Morning Brief

Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research at Maybank Kim Eng, weighs in on why the KLCI is the worst performing market in the region and will Budget 2020 change things. He also gives us his investment strategy and what his top picks are despite the weak market outlook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anand Pathmakanthan, Head of Regional Equity Research at Maybank Kim Eng weighs in on why the KLCI is the worst performing market in the region and will Budget 2020 change things. He also gives us his investment strategy and what his top picks are despite the weak market outlook.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are many ways that the government can maintain national imperatives after the sale of strategic assets. One of the ways is through the golden share. Some good ideas surfaced by the RRJ proposal are worth thinking about: toll freeze/reduction, elimination of toll compensation and the introduction of technology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDEAS has proposed a tax reform that focuses on pairing imposition of indirect taxes like GST and capital gains tax with a reduction in direct taxes like income and corporate tax. While this may temper consumption, it has the effect of increasing savings, leading to higher levels of investment which is what the country currently needs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDEAS has proposed a tax reform that focuses on pairing imposition of indirect taxes like GST and capital gains tax with a reduction in direct taxes like income and corporate tax. While this may temper consumption, it has the effect of increasing savings, leading to higher levels of investment which is what the country currently needs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDEAS has proposed a tax reform that focuses on pairing imposition of indirect taxes like GST and capital gains tax with a reduction in direct taxes like income and corporate tax. While this may temper consumption, it has the effect of increasing savings, leading to higher levels of investment which is what the country currently needs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) remains a cornerstone of China's ambitious foreign policy but the form and focus have changed over the years. To get an update on this, we speak to Lee Ju Ye from Maybank Kim Eng and also ask if Malaysia can benefit from this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the run-up to Budget 2020 this Friday, we're asking the question of what do employers and employees stand to gain? To get more insights on that, we speak to the Malaysian Employers Federation and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress about some of the key challenges facing both parties.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Debt pairing and asset sales like the luxury hotel in Singapore which raised RM1.4b and the imminent decision on Malaysian Airlines are signs of an existential crisis for Khazanah. The rakyat would want to know whether the RM140b locked up mostly in GLCs is really strategic. Are there other strategic options?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are many ways that the government can maintain national imperatives after the sale of strategic assets. One of the ways is through the golden share. Some good ideas surfaced by the RRJ proposal are worth thinking about: toll freeze/reduction, elimination of toll compensation and the introduction of technology. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of Budget 2020, we speak to Datuk Seri Garry Chua, president of the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), for what he hopes to see for the retail sector, as well as a look into how the industry has fared in the past year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ahead of Budget 2020, we speak to Datuk Seri Garry Chua, president of the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), for what he hopes to see for the retail sector, as well as a look into how the industry has fared in the past year.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong have cast the city's immediate future into doubt, and have led to the government invoking emergency powers for the first time in more than 50 years. For a sense of what the situation is like on the ground, we speak to Mabel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong have cast the city's immediate future into doubt, and have led to the government invoking emergency powers for the first time in more than 50 years. For a sense of what the situation is like on the ground, we speak to Mabel.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good news for vehicle owners currently under the Bantuan Sara Hidup welfare payments as the government is handing them cash to deal with the removal of fuel subsidies. This scheme however indirectly supports private vehicle ownership possibly at the expense of public transportation and overall affordability issues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Khazanah Research Institute has joined the call for more female participation in the labour force, with a report that more government investment in the childcare sector could add about 0.4% to real GDP growth. To discuss the report and some of its recommendations, we turn to Alyssa Jasmin, Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government has launched its Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, meant to be a guide for Malaysia's economic growth over the next 10 years. To shed some light on the policy's broad scope, we speak to Tian Chua.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global growth remains in positive territory, but are we seeing signs of weakness with job cuts in manufacturing and also banking? We discuss two very different sectors which are both facing headwinds from disruption and rising cost.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Global growth remains in positive territory, but are we seeing signs of weakness with job cuts in manufacturing and also banking? We discuss two very different sectors which are both facing headwinds from disruption and rising cost.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aoife O’Donoghue, Professor of International Law and Global Governance at Durham University, discusses the delicacies and technical developments with Boris Johnson’s latest iteration of his Brexit plan.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saudi Arabia’s credit rating has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. This comes on the back of recent news of the attack on Aramco facilities last month. While, Fitch noted that Aramco recovered from the attack quickly, it says: there is a risk of further attacks, which could result in economic damage. Apart from the attack, the ratings agency cited Saudi Arabia’s “continued fiscal deficits.” The deficit stems from increased state spending and lower average oil prices and oil production. We speak to Jan Friederich, Head of Middle East and African Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings on this matter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saudi Arabia’s credit rating has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings. This comes on the back of recent news of the attack on Aramco facilities last month. While, Fitch noted that Aramco recovered from the attack quickly, it says: there is a risk of further attacks, which could result in economic damage. Apart from the attack, the ratings agency cited Saudi Arabia’s “continued fiscal deficits.” The deficit stems from increased state spending and lower average oil prices and oil production. We speak to Jan Friederich, Head of Middle East and African Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings on this matter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Tun Dr Mahathir, the government will study calls for the re-introduction of GST “if that is what the people want''. This is following a suggestion from MIER back on Tuesday to revive the GST but at a lower rate of 3% as it possibly has a wider tax base and is a fairer system. At the same time, certain quarters have suggested that the existing SST system can stay but needs to be further improved. 