Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) and Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI)

 DEFINITION
1. The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) reflects the prices that producers ireceive as the goods leave the plant gate. 

2. The IPPI excludes indirect taxes and all the costs that occur between the time a good leaves the plant and the time the final user takes possession of it, including the transportation, wholesale, and retail costs. 

3. The report also contains a measure of domestic producers' Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI)  which can be seen as a very loose leading indicator of the IPPI.

Singapore & Australia E-Commerce Logistics Market Forecast

1. Australia E-commerce Logistics Market is expected to generate USD ~ 10 Bn by 2026F owning to rising demand of door step delivery, increasing digitisation, reducing cost of packaging along with favorable government initiatives.

2. Singapore E-Commerce Logistics Market revenue is expected to generate USD ~2 Bn by 2026F largely due to high internet penetration & emergence of new players.

What Is Poka-Yoke And Why It Matters In Business

1. Poka-yoke is a Japanese quality control technique developed by former Toyota engineer Shigeo Shingo. Translated as “mistake-proofing”, poka-yoke aims to prevent defects in the manufacturing process that are the result of human error. 

2. Poka-yoke is a lean manufacturing technique that ensures that the right conditions exist before a step in the process is executed. This makes it a preventative form of quality control since errors are detected and then rectified before they occur. 

3. Fundamentally, poka-yoke is a lean manufacturing technique that ensures that the right conditions exist before a step in the process is executed. This makes it a preventative form of quality control since errors are detected before they occur. 

4. Of course, some process errors cannot be detected ahead of time. In this case, the poka-yoke technique seeks to eliminate errors as early on in the process as is feasible. Although the poka-yoke technique became a key part of Toyota’s manufacturing process, it can be applied to any industry or indeed any situation where there is potential for human error. 

TCFD-aligned guidelines for climate risk disclosure and management In Malaysia

 1. Climate change is posing new challenges to central banks and regulators whose main mandate is to ensure systemic financial stability. In Malaysia, many financial institutions (FIs) and the businesses they back are beginning to realise the importance of proactively addressing a wide array of physical and transition risks that can arise as the drive to build a low-carbon and climate-friendly economy intensifies.

2. For example, the increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events can trigger irreversible financial losses. In turn, a system-wide transition towards net-zero, if successful, could also have far-reaching effects on critical economic sectors. Technological innovations and low-carbon solutions seen as game-changers will require businesses to make structural shifts to adapt to different realities. A new awareness about “green swan” events, defined as rare, extreme and sudden paradigm shifts brought about by this new type of systemic risk represented by climate change, has now emerged, and the financial sector knows it needs to move quickly to navigate the landscape when they occur.

RailTel to create 'Edge Data Centres' at 102 locations across India

1. RailTel, a Central Government PSU, said on Wednesday it will create 'edge data centres' at Railway premises across 102 locations, especially Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns in the country.

2. The 'edge data centres' will be set up by RailTel jointly with partners.

3. The prospective Business Associates/partners should be a company registered in India. This activity will entail an investment opportunity of around Rs 500 crore, RailTel said in a statement

4. The process to establish the edge data centres has been set in motion with the floating of Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting the industry to partner in this exercise, it said.

5. Edge data centres are small data centres located at the edge of the network, where they are closer to end-users and devices. Having such kind of facility at the edge would enable faster performance and lower latency as organisations will not have to move the data to far-flung data centres to process it.

Cambodia punches above its weight in attracting FDI

1. Cambodia, a lesser known FDI location in South East Asia, must compete against the likes of Singapore and Vietnam to attract inward investment. Despite stiff competition it has managed to win more than its fair share of greenfield projects.

2. Cambodia performs impressively in Investment Monitor’s 2022 Inward FDI Performance Index. The index measures a country’s inward investment levels against its gross domestic product (GDP) using GlobalData’s FDI Projects Database, which tracks greenfield projects. 

3. This means that Cambodia, with a score of 3.26, received more than three times its fair share of inward greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) compared with what could be expected given its level of GDP. In that regard, Cambodia is punching well above its weight in FDI terms. Cambodia places third for FDI into Asia-Pacific based on the aforementioned index, attracting 15 projects in 2021. Singapore ranks first with an index score of 4.9 while New Zealand places second scoring 3.31.

Inflation Reduction Act changes the game for energy transformation

1. Following many months of negotiation between branches of the United States government, on 16 August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. Although, as the name suggests, it includes measures that aim to reduce inflation, it also contains a significant package of tax incentives and benefits designed to support the US in tackling climate change. These cover how it produces energy and other measures, such as encouraging decarbonization through carbon capture and promoting the use of electric vehicles. In September, President Biden described the IRA as “the most aggressive action ever… to confront the climate crisis and increase our energy security.” 

2. The Act’s energy industry measures are numerous and, in several cases, innovative, with new mechanisms that allow tax credits to be sold to unrelated third parties or settled through direct payments from the government. Some tax incentives are linked to the location of projects and suppliers, workers’ pay and the development of apprenticeship programs. This article will focus on a small number of tax changes that create opportunities and challenges for energy companies with US operations.

