This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 3, 2026 - August 9, 2026

On the local court front, the 1Malaysia Development Bhd commercial lawsuit against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, former 1MDB directors and several of its previous office-bearers is starting on Monday.

In June, the High Court had partially allowed Najib’s discovery application to seek several documents in relation to settlements 1MDB and its four subsidiaries have with various entities. The court, however, declined Najib’s 17 other discovery applications, including accounting and valuation reports and proposed recoveries.

Singapore will celebrate its 61st National Day on Sunday, Aug 9. Key data expected are the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management Purchasing Managers’ Index for July on Aug 3, June retail sales and July S&P Global Singapore PMI, automobile certificate of entitlement auction (all three on Aug 5), as well as July foreign reserves data on Aug 7.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will hold its key monetary policy meeting on Aug 5. Based on Bloomberg’s poll (as at July 31), 13 out of 14 analysts, including UOB economist Jester Koh, expect RBI to keep its repurchase rate unchanged at 5.25% while one economist expects a 25-basis-point (bps) rate hike to 5.5%. Koh noted risks are tilted towards one to two 25bps rate hikes in FY2027-FY2028 should a looming super El Niño trigger sustained food price pressures that could potentially de-anchor inflation expectations, especially if compounded by a prolonged energy price shock due to the Middle East conflict. Nevertheless, UOB’s baseline scenario remains that RBI will maintain the policy repo rate at 5.25% through FY2027.

Indonesia and the Philippines are scheduled to release second-quarter (2Q) gross domestic product (GDP) data this week. Indonesia will announce its performance on Aug 5. UOB pegs it at 5.1% year on year while Bloomberg estimates 5.12% y-o-y, from 5.61% y-o-y in 1Q. The Philippines will release its results on Aug 7; UOB estimates it at 2% y-o-y and Bloomberg 2.7% y-o-y, from 2.8% in 1Q.

July inflation data is expected this week for Indonesia and Vietnam on Aug 3, South Korea on Aug 4, the Philippines on Aug 5, Taiwan and Thailand on Aug 6, as well as China on Aug 9. For Vietnam, Bloomberg estimates 4.6% y-o-y from 4.69% in June while UOB puts it at 6.2% y-o-y. Bloomberg’s estimate for the Philippines is 6.4% from 6.4% y-o-y in June, and 1% y-o-y for China, which is the same as June.

China’s July trade data will be released on Aug 7, the same day as Taiwan. Bloomberg estimates China’s exports at 24.5% y-o-y from 27% in June, imports at 27.7% y-o-y from 36% y-o-y and trade surplus at US$114.2 billion from US$125.62 billion in June.

In Japan, June labour cash earnings and real cash earnings will both be released on Aug 5. June household spending and its preliminary June leading index is scheduled to be released on Aug 7.

Over in New Zealand, its 2Q labour market report will be made available on Aug 5 while June data from Australia, which will include household spending, will be released on Aug 4.

More than 1,600 US companies will be reporting their earnings during the week ahead, out of which 137 are listed on the S&P 500. Other US data expected include June construction spending (Aug 3), June trade balance (Aug 4), US Challenger job cuts for July (Aug 6), June factory orders (Aug 4) and June consumer credit on Aug 7. The initial jobless claims data (for the week ending Aug 1) will be released on Aug 6 and UOB expects claims to climb higher to 205,000 from 197,000 the week earlier.

In Europe, German June retail sales will be released on Aug 3 while June trade will be shared on Aug 7. Eurozone June retail sales will be released on Aug 6.

There are two extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) in Malaysia this week. On Monday, Aug 3, Eonmetall Group Bhd (KL:EMETALL) will hold its EGM in Penang, following a previous session on July 20, to continue deliberations and approvals related to corporate restructuring and capital exercises for the group.

Construction group TCS Group Holdings Bhd (KL:TCS) will hold its EGM on Aug 5 to vote on major capital raising and corporate expansion exercises. The group is seeking approval to diversify its existing principal activities to include the property business to create an additional earnings base.

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