Mi 8 Pro is one of the first to feature pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor and Mi 8
Lite is a selfie machine that sports a stunning gradient glass back finish

Global technology leader Xiaomi announced the Mi 8 Lite and Mi 8 Pro in Malaysia, giving users more ways to enjoy the best features from the Mi 8 series.

Xiaomi has shipped more than 100 million smartphones in this year with a total shipment over 6 million and the Mi 8 series has been a major contributor to this success. Both Mi 8 Pro and Mi 8 Lite are welcomed additions to this flagship smartphone series.

Steven Shi, Xiaomi Regional President of Southeast Asia and Oceania,said: “We are delighted to introduce the newest members of the Mi 8 family to Malaysia. We offer more choices for users to enjoy the popular Mi 8 series simply because we want smartphone users to be able to find their ideal smartphone that cater to their needs and interests. For tech connoisseurs, the Mi 8 Pro keeps them excited with its futuristic features and design. For those who wants to take selfies in style, we have designed the Mi 8 Lite specifically for them.”

Mi 8 Pro: Flagship Performance With Innovative and Futuristic Design

On top of the flagship Mi 8 features, Mi 8 Pro takes it one step further with a pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor. The all new pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor give the Mi 8 Pro a star for enabling a faster and more power-efficient unlocking process. Unlike other technologies, the unlocking process only respond to the dedicated pressure and is activated when a finger is placed on the screen.

Mi 8 Lite: Amazing Selfies With Eye Catching Gradient Finish

With over 24 million pixels, the front-facing Sony IMX576 sensor on Mi 8 Lite is able to capture images in great detail. The Super Pixel technology, a combination of four pixels into one large pixel, allows for vivid low light photography. This means no more worries of pictures looking dull and blurry at night. Meanwhile, the Mi 8 Lite display can light up in different colors to suit different scenarios when taking selfies, intelligently illuminating the face with the right color temperature for great-looking selfies.

Inspired by the works of famous French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, whose paintings are renowned for bringing out the effect of light on natural colors, the glass back of Mi 8 Lite employs an advanced NCVM color process, resulting in a mesmerizing mirror-like gradient finish.

New findings from Kaspersky Lab

While many of us have heard of, or even fallen victim to, cybercrimes such as data and identity theft, it seems that relatively few know the value of the information stolen from us. A new study from Kaspersky Lab has revealed that while our identity may not be worth a lot in terms of dollars, it is a significant asset to criminals in other ways. The research uncovered an appetite among cybercriminals for data stolen from popular services – including via social media accounts and remote access to gaming websites. User confusion about what their data is worth could result in a haphazard approach to security, making it all too easy for thieves to steal data and commit crime.

Data stolen due to people’s lax security may have limited resale value, but can be put to many uses. This can cause huge problems for an individual victim, who may lose money and their reputation, find themselves being chased for debt that somebody else has incurred in their name, or even suspected of a crime that somebody else has committed using their identity as a cover.

Kaspersky Lab investigated Dark Web markets to find out how much personal data is worth, and how it is used by criminals. The company’s researchers found that criminals can sell someone’s complete digital life for less than $50; including data from stolen social media accounts, banking details, remote access to servers or desktops, and even data from popular services like Uber, Netflix, and Spotify, as well as gaming websites, dating apps, and porn websites which might store credit card information. Meanwhile, researchers found that the price paid for a single hacked account is lower, with most selling for about $1 per account, and with criminals offering up discounts for bulk-buying.

The most common way criminals steal this sort of data in the first place is via spear phishing campaigns or by exploiting a web related security vulnerability in an application’s software. After a successful attack, the criminal gets password dumps which contain a combination of emails and passwords for the hacked services. And, with many people using the same password for several accounts, attackers might be able to use this information to access accounts on other platforms too.

Interestingly, some criminals selling data even provide their buyers with a lifetime warranty, so if one account stops working, the buyer will receive a new account for free.

As David Jacoby, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab, puts it, ‘It is clear that data hacking is a major threat to us all, and this applies at both an individual and societal level, because stolen data funds many social evils. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to prevent it, including by using cybersecurity software, and being aware of how much data we are giving away for free – particularly on publicly available social media profiles, or to organizations.’

People can avoid such risks by taking several easy security steps, which should become an integral part of any Internet user’s digital life:

• To stay safe from phishing, always check that the link address and the sender’s email are genuine before clicking anything. A robust security solution will also warn you if you attempt to visit a phishing web page.
• To avoid one data leak harming all your digital identities, never use the same password for several websites or services. To create strong, hack-proof passwords and remove the struggle of remembering them, use a specific password manager application, such as Kaspersky Password Manager.

To find out who has your personal data, use services such as PrivacyAudit.me that automatically search for a user’s data across a large number of sources (The Beta version is available in the UK, with a wider roll out planned for 2019).

Western Union, a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, is strengthening its network presence across Malaysia with Merchantrade Asia, a leading national money services business provider, by providing customers with increased access to money transfer services.

