KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Kelington Group Bhd's wholly-owned unit, Kelington Engineering (Shanghai) Co Ltd, has bagged a contract to perform gas hook up works in Beijing, China. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Kelington said the 123 million yuan contract (worth approximately RM80 million), was awarded by China's largest semiconductor foundry. The engineering solutions provider, however, did not specify the client. Kelington's share price fell six sen to close at RM1.09 on Thursday (May 12). This gives the company a market capitalisation of RM703.32 million.

A current concern is that a prolonged period of a weak ringgit, coupled with a rise in commodity and food prices, will lead to added inflationary pressures. Malaysia also imported around RM8 billion worth of vegetable oils and fats from Indonesia last year,” says UOB Malaysia senior economist Julia Goh. Malaysia imports a significant amount of its food — RM51.4 billion in food products compared to RM38.7 billion in exports in 2021. Economists anticipate food inflation to increase for some time. Nazmi believes the rise in food prices will remain within the range of 4% and 5% y-o-y before easing off towards year-end.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 11): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and RHB Banking Group have announced they will be revising their base rate (BR) and base lending rate (BLR) upwards by 25 basis points (bps). This is in line with Bank Negara Malaysia's move to raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25bps to 2%. Similarly, Maybank's Islamic BR and base financing rate (BFR) will be increased by 25bps from 1.75% p.a. Meanwhile, RHB Bank Bhd, RHB Islamic Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd will increase BR from 2.5% p.a. "In line with the revision, RHB Bank and RHB Islamic Bank's fixed deposit rates will also be revised upwards effective the same date," added RHB.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 11): The benchmark crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives recovered from yesterday’s losses to end higher on Wednesday on expectation of stronger exports, dealers said. Exports of Malaysian palm oil products from May 1 to 10 rose 40.3% from the same period in April, according to cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services. Palm oil trader David Ng said traders expect an increase in demand for Malaysian palm oil amid Indonesia’s ongoing ban on exports of the vegetable oil. CPO prices were also tracking gains in bean oils in benchmark markets, as well as higher energy prices, he added. Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

A foreign-based website is supposedly offering flight tickets from a Malaysian tour agency at a massive discount, in contrast to the soaring ticket prices from airlines both local and foreign. He said scammers were advertising the sale of the "flight tickets" on the "cafe.naver.com/mymalaysia" website. "The website supposedly sells tickets handled by 'Syarikat Apsan Travel and Tour Sdn Bhd'. After payments are made, victims do not receive any flight tickets, he said. He also advised the public to check the bank account numbers or phone numbers of prospective sellers on the http://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule website.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has detected an online flight ticket sale scam, which has resulted in victims losing a total of RM233,954. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said the scammers would advertise the so-called flight ticket sale on the "cafe.naver.com/mymalaysia" website. "Victims are attracted to the website as it offers cheaper plane tickets," he said in a statement on Wednesday (May 11). After payments are made, victims do not receive any flight tickets, he said. Those with questions or information can contact CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-2610 1559 or 03-2610 1599.

PETALING JAYA: Investors should adopt a two-pronged strategy made up of rotational plays on sectors and bottom-up stock-picking in this current market environment. “We believe the upside is capped, as the expectations of a broad-based economic recovery seems priced in, while the downside continues to be supported by bottom-fishing activities. “A ‘buy’ at the support level and ‘sell’ at the resistance level approach could thrive,” it added. RHB, which is known for its annual “Small-Cap Jewels” launch that reveals a list of its top stock picks, will launch its 2022 Small-Cap Jewels soon, the research house said. It noted that the rallies of its selected stocks were shortlived in 2021, and their subsequent performances were dragged down by an overall lacklustre market.

Global supply chains, the circuitry that keeps global trade flowing, has been tripping of late. One, expounded by Larry Summers, the former US Treasury secretary and resonating with many in the west, argues that global supply chains should move away from just-in-time to “just-in-case”. The other contending view, emanating from the Internatonal Monetary Fund, is that global supply chains should be made more resilient through increased diversification. There is little doubt that globalisation, epitomised by global supply chains, has been bene­ficial for the world. As the needed realignment of global supply and value chains happens, developing countries can and should position themselves as recipients.

