☕️ High Court says no to Najib Razak's 'wfh' application

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Fisheries Department (DOF) reported an 11.17% increase in turtle landings in Malaysia in 2023, with 30,375 landings compared to 27,324 the previous year. DOF’s Director-General Adnan Hussain attributed the rise to the country's favourable coastal terrain, fewer threats in these waters, and effective turtle egg incubation programs.

Is YouTube Google’s best-ever investment? YouTube has the largest social media advertising audience, with 2.5 bil users monthly as of January. It dominates streaming, accounting for 9.7% of TV viewing time in May, surpassing Netflix's 7.9%. Its diverse content sets YouTube apart, with 500 hours of videos uploaded every minute, catering to a wide range of interests. In Q1 2024, its ad revenue reached USD8.1 bil, a 20% increase from the previous year. Research from Deloitte indicates Gen Z prefers social video and livestreams (47%) significantly more than TV shows (24%) and movies (11%).

USD5,000 (RM23.59k)— the cost of Ikea bear for replacing an employee who quits. Ikea’s employees were resigning rapidly in the US. In the UK and Ireland, half of the new recruits were leaving before their first anniversary. By 2022, over 62,000 Ikea employees, about a third of its workforce, were leaving annually due to various reasons. The pandemic-era labour shortage compounded the difficulty of hiring new staff. In response, Ikea prioritized actions many businesses struggle to implement: increasing pay, enhancing flexibility for frontline employees, and adopting new technologies to simplify tasks for workers and customers. And it was super effective — The voluntary turnover rate in the US decreased to about 25% of employees by the end of 2023, down from 33% a year earlier. Globally, across the parent company’s more than 600 stores and warehouses, the quit rate dropped to 17.5% in April 2023 from 22.4% in August 2022.
Here’s the proper way of pronouncing Ikea. The British way of pronouncing is wrong and annoying.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Buzzin updates from the court of law

• The High Court chaired by Judge Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh dismissed former PM Najib Razak’s application to force Putrajaya and the Pardons Board to produce a ‘supplementary order’ from the previous King that stated Najib could ‘work from home’ for the remainder of his jail sentence. Amarjeet Singh stated that Najib did not provide a solid source for the supposed ‘supplementary order’ and the affidavits filed by UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Pahang Menteri Besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail were considered as hearsay.

• From a denied WFH request for a former PM, now we go to a long-standing family tussle for wealth. Puan Sri Kalsom Ismail’s RM2 bil claim on her late husband's matrimonial property that lasted for seven years finally ended well as the related parties opted for an out-of-court settlement. Previously Kalsom, the wife of the late Jamaludin Jarjis, filed a claim against her four children and mother-in-law for the multi-billion Ringgit worth of wealth consisting of 20 properties in Malaysia, Mecca and several companies. A short profile of Jamaludin Jarjis. 

• S. Anand Kumar, the driver of the tour bus that crashed near Genting Highlands, which led to the death of two Chinese nationals, pleaded not guilty to two charges under Section 41(1) and Section 26(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. Prior to him facing the charges at the Magistrate’s Court in Raub, Pahang, the police stated that the 32-year-old driver is a serial offender with 27 previous summonses, including not owning a driving licence.

PAC told the Government to decide on the use of Bestinet’s system
In another revelation by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the mishaps of the Government, PAC chairperson Mas Ermieyati Samsudin has urged the Home Ministry to decide whether they still want to use the Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS) provided by Bestinet Sdn Bhd. Mas Ermieyati added that although the letter of acceptance was issued to Bestinet on Jan 12, 2018, no contract has been signed and Putrajaya has been using FWCMS without a contract for six years.

Interestingly, on June 24, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution told the Parliament that the Cabinet agreed to extend Bestinet’s contract to run FWCMS for another three years. But again, to extend what in the first place if there was no contract signed in the beginning. To add more humour to the comedy, Mas Ermieyati added that apart from the FWCMS, Putrajaya also approved the developments of the Foreign Workers Integrated Management System (ePPAx) on Aug 26, 2015. Both FWCMS and ePPAx overlapped in their roles as both are two separate systems but under the single window concept.

