HSBC said on Wednesday consultations were underway, after the Financial Times (FT) reported that hundreds of jobs were at risk from the bank's adoption of artificial intelligence (AI).

UK unit job cuts: HSBC says 'consultations' underway amid AI adoption

European payment groups serving 130 million people, including Spain's Bizum, Italy's Bancomat and Brussels-based Wero, said on Wednesday they were joining forces to create a cross-border payments network as Europe seeks to curb its dependence on Visa and Mastercard.

European payments groups join forces to challenge US dominance

American Express said on Monday its credit cards can now be used at over 190 million merchant locations worldwide, with acceptance outside the US having more than doubled over the past four years.

AmEx widens global reach as card acceptance tops 190 mil merchant locations

Touch ’n Go Group has called for stronger collaboration among mobility, financial services, technology and regulatory sectors to strengthen the resilience of services that Malaysians rely on to travel, make payments and access digital financial services.

TNG Group calls for stronger cross-sector collaboration to safeguard mobility, payment resilience

The Madani government is finalising follow-up measures to address the concerns of local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) affected by competition from foreign e-commerce platforms, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Govt to address MSME concerns over foreign e-commerce competition, says PM 

Singapore’s major financial institutions pledged to train more than 80,000 local employees in artificial intelligence (AI) skills as the country moves to cushion white-collar workers from potential job disruption.

Singapore’s finance firms to train 80,000 staff in AI skills, says deputy PM

US e-commerce retailer Amazon will invest US$3 billion (RM12.2 billion) to expand its India quick commerce business by 2030, two sources said, its biggest bet yet on a sector where rivals have raced ahead by popularising deliveries within minutes.

Amazon bets US$3b on India's fast-delivery boom — Reuters

Alipay+'s proposal to link with India's instant payments system for cross-border transactions has been stalled due to national security concerns in New Delhi and questions about the storage and use of customer data, three sources familiar with the discussions said.

India stalls Alipay+ payments link over security, data concerns — Reuters

Singapore has earmarked S$220 million (US$173 million or RM696.23 million) over three years to fund financial technology and innovation, as it seeks to stay competitive with other rival hubs including Hong Kong that are also investing in this area.

Singapore plans US$173 mil in fintech funding over three years

Axiata Group Bhd's fintech arm is valued at US$340 million after securing a US$20 million (RM81.7 million) investment from the International Finance Corp.

Boost Holdings still on the hunt for capital after World Bank's IFC investment  — Axiata

A consortium of buyout firm Advent and payment processor Stripe has decided to abandon its pursuit of fintech pioneer PayPal Holdings Inc, a potential deal that would have ranked as one of the biggest-ever leveraged buyouts, according to people familiar with the matter.

Advent, Stripe abandon US$50 bil pursuit of fintech pioneer PayPal — Bloomberg

Standard Chartered plc expects rebalancing of its global headcount due to the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) but sees hiring growing in markets such as India, home to its largest global capability centres.

StanChart expects Indian tech hub roles to grow as AI expands

Rakuten Group Inc earned its first quarterly net income in six years thanks to surging growth in its financial technology (fintech) and e-commerce segments.

The Japanese online shopping mall operator reported a net income of ¥7.7 billion (US$49 million or RM199 million) in the three months ended in June, up from a ¥50.96 billion loss a year ago. Analysts on average expected a loss of ¥19.16 billion.

Rakuten earns first profit in six years with fintech boost

Malaysia ranks among the top three global markets for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in finance, but over half of the country's high-net-worth investors still prefer a hybrid approach that integrates AI with human expertise when making financial decisions, according to HSBC.

HSBC: 85% of Malaysian investors use AI for finance, but most still prefer human guidance

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Oct 9, 2026

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

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Oct 9, 2026 

Oil fell after President Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran ahead of November’s midterm elections. West Texas Intermediate dropped toward US$91 barrel after climbing 3.6% on Thursday, while Brent closed above US$104

Oil declines after Trump says no Iran attacks before midterm

Asian tech stocks are set to come under pressure, tracking a selloff in US chipmakers as speculation over OpenAI’s revenue revived concerns about the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence spending boom.

Asian stocks set to fall on tech, oil edges lower

A selloff in chipmakers weighed on stocks as speculation around OpenAI’s revenue revived worries that the artificial-intelligence spending spree is becoming harder to justify.

S&P 500 falls as reports on OpenAI sink chipmakers

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate annoucements that made the headlines on Thursday:

SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG) has resolved its five-year legal dispute with the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) involving the compulsory acquisition of...

SD Guthrie, DNeX, Batu Kawan, MKH, MISC, Exsim Hospitality, GDB, Cyberjaya Education, Life Water, MTAG, UWC & Al-‘Aqar Healthcare REIT

Emotions ran high in the Coroner’s Court here on Thursday as the cheerful voice of the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, speaking affectionately to her mother, echoed through the courtroom during the inquest into the Form One student’s death.

