- Putrajaya to introduce a new PPP model in order to reduce its fiscal burden.
- EVs will be getting a new car plate that will make you confused whether we are in Malaysia or Europe.
- Thailand is clawing its way from becoming the poor-performing economy in the region.
IN Malaysia
Putrajaya introducing a new public-private partnership model (PPP) model
Putrajaya has just launched the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Masterplan 2030 (Pikas 2030) which has three main aims – 1) To increase private investment to RM78 bil by 2030; 2) For PPP projects to contribute RM82 bil to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP); 3) For PPP projects to generate 900,000 job opportunities by 2030. How will they achieve the objectives? One of the ways is to enforce and prioritise PPP projects that have gone through a competitive bidding process via requests for proposals as this process will ‘enhance competition, innovation, service quality, and provide the best value-adding to the government and the people’.
Another interesting method of how the Government intend to achieve the objectives of Pikas 2030 is to put more weight on the ‘user-pay’ model in PPP projects. User pays, or beneficiary pays, is a pricing approach based on the idea that the most efficient allocation (and consumption) of resources occurs when consumers pay the full cost of the goods that they consume. Notable PPP projects such as the North-South Expressway (PLUS) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) are prime examples of projects deploying the ‘user-pay’ model.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/726024
Transport news
- During an autonomous electric bus showcase at Futurise Centre in Cyberjaya, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the Government is mulling introducing a new legal framework to govern autonomous vehicles (AV) on the road, as the days of such vehicles becoming commercial is getting closer and closer. According to Loke, there are no specific laws governing AV except for the Guideline for Public Road Trials of Autonomous Vehicles. The law may need to come sooner rather than later as the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART), which is also a subset of AV, will be operational by the end of 2027. Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, who was with Loke at the same event, stated that AV is also deemed as one of the 40 use cases for 5G technology in Malaysia. Currently, in a collaboration between Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), Ericsson and eMooVit Technology Sdn Bhd, an AV bus’ proof-of-concept (POC) will be conducted in Putrajaya starting on September 23, where the buses will be covering a distance of 1,000 kilometres.
- In making its moves into the North African markets, Proton Holdings Bhd has got the ball rolling for its assembly operations of a completely-knocked-down (CKD) Proton Saga in Egypt. Together with its local partner, Ezz Elarab Elsewedy Automotive Factories, the CKD operations will commence in December 2024. RM570 mil is expected to be generated from the CKD operations in Egypt for the first three years, not including an additional RM20 mil earned from parts export.
- Malaysia is being ‘whitewashed’ as the Transport Ministry announced a new special licence plate (RPK, or rekaan plat khas). The new plates that have a white background, black font, and green stripe on the left with a Malaysian flag in it mimic the European plate a lot. The ala-Eropah plates will be made compulsory for all new EVs for now, with a plan to make it compulsory across the board for all types of vehicles soon. However, no timeline was given for the latter. Currently, Malaysia is among 5% of the countries left using traditional plates globally, and it is looking to gradually move away from that.
Kereta Malaysia bakal dapat design plet nombor baru.
Background putih, font hitam, ada strip warna di kiri, bendera Malaysia. Sebiji macam plet nombor kereta di Eropah. Ada cip RFID juga.
Pada mulanya, hanya kereta EV pakai ni, tapi lepastu semua kereta jenis lain boleh pakai. pic.twitter.com/x13APuAe0v
— Paul Tan (@paultantk) September 9, 2024
The war between Sarawak and PETRONAS is still at bay, for now
Sarawak Premier Abang Johari said that Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) and PETRONAS are still at the discussion table in regard to the supervision rights of oil and gas (O&G) trading in the state, with an October 1 deadline looming ahead. Abang Johari reassured the public that even if Petros assumed the role as the sole gas aggregator in Sarawak, long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts with partners like South Korea and Japan would be unaffected. Sarawak accounts for close to 90% of Malaysia’s national LNG exports, and PETRONAS has held sole rights over the buying and selling of the resource with a heavy reliance on long-term supply agreements with international buyers, particularly from Japan. The loss of this right may affect PETRONAS’ ability to pay the ‘chonky’ annual dividends to Putrajaya.
Around the S.E.A.
Thailand is in trouble but starting to crawl its way out
- In its bid to revitalise the stagnant economy (which only grew 2.3% in 2Q2024), Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat announced that the USD13.29 bil short-term economic stimulus in the form of a digital wallet handout will be disbursed earlier than scheduled, with the first phase of USD4.2 bil will be distributed this month. This handout program will transfer THB 10,000 (USD 295) to 50 mil Thais.
- Thailand is also pushing ahead with its plans to build casinos after being given the green light during a public hearing, where 80% of participants agreed with the plan. Previously, several Thai governments have pushed to legalise gambling to try to boost jobs and state revenues and draw more foreign tourists, but each attempt met pushback from conservatives in the Buddhist-majority country. However, the path is clear now to establish Thailand as the new Asia’s Las Vegas after Macao and Singapore.
Shorts
- Panasonic Holdings Corp is undergoing final preparations for the mass production of its high-capacity electric-vehicle (EV) batteries with the aim of supplying those batteries to automakers. Its recently renovated plant in the Wakayama prefecture in Japan will serve as the main factory for producing the 4,680 cells. According to Tesla’s supplier, the 4,680 cells have five times the capacity of its smaller 2,170 cylindrical batteries.
- During an election rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, Donald Trump pledged to penalise countries that start to move away from using the US Dollar by imposing a 100% tariff on its goods. At the moment, US Dollars still account for 59% of official foreign exchange reserves in 1Q2024. Malaysia is actively pursuing the de-dollarisation policy with Ringgit and the respective countries’ currencies are already in use in some bilateral trades with China, Thailand and Indonesia. Perhaps it is a good move to join BRICS as the US is getting more and more hostile.
For your EYES only
After a fairly successful initial public offering (IPO) yesterday, 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd is now the 32nd largest firm by market capitalisation, with a valuation of RM15.79 bil, based on its closing share price of RM1.88, 13.94% higher than its IPO price. The IPO of 99 Speed Mart, Malaysia’s largest in seven years, raised a total of RM2.36 bil, making 99 Speed Mart’s founder cum CEO Lee Thiam Wah and his wife Ng Lee Tieng instant billionaires, pocketing RM1.7 bil.
99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd launched Malaysia’s largest public offering (IPO) in the past seven years today, 9 September. 💰 📈
The founder of 99 Speed Mart will net a whopping RM1.7 billion from the sale, minting his status as a billionaire. 🏦 🤩 pic.twitter.com/tZBZPiH4Ec
— Wiki Impact (@wikiimpact) September 9, 2024
