☕️ Aquaria KLCC operator aims for IPO

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM5.75 bil — Malaysia’s pineapple export value in 2023, including various pineapple products, with our dearest neighbour Singapore being the largest importer, accounting for 66%. Sarawak aims to be the nation’s pineapple powerhouse with its collaboration with the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (MIPB) to achieve a 14% annual growth in pineapple plantations, in line with its target of 20,000 hectares by end-2030. For comparison, the king of fruits, durian, only recorded exports of RM5.17 bil over seven years from 2017 to 2023.

USD20.9 bil (RM98.7 bil) — the net worth of 77-year-old Diane Hendricks, topping the list of Forbes’ America’s Richest Self-Made Women for the seventh year in a row. Her fortune is largely from her roofing supplies company, ABC Supply, which she built with her late husband in 1982. The company brought in USD20.4 bil in revenue last year and has more than 900 branch locations. Here is a Forbes documentary on how Hendricks built her ABC Supply empire.
View list: America’s Richest Self-Made Women

How many times can one abandon their babies without being caught? 3 times. A newborn baby is the third child abandoned by the same parents, confirmed by DNA test. “Baby Elsa” is the two siblings of 2 babies, a boy and a girl, found in very similar circumstances and also in the same area in 2017 and 2019. Police have yet to identify their parents. Abandoned babies are of great public interest in modern Britain as they are rarely abandoned. Official data published until 2015 showed no babies were registered as abandoned for the previous three years, with just one recorded as abandoned in 2011. However, academic researchers estimate the number to be higher, at about 16 per year, in an analysis covering the period 1998 to 2005.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

MOH to announce health care financing reform soon
The Ministry of Health will soon announce a healthcare financing reform plan to improve our underfunded, understaffed, and overworked healthcare system. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad highlighted the need for innovative spending of the RM41.2 bil allocated under Budget 2024, including RM6.07 bil for development. Is it sufficient to reform healthcare financing? He emphasised that as an upper-middle-income country, Malaysia should spend 6-7% of its GDP on healthcare rather than the current 5.1%. Dzulkefly praised the private sector for its effort to complement public healthcare and called for its involvement in value-based healthcare. He also mentioned efforts to optimise hospital ward usage through daily patient care at main hospitals and digitising the bed management system to improve the hospital bed ratio to 2.06 beds per 1,000 residents by the end of the 12th Malaysia Plan.
Learn: What is value-based healthcare?

More data centres could strain water, electricity supplies
A surge in data centre investments could strain the country's water and electricity supplies, according to research analysts. TNB has received applications for 11,000 MW of power, equivalent to 40% of Peninsular Malaysia’s current installed capacity of about 27,000 MW. The electricity demand from data centres is expected to exceed 5,000 MW by 2035. Data centres, primarily located in Selangor and Johor, consume significant amounts of water for cooling, with a 100 MW data centre using about 4.16 mil of water per day, equivalent to the daily water usage of a city of 10,000 people. Selangor and Johor are already notorious for water supply shortages. Water, power cuts to run AI apps elsewhere? No thanks.

Analysts urge the govt to implement policies addressing the high energy and water usage of data centres as they currently pay the same rate as other commercial entities despite their heavy usage. Johor state government will soon implement guidelines requiring new data centre operators to demonstrate efforts to use green energy and improve sustainability, including power and water efficiency, as a condition for building permission. From Jan 2021 to March 2023, RM76 bil was invested in data centres in Malaysia. Microsoft and Google also announced investments totalling over USD4.2 bil (RM19.7 bil) to build data centres here.

Business

• MOF’s third attempt to sell 1MDB’s land in Pulau Indah

  Another potential half a billion to recoup from this 1MDB scandal, though it has been a difficult one. The Ministry of Finance is making a third attempt in 9 years to sell 1MDB's land in Pulau Indah, Klang, which is designated as a free trade zone (FTZ). The land could potentially fetch RM559 mil. Previous attempts to sell the land in 2015 and 2019 were unsuccessful. The land, now advertised as 285.07 acres (down from 318 acres in 2019 due to road upgrades), has attracted significant interest from both local and foreign investors, particularly due to its industrial zoning and improved connectivity. The land is owned by Tadmax Power Sdn Bhd, a unit of 1MDB, which acquired it for RM344.24 mil between 2013 and 2015. The land's sale is now more appealing due to its ready infrastructure and booming industrial, logistics, and warehousing sectors in the area.

• Aquaria KLCC operator aims for IPO

  TIL — the aquarium business can be really lucrative. AQUAWALK Sdn Bhd, the company behind Aquaria KLCC, plans to list on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market by Q1 2025, as confirmed by its owner, Simon Foong, AQUAWALK would be the first oceanarium operator in the region to go public. Aquaria KLCC, a state-of-the-art aquarium, spans 60,000 sq ft. AQUAWALK also owns Aquaria Phuket, Thailand's largest aquarium exhibit, and holds a 30% stake in Jakarta Aquarium & Safari (JAQ), noting that all are profitable. Additionally, AQUAWALK is exploring new oceanarium projects in ASEAN. The company also holds stakes in Blu Restaurant Sdn Bhd (24%), Adventuria Sdn Bhd (70%), and Aquablu Technologies Sdn Bhd (100%). Blu Restaurant, with rights to open Burger & Lobster outlets in Asia, is set to be sold to InNature Bhd for RM21.25 mil, with AQUAWALK receiving RM5.1 mil from the sale for expansion.
  Simon Foong is also the majority owner of InNature Bhd, the operator of The Body Shop in Malaysia. The brand’s future is looking uncertain as the main owner in the UK has entered into administration.
  Very good business with FY2022 profit after tax of RM24.6 mil (31.5% net margins) — view financial highlights here.

