Western Asset Management, Specialist Investment Manager of Franklin Templeton, hosted its Asia Market Outlook webinar today which offered insights covering the key macro drivers in global and Asia fixed income, focusing on economic and investment trends in Asia.
The webinar, titled “2022 Asia Fixed-Income Update”, featured a panel discussion on the current market environment, sector outlook, impact of inflation overshoots, China macroeconomics, and Asia fixed income opportunities.
Kuala Lumpur, February 14, 2022 – Conscious of the plight of those affected by the challenges of the pandemic, Herbalife Nutrition and Herbalife Nutrition Foundation (HNF), recently spearheaded various pandemic relief initiatives to provide a helping hand to Malaysians during this tough time.
This saw Herbalife Nutrition donating close to RM80,000 worth of medical equipment to two Government hospitals under Ministry of Health, Hospital Ampang and Hospital Bukit Mertajam. This included multi-parameter patient monitors, stethoscopes and pulse oximeters, amongst other vital medical equipment.
Meanwhile, HNF partnered with social activist and philanthropist Kuan Chee Heng, popularly known as Uncle Kentang, and his organisation, as well as non-profit organisation Yayasan Chow Kit (YCK), to support vulnerable communities and families.
The collaboration with Uncle Kentang saw Herbalife Nutrition members across the nation stepping up to donate more than RM15,000 to HNF, which supported Uncle Kentang towards relief efforts and charitable causes such as food aid, financial assistance, medical assistance, ambulance services, transportation services, temporary accommodation, education and tuition funding. HNF also granted amounting to more than RM250,000 to YCK, which was utilised for YCK’s COVID-19 Project and Food Aid programme, as well as sponsoring online educational programmes for children by providing data plans and refurbished tablets and smartphones.
Steven Chin, Senior Director/General Manager, Herbalife Nutrition Malaysia and Singapore, said, “Through the efforts of Herbalife Nutrition and HNF, we aim to extend our support to those in need during this critical time. By aiding the hospitals with medical devices and equipment, in addition to our contributions to Uncle Kentang and YCK, we hope that these initiatives will help to ease the burden, especially for those vulnerable communities who are among the most affected by the pandemic.”
“A special mention to our members that have contributed towards these initiatives. They inspire us every day with their passion to make a positive difference in our communities, especially during tough times. With their generosity, we are able to help those currently in need and we hope to be able to help more in the future together,” he added.
Kuan Chee Heng aka Uncle Kentang, social activist, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact and any form of aid is deeply appreciated. Even though the COVID-19 situation has improved recently in Malaysia, many people are still affected and in need of assistance. This is why contributions from the public or other organisations like HNF are vital to keep our services and efforts going. Through this collaboration, we hope that this will raise awareness and inspire others to contribute to charitable causes, as even the smallest amount can make a difference.”
Dato Dr Hartini Zainudin, Founder of Yayasan Chow Kit, commented, “We are truly grateful to HNF for supporting our programmes, especially when there are families who lack basic necessities such as food, milk and diapers for babies and toddlers, sanitary products as well as face masks and hand sanitisers. What’s more, through the technological tools provided by HNF’s contribution, children can have access to online education to ensure that their learning is not disrupted. By teaming up with HNF, we are pleased to reach many underprivileged families during this difficult time. This is testament to the fact that there is always strength in numbers, and we hope to see similar partnerships in the future to ensure that no one is left behind as Malaysia recovers from the pandemic.”
AMCHAM held its monthly Members’ Briefing at the AMCHAM office on 16th February. Members were given the option to attend virtually due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases daily.
Siobhan Das, CEO of AMCHAM, provided updates on the Chamber’s recent activities over the last few weeks, including the Economic Impact Survey 2020/21 launch and the exciting initiatives coming up.
Meanwhile, Michael Newbill, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, attended the briefing in person and shared some insights on issues surrounding 5G and cyber security. Also in attendance was Francis “Chip” Peters, Senior Commercial Officer, U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, U.S. Embassy, who provided the latest details on the Indo-Pacific economic framework.
Special thanks to our guests from the U.S. Embassy for the updates. Stay tuned to the next Members’ Briefing.
Kuala Lumpur, 9 February 2022 – School uniforms are key to creating cohesion and levelling out the playing field among students. Being dressed in the same uniform as everyone else in school also helps develop a sense of equality in children who come from different socio-economic backgrounds.
However, with schools finally reopening after the long disruptions in the past two years, many low income parents are struggling to cope with the back-to-school costs.
Responding to this urgent need, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad (“Gibraltar BSN”) recently provided new school uniforms to 250 primary students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Pantai under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
Before the new term began, the school received vouchers worth RM100 each, allowing them to provide new school uniforms for 250 of their most vulnerable students.
Lee Kok Wah, Chief Executive Officer of Gibraltar BSN said, “We are very happy to help out our community in this way especially since the prolonged pandemic has made back-to-school costs a heavy burden for B40 families. The vulnerable children of our community deserve the same opportunity to succeed and through our donation, we hope to imbue them with a positive sense of belonging, equality, and renewed determination as they begin their new year.”
Located in Lembah Pantai, Sekolah Kebansaan Bukit Pantai caters mostly to students from the B40 bracket. Many of them come from the neighbouring Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) flats and have parents who have been financially impacted by the prolonged restrictions of the pandemic.
En. Shaharuddin Bin Eusop, Head Master of Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Pantai said, “Since the pandemic began, we noticed a marked increase in the number of families requiring support from the school, be it monetary or in kind. For many of our families here, purchases of new school uniforms and stationeries is at the expense of going without food for the week or an utility bill going unpaid for that month. It is truly heart breaking to see many of our students refusing to come to school because they are ashamed that they do not have school uniforms like the rest of their peers. Gibraltar BSN’s kind donation not only helps the students put their best foot forward but also makes a positive impact on their mental wellbeing as they tackle the new school term ahead.”
Under Gibraltar BSN’s CSR We Protect Dreams programme, the Company aims to make a positive impact on the communities where they operate in. Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Pantai is located 10 minutes away from the life insurer’s headquarters in KL Eco City, and this is the second CSR initiative conducted for the school. Back in December 2020, the Company had donated 1,000 fabric face masks for the school’s teachers and students.
Conscious of the plight of those affected by the challenges of the pandemic, Herbalife Nutrition recently spearheaded various pandemic relief initiatives to provide a helping hand to Malaysians. This included medical equipment donation to Hospital Ampang in hopes that these equipment will help to ease the burden of the hospital and frontliners who have been hard at work during these tough times.
