On the 8th February, the BMCC held its first and much anticipated Premier Luncheon with Datuk Seri Johari Ghani, Minister of Finance II at The Ritz-Carlton KL. Over 70 attendees comprising some of Malaysia’s largest foreign investors and business entities showed up for the opportunity to get up close and personal, hearing first hand from the Minister himself who spoke on a range of financial concerns regarding the Nation’s Economic Outlook for 2018.
The afternoon began with roundtable discussion held before the lunch where representatives from a handful of selected organisations shared a closed-door session with the Minister to exchange views on matters that were pertinent to their sectors. The luncheon then commenced with Andrew Sill (BMCC Chairman) providing a welcoming speech before Datuk Seri Johari Ghani took centre stage.
Speaking on the nation’s resilience against global economic uncertainties, the Minister maintained that we are certainly not insulated from external headwinds, however reassures citing historic evidence that Malaysia is capable of strong rebounds due to its diversified economic structure and robust financial system. Datuk Seri Johari shared several of the nation’s key headings this coming year, which include strengthening SME’s through digital platforms, promoting more robust taxation mechanisms for a level playing field, moving towards micro-targeting social assistance for reduced reliance on labour-intensive foreign workers and extending trade destinations and compositions.
Addressing the UK’s strong presence and relationship with Malaysia, he said “The investment, training and technologies brought in by UK investors are key assets as Malaysia strives towards implementing our key national development programs – the National Transformation Program (NTP), the National Productivity Blueprint, and now the forward-thinking TN50 developmental framework. Many of you in this room are actively contributing to the realization of these goals. Malaysia has long recognized the importance of providing a welcoming and stable business environment, which are critical factors if the country is to continue attracting new high-quality investments.”
A question & answer session followed the Minister’s speech before a four-course lunch was served, signalling the conclusion of a highly successful afternoon. The positive responses gathered from participants and Datuk Seri Johari brings us great encouragement to build a stronger working relationship with the Ministry of Finance in our endeavour to continually provide platforms such as this in the times to come.
