RETAILERS are still forecasting growth in sales this year, albeit at a slower pace than initially projected. However, they expect margins to be hit by reduced purchasing power and the higher cost of doing business.

In addition, any boost to retail sales from higher foreign tourist arriv...

Retailers may achieve higher sales, but not necessarily better margins 

D&O Green Technologies Bhd

Target price: RM4.80 BUY

Brokers Digest: Local Equities - D&O Green Technologies Bhd, MI Technovation Bhd, ECA Integrated Solution Bhd, Glomac Bhd

By now, you would have heard that after seven months of pre-wedding events and parties, Ananth Ambani and Radhika Merchant finally tied the knot on July 12 in Mumbai, India. If you haven’t, well, I wish my sleep could be that deep.

Coffee Break: Hankering for a slice of ‘Ambaninomics’

THE decision to sell the 160-year-old Penang Turf Club (PTC) — which sits on the largest undeveloped tract of land in George Town — has generated “overwhelming interest” among local and international companies looking to bag the valuable parcel for redevelopment, including at least two prominent ...

The race is on for Penang Turf Club

GROCER TFP Retail Sdn Bhd — which operates the Village Grocer, Ben’s Independent Grocer (BIG) and The Food Merchant chain — is projecting robust growth in the current financial year ending Oct 31, 2024 (FY2024), driven by store expansion, limited competition and rising disposable income among the...

Village Grocer poised to outpace overall retail growth

WHILE two prominent hospital operators — IHH Healthcare Bhd (KL:IHH) and Sunway Healthcare — have emerged as potential suitors for the 600-bed Island Hospital in Penang in a deal said to be worth between RM3.76 billion and RM4.7 billion, the question arises as to whether such a price is justified...

Are IHH and Sunway prepared to pay more than RM4 billion for Island Hospital?

THE mall at Empire City Damansara, which has had multiple false starts over the past decade, is set to finally open in June 2025, 14 years after the project was first launched. Ahead of its opening, the owners of the mall — which will be renamed Hextar World at Empire City — have scheduled a laun...

Hextar World at Empire City to finally open in a year’s time 

THE government is making what appears to be the third attempt in nine years to dispose of a large tract in Pulau Indah in Klang, Selangor. The 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-owned land, which has been designated as a free trade zone (FTZ), may be able to fetch as much as RM559 million.

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MoF makes third attempt to sell 1MDB’s land in Pulau Indah, hopes to fetch 50% more

RUSSIA-based Svetofor Group, which operates a chain of grocers in Russia and across Europe is planning to make its entry into Malaysia, possibly its first Southeast Asian destination. The group, known for its hard discount stores/budget supermarkets, is understood to be awaiting the green light f...

Russian grocery retailer Svetofor gears up for Malaysian debut

SINGAPORE-based Allgreen Properties Ltd, a company controlled by Malaysia’s richest man Robert Kuok, has bought back the stake in Johor Bahru City Square (JBCS) mall that it sold to Singapore sovereign wealth fund’s GIC Real Estate Pte Ltd — the real estate investment arm of the Government of Sin...

Kuok Group buys back Johor mall it sold two decades ago to Singapore’s sovereign fund

South Korea is dusting off a tool last used 21 years ago to help stabilise its currency: issuing up to 20 trillion won (US$13.9 billion or RM61.6 billion) in special bonds.

Korea augments FX war chest with first won bond in 21 years

DAVOS, Switzerland (Jan 22): As the chairman of Asean this year, Malaysia aims to prioritise energy and connectivity with a focus on building trust and inclusivity among member countries, as well as engage constructively with major global powers, while safeguarding the bloc’s independence.

PM: Malaysia to prioritise energy, connectivity and bloc’s independence as Asean chair

China announced plans on Thursday to channel hundreds of billions of yuan annually into shares from state-owned insurers, in the authorities' latest effort to support equity markets.

China to guide billions of dollars of insurance money into stocks

A new wildfire that broke out north of Los Angeles on Wednesday rapidly spread to more than 9,400 acres (38 square km), fueled by strong winds and dry brush, forcing mandatory evacuation orders for more than 31,000 people.

New wildfire near Los Angeles explodes to 9,400 acres, forces evacuations

Asia shares rose on Thursday, helped by a jump in their Chinese counterparts on Beijing's latest measures to shore up its crumbling stock market, while elsewhere, investors continued to have their eyes on US President Donald Trump's policy plans.

Asian shares helped by China uplift, Trump's tariff plans hang in the air 

(Jan 23): Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put US$600 billion (RM2.66 trillion) into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi state news agency said early on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia plans US$600 bil in new US investment, trade over four years

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised Beijing’s “dangerous and destabilising” actions in the South China Sea in his early days in office, while reaffirming Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to defend the Philippines.

Rubio slams China, vows ‘ironclad’ defence for Philippines 

WASHINGTON (Jan 22): President Donald Trump's administration has directed US prosecutors to criminally probe local officials who resist immigration enforcement efforts, intensifying a sweeping crackdown that Trump launched the day he took office.

Trump steps up immigration crackdown, warns city, state officials against interference

OpenAI and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank will each commit US$19 billion to fund Stargate, a joint venture to develop data centres for artificial intelligence in the US, the Information reported on Wednesday.

