Under Budget 2022, the government is introducing yet another one-off e-credit scheme to encourage the use of cashless transactions among Malaysian youths, this time dubbed the e-Start programme.
The government has announced another e-wallet centric programme for youth called eStart under the newly tabled Bajet 2022. Complete with an allocation of RM300 million, the new initiative will be involving teens aged between 18 and 20, as well as full-time tertiary students.
This new programme will see youths between the age of 18 to 20 years old, as well as full-time students enrolled in tertiary education institutions receiving RM150 worth of e-wallet credit. With an allocation of RM300 million, it is expected to benefit more than 2 million youths.
“The government hopes that the recipients can benefit from it, preferably through useful purchases such as books and learning equipment,” said Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz during the tabling of Budget 2022 today.
The e-Start programme follows in the footsteps of two previous initiatives with a similar objective, namely the eTunai Rakyat e-wallet initiative and the eBelia programme. The eTunai Rakyat initiative was more inclusive in that it offered a one-off RM30 digital incentive to eligible Malaysians who are aged 18 years old and above. Meanwhile, the eBelia programme also provided a one-off RM150 e-wallet credit to eligible youths between the age of 18 to 20 years old.
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Today at Connect 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced Meta, which brings together our apps and technologies under one new company brand. Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.
Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that his company (which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) will be known as Meta from now on is not just rebranding but a strategic move. Zuckerberg wants to push for the metaverse, an immersive virtual reality space where users can find games, shopping and everything that can satisfy their needs. It’s the final frontier and Zuckerbeg wants to be a pioneer, an explorer of yore settling in a whole new world.
An online definition of a virtual universe Wikipedia defines the metaverse in the following terms: «A speculative future iteration of the Internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe Lifelike adventures The concept of a metaverse tends to be associated with the idea of total immersion via 3D devices. The truth is that you only need a full universe to jump in, with games such as World of Warcraft counting as metaverses. These are spaces of virtual reality where people can become their avatars and experience lifelike adventures, emotions, shopping, group events…
The name change was announced at the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference. The new name reflects the company’s growing ambitions beyond social media. Facebook, now known as Meta, has adopted the new moniker, based on the sci-fi term metaverse, to describe its vision for working and playing in a virtual world.
“Today we are seen as a social media company, but in our DNA we are a company that builds technology to connect people, and the metaverse is the next frontier just like social networking was when we got started,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. In July, the company announced the formation of a team that would work on the metaverse. Two months later, the company said it would elevate Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, who is currently the head of the company’s hardware division, to the role of chief technology officer in 2022. And in its third-quarter earnings results on Monday, the company announced that it will break out Reality Labs, its hardware division, into its own reporting segment, starting in the fourth quarter. “Our hope is that within the next decade, the metaverse will reach a billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce, and support jobs for millions of creators and developers,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter on Thursday. Over the past few years, the company has ramped up its efforts in hardware, introducing a line of Portal video-calling devices, launching the Ray-Ban Stories glasses and rolling out various versions of the Oculus virtual-reality headsets. The company has indicated that augmented and virtual reality will be a key part of its strategy in the coming years.
The metaverse "will not be created by one company," but will be a cooperative effort between creators and developers that he hopes to help "accelerate" through the development of technologies, social platforms, and other tools. Zuckerberg also touched on the need for privacy, safety, open standards and interoperability, although how exactly this renamed Facebook will approach that is left unsaid. Less encouragingly, he also explicitly called out the need to support cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
"From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first," Zuckerberg continued. "That means that over time you won’t need a Facebook account to use our other services. As our new brand starts showing up in our products, I hope people around the world come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for." Facebook clarified on Twitter that the names of the actual apps it operates, including Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and even Facebook, will not change. In that sense, this seems similar to Google, which became Alphabet Inc. in 2015, but continued to operate under its older, much more familiar name as a subsidiary.
Zuckerberg said a lot of this is a long way off, with elements of the metaverse potentially becoming mainstream in five to 10 years. The company expects “to invest many billions of dollars for years to come before the metaverse reaches scale,” Zuckerberg added.
“We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet,” Zuckerberg said. Additionally, Meta announced a new virtual reality headset named Project Cambria. The device will be a high-end product available at a higher price point than the $299 Quest 2 headset, the company said in a blog post. Project Cambria will be released next year, Zuckerberg said. Meta also announced the code name of its first fully AR-capable smart glasses: Project Nazare. The glasses are “still a few years out,” the company said in a blog post. Zuckerberg said “we still have a ways to go with Nazare, but we’re making good progress.” The re-branding comes amid a barrage of news reports over the past month after Frances Haugen, a former employee turned whistleblower, released a trove of internal company documents to news outlets, lawmakers and regulators.
