Anwar meets Italian defence, energy industry leaders
The prime minister said he met with two Italian defence industry giants in Fincantieri SpA and Leonardo SpA, both of whom had recently participated in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (Lima '25)
He said the meetings had strengthened the prospects for long-term relationships between Malaysia and Italy.
The meeting with Fincantieri was with its chief executive officer Pierroberto Folgiero, while Leonardo was represented by its senior vice-president (marketing and strategic campaigns) Tomasso Pani.
"I stressed the importance of a government-to-government (G2G) approach to strengthen Malaysia's position as a hub for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations in Southeast Asia," said Anwar.
Meanwhile, the prime minister met with Italian energy company ENI SpA, represented by its CEO Claudio Descalzi, and Petronas president and CEO Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik.
In the meeting, they discussed existing cooperation and also worked to explore new investment opportunities that could be mutually beneficial.
"I took advantage of this session to affirm that Malaysia remains a stable, progressive, and reliable investment destination," said Anwar, while urging that all commitments that were expressed be followed up with concrete actions so that the planned investments can be realised within the stipulated timeframe.
The Malaysian delegation also included representatives from relevant ministries and agencies in order to strengthen bilateral ties and attract quality investments from Italy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
MNCF: Cycling is not a rich man's sport, reconsider SST
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia National Cycling Federation (MNCF) hopes the government will reconsider its decision to impose a 10 per cent tax on racing bikes under the expanded Sales and Service Tax (SST) scheme. MNCF secretary Arif Astaman said the move, which came into effect July 1, will affect development costs in the sport at both the grassroots and high-performance levels. Racing bikes - better known as road bikes - were previously exempted from SST. "There is an unfair perception that cycling is a rich man's sport which in reality is far from the truth," said Arif when contacted today (July 5). "None of the riders in our programmes are from the T5 or T10 (income bracket) families. Those who the authorities perceive to be rich are recreational riders who ride their RM50,000 to RM60,000 super bikes to Pangsun on the weekends. "As soon as the (tax) announcement was made we, the federation, wrote a letter to the Finance Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim), asking for the government to reconsider it. "And if a reversal or reduction in tax is not possible, we have asked the government to consider giving us the power to issue end user certificates (for purpose of tax exemption) for riders under national and state development programmes. "End user certificates have already been implemented by various government agencies and we ask that this power be extended to us as well. "MNCF and the National Sports Council should have the authority to certify riders who are eligible for exemption from the tax when there is a need to buy new bikes for them. "Otherwise, this new tax would cause a significant increase in costs for us to run programmes when in fact, these programmes are partly funded by the government itself. "To add to that, there are no local Malaysian manufacturers or brands which produce racing bikes who need to be protected, such as in the automotive industry." Arif added that the SST levied on racing bikes could cause parents to direct their children to other, more affordable, sports. "Long before this SST on road bikes, other types of bikes such as BMX, folding and mountain bikes as well as items such as helmets, cycling shoes and spare parts have been charged a 15 per cent sales tax," said Arif. "This is less than ideal when we are trying to advocate cycling for all and is something we have asked customs to reconsider for a while now." Malaysia Pro Cycling (MPC) team principal Sayuti Zahit believes taxation on bikes should be implemented using a tiered system. "I believe bikes under RM10,000, which for the most part only gets you an entry level road bike, should not be taxed," said Sayuti when contacted today (July 5). "The tax should be gradually increased for bikes above that, or perhaps only start taxing once bikes are above RM30,000. "Otherwise, this would place a huge burden on parents who may already be struggling to pay RM3,000 to RM5,000 for a bike for their 13-year-olds who are only starting to get involved in junior programmes." Sayuti admitted that the SST on racing bikes is likely to hit MPC, a UCI continental road racing team, hard. "High-end racing bikes cost a lot of money, especially time trial bikes. A time trial bike that would normally cost us RM70,000 would now cost us RM77,000, that is a lot for us," he said. "Although we do have a sponsorship deal with bike manufacturers, we only get a discount and do not get our bikes for free." While they may sound like simple sports to the uninitiated, road and track cycling racing are both technologically advanced disciplines. A huge emphasis is placed on aerodynamics, structural rigidity, weight saving as well as drivetrain efficiency when producing racing bikes. A decent bike for professional road racing costs in the region of RM40,000 to RM60,000. Time trial bikes cost even more while at the top end are track racing bikes. The Vorteq WX-R track bikes used by the national squad at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics cost RM20.5 million to develop over the two Olympic cycles and was listed at RM300,000 retail, per bike.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
