BMCC Newsletter Issue #318 - 5 September 2022
Dear Subscriber, |
|
Good Turnout by Members at the BMCC Networking Drinks - Meet the Chairman |
|
Close to 80 BMCC members attended the BMCC Networking Drinks - Meet the Chairman held at JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur on 25 August 2022. Organised exclusively for members to meet with our new Chair, Mark Arthun, the event was well attended by BMCC board members, fellow members and BMCC executive team led by Jennifer Lopez, CEO of BMCC.
During the event, Mark, who is the Managing Director and Site Leader of Smith & Nephew Operations Sdn Bhd, thanked Abrar A. Anwar, the immediate past Chairman of BMCC and Board Member of Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, for his work in guiding and strengthening the Chamber to become more business-focused over the last few years.
Mark was proud of BMCC for having a strong membership network, comprising top British brands, Malaysian MNCs and SME members.
"It is great that the Chamber receives good support from senior representation and leaders of our member representation. We are proud to achieve strong retention rates of members this year, which is the highest ever for the BMCC. It is testament that we are doing the right things for our members.
"However, we must not be complacent and the Chamber should constantly seek to improve our offering to members. We also have good representation of board members, who are committed as well as a passionate and dynamic executive office team, who is ready to create even more value for members," he said.
Mark also briefly touched on his plans as Chair to further raise the Chamber's profile in Malaysia by engaging with key stakeholders and also engaging further with the Malaysian government for the interest of the BMCC members.
"We want to strengthen the Chamber's committee and networks; for example setting up new committee in sectors such as healthcare as well as networks in areas such as talent. We also want to further strengthen our presence in Penang and Johor," he added.
With 2023 fast approaching, Mark hinted that it would be an exciting year ahead as the BMCC celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The Chamber expressed our sincere thanks to all who attended and hoped everyone had a wonderful evening mingling and networking with each other. |
|
| Meet Our New Member Cyberlynx International Sdn Bhd |
|
|
|
BMCC is proud to welcome Cyberlynx International Sdn Bhd as our latest member.
Cyberlynx International Sdn Bhd wholly owns Cyberlynx International College (Cyberlynx), which is a private institution of higher learning licensed by the Malaysian Ministry of Education since 2006. The college has a strong commitment and philosophy in providing quality, affordable education and educational services, which serves to differentiate itself from other education providers in the country. The college is managed by a group of academicians and professionals who have been in the education industry for over 25 years. Under a new ownership and management, Cyberlynx is actively working towards growing and expanding the college's offerings and role in the Malaysian and international educational landscape. |
|
|
|
| Meet Our New Member Louise Azmi |
|
|
|
A warm welcome to our new member, Louise Azmi, Advocate and Solicitor.
Louise Azmi is a law firm specialising in counsel and advisory work, arbitrator, mediator and adjudicator. |
|
|
|
| BMCC CEO Attended IRDA's Meet & Greet Session |
|
|
|
The BMCC was delighted to be invited to attend Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA)’s Meet & Greet Session with International Chambers recently. Our CEO, Jennifer Lopez who attended representing the Chamber had the opportunity to meet with IRDA CEO, Dato' Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim and his leadership team. In addition to an engaging networking session, it was also an opportunity to hear about IRDA’s achievements, plans and focus for Iskandar Malaysia.
The BMCC looks forward to collaborating with IRDA in the interest of our members and strengthening the UK-Malaysia business relations especially in the Iskandar Malaysia region. |
|
| BMCC’s Engagement with Ministry of Finance |
|
|
|
 |
In anticipation of the tabling of Malaysia’s National Budget in October, the Chamber was given an opportunity recently to present our proposal and recommendation to the Ministry of Finance for consideration. Mark Arthun, Chair of BMCC, along with fellow Board member, Soo Hoo Khoon Yean, and Jennifer Lopez, CEO of BMCC, presented recommendations to Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican, Deputy Secretary General of Treasury and the Ministry of Finance’s budget team.
The Chamber focused on key areas in the presentation, which were: - Environmental and ESG-related incentives and policies to support investors and companies to meet ESG-related goals, in line with the nation’s goal to be carbon neutral earliest by 2050.
- Improving the talent and skills development ecosystem by supporting existing educational institutions to hire top talents in the education sector, attracting top international students and increasing academia-industry collaborations for training, R&D and commercialisation of solutions aligned to the nation’s agenda.
