Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:30 PM | Report Abuse

CYBERJAYA (Sept 22): The Communications and Multimedia Ministry (MCMC) is empowering 1,064 community internet centres (PIK) nationwide to become digital transformation centres for local communities, the younger generation in particular.
The MCMC in a statement today said besides providing basic training on information technology and communications (ICT) for various groups, the centres would now also provide more advanced training sessions.
Among them are programming, robotic applications, mobile application innovation, e-commerce entrepreneurship, animation, video production, 3D printing and other forms of training which could benefit the youngsters to upskill and innovate.
“We hope the facilities and programmes provided will assist youths to equip themselves with advanced digital knowledge to compete in building the future,” it said.
According to the MCMC, its survey on broadband usage in 2018 found that 67.8% or 19.5 million out of 28.7 million internet users in the country were youths.
From that total, 80.9% of 16.6 million youths were involved in e-commerce activities, while 78.4% were using the internet between one and 12 hours every day, it said.
“The survey also showed that youths used the internet as the main platform to look for jobs and entertainment, playing online games, communications and searching for information.
Meanwhile, the MCMC said telecommunication providers in this country welcomed the suggestion by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Sept 17 to provide youths with adequate knowledge and vast opportunities to spark innovation and new ideas in the digital economy era.

Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:30 PM | Report Abuse

Muhyiddin: Microsoft, Amazon and Google keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub
JOHOR BARU, Aug 15 — Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded You Tube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:30 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:29 PM | Report Abuse

Muhyiddin: Microsoft, Amazon and Google keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub
JOHOR BARU, Aug 15 — Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded You Tube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:29 PM | Report Abuse

Tekun Nasional will soon launch the TEKUN Mobilepreneur 2.0 financing scheme to provide financing of up to RM10,000 to delivery riders for the purchase of new motorcycles and working capital.
In a statement today, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said applicants would need to register with any of the existing e-hailing delivery companies and adhere to the terms and conditions set up by these companies.
The programme, to be launched on July 7, is one of the efforts made by the Government through the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) fund.
"An initial allocation of RM1 million will be provided for the first 100 applicants and an additional RM4 million allocation for 400 applicants will be announced later.
"The programme is to assist delivery riders to continue their services as well as boost the country's economy while we are still facing the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Wan Junaidi.
Tekun Nasional is an agency under the Ministry that provides financing facilities to bumiputera in order to kick-start and expand their businesses.
In TEKUN Mobilepreneur programme 1.0 financing scheme, introduced in April, provided interest-free financing facility of up to RM2,000 to help local delivery riders repair their motorcycles and provide them with working capital, The scheme, aimed at benefiting 500 delivery riders, ended yesterday.
Over 211 applications had been approved up till yesterday involving RM394,000.

Stock: [FOCUS]: FOCUS DYNAMICS GROUP BHD

Sep 28, 2020 3:28 PM | Report Abuse

Food delivery firm delivers on growth
Timely delivery: DeliverEat tries to ensure that the food reaches customers within 45 minutes from the time they place their orders online.
FOOD delivery outfit DeliverEat is expecting revenue to double this year as more consumers cosy up to the idea of having their meals delivered to their doorstep.
In line with the expanding market, the company is expecting a compounded annual growth rate of 23.2% for the 2019-2023 period.
According to a Statista on-line food delivery survey for Malaysia, the revenue of the online food delivery segment is expected to hit US$145mil (RM599mil) in 2019.
DeliverEat founder and chief operating officer Leong Shir Mein says the business is booming mainly because food delivery is gaining wider acceptance as people are starting to experience the convenience of the process.
“Initially, people were wondering whether there was such a need for this business as restaurants and hawker stalls can be found in every corner in Penang.
“Eventually, they saw the convenience of having food sent to their homes. They then realised that food delivery services save you the time to drive out to eat, as you could face problems with finding a parking space or you may get caught in a traffic jam, ” she says.
The growth in business has enabled the Penang-based company to also expand into the central region. Leong says the company is now delivering 8,000 meals a day in the Klang Valley and Penang. She estimates that the current market size of the food catering business is about RM5mil daily.
“Each person spends at least RM10 nowadays for a meal, ” she notes.
She adds that the market education carried out by various food delivery players over time has also changed trends among consumers.
“Initially, people thought that we could only deliver fast food such as burgers, pizzas and fried chicken.
More eateries: Leong says the number of restaurants in its network will double over the next 12 months.
“Now they realise that we deliver for more than 2,000 restaurants, and we can also deliver for hawkers. The number of restaurants will double over the next 12 months, ” she says.
Presently, DeliverEat has 400 riders serving the Klang Valley and Penang.
“We plan to extend our food delivery services to other states in the peninsular and also to East Malaysia in the near future.
“We also cater for corporate functions and parties, ” she adds.
DeliverEat tries to ensure that the food orders reach customers within 45 minutes from the time they place their orders online via its website. Customers can track the status of their orders by logging on with their order identification codes at the website.
Leong says when the company started in 2012, the number of daily orders for the lunch hour alone was around 15. At that time, it was more focused on the working crowd in offices and factories.
“Each order would be around RM70, which serves four to five persons, ” she says.
With more choices available to consumers these days, food outlets are looking for options to reach a wider group of customers beyond just their physical location. However, Leong notes that many of them were unable to do so because they did not have a delivery team.
“Our strategy is to get more restaurants and food outlets that provide different cuisines to appoint us as the delivery agent, ” she says.
When restaurants engage the services of DeliverEat, they are able to save on investments to provide their own delivery services, which Leong says would require an initial investment of at least RM6,000, inclusive of wages and motor-cycles.
“Furthermore, they also have to consider the cost of advertising their delivery services in the media.
As for restaurants that already have their own delivery team, the strategy is to “secure orders from our customers for them”.

Stock: [LAMBO]: LAMBO GROUP BERHAD

Sep 24, 2020 12:30 PM | Report Abuse

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in collaboration with developer of analytics software, SAS Institute, is launching the SAS Software Certified Young Professionals (SCYP) programme for students in Malaysia, the first in Southeast Asia.
SAS SCYP programme will aim to equip at least 500 students this year with in-demand analytics knowledge and expertise in a Covid-19 impacted employment market, while helping to meet the growing demand for data science and analytics professionals across industries in the region.
Digital adoption in Malaysia has accelerated tremendously over the past several months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government through MDEC has identified technology as the key enabler to respond to the new normal and to address the economic situation.
MDEC has been actively promoting the #SayaDigital movement and the Government’s PENJANA programmes that will create industry-ready digitally-skilled Malaysians.
SAS has a deep-rooted history in academia. Launching a programme to empower Malaysian students with SAS analytics knowledge and expertise helps in answering the rising demand for technology professionals in Southeast Asia.
Business organisations need people who can make sense of data, manage and analyse it, build models and determine what information delivers the most value. Students with an analytical skillset will be highly sought after.
MDEC chief executive officer Surina Shukri said the strategic partnership with SAS aligns perfectly with MDEC’s commitment to ensuring delivery of technology relevant programmes to Malaysian students and help Malaysians make the digital leap into the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
We see our public-private partnership initiatives such as SAS contributing to Malaysia’s overall growth of the data science skills required in the workforce to support the digitally-driven economy, which is also critical to meet the demand of the current and future job market, she said.
Surina said the SAS SCYP programme will enable students to work towards SAS certification in programming, machine learning and visual analytics through e-learning courses at their own pace.

Stock: [LAMBO]: LAMBO GROUP BERHAD

Sep 24, 2020 12:29 PM | Report Abuse

PUTRAJAYA (Sept 14): The Covid-19 pandemic has become a catalyst for the ASEAN market to adopt e-commerce earlier than forecasted, according to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
Chief operating officer Datuk Ng Wan Peng said prior to the pandemic, MDEC forecasted ASEAN e-commerce users to reach 310 million by 2025.
“Covid-19 has prompted more people to go online and now the number has reached 340 million,” she said in her speech at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Malay Traders and Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia (Perdasama) and Jocom MShopping Sdn Bhd here today.
The MoU will enable Perdasama entrepreneurs nationwide to market their products to China, Australia and ASEAN markets using various e-commerce platforms through Jocom.
Ng said the number of e-commerce users in ASEAN which had surpassed the 2023 target showed there was a lot of potential in the market.
“When more go online that means businesses can sustain as well as keep jobs for those in the logistics and delivery industry,” she said.
She added that MDEC would continue to assess the market in ensuring that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the country could keep going and sustain in the new digital economy.
Perdasama’s Putrajaya Women chief Rohana Maamur said the MoU would help 15,000 association members nationwide to market their product globally, amidst the Covid-19 economic challenges.
Jocom MShopping chief executive officer Joshua Sew said such collaboration would assist and grow Malaysia’s small and medium enterprises, as well as contribute to the country’s gross domestic product.

