Morning Brief

The blame game has started for the Amazon fires and this overshadows the climate crisis the world is facing today including how to set growth policies for developing economies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - The Group of Seven meetings are ongoing in Biarritz, France. Trade took center stage with President Trump tweeting confusing tariffs on China while having a meeting with UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson who has very few cards in his hands over a trade deal with the Halloween Brexit deadline fast approaching 05:19 - With the D23 convention over, the list of new movies that Disney will be releasing over the next few years has been announced. But more significantly, we discuss if Disney+ will be a major competitor against Netflix with their catalog of content as the war on streaming heats up with Hulu, Amazon Prime and Apple Streaming "in the picture" as well.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia has made assertions that it has nearly eradicated poverty with the nation's official poverty rate falling from 49% in 1970 to 0.4% in 2016. We speak to Philip Alston, United Nations Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, on why he disagrees with the poverty statistics, what the true statistics look like and what Malaysia can do to alleviate it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The media industry is in flux, with financial problems plaguing big names like Bernama and Utusan Malaysia. For more insight into what's causing the problems at these longstanding institutions, we speak to Gayathry S Venkiteswaran, Assistant Professor of Media and Communications at University of Notthingham Malaysia, about political interference in editorial, and journalist protection.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid talk about a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has said he may consider changing portfolios of certain cabinet members, but that the existing line-up would remain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With China's second quarter GDP slowing to 6.2%, the slowest in 27 years, we speak to Dan Martin, Regional Credit Officer for Asia Pacific, Fitch Ratings to tell us the impact of any further slowdown on Asian banks and the broader economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is making the rounds of the EU leaders, beginning with Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, to discuss Brexit. We speak to Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics, University of Sydney about Johnson's progress since coming into power, as well as what other options there could be aside from a no-deal Brexit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cabinet has agreed in principle to allow motorcycle ride-hailing services.The Transport Ministry has been given a month to submit a report on the direction and mechanism for motorcycle ride-hailing services to the cabinet. Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that the ministry needs to look at the overall aspects to make the service successful, including looking at the models implemented in other countries. Meanwhile, the central issue surrounding this proposal remains the issue of safety. We speak to Sean Goh, Malaysia Country Head for Grab to get an industry perspective on this matter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest on the Brexit front comes from Matt Gertken, Geopolitical Strategist at BCA Research, particularly in terms of whether the UK will suffer a No-Deal exit and if so, what the repercussions will be, whether from a trade or immigration standpoint.  He also discussed the EU’s economic prospects and how important Germany is to the bloc.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Utusan's future uncertain, we speak to Jahabar Sadiq, Editor at The Malaysian Insight for his views on the future of media players in the country and whether they can survive as more people switch from reading to videos or podcasts. He also chimes in on he future of his own media outlet and what are the challenges they face in the adex race.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank Negara has just announced the further liberalisation of the foreign exchange administration (FEA) policy for better business flexibility and efficiency. For deeper insight, we speak to Winson Phoon, Head of Fixed Income Research with Maybank Kim Eng about the implications of these changes, as well as how they will affect our chances to avoid exclusion from the FTSE Russell's World Government Bond Index.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EPF has launched an online portal which totally destroys sales fees from 3% to almost nothing when members’ savings are used to buy unit trust funds. This is good news but members would still have to work out what funds to buy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With depressed circulation, 7 years of losses and hefty debt, it doesn't look like Utusan will be saved by either their tycoon shareholder or UMNO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the announcement that Lynas Malaysia has been given a 6-month license renewal to operate in the country, some 500 demonstrators turned out in protests in Taman Gelora, Kuantan. We speak to  Tan Bun Teet, Chairman, Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas about some of the conditions surrounding Lynas's license renewal, and why there have been allegations that these conditions favour Lynas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With WeWork targeting to raise US3-4 billion in their IPO, we speak to Calum Battersby, Equity Market Analyst with the investment bank Berenberg for his views how we should value this unicorn and if it's a landlord masquerading as a technology company.