Malaysia extends Covid-19 restrictions

Malaysia’s government has announced that current measures will be extended until daily Covid-19 cases drop below 4,000.

Malaysia.- Authorities extended Malaysia’s current movement control orders (MCO) in a bid to contain the spread of Covid-19 cases in the country.

The current lockdown was to end on June 28 but as the number of new cases remains high, the government has decided to extend countermeasures until further notice.

The Ministry of Health has reported 5,218 new cases during the last 24 hours. Meanwhlie, only 6.33 per cent of Malaysia’s population has been fully vaccinated.

Authorities have announced a RM$150bn (US$36.1bn) stimulus package that aims to minimise the impact of the lockdown. The package includes a RM$10bn cash disbursement to citizens by the end of the year and automatic approval for a six-month moratorium on loan repayments.

Resorts World Genting will remain closed

In the first week of June, Resorts World Genting closed all of its services until further notice. At the time, Maybank Investment Bank predicted Resorts World Genting would be closed for three months.

Maybank Investment Bank said that Genting Malaysia’s core net loss will be less than half of the MYR1.44bn loss reported in 2020. Analysts noted that when Resorts World Genting reopened last year, it quickly saw a rebound. 

In May, Genting Malaysia shared financial results for the first quarter of 2021, showing that revenue declined 68 per cent year-on-year, from MYR1.96bn to MYR623.3m (US$150.5m). Revenue was down 40 per cent when compared to the previous quarter.

Genting Malaysia registered losses attributable to shareholders of MYR483.6m (US$116.7m), while last year it reported a loss of MYR418m.