Stock: [AIRASIA]: AIRASIA GROUP BHD

Sep 24, 2020 10:38 AM | Report Abuse

GEORGE TOWN (Sept 23): The Small and Medium Enterprise Association Malaysia (Samenta) welcomes the Federal Government’s initiative of introducing the Targeted Wage Subsidy Programme to assist employers and employees economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Samenta president, Koay Chiew Guan told Bernama that the wage subsidy programme would strongly aid the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to mitigate the economic impact from the pandemic.
“It is a good move from the Federal Government as the wage subsidy programme would definitely help boost the recovery of SMEs nationwide,” he said.
He also urged the SMEs to apply for the wage subsidy when the application is open from Oct 1 to Dec 31 this year.
Earlier today, the Government announced several initiatives and additional assistance under the RM10 billion PRIHATIN Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin) in order to boost economic recovery.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that one of the several initiatives was the Targeted Wage Subsidy Programme, estimated to involve RM2.4 billion and expected to benefit 1.3 million workers
He said the wage subsidy would be given to employers still affected by the pandemic, namely companies facing lower revenues by at least 30% compared to last year, since the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) came into force.
The wage subsidy will be given for up to three months at a rate of RM600 per month for each employee, with a maximum of 200 employees per company.

Stock: [XOX]: XOX BHD

Sep 24, 2020 10:33 AM | Report Abuse

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 24): Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in collaboration with developer of analytics software, SAS Institute, is launching the SAS Software Certified Young Professionals (SCYP) programme for students in Malaysia, the first in Southeast Asia.
SAS SCYP programme will aim to equip at least 500 students this year with in-demand analytics knowledge and expertise in a Covid-19 impacted employment market, while helping to meet the growing demand for data science and analytics professionals across industries in the region.
Digital adoption in Malaysia has accelerated tremendously over the past several months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government through MDEC has identified technology as the key enabler to respond to the new normal and to address the economic situation.
MDEC has been actively promoting the #SayaDigital movement and the Government’s PENJANA programmes that will create industry-ready digitally-skilled Malaysians.
SAS has a deep-rooted history in academia. Launching a programme to empower Malaysian students with SAS analytics knowledge and expertise helps in answering the rising demand for technology professionals in Southeast Asia.
Business organisations need people who can make sense of data, manage and analyse it, build models and determine what information delivers the most value. Students with an analytical skillset will be highly sought after.
MDEC chief executive officer Surina Shukri said the strategic partnership with SAS aligns perfectly with MDEC’s commitment to ensuring delivery of technology relevant programmes to Malaysian students and help Malaysians make the digital leap into the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
We see our public-private partnership initiatives such as SAS contributing to Malaysia’s overall growth of the data science skills required in the workforce to support the digitally-driven economy, which is also critical to meet the demand of the current and future job market, she said.
Surina said the SAS SCYP programme will enable students to work towards SAS certification in programming, machine learning and visual analytics through e-learning courses at their own pace.

Stock: [FINTEC]: FINTEC GLOBAL BERHAD

Sep 24, 2020 10:28 AM | Report Abuse

China needs first mover advantage in digitial-currency race
SHANGHAI (Sept 21): China needs to become the first nation to issue a digital currency in its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on the global dollar-payment system, a commentary published by the country's central bank said.
An article published in China Finance, a magazine run by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said the rights to issue and control a digital currency would become a "new battlefield" of competition among sovereign countries.
Issuance and circulation of the digital currency would bring great changes to existing international finance, it said.
"China has many advantages and opportunities in issuing [first] digital currencies, so it should accelerate the pace to seize the first track," the article, which was published over the weekend, said.
Local media last month reported some of China's major state-run commercial banks had already started conducting large-scale internal testing of a digital wallet, moving a step closer to the official launch of the home-grown digital currency.
The China Finance article argued that the improved data feedback from a digital currency would help enhance monetary-policy transmission, which supports an economic recovery in the post-pandemic era.
China also needs to establish a new payment-system network to break the dollar monopoly as a key part of the yuan internationalisation, the article said.
It added that a PBOC digital-currency-research unit had filed 130 patent applications related to cryptocurrency ranging from issuance, circulation to application as of end-April. Those functions would form a complete supply chain to support for the launch of a digital currency.
In April, the PBOC's digital-currency institute told Reuters it was conducting internal trials of a digital-currency electronic-payment system in four cities and that it intended to pilot the system at future Winter Olympics venues.
The PBOC set up the research team six years ago to explore the possibility of launching a digital currency to cut the cost of circulating paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply.

Stock: [GHLSYS]: GHL SYSTEMS BHD

Sep 23, 2020 12:10 PM | Report Abuse

China needs first mover advantage in digitial-currency race
SHANGHAI (Sept 21): China needs to become the first nation to issue a digital currency in its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on the global dollar-payment system, a commentary published by the country's central bank said.
An article published in China Finance, a magazine run by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said the rights to issue and control a digital currency would become a "new battlefield" of competition among sovereign countries.
Issuance and circulation of the digital currency would bring great changes to existing international finance, it said.
"China has many advantages and opportunities in issuing [first] digital currencies, so it should accelerate the pace to seize the first track," the article, which was published over the weekend, said.
Local media last month reported some of China's major state-run commercial banks had already started conducting large-scale internal testing of a digital wallet, moving a step closer to the official launch of the home-grown digital currency.
The China Finance article argued that the improved data feedback from a digital currency would help enhance monetary-policy transmission, which supports an economic recovery in the post-pandemic era.
China also needs to establish a new payment-system network to break the dollar monopoly as a key part of the yuan internationalisation, the article said.
It added that a PBOC digital-currency-research unit had filed 130 patent applications related to cryptocurrency ranging from issuance, circulation to application as of end-April. Those functions would form a complete supply chain to support for the launch of a digital currency.
In April, the PBOC's digital-currency institute told Reuters it was conducting internal trials of a digital-currency electronic-payment system in four cities and that it intended to pilot the system at future Winter Olympics venues.
The PBOC set up the research team six years ago to explore the possibility of launching a digital currency to cut the cost of circulating paper money and boost policymakers' control of money supply.

Stock: [GDEX]: GD EXPRESS CARRIER BHD

Sep 23, 2020 11:19 AM | Report Abuse

FedEx wrings out profit as pandemic-fueled e-commerce deliveries surge
LOS ANGELES(Sept 16): US delivery firm FedEx Corp reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, after price hikes, lower fuel costs and efficiency gains countered negative impacts associated with a pandemic-fueled surge in e-commerce shipments.
Shares in the Memphis-based company jumped 7.6% to US$254.66 in extended trading. Average daily package volume for FedEx Ground, which handles e-commerce deliveries for retailers like Walmart, jumped 31% to 11.6 million during the fiscal first quarter ended Aug 31.
Bonds remain relevant amid uncertain times
As the number of reported Covid-19 cases worldwide breaches the 26 million mark and deaths total close to 900,000 (at the point of writing), the trade-off between economic cost and reducing the spread of the pandemic through lockdowns is starting to weigh on global growth...
Home deliveries traditionally have been more expensive because they involved fewer packages and far-flung stops. Rising volumes and investments in things like automated sorting centres and route optimisation are bringing those costs down.
"Minor improvements can make a big difference whenever you're moving this many packages a day. The worst of the pressures on profitability are probably behind the company," Edward Jones analyst Matt Arnold said.
FedEx spent US$565 million on fuel across the company during the quarter, 35% less than a year earlier. FedEx did not provide an earnings forecast for fiscal 2021, citing continued uncertainty but said it expects annual capital spending of US$5.1 billion, above analysts' average estimate of US$4.96 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Fiscal first quarter adjusted net income at FedEx jumped 60% to US$1.28 billion or US$4.87 per share. Revenue rose 13.5% to US$19.3 billion. Analysts expected earnings of US$2.69 per share and revenue of US$17.55 billion.

