Islamic Credit Cards: Are They Halal?

A letter purportedly from Maybank is being widely shared on social media, relating to a new regulation by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) on the do’s and don’ts of using Islamic credit cards.

In the letter sent in July last year, Maybank said that those who hold its Maybank Islamic Visa Infinite Ikhwan Credit Card-i would not be able to use it on non-Shariah compliant merchant categories:

·       Package stores (beer, wine and liquor)

·       Funeral services and crematories

·       Cigar stores and stands

·       Dating services

·       Government-owned lotteries (US region only)

·       Government Licensed Online Casinos (online gambling) (US region only)

·       Government Licensed Horse/Dog Racing (US Region only)

·       Betting including lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, off-track betting and wagers at race tracks

·       Government-owned lotteries (non-US region)

Source: https://focusmalaysia.my

The letter was signed by Maybank’s Group Community Financial Services (Head of Cards Malaysia) executive vice-president Md Gharif Talib.

“Should you require to spend at the above merchant categories, you may opt for the conventional Maybank Visa Infinity Card,” he said.

In a related development, a Maybank spokesperson claimed that the letter was circulated by a card holder who was upset for not being able to use the Islamic credit card to purchase alcoholic beverage at an airport, reiterating that the customer was already informed of the rule beforehand.

“We do wish to clarify, however, that such restrictions on non-Shariah compliant transactions do not apply to other conventional (i.e. non-Islamic) Maybank credit cards,” the Maybank spokesperson pointed out.

“The card holder mentioned had been clearly informed of the availability of this alternative in our notification letter regarding such restrictions.”

Should Islamic credit cards be made available to non-Muslims? If you do, you have the above problem. The credit card is halal but the transaction and person are not. Why do we stop at credit cards?

Frankly, the point-of-sale terminals need to be segregated as halal or non-halal terminals. Then the “poor” terminals will not be confused and cause havoc on an Islamic software package developed by a kosher Jew! There are other issues as well. We need to segregate Islamic electrical vehicles (EVs) or un-Islamic EVs or SUVs and how about the vaccines, especially from China? The important point is what matters - our outward appearance or our hearts?

And let us go back to the credit card, surely it is best non-Muslims don’t hold Islamic credit cards and the Bank must inform any applicant (a non-Muslim) accordingly.

My apologies for being carried away! Sense and sensibility must prevail! Have a great weekend and check your credit card before use!

 

Reference:

Bank Negara guideline on Islamic credit card: a new hurdle for banks? G. Vinod, Focus Malaysia, 25 Jan 2021

 

Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine: Should We Worry?

To achieve herd immunity, 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated. Malaysia has managed to procure COVID-19 vaccines for 82.8% of the population (26.5 million Malaysians) with an allocation of RM2.05 billion. Brands that will be obtained are: 

 

·       20% from Pfizer-BioNTech;

·       10% from Oxford-AstraZeneca; 

·       10% from the WHO Covax facility;

·       21.9% from Sinovac;

·       10.9% from CanSinoBIO; 

·       10% from Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

Based on the prices for the EU and the US, the Pfizer vaccine would cost the government between US$188.93 million to US$249.60 million, and the AstraZeneca vaccine between US$14.02 million and US$25.60 million. Based on the ceiling price, the COVAX vaccine would cost a maximum of US$67.52 million. The cost then to vaccinate 40% of the population would be between US$270.47 and US$342.72 million (Dr.Milton Lum, CodeBlue).

REUTERS

Many are now concerned about the side effects of getting the COVID-19 vaccine, especially after 29 deaths were reported in Norway recently. They were among some 40,000 people injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in mid-January. Those who died were all in the "75 years+" and included terminally ill patients anticipated to have only weeks or months to live.

All vaccines have possible side effects with mild to moderate severity. Typical vaccine side effects include local pain, swelling, redness and sometimes bruising at the injection site, as well as fever and tiredness. Some people may experience chills, fatigue or minor headaches after vaccine inoculation.

Why do vaccines cause side effects?

Side effects like fever, chills and fatigue after a vaccination indicate that your immune system is responding to the vaccine, Dr Thomas Duszynski, director of epidemiology education at Indiana University says. "Even if you don't experience these (side effects), it does not mean that your immune system isn't working; it is just working a little more quietly," he says.

