Latest news with #RM5mil
The Star
an hour ago
- Business
- The Star
Demand for vision care to bolster Optimax showing
Phillip Research expects Optimax to post stronger core earnings of between RM4.5 and RM5mil in 2Q25. PETALING JAYA: Optimax Holdings Bhd new capacity and core ophthalmology services will be earnings drivers despite headcount cost pressures as a result of its business expansion, analysts say. The company currently has 15 ambulatory care centres (ACCs), eight satellite clinics and one specialist hospital in the country and a newly opened ACC in Cambodia and remains on an expansion path. It is building new hospitals in Kempas, Johor, and Shah Alam, which are due to start operations by the first half of next year according to Phillip Research. Optimax anticipates these hospitals to achieve earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) breakeven within a year of operations. Its three new ACCs in Cambodia, Atria Damasara Jaya, and Kota Kinabalu commenced operations in third quarter of last year (3Q24) and have made encouraging progress, with Atria and Cambodia reaching pretax profit breakeven and Kota Kinabalu achieving Ebitda breakeven according to the research house. Phillip Research noted Optimax's overall utilisation level stands at about 60%, with higher utilisation observed at its key flagship and urban centres, but management aims to achieve a group utilisation level of between 70% and 75% by next year supported by targeted digital marketing efforts. Another earnings driver for Optimax is its Zeiss Smile Pro treatment which has significant potential for medical tourism due to cost advantages. 'We see refractive surgeries as a key earnings driver for Optimax, offering higher revenue intensity than cataract surgeries, which are capped by Health Ministry regulated pricing. Refractive procedures also offer greater scalability, driven by faster treatment durations,' Phillip Research noted. It added that operating expenses at Optimax would remain elevated in the near term as it ramps up staffing in anticipation of upcoming capacity additions. The research house said the potential for Optimax is good as Malaysia's ophthalmology sector remains structurally underserved, with just 13 ophthalmologists per million population, substantially below the global average of about 30. 'This shortage points to systemic undercapacity in the local vision care sector, creating structural opportunities for private providers such as Optimax to scale,' the research house said. Phillip Research expects Optimax to post stronger core earnings of between RM4.5 and RM5mil in 2Q25 underpinned by growing patient volume, increased foot traffic at newer ACCs and continued momentum from the targeted digital outreach strategy. 'We forecast Optimax's revenue to grow by between 8% and 11% from this year to 2027, supported by ongoing facility expansion and rising surgical volumes. In tandem, we project core earnings growth of between 8% to 35% driven by improved operating leverage,' the research house said. Phillip Research maintained a 'buy' rating on Optimax with 12-month target price of 70 sen based on a 19 times price earnings multiple on 2026 earning per share of 3.7 sen.
The Star
21 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Selangor invests in chip design capacity building
PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state government is committing between RM5mil and RM10mil annually over the next 10 years to develop the front-end semiconductor value chain, which involves chip designing. Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state's commitment also depends on the commitment from the federal government. He noted that the federal government, through the Economy Ministry, has increased its support from RM60mil to RM100mil. 'As of now, we are committing almost RM5mil to RM10mil a year. However, it depends on the commitment from the federal government. It is a one-to-one investment,' he told the media on the sidelines of the launch of the first-ever Arm-led training programme in Malaysia yesterday. This initiative is a collaborative effort between the Advanced Semiconductor Academy of Malaysia (Asem) and Arm. Hosted under the Malaysia IC Design Park initiative, the Arm On-Demand Training Programme commenced with an inaugural cohort of 400 engineers. The programme is also in line with the billion-ringgit deal that Malaysia secured with Arm Holdings PLC in March this year. Under the deal, Arm will provide Putrajaya with intellectual property (IP) licences and compute subsystems (CSS) for US$250mil (RM1.11bil), to be paid over 10 years. The United Kingdom-based firm will collect royalties on chips sold. Further, the Arm-Malaysia partnership earlier this year also entails the training of 10,000 local integrated circuit (IC) design engineers by Arm. Amirudin said the target is to train around 1,000 engineers a year, beginning with the first cohort of 400 engineers already enrolled in the programme. 'If we have two or three cohorts, we can reach our target of 1,000 each year,' he said. Amirudin said the Arm On-Demand Programme will move Selangor and Malaysia from completely relying on foreign direct investment towards building leaders to form startups which can later go on to be Selangor and Malaysia's leading companies to invest and export to other countries. 'I am thrilled that Arm has decided to commit the next decade of its technical and engineering know-how to hire Selangorians through a partnership with Asem, building on the success of the IC Design Park in Puchong which has over 400 engineers working with some of the leading companies in Malaysia and beyond,' he said. Rakuten Trade head of equity sales Vincent Lau said the amount allocated by the Selangor state government is a good starting point, especially in terms of talent development. 'For training purposes, the amount committed is sufficient – they have already started with a few cohorts, and it is clear the government is serious, especially with the Arm deal in place. 'If more is needed later on, I believe they will adjust accordingly,' he told StarBiz. Lau said it may not be sufficient if the funding is meant to cover the broader goal of developing front-end semiconductor capabilities, which typically require significant capital investment and long-term infrastructure planning. 'However, this is still an important first step. At least now we are on the right path,' he added. Tradeview Capital fund manager Neoh Jia Man said the RM5mil to RM10mil a year is 'definitely not enough' and that it is 'a drop in the ocean' in driving development in the local front-end semiconductor space. 'Not only is it a very specialised and capital-intensive segment of the semiconductor value chain, but Malaysia is also facing fierce competition from other countries, who are putting hundreds of millions of dollars into developing their own front-end IC design industries. 'The good thing is that the federal government is also stepping in with additional funding, and that collective effort could help alleviate some of the talent shortages – particularly in the front-end of the value chain,' he said. On whether the Arm On-Demand training programme can help to plug the talent gap in the semiconductor industry, Neoh said, 'The National Semiconductor Strategy targets 60,000 engineers in six years – about 10,000 annually. 'If 30% to 40% of those are meant for front-end roles, that is about 3,000 to 4,000 engineers a year. 'The Arm-led programme aims to train 10,000 engineers over 10 years, or about 1,000 a year. 'Hence, that covers roughly a third of what is needed for front-end IC design annually – which is actually a significant portion,' he said. To this end, Lau noted Arm's training programme will 'definitely help to plug the talent gap' in the sector. 'Even if we manage to fill 50% to 60% of the gap, it is already an improvement. Any increase in local talent supply is good, especially in light of the short supply of engineers,' he said.
