☕️ BNM's RM13.2 bil record profit, and RM5.3 bil record dividend to the government

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM13.16 bil record profit for BNM in 2024 – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) announced its highest annual net profit since 1997, surging 83.8% year-on-year. The central bank will pay a record RM5.25 bil dividend to the government, up from RM2.85 bil in 2023, marking its largest-ever payout. This performance was driven by a 70.8% jump in total income to RM14.98 bil, fueled by stronger returns from international reserves and global securities investments. The results underscore BNM’s robust financial management amid volatile markets. BNM does not rely on the government to fund its day-to-day operations but generates income or funds to operate from investments of the country’s international reserves and the central bank’s general operations. Sounds a bit like a hedge fund.
View chart: BNM net profit, dividend to government 2014 - 2024

3.4% drop in Uber driver earnings – Gig workers for platforms like Uber, Instacart, and Lyft saw their earnings decline in 2024 despite working more hours in some cases, according to a study by data analytics firm Gridwise. Uber drivers earned an average of USD513 per week while working 0.8% more hours. Lyft drivers experienced a sharper 13.9% pay cut, earning USD318 weekly, despite working only 5.4% fewer hours. The study, based on 171 million trips and USD1.9 bil in earnings, also found that tips accounted for 53.4% of restaurant delivery workers’ income and 45.7% of grocery delivery workers, highlighting the financial challenges faced by gig workers. Is the same thing happening here in Malaysia? If you’re a gig driver, please let us know.

More bad news for ride-hailing gig workers in the US as Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, reports making 200,000 weekly robotaxi rides – a twenty-fold increase from 10,000 rides per week two years ago, according to CEO Sundar Pichai. The company operates commercially in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, with its growth accelerating rapidly—reaching 100,000 weekly rides as recently as August 2024.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The new frontier for the country’s oil & gas industry - carbon capture
The Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Bill 2025 has been passed at Dewan Negara after the third reading by our Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli. With this, it will open up the local carbon capture sector to investments. Locations in East Coast states, such as Kertih, Terengganu, would benefit from the establishment of a CCUS hub, as the hub would be a boost to the heavy industry sector there.

So, what is carbon capture in the first place and how does it work? Imagine a scenario where an evil super-genius finds a way to suck all the oxygen out of the air, then buries it in the ground. Sounds like the stuff of comic books, right? Well, for carbon capture, carbon dioxide is involved instead of oxygen. Carbon capture involves trapping the carbon dioxide at its emission source, transporting it to a storage location (usually deep underground) and isolating it. This means we could potentially block excess CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Now, it begs the question of whether CCUS is Putrajaya’s card to save Malaysia’s oil and gas industry. On the surface, Putrajaya’s move towards CCUS is clearly driven by economic goals as the country can earn double revenue, from CCUS fees itself due to storing carbon dioxide and using the system to extend the productive life of existing reservoirs via a process called enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or enhanced gas recovery (EGR). According to certain analysts, the benefits of CCUS may be marginal and even not commercially viable, and other options should be pursued to revive the local O&G industry, which only has 15 years of oil production and 40 years of natural gas production left. Plus, environmental groups such as RimbaWatch are against the new CCUS Bill as it does not adequately address the environmental impact of CCUS such as carbon dioxide leakage.

Another military man dead due to ragging
Miri district police chief ACP Alexson Naga Chabu stated that two Malaysian Army personnel from the Royal Malay Regiment based in Sarawak have been arrested, concerning the death of their squad mate, 21-year-old Private Muhammad Muqriz Aseri, purportedly to be due to a ragging incident. According to the police, Muqriz passed away early Monday morning after he was subjected to exercises by the two detained individuals. The ‘exercises’ were a mix of 2-minute ‘commando rests’ and push-ups. A commando rest is a type of planking position that involves supporting oneself only with the head and feet on the ground, with legs straightened and arms held behind the back. After the ‘exercises’, Muqriz stood up and fainted straightaway, after which he was sent to Miri Hospital, where he was subsequently pronounced dead. It was reported that the actual cause of death was blunt force trauma, with the victim dying after a strong blow to the chest that caused damage to the heart. The blunt force trauma could have come when Muqriz was ‘manhandled’, prior to his death.

Deaths due to this lethal ‘culture’ within the military ranks have been a common scene as of late. Ironically, Muqriz’s death comes after the warning by the King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, to end the ‘inhumane’ culture, in his speech to Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia’s (UPNM) students in December 2024. UPNM is a military university located in Sungai Besi Camp and it was created to meet the needs and development of the Malaysian Armed Forces.

Shorts

1. Kuantan City Council to shut down lifts to tackle obesity among staff

   As if being called fat isn’t hard enough, now an employer in Kuantan has decided to shut down lifts to force you to take the stairs and fulfil your 10K steps quota. Due to the fact that about 30% of its staff are facing overweight or obesity problems, the Kuantan City Council (MBK) has decided to think outside the box and halt elevators for one day to motivate its staff to — huff and puff — use the stairs. Hopefully, this initiative is not a ceremonial one as obesity is the main cause of non-communicable diseases.

2. No engine fire on flight, confirms AirAsia

   AirAsia confirmed that Flight AK128, which performed a safe air return to KLIA Terminal 2 after departing for Shenzhen, China, was not suffering from an engine fire. Instead, the engine fire indicator was triggered by a damaged duct. The aircraft landed without incident at KLIA Terminal 2 at 12.06AM. All 171 guests and six crew members disembarked, and the guests were transferred to another aircraft which departed at 3.46AM.