Malaysia Industrial production index growth at 6.9% in 2022

1. Industrial Production Index (IPI) is a measure of the rate of change in the production of industrial commodities in real terms over time for Manufacturing, Mining and Electricity Sectors. 

2. It is measured based on volume changes in production.  IPI are the overall index from the Index of Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity. IPI give the overview of the current trend of industrial activities and used for economic analysis.

3. Industrial production and capacity levels are expressed as an index level relative to a base year. Within the overall IPI, there are a number of sub-indices providing a detailed look at the output of highly specific industries. 

4. Industry-level data are useful for managers and investors within specific lines of business, while the composite index is an important macroeconomic indicator for economists and investors—fluctuations within the industrial sector account for most of the variation in overall economic growth.

Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA)

1. The Introduction Of Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) Into The Malaysian Renewable Energy Industry

2. To understand how VPPA works, it is helpful to firstly establish how a Power Purchase Agreement ("PPA") works in our current ecosystem. In Malaysia, we are more than familiar with how conventional PPAs operate with it being established in Malaysia since the mid-1990s. 

3. Generally, PPA is an agreement between a solar power producer ("SPP") and Tenaga Nasional Berhad ("TNB") as the distribution licensee for the sale and purchase of electricity generated by the SPP. The electricity produced by the SPP's solar photovoltaic ("solar PV") would be physically transmitted into the local grid (owned by TNB) and such electricity would then be sold by TNB to end users/consumers3.

4. Furthermore, Net Energy Metering Scheme ("NEM") was introduced in 2016 which allowed consumers to enter into direct PPA with SPPs/investors. Under NEM, investors install and operate solar PVs (which are owned by the investors) on the consumers' premises and the electricity produced can be sold (via a PPA) directly to the consumers at a rate agreed between both parties with excess electricity sold to TNB4.

5. VPPA on the other hand, also known as Synthetic PPA, differ from the conventional PPA as it does not actually concern the transmission of the physical energy (electrons) produced by the solar PVs. As its name suggests, the supply of electricity is done virtually rather than physically. In other words, consumers continue to receive their electricity from local utility providers and the SPP will continue to sell electricity which they produce to local utility providers.

UK-Malaysia 2023 Trade and Investment Trends

1. The UK has been investing in Malaysia for the past 60 years, in fact, it was the leading FDI investor in Malaysia for its initial several years after independence. However, by the mid-1980s, for numerous reasons, the UK was overtaken by Japan (focused on the electronics industry) and Singapore (increasing trade linkages) in FDI investment. These FDI trends have accelerated in today’s rapidly evolving multi-polar greening world, led by technology and digitization. 

2. Within the past decade, not only has UK interest in FDI in Malaysia declined, three of the UK’s largest companies have made significant exits. Conversely, Malaysia has become an increasingly active investor in the UK over the past decade and is currently leading two of the UK’s leading infrastructure projects. In spite of these developments, both countries house large, international businesses which combined with their financial markets can assist both countries in developing future growth. 

Cambodia SDG Investor Map launched to accelerate sustainable development

1. New market intelligence tool identifies 15 Investment Opportunity Areas guiding the private sector to focus on SDG priority sectors that could benefit from expanded financing options.

2. The Cambodia SDG Investor Map, a market intelligence tool that identifies viable Investment Opportunity Areas aligned with the Cambodia Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was launched by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) established by Temasek Trust. 

COP27: How countries compare on carbon emissions and pledges

1. Energy Monitor tracked the latest carbon emissions data to see how far the world is from reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

2. The beginning of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, means a year has passed since the world agreed to “keep 1.5°C alive” at the COP26 UN climate conference in Glasgow. Over the course of the intervening year, however, that tentative note of collective optimism – and Covid-19’s carbon emissions reductions – have been overtaken by geopolitics and a global energy crisis.

3. Data reveals the transition to clean energy continues at a record pace, partly out of this new ambition for energy security. Some 257GW of renewable electricity capacity was installed in 2021, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In China, the five-year plan for 2021–25 will add 874GW of solar and wind capacity to the grid – equivalent to the entire electrical network of Europe. The Inflation Reduction Act in the US means the country’s wind power capacity should double, and solar power capacity quadruple, by 2030.

4. Energy Monitor tracked the latest carbon emissions data: the fundamental metric that determines our progress in addressing climate change. In doing so, we can see just how far the world is from reaching the ambition laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement: net-zero emissions by mid-century, which is what the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says is required for a good chance of keeping global warming to the “safe” limit of 1.5°C. 

Moving from a Just-in-Time to a Just-in-Case

1. Just-in-Time or JIT inventory management is a lean procurement methodology originally invented in Japan. By only ordering what they need, when they need it, companies reduce waste such as obsolete or expired stock, drive efficiency, and reduce holding costs (warehousing). Importantly, JIT frees up operational cash flow.

2. JIT management requires a constant stream of robust data, such as having accurate and frequently updated sales forecasts and knowing your peak demand periods. It also requires a sophisticated inventory system to tell you exactly how much stock you have on-hand in real-time.

