<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>KUALA LUMPUR (July 28): SME Bank on Sunday announced that its group president and CEO Datuk Wira Aria Putera Ismail will step down on Sept 3 to pursue new opportunities.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Group chief corporate strategy officer Datuk Mohammad Hardee Ibrahim will succeed Aria as acting group president and CEO.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“Mohammad Hardee brings over 20 years of extensive experience in the financial services industry, specialising in business banking and strategic management. He has served SME Bank in numerous portfolios including treasury, corporate finance, business banking and most recently corporate strategy,” SME Bank said in a statement.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Meanwhile it noted that under his leadership for the past six years, Aria has paved inroads for SME Bank to fulfill its mandate in supporting and developing SMEs in Malaysia.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“At the height of the global Covid pandemic, Aria initiated multiple relief programmes from October 2020 to September 2022 to support SMEs and microenterprises in various industries, which benefited more than 5000 companies with a total financing of RM9.12 billion,” it added.</p></div>


SME Bank on Sunday announced that its group president and CEO Datuk Wira Aria Putera Ismail will step down on Sept 3 to pursue new opportunities.

Aria Putera Ismail to step down as SME Bank CEO

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which was bound for Israel, attempted to carry out a "terrorist attack" during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM.

Flydubai co-pilot attacked pilot with axe in attempted 'terrorist attack', UAE says

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has hinted that the government will announce a special allocation for youth in Budget 2027, which will be tabled on Oct 9.

Anwar hints at special allocation for youth in Budget 2027

Pakatan Harapan (PH) is expected to announce its candidates for the Melaka state election within the next one or two weeks, says PH election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

Melaka polls: PH to announce candidates in one or two weeks, says Amirudin

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet both of the frontrunners to succeed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, people familiar with the matter said.

Merz will meet frontrunners for Lagarde job as ECB race heats up — Bloomberg

Barisan Nasional (BN) is open to discussions on the form of cooperation with any political party for the Melaka state election, including anyone interested in using the coalition’s logo, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

BN open to cooperation talks, use of coalition logo in Melaka polls, says Mohamed Khaled

Ten people were injured when a man drove into a crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday after appearing to lose control of the car, authorities said.

Ten injured in Australia as car crashes into crowd north of Sydney

Malaysia has formally gazetted the removal of import duty on qualifying minted gold bars, a “timely and practical” move two business groups said would strengthen the competitiveness of the local gold and jewellery industry.

Malaysia scraps 10% import duty on minted gold bars, business groups welcome move

Meta has acknowledged that a technical error in its system had caused legitimate WhatsApp user activity to be wrongly identified as rule violations, affecting more than half of the cases in the first batch submitted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Meta admits technical error affected some WhatsApp accounts — MCMC

Arbitration has matured into a distinct judicial process with its own principles, philosophy and industry culture, said former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali.

Former judge lauds Sundra Rajoo’s two arbitration books

When President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington last week, AI governance was expected to be at the top of the agenda. The United States and China have been racing to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, and neither has shown much appetite for slowing down. But ...

Sinonomics: Preventing an AI World War

<p>Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) is no longer a traditional property developer. Five years after embarking on the group’s SHIFT25 strategy, Sime Darby Property has emerged with a broader business than the one that entered the transformation programme in 2021.</p>


Double cover: Insights into margins calls on Zetrix AI's TS Wong + Sime Darby Property reworks the developer model

<p>Malaysia has formally gazetted the removal of import duty on qualifying minted gold bars, a “timely and practical” move two business groups said would strengthen the competitiveness of the local gold and jewellery industry.</p>


<p>Arbitration has matured into a distinct judicial process with its own principles, philosophy and industry culture, said former Federal Court judge Tan Sri Zainun Ali.</p>


<p>Meta has acknowledged that a technical error in its system had caused legitimate WhatsApp user activity to be wrongly identified as rule violations, affecting more than half of the cases in the first batch submitted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).</p>


<p>Four areas in Johor and Sarawak recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) readings as of 9am on Saturday.</p>


Haze: Four areas record unhealthy air pollutant index readings as of 9am

<p>President Donald Trump said he won’t ban US diesel exports, after Group of Seven nations and their partners agreed to release some of their emergency fuel stockpiles in a bid to bring down soaring prices.&nbsp;</p>


Trump says US to hold off on diesel export ban after G7 release

<p>Ten people were injured when a man drove into a crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday after appearing to lose control of the car, authorities said.</p>


<p>A software glitch affecting Boeing Co 737 Max aircraft was determined not to pose a safety concern by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) panel, a positive outcome for the US planemaker seeking regulatory approval for the largest variant of the popular narrowbody family.</p>


Boeing 737 Max glitch poses no safety concern, US regulator says

<p>When President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington last week, AI governance was expected to be at the top of the agenda. The United States and China have been racing to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, and neither has shown much appetite for slowing down. But ...

<p>CME Group Inc is shelving plans to launch a round-the-clock oil contract following industry pushback.</p>


CME shelves plans for 24/7 oil contract amid industry qualms

<p>Barisan Nasional (BN) is open to discussions on the form of cooperation with any political party for the Melaka state election, including anyone interested in using the coalition’s logo, said Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.</p>


<p>The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which was bound for Israel, attempted to carry out a "terrorist attack" during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency <em>WAM</em>.</p>


<p>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet both of the frontrunners to succeed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, people familiar with the matter said.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Pakatan Harapan (PH) is expected to announce its candidates for the Melaka state election within the next one or two weeks, says PH election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.</p>


<p>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has hinted that the government will announce a special allocation for youth in Budget 2027, which will be tabled on Oct 9.</p>
