What’s cooking in the Compliance Kitchen? Silvia Surman is back.
The European Commission published a report dated April 17, 2020 that details the impact that the corona virus is expected to have on EU trade. According to the Commission’s new release, the COVID-19 crisis will is anticipated to result in a decline of both EU exports (decline of 9.2%) and EU imports (8.8% decline) this year alone. The numbers are based on the estimated decline in GDP worldwide. The temporary shutdown of businesses and travel restrictions globally will combine to leave a decline in economic output, global trade, investment and general household spending. The Commission notes that “while there is a wealth of forecasts on GDP growth in 2020, there is a limited range of work done on trade projections for 2020, in particular for EU trade.”
You may have heard of the 1MDB scandal and the subsequent investigations and government protests that resulted in the country. Jho Lo appears to still be on the run, although he didreach a settlement with the US DOJ and Malaysia is seeing some return of the misappropriated funds. Recently, Malaysian Securities Commission issued an annual report, finding that only 59% of Malaysian listed companies have anti-corruption policies in place and even those, for the most part, needed to be beefed up.   For more on this, and the Commission’s plans forward, see a news article here. If you are considering doing business with Malaysia, some official sources of information might be of assistance.