MIDF Research said Tuesday that Malaysia’s curbs on US-origin artificial intelligence (AI) chips unlikely to affect data center investments in the country. The research house said in a note that there is zero impact from this directive as far as data centers in Malaysia are concerned, because this is not an additional red tape that could delay the process of setting up a data center in Malaysia. “Importing US-made advanced AI chips for use in their respective servers...

Malaysia-based Capital A has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malaysia’s national railway firm Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to formalize their mutual intention to establish a framework for co-operation and collaboration. This partnership aims to drive transformation and integrate travel services, food and beverage, loyalty programs and logistics within Malaysia, Capital A said in a statement on Monday. The MOU sets out the understanding between the company...

Tariffs are back, and they’re no longer just an economic concern. They’re introducing significant uncertainties that affect both e-commerce businesses and online shoppers. In fact, 81 percent of brands already foresee disruptions in their global strategy, while 60 percent of consumers are becoming more value-focused and price-conscious. For online retailers, tariffs are more than just a financial hurdle. The average cart abandonment rate for the industry is 70 percent, with...

Southeast Asia Fintech players have raised a total of $776 million in the first half of 2025, up 31 percent from $593 million in the second half of 2024, but down 22 percent as compared to $1 billion raised in the first half of 2024, Tracxn said Monday. The data intelligence platform said in a statement that the region’s FinTech ecosystem recorded notable shifts in investment dynamics, with a strong rebound in late-stage funding leading the overall growth. While early and seed-stage...

Maybank Investment Bank said Monday that venture capital (VC) investment in ASEAN artificial intelligence (AI) remains small – only $6 billion between 2020 to 2024, highlighting room for growth, especially in Malaysia. The research house who attended “The Rising AI Wave – Ambitions vs. Ambiguity” panelist in Invest ASEAN-Malaysia 2025 said in a note that there is a growing need for increased investment in private equity (PE) and VC initiatives focused on AI in ASEAN,...

Hong Kong’s insurer FWD Group Holdings Limited has on Monday commenced its first day of trading on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (HKEX) under the stock code 1828. The firm’s Founder and Pacific Century Group Chairman Richard Li Tzar Kai said in a statement that the firm is an international team of financial professionals focused on the fastest-growing insurance market in the world – Asia. “Today’s listing is an important milestone...

With launch partners including Fliggy, Agoda and Trip.com, Ant International has introduced Alipay+ Voyager, an artificial artificial intelligence (AI) travel companion integrated into digital wallets for the travel industry to simplify and enhance travel experiences for global consumers. Ant International said in a statement on last Wednesday that Alipay+ Voyager combines Ant International’s agentic AI capabilities with the galaxy of cross-border travel services offered by OTA...

MIDF Research said Monday that it sees limited impacts on Malaysia’s data centers despite Malaysia and Thailand may be on US’s artificial intelligence (AI) chips restriction list. The research house said in a note that it expects this latest development to draw mixed reactions among investors but its optimism on the pipeline of data center buildups remains. “We view that this is in line with our opinion back in May when Biden’s AI Diffusion Rule was rescinded, which...

In the world of e-commerce and SaaS, speed is everything. Fast launches. Instant feedback. Continuous iteration. It’s the new normal – and for good reason. Agile teams can react to trends, test ideas, and ship improvements faster. But there’s a catch: speed often comes at the cost of depth. When teams optimize too quickly, they risk making decisions based on incomplete or misleading data. The result? Campaigns that convert in the short term but fall flat emotionally,...

Goodman Group, an Australia-based digital infrastructure firm, has established the Goodman Hong Kong Data Center Partnership (GHKDC) – a new $2.7 billion data center dedicated investment vehicle. Goodman said in a statement on Friday that GHKDC is the only private institutional investment platform focused solely on Hong Kong’s data center market. The initial portfolio includes four fully stabilized data centers; two data centers under active development. Once complete, the six...

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd (Cradle), have announced the successful selection of eight government-linked companies (GLCs) under the Bengkel Inovasi GLC (BIG) program, to accelerate corporate-startup collaboration and innovation-led growth in Malaysia. Cradle said in a statement on Friday that this milestone marks the next transition from design to execution for the program which was...

Amazon launched the new “Buy for Me” feature in March this year, allowing users to place orders on other brand websites with just a tap in the app. AI will fill in the information and complete the payment, without requiring any manual input from the user. Services such as these, in which an AI agent “does the work for you,” are rapidly gaining popularity. It’s not just Amazon, but more and more services are letting AI help you with everyday chores: checking...