Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 97% of all business establishments in Malaysia and employ around 48% of the country’s workforce. While the pressure to provide sustainability-related disclosures and adopt relevant practices has thus far been on bigger companies, SMEs are increasingly affected as well. A special feature in the recent Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) 2023 annual report, titled “Supporting SMEs transition to greener practices”, highlights the risks, opportunities, steps and toolkits for SMEs in this low-carbon transition.

Helping SMEs cope with climate change

The State of Southeast Asia 2024 survey by ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute (formerly Institute of Southeast Asian Studies) reveals that China has edged past the US to become the prevailing choice (50.5%) if Southeast Asian countries were forced to align themselves in the ongoing US-China rivalry. The US as a choice declined from 61.1% last year to 49.5%.

Majority of Southeast Asians would rather align with China than the US

The global offshoring industry is undergoing a significant transformation because of technological advancements. There has been a transition from basic functions in the early days of first-generation outsourcing to specialised services.

Global offshoring a catalyst for office space demand in Malaysia

Banks, irrespective of size or credit strength, are consistently ramping up their cyber spending because of an escalating number of incidents. Events such as the ransomware attack on China’s biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), demonstrate how critical cybersecurity can be and the potential damage to bank operations.

Banks raise budgets to fight rise in cyber threats

Since 2000, floods have been the cause of 85% of all natural disasters in Malaysia, with the frequency increasing since 2020. The catastrophic floods of December 2021 highlight the significant impact unabated climate change could have on the Malaysian economy and financial sector.

Building resilience against floods in Malaysia

One of Pakatan Harapan’s biggest priorities when it came to power in November 2022 was to address the revenue leakage the government faced while shrinking the size of the shadow economy of illegal and unrecorded income.

The near-future standard of invoicing

Hydrogen is touted as the next alternative green energy solution. There are several projects and plants being developed in Malaysia as envisioned in the Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap, and even more are under development globally.

Exploring hydrogen as an energy source

It pays — literally — to have skills and expertise in artificial intelligence (AI). Findings from a survey of employers and employees by Amazon Web Services — in collaboration with Access Partnership, a UK-based public policy consultancy focused on technology — show that having AI skills could boost salaries, productivity and career growth for workers. However, there is a lack of skilled talent to harness the full potential of AI.

The AI payoff for employees

In the “Informal Employment in Malaysia: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Reform” report by the World Bank in February, a data analysis of the informal employment landscape in Malaysia reveals the vulnerabilities of those in it. Household income surveys conducted between 2009 and 2019 show that women, youth, less educated persons and workers from lower-income households, rural areas and less developed states were more likely to be informally employed. In fact, women across groups were more likely to experience skill-related unemployment, which is defined as the share of those with tertiary education working in mid- or low-skilled jobs in the workforce.

Challenges of women in informal employment

The significant contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia’s pursuit of economic reforms cannot be overstated. However, limited financing poses a substantial hurdle for SMEs to grow and has the potential to jeopardise the development of the entire SME ecosystem. What does the financing landscape for SMEs look like and what are the challenges and opportunities for start-ups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)  and mid-tier companies (MTCs) when it comes to accessing financing?

Market-based financing for SMEs in Malaysia: Issues, challenges and the way forward

The results of the 2024 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index signal that global trade is at a crossroads as companies struggle to bolster their supply chains through near-shoring, re-shoring, friend-shoring and other production/sourcing strategies. It is not all bad news, though. As World Trade Organization director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says, “The case for strengthening the trading system is far stronger than the case for walking away from it.” Between October and December 2023, Transport Intelligence, one of the world’s leading providers of logistics and supply chain market research, surveyed 830 logistics industry professionals for their opinions on the prospects and challenges that emerging markets face in the year ahead. The following are the findings of the survey.

Sobering findings of the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) continues to evolve, large language models (LLMs) will have increased capabilities, use audio-visual training, transform the workplace and improve conversational AI.

Language of tomorrow

The amount of single-use plastic used and disposed of by individuals and households is alarming. According to WWF-Malaysia, post-consumer plastic waste generation in Malaysia is estimated to be more than one million tonnes and 81% of its value is lost because it is not recovered.

What to do with single-use plastic?

With a host of challenges — from persistent economic headwinds and geopolitical conflicts to technological disruption and climate change — redefining business risk and limiting growth, CEOs are faced with a compelling need to accelerate business reinvention. PwC’s latest annual CEO survey — conducted with 4,702 CEOs globally, of whom 1,774 are in Asia-Pacific, including 44 from Malaysia — indicates that the vast majority of companies are already taking steps towards reinvention.

What Malaysian CEOs are doing to reinvent business

AmFirst REIT, a trust which mainly manages office buildings, said on Thursday its fourth quarter net property income fell 7.82% from a year earlier mainly due to higher property expenses.

AmFirst REIT 4Q net property income falls 7.8%, to distribute 1.18 sen per unit

A gauge of global chip stocks and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp have fallen together into a technical correction, showing moderation in the global equity market’s most conspicuous driver over the past year and a half.

Nvidia, chip stocks drop into correction as rate bets shift

A wedding party and prospective umrah pilgrims were among thousands of passengers stranded at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), here, following the cancellation of flights involving Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sabah and Sarawak on Thursday.

Wedding party, umrah pilgrims among those stranded at Kota Kinabalu airport

Economists at Citigroup Inc are going out on a limb by wagering that virtually everyone on Wall Street is wrong about the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

After three straight months of slightly faster-than-expected inflation readings, rivals at Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and other banks have dialled back their forecasts for interest-rate cuts this year. Chair Jerome Powell lent support to those moves on Tuesday, when he signalled that policymakers are in no hurry to ease policy.

