☕️ LRT3 facing big potential penalties of more than RM475 mil over delays

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

195,720kg – The Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) at Port Klang seized that much in electronic and scheduled waste following a physical inspection of 10 containers at Westport. Seven of the containers held e-waste, while the other three contained scheduled waste, a mix of plastic and paper waste and industrial machinery. The agency believes the waste was smuggled into the port and that the shipment came from several ports in the US. The waste is prohibited under the Environmental Quality Act 1974. Scheduled waste refers to waste that contains hazardous materials according to the Environmental Quality Act 1974. A list can be found here.

12.2kg – That’s the average amount of e-waste produced by each person in Malaysia. This makes Malaysia the third-highest e-waste producer in ASEAN, after Singapore at 20.3kg and Brunei at 19.9kg. The global average is 7.8kg, according to the UN. The rankings for ASEAN can be found here. However, only 2.3% of Malaysia’s e-waste was documented as formally collected and recycled in an environmentally sound manner. To help the public properly dispose of e-waste, the Department of Environment’s e-waste portal lists registered collection centres and authorised points here.

1,261 – Malaysia recorded that many cases of driving under the influence between Jan and Nov 2025, according to the Transport Ministry. The ministry highlighted that the penalty for driving under the influence to the point of causing death has been raised to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in jail, depending on the offence. The Transport Ministry said it remains committed to working together with the Home Ministry and police to strengthen enforcement nationwide.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

NSRC now offers 24/7 scam support
The National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) is now operating 24/7, giving scam victims round-the-clock access to assistance as cybercrime pressures continue to rise. Since its launch in 2022, the NSRC has been led by the Royal Malaysia Police, in collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia, the MCMC, and the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre. In 2025, the centre handled 146,167 complaint calls and froze 138,915 accounts linked to scams, helping prevent losses of RM34.05 mil. The earmarking process also helped return funds to victims, increasing sharply from RM508,479.39 in 2024 to RM6.65 mil in 2025. Early freezing actions have already secured an additional RM1.44 mil as of Jan. The public can reach the NSRC via the 997 hotline, with faster reporting increasing the chances of recovering stolen funds.

How fast scams can strike
Notably, online scam syndicates in Malaysia can drain 80%–90% of a victim’s bank balance within three to 10 minutes, often by splitting transfers into RM1,000 to RM3,000 increments and moving funds through multiple mule accounts, Home Minister Saifudin Nasution reiterated, while emphasising that the first one to two hours are critical for freezing accounts through the 997 hotline. Prompt reporting via the 997 hotline significantly improves the likelihood of stopping stolen funds from being lost.

LRT3 facing big penalties of more than RM475 mil over delays
The Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3), also known as the Shah Alam Line, is facing potential penalties of more than RM475 mil due to delays, with daily liquidated damages set at RM2,729,280, or 0.024% of the total contract value, for every day past its extended deadline of Jul 10, 2025. The original contract was awarded for a value of RM2.47 bil. The line, which runs from Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia in Klang, has yet to begin operations and is now expected to be ready by June. Delays have been linked to the signalling system supplier Siemens’s failure to deliver software on time, along with holdups in critical system testing and completion of the System Integration Test. Contractors will be held accountable once the project is completed. Looking ahead, the government plans to bundle long-term maintenance costs into future major public transport contracts, negotiating with original equipment manufacturers to supply trains and provide comprehensive upkeep, while maintaining that maintenance budgets will not be cut to avoid further service disruptions.

The main contractor responsible for these potential penalties - Setia Utama LRT3 Sdn. Bhd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bursa-listed Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd.

KPJ Healthcare hits record revenue
KPJ Healthcare Bhd shares hit their highest level since listing in 1994 after the group posted record quarterly revenue. The stock rose to RM3.26 intraday before closing at RM3.20, with 20.6 mil shares traded, giving it a market value of RM14.5 bil. It’s up almost 19% so far this year. For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, net profit climbed 10.27% to RM132.9 mil, while revenue rose 10.25% to a record RM1.15 bil. Looking ahead, KPJ plans to expand its hospital network under its 2026-2030 roadmap, with RM4 bil-RM5 bil set aside for capex, referring to the investments a company makes to acquire, improve or maintain long-term assets. It currently has 3,934 beds and aims to add 2,200 more, while hiring over 500 medical consultants. Most analysts are positive on the stock, with 11 out of 17 rating it a buy and an average 12-month target price of RM3.16. Bodes well for Sunway’s healthcare arm IPO on March 18.

Shorts

1. Petronas says Middle East operations safe

   Petronas is monitoring developments in the Middle East, with no direct threats to personnel or assets and operations continuing as usual. The company is coordinating with Malaysia’s foreign ministry, embassies, other missions, and local authorities. Petronas operates in the UAE and Oman, while maintaining production in Iraq. In Oman, its subsidiary PC Oman Ventures Ltd signed a concession to explore Block 18, over 21,000 sq km of offshore territory. In 2024, it also secured an exploration concession for Onshore Block 2 in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region. Brent crude rose 4.35% to USD 81.12 per barrel.

