Financenews
99 Speed Mart reports higher 2Q24 revenue
AMMB, MetLife call off RM1.12 bil sale of insurance units to Great Eastern
Bangsa Johor school sends first batch of teachers for training in Singapore
Berjaya Food falls into the red, posts RM91mil net loss in FY2024
Bermaz Auto’s growth underpinned by new model launches
Bursa Malaysia ends midday in negative territory in line with reginal peers
Bursa opens at fresh high on buying in financial services stocks
Bursa opens firmer as blue chips remain in demand
CGS International says downside risk to ringgit remain, targets 4.4 by year-end, 4.2 by end-2025
China’s bubble tea firm Mixue to raise about US$500mil in Hong Kong IPO later in Feb, sources say
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Malaysia to achieve high-income status soon: OECD director

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PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has enjoyed five decades of rapid and inclusive economic growth, bringing the country within reach of high-income status, said a chief economist.

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economics Department director Dr Luiz de Mello said the economy has achieved an impressive average yearly growth of over six per cent since the 1960s. 

He added that Malaysia has been ahead of regional peers in terms of per capita incomes and has been able to consolidate this lead. 

Luiz said while incomes were only one-third of the World Bank’s threshold for high-income countries in 1989, they are set to surpass that threshold by 2028.

“Significant policy reforms in the 1980s allowed Malaysia to attract large inflows of foreign direct investment, turning it into a global chips and electronics manufacturer.

“Growth and productivity could be strengthened further by easing restrictive regulations and creating a more level playing field between state-owned enterprises and private firms. 

“This would bring particular benefits for services and for small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” he said in a presentation at the launch of the 2024 OECD Economic Survey of Malaysia today.

Luiz noted that with higher incomes, however, surging demands for better public services require different policies from those that were successful in the past. 

He said the public sector will have to deliver more and become more effective, which calls for improved economic governance.

He also emphasised that filling the substantial gaps in the current social protection system requires increased expenditure. 

On Malaysia’s growth, Luiz said the country’s growth is accelerating, mostly driven by expanding domestic demand. 

He added that exports are set to rebound amid stronger external demand, and inflation has fallen below historical averages but is expected to rise as energy subsidies are withdrawn.

“The economy has shown resilience in the face of shocks, including the pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks, and the economic implications of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

“Growth is projected to reach 4.9 per cent in 2024 and then 4.7 per cent in 2025. 

“Buoyant domestic demand and new opportunities in technology-intensive sectors and the expected rebound in exports will encourage private investment despite higher financing costs,” he said.

On monetary policy, Luiz said the monetary authorities started a tightening cycle in 2022 as inflation approached five per cent, driven by global energy prices and currency depreciation.

“With inflation near its two per cent long-term average, the current monetary policy stance seems adequate and provides room to accommodate a temporary increase in inflation as energy subsidies are withdrawn. 

“At the same time, monetary authorities should stand ready to raise rates to counter possible second-round effects from higher energy prices,” he noted.

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OECD’s Malaysia Economic Survey 2024 findings will be used to draft 13th Malaysia Plan – Rafizi

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PUTRAJAYA:  The findings of the Malaysia Economic Survey 2024 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will be used to draft the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said it will also be used to formulate specific policies and programmes in sectors involving micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“During preliminary discussions with the OECD last year, the Economy Ministry indeed requested that the sector be studied in depth, including by comparing policies and practices in other countries, which is related to MSMEs.”

“These findings will certainly be used to draft, firstly, the 13th Malaysia Plan, which is currently being implemented, and secondly, to formulate specific policies and programmes in sectors involving MSMEs,” he told reporters after the launch of the OECD’s Malaysia Economic Survey 2024 here today.

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Indonesia’s protest victory sparks debate over new era of civic activism, or a rare success story

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JAKARTA – The success this month of protesters in Indonesia, who managed to block a controversial Bill in Parliament that was seen as a move to constrict democracy, has sparked discussions about the country entering a new era of civic activism – but not everyone is convinced.
The decision by political elites to yield to public pressure earlier in August is unlikely to set a precedent, given how such a victory following street protests is rare, and how the archipelago has had a controversial history with activists.

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Unlocking New Market Potential

Admin
Affin Bank and DBS Bank are collaborating on groundbreaking initiatives in stock market research, trading platforms, and institutional investment strategies. With cutting-edge tools and advanced data analytics, they’re delivering sharper insights and smarter trading strategies to investors. This partnership is all about one thing: raising the game in the stock market.

