☕️ From DNAA to NFA: AGC says no further action for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's Yayasan Akalbudi case

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

South Korea is on track for another record-breaking year for kimchi exports in 2025, thanks to a rising global demand for Korean food. Overseas sales of the traditional side dish reached USD137.39 mil (RM569.3 mil) in the first ten months of 2025, up 2% from the same period in 2024. At this pace, full-year exports for 2025 are expected to surpass the previous record of USD163.57 mil set in 2024. Japan remained the largest buyer of Korean kimchi, importing USD47.55 mil worth over the ten-month period.

The rising global demand for Korean food has also benefited South Korea’s instant noodle makers, who are capitalising on interest driven by K-pop and other Korean media to secure a larger share of the global instant noodle market. Examples include Nongshim building an export-dedicated plant and Samyang Foods setting up its first factory in China, aimed at serving the US, European, and Chinese markets. The global instant noodle market is expected to hit USD56.5 bil (RM229.53 bil) by 2030, according to UK market data firm Euromonitor, which marks an expansion of 35% over 10 years.

In Malaysia, the increased excise duty of 90 sen per litre on sugar-sweetened beverages netted the government RM73.81 mil in tax revenue between Jan and Nov 2025. The duty was first imposed on Jul 1, 2019, at 40 sen per litre, before it was hiked to 50 sen per litre on Jan 1, 2024, and then to 90 sen on Jan 1, 2025. Between Jul 1, 2019, and Dec 31, 2024, the duty brought in a sum of RM447.54 mil. Together with the amount collected between Jan and Nov 2025, the total revenue from the tax since its implementation stands at RM521.35 mil. The higher rate was said to be among the measures introduced to curb the consumption of high-sugar drinks among Malaysians. As such, a portion of the funds has been channelled into the Health Ministry’s War on Sugar advocacy programmes, the purchase of SGLT-2 medicines for Diabetes Mellitus patients, and the provision of peritoneal dialysis facilities for end-stage kidney patients.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The Malaysian passport, the third strongest in the world
New passport design incoming
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that Malaysia will have a newly designed passport within six months, highlighting that a little care is needed to maintain its standing as the third most trusted in the world in terms of visa-free travel convenience. The new document will be equipped with enhanced security features to preserve the integrity of the passport and address the risk of counterfeiting. Sape dapat kontrak?

Around 10,000 Malaysians apply to renounce their citizenship each year
Singapore has been the top destination for Malaysians, mostly women, giving up their citizenship, lured across the strait by better pay or for familial reasons. According to the National Registration Department, more than 61,000 individuals have relinquished their citizenship since 2019 in favour of Singapore (93.78%), followed by Australia (2.15%), Brunei (0.97%), and other countries (3.1%). In terms of age, the largest group is those aged between 31 and 40 years old, accounting for 31.6% of those leaving.

MACC dominates headlines again
Former army general brought to court
Former army chief General Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan and his two wives arrived at court seeking remand applications, following allegations of their involvement in a cartel linked to procurement tenders for the army. According to Ridzwan Rahmat, principal defence analyst at Jane’s by IHS Markit, the military procurement process of countries remain a mystery to everyone outside the need-to-know circle, but the situation in Malaysia is worse. There is also no cooling period preventing military officers from joining defence companies after they retire, making this group of almost-retired senior officials prone to collusion with defence companies. Why else would Malaysia pay RM1 bil for 4 patrol vessels? During PMX’s New Year’s announcement, he complained that reducing the service tax on rentals for MSMEs from 8% to 6% will cost the government half a bil annually. Before further imposing additional taxes and administrative burden on the business community and rakyat, do check out Army & Co. for further savings.

Deputy PM’s corruption case declared ‘no further action’
The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) has reclassified Deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi case from discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to no further action (NFA). The AGC said this was due to insufficient evidence after further Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigations. This decision consequently brings about the final termination of the case, in line with the powers and discretion of the AG under the Federal Constitution and relevant laws. Previously, Zahid was accused of misappropriating RM31 mil from his charitable foundation, Yayasan Akalbudi, with 47 charges of criminal breach of trust, graft, and money laundering.

On another note, to recap the week, UMNO is not leaving the Madani government. 

Former MACC detainee sues anti-graft body for making him wear the orange shirt
Businessman Albert Tei, the main whistleblower in the whole Sabah mineral licence case, is now suing MACC for making him wear the orange lock-up T-shirt while he was in detention. He stated that wearing the shirt is ‘void, unlawful and unconstitutional’. Tei added that when photos and videos of him wearing the orange shirt were taken at court, his image was negatively affected, and he claimed to have suffered mental distress from being humiliated.

Vantris secures RM1.4 bil contract for offshore transportation and installation works
Vantris Energy Bhd, formerly Sapura Energy Bhd, has bagged a RM1.4 bil contract from PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd for offshore transportation and installation in Malaysia. The work areas for the contract will be at the Sepat Integrated Redevelopment Project located off the coast of Terengganu, and the Belud South Greenfield Development Project located off the coast of Sabah. The work orders are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2026, and follows the firm’s restructuring in September last year. For its latest quarter, Vantris reported a revenue of RM982.79 mil.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump administration
US to withdraw from dozens of UN, international organisations
US President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to withdraw the US from 66 United Nations and international organisations, which means that the US will cease to participate and also cut all funding to the affected entities. The list includes 35 non-UN organisations, including notably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 31 UN entities are also listed, including the UN’s top climate change treaty body, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN Democracy Fund, and the top UN entity working on maternal and child health, the UNFPA. Note that these are major forums for global cooperation on climate change, peace, and democracy.

