a RM468
Resources Bhd inked a Memorandum million contract from the Terengganu
of Understanding (MoU) with Huawei government to undertake a privatised
Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd housing development project in
(Huawei Malaysia) on Dec 3 for long- Kemaman. The construction and
term cooperation on a total of 500MW property group said the project entails
renewable energy (RE) projects in and the development of 100 affordable
outside of Malaysia on an exclusive basis. houses and six single-storey shop lots
Cypark said under the deal, Huawei would on 11.55 acres of government land.
act as the technology enabler and would “The project will contribute RM34.72
provide the technical and after-sales million in development funding to the
support for all products and solutions. Terengganu government,” the group said
“Cypark would be the user and installer in a filing with Bursa Malaysia. Ireka said
of the said products and solutions,” it said the project is expected to contribute
in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday. positively to its net assets and earnings
The environmental engineering solutions for the financial year ending March
provider said the MoU would be effective 30, 2022 until the completion of the
for two years from Dec 3, 2021, and development. — by Sulhi Khalid
would not have any financial impact on the
company. — Bernama Complete Logistic Services gets
conditional voluntary takeover
TAFI proposes bonus share, offer from major shareholder
warrant issue KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7) : Complete
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): TAFI Industries Bhd Logistic Services Bhd (CLSB) has
said on Tuesday (Dec 7) the furniture maker received a notice of conditional
had proposed a bonus issue of 252.95 million voluntary takeover offer from major
(252,951,400) new shares on the basis of shareholder Datuk Ong Choo Meng
two bonus shares for one existing share held and his special purpose vehicle Hextar
besides a bonus issue of up to 63.24 million Tech Sdn Bhd (formerly known as Get
(63,237,850) warrants on the basis of one Asia Group Sdn Bhd). CLSB announced
warrant for every two existing shares to reward in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Dec 7)
shareholders. TAFI said the bonus share issue that Hextar Tech and Ong intended to
will be implemented concurrently with the acquire the remaining ordinary shares
bonus issue of the 63.24 million warrants, in CLSB not already owned by them at
which can be exercised into an equal number RM2.50. The offer price is a premium
of new shares in TAFI. “Upon completion of of 9.78% to CLSB’s five-day volume
the proposed bonus issue of shares, the total weighted average market price of up to
issued share capital of TAFI would comprise Nov 29. As at Nov 29, Ong holds 37.45
379.43 million (379,427,100) TAFI shares million shares in CLSB, representing
(including 7.62 million (7,621,500) treasury approximately 29.11% of the total
shares),” TAFI said. The company will announce issued shares in CLSB. Ong intends to
the entitlement date of the bonus share and maintain the listing status of CLSB on
warrant issues upon receipt of all relevant the Main Market of Bursa Securities.
approvals for the proposals. — by Seah Eu Hen — by Tan Siew Mung
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Ringgit seen appreciating to RM4.09 against
US dollar on vaccine-driven economic
recovery — MIDF Research
by shazni ong
theedgemarkets.com
KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): MIDF
Amanah Investment Bank Bhd’s research
arm MIDF Research said on Tuesday (Dec
7, 2021) the ringgit is expected to appreci-
ate to RM4.09 against the US dollar by the
end of 2022 against a confluence of factors
including inflationary pressure amid ele-
vated crude oil prices and as consumers
and businesses increase spending in view
of Malaysia’s better economic outlook on
Covid-19 vaccination progress.
In a statement issued to reporters cov-
ering the “MIDF 2022 Market Outlook
Presentation” event here, MIDF Research
said that as the Malaysian economy is an-
ticipated to recover from the impact of pan-
demic-driven movement restrictions and
as inflationary pressure is seen returning,
MIDF Research also expects Bank Nega-
ra Malaysia (BNM) to hike the Overnight
Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points in
the second half of 2022.
“For 2022, we opine the continued re-
covery in the domestic economic activi-
ties to continue as both consumers and
businesses will increase their spending
in view of a better outlook. The govern-
ment’s spending will also contribute pos-
itively to growth, given the expansionary
Budget 2022 and record high allocation
for development expenditures.
“In addition, the continued growth in
external demand will continue to support
Malaysia’s foreign trade activity. Overall,
we forecast Malaysia’s economy to grow
stronger at 6% in 2022. Meanwhile, the
ringgit is expected to appreciate against
the US dollar, to RM4.09 to US$1 by the
end of 2022.
“Inflation is anticipated to be at 2.1%
year-on-year,” MIDF Research said.
MIDF Research said it expects commod-
ity prices to remain elevated despite prices
normalising in tandem with global economic
recovery from the pandemic’s impact.
“We forecast Brent crude oil price to
average at US$75-US$80/barrel and crude
palm oil [price] to average at RM3,300 a
tonne,” MIDF Research said.
MIDF Research said it remains san-
guine about the prospects of the Malay-
sian economy and equity market in 2022
although the research firm recognised sev-
16 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
eral downside risks which may spill over
into 2022 and disrupt global economic
growth’s outlook.
“Although we are sanguine about the
prospects of recovery next year (2022),
we are cognisant that several issues seen
this year might spill over into 2022, caus-
ing some possible negative impacts. These
include: (1) the recent discovery of a new
variant of Covid-19 i.e. Omicron; (2) inces-
sant inflationary pressures; (3) pullback in
China’s property market; and (4) possible
15th general election in Malaysia.
“In our base case scenario, these is-
sues will lead to some disruptions in the
economic recovery, even though the oc-
currence of any of these events, either in
isolation or in combination, will not de-
rail the recovery process. Having said that,
the possibility of these events turning out
worse than expected cannot be discounted
given our experience this year. Therefore,
investors need to be ever vigilant of the
possible downside risks next year,” MIDF
Research said.
After many false starts in 2021, Malay-
sia’s economy has begun its recovery pro-
cess, helped by the Covid-19 vaccination
progress, according to MIDF Research.
“Whilst the expected recovery this
year was delayed due to resurgence of
Covid-19 cases caused by the Delta vari-
ant, the situation faced this year has been
very much different from the one faced
last year (2020).
“One key difference is the discovery and
availability of the [Covid-19] vaccine. The
country’s high vaccination rate has allowed
the government to reopen the economy
and restart the recovery process after nu-
reuters
merous and prolonged lockdowns,” said
MIDF Research, which indicated that its
FBM KLCI target for 2022 is 1,700 points.
For 2022, MIDF Research has listed
several baseline scenarios on which the re-
search firm’s Malaysia forecasts are based.
MIDF Research said its baseline sce-
narios include one in which the country’s
liquidity situation remains ample but with
the monetary policy on a moderately tight-
ening path.
Another baseline scenario takes into
account the upsurge in Covid-19 cases
which could lead to the reimposition of
some containment measures but not na-
tionwide lockdowns due to the high level
of vaccination rate in the country.
“We expect the emerging virtuous dy-
namics in the real economy would eventu-
ally be mirrored in the financial economy.
We believe that these factors will affect
investors’ sentiments positively, leading to
better performance of our equity market,
and also of our regional peers,” MIDF
Research said.
At Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, the
30-stock KLCI rose 9.45 points or 0.64%
to 1,492.9 as at 4.19pm.
In currency markets, the ringgit appre-
ciated to 4.2297 against the US dollar at
the time of writing.
The exchange rate so far on Tuesday
was between 4.2277 and 4.2355.
Over the last one year, the exchange rate
was between 3.9957 and 4.2483.
Read also: MIDF Research sees ‘no cat-
alyst’ ahead for listed construction firms
Click here
 w e d n e s d ay d e c e m b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Future-proofing Axiata
through its ESG focus
T
he last five years have been the warmest
period in history, and global mean surface
temperatures are now at 1.09⁰C higher
than the pre-industrial period, according
to the landmark United Nations Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change
sixth assessment report in August 2021. If this persists,
recent phenomena such as shrinking ice sheets and
rising global sea levels can become irreversible, the
report states.
In view of the devastating consequences such
scenarios can have on livelihoods and the survival of
mankind, efforts are underway across multiple fronts
to limit global warming to within 1.5⁰C by 2100, as
stipulated in the Paris Agreement.
As a major telecommunications player in Asia,
Axiata Group Bhd has stepped up its commitment to
drive sustainability in the environmental, social and
governance (ESG) pillars. The recent upgrade of its
MSCI ESG Rating from “A” to “AA” is a recognition of
the group’s seriousness in its efforts. Having established
a strong foundation, especially under the social and
governance pillars, the company is on track to develop
a focused climate action plan to further strengthen its
ESG responses.
“Climate change is one of the most defining crises
of our time. Taking the cue from the recently concluded
COP26 (United Nations Climate Change) conference,
it is abundantly clear that this battle is far from being
won, and climate action needs swift, and concerted
actions from all quarters,” says Datuk Izzaddin Idris,
president and group CEO of Axiata.
“As a company that takes a long-term view to create
value for our stakeholders across the footprint in line
with our purpose of Advancing Asia, the imperatives
for embedding sustainability goals as part of business
strategy are compelling, if not a necessity. If we do
not act, over time there can be no value creation to
benefit the many communities we serve.”
“Hence, to future-proof, we have prioritised the
development and execution of our Net-Zero Carbon
