There hasn’t been a high-profile IPO for a while already especially in the distressed economy. That is until Maxis announced their coming initial public offering (IPO) of 2.25 billion shares (30% of their total equity) at a price of RM5.20 per share.

Now, investors all over are waiting with bated breath for the magical date of 19 November 2009 when Malaysia’s top telecommunications company lists on the Bursa Malaysia. Will it be largely oversubscribed? It certainly looks to be heading in that direction. At approximately RM10.8 billion to be raised, it is the biggest listing in South East Asia in decades and the markets are certainly hungry for fresh and promising listings. Read on to see if you should invest in Maxis shares.

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Yes its official. Paypal now allows those in Malaysia to withdraw their USD funds into their Malaysian Bank Accounts! Happy day!

There are some guidelines here for linking your Paypal account to your Malaysia bank account. Basically, most banks in Malaysia are accepted and Paypal has even provided the bank’s MEPS code so you don’t have to go hunting for it

If you are wondering, yes there is a fee of RM3 if you withdraw amounts below RM400 but for RM400 and above withdrawal is free.

Also, do ensure that your name is correct and matches your bank account name and account number because there will be charges if the bank refuses to accept your payment – Paypal’s charges will be RM15 and who knows how much the banks will charge!

The upshot of this too is that you might now be able to fund your online or ebay purchases with your bank account instead of having to use a credit or debit card. Since there is now a RM50 service tax on credit cards, some people might be thinking of cutting up most of their cards.

I’ve done a test withdrawal with a small amount – I prefer to incur a small charge to see if it works well, rather than have RM400 floating in cyberspace somewhere! Will update on how it goes.

One of the most glaring things out of Malaysia’s Budget 2010 was the RM50 charge on each credit card you hold which will be imposed by the Government in an attempt to police the citizen’s spendings habits and ensuring they do not hold more cards than you can afford.

Has it been a budget of goodies? Honestly, even if it was, none of the goodies will be remembered by the man on the street whose pocket is terribly hard hit by the charge imposed on credit card. In this day and age where the entire world is moving towards a cashless society and where Malaysians are feeling more unsafe everyday, the credit card has become a necessity rather than luxury.

So is it fair to impose charges on credit cards? Well, is it fair to impose charges on basic necessities such as food, water and security?

Instead, the Prime Minister said they should look at the overall benefits offered by the Govern-ment in the Budget.

“They are getting the RM1,000 tax relief and those paying tax at 27% will now pay 26%.

“So, they get two (relief measures) and only have to pay RM50 (per credit card). Don’t tell me they cannot pay RM50?” he said after a meeting at the 15th Asean Summit here yesterday. (source)

Our esteemed PM obviously has forgotten that majority of the rakyat will not fall within the tax bracket of 27% to enjoy the tax reduction of a grand 1%. It can be argued that most will enjoy the additional RM1,000 tax relief but does this justify a RM50 charge on our credit cards? Its like giving a baby candy only to take back part of it simply because the baby isn’t mature enough to eat the candy in small bites!

RM50 a year may not seem like a lot to some but it is to me and hence I’ll be cutting up most of my credit cards that have come with a “Free For Life” tagline. Perhaps our clever economic thinktanks might want to think of how this will impact the banking industry and flow of money when everyone starts cutting up their cards.

Its food for thought indeed. Will you be cutting yours? Or to quote an awfully terribly mangled advertisement on P1 Wimax: You Got Cut Or Not?!

Hot off the press, here are the highlights of Malaysia’s 1Malaysia Budget for 2010. Any goodies for the man on the street? Read on for highlights of Budget 2010 below.

1. An allocation of RM191.5 billion, consisting of RM138.3 billion or 72.2 per cent (operating expenditure) and RM53.2 billion or 27.8 per cent (development expenditure).

2. Special payment of RM500 in December 2009 to civil servants from Grade 41 to Grade 54 or its equivalent as well as those on mandatory retirement.

3. Enhancement of tax incentives for healthcare service providers who offer services to foreign health tourists. Income tax exemption of 50 per cent on the value of increased exports will be increased to 100 per cent.

