CPTPP and Its Potential Benefits to Malaysia

BMCC Newsletter Issue #313 - 1 August 2022

Dear Subscriber,

Report Shows That Ratification of CPTPP Presents Net Economic Benefits to Malaysia

Malaysia is set to reap net economic benefits with the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) but with adjustment costs to the government and businesses, based on the Cost-Benefit Analysis on the Potential Impacts of the CPTPP on the Malaysian Economy and Key Economic Sectors report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services and commissioned by the government of Malaysia.

The CPTPP, which groups 11 countries, allows Malaysia to access new and additional market, and enhances the country's competitiveness and attractiveness as an investment destination.

If Malaysia ratifies the CPTPP, its gross development product (GDP) is projected to increase by up to 1.9% in 2030. Malaysia's exports to Canada, Mexico and Peru are expected to be more competitive with the elimination of tariff and reduction of non-tariff barriers.

Malaysia is also expected to gain additional market access in other CPTPP countries that already have free trade agreement with the country. In addition to reduced trade barriers, the CPTPP also provides opportunities for investment through a more competitive and attractive investment ecosystem.

Malaysia's GDP is projected to further increase by up to 4.2% in 2030, if the possible accession of the UK and China into the CPTPP, is considered.

If Malaysia does not participate in the CPTPP, it will result in opportunity cost for the country because extensive flexibilities and safeguards secured may be foregone. The overall net implications for Malaysia are likely to be negative for the country's economy with a decline in GDP and foreign direct investment into Malaysia. It will also limit the market access opportunities for Malaysian companies in the CPTPP countries, mainly due to non-tariff measures. Read more about the report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services here.

Meanwhile, the UK hopes to conclude its application to the CPTPP by the end of this year. It has already completed the first part of the accession process to the CPTPP. International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan was reported by the media as saying the group was "very enthusiastic about our application" and it was "not unrealistic that we might get there by the end of the year".

BMCC Member Engagement | BMCC Official Visit to Sime Darby Property

BMCC conducted an official visit to the Sime Darby Property headquarters in Selangor.

The executive team was represented by our Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Lopez, Membership and Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager, Roufizah Razali, and Public Affairs and Government Relations Manager, Daniel Lee. Our visit was warmly welcomed by Sime Darby Property’s Group Managing Director, Dato’ Azmir Merican as well as Head, Group Corporate Communications, Hafiz Noor and Head, Transformation Office, Jordan Ng Seah Hee.

The visit included engaging discussions on Sime Darby Property’s corporate direction and upcoming future collaborations between both parties. BMCC takes this opportunity to convey our gratitude to Dato’ Azmir and his team for the insightful visit.

As a valuable Sterling member of BMCC, Sime Darby Property is Malaysia’s biggest property developer in terms of land bank, leading the industry in sustainable property developmentwith assets and operations across the Asia-Pacific region, including a global presence in the United Kingdom as developers for several iconic projects.

BMCC Member Engagement | A Corporate Visit to BP Business Service Centre Asia

The BMCC executive team visited the office of BP Business Service Centre Asia to catch-up on BP’s latest development strategies and corporate priorities as well as discussed potential strategic partnerships in the near future.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Jennifer Lopez was kindly welcomed by BP’s Head of Country, Luke Joseph, and Communications and Advocacy Manager, Krystabel Lim. Also in attendance was Membership and Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager, Roufizah Razali, and Public Affairs and Government Relations Manager, Daniel Lee.

BP Business Service Centre Asia has established a strong diversified business presence in Malaysia of over 50 years, providing intelligent business process services as well as operate both a lubricant blending plant and a distribution network that reaches 14,000 customers. BP’s total investments amount to more than USD2.5 billion, making BP one of the largest British investors in Malaysia.

BMCC E-Newsletter Green Edition | Leadership in Action: Inspiring Solutions

Launched in February 2021, the Green edition is published as the last weekly e-newsletter of each month, sharing only content related to sustainability, green initiatives and ESG. The Green edition features Leadership in Action: Inspiring Solutions section with Take 5: Q&A with leaders of our member companies.

Take 5 – offers an insider’s look into our respective members’ Green agenda and how their organisations are implementing various initiatives, activities and commitments that are both environment-friendly and sustainable. Featuring prominent members’ CEOs, the interview aims to highlight industry champions and key opinion leaders to further push the Green narrative as a sustainable aspect of any business operation.

