☕️ KL Foodie owner to raise RM75 mil IPO, valuing company at RM266 mil

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

12,656 cases. That is how many reports of child sexual abuse materials were made between January and June 2025. That number makes up 78% of 2024’s total of 16,238, which is itself a 225% increase from the 4,992 cases of 2023. This data, from the Internet Watch Foundation, shows a disturbing trend and underscores the need to protect children in the digital world at a much earlier age. It is suggested that digital safety education begin as early as preschool, with Childline Foundation pointing out that the numbers only reflect detected or reported cases. Removing devices altogether is not a realistic solution either, as it is not just about digital skills, but about building values.

USD1 bil (RM4.1 bil). The total estimated loss from the fire that destroyed the import section of a cargo complex in Bangladesh’s largest airport in October. Lost in the blaze were huge quantities of raw materials, apparel, and product samples belonging to exporters. This was a loss that could jeopardise future business in the country’s garment industry, worth USD47 bil a year. Every day, up to 250 factories would send their products by air. It should be noted that Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of apparel after China. The sector employs about four mil workers and generates more than 10% of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.

RM7 mil. That is how much Aquawalk Group Berhad, the operator of Aquaria KLCC, will be investing in a new penguin exhibit, which the group plans to open by mid-2026. The exhibit is part of its plans to expand its flagship oceanarium, which will house rockhopper penguins. The money will be raised through the company’s initial public offering, with funds also earmarked for interior refurbishment and back-of-house upgrades. There are also plans for an aquarium in Kota Kinabalu in a joint venture with Sabah’s state investment arm, as well as the development of new attractions for Aquaria Phuket and a marine theme park in Java, Indonesia.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Malaysia’s new addiction: Data centres
The thirst for energy-chugging data centre investments is not stopping anytime soon, as CIMB Securities projected that the data centre sector is expected to generate a construction pipeline of up to RM126 bil (costing about RM25 mil per megawatt), with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.4%. The research house added that around eight more major data centre contracts worth up to RM14 bil and five pure mechanical and electrical (M&E) packages are to be awarded within the first half of 2026. CIMB Securities retained Gamuda and IJM as its top infrastructure picks for exposure to Malaysia’s fast-growing data centre sector. Khazanah Nasional’s infrastructure arm, UEM Group Bhd, also plans to capitalise on the data centre boom by utilising its land bank, both for energy supply and to house the data centres themselves. UEM Group’s subsidiary, UEM Sunrise, is planning to develop a 40-acre renewable energy-powered Gerbang Nusajaya Industrial Park in Johor.

Data centres have received intense pushback from developed countries such as the US due to their resource-intensive nature. That is why tech companies are turning to developing countries to outsource the problem. Developing countries such as Malaysia that welcome data centres with open arms have to burn more fossil fuel to power them. For some perspective, 81% of Malaysia’s electricity in 2024 came from fossil fuels, much of it coal-fired. Even Singapore imposed a moratorium on new data centre projects from 2019. One more thing - the so-called jobs that the data centres create are mostly maintenance and operations rather than high-skilled. Construction and installation work will be temporary, while most managers will be from headquarters.

All things Genting
First strike for Genting in taking the company private
Independent adviser for Genting Malaysia Bhd, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, has recommended that shareholders reject the company’s RM2.35 per share offer to privatise the company. Kenanga opined that the offer is ‘not fair’ and it is below Genting Malaysia’s sum-of-parts derived valuation. The RM2.35 per share offer is a 3.69% and 19.52% discount to the shares’ one-year and two-year high market prices. Kenanga added that the shareholders could sell their shares on the open market, especially with Genting’s positive prospects of a New York licence bid and Empire Resorts restructuring.
Learn: What is a sum-of-the-parts derived valuation?

No more free racing at Genting Highlands
Genting Malaysia Bhd confirmed that it will impose a charge on all motorists driving up Jalan Genting Highlands, in a move to fund maintenance and ensure safety along the steep 24km private road. The company said details of the charge, including the implementation date, will be announced once finalised. Since the 1960s, Genting Malaysia has been picking up the maintenance bill of the road on its own. Maybe the new money can be used to pave the private road up to Formula 1 spec.

Shorts

1. Foodie Media Bhd launches RM75 mil IPO prospectus

   The owner of the KL Foodie social media accounts has launched its RM75 mil listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. The IPO will raise RM41.4 mil for the company and another RM33.6 mil for its existing shareholders. Upon listing, the company’s market cap stands at RM266.4 mil. Its founder, Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang, revealed that the company aims to diversify beyond food content by scaling lifestyle platforms such as Malaysia Homie for property, Car Buddie for automotive, and Techie for technology. More than half of the IPO proceeds have been earmarked for the recruitment of nearly 200 staff. View its prospectus here.

2. The 40% Sabah entitlement’s negotiation begins

   PM Anwar Ibrahim told the Parliament that the Finance Ministry’s Secretary General has written to the Sabah State Secretary to begin negotiations on the 40% revenue entitlement. PM Anwar also added that Putrajaya will not appeal the High Court ruling that the Federal Government has failed to pay Sabah 40% of the net collection from the state.

