☕️ Budi95 quota 200 litres per month starting Apr 1

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

44.9% – That’s the average percentage of the workday that Americans get through sitting down. Federal labour data shows that more people have taken up jobs that require workers to spend time sitting instead of standing. These jobs that require sitting down generally come with better pay as well. The most sedentary professionals are software developers, who spent 97% of the workday sitting in 2025, followed by investment analysts (96.4%) and accountants (96.2%).

RM54.9 bil – That’s how much Malaysian households owed in combined credit card and buy now, pay later (BNPL) debt as at end-Sep 2025, with more than 90% of that being credit card-related. Of the amount, RM50.7 bil was credit card debt, with RM551.8 mil overdue (~1.1%). BNPL loans stood at RM4.2 bil across seven mil accounts, with RM147.7 mil overdue (~3.5%). The overdue sum was considered manageable, and the government introduced policies to promote responsible lending and prevent borrowers from taking on excessive debt. Of note is that, historically, Dec is when Malaysians tend to go on spending sprees with credit cards.

SGD65 mil (RM202.32 mil) – That’s how much Maybank is extending in a term loan facility to support the development of Singapore’s fourth egg farm. The recipient is ISE Food Holdings, a subsidiary of Ellipsiz Ltd. Maybank is the sole financier of the egg farm, which is aimed at enhancing local egg production and food security. The project is part of Singapore’s broader push to produce 30% of its nutritional needs domestically by 2035, reducing reliance on imports.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The US-Israel war on Iran’s impacts continue
As so-called “President of Peace” Donald Trump keeps dropping bombs on Iran, and Iran keeps responding with Shahed drones launched at regional countries, governments around the world, including Putrajaya, are scrambling to prevent the war from triggering another economic depression within five years.

Here are the latest announcements from Putrajaya:

Subsidised RON95 is maintained at RM1.99 per litre, but..
While unsubsidised RON95 is priced at RM3.87 per litre for the week from Mar 26 to Apr 1, the Malaysian Government will subsidise the difference to maintain the price at RM1.99 per litre under the Budi95 scheme.

..the quota for subsidised RON95 is reduced to 200 litres per month
PM Anwar Ibrahim announced that the quota for subsidised RON95 petrol will be adjusted from 300 litres to 200 litres per month starting Apr 1. However, he added that, according to available data, almost 90% of the people will not be affected by this move as they use less than 200 litres per month. He reiterated that the move is temporary, pending signs of a recovering oil market. Additionally, starting next month, all foreign-registered vehicles will be banned from purchasing RON95 fuel, whether it is subsidised or not.

At 200 litres per month, gomen subsidy is 200 x (RM3.87 - RM1.99) = RM376 per pax.

Peninsular diesel up 80 sen to RM5.52 per litre, East Malaysia diesel still RM2.15 per litre
The Finance Ministry announced plans to introduce controls on diesel purchases, particularly in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, as part of efforts to curb subsidy leakages and smuggling activities. Additionally, Budi Individu and Budi Agri-Komoditi payments were increased to RM300 in March 2026, up from RM200 previously, to cushion the impact of rising fuel costs, as diesel rose 80 sen in Peninsular Malaysia to hit RM5.52 per litre. Budi Individu is for private, non-luxury diesel vehicle owners in the peninsula whose individual or household income does not exceed RM100,000, while Budi Agri-Komoditi is for small-scale farmers and commodity shareholders.

The headline may be ‘harga minyak naik’, but what are the trickle-down effects?
100 northern tour bus firms face closure
Chairman of the Northern Zone Tour Bus Operators Coalition, Ahmad Ruslan Abdul Latiff, said about 100 tour bus companies across Perak, Kedah, Penang and Perlis are struggling to sustain operations as they face the double whammy of a drop in bookings and an increase in diesel prices. Regarding the first factor, Ahmad Ruslan stated that the main reason customers cancelled their bookings was price increases prompted by rising diesel prices. He described the tour bus industry as the backbone of domestic and international tourism in the country, especially during Visit Malaysia Year.

