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
Pressure on the Naira eased on Wednesday, July 15, as it appreciated against the United States Dollar by 90 Kobo or 0.07 per cent on Tuesday, July 15, in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to close at N1,382.18/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,383.08/$1.
Also, the local currency gained a further N4.07 against the Euro in the official market to sell at N1,576.69/€1 versus Tuesday’s rate of N1,583.76/€1, but depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N1.71 to quote at N1,856.69/£1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,854.98/£1.
At the GTBank forex counter, the Naira lost N1 against the greenback at midweek to close at N1,389/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,388/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,405/$1.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover moderated as trading activities among financial institutions and market makers declined sharply.
Daily FX data released showed that NFEM interbank FX turnover closed the day at $121.727 million, about 50 per cent below the previous record of $243.095 million set on Tuesday.
Official trading records released by the central bank revealed that interbank FX deals among market makers went down from the previous day to 115 from 140.
Inflation news also eased pressure, even if the print dropped marginally to 15.91 per cent in June, a 0.2 per cent reduction from the 15.93 per cent recorded in the preceding month. The month-on-month headline inflation rate in June 2026 was 1.66 per cent, which was 0.09 per cent lower than the rate recorded in May 2026, which came in at 1.75 per cent.
In the crypto market, prices were mixed as some traders banked on softer-than-expected US inflation reports for June, while others say the inflation data is obsolete, given the renewed strength in oil prices, which sparked after fresh fighting in the Middle East.
US inflation had earlier cooled more than expected, sharply reducing market odds of a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike.
Ethereum (ETH) rose by 1.9 per cent to $1,921.62, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.4 per cent to $1.11, and Binance Coin (BNB) also increased by 0.4 per cent to $582.42.
However, Solana (SOL) dropped 1.3 per cent to finish at $77.29, TRON (TRX) slumped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3240, Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 0.6 per cent to $0.0741, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.3 per cent to $64,762.28, and Cardano (ADA) lost 0.2 per cent to end at $0.1640, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.21 per cent loss was suffered by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Wednesday, as investor chew on the contraction in Nigeria’s June 2026 inflation rate to 15.91 per cent, according to data released during the session by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
It was observed that the consumer goods sector lost 1.24 per cent, the industrial goods space shed 0.23 per cent, and the energy index crashed by 0.10 per cent, with these losses offsetting the gains recorded by the financial services sector, as the banking segment rose by 4.53 per cent, and the insurance counter chalked up 1.23 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) retreated by 503.69 points to 242,366.75 points from 242,870.44 points, but the market capitalisation added N390 billion to close at N156.239 trillion compared with the previous session’s N155.849 trillion.
During the trading day, Trans-Nationwide Express shed 9.85 per cent to end at N3.02, International Breweries moderated by 6.12 per cent to N13.05, Haldane McCall slipped by 5.95 per cent to N3.32, DAAR Communications declined by 5.68 per cent to N1.66, and NGX Group lost 4.38 per cent to finish at N28.12.
On the flip side, First Holdco improved by 9.98 per cent to N79.35, Thomas Wyatt expanded by 9.29 per cent to N2.94, Legend Internet gained 8.99 per cent to settle at N4.85, Tripple Gee grew by 8.96 per cent to N3.89, and Coronation Insurance increased by 6.61 per cent to N2.42.
Yesterday, market participants transacted 476.3 million stocks worth N29.6 billion in 40,992 deals compared with the 634.8 million stocks valued at N53.3 billion traded in 42,494 deals, showing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 24.97 per cent, 44.47 per cent, and 3.54 per cent, respectively.
First Holdco was the busiest equity with 78.7 million units sold for N6.2 billion, Sterling Holdings transacted 56.7 million units worth N439.2 million, Zenith Bank traded 30.0 million units valued at N3.3 billion, Fidelity Bank exchanged 27.3 million units for N563.9 million, and Stanbic IBTC traded 22.8 million units valued at N3.8 billion.
**Tinubu Says Economy on Steady Growth
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu has been praised for the ongoing financial and fiscal reforms in the country and encouraged to pursue a stronger partnership that supports investments, youth training, and employment.
The chief executive of Deloitte Africa, Ms Ruwayda Redfearn, who led a delegation to visit Mr Tinubu in Abuja on Wednesday, said the global organisation is primarily focused on digital and business transformation, with over 500,000 employees worldwide working across various roles and locations, including over 6,000 in Africa, adding that her accountancy firm’s revenue was $74 billion in 2025.
“We are here before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,” she said.
Also, the chief executive of Deloitte West Africa, Mr Yomi Olugbenro, assured President Tinubu of the firm’s support for the reforms.
“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our African CEOs talk about – making an impact that matters. Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street. The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down.
“We do believe that with the capabilities that the firm has all over the world, with the half a million people that our CEO spoke about, we have use cases, examples, and experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.
“So, that is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation that you may grant us as to where exactly you want us to support you,” he stated.
In his remarks, Mr Tinubu informed his guests that his administration’s reforms have steadily stabilised the economy over three years, with growing plaudits for positive development and growth indicators.
“We are following the example of Deloitte’s greatness to change things from the foundation, building the necessary future for our people.
“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about.
“Thank you for your partnership in paying attention to what we are doing here, as we have heard from the Minister of Finance about the fiscal, revenue and tax reforms that have taken place and are moving the nation forward.
“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult to take the bitter medicine, but it is working well. For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,” he stated.
The President said the reforms had stimulated the economy, strengthened the fiscal and revenue sectors, repositioned financial institutions, and prepared the country to be more globally relevant and competitive, urging Deloitte Africa to improve its impact on the Nigerian economy by training and recruiting the dynamic youth population.
“The family of Deloitte; you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago. Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,” he added.
