☕️ Malaysia, Tanah Tumpahnya Sampah Orang Lain

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Since its inception in 2022, the DE Rantau programme has approved 1,924 applications out of 3,938 received for the DE Rantau Nomad Pass, according to data from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and the Immigration Department. Digital nomads in Malaysia cite the friendly locals, robust internet infrastructure, and cultural diversity as key reasons for choosing to work remotely here. Additionally, a study by InsureMyTrip ranks Kuala Lumpur fifth among the top 10 cities for digital nomads.

370 mil girls and young women worldwide—approximately one in eight—have experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, according to UNICEF’s first global estimate on sexual violence against children. The highest number of victims is recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, where 79 mil girls—one in five—have endured such abuse. When including non-contact forms of sexual violence, such as online or verbal abuse, the number rises to 650 mil, or one in five, highlighting the pervasive nature of this issue.

In 2023, the number of foreigners arrested for shoplifting in Japan increased for the first time in eight years, with Uniqlo and other retailers notably affected. The National Police Agency reports that 1,326 foreigners were arrested for shoplifting in 2023. This is about a 20% increase from the previous year and is the first increase in eight years. In February, three Vietnamese women were arrested in Osaka for repeatedly stealing from Uniqlo stores. They arrived on short-term visas between June 2023 and February 2024 and are accused of stealing approximately 3,300 items worth around JPY12.3 mil (USD82,800) from 37 stores in the Kansai region and Tokyo. One of the women stated that the stores’ limited staff allowed them to shoplift repeatedly without detection.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Weekend full of question marks

• Fashion Valet fiasco: The uproar against Fashion Valet that started from a written parliamentary answer by the Ministry of Finance has now been escalated to the next level as PM Anwar Ibrahim has instructed Khazanah Nasional to conduct an internal audit following the RM43.9 mil investment loss in the fashion e-commerce company. Apart from the internal audit, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki has also confirmed that the anti-graft body has also opened an investigation into the investment loss. For context, Khazanah and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) invested RM47 mil into Fashion Valet in 2018. However, they only recoup RM3.1 mil from their initial investments.

  In response to the matter, Fashion Valet board member Aireen Omar dismissed any scandal or fraud by the owners of Fashion Valet - Vivy Yusof and her husband Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar. Aireen even added that the netizens should focus on themselves and mind their own business - watch her interview here.

  As for Khazanah, the sovereign wealth fund justified its RM27 mil investment for 9% of Fashion Valet in 2018 (translates to a valuation of RM300 mil) by stating that Fashion Valet was a promising homegrown e-commerce platform, with more than 400 brands and 15,000 products on its platform at that time and expecting revenue growth of 60% annually. Khazanah said that it ‘responsibly exited’ the company in 2023 after reaching its ‘targeted holding period’. On another note, Khazanah turned down investing in Grab, a RM70 bil company today, albeit a loss-making one.

  PNB on the other hand, regretted its RM18.7 mil loss on its initial RM20 mil investment into Fashion Valet. However, PNB clarified that the investment into the fashion house was made using PNB's proprietary fund and not through the unit trust funds under Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB) subscribed to by the public. PNB also indirectly stated that the loss from Fashion Valet was minuscule compared to the RM16.4 bil investment income generated in FY2023. This kind of ‘negligible loss’ mindset is the core of the problem of why Malaysia cannot compete with Singapore.

• West Ipoh Span Expressway (WISE): Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi announced that the RM6.2 bil, 60.88 km WISE project (RM101.8 mil per km), which will reduce the congestion at PLUS Highways by 40%, will be awarded to the project’s concessionaire, East Coast Road Sdn Bhd (ECR). The project will be fully privately funded and in return, ECR will receive a 55-year concession agreement (including a four-year construction period), enabling ECR to charge a toll rate of 23 sen per km. As a comparison, the North-South Expressway (PLUS) that runs adjacent to the planned WISE highway only charge motorists 11.15 sen per km.

