We are already planning for 2018. Not just mapping out our events calendar but also planning on how to keep us sustainable so, do keep us in mind as you prepare your 2018 budgets! We’d also like to hear your ideas for engaging programming. Please email us at [email protected] We will have oodles of opportunities to showcase your company across the year, at events and online. We appreciate all the support you give to your Chamber for the work we do on your behalf.  Speaking of which, AMCHAM has been busy as the ‘Voice of US Business’.

The most current topics center around Withholding Tax which we have been actively engaged at the highest levels since December 2016, and the upcoming Budget; the latter with a series of roundtables chaired by the Second Minister of Finance. Ongoing too AMCHAM is looking to gather your opinions and insights into the relevance and readiness of Industry 4.0.

Remember, we are your ‘voice’ so please be sure to tell us your concerns so that we can convey them opportunities that arise.

KUALA LUMPUR: Rex Tillerson (pic) will be the first senior official of the Trump administration to visit Malaysia.

From Saturday to Aug 9, the US Secretary of State will be in the Philippines, then Thailand and Malaysia.

A US State Department statement said Tillerson’s visit here was to discuss ways to strengthen US- Malaysia ties.

“In Kuala Lumpur, he will meet officials to discuss strengthening cooperation on a range of issues in the 60th year of US-Malaysia bilateral relations,” it read.

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On the 15th & 16th of July 2017, our northern counterparts organized the Young Enterprise Annual Sales Fair 2017 at First Avenue Mall, Penang. This sales fair is part of the Young Enterprise Competition. As usual, the event was lit with energetic and enthusiastic students waiting to showcase their products. Most of the products were self-made and the rest were outsourced. Some of the products that were sold were paracord bracelets, hand-made pouches, picbadges among other products.

The event was grazed by the Deputy Chief Minister 1 of Penang, Dato’ Haji Mohd Rashid Bin Hasnon who was also the Guest of Honour. The sales fair comprised of 14 schools where each school had a booth to showcase their products. The event was held for two days; hence the students and teachers took turns to man the booths. It was also an honour for JA Malaysia to meet all the corporate sponsors and learn a thing or two from them about running a successful sales fair.

Subsequently, the students will have several reports to write namely the Annual Report, Share Value Growth Report, Product Report, Marketing Report, ICT Report and CSR Project Report. After which the best performing teams will be rewarded at the YE Annual Showcase. As always it was great fun being part of the Penang YE Sales Fair 2017 and we are looking forward to the Central Region YE Sales Fair 2017 on the 5th of August 2017 at Sunway Putra Mall, Kuala Lumpur. Hope to see all of you there!!

On the 12th July 2017, JA Malaysia in collaboration with HSBC organized a More Than Money Workshop at SK Convent Bukit Nanas (2). This workshop is one of many one-day workshops that are conducted for primary school students. The program is designed to teach students about financial literacy and business. The sheer simplicity of the programs makes it easy for the students to absorb key business concepts, which makes teaching it far more fun for the volunteers. All 69 students who were very excited were introduced to basic concepts such as Spending, Saving, Earning and Good Consumer Behaviour. As always, the energy and enthusiasm of the students made this event more enjoyable not only for the students but also the volunteers.

JA Malaysia in collaboration with FedEx Express just concluded its International Trade Challenge (ITC) Malaysia Finals 2017. The event was held on the 12th of July 2017 at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak. The build up to the ITC Malaysia Finals has seen students from 20 schools attend a one-day workshop on international trade and subsequently work in a team of 2 to submit a market entry strategy plan. Out of more than 300 students, the top 10 teams were picked to present their ideas at the ITC Malaysia Finals.

As this was a regional competition, we had 3 very experienced judges to adjudicate the competition. We had Ms. Amy Leung, MD of Human Resources, FedEx Express South Pacific, Professor Dr. Siri Roland Xavier, Deputy Dean of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak and Mr. Chan Kum Piew, Superintendent, Fleet Technical Management & Planning, Aerotechnic Sdn Bhd. This year the students worked on ideas centered around improving the agricultural industry in Nepal. One must highlight, that all the teams came up with some brilliant ideas about products and services that showed huge potential of enhancing the agricultural industry in Nepal.

This event was a success as 3 teams were chosen to represent Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Finals in Singapore. The selected students will rub shoulders with top performing students from other Asia Pacific countries such as Philippines, Australia, China, Japan, etc. Our students show great promise in doing Malaysia proud in Singapore and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Big thanks to the teachers and parents who fully supported the students in cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship at school and at home.