Mother chokes up as Zara Qairina’s ‘voice’ fills courtroom during inquest

The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials announced on Thursday, citing alleged fraud, and as part of an effort to push companies to hire more Americans.

US suspends Microsoft, major IT firms from key green card programme

Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) has proposed reinstating rebates on interest or profit rates, as well as financial support for solar projects, under the upcoming Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) 6.0 for Budget 2027.

MGTC proposes rebate and financial support for solar for Budget 2027

All educational institutions under the Education Ministry (MOE) in areas recording air pollutant index (API) readings above 180, based on Department of Environment (DOE) readings, must be closed from Friday, Oct 9, amid the haze currently affecting the country.

Education minister announces school closures in four states, KL, Putrajaya and Rompin due to haze 

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate annoucements that made the headlines on Thursday:

SD Guthrie Bhd (KL:SDG) has resolved its five-year legal dispute with the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) involving the compulsory acquisition of...

Batu Kawan Bhd’s (KL:BKAWAN) unconditional mandatory takeover offer for MKH Bhd (KL:MKH) closed on Thursday with the group's stake in the property developer rising to 96.73%.

Batu Kawan's stake in MKH rises to 96.73% at close of takeover offer

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

Asian countries are racing to raise their oil stockpiling capacity, complete a regional power grid and speed up renewables in response to supply risks laid bare by the Iran war.

Asia races to stockpile oil, speed up renewables in response to Iran war

Exsim Hospitality Bhd (KL:EXSIMHB) has secured a RM15.6 million subcontract from a unit of Nestcon Bhd (KL:NESTCON) for the supply and installation of building services and general building works.

Exsim Hospitality secures RM15.6m building works contract from Nestcon unit

Fitters Diversified Bhd (KL:FITTERS) is proposing to sell its wholly-owned palm oil unit to raise cash for redeployment into other core divisions.

Fitters Diversified eyes sale of palm oil unit to redeploy funds into core businesses

The US government is suspending Microsoft, Adobe and several large IT firms from a programme that allows skilled foreign workers to gain permanent residency, senior US officials announced on Thursday, citing alleged fraud, and as part of an effort to push companies to hire more Americans.

US stocks edged lower on Thursday as soaring oil prices and Treasury yields near multi-year highs stoked inflation worries on the cusp of a critical earnings season expected to test recent market gains.

Wall Street slips as higher yields and oil prices flag inflation risk

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) reported quarterly profit that topped analysts’ estimates, helped by cost-cutting measures and a gradually improving contract flow that helped drive growth at Asia’s largest IT services provider.

TCS profit beats estimates as IT deals start trickling in

Al-`Aqar Healthcare REIT (KL:ALAQAR) has lodged two sukuk programmes with a combined limit value of RM3 billion to fund investments, refinance Islamic financing and meet working capital requirements.

Al-‘Aqar Healthcare REIT lodges sukuk programmes with combined RM3 bil limit

The owner of Market Financial Solutions Ltd (MFS) is facing a growing barrage of lawsuits as creditors try to recover about £2.3 billion (US$3 billion or RM12.25 billion) of loans they had extended to the UK property company that collapsed amid allegations of widespread fraud.

UK’s MFS owner says he’s been harassed by lawsuits after US$3 bil collapse

Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC) has proposed reinstating rebates on interest or profit rates, as well as financial support for solar projects, under the upcoming Green Technology Financing Scheme (GTFS) 6.0 for Budget 2027.

&nbsp;Oil fell after President Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran ahead of November’s midterm elections.&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate dropped toward US$91 barrel after climbing 3.6% on Thursday, while Brent closed above US$104

&nbsp;Asian tech stocks are set to come under pressure, tracking a selloff in US chipmakers as speculation over OpenAI’s revenue revived concerns about the sustainability of the artificial-intelligence spending boom.

The lower house of Parliament on Thursday passed the Food (Amendment) Bill 2026, paving the way for tighter food safety controls to better protect public health.

Tighter food safety controls by MOH with new bill passed in Dewan Rakyat

OpenAI opened ChatGPT advertising to Malaysian businesses on Sept 23, signalling a new channel for reaching customers. But with policies generally prohibiting financial services ads outside the US, local financial services providers are largely locked out of buying visibility.

Commentary: Who wins when customers turn to AI search?

American Airlines Group Inc plans to extend Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service to more than 1,000 mainline aircraft, as US carriers compete to offer faster in-flight WiFi.

American Airlines to expand Starlink WiFi across entire fleet

Starbucks has explored a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Starbucks explored Chipotle takeover, FT reports

A selloff in chipmakers weighed on stocks as speculation around OpenAI’s revenue revived worries that the artificial-intelligence spending spree is becoming harder to justify.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to continued labour market stability despite job growth slowing sharply in September.

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