China’s move to ban tech firms from buying certain Nvidia AI chips has reignited the semiconductor race, with rivals like Huawei pushing back into the spotlight through massive chip clusters and new roadmaps. The stakes are high: supply chains are shifting, the balance of power in AI computing is in flux, and Malaysia is positioning itself to move further up the semiconductor value chain.



We speak with Andrew Chan, Executive Director of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association. They discuss how these geopolitical and technological shifts could reshape Malaysia’s role in the chip ecosystem, whether in design, packaging, or talent, and what opportunities and risks lie ahead as the global race for AI hardware accelerates.

China’s move to ban tech firms from buying certain Nvidia AI chips has reignited the semiconductor race, with rivals like Huawei pushing back into the spotlight through massive chip clusters and new roadmaps. The stakes are high: supply chains are shifting, the balance of power in AI computing is in flux, and Malaysia is positioning itself to move further up the semiconductor value chain.We speak with Andrew Chan, Executive Director of the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association. They discuss how these geopolitical and technological shifts could reshape Malaysia’s role in the chip ecosystem, whether in design, packaging, or talent, and what opportunities and risks lie ahead as the global race for AI hardware accelerates.

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Helping you navigate the ever-changing universe of business, from headlines to the bottom line

Enterprise Explores

Malaysia’s Place in the Global AI Chip Shake-Up

The paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz is a geopolitical iceberg threatening global manufacturing, with ripple effects crippling supply chains now and in the longer term. Prof. Shardul Phadnis, Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business unpacks the implications, risks and why boards must treat supply chain resilience as a capital asset.



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The Hormuz Shockwave: How disruptions at this critical choke point severely affect non-energy manufacturing by restricting crude oil feedstocks used for plastics, coolants, and paints.


The Ripple Effect: Why missing a single weekly ocean port call can severely disrupt asset-heavy chemical plants that schedule their production campaigns months in advance.


Rapid Exposure Analysis: The critical steps mid-tier manufacturers must take to map tier-1 supplier manufacturing locations, identify shipping vulnerabilities, and navigate shifting trade policies.


The Death of Traditional Forecasting: Why major geopolitical disruptions violate the core assumptions of probabilistic forecasting, forcing supply chains to abandon historical data for safety stock planning.


AI-Powered Scenario Planning: How AI accelerates scenario creation from several months to just one or two weeks, shifting its application from long-term strategy to 6-month tactical planning.


Valuing Resilience as an Asset: Why treating adaptability as a capital asset, much like Toyota stockpiling a six-month supply of chips after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, is logically necessary despite the tension it creates with short-term quarterly profits.

The paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz is a geopolitical iceberg threatening global manufacturing, with ripple effects crippling supply chains now and in the longer term. Prof. Shardul Phadnis, Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at the Asia School of Business unpacks the implications, risks and why boards must treat supply chain resilience as a capital asset.Learn More About:<ul><li>The Hormuz Shockwave: How disruptions at this critical choke point severely affect non-energy manufacturing by restricting crude oil feedstocks used for plastics, coolants, and paints.</li><li>The Ripple Effect: Why missing a single weekly ocean port call can severely disrupt asset-heavy chemical plants that schedule their production campaigns months in advance.</li><li>Rapid Exposure Analysis: The critical steps mid-tier manufacturers must take to map tier-1 supplier manufacturing locations, identify shipping vulnerabilities, and navigate shifting trade policies.</li><li>The Death of Traditional Forecasting: Why major geopolitical disruptions violate the core assumptions of probabilistic forecasting, forcing supply chains to abandon historical data for safety stock planning.</li><li>AI-Powered Scenario Planning: How AI accelerates scenario creation from several months to just one or two weeks, shifting its application from long-term strategy to 6-month tactical planning.</li><li>Valuing Resilience as an Asset: Why treating adaptability as a capital asset, much like Toyota stockpiling a six-month supply of chips after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, is logically necessary despite the tension it creates with short-term quarterly profits.</li></ul>

Hormuz Shockwave: Expect Prices to Rise

Is the return of GST really the silver bullet for Malaysia's fiscal deficit and cascading business costs? Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG in Malaysia, debunks GST & SST myths.



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The RM50+ Billion Math: Why reintroducing GST at a low 3% or 4% rate is "suicide" for the fiscal deficit, and how the expanded SST is already outperforming historical GST revenues.


The GST Breakdown: Why the 2015 GST implementation failed, from crippling government refund delays to intense political pushback.


Solving the Cascading Tax: How the current SST relies on targeted B2B exemptions to prevent the "tax-on-tax" compounding effect across the manufacturing supply chain, and why enforcing it is still a work in progress.


Exemptions vs. Refunds: Why the current SST's reliance on business exemptions is operationally superior to the GST's cash-draining refund mechanism.


