<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>SINGAPORE (Aug 2): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Wednesday it will establish a Payments Council, comprising 20 leaders from banks, payment service providers, businesses, and trade associations.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>The Payments Council will be chaired by Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>The setting up of the Payments Council is part... <a href="https://www.theedgesingapore.com/mas-establishes-council-realise-singapore%E2%80%99s-e-payments-vision">(Click here to read the full story.)</a></p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>


SINGAPORE (Aug 2): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Wednesday it will establish a Payments Council, comprising 20 leaders from banks, payment service providers, businesses, and trade associations.

The Payments Council will be chaired by Ravi Menon, Managing Directo...

MAS establishes council to realise Singapore’s e-payments vision

MORNING CALL: 24/1/25

TALKING EDGE: Oriental Kopi on brewing up success

Britain said on Friday it had awarded Rolls-Royce a £9 billion (US$11 billion or RM48.8 billion) contract to design, make and provide support services to nuclear reactors that power its fleet of submarines.

Rolls-Royce wins US$11b UK nuclear submarine contract

TOKYO (Jan 24): The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to their highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis, as a broad stocks rally worldwide calms policymakers' fears US President Donald Trump's tariff threats could upend markets.

With traders almost...

BOJ likely to raise rates to highest in 17 years, signal more hikes

SINGAPORE (Jan 24): Singapore's central bank on Friday loosened its monetary policy.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it will reduce slightly the slope of the policy band known as S$NEER, or the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate.

It said there would be no change to the w...

Singapore central bank eases monetary policy 

Japan’s key inflation gauge hit 3% for the first time in 16 months, underscoring the nation’s sustained price momentum just hours before the central bank is expected to hike rates for a third time under governor Kazuo Ueda.

Japan inflation jumps to 3%, giving support to rate-hike case 

US businessman Frank McCourt is open to teaming up with other buyers on a bid to take over the US operations of TikTok as long as he can maintain control of the asset, he told Reuters at the Davos event on Thursday.

Billionaire McCourt says open to teaming up on a TikTok bid 

The US Treasury Department said on Thursday that it activated another of its extraordinary cash management measures to avoid breaching the federal debt limit, suspending daily reinvesments of the Government Securities Investment Fund, or G Fund.

Acting US Treasury chief deploys another debt ceiling cash management move

US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, making good on his promise to quickly overhaul US crypto policy.

Trump orders crypto working group to draft new regulations, explore national stockpile

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he wants the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at a time the central bank has hit pause for an uncertain duration, arguing he understands monetary policy better than those charged with setting it.

Trump demands US Fed cut rates, claims better monetary policy understanding

<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 

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EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

<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>Destini Bhd (KL:DESTINI) has managed to stay in the black for a second consecutive quarter as revenue more than doubled, mainly due to the delivery of trains and equipment by its mobility and aviation sectors, as well as cost-cutting measures undertaken by the company.</p>

<p>The engineering services provider reported a net profit of RM6.07 million for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (2QFY2025) compared with a net loss of RM3.93 million a year earlier.</p>


Destini posts second straight quarterly profit in 2Q

<p>Unitrade Industries Bhd (KL:UNITRAD), a building material wholesaler and distributor, says its 51%-owned subsidiary Intergreen Metal Sdn Bhd is acquiring a controlling stake in metal recycling specialist Kien San Metal Sdn Bhd (KMSB) for RM42 million to expand its business to Sabah and Sarawak.</p>


Unitrade Industries' unit buys controlling stake in metal recycler Kien San for RM42 mil

<p>US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital asset regulations and exploring the creation of a national cryptocurrency stockpile, making good on his promise to quickly overhaul US crypto policy.</p>


<p>Econframe Bhd (KL:EFRAME) is buying Ipoh-based manufacturer and seller of wooden doors Ivory Pearl Sdn Bhd (IPSB) for RM56 million, in a move to expand its footprint in the UK and Australian markets.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Econframe is paying RM46.67 million in cash — to be funded via a combination of internally generated funds and bank borrowings — to buy IPSB from the major shareholders, which include Yeong Chew Tet and Lee Kok Choy, who owned 31.5% stake and 17.1% stake in the company, respectively.</p>


Econframe buys Ipoh-based wooden doors maker for RM56 mil

<p>US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he wants the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at a time the central bank has hit pause for an uncertain duration, arguing he understands monetary policy better than those charged with setting it.</p>


<p>Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, a few months out of prison and worth US$70 billion thanks to the relentless crypto rally, is turning the former venture capital arm of his Binance Holdings Ltd into a family office.</p>

