Posted by QuartzWilly > 2020-03-25 12:00 | Report Abuse

Its lunch time, yum yum

Posted by wishingwell > 2020-03-25 12:05 | Report Abuse

hi, whats for lunch QuartzWilly ?

Posted by ElvesFortune > 2020-03-25 12:07 | Report Abuse

Covid-19 death toll rises to 16 in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Another patient has died, bringing the Covid-19 death toll to 16 on Tuesday (March 24).

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a Facebook post on Tuesday night said that the man's death has been reported to the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre.

“The 16th death, or patient 1,334, is a 75-year-old Malaysian with a history of several chronic illnesses.

“The individual started to show symptoms five days before being admitted to the Tuanku Mizan Military Hospital on March 16 and was later transferred to Hospital Kuala Lumpur on March 18.

“The individual’s health deteriorated and he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to receive respiratory aid. He was confirmed to be Covid-19 positive on March 21.

“However, the individual died on March 24 at 7.40pm. The source of the individual’s infection is still under investigation,” he said.

Earlier, Dr Noor Hisham announced a total of 106 new cases were recorded on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,624.

Posted by QuantumAce > 2020-03-25 12:09 | Report Abuse

wah, QuartzWilly go for lunch, nice

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-25 12:14 | Report Abuse

hi guys, today Arb had a technical rebound. Will have another rebound up once QR out.By the way, Most importantly is that the economic still unclear and covid still a big threat to the economic. Play safe.

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-25 12:16 | Report Abuse

Recession is finally here? Or is it an Opportunity of A Lifetime?


The Covid-19 news cycle seems be on 24 hours a day and that seems to be the most information i received every day in my WhatsApp or telegram group. In fact, it would seem to be the most dominating headline of our every day life. The question in my mind was why now? Why finally after so many long months only we are at this point? Was it ignorance, optimism, or wilful blindness?

But enough of Covid-19, I am sure most are sick and tired of this. Let me focus on what matters, how to make the most of the current situation. When Malaysia was a tiger economy in the 1990s until end of the millennium, the crisis hit us hard due to the Asian financial crisis. It took Southeast Asia economy almost 20 years to be on a sound footing.



Many have said, finally, this is it, recession. The recession they have predicted finally arrived. Some predicted it to arrive since 2013. I remember a very big fund listed on our share market was one of those. Well, surely a broken clock may be right once a day. The question is not about being right but if you are right, what are you going to do about it? This is the same thing I ask myself every single night before going to bed (second last thing is observing global markets indicators). Are we willing to pull the trigger?


The reason why heroes are so well loved because there are few and hard to come by. I believe once this whole entire episode is over, there will be only a handful that people will sing about. Specifically about their success in making the most of this frightening times. So let me share few simple viewpoints and of course some of our actions taken in this climate. I do not believe we will be right but if anything, history have taught us well and we should always head back to history to guide us especially in the times of uncertainty and great crisis. I believe this is a major crisis and especially so unexpected to the start of a new decade.

1. What rises will fall & similarly what has fallen will rise :

With the triple whammy of political instability, oil plunge and Covid-19, the perfect storm has come to the shores of Malaysia. None can escape unscathed. Now when the market is on a bull run, we think it will keep going up. Ex: At 15x PE, analysts say its cheap comparing to global peers which valuations stands at 25x. Today, those so-called cheap laggard counters are actually down to a valuation of only 4-6x PE valuation. True it is unfair to generalise as it is a downtrodden market affected even the best investors in the world. However this is a reflection of the market sentiment and investor confidence.

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-25 12:18 | Report Abuse

Now if you compare the major dips from the peak to the bottom in 1997 - (1250 to 500), 2008 - (1400 to 800), & today 2020 - (1900 to 1219), it would appear there may be still some down side. On average each crisis, it falls close to or more than 50% from the peak of the market. Also you will notice the timeframe of recovery is between 6 months - 12 months from the bottom. 2008 was more of a V shape rebound compared to U shape rebound for 1997. Would 2020 crisis be a V or U shaped? In my view, it would be a U-shaped if the vaccine is not created sooner than later. After all, since the explosion of epidemic in Wuhan, China till today, it has been almost 4 months.


