MONEY MASTER

Malaysia's budget 2017 has been successfully tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on last Friday. In the midst of a low oil price and weak external environment, economists have said that the Budget 2017 was one that hits the right note while maintaining fiscal discipline.  The theme of the budget 2017: Accelerating growth, ensuring fiscal prudence, enhancing well-being of the Rakyat. Prime Minister Najib presenting Budget 2017 last Friday Here's a quick look on what Budget 2017 has to offer: Operating Expenditure: RM214.8bil, Development Expenditure: RM46 bil RM260.8 billion has been allocated for expenditure, representing an increase of 3.4% from previous year. According to some economists, the higher allocation for expenditure will help to drive the economy in 2017. From the breakdown, we could see that RM214.8 billion is for operating expenditure (82%) as compared to only RM46 billion for development expenditure (18%). This continu...

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is being accused in a lawsuit of selling out a client to curry favor with Prime Minister Najib Razak at a time when the bank has already been under scrutiny by regulators over its fundraising for the embattled 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). Goldman and former managing director Tim Leissner allegedly betrayed their duties as financial adviser of EON Capital Bhd, which was taken over by Hong Leong Bank Bhd. for $1.7 billion in May 2011. Goldman used EON’s confidential information to help the bank buy EON on the cheap knowing that Najib’s brother served as a board member and another brother chaired the investment firm advising the bank, Primus Pacific Partners 1 LP said in the complaint. (Source: Bloomberg) Spokesman for Goldman said lawsuit as "misguided" Primus Pacific, EON’s biggest shareholder after buying a stake of more than 20 percent in 2008, unsuccessfully sued twice to block the sale, arguing that Hong Leong’s takeover price ...

1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has made a media statement, saying that  its audited financial statements for 2013 and 2014 shouldn’t be relied on after U.S. prosecutors said more than $3.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund during a period that included those years. "Whilst the Board  remains confident that no wrongdoing has been committed by 1MDB and that the past audited financial statements continue to show a true and fair view of the company’s affairs at the relevant points in time, the Board has decided that, as a precautionary measure, the 2013 and 2014 audited financial statements of 1MDB should no longer be relied on by any party, pending final and conclusive determination by a court of law of certain alleged facts, as described in the Complaint." 1MDB also said its auditor Deloitte LLP is resigning and the company is seeking a replacement, according to an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.  It didn’t give a reason for the departure but said that D...

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) will continue the publicly scrutinized dispute against 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)...I would call it a round 2, in court.  IPIC vs 1MDB (round 2), in court IPIC  is seeking $6.5 billion from the troubled Malaysian state investment company as it moves the spat into arbitration. The request for arbitration (RFA) is in regard to IPIC's claim that 1MDB and the Ministry of Finance (MoF Inc) have failed to perform their contractual obligations under the binding term sheet (BTS).  The Malaysian investment fund and IPIC are locked in a tussle that spilled over to repayments on bonds issued by 1MDB. That led to a default in April, adding to the financial scandals for the Malaysian company that’s already a target of global probes into alleged money laundering and embezzlement. 1MDB has denied wrongdoing. The dispute between IPIC and 1MDB arose after the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund s...

Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) said it would make a US$50.3 million interest payment to holders of notes issued by Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), but only after 1MDB defaults on its payments. A default by 1MDB will occur if the troubled Malaysian sovereign fund fails to make a payment on the 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd bond before Monday, April 25, IPIC said in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday. IPIC guarantees the bond. The coupon on the US$1.75 billion bond was due on April 18, but terms of the bond gave a five-day period of grace for the payment, which ends Monday. The Abu Dhabi fund said neither 1MDB Energy (Langat) nor 1MDB have made the payment so far. It said the guarantee has not been called upon yet. "As at the time of this announcement, IPIC is not aware of the Guarantee being called upon. IPIC has always honoured its obligations arising from any agreements it has entered in to ...

