Zafrul: Offshore banking allowed provided individuals abide by Amla Act, legislation
Individuals are allowed to open accounts with any licensed banks, including offshore accounts, under the purview of Bank Negara, says Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz. However, he said those who want to open offshore accounts must go through the due diligence process under the Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities (Amla) Act and the related legislation. He said the so-called Pandora Papers investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was based on a leak of the confidential records of 14 offshore service providers. The expose had also linked a number of prominent Malaysians to offshore dealings. (The Star)
Putrajaya relaxes rules for existing MM2H participants
The government has relaxed its rules for existing participants of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme after industry backlash to the revised criteria. They now have to adhere to only two of 10 new criteria under the revamped programme, which was revealed by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August. The two new conditions are the increase in annual fee to RM500, from RM90 previously, and the requirement to stay in the country for a minimum of 90 days each year, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. He also assured existing MM2H participants that they will not be bound by the other new conditions. “However, for all new participants, they have to comply with the new requirements of the MM2H programme to ensure that only those who are genuine, of high quality and can provide positive contribution to the country’s economic growth (are allowed to join the programme),” he said. (The Edge)
Govt to speed up application process for DBKL housing
The federal territories ministry will speed up the application process to rent People’s Housing Project (PPR) flats by processing 150 applications per month instead of the current 75. Deputy minister Jalaluddin Alias said the move to speed up the process was to clear the backlog of applications for public housing units as well as PPR homes. “The number of units that can be offered is limited compared to the applications received,” he said. Jalaluddin said enforcement will also be stepped up to evacuate units where tenants were found to have breached the rental agreement, such as by subletting their units and not living there. Rental agreements will also be revised to manage the tighter screening of new applications and extensions of the rental period, he said. (Free Malaysia Today)
SOP agreed on Malaysia-Singapore border reopening; awaiting approval
The technical committee overseeing the reopening of the Malaysia-Singapore border has agreed to the standard operating procedures (SOP) proposal by the state government. Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said that discussion with Singapore on the border reopening could start once senior ministers gave a green light. “The Health Ministry would decide on a date for the proposal to be presented to the senior ministers and once they accepted it, we could begin talks with Singapore,” he added. Asked if the number of cases in Singapore would affect efforts to reopen the border, Hasni said that it would not. “When the Reciprocal Green Lane was suspended or the Periodic Commuting Arrangement was not carried out, it was because we were waiting for more methods to deal with Covid-19,” added Hasni. (The Star)
Glove maker Rubberex ventures into property investment
Making its first foray and diversification into property investment, glove maker Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd is undertaking a joint collaboration with Alliance Premier Sdn Bhd, EXSIM Holdings Sdn Bhd and JT Momentum Sdn Bhd (EXDJ shareholders) for the development and operation of Empire City Mall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Rubberex on Monday entered into a subscription agreement with Alliance Empire to subscribe 200,000 new shares or a 20% equity interest in the latter for RM180 million cash. Alliance Premier will hold 60% and EXDJ shareholders the remaining 20%. Rubberex executive director Lim Chee Lip said Rubberex’s diversification into property investment is in line with the group’s long-term strategy of delivering sustainable growth, steady income and value creation to its shareholders. The group’s diversification exercise comes at a time when the rubber glove industry’s outlook seems to be waning from its peak of supernormal profits and high average selling prices as Malaysia and the rest of the world enter the endemic phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. (The Edge)
Tourism minister mulling need to regulate online travel agents, Airbnb under KPKT
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motac) is currently studying the need to regulate online travel agents (OTA) to ensure tourism accommodation premises also benefit from the transition towards these digital platforms. Its minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said that the decision to engage these OTA companies is the sole decision of premises owners. This was in response to a question on whther the Tourism Ministry was looking to introduce a ceiling commission rate on accommodation premises by OTA companies. The rate is currently between 12% to 18% of each room’s booking price. The minister indicated that to do so, OTA needs to be regulated first. Asked about Motac’s intention to fully regulate accommodations listed under private company Airbnb, Nancy said the multi-ministry effort was still ongoing the involved processes still at this stage still within the purview of the Housing and Local Government Ministry. “At this point, Motac has yet to register Airbnb because it needs to undergo a pre-process to allow it to become registered premises for accommodation,” she said. (Malay Mail)
