☕️ Singapore Airlines Group to pay employees 7.45 months' bonus

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Archaeologists in coastal Peru have unearthed the 5,000-year-old remains of a woman believed to be from the upper class of the ancient Caral civilisation. This discovery suggests the significant role women held in the city approximately five millennia ago. Caral, situated about 180 km north of Lima, is recognised as the oldest city in the Americas and existed concurrently with ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Sumerian civilisations, notably developing in complete isolation from them. While the precise burial date remains unknown, the Caral civilisation flourished around 3,000 B.C.

US government data indicates that the number of overseas visitors to the United States experienced an 11.6% drop in March compared to the previous year, including a notable 17.2% decline in travellers from Western Europe. Given that much of the publicised information regarding traveller detentions and deportations occurred from mid-March onward, this figure is anticipated to decrease further, potentially severely impacting the tourism industry and related sectors. In response to the Trump administration's increasingly stringent border controls, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs has strengthened its travel advisory for the USA three times in just over a month.

Germany's Porsche, a long-standing and powerful premium automotive brand, has become a prominent example of the struggles faced by established foreign automakers in China. In the first quarter, Porsche's sales in the country experienced a significant 42% plunge, marking an acceleration of a downward trend that began after the legendary sports car manufacturer achieved a record 95,671 units in annual sales in China just four years prior – a figure that represented almost one-third of its total global sales in 2021. This decline highlights the increasing challenges for international automakers in the face of strong domestic competition in China's rapidly evolving automotive market.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

The French Affair: Najib’s edition
In an investigative document, French financial prosecutors had claimed that former PM Najib Razak had met with defence company executives in 2002, to prepare contracts that were designed to ‘remunerate’ himself and others, prior to the signing of the RM5.13 bil Scorpene submarine deal. The Parquet National Financier (PNF), which is the body of the French financial prosecutors, recommended that former PM Najib Razak, adviser Abdul Razak Baginda, Thales and DCN International (DCNI) stand criminal trial in regard to the matter. At the moment, an investigating magistrate in France must now decide whether to order a trial or dismiss the allegations.

In responding to the allegations, former PM Najib Razak’s lawyers, represented by the legal firm Messrs Shafee & Co, have denied the allegation and have stated that their client has not received the funds linked to the ‘remuneration’ contract. Additionally, the alleged meeting between Najib and the defence company executives is part of his role as the then Minister of Defence to lead such discussions in regard to the country’s purchase of the submarines, and should not be interpreted otherwise.

Border trouble at KLIA
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency (AKPS) is investigating four of its officers who are suspected of ‘counter setting’ - a practice to help foreign nationals bypass immigration checks at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) without following legal procedures. Coincidentally, just a day ago, AKPS denied entry to a total of 112 people from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India after they did not comply with immigration requirements. The weird part is that the said foreigners had landed at KLIA and remained at the terminal for more than six hours without going to the Immigration counter for inspection. The reasons for their hesitation to proceed to the immigration counters were unclear, but if we could make a guess, perhaps the designated officers involved in the ‘counter setting’ were late to enter their shift.

PKR central leadership election intensifying with Rafizi’s list
PKR Deputy President Rafizi Ramli has released an official voting guide, listing his preferred list of candidates across various positions, in a move to directly challenge the faction led by his opponent, PKR VP cum PM Anwar’s daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar. Rafizi added that the party members should elect leaders who can continue to uphold the ideals of reform and not merely chase positions.

Previously, in a move to downplay the in-fighting between the two candidates eyeing the Deputy President post, PM Anwar, who is also PKR President, stated that all party leaders should reconcile once the contest concludes. PM Anwar said that if there were two spots for deputy president, he would support both candidates to be co-deputy president.

Perhaps, after the party election, the leaders can start focusing on the rakyat, who are clearly still struggling with the rising prices of necessities such as baby formula, medical costs, repairs and insurance. According to a recent survey by Shopee's buy now, pay later (BNPL) service (SPayLater) shows that 81% of over 40,000 Malaysians use BNPL to handle financial shocks involving the purchase of such necessities, and not for luxury purchases. Additionally, below are the key statistics from the survey -

• 42% of users said SPayLater gave them better control over their finances, and 95% said it helped them manage debt;

• 57% used BNPL to manage cash flow, while 32% used it to cover emergencies;

• Interestingly, 55% of users have no access to credit outside of BNPL. This data point is also supported by a separate survey by the Consumer Credit Oversight Board (CCOB) task force, stating that 73% of BNPL users in Malaysia are low-income earners (earning under RM5,000 a month) and lack access to other personal financing options.

Business news

The PEOPLE’s Champ?
PEOPLElogy Bhd has broken the curse of underperforming initial public offerings (IPOs) on the ACE Market in the past two months, after gaining 6%, priced at 26.5 sen, above its IPO price of 25 sen. Before PEOPLElogy’s debut, all nine companies listed since March have ended their first day of trading underwater. However, PEOPLElogy’s IPO only barely missed the drop as applications from investors barely covered the amount of shares offered for subscription.

