KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): Malayan Banking Bhd (KL:MAYBANK) said on Wednesday that it has invested in Funding Societies — the fintech company that operates a digital funding and debt investment platform for small businesses.

Maybank announces investment in Funding Societies

Singapore will allow its two casinos to conduct cashless gaming under changes made to the Casino Control Act, but will not permit the use of cryptocurrencies, CNA reported, citing Minister of State for Home Affairs and for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

Singapore to allow cashless bets in casinos — except crypto

Online lender K Bank Co has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in Seoul that may raise as much as 984 billion won (US$732 million or RM3.19 billion), in what would be the biggest South Korean listing in almost three years.

Online lender K Bank plans IPO of up to US$732m in Seoul

Visa Inc is working with some of the biggest banks in the UK, in a bid to revamp how account-to-account payments are handled in the country, as consumers continue to lose billions to wayward transactions.

Visa to revamp how £3.7 tril of UK bank payments are handled

Ride-hailing provider GoTo Group is exiting Vietnam, abandoning a country where it’s been struggling to focus on reaching profitability in its main operations in Indonesia and Singapore.

GoTo exits tough Vietnam market to focus on reaching profit 

SINGAPORE: iFast Global Bank, the digital banking division of iFast Corporation, announced on Tuesday (Sept 3) the launch of EzRemit, a cross-currency transfer service for its digital personal banking (DPB) customers.

iFast launches cross-currency transfer service to international banks, e-wallets including Malaysia’s Touch 'n Go

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (KL:KENANGA) said on Monday it has acquired an 8% stake in Singaporean fintech firm Helicap Pte Ltd at an undisclosed price.

Kenanga acquires 8% stake in Singaporean fintech firm Helicap

(Sept 1): Singapore lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said its website and mobile app were working normally, after being inaccessible to some users earlier on Sunday.

Singapore’s OCBC banking website, mobile app down for some users

Mastercard Inc is expanding its efforts to eliminate the use of credit card numbers when customers make purchases online in a bid to fight fraud.

A decade after it first unveiled a technology that replaces consumers’ card numbers with so-called tokens, the company is now processing one billion such transactions every week, chief executive officer Michael Miebach said in an interview. That’s after it took the payment behemoth three years to process the first billion of such transactions.

Mastercard wants to get rid of card numbers for online shopping

India's Paytm has received an approval from the country's finance ministry to invest in its payment services business, the fintech firm said on Wednesday.

India's Paytm gets govt nod for investment in payments arm

Malaysia's first digital bank, GX Bank Bhd (GXBank), and Zurich General Insurance Malaysia Bhd on Wednesday introduced Cyber Fraud Protect, a digital insurance plan which safeguards against financial losses arising from unauthorised electronic transfers resulting from cybercrime.

GXBank teams up with Zurich Malaysia for digital insurance that safeguards against cybercrime

India's markets regulator has issued show-cause notices to Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and other board members who held roles during the firm's November 2021 IPO over alleged misrepresentation of facts, Moneycontrol reported on Monday.

India markets regulator pull up Paytm founder, director on IPO breaches — report

Swiss companies and consumers are now able to make instant electronic payments, catching up with other European financial centres where the ultra-fast transfers are increasingly popular.

Swiss launch instant payments to catch up with Europe 

Adyen NV will offer PayPal Holdings Inc’s guest-checkout product, the first time the two competing payments firms have publicly announced such a partnership.

Competitors PayPal, Adyen publicly collaborate for first time

SINGAPORE (Sept 12): Pope Francis on Thursday urged political leaders in Singapore, a leading global financial hub, to seek fair wages for the country’s million-plus lower-paid foreign workers. In likely the last major speech of an ambitious 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania...

Pope Francis, in Singapore, urges fair wages for migrant workers

Financial fraud investigator Richard Templeman said 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has only paid Aabar Investment PJS Ltd, also known as the fake Aabar, US$2.2 billion and not US$3.5 billion as the fund claimed, based on his own findings.