04:51 - According to a recent Nielsen report, hypermarket sales went down by 4% last year despite convenience and personal care stores enjoying double-digit growths. To find out what is driving the popularity of these smaller-format stores, and if large physical hypermarkets are on the decline, we speak to Lee Boon Hoo from Nielsen Malaysia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mervyn Lai, a lawyer at the Tommy Thomas law firm with expertise in competition law, discusses MyCC's reposed RM87 million fine on Grab.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Mervyn Lau, a lawyer at the Tommy Thomas law firm with expertise in competition law, discusses MyCC’s reposed RM87 million fine on Grab.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often use the term “B40” as a shorthand for poor or low-income households. The Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) recently released a report which suggests we should rethink using the term “B40” as a shorthand for poor or low-income households. KRI propose to demarcate different categories of households by factoring in location, household sizes and consumption levels. We speak to Gregory Ho Wai Son, co-author of the report and Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute to get a better understanding of the report. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We often  use the term “B40” as a shorthand for poor or low-income households. The Khazanah Research Institute recently released a report which suggests we should rethink using term “B40” category as a shorthand for poor or low-income households. KRI proposed demarcation different categories of households by factoring in location, household sizes and consumption levels. We speak to Gregory Ho Wai Son, co-author of the report and Research Associate at Khazanah Research Institute to get a better understanding of the report. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 On 2 October, Singapore's new "Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act" came into act, which stipulates that any government minister is able to decide what is a “false statement of fact.” The government can then order platforms to remove false statements which are “against the public interest” and issue corrections. It may also order internet providers to block access to offending websites or be fined SGD2000 a day up to maximum SGD500,000 We speak to James Gomez, Director of the Asia Centre for more insight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 On 2 October, Singapore's new "Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act" came into act, which stipulates that any government minister is able to decide what is a “false statement of fact.” The government can then order platforms to remove false statements which are “against the public interest” and issue corrections. It may also order internet providers to block access to offending websites or be fined SGD2000 a day up to maximum SGD500,000 We speak to James Gomez, Director of the Asia Centre for more insight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiichi Murashima, Chief Economist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan, analyses the impact of the government hike in consumption tax on the economy, consumption, business confidence and government revenue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiichi Murashima, Chief Economist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan, analyses the impact of the government hike in consumption tax on the economy, consumption, business confidence and government revenue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the UN Climate Action Summit, we saw a lot of governments and companies pledge their commitment to their environment-related goals. MESTECC Minister Yeo Bee Yin said that the government is looking to review its carbon emissions commitments under the 2016 Paris Agreement. At the CIMB Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit, CIMB also launched its renewable energy financing for SMEs in Malaysia. This is in line with politicians and CEOs aligning the sustainability goals with their business and economic targets. We speak to Marie Morice, Head of Sustainable Finance at UN Global Compact, about this development. 07:18 - Three ministries are forming a committee to look into the issues related to Foodpanda and the gig economy. More than 200 Foodpanda riders staged a strike at the company's headquarters, urging the company to revert to the original payment scheme and threatened more protests in other states should the company refuse to address their grievances. FoodPanda has responded ”that the company will monitor the new pay scheme that has been put in place in a few states before deciding if it can revert to the old scheme". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Housing and Local Government Ministry is looking to introduce new plastics recycling policy to hopefully improve our plastic waste management while helping to boost the country’s economy. Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said that the policy will take inputs from the industry into consideration as she wants Malaysia to tap into and capitalise on the worldwide plastic recycling industry worth some 600 billion dollars.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng, indicated the direction of the upcoming Budget 2020 by saying that one cannot take sides between development expenditure and managing debts. Despite having a fiscal deficit, Malaysia has enjoyed a current account surplus and Guan Eng said development expenditure must continue. While focusing on restoring the country’s fiscal health, Budget 2020 will give emphasis on creating more jobs with reasonable pay and has identified Industry 4.0 as its new source of productivity and economic growth. Digital tax is also set to commence by 1 January 2020 and is expected to rake in RM 2.4 billion a year. At the same light, MIER has urged the government to re-introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Budget 2020 at lower rate of 3%. Tan Sri Kamal Salih, MIER chairman, said GST is a fair system because there is an exclusion clauses that will protect the B40 income group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister, Lim Guan Eng, indicated the direction of the upcoming Budget 2020 by saying that one cannot take sides between development expenditure and managing debts. Despite having a fiscal deficit, Malaysia has enjoyed a current account surplus and Guan Eng said development expenditure must continue While focusing on restoring the country’s fiscal health, Budget 2020 will give emphasis on creating more jobs with reasonable pay and has identified Industry 4.0 as its new source of productivity and economic growth. Digital tax is also set to commence by 1 January 2020 and is expected to rake in RM 2.4 billion a year At the same light, MIER has urged the government to re-introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Budget 2020 at lower rate of 3%. Tan Sri Kamal Salih, MIER chairman, said GST is a fair system because there is an exclusion clauses that will protect the B40 income group.