☕️ Chinese voters not choosing PH

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Selangor has reported the highest number of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in Malaysia, contributing to a significant 266% increase in infections nationwide compared to the corresponding period last year. The Health Ministry reported a rise in HFMD cases from 27,236 during the same period in 2024 to 99,601 as of the 17th epidemiological week this year. Thankfully, no fatalities related to the disease have been reported to date. Additionally, there has been a 49% increase in reported outbreaks, with 2,649 cumulative outbreaks so far this year compared to 1,339 during the same period in 2024.

IDR39.45 trillion (RM9.88 bil) — the estimated value of Indonesia’s sports economy in 2024. Equivalent to 0.19% of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The main contributors to this value were identified as recreational sports activities such as walking, running, and aerobics. This represents a 5.8% increase compared to 2023. The sector is also attracting venture capital investment, as seen with fitness platform and gym chain Fit Hub securing a USD12 mil (RM51.48 mil) funding round in the previous year.

Alarmingly, one in every three monitored species is currently endangered due to human activities. This stark finding underscores the critical importance of conservation efforts, which a major ten-year study has shown to be effective in reducing global biodiversity loss. International researchers examined a range of conservation measures, offering a "ray of light" for those working to protect threatened animals and plants. While natural fluctuations in species diversity and populations are normal, the current rate of extinction is occurring at an alarming pace, estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times faster than what scientists would typically expect.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Business news

Sapura Energy might need to ‘mandi bunga‘ to get rid of worsening luck
Sapura Energy Bhd’s external auditors have sounded the alarm bells and flagged the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. This is because Sapura Energy’s current liabilities have exceeded its current assets, by a staggering RM11.25 bil at group-level and RM4.31 bil at company level. One interesting thing that the external auditor, Messrs Ernst & Young PLT (EY), highlighted was that Sapura Energy adopted the percentage-of-completion method in recognising revenue from construction contracts, which constitutes 56% of the group’s revenue in FY2025. However, the revenue recognition method requires significant management judgement, particularly in estimating costs to complete and assessing foreseeable losses. The keyword here is - ‘management judgement’. Despite the material concern by EY, Sapura Energy did record an RM190 mil profit after tax (PAT) for FY2025, its first return to profitability in six years. Sapura Energy is also confident that it will obtain the necessary approvals for its proposed regularisation plan that will be submitted this month.

On its plan to exit the PN17 status, Sapura Energy revealed that the MOF will eventually become a major shareholder of the company, to control up to 33% of the total shares. This is because previously, in Mar 2025, MOF had subscribed to RM1.1 bil worth of redeemable convertible loan stocks (RCLS) in Sapura Energy. RCLS is basically a financial instrument that acts as a loan which can be converted into equities down the road. Below are the proposed details within the regularisation plan -

• 99.99% capital reduction, from around RM12 bil to just over RM1 bil via a 20-to-1 share consolidation exercise;

• To more than halve the total debts and liabilities from RM12.1 bil to RM5.23 bil - where RM784 mil will be waived, RM2.25 bil will be paid off using proceeds from Sapura Energy’s stake sale in its exploration and production unit, RM1.1 bil will be settled via new Sapura Energy shares, while another RM1.77 bil will be resolved via the issuance of debt securities. The financing cost will be reduced by nearly 60%, from RM863.5 mil to RM322.3 mil;

• The remaining RM5.23 bil debt will be settled with earnings from Sapura Energy's drilling business and its joint venture in Brazil.

After all said and done, Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB., managed by PNB) will see its direct stake slashed to under 15% from 36.97%, former president and CEO Shahril Shamsuddin and brother Shahriman Shamsuddin will hold less than 5% of the company from 11.25%, and 3 banks will hold significant stakes - Maybank Islamic (16.31%), CIMB Bank (7.37%), RHB Islamic Bank (5.8%).

Too big to fail?

U Mobile moving on from DNB
U Mobile Sdn Bhd is saying bye-bye to Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) after the company confirmed it has divested its stake to the remaining shareholders for RM100,000. The deal, announced earlier this week, will raise MOF Inc's stake in DNB to 41.67% from 34.88%, while CelcomDigi, Maxis and YTL Power will increase their respective stakes to 19.44% from 16.28%. U Mobile is at the moment planning for its IPO, possibly in late 2025 or early 2026, aiming to raise between RM3 - RM4 bil. It’s expected that most of the proceeds will be directed to cashflow the second 5G network rollout.

Chinese voters not choosing PH…
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has warned that the Chinese voters’ support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) is diminishing, with internal data showing a 38% drop in support for PH within the community. Rafizi added that the votes may not necessarily be shifted to Perikatan Nasional (PN), but instead, the voters will just not show up come polling day. On the other hand, in regard to the results of the recent by-election, Rafizi said that the transfer of votes between PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) was not happening as expected. UMNO voters are choosing PN. PH voters have supported BN in seats where it’s BN versus PN, but when it’s PH versus PN, BN voters go to PN. Will we see a second term for PM Anwar?

