☕️ Glove makers feeling the g-love as Bursa stocks soar from US tariff announcement

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Miniso has opened its largest store in Jakarta, covering 3,000 square meters, as part of its Southeast Asian expansion. Located in Central Park Mall, the store sells around 13,000 products, including popular Disney, Sanrio, and South Korean anime merchandise. On opening day, sales hit a record RMB1.18 mil yuan (RM710 mil). The retailer has 1,400 stores in Asia outside China and is increasing themed stores, focusing on iconic brands like Hello Kitty in Vietnam and Barbie products in an upcoming Malaysian location.

More than two-thirds of love scam victims in Malaysia are women, with 79.3% of victims recorded between 2022 and Aug 2023. Losses amounted to nearly RM57 mil in 2022 and RM44 mil in 2023. Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director, Comm Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, urged the public to be cautious about suspicious online relationships, highlighting warning signs like sudden money requests, inconsistent stories, and profiles that seem “too good to be true.” This year till Aug, police recorded cases involving 368 female victims while 128 were males.

The video game Black Myth: Wukong, developed by Game Science (GS), has earned an estimated USD800 mil (RM3.4 bil) in revenue since its release on Aug 20, 2024. The game sold 18 mil copies, including 10 million in the first three days, marking it China's first AAA video game, a high-budget or high-profile project. Developed over six years with a reported budget of USD70 mil, Wukong aims to project Chinese culture to a global audience.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

New local monkeypox case swings into the fray
The Health Ministry has reported a new case of monkeypox involving a male citizen who began experiencing fever, sore throat, and coughing on Sep 11, with rashes appearing the following day. The patient has not traveled internationally in the past 3 weeks prior to symptom onset and is currently in stable condition while in isolation. The ministry is actively identifying close contacts of the patient and monitoring their health as per strict SOP.

Since July 26 2023, this recent case marks the first confirmed instance of clade II monkeypox this year, adding to 9 previous cases of the same variant identified in Malaysia.

The ministry has no plans to implement restrictions (imagine another MCO), to control the spread of monkeypox. It activated its monkeypox operations and crisis response center on Aug 16 to enhance monitoring and response efforts, including screening 6.2 mil travelers entering the country.

The WHO has declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern for the second time on Aug 14 due to the rapid spread of a more severe clade 1b variant originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring regions.

Business

• Penang Intel factory delays first day of operations
  As part of Intel's USD10 bil cost-cutting measures, the company has announced a delay in the operations of a new advanced packaging plant currently under construction in Malaysia. While the facility in Penang will still be completed, the start of its operations will be aligned with market conditions and the utilization of existing capacities, according to CEO Pat Gelsinger.
  
  The expansion project, initially announced in 2021 with an investment of over RM29.96 bil, was expected to begin production in 2024 and create more than 4,000 jobs.
  
  The COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage of computer chips, leading to the conceptualization of the Penang plant. Intel's Malaysian operations are significant, as the country is its largest site outside the United States, employing around 14,000 individuals since its first manufacturing facility opened in 1972. Gelsinger also added that projects in Poland and Germany are affected by a similar delay by approximately 2 years.
  
  However, the company is facing substantial financial challenges, including a second major net loss this year attributed to declining sales. In response, Intel plans to cut approximately 15,000 jobs globally by the end of this year.
  

• Glove makers feeling the g-love as Bursa stocks soar from US tariff announcement
  Following the U.S. announcement to significantly raise tariffs on Chinese gloves from 7.5% to a whopping 50% in Jan next year and subsequently 100% by Jan 2026, local rubber glove stocks have become top gainers and are among the most active on Bursa Malaysia.

  The big 5 surged at least 13.5% with Hartalega enjoying the biggest rally of 26.5%.

  Meanwhile, Supermax Corp Bhd, is set to begin glove production in Jan 2025 at its Texas facility. Testing for its first production lines is set to begin a month prior, as it anticipates up to 4.8 bil gloves per annum after the completion of Phase 1 of operations by end of 2025.

Shorts

1. THB1 Bil in revenue from tourism in Thailand just from Malaysian tourists
   Roughly 100,000 Malaysian tourists contributed more than RM120 mil to Thailand’s economy over the past couple of days, with over 400 hotels and 30,000 rooms being fully booked throughout the Hari Malaysia weekend. Traffic jams entering the Songkhla province through its 3 main entry points- namely Sadao, Ban Prakob, and Padang Besar, caused traffic jams from as early as 5am on Sep 14.
   

2. Najib spotted on wheelchair headed into court
   Former Prime Minister Najib Razak appeared in court on Tuesday in a wheelchair due to recent hospitalization for acute knee inflammation, according to his medical aide. However, in the courtroom, he was seen walking slowly with a cane and was permitted to sit outside the dock to stretch his legs. Najib’s trial, which has been ongoing since 2019, is currently at the submission stage following his need for medical attention- the presiding judge has set an Oct 4 deadline for submissions.
   