4. Individual taxpayers will be given tax relief on broadband subscription fee up to RM500 a year from 2010 to 2012.

5. Civil servants are eligible to apply for computer loans once in every three years as compared to once in every five years now.

6. Subsidies, incentives and assistance amounting to almost RM2 billion to safeguard the interest of farmers and fishermen.

7. An allocation of RM9 billion to finance infrastructure projects, including construction of roads and bridges, water supply, sewerage services, rail facilities, ports and sea services as well as airport projects.

8. An additional allocation of RM20 million for small-scale Malaysian-Indian entrepreneurs under the Tabung Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun), on top of the existing RM15-million allocation.

9. Establishing a RM200-million Creative Industry Fund to finance activities, such as film and drama productions, music, animation, advertisements and local content development. Establishing “Tabung Kebajikan Penggiat Seni” to ensure the welfare of artistes.

10. An allocation of RM20 million for 20 schools to be identified as High Performance Schools (SBT) in 2010.

11. Awarding national scholarships to 30 “creme de la creme” students strictly based on merit. These scholarship recipients will further their education in world-renowned universities.

12. Converting the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans to scholarships for students who graduate with first class honours degrees or equivalent beginning 2010.

13. Providing a 50 per cent discount on fares for long-distance services of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to students aged 13 and above beginning Jan 1, 2010.

14. Offering a netbook package, including free broadband service, to 100,000 local university students for a start for RM50 per month for two years, effective Jan 1, 2010.

15. An allocation of RM100 million for the PERMATA Programme to implement various programmes which emphasise early childcare and education in an integrated and organised manner.

16. Micro insurance and Takaful coverage for small-scale businessmen which will benefit from coverage ranging from RM10,000 to RM20,000 with premium as low as RM20 per month.

17. Establishment of 14 Special Corruption Sessions Courts and four Special Corruption Appeal High Courts.

18. Imposing RM50 service tax on each principal credit card and charge card, including those issued free of charge, and a service tax of RM25 a year on each supplementary card effective Jan 1, 2010.

19. All ministries and government departments are required to provide day care and education centres for children. For this, an allocation of RNM200,000 will be made available for every ministry and government department to establish day care centres.

20. Reduction of the maximum individual income tax rate from 27 percent to 26 percent, effective from the year of assessment 2010.

21. Personal relief for individual tax payers to increase from RM8,000 to RM9,000 effective from the year of assessment 2010. This means that each individual tax payer will enjoy an increase of RM1,000 in disposable income.

22. About 50,000 hardcore poor households registered with eKasih and 4,000 Orang Asli households will be given assistance to achieve the target of zero hardcore poverty in 2010. An allocation of RM41 million will be provided to improve the income and quality of life of the Orang Asli community.

23. An allocation of RM48 million to implement urban poverty eradication programmes, including welfare assistance and house rental payments. The Ministry of Federal Territories shall now be known as the Ministry of Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing.

24. The National Housing Department to provide 74,000 low-cost houses to be rented in 2010.

25. EPF to launch a scheme that enables contributors to utilise current and future savings in Account 2 to enable them to obtain higher financing to buy higher value or additional houses.

26. An allocation of RM224 million to the disabled for the implementation of the Rehabilitation In The Community Programme and an allocation of RM174 million for senior citizens, including assistance as well as the construction and upgrading of two Rumah Seri Kenangan.

27. Increasing the allowance rate from RM50 to RM150 a month for every disabled child enrolled in NGO-organised special schools effective Jan 1, 2010.

28. Establishment of 1Malaysia Retirement Scheme for the self-employed, such as taxi drivers, hawkers, farmers and fishermen, to be administered by the EPF.

29. Effective immediately, employees’ EPF contribution will revert to 11 per cent on a voluntary basis.

30. Construction of 510 km of rural roads and 316 km of village roads with an allocation of RM857 million, including roads to be constructed in Kapit, Lawas and Simunjan in Sarawak as well as Kinabatangan, Kota Belud and Keningau in Sabah.