Today, Lexis Hotel Group announced a strategic partnership with BIG Loyalty, a comprehensive lifestyle reward platform.

The deal brings together two of the country’s biggest names in travel and hospitality, giving BIG Members access to rewards and benefits offered by the Lexis Hotel Group.

Through this partnership, BIG Loyalty members are able to enjoy loyalty points and discounts all-year round at one of Lexis Hotel Group’s resorts, Lexis Hibiscus Port
Dickson.

From 29 June until 15 July this year, BIG Members can earn 15x BIG Points for
every RM1 spent on https://reservations.travelclick.com/97389?RatePlanId=4638150
for a stay at Lexis Hibiscus Port Dickson from 1 July 2020 to 31 March 2021.

They arebalso able to enjoy a 10% discount at the resort, on top of the BIG Points.

“We are excited to enter this partnership with BIG Loyalty. Allowing members to earn BIG
Points and enjoy discounts is just the start”, said Mandy Chew Siok Cheng, President,
Lexis Hotel Group.

“We look forward to working with BIG Loyalty and finding even more ways to evolve the partnership, offering greater flexibility and more relevant ways to engage with their members when they’re traveling”.

The Group remains focused on supporting COVID-19 impacted customers across the region

CIMB Group Holdings Berhad (CIMB) held its 63^rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) with shareholders yesterday.

Held virtually for the first time, the meeting was chaired by Datuk Mohd Nasir Ahmad, Chairman of CIMB Group, with the Board of Directors of CIMB Group of companies and Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Group CEO of CIMB Group in attendance.

All 11 tabled resolutions were successfully passed, including the audited financial statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2019.

CIMB performed credibly in FY2019, with a 7.7% year-on-year (“YoY”) improvement in core net profit to RM 5.01 billion with a significant increase of 56% in dividend payout. The Group achieved a Return On Average Equity (“ROE”) of 9.3% and its capital position strengthened further with a CET1 ratio of 12.9%.

Speaking at the AGM, Datuk Nasir said, “On behalf of the Board, I would like to record my appreciation to all our stakeholders for their continued confidence and support over the years.

In recent months, we have seen CIMB’s purpose of advancing customers and society coming into sharper focus as people and businesses face the increasingly wide-ranging impact of COVID-19 on their livelihoods.

The banking sector has played and will continue to play an essential role during this pandemic, and in line with Government initiatives, CIMB remains steadfast in our commitment to help ease the financial burden of our customers.”

“Despite the pandemic and resulting market volatility, CIMB remains resilient and well-capitalised to withstand shocks. Our high standards of governance were also reaffirmed by the business continuity during our leadership transition period at the height of the pandemic.

We recently welcomed Dato’ Abdul Rahman on board as the new Group CEO of CIMB Group, and the Board looks forward to working with him to navigate the urgent challenges amidst the rapidly changing banking and economic landscape,” Datuk Nasir added.

Datuk Nasir stressed the Group remains focused on capital optimisation and strategic initiatives under the Group’s mid-term strategy Forward23, to ensure its long-term resilience.

The Group will also continue to be prudent in its approach in terms of credit underwriting to achieve the right balance between profitability and growth.

Dato’ Abdul Rahman said “CIMB’s utmost priority during this period has been helping affected customers to navigate the challenges.

Across the region, we are working closely with governments and regulators to contribute towards effective policies to help ease the immediate financial constraints of local communities and businesses during this challenging period.”

The 6-month automatic moratorium in Malaysia has provided significant relief to CIMB’s customers, particularly within the B40 segment and SMEs.

As at end-May, the moratorium has benefitted over 1.3 million retail customers and over 16,000 SMEs and corporate clients in terms of cash flow alleviation to help them face the challenging environment.

In addition, CIMB has approved over RM1 billion of relief funds to SMEs, of which RM700 million is under the Bank Negara Malaysia’s Special Relief Fund (“SRF/ SRF-i”). The Bank is also fully committed to supporting the Government’s newly launched RM1 billion PENJANA financing scheme for SMEs.

“As we come to the end of the moratorium period, the focus for CIMB, as with other financial institutions, will move towards a more targeted assistance approach where we will engage borrowers from the hardest hit sectors to extend support and restructure terms where necessary,” Dato’ Abdul Rahman added.

Given the pandemic, and stress it has placed on the global economy, the financial performance of the Group for financial year 2020 will inevitably be affected. To mitigate this, the Group will be undertaking a review of its Forward23 strategy as well as increasing the rigour of cost management initiatives.

“The Malaysian economy is expected to recover due to stimulus measures, and the recent easing of the lockdown should bring about a faster rebound. Added to that, our banking system is also far more resilient today compared to previous crises.

However, we remain vigilant for the rest of 2020, focusing on enhancing our risk management and ensuring that our liquidity ratios remain at a comfortable level. Against the challenging backdrop, I remain confident that CIMB is in a strong position to withstand the negative shocks from COVID-19 given our discipline, agility and unwavering focus,” Datuk Nasir concluded.

S5 Systems Sdn Bhd, which is said to be planning a backdoor listing with ConnectCounty Holdings Bhd is expected to land the RM1.5 billion National Integrated Immigration System contract this year.

S5 Systems, a unit of S5 Holdings Inc is a global integrated security solutions provider. According to its website, it provides the expertise and solutions to meet national challenges in homeland security, defence, and intelligence; areas of vital importance to national interests.

Some of its clients include IBM, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and DELL. Sources said that S5 Systems may be the winner of the ISS contract, beating several other companies also eyeing the project, because it had the track record.

A Government vetted company, S5 Systems has been awarded with Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Pioneer status and is the winner of “Best of Security” in International ICT Awards (APICTA) 2008 as well as MSC Malaysia APICTA 2013 Best of e-Government & Services.

It was reported that the ISS contract is for a total of 4.5 years including three years of development, six months of monitoring and final one year of maintenance period.

It will replace the RM3.5 billion Sistem Kawalan Imigresen Nasional (SKIN) project, which was awarded to Prestariang Bhd via direct negotiation in 2017.

S5 Systems, which posted a net profit of RM68.3 million for the financial year ended June 30, 2019 is said to be firming up a backdoor listing with ConnectCounty to raise more funds for the ISS contract should it get it.

ConnectCounty told Bursa Malaysia in the middle of June this year that it was in negotiations with the relevant party pertaining to the possible RTO involving S5 Systems.

The company was asked by Bursa Malaysia to clarify an article appearing on the klse.i3investor.com website entitled “This Stock Will Skyrocket More Than Glove Stocks Play! Superb Undervalued!”

It was quoted in the article that ConnectCounty would be the next vehicle for the backdoor listing (reverse takeover) by S5 Systems.

ConnectCounty, a cable and wire manufacturer with manufacturing facilities in China was listed on Bursa Malaysia on October 20, 2005.

For the financial year ended December 31, 2019, the company’s revenue and pre-tax loss were RM52.6 million and RM7.2 million, compared to its preceding year’s corresponding period’s revenue and pre-tax loss of RM99.6 million and RM9.9 million respectively.

The company’s sales dropped in all segments, mainly due to lower sales from key customers amid unfavourable market conditions. The de-recognition of a subsidiary in China has also resulted in lower sales in the current year.

ConnectCounty said it was implementing strategies to further enhance its presence in the lucrative but highly competitive automotive, white goods and smart connected devices markets.