Stock: [TM]: TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD

Sep 23, 2020 11:13 AM | Report Abuse

KOTA KINABALU (Sept 17): Sabah is the biggest beneficiary of the infrastructure development project under the Government’s National Digital Network (JENDELA) initiative with an estimated cost of RM2.45 billion, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
He said the implementation of the initiative would turn the broadband facilities and services for the people of Sabah to be on par with those provided in other States in Malaysia.
“The people of Sabah will have wider broadband access starting at the end of this year until 2022. A total of 419 new towers will be built and 1,972 existing transmitters will be upgraded to 4G.
“Besides, the fixed line fibre optic coverage will also be expanded to cover 251,166 premises across Sabah,” he said at the launch of Gerbang Sabah, which is the largest component of JENDELA to strengthen the construction of the national digital infrastructure, here today.
Also present were Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek, and Telekom Malaysia Berhad chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
Muhyiddin said Gerbang Sabah is the Internet connection point between Sabah and the rest of the world, and is believed to be able to boost the State’s development and progress, besides preparing the people to face the future based on innovation and technology.
It is hoped that the initiative would also improve the level of connectivity as well as the quality of communication services experience nationwide through the development of faster and more comprehensive digital infrastructure.
“Gerbang Sabah will be the starting point to increase the digital capacity of the people in Sabah and open the opportunity for everyone to progress to greater heights in the future,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the Government through the MCMC had also set up 133 Community Internet Centres to provide digital guidance to the people of Sabah, including to generate income through e-commerce activities.
As the youths are the most active group among broadband facility users, the Government and service provider companies will work together to create special broadband access packages for them, such as through low cost services and attractive terms to help them meet the learning and communication needs of the new normal era, he said.
“All aspirations towards the development of a digital society and a sustainable digital economy for Sabah people begin at Gerbang Sabah. The broadband connection capacity here will be channelled to the infrastructure such as fibre optic exchanges and telecommunication towers statewide,” he said.
Muhyiddin also expressed hope that the initiative would close the digital gap among the States in Malaysia apart from improving Sabah’s reputation in the eyes of the world.
Meanwhile, he said the capacity of the Malaysian People’s Cable System (SKRM) in Tanjung Aru had also been increased from 4 Terabit per second to 7.3 Terabit per second.
The Prime Minister said Telekom Malaysia had also upgraded and doubled the SKRM capacity by three times to achieve at least 12.8 Terabit per second in the next three to four years.
“This will involve an additional allocation of RM100 million to the original investment of RM575.5 million by the MCMC and Telekom Malaysia,” he said, adding that the SKRM capacity was vital to accommodate the increasing use of the Internet by the Sabah people and to support JENDELA objectives.
In a similar development, Muhyiddin said 96.9 percent of the populated areas in the country will be covered by 4G services by 2022 before the Government could upgrade it to 5G.
“I would like to repeat the Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) commitment to transform the JENDELA action plan and the launch of Gerbang Sabah is an important part of the initiave,” he said.

Stock: [TM]: TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD

Sep 23, 2020 11:07 AM | Report Abuse

Correct upload speed for 500Mbps package is 100Mbps, not 200Mbps — TM
KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has clarified that the correct upload speed configuration for its 500Mbps package is 100Mbps and not 200Mbps as stated in the earlier version of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), unifi Portal and leaflets.
TM also reiterated that there has been no change to the upload speed configuration for the new unifi 500Mbps package.
TM said this clarification was in response to the statement made by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) titled “MCMC Siasat Aduan Pengurangan Kelajuan Pakej unifi Berbanding Tawaran Awal”, adding it would like to assure all its customers and stakeholders of its commitment to consumer rights and protection.
TM said it continues to be transparent in informing its customers on this, and are tightening its processes to ensure this does not recur.
“In the meantime, we will give our full cooperation to the MCMC in their investigation.
“We wish to update that all customers are still within the 30-day Try Me period as we just introduced the package less than one month ago on Aug 24, 2020.
“Hence, customers can opt not to continue with us without any penalty,” it said.
TM will be calling customers who had signed up for the 500Mbps package since Aug 24, to inform them of the error and on the options available to them, starting from Monday Sept 21.
“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and assure our customers that all of our channels, including our website and marketing materials, have been updated to reflect the correct information,” it said.

Stock: [SIME]: SIME DARBY BHD

Sep 3, 2020 3:21 PM | Report Abuse

Hospital launches virtual follow-up care
Monday, 20 Jul 2020
Brown says the hospital’s digital platform will enable patients to seek medical attention more promptly from the comfort of home.
RAMSAY Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH) has introduced a digital platform that enables its existing patients to take part in virtual consultations with the company’s health practitioners while at home.
Named “Telehealth Plus”, it also caters to those requiring general health screening with the aim to provide easy access to over a million local and international patients.
In Malaysia, RSDH facilities — Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Ara Damansara Medical Centre and ParkCity Medical Centre — started virtual clinics via this platform last month.
Patients can now receive follow-up care from healthcare professionals ranging from cardiologists, oncologists and neurosurgeons to paediatricians and physicians.
Appointments can also be made with allied health professionals like occupational and rehabilitation therapists.
Accessible via web browsers on a laptop, tablet or smartphone, the platform leverages innovative technology and ease of use, enabling patients with concerns about Covid-19 to still obtain timely medical care.
RSDH group chief executive officer Greg Brown, said, “We invested in the digital platform to offer comprehensive services, including video consultation for patients who prefer less frequent hospital visits for now.
“With its availability, we believe patients will be less prone to neglecting their health and seek medical attention more promptly from the comfort of their homes.”
However, he said that virtual consultation was only available for follow-up patients who have already had at least one in-person consultation.
“Patients can also upload test results and reports for doctors to review and due to this, virtual health screening can be done easily, with shorter waiting time for patients and consultations handled conveniently with a video call.
“Integrating digital services is a timely move. We currently have individual health service platforms for our hospitals in Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Our medium-term plan is to have one integrated platform, including our patient management system which includes electronic medical records for our group of hospitals in order to provide seamless services, ” said Brown.
Patients can make follow-up appointments and e-payments, while keeping track of consultation history with e-appointment cards. Medicine can also be prescribed via this service for self-pickup or home delivery.
The group is also looking into medication delivery for international patients.

Stock: [AAX]: AIRASIA X BHD

Sep 3, 2020 9:33 AM | Report Abuse

Bursa to temporarily suspend PN17 and GN3 classifications
KUALA LUMPUR: In view of the current trying time, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar announced that Bursa Malaysia will temporarily suspend Practice Note 17 (PN17) or Guidance Note 3 (GN3) classification on companies which financial positions slip into the status.
“We have already allowed PN17 and GN3 companies up to 24 months to regularise their financials.
“So, moving forward, in addition to this, after a discussion with Bursa, Bursa will provide companies listed on the Main Market, temporary relief from the PN17 classification in relation to certain criteria,” said Syed Zaid. The temporary relief also applied to GN3 for ACE Market-listed companies.
Currently, there are 25 Main Market-listed PN17 companies and three GN3 companies on ACE Market which need to regularise their financial positions.
The 28 companies now have more time to work out their regularisation plan considering they contend with challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Syed Zaid.
“These measures will allow companies more time to regularise their financial positions. The period for this relaxation will be effective from April 17 this year until June 30, 2021,” he said during a virtual media briefing in conjunction with the release of the SC’s 2019 annual report yesterday.
Noting that extraordinary times call for extraordinary responses, Syed Zaid said “this is not business as usual” given the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that the SC is deploying a wide range of regulatory tools to support the market and its participants.
While the SC is doing what it can to support the businesses, we remain steadfast in ensuring investor interest is protected during this challenging time. We continue to raise investor awareness on scams, as scammers tend to target people during times of uncertainty.
The SC will take a targeted approach to protect vulnerable investors and minority shareholders. I would also like to remind our intermediaries to remain vigilant and for PLCs (public limited companies) to remember their obligations to shareholders and to make timely disclosures,” he said.
The regulator also assured investors that the Malaysian capital market remains fundamentally strong and is functioning in an orderly manner, supported by deep domestic liquidity and complemented by the government’s stimulus packages.
As the financial system adjusts to the impact of Covid-19, Syed Zaid said the SC will continue to monitor the evolving situation in global and domestic markets, calibrate its responses and update the public accordingly.