Bruising, swelling and sensitivity at the injection site are common response similarly after a needle punctures our skin for any other purpose. These side effects can occur after any vaccination, as well as when people get blood drawn or receive steroid shots or vitamin injections.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists a couple of additional side effects for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine specifically, including muscle pain, joint pain, nausea and swollen lymph nodes (PDF). The FDA notes that most people experience these side effects after the second dose of the vaccine.

Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine

In the clinical trial results published in The Lancet, mild to moderate side effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine were similar to mild side effects from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine

Sinovac too has no major side-effects seen during its trials. The common adverse effects were fever, mild pain and slight fatigue.

It is important that when we read news of adverse reactions caused by COVID-19 vaccines, we should read not just the headline, but the details.  We should learn to differentiate those people who are medically suited to take the vaccines or not. Media may report one case of anaphylaxis, but we should look at the remaining thousand people that got vaccinated without anaphylaxis too. In the end, it is the comfort level one has from the brand or the independent research findings.

 

Reference:

1.     Joycelyn Tan, The COVID-19 Vaccine Is Free & Voluntary For M’sians, Plus 6 Other Facts To Know About It, https://vulcanpost.com/

2.     Amanda Capritto, COVID-19 vaccine side effects: What we know so far www.cnet.com/

3.     COVID-19 vaccine allergies, deaths: What we know, 18 Jan 2021, Bloomberg

4.     Worried about anaphylactic reactions and side effects? Experts answer FAQs on COVID-19 vaccination, 7 Jan 2021, CNA

Can QEs Lead to Hyperinflation?

As the Great Recession set in, the Fed dropped its interest rate target to close to zero. Then it was forced to use unconventional monetary policy tools including quantitative easing (QE). QE was an emergency measure used to stimulate the economy and prevent it from tumbling into a deflationary spiral.

When financial institutions collapse and there is a high degree of economic uncertainty, people and businesses choose to hoard their money rather than risk investment and potential loss. When money is hoarded, it is not spent and so producers are forced to lower prices in order to clear their inventories. But why would somebody spend a dollar today when they expect that prices will be lower—and their dollar can buy effectively more—tomorrow? The result is that hoarding continues, prices keep falling, and the economy grinds to a halt.

The first reason, then, why QE did not lead to hyperinflation is because the state of the economy was already deflationary when it began. After QE1, the Fed underwent a second round of quantitative easing, QE2. Here the central bank undertook open market operations where it purchased assets from banks in return for dollars.

It is true the monetary base spiked during these initial rounds of QE, but the second reason QE didn't lead to hyperinflation is we live under a fractional reserve banking system whereby the money supply is more than just the amount of physical coins, paper money, and bank deposits in the system.

The monetary base, or M0, is money in circulation, but banks are in the business of making loans with the deposits on hand. The money from those loans are then deposited back into the banking system and re-loaned, over and over again. This is the so-called money multiplier effect.

If the multiplier is 10x, for every $100 deposited into a bank up to $1,000 of new credit money is created through this mechanism. The M2 measure of the money supply, which includes the effects of fractional reserve banking and credit, was actually quite stable during this period (in the U.S.).

So where did all the M0 money go if it wasn't multiplied through the credit system? Banks and financial institutions hoarded the money in order to shore up their own balance sheets and regain profitability. Banks still had bad loans and toxic assets on their balance sheets as a result of the housing bubble and its aftershocks. The extra cash on hand made their financial picture look a whole lot better. As the economy recovered and the Fed began tapering its interventions, the money being held by banks was returned to the Fed slowly in the form of interest payments on the debts purchased during QE. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy, on the whole, has remained productive and growing.

Many had feared that QE would spell hyperinflation for the U.S. economy following the economic crisis of 2008. The crisis, however, was largely a deflationary phenomenon and the money being injected into the system (by QE), as seen by the spike in the M0 monetary base, was by and large retained by the financial sector, with the more important M2 money supply remaining fairly stable.

