Yet another feather in United Plantations Bhd’s (UP) hat. The Perak-based planter has won The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) 2023 corporate award for the highest return on equity (ROE) over three years in the plantation sector. This is the fifth BRC award that the company has won over the years. It bagged two CR Awards as well in 2013 and 2016.

HIGHEST RETURN ON EQUITY OVER THREE YEARS: PLANTATION: United Plantations Bhd - Three consecutive years of record profits

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Bank Negara Malaysia expects the country’s export growth to remain in contraction in the near term, albeit at a milder pace as downside risks remain, stemming from weaker external demand.

BNM: Exports to continue to contract in near term

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) plans to generate a total of 3,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2040, within the ambit of its National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) flagship projects.

TNB to generate 3,000MW renewable energy by 2040

Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research said it is neutral on VS Industry Bhd (VSI)’s additional 11% stake acquisition in HT Press Work Sdn Bhd (HTPW) for RM2.6 million, as it will take a while for this to have meaningful contributions.

HLIB neutral on VS Industry's 11% stake acquisition in HT Press Work and flattish overall orders

Targeted fuel subsidies could hit the middle-income group (M40s) the hardest, as the top 20% income earners (T20) will be better able to absorb the higher fuel costs while the bottom 40% households (B40) will be eligible for handouts to buffer the resulting higher inflation, said an analyst and economist.

Targeted fuel subsidy could squeeze M40s hardest, say experts

theedgemalaysia.com highlighted two stocks with positive momentum and seven stocks with negative momentum during Bursa Malaysia’s afternoon session on Wednesday.

Ocean Vantage, Sealink, Catcha, Swift Haulage, Spring Art, Puncak Niaga, United U-Li, SWS Capital, Formosa Prosonic

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): The Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) said there needs to be improvements towards more consistent and credible reporting by financial institutions under the Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT).

Joint committee encourages financial institutions on consistent reporting under Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy

PublicInvest Research has derived a fair value of 28 sen for ACE market-bound SSF Home Group Bhd, which is slated to be listed on Oct 10, based on a 12 times price-earnings multiple to its financial year 2025 (FY2025) earnings per share forecast of 2.3 sen.

ACE market-bound SSF Home seen expanding retail outlets post-listing

Poh Kong Holdings Bhd’s net profit plummeted 83.3% to RM4.98 million or 1.21 sen per share in the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2023 (4QFY2023), from RM29.84 million or 7.27 sen per share a year ago, due to a fall in sales volume and increased operating expenses.

Poh Kong 4Q net profit down 83% on lower demand, high operating expenses 

Foreign appetite for emerging markets including Malaysia is expected to remain strong for the remainder of the year as investors are looking to diversify funds in light of the widening risk-reward ratio on Wall Street as another Federal Reserve rate hike looms.

Cheaper valuation of emerging market stocks set to attract strong foreign investment, says Rakuten Trade

Malaysia should seize opportunities, endeavour to advance reforms and remove barriers to clinical research, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia should grab chance to advance reforms in clinical research, says PM 

Malaysia’s largest telecom company by revenue Axiata Group Bhd (KL:AXIATA) may face earnings pressure from a potential merger of its unit PT XL Axiata with PT Smartfren Telecom in Indonesia, and investors should sell the stock, said MIDF Amanah Investment Bank.

MIDF says Axiata may face earnings pressure ahead, downgrades stock to 'sell'

Hangzhou, a major city in eastern China, removed all of its remaining homebuying curbs, the latest example of a local government pursuing aggressive easing to end the property crisis.

Hangzhou scraps housing curbs as loosening gains steam

Asian shares steadied on Thursday after solid Chinese trade data added to signs domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy is picking up, while the yen stabilised after three days of declines as Japan talked up potential currency interventions.

Asia shares steady after solid China trade data, yen stable after recent falls

LBS Bina Group Bhd (KL: LBS) has launched SkyRia, the latest addition to its D'Island Residence project in Puchong.

LBS Bina launches RM457 mil SkyRia residential project in Puchong

Shares of Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd (KL:KERJAYA) surged to a new record high on Thursday, as investors bet on better earnings growth for its upcoming financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024).

Kerjaya Prospek shares at fresh record high on expectation of better 1Q earnings

Huawei's latest high-end phone features more Chinese suppliers, including a new flash memory storage chip and an improved chip processor, a teardown analysis showed, pointing to the progress China is making towards technology self-sufficiency.

Huawei's new Pura 70 phone uses more China-made parts, memory chip

The global food price crisis in 2022 and 2023 was exacerbated by the sheer unavailability of some food items, principally grains, as climate change, the Russian attack on Ukraine and, generally, an agriculture community just starting to plant again after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

The thre...

My Say: A national think tank for agriculture

Japan's inflation-adjusted real wages in March fell 2.5% from a year earlier, marking declines for two straight years, labour ministry data showed on Thursday.