Petronas looks to Indonesia?
The national oil & gas company is in discussions with Indonesia's Pertamina and French energy group TotalEnergies to form a partnership for the development of the Bobara oil block in Indonesia. The block, which the government estimates has 6.8 bil barrels of oil equivalent, will be Petronas' first deep-water project in Indonesia as an operator.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Space War - Trump’s shiny USD175 bil anti-missile weapon in space
New missile defence system plan unveiled the new system, dubbed the Golden Dome, was unveiled by US President Trump as a USD175 bil (RM747.25 bil) project to put American anti-missile weapons in space for the first time. The system, meant to counter missile threats from China and Russia, will take three years to complete, with a majority of the cost slated for an ambitious constellation of space-based interceptors. Trump has already requested an initial USD25 bil to get the project started.

Canada has already expressed interest in taking part in the system, with active discussions already in place. However, it is still unclear how the US would deliver such a system and how Canada would participate.

If it can be used for defence, it can be repurpose for offence - China, one of the nations meant to be countered by Golden Dome, has expressed “serious concern” and urged the US to abandon the development of the system, as it carries “strong offensive implications” and heightens the risks of the militarisation of outer space.

White House hacker stole data across the US government
The hacker who breached the messaging app used by government and finance circles, TeleMessage, two weeks ago, appears to have grabbed more data from the breach than anticipated. US non-profit Distributed Denial of Secrets provided a cache of leaked data that included material from disaster responders, customs officials, diplomats, at least one White House staffer, and members of the Secret Service. The leaked data included the travel plans of senior officials or event itineraries, but a former National Security Agency cyber analyst said the risk is in the metadata–the who and when of the leaked conversations and chat groups, which counts as top-tier intelligence access.

The AI race
Google launches Veo 3
The tech giant’s latest offering is the latest version of its AI video generator, which now has the ability to incorporate and create audio. This competes directly with OpenAI’s Sora video generator, though the new audio ability is a key distinction. The Google DeepMind product vice president, Eli Collins, said Veo 3 excels from text and image prompting to real-world physics and accurate lip syncing. Google also unveiled the latest version of its AI image generator, Imagen 4, and Flow, a new filmmaking tool that allows users to create cinematic videos by describing locations, shots and style preferences.
Here’s a sample of Veo 3

Shopify now has genAI tool for building e-commerce stores
e-Commerce solutions provider Shopify just rolled out a generative AI feature that would allow merchants on its e-commerce platform to set up their online stores through layouts generated by the AI. These layouts, complete with images and text, are created based on the keywords merchants key in, which significantly reduces the time and resources required to design their store website.

AI firms compete for top researchers, to the tune of millions 
While the scramble to attract and retain top talent is a constant in the tech industry, recruiting AI talent has escalated to professional athlete levels. AI labs like xAI, Google, and OpenAI are willing to throw millions of dollars in bonuses and pay packages at star researchers, with top names within the firms also taking part in the courting process with meals, meetings, and phone calls.

The major takeaways from Musk’s media march
During a series of media interviews with news agencies, Musk confirmed he will be pushing more of his attention back to Tesla following his stint at the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He affirmed that he will stay on as Tesla’s CEO for the next five years, barring his death. He will also be cutting down on his “political spending”, something that has affected his finances, his reputation, and that of his companies.

Coming back to his responsibilities as Tesla CEO, he also explained that the firm’s self-driving cars will only be deployed in the “safest” parts of Austin, Texas, avoiding intersections unless the firm is confident the robotaxi can do well. Musk also revealed there was no need for Tesla to buy Uber, when Tesla can rely on its own fleet of autonomous vehicles, though he is not ruling out a merger between Tesla and xAI (which merged with X few months back). He said there were “no plans to do so”, but that “anything is possible”, though “obviously it would require Tesla shareholder support”.

 Shorts:

1. Spain cracks down on Airbnb as tourism backlash returns 
   The Spanish government called for the crackdown of nearly 66,000 properties on rental platform Airbnb on the grounds of breaching regulations for tourist accommodation. This comes as protests against over-tourism have started ahead of the summer season, as local landlords would rather rent to tourists, depriving local residents of accommodation.

2. SIA Group employees to see 7.45 months' bonus 
   Singapore’s national carrier posted a record net profit of SGD2.78 bil (RM9.17 bil) with a revenue of SGD19.54 bil for FY2024, on the back of the continued recovery in global travel demand. This will see employees across the group receiving a profit-sharing bonus of 7.45 months’ salary for their contributions to the group’s performance.

3. Accenture to promote almost 50,000 people after six-month delay 
   The Dublin-based tech giant will be promoting staff around the world in a bid to boost morale after a slump in demand for consulting services. The company employs 801,000 people, meaning about 6% of its total workforce is being promoted. The company has been struggling with slipping demand and greater scrutiny of US government contracts under Trump, having abandoned its diversity targets after Trump ordered his administration to push firms to end such activities.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. More updates from Google I/O 2025. Impressive, but scary for the future of work and certain industries.

2. Continuing from above — some early signs:

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3. Why the rich love debt.