FOR years, residents thought that they only had to contend with the stink of pig farms. In land-starved Penang, many homeowners had little choice but to acquire landed properties just a few hundred metres from pig farms in Nibong Tebal, south Seberang Prai. Metal gates and fences outdoors bear the brunt of the exposure to the corrosive gases from nearby pig farms - Andy Lo/The StarChrome trimmings on cars developed black dots. The worst affected are the beautifully furnished homes in the gated-and-guarded community, located a mere 150m from a cluster of pig farms. It was reported in 2015 that the pollution stems from the farm wash-off from about 40 pig and poultry farms.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) tumbled 41.93% to RM1.43 billion from RM2.46 billion a year ago, mainly due to one-off non-recurring items booked a year ago and the recognition of the prosperity tax. “On a reported basis that includes one-off non-recurring exceptional items, CIMB group’s operating income and net profit declined by 19.8% and 41.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM4.74 billion and RM1.43 billion respectively. On a quarterly basis, however, CIMB recorded stronger performance with reported operating income increasing by 3.3% to RM4.74 billion, from RM4.6 billion whilst reported net profit grew by 67% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM1.43 billion from RM854.51 million. Excluding the one-off items, CIMB said it sustained its core pre-provisioning operating profit at RM2.51 billion whilst core net profit positively grew by 16% y-o-y to hit RM1.55 billion, from RM1.34 billion. Core operating income for 1QFY22 was flat y-o-y but grew 2.9% q-o-q reaching RM4.74 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Securities Commission (SC) has disclosed the findings of its investigation into 10 clone firm scams, to arm investors with greater awareness on the modus operandi of these scams in order to spot and avoid them. At least 32 mule account holders have been identified to be involved in facilitating the operators of these scams, according to SC’s investigation. “Based on the 154 bank statements reviewed, the SC also found that in total, at least RM24.7mil may have flowed to several ‘masterminds’ of these scams,” SC said. The findings also highlighted that the clone firm scams will target victims/investors who are willing to part with a small amount of monies but with the expectation of making huge returns in a short period of time. “To clamp down on these illegal activities, the SC is currently reviewing the available evidence and considering various enforcement options against those involved in the clone firm scams,” it said.

Rubberex projected further softening of glove ASPs, especially in the nitrile disposable glove division, to persist in 2022. The glove maker’s quarterly revenue tumbled 70% to RM52.58 million from RM175.24 million, Rubberex’s filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday (May 31) showed. Compared to the immediate preceding quarter, Rubbrex’s net profit shrank 72.1% from RM9.15 million in 4QFY21 while revenue declined 18.15% from RM64.24 million. The lower earnings were due to the persistent easing of ASPs for nitrile disposable gloves as well as slower order uptakes. “Meanwhile, demand for the group’s general-purpose and industrial gloves is expected to remain stable in the current year.

AmBank group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Mohd Tahir said loan growth is anticipated in both corporate and consumer loans due to pent-up demand. “The first hike could happen in July 2022 while the second one, possibly in September 2022,” Sulaiman said. On the performance of the AmBank group, its profit swung to the black for its financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) with it registering a net profit of RM1.5bil as compared with a net loss of RM3.83bil in the previous year. In the fourth quarter, AmBank posted a net profit of RM391.75mil and revenue of RM1.12bil. In the light of the group’s performance, the board of directors proposed a final dividend of five sen per share for FY22.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, will on Tuesday welcome the first major batch of migrant workers from Indonesia since reopening borders to staff labour-starved plantations and support a recovery in production. Palm oil estates, which depend on migrants for around 80% of their workforce, have been struggling to harvest palm fruit due to a labour shortage triggered by pandemic-related border closures in March, 2020. The workers are destined for Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, one of the largest plantations in Malaysia, and are among the 32,000 migrant workers allocated for the sector, said Hermono, who uses one name. The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) expects about 52,000 migrant workers to arrive by the end of the year but warned that it would be too little, too late to ensure output rebounded this year. Read also:Indonesia cancels plan to send workers to Malaysia's palm plantations

