Malaysia Morning News For September 6

KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail formally postponed; service targeted to start by Jan 2031
Singapore and Malaysia have formally agreed to postpone the construction of the KL-Singapore High-Speed Rail until end-May 2020, with Malaysia having to pay Singapore S$15 million for costs incurred in suspending the project.
— Channel NewsAsia

Malaysia to standardise minimum wage at RM1,050 nationwide from January
The government today confirmed that a standardised minimum wage of RM1,050 a month, or RM5.05 an hour, will be implemented throughout the country from January 2019.
— The Edge Markets

Malaysian businesses confused over tax system under SST
Malaysian businesses are in for a rough ride, five days into the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), due to confusion over the taxation system.
— AsiaOne

Malaysian island city in trouble as PM targets China-linked projects
An ambitious US$100 billion island city being built off Malaysia has found itself in troubled waters as the new government takes aim at the development, the latest in a series of China-linked megaprojects started under the scandal-plagued ex-premier to come under attack.
— The Borneo Post

Malaysian consumers ranked seventh in the world in Q2
Malaysian consumers are the seventh most confident in the world in the second-quarter (Q2) of 2018, according to The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, in collaboration with Nielsen.
— New Straits Times

Alipay transactions of Chinese tourists in M’sia grows five times
Alipay transactions by Chinese tourists in Malaysia grew five times between July 1-Aug 31 this year – China’s summer holidays – compared with the same period of 2017.
— The Borneo Post

MICCI proposes multi-agency task force to combat RM8b illicit market
The Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) has proposed the formation of a multi-agency task force to combat the thriving black market, which takes away about RM8 billion in tax revenue from the economy.
— The Sun Daily

Bank Negara maintains OPR at 3.25pc, warns about downside risks over medium term
Bank Negara Malaysia has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 3.25 per cent after the two-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which ended today.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia Central Bank Holds Rate Amid Subdued Inflation
Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on the back of low inflation and tempered economic growth expectations for the year.
— Bloomberg

Malaysia records higher trade surplus of RM8.3bil in July
Malaysia’s total trade in July 2018 rose 9.8% from a year ago to RM163.95bil on expanded trade with key trading partners, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has revealed.
— The Star Online

Malaysia Leaves $100 Billion Real Estate Project in Limbo
The fate of Country Garden Holdings Co.’s $100 billion project in southern Malaysia remains in limbo as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said foreigners are welcome to invest, but they might not be allowed to stay for long in their new homes.
— Bloomberg

4,000kg suspected shark fins offloaded in Malaysia
A container headed for Hong Kong from Chennai suspected to hold 4,000kg of shark fins was offloaded in Malaysia yesterday at the request of Indian authorities following raids over the weekend in which 8,000kg of the fins was seized.
— FMT

Anti-graft body questions Malaysia’s ex-defence minister Hishammuddin over spy agency case
Malaysia’s former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein was interrogated between 10am and 1pm on Monday (Sept 3) by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), sources confirmed.
— The Straits Times

China homebuyers greatly attracted to Malaysia
The recent statement made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad concerning foreign buyers in the Forest City (pictured) mega project in Johor has cast the limelight on home purchasers from the Middle Kingdom.
— The Edge Markets

Malaysia EPF’s portfolio relatively flat in quarter, up 7% for year
Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund on Wednesday said its investment portfolio was at 813.2 billion ringgit ($201.3 billion) as of June 30, down marginally from 814.38 billion ringgit as of March 31 due to equity market declines for emerging markets during the period.
— Pensions&Investment

Mahathir Visit Spotlights Malaysia-Brunei Relations
The voyage spotlighted the quick high-level engagement between the two sides as the new Malaysian government’s foreign policy takes shape.
— The Diplomat

U Mobile secures RM1b credit facility from UOB Malaysia
U Mobile Sdn Bhd today announced that it had entered into an agreement for a term loan facility of RM1 billion to fund its various capital expenditure (capex) programmes.
— New Straits Times

EPF’s investment income up 7.64% in second quarter
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which posted a 7.64% increase in total investment income for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, sees the domestic outlook turning favourable on the back of easing foreign outflows and clearer policy direction from the new government.
— The Sun Daily

SC issues notice to cease all activities promoting Lavidacoin
The Securities Commission (SC) has ordered the promoter of Lavidacoin to cease all promotional activities in relation to Lavidacoin with immediate effect, pending further review.
— New Straits Times

AmInvestment keeps ‘hold’ call on Astro
AmInvestment Bank Research maintained a “hold” call on Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, in the wake of the government announcing that it is open to more entrants into the paid television broadcasting services scene, on the belief that the competitive landscape is unlikely to change and Astro continuing to broadcast on a non-exclusive basis.
— The Sun Daily

Local Berjaya unit acquires stake in 7-Eleven Malaysia
Publicly-listed online lottery provider Berjaya Philippines Inc. has acquired a 1.59 percent stake in the Malaysian operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.
— Philstar

Malaysia ahead of US in global Chinese tourist transactions
Malaysia has climbed ahead of the US to become the ninth largest market worldwide for Chinese tourists’ spending overseas.
— The Sun Daily

Hengyuan to execute clean air regulation project at PD Refinery
Hengyuan Refining Company Bhd will spend US$48 million to execute the Clean Air Regulation Project at its refining complex in Port Dickson.
— New Straits Times

The many meanings of Merdeka for Singapore and Malaysia
In his recent National Day Rally speech, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke about the Merdeka Generation.
— The Straits Times

Malaysia’s Watchdog Orders Immediate Stop to Beauty Guru Lavidacoin Promotion
The Securities Commission (SC) of Malaysia has ordered an immediate halt to all promotional activities for the recently-launched Lavidacoin (LVC) pending further review, according to a September 5 notice on the SC’s website.
— Coin Telegraph

Aon reveals the best employers in Malaysia for 2018
Companies that focus on high employee engagement, compelling employer brand, effective leadership and a high performance culture tend to have four times higher revenue, seven times higher profit and 65% lower leadership attrition, according to global professional services firm Aon.
— The Sun Daily

Feature photo Jason Thien

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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.