In short....Malaysia's vehicle market is expected to be cautious in 2024 and 2025 due to factors such as: 
- Malaysian automakers' earnings dipping in 2024
- Higher costs
- "Aggressive" Chinese OEMs
- Excise duty and high value items tax
- Sales tax exemptions for locally assembled completely knocked down EVs
- RON95 subsidy cuts for 15% of income earners, raising cost of living concerns. Fuel prices could spike
- MRT3 , LRT3 means less use of cars...

Bermaz needs to rebrand itself , perhaps an assembler of China OEMs?
The risk of Mazda Co. following the path of Nissan on a merger to survive?

It is probably inverse analysts and frenzied sharks....

Strangely, share price tend to work in inverse relationship with expansion plans.

At end of Dec 2023, Nationgate Penang had approximately 2,000 employees. By the end of June 2024, this number increased to around 3,000 employees, reflecting a 50% growth in their workforce to meet rising production demands and expansion plans.

Is it a negative relationship, analysis or just analysts.....

@LiewChinTong.Dec 5
Malaysia's role as a crucial and indispensable part of the global semiconductor supply chain is once again proven with the launch of NationGate's latest AI server NH8230.
Penang EXCO Sdr Jason H'ng and I joined Sdri Teo Nie Ching, who was the guest of honour, at the launch.

If you read the first line on YTLP profile, it states : YTLP is principally an electric utility company...
That's correct, it is an Utility company and not a Tech company....so, why is many paying disruptive prices for its shares? Has it got any tech advantage in operating its data centres or is it just renting space n solar power to operators. So far, are you confident of its execution plans in the Tech sector, ask yourself???....

Read Broadcom earnings call released on Thur to understand hyperscale AI server solutions and its growth story.....then you can understand why Natgate is also accelerating its Penang-made AI servers globally with accelerators aim to lower power consumption and reduce overall capital expenditure, addressing the specific needs of hyperscale environments​....the future designs may scale to include millions of accelerators in a single hyperscale cluster​.... that's the future! And all this can be done in Penang!
E

On health and data centres, if I were 25 today, I’d focus on two massive opportunities: AI implementation and data centre development. Small businesses are desperate to adopt AI but need help executing it—
And data centres? The demand is off the charts. Real estate meets tech in the most lucrative way. This is where the future’s heading, Don’t miss.... the fit-out on data centres in Singapore and Malaysia...

Penang, renowned as the "Silicon Valley of the East" and a major hub for the electronics industry in Southeast Asia, serves as an ideal location for xFusion's Global Supply Center...

China’s xFusion to invest US$366m over 3 years in Penang....
Singapore will be the main global distribution centre for AI servers...

The future of Natgate lies in xFusion global presence....
Follow xFusion..... https://www.xfusion.com/en/news/first-global-supply-center

The ringgit appreciated by 8% against the Sin $ n British pound in the July-Sep qtr...
YTLPowr revenues from S'pore, UK n othere countries is about 97% of total...
Don't expect, just inspect....

Nvidia missed expectations...
all your expectations not realised?

Europe leads in established market value, while Asia is experiencing a faster growth trajectory, all driven by evolving consumer habits and expanding middle-class populations. Nestle leads in EU with Perrier n San Pellegrino sparkling water...distinct trend n growth projections in Asia - East n South....consumers are increasingly health-conscious and prefer healthier alternatives to sugary drinks (more tax expected), driving the demand for sparkling water...

https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/11/14/spritzers-sparkling-potential-undervalued-by-market

At rm 1 billion maket cap can sell to nestle for rm 1.2 billion ....that's the sparkle

Wiwynn has completed Phase 1 of server rack integration and was supposed to complete the Phase 2 project of construction of server PCBA plant by end of 2024.

In another 5 weeks time, it's already Christmas..... so likely, no fireworks!

