PETALING JAYA: A 313.3% increase was recorded among Covid-19 clusters at educational institutions in epidemiology week 3. "The increasing number of clusters at educational institutions is very worrying due to the composition of individuals from different backgrounds being together at the same time and place. "The Health Ministry also reminds those experiencing symptoms to undergo Covid-19 screenings before heading to schools or other educational institutions. "The safety and wellbeing of those at educational institutions should be prioritised to reduce and prevent the increase of clusters as well," he said. Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan were the lowest on the chart with a zero infectivity rate recorded.

The problem has been to grow and process algae at a scale that would be commercially competitive. The farm initially would use carbon dioxide from a local thermal power plant to feed the algae and produce 140,000 tons of microalgae a year. Honda said it is still at the research stage for possible uses for algae and is also conducting its own investigation into cultivation. Other group members are investigating using the algae in applications as varied as printing, food, cosmetics and medical industries. Fujita predicts that Chitose will be able to produce algae for about 300 yen per kilogram once its expanded site is up and running.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): Greatech Technology Bhd said it has secured new orders for production line systems worth RM160 million, mainly from a “customer” from the solar industry. Greatech did not provide details on the identity of the customer. In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, the factory automation solutions provider said the new orders are expected to last the group until the second quarter of 2023. “The group expects this to contribute positively to the group’s revenue for the year ending Dec 31 2022 and 2023,” said Greatech. Greatech shares fell 12 sen or 2.45% to close at RM4.78 on Monday (Jan 24).

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 24): Global crypto users could reach one billion by the end of 2022. In a report last Wednesday (Jan 19), Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange app Crypto.com said at present, global crypto owners are nearing 300 million. In the report titled “2021 Crypto Market Sizing Report & 2022 Forecast”, the firm noted that it expects the number of global crypto owners to reach one billion by end-2022. Crypto.com noted that in 2021, the number of global crypto owners almost tripled from 106 million in January to 295 million in December. “If we extrapolate a similar rate of increase in 2022, we are on track to reach one billion crypto users by the end of 2022,” it said.

PETALING JAYA: Shuttler Teoh Mei Xing is on cloud nine after smashing her way to her biggest career win. This is my first top tournament at this level,” said Mei Xing, who was only teamed up with Anna last year. Sindhu (Ind) bt Malvika Bansod (Ind) 21-13, 21-16. Women’s doubles: Anna Cheong Ching Yik-Teoh Mei Xing (Mas) bt Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand (Ind) 21-12 21-13. Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar-Tanisha Crasto (Ind) bt T. Hema Nagendra-Srivedya Gurazada (Ind) 21-16 21-12.

PETALING JAYA: The Johor election is set to be the first to have voters aged 18 to 20 following the successful implementation of Undi18, says Election Commission (EC) deputy chairman Dr Azmi Sharom. About 6% of the 2.5 million Johor voters will be from the “Undi18 segment”. Azmi said the latest electoral roll, which was gazetted on Jan 14, includes voters who turned 18 as at Dec 31 last year. The Johor state assembly was dissolved on Jan 22, paving the way for a state election to be held within 60 days. And of these 750,000 automatically registered voters, about 175,000 are those aged 18 to 20.

BERA: The proposed standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Johor state election will be tabled in a special National Security Council (NSC) session, which will also be attended by representatives from the Opposition, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. We hope that cases continue to drop to below 1,000 so that we can declare Malaysia as endemic, not pandemic. “We leave it to the Health Ministry to determine the SOP and I can call a special NSC meeting to discuss it,” said Ismail Sabri. “There has been speculation – including that people cannot ‘balik raya’ – as there has been an increase in cases over the past few days. “We will focus on targeted areas identified with high numbers of infections by enforcing EMCO.

