☕️ DAP to sell 8,888 NFTs of 'Langkah Sheraton'-inspired oil painting by Tony Pua, raising RM1 mil

1. MARKET SUMMARY

Bursa Malaysia is on track to see at least 37 new listings in 2022. There were 22 recent IPOs to date, raising RM2.1 bil.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia (CGC) targets to issue RM5 bil worth of guarantees in anticipation of higher lending rates by banks. If you’re running a small or medium enterprise (SME) looking for working capital, check out the schemes available on their website.

641,000 — the number of pure electric and hybrid vehicles sold by BYD, a Shenzhen-based car manufacturer, in the first half of 2022, outselling Tesla by more than 80,000 vehicles. Warren Buffett-backed BYD’s spectacular rise is due to its dominance in its home market. Value for money has been central to the carmaker’s appeal — partly thanks to the use of less powerful but cheaper lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Adolf Hitler’s gold watch was sold for USD1.1 mil at an auction in the US, infuriating Jewish leaders. The gold Andreas Huber reversible wristwatch was a spoil of war taken from Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden in the mountains of Bavaria. The auction sold an extensive catalogue of Nazi memorabilia items, from a painting to a golden “reichstadler” (an Imperial Eagle). The sale has angered the Jewish community. Ironically, the buyer was a European Jew.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Our former attorney general, Tommy Thomas, finally commented on the Sulu arbitration issue. Speaking after the monthly Concorde Club meeting (an informal group of media editors and journalists), below are the key points from his statement regarding the matter:

   1. The courts in Spain, France and Luxembourg, should ignore the Sulu heirs’ claim as there is no arbitration clause in the 1878 agreement, which Malaysia took over when Sabah joined the federation in 1963.

   2. Petronas would have no issue refuting the Sulu heirs' claims, as Malaysia and Petronas are legally separate entities.

   3. Putrajaya should have paid the RM5,300 annual cession money to the Sulu heirs, as per the 1878 agreement. Malaysia stopped paying when fighters aligned with the Sulu heirs invaded Lahad Datu in 2013.Tommy Thomas released a statement on Jul 27 explaining the issue in more detail here.

2. All things money:

   1. High court judge Lawrence Sequerah conducted a site visit to two bungalows involved in Zahid Hamidi’s corruption trial upon request by the latter in order to show that Yayasan Akalbudi’s money was put to good use. The bungalows are now converted into Islamic study centres for public use. One of the best cards to play always — is the religion card.

   2. Politics meets NFT - in DAP’s bid to raise money to fund their political machinery for the upcoming general election, 8,888 images related to the Sheraton Move will be up for grabs to the public, raising RM1 mil (RM112.5 each). The buyer will not get any physical art piece, just the JPGs, which they can resell on NFT marketplaces.

   3. In a ‘creative’ way to generate more income for the government, Putrajaya found a way to impose more tax on Malaysians. A flat 10% sales tax will be applied to all low-value goods (LVG) purchased online – both domestic and imported goods, if the new law passes the Parliament. Currently, only local goods purchased online are taxed.

   4. The Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) now has the power to stash funds in foreign banks, as the Parliament passed a legal amendment to give the custody of veterans’ pension broader investment power. As more diversity in investment decisions is welcomed, this could open the Pandora's box for more manipulation by certain parties – like what happened with MARA and Tabung Haji.

3. The devil is in the details and we should not rush through to pass the Generational Endgame (GEG) regarding tobacco and tobacco-related products. As mentioned by Bakri MP, Yeo Bee Yin, she argued why so much power is given to enforcement officers under Malaysia’s GEG when she compared our GEG to New Zealand’s GEG, which was also tabled last week. 4 amendments will be incorporated after Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin met other stakeholders.

4. In a move to support the reform of the global taxation system led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Malaysia has agreed in principle to impose a global minimum tax (GMT) of 15% on certain multinational companies (MNCs). Understand GMT more here.

5. Air Asia X, still a PN17 company, redesignated Mahmood Fawzy as its new chairman from his previous position as an independent and non-executive director. Fawzy is also an independent director of AIA General Bhd, Hong Leong Asset Management Bhd and Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd.

6. The management of Suria KLCC confirmed the death of an individual who fell from an upper level of the mall yesterday evening. If you’re depressed or feeling suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following helplines to seek help.

   1. The BefriendersHotline: 03-76272929

   2. Talian KasihHotline: 15999

7. Former Selangor MB and one of the masterminds behind the infamous ‘Dawn Raid’ of Guthrie (now known as Sime Darby), Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, died. Abdul Khalid will be buried at the Shah Alam Royal Mausoleum. Watch the video below — an interesting corporate story how the nation took back its plantation land by secretly taking over the British company, Guthrie, within a few hours. 

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the US third-highest ranking official after the President and Vice President, is reported to be arriving in Taipei, Taiwan, landing on Tuesday night despite her statement mentioning other countries that she will be visiting in the region but not Taiwan. China has threatened to take military action if the trip happens.China has a long-running campaign to discourage other countries from giving diplomatic recognition to Taiwan and military analysts believe it's a matter of when not if China invades Taiwan to reclaim it. US practices “strategic ambiguity” in its policy towards Taiwan - meaning it does not recognise Taiwan’s independence but will provide it with military support to defend it from China. A war in the West is enough to send shockwaves across the world. The world doesn’t need 2 concurrent wars ongoing.

2. The state of China’s turbulent real estate sector:

   1. An estimated RMB2.4 tril (USD356 bil) or 6.4% of mortgages are at risk of going bad in the worst-case scenario should the property market plunge further. The property sector and related industries account for 25% of China’s GDP - when China sneezes, the world catches a cold.

   2. Global banking giant HSBC said it would further write down a third of its more than USD12 bil exposure to China commercial real estate as these assets are “substandard” or “impaired”.

   3. Embattled Chinese developer China Evergrande Group’s subsidiary Evergrande Group (Nanchang) Co, Ltd had been ordered to fork out RMB7.3 bil (USD1.08 bil) to pay a guarantor over the default of certain entities controlled by Evergrande. The group is heavily indebted, with more than USD300 bil in debt.

3. “Relief for the world”, as Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba puts it, with the first grain ship departing Ukraine for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine and blocked the Black Sea route. This development came after the UN and Turkey brokered an agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month. This is a significant development in easing the global food crisis, as Ukraine and Russia are the world’s largest grain exporters. UN estimated some 47 mil people are in “acute hunger” attributed to the war.

4. New Zealand fully reopened its borders on Monday after shutting it for more than two years in March 2020. Students and tourists are now welcomed to the country — before the pandemic, tourism and international education were New Zealand’s biggest and fourth-largest exports, respectively, with the former employing more than 225,000 people (5% of its population). Visitors will still need to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and must take two tests after arriving. Read the entry requirements here.

5. The Sunday Times reported that Prince Charles, the heir to the UK throne, accepted GBP1 mil from 2 of Osama Bin Laden’s half-brothers in 2013 for his charity fund. The charity said that thorough due diligence was conducted and that Osama was disowned by his wealthy family in 1994. There is no suggestion that his half-brothers had links to his terrorist activities. What’s all the fuss about then? Optics - the name ‘Bin Laden’ will forever be associated with terrorism over the 9/11 attack.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Know your animal vocabulary.

2. Watch this 16-second video - you might be able to save a life — how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver when someone is choking.