Morning Brief BFM Media

EPF yesterday unveiled details of Account 3, also known as Flexible Account. The restructuring will be applicable for members under the age of 55 and provide flexibility for savings in this third account to be withdrawn at any time. Ng Zhu Hann, CEO & Founder, Tradeview Capital tells us how this restructuring could impact EPF’s portfolio, and who should consider transferring part of the savings from account 2 to this new flexible account.

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Malaysia is looking to restart negotiations with the European Union on a free trade agreement, 12 years after talks stalled. Is the environment more ripe for an agreement to be reached this time around? We discuss the opportunities and challenges posed by FTAs with former deputy minister of international trade Ong Kian Ming.

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India is currently in the second of seven phases for its parliamentary elections, with the outcome slated for early June. Sanjay Mathur, Chief Economist for Southeast Asia and India, ANZ Bank tells us what set of challenges await for the incoming government, and the economic outlook for the world’s most populous country.

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The US Federal Trade Commission is imposing a ban on non-compete clauses in employment contracts, a seismic shift in the US labour environment. Why has the regulator deemed this clause problematic and do the same issues apply in a Malaysian context? We discuss the law with labour lawyer Sunitha Ruthram.

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China’s property slump sees no signs of turnaround yet as sales from top real estate companies in March fell by 46%, as did the prices of homes. We speak to Patrick Wong of Bloomberg Intelligence Hong Kong for his outlook on China real estate, as well as what the property data tells us about who's winning the financial hub war between Hong Kong and Singapore.

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The National Credit Counseling & Management Agency (AKPK) reported that 53,000 youths aged 30 and below have debt worth nearly 1.9 billion ringgit in total. The bulk of this is a result of credit card debts and personal loans. Rajen Devadason, a licensed financial planner, highlights the growing concern about how the young are not as financially savvy as they need to be while new products provide them with more ways to incur more debt.

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