Roadmap, which sets the groupwide direction to-
wards decarbonising our operations and value chain,”
he states.
In order to drive momentum, Izzaddin has includ-
ed sustainability-related key performance indicators
(KPIs) in his annual KPIs.
“The Net-Zero Carbon Roadmap is designed to
decarbonise two key aspects of the business. Opera-
tionally, the focus will be to cut emissions across net-
works, facilities and fleets. Across the value chain, Axi-
ata will introduce policies to lessen operational carbon
emissions, collaborate with societies in its markets to
drive community benefits and empower customers and
businesses to embrace sustainable growth through
digitalisation,” he says.
Last year, it commenced a carbon inventory
exercise to audit, assess and capture the full im-
pact of its operations and the ways in which it
uses energy. This carbon inventory will become
17 TheEdge CEO morning brief
the baseline on which the company’s 2030 and in-
termediary targets will be set, guided by the Science
Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Axiata had recently
signed the SBTi Business Ambition for 1.5°C, signal-
ling its commitment to the body’s target standards,
joining 50 other mobile operators globally that have
also committed.
Since 2020, Axiata has also been aligning its op-
erating companies to its Net-Zero Carbon Roadmap to
ensure cohesiveness, and aims to launch this Roadmap
by the first quarter of 2022.
For instance, Cambodia-based Smart Axiata ex-
panded its solarisation plans in 2020 and integrated
solar power at its existing grid and diesel sites. Through
this, Smart Axiata reduced energy consumption of the
grid by 386MWh (8%). At diesel-powered sites, there
was a 17% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions ow-
ing to lower diesel consumption.
edotco Group, Axiata’s integrated telecom infra-
structure and related services company, implemented
energy efficiency initiatives, reduced diesel usage and in-
cluded bamboo towers in its portfolio, leading to a 58%
Datuk Izzaddin
Idris, president
and group CEO
of Axiata
average reduction of carbon dioxide emissions per site.
Izzaddin adds that Axiata’s strategy in realising
its aspirations to become The Next Generation Digi-
tal Champion by 2024 continues to be improved and
refined to reflect the principles of sustainable growth.
Across its footprint, which spans Asean and South
Asia, the group supports communities with technology
and connectivity, especially to bridge the rural divide
as well as in times of emergencies and disasters, in-
cluding during the pandemic. In addition, Axiata inte-
grates ESG into its supply chain management, scoring
its suppliers on their sustainable business practices.
Under governance, Axiata prioritises data privacy
and cybersecurity to safeguard its customers’ interests.
Its improved corporate governance measures were a
major contributor to its upgraded MSCI ESG rating.
The successful completion of an award-winning
Syndicated Multi-Currency Shariah-compliant sustain-
ability-linked financing facility of US$800 million in
2020 is among major milestones achieved in further-
ing Axiata’s ESG aspirations.
“We continue to actively embrace the rigour of
assessing our business opportunities and risks in align-
ment with our overall ESG goals and moving forward,
we are enhancing the relevant management systems
to measure and monitor progress so as to be more
effective,” Izzaddin says.
“The net-zero pursuit is an opportunity to build part-
nerships and collaborations within the telecom and with
other industries to collectively drive multiplier impacts
in this time of transition. It is also a chance to engage
in regular and active dialogues with governments to
contribute towards policy formulation and encourage
national efforts towards regulated climate action. Work-
ing collectively, we can all be hopeful about navigating
this shift towards low-carbon economies in our efforts
to contribute to a better future,” he concludes.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Statement by Tony Pua on
Tun Mahathir’s upcoming book
by Tony Pua
Clarification with regards to negative
aspersions cast by former Pakatan
Harapan Prime Minister, Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohammad against me in
his upcoming book (Part I)
I
n an article published by Malay-
siaNow, it was reported that former
Pakatan Harapan Prime Minister,
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made
public his ‘grouses’ in his upcoming book
with references clearly targeted against me,
even though I was not specifically named.
I have no access to the actual book
to read the full details of the references.
However, the allegations published in
the article have cast severely negative
aspersions against me, which require me
to respond immediately against the false-
hoods published.
Let me start by stating that I was ap-
pointed the Political Secretary to the Min-
ister of Finance, Lim Guan Eng after Pa-
katan Harapan won the general election
in 2018. I worked and acted at the behest
and instructions of the Minister of Finance,
to assist him with his vast and heavy re-
sponsibilities.
Mahathir singled me out as “a trust-
ed adviser to former finance minister Lim
Guan Eng” and accused me of “unauthor-
ised involvement in government business”.
He accused me being “in business nego-
tiations involving the government despite
not being empowered to do so, and had
resorted to threats.”
Relating one incident involving the ad-
viser, Mahathir alleged that I “threatened a
property developer who had faced financial
problems in a joint venture project with
the government to develop a multi-billion
ringgit complex in Kuala Lumpur.”
“Now, this particular DAP adviser did
in fact make this threat despite the fact that
billions had already been spent, and he did
so without reference to or indeed getting
any authorisation from the government.”
Let me state upfront that this is a com-
pletely false allegation.
It is also not the first time Mahathir has
made the allegation. He had summoned
Lim back in November 2018 to his office
to reprimand him for my purported ac-
tions. The problem is, I could never have
18 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
“threatened” the property developer be-
cause I have never personally met or spo-
ken to the developer!
The story
The developer is Mulia Property Devel-
opment Sdn Bhd, part of the Indonesian
Mulia International Group. The project
involved is Exchange106 which is part of
the controversial Tun Razak Exchange,
a 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)
legacy.
The project is estimated to cost ap-
proximately RM3 billion, of which RM1.8
billion was to be funded via a loan. Un-
fortunately, the developer was unable to
secure the required funding from any fi-
nancial institution. The obvious reason is
that the ultimate owner of Mulia was a
well-known wanted Indonesian fugitive
— Djoko Tjandra, who is also known as
Joe Chan or Pak Joe.
In 2016, to bailout the project, the for-
mer Finance and Prime Minister, Dato’
Seri Najib Razak agreed to provide the
RM1.8 billion funding for the project via
a Government Guarantee in exchange for
a ‘temporary’ 51% Ministry of Finance
(MoF) ownership of the project.
After Lim became the Finance Minister,
he was briefed by both the then Deputy
Treasurer-General Dato’ Asri Hamidon
and TRX City Sdn Bhd officials on the
project. We were informed of the issues
relating to the project including the failure
to comply with fire and safety guidelines,
absence of certain regulatory approvals as
well as most importantly, the discovery
of improper related-party payments and
transactions.
We were also briefed that the MoF has
a specific clause in the shareholders’ agree-
ment with Mulia that when Mulia repays
the RM1.8 billion funding between 24 to
36 months, MoF’s 51% share of the pro-
ject will be ‘returned’ to Mulia in exchange
for a fee not exceeding RM200 million.
However, in the event Mulia fails to
repay the RM1.8 billion loan within 36
months, then MoF will have the right to
purchase the remaining 49% from Mulia
for RM1. This Call Option clause protects
MoF to a certain extent in the event of
Mulia default.
A decision was then made by the Fi-
nance Minister to ensure that all regulatory
compliance issues are resolved and irregu-
larities rectified, before further drawdowns
are disbursed for the project.
This was clearly the right thing to do
to protect MoF’s 51% interest and the
tax-payers’ monies in the project.
I was tasked by the Minister to monitor
the progress and resolution of the above
issues. However, all negotiations and dis-
cussions with Mulia was led by Dato’ Asri,
who is the current Treasurer-General to-
day, and TRX City officials. I was never
present in their discussions.
Pak Joe was furious that a due diligence
(as provided under the shareholder’s agree-
ment) was being requested, especially af-
ter the royal treatment he has received
from Najib. He secured a meeting with
Mahathir, arranged by one of Mahathir’s
‘trusted advisors’ to protest against the ac-
tions by the MoF. Mahathir was furious
when he was told by Pak Joe that Tony
Pua had “threatened” to take over Mulia’s
49% stake for only RM1 after the latter
had invested more than RM1.1 billion in
the project already.
Perhaps I was a convenient target for
anyone unhappy with MoF trying to clean
up Najib’s mess, or perhaps Mahathir has
his bias and prejudice against me; but the
easiest way to rile up Mahathir is to hit
his soft spot for some ‘big business bosses’
being ‘unfairly’ treated.
Appeasing Mahathir
Lim defended my role in the above dispute
and explained the issues involved several
times to Mahathir in writing. There was
even a private investigation report com-
missioned by TRX City on Mulia Interna-
tional in 2015 which confirmed Pak Joe’s
criminal fugitive status in Indonesia.
In fact, Pak Joe is now sitting in jail in
Indonesia for fraud and corruption after
being arrested by Interpol police in Kuala
Lumpur in 2020. Senior police and attor-
ney-general officers in Indonesia were all
found guilty of conspiring with and receiv-
ing bribes from him.
These documents were all presented to
Mahathir. The Exchange106 case was also
deliberated several times in the Cabinet
between November 2018 to May 2019,
and occasionally thereafter.
Ultimately, the Cabinet fully endorsed
the position and actions to be taken by
the MoF.
As an elected Member of Parliament for
Damansara, I am proud of the little role
I’ve played in the above case because I have
helped to protect the interest of Malaysian
co n tin u es o n Pag e 19
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 19 TheEdge CEO morning brief