Stock: [AIRASIA]: AIRASIA GROUP BHD

Sep 3, 2020 9:33 AM | Report Abuse

Bursa to temporarily suspend PN17 and GN3 classifications
KUALA LUMPUR: In view of the current trying time, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) chairman Datuk Syed Zaid Albar announced that Bursa Malaysia will temporarily suspend Practice Note 17 (PN17) or Guidance Note 3 (GN3) classification on companies which financial positions slip into the status.
“We have already allowed PN17 and GN3 companies up to 24 months to regularise their financials.
“So, moving forward, in addition to this, after a discussion with Bursa, Bursa will provide companies listed on the Main Market, temporary relief from the PN17 classification in relation to certain criteria,” said Syed Zaid. The temporary relief also applied to GN3 for ACE Market-listed companies.
Currently, there are 25 Main Market-listed PN17 companies and three GN3 companies on ACE Market which need to regularise their financial positions.
The 28 companies now have more time to work out their regularisation plan considering they contend with challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said Syed Zaid.
“These measures will allow companies more time to regularise their financial positions. The period for this relaxation will be effective from April 17 this year until June 30, 2021,” he said during a virtual media briefing in conjunction with the release of the SC’s 2019 annual report yesterday.
Noting that extraordinary times call for extraordinary responses, Syed Zaid said “this is not business as usual” given the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that the SC is deploying a wide range of regulatory tools to support the market and its participants.
While the SC is doing what it can to support the businesses, we remain steadfast in ensuring investor interest is protected during this challenging time. We continue to raise investor awareness on scams, as scammers tend to target people during times of uncertainty.
The SC will take a targeted approach to protect vulnerable investors and minority shareholders. I would also like to remind our intermediaries to remain vigilant and for PLCs (public limited companies) to remember their obligations to shareholders and to make timely disclosures,” he said.
The regulator also assured investors that the Malaysian capital market remains fundamentally strong and is functioning in an orderly manner, supported by deep domestic liquidity and complemented by the government’s stimulus packages.
As the financial system adjusts to the impact of Covid-19, Syed Zaid said the SC will continue to monitor the evolving situation in global and domestic markets, calibrate its responses and update the public accordingly.

Stock: [XOX]: XOX BHD

Sep 2, 2020 2:16 PM | Report Abuse

Muhyiddin: Microsoft, Amazon and Google keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub
JOHOR BARU, Aug 15 — Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded You Tube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [LAMBO]: LAMBO GROUP BERHAD

Sep 2, 2020 2:10 PM | Report Abuse

Muhyiddin: Microsoft, Amazon and Google keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub
JOHOR BARU, Aug 15 — Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded You Tube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [LAMBO]: LAMBO GROUP BERHAD

Sep 2, 2020 11:41 AM | Report Abuse

Investing in local tech
The local technology sector has been one of the biggest winners on the local bourse since it plummeted in March, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index saw a dip then, it has since recovered to hit a 16-year high on Aug 11, outperforming the FBM KLCI.
This interest in the tech sector follows close on the heels of the global rally in tech stocks. Investors are betting on the accelerated digitalisation trend triggered by the pandemic, which has restricted movement and thus increased the popularity of digital services.
While there are no local equity funds solely focused on the tech sector, several local equity and mixed asset funds have benefited from this trend over the last 12 months. These funds managed to record double-digit returns in the past six months to one year due in part to their large exposure to tech stocks.
After the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 as a pandemic, we shifted the strategy of the BIMB i Growth fund to focus on sectors that might benefit from the situation. These include the technology, healthcare and consumer-related stocks. This shift in focus improved the fund’s performance,” says Abd Razak Salimin, head of investment at BIMB Investment Management Bhd.
According to its latest fund factsheet dated June 30, the largest sector allocation for the BIMB i Growth fund was in information technology (45.9%). It recorded a cumulative performance of 16.96% in the past six months and 14.21% in the past one year.
We were positive on the technology sector for a long time but Covid-19 was a catalyst for the growth of technology stocks, particularly 5G-related counters. Due to the pandemic, everyone experienced the need to have good [mobile internet] connection, so we foresaw 5G-related tech counters would perform well,” says Abd Razak. The allocation to tech counters was also a diversification strategy away from the heated glove counters, he adds.
InterPac Dana Safi, which is classified as a mixed asset fund by Lipper, switched its focus to the technology sector last December when Datuk Dr Nazri Khan became the new head of Inter-Pacific Asset Management Sdn Bhd (InterPac).
Nazri says he has always been positive on the technology sector and believes that the 5G trend and Malaysian government’s push for digitalisation will benefit local tech counters.
We think the government will incorporate [incentives for digitalisation and automation] into Budget 2021 and there will be more allocation for e-commerce and 5G technologies going forward. After the pandemic, we are also optimistic that there will be more demand for semiconductors due to pent-up demand in the automotive segment and for things like smart homes and Industry 4.0,” he says.
According to its latest factsheet dated June 30, InterPac Dana Safi had a 70.72% allocation to the technology sector. It recorded a return of 13.35% for the past six months and 20.86% for the past year.

Stock: [MLAB]: MLABS SYSTEMS BHD

Aug 17, 2020 10:14 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [FINTEC]: FINTEC GLOBAL BERHAD

Aug 17, 2020 9:51 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [LKL]: LKL INTERNATIONAL BHD

Aug 17, 2020 9:34 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [SUPERMX]: SUPERMAX CORP BHD

Aug 17, 2020 9:25 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [DGB]: DGB ASIA BHD

Aug 17, 2020 9:24 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [CAREPLS]: CAREPLUS GROUP BHD

Aug 17, 2020 9:18 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [BORNOIL]: BORNEO OIL BERHAD

Aug 17, 2020 9:17 AM | Report Abuse

Global tech giants keen to develop Malaysia into regional IT hub — PM
JOHOR BAHRU (Aug 15): Global technology giants Microsoft, Amazon and Google have shown interest in together developing Malaysia into a regional hub for information technology (IT), says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The prime minister said representatives of the major tech firms expressed their interest at a meeting with him recently.
“I think many have shown their interest in helping Malaysia. Recently the leaders of Microsoft, Amazon and Google met with me expressing their readiness to be involved in the process of developing Malaysia in the IT and other fields to make Malaysia a regional centre.
“But first, to make sure, does our country have the best connectivity? The main issue usually raised is lack of access. Our Internet is not efficient,” he said at a town hall session with state and federal civil servants in Johor here today.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, also said Malaysia has not achieved a competitive level of Internet connectivity, citing the example of a schoolgirl in Sabah who had to climb a tree to get good Internet access.
He said while the government’s commitment to improving its Internet connectivity is already there, the time has come to step forward to expand access.
In June, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student Veveonah Mosibin, 18, of Kampung Sapatalang in Pitas, Sabah uploaded YouTube videos of her spending the night in a tree to get better Internet access for her online university examinations.
The videos have since been viewed over 150,000 times.

Stock: [NETX]: NETX HOLDINGS BHD

Jul 1, 2020 10:24 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [NETX]: NETX HOLDINGS BHD

Jul 1, 2020 10:23 PM | Report Abuse

Besides that, CIMB has launched the Digital Retail Package, powered by Exabytes and Billplz. CIMB’s SME customers can enjoy discounts of up to 50% off Exabytes’ normal prices, enabling them to launch their online store at just RM58.25 per month for a year.
“For digital payment solutions, our SME customers are given a two-month standard membership fee waiver for its payment form under Billplz. Armed with this product, merchants can instantly start selling on main social media and chatting platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, taking advantage of its secure features,” Lee explains.
Lee says CIMB is working closely with key stakeholders and industry players to enable SMEs to transform their business. In this respect, there is a credit facility catering for SMEs that wish to digitise and automate their business for increased productivity and profitability.
“Banks provide lending for SMEs to grow and in the current situation, such measures not only help SMEs to survive and sustain during this period, but to rebuild or reinvent their business and allow them to return to their business operations,” he says.
As business sustainability remains the key focus, now would be the time for SME customers to work closely with their financial institutions to manage their cash flows. Lee says this is especially crucial during times of crisis to ensure that the company’s financial liquidity remains strong and intact.
According to Lee, financial institutions are constantly looking for ways to assist SMEs, especially in the current situation. He says SMEs can seek assistance to tide over their business operations in the next few months, until they are ready to stand firmly on their feet again.
In fact, he says CIMB Bank is working on providing a new relief fund through the newly introduced Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan (SJPP) Guarantee scheme or the Government Guarantee Scheme Covid-19 (GGS Prihatin).
“This allows us to continue our support for SMEs that require recapitalisation due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 outbreak,” Lee says.
SMEs: Backbone of the economy
SMEs are an important component of the economy, making up 98.5% of business entities in Malaysia. In 2018, SMEs contributed 38.3% to the country’s gross domestic product and accounted for 66.2% of the workforce and 17.3% of exports, according to SME Corp Malaysia’s 2018/19 Annual Report.
“We recognise that SMEs are the backbone of our country and we have seen the wide-ranging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. CIMB continues to extend unwavering support, especially in these tough times, through our Financial and Non-Financial Relief Assistance Programme, for SMEs. To date, we have approved almost RM700 million for the Special Relief Facility (SRF) and an additional RM500 million of our own allocation to support the businesses,” Lee says.
But, of course, this comes with a set of challenges for the financial institutions as well. It is worth noting that while 98.5% of the country’s business entities comprise SMEs, only 2.3% of these are medium-sized SMEs and 21.2% are small SMEs. The remaining 76.5% are micro SMEs or businesses that are less than three years old and are in the nascent stages of growth.
As such, this poses challenges in terms of credit risk as these companies present a bigger non-performing loan (NPL) risk given their infancy and lack of financial stability.
“It is with this target segment in mind that CIMB has crafted SME-specific loans, such as micro financing loans, that will help decrease the burden on SMEs during this crucial period. CIMB’s internal risk management frameworks help to manage credit risk and loan defaults. We have to strike a balance in order to protect the bank and the economy while also ensuring that all SMEs receive the financial support to grow,” Lee says.
“There is no telling how long the pandemic will last, but CIMB is doing all it can to assist businesses through this difficult period. This pandemic certainly has shown banks the importance of digitising their business and building new distribution channels to serve their customers. CIMB will continue to explore new partnerships that can help us meet the challenges faced by the industry,” he adds.