The important difference is this, so far there is no mass layoff yet and no street protest or unrest for Malaysia. Also, BNM is still solid and fundamentally sound compared to back in 1997. However, all this will get out of control if the new Government do not get their actions together to formulate a proper way out for the country. Remember, there is still shortfall from GST, shortfall from oil plunge income for the national coffers, increasing budget deficit, high debt outstanding from 1MDB amongst the many other issues we have yet to resolve. With limited fiscal room for the Government to manoeuvre, there is a risk our MGS will become less attractive for foreign funds especially with this global sell down, foreign funds as more choice than before where the global markets having lofty valuations compared to Malaysia.


2. Statesmanship to Lead the Country out of Turmoil :

One of the most notable effort by our country leaders during the 1997 crisis was to implement capital control to help us out. Shortly in 1 year, Malaysia was back on growth track. Till today, many dispute this decision by our Govt then. It wasn't until much later that international community praised Malaysia government in rejecting IMF money by pegging Ringgit against USD.

The fact of that matter is today, we do not have the leader of comparable calibre to lead us, be it in terms of government policy or economic policy. The backdoor government only cares about their own position and power and in the midst of the Covid-19 played a terrible political play for their own personal interest leading to the spike in cases due to lapse in supervision and control measures implement.

Many things could have been prevented and many rescue plans could have been formulated if the government was still operating, not a window of 2 week coupled with further effort spent on politicking, trade bartering and on boarding for new / old but incompetent ministers. This is my biggest concern as I believe the international community will find a resolution to the virus but the aftermath will have long lasting effect on the country whereby the economy will take a long time to rebound due to poor leadership.

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-25 12:19 | Report Abuse

We previously shared the following stocks as our favourite :


ARBB
AGESON
RCE Capital
DKSH
Riverstone Holdings
GCB
MFCB

Now, you may say by entering this 8 counters, it has fallen also since the time we shared out article. Indeed, however, similarly the valuation you entered is way cheaper than its FV am I right? So if you should hold it for 12 months, would it still concern you? That is what you should ask yourself.

We are looking at these few more :
Scicom
RHB Bank
Pentamaster
Public Bank
QL Resources

Posted by QuartzWilly > 2020-03-25 12:22 | Report Abuse

Hello wishingwell and quantunace, today had 佛跳墙for lunch, yum yum.

Posted by Elaine Tan > 2020-03-25 12:27 | Report Abuse

Yes guys, Arbb is a good time to buy in now.
10% Climb today from my Techs portfolio...

So wonderful....

Slowly market go to 1400..slowly Arbb will climb to rm0.60 again...then people start chasing Arbb again.

Happy trading

Posted by Revenue Queen > 2020-03-25 12:32 | Report Abuse

wow QuartzWilly 佛跳墙for lunch, belanja us?!

Posted by RalphFitzzy > 2020-03-25 12:39 | Report Abuse

salam bro and sis, covid19 cause 16 kematian, jaga 2 ya semua. Jangan berkumpul, semua sembunyi dalam umah

Posted by traderstrades > 2020-03-25 12:44 | Report Abuse

Those who predicted the ability of Donald Trump to goreng stock market, is now being paid handsomely. yahoooooooo

Posted by YakuzaYamazaki > 2020-03-25 12:47 | Report Abuse

Did you guys know credit card holders MUST pay more than normal payments
since credit card holders already cannot pay normal payments

how can credit card holders pay MORE than normal?

Bank Negara tot about it
and taking the opportunity to bankrupt more than 1 million people in Malaysia.
When these people go bankrupt, those housing loans will go bankrupt also.

Bank Negara's ultimate objective is to make houses more affordable coz all these bankrupts will have houses forced sold.

There is definite systemic risk to the banking system with this Bank Negara Annoucement

Posted by YakuzaYamazaki > 2020-03-25 12:48 | Report Abuse

example

credit card holders already cannot pay RM100.00

now Bank Negara says MUST pay RM150.00 or go bankrupt.......

now situation has become much much worse to the economy

sure many more people will become bankrupt.

get ready money to buy more cheap houses.

Posted by YakuzaYamazaki > 2020-03-25 12:49 | Report Abuse

So credit card holders MUST pay more than normal payments
since credit card holders already cannot pay normal payments

how can credit card holders pay MORE than normal?

Bank Negara tot about it
and taking the opportunity to bankrupt more than 1 million people in Malaysia.
When these people go bankrupt, those housing loans will go bankrupt also.

