Investment & Market Trends

KUALA LUMPUR: Financial tech innovator Neurogine MPEX (C) Ltd has partnered Myanmar’s CB Bank PCL to revolutionise the merchant onboarding process using mobile-centric platform, Neurogine nMerchant. Neurogine Chief Executive Officer, Owen Chen said the collaboration aims to drive Myanmar’s economic growth by supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which contribute 36% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). He said with MSMEs representing 99.4% of businesses in Myanmar, the partnership focuses on enhancing their access to financial services through mobile technology. “By streamlining the merchant registration process, Neurogine nMerchant enables CB Bank to rapidly onboard new businesses, providing them with easier access to financial services,” said Chen in a statement. He said the platform significantly reduced paperwork, accelerating turnaround times and improving efficiency for CB Bank and its merchant partners. He added that the nMerchant platform allows merchants to accept payments using quick response (QR) codes and integrates with Neurogine n2Tap, Malaysia’s first software point-of-sale solution certified by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. “With an intuitive interface, the platform supports CB Bank to acquire and manage merchants while enhancing customer experiences. “In addition to improving efficiency, Neurogine nBank enables CB Bank to adopt a data-driven decision-making approach, reducing operational costs and mitigating risks,” Chen said. He said mobile device registration eliminates the need for physical bank visits, expanding access to financial services in regions such as Mandalay, Ayeyarwady, Bago, Sagaing, and Yangon. CB Bank Managing Director (Head of Merchant Services) U Zayar Aung, highlighted the collaboration’s role in advancing Myanmar’s digital transformation. “CB Bank is committed to supporting the growth of Myanmar’s MSMEs, and this partnership with Neurogine MPEX is a significant step forward,” he said. “We are confident that Neurogine nMerchant will be a game-changer for the Myanmar market,” he said. CB Bank, established in 1992, is one of Myanmar’s largest banks, employing 9,000 people and operating 220 branches. It was the first in Myanmar to offer Visa and Mastercard transactions at ATMs and introduced Internet banking services for businesses. — BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia’s fundamentals remain strong, even as global equities fall in response to a softer-than-expected US jobs report that heightened recession fears. UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd Head of Investment Research, Mohd Sedek Jantan said the global rout was merely due to panic selling and overreaction among investors, with the ultimate driver for the decline largely influenced by the substantial sell-off in Japan, where the Nikkei 225 plummeted by more than 12%. “Investor confidence has also crumbled due to the surge in the yen. The latest US Institute of Supply Management (ISM) data and job reports have sparked discussions over the weekend regarding the likelihood of a US recession based on the Sahm Rule,” he explained. The Sahm rule signals a recession when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate rises by 0.5 percentage points or more, relative to its low during the previous 12 months. According to the US government, the US hiring slowed to 144,000 jobs in July, missing expectations. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% versus the expected 4.1%, its highest level in nearly three years. On top of that, Mohd Sedek said the perception that the strengthening ringgit leads to reduced profits in certain sectors and makes stocks more expensive has also exacerbated the situation. “If the heavy selling reduces tomorrow, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) may trade between 1,590 and 1,600 levels. The market will rebound as a drastic drop or drastic spike is always temporary and not sustained,” he added. Despite the bearish market performance, he highlighted that the technology and financial sectors remained attractive. This week, several defensive companies are scheduled to release their earnings reports, and will likely support the US equity market. “These announcements could foster a sense of calm in the markets,” he said. Top US pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are scheduled to release their second-quarter results this week. At 4.02 pm yesterday, the FBM KLCI lost 4.36% or 69.69 points to 1,541.36, off its intraday low of 1,532.24 during the mid-afternoon session. Market turnover grew to 8.03 billion units worth RM6.40 billion. — BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: The accumulated losses borne by MARA Incorporated Sdn Bhd (MARA Inc) decreased by 3.8% from RM297.63 million in 2021 to RM286.30 million in 2022, according to the 2024 Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) Series 2. The report said that this was contributed by the improved financial performance of the company, recording a pre-tax profit of RMI1.67 million for 2022. “This good financial performance was contributed, among others, by gains from property investment recorded in 2022,” it said. However, the report said that at the company level, MARA Inc recorded shareholder deficits for the assessed periods, namely in 2022 amounting to RM115.73 million, 2021 (RM114.06 million) and 2020 (RM66.82 million). It said the main factors causing shareholder deficits were the impairment of asset values related to investments in subsidiary companies, outstanding balances within the company, and trade creditors. Further analysis found that total assets