Share This

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Najib arrested, charged and pleaded not guilty

https://youtu.be/CkmYbnVaO_s


Former premier Najib Abdul Razak was arrested at his residence in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, this afternoon, according to MACC chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull.

The arrest was carried out in relation to the commission's investigation into the SRC International issue.

Speculation is also rife that the former premier could be charged tomorrow.

Shukri Abdul told the media that the arrest took place at 3pm and the former premier has been taken to the commission's headquarters in Putrajaya for further questioning.

Previously, MACC had recorded Najib's statement twice with regard to the SRC International issue.

Last Friday, Malaysiakini had reported that there is a strong likelihood the former premier would be arrested this week.

Malaysiakini logo
[More to follow]

LIVE: Najib arrives in court





https://youtu.be/IFZhcT6t1Pw

Penang undersea tunnel developer CZC 'duped into paying RM22mil' at gun point?


GEORGE TOWN: The developer of the Penang undersea tunnel project claims it was duped into paying two individuals RM22mil to stop graft investigations.

Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) senior executive director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli (pic) said they were told that action would be taken against them if they did not pay.

“They (the duo) claimed to be the powers that be. Eventually, we found out it was not true. We were conned,” he said.

He said the company had previously followed all the rules.

“But at that particular period of time, we didn’t know what was the rule of law. It’s not bribery but the act was akin to putting a gun to my head,” he said.

Zarul Ahmad said he could not disclose the details because the case was still being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“I believe soon they will come out with something pertaining to those issues,” he said.

Zarul Ahmad said things were different now after the outcome of GE14 on May 9.

“On May 10, I opened my window and I took a nice breath of fresh air and it was wonderful.

“Last time, I couldn’t answer certain things but now, I can because there is freedom of speech. I know I won’t get into trouble for making statements that I want to make,” he said at a hotel here yesterday.

In March, a 37-year-old Datuk Seri was picked up by MACC for allegedly receiving RM19mil from CZC to “help settle” investigations into the controversial RM6.3bil mega project comprising an undersea tunnel and three highways.

Former chief minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government was shocked at the news that CZC allegedly paid RM19mil to an unnamed businessman and RM3mil to an MP.

Zarul Ahmad said they had provided an explanation about the incident which was accepted by the Penang government two weeks ago.

CZC, the special purpose vehicle of the Penang project, had come under the spotlight after its two senior directors were picked up to assist in MACC investigations over alleged corruption claims.

MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had raised numerous concerns about the project, including why the special pur­pose vehicle did not meet the RM381mil minimum paid-up capital requirement during the tender process.

Zarul Ahmad said they were adopting the just-in-time (JiT) philosophy, meaning the paid-up capital would only be increased when necessary.

He said 90% of the financing was done through the banks and they did not want to incur interests for nothing.

“That is the only way to reduce our cost and maximise returns.

“Why should we increase our paid-up capital to RM300mil or 400mil when we are only using a certain amount,” he said.

By Tan Sin Chow and Saran Yeoh The Star 


Related story:

'It was like someone putting a gun to our heads' | Free Malaysia Today

 

Works to begin on paired roadCompany offers third bridge with LRT as an alternative

Works to begin on paired road

 

MACC arrests Najib at his home 

Former PM Najib arrested at his residence 

MACC arrests Najib | Malaysia




Related posts:

More worms open up from Penang Undersea Tunnel project as Datuk Seri photos hots up

Penang govt shocked at payment of RM22m to Datuk Seri to cover-up alleged corruption in undersea tunnel project.

Tough questions on Penang turnel project; Engineering Consultant arrested in probe

Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) - Tunnel project rocked, Directors arrested in graft probe

Opening up a can of worms from Penang Undersea Tunnel project to Ayer Hitam ...

Penang Forum calls to review Penang mega projects


Penang undersea tunnel project scrutinized by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) 

Who is sabotaging Penang undersea tunnel project?

PTMP: Losses making fashion company in Penang Undersea Tunnel Projec


Monday, July 2, 2018

China staunch defender of free trade under WTO, meet the 'selfish giant' of global trade

Photo taken on April 12, 2018 shows the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. [Photo/Xinhua]

China staunch defender of free trade under WTO


There can be no order without rules. And trade is no exception to this. The World Trade Organization regulates the trade between nations to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

China has spared no efforts in honoring the promises it made to join the WTO, and the country has not only abided by the WTO rules over the past 17 years. It has contributed a great deal to the development of the world economy and is a staunch defender of the WTO trade system.

