Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by lambsauce

MEF begs govt to bukak, many dah bankrupt

lambsauce — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 17:45:08 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) today again pleaded with the government to end the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) before more employees lose their job, making it even harder for the Malaysian economy to recover.

This came after the federation's initial call on June 23 for the FMCO to end, stating that if the lockdown continued, it would cause "further damage to the national economy and individual livelihoods".

In a statement today, MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman said lasting damage to the economy is imminent as companies are failing on a daily basis and many others are on the brink of bankruptcy.

"Our members are suffering and forced to shut down and be declared bankrupt. This is on the table and the stress level has reached the boiling point.

"MEF appeals once again to the National Security Council (NSC) to seriously consider our position. Employers need a breather and require space to keep alive our businesses and livelihoods," he said.

Syed Hussain noted that the lockdown strategy was initially thought to be good, but has now shown to be ineffective and therefore not be continued.

"We acknowledge that the pandemic has created havoc in Malaysia and all over the world. There is no simple solution, but when a strategy does not work, we must quickly switch to another so that we all do not continue to suffer.

"We would rather manage Covid-19 and the vaccination than to be saddled with another major problem which is an irreparable economy that would lead to social implications.

"We can live with the standard operating procedures (SOPs), but survival and livelihoods must be prioritised," he added.

He also urged the NSC to have empathy for employers, employees and the people through the provision of immediate relief and aid.

"Some of the immediate relief could be in terms of enhanced wage subsidy, target credit facility for micro-SMEs, automatic loan moratorium, and the exemption of statutory payments and moratorium on penalties to government agencies, as well as tax exemption.

"MEF is pleading with the government to open up all sectors of business with strict implementation of SOPs and penalties," he said.

Minister spot check Gardenia factory

lambsauce — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 16:46:21 +0800

[fb]https://www.facebook.com/nanyang.nysp/posts/2667760280195255[/fb]

Roti Canai, Bread to naik harga

lambsauce — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 08:22:42 +0800

Material goes up, business goes down! Baking ingredients such as flour and butter rose by 30-50%, and the business of bakery shops also fell by at least 30% due to the epidemic.

The President of the Malaysian Baking and Sugar Products Industry Association, Fu Jin, said in a telephone interview with the Guanghua Daily that the supply of flour on the market is still sufficient, but the prices of bakery ingredients, including sugar and butter, have been rising, so I believe bread Foods such as cakes and other foods will also increase with the price of raw materials.

He said that the price of flour has been raised before, so bread and cakes will also be increased almost every month. Therefore, it is not ruled out that the prices of cakes and breads sold on the market will also increase, because the industry only decides whether to start the price according to the situation.

There is still ample supply of flour on the market.
He pointed out that because flour is a generic product, the government also grants relevant allowances. Most guild members use locally produced flour. After all, the price of foreign imported flour is relatively expensive, and the increase in the price of palm oil in my country has also led to margarine (margarine). Prices start at the same time, and all kinds of bakery ingredients have risen by about 30 to 50%.

"At present, due to the epidemic, the business of the bakery has also been affected by about 30%. Fortunately, we can still open stores and can also pack and take out. Otherwise, the business will be difficult and the situation will be more serious."

The hawker Sobi said that he uses imported flour, and the price of flour is estimated to start at RM3 next month.
Pancake hawker: the price of flour, sugar, and sugar will increase again depending on the situation

Sobi, a hawker who has been selling Indian pancakes for many years, pointed out that he currently sells a piece of Indian pancakes at a price of 1 ringgit and 30 cents. However, as the price of flour and sugar rises again, the price of pancakes will be increased according to the situation.

He uses imported flour, and the price of flour is estimated to start at RM3 next month. He said that not only flour, but also some raw materials such as sugar have been starting prices, so the price of pancakes sold will be adjusted according to the situation.

"There is really no way. Now that business is getting harder and harder to do under the epidemic, we can only count one step at a time, as long as we can live our lives."

[fb]https://www.facebook.com/144505178996341/posts/4175710709209081[/fb]

Moo Moo: small projek contractor bukak now!

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 18:37:22 +0800

PUTRAJAYA (June 24): G1 and G2 categories contractors appointed by local authorities (PBT) to carry out construction works for small-scale projects have been allowed to operate throughout Phase 1 of the movement control order (MCO) 3.0 effective immediately, said the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT).

