Bumi Armada Bhd's (KL:ARMADA) joint venture (JV) Bluestreak CO2 Ltd has partnered with Düsseldorf-based Uniper (UK) Ltd to explore the implementation of jetty-moored floating liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) storage facility and liquid CO2 carrier solution.

Bumi Armada JV inks MOU to explore carbon storage provision in the UK 

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday.

AME Elite, AME REIT, Nationgate, MN Holdings, SC Estate Builder, UEM Sunrise, Axteria, CapitaLand, BAT, United Plantations, Gadang, AirAsia X

The Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) has approved soft loans totalling RM103.54 million to automate and modernise 29 companies up to June 2024.

Zafrul: RM103m in soft loans greenlit to help companies automate, modernise as of June 2024

EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

AME Elite Consortium Bhd (KL:AME) is selling four industrial properties in Johor to its 49.62%-owned unit AME Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:AMEREIT) for a total of RM119.5 million, to realign its property investments into a REIT.

AME Elite sells four Johor industrial properties to AME REIT for RM119.5 mil

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) said it is positive on its earnings outlook for this year, supported by sustained domestic earnings, an uptick in tourist arrivals and better occupancy rates for its retail malls.

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust positive on outlook amid increased tourist spending, occupancy rates

Property developer UEM Sunrise Bhd's (KL:UEMS) disposal of its 80.4% stake in South Africa’s Roc-Union Proprietary Ltd has fallen through again as the buyer Azishe Properties Proprietary Ltd failed to fulfil its payment obligations within the stipulated time frame, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia.

UEM Sunrise’s divestment in South Africa falls through again

Sabah state-owned SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd said it has sold its fifth crude oil cargo on July 23, with the latest transaction netting estimated sales revenue of RM120 million.

The latest sale, derived from SMJ Energy's 50%-owned Samarang production-sharing contract (PSC), has resulted in cumulative sales revenue of RM700 million across the five cargoes sold to date, it said.

Sabah's SMJ Energy sells fifth crude oil cargo for RM120 mil

Capitaland Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) is eyeing more industrial and logistic assets in Johor, given the robust demand and positive economic sentiments there.

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust eyes more industrial, logistic assets in Johor

Nationgate Holdings Bhd (KL:NATGATE) intends to issue new shares to raise RM429.3 million at a price that is five times more than its initial public offering (IPO) of 38 sen per share that was achieved barely 19 months back.

Nationgate to place out shares priced nearly six times that of IPO, to raise RM429m

The Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) is targeting for semiconductor exports to reach RM1.2 trillion by 2030.

MSIA sees Malaysia’s semicon exports reaching RM1.2 tril by 2030

AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) reported a 42% increase in passenger traffic, carrying 880,265 passengers in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q2024) from 621,984 in 2Q2023, driven by peak spring travel seasons and Eid holiday during the period.

AirAsia X’s 2Q2024 passenger traffic up 42%

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) posted a 15.2% jump in its second quarter net property income from the same quarter a year ago, as most of the malls within its portfolio recorded higher revenue as a result of positive rental reversions and higher occupancies.

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust's 2Q NPI jumps 15.2% to RM65.47m, announces 1.17 sen DPU

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (KL:BAT) reported that its second quarter net profit dropped 23.66% amid the group's increased investment into growing its vaping brand, Vuse, in Malaysia.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) fell to RM36.28 million from RM47.53 million in 2QFY2023, as revenue dropped 5.55% to RM640.46 million from RM678.12 million, BAT's bourse filing showed.

BAT Malaysia reports lower 2Q profit amid increased investments to grow Vuse; declares 12 sen dividend

(July 25): Delta Air Lines Inc. is expected to take a sizable financial hit this quarter from the system breakdown that led to thousands of canceled flights and prompted a federal investigation of the carrier’s response.

Citigroup cut estimates for Delta’s third-quarter adjusted earning...

Delta expected to take US$500 million hit as disruptions start to ease

(July 25): IT workers who have been working long hours to restore computer service from a global outage last week got a US$10 gift card from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., the cybersecurity company whose flawed update triggered the chaos.

In a Tuesday email, Chief Business Officer Daniel Be...

CrowdStrike sends US$10 gift cards to IT workers as mea culpa

(July 25): The man identified by the US as the shooter at Donald Trump’s campaign rally used encrypted messaging apps and flew a surveillance drone over the area ahead of his assassination attempt, the head of the FBI testified.

Appearing before Congress to answer questions about the Ju...

Trump shooter researched Lee Harvey Oswald, FBI head testifies

LONDON/NEW YORK (July 25): Stocks sagged worldwide on Wednesday as earnings from Tesla and European luxury brands disappointed, while oil prices edged higher after trading near-six week lows due to concerns over weak global demand.

The U.S. dollar edged lower, with traders watching out ...

Stocks dragged down by megacap tech, oil edges higher

PARIS (July 25): Argentina coach Javier Mascherano said he had never witnessed such a circus after a pitch invasion triggered a dramatic and long-delayed climax to the country's 2-1 loss to Morocco in their Olympic opener in St-Etienne on Wednesday.

Cristian Medina thought he had salvag...

Argentina coach Mascherano decries 'circus' after chaotic opening loss

(July 25): The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended at multi-week lows on Wednesday, with the S&P snapping one of its longest streaks without a daily decline of more than 2%, as lackluster Alphabet and Tesla earnings undermined investor confidence in megacap names.

As the first of the Magni...

