Latest news with #Aw
The Star
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Fed rate cuts positive for M'sia
PETALING JAYA: Economists believe that the likelihood of another couple of rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in the second half of 2025 (2H25) has grown stronger following May's producer price index (PPI) and initial jobless claims data, but how this would affect Malaysia is still uncertain, as there could be more influential factors at play. The PPI measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their goods and services – the country in question in this case being the United States – while the initial jobless claims refer to the number of people who have filed for unemployment benefits for the first time during a specific week. PPI numbers for May in the United States showed a modest increase of 0.1% month-on-month (m-o-m), with the year-on-year (y-o-y) rate at 2.6%, slightly up from April's 2.5%. While having inched up, this was lower than market expectations, suggesting subdued inflationary pressures and muted effect from the tariffs in the near term. Combined with a tame consumer price index (CPI) increase of 0.1% in May and a y-o-y inflation rate of 2.4%, the data appear to support the view that inflation is aligning closer to the Fed's 2% target, potentially widening the path for rate cuts starting in September 2025. Chief economist for Asia-Pacific at credit insurer Coface Bernard Aw is not surprised, pointing out that markets have been pricing in two to three rate cuts by the end of 2025, with the next cut expected in the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. However, he cautioned: 'While the current US data appeared to show little impact from the US tariffs, the Fed expects effects to show up in inflation data in the coming months. 'The economic environment remains highly uncertain, which created a split in the view of the 19 FOMC participants over whether to keep hedging for inflation or move ahead with rate cuts to support growth.' In the June 'dot-plot' projections, he said 10 participants expected at least two cuts, seven saw none, while two projected one cut, before telling StarBiz that this uncertainty should favour a gradual approach to rate cutting. In addition, Aw predicted that Fed rate cuts with no rate easing from Bank Negara will likely contribute to ringgit strength, as the gap between US and Malaysia interest rates narrow, although a stronger ringgit could reduce Malaysia's trade competitiveness. 'That said, several developments may mitigate such an impact, such as increasing the use of local or regional currencies in regional trade settlements, coupled with the fact that higher value-added Malaysian products such as electrical and electronic goods, machinery, and petrochemicals are less sensitive to prices than commodity exports. 'The concern will be on how volatile the movements in the ringgit will be. 'Rapid appreciation or depreciation will be disruptive for exporters,' he opined. Economist Geoffrey Williams concurred that it is looking much more probable at the moment for the Fed to cut rates in 2H25, as it 'has been signalled by (Fed chair Jerome) Powell, demanded by (US President Donald) Trump and is in line with economic data.' Echoing Aw's point that if there are rate cuts, the interest differential with Bank Negara's overnight policy rate (OPR) will be squeezed, and this will strengthen the ringgit, although it looks like this is already priced into the market, given the current ringgit strength. 'So, the impact will be to stabilise exchange rates to an extent. 'We believe lower rates should also help growth in the United States, which should improve Malaysian exports, but this is still tied up with the tariff settlement due on July 9,' said Williams. Chief Asia economist and co-head of Global Investment Research Asia at HSBC Frederic Neumann also thinks the market has priced in the Fed rate cuts, while projecting more slashes to come in 2026. He observed that recent data in the United States have shown some softening in price pressures, including at the producer but also at the consumer level, before adding that the US labour market has also started to weaken at the margin. 'However, markets are looking for non-farm payroll numbers out later to get a clearer picture. 'A rate cut in July by the Fed still appears unlikely at this stage, with the financial markets pricing in a full cut only for September,' Neumann said. Moreover, he said policy rate cuts by the Fed should help to support US demand growth, and from that perspective, rate cuts are positive for the Malaysian economies. Nevertheless, mirroring Williams' point, Neumann said a bigger, near-term question is the evolution of US import tariffs because he believes the exact nature of US tariffs on imports from Malaysia and elsewhere will likely have a bigger impact on near-term growth than rate cuts by the Fed. 