Merchantrade Asia’s more than 450 locations nationwide will boost Western Union’s network reach, enabling customers to send and receive domestic and international money transfer services in minutes across more locations in Malaysia. Western Union currently has more than 2,400 total Agent locations in the country.

“Many customers rely on remittances for their daily needs. Western Union’s brand strength, size and reach of our global network is what drives consumers to use our services. We are very pleased to collaborate with Merchantrade Asia and welcome them into our global family of Agents,” said Steven Wong Weng Leong, Regional Director, Malaysia & Brunei, Western Union.

Western Union has been providing money transfer services in Malaysia and enabling economic opportunities in the country through the timely, reliable and convenient flow of remittances to and from Malaysia.

“Western Union is a highly recognized, global brand used by consumers wanting to send money to support their loved ones. Our goal is to revolutionize convenience and enrich customers lives with easy access to services,” said Ramasamy K. Veeran, Founder and Managing Director, Merchantrade Asia. “With Western Union, our emphasis on customer centricity enables us to have a deep understanding of customer needs and provide solutions they need.”

According to the Migration and Remittances Brief by World Bank, Malaysia was one of the top 10 remittance-receiving countries in the East Asia and Pacific region in 2017. Additionally, according to the report, Malaysia is an important destination country for migrants too, highlighting the importance of efficient money transfer services for both outbound and inbound remittances.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability.

About Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd

 Merchantrade is a leading home-grown Money Services Business (MSB) operator, conducting remittance, money exchanging and wholesale currency services. Through its established branch network and online platform, Merchantrade provides consumers with easy access to a secure, reliable and fast channel for currency exchange, money transfers and payments across borders.

Google announced that “Smart Campaigns”, the new default experience of Google Ads, is now available to small businesses across Malaysia. Smart campaigns is designed for small businesses looking to get started with online advertising. The experience is simple, saves businesses time as they can set up a campaign in a matter of minutes, and drives clear results like calls, actions on their website and visits to their stores.

According to the Asian Development Bank, 98% of businesses in Asia are SMBs, and, according to APEC, SMBs contribute up to 50% of GDP in APEC economies and the Internet already plays a vital role in connecting businesses and customers, and delivering a great customer experience. Many businesses realise the potential of digital, but are not sure what to do to get started. Smart campaigns take the innovation and technology of Google Ads and tailors the experience for simplicity to help small businesses succeed without needing to be an advertising expert.

How Smart Campaigns can help small businesses grow

Google’s Smart Campaigns keep it simple for businesses. Businesses just choose their goals—like making the phone ring, driving sales to their website or visits to a store—and machine learning goes to work to deliver results. With Smart Campaigns, small and medium sized businesses can:

• Get the results they care about: Smart campaigns are designed to get businesses the results they care about most, like phone calls, actions on their website, and store visits. Businesses can connect with new customers who are looking for information related to the business on Google Search, Google Maps and also get discovered through Google Partner Sites (Search and Google Display Network).

• Get fast setup: Small businesses can set up a campaign in a matter of minutes. Simply select the goal (calls, store visits, actions on their website), pick a business category, set the location advertisers want to promote their business in, edit the ad text, and set the budget. Google will automatically select the right keywords and optimise the bidding strategy to bring the best results within the designated budget.

• Benefit from minimal ongoing management: Once set up, Google works behind the scenes with machine learning technology to automatically optimise the campaign and drive results small businesses want. Advertisers can easily track their performance, write more ad variations, and make necessary adjustments to their campaign settings.

• Test variations of display ads with Image Picker: If a small business owner wants to launch a campaign, but doesn’t know what images and text to use in their ads, all they need to do is enter their existing assets, including images, logos, headlines and descriptions. Image Picker then helps test combinations of images and text to get the best results from your Display ads. This feature will start rolling out in the coming weeks.

Smart Campaigns is a great example of how we’re using machine learning to help small businesses grow. It takes the innovation and technology of Google Ads and tailors the experience to make it easy, efficient and successful. We have been working on Smart campaigns for many years, listening to our advertisers and adding performance improvements they’ve asked for—and it’s already proving to be about 3x better at getting ads in front of the right audience. This is just the beginning, we are committed to adding new features to Google Ads that help drive results with ease and simplicity.

South-Korean carmaker, Hyundai Motor will be investing up to $250 million into the e-hailing ride service, Grab. This comes as Hyundai’s second investment after its initial pouring earlier this year.

According to Financial Times, investment by Hyundai takes Grab’s funding this year to $2.7bn, with the company aiming to raise  $3bn by the end of the year.

The upcoming investment will be coupled with  200 Hyundai electric vehicles in Grab’s Singapore in 2019, with the intention to expand further in the region. Both services are planning to further launch potential pilot programs aimed at making their mark in electric vehicle-friendly markets across South East Asia.

The electric vehicle-friendly pilot programs will also involve an affiliate of Hyundai, Kia Motors to help boost growth as well as aid Grab to minimise their cost while expanding across the SEA markets. Reports also show that the expansion might penetrate into the Malaysian and Vietnamese markets as well in time to come.

While this is one of the biggest investment by Hyundai, it is still relatively small compared to other investors such as Toyota Motor Corp. While the carmaker’s stock prices has seen a downfall, this investment might be able to create a shift.

