Morning Brief

With markets in a tailspin with a plethora of risks from the war in Ukraine to inflation, what is the best investment strategy to adopt? Manpreet Gill, Head of Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities Investment Strategy at Standard Chartered Private Bank gives us his views on this as well as on oil and gold. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank Negara's Monetary Policy Committee raised the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points in June, marking the first back-to-back rate hikes since the mid-2010s. What implications will this have for the Malaysian economy? We discuss with economist Dr. Carmelo Ferlito. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second quarter, resale HDB flats’ prices increased 2.6% compared with 2.4% in the first quarter While prices for private residential properties rose 3.2%, which is an almost five times increase of the 0.7% inflation in the previous quarter. In tandem, rentals have also increased by 20-40%. We ask Alan Cheong, Executive Director of Savills Singapore why the Singapore property is so hot and w...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri announced that Government Linked Companies (GLCs) and Government Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) should appoint a representative from the MTUC to their board of directors, in a bid to enhance transparency and ensure workers' interests are protected. We get reactions on this move from Lya Rahman of the Institutional Investors Council Malaysia. See omnystud...

Earlier this month, the government announced that employees can now apply for flexible working arrangements with their respective employers, following recent amendments to the Employment Act 1955 which will come into force on September 1st. We discuss the implications of this for the workplace with Ridhima Khanduja of Kincentric Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the government forming a Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation, Dr Shankaran Nambiar, Head of Research, Malaysian Institute of Economic Research outlines what is necessary to tackle inflation in the immediate and longer term See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 years have passed since the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and with global equity markets in freefall with central bankers desperately trying to manage inflation, are we looking at a repeat? Will currencies come under pressure and which countries are vulnerable? Jeff Ng, Senior Currency Analyst at MUFG gives us a history lesson whilst giving us his view of what to expect for the rest of 2022. See...

Sevan Doraisamy, Executive Director, SUARAM gives his perspective how will these new appointments of SUHAKAM will impact the human rights progress in Malaysia and what are the steps forward from now on See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Firdausi Suffian, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, UiTM Sabah unpacks the economic challenges facing Sabah and gives his perspective on the right diversification economic model it needs to adopt to drive greater growth and to substantially reduce its poverty level See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a new Chief Executive in Hong Kong, William Pesek, columnist with Nikkei Asia argues that the the current political dynamics will have a negative impact the trajectory of Hong Kong’s growth and will threaten it's position as an economic powerhouse in Asia See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs analyses the recent rift between DAP and Warisan as he unpacks what this means for Pakatan Harapan as GE15 looms. Image credit: shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has greenlighted the proposed merger of Celcom and Digi, which will see the currently second and third largest telco providers combine to dominate market share. Have all the consumer risks of the merger been factored by the regulator? Business writer P. Gunasegaram weighs in with his concerns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...

According to the Department of Statistics (DOSM), the Covid-19 pandemic saw some 580,000 middle-income households fall to the B40 bracket. What are the effects of rising inflation on Malaysia's middle class? We discuss the implications for the broader economy with Dr. Lee Hwok Aun of ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to PwC’s Global M&A Industry Trends: 2022 Mid-Year Update, merger and acquisition activity has resumed to 2019 levels at around 25 thousand deals. Dr Gregory Bournet, Deals Partner and Corporate Finance Leader, PwC Malaysia tells us if this trend will be derailed in this rising interest rate environment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Despite her trade standoff with the US, China's semiconductor industry is growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to a govt-led plan for industry self-sufficiency, says Phelix Lee, Equity Analyst, Morningstar. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In conjunction with International Day of Parliamentarism, what are the reforms need for Malaysia's Parliament to ensure that this institution remains an relevant check and balance against the government of the day. Lawyer ,Andrew Khoo who is also the co-chair of the Bar Council’s Constitutional Law Committee tells which reforms should be considered. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/li...

Malaysian crude palm oil futures saw their biggest one month drop in more than 13 years in June. Recording a 22% drop to RM4922 suddenly, thereby erasing most of this year’s gain. We ask Akash Gupta, Director at Fitch Ratings’ Asia-Pacific Corporates as to why prices are so volatile and his own expectations for the year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Datuk Seri Tajuddin Rahman's removal as UMNO supreme council member saw the Pasir Salak MP reveal a widening rift among the country's most powerful political party among her leading lights. Dr. Hamidin Abdul Hamid, Senior Fellow, Ilham Centre, addresses the ramifications. Image credit: shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headlined by the war in Ukraine, a rising China, inflation and climate change, a plethora of issues face leaders of seven of the world's largest countries, but concern reigns that the summit might amount to not much more than a photo opportunity. Bunn Nagara, Independent Geopolitical Consultant and Honorary Research Fellow, The Perak Academy, discusses the ongoing G7 summit. Image credit: EPA-EFE&...

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the mean age of a woman’s first marriage has increased from 23.5 years in 1980 to 28.1 years in 2020. It also showed a similar trend for childbirth. But what lies behind the statistics? Anis Farid, Research and Advocacy Officer at the Women's Aid Organisation tells us whilst giving us her views if the recent amendments to the Employment Act go fa...

With long waiting times and surging prices, we ask Professor Loredana Padurean, Senior Associate Dean at Asia School of Business if the demand for EVs here to stay? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri announced that the government will be reviewing the current bankruptcy threshold in a bid to address rising bankruptcy among the youth. Idham Idris, Director and Licensed Financial Planner of Wealth Vantage Advisory goes behind the reasons for this rising trend and what can be done to solve it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the subsidy bill inching close to RM80 billion for the Malaysian Government, the cry for reform is growing louder despite the rising inflationary cost. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO, Center for Market Education tells us the economic reasons why we are this era of rising prices and offers some solutions to ease this predicament. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zouhair Mohd Rosli, Senior Researcher, DM Analytics explains the Cik Kiah Index to help us understand varying inflation experience and contrasts with DOSM's consumer price index which increased by 2.8% y-o-y in May this year, the highest rate of inflation since July 2017 Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel announced that Ukraine and Moldova have been granted candidate status to the European Union. However how soon can formal membership be accorded and what is the process? Dr Frederick Kliem, Research Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies tells us its an arduous path ahead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.