With their mobile-first design and architecture, digital wallets — known for secure fund storage, easy purchasing and expense tracking — are user-friendly and offer multiple services within a single app on mobile phones. But they have yet to make their mark across all of Asia.

China sta...

Fintech: Digital wallets driving user-centric finance

Healthcare organisations are seeing a gradual increase in ransomware attacks. This year, 67% of organisations were attacked compared with the reported 60% in 2023, says cybersecurity company Sophos in its fifth annual The State of Ransomware in Healthcare 2024 study on the impact and journey organisations face in a ransomware attack, from the root cause and financial impact to recovery time.

The state of ransomware in healthcare 2024

As Malaysia positions itself to become a leader in the automotive sector, the conversation around sustainability has never been more critical — and it is something that hits close to home for me. In my previous discussions, I brought up the importance of lifecycle thinking, whether it is cradle-t...

Sustainability: From waste to wealth: The game-changing impact of battery passports

K S Lee, founder of Soft-Skills Sdn Bhd, sees himself as an “old dude in tech”. He pursued a computer science degree in the 1970s, an effort that was viewed as foolhardy by his parents.

This did not deter Lee, who was inspired by former national hockey player Poon Fook Loke. When he fou...

Interview: Going where angels fear to tread

Know your customer (KYC) is a crucial step in establishing trust and preventing fraud when businesses interact with their customers. The advancements in technologies such as deepfakes have, however, made traditional KYC methods insufficient.

Traditional KYC processes involve document ve...

Fintech: Preventing fraud with AI

Ominent Sdn Bhd, through its flagship brand IGL Coatings, offers a seemingly straightforward product: cleaning, maintenance and protection solutions for automotive, marine and industrial coatings. But to founder Keong Chun Chieh, it is more than just the provider of a line of functional surface t...

Cover Story: Manipulating matter and diving into the details

To transition to a high-income nation, Malaysia must make great strides in modernising its agro-food system, particularly given its position as one of the largest producers of industrial crops in Southeast Asia.

The country faces increasing pressure to meet rising food demand while adap...

Issues: Digital agricultural technologies needed to transform agro-food sector

NEWS

Etiqa rolls out flood alerts and management tools

In response to Malaysia’s monsoon season and the increasing threat of floods, Etiqa has unveiled new flood alerts and a flood management tool aimed at helping Malaysians better ...

Bits + Bytes: A Miscellany of Technology

As Malaysia pushes towards carbon neutrality by 2050, adopting digital technologies could accelerate the progress. A 2022 report by the World Economic Forum estimates that digital solutions can cut carbon emissions in high-emitting industries by up to 20%.

To make this a reality, govern...

Taking Action: Government must lead digital carbon offset push

Misuse of personal data and collection without consent are top artificial intelligence (AI) fears, according to the Telenor Asia Digital Lives Decoded (Malaysia) 2024 report. Almost six in 10 Malaysians worry about AI-integrated devices misusing personal data.

There are also concerns over the unethical use of AI by companies and governments as well as the spread of misinformation due to AI, states the report.

Majority of Malaysians hold government and service providers responsible for digital safety

AirAsia became the first airline in Malaysia to adopt Combo Units, an advanced airport ground equipment that is more fuel efficient, at its main hub at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 2 on Tuesday.

AirAsia aims to reduce carbon emissions by 20,000 tonnes per year with new technology

Malaysia will advocate for the adoption of nature-based solutions to enhance climate resilience, and commit to expand its network of protected areas at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which is being held from Monday (Oct 21) until Nov 1 at Cali, Colombia, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad tells ESG.

COP16: Malaysia to advocate for nature-based solutions and expand protected areas

Discussions on how waste should be managed used to stop at recycling, but this has been superseded by the concept of the circular economy.

This concept ensures that materials are not wasted and remain useful through reuse, repair and designs that prevent waste from being created in the ...

Circular Economy: A better way to manage waste in Asean

In tropical countries like Malaysia, the surface seawater is much warmer than deep seawater. This temperature difference can become a source of renewable energy, called blue energy.

Most people might think of blue energy as that generated from the movement of waves and tidal flows, but ...

Energy: Tapping into the power of the ocean

The idea to launch a Home Solar Subscription programme came after Raj Ridvan Singh, founder and CEO of Sols Energy, paid a visit to the US as a Ford Fellow many years ago.

“I got to study at Columbia University in New York and Yale University for about six weeks [in] this fellowship, an...

Energy: Home solar subscription, a game changer for accessibility?