WiWynn is a profitable Cloud IT global company...its 2024,qtr2 net profit is about USD 142 M

There was an initial plan for YTL Power to partner with Super Micro Computer for their data center project in Malaysia.
However, due to Super Micro's financial difficulties, YTL Power has shifted its focus to Wiwynn, a Taiwanese company, to fulfill its AI data center order.

This is a factual info....

Flavoured sparkling water not good, plain sparkling water super...

Its about time someone takeover Spritzer, solid brand and strong presence in Malaysia, and extend the brand to East Asia. No interest from F&N, Nestle, Coca Cola, Danone or Nongfu Spring?

Perrier mineral water recall from fecal contamination, pesticides or benzene this time?
The Perrier brand seems to be eroding and no longer sustainable for Nestle?
What's next for Nestle? Buy over Spritzer - the truly natural mineral water company from Taiping?
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fecal-contamination-perrier-well-adds-210029091.html

Make me wonder? The curious case of the Tee sisters....
If the Tee sisters gave up on their company, you should too....

Coca Cola vs Spritzer.... where to go from here?

Marketing Strategy is key!
1. Pricing Strategy (prices remained fixed?)
2. Place Strategy (vast distribution network n bottling plants?)
3. Promotion strategy (spend $$$ to promote its brand?)
4. Classic font n logo (green icon bottle?)
5. Sponsorships (events, games, entertainment n digital marketing platform?)
6. Localising products? Many products?

Why do you think Warren Buffet sell some Apple, but kept the Coke?

Spritzer share buybacks in month of Aug27 todate = 700,000 shrs
This shark repellant a good start, but need to escalate or upscale further.

The Coca-Cola Company conducted significant share buybacks over the past 10 yrs, using this strategy as a means to return value to shareholders. Coca-Cola repurchased billions of dollars worth of its own stock. This approach, common among large, stable corporations, helped the company boost its earnings per share (EPS) by reducing the number of outstanding share.

Some highlights:
*Regular Buybacks*: Coca-Cola regularly announced and executed share repurchase programs throughout the decade. These buybacks were often in the billions annually.
*EPS Impact*: By buying back shares, Coca-Cola decreased the total number of shares outstanding, thereby increasing EPS even if overall net income remained flat. This move often boosts investor confidence and can support stock prices.
*Capital Allocation*: Coca-Cola balanced share buybacks with dividends, making both key pillars of its strategy to return capital to shareholders.

The details of these buybacks, including specific figures for each year, can be found in Coca-Cola's annual reports.

No accountant to say it is also more tax efficient?

Revenue from solar down but revenue from earthing & lightning protection up.
Sad to see it is unable to grow its solar installation bizness for past 6 mths.
Eventually back to its roots as an ELP solutions provider....

Spritzer's Share Buybacks and Dividend-in-specie?
This iconic move of more share buybacks and several dividend-in-specie as a follow-through can keep the shareholders fully invested and may be a good shark-repellant.

This will also project Spritzer as a resilient stock rather than as a income stock, ironing out the kinks in the stock prices and volatile currencies.

Awarding cash dividend once a year to shareholders is just so 'old school'.

Is Sparkling Mineral water Good?
https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/health-and-wellness-articles/2023/may/is-carbonated-water-good-for-you

Spritzer said that no microplastics have been detected in the listed group's natural mineral water following an analysis conducted by SIRIM...

https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/sirim-analysis-finds-no-microplastics-spritzers-mineral-water

Time to Stock up Spritzer mineral water ... water crisis in Penang n Kedah soon.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/11/water-levels-in-two-penang-dams-decline-to-danger-levels-between-26pc-and-30pc/146692

Christina Tee need to sell her shares.
But, why Ivy Tee offload her stake so early?
Make me wonder? The curious case of the Tee sisters....

