☕️ Who's in, who's out - Cabinet reshuffling expected today

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour has grossed USD1.04 bil in ticket sales across its first 60 shows, becoming the first-ever tour to hit the billion-dollar milestone. This is even before she completed the Asian leg of her tour, according to live-music trade publication Pollstar. The previous record-setter, Elton John, took 328 shows to bring in USD838 mil during his 5-year farewell tour., which spanned the pandemic. During this period, Swift was estimated to have also sold USD200 mil in merchandise during the tour. Back in June, Pollstar estimated The Eras Tour to rake in USD1.4 bil — it has now revised the tour’s total taking to more than USD2 bil. It’s Taylor Swift’s world, indeed.

The 3,200 venture-backed US startups that failed in 2023 have raised USD27.2 bil (went up in smoke in the name of innovation), according to startup tracker Pitchbook. In fact, this number could be understated as it likely underrepresents the many companies that failed without any fanfare and excluding major losses from public companies (remember Wedidn’tWork?) and those that were acquired. WeWork had raised USD11 bil before filing for bankruptcy back in November.

Bukit Aman will procure 13 units of .22 sniper rifles for RM2.3 mil to equip its Federal Reserve Unit (FRU). This works out to a staggering Rm176.9k per unit. We wonder how much would this similar rifle cost in a Walmart in the US (some Walmarts in the US do sell weapons to customers). Other items approved for purchase:

• RM10 mil: 1,000 units of protective body armour + gas masks

• RM3.6 mil: 10 battle vans

• RM2.2 mil: 4 float-bonded trucks

• RM900k: 10 anti-riot dogs

• RM2.8 mil: 175 riot guns (RM16k each)

Learn: What is the Federal Reserve Unit.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Cabinet reshuffle expected todayA significant cabinet reshuffle is on the horizon, slated for today as indicated by a notice from Bernama. The reshuffle will witness the swearing-in of new appointees at Istana Negara around 2.30pm, following an expected official announcement before the ceremony commences. 

The reshuffle may involve changes across various government ministries, potentially reintroducing seasoned lawmakers and incorporating new individuals. An aide close to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has hinted at anticipated improvements in administrative functioning. Anwar previously indicated this adjustment, aiming to finalise it before the year's end. Who’s in, who’s out — Sin Chew Daily has its sources shedding some light on this reshuffling.

Notably, the important position overseeing domestic trade and the cost of living has remained vacant since the passing of Salahuddin Ayub in July. There is mounting pressure on Anwar to replace underperforming ministers, even within his own party, PKR. Furthermore, suggestions have surfaced for appointing a second finance minister to assist Anwar in better focusing on his duties as the country's leader.

More PN MPs to support PMX, according to Bukit Gantang MPBukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz claimed that additional Perikatan Nasional lawmakers are poised to lend support to PM Anwar, estimating that seven to eight more MPs from the Opposition bloc will soon declare their backing for Anwar, without specifying they are from Bersatu or PAS. He made this assertion after becoming the fifth Bersatu lawmaker to switch allegiance to Anwar's leadership.

Previously, Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang), and Zahari Kechik (Jeli) from Bersatu shifted their support to Anwar. Despite this move, Syed Abu Hussin clarified that he hasn't faced any action from Bersatu regarding his support for Anwar, asserting that he hasn't violated party rules and is prepared for any disciplinary proceedings if required.

All Things Train

• Transport Minister proposes flat RM5 Fare for Malaysians on the Johor-Singapore KTMB routeTransport Minister Anthony Loke announced plans for a flat RM5 one-way fare for Malaysians travelling between Johor Baru and Woodlands in Singapore aboard Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad’s (KTMB) Shuttle Tebrau. Currently, the one-way fare from Johor Baru to Singapore is RM5, while the return fare is SGD5 (RM17.30), prompting KTMB's proposal to equalise the fares. Loke welcomed the suggestion and aims to discuss this matter with the Land Public Transport Agency for implementation as early as next year. The Shuttle Tebrau serves approximately 10,000 passengers daily.

• ECRL statusTransport Minister Anthony Loke revealed that the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) has surged past the halfway mark, now over 56% complete as of November. The project, on track for its December 2026 finish, will connect Kota Bharu to the Gombak Integrated Terminal, which will be operational by January 2027. With some 2,800 local companies involved, local firms' contract value soared beyond the RM10.8 bil target, hitting RM12.99 bil, with RM2.59 bil specifically earmarked for Bumiputera companies involved in ECRL civil works, underlining their active role.

Business

1. Sentral REIT completes RM450 mil acquisition of Menara CelcomDigi from MRCB. MRCB also owns a 27.94% stake in Sentral REIT. This acquisition, backed by a mix of funding sources, notably boosts Sentral REIT's property portfolio by 21% to RM2.6 bil and adds 450,000 sq feet of net lettable area. You can own a small, tiny, nano bit of Menara CelcomDigi by investing in Sentral REIT, which is yielding about 7.59%. #notfinancialadvice

2. Westports Holdings Bhd has secured a game-changing 58-year extension through a third supplemental privatisation agreement with the government and Port Klang Authority until 2082 for its concession agreement, initiating a massive RM39.6 bil expansion plan. The expansion, set to commence preliminary works in January 2024, will notably focus on container terminals 10 to 17, anticipating a capacity hike from 14 mil to 27 mil twenty-foot equivalent units by 2082.

