EVENING 5: Advanced battery firm Enovix to invest RM5.8 bil in M’sia

The Edge TV

In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Nasdaq-listed Enovix Corp has committed to investing RM5.8 bil in Malaysia over the next 15 years. Meanwhile, Salutica is accusing tech giant Apple of patent infringement in a suit filed in Singapore.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:04 NASDAQ-listed Inovix Corp., an advanced silicon battery company,

00:07 will invest a total of US$1.2 billion or RM5.8 billion in Malaysia over a period of 15 years,

00:15 which includes the RM315 million manufacturing line announced in August.

00:19 CEO AJ Marathe said that after three decades of personally working closely

00:24 with the Malaysian government authorities

00:26 and having successfully built and run several large factories,

00:30 choosing Malaysia for its first high-volume manufacturing facility

00:34 was an easy decision according to him.

00:37 He cites Malaysia's deep pool of technical talent, business-friendly environment,

00:40 and close proximity to manufacturing facilities of Inovix's vendors and customers

00:45 as reasons why the country is an ideal location.

00:49 The manufacturing line, co-partnered with YBS International, will be located in Penang.

00:54 Inovix Malaysia is currently in the process of installing its machinery,

00:58 and this is projected to be fully operational in 2024, it said in a statement.

01:03 The company's investment plan was disclosed to Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim

01:08 during a one-on-one meeting held at the sidelines of the

01:11 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Week 2023.

01:15 Investment, trade and industry minister Tunku Datuk Sri Zafrul Abdul Aziz

01:19 said Inovix's establishment of the high-tech battery technology facility in Malaysia

01:24 is in perfect alignment with the missions of the new industrial master plan 2030.

01:30 He adds that it promises significant spillover impact,

01:33 notably the creation of substantial high-quality job opportunities for Malaysians

01:38 and the enhancement of the nation's industrial landscape.

01:41 Inovix is headquartered in the US, with locations in India, South Korea and Malaysia.

01:46 Inovix's battery technology application extends to the internet of things,

01:51 mobile computing devices and vehicles.

01:53 Pekka Group, who saw record profits and revenue for the past three financial years,

02:02 says it is confident of maintaining its earnings momentum

02:06 with another set of all-time high figures in the upcoming FY 2024.

02:10 CEO Fu Qianni said that the automotive upholstery maker expects to do

02:15 even better than the previous year,

02:17 supported by a strong three to six months' backlog of orders received from the carmakers.

02:22 The Malaysian Automotive Association has projected the country's total car sales

02:27 to rise to a new record of 725,000 units in 2023 from 720,658 in 2022.

02:37 Pekka is constructing its second manufacturing plant in Serendah Selangor,

02:41 which is expected to commence operations by mid-2025.

02:45 Fu says upon completion, the group's annual capacity will double to between 400,000 and 480,000 seats.

02:53 Fu said the brand is looking to expand its market by venturing into the luxury car brands market.

02:58 Currently, Pekka equips leather upholstery car seat covers for Purdua,

03:02 Proton, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Nissan.

03:05 For its first quarter, Pekka saw its net profit spike by 56% year-on-year to $13 million

03:11 from $8.35 million previously due to higher sales volume from its automotive segment.

03:17 Top line grew by 17% year-on-year to $64 million.

03:20 United Plantations recorded a 19.8% improvement year-on-year for its third quarter net profit,

03:33 which came in at $235.68 million,

03:36 thanks largely due to lower operating and income tax expenses.

03:40 This was despite quarterly revenue declining by 17% to $540.2 million from $649.6 million

03:47 amid lower average crude palm oil and palm kernel prices

03:51 and the easing of its share results from joint ventures.

03:54 The group declared an 80-cent dividend for its FY2023,

03:58 comprising an interim payout of 40 cent per share and an extraordinary dividend of 40 cent per share.

04:04 UP noted that palm oil prices, which ranged between $3,637 and $4,209 per tonne in the third quarter,

04:12 have come under pressure amid the seasonal increase in production in Malaysia and Indonesia

04:16 in tandem with stocks rising to its highest in more than a year.

04:20 As such, UP said it is mindful of the challenges which the final part of 2023 will bring

04:26 amid consequences of higher inflation and recession fears

04:30 and the escalation of global conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

04:33 In the meantime, the group said it will continue to direct further attention

04:37 to implementing greater level of mechanisation and to complete its replanting programme

04:41 to take full advantage of its latest high-yielding planting materials

04:45 produced by its research department.

04:47 Salutiqah, which is involved in a legal suit with Apple's unit in Malaysia

04:56 for alleged patent infringement, on Thursday filed a similar suit

05:00 against the US tech giant's Singapore-based subsidiary, Apple South Asia.

05:04 The new suit filed at the Singapore's High Court by Salutiqah's wholly-owned unit,

05:08 Salutiqah Allied Solutions, which manufactures mobile communication products,

05:13 wireless electronics and lifestyle devices,

05:15 and vertical integration processes covering design and development.

05:19 SAS is seeking, among others, a declaration that its patent is valid

05:24 and has been infringed by Apple South Asia,

05:26 and an injunction to restrain the Apple firm from making, disposing,

05:30 using, importing or keeping products that infringe the patent.

05:34 SAS is also seeking an inquiry on damages, or alternatively, at SAS's option,

05:40 an account of profits made by the Apple unit arising from the alleged infringement of the patent.

05:45 It explained in a boss filing that the FOBO tag and the FOBO tyre,

05:50 which are SAS's own products, incorporates a number of Bluetooth technologies

05:55 invented and/or developed by SAS.

05:57 Salutiqah said SAS had, on November 6, 2023, through its Singaporean solicitors, Amical Law,

06:04 issued a letter of demand to Apple South Asia in respect of the alleged infringement of the patent.

06:10 Salutiqah said the new suit in Singapore is not expected to have

06:12 any operational impact on the group and SAS.

06:15 In addition, apart from the amount claimed by SAS and the corresponding legal costs,

06:20 the suit is not expected to have any material financial impact on the company for FY 2024.

06:25 An economist on Thursday urged the government to deliver on its promises of reforms that

06:35 would eventually strengthen investors' confidence in the country's prospects

06:39 and potentially stem weakness in the local currency.

06:43 Socioeconomic Research Centre Executive Director Lee Heng Kui said that while the current weakness

06:48 in the ringgit mainly due to a strong US dollar and interest rate differential,

06:52 capital flow data indicated that confidence also plays a role.

06:56 Speaking at the Deloitte TaxMax seminar on Budget 2024,

07:00 Lee explained that with the widening gap between the US Treasury bonds and

07:03 Malaysian government securities, investors will continue to take money out from Malaysia

07:08 and put it stateside, and that will continue to cause the capital outflow.

07:12 With broad expectation that the ringgit would continue to weaken,

07:15 Lee said exporters might not dare to convert their export proceeds into local currency

07:20 even if they have repatriated these monies back into the country.

07:24 He adds that the government has to continue to improve the country's fundamentals

07:28 so that not only domestic investors will put their money here,

07:31 but it will attract new FDI to come, and naturally it will support the ringgit over time.

07:36 Lee says that while fundamentally the country is "not that bad",

07:39 there are certain elements of goodwill needed.

07:41 The ringgit is among the weakest-performing currencies in Asia

07:44 amid the US's rate hike and a strengthening greenback.

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