Morning Brief – Malaysia

Malaysia

Appropriately named, the world’s largest medical gloves manufacturer, Top Glove Corp Bhd posted a record profit yesterday of Malaysian Ringgit 2.87 Billion ($695 million) on revenues of RM 5.37 Billion an increase of almost 340% from last year. Through its competitive Malaysian offering, SGM-FX is seeing an increasing amount of Malaysian Ringgit business having recently opened up new lines of business in Malaysia that complements our growing activity in the other ASEAN economies.

Harley Davidson

The perfect antidote post Lockdown is to go out and reconnect with one’s earlier life by buying a Harley Davidson motorcycle. In 2015 HD commanded over 50% of the US market ( who can forget Easy Rider with Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper?) but that has fallen to 41% and the company is taking action with a new used bike program called H-D Certified which aims to capture a slice of the more vibrant second hand market. Harley Davidson will certify bikes up to 5 years old with a max of 25,000 miles and offer a 12 month guarantee. In addition the Harley-Davidson financing arm will help out for those suffering from battered post pandemic finances.

Two speed Germany

The German economy which is so significant for Europe is reflecting a picture of domestically driven service businesses suffering under Lockdown whereas export oriented manufacturers are still doing well. January export sales rose more than expected and the German trade surplus grew to Eur 22.2 Billion. Year on year exports to China rose 3.1%, to other European countries fell by 6%, to the USA fell by 6.2% and to the UK fell by 29%. . Earlier this week data showed that industrial output fell in January exacerbated by poor weather and a shortage of semi-conductors that impacted the car industry. Expectations for the economy in Q1 is a contraction followed by a bounce back in Q2.

Pink Floyd

It was 48 years ago today that Pink Floyd released Dark Side of the Moon which spent 741 weeks on the Billboard 100 Chart only finally falling off 15 years later in 1988. At one time it was estimated that 1 in very 14 US citizens under the age of 50 owned or had owned a copy of this album. Enough of the stats, here are the words appropriately to the Roger Waters song, Money:

Money, get away

Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay
Money, it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I’ll buy me a football team

Money, get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

Money, it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re
Giving none away, away, away

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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