Coinbase has disclosed that a phishing hack caused by a MFA security flaw has resulted in 6000 of its users getting their accounts drained.
The Cryptoverse has been nothing but good for most investors with strong HODL hands since 2020, thanks to a remarkable uptick in mass adoption. However, with rising crypto prices comes rising security risks. The consistent loss of funds by crypto users through hacks, scams and exploits on exchanges and wallets seems to grow more pronounced the higher Bitcoin and company climb up the charts. From the smallest exchange to the largest platforms and DeFi protocols, user accounts are susceptible to hacks.
The associated Pandora’s Box of dangers that come with keeping your assets on centralized exchanges, even the most reputable of them, was once again underlined in August 2020, when well-regulated and leading U.S. exchange Coinbase made a startling announcement in the beginning of October that 6000 of its users were impacted by a security breach starting in May this year.
The U.S. exchange was left with further egg on its face after its users slammed Coinbase’s terrible customer service in the aftermath of the hack, and with the growing adoption and ease of use of decentralized finance, or DeFi, (which has its own security risks), many users have begun to ponder whether it’s not safer to move their funds off exchanges and on to safer options like hardware wallets, where they can enjoy total control over their crypto assets.
(If you are a Coinbase user that’s been affected by this issue, you should follow these measures.) How Did the Coinbase Phishing Hack Happen?
Coinbase has nearly 70 million users in more than 100 countries and as one of the oldest and wealthiest exchanges is considered to be as secure as an exchange can be. Despite this, according to an Attorney General filing in California State, hackers got away with the funds in 6000 accounts after using a clever phishing campaign to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA) measures, according to the data breach notification. The criminals exploited a mistake the platform’s account recovery process to take control of the two-factor authentication (2FA) messages between March and May this year.
Coinbase users began to report hacks on their accounts, which resulted in a loss of almost all their funds in their accounts. The incidents which came as a shock to many was not immediately rectified as they affected a cross-section of users for about three months this spring. Coinbase is the largest exchange in the US and boasts of top-notch security, leading to many wondering how this may have happened over two months. Coinbase released a statement that about 6000 accounts were compromised by hackers through phishing. The attackers collected the user data through external sources and not directly via the exchange, but Coinbase has stated that they were also complicit on their part.
According to Coinbase, the attackers gained access to the exchange by collecting user data such as phone numbers, emails, usernames, and other information through email sources.
While this information alone isn’t enough to gain access to user accounts but only a first step, Coinbase has admitted that its 2FA system was also compromised. The flaw in the 2FA of Coinbase gave the attackers unlimited access to the account, which led to the transfer of the user’s crypto assets. “We have not found any evidence that these third parties obtained this information from Coinbase itself.” Coinbase has built a powerful brand around security and user experience over the years, and it was no surprise that users believed the statement that the initial breach was not from Coinbase but through phishing attacks and a flawed two-factor authentication system, the SMS Account Recovery Process. According to the Coinbase team, in its response to the incident, not only was user funds transferred to other wallets, but some user personal information was also changed, such as their account email, phone numbers, and password.
The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) is on track to reach a limit on the number of futures contracts it’s allowed after quickly becoming a little too popular.
After just a couple of days of trading, the ProShares ETF has reached 1,900 contracts sold for October and there is a 2,000 front-month limit imposed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. There are already 1,400 contracts for November and there is an overall maximum limit of 5,000 open contracts according to Bloomberg. One solution could be to offer longer contracts, but that would carry the danger of too much distancing from Bitcoin (BTC) prices.
President of the advisory firm the ETF Store Nate Geraci commented that the fund could start to diverge from market prices, adding:
“The ETF is forced to obtain Bitcoin price exposure at higher and higher prices as it goes further out on the futures curve.” The launch of competing products such as the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which will commence trading today, and the VanEck ETF, which is expected to trade on Monday, Oct. 25, may dilute the demand for the ProShares fund.
As reported by Cointelegraph, the ProShares ETF became the first-ever fund to hit $1 billion in assets under management in just two days. It beat an 18-year-old record previously held by a gold-based fund that did it in three.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, said that the momentum will still be hard to stop at this point. “The unprecedented early volume in BITO makes it like a snowball rolling downhill, as liquidity and assets begets more liquidity and assets.”
