Caely appointed Virdos Lima in early April to conduct a forensic audit on allegations of suspicious and irregular transactions at Caely. On April 20, the lingerie maker announced that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had issued a freeze order on all the operational bank accounts of the company and its subsidiaries. Two of its board members, namely executive director and chief executive officer Lim Chee Pang and independent non-executive director Lim Say Leong, subsequently resigned on April 29. She was redesignated to be the executive chairman on May 17 when she was an executive director. She joined Caely's board as an executive director on April 28.

THE past two years have seen investors — amid a market flush with liquidity — piling into growth stocks in the rubber glove, semiconductor and healthcare industries following exponential demand growth due to the Covid-19 pandemic. And stocks that were once the darlings of investors have seen sharp corrections in recent months, with analysts predicting that investors could make the switch and start buying defensive stocks. As these growth stocks underwent a rollercoaster ride, stocks in defensive sectors have held steady. While it is a good time to look at growth stocks with strong fundamentals, Wong says investors need to be cautious. “Just because commodity prices are high, it doesn’t mean that investors should go into growth stocks in the oil-and-gas or plantation sectors.

China aims to double its wind and solar capacity by 2025, according to a new road map that also allows for more coal-fired power plants to bolster energy security. The world's biggest polluter earlier estimated it needs to double wind and solar use by 2030 to deliver on its pledges under the Paris climate accord. "In 2025, the annual power generation from renewable energy will reach about 3.3 trillion kilowatt-hours... and the wind power and solar power generation will double," the plan said. China, already the world's largest producer of renewable energy, has accelerated investment in solar and wind projects to tackle pollution at home, which researchers say kills millions every year. Investment in solar energy nearly tripled in the first four months of the year to 29 billion yuan (RM18.9bil) compared with January to April investment in the previous year, data from the National Energy Administration shows.

GEORGE TOWN: A shortage of skilled workers in the hospitality sector is hitting the tourism sector at a time when it is seeing an upswing in business, and is threatening to get worse by the year end. Tourism is a major revenue earner for Malaysia, contributing RM86.14bil to the country’s economy with 26.1 million tourists in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, according to Tourism Malaysia. The sector is also grappling with the pull of foreign workers by sectors like construction and plantation, which do not require skilled employees. In addition, over 30 MICE events that the state agency is in the final stages of bidding will also happen in Penang. These MICE events, added Ashwin, involved congregations of between 200 and 5,000 people from around the world.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 13): The ringgit weakened past 4.41 against a strengthening US dollar on Monday (June 13) after the US reported last Friday that May 2022 inflation accelerated at a faster-than-expected month-on-month pace of 1%. The US Dollar Index, which measures the value of the US dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.62% to 104.77. "Following the broad strength in US dollar, ringgit and other regional currencies also depreciated last week. Ringgit weakened to RM4.402, back to the level last seen in Mar-20," MIDF said. "So, it's going to be a weak ringgit this week along with other regional currencies due to a stronger US dollar," he told Bernama.

Humans have always struggled in striking a balance between short-term gains and long-term returns because the human brain is hard-wired to favour instant gratification. Responsible policy making will ensure that any trade-offs were worth the gains, whether in the long or immediate term. To build the foundations for long-term reforms through immediate-term decisions, the MoF is guided by three key principles — responsive, responsible and reformist. Hence, MoF-curated responsive short-term measures must also fulfil the responsible criteria. Reforms premised on ESG considerations to build long-term socioeconomic resilience are our best defence against future shocks and pandemics.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob expressed pride in the fighting spirit shown by the national football team in their second Group E match of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers against Bahrain on Saturday (June 11) night. In a Facebook post, he said victories and defeats are part of a competition and national coach Kim Pan Gon must continue to prepare the Harimau Malaya squad for their next match against Bangladesh on Tuesday. ALSO READ: Gloomy skies add to Harimau Malaya's woes in 1-2 defeat to Bahrain"To the players, this is not the end but an opportunity to do better. Rise and fight!” he said. Earlier, despite an impressive showing, the national team went down to Bahrain 1-2 in the match played at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): "I get so sad when people say 'Oh, it's just a food court'," laments Huen Su San only half-jokingly. Having soft-launched on March 31, the Artisan's Playground follows on Huen's original Cookhouse concept — where food entrepreneurs rent kitchen space to support their businesses without the need for heavy capital investment — but with a seriously stylish and decidedly more premium twist. Artisan's Playground's large and adaptable space means it is also able to accommodate every variety of event or entertaining scenario. after you read up on chef Chai Chun Boon's culinary showcase at The Datai, Langkawi. P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 11): Barisan Nasional (BN) has yet to receive an official application from Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) although the party was reported to have expressed its intention to join the coalition, according to BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Umno president, said BN is prepared to receive any party which subscribes to its principles. "In the BN constitution, there are three categories of parties or individuals, namely the core party, affiliate parties or friends of BN and, thirdly, direct membership. Ahmad Zahid said any membership application would be decided by the top leadership of BN. On the government’s move to abolish the mandatory death penalty, Ahmad Zahid said this proposal had been discussed by BN when it was in power.