  The question in this WISE deal is that it is not transparently stated that the contract has been awarded via an open bidding process or otherwise, even though no public funds will be utilised. Other than that, based on ECR’s website, there is no track record of highway construction exhibited by the company, casting major doubt on this RM6.2 bil project. However, ECR does boast prominent individuals in its senior leadership lineup (view here).

• U Mobile: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has chosen the relatively smaller and majority foreign-owned telco company, U Mobile as the champion of Malaysia’s second 5G Network, where four other telcos also submitted their applications. U Mobile responded to the announcement by expressing its gratitude to MCMC and the company is willing to work with other stakeholders such as CelcomDigi and Telekom Malaysia to deliver world-class 5G advanced services to consumers. As part of the deal, U Mobile will reduce its foreign shareholding to 20%. Other than the Singapore-based Straits Mobile Investments Pte Ltd as the biggest shareholder with a 48.3% stake, U Mobile is also owned by the Malaysian King, Sultan Ibrahim (22.3%) and Berjaya boss Vincent Tan through his related companies. - view shareholding breakdown here

Malaysia, Tanah Tumpahnya Darahku Sampah Orang Lain
According to the European Commission, Malaysia is the second largest garbage bin of the European Union (EU), importing more than one-fifth of the EU’s exported garbage in 2023, constituting 8.5 mil tons of paper, plastic and glass. Although Malaysia has announced its intention to prevent the country from becoming a global dumping ground, Putrajaya has not yet outright banned the import of garbage (including plastics) due to the increased demand from the local recycling industry. The Malaysian recycling industry is fairly developed and produces 1.5 mil tons of recycled resins a year which is worth approximately RM4.5 bil in revenue. However, much of the imported plastic is either non-recyclable or contaminated, ultimately being disposed of through landfills or incineration.

Shorts

1. PM Anwar will commence his second official visit to China, after assuming the office of the Prime Minister. In this second leg, PM Anwar will embark on a four-day visit starting today, to attend the 7th China International Import Expo in Shanghai as the ‘Country of Honour’. China is Malaysia’s largest trading partners since 2009, with a total trade valued at RM450.84 bil in 2023, representing 17.1% of Malaysia’s global trade.

2. Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi-led working visit to South Korea is deemed fruitful as the South Korean bakery giant SPC Group announced that it will complete construction of a RM131.42 mil halal-certified bakery factory in Johor Baru by the end of the year. SPC Group, which owns the brand Paris Baguette, added that the new factory will assist in its vision to further penetrate the Southeast Asian and Middle East markets.

3. Sarawak Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Dr Annuar Rapaee stated that admission into five state-owned universities will be based on meritocracy, disposing of the quota system. The five universities mentioned are Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak, i-CATS University College, and Centre for Technology Excellence Sarawak (Centexs).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

One day until the US presidential election: Will Harris or Trump win?
The US election is tomorrow on Nov 5. A report by AlJazeera explains the possible “preferred” winner to various influential world leaders, with an interesting mix of preferences and expectations.

Russia: President Putin seems to prefer Trump to win, although analysts said that regardless of who wins, Moscow officials believe the US’s aversion towards Russia will remain.

China: President Xi Jinping has not made any public endorsement, understandable due to both Democrats and Republicans' tough stance towards China.

Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu is widely believed to prefer Trump over Harris, judging by their good relationship during the former US president’s first term. Will Trump continue Biden’s unwavering support to Netanyahu towards Israel's war on Gaza?

EU: Majority of the European and Nato leaders prefer Harris, perhaps due to Trump’s victory could mean less alignment with European countries on collaboration for renewable energy initiatives.

India: PM Modi seems to besties with Trump, but experts believe that Modi does not have any strong preference for one candidate over another.

South Korea and Japan: The country wants to make sure that US support for it does not wither especially in this tense time with North Korea and China. For Japan, while a Harris administration would mean more consistent policy with the Biden administration, they also seem to have formed meaningful relationships with Trump administrations from last term.

