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00:04 Embattled Chinese developer Country Garden said on Monday that its forest city project in Johor
00:09 was proceeding as planned and it has sufficient assets, despite concerns about its financial
00:14 strength amid debt woes, according to a report by Reuters. This comment by China's largest private
00:20 developer came after it missed two dollar coupon payments this month, totaling 22.5 million US
00:27 dollars, fueling fears that the country's property debt crisis could hamper a broader economic
00:32 recovery and spill overseas. In a statement, Country Garden's Singaporean and Malaysian units
00:37 said that its company's projects in Malaysia are operating normally and the sales performance is
00:43 strong, adding that its overall operations in the region was safe and stable. It added that various
00:50 debt management measures are considered to actively resolve the pressure of periodic liquidity to
00:55 ensure the company's long-term future development, but did not elaborate. Meanwhile, Bang Negara came
01:00 out to say that the current development with Country Garden in China is not expected to pose
01:05 any material impact on the overall property market in Malaysia. The massive forest city project,
01:11 built across four reclaimed islands in Johor, has been beset by challenges since its 2016 launch
01:17 and is now home to about 9,000 people, Reuters reports. Demand fell sharply following China's
01:23 move to stem capital outflows and the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted fears of a housing glut
01:30 and environmental damage from the land reclamation. Country Garden's statement came after
01:34 Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim announced last week that the project would be designated a
01:40 special financial zone to attract investment and help cut the cost of doing business there. Among
01:46 the new incentives offered are a special income tax rate of 15% for skilled workers and multiple
01:52 entry visas. Forest City is a JV with Esplanade Dangar 88, a private company backed by the Johor
01:58 State Government and the Sultan of Johor. The project aims to house 700,000 people by 2035
02:04 in a development that includes office towers, malls and schools, besides residential buildings.
02:10 FGB Holdings recorded a net loss of $12.9 million for its second quarter
02:20 versus a net profit of $374 million a year ago due to lower CPO prices and the impairment loss
02:27 of its Indonesian plantation assets. This is the plantation giant's first quarterly net loss
02:33 since the first quarter of FY 2021 when it posted a $35.4 million net loss. Revenue for the quarter
02:40 also declined by 35% year on year from $7.43 billion in the second quarter of FY 2022 to
02:47 $4.49 billion. The quarterly loss meant that FGB was in the red for the first half with a net loss
02:54 of $805,000 compared with a net profit of $743.3 million in the same period last year. Cumulative
03:02 revenue declined 32% year on year to $9.09 billion. In a statement, FGB said it expects CPO prices to
03:09 remain stable in the near future, ranging between $3,800 and $4,000 per tonne, primarily due to the
03:16 adjustment of Indonesia's CPO export quotas. CEO Dato' Nazro Mansur says that the planter will
03:23 implement key strategic initiatives to mitigate these challenges and enhance productivity and
03:28 anticipates continued improvement throughout the year. FGB said it invested approximately
03:33 $196 million for its ESG initiatives in the first half, including ongoing engagement initiatives
03:40 with independent auditing firm Elevate and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to address
03:45 the suspension of the withhold release order. AirAsiaX posted its fourth consecutive quarterly
03:56 net profit in the second quarter of $5.54 million, a vast improvement to the massive net loss of $652.5
04:03 million it posted the year before. Quarterly revenue soared 379% on the back of a surge in
04:11 international travel as borders reopened and more aircraft were brought back into service.
04:16 During the quarter under review, the company carried a total of 621,984 passengers,
04:23 delivering a surge of 70 times year-on-year with a passenger load factor of 76%. Available
04:30 seat kilometers was recorded 25 times higher year-on-year, standing at 3,509 million,
04:36 with a recovery rate of 42% against the corresponding period in 2019. Compared with
04:41 the same period last year, the number of sectors flown increased by over 27 times,
04:46 from 81 sectors to 2,234 sectors as of June 30, 2023. Looking ahead, CEO Benyamin Ismail said
04:55 the group remains on track to have at least 16 aircraft operational by the fourth quarter
05:00 and is confident that AAX will maximize the positive impact of the market once the peak
05:06 travel season begins in earnest at year-end. He adds that the airline is also driving its
05:11 commercial ambitions with new and improved product offerings across all its revenue
05:15 segments as it works to further enhance its pricing strategy.
05:24 Siam Darby Property has revised up its sales target for FY2023 from 2.3 billion to 2.7 billion
05:32 and its GDV launch target of 3 billion to 4 billion ringgit. It said this in a statement
05:37 to The Boss when announcing that its net profit for the second quarter fell 32% year-on-year to
05:42 71.1 million due to a higher share of losses from joint ventures. In contrast, revenue for the
05:49 quarter actually improved to 688.9 million from 615.6 million a year ago. Siam Prop also declared
05:57 an interim dividend of one cent per share. It was a similar story for the first half,
06:01 where net profit declined 16% to 131.7 million despite revenue growing by 26% year-on-year
06:09 from 1.09 billion to 1.37 billion ringgit. Siam Prop said it had recorded sales totaling 1.5
06:16 billion, representing 65% of its previously lower 2.3 billion sales target. It said the
06:22 industrial segment was the key contributor, with 40% of 597 million of total sales achieved in
06:30 the first half. Group Managing Director Dato' Azmir Merikan said in the face of current market
06:35 dynamics, the developer strategy is rooted in understanding market nuances and consumer demand.
06:41 He says this has allowed it to pivot effectively and capitalize on areas of growth,
06:45 while maintaining consistency in its offerings. On the outlook for the rest of the year,
06:50 Siam Prop says it is confident that the strong momentum it saw
06:53 in the first half will continue into the second half.
06:56 Mercury Securities Group, which is slated for listing on the ACE market on September 19,
07:05 expects better revenue recognition from the margin financing component of its stockbroking business
07:11 post its initial public offering. Managing Director Qiu Xingguan based its confidence
07:16 on the margin financing business's compounded annual growth rate of 36% from FY2019 to FY2022.
07:25 Mercury Securities has allocated 26.86 million from its total targeted IPO proceeds of 39.27
07:32 million to expand this part of its business. The proceeds are based on the issuance of 157.09
07:38 million shares at an issue price of 25 cents per share. Qiu explains that Mercury Securities is
07:44 using internally generated funds to give out credit facility, but the IPO proceeds will allow
07:49 it to expand the provision of the margin financing facility to its existing and new stockbroking
07:55 clients. On the corporate finance segment of the business, Qiu said the IPO component is the
08:00 profitable part at the moment, adding that the group is currently engaged with eight more companies
08:05 to assist them on their listing journey. In 2022, Mercury Securities facilitated five IPO exercises,
08:12 of which one was for the main market, while two were listed on the ACE market,
08:16 and the remaining two were on the LEAP market.
