Malaysia’s Economy Grew 5.6% In Q1 2023: BNM
Bank Negara Malaysia announced that the Malaysian economy further expanded in the first quarter of 2023 by 5.6%, driven mainly by domestic demand.
Further improvement in the labour market, with strong growth in employment and continued expansion in wages, have supported private consumption spending.
Read full story here
Malaysia’s Ability To Attract Investment Needs To Be Addressed Urgently
The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) has indeed increased from RM7.1 billion (1990), to RM14.4 billion (2000) and RM32.4 billion (2019). But Malaysia’s competitiveness to attract foreign investment is fading, and this is worrying.
According to Malaysian Institute Of Economic Research Former Senior Research Officer Samirul Ariff Othman, among ASEAN countries, Singapore remains the champion, now attracting more than half of FDI entering Southeast Asia (1990: 43%, 2000: 68%, and 2019: 60%. On the other hand, Malaysia’s position fell sharply, from 20% (1990), 17% (2000), and 4% (2019).
Read full story here
Anwar Reiterates Call For Establishment Of Asian Monetary Fund
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday (May 10) reiterated his call for the establishment of an Asian Monetary Fund in line with Asean’s initiative to enhance the region’s regional economic independence and safety net.
He said such a regional mechanism would be able to better understand the realities and needs of Asean member countries and thus propose more suitable remedial measures.
Read full story here
Manufacturing Sector Expands 8% In March With Sales Value Of RM156.2 Billion: DoSM
The Department of Statistics Malaysia said the expansion of 8.0 percent in the sales value of the Manufacturing sector for March was mainly supported by the double-digit growth in Transport equipment & other manufacturers (14.6%) and Electrical & electronics products (12.7%) sub-sectors. In comparison with the preceding month, the sales value returned to record positive growth of 7.6 percent after registering a continuous decline since December 2022. DOSM in its latest report indicated Malaysia had generated RM156.2 billion in sales value for the sector.
Read full story here
Renewable Energy Generation Capacity Will Be Increased Up To 70% By 2050, Says Rafizi
Renewable energy generation capacity will be increased up to 70 percent by 2050 through the direction of renewable energy development.
The Minister of Economy, Rafizi Ramli, said the matter was agreed by the Cabinet on May 3, to create new economic opportunities and guarantee energy supply with a capacity of 25 percent as of December 2022.
Read full story here
Maxis Business Innovation Centre Opened To Foster Innovation, Drive Digital Transformation
Maxis today (May 9) officially opened the Maxis Business Innovation Centre, a digitally immersive space designed to foster innovation and drive digital transformation for businesses. Present to officiate Maxis Business Innovation Centre was Fahmi Fadzil, Minister of Communications and Digital, accompanied by Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communications and Digital.
Located on the ground floor of Menara Maxis, Maxis Business Innovation Centre spans over 9,000 square feet of space where customers can access an IoT lab, auditorium with state-of-the-art AV technology, co-sharing workspace to collaborate and innovate, and multi-industry use cases enabled by cloud, AI, IoT, Machine Learning and more.
Read full story here
Empowering Talents to Spearhead Construction 4.0
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) has gained the attention of leaders in the construction industry in utilising modern technologies for collaboration, coordination, and communication to deliver a sustainably built environment. Also known as Construction 4.0, it consists of a variety of interdisciplinary technologies that digitise, automate and integrate the construction process at all stages of the value chain based on the digitalisation of the construction industry and the industrialisation of construction processes.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has stated that the implementation of digital technology increases productivity, streamlines project management and procedures, and enhances quality and safety. In return, construction projects are seen to achieve higher productivity, safety, and sustainability.
Read full story here
BNM Likely To Hold OPR At 3.0% For Rest Of 2023
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has reached the end of its hiking cycle and will leave the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3.0 per cent for the rest of 2023, said BMI.
The research firm, which is a unit of Fitch Solutions, said BNM would increasingly turn its focus to supporting growth over the coming months as inflation continues to moderate domestically.
Read full story here
