Morning Brief

How much does China’s economic situation influence its initiatives to make nice with friends and foes? We scrutinise Beijing’s relationships with Washington, Canberra, New Delhi and Moscow with political scientist Dr. Pradeep Taneja of Melbourne University.

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Despite cooling measures introduced last year, Singapore’s home property market remains buoyant, as indicated by the 1.5% rise in private residence prices in the first quarter of 2024. How will economic conditions influence the trajectory of Singapore real estate in the coming months? We discuss trends in Singapore property with Alan Cheong, Executive Director of Savills Singapore.

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The Malaysia Venture Capital Roadmap (MVCR) for 2024-2030 signals the government commitment to economic growth by positioning the country as a leading global venture capital hub. We'll speak with its Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (MAVCAP), Chief Operating Officer Noor Amy Ismail to delve into the strategic initiatives outlined in the blueprint.

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Nordin Abdullah, founder, Crisis Management Centre helps us understand the inauthentic tactics taken in social media by digital mercenaries to manipulate public discourse and opinions as well as address what can be done to safeguard the integrity of public discourse.

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The technology sector in Malaysia has been underperforming the broader market with a return of just 2.2% compared to the FBMKLCI return of 6.2%. This due to negative sentiment that the semiconductor cycle had not reached the bottom yet. However, is it time to bottom fish? Lee Meng Horng, Senior Analyst, RHB Investment Bank gives us the answer and what his top picks are.

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The Finance Ministry has widened the scope of service tax exemptions to logistics service providers and maintenance services, just one month after the Sales & Service Tax rate rose from 6% to 8%. The intention is to mitigate rising costs on the rakyat. Dr Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Adviser on Tax Policy at KPMG explains the impact of such a decision/indecision.

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Starting September, DRB-Hicom unit, PUSPAKOM, will operate alongside other licensed vehicle inspection service providers, ending its three decade monopoly. This is part of the Transport Ministry's efforts to reduce monopolies and introduce healthy competition. Daniel Fernandez, Managing Editor of dsf.my explains the impact of these developments.

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In a shock turnaround from the general elections in May, the opposition CHP party secured major inroads in Turkiye's local elections, winning the popular vote and claiming victory in major cities including Istanbul and Ankara. What does this outcome mean for the ruling AK party and President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan? We get analysis from Middle East expert Dr. James Dorsey. 

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Not everyone has the same sense of humour but comedians playing to sell-out shows has a certain allure to the business of comedy. However, in Malaysia, local comedians have to navigate racial, religious and political sensitivities while figuring out how to pay the bills. Comedian Kavin Jay shares with us what the local scene is like and is there money to be made by being funny.

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The World Bank and Bank Negara Malaysia recently released a joint report entitled "Managing Flood Risks - Leveraging Finance for Business Resilience in Malaysia". We speak to Tatiana Didier, Senior economist at the World Bank Group for what policy changes are required to help business survive these increasingly frequent calamities due to climate change and overdevelopment.

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