<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>(Dec 23): Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd will give a one-off payment to junior employees globally for the second year in a row to alleviate ongoing cost-of-living pressures.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>An estimated S$7.5 million (US$5.5 million or RM24.84 million) will be handed out to some 11,000 employees across OCBC and its subsidiaries, including Bank of Singapore and OCBC Securities, the lender said in a statement Monday.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>The number represents about 40% of OCBC Group’s overall headcount in 17 markets. Eligible employees will receive the payout from February to April 2025. &nbsp;</div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>About 4,000 junior employees will receive S$1,000 each in Singapore. They include new entrants to the workforce and unionised employees, OCBC said.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>Uploaded by Chng Shear Lane</div>

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd will give a one-off payment to junior employees globally for the second year in a row to alleviate ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

OCBC junior staff to receive S$7.5 mil cost-of-living payout

(Dec 23): Panama’s president rebuffed Donald Trump’s threat to reimpose US control over the Panama Canal, saying its shipping tolls aren’t inflated and that sovereignty over the waterway isn’t negotiable.

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A summary of how key Bursa Malaysia indices and the ringgit performed on Monday.

FBM KLCI up 0.3% to 1,596.20 on Dec 23, 2024

Capital A Bhd is expected to exit Practice Note 17 (PN17) status by the first quarter of next year after submitting its proposed regularisation plan to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Monday.

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Esthetics International Group Bhd (KL:EIG) has renewed its distribution agreement with US-based premium skincare provider Dermalogica Inc.

Esthetics International extends distributorship with US-based Dermalogica

The Russian Ministry of Transport is holding negotiations on launching direct flights to Brazil, Malaysia and Pakistan, Minister Roman Starovoyt said in an interview with Russian News Agency (TASS).

Russia considering launching direct flights to Malaysia, Brazil and Pakistan

The Biden administration on Monday announced a last-minute trade investigation into Chinese-made "legacy" semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from autos to washing machines to telecoms gear.

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Supercomnet Technologies Bhd (KL:SCOMNET) announced on Monday that its managing director, James Shiue Jong-Zone, has been redesignated as the company's executive director.

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Electrical products manufacturer Powerwell Holdings Bhd (KL:PWRWELL) has secured a RM27 million contract to supply low-voltage switchboards for a data centre project in Malaysia.

Powerwell wins RM27m contract to supply switchboards for data centre

Public approval for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim rose to 54% after two years in power, according to the latest polling published by the research house Merdeka Center last Friday.

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Elon Musk, the billionaire tasked with making the US government more efficient come January, has zeroed in on the Federal Reserve.

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KLCC (Holdings) Sdn Bhd, a unit of national oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), on Monday said that it has acquired 486 acres of Bandar Malaysia land for an undisclosed price.

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Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd will give a one-off payment to junior employees globally for the second year in a row to alleviate ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Malaysia Airlines Bhd has grounded its brand-new Airbus A330neo for at least 48 hours following “a series of technical issues” in less than a week since its inaugural flight, Business Times reported.

Malaysia Airlines grounds new Airbus plane barely days after first flight — report

Bursa Malaysia Bhd (KL:BURSA) said on Monday that it is currently embarking on the succession of its chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift through its nomination and remuneration committee.

Bursa Malaysia says embarking on CEO succession

1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the former Malaysian sovereign wealth fund embroiled in one of the largest financial scandals in history, and its subsidiaries have initiated legal claims exceeding US$1 billion (RM4.5 billion) against Hong Kong-headquartered corporate services provider Amicorp Group and its co-founder and chief executive officer Toine Knipping.

1MDB files US$1 bil suit in BVI against Amicorp Group over role in US$7 bil fraud

Shares of Top Glove Corporation Bhd (KL:TOPGLOV) may have little upside as valuations stretched with the recent rally in share prices while earnings outlook remained clouded by both costs and sales concerns.

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President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino.

Trump threatens to retake control of Panama Canal over transit fees

International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of six global financial institutions will lend over US$900 million (RM4 billion) to US-based Yondr for the construction of its data centre in Malaysia.

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Global shares were boosted on Monday by a US inflation reading offering some hope for further policy easing next year, along with relief that Washington had averted a government shutdown.

Stocks rally as investors cheer US inflation relief

As of the third quarter of 2024, highway-related projects awarded to Bumiputera contractors, in Grades G1 to G7, have reached RM15.09 billion, nearly matching the RM15.1 billion allocated to the group last year, said Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

RM15.09 billion highway-related projects awarded to Bumiputera contractors — Ahmad Maslan

The High Court has dismissed Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh's libel suit against former inspector general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan over his comments that she was trying to turn Malaysia into a “Christian nation”.

High Court Judicial Commissioner Arziah Mohamad Apandi in a decision delivered on Monday said that the Segambut Member of Parliament (MP) failed to establish essential elements in a defamatory suit and that there was no malice in Musa's statement. She awarded costs of RM40,000 to Musa.

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Tun Musa Aman was not a contender for the position of Yang Dipertua Negeri of Sabah as there were others, such as current chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, in the running. His name only cropped up one month ago as a replacement for Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, whose term ends this month.

...

Alternative Views: Musa Aman’s comeback spells new chapter for Sabah politics

Personal debt is overwhelming an increasing number of Japanese as higher interest rates and the rising cost of living bite.

Consumer loans are rising at the highest rate in 16 years. Household borrowing exceeded incomes for the first time last year.

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Tuju Setia Bhd (KL:TJSETIA) has secured a contract worth RM389 million to build serviced apartments in Wangsa Maju, Setapak.

The contract involves construction of two blocks of 52-storey serviced apartments with 17 levels of automated car park, with rooftop facilities and common facilities&nbsp;at ground floor under the Milla Residence, the company said in a statement.

Tuju Setia wins RM389 mil construction contract

The government on Monday announced an additional rooftop solar quota under the net energy metering (NEM) mechanism for households (NEM Rakyat) and the commercial and industrial segment (NEM Nova).

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Malaysia has been ranked first among regional peers in Southeast Asia in Knight Frank’s SEA-5 Data Centre Opportunity Index for the second consecutive year with an annual take-up of 429 megawatts (MW).

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Public approval for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim rose to 54% after two years in power, according to the latest polling published by the research house Merdeka Center last Friday.

Malaysia’s listed companies must prepare sustainability reporting in their annual reports using the IFRS’ Sustainability Disclosure Standards, Bursa Malaysia announced on Monday.

Listed cos must prepare sustainability reporting using IFRS standards, says Bursa

Honda and Nissan have started talks toward a potential merger, they said on Monday, a historic pivot for Japan's auto industry that underlines the threat Chinese EV makers now pose to some of the world's best known car makers.

Honda and Nissan start merger talks in historic pivot

His second term doesn’t start for a month, but Donald Trump is already sending shock waves around the world.

His trade threats helped set off a cabinet crisis in Canada that has Prime Minister Justin Trudeau teetering. In Europe, tariff fears have weakened already-wobbling governments.