Bank Negara's ultimate objective is to make houses more affordable coz all these bankrupts will have houses forced sold.

There is definite systemic risk to the banking system with this Bank Negara Annoucement

Posted by YakuzaYamazaki > 2020-03-25 12:49 | Report Abuse

AND BE CAREFUL

latest Bank Negara annoucement is designed to bankrupt more than a million people in Malaysia.

credit card installments NOT allowed to be deferred. Care guys

Posted by youngthugs > 2020-03-25 12:53 | Report Abuse

Salam RalphFitzzy

With aggressive testing, single digit confirmed case?

On 14 March, 1600+ from Tabligh reported to have breathing difficulty. I estimate the gov test 100-200 of them daily. Not really sure how many GH can test per day, but I don't think it can be quick. By counting the date, most of them have been tested by now. What we see from now maybe from the second wave, the friends and relatives of those 1600+ and those from 12500 attendees who ran away hiding.

Swabbing takes 6 hours to confirm the result.

youngthugs

Posted by THEREALDEAL > 2020-03-25 13:10 | Report Abuse

Good to know, All recovering as US Dow Futures are recovering.

Malaysians now very free. Can follow Dow Futures so closely.

Happy trading Arbb 7181 fighters!

Posted by mf > 2020-03-25 13:11 | Report Abuse

Stock futures decline following a historic rebound as massive stimulus deal nears

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-25 13:14 | Report Abuse

sure bo YakuzaYamazaki? So pandai argh new goverment?

Posted by Kenny Chua > 2020-03-25 13:19 | Report Abuse

Being complacent is the most serious mistake under Trump's administration. He was very reluctant to heed advices from his expert teams regarding coronavirus crisis. He was so scare if he were taken strengthen measures to fight against coronavirus, DJ might not able to sustain until the election. Therefore, he kept goreng DJ through downplaying and releasing 'positive' news about coronavirus.

Posted by Elaine Tan > 2020-03-25 13:20 | Report Abuse

Now he has "Chinese Virus". He will prevail...

Posted by YakuzaYamazaki > 2020-03-25 13:21 | Report Abuse

sure, alipay88

Posted by QuantumAce > 2020-03-25 13:23 | Report Abuse

china and u.s habis cerita liao

Posted by Kenny Chua > 2020-03-25 13:27 | Report Abuse

All the while he had been given big thumbs up to Xi for his excellent leadership in combating coronavirus....He was only stopped after DJ crashed and waken him up 2 weeks ago. He used to proud of his great leadership in bring DJ all the way up to 29500, a history record. This great party did not last for long...celebrating while others are suffering. It’s time to face the reality of coronavirus crisis.

What’s Trump political achievements after he is in power for more than 3 years? Trade agreement signed with China in Jan 20 is certainly koyak due to corona virus crisis. DJ has crashed to the level below the day he assumed office on 20 Jan 2017...The last resort is intensified fighting with China in whatever areas.....more turbulence are on the way before US elections.

Posted by Kenny Chua > 2020-03-25 13:28 | Report Abuse

China stocks hit 1-week high on US stimulus plan

HONG KONG: China stocks hit a one-week high on Wednesday on hopes that the U.S. Congress would pump trillions of dollars to support the world's largest economy during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Also helping sentiment, Mainland China reported a drop in new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday as imported infections fell and no locally transmitted infections were reported.

At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was up 1.6% at 2,765.12 points, having reached its highest level since March 18 in morning trade. The blue-chip CSI300 index was higher by 2% and also hit its one-week high.

CSI300's financial sector sub-index climbed 1.5%, the consumer staples sector gained 1.9%, the real estate index added 1.8% and the healthcare sub-index rallied 3.4%.

Chinese H-shares listed in Hong Kong rose 2.1%. The Hang Seng Index also climbed 2.1% to 23,143.24. The smaller Shenzhen index was up 2.1% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index gained 2.5%.

Senior Democrats and Republicans in the divided U.S. Congress said on Tuesday they were close to a deal on a $2 trillion stimulus package to limit the economic damage from coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese and other Asian stock markets tracked Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its biggest one-day percentage gain since 1933.

MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was firmer by 2.9% and Japan's Nikkei index jumped 5.5%.

The number of new infections in China totalled 47 on Tuesday, all of which were from travellers returning home, down from 78 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said.