Furthermore, the move by Hyundai to partner with Grab is seen as a solution for the decline of individual ownership of vehicles as ride-sharing platforms are an increasing traction among users.

“Not only Hyundai, but all global auto manufacturers have realized that generating revenue solely from selling vehicles is not a sustainable, viable option,” Hyundai’s chief innovation officer, Chi Young-cho, told reporters in Seoul

Hyundai is also expecting to release its very own ride-hailing service in selected markets sometime next year. The carmaker giant is also looking at acquisition markets.

Snapshot of New & Extended Incentives for the Manufacturing & Services Sectors

“The new and extended incentives announced under Budget 2019 reflect Malaysia’s commitment in ensuring a conducive business environment for domestic and foreign investors against the backdrop of global challenges. As the principal investment promotion agency for the country, MIDA looks forward to the holistic study to review the 130 existing investment incentives under the purview of 32 Investment Promotion Agencies. This is in line with our continuous advocacy for incentives that are targeted, time-based and relevant to advances in technology and innovation. The review is timely to ensure the optimal use of the country’s resources,” said Dato’ Azman Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA.

“MIDA has established an i-Incentives Portal under its Incentives Coordination and Collaboration Office (ICCO). This platform would be beneficial in assisting the review initiative as the portal is a one-stop centre that features information about all incentives currently available in the country. We would be pleased to share the information from ICCO and work with all relevant Government agencies and stakeholders for the review,” added Dato’ Azman.

For the manufacturing sector, companies should take advantage of the revisions of tax mechanisms and incentives, initiatives to promote the adoption of Industry 4.0, facilities for the production of environmentally-friendly plastics based on bio-resins and bio-polymers, incentives for SMEs as well as facilitation for logistics and transportation activities. MIDA has been encouraging the adoption of Industry 4.0 among industry players as it will provide the breakthrough necessary for Malaysia to increase its competitiveness on the world stage.

“One of the facilities provided by MIDA is the Automation Capital Allowance (ACA) which aims to encourage the quick adoption of automation, particularly in labour intensive industries. We also promote industry-academia collaborations and higher R&D activities to boost efficiency and productivity. With the large focus on Industry 4.0 in Budget 2019 and the launched of the Industry 4.0 blueprint known as Industry4WRD, we expect to see more high technology investments being realised in Malaysia. Under MIDA’s High Impact Fund, a Domestic Investment Strategic Fund (DISF) in the form of a matching grant is available to promote more R&D activities, international certification and standards as well as modernisation of facilities and equipment. MIDA has so far approved 308 projects with investments of RM14.7 billion, with an approved grant value of RM1.51 billion.We also trust that the double taxation deduction for expenses related to the National Dual Training Scheme for Industry 4.0 and other related programmes approved by MIDA will spur more companies to train or upscale their workforce in Industry 4.0 activities,” said the CEO of MIDA.

For the services sector, there were new introductions and revisions of incentives for principal hubs, green technology, tourism and healthcare tourism, technical education and vocational training (TVET), institutions of higher learning and utilisation of local service providers.

“While Principal Hub companies seeking an extension are now subjected to a tax rate, this review allows a broader scope of companies to benefit from the PH scheme such as companies with lower value-added income. In the long term, we believe that this revised scheme will increase the investment performance of the services sector as PH investments are the largest contributor to the overall foreign direct investments in the services sector under MIDA’s purview,” highlighted Dato’ Azman.

On the bold measures in supporting new technology developments, Dato’ Azman said, “Under the 9^th Strategy of Budget 2019, MIDA is excited about the prospects of alternative financing sources including streamlining the many venture capital funds managed by Government agencies and allocation of RM50 million to set up a Co-Investment Fund to invest alongside private investors via equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer financing. MIDA looks forward to work hand-in-hand with these entities towards bringing Malaysian companies that are financially limited but possess high potential in new technology areas.”

Given the more realistic and attainable fiscal positions under Budget 2019 and added clarity in policy directions for investors, the years ahead are expected to be positive particularly with the many initiatives in place to create a more dynamic economy for Malaysia.

True Religion announced that the board of directors has appointed board member Chelsea A. Grayson as its interim chief executive officer, following John Ermatinger’s decision to retire as chief executive officer of the company. Ms. Grayson will step down as chair of the Audit Committee but will continue to serve on True Religion’s board of directors.

“As a board member for the past year, Chelsea has been instrumental in helping True Religion evolve the brand,” said Gene Davis, chair of the True Religion board. “We are fortunate to have someone of Chelsea’s caliber and experience step up to lead the company as we continue to innovate our products and customer experience. In addition, we would also like to recognize and thank John for his incredible leadership and dedication to the brand.”

Ms. Grayson said, “As a Los Angeles native, I am honored to have been chosen to lead an iconic brand like Los Angeles-based True Religion. I look forward to continuing the momentum started with recent initiatives like adding Bella Hadid as a millennial face of the brand and our partnership with global sports juggernaut, Manchester United.”

