Bloomberg TV to launch Malaysia's first business news channel

Bloomberg TV has announced its partnership with former Malaysian minister and founder of ntv7, Dato’ Sri Mohd Effendi Norwawi’s Encorp Group. The partnership will see the first business news channel in Malaysia in 2014.Parry Ravindranathan (pictured, far right), head of Bloomberg TV for APAC said that Malaysia’s business sector and capital markets have gone from strength-to-strength in recent years and have been fundamental in Malaysia’s economic transformation.“It is one of the largest centres in the world for Islamic finance and increasingly important hub in ASEAN for key strategic industries. This has driven global and local demand for comprehensive business news for Malaysia, providing an exciting opportunity for Bloomberg TV Malaysia to play a role in meeting that need.”Encorp Group will be building Bloomberg TV’s studio in the Encorp Strand as well as develop anchors and reporters to fit Bloomberg TV's unique reporting style. Media industry veteran Michael Chan (pictured, left), CEO of Bloomberg TV Malaysia, will head the new channel and a new Bloomberg TV Malaysia website will be launched for streaming of content online and on mobile devices.“Bloomberg TV Malaysia will fill a gap in the marketplace for high-quality, market-moving business news, where updates on the country’s economic and business performance will be potentially seen by 340 million homes worldwide,” said Chan.Dato’ Sri Effendi (pictured, second from the left) shared that it is an honour for Bloomberg TV to be partnering with them, “given the prestige of the brand and all it stands for.”The Malaysia partnership is in line with Bloomberg Television’s expansion plans in Asia, following the launch of Bloomberg TV Indonesia and Mongolia. According to economists’ forecast compiled by Bloomberg, Malaysia’s economy is projected to grow by 5% next year, up an estimated 4.5% from 2013.