A company that adopts sustainability practices has opportunities to increase profits and unlock future growth. This is a result of the wider world’s progress towards a lower-emission and more socially equitable economy, and the opportunities will differ by sector, geography, technology adoption and company strength.

How to identify sustainability opportunities

Initially drawn to forensic and crime science because of her passion for criminology, Yap Jo Leen shifted gears after her first job as a scientific officer at the Dark Cave conservation site. This experience ignited her dedication to championing the cause of one of Malaysia’s endangered species, ...

Profile: Restoring nature, one monkey at a time

For years, the view on my commute was a blur of passing billboards. Those giant, dusty advertisements feel like relics of a bygone era. But lately, things have become a bit more interesting. Digital billboards have started popping up, replacing the static ones with bright, colourful displays. I o...

Cooler Conversations: How sustainable are billboards?

More Malaysians are opting for vapes as seemingly less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. Vapes generate vapour instead of smoke, and the waste is less of an eyesore. In comparison, cigarette butts are littered, which could leach toxic contaminants into the environment.

But the environ...

Circular Economy: Dealing with vape waste

Chua SengTeong, managing director of ChargEV, reflects that career-wise, he has always been at the forefront of uncharted territory, in the sectors of telecommunications, financial technology (fintech) and now, mobility. “To me, that’s fun … where there [are] endless possibilities.”

Cha...

Mobility: ChargEV’s road map for becoming a regional leader

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In today’s edition of Evening 5: 00:00 Tech stocks surge on US election results 02:12 BNM continues to hold OPR at 3%04:06 F&N warns of cash flow impact from delayed milk production05:28 MOF: EPF books RM24 mil provision for Battersea project 06:45 Bestinet founder denies involvement in worker trafficking

EVENING 5: Tech stocks surge on US election results

BIMB believes strategic diversification will help to temper short-term headwinds for OM Holdings.

MORNING CALL: 6/11/24

In today’s edition of Evening 5: 0:06 Maybank IB tells clients to go defensive ahead of US election results1:33 Government to include nuclear energy policies in 13th Malaysia Plan 2:53 Malaysia to attract family offices with assets of RM500m to RM1.2b4:12 MoT accused of ‘copyright infringement’ over ‘MADANI’ number plates5:29 IOI Corp allocates land in Johor for solar power plant in venture into RE

EVENING 5: Maybank IB tells clients to go defensive

Asian equities were set to climb Thursday after US stocks hit fresh highs as investors positioned for a second Donald Trump presidency. Treasuries tumbled and the dollar soared.

Australian stocks and futures contracts for Japanese stocks advanced, echoing the gains on Wall Street.

Asian stocks to rise, Yen steadies after selloff

Donald Trump’s victory in the race for the White House is set to inspire companies that have stuck to the sidelines to go public in the US as soon as next year, capitalizing on the stock market’s positive reaction and the president-elect’s promises to cut red tape.

IPO market holdouts look to 2025 as Trump retakes White House

The Nasdaq 100 Index climbed to its first record since July in the wake of the US presidential election, which added to the year’s powerful bull market in megacap tech stocks.

The index rose 2.7% on Wednesday, its biggest one-day gain since Aug. 8, and closed at an all-time high.

Nasdaq 100 hits record as big tech extends climb after election

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday

3REN, CTOS, Pharmaniaga, Hup Seng, Lotte Chemical, Datasonic, Haily, Mah Sing, AMMB, DXN, JAKS Resources, Star Media

Wall Street's main indexes soared to record highs on Wednesday, as Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election in a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House.

Wall Street hits record high as Trump returns as US president

EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

The government has decided to implement a two-tier pricing mechanism for the targeted RON95 petrol subsidy, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli told Parliament on Wednesday.

Targeted RON95 subsidy to be implemented via two-tier pricing to curb inflation — Rafizi

Technology and semiconductor-related stocks on Bursa Malaysia surged on Wednesday ahead of Republican candidate Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

Malaysian tech stocks surge ahead of Trump's victory

Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) is expected to be included in the FBM KLCI, according to RHB Research and CIMB Securities ahead of the semi-annual review of the index's component stocks on Dec 5, while Genting Malaysia Bhd (KL:GENM) and Genting Bhd (KL:GENTING) risk exclusion.

RHB, CIMB expect Gamuda's KLCI inclusion ahead of semi-annual review

Major stock markets around the world rallied on Wednesday, while bitcoin hit a record high and the dollar was set for its biggest one-day jump since early 2023 as Republican Donald Trump was elected US president.