3. PM: One month to chart new course, Felda

   The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is under fire from PM Anwar Ibrahim, who has given Felda only a month to formalise the new direction of the agency. PM Anwar added that this new direction is needed to guarantee a better future for settlers. At the moment, the main issue with Felda is poor governance. Although an RM9.9 bil government-guaranteed sukuk had helped to pare down its debt by about 80%, Felda still has a notorious reputation for not spending wisely, and without proper corporate governance, the same problem will tend to repeat itself.

4. National flag badge compulsory from April 21

   Another day, another ceremonial thing done by the Madani Government. This time around, Putrajaya has announced that all students at institutions under the Education Ministry will be required to wear a national flag badge beginning April 21. This applies to all government schools, government-aided schools, matriculation colleges, and Institutes of Teacher Education (IPG), with other educational institutions encouraged to adopt the practice. This is a jackpot for school uniform providers, who will likely profit from this new rule.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts in the US
Trump’s trade war continues as he announces 25% tariffs on imported cars and car parts, saying that the tariffs would “take back” money from foreign countries that have been “taking our jobs” and “our wealth”. The White House said in a fact sheet that the tariffs would also “protect and strengthen” the US auto industry, which it claimed had been “undermined by excessive imports threatening America’s domestic industrial base and supply chains”. The new tariffs will take effect on April 2. The move is likely to cause significant disruption to the global auto industry, including the North American market, where automakers in the US, Mexico and Canada have developed highly integrated supply chains over the course of decades of tariff-free trade. The tariffs will make it more expensive to produce and sell cars in the United States, ultimately leading to higher prices, fewer options for consumers, and fewer manufacturing jobs in the US, according to the CEO of Autos Drive America.

Trump says he may cut China tariffs to secure TikTok deal
The 75-day grace period granted to TikTok by Trump is set to expire on April 5, after which the app will be banned in the US if TikTok parent ByteDance cannot divest the social media platform. However, in his latest statement on the matter, Trump was reported to be willing to extend the deadline and even reduce tariff rates on China to secure a deal with TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the social media app to a US company. The app briefly went dark on January 19 but came back to life shortly after the extension was announced. It is used and well-loved by 170 mil Americans.

OpenAI close to finalising USD40 bil SoftBank-led funding, expects triple revenue in 2025
OpenAI is reported to be closing in on a funding round of USD40 bil led by Japanese giant SoftBank Group Corp, with Magnetar Capital possibly contributing up to USD1 bil. The deal is set to value the company at USD300 bil - almost double the ChatGPT maker’s previous valuation of USD157 bil from when it raised money in October 2024. As part of the deal, SoftBank will invest an initial USD7.5 bil in the company, along with USD2.5 bil from an investor syndicate. There will be a second tranche of USD30 bil later this year that will include USD22.5 bil from SoftBank and USD7.5 bil from a syndicate. OpenAI also expects to more than triple its revenue in 2025 to USD12.7 bil, fuelled by the strength of its paid artificial intelligence (AI) software. It also expects revenue to continue growing at a fast clip, more than doubling in 2026 to USD29.4 bil. In 2024, the company generated USD3.7 bil in annual revenue.

Shorts:

1. China said to pause new deals with Li Ka-shing’s related companies

   Li Ka-shing has ruffled China’s feathers quite badly after its decision to sell two Panama ports to a BlackRock-led consortium. China has now told its state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to the Hong Kong billionaire and his family. The move is believed to increase pressure on the billionaire over the decision. The sale, which is expected to net the company more than USD19 bil, triggered scrutiny in Beijing after US President Trump hailed it as the US reclaiming the strategic waterway from Chinese influence, although the Panama ports are just two out of 43 facilities being divested globally. The impact might not be too significant as the conglomerate makes just 12% of its revenue from Hong Kong and mainland China.

2. South Korea wildfires became biggest on record

   The raging wildfires in South Korea are yet another call for the world to face the harsh reality of global heating. The fire, which has claimed 27 lives, has doubled in size in a day in the country’s worst-ever natural fire disaster and “the largest on record”, having burned more forest than any previous blazes. The last major wildfire, in Apr 2020, scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast. Affected areas have seen only half the average rainfall this season, while the country has experienced more than double the number of fires this year than last. The blazes were threatening two UNESCO World Heritage sites – Hahoe Village and the Byeongsan Confucian Academy in Andong City.

3. EU tells citizens to stockpile 72 hours of supplies in case of disaster or attack

   Inspired by plans in Germany and the Nordic countries, the European Commission (EU) launched its new Preparedness Strategy that calls for its citizens to stockpile enough food, water and essentials for 72 hours in the event of catastrophic floods and fires, pandemics, military attacks or other national crises. While some may feel like it's a form of “scaremongering”, a commission vice president responded that it simply means that one wants to be prepared and minimise the damage, costs, and suffering that they might go through.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Debt is just the financial and economic version of drugs.

2. What does a drone delivery look like?

3. Kitesurfer POV jumping over islands, yacht, pier and also a whale. Have a good and exciting holiday ahead! Safe travels! Selamat Hari Raya to all our Muslim readers from kami yang tak berpuasa, in the words of Douglas Lim!

kitesurfingofficial

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