The Chamber also presented other recommendations that were more specific to industries such as healthcare, and oil and gas. We thank Datuk Johan and his team from the Ministry of Finance for the opportunity to engage on this important matter and hope that we can continue the conversation in future as the Chamber aims to contribute to the development of the nation through a thriving ecosystem attractive to foreign investors and businesses. |
|
|
|
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry held their annual MITI Dialogue sessions on 25 August 2022, chaired by Senior Minister Dato' Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. The two sessions were participated by 12 ministries and 151 organisations, including business representatives, Malaysian industry associations, as well as national and international chambers of commerce.
The Chamber was represented by our CEO, Jennifer Lopez, who spoke about issues regarding talent and labour shortages affecting industries and the importance of having an effective and robust talent development ecosystem involving the industry to cultivate local skilled talents.
We thank MITI for the invitation to the dialogue and for giving the Chamber an opportunity to highlight key areas of concerns by our members. |
|
|
|
| Trade Webinar | Opportunities in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Sector in Malaysia |
|
|
|
 |
Keen to learn more about "Opportunities in the Healthcare and Life Sciences Sector in Malaysia"? Join us for a webinar on 6 September 2022, brought to you by BMCC in collaboration with Kent County Council.
Tune in and listen to our esteemed speakers: • Overview of the Healthcare and Life Sciences Sector in Malaysia - Bhavna Vishwakarma, Trade Manager - Healthcare, British High Commission Department for International Trade (DIT) • Malaysian Medical Device Regulatory System - Norlela Hatta Antah, Senior Principal Assistant Director Policy, International Affairs and Industry Facilitation Division, Medical Device Authority, Ministry of Health, Malaysia • Healthcare Distribution in Malaysia - Alan Chin, Deputy General Manager, Business Development, Logistics & Distribution Division, Pharmaniaga Berhad
Hurry and register now. Registration is complimentary and all are welcome. For more information, email to darshini@bmcc.org.my.
Date: Tuesday, 6 September 2022 Time: 9:00am – 10:00am (UK time) Platform: (Online) Zoom |
|
|
|
| Workshop | Critical Communications |
|
|
|
BMCC is organising a series of short workshops, which is designed to empower talents and help them compete in today's complex business environment.
We kick off the BMCC Workshop Series with "Critical Communications - The Key to Controlling Difficult Conversations and Preventing Conflicts". Learn how to prepare for difficult conversations, avoid conflict and ensure the best outcome for all parties. Neil Stoneham, MD of Voxtree will be conducting the workshop.
This workshop is exclusively for BMCC members only. Register now as seats are limited.
Date: Wednesday, 28 September 2022 Time: 9:00am to 12:30pm Venue: British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce, Level 4, East Block, Wisma Golden Eagle Realty, 142-B Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
|
|
|
| Event | Various Activities Await During Malaysia Climate Action Week |
|
|
|
 |
The Malaysia Climate Action Week is back for a second year running and this year's programme is packed with activities spread over five days. Kicking off the programme are Green Conference, CEO Roundtable on Carbon Trading and Corporate Sustainability Masterclass. There is also Green Competition for students of education institutions, and Fundraising Cocktail and Film Screening. The programme closes with Eco Site Visit, Nocturnal Urban Forest Walk and Tree Planting Movement.
Come on board as Climate Action Partners. Participate and be part of the solution to create positive impact on businesses across industries and the wider society.
There are more activities in this year's Malaysia Climate Action Week, themed "A.C.T. Now! Adapt, Collaborate and Transcend", to inspire more Malaysian companies to take action and work together in overcoming the impacts of climate change. The Chamber hopes to get more stakeholders involved in addressing issues related to climate change.
The Chamber also launched the BMCC Climate Action Pledge during last year's programme, which saw 29 organisations signed up to either take initial steps on climate action or to support other organisations through their knowledge and solutions. We hope to rally more organisations to sign the Pledge this year and to recognise existing Pledge signatories to further their climate commitments. For more information on the BMCC Pledge, please refer here.
Please contact Roufizah Razali at roufizah@bmcc.org.my if you are interested to become our Climate Action Partner.
To revisit the 2021 Malaysia Climate Action Week, please click here. |
|
|
|
| Event | British High Commissioner Golf Cup 2022 |
|
|
|
It is time to tee off and compete in the British High Commissioner Golf Cup 2022. This golf tournament will be held on 19 November 2022.
