☕️ Price tags: A prison, a digital bank

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Zootopia 2, or Zootropolis 2, as it is known in some countries, has been recognised as Hollywood’s highest-grossing animated film of all time. The film took the title from the previous record holder, Inside Out 2, in mid-January, when Zootopia 2 achieved USD1.7 bil (RM6.69 bil) in box office sales. This also placed Zootopia 2 as the ninth most successful film in global box office history. However, the highest-grossing animated movie overall is still China’s Ne Zha 2, which made USD2.2 bil in 2025. Still, Zootopia 2 did quite well in China, with the local box office tally reaching CNY1.95 bil (USD275.6 mil or RM1.1 bil) in its first six days of release.

Meanwhile, Academy Award winner Zoe Saldaña has officially become the highest-grossing actor of all time following the success of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment of the Avatar series. The actress also starred in three of the highest-grossing films ever, namely Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Avengers: Endgame, bringing her cumulative global box office total to over USD14 bil (RM65.8 bil). In the Avatar franchise, the actress plays Neytiri, an alien warrior brought to life through James Cameron’s performance-capture technology. She also played Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is the first actress to appear in four films that have each surpassed USD2 bil worldwide, including Avengers: Infinity War. Saldaña is also expected to return for Avatar 4 in 2029 and Avatar 5 in 2031.

The world’s biggest TikToker, Khaby Lame, who rose to fame with wordless videos simplifying everyday life hacks, recently signed a partnership deal with Rich Sparkle Holdings Ltd worth USD975 mil (RM3.83 bil) to turn his social media following into a commercial venture. The deal gives the Nasdaq-listed financial services firm 36 months of exclusive global rights to Lame’s brand, turning him from an influencer to an ‘equity-backed creator’, according to the firm. Lame has 360 mil followers across TikTok and Instagram, and the commercialisation of his fan base is expected to generate over USD4 bil in annual sales.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

MACC & The Massage Chain Corruption
MACC has detained four enforcement officers and one retired officer over an alleged corruption case linked to a major national massage chain. Investigators suspect the officers took bribes to smooth the company’s operations and fast-track foreign worker permits, and statements have so far been recorded from 16 witnesses. The commission has also raided six locations across the Klang Valley and frozen 124 bank accounts worth about RM13.3 mil tied to individuals and companies linked to the case. MACC believes the massage chain ran a double-bookkeeping system that left 80% of cash sales unreported, causing an estimated annual tax loss of RM7.56 mil, while around RM2.7 mil in bribes a year was allegedly paid to officers from several enforcement agencies as protection money.

Business

RM275 mil - the price tag of a prison
Hartanah Kenyalang Bhd has landed its biggest job yet, securing a RM275 mil design-and-build contract to construct a new prison in Sibu, awarded by the Public Works Department to its wholly owned unit, Hartanah Construction Sdn Bhd. The contract lifts the group’s total order book to RM567.7 mil and follows the Budget 2026 allocation for a new Sibu Prison, which will house up to 1,000 inmates and replace the current facility built in 1918 with a capacity of about 450. If we use the same method as hotels are valued (per room basis), that’s RM275k per ‘room’. Hartanah Kenyalang was listed on the ACE Market in June last year at 16 sen, and its shares were unchanged at 18.5 sen at the noon break on Fri, valuing the company at RM111.51 mil.

RM80 mil - the price tag of a digital bank
KAF Investment Bank is exploring a possible sale of KAF Digital Bank, less than six months after the Islamic digital bank opened to the public, sources say. The group is understood to be sounding out interest from several parties, including banks, with one source saying it is seeking about RM80 mil for a full sale. KAF Digital Bank is operated by a consortium led by KAF Investment Bank, which holds an 84% stake, while Carsome, MoneyMatch, Jirnexu and StoreHub each own 4%. The bank recently saw a leadership change, with CEO Rafiza Ghazali leaving at the end of the month and Suzaini Mokhtar appointed acting CEO. KAF Digital Bank is one of two Islamic digital banks in Malaysia. For FY2025 ended June 30, 2025, it posted a net loss of RM44.4 mil, with losses continuing in 1QFY2026.

Shorts

1. Property transactions, rental info to be made publicly available
   National Property Information Centre’s (NAPIC) property e-data (visit here) will be opened to the public for purchase from Feb 1, 2026, ending its previous restriction to registered valuers, appraisers and estate agents. The dataset includes property transaction and rental information and will be accessible to anyone as part of efforts to improve data transparency and technology-driven analysis.

2. Proposed EPF withdrawals for base MHIT insurance
   Discussions are underway with the EPF on whether withdrawals from EPF’s Akaun Sejahtera (aka Account 2) can be used to buy the new Base Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful (MHIT) product. Currently, EPF’s Account 2 can be used for the i-Lindung scheme, which covers critical illnesses, and the government is exploring if the Base Plan can be integrated as part of i-Lindung with withdrawal access. The Base MHIT, outlined by Bank Negara on Jan 22, is a voluntary, standardised insurance product aimed at Malaysians who are uninsured or facing rising premiums, providing baseline coverage across insurers and takaful operators to improve portability and price transparency as part of the Reset framework.
   Fun fact: In Zimbabwe, health insurance is so expensive that 90% of its 16 mil population are uninsured, and there are more people holding funeral insurance policies instead. 

