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00:04 Acting Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, Dato' Armizan Muhammad Ali,
00:08 has called on consumers to immediately file complaints regarding rising prices of goods,
00:13 including rice, in order to facilitate enforcement actions.
00:17 He also reminded consumers to provide necessary details for review
00:21 before enforcement officers take further action against the irresponsible parties.
00:25 According to Armizan, the Ministry had received 142 complaints
00:29 regarding rice price increases nationwide through Objamin, which was launched in July.
00:35 Meanwhile, rising food prices are likely to prove an additional concern for central bankers
00:39 trying to subdue inflation as the cost of rice, a staple food in Asia,
00:44 surges the most since 2009, according to HSBC Holdings.
00:48 Economists led by Fredrik Newman said in a research note on Friday
00:52 that the memory of the 2008 Asian food price scarce sits deep, Bloomberg reports.
00:57 The note said that rising rice prices in some economies quickly spilled over into other markets
01:02 as consumers and governments across the region scrambled to secure supplies.
01:07 It also lifted the prices of other staples, such as wheat, as buyers shifted to alternatives.
01:13 Export prices for rice from Thailand, a global benchmark,
01:16 jumped to more than US$600 per tonne and almost 50% year-on-year increase.
01:22 Global rice imports as a share of consumption have roughly doubled over the past 25 years.
01:27 And according to Newman, a disruption to one economy could have much bigger spillovers.
01:32 Malaysia and the Philippines are the two Asian economies most reliant on rice imports,
01:37 followed by Korea and Taiwan, while other economies such as Indonesia are exposed too.
01:42 Ramsey Healthcare says that it has received a number of non-binding indicative offers
01:52 for its healthcare JV with Saimdabi, namely Ramsey Saimdabi Healthcare.
01:57 According to the Australian Group, a selected number of parties are now in a due diligence process
02:02 expected to conclude towards the end of October.
02:05 Ramsey announced to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday that if a sale proceeds,
02:11 the funds received will be used to pay down drawn debt.
02:14 It said it aims to lower the funding group's leverage ratio to below 2.5 times as at June 2024.
02:20 This confirms a report earlier this week by The Edge Weekly
02:23 where the sale was understood to have generated interest among major healthcare players in Asia.
02:29 Citing sources, the report said the suitors included Columbia Asia, Sunway Healthcare Holdings,
02:35 Bangkok Dusset Medical Services, Bomrunggar Hospital and possibly even Apollo Global Management.
02:40 In an email response to The Edge, Saimdabi said as the assessment process is currently ongoing,
02:45 it would be premature to elaborate on any specific details.
02:50 [Music]
02:55 Norges Bank, which manages Norway's government pension fund Global,
02:59 has emerged as a substantial shareholder of Chaiyamatasarva after acquiring 50.05 million shares
03:05 or a 5.03% stake in the Sarovar-based company.
03:09 According to CMS's filing on the bourse, Norges Bank bought the shares on September 8
03:13 but did not disclose the price.
03:15 Based on the company's closing price of RM1.05 on September 8,
03:19 a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that Norges Bank could have acquired the stake
03:24 for about RM56.75 million.
03:27 In a statement on Friday, CMS, citing Norges Bank's website,
03:31 said that the value of the bank's investment stood at RM15.3 billion or RM6.7 billion
03:37 as of June 2023, making it the largest single owner of the world's stock markets.
03:43 Norges Bank is currently the fifth-largest shareholder of the cement manufacturer
03:47 after Sarawak Economic Development Corp, Lembaga Tabong Haji,
03:51 the family of Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri and former CM Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud's late wife,
03:57 Puan Sri Laila Taib, and Majaharta, according to Bloomberg data.
04:01 It is worth noting that Abdul Taib's son sits on CMS's board,
04:05 where Datuk Sri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib is Deputy Chairman
04:08 and Datuk Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib is MD.
04:12 [Music]
04:17 National Carrier Malaysia Airlines aims to fully restore its full meal service
04:21 by mid-November this year after meals for certain domestic and international routes
04:26 were disrupted as it transitions to new catering service providers from September 1st.
04:31 In a statement on Friday, Malaysia Airlines announced the reinstatement of hot meal services on board,
04:36 its domestic and international routes affected by the recent catering transition,
04:41 with the arrival of 10 new high-lift trucks ahead of schedule.
04:44 It had earlier expected to bring back its hot F&B offerings on all its flights from the third week of September.
04:50 The airline anticipates the arrival of another 10 high-lifts in the coming months,
04:54 while proactively enhancing and fine-tuning its prepackaged meal components in the interim.
05:00 Since September 11th, Malaysia Airlines said it had reintroduced simplified hot meals
05:04 for business class passengers on the Bangkok and Denpasar routes.
05:08 However, starting from Friday, economy class passengers travelling to Bangkok and Denpasar,
05:13 as well as passengers on all cabin classes on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, Manila and Hong Kong,
05:20 will also be served hot meals.
05:22 To recap, on August 30th, Malaysia Airlines announced that it was ending its long-standing in-flight catering partnership
05:28 with Brahim's Food Services after a thorough and prolonged negotiation period.
05:33 The national carrier resorted to eight new F&B supplies, including Post Aviation and Masawana Services,
05:40 to cook its in-flight meals from September 1st.
05:43 However, this was not without backlash from passengers who revolted
05:46 after being served prepacked food instead of freshly prepared in-flight meals.
05:51 Fertility care specialist Alpha IVF Group is planning an initial public offering on the ACE market
06:01 to fund new medical centres as well as expand and upgrade its existing ones.
06:06 According to its draft prospectus on Bursa Malaysia, the exercise will involve a public issue of
06:11 354.5 million new shares or 7.5% based on the enlarged share total of $4.86 billion after the IPO.
06:20 Some 234 million shares will be available to institutional shareholders.
06:25 As a fertility care specialist, the group focuses on the provision of assisted reproductive services in Malaysia and Singapore,
06:32 including intracytoplasmic sperm injection and interuterine insemination.
06:37 It has two specialist centres in Malaysia and one in Singapore that provides in vitro fertilisation services
06:43 with customers from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China.
06:48 The group also plans to use its proceeds on R&D, general working capital and corporate purposes,
06:53 as well as defraying listing expenses.
06:56 The group made a net profit of 43.4 million in the financial period ended February 2023,
07:01 with a revenue of RM99.56 million.
07:05 Alpha IVF is 61.68% controlled by its Executive Director and Group Managing Director,
07:10 Datuk Dr Colin Lee Soon Soo, who will trim down his stake to 43.16% post the IPO.
07:17 On its dividend policy, the board intends to recommend and distribute a dividend of at least 60% of its annual audited PAT
07:24 attributable to the shareholders of the group.
07:27 [Music]
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