1MDB back in the news The International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) which have a mixed debt-swap agreement with 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) yesterday, is demanding that 1MDB should pay back the USD 1.1 billion owed to it. The Gulf emirate’s International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic) ended its relationship with its Southeast Asian counterpart in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday.  The Abu Dhabi fund said 1MDB and Malaysia’s ministry of finance were in default on the deal, including an obligation to pay $1.1bn plus interest, and that 1MDB continued to be bound by its commitments under the agreement.  With this new development, 1MDB, which is already a target of global investigations into allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, has another major problem: It now faces the risk of sinking into default. The development leaves 1MDB’s bondholders waiting for an interest payment, due Monday, that may never come. The A...

MAHATHIR & Co: "THE CITIZENS DECLARATION" Four days after quitting UMNO, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad sat with his old political allies and foes at a packed press conference last Friday to get the people's support to sign a declaration seeking Najib's removal. The Citizens' Declaration This sounds a lot like "Avengers" in real life...haha!! Well, Mahathir is definitely no angel himself but it's interesting to see how this will eventually turn out. Anyway, among those present were Selangor Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, DAP parliamentary chief Lim Kit Siang, former deputy minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former MCA president, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik. 58 individuals called "The Citizens Declaration" that day. The former and longest Malaysia's prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir said Najib's removal from office must be through "non-violent legally permissible means." Asked if his collaboration with...

THE FLIP-FLOP STORIES ON FOREIGN WORKERS This is becoming a habit as Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister suddenly announced a suspension on the recruitment of migrant workers from all countries, including Bangladesh.  1.5 million Bangladeshi? As of now, hiring is freeze on all foreign workers Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmad Zahid was reportedly saying, "The government has made the decision to freeze the intake of all foreign workers, including those from Bangladesh. And we appeal to all employers to hire locals." The government's announcement was a rather strange one given that it was not long after the news that 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers would be recruited and brought into the country. The sudden change of plan is a strange one indeed but not something new. At best, the flip-flop is likely due to politicians bowing to public pressures. At worst, it shows that our policymakers did not know what they were doing.  Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Richard R...

Yak Yew Chee, a senior banker at Swiss-based BSI Singapore , has emerged for the first time as a key figure in Singapore's money laundering probe, according to documents released at Singapore High Court last week . According to Reuters report, Yak was not personally at the Singapore High Court on Friday, when he sought to unfreeze his Singapore funds to pay taxes and legal fees. His lawyer agreed to withdraw the petition after the prosecutor raised no objection in allowing Yak to transfer S$1.76 million (US$1.3 million) from his overseas bank accounts. In an affidavit filed at the court, he denied any wrongdoing or getting unlawful benefits from managing the accounts of 1MDB or its affiliates. Singapore authorities are conducting a money laundering probe into bank accounts linked to 1MDB, whose activities have triggered legal action across three continents. Some of the accounts Singapore is probing belong to Yak and have been frozen together with S$9.7 million of his f...

MUKHRIZ RESIGNS, AHMAD BASHAH SWORN IN AS KEDAH MB Malaysia's political tension seem to have gone one tension up, with former PM's Mahathir's son, Mukhriz Mahathir being replaced by Ahmad Bashah as the Kedah Menteri Besar (MB). Mukhriz out, Bashah in Mukhriz said he was removed because of his criticism of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over 1Malaysia Development Bhd and the RM2.6 billion donation. Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah, aged 66 was sworn in as the new Kedah Menteri Besar (MB) last Thursday. This has ended the state's leadership crisis after Mukhriz was being told that he no longer had the support of the majority in the state assembly. Ahmad Bashah, who led the revolt against Mukhriz is the deputy chief of Kedah UMNO. This is probably a sign of a weakened influence from the Mahathir's camp. LEMBAGA TABUNG HAJI (LTH) announces 5% dividend, 3% bonus Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) announced an annual dividend of 5% for 2015 for its depositors. Thi...