KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): On April 2, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs targeting several Asean nations, significantly raising import duties on key regional trade partners.

Trump’s tariffs on Asean: Nothing to dread, everything to fear

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

YTL Power, Ranhill, MPHB, IHH Healthcare, Aurelius, Pestech, CelcomDigi, UEM Sunrise, IGB, FGV, E&O, Supermax, BLand, Magnum, Signature International, Star Media

A Singapore court has sentenced Malaysian John Soh Chee Wen — who was found guilty of masterminding the manipulation of three penny stocks that eventually collapsed and wiped off S$8 billion (RM26.23 billion) in market capitalisation in 2013 — to 36 years in jail. His main accomplice Quah Su Ling, another Malaysian, was given 20 years.

The Edge Says: Singapore gets it right — Severe punishment is the best deterrent against future commercial crimes

The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) is silent after its third six-month special exemption from Bursa Malaysia for the 25% public shareholding spread in FGV Holdings Bhd expired on Aug 3 2022.

It continues to mop up more shares on the open market in an apparent attempt to privatise FGV on the cheap despite high palm oil prices and record profits.

Felda and privatisation of FGV: No end in sight

KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): To compound or not to compound may very well be the question when it comes to compoundable offences. The decision to compound the four executives in the Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd case has raised a myriad of questions, thoughts, and opinions.

As a general princi...

MSWG CEO: What is the reason for the decision to compound in Serba Dinamik case?

KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Whilst Gamuda is still considering and deliberating the offer from Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Berhad (ALR), and we will duly announce our decision on their offer immediately after our Board has made a decision on it, we would like to make the following comment(s):

Gamuda says everyone wins with ALR's takeover offer

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 8): Last Friday (Feb 4), I took my children to the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur to be vaccinated. Like all parents, whether a pandemic was in progress or not, my wife and I were understandably anxious. Indeed we are always anxious. We worry about the state of the world our children are growing up in and about the future they may have to inhabit. We want the best for them and we live in the hope that somehow, things will get better. We steel ourselves to be ready for anything but we weren't prepared for what awaited us that day.  As expatriate parents, understandably, our anxiousness had added dimensions to it.

A pleasant surprise during my children’s vaccination

Serba Dinamik Bhd’s standoff with market regulators and two major accounting firms over its delayed financial statements is becoming a joke. But it is definitely not funny.

To recap, the problem surfaced after its long-time external auditor KPMG highlighted discrepancies involving trans...

End the standoff: Serba Dinamik should make EY review public to prove it has nothing to hide

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 16): Effective Jan 1, 2022, a proposal to remove tax exemption on income derived from foreign sources and received in Malaysia by Malaysian residents under Paragraph 28, Schedule 6 of the Income Tax Act (ITA) 1967 was announced in the recent Budget 2022.

Look into issues in proposed tax on foreign-sourced income

Money laundering is a process of converting cash or property derived from illegal activities to give it a legitimate appearance. It is a process to clean "dirty" money in order to disguise its criminal origin.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is empowered to enforce recovery of stolen assets via the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA 2001).

Understanding money laundering and asset recovery strategies

There are views now being promoted that any prescriptive regulations or employment requirements for vaccination status on individuals militate against the liberty of a person to choose NOT to be vaccinated. And further this is unconstitutional.

Does the Federal Constitution protection of fundamental liberty mean that laws employer cannot prescribe vaccination against Covid-19 be imposed?

MERDEKA!

On the 31st of August 2021, Malaysia will celebrate 64 years of independence. Over the last two years, the usual fanfare associated with the occasion (among others) has been replaced with quieter celebrations at home under what seems to be a perpetual state of lockdown.

Merdeka, in the midst of a pandemic

There is a call to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate allegations of interference on the judiciary. Such a call is wrong and must be rejected.