Stock: [NETX]: NETX HOLDINGS BHD

Jul 1, 2020 10:23 PM | Report Abuse

Covid-19 pandemic shows the need for SMEs to embark on digital transformation
June 23, 2020,While the Covid-19 outbreak may have brought a damaging onslaught of economic disruptions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it may have also paved the way for digital transformation as businesses change their operations to cope with office closures, restricted movement and supply interruption.
Indeed, it is often in times of crisis that these kinds of seismic shifts take place. As SMEs look to survive in this challenging business environment, companies everywhere have been pushed into an accelerated state of digitalisation, whether they like it or not.
“Most SMEs are simply unprepared to deal with a pandemic of this scale. However, it’s often during a crisis that SMEs will start looking for alternative ways to keep their businesses running. Now is the best time for them to embrace Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and start their digital transformation journey,” says CIMB Group’s CEO of Group Commercial Banking Victor Lee Meng Teck.
Although shops have started to reopen with loosened restrictions under the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), doing business physically is still challenging. Everyone is forced to learn new ways of dealing with customers and understand the rules of social distancing.
In the new normal, Lee says, retail businesses can place less reliance on brick-and-mortar stores and leverage burgeoning e-commerce platforms. On top of that, SMEs need to embrace digitalisation for their business operations, including electronic point-of-sale systems (e-POS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and electronic payroll systems, he adds.
“Taking advantage of this, the crisis presents an opportunity for SMEs to forge a digital business strategy. Many e-commerce websites have recorded a spike in customers and orders, and are doing relatively well in this period,” Lee says.
“The trend towards digital is being accelerated by the pandemic. By being active digitally, SMEs are also able to strengthen relationships with existing customers, and build more trust with mutual support while they explore and leverage new partnerships,” he adds.
With this in mind, Lee says, CIMB Bank and its SME partners have created value-added services specifically to help SMEs build their businesses online. For instance, CIMB Bank has partnered with e-commerce provider Shopmatic to help Malaysian SMEs build and scale up their businesses in the e-commerce space.
The initiative is part of the group’s new three-pronged SME business proposition to provide its customers with a complete suite of financing and business solutions. These solutions comprise SME Financing (for no-collateral and business property financing), SME Transact (cash management services) and SME Partners (for services such as operations and logistics, e-commerce and digital connectivity as well as HR solutions soon).
With this partnership, SMEs in Malaysia stand to benefit from Shopmatic’s services, including setting up an e-commerce site complete with a secure payment gateway and guidance on the necessary technical know-how in starting and running an online business.
“With Shopmatic, we are able to provide our SME customers with a platform to readily set up their businesses online in less than 30 minutes and, with the crisis, we are offering a 30% discount on all subscription packages,” Lee says.

Stock: [NETX]: NETX HOLDINGS BHD

Jul 1, 2020 10:22 PM | Report Abuse

Tekun Nasional will soon launch the TEKUN Mobilepreneur 2.0 financing scheme to provide financing of up to RM10,000 to delivery riders for the purchase of new motorcycles and working capital.
In a statement today, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said applicants would need to register with any of the existing e-hailing delivery companies and adhere to the terms and conditions set up by these companies.
The programme, to be launched on July 7, is one of the efforts made by the Government through the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) fund.
"An initial allocation of RM1 million will be provided for the first 100 applicants and an additional RM4 million allocation for 400 applicants will be announced later.
"The programme is to assist delivery riders to continue their services as well as boost the country's economy while we are still facing the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Wan Junaidi.
Tekun Nasional is an agency under the Ministry that provides financing facilities to bumiputera in order to kick-start and expand their businesses.
In TEKUN Mobilepreneur programme 1.0 financing scheme, introduced in April, provided interest-free financing facility of up to RM2,000 to help local delivery riders repair their motorcycles and provide them with working capital, The scheme, aimed at benefiting 500 delivery riders, ended yesterday.
Over 211 applications had been approved up till yesterday involving RM394,000.
The offer is open to all registered riders through all legitimate e-hailing delivery platforms such as
DelieverEats, Grab, GemSpot , galaEATS, Foodpanda , Lalamove, lolol and Hungry.

Stock: [AXIATA]: AXIATA GROUP BERHAD

Jun 25, 2020 12:33 PM | Report Abuse

Continue bumiputera agenda to ensure prosperity is shared fairly — MTEM
KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): Bumiputera agenda efforts need to be continued to ensure prosperity and development are equitably and fairly enjoyed, Malay Economic Action Council (MTEM) chief executive officer Ahmad Yazid Othman said today.
He said strategic economic development eforts should be intensified to create long-term impact, besides short-term impact programmes, to improve the economic standing of the Malays and Bumiputeras.
“The reform and revitalise phases mooted by the Ministry of Finance need to be brought into action within the narrative of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 (SPV2030).
“We should not waste the opportunity to close the wealth and economic gap between the Bumiputeras and other races, while at the same we should ensure there is rapid economic development for all people regardless of race and region,” he said in a statement.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the importance for the Government to use the existing policy space in the effort to bring optimal social impact.
“Today, the Malaysian Government is recognised by the world for successful managing the outbreak, and we can be proud of it.
“The Government should also adopt the same attitude and strategy to develop the country’s economy through meaningful reforms,” he said.

Stock: [AIRPORT]: MALAYSIA AIRPORTS HOLDINGS BHD

Jun 25, 2020 11:46 AM | Report Abuse

S&P: Credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover
KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): While businesses around the world are starting to reopen, albeit unevenly, after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover, said S&P Global Ratings.
In a report titled "COVID-19 Heat Map: Post-Crisis Credit Recovery Could Take To 2022 And Beyond For Some Sectors," S&P Global Ratings highlighted regional recovery estimates by sector for 2020-2021 compared to 2019.
It said some industries, notably those that involve groups of people in close proximity (e.g., cruises, airlines, airports, gyms, theaters, restaurants, retail, etc.), may not return to prior levels of revenue for several years.
It said for some industries, such as enclosed retail malls, it could be several years, if ever, as distancing measures and the recession may accelerate consumer shifts to other channels.
S&P said government intervention and short-term work programs have dampened the effects of a near halt in business activity in many regions.
The agency said while service employees are returning to work, it may take several years for unemployment levels to return to pre-crisis levels.
The pace and stability of employment recovery will feed into consumer sentiment, business confidence, and corporate investment plans, it said.
“Many industries that were facing a high degree of fixed costs or drastically lower revenue (or some portion of both) were forced to dip into cash balances or borrow to fund operations.
“While revenue for these sectors may recover as soon as next year, a full recovery of credit metrics will take longer as companies dig out of the higher debt load they now carry,” it said.

Stock: [PAVREIT]: PAVILION REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

Jun 25, 2020 11:45 AM | Report Abuse

S&P: Credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover
KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): While businesses around the world are starting to reopen, albeit unevenly, after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover, said S&P Global Ratings.
In a report titled "COVID-19 Heat Map: Post-Crisis Credit Recovery Could Take To 2022 And Beyond For Some Sectors," S&P Global Ratings highlighted regional recovery estimates by sector for 2020-2021 compared to 2019.
It said some industries, notably those that involve groups of people in close proximity (e.g., cruises, airlines, airports, gyms, theaters, restaurants, retail, etc.), may not return to prior levels of revenue for several years.
It said for some industries, such as enclosed retail malls, it could be several years, if ever, as distancing measures and the recession may accelerate consumer shifts to other channels.
S&P said government intervention and short-term work programs have dampened the effects of a near halt in business activity in many regions.
The agency said while service employees are returning to work, it may take several years for unemployment levels to return to pre-crisis levels.
The pace and stability of employment recovery will feed into consumer sentiment, business confidence, and corporate investment plans, it said.
“Many industries that were facing a high degree of fixed costs or drastically lower revenue (or some portion of both) were forced to dip into cash balances or borrow to fund operations.
“While revenue for these sectors may recover as soon as next year, a full recovery of credit metrics will take longer as companies dig out of the higher debt load they now carry,” it said.

