PETALING JAYA: Going by Genting Singapore Ltd’s results for the first quarter of financial year 2022 (1Q22), the Genting group of companies is poised to see a recovery in earnings following the removal of pandemic-related constraints. Genting Singapore, which is 52.7%-owned by Bursa Malaysia-listed Genting Bhd , reported a core profit of S$43.5mil (RM137.19mil) in 1Q22 from S$12mil (RM37.85mil) in the preceding quarter. “We believe the two years of lacklustre earnings at Genting Singapore are likely to end with earnings recovery expected from 2Q22, given the reopening of international borders. Genting and its 49.%-owned Genting Malaysia are slated to release their 1Q22 results this month-end. This is expected to boost the Genting group’s earnings recovery from 2Q22 onwards.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Kenanga Research has maintained its “outperform” rating on Inari Amertron Bhd at RM2.56 with a lower target price (TP) of RM3.30 (from RM4.60) and said Inari reported 3QFY22 core net profit (CNP) of RM89 million (-17.6% q-o-q; +20% y-o-y), bringing 9MFY22 CNP to RM302.6 million (+26.7% y-o-y) which came in within expectations, representing 76% each of both house/street’s forecast. In a note on Tuesday (May 17), the research house said 3QFY22 revenue inched 5% higher y-o-y as the leading US smartphone brand managed to eke out a 2.2% y-o-y shipment growth while global shipment as a whole declined for the second consecutive quarter. Kenanga said the growth in the smartphone market will likely remain tepid which is evident by the back-to-back decline in global smartphone shipment in 4QCY21 (-1.8% y-o-y) and 1QCY22 (-8.9% y-o-y). “While we are confident of the management’s execution in diversifying into other industries over a longer term, we believe its large exposure to the smartphone segment in the immediate term may not bode well with investor’s appetite. “Maintain 'outperform' with a lower TP of RM3.30,” it said.

NEW DELHI/BANGKOK, May 16, 2022 (AFP): India's historic first Thomas Cup crown was splashed across front pages Monday with some people saying it can be a turning point for badminton much like the country's maiden cricket World Cup title in 1983. "So I think expect that to happen for Indian badminton as well. "Unforgettable red-letter day for Indian badminton. What a day for Indian Badminton," Sachin Tendulkar tweeted. "A historic achievement and a massive moment for Indian badminton," Virat Kohli wrote on Twitter.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Foreign buying of Malaysian equities rebounded last week to RM56.9 million from an outflow of RM365.71 million the prior week. In its weekly fund flow report on Tuesday (May 17), the MIDF Research team said local retailers remained net buyers for the fifth consecutive week at RM234.8 million, while local institutions turned net sellers after a week of net buying with a net selling position of RM291.8 million last week. It said the highest net selling was recorded last Tuesday at RM200.67 million, and the smallest net selling last Wednesday at RM40.44 million. The research house said local retailers were net buyers on all trading days of the week with the highest net buying last Thursday at RM103.83 million, and the smallest net buying last Tuesday at RM21.34 million. “Energy inflation continued to expand at strong pace at 30.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) (March 2022: +32% y-o-y), particularly fuel oil at 80.5% y-o-y (March 2022: +70.1% y-o-y) and gasoline at 43.6% y-o-y (March 2022: +48% y-o-y).

THIS Wednesday, May 11, will be the fifth anniversary of the completion of the Federal Land Development Authority’s (FELDA) acquisition of a 37% stake in PT Eagle High Plantations Tbk from Indonesia-based Rajawali Corp. FELDA’s acquisition came under fire at the time as it was done at a 95.86% premium to the market value of Eagle High’s shares. Eagle High, meanwhile, has suffered losses in the past seven financial years and the first quarter of FY2022 despite stronger CPO prices. According to Eagle High’s annual report for FY2021, its operational activities are in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua New Guinea. Considering the situation Eagle High is in, it is clear that FELDA will likely seek to reverse the acquisition.

The biggest challenge for long-term investors is how to keep ahead of inflation, with sharply rising prices having become a global problem. The China market (MSCI China) is currently trading at historical lows, with a price-earnings ratio (PER) of 10 times. The long-term growth potential of the country remains intact. As long-term investors, we decided to stay put with our strategy — which is forgoing short-term opportunities for long-term growth — instead of employing short-term tactical plays. That enabled PAXJ to avoid the worst of the decline in China stocks.

Whole-food, plant-based diets are based on the following principles:Plant-based food is food that comes from plants and is free of meat, milk, eggs or honey. Whole-food, plant-based diets and vegan diets overlap, but there are also some key differences. The benefits of moving to plant-based nutrition include:> Easier weight managementThose who consume a plant-based diet are typically leaner than those who don’t, and it is easy to lose weight and keep it off on this diet without counting calories. According to a 2020 review, participants assigned to plant-based diets lost weight in 19 intervention studies that evaluated diets over a specified period of time. Plant-based diets don’t require tracking protein intake or using protein supplements; if you meet your daily calorie requirements, you will get plenty of protein.

