Malaysians need to seize opportunities in digital economy
According to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia welcomes the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (RCEP). The signing of RCEP will reflect Malaysia’s unwavering support for the multilateral trading system and regional integration. Malaysia trusts that RCEP will be a game-changer to increase the flow of investments and to encourage intra-trade within the region. As the global growth rate is expected to slow at roughly 3.5% between 2021 and 2025, Malaysia should double its efforts to ensure the sustainability of economic activities. Focus should be given to promoting trade and investment and maintaining the regional and global supply chains by tapping into the digital economy. As part of efforts to build a stronger economic region post-COVID-19, Malaysia believes that ASEAN and China must fully tap the potential of the digital economy. A lot has been learnt during this pandemic period from the increased use of online transactions in peoples’ daily lives. The vital role of the digital economy in reviving the region’s economies will contribute to more job opportunities and encourage growth and business sustainability, especially for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector.
Malaysians need to seize opportunities in digital economy
According to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief marketing officer Raymond Siva, Malaysians need to seize the opportunities provided by the digital economy as it will be a key driver to economic growth in the long term. The demand in e-commerce has grown exponentially in the COVID-19 era. E-commerce is an important component of the digital economy and it will keep growing. Malaysians and businesses should take advantage, especially in the context of COVID-19. The pandemic has abruptly increased the need for digitalisation as people are adapting to the new norms of working from home. The segment (digital economy) is forecast to grow by 20 per cent to the economy this year. The forecast was initially reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia with the e-commerce sector expected to exceed RM110 billion in revenue by 2020, which is equivalent to 40 per cent of the nation’s digital economy. The MTM 2020 aims to fortify Malaysia’s role in expanding the digital economy and its first-mover position in the ASEAN region while drawing attention to the country’s readiness in leveraging opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) will spur. The campaign enables a platform for a wide-ranging array of events, highlighting multiple collaborations with industry partners. Industry players should share their challenges, successes and innovations that they have developed, especially over the last six months, and inspire the next generation of digital-tech entrepreneurs.
SC wants public feedback on proposed amendments to Unit Trust Fund guidelines
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is seeking feedback from the public on its proposed amendments to the Guidelines on Unit Trust Funds. The two-month consultation process is part of it’s ongoing efforts to enhance market competitiveness and ensure the continuous development of the Malaysian unit trust industry. The commission has outlined 30 proposals as part of the consultation paper, ranging from liberalising the types of investments a fund could consider, to amendments on strengthening risk management processes of fund management companies. It is considering enhancements to operational requirements, including dealing in and valuation of a fund. These proposed new enhancements will facilitate greater competitiveness in the industry and provide investors access to a wider range of products, while maintaining adequate investor protection. Additionally, to ensure consistency in policy with unit trust funds, it is also considering making some of the proposals applicable to exchange-traded funds (ETF) and private retirement schemes (PRS). The consultation paper is available on the SC’s website. Interested parties are invited to submit their feedback via www.sc.com.my/survey-cp01-2020 by Jan 10, 2021. For further information, the public can also email to MISConsultation@seccom.com.my. Unit trust funds are the largest component of the Malaysian collective investment scheme industry. As at Sept 30, there were 39 locally-incorporated management companies approved to offer 693 unit trust funds with a total net asset value (NAV) of RM490.3 billion.
Eye On The Markets
This week, on Thursday (12Nov), the Ringgit weakened to 4.1340 against the USD from 4.1145 on Monday (09Nov). Meanwhile, the Ringgit was 3.0645 to the Sing Dollar on Thursday (12Nov). On Monday (09Nov), the FBM KLCI moved up 4.68 points (0.31%) to 1524.32 from previous Friday’s close of 1519.64. As at Friday (06Nov) 10:00am, the FBM KLCI continued its climb to 1580.00. Over in US, with the outcome of the Presidential elections still in the balance, stocks were broadly down due to new highs of over 100,000 new Covid-19 infections and the need of much higher Govt stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 317.46 points (-1.08%) to 29,080.17 and the NASDAQ Composite index shed 76.84 points (-0.65%) to 11,709.59.
KLCI 3 Years Chart
