KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): UOA Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:UOAREIT) announced that its unitholders’ meeting, scheduled for Tuesday (Dec 23), was adjourned after unitholders duly passed a motion to adjourn. The meeting was intended to seek unitholder approval for the proposed acquisition of three UOA Business Park assets and the establishment of an income distribution reinvestment plan. Under the acquisition, UOA Development Bhd (KL:UOADEV) is transferring three properties in UOA Business Park near Subang Jaya to UOA REIT in a deal worth RM200 million. The deal is deemed a related-party deal involving interested directors of UOA Development and major shareholders Kong Chong Soon @ Chi Suim and Kong Pak Lim. The deal will be undertaken by Everise Project Sdn Bhd, a 60%-owned subsidiary of UOA Development, which signed the sales and purchase agreements with RHB Trustees Bhd, the trustee of UOA REIT.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): The Sessions Court here on Tuesday allowed an application by Hydroshoppe Sdn Bhd director Datuk Abdul Hamid Shaikh Abdul Razak Shaikh to obtain a temporary passport to attend defence and aerospace conferences and exhibitions in Qatar, Singapore and Australia. Judge Suzana Hussin granted the temporary release of the passport to Abdul Hamid Shaikh, 51, after his counsel, Chetan Jethwani, informed the court that the application was agreed to by both the defence and the prosecution. Therefore, the court allows the applicant’s international passport to be temporarily returned today (Tuesday) and to be surrendered to the court on or before Feb 16, 2026. “Subsequently, the passport will be temporarily released to the applicant on April 15, 2026 and returned to the court on or before June 5, 2026. Tuesday’s proceedings were attended by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Elya Amira Habeeb Rahman Muhammad and MACC prosecuting officer Muhamad Taufik Awaludin.

(Dec 23): Wheat prices hovered near a one-week high as fresh tensions between Russia and Ukraine raised the risk of supply disruptions from the Black Sea region. A Russian drone strike late on Monday damaged port facilities and a civilian vessel in Odesa, Ukraine’s regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. Wheat futures in Chicago remained largely steady after surging as much as 1.7% a day earlier. Russia, the top exporter of wheat and a major producer of the grain, may see lower output next year, adding to the support for prices. In other parts of the world, US has launched a naval blockade to prevent sanctioned oil tankers from entering or leaving Venezuela, ratcheting up geopolitical tensions.

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): The Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) has reprimanded five former unit trust scheme (UTS) consultants for their misconduct/breaches of the FIMM’s consolidated rules. Public Mutual Bhd UTS consultants Cheu and Muhamad Khairulanuar were reprimanded for submitting falsified academic certificates in their applications when registering as UTS consultants with the distributor. Krisnan was reprimanded for forging the signatures of three investors on Public Mutual’s investment documents. Both were Public Mutual's UTS consultants at the material time. The FIMM detected Cheu’s misconduct, while current/former distributors detected those of Krisnan, Fadli and Afif.

(Dec 23): In August 2024, Myanmar’s ruling military junta was losing ground fast. It hopes the phased elections which begin on Sunday will give it a veneer of legitimacy and help it return to the global stage. It will also “give political cover to foreign governments” which want to engage with Myanmar, Vrieze said. After years of US-led condemnation, Trump has refrained from criticising the junta or denouncing the elections, despite bipartisan pressure. China provided key military and diplomatic backing when the junta risked losing control to rebels last year.

The US has agreed to exempt tariffs on Indonesian key products including palm oil, cocoa, coffee and tea, said Hartarto, Indonesia’s lead negotiator. Indonesia had also agreed to purchase roughly US$19 billion in American products, including 50 Boeing Co jets and agricultural goods. “No Indonesian policies are restricted by this agreement,” Hartarto said, when asked about the US demands. The latest negotiations mainly involving linguistic harmonisation, as is normal in reaching a trade agreement, he said. The deal between Indonesia and the US “is commercial and strategic in nature and benefits the economic interests of both countries equally”, Hartarto said.

Sales of battery-electric vehicles (EVs) jumped 37%, outstripping growth for plug-in hybrids, which rose by 34%, for the first time since March. Europe’s long-term EV sales outlook is shifting after the European Commission proposed to scrap an effective ban on sales of new combustion-engine cars from 2035. Into next year, planned government incentives for EV sales in Germany and Spain are poised to have a positive impact. Last week, European Central Bank officials raised forecasts for expansion in the next two years. “Both private individuals and companies are reluctant to make investment decisions.”Consumers are set for more purchasing options down the line with the likelihood of looser EU rules on combustion-engine car sales post-2035.