Setting up of RCI to investigate judiciary is unconstitutional

While grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia has also gone through a very toxic and stormy period of political crisis since the Sheraton coup took place in February 2020. Seventeen months after the parliamentary coup, we have yet another unelected government led by the ninth prime minister (PM), and third in three years, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

An idea of economic governance for new PM

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a key concession at a US antitrust trial on Tuesday, saying he bought Instagram because it had a "better" camera than the one his company was trying to build for flagship app Facebook at the time.

At US antitrust trial, Meta's Zuckerberg admits he bought Instagram because it was 'better' 

Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (KL:F&N) marked a milestone with its first batch of 2,500 dairy heifers from Chile at its integrated dairy farm in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.

F&N's first batch of 2,500 Chilean dairy cattles arrives in Gemas farm

OpenAI is working on its own X-like social media network, the Verge reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

OpenAI is working on X-like social media platform — report

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will allow automakers to import US-manufactured cars and trucks without tariffs, as long as the companies keep making vehicles in Canada.

Canada scraps tariffs for automakers that keep plants running

US importers looking to sidestep Trump administration tariffs are desperately seeking space in a type of warehouse that lets them stash merchandise for as long as five years without paying duties.

Trump trade war sparks run on US warehouses with tariff loophole

US consumer spending has benefited from strong wage growth and low unemployment so far, but it faces huge risks, bank executives warned, if the upheaval sparked by President Donald Trump's trade policy persists.

US banks flag risks to consumer spending from tariff policy uncertainties

Petronas Gas, RHB Bank, Lien Hoe, Mayu Global, Binastra, Skygate, Tomei, Binasat, Aurelius Technologies, Kerjaya Prospek, Scope Industries, Keyfield International, Bank Rakyat

Apple's main India suppliers Foxconn and Tata shipped nearly US$2 billion (RM8.83 billion) worth of iPhones to the US in March, an all-time high, as the US company airlifted devices to bypass President Donald Trump's impending tariffs, customs data shows.

Apple airlifted iPhones worth a record US$2 bil from India in March as Trump tariffs loomed

LONDON (April 15): European credit ratings agency Scope has warned that the United States could be downgraded if a lengthy trade war erodes long-term trust in the dollar, or if President Donald Trump implements even more extreme measures such as capital controls.

The fallout from Trump'...

European rating agency Scope sends US downgrade warning

The first phase of the 2025 PKR election, involving the Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) and Women's Division levels, has been completed. 

The party polls were held in seven states from last Friday to Sunday, said Party Election Committee (JPP) chairperson Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

First phase of PKR election completed, focus shifts to second phase — Zaliha

Sultan of Perak&nbsp;Sultan Nazrin Shah on Tuesday said that the actions of the leaders of two religious institutions, namely the Al-Falah Mosque Subang Jaya and the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple on Jalan Putra Harmoni, in helping the victims of the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights regardless of their racial or religious identities&nbsp;should be emulated.

Perak Sultan hails mosque, Hindu temple's inclusive aid for Putra Heights fire victims

The High Court here increased to RM10,000, from the RM5,000 fine imposed by a Magistrate against a former president of Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) for insulting the university’s vice-chancellor by staging a protest during a convocation ceremony in 2019.

High Court doubles fine to RM10,000 for former UM student activist for insulting vice-chancellor

China hopes to begin another “50 golden years” in its bilateral relations with Malaysia, said President Xi Jinping, as he begins his three-day visit here for the first time in 12 years as part of his Asean tour.

China sees another ‘50 golden years’ with Malaysia, says Xi

The bank accounts of Mayu Global Group Bhd (KL:MAYU) and several of its subsidiaries, holding a combined total of RM10.67 million, have been frozen by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) as part of an ongoing investigation under anti-money laundering laws.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, Mayu Global also disclosed that its executive director Tan Kim Hee, who was detained by Bukit Aman police on April 2 to assist with the investigation, was released on April 7 without any charges filed against him.