exceeded total liabilities for 3 years, ranging from RM23.32 million (8.7%) to RM51.62 million (20%) but current liabilities exceeded current assets with ratios between 0.11 and 0.13. “Despite an improvement in financial performance with pre-tax profits and a reduction in accumulated losses in 2022, the financial position of MARA Inc remains less stable due to its shareholder deficit and high current liabilities,” it said. The report also said that from the financial years 2020 to 2022, MARA Inc did not pay any dividends to MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd (MARA Corp). MARA Inc justified its non-payment of dividends to MARA Corp during this period due to current-year losses caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and high net current liabilities. Meanwhile, MARA Inc has only settled RM9.1 million (4.6%) of loans from MARA out of the total amount of RM199.7 million obtained in 2012, 2013, and 2014 for development projects and property purchases abroad. It added that the remaining loan balance of RM190.60 million would be settled through the implementation of Phase 3 Rationalisation Plan approved by the MARA Council on Aug 15, 2022, involving the restructuring of loan repayments which resulted in the transfer of properties amounting to RM174.24 million to MARA. This restructuring consequently reduced MARA Inc’s debt to RM16.36 million, and the remaining loan balance must be settled through the company’s operational income. — BERNAMA

BEIJING: As global trade continues to develop, cross-border e-commerce has emerged as a vital link connecting consumers and businesses around the world. In this context, user loyalty and repurchase rates have become crucial indicators for assessing the competitiveness of cross-border e-commerce platforms. To gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon, DHGATE Group has collaborated with The University of Hong Kong (HKU) to release a white paper titled ‘The Cross-border E-commerce Repurchase Revolution: Consumer Behaviour Insights and Market Opportunities’. The white paper aims to explore effective strategies for enhancing user loyalty and repurchase rates, providing guidance for the sustainable development of the cross-border e-commerce industry. The report comprehensively examines the current state of user loyalty and repurchase behaviour in cross-border e-commerce. Through data analysis, the authors discovered that, despite the ongoing expansion of the cross-border e-commerce market, improving user loyalty and repurchase rates presents several challenges. These challenges include the diversification of user needs, the differentiation of shopping experiences, and the cultivation of brand loyalty – all of which have become pressing issues for cross-border e-commerce platforms to address. Building on these findings, the white paper proposes 3 core strategies to improve user loyalty and repurchase rates: Optimising traffic strategy and allocation mechanisms The short-term goal is to optimise traffic attraction and distribution mechanisms to support sellers’ branding efforts and multi-platform sales channels, thereby reducing operational risks. Provide sellers with traffic support to address the conflict between product homogenisation and buyers’ personalised demands. Establish a rational traffic distribution mechanism that supports dedicated sellers and products with high potential, ultimately enhancing the platform’s attractiveness and competitiveness. Localising warehousing and logistics The long-term goal is to encourage sellers to integrate their industrial chains, establish overseas warehouses, and develop their own logistics systems. The overseas warehouse model can improve logistics contract fulfilment efficiency, reduce operating costs, and enhance overall fulfilment performance. By building or connecting logistics resources, platforms can enhance the consumer experience, increase user retention rates, attract small-and medium-sized sellers, and strengthen their bargaining power. Driving platform innovation and refined operations Leverage emerging technologies to enable refined operations, reduce operating costs, take advantage of economies of scale, and boost core competitiveness. Strengthen research, development and application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and blockchain to improve operational efficiency and optimize user experience. For buyers: Offer personalised recommendations and optimized logistics and distribution to enhance repurchase intentions. For sellers: Strengthen supply chain cooperation, reduce transaction costs, provide a wider range of high-quality products, and increase user stickiness. The white paper places special emphasis on the role of technological innovation in enhancing user loyalty and repurchase power. By leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other advanced technologies, platforms can more accurately predict user needs, implement intelligent inventory management, and optimise pricing strategies. The development of the white paper was spearheaded by DHGATE Group Executive Assistant to the Chairman, Mei Tian and Associate Professor Wei Zhang, Director of the Institute of Digital Economy and Innovation of Business and Economics at the University of Hong Kong. Throughout the compilation process, the white paper’s research team received invaluable guidance and support from Professor Haipeng Shen, Patrick SC Poon Professor in Analytics and Innovation at the University of Hong Kong. The publication of the white paper serves not only as a valuable reference for cross-border e-commerce platforms but also as a guiding light for the healthy development of the entire industry.

