Sir Richard Branson, the renowned British industrialist is coming to KL next month for the Dawn of the New Decade – Alternative Investments in Asia forum.

Here’s the press release on the event, thanks to Elya of GoComm.com.my on the note.

KL TO WELCOME SIR RICHARD BRANSON FOR LANDMARK FORUM
Kuala Lumpur, Monday, 9 August 2010- Richard Branson, founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group, requires little introduction – few people are as internationally well known, fewer still as universally liked and respected. The entrepreneur’s entrepreneur, inspiring business leader and fearless adventurer Branson is an ambassador for the “can do” attitude.

The famously goatee-ed Englishman comes to Kuala Lumpur in September to participate in the Dawn of the New Decade – Alternative Investments in Asia forum. This event is being staged by the venerable International Herald Tribune in association with the London Speaker Bureau. The forum is the first of its kind to be staged in Asia and it will feature more than 15 leading luminaries in the field of finance and investment. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak will be giving the official key note speech at the event which takes place on 27 and 28 September in the Renaissance Hotel.

Branson will be giving his eagerly anticipated special keynote speech on the opening day of the forum. The billionaire is expected to outline his thoughts on the current investment landscape and on the growing importance of Asia. As the head of Virgin Atlantic Airways he has a particularly relevant perspective on the airline industry, however, as the owner of 360 other companies the depth and breadth of his experience is virtually peerless.

Recently turned 60 Branson began his life in business at the tender age of 16 launching a magazine called Student. By 22 he had a chain of successful record stores. There followed the airline, the mobile phone operator, a railway, a healthcare company and even a space tourism company. He is now worth an estimated US$4 billion. His philanthropy is as famed as his trans-continental balloon voyages.

Attending the two-day forum will be over 1,000 delegates from across the region including some leading bankers, investors and fund managers. They will be hearing not just from Richard Branson but also from Mary Buffet, daughter in law of Warren Buffet, arguably the world’s most successful investor. The other speakers will include Anil Gupta, renowned expert on Strategy and Globalisation; Dr Fang Gang one of China’s most influential economists and Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist with the World Economic Forum.

Invaluable opinions, predictions, advice and speculation will be shared at this seminal event. It will be extremely informative and, of course, a gilt-edged networking opportunity. It is to be noted that this is a regional event that will be heavily publicised throughout the IHT and worthy of further note is that Malaysia was selected as host above some strong competition.

For more information about the forum including a full list of the speakers, the programme and details of how to book tickets please visit www.invest2010.asia

-END-

Issued on behalf of the London Speakers Bureau by: GO Communications Sdn Bhd. For further information kindly contact:

Lizayati Damit
Brand Director
Mobile: +6016 971 1580 / 03 7710- 3288
E-mail: liza@gocomm.com.my

Elya Eusoff
Brand Manager
Mobile: +6017 366 2277 / 03 7710- 3288
E-mail: elya@gocomm.com.my

Choo Hen
Brand Executive
Mobile: +6017 433 8189/ 03 7710- 3288
E-mail: choo@gocomm.com.my

For those of you who wants to know what’s going on in the Malaysia investment scene, this would be a good chance to get yourself some updates and do a little ’shopping’. Thanks to reader Ken Ooi for the heads up!

You are ultimately responsible for your own money, and investment firms and consultants are always very eager to get you to part with your money and promise you greater returns than your fixed deposit accounts. Exercise diligence and do your homework before signing on the dotted lines. Never take more risk than you can tolerate.

Another 25 basis points increment to our OPR. This is the 3rd increment in the year 2010. The first increment was back in 4th March, whereby the rate was increased from 2.00 percent to 2.25 percent. The second increment was in 13th May 2010, where the rate was increased from 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent. On July 7th, the rate is now officially 2.75 percent.

In just half a year, the OPR has been raised 0.75 percent. You might need to negotiate harder to get a better deal for your loans now.

At the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting today, Bank Negara Malaysia decided to raise the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent. The floor and ceiling rates of the corridor for the OPR are correspondingly raised to 2.50 percent and 3.00 percent respectively.

The global recovery has continued in the second quarter, supported by robust and broad-based growth in most emerging economies, in particular Asia , and a moderate recovery in the advanced economies. Nevertheless, volatility in the international financial markets has increased following concerns over the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in several advanced economies. These developments have raised uncertainties on the potential impact on the international financial system and the global economic activity. Going forward, while the assessment is for the global recovery to continue, there is increased risk that the global growth momentum could moderate.

Read the full “Monetary Policy Statement” here.

Date: October 13 & 14, 2010
Time: 9.00 am – 5.00 pm
Venue: Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Malaysia is rapidly heading towards an ageing society. According to United Nations’ figures, Malaysia is likely to reach an ageing nation status by 2035 with the number of people above the age of 60 reaching 15 per cent of the population. The United Nations categorises any country with 10 per cent of its population above the age of 60 as an ageing nation.

Today more than 10 percent of Malaysians are in the 50 yr + group. Global statistics show that this ageing group has greater purchasing power and wealth than younger adults. In the UK, EU and USA, the 50 yr + group commands more than 75 % of the wealth. It outspends younger adults by $1 trillion and accounts for more than half of the majority of household expenditure (54%) in the US and the EU.