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia’s second quarter GDP posted economic growth of 4.9 percent, beating average analyst expectations of 4.6%. Bank Negara governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said that all economic sectors have expanded and the strong growth was on the back of higher household spending and private investment. The central bank still maintains its 2019 GDP projection of 4.3 to 4.8 percent for the nation, despite slowing global growth. We speak to Donald Hanna, Chief Economist with CIMB Group for his analysis on what this says about Malaysia’s economySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0.05 - The Edge Financial Daily reports that Khazanah Nasional has pumped another RM300 million into the airlines’ holding company, Malaysia Aviation Group to help with the operation of the business. Under MRP, Malaysia Airlines was to have broken even in 2018, and be profitable and listed in 2019. CEO, Izham Ismail blames the poor performance on crew shortage, competition, volatility in fuel prices and forex. 4.04 - According to sources cited by New Straits Times, the government has a proposal to take over of 15 highways for a total amount of 43 billion ringgit. Khazanah Nasional will set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called a highway trust and will buy the concessions on the government’s behalf. This may prove to be a better alternative to the Finance Ministry’s highway buyout.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng expects Malaysia’s second quarter economic growth to plateau at 4.5 percent, the same as in the first quarter. However, economists polled by Reuters are slightly more bullish in their expectations. The median forecast from the poll of 13 economists was for growth of 4.8% in April-June, with individual forecasts ranging from 4.3% to 5.0%. We speak to Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB Bank for a preview on Malaysia’s GDP.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore's political landscape has been predictable for the past 54 years but could a new entrant shake things up? We speak to Thum Ping Tjin, Managing Director at New Naratif, about his thoughts on the newly formed Progress Singapore Party and whether it stands a chance in challenging the People's  Action Party.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (LPTA) announced that the Pakatan Harapan Government has officially renewed Lynas' operating licence for six months but subject to three conditions.The decision came after a public statement after the Cabinet gave its nod for the Australian-based company to continue operating its plant in Pahang. LTPA said the above terms are also based on the recommendations made by the Lynas Advance Materials Plant Executive Review Committee on Operations in its November 2018 report.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Argentina's primary election upset over the weekend set off a shockwave in financial markets as incumbent president Mauricio Macri lost to populist rival, Alberto Fernández. We speak to Abhijit Surya, Analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, about the Argentinian economy, and whether South America's second largest economy may be on track for another default.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The media industry is seeing several major consolidations, and the latest is the tie-up between most-watched US broadcast network CBS and Paramount Pictures parent Viacom. To take a deeper dive into the merger and the wider media sector, we speak to Tony Gunnarsson, Principal Analyst at Ovum, about the future of streaming services, and competition in the sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With tensions continuing to run high over in Hong Kong, how is the island's economy faring? We speak to Eric Dong, an Hong Kong Equity Strategist at Shenwan Hongyuan Securities,  for his thoughts on the sectors that have been most impacted, as well as whether Hong Kong's economy will be able to stage a recovery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stashaway Malaysia estimates that less than 5% of young investors are placing their money into the local stock market. We ask why and what can be done to increase to investments as data shows that most Malaysians spend all their EPF savings within 10 years of withdrawal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Morning Run crew sink their fangs into yet another government payments provider, this time unimaginatively named 'MyPay'. CEO Nick Liew talks up his company's services and defends its independence and track record.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hong Kong's international aiport is experiencing disruption for the second straight day as protesters continue to block outgoing gates in a dramatic si-in. So how will China respond to this?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is in the midst of consulting with stakeholders, on a bill to establish the Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission, after tabling the bill last month. We speak to Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam, Co-Chairperson of the Bar Council's IPCMC Task Force, about police pushback, the current version of the bill, and the government's engagement with stakeholders.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

00:05 - With 46 E-wallet players in Malaysia, are we ready to go cashless soon? We ask this question and also if there are too many players in this space fighting for market share with traditional banks also trying to get a slice of this pie. 08:18 - Dream Edge has been announced as the anchor company for the third national car but is this a government funded initiative or not? We discuss this and also whether this relatively unknown company is right for the job or would resources be put to better use in other project.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trump's pause in tariffying tendencies has cheered markets and will be good for the Christmas shopping season.