General

Countries the world over have acknowledged the need to transition to renewable energy in order to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to irreversible climate change. However, for developing countries like Malaysia that rely heavily on carbon resources to generate energy, can this shift to renewables be done without economic development also taking a hit? Praharsh Mehrotra, Research Fellow of the Adam Smith Center discusses some policy proposals taking the approach of ecomodernism.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

Malaysia's property market continues to face headwinds. An issue which is seldom focused on is the level of property overhang in Malaysia. According to the National Property Information Centre (Napic), the residential overhang at the end of 3Q22 stood at 30,000 units worth RM20 bn. More worrying is Napic's revelation on ageing of the total overhang numbers where 71% of the properties have not been sold for the past 5 to 10 years. What does this mean for the state of developers' balance sheets as inventory has to written down and what sort of policies should the government be looking at to address this? For insights, we speak to Pankaj C Kumar, Business Commentator.

Karex Bhd, the world's largest condom maker suffered 2 years of consecutive losses but the worst appears to be over. We speak to Goh Miah Kiat, CEO of Karex as to what will be driving growth, was diversifying into gloves a mistake and whether is it too late to buy the shares after the recent rally?

Last year saw the incredible reversal of fortunes of high-profile Southeast Asia tech start-ups. At the end of 2022, the combined market cap of Grab, GoTo and BukaLapak fell by USD51 billion, a far cry from the lofty valuations the trio commanded when they each made their IPO debuts. How might 2023 play out for the regional tech sector - can companies reverse the decline in share price and improve prospects? Nathan Naidu of Bloomberg Intelligence gives his take.

Image Credit: Adansijav Official / Shutterstock.com

Last year, record high inflation spelled trouble for economies, capital markets and governments. After losing the transitory-vs-sticky debate, the Fed delivered a cumulative of 4.25% increase in rates last year. Asia Pacific meanwhile did not escape unscathed from elevated prices. In Malaysia, to shield households and firms from higher prices, it was estimated that the total subsidy bill and cash aid reached a record high of 77 billion ringgit for 2022. So will inflation loosen its grip this year or will governments have to battle between elevated prices and a recession? For answers we speak to Sarah Tan, Economist, Moody's Analytics.

US CPI will be released later, we speak to Joe Quinlan, Chief Market Strategist at US Trust-BOA Private Wealth Management as to his expectations and how that will impact the pace of rate hikes. We also ask him as to why UK equities are outperforming depsite the weak economic outlook.

With our eyes set on unearthing the freshest flavors from unexpected places, we widen our scope with hand-picked musical gems from all across Asia. This week, rapper and producer F.Rider joins us on the show to share more details about his latest full length album called 'Rider Instinct'.

--

Sobs - Friday Night

August Fear - flightMode

yunè pinku - Bluff (yeule & Kin Leonn Remix)

LAWS - BALI

Astral Angel - Full Tank (feat. Nonsenselaaa, demoncriest, 5haf & Manska)

F.Rider - Shahalam

F.Rider Interview Part 1

F.Rider - Melt (feat. Adam Imanullah & Guccimith)

F.Rider - Inception

F.Rider Interview Part 2

F.Rider - Instinct

Netflix has (silently) joined the gaming world with Netflix Games, accessible via their mobile app. We check out what’s on offer, how they go about it, and whether they’ll be able to do more later down the road in their ambition to be a serious player in the industry..

Three points! That's all that separates the top two in the league after gameweek 23. Arsenal would bemoan the way they dropped points after a controversial Ivan Toney goal gave Brentford a point at the Emirates in a game that finished 1-1. Manchester City took full advantage of that blip from the Gunners smashing Aston Villa 3-1. That sets up a tantalizing showdown in a couple of days' time as the two sides face each other in what might very well be the title decider. 

Elsewhere, Spurs took the lead before conceding four goals to a resurgent Leicester City to end proceedings at 4-1 at the King Power Stadium while Chelsea's blues went on - only managing to draw 1-1 vs London rivals West Ham. Manchester United & Marcus Rashford kept their run of form beating manager-less Leeds United 2-0 at Elland Road, while more VAR drama was present at Crystal Palace 1 Brighton 1. All that, plus mid-week previews, here on Just For Kicks. 

CREDIT: REUTERS/David Klein

Penang Deputy Chief Minister, Dr P.Ramasamy has called for the government to reform the civil service, saying that it was now dominated by Malays. This has received flak from both sides of the political divide. First, we discuss Dr P. Ramasamy's remarks. Then, we look at the political fallout from this, as well as the PM’s response to it.

Image Credit: Azami Adiputra, Shutterstock