Palm oil prices to rise, more R&D needed, says industry
Analysts are predicting that Malaysian palm oil prices may rise by up to 22 percent in the first half of this year due to drier weather conditions which will affect the level of output. New York based broker Prudential Bache Commodities LLC said prices might jump to $988 a metric ton. Meanwhile, Sime Darby’s managing director, Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid, says that the industry needs to increase yields through more research and development. “We can only grow the oil palms around the equator, which means any more land clearing would have a catastrophic impact on the world’s climate. Therefore...
March 10th, 2010
Strong Dutch interest in investing in Malaysia – Minister
Malaysia’s Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapha Mohamed says that increasing numbers of Dutch entrepreneurs are interested in investing in Malaysia. The Minister, who is with a delegation of business leaders visiting Amsterdam, says that a number of reciprocal visits are already lined up. A number of major Dutch companies already operate in Malaysia including Shell, ING and Philips. Official figures indicate that as of December 2009 Dutch companies were involved in 163 projects in Malaysia with investments worth $4 billion.
March 10th, 2010
Norwegian business encouraged to work with Malaysia
Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Najib Razak, says that Norwegian companies are invited to work with Malaysian businesses in research and development in the ITC, engineering and biotechnology sectors. Speaking at a dinner held in honour of Norway’s visiting Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and his wife Crown Princess Mette-Marit, the Prime Minister said, “I would like to take this opportunity to invite Norwegian companies to increase their investments in Malaysia. In Malaysia’s quest for new sources of growth, Norwegian companies could capitalise on our conducive investment climate and strategic...
March 10th, 2010
Six percent GDP growth achievable, says Minister
Malaysia’s targeted GDP growth of six per cent this year is achievable says Deputy Finance Minister, Awang Adek Husin. The Minister said that the outlook was promising thanks to the improving global economic climate. “Exports will improve when foreign economies are improving and this will be translated into stronger demand. We see improvement on domestic demand and the timely increase in exports will certainly push our economy,” he told reporters. The Minister said that consumer sentiment is growing and he pointed to statistics from the Malaysian Automotive Association which indicate...
March 3rd, 2010
Deutsche Bank awarded Malaysian Islamic banking license
Deutsche Bank of Germany has announced that it has received an International Islamic Banking license from Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia. The license will enable Deutsche Bank to provide Islamic commercial and investment banking services denominated in foreign currencies to institutional clients throughout Asia. Raymond Yeoh, Chief Country Officer for Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, says, “Deutsche Bank has a proven track record of innovation in wholesale Islamic finance. Our Islamic Banking License will make this innovation more easily available to our clients in Asia...
March 3rd, 2010
Malaysian banks & GLCs may gain, says JP Morgan report
A report from JP Morgan Chase & Co says that Malaysian banks and government-linked companies (GLCs) may benefit from Malaysia’s better than expected economic growth. It said that corporate profits may increase by as much as 20.7 percent this year as the worst of the recession is now over. “Fourth-quarter earnings last year have been robust, setting the stage for a strong 2010,” it said.
March 3rd, 2010
Malaysia’s PM to open regional summit on economic crime
Prime Minister Najib Razak will open a regional symposium in Kuala Lumpur June 23 on the prevention of economically motivated serious crime. The three-day event will be jointly hosted by the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Centre for International Documentation on Economic and Organised Crime which is based at Cambridge University in the UK. Delegates will discuss a range of issues including corruption, insider dealing and controlling fraud.
March 3rd, 2010
Small businesses bullish about economy – survey
A survey carried out by global banking group HSBC says that Malaysia’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are confident about the local economy and the prospects for their businesses in the next six months. The banks says that Malaysian SMEs’ confidence had risen to pre-2008 crisis levels, climbing 24 points from 84 (in the second quarter of 2009) to 108 (in the fourth quarter) – on a par with Hong Kong. HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd managing director (commercial banking) David Morton said, “This is good as it not only means that they are confident that their local economy...
March 1st, 2010
Malaysia’s growth better than expected in Q4
Malaysia’s economic performance was better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2009, says Prime Minister Najib Razak. Growth of 4.5 percent in the period October to December 2009 was driven by higher exports and more domestic demand. “The worst is over and the economy could expand 4 percent to 5 percent this year. We are quite bullish. The Malaysian economy has turned around and recovered from the implications of the global crisis,” the Prime Minister told reporters. In addition, Malaysia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, a report from the...
March 1st, 2010
Malaysian IT sector to grow 12 percent by 2014
The Malaysian IT market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12 percent over the next four years according to new market research. The Malaysia Information Technology Report Q1 2010 says that IT spending is expected to grow to around $4.5 billion in 2010 up from $4.2 billion in 2009 as demand begins to recover. The report says that key sectors will include government, telecoms, finance and Islamic banking. It adds that the IT services sector will also grow as the Malaysian government begins to implement plans to boost the country’s role as a regional services hub. There is...
March 1st, 2010
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