Bill Gates pledges to give away 'virtually all' fortune to philanthropy
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates announced Thursday he will donate "virtually all" of his estimated US$200 billion fortune in the next two decades, with plans to permanently close the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by the end of 2045, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
Gates outlined his accelerated philanthropy timeline in a blog post, marking a significant change from...
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Focus Malaysia
28 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
China glove makers turn up the heat on Malaysian rivals
WITH China players increasingly deploying overseas capacity to penetrate the US market more effectively, the competitive landscape is turning more aggressive, especially after 2025. 'In our view, a price war is highly likely shaping up an over-supplied gloves market,' said Maybank Investment Bank (MIB) in a recent report. Separately, MIB believes upcoming results could be weak mainly due to weakening USD currency vs MYR. MIB reiterates their negative stance on the Malaysia glove sector. Latest industry sources suggest that competition in the glove sector is set to intensify further, with new capacity from a major China glove maker, expected to come online by the end of 2025. MIB understands that the China glove maker has started marketing to US customers, offering upcoming capacity from its overseas plants in Vietnam and Indonesia at average selling prices of USD16–17/k pcs, versus Malaysia glove makers' current average selling price of USD18–19/k pcs, with deliveries starting from Nov 2025 onwards. Additionally, the company's Indonesia plant is likely to be operational by end-2025 or early 2026, which is earlier than MIB's initial expectation of the second half of 2026. While this may be part of the China glove maker's marketing strategy, pricing could still adjust based on demand, tariffs and counter-moves by Malaysia glove makers. 'The latest news nonetheless reaffirms our negative stance on the sector,' said MIB. Competition is clearly intensifying, with more capacity from China, targeting non-US markets, and its overseas plants, focusing on the US market. Although the actual supply timeline from these overseas plants remain uncertain, any meaningful ramp-up will likely exert pressure on pricing and margins. A price war appears increasingly likely, in MIB's view. That said, a key upside risk to our call would be a shift in US trade policy particularly if the Trump administration finalises higher tariffs on gloves from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand while maintaining lower tariffs for Malaysia. Such a move would restore Malaysia's cost competitiveness in the US market and partially offset the structural headwinds facing the sector. —June 13, 2025 Main image: Business Times
The Star
43 minutes ago
- The Star
Malaysia's ties with United States and China not mutually exclusive, says US ambassador
Photo: AZMAN GHANI/The Star KUALA LUMPUR: The United States sees Malaysia as a key partner even as South-East Asia navigates growing engagement with China, citing the country's focused and professional approach to advancing bilateral trade talks, says US Ambassador to Malaysia Edgard Kagan ( pic ). He said Washington does not see growing ties with China as a threat to its own relationships in the region and that South-East Asian countries should not be forced to choose sides. "I would challenge the assertion that the region is moving closer to Beijing. "Countries in this region have long had strong ties with both the United States and China. We don't view those ties as mutually exclusive," he said during a press conference at his official residence here on Friday (June 13). Kagan was responding to a question about regional realignment in the wake of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Malaysia in April. He said the United States respects the sovereign decisions of its partners and recognises that countries may engage with multiple powers based on their national interests. He added that the United States remains a significant contributor to Malaysia's development, particularly through trade and investment. American companies, he said, continue to play a vital role in the local economy and exports to the United States remain crucial for Malaysia. Kagan also emphasised that Washington is committed to strengthening its bilateral relationship with Malaysia, especially through trade cooperation. "We believe that the key is to strengthen our bilateral relationship between the United States and Malaysia," he said. He then highlighted the US government's appreciation for Malaysia's conduct in recent trade discussions, describing the country's negotiating team as professional and well prepared. "I've been very impressed with the seriousness with which Malaysia has approached the trade negotiations with the United States. "These are tough issues but the professionalism of the negotiating team and the government's commitment to reaching an agreement that facilitates trade – including greater access to Malaysian markets for American products and services – is very impressive," he said. This comes as both countries continue working-level discussions to enhance market access and remove trade barriers. The broader US-Malaysia trade relationship has faced pressure since 2018, when President Donald Trump's first administration imposed sweeping tariffs on steel, aluminium and other imports under national security provisions. Those measures, which disrupted global supply chains and raised costs for exporters in the region, including Malaysia, have continued under his current term with further tariff actions. Nevertheless, Kagan expressed optimism about current efforts to rebuild momentum, adding that the two governments are approaching the process in good faith. "There's a lot we can do together. I'm confident the relationship is strong and that it can be made even stronger," he said. Kagan also voiced support for Malaysia's chairmanship of Asean in 2025, calling it an opportunity to promote inclusive and balanced regional growth.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Xi plays long game on US-China trade as Trump seeks quick wins
