☕️ How much pension, allowances and perks MPs get?

MAS plane engine malfunctioned, landed safely. China's Luckin Coffee to enter local market. The little-known luxury conglomerate beating LVMH, Kering.

Author

The Coffee Break
June 21, 2024

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

Information as of 0730 UTC+8 on June 21, 2024.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

RM5 million payday for 14 property owners in Taman Desa because of Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) encroachment on their properties. City Hall had initiated legal proceedings last year to acquire portions of the private land on Jalan Bukit Desa, where the road was constructed decades ago. One of the affected residents, Edmund, hired a land surveyor to measure his property and discovered that it was 1,009sq ft smaller than it should have been due to a miscalculation by the housing developer. Based on current market price of RM500 per sq ft, Edmund is set to receive RM504,500 and other expenses he paid out of pocket to contest the case.

How to distribute USD27 mil (RM127.2 mil) in inheritance? Ask 50 strangers — that’s what Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn did. After receiving the inheritance from her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, who died in September 2022, Engelhorn sent out invitations to randomly selected Austrian citizens to assist her in redistributing her wealth. They came from various backgrounds and gathered over six weekends to listen to experts in redistribution, poverty research, and law before reaching their decision. 77 charitable initiatives were selected, and the money will be distributed to these initiatives over several years.

A recent report highlights that the United States is trailing China by 10 to 15 years in the development of next-generation nuclear reactors. China currently has 27 reactors under development, with an average completion time of seven years, significantly faster than other countries. From 2008 to 2023, China's share of nuclear patents surged from 1.3% to 13.4%, and it now leads in nuclear fusion patent applications. Despite this, the US remains the top country for nuclear power generation, with 94 reactors producing about one-third of the world's nuclear energy output.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Anti-hopping law under immense stress test

  • Although the Speaker for the Kelantan State Assembly has decided to declare the Nenggiri seat vacant, as the incumbent, Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, has been sacked from Bersatu for pledging support to PM Anwar Ibrahim, legal experts stated that Kelantan’s decision would have no effect on six parliamentary seats held by the sacked Bersatu MPs. The decision by Kelantan is for that state and it is not legally binding on other states. Apart from that, the decision to vacate the Nenggiri seat is also not standing on solid ground as Mohd Azizi contested the seat using the PAS ticket even though he was a Bersatu member.

  • Whatever it is, Bersatu chief whip Ronald Kiandee stated that a notice on the unexpected vacancies of six parliamentary seats held by rogue Bersatu members has been sent and accepted by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker’s Office. With this, Ronald Kiandee added that the Dewan Rakyat Speaker must ensure a by-election is held within 21 days after receiving the notice, as stipulated by former Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.

  • While the politicians are playing their usual musical chairs, we need to remember that they have a monetary motivation to yearn for the title to become the state of parliamentary representative. This is because in Malaysia, a person who holds multiple positions at state and federal levels, at different times or simultaneously, can draw a pension from EACH of those positions. Check out Malaysiakini’s interactive site here to see each politician’s potential pension checks and here for their allowances and perks. Definitely no retirement crisis amongst them. 

Malaysia Airlines on alert as it almost relives past trauma
Homebound Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s Flight MH199 from Hyderabad, India, needed to U-turn shortly after take-off to conduct an emergency landing due to an engine malfunction. Malaysia Airlines later confirmed that all passengers and crew landed safely back at the airport. The patrons onboard the plane said that they saw sparks coming from one of the engines on the - wait for it - Boeing 738 aircraft (view here). Boeing, neverending. 

Business shorts

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4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Rising case of bacterial infection in Japan that treats humans as ‘sushi’
Japan is seeing a sudden rise of an uncommon but deadly bacterial infection that causes streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). So far this year, there were 1,019 cases of STSS reported, with at least 77 deaths, with most fatalities occurring in people over 50, as compared to fewer than 1,000 cases recorded in 2023. Tokyo logged the highest number of cases at 145. 

