Nominee business structures – heightened scrutiny in Malaysia

While Malaysia has been taking active steps to liberalise foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions in recent years, restrictions in a number of business sectors remain. For example, the banking, telecommunications, construction, engineering, health, education, and energy sectors, among others, are still subject to varying degrees of FDI restrictions. Read more

Investing in Southeast Asia: Vietnam

In recent years Vietnam has generated intense investor interest, attracting a ten-year high in 2019 of US$38 billion foreign direct investment, representing a year on year increase of 7.2%. The Vietnamese Government is targeting 5% growth for 2020, calling foreign investment a crucial factor. Read more

Bank Negara to finalise Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy

Bank Negara Malaysia has recently announced this month that it will soon be finalising a Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy which aims to provide a common language to categorise economic activities based on their impact on climate change and facilitate financial flows to activities that support the transition to a lower carbon economy. Read more

Covid-19: Proposed legislation provides temporary relief

On 25 August 2020, the Temporary Measures for Reducing the Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Bill 2020 (Bill) was passed by the Dewan Rakyat. The Bill seeks to provide temporary measures to mitigate the financial and social impact of Covid-19. Read more