Morning Brief

Black gold has taken a tumble, dropping to a 3 year low. We ask Vandana Hari, Founder & CEO, Vanda Insights for the reasons for this dip and what is the outlook for the rest of 2025.

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The Consumer Credit Bill 2025 was tabled for the first reading in Parliament, with the intention of forming a Consumer Credit Commission (CCC) as the new authority regulating conventional and shariah non-bank credit providers and credit service providers. Jonathan Lim, Secretary of Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM) & Partner at Zaid Ibrahim & Co helps us understand how this bill helps to create a structured regulatory framework to protect borrowers.

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Malaysians have embraced the electric vehicle revolution, but this comes with new challenges. It is estimated that nearly 900,000 EV batteries will need recycling by 2050 - does Malaysia have the right infrastructure and ecosystem in place to handle this waste? We discuss this with Amin Ashaari, CEO & Co-founder SoyaCincau.com.

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Bitcoin rebounded to $94,000 after US President Donald Trump proposed a 'Crypto Strategic Reserve' including other major cryptocurrencies. This recovery came after Bitcoin experienced a nearly 18% decline in February. Andy Baehr, Managing Director and Head of Product at CoinDesk Indices, shares his insights on the market’s outlook.

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All eyes are on the National People's Congress that kicked off this week for signs on Beijing's priorities in 2025. Can China revive its lagging economy on the back of an escalating trade war with the US? We discuss the policy expectations and outlook with Harry Murphy Cruise, Head of China and Australia Economics at Moody’s Analytics.

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Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has urged the government to consider banning private hospitals from listing on Bursa Malaysia as part of efforts to curb profit-driven healthcare. Sim also suggested that listed private hospitals be nationalised and fully government-owned to help lower medical costs. We’ll be speaking with Dr. Khor Swee Kheng, CEO of Angsana Health & Specialist in Public Policiesto discuss the feasibility and effectiveness of these proposals.  

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Succession planning of family-owned businesses is in the spotlight, with a conflict between a prominent patriarch and his heir in Singapore. This has highlighted the ongoing challenges within family-owned businesses. We examine the possible factors driving tension within these enterprises and how they can be resolved with Deepa George, Managing Consultant of MYHRC Services.

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The Evidence of Child Witness (Amendment) Act 2024, came into force on March 3 and enhances legal safeguards for children testifying in court. We speak with Ajeet Kaur, Child Advocate & Co-Chairperson of Child Rights Innovation and Betterment (CRIB) Foundation to understand the impact of these changes and what they mean for the justice system.

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US President Donald Trump has hit the ground running since returning to the White House in January as he has ordered a series of widely criticized executive actions, as well as sparking a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China. Joining us for a discussion on how these moves have affected the US economy is Olu Sonola, Head of US Economic Research, Fitch Ratings.

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The earnings season for Malaysian and Singapore banks has just concluded with most reporting results that either beat or were in line with expectations. We ask Sarah Jane Mahmud, Senior Industry Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence what is the outlook for 2025 and which banks will have the strongest earnings profile despite the headwinds of tariffs and increasing geopolitical tensions.

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