In view of many new laws that came to force last year, The Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (MAICSA) is organizing a conference for corporate professionals on “Corporate & Regulatory Updates 2008”. The conference will be held on 7 and 8 July at Nikko Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Deputy Minister of Finance 1, Dato’ Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadziah will officiate at the opening ceremony of the conference on 7 July and deliver a ministerial address.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad’s chairman Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah will deliver a keynote address on “A Synergy of Ethical Values in the Corporate World” on the first day of the conference. Key regulators from the Securities Commission (SC), Bursa Malaysia (Bursa) and Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) will provide first hand information on the latest developments in corporate law and practice. SC will highlight some of the whistle blowing cases and enforcement or legal cases while Bursa will focus on related party transactions and industrial relations. Meanwhile CCM will discuss on directors and officers duties and responsibilities, e-filing services and updates from their enforcement unit. There will also be updates from the Corporate Law Reform Committee on consultative documents 9 to 12 and Inland Revenue Board on single tier taxation issues, field audit and tax investigation, GST, service tax and operational issues. Further the Royal Malaysian Customs will give an update pertaining to customs and excise that were brought to force last year.

For the business concurrent session on second day of the conference, Dato’ Jevasingam Issace John, CEO, East Coast Economic Region (ECER) and Noor Azwa Mohd Noor, senior vice president, economic and business, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) are the panelists on updates on government’s new economic initiatives while Yeo Eng Ping, executive director of Ernst & Young Tax Consultants is the speaker. There will also be a session on “Doing Business in Vietnam & India” where ICICI Bank representative Suraj Arora and Malayan Banking general manager/country head, Vietnam Chan Kin Choy are the speakers. The challenges brought about by the revised Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance, and corporate responsibility will also be discussed at the conference.

The conference is a cost effective way for delegates to keep abreast with the regulatory updates and development in governance. Its objective is to enhance the advisory role of company secretaries and corporate professionals, and develop their skill sets, knowledge grounding and leadership capabilities. The conference brings together regulatory representatives and distinguished speakers who are experts in their respective fields to share their experience and stimulate deliberations and discussions on the challenging issues in leading governance including the latest regulatory developments that have been put in place to meet these challenges.

The conference is endorsed by Bursa Malaysia and Companies Commission of Malaysia, and supported by most professional bodies.

The closing date to register for the conference is 27 June. For enquiries, contact MAICSA at +603-2282 9276 ext 606/608/612 or visit their website at www.maicsa.org.my.