Morning Brief

The past year or so saw the US dollar reign supreme as the Federal Reserve kept interest rates elevated, and geopolitical uncertainty encouraged people to keep the greenback as a safe haven. Luca Santos, a currency analyst at ACY Securities, shares his views on how other major currencies that didn't do so well, including the Japanese yen, the euro and the sterling pound might fare in 202...

The Malaysia property sector is forecast to grow by as much as 15% this year compared to 2023, thanks to a positive macroeconomic environment, supportive government policies, and a rise in investment inflows. Amy Wong Siew Fong, Executive Director of Research & Consultancy with Knight Frank Malaysia, shares her thoughts on where she thinks these areas of growth might be. Image credit: Shutters...

The headwinds of last year which includes geopolitical tensions and a slowdown in global growth, especially in China are likely to persist in 2024. So what is the outlook for mid-tier companies? Callum Chen, President of Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies tells us whilst weighing in on what government policies will help their association members to thrive. Image credit: Shutterst...

E-Commerce giant Lazada recently retrenched a large number of staff at its Singaporean and Malaysian operations. This amidst tough competition in the e-commerce space as well as the streamlining of functions to remain agile and adapt to customer trends. We speak to Jianggan Li, CEO of Momentum Works to understand the implications of these layoffs to the sector and how they need to manoeuvre before...

Organisational consulting firm Korn Ferry has been in the business of talent for decades. Country Managing Director, Anthony Raja Devadoss shares with us his expectations of the job market, what sectors are hiring, why do companies engage their recruitment services despite the existence of digital platforms as well as what percentage increments employees should look out for. See omn...

The stage is set for Taiwan's presidential election on January 13, that is expected to shape future ties between the self-ruled island and mainland China. Three candidates will vie for the post - the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, the more centre-left and US-friendly Democratic Progressive Party and the smaller Taiwan’s People Party. Brian Hioe, Co-Founding Editor of New Bloom Magazine shares h...

Malaysia may be blessed with abundant water resources but supply disruptions continue to occur as a result of ageing infrastructure, pollution and sometimes bad management. Datuk Abdul Kadir Mohd Din, immediate past president of the Malaysian Water Association, explains how we can better manage this natural resource moving forward. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listen...

From the Sheraton Move, the Dubai Move and now the Chow Kit Move, Members of Parliament from the Opposition parties are working hard to give the impression that they have the numbers to topple Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government. We speak with Dr Azmi Hassan, Senior Fellow with Nusantara Academy of Strategic Research to understand the implications of these actions and whethe...

F&B players in the country continue to grapple with rising cost of living and evolving consumer preferences. Over the last few weeks we have seen boycotts of several international franchises due to affiliation with Israel. Jeremy Lim, Vice-President & Media Liaisons, Persatuan Pemilik Restoran & Bistro shares with us how the industry is doing. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystu...

Asian economies sailed through a volatile year in 2023 with plenty of challenges abound. Will we see an economic bounceback amid lacklustre growth and geopolitical uncertainties? We discuss the regional outlook with Lavanya Venkateswaran of OCBC Bank.  Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A prospective legislative change is on the horizon in Malaysia, as the government mulls over the introduction of a law to regulate the size of companies resulting from mergers. It will be the third important aspect of competition laws in the country. We examine the goals and possible outcomes of this potential policy alongside Kwan Will Sen, Partner of Lim Chee Wee Partnership. Image credit: Shutt...

Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a national security trial. He has been incarcerated since December 2020 for alleged fraud and involvement in a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Elaine Pearson, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch shares with us concerns about how the fundamental rights of Hong Kong...

This year could be a good year for SMEs - Budget 2024 saw RM44 billion ringgit allocated for these businesses which remain the backbone of the Malaysian economy. Dato’ William Ng, Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises' Association talks about the challenges expected amid rising input costs from wages and raw materials, among others. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/lis...

The Central Database Hub or PADU has gone live, with several security flaws discovered in the hours after its rollout. Former MP Ong Kian Ming shares his experience registering for the account, as well as his concerns about the security issues and the overall system's effectiveness in ensuring subsidies do indeed reach the targeted segments of society. Image credit: Padu.gov.my See omnystudio...

The fintech industry continues to see strong growth with the total number of companies increasing to over 300, according to the Malaysia Fintech Report 2023. Vincent Fong, Chief Editor, Fintech News Malaysia tells us which segments we should pay attention to, how challenging it is to turn profitable and what are some of the trends to observe in 2024. Image credit: Fintech News Malaysia S...

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim officially launched the long-awaited Central Database System, or PADU. This marks a pivotal move towards establishing a centralised database for 32 million citizens and an essential avenue for eligible Malaysians to access targeted subsidies. Dr. Nur Ain Shahrier, Senior Lecturer of Economics & Finance at Sunway University, shares her insights...

Streaming and media companies have faced a tough year in 2023, with the biggest Hollywood Strike stopping productions for months. For 2024, impatience is setting in with investors as their attention turns to profitability. Geetha Ranganathan, Senior Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence shares with us the outlook, if more M&As could be in sight and whether cable TV is dead.  Image credit: Kos...

Going into 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim aims to boost the economy by emphasising good governance, streamlining business processes, and a reduction in bureaucracy to attract both domestic and foreign investments. Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB shares her outlook for the Malaysian economy with these pledges amid ongoing geopolitical challenges. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See...

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was recently chided for being insensitive to the Indian community after quoting from the Hikayat Hang Tuah, using a term considered offensive to them. Praba Ganesan, Chief Executive of KUASA, a democracy outreach organisation, talks to us about the wider issues the Indian Malaysian community continues to face and why they remain one of the more marginalised....

2024 is a year of elections with more than 1/2 of the world choosing new leaders, including our ASEAN neighbor, Indonesia. Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran, Fellow at the Wilson Center and Founder of the weekly ASEAN Wonk Newsletter tells us what the geopolitical challenges that ASEAN faces are as it maintains its politically neutral ideology. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/liste...

Locals have been found to lease their business licences to foreign workers without fulfilling the required criteria. Due to this situation, the government is considering the implementation of an “Anti-Ali Baba” law aimed at Malaysians, to tackle this issue. Professor Emeritus Dr. Barjoyai Bardai, Economist at Universiti Tun Abdul tell us what strategy should be employed in managing this ...

Last month marked one year of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister. We review the year with Dr Oh Ei Sun, Principal Adviser at Pacific Research Center of Malaysia and discuss how political dynamics might play out in 2024. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore’s equity market has been far from stellar with no blockbuster IPOs lined up for 2024. However, manufacturing and export numbers like in the semiconductor sector show a more positive story. We spoke with Geoff Howie, SGX Market Strategist to look for the silver lining that can help build more investor interest in the Singapore equity market. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See om...

The Malaysia Competition Commission has imposed a RM415 million ringgit fine on five major chicken feed companies, its largest fine to date. They were found guilty of forming a cartel aimed at increasing the price of poultry feed, consequently impacting chicken prices, a staple protein source for Malaysians. Iskandar Ismail, the CEO of MyCC breaks down the case for us. Image credit: Bern...

Interest in Bitcoin may rise further as the ETF approval comes closer to fruition. As the cryptocurrency leans to become a mainstream product, there will be more regulation and eventually acceptance by the investing public. We speak to Sam Reynolds, senior reporter at Coindesk for his thoughts on the matter. Image credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...