Economy
EPF: Payment for current i-Sinar applications starts Tuesday
- For contributors who have RM100,000 and below (Account 1), they have access to any withdrawal amount of up to RM10,000.
- The payments will be staggered over six months with the first payment of up to RM5,000.
- For those who have above RM100,000 (Account 1), they have access of up to 10% of their Account 1 savings.
- China’s Nine Dragons Paper plans to invest RM5.4bil in a paper mill and a factory in Malaysia.
- Tan Sri Muhyiddin said the Malaysian Government's policy is always pro-business and very supportive and ready to offer attractive incentives to investors.
- These projects will create a total of 2,180 job opportunities of which, nearly 90% will be Malaysians
Genting Malaysia cuts pay again as Covid shuts local casino
- Genting Malaysia is asking some employees to agree to a temporary reduction of 15% or 20% in basic salary based on their ranks.
- The cuts will be in effect until May. Senior management have voluntarily agreed to waive 20% of their salaries for the same period
- Malaysia’s renewed movement restrictions and border closures imposed to rein in the spread of Covid-19 infections forced the group to shut its local operations again on Jan. 22
- The renewed interest in a merger deal between Digi. com Bhd and Celcom Axiata Bhd comes after the announcement that a government special purpose unit will be building out and owning the country's 5G infrastructure that will be leased out to telecom operators to use and deliver their services.
- However, for telecom operators now, this means that they will all have access to the same infrastructure, forcing them to compete on their services to the end-user.
- Telenor has a 49% stake in Digi while Celcom is Axiata's wholly owned unit.
- The latest acquisition of MBO Cinemas by PPB Group Bhd
will allow the group to diversify into new growth areas and expand its revenue streams. - The expanded chain of cinemas would enable PPB Group to capitalise on the food and beverage (F&B) segment and increase the co-production of local content by its Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Movies to complement the movie-going experience and further expand its revenue stream.
- With the MBO chain of cinemas acquisition, it will accelerate PPB’s growth.
- SCH Group Bhd has obtained its shareholders’ approval to change the company's name to Hextar Industries Bhd, reflecting the group's core business in the agricultural industry.
- The company recently proposed a rights issue exercise to raise as much as RM155mil.
- The quarry equipment supplier acquired an 83.33% stake in PK Fertilizers (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd and 100% of TK Rentals Sdn Bhd in 2018.
AirAsia Group plans air taxi, drone delivery service
- AirAsia Group Bhd plans to launch an air taxi service and the country's first drone delivery service as the budget carrier seeks to diversify amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company's CEO said on Saturday.
- As part of the group's diversification push, it also aims to launch a ride-hailing service next month as Covid-19 continues to hit air travel.
- The service should start operating in about 18 months, Fernandes was quoted as saying.
5G is here to stay
- Over the past eight years since the fourth generation (4G) network services were launched in Malaysia, all states received the high-speed Internet connectivity, with 91.8% of the population currently having access to 4G services in populated areas.
- There are views that telcos have not done much to rollout 4G infrastructure nationwide, despite that the 4G spectrum was allocated to the operators at minimal charges, unlike in most countries where such spectrum were auctioned by governments at high prices.
- The government, via a wholly-owned special-purpose vehicle (SPV), will build, own and implement the 5G infrastructure and spectrum.
- TM ONE's executive vice president and chief executive officer, Ahmad Taufek Omar said a redesigned and revamped website was also unveiled in tandem with the new tagline.
- Ahmad Taufek said the new website will be the content hub and reference source for customers in their journey towards taking transformation forward.
- Among key highlights of the redesigned website is the interactive virtual reality content which allows customers to experience a virtual visit to the Klang Valley Data Centre (KVDC), and the upcoming TM ONE Experience Centre. --
Early signs of weakness in commercial real estate
- Judging by the report cards by listed M-REITs, the most impacted segment seems to be the retail segment as it took the biggest hit.
- Pavilion REIT’s Pavilion Tower and the Intermark Mall valuations remained intact.
- The economic downturn of 2020 on the back of global pandemic has changed the landscape of the property market to a certain extent especially in relation to commercial properties.