Business summary for Feb 7 to 13

TM relocating majority of its corporate offices

• Menara TM, one of the country's most iconic buildings, has been put on the market for an undisclosed price..
• It comprises a total of 989,000 sq ft of the building consisting of office towers, while 92,431 sq ft comprise convention centres, multi-purpose halls, a sports complex, mosque and helipad, among others.
• Menara TM Semarak and Wisma TM Taman Desa are also up for sale, according to a statement by CBRE|WTW.

Adani surpasses Ambani as Asia’s richest person

• Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire who turned a small commodities trading business into a conglomerate spanning ports, mines and green energy, is now Asia's richest person.
• The 59-year-old mogul's net worth reached US$88.5bil (RM370bil) on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, eclipsing fellow countryman Mukesh Ambani's US$87.9bil (RM368bil).
• With an almost US$12bil (RM50bil) jump in his personal fortune, Adani is the world's biggest wealth-gainer this year.

Reopening of borders timely

• Key beneficiaries from the reopening of the country's international borders will be the tourism sector and related stocks such as Capital A Bhd, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Genting Malaysia Bhd.
• Another beneficiary would be the business event sector, which would see a rejuvenation of activities in investments, conferences and exhibitions.
• The Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has said the country's border reopening is crucial for business events recovery.

Bank Negara to announce digital banks licence recipients next month

• Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will announce the winners of digital bank licenses next month, governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus.
• She said the central bank was at an advanced stage of assessing the applications and would announce the winners during the publication of its annual reports.
• She said the central banks expected the entry of the digital banks to accelerate the digitalisation of incumbent banks.

Malaysia's current account balance surplus reaches RM15.2bil

• Malaysia's current account balance (CAB) continued to record a surplus of RM15.2 billion in the final quarter of 2021, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.
• The goods account registered net exports of RM51.8bil, the highest since the third quarter of 2008 at RM50.9bil.
• Concurrently, imports of goods went up 12.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter to record RM219.5 billion.

Building material index 0.2-3.9% up in January for Peninsula

• Steel prices were higher during the month, with Kota Kinabalu recording the highest increase at 2.4 per cent followed by Johor (1.8 per cent), Miri (1.0 per cent), Kuching (0.5 per cent) and Selangor, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (0.2 per cent).
• Cement prices increased by 2.0 per cent in January 2022 with Tawau recording the highest increase at 5.6 per cent followed by Sandakan (4.3 per cent), Miri (3.6 per cent), Kuching (3.4 per cent), Kota Kinabalu (2.7 per cent), Terengganu and Kelantan (0.9 per cent), while Selangor, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (0.6 per cent), Johor (0.3 per cent) and Penang, Kedah and Perlis (0.2 per cent).
• DoSM said the index of component copper cables increased between 0.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent in January 2022 compared to December 2021.

Ringgit opens higher vs US$ on buying interest

• The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today on buying interest despite falling crude oil prices, said an analyst.
• At 9.00 am, the local currency was traded at 4.1820/1860 versus the greenback from Monday's close of 4.1835/1850.
• He said therefore, the ringgit should stay around RM4.18 against the greenback in the immediate term.

Digital Nasional responds to long list of queries

• Locally hosted, monitored and actioned on with global support c. Zero Trust or Least privileged access
• f. Easing compromise detection g. Cushioning the impact if compromised Ralph Marshall Chief Executive Officer Digital Nasional Bhd

Maxis launches 'Rangkaian Kita Rangkaian Malaysia' campaign

• The company said RKRM represents the reinforcement and deepening of the 'Always Be Ahead' brand purpose launched in 2020, adding that the campaign will be driven by three core areas, which are 'Anytime, anywhere connections for all', 'Widest range of digital solutions and capabilities' as well as 'Expert support round the clock'.