 The Malaysian Ministry of Finance is in the midst of preparing RESTART, the Short-Term Economic plan with the objective of restoring the economic growth and the investors confidence in the Country.
Following the request by Ministry of Finance (MOF) to all Chambers and Associations to contribute with inputs and suggestions, yesterday we organized a webinar to collect the point of views of our Members. All information gathered by the European Chambers will be compiled by EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will share them with MOF next week.
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 Our fundraising campaign in collaboration with MERCY Malaysia for the COVID-19 Pandemic fund has officially concluded.
We were able to collect a total of RM 22,000 which will be used to support MERCY Malaysia to help combat COVID-19 in Malaysia. We would like to thank every one for their contributions. For more information on MERCY Malaysia, please visit www.mercy.org.my Following the implementation of Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), companies operating in Malaysia are advised to declare business information of the company and agree to full compliance of the SOP by registering on MITI CIMS 3.0 (Covid-19 Intelligent Management System) at https://notification.miti.gov.my/login
Meanwhile, all guidelines and SOPs to be followed based on sector and type of activity can be downloaded from the National Security Council website at https://www.mkn.gov.my/covid-19.html  Following the announcement by the Prime Minister this morning, most economic sectors are allowed to operate effective Monday, 4th May 2020 based on normal operating capacity and operating hours.
All information related to allowed and not allowed activities, as well as SOPs to be followed by sector, can be found in the National Security Council (Majlis Keselamatan Negara) website: https://www.mkn.gov.my Download Prime Ministers Speech : English version (unofficial) : https://bit.ly/35pxM9o Bahasa version : https://bit.ly/35rCLWX  Yesterday IMBA, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Italian Trade Agency and SACE-SIMEST – The Italian Export Credit Agency, organized a Webinar for Italian Companies in Malaysia to share and discuss issues they are facing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We would like to thank the over 40 companies representatives who attended the meeting. IMBA remains active during MCO to support Italian companies doing business in Malaysia. Feel free to reach to us via email at info@imba.org.my. Starting from 29th April , Companies who have received approval to operate are now allowed to increase their workforce capacity to 100% and to operate without time restrictions.
The Malaysian Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, just announced today that the Movement Control Order will be extended from April 14th to April 28th.
The Prime Minister also added that several economic sectors will be opened in stages and the government will make an announcement in the near future. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/10/mco-extended-until-april-28-pm-announces  The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting over 1.6 million people around the world to date and the daily life of millions more. As the outbreak continues, we're learning more about the disease and the damages it can cause.
IMBA is collaborating with MERCY Malaysia, an international non profit organization focused on providing medical relief and humanitarian aid and awareness, to support their COVID-19 Pandemic Fund. Donations will be used to fund medical supplies and food to those affected by the pandemic. We are calling for cash donation to help support the battle against COVID-19. Your contribution could make a difference, no matter how big or small. Cash donation can be made to: Beneficiary: Pertubuhan Perniagaan Malaysia Itali- Malaysia Kuala Lumpur** Beneficiary Bank: CIMB Account Number: 8000201511 Swift Code: CIBBMYKL Reference Code: COVID-19 ** For Cheque payment, please write account name in Full. For more information on MERCY Malaysia, please visit www.mercy.org.my or contact us at info@imba.org.my / +6017 3710 363. Together we can overcome. Stay safe. Since the beginning of the Movement Control Order, the Malaysian Government has announced several measures to support businesses and individuals during this time of crisis.