3. Unfortunately, JIT only works properly in a seamless, well-oiled supply chain. As we all know, COVID-19 brought this crashing to the ground all over the world. The pandemic caused shipping delays, port congestion, panic buying, and shortages of crucial medical equipment and PPE. Businesses everywhere rapidly ran out of stock and had to scramble for alternative sources of supply, pay higher prices, and wait for the global supply chain to recover.

Malaysia’s Ratification of CPTPP to Help Increase Trade

1. Malaysia’s ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) looks set to provide indigenous businesses with expansion opportunities around the Asia Pacific and even further afield. The pact, deemed highly beneficial for the development of Malaysian trade, removes as much as 95 percent of tariffs between member states.

2. The Malaysian government officially ratified the CPTPP on September 30, 2022. The trade deal was signed in 2018 but required years of careful deliberation and consultation by Parliament for final approval.

3. The agreement – originally called the Trans-Pacific Partnership – was signed by 11 countries on the Pacific rim in 2018. Signatories included Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The pact removes 95 percent of tariffs between its 11 members.

4. Malaysia concluded in its “Cost-Benefit Analysis” that this free trade agreement would see the country’s total trade increase to US$655.9 billion by 2030 according to the government’s Statistics Department. Malaysia’s total trade stood at around 2.2 trillion ringgit (US$481 billion) in 2021.

Digitization vs. digitalization: Differences, definitions and examples, and Digital Transformation

1. In the case of digitization and digitalization, two letters make all the difference. This is not merely a matter of wordplay — it’s a matter of scope and potential value to your business. Understanding the distinctions between these two approaches is critical as the digital transformation gains momentum and businesses move toward digital technologies to enhance visibility and eliminate inefficiencies in their operations.

2. Here, we’ll give a straightforward explanation of both digitization and digitalization, offering examples of each. Then we’ll explore why we designed TruQC as a strategy for process digitalization.

Smart Container Market & E-Commerce Logistics Outlook & Forecast

1. The smart container market is projected to grow from USD 3.9 billion in 2022 to USD 9.7 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 19.6% during the forecast period. Increasing focus on end-to-end supply chain visibility, high demand for monitoring and control of internal container conditions, and increasing adoption of IoT devices by shipping companies are the key factors expected to drive the growth of the smart container market in the next five years.

2. The global e-commerce logistics market is expected to grow from $476.34 billion in 2021 to $568.85 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.4%. The Russia-Ukraine war disrupted the chances of global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, at least in the short term.

Product Spotlight - The Hydrogen Colour Spectrum

1. From green to pink hydrogen, we reveal the rainbow of hydrogen colours and the different types of technology used to produce each.

2. Green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, brown hydrogen and even yellow hydrogen, turquoise hydrogen and pink hydrogen. They’re essentially colour codes, or nicknames, used within the energy industry to differentiate between the types of hydrogen.

3. Depending on the type of production used, different colour names are assigned to the hydrogen. But there is no universal naming convention and these colour definitions may change over time, and even between countries.

4. Hydrogen is an invisible gas. So, despite their colourful descriptions, there is no visible difference between the different types of hydrogen.

5. In the future, some hydrogen colours may fade in importance and others burn brighter. What’s certain is that the hydrogen rainbow will play a significant role in reaching net zero, as we reduce our historical reliance on fossil fuels and look to green alternatives to power our homes, businesses and transport.

Halal Certification in Malaysia

1. Businesses looking to sell halal products in Malaysia must first receive a Halal Certificate from the government. A Halal Certificate lets consumers know that the product meets Malaysia’s standards for a halal product.

2. Home to some 16 million Muslims, Malaysia is a leading market in Southeast Asia for the production and consumption of halal products. Malaysia’s halal products have an annual export value of 35.4 billion ringgit (US$7.46 billion), or 5.1 percent of the country’s exports, as it is a key supplier for countries with large Muslim populations, such as Indonesia.

3. Halal certification is relevant to a variety of products that use animal products, including food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Here, we look at how halal is defined in Malaysia and how businesses can receive a Halal Certificate.

Why UAE Businesses Should Establish a Principal Hub in Malaysia

1. Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began diplomatic relations around 1983, which has since developed into an important trade and investment relationship. The UAE is Malaysia’s largest trade partner in the Middle East with bilateral trade reaching US$5.4 billion in 2021, an increase from US$4.93 billion in 2020. Trade is almost evenly split with the UAE enjoying a small surplus of just under US$200 million.

2. Importantly for Malaysia, the country is competing with Singapore to serve as a principal hub for businesses in the UAE, particularly in manufacturing, logistics, information, and communications technology, and Islamic finances, seeking to enter the huge ASEAN market.

Thailand Adopts New Five-Year Investment Promotion Strategy

1. Thailand’s Board of Investment has approved the country’s next Five-Year Investment Promotion Strategy. The strategy aims to identify industries and sectors that are essential to Thailand’s long-term development and competitiveness. The strategy will take effect at the start of 2023 and run through 2027.