AI deepfakes of PM, tycoons used in scams
KUALA LUMPUR: Scammers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to create hyper-realistic videos featuring politicians, business moguls, and celebrities. These videos are used to lure unsuspecting people into fraudulent investment schemes. MCA's Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said today that RM2.11 billion was lost to these scams last year. A total of 13,956 cases were reported. These AI-generated deepfake videos often depict influential figures — including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok, former chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Capital A Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes — promoting fake investment and get-rich-quick schemes. "The AI-generated videos look so real that people can't tell the difference. Anyone watching would think it is the prime minister himself asking the public to invest, unaware that it's an AI-generated fake." Chong said this at Wisma MCA. He said 85 per cent of victims were convinced to invest after watching fake promotional videos featuring seemingly genuine endorsements from public figures. "If not for the Tamil accent in one of the videos, I too might have believed it was real," he said. This, he added, highlights just how convincing the content can be. "These videos have become rampant over the past four to five months, spreading through Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram — making them easily accessible." He said that while authorities such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission are removing flagged content, scammers continue to stay one step ahead. "They're smarter. The moment one video is taken down, they generate a new one and continue to deceive people." To illustrate how easily victims are ensnared, he and several MCA members conducted a simple sting operation. They pooled RM1,100 and responded to a link beneath one of the scam videos. "Within minutes, a scammer contacted our team member to explain the 'investment' and its returns. "He played along and invested RM1,100. He was promised a return of RM5,000 the following week. 'The next day, they demanded another US$250 as a processing fee. At that point, we confirmed it was a scam and stopped engaging." While it is difficult to prevent scammers from using technology in increasingly creative ways, he said public awareness remains the strongest defence. "We must flag and tag such videos as fake whenever they appear on our feed. "This way, the next person who sees it might think twice before falling for the scam." He said social media platforms should strengthen detection mechanisms and called on authorities to tighten legislation against the misuse of AI-generated media.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Malaysia puts anti-dumping duties on some China, South Korea, Vietnam iron, steel
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has found sufficient evidence that imports of galvanised iron or steel coil and sheet products from China, South Korea, Vietnam, were brought into the country at dumped prices. The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said in a statement that this preliminary determination in the anti-dumping duty investigation was made under Section 23 of the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Act 1993. "Therefore, the government has decided to impose a provisional anti-dumping duty, in the form of a bank guarantee, equivalent to the identified dumping margin in the preliminary determination, ranging from 3.86 per cent and 57.90 per cent on imports of the subject merchandise from China, South Korea, and Vietnam, to prevent further material injury to the domestic industry during the investigation. "The imposition of temporary anti-dumping duties will be effective for a period not exceeding 120 days, starting from July 7, 2025, and a final determination will be made on or before Nov 3, 2025," it said. According to MITI, the government initiated the anti-dumping investigation on Feb 6, and based on this preliminary determination, the investigation will proceed. The probe, conducted under the Countervailing and Anti-Dumping Duties Regulations 1994, was initiated following a petition filed by CSC Steel Sdn Bhd. The petitioner, representing the local industry producing similar products, alleged that the subject goods originating from the China, South Korea, and Vietnam were imported into Malaysia at prices lower than those in their respective domestic markets, causing material injury to the Malaysian industry. However, MITI stressed that interested parties, including importers, producers, foreign exporters, or relevant associations, are invited to provide comments or views on the preliminary determination report. Submissions must be made no later than July 14, 2025. "Interested parties may obtain the non-confidential version of the Preliminary Determination report via the Trade Remedies Investigation Management (TRIMA) system at said MITI. - Bernama
