Capital markets news | Thu 2 May 2025
Equity
- West River’s ACE Market IPO oversubscribed 0.26 times Edge
- Hartanah Kenyalang prices ACE Market IPO at 16 sen Edge
- Why Tan Chong trades at less than 10% of its NTA Edge
- New auditors also withhold opinion on Annum’s financials Edge
- Bursa’s research incentive scheme to cover private, pre-IPO companies Edge Star
- Reduced expectations of IPOs Star
- Labuan IBFC to publish carbon credit circular next week Edge
- CIC to sell USD1b private equity assets Star
- Schroders hit by client withdrawals from China Star
- Asian equities may be relative winner in US recession NST Star
- Mark Mobius says his funds hold 95% in cash on trade war risks Edge Yahoo
- Strategy raising another USD21b to buy bitcoin Coindesk Yahoo
- Crypto influencer-led firm ProCap files for IPO Star
- Shein weighs US restructuring as tariff risks cloud London IPO Yahoo
- Buyer’s remorse hits finance bosses who overhired for ESG Edge Yahoo
- AI financial models still have long way to go Star
Debt and money markets
- Enhanced project finance rating criteria published RAM
- MACC probes RM360m false claims in MEX II’s RM1.3b sukuk Edge
- Mah Sing issues 5-year RM350m secured unrated sukuk Star
- HCK lodges RM2b sukuk programme with SC Edge Star
- AmBank gives RM408.2m loan to MSR Green Energy for Sabah BESS Star
- Private sector borrowing up 5.5% in Mar, driven by corporate bonds Edge
- Singapore-US swap rates set to narrow on policy easing wagers Edge
- Indonesia secures USD60m for solar project Star
- Apollo, Carlyle acquire first loan-linked private debt Star
- IndusInd Bank CEO resigns over USD230m derivatives gap Edge
- StanChart says clarity on India’s green rules will boost deals Edge
- S&P Global sees credit rating breathing room for trade war rivals US and China Edge
- US Treasury dealers recommend ending federal debt ceiling Yahoo
- Short-term US bonds rise as traders boost bets on 2025 rate cuts Yahoo
- US corporate bond markets betray caution Star
Digital assets
- Bitcoin mining syndicate busted in Terengganu for electricity theft Mail
- Bitcoin mining profitability dropped with hashrate up 6% Coindesk Yahoo
- Bitcoin surged past USD97k for the first time since late Feb Coindesk Yahoo
- Gold continues correcting and that might be good for bitcoin Coindesk
- Bitcoin volatility lowest in 563 days Cointelegraph
- Metaplanet registers US treasury arm for bitcoin reserve strategy Coindesk
- Morgan Stanley to offer crypto trading to E*Trade customers Yahoo
- Ethereum captures 60% of tokenised real-world asset value Cointelegraph
- BlackRock brings blockchain push to a USD150b Treasury fund Edge
- Crypto investment firm Dao5 raises USD222m fund Coindesk
- SEC ditches PayPal’s PYUSD probe Coindesk
- Litecoin surges 7% as SEC likely to approve spot ETF Coindesk
- Solana surges 8% despite global macro tensions Coindesk
- Movement token slumps 14% as Coinbase suspends trading Coindesk
- Global demand grows for non-dollar stablecoins Cointelegraph
- Dinari raises USD12.7m for non-US stock investors Coindesk
- US congressman pitches crypto ATMs for federal govt buildings Coindesk
- UK’s delayed regulation hurts plan to be global crypto hub Coindesk
- Australia’s watchdog cracks down on dormant crypto exchanges Cointelegraph
- Blockchain-powered self-sovereign identity can solve food fraud Cointelegraph
M&A and property
- BPMB completes acquisition of Exim Bank, SME Bank Edge NST Star
- WTK sells logging unit to Huang Qian Wen for RM23.5m Edge NST Star
- Compugates’ substantial shareholder disposes of 9.9% stake for RM8.4m Edge
- SC Estate Builder sells Alor Setar land for RM7.93m Star
- Couche-Tard clinches deal to deepen Seven & i takeover talks Edge NST Star
Malaysian financial market news
- Headline inflation eases to 1.4%, core holds in Mar NST
- BNM expected to keep OPR unchanged next week Edge
- Targets achievable despite likely slower GDP Star
- BNM imposes penalties totalling RM35k on Merchantrade, JAGS Money NST Star
- Chamber of commerce indicates sustained interest from US investors Edge NST Star
- Gig workers bill to be tabled in next Parliament session Edge
- Emerging markets, China eyed for halal industry expansion in 2025 Edge
- Halal product exports up 15% to RM61.79b in 2024 Edge Star
- Leveraging digital trade platform to target RM4.5b global halal sales Edge
- FMM urges comprehensive review of SST expansion Edge Star
- Economist backs SST expansion delay, suggests exploring digital tax NST
- Price control on eggs has ended Edge
- Women owned 20% of businesses in 2022, mostly SMEs Edge NST