Stock: [GENTING]: GENTING BHD

Jun 25, 2020 11:45 AM | Report Abuse

S&P: Credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover
KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): While businesses around the world are starting to reopen, albeit unevenly, after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover, said S&P Global Ratings.
In a report titled "COVID-19 Heat Map: Post-Crisis Credit Recovery Could Take To 2022 And Beyond For Some Sectors," S&P Global Ratings highlighted regional recovery estimates by sector for 2020-2021 compared to 2019.
It said some industries, notably those that involve groups of people in close proximity (e.g., cruises, airlines, airports, gyms, theaters, restaurants, retail, etc.), may not return to prior levels of revenue for several years.
It said for some industries, such as enclosed retail malls, it could be several years, if ever, as distancing measures and the recession may accelerate consumer shifts to other channels.
S&P said government intervention and short-term work programs have dampened the effects of a near halt in business activity in many regions.
The agency said while service employees are returning to work, it may take several years for unemployment levels to return to pre-crisis levels.
The pace and stability of employment recovery will feed into consumer sentiment, business confidence, and corporate investment plans, it said.
“Many industries that were facing a high degree of fixed costs or drastically lower revenue (or some portion of both) were forced to dip into cash balances or borrow to fund operations.
“While revenue for these sectors may recover as soon as next year, a full recovery of credit metrics will take longer as companies dig out of the higher debt load they now carry,” it said.

Stock: [AIRASIA]: AIRASIA GROUP BHD

Jun 25, 2020 11:44 AM | Report Abuse

S&P: Credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover
KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): While businesses around the world are starting to reopen, albeit unevenly, after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, credit measures for some sectors may take until 2022, 2023, and beyond, to fully recover, said S&P Global Ratings.
In a report titled "COVID-19 Heat Map: Post-Crisis Credit Recovery Could Take To 2022 And Beyond For Some Sectors," S&P Global Ratings highlighted regional recovery estimates by sector for 2020-2021 compared to 2019.
It said some industries, notably those that involve groups of people in close proximity (e.g., cruises, airlines, airports, gyms, theaters, restaurants, retail, etc.), may not return to prior levels of revenue for several years.
It said for some industries, such as enclosed retail malls, it could be several years, if ever, as distancing measures and the recession may accelerate consumer shifts to other channels.
S&P said government intervention and short-term work programs have dampened the effects of a near halt in business activity in many regions.
The agency said while service employees are returning to work, it may take several years for unemployment levels to return to pre-crisis levels.
The pace and stability of employment recovery will feed into consumer sentiment, business confidence, and corporate investment plans, it said.
“Many industries that were facing a high degree of fixed costs or drastically lower revenue (or some portion of both) were forced to dip into cash balances or borrow to fund operations.
“While revenue for these sectors may recover as soon as next year, a full recovery of credit metrics will take longer as companies dig out of the higher debt load they now carry,” it said.

Stock: [TM]: TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD

Jun 25, 2020 11:41 AM | Report Abuse

TM seeks 700MHz spectrum allocation to provide cheaper FWA broadband in rural areas — HLIB Research
KUALA LUMPUR (June 25): Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is seeking the allocation of 700 megahertz (MHz) spectrum to provide fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband in a more economical and feasible manner in rural areas, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research.
In a note today, HLIB Research Analyst Tan J Young said that during a meeting, the telco stated that it is not keen on C-band networks as they are more suitable for wireless players.
The telco also reiterated that it does not intend to be another player in the already overcrowded and oversaturated mobile market — which has an approximately 130% penetration rate — as TM does not have a matured network.
“unifi Mobile is merely positioned to complement fixed offerings with a convergence proposition,” said Tan.
Meanwhile, its infrastructure company (InfraCo) has been separated from its service arm — resulting in it being more agile and neutrally positioned for all access seekers, including its own.
“Its main focus will be providing connectivity (mainly demand-based fibre roll-outs) and quality of service. Recurring rental payment from access seekers is expected to yield income stability,” he added.
Meanwhile, its service company (ServiceCo) acts as an in-house access seeker that addresses customer needs and offerings.
Tan noted that the ServiceCo is crucial to customer acquisition and incentivising subscribers to upgrade from Streamyx to unifi to improve asset monetisation.
TM’s data centre has also seen greater demand due to accelerated adoption of cloud computing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Notably, its Iskandar Puteri Data Centre is beginning to see some spillover effects from Singapore, providing good visibility.
In terms of the movement control order's (MCO) impact on TM ONE, Tan said it is manageable as large tier-1 enterprise clients — banks, government and multinational corporations (MNCs) — remain financially strong.
Only a small number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sought payment deferment and discounts, which TM would evaluate on a case-by-case basis.
Tan also observed that TM had redeployed part of its workforce towards sales and marketing — which is currently understaffed — through training and upskilling, and expects its large 24,000-strong workforce to shrink due to natural attrition.
“We maintain our 'buy' call on the back of an unchanged DCF (discounted cash flow)-derived fair value of RM5.17 with WACC (weighted average cost of capital) of 7.5% and TG of 0.5%. We are particularly positive on its cost optimisation measures which are now yielding an impactful outcome. Leveraging on its extensive fibre reach, TM is definitely a prime beneficiary of 5G roll-outs. Other catalysts include awards of the NFCP (National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan) and 5G airwaves,” Tan opined.
Shares in TM were down 0.75% or three sen at RM3.97 as of 9.22am today, valuing it at some RM14.95 billion. It saw 329,600 shares traded.

Stock: [FINTEC]: FINTEC GLOBAL BERHAD

Jun 25, 2020 11:14 AM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [VSOLAR]: VSOLAR GROUP BHD

Jun 25, 2020 11:13 AM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [SUNREIT]: SUNWAY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

Jun 24, 2020 4:43 PM | Report Abuse

Slowdown in tenant demand, reevaluation of office space usage expected in coming months — KPMG International
KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): The pandemic has disrupted the office landscape, which will face a challenging time in the months ahead, according to KPMG International’s “Real Estate in the New Reality” webinar on June 23.
The event was moderated by KPMG International global real estate advisory leader and KPMG Netherlands head of real estate advisory Sander Grunewald. The speakers and panellists were KPMG International global head of asset management and global chairman of real estate Andrew Weir, KPMG France head of real estate and hotel sector Régis Chemouny, KPMG UK real estate deal advisory partner Sarah Hayes, KPMG Finland global strategy group director Sarah Sipilä and KPMG Germany head of asset management and real estate Hans Volckens.
“It is natural to anticipate a significant slowdown in tenant demand after three months of working remotely. For office spaces in the short term, the actual use of spaces will be different, as social distancing might be required for a longer period, with [fewer] people in the offices in the coming months,” said KPMG France’s Chemouny.
“In the medium term, companies will seek to develop closer relationships with landlords, negotiating for short-term agreements. The younger generation will also feel less enthusiastic working from home as they want to be trained by more experienced people,” added Chemouny.
KPMG Finland’s Sipilä opined that players should understand the landscape disruption. Office spaces are more important nowadays as companies battle for talent and seek to offer working spaces to enhance employees’ engagement and productivity. Tenants are considering how much space they need and where, and this makes the creation of value in offices by landlords difficult.
Meanwhile, KPMG UK’s Hayes said high density locations are currently facing additional challenges given the volume of people that they need to transport and keep safe.
Those managing office complexes will have to navigate difficult and detailed discussions about controlling lifts access and capacities and cleaning and sanitation of common areas. Hence, friction will emerge between landlords and tenants as vacant or underutilised space raises the question of value, and what tenants should pay during an economic crisis,” said Hayes.
He added there is a concern that the preference for location might be driven more by the need to support an existing workforce and where the workforce lives, rather than a longer-term strategy. Consequently, flexible office spaces are expected to face more challenges in terms of location and specific demands.
“The landscape further out will be driven by the pandemic, but there is a need for flexible space and flexible terms to support existing businesses as they adapt, and new businesses will emerge through the crisis. This extent of the challenge is whether this will be a temporary or permanent trend,” said Hayes.
In the retail market, there will be significant consolidation in tenants as boutique stores close and retain chains extend. “It is expected to see significant changes up and down the high street in the coming months, and a discrepancy between players who are able to reinforce their online presence, by using innovative tools such as augmented reality. As for smart cities/future of cities, a new way of working and travelling should be adopted for retail stores in central business districts or outskirts of cities,” said KPMG France’s Chemouny.
KPMG’s Germany Volckens noted that physical retail is often highly regulated whereas online retail is usually more flexible and highly tax efficient. “In the case of Germany, online retailers are not taxed on the same basis as physical retailers. Hence, it is necessary to remove the tax burdens on physical retailers to level the playing field and maintain retail in inner cities to keep them fit and vital.”
In terms of environmental, social and governance considerations, Volckens reckoned that the current discussion is evolving as the discussion built prior to Covid-19 and the economic rationale are now different. This is because several properties have to be redesigned and high capital expenditure is required to transform these properties into sustainable buildings for regulated investors to invest in.
“There may be danger in higher vacancies, lower rents and prices in office spaces and, as such, people have to inject money in older properties and [it] will be a burden for owners to cope with the transformation and achieve the regulatory inquiries of institutional investors,” added Volckens.