The country appears to be getting back to work. More than one fifth of American companies in China are back to normal operations after widespread disruptions caused by the coronavirus epidemic, a survey showed Wednesday.

"Overall, retail investors in China are confident in the Chinese stock market," Toby Wu, senior analyst at eToro, said in a note.

"As the pandemic continues to ease in China, we expect to see more foreign investment flowing into the market."

The yuan was 0.11% softer at 7.07 per U.S. dollar as of 0359 GMT.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 9.3%, while China's H-share index is down 16%. Shanghai stocks have declined almost 4% this month.

At midday, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.46% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-25 15:42 | Report Abuse

Why does it feel like night today?
Something in the air's not right today
Why am I so uptight today?
Paranoia's all I got left
I don't know what stressed me first
Or how the pressure was fed
But I know just what it feels like
To have a voice in the back of my head
Like a face that I hold inside
A face that awakes when I close my eyes
A face watches every time I lie
A face that laughs every time I fall
(It watches everything)
So I know now when it's time to sink or swim
That the face inside is hearing me
Right beneath my skin

Posted by Andychin发财 > 2020-03-25 15:47 | Report Abuse

“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.”

Posted by Elaine Tan > 2020-03-26 12:14 | Report Abuse

Good Afternoon Happy investors of Arb! Its lunch time......

Posted by RoboTop > 2020-03-27 00:08 | Report Abuse

Buy when there is blood in the street. That's what I did.

Posted by THEREALDEAL > 2020-03-27 09:15 | Report Abuse

Good morning to all arbb 7181 fighters

Posted by Elaine Tan > 2020-03-27 10:11 | Report Abuse

Morning guys

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 10:14 | Report Abuse

Hi guys, love a cup of tea on this very morning.

Posted by traderstrades > 2020-03-27 10:21 | Report Abuse

Add oil add oil

Posted by traderstrades > 2020-03-27 12:41 | Report Abuse

一生中，人会遇见几次的大好机会？贪和怕总是干扰思想。投资时看长期，如果短期出现机会可操作。因为贪婪，经不起诱惑，人都会想赚快钱，却没认真考虑过，多数的赚快钱之路充满陷阱。

任何时候都没有一百巴仙把握，只能算机率，只有不变的重复性事情才是稳定，股市不是，只是基本道理，永恒不变，成功需要提高水准，充分计划。

快速的深跌，过度超卖，加上严重低估，非常少见，风险也很有限，如果不是买到最低，只要能算出过了一段时间会有良好的回酬，进行投资。

以长期出发投资为目标，如果出现短期机会，涨得快又多，考虑劲扬时卖。

不要一成不变，考虑活动，切记不是过于活跃地进行买卖。

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 12:47 | Report Abuse

Sounds like blaming others for Covid19!

BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Mainland China reported an increase in new confirmed coronavirus cases, all of which involved travellers arriving from abroad, the National Health Commission said on Thursday.

The commission said in a statement that a total of 67 new cases were reported as of end-Wednesday, up from 47 a day earlier, putting the total accumulated number of confirmed coronavirus cases to date at 81,285.

The commission also reported a total of 3,287 deaths at the end of Wednesday, up 6 from the previous day.

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 12:48 | Report Abuse

Suddenly all those infected came from outside China! Can you believe it! Like China is now totally free from Covid19!

Posted by WealthMaster88 > 2020-03-27 12:51 | Report Abuse

CCP is very powerful in the universe. They can even instruct coronavirus to run away immediately without looking back. They have some super human to talk or negotiate with coronavirus.Don’t play play with CCP because they have the ability to summon coronavirus to anywhere in the world or even the universe. US?....nothing more than a small potato in the earth only.

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 12:55 | Report Abuse

Thanks for the indepth analysis!wealthmaster88

Basically like watching those CCP propaganda movies! One bullet can kill dozens of enemies! China emerges victorious against the world! Laughing all the way watching CCP propagand movies in Malaysia, at least you don't have to worry! In China, it's major crime to do it! You have to put huge potrait of Chairman xi if you want you shop free from officials pestering! Guess, if you do the same here by hanging bigballs cute face in from of pork shop!

Posted by WealthMaster88 > 2020-03-27 12:58 | Report Abuse

alipay88,You can talk like this because you are outside China. If you are staying in China, they might put you behind bars for defying CCP.

