☕️ RM18.85 mil - Rafizi Ramli's declared net assets, first PH candidate to do so

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

USD1.2 bil — the amount spent by US financial institutions on ransomware-related payments in 2021 more than doubled of 2020. There were 1,489 incidents related to ransomware reported by financial institutions, up from 487 the year before. Most of the breaches originated from Russian criminal groups, according to the US Treasury Department. The scale of your business doesn’t matter; our entire existence now revolves around software and the Internet, exposing us to cyber hacks.

If you haven’t, consider cybersecurity insurance for your business — check out coverage from AIG, Chubb and MSIG.

Disclaimer: We are not sponsored nor recommending/endorsing any of these insurers, just providing information — the first few results appear from a simple ‘cybersecurity insurance’ Google search.

USD8 per month - the subscription cost for Twitter Blue, down from USD19.99 floated earlier by Elon Musk. The price will be adjusted based on purchasing power parity of each country, suggesting a global rollout. Besides verification, subscribers will be able to post long videos and audio and see half as many ads.

>RM19 mil — the number of parking summonses unpaid to the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) in 2022, according to its mayor. To encourage payments, the council is offering a 80% discount from Jan to Dec this year. As of 30 Sept, it has collected RM4.5 mil (45,492 compound notices) worth of compounds. Back-of-the-envelope calculation means the council could only collect payments on 19.1% of the compounds.

Offering discounts to encourage penalty payments is a terrible, ineffective idea (funny, no one in the government figured this out), further compounding (no pun intended) the problem of late payment as people will wait for the following discount to settle up and depressing revenue. In some ways, this is a form of moral hazard.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Your daily GE15 digest:

1. Still on the same SD letter allegation, which Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denied - a copy of the said letter has gone viral online. The undertakings include supporting Zahid as PM and dropping court cases and investigations against UMNO and BN leaders. BN communications director Shamsul Anuar Nasarah whose name appeared on the letter, has denied the existence of the letter and criticising it as “false and not true” in a Facebook post.Netizens did some detective work level 99 to compare the signatures in the letter against other sources here and here. But hey, one can argue signatures can be forged too, right?

2. Pekan seat, which the Razak family has held since 1959 (except 1982-86 when Najib contested for the Bandar Pekan state seat instead, allowing him to be Pahang MB), will see a non-Razak for the first time with Sheik Mohamed Puzi Sheik Ali being fielded for the seat. Imprisoned former PM Najib Razak’s son, Mohd Nizar Najib, initially thought to be running for his father’s seat, will instead be contesting for the Peramu Seat state seat under the Pekan parliamentary seat. 

3. Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) internal conflict drama has come to an end after Larry Sng and Zuraida Kamaruddin reached a consensus at the Registrar of Societies office yesterday. Larry Sng remains the president and will sign the watikah letter for its candidates.

4. PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli is PH’s first candidate to declare his assets publicly. His net assets as of 31 Oct stood at RM18.85 mil, with a large portion (RM12.4 mil) attributed to his shares in his company Invoke Solutions Sdn Bhd and the rest being EPF, share investment, properties and vehicles. Do note that private company shares are meaningless and partly/arguably worthless as they are illiquid and difficult to value. Anyone can be a billionaire on paper by establishing a private company - watch here how it is done as YouTuber Max Fosh (1.44 mil subscribers) became the world’s richest person, dethroning Elon Musk for 7 minutes.

1. After failing to achieve an electoral pact with PH, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said it will contest in BN strongholds only and will not be targeting PH seats. 

2. With UMNO heavyweight Khairy Jamaluddin contesting for the Sg Buloh seat, PKR said it would reconsider its candidate.  

3. Looks like MIC decided to stay on in the GE15 party - it will contest and MIC president SA Vigneswaran said they are satisfied with all the 10 parliamentary seats (list here) BN has given the party despite none of them attended the candidate announcement event.

4. Incumbent Muar MP Syed Saddiq has confirmed that he will defend his seat despite his ongoing court case. 

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi: corruption trial postponed to January 2023, LCS corruption allegation by RPK

The former DPM’s corruption trial involving Yayasan Akalbudi (YAB) has been postponed to next year pending an appeal over a ruling in relation to witnesses’ statements at the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s dismissal to obtain recorded statements of 15 witnesses from the MACC. Zahid is facing 47  charges involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to YAB. Zahid was earlier acquitted of all charges in early October in the Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd foreign visa system case. 

Controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin in a video made allegations that Zahid received kickbacks amounting to SGD20 mil (RM67 mil) connected to the troubled littoral combat ship project and claims to have the evidence. MACC said they are prepared to meet RPK at his proposed location to review the evidence. 

100 Soonicorns programme to create 5 Malaysian unicorns by 2025

The programme, coined from the phrase “soon-to-be unicorns”, is a joint effort by ScaleUp Accelerator Sdn Bhd and Proficeo Consultants Sdn Bhd, aims to create five unicorns by 2025, in partnership with Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd and MDEC. 100 startups will be identified and nurtured. To qualify, the startup must have raised USD1 mil from a VC or institutional investor or have generated USD2 mil in revenue in the past 12 months. 