Schools and universities are probably the most likely places for “Old Boys’ Clubs” to form. Essentially, a bunch of students — typically boys — become friends at the school or university and have an identity fusion with that school or university. Lumumba Hall, named after Congo’s independence leader Patrice Lumumba, has been a socially and politically ‘activist hall’ since its opening in 1971. But there are plenty of schools, especially boarding schools, which have their own, extremely strong, sense of identity. Progress requires the “new” — we need to be sufficiently aware of the consequences, positive or otherwise, of the persistence of such Old Boys’ Clubs.

PETALING JAYA: Statistics have shown that 60% to 70% of Long Covid patients recover after six months from infection, says Khairy Jamaluddin. The Health Minister said that as of April this year, 2,798 patients have received in-patient treatment for Long Covid at the ministry’s rehabilitation centres. "This comprehensive rehabilitation programme involves interdisciplinary specialists, including rehabilitation specialists, medical officers and physiotherapists," he said in a statement on Tuesday (May 10). The minister added that 61.2% of Category Four and Five patients suffer from Long Covid. Among the symptoms of Long Covid include shortness of breath, fatigue, cough and muscle pain.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 10): Bursa Malaysia ended mixed on Tuesday (May 10) with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) snapping three consecutive days of losses to rise by 0.35%, as bargain hunting emerged in telecommunications and banking heavyweights, a dealer said. Total turnover declined to 2.75 billion units worth RM2.25 billion from 3.22 billion units worth RM2.03 billion on Monday. The Main Market volume declined to 1.98 billion shares worth RM2.08 billion from 2.4 billion shares worth RM1.9 billion on Monday. Warrants turnover improved to 352.23 million units valued at RM61.16 million from 207.99 million units valued at RM21.89 million on Monday. The ACE Market volume shrank to 415.82 million shares worth RM113.96 million versus 613.79 million shares worth RM107.08 million previously.

JOHOR BARU: A woman whose dress extended to below her knees was denied entry at the Wisma Persekutuan complex here after a security guard deemed her attire as “provocative and indecent”. “The guard also insisted that non-Muslims should wear clothes that ended at the ankles or wear trousers at the very least. Fernandez added they walked past the guard post after telling the security guard that he wanted to speak to his superior. When approached, the security guard declined to comment. A check at the complex entrance found a sign disallowing entry to those wearing indecent and provocative clothing, salespersons and individuals who are paid to fill up forms.

This has compelled its leaders to adjust policies, but because they face domestic challenges that require sometimes conflicting policy measures, policy actions have been cautious and contradictory. Appreciating the magnitude of downside risks, the political leadership has now signalled a more forceful commitment to boosting the economy. Infrastructure spending will only jump-start the economy if local officials move expeditiously to implement projects. Fourth, private businesses are unlikely to regain confidence so quickly: Mixed signals from the leadership will keep private entrepreneurs unconvinced of the shift in the government’s attitude towards the private sector. • Growing concerns about China could lead to more capital outflows from China and further renminbi weakness.

The disabled man is among three Malaysians believed to have been duped by false advertisements over social media into working as scammers in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. According to a relative, who wished to be known as Ah Lee, 48, he last contacted his 22-year-old nephew Ah Chong in March. Ah Lee claimed that a man, who acted as an agent, had brought his nephew to Kuala Lumpur and lodged a missing passport report at Dang Wangi before getting a new one made. Ah Lee said during their phone calls, his nephew told him he was warned by his boss that if he fails to work, he would be transferred or have his organs removed. After a week, I was given the job of befriending people on social media and given 10 phones to create various accounts using fake profiles.

PUTRAJAYA (May 9): The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) will conduct an investigation on the issue of delays and rescheduling of domestic flights involving AirAsia. While taking note of consumers’ grievances and complaints, its minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the issue of flight delays to various destinations in the country had been detected since the end of last month and was still ongoing. “KPDNHEP will continue to conduct investigations from the aspect of consumers’ interest and work with the Transport Ministry to resolve this issue and ensure it does not continue,” he said in a Twitter post on Monday (May 9). Through the Twitter thread, Nanta also shared some complaints and grievances of consumers who were dissatisfied with the rescheduling of AirAsia flights, which were posted on social media. “If you feel that you have not been adequately compensated, please lodge a formal complaint with the airline before contacting Mavcom,” he said.