While Ms. Grayson serves as interim CEO, the True Religion board intends to conduct a process to identify a permanent CEO.

Before joining the board of directors of True Religion last year, Ms. Grayson was the CEO and a board member of American Apparel (formerly NYSE MKT: APP). She also sits on the board of directors of Delta Dental of California (where she is a member of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee), and the advisory board of Marca Global.

About True Religion

In 2002, True Religion emerged onto the Los Angeles denim scene by blowing up the construction of the classic five-pocket jean. With its five-needle thread at two-stitch-per-inch process, the True Religion Super T stitch was instantly recognized for style that was unlike any other denim brand in the world. True Religion speaks to the uniqueness found in all of us. The brand is worn by athletes, musicians, and artists globally to express their individual style. Delivering an exclusive assortment of iconic styles, True Religion Brand Jeans focuses on producing high quality premium denim and sportwear for men’s, women’s and kids.

Efforts in reimagining retail banking and innovating digital banking experiences won accolades at the recent International Banker 2018 and AsiaMoney 2018 Awards respectively

Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB or “the Bank”) gained recognition for its efforts to raise the bar in retail banking through its digital-led transformation by notching wins from two eminent international finance publications recently. The Bank won the ‘Best Innovation for Retail Banking Malaysia’ award at the International Banker Awards 2018 and was also named both ‘Best Domestic Bank’ and ‘Best Digital Bank’ in Malaysia at the AsiaMoney Awards 2018 for its innovation and leadership in its transformation towards a highly digital-led and performance driven bank.

Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB said that these recognitions are validation of the Bank’s journey towards being a customer-centric bank that is highly digital and innovative.

“We are very honoured by the recognition received for our commitment to elevate our customer experience and our immersive adoption of being digital at the core. We remain steadfast and focused on our goal to deliver exceptional customer service and enhanced customer experience. As a bank-wide strategy, we are reimagining banking by embedding digital considerations on a comprehensive basis in everything that we do. This is clearly reflected in how we are transforming our business processes, improving customer experience and providing relevant product solutions. Our success in this approach has seen HLB deliver tangible outcomes to top and bottom line, as well as, customer experience,” said Fuda.

HLB has been able to digitise its banking services and raise customers’ digital adoption across its retail and business banking segments guided by an overarching ethos to be ‘Digital at the Core’ with people at the forefront of everything it does. The Bank’s growth towards being digital is powered by three key initiatives which include leveraging on digital technologies to acquire customers efficiently, empowering customers to transact anytime and anywhere instantly through digital platforms, and improving customer satisfaction and number of products per customer through contextual offers and analytics.

As part of its digital journey, the Bank has developed a next-generation mobile banking experience with features that will appeal to Millennials and Gen-X customers. The mobile banking app called Hong Leong Connect App offers biometric fingerprint  and facial authentication where supported by mobile device and ‘three-word banking’ function, one-click bulk payment, and is three-language enabled to suit the Malaysian market, to name but a few of the innovations embedded in the App.

HLB is also the first bank in Malaysia to partner with Tencent to provide WeChat Pay payment solutions in the country. This has allowed HLB to serve the growing demand from Chinese tourists looking to use their WeChat accounts seamlessly in Malaysia. Recently, HLB also became one of the first banks in Malaysia to be an approved local WeChat Pay Master Merchant Acquirer, enabling users to transact with WeChat Pay in Ringgit Malaysia and binding their debit cards to WeChat Wallet.

In helping to shape the business landscape of the next generation, the Bank introduced a startup accelerator and mentorship programme called the HLB LaunchPad which is developed to nurture tech savvy startups in reinventing the financial services industry.

HLB employees have also benefited immensely from the digital journey such as with HALI, the first artificial intelligence (AI) powered chatbot developed to answer staff queries on Human Resource and Branch Operations policies and procedures, which will help the Bank improve operations efficiency by 60% over the course of the year.

“As the banking landscape continues to change with the rapid adoption and increased use of technology, we will continue to invest and evolve in our digital transformation efforts to deliver seamless and intuitive banking experience to our customers by leveraging on emerging technologies and the power of data to deliver contextual banking products,” added Fuda.

HLB’s quest in reimagining banking goes beyond customers and employees. The Bank has challenged the convention of talent acquisition by hiring fit-for-future talent as well as rewarding great ideas for better banking when it held its inaugural 24 hours hackathon challenge called Can You Hack It 2018 in early October.

The hackathon was the Bank’s novel approach at identifying talents capable of coming up with exciting and creative solutions for banking and business-related challenges. Given the strong response that the challenge attracted, the Bank will be running the ‘Can You Hack It’ hackathon twice a year. Outstanding participants may also receive an invitation to join the Bank for an exciting career while promising projects may receive further funding and support for incubator or accelerator programmes.

VMware, a leading innovator in enterprise software, released the new VMware Banking Consumer 2020 Study

According to VMware, Inc. , a leading innovator in enterprise software, the new VMware Banking Consumer 2020 Study reveals that almost half (46%) of Malaysian consumers are dubious about the security of e-wallets and payment applications. The numbers rise for connected devices, with 53% doubting the security of smart devices with payment capabilities. The study also found that Malaysian consumers prefer traditional payment methods, with majority (70%) indicating that they trust online interbank transfers, ATMs or cash. In contrast, consumers in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are more open towards connected things and devices as new methods of payment.