Driving Stock Prices Up, Expanding Investment Opportunities
At the heart of this collaboration is a commitment to driving stock prices higher. Together, Affin Bank and DBS Bank are set to uncover hidden gems in the market, creating exciting new opportunities for investors. Expect a wave of market activity as investors catch wind of these high-potential stocks, setting the stage for impressive value growth.

Leading the Market with Institutional Strength
Affin Bank and DBS Bank are not just following trends; they’re setting them. By pooling resources and expertise, they’re offering institutional investors tailored solutions that align perfectly with their needs. This partnership is about more than just support—it’s about leading the way and steering the market toward new horizons.

Innovating for the Future
This isn’t just a partnership—it’s a forward-thinking approach to the future of finance. Leveraging the latest in AI and big data, Affin Bank and DBS Bank are enhancing transparency, boosting efficiency, and delivering an intelligent trading experience. Get ready for a smarter, more dynamic financial market, fueled by innovation.

The Future is Bright
As Affin Bank and DBS Bank come together, they’re opening doors to new opportunities in the stock market. This is more than a partnership—it’s a catalyst for change, offering investors richer returns and a chance to be part of something bigger. Welcome to the future of the stock market, where possibilities are limitless.

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This strategic partnership between Affin Bank and DBS Bank is poised to inject new vitality and opportunities

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This strategic partnership between Affin Bank and DBS Bank is poised to inject new vitality and opportunities into the stock market. Investors can look forward to a broader range of investment options and an optimized trading experience in the future. We believe that this deep collaboration will serve as a significant driver of innovation and growth in the financial market, offering investors a promising outlook for stable profits.

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Bursa opens firmer as blue chips remain in demand

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KUALA LUMPUR: 
Bursa Malaysia opened slightly higher on Tuesday despite Wall Street’s mixed overnight performance, as investors may be rotating out of technology stocks ahead of the US interest rate cut next month.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) increased 1.99 points to 1,640.95 from Monday’s close of 1,638.96.

The index opened 0.20 of-a-point higher at 1,639.16.

On the broader market, losers edged past gainers 156 to 152, while 222 counters were unchanged, 1,996 untraded, and 25 suspended.

Turnover reached 95.39 million units valued at RM59.48 million.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said trading on the local bourse remains lacklustre despite the FBM KLCI closing on a positive note at almost the 1,640 mark yesterday.

“Buying of blue chips continued with the inflow of foreign funds, possibly taking advantage of the appreciating ringgit which strengthened to an almost two-year high at RM4.35 against the US dollar.

As such, we expect the index to hover within the 1,635-1,645 range today, he added.

Meanwhile, Thong noted that the escalating conflict in the Middle East saw crude oil prices rising, with Brent crude oil jumping above US$81 per barrel.

Among the heavyweights, Maybank, Public Bank, CIMB and IHH were all flat at RM10.54, RM4.51, RM7.89 and RM6.31, respectively, while Tenaga gained four sen to RM13.96.

As for the most active counters, Velesto inched up half-a-sen to 22 sen, Elridge bagged 1.5 sen to 46.5 sen, MMAG increased one sen to 33 sen and PBA added 32 sen to RM2.12, while Top Glove eased one sen to 95 sen.

On the index board, the FBM Emas Index grew 16.50 points to 12,368.81, the FBMT 100 Index increased 15.32 points to 12,047.84, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index strengthened by 21.50 points to 12,314.11.
The FBM 70 Index improved 25.22 points to 17,750.80 and the FBM ACE Index added 21.93 points to 5,229.10.

Sector-wise, the Plantation Index gained 21.33 points to 7,243.71, the Energy Index advanced 10.84 points to 946.28, the Industrial Products and Services Index inched up 0.09 of-a-point to 182.98, and the Financial Services Index firmed by 3.43 points to 19,044.30.

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Sime Darby’s FY2024 net profit soars to RM3.3bil on healthcare exit

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PETALING JAYA: 
Sime Darby Bhd’s net profit more than doubled to RM3.31 billion in the financial year 2024 (FY2024) from RM1.46 billion a year ago, largely due to a RM2 billion gain from the disposal of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH).

In a statement, the automotive and industrial conglomerate said that excluding one-off items, the group’s core net profit grew 14% to RM1.3 billion in FY2024.

This growth was driven by higher profits from its industrial business in Australia, increased equipment and product support sales, stronger motor businesses in Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, and the maiden profit contribution from the UMW division.

