☕️ Sabah eyes space launch dream

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM5,000 per square foot – The freehold prime land on which the famous Hakka Restaurant sits at Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur is in the final stages of being acquired by Ipoh-based luxury developer Armani Group. The restaurant, touted as the oldest family-owned Hakka eatery in the city, is located on two plots of land totalling 155,150 sq ft. At the amount offered, the deal works out to RM775.75 mil, with the sale reportedly in its final stages. Armani is also behind Armani Hallson KLCC. The land seller, Loke Wan Yat Realty, counts a descendant of Chinese tycoon Loke Yew among its board members. The realty firm previously disposed of several other pieces of prime land, including the properties collectively known as Asian Heritage Row. A benchmark deal saw the firm sell 135,356 sq ft of land in Jalan Ampang for RM446.67 mil or RM3,300 per sq ft. View on map here.

45 more green spaces and open-air areas – Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh recently announced that additional green and open-air areas covering 277,663.9 sq m have been gazetted and permanently protected in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. This equates to about 39 football fields in total, or an average of 6,170.3 sq m per space. The list of gazetted land and any related updates will be made available online for public viewing. Moving forward, at least one green space will be gazetted in the capital each month, as part of the ongoing efforts by the Special Task Force for the Gazetting of Open and Green Areas. Meaning of gazette here.

RM20 per kg for Mesta mangosteens – A role reversal has seen mangosteens go up in price from as low as RM10 for 3kg, as there is currently a limited supply of the Queen of Fruits. Conversely, Musang King durians, which previously dominated the market at RM100 per kg, can now be bought for as low as RM16.80 per kg. This price reversal is due to changes in farming trends. Previously, durian farmers adopted a mixed-planting method where they co-planted mangosteens and other trees in their plantations. However, in recent years, many new durian orchard owners have cut down mangosteen trees, reducing supply and pushing up prices.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Sabah’s blazing away, in a good and bad way

The good: Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor announced that the state government is considering the possibility of establishing Sabah as a satellite or rocket launch centre for Southeast Asia within the next few years. Sabah seemed to be the third state to express similar intentions, after Pahang and Sarawak. Hajiji added that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia (MOSTI)’s final studies indicated Lahad Datu is primed to become the next Baikonur Cosmodrome. From a district that was almost annexed by the Sulu Sultanate to a place where rocket-ships launch from. Not bad, Lahad Datu.

The bad: While Lahad Datu has a fiery ambition, another district in Sabah, Sandakan, is literally in flames, after up to 1,000 homes that housed more than 9,000 residents in Kampung Bahagia in Batu Sapi were engulfed in flames. Firefighters faced significant challenges in bringing the blaze under control as narrow access routes prevented fire engines from reaching the site directly, while low tide limited access to open water sources. Three temporary evacuation centres (PPS) have been identified, and fortunately, no fatalities have been reported so far.

PETRONAS may negotiate for Russian oil
PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that our cash cow, Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS), can negotiate with Russia for oil supply as a proactive measure. PETRONAS joined a laundry list of countries aiming to get a hand on Russian oil, after the failure of the global market in providing an adequate ‘legal’ oil supply. PM Anwar added that Malaysia maintains a friendly relationship with most countries, such as Iran (where our tankers are among the earliest granted access to pass through the Strait of Hormuz) and Russia.

Big, big data centre projects
Two of the biggest construction firms in the country, Gamuda Berhad and Sunway Construction Group Berhad, are in a neck-and-neck fight to capture market share in the data centre sector. Recently, Gamuda secured a RM1.72 bil contract to build a hyperscale data centre in Port Dickson. Construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2026, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2028. This contract marks the company’s first contract win this year, raising its outstanding order book to about RM45.72 bil. Sunway Construction, on the other hand, secured a RM1.75 bil data centre job in Serendah, Selangor. The contract spans two years from the third quarter of 2026 to the third quarter of 2028. Sunway Construction’s order book is more modest compared to Gamuda's at RM8.7 bil, including the addition of this new project. It’s unknown at the moment which tech giants are behind these data centres.

AI infrastructure development in historical context below. Nothing out of the ordinary?

Shorts

1. ‘Atas’ postcode receiving expedited treatment

   Soon after the flooding at a construction site in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) over the weekends, Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh announced that a third sedimentation pond or erosion and sediment control plan (ESCP) pond will be built. On top of that, the capacity of the second ESCP pond will be increased, while desilting and maintenance work will be done on the first ESCP pond. The Selangor public works department (JKR) has also stepped in on Sunday with additional machinery to expedite repair works. An ESCP pond is designed to trap soil and sediment washed from construction sites by collecting runoff in a basin.

