In response to recent developments on the ground, AMCHAM hosted a follow-up Members Update session exclusively for members this afternoon. The Chamber has been actively engaging with the government in recent weeks and we hope that today’s update sheds some light to our members on what the chamber has been busy with. We’d like to have open communication with our members, feel free to reach out to us anytime if you’re seeking clarifications or just need to talk to us.
Thank you to those who participated in today’s discussion, we apologize for the short notice but a lot is happening and we’re trying to stay abreast while keeping our members informed.
More institutions in Asia Pacific (APAC) are pursuing the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, with over two-thirds of the 259 institutional respondents attributing COVID-19 as a driving force of ESG policies and practices in their firms, according to a survey by Citigroup Inc.
The main drivers behind the adoption of overall ESG standards included alignment to overall corporate sustainability strategy (65 per cent), positive impact on relationship with customers and stakeholders (57 per cent), and social and environmental factors (48 per cent), it said.
“Others included regulatory obligations and pre-empting broader policy and regulatory changes (42 per cent), access to funding dedicated to ESG projects (28 per cent), as well as demand and pricing impact on ESG products (22 per cent),” Citigroup said in a statement today.
EY has released its latest tax alert issue, No. 14/2021. This issue covers:
Malaysian developments
- Guidelines on incentive for intellectual property (IP) development
- Updated guidelines on dispute resolution proceeding (DRP)
- Updated FAQs on the Deferment of Payment of Estimated Tax Payable (CP204) and Instalment Scheme (CP500) from 1 April 2021 to 31 December 2021
- Extension of tax exemption for management fee income for Shariah-compliant funds
- Updated guidelines on the application for a tax clearance letter (TCL) for a company, limited liability partnership (LLP) and Labuan entities
- Accelerated capital allowance (ACA) for the purchase of new locally assembled excursion buses
- Updated FAQs on Tax Matters during the National Recovery Plan period
Overseas developments
- Australian Taxation Office issues draft tax ruling expanding scope of royalty withholding tax on software-related payments
- China announces new Stamp Duty Law
Applications for The UN Women 2021 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards are now open until 31 July 2021!
The WEPs Awards honours Asia-Pacific private businesses that champion gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and community in alignment with the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs).
The Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is organized by UN Women’s WeEmpowerAsia, programme funded by and in partnership with the European Union, which seeks to enhance gender-inclusive business cultures and promote women’s economic empowerment in Asia-Pacific and Europe. This year’s awards are also supported by Investing in Women (IW), an initiative of the Australian Government supporting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in Southeast Asia.
LeadWomen will also be hosting the Malaysian National WEPs Awards Ceremony on 29 October 2021 where national winners will also have the opportunity to be selected as Asia-Pacific regional winners, and all nominees will be eligible to be awarded at the 2021 Regional WEPS Awards Ceremony which will take place on November 18th, 2021.
This year, there will be 5 main categories and 1 highlighted category:
- Leadership Commitment
- Gender-inclusive Workplace
- Gender Responsive Marketplace
- Community Engagement and Partnerships
- Transparency and Reporting
- Highlighted category: Youth Leadership for Generation Equality
In addition to a Winner, 1st and 2nd Runner Up for each category, there will also be three SME Champion awards given to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Visit the website to learn more and encourage others to apply now!
Join us for our info session on 15 July (11.30 am to 12.30 pm) to learn more about the Awards and the application process. Register here: https://bit.ly/WEPsMYINFO2
We look forward to your active participation and engagement!
The Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (HIDE) system, launched by the Malaysian government a few months back acts as an early warning mechanism, identifying possible COVID-19 hotspots. Today, AMCHAM held an exclusive briefing on the HIDE system.
Our guest speakers went in detail on how the system works, how an area becomes identified as a COVID hotspot, along with various non-disruptive, pre-emptive, intervention methods that can be performed by companies prevent their workplace from forming into a COVID-19 hotspot, enhancing safety during this pandemic.
Members had the opportunity to ask questions as well as seek clarifications from both speakers which was very helpful. Special thanks to both our speakers for a very useful and comprehensive explanation on the HIDE system.
Citi Malaysia has extended its repayment assistance measures following the recent announcement on the Pemulih package to all customers.
The bank said it was also actively engaging with those in the B40, M40 and T20 groups as well as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Citi Malaysia Chief Executive Officer Usman Ahmed said the bank’s focus was to ensure support for its customers, especially at this challenging time given unemployment due to loss of jobs or inability of enterprises, to sustain themselves financially.
