Summary of business stories June 28 to July 3

       Corporate News

       EPF worried over Serba Dinamik’s clash with auditor

       Malaysia’s biggest state pension fund said Monday it is “gravely concerned” over the latest developments at oil and gas services firm Serba Dinamik Bhd that’s caused a significant loss in shareholders’ value. The developments include the departure of four directors and the resignation of KPMG as Serba Dinamik’s auditor, the Employees Provident Fund, or EPF, said in a statement. “We urge the board to urgently proceed with the conduct of an independent review and take action to resolve all outstanding issues, ” the EPF said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. Sapura Energy posts three-fold increase in Ebitda Sapura Energy Bhd has sustained its upward momentum with an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of RM157mil for its first quarter ended April 30, 2021. This was a three-fold increase quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from RM50mil, on the back of improvements in operational efficiencies and continued realisation of cost optimisation initiatives. The group's quarterly revenue came in at RM1.47bil, a 2.08% increase q-o-q. DNeX completes acquisition of 60% stake in Ping Petroleum Dagang Nexchange Bhd (DNeX) has completed the acquisition of an additional 60% stake in Ping Petroleum Limited, raising its holdings to 90%. DNeX noted that in the past three three financial years ended 31 December 2018, 2019 and 2020, Ping reported a cumulative audited net profit of US$34.7mil. Group managing director Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said the upswing in Brent oil prices to above US$70 per barrel augurs well for the industry.

       Economy

       EPF I-Citra withdrawal application starts July 15

       Employees Provident Fund's (EPF) i-Citra, the latest withdrawal facility to help its members tide over the impact of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in the short term, will open its application starting July 15, 2021. In a statement, the EPF said members can begin applying for the facility on the i-Citra online portal at icitra. my, with the first payment expected to be credited in the respective member accounts in August 2021. EPF zooms in on sustainable investing The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) does not use a one-size-fits-all approach when looking at environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in its investments, according to its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan. He explained that the provident fund wanted to work with its investee companies in terms of better disclosure and transparency on ESG data, looking beyond short-term returns and incorporate sustainability parameters into its key performance indicators. EPF's investment assets stood at RM981.71bil as at end-March 2021.

       Semicon industry urges govt to let factories in EMCO areas operate

       The Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) is appealing to the government to allow the electrical and electronics (E&E) factories in the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) areas to operate. MSIA president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai urged the authorities to take into consideration these exemplary companies which have maintained the highest standard of standard operating procedures (SOP) compliance. Malaysia is a major part of the global electronics supply chain with E&E exports at 39% (RM386bil) of Malaysia’s total export and contributed 6.8% of national GDP and employed 575, 000 workers in 2020.

       Banking

       UOB Malaysia appoints Ng Wei Wei as deputy CEO

       United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) has promoted its head of wholesale banking, Ng Wei Wei, as the deputy chief executive officer (CEO), effective July 1, 2021. As deputy CEO, Ng retains her current role as head of Wholesale Banking, wherein she is also entrusted to manage and to provide oversight on the bank's Foreign Direct Investment Advisory, Islamic Banking, and Labuan offshore businesses. In addition, she now oversees retail banking (comprising personal financial services and business banking), channels and digitalisation, and the risk management functions. Banks offering six months moratorium on credit facilities Banks will offer a six-month moratorium on the installment of all credit facilities (excluding credit cards) for individuals, all microenterprises; and all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In a joint statement on Tuesday, the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), said the moratorium for these categories, including all individuals offered (all B40, M40 and T20 borrowers/customers) will be on an opt-in basis. “For credit card facilities, banks will offer to convert the outstanding balances into a three-year term loan/financing with reduced interest/profit rates to help borrowers better manage their debt, ” they said.

       Plantations

       Plantation players to ride on strong CPO prices

       The earnings prospects of listed planters for the second half of this year will remain intact as the price of crude palm oil (CPO) is expected to trade above RM3, 000 per tonne. CPO is currently trading between RM3, 600 and RM3, 640 per tonne. BIMB Securities, in its latest sector update, said the higher CPO price forecast would amplify the revenue and earnings growth momentum for plantation companies for the rest of 2021. Covid-19

       Are Chinese Covid-19 shots effective against the Delta variant?

       Many countries from China to Indonesia and Brazil rely heavily on Chinese vaccines to inoculate their people against COVID-19, but there are growing concerns about whether they provide enough protection against the Delta variant, first identified in India. Researchers found that Chinese vaccines are somewhat effective in reducing the risk of symptomatic and severe cases caused by Delta, Zhong Nanshan, a epidemiologist who helped shape China's COVID-19 response, told reporters. Antibodies triggered by two Chinese vaccines are less effective against the Delta compared with other variants, Feng Zijian, former deputy director at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media last week.