Revenue jumped 39% to RM67.13 billion versus RM48.29 billion in FY2023,
 it said in a statement.

The group’s CEO Jeffri Salim Davidson said Sime Darby’s performance was solid, demonstrating the resilience and robustness of its diverse business portfolio across various markets despite facing considerable challenges during the year.
“It was a busy year for the group in terms of acquisitions.

We completed the acquisitions of Cavpower and UMW, he said, adding that the sale of RSDH marked its exit from the healthcare sector, enabling the group to fully focus on growing its core motor and industrial businesses.

For the fourth quarter just ended (Q4 2024), net profit decreased to RM89 million from RM622 million, while revenue improved by 41.4% to RM18.79 billion from RM13.29 billion a year ago.

The lower net profit was mainly due to one-off impairments and provisions at the motor division, losses at its mainland China motor operations, higher finance costs, and deferred tax provisions.

According to its Bursa Malaysia filing, profit before interest and tax (PBIT) for the motor division shrank 98.4% to RM9 million in Q4 2024.

This decline was mainly due to one-off impairments and a RM229 million provision, while the previous corresponding period included a RM179 million property disposal gain.

The one-off impairments and provisions include those related to operation closures and impairment of goodwill.

Excluding these items, PBIT eased 367% mainly due to losses at its mainland China motor operations and lower dividend income.

During the quarter, its PBIT was mainly contributed by the automotive business.
PBIT for UMW, the group’s third division, totalled RM171 million for the quarter, with the automotive business being the primary contributor.

Jeffri said FY2024 proved to be a particularly challenging year for its China operations.

However, we remain optimistic about China’s long-term prospects and continue to closely monitor our operations there to ensure we are well-positioned to capitalise on emerging trends and opportunities, he said.

Sime Darby declared a second interim dividend of 10 sen per share for Q4 2024, bringing the total dividend payout for FY2024 to 13 sen a share or RM886 million.
As at 5pm, Sime Darby’s share price was down by 11 sen or 4.14% at RM2.55, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM17.38 billion.

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Ringgit revisits 4.33 level driven by strong demand

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KUALA LUMPUR: 
The ringgit continued to advance against the US dollar and revisited the 4.33 level at opening today, despite the better-than-expected US economic data, said an analyst.

At 8am, the ringgit advanced to 4.3350/4.3500 against the greenback versus Tuesday’s close of 4.3460/4.3500.

The ringgit’s highest closing level previously was 4.3320/4.3350, registered on Feb 10, 2023.

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Afzanizam Rashid said the US Consumer Confidence reported by the Conference Board rose to 103.3 points in August against consensus estimate of 100.9 points.

While the report indicates that US consumers are generally positive about the economy, the Conference Board chief economist suggested that consumers are wary about the state of the labour market which is in tandem with the recent uptick in the unemployment rate to 4.3% in July, he noted.

Besides, Afzanizam said the US Dollar Index (DXY) declined 0.3% to 100.552 points while the two-year US Treasury yield note fell by four basis points to 3.90%, suggesting that expectation for the US interest rate cut remains intact.

Overall, the global situation should be positive for the ringgit given that the possible reduction in US interest rate will narrow the gap between the Fed Funds Rate and overnight policy rate, he said.Furthermore, he said some global investment banks have raised their country ratings for Malaysia which could drive more foreign funds into the country. Hence, this will effectively create demand for the local currency.

The latest notable economic upgrade came from Nomura Group, Japan’s largest investment bank and brokerage which upgraded Malaysia to an Overweight rating given its strong fundamentals and robust second-quarter gross domestic product growth.The immediate support level of 4.3000 seems to be the direction for ringgit at the moment, he added.Meanwhile, the ringgit traded mostly higher against a basket of major currencies and Asean currencies.

The local note rose against the British pound to 5.7460/5.7659 from 5.7511/5.7564 at Tuesday’s close, improved vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8452/4.8620 from 4.8532/4.8576 yesterday but weakened against the Japanese yen to 3.0115/3.0221 from 3.0006/3.0035 previously.

The ringgit gained against the Singapore dollar to 3.3308/3.3428 from 3.3331/3.3364 at yesterday’s close and rose versus the Indonesian rupiah to 279.7/280.8 from 280.4/280.8 previously.It also improved vis-a-vis the Philippine peso to 7.70/7.73 compared to 7.72/7.73 on Tuesday’s close but slid against the Thai baht to 12.7699/12.8235 from 12.7523/12.7712 yesterday.