The matter was decided in a special session of the National Security Council (MKN) on Monday chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

KPKT in a statement today said the contractors would not need to obtain permission via the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's (MITI) Covid-19 Intelligent Management System (CIMS) to operate during the period as the approval would be issued by PBT to speed up the process.

KPKT said the contractors must adhere to the current standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by MKN, the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ministry of Works and PBT to contain the spread of Covid-19.

42% EPF Acc 1 <RM10k, 62% Acc 2 <RM10k

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:45:29 +0800

We no longer have clarity on EPF monthly inflows and withdrawals as Bank Negara no longer shares that data publicly every month since the second half of 2020. Are you able to share those figures?

As the country goes through the pandemic and the stimulus packages are being introduced, people have been using various forms to counter-balance their income base, including with i-Sinar and i-Lestari withdrawals. Our own normal withdrawals have also tapered off a bit as a consequence of people withdrawing via i-Sinar and i-Lestari. So we don’t have a normal pattern of withdrawals this year. But I think when we get back to 2022, we will come back to the normal patterns again of what we’ve seen in the past. If we look at past data within a normal year, between RM55 billion and RM75 billion is the reinvestment sum {gross contributions] that the EPF will have every year.

My worry now is not the challenge of i-Sinar and i-Lestari per se [to liquidity and portfolio returns] because I think the fact that we’ve been able to manage the withdrawals to date shows the strong base that we have built over the years. That’s not the challenge; if anything, it is short term.

My worry is if we look at Account 1 and Account 2, quite a number of our members have reduced the amount of savings in their Account 1 and Account 2 to levels that they cannot guarantee their retirement. It is much more important for us to look at how we can help our members to restore back their savings post pandemic. We understand that i-Sinar and i-Lestari were important during the period of the pandemic when people needed to supplement their shortfall in income but we’ve got to get them back to saving. Just to give you an idea, about 6.3 million people have less than RM10,000 in their Account 1, which is meant to be retirement savings. We have a total member base of 15 million and we have 6.3 million with less than RM10,000.

It’s worrying that 42% of the total membership has less than RM10,000 and if you look at Account 2, which is the amount set aside where members can access in certain instances, 9.3 million people have less than RM10,000. So they’ve used their emergency funds.

From the EPF’s perspective, it is important to bring people back to focus on their retirement funds in the future. So the challenge was not how we can manage liquidity. We could manage liquidity but the challenge is to bring people back to think what they can do for their future. And if you look at EPF guidance in the past, EPF has guided that for you to have a basic amount of savings for retirement, you must have at least RM240,000 basic savings when you retire. But if 6.3 million have less than RM10,000 in Account 1 and RM9.3 million people have less than RM10,000 in Account 2, it is a far cry from being able to hit RM240,000.

sos

Lalamove to IPO soon, valuation US$10b

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:27:46 +0800

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong-based logistics startup Lalamove has filed confidentially for a U.S. initial public offering that could raise about $1 billion, two people familiar with the plan say, joining a string of companies from greater China seeking cash in the world's largest capital market.

Mainland companies are shrugging off mounting tensions between Washington and Beijing as they aim to tap the heavy liquidity and investor demand for high-growth businesses in the U.S. market.

Separately, U.S.-listed Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng seeks a primary dual listing in Hong Kong, a filing with the city's stock exchange shows. The company could procure up to $2 billion in the share sale, a source said. The liquidity and demand in fellow large market Hong Kong also are attracting attention from mainland businesses.

Xpeng shares opened at $42.45 in New York on Wednesday, up 6.2% from the previous day's close.

While awaiting regulatory approval, Lalamove will hold preliminary investor meetings to gauge demand for the company, which operates in more than 20 markets across Asia and Latin America as well as in the U.S., connecting over 7 million users with 700,000 drivers, the sources said.

Lalamove, established in 2013, helps clients outsource their freight logistics needs. It has raised $2.5 billion from 18 investors including private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and Sequoia Capital China, according to Crunchbase.

The startup's latest round was completed in January when it raised $1.5 billion at a pre-money valuation of $8.5 billion, Crunchbase data shows. The company is targeting an IPO valuation of at least $10 billion and considering selling a 10% stake, the two sources said.