- Chua Ma Yu’s family office taps Forest City’s zero-tax incentives Edge
- Labuan IBFC sees slower 2025 growth in new biz incorporations Edge
- Labuan IBFC sees 2025 slowdown in leasing and trading after strong 2024 Edge
- Sabah’s GDP seen rising to RM84.9b in 2024 Edge NST
- Penang saw RM17.3b approved manufacturing investments in 2024 Edge Star
- ConocoPhillips confirms exit from Salam-Patawali field Edge Star
- South Korea’s Sustio completes RM326m Penang expansion Edge
Asian financial market news
- Singapore taps seniors to support ageing workforce Star
- Bank of Thailand cut 1-day repurchase rate by 0.25% to 1.75% Edge Mail Star
- Indonesia plans 10GW nuclear power in major renewable energy push Star
- Indonesia’s foreign investment rises 12% in 1Q Star
- Philippines’ infrastructure spending up 23.1% in 2M2025 Star
- Southeast Asia may see most gas projects approved in a decade Edge
- US has reached out to China to initiate tariff talks Edge NST Star Yahoo
- China creates list of US-made goods exempt from 125% tariffs Edge
- China adopts law to protect private companies amid trade war Edge
- China’s factory activity at slowest since 2023 as US tariffs hit Edge NST Star
- Xi says China’s economy should adapt to external changes Edge
- China is days late in releasing trade data as US shipping slumps Edge
- Chinese set to spend record USD1t in local travel boom Edge
- China looks to swap grains in feed with kitchen waste, insects Edge
- Logitech to shift some production from China to counter Trump tariffs Edge
- Goldman sees central banks buying more yuan, Singapore dollars Edge
- Taiwan’s economy grows most in a year on front-loading, AI Edge
- Bank of Japan keeps rate unchanged, sees delay in price goal Edge Star Yahoo
- Tariffs prompt Bank of Japan to lower growth forecasts NST Yahoo
- Japan’s factory output slides as Trump tariffs jolt manufacturers Edge
- 40% of Japan prefectures offer financial aid over US tariffs NST
- South Korea’s exports rise as global buyers stockpile chips Mail Star
- Early signs of consumption revival in India to pare tariff pain Edge
Other financial market news
- Australian house prices hit record high ahead of Saturday’s vote Edge
- Australia’s hotter-than-expected inflation sends currency up Edge
- US economy contracts 0.3% on imports surge, first time since 2022 Edge Yahoo
- Trump says be patient as US economy contracts on tariff disruption Edge
- Yellen warns US recession risk is way up after Trump’s tariffs Edge
- US manufacturing sectors slump deepens in Apr Edge
- US firms add 62k jobs in Apr, smallest gain since Jul Edge NST
- US jobless claims jump on spike in New York during spring recess Edge
- Treasury’s Bessent says bond market thinks Fed should cut rates Edge Yahoo
- Fed signals rates will remain unchanged Edge Yahoo
- Shrinking GDP and elevated inflation put Fed in tough spot Yahoo
- US consumer spending jumps while key inflation gauge slows down Edge
- Musk says DOGE should definitely examine Fed costs Edge
- Trump says tariffs politically risky, but he’s not rushing deals Edge Star
- Trump says he has potential deals with India, South Korea, Japan Star
- Big price hikes undercut Trump bet China will absorb tariffs Edge Star
- Trump barely defeats challenge to his tariff war in Senate Edge
- US pending sales of existing homes increase by most since 2023 Edge
- Texas becomes focus of US green hydrogen sector Star
- Taiwan’s TSMC starts building third Arizona plant as US tariffs loom Edge
- Amazon plans to build dozens of US warehouses in rural expansion Edge
- Mercedes to make another model in US to counter tariffs Edge
- Electronic Arts lays off hundreds, cancels Titanfall game Edge
- US toymakers scramble to adjust to Trump tariffs Star
- Canada’s GDP contracts by 0.2% in Feb Yahoo
- US tariff fears hit UK factory exports in Apr NST
- Ryanair threatens to cancel Boeing order if tariffs impact price Edge NST
- Green power met 99% of Germany’s demand yesterday Edge
- STMicroelectronics to cut 1k jobs in France, Italy talks ongoing Edge
- US and Ukraine sign resources deal after fraught negotiations Edge
- Airbus tells US airlines they will need to pay for own tariffs Edge
- EU to present new trade proposals to US negotiators next week Edge
- European consumers ready to drop US products Edge NST
- US commodities to avoid strict checks under EU deforestation law Star
- Eurozone economy grows quicker than forecast in 1Q Edge NST
- Firms worldwide cut jobs and guidance as Trump tariffs cause chaos Edge
- Global air passenger demand up 3.3% in Mar Edge Star
- AI could boost global GDP by up to 15 percentage points by 2035 Edge