Greece has paid off its entire debt from the financial crisis to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), two years ahead of schedule.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said the repayment "closes the chapter" that was opened in May 2010.

"[This is] “a very positive development,” Staikouras stated, adding that the country could save around €230 million in interest.

Greece’s European Union bailout lenders gave the formal go-ahead last week for the early repayment of the outstanding loans worth €1.86 billion.

Another great milestone for EUROCHAM Malaysia to start the second quarter of the year!

EUROCHAM Malaysia welcomes the Polish Investment and Trade Agency as part of our ever-growing network – with a ceremony to commemorate this strategic collaboration. Today the ceremony was held at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency office, to officiate the agency’s membership with EUROCHAM and the Memorandum of Understand (MoU) that was signed last year.

This collaboration will see and explore opportunities and potential strategic promotional programmes that will assist in providing developmental support regarding advocacy-related matters to the relevant government agencies and ministries. As well as to support the Polish business community who are operating and/or exploring the Malaysian markets.

The European Union has accepted Malaysia's Covid-19 vaccine certificates effective today.

In a report, European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen said the EU had accepted Malaysia's vaccine certificates in equivalence with the EU's Digital Covid-19 Certificate.

"Covid-19 vaccination and test certificates issued by Malaysia in accordance with the 'Vaccine Management System' shall, for the purpose of facilitating the right of free movement within the Union, be considered as equivalent to those issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/953.

"Malaysia shall be connected to the EU Digital Covid Certificate trust framework established by Regulation (EU) 2021/953.

"This decision shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union," she said in the report published today (April 4).

We are pleased to share that EUROCHAM Malaysia is in collaboration as a co-organiser with EuroCham Singapore for the third edition of the EV webinar - The Future of Connected Vehicles in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

In this webinar, we will feature the key market trends driving factors of the growth in this new market. We will answer a very important question “Is ASEAN ready to invest in the connected cars market and the required infrastructure to decrease the number of road accidents and to meet the higher demand for vehicle management?”

Representing EUROCHAM Malaysia during this webinar session will be Mr Mohd Junaizee Bin Mohd Noor, Project Director for PMO Electric Vehicle at Tenaga Nasional Berhad. With 30 years of working experience with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in various capacities and units including maintenance, training, asset management and strategy formulation, he was tasked with leading the Program Management Office (PMO) for Electric Vehicle in August 2021 as TNB is leading the industry in proliferating EV in Malaysia.

On behalf of our colleagues at the Malaysian Danish Business Council (MDaBC), we would like to share that MDaBC will be organising a virtual business briefing in collaboration with IEN Consultants Sdn. Bhd., Danfoss Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and fellow European chambers on Green Building & Energy Efficiency.

In recent years, the Malaysian government has started an energy labelling scheme for public buildings and launched the cash voucher subsidy scheme (SAVE3.0) for the most energy-efficient household appliances. In a world that needs to fully decarbonise to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement target, the two key factors will be fuel switching (renewable energy) as well as a strong push for energy efficiency.

On behalf of our fellow member, the Alice Smith School, we would like to share that the Alice Smith School has launched the Parent Ambassador programme.

Deciding which school is the best fit for your child can be difficult – As innovators across the schools' sector, the Alice Smith School in partnership with The Ambassador Platform (TAP) has recently launched their Parent Ambassador programme.

Through the programme and platform, the school has made it easy for everyone to ask Alice Smith's parents what it is like to have a child in the school!