- Gamuda is killing it locally and regionally
- Japan is becoming closer to Indonesia in maintaining the neutrality of the South China Sea
- Vietnam is the new durian king
IN Malaysia
Gamuda is on a spree
- To invest RM7.1 bil in Vietnam – The property arm of Gamuda Bhd, Gamuda Land is planning to invest RM7.1 bil in Vietnam for the next five years with the aim of generating RM14.3 bil in terms of gross development value (GDV). According to Gamuda Land Vietnam chairman Angus Liew, Vietnam has three times the population of Malaysia but only churns out half of the residential house supply compared to Malaysia. Liew added that last year in Ho Chi Ming City, 24% of all new condominium units built and 46% of all landed properties launched were delivered by Gamuda Land. Moving forward, Vietnam will continue to account for 60% of Gamuda Land’s international sales.
- 158 hectares to be built in Negeri Sembilan – Gamuda Berhad’s data centre arm, Gamuda DC Infrastructure Sdn Bhd has forked out RM424.4 mil to acquire 157.71 hectares of land in Port Dickson to build cloud and related data centre infrastructure. Gamuda’s facility will be a part of Malaysian Vision Valley 2.0 (MVV 2.0). Recently, Port Dickson’s Data Centre Infrastructure Hub was recently launched by Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Aminuddin Harun, which will support the development of MVV 2.0.
- Gamuda to gain from RM8bil Penang LRT – CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd predicted that Gamuda will dominate the lion’s share of the RM8 bil Penang Mutiara Line LRT Project. Previously, the Gamuda-led consortium, SRS Consortium secured the first package (Mutiara Line civil infrastructure works) under a single-sourcing request for proposal last March. Gamuda is also expected to bid for the upcoming systems package.
Putrajaya is mulling over asbestos ban soon
Environment Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad stated that the government is reviewing a proposal to fully ban the use of asbestos, a material still widely used in the country despite its harmful effects on human health. Nik Nazmi said the Environment Department is currently studying the use of industrial asbestos and its impact on the environment and health. We thought that the use of asbestos had already been banned. Dear Putrajaya, what study are you still conducting as globally, multiple studies have already concluded towards the fact that asbestos is nasty. According to the UK Government, annually, asbestos kills around 5,000 people, more than the number of people killed on the road. Asbestos is dangerous as fibres released from the material can lead to cancer. As of October 2022, asbestos has been banned in 69 countries including Finland, Italy, Germany, Australia, Japan and Thailand. Asbestos is normally used as roofing material.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2025/01/11/govt-mulling-total-ban-on-asbestos-says-nik-nazmi
Around the S.E.A.
Indonesia is embracing Nippon in navigating the complex future of the region
During Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba’s visit to Indonesia, both countries agreed to bolster the maritime defence cooperation in the region to maintain the neutrality of the Southeast China Sea. The maritime security cooperation is not just janji manis talking but Japan agreed to give Indonesia two high-speed patrol boats via the Official Security Assistance, the first with Indonesia. Japan also agreed to jointly develop a warship with Indonesia. Although the plan for the warship is still hush-hush at the moment, experts speculate the design of the warship could draw on the advanced destroyers of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Forces, retooled to meet Indonesia’s operational needs.
However, drawing from previous experience, Japan may need to be careful in cooperating with Indonesia as the latter is notorious for not honouring its end of the deal. Take the development of the KF-21 fighter jets with South Korea for example. Initially, Indonesia is obliged to fork out 20% of the development cost. Unfortunately, Indonesia has consistently lagged on payments and has long sought adjustments. Recently, South Korea even considered dropping Indonesia entirely as a partner after Indonesian engineers involved in the project allegedly stole sensitive KF-21 data. To foreign partners, Malaysia is the opposite, we are a trusted partner until the end. Sehingga lautan api sanggup ku redah.
The US is going to go ballistic over chips
Moving forward, the United States will be more careful when exporting chips to the world, under the new directive by the Biden administration. Buyers of US chips will be categorised under three main categories – Category 1 (friends of the US, i.e. Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the European Union), Category 2 (other countries that are not enemies of the US such as Malaysia) and Category 3 (enemies of the US such as China, Russia, Myanmar, and Iran). However, countries in Category 2 will receive unrestricted access to US chips if they agree to security and human rights requirements set by the United States. Maybe all countries need to consider chip self-sufficiency as the US is becoming more lansi.
In responding to the imminent chip export ban by the US, US companies Nvidia and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) strongly oppose the decision. Nvidia’s Vice President of Government Affairs, Ned Finkle stated that the chips that run AI systems are mainstream to anything computer, so restricting chips is akin to limiting access to electricity to the people.
Shorts
- Vietnam is the new giant of ‘durian’ as the country has recorded an astounding USD3.3 bil of durian export in 2024. China remains the primary market for Vietnamese durian as durian is considered a luxury fruit and a creative culinary ingredient in China. In November 2024, Chinese durian imports were valued at USD6.83 bil, where Vietnam commanded 47% of this lucrative market, closely trailing Thailand’s leading position. Mana Malaysia?
- Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) successfully rescued all the crew members of a Malaysia-registered tanker that sank off the territorial waters of Pedra Branca (or a.k.a Pulau Batu Putih). In another separate event, Singapore’s MPA also rescued 18 crew members from a freighter that sank off the coast of Vietnam. Although we always make fun of Singapore, but Singapore is always there to help when the time comes.
- Cambodia Deputy PM Say Samal recently launched a new special economic zone in Sihanoukville dubbed the ISI Special Economic Zone that spans over 800 hectares. Special economic zones (SEZs) such as the ones mentioned above are becoming major key economic drivers for Cambodia as the country has 28 SEZs with 835 factories in operation, employing some 200,000 jobs and generating USD5.4 bil in exports for the first 11 months of 2024.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501622339/new-special-economic-zone-launched-in-sihanoukville/
For your EYES only
The devastating Pacific Palisades fire is still ongoing. We extend our prayers to the ones who lost their homes in this tragic moment.
The DEVASTATING Pacific Palisades fire is still raging. Only 11% has been contained.
AccuWeather estimates the total economic damages of the LA fires at a STAGGERING $135-150 billion.
California’s left-wing politicians better BRACE FOR A STORM.pic.twitter.com/byuwl20R9Q
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 12, 2025
