President-elect Donald Trump has selected junior CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham as acting chair of the swaps and derivatives regulator, according to people familiar with the matter.
 
The five members of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) voted on Monday to confirm Pham as acting chair, said the people, who asked not to be identified since the appointment hadn’t yet been publicly announced.

Trump picks Caroline Pham to serve as acting CFTC chair

President Vladimir Putin said Russia’s ready for talks with the US on the war in Ukraine as he offered congratulations to incoming President Donald Trump on his inauguration.

“We congratulate the US president-elect on taking office,” Putin said on Monday at a televised meeting of his security council ahead of the inauguration in Washington.

Putin says Russia is open to dialogue on Ukraine with Trump

Malaysia and the European Union (EU) have not set any time frame to conclude their negotiations for the Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement (MEUFTA).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, however, said both parties agreed to accelerate the negotiations.

No time frame set to conclude Malaysia-EU free trade talks — PM

In a significant call to action, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim urged the European Union (EU) to deepen its support for Southeast Asia through increased climate financing, green investments, technical assistance, and capacity-building initiatives. 

Like the EU, Malaysia recognises that the climate crisis is a defining challenge of our time.

Malaysia calls on EU for enhanced support in climate financing, green initiatives

US President Joe Biden granted preemptive pardons to leading government officials that president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to punish, fending off potential retribution by his successor against those he has labelled as political enemies.

Biden pardons Milley, Fauci, Cheney and other Trump targets

Germany met Nato's target to spend 2% of its gross domestic product on defence in 2024, the government said on Monday, though well short of incoming US President Donald Trump's call for as much as 5%.

Under Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left government, Germany has ramped up military spending since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both to supply weapons to Kyiv and revamp its own armed forces.

Germany says it met Nato 2% defence spending target in 2024, short of Trump's demand

Southeast Asian cell tower firm EdgePoint Infrastructure is looking to expand its portfolio to over 20,000 towers in two to three years from around 15,000 currently, its chief executive told Reuters.

CEO and co-founder Suresh Sidhu said on Monday that the company, which is backed by US-listed DigitalBridge, would expand in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, markets where it already has a presence.

DigitalBridge-backed EdgePoint aiming to add more than 5,000 telco towers

Donald Trump’s tariff threats stand to hurt American economic interests because they would disturb automotive supply chains where the US is strong and drive up consumer prices, said the head of General Motors Co’s Canadian unit.

Trump tariffs would harm major US auto buyer, says GM Canada chief 

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

MAHB, 7-Eleven, Fajarbaru, Datasonic, Scanwolf, UUE, SkyWorld, Mieco, Maxland 

It is a “matter of time” before the privatisation of the country's biggest airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:AIRPORT), is completed after multiple delays, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said.

Khazanah MD says MAHB buyout completion a ‘matter of time’

Convenience store chain operator 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd (KL:SEM), in which Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan&nbsp;Chee Yioun owns a 28.07% stake, said on Monday it is setting up 100 original cash recycling machines (CRMs)&nbsp;at its outlets across Malaysia.

7-Eleven Malaysia to set up 100 Seven Bank cash recycling machines at its outlets

Turnkey contractor Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd (KL:FAJAR) has signed the master purchase and development agreement&nbsp;with Penang Development Corp (PDC) for the first phase of the Penang Medi-City project in Batu Kawan, set to position the state as a regional medical tourism hub.

Fajarbaru Builder to lead Medi-City project in Penang

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB&nbsp;(KL:AIRPORT),&nbsp;which&nbsp;is in the midst of&nbsp;a privatisation exercise, said that the group is “almost there” for the resumption of its aerotrain services at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), following a near two-year suspension.

‘We are almost there’ for aerotrain op resumption, says MAHB amid delays

Jendela Pinggiran Sdn Bhd (JPSB) — a subsidiary of SRC International Sdn Bhd allegedly set up to carry out corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and received RM43.96 million of SRC funds in 2015 — was used as former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “slush fund”, the High Court heard on Monday.