Shorts:

1. Recent update on the Socks Saga

   The Shah Alam Sessions Court has scheduled a mention on July 15 to determine if the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will allow a representation by KK Mart founder Chai Kee Kan and his wife Loh Siew Mui regarding the controversy over socks bearing the word "Allah."

2. Indonesian maid in PJ treated inhumanely 

   A 21-year-old Indonesian maid was locked on a balcony and treated inhumanely by her employer in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. She was only allowed inside the house to clean from 5 AM to 11 AM and had to sleep outside even in wet conditions. She was also scolded daily and confined. The maid was rescued by the Bukit Aman Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Division after writing a note seeking help, which she threw from the balcony. The employer, a 69-year-old woman, has been arrested, and the case is being investigated under relevant anti-trafficking and immigration laws. Even pets and animals are treated so much better than this.

3. Dua Lipa adds a second date to her KL show

   British-Albanian singer Dua Lipa adds a second date to the KL stop on 24 Nov 2024 due to overwhelming demand. Live Nation says that pre-sale tickets for the first show on Nov 23 sold out after it went on sale on June 10. Dua shows for Dua Lipa *ba dum tss*

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The rising trend of Sextortion

What is sextortion?
Take the element of sex and combine it with extortion, and a rapidly growing crime industry is born. Scammers will pretend to be pretty girls that fit the profile of the victim (e.g. age, race) and reach out to their victims via social media. These ‘pretty girls’ will flirt with their victims, sending sexual pictures to coax their victims to share explicit photos of themselves and subsequently blackmail them for money to stop them from sharing the pictures with their friends. 

Sextortion is the fastest-growing scam affecting teenagers globally and some victims have resorted to taking their own lives. US crime figures showed that sextortion cases more than doubled last year, rising to 26,700, with at least 27 boys having killed themselves in the past 2 years. These figures are believed to be under-reported due to their sensitive nature, 

A thriving industry
Many of these scammers appear to have originated from Nigeria (view on map). Investigations found that there’s a web of Nigerian TikTok, YouTube and Scribd accounts sharing tips and scripts for sextortion modus operandi. On the other end of the crime are many Nigerian teenagers who already don’t have much money and don’t think much about the consequences. A report found that celebrating sextortion crimes is an established part of the internet subculture in the country.

The normalisation of cybercrimes in Nigeria can be traced back to the early days of the internet. The term Yahoo Boys is used to describe a portion of the population that uses cybercrime to make a living, arising from the 2000s wave of Nigerian Prince scam emails which spread through the Yahoo email service. 

Back in Malaysia, it was reported a retiree lost RM45,000 recently in a similar crime. 

SG-listed kopitiam operator acquires SGD13.2 mil coffee shop property
When land is scarce, even a coffee shop can be worth 8 figures. A 2-storey shophouse comprising a coffee shop on the ground level and a 3-room HDB flat on the second level (total floor area of 3,853 sq feet) in Serangoon Central, Singapore, was sold for SGD13.2 mil (RM46.04 mil). The buyer of this property is the Singapore-listed coffee shop operator Kimly Ltd., with a market cap of SGD393.8 mil (RM1.37 bil). Kimly is one of the largest coffee shop operators in Singapore and has other F&B businesses, including mixed rice, dim sum and seafood. 

Founded in 1990, the company operates and manages an extensive network of 86 food outlets and 172 food stalls. For the first half ended 31 Mar 2024, the company generated revenue of SGD158.5 mil (RM552.9 mil) and a net profit of SGD16 mil (RM55.8 mil. View its H1 2024 earnings here. Check out more about the company here.

Surprise election in France
France’s President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the country’s parliament and called for a snap election later this month (2 rounds — June 30 and July, ahead of the Paris Olympics in mid-July). This followed after a massive defeat of Macron’s Renaissance party at the European Parliament elections. The Far-right National Rally party secured more than 30% of the vote, doubling that of Renaissance. The shift in political sentiment in France is attributed to issues such as immigration, crime and the cost of living, contributing to the far-right party’s surge in votes by more than 10 points compared to the last European Union elections in 2019.

The European elections offer nearly 370 mil Europeans to cast their votes and choose their representatives for the European Parliament. The European vote, in theory, has no effect on national politics, but it reflects domestic sentiments towards the ruling party. Macron already lacks a majority in the parliament and this snap election is a risky bet to turn the tide. 
Learn: Difference between right wing and left wing

Pakistani man plans to open gay club, sent to mental hospital
A Pakistani man who tried to set up the country’s first gay club has been detained in a mental hospital by local authorities for psychiatric disease. The man filed an application with local authorities to open the club in Abbottabad, the city where Osama bin Laden was found and killed. Called Lorenzo gay club, the club forbids gay sex on the premises. Gay sex is illegal in conservatively religious Pakistan and is punished by 2 years up to life in prison, though the laws are rarely practised.

The application was leaked on social media, causing a furore from locals and politicians in the region. In an interview with the Telegraph, the man who chose not to disclose his identity said he wanted everyone’s human rights to be defended and would pursue his application to the courts. The man’s friends said his sexuality is known in the community and had never experienced any issues.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. It’s just Tuesday, but in percentage terms, we are 40% there towards the weekend! Nothing serious here today — just some reflection and pondering on the race we are all in. A long weekend is coming.

2. The circle of life

coffeeovercardio

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3. Our lanyard vs buffalo — same same but different

lokaljobs_kannada

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