PEDi empowers small entrepreneurs, says PM
BERA: The setting up of Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) Digital Economy Centres (PEDi) can help create and empower small entrepreneurs towards innovative and competitive digitalisation and improve the socioeconomic status of the people, especially the rural community. "PEDi is a one-stop centre to bring the small entrepreneurs closer to the digital economy. "It is hoped that these small entrepreneurs will then be able to expand their business further with online access and by using e-commerce platforms. The ability of the small entrepreneurs to adapt to digitalisation and technological developments will enhance their efficiency and sustain their business in the long run,” he added. He said the small entrepreneur empowerment programme would be led by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) with the cooperation of the relevant agencies and industry players, with the target of getting 800,000 small entrepreneurs to benefit from PEDi by 2025.
Source:The Star
November 21, 2021 21:23 UTC
KKR said to make takeover proposal for all of Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia faces one of the world's most competitive telecommunications markets, with cut-price offers from rivals eroding the former state-owned monopolies' profit margins. "Telecom Italia is retaliating by pushing prices higher, in the hope that the rest will follow. Bloomberg News reported this month that KKR was considering a takeover of Telecom Italia's fibre unit, FiberCop. KKR's future plans for Telecom Italia would be an alternative to the long-discussed merger of FiberCop with its smaller, state-backed rival, Open Fiber SpA. KKR had already held some talks with the Italian government about a bid for Telecom Italia, people familiar with the matter said.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 21, 2021 20:45 UTC
Golf-McIlroy takes narrow lead into final day in Dubai
(Reuters) - Rory McIlroy will take a one-shot lead into the final day of the DP World Tour Championship after the four-time major winner carded a five-under-par 67 in the third round on Saturday. "I want to be contending on Sundays in golf tournaments and feel like I'm back to playing the way I should." "I just thought it was important to make birdie at the last to get into the final group as well. I knew that putt was to get into the final group and I wanted to do that, so it was a nice way to finish." Horsfield's co-leaders after day two, Irishman Shane Lowry and American John Catlin, were tied for fifth place in a group of five players on 11-under, which included Race to Dubai leader Collin Morikawa.
Source:The Star
November 21, 2021 01:18 UTC
Malaysians in passport quandary
PETALING JAYA: Many Malaysians in Melbourne are venting their frustrations at not being able to renew their passports there. “I am a permanent resident here and it is getting really frustrating as my passport is expiring in January. “This is frustrating and the authorities should provide more appointment slots,” she said. Elvina said her cousin’s passport would be expiring in January next year and she had yet to get an appointment. Yap, who is from Kuala Lumpur, revealed that the Facebook page started for Malaysians in Melbourne was also to check on travel and border restrictions.
Source:The Star
November 20, 2021 21:22 UTC
My Say: Lower credit risks for companies with high ESG metrics
While the investment performance of public companies is well researched, analysis of the credit risk of private companies has been thin. Using this data, Bain analysed the differences between the top ESG performers and the bottom ones. Our analysis found that clients with low ESG performance were about twice as likely to be in arrears as the high ESG performers, all else being equal. These results indicate a correlation between higher ESG performance and lower credit risk across different geographies and industries. ESG-focused clients tend to have more efficient, long-term-oriented operations and thus pose a lower credit risk for the bank.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 20, 2021 15:32 UTC
Ikhlas Capital not in talks with Country Heights on share placement, source says
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Ikhlas Capital Singapore Pte Ltd is not considering taking part in Country Heights Holdings Bhd's (CHHB) private share placement that aims to raise close to RM58 million, according to a source close to the private equity fund. When contacted, Ikhlas Capital's spokesperson declined to comment, saying it is the company's policy not to comment on market speculation. The company intends to place out up to 54.7 million shares or 20% of its existing issued share capital at an indicative price of RM1.06. CHHB's minority shareholders will face substantial shareholding dilution given the issue of new shares for the asset acquisition plus the private placement. The share price of CHHB, which has been bleeding losses in the past financial years, staged a rebound last month after it retreated from this year's around RM1.45-level.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 20, 2021 13:45 UTC
Armenian Street partly closed to traffic
A SECTION of a road at the George Town heritage enclave on Penang island will be closed on the weekends and on public holidays starting today. The stretch that will be closed involves the Armenian Street-Cannon Street junction to the Armenian Street-Beach Street junction. A Penang Island City Council statement said the road would be closed from 8am to 6pm on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The road will be closed to reduce congestion and smoothen traffic flow. The council said the road closure would be for a trial period of not more than three months.