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has joined the ranks of those racing to the bottom of the barrel, with its third interest rate cut in five months. To discuss the Australian economy, potential stimulus measures, and what more the RBA can do, we speak to Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has joined the ranks of those racing to the bottom of the barrel, with its third interest rate cut in five months. To discuss the Australian economy, potential stimulus measures, and what more the RBA can do, we speak to Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst for Asia-Pacific at OANDA.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China's National Day celebration kicked off with a parade featuring the latest additions to its military arsenal—several intercontinental ballistic missiles. For more on this, and how developments in Hong Kong will affect Beijing and vice versa, we speak to Andrew Mertha, Director of the China Studies Programme at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, for his insight.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consumers are more demanding, so we asked Charles Allen, Global Retail Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, what are the challenges that retailers face and the need to have a multi-pronged approach to win the retail game.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MCMC has announced that it is going to start its rollout of 5G demonstrations, a testing period which will go on for the next 6 months. Altel, Celcom, Digi, edotco, Maxis, Petronas, TM and U-Mobile are going to be investing RM 116 million, rolling out 55 5G use cases across 32 sites and six states. They are testing out 5G use in 9 different verticals: agriculture, education, entertainment/media, digital healthcare, manufacturing & processing, oil & gas, smart city, smart transportation and tourism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MCMC has announced that it is going to start its rollout of 5G demonstrations, a testing period which will go on for the next 6 months. Altel, Celcom, Digi, edotco, Maxis, Petronas, TM and U-Mobile are going to be investing RM 116 million, rolling out 55 5G use cases across 32 sites and six states. They are testing out 5G use in 9 different verticals: agriculture, education, entertainment/media, digital healthcare, manufacturing & processing, oil & gas, smart city, smart transportation and tourism.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the biggest dilemmas facing employers today is how to deal with a new generation of employees coming into the workforce. Millennials and Gen Z-ers often have different priorities and ways of approaching rewards; we speak to Brian Sim, Managing Director and Country Head, Kelly Services, for more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Californian law wants to give more protection to ride-sharing drivers by classifying them as employees. It will be no easy route for drivers as Uber is preparing to argue that drivers aren't core to their business. It might also muddy the lines between gig wages and what are effectively higher union costs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A new Californian law wants to give more protection to ride-sharing drivers by classifying them as employees. It will be no easy route for drivers as Uber is preparing to argue that drivers aren't core to their business. It might also muddy the lines between gig wages and what are effectively higher union costs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A World Bank report has suggested that Malaysians' income could rise as much as 26% if women have equal access to economic opportunities. Seeing as this would mean a RM9,400 more in annual income per capita, we speak to Achim Schmillen, Senior Economist for Social Protection & Labour at the World Bank Group, on the barriers to achieving gender parity in this issue, as well as the current government's measures towards including more women in the workforce.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A majority of property developers said they were affected by the current economic scenario in the first half of 2019 with fewer launches held, while the number of unsold units remained high. The main reason cited for unsold lots were buyers’ end-financing issues, followed by unreleased Bumiputera units and low demand/interest. As a way to help boost property sales, REHDA has proposed that the government allows home buyers to use more money from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the down payment of the property. 08:23 - LTAT is the latest in a long list of GLCs found to be mired in financial irregularities from the past administration. We discuss where LTAT fell short and how much it would cost the government to revive it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A majority of property developers said they were affected by the current economic scenario in the first half of 2019 with fewer launches held, while the number of unsold units remained high. The main reason cited for unsold lots were buyers’ end-financing issues, followed by unreleased Bumiputera units and low demand/interest. As a way to help boost property sales, REHDA has proposed that the government allows home buyers to use more money from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the down payment of the property. 08:23 - LTAT is the latest in a long list of GLCs found to be mired in financial irregularities from the past administration. We discuss where LTAT fell short and how much it would cost the government to revive it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The FTSE Russell World Global Bond Index review was announced and Malaysia was kept in but remained on the watch list. To find out the impact of this on markets, we spoke to Winson Phoon, Head of Fixed Income Research at Maybank Kim Eng, who said that there was some relief but that more initiatives were likely to be needed by Bank Negara.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India unveiled an unexpected corporate tax cut last week, in a move to arrest their falling GDP growth, which touched a six-year low of 5% in the second quarter of 2019. We speak to Ross Cameron, Portfolio Manager/Analyst for Emerging Markets Equities at Northcape Capital, about Indian equities, the biggest winners of the tax cut, and whether at the end of the day it will be enough to save the Indian economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Formal impeachment investigations have begun into President Donald Trump, after Democrats in the US House of Representatives accused him of enlisting foreign help to damage political rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 elections. For more on this, we speak to Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Nonresident Senior Fellow of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, about how this will affect Trump's re-election chances, and what comes next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.