Corporate News
Berjaya Corp
appoints Jalil Rasheed as new Group CEO - Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) has appointed Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed, the former boss at Permodalan Nasional Bhd, as its new chief executive officer.
- Jalil, 38, will take over the post from Datuk Sri Robin Tan Yeong Ching, who will assume the role of executive deputy chairman of BCorp.
- Jalil brings with him 18 years of investment and business leadership experience, having worked in the UK, US, Malaysia and Singapore with the global investment firms, Aberdeen Standard Investments and Invesco Limited.
- The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) made its first arrest under section 17A under the ASPRM 2009 law when it arrested a former director for bribery amounting to RM321,350.
- The ex-director of a shipping company was arrested for allegedly involving the remuneration of sub-contracting works for oil exploration vessel charter.
- The man, aged 64, was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Putrajaya MACC headquarters and is expected to be charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court this morning under Section 16 (b) (A) of the MACC Act 2009 (ASPRM 2009) for the offence of giving bribes to obtain a contract.
Exclusive - Choi aims to ace it with AirAsia
- As Stanley Choi hunted for companies to invest in, he realised AirAsia appealed to him the most in terms of its fundamentals and management style.
- While it is undeniable the pandemic has placed a dent on the airline, he said other airlines were in a similar predicament but where AirAsia differs is its business model and leading position in the region.
- Of course, there is a need to pump in some cash for its operations but the management seems very competent, they run the airline well and Choi said he is quite confident about that.
Bankers still cautious
- After an extremely challenging financial year, bankers are not getting their hopes high about a recovery this year, choosing instead to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.
- Last year, banks' provisions or the money they set aside for doubtful debts, swelled up not only in Malaysia but across the region as the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still ongoing, affected the incomes of businesses and individuals and their ability to service their bank debts as well as to take on fresh loans.
- Provisions, will remain elevated against the lender's historical normalised level of credit cost, he tells StarBizWeek, given the continued impact of Covid-19 on severely affected sectors like tourism, leisure and property.
- The automation and digitalization facility (ADF), which was established in March 2020, aims to encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across sectors to automate processes and digitalise operations to increase productivity and efficiency.
- The ADF is open to all Malaysian SMEs, with a maximum financing amount of up to RM3 million per SME and financing tenure of up to 10 years.
- The financing rate is up to four per cent per annum, inclusive of guarantee fee.
Economy
A debt is a debt
- MoF’s report showed federal government debt had increased to RM879.6bil or 62.2% of the nation’s nominal GDP as at end-December 2020.
- The World Bank has estimated, in its review of Malaysia’s economy in December last year, that Malaysia’s debt to GDP will increase to 60.7% in 2020.
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its country report released on March 17 showed that the country’s federal government debt to GDP stood at 52.5% in 2019, and this was estimated to have increased to 61.1% in 2020.
- 1MDB debts are defined separately by the MoF, public-private partnerships (PPP) involving some 97 projects as at end-September 2020, which are mainly financial commitments in the form of maintenance charges, availability payments, asset replacement charges and volume-based service contracts.
- Malaysians increasingly aspire for both economic and social well-being, a high standard of living, not just high incomes; fulfilling jobs, not just something that pays the bills.
- Tengku Zafrul said in that spirit, it is important to reassess not just the speed of Malaysia's growth, but also its quality, inclusivity, and sustainability.
- Citing an example, he said the government must ensure equal opportunities for all Malaysians, provide upward mobility opportunities, and good incentives to remain and work in Malaysia.
Ericsson named leader in 5G technology, ready to help Malaysia
- The assessment of ability to execute included Ericsson's products and services, market responsiveness and track record, marketing execution, customer experience and overall viability.
- This independent recognition of Ericsson as a global leader in 5G reflects the confidence service providers have shown in us to roll out and manage their 5G networks.
- Ericsson currently has 132 5G agreements and has enabled the launch of 79 commercial networks across 40 countries to date.
Potential dividend windfall from EWI
- Eco World International Bhd (EWI) shareholders might get a potential dividend windfall as the group's joint projects with Irish property developer Ballymore Group are completed or at the tail-end, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research.
- The EWI-Ballymore joint venture (JV) projects in the UK include London City Island, Wardian and Embassy Garden, while projects in Australia include Yarra One in Melbourne and West Village in Sydney.
- As these JV projects are completed or at the tail-end, Maybank IB Research in its latest report said there is no urgent need of immediate funds for future development, especially when the remaining projects in Sydney (Macquarie Park) and London (under EcoWorld London) are relatively small in gross development value (GDV)
Cryptocurrencies under fire
- IN THE latest twist involving the world of cryptocurrencies, India's government plans to impose a massive ban on the asset class.
- Reports have indicated that the Indian government plans to pass a bill that would ban just about every activity involving cryptocurrencies, including the possession, issuance, mining, trading and the transferring of crypto-assets.
- Once passed, this would make it one of the world's strictest policies on cryptocurrencies.