h o m e

Paul Yong
IPOH (Dec 7):The High Court here Tues- “In her statement, she also said that
day ordered Tronoh Assemblyman Paul she was unable to fight back due to the

ordered to
Yong Choo Kiong, who is charged with accused’s big body size,” he said.
raping his Indonesian maid two years ago, The prosecution team was led by Perak

enter defence
to enter his defence. prosecution director Azlina Rasdi, while
Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed Yong was represented by Datuk Rajpal

made the decision after finding that the
prosecution had managed to prove a pri-
ma facie case against the assemblyman at
the end of their case.
The court set Feb 15 and 16 for Yong’s
defence trial.
Yong, 51, was charged with raping his
23-year-old maid in a room at his house in
Meru Desa Park on July 7, 2019, between
8.15pm and 9.15pm.
The charge, framed under Section 376(1)
of the Penal Code, carries a maximum jail
term of 20 years and whipping if convicted.
Judge Abdul Wahab in his judgment said
the prosecution had successfully proved
the main element of rape, namely sexual
penetration without consent, with consist-
ent statements from the witnesses and the
victim throughout the trial despite being
grilled by the defence.
“Based on my observation and consid-
eration during examination-in-chief and
cross-examination, as well as the exhibits,
I found that the prosecution had managed
in rape case
Bernama
facebook.com/ybyongchookiong
to prove a prima facie case against the ac-
cused,” he said.
“Also taken into consideration was the
victim’s statement on her efforts to fight
back and her screaming, which went un-
heard behind the closed door, throughout
the sexual penetration without consent.
Singh and Salim Bashir.
Outside the courtroom, Rajpal told re-
porters that the defence team would call
at least four witnesses during the defence
trial, while Yong himself would give his
statement under oath.
The prosecution closed its case on Sept
28 after calling 28 witnesses, including two
protected witnesses, to testify in the trial
which began on April 5.
The case was previously mentioned in
the Sessions Court, but on Dec 15, 2020,
the Federal Court allowed an application
from the defence for the case to be trans-
ferred to the High Court.
Yong was charged in the Sessions Court
on Aug 23, 2019. He was state hous-
ing, local government, public transport,
non-muslim affairs and new village com-
mittee chairman at the time.
The judge said he had also taken into
account the statement given by the experts
that there was a fresh tear found on the
victim’s hymen.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 7): The High

Court here on Tuesday (Dec 7) fixed
March 14, 2022 to hear judicial review
applications by a coalition of seven non–
governmental organisations (NGOs) and
the Bar Council of Malaysia (Malaysian
Bar) against the legality of the country’s
Covid-19-driven emergency proclamation.
Steven Thiru, who is the lawyer rep-
resenting the Malaysian Bar, confirmed
the hearing date when contacted by
theedgemarkets.com.
“The hearing date is fixed for March 14,
2022,” said Steven, who is also a former
president of the Malaysian Bar.
The coalition of seven NGOs comprises
Bersih, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), the
Centre for Independent Journalism, Aliran,
the Kuala Lumpur And Selangor Chinese
Assembly Hall, Persatuan Tenaga Akade-
mik Malaysia (GERAK) and SAVE Rivers.
The coalition of seven NGOs collec-
tively filed earlier a judicial review appli-
cation in which former prime minister Tan
Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Malaysian
government were specified as respondents.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Bar in its
judicial review application specified Mu-
hyiddin as the sole respondent.
Steven said High Court Judge Datuk
Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid fixed the hear-
ing date for the judicial review applications
following case management on Tuesday.
High Court fixes
f ro m Pag e 1 8
tax-payers and ensured that the project is
completed without the Government be-
March 14, 2022 ing short-changed. This is after Najib has
abused his position as the Finance Minister
to hear judicial to bailout the private project with RM1.8
billion guaranteed by the Government.
review applications As far as I am aware, all substantive is-
sues and disputes between TRX City and
against legality Mulia have been resolved and rectified.
The only matter outstanding today is the
of Covid-19- RM1 call option for MoF to exercise to
acquire Mulia’s 49% stake in the project
driven emergency after the expiry of 36 months.
I regret that Mahathir is extremely se-
proclamation lective in his memory. It is unfortunate
that he prefers to believe the words of an
extremely crooked foreign tycoon, previ-
by Izzul Ikram ously convicted of cheating hundreds of
theedgemarkets.com billions of rupiah from Bank Bali in 2009;
and subsequently convicted again for for-
According to Steven, case manage- gery in 2020 and bribery in 2021.
ment was held on Tuesday after the hear- Mahathir should have been proud that
ing of the applications was postponed last his government has successfully protect-
Wednesday (Dec 1) due to a Covid-19 case ed the interest of the rakyat in this mul-
being found in the court. ti-billion ringgit scandal and recorded that
Justice Ahmad Kamal will now hear the achievement in his memoirs. Instead he has
judicial review applications on March 14, chosen to be petty and wrote about how
2022. he was able to ‘put a stop’ to the lowly po-
Malaysia’s emergency proclamation was litical secretary of the Minister of Finance.
effective across the country from Jan 12 to This is Part I of my response to Ma-
Aug 1, 2021 except for Sarawak, where the hathir’s writing quoted in the MalaysiaNow
emergency proclamation was lifted on Nov 3. article. Part II will follow soon.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Former Aker manager files application
to examine four Petronas officers
PUTRAJAYA (Dec 7): Former Aker Engineer-
ing Malaysia Sdn Bhd legal manager Seetha Ku-
marasamy last week filed a motion with the Court
of Appeal to examine four Petronas officers who
prepared two separate licensing assurance review
(LAR) reports for 2017 and 2018, where the latter
report was different from the earlier one.
Seetha’s application came after Aker Engi-
neering and two other companies — Aker Solu-
tions APAC Sdn Bhd and Aker Solutions Ma-
laysia Sdn Bhd — were allowed by the Court of
Appeal last month to adduce the LAR reports to
show the local equity composition of the com-
panies in a suit that the former employee filed
against them but was struck out by the High
Court and hence the appeal.
She filed the application in the Court of Ap-
peal on Dec 2, where she hoped her counsels
would be allowed leave (permission) from the
court to examine the four Petronas officers.
“The issues are in relation to Petronas’ extent
of knowledge pertaining to Aker Engineering’s
shareholding and management. This is relevant
to my appeal,” Seetha said in her affidavit in
support sighted by theedgemarkets.com.
She is appealing against the High Court’s
decision earlier this year to strike out her suit
against her former employer.
This follows her employer and the two compa-
nies having earlier sued her and obtained a court
order to seize her laptop and gain access to her
email accounts in 2018 after she was ordered by the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
to assist in its probe. She was fired in February
2018 after being suspended by the company earlier.
In response, Seetha filed a suit and named
parent company Aker Solutions ASA
(Norway) along with the three
companies, claiming their ac-
tions against her in filing the suit
amounted to an abuse of process
and conspiracy.
She sought unspecified dam-
ages for legal costs, anxiety and
mental distress her former em-
ployer had caused her in filing
the 2018 suit, as well as loss
of reputation and credibility.
The three companies’ appli-
cation to strike out the suit
was allowed by the High
Court in May this year, so
what remains is Aker
Solutions ASA
(Norway).
20 TheEdge CEO morning brief
h o m e
by Hafiz Yatim In the LAR report for 2017, the Petronas of-
theedgemarkets.com ficers listed Aker Engineering as 90% foreign,
therefore making it ineligible for all of its 16
registered standardised work and equipment
categories with Petronas.
Aker Engineering
Seetha claimed in her affidavit in support of the
application to examine the Petronas officers that
Aker Engineering had intentionally not declared
its actual company shareholdings to the Com-
panies Commission of Malaysia and the Board
of Engineers Malaysia.
The findings resulted in Aker Engineering
to be downgraded from bumiputera local to
foreign as its local ownership was below 30%,
making it ineligible or fail to meet the necessary
minimum technical requirement.
However, the LAR report in 2018 by some
of the same officers found Aker Engineering in
its study of legitimate fronting company that
the appointment of two locals as shareholders
through side shareholder agreements had re-
sulted in the company to be reclassified and
maintained as bumiputera local and Petronas
approved for no action to be taken against it.
Seetha said the oral evidence of the four will
immensely assist the court to decide on her pres-
ent appeal. Hence, she hoped that the Court of
Appeal will allow her application to examine the
four Petronas officers.
Her appeal was fixed for next year after the
appellate court allowed Aker Engineering and
the two companies’ application to produce the
two LAR reports for 2017 and 2018, but See-
tha’s lawyers informed the court in the session
that they will be applying an application to
cross-examine, hence this application.
Late last month also saw Aker Engineering
manager Ahmad Hatta Kamaruzaman being
given a discharge not amounting to an acquit-
tal by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for his
charge of allegedly cheating Petronas Carigali
regarding the composition.
The Sessions Court judge allowed a prelim-
inary objection as it ruled that the charge pre-
ferred by the MACC was defective.
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1 21 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF
Official Solar Partner Supported By