The Star
2 days ago
- The Star
RM5mil KL drug bust sees three arrested in two raids
KUALA LUMPUR: Nearly RM5mil in drugs were seized after police dismantled a drug distribution ring with the arrest of three syndicate members. Acting Kuala Lumpur police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohamed Usuf Jan Mohamad said that the arrests were made on July 24 after two raids were conducted in the Klang Valley. The first saw the arrest of a syndicate member at a car park in a shopping mall in Kuchai Lama. "Inspections of the suspect's vehicle led to the discovery of a bag containing around 10.34kg of suspected syabu. "At the same time, a second raid in the same area led to the arrest of two other suspects, including an Indonesian man," he said at a press conference on Monday (July 28). In total three men aged between 32 and 61 years old were arrested. Follow-up investigations led to a raid at a terrace house within a gated community in Seri Kembangan, where 122 packages of suspected syabu weighing 135.34kg were seized. In total, the seized drugs were estimated to be worth around RM4.66mil. "Of course, we will also call in the house owner for statements as this is part of the investigation process," he said. It is believed that the group was distributing the drugs within the Klang Valley and overseas to Indonesia. Investigations are underway to identify and locate additional members of the syndicate.
The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Anwar, govt succeed in removing names from Mukhriz's tax lawsuit
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government have successfully struck out their names in an application to initiate judicial review filed by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir linked to an Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) additional tax assessment amounting to more than RM5mil. Mukhriz, 60, filed the application on Dec 20 last year. He named the LHDN CEO or director-general, Anwar in his capacity as the Finance Minister and the government as the first, second and third respondents, respectively. During yesterday's proceedings, Justice Amarjeet Singh allowed the application by Anwar and the government to strike out their names after hearing submissions from both parties. However, Justice Amarjeet dismissed Anwar and the government's application to strike out several paragraphs in Mukhriz's affidavit that mentioned them. Senior Federal Counsel Irmawatie Daud appeared for the applicants, while lawyer Syed Afiq Syed Albakri represented Mukhriz. On Jan 2, the High Court granted Mukhriz leave to challenge the tax notices by LHDN on grounds that there were issues. The court fixed Dec 16 to hear the application on its merits. In Mukhriz's judicial review application, he is seeking a court order to quash the first respondent's additional tax assessment notice for 2017, 2018 and 2019, amounting to RM5,020,707.18, on grounds that the action is illegal and unreasonable. The notices were for additional tax assessment for 2017 (RM2,558,875.90), 2018 (RM2,445,004.91) and 2019 (RM16,826.37). He is also seeking a declaration that the decision to impose the penalty on him under Section 113(2) of the Income Tax Act is void and beyond legal authority. Mukhriz contends that LHDN wrongfully considered his disposal of shares in Opcom Holdings Bhd and dividends received from M Ocean Capital Sdn Bhd as taxable income, although they were not taxable. He is also seeking general and exemplary damages against the respondents. In March, Anwar and the government had applied to strike out their names as they contended that there was no need to list them as respondents in the judicial review. They said the action of naming them in the lawsuit was 'clearly frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process that is obviously unsustainable'.
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
High Court strikes Anwar's name and Govt from Mukhriz's tax assessment case
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government have successfully had their names struck out from an application for judicial review filed by Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, related to an Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) additional tax assessment exceeding RM5mil. Mukhriz, 60, filed the application on Dec 20 last year, naming the revenue CEO or director-general, Anwar in his capacity as the Finance Minister, and the government as the first, second, and third respondents, respectively. In Thursday's (July 24) proceedings, Justice Amarjeet Singh allowed the application by Anwar and the government to strike out their names after hearing submissions from both parties. However, Justice Amarjeet dismissed the application to strike out several paragraphs in Mukhriz's affidavit that mentioned Anwar and the government. Senior Federal Counsel Irmawatie Daud appeared for the applicants, while lawyer Syed Afiq Syed Albakri represented Mukhriz. On Jan 2, the High Court granted Mukhriz leave to challenge the tax notices by LHDN on grounds that there were issues needing exploration. The court fixed Dec 16 to hear the application on its merits. In Mukhriz's judicial review application, he seeks a court order to quash the first respondent's additional tax assessment notice for 2017, 2018, and 2019, amounting to RM5,020,707, on the grounds that the action is illegal and unreasonable. The notices were for additional tax assessments for 2017 (RM2,558,875); 2018 (RM2,445,004); and 2019 (RM16,826). He is also seeking a declaration that the decision to impose the penalty on him under Section 113(2) of the Income Tax Act 1967 is void and beyond legal authority. Mukhriz contends that LHDN wrongfully considered his disposal of shares in Opcom Holdings Bhd and dividends received from M Ocean Capital Sdn Bhd as taxable income, although they were not taxable. He is also seeking general and exemplary damages against the respondents. Earlier in March, Anwar and the government applied to strike out their names, contending there was no need to list them as respondents in the judicial review. They argued that naming them in the lawsuit was "clearly frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of court process that is obviously unsustainable."
