Morning Brief

In Budget 2025, the government allocated RM2.6 billion to the Communications Ministry and RM1.3 billion to the Digital Ministry for a range of initiatives, including improving access to the internet. So how do telcos fit into this mix, especially as our country looks to advance its digital economy? For more perspectives, we speak with Suresh Sidhu, CEO of EdgePoint Infrastructure.

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Is Hong Kong's housing market showing signs of recovery, especially in the luxury sector, after a prolonged downturn?

Especially after Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., the city's largest developer, asold over 200 apartments in one day, and used home sales surged by 60% in early October. Questions we pose to Patrick Wong, Head of Bloomberg Intelligence Hong Kong & Senior Analyst - Asia Pacific Real Estate, Bloomberg Intelligence whilst asking which listed companies stand to benefit.

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With Russia hosting the 16th BRICS summit in its southwestern city of Kazan, three years after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine; President Vladimir Putin said that the gathering would be one of the largest foreign policy events, with some of the most powerful leaders in attendance. How significant is this gathering, and what message does it send to the West? We speak to Dr Julia Roknifard, an independent expert on international relations for her views

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Education received the highest allocation in Budget 2025 of RM64 billion. Are the budget initiatives put forth as ambitious as the headline figure suggests? We discuss how far Budget 2025 goes in advancing quality education with Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim of the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE).

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The government is set to introduce a new law that will make house arrest a potential sentence for minor crimes, with the proposal expected to be tabled in parliament next year. How should this legislation take shape? Criminal lawyer Goh Cia Yee walks through the finer details that need clarification in the drafting of the bill.

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Budget 2025 allocated RM45.3 billion to the Health Ministry, nearly 10% more than the previous year. Among the items mentioned in the Budget included an increase in on-call allowance for medical and dental officers, a hike in the sugar-sweetened beverage tax, along more than RM1.5 billion ringgit to upgrade infrastructure and facilities. Dr Farhan Rusli, Fellow for the Institute of Research and Development of Policy, a think tank based out of Kuala Lumpur, shares his thoughts.

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In recent months, oil prices have been trading in a wide range between USD68 to USD85 bbl on the back of geopolitical tensions in the middle east and the expectations of improving demand from China. We speak to Vandana Hari, Founder & CEO, Vanda Insights for her views on how oil prices will trade for the last quarter of 2024 and even 2025.

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Despite the SME sector receiving a financing boost of RM40 billion ringgit and a RM3.2 billion ringgit micro-loans support for small traders, the introduction of more sales / sugar taxes, a higher minimum wage and a 2% dividend tax raises concerns about increased financial pressure on consumers and businesses. Chin Chee Seong, National President of SME Association of Malaysia shares his perspectives on why Budget 2025 was off the mark for MSMEs.

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As we unpack Budget 2025 through a macroeconomic lens we speak to Julia Goh, Senior Economist at UOB to find out whether the Madani government has managed to strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and encouraging economic growth with the Budget being the largest on record.

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The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, along with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), has been supervising nearly 18 billion ringgit of investments from Chinese companies into Malaysia. Although China has been Malaysia’s largest trading partner since 2009, the cumulative amount of Chinese investments still lags behind those from the US, Japan, and even Singapore. Joining us to unpack China’s capital injections into Malaysia is Dr. Cassey Lee, Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

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