3. Sarawak x FC Barcelona
   Sarawak is exploring a potential collaboration with FC Barcelona and hopes to formalise it through an MOU. The idea gained traction after FC Barcelona’s management expressed interest during State Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah’s official visit to Barcelona last year, with discussions focusing on broader sports development rather than just football, drawing on Catalonia’s integrated sports ecosystem. The proposed tie-up could involve exchanges of coaches, young footballers and athletes between Sarawak and Spain.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

SpaceX: Mega deal, mega IPO, mega satellites

Acquires xAI: In Elon Musk’s grand scheme to build a full AI-powered future, Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX will be acquiring xAI (which owns X), saying that the deal would create "the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth”. xAI, which Musk founded in 2023 to challenge OpenAI and Google in the race to build superintelligent AI, recently raised USD20 bil in a funding round that valued the controversial AI startup at USD 230 bil. The mega-deal is the latest sign that Musk is consolidating his various companies, which also include Tesla, the tunnelling startup The Boring Company, and brain implant firm Neuralink.

Mega IPO: SpaceX is also reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering this year that could value the company at USD1.5 tril. The market is estimating the company to raise more than USD50 bil. SpaceX generated about USD 8 bil in profit on USD 15 bil to USD 16 bil of revenue last year.

Mega satellites: SpaceX also plans to launch one mil satellites into low-Earth orbit, which will act as an orbital data centre to power next-generation artificial intelligence (AI). The company currently operates between 9,300 and 9,600 of the 14,000 or so active satellites that are orbiting Earth, but analysts say that the scale of the new proposal is far and away the largest of any planned satellite constellation. Including this filing, there are an estimated 1.7 mil proposed satellites worldwide. SpaceX offers few details about the satellites, such as their size, specific orbits or even cost, but the company does say it plans to stick the satellites in “largely unused orbital altitudes” within an altitude range of 500 to 2,000 kilometres.

In Southeast Asia

Indonesian couple publicly caned 140 times in Aceh
A couple was caned 140 times last week for having sex outside marriage, along with four others, including an officer from the Islamic police force, who were all found guilty of violating the Sharia law in the religiously conservative province of Aceh, Indonesia. Caning is a common punishment in the province, although the practice has long drawn criticism from rights groups who say it’s cruel. Under Aceh’s Islamic criminal code, sex outside marriage is punishable by 100 strokes of the cane, while consuming alcohol carries 40 strokes. Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia to enforce Sharia law.

Singapore: No entry for ‘undesirable’ visitors
Singapore is set to implement a new border security scheme to bar ‘undesirable’ visitors from even boarding flights overseas to the city-state, starting from Jan 30. The prohibited visitors will be identified in advance through entry declaration forms that they submit online, flight manifests and other sources of data. Authorities may also issue No Boarding Directives (NBDs) against travellers who fail to meet Singapore’s general entry requirements, such as possessing a valid visa or a passport with at least six months’ validity. Carriers that fail to comply with such notices are liable to be fined up to SGD 10,000, while their employees could be fined or jailed for up to 6 months for allowing those singled out by the authorities to board flights to Singapore. Around 41,800 foreigners were turned away at Singapore’s borders in the first 11 months of 2025 - 26% higher than all of 2024, where 33,100 were denied entry. In 2023, the number was 28,600. Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and AirAsia are amongst the airlines that will adhere to this new scheme.

Shorts

1. No China, no cry - Japan discovers rare earths in deep-sea
   Japan has announced that its deep-sea test mission in the Pacific Ocean had retrieved sediment containing rare earths from a record sea depth of 6,000 metres. The area around the island of Minami Torishima is estimated to contain more than 16 mil tonnes of rare earths, with The Nikkei business daily saying it is the third-largest reserve globally. Led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), the effort is also said to be Japan’s attempt at reducing its dependence on China for valuable minerals. Rare earths, the 17 metals difficult to extract from Earth’s crust, are used in everything from electric vehicles to hard drives, wind turbines and missiles, and China is currently the world’s biggest supplier.

2. China to ban hidden car door handles

   China will no longer allow cars without door handles to be sold in the country over passenger safety concerns. The rule will take effect from Jan 1, 2027, where all cars will be required to have interior and exterior mechanical releases. Safety concerns have risen in China recently over sleek, aerodynamic car doors that reduce drag but are prone to losing operability in the event of a crash. Electronic or ‘flush’ door handles were introduced to the EV industry with Tesla’s 2012 launch of the Model S. Folding into the body of the car, such door handles provide a slight boost to efficiency by reducing drag while the vehicle is in motion.

3. Golden became the first K-Pop song to win a Grammy

   The much-loved and inescapable hit from the movie KPop Demon Hunters, Golden, has become the first ever K-Pop song to win a Grammy Award. It was awarded the best song for visual media and also nominated for song of the year. Released last June, KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-viewed movie of all time, with more than 480 mil views. Other notable winners include the Dalai Lama, who won best audiobook, alternative rock royalty The Cure, who won their first-ever Grammys as Best Alternative Album and legendary Joni Mitchell, who won Best Historical Recording for volume four of her Archives project, which compiles her unreleased recordings from 1976 to 1980.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Looks like some of you missed out our ‘Out-of-office’ message last Wednesday. We were on a travel break. No kidnapping involved. Anyways, in one word:

1. Adrenaline: How to stay on a vertical wall

2. Adrenaline^2: Diving through clouds POV.

3. Chaos: Messy goal #nevergiveup