Hyperinflation is an exponential rise in prices and tends to occur not when countries print too much money; but with a collapse in the real underlying economy. The printing of money is a desperate effort to maintain stability and prevent production from coming to a halt.  That’s what happened in post-WWI Germany and during the 2000s when Mugabe was in Zimbabwe. On the other hand, the U.S. economy remained productive during the period of the Great Recession and only saw very modest increases in inflation.

 

Source:https://www.thebalance.com

 

Key takeaways:

• Prices did rise modestly in the low-interest rate environment that followed the Great Recession, but not nearly enough to be considered hyperinflation.
• Hyperinflation is an exponential rise in prices and is generally associated with a collapse in the underlying economy.
• During the Great Recession banks still had bad loans and toxic assets on their balance sheets as a result of the housing bubble and its aftershocks.
• While the central bank did increase the money supply sharply, banks used these funds to shore up their balance sheets and buffer toxic assets, rather than create new loans

Reference:

Why didn’t Quantitative Easing lead to hyperinflation? Adam Hayes, Mar 24, 2020

(https://www.investopedia.com)

 

What Is Joe Biden’s Economic Plan?

President Joe Biden campaigned on an economic platform to shore up the middle class, extend healthcare, raise taxes on the wealthy and invest strongly on green energy infrastructure, amongst others.

He also plans to deal with Covid-19 and the economy. Essentially, the agenda is to:

·       Provide health insurance coverage for 97% of Americans in 10 years;

·       Raise an additional USD4 trillion in tax revenue by increasing top tax rate to 39.6%, taxing capital gains and raising corporate tax rate to 28% (from 21%);

·       Forgive student loan and give college free for those earning below USD 125,000;

·       Expand “Buy American” policies;

·       Invest USD 1.3 trillion in infrastructure;

·       Spend USD 2 trillion on clean energy.

According to Pew Research, 52% of American adults lived in middle-income households in 2018. The annual income range for a middle- class household of three persons (in 2018) was USD48,500 to USD145,500. The U.S. has a proportionally smaller middle class than other advanced economies and income disparity within is growing. A growing and thriving middle class is important for social and political stability.

Rural America makes up 20% of U.S. population. This is Trump territory. Biden wants to invest USD20 billion in broadband infrastructure, create low carbon jobs, spend more in agricultural research, improve funding for farmers and SMEs and expand health care services.

Biden plans to invest USD50 billion in his first year in repairing roads, highways and bridges. Another USD10 billion over 10 years on transit projects, USD5 billion on electric car battery technology and USD400 billion on clean energy research and innovation.

For boosting America’s manufacturing and technological strength, the plan is to invest USD700 billion. Of this, USD300 billion is for R&D on technologies for electric vehicles, lightweight materials, 5G and AI.

To meet the Covid challenge, Biden has the American Rescue Plan which includes:

·       Direct aid (USD1 trillion); USD1,400 per person cheques to supplement the approved USD600. Raise minimum wage from USD7.25 an hour to USD15 an hour;

·       USD20 billion national vaccination program;

·       USD50 billion for “massive” testing;

·       Hiring 100,000 more public health care workers; and a whole host of other goodies!

What can we learn for Malaysia?

We need emphasis on clean energy or renewables; electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions; part forgiveness of PTPTN loans; raise minimum wage to RM1,500 immediately;  R&D funds for resource-based industries; hire more health care workers; build new hospitals; focus on infrastructure and connectivity; raise broadband quality/ speed; and provide “easier” wage/ rental subsidies.

How do you finance the above?

Raise the tax rate for the top tier to 35%; introduce forex transaction tax; implement the “super” profit tax for sectors other than palm oil; and widen the SST coverage.

Perhaps, under “Emergency” rule the present Government may have the gumption and gall to introduce new incentives and finance them by targeted taxation.

 

Reference:

Deborah D’Souza, Joe Biden's Economic Plan, 20 Jan 2021, www.investopedia.com 

Any Lessons from Brexit?

Paul Fisher of the Saïd Business School, Oxford University cited six principles of negotiations. This was after reviewing the whole process of negotiating Brexit by EU and the U.K.

Principle #1: Build strong relationships ahead of time

First, the UK government should have formed durable alliances in Europe. An advance relationship building exercise is key to successful negotiations. The last-minute shuttle diplomacy proved too little, too late. Second, the EU failed to put itself in the UK’s shoes (another negotiation principle). Had they been even a little flexible over freedom of movement, they might have retained Britain within the EU family.