Ironically, despite publicly claiming he wants the US to have less involvement in UN forums, Trump has not held back from influencing decision-making at the international level. Early in his second term last year, Trump had withdrawn the US from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Paris climate agreement, and the UN human rights council. Between 2024 and 2025, the US contributed USD261 mil (RM1.06 bil) in funding to the WHO, amounting to about 18% of the funding the organisation receives for its work encouraging global cooperation on a wide range of pressing health issues, including tuberculosis and pandemics, like COVID-19. Now, all this is no more.

Trump calls for US military spending to rise more than 50%
On the military front, Trump has called for US defence spending to be increased to USD1.5 tril (RM6.09 tril) in 2027 for what he called ‘these very troubled and dangerous times’, and to build the ‘Dream Military’ that ‘we have long been entitled to’. The increase is over 50% higher than this year’s USD901 bil budget. He also said separately that he would crack down on payouts to bosses and shareholders of major US defence contractors unless the firms speed up deliveries of armaments and build new manufacturing plants. Economists have previously warned that the gap between US spending and its income has reached unsustainable levels (i.e. debt-fuelled lifestyle), but Trump said Washington can ‘easily hit’ his proposed USD1.5 tril defence budget thanks to money being brought in by tariffs.
More money, more wars.

Trump says he could be impeached if Republicans lose Congress in midterms
November brings the midterm elections to the US, and Trump has warned Republicans in the United States House of Representatives that, if the party fails to win a majority, he will be impeached. He stressed the importance of keeping control of the chamber, where his party has a razor-thin majority. With the economy starting to show signs of stagnation and the recent US military action to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro proving unpopular, Democrats may capitalise on the discontent to win back control of Congress. Nevertheless, Trump still appeared optimistic that the Republicans would have an ‘epic midterm victory’.

US ICE officer fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis
Huge protests and outrage have erupted after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed an American woman on the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday. The woman was identified by local media as 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. She was hit at point-blank range as she apparently tried to drive away from agents who were crowding around her car, which they said was blocking their way. Trump’s administration moved quickly to claim Good had been trying to kill the agents, an assertion Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called ‘bullshit’, with the mayor urging ICE to get out of his city. ICE’s federal agents have been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s immigrant deportation drive, despite the objections of local officials. The Department of Homeland Security launched an aggressive recruitment campaign last summer to add 10,000 additional ICE agents to the existing 6,000-strong contingent, sparking criticisms that the new officers were insufficiently trained. Watch footage of the incident here (warning - graphic).

Latin America’s political shifts have investors bullish on the market
While not everyone welcomed Trump’s moves in Latin America, investors are optimistic about the broader rightward shift in politics that they say will boost the region’s financial assets. The US removal of President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend sent Venezuela’s defaulted debt soaring, while Trump’s gamble last year to bolster Argentina’s Javier Milei with a financial backstop of up to USD40 bil (RM162.5 bil) paid off when Milei’s party did well in crucial midterm elections. Investors say that the current trend makes them more comfortable adding exposure, and making foreign capital more likely to flow to the region as they anticipate market-friendly reforms.

Anthropic to raise USD10 bil to reach USD350 bil valuation
Claude chatbot maker Anthropic is reportedly planning a USD10 bil (RM40.63 bil) fundraise that would value the company at a whopping USD350 bil, representing an increase in valuation of nearly double from about four months ago. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Coatue Management are planning to lead the financing. Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff, Anthropic last raised USD13 bil in a series F round that valued the company at USD183 bil, according to a company statement in early September. The company had also hired a law firm to prepare for an initial public offering that could take place as early as 2026. Anthropic’s Claude models have built a strong reputation among developers, particularly for coding tasks.

Alleged scam kingpin Chen Zhi extradited to China
Chen Zhi, a Chinese-born tycoon who allegedly directed operations of forced labour compounds across Cambodia, has been arrested and extradited to China. Chen founded the Prince Group, a multinational conglomerate that authorities allege served as a front for ‘one of Asia’s largest transnational criminal organisations’. US authorities in October unsealed an indictment against Chen, accusing him of presiding over compounds in Cambodia where trafficked workers carried out cryptocurrency fraud schemes that have stolen billions of dollars. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted in the US on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges involving approximately 127,271 bitcoins seized by Washington, worth more than USD11 bil (RM46.95 bil) at current prices.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Thinking, thoughts, reflection for the weekend

1. Some birthday reflection from one of our favourite financial authors, Sahil Bloom.

2. Bringing up a child - fixed mindset vs growth mindset.

3. The younger generation can’t build real wealth anymore thanks to a broken monetary system. They don’t resort to gambling for the fun of it, but because grinding guarantees nothing anymore, and moonshots feel like the only way to achieve financial freedom. Sad truth.

A bit heavy to end the week. Lighten it up with this pedestrian crossing light prank. Have a good weekend, folks! Keep it up with your New Year’s resolution!