3. Semantan Estate lost its bid to register the Duta Enclave land

   The Federal Court has decided that Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd cannot register the 263.272-acre “Duta Enclave” land under its name. The appellate court also confirmed that the land title will remain with the government, and the company may only be entitled to compensation based on the land value in 1956. The Duta Enclave currently houses government buildings such as the National Hockey Stadium, the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, the National Archives, the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court, the Inland Revenue Board building, and the Malaysian Anti‑Corruption Commission Academy.

4. MACC, you are welcome to probe KLIA Aerotrain, says Loke

   Transport Minister Anthony Loke has confirmed that the MACC is free to probe the RM456 mil Aerotrain project at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). At the moment, the Aerotrain project is under a two-year defects liability period. The whole project is funded by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), without any public funding.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

In America
US longest shutdown ends
US President Donald Trump has finally signed a federal government spending bill less than two hours after the House of Representatives passed it. The new spending bill will temporarily fund and reopen federal agencies through Jan 30. With this, the 43-day shutdown that began on Oct 1 has ended, during which all but essential government services ground to a halt, hitting workers and families in need and heavily affecting air travel. About 670,000 civil servants were furloughed during the closure, while a similar number worked without compensation, but will now receive back pay. The shutdown stemmed from disputes over funding for the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, and became the longest in US history, surpassing the previous record of 35 days in late 2018 and early 2019. Crucially, however, the deal has not resolved one of the shutdown’s most central issues, namely health insurance subsidies for 24 mil Americans under the Affordable Care Act, which the Trump administration has said it will not renew when they expire at the end of the year.

US House to vote on full release of Epstein files next week
US House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson had announced that the House will hold a vote next week to require the Department of Justice to release all documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The announcement hinted at growing frustration among Republican lawmakers, many of whom are facing growing scrutiny from within their own party, Democratic lawmakers, and the American public over accusations they are protecting child abusers. The vote also comes amid renewed scrutiny of Trump’s relationship with Epstein, after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released new emails appearing to further link the pair. The emails suggest that Trump had “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with one victim. Trump dismissed the emails as a hoax, accusing Democrats of being willing to “do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown”.

Tech
China’s AI quietly grows in Silicon Valley
Despite the US’s efforts to stunt China’s tech sector, Chinese AI models are reportedly gaining traction in Silicon Valley as American companies choose the models to develop their AI products. Apparently, Chinese developers such as Alibaba, Z.ai, Moonshot, and MiniMax have been able to gain a competitive edge by offering so-called “open” language models at much lower costs than their rivals in the US. Nathan Lambert of the Atom Project, an initiative to promote open models in the US, said such public examples were the tip of the iceberg, and that Chinese open models have become a de-facto standard among startups in the US. Rui Ma, the founder of Tech Buzz China, said Chinese models are particularly attractive to these fledgling startups, while high-resource organisations still gravitate towards premium US models. Experts said that while Chinese AI models have made inroads with their low cost, US tech giants are still in a strong position to dominate the high-end market and highly regulated sectors where considerations such as national security are paramount.

The Steam Machine console to rival Xbox and PlayStation
Fancy playing your favourite PC game on a TV? Enter the Steam Machine, a new console produced by Valve, the company behind PC gaming platform Steam. The console is said to rival gaming console giants Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation and can also be used as a computer. The Steam Machine, powered by a Linux-based SteamOS, will go on sale in early 2026, and is described as “a powerful gaming PC in a small but mighty package”. Not just that, Valve has also announced further hardware, namely its Steam Frame virtual reality (VR) headset that is entirely wireless and described as a “streaming-first” device but is also itself a PC running SteamOS.

Shorts:

1. Kim Kardashian’s Skims is now worth more than competitors combined
   Kim Kardashian’s Skims, which started as a shapewear line and has since expanded into activewear through a partnership with Nike, is now larger than its competitors, Victoria’s Secret and Under Armour, combined. Skims is now at a valuation of USD5 bil (RM20.6 bil), after the company raised a new round of financing of USD225 mil. Victoria’s Secret has a market capitalisation of USD2.86 bil, and Under Armor is worth USD1.98 bil. Skims plans to use the new funds to expand its physical presence and diversify into new categories, including beauty. Put a Kardashian on it and it might sell well.

2. Adele could be your next favourite actress
   Britain’s much-loved songstress Adele is going to be swapping music for acting as she makes her film debut in a movie to be directed by ex-fashion designer Tom Ford. The movie will be adapted from Anne Rice’s 1982 novel, which is set in the 18th-century world of the “castrati”, male singing stars who were castrated to preserve their high voices. Adele released her last album four years ago and has been largely out of the limelight since she ended a Las Vegas residency a year ago. She said was planning to take “a big break” and wanted to try other creative things.

3. China bridge collapses into mountainside
   Part of a newly opened bridge of the national highway linking Sichuan, China and Tibet collapsed on Tuesday. The bridge runs through a seismically active part of China that was devastated by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed nearly 70,000 people. Authorities had closed the 758-metre-long bridge earlier, after cracks appeared on nearby roads, and the cause of the collapse was believed to be a landslide that occurred on the same day. Thankfully, no casualties were reported from the incident.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Trailers

1. Rowan Atkinson (aka Mr Bean) is back in Man vs Baby.

2. Toy Story 5. Clever idea for the antagonist - electronics. Teaser trailer here.

3. An EV giant electrifying the world to getting eletrocuted?