KUALA LUMPUR: CGS-CIMB is taking a positive view of the tax exemption on foreign-sourced dividends for corporates as it would reduce the earnings risks for companies with large overseas investments. In a note, the firm said that it had been concerned about the government’s earlier decision to withdraw the tax exemption on foreign source income (FSI) for corporates in Budget 2022, as the change will permanently affect future income streams from overseas investments. "This is positive for Sime Darby, Sime Darby Plantations, PPB Group and KLK, based on initial assessments,” it added. Ministry of Finance (MoF) has extended the tax exemption on FSI of individuals and dividend income from corporates for five years from Jan 1, 2022 to Dec 31, 2026. - BernamaArticle type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 46 Cxense type: free User access status: 3Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Analysts maintained their "overweight" outlook on the banking sector after loan growth in November expanded at a solid pace of 4.3% year-on-year. For large-sized banks, he likes Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) (target price [TP]: RM9.40) for its strong yield and Public Bank Bhd (TP: RM4.50) for its resilient asset quality. Meanwhile, TA Securities analyst Wong Li Hsia said given that year-to-date (YTD) loan growth was already at 4%, the overall system loan growth in 2021 would likely exceed her forecast. “Moving into 2022, we anticipate a 5.2% increase in loan growth for the system. “We expect a higher industry loan growth of 5% to 6% for 2022, underpinned by stronger economic growth with an improvement in private-sector expenditure and exports,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Bursa Malaysia kicked off 2022 on a weak note as market sentiment was clouded by the latest development pertinent to the Omicron variant of Covid-19 amid profit-taking following recent volatility. At 9.05am on Monday (Jan 3), the benchmark FBM KLCI had lost 17.77 points to 1,549.76 after the key index closed at 1,567.53 last Friday. “However, sentiment may still be dampened by surging Omicron variant cases around the world. The government has decided to temporarily suspend the permission for travelling to perform the umrah beginning from Jan 8 to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin on Sunday said the decision is to slow down the spread of the Omicron variant as data obtained showed that almost 78% of the "presumptive" new Omicron cases were from those returning from the pilgrimage.

However, there are also concerns about the energy consumption of our tech habits and how it may impact the environment. Today, some companies are introducing some ways to lessen the burden of our tech consumption on the environment. The company claimed that using cloud-native technologies reduced computing resources by 50% for every 10,000 transactions compared to the previous year. The company claimed that its Exynos mobile processor are created for low power consumption. The company has also introduced digital tools such as its Sustainability Calculator for its customers to gain better insights on their carbon emissions from cloud usage.

A robot may replace your job — but only if you let itCurrent job market trends show that if there was ever a good time to reskill and upskill, it would be now. The World Economic Forum (WEF) warns in The Future of Jobs Report 2020 that recession and the robot revolution may displace 85 million jobs by 2025. Leveling up to be future fitReskilling and upskilling can take many forms such as through added responsibilities in a current job role, job rotations, being coached by peers or through a company’s learning and development programme. Wong took up a Taylor’s MicroCreds course on professional acting and gained useful skills he can utilise when hosting events or for client presentations. “Vocal projection, tempo, non-verbal communication were some of the most important things I learnt.”For more information on Taylor’s MicroCreds, visit https://bit.ly/Taylors-MicroCreds

He said there were also plans to have another Mutiara Food Bank on the mainland soon. Chow also said the state had identified coastal stretches in Weld Quay and Butterworth under the Penang Bay project for development to be carried out. Chow said the state government, through Tech Dome Penang, Penang Science Cluster, Penang Digital Library and Penang Skills Development Centre, had initiated several programmes to develop the skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among school students. “We will allocate RM2.16mil to Penang STEM 4.0, Penang Tech Dome and Penang Science Cluster in 2022 for the development of such skills,” he said. On infrastructure development, he said the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) which would give tremendous benefits for the people in Penang would be prioritised as planned.

WASHINGTON (Jan 2): Travel delays continued in the US early on Sunday as a winter storm swept eastwards and carriers dealt with staff shortages caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. That follows Saturday's tallies of more than 2,700 US flights cancelled and over 6,500 delayed. On Saturday, about 45% of flights scheduled to leave from O'Hare and 55% from Chicago Midway were scratched, according to FlightAware.com. Southwest Airlines Co has already cancelled 264 flights for Sunday and regional carrier SkyWest Inc has scrapped 425, or 18% of its scheduled flights. A powerful storm across large parts of the country will continue to cause travel disruptions, according to the National Weather Service.

