Digitalisation continues to gain traction in the financial and wealth management industry, a development that is reflected in the RinggitPlus Malaysian Financial Literacy Survey 2024.

For instance, 29% of respondents say they prefer to purchase an insurance policy/takaful contract onlin...

Survey: RinggitPlus survey shows digitalisation happening at faster pace

In my column last month, I shared my initial views on Trump 2.0 (taxes, tariffs and taller walls) and promised to discuss the so-called Trump trades that investors have been jumping into since the US elections. For easy reference, I will use the acronym TRUMP to describe them. I will also share t...

Pitfalls & Pitch Calls: Positioning for 2025

Volatility reigns even with the end of the pandemic. It is increasingly hard to tell what is going to happen next in the financial markets and, for that matter, the world. Certainly, no one had expected the South Korean president to declare martial law in early December. But he did, and we saw th...

Editor’s Picks: Five books to help investors prepare for 2025

The rule of thumb is to cap alternative investments — anything beyond cash, bonds and equities — at 5%. But what if these non-traditional assets perform so well that you start questioning whether that limit still makes sense?

Cryptocurrencies, or digital assets, did remarkably well in 2...

Comment: Is a 5% allocation to alternative investments enough?

Credit cards these days go beyond just offering consumers access to financial resources. The cashback and rewards are a huge reason why consumers choose certain credit cards over others, based on their lifestyle choices.

In recent years, a new kind of credit card that claims to be more ...

Interlude: How to launch a truly ‘sustainable’ credit card

It is not an exaggeration to say that Luno, the first and largest digital asset exchange (DAX), has played an instrumental role in the development of the local cryptocurrency scene. Over the five years since it was granted a licence by the regulator, the firm has continued to command a market sha...

Luno in the lead

Since its inception in February, Moomoo Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd has garnered over 500,000 users on its stock trading app. This is partly due to its rapid launch of new products and solutions to level the playing field in the world of investing. It aims to enable the man in the street to parti...

News: Levelling the playing field

pitchIN, the largest equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform, isn’t resting on its laurels. It launched two initial exchange offering (IEO) campaigns this year, opening up new avenues for investors to participate in the growth of blockchain projects and businesses initiated by start-ups and companies....

Private Companies And Cryptocurrencies: pitchIN on a roll

Bursa Malaysia RAM Capital Sdn Bhd (BR Capital), a joint venture between Bursa Malaysia Bhd and RAM Holdings Bhd, allows the man in the street to invest directly in debt paper issued by mid-tier companies with an annual revenue of RM50 million to RM500 million. This initiative opens the door for ...

Peer-To-Peer Financing: New way to access debt market

Muzzaffar Othman is an outlier among the top guns in the asset management industry. He was a technology expert, or “tech guy”, before assuming the role of CEO at Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB).

He had parked most of his money in savings and current accounts for decades since he starte...

Digitalisation: Man on a mission

For Kaleon Leong, CEO of the Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM), 2024 was about a battle fought and won.

In October 2023, a new tax regime for the fund management industry was announced during the tabling of Budget 2024, spooking industry players.

While the even...

Feature: A voice for the unit trust industry

For some years now, the Malaysian stock market has been a laggard and returns have not been exciting. However, things took a turn for the better in 2024 and most fund managers are reporting higher returns. Still, they remain cautious on the year ahead, as volatility and uncertainty are expected t...

Year In Review: A better-than-expected 2024, but headwinds expected in 2025

November 2024 marks the month that Donald Trump won the US election to become the 47th president of the US. President-elect Trump is expected to move back into the White House next January. He was last in the White House from January 2017 to January 2021 as the 45th US president. The US Senate was then controlled by the Republicans.

Pitfalls & Pitch Calls: What to expect with Trump 2.0

When David Low left Luno Malaysia Sdn Bhd to set up Hata Digital Sdn Bhd, another digital asset exchange (DAX), he reckoned that it would be a case of David versus Goliath. He had helped build Luno from scratch to become the largest DAX in the country with over 90% market share in just five years. Can he do the same for Hata so that it can compete against the big players, like Luno?

Cover Story: David versus Goliath

Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (KL:MRCB) will have a long road ahead in gestating the development of the newly secured Ipoh Sentral project that will span 20 years in phases, analysts said.

Long road ahead for MRCB with Ipoh Sentral project, analysts say

The police have yet to receive a revised notice from the organisers of an assembly planned to be held at a shopping complex and Dataran Merdeka here on Saturday.

Organisers have not submitted updated notice for Dataran Merdeka assembly, say cops

EDGE WEEKLY: All eyes on Vertical Theme’s next move in Alliance Bank

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has finally been released from the witness stand, after testifying for 26 days in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)-Tanore trial.