In tapping the American market for an IPO, Lalamove will join the likes of cargo platform Full Truck Alliance, which raised $1.6 billion, and Kanzhun, operator of online recruitment platform Boss Zhipin.

Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is holding preliminary investor meetings for what is shaping up to be a $10 billion New York IPO, people familiar with its plans say. Another 20 companies, including online grocers Dingdong Maicai and MissFresh and hotel operator Atour, are preparing for offerings that together could raise around $6 billion.

The flurry of listings likely will push the 2021 total for Chinese companies in New York well above last year's $13.5 billion haul, which according to Dealogic data was the highest total since 2014's record $29.1 billion. That bonanza stemmed from Alibaba Group Holding's $25 billion New York Stock Exchange IPO.

Even as companies rush to Wall Street, so-called homecoming listings -- where mainland businesses trading in the U.S. seek to sell shares in Hong Kong -- also have revived after a two-month lull.

Xpeng is the latest to take this route. The automaker received approval from the Hong Kong exchange's listing committee to sell shares in the city and now can hold investor meets.

Xpeng, which raised $1.72 billion from an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in August, will have to undertake a dual primary listing in Hong Kong as it lacks a two-year listing track record to qualify for a secondary listing like others such as Alibaba and JD.com.

As such, the company needs to comply with the rules of both U.S. and Hong Kong regulators, which is not the case with a secondary listing. A successful offering will make it the first homecoming listing since Trip.com's share sale in April. Such offerings have gotten a boost from companies looking to hedge against a forced delisting in the U.S.

Under a law enacted last year, Chinese companies risk being kicked off American exchanges by 2023 if U.S. regulators are not permitted to review their audit records. Beijing forbids such reviews on national security grounds. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month began steps toward putting the law into force.

Xpeng, which is yet to make a profit, in December sold more shares to raise $2.5 billion. The company's shares have surged 180% since the IPO, and it is valued by the market at $32 billion.

Msia purchasing power 2nd lowest in SEA?

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 11:12:47 +0800

GMV so low

FBI: stop pay ransom, we x guarantee get back

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 09:31:09 +0800

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday pleaded with public companies and other hacking victims to avoid paying ransom, saying he fears it will only embolden cyber criminals to ramp up future attacks.

"In general, we would discourage paying the ransom because it encourages more of these attacks, and frankly, there is no guarantee whatsoever that you are going to get your data back," Wray testified before a U.S. Senate appropriations panel.

The Justice Department has disclosed it managed to help the Colonial Pipeline Co recover some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom it paid to hackers - an attack that led to widespread shortages at gas stations on the East Coast.

The FBI was able to recover those funds because it had a private key that it was able to use to unlock a bitcoin wallet holding most of the money. It was unclear how the FBI managed to access the key.

Bitcoin seizures by the federal government are relatively uncommon, but authorities have been stepping up their expertise in tracking the flow of digital money.

Wray said on Wednesday that the FBI is seeing increasingly sophisticated types of ransomware attacks and that cyber thieves have been demanding larger sums of money.

"We've seen the total volume of the money paid I think triple over the last year or so," Wray said.

He said companies and municipal governments who become victims of ransomware attacks should consider going to the FBI as soon as possible, and not wait.

"When they do, there's all kinds of things that we can do," Wray said.

"Sometimes through other work we've done, we might have the decryption key and be able to help the company unlock their data without having to pay the ransom," he added.

Bihun/mihun shortage inkambing in 1 week

lambsauce — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 08:45:07 +0800

PETALING JAYA – Bekalan bihun di pasaran mungkin berdepan kekurangan jika industri kayu yang menyokong sektor pembuatan makanan tidak dibenarkan beroperasi dalam tempoh Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP).

Presiden Persatuan Pengusaha Bee Hoon Malaysia, Datuk Hong Zu Dian berkata, disebabkan industri pemprosesan kayu tidak dibenarkan beroperasi, kilang bihun dijangka terpaksa menghentikan operasi juga kerana kekurangan bahan bakar.

Katanya, Kementerian Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri justeru diminta untuk membenarkan operasi kilang pemprosesan kayu untuk membolehkan pengeluaran bihun diteruskan.

Jelasnya, sisa kayu merupakan bahan penting dalam pembuatan bihun dan kayu juga digunakan dalam pembuatan mee kering, kuetiau dan mee kuning.

