Tracking The Updates | Q1 Comes To An End

<WikiFX Malaysia Original – Editor: Fion>

Keep Up with Russia and Ukraine

To date, Russia and Ukraines war has been ongoing for over a month. The latest news is that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for further military aid from Nato when Lviv, western Ukraine was bombed on Saturday. Although US President Joe Biden openly criticized that Putin is not fit to remain in power, he also declared that the US will not be directly involved in the Russia-Ukraine war.

The Russian defence ministry announced that the major duties of Russias first stage special military operation in Ukraine have been achieved.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia announced that the next round of face-to-face peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will take place in Turkey from 28th to 30th of March.

New freight route between China and Vietnam:

On Saturday, a freight train carrying 43 containers with goods worth up to 39 million USD departed from Guoyuan Port in Chongqing (China) for Hanoi (Vietnam).

This route is part of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor that is jointly created between Singapore and western Chinas provincial-level areas. With its operational hub located in Chongqing Municipality, this newly established trade and logistic corridor is expected to improve trade between western China and Southeast Asia by reducing travel time, increasing efficiency through further streamlining export procedures, cutting down freight costs, and improving market access for both participating sides.

Malaysia working towards its GDP projection

April 1st is the day of Malaysia‘s transition into the endemic phase. The nation’s Prime Minister declared that the country will open its international borders after two years of battle with the Coronavirus.

Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed positively asserts that this approach will lead Malaysia towards its GDP forecast of around 5.5-6.5% within the year.

Johor is anticipated to be the first state in Malaysia to enjoy the benefit of this reopening with the resumption of cross-border activities between Malaysia and Singapore.

Another sector that is projected to receive a boost is the health tourism sector. Prior to the pandemic, Malaysia welcomed over 675,000 Indonesian citizens annually seeking medical treatments, but the number has dropped drastically by nearly 99% since the start of the pandemic. Mustapa is hopeful that the Indonesian medical tourists will gradually return with the opening of international borders.

The Bank of Japan intervenes

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) goes against the Federal Reserves hawkish stance by staying dovish. Policymakers in Japan are concerned that higher prices caused by rising energy costs will harm its position as the third-largest economy in the world. They choose to keep their monetary policy loose but in turn drove the Japanese yen to fall to as low as 122.78 per dollar, the weakest since December 2015.

In the attempt to keep yields as close to zero as possible, the BoJ steps in for the second time this year. In today‘s Tokyo trading session, the BoJ announced that it will start buying an unlimited amount of 10-year Japanese Government Bonds at 0.25% starting from tomorrow, thus sending the Yen under pressure once again which may accelerate further Japan’s overall inflation.

Hong Kong in 5th Covid-19 wave

Recently, Hong Kong has been having a hard time combating the new outbreak of Covid-19 cases. At the start of March, number of cases once surpassed the record of 50,000 per day.

Due to this, the Hong Kong government is also facing many criticisms, typically from its citizens for its inefficiency in both delivery and leadership.

Meanwhile, HSBC is ending the first quarter with a reinforcement of its position as Hong Kongs largest lender. Despite having to close down up to 70% of its local branches within these two months, HSBC is expecting to record a 50% jump in personal loan drawdowns and an estimated 5% increase in deposits. HSBC explains that they are able to achieve such growth even in a difficult time like this through the development of their digital banking system and the cooperation of their employees who work diligently from home to support their customers.

<WikiFX Malaysia Original – Editor: Fion>