MALAYSIA, January 11, 2021 – FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and one of the world’s largest express transportation company, together with Junior Achievement (JA), today announced the six winners of the annual FedEx Express / Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge (FedEx/JA ITC) 2020. The winners will advance to the FedEx Express / JA ITC Regional Finals which will be held in March 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s FedEx Express / JA ITC Malaysian competition was held virtually for the first time since the competition began in 2008. This year, 542 students from the Central Region and Penang participated in a series of nine intensive virtual workshops held from 27 July to 8 September. In the workshops, volunteers from JA Malaysia and 24 FedEx mentored the students and guided them through the development of their plans.
At the FedEx / JA ITC Malaysia finals, 15 shortlisted teams presented their market entry strategy plans for a travel product with Cambodia as the target market. Applying the insights and knowledge gained from the virtual workshops, students presented their team’s business plan with value proposition, pricing strategies, identified market opportunities, and distribution channels to a distinguished panel of judges including CS Goh, Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Officer at MACROKIOSK Group, Lin Nah Tan, Chief Executive Officer of INTI International University & Colleges and Jack Farrell, Entrepreneur in Residence at START.
This year, the three winning teams are:
- Team BioDroplets: Pranav Kashyap and Pooja Nishani from Global Indian International School, who developed a Techno-Bio drinking bottle that can purify water on the go. It is aimed at tourists who do not have access to readily available clean drinking water. The product also targets to reduce plastic bottle waste normally generated by tourists during their travels.
- Team ViRo Tech Inc.: Rosalind Naruniranat and Vivian Ung Wei Lin from SMK Convent Green Lane, who developed an affordable personal mobility device – the Fit-Walk – which has a low fuel requirement. The product is aimed at working individuals who are unable to purchase a full-fledged car or those with poor access to public transport.
- Team Aurora: Poi Shie Chee and Clarisse Chin Xiao Hwei from SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 3, who developed a water bottle called WASH-ed that can filter and purify water on the go. It is designed with a 2-Stage filter that can remove disease-causing pathogens.
“The determination and commitment from the students despite the global pandemic is exemplary. They embraced the new normal in joining the virtual workshops and the Malaysian finale. We hope this valuable program, now in its 13th year, continues to shape our future global business leaders for the 21st century marketplace. We look forward to the winning teams representing Malaysia proudly in the regional finals,” said SC Chong, Managing Director of FedEx Express Malaysia.
“JA Malaysia is proud to continue collaborating with FedEx Express Malaysia in educating and empowering our youth. In this changed environment, we were able to adapt the various modules into a virtual blended learning format, with the support of FedEx Express volunteers. This also serves as a mock simulation for the participants to see what it would be like to start a business in a post-pandemic environment,” said Stuart Dean, chairman of JA Malaysia.
Christmas is the time of giving and sharing.
2020 has been an unusual year. In line with the company’s sustainability and corporate social responsibility CSR ambition, JLL worked with Cuci Ceria Project and Kechara Soup Kitchen Society in delivering essential items to the communities in need amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuci Ceria Project, a collaboration between Geutanyoe Foundation and the Rohingya Kasih Centre, we offer sustainability to its sewing team, which consist of refugee and B40 women who make a living sewing masks. This also in-line with JLL’s No-Single-Use-Plastic and zero waste policy by lessen the usage of disposable face masks by offering reusable ones to the community.
JLL contributed 500 pcs of 3-ply washable facemasks, 50 cartons of liquid hand soaps and groceries. These items will then being distributed to the homeless and underprivileged families by the Kechara Soup Kitchen Society.
Over the last decade, Malaysia has seen substantial progress in its ambitions to be a thriving hub for businesses that want a facilitative base that allows for a broad reach into Southeast Asia. The country’s business-friendly environment, agile and multilingual workforce, excellent infrastructure and conducive regulations are just some of the reasons multinational corporations (MNCs) and home-grown companies make Malaysia their regional base.
Kuala Lumpur, 29 January 2021 – The United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released earlier this week its latest Global Investment Trend Monitor report. It estimated that Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow fell by 42 per cent to an estimated USD859 billion in 2020 compared to USD1.5 trillion recorded in 2019. Almost all regions reported lower FDI in 2020, mainly due to the impact of lockdowns and a drastic decrease in the economic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic
What’s in store for ASEAN under the new Biden administration? On 28 January, AMCHAM’s CEO Siobhan Das was invited as one of the panelists on Astro AWANI |LINC’s discussion on the subject of Opportunities for ASEAN Businesses in the Biden Era.
AMCHAM’s CEO was joined by a group of panelists to provide insight into what the future holds for the ASEAN region. Panelists include Ambassador Michael W. Michalak, Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director, US-ASEAN Business Council, Alex Capri, Senior Fellow and Lecturer of Business School, National University of Singapore and Elina Noor, Director, Political-Security Affairs, Asia Society and the session was moderated by Rizal Zulkapli, Editor of Astro AWANI.
This session addressed areas pertaining to the state of ASEAN and the approach that the U.S. might adopt in the months to come, the impact of trade, the handling of the US-China relationship, global supply chains, digital trade and the role that ASEAN will play in the next few years.
Special thanks to Astro AWANI for inviting our CEO to be a panelist.
Watch the session here
AMCHAM’s CEO, Siobhan Das was invited to be one of the presenters at the inaugural KSInsights titled “What Does President Biden Mean for Malaysia?” held last night, January 27, 2021. Alongside her, on the panel, was Dr. Heng Pek Koon, Assistant Professor, School of International Service, American University, Dr. Kuik Cheng-Chwee, Head, Centre for Asian Studies (iKAS), Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), National University of Malaysia (UKM), and Elina Noor, Director (Political-Security Affairs), Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the session was moderated by Zaim Mohzani, Director (External Relations), KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific (KSI).
Each panelist provided their comments on the much talked about topic at the moment – what it means for Asia under the Biden administration? How should we expect Biden’s Southeast Asia policy to look like? What does Malaysia want under the Biden administration? What areas of opportunities are there for the business community? It was an interesting conversation between the panelists as we got to hear from the academic perspective as well as the business perspective.
Special thanks to KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific for inviting our CEO to be on the panel.
