☕️ Genting Bhd to privatise its casino and hospitality arm, Genting Malaysia Bhd, in RM6.7 bil deal

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

19 seconds. That’s how long it took for local influencer Khairul Aming to achieve RM1 mil in sales. Following verification with TikTok Shop, the Malaysia Book of Records awarded him a plaque acknowledging that a livestream selling his Rendang Nyet Berapi broke the previous record for achieving RM1 mil in sales on TikTok Shop. The previous record was actually also set by Khairul Aming, when he reached RM1 mil in sales within 3 minutes and 28 seconds with the same product.

Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first billionaire player. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index took into account his career earnings, investments, and endorsements, and placed Ronaldo’s net worth at USD1.4 bil (RM5.9 bil). The index reported that he earned more than USD550 mil in salary between 2002 and 2023, also identifying that Ronaldo became the best-paid player in football history when he signed on with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League in 2022, where he was paid an annual salary of USD236.1 mil. The Al-Nassr contract was due to end in June 2025, but Ronaldo signed a new two-year deal reportedly worth more than USD400 mil which will keep him with the club past his 42nd birthday.

Malaysia’s Single Family Office (SFO) scheme, which offers tax incentives for wealthy families to place their assets in the country, has conditionally approved six interested parties, with the assets under management in the approvals valued at about RM400 mil. This surpassed initial estimates, and the aim is to attract RM2 bil in wealthy family assets by end-2026. Of the six approvals, one was Singaporean, while the remainder were Malaysian. This scheme also marks Malaysia’s first formalised and dedicated long-term tax incentive framework for SFOs, as the nation looks to position itself as a hub for global family wealth management.
Learn: What is a Family Office?

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Genting goes all in, but investors aren’t betting on it
Genting Bhd is planning to take its casino and hospitality arm private in a RM6.7 bil deal, offering RM2.35 a share to buy out minority shareholders in Genting Malaysia Bhd (which it already owns 49.36%) and delist it after nearly 40 years on Bursa. The offer is about 10% above last Friday’s closing price, not bad, but analysts say it’s still a lowball, sitting below last year’s peak and ignoring the potential upside from Genting Malaysia’s big swing in the US. The company is currently chasing a USD5.5 bil casino licence in New York, with results due by Dec. If successful, it would be Malaysia’s biggest buyout in over four years (since Digi’s merger with Celcom). Still, investors aren’t entirely sold: Genting Malaysia’s shares remain below pre-pandemic levels, and the “unattractive” offer might face some pushback. For context, Genting Malaysia, listed since 1989, runs Resorts World Genting as well as casinos in the US, UK, and Egypt.

Check out the Genting Group structure here. Did you know Genting has a palm oil business too (Genting Plantations Bhd, market cap of RM4.4 bil)?

The offer price of RM2.35 is 9.8% above yesterday’s closing price. Punting on such news to profit from the gap is known as merger arbitrage as such transactions do not always materialise for various reasons, and there are funds dedicated to such form of investing. Learn more here on this art of investing.

Not too sure anyone affiliated with Genting is celebrating this deal with this viral dance:

Fuel & Flu

Fuel for thought: Budi95 now powers boats and Grab drivers alike
The government’s Budi95 subsidised fuel scheme is getting a boost, covering over 1,400 private boat users in Sarawak, after recently expanding to Sabah’s fishermen. For full-time e-hailing drivers, they are getting 2x the allocation from 300 to 600 litres, benefiting some 53,900 drivers nationwide. The move aims to ease fuel costs for high-mobility groups from boat operators navigating Sarawak’s rivers to Grab and inDriver drivers clocking long hours on Malaysian roads.

Flu season is back, schools shut - just in time for SPM season
The flu bug’s making its rounds again. Around 6,000 students across Malaysia have caught influenza, forcing several schools to temporarily shut down on the advice of district health offices. The closures follow Health Ministry guidelines to keep students and staff safe. Schools have been told to tighten SOPs, with reminders to mask up and scale down big gatherings. The Health Ministry also reported a jump in influenza clusters from 14 to 97 in just one week, mostly in schools. Selangor tops the list with 43 clusters, followed by KL, Putrajaya, and Penang where most patients, thankfully, only showing mild symptoms.

What happens when you make death threats? 
A Penang company director learned the hard way that angry texts don’t pay, especially when they’re death threats. The George Town Magistrates’ Court fined 45 year-old Heng Hua Kian RM10,000 after he pleaded guilty to criminal intimidation to kill a 36 year-old female lawyer in September by sending messages threatening to cause her death. Charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation, Heng faces up to seven years’ jail, a fine, or both and will serve 10 months behind bars if he fails to pay up. The threats caused significant trauma to the victim, while Heng’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, citing his client’s mental health struggles, ongoing divorce, and responsibilities to his ageing parents and three kids.

Update: Melaka gang rape case

PAGE to rapists: No SPM privilege for you
The Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) argues that the four Melaka students accused of gang-raping a Form Three girl should not sit for this year’s SPM, because such serious crime shouldn’t be treated like a minor disciplinary issue. PAGE chair said the assaulters could take their exams later, after facing legal action, adding that “rape is far more serious than bullying”. While the students were reported to be expelled, The Education Ministry hinted there may be provisions allowing them to sit for the SPM at an alternative location or with police oversight to protect their educational rights.

MOE: Expelled means expelled, but exams still on
Later on, the Education Ministry clarified the four accused will still face legal consequences, despite being allowed to sit for their SPM exams. Education Director-General said all four had been expelled and would take their exams at a designated location, possibly a detention centre rather than their original school. He stressed that the arrangement is not an exemption from punishment, and the ministry is fully cooperating with police investigations to ensure justice is served. Updated guidelines, including a proposal to make CCTV cameras mandatory in schools, are expected to be announced in December. It’s concerning that it takes such a tragic incident for the authorities to even consider measures like CCTV in schools - basic safety and security should be a given, not an afterthought.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The end of one war, start of another?