SINGAPORE: PT Bank BTPN Tbk (Bank BTPN) is spearheading the bank’s mobile-led consumer banking services with its flagship Jenius, as a pioneer of digital banking in Indonesia. Jenius has partnered with Perx Technologies to transform traditional banking experiences that are purely driven by needs and wants to a fun and game-like experience. By introducing the concepts of gamification and instant gratification into every day personal banking experiences the Perx Loyalty Engagement Platform and Jenius aim to transform and uplift the quintessential thought relationship a consumer has with their lifestyle banking needs. With a diverse array of rewarding experiences, gamified savings milestones and a personalised loyalty programme that keeps rewarding customers for their every action, Jenius aims at driving positive behavioural hacks into the community such as building a nest egg or better managing impulsive spending habits with full transparency. Moving away from existing as ‘just another digital bank’ and transforming into a financial solution for the digital savvy audience Jenius aims to engage its customers beyond their regular banking needs by becoming an enabler to the lifestyle choices its customers make daily. At the core of this partnership lies the goal to drive maximum customer lifetime value through a dynamic and rewarding loyalty program, mobile customer journeys studded with instant gratification and gamification allowing the bank to nudge and influence positive customer behaviour. Driving this customer experience focused personal banking model is an engagement strategy that is continuous and non-transactional. Powering this strategy through the various mobile-first services Jenius offers is the Perx Loyalty Engagement Platform. “As a digital native bank, the app experience is paramount to Jenius’ success. By collaborating with Perx, we are able to leverage innovative technology to provide a fun, personalised, and rewarding experience across all customer touchpoints throughout their entire customer journey. “This is essential to create retention, engagement, and customer-first service experience – which is ultimately what sets us apart from others in the industry,” said Bank BTPN Digital Banking Product & Innovation Head, Febri Rusli. “In the experience economy, digitally savvy consumers expect personalised and meaningful interactions that keep them excited enough to return. We are delighted to deliver these ‘Aha moments’ in every customer journey a Jenius customer will experience going forward. “We are thrilled to partner with Bank BTPN to create and deliver an engaging customer experience for everyone served by Jenius in Indonesia,” said Perx Technologies Founder and CEO, Anna Gong.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian ringgit reached 4.4000/4150 against the US dollar earlier this morning at 11.32am, which appreciated from 4.4930/5010 at 8am versus the US dollar from last Friday’s close of 4.4945/4995. This is a continued upward momentum for 11 straight days against the US dollar as investors redirect their investments towards the Asia Pacific region, following wearker US jobs data last Friday. It was reported that the US unemployment rate jumped to a near 3-year high of 4.3% in July compared to 4.1% in June. UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Head of Investment Research Mohd Sedek Jantan said that in the wake of the weak US jobs data, US bond yields dropped significantly as investors sought safety in fixed income. Consequently, the 2-year treasury yields experienced a notable decline, from 4.39% to the current 3.91%, marking the lowest level since March 2023 and resulting in the dollar index (DXY) dropping more than 1% in a single day. “Additionally, the dovish tone from both the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve last week was likely to Sustain the increased demand for the ringgit,” he said. Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid believes the ringgit versus US dollar is on track to move towards its current support level of RM4.40. As such, he anticipated the ringgit against greenback to range between RM4.47 and RM4.48. “The US bond markets are in bullish mode, indicating that the players are expecting a steeper drop in Fed Fund Rate,” he said. Meanwhile, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of major currencies and was mixed against ASEAN currencies. It fell against the British pound to 5.7447/7550 from 5.7264/7328 at Friday’s close, dropped vis-a-vis the euro to 4.9019/9106 from 4.8635/8689 previously, and decreased versus the Japanese yen to 3.0848/0913 from 3.0177/0214 last week. Against the ASEAN Currencies, the local note was almost flat versus the Indonesian rupiah to 277.3/277.9 from 277.4/277.8 and was flat vis-à-vis the Philippine peso at 7.37/7.57. It slid against the Singapore dollar to 3.3889/3952 from 3.3750/3793 and dropped versus the Thai baht to 12.7158/7503 from 12.7093/7284 previously.

