EVENING 5: EPF CEO tipped to be finance minister II

The Edge TV

In today’s edition of Evening 5 — EPF CEO Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan is tipped to be finance minister II in a Cabinet reshuffle that sources say will take place tomorrow. Meanwhile, NagaCorp confirms the passing of gambling tycoon Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong due to illness.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:04 Prime Minister Datuk Sri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle tomorrow.

00:09 Sources with knowledge of the matter say the rejig will likely include the appointment of a finance

00:14 minister too. And EPF CEO Datuk Sri Amir Hamzah Azizan is tipped to be the man for the post.

00:21 Amir Hamzah joined the EPF in March 2021. The cabinet reshuffle, which is understood to involve

00:28 several ministries, may also see the return of familiar faces, including Datuk Sri Johari

00:33 Abdul Ghani, Gobind Singh Deo and Datuk Sri Dr Zulkifli Ahmad, the sources said.

00:39 Johari previously held the post of Minister of Finance too,

00:42 from June 2016 to May 2018 under the BN administration.

00:47 Gobind was Communications and Multimedia Minister during the May 2018 to February 2020 PH

00:53 administration, when Dr Zulkifli was the Health Minister. One or two ministries may also see

00:59 their responsibilities swapped with others, the sources further said. The Prime Minister's

01:04 office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

01:08 [Music]

01:13 Hong Kong-listed Nagacorp confirmed the passing of its founder and senior CEO Tan Sri Dr Chen

01:19 Lip Keong. In an announcement published on its own website and the website of Hong Kong

01:24 Exchanges and Clearing, the board of the Mekong region's largest gaming entertainment company said

01:30 Dr Chen had died last Friday due to illness. It expressed its deepest sorrow and heartfelt

01:36 appreciation to Dr Chen for his invaluable leadership, guidance and contribution to the

01:42 group during his tenure of office. One of his sons, Chen Yifon, was redesignated from

01:47 Executive Director to Group CEO effective yesterday. Chen's mattress company, Bursa-listed

01:53 FACB Industries Inc, also announced his demise in a board's filing today. It acknowledged the

01:59 late businessman for his contributions and leadership over his 29 years with the group.

02:05 Based on Forbes Malaysia's 50 richest list for 2023, Dr Chen was the seventh wealthiest man

02:12 in the country with a net worth of US$2.8 billion or RM13.06 billion as at May.

02:18 He was also featured on the cover of Forbes Asia in 2018.

02:22 [Music]

02:28 SuperMek's Corp said shareholders without any management role or position in the company's

02:33 board of directors have no authority to make any official statement on its behalf.

02:38 This follows an article published by The Star last week, which quoted its co-founder,

02:44 Datin Sri Tan Bikyok, as saying that there is a need for a balanced board with more independent

02:49 directors with the right mindset to provide checks and balances to drive the group forward.

02:55 Tan is the wife of Executive Chairman, Datuk Sri Stanley Tai.

02:59 The latest internal criticism towards SuperMek's board's governance surfaced eight months after

03:05 the couple's eldest daughter, Cecile Jaclyn Tai, stepped down as director,

03:09 claiming she had been bullied and silenced by other board members, including her father,

03:14 when she tried to uphold her fiduciary duties.

03:17 Her allegations were later dismissed by SuperMek.

03:20 At the time, she had opposed Stanley's proposal to buy a new aircraft for US$47.39 million

03:27 to replace one that was acquired only a year before.

03:31 Her sister, Aurelia Joey Tai, had also disputed this purchase.

03:35 In the article published last week, Tan pointed to this particular acquisition as one of the main

03:41 causes of SuperMek's continued loss for four consecutive quarters,

03:46 while its peers had returned to the black.

03:48 Shares in YTL Power International rose to their highest since the company's listing in 1997,

04:00 after it announced its partnership with US tech giant NVIDIA Corp.

04:04 to build a RM20 billion AI data center in Johor.

04:09 The counter peaked at RM2.57 before pairing some gains to close at RM2.51

04:15 for a market value of RM20.48 billion.

04:19 Since the start of 2023, it has more than trebled from RM72.

04:24 Meanwhile, shares in its parent company, YTL Corp., also surged in tandem.

04:30 Hitting another all-time high of RM1.88 before closing at RM1.87, valuing it at RM20.61 billion.

04:39 Year-to-date, the stock has soared by 228.07% from 57 cents.

04:46 RHB Investments Bank said today it maintained its buy call on YTL Power

04:51 with a higher target price of RM2.95.

04:53 It highlighted that YTL Power's earnings growth should strengthen

04:58 upon successful delivery of the project in the long run.

05:01 But investors ought to take in note that additional CAPEX requirements ahead could be rather intensive.

05:07 It said it is unable to ascertain the earnings impact of the YTL Power-NVIDIA deal at present.

05:13 An independent advisor said LTT's takeover of a price for Bowstead Plantation is not fair

05:24 but reasonable and recommended that shareholders accept the offer.

05:29 According to Malacca Securities, the offer price of RM1.55 represents a deep discount

05:35 of RM1.05 or 40.4% to the planter's real net asset value of RM2.60,

05:42 but it also gives an exit opportunity to investors.

05:46 In a circular to shareholders today, the research firm said its recommendation

05:50 took into account the historical traded price of the shares

05:54 since its listing on Bursa's main market on June 26, 2014 up to November 10, 2023.

06:02 Malacca Securities noted that since the group's listing up to the date of the notice,

06:07 Bowstead Plantation's shares have traded between RM0.20 and RM1.54.

06:12 It also highlighted that from June 17, 2022 to June 16, 2023,

06:18 the stock fluctuated between RM0.60 and RM0.905 compared to the closing market price as of June 16, 2023.

06:27 Being the last trading date prior to the Edges News report on June 19, 2023,

06:33 the offer price indicates a premium between RM0.66 and RM81.22 per share.

06:39 Malacca Securities said shareholders should note that the current share price may have been

06:44 influenced by the recent developments, and should they choose not to accept the offer,

06:49 they may not be able to readily realise their investment in the open market at current prices.

06:55 Thank you.

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