… but more Malays choose Chinese… schools.
Based on a targeted in-app survey by the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, primarily from middle-class Malay families, the study found that 69% of respondents were inclined to send their kids to vernacular Chinese primary schools (SJKCs), mainly due to their academic performance. Political analyst and visiting fellow James Chai, who is also the author of the report, added that even when SJKCs offered only basic amenities, two-thirds of parents still preferred them over national schools. This shift in preference among Malay parents, Chai said, reflected the rising enrolment of non-Chinese students in SJKCs, which reportedly jumped from just 3%-6% in the 1990s to nearly 20% by 2020. The bitter truth is that even national schools can also become like SJKCs if parents are willing to pay more Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) fees. You can view the full report here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The Middle East, again!

Multi-billion dollar deals galore with Trump's tour
US President Trump appears to have brought the art of the deal with him to the Middle East, having taken part in the announcement of a USD142 bil (RM609.18 bil) arms deal with Saudi Arabia, the first stop of his tour. This was not the only deal, as the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince also confirmed other investments that could eventually be worth USD1 tril. These include deals with US tech firms totalling USD600 bil, with Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm among the beneficiaries. It was also confirmed that deals will flow both ways, with several tech firms such as Google, Salesforce, and Uber making investments in both the US and Saudi Arabia. Also announced were multi-billion-dollar deals between Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, and US-based asset management giants Franklin Templeton and Neuberger Berman, valued at USD5 bil and USD6 bil respectively.

Trump lifts Syria sanctions, calls for normalisation of ties between Syria and Israel
After a surprise announcement that he would be lifting the sanctions on Syria, Trump urged Syrian President Sharaa to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel. The decision has been a boost for Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring Syria under the control of the government since toppling former President Assad. The sanctions lifted will ease foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds. Whether or not Israel is receptive to the normalisation of ties is another matter, considering Israel says it will not tolerate an Islamist presence in southern Syria, and has opposed sanctions relief for Syria.
Peace, so fragile, so hard to attain.

UN aid chief slams Israel's aid plan as "deliberate distraction"
The Israel-initiated and US-backed humanitarian aid distribution plan for Gaza has been criticised by UN aid chief Fletcher as a “fig leaf for further violence and displacement” of Palestinians. This follows Israel’s proposal that private companies would take over handing out aid in southern Gaza. Fletcher pointed out that this would require people to relocate to southern Gaza to access aid, which forces further displacement. The UN has also rejected Israel’s proposal, requiring any aid distribution to be independent, impartial, and neutral, in line with humanitarian principles.

Infrastructure issues

Substation power loss triggered massive European blackout
The massive power outage across Spain and Portugal was caused by an “abrupt loss of power generation” at a substation in Granada, followed shortly by failures seconds later in Badajoz and Seville. These failures led to the generation loss of 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, which triggered a series of grid disconnections. No cause had been determined as to why the three failures occurred. So far, investigators have ruled out cyberattacks, insufficient grid capacity, and supply-demand imbalances as causes.

US health chief faces Congress for measles outbreak, mass firing
This marks the first time Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr will be facing questions from Congress since he first took on the role. Since his confirmation, he has slashed 10,000 jobs across the nation's top food and drugs regulator, public health agency, and biomedical research institute as part of Trump’s campaign to shrink the federal workforce. He was also criticised for his weak endorsement for people to be vaccinated against measles, of which there is currently an outbreak that has infected more than 1,000, mostly unvaccinated, and killed three. Yes, he’s an anti-vaxxer. As it stands, Americans have already shown in a poll that they have no confidence as to whether or not Trump’s administration can contain the measles outbreak, the largest single outbreak in 25 years.

Crypto boss' daughter narrowly escapes kidnap gang
The daughter and young grandson of a co-founder of French Bitcoin exchange Paymium were the target of an abduction attempt in Paris. The woman and her husband fought off three attackers until passers-by rushed to help, with the masked gang fleeing in a van. This marks the latest in a series of abductions targeting French cryptocurrency figures or their relatives. This also comes about a week after French police rescued the father of a cryptocurrency millionaire who was kidnapped in another part of Paris and held for ransom. The victim was freed three days later, missing one of his fingers. A quick reminder: the dark web, with all the services it offers, was one of the first significant adopters of cryptocurrency.

Shorts:

1. Microsoft to cut 6,000 jobs
   The number marks less than 3% of the tech giant’s global workforce, and the cuts aim to reduce middle managers and increase coders vs non-coders. A source also indicated that some affected employees would stay on the payroll for 60 days and still be eligible for rewards and bonuses.

2. "World's poorest president" dies at 89 
   Former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica has died at the age of 89. The ex-guerilla was known as the “world’s poorest president” due to his modest lifestyle. This lifestyle, along with his criticism of consumerism and the social reforms he promoted, made him a well-known political figure in Latin America and beyond. Apparently, he is also the reason Uruguay became the first country to legalise recreational marijuana.

3. Ride-hailing third-party app to help gig workers cherry-pick jobs 
   Brazilian Pay-analysis app GigU is launching in the US and aims to help gig workers cherry-pick jobs by providing them with information as to which jobs are worth taking. Co-founders Luiz Gustavo Neves and Pedro Inada say the app provides transparency for the gig worker. GigU has raised USD5 mil (RM21.45 mil) in seed funding, with part of it going towards its US expansion. The co-founders have also crossed paths with Uber before, having been involved in a legal battle with Uber Brazil for their StopClub app, which had a similar cherry picker function as GigU. The co-founders won, by the way.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Throwback to this beautiful goal by Harry Kane, casually recreating the Bundesliga logo.

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2. What happens when future generations outsource their thinking to AI? The full article here.