☕️ Trump drops tariff bombs around the world

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

130,000 contributors – Malaysians with at least RM1 million in their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts demonstrate the potential for retirement wealth through consistent long-term savings. According to TV Sarawak, these millionaire savers represent success stories among the 16.22 mil total EPF contributors nationwide. In Sarawak specifically, 1,700 contributors out of the state's 850,000 EPF members have accumulated over RM1 million in their accounts.

36,770 complaints – Malaysian consumers have utilised the Aduan Suri QR code system to report issues since January 2024, according to Domestic Trade and Costs of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh. The digital reporting tool, launched in 2023, enables consumers to lodge complaints directly through WhatsApp by scanning a QR code. In 2025 alone, 1,879 complaints have been registered nationwide, with 142 originating from Penang. The ministry's 2020 consumer awareness study revealed that consumer empowerment in Malaysia stands at a moderate 63.1%, suggesting this digital initiative could help bridge existing gaps in consumer advocacy and reporting capabilities.

545% profit margin – Chinese AI startup DeepSeek revealed this extraordinary figure for its V3 and R1 models based on a 24-hour inferencing cost-to-sales ratio on February's final day. The disclosure, shared on X (formerly Twitter), offers a rare glimpse into the typically secretive economics of AI model operations. The 20-month-old company has disrupted Silicon Valley with its innovative yet cost-effective approach to AI model development. DeepSeek's willingness to share these financial metrics partially lifts the veil on AI business models, suggesting potentially massive profitability in the sector that far exceeds the traditional tech industry's margins.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

24% new Trump tariff on Malaysia. How do we fare?
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced a ‘reciprocal’ tariff to most of its trading partners, including Malaysia, calling it a framework to level the playing field. While 24% is the figure for Malaysia and varies for every country, however, how the US calculated the tariff was quite baffling. US calculated the quantum not based on the actual tariff the respective countries imposed on US products, but instead based on a comical formula (more under the Global section).

Okay, let’s ignore the mechanics behind the new 24% tariff to Malaysia. What’s next for Malaysia?

• Malaysia will be the nice guy as expected - The Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) announced that the country will discard the ‘retaliatory tariffs’ option and instead resort to diplomatic channels in actively engaging with US authorities to seek solutions that uphold the spirit of free and fair trade. The National Geoeconomic Command Centre (NGCC), recently approved by the Cabinet, will assess the impact of the US announcement and explore a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy to mitigate the effects of these tariffs on the economy and industries. According to Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), in 2024, out of the RM1.508 tril worth of goods exported to the global market, 13.2% of them went to the US, making the US the second largest export market for Malaysia, after Singapore.

• The stock market took a significant hit - In response to Trump’s announcement, Bursa Malaysia dropped by 0.5% yesterday. Some last-minute buying did help trim the losses but obviously, the market has spoken in regard to the new tariff. Sime Darby contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 4.17%. However, our currency did not budge much compared to the greenback, slightly weakened by 0.08% against the US Dollar.

• Glovemakers say yay - Major Malaysian glovemakers such as Hartalega Holdings Bhd and Supermax Corporation Bhd enjoyed a double-digit surge on Bursa Malaysia. This is because, despite the new tariff, the average selling price would still be lower by up to USD6 per 1,000 pieces than Chinese-made gloves and Malaysian manufacturers could retain a sizeable US market share of 45-55% or higher.

• Semiconductor manufacturers say nay - Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association president Wong Siew Hai said that despite semiconductor products being exempted from the new tariff, he added that we should not rest on our laurels as semiconductors may be targetted in the next round of tariffs. For now, the industry will ‘wait and see’ given the uncertainty and unpredictability of the Trump administration, Wong added. For your information, electric & electronic products constitute about 39.9% of the products exported in 2024. Assuming that the same quantum is applied for the export to the US, Malaysia is relatively unscathed with this new tariff. However, as Wong mentioned, Trump is volatile and our future trade strategy should take that factor into consideration.

In all of the chaos created by Trump via his new tariff announcement, one funny thing is do you know that Madagascar is also being slapped with a whopping 47% tariff by the US? According to the World Bank, in 2023, Madagascar was the 130th largest economy in the world, in terms of GDP, and the economy is so small, it is smaller than the size of war-torn Palestine’s economy.

Shorts

1. MH370 latest search suspended

   Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the latest search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been suspended for the time being and will be resumed at the end of this year. The search was put on pause due to bad weather conditions. Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity, based in the UK and the US, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year. This time around, the company is focusing on a newly identified high-priority zone 1,200 miles off Perth, Australia.