'Still, all else being equal, easing by the Fed to the extent that it cushions any slowdown in the United States is a positive for Malaysia,' he said. Head of dealing at Moomoo Malaysia Ken Low foresees a normalising of global liquidity with the Fed's signalling of possible rate cuts in the last quarter of the year. He reckoned bond yields may stabilise, benefitting capital-intensive and domestic consumption-driven sectors, and Bank Negara may join the easing cycle but acknowledged the central bank is likely to remain data-dependent. 'Tactically, there is scope for selective sector rotation. Technology and construction may outperform if growth tailwinds return, while banks stand to benefit from loan growth recovery. 'Commodities and plantations remain tied to global cycles, but with El Niño risks and robust palm oil demand, upside remains plausible,' said Low. An economist with a foreign brokerage remarked that two or more Fed rate cuts in 2025 would likely strengthen the ringgit, boost capital inflows and provide Bank Negara with flexibility to ease monetary policy, stimulating Malaysian domestic demand. She said the Malaysian economy would experience a mix of opportunities and challenges due to its integration with global markets, with the impact stemming from changes in capital flows, currency dynamics and trade relationships. She forecast that sectors like banking, consumer goods, construction, utilities, aviation, and semiconductors would benefit from lower import costs, increased foreign direct investments and higher consumer spending. 'On the other hand, export-oriented sectors like electronics, oil and gas, manufacturing and agriculture could face challenges due to reduced competitiveness from a stronger ringgit and potential US tariffs. 'Malaysia's economic growth outlook remains sensitive to global trade dynamics, with the central bank expected to maintain the OPR at 3% in the near term but possibly cut rates later in 2025 to support growth,' she added.
New Paper
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New Paper
No foundation on screen in 22 years: Jeanette Aw talks beauty in her 40s
Jeanette Aw has not worn foundation on screen in 22 years. The local TV star says she was told to ditch the base make-up to better suit her breakout role as naive ingenue Mo Jingjing in the Channel 8 drama Holland V (2003). "When it aired, nobody realised," says Aw. Later, it was simply "a lot easier" to act in her bare skin, when full coverage would have meant tedious touch-ups after sweaty outdoor shots or her many crying scenes. Now, some 30 TV series and a six-year acting hiatus later, the 46-year-old is filming her comeback show - still sans foundation. While acting, she typically wears only concealer. When The Straits Times meets Aw on June 27 at the opening of nail salon Nailz Haus' new Ngee Ann City outlet, she says her secret to youthful skin is consistency. She has kept up the same skincare regimen - "not beauty", she is careful to say - since her 20s, finding little to tweak in her 40s. Keeping off thick make-up to let her skin breathe is one thing. Other habits she swears by include drinking lots of warm water, no sweet drinks - which she quit in secondary school after her PE teacher said the sugar would undo the work done in class - and double cleansing every day. She says: "I use an oil cleanser first and then a very gentle face wash. That's the thing I really believe in." Her zeal for cleaning goes all the way down to her toes. She exfoliates her heels for up to a month straight at times, particularly when they get cracked and dry after work trips to Japan for her patisserie Once Upon A Time's pop-ups there, she says. Her second career in the food and beverage industry also means she keeps her nails bare. "At most, a shine and buff," she says. But beyond the skin deep, in her inner and professional life, the actress has moved far away from the limitations of her 20s. She was drawn out of on-screen retirement by the depth of her character in the upcoming drama Highway To Somewhere, a woman who goes on a road trip with her husband (Romeo Tan) to mend their flagging marriage. It is her first leading role in a Mediacorp Chinese-language drama since After The Stars (2019). Set to premiere in March 2026, the series is based on marital conflict that cuts close to the bone for many real-life couples, with depictions of quarrels and secrets, she says. "There's a lot of emotional layers to her." Jeanette Aw as her character in Highway To Somewhere. PHOTO: MEDIACORP "Some characters are loud, with a lot of big actions, and (require) a very outward kind of performance. But I tend to be into the deep, heartfelt, emotional performance right now and that is what really called out to me." It is a departure from the cutesy mould of her earlier roles. In a Freudian slip, Aw accidentally refers to her younger self in the third person while discussing her role as a "young, silly girl" in Holland V. It was a suitable gig for her at that age and one she has a lot of affection for, but