Balchunas also thinks that the success of Bitcoin futures products may speed up the approval of a spot-based Bitcoin ETF.
“Both the success, general functioning of ETFs and the clear issue of potential capacity of futures may get the SEC to reconsider or work out a path for spot.” As reported by Cointelegraph on Wednesday, Grayscale has already anticipated this and is preparing to convert its popular Bitcoin Trust into a physically-backed product based on spot markets. Sources: cointelegraph
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SEOUL: Many small business owners in South Korea recognise themselves in the cash-strapped characters of the wildly popular Netflix drama Squid Game, who vie desperately for a chance to win US$38 million, exposing a debt trap that is all too familiar.
Nearing retirement at 58, Yu Hee-sook paid off her debts long ago, but still gets calls from collection agencies threatening to seize her bank accounts, as the loans got securitised and sold to investors without her knowledge.
"In Korea, it's like the end of the world once you become a credit delinquent," said Yu, who got by on small jobs, such as writing for movie magazines, during the 13 years it took to pay off the debts she incurred over a movie that flopped in 2002.
"All I wanted was chances to repay debt, but banks don't let you make money," added Yu, who feels trapped in an unforgiving life-long ordeal, just like the 456 game show contestants of the Squid Game. While foreigners may associate South Korea with the boyband BTS and sleek Samsung smartphones, the drama points to a dark flipside of rising personal borrowing, the highest suicide rate among advanced nations, and the rarity of getting free of debt.
Record household borrowing is fuelling private investment and housing growth, but unforgiving social mores about debt often blur the line between personal and business loans, burdening those who run small businesses.
Personal bankruptcies soared to a five-year high of 50,379 last year, court filings show. The proportion of those falling behind on more than one type of personal debt payment has risen steadily to reach 55.47 per cent by June from 48 per cent in 2017, figures from the Korea Credit Information Services show.
"If Donald Trump was a Korean, he probably couldn't have become the president, having been bankrupted many times," said a lawyer in Seoul, who specialises in personal bankruptcy.
"In the United States, corporate debt is more separated from personal debt." An inadequate social safety net for small entrepreneurs and the lack of a rehabilitation programme for failures spell risks that could drive some South Koreans desperate, and banks often ignore a five-year limit to destroy insolvency records. "Due to traditional practices in the banking industry, business owners in South Korea face high likelihood of taking the debt burden from the business they run," said bankruptcy judge Ahn Byung-wook.
Banks often demand that business owners stand as joint surety for the firm's borrowing, a practice the government banned for public financial institutions in 2018, although three owners told Reuters some providers persist.
Applicants for business loans who have poor credit ratings or a history of default need guarantees from state-run financial institutions in South Korea. "Culturally, failed entrepreneurs are socially stigmatised, so starting over is hard, as people don't trust them," added Ahn, who has spent four years at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. "On top of that, those who file personal bankruptcy face a long list of restrictions on employment." The numbers of South Korea's self-employed rank among the world’s highest, forming a quarter of the job market, making it vulnerable to downturns. A central bank study in 2017 showed that just 38 per cent of such businesses survive three years.
Still, as economic prospects dwindle, with South Koreans chasing fewer good jobs amid surging home prices, many are betting that speculation is the only route to wealth, and have taken on more debt than ever to buy stocks and other assets.
Household borrowing is roughly equivalent to GDP at a record 1,806 trillion won (US$1.54 trillion) in the June quarter. "The government encourages startups but they don't take care of the failed businesses," said Ryu Kwang-han, a 40-year old entrepreneur who exited the debtor rehabilitation programme in 2019 but still struggles to get loans. "How is this different from Squid Game if there's no second chances?" The global sensation has been watched by 142 million households since its Sep 17 debut, the world's largest streaming service has said, helping Netflix to add 4.38 million subscribers. Source: Reuters/ga
BEIJING (Reuters) - Tencent's WeChat has made its content searchable on some foreign search engines such as Google, and Microsoft's Bing, according to Reuters checks.
WeChat's content, including articles and videos on its popular public accounts page, a function similar to a news portal, has opened to external search engines, other than its own Sogou search engine, in recent days. (Reporting by Yingzhi Yang and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
After almost two gruelling years of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, have Malaysians changed the ways they manage their money? More importantly, are we on the road to financial recovery as the economy gradually reopens? Well, the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey (RMFLS 2021) dug deep and found that Malaysians are actually finding it harder to save money each month.
