<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="font-style: italics;">This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 25, 2023 - January 7, 2024</span></p></div><div><img alt="" class="gallery-items" data-high-res-src="https://assets.theedgemarkets.com/pics/2023/DE18-Inforgraphic-2-TEM1504_theedgemalaysia.jpg" src="" /></div>

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If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that the future is unpredictable. From the widespread embrace of digital transformation to the burgeoning importance of cybersecurity and the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), which will only continue to gather pace in the new year, many emerging trends have impacted the country’s business landscape. Here are some of the key business and technology trends we foresee opening a new chapter for Malaysian companies in the year ahead.

Navigating Malaysia’s tech horizon

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB), Malaysia's second-largest bank by assets, announced on Tuesday its commitment to extend RM1.5 billion in financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in partnership with Credit Guarantee Corp Malaysia Bhd (CGC).

CIMB teams up with CGC to allocate additional RM1.5b for SME financing

AMID growing calls for the European Commission (EC) to delay the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the major plantation companies in Malaysia say they are prepared for Dec 30, 2024 — the day the regulation comes into effect. These companies say they have been proactive in conducting...

Malaysian planters gear up for EUDR compliance amid calls to delay its implementation

Meta Platforms said on Tuesday it will expand investment in artificial intelligence innovation in Vietnam, including production of its latest mixed reality headsets from 2025, its latest effort to boost its footprint in the country.

Meta says it will expand production of mixed reality headsets in Vietnam 

The Edge Malaysia’s only agenda is to serve the truth and to earn the readers’ trust, said its chairman and owner Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong, reinforcing that the publication has no political or personal agenda.

The Edge’s only agenda is to serve the truth, says chairman Tong as publication unveils book on 30-year journey

Dockworkers have walked out of every major port on the US East and Gulf coasts, marking the beginning of a strike that could ripple through the world’s largest economy and cause political turmoil just weeks before the presidential election.

Strike shuts US East Coast, Gulf ports, threatening economy

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has lauded The Edge Malaysia for its significant contribution to the Malaysian media landscape over the past three decades.

Selangor Sultan commends The Edge Malaysia for 30 years of quality journalism

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is currently assessing the mental health of children rescued from charity homes run by GISB Holdings Sdn Bhd (GISBH).

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said these children are suspected of facing mental health challenges, likely due to the trauma they experienced.

MOH assessing mental health of children rescued from charity homes run by GISBH

The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 airplanes may be using planes with rudder components that could pose safety risks.

US warns foreign operators may be using Boeing 737s with suspect rudder control parts

Supercomnet Technologies Bhd

Target price: RM2.40 BUY

Brokers Digest: Local Equities - Supercomnet Technologies Bhd, Muhibbah Engineering Bhd, PGF Capital Bhd, SMRT Holdings Bhd

Asian stocks pulled back from two-and-half-year highs on Tuesday and the dollar firmed following comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell that scupered bets of big interest rate cuts, while Middle-East tension kept risk sentiment in check.

Asian stocks drift, dollar firms as traders ponder US rates

<p>Shares of Dagang NeXchange Bhd (KL:DNEX) surged on Tuesday to their highest in more than a month after the company announced its partnership with Google to provide cloud services in Malaysia.</p>


DNeX shares surge 16% on cloud services partnership with Google

<p>Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had, on Sept 3, imposed an Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) of RM660,000 on Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (Agrobank) for non-compliance with the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002, according to a statement on Tuesday.</p>


BNM imposes penalty on Agrobank for non-compliance with the Development Financial Institutions Act 2002

<p>Google said on Tuesday its investments in Malaysia would create 26,500 jobs and contribute more than US$3 billion (RM12.4 billion) to its economy by 2030, as it announced its new data centre and Cloud region there had broken ground.</p>


Google says Malaysia investments to add US$3b to its GDP by 2030, create 26,500 jobs

<p>Malaysia plans to create a national cloud policy and introduce regulations to encourage the ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday.</p>


Anwar: Malaysia planning national cloud policy, AI regulations 

<p>The Malaysian bourse is mulling a plan to improve valuations of local companies as it seeks to lure global investors amid similar programs from regional peers.</p>


Bursa Malaysia eyes value-boosting plans to lure stock traders

<p>The US National Transportation Safety Board said on Monday more than 40 foreign operators of Boeing 737 airplanes may be using planes with rudder components that could pose safety risks.</p>


<p>The Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) has announced Ahmad Farouk Mohamed, a former executive of Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd, as its new chief investment officer.</p>


LTAT names ex-MIDF executive Ahmad Farouk Mohamed as chief investment officer

<p>Malaysia's manufacturing sector conditions eased further in September as productions moderated with tepid new order growth, S&amp;P Global said on Tuesday.</p>


Malaysia's manufacturing activity eases further in Sept, PMI data show 

<p>The Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK) reported that 53,000 individuals under 30 are burdened by nearly RM1.9 billion in cumulative debt.</p>


BNPL prevalence among young adults, low level of financial literacy worrying — Amir Hamzah 

<p>Dockworkers have walked out of every major port on the US East and Gulf coasts, marking the beginning of a strike that could ripple through the world’s largest economy and cause political turmoil just weeks before the presidential election.</p>


<p>Shares in Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (KL:ASTRO) rose on Tuesday to a two-month high after the pay-television operator reported a jump in quarterly net profit.</p>


Astro Malaysia tests two-month high after jump in quarterly profit

<p>Companies and governments across the globe are flooding debt markets with bonds and loans, borrowing money as yields fall and the US presidential election nears.</p>


Borrowers smash global records to sell US$600b in debt

<p>Kenanga Research expects more engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contracts for renewable energy to be awarded as early as this month with a completion deadline by the end of 2025.</p>


Kenanga: Significant EPCC contracts for CGPP and LSS5 soon

<p>OCBC has appointed George Lee Lap Wah as chairman of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad (OCBC Al-Amin), taking over from Tan Ngiap Joo.</p>


Lee Lap Wah is new OCBC, OCBC Al-Amin Bank chairman

<p>Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk on Monday won the dismissal of a lawsuit accusing them of defrauding shareholders by overstating the effectiveness and safety of the automaker's self-driving technology in order to boost its stock price.</p>


Tesla, Musk beat shareholder lawsuit over self-driving promises

<p>The trial judge in Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case on Tuesday questioned the defence team about the distinction between the former prime minister’s personal expenses and those for political purposes.</p>


Judge questions Najib's counsel on distinction between personal and political spending

<p>Asian stocks pulled back from two-and-half-year highs on Tuesday and the dollar firmed following comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell that scupered bets of big interest rate cuts, while Middle-East tension kept risk sentiment in check.</p>


<p>Malaysia has the potential to become a hub for technological innovation in Southeast Asia, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.</p>

<p>He emphasised that achieving this goal requires collaboration between the government, private and academic sectors, to create an ecosystem that nurtures innovation at every level.</p>


Fadillah: Malaysia has potential to be Southeast Asia's tech innovation hub

<p>Analysts expect Yinson Holdings Bhd’s (KL: YINSON) final quarterly earnings (4QFY2025) to be boosted by its new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) projects.</p>


Analysts see boost to Yinson’s 4QFY2025 earnings from FPSO units' first oil 

<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Iranians on Monday that there was nowhere in the Middle East beyond Israel's reach, three days after Israel's military killed the leader of Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.</p>