she has grown into heavier roles, she says. That the complex and meaty characters she played in The Little Nyonya (2008) and The Dream Makers (2013) ebbed into typecast offers was in part behind her decision to leave the local entertainment industry in 2019. She took up bit parts in Chinese dramas afterwards and made a cameo in Emerald Hill (2025), the sequel to The Little Nyonya, though filming did not go beyond 10 days. Highway To Somewhere calls for more subtle acting, the micro-expressions that betray true feeling. "I really like that," she adds. How did Aw make the leap? Life experience is what acting comes down to, she says. In the six-year break she took from the "sheltered world" of show business to start Once Uopn A Time in 2021, she was cheated by a contractor. She had paid him a lump sum to make deliveries, with the money meant to cover his fees over time - but he disappeared without making a single run, she says. The four-figure loss stung. It was a novel experience, she adds. "In the entertainment industry, I was very protected. I didn't meet a lot of people, just other actors, the production team and the media." Running her own ship also pushed her into giving instructions, instead of taking direction. She was no longer playing roles and reading scripts, she says, referring to the heightened stakes of real-world ventures. The bachelorette adds: "When you have all that in you, that's when you can scale back and do all the inner work for an actor." Once hailed as one of the "Seven Princesses of Mediacorp", Aw is sceptical at the suggestion of a new generation discovering her work on Netflix. The streaming giant acquired the rights to The Little Nyonya in 2016 and Emerald Hill in 2024. Still, she obliges in dispensing some counsel to younger women: "Just do what makes you happy, and double cleanse."
Straits Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
No foundation or sweet drinks: Jeanette Aw talks beauty in her 40s and comeback lead TV role
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Jeanette Aw pictured at the opening of Nailz Haus at Ngee Ann City on June 27. SINGAPORE – Jeanette Aw has not worn foundation on screen in 22 years. The local TV star says she was told to ditch the base make-up to better suit her breakout role as naive ingenue Mo Jingjing in the Channel 8 drama Holland V (2003). 'When it aired, nobody realised,' says Aw. Later, it was simply 'a lot easier' to act in her bare skin, when full coverage would have meant tedious touch-ups after sweaty outdoor shots or her many crying scenes. Now, some 30 TV series and a six-year acting hiatus later, the 46-year-old is filming her comeback show – still sans foundation. While acting, she typically wears only concealer. When The Straits Times meets Aw on June 27 at the opening of nail salon Nailz Haus' new Ngee Ann City outlet, she says her secret to youthful skin is consistency. She has kept up the same skincare regimen – 'not beauty', she is careful to say – since her 20s, finding little to tweak in her 40s. Keeping off thick make-up to let her skin breathe is one thing. Other habits she swears by include drinking lots of warm water, no sweet drinks – which she quit in secondary school after her PE teacher said the sugar would undo the work done in class – and double cleansing every day. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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She exfoliates her heels for up to a month straight at times, particularly when they get cracked and dry after work trips to Japan for her patisserie Once Upon A Time's pop-ups there, she says. Her second career in the food and beverage industry also means she keeps her nails bare. 'At most, a shine and buff,' she says. But beyond the skin deep, in her inner and professional life, the actress has moved far away from the limitations of her 20s. She was drawn out of on-screen retirement by the depth of her character in the upcoming drama Highway To Somewhere, a woman who goes on a road trip with her husband (Romeo Tan) to mend their flagging marriage. It is her first leading role in a Mediacorp Chinese-language drama since After The Stars (2019). Set to premiere in March 2026, the series is based on marital conflict that cuts close to the bone for many real-life couples, with depictions of quarrels and secrets, she says. 'There's a lot of emotional layers to her.' Jeanette Aw as her character in Highway To Somewhere. PHOTO: MEDIACORP 'Some characters are loud, with a lot of big actions, and (require) a very outward kind of performance. But I tend to be into the deep, heartfelt, emotional performance right now and that is what really called out to me.' It is a departure from the cutesy mould of her earlier roles. In a Freudian slip, Aw accidentally refers to her younger self in the third person while discussing her role as a 'young, silly girl' in Holland V. It was a suitable gig for her at that age and one she has a lot of affection for, but she has grown into heavier roles, she says. That the complex and meaty characters she played in The Little Nyonya (2008) and The Dream Makers (2013) ebbed into typecast offers was in part behind her decision to leave the local entertainment industry in 2019. She took up bit parts in Chinese dramas afterwards and made a cameo in Emerald Hill (2025), the sequel to The Little Nyonya, though filming did not go beyond 10 days. Highway To Somewhere calls for more subtle acting, the micro-expressions that betray true feeling. 