We would like to wish all our members a Happy International Youth Day!

Solidarity across generations is key for sustainable development.

"Intergenerational solidarity: Creating a world for all ages”

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2.98 billion German scheme to promote green district heating based on renewable energy and waste heat. The measure will contribute to the implementation of Germany‘s National Energy and Climate Plan and to the EU's strategic objectives relating to the EU Green Deal, in particular the EU's 2050 climate neutrality target.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “This €2.98 billion scheme will contribute to greening the district heating sector in Germany, by supporting the construction of more efficient district heating systems and the decarbonisation of existing ones. With this measure, Germany will be able to increase the share of renewable energy and waste heat in the heating sector, thereby considerably decreasing its emissions. The German aid measure we have approved today will contribute to achieving the EU Green Deal objectives and help Germany meet its environmental targets, while limiting possible distortions of competition.”

Applications to hire foreign workers have been stopped temporarily from Aug 15 to 31, the Human Resources Ministry (KSM) said on Friday (Aug 5).

It is to enable a review of foreign worker procedures, following the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 that will be enforced from Sept 1, the ministry said in a statement.

"The new procedure for foreign worker applications beginning Sept 1, 2022 will be announced soon,” the ministry said.

Applications submitted by employers before or on Aug 14 would be processed and completed before or on Aug 31, 2022.

The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 passed by the Parliament in March, involves the extension of maternity leave from 60 days to 98 days, restrictions to firing pregnant workers, as well as the introduction of paternity leave for married male workers.

EUROCHAM Malaysia attended a meeting yesterday that was organised by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) regarding the latest policy updates on the recruitment and entry of foreign workers. The meeting was attended by various business chambers and industry associations, including EUROCHAM Malaysia as the community actively engaged in a productive discussion.

The topic of discussion that was touched on during the meeting was as follows:

1. The recent development of the One Stop Centre (OSC);
2. The application process for the Foreign Workers Centralized Management System (FWCMS); and
3. The 80:20 ratio of local employees to foreign workers.

On behalf of our corporate partner, Futurise, we would like to invite our fellow members to participate in the upcoming RegTalk ‘Drone Sports: Can Malaysia Dominate this Emerging Sport?’ happening tomorrow!

Drone sports first started in 2011 but gained traction in 2015 after the founding of two organizations that are well known today among the drone sports community: MultiGP and Drone Racing League (referred to as DRL).

There is no formal consolidated data on drone sports specifically as it is still relatively new and there are multiple communities and associations around the world which makes it difficult to have a proper overview. According to Statista, the global drone market revenue was estimated to be worth 26.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 which is a 46% growth from 2019 being 18 billion U.S. dollars. It is forecasted to have a CAGR of 9.4% from 2021 to 2026 with the possibility of reaching highs of 43 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.