Source:The Star
November 20, 2021 10:15 UTC
Najib withdraws request for ex-PM housing entitlement said to be worth RM100m
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Friday said he will withdraw his request for his housing and land entitlement as a former Prime Minister, which is worth a reported RM100 million. Speaking at a press conference, Najib also called on the government to remove the same entitlement for future former Prime Ministers, while saying those who have already received the benefit could keep the entitlement. On Thursday, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz confirmed in Parliament that the Cabinet had received the land request from the former Prime Minister. The Malacca State election on Saturday will see multi-cornered fights between Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan. The election is being held after four BN State Assemblymen retracted support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 20, 2021 01:22 UTC
Over a million SMEs to get RM500 each under phase 2 of Prihatin special grant from Nov 23
KUALA LUMPUR: The government will continue to help micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by disbursing funds under phase two of the Prihatin Special Grant (GKP 4.0) of the Pemulih package from Nov 23. In a statement on Friday (Nov 19), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the RM500 payout will be disbursed beginning Nov 23, on top of the RM500 given out in September to more than one million eligible micro enterprises. "As a whole, each entrepreneur will receive a total of RM1,000 under GKP 4.0 as a form of relief from the Covid-19 pandemic. "This initiative covers existing recipients of GKP 1.0, GKP 2.0, and GKP 3.0, other than new recipients of GKP 4.0, with a financial implication of up to RM500mil," said Ismail Sabri. The Prime Minister said in total, RM6.08bil had been allocated for over one million micro enterprises under GKP since the pandemic hit.
Source:The Star
November 20, 2021 00:56 UTC
Europe firmly on recovery path
AMID a painful energy crisis that could spell an expensive winter, Europe is bracing for a resurgence of Covid-19 infections. Germany’s new Covid-19 cases surged to over 65,000 with health officials warning that the true number of cases could be more than that by two or three times. The latest data releases seemed to support our view that global economies are on track to recovery. Also, the economic recovery path is paved by strong accommodative macroeconomic policies that preserve employment and protect private sector balance sheet. Low interest rates and an upbeat recovery view add to the cheap valuation package, making them attractive.
Source:The Star
November 20, 2021 00:48 UTC
Sarawak Plantation 3Q net profit more than doubles to RM42m
On a quarterly basis, Sarawak Plantation recorded a net profit of RM29.39 million and revenue of RM192.56 million in the immediate preceding quarter (2QFY21). For the cumulative nine-month period, Sarawak Plantation's net profit jumped 113.04% to RM95.29 million from RM44.73 million, while revenue was up 63.97% to RM546.88 million from RM333.53 million. On prospects, Sarawak Plantation said Malaysia's palm oil industry has been experiencing acute labour shortages due to border closures arising from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. "Malaysia's CPO production declined by 9% for the nine-month period of 2021 compared with the nine-month period of 2020. Notwithstanding that, Sarawak Plantation noted the government recently announced it would approve the intake of 32,000 foreign workers, which would ease the shortages faced by the industry.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 19, 2021 18:13 UTC
Chong Wei: I will do my best as tourism envoy to promote Sabah
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Lee Chong Wei wants to be a genuine tourism ambassador to Sabah with all the knowledge of what the Land Below the Wind can offer visitors at his fingertips. “I must work hard and learn a lot of things about Sabah, and not just put a name (as the ambassador) and do nothing. I want to bring my family to Sabah and I hope the Covid-19 situation will improve so that I can do this,” he said. While he was happy to be chosen as the tourism ambassador, he hopes Sabahans would not continue being unhappy about it, because Sabah is part of Malaysia and "We are all Malaysians". Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Noredah Othman said having Lee as ambassador is not a question of him riding on Sabah’s popularity but rather Sabah riding on his fame.
Source:The Star
November 19, 2021 14:54 UTC
KNM falls 11% in active trade on Thai bonds non-payment
The counter opened at 16 sen, down as much as 11.11% or two sen from its previous close. Some 44.37 million shares were transacted so far in the day, lower than its 200-day average volume of 68.09 million. The group cited that the lower net profit and revenue were largely due to slow replenishment of orders caused by the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide. For the cumulative six months ended June 30, 2021, net profit dropped 72.84% to RM8.55 million from RM31.48 million a year earlier. On its prospects, KNM anticipates that the outlook for FY21 remains challenging due to continuous uncertainties in the global economic outlook arising from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 19, 2021 14:33 UTC
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Largely invisible, Big Oil is calling the shots in climate battle
Same with climate change, which poses a very different but also deadly threat, as B.C.’s flooding reminds us. And yet, Justin Trudeau is waging a war on climate change that seems half-hearted — perhaps “deeply conflicted” describes it best. There can be no heading off a climate catastrophe if we allow the fossil fuel industry to continue to expand production. The fossil fuel industry is the richest set of corporate interests on earth, and its future depends on blocking climate action. So let’s be clear: Big Oil has no intention of leaving that oil in the ground.
Source:The Star
November 19, 2021 05:08 UTC
Covid-19: Foreign nationals who violated SOP can be deported, says Immigration DG
PUTRAJAYA: The passes and immigration privileges of foreign nationals, who violated standard operating procedures (SOP) of the Covid-19 preventive measures, can be cancelled, says Immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud. He said individuals found guilty would also be deported to their country of origin and blacklisted from re-entering the country, as provided in Section 8 and Section 9 of the Immigration Act 1959/63. "In this regard, the Immigration Department advises all foreign nationals to abide by the current directives and regulations of government agencies regarding the Covid-19 pandemic prevention measures," he said in a statement Thursday (Nov 18). He said the issue of foreigners violating the Covid-19 SOP had recently spread on social media, in which some disgruntled individuals had even deliberately challenged the authorities to take action against them. - BernamaArticle type: free User access status:Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights
Source:The Star
November 19, 2021 00:22 UTC