Malaysia Morning News For November 7

Mahathir pledges to remove obstacles faced by investors
The government will remove obstacles to doing business in Malaysia, especially for foreign investors, in order to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
— FMT

Japan to support Malaysia’s 200bn yen “samurai bond” issuance
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir Mohamad agreed Tuesday to move ahead with Malaysia’s plan to issue 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) worth of yen-denominated bonds to help the Southeast Asian country address its debt woes.
— Nikkei Asian Review (paywall)

MEF mulls suing govt over minimum wage
The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) is mulling legal action against Putrajaya for not following the law in revising the minimum wage to RM1,100.
— FMT

Sept trade rises to RM150.8 billion, surplus highest since Oct 2008
Total trade in September 2018 rose 2.3 per cent to RM150.83 billion from RM147.51 billion a year ago, supported by an expansion in trade with Hong Kong, Asean, Taiwan, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the US.
— The Borneo Post

PetroVietnam Technical Services awarded $176m equipment contract for Sao Vàng-Ð?i Nguy?t gas project
The Malaysia Vietnam Offshore Terminal (MVOT), a joint venture between PetroVietnam Technical Services Corp and Malaysia’s MIBS Bhd, has won a US$176 million contract to provide equipment for Idemitsu Kosan to develop the Sao Vàng-Ð?i Nguy?t gas project.
— Viet Nam News

Malaysians need to spend more to drive economy, says World Bank
The 2019 Budget’s emphasis on addressing the stock of government debt and contingent liabilities is likely to narrow fiscal space and prevent public investment from driving economic activity as it did before, said the World Bank Group.
— Malay Mail

The Consumer Goods Forum and Fair Labor Association Call for Greater Collaboration to Tackle Forced Labour Issues in Palm Oil Industry
Malaysia and Indonesia are leading producers of palm oil, together accounting for 86 percent of global production and employing nearly 3.5 million workers, largely migrants from poorer neighbouring regions and countries.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

$250M Equanimity Superyacht Linked To Malaysian Corruption Goes Up For Sale
The next time you hear anyone say that corruption investigations don’t matter, remember Equanimity.
— Celebrity Networth

Aeon announces plans to go paperless in 2019
Aeon Group, which is mainly known for its retail chain and financial services, is targeting to go paperless by rolling out its e-wallet to consumers by the second half of 2019, said Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd Managing Director Kenji Fujita.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia PM Mahathir receives one of Japan’s highest awards for strengthening relations
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was on Tuesday (Nov 6) conferred one of Japan’s highest awards for his contributions in strengthening bilateral ties.
— Channel NewsAsia

IPC and MyTOWN Shopping Centre Bring Iconic 11.11 Online Sale On-ground
IPC Shopping Centre and MyTOWN Shopping Centre in partnership with IKEA Malaysia are proud to unveil the “11.11 Carnival”. This is the first time the online 11.11 shopping phenomenon is brought on-ground to a physical retail environment. From 9 to 11 November 2018, IPC and MyTOWN will host multiple brands to provide shoppers with an even bigger and better unique shopping experience.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire (media release)

Malaysia stagnant in broadband affordability, even as some regional neighbours improve
The status of broadband internet packages affordability in Malaysia remained unchanged from last year, even as neighbouring countries in the regions experience varying changes to their rankings.
— Malay Mail

Will Najib explain why he betrayed Umno, BN and Malaysia?
I was in Perth in September and I met Greg Lopez, a research fellow at Murdoch University, who wrote a most prescient article in Forbes in August 2015 entitled “Malaysia’s prime minister: A dead man walking?”
— Malaysiakini

‘More problematic than just soda’: Malaysia to impose sugar tax in 2019 to combat rising obesity levels
Malaysia will impose an excise sugar tax on sugar-sweetened beverages starting April 1 2019, in an effort to combat rising overweight and obesity levels in the country – but experts are less than optimistic about its efficacy.
— Food Navigator

Report: Next global malaria threat will happen in Malaysia
Malaysia’s battle with mosquito-borne diseases is about to take a turn for the worse.
— Malay Mail

Malaysian laureate found her voice in poetry
Growing up in a village, Malaysian poet Zurinah Hassan was told she should be seen, not heard.
— The Straits Times

Malaysia dominates the Islamic economy, but the United Arab Emirates is hoping to close the gap
Malaysia can lay claim to be the center of the world’s global Islamic economy, but the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is hot on its heels, according to new research.
— CNBC

MAHB downgraded on REIT plan, departure levy
Analysts have downgraded Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) after the government’s plan to set up the world’s first airport real estate investment trust (REIT) and departure levy for outbound air travellers.
— The Sun Daily

Genting falls as gaming sector shortchanged
Shares of Genting Malaysia Bhd (Genting), Malaysia’s premier gaming stock, was affected by the spate of casino charges introduced in Budget 2019 last Friday.
— The Borneo Post

Malaysia’s Anwar says wanted 1MDB suspect to get fair trial
Leading Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday a fugitive tycoon accused of ransacking a state investment fund will be given a fair trial, while hinting that more former officials could be tried on corruption charges.
— Tampabay

Sarawak forms MA63 consultative committee
THE Sarawak state assembly today unanimously agreed to form a consultative committee to draw up and advice Sarawak representatives in the Special Cabinet Committee on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
— The Malaysian Insight

Malaysia: The Cape Town Convention And Aircraft Protocol
The Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (“Convention”), commonly referred to as the Cape Town Convention, is an international treaty intended to standardise transactions involving movable property.
— Mondaq

Feature photo Max Pixel

This week’s Malaysia morning news feature photo acknowledges World Science Day for Peace and Development, November 10.

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.