Japan's real wages fall in March, marking two years of decline

Singapore's defence ministry said it was temporarily suspending training for its F-16 aircraft fleet after an F-16 crashed during a routine training on Wednesday (May 8).

Singapore suspends F-16 training after plane crash on Wednesday

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested a lawyer on Wednesday afternoon on suspicions of soliciting and accepting a bribe of around RM1.6 million from an entrepreneur.

The suspect, who is in his 30s, was arrested at a fast food restaurant around Ipoh, Perak at around 12 noon after receiving RM100,000 in cash and two cheques for RM1.5 million, a source said.

MACC arrests lawyer for soliciting, accepting RM1.6 mil bribe

All eyes will be on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) as the central bank is set to announce its overnight policy rate (OPR) decision later on Thursday afternoon.

Economists bet on BNM leaving the OPR unchanged later today

Shares of VSTECS Bhd (KL:VSTECS) climbed to a new all-time high on Thursday as investors scrambled for a piece of the company that has been appointed the country’s first distributor of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

VSTECS shares hit new record high on Amazon Web Services partnership

Gen Zers risk starting further and further behind previous generations building a life for themselves as soaring rents chew into their disposable income, leaving them deeper in a financial hole they are still digging, said Fortune.

Gen Z sinking deeper into debt as higher education and housing costs weigh, new data shows — report

UOB KayHian has initiated coverage on Lagenda Properties Bhd (KL: LAGENDA) with a “buy” rating at RM1.49 and target price (TP) of RM2.05.

UOB KayHian starts coverage on Lagenda Properties, target price RM2.05

Asian shares steadied on Thursday after solid Chinese trade data added to signs domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy is picking up, while the yen stabilised after three days of declines as Japan talked up potential currency interventions.

Apex Securities Bhd expects the local bourse to continue to trend sideways following the FBM KLCI’s retreat after hitting the 1,600 resistance level amid weakened sentiment across global stock markets and investors awaiting fresh catalysts.

Apex Securities expects local bourse to continue to trend sideways 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher on Wednesday, stretching its winning streak to six straight and closing above 39,000 points for the first time in five weeks, as investors kept betting on supportive US monetary policy.

Dow ends higher for sixth session, but Treasury yields pressure market

Shares of Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd (KL:KERJAYA) surged to a new record high on Thursday, as investors bet on better earnings growth for its upcoming financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024).

Intel said on Wednesday its sales would take a hit after the US revoked some of the chipmaker's export licences for a customer in China, in a move Beijing complained was going too far in the name of national security.

Intel, Qualcomm say exports to China blocked as Beijing objects

(May 9): Opulent, elevated, expensive. There are plenty of descriptive terms for the A$90 million (US$59 million or RM280.88 million) home perched high in Crown Resorts Ltd’s twisting skyscraper in Sydney. “Sold” is not one of them.

The chrome-heavy duplex has been on the market since a...

Luxury US$59m Sydney home remains unsold as rich Chinese buyers leave

Arm Holdings plc shares tumbled after the chip designer gave a lukewarm revenue forecast for the fiscal year, raising concerns that the tech industry’s artificial intelligence (AI) spending spree is slowing.

Arm shares fall after company gives tepid annual forecast

A Wall Street analyst has pointed out there's a gaping hole in the picture. He calls it "phantom debt" — spending on "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) platforms, which often goes unrecorded by credit agencies, Fortune reported.

‘Phantom debt’ from ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes a US$700b black hole economists aren’t accounting for — report

Vacation rental company Airbnb reported a higher quarterly profit on Wednesday but forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations, sending shares of the company down 8% after the bell.

Airbnb forecasts weaker 2Q revenue despite robust demand for international travel

Singapore must be realistic about the global trends affecting its equities market and what can be done about them, according to Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Singapore must recognise stock-market challenges, Wong says

Asia-Pacific Islamic banks can expect steady expansion and broadly stable asset quality for the next few years, at least, according to S&amp;P Global Ratings.

S&P: Malaysia will remain biggest Islamic banking market in Asia-Pacific

App provider Telegram is ready to work together with the government to fight rampant digital piracy on its platform, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said.

He added that several meetings have been held with Telegram to discuss the issue, the latest being in April.

App provider Telegram ready to work together to fight digital piracy — Fahmi

A US warship sailed through the narrow Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, less than two weeks before Taiwan's new president takes office, prompting an angry denunciation from Beijing.

US sends warship through Taiwan Strait ahead of presidential inauguration

LBS Bina Group Bhd (KL: LBS) has launched SkyRia, the latest addition to its D'Island Residence project in Puchong.

Tesla Inc’s directors say they don’t want a do-over in Texas of the Delaware court battle that killed co-founder Elon Musk’s US$56 billion (RM265.68 billion) pay package — regardless of whether shareholders approve reincorporating the electric-car maker in the Lone Star state.

Priyatharisiny Vasu

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

Priyatharisiny Vasu

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