Norika Fujiwara, Jessica Hsuan praise the country, cast and production

 
JUST after posting pictures of their surprise encounter with Ella Chen, a member of popular Taiwanese female band SHE — who was in her husband’s home town in Melaka during Chinese...

M’sia busy ushering in Asian starlets

M’sia to get ‘Lost in the Pacific’

ELLA told to stay alert

CHINESE A-lister Zhang Ziyi is an international superstar whose annual income is estimated to hit some NT$270 million (RM30.95 million). The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress has bagged more than 10 prestigious Best Actress awards with recent wins for her role in the Wong Kar Wai-directed fl...

Zhang Ziyi says ‘YES’ to Wang Feng

Walking down the aisle with penguins

A Heavenly King descends on CNY show

MANDO-pop king Jay Chou is officially off the singles market. Taiwanese-Australian model Hannah Quinlivan walked down the aisle with him in Yorkshire, northern England, last weekend, sending social media and the Internet into a frenzy.

It was reported that the keywords “Jay Chou marries...

Marital BLISS

LAST WEEK’S sentencing of Jaycee Chan, son of Hong Kong martial arts superstar Jackie Chan, to six months in jail and a 2,000 yuan (RM1,153) fine for drug offences, is the latest evidence of the increasing prevalence of drug abuse in the Asian show-business circuit. The reasons cited for substanc...

Fallen stars

The Empress of China is making headlines.

For one, it marks the comeback of China A-lister Fan Bingbing to the small screen after a six-year hiatus.

Second, most of the female cast in this imperial court drama — servants, concubines and consorts — don cleavage-baring costumes,...

Trouble with the throne

Japan Beckons

(March 27): Junk bonds don’t seem quite so junky anymore. US investors are piling into an asset class that has grown a little safer in recent years, and in recent weeks has drawn investors seeking a safe harbor from market turbulence.

Last year, about 51% of the US high-yield index was ...

Junk bonds win over investors seeking calm from market storm

The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) anticipates a surge in traffic to 2.77 million vehicles per day on major expressways, during the upcoming Aidilfitri holiday.

Aidilfitri: 2.77 mil vehicles expected on major expressways

Borrowers are piling into bond markets to get deals done ahead of US President Donald Trump’s plans to impose global tariffs on April 2.

Bond markets draw rush of issuers before Trump’s tariffs hit

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): AMMB Holding Bhd (KL:AMBANK) may pay out higher than expected dividends when the sixth-largest Malaysian bank by assets announces its strong results for the current financial year.

AMMB may pay higher than expected dividend, analysts flag

Municipal bonds issued for riskier projects like charter schools and small colleges may break a 12-year record for distress as pandemic aid dries up and inflation raises the cost of labour and supplies.

Charter schools, colleges push muni debt distress near record

Analysts have trimmed their forecasts for Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) after weaker-than-expected earnings for the first half ended Jan 31, 2025 (1HFY2025).

Analysts trim Gamuda earnings forecasts after 1H miss

DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s incoming chief executive officer Tan Su Shan is stepping into the role at a time of strength rather than adversity, says Morningstar Singapore’s senior equity analyst Michael Makdad. Her challenge, writes Makdad in a Wednesday (March 26) commentary, will be to navigate the bank through “potentially more difficult times” while striving to maintain its high levels of profitability.

DBS’ incoming CEO Tan Su Shan should focus on tech stability, growing Asean footprint: Morningstar

Over the next two decades, four major structural trends will converge, creating what we (the authors) describe as a “perfect storm” for senior citizens in Malaysia. We believe that this perfect storm requires fundamental solutions, which we will describe in this article.

State Of Health: Reverse annuity solution for seniors with catastrophic illnesses

China has told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li Ka-shing and his family, according to people familiar with the matter, after the Hong Kong billionaire irked Beijing with his plan to sell two Panama ports to a global consortium.

China said to pause new deals with Li Ka-shing, family following plan to sell Panama ports to BlackRock-led consortium

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Petronas’ first bond issuance in four years is expected to attract strong investor demand, potentially tightening spreads, lowering yields, and reducing its borrowing costs, according to CreditSights, a research arm of Fitch.