In contrast, the Donald Trump administration's unilateralism and trade protectionism pose an ever greater threat to free trade. Under the unjustifiable pretext of national security, it has violated the United States' WTO obligations by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and discriminating among its WTO trade partners.

There is no denying that China has benefited a lot as a member of the WTO, which has facilitated its opening-up and reform. Without integrating its economy with that of the world, it would have been impossible for the country to maintain its double-digit economic growth for more than a decade.

Yet the other side of the coin is that as a rule-abiding member of the WTO, China has also contributed to the world economy. Had it not been for China's help and support, it would not have been possible for the US and other major Western countries to have emerged from the devastating effects of the 2008 financial crisis so quickly.

And without China's opening-up, it would not have been possible for so many transnational corporations to benefit from their business in China. And of course, those businesses have provided jobs for China and enabled the country to earn more from international trade.

Free trade is undoubtedly reciprocal. China is a beneficiary of free trade within the framework of the WTO, but it also benefits others. It is a contributor to the development of the world economy and defender of the current world economic order.

Because they fail to appreciate this, some Western countries regard China as simply a free rider on globalization and refuse to recognize China's status as a market economy as they should.

That the US refuses to settle its trade dispute with China within the framework of the WTO only points to its own lack of respect for the WTO trade rules.

China will continue to abide by WTO rules and firmly defend the current world economic order, as it believes that rules-based multilateralism is essential for the healthy development of the world economy.

By China Daily editorial

Amid trade row, US losing international legitimacy

The Trump administration should find a balance between its new strategy, which can be partly reasonable, within the existing highly interconnected world. The US should understand that emerging countries cannot be treated like in the past.

 Meet the 'selfish giant' of global trade




Donald Trump has opened a Pandora's box which, if not shut soon, will cause mayhem in global trade and seriously undermine the multilateral trading system

At a time when globalization needs to be safeguarded and promoted, some countries are doing exactly the opposite by violating even the normative axioms of international relations. In particular, the Donald Trump administration seems hellbent on instigating a trade war with major economies by using anti-globalization and protectionist measures, which are disrupting the international trade order.

Claiming to resolve domestic structural problems and meet global challenges with a combative approach, US President Donald Trump has become the most powerful force behind the wave of trade protectionism. The trade disputes he has stirred up pose a big challenge to globalization, which is based on the division of labor in the global value chain. Trump's protectionist moves would disrupt the global production network, leading to a contraction, if not dismantling, of the global value chain. In fact, he has put the global free trade system and international trade order at great risk of being destroyed.

In his one and a half years in office, Trump has not only expedited investigations by the US International Trade Commission into anti-subsidy, anti-dumping allegations under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, but also used unconventional protectionist measures, such as Section 301 and 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, to order investigations against imports, including those from China, and the trade practices of other economies.

'Trump trap' versus 'Thucydides trap'

No wonder many overseas scholars are more worried about a "Trump trap" rather than the "Thucydides trap", because the former will harm not only China but also the rest of the world.

Essentially, the Trump administration's trade policies are not different in nature from those of the Barack Obama administration. But compared with Obama's trade policies, Trump's policies exhibit some new features.

First, for Trump, his "America First" policy is more important than international rules and the world trade order. Trump has been exhibiting a tendency to either take advantage of or discard the multilateral global trading system to fulfill US interests. The president's 2017 Trade Policy Agenda stresses that the efficiency of the open and multilateral trading system, built by the US itself, needs to be reassessed to realize and promote US national interests.

Apart from complaining about China's so-called restraints on foreign capital's access to some service industries, including telecommunications, banks and healthcare, the US Trade Representative has also accused China of forcing technology transfers despite China gradually opening up these industries in accordance with the General Agreement on Trade in Services of the World Trade Organization.

Second, the US administration has raised economic security to a new level, by incorporating economic and trade policies into national security, with Trump's first National Security Strategy emphasizing that economic security is national security. Declaring that the US would use all applicable tools to defend national security, Trump has said the US will adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward any move it considers unfair or harmful to the US economy.

Third, Trump is trying to weaken, even overthrow the multilateral trading system, a system based on rules that has played a central role in promoting cooperation and opening-up of trade and investment, apart from offering a stable and reliable system for WTO members to resolve trade disputes.

Evidently, the Trump administration is making all-out efforts to skirt and marginalize the WTO, most recently by saying appeals against WTO rulings should not take more than the mandated 90 days to deal with. What it has conveniently ignored, however, is that the delay is caused as the US, from time to time, has thwarted the Appellate Body from starting the procedure of selecting new judges, leading to a paralysis in the WTO's dispute-settlement mechanism.

