Malaysia's trade hit a record RM2.88 trillion in 2024, with exports rising 5.7% and imports up 13.2%. We speak to Liew Chin Tong about the outlook for this year and strategies to position the country as a key investment hub.

Malaysia's trade hit a record RM2.88 trillion in 2024, with exports rising 5.7% and imports up 13.2%. We speak to Liew Chin Tong about the outlook for this year and strategies to position the country as a key investment hub.

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The Breakfast Grille

Featuring the cream-of-the-crop as well as the controversial, the Breakfast Grille is the flagship show of BFM. Expect no-holds-barred interviews to get to the truth and into the minds of business leaders, policymakers and changemakers.

Malaysia’s Trade: Soaring High Or Stuck On The Runway?

GDP figures across AI-focused Asian hubs look strong, but they mask a broader economic weakness as weak domestic demand, escalating energy costs, new US tariffs, and high interest rates weigh on the non-AI economy. Stefan Angrick, Head of Asia-Pacific Economics at Moody’s Analytics, joins BFM’s Breakfast Grille to break down the depth of the two-speed economy in manufacturing hubs like Malaysia and why he believes Asia’s AI boom is ripe for a pause.

Stefan also explores why tariffs are here to stay and whether central bank policies themselves risk amplifying global supply shocks.

GDP figures across AI-focused Asian hubs look strong, but they mask a broader economic weakness as weak domestic demand, escalating energy costs, new US tariffs, and high interest rates weigh on the non-AI economy. Stefan Angrick, Head of Asia-Pacific Economics at Moody’s Analytics, joins BFM’s Breakfast Grille to break down the depth of the two-speed economy in manufacturing hubs like Malaysia and why he believes Asia’s AI boom is ripe for a pause.Stefan also explores why tariffs are here to stay and whether central bank policies themselves risk amplifying global supply shocks.

AI Saved Malaysia’s Economy, But For How Long? 

GTA Holdings is heading for the ACE Market, servicing helicopter and aircraft engines out of Subang — with about 95% of that work tied to the military. But the prospectus raises questions: RM46mil in dividends paid out just before asking the public to fund a RM37.5mil building, cash dropping from RM107mil to RM23mil in eight months, and consultancy and software contracts awarded to a company owned by the CEO's two daughters. We also get into the four-month deadline to vacate Subang, the Safran certification the business depends on, and why a major shareholder is selling down half the offer-for-sale. We speak to Dato' Nonee Ashirin binti Dato' Mohd Radzi, Managing Director and CEO of GTA Holdings Berhad.

GTA Holdings is heading for the ACE Market, servicing helicopter and aircraft engines out of Subang — with about 95% of that work tied to the military. But the prospectus raises questions: RM46mil in dividends paid out just before asking the public to fund a RM37.5mil building, cash dropping from RM107mil to RM23mil in eight months, and consultancy and software contracts awarded to a company owned by the CEO's two daughters. We also get into the four-month deadline to vacate Subang, the Safran certification the business depends on, and why a major shareholder is selling down half the offer-for-sale. We speak to Dato' Nonee Ashirin binti Dato' Mohd Radzi, Managing Director and CEO of GTA Holdings Berhad.

GTA Holdings: A Defence MRO Goes Public

The colonial heritage of modern Malaysia is a complex one, in large part because the three major territories that now make up the country had distinct histories and came under the sway of different powers over the millennia. Over the last century of the half though the landscape is marked by the North Borneo Chartered Company in Sabah, the White Rajahs of Sarawak as well as Malaya’s mix of Straits Settlements, Federated and Unfederated States. While the experience of colonialism wasn’t singular, we can nevertheless think about it and draw lessons from it that’s productive for a discussion of our future.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The colonial heritage of modern Malaysia is a complex one, in large part because the three major territories that now make up the country had distinct histories and came under the sway of different powers over the millennia. Over the last century of the half though the landscape is marked by the North Borneo Chartered Company in Sabah, the White Rajahs of Sarawak as well as Malaya’s mix of Straits Settlements, Federated and Unfederated States. While the experience of colonialism wasn’t singular, we can nevertheless think about it and draw lessons from it that’s productive for a discussion of our future. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Malaysia’s Trade: Soaring High Or Stuck On The Runway?

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