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Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Zealand. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Malaysia-NZ trade set to soar

 


 AUCKLAND: Trade between Malaysia and New Zealand is expected to increase by 50% in the next five years, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Deputy Prime Minister said forging closer bilateral and trade ties with New Zealand was more crucial now in light of the changing global landscape.

“Our shared target to increase Malaysia-New Zealand trade by 50% by 2030 is not only achievable but necessary in a world where regional resilience matters more than ever,” he said during the Asean-New Zealand Business Council Engagement session held here yesterday.

He said trade agreements such as the Malaysia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (MNZFTA) and Asean, Australia, New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) serve as a catalyst for boosting bilateral trade.

In 2024, he said the trade volume reached RM10.72bil (US$2.34bil), making Malaysia New Zealand’s second-largest trading partner within Asean.

“These numbers aren’t just statistics; they reflect confidence, connectivity and commitment between our economies,” added Ahmad Zahid, who is in New Zealand for a five-day working visit.

He said the MNZFTA also enabled 99.8% of New Zealand’s exports to enter Malaysia duty-free, with the AANZFTA also increasing exports to Asean by nearly 60% since 2010.

Anwar advances Malaysia's diplomatic agenda

“The AANZFTA is working well and should continue to be strengthened. Malaysia has also doubled its usage of AANZFTA benefits, from RM5.8bil in 2016 to RM12.9bil in 2023,” he added.

With the recent upgrade to AANZFTA and the momentum created through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Part­nership (RCEP), Ahmad Zahid said that both nations were better positioned to build a fair, modern and sustainable trade architecture.

AANZFTA, a trade agreement between Asean member states, Australia and New Zealand, came into force in 2010 and is a key pillar in both nations’ ties with South-East Asia.

The upgrade of AANZFTA came into force on April 21 this year to further reduce export barriers while boosting trade in the region.

Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia was looking at three key areas – sustainability, digital transformation and food security – to deepen trade collaboration between the two countries.

“New Zealand, with 87% of its electricity sourced from renewables, is a leader in green transition. This aligns closely with Malaysia’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“There is vast space for cooperation in clean energy, carbon markets and low-carbon technology,” he added.

On Malaysia’s part, Ahmad Zahid said the MyDigital agenda complements New Zealand’s strengths in ICT (information, communication and technology), offering opportunities for joint ventures in AI, smart cities, cybersecurity and digital trade governance.

“The agri-food sector also offers enormous potential. As Asean’s middle class grows and consumption patterns shift, New Zealand’s reputation for quality, traceability and innovation fits well with Malaysia’s strengths in halal certification and regional logistics.”

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said it was crucial that the bilateral economic partnership continues to be grounded in human connection. 

“Thousands of Malaysian students have studied in New Zealand and tourism between our nations continues to thrive. 

“These exchanges are not just heartwarming, they are the glue that holds economic ties together, builds trust and creates long-term understanding,” he added.

On economic growth between New Zealand and Asean, Ahmad Zahid said it must be inclusive of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) so that the latter was not left behind.

To achieve this, he said it must entail improving access to trade finance, digital tools, and capacity building between Asean member states and New Zealand.

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Sunday, November 24, 2024

Equal opportunity in accounting

Rising support for gender diversity, inclusivity in profession

The importance of diversity and gender balance in professional fields, including accounting, has gained recognition in recent times.

The accounting profession, as a crucial component of the business world, said Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) chief executive officer Helen Brand (OBE), greatly benefits from incorporating varied perspectives and experiences into its decision-making processes.

As one of the most influential voices in the profession, Brand, who was in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 6 for the 88th ACCA Anniversary Gala Dinner, sat down with StarEdu to talk about the evolving landscape of accountancy, particularly in relation to diversity, inclusion, and the future of work.

As of October 2024, women make up a substantial 62% of the accounting workforce in Malaysia, compared to 38% for men, according to ACCA’s member demographics.

“Diversity of thought and inclusive representation are not just moral imperatives – they are essential for driving better business performance and innovative solutions.

ALSO READ: Tackling inequalities

“Different perspectives can also lead to better solutions by avoiding groupthink and by ensuring a comprehensive understanding of customer needs,” Brand shared.

Brand, who is a founding member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), is also a member of the United Kingdom government’s Professional and Business Services Council, and has participated in a number of trade advisory forums and university advisory boards.

