Capital markets news | Wed 5 Aug 2026
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eFishery scandal
Once the fraud was exposed, eFishery’s unicorn status collapsed, prompting layoffs, shutdown of operations, and moves toward liquidating core businesses as investor confidence disappeared. Indonesian courts sentenced former CEO Gibran to 9 years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering. For investors, the episode has turned into a recovery and legal‑action exercise, with Malaysia highlighting KWAP’s roughly USD45-48 million loss as a stark reminder that even sophisticated public funds can be badly hit when internal fraud evades standard audit and due‑diligence defences.
Equity
- Vestland plans RM60.4m private placement to fund construction projects Edge NST Star
- Shariah investing gains relevance as AI reshapes investment landscape Edge Mail NST Star
- EU’s new ESG rules: Limited direct hit, but supply chain risks loom NST
- Serba Dinamik liquidator sues KPMG over alleged audit negligence Edge
- Amanah Raya unit sues Serba Dinamik, 12 others over RM100m investment loss Edge
- Indonesian shares outperform Southeast Asia peers, dollar recovery dents rupiah NST
- Shein targets USD30b to USD40b Hong Kong IPO valuation this month Star
- Alibaba-backed 3D-modelling startup Vast said to weigh HK IPO Edge
- South Korea’s leveraged ETF trading plummets under new curbs Edge
- Polymarket targets USD20b valuation as prediction market competition heats up Coindesk
- JPMorgan makes surprising S&P 500 call after inflation shock Yahoo
Debt
- F&N Capital’s sukuk programmes AAA (cg), MARC-1 (cg) ratings affirmed MARC
- Pockets of borrower stress manageable so far, says non-bank lender AEON Credit Edge
- US economy is overstimulated — and bond markets fear it Edge
- Credit braces for fallen angels as USD100b trades like junk Edge
- Secretary Bessent rebuffs Wall Street on US debt-sale guidance Star
- Swedish economist’s theory explains why investors won’t quit America’s debt Yahoo
Commodities
- Mohammed Bin Salman forced Trump to back off with US Treasuries threat Yahoo
- Oil ticks up after selloff as talks to end US-Iran war remain uncertain Edge NST
- Oil settles 5% lower on US-Iran deal hopes Star Yahoo
- Oil extends losses after US, Qatar signal progress on Iran draft deal Yahoo
- Iran weighs allowing Europe to clear mines in Strait of Hormuz Yahoo
- Goldman Sachs’ new oil price target sparks wild onchain trading Yahoo
- Exxon CEO delivers blunt message on what’s coming for gas prices Yahoo
- Goldman Sachs sees 3 simultaneous crises pushing oil as high as USD120 a barrel Yahoo
Digital assets
- Samsung is poised to become a dominant stablecoin distributor Coindesk
- Wells Fargo joins JPMorgan and Citi to tokenise Wall Street’s settlement rails Coindesk
- Dinari brings tokenised US stocks to American investors as equity race heats up Coindesk
- BNY to offer institutional crypto staking through Galaxy partnership Cointelegraph
- Coldcard urges users to move bitcoin as exploit is still in progress Coindesk
- The bitcoin market has plenty of reasons to freak out, yet calm pervades Coindesk
- Sorry everyone, Bitcoin is headed down to USD43,500: Michael Terpin Cointelegraph
- US, UK reaffirm support for stablecoins, tokenisation Cointelegraph
- BlackRock launches tokenised money market funds in Europe Edge Coindesk
M&A
- MNRB to sell Takaful Ikhlas to Bank Rakyat for RM1.64b Edge NST Star
- K-One to sell cloud arm to Japan’s Itochu for RM94m Edge NST Star
- MAHB conducts benchmarking of Eraman amid talk of sale Edge
- Startup founder buys Washington bank to extend fintech push Edge
- Paramount CEO says politics fuelling Warner Bros. merger battle NST
- Mexico’s largest meat exporter SuKarne explores sale Star
- Mastercard completes USD1.8b BVNK acquisition in stablecoin push Cointelegraph
Malaysia
- 1MDB still weighs on Middle East investors, says expert NST
- Malaysia needs to look beyond data centres to attract global capital Star
- Why platform banks may win the AI era Edge
- Inflation to trend at 2.5-2.8% as businesses pass on higher costs, says SERC Edge
- Inflation back in focus as energy prices reshape market outlook, says JustMarkets NST
- Malaysia poised to outperform GDP forecast NST
- Modernise tax system to stay competitive NST Star
- Budget overhaul can lift M40, SMEs Star
- Malaysia’s global climb continues, but don’t ease up NST
- AI boom propels more firms onto Forbes Asia’s Best Under A Billion Edge NST Star
- Malaysia’s E&E exports sustaining 2H growth amid resilient global tech cycle Edge
- Free Industrial Zone exports reach RM106.7b in 1H 2026 – MITI NST
- EU-CBAM costs for iron, steel industry could reach RM970.7m in 2026 Edge
- Exporters likely to strengthen ESG data amid EU rules Star
- AI adoption is changing work patterns Edge
- CAAM seeks public, industry feedback on Low Altitude Economy framework Edge
- Malaysia needs more small- and mid-cap firms to become national champions Edge
- Malaysia needs large tech champions to attract investments NST
- Najib’s defence challenges 1MDB investigator over USD620m fund trail Edge
- MACC detains ex-estate manager in RM8m Tabung Haji RCI-linked contract probe Edge
Other markets
- Prabowo eyes Bank Indonesia chief aligned with his goals Edge Star
- Thailand attracts USD26.8b in chip, electronics investment bids as supply chains shift NST
- Vietnam CPI eases on lower fuel and food prices, but risks remain Star
- A lack of capital Star
- Japan’s economy minister offers sanguine view on inflation Edge
- SoftBank’s AI funding plans to face reckoning at earnings Edge
- Korea inflation drops below estimates but pressure persists Edge Star
- Modi seeks sweeping tax cuts for electronics firms, global funds Edge
- NAB tests AI agents in plan to deploy tech to banking customers Edge
- Fed’s Schmid calls for tighter monetary policy to tamp down on ‘too high’ inflation Yahoo
- Fed’s Paulson says she keeps an ‘open mind’ on interest rates Edge
- Fed Chair repeated one word 10 times reshapes monetary policy approach Yahoo
- Moody’s Analytics economist says the Fed is putting the economy at risk with silence Yahoo
- US shakes up currency markets with unusual yen-buying via selling euros Edge
- Making sense of the Trump Treasury’s odd FX intervention Star
- US factory activity expands at strongest pace since 2022 Edge
- US job openings edged down in Jun, layoffs remained limited Edge
- US trade deficit narrows to USD73.3b on drop in imports Edge
- Europe’s earnings are much stronger than they look Edge
- Most of G-7 is spending more on interest than defence, Scope says Edge
- World Bank urges emerging nations to embrace AI amid weak growth Edge
- The transparent economy: Why AI is making reputation impossible to manufacture Edge