Digi business marketing and operations head Steven Soon (second from left) delivering his speech as (from left) Johor South SME Association advisor Teh Kee Sin, RHB Bank Bhd commercial banking head Azlina Safian and PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd chief operating officer P’ng Tean Hau look on duri...
One for the album: (From left) Teh, Soon, Azlina and P’ng posing for photograph after their panel discussion session at the SOBA LAB programme at Trove Hotel in Johor Baru.JOHOR BARU: Digitalisation is the way forward for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and they have to start planning now,...
Unofficial figures show that some 300,000 Malaysians commute daily from Johor to Singapore to work. — FilepicJOHOR BARU: The state government is looking at the positive angle when it comes to the high number of Malaysians, including Johoreans, working in Singapore.Johor education, human resour...
An SME expo showcasing the productsKUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's small business sector experienced positive business conditions in 2018 and confidence in business and economic growth is at its highest point since 2012, according to new survey data released today by CPA Australia. The findings from CPA A...
KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should capitalise on the RM517mil funding made available by Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd’s (MIDF) and Malaysian Technology Development Corp (MTDC) under the Soft Loan Scheme for Automation and Modernisation (SLSAM).MIDF group ma...
PETALING JAYA: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng is tabling Budget 2019 in Parliament, the first federal budget by the Pakatan Harapan government.The tabling of the Supply Bill (Budget) 2019 will commence before Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, and will be debated by the Members of Par...
Mof To Meet Fitch On Malaysia's Economic Sustainability
KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Finance is expected to meet representatives of Fitch Ratings Agency later today to convince them that Malaysia's economy is still sustainable and should be viewed positively, said Secretary General Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah.
He said the agency, which currently rates Malaysia A-, had implied a 50 per cent likelihood of a downgrade in the country's credit ratings.
"We hope with initiatives on fiscal consolidation and growth emphasis as well as the launch of our Eleventh Malaysia Plan that allocated a total of RM260 billion for development expenditure, it will give positive indicators to the rating agency," he said.
He said Malaysia's economic growth was still good last year, and in the first quarter of this year posted 5.6 per cent growth while external trade was also growing.
But despite concerns over the current balance of payments, it is still positive, he told reporters after officiating the Rice Bowl startup awards organised by New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF) in conjunction with the 1ASEAN Entrepreneur Summit (1AES).
NEF Chairman Ashran Ghazi said online nominations open today and close in mid-August, with between 200 to 300 nominations from all 10 ASEAN countries expected for the 10 award categories.
The top 30 finalists will be announced on Oct 1 while the winners will be announced in November during the 1AES.
Ashran said the finalists will be awarded startup coaching worth US$15,000 comprising regional media engagements and investor matching sessions, while winners of each category will receive a Rice Bowl trophy.