25/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | SEPT 25, 2025

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TalentCorp strengthens Sarawak’s future workforce Development (MEITD) Sarawak in

HDC and Global Psytech partner to empower halal businesses KUALA LUMPUR: Halal Development Corporation Bhd (HDC), an agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti), has entered into an Engagement Agreement with Global Psytech Sdn Bhd (GPSB), a Malaysia Digital-status behavioural and data technology company, to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of halal SMEs through behavioural analytics. Under the collaboration, GPSB will introduce its Talent Analytic Platform, Entrepreneur Analytic Platform, and Ethics & Governance Platform. These solutions are designed to help halal businesses sharpen leadership capabilities, improve financial literacy and strategic thinking, and reinforce ethics and governance – key drivers of long-term resilience. As part of the initiative, HDC will promote and educate members of its Halal Integrated Platform (HIP) – a network of more than 13,000 halal industry players – on how to leverage these tools to strengthen organisational performance, build capable teams, and unlock new growth opportunities both domestically and internationally. By equipping SMEs with actionable insights, the partnership seeks to empower halal businesses to compete more effectively in the global halal economy. “This collaboration with Global Psytech reinforces HDC’s commitment to supporting halal SMEs beyond certification and market access. By focusing on organisational strength and talent development, we are preparing businesses to thrive in an increasingly competitive halal economy,” said HDC CEO Hairol Ariffein Sahari. GPSB CEO Dr Haniza Yon added: “Through AI-driven behavioural insights, we aim to help halal SMEs improve decision-making, mitigate risks, and grow with integrity. Together with HDC, we are nurturing resilient businesses capable of achieving sustainable success on the global stage.” This collaboration supports the Halal Industry Master Plan 2030, which positions Malaysia as a leading global halal hub contributing significantly to GDP by 2030.

Malaysia navigate workforce disruption with foresight and precision. “That means turning data into strategy, and strategy into action. For instance, our Critical Occupations List (MYCOL) 2024/2025 shows that Sarawak faces pressing shortages in skilled trades, engineering, ICT, healthcare, and education. “This data guides our initiatives like MyMahir and MyNext, where we connect education outcomes with industry demand to ensure Sarawakians are prepared for jobs in clean energy, semiconductors, and green data centres,” he said. “Nationally, with Malaysia climbing eight places to 25th in the IMD World Talent Ranking – the best in five years – it is clear that our long-term efforts are paying off. “But it also sets a higher bar, which is why TalentCorp’s mandate is to translate insights into practical programmes that future-proof our workforce and keep Malaysia competitive on the global stage,” he added. Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025, with more than 200 participants including SMEs, employers, government agencies, and academia, focused on closing skills gaps by aligning education, training, and hiring with industry needs – empowering Sarawakians to seize high-value opportunities in clean energy, semiconductors, and green data centres. The programme brought together key sectors such as manufacturing, construction, oil & gas/energy, ICT and the digital economy, healthcare, education and training, agriculture and forestry, logistics and transport, as well as tourism and hospitality. which measures the overall current economic performance, rose 2.2% to 129.7 points in July 2025 as compared to 126.9 points in the same month of the previous year. This performance was supported by positive growth across all CI components, with the Real Contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as the main contributor, recording 5.4%. At the same time, the monthly performance of the CI strengthened by 1.2%, driven by the Industrial Production Index and Real Contributions to the EPF, both of which posted a 0.3% increase.

o RM1 million allocated in matching grants to enable SMEs to train and nurture youths

collaboration with Sarawak Skills and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) convened Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025, a half-day engagement programme bringing together employers, government agencies, academia, and industry leaders. The agenda featured a fireside chat on “Sarawak Talent 2030: Shaping the Next Generation Workforce”, alongside targeted presentations on AI, digital and green skills, workforce transformation, and TalentCorp’s MyMahir and MyCOL initiatives. Employers were also invited to contribute their insights through surveys and discussions, ensuring that Sarawak’s workforce strategies are co-created with industry. By aligning workforce planning with project timelines and investment flows, this collaborative effort will help Sarawak achieve its 2030 targets and position itself as a future ready talent hub. Sarawak MEITD Minister Datuk Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn emphasised that the partnership between TalentCorp and MEITD reflects a shared commitment to enhancing talent development and strengthening industry-academia collaboration. “The coming decade presents a golden opportunity for Sarawak to set new regional benchmarks, whether in renewable energy, AI-ready data centres, inclusive mobility for our people, or high-value global supply chains,” he said during his officiation remarks. TalentCorp group CEO Thomas Mathew further emphasised that as the strategic think tank of Kesuma, TalentCorp’s role is to help

