Shares of Telekom Malaysia Bhd slumped as much as 12.1% this morning to a low of RM3.19 in anticipation of a drop of at least 25% in broadband prices by year-end.
At the noon break, the stock fell 39 sen or 10.7% to RM3.24 on 39.82 million shares done.
Multimedia and Communications Minister Gobind Singh Deo said yesterday that discussions by relevant parties on the final charges are expected to conclude by August, after which lower priced broadband packages are expected to be offered.
AirAsia Group Bhd (AAGB) lambasted the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) first information report (FIR) lodged against the low-cost airline, based on information from an unnamed “reliable source.”
“We question the motives of the unnamed person, persons or organisation that lodged this FIR but we will cooperate fully with the Indian authorities in accordance with due process provided in law,” it said in a filing with the stock exchange.
AAGB refuted strongly all the allegations made in the FIR as baseless, unsupported and unjustified and will vigorously challenge these allegations.
The FIR claimed that unknown public servants have engaged in a criminal conspiracy involving AAGB, AirAsia India, group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, deputy CEO Bo Lingam, four other named parties and unknown public servants and unknown private persons, to expedite the approval process and change in aviation policies to suit AirAsia India, by lobbying with stakeholders in the Indian government through non-transparent means.
AAGB explained that its move, together with other aviation players, to lobby the Indian government to remove the 5/20 rule was done in compliance with the law and without any unlawful payments. The 5/20 rule inhibits competition and the development of a healthy aviation sector that endures for the benefit of the Indian consumer.
“Further, AAGB has had an internal review and concluded that there has been no wrongdoing by either Fernandes or Lingam.”
AAGB said the joint venture with Tata Sons Ltd to set up its low cost carrier in India carrying the AirAsia brand, was primarily due to the sterling reputation and integrity of Tata Sons in India.
“All required approvals were obtained through normal channels and it took more than a year to get these approvals. Given Tata’s more than 100 years track record and that of AirAsia’s reputation, we refute any inference of impropriety in obtaining these approvals.”
AirAsia Investments Ltd holds 49% equity in AirAsia India, while the remaining 51% is owned by Tata Sons (49%) and two individuals on the board (2%) who are Indian nationals.
AAGB reiterated that all the allegations in the FIR are unfounded and are without any rational basis and are wholly inconceivable in the context of corporate governance norms in Malaysia.
“Accordingly AAGB denies all allegations of wrongdoing and will pursue all legal remedies available to address these allegations.”
Meanwhile, AAGB said AirAsia India lodged an FIR against former CEO Mittu Chandilya last year over the contract with HNR Trading Pte Ltd which was unauthorised by the company.
It also submitted a forensic audit report by an accounting firm in India to show that funds were illegally siphoned out of the company through that unauthorised contract.
“We believe that the Bangalore police are still investigating although much time has lapsed.”
Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI) increased 1.8% in May 2018 – the fastest pace in four months – to 121.1 compared with 119.0 in the corresponding month of the preceding year due to a strong recovery in transport prices.
According to the Department of Statistics, among the major groups which recorded increases were transport (+3.8%); food & non-alcoholic beverages (+2.2%); housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (+2.1%); restaurants and hotels (+2.1%); health (+1.9%); and furnishings, household equipment & routine household maintenance (+1.5%).
MIDF Research expects inflation to moderate in the upcoming months amid zero-rated GST, tax holiday period until the implementation of the Sales and Services Tax in September and stable retail fuel prices, which will reduce business costs.
“At this juncture, we expect 2018’s fuel-related inflation to moderate amid higher base effects, re-subsidisation of domestic fuel price and high likelihood of a downward adjustment of global commodity prices in 2H18 from the current temporary factors, which pushed the prices up,” said MIDF Research.
It expects headline inflation to average at 2.6% this year compared with 3.8% in 2017 amid higher base effects, supported by inflation rate for 1Q18 which stood at 1.8% compared with 4.2% in the same period last year.