2. KLIA ‘sangkut’ again

   The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 suffered another system breakdown, again on its baggage-handling system, over the weekend, which lasted several hours. Transport Minister Anthony Loke isn’t having a good time with these recurring headaches. Not only are the LRT breakdowns giving him headaches, but now our nation’s gateway is also doing the same. Loke has instructed the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia to investigate the matter and recommend whether any action needs to be taken towards the operator of KLIA, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

US vs Iran: Deal, no deal, deal? 

Strait of Hormuz closed again: Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, not too long after announcing its reopening over the weekend. The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) blamed it on the US for continuing to blockade Iranian ports even after the reopening. It said several vessels had passed through the strait under its management since Friday night, but that it would continue shutting the waterway until the US stopped its blockade of Iranian ports.

No sign of reaching a deal: It seems like the US and Iran are still a long way from a deal, raising concerns that the countries will return to war after the ceasefire expires on Wednesday. Iran said that despite progress with the US, many gaps and some fundamental points remain unaddressed. Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that Trump cannot justify depriving Tehran of what he called its ‘nuclear rights’. Earlier yesterday, Trump said the US would “have to start dropping bombs again” if no deal was reached by Wednesday, when the ceasefire is due to end.

Will diplomacy continue?: Mediators have been pushing for a second round of US-Iran peace talks after the first round ended without a deal. Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Saturday that no date could be set before the two sides agree on a “framework of understanding”, accusing Washington of maintaining a “maximalist” stance. The White House had said another round would likely be held in Islamabad.

Europe is running out of jet fuel
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that Europe might have only “six weeks of jet fuel left”. Analysing different scenarios, it said that if Europe were unable to replace more than 50% of its Middle Eastern imports, “physical shortages may emerge at select airports, resulting in flight cancellations, and demand destruction”. Stocks may also reach a tipping point in June if Europe is unable to replace at least half of its imports from the Middle East. In its monthly oil market report, the IEA - which advises 32 member countries on energy supply and security - said exports from the Gulf region were the largest source of jet fuel to the global market. In the past, Europe has relied on the Middle East for about 75% of its jet fuel imports. The benchmark European jet fuel price hit an all-time high of USD1,838 per tonne at the start of April, compared with USD831 before the war began.

Why NVIDIA invests in many things - a lesson in humility
One might wonder why Nvidia chooses to invest in many companies across different specialities. According to Jensen Huang, co-founder of Nvidia in 1993, the answers are simple: That it’s not Nvidia’s job to pick winners, and that the company’s history has taught him a lesson in humility. Huang said that when Nvidia first started, the company was only one out of 60 3D graphics companies, with a high chance of not making it, as its graphics architecture didn’t look promising. Today, Nvidia is the most valuable company in the world, with heavy investments in companies across the AI stack and related industries, including biotech, robotics, and self-driving. In November, Nvidia committed to investing up to USD10 bil in Anthropic to develop Claude. In February, the company announced it invested USD30 bil in OpenAI. The tech giant has also cut smaller checks to startups such as autonomous driving company Wayve, data labelling firm Scale AI, and Figure AI, which is building humanoid robotics.

OnlyFans’s wild business model, but why are investors staying away?
OnlyFans - a platform best known for hosting pornographic user-generated content for subscribers - is reportedly close to an investment deal with Architect Capital, which would value the British company at more than USD3 bil. However, analysts say that while the platform is performing well for its simple and effective business model, investors are constantly staying away from it. In 2024, it posted a staggering pre-tax profit of USD684 mil on revenue of USD1.4 bil. This is compared to other similar internet-based businesses like Match Group, the company behind dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, which investors value at more than USD8 bil, way higher than OnlyFans. That gap in valuation makes for a pretty easy read: If OnlyFans weren’t a platform best-known for adult content, it could be worth much more. Despite its excellent numbers, many mainstream investors concluded that they’re better off staying away. The reputational, regulatory, and legal risks of owning a user-generated porn subscription business have convinced them it’s not worth it.
Fun fact: MindGeek, the parent company of popular porn site Pornhub, is owned by - wait for it - Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners.

Myanmar’s new president pardons over 4,000 prisoners
Min Aung Hlaing, the military junta leader who snatched power in 2021 and was installed as the country’s President in a democratic election, has granted amnesty and reduction of sentences to over 4,000 prisoners in the country. The pardon order is one of his first official acts since becoming president. Former president Win Myint, detained since the 2021 coup, was also pardoned of his convictions under specified conditions, while Aung San Suu Kyi, who is serving a 27-year sentence, also had her sentence cut by one-sixth. The amnesty also includes the commutation, A.K.A. reduction of sentence, of all death sentences to life imprisonment, while life sentences were reduced to 40 years, with a one-sixth reduction in term lengths for all other prisoners.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

The ‘Atas’ Life

1. The watches to know if you are getting into watch-collecting.

2. With little to no heritage or history, how did watch brand Richard Mille, founded in 2001, establish its status as a symbol of luxury?

3. One of the world’s most valuable Ferrari collections, estimated at USD200 mil (RM790 mil), owned by David Lee.