☕️ Super hot and super old - Malaysia's double whammy

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

2 police officers in the UK were sentenced to 33 months jail each after taking pictures of 2 murdered women and distributing it to group chats, describing them as “dead birds”. One of the police officers even superimposed his face on to one of them to create a “selfie-style” image. They admitted to misconduct in a public office. The police officers previously were deployed to guard the crime scene in Wembley, where the 2 women were found in June 2020. In an interview, the mother of the two men said she has forgiven the murderer, but not the 2 police officers for violating her daughters.

How to get reduced jail time? Volunteer as a hangman/executioner. Shahjahan Bhuiyan, 74, is known as Bangladesh’s deadliest executioneer, estimated to have carried out as many as 60 executions including serial killers and politicians. He was serving a 42-year prison sentence for robbery and murder and for that, he was awarded last year with an early release of 10 years early. He wrote a book about his experiences, including explaining the hanging procedure, which was released earlier this year and attracted significant attention.

The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) has imposed financial penalties of more than RM570 mil on nearly 100 companies involved in cartel activities in the country. The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living said the MyCC is also actively investigating 18 cartel cases involving more than 500 enterprises, of which 14 of the cases involved fraudulent bid-rigging in governemnt procurement projects involving a total value exceeding RM3.3. bil. The government is such good cash cow to extract from - only if one doesn’t have conscience. 

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Malaysia is hitting the double whammy soon - super hot and super old
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said that in its latest report that Malaysia’s temperature has been increasing by 0.13 degrees Celcius every decade and could have its hottest day ever at 40.8 degrees Celcius in 2050. Apart from that, Malaysia is on the trajectory of becoming another Japan, attaining the super-aged nation status by 2056, which is earlier than expected. A super-aged nation is when the population aged 65 years and above reaches 20%.
View report: Transitioning Futures, Anticipating Change: Socio-economic Futures of Malaysia’s Climate & Demographic Transition

Among the reasons why the Japanisation of Malaysia is at a fast pace is because fewer Malaysians are saying ‘I do’ and more married couples say ‘I do not want anymore’. As per the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) Current Population Estimates 2024 report, only 6.6 people out of 1,000 Malaysians got married in 2022, compared to 6.7 in 2021. Respectively, 2 out of 1,000 Malaysians are getting divorced in 2022, which is higher than the 1.4 figure registered in 2021.

While Malaysia’s hottest day is coming in less than 30 years, the country has already started to feel the heat. The current extremely hot weather is bringing into question whether our food safety is resilient enough to weather through the scorching heat. According to Prof Dr Victor Hoe of the University of Malaya, food can spoil more easily during extreme hot weather and bacteria that carries food-borne illnesses such as Salmonella and E.coli thrives at temperatures between 4 to 60 degrees Celcius.

PM Anwar says ‘China, come, come, come’ and ‘Philippines, go, go, go’
PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that fishermen who earn their living in the South China Sea to not be worried about the presence of the China Coast Guard (CCG). Previously, fisherfolk have complained that the CGC ships that constantly patrol the area around Beting Patinggi Ali which is within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), are interfering with the fishing activities. In a separate statement, Defence Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the Malaysian Navy and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency are vigilant in protecting our maritime borders. But, are we capable of securing our borders? CGC’s flagship vessel, the Zhaotao-class patrol cutter is six times larger than our Navy’s most modern frigate, KD Lekiu.

While PM Anwar put on a friendly tone when talking about China, the table is turned for the Philippines as he put on a stern face towards Manila. According to him, Putrajaya will not compromise on the sovereignty of the country, including Sabah. This statement was given as a response to the Philippines’ claim over Sabah, exacerbated by a video that went viral on social media containing baseless, misleading content and disputing the sovereignty of the state of Sabah.

The northern border is getting a RM100 mil attention
During the launching of National Security Month, PM Anwar announced an additional allocation of RM100 mil to strengthen the security facilities along the Malaysia-Thailand border. This news will warm up the conversation between PM Anwar and his Thailand counterpart Srettha Thavisin when the duo are slated to meet this month.

The relationship between Putrajaya and Bangkok is not only bonding at the highest level but also between the respective citizens. Recently, Malaysians and Thais went up in arms on social media against our common foe - Singapore when a Business Insider’s Food Insider account hinted that the kuih lapis is from Singapore. Apart from ridiculing Singapore as usual, Malaysians and Thais also criticised Business Insider for wrongly labelling kuih lapis as candy. Don’t mess with SEA people (excluding Singapore) when it comes to food.

Business Shorts

1. Another corporate musical chair is happening starting with the appointment of UEM Group Bhd’s Managing Director Mohd Izani Ghani as the new MD of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. Mohd Izani is set to come on board of MAHB in order to expedite the privatisation plan of the airport operator. Replacing Mohd Izani’s seat at UEM Group will be Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s Executive Director Amran Hafiz Affifudin. Both Mohd Izani and Amran are from the fraternity of Khazanah. 

2. Selangor is the fifth state in Malaysia to attain the high-income status after surpassing the high-income threshold of USD14,000 (RM64,491). Four other states that have passed the threshold are Kuala Lumpur (USD29,967), Labuan (USD19,117), Penang (USD16,600) and Sarawak (USD16,560). According to World Bank Malaysia’s lead economist Apurva Sanghi, Malaysia as a country is projected to become a high-income nation by 2030, so long the MYR does not free fall towards Rahmah price against the USD.

