The movement control order has been extended and will be enforced from Feb 5 to Feb 18. Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all states except for Sarawak will be placed under MCO. He said the government has decided to extend it after Health Ministry reported that daily COVID-19 cases in all states remains high and infectivity rates are also high.

Further to MEF Circular AG 48/2020 dated 29 Nov 2020 on the announcement by YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources, on 28 Nov 2020 that it was compulsory for foreign workers in every sector working in Selangor, KL Labuan, N. Sembilan, Penang and Sabah to undergo COVID-19 RTK-Antigen swab test with effect from 1 Jan 2021.

Malaysia’s external trade performance last year recorded the largest trade surplus in a row for 23 years, despite disruptions to the global supply chain, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali. The International Trade and Industry Minister, in a statement, noted that exports in December were also the highest monthly value recorded for 2020.

World leaders may experience some whiplash when sitting down to negotiate with U.S. Trade Representative nominee Katherine Tai. Tai is known throughout Washington for her calm, good-natured negotiating style. In many ways, she is the antithesis of her predecessor, the gruff, contentious Robert Lighthizer, who ruffled feathers from Brussels to Beijing.

In 2020, Malaysia underwent rapid digitisation due to the pandemic, whereby 1-in-3 Malaysians have turned to digital services for the first time. Now, with the second movement control order in place, how will it affect digital behaviour in 2021 and beyond?

Find out at the Think with Google Breakfast Series, where we will be Peering into Malaysia’s Digital Future.

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation company, together with Junior Achievement (JA), on January 11 announced the six winners of the annual FedEx Express / Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (FedEx/JA ITC) 2020. The winners will advance to the FedEx Express / JA ITC Regional Finals which will be held in March 2021.

Three rooftop solar PV systems at AkzoNobel sites in Malaysia and Thailand have been commissioned by Cleantech Solar under long-term agreements where Cleantech Solar has funded, built, and will operate and maintain the systems throughout the term of the agreement. Two of the sites are located in Chon Buri and Samut Sakhon, Thailand and the third site is located in Nilai, Malaysia.

Join the region’s largest AmCham event of 2021 from 9-11 March for a rare opportunity to engage with industry leaders and government representatives from the U.S. and across the Asia Pacific region.

All morning plenary sessions will be taking place virtually, with afternoon in-person industry breakout discussions for each of the 14 AmCham Committees to be held at Marina Bay Sands Singapore.

Purchase your virtual pass now. Tickets for the afternoon in-person events are pending government approval, and we will notify you once registration for the in-person tickets is live.

In accordance with Article 21 of the AmChams of Asia Pacific (AAP) constitution, Chair Steven Chan appointed the following chambers to serve on the Nominating Committee for the 2021 AAP Chair election: AmCham India, AmCham Indonesia, AmCham Japan, AmCham Korea, AmCham Malaysia, AmCham Okinawa, and AmCham South China. The committee appointed Joseph Dowd from AmCham Okinawa to serve as Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Pear Anderson has been keeping track of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Southeast Asian travel industry. This is the latest update as of January 31, 2021. Vietnam is hit by a new resurgence in locally transmitted cases - with Tet in less than 2 weeks, the race is on to contain it quickly to avoid serious impact to the holiday season - but consumer confidence may have already been shaken. More dismal 2020 international arrivals numbers released, with Singapore at -85.7%, Thailand -83%, and Cambodia -80%.

After sounding a note of optimism at the end of 2020, respondents to our newest McKinsey Global Survey are greeting 2021 with high hopes for the economy’s prospects. Majorities of executives continue to believe that conditions in their home economies and in the global economy will improve over the next six months. Yet their positivity has moderated since the previous survey; compared with December, smaller shares of respondents now predict that economic conditions will get better.