3. Court grants bail to “Abang Bas” charged with sexual assault involving minors

   The 24-year-old content creator "Abang Bas” has been released on bail today at the Muar Court after his family paid RM40,000. His release came after more than a week of detention due to his inability to pay the bail amount, leading to a public donation drive, with his case handled pro bono by lawyer Zaharil Muhaiyar. He was seen embracing family members outside the court complex upon release.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

UN human rights experts warn that Israel will become a ‘pariah’ over Gaza genocide
On Monday, UN human rights experts decried Israel’s escalating violence and rights violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as its disregard for international law and its verbal attacks on the UN itself.

The experts said Israel risks becoming an international “pariah” or outcast over its genocide in Gaza, just like how South Africa was during the times of apartheid. They also warned that Israel’s UN membership could be called into question.

They slammed Western countries’ “double standards” in the war and said Israel needed to face consequences for its actions, and prompted questions about Western states’ longstanding political and military support for Israel, including from the United States and the United Kingdom who are key arms providers to Israel.

The experts are among dozens of independent human rights specialists mandated by the UN to report and advise on specific themes and crises. However, their views do not reflect those of the global body as a whole.

From the social media front:

• Meta bans Russian state media networks

  Meta has decided to ban Russian state-owned media networks, including RT and Rossiya Segodnya from their platform, alleging that they are using deceptive tactics to influence operations and evade detection on the Meta platforms. This move marks an escalation in the world's biggest social media firm's stance towards Russian state media companies. After the war erupted between Ukraine and Russia, Meta has “complied” with requests from the EU, UK and Ukraine to block some Russian state media in those regions. Meanwhile, last week, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced new sanctions against RT, saying that there's a unit embedded within RT with cyber-operational capabilities and ties to Russian intelligence.

• Most important 2 hours for TikTok

  It took more than two hours of oral arguments between TikTok and content creators on one side, and the US government on another, to lead a trio of US federal judges into a decision. The judges appeared to grapple over how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its constitutional rights under US law, and went back and forth asking very sceptical questions about the ByteDance relationship, while not letting the US government off easy, either. It remained uncertain how the judges may rule, but the law sets out a deadline of Jan 19 2025 for TikTok, so it is likely the court may rule before then.

  This will resolve a legal challenge to a law that could shut down TikTok virtually overnight and potentially reshape the government’s powers in relation to speech on all foreign-owned platforms deemed to be a national security risk.

Covid lockdowns have prematurely aged children’s brain
The pandemic is mostly over, but the effects of the stress during the pandemic due to lockdowns and limited social interactions has impacted the human brain. In a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it was discovered that girls’ brains who went through Covid lockdown appeared 4.2 years older than expected, compared with 1.4 years for boys who went through the same experience.

The study, which was conducted on 160 children aged 9 to 17 years old in 2018 and continuing until 2022, showed that after lockdown, the brains have prematurely aged with both genders showing signs of accelerated ageing in a brain region linked to vision. However, females show a more widespread brain thinning that is related to areas processing emotions, interpreting facial expressions and language comprehension. Researchers believe that it has to do with girls 'dependence on social groups and interactions’, that was limited during the lockdown.

It is unclear whether the changes have negative consequences, but raises concerns that the lockdowns might affect children’s mental health and their potential to learn.

Shorts:

1. Venezuela government arrested 6 foreigners over alleged attempt to kill President Maduro

   The Venezuelan government has arrested 6 foreign citizens : 3 Americans, 2 Spaniards and 1 Czech, who were allegedly in the country to assassinate President Maduro and overthrow the government. The arrests were announced on state television by the interior minister Diosdado Cabello, further alleging that the plot was led by the CIA (no surprise here) and Spain. The announcement came just two days after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 16 allies of Maduro who were accused by the US government of obstructing voting during the disputed Venezuela presidential election in July, as well as carrying out human rights abuses. The US denies all allegations and Spain is keeping mum over requests for comments regarding the arrest of its citizen.
   

2. New XEC Covid variant starting to spread this autumn

   Cases of new Covid variant named XEC are being reported in the UK, US, Denmark and other countries, according to users on X (formerly known as Twitter). Identified in Germany in June, the new subvariant has new mutations that may spread this autumn and well into winter. Vaccines are usually updated to match recent variants, but not yet for XEC. Symptoms are similar though: the usual fever, aches, tiredness and a cough or sore throat. Experts say that it is normal for a virus to mutate and genetically change over time. Vaccination remains as the best course of protection for flu and Covid where it helps reduce the risk for serious illnesses due to the infection.
   

3. Ecuador imposes scheduled blackouts and teleworking to manage drought impact on hydroelectric production

   Ecuador is suffering from the worst drought in the last 61 years, and it is badly affecting the reservoirs of its hydroelectric plants. In its efforts to manage the impact, the government will be implementing nationwide nighttime blackouts and teleworking in the public sector. The nightly eight-hour power cut from 10pm will be imposed next week from Monday to Thursday. The country has already imposed electricity rationing of up to 13 hours a day in Apr due to the drought. It faces an energy deficit of about 1000 megawatts, of which at least 100 MW will be covered by a thermal-power-generating barge hired by the government. Climate change is getting scarier and more apparent by the day.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. “Most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” - Hannah Arendt, The Life of Mind

2. Chile kicking the OECD countries’ ass when it came to solar energy generation. In 2023, Chile got 9.4% of its main energy from solar power, which is the highest in the world, according to the Energy Institute.

3. When you are late to the party, it’s not a good idea to invest in the next big thing.