KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): A total of RM681.71 million in public funds were identified as losses in six programmes involving the activities of federal government ministries and departments, as well as federal statutory bodies, as reported by the Auditor General’s Report 2023 (AG’s Report 2023).

Over RM681 mil of public fund losses across six federal programmes

Malaysia’s National Trust Fund (KWAN), which made up 68.7% of the federal government investment position, grew 4.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM14.47 billion in 2022, from RM13.89 billion.

National trust fund grew 4.2% y-o-y to RM14.47b in 2022, says Auditor General's Report

Government auditors have flagged a material uncertainty on the ability of five subsidiaries of Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia (Bernama) to continue as a going concern, which resulted in the national news agency itself getting its second consecutive qualified opinion from the auditors on its financial statements for the year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY2021).

AG raises going-concern doubts over five Bernama subsidiaries

The federal government has written off RM4.6 billion in loans in 2022, up from RM701.5 million in 2021, said the Auditor General’s Report on federal government financial statement 2022.

Putrajaya records loan write-off of RM4.6 bil in 2022, says Auditor General’s Report

As much as RM58.57 million in losses were incurred when Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) delayed initiating the compensation claim process against scholarship holders who breached their contracts, the Auditor General's Report 2023 revealed.

UiTM faces RM59 mil losses due to delayed compensation claims against scholarship holders

The Auditor General's Report for 2022 has revealed that weaknesses in recording, monitoring, and enforcement have caused the Railway Assets Corp (RAC) to incur losses of RM12.84 million in rental revenue.

Weakness in recording, monitoring and enforcement cost Railway Assets Corp RM13 mil in rental revenue

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) tasked to acquire underperforming assets of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) as a means to revive the pilgrim fund, redeemed RM200 million worth of sukuk in January this year.

Urusharta Jamaah redeemed RM200 mil of sukuk in January, says Auditor General’s report

Putrajaya spent a total of RM62.11 billion in subsidies last year, according to the Auditor General’s Report on the federal government’s 2022 financial statement.

The bulk or RM55.443 billion in subsidies were charged to the federal government’s operating expenditure (opex), while part of the subsidy spending for petroleum products and cooking oil amounting to RM6.67 billion were charged to the Covid-19 Trust Fund.

Malaysia’s subsidies in 2022 total RM62b — nearly five times more than in 2021

1Malaysia Development Bhd’s Assets Recovery Trust Account balance stood at RM1.927 billion at end-2022, down 87.4% from RM15.281 billion in 2021, according to the Auditor General's report on the federal government financial statement for the year 2022.

1MDB's Assets Recovery Trust Account balance at end-2022 falls 87% to RM1.9b

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Oct 12): China's deal with the European Union (EU) to curb exports of hybrid vehicles to the bloc is a fresh hit to Chinese EV makers that have ramped up hybrid shipments exempt from EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, as sales growth slows at home.

China's US$7.5 bil EU hybrid boom faces new curbs under China-EU deal

The Madani government Backbenchers Club (BBC) has proposed that the Economy Ministry and the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) consider a more structured economic spillover plan for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).

BBC calls for more structured JS-SEZ economic spillover plan

IOIPG Malaysia REIT has entered into an underwriting agreement with a group of six financial institutions for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market.

Six financial institutions to underwrite 165m units of IOIPG Malaysia REIT Main Market IPO

BEIJNG/TAIPEI (Oct 12): China on Monday placed sanctions on Paraguay's communications minister and the foreign minister of Belize over their countries' ties with Taiwan, saying they were "pawns" who have smeared and attacked Beijing.

China sanctions 'pawn' Paraguay, Belize ministers over Taiwan ties

Cyberjaya Education Group Bhd (KL:CYBERE) is acquiring 24,777 square metres of vacant freehold commercial land in Sepang for RM15 million in cash to support its university’s expansion and future student facilities.

Cyberjaya Education buys Sepang land for RM15m to support university growth

SEPANG (Oct 12): Malaysia will raise the issue of transboundary haze at an Asean foreign ministers’ meeting ahead of the bloc’s 49th Summit in Manila, the Philippines, next month to discuss more effective regional mechanisms to tackle the problem.

Mohamad Hasan: Malaysia to raise haze issue at Asean foreign ministers’ meeting

FORMER Employees Provident Fund CEO Tan Sri Shahril Ridza Ridzuan’s suggestion that employers raise their EPF contribution level to help lift the retirement savings of lower-wage earners raised eyebrows as it called attention to his illustration that employers could hypothetically contribute only...

The State of the Nation: Don’t penalise high-income earners when lifting EPF contribution for lower-wage cohorts

WM Senibong Bhd plans to unveil Centennial ParcVista in Johor in the first half of 2027, according to its CEO C K Quay.

Situated just across its existing development Crest@Austin in Johor Bahru, the site — spanning 959.7 acres of freehold land in Tebrau — was acquired from S P Setia Bhd...