Fraud investigator says 1MDB only paid US$2.2 bil to fake Aabar, not US$3.5 bil

Below is a summary of how key Bursa Malaysia indices and the ringgit performed on Thursday.

FBM KLCI slips 0.09% to 1,638.31 on Sept 12, 2024

Real estate developers in Malaysia are more positive about the country's property industry outlook for the first half of 2025 (1H2025) compared to the second half of 2024 (2H2024), according to Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda) Malaysia during a media briefing of its Property Industry Survey 1H2024 and Market Outlook for 2H2024 and 1H2025 held at Wisma Rehda, Petaling Jaya on Thursday.

More optimism among property developers for 1H2025 compared to 2H2024, says Rehda Malaysia's property industry survey

Signs of gloom are mounting in the US$9.5 trillion (RM41.2 trillion) ETF landscape, threatening to expose Wednesday’s dip buying in stocks as a head-fake with traders cashing out of speculative trading vehicles.

Bearish signals flash in risky parts of US$9.5 trillion ETF market

The United States is considering imposing sanctions as early as this week on prominent Cambodians, including one person close to the ruling party, over alleged links to online scams and human trafficking, two people briefed on the matter by US officials told Reuters.

US plans to sanction prominent Cambodians linked to scam factories — Reuters

Tesco was not entitled to terminate some employees' contracts and offer to rehire them on less favourable terms, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

Tesco loses UK legal battle over 'fire and rehire' of staff

Goldman Sachs Group Inc is selling a significant risk transfer tied to a portfolio of about US$3 billion (RM13 billion) of leveraged loans, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Goldman Sachs to sell SRT tied to US$3b of leveraged loans

Share markets enjoyed a fourth straight day of gains on Thursday as the prospect of another ECB rate cut pinned shorter-term euro zone borrowing costs near to their lowest level since the end of 2022, and the euro to a four-month nadir.

Tech takes stocks higher as ECB prepares for rate cut

South Korea’s top financial regulator said it plans to lift the ban on short selling at the end of March and will ensure that necessary rule revisions are in place by then.

The objective is to allow the strategy across all equities, not just in a limited number of stocks, Financial Services Commission chairman Kim Byoung-hwan said on Thursday. While the country had previously said that the prohibition would be extended to March 30, there was uncertainty about whether the popular trading practice would resume afterward or be subject to another ban extension, and also if changes would apply to all stocks.

South Korea aims to end short-selling ban on all stocks in March

Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur "is not for sale" by its owners and shareholders, said Tan Sri Sallehuddin Mohamed, chairman of its owner Ampang Hotel Sdn Bhd.

In a statement, Sallehuddin said the shareholders "are satisfied with our progress and the direction we are taking" for the hotel.

Concorde Hotel KL not for sale, says owner

Southeast Asian equities have cemented their position as a favourite play of money managers positioning for the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) policy pivot.

Four of the five best-performing Asian equity benchmarks this month are from the region, with Thailand leading the pack. The buying frenzy has put foreign inflows on track for a fifth consecutive week while the MSCI Asean Index is now trading near its highest level since April 2022.

Global funds rush into Malaysian, Southeast Asian stocks as Fed pivot play

A former aide to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was charged with drug trafficking at the Magistrate's Court in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Muhammed Yusoff Rawther, who has an ongoing sexual assault suit against Anwar, was charged with one count of trafficking 305 grammes of cannabis at the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters' surau last Friday.

Anwar's former aide, who is suing PM for sexual assault, charged with drug trafficking

Sales of Mazda and Kia vehicles are expected to pick up in the months ahead as analysts shrugged off Bermaz Auto Bhd’s (KL:BAUTO) weaker-than-expected quarter.

