☕️ Serba Dinamik, top 4 executives given a discharge and acquittal by court, AGC explains its decision

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

Duo Sharifah Sofia Syed Hussein and Rafizah Mat Zin completed a 235-km walk from Taman Negara Sungai Relau to Kuala Lumpur High Court that lasted for eight days. The walk was meant to seek a declaration from the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the Malayan tiger will go extinct within the next decade due to deforestation.

40% of baby formula products are out of stock in the US, forcing the United States House Oversight Committee to investigate the four largest baby formula manufacturers and seek answers on how to ramp up production.

The United Kingdom National Crime Agency (NCA) thinks its country has a money-laundering problem amounting to £100 bil per annum. One major contributing factor — is the country’s relaxed stance towards foreign ownership of trophy assets, from newspapers to football clubs.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

1. PM Ismail Sabri's return from his work visit to the US for the US-ASEAN summit was received by hundreds of people as though he brought home the World Cup or mega deals for the nation. Meanwhile, Indonesia President Jokowi Widodo took the opportunity to make a trip to Texas to meet Elon Musk to discuss potential investments and technology.

2. Sultan Nazrin of Perak has accepted the resignation of his religious advisor, Dr Afifi Al-Akiti. This came following a viral video clip of a man, alleged to be a palace official, enjoying himself in a nightclub. Afifi did not say it was him in the club and justified that his resignation is to avoid prolonging this matter that could tarnish the image of the Sultan. Commendable decision to resign — rare to come by public officials in Malaysia that resign after getting involved in a sticky situation. Funniest Twitter comment: now that he has resigned, he will have more time to practice his air drumming.

3. Sarawak will engage Norway to set up its sovereign wealth fund, Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Tun Openg said during his visit to Norway. Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (G{FG), established in 1996, is the world’s largest SWF with assets of USD1.34 tril and is operated under the highest standard of governance. At least this will be less likely to turn out into another 1MDB if Sarawak adheres to the same standard of governance as GPFG.

4. Not stopping after acquiring premium retailer Jaya Grocer, Grab is rumoured to be looking to acquire a stake in AmBank Group Berhad. The sellers are likely to be Ambank’s two largest shareholders — Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), with a 21.68% stake and Azman Hashim, with a 11.83% stake. Ambank’s market cap currently stands at RM11.7 bil — acquiring both of these stakes will cost at least RM3.92 bil. Grab, together with Singtel and Kuok Brothers, are amongst the five consortiums to be awarded digital banking licenses by BNM recently. Grab’s market cap currently stands at USD10.48 bil - ⅓ below its total funding raised of USD15.5 bil - late-stage investors are losing money on their investment.

5. On May 13, after paying their compounds of RM16 mil, Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd (SB) and its top 4 executives were given a discharge and acquittal by the Sessions Court. The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), after a long wait, has now given its explanation of its decision in SB’s case in a 3-page statement:: MUDA says the reasons offered by AGC have raised more questions than answers. This decision will come at a huge cost, at the expense of the integrity of the nation’s capital market and international investors’ confidence.

   1. Evidence against the accused parties were “circumstantial in nature”.

   2. “Public interest would be better served” by compounding the offences.

   3. “To avoid a long and protracted trial”.

   4. Criminal proceedings “out not be pursued” “due to the economic consequences.”

   5. The impact on the charges on SB “is disproportionate with the severity of the alleged offences committed” (despite committing amongst the largest, if not the largest, corporate fraud of a Bursa-listed company).

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

1. Russia-Ukraine conflict updates:

   1. A coup to overthrow Putin is underway and inevitable according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Major General Kyrylo Budanov. He said that “a military defeat for Russia would result in Putin’s removal and the country’s eventual collapse.”

   2. Putin is said to be very sick, following a secret recording from an unnamed Russian oligarch who said that Putin was “very ill with blood cancer”.

   3. In an intercepted call, a Russian soldier in Ukraine told his mother over the phone that his superior shot himself just to go home and that he and others did not want to fight in the war in Ukraine.

   4. McDonald’s has started selling its 850 restaurants in Russia as the fast-food restaurant wants to exit Russia permanently after 30 years. McDonald’s would write off a charge of up to USD1.4 bil from the exit.

2. North Korea reported eight more deaths from a “fever” shortly after announcing its first Covid cases. State media reported that there has been 1,213,550 cases so far, with 50 deaths and 564,860 under medical treatment. North Korea has no Covid vaccines or any means for mass testing.

3. Shanghai aims to reopen and allow normal life to resume from June 1. The Covid-19 lockdowns imposed in March and April have caused China’s economic activity to a downtrend. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, compared to last year, retail sales shrank 11.1%, auto sales fell 47.6% and industrial production fell 2.9%.

4. A family in Philadelphia sued TikTok for causing the death of 10-year-old girl Nylah Anderson who participated in the “blackout challenge”, which involved people choking themselves until they blackout. The family blamed the social media company for its algorithm, determining this deadly challenge would be suitable for her to view.

5. Residents in the US town of Buffalo mourned after the deadly shooting at a supermarket by a white gunman, killing ten people and injuring 3, which he live-streamed the shooting on Twitch. Buffalo police commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said that the evidence they have uncovered determined that this was “an absolute racist hate crime,”. Hours later, another shooting occurred at a church in Laguna Woods, California, leaving five injured and one dead. Had it been people of minority carrying out the attacks, the US would be fast to label this incident as a terrorist attack. 

6. A transgender woman would soon be able to give birth as a doctor in India plans to transplant a womb into this woman, enabling the possibility of carrying a child. There has only been 1 recorded case of a trans woman having a uterus transplant in 1931 but she died months later from complications.

7. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the death of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa. YDAP Sultan Abdullah has departed for Abu Dhabi to pay his last respects to Sheikh Khalifa. The new president, Sheikh Mohamed and YDAP are both friends at the Royal Sandhurst Military Academy in 1978 and 1979 and remain close until today.

8. India won its first-ever Thomas Cup beating Indonesia, the 14 times winner, 3-0. The Indian team sealed the title when world No 11 Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. Penang Escape theme park’s zip coaster is recognised by Guinness World Records as the longest in the world at 1,111m. The RM700,000 zipline zips you downhill through a canopy of trees in a 6-minute ride.

2. Theoretically, we can manufacture gold.

3. The number of mass shootings and deceased in the US since 2013.