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Bursa opens at fresh high on buying in financial services stocks

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KUALA LUMPUR: 
Bursa Malaysia surpassed the 1,660 level in early trade, with the benchmark index gaining 0.79 per cent, opening at a fresh 44-month high today, bolstered by continued buying in financial services counters.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (KLCI) rose 13.17 points to 1,665.46 from Tuesday’s close of 1,652.29. The local market bucked the weaker regional trend on Wednesday morning amid modest gains on Wall Street overnight.

The index broke the previous 44-month high recorded on Dec 14, 2020 where it closed at 1,662.74.

The index opened 5.48 points higher at 1,657.77.
The broader market was positive as gainers led losers by 183 to 178, with 217 counters unchanged, 1,938 untraded, and 42 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 136.53 million units valued at RM121.54 million.
Wall Street ended marginally higher amid a choppy session as traders await the announcement of Nvidia’s earnings, to be released later today.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said local sentiments are getting better with improving corporate earnings, strong economy, more construction contracts especially on data centres, and an appreciation of the ringgit.

All these factors are driving the market to trade higher. We believe the accumulation of blue chips will persist although the broader market sentiment may be somewhat lacklustre due to the lack of retail participation,
 he noted.
He reckoned the recent influx of initial public offerings which topped RM2 billion raised for the first half of 2024 may be one of the main reasons for the low interest in small caps.

Therefore, we expect the index to oscillate between the 1,645-1,655 range today as we enter into the fervour of earnings season for the third quarter of 2024,
 he said.
Among heavyweights, Maybank jumped 10 sen to RM10.80, Public Bank advanced six sen to RM4.74, CIMB increased 20 sen to RM8.13, and Tenaga rose 16 sen to RM14.08. IHH eased two sen to RM6.28.
As for the actives, Vetece advanced 22 sen to 47 sen, Velesto went up half-a-sen to 21.5 sen, while Notion erased 3.5 sen to 85.5 sen, Securemetric fell 2.5 sen to 21.5 sen, and Tanco decreased one sen to RM1.03.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index climbed 69.09 points to 12,489.83, the FBMT 100 Index rose 73.71 points to 12,184.27, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index gained 33.88 points to 12,358.98.
The FBM 70 Index increased by 23.25 points to 17,790.24, while the FBM ACE Index dipped 13.61 points to 5,176.33.
Sector-wise, the Plantation Index garnered 33.08 points to 7,247.74, while the Energy Index declined 2.16 points to 944.72, the Industrial Products and Services Index eased 0.12 of-a-point to 183.41, and the Financial Services Index surged 194.67 points to 19,473.52.

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Zaid slams Terengganu exco for fuss over Sukma diving participants

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PETALING JAYA: 
Zaid Ibrahim has hit out at a Terengganu executive councillor for expressing his displeasure over two Muslim girls representing the state in the diving competition at the recent Sukma games.

In a post on X, the former law minister questioned if there was something 
wrong with the state PAS leader.

Zaid said Hishamuddin Abdul Karim should have been proud that the two girls excelled in a sport and congratulated them instead.
“What’s wrong with him?

The two girls have parents who are their legal guardians. If the parents have no objection, who is the exco man to decide for the girls? he said.

Zaid also pointed out that any law that allowed the state govt to decide on the lives of Muslims or their dress code was unconstitutional.

In 2018, Terengganu made it a requirement for state athletes to wear shariah-compliant clothing, both at home and while taking part in events outside the state.

Four years later, it banned women from taking part in gymnastic events because of non-shariah-compliant outfits, forcing several Muslim female gymnasts from the state to retire from the sport altogether.

Last night, Hishamuddin, who is the youth and sports committee chairman, said he was shocked by reports that two Muslim girls had represented the state in the diving competition at the Sukma games held in Sarawak.

He said the Terengganu sports council’s stand was that no female Muslims can represent the state in diving given that the necessary attire does not meet the state’s dress code for Muslim athletes.

Hishamuddin said he was not aware that the two divers had taken part in Sukma, let alone represented the state.

He said the Terengganu Amateur Swimming Association paid for their participation.
Zaid went on to call for sensible religious leaders to speak up and defend the civil liberties of Muslims to live their lives as they see fit.

He said it was time for Muslim parents to stand up and protect their children’s rights and not be cowed by the politicians.

If we follow the thinking of this Terengganu man, there will be no Muslim girls participating in sports, music and culture. How can this enslavement of the entire community be allowed?

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