US stock futures, dollar and bitcoin surge as Trump wins race to White House

U Mobile Sdn Bhd was chosen as Malaysia's second 5G network provider based on factors like business and technical plans, complaint records, customer satisfaction and its track record in infrastructure projects, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

MCMC cites U Mobile’s track record in naming it to lead second 5G network

3REN Bhd (KL:3REN) made an impressive debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, with a closing price of 39.5 sen, a 41.07% rise or 11.5 sen higher than its initial public offering price (IPO) of 28 sen.

3REN gains 41% on ACE Market debut

Chinese investors and companies are showing greater interest in Malaysia, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“This is a very positive development,” he told the Malaysian media after holding a round-table session with over 20 industry leaders here on Wednesday.

Anwar sees rising interest in Malaysia among Chinese investors, companies

Former treasury secretary general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah was successful in his bid on Wednesday to bring in two former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) board members and its former chief financial officer, Azmi Tahir, as third parties in a US$6.59 billion suit filed by 1MDB against Irwan and Arul Kanda Kandasamy, a former president of the company.

COA allows Irwan’s appeal in 1MDB's US$6.59b suit, brings in two ex-board members, former CFO as third parties

Below is a summary of how key Bursa Malaysia indices and the ringgit performed on Wednesday

FBM KLCI up 0.83% to 1,634.17 on Nov 6, 2024

Malaysia remained the fifth most connected country in Asean in the first half of 2024 (1H2024), after Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, according to the Malaysian Aviation Commission’s (Mavcom) latest Air Connectivity Index (ACI).

Malaysia the fifth most connected country in Asean in 1H

The fast acceleration of the electric vehicle (EV) market over the last few years has hit a speed  bump as demand for the vehicles  has noticeably declined recently.

Global EV demand plateaus

Security-based ICT provider Datasonic Group Bhd (KL:DSONIC) has proposed to undertake bonus issues of up to 1.55 billion warrants on the basis of one warrant for every two shares held by shareholders.

Datasonic proposes one-for-two bonus warrants

Direct selling company DXN Holdings Bhd (KL:DXN), which sells health and wellness products, said on Wednesday it plans to charter a Gulfstream G550 corporate jet that will cost up to US$6.60 million (RM29.06 million) a year to expand its global business.

DXN leases corporate jet for business expansion

JAKS Resources Bhd (KL:JAKS) on Wednesday said it has agreed to pay RM5 million cash to Star Media Group Bhd (KL:STAR) to settle their legal dispute over the development of a parcel of land in Section 13, Petaling Jaya.

JAKS to pay RM5 mil cash to Star Media under land deal dispute settlement

Emerging market currencies and stocks suffered broad losses on Wednesday after a US election win by Republican Donald Trump sent the dollar sharply higher and raised the spectre of fresh trade barriers.

Emerging market stocks, currencies take a hit as Trump wins US election

Following Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM) decision on Wednesday to maintain the overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3%, which marks 18 months of rate pause, economists expect the central bank to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged throughout 2025 as well.

BNM seen keeping OPR at 3% throughout 2025 as it stays pat in latest review

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Donald Trump on his remarkable political comeback and victory in the United States (US) presidential election.

Anwar congratulates Trump on US presidential election win

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has joined Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in congratulating Donald Trump on his victory in the United States (US) presidential election.

US to remain Malaysia’s top trading partner, largest investor — Zafrul

Biscuit maker Hup Seng Industries Bhd (KL:HUPSENG) said its net profit rose 32.65% year-on-year in the third quarter, boosted by higher sales from increased production capacity following the commercial run of a new oven.

Hup Seng posts record earnings in 3Q on higher sales, declares special dividend

The government will begin disbursing the final payment of the Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) for this year to 8.7 million registered recipients in stages on Thursday.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a statement on Wednesday said the government will also distribute an additional one-off cash assistance under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (SARA) to eight million STR recipients who are not from the poor and hardcore poor groups through the STR payment method starting Dec 9.

Final STR payment for this year to begin on Thursday — MOF

The Negeri Sembilan state government has approved two sites, totalling about 400 hectares (1,000 acres) for the mining of non-radioactive rare earth elements (NR-REE) soon.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun announced that the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the mining project have been finalised after several revisions.

Negeri Sembilan approves two sites for non-radioactive rare earth mining — Aminuddin

MAS versus SIA — the truth is painful, but you cannot have a successful solution without an honest assessment

IN a surprising move last week, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak expressed regret that the multi-billion dollar scandal 1Malaysia Development Bhd had occured under his watch.  His “unequivocal apology to all Malaysians for his oversight” comes ahead of  an impending decision...

