EUROCHAM Malaysia had the privilege of hosting a special courtesy visit from H.E. Nineta Bărbulescu, the Ambassador of the Embassy of Romania in Malaysia and the delegation. This significant encounter, expertly coordinated by EUROCHAM Malaysia, represents a dynamic stride towards reinforcing international connections.

During this visit, productive discussions took place regarding the Embassy's visionary strategies in Malaysia. Their aim to promote Romanian business initiatives and support diverse sectors that aligns seamlessly with our mission to foster collaborative growth among the EU business community in Malaysia.

Mr Jordi Pol, EUROCHAM Malaysia Interim CEO, and the EUROCHAM Malaysia team provided an overview of our organisation's pivotal role in the European business landscape. This laid a solid foundation for potential synergies between the Embassy of Romania and EUROCHAM Malaysia. The prospect of future joint endeavors ignited excitement and the promise of inventive ventures.

EUROCHAM Malaysia organised and hosted a hybrid IPR Sector Committee meeting yesterday. Chaired by the Head of the IPR sector committee, this meeting was graced by Mr Jordi Pol, Interim CEO of EUROCHAM Malaysia, esteemed representatives from various IPR committee members, alongside our dedicated team.

In the meeting, we delved into an upcoming collaborative initiative that aims to unite the Southeast Asia IP SME Helpdesk with esteemed members of the IPR sector committee. Our primary focus is to address the latest developments in Malaysia's intellectual property rights (IPR) landscape. Through this project, our goal is to foster collaboration and provide robust support for SMEs navigating the dynamic IP environment in the region.

Implementing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in the construction sector is critical because the construction industry is the catalyst of any nation’s physical and economic development.

Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Zaid Zakaria said the construction industry has a multiplier effect of 2.03 due to its connections to more than 120 different industries, of which 90% of the firms comprise small and medium enterprises.

“The construction sector serves almost all other industries, as all economic value creation occurs within or by means of the built environment,” he said in his keynote address at the International Construction Transformation Conference (ICTC) here on Tuesday.

Mohd Zaid said that according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the construction sector accounts for about 6% of the global gross domestic product, and it is also the largest global consumer of raw materials and constructed objects, accounting for about 25% to 40% of the world’s total carbon emissions.

We would like to wish all our members, friends, and connections a Happy Deepavali!

Wishing everyone a Deepavali full of joy and prosperity.

On behalf of our education sector committee, we would like to share with our fellow members to help in participating in a survey to help understand the talent shortage that European companies in Malaysia are facing.

With a better understanding of both the educational level where you face a shortage of talents, as well as tangible knowledge of which soft and hard skills are lacking, we can communicate the specific needs to our collaboration partners and policymakers. Ministry of Higher Education, as well as several universities, and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), have already expressed a great interest in the findings of this survey, and willingness to work with EUROCHAM Malaysia and the European companies to try and bridge the gaps.

The last part of the survey pertains to issues you may face with foreign workers and talents, as most companies are still dependent on recruiting expatriates. These results will be shared with our Human Resource Sector Committee.

On behalf of our fellow member JLL Property Services (M) Sdn Bhd we would like to extend an invitation to our members on the upcoming event co-organised by InvestKL and JLL – Green Horizons: Crafting the Workplace of Tomorrow.

The workplace as we knew it is a thing of the past, and we're all part of the transformation! Get ready to explore the new horizons where offices play a pivotal role in shaping the future of work.

Let's dive deep into the global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) landscape, and witness how businesses worldwide are evolving their practices to tackle urgent environmental and societal challenges.