☕️ Singapore visits Malaysia, then shops for our doctors

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

OPR naik! - A first since 2023, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has decided to cut its Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points (0.25%) to 2.75%, as a pre-emptive move to taper the global uncertainty (thanks Trump) and to support the economic growth.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland set a new record earlier this year, having made 100 Premier League goal contributions in just his 94th game. Goal contributions cover both goals and assists. The previous record-holder was former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer, who reached 100 goal contributions during his 100th game. This puts the two in a very exclusive club of people who reached the milestone in just their third season. Haaland’s goal/assist ratio for the milestone came in at 84 goals and 16 assists, marking him as the player with the fewest assists within the 100 goal contributions, with only former Tottenham striker Harry Kane having fewer assists.

USD10 mil (RM42.5 mil) is a life-changing sum of money for a lot of us, and this was the case for Jeffrey Allen, who walked away from internet celebrity MrBeast’s “Beast Games” USD10 mil richer. Allen joined the games as a recently-laid off father whose child had a rare disease. His first step right after winning was to make a few business calls, do a psych evaluation, and look up just how much he had to pay in taxes. He also spoke to investment advisors and tax experts, who told him how much was collected in tax came down to how he spent the money in 2025. Good financial sense right there, considering he also did that to avoid just blowing through the money.

I know there’s huge jigsaw puzzles out there but this probably takes the cake. Archaeologists painstakingly pieced together thousands of fragments of 2,000-year-old wall plaster, and the results were remarkable frescoes that decorated at least 20 walls of a luxurious Roman villa, featuring beautifully painted details of musical instruments, birds, flowers, and fruit. The shattered plaster was discovered in 2021 at a site in central London, a place the team is calling the “Beverly Hills of Roman London”. This marks one of the biggest – if not the biggest – assemblages of Roman wall plaster and paintings found there. Check it out here.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Malaysia Tariff Response
The Small and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta) has warned that the United States' 25% tariff on Malaysian exports could deal a severe blow to small businesses, or, quoting Samenta president William Ng, the SMEs will face an ‘economic earthquake’. Ng stated that nasi sudah menjadi bubur, and now the SMEs need on-the-ground assistance, in the form of disbursement of previously announced aid, including RM1 bil in loan guarantees and RM500 mil in soft loans.

PM Anwar said that he will personally confront US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week, in conjunction with the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. However, looking at the bigger picture, Malaysia is not the country that is being affected the most. Trump slapped a 40% tariff on exports from Myanmar and Laos, 36% on Cambodia and Thailand, and 32% on Indonesia, to take effect from next month. In his correspondence, the US president suggested these tariffs could be adjusted ‘upward or downward’ depending on the course of bilateral relations. To date, Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian nation to have brokered an agreement with Washington.

Apart from the Trump tariff, Putrajaya is facing another problem from across the strait, to be exact, the act of poaching our talents. In a very bold move to strengthen its healthcare workforce, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting direct interviews with Malaysian doctors and general practitioners (GPs) at the Traders Hotel KLCC. But, to be fair, willing seller, willing buyer as the remuneration package offered by Singapore is approximately RM385,000 per year, about RM32,000 per month, excluding benefits.

Btw, the quality of Trump’s tariff letter:

Is the data centre fever dying?
According to the director and founder of data centre advisory firm Sprint DC Consulting, the ‘data-centre’ fever in Malaysia may enter a point of diminishing return as rising electricity tariffs and the proposed US ban on artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports to South-east Asia are raining on the parade of Malaysia’s booming data centre sector. Recently, the newly announced electricity tariffs targeting facilities above 100 megawatts (MW) may see their electricity bills increase by 10% - 16%.

More bad news incoming as not only electricity, but water bill is expected to become a bit more pricey as ten states (Penang, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Pahang) had submitted applications to the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) to review the water tariffs. Fortunately, all the applications are still under review and have not been finalised. However, coming back to data centre, despite the increased cost pressure, data centre investment is normally a 25-year commitment, thus it is up to Putrajaya to make its long-term case interesting. Even Singapore continues to attract interest despite high tariffs and government-imposed moratoriums. For now, Malaysia remains a magnet for data centre investments.

Johor will be the first state to go down on its knees and pray for the data centre fever to never die down as the southern state top GDP growth in 2024, at 6.4%. Obviously, the superb growth rate was powered by data centre investments.Selangor retained its position as Malaysia’s biggest state economy, contributing 26.2% of national GDP at RM432.1 bil. On the other hand, the west coast corridor of Penang and Kedah remained the electric & electronics (E&E) hubs of the country.

Question answered: Najib’s house arrest addendum exists
The Attorney General (AG) has admitted the existence of a document (addendum) in court, which allegedly permits former PM Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his jail sentence at home (which could be called a palace to some). However, despite the addendum existing, the prosecution is trying to throw the addendum into the bin, questioning the technicalities on how the evidence was introduced by Najib Razak’s counsel. Previously, the addendum was signed by the 16th King, Sultan Abdulah and was apparently given to then AG, Ahmad Terrirudin Mohd Saleh. Why couldn’t the government just admit this earlier? 

Shorts

1. RM120 mil milk cartel busted 
   The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) uncovered a RM120 mil cartel that supplied sub-par milk powder to a government agency. The cartel was believed to have monopolised the procurement of the milk powder for 20 years. So far, three suspects aged 40 to 70 were arrested and assets worth RM156 mil have been seized.