REAL ESTATE
MATTERS

PRESENTS

Property Excellence
Awards
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1 22 TheEdge CEO morning brief

w o r l d

Citi picks favourites for over

US$3 billion in Asia sales
by Manuel Baigorri & Elffie Chew sam fong/the edge
Bloomberg

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Dec 7):

Citigroup Inc has chosen preferred bid-
ders for its consumer assets in several Asian
markets as the US lender presses ahead
with its plans to divest numerous units
across the region, according to people fa-
miliar with the matter.
The US lender picked Bank of Ayudhya
Pcl as the leading suitor to buy its retail
assets in Thailand, the people said, asking
not to be identified because the matter is
private. The bank, which is owned by Ja-
pan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc,
will continue to negotiate the terms of a
potential deal in the coming weeks, they
said. A transaction could value the assets
at about US$2 billion, they said.
In Indonesia, Citigroup has selected the
Singaporean lender United Overseas Bank
Ltd (UOB) as its preferred bidder, the peo-
ple said. A sale could fetch several hundred
million dollars, the people said. In Malay-
sia, Standard Chartered plc (StanChart)
has emerged as the front runner to buy
Citigroup’s retail consumer assets in a deal
that could also be valued at several hun-
dred million dollars, the people said.
Citigroup has also picked Taiwan’s Fu-
bon Financial Holding Co as its preferred
bidder for the Chinese assets, in a deal
that could raise about US$100 million to
US$200 million, the people said. Sales of
businesses in other markets such as India
and Taiwan may take longer to materialise,
the people said.
No final decision has been made, de-
liberations are ongoing and other bidders
remain interested in the different Asian
markets, the people said.
Citigroup continues to focus on secur-
ing the best outcomes for its people and
clients, and its strategy refresh prioritising
wealth and institutional businesses across
the region is showing strong results, bol-
stered by a record year for capital raising,
a spokesperson for the bank said, declining
to comment on the bidders. Middle East, and Africa region will allow A representative for Fubon declined
The US bank has been considering a the bank to release roughly US$7 billion to comment. Representatives for Bank of
sale of certain consumer banking assets in of tangible common equity over time. Ayudhya, StanChart, and UOB did not
Asia as it reshapes itself around more prof- Citigroup had chosen Union Bank of immediately respond to requests for com-
itable units like investment banking, and the Philippines as its preferred bidder to ment.
focuses its wealth business around hubs in acquire its consumer banking assets in the Shares in Bank of Ayudhya rose as much
Hong Kong, London, Singapore, and the Southeast Asian country, Bloomberg News as 5% on Tuesday, their largest intraday
United Arab Emirates. Citigroup has said reported earlier this month. A potential sale move since September. They have climbed
that it expects the exits from 13 consum- could value the assets at about US$1 bil- 17.6% this year, giving the lender a market
er franchises across Asia and the Europe, lion, people familiar with the matter said. value of about US$8 billion.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Indonesia issues Indonesia plans new
new stock market palm plantation
rules aimed at levy to protect
luring tech listings environment
by Fransiska Nangoy
Reuters
JAKARTA (Dec 7): Indonesia’s Finan-
cial Service Authority (OJK) has issued
rules on listing of technology companies’
shares with multiple voting rights, aimed
at attracting more initial public offerings
to its domestic exchange, the regulator
said in a statement on Tuesday.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is
home to a number of tech unicorns, or
companies that have attained a valuation
of US$1 billion without tapping the stock
markets.
Authorities have been trying to lure
such companies, including GoTo Group
— a merger of ride-hailing app Gojek
and e-commerce giant Tokopedia — and
travel app Traveloka to list domestically.
“The issuance of this regulation is
an effort to encourage financial market
deepening, especially in the capital mar-
ket sector, by accommodating companies
that create new innovations,” OJK said.
Under the new rules, which came
into effect on Dec 1, companies seek-
ing shares with multiple voting rights
must meet criteria such as operating
for at least three years and recording at
least 30% annual revenue growth over
three years.
The multiple voting share structure
can be implemented for 10 years and
extended by another decade if share-
holders agree.
The rules allow four different ratio
classifications for the multi-vote shares.
Earlier this year, Indonesia’s first list-
ed unicorn PT Bukalapak.com raised
US$1.5 billion in the country’s biggest
IPO amid a flurry of investor demand.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s biggest tech
firm GoTo Group said last month it had
secured more than US$1.3 billion in the
first close of its pre-IPO funding round,
which two sources said could launch in
the first half of next year. Southeast Asia is
one of the world’s fastest growing internet
markets with Indonesia’s internet econo-
my expected to be worth US$146 billion
by 2025, representing 20% compounded
annual growth, according to a report by
Alphabet’s Google, Singapore state inves-
tor Temasek Holdings and global business
consultants Bain & Company.
23 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
by Gayatri Suroyo
Reuters
JAKARTA (Dec 7): Indonesia will bring in a
new levy for palm plantations within the next
two years, the proceeds of which will be used
to protect public interests and the environ-
ment, its finance minister said on Tuesday.
The new levy will be collected by regional
governments from local palm planters and
is part of a new law aimed at increasing the
fiscal capacity of provincial and city admin-
istrations, Sri Mulyani Indrawati told par-
liament after it passed the law.
There will be regulations detailing the
implementation of the law, including about
the new levy, and they must be issued with-
in two years of the law’s passage, Sri Muly-
ani said, without mentioning how much
Li Ka-shing-backed
WeLab to launch
digital bank in
Indonesia
by Denise Wee
Bloomberg
HONG KONG (Dec 7): WeLab, backed
by investors including Sequoia Capital
and billionaire Li Ka-shing, is buying a
controlling stake in a commercial bank in
Indonesia, securing a foothold in one of
Asia’s most underserved banking markets.
A group led by WeLab bought 24% of
PT Bank Jasa Jakarta and will take a ma-
jority stake subject to approvals, the lend-
er said. The company has raised US$240
million from existing and new investors to
fund the acquisition and other investments.
WeLab plans to launch an Indonesian
digital bank in the second half of next year,
its second in Asia, following its start in Hong
Kong in 2019. Indonesia is one of the larg-
est financially underserved markets in Asia,
with an estimated 77% of its 270 million
population either without a bank or lacking
in banking services, according to WeLab.
“It’s a big market opportunity and at
the same time it’s actually a very tech-sav-
vy population,” said chief executive officer
palm planters are expected to pay.
“The law provides an option to intro-
duce a new levy to support regional fiscal
capacity in order to provide quality services
to the community ... in the context of pub-
lic interest and environmental sustainability,
such as a levy for the management of palm
plantations,” the minister said.
The law, which governs the relationship
of Indonesia’s central and local governments,
will also give more space for regional admin-
istrations to raise some tax rates within the
next few years, including land and building
taxes. Sri Mulyani said local governments
should be able to increase revenues by about
50% after the new measures are applied.
The law will provide a legal basis for re-
gional governments that have fiscal capacity
to issue municipal bonds to fund development
projects. No provinces or cities in Indonesia
currently sells such bonds. Because the legis-
lation is aimed at standardising the quality of
fiscal spending, the central government will
review its transfer to local governments based
on performance and results, Sri Mulyani said.
However, this was not meant to reverse
the fiscal decentralisation policy adopted in