Snippets extracted from 'The curious case of Cape EMS'
......to understand the Cape EMS story, one needs to go further back to the first block sale of shares post-IPO. That took place on Sept 13 last year, filings show, and it was a block of more than 113 million shares of Cape EMS that was sold by Fortress Capital Asset Management Sdn Bhd. Notable also is that days after that block sale, Tee Kim Yok, the younger sister of Christina and a substantial shareholder and executive director of Cape EMS, sold 20 million shares in Cape EMS through an off-market trade. She sold another 42 million shares late last year Cape EMS share price hovered around RM1.07.
This RM1.07 is another key number in the Cape EMS story because on Dec 11, 2023, 69 million shares of Cape EMS (7.5% of total shares) were placed out at a price of RM10% apiece to fund the company's acquisition of a United States-based firm called iconn Inc. Another concern for some investors is the acquisition of iconn Inc, which took place last September for which Cape EMS paid Rm76.6mil.
Soon after that 7.5% placement exercise, the company posted a significant decline in its net profit for 4Q23. Net profit plunged 64% from the previous quarter, dropping to Rm5.5mil from Rm15.2mil in the previous quarter.
The cause was a deferred tax that hit the company, leading to a massive 56.7% effective tax rate for Cape EMS in that quarter. Notes to the accounts stated that the higher tax rate was due "to the under provision of tax liabilities in preceding quarters".
Investors say they were shocked by this revelation as they were not guided by this.
"That in turn caused them to offload their shares”
The falling share price then led to the trigger of forced selling by institutions holding Christina's pledged shares.
Fund managers tell Starbizweek that this came about after company officials guided for lower earnings in the next quarter.
All eyes will be on the coming quarterly results of Cape EMS. "The profits from iconn need to come through. Anything less will be another red flag that this company does not need"

Wonder why Spritzer highlights the 'silica content' on its water label?
https://www.living-water.co.uk/blog/drinking-mineral-water-every-day-can-prevent-memory-loss-from-alzheimers/

Prospects for Spritzer?
- increased production output to 1.2 B litres (volume & capacity)
- higher pricing of products, more demand for sparkling water
- investment of rm80M for new production plant of sparkling water
- lower PET resin prices or raw material costs
- higher tourist arrivals in Malaysia 2024
- Hot weather in some states
- higher demand for mineral water, improved export sales, higher ASP
- double digit growth in the past 2 quarters YoY
- cash flow positive
- current PE is 14.5, fair value at PE 16, Div Yield 2.1%
(F&N is PE 19, Div yield 2.5%)

Spritzer growing ROCE and increasing Capital Employed...
Last year ROCE 12%, 3 yrs ago 7%

If Labour wins UK Ekections, will it jeopadise the Ping's Avalon project?

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/labour-confirms-no-new-oil-33024065

China can help Malaysia with EV plants startups…

When it comes to Malaysia's transportation sector, electrification is no doubt the most viable way to decarbonise and help the country achieve its net zero goals by 2050. This will be especially impactful with the electrification of fleet vehicles as well as public transportation.

XPeng can also be an investor in Bermaz, just as VW invests in Rivian….
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/25/volkswagen-rivian-stake.html

Bermaz can also initiate an EV production plant of XPeng G6 EVs for exports to US , EU n Asia?

https://www.reuters.com/markets/chinese-companies-seek-assurances-malaysia-avoiding-us-tariffs-ft-reports-2024-06-25/

Malaysia has aimed for EVs to account for 15% of the total industry volume (TIV) by 2030 and 80% by 2050.
Very unlikely can achieve such targets, probably only 15%.....
Consumers have given up on EVs in USA.....only in California
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OprBrJ2qrnM

BAuto FY25 drivers....
√ Philippine car sales
√ Kia Electrics
√ XPeng Electrics
√ Mazda Hybrids

Positive Economic transformation starts in Malaysia....
√ Diesel n Petrol price increase Jun 2024- June 2025
√ Consumption, car sales, traffic jams, parking rates, etc. will also increase....

BAuto results better than expected….
Gross Profits FY24 vs FY23….
Malaysia +30M or up 9%
Philippines +30M or up 97%
Associates(Inokom) +11M up 28%

Overall Net Profits +50.5 M or up 15%
Dividend per year at 26 sen is better than last year 22 sen

Let it ride….FY25 will be electrifying as fuel price n inflation heats up….