52% of respondents save less than RM500 monthly or do not manage to save at all, an increase from last year’s 49%. Meanwhile, 21% live paycheck to paycheck as they do not save any money each month (a slight increase from 19%). Even so, 76% of respondents believe that they are in control of their money – of which, 33% still spend exactly or more of what they earn.
Having said that, Malaysians have been taking emergency funds more seriously since the pandemic. In fact, 63% of respondents picked “emergency fund” as their top reason for saving money, followed by retirement (49%), travel (40%), and new property/home (38%). They are also more aware that EPF savings will not suffice for retirement (15%, as opposed to 30% who believe their savings are sufficient for retirement in 2020), but about half of this group (45%) admitted that they have not started planning for their retirement.
“In last year’s RMFLS, we saw that a large majority of Malaysians finally realised the true value of an emergency fund. But the prolonged pandemic continues to take a huge toll on the economy and finances for everyday Malaysians. It’s disheartening to see this play out in the way Malaysians are less able to save, but fortunately, savings isn’t the only avenue for money management. We at RinggitPlus will continue doing our part in educating and empowering Malaysians to make better financial decisions through a holistic approach, which also includes better debt management and other ways to grow their money,” Hann Liew, Co-founder and Director of RinggitPlus, said.
Savings aside, Malaysians are also open to growing their money through automated investments such as cryptocurrencies and robo-advisors. Almost half (49%) of Malaysians said that they are willing or open to investing in cryptocurrencies.
The survey received 3,033 responses nationwide, from which stratified sampling of 1,518 was conducted to achieve a more representative sample of the Malaysian population. RMFLS 2021: Key Findings
While Malaysians are showing interest in learning about better financial habits, it is also apparent that many may not know where to start. To address this gap, RinggitPlus is launching two new services – the RinggitPlus Financial Planning Services and the RinggitPlus Financial Health Check – to empower Malaysians to be more financially literate.
The RinggitPlus Financial Planning Services comes in two forms, RinggitPlus Academy and RinggitPlus Financial Planner, which offer access to certified financial planners and practical money management advice at an affordable rate. The webinars and one-on-one consultations are done completely online, making it convenient and accessible for everyday Malaysians nationwide. This launch comes in conjunction with Financial Literacy Month through the partnership with Financial Education Network (FEN). For the month of October, Malaysians can sign up for the RinggitPlus Financial Planning Services and enjoy a RM100 discount using the promo code “FLM100”. “It’s a common misconception that only the rich can afford to work with a financial planner and reap the financial rewards, but the truth is that anyone can benefit from the guidance and support of a financial planner – whether you’re a fresh grad, newly wed, new parent, or nearing retirement. It’s all about equipping yourself with the right tools and thinking in order to manage your money wisely. Our goal with these new products and services is to make financial advice more accessible to everyone, be it through our certified financial planners on RinggitPlus Financial Planning Services or through our comprehensive algorithmic framework in the RinggitPlus Financial Health Check, which we have co-developed with mangro, a solution offered by kipleX,” Hann added.
The RinggitPlus Financial Health Check is Malaysia’s very first financial assessment and recommendation tool that’s easy to use for everyday Malaysians. It creates customised assessments of the user’s financial health and offers advice for 7 key financial areas – Tax Planning, Debt Management, Cash Flow, Investment, Goals, Estate Planning, and Risk Management. All it takes is just 10 minutes to get an overview of their financial health and recommendations on how they can make better money decisions.
