Malaysia Morning News For March 12

Malaysia looks to better transparency in BRI projects
Malaysia looks for more transparently negotiated Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and investments from China, says Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming in view of China-backed projects such as the RM80 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
— New Straits Times

Inflation down, yields up; Malaysia looks set for positive rerating
TEN months since Malaysia formed a new government, its equity market has corrected by almost 9 per cent. The initial variability of government policies had unsettled markets.
— Business Times

Kuala Lumpur says foreign militants eyeing Malaysia as safe haven
Malaysian police said yesterday that it has uncovered a plan by foreign militants to use the country as a “safe haven” transit and logistics centre, following the collapse of terrorist outfit Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East.
— The Straits Times

More pressure on Malaysia’s banking system
The pressure on the banking sector is not expected to ease anytime soon, with more analysts lowering their core projected figures this year.
— The Star Online

Malaysia leads Asean in year-to-date foreign outflows, says research house
Offshore investors marked their fourth straight week of exiting Malaysia at a relatively stronger pace last week, according to MIDF Research.
— FMT

IMF praises Malaysia’s resilient economy
The Malaysian economy continues to perform well despite external headwinds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.
— New Straits Times

BNM likely to hold OPR steady at 3.25 pct in 2019
Analysts have maintained their view that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will most likely hold the overnight policy rate (OPR) steady at 3.25 per cent in 2019, on the back of growth moderation and inflation remaining subdued.
— The Borneo Post

Malaysia’s Proton revs up revival with hot-selling SUV
Once-ailing Malaysian carmaker Proton is seeing a turn in its fortunes since its Chinese partner Geely brought the X70 sport utility vehicle to the Malaysian market last December.
— The Straits Times

Income tax Malaysia 2017 vs 2018 for individuals: What’s the difference in tax rate and tax reliefs?
Now that Malaysians can begin filing their taxes, it’s good practice to take a good look at your hard-earned income from the previous year and take advantage of the tax reliefs offered by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) to get some money back via tax refunds.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia Airlines has no Boeing 737 Max planes in its fleet
Malaysia Airlines Bhd said it has written to Boeing seeking for more technical details ahead of the delivery of its order expected in 2020, according to an emailed statement from the company.
— The Star Online

Petronas higher capex to benefit local oil and gas service providers
Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s higher capital expenditure (capex) stance moving forward may benefit local oil and gas service providers, said Kenanga Research.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia’s floating LNG vessel stops LNG production ahead of relocation
Malaysia’s floating LNG export vessel PFLNG Satu has stopped producing LNG in preparation for a relocation exercise, national oil company Petronas confirmed in a statement late Friday.
— S&P Global

Malaysia’s Mahathir reportedly says he’d prefer to side with China rather than ‘unpredictable’ US
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he would prefer to take sides with China over the U.S. if his country was forced to take sides in the trade war, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday.
— CNCB

Malaysia joins in 2019 Commonwealth Day celebrations
Malaysia has and will continue to contribute to the Commonwealth in areas such as peace and security, the prevention of violent extremism, sustainable development, and the empowerment of women and youth, the Foreign Ministry said.
— New Straits Times

Malaysia: Kim Jong Nam murder suspect freed
An Indonesian woman accused in the killing of the North Korean leader’s half brother was released after the prosecutor withdrew the murder charge.
— Aljazeera

Nazir calls for reboot in ‘New Malaysia’
MALAYSIA needs a fresh socio-political agreement to rebuild itself, said former CIMB Group chairman Nazir Razak.
— The Malaysian Insight

Rising stockpiles weigh on Malaysian palm market
Malaysian palm oil futures edged lower in first-half trade on Monday and were expected to fall further after government data showed a pile-up in stocks of the edible oil.
— The Edge Markets

Malaysia is cautiously optimistic on conclusion of RCEP by year end
Despite some details that need to be ironed out, the government is optimistic on the conclusion of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by year end.
— New Straits Times

Income from Singapore is not taxable: IRB
Income received from employment exercised in Singapore is not liable to tax in Malaysia, says the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB).
— New Straits Times

PM: Umno-PAS unity ‘very bad’ for multiracial Malaysia
The idea of an Umno-PAS coalition is “very bad’ for a plural society like Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today even as he noted the wave of support from the Malay community.
— Malay Mail

Malaysia end-Feb palm oil stocks rise, focus turns to exports
Malaysian palm oil inventories rose marginally last month to above 3 million
tonnes as exports fell sharply, official data showed on Monday, although industry focus is turning to the prospect of rising sales in March.
— Reuters

Third national car not a flying car, says deputy MITI minister
The third national car will not be a flying car, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister Dr Ong Kian Ming clarified, following misconceptions that the two are related projects.
— The Star Online

UITM, Petronas ink renewable energy collaboration
UiTM Energy & Facilities Sdn Bhd (UEFSB) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) New Energy unit, to collaborate and jointly develop large scale solar photovoltaic power plants and on-campus energy optimisation and solar rooftop projects.
— New Straits Times

AMI wants to be top fire extinguisher maker in the country in the next five years
Fire extinguisher maker AMI Venture Sdn Bhd aims to be among the country’s top three fire extinguisher manufacturers in five years riding on the growing awareness of fire safety in the country.
— New Straits Times

CIMB Group launches Forward23 plan to accelerate growth
CIMB Group (CIMB) recently announced its next five-year blueprint – ‘Forward23’ – to accelerate growth and future-proof its business.
— The Borneo Post

Can-One’s MGO for Kian Joo “not fair but reasonable”
Can-One International Sdn Bhd’s (CISB) mandatory takeover offer to acquire all the remaining shares in Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd it does not already owned at RM3.10 per offer share is deemed “not fair, but reasonable”.
— The Sun Daily

Fixed broadband subscriptions surges as internet speeds up
The number of fixed broadband subscriptions with download speeds of more than 100Mbps have risen tremendously from 150,000 in 2017 to 1.2 million subscribers in 2018, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) revealed in a recent survey.
— The Borneo Post

Feature photo Dennis Sylvester Hurd

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