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00:04 Raising the overnight policy rate is not the only solution for addressing the depreciation of the ringgit,
00:09 according to Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim.
00:12 Diverging from the approaches taken by countries such as Turkey and Argentina
00:16 that raise their benchmark interest rates to stabilize their devalued currencies,
00:21 Anwar pointed out that Malaysia's economic indicators such as inflation and unemployment rates
00:26 are still relatively low, while the economy and investments are steadily growing.
00:31 In Parliament, various MPs had questions about the state of the ringgit,
00:34 which has now slipped to some 4.76 to the USD, to a near 25-year low.
00:40 Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, reiterated the government's medium and
00:44 long-term plan to strengthen the ringgit, including increasing trade in the local currency,
00:50 a strategy known as de-dollarization.
00:52 Anwar said the transition to local currencies in trade has shown promising progress,
00:57 with 25% of total trade with China conducted in ringgit and RMB.
01:02 Meanwhile, panellists at the RAM Forum 2023 said that raising the OPR
01:07 is not an effective tool in strengthening the ringgit.
01:10 Maybank IB Head of Fixed Income Research, Winson Foon,
01:13 explained raising the OPR might not yield the desired outcome,
01:17 especially when the US continues to tighten its monetary policy.
01:21 Bank Muammarlat Malaysia Chief Economist Dr Muhammad Afzal Nizam Abdul Rashid is also against
01:27 the idea of increasing the OPR as it could potentially lead to adverse economic consequences.
01:33 Instead, he suggested looking into strengthening policies
01:36 as an approach to shore up the weakening ringgit.
01:39 The last time Bank Negara raised the OPR was in May,
01:42 instituting a 25-basis point hike to 3% from 2.75%.
01:46 The central bank will hold its last Monetary Policy Committee meeting for this year
01:51 on November 1st and 2nd.
01:53 Bursa Malaysia's net profit for the third quarter rose 20.5% year-on-year to $60.4 million
02:04 on the back of improved trading revenue from the securities market.
02:08 Revenue improved 13% year-on-year to $158.7 million from $140.4 million previously,
02:15 mainly due to a 26% rise in securities market trading revenue to $70.4 million.
02:21 The rise in this segment's trading revenue was due to the securities market's higher
02:25 average daily trade value on market trades and direct business trades,
02:29 which increased by 28% to $2.24 billion from $1.75 billion previously.
02:36 Going into the final quarter of 2023,
02:38 Bursa said it is optimistic about meeting its announced headline KPIs for the financial year,
02:44 including PBT of between $295 million and $326 million,
02:49 as well as year-on-year non-trading revenue growth of 5% to 7%.
02:53 The market operator also pointed out that while the initial public offering market capitalization
02:58 KPI has already been achieved, the exchange is expected to register 31 IPOs for the full year
03:05 against the target of 39 IPOs, mainly attributable by lower lead market listings.
03:10 As companies are assessing the lead market transfer framework before making decisions
03:15 on their listings. Breaking down the IPOs, there are seven for main market,
03:19 23 for ace market and one for lead market.
03:22 Troubled My Airlines says it is currently in advanced negotiations with two potential
03:32 investors out of more than 15 proposals received as they aim to finalize a recapitalization package
03:38 that will help to resurrect their operations, which have been suspended for over two weeks
03:43 since October 12th. In an update statement, the airline said that its team is
03:48 "working around the clock" to finalize a recapitalization package, which would also
03:52 facilitate the reimbursement of monies to affected passengers, as well as payment of salary and
03:58 statutory dues. With reference to the show-cause notices issued by the Civil Aviation Authority
04:03 Malaysia and the Malaysian Aviation Commission, My Airlines said that it has formally responded
04:08 to these two agencies last week within the deadlines. On the matter of refunds, the airline
04:14 said it has received over 30,000 calls and emails which are being attended to by its customer care
04:20 team. My Airlines reiterated that it has not terminated or placed any staff on unpaid leave
04:25 since October 12th. It said that besides setting up an internal tabong isan to collect donations
04:31 from within My Airline for employees most adversely affected, My Airline has also made
04:36 arrangements with Perkeso for its employees to apply for the employee insurance scheme
04:41 to ease their financial burden during this period. My Airline is currently racing to
04:46 final white night ahead of a November 14th deadline, which is the expiry of its air
04:51 service license, to shore up its capital and avoid a shutdown.
05:00 CIMB Group Holdings and Japanese finance company J Trust are among firms vying to buy Indonesia's
05:06 PT Bank Commonwealth in a deal that could value the lender at 400 million US dollars
05:12 to 500 million US dollars, said two sources with knowledge of the matter, according to Reuters.
05:17 Bank Commonwealth, which is 99% owned by Australia's biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank
05:22 of Australia, focuses on retail lending as well as corporate banking services for small and medium
05:28 enterprises. Morgan Stanley, the financial advisor on the sale, has asked bidders to submit binding
05:34 offers by early November, the sources added, declining to be identified as the planned sale
05:39 had not been publicly disclosed. CIMB and J Trust have expressed interest and are looking at
05:44 submitting binding bids, the sources said. It is worth noting that both companies have banking
05:49 units in Indonesia. The lender, which also provides wealth management services, had total
05:55 assets of IDR 18.39 trillion last year, according to its annual report. It logged a loss of more
06:01 than IDR 350.8 billion in 2022, more than double a year earlier, the report said,
06:08 citing challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
06:11 MISC has backed a contract to supply, operate and maintain a liquefied natural gas floating
06:21 storage unit in Pengerang Johor with an estimated contract value of up to USD 213.7 million or
06:28 IDR 1.02 billion. The group said it has entered into a binding heads of agreement with Pengerang
06:34 LNG 2, a 65% owned unit of Petronas Gas, to supply, operate and maintain the FSU. According
06:41 to MISC, it will convert one of its Puteri 1-class LNG carriers, namely Puteri Delima 1, which
06:47 completed her long-term charter in early 2023 and is currently in layup into the FSU for the
06:54 above-mentioned provision. The agreement is valid for a period of 20 years from the expected
06:59 operation date of 2025 and may be extended for a period to be agreed between the parties.
07:04 MISC currently operates two FSUs as well as six floating production, storage and
07:09 offloading vessels and five other floating storage and offloading vessels.
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