Morning Brief

We discuss the significance of Malaysia being the first country to sell a dollar-denominated sustainability Sukuk with Firdaos Rosli, Head of Economic Research from Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC). And we also discuss how close are we to the self-prescribed 60% limit of debt-to-GDP. Image credit: kudla / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sebastien Strangio from the Asian Diplomat gives us a deeper perspective of the effectiveness of the ASEAN convened special summit on Saturday in Jakarta and whether the ASEAN Special Envoy will have the clout to ensure the compliance of the Five-Point Consensus. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merdeka's Centre Survey and Invoke Survey Results. UMNO recent Supreme Council meeting. PAS sticking with BERSATU. Oh Ei Sun helps us understand the musical chairs of political parties as well as unpack the deep dissatisfaction and uncertainty among voters. Image Credit: Amiirullah Mansor | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do Malaysia's foreign labour policies encourage foreign direct investment and spur economic growth? Dr Niaz Asadullah, Southeast Asia Lead of the Global Labor Organisation weighs in on this debate whilst reminding us that short-term populist measures do not work in the longer term. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Economist Dr. Nungsari Radhi is cool on the government’s move to tap into the RM16 billion National Trust Fund, pointing out that such funds should only be sparingly used on rainy days. Image credit: Rangzen / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Ives gives us his perspective on the recent IPO of Coinbase and also provides a comprehensive roundup of expected results of major US tech players in the coming week including Tesla and in particular Apple that announced its first tech refreshes Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The past decade has seen rapid growth in sustainable or ESG investing, how does Malaysia measure up with regards to ESG investing options and standards? Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research at Maybank Kim Eng tells us whilst giving us the top ESG stock buys for Malaysia. Image Credit Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Malaysian Climate Change Action Council and the National Low Carbon City Master Plan, we ask Alizan Mahadi from ISIS how Malaysia will be able to deliver on its promises and meet COP26 commitments. Image Credit: venimo | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With global economies recovering, luxury good sales have surged reflected in the strong earnings of companies like Kering, LVMH and L'oreal. Deborah Aitken, Senior Industry Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence gives us the reasons why, the markets which will see growth and the trends of the industry. Image credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MP for Bangi and former Deputy Minister of International Trade, Dr. Ong Kian Ming gives his perspective on what Malaysia really needs to drive more investments and we seek his views on the proposed National Investment Aspirations launched by Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali to help Malaysia to become a regional investment hub. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com...

Elizabeth Cardosa assists us in navigating the history and legacy of SMK Convent Bukit Nanas but also gives us a comprehensive take on how our country has and should be looking at preserving heritage sites of implicit and intangible value. Image credit: Liena Kamaruz / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft officially announced its plans to establish a data centre region in Malaysia, pledging investments amounting to USD 1 billion over the next 5 years. As many as 19,000 jobs will be created but what are the other benefits? Dr Lau Cher Han, Chief Data Scientist at LEAD tells us. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft officially announced its plans to establish a data centre region in Malaysia, pledging investments amounting to USD 1 billion over the next 5 years. As many as 19,000 jobs will be created but what are the other benefits? Dr Lau Cher Han, Chief Data Scientist at LEAD tells us. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Football is the latest casualty of sport's commercialisation, a sad but true reflection of the world's insatiable appetite for contest and content, according to Professor Simon Chadwick, Professor of Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School. Image credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With news of an international bank, Citibank closing shop in Malaysia, what rights do its employees have? Sunitha Ruthram, employment lawyer tells us. Image Credit: EPA-EFE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How has the media market in Malaysia managed and survived Covid? Will new entrants like Disney+ / Netflix add further to the disruption? Who has sufficiently evolved their business to weather the rapid changes in advertising expenditure trends? Pritika Modhgil from ‎Kenanga Investment Bank provides the answers. Image credit: Bank Phrom on Unsplash See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

With the potential 4th wave of covid 19 infections in Malaysia, what lessons have we learnt? Azrul Mohd Khalib, CEO of Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy tells us what needs to be done on the ground and also how to tackle vaccine hesitancy in this country. Image Credit: siam.pukkato | Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stephen Schwartz of Fitch Rating talks about the consequences (or none) of the first semi-annual foreign exchange report issued by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as the US places 11 economies on the monitoring list for possible currency manipulation. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Pradeep Taneja touches on the multiple challenges faced by India, from its economic impact to implications on its poor as well as its role of being the global factory for vaccines versus how its own vaccination is being rolled out Image credit: Manoej Paateel / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the Maybank Virtual AGM technical glitch, Devanesan Evanson from Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) weighs in on the current issues, solutions and platforms we can adopt to ensure a more transparent and fair AGM takes place across the diverse business community. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria discusses with us the effectiveness of different strategies and forms of assistance to combat the multi-dimensional challenges in urban poverty as economies reopen and growth becomes unevenly distributed. Image Credit: hkhtt hj / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With work from home themes the big winner last year, will this trend continue in 2021? And with the 5G rollout expected to intensify over the next few years, how can one profit? Sammeer Sharma, Managing Director and Head of Wealth Management at Standard Chartered Malaysia helps us make sense of the options. Image Credit: metamorworks | Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy infor...

The Morning Run speaks to Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, the Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Health, about the rising case numbers, interstate travel ban extension, the vaccination rollout in Malaysia, and Ramadan bazaars. Image Credit: IZWAN IS / Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yesterday, we learned that the Federal government will return the administration of two islands, Sipadan and Ligitan, to Sabah, while also giving Sarawak full control of its gas distribution. Are substantial steps towards MA63 or just cosmetic? We speak to Dr. Firdausi Suffian, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at UiTM Sabah, to find out, and get the lay of the land of East and West Malaysia politi...

Yesterday, we learned that the Federal government will return the administration of two islands, Sipadan and Ligitan, to Sabah, while also giving Sarawak full control of its gas distribution. Are substantial steps towards MA63 or just cosmetic? We speak to Dr. Firdausi Suffian, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at UiTM Sabah, to find out, and get the lay of the land of East and West Malaysia politi...