00:00 [Music]
00:04 Taekwoon Tan Sri Lim Kang Hu is proposing to group together similar business segments
00:08 from his stable of companies under Ecovest as part of a plan to streamline and rationalise
00:13 the businesses and assets, consolidate his direct shareholding and avoid the issue of
00:18 potential conflict of interest, creating an enlarged conglomerate under Ecovest.
00:23 Lim is a major shareholder of Ecovest, Nusford, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings and Iskandar Waterfront City,
00:29 while Ecovest also owns approximately 62% in PLS Plantation.
00:34 The public-listed company said that they had received a letter from Lim dated September 27,
00:39 written in his personal capacity as a major shareholder for the board's consideration.
00:44 This exercise is also designed to eliminate many of the existing recurring related party transactions
00:49 and transfer pricing concerns among the companies moving forward.
00:53 Lim outlined four proposals to achieve the objectives.
00:56 The first is a proposed merger of the construction businesses of Ecovest and Nusford
01:01 to be satisfied via the issuance of new ordinary shares in Nusford
01:05 at a proposed issue price of 60 cent per new Nusford share.
01:08 The second involves the proposed acquisition by Ecovest of three parcels of land
01:13 with approximately 17 acres located in Johor Bahru,
01:16 intended for potential two transit-oriented development
01:19 along the alignment for the JB Singapore Rapid Transit System Link.
01:24 The purchase consideration payable by Ecovest to the vendors of ToT2 and ToT3
01:28 is proposed to be satisfied via the combination of cash
01:32 and the issuance of new ordinary shares in Ecovest
01:34 at the proposed price of 60 cent per new Ecovest share.
01:38 The third proposal involves the acquisition by Ecovest of at least 51% or more
01:43 of the issued share capital of Credence Resources,
01:46 which presently holds 63.13% in IWH, which in turn holds 34.29% in IWCity.
01:53 The final proposal involves the merger of properties and assets of IWH and IWCity
01:59 under a single entity through the acquisition by IWCity
02:02 of the entire issued share capital of all the existing direct subsidiaries of IWH.
02:08 According to Lim's statement, the various corporate proposals are not intended to be
02:12 conditional or interconditional upon each other
02:14 and will be implemented separately and independently if deemed fit
02:18 by the Board of Directors of the respective companies.
02:21 [Music]
02:26 The High Court has upheld the US$681 million Marivah injunction imposed by 1MDB
02:32 on former PM Datuk Sri Najib Razak.
02:34 This follows Judge Atan Mustafa Yusof Ahmad dismissing Najib's application
02:39 to set aside the injunction as the court found that 1MDB has stated a case of
02:43 "unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, knowing and dishonest receipt,
02:48 and misfeasance of public offence and others against Najib."
02:51 The judge added that the plaintiffs, namely 1MDB and its subsidiary company,
02:56 have unquestionably met the standard considering the evidence and legal arguments
03:00 presented before the court.
03:02 Atan Mustafa said the SRC International Criminal Trial findings
03:06 are relevant to this Marivah injunction application,
03:08 casting doubt on Najib's explanation of the funds as Arab donations.
03:13 On dealing with Najib's ongoing 1MDB Tanore trial having impeded the former PM's ability,
03:18 to disclose his defence, the judge found such assertion to be problematic
03:23 and at odds with established legal protocols.
03:25 He adds that Najib's reliance on the right to remain silent appears less a legitimate legal
03:30 argument and more of a strategic evasion, meriting further scrutiny of potential dishonesty.
03:36 The court also found the second Marivah injunction not oppressive as alleged by the defence,
03:41 as the court is permitted to impose successive injunctions
03:44 when the factual and legal underpinnings between claims differ significantly.
03:48 Kemuda's annual net profit crossed the $1 billion mark for FY2023 after it posted a 128%
04:00 year-on-year increase to $1.84 billion from $806.2 million in FY2022,
04:07 largely due to the gains it booked from the divestment of its highways.
