- The northern region is slowly becoming the second Klang Valley of Malaysia
- Malaysia Airline’s bad luck continues
- While others like a strong currency, Thais despise of it, for good reasons
IN Malaysia
The North is making Malaysia proud
PM Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) successfully realised RM48.25 bil in investments from January to September this year, a 60% spike compared to the same period last year. These realised investments have generated 10,529 new job opportunities in the region. NCER is one of the development regions in Malaysia, covering four states namely Perak, Penang, Kedah and Perlis. From 2009 until the end of last month, a total of RM248.42 bil of investments has been realised, with the manufacturing sector taking the gold medal of the investment standing, contributing an astounding 84.1%. Penang undoubtedly has been the catalyst of the region, which subsequently has been spilt over to Kulim, Kedah. Another area we should have eyes on in the North is the Delapan, a special border economic zone that borders Thailand. In the Game of Thrones, most will say that winter is coming from the North, but in Malaysia, the saying should be prosperity is coming from the North instead.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/730409
The landslide at Taman Melawati, Selangor is not due to over-development
Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said that the landslide that happened at Taman Melawati after the heavy downpour was not due to over-development of the area, but instead was due to clogged drains. The impacted area is not a high-density development and it has been more than a decade since the last planning permission was issued. Amirudin added that this is a maintenance issue and urged all related parties to ensure the drainage is unobstructed at all times.
In regard to the same incident, Deputy Works Minister Ahmad Maslan stated that the underlying sedimentary rocks at Taman Melawati Hill remain strong. The repair work on the hill slope will require time, and deploying various methods including soil nailing. Nonetheless, it is time to think of other places, outside of the Klang Valley, to reside and work. Perhaps the North?
The tales of two sides of the coin
At one end of the aviation industry, Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy Wong Hon Wai is excited to roll out the expansion of the Penang International Airport (PIA) which will almost double the capacity of the airport to 12 mil passengers per annum. This year, PIA is expected to cater to almost 7.8 mil passengers, way beyond its design capacity of 6.5 mil passengers. Wong added that he will also coordinate with MRT Corp on the new LRT station that will be built near the airport. PIA’s origin can be traced down to the British colonial years, as it was built in 1935, then named Bayan Lepas International Airport. So, thank you British for building it? Ah, it does not sound right to thank the British for anything.
On the unlucky side of the coin, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the mother company of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) announced that the delivery of its first Airbus A330neo aircraft has been delayed, from September 2024 to November 2024. The delay of the new aircraft will certainly impact the airline’s modernisation plan as its current fleet of A330 aeroplanes was hampered with issues, staining MAS’ reputation that you thought could not get even worse after they signed to be Manchester United’s official airline. The whole team of MAG need to mandi bunga. Call me MAG, I know a place 😉.
Source: https://soyacincau.com/2024/10/16/malaysia-airlines-a330neo-delayed-nov-2024/
Around the S.E.A.
The thirst for data centres continues worldwide
- Zaragoza, Spain – Asset manager company, Blackstone plans to invest USD8.2 bil to develop data centres in the region, following the footsteps of other tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon, where the duo intends to invest almost USD25 bil to build data centres at Zaragoza. For Blackstone, their model is to develop the building and install the cooling machines and cable connections. In return, the company will lease the space for its clients to install their computer servers. One thing I want to highlight here is, that in developing a greenfield area, it is important to lure in big companies as it will crowd in other companies to invest in the area too. Penang did that with Intel and other greenfield areas should deploy the same tactic.
- Oxfordshire, United Kingdom – CloudHQ will develop an area that used to house a coal-fired power station into a USD2.47 bil data centre. The construction of the data centre will create 1,500 jobs and post-construction, 100 permanent posts will remain at the completed facility.
A weak currency is a boon to the tourism industry
Japan’s tourism industry is enjoying its best year as the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) revealed that travellers to Japan spent USD39.27 bil in the first nine months this year, breaking the total spent by travellers in the whole of 2023. All of this needs to be attributed to the weak yen. A visitor to Japan spent an average of 223,000 yen (USD1,490.65), with the Italians forked out the most, followed by Spaniards and Russians.
Thailand is trying to utilise the same playbook as Japan, where the Thai Government has been pressuring the country’s central bank to cut its interest rate. In the end, Thailand’s central bank, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) succumbed to the pressure and cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, marking the first rate cut since May 2020. Previously, BOT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said it won’t easily yield to the government’s pressure to cut rates and boost the economy. Prior to the cut, the local currency had been gaining 14% last quarter, which is bad for the tourism industry as overseas travellers will not be too inclined to travel to the land of smiles.
Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/730418
For your EYES only
Kuala Lumpur has been suffering from a series of heavy downpours for the past few days. To all, please be safe and to employers, please allow work from home until further notice. The number of flooded roads is too many when rain comes in, as even Waze could not keep up with it.
Keadaan kawasan di sekitar Jalan Raja Mahadi dinaiki air semasa tinjauan di Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, malam ini.
Hujan lebat yang melanda sekitar Kuala Lumpur sejak 7.30 malam tadi menyebabkan beberapa lokasi di ibu kota mengalami banjir kilat. Foto Bernama#sinarharian… pic.twitter.com/LWhPwY7vRP
— SinarHarian (@SinarOnline) October 16, 2024
