Economy
Dato’ Seri Paduka TPr Dr. Maimunah Mohd. Sharif, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur Receives PRCA Malaysia Leadership Award 2024 and Dato’ Dr. Hartini Zainudin Receives ‘Making A Difference’ Community Award at MPRA 2024
- Bzbee Consult and Sarawak Tourism Board Win Top Honours at Malaysia Public Relations Awards 2024 (MPRA2024).
- 111 PR Awards, 31 Media Awards presented and 5 students received the “Persuasive Pen Prize.”
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 3 December 2024 – The Malaysia Public Relations Awards (MPRA) 2024, held in conjunction with PRCA Malaysia’s 25th Anniversary, celebrated a milestone night, honouring the best in the industry with 111 awards across 35 categories, breaking records with an unprecedented 184 entries.
The highlight for the evening was honouring distinguished leaders; with the PRCA Malaysia Leadership Award 2024 presented to Dato’ Seri Paduka TPr Dr. Maimunah Mohd. Sharif, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur, for her visionary leadership, and the PRCA Malaysia ‘Making A Difference’ Community Award bestowed upon Dato’ Dr. Hartini Zainudin, Co-founder of Yayasan Chow Kit, for her relentless advocacy for child welfare.
bzBee Consult and Sarawak Tourism Board were also in the spotlight as they had clinched the coveted Campaign of the Year Awards in the Agency and In-house categories, respectively, solidifying their position as trailblazers in public relations excellence.
The media industry was also celebrated with 31 Media Awards recognising outstanding journalism, while the future of PR was highlighted with the Persuasive Pen Prize, awarded to five exceptional students, including Gold winner Muhammad Hafiz Azrai bin A’zmai from University Sultan Zainal Abidin.
PRCA Malaysia President Prof. Said Bani C.M. Din expressed pride in the industry’s growth, stating, “Tonight, we honour not just outstanding achievements but the individuals and organisations driving progress in public relations. This year’s theme, ‘You and AI,’ highlights how artificial intelligence is revolutionising communication, offering opportunities to innovate while reminding us of the importance of ethical practices and human creativity.”
Chief Judge Stefanie Braukmann added, “The record-breaking participation this year reflects the dynamism of the PR industry. AI and technology are transforming campaigns, but ethical and creative storytelling remain at the core of what we do. Congratulations to all winners and participants for their inspiring contributions.”
The introduction of new categories, such as media and student awards, expanded the awards’ reach, underscoring PRCA Malaysia’s commitment to nurturing talent and promoting innovation. MPRA 2024 reaffirmed its role as a benchmark for excellence, inspiring practitioners to harness communication for the betterment of Malaysia and its communities.
This year’s awards were bolstered by the support of esteemed organisations, including the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), World Communications Forum Association (WCFA), and Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), Public Relations Practitioners Society Malaysia (PRactitioners) highlighting Malaysia’s growing prominence in global public relations.
PRCA Malaysia extends its gratitude to its Supporting Partner, Sarawak Tourism Board, Newswire Partner, Media OutReach Newswire, and sponsors, including Grab Malaysia, Robopreneur, Naza Automotive Group, MK Land, Commerce Dot Com, Agro Bank, Al-Hilmi Agarwood, Taylor’s University, and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.
PRCA Malaysia also thanked the esteemed panel of judges representing diverse fields under the leadership of Chief Judge Stefanie Braukmann. The panel included influential leaders such as Dato’ Seri Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi, Datuk P. Kamalanathan, Datuk Seri Abdul Jalil Hamid, Tammy Toh, Melati Abdul Hai, Shukreen Ma, Terence Fernandez, Ashwad Ismail, Farrah Naz Karim, and Marzura Abdul Malek.
The success of MPRA 2024 cements its reputation as the premier public relations event in Malaysia, setting the stage for continued excellence and innovation in the years to come.
Hashtag: #PRCAMalaysia
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About PRCA
The Public Relations and Communications Association of Malaysia (PRCA Malaysia) was formed in 1999 as a formal association of consultants from specialist public relations and communications firms as well as in-house professionals in Malaysia. Since its establishment, the industry has witnessed tremendous changes in media usage and consumption, particularly with the rise of digital communications and social media. This has brought about the rapidly evolving role of Public Relations beyond the traditional umbrella of “PR”. In line with the ever-changing marketplace, there is a need for the industry to continually refresh and adapt itself to stay ahead. As such, PRCA Malaysia has changed its name to the Public Relations and Communications Association of Malaysia. The Association encourages its members to meet and freely discuss industry-related issues, such as the development of professional standards, ethics, qualifications, and the conduct of business. On top of that, PRCA Malaysia is committed to implementing various professional upskilling and talent development initiatives for the industry. Accordingly, our key events such as the Malaysia PR Awards and Malaysia PR Summit, are where the industry’s brightest talents aspire to shine. PRCA Malaysia is a registered organisation with the Registrar of Societies, Malaysia.
About MPRA
Malaysia Public Relations Awards (MPRA) are the industry awards organised by PRCA Malaysia, an organisation dedicated to fostering public relations excellence, to recognise successful campaigns of organisations and PR-Consultancies, as well as individuals that define the cutting edge of work in the public relations arena.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