Posted by MoneyMaker168 > 2020-03-27 13:06 | Report Abuse

Everyone are busy goreng arbb counters now... Chaos has settled down due to tight liquidity after FED launched unlimited QE. Looking forward better QR in coming months.Market was too volatile since last 2 weeks due to margin call created rampant chaos...Time to look for companies which is certainly reporting better QR. Similiar to Arbb........

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 13:09 | Report Abuse

Having said so Arb still relatively safe n defensive as long as covid 19 is still around,but limited upside potential.Many r now betting on the co n sectors which will rebound strongly when covid 19 is under control then, count me in.

Posted by MoneyMaker168 > 2020-03-27 13:13 | Report Abuse

Well, just look at number of infected in US and EU, it's really no brainer! Auto pilot for gloves! Wuhan looks lame compare to US plus EU! Trump should have lockdown the whole country to stablize the coronavirus infection. Now the 50% of the population under lockdown mode...don’t know how long it would drag. Hope for V shape rebound but......You see China hasn’t fully unlocked it cities yet after 2 months.construction will be on full swing! Government will have to revive all mega projects! Full swing! Interest rate low, oil is cheap! Cheap money from investors too! Mohiden will be numb if he doesn't revive all mega projects! It's like refusing to buy a house when banks offer you bloody cheap loan, relative handing your cash,and you wifey paying half of the loan!

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-27 13:18 | Report Abuse

moneymaker168. Cash is king ....it’s not a permanent solution. Must deploy it given the opportunity now and wait for the asset bubble forming in next few years.Economic model has changed, but conservative economists have not move on! The thing is, government must spend to create robust economy! Unless the government is run by Mahathir, then of course you will see a certain bust of the cycle! I mean a wise government will build airports and let private run the airplanes! But no! You have national pride of Mahathir for us to bail him out! So you see, it's depends on what you spend on!

Posted by alipay88 > 2020-03-27 13:21 | Report Abuse

I only know how to buy low sell high or sell high buy low to make some money only.And i feel that the mkt oredi reach its bottom last week, Hope the mkt could prove me wrong in the next few weeks,in the next 6 months as the companies starting to announce QR-mostly koyak.

Posted by traderstrades > 2020-03-27 13:23 | Report Abuse

Coronavirus stimulus package is ‘short-term bullish’ but stock-market could turn ‘nasty’ in months ahead, analyst says. Bill Gates on Trump call for quick end to lockdown: It’s tough to tell people ‘keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner’

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-27 15:05 | Report Abuse

Stimulus Package 2020

Speech by Interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

1. I wish to officially put on record our appreciation to the doctors, nurses, health workers, Immigration and other front liners protecting Malaysia from the COVID-19 outbreak. The COVID-19 outbreak has been well contained with most of those infected having recovered fully.

2. Eventhough COVID-19 has been well contained, the disease has a significant impact on the global economy and Malaysia.

3. Therefore, the Government will introduce the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package to ensure economic risks associated with the outbreak are effectively addressed. Various strategies have been formulated to ensure that Malaysian economy remains on strong foundations.

The RM20 billion economic stimulus package

4. The stimulus package valued at RM20 billion is anchored on three strategies as follows:
Strategy I: Mitigating impact of COVID-19;
Strategy II: Spurring rakyat centric economic growth; and
Strategy III: Promoting quality investments

Strategy I: Mitigating impact of COVID-19

5. The most immediate economic impact of COVID-19 has been the sharp decline in tourist arrivals throughout the region. Hotels, airlines, travel companies and more broadly the tourism-dependent retail industry have been badly affected.

6. To mitigate the impact, the Government will implement a three-pronged approach — first, to ease the cash flow of affected businesses, second, to assist affected individuals, and third, to stimulate demand for travel and tourism.

Easing cashflow

7. To assist businesses most adversely affected, the Government proposes for a period of 6 months beginning from April until September 2020:

First: To allow deferment of monthly income tax instalment payments for businesses in the tourism sector. In addition, companies affected by the COVID-19 to be allowed to revise their profit estimates for 2020 with respect to monthly income tax instalment payments without penalty;

Second: To provide 15% discount in monthly electricity bills to hotels, travel agencies, airlines, shopping malls, conventions and exhibitions centres;

Third: To exempt Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) levies for hotels and travel-related companies; and

Fourth: To exempt the 6% service tax for hotels. However, this exemption will be made effective earlier, that is from March to August 2020.