Australia: Down under is wary over Trump’s win, fearing that he is likely to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and complicate relations with China whom Australia shares a trade relationship with.

Almost USD2 bil in weapons fired by the US Naval Army in its affair in Middle East
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Navy has spent USD1.85 bil worth of munitions since it began intense combat operations in the Middle East a little over a year ago, a notable high figure for American naval operations. 

It accounts for munitions launched from US warships and attachment aircraft, including surface-to-air interceptor missiles, land-attack missiles, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-surface bombs, where some of it cost several million dollars a piece. The figure covers mainly the US Navy’s ongoing campaign against the Yemen Houthis in the Red Sea, as well as its efforts to help Israel deal with attacks by Iran. 

However, the total does not cover Navy engagements after Oct 1. US forces continued to battle the Houthis in the weeks since nevertheless, so this means that the cost expenditure has increased. The figure underscores the growing financial toll of the US Navy's Middle East operations, especially on the Houthi campaign which shows no signs of ending and other defensive operations. The high cost has raised questions about sustainability and concerns over stockpiles of interceptor missiles.

For the US, War = U$D.

Money talk

• Warren Buffett’s cash pile keeps soaring: USD325 bil

  Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has reduced its holdings in Apple to just under USD70 bil, according to its 3Q earnings report published Saturday. Berkshire Hathaway has been slowly cutting its shares in Apple since 2023, and had about USD174.3 bil invested in the company at the end of 2023. Berkshire said it sold 25%, of its Apple shares over the summer, ending with about 300 million. It has now sold more than 600 million of the iPhone maker's shares in 2024, though Apple remained Berkshire's largest stock holding. This means it has cut its stake by about two-thirds over the past year. Berkshire has consistently sold shares and grown its cash stockpile over the last year and is now sitting on over USD325 bil in cash. What is Buffett seeing that we normal people aren’t?

• Nearly-bankrupt Carvana rallied more than 7,000% in stock since 2022

  Carvana, a used-car dealer (think Carsome in the US) famous for its car tower vending machines, was once on the verge of bankruptcy in 2022, where its stock price crashed 98% to a valuation of about USD400 mil. But investors who stick through its thick and thin are now paid off big time as its stock soared more than 7,000% (or 70x) to a USD52 bil valuation. In its 3Q earnings report, Carvana reported record adjusted EBITDA of USD429 mil on about USD3.7 bil in revenue, far surpassing Wall Street estimates. Meanwhile, total cars sold surged 34% to 108,651 units in the quarter.

Shorts

1. GOT fans, get ready for the 'Game of Thrones' movie

   Warner Bros. Discovery is reported to be developing a Game of Thrones (GOT) movie, a move that could possibly help them regain their footings in the box office, after a year of ups and downs in the industry. It is unclear whether the film will be based on the original series or tell a different story, but experts are saying that it could be a success, judging from the big success of the GOT franchise. HBO spent millions making GOT and was rewarded with one of the biggest TV franchises of the 2010s. GOT won 59 Primetime Emmys and had a huge audience that grew with every season.

2. Australian government will slash out AUD16 bil off student debt

   The Australian government is planning to cut student loans for around three million Australians by 20%, relieving around AUD16 bil (RM45.9 bil) from Australians burdened by their student debts. The decision is built on their May budget that aimed to address the cost of living pressures in Australia and gave debt relief for students, as well as more investment to make medicines cheaper, and a boost to a rent assistance programme. The changes would mean the average graduate with a loan of AUD27,600 would have AUD5,520 relieved. The government also said it already planned to cut the amount that Australians with student debt have to repay per year and raise the threshold to start repayments.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. After this RM2 mil EPF account, here’s the maths to build your RM1 mil EPF savings

2. Asics x Mamee Monster limited-edition collaboration going for RM629.

3. Squid Game Season 2 trailer