Dear Valued Clients,
Welcome to our E-Newsletter November 2018
We hope October is treating you well!
From the recently announced smoking ban, heated digital tax debate to the anxiety over Budget 2019, Malaysians are greeted with a slew of uncertainties and challenges. Now, let us look at what is on the tap of Malaysia’s economy.
Malaysia to Lower Threshold on Cash Transaction Report SST Malaysia
We have seen a spike in corruption and financial crime in the ever-changing political and economic environment. In the effort to fight against financial crimes, Bank Negara Malaysia (“BNM”) has announced that it will lower the threshold on cash transaction report (“CTR”). The new threshold will be slashed half to RM 25,000 effective January 2019. Currently, all Malaysian banks are mandated to report any cash transactions above RM 50,000 in their daily cash threshold report where the amount excludes fixed deposit rollovers or renewals, bank drafts, cheques, and electronic transfers.
Malaysia’s Economic Outlook (Dec 2018-Feb 2019)
The cancellation of large infrastructure projects and moderate trade and export prospects are the main reasons that weighed on the economic growth in quarters ahead. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, Malaysian economic growth is expected to ease from December 2018 to February 2019. The “Malaysian Economic Indicators: Leading, Coincident and Lagging Indexes August 2018” Report tipped that the annual change of the Leading Index (“LI”) signalled a slowdown of economic growth. The LI, an indicator that precedes Malaysian economic performance in four to six months ahead, had been registering negative growth in the past few months. The August’s LI was recorded at 0.9%, suggesting the economic growth will ease in quarters ahead. That said, the monthly change of the LI has increased by 0.3 % to 118.9 points, after a 0.1 % increase in July 2018. The Number of Housing Units Approved (+0.5%), Real Money Supply M1 (+0.2 %) and Real Imports of Semi-Conductors (+0.2 %) are the main pillars that contributed to the increase. Despite the projected slower growth rate of economic performance, the MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd forecasted that Malaysians economy will continue to expand by 5.2%.
DuitNow –The Next Wave of Online Transactions
If you are observant, you might have noticed that you have been receiving some notifications from your banks about DuitNow – the message that notify you about the auto opt in of your ID number and mobile in this new feature and how to opt out. Currently, we need the payee’s name, bank, and the actual account number to perform any fund transfers. However, these numbers can be long and they are not easy to remember. DuitNow, on the other hand, resolves this issue where all you need is the payee’s personal ID (either payee’s mobile, NRIC or passport number) for any fund transfers to any banks in Malaysia. Introduced by PayNet, DuitNow is a simplified interbank fund transfer service that uses only your personal ID to substitute the bank account. For businesses that are registered under Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (“SSM”), the business registration number can be used for fund transfer.
Since our inception, 3E Accounting Malaysia has grown into a company that is continuously delivering the best services possible to our customers. Our success does not come alone but with our employees and customers. At 3E Malaysia, we cherish every client, and we value every staff’s contribution. Delivering what customer needs is what inspires us to keep up with our good reputation. Thank you for your continuous support and patronage!
Thank you.
Lawrence Chai
Partner
Read More in our E-Newsletter November 2018.
