In today’s edition of Evening 5 — acting Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali says customers should file complaints regarding rising prices of goods as rice shortage worries intensify. Meanwhile, after parting ways with Brahim’s, Malaysia Airlines promises hot meals back on the menu by mid-November.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Acting Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, Dato' Armizan Muhammad Ali,
00:08 has called on consumers to immediately file complaints regarding rising prices of goods,
00:13 including rice, in order to facilitate enforcement actions.
00:17 He also reminded consumers to provide necessary details for review
00:21 before enforcement officers take further action against the irresponsible parties.
00:25 According to Armizan, the Ministry had received 142 complaints
00:29 regarding rice price increases nationwide through Objamin, which was launched in July.
00:35 Meanwhile, rising food prices are likely to prove an additional concern for central bankers
00:39 trying to subdue inflation as the cost of rice, a staple food in Asia,
00:44 surges the most since 2009, according to HSBC Holdings.
00:48 Economists led by Fredrik Newman said in a research note on Friday
00:52 that the memory of the 2008 Asian food price scarce sits deep, Bloomberg reports.
00:57 The note said that rising rice prices in some economies quickly spilled over into other markets
01:02 as consumers and governments across the region scrambled to secure supplies.
01:07 It also lifted the prices of other staples, such as wheat, as buyers shifted to alternatives.
01:13 Export prices for rice from Thailand, a global benchmark,
01:16 jumped to more than US$600 per tonne and almost 50% year-on-year increase.
01:22 Global rice imports as a share of consumption have roughly doubled over the past 25 years.
01:27 And according to Newman, a disruption to one economy could have much bigger spillovers.
01:32 Malaysia and the Philippines are the two Asian economies most reliant on rice imports,
01:37 followed by Korea and Taiwan, while other economies such as Indonesia are exposed too.
01:42 Ramsey Healthcare says that it has received a number of non-binding indicative offers
01:52 for its healthcare JV with Saimdabi, namely Ramsey Saimdabi Healthcare.
01:57 According to the Australian Group, a selected number of parties are now in a due diligence process
02:02 expected to conclude towards the end of October.
02:05 Ramsey announced to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday that if a sale proceeds,
02:11 the funds received will be used to pay down drawn debt.
02:14 It said it aims to lower the funding group's leverage ratio to below 2.5 times as at June 2024.
02:20 This confirms a report earlier this week by The Edge Weekly
02:23 where the sale was understood to have generated interest among major healthcare players in Asia.
02:29 Citing sources, the report said the suitors included Columbia Asia, Sunway Healthcare Holdings,
02:35 Bangkok Dusset Medical Services, Bomrunggar Hospital and possibly even Apollo Global Management.
02:40 In an email response to The Edge, Saimdabi said as the assessment process is currently ongoing,
02:45 it would be premature to elaborate on any specific details.
02:50 [Music]
02:55 Norges Bank, which manages Norway's government pension fund Global,
02:59 has emerged as a substantial shareholder of Chaiyamatasarva after acquiring 50.05 million shares
03:05 or a 5.03% stake in the Sarovar-based company.
03:09 According to CMS's filing on the bourse, Norges Bank bought the shares on September 8
03:13 but did not disclose the price.
03:15 Based on the company's closing price of RM1.05 on September 8,
03:19 a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that Norges Bank could have acquired the stake
03:24 for about RM56.75 million.
03:27 In a statement on Friday, CMS, citing Norges Bank's website,
03:31 said that the value of the bank's investment stood at RM15.3 billion or RM6.7 billion
03:37 as of June 2023, making it the largest single owner of the world's stock markets.
03:43 Norges Bank is currently the fifth-largest shareholder of the cement manufacturer
03:47 after Sarawak Economic Development Corp, Lembaga Tabong Haji,
03:51 the family of Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri and former CM Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud's late wife,
03:57 Puan Sri Laila Taib, and Majaharta, according to Bloomberg data.
04:01 It is worth noting that Abdul Taib's son sits on CMS's board,
04:05 where Datuk Sri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib is Deputy Chairman
04:08 and Datuk Sri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Abdul Taib is MD.
04:12 [Music]
04:17 National Carrier Malaysia Airlines aims to fully restore its full meal service
04:21 by mid-November this year after meals for certain domestic and international routes
04:26 were disrupted as it transitions to new catering service providers from September 1st.
04:31 In a statement on Friday, Malaysia Airlines announced the reinstatement of hot meal services on board,
04:36 its domestic and international routes affected by the recent catering transition,
04:41 with the arrival of 10 new high-lift trucks ahead of schedule.
04:44 It had earlier expected to bring back its hot F&B offerings on all its flights from the third week of September.
04:50 The airline anticipates the arrival of another 10 high-lifts in the coming months,
04:54 while proactively enhancing and fine-tuning its prepackaged meal components in the interim.
05:00 Since September 11th, Malaysia Airlines said it had reintroduced simplified hot meals
05:04 for business class passengers on the Bangkok and Denpasar routes.
05:08 However, starting from Friday, economy class passengers travelling to Bangkok and Denpasar,
05:13 as well as passengers on all cabin classes on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, Manila and Hong Kong,
05:20 will also be served hot meals.
05:22 To recap, on August 30th, Malaysia Airlines announced that it was ending its long-standing in-flight catering partnership
05:28 with Brahim's Food Services after a thorough and prolonged negotiation period.
05:33 The national carrier resorted to eight new F&B supplies, including Post Aviation and Masawana Services,
05:40 to cook its in-flight meals from September 1st.
05:43 However, this was not without backlash from passengers who revolted
05:46 after being served prepacked food instead of freshly prepared in-flight meals.
05:51 Fertility care specialist Alpha IVF Group is planning an initial public offering on the ACE market
06:01 to fund new medical centres as well as expand and upgrade its existing ones.
06:06 According to its draft prospectus on Bursa Malaysia, the exercise will involve a public issue of
06:11 354.5 million new shares or 7.5% based on the enlarged share total of $4.86 billion after the IPO.
06:20 Some 234 million shares will be available to institutional shareholders.
06:25 As a fertility care specialist, the group focuses on the provision of assisted reproductive services in Malaysia and Singapore,
06:32 including intracytoplasmic sperm injection and interuterine insemination.
06:37 It has two specialist centres in Malaysia and one in Singapore that provides in vitro fertilisation services
06:43 with customers from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China.
06:48 The group also plans to use its proceeds on R&D, general working capital and corporate purposes,
06:53 as well as defraying listing expenses.
06:56 The group made a net profit of 43.4 million in the financial period ended February 2023,
07:01 with a revenue of RM99.56 million.
07:05 Alpha IVF is 61.68% controlled by its Executive Director and Group Managing Director,
07:10 Datuk Dr Colin Lee Soon Soo, who will trim down his stake to 43.16% post the IPO.
07:17 On its dividend policy, the board intends to recommend and distribute a dividend of at least 60% of its annual audited PAT
07:24 attributable to the shareholders of the group.
07:27 [Music]