1MDB-Tanore: Najib wraps up 26-day testimony on the stand

Germany’s labour market is increasingly weighed down by the country’s struggle to modernise its economy, according to a new study.

German jobs increasingly threatened by economic transformation

Units of IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:IGBREIT) will likely have little upside ahead following the recent rally, analysts said, after ending 2024 with earnings which were slightly below expected.

IGB REIT has little upside ahead, analysts say after weaker-than-expected 4Q

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered public transport in Bangkok to be free for a week from Saturday, as authorities try to reduce traffic and ease the smog that has choked the city for days.

Bangkok to get free public transport for a week as smog worsens

US President Donald Trump said he would prefer not to have to impose tariffs on China, while at the same time highlighting the influence he sees his threats having over the Asian nation’s actions.

Trump flexes threat of tariffs as ‘big power’ over China

(Jan 24): The UK’s antitrust regulator is planning to cut around 10% of its workforce over a “budget issue,” after a week of turmoil that’s seen its chairman involved in a high profile ouster.

The Competition and Markets Authority has offered voluntary exits to its staff because of...

UK CMA plans job cuts after finding ‘historic budget issue’

Singapore home prices rose at the same pace as initially estimated in the last quarter of 2024, amid analyst forecasts that the government may intervene to cool the market this year.

Singapore home prices rise, rents flat as curb chatter grows

Shares of YTL Corporation Bhd (KL:YTL) and YTL Power International Bhd (KL:YTLPOWR) fell on Friday in active trade after the companies revealed plans to issue non-tradable warrants exercisable at a discount to market prices.

YTL Corp, YTL Power shares down in active trade after plan to issue non-tradeable warrants

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

China’s straitened economic circumstances are being reflected in Lunar New Year travel plans, with many choosing cheaper domestic trips or nearby destinations in Asia.

Chinese tourists avoid far-flung trips over Lunar New Year holiday

Singapore's central bank on Friday loosened its monetary policy, the first such move since 2020, saying it expects inflation and growth to be slower than it initially forecast this year.

Singapore central bank eases monetary policy, first time since March 2020 

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stably around its 2% target.

BOJ raises interest rates to highest in 17 years 

Mitsubishi Motors Corp won’t be a part of Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co’s plans to combine their companies under a holding company, the Yomiuri reported.

Mitsubishi Motors won’t join Honda, Nissan tie-up — report

After almost two years of suspension, the automated people mover system (aerotrain) at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is now targeted to resume operations by the second quarter of 2025, subject to the testing and commission progress.

KLIA aerotrain to resume operations by 2Q, says MD of MAHB

Global shares rose on Friday buoyed by the prospect of lower US interest rates and a US-China trade deal following comments from President Donald Trump, while the yen was choppy after the Bank of Japan delivered a widely expected rate hike.

Asian shares buoyed by Trump's China comments; BOJ hikes rate

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 first subsea cable system directly connecting Singapore to the American west coast has been granted a landing licence by the US, according to Keppel Ltd, bolstering the city-state’s push as Asia’s leading digital hub.

US-Singapore subsea cable seen worth US$760m gets approval

Analysts see China’s latest initiatives injecting at least one trillion yuan (US$138 billion or RM608.44 billion) of additional flows in 2025 into its ailing stock market, with the most bullish calculation by JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co&nbsp;totalling 13 trillion yuan over three years.

China’s new rules to add US$138b into market, analysts say

Former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has fully deposited the judgment sum of RM1.35 million in damages to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s lawyers, pending his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Muhyiddin settles payment of RM1.35m in damages to Guan Eng pending defamation appeal

A late-day rebound in technology companies helped drive stocks to all-time highs, extending an advance fuelled by President Donald Trump’s call for lower oil prices and interest rates.

US stocks get Trump boost to close at all-time highs

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.

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

Malaysia is expected to see continued growth in consumer spending throughout 2025, with real household spending forecasted to increase by 5.2% year-on-year, driven by a favourable macroeconomic environment, according to BMI, a Fitch Solutions unit.

BMI sees Malaysia’s household spending surging 5.2% in 2025 amid steady inflation, labour market

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

US President Donald Trump said he would prefer not to have to impose tariffs on China, while at the same time highlighting the influence he sees his threats having over the Asian nation’s actions.&nbsp;

（吉隆坡24日讯）杨忠礼机构（YTL Corporation Bhd）（KL:YTL）和杨忠礼电力（YTL Power International Bhd）（KL:YTLPOWR）公布计划派送行使价低于市价的非流通凭单后，今早双双在交投活跃中走低。

拟派送非流通凭单 杨忠礼双雄齐跌

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.

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

Canada’s industry minister said Amazon.com Inc’s decision to shut down all warehouses in Quebec and cut more than 1,900 jobs would prompt the government to examine its current deals with the e-commerce and technology company.

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