1MDB-Tanore Trial: Najib to know on Wednesday whether he needs to enter defence or is acquitted 

Why Nations Fail draws widely from across the globe and vividly from history to answer some big questions on why some societies prosper while others persist in poverty

 

 

 

Economics not long ago was at risk of becoming obscure and ...

Contemporary economics

Sabah’s residential property market saw improvement in 2Q2024, thanks to the higher volume and value of transactions compared with 12 months earlier.

“The state registered 1,297 residential transactions worth RM556.61 million in 2Q2024, with a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 8.26% [in vo...

 The Edge Malaysia/Rahim & Co Kota Kinabalu Housing Property Monitor 2Q2024: Continued growth despite slowed momentum

Why Nations Fail draws widely from across the globe and vividly from history to answer some big questions on why some societies prosper while others persist in poverty

 

 

Economics not long ago was at risk of b...

RISING demand for water, as a result of population and economic growth as well as the recent influx of data centres, has prompted Pengurusan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Air Selangor) to call on the government to encourage more private funding to boost investments in the water sector.

While wa...

Air Selangor calls for more private investments to boost water infrastructure

THE government is considering opening up battery energy storage system (BESS) installation to third parties as it explores options to accelerate the infrastructure roll-out ahead of an expected influx of solar farms in the country, according to the Energy Commission (EC).

If third-party...

Government mulls independent installers to speed up roll-out of battery storage 

Recently, there was a forum held in Penang that brought together foreign and local chip manufacturers and learning institutions to discuss how to meet the goal of training and upskilling 60,000 engineers as part of the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS). According to Malaysia Semiconductor Ind...

Condivergence: Facing up to the demand for engineering skills in Malaysia

Planning laws are a critical factor in a developing economy. They determine the extent of property rights; the extent of discretion that can be exercised by planning authorities in dealing with planning applications by developers; and the right of adjoining owners and members of the public to obj...

My Say: Weighing the effects of judicial review on planning applications

A surge in American steel stocks just hours after former President Donald Trump secured a second term signals investors are betting his victory is bullish for the industry.

Shares of the four largest US steelmakers each jumped more than 10% on Wednesday amid speculation that Trump’s win will usher in a fresh round of protectionism and recast global trade rules.

Steel stocks are back in vogue as Trump victory buoys outlook

Stocks hit all-time highs, US yields jumped and the dollar saw its best day since 2022, with investors mapping out Donald Trump’s return to presidency and the potential for Republicans to win both houses of Congress.

The S&P 500 climbed 2.5% on bets the newly elected president will enact pro-growth policies that will boost Corporate America.

S&P 500 sees best post-election day in its history

Amazon.com Inc shares hit an intraday record on Wednesday, in the latest example of how big tech remains a favoured part of the market for investors.

Shares of the e-commerce and cloud-computing company rose 1% to US$201.45 (RM876.85), taking out a peak that has stood since July.

Amazon hits record after strong results accelerate year’s rally

Donald Trump's election as US president is fueling financial market bets that the Federal Reserve will deliver fewer interest-rate cuts next year, on anticipation that a slew of new policies once he takes office will stall inflation's downward progress.

US Fed seen on shallower rate-cut path after Trump's election

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will remain at the bank and has no plans to join the Trump administration despite questions about whether he would take a senior government role after the US presidential election, a source said.

JPMorgan CEO Dimon to remain at bank and has no plans to join Trump administration — Reuters

The country that buys more US goods than any other and is its largest external oil supplier is bracing for economic disruption now that voters have returned Donald Trump to the White House.

Trump sweep creates new fight for Trudeau as trade talks loom

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, pulling off a stunning political comeback in one of the most polarised contests for the White House in US history.

Trump wins US presidential election in extraordinary comeback

Lyft Inc announced three new partnerships with autonomous driving technology vendors, including Intel Corp spinoff Mobileye Global Inc, as it plays catch-up in offering driverless rides on its platform.

Lyft teams with Mobileye in series of autonomous driving deals

Republicans won control of the US Senate amid a slew of victories by allies of Donald Trump, giving the GOP powerful leverage in high-stakes tax and spending battles next year.

GOP candidates defeated Banking chairman Sherrod Brown in Ohio, unseated Montana’s Jon Tester and picked up the open Senate seat in West Virginia.

Republicans win control of US Senate ahead of key tax fight

Business leaders around the world awoke on Wednesday to a new reality with Republican Donald Trump set to return to the White House, promising greater US protectionism, higher tariffs and tighter immigration policies.

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