30/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | JUNE 30, 2025

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New UK envoy to Malaysia to prioritise semicon cooperation

about business opportunities in Malaysia. “Companies in the UK do not know much about the opportunities here in Malaysia, and we need to raise the profile to generate business interest. “So, that is a key area that I would like to fix under my leadership,” said Sharma, who stressed this is even more important with Malaysia being a key market for economic growth in the Asean region. With UK-Malaysia trade worth £6 billion (RM34.8 billion), the potential for increased trade is huge. “We should be doing much more in many areas, such as tech develop ment, which affects everything from healthcare to life sciences to defence manufacturing. We need to work on these and not be limited to areas we have focused on in the past,” said Sharma. He said the UK expects vast new opportunities following its accession to the Comprehensive and Pro gressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Dec 15 last year, becoming the first European nation to join the pact. The CPTPP now includes Australia, OVERALL turnover on the Malaysian warrants market for the week ended June 27 decreased 22.5% week-on week (w-o-w) to RM655.6 million with an average daily turnover of RM163.9 million, attributed to the Awal Muharram public holiday on Friday. Investors continued to focus on warrants over the Hang Seng Index (HSI) and Malaysia stocks, which contributed 97.2% to overall turnover. In Hong Kong, the HSI rose for three straight days, continuing from the previous Friday’s increase, for a total 4% gain to 24,474.67 on Wednesday before losing 0.61% on Thursday and 0.2% on Friday (during which the Malaysian market was shut) to end the week at 24,284.15, 3.2% higher. Investors traded a mixture of call and put warrants over the HSI. Top warrants last week include call warrants HSI-CWEY, HSI-CWGB and HSI-CWGS, and put warrants HSI PWFZ and HSI-PWHC. Other than the usual steps in selecting a warrant, investors should also consider the implied volatility (IV) level of warrants. A warrant with lower IV will have a lower warrant price compared to a warrant with higher IV (all other factors held constant). A lower WARRANTS WATCH

talent to the UK and set up courses here. Then we could see these courses develop and expand to Malaysia as well,” he said. He also highlighted clean energy as an area for increased bilateral cooperation, in which Malaysia has immense potential and where Britain could play a supporting role. “Malaysia has huge natural resources, immense opportunities in clean energy and is working on significant development on carbon capture, green tech and energy transition. Malaysia also has creative and innovative technologies which can be used in our universities, labs and expanded into businesses. “This interests me to try to get more investments from both countries in this sector as well,” said Sharma. He said he is keen to boost two-way investments, especially Malaysian investments in the UK, citing successful ventures such as the Battersea Power Station redevelopment, YTL’s Brabazon project in Bristol, and contributions in sectors ranging from water utilities like Wessex Water to power generation. At the same time, he aims to raise awareness among UK companies

and testing to high-end manu facturing and niche capabilities such as integrated circuit design. “We have seen a Malaysian company invest in a new compound semiconductor facility in Wales,” he said, referring to SMD Semicon ductor, a Sarawak state-owned firm that recently opened a research and development innovation hub in Newport, an industrial port city in Wales. “Therefore, I really want to work with Malaysia on the semiconductor industry. Malaysia is already involved in different parts of the value chain, and we can complement and learn from each other,” he told Bernama after appearing on Bernama TV’s The Nation programme recently. Sharma, who succeeded Ailsa Terry, previously served in Iran, Qatar, Turkey, Moscow and Paris. He also sees potential for a UK Malaysia partnership in offering specialised courses on semicon ductors and chip design in British universities, where a significant number of Malaysian students pursue higher education. “We can also collaborate with local universities to bring Malaysian

The port forms a flagship component of the Sabak Bernam Development Area (Sabda), a key regional initiative under Rancangan Selangor Pertama , and reflects the state’s strategic shift to strengthen its presence across air, land and sea through balanced, interconnected development. An initial investment of RM500 million has been identified for fishing-related infrastructure and improvements as part of the Sekinchan Integrated Landing Port initiative, which is scheduled to commence by the end of 2026. This sets in motion a compre hensive transformation roadmap designed to uplift the region’s fisheries sector and position Sabak Bernam as a long-term economic growth centre on Selangor’s west coast. The announcement was made during the official unveiling cere mony held at Pantai Redang, Sabak Bernam, officiated by Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and attended by state exco members, project stakeholders, rep resentatives from state-linked com panies and community leaders. The project, led by Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated) or MBI Selangor and funded via a public private partnership model, will be developed by Sekinchan Develop ment Holdings Sdn Bhd as the KUALA LUMPUR: The United Kingdom’s new High Commissioner to Malaysia, Ajay Sharma ( pic ), has made strengthening bilateral cooperation a key priority, with a particular focus on the fast-growing semiconductor sector and the development of integrated chip design and advanced manufacturing. He said the British government is keen to strengthen linkages and exchange ideas to increase the value chain in both countries in the semiconductor industry and the manufacture of high-end chips. This aligns with Malaysia’s ambitions under the National Semi conductor Strategy to transition from outsourced semiconductor assembly manufacture of high end chips, says high commissioner o British government keen to strengthen linkages in