“As inflationary pressure remains steady, we anticipate Bank Negara Malaysia to maintain its current monetary policy with no more hikes in the overnight policy rate for the rest of 2018 barring any pleasant upward surprises in domestic economic growth,” it said.
The research firm said that food inflation in Malaysia continued to fall from 2.6% year on year (yoy) in April 2018 to 2.2% yoy last month. Prices for fresh food products such as meat and seafood continued expanding however at a moderate pace of 1.6% yoy and 5.9% yoy respectively.
In contrast, fruits inflation increased to 1.5% yoy while vegetables decreased further by 3.7% yoy. There is a potential for food inflation to rise in June due to higher demand for Ramadan and Hari Raya.
On a monthly basis, the May CPI was up 0.2% compared with April 2018.
Core inflation meanwhile, rose 1.5% in May 2018 compared with the same month of the previous year. Core inflation excludes most volatile items of fresh food as well as administered prices of goods and services.
For the first five months of the year, the CPI registered an increase of 1.7% against the same period last year.
In the overall CPI for May, inflation in three regions surpassed the national rate of 1.8%, namely Kuala Lumpur (+2.2%), Selangor & Putrajaya (+2.1%) and Johor (+2%).
According to MIDF Research, the inflation rate increased in May across all states except Penang.
Bulgari Malaysia has opened a flagship store in Bukit Bintang district, Kuala Lumpur.
Built in the same style as the Via Condotti store in Rome, the 103sqm space sees the Italian brand experimenting with new ways to convey the luxury brand’s heritage.
The designer, Netherlands-based MVRDV, used rough concrete with resin veins to create a sense of historic Italian architecture. The store space is permeated with gold light.
Bulgari plans to adopt the new storefront facade in all of its global stores.
The brand also recently launched a new design concept in Hong Kong.
For more pictures, view the gallery below (4 images) :
Low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd is adding services to Ipoh and also looking at restarting flights to Kuantan, according to its group chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
He said this in a tweet this morning from his handle @tonyfernandes: “We opening IPOH soon and also looking to restart Kuantan. Would mean we would fly to all local destinations.”
AirAsia had initially introduced flights to Kuantan in June 2008, but dropped it later.
At 11.49am, AirAsia fell 1.25% or 4 sen to RM3.15 with 1.9 million shares done.
AirAsia has accused Malaysia’s aviation body, Mavcom, of holding back the country’s aviation and damaging tourism growth.
The airline made the accusations, Thursday, in a rebuttal of an earlier statement released by Mavcom saying it always adhered to a transparent and objective process when considering traffic right applications.
AirAsia has accused Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) of making a grossly misleading statement on the evaluation process when allocating air traffic right to airlines.
Mavcom had earlier said it that it followed a process that would take into account airlines’ views when it was allocating air traffic rights.
But in its public statement, AirAsia disputed Mavcom’s claim saying the agency had failed to take into account the airline’s viewpoint made at three meetings since November last year to May this year.
“Most of our concerns were ignored and have not been addressed,” the airline said in its statement.
The airline claims that operations on international routes that are linked to unrestricted bilateral air agreements (permitting unlimited operations by airlines in terms of frequencies, seat capacity and aircraft types), should not be blocked by Mavcom.
“Mavcom’s decision to reject our route applications is therefore completely against the Open Skies policy advocated by Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport when negotiating for bilateral air agreements with other countries.”
AirAsia is objecting to Mavcom’s demand that airlines should provide commercially sensitive and confidential information, such as unit revenue/cost (RASK/CASK) figures and fare structures, when requesting for route approvals.
“Financial evaluation of routes should be left to the airlines, as it is the airlines’ prerogative to decide on the commercial viability of their own operations,” AirAsia said.
It called on Mavcom to simplify the air traffic rights allocation process claiming it is “ now extremely cumbersome due to the high number of documents and data that need to be provided to support applications for route approvals.”