the aftermath of the 1998 Asian financial
crisis, she said.
Simon Loong, an ex-Citigroup Inc retail
banker who founded WeLab in late 2012,
in an interview from its Quarry Bay office.
WeLab plans to offer a full spectrum
of services in Indonesia, starting initially
with deposits and loans and potentially
wealth products, he said. It already has a
joint venture with PT Astra Internation-
al, which distributes cars and motorbikes,
to operate a licensed online lending app.
In Indonesia’s nascent digital banking
market, banks and tech groups are already
battling for a toehold. Singapore banking
groups DBS Group Holdings and United
Overseas Bank Ltd have launched mobile
banks, while ride-hailing giant Gojek has
taken a stake in Bank Jago.
Loong has aspirations to build WeLab
into a pan-Asian digital bank, targeting
emerging economies with young and dig-
ital-savvy populations. The company is
interested in Vietnam, Cambodia, Philip-
pines, and Thailand, Loong said.
WeLab, a so-called unicorn, or compa-
ny with a valuation of at least US$1 billion,
filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering
(IPO) application in 2018 but that was delayed.
Loong said that the company could restart
its IPO process next year. Investors include
Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Allianz, and Sequioa
Capital. TOM Group Ltd, which counts bil-
lionaire Li’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd as its
largest shareholder, is also behind the venture.
Click here to read the full story
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
China’s exports
and imports hit
new records on
strong demand
Bloomberg
(Dec 7): China’s exports and imports grew
faster than expected in November, with
both hitting records as external demand
surged ahead of the year-end holidays
and domestic production rebounded on
an easing power crunch.
Exports rose 22% in dollar terms
from a year earlier to almost $326 bil-
lion, while imports grew almost 32% to
about $254 billion, the customs admin-
istration said Tuesday. Economists had
forecast exports to grow by 20.3% and
imports to increase by 21.5%.
reuters
(Dec 7): The US trade deficit narrowed
in October for the first time since July, re-
flecting a sharp increase in exports and
suggesting that foreign demand for goods
is on the rise.
The gap in trade of goods and servic-
es shrank 17% to US$67.1 billion, from
a revised US$81.4 billion in September,
according to Commerce Department data
released Tuesday.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg
survey of economists was for a shortfall
of US$66.8 billion.
The value of goods and services export-
ed rose 8.1% to US$223.6 billion in Oc-
tober, the highest on record. The increase
was led by stronger outbound shipments
of industrial supplies such as crude oil.
Imports meanwhile, climbed 0.9% to
US$290.7 billion — also a record — led
by shipments of automotive-vehicle parts
and engines.
The value of goods exports surged the
most since July 2020 to a record US$158.7
billion.
24 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
The data show the continuing strength
of global demand for Chinese goods, which
has been strong throughout the pandemic.
If the spread of the new omicron virus var-
iant proves to be serious and other nations
start to lock down again, that will likely
provide support for China’s exports, es-
pecially personal protective gear and work
from home devices.
“Exports picked up in line with sea-
sonality in November and suggest still
pretty solid momentum in external de-
mand,” according to Michelle Lam,
greater China economist at Societe Gen-
erale SA in Hong Kong. “The surprise in
import growth was driven by a rebound
in commodity volume, probably reflect-
ing improving infrastructure capex de-
mand as local governments stepped up
stimulus toward the turn of the year.”
The U.S. was China’s biggest export des-
tination in November, followed by the Euro-
pean Union and the Association of South-
east Asian Nations. Exports to the U.S. grew
28.3% in the first eleven months of the year,
while imports from the country increased
by 36.9% during the same period.
The values of plane imports grew the
fastest in the January-November period,
followed by coal, iron ore, and copper ore,
according to a breakdown provided by the
customs authority.
In November, both the value and vol-
ume of metal and energy imports soared.
The volume of coal imports hit their high-
est level this year, natural gas imports were
the strongest since January, while crude
purchases reached a three-month high.
US trade gap
shrinks for first
time since July on
export surge
by Olivia Rockeman
Bloomberg
The increase in merchandise exports sug-
gests that overseas economies are slowly re-
covering and demanding more goods from
the US. That could suggest that trade puts
less of a drag on US economic growth in the
coming months, after it subtracted 1.16 per-
centage points from gross domestic product
in the third quarter.
Even so, lean inventories, snarled supply
chains and transportation challenges contin-
ue to make it difficult for US producers to
meet demand for finished goods and supplies.
UK house
prices hit
a record in
November
by Andrew Atkinson
Bloomberg
(Dec 7): UK house prices hit a re-
cord in November, with values over
the past three months rising at their
fastest pace for 15 years, according to
mortgage lender Halifax.
The average price of a home stood
at 272,992 pounds (US$362,000)
after gaining 3.4% in the quarter
through November, the fastest pace
since late 2006, the mortgage lender
said in a report published Tuesday.
Prices rose 1% in November
alone — a fifth monthly increase —
and were up 8.2% from a year earlier.
The average property has gained more
than 20,000 pounds over the past year.
Halifax attributed the increase
to shortage of available properties, a
strong labor market and keen compe-
tition keeping mortgage rates close to
historic lows. But it warned that mo-
mentum is likely slow, given stretched
affordability and the prospect of Bank
of England interest-rate increases.
“We would not expect the current
level of house price growth to be sus-
tained next year given that house price
to income ratios are already histor-
ically high, and household budgets
are only likely to come under greater
pressure in the coming month,” said
Russell Galley, managing director at
Halifax.
The emergence of the omicron
variant of Covid-19 could also dent
economic confidence, “though it re-
mains far too early to speculate on any
long-term impact, given insufficient
data at this stage, not to mention the
resilience the housing market has al-
ready shown in challenging circum-
stances,” he said.
Wales remained the strongest
performing region of the UK, where
property prices broke through the
200,000-pound mark after a near
15% gain over the past year. Values
in London rose just 1.1%, reflect-
ing pandemic-driven demand for
more spacious homes away from
city centers.
 W E D N E S D AY D E C E M B E R 8 , 2 0 2 1 25 THEEDGE CEO MORNING BRIEF

The
world’s ƈrst
digital bank
And how and
nd why it came to pass

I
n October 1994, Stanford Credit Union in the
US became the first institution globally to let its
customers access banking functions via the new
World Wide Web, according to Forbes.
On Oct 6, 1995, Presidential became the first US
bank to offer its bank accounts over the internet.
And only in 1997 did the bank begin to offer online account
statements and real time PC banking, such as fund transfers
between accounts in the bank.
In June 1995, in Malaysia, Phileo Allied Bank launched
PalDirect, an online banking and stock trading platform, after
18 months of research and development. Transaction value
exceeded RM200 million within a month, with exponential
growth onwards.
On Aug 8, 1996, Phileo launched PALWORLD, an e-commerce
and payment platform via Windows that allowed online
shopping, airline ticketing and so on. (Note, Alibaba was founded
on April 4, 1999, and Amazon went into online bookselling in July
1995).
In September 1996, ONE Account was created by Phileo,
which combined all the deposits, loans and trading accounts of
its customers into one, and was enabled online.
While Alibaba and Amazon grew into global giants, Phileo
was forcefully taken over under the guise of consolidating the
banking sector and died prematurely. The moral of the story is
that property rights, governance and rule of law are extremely
important. This book, published in 2003, gives some insight into
the above … and some stories yet to be told.