Many businesses, she pointed out, are now committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to increasing pressure from the public, governments and regulators, requiring them to demonstrate social inclusion alongside profitability.

SDG 5, she said, is one of the 17 SDGs that seeks to achieve gender equality and empower women and girls.

BrandBrand

Gender equality is a basic human right and an essential factor for building a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, she added.

“It’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to show they include all parts of society in their workforce and have a positive impact.

“Inclusive slogans, however, must be backed up with tangible achievements.“Reporting on gender diversity in annual and integrated reports has become as essential as financial performance reporting,” she said, noting that companies excelling in gender diversity often see better financial results due to a broader talent pool that gives employers the biggest opportunity to recruit the best person.“Inclusion means recognising different attributes as equal, not lesser, and that’s what we can achieve by making sure that there’s equal representation with women,” she explained.

Brand emphasised that the UN SDGs play an important role, providing a clear framework to guide people’s actions and assess their progress.

The focus, she said, should not just be on financial performance.

“The ongoing discussion about sustainability, including the impact businesses have on people and the significance of human capital, is a major step forward, extending beyond the scope of the SDGs,” she said.

Gender diverse teams, said Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Faculty of Business and Finance Department of Commerce and Accountancy head Dr Sonia Johanthan, bring varied perspectives that enhance problem-solving and decision-making.

“In accounting, this means better risk assessments, financial planning, and client relations.

“Diversity also fosters creativity, which is critical for addressing complex client needs and adapting to evolving regulations in the accounting industry.

“According to a prior study, diverse board members often excel in building strong client relationships, leading to improved client satisfaction and retention, consequently increase in the firm’s value.

“The study also showed that organisations with gender diversity often outperform less diverse ones in profitability and operational efficiency,” she said.

Driving change

ACCA, said Brand, has made significant strides in promoting gender parity and broader diversity within its ranks.

“Of the 46 members on ACCA’s governing council, 26 are women, with the overall membership at 52% male and 48% female, which is nearing parity. The majority of our students are women,” she said, adding that this shift is not merely symbolic; it reflects a concerted effort to cultivate an inclusive culture and provide equal opportunities for professional advancement.

“It’s important to understand that driving diversity and inclusion is a cultural issue within an organisational business.

“Implementing systems and processes to support this culture doesn’t yield instant results; it takes time. For example, you may have a single woman on the board or at the executive level, but it does not make a difference when they’re in the minority, and their voice often isn’t heard.

“While one is better than none, achieving true diversity is a gradual process that requires continuous effort,” she said.

The real disparity, she said, is when women tend not to progress to more senior roles, despite having extensive educational and professional experience.

“In order to be a female leader, maybe about 30 years ago, you had to take on the attributes associated with men, because you had to show that you were strong, decisive, and could move things forward.

“Now, we understand that there are different styles of leadership that are equally valid, more consultative, collaborative, solutions focused, less driven by ego and more driven by outcomes, and this opens up possibilities to men and women who want to lead in a different way,” she said.

She added that it is essential for everyone to be on board and aligned to the organisation’s purpose to be a successful business, and one way to achieve this is by ensuring that every person feels supported and able to reach their full potential.

“Sometimes, interventions – whether through new laws or regulatory changes – can help drive the change that is necessary, because you need a shock to the system for it to change.

“For example, if things like board membership and leadership positions were left to develop organically, it might take many more years before we are able to reach parity,” she said.

Diversity in all aspects

Brand explained that while gender is a significant issue, particularly in some countries, there are many other important aspects of diversity that also need attention.

These include individuals from less privileged economic backgrounds, people of different ethnicities, and those with neurodiversity, as there are various ways in which certain groups have been excluded or not provided the same opportunities as others, both in society and in the workplace.

“There is a growing focus on the broader concept of diversity and inclusion, which ensures that everybody has the best possible opportunity to thrive,” she said.

She added that ACCA has implemented a range of initiatives to foster an inclusive environment and provide women with the tools and support they need to thrive, including offering specific training programmes to help women develop the confidence and skills to apply for roles they might not have considered before.

“We’ve also put in place flexible working arrangements that support both women and men in balancing their professional and personal commitments,” she said.

