Highlights:
- Government committed to raising minimum wage to RM1,500
- KL Hilton continues its Winning Streak for Malaysia’s Leading Business Hotel
- 9 dead, dozens missing after powerful earthquake hits Japan’s Hokkaido
- Hong Kong is home to the world’s biggest population of ultra-rich people
- WeChat helps overseas businesses capture fast-growing opportunities with outbound Chinese travellers
Government committed to raising minimum wage to RM1,500
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Ong Kian Ming said the government is committed to its manifesto of increasing the minimum wage to RM1,500 over a five-year span. He said a review on the minimum wage would be carried out every two years and the government would continue to monitor economic conditions, He was responding to yesterday’s announcement of a new minimum wage of RM1,050 per month nationwide effective 1 January 2019. The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers has welcome the quantum, but the Malaysian Trades Union Congress described the increase as “pittance”.
KL Hilton continues its Winning Streak for Malaysia’s Leading Business Hotel
Hilton Kuala Lumpur, has again been honoured the winning title of ‘Malaysia’s Leading Business Hotel’ and ‘Malaysia’s Leading Hotel Suite’ category at the recent World Travel Awards held at Hong Kong. The awards programme; acknowledges, rewards and celebrates excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Today, the World Travel Awards™ brand is recognized globally as the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence. Jamie Mead, regional general manager, Malaysia said, “Even being nominated for these awards is an incredible honour, particularly given the extraordinary strength of the field this year. No words can describe how honored we are to have won these reputable awards. We at Hilton Kuala Lumpur will continue to go the extra mile to deliver outstanding performances with sheer determination and hard work. Our guests have placed us at the top of the market as the leading business hotel, and we intend to continue delivering great experiences to each and every guest who walks through our doors.” The ultimate lifestyle hotel, Hilton Kuala Lumpur houses 510 stylish guest rooms and suites, gastronomical excellence, an elegant spa, and magnificent event space in the heart of the vibrant KL Sentral area.
9 dead, dozens missing after powerful earthquake hits Japan’s Hokkaido
Devastating landslides caused by a powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake in northern Japan claimed at least nine lives today. Dozens are still missing as homes were engulfed. Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week. Around 3 million homes lost power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.
Hong Kong surpasses New York as home to the world’s biggest population of ultra-rich people
Hong Kong has surpassed the Big Apple as the city with the highest population of people worth at least US$30 million. The former British colony saw its number of ultra-wealthy increase 31 per cent last year, to about 10,000, research firm Wealth-X found, higher than the nearly 9,000-strong population of the US’s largest city. Tokyo came third, while Paris beat out London to take the European crown as Brexit weighed down the UK capital. The number of ultra-rich worldwide rose 13 per cent last year, according to Wealth-X, totalling about 256,000 people with combined assets of US$31.5 trillion. Asia saw the fastest growth, driven by mainland China and Hong Kong, the study’s authors wrote. Reflecting the region’s rise, its share of the global population of people with at least US$30 million rose to just over one-fourth, up from around 18 per cent a decade ago. “Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years, but is expected to remain behind Europe, the Middle East and Africa in absolute terms,” the report’s authors wrote. The number of ultra-wealthy in Asia-Pacific is expected to rise at a compound rate of 8.3 per cent a year, they said.
WeChat helps overseas businesses capture fast-growing opportunities with outbound Chinese travellers
WeChat, China’s largest mobile social communication platform developed by Tencent, is proud to facilitate overseas businesses in capturing the thriving opportunities of Chinese tourism through its ecosystem as well as a range of features tailored for outbound Chinese travellers. Recent statistics released by the China National Tourism Administration indicate that Chinese tourists travelled all over the world 131 million times last year, up by 7% from 2016. In line with this, the International Tourism Association shows that Chinese tourists’ overseas spending reached 261.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, increasing 4.5% year-on-year and was ranked first among all tourists globally. These developments present significant opportunities for businesses as well as the global travel industry, with WeChat as an effective platform for tourism boards, local attractions and merchants to address the growth and demands of travelers from China.