The key thing to focus on is the long-term policy changes Singapore must make to respond to a world that is structurally less supportive of a small, open economy like Singapore. The first is managing near-term headwinds and the second is reinventing the Singapore economy to deal with a changed world economy. In the short term, Singapore has the wherewithal to keep the economy growing even if the global economy turns difficult. The bigger policy challenge is to address the structural degradation of world trade. ● Agrocorp International’s joint venture with Megmilk Snow Brand is developing a protein extraction facility in Johor using technology created in Singapore with the Singapore Institute of Technology.

(Dec 23): Malaysian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are increasingly making their mark on the global economy. Navigating barriers to international growthFrom conversations with MSMEs, the “3Cs” consistently emerge as barriers to cross-border expansion: cost, complexity and control. Cross border logistics: From cost centre to growth engineLogistics is no longer just a back-end cost centre, it is a strategic enabler of growth for MSMEs. Under 13MP, economic development funding targets transportation, trade, industry and logistics, including capacity-building, innovation support and talent development, critical for MSMEs competing in global e-commerce. As Malaysia’s e-commerce and export sectors grow, MSMEs that embrace strategic logistics solutions are best positioned to seize global opportunities.

"The yen is weakening despite narrowing Japan-US interest rate differentials, which means it has little to do with BOJ policy," he said in an interview on Monday. "I think investors are starting to demand a higher premium for Japan's fiscal risk," which is also clear in recent rises in Japanese government bond (JGB) yields, he said. The BOJ's rate-hike cycle would increase the cost of funding Japan's huge public debt, which is seen growing further on the back of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's expansionary fiscal policy. "It's hard to erase market doubts over Japan's finances after Takaichi so powerfully branded her policies as proactive fiscal policy," he said. "Rising bond yields will be the biggest risk to Japan's economy next year."

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 23): Southern Score Builders Bhd's (KL:SSB8) proposed acquisition of Nova Pharma Solutions (NPS) is expected to lift group earnings, citing the deal’s attractive valuation and earnings accretion. Analysts estimate the acquisition could lift Southern Score’s profit attributable to shareholders in the next three and a half years, depending on the final shareholding following the mandatory takeover offer. Southern Score's financial year ends on June 30. Beyond the near-term uplift, the deal is seen as strategically positive, as Nova Pharma’s specialised pharmaceutical and biotechnology engineering capabilities would allow Southern Score to access higher-margin, regulated projects. Separately, Phillip Research said Southern Score’s outstanding order book stood at RM1.6 billion, equivalent to 7.2 times FY2025 revenue, supported by sustained momentum in data centre projects, which make up about 19% of the group’s order book.

(Dec 23): The billionaire Cheng family have put a luxury London hotel up for sale as they grapple with liquidity challenges at debt-laden Hong Kong property group New World Development Co. The Cheng family has sought a partner to match a capital injection, and the company last month proposed a bond swap that would trim about US$1.2 billion (RM4.88 billion) from its debt pile. A spokesperson at Rosewood Hotel Group declined to comment on ownership matters, but said its brands are not up for sale and all its properties remain fully operational as usual. Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the private investment arm of the Cheng family, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The Rosewood London, as the Holborn location is known, was the first hotel operated under the brand to open in the UK capital.

(Dec 23): Oil steadied after a four-day run of gains as the US continued its blockade of shipments of crude from Venezuela. Brent was near US$62 (RM252.40) a barrel after rising about 5% over the previous four sessions while West Texas Intermediate was close to US$58. Still, more than a dozen vessels have loaded oil off the coast of the South American nation since efforts to curb Caracas’ crude revenue were ramped up. Venezuelan exports represent less than 1% of global supply but the revenue provides a financial lifeline for Maduro’s government. Prices:Brent for February settlement was steady at US$62.05 a barrel as of 10.32am in Singapore (same time as Malaysia).

The judge found that the addendum order was not deliberated nor decided at the 61st Pardons Board meeting held on Jan 29, 2024. The addendum order was the pillar of Najib’s judicial review application to allow him to serve the remainder of his prison ­sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest. The addendum order was therefore not made in accordance with the procedure prescribed by Article 42 of the Federal Court,” she said. The terms of the addendum order did not suggest urgency of the kind associated with reprieve or respite. There was no reason why the house arrest could not have been similarly deliberated,” Justice Loke said.

(Dec 23): Electronic Arts Inc shareholders approved the US$55 billion (RM223.9 billion) sale of the company, a leading video game publisher, in a deal led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Investors in the Redwood City, California-based gaming giant, the publisher of games such as EA SPORTS FC and Battlefield, approved the US$210-a-share takeover in a vote Monday (Dec 22). The buyout marks a turning point for the 40-year-old EA. Saudi Arabia’s PIF is making splashy investments in the interactive media sector to diversify away from oil. Taking EA private will allow developers to focus on making good games without pressure from public investors to meet quarterly targets.