- Medical tourism will be one of Malaysia’s key focus for economic growth
- China to derail a USD23 bil deal that includes the sale of two ports along the Panama Canal
- Lego opened a new factory in Vietnam
IN Malaysia
We start with Trump’s tariff update…..
- Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour told Bloomberg TV that the central bank has no plans to cut its overnight policy rate (OPR), in light of the crash and burn created by the new Trump tariff. Abdul Rasheed added that monetary policy is not the best tool to resolve trade war and as a country, we have to rely on broader economic tools. BNM has kept the policy rate at 3% since May 2023.
- Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated that Putrajaya will wait until next Monday to give the kata putus on how to respond to the new tariff, as the ASEAN trade ministers are meeting this week. Consequently, a request for a diplomatic delegation and trade discussion will be made to Washington to negotiate a better deal for Malaysia and Southeast Asia as a whole. At the moment, finance ministers and central bank governors convened in Kuala Lumpur for the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) from April 8 until April 10.
And ends with how to make our economy resilient
- Investing in border regions – PM Anwar Ibrahim stated that Malaysia is committed to investing in regions bordering its ASEAN neighbours to boost its economic growth. Among the border regions mooted are of course the border areas in the northern peninsula with Thailand (delapan wink wink) and the Sabah-Sarawak border area with Kalimantan, Indonesia. PM Anwar said that two main factors in making border regions successful are lowering barriers and coordinating policy between two economies. PM Anwar lauded that over nearly six decades, ASEAN has withstood wars, crises, and coups, and still managed to inch forward, often frustratingly, but forward nonetheless, exuding his confidence in ASEAN to survive the Trump 2.0 presidency.
- Promoting medical tourism – Putrajaya is looking to further anchor Malaysia’s position as the region’s hospital moving forward. According to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), in 2023, more than 1 mil healthcare visitors checked into Malaysia’s healthcare institutions, spending almost USD500 mil. In 1Q2025 alone, 1.52 mil international patients have been admitted, in line with the country’s goal to pocket in USD2.7 bil by the end of the decade. Medical tourists coming to Malaysia now do not just hail from the traditional markets of Indonesia and China but also South Asia, the Middle East and even Europe. Do you know that Penang is the top medical tourism destination in the country? Penang generates 45% of Malaysia’s revenue in the medical tourism sector and is the number one in the sector. Perhaps something in that Penang water which makes their nasi kandar sedap and their hospitals in demand.
Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-medical-tourism-healthcare-treatment-5051111
Around the S.E.A.
The US vs China trade war is entering a new phase
After Beijing retaliated to Trump’s tariff by increasing its levies on US imports from 34% to 84% starting today, US President Donald Trump just went batshit crazy and announced 125% duties on Chinese imports, while putting a pause to higher reciprocal tariffs on dozens of non-retaliating countries for 90 days. It was unclear which countries would receive the tariff amnesty, but those countries would still be imposed the baseline 10% tariff. Commenting on his new 125% tariff on China’s products, Trump said that the new tariff level is justified based on China’s lack of respect shown to the world’s markets. Now, we know who is the real intended target of his Liberation Day’s tariffs.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/750934
The US and China not only fought on trade matters but also on the sale of two ports along the Panama Canal by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to a consortium led by US investment firm BlackRock. Previously, CK Hutchison announced the USD23 bil deal that includes the sale of the two ports, which angered China and made Trump smile, where the latter claimed the deal as a major victory in his attempt to take back the Panama Canal from China. However, now China is attempting to derail the deal by utilising its so-called overreaching jurisdiction. Although the deal occurred offshore, CK Hutchison is publicly listed in Hong Kong and China may have jurisdiction. Nevertheless, some analysts say CK Hutchison, which is not financially dependent on the Chinese government and is owned by the richest person in Hong Kong – Li Ka-shing, is expected to press ahead with the deal. When your net worth is bigger than the GDP of Iceland, you can be a rebel against Big Papa China.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trump-panama-canal-take-back-military-china-blackrock-rcna199438
Lego to open a factory in Vietnam
While most companies are mulling pulling their plugs from the region, Danish toymaker Lego has opened a USD1.3 bil factory in southern Vietnam, as part of the company’s strategy to be closer to its key market – the Southeast Asia region. The Danish family-owned company said it would also open a regional distribution centre in Vietnam later this year, its second in Asia, to increase flexibility and agility in its supply chain network. The new factory in Vietnam will be the sixth factory globally after Denmark, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Mexico and China. Commenting on Trump’s new tariff, CEO Niels Christiansen shrugged off the impact of the tariffs and said “Tariffs is not what’s keeping me awake at night”. Another alpha male after Li Ka-shing. My man.
For your EYES only
In order to bypass Trump’s new tariffs, Apple flew in 5 planes full of iPhones from its factories in India (India being slapped with a 26% tariff) to be sold to the US market. Assuming that five Boeing 747 planes were used, about 400,000 units can be fit in a plane, cumulatively adding up to a total of 2 mil units flown in. That 2 mil units might be worth USD2 bil in sales, given that the average selling price of USD1,000 is used. That is about 3% of Apple’s iPhone revenue numbers in 1Q2025.
Apple reportedly flew in 5 planes full of iPhones into the U.S. to avoid tariffs pic.twitter.com/ROVdgBPcwT
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) April 8, 2025
