Creating the Silicon Valley of the East 2.0 on Penang's mainland
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Penang is often dubbed the Silicon Valley of the East, thanks to its strong and vibrant electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem. However, the narrative may be changing, as Batu Kawan has emerged in recent years as a strong E&E cluster. Not only is the Batu Kawan Industrial Park (BKIP) expected to replicate the success story of Bayan Lepas, it may even outshine its 50-year-old counterpart. Located off Seberang Perai on the mainland of Penang, Batu Kawan is intended to be the state’s third satellite town after Bayan Baru and Seberang Jaya. But does it have what it takes to become the Silicon Valley of the East 2.0?
Source:The Edge Markets
November 06, 2021 13:38 UTC
Covid-19: 4,701 new cases bring total to 2,501,966
PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry reported 4,701 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday (Nov 6). Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah tweeted that this brought the cumulative infections in the country to 2,501,966. The number of new cases according to state will be shared by the Health Ministry on its CovidNow portal.
Source:The Star
November 06, 2021 10:08 UTC
Review remuneration system for civil servants, Cuepacs urges govt
JOHOR BARU: The government should review the Malaysian Remuneration System (SSM) as it has not been changed for 19 years, says the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs). "We believe that it is crucial for the government to review the current system in line with the government's goal of raising the average household income to RM10,000 per month by 2025 under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP). "The cost of living has continued to escalate while the minimum wage for civil servants has not been changed to adapt to the current situation. We hope that the government will introduce a better system that is both comfortable and fair, "he said after the closing ceremony of the Johor Cuepacs seminar at Seri Malaysia Hotel here on Saturday (Nov 6). Adnan added that the government had introduced a replacement for SSM back in 2012 with the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA), which was later scrapped as it did not meet Cuepacs' requirements.
Source:The Star
November 06, 2021 09:22 UTC
All holidaying roads lead to Penang
Major roads leading to the heritage enclave, beaches in Batu Ferringhi and tourist hotspots were chock-full of vehicles bearing outstation number plates. “The long wait was frustrating but it was all worthwhile once we got to enjoy the scenery at the hilltop,” he said. Faizal, from Port Klang, said he and his family would also try out Penang’s famous nasi kandar during their three-day stay here. E-hailing driver Simon Lee, 28, said many people booked his service to explore the George Town heritage enclave and Batu Ferringhi tourist belt. “Most of them either wanted to go to Esplanade, Batu Ferringhi or sample the famous nasi kandar in town,” he said.
Source:The Star
November 06, 2021 07:02 UTC
Bursa Malaysia takes a beating
The government also proposed a one-off windfall tax called Cukai Makmur, and higher stamp duty for stock trading on Bursa Malaysia, to raise its revenue. In addition, the government will remove the RM200 stamp duty cap and increase the stamp duty rate to 0.15% from 0.1% for stock trading. Higher cost to trade stocks in 2022For many years, Bursa Malaysia has experienced low retail participation in the stock market. “This is likely to be negative for stockbrokers in Malaysia and Bursa Malaysia,” she adds. However, he says the impact of higher stamp duty will be significant for high frequency and proprietary or “prop” traders.
Source:The Star
November 06, 2021 06:10 UTC
Pharmaniaga to offer Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine booster shot soon
"We hope once NPRA approves the application, the government will give the green light for the vaccine to be administered as a booster shot for Sinovac recipients. According to Zulkarnain, Pharmaniaga had previously supplied more than 22 million doses of Sinovac vaccine to MOH and the private sector. "The Sinovac Covid-19 booster shot has been approved and used in China, Turkey, Chile, Indonesia and Cambodia. Last month, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said his Ministry has decided to administer Covid-19 vaccine booster shots to individuals who have completed two-dose vaccinations of Sinovac vaccine at least three months ago. "The booster shot is also highly effective in the prevention against the deadly Delta and other variants," said Pharmaniaga.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 06, 2021 05:44 UTC
Taiwan's ALP to invest US$1b to develop smart warehousing parks in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 5): Taiwan’s largest warehousing infrastructure developer Ally Logistic Property Co Ltd (ALP) is set to invest US$1 billion (about RM4.15 billion) in Malaysia to develop smart warehousing solutions, boosting the nation’s logistics industry. In a statement, the company said its plans in Malaysia are already under way with the development of its US$180 million 10.92-hectare logistics park with a smart warehousing facility called OMega in Bukit Raja, Selangor, the first of its kind in the country. The ALP Bukit Raja OMega construction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024. It will be part of ALP’s regional chain of warehousing facility networks and capture the attention of multinational investors and brands looking to establish their regional distribution centres in Malaysia. Strategically located, OMega smart warehouses across Malaysia, among others in the pipeline, are expected to generate about 3,000 jobs, the statement said.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 05, 2021 21:59 UTC
UMA: NWP points to emergence of Kejuruteraan Asastera MD as new substantial shareholder in response to query
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 5): NWP Holdings Bhd, whose share price jumped 23.08% this week, pointed to the emergence of Datuk Lai Keng Onn as its new substantial shareholder, following the receipt of an unusual market activity query from Bursa Securities over the recent jump in its share price and trading volume. Lai, the founder and managing director of electrical and mechanical engineering services provider Kejuruteraan Asastera Bhd, on Friday (Nov 5) acquired 28.6 million shares that represent a 5.414% interest in NWP from the open market. NWP shares, which jumped as much as 16.7% or five sen to 35 sen earlier, eventually settled at 32 sen, still up 2 sen or 6.7% from Wednesday (Nov 3)'s close. It was the top most actively traded counter on the local bourse, with 170.24 million shares done. Read also:Top actively traded NWP gets UMA query as share price, trading volume jump
