The Week Ahead: PM’s address at Khazanah Megatrends Forum, Rosmah’s trial in focus

TheEdge Mon, Oct 04, 2021 03:30pm - 2 years View Original


The first full week of October will begin with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob delivering the opening address at the three-day Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2021, which kicks off on Monday.

Held annually and preceding the sovereign wealth fund’s strategy and business planning cycle, the forum — with this year’s theme, “The Invention of Tomorrow: Crafting Our New Collective Narrative” — brings together experts and thought leaders to discuss the main megatrends, as well as to address topical matters of interest. This will be Ismail Sabri’s first address at the forum as prime minister.

Other speakers at the forum include Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik, Gojek founder and Indonesia’s Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim, Bain & Co worldwide managing partner, CEO and chairman Manny Maceda, and Vista Equity Partners founder, CEO and chairman Robert F Smith. Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz will deliver the closing address on Wednesday,

It will be a quiet week for economic data out of Malaysia as only Bank Negara Malaysia is scheduled to release its foreign reserves balance as at Sept 30 on Thursday.

But it will be a busy week at the courts. On Monday, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, will ask the Court of Appeal for a stay in proceedings after her application to remove Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram from leading the prosecution team in her corruption trial, involving a RM1.25 billion solar hybrid project for 369 rural schools in Sarawak, was rejected by the High Court. Should Rosmah fail in her appeal, she would need to take the stand on Tuesday as she is scheduled to testify.

On Wednesday, member of parliament for Baling and former Tabung Haji chairman Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim’s appeal against the High Court’s dismissal to strike out his bribery and money laundering charges will be heard by the Court of Appeal.

On the regional front, there are three major Asia-Pacific central banks with monetary policy decisions this week, according to UOB’s Weekly Market Outlook. On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia will deliver its decision on its key rate, which is expected to stay put. The tapering of its quantitative easing programme is likely to start in February next year.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which will release its decision on Wednesday, is forecast to hike its key policy rate by 25bps to 0.5%. As with its Australian counterpart, the Reserve Bank of India is projected to stay put on interest rates in its policy decision on Friday.

Hong Kong’s chief executive Carrie Lam will deliver the special administrative region’s annual policy address on Wednesday. It will set out the initiatives and policy directives for 2022.

Japan will swear in its new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) party president election in a run-off vote on Sept 29. A former foreign minister, he succeeds Yoshihide Suga, who steps down after serving as prime minister for only a year.

According to IHS Markit’s Week Ahead Economic Preview Report, worldwide services PMIs (Purchasing Managers Indices) will be in focus this week following the manufacturing PMI update.

“Service sector PMI data will be released on Tuesday to add further colour to the manufacturing updates. While one of the most discussed impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic had been how supply chain disruptions have affected manufacturers, the focus shifts to more direct impact of the virus spread on sectors such as hospitality, which had seen activity significantly affected by the Delta variant in the August update,” says IHS Markit.

Throughout September, a decline in worldwide Covid-19 new cases was evident, meaning the PMIs will be scoured for signs that activity in the service sector is picking up again.

The report by IHS Markit also states that US labour market data for September will be released on Friday. It adds that a Refinitiv consensus currently points to an addition of 500,000 to non-farm payrolls from 235,000 in August, with the unemployment rate anticipated to fall to 5.1% from 5.2%.

It will be a short working week in China as it begins the week-long National Day Golden Week holiday from Oct 1 to 7, with Chinese markets only reopening on Friday.

On the Malaysian corporate front, companies scheduled to hold annual general meetings this week include Ageson Bhd on Monday and Bermaz Auto Bhd and Analabs Resources Bhd on Thursday. Sungei Bagan Rubber Co Malaya Bhd will hold its extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday.

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