☕️ PAC chairman: govt 'confused' over who appointed MySejahtera vendor KPISoft Sdn Bhd

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

USD50 bil of Netflix’s market capitalisation was wiped off after the streaming company revealed a sharp drop in subscribers. Famous investor Bill Ackman got burned as he ditched his USD1.1bn investment in Netflix on Wednesday, losing more than USD400m.

Tesla reported a net profit of USD3.3 bil in the first quarter of the year, the biggest quarterly profit since the company's creation. However, the electric carmaker said it expected its factories to run below capacity for the rest of 2022. Elon Musk said Tesla would produce 1.5 mil cars this year during a conference call with investors and analysts.

72,584.73 hectares of forested land in Peninsular Malaysia are at risk of deforestation, according to the environmental group Rimba Disclosure Project (RDP). How big is it? The size of Singapore, go figure.

3. COVID-19 SUMMARY

• Mandatory quarantine is not required for close contacts from today onwards, regardless of vaccination status.

4. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. The MySejahtera ownership controversy continues with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) conducting a 3-hour proceeding yesterday, calling representatives from 3 agencies under the PM’s Department, namely the National Security Council, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit and the National Cyber Security Agency. Details:

   1. The government is “unable to ascertain and is confused” as to who decided on the appointment of KPISoft Sdn Bhd to develop the MySejahtera app.

   2. There was big confusion within the government itself as to which body appointed the company.

   3. Apart from an NDA, there was no formal contract between the government and KPISoft “since day one”.

   4. The PAC will have to go through additional documents and evidence that have been shared and is yet to decide whether to call on additional witnesses.

2. Updates following the ‘prison break’ escape by 528 immigration detainees from the Sungai Bakap immigration detention centre:

   1. Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said the escapees were all Rohingyan refugees and had been held since 2020 as Malaysia does not recognise their refugee status.

   2. SUHAKAM has questioned the government’s move to put the refugees in “indefinite detention” why hold them in custody if the government can’t deport them and these centres are designed only to be temporary facilities pending deportation.

   3. Human rights group Amnesty International has urged the government to review its policy of indefinite detention, which is a violation of international human rights law. It said that immigration detention centres are not long-term prisons.

   4. The Star compiled incidents of immigration depot breakouts since 1999 here.

3. An article posted by Malaysia Now, authored by no other than Raja Petra Kamarudin, alleged that there is an investigation on Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali, the High Court judge that convicted former PM Najib Razak in the SRC International case, regarding an unexplained RM1,036,127.40 paid to the judge during his time as the group general counsel of Maybank from Jho Low for “services rendered”. No evidence or documents were presented in his article to back his allegations, especially when he could spell the amount down to the sen. Mohd Nazlan, now a Court of Appeal judge, has lodged a police report over this posting and has denied the allegations as false and malicious. Najib and his defence team are trying to discredit Nazlan over his undisclosed conflict of interest and seek a fresh retrial.

4. Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s parent company Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) reported a positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of RM433 mil for the financial year ended 31 Dec 2021, compared to negative EBITDA of RM1.76 bil a year ago, reducing its loss by 60% year-on-year, following sustainable strategies underlined in its enhanced Long-Term Business Plan 2.0. This was achieved through strong cargo performance by MAB Kargo, which brought in revenue of RM3 bil, allowing for increased freighter and belly utilisation via passenger-to-cargo flights. The restructuring exercise it undertook in 2021 helped to reduce the group’s liabilities by RM15 bil and eliminating RM10 bil in debt. Read on here for further highlights on MAG’s 2021 performance. EBITDA is not an actual representation of profit or loss but a reasonable indication of whether the company generates positive cash flow or otherwise. Learn more about EBITDA here.

5. Malaysia’s used-car marketplace unicorn Carsome is reportedly seeking a dual listing on Nasdaq and the Singapore Stock Exchange. It has filed confidentially for an IPO on NASDAQ. The listing aims to raise USD400 mil at around USD2 bil valuation. In the company’s SSM filling in Malaysia, it reported a loss of RM73.1 mil on a revenue of RM1.37 bil. The holding company is Singapore based — so is Carsome still a Malaysian unicorn?

6. Twitter user @FreeMsian did a breakdown on the PAS Intelligence report making the rounds, which PAS leaders are denying and one calling it “rubbish”. Juicy details in it.

5. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Russia says it has “liberated” the strategic port city of Mariupol, apart from the Avostal steel plant — Vladimir Putin claims victory, but at what cost? Tens of thousands of people feared dead, with much of the city reduced to a smoking ruin. Ukrainian troops have made the sprawling Azovstal steel plant their last stronghold. Putin has asked its forces to block off the area until the Ukrainian troops surrender.

2. Top finance officials from the US, Canada and the UK have walked out of a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) as Russian delegates spoke in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s finance ministry called on the G20 not to politicise dialogue between members and stressing the grouping had always focused on the economy.

3. At least 20 people were killed by two separate blasts in northern Afghanistan aimed at the Shia minority group. The blasts are said to have happened while worshippers were preparing to perform prayers.

4. French President Emmanuel Macron was found to be convincing in debate with his rival far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, according to 59% of viewers. The almost three-hour showdown would not alter the course of the election, with Macron ahead in all previous polls. However, viewers found Macron to be arrogant.

5. A group led by KKR & Co made an unsolicited near-USD15 billion bid for Ramsay Health Care Ltd on Wednesday. If successful, the takeover would rank as the biggest private equity-backed buyout of an Australian company. Record-low interest rates have prompted private equity firms, superannuation and pension funds with ample liquidity to invest in healthcare and infrastructure assets.

6. Chinese companies are said to be in talks with energy giant Shell over the latter’s stake in a major Russian gas project — Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas venture — amid sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The discussions with the Chinese firms include the potential sale of Shell’s stake.

7. Crypto exchange Coinbase launched the beta version of its long-awaited non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace but only for a small group of users from a wait-list of 3 million. The marketplace supports Ethereum-based NFT trading with a social-media spin that could distinguish it from competitors. Can OpenSea fend off this threat?

8. Filling with US regulators showed that Elon Musk has secured a funding commitment of USD46.5 bil to buy Twitter. Breakdown of funding is as follows:Elon got this covered - he just unlocked a payday of USD23 bil through his stock options after hitting another 3 of the 12 milestones outlined in his 2018 incentive programme. That said, he is barred from selling these stocks for five years.

   1. Elon Musk: committed to putting up USD33.5 bil — USD21 bil of equity (his own money, basically) and USD12.5 bil of margin loans.

   2. Banks: USD13 bil in debt secured against Twitter itself.

6. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Binance didn't think through the emoji for BNB — they have since changed it and issued a statement.

2. A melting ice sculpture of a mother and a child to remind us of global warming

3. Learn to do a backflip in an hour