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hong Kong airport is once again up and running, after another round of protests caused it to grind almost to a standstill yesterday. The peaceful rally was the latest move to disrupt transportation by pro-democracy protesters, following weeks of violent clashes with police, as well as subway and airport disruptions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government will discontinue the hiring of foreign workers beginning this year until 2021 for service sub-sectors.This proposal was put forward by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs and was agreed upon by the joint committee of the Home Ministry as well as Human Resources Ministry on foreign worker management. We speak to Dr. Mohd Yusof Saari, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Economics and Management at Universiti Putra Malaysia to get some insights on this matter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With disruption being the name of the game and traditional companies being challenged especially on the digital front, we ask if Board of Directors needs to be changed, moving from regulatory, supervisory and strategic oversight to being more agile and challenging the norms. We speak to Erik P.M. Vermeulen, Professor at Tilburg University in The Netherlands for his views on this.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US-China Trade War looks as if it's here to stay. The Evening Edition's Lee Chwi Lynn speaks to Matt Goodman, Senior VP of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, about where the trade war will go from here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inflight connectivity is the next great frontier for the aviation sector, particularly as more tourists are expected to take to the skies. For more insight, we speak to Chris Rogerson, Asia Pacific Vice President of Inmarsat Aviation, about what internet connectivity could mean for airlines, and consumers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We attempt to decipher the recent announcement by the Works Minister that the decision of the take over of the four highway concessions will be at month end after the Ministry of Finance specifically offered to take the Gamuda highway assets earlier. Also, the Ministry of Transportation holds Grab to it's promise to reimburse specific drivers an additional 5 percent fee. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malaysian Department of Insolvency has revealed, some 95,000 Malaysians declared Bankruptcy between 2014 and 2018, after failing to honour borrowings with lenders. What are the main causes of this insolvency, and how do we mitigate this problem?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) the haze from Indonesian fires is expected to stay due to the southwest monsoon winds.Their latest monitoring showed that there is still a slight haze in the peninsula and west Sarawak following an increase in hotspots in Riau, Southern Sumatra and Kalimantan. For a deeper insight on this issue we speak to Dr Helena Varkkey, Department of International and Strategic Studies, Universiti Malaya, who is also the author of the book "Transboundary Haze in Southeast Asia: Palm Oil and Patronage".See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peck Boon Soon, Chief ASEAN Economist at RHB Research Institute tells us that Indonesia's economic growth is sustainable despite the external headwinds with private consumption strong whilst fiscal policies are in place to support the economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peck Boon Soon, Chief ASEAN Economist at RHB Research Institute tells us that Indonesia's economic growth is sustainable despite the external headwinds with private consumption strong whilst fiscal policies are in place to support the economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With volatile markets, Gold continues to shine as a safe haven asset hitting a 6 year high. We talk to  Howie Lee, Economist at OCBC Bank in Singapore as to whether the precious metal can continue appreciate in these precarious times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Malaysia Competition Commission has launched its Market Review on the Food Sector, covering market structure and competitiveness of 5 key sectors, including beef, round cabbage, and sawi.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore bank results beat street expectations in the second quarter despite the macroeconomic headwinds but to find out if this sector will remain an outperformer in the coming quarters ahead, we speak to Thilan Wickramasinghe, Senior Banking Analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Singapore whilst finding out what his top buy is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore bank results beat street expectations in the second quarter despite the macroeconomic headwinds but to find out if this sector will remain an outperformer in the coming quarters ahead, we speak to Thilan Wickramasinghe, Senior Banking Analyst at Maybank Kim Eng Singapore whilst finding out what his top buy is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singapore bank results beat street expectations in the second quarter despite the macroeconomic headwinds. To find out if this sector will remain an outperformer in the coming quarters ahead, we speak to Thilan Wickramasinghe, Senior Banking Analyst at Maybank  Kim Eng Singapore whilst finding out what his top buy is.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia's illegal vaping market has apparently doubled in size, and estimates say that together with illicit cigarettes the two now account for 70% of total consumption in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia's illegal vaping market has apparently doubled in size, and estimates say that together with illicit cigarettes the two now account for 70% of total consumption in Malaysia.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's latest tariff hit on China will lead to more risk and uncertainty for global growth. Fitch thinks that it is hard to even forecast what the economic situation might be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's latest tariff hit on China will lead to more risk and uncertainty for global growth. Fitch thinks that it is hard to even forecast what the economic situation might be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The disruptive strategy of the demonstrators in causing a citywide lockdown and cancelling flights have not succeeded in winning the hearts and minds of the Hong Kong people. Worse, this may force the hand of Beijing to take action.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.