Katanya, dandang (boiler) yang digunakan untuk membuat bihun memerlukan bahan kayu untuk memasak dan mendidih.

“Memandangkan kelengkapan dalam kilang bihun memang jenis yang menggunakan kayu sebagai bahan bakar, oleh itu kami tiada alternatif lain.

“Apabila stok bahan bakar yang ada habis, kami tiada pilihan tetapi perlu menghentikan operasi,” katanya dipetik Sinchew Daily.

Menurutnya, isu tersebut tidak timbul dalam PKP 1.0 kerana kilang pemprosesan kayu dibenarkan beroperasi ketika itu.

“Dalam PKP kali ini, kilang pemprosesan kayu disenaraikan sebagai sektor tidak penting dan tidak boleh beroperasi,” katanya.

Menurutnya, kebanyakan kilang bihun hanya mempunyai stok kayu yang terhad dan dijangka dapat bertahan kira-kira seminggu.

Katanya, walaupun permintaan bihun meningkat semasa PKP, tetapi produktiviti kilang menurun apabila hanya 60 peratus pekerja dibenarkan bertugas.

“Jika kami tidak boleh beroperasi kerana kekurangan bahan bakar, maka pasti akan berlaku kekurangan bekalan bihun di pasaran,” katanya.

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[fb]https://www.facebook.com/nanyang.nysp/posts/2666229190348364[/fb]

Professor: B40, M40 need bigger cash handout now

lambsauce — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:44:59 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): There is an urgent need for cash handouts to households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, said an expert.

Asia School of Business (ASB) assistant professor of economics Dr Melati Nungsari said cash handouts to these households need to be significantly increased, given the additional restrictions and the current economic recession.

"It is not just one-off payments. We need to go beyond the B40 income group and it needs to be generous.

“Critics may say that this is expensive and it will be, but I believe that it would actually be more expensive not to do this in the long run," she said,

Melati said this during a panel discussion – “Saving Lives, Protecting Livelihoods”, in conjunction with the launch of the World Bank's Malaysia Economic Monitor report entitled “Weathering the Surge" held virtually today.

She noted that the latest data from the Department of Statistics revealed that 10 per cent of households in the M40 income group are experiencing a reduction in incomes.

"This is something sitting on all of us and needs to be addressed right now.

"I think we also need to acknowledge that people's needs are diverse; people need to pay their phone bills, kids' education and rents, so the cash handouts will really help the individuals as they can channel it to where they need it the most," she added.

do u keep online shopping box?

lambsauce — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 16:37:03 +0800

ayam been banyak beli online since 2nd mco, now gt many boxes and plastic wrap

ayam dunno actually should keep or not, sked later need use

if keep too much will jadi bodo hoarder n making nest for cockroaches n all right?

U guys gt keep or how?

BREAKING: Astro to partner with Netflix

lambsauce — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 14:15:35 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Market talk is rife that Astro Malaysia will announce its partnership agreement with Netflix "soon", which The Edge understands could be as early as this week.

The Edge also understands that the actual service will not take place immediately after the signing announcement and will be available on the Astro box in a couple of months.

When contacted, Astro said it was not able to comment on the matter.

In a results call with analysts yesterday evening, Astro said that it woulf be signing another tie-up with a subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) service "soon" but did not share the timeline or details.

This latest partnership comes hot on the heels of Astro's partnership with the Walt Disney Co to launch the Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform in Malaysia earlier this month.

Additionally, Astro also launched its stand-alone subscription-based and advertising-supported streaming service, sooka earlier this month. Astro also has some content from streaming players US' HBO Go and China's iQIYI on its platform.

Maybank Investment Bank Research noted in a report today that the recent launches this month, coupled with news on Astro collaborating with another major international SVOD operator soon, will hopefully "help to ebb churn rates" which the local research house gathers remain relatively high. Maybank's Yin Shao Yang added that 1QFY22 TV subscription revenue eased 3% quarter-on-quarter.

Yin maintained his "buy" call and RM1.33 target price (TP) on the stock.

In a note today, CGS-CIMB research's Kamarul Anwar stated that the group is finally putting its digital convergence strategy into motion.

He opined that Astro "was only scratching the surface" with the launch of Disney+ Hotstar on June 1, and its stand-alone subscription-based and advertising-supported (or "freemium" in media industry speak) streaming service, sooka, on June 8.