8. The Government will also provide financing facilities for affected companies, as follows:

First: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will provide a Special Relief facility worth RM2 billion, particularly in the form of working capital for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at an interest rate of 3.75%; and

Second: Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) will allocate RM200 million in microcredit facility offering an interest rate of 4% to affected businesses. In addition, the approval process for existing loan funds will be further streamlined such as Bank Pembangunan’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund of RM1.5 billion.

9. All banks are required to provide financial relief in the form of payment moratorium comprising restructuring and rescheduling loans for affected businesses and individuals. BNM is tasked to ensure that all financial institutions will assist all companies in need without exception.

10. In the spirit of shared responsibility to overcome current challenges, the Government calls on industry players to play their part — for hotels to offer discounts and shopping malls to reduce rentals to their tenants.

11. Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will provide rebates on rental for premises at the airport as well as landing and parking charges.

Assistance for affected individuals

12. The Government acknowledges lower tourist arrivals has negatively impacted those reliant on tourism. The Government will give a one-off payment of RM600 each to taxi drivers, tourist bus drivers, tourist guides and registered trishaw drivers.

13. As a sign of appreciation to those in the front line protecting Malaysia from the contagion, Government staff directly involved in the containment efforts will be eligible for a special monthly critical allowance of RM400 for medical doctors and other medical personnel, as well as RM200 for immigration and related front line staff commencing February 2020 until the end of pandemic.

14. To date, the Ministry of Health has committed RM150 million to purchase the relevant equipment, medicine and consumables in the effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government will provide the necessary resources to ensure the COVID-19 outbreak is well managed.

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-27 15:06 | Report Abuse

Human capital development

15. The Government encourages employers to further invest in raising the productivity of human capital during this economic slowdown period.

Towards this, the Government will provide double deduction on expenses incurred on approved tourism-related training. The Government will also provide up to RM100 million on a matching grant basis to HRDF to fund an additional 40,000 employees from the tourism and other affected sectors.

16. The Government will also provide RM50 million to subsidise short courses in digital skills and highly skilled courses. This incentive is expected to benefit 100,000 Malaysians.

17. The Malaysian workers retrenched can rely on the Employment Insurance System (EIS) with a current fund of RM1.1 billion. Furthermore, EIS will increase the claimable training cost from RM4,000 to RM6,000 for the affected sectors. A daily training allowance of RM30 per day will also be provided to trainees under EIS.

Stimulate tourism sector

18. To stimulate tourism industry, the Government will introduce initiatives as follows:

First: personal income tax relief of up to RM1,000 on expenditure related to domestic tourism;

Second: All Malaysians will be eligible for digital vouchers for domestic tourism of up to RM100 per person for domestic flights, railway and hotel accommodation. Additional matching grants for tourism promotion will be provided. An allocation of RM500 million is provided for the vouchers and tourism promotion; and

Third: Relaxation of existing guidelines limiting use of hotels by Government agencies as part of mitigating the reduced demand.

Strategy II : Catalysing rakyat centric economic growth rakyat’s assistance

19. The effects of COVID-19 reverberate beyond the tourism industry. Malaysian businesses, especially exporters are affected by supply chain disruptions involving factories and ports in China.

20. Therefore, the Government will carry out immediate measures to boost local consumption growth to cushion the effect of negative external factors, while protecting local Malaysian jobs. These measures include:

First: the minimum Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution by employees will be reduced by 4% from 11% to 7%, with effect from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020. This will potentially unlock up to RM10 billion worth of private consumption.

Malaysian workers have the option to opt out from the scheme and maintain their contribution rate.

Second: a payment of RM200 to all Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients scheduled for May 2020 will be brought forward to March 2020.

Third: an additional RM100 will be paid into the bank accounts of all BSH recipients in May 2020. Subsequently, an additional RM50 will be channelled in the form of e-tunai.

21. To enhance the income of rakyat and reduce cost of living, the Government will undertake the following initiatives:

First: Agrofood facility of RM1 billion will be provided by BNM at an interest cost of 3.75% to promote food production activities to meet domestic and export demand.

Second: RM10 million allocation to FAMA to provide food storage facilities to help reduce food prices.

