☕️ Should banks & telcos be held accountable for scams?

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Over 180,000 Grab Malaysia drivers and dispatchers received Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) contributions, announced Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong. This 12-month coverage, sponsored by Grab Malaysia, falls under the Budget 2024 initiative. The scheme’s cost is covered 90% by the government and 10% by Grab Malaysia for its partners from the date they register on the platform. Sim stated that this initiative provides free coverage to qualifying individuals, alleviating the burden on e-hailing drivers and p-hailing dispatchers by ensuring their families are protected in the event of any work-related disaster.

It’s more than just music and awe at a Coldplay concert — fans were actually helping to charge the show batteries, including phones, laptops and tool-charging stations for the crew, by riding power bikes and jumping on kinetic dancefloors. These creative solutions have helped the band reduce their touring carbon footprint by 59% compared with their previous world tour. 72% of all tour waste has been diverted from landfill and sent for reuse, recycling and composting, up from 66% in 2023. In 2021, the band announced a 12-point plan to lower emissions while touring, two years after frontman Chris Martin vowed never to tour again unless it was done sustainably and with a “positive impact”. Yeah, they were all green.

Claudia Sheinbaum was elected as Mexico's first female president on Sunday following the deadliest election campaign in the country's modern history. Ahead of the vote, more than three dozen candidates were assassinated, including a local government candidate in Puebla state killed on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 37, according to data from security consultancy Integralia obtained by Reuters. Integralia also reported 828 nonlethal attacks on political candidates during the campaign. More about the election in the Global News section.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The most unexpected — Durian seller allegedly stole RM4.6 mil worth of gambling chips from Genting
In November last year, it was reported that RM4.6 mil worth of gambling chips were stolen from Genting Highlands Bhd. Apparently, the durian seller broke into a casino room in Genting Highlands and stole the 1,160 chips. The accused, along with three others who were previously charged, allegedly broke into and stole 1,160 chips worth RM4,607,800 from the Twilight 3 room, Sky Casino Genting Highlands, at 7.12 a.m. on October 28, 2023. Separately, the three other men pleaded not guilty in the Bentong Magistrate’s Court in November last year.

Being a durian seller isn’t as lucrative as it used to be anymore — weather is impacting yields and quality of durians. Additionally, there are ongoing land tussles in the Raub, the home of the king of kings — Musang King. Last month, the Court of Appeal denied 131 Musang King durian farmers their application to maintain their orchards in Raub, pending the disposal of their eviction notices appeal. Save Musang King Alliance (Samka), a group comprising durian farmers without permits in Raub, said they are currently considering filing an appeal against the decision before a three-member bench at the Court of Appeal.

Opposition leader’s son charged for corruption
The son of opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin was charged today in the Sessions Court with accepting RM100,000 in bribes six years ago to use his influence in securing a tender. Muhammad Faisal Hamzah, 40, pleaded not guilty before Judge Rozina Ayob. The charge alleges he accepted the bribes from Izmir Abd Hamid to persuade Heitech Padu Berhad to appoint Rimba Merpati Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Per My Solutions as marketing consultants due to his influence. It was alleged that the bribe was to ensure Rimba Merpati Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Per My Solutions would be paid a commission of RM700,000 after Heitech Padu Berhad secured a RM33 mil tender from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) for the “Supply, Rental, Implementation, Training, Support, and Maintenance of Security Infrastructure.” If true, that translates to a commission/inflation rate (for those involved/rakyat) of 2.1%.

Business

1. ANZ finally rids of AmBank
   Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) disposed of its remaining 5.17% stake in AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank), Malaysia’s sixth-largest lender by assets. ANZ has been trying to dispose of its stake in AMMB Holdings Bhd for almost a decade (since 2016) after restructuring its businesses in Asia. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but according to The Edge, the shares were offered for sale at between RM4.05 to RM4.10 apiece, valuing the deal at up to RM701.2 mil. AMMB’s largest shareholder now is EPF (14.3%), followed by founder Azman Hashim (11.8%). AMMB’s market cap currently stands at RM14.2 bil.

2. UEM to develop 500MW hybrid solar power plant in Johor
   UEM Group Bhd, a wholly owned unit of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, announced that it has signed an agreement to develop a 500-megawatt (MW) hybrid solar power plant project in Johor. Through its green industry arm UEM Lestra Bhd, UEM Group inked an agreement with Blueleaf Energy and ITRAMAS Corporation Sdn Bhd. This is the second project under UEM Lestra's one-gigawatt (GW) hybrid solar power plant venture, which is part of the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).

Shorts

1. Bomb scare at Tourism Ministry HQ
   A “bomb-like” object was discovered in a parcel delivered by a courier to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) building. The parcel was addressed to Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing and brought up to his office at level 14. The Putrajaya police categorised the object as a ‘hoax’ after concluding their checks. The case is being investigated under Section 8 of the Explosives Act 1957.

2. Penangnites to enjoy 10,000 litres of free water for six months from July
   The state government took note of complaints regarding the new domestic traffic rates implemented in February 2024. Domestic consumers in Penang will receive the first 10,000 litres of water free each month for the next six months. Additionally, large households with a combined monthly income below RM5,000 will get an RM20 rebate under the Family Friendly Rebate scheme. Penang Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari announced that these exemptions and rebates will be effective from July to December. It’s only 10 cubic metres of water — RM6.20. It’s something.