"During its 1QFY22 results conference call, Astro said the announcement of another subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) service joining the Astro ecosystem should come soon. Apart from the content distribution side, Astro plans to launch its satellite-free decoders on Jul 6, 2021. The 'plug-and-play' convenience will not only make Astro's service more attractive for cord-nevers, in our view but should push down its installation costs in the long run," Kamarul added.

Kamarul has maintained his "add" call and RM1.51 TP on Astro.

UOB Kay Hian Research's Chloe Tan viewed in a note to clients that while the commercial terms of the agreements on the expected new content partnership were not disclosed, Astro believes that it will put them in a better position to forge more future partnerships and sustain market share moving forward.

"We believe this will pave the way for Astro to enrich its content offerings and become the master of content aggregator," said Tan, who has downgraded Astro to "hold" with a higher TP of RM1.20, from RM1.15.

For the first quarter ended April 30, 2021 (1QFY22), Astro's net profit mounted a 91% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase to RM141.25 million from RM73.84 million. The group's quarterly revenue increased by around 0.8% to RM1.06 billion, from RM1.05 billion. Earnings per share rose to 2.71 sen from 1.42 sen as a result.

The results were within analysts' expectations.

The higher net profit was on the back of an increase in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which increased by 13% y-o-y to RM374 million from RM330.2 million. Its EBITDA margin improved by 3.8 percentage points to 35.2% in 1QFY22, from 31.4% a year prior.

The higher EBITDA and EBITDA margin were due to lower content costs and impairment of receivables, offset by higher merchandise costs, marketing and distribution costs and licence, copyright and royalty fees, as a percentage of revenue. Lower net financing cost also boosted Astro's bottom line.

The group also declared a dividend of 1.5 sen for FY22, which will be payable on July 23. In contrast, it declared a dividend of one sen in the corresponding quarter last financial year.

This first interim dividend of 1.5 sen/share for the quarter represents 55% of net profit payout — which UOB KayHian's Tan said was "below expectations".

"Management remains committed to its 75% dividend payout policy, and this should normalise towards end-FY22," she added in her report.

She raised Astro's FY22-FY24 earnings forecasts by 3%/5%/5% respectively to pencil in revenue contributions from the subscription of the Disney+ Hotstar from Jun 21 onwards.

"This will be offset by lower adex revenue amid lockdown. Our earnings have reflected a 37% content cost as percentage of revenue for sporting event this year, versus 34% for non-event years," she said.

UOB Kay Hian's net profit forecasts for Astro are RM615 million, RM634 million and RM584 million for FY22, FY23 and FY24 respectively.

Shares in Astro were trading 4% or five sen lower at RM1.20 at the time of writing, valuing it at RM6.26 billion

Khairudin: cooking oil subsidy in final discussion

lambsauce — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:39:57 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): The government is in the final stages of discussions to determine the best mechanism for two-kilogramme (kg) or five kg bottled cooking oil, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali.

He said the matter will be tabled at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (June 23), before it can be decided and announced to the public as early as next week.

He said discussions between three relevant ministries, the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, and the Finance Ministry have been ongoing, which included crude palm oil suppliers, wholesalers and other stakeholders.

"At the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry level, which safeguards the interests of crude palm oil suppliers, we have discussed and suggested the best methods to ensure the public can enjoy low prices for 2kg and 5kg bottle cooking oil.

"It’s just that we can’t announce it today, as the matter has not been decided at Cabinet level,” he said on TV1’s "Bicara Politikonomi" programme entitled Palm Oil and Cooking Oil Prices: Opportunity or Burden tonight.

He said his ministry also suggested to the government, a long-term mechanism or targeted cooking oil subsidy like the one being implemented for petrol currently.

"The targeted subsidy mechanism suggestion is still being developed and it is aimed at addressing weaknesses in the existing cooking oil supply system,” he added.

Adui outstation loner kerja KL kira 1 household

lambsauce — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 15:42:08 +0800

Adui outstation loner kerja in Klang Valley n renting kira 1 household

which cilaka ktard cakap group under family in kampung one

just now the DOSM staff baru call n kasi ayam tau n do the MyCensus

cuti2 Langkawi opening in September cukurrr

lambsauce — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:21:42 +0800

PETALING JAYA (June 21): Langkawi will be the first pilot area for Malaysian government’s green bubble programme. The scenic island is expected to welcome the tourists in another three months once 80% of the island's population is vaccinated, reported Free Malaysia Today.