Stock: [PAVREIT]: PAVILION REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

Jun 24, 2020 4:42 PM | Report Abuse

Slowdown in tenant demand, reevaluation of office space usage expected in coming months — KPMG International
KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): The pandemic has disrupted the office landscape, which will face a challenging time in the months ahead, according to KPMG International’s “Real Estate in the New Reality” webinar on June 23.
The event was moderated by KPMG International global real estate advisory leader and KPMG Netherlands head of real estate advisory Sander Grunewald. The speakers and panellists were KPMG International global head of asset management and global chairman of real estate Andrew Weir, KPMG France head of real estate and hotel sector Régis Chemouny, KPMG UK real estate deal advisory partner Sarah Hayes, KPMG Finland global strategy group director Sarah Sipilä and KPMG Germany head of asset management and real estate Hans Volckens.
“It is natural to anticipate a significant slowdown in tenant demand after three months of working remotely. For office spaces in the short term, the actual use of spaces will be different, as social distancing might be required for a longer period, with [fewer] people in the offices in the coming months,” said KPMG France’s Chemouny.
“In the medium term, companies will seek to develop closer relationships with landlords, negotiating for short-term agreements. The younger generation will also feel less enthusiastic working from home as they want to be trained by more experienced people,” added Chemouny.
KPMG Finland’s Sipilä opined that players should understand the landscape disruption. Office spaces are more important nowadays as companies battle for talent and seek to offer working spaces to enhance employees’ engagement and productivity. Tenants are considering how much space they need and where, and this makes the creation of value in offices by landlords difficult.
Meanwhile, KPMG UK’s Hayes said high density locations are currently facing additional challenges given the volume of people that they need to transport and keep safe.
Those managing office complexes will have to navigate difficult and detailed discussions about controlling lifts access and capacities and cleaning and sanitation of common areas. Hence, friction will emerge between landlords and tenants as vacant or underutilised space raises the question of value, and what tenants should pay during an economic crisis,” said Hayes.
He added there is a concern that the preference for location might be driven more by the need to support an existing workforce and where the workforce lives, rather than a longer-term strategy. Consequently, flexible office spaces are expected to face more challenges in terms of location and specific demands.
“The landscape further out will be driven by the pandemic, but there is a need for flexible space and flexible terms to support existing businesses as they adapt, and new businesses will emerge through the crisis. This extent of the challenge is whether this will be a temporary or permanent trend,” said Hayes.
In the retail market, there will be significant consolidation in tenants as boutique stores close and retain chains extend. “It is expected to see significant changes up and down the high street in the coming months, and a discrepancy between players who are able to reinforce their online presence, by using innovative tools such as augmented reality. As for smart cities/future of cities, a new way of working and travelling should be adopted for retail stores in central business districts or outskirts of cities,” said KPMG France’s Chemouny.
KPMG’s Germany Volckens noted that physical retail is often highly regulated whereas online retail is usually more flexible and highly tax efficient. “In the case of Germany, online retailers are not taxed on the same basis as physical retailers. Hence, it is necessary to remove the tax burdens on physical retailers to level the playing field and maintain retail in inner cities to keep them fit and vital.”
In terms of environmental, social and governance considerations, Volckens reckoned that the current discussion is evolving as the discussion built prior to Covid-19 and the economic rationale are now different. This is because several properties have to be redesigned and high capital expenditure is required to transform these properties into sustainable buildings for regulated investors to invest in.
“There may be danger in higher vacancies, lower rents and prices in office spaces and, as such, people have to inject money in older properties and [it] will be a burden for owners to cope with the transformation and achieve the regulatory inquiries of institutional investors,” added Volckens.

Stock: [TM]: TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD

Jun 24, 2020 4:38 PM | Report Abuse

TM assists to install smart digital health screening solution in schools
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has partnered with the Education Ministry to install its smart digital health screening solution to help school administrators to quickly and accurately monitor students’ body temperatures.
In a statement today, TM announced that the installation of the solution known as TM ONE Predictive Analytics Screening Solution or ‘ONE PASS’ aims to curb the spread of Covid-19, following the reopening of schools in stages from tomorrow.
To date, TM has announced that ONE PASS has been installed in three schools namely Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Taman Tun Dr Ismail here, as well as two schools in Putrajaya namely SMK Presint 16 and Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah.
“The installations for two more schools, namely Sekolah Menengah Sains Teluk Intan, Perak and Tahfiz Ma’ahad An Noer in Janda Baik, Pahang are expected to be completed by the end of this month,” according to TM's statement.
According to TM, the health screening solution developed by TM Research and Development Sdn Bhd was capable of real-time temperature updates with an accuracy of +/- 0.3 degrees Celsius up to 100 persons a minute within the range of between one to three metres.
“The real time digital solution includes a Visitor Management System (VMS), an employee/visitor management application developed in-house for self-declaration assessment and deployment of thermal camera and sensors to check the body temperature prior to entering a building or premises.
“VMS has the ability to store 25,000 user profiles and allows for a comprehensive on-premise tracking, along with open Application Programming Interface (API) that enables easy integration with other predictive analytics engine, pandemic Geographic Information System (GIS) and contact tracing system,” the statement said.
The solution is connected to a powerful analytics platform which enables mass individual analysis and swift in-building people tracking from a centralised dashboard, the data can also be integrated into the schools’ attendance system.
According to TM, the solution supported by Artificial intelligence (AI) technology also enables organisations to act quickly in the event of potential health risks and provide real-time alerts to emergency response teams and authorities and at the same time prevent new infections.

Stock: [PUC]: PUC BHD

Jun 24, 2020 4:29 PM | Report Abuse

Malaysia leads mobile wallet usage in Southeast Asia
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Malaysia leads other countries in Southeast Asia in the usage of mobile/digital wallets at 40%, ahead of the Philippines (36%), Thailand (27%) and Singapore (26%), according to a Mastercard Impact Study 2020.
As the Malaysia market edition results showed, Covid-19, which led to wide movement restrictions, had driven momentum in Southeast Asia towards the digital economy by necessitating rapid adoption of e-commerce, digital payments and preference for online activities.
The report indicated that even as countries in the region start to ease the restrictions and prepare for a ‘new normal’, some of the trends and habits formed in response to the pandemic would likely remain.
The inputs were gathered from 10,000 consumers and/or business professionals across 10 markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Nearly half of the consumers surveyed in Malaysia reported an increase in online shopping during the period. Other online activities also saw heightened interest, such as surfing the Internet for news and entertainment (75%), online video streaming (57%), social networking (55%) and home delivery of food or groceries (50%).
Additionally, about 64% of Malaysians said they will conduct online shopping in the same frequency as currently or before the pandemic, even after restrictions are lifted.
Similarly, consumers expect to continue home deliveries (54%) and working from home (45%).
Malaysian consumers also shifted to other payment methods other than mobile/digital wallet, such as contactless debit cards (26%) and contactless credit cards (22%), while cash usage declined 64% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand also reduced their cash usage by 67%, 64% and 59% respectively, with a similar uptick seen in use among all contactless payment methods.
Malaysia’s digital activities especially online shopping and usage of digital payments, were also higher in comparison to other markets in Southeast Asia.
In April, consumers in Malaysia were doing 18% more cashless payments including mobile and QR payments, as compared to 16% in the Philippines, 15% in Singapore, and 15% in Thailand.
On the contactless cards (both debit and credit), Malaysia tied with Singapore with approximately 24% of consumers in both markets saying they were using contactless payments more.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia Emerging Markets, Mastercard division president Safdar Khan said the company was committed to using the power of data to enable businesses of all sizes to adapt and evolve alongside consumers’ changing needs, preferences and behaviours through e-commerce tools, increasing contactless payment limits, and spearheading the shift to contactless across the region.
"By putting consumer sentiment and concerns at the core of all decisions, businesses and governments will be able to move with greater confidence from this current situation, and mitigate the adverse impact of future crises,” he said.