AirAsia calls for more transparency from Mavcom as no detailed computation/supporting data is provided when a route is rejected, other than a statement citing “overcapacity” on the route concerned.
The airline group noted that Mavcom rejected an application to increase Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan flights from 25 to 32 trips per week citing there was overcapacity on the route event though flights were operating at a 90% load factor.
“We also wish to seek clarification from Mavcom on why MASwings is being allowed to operate 21 trips per week on the route. MASwings is a fully subsidised airline and possesses an undue financial advantage over other commercial airlines, and a review of its 21 times weekly service is required. Inter-Sabah air connectivity has been held back for years and we are keen to boost tourism in the state.”
Malaysian carriers already lag behind their Asean competitors in terms of total weekly seats deployed for points in Asia.
According to the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia, Thai carriers have deployed 893,166 weekly seats, while Singapore carriers have deployed 661,863, compared to 590,422 by Malaysian carriers as of December 2017.
“Mavcom blocking growth in this manner only serves to benefit other regional airlines who are allowed to grow without undue restrictions by their own civil aviation authorities.
“We have also seen a 3% decline in tourist arrivals to Malaysia to 25.95 million in 2017 from 26.76 million in 2016. Mavcom’s rejection of route applications will only further compound the issue and hamper Malaysia’s tourism and economic growth.”
AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said, “Mavcom is not an airline, and should leave the business to actual airlines like AirAsia that understand the market. Since 2001, we have grown from two planes to more than 200 aircraft and from 200,000 guests flown in that first year to 89 million guests this year. We operate more than 320 routes – one-third of which are unique – to over 130 destinations across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the US.
“By failing to understand the true business of airlines, and by trying to micro-manage the industry, Mavcom is doing more harm than good to Malaysian aviation, the exact opposite of its mandate. It is holding the industry back with slow approvals and high charges, while other countries invest heavily in increased air traffic connectivity, to the detriment of the Malaysian tourism sector and the economy,” the airline’s CEO concluded.
Loob Holding Sdn Bhd, the creator of Malaysia’s Tealive bubble tea brand, today announced a joint venture with two China companies to bring 500 Tealive stores to China within three years.
The Malaysian company inked the deal with Zhejiang Boduo International Trade Co Ltd and Shanghai Panfei International Trade Co Ltd at a ceremony attended by retail and franchise industry officials as well as government representatives from Malaysia and China.
CEO Bryan Loo signed for Loob Holding, which will take a 51% majority stake in the joint venture known as Shanghai Loob Boduo Food and Beverage Co Ltd, subject to company registration approval by the relevant authorities in China.
Loo said the joint venture would see the first Tealive outlet opening in Shanghai this September before more stores being opened in other selected cities. He expressed confidence that the joint-venture would be able to achieve the targeted 500 stores in three years.
“Barely six months after the birth of Tealive, we took the brand to Vietnam and we now have five outlets. We have penetrated the Australian market with our first store there next month. Just last month, we appointed our master franchisee in India and we are targeting 140 outlets within five years,” Loo said.
China, the world’s largest tea market, will be the fourth overseas market for Tealive.
Loo said Tealive served 2.5 million consumers each month in its 175 outlets and the brand was still expanding every week.
On prospects in China, Loo said latest indicators were that the market for tea in China had now exceeded US$21 billion per year.
Poh Kong Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended April 30, 2018 fell 41.8% to RM4.31 million from RM7.4 million a year ago, as the fluctuation of gold prices affected the group’s operating profits.
Revenue, however, increased 17.2% to RM240.44 million compared with RM205.23 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter due to the increase in demand for gold jewellery and investment products, and additional revenue contribution from new outlets in the current quarter under review.
For the nine-month period, Poh Kong’s net profit dropped 5% to RM14.48 million from RM15.24 million a year ago, while revenue jumped 18.5% to RM731.35 million compared with RM617.01 million in the corresponding period last year.
The group is optimistic in maintaining its growth and leading position in Malaysia despite more challenging and competitive conditions in the domestic jewellery market.
