Business news summary for Jan 24-30

Azmin: Genting Hong Kong bankruptcy has no impact on Malaysian economy

• The Genting Hong Kong bankruptcy has no impact on the country's liquidity and economic growth, said Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
• The media had previously reported that three Malaysian banks were named as among the chief unsecured creditors of Genting Hong Kong, with a combined exposure of US$600 million (RM2.5 billion).
• Maybank had issued a statement saying it would not affect the bank's financial strength.

High Court imposes 24 months imprisonment term on former Transmile CEO

• The High Court has allowed the Securities Commission's (SC) appeal and increased the jail sentence of former Group Bhd chief executive officer and executive director Gan Boon Aun to 24 months from one day.
• In a statement, the SC said the High Court also upheld the initial fine of RM2.5milimposed by the Sessions Court on Aug 27, 2020.
• Gan was convicted for furnishing a misleading statement, with intent to deceive, relating to Transmile's revenue in the company's quarterly report on unaudited consolidated results for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2006.

Touch 'N Go to launch new version of card with NFC capability

• (TnG) will be launching a new version of its card that has the capabilities of tapping into a Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the next few weeks.
• TNG Digital Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Ignatius Ong said the new card will allow users to easily top up their balance using a NFC-enabled port via the TnG eWallet application.
• At the same panel discussion, Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) retail payments director Khairuan Abdul Rahman noted that towards the fourth quarter of 2021, e-commerce transactions dropped slightly as the economic sector reopened and more businesses started to operate physically.

Digi posts net profit of RM304.55mil in 4Q, div of 3.9c/share

• Bhd posted a net profit of RM304.55mil in the fourth quarter of its financial year ended Dec 31, 2021, up 8.7% from RM280.18mil in the year-ago quarter due to operational efficiencies and a positive outcome from long-standing tax claims.
• Over the entire financial year, Digi's net profit came to RM1.16bil, or 4.82% lower than RM1.22bil in the previous year.
• Revenue in FY21 rose 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM6.34bil.

Azman Hashim to retire from AMMB board

• AmBank Group has announced that Tan Sri Azman Hashim will retire as the non-independent, non-executive chairman and member of the board of directors of AMMB Holdings Bhd on March 31, 2022.
• The group said Azman will continue to contribute as chairman emeritus and honorary advisor upon his retirement.
• He also remains a major shareholder of the group.

Khairussaleh resigns from RHB group

• In the interim, Mohd Rashid who is the managing director, group wholesale banking has been appointed as the officer-in-charge/principal officer of the group, the lender said in a statement.

Raya Airways refutes speculation on acquisition

• Raya Airways Sdn Bhd has refuted claims of being in talks with AirAsia Group Bhd or any other parties for an acquisition.
• A business weekly reported that AirAsia has approached businessman Datuk Ishak Ismail whose family owns Raya Airways, to acquire the carrier.

AirAsia 4Q consolidated AOC records strong 80% load factor

• AirAsia Group Bhd's consolidated air operator's certificate (AOCs), recorded the highest quarterly load factor and capacity at 80% and 3.4 million respectively in fourth quarter of 2021 (4Q21) since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The budget carrier said passengers carried increased 103% to 2.7 million year-on-year (YoY) in 4Q21 which surpassed the capacity increase of 70%, leading to a 13 percentage points (ppts) improvement in load factor to 80%.
• AirAsia Malaysia passengers carried and capacity has increased by 164% and 139% respectively as compared to the same quarter in previous year off the back of rising demand after the reopening of state borders announced by the Government of Malaysia.

New blueprint launched for financial sector

• Bank Negara's Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026 was launched on Monday to set the course for the development of the Malaysian financial sector over the next five years.
• The blueprint, which was launched by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today, has five key priorities that would promote a financial system that will secure long-term growth, planetary health and shared prosperity.
• Now that our national goals are set and the blueprint is drawn, it is time to act.