<p>Binance Labs, which oversees about US$10 billion of crypto-related assets, will be renamed YZi Labs, according to a statement on Thursday. Zhao brought back Ella Zhang, who helped set up Binance Labs in 2018 and left two years later, to run the outfit. YZi Labs will also manage the wealth of Binance co-founder Yi He, with whom Zhao has three children.</p>


Crypto’s richest man CZ turns VC firm into giant family office

<p>Oracle Corp&nbsp;has charged out of the gate in 2025, after its best year in a quarter-century. A plan unveiled with US President Donald Trump has intensified hopes that its cloud business will see a tailwind from artificial intelligence (AI).&nbsp;</p>


Oracle takes run at cloud’s big three with Trump-backed AI pact

<p>Furniture maker Rhong Khen International Bhd (KL:RKI) is selling its Vietnamese indirect subsidiary RT Industries Company Ltd (RTI) to Singapore-based Maideli Pte Ltd for US$7.12 million (RM31.66 million) in cash.</p>

<p>The sale is expected to yield a gain of up to RM15.5 million for Rhong Khen. This move is part of the group’s strategy to streamline operations, reduce costs amid challenging market conditions, and strengthen its liquidity position.</p>


Furniture maker Rhong Khen to rake in RM16 mil gain from Vietnam indirect unit sale 

<p>Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup&nbsp;is facing renewed scrutiny on its strategy of backing&nbsp;loss-making&nbsp;electric vehicle maker VinFast, with its shares near multi-year lows as foreign investors sell and its borrowing costs rise.</p>


EV maker VinFast's losses heap pressure on parent Vingroup as foreign investors sell

<p>The authorities’ strict action in shutting down illegal crossings at the Malaysia-Thailand border in Rantau Panjang here forced the operators of the illegal jetties to move their operations to the neighbouring country two days ago.</p>

<p>The General Operations Force (GOF) Southeast Brigade commander, Datuk Nik Ros Azhan Nik Ab Hamid, said this move, enforced on Dec 1, reflects the growing compliance of the communities in border areas with the ban on illegal border crossings.&nbsp;</p>


Border crossing ban cripples illegal jetties in Rantau Panjang

<p>ByteDance is exploring a deal to keep TikTok running in the US without selling its operations there, according to board member Bill Ford.</p>

<p>The Chinese company is looking at options for the social media app that could involve a change of control locally to ensure it complies with US legislation, General Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Ford said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The private equity firm holds a stake in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent firm.</p>


TikTok deal could stop short of full US sale, shareholder says

<p>A day after his inauguration as US President, Donald Trump unveiled a US$100 billion (RM443.93 billion) venture to fund artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, backed by three of the biggest names in tech — OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp and Oracle Corp. Then there was an Abu Dhabi-based firm that few had heard of: MGX.</p>

<p>The Emirati investment vehicle is overseen by one of the world’s most influential dealmakers — Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who’s the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) national security advisor, brother to the country’s president, and the man atop a US$1.5 trillion empire that spans everything from wealth funds to the region’s foremost AI firm, G42.</p>


Abu Dhabi’s MGX helps bankroll Trump’s US$100 bil AI plan

<p>HSBC's&nbsp;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.</p>


HSBC's payments app closure puts around 400 jobs at risk — Reuters

<p>The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has declared its opposition to any policy or practice of basing wages on gender, asserting that employers should reward employees based on their contributions and performance.</p>

<p>In a statement on Thursday, MEF president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman called on all employers to immediately address and rectify any existing gender-based pay disparities as he highlighted the crucial role women have played in Malaysia’s progress and development.</p>


Employers federation calls for immediate end to gender-based pay disparities

<p>Friedrich Merz, the conservative front-runner in the race to be Germany’s next chancellor, warned domestic companies against making bigger investments in China.</p>

<p>“The decision to invest in China is a decision with great risk,” Merz said at a foreign policy event in Berlin on Thursday. “If you take this risk, do it in such a way that it doesn’t endanger the entire company group if you have to write off this investment from one year to the next.”</p>


German frontrunner Merz warns companies against China investment

<p>J Sainsbury plc will cut 3,000 staff and close its remaining cafes, as Britain’s second-largest supermarket chain steps up a cost-saving drive after the government announced higher taxes on businesses.</p>

<p>The move will involve a restructuring of head office positions and a 20% reduction in senior management roles, Sainsbury said on Thursday.</p>


Sainsbury’s to lay off 3,000 workers, close cafes in cost-savings measure

<p>TOKYO (Jan 24): The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to their highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis, as a broad stocks rally worldwide calms policymakers' fears US President Donald Trump's tariff threats could upend markets.</p>

<p>With traders almost...