Not sure if sentiment is any good now for IPOs - 2 travel companies, Golden Destination and Yes Group are aiming for Bursa-listing soon.

High temperatures deplete water levels at 30 dams
The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) has sounded the alarm bells as water levels are going down, no thanks to the scorching hot weather. SPAN has recorded depleting water levels at 30 dams across the peninsula, especially in the northern states. The Muda Dam in Kedah was hit the hardest, being at only 7.47% capacity on Thursday. In Kedah, Level 1 heatwave alerts were issued for Sik, Padang Terap, Kubang Pasu, Pulau Langkawi, Kuala Muda, Kulim and Bandar Baharu. Level 1 alerts are issued when temperatures range between 35°C and 37°C for at least three consecutive days.

A side note on Malaysian English terms. The Oxford English Dictionary has added several Malaysian English terms in its latest update, such as - ‘agak-agak’, ‘boleh’, ‘jialat’ and ‘kaypoh’ (Singapore tried to claim the last one as Singlish).

Business news
MTT Shipping to go public in the country’s largest logistics IPO in over a decade
MTT Shipping and Logistics Bhd, a Malaysia-based container liner operator, is still sailing ahead with its plan to go public despite the global logistics mess. The firm is looking to raise up to RM652 mil via an initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. If fully subscribed, it would be the biggest logistics IPO on Bursa Malaysia since 2013, when AirAsia X Bhd raised RM987.7 mil and Westports Holdings Bhd raised RM2.03 bil. The company also owns the largest fleet of Malaysian-flagged containerships at 26 vessels with an average age of 6.7 years. This makes it the youngest fleet among Malaysian operators. View prospectus here.

Sunway to push ahead in its pursuit to acquire IJM
After obtaining near-unanimous approval from its shareholders, Sunway Bhd’s founder and chairman, Jeffrey Cheah, is more than motivated to seal the deal in acquiring IJM Corp Bhd. Sunway needs at least 50% plus one share’s approval from IJM’s shareholders before the Apr 6 deadline to turn the offer unconditional. So far, Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), the second-largest shareholder with a 13.98% stake, has rejected the offer. IJM’s largest shareholder with a 19.72% stake, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has yet to make a decision.

Side note: Sunway Group is benefiting from its IPO of Sunway Healthcare. Since listing over a week ago on Mar 18, the stock has flown nearly 60% from its listing price of RM1.45 to RM2.29 as of yesterday’s closing, giving it a market cap of RM26.3 bil and making it the 18th largest listed company on Bursa Malaysia. With trailing net profit of RM252.2 mil, its trailing price-to-earnings ratio is at a staggering 104x. The group claims it can develop hospital assets cost-effectively at RM1.5 mil per bed, significantly lower than the RM6 mil per bed seen in recent opportunities.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Warring world
Tehran braces for island occupation, issues stern warning of retaliation
Iran has warned that such an attempt by “Iran’s enemies” to occupy an Iranian island, Kharg, would be met with targeted attacks on the “vital infrastructure” of the regional country. Iran claims that it has intelligence reports suggesting that the United Arab Emirates might be cooperating with the US and encouraging it to take Kharg Island. The island hosts Iran’s main crude export terminal. The warning came amid Trump’s continued claims that the US was in negotiations with Iran to end the war, a claim Tehran has denied. Washington also conveyed new threats against the Iranian leadership should they refuse to stand down. The Pentagon has reportedly sent approximately 2,000 soldiers from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to the region, while the first of two Marine Expeditionary Units – on board a huge ⁠amphibious assault ship – could arrive in the region in the next few days. The US has reportedly proposed a 15-point plan to end the fighting, while an Iranian official was quoted by local media as saying that Tehran has put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end. Boots on the ground - coming soon.

Russia broke Shahed and strike drone attack record in a single day
Ukraine reported that Russia launched a total of 948 Shaheds and other strike drones within 24 hours, breaking the previous Russian record from July last year, when Russia launched 728 Shahed-type and other strike drones. Ukraine claimed that 906 of the drones were shot down or suppressed by electronic warfare, translating to a roughly 95.5% interception rate.