He explained that the amendment was an internal party matter while the date of the general election would be determined by the government based on the decision of the Cabinet. Asked if the next general election would be held this year, the Prime Minister replied: “We should wait first. If I tell you earlier, you will know it much earlier already.”Earlier, Umno unanimously passed the amendment to the party constitution to postpone party elections to after the general election. Ismail Sabri, who is also Umno vice-president, said the passing of the amendment to the party constitution would not affect the date of the GE15 as it involved two separate matters. Asked if Umno was prepared to face an election, Ismail Sabri said Umno had been prepared for “a very long time”.

“Some of them actually do not want to be rescued. Among those we had rescued in the most recent raid were a few Malaysians who wanted to return to these illegal syndicates,” Eldeen Husaini said. “We can confirm that there have been at least five cases of rescued ‘victims’ who made their way back to Cambodia. The recent news of 16 Malaysians, who were believed to have been tasered and beaten by illegal syndicates, being rescued and flown back to Malaysia from Cambodia made headlines in the country. With such cases being prominently highlighted, Eldeen Husaini admitted that it will be much harder to launch rescue efforts.

BENGALURU (May 14): Elon Musk on Saturday tweeted that Twitter Inc's legal team had accused him of violating a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) by revealing that the sample size for the social media platform's checks on automated users was 100. "Twitter legal just called to complain that I violated their NDA by revealing the bot check sample size is 100!" tweeted Musk, chief executive of electric-car maker Tesla Inc.Musk on Friday tweeted that his US$44 billion cash deal to take the company private was "temporarily on hold" while he awaited data on the proportion of its fake accounts. He said his team would test "a random sample of 100 followers" on Twitter to identify the bots. When a user asked Musk to "elaborate on process of filtering bot accounts", he replied, "I picked 100 as the sample size number, because that is what Twitter uses to calculate <5% fake/spam/duplicate."

The 24-year-old made four birdies and one bogey on the front nine at Heron Lake Golf Course. Ervin was also consistent in the back nine with two more birdies on the 10th and 12th to conclude the second day with four-under 140 and is just two strokes adrift of leader Arsit Areephun of Thailand. Tying for second place with the Malaysian is Weerawish Narkprachar, who relinquished his overnight lead after an even-par 72. Eila’s compatriot Natthakritta Vongtaveelap put up a stunning five-under 67 for the second straight day to open up a seven stroke lead on 10-under. Malaysia’s Mirabel Ting is currently joint eighth (four-over 148) while Ng Jing Xuen dropped to 18th spot (four-over 76).

DUBAI (May 15): State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported an almost 82% rise in first-quarter (1Q) net profit, broadly in line with analyst forecasts, helped by strong oil prices. The world's top oil exporter was forecast to post a net income of US$38.5 billion, according to a median estimate from 12 analysts provided by the company. Brent crude prices ended 1Q up almost 70% to US$107.91 a barrel from end of March 2021. Aramco said it saw improved downstream margins in 1Q and is looking to develop opportunities in the downstream sector. Shares of the company have risen 37% since the start of the year, outperforming the Saudi index which is up nearly 14%.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 15): After a failed merger with Kajang-based stockbroking firm JF Apex Securities Bhd, Mercury Securities Group Bhd (MSGB) is now looking at a potential initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. The IPO price has yet to be fixed, but MSGB's share base would be expanded to 893 million shares upon listing. Through its wholly-owned Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd (MSSB), MSGB is principally engaged in stockbroking, corporate finance advisory and other related businesses. The stockbroking segment contributed to two-thirds of the group's turnover, while the remainder came from its corporate finance division. M&A Securities, whose managing director of corporate finance is prominent dealmaker Datuk Bill Tan, is valued at RM222 million.

WASHINGTON DC: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) has described his four-day working visit to the United States as a success. He said the visit has further strengthened ties between Malaysia and the United States as well as that of Asean-US relations. “The United States is important to Malaysia from the aspect of politics and trade,” he told Malaysian media here on the final day of the visit which began on Tuesday (Wednesday in Malaysia). The United States is the second largest trading partner and fourth largest in terms of investment in Malaysia, he said. During the working visit, Ismail Sabri attended the Asean-US Special Summit and met US President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and other Asean leaders at the summit here.

IPOH: A family of five who just moved into their new home in Taman Sri Perkasa here two days ago were horrified when the perimeter wall of their home collapsed during a landslide. "Since the project started about two years ago, there have been numerous flash floods here. "This time, part of the slope collapsed," he said. Meanwhile, Gopeng MCA vice chairman Cally Ting said she would try to find a solution to the constant flash floods there. "We all want to find out the main cause of the flash floods and resolve it," she said.