Source:The Edge Markets
November 05, 2021 19:29 UTC
Covid-19: 4,922 new cases bring total to 2,497,265
PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry reported 4,922 new Covid-19 cases on Friday (Nov 5). Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah tweeted that this brought the cumulative infections in the country to 2,497,265. The number of new cases according to state will be shared by the Health Ministry on its CovidNow portal. Article type: free User access status:Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights
Source:The Star
November 05, 2021 10:26 UTC
Credit Suisse to cut investment bank in wealth-led restructuring
ZURICH: Credit Suisse Group AG will shrink its investment bank and shift more resources to the wealth management unit as part of a restructuring intended to draw a line under a tumultuous year in which it was rocked by the Archegos Capital Management and Greensill scandals. The bank, based in Zurich, is exiting most of its prime services business after the implosion of Bill Hwang’s family office and shifting about US$3bil (RM12.46bil) of capital from the investment bank to the private bank. Credit Suisse will add 500 relationship managers over the next three years and exit 10 markets that it sees as non-core as part of the wealth management strategy. Recent hires include David Wildermuth from Goldman Sachs Group Inc as chief risk officer and Rafael Lopez Lorenzo as chief compliance officer. Colombas previously served under Horta-Osorio as chief risk officer at Lloyds from 2011 to 2020.
Source:The Star
November 05, 2021 08:28 UTC
Bangkok to vaccinate business employees with Sinovac-AZ cocktail from Nov 9
BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will start vaccinating employees of businesses and establishments who have direct contact with customers with a Sinovac-AstraZeneca vaccine cocktail from Nov 9 onward. “The move aims to increase employees’ immunity and make the businesses and establishments safe for tourists after the province has been reopened to vaccinated visitors since Nov 1,” said Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang on Thursday. Under the reopening plan, visitors travelling by air from 63 countries that have a low level of Covid-19 infections will not have to quarantine, but they must prove they have received both jabs of an approved Covid-19 vaccine for at least 14 days as well as produce a negative RT-PCR test result taken no more than 72 hours before flying. To complement the reopening, the government has lifted nighttime curfew in Bangkok and other 16 tourist provinces, as well as allowed more businesses to open with disease control measures employed.
Source:The Star
November 05, 2021 08:28 UTC
France leaves door open for IAEA action on Iran
PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it could still act with its partners against Iran at an upcoming meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog's board after Tehran said it would return to nuclear talks with world powers at the end of November. Western powers scrapped plans in September for a resolution criticising Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency after Tehran agreed to prolong monitoring of some nuclear activities and invited IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran for talks on key outstanding issues. Iran and the European Union, which coordinates those negotiations, said on Wednesday that all sides had agreed to return to the Austrian capital on Nov. 29. It has also not properly addressed outstanding questions on past nuclear activities. "Iran must resume dialogue and cooperation with the agency without delay to make progress on outstanding issues," French Foreign ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters in a daily briefing.
Source:The Star
November 05, 2021 05:45 UTC
My Say: Will supply chain disruptions damage the global recovery?
The supply chain mess has many, separate dimensions to it, each with its own dynamic. Some of the stress in the semiconductor supply chain is therefore easing. A final source of supply chain disruptions has been labour shortages. So, once the recession induced by the pandemic is over, we will see another phase of supply chain restructuring. ConclusionIn short, the current supply chain disruptions will certainly cause slower growth to be reported across the globe in the second half of this year.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 05, 2021 04:19 UTC
Sombre Deepavali for doctor and family
GEORGE TOWN: This year’s Festival of Lights is a reflective one for Dr Shamesh Baskaran after he lost his father just a week before the Deepavali celebration. And on Tuesday, he lost another family member – his grandmother Lakshimy Kutty, 92, in Sungai Buloh. “Usually, when I am on duty at the Covid-19 ward, I am the one who has to inform the families that their loved ones have passed away. Dr Shamesh said there was no Deepavali celebration for the family this year. “Actually, I had a dream a year ago that my father had passed away.
Source:The Star
November 05, 2021 04:13 UTC
Russia expels Dutch journalist, second move against Western media since August
AMSTERDAM (Nov 4): Russia has expelled a journalist from a Dutch newspaper for "administrative violations", the publication reported on Thursday, Moscow's second move against a member of the Western media in three months. "So, I packed my bags and left Russia yesterday," Vennink told Reuters in an interview. The Dutch foreign ministry said it regretted Moscow's decision. "These administrative wrongdoings became the reason the Foreign Ministry made the corresponding decision on the entry ban for the Dutchman, fully in line with Russian law," TASS news agency quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying about the 2019 and 2020 incidents. BBC journalist Sarah Rainsford, one of two of the British broadcaster's English-language Moscow correspondents, was permanently expelled from Russia in August.
Source:The Edge Markets
November 05, 2021 03:45 UTC