04:11 Annual revenue soared 68% year-on-year to $8.23 billion as its overseas construction
04:16 revenue surged fourfold due to a significant pickup in work progress in its Australia and
04:22 Taiwan projects. Revenue for the fourth quarter spiked 84% year-on-year to $3.42 billion,
04:27 which was a contrast to net profit for the quarter, which declined marginally
04:31 by 1.4% to $251.8 million from $255.2 million.
04:38 Kemuda highlighted that its construction order book has reached an all-time high of $21 billion,
04:43 while property sales rose to a record $4.1 billion. Looking ahead, Kemuda said it anticipates
04:49 next year's performance to be driven by overseas construction activities as projects in Australia
04:55 and Taiwan continue to gather pace. It elaborates that the group's resilience is underpinned by its
05:00 large order book that includes a $4.4 billion order book boost from the acquisition of downer
05:05 transport projects in Australia and unbilled property sales of $6.7 billion. Kemuda adds
05:11 that it also has a healthy balance sheet with a comfortable net gearing of 25%,
05:16 which is well below its self-imposed gearing limit of 70%.
05:25 Median monthly salaries and wages rose 7.7% in 2022 to $2,424 from $2,250 in 2021,
05:35 after Malaysia implemented the minimum wage of $1,500 in May last year, according to the
05:40 Department of Statistics Malaysia. In a statement, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin
05:47 attributed the increase also to continuous economic and social activities, supported by
05:52 increasing tourist arrivals and improvements in the labour market, especially in the services
05:57 sector. He said about 50% of full-time citizen workers received salaries and wages of $2,424
06:04 and below in 2022. Likewise, the mean monthly salaries and wages received by Malaysians in 2022
06:11 rose by 5.8%, registering $3,212 compared with $3,037 in 2021. By economic activity, all sectors
06:21 recorded increases in mean monthly salaries and wages in 2022. According to DOSM, the services
06:27 sector, the largest sector in the economy, recorded the highest number of salary and wage recipients,
06:33 particularly in the sub-sector of wholesale and retail trade activities, education, F&B and
06:39 accommodation. The mean monthly salaries and wages for skilled employees also increased by 3.7%,
06:45 registering an additional $177 to $5,025 compared to $4,848 in 2021. The low-skilled category,
06:55 which includes elementary workers, also increased by $66 to $1,815 as compared to $1,749 in the
07:04 previous year. By states, Putrajaya recorded the highest mean monthly salaries and wages at $4,666,
07:12 while four other states surpassed the national mean of $3,212, namely Kuala Lumpur, Selangor,
07:19 Labuan and Pulau Pinang.
07:21 Capital A has entered into three memoranda of understanding with long-term rival PT Garuda
07:31 Indonesia, Persero, to partner in both parties' commercial airline, cargo, as well as for their
07:36 maintenance, repair and overhaul business. Both will explore network expansion in commercial
07:41 airline through their airline arms AirAsia Aviation Group and PT CityLink Indonesia,
07:46 logistic services between Teleport Everywhere and Garuda Indonesia Cargo,
07:51 and aircraft maintenance between Asia Digital Engineering and GMF AeroAsia.
07:56 At the signing ceremony in Jakarta, Garuda President and CEO Irfan Setia Putra said both
08:01 parties will begin their collaboration through interlining between their commercial airline
08:06 services as the first step before embarking on code sharing in the future. Capital A CEO Tan Sri
08:12 Tony Fernandes says that this collaboration has set the standard that airlines can work together
08:17 while also competing, commending Garuda for having the guts to do something different.
08:22 In a boss filing, Capital A said that this arrangement with Garuda marks the first bilateral
08:26 interline agreement for AirAsia and will leverage on the depth of CityLink's domestic network and
08:31 the breadth of AirAsia's international routes. The group explains that once the infrastructure
08:35 interline is ready for operations by the first quarter of 2024, travelers would be able to
08:40 check through baggage from origin to destination on a single boarding pass for seamless transfer
08:46 through integrated services. According to the filing, the MOUs are not legally binding and do
08:50 not constitute agreements, have no commercial value and are executed by the parties in good faith.
08:56 [Music]