Alongside its diversity initiatives, she said, ACCA is also at the forefront of equipping its members with the competencies needed to navigate the profession’s evolving landscape, proving that diversity in skillsets is also valued.

“The integration of technology into the skillsets of professional accountants will become even more crucial moving forward.

“We’ve launched continuous professional development courses for members who are already qualified to make sure that they update their skills to remain relevant, and that covers top topics such as data science, data analytics, internal audit, new standards, and sustainability,” she said.

Brand believes that the profession’s ability to harness these technologies in an ethical and inclusive manner will be a defining factor in its long-term success.

“We need to ensure that the algorithms and data used are free from bias, and that the governance frameworks protect individual privacy and promote transparency.

“Accountants will play a pivotal role in navigating these complex ethical considerations,” she said.

Towards better support

“Gender bias still exists in the business world, although it has diminished over time.

The obstruction to career progression and professional growth for women is the challenge of a work-life balance, particularly for those with children. In a fast-paced and high-pressure environment of a professional accounting firm, long hours and constant change are the norm.

During my pregnancy, while working in Malaysia, I was reassigned from client work to the firm’s training centre in my third trimester, where I handled administrative tasks and facilitated in-house training.

When I returned from maternity leave, I was again given client assignments, which made me feel as though I was back on track with my career.

To empower and support women in the profession, firms need to offer greater flexibility in their work options.

This includes the possibility of working from home and flexible working hours. Additionally, firms should be transparent about career development opportunities by providing structured mentorship, professional development programmes, and clear paths to promotion.

This will help women accountants make informed decisions about their careers and achieve their ambitions.

By fostering an environment of support, firms can retain valuable talent and ensure that women can thrive in the profession.”– Sunway Business School Department of Accounting lecturer

Choo Sook Yin“The main issue lies in the persistent stereotype about women’s abilities, which limits their opportunities for growth.

In many Asian countries, where the workforce is predominantly male, the lack of female role models makes it more difficult for women to envision their own career progression.

The demanding nature of accounting roles can be especially challenging for women, particularly those juggling responsibilities in traditional households where they are expected to fulfil domestic obligations.

Additionally, women often face a networking gap, limiting their access to influential professional connections that are crucial for career advancement.

This underscores the need for focused efforts by firms, professional organisations and policymakers to support the career development and professional growth of women in accounting.

For example, the 2023 Global Gender Gap Index highlights Sweden as a leader in promoting gender equality, with high female educational attainment and robust parental leave policies.

Pregnant women in Sweden can take up to 390 days of maternity and parental leave, and women with children under eight are allowed to reduce their work hours by 25%. Such policies could help empower women, encouraging them to grow in their profession.”– UTAR Faculty of Business and Finance Department of Commerce and Accountancy head Dr Sonia Johanthan

Women at the fore

The recent appointment of Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan (pic) as vice president of ACCA marks the first time that women have held all three officer posts simultaneously in the global professional accountancy body, founded in 1904.

Zaiton joins fellow senior officers Ayla Majid, president and sustainability strategist from Pakistan, and deputy president Melanie Proffitt, from England, who is the chief financial officer of Farncombe Estate, a hotel group.

Together, they represent more than 252,500 members and 526,000 future members across 180 countries, a press release dated Nov 18 read.

Zaiton is the chief executive officer of the Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre (MyPAC), a non-profit dedicated to helping students from poorer backgrounds pursue careers in finance. She also holds senior non-executive director positions, including chair of GX Bank, Malaysia’s first digital bank.

She was elected to ACCA’s Council in 2016 and previously served as president of the ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee. Additionally, she has served as deputy chair of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee.

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New Zealand may have a solution for world’s debt

Monday, October 28, 2024

New Zealand may have a solution for world’s debt

Quick fix: Pedestrians walk past a Moore Wilson & Co supermarket in Wellington. The success of New Zealand’s reforms are reflected in its fiscal performance, says Ball. — Bloomberg

WELLINGTON: In the early 1980s, New Zealand was on the brink of economic collapse.

Two oil price shocks had saddled the country with high inflation, and the United Kingdom’s decision to join the European Economic Community a decade earlier had cut off access to a key export market.

Successive governments had compounded the pain with a series of policy errors – throwing around subsidies, awarding inflationary pay deals and trying to control prices, while keeping interest rates too low and taxes too high.