2. New digital reporting system for sexual harassment victims

   Putrajaya will soon be launching a digital system to allow victims of sexual harassment to submit their complaints online without having to be present at the Tribunal for Anti-Sexual Harassment (TAGS). TAGS is an alternative channel established by the Government last year, apart from the civil courts so that sexual harassment complaints could be handled speedily in a simple manner. Between March 2024 and mid-February 2025, a total of 33 sexual harassment complaints have been registered at TAGS.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump drops tariff bombs around the world
Liberation Day is here, marking the most dramatic escalation in US tariffs in almost a century. The latest Trump tariffs slapped a new 10% baseline tariff on imports from every country, even those that impose lower tariffs on US products. The EU will be facing a 20% duty while China, which already faces a 20% tariff, will be imposed with an additional 34% levy, bringing the total to 54%. About 60 countries (including Malaysia) will face individualised tariffs, calculated (with comical logic) to be roughly half of the tariffs and other barriers that the Trump administration claims they charge the US. Some countries will only face a 10% tariff, including the UK, Australia, Singapore, and UAE, to name a few. Several nations, China and the EU being the loudest, have said they would retaliate, raising the risk of a global trade war marked by tit-for-tat tariffs.

Market dumping: As Asia digested the news yesterday, Japan's Nikkei share index slumped to an eight-month low, with US and European stock futures also diving as investors scrambled to the safety of bonds and gold. Outside economists warned that tariffs could slow the global economy, raise the risk of recession, and increase living costs for the average American family by thousands of dollars.

Penguins not spared: Even Pingu (the Penguin cartoon) is not spared - Heard Island and McDonald Islands, among the remotest places on earth forming the external territory of Australia, are also slapped with a 10% tariff on goods. Australian PM Anthony Albanese said that “Nowhere on earth is safe.” Very much indeed.

Popularity Bomb: Whilst Trump drops his T-bombs on the global economy, his popularity is bombing along with it. A recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos found that President Trump’s approval rating had apparently fallen to 43%, the lowest since his return to office. The three-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed approval of Trump's performance as president down two percentage points from a poll conducted March 21-23 and four points below the 47% approval he had shortly after taking office on Jan 20. It is believed to be a result of Americans souring on his tariff moves and his administration's handling of information about a military strike in Yemen.

China’s handbag brands make waves in premium market
Move aside LV. China’s domestic handbag brands like Songmont (visit site) and Duanmu (visit site) are easing their way well into the premium market and are successfully positioning themselves as formidable competitors to established international luxury labels. Market data as of Feb 2025 shows that domestic brands are now among the top 15 handbag labels on Tmall for products priced over CNY1,000 (RM610), directly challenging well-known players like YSL and Gucci.

Among them, Songmont and Qiuzhen closely follow Coach in sales rankings, while brands like Grotto and Songmont have surpassed the CNY2,000 (RM1,220) threshold, showcasing a foray into the premium segment. These brands are going the extra mile in branding and design, enlisting renowned designers and enhancing their craftsmanship. Consumers are marketed through narrative-driven marketing strategies, as well as celebrity endorsements and able to balance between style and functionality. Interestingly many consumers view these handbags as a sophisticated alternative to international luxury brands, free from the so-called "logo tax". For some buyers, opting for a domestic handbag serves as a meaningful statement of identity.

TikTok faces fine over EUR500mil for sending EU data to China
A lengthy investigation by Ireland’s data protection commission has recently found that TikTok has violated the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation by sending European users’ data to China to be accessed by engineers, which could mean that ByteDance Ltd. is set to be hit by a privacy fine of more than EUR500mil. The penalty is likely to be the third highest ever dished out by the Irish watchdog following earlier fines of EUR746 mil against Amazon.com Inc. and EUR1.2 bil against Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc.

Nevertheless, TikTok has actually been in the crosshairs of the Irish Data Protection Commission before. In September 2023, it was fined EUR345 mil for alleged lapses in the way it cares for children’s personal data. The Irish watchdog oversees many of the world’s biggest tech firms, including the activities of much of Silicon Valley due to its role as the industry’s gateway to the 27-nation EU.

Shorts

1. Israel is ‘seizing territory’ and will ‘divide up’ Gaza

   Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu had said that they are currently seizing territory and intends to divide the Gaza Strip by building a new security corridor dubbed another “Philadelphi route”, referring to an Israeli-held corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border. This move is likely to complicate ceasefire talks and inflame fears that Israel intends to take permanent control of the strip when the war ends. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have seized buffer zones around Gaza’s edges totalling 62 sq km, or 17% of the strip, since Oct 2023, and still expanding.

2. Val Kilmer dies at 65

   Much-adored Batman Forever actor Val Kilmer died peacefully on Tuesday night at the age of 65, due to pneumonia. He battled throat cancer and recovered in 2014 after two tracheostomies. The versatile and talented actor played many iconic characters throughout his career, and at 17 was the youngest actor ever accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Long and worthwhile read on the tariff situation from respected investor Ray Dalio.

2. The total number of deaths each year caused by air pollution at home and outside. Deaths related to household pollution happen because people use solid fuels like crop waste, dung, firewood, charcoal, and coal for cooking and heating.