☕️ No more toll hikes on 4 highways - Kesas, LDP, SPRINT and SMART Tunnel

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Is ESG a sham? Some 60 of the biggest banks globally financed USD742 bil in fossil fuel development and exploration, according to the Banking on Climate Chaos report. The top ten banks in the list formally committed to net-zero by 2050, but hey — interest income and fees are far more attractive than net-zero goals.

USD41.7 mil — the amount fantasy author Brandon Sanderson raised from his Kickstarter campaign to self-publish four novels he wrote during the pandemic, making it the most-funded Kickstarter in history. More than 185,000 backers supported Sanderson, making his project the most funded in the crowdfunding site’s history.

Almost 22,000 songs and albums were submitted for Grammy consideration this year. As a result, the shortlists for the main categories expanded from eight to 10 nominees. Teenage pop phenom Olivia Rodrigo took top honours, winning three trophies — best pop solo performance, best new artist and best pop album.

3. COVID-19 SUMMARY

• Covid-19 vaccination and test certificates issued by the Malaysian government are now recognised by the European Union, allowing Malaysians to move within the EU.

• Despite completing its city-wide Covid-19 testing, Shanghai will remain in lockdown.

• Muslims in Malaysia were delighted as they have flocked to local mosques and suraus to perform their very first tarawih prayers without any physical distancing after two years of being unable to do so.

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4. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. Good news - there will be no more toll hikes at 4 Klang Valley highways, namely Kesas, LDP, SPRINT and SMART tunnel, following the government’s agreement to the restructuring proposal involving the 4 highway concession companies. Details:Signs of impending general election.

   1. A private company named Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd (ALR), where all the shareholders’ shares are not-for-profit will buy over 100% of all four concessions. Shareholders of ALR were not disclosed in media coverage, yet.

   2. The government has agreed to extend the concession period when these highways are under the management of ALR in return for not raising toll rates until the end of the concession period.

   3. The government will derive net savings from compensation costs of RM4.3 bil for these four highways.

   4. The total enterprise value of the highway concessionaires works out to RM5.48 bil. In June 2019, the previous PH government offered RM6.2 bil to acquire these four toll concessionaires.

   5. Employees under the four concessionaires will be retained by ALR and assured that there will be no retrenchment.

   6. The government is still negotiating with other highway concessionaires, according to Works Minister Fadillah Yusof.

2. CodeBlue reported that there is a second court case involving MySJ Sdn Bhd, the controversial company behind the MySejahtera app. Court documents show plans to scale MySJ to become a tech company with listing potential as the owner of the MySejahtera app. It even showed that MySJ owns the IP rights of the MySejahtera app, contradicting Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s claims that the government owns it.

3. 24-hour Mamak won’t be back with full force despite being able to do so given the lack of manpower. Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) said that only 25% of its 9,000 members nationwide can operate 24 hours. They have appealed to the government to assist them by allowing the entry of foreign workers into the country.

4. Petrol station operators selling subsidised petrol to foreign-registered vehicles will face stern action - fine not exceeding RM1 mil, or a jail sentence of not more than three years, or both for individuals, and fines no more than RM2 mil for entities or companies that violate the law. This issue became a hot topic after a video was caught showing Singapore-registered car plates fuelling up with yellow nozzles (RON95), which are subsidised by the government.

5. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is terrible for its economy — as economists and analysts are expecting the country’s GDP to contract by at least 10% this year, while inflation is expected to exceed 23% year-on-year. The European Union plans to introduce fresh sanctions against Moscow in the wake of the newly reported atrocities — allegations of civilian massacres by Russian forces in Ukrainian towns. Is Putin his own worst enemy?

2. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam will not be running for a second term as she completes her five-year term as chief executive on June 30 this year. The city’s No. 2, Chief Secretary John Lee, is seen as the favourite to replace Lam. Her term is a controversial one as many of the territory’s civil freedoms have eroded. The upheaval of 2019 was a crisis of her government’s making.

3. The governor of Sri Lanka’s central bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, resigns as the country faces its worst economic crisis in decades. The announcement came after all of the country's cabinet ministers resigned. The severe shortage of foreign currency has left the government unable to pay for essential imports, including fuel.

4. Donald Trump’s replica of Twitter, named Truth Social, has been branded a disaster as the application has a long waitlist — 1.5 million users. The app launched on Presidents’ Day, Feb 21, but six weeks on — people are still waiting to use it. We can imagine Trump in the board room telling someone they’re fired.

5. Spotify is finding another way to build loyalty — through a popularity contest. The new “Featured Curators” feature promotes popular user playlists alongside its official Spotify playlists. The curators are selected based on established followings and popular playlists. The feature is in its pilot stage as the streaming company wants to see if it will fly.

6. Elon Musk decided to take matters into his own hands and became Twitter’s largest shareholder, with a 9.2% stake in the social media platform worth about USD3 bil. Musk criticised the company, polling people on Twitter about whether Twitter adheres to free speech principles and subsequently tweeted that the consequences of the poll would be important. Twitter Inc’s share price surged 23% yesterday morning.

6. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. A Tesla Model 3 on autopilot travelling from Singapore to Penang.

2. ‘Perhaps friendship is more than just a person we meet, but a specific point in time we shared’ - @themokumentary

3. Cigarette — a smoker’s life meter