Risking conflict, O&G tycoon wades deeper into EV

News, ideas and everything in between (#4).

Selamat Hari Malaysia! No Malaysia Day special, just business as usual. But first, I’m going to play around with the headline format for News, ideas and everything in between to see which ones generate better open rates. Or maybe it’s inconsequential. Let’s poll:

You’re reading a paid version of The Malaysianist, a newsletter on money and power by writer and journalist Emmanuel Samarathisa. 

I run monthly and annual subscriptions. There’s also the atas or founding member tier where you get all the perks of an annual subscription and more, such as an annual report and insight into how this little corner of the internet fared throughout the year.

Group subscriptions are also on the table, too, if you’re mulling over bulk purchases for your organisation or family members. 

Today’s brief takes a look at:

⚡An O&G tycoon’s push into the EV infra space. Just 1️⃣ potential problem: he owns rival businesses.

🍬 A not-so-sugary moment for the country’s largest sugar refiners and an aside on the sweetened beverage tax.

حلال Notes from my Q&A with myBurgerLab folk on their journey to be halal-certified and the high bar for aspirants.

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Last week, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook announced that all new zero-emission electric vehicles (ZEVs) will soon have to use a special type of licence plate called the JPJePlate.

The move is part of the government’s plan to modernise how vehicles are identified on roads with privately-held Handal Ceria winning the bid through an open tender. 

Handal Ceria is owned by Lim Han Weng, the tycoon behind Bursa-listed oil and gas services giant Yinson Holdings. 

Over the past couple of years, Han Weng’s companies have been making inroads into the renewable energy space, particularly EV infrastructure. But his ownership of these companies risks conflict of interest.