Morning Brief

00:05 - Trax, a Singapore-based start-up serving the retail industry, is finalizing a deal to raise 100 million US dollars at a pre-money valuation of about 1.1 billion US dollars, which would make them the second most valuable start-up in Singapore. 02:41 - The EPF has reportedly bought Sports Direct’s U.K. headquarters for 120 million pounds (637 million ringgit). Sports Direct said that t...

We speak to Mazlina Abdul Rahman, Economist with MIDF Research, for the outlook on inflation and if there will be any changes to Bank Negara's monetary policy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following Theresa May's announcement that she will resign next month, we speak to Professor Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney, for insight into possible successors, and what comes next for the UK. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Modi back in power, will ties with the U.S be closer than ever? To see where relations are heading, we speak to Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center in Washington DC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - The unstoppable need for internet speed is making 5G a very polarising trade tool. 08:50 - In other news, 40 percent of the ECRL spoils will go to local contractors. Bumiputeta contractors want 20 percent of that and the Rakyat wants to not overpay for it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When prominent Brexit supporter Andrea Leadsom, who was leader of the House of Commons, announced her resignation from Prime Minister Theresa May's government this week, she put another hole in May's already-sinking ship. We speak to Professor Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics at the University of Sydney, for his thoughts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - The government may soon introduce a new immigration and border control system, to replace the RM3.5 billion SKIN. 03:51 - Sime Darby Plantation has joined the chorus of sustainability, introducing a new online tool to allow the public to trace the source of palm oil. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,  is set to win a majority on his own in India’s general election as his party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took a commanding lead in the early vote counting. The BJP has extended its lead to more than 292 seats, almost 20 more than the required 272 seats to form a government. We speak to Anwita Basu from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to ge...

00:05 - According to a Moody's report on the Malaysian banking system, banks are well able to manage challenges posed by a slow global economy. For more insight, we speak to Alka Anbarasu, Vice-President - Senior Credit Officer, Moody's Investors Service. 07:34 - Deloitte was also raided by police yesterday as the authorities continue to investigate the 1MDB scandal. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

General Elections Commission announced that President Joko Widodo has retained his presidency for a second term after winning  55.5 percent of the national vote while his main challenger Prabowo Subianto had the remaining 44.5 percent. A riot broke out as a result of public rallies to protest against the official results, where Prabowo has alleged irregularities in the conduct of the election...

Carlos Casanova, Chief Asia Economist, Coface, Hong Kong, discusses China's ICT sector, its advent as a global 5G player and the impact of the trade war on her tech sector. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee Ju Yee, Economist at Maybank Kim Eng in Singapore, discusses first-quarter Singapore GDP growth, its economy's vulnerabilities as trade tensions worsen and the outlook for all-important sectors like manufacturing and services. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has released their guidelines on Mergers and Acquisitions for Telcos, just two weeks after Axiata and Norwegian telco Telenor announced their plans for a mega merger. The assessment by the MCMC is voluntary but Chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak says that it’s imperative for licensees to seek approval from them. 04:05 - The European...

Ali Salman, CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs or IDEAS, discusses Bank  Negara Malaysia's report that Malaysia is showing signs of premature de-industrialisation, the winners and losers and the implications, specifically, on the local manufacturing sector.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The conservative Liberal-National coalition clinched a victory in the 2019 Australian elections. This is despite opinion polls indicating that the labour party were favourites to win. Helping us unpack the outcome of the Australian elections is Stewart Jackson, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Sydney. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As India awaits the results of its mammoth seven week-long voting process, exit polls suggest that Narendra Modi could be back as Prime Minister. To take a look at some of the issues that may sway public sentiment in the election, we speak to Shreyans Bhaskar, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in India See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - Axiata Group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said that Axiata has reiterated that there will be no job cuts as a result of their megamerger with Telenor. Axiata has offered the voluntary separation scheme in the past. 03:04 - PTPTN is considering a proposal to bring back travel bans for loan defaulters as the travel ban has been PTPTN’s most successful method to recover loans. Current...

A government proposal that MPs and their families must declare their net worth has attracted mixed responses from the public and civil society. Some political observers have suggested, more could even be done. We speak to Oh Ei Sun, Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, for his thoughts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Manokaran Mottain, Chief Economist, Alliance Bank for a deeper dive on Malaysia's first quarter GDP numbers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PAS has imposed a gag order on its members to prevent them from discussing party issues after one of its members, Zaharudin Muhammad, revealed the alledged existence of a “dedak cartel” amongst top leadership in PAS. Zaharudin has since been referred to the PAS disciplinary committee. We speak to Amir Fareed, Director of Strategy at KRA Group, to better understand the situation within...

00:05 - Han Tan, Market Analyst at FXTM discusses China's reason for offloading US Treasury Notes in a move to defend its currency. Tan also discusses Chinese policymakers' tolerance range in the RMB/USD cross-rate and whether there are related ASEAN currencies that might depreciate in tandem with the Yuan decline. 05:47 - The Morning Run crew then discuss the escalating trade war, where America a...

00:05 - The government has set up a Debt Management Office, to help formulate strategies to reduce the government's RM 1.1 trillion debt and liability burden. 04:50 - The Human Resources Ministry's move to broker a deal with Japan to send over skilled manual labourers, has received some pushback from the public. For more insights, we speak to Dr. Niaz Asadullah, Professor of Economics at Universit...

00:05 - Tenaga is not just lighting up the nation but getting into the Fiberisation and Connectivity business. 03:19 - We preview the first quarter GDP for Malaysia with a roundup of forecasts conducted by Reuters. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Japan's Cabinet Office has downgraded its assessment of the country's economy to 'worsening', stoking fears that Japan may slide into a recession. For more insight, we speak to Kiichi Murashima, Chief Economist at Citigroup Global Markets in Japan, about Japan's economic numbers as well as the impact of a stronger yen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent attacks on Gulf oil tankers finger Iran which still has some cards left to play namely holding the Hormuz Strait, an important oil seaway, to ransom. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.