Principle #2: Pay close attention to process

In negotiations, it’s nearly impossible to overestimate the importance of controlling the process. The EU did just that in the first stage of the negotiation, the UK’s negotiated withdrawal from the EU. By insisting that the issues important to the EU — the Northern Irish backstop, the rights of EU and UK citizens, and the UK’s financial liabilities — be agreed upon before discussions about the future relationship were even entertained, they gained an important victory in phase one.

The UK has had less leverage in phase two (negotiating the future relationship). And leverage is key to any negotiations.

Principle #3: Remember the stakeholders

In negotiations, communicating with those who aren’t at the table is every bit as important as communicating with those who are. Individual European countries, parliamentarians on both the UK and EU sides, industry groups, and the general public on both sides of the channel may not be at the table but keeping them in perspective is important.

Frequent updates on progress is also important.

Principle #4: Avoid self-imposed deadlines

That was the case with the Withdrawal Agreement. The UK signed on to a deal that they had to start unravelling just a few months later. And that was also the case with the future trade relationship.

Principle #5: Behave like a trusted partner – or pay the price

Negotiations, particularly complex negotiations, are built on a bedrock of trust and respect and an understanding that once deals are agreed and signed, there’s no going back unless both sides decide to renegotiate.

So, the UK government’s decision to draw up legislation – the Internal Market Bill – that overrode the Northern Ireland element of the Withdrawal Agreement, broke international law and was not a good moment.

Principle #6: Don’t let political pressure get in the way of pragmatic solutions

The fisheries industry contributes only 0.1% to the UK economy and a similarly low figure across Europe. Compare this to services (over 75%) and manufacturing and production (21%) in the UK. Yet painfully the trade deal could have collapsed over fisheries.

While the right to control one’s, own waters has strong symbolic importance, great negotiators tend to put pragmatism over politics.

To reach agreement, both sides needed to be proactive and create the initiative. When Boris Johnson said things like “the likelihood of a deal is very much determined by our friends and partners in the EU,” it didn’t help anyone. There was a need for creativity on both sides.

Negotiation impasses are sometimes broken by heads of state or other senior people outside the negotiating teams speaking directly to one another to help regather momentum towards a deal. That was what took place in the end. Pragmatism is key to get a deal done!

 

Reference:

Paul Fisher, Lessons from Brexit on How (Not) to Negotiate, 8 Dec 2020, Harvard Business Review

Top Gainers and Losers on Bursa in 2020

Aside from Vietnam, Bursa Malaysia outperformed its neighbouring bourses with its benchmark index ending the year in the positive zone. The FBM KLCI gained 3.5% year-to-date (YTD) to reach 1,644.41 points on Dec 30, while Vietnam's VNINDEX climbed 14.2% on a YTD basis. It is worth noting that the FBM KLCI declined for two consecutive years since 2017 (The Edge, 31 Dec 2020).

In contrast, Singapore's Straits Times Index dropped 11% YTD, followed by the Philippines' PSE Composite Index -8.6%, Thailand's SET Index -8.3%, and Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index -5.1%.

The retail investors who have been absent for over a decade had also returned to the stock exchange. Given the surge in retail interest, the exchange's daily trading volume ballooned to an all-time high of 27.8 billion in August compared with last year's high of 2.51 billion shares.

The Edge is taking a closer look at this year's top winners and top losers, which have been grouped according to market capitalisation.

According to Bloomberg data, the market capitalisation of all listed entities ballooned as much as RM104.74 billion! The main contributors were rubber glove makers, semiconductor-related counters and vaccine distributors.

The prognosis for this year will depend on political stability, the Covid situation, fiscal and monetary initiatives and the attractiveness of the Malaysian market compared to other regional bourses. Hopefully, it will be a better year!

 

Reference:

These are the top gainers and losers on Bursa in 2020, 31 Dec 2020, The Edge

Malaysia Suffers Again from Floods!

 

https://www.brinknews.com/

More than 600,000 evacuees, 34 deaths and RM153.4mil in losses – this was the total cost of floods in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor from 2014 to 2018. Throughout the five-year period, 2014 saw the most severe floods in the country's history with nearly half a million people evacuated (The Star, 2 Jan 2020).