WASHINGTON: While Donald Trump hailed the outcome of trade talks in London, Xi Jinping walked away with an understated strategic gain: a negotiating process that buys China time and helps defuse the threat of more harmful tariffs and technology curbs. Shortly after two days of negotiations wrapped, Trump declared Wednesday (June 11) on social media that a deal had been "DONE' to restore the flow of critical magnets from China, and pledged to lift curbs on student visas. Hours earlier, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed Washington would unwind its recent tech curbs, if niche metals essential to US auto and defense firms now flowed fast enough. China's focus was very different. A People's Daily commentary on Thursday - Beijing's most substantial remarks so far on the talks - made no mention of export controls. Instead, the Communist Party mouthpiece touted an "institutional guarantee' established in Geneva for the two sides to bridge differences via a "consultation mechanism.' In a long-awaited leaders' call before the London negotiations, Xi told Trump the importance of using this channel, it added. The contrast illustrates a disconnect in how the world's biggest economies want to manage their trade dispute, and broader rollercoaster relationship. While Trump seeks quick deals done directly with top leaders, Xi favours a framework led by his lieutenants that wards against being blindsided. Such haggling could drag on for years, with the "Phase One' deal from the last trade war taking most of Trump's first term. "Xi is playing a longer game on US-China trade. His time in office is simply much longer than Trump's,' said Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Research. "That's not to say there's never any short-term thinking, but the lack of term limits presents very different incentives than for Trump.' While slow-walking negotiations allows China the chance to assess how hard a bargain Trump drives with other nations, the lingering uncertainty is bad for business, he added. Xi showed last week he can be flexible, getting on the phone with Trump as ties spiralled, breaking from the normal protocol to set up such an interaction. In the Biden era, then National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Foreign Minister Wang Yi would huddle in overseas locations for days before their leaders spoke, managing outcomes and expectations. While the Geneva talks last month wrapped with an identical US-China statement, suggesting a degree of alignment, that accord quickly fell apart over US claims China reneged on a promise to release shipments of rare earths. Beijing says it always intended to keep in place a permit process, which American companies complained moved so slowly some factories were forced to pause production. The lack of a detailed read out from either side this time around has left much in doubt, including over what Beijing committed to doing on the export of niche metals used in everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles. Lutnick told CNBC on Wednesday that China was going to approve "all applications for magnets from United States companies right away' - a sweeping claim that appeared to leave plenty of room for disappointment. Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong pledged his country would "fully consider the reasonable needs and concerns of all countries in the civilian sector,' at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, adding that approval work was being strengthened. "The Chinese incentive is also to keep cards close to their chest, and not make a lot of proclamations about what they have or have not committed to,' said Arthur Kroeber, founding partner and head of research at Gavekal. "There is a lot of leeway for them within the whole export licensing regime.' One approach could be to restart enough export licences so commercial buyers aren't stymied, but not so much that firms can stockpile, thus blunting Beijing's future leverage, he added. Adding to the fuzziness, Trump declared on social media that China now faces a 55% charge, a number that appears to include levies introduced during his first presidency. It also combines a 10% baseline duty imposed by Trump and a 20% tax tied to fentanyl trafficking - an area where Beijing was seen as having room to negotiate if it stepped up scrutiny of its companies. Lutnick cast doubt on that, and raised questions about the nature of future negotiations, saying tariffs on China would "definitely' stick at their current level. That suggests a 90-day pause set to expire in August on Trump's blanket 145% rate is now irrelevant. Such a position also dilutes the incentive for Beijing to offer concessions in future trade talks, if tariffs can't budge. While China has felt the pain from US levies, with exports to the world's largest economy plunging 34% in May, Trump appears to be in the bigger hurry to get a deal. His administration is facing a self-imposed July 9 deadline to either strike pacts with dozens of trading partners or reimpose sweeping tariffs. In a sign of the Republican leader's growing impatience, he warned Wednesday that he will soon send letters to countries saying, "this is the deal, you can take it or leave it.' Exemplifying that willingness to keep things moving, Trump's team this week put export controls on the negotiating table - previously, such tools have been justified with national security concerns, and were largely off limits. - Bloomberg