As it might be difficult to navigate among all the announcements that have been made, we would like to share a document which contains a comprehensive list of all the measures available and the requirements and modalities to access them. The document can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ULVN2crEZOnqWa5hk-ChamW1jdxud5qM/view?usp=sharing  Since the beginning of the epidemiological emergency of the COVID-19 virus, the solidarity of the International community for the situation in Italy remained very strong and committed. For this reason, the Embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has put at disposal its bank account for donations that can be made by bank transfer, in Malaysian Ringgit, specifying as reason for payment “COVID19”:
RHB Bank, Main Branch, Jalan Tun Razak Account number: 21412900296120 Beneficiary: Ambasciata d’Italia – GST Alternatively, as foreseen in the "Cura Italia" Italian Decree Law, the Italian Civil Protection Department opened a dedicated bank account in Italy. Donations can be made by bank transfer in EURO using the following bank details: Banca Intesa Sanpaolo Spa Filiale di Via del Corso, 226 - Roma Bank account number: 66387 Registered to: Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Dipartimento della Protezione Civile IBAN: IT84 Z030 6905 0201 0000 0066 387 BIC / SWIFT code: BCITITMM Description of payment: COVID19 on 6th April, 4pm the Malaysian Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has unveiled a special stimulus package worth RM10bil aimed at small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to soften the impact of the Covid-19 movement control order (MCO).
From the total, RM7.9 billion has been allocated for the Wage Subsidy programme, an increase from the previously announced RM5.9 billion to RM13.8 billion, while the additional allocation included a total of RM2.1 billion in grants that would be channelled to micro businesses. More information can be found here: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/04/06/muhyiddin-unveils-rm10bil-special-stimulus-package On Friday, April 3rd, we participated to the 1st Digital Joint Chambers and Business Associations Meeting, organized by the EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry and themed "Uniting to Assist Businesses During and Post MCO in Malaysia". During the meeting we discussed the repercussion of Covid-19 and MCO on the economy and potential measures which can be taken to assist businesses to survive in this difficult time. The discussed measures, which include financial and payroll support to SMEs, protocols for non-essential businesses to operate and measures to avoid supply chain disruption, have been shared with the Malaysian Government for their consideration. The Malaysian Ministry of Transport has agreed after consultation with the National Security Council to allow freight forwarders and hauliers another four (4) days to expedite the movement of cargo from congested ports nationwide, starting Saturday, 4 April 2020.
Companies whose goods are stored at Port Klang, ports in Johor, Penang, Kuantan, Melaka, Bintulu, Sarawak and Padang Besar bordering Thailand are advised to move their goods out of those ports from Saturday, 4 April 2020 to Tuesday, 7 April 2020. Today at 3pm the Malaysian Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, announced a RM250 billion economic stimulus package to support the Country.
A first look of the measures included in the package can be found here: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/27/muhyiddin-unveils-rm250bil-economic-stimulus-package EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry just released the results of the survey conducted to evalute the impact of the measures to fight Covid-19 on businesses in Malaysia.
70% of the respondents said that they are looking at a revenue loss of 40% to 80% during the MCO period, which will affect cash flows. The respondents also added that to mitigate the cash flow issues during and right after the lockdown period the most effective measure would be a salary distribution incentive. Read more: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/businesses-record-revenue-losses-4080-during-mco-%E2%80%94-eumcci-survey?type=malaysia The Malaysian Ministry of Transport released a Media Statement today on the new measures to ensure the supply of goods during the MCO.
According to the Statement, the major Malaysian ports are reaching full capacity tol hold goods, hence the Government is allowing the movement of goods from the ports between Friday, March 27th and Sunday March 29th. During this period, the Royal Malaysian Police has been instructed to allow the vehicles of freightforwarder and hauliers to move for the purpose of sending goods to their intended destination. The full Statement in english can be downloaded here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12Rxtv_cvXEcbjJNAxjkehQI1sQwou1Bf/view?usp=sharing EUMCCI just launched a survey to evaluate the impact and measures to mitigate the Movement Control Order (MCO) on European Businesses operating in Malaysia.
The results of this survey will be analysed and shared with the Malaysian Government in order to facilitate the formulation of stimulus and assistance programmes. We kindly ask Italian companies operating in Malaysia to fill the form at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1N8K6Lu3DYtNsN-MWHO7aJ3Hf75BHHqiAw3kJ_OIHX2c/viewform?edit_requested=true Thanks for your support and stay safe!  Starting from today, the Restricted Movement Control Order, announced by the Malaysian Government on March 16th has come into effect.
