In its first bond syndication of 2022, the European Commission has today raised a further €5 billion in NextGenerationEU funds on behalf of the EU in yet another successful deal. Due on 6 July 2051, the 30-year bond – executed as an increase to an existing EU-Bond - brings the total financing raised under the programme to €78.5 billion. The Commission's successful placement will help sustain the momentum behind Europe's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bond was nearly 13 times oversubscribed, achieving a total order book of €64.1 billion. This strong demand enabled the Commission to place the bond under very good pricing conditions in a sign of the strong confidence of investors in the NextGenerationEU programme.

The Commission complemented this issuance with a further €2.2 billion, 5-year bond to fund back-to-back loans to Portugal under the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM).

On behalf of our bilateral chamber, BeLuxCham Malaysia, we would like to extend an invitation to EUROCHAM Malaysia members to join and participate in the upcoming BeLuxTalks Series, Rare Earths from Mining to a Critical Component in a Future Sustainable World happening Wednesday, February 23, 2022 from 7 PM to 9 PM at Dorsett Kuala Lumpur.

With key speaker, Mr. Jean Claude Steinmetz, Hastings Technology Metals: the next Australian Rare Earth producer. Rare earth has become a critical component in high tech applications that impacts our daily life. From applications in catalytic conversions to clean energy and robotic applications, rare earth oxides are a critical and strategic resource to address the future environmental objectives.

The potential rapid demand will put additional pressure on the resource and mining industry to optimise production and develop a downstream logistic stream, fully in line with a sustainable and circular industrial process and complying with the COP26 objectives.’

Malaysia’s economy is set for a gradual recovery, with real gross domestic product growth at 3.1% in 2021 and projected to accelerate to about 5.75% in 2022, thanks to the authorities’ impressive Covid-19 vaccine roll-out and swift implementation of economic policy support measures.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its "2022 Article IV Mission with Malaysia" end statement released on Sunday (Feb 13) said the recovery nevertheless would remain uneven, with sizeable economic slack and substantial medium-term pandemic-related risks.

The IMF team recommended additional near-term targeted fiscal support towards vulnerable and hard-hit segments of the economy and productive investments.

It said near-term support should be combined with a medium-term fiscal consolidation plan, underpinned by budgetary reforms, to rebuild buffers and safeguard sustainability.

On behalf of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, as a supporting partner, EUROCHAM Malaysia would like to invite our members to participate in the upcoming webinar by EU Delegation to ASEAN and EU-ASEAN Business Council regarding EU & ASEAN Green Transition: Focus on Renewable Energies happening Thursday, 24 February 2022 at 4PM (SGT).

In the framework of the EU Industry Days and Week 2022, the EU Delegation to ASEAN and the EU-ASEAN Business Council is organising a webinar EU & ASEAN green transition: focus on renewable energies.

The webinar will offer an overview of ongoing actions in the EU and ASEAN to support the EU green deal priorities and green agenda with a focus on renewable energies. It will present the opportunities that the Team Europe Initiative might offer in ASEAN for the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

We are pleased to share that EUROCHAM Malaysia is in collaboration as a co-organiser with EuroCham Singapore for the upcoming webinar – EV Infrastructure – Challenges and Opportunities in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam. This webinar is happening on Tuesday, 15 February 2022 at 4 PM.

With this webinar, we feature distinguished industry experts who understand and study EV adoption trends and are willing to share solutions for governments and investors to develop the infrastructure successfully as well as the opportunities EVs can provide while taking into account the various challenges that will first need to be crossed.

Representing EUROCHAM Malaysia during this webinar session will be Mr. Hans de Visser, Managing Director at BMW Group Malaysia. With over 29 years of experience in various functions at the BMW Group, Mr. Hans began his career at the premium automaker in its premium motorcycle division and has served in various Sales and Marketing roles for the BMW Group across several markets globally.

Here are the highlights of the latest updated SOPs for Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP):

Areas Involved:

THE WHOLE COUNTRY.*

This SOP must be read together with the Special SOP of the Federal Territory of Labuan.

** For Sabah, please refer to the National Recovery Plan SOP Phase 4 Sabah.

*** For Sarawak, please refer to the National Recovery Plan SOP Phase 4 Sarawak.

**** For areas enforced by EMCO, the EMCO SOP in the area is effective until the expiry/end date of the EMCO.