November 2021

The book was published in 2003.

Limited print copies in English available on Listen

books.theedgemarkets.com and Shopee. to the
Hard cover: RM70 | Soft cover: RM45 Podcast
* FREE delivery within Malaysia for purchases
via books.theedgemarkets.com

OR

download the digital editions absolutely FREE.

* Available in English, Bahasa Melayu & Chinese.

Scan the QR code now for more information.

 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
reuters
LG Energy
Solution’s IPO
set to raise up to
US$10.9 billion
by Heekyong Yang & Joyce Lee
Reuters
SEOUL (Dec 7): South Korea’s LG En-
ergy Solution (LGES) is likely to raise up
to 12.8 trillion won (US$10.87 billion)
in what could be the country’s biggest
initial public offering (IPO), as the bat-
tery maker seeks funds to expand and
meet booming demand for electric-ve-
hicle (EV) batteries.
Even at the low end of the range, this
would be South Korea’s largest listing,
beating Samsung Life Insurance’s 4.9
trillion won IPO in 2010.
LGES is LG Chem Ltd’s wholly
owned battery subsidiary, which sup-
plies Tesla Inc, General Motor Co, and
Hyundai Motor Co among others.
It expects to offer 34 million new
shares in an indicative range of 257,000
won-300,000 won per share, it said in a
regulatory filing.
LG Chem plans to offer 8.5 million
existing shares in the same price range,
according to a separate filing.
In this range, LGES’ valuation would
be as much as 70.2 trillion won, the com-
pany said in a statement.
KB Securities and Morgan Stanley
will lead the proposed deal. Bank of
America, Citigroup, Daishin Securities,
Goldman Sachs, and Shinhan Invest-
ment Corp have also been appointed as
bookrunners.
The pricing is expected to be final-
ised in the coming weeks, with a listing
in Seoul expected in late January.
South Korea is seeing its hottest IPO
market on record this year. So far, more
than 20 companies have gone public on
the country’s main KOSPI market, rais-
ing about 17 trillion won, beating the 8.8
trillion won raised in all of 2010, the pre-
vious biggest year on record, according
to the Korea Exchange.
26 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Samsung names
new CEOs, to
merge mobile,
consumer
electronics units
by Joyce Lee
Reuters
reuters
SEOUL (Dec 7): Samsung Electronics Co
Ltd will merge its mobile and consumer
electronics divisions, the firm said on Tues-
day, naming new co-chief executive officers
(CEOs) in the biggest reshuffle since 2017
to simplify its structure and focus on the
logic chip business.
Two co-CEOs, instead of three, will
lead the South Korean firm as it piv-
ots on the two business pillars of chips
and consumer devices, including smart-
phones, to help lead the next phase of
Eurobank to sell
80% of merchant
acquiring unit to
Worldline
by George Georgiopoulos
Reuters
ATHENS (Dec 7): Eurobank, one of
Greece’s four largest lenders, said on Tues-
day it entered into a binding agreement to
sell 80% of its merchant acquiring business
to French payment firm Worldline in an at-
tempt to strengthen its capital base.
Eurobank is the third Greek bank to
offload its payment infrastructure involv-
ing point-of-sale terminals, after Piraeus
Bank and Alpha Bank concluded similar
deals this year.
As part of the deal, Worldline will aim
to leverage the Greek lender’s banking net-
growth and boost competitiveness.
Samsung, whose Galaxy flagship brand
helped it become the world’s biggest smart-
phone maker by volume, is seeking to revive
slowing mobile growth, whose profit con-
tribution shrank to 21% last quarter from
nearly 70% at its peak in early 2010s.
Instead, its component business, led
by chips, has become the most profitable,
helped by a boom in data storage and a
recent shortage of global semiconductor
supplies. The business generated nearly
three quarters of Samsung’s 15.8 trillion
won (US$13.4 billion) operating profit
last quarter.
Samsung said Han Jong-hee, the head
of visual display business, will become a co-
CEO, leading the newly merged division
spanning mobile and consumer electronics
as well as continuing to lead the television
business. Han has risen through the ranks in
Samsung’s visual display business, without
experience in mobile.
It is not immediately clear what changes
or divisions of labour were expected under
Han, but analysts said the reshuffle could
help Samsung tackle challenges such as
offering seamlessly connected services be-
tween its smartphones and home appliances.
More immediate problems are a shortage
of chip supplies, rising raw material prices,
logistics difficulties, and competition from
Apple Inc and Chinese rivals amid concerns
about a slowing mobile market, analysts said.
Click here to read the full story
reuters
work as a commercial channel to distrib-
ute its payment products and services to
physical and online merchants.
Eurobank’s merchant acquiring unit
is a leading acquirer in the local market
with 21% share of transaction volumes
processed in Greece. The division man-
ages payments for 123,000 physical and
online merchants with more than €7 billion
(US$7.91 billion) of transactions.
“The agreement with Worldline regard-
ing the cards acquiring business is fully in
line with our strategic plan to focus on our
core activities, while further strengthening
our capital base,” Eurobank chief executive
officer Fokion Karavias said in a statement.
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
Biden to tell
Putin he will
face toughest
sanctions yet if he
invades Ukraine
— officials
by Steve Holland & Andrew Osborn
Reuters
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Dec 7): US
President Joe Biden will tell Russian Presi-
dentVladimir Putin in a videoconference later
on Tuesday that Russia and its banks could
be hit with the toughest economic sanctions
yet if it invades Ukraine, US officials said.
They said the sanctions, which one source
said could target Russia’s biggest banks and
Moscow’s ability to convert roubles into dol-
lars and other currencies, were designed to
dissuade Putin from using tens of thousands
of troops massed near the Ukrainian border
to attack its southern neighbour.
The Kremlin, which said before the meet-
ing it did not expect any breakthroughs, has
denied harbouring such intentions and has
said its troop posture is defensive. But it has
also said it is increasingly vexed by West-
ern military aid to Ukraine and what it calls
creeping North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) expansion.
(Dec 7): China has threatened the US with
retaliation against its decision to declare a
diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics,
warning that ties between the world’s two
largest economies may suffer.
“The US is standing opposed to athletes
and sports lovers across the world,” Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
said Tuesday at a regular press briefing in
Beijing. “The Olympics are not a stage for
political stances or political manipulation.”
“The US will pay a price for its wrong
practices,” he said, without specifying what
actions China might take.
The US will host the Summer Games
in Los Angeles in 2028, though it’s unlikely
Beijing would wait that long to respond.
Zhao added that China had lodged its
complaint with American diplomats.
Washington’s decision not to send offi-
cials to the event is largely symbolic con-
sidering the Covid-related restrictions they
would face in the Asian nation, which has
taken a zero-tolerance approach to fight-
ing the pandemic. Still, Russian President
27 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
It has likewise queried Ukrainian inten-
tions and said it wants guarantees that Kyiv
will not use force to try to retake territory
lost in 2014 to Russia-backed separatists,
a scenario Ukraine has ruled out.
“We’re looking for good, predictable re-
