Highlights:
- Matrade aims for 30 per cent increase in women exporters via WEDP
- Only six foreign investments stopped operations from January to June
- NEX Penang 2018 to attract 400 business leaders
- Global Sukuk issuance to hit US$100 billion in 2018 – Moody’s
- Runways at Japan’s Kansai airport flooded, hundreds of flights cancelled
Matrade aims for 30 per cent increase in women exporters via WEDP
The Malaysia External Trade Development (MATRADE) hopes to see a 30 per cent increase in women exporters through its three-year Women Exporters Development Programme (WEDP). Deputy Chief Executive Officer II, Exporters Development Sharimahton Mat Salleh said WEDP provided women with business coaching, skills enhancement training, international business exposure, market immersions, networking and mentoring sessions, as well as leadership and entrepreneurial development. “It is very tough to achieve the target by 2020 as our date showed that currently there were less than 20 per cent women-owned companies exporting their products, but we will continue to assist these companies who wants to expand overseas. “We want to get more women exporters, especially in high-value services sector such as oil and gas, ICT (information and communication technology), and aerospace,” she ttold reporters in Kuala Lumpur. “For 2017, 22 WEDP companies, mainly in the food and beverages and lifestyle segments, as well as electric and electrical products and services, collectively reported total export sales of RM7.24 million. “WEDP will be the impetus for women-owned SMEs in Malaysia to build resilience, competitiveness and tenacity,” she said.
Only six foreign investments stopped operations from January to June
Only six small-scale foreign direct investments (FDI) with a total worth of RM37.3 million in the manufacturing sector have closed down, terminated or relocated their operations from Malaysia between January and June. Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Ong Kian Ming said the number was small compared to the amount of investment (about RM26.5 billion) brought into the country during the same period. “This shows that under the new government, new investors are still confident and this will increase with better performance. Ong was speaking at the Senate.
NEX Penang 2018 to attract 400 business leaders
The Penang state government targets 400 business leaders to participate in NEX Penang 2018 Leadership Conference in November. Themed “The Art of Partnership in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous World”, NEX Penang Organising Chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said the event aimed to build a collaborative network among stakeholders while strengthening their bond via partnership. Chan added that the event would feature 17 speakers from four countries. “We have the information and technology, but partnership and leadership are the main keys to harness the brainpower and workforce in order to surpass our competitors and go beyond further,” he said.
Global Sukuk issuance to hit US$100 billion in 2018 – Moody’s
Moody’s Investors Service expects the global sukuk issuance to reach US$90 billion to US$100 billion in 2018, with more volume expected from Malaysia and Indonesia in the second half of the year. “Moody’s expectation of broadly stable issuance for the year – despite a 12 per cent decrease to US$55 billion in the first half of 2018 – is supported by regular issuance from government and corporate entities in Malaysia (A3 stable) and Indonesia (Baa2 stable) in the second half of 2018,” it said in a report entitled, “Cross-Sector – Sukuk Market Outlook – H1 2018 Update.” The decrease in sukuk issuances during the first half of 2018 was driven by lower volumes from the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region. “Over the long term, we expect sukuk issuance volumes to continue to grow as governments across the core Islamic finance markets shift their financing mix towards a combination of conventional and Islamic instruments,” Vice President and Senior Credit Officer at Moody’s, Nitish Bhojnagarwala, said.
Japan’s Kansai Airport flooded, causing over 600 domestic flights to be cancelled
Typhoon Jebi swept through western Japan Tuesday as the strongest tropical cyclone to come ashore in 25 years, leaving at least two dead and many injured. Strong winds and high waves closed Kansai International Airport. Japan issued evacuation advisories for more than 1 million people and cancelled hundreds of flights in the face of extremely strong winds and heavy rain as the typhoon made landfall. The storm paralysed the country’s second-largest population centre around Osaka, with companies forced to temporarily close their plants, and power was cut to more than 800,000 homes and offices. Packing winds of up to 216km/h, Typhoon Jebi made landfall in western Japan as the strongest storm since 1993, the weather agency’s chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora said.
