
CIMB commits over RM100mil to upskill workforce this year
The financial services company said in a statement today that the group continues to uphold its purpose of advancing customers and society by promoting inclusive growth and long-term value creation for its employees.
"Through a range of initiatives, including reskilling and upskilling programmes, CIMB aims to provide a workplace where employees can thrive and grow, reflecting its commitment in building a more inclusive, resilient and empowered workforce,' it said.
CIMB said all its permanent employees in Malaysia are currently earning above the national living wage threshold of RM3,100 per month as outlined in the Employees Provident Fund's Belanjawanku Expenditure Guide.
"This commitment fully supports the Finance Ministry's Government-linked Enterprises Activation and Reform Programme (GEAR-uP) initiative in championing equitable, market-based compensation practices, underscoring CIMB's strong commitment to fair and inclusive compensation practices, ensuring every employee in Malaysia is able to achieve a dignified standard of living,' it said.
CIMB group chief executive officer Novan Amirudin said the company has long committed to fair and market-based compensation practices as part of its total rewards framework for employees.
"As a natural progress, we are fully supportive of the GEAR-uP initiative to 'raise the floor' of wages, and are committed to a continuous journey of proactive partnership and engagement with our stakeholders.
"Our approach to compensation goes beyond salaries, which includes holistic rewards, equitable remuneration structures and allowances that reflect the contributions and value of our people,' he said.
CIMB said the group is committed to equipping its workforce with the tools and capabilities needed to stay competitive and future-ready.
"In 2024, about 2.66 million learning hours had been delivered with a ramp-up on digital, data and AI skills in line with CIMB's commitment to strengthen its capabilities in the area,' it added. - Bernama
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Express
23 minutes ago
- Daily Express
Sabah's trade tops RM100 billion for third straight year
Published on: Friday, July 04, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jul 04, 2025 Text Size: For illustrative purposes only - Getty Images/iStockphoto KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's total trade remained above RM100 billion for the third consecutive year in 2024, despite a drop in exports and a rise in imports. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported Sabah's trade value at RM107.8 billion in 2024, with a 2.7 per cent year-on-year growth. Advertisement Exports declined by 2.3 per cent to RM61.3 billion, while imports rose 10.2 per cent to RM46.4 billion, resulting in a lower trade surplus of RM14.9 billion compared to 2023. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the top export commodities were crude petroleum (RM21.3 billion), palm oil (RM17.3 billion), and liquefied natural gas (RM4.6 billion). The main imports were refined petroleum products (RM5.2 billion), manufactured fertilisers (RM1 billion), and palm-based oleochemicals (RM266 million). * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia


The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Air cargo shipments from Asia to US slump
SHANGHAI: Air cargo shipment volume from Asia has declined by double digits since the US cancelled a tax exemption for low-value packages from China early in May, trade groups and analysts said. Air cargo demand from Asia to North America declined 10.7% in May versus the same month a year earlier, showed data from the International Air Transport Asso-ciation (IATA), illustrating 'the dampening effect of shifting US trade policies,' IATA director-general Willie Walsh said in a report published on Monday. Shipments valued under US$800 (RM3,375) – often sent by air to US customers of low-cost e-commerce platforms such as Shein and PDD's Temu – fall under the so-called de minimis, or too-small-to-matter, tax exemption. Since May 2, shipments sent from China and Hong Kong have been taxed at a rate initially as high as 145% before settling to as low as 30% after a mid-May trade detente between the US and China. The pair continue to negotiate on trade, with the US relaxing export restrictions on software, ethane and aerospace to China this week, ahead of July 9 when the US plans to re-impose a range of steep tariffs targeting multiple countries. The volume of low-value e-commerce shipments from China to the US in May saw a particularly steep decline, industry experts said. Such shipments fell 43% in May from the previous month, showed estimates from air cargo consultancy Aevean, but rose to other main export markets including Europe and South-east Asia. It is not clear whether such dramatic declines will continue, said Aevean managing director Marco Bloemen, given businesses had anticipated the de minimis halt and because the tariff rate was lowered mid-month. 'Will those e-commerce players bounce back to the US now they're paying 30% duties instead of zero duties?' Bloemen said. Firms turning to other markets due to US trade policy uncertainty is also likely weighing on shipment volume, he said. 'That's a trend that we're expecting to continue – there's more Europe-destined e-commerce ex-pected in the month of June, also to markets like Latin America.' Air cargo consultancy Rotate said e-commerce platforms were focusing on other markets to replace lost US demand, with significant export growth to the European Union and Asia-Pacific region. Shein and PDD did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Low-value e-commerce out of Asia has been taking an increasing proportion of global air freight and boosting airlines' cargo businesses. Last year such shipments – at 1.2 million metric tons – made up 55% of goods shipped from China to the US by air compared to just 5% in 2018, Aevean data showed. As Asia-to-US demand fell in May, airlines pulled freighter aircraft off trans-Pacific routes and placed them elsewhere, industry experts said. Some of that demand has now returned as firms take advantage of tariff pauses between the US and a number of countries, but flight fre-quencies are reduced, they said. 'Some of the larger players that were chartering three flights a week have cut back to two,' said e-commerce consultancy Cirrus Global Advisors. Direct freighter capacity between China and the US in June was 11% lower compared to March, wiping out growth in capacity over the past year on those lanes, Rotate data showed. Asia-focused freight forwarder Dimerco Express reported a significant decline in its e-commerce bookings, estimating a 50% drop in both May and June. This sharp decrease in demand has led to on-going cancellations of scheduled freighter flights, as the firm faces logistical challenges and adjusts its operations in response to the weaker market conditions, according to their latest report. The de minimis rule, which dates to 1938, had been a target of criticism from American lawmakers as a loophole that lets Chinese products skirt US tariffs and allows illegal drugs and precursors to make opioid fentanyl to enter the US unscreened. – Reuters


Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Fiscal reform: short-term pain for long-term (and short-term) gain
The Madani economic framework has set ambitious goals for fiscal stability and an improved revenue-to-GDP ratio. As I had recommended from the start this process is following three main stages. The first involves cutting wastage, leakages and corruption with subsidy rationalisation at its core. So far savings have been made of RM4 billion from electricity tariff reform, RM7.5 billion from diesel rationalisation and around RM1.5 billion from other areas. To this RM13 billion we expect to see at least RM8 billion from RON95 rationalisation. This RM21 billion is a structural saving which will continue each year and is equivalent to 6.3% of current operational expenditure or 23.6% of development expenditure. The second stage of fiscal reform involves assessing tax options and making modest well-scheduled adjustments rather than large and disruptive quick fixes. So far relatively minor tax changes have been introduced, mostly targeted at the rich, including the high-value goods tax (HVG), the digital goods tax (DGT), the capital gains tax (CGT) and the low-value goods tax (LVG). These could raise around RM2.5 billion. The biggest changes have been in the sales and services tax (SST) which raised RM5.5 billion last year and from next month will raise RM5 billion for the rest of this year and RM10 billion annually thereafter. Added to the subsidy savings, these structural tax changes are equivalent to 10.1% of current operational expenditure or 38.2% of the 2025 development expenditure budget. The final stage of fiscal reform, which we are about to enter, is to restructure the system for the long-term particularly to diversify the revenue base for greater stability, predictability and efficiency. This means setting a new revenue model to reduce dependency on volatile revenue sources and Malaysia's historical reliance on commodity-based revenues from Petronas which may last for only the next 15 years. A broader and more resilient tax and revenue base helps to insulate the economy from global volatility and commodity price fluctuations by focusing on more stable and predictable domestic revenue sources which rise as the economy grows and so maintains the revenue-to-GDP ratio organically. Despite these modest and well-scheduled changes, there has been the usual chorus of outrage, especially from business groups who would scream in pain if hit by a falling feather. The truth is that the short-term pain of adjustment costs and minor price rises have mostly already ended and the majority of people did not even notice it. It is not surprising that businesses support the reintroduction of the goods and services tax (GST) because they mostly do not pay it, they reclaim it after passing on price increases to consumers. The discussion of the reintroduction of GST is unhelpful, especially because it has been ruled out for now. In considering options for new or expanded taxes the government must take a fresh approach that reflects changes in the economy, such as the emerging gig-economy and the expanding e-payments and e-ecommerce industry. A feasible alternative is the e-payments tax (EPT) which is a very broad-based, tiny tax with an efficient and effective mechanism to raise significant revenue without too much economic distortion or burden on businesses and consumers. A simple 3% e-payments tax would raise RM43 billion, almost enough to replace SST all together. The benefits of a robust fiscal position are many. Raising revenue and controlling spending reduces the need for government borrowing and the financing costs of that which at almost RM50 billion a year are the third largest demand on government spending. Better revenue and reducing wastage, leakages and corruption also provides savings and income that can boost other priorities such as health, education and social protection including income support and retirement pensions. These are not only 'long-term' gains, we are already seeing the possible benefits of the subsidy rationalisation and tax reforms so far worth at least RM34 billion. For example, the budget for cash aid for schemes such as the Sumbangan Tunai Rumah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) was increased by 30% to RM13 billion in Budget 2025 and almost nine million people benefit from cash transfers through STR. Sara recipients have increased from 700,000 to 5.4 million, each eligible for monthly payments through MyKad. Public healthcare spending rose to RM45.3 billion in Budget 2025, a 9.8% increase compared to the previous year. Education spending hit record levels rising 9.2% in Budget 2025 and even higher education benefitted by an extra 10.4%. These changes directly improve the quality of life for everyone, enhance human capital development and increase productivity for businesses. In the next stages, strategies to cushion the impact of economic change on vulnerable groups become more affordable. These include targeted cash transfers, a universal basic income, a basic pension in retirement, accessible public transport, reducing out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare and investment in the care economy as the population ages. In fact, almost all of the promises of the last election manifestos become possible before the next general election holds the government to account. Increasing revenue must also be accompanied by responsible spending and anti-corruption measures to ensure public trust. A Government Procurement Act and a change in the mindset of policy design to end 'patronage cascades' that channel money to vested interests would both help ease concerns about higher taxes and lower subsidies. Above all, fiscal reforms should continue to be implemented thoughtfully, and to garner public support the government must improve its communication strategy to link fiscal reforms definitively to the social benefits we are already seeing and which are promised for the long-term. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.