63 million Muslim women spend over RM335 billion during travels

63 million Muslim women spend over RM335 billion during travels

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63 million Muslim women spend over RM335 billion during travels

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — About 63 million Muslim women travellers spent over US$80 billion or RM335 billion on their journeys last year, according to the latest report released by Mastercard and CrescentRating.

The CrescentRating Muslim Women in Travel 2019 report showed Muslim women travellers making up 45 per cent of global Muslim visitor arrivals.

Twenty-eight per cent of Muslim women journeys last year were solo travels, indicative of a growing younger demographic willing to experience the world.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of them were 40 years old or younger, an indication of how much young Muslim women drive this section of the tourism industry.

Over half of them used some form of social media to scope out accommodation, logistics and dining.

Malaysia tops the list of the world’s 10 most popular Muslim women-friendly destinations, ahead of the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Indonesia, said the report.

“Despite the increasingly ubiquitous Muslim women travel market, to date little research has been done to better understand this fast-emerging segment and their (women travellers) specific challenges.

“This study provides the industry with a clear lens to understand their intrinsic and extrinsic travel motivations,” Raudha Zaini, head of marketing of CrescentRating & HalalTrip said.

Raudha said these women’s disposable income is on the rise, with most of the population setting off on trips two to three times per year.

Leisure takes precedence (90 per cent), followed by religious travel (21 per cent) and business (11 per cent).

The study also confirmed that they exert considerable influence in trip planning regardless of their travel party, but most, or 71 per cent, travel with their families, and therefore prefer family-friendly destinations.

Muslim women travelers also look to integrate religious amenities into their trips with 94 per cent of survey respondents reporting halal dining as a travel priority.

“Accessible religious facilities with female-only prayer rooms (86 per cent) and single-gender spas and beauty salons (79 per cent) also factor highly in their itineraries.

“Social justice, an important part of their faith, also influences their journeys, with 73 per cent seeking eco-friendly travel options abroad,” the report said.

Source: http://www.bernama.com/en/business/news.php?id=1782423

Experian buys controlling stake in Malaysia’s leading consumer and business information bureau

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KUALA LUMPUR: Experian, a global information services company, has bought a controlling interest in RAM Credit Information Sdn Bhd (RAMCI).

Founded in 2000, RAMCI is one of the leading consumer and business information bureaus in Malaysia.

It provides credit reports, alerts and monitoring, primarily to financial institutions, helping them with credit origination, portfolio management and collections activities.

It also has a direct-to-consumer business, empowering consumers to better understand their credit and help protect their identities.

Experian Asia Pacific chief executive officer Ben Elliott said the acquisition extended Experian’s position in the region, adding a fourth credit bureau to its operations there.

“It extends our position in Malaysia, an economy seeing rapid expansion and with a population of 32 million,” Elliott said in a statement today.

“Experian has a long history of investment and commitment to Malaysia, given our existing investments in our global delivery centre with its 800 employees, as well as our recent investment in Jirnexu which runs RinggitPlus, Malaysia’s leading financial comparison website.

“By combining Experian’s world leading technology and platforms together with RAMCI’s data expertise and local knowledge, we will better serve consumers and businesses in Malaysia,” he added.

The acquisition marks a key step for Experian in accelerating its market presence in Malaysia, with RAMCI coming on board as Experian Malaysia’s data arm.

The company said it would fast-track its overall offering in Malaysia, creating more synergies across its data and decisioning portfolio.

Source: https://www.nst.com.my/business/2019/10/532672/experian-buys-controlling-stake-malaysias-leading-consumer-and-business

KLCI ekes out slight gains, CMSB in focus

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KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips eked out slim gains early Thursday, underpinned by KL Kepong and MISC, amid a firmer broader market while cement maker CMSB jumped in an active trade.

At 9.23am, the KLCI was up just 0.15 of a point or a mere 0.01% to 1,568.94. Turnover was 335.20 million shares valued at RM178.60mil. There were 207 gainers, 128 losers and 237 counters unchanged.

Asian shares pulled ahead with corporate earnings buffeting trading as investors remained anxious about the business impact of the US-China trade war while Brexit uncertainties kept overall sentiment in check, Reuters reported.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2% with Japan’s Nikkei up 0.5% at a one-year high. Australian shares climbed 0.5% while South Korea’s KOSPI inched 0.4% higher.

At Bursa on Wednesday, local retail investors were net buyers at RM8.9mil while foreign funds joined in to be net buyers at RM1.7mil. Local institutions were net sellers at RM10.6mil.

Among the KLCI stocks which chalked up gains on Thursday were KL Kepong, up 24 sen to RM21.94 while MISC added 10 sen to RM8.40.

CMSB climbed 15 sen to RM2.51 with 24.4 million shares following more news about the infrastructure and road building projects in Sarawak and Sabah.

Semicon stocks were among the top gainers with MPI up 14 sen to RM11.54 and KESM 10 sen to RM8.25.

Petronas Dagangan fell 32 sen to RM23.16 with 100 shares done.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/10/24/klci-ekes-out-slight-gains-cmsb-in-focus