3. The Retirement Fund Inc. (KWAP) is flying high and beyond as it recorded almost a 37x jump in net income for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023), obtaining RM9.7 bil in net income, compared to RM263 mil in FY2022. KWAP CEO Nik Amlizan Mohamed attributed the positive performance to the low base effect as FY2022 was a challenging year and the fund booked unrealised losses in both local and global exposure. Geographically, more than 75% of KWAP's investment assets were in Malaysia, while international markets accounted for 24.4% of its portfolio. Its fund size grew 7.4% to RM169.8 bil in 2023.

4. After 19 years of operation in Malaysia, Kuwait Finance House Bhd (KFH Malaysia) has voluntarily withdrawn from the Malaysian market. Despite remaining profitable in Malaysia recording an RM88.1 mil profit before tax in FY2023, KFH Malaysia decided to exit the country as the group’s new strategic direction is to focus and expand in the Middle East. With this, Saudi-based Al-Rajhi Bank will be the sole Middle Eastern bank operating in Malaysia. KFH Malaysia is wholly owned Kuwait Finance House, the second-largest Islamic bank in the world.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Hamas negotiator taken out, what next for Gaza?
Hamas leader and political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran, with his death confirmed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. His death was announced mere hours after he was seen attending the swearing-in ceremony for Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Described as a moderate by other diplomats, he represented Hamas in the ceasefire negotiations with Israel and was also an early advocate of Hamas forming a political party. 
Read: Who is Ismail Haniyeh and why his assassination a blow to Hamas? 

Gazan residents have responded with anxiety and fear to the news of Haniyeh’s death, as the conflict is likely to be prolonged or even escalated with very little hope for a truce or ceasefire. Turkey’s response to the assassination is that the act “reveals once again that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of achieving peace”. Considering US officials have suggested ceasefire negotiations may soon succeed, this Israeli operation seems a deliberate move to derail peace talks. Even our prime minister thinks so!

Ceasefire negotiation mediators Qatar and Egypt also believe that Haniyeh’s death will jeopardise any efforts for a truce in Gaza, with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani questioning the success of the endeavour in a post on X. The Egyptian foreign ministry issued a statement saying a “dangerous Israeli escalation policy” over the past two days has undermined efforts for a truce. Here’s a collection of responses from other nations, all condemning the assassination. Even Russia and China called it unacceptable.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, stated that the US was “not aware of or involved in” the assassination of Haniyeh, and said it would be hard to speculate on the effects Haniyeh’s death would have on peace talks. Israel, on the other hand, has shown a general air of satisfaction, seeing it as a major achievement against Hamas. Israel has not officially claimed the operation, with no comments by Netanyahu or his defence minister. Still, his government’s press office posted an image of Haniyeh on Facebook with the word “eliminated” on his forehead, with the post now removed. Credit to the UK’s iNews for the image.

The US Presidential race heats up - Harris overtakes Trump in presidential race
New poll results now show that de-facto Democrat nominee Kamala Harris has erased the lead Republican nominee Donald Trump had in the race for the White House, pulling even in key battleground states as well as nationwide. The recently published polls show Harris is ahead of Trump in four key states, with Trump ahead in two.

The incumbent Vice President’s boost at the polls comes from her moving to quickly consolidate support among the Democrats after Biden announced his exit from the race. This move also led to her election campaign successfully raising USD200 mil and signing up 170,000 new volunteers in the week after she became the Democrat’s nominee.

Harris’ next big move will be unveiled at her Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rally, where she will reveal her choice of vice presidential nominee, her running mate in her campaign. The location of the rally suggests her running mate is likely to be Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who could help her secure the swing state. This puts him ahead of the other four possible contenders, but her choice will only be certain at the rally.

Business Highlights

• Uber, BYD enter multi-year partnership to bring EVs to ride-hailing platform

  The partnership aims to bring 100,000 new EVs to Uber’s operations worldwide. The deal will see drivers for the platform will be offered accessible pricing and financing for BYD’s EVs, starting in Europe and Latin America before expanding to the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - no mentioning of the US. Driver discounts will also be offered on vehicle maintenance, charging, financing, and leasing, though this is dependent on the market.

• Boeing names Kelly Ortberg as new CEO

  Beleaguered Boeing has named aerospace industry veteran Kelly Ortberg as its new CEO, handing him the herculean task of bringing the company around. The appointment of Ortberg, who will start on 8th August, comes after a months-long search, and the news led to the planemaker’s shares rising 1.4% despite a widening loss of USD1.4 bil for its second quarter. Ortberg was the former CEO of aircraft electronics supplier Rockwell Collins, where he oversaw several development programs, including the Airbus A350 XWB, Boeing 787, and the Bombardier CSeries.

• Intel, Tinder parent job cuts

  Match Group Inc a dating app giant which also owns Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and OKCupid, will be axing 6% of its workforce after reporting an 8% fall in the number of paying Tinder users. Most of the job cuts will come from the firm shutting down its live-streaming app Hakuna and removing live-streaming features from some of its dating apps.
  Intel is set to announce the headcount reduction of its 110,000 workforce as early as this week, with the move meant to reduce costs for the company. The savings will go towards funding an “ambitious” effort to rebound from an earnings slump and market share losses. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has been focusing spending on research and development in a bid to return the firm to prominence in the semiconductor industry.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

We hope you were impressed by the no-splash dive video yesterday. Do forgive us as it was the right diver (Quan Hongchan), different tournament. The women’s individual 10m platform event at the Paris Olympics starts on Aug 5. Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi won gold (again) in the women’s 10m platform synchro event yesterday - watch the finals below

Something more chill for mid-week. If there’s Olympics for finger dancing, this guy will take the gold medal home. Watch him finger-dance moonwalk to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.