The result was soaring unemployment and mounting debts.

No wonder some dubbed New Zealand the Albania of the South Pacific.

Yet over the remainder of that decade, New Zealand was transformed into one of the most prosperous countries in the world.

A new Labour government took office in 1984 and embarked on a form of shock therapy that came to be known as “Rogernomics” after Finance Minister Roger Douglas.

The government removed exchange controls, slashed subsidies, privatised services and handed responsibility for setting interest rates to a newly independent central bank.

New Zealand also introduced a different accounting approach throughout the public administration.

It is impossible to separate out the precise impact of each of these policies.

But Ian Ball, a former senior Treasury official, professor of public finance management at Victoria University in Wellington, and one of the authors of Public Net Worth (Palgrave Macmillan, February 2024), says accounting reform was among the most consequential.

Accounting is notoriously dry stuff. But switching to an accruals-based approach used in the private sector, and away from the cash-based systems traditionally used by governments, forced departments to think long-term and maximise the efficient use of assets.

This is especially relevant in the United Kingdom at the moment with the government on the cusp of major budget reform.

To see what this means in practice, take the case of public sector pensions.

Under a cash-based system, the debt is accounted for when the pension is paid, which could be years in the future.

The government has little incentive to make any provision for it.

But with accrual-based accounting, the cost of the pension commitment must be recorded as a liability when the benefit is earned.

That led the New Zealand government in 2001 to establish a Superannuation Fund to pay for future pensions.

Today, this quasi-sovereign wealth fund is regarded with jealousy by countries that wish they had something similar.

Take another example: Under an accruals-based system, the budget includes a charge each year to reflect the fact assets such as buildings and infrastructure deteriorate and eventually become obsolete.

This is what accountants call depreciation.

Because the cost runs through annual budgets, there is a strong incentive for governments to enhance the value of their assets by managing them efficiently.

Under a cash-based system, there is no such incentive, meaning long-term investment is deferred, and future generations are left to pick up the bill when buildings fall into disrepair and the infrastructure crumbles.

The success of New Zealand’s reforms are reflected in its fiscal performance, says Ball.

“What you see is a very significant change.

“We had had two decades of deficits before these reforms, but once they were in effect, from around 1994, we had basically a trend of strengthening the balance sheet and increasing net worth.

“And as you strengthen the balance sheet, you have the effect of reducing debt too.”

With the exception of the four years after the global financial crisis and the devastating Christchurch earthquake in 2011, which caused damage equivalent to 11% of gross domestic product (GDP), net worth grew every year until the pandemic.

Ball is on a mission to export New Zealand’s experience.

In collaboration with colleagues from around the world, including a historian, a banker, a former UK Treasury official and the former global chief economist at Citigroup Inc, he has written Public Net Worth to explain how this approach could be the answer to the one of the biggest challenges facing almost every government today:

How to tackle excessive public debt, particularly at a time when ageing populations, geopolitical tensions, geoeconomic fragmentation and the costs of combating climate change add to fiscal pressures.

US public debt is close to 100% of GDP and is projected to rise to 122% by 2034.

Many eurozone countries are struggling to bring debts and deficits under control to comply with single currency rules. The situation in many developing countries is even more stark.

Indeed, economists from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have warned that global public debt may be higher than previously known and getting worse, and that countries will have to make much more significant fiscal adjustments to deal with the problem.

According to the IMF’s latest estimates, global public debt will exceed US$100 trillion by the end of this year, equal to about 93% of global GDP.

Against such a backdrop, the authors argue that accrual-based accounting could improve public sector productivity, helping ease the pressure on cash-strapped governments.

For example, they reckon governments could make easy gains through better management of their public property.

Cash-based accounting values property based on what you paid for it, less depreciation, with no reference to the current market value.

But without up-to-date valuations of assets, government decision-making takes place in the dark.

Should a building be renovated or sold?

How much should the state charge for its services?

A road network, for example, is a valuable public asset.

But in a cash-based system, there is no incentive to generate money from it, whether via tolls or road-pricing or some other mechanism.

In New Zealand, says Ball, one of the early exercises was to work out an appropriate capital charge for public services.

Armed with that information, the government could then decide who was best placed to deliver them: the state or the private sector.

As the old saying goes, what you can’t measure you can’t manage. — Bloomberg

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