DUBAI (Jan 23): Saudi Arabia's digital security firm Elm said on Sunday it has set an indicative price range for its initial public offering (IPO), aiming to raise as much as three billion riyals (US$820 million). Elm, owned by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement it plans to sell 24 million shares at an indicative price of 113 to 128 riyals per share. Reuters reported in May 2020 plans by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to go ahead with a sale of shares to investors. Elm, fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, provides secure e-business services and information technology, as well as project support services and government project outsourcing in Saudi Arabia, according to its website.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia recorded 3,856 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday (Jan 23), says the Health Ministry. The Health Ministry said, in a statement, that this brings the cumulative number of Covid-19 infections in the country to 2,832,945 since the pandemic began. It added that of the new cases, 492 were imported cases involving 378 Malaysian citizens and 114 foreigners. The statement also said that 13 new Covid-19 clusters had been detected, bringing the total number of active clusters to 235 as of Sunday. According to the Health Ministry, Malaysia has recorded 6,306 Covid-19 clusters since the pandemic began.

PETALING JAYA: The benefits of Covid-19 vaccines still outweigh its risks and the rate of severe side effects after vaccination is considered low, according to a Health Ministry study. “Nevertheless, the rate of such AESI after vaccination is rather low,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement on his blog on Saturday (Jan 22). “The study has concluded that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccines still surpasses the risks and for now, the SafeCovac team is analysing interim data to be published. He said the ministry would always monitor the safety of all Covid-19 vaccines given conditional approval in Malaysia to ensure the health and safety of the people. Dr Noor Hisham added that there is no increase in AEFI reports involving booster shots compared to the first dose.

Being the materialistic Chinese, we all wish for health, happiness and certainly prosperity – that means money. Don’t play play. Yes, mom, I also used the power jet to clear all the lizard and bird droppings from the drain. Yes, mom, I have no plans to go to Bukit Mertajam for clubbing appointments. There has been a sharp drop in our Covid-19 cases, especially at the serious stages, but unfortunately, there has been a spike in political tall tales.

BATU PAHAT (Jan 22): Malaysia is ready for an increase in the air and land vaccinated travel lane (VTL) quota, provided that Singapore agrees to such a move, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong. The event was also attended by MIROS director-general Datuk Dr Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim and Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Zailani Hashim. Meanwhile, Wee reminded travellers to apply for permits, so that they can use the VTL initiative. On Friday, both Malaysia and Singapore allowed the resumption of ticket sales for land and air VTLs, but with a 50% reduction in the quota from what it was before. “We welcome the decision to reopen [the] VTLs [between] Malaysia and Singapore, which were suspended a month ago.

WHILE the concept of venture capital is well established as having provided early funding for startups that grew to become global giants, venture debt is less known. “Venture debt is a complementary source of financing for startups that usually raise funds through venture capital. Wan Kamaruzaman is the chairman of a newly founded and the country’s first venture debt fund called Iris Fund. It is managed by venture capital firms Iris Capital Partners Sdn Bhd and South Korea-based Hanwha Asset Management Co.Iris Fund is one of eight venture capital fund managers selected under the Dana Penjana Nasional programme through Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd, which is owned by the Finance Ministry. PwC reckons that the venture debt market in South-East Asia could grow to US$490mil (RM2.05bil) to US$980mil (RM4.10bil) and that over the last 18 months, the region has seen an uptick in venture debt activity, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Jan 22): Bitcoin, the largest digital asset, extended its decline on Saturday (Jan 22), and has now shed more than 50% from its record high in November while adding further momentum to the meltdown in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin’s decline since hitting the record has wiped out more than US$600 billion (about RM2.51 trillion) in market value, and over US$1 trillion has been lost from the aggregate crypto market. Bitcoin fell as low as US$34,042.78 on Saturday, a drop of 7.2%, before paring most of those losses. Other digital assets also slid, with Ethereum down 12%. “I would expect it to take some time for a bottom to form and for confidence to return before expecting any sort of bullishness,” Hughes said.

(Jan 22): For Bitcoin, there’s only been one constant recently: decline after decline after decline. With the US Federal Reserve (Fed) intending to withdraw stimulus from the market, riskier assets the world over have suffered. Bitcoin’s decline since that November high has wiped out more than US$600 billion in market value, and over US$1 trillion has been lost from the aggregate crypto market. “It gives an idea of the scale of value destruction that percentage declines can mask,” wrote Bespoke analysts in a note. “This flagged a jump in bearish sentiment, in line with overall market jitters given the current macro uncertainty,” she said.