Citi says Wall Street wrong to slash Fed rate-cut bets

Elon Musk said some of the severance packages sent to former Tesla Inc employees as part of its biggest-ever workforce reduction were too low.

Musk apologises for ‘incorrectly low’ Tesla severance packages

Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang (PBAPP) will drawdown the strategic drought reserve of the Expanded Mengkuang Dam (EMD) if it cannot abstract sufficient raw water from Sungai Muda.

PBAPP to draw water from Mengkuang Dam if Sg Muda water level continues to drop

Nokia Oyj reported higher first-quarter profit than analysts expected and the telecom network equipment maker said it expects its struggling network infrastructure business to return to sales growth for the full year.

Nokia’s profit beats estimates, networks to return to growth

Oil prices were little changed after a 3% drop in the previous session as the market remains concerned about demand this year and on signs that a wider conflict in the key Middle East producing region could be avoided.

Oil stabilises after sharp drop on demand concerns, easing of Middle East tension

The ongoing Shariah High Court dispute, initiated by Tan Sri Jamaludin Jarjis’ widow Puan Sri Dr Kalsom Ismail for her joint matrimonial asset claim to the late former minister’s RM2.1 billion estate, will go to trial in July before a new judge.

Jamaludin Jarjis asset dispute trial gets new judge, but media barred from covering proceedings

RHB Bank, Malaysia’s fourth-largest bank by assets, said on Thursday it views sustainable financing as presenting more opportunities than challenges, rather than affecting its overall profit from financing activities.

RHB sees opportunities in sustainability finance, aims to provide RM50 bil by 2026

Shares of PIE Industrial Bhd extended its rally to a new all-time high on Thursday, after Kenanga Investment Bank flagged that the electronic services firm has secured a new client that will take up the entirety of its largest facility.

PIE Industrial extends rally to new all-time high as Kenanga flags new client

The Malaysian aviation industry may be badly impacted on passenger traffic and spikes in jet fuel prices if a full-blown war results from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB).

Malaysia's aviation industry at risk amid full-blown crisis in Middle East — Maybank IB

The race for the “world’s best airport” crown has been a two-horse affair in recent years, with Doha’s Hamad International and Singapore Changi leading the pack.

Singapore loses ‘world’s best airport’ crown to Qatar

Alphabet Inc’s Google has put more than two dozen employees on immediate administrative leave after they were involved in protests against Project Nimbus, a US$1.2 billion (RM5.7 billion) joint contract with Amazon.com Inc to provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services.

Google fires workers protesting US$1.2b Israeli contract

Feytech Holdings Berhad (Feytech) has entered into an underwriting agreement with TA Securities Holdings Berhad and AmInvestment Bank Berhad (joint underwriters) for the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.

Feytech inks underwriting agreement with TA Securities, AmInvestment en route to Main Market IPO  

Several Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia flights between Sabah, Sarawak, and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were cancelled on Thursday due to volcanic eruption at Mount Ruang, Indonesia.

Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia cancel flights to Sabah, Sarawak after volcano eruption in Indonesia

Apple Inc chief executive officer Tim Cook will meet Singapore’s leader at the tail end of his most extensive Southeast Asia tour in years, searching for new growth markets and manufacturing locations to offset headwinds in China.

Apple CEO to meet Singapore leader to wrap whirlwind Asia tour

Gold prices may correct amid potential delay in the anticipated rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve, Philip Capital warned on Thursday and advised investors to stop buying Malaysia’s sole gold exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Stop buying gold ETF as prices may correct — Philip Capital

Sin-Kung Logistics Bhd has started taking orders from investors for its initial public offering (IPO) that may raise up to RM39.5 million ahead of its listing on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market.

Sin-Kung Logistics launches ACE Market IPO to raise RM39.5 mil

President Joe Biden called China “xenophobic” while highlighting the Asian nation’s economic woes, as he sought to make the case for US economic strength during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

Biden calls China ‘xenophobic’, ramping up 2024 campaign rhetoric

Research analysts covering IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (IGB REIT) remained sanguine on the stock’s prospects after it reported a 4.79% jump in its net property income (NPI) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) to RM124.24 million, from RM118.55 million a year earlier, thanks largely to higher rental income.

Analysts remain sanguine on IGB REIT’s prospects going forward

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) research said Cloudpoint Technology Bhd is well positioned to capitalise the burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions post-passage of the cyber security bill which was passed in Dewan Rakyat on April 3.

HLIB: Cloudpoint well positioned to capitalise burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions

Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook.

Asian stocks mixed as soaring dollar pauses

Alphabet-owned Google&nbsp;is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.

Google lays off employees, shifts some roles abroad amid cost cuts

KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Smart Asia Chemical Bhd has signed an underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities Sdn Bhd for the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

Smart Asia Chemical inks underwriting agreement with Mercury Securities en route to ACE Market IPO

Bursa Malaysia turned mixed at the midday break on Thursday with the key index ending the morning session in positive territory, in tandem with regional markets, said a dealer.&nbsp;

Bursa mixed at midday break, key index up

The stock market saw its longest losing streak since January as a handful of big techs sold off — despite a slide in bond yields.

S&P 500 suffers its longest slide since January

Axiata Group Bhd, Malaysia’s largest telecommunications company by revenue, and India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd signed a definitive agreement on Thursday to combine their Sri Lankan operations.

Malaysia’s Axiata, Bharti Airtel of India to combine Sri Lankan ops

KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): Food and supplement company OB Holdings Bhd said on Thursday that it has secured approval from Bursa Malaysia for an initial public offering (IPO) on the bourse’s ACE Market, to raise funds for expansion.

OB Holdings gets approval for ACE Market IPO, targets listing in 4Q

The concessionaire of the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway believes the project remains viable and will continue to pursue its realisation.&nbsp;

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