'I really like that,' she adds. How did Aw make the leap? Life experience is what acting comes down to, she says. In the six-year break she took from the 'sheltered world' of show business to start Once Uopn A Time in 2021, she was cheated by a contractor. She had paid him a lump sum to make deliveries, with the money meant to cover his fees over time – but he disappeared without making a single run, she says. The four-figure loss stung. It was a novel experience, she adds. 'In the entertainment industry, I was very protected. I didn't meet a lot of people, just other actors, the production team and the media.' Running her own ship also pushed her into giving instructions, instead of taking direction. She was no longer playing roles and reading scripts, she says, referring to the heightened stakes of real-world ventures. The bachelorette adds: 'When you have all that in you, that's when you can scale back and do all the inner work for an actor.' Once hailed as one of the 'Seven Princesses of Mediacorp', Aw is sceptical at the suggestion of a new generation discovering her work on Netflix. The streaming giant acquired the rights to The Little Nyonya in 2016 and Emerald Hill in 2024. Still, she obliges in dispensing some counsel to younger women: 'Just do what makes you happy, and double cleanse.'
Scroll.in
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘Silences reveal as much as noise': Malaysian writer Tash Aw on his new coming-of-age novel
Malaysian writer Tash Aw is no new name to the literary circles in his country, where he grew up before moving to London. Longlisted twice for the Booker Prize (then the Man Booker Prize), first for his debut, The Harmony Silk Factory in 2005, and then again in 2013 for Five Star Billionaire, his books often portray subtle but powerful character development of individuals navigating complex socio-political landscapes, especially in the context of Southeast Asia. His latest book from Fourth Estate (Harper Collins India in the Indian subcontinent), and the first in what is going to be a quartet, The South is an unmissable coming-of-age tale that explores the of resonant themes of class, culture, identity, sexual desire, familial tensions, and the weight of inheritance – both physical and personal. Set in late 90s in rural Malaysia when the country is caught in the cusp of significant economic and social transformation, Aw is masterfully able to craft a lyrical narrative that often alternates between the first and the third person offering glimpses into the lives of its main character, Jay who has recently moved with his family to their decaying farm post his grandfather's death. Amidst the oppressive heat and constant squabbles from his father to take charge, Jay develops complicated feelings for his half-brother, Chuan, and what unfurls next is as much a familial drama as is a careful observation on generational divides and how far we have come (or not!) as a society concerning class and privilege, homophobia, bullying, and familial expectations in Asian cultures. In a conversation with Scroll, Aw reflects on his portrayal of in-between spaces in his writing and unpacks how his characters wrestle familial tensions in The South. He also shares his thoughts on perspective shifts, the emotional weight of memory and belonging and the art of capturing the truth in literature. One of the most striking things about reading The South was its sheer ability to explore the complexity of sexuality, desire, and secrecy within the framework of an Asian (Malaysian) family. How did you approach writing these intimate moments while balancing the weight of cultural expectations, especially in the case of certain topics that continue to remain unwelcome in many parts of Asia, including your own hometown? The role of novelists is to write truthfully about life as they see it, and to resist as far as possible the expectations placed upon them – expectations that might be cultural, familial, from friends, even supportive ones, and I would go so far as to say oneself – in order to produce literature that reflects true life. In that way, I'm just following in the tradition of novelists throughout time, who attempt to capture their societies at a particular moment in time. I don't see things in terms of isolated topics – I see a portrait of a group of people, all their flaws and the beauty. I try and render these without judgment. My work is a mirror of society, in which people can see