Volume-heavy Mazda cars, 10% dividend yield set to prop up Bermaz Auto after weak quarter

China is turning up the heat on its army of 8,700 investment bankers.&nbsp;

After being forced to take big&nbsp;pay cuts&nbsp;and adhere to other belt-tightening measures under President Xi Jinping’s years-long common prosperity campaign, the country’s dealmakers are now in the crosshairs of the nation’s top graft buster.&nbsp;

China detains investment bankers, takes passports in corruption sweep

Any decision&nbsp;on the proposal to make&nbsp;halal certification mandatory for all restaurants and food operators is under the jurisdiction of the Conference of Rulers, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the&nbsp;issue should not be turned into polemics, as it is still in the proposal phase and had yet to become&nbsp;a permanent policy.

Conference of Rulers to have final say on mandatory halal certification, says Zahid

Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) advised investors to refocus on property stocks with solid fundamentals and proven execution capabilities amid enthusiasm around the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).

Refocus on property stocks with strong fundamentals amid Johor-Singapore SEZ excitement — Maybank IB

In the second quarter of 2024 (2Q2024), Malaysia's retail sales decelerated to 0.6%, falling short of market expectations, according to Retail Group Malaysia (RGM).

In June, members of the Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) and Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) projected a growth rate of 1.7%, making the actual result 65% below the estimate.

Malaysian retailers point to 2Q growth slowdown amid rising prices, weak sentiment

The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Registrar has been granted a stay by the High Court on Thursday from registering a 263.27-acre plot of land in the ‘Duta enclave’ to the liquidator of Semantan Estate (1952) Sdn Bhd.

High Court grants stay over registration of Semantan Estate

SUBANG (Sept 12): SIA Engineering Co Ltd (SIAEC), the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) arm of Singapore Airlines Ltd, said less than 10% of its new hires in the country came from Malaysia Airlines’ engineering arm.

Less than 10% of Malaysia Airlines’ technical staff joined us, says SIA’s engineering unit over poaching its staff

A rally in the world’s largest technology companies spurred a stock-market rebound in a volatile session that had Wall Street traders digesting faster-than-anticipated inflation data.

Stocks wipe out CPI-fuelled slide as Big Tech jumps

Selection of the technology provider for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) is still open, said MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal.

Selection still open for KL-Singapore high-speed rail technology provider — MyHSR CEO

Share markets enjoyed a fourth straight day of gains on Thursday as the prospect of another ECB rate cut pinned shorter-term euro zone borrowing costs near to their lowest level since the end of 2022, and the euro to a four-month nadir.

First-half earnings in Asia showed how the ripple effects of the Red Sea crisis will continue to be costly for companies that make goods for export, while those that transport their wares benefit from higher freight rates.

Red Sea crisis produces winners and losers in Asia as freight rates spike

Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao said it will focus on expanding further into established foreign markets in the coming years, notably the US, working to draw new customers as diners at home pull back on spending.&nbsp;

Chinese hotpot chain plans US expansion to escape slump at home

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): BIMB Securities has maintained its “underweight” call on the rubber glove sector, citing challenges from strict European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and persistent overcapacity in the industry.

BIMB Securities flags challenges in rubber glove sector amid EU deforestation rules

China has strongly advised its carmakers to make sure advanced electric vehicle (EV) technology stays in the country, people familiar with the matter said, even as they build factories around the world to escape punitive tariffs on Chinese exports.

Chinese carmakers advised to keep key EV technology at home — Bloomberg

IOI Properties Group Bhd (KL:IOIPG) is going to launch its IOI Industrial Park at Banting, Selangor by the second quarter of next year and is planning another one in Melaka that is expected to be launched two quarters later.

IOI Properties plans more industrial parks as it eyes 20% revenue contribution from the segment

WTEC Group Bhd, a foam and fabric products maker, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market to raise funds for acquisition of a new, larger factory in Selangor.

Foam products maker WTEC Group files for IPO on ACE Market

Oil and gas exploration and production group Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd (KL:HIBISCS) is proposing an additional one sen dividend per share for the financial year ended June 30, 2024 (FY2024).

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