Mayu Global says bank accounts frozen in money laundering probe; director released with no charges filed

RHB Bank Bhd (KL:RHBBANK),&nbsp;the country's fourth-largest lender by assets, has been named as the third defendant in a RM313.08 million lawsuit filed by Prismaworld Embassyview Sdn Bhd in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

RHB confirms named as defendant in RM313m Taman U-Thant suit, to contest claims

The restoration of gas supply in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya — where a massive blaze took place two weeks ago after a pipeline leak — is currently estimated to take place no earlier than July 1, said Petronas Gas Bhd (KL:PETGAS).

Gas supply restoration in Putra Heights expected by July 1 at the earliest, says Petronas Gas

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday for a three-day state visit at the invitation of the King,&nbsp;Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

China's Xi arrives in Malaysia for three-day state visit

Naza Automotive Group (Naza Auto) plans to strengthen its core automotive brands, improve financial stability, and focus on profitable segments over the next three years, while reducing reliance on lifestyle and niche areas.

Naza Auto to focus on core brands, cut frills in three-year plan to boost profitability

China is "tearing down walls" and expanding its circle of trading partners, "shaking hands" instead of "shaking fists", its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as Beijing works on diversifying ties amid an escalating trade war with the US.

China says it is 'tearing down walls' to expand trade alliances amid US stand-off

Investor sentiment regarding economic prospects is the most negative in three decades, yet fund managers’ pessimism isn’t fully reflected in their asset allocation which could mean more losses for US stocks, a Bank of America Corp survey shows.

Investors haven’t been this bearish in 30 years, BofA poll shows

Signature Alliance Group Bhd, a subsidiary of kitchen and wardrobe maker Signature International Bhd (KL:SIGN), has secured M&amp;A Securities Sdn Bhd and Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd as the underwriters for its initial public offering on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia.

M&A Securities, Affin Hwang to underwrite Signature Alliance Group's IPO

Singapore’s government called for a May 3 election as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong seeks a mandate to tackle cost-of-living concerns and lead a nation that has long benefitted from global trade into a complicated new era.

Singapore calls May 3 election as prices, trade war take toll

Lien Hoe Corp Bhd (KL:LIENHOE) announced that its audited accounts for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024) raised a material uncertainty related to its ability to continue as a going concern, according to its independent auditors, UHY Malaysia PLT.&nbsp;

Lien Hoe’s independent auditors raise going concern doubts following FY2024 audit

Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy said it was within his rights to comment publicly about the company in 2018, even when he was on garden leave.

Arul Kanda denies breaching 1MDB duty with public remarks

Honda is considering switching some car production from Mexico and Canada to the United States, aiming for 90% of cars sold in the country to be made locally in response to new US auto tariffs, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Honda to make 90% of US sales locally by relocating Mexico, Canada production — report

Bank Rakyat has appointed Ahmad Shahril Mohd Shariff as its new chief executive officer (CEO), effective April 9.

Ahmad Shahril has been serving as the acting CEO of the bank since Nov 9, 2024, following the resignation of Datuk Mohammad Hanis Osman, who held the top job for nearly three years from July 2022.

Ahmad Shahril appointed as Bank Rakyat CEO

Binasat Communications Bhd (KL:BINACOM) said a RM13.2 million civil works contract involving a high-voltage substation in Kuala Lumpur that was awarded to the group late last year has been terminated.

Binasat loses civil works job for Amazon-linked KL substation project

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

The federal government has approved an allocation of RM16.45 billion for the setting up of a helicopter assembly factory at the Melaka International Airport (LTAM) in Batu Berendam here, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh.

Putrajaya has greenlit RM16.4b helicopter assembly plant in Melaka, says CM

Skygate Solutions Bhd (KL:SKYGATE), formerly Ewein Bhd, is buying a 51% stake in Leader Range Technology (LRT) for RM10.71 million in cash. In a share sale agreement signed on Tuesday, Skygate said it will acquire 255,003 shares from founder and managing director Ong Chee Fui and Kumpulan Modal Perdana Sdn Bhd (KMP), along with all preference shares held by KMP.

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