☕️ Tony Fernandes steps down as AirAsia X acting group CEO "due to other commitments"

1. MARKET SUMMARY

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

The times are indeed tough — only five billionaires signed up for The Giving Pledge in 2022, down from 14 last year. It is the fewest number of billionaires since the foundation of the initiative, helping philanthropists give away most of their wealth. The most pledgers were 58 in 2010 when in was founded.

If you have 2 billion rupiah (approx. RM614,315) in your bank account, Indonesia will welcome you with open arms for a “second home” visa for five years and ten years, according to a new regulation issued last Tuesday. Thinking of living the Bali life? This is your chance.

There are more than 300 sublineages of Omicron that are being tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the agency’s  Covid-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkhove. It’s also getting close to home — Malaysia is currently experiencing a small Covid-19 wave due to the Omicron XBB sub-variant. The number of cases last week (Oct 23 to Oct 29) increased by 16.5% week-on-week to 16,917.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

GE15 Updates

1. Khairy Jamaluddin said he is “ready to accept any seat allocated to him”, albeit speculations that he will be contesting in Sungai Buloh in GE15.

2. In a Facebook video, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says PM8 Muhyiddin Yassin is the real traitor because he gained the most from the Sheraton Move. Someone set up a blog showing the chronology of Sheraton Move (in Bahasa Malaysia).

3. The biggest question in the coming GE15 is, “Who will be Barisan Nasional’s prime minister?” Rumours are rife that UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is consolidating his power as he is responsible for endorsing the party’s candidate list for GE15. Malay Mail reported that some incumbent MPs who are out of favour with Zahid could be dropped in GE15.

Quick fix of supply shortage: Subsidy

The Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation rejected the idea of floating the prices of eggs or importing eggs despite the supply shortage domestically. Its chairman Annuar Musa confirmed a shortfall of more than 96 million eggs a month. The floating of egg prices, albeit the more sustainable option, will increase the cost by at least 12 sen. The brilliant idea to address the problem — is an additional subsidy of two sen per egg — which will cost RM20 mil a month. Where the money is coming from is anybody’s guess.

That’s one way to appear useful control inflation.

Terengganu Sultanah Nur Zahirah suit against Sarawak Report founder dismissed

Judicial commissioner John Lee Kien How @ Mohammad Johan Lee ruled there was no defamatory statement in Rewcastle-Brown’s book “The Sarawak Report - The Inside Story of 1MDB.” Lee added that the statements in question are not defamatory as they only imputed that the Sultanah consented or agreed to establish TIA. Get the book here.

Malaysia wants to be the ecotourism destination of the world

Caretaker Energy and Natural Resources Minister Takiyuddin Hassan said the government aims to brand Malaysia as a ‘Top of The Mind Ecotourism Destination of the World” as part of the National Tourism Policy 2020-2030.

With rampant deforestation and flash floods, it sounds like a pipe dream.

Business News

1. Tony Fernandes has resigned as AirAsia X Bhd’s (AAX) acting group chief executive officer with immediate effect, almost four months after he was appointed to the post. According to the long-haul budget airline’s filing to the local exchange, Uncle Tony’s resignation was “due to other commitments.” (No, it wasn’t refunds — not that commitment)His resignation is also timely as AAX just announced it is seeking an extension of six months up to April 28, 2023, to submit a new regularisation plan to the Securities Commission. Its existing remaining corporate exercise, proposed on May 10, 2021, was not completed within the time given. Is this the end of the line for AAX?

2. Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd have executed their respective access agreements with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), which means 5G will be coming soon! All but Maxis and U Mobile are taking up an equity stake in DNB.

3. The once the darling of stock market investors — Supermax Holdings Bhd — has cautioned that the next few quarters are expected to be “bumpy” and challenging for the rubber glove manufacturer. The current low demand and oversupply has led to low average selling prices (ASP) after bumper earnings in FY21. Many glove buyers are said to have overstocked. For FY22 ended June 30, 2022, Supermax reported revenue and profit before tax of RM2.7 bil and RM1 bil, respectively.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

So there’s a difference between a stampede and a crowd crush

Yesterday we shared the Seoul Halloween incident was a stampede. Further information described the incident as a crowd crush or surge, which is different from a stampede. This happens when people are packed into a confined space, causing the crowd to fall in a “domino effect” and hence harder for people to get up again — you can watch here [NSFW, Graphic Content Warning] how rescuers were trying to pull people out from this ‘collapsed dominos’. This results in people’s lungs having insufficient space to expand, making breathing difficult and leading to death due to suffocation. In contrast, stampede implies people have space to run. 

