MONEY MASTER

* Najib: Malaysia has created 2.26 million jobs, representing 69% of the 3.3 million target by 2020 * Budget 2018 allocates a sum of RM280.25b, up from RM260.8b in 2017 * Per capita income expected to rise to RM42,777 in 2018, from RM40,713 now, says PM * Federal government's revenue collection projected at RM239.86b in 2018 * Budget 2018 to see RM234.25 billion allocated for operating expenditure, RM46 billion for development expenditure * Additional RM200m allocated to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia in Budget 2018, raising fund size to RM2.7b * Budget 2018 allocates RM6.5b to assist farmers, fishermen, smallholders and rubber tappers * Budget 2018 allocates RM200m to SMEs for training programmes, grants and soft loans under the SME Corp * Najib declares 2020 as Visit Malaysia Year with APEC, WCIT, CHOGM being held * Najib: Works on ECRL to start by January 2018 * Budget 2018 allocates RM2b to SME Tourism Fund to provide soft loans to tour operators with interest subsidy of 2% * Najib: ...

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has targeted budget spending at his coalition’s most loyal voters, seeking to limit any damage from more than a year of political turmoil as talk turns to a potential early election. Najib Razak chases 'ultimate' win as supporters get budget goodies The premier allocated more funds for his cash handout program to the poorest 40 percent of Malaysians, promised civil servants a bonus and introduced extra assistance for farmers. He pledged more roads, bridges and better electricity and water supply for rural regions, and sought to woo younger voters with discounts on outstanding student loans and access to cheap housing in urban areas. After weathering funding scandals and attempts to topple him for a good part of his second term as premier, Najib must balance a slowing economy with keeping voters happy ahead of an election that could come as soon as March. While the opposition is fractured, it has sought to lure ethnic Malays from Na...

Malaysia's budget 2017 has been successfully tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on last Friday. In the midst of a low oil price and weak external environment, economists have said that the Budget 2017 was one that hits the right note while maintaining fiscal discipline.  The theme of the budget 2017: Accelerating growth, ensuring fiscal prudence, enhancing well-being of the Rakyat. Prime Minister Najib presenting Budget 2017 last Friday Here's a quick look on what Budget 2017 has to offer: Operating Expenditure: RM214.8bil, Development Expenditure: RM46 bil RM260.8 billion has been allocated for expenditure, representing an increase of 3.4% from previous year. According to some economists, the higher allocation for expenditure will help to drive the economy in 2017. From the breakdown, we could see that RM214.8 billion is for operating expenditure (82%) as compared to only RM46 billion for development expenditure (18%). This continu...

Abu Dhabi's state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) said it would make a US$50.3 million interest payment to holders of notes issued by Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), but only after 1MDB defaults on its payments. A default by 1MDB will occur if the troubled Malaysian sovereign fund fails to make a payment on the 1MDB Energy (Langat) Ltd bond before Monday, April 25, IPIC said in a filing to the London Stock Exchange on Monday. IPIC guarantees the bond. The coupon on the US$1.75 billion bond was due on April 18, but terms of the bond gave a five-day period of grace for the payment, which ends Monday. The Abu Dhabi fund said neither 1MDB Energy (Langat) nor 1MDB have made the payment so far. It said the guarantee has not been called upon yet. "As at the time of this announcement, IPIC is not aware of the Guarantee being called upon. IPIC has always honoured its obligations arising from any agreements it has entered in to ...

Putrajaya seems to be eager to show to the citizens that they are serious about cost cutting.  The Malaysian government unveiled 53 measures to cut cost. 53 cost cutting measures Some of it are the freeze on hiring of new staff, stricter controls on overtimes, curbs on various expenses and a minimum 30% cut in spending on all government-organised events. The measures which took effect on March 1st includes a directive to all agencies to cut down the number of uniforms issued to officers from three sets per year to two. The measures are listed in a Treasury Circular titled "Guidelines on Measures to Optimise Govern­ment Spending" which was uploaded on the Finance Ministry website. The full list of measures can be accessed online at the ministry's website at http://1pp.treasury.gov.my/makluman/pindaan/217 The circular ordered all ministry secretaries-general, department heads, heads of statutory bodies, chief executives of companies limited by guaran...

Yak Yew Chee, a senior banker at Swiss-based BSI Singapore , has emerged for the first time as a key figure in Singapore's money laundering probe, according to documents released at Singapore High Court last week . According to Reuters report, Yak was not personally at the Singapore High Court on Friday, when he sought to unfreeze his Singapore funds to pay taxes and legal fees. His lawyer agreed to withdraw the petition after the prosecutor raised no objection in allowing Yak to transfer S$1.76 million (US$1.3 million) from his overseas bank accounts. In an affidavit filed at the court, he denied any wrongdoing or getting unlawful benefits from managing the accounts of 1MDB or its affiliates. Singapore authorities are conducting a money laundering probe into bank accounts linked to 1MDB, whose activities have triggered legal action across three continents. Some of the accounts Singapore is probing belong to Yak and have been frozen together with S$9.7 million of his f...