The green bubble programme, which was initiated by the tourism, arts and culture ministry (MOTAC), could be a solution to the local tourism industry which has been badly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

MOTAC Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said Langkawi is a perfect pilot area for the “green bubble” as it’s an isolated island with a smaller population (110,000), with a single entry and exit point from Langkawi international airport.

The green bubble programme allows residents from states with fewer than 40 active Covid-19 cases to travel between states.

The minister stressed that it’s crucial to accelerate the vaccination process as only states with herd immunity (80% of population vaccinated) will begin the green bubble programme.

Other than Langkawi, MOTAC has also identified other travel destinations, such as Kota Kinabalu, Desaru Coast, Penang, Pulau Perhentian, Melaka, Genting Highlands and Pulau Tioman as areas that could implement the green bubble programme.

CCP urge bank, Alibaba crack down cypto harder

lambsauce — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 22:40:01 +0800

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China's central bank said on Monday it had recently summoned some banks and payment firms, including China Construction Bank (OTC:CICHF) and Alipay, urging them to crack down harder on cryptocurrency trading.

The People's Bank of China's meeting came after China's State Council, or cabinet, last month said it would tighten restrictions on bitcoin trading and mining. Beijing has sharply ratcheted up its campaign in the last few weeks.

The PBOC urged institutions at the meeting to launch thorough checks on clients' accounts to identify those involved in cryptocurrency transactions, and promptly cut their payment channels. It did not mention when the meeting was held.

"Speculative trading in virtual currencies roils economic and financial order, spawns the risks of criminal activities such as illegal asset transfers and money laundering, and endangers people's wealth," the PBOC said in a statement.

Other participants in the PBOC's meeting included state-owned lenders Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (OTC:ACGBF) (AgBank) and Postal Savings Bank of China.

Bitcoin's bull run globally had revived speculative trading in China, where people buy cryptocurrencies using yuan via bank accounts or payment platforms.

Last month, three industry associations issued a ban on crypto-related financial services, but the bodies are much less powerful than the PBOC.

The PBOC said its recent meeting with financial institutions was aimed at fully implementing State Council's crypto ban.

Bitcoin tumbled almost 10% on Monday, with market players citing jitters over China's expanding crackdown on bitcoin mining in thin liquidity for the losses. It was last down 8.3%, on course for its biggest daily drop in a month.

KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER

The PBOC asked banks and payment companies to invest more in technologies used to better identify crypto-related transactions, and know their customers better, the central bank statement said.

After the central bank's notice, AgBank, ICBC, CCB and Alipay vowed to execute what they were told to do.

AgBank said that it would conduct due diligence on clients to root out illegal crypto-related activities and shut down suspicious accounts.

Alipay, the ubiquitous payment platform owned by fintech giant Ant Group, said in a separate statement that it would set up a regulator monitoring system targeting key websites and accounts to detect illegal crypto-related transactions.

Alipay added it would blacklist any merchants involved in virtual currency transactions.

Alipay and Tencent-owned Wechat Pay had been listed as means of payment on the websites of some over-the-counter markets, where Chinese individuals buy cryptocurrencies with the Chinese yuan

ICBC, China's biggest lender, cautioned the public in a statement against the risks of cryptocurrency trading and initial coin offerings (ICOs).

As China ramped up its campaign against cryptocurrencies in recent weeks, bans on cryptomining have been issued in major bitcoin mining hubs, including Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia.

Cryptomining is a big business in China, which accounts for over half of global bitcoin production.

China has also blocked a slew of cryptocurrency-related social media accounts, and barred the search for major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and Huobi on baidu.com and Twitter-like platform Weibo (NASDAQ:WB).

Celcom & Digi just sign agreement liao, 19m users

lambsauce — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 15:01:02 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR (June 21): Axiata Group Bhd, Telenor Asia Pte Ltd and Digi.Com Bhd have successfully concluded the due diligence exercise and have inked the transaction agreements for the proposed merger of Celcom Axiata Bhd and Digi (MergeCo).

In a joint statement today, the parties said the signing confirms the intent to establish a commercially stronger and more resilient digital converged service provider.

