- Existing development projects will be accelerated along the Malaysia-Thai border
- The rise of solar power prominence across the region
- The US is becoming nastier
IN Malaysia
Sawadikap and goodbye to Malaysia
Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra concluded a two-day working visit to Malaysia yesterday. This was her first visit to her southern neighbour since she was appointed to office last August. Below are some of the key highlights of her visit –
- Malaysia and Thailand want more of each other (kitonya clingy), so both governments agreed to build more bridges, roads, and rail links to spur economic growth, especially in the border area. The planned second bridge at Rantau Panjang and the upgrading of an existing bridge in the same area will be accelerated. At the same time, talks will be held on the integration of double-rail links from Ipoh, Perak to Hat Yai, Thailand and to match planned high-speed rail alignments in both countries.
- Both countries have agreed to set a USD30 bil bilateral target by 2027. One of the ways to achieve the target is by establishing a regional border economic zone to streamline trade and investment along the border. PM Anwar is basically copy-pasting his South strategy and duplicating it for the North. But, if it works, why not? At the moment, Thailand is our sixth-largest trading partner globally, with bilateral trade valued at USD24.83 bil in 2023. In order to achieve the USD30 bil target, the annual bilateral trade growth needs to be at least 5% per annum. So, business as usual will not be enough.
- PM Anwar Ibrahim has appointed former Thai PM cum the father of the current PM, Thaksin Shinawatra as his personal adviser to assist him with Malaysia’s upcoming ASEAN chairmanship in 2025. Thaksin will be a part of a group of informal advisers that will be set up to support the ASEAN chair. Former Singapore Minister George Yeo is also one of the names mooted for a seat in the informal advisory group. Prabowo in Indonesia, Thaksin in Thailand, Marcos in the Philippines and PM Anwar in Malaysia, it is like we are in a time loop where ASEAN is like in the 2000-s again.
On another related news in regards to Malaysia-Thailand, Kelantan police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat announced that there has been an 80% drop in smuggling cases along the border since the December 1 crackdown on illegal crossings. Under the current law, those caught violating the border crossing ban, including students, could face fines of up to RM10,000 under Section 5(2) of the Immigration Act.
Around the S.E.A.
The solar power thirst across the region
- A wholly-owned subsidiary of BP plc has awarded Gamuda Bhd’s Australian unit, DT Infrastructure Pty Ltd, RM1.8 bil contract to develop the 585MW Goulburn River Solar Farm project that will be located in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The BP plc wholly-owned subsidiary, Lightsource bp is an entity that delivers utility-scale solar projects to decarbonise energy systems and has at least set up 1,387MW capacity worth of solar farms across Australia.
- Just now a Malaysian company building solar farms overseas, now a foreign company is setting up a solar farm supply chain in Malaysia. China-based Ningbo Deye Technology Co is planning to invest up to RM667.5 mil in building a solar equipment manufacturing base in Malaysia. Ningbo is one example of China companies coming to Malaysia as Chinese firms looking to circumvent US restrictions on their products.
US President Joe Biden is not bowing out quietly
The US is set to give several tech giants such as Google and Microsoft the ‘gatekeeper’ status that will empower the companies to offer unlimited access to AI chips and capabilities to allied states, leaving just a limited number of licenses for foreign actors to get their hands on importing powerful AMD and Nvidia chips. These gatekeeper-status companies will also become the tukang report for the US government in closing any loopholes that Chinese companies are using to bypass existing restrictions.
Source: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/us-set-to-allow-tech-giants-to-control-access-to-ai-chips
While the US is implementing a close-door trade policy, the UK on the other hand is embracing the laissez-faire vibes and has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the first European country to do so. The trade partnership could potentially boost the UK economy by USD2.5 bil a year in the long run. At the moment, there are 12 parties in the CPTPP (including Malaysia), which is a spin-off of the initial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), that emerged after then-US President Donald Trump refused the ratify the TPP.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/737764
For your EYES only
Khazanah Nasional is not all bad. Despite the number of bad investments made (including FashionValet), Khazanah dodged a USD1.4 bil bullet by not investing in Indonesian-based unicorn eFishery, which is currently embroiled in a top management crisis. The crisis was triggered by the suspension of its co-founders after allegations of mismanagement were raised due to the uncovering of financial irregularities.
How Khazanah Dodged a USD1.4 BILLION Bullet pic.twitter.com/dmmlqEQRXM
— The Coffee Break | Grow Smarter Daily (@BreakMyCoffee) December 16, 2024