IMBA will follow the directives and all our staff will be working from home. For any question related to the Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order, you can email us at info@imba.org.my. Furthermore, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has activated several communication channels for businesses to enquire on matters related to Covid-19: email: covid19sec@miti.gov.my whatsapp: +60126072750 According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), there is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of the virus.
The EFSA argues that experiences from previous outbreaks of related coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, show that transmission through food consumption did not occur and there is no evidence to suggest that coronavirus COVID-19 is any different in this respect. Based on the article, the export of agro-processed products to Malaysia, also from Italy, does not entail any risk for Malaysia’s Public Health and should be considered safe. The EFSA press release on the matter can be found here: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/coronavirus-no-evidence-food-source-or-transmission-route In agreement with the Embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we would like to inform our community that the information concerning the closure of the Italian industrial production plants due to the measures adopted to fight the Covid-19 is false.
In this respect, we would like to highlight that the production plants remain fully functional throughout the entire national territory of Italy, since the Decree in matter does not entail the suspension of work activities. For any issue or question regarding the Covid-19 situation for Italians in Malaysia, we kindly invite our Members to write to us at info@imba.org.my and we will reply asap.  The Italy Malaysia Business Association regrets to inform all its Members and Friends that the AGM and Italian Networking Dinner 2020, scheduled to take place on March 24th, will be postponed until further notice.
This decision is taken in view of the health concerns due to the spread of the COVID-19 and the feedback from several of our Members and other concerned stakeholders. We will follow up to communicate a new date as soon as possible.  On February 27th, 2020, the Malaysian Government, in view of the Covid-19 outbreak and its repercussions to the economy, introduced the 2020 Economic Stimulus Package, a measure worth RM 20 billion aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid-19, spurring a people centric economic growth and promoting quality investments.
The full pdf can be downloaded at the following link: https://www.treasury.gov.my/index.php/en/budget/pre2020.html Chef Roberto Panariello, Chef de Cuisine of Villa Danieli at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel5/5/2020  A new Italian Chef is in town!
We are pleased to welcome into our community Chef Roberto Panariello, chef de cuisine of Villa Danieli at Sheraton Imperial KL. Prior to the appointment Chef Roberto was with Pathumwan Princess Hotel in Bangkok. He had spent a decade long in Thailand working with reputable hotels before he decided to join Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel. During his tenure at Pathumwan Princess Hotel, he earned Golden Q Plaque for ‘Authentic Italian Restaurant Abroad – Thailand’ in the years 2018 and 2016. In line with that, in 2018, he was chosen as the Best Head Chef of the Year. In year 2015/2016, the same restaurant was recognized as the winner for the World Luxury Restaurant Award during Chef Roberto’s time. Chef Roberto just launched his new menu at Villa Danieli, which includes a wide range of homemade pasta and risotto, wood-fired oven pizza and some crowd favourites such as seafood fritto misto and tiramisù. We are also pleased to announce that Villa Danieli has decided to increase the discount offered to our Members to 20% on their a la carte menu. To enjoy the discount, don't forget to show your IMBA Card to the staff when asking the bill.  The Italian Language Division of the University of Malaya, in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur, IMBA and ITA, is launching M.I.PRO, Malaysian-Italian Professional Training.
M.I.PRO is an initiative aimed at facilitating and encouraging the match between graduates and employers by: - helping companies operating in Malaysian to select and train Italian speaking graduates - increasing the employability of their students by providing them with a unique opportunity to polish their Italian language skills at the University for Foreigners of Siena, Italy. For further information contact Dr. Omar Colombo at omar.colombo@um.edu.my or visit http://www.myitalianatuniversity.com/shortmipro.php  On 31st March - 1st April, IMBA Secretary General attended the 2019 Area Meeting of the Italian Chambers of Commerce in Asia and South Africa, held in Bangkok.
Being the first Area Meeting for IMBA, it was a great opportunity to develop the relationship with our colleagues operating in other countries as well as to better understand how the Italian Chambers can cooperate together to support Italian business abroad. Congratulations to the Thai - Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC) for the impeccable organization! |