Though FPAM has organized many conferences and expositions in the past, the “Everyone Can Retire Well” conference is FPAM’s first attempt on the rapidly growing aging and retirement markets. Planned for 700 participants as a gathering for the ageing and retirement industry/community, it aims to bring financial service providers, academicians, doctors, health care experts, gerontologists, affluent consumers, decision makers and government agencies together for 2-days of sharing and caring that we believe will have life-long impressions

Register by printing and faxing this form back to FPAM. (I’m surprised they didn’t have a registration form in the website itself…)

Thanks to Aniza from FPAM, here are some more relevant downloads for the upcoming conference:
1) Conference Brochure
2) Sponsorship Opportunities
3) Hotel Room Reservation

With RM3.0 billion allocated for investors nationwide, there’s still about RM600 million to go.

Read more about how the Sukuk 1Malaysia works on Bank Negara’s website.

Issuance of Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010

Ministry of Finance wishes to announce the issuance of Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 on 21 June 2010. Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 amounted to RM2.4 billion was allocated to 74,781 investors. Successful investors will be notified by their agent banks.

Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 which is scripless and based on Shariah principles, is an additional investment instrument for Malaysian citizens who are 21 years and above. The sukuk, which has a 3-year tenure, offers a return of 5% per annum. Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 has a resaleable feature which provides the flexibility for investors to sell and purchase the sukuk before the maturity date.

Beginning 22 June 2010, investors can sell and purchase the sukuk at agent banks. The purchase of sukuk is based on a first-come first-served basis, with no maximum limit, subject to the availability of the sukuk sold by existing sukukholders. The selling and buying prices are calculated based on principal at par plus accrued profit. Members of the public can obtain information on the availability of Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010 and the daily prices through the Bon Info Hub website by visiting www.bondinfo.bnm.gov.my or checking with their agent banks. For each investor, the minimum sale/purchase is RM100 and in multiples of RM100. An administrative cost of 0.1% of the nominal purchase value is payable to the agent banks.

For further information on Sukuk 1Malaysia 2010, please contact BNMTELELINK at 1-300-88-5465 or by visiting www.treasury.gov.my and www.bnm.gov.my/sukuk1Malaysia

Ministry of Finance, Malaysia
23 June 2010

Just got this from FPAM…

This year’s most important conference on Islamic financial planning.

IFPC 2009 Malaysia – International Center for Islamic Wealth Management

Sign-up before 15 October and save RM200. Earn 10 CPE points from SIDC and 10 CE points from FPAM.

Details

Date: 9 & 10 November , Monday & Tuesday

Venue: Sime Darby Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur

Fee:

i) Early Bird Special ??RM800 ( FPAM Member) , RM1000 (Public)
ii) Normal ??RM1000 ( FPAM Member) , RM1200 (Public)

Early Bird Special by 15 October 09

Conference background
The significant rise in the wealth of Islamic countries for the past four decades has provided tremendous opportunities of growth and expansion for the wealth management industry to manage the surplus funds in accordance with the Shariah principles. Interestingly, the growth in the Islamic wealth management industry comes not only from affluent Muslims who desire to see their wealth preserved and enhanced within the framework of Shariah law, but equally from non-Muslim who view this as an ethical mode of investment and diversification. This 2-day conference has been specifically designed to contribute to the development of Malaysia as an international centre for Islamic wealth management as well as to explore the opportunities, latest trends and developments in the Islamic financial planning and wealth management industry. This conference will enable participants to learn from key players and prominent speakers who will share with you some very thoughtful and sometimes very challenging ideas and experiences.

Speakers
Dato??Nik Ramlah Mahmood, Managing Director, Securities Commission

Shariffuddin Khalid, Director, Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre

Shahrul Shahriman, Chief Officer, Private & Institutional Asset Management, Prudential Fund Management Bhd

Azman Ismail, Chief Executive Officer, Independent Islamic Financial Planners Sdn Bhd

Dr. Ismail Mohd @ Abu Hassan, Shariah Adviser, Mayban Islamic Berhad

Ali Abbas Zaidi, Managing Director and Head of Islamic Markets, Maybank Investment Bank

Gul Khan, Global Head of Wealth Management, HSBC Amanah

Samer Taki, Senior Vice President, Islamic Bank of Asia, Singapore

Badlisyah Abdul Ghani, Chief Executive Officer, CIMB Islamic

Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, Chief Executive Officer, i-VCAP Management Sdn Bhd

Zainudin Ishak, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Amanah Takaful

Khaeruddin Ishak, CEO HSBC Amanah Takaful

Md Khairuddin Haji Arshad, General Manager, PIDM

Dato??Dr. Adnan Alias, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM)

Dato??Zukri Samat, Managing Director, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad

Datuk Kamaruzaman Che Mat, Chief Executive Officer, Bank Rakyat

Musa Abdul Malik, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad

Mohd Nasiruddin Mohd Kamaruddin, Chief Operating Officer, Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia

For programme and registration form:
http://www.fpam.org.my/fpam/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ifpc-brochure-8.pdf

Online registration available at: www.i-fpc.com