00:00 [Music]
00:04 The government released its progressive wage white paper on Thursday,
00:07 proposing to implement a pilot project between June and September next year
00:11 that involves a selected number of companies that register to voluntarily participate in it
00:17 with full implementation to be determined later.
00:20 The white paper proposed that in the first year of implementation,
00:23 a progressive wage system to involve those earning a monthly salary
00:26 of between RM1,500 and RM4,999,
00:31 covering some 4 million workers in formal sectors,
00:34 will be limited only to Malaysian citizens.
00:37 Businesses, especially SMEs, are encouraged to participate,
00:41 but MNCs and GLCs are exempted from the project
00:44 as they are deemed paying competitive wages already.
00:47 The white paper also proposed that the government make an annual allocation for cash incentives
00:52 to encourage higher reception from the business sector to participate in progressive wages voluntarily.
00:58 For entry-level posts, participating companies will be eligible to receive cash incentives
01:02 of up to RM200 monthly for 12 months,
01:06 while for non-entry-level posts,
01:08 the incentive rate is proposed to be up to RM300 monthly for 12 months.
01:13 The government allocation for cash incentives will be dependent on Putrajaya's fiscal position
01:17 and progressive wage incentives will be paid out based on a first-come, first-served basis.
01:22 These cash incentives will be paid out after employers submit documents
01:26 related to employees' wages and their participation in skill-upgrading courses
01:32 that the government will identify and certify.
01:34 It is expected that the number of taxpayers will increase by between 37,529 and 84,719 people,
01:42 while the unemployment rate will be reduced by between 0.14 percentage points and 0.35 percentage points,
01:49 depending on how much the government can spare to incentivise adoption of progressive wages.
01:54 During the presentation in the Dewan Rakyat, Economy Minister Rafizieh Ramlee said
01:58 the ministry would prepare salary guidelines to be approved by the Cabinet in the first quarter.
02:03 Subsequently, interested companies could register before the pilot project commences in June 2024.
02:09 Rafizieh explained that the administration decided to start a pilot project involving 1,000 companies
02:14 so that it can fine-tune the weaknesses before expanding it to the whole sector.
02:19 CIMB Group Holdings' third quarter net profit jumped 31% year-on-year to $1.85 billion
02:31 due to strong non-interest income improvement partially offset by weaker net interest income
02:36 due to net interest margin compression from higher cost of deposits.
02:40 Quarterly revenue rose by 6.2% to $5.31 billion from a $4.99 billion ringgit.
02:46 No dividend was declared for the quarter under review.
02:49 CIMB's total gross loans growth momentum continued, rising 6.4% year-on-year to $431.8 billion,
02:56 underpinned by strong demand across markets and segments,
02:59 while total deposits grew 8.6% year-on-year to $490.3 billion,
03:04 despite persistent competition for deposits in all markets.
03:08 Group CEO Dato' Abdul Rahman Ahmad said positive growth was also seen in consumer and commercial banking
03:14 in Malaysia, CIMB digital assets, and across its key markets of Indonesia and Singapore.
03:20 However, he says that the bank remains cautious given the heightened global political risk
03:24 coupled with continued elevated interest environment,
03:27 which is likely to lead to a deceleration of global economic growth.
03:31 Abdul Rahman says that as CIMB approaches the final year of its Forward 23+ strategic plan,
03:37 it remains focused on enhancing its kasa and deposit franchise,
03:41 and growing in its target segment whilst continuing to keep a close watch on cost and asset quality.
03:47 He added that the affluent and wealth management business is among CIMB's focus segments,
03:52 with particular emphasis on transaction banking and the regional ASEAN network business.
03:57 Hong Leong Bank saw its net profit improve 4.93% year-on-year to $1.03 billion for the first quarter,
04:08 on higher contributions from the bank's associates and reversal of impairment losses.
04:13 However, revenue in contrast slipped 7.05% to $1.39 billion from $1.5 billion last year.