Malaysia is ready to send troops to Palestine
PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that he is willing to deploy Malaysian troops to Palestine as peacekeeping forces alongside our Indonesian counterpart, given that a mandate be granted by the United Nations (UN). The statement was given after PM Anwar had a 3-minute phone call with Indonesia President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who is also the country’s defence minister.

Malaysia has been involved in 40 UN Peacekeeping missions since 1960. Last year, the country just sent another group of personnel dubbed Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) 850-11 to Lebanon to support the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission. Unfortunately, recently, one of the members of the battalion, Sergeant Faridah Abd Rahman, succumbed to death in Lebanon due to a heart attack. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our men and women for their service in defending the peace both domestically and abroad. Salute.

Shorts

1. Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that an operating company (OpCo) will be formed between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) and China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) to manage the train services of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). The creation of the OpCo is the result of a renegotiated contract aimed at protecting Putrajaya from unnecessary financial exposure. Under the new terms, MRL and CCCC will bear equal risk in the OpCo if the train service operates at a loss. Alternatively, if the OpCo operates in the black, MRL will receive 80% of the earnings. Does BlackRock have a stake in CCCC?

2. Lighter bags, better backs. Students’ bags will be lighter come the 2027 school season as the Education Ministry intends to digitise the physical textbooks. The new and soon-to-be-developed digital supporting materials will be light, convenient and interactive, as per Education Minister Fahdlina Sidek.

3. While our neighbours like to smuggle our subsidised fuel, we like to import sex toys. Recently, the Home Ministry confiscated half a million Ringgit worth of sex toys from multiple locations nationwide. You may ask, is buying or having a sex toy illegal? The sales of sex toys are prohibited under Section 7(1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) for eroding moral values. So, if you have ordered such equipment online, you might want to cancel your order now. Use natural.

4. Three publicly listed Malaysian companies are interested in acquiring the 118-acre Penang Turf Club (PTC) land that is worth a mouth-watering RM3 bil. This works out to an average of RM583.70 per sq feet. The sale of the land will include the race course, golf course, the Penang Retirement Resort, some hill land, 26 vacant bungalow lots, 22 bungalows, a Penang Hill bungalow, and a land parcel located on Jalan Jesselton and Jalan Brook.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Hinderburg Research made USD4.1 mil from Adani shorts
US short-seller Hindenburg Research has denied allegations by India’s Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that it engaged in improper trading and distorted facts in its January 2023 report against Adani Group. Hindenburg received a show-cause notice from SEBI last week, potentially leading to monetary penalties and payback of illegal gains. Hindenburg’s report accused Adani of stock market manipulation and accounting fraud, causing a massive selloff and a USD150 bil loss in Adani's market value. The Adani Group, owned by Gautam Adani, refuted these claims, and its shares have since recovered most losses amid a broader market rally.

Hindenburg Research disclosed it had "only one investor relationship" regarding the Adani report, earning USD4.1 mil from the Adani shorts and about USD31,000 from shorting Adani US bonds. Hindenburg claimed that after accounting for legal and research expenses, including costs for a two-year global investigation, they may just break even on the Adani short. The firm did not identify the investor involved.

The UK Elections: Strategy & Manifesto
As the UK gears up for the elections today, several senior members of the Conservative Party, led by current PM Rishi Sunak, warned that the opposition Labour Party – the people’s choice according to polls – is on course for a “record-breaking victory”. However, Labour leader Keir Starmer has cried foul to these announcements, coming forward to say that the Conservative claims of a Labour supermajority amounts to “voter suppression” and that such announcements were an attempt to “get people to stay home rather than go out and vote”. Starmer added that there are constituencies where the votes will be close throughout the UK and will not take anything for granted.

