Morning Brief

The Prime Minister and his cabinet attended a one day retreat to bolster consensus and solidarity among Ministers whilst discussing the future direction of the government and set KPIs for each ministry. Such a retreat appears imperative as the government comprises parties that contested against each other at GE 15. Additionally, with six state elections due this year, Anwar’s ministers will have to strategize how to work together to show a united and stable federal government. But how will the KPIs be set? What should the priorities be, especially since the rakyat’s patience may wear thin if no results are forthcoming soon. For some thoughts on this we have with us Tricia Yeoh, CEO, IDEAS.

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One of the biggest negatively impacted sectors from the pandemic was property which saw sales and launches decline. Recovery was seen in 2021 and also last year but still below pre-pandemic levels. Chan Ai Cheng, President, Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents tell us if recovery is in view for 2023 despite the economic slowdown and rising interest rates.

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The Prime Minister and his cabinet attended a one day retreat to bolster consensus and solidarity among Ministers whilst discussing the future direction of the government and set KPIs for each ministry. Such a retreat appears imperative as the government comprises parties that contested against each other at GE 15. Additionally, with six state elections due this year, Anwar’s ministers will have to strategize how to work together to show a united and stable federal government. But how will the KPIs be set? What should the priorities be, especially since the rakyat’s patience may wear thin if no results are forthcoming soon. For some thoughts on this we have with us Tricia Yeoh, CEO, IDEAS.

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There are strong expectations that the average Chinese consumer will be back with a vengeance with the relaxation of Covid-19 restriction and the opening of borders effective January 8. But this reopening has not been without its headwinds as we have seen higher hospitalisation rates and also deaths in China. China remains a crucial market for categories geared toward consumers with higher incomes on the back of rising affluence. But with a still uncertain environment and fluid nature of this reopening, how should investors be positioning for stocks within the consumer sector? For insights, we have Catherine Lim, Senior Analyst Bloomberg Intelligence.

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The Umno General Assembly concluded last Saturday where nearly 3,000 delegates convened and heard from party leaders on the future direction of the party. The biggest development was the passing of a resolution to not have the party’s top two positions open for contest in its upcoming election. But will this sit well with the grassroots and can this party recover from their poor performance at GE15. Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate, Asia Research Centre, University of Nottingham Malaysia gives us her views.

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The Umno General Assembly concluded last Saturday where nearly 3,000 delegates convened and heard from party leaders on the future direction of the party. The biggest development was the passing of a resolution to not have the party’s top two positions open for contest in its upcoming election. But will this sit well with the grassroots and can this party recover from their poor performance at GE15. Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate, Asia Research Centre, University of Nottingham Malaysia gives us her views.

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The Malaysian government said it may consider a ban on exporting palm oil to the EU in response to the bloc’s latest law

which bans imports of grown on deforested land including palm oil and its derivatives. Dr. Sathia Varqa, co-founder, Palm Oil Analytics tells us what this means for CPO prices and will such a ban work.

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2022 was the era of the King Dollar led by the aggressive rate hiking cycle of 425 bps by the Fed. But there are expectations of the Fed being at the tail end of its hiking cycle and also supported by the modest inflation print for December. The Bloomberg dollar index is down 2% YTD. With this, we have seen Asia currencies appreciate across the board. What does this mean for the global currency outlook in 2023? For answers we speak to Jeff Ng, Senior Currency Analyst, MUFG.

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Since 1959, Malaysia has seen 14 single coalition simple majority governments until the fateful GE15 that resulted in a hung parliament for the first time in our history. And after what seemed like a very long 5 days from the time we voted, the political uncertainty ended with the country’s five major parties, PH, BN, GPS, GRS and Warisan agreed to a coalition government. But is a hung parliament negative for a democracy and should there be a relook at our electoral system? For some answers we speak to Dr Wong Chin Huat, Political Scientist, Sunway University.

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Sri Lanka’s critical debt restructuring is facing further delays as China and India has yet to formally agree to a write-down of their loans. The IMF will not release the cash until China and India first agree to reduce Sri Lanka's debt and this would delay the bailout that Sri Lanka was supposed to get. We speak to Anushka Wijesinha of the think tank Centre for a Smart Future for some thoughts.

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