S&P and Nasdaq close at multi-week lows as Tesla, Alphabet weigh heavily

(July 25): Tesla shares tumbled 12% on Wednesday, evaporating almost $100 billion in stock market value after CEO Elon Musk's talk of humanoid robots and driverless taxis failed to comfort investors worried about the electric car maker's shrinking profit margins.

Tesla posted its lowest...

Tesla's bleak margins sink shares as Musk hypes everything but cars

INDIANAPOLIS (July 25): Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to launch an aggressive attack on his new Democratic rival Kamala Harris on Wednesday in his first campaign rally since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race at the weekend.

At the event in the battle...

Trump expected to attack Harris on immigration in first rally since Biden bowed out

PARIS (July 25): Israel's opening Olympic soccer match against Mali on Wednesday passed the first major security test ahead of the Games' official opening ceremony as fans from both sides sought to play down the political context and enjoy the action.

France deployedabout 1,000 police o...

Paris 2024 relieved as Israel opening soccer match passes security test

Nationgate Holdings Bhd (KL:NATGATE) intends to issue new shares to raise RM429.3 million at a price that is five times more than its initial public offering (IPO) of 38 sen per share that was achieved barely 19 months back.

Malaysia is benefiting directly from the increased demand for data centres as a result of Singapore’s three-year moratorium on building new data centres and expanding capacity due to the limited availability of land, said Moody’s Ratings.

In a research note on Wednesday, the firm said there has been an increase in investment in data centres in Johor, citing cloud services provider Microsoft’s land purchase last month from Eco World Development Group Bhd for new data centre development.

Moody's Ratings: Malaysia to benefit from data centre demand spillover

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) posted a 15.2% jump in its second quarter net property income from the same quarter a year ago, as most of the malls within its portfolio recorded higher revenue as a result of positive rental reversions and higher occupancies.

Property developer UEM Sunrise Bhd's (KL:UEMS) disposal of its 80.4% stake in South Africa’s Roc-Union Proprietary Ltd has fallen through again as the buyer Azishe Properties Proprietary Ltd failed to fulfil its payment obligations within the stipulated time frame, according to its filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday.

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AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) reported a 42% increase in passenger traffic, carrying 880,265 passengers in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q2024) from 621,984 in 2Q2023, driven by peak spring travel seasons and Eid holiday during the period.&nbsp;

Malaysia’s headline inflation, which came unchanged year-on-year at 2% in June, is projected to remain steady for the rest of 2024, on the muted impact from the recent diesel subsidy rationalisation, analysts said.

Diesel price hike impact on inflation less than expected, say analysts on June CPI surprise

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (KL:BAT) reported that its second quarter net profit dropped 23.66% amid the group's increased investment into growing its vaping brand, Vuse, in Malaysia.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) fell to RM36.28 million from RM47.53 million in 2QFY2023, as revenue dropped 5.55% to RM640.46 million from RM678.12 million, BAT's bourse filing showed.

AME Elite Consortium Bhd (KL:AME) is selling four industrial properties in Johor to its 49.62%-owned unit AME Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:AMEREIT) for a total of RM119.5 million, to realign its property investments into a REIT.

United Plantations Bhd's (KL:UTDPLT) net profit rose 17% to RM185.94 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) from RM159.02 million a year earlier, on higher profits from both the plantation and refinery segments.

As a result, earnings per share were higher at 44.83 sen for 2QFY2024 compared with 38.34 sen for 2QFY2023.

United Plantations 2Q net profit up 17% on higher plantation and refinery profits

KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): Gadang Holdings Bhd’s (KL:GADANG) net loss narrowed to RM9.37 million for its fourth quarter ended May 31, 2024 (4QFY2024) from RM27.7 million a year ago, as revenue expanded due to higher contributions from its construction division.

Gadang narrows losses in 4Q on higher construction revenue

Sabah state-owned SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd said it has sold its fifth crude oil cargo on July 23, with the latest transaction netting estimated sales revenue of RM120 million.

The latest sale, derived from SMJ Energy's 50%-owned Samarang production-sharing contract (PSC), has resulted in cumulative sales revenue of RM700 million across the five cargoes sold to date, it said.

The Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) is targeting for semiconductor exports to reach RM1.2 trillion by 2030.

CapitaLand Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) said it is positive on its earnings outlook for this year, supported by sustained domestic earnings, an uptick in tourist arrivals and better occupancy rates for its retail malls.

Capitaland Malaysia Trust (KL:CLMT) is eyeing more industrial and logistic assets in Johor, given the robust demand and positive economic sentiments there.

Wall Street fell on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading declines after lackluster quarterly results from Tesla and Alphabet raised questions about the sustainability of the Big Tech and AI-led 2024 equity rally.

Wall Street slides as Tesla, Alphabet earnings drag on megacaps

Property developer Axteria Group Bhd (KL:AXTERIA), formerly known as Acoustech Bhd, has scrapped plans with Alpha Astral Properties Sdn Bhd (AAPSB) to jointly undertake a mixed development project on land measuring 83,037 square metres in Johor Bahru.

Axteria scraps plans to jointly develop Johor mixed project with RM413.2m GDV under first phase

Bumi Armada Bhd's (KL:ARMADA) joint venture (JV) Bluestreak CO2 Ltd has partnered with Düsseldorf-based Uniper (UK) Ltd to explore the implementation of jetty-moored floating liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) storage facility and liquid CO2 carrier solution.&nbsp;

Malaysia Airlines has cancelled its flight MH366 from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei and MH367 from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday due to the anticipated adverse weather conditions in Taiwan caused by Typhoon Gaemi.

Malaysia

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