☕️ Pharmaceutical chain Big Caring said to explore IPO, up to RM20 bil valuation

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Malaysia’s homeownership rate has reached 76.5%, according to Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming. The ministry had introduced a pricing map for affordable housing, based on median household income by state and district, derived from the Household Income and Basic Amenities Survey Report 2022. The map is intended as a guide for developers and housing agencies to determine selling prices in each locality. Other initiatives to boost homeownership include the Rumah PR1MA Kita campaign, which will run until December 31 this year. The campaign offers discounts of up to 25% on selected housing units, along with one year of free internet, smart home device packages, and full coverage of legal fees.

Over 4.4 mil. That is how many vehicles aged over 20 years are still active on Malaysian roads. Most of these also lack modern safety features, posing serious risks to motorists and passengers alike. The data from the Road Transport Department shows that these vehicles make up about 17% of Malaysia’s 25.7 mil active vehicles. From the environmental perspective, older engines are less efficient and lack emission-control technologies, which contribute heavily to air pollution. These all point toward the RM4,000 scrappage incentive being offered by the government under Budget 2026 as a timely policy shift, but should still be coupled with complementary measures to make vehicle modernisation more affordable, according to experts.

The 47th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings, hosted recently in Malaysia, cost the country RM184.4 mil, according to Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. This, he said, was in line with allocations approved by the Ministry of Finance and followed existing financial governance procedures with optimal cost-saving measures. The summit, attended by numerous world leaders, saw a successful conclusion, with key highlights including the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord between Cambodia and Thailand, along with a reciprocal trade agreement between the US and Malaysia, which saw Washington maintaining tariffs at 19%.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Another ministerial aide caught
The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court handed out a six-year jail sentence and an RM8.8 mil fine to Mohd Saifullah Mohd Minggu @ Mohd Hashim for being guilty of accepting RM1.77 mil in bribes six years ago. The convicted, a former senior private secretary to a former tourism minister, was allowed an application for a stay of execution pending an appeal to the High Court. He was charged with receiving the bribes from the owner of Inter Bev Network, who was looking to secure a tender under Tourism Malaysia’s advertising campaign for the digital promotion and advertising proposal in conjunction with the 2020 Visit Malaysia Year tender. Mohd Saifullah was serving as a senior private secretary for then-Tourism Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi at the time.

Raising the retirement age, what do you think?
Public Service Department (PSD) Director-General Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said that Putrajaya is mulling the proposal to raise the retirement age for civil servants to 65, as Putrajaya is currently in the stakeholder consultation phase. So far, PSD has held consultations with various stakeholders, including the Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) and retirees’ associations. Wan Ahmad Dahlan noted that Cuepacs expressed both support and opposition. Aduh, ni lagi pening dari having no opinion.

So, let’s ask Malaysians whether they want to retire later. According to Manulife’s 2025 Financial Resilience and Longevity Report, Malaysians want to age with purpose, freedom and dignity, but only 58% believe they have enough savings to do so. On top of that, Malaysians view retirement as not fully work-free, but merely a transition to some sort of work in a different form and at a slower pace. Interestingly, the report also revealed that property, long viewed as a core pillar of retirement, is losing its appeal. Plus, Malaysians do seek professional advice for retirement planning, with 72% working with a financial planner, higher than the Asian average and even above Hong Kong’s 62%.

Business news

Pos Malaysia trimmed its fat, but is still underwater
Pos Malaysia Bhd recorded a net loss of RM45.23 mil for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, narrowing from a net loss of RM49.89 mil in the same quarter last year. The reduction in losses is due to a higher revenue of RM462.77 mil, mainly driven by stronger performance in the postal and aviation sectors. Under Pos Malaysia CEO Charles Brewer’s leadership, who has been in the position since August 2021, the company has not enjoyed any quarter of profitability. Yet, he still has his job. Below, from the company’s 2024 annual report (page 168). Person #5, if we assume to hold the CEO spot, takes home between RM137.5k to RM141.7k a month.

Any appeal must use Form Q, not other means, says IRB
In a world where there are only two certainties — death and taxes — the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is akin to God itself, so whatever the IRB says, we follow. IRB Dispute Resolution Department director Norhaslinda Bukhari said many taxpayers remain confused about the appeal process, including using the wrong forms, submitting incomplete information, or attempting to appeal by letter or verbally. This is even though only prescribed forms are recognised under the law. Taxpayers looking to appeal an assessment should submit Form Q within 30 days, while any appeals after the 30-day period require the submission of Form N. Both are available through the IRB’s official portal. For appeals submitted after the 30-day deadline with Form N, taxpayers must also provide reasonable grounds for the delay, such as health issues.