Trump: Gaza war over
The US president urged Israel to turn military success into peace, as the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas under a US-brokered ceasefire deal. Palestinian detainees were also freed by Israel as part of the deal. Trump himself is now in Israel, addressing the Israeli parliament, also called the Knesset, to counsel peace. The next step of the peace plan calls for the formation of an international body called a Board of Peace, led by Trump, which will oversee the new temporary, transitional government of Gaza. This has seen world leaders gathering in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh for a peace summit. However, Israeli PM Netanyahu will not be present at the summit, claiming it is too close to the beginning of a Jewish holiday.

Trump’s next target: The Afghan-Pakistani border clashes
With the Israel-Gaza conflict seemingly close to peace, another conflict has caught the attention of Trump, who remains keen on winning a Nobel Peace Prize. The Afghanistan-Pakistan border saw fierce fighting over the weekend, with dozens dead between the two sides. Border trade has also ground to a halt as Pakistan has closed crossings along the 2,600km border. The conflict was sparked when Pakistan called on the Taliban to take action against militants who were stepping up attacks in Pakistan, alleging they operated out of havens in Afghanistan. The Taliban denied the presence of such militants. For a clean summary, check out this one by Reuters.

Money matters

Ten major banks explore stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies
The ten banks, which include the Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and UBS, are jointly exploring the issuance of a stablecoin pegged to Group of Seven currencies. This is being seen as an attempt by traditional finance to come to terms with the growth of digital assets. The other banks in the coalition are Citi, MUFG, Barclays, TD Bank, Santander, and BNP Paribas. The purpose of the coin is to determine the possibility of an industry offering that brings the benefits of digital assets and enhances market competition, but still maintains full compliance with regulatory requirements and best practice risk management. A rival consortium of nine European banks, including ING and UniCredit, are looking to launch a euro-dominated stablecoin as well. Understand the advantages of stablecoin here.

Silver hits all-time high with 70% rally
The 70% rally put silver in the spotlight in this year’s precious metal rally, leaving gold in the dust with its 50% gain. The rally brought silver to USD51.38 per ounce, while pushing gold to a record of around USD4,060. The rally, which was driven by expectations of Fed cuts and safe-haven demand, was further buoyed after US President Trump reignited the trade war with China. But, is it a better bet? Analysts have urged caution over silver’s rally, due to significantly more volatility and downside price risk, as silver is not supported by a structural central-bank bid, more cyclical due to its industrial uses, not recognised under IMF reserve frameworks and has no material presence in modern central bank portfolios.

Contamination concerns

Indonesian clove farm contaminated with Caesium-137
A government task force reported the contamination of the clove farm with the radioactive isotope, but claimed its presence was limited and that the contamination had not spread to other commodities. The cloves from the farm will not be sold until further lab testing has been completed. This also marks the latest incident in which Indonesia has to deal with radioactively contaminated products in recent weeks. The first contamination was in a batch of shrimp shipped to the US in August. These contamination cases have led to the US imposing new certification requirements for imports of shrimp and spices from Indonesia.

Indian state cancels licences of cough syrup-maker linked to child deaths
The state of Tamil Nadu has cancelled the licences of cough syrup-maker Sresan Pharmaceuticals, believed to be linked to the deaths of at least 19 children. The firm’s sites are also being searched by the authorities on suspicion of money laundering. The cough syrup was banned after a test revealed it had nearly 500 times the permissible limit of diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical. While the medicine was only sold domestically, this has raised fresh doubts about India’s pharmaceutical industry, which had exported syrups linked to the deaths of 10 children in Cameroon, Gambia, and Uzbekistan. India is known as the “pharmacy of the world”, and supplies 40% of generic medicines used in the US and more than 90% of all medicines in many African nations.

Shorts

1. German mayor stabbed 13 times, fingers adopted daughter
   Mayor Iris Stalzer of Herdecke, Germany, was airlifted to the hospital after she was stabbed 13 times in the stomach and back. Stalzer, who was supposed to take office in November, has pointed to her adoptive daughter, aged 17, as the one who tortured her for hours in their basement. There were reports that the two had argued earlier this summer. Both the adoptive daughter and Stalzer’s 15-year-old adoptive son are now in the care of the youth welfare office. The authorities are treating the attack as grievous bodily harm rather than attempted homicide, as the daughter had called emergency services for help.

2. Trio win economics Nobel for work on innovation and “creative destruction”

   Professors Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Economics Prize for their work on how creative destruction can drive economic growth and lift living standards across the globe. Their research explained how technology gives rise to new products and production methods, which replace old ones, resulting in a better standard of living, health, and quality of life. This was shown by how the world has seen sustained economic growth over the last 200 years, a first in history. Still, the trio’s work also showed that such progress cannot be taken for granted, and that any threats to continued growth need to be counteracted. Mokyr was awarded half the prize, with Aghion and Howitt sharing the remainder. The prize total was SEK11 mil (USD1.2 mil or RM4.9 mil).

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Chinese Terminator is nearer than we think.

1. Unitree robots are moving more and more like humans.

2. Unitree in kung fu mode. Way better than Tesla’s Optimus kung fu stance demo-ed last week.

3. Debunking China’s century eggs - the idea that it is made with horse urine is a myth.

If you are free this Friday evening, come join Mr Money’s community event. We will be on the panel. Check it out here.