The Guardian made a visual guide on how the Seoul Halloween crowd crush unfolded. 

India bridge collapse - another celebration turned into a tragedy 

At least 132 people have been reported dead after a 230m suspension bridge in Gujarat collapsed on Sunday as it could not handle the weight of so many people of at least 400 people during the incident. The bridge was built during British colonial rule in the 19th century and had been closed for renovations for nearly six months. It was reopened to the public last week. Local authorities said no certificate was issued certifying it fit for the public, and it quickly became an attraction spot to celebrate the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals. CCTV footage captured the moment the bridge collapsed.  Another video showed dozens of people clinging onto the cables and remains of the bridge. 

iPhone factory and Disneyland lockdown

iPhone production is expected to fall by 30% at one of Apple’s iPhone manufacturers, Foxconn. Workers are fleeing from the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, as fears of severe Covid-19 restrictions following an outbreak in the facility that employs more than 200,000 workers. The factories are allowed to operate under a “closed loop” system where staff have to live and work on-site. A dramatic video here shows workers making the run by climbing over fences. 

Foxconn derived 45% of its revenue from Apple and is Apple’s biggest iPhone maker, producing 70% of iPhone shipments globally. 

Shanghai Disney shuts its gates once more, not allowing people to escape The Happiest Place on Earth after Shanghai reported ten locally transmitted Covid-19 cases. Visitors can only leave until they show a negative test. Last November, 30,000 people were trapped inside as authorities ordered everyone to be tested. 

China is relentless with its zero-Covid policy.

Brazil’s new leader and what it means for Mother Earth

Leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a comeback and narrowly defeated President Jair Bolsonaro — Lula won 50.9% of votes against Bolsonaro’s 49.1%. Bolsonaro, affectionately referred to as ‘Tropical Trump’ given their similar controversial characters and policies, did not concede the result. 

Brazil is on the opposite of the world from us but this election affects us indirectly, even more so when pak lebai minister says Malaysia is not a “climate-vulnerable” country. The outcome of this election would play a huge impact on the climate as each presidential candidates have opposite fates for the Amazon rainforest. What happens in Amazon will have a ripple effect on the climate across the world. Bolsonaro wants to increase deforestation in the Amazon and has openly encouraged clear-cutting and burning in the Amazon for agriculture during his term, whilst Lula wants to slow it. Instances of illegal mining, logging and invasion of Indigenous territory nearly tripled during Bolsonaro’s administration. 

Shorts:

1. The Verge reported that Twitter would introduce a paid verification of USD19.99 per month for its new Twitter Blue subscription. Elon Musk wants to grow Twitter’s subscription revenue to a USD10 bil business by 2028 (about 40% of revenue), reducing the concentration of its ad business which contributed 90% in 2020. 

2. Embattled No.2 Swiss bank Credit Suisse is said to have invited at least 20 banks to syndicate its USD4 bil rights issue to shore up its capital after its balance sheet got hit by a series of losses. Saudi National Bank has committed a third of it, potentially making it a significant shareholder of the bank. The bank’s current market cap stands at USD11 bil - a USD4 bil rights issue is going to be a massive dilution to existing shareholders. 

3. 4-day work week, move aside for 3-day work week - a Chick-fil-A store in Miami has tested it since February and has seen encouraging results: 100% management retention, “elite” performance and more than 420 applications for a job opening. The downside is - staff work on a 3-day block of shifts lasting 13 to 14 hours. Read more on their 3-day workweek experiment here.Chick-fil-A is one of the US largest fast-food chains and is famously closed on Sundays, losing out USD1 bil in sales a year.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 👁👁

1. AirBnb has announced the 100 winners to receive USD100,000 each to turn their crazy space ideas to life as part of its USD10 mil OMG! Fund. See some of the designs here. If you participate, do share your creation with us (doesn’t matter if you are not a winner), and we would be glad to feature it in our newsletter.

2. As Adidas terminates its business relationship with Ye (fka Kanye West), the below would be an epic way to encapsulate the termination - if only it was real. Adidas has confirmed that it was not designed by the sportswear brand.

3. An interesting visual representation of Big Tech’s revenue contributors and income.