Tan Teng Boo @CapitalDynamics is optimistic on China, on EVs, on autonomous driving and on XPeng EV G6....
XPeng G6 to be launched soon.
BAuto is now on autonomous driving with one foot on the Forward gear (XPeng & Kia EVs) and another foot on the Reverse gear (Mazda SUVs).....

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxVuCpjVSkBcItQI48vyIMD4qYsOvJxEwC?si=vnBHRf3Q-ksGQU14

Malaysia’s TIV, which is estimated to have grown by 20.7% to about 70,000 units in May, and rose by 8.8% to 330,236 units year-to-date.

Proton has announced its car sales have gone up by 14% in May.
No news yet from Mazda, Perodua, Toyota, etc......

Proton Edar Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Roslan Abdullah said May saw a return to positive growth as TIV increased both year-on-year and month-on-month basis, reflecting the resilience of the local automotive industry.

“With the cumulative TIV until May already making up 44.6 per cent of Malaysia Automotive Association (MAA)’s full-year projection of 740,000 units, we believe there is still room for growth in the local automotive industry,” he opined.

Malaysia TIV (Total Industry Vehicles)
2023 (Feb-Apr) =190,244 vehicles
2024 (Feb-Apr) =193,333 vehicle
In Malaysia, number of cars sold in 4QFY24 are about the same as 4QFY23.
Likely similar revenue for BAuto of about RM 1B. for 4QFY24.

In the first quarter of 2024, the GDP of the Philippines grew by 5.7% compared to the same period in the previous year. This growth was driven primarily by the financial and insurance activities sector, which grew by 10%, as well as the wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sector, which expanded by 6.4%. The manufacturing sector also contributed with a growth of 4.5%.

We also have growth in Malaysia....more in traffic jams...

On ESOS shrs for employees...
perhaps BAuto can look into rewarding more ESOS for employees based on merit rating on performance. Like for Bermaz Philippines CEO & team that has performed extremely well in FY24 vs FY23. As todate 9 mths FY24, Bermaz Philippines has already exceeded the 12 mths FY23's revenue by some rm50 M. So, we can some expect some 60% increase in revenue contribution from Bermaz Philippines for FY24. Such CEO & team should be rewarded exemplarily....

https://www.autodeal.com.ph/articles/car-features/mazda-leads-in-after-sales-service-satisfaction-2023-can-2024-surpass

Yes, the high car sales in Malaysia in 2023 compared to 2022 can be attributed significantly to the exemption of the Government's Sales and Services Tax (SST) on cars. The SST exemption was a policy introduced to stimulate the automotive industry, especially in the wake of the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This tax incentive effectively reduced the cost of purchasing a vehicle, making it more attractive for consumers to buy cars.

Here are some key points that explain this trend:

SST Exemption Policy: The Malaysian government reintroduced the SST exemption for cars as a measure to boost the automotive sector. This exemption effectively reduced the overall price of new cars, encouraging more people to make purchases.

Economic Recovery: As the economy started to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, consumer confidence improved, and people were more willing to spend on big-ticket items like cars.

Pent-Up Demand: There was a significant pent-up demand from consumers who delayed their car purchases during the pandemic years. With the SST exemption and improved economic conditions, many chose to buy cars in 2023.

Automotive Industry Support: The government and automotive industry stakeholders, including car manufacturers and dealers, actively promoted the benefits of the SST exemption, further driving sales.

Overall, the combination of the SST exemption, economic recovery, and pent-up demand played a crucial role in driving the unusually high car sales in Malaysia in 2023 compared to 2022.

golden cross 20 days x 50 days....better days ahead?

https://www.dsf.my/2024/05/xpeng-g6-electric-suv-launch-in-august-with-rm180k-possible-price/

A good replacement to go EV....