• Onshore notes: 37.2 billion yuan in principal payments and 6.6 billion yuan in coupons, Bloomberg-compiled data showed. Evergrande, Kaisa — US$1.66 billion including puttable bond• Evergrande 4.5 billion yuan note due 2023 is puttable Jan 8; also first deadline for 314.1 million yuan coupon. • Seazen 310 million yuan note due Jan 7, plus 17.05 million yuan in interest. Week 2 (Jan 8-14) — $1.42 billion• Times China US$18.6 million coupon on note due 2025, first deadline Jan 8. Week 3 (Jan 15-21) — US$831 million• Shanghai Shimao two billion yuan note due Jan 15, plus 93 million yuan in interest.

As Malaysians usher in 2022, we have busied ourselves on New Year’s Eve by sending out such messages. We need hope. We don’t need grandstanding campaigns with hollow messages which don’t motivate Malaysians, even though the politicians involved may think otherwise. We’re asking for real leadership that understands and accepts that this country belongs to Malaysians of all races and religions. I wish all readers a Happy New Year, and hope that we will truly remain happy for the next 12 months.

TEMERLOH: The government is focusing on seeking comprehensive long-term solutions to flooding to reduce risks and the number of affected locations in future, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. “A long-term plan involves huge costs but it helps to reduce the costs incurred by the government each time it floods. The aid consisted of compassionate aid worth RM1,000 from the Federal Government and RM500 from the Pahang government, and necessities to 600 heads of households. Ismail Sabri added that the plan for long-term solutions was discussed during the time of the Barisan Nasional government, but it was not continued. “For low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, we can revisit the flood resettlement programme implemented in the 1970s.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 1): Preliminary results of a study conducted by the Pontifical Catholic University in Chile (UC) showed that the Covid-19 Sinovac vaccine booster dose could activate cellular immunity against the Omicron variant, on subjects who were given two doses of the same vaccine previously. The objective of the study led by Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy director Prof Dr Alexis M Kalergis is to assess whether the immunity activated by the Sinovac vaccine booster dose is able to recognise the Omicron variant. Dr Alexis, in a statement released by Pharmaniaga on Saturday, said those who have received the Covid-19 Sinovac vaccine booster dose had T cell levels that are activated against the Omicron variant in a similar way to the original strain. “Population data shows that the Covid-19 Sinovac vaccine has worked well so far to control the variants that have emerged,” she said. The Sinovac Covid-19 booster shot has recently been approved by the Drug Control Authority and is currently available in selected private healthcare facilities.

JAKARTA (Jan 1): The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement enters into force on Saturday (Jan 1) for 10 participating countries, paving the way for the creation of the world’s largest free trade area. The countries are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to the ASEAN Secretariat. “The RCEP agreement will also enter into force on Feb 1, 2022 for South Korea,” the secretariat said in a statement. The mega trade deal accounts for US$12.7 trillion (RM53.04 trillion), over a quarter of global trade in goods and services, and 31% of global foreign direct investment inflows. The 15 RCEP participating countries have an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of US$25.8 trillion, accounting for about 30% of world GDP.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 1): The ringgit is expected to experience some technical correction in the coming days, trading in the range of 4.1650 to 4.1750 against the US dollar, an analyst said. “However, we remained constructive on ringgit against the US dollar, paired with year-end target for 2022 standing at RM4.09. It ended the week on a stronger note versus the US dollar at 4.1650/1680 at Friday’s close compared with 4.1935/1980 a week earlier. It improved against the Singapore dollar to 3.0872/0899 from 3.0887/0954 last Friday, strengthened vis-a-vis the Japanese yen to 3.6186/6212 from 3.6660/6702, and firmed against the euro to 4.7194/7228 from 4.7567/7618 in the previous week. However, it depreciated against the British pound to 5.6277/6318 compared with 5.6226/6287 on Friday last week.

FOR some of the world’s largest hedge funds, private equity ended up making – or saving – the year, and they’re betting that will be the case again in 2022. Deep-pocketed investors have been flocking to private companies because stakes can be acquired relatively cheaply. Treasuries tumultOctober was the most painful month for the industry’s mega macro funds after unexpected moves in Treasury markets pummelled portfolios. Firms including Alphadyne Asset Management, Element Capital Management and Rokos Capital Management are still digging their way out from losses. Many such macro funds had so-called steepener bets on yield curves in the US and Europe, wagering that interest rates would remain at or near historic lows.

KUALA LUMPUR: Social media influencer Siew Pui Yi has kicked off 2022 with a blast by appearing nude on the January edition of the United States-based men’s magazine, Penthouse, and as its cover model. A check on her IG, which carries the moniker @ms_puiyi confirmed that she is the person on the Penthouse model. The PDF copy of the magazine, which featured her, is said to have gone viral with social media abuzz with her daring appearance. Although Penthouse mentioned her as hailing from Penang, Siew said in media interviews, found on YouTube, that she was born in Kuala Lumpur. I began to appear in more sexy poses instead,” she said in a recent video interview, where she talked of going nude on her social media.