<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has set up a Debt and Liability Management Committee, which is tasked to reduce the government's debt and liabilities to a manageable level within the next 18 months.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>The committee will report directly to the prime minister.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>"The five committee members comprise experts in finance, economics, and law. They are Treasury secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir, Attorney General's Chambers head of advisory division To' Puan Azian Mohd Aziz, economic adviser to the prime minister Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid, Bank Negara Malaysia board member Gooi Hoe Soon and Securities Commission Malaysia board member Faris Rabidin," said PMO in a statement today.</div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>On Nov 2 last year, when tabling Budget 2019 in Parliament, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced that the government will set up the committee to review and manage its debts and liabilities. He said then that the federal government had chalked up a total of RM1.07 trillion in debts and liabilities as at June 2018.</div>

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has set up a Debt and Liability Management Committee, which is tasked to reduce the government's debt and liabilities to a manageable level within the next 18 months.

The committee will report directly to the prime minister.

Committee given 18 mths to cut govt's RM1.1 tril debt to 'manageable level'

Most central banks across Asia are likely to begin cutting interest rates later in the year — if at all, according to economists at Morgan Stanley, as the Federal Reserve delays its own policy easing.

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Gold is set to reach US$3,000 (RM14,381.71) an ounce over the next six to 18 months on increasing investor inflows amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will eventually cut interest rates, Citigroup Inc said, adding to a roll call of Wall Street banks that have raised forecasts.

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Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid heightened tensions in the Middle East after Israel's military chief said his country would respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack amid calls for restraint by allies.

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Pharmaceutical company Apex Healthcare Bhd has committed to reinvest 5% of its total manufacturing revenue into the research and development (R&D) of new products moving forward.

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Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on Tuesday, in tandem with the weaker regional performance due to a broad sell-off on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst.

Bursa ends morning session lower along with regional peers

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Shares of EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) climbed on Tuesday and set for its best day in ten months after the auto parts maker signed a 10-year vehicle assembly deal with a Chinese carmaker.

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Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad will return to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as its president and group chief executive effective July 1, 2024, the government-linked investment company said.

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China’s rapidly expanding petrochemicals industry is making life increasingly difficult for producers in Asia’s next-biggest exporter of the building blocks for making plastics.
 
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Microsoft Corp will invest US$1.5 billion (RM7.19 billion) in the United Arab Emirates’ top artificial intelligence firm, G42, bolstering the Abu Dhabi-based company’s commitment to scale back its presence in China.

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The collective wealth of tycoons listed on the 2024 Forbes Malaysia Rich List increased by a modest 2% to US$83.4 billion (RM398.8 billion), according to Forbes Asia.

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E-government services providers MyEG Services Bhd and Heitech Padu Bhd have formed a partnership to collaborate on IT projects in Malaysia.

According to separate bourse filings from both companies on Tuesday, MyEG and Heitech Padu have inked a teaming agreement for the collaboration.&nbsp;

MyEG, Heitech Padu form partnership to collaborate on IT projects

Asian stocks fell and the dollar climbed to more than five-month highs on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected US retail sales for March further reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to be in a rush to cut interest rates this year.

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Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd’s (ABMB) net profit is expected to jump by 37.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM179 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2024 (4QFY2024), according to AmInvestment Bank Research.

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Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad will return to Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as its president and group chief executive effective July 1, 2024, the government-linked investment company said.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Malaysia’s second-biggest banking group by assets, said on Tuesday its chief executive Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad will step down on June 30.

CIMB says CEO Abdul Rahman Ahmad stepping down on June 30

China said it believed Iran could "handle the situation well and spare the region further turmoil" while safeguarding its sovereignty and dignity, referring to an attack on Iran's embassy in Syria and its retaliatory strike over the weekend.

Iran able to 'handle situation' and spare Middle East more tension, China's foreign minister says

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is stepping down on May 15 after two decades in office. Lee, 72, will hand the reins over to his deputy Lawrence Wong, 51, in a widely-telegraphed transition.

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The automotive industry is not exactly the place one would want to be in the next few years.

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RHB Retail Research said Cosmos Technology International Bhd has confirmed a bullish setup after breaking past a key resistance on strong volume.

Cosmos Technology has confirmed bullish setup, says RHB Retail Research 

Carlo Rino Group Bhd has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) that would raise more funds for the apparel company as part of its listing transfer to the ACE Market from the LEAP Market.

Carlo Rino files draft prospectus for listing transfer to ACE Market

Bursa Malaysia ended the morning session lower on Tuesday, in tandem with the weaker regional performance due to a broad sell-off on Wall Street overnight, said an analyst. &nbsp;

KTI Landmark Bhd (KTI) has signed an underwriting agreement with M&amp;A Securities Sdn Bhd for its listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Sabah-based integrated property developer said the initial public offering (IPO) comprises a public issue of 160 million new shares and an offer for sale of 45 million existing shares, representing 20% and 5.6% of the enlarged share capital of KTI respectively.

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RHB Retail Research said Notion VTec Bhd is looking to extend upside movement after staging a bullish breakout.

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There is "no urgency" to cut US interest rates, Mary Daly, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, said on Monday, with the economy and labour market strong, and inflation still above the Fed's target of 2%.

US Fed should not act urgently to cut rates unless required, Daly says

The recent attack by Iran on Israel represents a dangerous expansion of the Israel–Hamas war and raises the risk of a sharp escalation of the conflict, according to S&amp;P Global Ratings.

S&P: Medium-term trajectory remains fraught with risk after recent attack by Iran on Israel

The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar for the second consecutive day on Tuesday as the greenback strengthened following robust US retail sales data for March, said an analyst.

Ringgit opens lower against dollar on strong US retail sales data 

Bursa Malaysia opened lower on Tuesday, taking a cue from the negative developments on Wall Street overnight due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, coupled with persistent inflation in the US as indicated by stronger-than-expected March retail sales.

Bursa tracks weaker Wall Street showing to open lower 

US stocks closed sharply lower on Monday, as an early lift from a strong retail sales report succumbed to a jump in Treasury yields and concerns about rising geopolitical tensions between Iran and Israel.

Stocks close lower as Middle East tensions, Treasury yields weigh

Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has requested for a bench of five Court of Appeal (COA) judges to hear his review against the court’s own decision to reinstate abuse of power charges involving RM232.5 million against him.