KUCHING: The World Economic Forum warns that by 2030, 85 million jobs worldwide could go unfilled due to skills shortages. Determined to stay ahead of this global challenge, Sarawak has set bold targets under its Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, to build a pipeline of 500,000 skilled workers and produce 30,000 talents annually to secure its future workforce. To support this vision, Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) is allocating RM1 million in matching grants through the I nsentif Latihan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana (LiKES), under the Ilham Kesuma initiative, aimed at strengthening Sarawak’s SMEs by enabling them to train and nurture future ready talent. The initiative is expected to generate 700 internship placements across 400 SME companies in all sectors, offering young Sarawakians meaningful industry exposure and boosting their employability. By empowering SMEs to take in and train young talent, Sarawak is strengthening its talent pipeline while ensuring its workforce is aligned with the state’s growth sectors. In pursuit of this goal, TalentCorp and the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent

Malaysia’s economy poised for softer growth trajectory PUTRAJAYA: The annual growth rate of the Leading Index (LI) continued to moderate in July 2025 by recording a decline of 0.5% to 114.3 points as compared to 114.9 points in the same month of the previous year, as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM). rebounded to 0.5% in July 2025, after recording negative 0.3% in the previous month. “This recovery was driven by strong performance in five out of seven components, particularly theReal Imports of Semiconductors (0.5%)”.

Examining the smoothed long-term trend in July 2025, the LI remained below 100.0 points. Nonetheless, Malaysia’s economy is poised for a moderate trajectory ahead. Stronger sectoral performance and steady internal demand will position the nation to navigate global challenges. Meanwhile, the Coincident Index (CI),

Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said: “Double-digit declines in Real Imports of Other Basic Precious & Other Non-Ferrous Metals (-16.3%) and the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (-13.4%) influenced the softer performance. “Conversely, the monthly performance

Italy launches eTomAato campaign to showcase premium European tomatoes KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians will soon savour the taste of premium European tomatoes as Italy, backed by the European Union (EU), rolls out a new campaign to showcase the quality and versatility of its preserved tomato products. the highest international standards. “This campaign represents our commitment to long-term partnerships that benefit both regions’food industries.” Also present was second secretary of the embassy of Italy in Kuala Lumpur Francesco Pezzarossi. “The goal is to showcase the versatility of European tomatoes in Malaysian and international cuisine.

“Beyond promoting sales, the initiative also supports Malaysia’s food industry goals by encouraging food safety, sustainability, and knowledge-sharing. European processing and preservation techniques offer advantages for tropical climates, and the wide variety of tomato products provides Malaysian chefs with new tools to elevate their dishes,”she said. Pezzarossi said between January and May 2025, Italy exported €1.17 billion (RM5.7 billion) worth of processed tomato products worldwide. “During the same period, Malaysia imported €8.58 million (RM45.2 million), of which €1.8 million (RM11.8 million) came from Italy.” – Bernama

The “eTomAato: European Tomato, A Red Passion” campaign, launched by the Italian embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) in collaboration with OI Pomodoro da Industria Bacino Centro Sud Italia, aims to provide local consumers and food professionals with a closer experience of Europe’s centuries-old tomato heritage. At a press conference here yesterday, ITA trade commissioner Dr Angela Donvito said the eTomAato campaign is providing Malaysian chefs, food manufacturers and consumers with ingredients that meet

Donvito highlighted that eTomAato is designed to complement, not compete with, Malaysia’s agricultural sector. She said the campaign introduces premium, sustainable tomato products that support culinary innovation and can boost Malaysia’s competitiveness in regional and global markets. “Over the next two years, eTomAato will roll out seminars for industry professionals, in-store tastings for consumers, and collaborations with top chefs and food service providers.

Pezzarossi (left), Donvito and Ol Pomodoro Centro Sud Italia president Guglielmo Vaccaro showing a tomato product at the Food & Hospitality Malaysia 2025 exhibition yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC