AirAsia X Claims To Have Refunded 270,000 Customers
In a press statement, AirAsia X (AAX), claims it had successfully compensated over 270,000 cancelled bookings which were mainly due to the pandemic and the grounding of flights here in Asia and the world.
Customers were given a five-year travel voucher for the full value of the outstanding bookings, according to AAX the travel voucher can be used to book flights (airline code D7) immediately and for future travel to a number of international destinations currently on sale. These will be further added when more routes are to be undertaken by the airline like Japan, Australia, Hawaii, New Zealand, London, Dubai and Istanbul in 2022. To read the full story click here.
Interest Rates And Inflation Are Close To Their Peak
When everyone is talking about rates and inflation, I’m looking forward to what comes next. The newspaper headlines are dominated by rising prices and the associated interest rate hikes which are coming. I don’t doubt this.
But history and experience have taught me that most of the current news is already in the price and to be a successful investor, you need to look through the valley and focus on what comes next. To read the full story click here
Global IPO Volumes Fall 46% With Proceeds Down 58% 1H Year-Over-Year
IPO momentum continued to slow from Q1 into Q2, resulting in a considerable decline in both deal numbers and proceeds. Heightened volatility caused by geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic factors, declining valuation and poor post-IPO share price performance led to the postponement of many IPOs during the quarter.
“The dramatic slowdown in IPO activity in YTD 202.2 after a record year in 2021 was experienced across most major markets, according to a report from EY. To read the full story click here
2H2022 Macro Update: One Step Forward Two Steps Back
Growth headwinds abound in 2H2022. The US Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes, the Russia-Ukraine military conflict in Europe, and China’s zero-Covid strategy have sent shockwaves globally. Southeast Asian economies appear to rebound strongly in 2022, but the rising food and energy prices may not sit well from the socio-economic perspective.
The latest projections by major multilateral banks (MDBs) are in concert that growth in 2022 will come in lower than their earlier estimates. By extension of the downward revision of global growth, major economies – the US, Euro area, and China – are expected to grow slower than in 2021. The good news, however, is that Southeast Asian countries are likely to perform better in 2022. To read the full story click here
Plantations Sector Worst Hit By Freeze On Workers From Indonesia
The plantation sector will be the worst affected by Indonesia’s temporary freeze on workers to Malaysia as it is more reliant on Indonesian workers for harvesting activities in the estates — critical for the upcoming peak production months, CGS CIMB said in a note
It said that the delay could lead to palm oil production for 2H22F falling below the level from a year ago. The worker shortage, combined with rising costs (minimum wage and fertilisers) and falling CPO prices, will be negative for 2H22F earnings — posing downside risks to Malaysian planters’ earnings. To read the full story click here
Top Glove Billionaire Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai Wealth Tumbles 89% After Stocks Crash
Top Glove billionaire Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai sees his wealth tumble after the company’s stock crashed from a high during the early period of 2021 when glove-related stocks were top of the leaderboard for months.
Singapore CNA which ran the story stated how Lim’s Top Glove even grew bigger than Malaysia’s banks, telecommunication companies, and state utility giant at one time. The stock price of the glove maker soared 450% through the first 7 months of 2020 leaving big names like Zoom and Moderna in the dust making him a billionaire many times over. To read the full story click here