Despite the skeptical outlook on newer payment modes such as apps and connected devices, Malaysian consumers have poor cyber hygiene habits, according to the study. While 82% of Malaysian consumers surveyed, store their bank accounts’ details on at least one to six applications, only a quarter (25%) practice good cybersecurity by using different passwords for all their accounts, which puts them at greater risk of financial fraud and losses.

“Malaysia’s cashless adoption rate is ramping up, with e-payment transactions per capita doubling to 111 transactions per capita in 2017 and forecast to reach 200 transactions per capita in 2020, according to Bank Negara. In this context, banks and FSIs have a pressing need to boost their defenses in the face of consumer distrust towards newer payment methods and lax consumer cybersecurity practices,” said Sanjay K. Deshmukh, vice president and managing director, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware. “To guard against risks in this new payment reality, banks and FSIs need a new network infrastructure to protect their apps, data and users across multiple cloud environments.”

In order to further secure online payment platforms, banks and FSIs continue to innovate to meet the shifting demands of mobile-first consumers. Forward-thinking banks are already gaining traction with the introduction of biometric payment with at close to three quarters of consumers in Malaysia (71%) placing high trust in the technology, alongside cash payment.

Malaysian consumers also indicated areas of improvement for banks to do better in, rating the following attributes lower than the regional average:

• Transparency in policies and understandable terms and conditions;
• Ease at processes and logins to make transfers, get info or register for service;
• Data privacy security and ethical use of personal data;
• Speed in answering queries or resolving issues;
• Availability of customer service channels.

VMware Powers Digital Transformation with Virtual Cloud Networking: Advances Networking and Security for All Workloads on Any Cloud

To help banks and FSIs strike a balance between innovation and scalability, VMware announced new advancements to help customers implement a more secure, end-to-end software-based network architecture, a Virtual Cloud Network, that enables pervasive connectivity and intrinsic security for hyper-distributed apps and data, regardless of cloud environment. Banks and FSIs that put agility, innovation and security at the core of their business stand to benefit from a Virtual Cloud Network by unlocking value from current networking technologies, significantly reducing network complexity, and redefining network security.

Advancing Networking and Security for All Workloads on Any Cloud: VMware NSX-T Data Center 2.3 extends advanced multi-cloud networking and security capabilities. This pervasive connectivity, independent of the underlying cloud, empowers customers that operate across multiple public clouds to take advantage of local availability zones and the unique services of different cloud providers.

Simplifying NSX Deployment, Management, and Use: VMware NSX-T Data Center 2.3 simplifies installation, configuration, and management with new deployment workflows and search functionality for objects and events. This enables administrators to express policies in a declarative fashion which are applied to data center and multi-cloud infrastructure.

Security Planning and Self-Driving Operations for a Virtual Cloud Network: This helps customers build and run an optimized, highly-available, and more secure infrastructure for virtual cloud networking. Customers can accelerate micro-segmentation planning and deployment, plan application migration, gain operational views to manage, scale, and enforce compliance for VMware NSX data center deployments. This solution is available as both on-premises software and as a SaaS offering with full feature and scale parity across both.

“Banks and FSIs face increased scrutiny over how personal data is handled, and an unyielding demand for fast response to consumers. Finding the right balance between staying attuned to consumers’ needs in compliance and security, while future-proofing their digital foundation with innovation, can be tricky but critical, especially when we are turning to technologies of the future. A Virtual Cloud Network architecture that harnesses the power of networking technologies empowers banks and FSIs to respond faster to new opportunities and threats, create new business models, and deliver services to all applications and data, wherever they are located,” Deshmukh explained.

 “VMware is committed to helping our customers and partners embrace digital transformation in this time of disruptive change. As the region embarks on its journey to becoming smart cities and nations with next-generation technologies, establishing a highly secured infrastructure will be mission-critical for verticals such as banks and FSIs,” addedDeshmukh. “We continue to help businesses master multi-cloud, and bridge the divide between IT operations and developers.”

Vessel Singapore Energy at Bintulu LNG Terminal performing the Cool-Down operation

PETRONAS, through its subsidiary PETRONAS LNG Ltd. (PLL), completed its first commercial Gassing Up and Cooling Down (GUCD) services at the Bintulu LNG terminal recently.

The GUCD is a specialised service to bring the storage tanks on LNG carriers, after dry-docking, to a natural environment and cool it down to cryogenic temperature (minus 160 degrees Celcius) before loading its next cargo.

The vessel, Singapore Energy, berthed at the Bintulu LNG terminal, after arriving from Linggi, off the Straits of Melaka, completed the Cool-Down operation smoothly in approximately 11 hours.

The success of the GUCD services positions Bintulu as one of the premier LNG hubs, as only few terminals in the world offer this facility. These services are offered at attractive rates by Bintulu Port to LNG vessel operators and owners. The LNG for gassing up services is supplied from the PETRONAS LNG Complex in Bintulu.