For more information about the event and partnership opportunities, please contact roufizah@bmcc.org.my. |
|
|
|
| Malaysia 2023 Budget to be Tabled on 7 October 2022 |
|
|
|
The Malaysian government will be presenting its 2023 Budget on 7 October 2022, sooner than it was previously scheduled on 28 October 2022, according to Dato' Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law). The rescheduling of the budget comes as Malaysia looks to boost revenue in a bid to offset a jump in spending on subsidies for food, fuel and electricity amid rising prices where it expects to spend at least RM80.69 billion on subsidies and cash aid this year, the largest amount in history. |
| | Read More |
|
|
| Deferment of the Implementation of the Amended Employment Act 1955 |
|
|
|
The government has postponed the implementation of the amended Employment Act 1955 to 1 January 2023 from 1 September 2022. Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources said the deferment is to give time for employers to address their problems regarding the shortage of workers and recruitment of foreign workers. He said implementation of the amended law was deferred upon request by the employers themselves. The amended act, among other things, reduces the working hours from 48 hours to 45 hours a week. Maternity leave has been increased from 60 days to 98 days while paternity leave has increased from three days to seven days. |
| | Read More |
|
|
| Premium Visa Programme to be Introduced by the Government |
|
|
|
Malaysia has introduced a Premium Visa Programme (PVIP) to attract wealthy foreigners to invest in Malaysia and reside in the country for a period of 20 years, according to Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Minister of Home Affairs. He said the "Residency Through Investment" programme, the first of its kind introduced by the government to drive the country’s economic growth would be open for applications from 1 October 2022. Participants of the programme would be given benefits in the form of visa approval for up to 20 years, permission to study, permission to purchase real estate for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, and make active investments in permitted fields. |
| | Read More |
|
|
| Standard Chartered Saadiq | Sustainability Conference |
|
|
|
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a crucial part of a business long-term strategy. Standard Chartered Saadiq has been supporting companies globally, championing sustainable trade practices with its extensive facilities in the global Halal industry.
Be part of the global business sustainability movement, join the Standard Chartered Bank Sustainability Conference in partnership with UN Global Compact Network Malaysia & Brunei (UNGCMYB) on Thursday, 8 September 2022 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. |
|
|
|
| Standard Chartered | ASEAN Business Forum |
|
|
|
Join Standard Chartered on Monday, 12 September 2022 for a conversation with the industry leaders and policy makers to discuss ways to tap on emerging opportunities in the region to leapfrog progress. |
|
|
|
| Knight Frank Malaysia | Wins Recognition at the National Real Estate Awards 2022 |
|
|
|
Congratulations to our member, Knight Frank Malaysia for winning the commercial real estate firm of the year at National Real Estate Awards 2022 organised by the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents. It is one of the company's highlights of this year as it showcases its professional growth throughout the years. |
|
|
|
| Nexus International School | Primary Discovery Day |
|
|
|
Learn more about the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) from teachers and learners of Nexus International School. There will be introductory talk as well as interactive IPC demo and learning showcase. The school's Maths and Language Arts lead teachers will be present to explain its curricular.
Date: Thursday, 8 September 2022 Time: 10:00am to 12:00noon Venue: Nexus International School |
|
|
|
| Sri KDU | IGCSE 2022 Results |
|
|
|
Sri KDU International School Kota Damansara is pleased to share their IGCSE 2022 results. 54% of its 2022 cohort achieved at least 8 A*/As and above, and 72% of all grades achieved were A*/A. The remarkable results from their students reflect the relentless continuous support and guidance from the academic team and community. Click here for their results IGCSE 2022.
|
|
|
|
| Melewar Learning Resources | IELTS Preparation Programme |
|
|
|
Join our advanced IELTS Preparation programme. Taught by Gordon Reid, a native English teacher, whom is CELTA and TESOL certified. Seats are limited, so reserve your seats quick.
Please call +603-2022 4128 for any enquiries. |
|
|
|
| Waypoints | British-Curriculum Schools Exhibition |
|
|
|
The British Education and Schools Show in Asia (BESSA) is Malaysia’s only curated exhibition for families looking at prestigious British-curriculum schools here and in the UK. Meet admission directors in person, attend our speaker programme to get advice from experts, and learn how to prepare from entrance tests and interviews. |
|
|
|
Headed for the UK, but their hearts remain with Malaysia -The Star |
|
KPKT sets 23 indicators to improve Malaysia's rating in the Global Liveability Index -EdgeProp.my |
|
Britain bets on futuristic batteries to cut dependence on gas -The Edge |
|
|
Stay up-to-date with the Chamber’s latest news and activities through this newsletter or follow us on our social media platforms. |
|
British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Berhad 201801018075 (1280091-P) E04C0, 4th Floor East Block, Wisma Golden Eagle Realty, 142-B Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur Copyright © BMCC 2022
|
|
|
