AMCHAM welcomes Ambassador Edgard D. Kagan back to Malaysia as the new U.S. Ambassador-designate.

Returning to Kuala Lumpur after a five-year break, we are delighted to be able to once again engage with him on matters that support U.S. business interests in the country.

To introduce the new Ambassador-designate to AMCHAM members, we will be organizing two Welcome Cocktails, one in Kuala Lumpur (January) and one in Penang (February). More details will be announced soon.

To learn more about the new Ambassador, you can view his bio here.

The AMCHAM Executive Office will be closed from 25 December 2023 to 1 January 2024 for the holidays and we will be back in the office on January 2, 2024.

For urgent matters, please direct all queries to info@amcham.com.my

On 18 December, Siobhan Das, AMCHAM’s CEO engaged in an insightful meeting with the Director General of Malaysian Customs, YBhg. Dato’ Anis Rizana at the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD).

The ongoing engagement with RMCD is part of the efforts to strengthen the existing relationship between RMCD-AMCHAM, and centered on addressing industrial issues, training and & promoting inclusive policies that emphasize Malaysia as a key trading nation.

Each year a group of American Chambers from across Asia come together for a 3-4 day program in Washington D.C. The principle objective is to bring to the law and policymakers an on the ground perspective of American companies operating in this region. We also get the opportunity to meet key people in the U.S. Administration, members of Congress and the Senate along with some think-tanks focused on policy matters pertaining to Asia.

AmCham Malaysia will be attending and invites its member companies to consider sending delegates.

It is now mandatory for all employers to recognise the Home Surveillance Order (HSO) certificate for individuals or workers confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.

The Health Ministry clarified that this requirement is grounded in the imperative for COVID-19 patients to observe a five-day Home Surveillance Order, starting from the onset of symptoms.

A total of 234 Vaccination Centres (PPV) have been set up in Health Clinics nationwide to date. The Ministry of Health (MOH) will update this information periodically in the event of an increase or change in the number of PPVs.

To receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the public can visit the listed PPVs as walk-ins or schedule appointments using the MySejahtera application, following the reservation procedures established during the previous National COVID-19 Immunization Programme (PICK)

Malaysia maintained its trade surplus in November 2023, valued at RM12.41 billion, making it the 43rd consecutive month of trade surplus since May 2020.

However, Malaysia’s trade saw a moderate decrease of 2.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM231.79 billion in the month under review, said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

The U.S. Department of State, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security and Sandia National Laboratories, is pleased to invite representatives from companies that produce and distribute microcontrollers, field-programmable gate arrays, and other hardware devices, and transportation and logistics companies to participate in a workshop to be held 11 January 2024 at the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur.

The workshop will be conducted by leading experts, who will provide an opportunity to network and learn about addressing compliance challenges in connection to international trade controls relating to use and supply of component parts for the manufacturing of drones being used in Ukraine and to manage and mitigate against threats of proliferation.

Motorola Solutions Malaysia has once again been selected as one of the HR Asia’s Best Companies to Work for in Asia (Malaysia Chapter), in their 2nd consecutive year, for their best HR practices and high levels of employee engagement and excellent workplace cultures.

After winning the HR Asia’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award last year, the company is now honored to win the newly introduced HR Asia’s Most Caring Company award.

FTI Consulting, Inc. released the ASEAN Disclosure Index 2023 report, which tracks corporate disclosure practices across 18 parameters amongst 110 leading publicly listed corporations in the ASEAN region.

The report found that the 110 companies score an average Corporate Disclosure score of 6.95/10, based on public information from annual reports of the leading listed companies in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Malaysian companies had the highest average corporate disclosure score amongst the five ASEAN jurisdictions, at 7.71.

Western Digital has signed a collaboration with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, TNB Renewables Sdn. Bhd. to drive renewable energy implementation in its operations in Malaysia with the signing of the Corporate Green Power Agreement (CGPA) under the Corporate Green Power Program (CGPP).

Under this CGPA, Western Digital will acquire renewable energy from TNB Renewables Sdn. Bhd. The new solar power generation facility will be built for Western Digital’s consumption in Kedah.

Cisco, a global leader in networking and cybersecurity technology, has introduced a range of networking and security products tailored for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in Asia-Pacific.

The announcement was made at Cisco Live Melbourne, featuring the launch of Cisco Catalyst™ 1200 and 1300 Series switches along with the Cisco Meraki MX.

With 9 in 10 businesses having suffered an identity-related breach, identity security remains a critical component to strengthening businesses’ cybersecurity posture in 2024. Yet, 44% of businesses are still at the beginning of their identity journeys, with 60% of Asia-Pacific businesses still in the first stage of identity maturity. Especially now, as AI enables Asia to unlock new growth frontiers, we are simultaneously witnessing new security considerations emerge with this development.