Japan’s Health Ministry is still unsure of the cause of the sudden rise in cases. When the bacteria that cause this infection enters a person’s bloodstream or tissue through open wounds or sores, their organs may start to fail within 24 to 48 hours. and also linked to necrotising fasciitis, an infection that causes flesh-eating disease. Malaysia’s Health Minister, Dr Dzulkefly, said the country is seeking input from the WHO on this outbreak to prepare to put in place appropriate preventive control measures. So long it doesn’t take over the host (which is us humans)  and turn them into zombies, then we are still good - this is a legit scenario that happened amongst insects by fungi infection. 
Watch: How a parasitic fungus turns ants into ‘zombies’

The little-known luxury conglomerate beating LVMH and Kering.
You may not have heard of Switzerland-based Richemont, but you sure have heard of its brands — Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc). As the world pulls back its spending on luxury goods, especially in China, Richemont is beating its rivals, LVMH (owns Louis Vuitton, Moet Hennessy, Tiffany & Co.) and Kering (owns Gucci, St Laurent, Balenciaga) in terms of stock performance, web visits and sales. Even LVMH’s owner Bernard Arnault sang praises of Richemont’s chairman and fellow billionaire Johann Rupert: “Rupert, we consider an outstanding leader. And I don’t, in the slightest, wish to upset his strategy”. 

One reason Richemont is excelling now is due to its disproportionate focus on ‘hard luxury’ — the stuff made from hard materials like gold, gemstones and diamonds, with jewellery contributing 69% of its revenue and watches at 18%. During difficult economic times, customers would prefer to splurge on something that holds value, like metals and gems, which are considered a safe haven, than on something less durable, like clothing and handbags. What central banks are doing with gold by stocking up during macroeconomic uncertainty, the same playbook is used by luxury consumers. Richemont’s market cap stands at CHF75.1 bil (USD84.3 bil) and generated revenue of EUR21 bil and EUR4.8 bil operating profit in fiscal year 2024.  View its financials here. 

Meet Guzman y Gomez — Asia’s Mexican F&B giant
Mexican food is big business. US-based Mexican fast food chain has 3,400 restaurants in North America and Europe, generated about USD10 bil in revenue and is valued at USD94 bil (if you wondering, McDonald’s market cap is about 2x at USD182.5 bil). Asia’s answer to Chipotle, Guzman y Gomez has just gone public, popping 36% on its first day and valuing the company at AUD2.2 bil (USD1.47 bil).

Founded in 2006 and in Australia by former hedge fund trader Steven Marks, the company now has 185 outlets in Australia, 17 in Singapore, 5 in Japan and 4 in the US, boosting network sales (its own outlets+franchisees) of AUD759 mil. With the AUD335.1 mil raised from the IPO, Guzman plans to open 30-40 outlets per year to hit 1,000 stores in Australia alone in the coming 2 decades. McDonald’s and Subway have about 970 and 1,220 outlets in Australia, respectively. More about the company here. We ain’t got Chipotle or Guzman in Malaysia, but we have Taco Bell, owned by Yum! Brands, the brand owner of KFC and Pizza Hut.

Shorts

  1. Another damning report on Israel’s war crimes
    The UN Human Rights Office, in its latest report, found that Israeli air strikes in Gaza may have systematically violated the laws of war requiring that civilians and civilian infrastructure be protected. Israel rejected the UN’s findings as “factually, legally and methodologically flawed” and accused the report of solely blaming Israel whilst “shielding Hamas terrorists in Gaza”. The report is based just on 6 separate attacks from 9 Oct 2023 until 2 Dec 2023 involving at least 218 lives. Just how many more killings after 2 Dec that can Israel deny as it escalated even further? View the UN’s report here.

  2. 737 Max victims’ families seek USD25 bil from Boeing
    Families of the victims of 2 fatal 737 Max crashes are asking the US Department of Justice to fine Boeing Co. nearly USD25 bil and pursue criminal prosecution of the company, saying the company committed “the deadliest corporate crime in US history”. This letter came a day after Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testified publicly at the US Senate. The crashes occurred in 2018 and 2019, killing a total of 346 people. 

  3. 2-time Olympic cycling gold medallist to miss out Olympics after freak accident
    Britain’s 3-year-old Katie Archibald - a cycling gold medallist at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics - will miss next month’s Paris Olympics after breaking her leg in a freak accident. She tripped over a step in her garden, leading to 2 broken bones in her leg and torn ligaments. One hell of a freak accident. She’s in good spirits and in “full princess mode” after her surgery, according to her Instagram post.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

  1. Is the flamingo in the image below real or AI-generated? AI-generated images had been in the news for winning photo contests they were not supposed to contest in. In this case, it’s the opposite - this image is real and won third place in the AI-generated category of the 1839 Awards’ Color Photography Contest. The photographer, Mike Astray, said that he submitted a real photo in the AI-category to “prove that human-made content has not lost its relevance”. Man 1 - 0 Machine.

  1. How to use Apple Vision Pro to make your gym session 99x more effective. Looks legit. The downside - an RM16.5k hole in your pocket.

  1. An interesting documentary by Channel News Asia on express bus accidents in Malaysia.