The E-Invoicing Evolution: How the ongoing rollout of e-invoicing will effectively replicate the auditable paper trail that made GST so appealing to authorities.


The Ultimate Tax Road Map: Dr. Veerinderjeet’s proposal to merge the currently separate Sales Tax and Service Tax acts into a single, aligned-rate legislation to ensure policy continuity for the corporate sector.

Is the return of GST really the silver bullet for Malaysia's fiscal deficit and cascading business costs? Dr. Veerinderjeet Singh, Senior Advisor on Tax Policy at KPMG in Malaysia, debunks GST &amp; SST myths.Learn More About:<ul><li>The RM50+ Billion Math: Why reintroducing GST at a low 3% or 4% rate is "suicide" for the fiscal deficit, and how the expanded SST is already outperforming historical GST revenues.</li><li>The GST Breakdown: Why the 2015 GST implementation failed, from crippling government refund delays to intense political pushback.</li><li>Solving the Cascading Tax: How the current SST relies on targeted B2B exemptions to prevent the "tax-on-tax" compounding effect across the manufacturing supply chain, and why enforcing it is still a work in progress.</li><li>Exemptions vs. Refunds: Why the current SST's reliance on business exemptions is operationally superior to the GST's cash-draining refund mechanism.</li><li>The E-Invoicing Evolution: How the ongoing rollout of e-invoicing will effectively replicate the auditable paper trail that made GST so appealing to authorities.</li><li>The Ultimate Tax Road Map: Dr. Veerinderjeet’s proposal to merge the currently separate Sales Tax and Service Tax acts into a single, aligned-rate legislation to ensure policy continuity for the corporate sector.</li></ul>

Forget GST. Refine SST. Aim for a Single Rate

Is the EPF's 6.15% dividend good enough? While the recent payout drew mixed reactions, the real crisis isn't the percentage, it's the dangerous over-reliance on a single pillar to fund decades of post-work life.



For generations, Malaysians have leaned heavily on the EPF as their primary retirement strategy. But as the ringgit fluctuates against the US dollar and global markets shift, generating outsized returns from overseas investments is becoming increasingly complex. 



To provide a harsh but necessary reality check on retirement adequacy, Rajen Devadason, Licensed Financial Planner with Manulife Investment Management (Malaysia), unpacks why the 6.15% yield is mathematically stronger than it looks, how to define your personal "enough" (ranging anywhere from RM500,000 to RM20 million), and the concrete blueprint required to build true financial freedom beyond the EPF.



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The 6.15% Verdict: Why EPF's dividend is stronger than it looks.


The Account 3 Trap: Why Rajen calls the suggestion to funnel all dividends into the flexible EPF Account 3 "monumentally asinine" and a major threat to long-term wealth.


Capital Preservation vs. Liquidation: The stark realities of retirement funding, and why the common strategy of draining your capital until your final day is a terrifying way to live.


The 5-Element Blueprint: A breakdown of Rajen's framework for financial freedom, featuring a "portfolio barbell" strategy designed to balance high-risk capital gains with reliable passive income streams.


Personal Inflation & Stagflation: Why the official national CPI likely doesn't reflect your real cost of living, and how rising energy costs from geopolitical conflicts could trigger a brief period of economic stagflation.

Is the EPF's 6.15% dividend good enough? While the recent payout drew mixed reactions, the real crisis isn't the percentage, it's the dangerous over-reliance on a single pillar to fund decades of post-work life.For generations, Malaysians have leaned heavily on the EPF as their primary retirement strategy. But as the ringgit fluctuates against the US dollar and global markets shift, generating outsized returns from overseas investments is becoming increasingly complex.&nbsp;To provide a harsh but necessary reality check on retirement adequacy, Rajen Devadason, Licensed Financial Planner with Manulife Investment Management (Malaysia), unpacks why the 6.15% yield is mathematically stronger than it looks, how to define your personal "enough" (ranging anywhere from RM500,000 to RM20 million), and the concrete blueprint required to build true financial freedom beyond the EPF.Learn More About:<ul><li>The 6.15% Verdict: Why EPF's dividend is stronger than it looks.</li><li>The Account 3 Trap: Why Rajen calls the suggestion to funnel all dividends into the flexible EPF Account 3 "monumentally asinine" and a major threat to long-term wealth.</li><li>Capital Preservation vs. Liquidation: The stark realities of retirement funding, and why the common strategy of draining your capital until your final day is a terrifying way to live.</li><li>The 5-Element Blueprint: A breakdown of Rajen's framework for financial freedom, featuring a "portfolio barbell" strategy designed to balance high-risk capital gains with reliable passive income streams.</li><li>Personal Inflation &amp; Stagflation: Why the official national CPI likely doesn't reflect your real cost of living, and how rising energy costs from geopolitical conflicts could trigger a brief period of economic stagflation.</li></ul>

Malaysia’s Place in the Global AI Chip Shake-Up

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