WM Senibong’s strong cash position backs key launches, company in no rush to undertake IPO

AS the life expectancy of Malaysians increases, Putrajaya is aiming for at least 60% of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members to meet the Basic Savings benchmark of RM390,000 by age 60 by 2030. However, the government acknowledges that many Malaysians still risk outliving their savings during a ...

The State of the Nation: Recasting the age 55 EPF withdrawal into a lifetime pension promise  

BERLIN (Oct 12): Baerbel Bas, Germany's labour minister and co-head of the centre-left SPD, resigned from both posts on Monday, citing the death of her stepdaughter and mounting political attacks against her, dealing a blow to Chancellor Friedrich Merz's coalition government.

German labour minister to quit after stepdaughter's death

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): Genting Bhd (KL:GENTING) fell to its lowest in nearly two decades after the gaming conglomerate announced a RM1.25 billion cash call to pare down borrowings.

Genting falls 17% to 2007 lows after over RM1 bil cash call 

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): The High Court on Monday fixed June 14 next year for case management over the Malaysian Bar’s legal challenge against the Attorney General’s decision to drop its investigation against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in the Yayasan Akalbudi case.

Bar's challenge to AG’s decision to drop Zahid probe on hold pending apex court ruling

AirAsia (KL:AAGB) co-founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes met with officials from Malaysia's Finance Ministry two weeks ago to discuss potential government support for Southeast Asia's largest low-cost airline, said three people with knowledge of the matter.

AirAsia in talks with govt over potential funding support — Reuters

RHB Research sees value emerging in Malaysian property stocks after the recent sell-off, with the sector now trading at a 60% discount to their revalued net asset value (RNAV), wider than the 50% in May.

RHB sees value in battered property stocks, now at a 60% discount to asset value

KYIV/WASHINGTON (Oct 11): US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement of an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday that he said was "effective immediately", but Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was still waiting to see details of the deal.

Trump announces Ukraine energy ceasefire with Russia, surprising Zelenskiy

The market is repricing the risks around investments related to the buildup of artificial intelligence that could lead to more discipline in financing, according to DBS Group Holdings Ltd chief executive officer Tan Su Shan.

DBS CEO Tan says market repricing risks on AI financing

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia,&nbsp;attended a state welcoming ceremony at Istana Negara on Monday, marking the start of King Abdullah II of Jordan's two-day state visit to Malaysia, which began on Sunday (Oct 11).

Sultan Ibrahim attends state welcoming ceremony for Jordan’s King Abdullah II

1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) is in talks with Deutsche Bank (M) Bhd&nbsp;to settle their legal dispute, the court heard on Monday.

1MDB in settlement talks with Deutsche Bank

Two startling pieces of news surfaced last week about private companies that collect money on behalf of the government.

Frankly Speaking: When suspension is not good enough

Stock markets got off to an erratic start on Monday as earnings season looked set to test high tech valuations, while oil slipped amid confusion over whether Russia would, or could, increase energy exports.

Share markets choppy in Asia as earnings loom, oil slips

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): United Malacca Bhd (KL:UMCCA) said minority shareholders will be compensated for missing a general offer that should have been launched in 2024.

United Malacca to compensate minority shareholders for missing general offer

Consumer and property stocks could emerge as among the main beneficiaries of Budget 2027, although analysts see limited upside for the broader equity market.

Consumer, property stocks poised to gain from Budget 2027 measures — analysts

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said Malaysia should develop new revenue sources to support its finances beyond petroleum, proposing the establishment of a national rare earth entity modelled on Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS).

Hamzah proposes PETRONAS-style rare earth entity to develop industry

US President Donald Trump’s Libe­ration Day tariffs, first unveiled in April 2025, triggered a barrage of near-uniform criticisms from economists and trade experts.

Tong's Portfolio - Trump’s tariffs: Why the inflation shock never came

Here's a heads up on what to look out for today.

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Oct 12, 2026 

NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Oct 12): Oil prices slipped on Monday on expectations of more Russian supplies after US President Donald Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt attacks on each other's energy facilities following a US diesel-supply deal with Moscow.

Oil falls on hopes Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire will boost supplies

Bond markets are starting to do some of the lifting for central banks around the world by pushing up borrowing costs themselves, potentially reducing the number of benchmark interest-rate hikes needed to get inflation under control.

Bond selloff may mean fewer rate hikes from global central banks

Our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are in real danger of being gutted by their hyper-competitive counterparts from China whose overcapacity is being exported to our domestic markets. They create very little domestic employment and value-add, bringing in an en bloc shipment of labour and over...

My Say: The SME crisis: How China’s exported over-capacity is gutting Malaysia’s private sector

The government must take “drastic” action to reduce its reliance on imports and strengthen domestic manufacturing, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.

Minister urges ‘drastic’ action to cut reliance on imports amid review of China trade deficit

THE government’s move to support a fundraising drive for low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd (KL:AAGB) is raising questions over how far it should go to help a heavily indebted private company and whether taxpayers could ultimately be left footing the bill.

People familiar with the matte...

AG's Report 2023

‌
‌

AG's Report 2023

‌‌

‌
‌