Trump mantra: Trade good, imports bad

Fourth, Trump is trying to defend fair trade, ironically, through unilateral trade sanctions. The Trump administration has ordered an estimated 94 investigations into so-called unfair trade practices involving dozens of countries in just one and a half years, a year-on-year increase of 81 percent. In fact, the fair trade principle advocated by Trump stresses a kind of equality that promotes a unilateral (as opposed to multilateral) open market and regards trade beneficial but imports harmful.

Generally speaking, the fair trade Trump demands mainly constitutes of even tariffs and competition on an equal footing. Yet the disparity in tariff rates among WTO member states is largely attributable to multilateral trade negotiations. More important, uneven tariffs have enabled smaller economies at a primary stage of development to enter the global trading system.

Since different countries are at different development stages, and have different economic scales, production factors and political sensitivity toward trade liberalization and tariff policies, it is practically impossible to fix a unified tariff rate, which Trump effectively demands.

So, what is the truth behind the uneven Sino-US trade tariff rate? This can be better explained using hard data, instead of selectively ignoring unfavorable facts like the Trump administration has been doing. China's actual trade-weighted average tariff rate is 4.4 percent, which is almost the same as that of developed economies, including Australia that has a trade-weighted average import tariff rate of 4 percent and the European Union 3 percent.

Correspondingly, more than 3,335 of the US' most-favored nation tariff rates are higher than 5 percent and 1,120 above 10 percent.

Also, to prevent others from catching up, the US has invoked more than 125 Section 301 investigations since 1974, causing significant damage to other economies-the EU has faced 27 investigations, Japan 16, and Canada 14.

In January 2017, the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended in a report titled "Ensuring Long-Term US Leadership in Semiconductors" that the US restrain the development of China's technology industries because China's rise in the field of semiconductors posed a threat to the US.

China's high-tech sector a key target

Besides, the US is attempting to thwart the Made in China 2025 plan by launching more Section 301 investigations. And the 578 high-tech products on the US' sanctions list against Chinese imports, which account for 43.36 percent of the total number and 56.15 percent of the total amount of high-tech products, show the US is indeed trying to contain the development of China's high-tech industry.

Trump also is seeking to restrict Chinese investment in the US' high-tech sector, by extending the power of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US and accelerating the legislation procedure of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act.

Do we need more evidence to prove the US is the most potent destructive force in the global market and technology competition?

Furthermore, Trump seems to be preparing to take new measures in the escalating Sino-US trade conflict to restrict Chinese enterprises from investing or acquiring US companies in strategic industries listed in the Made in China 2025 plan, by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

And as part of its new tax reform, the Trump administration plans to prevent US companies from transferring their operating activities, high-value patents, copyright and trademarks to low-tax countries. Particularly noteworthy is a provision in the Senate version of the tax reform plan, which says a tax of 13.1 percent would be levied on global intangible low-taxed income. The move is aimed at foiling the efforts of US companies such as Apple, Google and Qualcomm to transfer their technologies to or conduct innovative cooperation with companies in other countries.

Trump is trying to instigate a trade war without realizing, rather refusing to accept, that a trade war will hurt all and sundry, including the US. The challenge for and obligation of the rest of the world is to find a way, and find it fast, to safeguard the multilateral trading system and protect it from the assaults of Trump Inc.

By Zhang Monan China Daily.  The author is a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Related: 

China sends Donald Trump a message about free trade and the WTO


Related posts:


US-China trade war escalates, tariff list aims to hinder China’s high-tech development: expert


Trapped in US-China trade war when 2 elephantine economices fight ...

 

Did Trump just launch a trade war? 

 

American Ban on ZTE offers much food for thought & pain together with ZTE



Friday, June 29, 2018

Goldman Lunch at Taste Paradise Sets Table for 1MDB Money Probe

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-06-28/goldman-bankers-in-focus-in-1mdb-money-probe-video


https://youtu.be/tW9Q7v8pioY

Low Taek Jho and an official from 1MDB had hired Goldman Sachs Group to underwrite the US$1.75 billion bond offering.

SINGAPORE: In a private dining room at Singapore's Taste Paradise restaurant, over a meal of abalone and suckling pig, two Goldman Sachs Group Inc bankers were explaining a US$1.75 billion bond offering to six executives of a Swiss bank.