Should the Conservatives call it right, with the Labour Party winning the race, Starmer is slated to be the next Prime Minister of the UK, with former care worker and trade unionist Angela Rayner as his second-in-command. Here’s a list of potential senior ministers in a Labour government done up by Reuters.

The Labour Party’s manifesto promised a plan to create wealth through sustained economic growth, including establishing a USD9.2 bil National Wealth Fund, which will attract GBP3 of private investment for every GBP1 of public money in the fund. The party also promised not to raise taxes for “working people” and to close loopholes that allow wealthy people to avoid paying taxes. BBC has a nice comparison page for the manifestos of the running parties here.

Israeli continues its killing habit; US government officials resign in protest
Israeli forces carried out new military strikes in Rafah, even as Israel’s leaders have said they are “winding down” the phase of intense fighting against Hamas and shifting to more targeted operations. Palestinians were further displaced due to the fighting, with complaints raised about acute shortages of drinking water and inflated prices for basic foodstuff, leading to rising cases of diseases such as hepatitis.

The conflict in Gaza has also caused a dozen US government officials to quit in protest of US support for Israel, with the former officials accusing President Joe Biden’s administration of “undeniable complicity” in the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza. A joint statement by the 12 claimed the administration was violating US laws and finding loopholes to continue shipping weapons to Israel. Not a good look for Biden in an election year, especially after that disaster of a debate against Trump due to “jet lag”. Could it be time for Biden to step down and let Kamala Harris step up?

Deal$

• Jollibee acquires majority stake in South Korea’s Compose Coffee

  Philippines’ fast food giant Jollibee will be taking control of a 70% majority stake in South Korea’s Compose Coffee, valuing the latter at USD340 mil. Another 5% will be taken by Titan Fund, which is also majority-owned by Jollibee. Compose Coffee has 2,470 franchise stores, which will serve to push Jollibee’s global store network to 10,000 following the deal. The acquisition also places Compose Coffee as Jollibee’s latest addition to its coffee and tea portfolio, which includes Highlands Coffee (Vietnam), Milksha, Common Man Coffee Roasters, and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (acquired in 2019 for just USD100 mil).

• AI start-up Magic seeks USD1.5 bil valuation through latest fundraiser

  Good times for AI startups to raise funding. US-based AI start-up Magic is currently in talks to raise over USD200 mil in its latest funding round, which will triple its valuation to USD1.5 bil. The firm was valued at USD500 mil after its previous fundraiser in February. The firm plans to spend its funding on improving its large language models that support long context windows, which refer to AI systems that can process more data in a single query. This focus takes advantage of an innovative design by the company that allows its AI model to understand and process a large amount of context at once over the more traditional “transformer model” used in other systems, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Shorts

1. Italian prosecutors report luxury brands are exploiting workers 
   Two luxury giants were investigated in recent months, with Italian prosecutors reporting that LVMH subsidiary Dior and Giorgio Armani were exploiting workers to create products at a fraction of store prices. Documents showed that Dior paid a third-party supplier to produce bags at USD57 each, which will go on to retail at about USD2,780. Giorgio Armani was reported to pay contractors USD99 per bag that will be sold for over USD1,900 in stores. Judges in Milan have ordered units of both companies to be placed under judicial administration for one year.

2. Man U plans to cut 250 jobs, gets US tech brand as new sponsor

   The football club will be cutting the jobs, which make up 22% of its workforce, as part of a club-wide redundancy programme, covering all departments and levels of the club except its charitable arm Manchester United Foundation. Still, the club managed to secure US semiconductor firm Qualcomm as their shirt sponsor for the next season, taking TeamViewer’s spot on the jerseys. The deal is reported to be worth USD75 mil per year.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. NSFW — rape cases in Malaysia are on the rise.

2. TLDR — to create a successful product, launch first and iterate. Companies that try to perfect a product prior to launch don’t really find success early on.

3. The sad state of the new generation of doctors in Malaysia. They deserve to be treated better by the government.