☕️ Largest LGBTQ dating app and social network, Grindr to list at USD2.1 bil valuation.

 1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

USD1.5 trillion in market value was wiped out from the rout in technology stocks over the past three trading days on the Nasdaq 100 Index.

RM21.8 mil - jackpot won by 2 Sabahans from Sports Toto draws. One took home RM13.8 mil and another won RM8 mil.

USD195 mil (RM825 mil) — the price paid (including fees) for Andy Warhol’s portrait of Marilyn Monroe at Christie’s auction. “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” is now the most expensive piece of art by an American artist.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. ‘Intimidation’ - managing partner of audit firm KPMG Johan Idris describing former PM Najib Razak’s instruction to the firm to complete and sign off on its audit on 1MDB’s 2013 financial statements, testifying to the court in the 1MDB-Tanore trial. 

2. Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) said it is investigating complaints about airlines making indiscriminate changes to flight schedules without giving sufficient heads up to consumers. AirAsia apologised to customers for the flight rescheduling and delays during the festive season. Reasons given:First two reasons — not acceptable. Bookings were made ahead of time, which allowed for forecasting and advanced planning. Last reason — acceptable. Acts of nature. Alas, such things have a chain effect.

   1. A sharp spike in demand for domestic flights. AA is operating with 40 planes now compared to 100 pre-pandemic. 

   2. Long waiting queues for aircraft maintenance facilities before an aircraft that had not been in operation for a while is cleared to fly. 

   3. Unforeseen incidents such as bird strikes, damage from foreign objects and lightning strikes resulted in 3-5 planes being removed during that period. 

3. India is in talks to increase its annual import of Malaysian palm oil by 2 mil tonnes, a 67% increase over the past five years' annual average of 3 mil tonnes. India heavily relies on the imports of vegetable oils, importing 60% of its edible oil consumption and palm oil makes up 60% of this. It proposed to barter trade the increase in the supply of palm oil with rice and sugar as well as military equipment. Malaysia is considering cutting its export tax on palm oil to 4-6% temporarily, from the current 8% and slow implementation of its biodiesel mandate to help meet the global demand for edible oils after the Russia-Ukraine conflict caused a shortage in global edible oil supplies. Malaysia exported RM108.52 bil worth of palm oil and palm-based products in 2021. 

4. An unexpected tag team - the lead prosecutor of the 1MDB case against former PM Najib Razak, Gopal Sri Ram, is joining hands with Harvinderjit Singh, the legal counsel of Najib Razak in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case to represent Sam Ke Ting, the lady involved in the “basikal lajak” accident in her appeal on a pro bono basis. 

5. Malaysia’s women's badminton team crashed out of the group stage in the 2022 Uber Cup Finals after being defeated by Thailand 4-1. 

6. “No dancing” rule may be introduced in the SOP for the reopening of nightclubs this coming Sunday, May 15, after business leaders attended a discussion with the health ministry. 

7. A family of five escaped their car in time before it caught fire in Genting Highlands.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. The United States will suspend tariffs on Ukrainian steel for one year to support the Ukrainian economy. Ukraine is the 13th largest steel producer globally and typically exports about 80% of its production. The European Union also proposed exempting Ukraine from safeguard measures that limit steel imports. On top of that, the US congressional Democrats agreed to rush USD39.8 billion in additional aid for Ukraine but at the expense of delaying additional funding for COVID-19 relief.

2. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son of a former Philippines dictator, is poised to be the Philippines’ next president, as unofficial figures showed. The 64-year-old senator has so far won 56% of the vote. His victory would mean the return of his family to power 36 years after they were ousted by a popular revolution.

3. Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess faced backlash from Ukrainian officials for asking the EU to pursue a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine for the sake of the continent’s economy. On another note, Diess warned that the German group would struggle to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest maker of electric cars by the company’s target of 2025.

4. Chelsea Football Club may have a new owner soon as a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly has signed a purchase agreement to buy the club from Roman Abramovich in a deal worth up to USD4.9 billion, according to the club’s statement last week. The deal would require approval from the Premier League and the UK government.

5. Welcome to the year 2024, where dams can be built without the need for human workers, thanks to AI and 3D printing. China is poised to build a hydropower dam that is 590-foot in height. If and when it is completed, the ambitious project will likely be the world's tallest structure built using 3D printing processes.

6. Protesters in Sri Lanka tried burning its former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa’s house down after the government mismanaged the country's economic crisis. More than 50 houses of politicians were burned overnight.

7. Gay dating app Grindr will go public through a merger with a blank-check acquisition firm (SPAC) in a deal that values it at USD2.1 bil. Tiga Acquisition Corp, the Singapore-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), will merge with Grindr. The deal values Grindr at 27 times its adjusted 2021 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of USD77 million, more than Match Group Inc (22 times) and Bumble Inc (25 times).

8. The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes have been announced — here’s a complete list of the winners and their work. Malaysian Marcus Yam was one of the winners. Yam ditched his career in aerospace engineering to pursue photography. He was chosen as the winner in the Breaking News Photography category for his work in Afghanistan.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. The kind of roadblock we wouldn’t mind.

2. No money to buy a sports car? Build your own. A group of Vietnamese youths built their own Bugatti from clay mud. Full video on YouTube here.

3. Tottori, Japan, where snow, sand and sea meet.