It was early 2012, and joining Goldman bankers Roger Ng and Tim Leissner that day were a young Malaysian financier named Low Taek Jho and an official from state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Bhd, known as 1MDB, which had hired the New York bank to underwrite the bond sale.

Now, people familiar with the matter say, investigators from Singapore to the United States are looking more closely at the roles of Mr Ng and Mr Leissner, who have both left Goldman. And they're asking what happened in that private dining room named after the first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang.

In particular, they're examining how US$577 million in proceeds from a bond sale that May ended up a day later in an account at BSI SA in Switzerland - the same bank whose executives were at the Taste Paradise.

Click here for the full report: Goldman Sachs lunch at Singapore's Taste Paradise set the scene for 1MDB's money probe

The lunch, previously unreported, brought together the key parties in what has become the biggest financial scandal in Malaysia's history, involving the alleged misappropriation of US$4.5 billion of 1MDB funds. It was the culmination of numerous conversations as BSI bankers and compliance officials sought clarity on the deal.


Related posts:


On the rise: A man walks past the Employees Provident Fund headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Remuneration of GLC chiefs, senior managemen...

Politicians should not be appointed to run government-linked companies (GLCs) to keep graft in check, said Malaysian Anti-Corruption ..

‘Enough with being yes men’ - MACC chiefs warns top civil servants against brown-nosing The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MAC...

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Jack Ma Embraces Blockchain for Ant But Warns of Bitcoin Bubble

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-04-20/how-much-is-bitcoin-really-worth-video

https://youtu.be/SA2wG5st0rk

Billionaire Jack Ma has declared Bitcoin a potential bubble, reiterating his caution over the volatile crypto-currency as his Ant Financial on Monday launched blockchain-based money transfers between Hong Kong and the Philippines.

The founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. extolled the possibilities of the decentralized ledger on which Bitcoin is based but warned that the digital currency itself may be driven by torrid speculation. Ma made his comments after officially launching a blockchain-based remittance service with Standard Chartered Plc and GCash, Ant’s venture with the Philippines’ Globe Telecom Inc.

Bitcoin set a 2018 low on Sunday before bouncing back a tad, underscoring the volatility that stems from increased scrutiny by regulators even as global central bankers and business chiefs raise questions about its viability.

“Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine,” Ma told reporters in the former British colony, home to a large population of Filipino workers and domestic helpers who send money home regularly. “Bitcoin however could be a bubble.”

Read more: Ant Financial Raises $14 Billion as Funding Round Closes

Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba’s backed by some of the biggest names in global finance and investment, has explored blockchain technology for years, including to clean up China’s murky charities. But the remittance service marks one of the first instances of the internet giant using the technology in mainstream finance.

On Monday, Ma also took potshots at the traditional banking industry, saying financial institutions were over-charging for overseas payments. Ant Financial, blocked from buying Moneygram International Inc., now wants to build something better and take blockchain-based remittances beyond just Hong Kong to the Philippines. He didn’t elaborate.

“Traditional financial institutions serve 20 percent of people and make 80 percent of profits. New financial institutions should service 80 percent of people, and make 20 percent of profit,” said Ma.

Read more: Jack Ma’s Too-Big-to-Fail Financial Giant Faces a Clampdown

By

Bitcoin Drops Back Below $6,000 as 2018 Loss Approaches 60%


Bitcoin briefly dropped back below the $6,000 threshold breached this past weekend, bringing the loss for 2018 to almost 60 percent.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value traded as low as $5,988, and was down 2.2 percent to $6,044 as of 10:56 a.m. in New York. Bitcoin last traded at this level in February.




Jack Ma Embraces Blockchain for Ant But Warns of Bitcoin Bubble
Bloomberg


Alibaba's Jack Ma says bitcoin is 'likely' a bubble while embracing its ...

 

Jack Ma Claims Bitcoin is a Bubble, not Blockchain - Google News ...




Chepicap

Alibaba chairman advises staying away from bitcoin

Jack Ma, whom is a controlling shareholder in Ant Financial - which is the financial technology affiliate of Alibaba, advises staying away from investing in bitcoin.





Inside Bitcoins

Jack Ma Claims Bitcoin is a Bubble, not Blockchain

by Muffie Rojas | Jun 26, 2018 | Uncategorized |. Jack Ma Claims Bitcoin is a Bubble, not Blockchain. This story was shared from this site. Jack Ma went to the ...





Fortune

Alibaba's Ant Financial Just Launched a Blockchain-based Remittance Service

Though Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma may think Bitcoin is in a bubble, the firm still believes in blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies.