lations with the United States. Russia never
intended to attack anyone, but we have our
concerns and we have our red lines,” said
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Calling for everyone to keep “a cool
head”, Peskov said it was vital that Putin
and Biden speak given what he called the ex-
traordinary escalation of tensions in Europe.
The Russian rouble weakened slightly on
Tuesday, with some market analysts predict-
ing the talks would de-escalate tensions and
others saying that the US sanctions threat
eroded hopes of finding common ground.
Ahead of his first direct talks with Putin
since July, Biden on Monday discussed the
China warns US
will ‘pay a price’
for boycotting
Winter Olympics
Bloomberg
reuters
sanctions plan with European allies, seeking
a strong joint stance in support of Ukraine’s
territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He spoke to French President Emma-
nuel Macron, German Chancellor Ange-
la Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario
Draghi, and British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson.
They called on Russia to de-escalate ten-
sions and return to diplomacy and said their
teams would stay in close touch, including
in consultation with NATO allies and EU
partners, on a “coordinated and compre-
hensive approach”, the White House said.
Biden’s team has identified a set of eco-
nomic penalties to impose should Russia
launch an invasion, a senior Biden admin-
istration official said.
Click here to read the full story
Vladimir Putin plans to attend the Olym-
pics, which start on Feb 4.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psa-
ki cited China’s “ongoing genocide and
crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and
other human rights abuses” as the reasons
the US won’t send representatives. China
calls allegations about abuses in its far west-
ern region “the lie of the century.”
The Canadian and Australian govern-
ments are also mulling whether to attend
the event. New Zealand said Tuesday it
told China in October its officials would
not attend, citing a range of factors “mostly
to do with Covid.”
Read also:
US officials to boycott Beijing Olympics
over rights ‘atrocities’ Click here
Don’t penalise athletes for politics — US
Olympian Ruggiero Click here
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
NEW YORK (Dec 7): Instagram said on
Tuesday it will be stricter about the types
of content it recommends to teens in the
photo-sharing app and will nudge them
toward different areas if they dwell on one
topic for a long time.
In a blog post, the social media service
announced a slew of changes for teen users.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri is due to tes-
tify in a Congressional hearing on Wednes-
day about protecting kids online.
Instagram and its parent company Meta
Platforms Inc, formerly Facebook, have been
under scrutiny over ways their services could
cause issues around the mental health, body
image and online safety of younger users.
In the post, Mosseri also said Instagram
was switching off the ability for people to
tag or mention teens who do not follow
them on the app. He said that starting Jan-
uary, teen Instagram users would be able
to bulk delete their content and previous
likes and comments.
He said Instagram was exploring controls
to limit potentially harmful or sensitive ma-
NEW YORK (Dec 7): When was the last
time your entire paycheque shrank by more
than 20%?
If you are being paid in Bitcoin, the answer
was Saturday, when the token fell as much
as 21% in a matter of hours.While it has re-
covered ground, Bitcoin is still down more
than 25% from the record high it reached
about a month ago.That rapid plunge high-
lights just one peril of a nascent trend that is
being hyped up by politicians and celebrities
— being paid in digital currencies.
With major US cities competing for in-
vestments in the fast-growing blockchain in-
dustry, their leaders are increasingly trying
to promote policies that help more people
get at least a part of their salary in crypto.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said last
month he would take his next paycheque
“100% in Bitcoin” and has announced that
he is working on a plan to pay the city’s
more than 4,000 employees in cryptocur-
rency. Not only that, residents would be
able to pay fees and taxes in Bitcoin, he
told Bloomberg Television in an interview
earlier this month.
Not to be outdone, NewYork City May-
or-elect Eric Adams has said he is exploring
ways in which all the millions of people work-
ing in the largest US city could be paid di-
rectly in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
He himself said last month that he would
take his first three paycheques in Bitcoin.
Professional athletes Russell Okung, Odell
Beckham Jr, and Aaron Rodgers have all said
they will be paid at least in part in crypto.
The number of Bitcoin ATMs in the US has
soared 577% to about 28,500 over the past
28 TheEdge CEO morning brief
w o r l d
Instagram, ahead
of US Senate
hearing, tightens
teen protection
measures
by Elizabeth Culliford
Reuters
terial suggested to teens through its search
function, hashtags, short-form video Reels
and its ‘Suggested Accounts’ feature, as well
as on its curated ‘Explore’ page.
The blog also said that on Tuesday, In-
stagram was launching its ‘Take a Break’
feature in the United States, United King-
dom, Canada and Australia, which reminds
people to take a brief pause from the app
after using it for a certain amount of time.
Bitcoin’s latest
plunge highlights
the danger of a
crypto salary
by Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou
& Claire Ballentine
Bloomberg
two years, according to Coin ATM Radar.
Despite the risks, proponents cite the
possibility of big gains as mainstream in-
vestors increasingly plow into the space.
Crypto can certainly drop, they said,
but so too can it catapult to levels high-
er than you would ever expect from any
annual raise in a fiat-denominated salary.
“We may not be very far from a world
in which this is an option that’s offered by
employers,” said Cathy Barrera, founding
economist of Prysm Group and programme
director of theWharton Economics of Block-
chain and Digital Assets programme at the
University of Pennsylvania. “Whether or not
employees decide to take up that offer is a
completely different question.”
So in case that moment ever comes at
the company where you work, Bloomberg
News talked to experts about the most im-
portant things to know before making a
decision: Control the calculation.
One of the biggest allures of being
paid in a prominent cryptocurrency is, of
It said in March next year Instagram
would launch its first tools for parents and
guardians to see how much time their teens
spend on the app and set time limits.
An Instagram spokeswoman said it would
continue its pause on plans for a version of
Instagram for kids. Instagram suspended
plans for the project in September, amid
growing opposition to the project.
The move followed a Wall Street Journal
report that said internal documents, leaked
by former Facebook employee Frances Hau-
gen, showed the company knew Instagram
could have harmful mental health effects on
teenage girls, for example on their views of
body image. Facebook has said the leaked
documents have been used to paint a false
picture of the company’s work.
State attorneys general and lawmak-
ers had also raised concerns about the
kids-focused app.
Last month, a bipartisan coalition of US
state attorneys general said it had opened a
probe into Facebook for promoting Insta-
gram to children despite potential harms.
course, growth potential. Over the past
decade, the price of a single Bitcoin has
skyrocketed from several dollars to well
over US$45,000, even after the latest drop.
Given surging growth this year, someone
who was paid a lump sum of US$100,000