Number of evacuees from 2014 to Feb 2018

The chart above reveals the most flood-prone states – along with Sabah and Sarawak - caused by the northeast monsoon which starts in October and ends in March.

Floods have become more intense with each passing year. Costs to manage them have increased four-fold, from RM1.79 billion in 2001 to RM5.81 billion in 2010, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.

In December 2014 and January 2015 floods, one of the worst in the last decade, economic loss was reported to be some RM280 million. Most affected were Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan. The floods ravaged about 190,000ha of oil palm plantations. More than 230,000 people had to be evacuated with 21 killed.

For Malaysia, floods are the most common and expensive natural disaster. Malaysia cannot afford to have floods annually — the damage to highways, hospitals, universities and schools is unspeakable. Months after the 2014-15 floods ended, victims in Kelantan and Terengganu continued to have food shortages, electricity and clean water issues.

In addition to natural causes, floods are mainly attributed to rapid development, unplanned urbanisation, poor drainage system, environmental degradation and massive deforestation.

The government has spent billions on flood control, mitigation and disaster management. However, the effectiveness of these policies remains questionable. Relevant authorities should manage and coordinate all stakeholders effectively. Budgets allocated need to be used wisely not only on handling post-flooding catastrophes, but also on actual preparations. They include:

Reforestation around low-lying and flood-prone areas

Forest is our protector when it comes to flooding. However, Malaysia’s rate of forest loss from 2000 to 2012 was at 14.4%, out-doing Brazil and Indonesia. This amounts to 19,200 square kilometres – an area almost the size of Perak and more than double that of Selangor deforested. We need some firm steps on reforestation.

Keeping drains and rivers clear of pollution

Besides ensuring solid pollutants are removed from drains, authorities need to either widen or deepen them. Or in some cases both. This is because monsoon-induced floods occur when water build up exceeds drains and rivers’ carrying capacities. Custom-designed surveillance Internet of Things (IoT) modules could be installed to monitor the area.

Creating floodplains and swales

Floodplains can help to increase the area’s water carrying capacity. They become sacrificial pieces of land for floods during monsoon seasons. During non-monsoon seasons, this floodplain could double-up as water-dense, fertile, agricultural land for villagers to grow an array of vegetables. In addition, swales could be constructed along major highways, roads and housing areas that are prone to flooding.

Permeable pavements and surfaces

Today’s cities only allow around 15% of water to seep through them, while natural ground cover allows more than triple this, at around 50%. This is where permeable surfaces can be a game-changer.

Types of permeable pavements

Quick implementation of ideas is needed before the next monsoon attack. This is where public-private partnerships are most relevant to get dredging or reforestation going.

 

Reference:

1.        34 deaths and RM153mil in losses, 2 Jan 2020, The Star

2.        NST Leader: Calibrate economic costs, 5 Dec 2019, New Straits Times

3.        CPPS Policy Fact Sheet: Malaysia’s Flood Management

4.        4 ways to end Malaysia’s never-ending flood problem, 19 Jan 2021, FreeMalaysiaToday

Should MCO 2.0 Be Different?

Based on BNM data, Malaysians had savings deposits of RM172.8 billion as at end January 2020. This increased to RM211.7 billion by November. Why?

Households were spending less. The moratorium and restriction on travel put more money in the hands of Malaysians. Then there is the curtailment of “minimum Teh Tarik” or just “lepak” in restaurants and malls. Even in CMCO the spending pattern was subdued. Many rather save than spend – expecting tougher times ahead.

Private consumption was in negative territory in 2020. For 2021, Government expects aggregate domestic demand to rebound to 9.8%. That’s before MCO 2.0. With MCO domestic tourism is now dead. Traditionally, private consumption (for 2015-2019) contributes 80% of GDP growth. MIDF Research views the decline in private consumption to have bottomed-out in Q2, 2020. That may not be the case. And with MCO 2.0, the chances of recovery in private consumption is further deferred. People worry about jobs and health.