Chepicap

Jack Ma witnesses blockchain-based project, gushes over future of blockchain tech

Ant Financial, company formerly known as Alipay and affiliate of the Chinese Alibaba Group, launched their blockchain-based electronic wallet cross border ...





Fortune

Alibaba's Jack Ma: Bitcoin Is 'Likely a Bubble'

Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma says that the company is betting on blockchain, but advises against investing in Bitcoin. Ma is the controlling shareholder in Ant ...





Blokt

Alibaba Founder Jack Ma Warns of Bitcoin Bubble

Founder and Chairman of Alibaba Jack Ma recently spoke about his views on cryptocurrencies, declaring Bitcoin an asset bubble and saying that digital ...





Crypto Coin News

Jack Ma of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) Sends Out A Warning Regarding An Impending Bitcoin Bubble

The executive chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) Jack Ma Yun is quite pleased with the promise that pulls along with the underlying ...





TOINNOV

Jack Ma: Technology by itself is not a bubble, but bitcoin is possible

He actively explores the potential of blockchain but avoids cryptocurrency.





Business Insider Nordic

Alibaba's billionaire chairman Jack Ma is warning about a bubble in bitcoin

Jack Ma — the billionaire founder of China's online retail juggernaut Alibaba — is less than convinced about bitcoin's value proposition. Ma repeated his ...





LeapRate

Why exactly is Jack Ma calling Bitcoin a bubble?

One of the most famous and prominent business people in the world has just slammed Bitcoin. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and the fintech company Ant ...





Stockhead

Blockchain is world-changing but bitcoin is a bubble says billionaire

He added that blockchain represents a solution for security and privacy, as well as processing capabilitiies for the millions of transactions that Alibaba completes ...





Bitsonline

Alibaba Co-Founder Jack Ma Bashes Bitcoin, Leverages Blockchain Technology

Jack Ma, co-founder of the Chinese technology conglomerate Alibaba Group, has yet again raged against the bitcoin machine, calling it a foreseeable bubble.





Legal Gambling News

Ant Financial Launches Blockchain Based Money Transfer Services

Ant Financial recently launched a blockchain-based money transfer *service* between Hong Kong and the Philippines.





sbDirtySouthSoccer

Jack Ma Embraces Blockchain for Ant But Warns of Bitcoin Bubble

The Chinese investor, who is worth almost $50bn (£37bn), said: "Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine, adding that "Bitcoin ...





HiBusiness

Jack Ma Of Alibaba Cuts Remittance Costs

The one and only Jack Ma of Alibaba has revealed that Ant Financial Services—an affiliate of the e-commerce company that is Alibaba is no longer going to ...





Money Morning

Here's the Real Reason Jack Ma Called Bitcoin a Bubble

Bitcoin prices were slightly up on the day even though Alibaba founder Jack Ma said he believes the crypto coin is a bubble. But there's a big reason why he ...





Smartereum

Alibaba's Jack Ma Warns Against Bitcoin; Pledges Support For Blockchain Technology

Once again, the billionaire founder of Alibaba hails blockchain technology, once again he expresses reservation towards cryptocurrencies suggesting it could be ...





Kitco News

Stay Away From Bitcoin - Alibaba's Chairman

Share this article: Stay Away From Bitcoin – Alibaba's Chairman. (Kitco News) - Alibaba's billionaire co-founder and chairman Jack Ma said that he has ...





Express.co.uk

Bitcoin news: 'BTC is a bubble' says Chinese billionaire Jack Ma in shock warning

BITCOIN may be the world's most talked-about cryptocurrency, but a Chinese billionaire has warned it is likely a 'bubble'.





Investing.com

Bitcoin Continues Tentative Comeback Despite Alibaba's Jack Ma 'Bubble' Warning

Investing.com – Bitcoin continued its tentative comeback from its swing lower over the weekend but sentiment remained fragile amid sluggish fund inflows.





Coinspeaker

Ant Financial Launches Blockchain-based Money Transfers Between Hong Kong and the Philippines

Billionaire Jack Ma believes that blockchain can revolutionize the world and moves from words to action: the affiliate of his Alibaba Group Holding has ...





EconoTimes

Alibaba chief calls for bitcoin bubble but constructive on blockchain

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma says that he would stay away from bitcoin because it could be a bubble but he reportedly seems to be constructive on the blockchain.




Inside Bitcoins
Jack Ma Claims Bitcoin is a Bubble, not Blockchain

 

Is Alibaba going to use XRP?? - Topics - Xrp Chat