Third: Grants of RM1,000 to 10,000 local entrepreneurs to promote sale of their products on e-commerce platforms.

Fourth: Allocation of RM20 million to Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) for Perkhidmatan e-Dagang Setempat (PeDAS) programme to transform Pusat Internet Desa into e-commerce hubs.

Rural stimulus

22. The Government will allocate an additional RM2 billion for the immediate implementation of small infrastructure repair and upgrading projects nationwide especially in rural areas. To ensure that the projects are effectively implemented for the benefit of the rakyat, the allocations will be channelled in partnership with State Governments, local authorities, NGOs and local communities.

23. The projects need to be implemented expeditiously in order to give positive impact in stimulating the economy. To expedite the implementation of all projects, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) will provide special relaxation on financial procedures for the year 2020 as follows:

First: Increase procurement threshold value for balloting from RM50,000 to RM100,000 and for quotations from RM500,000 to RM800,000;

Second: Ensure Ministries channel sufficient allocations to
respective implementing agencies by first quarter of 2020. MoF will oversee the compliance to procurement schedule to ensure projects are undertaken on a timely basis.

Strategy III: Promoting quality investments

24. To bolster business confidence, the Government is committed to sustaining public investments and in particular, expedite in 2020 the tenders and implementation of development expenditure projects.

25. In addition, agencies and Government linked companies (GLCs) will also accelerate planned investment projects for 2020, including:

Posted by WealthMaster > 2020-03-27 15:06 | Report Abuse

First: Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment
and Climate Change (MESTECC) will open for bids quota of 1,400MW for solar power generation. This is expected to involve RM5 billion of private investments and generate 25,000 jobs;

Second: Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will implement up to RM3 billion on works related to the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP); and

Third: GLCs such as TNB will invest RM13 billion in 2020, including accelerating projects such as LED street lights, transmission lines and rooftop solar installations.

26. To enhance greater national competitiveness, the Government will promote higher value-added private sector investments through:

First: A Co-Investment fund of RM500 million to be co-invested and matched by private investors on a ratio of at least 1 to 3 which will make the total funds amount to RM2 billion for investment in early-stage and growth-stage Malaysian companies;

Second: waiving of the listing fees by Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia for one year for companies seeking listing on Leading Entrepreneur Accelerator Platform (LEAP) or Access, Certainty, Efficiency (ACE) markets, as well as companies with market capitalisation of less than RM500 million seeking listing on the Main Market;

Third: BNM will provide an SME Automation & Digitalization Facility of RM300 million at an interest cost of 3.75%;

Fourth: the Government will provide accelerated capital allowances over a two-year period on expenses incurred on machinery and equipment including ICT;

Fifth: The Government will provide a tax deduction of up to RM300,000 on renovation and refurbishment cost; and

Sixth: Import duty and sales tax exemption on importation or local purchase of machinery and equipment used in port operations for 3 years commencing 1 April 2020.

Closing

27. In 2003, Malaysia experienced a similar situation with the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that began in East Asia, tourist arrivals plunged regionally. That played a role in bringing Malaysia’s quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth down from 7.1% in the third quarter of 2002 to 4.6% in the same quarter a year later. However, as a result of the comprehensive economic stimulus package, Malaysian economy recovered to 6.5% in the fourth quarter of 2003. Insya-Allah, the 2020 economic stimulus package will be as successful.

28. Due to the global economic scenario and COVID-19 impact, Malaysia’s GDP growth in 2020 is estimated to be in the range of 3.2% to 4.2%. I believe, the economic stimulus package will enable the Malaysian economy to achieve the highest point of the range. In formulating the stimulus package, the Government exercised prudence with respect to its fiscal position. As a result of the stimulus package, fiscal deficit is estimated to slightly increase to 3.4% of GDP compared with the original
target of 3.2% of GDP.

29. The Government is cognisant that the implementation of the economic stimulus package cannot be successfully delivered by the Government alone. Therefore, the Government calls on the private sector to play their part in ensuring the stimulus package is successful.

30. At the same time, the Government calls on the rakyat to remain steadfast, brave and diligent in prevailing over the current challenges and emerge even stronger after this episode.

31. Insya-Allah, with the cooperation, persistent effort and solid identity, our beloved nation will become more prosperous and resilient.

Thank you.