MALAYSIA's REVISED BUDGET 2016, GDP FORECAST TO 4% - 4.5% Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak had made the announcement on the recalibrated Budget 2016, to better reflect the current economic climate, given that oil price had dropped to the $30 dollar range. This was in comparison to the $48 USD assumption when the budget 2016 was announced last October. PM Najib Razak on the recalibrated budget 2016 In the revised budget 2016, the 2016 economic growth forecast has been revised to 4%-4.5%, down from an earlier forecast of 4% to 5%. The fiscal deficit target of 3.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) was maintained. Najib announced 11 measures to spur domestic consumption and increase growth, while saving some RM9 billion in operating and development expenditure. One of the highlights of the recalibrated budget is the optional 3% cut to the individual contribution to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) for March 2016 to December 2017. INFLATION RANGING FROM 2.5% to 3...

Switzerland's top prosecutor said $4 billion may have been misappropriated from state-owned companies in Malaysia. $4 billion may have been misappropriated from state-owned companies in Malaysia “We are very concerned,” Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. “ We have found evidence of suspicious money transfers linked to 1MDB going through Swiss financial institutions, and we believe that it is very important that it is shared with the Malaysian authorities.” The investigation revealed indications that funds have been misappropriated and said it was looking into four cases of potential criminal conduct. It said some of the funds had been transferred to Swiss accounts held by former Malaysian public officials and current and former officials from the United Arab Emirates. The comments represent the most detailed allegations yet of wrongdoing around 1MDB. The fund, set up by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2009 to help str...

BUDGET 2016: NAJIB ALLOCATES RM267.2 BILLION Budget 2016 was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last Friday, with the theme "Prospering the Rakyat", allocating RM267.2 billion compared with the revised RM260.7 billion in 2015.  BUDGET 2016 Among his measures to boost revenue was to raise taxes on the country’s richest individuals. Those earning RM600,000 to RM1 million annually will be taxed at 26% from 25% now, while those earning more than RM1 million a year will pay a rate of 28%. In its 2015/2015 economic report, the government forecast that GDP would grow 4% to 5% in 2016, from 4.5% to 5.5% this year. It sees the fiscal deficit narrowing to 3.1% of GDP in 2016 from a revised 3.2% this year. WCT GETS TRX CONTRACT, BUYS TRX LAND   1MDB is on the spotlight again, as 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd has awarded WCT Holdings Bhd a RM754.8 million contract to build infrastructure and roadway works for the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX). WCT’s indirect unit, WCT Pr...

WAHID: 1MDB issues to be resolved in 2 months 1MDB issues will be resolved in 2 months Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said in an interview with TV3 last Wednesday, "Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) issued a statement before this, saying that the issues related to 1MDB will be resolved in six months, meaning by end of this year." This means that in another 2 months, 1MDB issues will be resolved.  AMPANG PARK TO MAKE WAY FOR MRT STATION Ampang Park in the 70s and now The oldest shopping centres in Kuala Lumpur, Ampang Park Shopping Centre will soon be demolished to make way for the MRT station. The land on which the shopping centre stands is in the process of being acquired by the government under the Land Acquisition Act 1960 for the purpose of constructing the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya Line. The mall was the brainchild of the Low brothers, following their successful development of People's...

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday that the FBI and Justice Department gather information about bank’s role in transactions at Malaysia fund.  The inquiries are at the information-gathering stage, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the bank, the people said. Investigators “have yet to determine if the matter will become a focus of any investigations into the 1MDB scandal,” a spokeswoman for the FBI said. The widening scandal—investigators in five countries are now looking into 1MDB—highlights the sometimes risky path that Goldman has cut in emerging markets in search of faster growth. 1MDB is now entangled in accusations of billions of dollars of missing money, putting it at the center of a political crisis for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who oversees the fund. Malaysian government investigators earlier this year traced $700 million into Mr. Najib’s alleged bank accounts through agencies, banks and companies linked to 1MDB, The W...

If you are not aware, tomorrow, Malaysians will be looking forward to the Budget 2015, which will be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The theme of the budget is something to look forward to:  “Accelerating Growth, Ensuring Fiscal Sustainability and Prospering the Rakyat”. BUDGET 2015 What is there to look forward to? Focusing on implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April next year. GST may well be the talking point again Budget 2015 will definitely highlight some of the key things in regards to GST that will take effect in April next year.  According to Maybank Investment Bank, it is expected that there will be ammendment on the excemptions from GST. Currently, fresh food, public transport, education fees are excempted. It is expected that there will be new excemption from the GST and thus GST revenues could decline to 2.4 billion ringgit from 4 billion ringgit for the April to December period, and...