KUALA LUMPUR: Analysts remain bullish on Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd but are revising lower their earnings forecasts to account for changing price assumptions. Kenanga Research slashed its target price on the stock to RM6.68 from RM8.63 following an earnings estimate revision on the back of expectations of more conservative aluminium prices. As such, the high aluminium price will continue to benefit Press Metal," it said. Consequently, the research firm's target price was reduced to RM7.28 from RM7.59 previously based on a price-earnings multiple of 20x on revised FY23 forecast earnings. HLIB believes Press Metal remains a "buy" with the best yet to come for Press Metal.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Orient Arotek Engineering & Trading Sdn Bhd (OAE) was allowed to intervene in Serba Dinamik Development Sdn Bhd's (SDDSB) application for a scheme of arrangement and a restraining order (RO) against its creditors by the High Court on Tuesday. Besides Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd and SDDSB, the three other companies that had filed for RO and scheme of arrangement were Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB), SD Controls Sdn Bhd (SDCSB), and Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd (SDSB). Justice Atan Mustaffa Yussof allowed OAE — one of the group's creditors — to intervene as Serba Dinamik Holdings' lawyers did not object to the application. Serba Dinamik Holdings said it is seeking creditors' approval for a scheme of arrangement to restructure the group's debt obligations, which proposed "a 100% return to the company's creditors". The issue with the financial year 2020 revenue was first raised by KPMG to Serba Dinamik Holdings' board in May 2021, which escalated into legal tussles between Serba Dinamik Holdings and regulators when the company refused to publish its special independent review.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd, one of the world’s biggest tin producers, aims to boost its output by 20% over the next couple of years as part of its growth strategy. Its unit Rahman Hydraulic Tin Sdn Bhd is actively exploring the acquisition of neighbouring mining land, he added. Tin, mainly used as solder in electronics, has fallen more than 30% from a peak of above US$50,000 (about RM218,775) a ton in March. “In all probability, the price of tin has found its balance,” he said. Read also:Malaysia Smelting Corp 1Q climbs nearly three-fold from higher average tin prices

KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): RHB Retail Research said Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd is set to rebound strongly towards the recent high as it bounced off its 21-day average line on strong volume — breaching above the RM6.60 mark. In a trading stocks note on Tuesday (May 31), the research house said if the buying interest persists, the stock may propel further towards the RM7.44 resistance, before reaching the recent high at RM7.70. “If it falls below the support level of RM6.03 — below the average line — the stock may trend downwards,” it said.

SOME 144 dengue cases were reported in Petaling Jaya between May 15 and 21 this year. “The dengue situation is worrying as the total cases increased by 136% from the previous week, which recorded 61 cases. “Of this figure, there were six new outbreak localities, 29 (controlled outbreak), three (uncontrolled outbreak) and six hotspot outbreak localities recorded. “No new deaths were reported,” he said during the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) full board meeting. Separately, Mohamad Azhan said the city council would continue to strengthen the PJ Smart Sustainable and Resilient 2030 strategic plan, which is a priority for the city’s future development.

KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI bucked the regional trend to close lower, as profit-taking prevailed in selected heavyweights. At 5pm, the 30-stock index ended 3.74 points, or 0.24% easier at 1,543.02 after moving between 1,547.02 and 1,540.56. China’s CSI300 index ended 0.7% higher at 4,029.02, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6% to 3,149.06 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.1% to 21,123.93 while South Korea’s Kospi index ended up 31.61 points, or 1.20%, at 2,669.66, the highest close since May 4. G3 Global, the most active counter on Bursa Malaysia fell 1.5 sen to 5.5 sen with 592.64 million shares traded.

The poultry industry in Malaysia is actually a rare success story in the country’s food industry. To ensure both affordability to consumers and for food security reasons, the government has to subsidise production costs until input prices stabilise. From a food security perspective, this is akin to shooting ourselves in our own foot. Poultry should be the least of our food security problems because we have the capacity to produce a sufficient quantity to meet demand. The discussion on the nation’s food security will necessarily be about levels of self-sufficiency and import dependency of the major food items.

KUALA LUMPUR (May 30): Malaysia Airlines Bhd warned that a weaker ringgit against the US dollar impacts the company's costs as about 45% of its expenditure is denominated in US dollar. "We are cautious of potential downside scenarios and market fluidity and are taking steps to cushion the impact they may have on our businesses," Malaysia Airlines said in a statement in response to enquiries by theedgemarkets.com. theedgemarkets.com had earlier asked Malaysia Airlines about the net impact from the weaker ringgit against the US dollar on the company’s business. "All companies within the group have taken immediate steps to manage the impact of higher fuel cost. Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd owns Malaysia Airlines via MAG.

PETALING JAYA: The "Jif" brand peanut butter has been withdrawn from shelves due to salmonella bacteria contamination. The Health Ministry said it had received a notification on the popular brand from the International Food Safety Authorities Networks. He said the batch numbers had been distributed to several countries including Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, Honduras, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. "A check by the Health Ministry on the data of the Malaysia Food Safety Information System confirmed that Jif peanut butter stocks from the numbered batches were imported into the country. Dr Noor Hisham also said sellers must immediately stop the sale of the product with the said batch numbers while consumers who have bought the product have been urged not to consume it.