KUALA LUMPUR: In a bid to raise market confidence, Budget 2020 is not expected to introduce new tax measures targeting the corporate sector and investment community, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Instead, he said the government will have to seek fiscal space to prioritise sustainable economic growth.
“Such expansionary measures may be necessary to provide some fiscal contingency, amid an uncertain global economic environment following the unresolved trade dispute,” he said at the opening of Menara Prudential today.
Prudential has opened its new corporate head office Menara Prudential at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) with all five of its businesses now located within the same premises.
The RM500 million Menara Prudential houses its life insurance business Prudential Assurance Malaysia Bhd (PAMB), joint-venture takaful business Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd, asset management operations Eastspring Investments Bhd and Eastspring Al-Wara’ Investments Bhd, shared services hub Prudential Services Asia and a walk-in customer retail branch.
Lim said the presence of Prudential, a leading international financial institution, in the TRX district will strengthen the positioning of Kuala Lumpur as a prime destination for international business and finance, including insurance.
Developed by IJM Corp Bhd, the 27-storey Menara Prudential is the first building to be completed and occupied in TRX. IJM is also undertaking two construction projects in TRX, which are HSBC Malaysia and Affin Bank’s new headquarters, slated for completion in end-2020.
Prudential Corporation Asia CEO Nic Nicandrou said Malaysia is the longest operating market for Prudential in Asia and it has been in the country for 95 years.
“Malaysia remains one of our most important markets in this region. Prudential is the number one brand life insurer in Malaysia, both for the conventional life business and takaful. Our two businesses serve 2.6 million Malaysians and a 20% share of the market,” he said.
By providing life and health insurance cover totalling RM280 billion, Nicandrou added that Prudential has the largest agency force in the country with 20,000 agents and 2,700 employees.
For the half year ended June 30, 2019, PAMB achieved RM712 million in new business sales, including both life insurance sales and takaful contributions.
Eastspring Investment and Eastpring Al-Wara’ Investments manage RM45 billion of assets, of which 95% is invested locally.