2. More vehicles recalled
   The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has instructed the recall of 8,322 Kia, Yamaha and Mercedes-Benz vehicles for inspection due defects to the structure, equipments and systems. Below are the details of the recall:

   • 5,123 units of the Rio UB 2010 to 2017 model, suspected to have the risk of short circuit that can cause its Hydraulic Electronic Control Unit (HECU) to catch fire;

   • 1,649 units of Yamaha MT09 and 1,369 units of Tracer 9 GT from November 2021 to February 2025 are being recalled for improper functioning of Throttle Position Sensors (TPS), while 149 units of the Yamaha Tenere 700 model from 2023 to 2024 are being recalled for clutch problems;

   • 32 Mercedes-Benz cars, model S 580 e, GLC 300 4MATIC, EQS 500, AMG SL 43, EQE 53 and EQS 53 from 2023 and 2025 are being recalled for improperly installed fuse boxes.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Of course there's more tariff news!

Bessent: US could collect USD300 bil in tariff revenue in 2025
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US has collected about USD100 bil in tariff income so far this year, and that this could grow to reach USD300 bil by the end of 2025 as US President Donald Trump’s trade campaign accelerates collections. Bessent added that major collections only started during the second quarter, following Trump’s near-universal 10% tariff on US imports and increased duties on steel, aluminium, and autos. The concern is that reaching USD300 bil in tariff collections this year would mean a major increase in collections in the coming months, which would likely mean more tariff increases.

Trump: US to impose 50% tariff on copper imports
The US president also announced a 50% tariff on copper imports, but has not clarified when it will come into effect. As countries, mining companies, and trade groups waited for more details, US Comex copper futures jumped more than 12% to a record high following the announcement. The idea behind the tariffs is to bring copper production back to the US, where it is used in construction, transportation, electronics, and many other industries.

Middle East mayhem

ICC issues warrants for Taliban leaders for persecuting women
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for two top Taliban leaders on charges of abuses against women and girls, judging that there were reasonable grounds to suspect Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhunzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani of committing gender-based persecution. A court statement said the duo have “specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender”, and “severely depriving” them of their rights to privacy, education, family life, and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience, and religion. The Taliban has rejected the warrants as “baseless rhetoric” while stating it did not recognise the ICC due to the court’s failure to protect the “hundreds of women and children being killed daily” in Gaza.

Trump, Netanyahu meeting "focused on hostages"
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said his meeting with US President Trump was focused on freeing the hostages held in Gaza, with Netanyahu also pointing to his determination to “eliminate” Hamas. Also discussed were the consequences and possibilities of the two nations’ “great victory” over Iran. Meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East shared that the number of issues preventing Israel and Hamas from reaching an agreement had decreased from four to one, with the envoy optimistic that there will be a temporary cease-fire deal by the end of the week.

Billion $ business

Nvidia now first company to hit USD4 tril market value
The chipmaker is now the first public-listed company in the world to reach the milestone of a market capitalisation of USD4 tril, as Nvidia’s shares rose as much as 2.5% to an all-time high of USD164 per share, buoyed by the ongoing surge in demand for AI technologies. This comes two years after Nvidia achieved a USD1 tril market cap for the first time in June 2023, tripling it a year later to join Apple and Microsoft as the only firms to have a market value of at least USD3 tril. Nvidia saw a revenue of USD44.1 bil for its first quarter with a profit of USD18.78 bil. For the second quarter, the chipmaker expects to see a revenue of about USD45 bil, give or take 2%.

Temasek reports record-breaking USD340 bil portfolio value
Singapore’s state investment arm saw an 11.6% jump year-on-year in its net portfolio value to USD340 bil, its second consecutive annual increase and largely driven by the strong performance of its listed Singapore-based companies and direct investments in China, India, and the US. The state investor believes in the longer-term prospects of China, its third-largest market, and also believes that the risks around the US immigration, tariff, and fiscal tightening policies have likely peaked, though Temasek will still remain watchful of tariff developments in the coming months. Read their full announcement and performance here.

Starbucks China valued up to USD10 bil as offers roll in
The Chinese arm of the popular coffee brand has been receiving offers for a potential stake sale, offers that value Starbucks China at up to USD10 bil. Among the suitors are Hillhouse Capital, Carlyle Group, KKR & Co, and Centurium Capital. Centurium Capital also holds a stake in Starbucks’ competitor in China, Luckin Coffee. There is a possibility that Starbucks may retain a 30% stake, with the rest split among a group of buyers, each holding less than 30%. Starbucks China operates 7,594 stores in China as of 2024, with its most recent quarterly results coming in flat, pausing four consecutive quarters of decline.

Shorts

1. F1: Red Bull axes team principal Christian Horner

   The decision, which comes as a shock and has sent social media stirring, comes a year after Horner was embroiled in a sexting scandal that threatened to derail the team. The scandal, of which he was ultimately cleared of the allegations of inappropriate behaviour, had left Horner going through a turbulent 18 months. Replacing him as CEO of Red Bull Racing will be Laurent Mekies.

2. EU to stockpile critical medical supplies for future crises

   The bloc will be stockpiling critical medical equipment and vaccines in case of future health crises, in addition to setting up a network to ease coordination among EU countries. This comes as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has scarred the EU when it faced a shortage of vaccines and protective masks. This marks a long-term strategy to “make sure that essential supplies that keep society running are always available”. The EU will be drawing up a priority list and doubling investments in the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority to EUR200 mil (USD234 mil) by 2027.
   Does Malaysia have similar plans? 

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. POV: skydiving through fireworks

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2. A short history of Mixue’s rise to become a USD26 bil company.