3. Doctor-turned-casino tycoon Tan Sri Dr. Chen Lip Keong, the founder and senior CEO of NagaCorp Ltd, passed away on December 8 due to illness. Chen, Malaysia's seventh wealthiest individual with a net worth of USD2.8 bil, leaves behind a notable legacy in gaming and hospitality, notably founding NagaCorp in 1995 and establishing NagaWorld as a leading casino resort in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a 51-year monopoly within a 200 km radius of the Cambodian capital. Read more about his profile here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Israel-Hamas: US veto ceasefire - what's nextLast week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter but ended up with the US singlehandedly vetoing the ceasefire resolution in the UN Security Council (UNSC). Now, Egypt and Mauritania invoked Resolution 377A (V) to call for a meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) — this resolution allows for the UNGA to step in if the UNSC is not able to discharge its primary responsibility of maintaining global peace due to lack of unanimity. That said, UNGA recommendations are legally non-binding, which means proposals can be ignored without consequences and Israel has ignored several binding UN resolutions in the past. 

This resolution is rarely used but has been known to be employed several times over the decades to resolve geopolitical conflicts. A crucial element of the resolution is that it affirms the UNGA may if deemed appropriate, recommend the use of force. We wouldn’t want to keep our hopes high with this, but at least there isn’t a dead end to finding a resolution. Then again, Israel has Washington’s backing so any UN resolution could end up in a deadlock again. 

How to avoid nuclear conflict — missile launch notificationIn the next step of efforts to ease tension between the US and China, the US is planning to propose exchanging missile launch notifications to inform each other of upcoming missile tests and that it is not a sneak nuclear strike. The US currently has a similar bilateral pact with Russia, known as the Bilateral Missile Launch Notification Agreement, which would be a model for the US-China notification framework. Even when the current relationship between the US and Russia has deteriorated over the Ukraine conflict, Russia continues to give the US prior notifications of missile tests, suggesting that the Kremlin recognises the importance of avoiding miscalculation and unintended reactions.Sounds like a simple idea, but it definitely goes a long, long way. The world has come close to an accidental nuclear war in many instances - a list of nuclear close calls here.

TIkTok to invest USD1.5 bil in JV with GoToByteDance Ltd’s TikTok agreed to invest USD1.5 bil in a joint venture with Indonesia’s largest internet group, GoTo Group, with a 75% stake to restart its e-commerce ambitions in Indonesia following a ban by the Indonesian government. GoTo was formed after the merger of ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce platform Tokopedia. TikTok will take majority ownership and operational control of Tokopedia in this deal. GoTo’s share price fell 20% on concerns the company is forgoing a lucrative long-term business in the country’s rapidly growing e-commerce market.

The USD1.5 bil won’t come in one go and will be over time. It gets a bit confusing. First, Tokopedia will acquire TikTok Shop for USD340 mil. Then, TikTok will acquire the majority stake in Tokopedia for USD840 mil. Third, there will be further funds invested up to USD1.5 bil over an unspecified time. Read the announcement here. We are still trying to wrap our heads around this deal structure — if you understand better why it is structured this way, we would be grateful for you to hit reply to this email and explain to us. An early thank you. 

Shorts

1. More info on why OpenAI CEO Sam Altman got firedNew details emerged about why Altman was abruptly fired. It turns out he was playing politics and manipulating some of the directors against one another. Some senior staffers had also gone to the board with grievances about Altman. Whatever the allegations against Altman were, they weren’t enough to get him fired, as he was quickly reinstated as the CEO. 

2. Russia: Sanctions? What sanctions?Russia is making even more money from oil exports than it did in any months before the Ukraine war started, despite sanctions imposed by the West. In October, oil exports brought in USD11.3 bil in revenue. Analysis showed that 99% of its October oil exports were sold above the USD60 price cap set by the West. Russia exports its oil by shadow fleets of ships (vessels that do not have adequate insurance turn off their tracking systems, or deliberately hide their identities). 

3. Alibaba got overtakenPDD, the parent company of the popular Temu shopping app in the West and Pinduoduo in China, has overtaken Alibaba in terms of market cap at nearly USD185 bil, whilst Alibaba’s market cap is nearly USD184 bil. Since Alibaba's run-ins with Chinese regulators following Jack Ma’s public criticism of regulators, the company’s stock price has come under pressure and has lost more than 75% of its value since hitting its peak in October 2020.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Take a tour of the bungalow next to the one shot in Crazy Rich Asians. For sale for RM30,000,000. The CRA bungalow scene was shot in Country Heights Damansara.

2. In an actual crazy rich Asian event, a UAE-based Indian businessman hosted his daughter’s wedding aboard a private jet — a Boeing 747 plane.

1. We are feeling old - Google has been around for 25 years.