“Notwithstanding uncertainties in the global and regional economies, fundamentals in Malaysia remain resilient, which have enabled corporate and industry players to meet their challenges and business performance.”
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Poh Kong is confident of its resilience to weather the challenges ahead for financial year ending July 31.
Sony’s first Extra Bass store in Southeast Asia has just opened in Kuala Lumpur’s Sunway Pyramid Asian Avenue.
Extra Bass was designed to provide an unusual shopping experience for consumers into sound experiences at home or on the move. Creative displays show off a range of Sony’s Extra-series products, including headphones and wireless speakers.
Sony plans to expand the concept to create a Music Information Hub for students, working with schools and communities to encourage more young people to participate in music and the arts.
With a focus on experience and engagement, the store’s primary goal is to broaden people’s minds about music and entertainment, rather than simply sell gadgets.
“Living in a technological era, brick-and-mortar retail is rapidly losing ground to its online rivals,” said Nixon Ng from Chip magazine in a comment.
“To combat this, concept stores have appeared on the scene, ready to stimulate our senses and tempt us back to the physical shopping world … It’s a space where art, culture and commerce collide to promote a particular lifestyle.”
The month of Ramadan is considered as the most sacred period for millions of Muslims in Malaysia & Indonesia. As such, a huge number of people observing the religious period would shift their daily routine to focus on spirituality & contribute to charitable initiatives. This also shifts the way consumers shop in a very significant manner as well.
Just a few weeks into Ramadan, online shopping consumption increased greatly during the fasting month. This was evident as iPrice Group, a price aggregator platform for hundreds of online merchants in Indonesia & Malaysia experienced double-digits growth in online sessions. Undertaking this study, there are unique consumer insights that only occurs during the month of Ramadan.
While many Malaysians & Indonesians are awake in the wee hours of the morning for Sahur (pre-dawn meal), they are more likely to shop online as well. Analysis suggests that online traffic at 5:00am increased by 105% in Malaysia & 345% in Indonesia when compared to the same time prior Ramadan. The increase was much higher in Indonesia as the country has the largest Muslim population in the world. This is a continuous trend as seen in our study last year in both Malaysia & Indonesia.
In Malaysia, the increase in online traffic was much higher when compared to our research last year, where we only saw a 90% increase in online traffic at 5:00am. Indicating an increased interest in online products this year as compared to 2017.
Evident in both countries was that online traffic during Ramadan was significantly higher when compared to the previous period. Overall online traffic was 11% higher in Malaysia & 30 percent higher in Indonesia. In addition to this, online traffic in both countries experienced a dip in online traffic at 7:00pm in Malaysia & 6:00pm in Indonesia as many prepare to break-fast (Iftar). Online traffic decreased 9% in Malaysia & 4% decrease in Indonesia at these periods. After Terawih prayers online traffic in both countries would resume, reaching its peak at 10:00pm.
Fashion products are among the most sought-after items during Ramadan as millions of Malaysians & Indonesians prepare for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. Using Google Trends, we saw that keywords such as “Baju Raya” & “Baju Raya 2018” was among the most popular keywords associated with “Raya” (which is closely associated with the Aidilfitri celebrations) in Malaysia.
In the country, local brands have been actively showcasing their 2018 Raya collection & deals through various advertising, social media, & marketing campaigns across the country. The three most searched local fashion eCommerce brands in Malaysia during Ramadan were Naelofar Hijab, Fashion Valet & Muslimah Clothing. Towards the end of May 2018, Naelofar Hijab launched the “Shine On” collection which is their #naelofaraya2018 campaign. At this same period, Naelofar Hijab garnered a high volume of search interest between 23 – 30 May2018 indicating a successful campaign that caught the attention of many Malaysians.
Close in fourth place was Siti Khadijah which garnered a high volume of search interest from Malaysians as well. Siti Khadijah specialises in prayer outfits specifically for women known as telekung. As such, the high level of interest for the eCommerce was no coincidence because many women are dedicating their time to pray during Ramadan.