“Many Malaysians do not have enough time or money to engage personal accountants and financial advisors, but they desperately need guidance with their finances. In today’s increasingly digital society, Malaysians expect better digital tools to help them understand, manage and plan their own finances, and we are excited to partner with RinggitPlus in building the self-serve financial tools of tomorrow.” said Stan Zabolotsky, Head of Ventures at kipleX, the venture builder behind mangro. Sources: RinggitPlus Now more than ever, businesses — especially small-medium enterprises (SMEs) — are embracing digitalisation to stay afloat during the challenging times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This was fuelled by an increasing demand for online shopping as people tend to minimise movements and stay indoors to keep the health risks at bay. Some digital solution providers were quick enough to pave the way and help SMEs, home-based businesses and even big corporations to jump on the trend and adapt to the new normal. One such solution was on-demand delivery service provider Lalamove. Since day one, the company has persisted to one main goal: to empower local businesses and encourage business transformation through logistics digitalisation. In doing so, the logistics provider now has over 250,000 regular and SME customers with over 1.5 million deliveries completed monthly across Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Baru. Its fleet of multiple vehicle options offers fast on-demand delivery with an average of eight seconds instant matching time. Designed to empower businesses Lalamove definitely ticks all the boxes when it comes to digitalisation and logistics. The business model was designed to assist all types of businesses and industries with better control over their business operation and logistics needs, especially now, as most businesses rely on digitalisation. Simply put, the company has taken the term digitalisation beyond mere buzzwords. The company’s pay-per-delivery system aims to help businesses save on fixed overheads like long term vendor contracts, vehicle rental or purchases, having full-time drivers and other maintenance commitments. It has also streamlined its payment method to make the process even more flexible for its business partners. SMEs can opt to set payment options to either auto-deduct from their credit wallet in the application or have it covered by the customer upon delivery. The digital solution gives the freedom to SMEs from the platform’s commission charges. What makes the platform even more strategic for businesses is its multi-stop and interstate delivery options for SMEs to expand their reach beyond Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru to the rest of peninsular states. It also supports API (application programming interface) to integrate SMEs’ websites or e-commerce platforms with Lalamove to make delivery arrangements a breeze. Additionally, Lalamove offers business accounts for SMEs to enjoy the aforementioned benefits, as well as offering the account holders a dedicated account manager to receive consultations and customer service support. The on-demand logistic company has rolled out an SME trial pack to help businesses enjoy even more perks. Picture courtesy of Lalamove. What Lalamove has in store for SMEs
When it comes to business, dollars and cents matter the most. Besides Lalamove’s affordable pricing strategy that’s value for money, the company also boasts the widest fleet in town comprising motorbikes, sedan cars, vans, four-wheelers,lorries as well as cold-chain trucks to support SMEs from all industries. True to its promise of being fast, Lalamove keeps speed its top priority. With the growing number of delivery riders and drivers nationwide, the company has kept matching time within mere eight seconds to significantly reduce customers’ waiting time. The company remains committed to help SMEs reach their full potential with its digitalised on-demand logistic services in an era where fast and efficient goods delivery has become beneficial in the new normal. SMEs are encouraged to sign up with Lalamove Business Account to have faster deliveries for their businesses while enjoying the discounted rate from its SME trial pack.
NEGRI Sembilan is not only famous for its agriculture, Port Dickson beach and Minangkabau culture, but also for its more affordable residential properties.
The state is about a 45-minute drive away from the Klang Valley or a mere 50km away.
Due to its short distance from Kuala Lumpur (KL) and bordering Selangor, Negri Sembilan has a steady number of people from both states residing in its capital, Seremban.
With a lower living cost compared to KL and Selangor, many opt to live in the state to enjoy a more balanced lifestyle and commute daily to the Klang Valley for work and schooling. Thus, there is a demand for properties in Negri Sembilan from home-buyers seeking landed and bigger units. Bandar Seri Sendayan is a self-contained mega township spanning 2,118ha and situated about 4km from Seremban town. Residents will not have to go outside of Bandar Seri Sendayan to fulfil their daily needs, as it also incorporates industrial and commercial components. The freehold township mainly has landed properties in the terrace home category — namely the one-storey terrace, two-storey terrace and single-storey semi-detached homes with a build-up ranging from 969 sq ft to 1,332 sq ft, and a launching price of between RM140,000 and RM1.6 million.
HAVE you ever wished that your home had the ambience of a resort, so it would feel like you were on vacation all the time?
Just like urban homes and town houses that come with their own advantages, a resort-style home has a charm of its own. Resort homes are perfect for people who prefer a more relaxed style of living, especially after a hectic day of work.
Typically, resorts offer beautiful scenery, luxurious amenities, upscale homes, privacy, spacious units and an abundance of recreational activities such as golfing, swimming, indoor sports and games.
As most resort homes are also built in places that are close to nature, it allows residents to make the most out of the beautiful surroundings and green landscaping. With resort-style developments, people get to enjoy the true experience of living in a close-knit community, which includes neighbours and helpful staff that come together to establish an accommodating and hospitable environment. All this and more can be found at Crisantha Resort Homes in Bandar Sri Sendayan. |
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