Pharmaceutical chain Big Caring said to explore IPO
Pharma giant, Big Caring Group Sdn Bhd is considering an initial public offering (IPO) next year, seeking a valuation of as much as RM20 bil. This means the listing could raise as much as RM6 bil, making it one of Malaysia’s biggest listings in years. Creador, the same company behind other major Malaysian IPOs such as MR DIY, Eco-Shop, and CTOS Digital, currently holds a 35% stake in Big Caring. Previously, BIG Pharmacy acquired 7-Eleven Malaysia’s 75% stake in Caring Pharmacy for RM640 mil (implied valuation RM853 mil) in 2023.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Tech updates
No more Facebook and Instagram for Australians under 16
Australian Facebook and Instagram users under 16 years old have been getting notifications from Meta about an upcoming ban as the social media tech giant prepares to enforce Australia’s sweeping new social media law starting December 4. The government will be enforcing the law with fines of up to AUD49.5 mil (RM133.1 mil) for social media companies even as critics say the changes have been rushed through without addressing questions around privacy, the effects on young people’s mental health, and their access to information. In addition to Facebook and Instagram, the Australian government has said that the ban will be applied to several other social media platforms, including Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Several countries around the world are also considering similar bans to protect children from the dangers of social media.

Nvidia reports record USD57 bil revenue, silences AI bubble talk
Nvidia just announced their third-quarter earnings and reported a staggering USD57 bil (RM236.9 bil) in revenue, 62% higher compared to the same quarter last year. The company’s net income on a GAAP basis was USD32 bil, 65% higher year-over-year. Nvidia looks to be booming due to its data centre business, which is fueled by an acceleration of computing, powerful AI models, and agentic applications. CEO Jensen Huang said that the sales of its Blackwell GPU chips are “off the charts” and that cloud GPUs are sold out, adding that “AI is going everywhere, doing everything, all at once”. It does not seem like the AI bubble concerns Nvidia and all they see is growth instead. See the full presentation here.

Is the AI bubble cancelled? Some argue that this stellar performance of Nvidia further proves that the bubble is inflating.

Cybercrime watch
Life in jail for Chinese con woman in the Philippines
A woman from China who pretended to be a Philippine citizen and became a local mayor while at it has been sentenced to life in prison by the Philippine court on human trafficking charges. Alice Guo, 35, was found guilty of running a Chinese-operated gambling centre where hundreds of people were conscripted to carry out online scams on members of the public. In March 2024, police raided the sprawling centre linked to Guo, which included office buildings, luxury villas, and a large swimming pool, after a Vietnamese worker escaped and alerted police. More than 700 Filipinos, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysians, Taiwanese, Indonesians, and Rwandans were found at the site, along with documents allegedly showing that Guo was president of a company that owned the compound. If anything, Southeast Asia is like the centre of excellence for cybercrime scams. The cyberscam industry has been thriving in Southeast Asia in recent years, particularly in Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines. According to a UN report, victims in the wider region were conned out of up to USD37 bil (RM153.8 bil) by online scammers in 2023.

Extremist groups in Indonesia recruit children online
Not only paedophiles, but kids are also vulnerable to extremists online. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s counter terrorism unit Densus 88 reported that about 110 children in the country have been exposed to radical ideology through online recruitment by extremist groups, with victims aged 10 to 18 identified in 23 provinces, mostly in West Java and Jakarta. This is a steep rise from only 17 cases between 2011 and 2017, which the authorities are calling an unusual spike. The counter-terror unit said that propaganda was spread through open platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and online games, which promote utopian narratives that appeal to children’s fantasies before luring them into private groups where indoctrination occurs. Densus 88 has detained five alleged recruiters accused of managing the group’s communications on social media and influencing children to join extremist networks and encourage acts of terror.

Shorts:

1. Trump signs bill to release Epstein files
   Trump has finally succumbed to the joint pressure from his Democratic opponents and his conservative base to release the Epstein files, which he promptly announced on Truth Social. As President, he had the authority to release the files himself, but chose not to until this turnaround. The Justice Department has 30 days to release all files, including the investigation into his death by suicide in a federal prison cell. But, it’s not clear what the department will release in response to the bill as it details a host of potential items that must be released, but provides exceptions for some materials. These exceptions include redactions of victims’ identifying information or personal files, depictions of child sexual abuse, releases that would jeopardise active investigations or prosecutions, and depictions of death or abuse.

2. Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts, prompting evacuations
   Java island’s highest peak, Mount Semeru (view map here), erupted on Wednesday, unleashing searing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava, and gas that travelled up to 7km down its slopes while a thick column of hot clouds rose 2km into the air. No fatalities have been reported but authorities scrambled to rescue about 178 climbers, porters, and tourists stranded on the mountain. More than 300 residents in the three villages most at risk in the district of Lumajang were evacuated to government shelters. Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2021, when 51 people were killed and several hundred others burned and villages were buried in layers of mud.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Money, money and honey

1. Ang pow tips for Malay, Chinese and Indian weddings.

2. Inheritance law for Muslims and non-Muslims. Doesn’t matter how much you own - don’t let your loved ones inherit the mess from not leaving a will.

3. An overlooked conversation for a healthy relationship.