Petronas’ first bond issuance in four years likely to spike demand, making it cheaper to raise funds — CreditSights

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Ekuiti Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state-owned private equity firm also known as Ekuinas, said its chief executive officer Datuk Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir will step down on March 31.

Ekuinas announces CEO Syed Yasir Arafat to step down on March 31

Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas), which was formed in 2009, will be put under Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) as part of the government’s plan to consolidate the bumiputera-focused investment institutions.&nbsp;

Ekuinas to be under PNB’s purview, say sources  

China has told state-owned firms to hold off on any new collaboration with businesses linked to Li Ka-shing and his family, according to people familiar with the matter, after the Hong Kong billionaire irked Beijing with his plan to sell two Panama ports to a global consortium.

US President Donald Trump said he would consider lowering tariff rates imposed on China to secure Beijing’s support for a sale of the US operations of ByteDance Ltd’s social video platform TikTok to an American company.

Trump says he could cut China tariffs to secure TikTok deal

President Xi Jinping is making China’s presence more felt across the Indo-Pacific region by testing US allies on sensitive issues, as US President&nbsp;Donald Trump’s attention is taken up elsewhere.

Xi tests US allies in Indo-Pacific as Trump looks elsewhere

Used cooking oil has become an important commodity as it can be used as a base material for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which has low carbon emissions.

Used cooking oil now main commodity in production of sustainable aviation fuel

Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), the pension fund for the Malaysian armed forces, has declared a seven-high dividend of 5.25% for 2024.

LTAT declares seven-year high dividend of 5.25% for 2024

The Selangor Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) has so far culled only 14,000 pigs of various categories suspected of being infected with African Swine Fever (ASF).

14,000 pigs culled so far in Selangor to curb ASF outbreak, says Veterinary Services Dept

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): The board of directors of HHRG Bhd (KL:HHRG) has decided against convening an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) requisitioned by its largest shareholder Cfamillie Holdings Sdn Bhd to remove the board of directors of the company, and has filed a legal suit to stop it from being convened.

HHRG rejects largest shareholder’s call for EGM to remove board, files suit to stop meeting

SHAH ALAM (March 27): An AirAsia flight bound for Shenzhen, China, had to make a turnback to Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 2 shortly after takeoff, due to a reported engine fire.

AirAsia flight to China turns back to KLIA Terminal 2 due to engine fire, lands safely

Bursa Malaysia and its subsidiaries will be closed on Monday and Tuesday (March 31 and April 1) in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidilfitri public holiday, subject to the official announcement by the Keeper of the Rulers’ Seal.

Bursa Malaysia, subsidiaries to close for Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Asian shares skidded with Wall Street on Thursday, while the dollar hovered near a three-week high, after US&nbsp;President&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;announced new&nbsp;tariffs&nbsp;on all auto imports, ratcheting up a&nbsp;global&nbsp;trade war that risks fuelling inflation.

Stocks skid, dollar nears three-week high as Trump announces auto tariffs

Police are investigating a viral video clip depicting an unregistered organisation allegedly promoting communist ideologies in the country.

Cops probing video, organisation suspected of promoting communist ideology

US President Donald Trump signed an order to implement a 25% tariff on auto imports, expanding a trade war designed to bring more manufacturing jobs to the US and setting the stage for an even broader push on levies next week.

Trump to hit auto imports with 25% tariff in trade fight

Analysts have trimmed their forecasts for Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA) after weaker-than-expected earnings for the first half ended Jan 31, 2025 (1HFY2025).

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Petronas’ first bond issuance in four years is expected to attract strong investor demand, potentially tightening spreads, lowering yields, and reducing its borrowing costs, according to CreditSights, a research arm of Fitch.

Three days of relative peace were broken on Wall Street, with big tech driving major stock benchmarks lower, as concern about a trade war’s impact on the economy and inflation resurfaced to squelch risk appetites.

Stocks fall in late hours amid Trump auto tariffs

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng Inc&nbsp;is looking to ramp up its global expansion, including investing in manufacturing plants and infrastructure, with a focus on large markets such as Europe.

Xpeng may add EV output in Europe, Latin America in growth push

More to come

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The Atlantic released the transcript of a group chat between top US officials on Signal that inadvertently included its top editor, revealing how Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared details of timing and weapons systems to be used in attacks against militants in Yemen.

LK Tan