Stock: [GHLSYS]: GHL SYSTEMS BHD

Jun 24, 2020 4:29 PM | Report Abuse

Malaysia leads mobile wallet usage in Southeast Asia
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Malaysia leads other countries in Southeast Asia in the usage of mobile/digital wallets at 40%, ahead of the Philippines (36%), Thailand (27%) and Singapore (26%), according to a Mastercard Impact Study 2020.
As the Malaysia market edition results showed, Covid-19, which led to wide movement restrictions, had driven momentum in Southeast Asia towards the digital economy by necessitating rapid adoption of e-commerce, digital payments and preference for online activities.
The report indicated that even as countries in the region start to ease the restrictions and prepare for a ‘new normal’, some of the trends and habits formed in response to the pandemic would likely remain.
The inputs were gathered from 10,000 consumers and/or business professionals across 10 markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Nearly half of the consumers surveyed in Malaysia reported an increase in online shopping during the period. Other online activities also saw heightened interest, such as surfing the Internet for news and entertainment (75%), online video streaming (57%), social networking (55%) and home delivery of food or groceries (50%).
Additionally, about 64% of Malaysians said they will conduct online shopping in the same frequency as currently or before the pandemic, even after restrictions are lifted.
Similarly, consumers expect to continue home deliveries (54%) and working from home (45%).
Malaysian consumers also shifted to other payment methods other than mobile/digital wallet, such as contactless debit cards (26%) and contactless credit cards (22%), while cash usage declined 64% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand also reduced their cash usage by 67%, 64% and 59% respectively, with a similar uptick seen in use among all contactless payment methods.
Malaysia’s digital activities especially online shopping and usage of digital payments, were also higher in comparison to other markets in Southeast Asia.
In April, consumers in Malaysia were doing 18% more cashless payments including mobile and QR payments, as compared to 16% in the Philippines, 15% in Singapore, and 15% in Thailand.
On the contactless cards (both debit and credit), Malaysia tied with Singapore with approximately 24% of consumers in both markets saying they were using contactless payments more.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia Emerging Markets, Mastercard division president Safdar Khan said the company was committed to using the power of data to enable businesses of all sizes to adapt and evolve alongside consumers’ changing needs, preferences and behaviours through e-commerce tools, increasing contactless payment limits, and spearheading the shift to contactless across the region.
"By putting consumer sentiment and concerns at the core of all decisions, businesses and governments will be able to move with greater confidence from this current situation, and mitigate the adverse impact of future crises,” he said.

Stock: [LAMBO]: LAMBO GROUP BERHAD

Jun 24, 2020 4:29 PM | Report Abuse

Malaysia leads mobile wallet usage in Southeast Asia
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Malaysia leads other countries in Southeast Asia in the usage of mobile/digital wallets at 40%, ahead of the Philippines (36%), Thailand (27%) and Singapore (26%), according to a Mastercard Impact Study 2020.
As the Malaysia market edition results showed, Covid-19, which led to wide movement restrictions, had driven momentum in Southeast Asia towards the digital economy by necessitating rapid adoption of e-commerce, digital payments and preference for online activities.
The report indicated that even as countries in the region start to ease the restrictions and prepare for a ‘new normal’, some of the trends and habits formed in response to the pandemic would likely remain.
The inputs were gathered from 10,000 consumers and/or business professionals across 10 markets in the Asia Pacific region.
Nearly half of the consumers surveyed in Malaysia reported an increase in online shopping during the period. Other online activities also saw heightened interest, such as surfing the Internet for news and entertainment (75%), online video streaming (57%), social networking (55%) and home delivery of food or groceries (50%).
Additionally, about 64% of Malaysians said they will conduct online shopping in the same frequency as currently or before the pandemic, even after restrictions are lifted.
Similarly, consumers expect to continue home deliveries (54%) and working from home (45%).
Malaysian consumers also shifted to other payment methods other than mobile/digital wallet, such as contactless debit cards (26%) and contactless credit cards (22%), while cash usage declined 64% since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand also reduced their cash usage by 67%, 64% and 59% respectively, with a similar uptick seen in use among all contactless payment methods.
Malaysia’s digital activities especially online shopping and usage of digital payments, were also higher in comparison to other markets in Southeast Asia.
In April, consumers in Malaysia were doing 18% more cashless payments including mobile and QR payments, as compared to 16% in the Philippines, 15% in Singapore, and 15% in Thailand.
On the contactless cards (both debit and credit), Malaysia tied with Singapore with approximately 24% of consumers in both markets saying they were using contactless payments more.
Meanwhile, Southeast Asia Emerging Markets, Mastercard division president Safdar Khan said the company was committed to using the power of data to enable businesses of all sizes to adapt and evolve alongside consumers’ changing needs, preferences and behaviours through e-commerce tools, increasing contactless payment limits, and spearheading the shift to contactless across the region.
"By putting consumer sentiment and concerns at the core of all decisions, businesses and governments will be able to move with greater confidence from this current situation, and mitigate the adverse impact of future crises,” he said.

Stock: [AT]: AT SYSTEMATIZATION BHD

Jun 24, 2020 4:17 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [DGB]: DGB ASIA BHD

Jun 24, 2020 4:16 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [IRIS]: IRIS CORP BHD

Jun 24, 2020 1:01 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.

Stock: [XOX]: XOX BHD

Jun 24, 2020 1:00 PM | Report Abuse

The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation.” — Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group
KUALA LUMPUR (June 23): Technology sector will see "powerful acceleration" growth in both revenue and earnings, according to Franklin Templeton Investments.
"Once we get through this crisis, we're going to start seeing very powerful acceleration, not only in revenue but in earnings for this sector," said Jonathan Curtis, vice-president of Franklin Equity Group at Franklin Templeton Investments, in "Tech Sector in the Post Pandemic World" webinar session today.
"Investors are so positive about this sector right now. Because coming out of this crisis, it (the tech sector) is well positioned to drive very strong growth," he said.
Curtis highlighted that the expected exponential growth would materialise in the coming three to five years.
"The Covid-19 [pandemic] has accelerated the opportunity in this space and we think coming out of this current challenge, we are going to see an acceleration in technology investment," said Curtis.
In terms of valuation, Curtis said the sector's valuation is reasonable, given its long-term growth potential and high quality of growth.
He believes that the IT sector's valuation is elevated but not excessive, and when compared with valuations of the S&P 500, the tech index is only at an 8% premium currently.
Curtis pointed out that the price-to-earnings multiple on S&P 500 info technology index of 25.01 times currently is nowhere near the level in 1999 to 2000 of over 50 times. "Thus, we don't think this is a bubble," he said.
On the local front, technology stocks can be seen swarming the top gainers list in the recent three months. Bursa Malaysia technology index, from this year's low of 23.81 points in March, has jumped 73.2% to 41.24 points at the time of writing.
The stellar performance of the four FANG stocks has helped fuel the upward trend among Malaysian tech stocks. All three Apple Inc, Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc have just hit a record high on Wall Street.
Alphabet Inc, on the other hand, has rebounded US$400 to US$1,451.86 from the low in March.
Curtis expressed his optimism about the tech sector, saying that its growth "is going to go on for a long time" on the back of digital transformation.
"The big opportunity in this space is digital transformation," said Curtis, saying that it will be supported by growth drivers such as artificial intelligence, fintech, internet of things, and 5G technology, among many others.
Curtis said the demand and the need to use the technology have really soared during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We needed to learn how to work from home, educate from home, shop from home, exercise from home, healthcare from home, socialise from home and dine out from home," he said, adding that there has been a massive retraining of consumers on how the services work and what it could do, during the lockdown.
Curtis noted that consumers and businesses are going to continue to use these digital services and that retraining will continue not just until a vaccine is broadly administered, but even post the Covid-19 crisis.
Furthermore, he said that the tech sector has a "very good quality" being the third-most profitable sector across the S&P 500 by earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins, adding that it is also one of the few S&P 500 sectors that are net cash positive.