- Congestion charges are in the pipeline for KL, Penang and JB
- KTMB launches its pay-per-use cargo wagon leasing model
- Amazon released its new quantum computing chip to compete with Microsoft
IN Malaysia
Sapura Energy is crawling back from the dead
Sapura Energy Bhd has been granted the creditors’ approval for its proposed debt restructuring after a painstaking 52 court-convened meetings to reach the agreement. The debt restructuring plan is to address the RM12.3 bil of multi-currency financing and outstanding trade creditor payments involving Sapura Energy and its 22 subsidiaries. Below are the details of the plan –
- Preferred unsecured creditors will receive full cash payments within 90 days after the effective date of the restructuring slated to be in August 2025;
- A white knight investors will provide the funds to settle the claims of some Malaysian oil and gas sector service firms classified as ecosystem creditors;
- The claims of unsecured creditors will be settled through a combination of financial instruments, including debt, sustainable debts, redeemable convertible unsecured Islamic debt securities, and new ordinary shares. About 7% of the unsecured debt will be permanently waived.
The final week of the month ahead of the month of Ramadhan is really a blessing for Sapura as the company secured RM3.2 bil of contracts including two contracts from PTTEP Energy Development Ltd for the deployment of its tender assist drilling rigs (TADR) Sapura T-17 and Sapura T-18. At the moment, the order book of Sapura Energy is at RM8.7 bil, not including an additional RM5.7 bil in contracts via its joint ventures. Do not be surprised if you see all Muslim Sapura Energy employees puasa penuh during the Ramadhan. Perhaps they nazar after receiving the new lease in life.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/745971
18 priorities for ASEAN economies
In order to counter the uncertain geo-politics and geo-economics climate, Trade Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz intends to propose 18 priority economic deliverables (PEDs) to ASEAN economic ministers during their retreat in Johor. Among the key PEDs are –
- Digital Economy Framework Agreement (Defa), a pact among ASEAN nations to boost digital trade and e-commerce, particularly benefiting MSMEs;
- Strategic push to strengthen cooperation in high-growth sectors like semiconductors and electric vehicles (EVs), positioning ASEAN as a unified investment hub rather than as competing individual nations;
Now is the time for ASEAN to work together because as a bloc, ASEAN is the fifth-largest economy globally, with a combined GDP of USD3.8 tril. ASEAN, united as one economy, is bigger than any other countries in the world excluding the US, China, Japan and Germany.
Putrajaya is mulling to introduce congestion charge
Federal Territories Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa told the Parliament that the Government is seriously considering introducing congestion charges in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Johor Bahru to obviously reduce the traffic jams. Dr Zaliha added that congestion charges could reduce traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur by 20% and for every 1% of congestion reduced, it could save the country about RM200 mil in losses. Several cities that have implemented congestion charges successfully such as London, Singapore, Stockholm and New York have been used as case studies to introduce fair congestion charges in the country.
Source: https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/735794
Other than minimising the losses incurred from traffic jams, congestion charges could also be a revenue-generating tool to raise funds for building more public transportation infrastructure. The concept is simple – penalising the use of private vehicles to finance the construction of public transportation. While we are on the topic of public transportation, the Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3), which connects Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia, Klang, is scheduled to begin operations on September 30 this year. The 37.8km LRT3 is at a 98.63% completion rate and once completed, the new line will have 26 stations and cost the Government a whopping RM21.33 bil.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/746009
Shorts
- The Penang Government has approved the construction of the North Coastal Paired Road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, which will have an RM2.43 bil price tag. According to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, the alignment of the new road will avoid densely populated residential areas in certain locations, and about 70% of the road will go through the hills. A mix of alternative financing methods such as land swap agreements and contra agreements based on future developments are utilised with the main contractor Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) to minimise the financial outlay by the Government for the project.
- Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB), in collaboration with the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) and SMH Rail, will launch its new pay-as-you-use leasing model for freight locomotives and wagons. Under this new model, 450 new wagons, each able to ferry 60 tonnes of cargo, are available for leasing. KTMB expects a 10% bump in domestic and cross-border rail freight’s annual growth as a result of this new leasing model.
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2025/02/1181321/ktmb-rolls-out-450-cargo-wagons-flexible-leasing
Around the S.E.A.
The AI war is entering a new phase
- After the launch of the new quantum computing chip by Microsoft recently, Amazon Web Services (AWS) also does not want to be left from the races as the company announced Ocelot, a new quantum computing chip that can reduce the costs of implementing quantum error correction by up to 90%. Quantum computers need to constantly conduct quantum error correction as the computers are very sensitive to the smallest changes, or ‘noise’ in their environment, which leads to errors in the quantum computation being performed. That is why the new Ocelot chip is very important in this quantum computing race, in making quantum computers more affordable in the long run (I hope I did justice to the news as a non-technical person, explaining techy news is like explaining to queer why there are only two genders in this world).
Source: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/quantum-computing-aws-ocelot-chip
- Microsoft is pushing US President Donald Trump to tone down the export restrictions imposed on artificial intelligence chips by former Biden administrations. The ban on AI chip export has led to some US allies such as India and Switzerland not gaining full access to AI technology while at the same time, US-based companies such as Nvidia are struggling as they do not have access to the Chinese market, one of the biggest AI markets in the world, to sell their AI chips.
For your EYES only
Selamat Puasa to all Muslims. I, as a devoted Muslim yang jaga solat lima waktu, will be struggling to find friends next month as most of them will kene ikat already. To those who felt the same way as me, let’s terawih together at Masjid Jalan Duta.