The Kremlin, which manufactures a localised version of the Iranian-designed Shahed, often pairs its long-range loitering munitions with decoy drones called Gerberas that aim to waste Ukrainian air defence efforts. Another type of Russian fixed-wing drone, the Italmas, has a similar design but is built from plywood and intended as a cheaper way to deliver an explosive warhead.

WHO warns of health crisis ‘unfolding in real time’ across the Middle East
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief in the Middle East said that hospitals and other healthcare facilities must be treated as “safe havens” amid the war and called for a complete cessation of hostilities to halt a “health crisis unfolding in real time” in the region. The region’s 22 countries and territories include Iran and the Gulf states, as well as Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US-Israel war on Iran has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, over 1,500 in Iran and 16 in Israel, according to each country’s authorities, with more than a dozen deaths reported in the West Bank and Gulf Arab states. Within less than a month, 3.2 mil have been displaced from their homes in Iran and more than 1 mil in Lebanon. The WHO is also very concerned about the potential for nuclear sites to be hit and the health repercussions of a lack of water should desalination plants be further targeted.

Meta and Google charged with creating harmful products
Jurors in a landmark trial against Meta and Google have ruled that Instagram and YouTube are addictive, were deliberately engineered that way, and that their owners have been negligent in their safeguarding of the children who have used them. The tech giants must now pay USD6 mil (RM23.96 mil) in damages to the plaintiff who claimed that the platforms left her with body dysmorphia, depression and suicidal thoughts. The court victory is now big tech’s second defeat in several similar cases set for trial in the US this year, with more yet to come. Experts say that the verdict has signalled a shift in how courts view platform design as a set of choices that can carry real legal and social consequences, and has opened the door to wider challenges against social media and other technology systems engineered to maximise engagement at the expense of user well-being. However, the tech companies are currently legally protected in the US by a clause known as Section 230, which shields them from liability for content published on their platforms. Other types of media companies do not have this benefit.

Business
Indian cricket teams are sealing billion-dollar record deals with US investors
The Indian Premier League (IPL) for cricket is gaining major traction among US investors who are eyeing the tournament for its lucrative returns. A consortium backed by US businessmen Kal Somani and former Walmart chairman Rob Walton agreed on Tuesday to buy the Rajasthan Royals in a deal valued at USD1.63 bil (RM6.51 bil). An even bigger deal was announced the same day for reigning champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which amounted to USD1.78 bil. Prior to this, no IPL teams were sold above the B-dollar mark. The team was bought by another consortium that includes US billionaire David Blitzer’s Bolt Ventures and US asset manager Blackstone.

Mapletree Investments to liquidate “high-yielding, recession-resilient portfolio” USD1.4 bil property fund
Mapletree Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore state investment firm Temasek, will liquidate a property fund that once held assets worth more than USD1.4 bil (RM5.59 bil). This comes after its bets on college accommodation in the UK and US underperformed for years. Property investment won’t go wrong, people say.

The fund managed USD5.3 bil of student housing as of Mar 2025 and has long seen the sector as a key focus. Back in 2017, the trust even invited investors to buy into a “high-yielding, recession-resilient portfolio”. Although it posted double-digit returns in its early days, occupancy rates for some properties were low. As early as Mar 2018, a quarter of its largest asset in North America, which boasted 1,308 beds, was empty. Some assets also suffered from poor reviews. The fund often had to overhaul on-site management firms and security at its assets and introduce initiatives to attract tenants and cut costs. Some ageing properties also required costly refurbishment and upkeep. The global pandemic exacerbated the situation by adding the extra difficulty of limits on international student travel.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Money: Make, Preserve, Burn

1. Making RM8k a month collecting and reselling golf balls.

2. Inside a freeport, a tax-free facility, for the rich to store their collectibles. Take a tour of one in Singapore - it includes a dinosaur, or what remains of it.

3. Your travel plans for the year down the drain. Go lokal.

Remember the doggo adventure? We mistakenly appended a duplicate link - watch below AI turning it into Pixar-quality animation. Have a good weekend!