KUALA LUMPUR: The adoption of Covid-19 preventive measures by the Malaysian public, such as the voluntary use of face masks when outdoors shows that the rakyat know how to live with Covid-19, says Khairy Jamaluddin. "We can see how well the Malaysian public have behaved during the transition to the endemic phase. "They also know that they have to isolate themselves if they have Covid-19 symptoms or when they are infected. "Malaysians have the capability to make this transition to endemicity a success without the need to enforce laws or issue compounds. "This is a success for the Malaysian public," said Khairy.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 19): Malaysia ranks among the top 10 nations with the cheapest gasoline prices in the world. The portal tracks the retail prices of motor fuel, electricity, and natural gas in over 150 countries. Malaysia is the 10th cheapest on the list at 46.6 cents per litre of gasoline. The cheapest gasoline price is in Venezuela at 2.2 cents per litre. Meanwhile, neighbouring Indonesia’s average gasoline price was US$1.136 per litre, and it was US$1.497 a litre in the Philippines, while Singapore's was at US$2.219.

"A correction for CPO price is imminent. Chong thinks the CPO prices have peaked and expects to see correction in the next three to six months. Chong has downgraded his call on the plantation sector to “neutral” from “overweight” amid CPO price having reached its peak. “We also downgrade Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (TP: RM26.62), TSH Resources Bhd (TP: RM1.48) and Ta Ann Holdings Bhd (TP: RM5.16) as valuations look unattractive based on our new TPs,” he added. At the time of writing, CPO price for June 2022 fell RM100 to RM6,594 a tonne, while the price for July 2022 CPO dropped RM110 to RM6,254 a tonne and August 2022 CPO shrank RM98 to RM6,036 a tonne.

Sharing many experiences and tips on May 28 and 29, Nicole and many other guest speakers such as the world’s top blockchain, NFT, crypto and metaverse experts are teaming up to share their investing experiences with the world. Besides Nicole, social media influencers Agon Hare and Sonya Mulkeet – or commonly known as Project Nightfall – will also be talking about their investing foray into the metaverse. As early adopters of the metaverse, Project Nightfall will be shedding light on the bounty of opportunities in the metaverse. Hence, for those interested in the metaverse and doing charity work, this is a topic you should not miss! With this summit, serious investors have the opportunity to gain first-hand insight on new investing ideas and exposure on the up-and-coming potential in the metaverse and Web3 era.

Serba Dinamik's counsel Mak Lin Kum also informed the court that a scheme of arrangement was also filed on Friday. It is understood that four subsidiaries of Serba Dinamik and the parent company had filed for a scheme of arrangement and they are SD Controls Sdn Bhd, Serba Dinamik Development Sdn Bhd, Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB), and Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd (SDSB). It is understood the scheme of arrangement will be fixed before another High Court (commercial division) on Thursday. The subsidiaries were Serba Dinamik International Ltd (SDIL) based in Labuan, SDSB, and SDGB. The creditors have proposed Victor Saw Seng Kee, a licensed liquidator of PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd, to act as liquidator of Serba Dinamik, SDGB, SDSB and SDIL.

On Oct 23, 2020, it entered into an MoU with Zuellig Pharma to collaborate on the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Malaysia. Another MoU was signed between Kanger and K-Star on Oct 26, 2020 for the purpose of appointing K-Star as the sale agent of the vaccines for private clinics here. In separate bourse filings on Wednesday (May 18), the ACE Market-listed Kanger said the MoUs have been terminated following the approval by the DCA for another company to be the registered holder for the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines. Kanger also said its MoU with the Sabah State government for the purpose of procuring and importing the Sinopharm vaccines into Sabah whereby Kanger would be appointed as the sole and exclusive distributor of the Sinopharm vaccines in the State has also been terminated. On Tuesday (May 17), Kanger announced that it had terminated a collaboration agreement with Sinopharm Group Hunan Changde Medical Co Ltd.Kanger shares closed down 0.5 sen or 8.33% at 55 sen on Wednesday, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM30.66 million.

WITH borders reopened and more people travelling between countries, there have been questions about the acceptance of Covid-19 vaccination certificates, especially for regional travel. Are such certificates mutually recognised among Asean countries? Verdict:TRUEFully-vaccinated travellers can breathe a sigh of relief as Asean countries agreed to mutually recognise each other's Covid-19 vaccination certificates to facilitate seamless and safe cross-border travel. "This is to ease Covid-19 vaccination certificate verification issued by each Asean country," Aaron Ago. READ ALSO:1: Covid-19: Asean countries agree to mutually recognise vaccination certs2: Mutual recognition of vaccine certs to boost border travel3: Asean’s collective acceptance of vaccine certs the ‘right move’

KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Bursa Malaysia extended Tuesday's (May 17) gains to open higher as buying interest in selected commodity and oil and gas (O&G)-related heavyweights returned. At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 5.18 points to 1,553.78 from Tuesday's close of 1,548.6. The benchmark index opened 5.55 points higher at 1,554.15. On the broader market, gainers surpassed decliners 213 to 109, while 231 counters were unchanged, 1,702 untraded and 11 others suspended. The research firm said further buying interest is also expected in the technology sector following Nasdaq’s strong rally overnight.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) has teamed up with a unit of Taiwanese giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (better known as Foxconn) to build and operate a wafer fabrication plant in Malaysia. The proposal is to build and operate a 12-inch wafer fabrication plant here, capable of producing up to 40,000 wafers per month in 28-nanometer and 40-nanometer technology. The entire SilTerra stake was sold by Khazanah for RM273 million. Subsequently, Foxconn bought 120 million DNeX shares in June 2021, representing 5.03% stake for RM108 million or 90 sen per share. In December 2021, DNeX said it was in talks with CGP and its shareholder Foxconn regarding SilTerra's expansion plan.

PETALING JAYA: Health protocols for flights must be consistent, simpler and predictable to ensure smooth and full recovery in the aviation industry, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic). Dr Wee said at present, recovery in air travel was slowly picking up around the world as many countries begin easing travel restrictions. "This requirement can be confusing and certainly has added more cost and even stress for passengers," added Dr Wee. This, said Dr Wee, marks a 30% to 45% recovery from the pre-pandemic traffic levels in 2019. "In view of this, the Malaysian government hopes that CPO will be included as an acceptable feedstock under Corsia in the future," added Dr Wee.

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.