Morning Brief

While most economists expected a 25 bps cut this quarter, few expected this insurance cut to arrive so soon. We speak to Julia Goh of UOB Malaysia about why BNM made the decision to cut rates and whether she sees signs of a turnaround in the Malaysian economy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is in full swing in Davos, Switzerland with sustainability and “stakeholder capitalism” are among the big themes this year. But do the discussions there actually have a tangible effect, or is it a lot of hot air? Chandran describes the scene on the ground there and shares his thoughts on the forum, including whether it's still relevant. Se...

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is in full swing in Davos, Switzerland with sustainability and “stakeholder capitalism” are among the big themes this year. But do the discussions there actually have a tangible effect, or is it a lot of hot air? Chandran describes the scene on the ground there and shares his thoughts on the forum, including whether it's still relevant. Se...

Malaysia is quite the mall-obsessed nation, and we're soon about to see several more shopping complexes come on the scene despite the fact that consumers are increasingly shifting towards online shopping. We speak to Murli Menon for insights on why exactly there is an oversupply in mall space as well as what differentiates the malls that succeed from the ones that flop. See omnystudio.com/listener...

Malaysia is quite the mall-obsessed nation, and we're soon about to see several more shopping complexes come on the scene despite the fact that consumers are increasingly shifting towards online shopping. We speak to Murli Menon for insights on why exactly there is an oversupply in mall space as well as what differentiates the malls that succeed from the ones that flop. See omnystudio.com/listener...

On Monday, Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir proclaimed Seremban as a city and opened the Seremban City Council. This is a merger of the Seremban and Nilai Municipal Councils, and began operations on 1 January. We talk to Mustapha Kamal Zulkarnain, urban planner and founder of Arkitek Mustapha Kamal on what makes a city and what are the benefits of becoming one Se...

With US equity markets hitting all time high's, we speak to Grant Bowers, Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Franklin Templeton to find out if the market will continue to rally in 2020. He also weighs in on the broader US economy and if there is a possibility of a recession since risks still remain with on-going trade tensions and Presidential elections in November See omnystudio.com/listener...

With US equity markets hitting all time high's, we speak to Grant Bowers, Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Franklin Equity Group to find out if the market will continue to rally in 2020. He also weighs in on the broader US economy and if there is a possibility of a recession since risks still remain with on-going trade tensions and Presidential elections in November See omnystudio.com/liste...

Hemorrhage Affects Malaysia Airlines Valuation. The nation finally tries to figure out how to stem the bleeding at Malaysian Airlines but the fair valuation will probably be affected by generations of mismanagement. While Khazanah might not have much choice but to concede, the other question is who is calling the shots for the sale epitomising the current state of affairs. 7:07 - Country Garden La...

Under the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, the government has made increasing labour income share one of the benchmarks to tackle inequality by increasing compensation of employees from 35% to 48% of GDP. However Christopher Choong, Deputy Director of Research at Khazanah Research Institute says that this might be the wrong approach in tackling income inequality as it may create jobs but the wrong k...

Under the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, the government has made increasing labour income share one of the benchmarks to tackle inequality by increasing compensation of employees from 35% to 48% of GDP. However Christopher Choong, Deputy Director of Research at Khazanah Research Institute says that this might be the wrong approach in tackling income inequality as it may create jobs but the wrong k...

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, kicks off its 50th iteration today, with appearances expected from business leaders, academics and world leaders. What can we expect to see out of the Summit, and is the WEF's sustainability push sincere, or just a gimmick? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, kicks off its 50th iteration today, with appearances expected from business leaders, academics and world leaders. What can we expect to see out of the Summit, and is the WEF's sustainability push sincere, or just a gimmick? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

M.A Sivanesan, Under Secretary of the Tax Division for the Ministry of Finance tells us the mechanics of the digital tax and the reasons for its implementation. He also gives us an estimate of the value of the tax to be collected and how many foreign service providers have signed up See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

M.A Sivanesan, Under Secretary of the Tax Division for the Ministry of Finance tells us the mechanics of the digital tax and the reasons for its implementation. He also gives us an estimate of the value of the tax to be collected and how many foreign service providers have signed up See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UMNO has emerged as the winner of Saturday's Kimanis by-election, which saw voter turnout of over 80%, and a winning margin of just over 2,000 votes. Does the blame for Pakatan Harapan's loss fall at the federal or state level? We speak to Ibrahim Suffian, Programme Director at the Merdeka Centre, about key issues like the Sabah Temporary Pass, the rural-urban divide, and whether the result in Kim...

UMNO has emerged as the winner of Saturday's Kimanis by-election, which saw voter turnout of over 80%, and a winning margin of just over 2,000 votes. Does the blame for Pakatan Harapan's loss fall at the federal or state level? We speak to Ibrahim Suffian, Programme Director at the Merdeka Centre, about key issues like the Sabah Temporary Pass, the rural-urban divide, and whether the result in Kim...

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the 5G Malaysia Demonstration Project in Langkawi over the weekend and announced that Malaysia is expected to roll out 5G technology in 3Q 2020. Separately, the Securities Commission launched Guidelines on Digital Assets which allows companies to raise up to RM100 million through initial exchange offerings (IEOs). How is this different from initial c...

Tesco UK tries to sell its 2000 outlets in Malaysia and Thailand but faces regulatory hurdles as there questions of monopoly from the Thai Fair Trade Commission. Charles Allen, Global Retail Research Analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence tells us what the issues are for this sale and also what are the challenges for the supermarket landscape in the UK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

Tesco UK tries to sell its 2000 outlets in Malaysia and Thailand but faces regulatory hurdles as there questions of monopoly from the Thai Fair Trade Commission. Charles Allen, Global Retail Research Analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence tells us what the issues are for this sale and also what are the challenges for the supermarket landscape in the UK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

A precursor to the long-awaited media council has come into being- a pro-tem committee set up by the government to study issues including the council's objectives, constitution and membership, and code of conduct. For more insight into the process, we spoke to Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Assistant Professor of Media and Communications at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listen...

A precursor to the long-awaited media council has come into being- a pro-tem committee set up by the government to study issues including the council's objectives, constitution and membership, and code of conduct. For more insight into the process, we spoke to Gayathry Venkiteswaran, Assistant Professor of Media and Communications at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. See omnystudio.com/listen...

Blackrock the world largest asset manager with USD7 trillion funds under management has announced that its actively managed funds would shift towards sustainable investing. So we asked, Shaheen Contractor, ESG Research Analyst, at Bloomberg Intelligence if there is pressure for other funds to follow Blackrock and if such a move is sufficient to silent the environmental activists. See omnystudio.co...

Blackrock the world largest asset manager with USD7 trillion funds under management has announced that its actively managed funds would shift towards sustainable investing. So we asked, Shaheen Contractor, ESG Research Analyst, at Bloomberg Intelligence if there is pressure for other funds to follow Blackrock and if such a move is sufficient to silent the environmental activists. See omnystudio.co...

00:43 - Bloomberg sources say that Khazanah and Telenor have revived talks on a potential Axiata-Telenor merger, which fell through originally in September last year. 05:25 - The Cabinet has decided it will not sell PLUS Malaysia- but rather, present tolls will be reduced by 18%, and the toll concession will run for an extra 20 years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.