A year down the road, we have had the privilege to interview and feature more than 10 members’ CEOs from prestigious organisations such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, PwC, and Smith + Nephew to name a few - these are well-known organisations that are leading the Green curve in terms of initiatives and implementation.

For example, Shell Malaysia has installed solar panels on rooftops of over 150 retail stations and is using wind and solar energy to power their offshore projects. The University of Nottingham emphasises student initiatives to reduce single-use plastics and encourage sustainable eating and reduce food waste. HSBC is at the forefront of sustainable finance with Green bonds and sustainability sukuks.

We would like to call upon any interested members to participate in this interview and join us in our journey to share best practices, support and influence more organisations to combat climate change. Interested members can enquire at comms@bmcc.org.my.

Meet Malcolm Lee, the Managing Director/Vice-President of Operations Asia Pacific, Dialight Penang Sdn Bhd

Dialight is the world leader in LED industrial lighting technology with millions of LED fixtures installed worldwide. It began in 1938 in Brooklyn, New York, where it produced instrument panel lights for aircraft.

In 1971, just one year after the introduction of the LED, Dialight launched its first LED product. Since then, it has revolutionised the use of LEDs and ONLY LEDs, to provide superior lighting for traffic control, indicators, structural towers and industrial work sites around the world.

Incorporated in April 2012, Dialight Penang Sdn Bhd started its journey with Optoelectronics' Through Hole and Prism business. Dialight supports between 70% and 80% of Optoelectronics's customers in Malaysia.

Malcolm recounted that a major milestone for Dialight Penang was the expansion of the factory, which allowed more space to enhance productivity and to grow its production capabilities. The latest plant can cater for newer operations such as Surface Mounting Technology (SMT) and additional Solid-State Luminaries (SSL) lines.

Travellers Entering Malaysia No Longer Require Traveller’s Card on MySejahtera

The Minister of Health, Khairy Jamaluddin, announced that all travellers entering Malaysia will no longer be required to fill in the Traveller’s Card in the MySejahtera app starting 1 August 2022. This followed previous announcement that Malaysian citizens were no longer required to fill in the Traveller’s Card in July. Following this, every traveller who enters Malaysia will no longer be required to fill in the Traveller’s Card, easing entry requirements into Malaysia, which will be a boost for tourism and business travels, as the economy continues to recover.

Chevening Scholarships 2022

The esteemed Chevening Scholarships is back this year for prospective students looking to study for their master's degree abroad in the UK. Chevening is the UK government’s international scholarship programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and partner organisations. Since its establishment, it has provided 50,000 exceptional individuals awards and fellowships to study in the UK for one year on a fully funded master’s degree course.

Applications for 2023/2024 Chevening Scholarships open on 2 August 2022. For more information, click here.

Malaysian Trade Performance Peaks

Malaysia’s trade has hit 43.3% year-on-year increase in June 2022 despite uncertainty in the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to figures released by the Department of Statistics, total trade has reached an all-time high of RM270.39 billion. The country has seen an increase of 38.8% in exports, with total exports reaching RM146 billion last month, and 49.3% increase in imports to RM124.23 billion. This was recorded throughout the 22-month timespan starting September 2020.

The Statistics Department said the country’s export growth in June was driven by the strong demand for electrical and electronic (E&E) products, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas as well as palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products. Apart from the import of consumption goods that rose by 25.6% to RM9.23bil, Malaysia’s imports in June were also accelerated by the purchase of intermediate and capital goods from foreign markets.

InvestKL Gains RM1.68 billion Worth of Investments in Just the First Half of 2022

Homegrown government investment promotion agency, InvestKL, has attracted an impressive RM1.68 billion worth of investments in just the first half of this year, creating 1,919 high-skilled executive job opportunities. This comes after a record year in 2021 in which InvestKL secured RM2.46 billion investments through 13 global service hubs, and other major companies establishing their hubs in Greater Kuala Lumpur as the country recuperates from Covid-19.

InvestKL has plans to improve its Greater Kuala Lumpur Live Lab (GKL Live Lab) that has signed up two companies out of their target three for 2022, since its launch. Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli, Chief Executive Officer of InvestKL, says that Malaysia needs to nurture more professionals like big data engineers, cybersecurity experts and accountants to meet growing investors’ demands in the future.

