☕️ Big number$: EPF, PETRONAS, Sunway Healthcare

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM3.87 bil – The Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme generated that amount for the nation’s economy as at end-2025. According to the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, the programme has received 14,535 applications since the revised policy was implemented in June 2024. Of these, 5,239 were principal applicants, with the remainder being dependants. China was the largest contributor with 7,600 applications, followed by Taiwan with 2,419 and Hong Kong with 604. The ministry added that the RM3.87 bil comprised participation fees, fixed deposits placed in local banking institutions, and around RM1.5 bil in property investments. The property investment figure is expected to increase by a further RM2.3 bil.

RM1.32 bil – That was the amount of financing offered by the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (TERAJU) to 878 Bumiputera companies (RM1.5 mil per company on average) as at December 2025. The financing was provided through the Bumiputera Expansion and Catalyst Fund and the Islamic Working Capital Project Financing programmes, as part of a strategy to scale up Bumiputera micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in selected strategic sectors. This is in line with the government’s plan to enhance Bumiputera economic competitiveness under the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Plan 2035 and the 13th Malaysia Plan.

Almost RM20 bil – That is how much Malaysia’s government-linked investment companies (GLICs) have invested in the local construction sector, with RM15 bil concentrated in the Big Three – Sunway Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, and IJM Corp Bhd. These stocks are attractive to GLICs due to their regular dividend payments, and their share prices have risen sharply after the Covid-19 pandemic. An infographic of GLIC shareholdings in the Big Three and other companies here.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

EPF declares 6.15% dividend
The Employee Provident Fund (EPF) has just announced a 6.15% dividend rate for both conventional and syariah savings for 2025, slightly lower than the 6.30% announced for both accounts the previous year, amounting to a total payout of RM79.6 bil. EPF chairperson and former chief secretary, Zuki Ali, blamed weaker domestic market performance (KLCI was up 2.3% in 2025 vs 12.9% in 2024) and currency movements (MYR was one of the world’s best performing currencies last year, up +10.2%) for the lower dividend. Equities remained the primary contributor in 2025, generating RM50.7 bil or 64% of total investment income, with return on investment (ROI) for equities standing at 7.9%, while private equity investments recorded an ROI of 10.5%. Full announcement here. 

While EPF has always been a savings for your retirement years, populist political movements and repercussions from previous ‘special’ EPF withdrawals during the Covid years have made the public start treating EPF akin to ASB savings. Recently, Arau MP Shahidan Kassim proposed that Putrajaya should allow EPF depositors to withdraw the full dividend amount, ahead of the Raya festivity. At the moment, the dividends are distributed across the three EPF accounts, and individuals can only withdraw from the third account. While such a move would be popular for politicians, especially ahead of the state elections in Johor and Melaka this year, but this populist move will be a death penalty for the rakyat. FYI, in 2023, 35% of EPF members aged 54 or 94,827 individuals, have savings of less than RM10k. 55 is the age at which they were allowed to withdraw all or part of their savings.

Petronas sees third straight year of falling profit
During the Petronas Group’s financial results announcement, the Petronas Group CFO, Liza Mustapha, stated that Petronas’ net profit decreased by 18% to RM45.4 bil in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025 (FY2025). Liza attributed the poor performance to lower revenue and the divestment of Engen Group. On the other hand, Petronas CEO Tengku Taufik said that the company will pay RM20 bil in dividends to Putrajaya.

President and CEO Tengku Taufik announced that its ‘rightsizing’ exercise is not over yet, with the next ‘big waves’ expected in March and July this year. The workforce size affected is unchanged at 5,000 people, or about 10% of its total workforce, with the entire exercise expected to conclude in August. As announced last year, Petronas will mainly reduce the number of people in the administrative roles, commonly known as ‘paper pushers’, or what Petronas calls ‘enablers’.

Sunway Healthcare to raise nearly RM3 bil
Sunway Bhd’s healthcare arm, Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd (SHH), is set to become Malaysia’s biggest listing in nine years, raising up to RM2.86 bil. SHH is one of the largest private hospital groups in Malaysia, operating a total licensed bed count of 1,805 with a bed capacity of 1,982, led by its flagship 848-bed Sunway Medical Centre in Sunway City, Kuala Lumpur. SHH aims to use the net proceeds from the IPO for capital expenditure for the expansion of existing hospitals and redemption of sukuk wakalah. View prospectus here.
View table: Malaysia’s top 10 biggest IPOs by funds raised

Valuation: At RM1.45 per share, SHH will have a market cap of RM16.7 bil, with a whopping price-earnings multiple of 64.8 times and EV/Ebitda multiple of 36.1 times. By comparison, its peer IHH Healthcare Bhd trades at a trailing price-earnings ratio of 30 times with an EV/Ebitda of 17.7 times. Meanwhile, KPJ Healthcare Bhd trades at a PER of 37.4 times with EV/Ebitda of 15.4 times.
View table: Valuations of private healthcare groups and hospitals in the region

IJM: Regarding Sunway’s other big ‘project’, EPF, one of the largest shareholders of IJM Corp Bhd, the company targeted by Sunway to acquire, said that no decision has been made to greenlight the acquisition by Sunway. EPF CEO, Ahmad Zulqarnain Onn, stated that they are waiting for the independent advice circular that will be issued by March 16. Previously, The Edge Malaysia reported that government-linked investment companies (GLICs) are not keen on Sunway’s offer as it is not a cash-only deal.

