Little did they know how overwhelmed they’d be once travel came roaring back. “All airports and airlines are short staffed at the moment,” said Geoff Culbert, the chief executive officer of Sydney Airport, where almost half the 33,000-strong workforce lost their jobs during Covid. The aerodrome is furiously trying to rebuild, but “we’re not as attractive a place to work as before,” he said. Singapore’s Changi Airport is looking for 6,600 workers, from security to catering staff. “Many people have left the aviation sector during the pandemic and found work elsewhere.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): Bursa Malaysia ended the week broadly lower with the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) declining 1.09% amid market volatility in tandem with the weak regional peers’ performance, a dealer said. Total turnover improved to 3.06 billion units worth RM3.02 billion from 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 billion on Thursday. Main Market volume widened to 2.21 billion shares worth RM2.83 billion from 1.34 billion shares worth RM1.57 billion on Thursday. Warrants turnover shrank to 482.55 million units valued at RM95.77 million against 605.09 million units valued at RM116.87 million on Thursday. ACE Market volume dwindled to 362.23 million shares worth RM93.03 million from 530.35 million shares worth RM155.84 million previously.

KUALA LUMPUR: TH Plantations Bhd ’s special purpose vehicle, THP Suria Mekar Sdn Bhd (TSM) has completed the lodgement of a sukuk Wakalah programme of up to RM1.08bil in nominal value with the Securities Commission. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, it said The sukuk Wakalah programme allows for the issuance of senior Islamic medium term notes and subordinated perpetual Islamic notes based on the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar to be guaranteed by TH Plantations. It said the programme will have a perpetual tenure and the proceeds raised would be used to finance or refinance TSM’s existing or future Islamic financing, including the outstanding sukuk issued under TSM’s existing Sukuk Murabahah programme of up to RM1.2bil. The proceeds will also be used to finance TH Plantations’s shariah-compliant business operation and for working capital purposes.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 17): UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said his meeting with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on June 7, 2018 concerned UMNO and not purportedly his criminal case. The UMNO president in his reply to Dr Mahathir's defence said he met the former statesman at Yayasan Kepimpinan Perdana during the month of Ramadan. "[Dr] Mahathir wanted me, as UMNO president, to disband UMNO and for all UMNO members of parliament (MPs) and assemblymen to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. At the meeting, Dr Mahathir once again wanted me to disband UMNO and for UMNO MPs and assemblymen to join Bersatu. The hearing of the injunction application sought by Ahmad Zahid against Dr Mahathir has been fixed for July 6.

BANGKOK (June 17): Thailand announced on Friday it would abandon its much-criticised pre-registration process for foreign visitors and no longer require face masks to be worn in public, responding to a slower Covid-19 spread. The "Thailand Pass" system, where foreign tourists must seek prior approval from Thai authorities, will be halted from July 1, Tourism Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan told reporters, removing one of the country's last remaining travel curbs. Thailand was visited by nearly 40 million people in 2019, but received less than 1% of that number last year, despite easing its quarantine requirements. The coronavirus task force on Friday also said use of face masks would from next month be voluntary, but advised people to wear them if in crowded settings or if suffering from health conditions. Thailand has suffered more than 30,000 Covid-19 deaths overall, but has largely contained its outbreaks, helped by a vaccination rate of more than 80%.

To commemorate the golden jubilee as a city, the Culture, Arts, Tourism and Sports Department of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has composed a song for Kuala Lumpur. The composition by the department’s Music Unit is titled Kuala Lumpur Untuk Semua (Kuala Lumpur for All) and features three verses and two choruses. It refers to the 2040 vision themed “Kuala Lumpur Bandar Untuk Semua” (Kuala Lumpur – a city for all) and also to DBKL’s efforts to develop Kuala Lumpur into a sustainable, resilient and prosperous city for its 8.2 million population. Music Unit head Dr Isabella Pek said the song marked a milestone for Kuala Lumpur as a city. “In a way, we shouldn’t have only one song to represent 50 years of Kuala Lumpur as a city.

IT has taken more than three decades for former DAP stalwart Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye to break his silence on the reason he took the drastic step of quitting from the party that was his entire political life. In his newly-released memoir, Call Lee Lam Thye – Recalling a Lifetime of Service, the legendary former Member of Parliament for Bukit Bintang wrote of how he endured unbearable internal politics, including relentless allegations. In the end, these unhappy episodes remain in the past, providing students of history and politics with better insight of what transpired in our nation’s political history. Former New Straits Times group editor, the late Datuk Ahmad A. Talib, once wrote that a popular quote among Malay voters in the 1970s was “kalau Lee Lam Thye lawan di Kampung Baru pun dia boleh menang” (if Lee Lam Thye contests in Kampung Baru, a predominantly Malay area, he could still win). But Lee has certainly left a mark in Malaysia’s parliamentary and political history.