warrant price means that a lower amount of capital is required for the same effective exposure to the underlying, allowing you to diversify your portfolio further. In the local market, warrants over YTL Power were actively traded as the underlying jumped 7.1% w-o-w. YTLPOWR-C77 saw 86.6 million units traded while YTLPOWR-C85 recorded 75 million units traded over the week. Eco-Shop Marketing warrants were also popular among investors with ECOSHOP-CJ, ECOSHOP-CE and ECOSHOP-CM recording the highest volume traded at 87.6 million, 30.9 million and 16.6 million units, res pectively. Other Eco-Shop warrants that were actively traded were ECOSHOP-CB and ECOSHOP-CG. Overall, Eco-Shop warrants saw over 160 million units traded for the week. To view the full list of structured warrants available on Bursa Malaysia, visit malaysiawarrants.com.my. Provided for Malaysian residents’ information only. It is not an offer or recommendation to trade and is not research material. You should make your own assessment and seek professional advice. The warrants will not be offered to any US persons. Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom and Vietnam. With a combined population of 580 million and accounting for 15.6% of global gross domestic product, the CPTPP is the world’s fourth-largest free trade bloc. Sharma noted that the global trading system is under considerable strain, with questions raised about the World Trade Organisation’s ability to manage challenges, even before the protectionist measures introduced by the United States. “We really need to find ways to ensure cooperation between our countries to support free trade flows and growth, which is the main reason we were keen to join the CPTPP. “We must ensure the trade administration process is as simple as possible. I wouldn’t want people to miss out on a great trade arrangement simply because the process for applying for exemptions, etc, is too complicated or too onerous,” he said. – Bernama

Issues over HSI, YTL Power and Eco-Shop actively traded

Sekinchan landing port project launched PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state government on Saturday officially launched the Sekinchan Integrated Landing Port project, a landmark coastal infrastructure development that will anchor Sabak Bernam’s transformation into a hub for seafood production, maritime ser vices and sustainable tourism.

Amirudin (fourth, right), Saipolyazan (third, right), state exco members and representatives from Sekinchan Development Holdings at the launch of the Sekinchan Integrated Landing Port project.

appointed master developer. “This integrated port project marks a turning point for Sabak Bernam, from a support district to a driver of growth. It is about unlocking long term value through infrastructure that empowers people, sustains liveli hoods, and positions Selangor as a state that leaves no region behind. We are building a foundation that will benefit not just today’s generation, but those to come,” said Amirudin. Occupying about 84 acres for Phase 1, which will span five years, 80% of the site lies over water. The Sekinchan Integrated Landing Port will feature a centralised jetty and fisheries complex, complete with fish grading, cold storage and pre processing facilities. It will also feature a fish auction hall and a commercial fish market, tide-adaptive docks and designated boat parking zones for uninterrupted

operations, a modern boatbuilding and marine maintenance zone and a supporting logistics hub for seafood distribution and maritime services. Furthermore, it will feature coastal enhancements, including a new public beach, retail amenities and serviced accommodations. MBI Selangor Group CEO Datuk Saipolyazan M Yusop said that, in driving the overall Sabda initiative, he noted the significance of the Sekinchan project as part of the state’s delivery focus. “This project embodies the mission of Sabda, to bring catalytic, people-first development to underserved regions. MBI Selangor is proud to support an initiative that exemplifies what strategic, inclusive infrastructure can achieve.” Sekinchan Development Holding CEO Kau Git Kaur said the develop ment is designed with real-world functionality in mind.

Top HSI warrants by value traded: Warrant Value Issuer Exercise

Expiry date

name

(RM’ mil)

level

HSI-CWEY HSI-PWFZ HSI-PWHC HSI-CWGB HSI-CWGS

111.2 99.2 78.3 57.7 31.7

Kenanga Kenanga Macquarie Macquarie Macquarie

26,000 22,000 22,000 26,000 28,000

30 Jul 2025 30 Jul 2025 30 Jul 2025 30 Jul 2025 28 Aug 2025