PUTRAJAYA (Feb 3): Malaysia and Singapore have agreed to strengthen cooperation, especially in the field of entrepreneurship education, as well as digital and creative technologies that can benefit the people, especially those in rural areas. The agreement was reached during a discussion between Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli, who paid a courtesy call on Mahdzir at the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) here on Thursday (Feb 3). According to a statement issued by KPLB, the ministers also exchanged views on social development issues during the one-hour meeting. Masagos, who is also the Second Minister for Health and Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs, is on a three-day working visit to Malaysia beginning Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Egypt and Malaysia have agreed on the importance of pushing forward their bilateral relations and opening new horizons for joint cooperation at all levels. This was agreed upon at the recent Bilateral Political Consultations between the two countries held in Cairo on Jan 30. The inputs of the meeting were made available to Bernama by Egypt's embassy in Malaysia. The Bilateral Consultations was the first to be held between the two countries — representing a significant step in boosting Cairo-Kuala Lumpur relations. Egypt's delegation was led by Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asian Affairs Ambassador Ayman Kamel, while Malaysia's delegation was led by Foreign Ministry's Secretary-General Tan Sri M. Shahrul Ikram Yaakob.

SIGN language is taught throughout the world, and those who know it can use it to communicate regardless of where they come from. Verdict:SOMEWHAT TRUEEach country generally has its own native sign language. The closest to a universal sign language that is understood internationally, is International Sign or IS. The language is generally used during international events such as meetings and events such as those held by the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) or the Deaflympics. The need for a mutually intelligible language was discussed during the World Deaf Congress in 1951 when the WFD was formed.

With the impressive array of cosmetic products in the market today, we have also been witnessing an upsurge in the number of men who use cosmetics. Hazardous ingredients in cosmetic products are not something new, as this ugly side of cosmetics can be traced back to ancient civilizations. Recent studies have shown that consumers in Malaysia have a positive perception towards natural cosmetic products, compared with conventional cosmetic products. The ingredients in natural cosmetic products are beneficial, free of irritants, and essentially avoid the adverse effects caused by synthetic chemicals. Furthermore, the quality of natural cosmetic products gives them an edge over conventional cosmetics.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 3): Former health minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has filed a RM5 million libel suit against former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The defamation suit was filed in the High Court here on Dec 31, 2021 by the firm of Messrs Farida & Company. Despite the denial, the former health minister said the posting made by Najib was still there as of November 2021. “That Facebook post was edited six times after that and this shows that he planned the publication in defaming me,” the former health minister said in his statement of claim. Najib's Facebook post had garnered 15,000 reactions, with 12,000 likes, followed by 2,400 (haha), 106 (wow), 65 (love), 25 (angry), four (sad) and 11 (care).

Overall, 2022 inflation would be close to 2% by the end of the year. If economic policy in 2022 is successful in relaunching the economy, we forecast economic growth could be around 3.5% for the year. However, even in this positive event, we expect underlying potential growth to be lower due to the structural damage caused by two years of lockdowns and recession. We estimate that underlying potential growth will fall to around 4.25%, compared to 4.75% in the pre-crisis period. The loss of growth potential has to be added to the lost income in the last two years.

(Reuters) - The holidays were a gift to Alphabet Inc's Google, quarterly results showed. That has been a concern for social media companies including Meta and Snap Inc. Alphabet's results drove a rally across internet advertising companies. In the fourth quarter, Alphabet's advertising revenue rose 32.5% to $61.2 billion, $4 billion above Wall Street targets, according to Refinitiv data. But with further inflation looming, Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, cautioned that shares of tech companies are "unlikely to have seen the worst of the pain."

That word crystallises much of the thinking circulating today about what saving Malaysia from bad leadership and waning nation-building ambitions entails. In fact, various attempts from members of Malaysian society to transform the political terrain have taken place. Another development that has captured the imagination of the wider Malaysian public is the formation of the Muda youth party under Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. The wish to “reset” Malaysia is set to grow stronger as 2022 advances. External dynamics have to be engaged and taken advantage of — for cultural, economic and political reasons.

"Having a safe and effective vaccine available for children in this age group is a priority," acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. The move could speed up the inoculation timeline for this age group by months. In 6- month- to 24-month-old children, the vaccine generated an immune response in line with 16- to 25-year-olds. The vaccine is already approved for emergency use in children in the United States as young as 5. It gave the green light for a two-dose vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.

(Feb 1): Thailand is preparing rules for the setting up of virtual banks, set to join countries from Singapore to Malaysia in promoting financial technology to spur competition and wider access to banking services. The central bank also plans to scrap a limit on investment by commercial banks in financial technology, except digital assets, she said. While Thailand lacks independent virtual banks, local and foreign lenders do offer various digital services in the country, including payments. The BOT will also expand the business scope and flexibility of existing banks, it said. The central bank will also finalise guidelines to steer the financial sector to incorporate environmental risk assessment into business operations and support the transition of companies away from unsustainable activities.

This reduced his equity interest to 198.33 million shares, or direct and indirect stakes of 2.24% and 4.67% respectively. The shares were sold in a direct business transaction for RM14.63 million, leaving Lim with 52.65 million shares, or a 16.2% stake. Cheetah Holdings Bhd also upped its stake in Lambo, to 19.86% after acquiring 26.5 million shares on the open market. Koo Kien Yoon, executive director and a substantial shareholder of Lambo Group, is also a shareholder of Cheetah Holdings. During the week in review, H’ng Bok Chuan disposed of 83 million shares on the open market.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 1): The five richest individuals on the planet lost a collective US$108.9 billion in the first month of January 2022. In January, billionaires lost substantially, as everything from e-commerce to cryptocurrencies to online gaming tumbled. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Tesla co-founder and self-proclaimed “Technoking of Tesla” Elon Musk maintained his top spot with a total net worth of US$220 billion, despite losing US$50 billion. In the second spot is the world’s former richest man, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, with a wealth of US$169 billion, losing US$23.4 billion over the month. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

The big drop in tech stocks, including those listed on Bursa Malaysia, is a contrast to the rally over the past 18 months and the consensus buy calls made by investment analysts. Many local tech stocks have retreated at least 20% from their peaks. Wong noted that historical valuation might not be that good a yardstick for tech stocks. With the visible revenue and earnings growth at a much higher pace, current conventional metrics may not be a good measure,” he explained. And that will be the main fuel for the corporate earnings growth in the sector.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 31): Mykris International Bhd has changed its name to Zenworld Holdings Bhd. In a statement on Monday (Jan 31), Bursa Malaysia Bhd said the company's shares would be traded and quoted under the new name with effect from 9am on Feb 4. "The company’s short name will be changed to ZWORLD, while stock number (03010) remains unchanged," it said.

RAWANG-based snack and candy maker Cocoaland Holdings Bhd is said to be a takeover target of a European private equity (PE) firm and an Asian buyout firm, according to people familiar with the matter. “Two buyout giants, one from Europe, another from Asia, are eyeing a controlling stake in Cocoaland. That’s why we have seen some movements in Cocoaland’s share price recently,” one of the sources tells The Edge. Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd — controlled by Singapore-listed Fraser & Neave Ltd (F&N) — is the second largest shareholder of Cocoaland with a 27% stake. Interestingly, before establishing Cocoaland, the Liew brothers were small-time vendors for Apollo Food, Oriental Food Industries and Mamee-Double Decker (M) Sdn Bhd.