04:20 HLB Group MD and CEO Kevin Lam said that the bank had achieved a higher ROE of 12.1%
04:26 for the quarter.
04:28 He added its gross loans and financing portfolio grew 7.2% year-on-year to $181.7 billion,
04:34 led by its growth in mortgage, auto loans, SMEs and commercial banking segments,
04:39 as well as overseas operations.
04:42 Lam said that amid the dynamic business landscape,
04:44 forming new and enhancing existing strategic partnerships will be HLB's top priority,
04:50 as it leverages on its digital expertise.
04:52 He adds that seizing opportunities through new growth engines and building world-class talents
04:57 will enable it to build a robust ASEAN franchise.
05:01 Meanwhile, HLB Group recorded a net profit of $741.6 million for its first quarter,
05:07 up 11% from a year ago, as it saw an improvement across all operating companies
05:12 and reversal of impairment losses.
05:14 Notably, during the quarter, it saw a write-back of impairment losses on loans, advances in financing
05:20 of $51.24 million and higher share of results from its associates.
05:25 Revenue for the quarter slipped 2.38% to $1.56 billion.
05:29 Looking ahead, HLFG says it will remain vigilant and maintain a cautious outlook for the rest of FY2024,
05:36 as global economic headwinds continue to persist,
05:39 said its President and Chief Executive Officer Tan Kong Kun.
05:42 Tan adds that the Group will continue to invest in its human capital,
05:46 accelerate its digitalisation transformation while keeping a sharp focus on risk management
05:51 and further integrate ESG considerations on the way it conducts its business
05:56 to deliver sustainable business performance and long-term value for all stakeholders.
06:01 IHH Healthcare's net profit more than doubled for its third quarter to $532.07 million
06:12 from $251.8 million a year ago, boosted by growth from higher patient volumes
06:18 and revenue from higher acuity treatment.
06:20 Quality revenue also improved, increasing by 27% year-on-year to $5.83 billion,
06:26 underpinned by higher revenue contribution from its hospital and healthcare segment.
06:30 CEO Dr Prem Kumar Naik said the impressive numbers in the third quarter
06:35 clearly reflects the Group's growth trajectory.
06:37 He adds that IHH are dedicated to achieving profitable growth and healthy ROE
06:42 while upholding its commitment to do right by all its stakeholders.
06:46 Following three consecutive quarters of profit,
06:53 Capital A slid into the red for its third quarter, reporting a net loss of RM178.8 million.
07:00 However, on a year-on-year basis, the Group's net loss actually narrowed
07:03 from the RM901.3 million it incurred in the third quarter of FY2022
07:09 on continued improvement in its aviation business,
07:12 as revenue more than doubled to RM4.23 billion from RM1.96 billion.
07:17 The Group's aviation segment reported revenue of over RM3.9 billion for the quarter,
07:21 up 116% from last year on surging domestic and international travel.
07:27 The Group said the strong rebound catapulted revenue to the pre-COVID-19 period,
07:31 with 89% of current capacity and a positive EBITDA margin of 10%
07:36 against an EBITDA margin of 6% in the third quarter of 2022.
07:41 Capital A said passengers carried during the quarter more than doubled
07:44 to RM14.71 million from RM7.12 million a year ago,
07:49 while capacity was up 99% to RM16.49 million.
07:53 Passenger load factor improved to 89% from 86% a year ago.
07:58 Revenue per km increased by 140% to RM17,550 million in the third quarter
08:04 from RM7,323 million a year ago,
08:07 while available seats per km was up 133% to RM19,973 million from RM8,554 million.
08:18 Notably, the average fare fell 7% to RM215,
08:21 while revenue per ASK dropped 14% to RM19.6 from RM22.8.
08:27 Meanwhile, its logistics and digital segments reported improved revenue
08:30 of RM188.86 million and RM121.99 million, respectively.
08:35 (Music)