The statement said on a pro forma basis, MergeCo will serve an estimated 19 million customers with revenue of RM12.4 billion, pre-tax earnings of RM5.7 billion, profit after tax of RM1.9 billion and free cash flow of RM4 billion.

Axiata and Telenor will each hold equal stakes of 33.1% respectively in MergeCo, which will continue to be listed on the local bourse, and will have a combined pre-synergy equity value of close to RM50 billion.

The parties said the integration planning phase will include further detailed work on synergies and business plans of MergeCo, and initial estimates indicate potential value accretion through cost and capex synergies of around RM8 billion on a net present value basis.

MergeCo aims to make an investment of up to RM250 million over five years in building a world-class innovation centre in Kuala Lumpur with the aim to catalyse the industry revolution 4.0 digital transformation, strengthen the local ecosystem and keep Malaysia at the forefront of the global digital evolution.

The innovation centre will conduct extensive research and development, develop 5G use cases, support local digital startups, and provide a platform to nurture the creation of a knowledge-based workforce in line with the aspirations under the government’s MyDIGITAL blueprint.

Axiata president and group chief executive officer Datuk Izzaddin Idris said both parties are charting good progress in the ongoing merger exercise, and remain aligned in their intentions to deliver a strong value proposition.

“Assuming a smooth transition, post integration period, we are expecting to see improvement in EBITDA and cashflow margins in the combined entity in step with our ongoing commitment to maximise dividend payout for our shareholders,” he said.

Telenor Group executive vice president and head of Asia Jørgen A Rostrup said the group is looking forward to partnering with Axiata to realise the potential of the proposed merged company.

“The telecom industry is at the beginning of an exciting digital shift, and new technologies are going to change how we develop and deliver services for both the private and public sector.

“With this merger we bring together competencies, financial strength and scale to go beyond connectivity and implement technology that further advances our customers' digital experience,” Rostrup said.

Izzaddin will be chair and Rostrup will be deputy chair of MergeCo, which will be renamed to Celcom Digi Bhd upon shareholders’ approval, while Idham Nawawi and Albern Murty will be serving as CEO and deputy CEO respectively.

Meanwhile, from the aspect of Malaysia’s national interests, Axiata and key Malaysian institutional shareholders are expected to own more than 51% of MergeCo at completion.

Both parties have committed to protecting employee welfare with no forced retrenchments.

Upon completion, Axiata will receive newly issued ordinary shares in Digi, representing 33.1% of the enlarged issued share capital of Digi, cash consideration of RM2 billion, of which RM1.7 billion will come from Digi as debt in MergeCo and approximately RM300 million from Telenor as part of an ownership equalisation under the terms of the proposed merger.

The proposed merger is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2022, subject to the relevant approvals.

At 12.30pm, Axiata shares fell six sen or 1.5% to RM4.03, translating to a market capitalisation of RM36.97 billion.

Digi rose 13 sen or 3.1% to RM4.31, giving a market capitalisation of RM33.5 billion.

elephant break ppl house n masuk cari makan

lambsauce — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 13:16:43 +0800

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Govt now studying request for biz to close at 10pm

lambsauce — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 10:43:56 +0800

JELI (June 19): The government is looking into requests from industry players to allow business operations to be extended to 10pm during the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (pictured).

He said there were different opinions on the matter.

“The government has yet to decide on the matter but there have been appeals, and we do understand the reasons why the hours need to be extended.

“However, we have two sides here... the first, Malaysians who want regulations to be tightened even further when cases keep hovering at 5,000 to 6,000 cases. That means the government needs to ensure not many economic sectors are opened.

“Then there is the other group comprising traders, restaurant owners, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) who have been under pressure for more than a year and are hoping the government will be more flexible,” he said after checking on a Covid-19 vaccination outreach program here today.

Under MCO 3.0, operation hours for most economic sectors are from 8am to 8pm.

Mustapa said the appeal for extra hours will be considered and decided by the National Security Council (MKN) on the advice of the Health Ministry (MOH) and the Finance Ministry (MOF).

“The relevant parties who handle a crisis like this will decide what is best for the people and the country. What is clear is that decisions taken will be balanced.

On moratorium for those affected by the pandemic, Mustapa said the MOF and the banking industry were in the midst of looking into the matter.

Roadside Fresh Lemon Soda hhnnnghhh

lambsauce — Sun, 20 Jun 2021 22:39:30 +0800

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