In Indonesia, there was high search volume for “gamis” which is a long dress worn by Muslim women along with keywords such as “hijab” & “baju muslim”. These keywords indicate that many Indonesians were looking for inspiration or sources for clothing suitable for their religion activities during the month of Ramadan. In addition to this, there was a high level of interest for “Baju Koko”, which is a fashionable traditional top for men most popularly worn during the Aidilfitri celebrations.
Utilising Google Trends, there is also a high search interest for airline ticket promotions in Malaysia & Indonesia before Ramadan. This is in line with local trends since many will be travelling back to their hometown prior Aidilfitri celebrations. Search interest for airline tickets began during the second half of May 2018 which takes place a month before the Aidilfitri celebrations on 15th of June.
In Malaysia, the most popular keywords & brands associated with “promotion” were “Airasia”, ”Malindo Air” &”Malaysia Airlines”. In Indonesia, inhabitants located in Sumatera, Kalimantan & Sulawesi were most interested in airline ticket promotions as compared to other states. This indicates that inhabitants in these regions were more likely to travel to the Java Islands or to other parts of the country for Aidilfitri.
Other than airline tickets, the second most popular keyword used in Malaysia were related to groceries & merchandise deals. During Ramadan, there is a high demand for Raya goods such as biscuits, traditional delicacies, & other food stuff. Since these items are usually available at major supermarkets & stores many Malaysians are on the lookout for promotions by major retailers in order to maximise their spending. The top brands associated with the keyword “promotion” were:
Malaysia’s April manufacturing sales recorded a growth of 8.2% to RM65.5 billion compared with RM60.5 billion reported a year ago, according to the Statistics Department.
The significant increase in sales value in April was due to the increase in electrical and electronics products (13.9%), petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (6.3%) and food, beverages and tobacco products (6.4%).
Total employees engaged in the manufacturing sector in April 2018 was 1.07 million persons, an increase of 2.1% or 22,100 persons against 1.05 million persons in April 2017.
Salaries & wages paid rose 10.2% (RM353.5 million) to record RM3.83 billion, thus registering an average salaries & wages per employee of RM3,577 in April 2018.
Sales value per employee gain 6.0% to RM61,226 compared with the same month the previous year.
MIDF Research is of the view that the continuous uptrend in both wages and employment in the manufacturing sector provides a bright outlook for the economic activities and contribute positively towards domestic consumption in 2018.
Malaysian consumers are optimistic about the country’s economic outlook after the zero rating of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), with 82% of them opining that the economy will improve in the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen Malaysia.
More than 1,000 Malaysians between the ages of 18 and 64 from Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak participated in the June survey.
Nielsen said this latest survey follows similar research conducted in 2015, which found that attitudes toward the introduction of GST were less optimistic as only 58% believed the tax would be good for the economy.
“While Malaysians were initially tentative toward the introduction of GST three years ago when the tax was first announced, having experienced the effects of the GST over the past three years, they appear to welcome the move to effectively eliminate the tax, perhaps due to the gradual increase in the cost of goods and services that has occurred since its implementation, as reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI),” said Nielsen Malaysia managing director Raphael Pereda.
Some 57% of consumers expect price of goods and services to drop while 33% believe prices will stay at current levels.
Pereda said the optimism level could mean good news for manufacturers and retailers, with consumer spending intentions likely to rise.
“Many retailers have been providing consumers with discounts even before the zero-rated GST was officially implemented to encourage consumers not to postpone their festive spending to after June 1, 2018. If these value-for-money promotions continue, we can expect to see an increase in sales volume compared to previous years.”
The survey showed that two out of three consumers (69%) expect their purchase habits to change following the reduction of GST, with 30% saying that they would spend more money on essential items such as apparel and clothing, perishable foods, non-perishable foods and baby products.
