Among the top read stories were vaccination and economic recovery, interest waiver caution, moratorium, Pos Malaysia and Serba Dinamik.

       Economy

       Malaysia must reopen soon

       The UK economy is fully open and running at full steam. What can we learn from the UK experiment on managing a pandemic crisis? Vaccination of adults - 70% have taken a first dose and 40% have taken two doses. The key solution to this pandemic has all along been the speed of vaccination of the population. And I must give credit to our National Covid-19 Immunisation Pro-gramme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin who has done a remarkable job in sourcing, planning and implementation of the vaccination campaign. We need to re-open our economy as soon as we healthily can. Not only is our general population in deep financial difficulties, the mental health of our citizens is in great peril. We need to regain some normalcy in our lives. Bank Negara Governor cautions on interest waiver for RM1.4 trillion loans Waiving the accrued interest payment on all individual and business loans will have significant long-term consequences for banks, especially when the interest income accounts for 80 per cent of banks' revenues, Bank Negara Malaysia said. Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the total individual and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loans that are eligible for automatic opt-in moratorium amounts to about RM1.4 trillion - or 73 per cent of the total bank system's loans. She said there are serious implications if the banks were to waive accrued interests, given their critical role in the economy.

       Corporate News

       Pos Malaysia to end outsourced Pos Riders contract in Klang Valley

       Pos Malaysia Bhd will terminate the outsourced Pos Riders agents' contracts, affecting 262 agents, in the Klang Valley with effect on Sept 1 as volumes have continued to fall significantly. In a statement on Thursday, this was under phase two of the rationalisation of the Pos Rider outsourced programme which was created in 2019. Still, given the evolution of the domestic postal and courier market, snail mail volumes have continued to significantly fall, while more e-Commerce players now offer in-house delivery services. Serba Dinamik announces 15 contract wins worth RM286mil Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd has secured 15 operations and maintenance (O&M) and engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning (EPCC) contracts. The global integrated oil and gas service provider said of the 15 contracts, eight were valued at US$67.7 million (RM286.3 million) with the duration of works up to May 31, 2024. Serba Dinamik's chairman Datuk Ilyas Mohamed said these contracts were evidence that the company’s operational business is still in a good shape despite the challenges it is facing on the corporate front.

       Covid-19

       OCBC Malaysia approves all Pemulih moratorium packages

       OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) has processed all customer sign-ups under the National People's Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (Pemulih), without any rejections. The bank said in the four weeks since the July 7 rollout of the Pemulih, the sign-ups were processed with the stipulated time. OCBC Malaysia comprises OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) and its Islamic banking subsidiary OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd

       Pfizer shares hit record high with COVID-19 vaccine stocks on a tear

       Pfizer shares were last up 4.9% at US$48.25, climbing as high as $48.57 during the session. The percentage gain was the stock's biggest one-day rise since Nov. 9, when Pfizer released positive data for its COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer's share gains come as those of another coronavirus vaccine maker, Moderna Inc, have also been on a tear. Viewpoints

       The elusive vaccine play

       LONG before the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the largest mass vaccination drives conducted in the history of mankind was the inoculation of millions of children against polio in 1955. It was estimated the patent was worth US$7bil. Sure, there are conflicting accounts to the actual story but most people have recognised the altruism and contribution of Dr Salk in the fight against polio. Without a patent, the Salk vaccine reached 90 countries by 1959. With Covid-19 pandemic and its variants still raging globally, including in our country, vaccines which are crucial to savings lives have continued to attract various controversies such as profiteering, hoarding and inequitable distribution among others. In these dire times, it would appear that big money remains involved. Commodities

       CPO futures forecast to trade higher next week

       The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives is likely to trade higher next week on low production. Dr Sathia Varqa said the fundamentals of lower stockpiles and high exports were supportive of higher palm oil prices. Meanwhile, palm oil trader David Ng said CPO futures may continue to trade higher but he cautioned that recent high prices might deter buying interest. Taxation

       Insight - Understanding cross-border transactions

       In the current pandemic, the heightened use of online platforms has given rise to increased borderless transactions. Malaysian taxation is levied on income earned from Malaysia since Malaysian tax is imposed on a territorial basis. Malaysian tax is not imposed on income earned overseas, except for Malaysian companies in the shipping and air transport, insurance and banking industries in which case Malaysian taxes are imposed on their worldwide income.