MCO 2.0 should have been different, not a “copy and paste” of MCO 1.0. We should have learned lessons from 1.0. Does it make sense for small businesses in services sector to close? Even car assembly plants are closed. Then there are the inter-district crossings, over 10km from home, which disrupts anyone working beyond that range. Of course, one could get a permit – many wouldn’t and just let it be! For restaurants, the take-away feature does not replace the dine-ins. Malaysians love to go for a “teh tarik” and that constitutes 75-80% of total revenue for a restaurant. In other words, takeaways only provide 20-25% of total revenue. How does one pay rental or staff costs? Is there a Government-support scheme in place for entrepreneurs to get grants on rental/ workers’ wages? There is the wage subsidy scheme for those earning below RM 4000. But to qualify for the RM600 subsidy for one month, the entrepreneur must show the impact of Covid on his business! That’s just an example. Why not a loan moratorium to June 2021? Only people left screaming in this case are the bankers.

The Government through the PM has suggested the ‘Permai’ stimulus worth RM 15 billion. These are detailed below:

 

As M.Shanmugam (formerly from Star) argues cogently that MCO 2.0 cannot have the same rules as MCO 1.0. With limited handouts from the Government, SMEs are in dire straits. We also need private consumption to recover, otherwise the forecast of 7-7.5% GDP growth is another “pie in the sky” phenomenon.

 

Reference:

1.     M.Shanmugan, MCO 2.0 should be different, The Starbiz Week, 16 January 2021

2.     Ganeshwana Kana, Surviving another lockdown, The Starbiz Week, 16 January 2021

Malaysia’s Economy: Steady State?

Juwai IQI Global chief economist Shaun Saeed views the country will weather through the tempestuous global economy. Malaysia’s GDP growth is forecast at 3-4% by Juwai IQI with ringgit to track between RM3.67 and RM4.10 to the dollar. Local currency’s strength is primarily due to higher oil prices, movements aligned with the Yuan and macroeconomic stability. DBS Group Research is predicting BNM to cut OPR by another 25 basis points this Wednesday. That will leave OPR at a new low of 1.5%.

The move is to address potential impact on the economy due to recent announcements of state of emergency and MCO.

The overall GDP in 2021 is expected to trim by 0.8% to 5.2%, down from earlier forecast of 6%. Domestic consumption will be most affected. This will be a drag on the growth rate. Tighter restrictions on social and work mobility across Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah as well as the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan will impact somewhat on GDP growth. The above states/ territories account for about two-thirds of the country’s GDP. Foreign flows into MGS and MGI issues have remained robust in recent months, due to higher energy prices and buoyant global risk sentiments.

Malaysia needs an injection of RM45 billion to overcome the recent MCO and Emergency declarations. There are sectors and people severely impacted. Without any further politicking, the Prime Minister has six months to deliver initiatives. It is pointless for him to examine Bersatu’s likely performance in GE15 or invite others from the Opposition into his grouping/ alliance. This is an opportunity for him to shine with new and courageous measures that will change a gloomy outlook to one more optimistic.

 Six months may not provide enough time but surely, he could:

·       Raise support/ funds for the unemployed;

·       Provide grants/ loans to SMEs or a loan moratorium up to mid- 2021;

·       Reduce his Cabinet by 50%;

·       Initiate construction of new hospitals and provide additional funds for KKM to mitigate Covid;

·       Improve all state and Federal roads (zeroize “potholes”);

·       Provide shelters for the homeless, especially in cities;

·       Assist old folks’ homes and orphanages with essentials;

·       Create motorcycle lanes and rain-shelters for motorcyclists;

·       Do a one-off tax relief for businesses;

·       Roll-out the vaccines free of charge to the public;

·       Provide free “meals on wheels” for the poor, elderly and marginalised;

·       Enhance corporate governance;

·       Expedite trials of the corrupt;

·       Strengthen law enforcement and the police;

And the list goes on ...

Many of the above seem very populist measures. Yes, they are! Six months is not a lot of time to implement large, infra projects. And if you are politically savvy, then being populist is the way to go. Most assuredly the economy and confidence will turn hugely positive rather than remain in a steady state.

Good luck Mr. PM!

 

Reference:

1. Business news, Daily Express,15 January 2021.

2. DBS Group Research, The Edge, 15 January 2021