in Bitcoin on Jan 1 and managed to hold
the whole time would — even after the
dip — will now be sitting on roughly
US$170,000. Those are serious returns.
But one of the main rules of investing
is that past performance is not indicative
of future results.
Yes, Bitcoin has been on an incredible
upward climb. But as this weekend’s dip
shows, the crypto and its peers are noto-
riously volatile.
The largest digital token spiked 80% in
February, only to fall another 20% within a
week, and rise another 30% two weeks later.
In May, the currency tumbled 42% and
in late November, Bitcoin fell over 8% in a
single day. For someone with US$100,000
in Bitcoin, that would amount to an
US$8,000 loss in one day.
To be sure, most people receive their
salaries in smaller disbursements over the
course of the year. This can mitigate some
of the severe drops of a crypto paycheques
by spreading out potential gains and losses
over time. Yet, it still leaves a lot of ques-
tions to be answered. For instance: What
happens if there is a major price change
between the last day of your pay period
and the day you receive your paycheque?
Click here to read the full story
 w e d n e s d a y DE C E M b e r 8 , 2 0 2 1
M A R K E T S
CPO RM 4,931.00181.00 OIL US$ 74.901.82 RM/USD 4.2325 RM/SGD 3.0959 RM/AUD 3.0034 RM/GBP 5.6111 RM/EUR 4.7717
Top 20 active stocks
NAME VOLUME CHANGE CLOSE YTD MARKET
(MIL) (RM) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Sapura Energy Bhd 400.40 -0.030 0.050 -60.00 799
Kanger International Bhd 363.30 -0.010 0.020 -86.21 119.6
BCM Alliance Bhd 205.8 -0.01 0.025 -89.55 39.1
Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd 105.2 0 0.35 -80.11 1298.4
Green Ocean Corp Bhd 92.8 0 0.03 -66.67 63.3
XOX BHD 91.5 0 0.03 -72.73 126.9
KNM Group Bhd 53.6 -0.01 0.14 -31.71 467.8
Impiana Hotels Bhd 53.2 0.005 0.095 18.75 132.5
TH Heavy Engineering Bhd 51.7 -0.01 0.005 -94.44 11.1
Dagang NeXchange Bhd 50 0.04 0.765 240 2413.8
Top Glove Corp Bhd 49.3 -0.07 2.5 -58.43 20017.8
AirAsia Group Bhd 46.5 -0.005 0.8 -9.6 3118.4
Inari Amertron Bhd 41.7 0.06 3.91 42.46 14459.4
ATA IMS Bhd 39.1 0.015 0.44 -81.51 529.3
My EG Services Bhd 37.7 0 1.03 7.29 7628.8
Supermax Corp Bhd 36.5 0 1.56 -71.96 4083.5
Industronics BHD 35.1 -0.010 0.130 -27.78 51.3
Sarawak Consolidated Industries 34.7 0 0.205 -85.56 119.3
NWP Holdings Bhd 33.7 0 0.245 -2 129
Trive Property Group BHD 33.3 0 0.05 -63.13 55.2
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Dolomite Corp Bhd 0.03 20.0 680.1 -73.91 17.7
Haily Group Bhd 0.94 18.6 202.4 0.00 167.6
Coastal Contracts Bhd 1.11 15.0 3,494.70 54.17 580
Wong Engineering Corp Bhd 0.58 13.9 7084.6 100.79 138.9
Ho Hup Construction Co Bhd 0.33 13.8 161.0 -29.03 163.3
CWG Holdings Bhd 0.50 12.5 6385.9 50.00 62.3
Bina Puri Holdings BHD 0.05 12.5 11185.3 -59.09 71.7
Kronologi Asia Bhd 0.59 12.4 8254.3 -14.49 391.4
Paragon Union BHD 1.54 11.6 172.00 129.85 117.7
Sinmah Capital BHD 0.15 11.5 212.7 -72.12 47.1
BSL Corp Bhd 1.12 10.9 9276.4 489.47 218.8
BCB Bhd 0.28 10.0 2.5 -23.61 109.9
Icon Offshore Bhd 0.11 10.0 5272.9 -4.35 297.4
Digistar Corp Bhd 0.06 10.0 363.1 -39.59 43.0
Farlim Group BHD 0.28 10.0 20.2 -6.78 42.1
Inch Kenneth Kajang Rubber PLC 0.50 9.9 0.3 -4.76 168.3
IQ Group Holdings Bhd 1.06 9.3 222.5 10.42 93.3
Priceworth International Bhd 0.06 9.1 50.7 -80.00 30
GUH Holdings Bhd 0.545 9 2121.8 19.78 151.4
Lion Industries Corp Bhd 0.61 8.93 2700 -11.59 415.3
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top gainers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Genetec Technology Bhd 36.90 1.30 311.2 2032.95 1,922.60
Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd 24.50 1.10 118.8 -23.63 8,986.10
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd 48.94 0.94 131.7 88.52 9,734.00
Nestle Malaysia Bhd 133.80 0.40 121.3 -3.67 31,376.10
Dutch Lady Milk Industries BHD 33.40 0.40 9.1 -10.93 2,137.60
ViTrox Corp Bhd 21.38 0.38 62.00 45.44 10097.1
Carlsberg Brewery m Bhd 19.82 0.36 172.60 -14.72 6,059.90
Ayer Holdings Bhd 5.55 0.35 2.70 -0.89 415.40
Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd 20.54 0.34 223.00 -13.26 22,139.80
Kesm Industries Bhd 12.30 0.32 15.50 -9.43 529.1
PPB Group Bhd 17.22 0.28 401.5 -6.21 24,497.20
Kluang Rubber Co Malaya BHD 4.20 0.28 5.10 23.53 263.00
Heineken Malaysia Bhd 21.48 0.28 44 -6.69 6,489.10
Malaysia Airports Holdings 5.76 0.23 1,893.60 -2.70 9,556.90
Khind Holdings Bhd 3.84 0.21 57.5 31.06 153.80
HAP Seng Consolidated Bhd 7.80 0.20 660.3 -9.30 19,419.40
Paragon Union BHD 1.54 0.16 172.00 129.85 117.7
D&O Green Technologies Bhd 5.65 0.15 2370.8 147.81 6989.9
Formosa Prosonic Industries 3.52 0.15 1065.2 55.07 889.7
Ann Joo Resources Bhd 1.89 0.15 3038.8 20.38 1025.8
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
29 TheEdge CEO morning brief
World equity indices
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
(%) (%)
DOW JONES 35,227.03 646.95 1.87 INDONESIA 6,602.57 55.45 0.85
S&P 500 4,591.67 53.24 1.17 JAPAN 28,455.60 528.23 1.89
NASDAQ 100 15,846.16 134.12 0.85 KOREA 2,991.72 18.47 0.62
FTSE 100 7,314.92 82.64 1.14 PHILIPPINES 7,147.30 16.56 0.23
AUSTRALIA 7,313.90 68.83 0.95 SINGAPORE 3,134.66 18.34 0.59
CHINA 3,595.09 5.78 0.16 TAIWAN 17,796.92 108.71 0.61
HONG KONG 23,983.66 634.28 2.72 THAILAND 1,609.28 21.09 1.33
INDIA 57,633.65 886.51 1.56 VIETNAM 1,446.77 33.19 2.35
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by %)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(%) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
TH Heavy Engineering Bhd 0.005 -66.670 51665.4 -94.44 11.1
Sapura Energy Bhd 0.050 -37.500 400383.5 -60.00 799.0
Kanger International Bhd 0.020 -33.330 363,348.90 -86.21 119.6
Malaysian Genomics Resource 1.170 -29.940 7086.1 14.71 145.3
BCM Alliance Bhd 0.025 -28.570 205778.8 -89.55 39.1
Nexgram Holdings Bhd 0.015 -25.000 418.0 -66.67 66.3
MNC Wireless Bhd 0.020 -20.000 703.6 -55.56 35.2
Anzo Holdings Bhd 0.030 -14.290 110.1 -64.71 33.5
JOE HOLDING BHD 0.030 -14.290 248.5 -72.73 91.8
Meridian Bhd 0.120 -11.110 691.6 -71.76 90.4
Green Packet Bhd 0.090 -10.000 8611.2 -78.57 125.6
Tiger Synergy Bhd 0.045 -10.000 1557.5 -58.98 115.7
PUC BHD 0.105 -8.700 15105.1 -34.38 145.8
Sinaran Advance Group Bhd 0.060 -7.690 544.2 -76.47 42.2
Emico Holdings Bhd 0.315 -7.350 12018.7 10.53 38.7
Industronics BHD 0.130 -7.140 35098.2 -27.78 51.3
Asdion Bhd 0.135 -6.900 9773.8 -34.15 27.4
KNM Group Bhd 0.140 -6.670 53,618.3 -31.71 467.8
Jerasia Capital BHD 0.140 -6.670 102.3 -62.67 11.5
Key Asic Bhd 0.070 -6.670 15953.7 -12.5 95.40
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg
Top losers (ranked by RM)
NAME CLOSE CHANGE VOLUME YTD MARKET
(RM) (‘000) CHANGE CAP
(%) (RM MIL)
Malaysian Genomics Resource 1.170 -0.50 7086.1 14.71 145.3
Hartalega Holdings Bhd 5.740 -0.35 5880.9 -52.72 19616.2
Panasonic Manufacturing m BHD 29.280 -0.32 5.00 -4.94 1778.6
BLD Plantation Bhd 8.830 -0.15 0.2 6.39 825.6
AEON Credit Service M Bhd 13.260 -0.14 17.2 10.50 3385.4
SHL Consolidated Bhd 1.900 -0.10 15.0 -2.06 460.0
Allianz Malaysia Bhd 12.560 -0.08 36.5 -15.02 2229.5
Berjaya Food Bhd 1.820 -0.07 36.2 13.75 659.3
Spritzer BHD 1.970 -0.07 3.6 0.00 413.6
Top Glove Corp Bhd 2.500 -0.07 49293.8 -58.43 20017.8
TAFI Industries Bhd 2.060 -0.07 8473.2 241.65 255.3
Hong Leong Financial GRP Bhd 17.140 -0.06 82.8 -5.09 19629.5
Careplus Group Bhd 1.020 -0.06 31836.9 -50.12 579.2
CB Industrial Product HLDG Bhd 1.200 -0.06 715.5 8.11 580.6
UMW Holdings Bhd 2.990 -0.06 602.0 -12.06 3493.2
Greatech Technology Bhd 6.440 -0.06 1932.2 41.54 8063.6
Shangri-La Hotels Malaysia Bhd 3.230 -0.05 726 -19.65 1421.2
Sime Darby Bhd 2.120 -0.05 7,752.00 -6.21 14421.4
Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd 4.65 -0.05 4.2 21.41 2139
Amway Malaysia Holdings Bhd 5.3 -0.05 18.1 -7.13 871.2
Data as compiled on Dec 7, 2021 Source: Bloomberg