themselves. It's a very universal and timeless – and in some senses, simple – way of writing. The writer blocks out the noise and focuses on the truth. That said, this is hardly a controversial novel, unless someone is going out of their way to interpret it as such. Another theme that resonated strongly across the novel is that of belonging, both within one's family and in a broader societal context. In Asian cultures, there is often a strong emphasis on family, tradition, and duty. Your characters in the book are seen navigating these tensions in deeply personal ways. Were there any specific real-life experiences, either of your own or those around you, that have shaped how you built these conflicts? The tensions and pressures faced by the characters are merely those faced by countless ordinary people around the world. As you point out, many of these tensions hold greater resonance in Asian societies, but they are true to some extent in most countries. The greatest challenge for the individual is how to define themselves within society, and the most basic unit of society is the family, which replicates in miniature form all the wider pressures of society and magnifies them – which is why the examination of the family is such a useful way of looking at how society at large works. Who hasn't known the tensions between duty to the family and individual freedom? And, by extension, aren't we all thinking about a way to be free, in a personal sense, in our daily lives? We want to feel free in our work, our relationships with partners, parents, children – but we also have to navigate the duties towards them. A lot of these obligations are created by society – women face greater pressures to conform than men, for example, and these are pressures created by social custom over time, as a means of control. How, then, do the mothers and daughters in the novel find a way to live freely? For years I observed my own mother and sisters struggling with these questions – the conflicts in the book are all too real, and common. The house to which the family returns to isn't just a physical space – it holds history, memory, and unresolved tensions, almost like a character in its own right. Would you agree? If yes, how did it help in the emotional and narrative arc of the story, according to you? The house and land hold immense symbolic value, being tied to the idea of ownership and belonging that you've mentioned earlier. Some of the characters feel duty-bound to hang on to it even though it's no longer viable to do so, simply because of the symbolic value – the property gives them the status of being middle-class landowners, and they don't want to lose that. But others, particularly the younger ones, don't care so much about this; they want to achieve personal enrichment, which is more to do with self-definition and freedom, rather than being tied down to possessions. For them, belonging is an emotional quality, not a material one. It's linked to intimacy, love, inclusiveness, freedom – not to a house. But for the older generation, it's the reverse. That's where a lot of the novel's tension comes from. Your writing transitions quickly and seamlessly between time and perspective in every other chapter. At the same time, you have often been praised for your fluidity and restraint in your prose, where silence and omission carry as much weight as words, which is also true for this book in question. Could you share more about what these shifts reveal regarding your characters, as well as more about your writing style, which carefully chooses to reveal certain aspects but also holds back on others? What literary influences have shaped your approach? Silences reveal as much as noise, more so I believe; it's true in real life as it is on the page. But some characters are noisy, others are more reserved – it really just depends on the particular character. I never decide in advance, I allow the characters a certain freedom on the page, without manipulating them too much. I don't deliberately set out to be silent on some matters and explicit about others – the characters dictate how much is said or unsaid. The question of fluidity and perspective is also dictated by the concerns of the novel. In this case, I originally wanted the story to be told only from Jay's point of view, but very quickly I realised the novel was about the family as a whole, so I needed to offer other characters a chance to come into focus. The novel is also about the impossibility of communication within a family – with the people closest to you – so the gaps between the various perspectives mimic the gaps of understanding that exist within a family. In this respect I suppose my work draws inspiration from the novelistic flair of Faulkner or certain works of Virginia Woolf, but also from Proust, in the sense of the writerly perspective moving through time. Your characters, whether it's the central protagonist Jay, his adoration, Chuan, or Jay's family and everyone else in