Banking

Low impact on Public Bank from Hong Kong hit

PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd is expected to maintain resilient core earnings and shareholder returns despite a sizeable goodwill impairment at its Hong Kong subsidiary, with analysts viewing the one-off charge as largely accounting-related rather than a material deterioration in its underlying business prospects.

Economy

The Global South is wiring up for an electric future

THE United States and Israeli war against Iran has been the big energy story in 2026, but the quiet retooling of power grids from Lagos to Manila may prove to be of greater significance in the long run.

Insight

The cocoa paradox: Crop left but industry stayed

AFTER countless write-ups on palm oil, I thought it time to diversify before readers accuse me of monocropping my write-ups. So this week, let us leave the palms and talk about another Malaysian agricultural story – cocoa.

Economy

Carney’s pipeline push unlikely to bring back oil field jobs boom

ALBERTA: Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney is betting a new pipeline can help revive the country's oil industry, boost its production and exports, and reduce its dependence on the United States.

Cryptocurrency

BlackRock sees tokenised funds entering Wall Street

NEW YORK: Wall Street's embrace of blockchain technology is moving beyond merely creating digital versions of stocks, bonds and money-market funds toward a bigger goal: changing how those assets move through the financial system.

Plantations

Planter faces investigation over fire

SINGAPORE: The Indonesian authorities have started a preliminary inquiry into suspected land-clearing fires in a concession area operated by a subsidiary of Singapore-listed palm oil producer Kencana Agri.

Markets

‘Panic’ blamed for Indonesia's record stock market outflows

JAKARTA: Analysts say last Friday's stock market rout was driven by panic-selling and investors' risk-off response to MSCI's proposal to reclassify Indonesian equities in its global indexes, even though a final decision will not happen until the end of June 2027.

Economy

Vietnamese brands need competitive edge

HANOI: Vietnamese brands must become a strategic competitive advantage for the national economy, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has said, urging businesses to shift from cost-based advantages to value creation, innovation and stronger participation in global value chains.

Economy

Vietnam's call for lower lending rates for priority sectors

HANOI: Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Van Thang has asked banks to cut lending interest rates by 1.5 percentage points to two percentage points for production, business and priority sectors to ease borrowing costs and support economic growth.

Corporate News

Australian DC power delay exposes AI bottleneck

BRISBANE: The developer of what's set to be one of Australia's biggest data centres (DCs) has been hit by power supply problems, highlighting how access to electricity could become a bottleneck for the country's rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

Business

Palm output in Malaysia to hit record before drop, growers say

PALM oil production in Malaysia may hit a monthly record in October, putting full-year output on track for the most ever, ahead of an expected slowdown next year, according to the nation's top growers' group.

Technology

AI stocks bounce back after bruising selloff, CoreWeave gets Goldman upgrade

Oct 19 (Reuters) - AI-linked stocks bounced back ⁠on Monday from a bruising selloff last week as yields on government bonds dropped and crude oil prices eased, ⁠while CoreWeave gained following a rating upgrade.

Banking

Public Bank's capital, earnings to withstand Hong Kong unit's goodwill impairment, says S&P

KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd is expected to maintain robust capitalisation and healthy profitability over the next 12 to 24 months despite a HK$1.96bil goodwill impairment at its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Public Financial Holdings Ltd (PFHL), according to S&P Global Ratings.

Nation

KWAP eyes investment opportunities in longevity economy as Malaysia ages

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to prepare for an ageing society by investing in healthcare, elderly care and technologies that enable older people to live independently, says Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) chief executive officer Datuk Jay Khairil Jeremy Abdullah.

Corporate News

Tourism Malaysia, Berjaya Hospitality Group tie up to promote Visit Malaysia 2026–2027

KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Berjaya Hospitality Group (BHG) to undertake joint marketing and promotional activities in support of the Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 campaign.

Corporate News

KIP REIT posts 19.6% revenue growth in 1QFY27

PETALING JAYA: KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KIP REIT) recorded revenue of RM48.8mil for the first quarter ended Sept 3, (1QFY2027), an increase of 19.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) from RM40.8mil.

Corporate News

LYC Healthcare to face trading suspension, delisting after failing to appoint sponsor

KUALA LUMPUR: LYC Healthcare Bhd will face a suspension of trading on Oct 27, 2026 and will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd two days later.

Corporate News

Jati Tinggi secures RM30.1mil contract for data centre power infrastructure in Johor

KUALA LUMPUR: Jati Tinggi Group Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, Jati Tinggi Holding Sdn Bhd, has secured a RM30.1mil contract to undertake power infrastructure works for a data centre in Kulai, Johor.

Corporate News

Cosmos proposes acquisition of 51% stake in Orisystems

PETALING JAYA: Cosmos Technology International Bhd has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire a 51% stake in Orisystems for an indicative RM16.52mil, to be satisfied through the issuance of new shares.

Corporate News

GDB secures RM119mil Sarawak flood warning system sub-contract

PETALING JAYA: GDB Holdings Bhd has secured a RM118.99mil sub-contract from I-Ilham Corp Sdn Bhd for the construction and completion works under the proposed Phase 3 Sarawak flood forecasting and warning programme.