PETRONAS Vice President of LNG Marketing & Trading, Ahmad Adly Alias said,

“The partnership with Bintulu Port Sdn Bhd (BPSB), a subsidiary of Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad (BPHB) and Bintulu Port Authority (BPA) will enhance PETRONAS’ portfolio of services in the integrated LNG value chain.”

“Following an agreement signed last year between BPSB and PLL, we augmented efforts to garner vessel operators and owners’  interests to utilise this service in Bintulu. With the attractive rate offered by BPSB, we are confident that the GUCD services will draw more LNG vessel operators and owners to call at Bintulu LNG terminal,” Adly added.

PETRONAS, an integrated global LNG player with over 35 years of experience, has a strong reputation as a reliable LNG supplier and solutions provider.

HSBC India and ING Bank Brussels have successfully executed a blockchain-enabled, live trade finance transaction jointly with Reliance Industries and Tricon Energy.

This is an industry-first as the blockchain platform integrated with Bolero’s electronic bill of lading (eBL) platform to issue and manage an eBL. This allowed a digital transfer of the title of goods from the seller to the buyer in the underlying trade. It further enabled the underlying trade to be fully digitised.

Ajay Sharma, Regional Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance, Asia Pacific for HSBC said, “The use of blockchain is a significant step towards digitising trade. It has a transformative impact on trade finance transactions and enables greater transparency and enhanced security in addition to making it simpler and faster. The overall efficiency it brings to trade finance ensures cost effectiveness, quicker turnaround and potentially unlocks liquidity for businesses. We’re delighted to partner with Reliance Industries and support enhanced digitisation in trade finance. We believe that the collaborative approach adopted to develop this technology has the potential to transform conventional trade finance.”

The end-to-end transaction was executed on R3’s Corda blockchain platform which is a single shared application, rather than requiring multiple isolated digital systems across various counterparties located around the globe. The Letter of Credit (LC) was issued by ING Bank for Tricon Energy USA (importer) with HSBC India as the advising and negotiating bank for Reliance Industries, India (exporter). This solution is a significant improvement for any organisation involved in buying and selling goods internationally, as it truly brings together all parties onto one platform.

Srikanth Venkatachari, Joint Chief Financial Officer, Reliance Industries said, “We are excited to partner with HSBC on digitalisation of trade finance. This reflects our continued commitment to embrace emerging technologies and industry first initiatives. The use of blockchain offers significant potential to reduce the timelines involved in exchange of export documentation from the extant 7 to 10 days to less than a day. When adopted at scale, it helps in significant optimisation of working capital. Further, use of blockchain in trade finance enhances transparency, security and synergy across all the parties and stakeholders involved.”

This transaction validates the commercial and operational viability of blockchain as an alternative to conventional exchanges for paper-based documentation.

At present buyers and sellers use paper-based LCs to underpin transactions. Physical documents are sent to each party in the transaction by post, courier or fax. While these paper documents provide certainty, the time and cost involved in processing them are deterrents for exporters and inters and impairs the pace of trade.

R3, HSBC, ING, the other six banks supporting the Corda application (Bangkok Bank, BNP Paribas, CTBC Holding, NatWest, SEB and Standard Chartered) are seeking to expand the network on an open-source basis to drive adoption across the industry. This includes technology partners that can provide banks and customers tool kits for easier onboarding, ecosystem participants, besides buyers/sellers and their banks.

HSBC has taken the lead in digitising, shaping and evolving the trade ecosystem globally through industry leading initiatives.

On 2 November 2018, the Government announced Budget 2019 with total allocation amounting to RM314.55 billion, which is 12.2% higher compared to Budget 2018 (RM280.25 billion). With the theme “A Resurgent Malaysia, A Dynamic Economy, A Prosperous Society”, Budget 2019 highlighted 3 main focus and 12 key strategies in strengthening Malaysia’s economic position. A total of RM17.94 billion has been earmarked for SME development in 2019 under the Third Focus: To Foster an Entrepreneurial Economy. Among the key initiatives include financing, Industry 4.0, export, tourism, agriculture, entrepreneurship, human capital development and incentives.

SME Corp. Malaysia commended the 2019 Budget for its broad-based approach and being very supportive of SMEs as the vital engine of growth for the national economy. The SME development allocation in the Budget next year is very much welcomed as a further boost, especially in the areas of access to financing which will continue to be given an important emphasis, export promotion, entrepreneurship and various programmes under the SME Masterplan. Based on the SME Input-Output analysis done by SME Corp. Malaysia, the estimated allocation of RM17.94 billion for SME development across all economic sectors is expected to generate an additional RM3.8 billion of SME value-added in year 2019, which is an increase of 0.3 percentage point in share of SME GDP to total GDP.

For the record, according to the SME Annual Report 2017/18 released by SME Corp. Malaysia, SMEs contributed RM435.1 billion to the economy in 2017, with a higher GDP growth of 7.2% against 5.2% in 2016. As a result, contribution of SMEs to GDP stands at 37.1% in 2017, with overall employment at 66% and total exports at 17.3%.