OpenAI, SoftBank each commit US$19b to Stargate AI data centre — report

BENGALURU (Jan 22): New Fortress Energy said on Wednesday that it signed an agreement with Energiza to supply natural gas to a 478-megawatt combined-cycle power plant being developed in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

New Fortress Energy signs gas supply agreement with Energiza

Oriental Kopi Holdings Bhd (KL:KOPI) surged more than 70% during its trading debut on Thursday, following strong demand for the café chain operator’s initial public offering (IPO).

Oriental Kopi hits opening gong with 71% premium on ACE Market debut

Elon Musk openly questioned whether companies that joined President Donald Trump’s announcement promising hundreds of billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure could follow through on their promises, exposing an early internal rift within the White House.

Musk and Altman spar over US$100b AI venture hyped by Trump

CNN, a unit of Warner Bros Discovery, plans to lay off hundreds of employees on Thursday, as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience, CNBC reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

CNN and NBC News to lay off employees — report

Crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Wednesday, weighed down by concerns over weakening demand from India due to cheaper alternatives, a trader said.

CPO futures close lower on concerns over weakening demand from India

Six individuals have been arrested and goods worth RM113 million confiscated in police raids on seven company premises in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur suspected of smuggling iron and metal products from abroad.

Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Azmi Abu Kassim said those detained in the raids on Jan 17 comprised two local men, one local woman and three foreign men, aged between 33 and 50.

Police arrest six, RM113 mil worth of iron products seized in anti-smuggling raids

One of the world’s biggest crop traders has halted loading of grain vessels at US Gulf terminals as the region’s worst snowstorm in 130 years slams the region.

Crop trader declares force majeure along US Gulf during rare southern snow

Asia shares rose on Thursday, helped by a jump in their Chinese counterparts on Beijing's latest measures to shore up its crumbling stock market, while elsewhere, investors continued to have their eyes on US President Donald Trump's policy plans.

South Korea's SK Hynix forecast sales of its high-end semiconductors used in generative artificial intelligence chipsets would double this year after reporting a record quarterly profit that surpassed its bigger rival Samsung.

SK Hynix posts record quarterly profit, surpassing Samsung on AI boom 

Samsung Electronics Wednesday unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, powered by Qualcomm's chips and Google's artificial-intelligence model, hoping its upgraded AI features can reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple and Chinese rivals.

Samsung unveils AI smartphones with Qualcomm chips, teases slimmer Galaxy phones

More than half of American businesses in China, the highest level in five years, say they are concerned about a further deterioration in the bilateral relationship between the world's two largest economies, a survey published on Thursday showed

American firms in China fearful of US-China trade turmoil at five-year high, survey shows

(Jan 23):&nbsp;Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump that the kingdom wants to put US$600 billion (RM2.66 trillion)&nbsp;into expanded investment and trade with the United States over the next four years, the Saudi state news agency said early on Thursday.

E-commerce giant Amazon.com is exiting its operations in the Canadian province of Quebec, leading to the loss of about 1,700 full-time jobs, the company said on Wednesday, prompting Ottawa to express its unhappiness.

Amazon exits Quebec operations, to cut about 1,700 jobs; Ottawa unhappy

The yield gap between Singapore’s ultra-long bonds versus treasuries is expected to expand from already-record levels as the nations’ debt supplies continue to diverge.

Singapore’s record yield gap with US set to widen on debt supply

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) crippled a vape smuggling syndicate operating at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Cargo Centre; its activities resulted in an estimated RM8 million tax loss.

MACC busts KLIA vape smuggling syndicate, 14 arrested, RM8 million unpaid taxes

Asean is progressing cautiously on Myanmar as it is critical to secure peace in the country, said Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said Asean’s approach is not about enforcing a particular system but ensuring inclusivity and peace as well as the importance of participatory democracy.

Asean takes cautious approach on Myanmar, critical to secure peace — Anwar

When President Donald Trump joined tech executives on Tuesday to tout a multi-billion-dollar artificial intelligence project led in part by OpenAI, one question sprang to mind: Where’s Microsoft Corp?

Microsoft poised to benefit from Stargate JV with zero money

The increase in allocation for the Trade Union Affairs Programme (PHEKS) to RM10 million this year underscores the government’s commitment to strengthening trade unions in the country, say union leaders.

Union of Pos Malaysia Bhd Uniformed Staff Peninsular Malaysia (UPUS) president Ismail Ali described the allocation as the highest to date and said it would help produce quality leaders for the future.

Trade unions welcome enhanced govt funding for leadership training and development

Sustainability can sometimes be seen as a concept only achievable by those with resources, but it can also be practised by smallholders and bring about financial benefits, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

According to RSPO, 85% of oil palm plantation owners ar...

Agriculture: Sustainable palm oil practices in Surat Thani province

In the last two weeks of 2024, the solar industry in Malaysia was taken aback by changes to the self-consumption (SelCo) programme for solar power, announced by the Energy Commission Malaysia (ST) and Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation.

The first announcement made on...

Vasantha Ganesan

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Vasantha Ganesan

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