In today’s edition of Evening 5 — Ipsos Malaysia is calling for Putrajaya to review what it calls the “outdated and arbitrary” 30% housing affordability rule. Meanwhile, JF Tech saw its share price come under pressure after it announced a new JV with a Chinese semiconductor firm.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Ipsos Malaysia is calling for a review of the 30% housing expense to income rule
00:09 in assessing housing affordability, saying the current rule that deems a home unaffordable
00:13 if households spend more than 30% of their income on it is both outdated and arbitrary,
00:19 which leads to suboptimal policies.
00:22 The current rule is also not based on the needs of Malaysia households, it said in a statement.
00:26 According to its recent study conducted on Selangor households, the more accurate threshold
00:31 is much lower, 23.5%.
00:34 The range of the indicator for various scenarios falls between 20.6% and 28.7%.
00:40 The study, which was carried out in partnership with researchers from Sunway University,
00:44 Monash University and Durham University, shows that more households will be seen as house poor,
00:50 those that perceive their housing costs to be a financial burden.
00:53 Ipsos said that there is a need for a local data-driven and more accurate indicator
00:58 that will be relevant and useful for Malaysian policy makers and observers.
01:02 [Music]
01:07 Matrix Concepts Holdings has secured a $512 million financing facility from AIM&B Holdings
01:13 to facilitate the development of 1,382.2 acres of prime housing in Malaysia Vision Valley 2.0,
01:21 located in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan.
01:24 The project, which has a GDP of $7 billion, will be developed through an 8515JV
01:29 between Matrix's indirect subsidiary MHCB Development NS and NS Corporation
01:35 called N9 Matrix Development and will feature a mix of residential, commercial and retail elements.
01:41 Matrix Executive Deputy Chairman Datuk Sri Lee Tian Hock said about 80% of the financing will
01:46 be used to fund the $460 million land acquisition exercise located within the MVV 2.0 corridor,
01:52 which is expected to complete in the financial year ending March 31, 2024.
01:58 The group had in August secured shareholders' approval to buy the land from NS Corp,
02:02 which had taken over the parcel from Symedabi.
02:04 The first launch of the MVV 2.0 project is anticipated in FY2026.
02:10 Lee says that for FY2026-2028, the project will contribute about 10-30% of the property
02:17 developers' earnings and contribute more than 60-70% from FY2029 onwards.
02:23 He also shared that Matrix is on track to achieve the $1.3 billion new property sales target
02:28 in FY2024, higher than the $1.2 billion achieved in FY2023.
02:34 The group has secured $305.3 million worth of property sales in the first quarter of FY2024.
02:40 IHH Healthcare's indirect unit, Northern TK Ventures, is seeking over 20 billion Japanese
02:51 yen in damages from Japan's Daiichi Sankyo company in relation to the former stake acquisition in
02:57 India's Fortis Healthcare. NTK is also seeking an injunction to prevent Daiichi Sankyo from making
03:03 defamatory remarks against NTK with respect to the open offers. In a statement, the group said
03:09 NTK had filed the claim against Daiichi Sankyo on October 16 in the Tokyo District Court in Japan.
03:15 It said the claims filed by NTK against Daiichi Sankyo are taut claims premised on the latter's
03:20 unlawful interference with NTK's trade or business, conspiracy of Daiichi Sankyo and
03:25 other persons, malicious falsehood and defamation under the applicable substantive laws.
03:31 In December 2018, IHH terminated its open offer to buy an additional 26% stake in Fortis
03:37 after a court ruling ordered status quo to be maintained after Daiichi Sankyo filed a contempt
03:43 plea against Fortis' founders. Meanwhile, the group said the claim is not expected to have
03:47 any material operational or financial impact on IHH.
03:56 JF Technology has entered into a JV agreement with Shenzhen HFC Co. to incorporate HFC Tech,
04:03 a JV company in Malaysia, to engage in activities that include the design and manufacture of
04:08 electromagnetic interference or EMI shielding materials, thermal interface and absorbing
04:14 materials. The agreement was inked between their respective wholly-owned subsidiaries,
04:18 JF International and HFC Industry Hong Kong. HFCI will be investing RM3.2 million in HFC Tech
04:26 for 80% ownership, while JFI will contribute RM800,000 for the remaining 20% of the company's
04:32 registered capital of RM4 million, comprising RM4 million ordinary shares. Funds invested
04:38 will be used for operational needs. JF Tech Managing Director Datuk Fung Weikiong said
04:43 that the company is excited to join forces with Shenzhen HFC to establish its first manufacturing
04:49 facility outside of China and that both parties would be able to leverage each other's expertise,
04:55 capabilities and network to further scale their businesses. Meanwhile, Bursa Malaysia has
05:00 suspended the intraday short-selling on JF Tech for the rest of Tuesday after the stock dropped
05:05 more than 15% or 5 cent from its reference price. JF Tech dropped as much as 16% or 18.5 cent to an
05:14 intraday low of 96.5 cent before pairing some losses to close at RM1.1, which is still 12%
05:21 lower than its last Friday close. The counter has gone through a rollercoaster since September,
05:26 where it spiked 26% in that month before dropping 7.3% in October. Prior to its steep decline today,
05:33 the stock recorded a gain of 14% from the start of November until last Friday.
05:38 TMC Life Sciences' net profit in the first quarter soared by 143% year-on-year to RM15.14
05:50 million from RM6.23 million in line with revenue growth attributed to its increasing capacity of
05:56 Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara and the recovery of its fertility business. Quality revenue surged
06:02 by 28.6% to RM92.44 million underpinned by higher contribution from its fertility business.
06:09 Moving forward, the group said it is closely monitoring the evolving global economic landscape,
06:14 foreign exchange and interest rate risks, and is committed to adapt its business strategy to
06:19 mitigate any adverse impact to the group's performance. TMC said the increased capacity
06:24 in THKD, recovery of the fertility business and rise in medical tourism
06:29 are expected to contribute to the growth of the group.