2. Hamzah in talks to take over Parti Keluarga Malaysia

   Opposition Leader Hamzah Zainudin has confirmed talks are ongoing for him to take over Parti Keluarga Malaysia, following his sacking from Bersatu last month. The party’s founder previously indicated that plans were being put in place for Hamzah to assume the presidency, with an internal election to be held once he and his allies formally join, alongside amendments to the party constitution. Hamzah was expelled from Bersatu amid a leadership tussle with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Since Oct, five MPs have aligned with him. Regardless, 13 Bersatu MPs have reaffirmed support for him to remain Opposition Leader in Parliament.

3. Gym licence fees in KL slashed by 80%

   Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh has slashed gym licence fees in Kuala Lumpur by 80%, cutting the rate from RM50 to RM10 per m², effective immediately. The move came after three years of talks with industry players, including the Malaysia Gymnasium Association. Gyms that used to pay around RM5,000 a year will now pay just RM1,000, while places with spas, massage or other commercial services will need separate licences. Citing the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023, Yeoh noted that 32.6% of adults are overweight and 21.8% obese, with KL topping the charts at 40.6%, followed by Putrajaya (35.5%) and Labuan (34.8%). She encouraged gyms to offer off-peak discounts or senior packages but won’t force price cuts.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Iran vs US x Israel Day 4
The Iran war entered day four yesterday, with reports about the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was struck by two drones that caused “minor material damage” to the compound. Later reports said more drones were targeting the site amid Iran’s retaliation. The embassy building was empty at the time of the attack, and there were no reports of casualties. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also targeted a US airbase in Bahrain. At the same time, a fire broke out at an oil facility in Fujairah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as forces intercepted a drone attack. No casualties were reported. The US State Department has issued an order for non-emergency personnel to leave Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and Iraq, as the situation becomes more dire.

Iran promises to protect Chinese citizens in Iran
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran promises to do everything to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens in the country amid the war launched by the US and Israel. Araghchi told his Chinese counterpart that Tehran had no choice but to defend itself, adding that he hopes Beijing would play a role in preventing further escalation of the conflict in the region. China said that it values the traditional friendship with Iran and supports Iran in “safeguarding its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and national dignity and in upholding its legitimate and lawful rights and interests”.

Experts say China remains a lifeline for the Iranian economy amid crushing sanctions - more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil in 2025 went to China, making up about 13.5% of all the oil China imported by sea.

Tough times for oil and gas
Oil and gas shipping costs soar worldwide
As Iran proceeds to close the Strait of Hormuz, the cost of hiring a supertanker to ship oil from the Middle East to China has surged to an all-time high of over USD400,000 (RM1.58 mil) a day, while ship owners and brokers are demanding more than USD200,000 a day for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers in the region. The figure roughly doubled from what was charged less than a day earlier. The surge in vessel rates followed Qatar’s shutdown of LNG production on Monday. The disruption and fears of prolonged closure have caused oil and European natural gas prices to jump, with Brent crude futures up as much as 13%. Meanwhile, marine insurers are cancelling war risk coverage for vessels.
War risk premiums have risen to 1% of the value of a ship in the past 48 hours at the time of writing, from around 0.2% last week - the perceived risk shot up by 5x in a week.

Indonesia’s PT Chandra Asri declares force majeure amid Iran war
Closer to home, Indonesia’s petrochemical giant PT Chandra Asri Pacific has declared force majeure to safeguard its operations following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Force majeure is typically invoked by companies to mitigate risks from unforeseeable and uncontrollable events like natural disasters or wars. Chandra Asri operates Indonesia’s largest integrated petrochemical complex, producing olefins and polyolefins, and also owns and manages refining and downstream chemical assets in Singapore through a joint venture. Its assets include a refinery with a capacity of 237,000 barrels per day and a 0.9 mil metric tonnes per year naphtha cracker. Chandra Asri said that there is no solid date as to when the force majeure would end.
Learn: What is force majeure and its implications for a company?

Shorts

1. Grab charges Philippine bike riders over 230% interest for in-app loans
   Singapore-headquartered Grab offers loans to its drivers and riders, aka “partners” around Southeast Asia, but no two countries’ systems are identical. In the Philippines, Grab hosts around 50,000 partners who are granted access to loans based on their performance and often packaged as a reward after a certain period of regular work. However, Grab is actually charging an annual effective interest rate (EIR) of more than 230% - 5.5 times the maximum that credit card companies can charge. Interestingly, the EIR is legal and the loans do not compound. It is often welcomed by the partners as they are “handy” and provide a quick financial lifeline.

2. Anthropic: Move to Claude, it’s easy!
   Anthropic is working hard to make it easy for people to move to Claude, with the company announcing a “significantly improved” interface that would allow people to switch to Claude without starting over. The company says it's easier for a new user to move their history from another LLM into Claude - simply by copying and pasting a pre-written prompt into another chatbot (how to do it here). The overhaul shows how Anthropic is making aggressive efforts to promote itself after it reportedly could not reach an agreement with the Pentagon regarding the use of its AI models for deployment in fully autonomous weapons and for mass surveillance of American citizens.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Food Today

1. The Mcllhenny Company - the family-owned company behind the famous Tabasco sauce. Estimated to make USD200 mil a year, the company produces about 700k bottles a day and sells to 195+ countries (pretty much all countries in the world).

2. Buah-buahan atas - inside the luxury fruit industry of Japan.

3. Very satisfying watching this - multiple times.