27/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | MAR 27, 2026

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

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MTT Shipping to ride on intra-Asia trade wave

Soo Wai Har to take over as Berjaya Sompo Insurance CEO on April 1

KUALA LUMPUR: MTT Shipping and Logistics Bhd is positioning itself to ride an emerging wave of intra-Asia trade growth, under pinned by global supply chain realignment and persistent vessel shortages, as it prepares for a Main Market listing on Bursa Malaysia Securities scheduled for April 21. Managing director Ooi Lean Hin said the group is expanding at a time when structural shifts in global trade are increasingly favouring Southeast Asia, particularly as manufacturing and supply chains diversify away from China. “There’s a big shift in global trade driven by supply chain realignment and geopolitical factors. We are seeing exports from Southeast Asia to the US rising sharply, and this trend will continue as more pro duction capacity comes onstream,” he said at the prospectus launch yesterday. Ooi noted that while exports from China to the US declined by about 7% to 8% last year, shipments from Southeast Asia surged by 23% over the same period, signalling a redistribution of global manu facturing flows. He said additional cargo from factory relocations is expected to materialise over the next 18 to 24 months, providing further upside to regional shipping demand. To capitalise on this, MTT Shipping is committing 95.7% of its initial public offering (IPO) proceeds towards acquiring at least 12 newbuild container vessels, with deliveries already lined up pro gressively from end-2026 through to 2029. Of the 633.5 million shares offered, 571 million are allocated to institutional investors, including 312 million reserved for investors o Container liner operator committing 96% of IPO proceeds towards acquiring at least 12 newbuild vessels Ű BY DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM sunbiz@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd has appointed Soo Wai Har ( pic ) as the new CEO effective April 1, succeeding Tan Sek Kee, who is retiring.

likely be implemented for years to come, including the legal recognition of Systemic Negligence, which holds hospital management directly liable for staffing gaps and specialist accessibility. Other key plans include the launch of the Reset Strategy and the Base Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful to curb medical claim inflation. MBSB IB said KPJ Healthcare Bhd remains its top pick for the sector, with a“neutral” recommendation and target price of RM2.92. – Bernama Berjaya Sompo Insurance is the Malaysian operating entity of Sompo Holdings Inc. As one of Malaysia’s leading general insurers, the company employs about 570 professionals and operates through an expanding nationwide network of 15 offices and more than 2,500 agents. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of general insurance solutions for individuals and corporations. Tan has been CEO of Berjaya Sompo since 2017 and has been instrumental in strengthening Sompo’s Malaysia business over the last nine years. He will remain with Berjaya Sompo until June to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. Soo brings more than 30 years of comprehensive industry ex perience and relationships with global insurance companies. In her new role, Soo will be responsible for driving Berjaya Sompo’s sustainable profitability, scale and capabilities as a key market within Asia-Pacific (Apac), while supporting the region’s growth and operational excellence. She will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will report to Kenneth Reilly, CEO, insurance, Apac. Reilly said, “I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Tan for his years of outstanding leadership and significant contributions to Sompo. We wish him the very best in his retirement. “I am also excited to welcome Soo to the Malaysia and Asia Pacific leadership teams. With her wealth of experience and technical expertise from both consulting and insurance industry pers pectives, I am confident Soo will lead the high-performing team in Berjaya Sompo to oversee and execute our strategic plans in this key market for our insurance business.” Soo is a chartered accountant from the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

From left: Affin Hwang Investment Bank CEO Hanif Ghulam, Ooi, MTT Shipping and Logistics executive chairman Datuk Seri Ong Kean Lee, CIMB Investment Bank CEO and regional head of investment banking Nor Masliza Sulaiman and CLSA executive director of corporate finance and capital markets Peter Ng.

ment’s shift towards digitalisation and non-monetary perks represents a final, critical effort to restore professional dignity before the nation’s 2030 specialist targets become mathematically impossible to achieve,” it said in a note. MBSB IB believes the government’s shift from crisis management towards systemic res-ponsibility is apt in addressing the current fundamental human resource deficit. Several key mitigation plans would accounts for about 40% of its revenue, while expanding its regional footprint across Southeast Asia and key Asian routes. On the financial front, the group expects to maintain a healthy balance sheet post-listing, with gearing remaining below 0.5 times, supporting both expansion and shareholder returns. MTT Shipping has outlined a dividend policy of at least 50% of profit after tax, signalling confidence in its earnings outlook despite ongoing capital expenditure. “We are still very profitable and generating enough cash. We don’t see any issue in sustaining the dividend payout,” Ooi said. CIMB Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, joint global co ordinator, joint bookrunner, managing underwriter, and joint underwriter for the IPO. CLSA Limited and CLSA Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd are the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, while Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd is the joint bookrunner and joint underwriter.

It said this supply-side crisis is exacerbated by a desperate need for 13,000 specialists that is currently stalled by record-high medicolegal payouts and skyrocketing indemnity premiums, forcing MOH to rely on fragile workarounds like the cluster model and foreign labour amnesty to mask a 15,000-person nursing shortage. “Ultimately, with macro-economic pressures like US$100 (RM399) oil per barrel and rising medical inflation draining the treasury, the govern vessels serving intra-Asia routes. The company currently operates a fleet of 26 vessels, with full utilisation across its network, while also chartering ships to major global liner operators. Despite rising fuel costs, Ooi said, the group is able to manage cost pressures through industry mecha nisms such as fuel adjustment factors, which allow shipping com panies to pass on fluctuations in bunker prices. “Oil prices do impact us, but there are mechanisms to recover these costs. It’s a standard practice in the industry.” On geopolitical risks, including tensions in the Middle East, Ooi said MTT Shipping has no direct exposure to Gulf trade routes, although prolonged disruptions could have broader implications on global trade and energy prices. For now, he said, cargo volumes remain stable, with some global rerouting of shipments observed. Domestically, MTT Shipping continues to anchor its business on Malaysia’s cabotage trade, which

approved by the Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry (Miti), while the remaining 162.5 million are set aside for eligible persons and the Malaysian public. The container liner operator is raising RM652.5 million via the issuance of 633.5 million new shares, with the bulk of proceeds earmarked for fleet expansion to capture rising cargo volumes across the region. The expansion comes amid a tightening global supply of vessels, particularly in the feeder segment where MTT Shipping operates. Ooi said the industry continues to face a structural shortage of ships, exacerbated by ageing fleets and stricter environmental regulations requiring the replacement of older vessels. “The world is very short of ships. The ratio of newbuild orders versus vessels that need to be phased out remains low, and this is supporting charter rates.” He added that charter rates remain firm and are expected to stay elevated over the medium term, supported by limited supply and sustained demand for smaller

M’sian healthcare sector outlook positive despite staff shortages: MBSB IB KUALA LUMPUR: MBSB Investment Bank Bhd (MBSB IB) is maintaining its positive stance on the Malaysian healthcare sector despite medical staff shortages. specialists annually, Malaysia will only reach about 65% of its target by the end of the decade.

MBSB IB said Malaysia’s healthcare system has entered a full-scale transition as the collapse of the contract model -- evidenced by a 40% rejection rate of permanent posts and pre-emptive recruitment by Singapore – combines with a 50% contraction in the entry pipeline, where only 529 graduates reported for 5,000 housemanship slots in January 2026.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently projected that more than 22,000 specialists will be needed by 2030, revealing a daunting 13,000 person gap that current training rates cannot bridge. According to the ministry, at the current pace of 1,000-1,400 new