Malaysia Morning News For April 18

GE14: Eight interesting battles to watch out for
GE14 is due to take place in three weeks’ time, and political parties have wasted no time in announcing their prize candidates for key parliamentary and state seats.
— Malay Mail

Concerns about Malaysia’s household debt: Moody’s poll
The level of household debt in Malaysia remains a concern despite recent structural improvements, according to a recent poll conducted by Moody’s Investors Service.
— The Star Online

Disenfranchised & Discouraged: Malaysian Youth Shun Politics
Observing the Parliament of Malaysia or indeed any of Malaysia’s 13 state legislative assemblies and it is noticeable that the corridors of power are packed with the elderly.
— AEC News Today

Income tax collection is key to Malaysia’s development
The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) chief executive Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah has confirmed that effective January 2018, recalcitrant income tax defaulters are slapped with a 100 per cent penalty.
— New Straits Times

Strengthening ringgit good for domestic consumption
The ringgit is expected to keep its firm momentum vis-a-vis the US dollar, trading between 3.65 and 3.70 by the year-end from a low of 4.50 early last year, a senior economist said.
— New Straits Times

Investors In Suspense Ahead Of Malaysia Polls
Even though surveys predict that Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak will be returned to office in the country’s general elections on May 9, investors are bracing for a range of possible outcomes.
— Investvine

Improved Malaysia economy spurs Leonardo business
Multinational aerospace, defence and security company, Leonardo SpA anticipates its helicopters business in Malaysia would continue growing healthily underpinned by improved local economy.
— New Straits Times

Seizure Of 1MDB-Linked Luxury Yacht Declared Unlawful
A Jakarta court has ruled against the Indonesian police’s seizure of a luxury yacht wanted as part of a US probe into alleged multibillion-dollar theft and laundering of funds from Malaysian state investment fund 1MDB.
— Investvine

RHB seeks more credit card partnerships
RHB Banking Group (RHB Bank) plans to establish more credit card partnerships this year, targeting to have 20 such arrangements by end 2018 from 11 currently.
— New Straits Times

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is celebrating its 60th anniversary of direct scheduled flights between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur
As one of Europe’s leading long haul airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines celebrates 60 years of continuous flights between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur on 26 April, 2018.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Malaysia brings home gold from International Nanotechnology Olympiad
Malaysia took home the gold medal in the science, technology and innovation category at the 2018 International Nanotechnology Olympiad (INO) held at Pardis Technology Park, Tehran, Iran from April 10-17.
— Malay Mail

Tabung Haji: TRX land purchase a sound investment which has grown in value by 8.9pc over 3 years
Tabung Haji’s purchase of the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land from 1Malaysia Development Bhd for RM188.8 million was a sound investment.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia’s current reserves vastly higher than US$20.2b in 1998 when Dr M was PM
Malaysia’s reserves have increased vastly from just over US$20 billion in August 1998 when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was finance minister.
— New Straits Times

Win Streak May Continue For Malaysia Stocks
The Malaysia stock market has ticked higher in back-to-back trading days, gathering more than a dozen points or 0.6 percent along the way.
— Markets Insider

MDEC programmes bearing fruit
THE digital economy agenda is proven to have not only raised the living standards of low-income households but also churned many young millionaires.
— New Straits Times

Fosun offers to invest up to $350 million in India’s Fortis Healthcare
India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd , the target of two rival takeover bids, received an unsolicited investment offer of up to $350 million from a unit of Chinese conglomerate Fosun International <0656.HK>, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
— Business Standard

Sabah’s achievements not my effort alone – Musa
Undeniably, from Kuala Penyu on the west coast to Tawau in the east, economic progress can be felt throughout Sabah, making it one of the more advanced states in Malaysia.
— The Borneo Post

KLCI to trade range bound, stay above 1,880-level
The FBM KLCI is expected to trade range bound today and stay above the 1,880-level following the firmer overnight close at most global markets.
— The Edge Markets

Residential property glut worsened in 2017 but prices continued to rise
The overhang in the residential property market may have worsened last year, increasing by 67.2%, but it has not worked to bring house prices down, with the Malaysian House Price Index increasing by 6.5% year-on-year to 187.4 points, driven mainly by terrace houses.
— The Sun Daily

SRDC begins ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ campaign
Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) began its ‘No Plastic Bag Day’ campaign in Sibu Jaya, on Monday.
— The Borneo Post

Bumi Armada’s Nigeria-based FPSO vessel ordered to halt operations, crude oil seized
Bumi Armada Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Bumi Armada (Singapore) Pte Ltd has received a notice for the immediate shutdown of operations of its Nigeria-based floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Armada Perdana, and a notice of seizure of crude oil produced and to be produced there.
— The Sun Daily

Columbia Asia Group now owns 99.12% of Malaysia-based subsidiary
Columbia Asia Group now owns 99.12% of subsidiary Columbia Asia Sdn Bhd (CASB) after it completed the purchase of the Employees Provident Fund’s 29.72% interest recently.
— The Sun Daily

Indonesia-Malaysia palm council says UK supermarket Iceland misleads consumers
The Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), a palm oil board led by Indonesia and Malaysia, said British supermarket chain Iceland’s decision to remove palm oil from its own-brand food products misleads consumers.
— The Star Online

Feature photo Ah Wei (Lung Wei)

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Malaysia morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Malaysia news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.