3. Universiti Malaya (UM) took the 60th spot globally in QS World Rankings 2025
   Our national university, Universiti Malaya, is the only Malaysian university to be in the top 100 of the 21st edition of the QS World Rankings. The university climbed five spots from 65th last year. A total of 28 Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs) were ranked this year. However, the report noted Malaysia’s research impact still falls short compared to its regional and global peers. View the full list here.

4. LGE: Make banks & telcos accountable for scam losses
   Former finance minister Lim Guan Eng has urged for a law to hold negligent banks and telecommunication companies partially liable for financial losses from scams. He proposed a “shared responsibility framework” to distribute these losses among financial institutions, telecom operators, and consumers. Despite police efforts, losses from scams have surged from RM700 mil in 2021 to RM1.3 bil last year.

PSA — The asset maintenance and replacement works at the Sungai Selangor Phase 1 Water Treatment Plant (SSP1 WTP) was successfully completed last night. Water restoration has begun in stages and the full restoration of water supply to the affected areas is expected to be at 12pm on June 7, 2024 (tomorrow).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Narrow win for Modi, major loss for Indian stock market
Narendra Modi is expected to be sworn in for a third term as India’s Prime Minister despite losing the majority in parliament with his party only securing 240 seats of the 272 needed for a majority, a humbling verdict for the politician who has only seen majority wins throughout his career. Still, Modi will take the top spot thanks to allies pledging their support, bringing the coalition to 293 seats of the total 543 seats.

Modi’s loss of parliamentary majority also wreaked havoc on India’s stock market, as investors feel Modi’s need to negotiate with the smaller constituents of his coalition could lead to him having to compromise on aspects of his economic agenda. Modi’s narrow win had a bigger impact on the financial markets than the pandemic. The Indian stock indices recorded their biggest intraday fall since March 2020, falling as much as 8.5%.

A big loser is the Adani business empire, with the shares of all 10 Adani Group firms freefalling to wipe out almost USD45 bil in group market value. This marks the biggest single-day rout Adani has faced and shaved almost USD25 bil off the net worth of group chair Gautam Adani, taking away his title of Asia’s richest person.

Business and Finance

1. BlackRock, Citadel back Texas Stock Exchange to contest NYSE, Nasdaq

   The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) has raised USD120 mil and plans to file registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to begin operations later this year. The exchange aims to entice companies seeking relief from increasing compliance costs at the NYSE and Nasdaq while capitalising on companies within and outside the US scrambling to list their stocks amid the rebound in capital markets. The Texas bourse will also be open to listing exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrencies to gain an edge over the competition. TXSE aims to handle its first trade in 2025 and hosts its first listing in 2026.

2. Japan’s USD1 bil space rubbish cleaner

   Startup Astroscale achieved a USD1 bil valuation in its debut on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, a signal of investor excitement over the space sector. Astroscale marks the third space sector startup to be listed in Japan as the country gears up for the space industry, shown by the sharp increase in the Japanese government’s space budget. Astroscale’s offering is a technology to remove space debris, which will be used to keep satellites safe from junk orbiting at high speeds. The firm reports a backlog of orders, mostly from space agencies, worth USD193 mil.

AI matters

1. Tesla to spend over USD3 bil on Nvidia hardware for AI development

   Tesla earmarked USD10 bil for AI-related capital expenditure for the year, with half of it spent internally. The majority of the remainder USD5 bil set aside will be going towards Nvidia hardware purchases. According to a post on X made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the automaker will be spending between USD3 bil to USD4 bil on Nvidia hardware for “building AI training superclusters”.

2. Stanford team apologises over claims of copying Chinese AI project

   The Stanford University team that launched the Llama 3-V AI model, which drew global attention for its powerful performance, have issued an apology after a whistleblower revealed its uncanny similarity to a Chinese AI project – MiniCPM-Llama3-V 2.5, jointly developed by Tsinghua’ University’s Natural Language Processing Lab and Beijing AI startup ModelBest. The Chinese project had an embedded feature to identify bamboo slips from the Warring States Period using a dataset not available to the public.

Shorts:

1. Jokowi to start working from new capital city in July
   Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he plans to start working in Nusantara, the country’s new USD32 bil capital city, next month. This comes amid concerns over the future of the project after senior executives overseeing the project resigned unexpectedly. Widodo said that a number of infrastructure developments in Nusantara have reached around 80% in terms of progress, and dismissed the concern when asked if he is worried over the matter.

2. Walmart to pay US hourly store workers bonus for the first time
   The move will include those working at Walmart’s pharmacies and Vision Center stores and could boost the wages of 700,000 front-line staff. Both part-time and full-time associates will be eligible for the annual bonus programme but need to be with the company for a year to qualify. Walmart employs 1.7 million workers, a majority of whom work at its 5,000 stores.

3. Australia reins in BNPL, credit checks now mandatory
   The Australian government introduced legislation requiring buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firms to run credit checks on borrowers in a bid to regulate the rapidly growing sector. This means said firms will need an Australian credit license and under the eye of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The legislation will set up a new category of “low-cost credit” to reflect the lower risk and cost of BNPL compared to other forms of credit.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Nvidia indeed is the darling of many — it’s YTD trading volume as of May 29, 2024 is USD4.1 tril, is almost 4x as much as the next most traded stock. Nvidia’s AI-fueled rally could have painted a different reality of the stock market performance as its gains this year accounted for 34% of the S&P 500’s gain this year.

2. Want to excel in Excel? Start with these shortcuts. They are a bit tiny — so you may want to consider saving it and printing it out to excel your workflow.