☕️ Chief Justice: “Justice delayed in this (SRC Int'l) case is justice denied to other persons”

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

300,000 high-skilled job opportunities are expected to be created by 2025, according to Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry Mohamed Azmin Ali. The minister added having highly skilled and technological talents would continue to make Malaysia an investment destination. Even if the job supply is there, demand wouldn’t — 72.1% of high school graduates do not want to further their studies.

Can you imagine having an interest rate of 69.5%? You won’t have to imagine if you live in Argentina. The country’s central bank raised lending rates by 950 basis points to 69.5% last week as inflation surged past 70% in July 2022. Consumer prices rose 71% in July from a year ago, the highest level in about 30 years. Economists expect annual inflation to hit 90% by the end of the year.

The real tankers — Tencent and Alibaba — as both companies lost more than USD1 tril in market value combined since February 2021. Beijing’s year-long sweeping crackdown has forced a reckoning on the once-mighty technology sector.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Two quick updates on former PM Najib Razak’s SRC International trial:Few notable quotes from the Chief Justice:The hearing will resume on Aug 18, 2022.

   1. The defence’s bid to adduce additional evidence got denied unanimously by the five-judge panel. Chief Justice (CJ) Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said the application lacked merit — failed to disclose any conflict of interest on the part of Justice Nazlan.

   2. The defence’s bid to postpone the hearing by at least three to four months also got denied. Tengku Maimun asserted all parties in the case were well aware since April that the appeals had been fixed for hearing.If you would like to dive deeper into the Federal Court’s reasoning on the above two judgements, you can download the PDF file here.

2. In a separate trial — SRC International Sdn Bhd’s civil against Najib Razak — the former PM was denied more time to file an affidavit in reply to his discovery application. An affidavit is a sworn statement in writing made especially under oath or on affirmation before an authorised magistrate or offer.

3. Your Starbucks runs have made Vincent Tan richer in the past quarter. Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood) recorded a net profit of RM40.66 million in the fourth quarter that ended June 30, 2022 (4QFY22). Quarterly revenue came in sharply higher at RM291 million in 4QFY22, bringing the group’s annual revenue to a record high of RM997.7 million for FY22. BFood has declared a fourth interim dividend of two sen per share, payable on Sept 22.

4. After announcing its intercity food delivery, AirAsia is mulling to re-establish its hub in Penang as there is overwhelming demand from other countries in the region for direct flights to Penang. Currently, there are only two AirAsia aircraft operating from the island. AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer (CEO) Riad Asmat signed a memorandum of collaboration (MoC) with Penang Global Tourism CEO Ooi Chok Yan to boost the state’s economy through tourism.

5. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) activities could finally be regulated as the government is formulating Consumer Credit Act (CCA) to provide better protection for credit consumers. The CCA is aimed at regulating companies that offer credit or credit services to individuals and micro and small enterprises (MSEs). If you’ve been using BNPL services, here’s an article by Suraya that could possibly convince you to do otherwise!

Shorts

1. Logistics company Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd has dipped its toes into the grocery retail business after signing a conditional collaboration agreement with Tunas Manja Sdn Bhd (TMSB). TMSB operates a chain of 85 supermarkets and grocery stores throughout Malaysia. Following the footsteps of Grab?

2. Tunku Khadijah, the eldest daughter of first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, succumbed to lung cancer at 89 yesterday. She is survived by three daughters and seven grandchildren.

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4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Scotland has become the first country in the world to provide period products to citizens free of charge. Period products will be available in public buildings, including schools and universities across Scotland. The Period Products Act came into effect on August 15. The law aims to protect fundamental rights, remove social stigmas and shift away from period poverty. Practical policies in play. Well done, Scotland.

2. President Joko Widodo wants North Kalimantan to be the world's biggest green industrial park. Kalimantan is home to most of Indonesia’s largest rivers capable of generating hydroelectric power. Widodo is committed to building an integrated ecosystem for industries that will support green economy developments. He plans to roll out a USD284 bil spending budget next year to finance the project. Indonesia will be moving its capital to East Kalimantan beginning in 2024.

3. Russia blames sabotage for new Crimea blasts. An arms store was hit with a series of explosions. This follows a week after Ukraine’s attack on a Russian military base in Crimea. While Ukraine has never publicly admitted that attack, presidential office adviser Mykhailo Podolyak is suggesting that the explosions were not accidental.

4. German power hits a record €500 a megawatt-hour for the first time. This marks a 500% increase from the previous year due to supply constraints caused by Russia’s move to cut gas supply. Meanwhile, droughts and extreme heat across Europe have dried up rivers and reservoirs, hindering hydropower generation. For comparison, Malaysia’s domestic consumer rate is about USD50 per megawatt-hour.Note: 1 megawatt = 1,000 kilowatt

5. Adam Neumann, the former CEO of failed startup WeWork, is back again with a new billion-dollar real estate startup called Flow. The startup is currently backed by Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital firm best known for investments in Twitter and Airbnb. The VC has pumped in USD350 mil into Flow, according to New York Times, making this investment its largest individual check. The startup is planning to launch in 2023 and claims to provide a solution to the nation's housing crisis. Will the second time be the charm for Adam or will Andreessen follow the footsteps of Masayoshi Son?

6. Dodge plans to drop signature Charger and Challenger muscle cars in 2023 as the company pivots towards EVs. The company will be releasing seven special editions of “heritage-influenced” models to commemorate the end of this series of cars. Tim Kuniskis, Dodge CEO, did suggest that the Challenger and Charger could reappear as EVs in the future. The Challenger was the best-selling muscle car in the US in 2021, with sales of 54,314 units.

7. Judge orders Twitter to give Elon Musk documents on bots and spam accounts. In the ongoing legal acquisition saga, Twitter accused Musk of breaching an agreement to acquire the company, while Musk, who sought to cancel the deal, accused Twitter of misrepresenting real active users on its platform.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. How quickly solar power electricity generation has grown in the US in the last five years — electricity generated by solar power more than tripled.

2. Malaysia’s version of how to ensure your students pass their history exams. There’s little information about this incident. As much as it could be for humour, the problem with introducing such an element to an academic test is the suppression of lateral thinking in students - any absurd options will eliminate it as the wrong ones, having little need to think further.