Total turnover improved marginally to 2.48 billion units worth RM1.84 billion from 2.43 billion units worth RM1.82 billion on Wednesday. Sector-wise, the Financial Services Index put on 191.2 points to 16,359.27, the Industrial Products and Services Index was 1.47 points higher at 188.82, while the Plantation Index lost 64.43 points to 7,318.07. Main Market volume shrank to 1.34 billion shares worth RM1.57 billion from 1.39 billion shares worth RM1.6 billion on Wednesday. Warrants turnover expanded to 605.09 million units valued at RM116.87 million against 437.06 million units valued at RM77.75 million on Wednesday. ACE Market volume dwindled to 530.35 million shares worth RM155.84 million from 594.64 million shares worth RM141.12 million previously.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices recovered on Thursday from a steep drop in the previous session, supported by tight oil supply and peak summer consumption, after a hefty U.S. rate hike sparked fears of slower economic growth and less fuel demand. The dollar index retreated from a 20-year high, easing downward pressure on oil prices. Investors remained focused on tight supplies and robust demand as Western sanctions restricted access to Russian oil. "Tight fundamentals suggest any dips in oil prices are likely to be short-lived, or shallow, or possibly both." Also, optimism that China's oil demand will rebound as it eases COVID-19 restrictions supported the price outlook.

As for Bursa Malaysia’s technology sector, where semiconductor stocks dominate, earnings were largely in line with analysts’ expectations. Greatech Technology Bhd has slid 42% year to date, while Pentamaster Corp Bhd has shed close to 30% over the same period. The sector’s PER currently stands at 25.22 times, compared with 36.73 times in 2021 and 46.61 times in 2020. Recovery plays met expectations in 1Q2022 in terms of revenue, yet some — especially those in the consumer sector — were hit with higher costs, says MIDF’s Imran. Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM) is a new top pick for CGS-CIMB Research, which sees the leisure group as a recovery play.

(June 16): Microsoft Corp retired its Internet Explorer (IE) on Wednesday (June 15), putting an end to a quarter-century-old app while also sparking a small panic among businesses and government agencies that built internal systems around the unpopular browser. Japan may be the country most affected by the move as a survey in March found that 49% of companies in the Asian nation still use IE. Businesses across the country are now having to move swiftly to ensure they’re still able to run operations that previously relied on apps built atop Microsoft’s long-tenured browser. Microsoft has integrated an IE mode inside Edge, which it will support for an additional period of time. Read also:Microsoft retires iconic Internet Explorer web browser after 27 years

PETALING JAYA: The production of new cars will continue to be delayed if the shortage of microchips and components persists, says the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). ALSO READ: Shortage of used cars, too“The shortage is also due to an insufficient number of workers at the manufacturing side. This affects costs, which is why in the long run, it is inevitable that car prices will go up,” she said yesterday. “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors and Covid-19 pandemic, there will be a delay in parts and distributions for new car production. “Three months at least, that is how long one has to wait for all models across the board.

Homestay operators in Malaysia are using income from hosting to help with the rising cost of living, according to a home rental platform. A majority of homestay owners surveyed by Airbnb said the money earned from hosting helps to cover the rising cost of food and other necessities. "As the pandemic saw businesses and livelihoods impacted and costs of living rise across Malaysia, income earned through hosting became an essential part of navigating these challenges. Airbnb said homestay owners are also using their hosting income to pay for their housing needs. Almost half of hosts surveyed said that hosting income has helped them stay in their home.

Supermax shares were traded at between 89.5 sen and 93 sen on Wednesday. Last Friday, Supermax’s share price closed down at 98.5 sen from RM1.01 a day earlier (Thursday June 9). Since the beginning of 2022, Supermax’s share price has fallen to current levels from the stock’s closing price of RM1.43 on January 3, 2022. Supermax, when approached by theedgemarkets.com, did not immediately comment on its share price and the company's outlook. The CBP said it identified 10 of the ILO indicators of forced labour during its investigation on Supermax.

"Will monetary policy action will be able to contain (food inflation)? "It will at best contain the second round implications and arrest the inflation expectations from moving on the higher side." The world's fifth-largest and second-most populous economy has a troubled history with inflation: price surges have created social and political instability in the past that the Modi government will be keen to avoid. Authorities were able to keep wheat and rice prices down, defying a global spike, thanks to a pandemic-era foodgrain distribution scheme. "Indian political history shows that food inflation has an immediate and visceral impact on the political mood and is something the Modi government has to take very seriously.