KUCHING (June 11): Two international hotels will be built in Sematan, a town about 107km west of here, through private investments worth RM120 million, said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. He said it is in line with the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy to utilise private investment funds in developing Sarawak. “They (hotel investors) have shown me the design of the hotels, which is similar to the Palm Hotel in Dubai (the United Arab Emirates). "Sematan is going to be like Dubai,” he said at the launch of the Sungai Sematan Waterfront Pontoon and Landscape on Saturday (June 11). The construction of the hotels will be carried out within three years to attract more foreign visitors to the area.

BANGKOK, June 11 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has begun giving away free cannabis plants to people who have registered online with the Agriculture Department. The ministry will give away one million marijuana plants to people who want to grow them at home after cannabis was removed from narcotics list on June 9, said Deputy Agriculture Minister Mananya Thaiset on Friday. “Each household will be allowed two free plants, which means at least half a million households in Thailand will be growing marijuana,” Mananya said. Plants offered for free by the government are a Thai strain called Issara 01, developed by the Department of Medical Services and Department of Agriculture. The ministry aims to give away all 1 million plants before year-end, or 100,000 to 200,000 plants per month.

SHAH ALAM: The family of P. Puvaaneshwaran is still coming to terms with the circumstances of his death after he drove against traffic on the New Klang Valley Expressway, causing a fatal crash which also killed three others. His uncle, who only wanted to be known as Nadarajan, 55, said they were notified about his death at around 10am on Saturday (June 11). "We immediately rushed to the Shah Alam Hospital. Three other victims who died in the head-on collision have been identified as Lai Mun Fai, 28, Eng Siew Hooi, 31, and Leong Man Yuen, 27. It's hard to come to terms with his death," he said.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 11): Bursa Malaysia is expected to trade with a downside bias next week, in line with the movement of the global equities market, moving between the 1,480 and 1,490 level, a dealer said. Weekly turnover was lower at 11.03 billion units valued at RM7.49 billion against 14.14 billion units valued at RM13.99 billion last week. The Main Market volume narrowed to 6.42 billion shares worth RM6.28 billion versus 10.53 billion shares worth RM13.14 billion in the previous week. The warrant volume went up to 1.65 billion units valued at RM291.43 million against 1.55 billion units valued at RM288.17 million previously. The ACE Market volume strengthened to 2.94 billion shares worth RM916.51 million from 2.05 billion shares worth RM556.59 million the week before.

According to Bursa’s latest filings on its website on Thursday (June 9) and Friday, the EPF had on Tuesday acquired 31,900 Bursa shares after buying 100,000 shares on June 3. Following the latest transaction, the EPF’s stake in Bursa rose to 9.54% comprising 77.21 million shares from 9.536% on June 3, the bourse regulator said. The EPF bought more Bursa shares at a time when the bourse regulator’s share price had fallen to its lowest in about three months since March. On Friday, Bursa’s share price closed down six sen or 0.91% at RM6.56, the lowest since March 16 when the stock ended at RM6.87 compared with RM6.39 on March 15. Compared to a year earlier, Bursa’s latest share price was down from its closing price of RM8.11 on June 10, 2021.

SYDNEY, June 11, 2022 (AFP): Australia unveiled a massive compensation deal with French submarine maker Naval Group Saturday, ending a contract dispute that soured relations between Canberra and Paris for almost a year. In September 2021, then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison abruptly ripped up the French contract to build a dozen diesel-powered submarines. The decision drew fury from French President Emmanuel Macron, who publicly accused Morrison of lying and recalled his ambassador from Australia in protest. "We are re-establishing a better relationship between Australia and France," Albanese said, after speaking to Marcon about the settlement. In total the failed French submarine contract will have cost Australian taxpayers US$2.4 billion, Albanese said, with almost nothing to show for it.