BEIJING: Datasea Inc., a Nevada corporation engaged in innovative businesses in high-tech intelligent acoustics and 5G-Artificial Intelligence multimodal communication technology in the United States and China, announced 3 sales agreements with its subsidiaries in China. The agreements reached a total value of approximately US$61.7 million that encompass two agreements for its 5G-AI communications segment, and one agreement for Datasea’s high-tech acoustic products segment. Datasea CEO Liu Zhixin commented, “We are pleased to enter into the new agreements as they are expected to increase new customer orders for both our 5G AI communications and acoustics products segments. We believe that both of our businesses are beginning to gain excellent traction due to their high value in the 5G communications and healthy living marketplaces. “In addition, we are confident that the two segments’ core AI functionality will drive further technological innovation and increased market share,” she Zhixin. Datasea’s three new sales agreements include the company’s Guozhong Haoze subsidiary signing a 5G AI Multimodal Communication Agreement with Shenzhen Juhaowan Technology Co., Ltd., an online lifestyle services and application service provider on 15 May 2024. According to the agreement, Juhaowan can purchase 5G multimodal communication delivery services from Guozhong Haoze over the course of 12 months which have an estimated total value of up to US$30 million. Another agreement was made on 13 May 2024, involving the company’s Heilongjiang Xunrui subsidiary that signed a 5G AI Multimodal Communication Agreement with Shenzhen Yuzhongqing Technology Co., Ltd., a firm primarily engaged in internet and related services. According to the agreement, Yuzhongqing can purchase 5G multimodal communication delivery services from Heilongjiang Xunrui over the course of 12 months which have an estimated total value of up to US$30 million. Finally, on 8 June 2024, the company’s Shuhai Jingwei subsidiary entered into an Acoustic Products Sales Agreement with Tianjin Qianli Culture Communication Co., Ltd., an internet promotion and marketing service provider, for the Company’s acoustic high-tech products. According to the agreement, Qianli Culture will purchase a total of approximately 20,000 units of the company’s “Tianer” and “Star Sleep” branded products, including air disinfection machines, restroom deodorization and disinfection devices, and sleep aids, by 31 December 2024, with the total contract amount reaching approximately US$1.7 million.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s potential to become an automotive hub for ASEAN not only lies in strategies to boost car exports, it also hinges on the increased export of parts and components. To achieve this, Malaysian automotive and parts companies must persevere to increase exports of cars significantly, enabling parts to be sold at more competitive prices. Increased sales volumes can reduce production costs and subsequently, component prices, making them more competitive than those in regional and neighbouring countries where auto parts are cheaper due to the high sales volume. Car manufacturers, auto industry researchers and economists believe that these endeavours are crucial to establishing Malaysia as a regional automotive hub for ASEAN and taking advantage of the region’s close to 700 million consumer base. “We urge original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to not only export cars but also parts and components, thereby enhancing the overall competitiveness of the Malaysian automotive industry,” said Azrul Reza Aziz, MARii Chief Executive Officer. He said this in response to reports that Malaysia’s supply chain costs are 30% higher than Chin’s and 10% costlier than Thailand’s. Azrul Reza pointed out that it is essential to recognise that these costs vary significantly, depending on each company’s cost structure, car model and supply chain ecosystem. He highlighted that companies may have different levels of maturity in their supply chains, which impacts their overall cost efficiency. Malaysia undoubtedly has a lot of catching up to do, as, despite marking significant growth, its record-high total production volume (TPV) was only 775,000 vehicles, compared to China’s TPV which stood at around 30 million vehicles and Thailand’s at 1.8 million vehicles. Azrul Reza said Malaysian companies must transform by embracing digital advancements, leveraging Industry 4.0 (IR4.0) technologies to address the challenges. This is crucial as the country aims for carbon neutrality by 2050, focusing on the development of electric vehicle (EV) components, autonomous vehicles (AV), and Internet of Things (loT) components. “Given the constraints on purchasing raw materials in bulk due to cost implications and the added expenses of stock handling and maintenance, digital solutions offer respite in terms of immediate insights and resolutions. “Furthermore, digital solutions enhance efficiency and effective improvements in research and development, notably through the utilisation of computer-aided engineering and additive manufacturing technologies,” he said. Meanwhile, Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Mohd Shamsor Mohd Zain noted that China and Thailand’s domestic pool of population, vehicles, and maintenance networks are considerably larger than Malaysia’s. Their reduced reliance on exports means that their vendors are less vulnerable to fluctuating exchange rates. Similarly, such costs are largely driven by the push and pull of demand and supply, he said. “Although Malaysia has a relatively mature automotive supply chain, dating back more than 50 years, the cost of setting up, or refreshing component manufacturing with new technology is very high. “The most effective way to justify these investments is for Malaysia to position itself as an export hub,” he said. Mohd Shamsor said the local automotive industry needs to build its competencies in terms of quality, affordability and productivity in locally-produced parts by expanding the export volume and ramping up OEMs’ capacities. He added that manufacturers often have different perspectives on how their business models are structured and cost is only one consideration among many. — BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite the ringgit’s recent strengthening and a 5.8% economic growth in the second quarter, the government is still working to ease the cost of living burden, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said. He said with various measures taken, the inflation rate has been successfully controlled at 2%, and the national unemployment rate at 3.3%. “But am l satisfied? No, because we are still facing cost-of-living issues in some areas, which put pressure on everyday life,” he said at the National Cooperative Congress 2024 closing ceremony, which was attended by Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick, his deputy Datuk R Ramanan, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali and Angkasa president Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Fattah Abdullah. Anwar emphasised that the government is continually seeking solutions to the cost-of-living issue, including the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) totalling RM10 billion to 9 million people. He also highlighted the government’s move to review the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) to raise civil servants’ salaries as an effort to alleviate living costs. “Next October, we will finalise the new remuneration system with significant salary increases for civil servants. We hope this will lead to more efficient work. Control and supervision will also be tougher, as the increase is not small. It is the highest in history, exceeding 15% he said. Anwar also called for national unity to elevate the country’s dignity and expressed his desire for the cooperative movement to become a pillar of economic growth. — BERNAMA