Business roundup:

1. Corporate tycoon Eddie Ong has emerged as the second-largest shareholder of Ipoh-based transport terminal and bus operator Perak Transit Bhd with a 6.923% stake worth RM52.5 mil, sending the share to a record high of RM1.07. Watch this name - at just 44 years old, he and his family control nine public-listed companies (PLCs) on Bursa Malaysia and minority stakes in 30 other PLCs. Read his exclusive interview with The Edge here. 

2. One of the big four glove makers, Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd, reported RM23.3 mil in net profit in its third-quarter earnings, which collapsed by 95.6% from RM528.2 mil year-on-year — its lowest quarterly net profit in a decade. Consistent with the other players, Kossan expects a challenging environment and headwinds facing the glove sector. 

3. Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul said the world’s first single whole 5G network by Digital Nasional Bhd would enable telco players to save about RM30 bil in infrastructure construction in the next 10 years. He revealed that the development cost of the 5G network is RM16.5 bil over a 10-year period with only equity funding of RM500 mil and no other government funding nor guarantees to start DNB’s operations. Current 5G coverage covers nearly 11 mil people across the country.

PSA: Be careful when you plan your next hols with a tour agency. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has updated its list of entities that have violated the Tourism Industry Act 1992. See the full list here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The Korean Missile Crisis

• North Korean missile lands less than 60km off the South Korean coastThe missile was among at least 23 launched by Pyongyang, the most in a single day. Detected by South Korea’s military and the Japanese coast guard, the missile also led to residents of an eastern island being evacuated. Seoul responded with three missiles fired from its warplanes into the sea towards the north of the Northern Limit Line, which separates North and South.

• Pyongyang protests US-South Korea military drillsThe shots fired under Pyongyang’s orders were in protest of the large-scale military exercises currently being jointly held by the US and South Korea, with the exercises involving hundreds of warplanes. Pyongyang denounced these drills as a rash provocation and warned that the US and South Korea will “pay the most horrible price in history” should the drills continue.Here’s an analysis of why Kim Jong-un is raising the tension between North and South. TLDR: North Korea may be ready to unveil its new nuclear weapon.

Russia: Ukraine grain deal, UK ambassador under questioning for a drone strike

• Russia u-turns, coming back to Black Sea grain dealRussia will be renewing its participation in the Black Sea Initiative, an agreement brokered by the UN for Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea. This comes four days after Russia pulled out of the agreement after its Black Sea fleet came under a drone attack, allegedly Ukrainian in origin.

• Russia to question UK ambassador over Black Sea drone strikeThe British ambassador to Moscow will still be called up to answer Russian questions regarding alleged British military involvement in a suspected Ukrainian drone strike on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. Britain has dismissed the allegations of military involvement as false.Seems Russia is pointing a lot of fingers at Britain, considering they also suspected British military involvement in the leaks of the Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline.

China in yet another high-speed rail project, this time with Pakistan

China and Pakistan will collaborate on a high-speed rail project worth about USD9.85 billion. The project will upgrade a 1,870km-long colonial-era track between Karachi and Peshawar to carry high-speed trains. The project, which has been discussed for years, was formally approved earlier this week by Pakistan, with Pakistani officials previously saying they expected to get loans from China for the upgrade. Pakistan should learn a thing or two from Malaysia’s overpriced ECRL project involving China.

CVS, Walmart, Walgreens to settle US opioid painkiller lawsuits

Sources revealed that retail pharmacy chains CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens have tentatively agreed to pay about USD13.8 billion to resolve multiple lawsuits accusing the three chains of mishandling opioid painkillers. The proposed settlement calls for CVS to pay USD5 billion over 10 years, Walgreens to pay USD5.7 billion over 15 years and Walmart to pay USD3.1 billion, mostly upfront.

In the 1990s, pharma companies provided reassurance that the use of opioids would not lead to addiction. Over time, the increased prescription of opioids led to widespread misuse and turned out to be highly addictive, leading to an opioid epidemic in the US.

Shorts:

1. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back in the top spot in a dramatic comeback.

2. Uber will be paying British authorities GBP615 million to settle a tax dispute after a British judicial ruling classified drivers as workers.

3. ESPN sold a majority stake in its extreme sports franchise – the X Games – to private equity firm MSP Sports Capital, though no financial terms were disclosed.

4. Tesla closes its first-ever flagship showroom in China, in what sources call a move to reduce retail costs. Tesla owns (avoiding the need to rely on dealers) and runs over 200 outlets across China.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Like out of a sci-fi movie - Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully executed a double rocket booster landing after a launch for the military.

2. The highest-ever grossing movie (USD2.85 bil), Avatar, has released its new full-length trailer for its sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.

3. The world’s biggest employers