<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Cocoa butter maker Guan Chong Bhd plans to buy Koko Budi Sdn Bhd for RM17 million in order to expand organically by raising its overall grinding capacity.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Guan Chong intends to buy 100% equity interest in Koko Budi, which is involved in the same business as Guan Chong’s subsidiaries, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia this evening.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>It entered into a share sale agreement with the vendors for 3.8 million shares today which would later make Koko Budi its wholly-owned subsidiary.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“After taking into consideration the synergistic benefit of the acquisition, the board believes that the prospects and future financial performance of Koko Budi are expected to be favourable.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“(This) would result in positive contribution to the future earnings of Guan Chong and enhance shareholders' value in the long term,” the group said, adding that the purchase would be funded via internally-generated funds.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Guan Chong expects to complete the acquisition within the fourth quarter of 2017.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Its share price closed unchanged at RM1.14 for a market capitalisation of RM544.8 million.</p></div>


KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Cocoa butter maker Guan Chong Bhd plans to buy Koko Budi Sdn Bhd for RM17 million in order to expand organically by raising its overall grinding capacity.

Guan Chong intends to buy 100% equity interest in Koko Budi, which is involved in the same business as Guan ...

Guan Chong to acquire company to raise grinding capacity

LONDON (Jan 23): HSBC's decision to shutter international payments app Zing is likely to trigger around 400 job losses, a source familiar with the matter said, as CEO Georges Elhedery steps up cost-cutting efforts at Europe's largest bank.

The staff at risk of redundancy will ...

HSBC's payments app closure puts around 400 jobs at risk, source says

LONDON (Jan 24): British supermarket group Sainsbury's said on Thursday it was proposing to reduce its headcount by over 3,000 roles as it seeks savings to counter a "particularly challenging cost environment".

The group, which with a UK grocery market share of 16% trails only Tesco, sa...

UK's Sainsbury's to cut over 3,000 jobs to counter 'challenging cost environment'

MUNICH (Jan 24): Adidas CEO Bjoern Gulden plans to cut up to 500 jobs at the German sport retailer's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, a source who took part in a meeting where the figure was announced told Reuters on Thursday.

The world's second-largest sportswear maker employs ...

Adidas to axe up to 500 jobs at headquarters, source says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Panama and four other countries in Central America and the Caribbean starting late next week during his first overseas trip as Washington's top diplomat, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Thursday.

The trip, which Bruce said will also include stops in Guatemala, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, comes as President Donald Trump has put immigration at the centre of his foreign policy agenda and made a push for the US to take back the Panama Canal in comments that have angered the Central American country.

Rubio to visit Central America in late January in first foreign visit

The European Commission plans to seek an extension of the region’s binding gas-inventory targets until 2027 to help ease continuing supply concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.

The European Union introduced the goals for its natural gas stores at the height of the 2022 energy crisis to ensure adequate supplies during the coldest periods.

EU plans proposing extension of gas-storage goals to 2027 — Bloomberg

President Donald Trump said he would ask Saudi Arabia and other Opec nations to “bring down the cost of oil” and reiterated his threat to use tariffs to bring manufacturing back to the US as he addressed world leaders gathered in Davos on Thursday.

Trump also said he would demand an immediate drop in interest rates, which he said had ratched up deficits and resulted in what he cast as economic calamity under the tenure of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump urges to lower oil prices, interest rate cuts at Davos

Top diplomats from China and India will meet next week in Beijing as the nuclear-armed neighbors try to repair ties marred by a border dispute nearly five years ago.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri will meet his Chinese counterpart during a two-day trip to Beijing starting Sunday, India’s External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday.

India, China diplomats to meet in Beijing to pursue better ties

US President Donald Trump told business leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday that he is working to reverse inflation and illegal immigration while boosting fossil fuels production in the US.

"What the world has witnessed in the past 72 hours is nothing less than a revolution of common sense," Trump said via video conference, adding that he would focus on deregulation and making the US  a hub of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies while extending tax cuts passed during his first term in office.

Trump tells Davos business elite he wants to reverse inflation, cut taxes

Tianqi Lithium Corp warned that it expects to post a net loss of as much as 8.2 billion yuan (RM4.97 billion) for 2024, and is halting an expansion project in Australia as a downturn in the battery metals markets drags on.

A slump in lithium prices contributed to a sharp drop in operating profitability over the course of 2024, even as production and sales of lithium products grew, the company said in a notice to investors on Thursday.

China’s Tianqi Lithium issues profit warning and halts expansion on metals downturn

Persistently high US bond yields will force private investors to turn their backs on emerging markets desperately in need of financing to fight global warming.

That’s according to Srini Nagarajan, head of Asia at British International Investment, which is the UK government’s development finance unit.