This year, a total of 158 SME development programmes are being implemented for the benefit of SMEs, with total financial commitment of RM14.3 billion.

Microsoft Malaysia welcomes the 2019 National Budget themed “Credible Malaysia, Dynamic Economy, Prosperous Rakyat” which focuses on people’s well-being, fosters an entrepreneurial culture and enables an inclusive society.

We are committed to partnering Malaysia in the journey to become a developed nation, fueling digital economy growth for SMEs and enterprises, driving workforce skills development as well as ensuring healthcare and education access for all.

Consolidating the Digital Economy

Among the key focus areas of the 2019 Budget is to continue building momentum for the Digital Economy with efforts to improve the physical and digital infrastructure that powers up the 4^th Industrial revolution. We welcome measures for streamlining regulations related to digital economy while ensuring SMEs in Malaysia can innovate and continue to be in the forefront of development.

“Businesses that do not embrace the digital revolution and evolve fast enough will be less competitive or even obsolete as they face disruptions in every industry. As enterprises and SMEs in Malaysia look for better and faster ways to leverage on the fourth industrial revolution and transform themselves, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data, powered by by cloud computing will have a crucial role to play. A case in point is Poladrone, that specializes in building custom UAV solutions. They are leveraging our Azure cognitive services for smart city mapping and planning to create a better, sustainable smart city,” Raman added.

The budget also pays attention to strengthening the connectivity in rural and remote areas with the implementation of the National Fiber Optic and Connectivity Plan. The aspiration of 30Mbps broadband connectivity in these areas within five years reflects the national commitment towards the digitalization of Malaysia’s economy.

Inclusive Education and Empowering Human Capital

With the education sector receiving the lion’s share of allocations of RM60.2 billion, we are heartened by the focus of Budget 2019 on future proofing the economy and empowering education, skill and talent development in the country.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng highlighted that the government will undertake interventions such as identifying skills needed by industries and mainstreaming TVET to address unemployment, especially among the country’s youth.

Allocations towards developing e-sports are also encouraging as the intent is to accelerate the growth of industry-related skills such as software engineers and game developers, among others. Impetus to National Higher Education Fund will also help improve the employability of our graduates.

This continued drive for quality education is commended by Microsoft Malaysia. Raman said, “At Microsoft, we are committed to leveraging technology’s role as an enabler, in providing 21^st century education. To create a future skilled workforce Microsoft is already working with the government to equip local universities with data science knowledge. Ministry of Higher Education is on their digital transformation journey with the adoption of O365 to empower Public Universities, Polytechnics, Community College Knowledge Workers and students,” said Raman.

Boosting Healthcare

The increased allocation of RM29 billion for health care is a huge shot in the arm for transforming the healthcare services and delivery in the country. The government’s intention to widen the public-private partnership programs to improve health care facilities is extremely encouraging for the private sector to invest in delivering the best quality of service to the people.

Lauding the government allocation on treatment of rare diseases for the very first time in a Malaysian budget, Raman said, “Today cutting-edge technologies like Cloud and AI are transforming healthcare. There is tremendous scope to leverage these to improve how healthcare is delivered in Malaysia, enhance access to better healthcare and upgrade the existing facilities. Globally, we have partnered pharma company Shire and the patient-driven NGO EURORDIS to accelerate the diagnosis of rare disease, a process that often takes years and takes a big toll on the health of millions. We look forward to bringing the same technology advancements over the coming year to Malaysia at the back of the budgetary allocations.”

Ensuring Equitable Development of the Rakyat

Microsoft Malaysia welcomes the initiatives under the 2019 National Budget, which prioritize the bridging of the opportunity divide, particularly for various communities. We laud the efforts of government to work with NGOs and social enterprises to empower underprivileged communities. The financial aid for low-income group, health protection fund for families in the B40 category, efforts to upgrade infrastructure and enhance access of basis amenities to the population, among other efforts will go a long way in ensuring everyone can enjoy the benefits of our economic development.

“As part of our commitment towards empowering the underprivileged community, we are already upskilling and reskilling communities in East Malaysia in partnership with Generasi Gemilang foundation by increasing their access to quality education. Going forward, we look forward to continued collaboration and partnership with the Government, as we promote inclusivity, ensure equal opportunities, and deliver on our commitment to drive economic growth, innovation and societal impact in Malaysia,” concluded Raman.

Budget 2019 has identified key priorities to support the transition of the Malaysian economy towards a more balanced, sustainable and inclusive growth. The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) welcomes these measures that will enable a wider community to benefit from the capital market.

Technology has encouraged product innovation and created new ways and means of doing business in an age of digital disruption. Leveraging these advancements, three new initiatives have been announced in Budget 2019 to broaden retail investors’ participation and stimulate more innovative market-based financing options:

1. The SC will put in place a regulatory framework to regulate digital asset exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs) to facilitate a fair and orderly development of this nascent market. These regulations are expected to come into effect in the first quarter of 2019.

2. A Co-Investment Fund (CIF), with a grant of RM50 million, will be established to enable the Government to co-invest with private investors in financing the development of new businesses, especially for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) segment, through equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to- peer (P2P) financing platforms.