the book, are seen to be caught between different worlds – whether geographically, emotionally, socially or economically. Would you like to tell us what draws you to these in-between spaces, and do you see them as a defining trait of your storytelling style? That's a very good observation. I guess it's true that I'm drawn to in-between spaces, and, especially, the people who inhabit these spaces, which are mostly emotional ones rather than physical ones (though of course, the physical spaces are important too). As a child I used to feel that I was the only inhabitant of this liminal space – an outsider who was also, in some way, an insider. But as I grew older I realised that these insider-outsiders were everywhere. So many people feel as if they don't fully belong to their countries, their societies, their families – the very places that were meant to harbour them and provide them total security. Those spaces, with the tensions created by duty and conformity which you mentioned earlier, make a lot of people feel as though they don't belong. A lot of people don't even feel comfortable in their own bodies, particularly those who struggled with gender or sexuality. Once I became aware of this, it was easy to capture this feeling in my novels. Perhaps it is a bit unfair to ask an author to pick their favourite bit from something that they have written, so instead of that, how about if you can share a particular moment, scene, or even a single line that felt like the heart of the story for you? Something that, once written, made you feel that everything else will eventually fall into place, and it did? I actually can't do that! It's impossible for me to isolate one line or one passage of the novel as a turning point, particularly since the novel is about very gentle shifts. To conclude, if you had to leave your readers with just one lingering thought or question after finishing this book, the first of what is supposed to be a quartet, what would it be? And what can your readers expect next from the books to come in this series? I think I'd like readers to reflect on how we move through life – how we experience the passing of time, how we experience everyday occurrences and relationships; and also, how we hang onto them as we grow older. The subsequent novels continue asking the same questions as The South does: how do we fight, even in silent, invisible ways, to carve out a life for ourselves that is truthful and free, amid the pressures of duty and belonging? In the novels that follow the characters will be much older, and some will enjoy more of the spotlight than others. The aim is for readers to journey through time with the characters and perhaps find resonance in this journey with their own lives.
New Straits Times
01-06-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
KPJ Healthcare downgraded as valuations catch up: Analyst
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Securities has downgraded KPJ Healthcare Bhd to a "Hold" from "Buy", saying the group's share price has largely priced in operational improvements and the new management's swift execution. In a note to clients, analyst Walter Aw said KPJ Healthcare's stock, which has surged 26.5 per cent year-to-date, is now trading close to two standard deviations above its five-year forward average valuation. "At current levels, we believe valuations have caught up with fundamentals. The stock is now trading at a premium compared to its larger peer IHH Healthcare Bhd, based on projected 2026 earnings," he said. Despite the downgrade, the firm raised its sum-of-parts-based target price for KPJ Healthcare to RM3 from RM2.80 previously, reflecting a higher valuation multiple of 12.3 times for the group's hospital operations. The group's first quarter core net profit rose 23.6 per cent year-on-year to RM63.3 million, in line with consensus estimates. Revenue climbed seven per cent to RM971.8 million on increased bed capacity and higher patient volume. However, the results were weaker on a quarter-on-quarter basis, with core net profit down 48.2 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2024, due to seasonal trends. Aw said earnings momentum is expected to pick up in subsequent quarters, supported by bed capacity expansion, improved cost controls and narrowing losses from five newer hospitals that are still in their gestation phase. CIMB Securities projects KPJ Heatlcare's core net profit to grow 12.9 per cent year-on-year in 2025, with revenue forecasted to rise 9.1 per cent to RM4.28 billion. The group's bottom line is expected to benefit from ongoing cost optimisation, better operating leverage, and a strategy to attract more patients by building centres of excellence and hiring more specialists. Despite these growth levers, the firm warned of downside risks including lower-than-expected patient traffic, slower hospital ramp-ups and thinner margins. KPJ Healthcare was last traded at RM2.72, giving it a market capitalisation of RM12.31 billion.