Heriot-Watt University Malaysia | Renaming Its Library in Honour of the Late Tan Sri Dato' Seri (Dr) Yeoh Tiong Lay

As part of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia's (HWUM) year-long 10-year anniversary celebration and the late YTL Group Founder Tan Sri Dato' Seri (Dr) Yeoh Tiong Lay’s contribution to the university’s impact over the years, HWUM officially named its library as the Tan Sri (Dr) Yeoh Tiong Lay Library, in the presence of Dato’ Dr Yeoh Seok Kian and his family members on 21 July 2022. The Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, Professor Richard A. Williams, was also present to convey his gratitude to the late Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr) Yeoh Tiong Lay and his family for their contributions to HWUM and the education sector.

Epsom Malaysia | University Offers - Epsom International School, Malaysia Class of 2022

Upon the end of the 2021-2022 academic year, Epsom bids farewell to their university-bound, extraordinary Year 13 cohort after crucial preparations for the final A-Level examinations and university applications. The Epsom Class of 2022 received more than 200 early decision university offers from top universities in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and the US, to name a few.

Reach out to find out more about the A-Level programme and how Epsom Malaysia guides their students through their university application process. Email admissions@epsomschool.com, WhatsApp +60 16-226 7831 or call +606 240 4188.

JLL Property | Exclusive Launch of Bankside Gardens

Join the Kuala Lumpur exclusive launch of No 3 & 7 at Bankside Gardens. Located in one of the best places to live and work in the UK, Reading has a fantastic range of amenities available to residents. With the Crossrail, Reading is connected to London Paddington in 23 minutes.

For more details, please contact Shu Ling at

+6016-290 0353 or shuling.chong@ap.jll.com.

Date: Saturday and Sunday, 6 and 7 August 2022

Time: 10:00am to 6:00pm

Venue: Parkview 1, Level 2, Mandarin Oriental KLCC

Ipsos | Non-Cash Economy and the Role of E-Wallets

Non-cash payments continue to be the preferred choice with more than half of Malaysians making a recent purchase using cashless option. This growth is led by a further pick-up in e-wallet usage, which increased more than any other non-cash method from 2021 to 2022.

The younger population continues to adopt e-wallets but growth appears to have stalled among the older age group. E-wallet usage continues to skew heavily towards urban, high-income segments but the usage is picking up among the lower income groups too.

Nexus | A Story About Resilience: Malaysian Triathlete Isaac Tan Competed in Commonwealth Games, Birmingham, Despite Challenges Due to Autism

Nexus learner and triathlete, Isaac Tan competed with other professional athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK last Friday!

He attributes this success of being chosen to represent Malaysia, to his resilience and his ability to bounce back when he is faced with challenges, whether in sports or in his academics and personal life. In a recent video interview (see the video here), he shares that this is a skill he learnt as part of the education he has received from Nexus International School Malaysia, which offers students with mild learning disabilities the opportunity to complete their education (which otherwise would be difficult to do) in their bespoke programme called the Alternative Pathway.

The school also offers the IB Diploma Programme as a pre-university qualification for its senior learners, the International Primary Curriculum at Primary and IGCSE curriculum in Secondary.

Watch the interview here: www.nexus.edu.my/isaac.

Charterhouse Malaysia | Open House

Be Future Ready. Enrol in Charterhouse Malaysia to unlock your full potential and save up to RM200,000 with our 4 years programme starting from IGCSE.

Our excellent university guidance offers a linked bridge from A-Level to the top university globally. Charterhouse Malaysia Independent Learning Projects and Design Thinking aims to make you stand out from the crowd.

Admissions are open for IGCSE and A-Level, August 2022 and January 2023 intakes. Register for our upcoming Open Day to learn more about our Future Ready Education and enjoy a campus tour.

CMI Malaysia | Managing in a Disruptive Environment: A Project Management Perspective

CMI Malaysia, in collaboration with the Project Management Institute Malaysia, is holding a face-to-face event on 18 August 2022 at WORQ TTDI, Kuala Lumpur. The event, 'Managing in a Disruptive Environment: A Project Management Perspective' will feature a line-up of speakers including Major Dr Prebagaran Jayaraman (R) FCMI, CEO and Founder of SMC Trainers Malaysia, Tarminder Singh, CX Project Manager of AirAsia and David Khaw PMP, President of Project Management Institute Malaysia.

You can find out more about the event and book your place here.