Shorts

1. 10% special tax deduction for turning commercial units into residential ones

   As per Budget 2026, starting from the 2026 assessment year, Putrajaya will provide a 10% special tax deduction, specifically for qualifying costs, for converting commercial buildings into residential ones. While newer buildings will be the target, older commercial buildings that do not meet the specifications of modern demands will be the low-hanging fruit.

2. Rapid Rail received RM700 mil from Prasarana in 2025

   Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the Parliament that Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has injected RM700 mil in capital into its subsidiary, Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd in 2025, to cover the shortfall between revenue and operating costs. Rapid Rail currently manages and operates the Kelana Jaya, Ampang, Sri Petaling light rail transit (LRT) lines, the Kajang and Putrajaya mass rapid transit (MRT) lines, and the KL Monorail.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

US vs Iran heats up

Iran retaliates after unprovoked attacks by Israel and the US
Retaliation strikes by Iran following attacks by Israel and the US continued into day two yesterday, with loud blasts reportedly heard in Dubai, UAE and Doha, Qatar. Two ⁠people were injured in Dubai ⁠after shrapnel from drones fell on two ⁠houses when they were intercepted. Qatar’s interior ministry said that ​it responded to a limited ​fire in an industrial zone after ‌debris fell from an intercepted missile. Iran had said it would target US bases in the region, but it has ‌hit a range of other targets across Gulf cities. Dubai - the biggest tourism and trade hub ⁠in the Middle East and one of ⁠the world’s busiest travel hubs - suffered blows at its international airport, its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel and man-made Palm Jumeirah Island. Oman was hit for the first time yesterday, when the Duqm commercial port ⁠was targeted by two drones and ended up wounding one worker.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed dead
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been confirmed dead by Iranian state media, alongside his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, after an attack on Saturday that targeted key locations where the Iranian leadership was meeting. The attack also killed top officials, including the defence minister and the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The state television on Sunday announced a 40-day mourning period and seven public holidays following the killing of the country’s 86-year-old supreme leader, who had been in power since 1989.

Thailand prepares to evacuate 70,000 citizens from Middle East war zone
Meanwhile, Thailand is reportedly getting ready to evacuate its citizens from the Middle East by military or charter flights, with priority given to its people in Iran. Nearly 59,000 Thais were registered with Thailand’s labour office in Israel, and more than 11,000 were registered with Thailand’s labour office in Abu Dhabi, which covers the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Iran. The Thai government emphasised that it will do everything to bring Thai citizens back safely.

Malaysians residing in the Middle East are urged to register themselves with the respective Malaysian embassies at Malaysia E-Konsular if they haven’t already done so.

On AI: OpenAI and “Halo” AI companies

OpenAI: Mega funding, going military
OpenAI has agreed to deploy its AI models within the US Department of Defence’s classified network, replacing its rival Anthropic, after its fallout with the Pentagon. Pentagon has declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk after Anthropic said that its products would never be used for surveillance of Americans or to carry out strikes without human involvement. Antrhopic is adamant to not change its position, despite intimidation or punishments from the Department of War. OpenAI initially prohibited the use of its technology for military applications, but later updated its policy to allow such uses in 2024. What began as a non-profit has also converted to a more traditional for-profit enterprise since last year.

The company also raised its largest round of investment of USD110 bil, valuing the company at USD840 bil with Amazon chipping in USD50 bil and SoftBank and Nvidia each investing USD30 bil. Amazon, which is also a large investor in OpenAI rival Anthropic (owns Claude), will require OpenAI to use Amazon’s own AI chips called Trainium and Amazon Web Services. And the circular economy keeps going round and round. 
Read: OpenAI’s record funding is essentially everyone against Google in the AI race

Investors are more interested in AI-resistant “Halo” companies
Investors’ interest is now shifting to “Halo” companies - short for “heavy assets, low obsolescence” as they seek out more reliability in companies with tangible, productive assets that might be insulated from AI disruption. Analysts at Goldman Sachs defined Halo businesses as those that pair substantial physical capital with long-lived economic relevance, such as grids, pipelines, utilities, transport infrastructure, critical machinery, and long-cycle industrial capacity. Goldman reported that the Halo trade has helped to push UK and EU stock markets to record levels by the end of February. In contrast, software and data-focused companies have come under pressure in recent weeks, as AI companies have added services that threaten their revenue models.

Shorts

1. Kenyan job scam - frontline of war
   A Kenyan man, Festus Omwamba, has been accused of sending 22 Kenyan youths to Russia to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine by means of exploitation. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said Omwamba was believed to be a key player in a more extensive human trafficking syndicate that exploits vulnerable individuals by promising them legitimate employment opportunities in European countries. According to a recent report from the National Intelligence Service (NIS), more than 1,000 Kenyans have joined the Russian army in recent months. They were first promised jobs in Russia before being forced to sign army contracts and sent to fight in Ukraine.

2. Disabled people are not spared from being “fetished”

   Meta is investigating social media accounts on Instagram that appear to be sexualising disabled people, with profiles showing AI-generated images of women with disabilities, including Down syndrome or vitiligo. Some profiles post fake images and videos of women with missing limbs, visible scarring or in wheelchairs, posed in a sexualised and revealing manner. What’s horrifying is that these accounts have amassed thousands of followers in a matter of months. While these accounts are generating fake personas, there is serious concern over the commands for the generative tools behind them, which means that the images don’t appear from nowhere and could have been built from real disabled people’s images, often without consent.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Drone shot of Ombak KLCC Mall.

2. Take a tour with Design Seed in this 48-year-old terrace house that has been transformed into a cooling home without air conditioning and comes with a F1 simulator too.

3. A quote that always stays deep with me - “Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not”.