Morning Brief

The Ministry of Education has identified 28% of Year 1 pupils are lagging in 3R skills i.e. reading, writing and arithmetic, and require additional support. What kind of interventions would work best to shore up the basic skills needed by primary students? Shahnaz Al-Sadat of LeapEd gives us her insights. 

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the government’s National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), there was the highest property sales growth since 2019 during the first half of 2024, increasing by 23.8% year-on-year to approximately RM105.7 billion. Chan Ai Cheng, Immediate Past-President of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents tells us if this positive momentum can be sustained for the rest of 2024 and what are the key trends to watch for.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic party and Republican contender former President Donald Trump face off in a historic presidential debate for the first and likely only time in this election campaign. We discuss expectations for the debate with Bryan DeAngelis of Penta Group. 

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The issue of statelessness and undocumented residents in Sabah is particularly acute and complex. Last week, the Sabah state government announced that it will set up an inter-agency special committee and a task force to address these issues. What are the key challenges that need to be addressed? Suriani Kempe of Family Frontiers weighs in. 

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is removing the last remaining barriers to foreign investment in manufacturing and healthcare, starting November 1st. Tommy Xie, Head, Greater China Research, OCBC Bank tells us the rationale for this and if it will attract FDI. We also look at the recent economic data to determine if there is risk of serious deflation in the world's second largest economy.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, news emerged that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) directed all Internet service providers to implement public DNS (Domain Name System) redirection for businesses, enterprises, and government agencies by September 30. Although Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil defended the decision, he has asked MCMC to put the plan on hold pending stakeholder engagement. We discuss the rationale and implication of the policy with Alex Wong of SoyaCincau.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hong Kong, which houses some of the most expensive properties in the world, is currently experiencing a crisis, with owners being forced to slash prices. The downturn in the city has persisted for around five years. Patrick Wong, Head of Bloomberg Intelligence Hong Kong & Senior Analyst - Asia Pacific Real Estate tells us if we can expect any government support and which listed players will survive this downturn.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fraud in the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) has led to the government implementing a comprehensive overhaul of the claims system. They are also rolling out a nationwide operation to identify and address additional fraudulent activities. Lim Zi-Han, Partner, Donovan & Ho shares his insights on the strategies and reforms required to tackle these issues effectively.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shares around the world fell on Wednesday, pummelled by a drop in tech stocks following a record sell-off of Wall Street darling Nvidia. Analysts cited a confluence of factors behind the rout, which also impacted Asian and European tech stocks. Is this recent sell-off merely a temporary market correction, or has the Magnificent Seven reached its peak? For more analysis, we’ll be speaking with Dan Ives, Managing Director at Wedbush Securities.

Image Credit: shutterstock.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Indian regulators cleared the way for an $8.5 billion US dollar merger of Disney and Reliance, creating India’s biggest entertainment player to compete with Sony, Netflix and Amazon. How does this benefit Disney, and what are the trends shaping the broader entertainment streaming sector? We get analysis from Geetha Ranganathan of Bloomberg Intelligence.

Image Credit: BizAsia

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.