SRC's sham CSR subsidiary used as Najib’s RM43.96 mil slush fund, court hears

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): The US’ restriction on artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports is expected to have a limited impact on Malaysia’s semiconductor companies, which are primarily involved in assembly and testing, according to Nomura Asset Management Malaysia managing director and country head Leslie Yap.

Impact of US chip curbs on Malaysia’s semicon sector minimal, says Nomura’s country head

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 20): ACE Market-bound Northern Solar Holdings Bhd is expected to continue delivering its above-average net profit margin on lower global solar-panel prices, said PublicInvest Research.

ACE Market-bound Northern Solar’s fair value at RM1, margins above average — PublicInvest

It is a “matter of time” before the privatisation of the country's biggest airport operator, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:AIRPORT), is completed after multiple delays, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir said.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak testified in court that he didn't report the purportedly forged signatures on documents related to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Najib agrees no report lodged on purportedly fake signatures on 1MDB documents

A vehicle linked to Scanwolf Corp Bhd (KL:SCNWOLF) managing director Eddy Seah Ley Hong has triggered a mandatory takeover offer to acquire all the remaining shares it does not own in the plastic extrusion maker at 54 sen per share.

Scanwolf MD-linked vehicle triggers mandatory takeover offer, intends to maintain listing

EPE Power Corp Bhd, a private holding company with businesses in distributing switchgears and transformers, is among the potential bidders for the proposed Johor Bahru light rail transit (LRT) project.

According to sources privy to the matter, EPE Power will be collaborating with Lion P...

EPE Power–Lion Pacific among bidders for Johor Bahru LRT, say sources

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Monday denied that funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), meant for the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX City) project, were instead used to help fund Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN), and to maintain his hold on Umno to win the general election in 2013.

Najib denies using 1MDB funds meant for TRX City to support Umno, BN

SkyWorld Development Bhd (KL:SKYWLD) has proposed to diversify into manufacturing prefabricated and prefinished modular systems, which it plans to employ in its affordable housing project in Penang. &nbsp;

The new business, which the group says could potentially contribute a quarter of its net profit, will be undertaken via a collaboration with Singapore-based prefabricated and prefinished modular systems maker Teambuild Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, according to the property developer’s bourse filing on Monday.

SkyWorld eyes diversfiying into prefabricated manufacturing business

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) expects crude palm oil (CPO) prices to trade between RM4,250 and RM4,550 per tonne in the first quarter of 2025 (1Q2025), underpinned by low inventory, stable demand, and constrained supply of other edible oils.&nbsp;

CPO prices seen at RM4,250-RM4,550 a tonne in 1Q on supply-demand tightness, says MPOC

The federal government and five others have filed a prohibitory and gag order barring the public from discussing openly&nbsp;the purported addendum seeking to allow former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to serve the remainder of his six years' jail sentence&nbsp;under house arrest.

Govt files application for a gag and prohibitory order on purported addendum for Najib's house arrest

THE special relationship between Malaysia and Singapore cannot be overstated. However, throughout the decades since Singapore’s expulsion from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, the city state has been viewed as a major competitor to Malaysia when it comes to foreign investments.

While...

The State of the Nation: JS-SEZ could be catalyst for Johor and Malaysia

Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd (GDA), the consortium of three entities offering to take Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd or MAHB (KL:AIRPORT) private at RM11 per share, revised one of the conditions for the offer on Monday.

It dropped the acceptance level to 85%, from the 90% stated in the offer document that was issued on Dec 6, 2024.

What GDA's revision in terms means to MAHB’s privatisation

Malaysia is facing three major paradoxes, which present significant challenges to the country’s labour market, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.

Steven Sim says Malaysia's labour market faces significant challenges posed by three paradoxes

Public Investment Bank Bhd foresees little chance that incoming US President Donald Trump’s administration will fully overturn the decision to impose restrictions on artificial intelligence (AI) chip exports and impose limits on the computing capacity that the US can ship.

Slim chance of Trump 2.0 reversing Biden's proposed AI chip export controls — Public Investment Bank

The&nbsp;government is not hastily pursuing developed nation status, but&nbsp;the country's improving economic growth has put Malaysia on the right track to achieve this status by 2028 to 2029, said Economy Minister&nbsp;Datuk Seri Mohd Rafizi Ramli.

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