- MAHB takeover terciduk a bit
- U Mobile to go lone ranger in the second 5G network rollout
- Trump 2.0 era starts now
IN Malaysia
Apart from the E&E industry, Penang will be known for another thing (not for having better food than Singapore)
Penang will be solidifying its position as the go-to regional medical tourism destination (currently Penang has 45% of the country’s market share) after Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced a new multi-billion Ringgit Penang Medi-City project in Batu Kawan. Co-developed by Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Fajarbaru Builder Group (FBG), RM2 bil will be invested in Phase One of the development. In total, the mega project will span across 235.8 acres and is estimated to take about 15 years to complete. Additionally, the project is expected to feature more than 1,000 hospital beds. As a comparison, the largest hospital in Malaysia, Hospital Kuala Lumpur has more than 2,300 patient beds.
In making the new Medi-City project ‘green’, FJB has signed a collaboration agreement with Solarvest Holdings Bhd for the latter to lead the green infrastructure development to make the township energy-efficient and net-zero. Among the ‘green infrastructures that will be built are solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, EV fleets, energy efficiency measures, battery storage systems, and green attributes trading. While all the hoo-hah and spotlight is on Johor, Penang is the one that actually delivers. Diam-diam ubi berisi.
The MAHB takeover stumbles a bit of a hiccup
After failing to secure the pre-determined 90% shareholding of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the consortium led by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which also includes the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) decided to move the goal post and reduce the acceptance conditions to at least 85%. These new terms of the takeover offer may lead to the official announcement of MAHB’s privatisation to come any day now as the consortium has secured an acceptance rate of 86.51%. Nonetheless, the consortium did missed its initial deadline of January 8, 2025 to finalise the takeover. So, what’s next for MAHB after being privatised? Apart from the obvious answer to get the aerotrain working for heaven’s sake, the consortium highlighted that it will invest substantial CAPEX to fix the ageing and failing infrastructure and to support expansion. Currently, MAHB manages 39 airports across Malaysia (with five international airports, 17 domestic and 17 STOLports) and one international airport in Turkey.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/741583
Berjaya Group things –
- U Mobile Sdn Bhd’s chairman, Vincent Tan Chee Yioun announced that the company will go solo in rolling out the second 5G network, without the need for government funding or new local partners. Tan estimated that the rollout will commence in the next 15 – 18 months. Tan stated that U Mobile will instead look towards Chinese telco giants such as Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp to supply the 5G equipment and provide financing. Previously, U Mobile inked an agreement with CIMB Bank Berhad for the latter to provide financing support to the former’s 5G network rollout. Based on RHB Investment Bank Bhd, U Mobile needs to fork out between RM3 – 4 bil for the rollout’s CAPEX.
- In another matter, Vincent Tan also said that with the imminent Gaza ceasefire, there will be no more reasons for the Malaysian public to continue boycotting Starbucks Coffee, a brand under the Berjaya Group. Tan even added that – ‘If you boycott Starbucks, how does it affect Israel? The US will send more money to them.’ Although the connection between Starbucks Malaysia and Israel is unproven, however, we really despise arrogant business owners. When the war in Gaza broke out four years ago, not just Starbucks Malaysia, but McDonald Malaysia also suffered the same fate. However, instead of being deaf and ignoring the consumers’ plight, McDonald’s improved their public relations by contributing back to the community, especially the Malay-Muslim.
Siapalah PR Agency McDonald’s Malaysia. Power betul 😮💨 https://t.co/2J53yNDVv5
— /abːrawr/ (@amirul_abrar) January 14, 2025
Shorts
- Malaysia recorded positive performance for its exports number as exports increased by 5.7% to RM1.508 tril in 2024 compared to the previous year, mainly driven by strong performances in both manufactured and agricultural products. China remains the country’s largest trading partner for the 16th year in a row, with 12.44% of our products being exported to the second-largest economy in the world.
- Kedah is also infected with the data-centre fever as timber firm Maxland Bhd will partner with GDC Data Sdn Bhd to jointly develop a data centre in Kulim, Kedah. The new data centre is expected to be built on a 4.57-acre land that Maxland acquired for RM9.95 mil last year, situated within the Kulim High-Tech Park.
Around the S.E.A.
Trump is officially up
US 47th President Donald Trump has officially sworn into office making him only the second ever to be elected to serve two non-consecutive terms. As one of his first official acts as the new president, in his ‘shock and awe’ strategy, he has signed more than 100 executive orders that will undo former President Joe Biden’s policies ranging from climate to diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce. One of the executive orders is the imposition of a 25% tariff for all products originating from Canada and Mexico and incurring an additional 10% tariff for Chinese products coming into the US.
Domestically, in Malaysia, Trump’s second presidency has led to the immediate effect of multiple China-based solar panel companies mulling to either scale down their operations or ‘bungkus kedai’, citing imminent tariff hikes making their Malaysian-made product uncompetitive for the US market. Among the major companies affected are Jinko Solar Co – the largest solar panel producer globally – Risen Energy Co, and JA Solar Technology Co. The three companies contribute to 40% of Malaysia’s total capacity for solar production. The scaled-down of Chinese solar operations in Malaysia is expected as many had initially set up shop here purely to target the US market. At the moment, Chinese solar panel manufacturers constitute nearly 80% of Malaysia’s solar production capacity in 2024.
For your EYES only
Roti canai was voted as the best bread in the world. As expected, our friends in Indonesia and Singapore are quick to claim that roti canai originated from the country. But, we have proof that roti canai is ours and will be forever Malaysian.
Roti Canai originated in Malaysia.
We have the footage of the creator of Roti Canai. His name is Wahid. pic.twitter.com/NFnwmBNRJt https://t.co/QU1sm2LHko
— 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐇𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 (@nabilfikran10) January 19, 2025
