Berjaya Corp Bhd may have made the news with its all-female board of directors earlier this month, but it should be noted that despite the post-pandemic economic recovery, studies show there is much room for improvement insofar as the participation, position and salaries of women in the workforce and government are concerned.

Women's place in workforce found wanting

To understand the current business activities of Japanese manufacturing companies in Southeast Asia, a survey was undertaken by the Japan External Trade Organization, from Aug 22 to Sept 22, 2022, primarily to gauge their financial performance, expansion plans and challenges faced.

Japanese firms upbeat on business conditions in Asean

After a blockbuster year for M&A in 2021, things slowed in 2022, reflecting the more challenging environment as dealmakers navigated inflation, interest rates, geopolitical tensions and increased regulatory oversight. Deal value fell 36% year on year to US$3.8 trillion. Yet, volumes dropped by only 12% to 27,019, suggesting resilience and commitment among dealmakers, says Bain & Co in its Global M&A Report 2023 released on Jan 31. In Asia-Pacific, deal value was down 22% in 2022.

Mergers and acquisitions: The year that was and the year ahead

People tend to splurge during the festive season and Ramadan is no exception. As Malaysians are among the biggest social media users in the world, the consumption of digital content and number of e-commerce purchases tend to increase during these seasons.

Building social media connections during Ramadan

In the previous two infographics, ESG collaborated with consulting firm Thoughts in Gear to highlight the first two steps of a company’s sustainability journey: knowing one’s baselines and planning one’s strategies. The third instalment of the series will focus on how companies can implement their strategies.

How to implement sustainability strategies

As consumer demand softens, chipmakers are rebuilding their inventories from historic lows. This has effectively ended the short-term chip shortage in the consumer, computer and communication segments. Consequently, global semiconductor revenue growth is expected to decline in 2023.