3. The introduction of property crowdfunding platforms, which will beregulated by the SC under a crowdfunding framework, will provide alternative financing options to first-time home buyers and give investors exposure to the
property sector through smaller investment amounts. This initiative forms part of a series of Budget 2019 measures to facilitate home ownership.

The SC will work with the relevant stakeholders to operationalise these measures. Further details of these measures will be announced in due course. Budget 2019 also announced the establishment of a Special Committee on Islamic
Finance led by the Ministry of Finance. Together with the extension of tax incentives for sukuk ijarah and wakalah, this will reinforce Malaysia’s position as a global leader in Islamic finance. Additionally, the extension of incentives for retail sukuk and bonds will encourage more issuances of such instruments and attract greater retail
participation in the capital market.

Commenting on the 2019 Budget that was announced by the Finance Minister YB Lim Guan Eng earlier today, Ng Sue Lynn, Executive Director of Indirect Tax at KPMG Tax Services, welcomed the proposal to tax imported services, saying:

“This is a welcomed move as it can ensure that local service providers such as architects,
graphic designers and software developers can compete on a more level playing field with
foreign service providers. Currently, foreign service providers providing similar services do not
need to charge Malaysian service tax, unlike the local service providers who are Service Tax
registered. Based on the proposal, the mechanism may be similar to the previous Goods and
Services Tax (GST) regime where the onus is on the recipient of the services (which are
businesses) to account, declare and report the tax. It remains to be seen what the reporting
mechanism is for businesses who are currently not registered under the Service Tax regime,”
said Ng.

The Finance Minister also mentioned that foreign suppliers who provide digital products and services to consumers will be required to register with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (“RMCD”) from 1 January 2020.

Ng commented: “This move to tax the digital economy is in line with the intention of other
countries and it is a bold move as Malaysia will be one of the first to introduce such system.
There are further areas that need to be clarified such as how the foreign service providers will
register with RMCD, and what enforcement rules and reporting mechanism are in place. It is
noted that a new provision will be introduced in the Service Tax Act 2018 to cover this. As this
proposal is proposed to be effective from 1 January 2020, the RMCD has 1 year to study,
analyse and come up with an efficient mechanism.”

KPMG further notes that the Service Tax exemptions to specific services provided by registered businesses to other registered businesses will address the Service Tax cascading issue that has been the concern of a lot of businesses, since the Sales Tax and Service Tax was implemented on 1 September 2018.

3M Malaysia welcomes the Government’s announcement for Budget 2019, and is pleased that the initiatives listed puts a focus on boosting SMEs to compete on a global scale, attracting foreign direct investments (FDI), optimising healthcare and empowering women leadership across the country. 3M Malaysia is committed to working with the government and both local and foreign companies operation in the country to accelerate the progress of the nation through science and technology.

Strengthening SMEs in Malaysia

As Malaysia set its eyes on becoming a high-income economy by 2020, investing in innovation is a catalyst for the growth and success of businesses. However, due to limited resourcing, SMEs in the country have been slow to adopt innovation as a means of growth. Through the initiatives announced in the Budget 2019, SMEs would be able to scale down on costs to scale up on innovation that will pave the way for them to compete competitively, not just in the local market, but in the global arena.

3M Malaysia is a technology driven company, and over the 50 years that we have been in the country, we have worked with SMEs across various industries to innovate and improve products and processes. We leverage on 3M science to significantly improve productivity and total delivered cost for long term savings.

SMEs trust us to assist them to move up the value chain, and we look forward to working closely with the government to further strengthen local SMEs.

Advancing healthcare in the country

We support the allocation of RM29 billion to improve the quality of healthcare services across the country. As health care is evolving rapidly, it’s even more crucial to ensure that medical products and patient care prevent infection and promote healing. 3M Malaysia understands these challenges and strives to make the jobs of health services easier with reliable, quality products and solutions.

We currently work with hospitals in Malaysia to provide solutions that improve patient outcome and enable healthcare progress. By reducing complexity and reinventing delivery, we help hospitals focus on what’s most important.

Empowering women leadership

It is encouraging to see that the government has put a special emphasis on improving the involvement of women at leadership levels with a 30% target of policy makers and decisions. This is already seen with the historic appointment of our first female Deputy Prime Minister, Yang Amat Berhormat, Dato Sri Dr. Wan Azizah Binti
Dr. Wan Ismail, and we believe this is the step in the right direction to drive real progress and a wider culture of inclusion.

At 3M Malaysia, we support this announcement as it is aligned with our culture of inclusion for innovation and growth. We understand that diversity is important as it brings different perspectives to the table, and we implemented the “I’m in. Accelerating Women’s Leadership” – a global company initiative that focuses on the advancement of women. To date, 38.7% of women make up the senior management team and the gender ratio is 46.9%, which showcases the success of such programs. We hope that with these initiatives spearheaded by the government, it will encourage more companies to incorporate similar steps to diversify their workforce.

Commentary by : Parameswaran Nair, Managing Director, 3M Malaysia