Day: July 25, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia saw its leading index (LI) grew 3.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 114.2 points in May 2024 from 110.0 points in the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). ‘The growth reflected a resilient economy underpinned by increasing tourism activities and promising external demand,’ chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement today. LI is a tool utilised for predicting economic trends for an average of four to six months ahead. Mohd Uzir said Malaysia’s LI has maintained its positive growth for the six consecutive months, primarily supported

KUALA LUMPUR, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd believes IOI Properties Group Bhd’s acquisition of the loss-making Tropicana Gardens Mall from Tropicana Indah Sdn Bhd is an opportunity for the property developer. The investment bank said IOI Properties is acquiring the mall for RM680 million, a 28 per cent discount to book value or replacement cost of RM943.6 million. Tropicana Indah Sdn Bhd is a 70 per cent-owned indirect subsidiary of Tropicana Corp Bhd. Tropicana Gardens Mall was only profitable for one year following its opening in March 2020. “It only made RM500,000 in the financial year 2021 (FY2021) but was in

KUALA LUMPUR, A total of 3.4 million of the 13.1 million Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members under the age of 55 have made withdrawals from the Flexible Account amounting to RM8.9 billion as of July 19, 2024. Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said that for the same period, a total of 3.8 million or 29.3 per cent of EPF members chose to have the initial amount in the Flexible Account (Account 3) with a transfer of RM12.6 billion, while RM5.6 billion was transferred to the Retirement Account (Account 1). He said the transfer to the Retirement Account

KUALA LUMPUR, The forward-looking ASEAN Digital Economy Framework (DEFA), currently under negotiation, is likely to be completed during the ASEAN Summit next year, said Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. He said that intra-trade within ASEAN currently stands at 20 per cent, and DEFA is expected to boost intra-trade between member states, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). ‘One way to increase ASEAN’s intra-trade is through increasing digital e-commerce and this would help SMEs, especially when we trade more between the ASEAN members,’ he told reporters on the sidelines of the Eighth

KUALA LUMPUR, The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) via its local startup agency Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd will be leading the ASEAN Startup Initiative under the science, technology and innovation (STI) sector. The ASEAN Startup Initiative was endorsed by the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) in June 2023 with a recent update at the 85th Meeting of ASEAN COSTI in early June 2024. MOSTI Minister Chang Lih Kang said the ASEAN Startup Initiative aims to foster startup ecosystems across the region through economic integration and inclusive development. He said the initiave also corresponds to MOSTI’s