Malaysians also showed a willingness to increase their spending on non-essential purchases such as holidays or leisure trips (33%), new property (27%) and out-of-home entertainment (26%). A quarter of them said they will be able to channel their money towards paying off debts once the GST is zero-rated.
Meanwhile, 77% viewed the government’s initiative to fix the price of fuel as being “good for consumers”.
When asked what they believed the government would do about road tolls in Malaysia, more than 90% believed tolls would either be removed or reduced.
“It is clear the recent policy announcements made by the government have gained the approval of a vast majority of Malaysians. We are eager to see if this post-election optimism translates into actual consumer spending, which we will be able to determine over time through our retail data,” said Pereda.
Dozens of French farmers blocked access to 13 refineries across the country today to protest against plans to import palm oil for use in biofuels, a move they denounce as unfair competition which jeopardises their livelihood.
Energy giant Total wants to import up to 300,000 tons a year of palm oil, which environmental advocates say has caused massive deforestation chiefly in Southeast Asia.
French rapeseed and sunflower growers, who say they will lose out due to Total’s imports, accuse foreign palm oil producers of failing to respect the regulatory requirements European producers must follow.
Farmers parked tractors in front of refinery gates while dumping piles of haystacks, dirt, manure and potatoes.
“France imports several products that don’t respect the rules applied to French farmers. It concerns South American meat and Spanish wine as well as palm oil,” said Damien Greffon, who leads the FRSEA farmers’ union in the Paris region.
The protests are a sign of growing anger in France’s farming communities which have so far not mobilised in large numbers against the government of President Emmanuel Macron since his election.
Public sector workers and railway staff have held regular demonstrations and strikes against the pro-business reforms introduced by the new centrist government since May 2017.
The farmers’ protests began late Sunday and have been called for three days because “dialogue has broken down” with the government, Greffon said.
Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert said today that the government would not back down, adding that he would meet soon with unions as well as biofuels producers to discuss supplies and pricing.
AirAsia Group Bhd will fly from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to Bangkok, Thailand from Aug 16, 2018, marking the airline’s ninth route connecting Malaysia and Thailand.
In a statement today, the low-cost airline said the thrice-weekly KK-Bangkok direct flights would be operated by AirAsia Thailand, with promotional all-in-fares starting from RM99 one way for travels between Aug 16, 2018, and Aug 13, 2019.
Bookings for the promotional flight tickets are available from today until June 17, 2018.
Currently, the Malaysia-Thailand routes operated by AirAsia includes Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Bangkok (84 times weekly), Penang-Bangkok (14 times weekly), Johor Baru-Bangkok (11 times weekly), KL-Hat Yai (11 times weekly), KL-Hua Hin (four times weekly), KL-Chiang Mai (seven times weekly), KL-Phuket (seven times weekly) and KL-Krabi (21 times weekly)
Axiata Group Bhd has appointed Dr Lisa Lim Poh Lin as its independent non-executive director to further strengthen the board’s diversity mix and expertise.
The appointment came into effect on June 8.
“We constantly strive to build a board composition of relevant business expertise, global experience and diversity of backgrounds. As an accomplished Malaysian scholar with high-profile global corporate experience, Lisa’s deep experience in the competitive world of business, technology and finance will significantly contribute to our board deliberations. We are pleased to have her join us and we look forward to her contributions,” said Axiata chairmanTan Sri Azman Mokhtar in a statement.
Meanwhile, Axiata president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said Lim’s experience will add another dimension to the board’s composition and her passion for nurturing and developing digital talents and entrepreneurs is aligned with the group’s aspirations of building a vibrant digital ecosystem within Asean and South Asia.
Lim has over 18 years’ of experience in management consulting, academic research and investment management and has served as a fund manager at Columbia Threadneedle. She was also a sector leader for Global Telecoms Research.
She holds a first class honours (BA and MEng) in engineering and a PhD in engineering from Cambridge University.
She was a recipient of Malaysian Public Services Commission scholarship and The Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship. She is also a certified financial analyst (CFA) charterholder.