Juicy US yields may sap funding desperately needed in emerging-market climate finance

<p>YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL) and YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) have each proposed a bonus issue of free warrants, on the basis of one free warrant for every five shares held in the respective companies. The warrants are planned to be exercised at a discount to the share prices of each company —&nbsp;at 37% discount for YTL Corp, and a 39.5% discount for YTL Power based on their closing prices on Thursday&nbsp;— bourse filings showed.</p>


YTL Corp, YTL Power plan free warrants; exercise prices at discount to market prices

<p>Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) has signed five anchor tenants for its upcoming KLGCC Mall, marking a significant milestone in the company's retail expansion strategy.</p>

<p>The tenants include Jaya Grocer, Serai Group’s flagship concept, ACE Hardware, Asia Ballet Academy, and the first HarborLand kids playland in Malaysia.</p>


Sime Darby Property secures five anchor tenants for KLGCC Mall

<p>The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has issued a statement to give the assurance that&nbsp;it is closely monitoring recent takeover activities in the Malaysian market&nbsp;to ensure compliance with relevant regulations, and to safeguard the integrity of the capital market, citing recent interest in such matters.</p>


SC says it is keeping close watch on takeovers amid public interest in MAHB deal

<p>TNG Digital Sdn Bhd (TNG Digital) has introduced a new feature, SOS Balance, to ensure users are able to pass through toll booths despite insufficient balance in their TNG eWallet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It will be introduced to selected TNG eWallet users starting Thursday at no cost, giving them a 24-hour grace period to top up their eWallet and settle any outstanding toll charges.</p>


TNG Digital launches free feature in eWallet allowing toll pass-throughs

<p>The Ipoh Sentral project, a transit-oriented development (TOD) covering an area of 27.11 hectares, is set to commence in six months, with the first phase focusing on landscaping, enhancements, and preservation of heritage and cultural elements.</p>


Ipoh Sentral project to begin in six months

<p>US President Donald Trump downplayed the national security risk posed by TikTok in an interview with <em>Fox News </em>on Wednesday, days after offering the social video app a reprieve from legislation that would have forced it to shut down.</p>


Trump downplays threat of China using TikTok to spy on Americans

<p>KUCHING (Jan 23): Cahya Mata Cement Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (KL:CMSB), expects to double its clinker production capacity with the development of a new facility, Clinker Line 2, in Mambong here.</p>


Cahya Mata Sarawak’s unit expects to double clinker production with new facility

<p>Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Thursday</p>


YTL Corp, YTL Power, MRCB, Westports, IGB REIT, IGB Commercial REIT, Axis REIT, KIP REIT, Destini, Citaglobal, T7 Global, Oriental Kopi, Econframe, Unitrade 

<p>The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial revisited the termination of KPMG as the company’s external auditor, with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak asserting that it was not his "character" to threaten anyone.</p>


Najib says not in his nature to intimidate people

<p>The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has recovered US$20 million (RM90 million) of misappropriated 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds related to a solar energy project in Malaysia with the help of US authorities.</p>


MACC recovers RM90m 1MDB funds with help of US authorities

<p>Malaysia's e-invoicing system offers a streamlined adoption process for small businesses, according to Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia council member Harvindar Singh.</p>


E-invoicing system eases transition for small businesses, says expert

<p>Maintenance and upgrading works led to a decline in net property income (NPI) for IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) (KL:IGBREIT) and IGB Commercial REIT (KL:IGBCR) in their fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (4QFY2024). Property developer IGB Bhd is the sponsor of both trusts, holding 47.95% in IGB REIT and 50.01% in IGB Commercial REIT.</p>


IGB's REITs report dips in 4Q net property incomes amid upgrades

<p>Censof Holdings Bhd (KL: CENSOF) said on Thursday that it has secured a RM4.3 million contract from pension fund Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) or KWAP, to replace and implement a new cloud-based accounting system.</p>

<p>The system, dubbed the government resource planning (GRP) system, is designed to migrate operations from on-premises to cloud-based platforms, aiming to enhance efficiency, scalability, and accessibility while streamlining processes and improving adaptability.</p>


Censof bags RM4.3 mil cloud-based accounting system contract from KWAP

<p>Despite questioning the veracity of his signatures, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak claimed that the issue only came to light to him during trials of his criminal court cases related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the first of which commenced in 2018.</p>


Najib says only made aware of self-claimed 'forged' signatures during 1MDB trials

<p>Malaysian palm oil is likely to trade around RM4,000 Malaysian per tonne in 2025, except for a brief rise up to RM4,800 in February, amid stiff competition from soyoil, industry analyst Dorab Mistry said.</p>

<p>The benchmark palm oil contract FCPOc3 for April delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange lost RM64, or 1.52%, to RM4,144 a tonne by midday.</p>


Malaysian palm oil to trade around RM4,000 per tonne in 2025, says Mistry

<p>The government will introduce more incentives in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) to stimulate the economy that goes beyond the distribution of funds and projects, said Economy Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Rafizi Ramli.</p>


Rafizi says 13th Malaysia Plan to introduce incentives based on policies to drive behavioural economics

<p>ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has earmarked over 150 billion yuan (US$20.64 billion or RM91.46 billion) in capital expenditure&nbsp;for this year, much of which will be centred on artificial intelligence (AI), two people briefed on the matter said.</p>


TikTok owner ByteDance plans US$20b capex in 2025, mostly on AI, Reuters reports

<p>KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 23): Below is a summary of how key Bursa Malaysia indices and the ringgit performed on Thursday.</p>


FBM KLCI down 0.67% to 1,577.2 on Jan 23, 2025

<p>Datuk Suboh Md Yasin, a former director of SRC International Sdn Bhd, testified in the High Court on Thursday that the company's memorandum and articles of association (M&amp;A) did not explicitly prohibit or allow political donations.</p>


SRC's company charter silent on political donations, court hears

<p>Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT) posted a 15.39% year-on-year increase in net property income (NPI) for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (4QFY2024), contributed by its new acquisitions and new tenancies.</p>

<p>For the 4QFY2024, Axis REIT’s NPI rose to RM76.35 million, compared to RM66.16 million a year earlier, thanks to its newly acquired properties, new tenancies from its logistics warehouse Axis Mega Distribution Centre (Phase 2), as well as positive rental reversion from the existing portfolio.</p>
