Economic Outlook – Taking Temperature for 2022 and Beyond

Ibrahim Sani is a name you can trust when it comes to news on tech, business, and finance. Joining AWANI in 2016, Ibrahim has since engraved his name in the TV & Digital broadcast industry with a myriad of business programmes namely Markets Today, The Marketplace, Smart Money, and now Notepad - all produced and hosted by him. He is the Senior Current Affairs Editor and Executive Producer for the organisation. Prior to being an anchor, Ibrahim was the primary presenter for BFM 89.9. There, Ibrahim hosted the station’s flagship show, ‘The Breakfast Grille’ grilling policy makers, including CEOs and government officials. He also hosted ‘The Morning Run’. Ibrahim was a former investment banker with CIMB Investment. He was part of the team that saw key CIMB mergers & acquisitions of CIMB Niaga/Indonesia, CIMB Bahrain, and the discontinued CIMB-RHB-MBSB tripartite mega merger. In big data analytics, he was the pioneering team that oversaw the bank’s migration from digital data, to analytics and behavioural intelligence. He currently produces and hosts Notepad, a show that focuses on the intersection between tech and business, with a splash of finance. Notepad speaks to captains of industry, up-and-coming startups, and organisations that bring meaningful impact to the community.

Suhaimi Ilias has 20 years of experience in economics research. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) and Master of Arts (Hons) in Economics from Cambridge University. Prior to joining Maybank Investment Bank in March 2007, Suhaimi was with Affin Investment Bank since 1998. Before that, he worked at the central bank’s (Bank Negara Malaysia) Economics Department for five years, starting his career as an economist at the Macro Economic Division that is responsible for monitoring and analysing developments in the Malaysian economy as well as undertaking growth forecasts and formulating the country’s growth and development policies. He later moved to the World Economy Division as regional economist.

Datuk Johan trained as a Chartered Accountant and graduated with an Economics Degree from the University of Cambridge. Since 2004, Datuk Johan has served in various roles including in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning Unit and Talent Corporation Malaysia. Since June 2018, he has held the position of National Budget Director at the Ministry of Finance. Before joining the government in 2004, he worked for 9 years in corporate finance and accounting roles in the private sector.

Jukhee Hong is a policy advocate for ASEAN Economic Integration for over a decade. She heads CARI ASEAN Research and Advocacy (CARI), an independent think tank that is dedicated to supporting the ASEAN economic integration by advocacy and research. She translates the mandate of CARI since inception by leading CARI’s operations, outreach, research and advocacy efforts. She directs all CARI’s research output and has led all research projects, produced and published numerous reports, papers and books for CARI since inception. Many of these reports have been socialised and presented to Senior officials of ASEAN including Ministers, Heads of States and Governments. She has provided policy input at various governmental meetings and has made presentations on ASEAN integration policy issues at regional fora as well as ASEAN ministerial level meetings. She is also the Deputy Executive Director of ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and also the Executive Director of ASEAN Business Club. Prior to that, she was an advisor to three consecutive Malaysian Deputy Ministers of Information and an award winning media practitioner in Malaysia.

Farah Rosley is the Malaysia Tax Leader at Ernst & Young Tax Consultants Sdn. Bhd. She is also the President of the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM). Farah has more than 20 years of experience in managing corporate tax engagements and working with large multinational, public companies across a variety of sectors including services, telecommunications, property development, construction and manufacturing. She has also advised on special government initiatives and studies on tax matters as well as lent insights into government policies for specific sectors. As President of CTIM, Farah plays an active and facilitative role in working with key government stakeholders and the private sector on leading-edge tax decisions and improvements for the nation. Farah is a firm believer in supporting the next generation of tax professionals and initiated the EY Young Tax Professional of the Year program in Malaysia in 2013 to create awareness of the tax profession and encourage the young to consider a career in tax. A regular speaker in national and international tax conferences and seminars, Farah has also authored numerous articles and commentaries for various publications.

Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is the Executive Chairman of AREA Management Sdn. Bhd. a subsidiary of AREA Advisors Pte Ltd (AREA) an appointment he has taken since his retirement as CEO and Executive Director of Axis REIT Managers Bhd (ARMB) on 31 December 2015. With a career spanning over 40 years in the industrial space, he has spent well over a decade since 2005 in heading Axis REIT and establishing REITs as an important component of the capital markets. He was appointed Executive Director of Axis REIT on 22 March 2005 and Chief Executive Office (“CEO”) of Axis REIT since August 2008. Axis REIT was the first REIT to be listed in Malaysia and the first Shariah-compliant industrial REIT in the world. Under his leadership, Axis REIT has won several awards, among them, the APREA Best Practices Award in 2010.2011 and 2013. Axis REIT has provided its investors with total average returns in excess of 25% over the 10 years he helmed the business and still trades today at a 30% premium to NAV. Since its inception, AREA was established as a boutique advisory firm providing advice on investing in industrial properties in Malaysia, UK, Australia and Germany. Our investor base ranged from pension funds and family offices to institutional investors and to date we have provided advice and concluded investments exceeding USD$2.5 billion. AREA has decided to expand its advisory role to include funds management. It has since set up a company that will undertake the investment management activities (the AREA Industrial Development Fund 1 (AIDF 1) )and AREA Management Sdn Bhd (AMSB) was set up to undertake the management of the projects of the fund in Malaysia. AREA Advisors Pte Ltd was re-designated as the Funds management company. AREA through the establishment of its Funds intends to roll-out 2-3 industrial parks of 150-400 acres each. It intends to co-invest in the development of these parks by working with strategic partners & landowners. These industrial parks will provide the Malaysian Industrial Real Estate market a paradigm shift in quality and services to its clients. In November 2015 AIDF 1 launched its first maiden project a 1,200,000 sq. ft. e-commerce hub in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Dato’ LaBrooy has also been writing on a regular basis on Property and REITs for the local mainstream print and online media for the past five years or so, and is known and recognised as the “REIT Guru” in the country. He is also a prominent speaker on the subject of Industrial Estate Development and Conventional and Islamic REITs in the region, having been invited to deliver papers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Istanbul, New York, London, Saudi Arabia, Philippines and Malaysia. He is a Board member of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA), an organization that represents and promotes the real estate asset class in the Asia Pacific region. It is the industry body for the suppliers and users of capital in the real estate sector. He served as the founding Chairman of the Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA), from 2010-2015, an organization he helped set up in 2010 to give Malaysian REIT Managers a single voice for the purpose of engagement with the Regulators and Ministry of Finance. Dato’ Stewart LaBrooy is also a director of a number of public and private companies involved in property development, services and property investment. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) degree and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Sheffield and is a member of the Institute of Engineers, Malaysia.

Philip was appointed CEO of Firefly, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), in January 2019. He is also the acting Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group. Prior to that Philip was formerly the Head of Strategy and Network for Malaysia Airlines. He joined the airline in 2015 and prior to that his career spanned consulting, banking and public service. He previously served in the Turnaround Management Office (TMO), back in 2004 where he was responsible for implementing the Business Turnaround Plan and consequently the Business Transformation Plan. Philip left the airline in 2010 and rejoined Malaysia Airlines in 2015 as a Network Planner. Philip studied Chemical Engineering (MEng) from Imperial College London, UK. In his free time, he teaches in church and is a radio presenter at BFM.