Capital markets news | Fri 4 Sep 2026
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Employees Provident Fund (EPF)
EPF’s 1H2026 investment income surged 48% year-on-year to RM57.5 billion, up from RM38.92 billion in 1H2025. This growth was fuelled by strong global equities—particularly in 2Q, where quarterly income hit RM29.77 billion and equity income jumped 52% to RM20.94 billion (70% of the quarter’s total). Performance was driven by global market recoveries, easing energy concerns, the AI cycle, and an overseas portfolio that generated RM19.29 billion (65% of Q2 income). However, EPF noted this first-half figure includes unrealised valuation and foreign-exchange movements, meaning it reflects overall investment income rather than final distributable dividends.
Equity
- Evocom opens applications at 18 sen per share for ACE Market IPO Edge NST Star
- United Asiapac filed Fortuna injunction against founder days before market debut NST
- Farm Fresh to raise up to RM200m via private placement Edge Reserve NST Star
- Well Chip shareholders approve proposed rights issue of up to RM120m Reserve
- Finance Ministry hires adviser to assess AirAsia’s funding needs Edge Star
- Malaysian founder raises USD3m for fashion tech startup Lekondo Star
- Chipmaker Longsys said to price Hong Kong listing at HKD236 Edge
- Chinese AI firm Moonshot files confidentially for Hong Kong IPO Edge
- Optical equipment maker Ligent to launch USD800m Hong Kong IPO this month Edge
- VinFast-linked taxi firm GSM eyes US, EU expansion ahead of Hong Kong IPO Edge Reuters
- Air India closes in on USD1.1b financial aid from owners Edge
- Smart ring maker Oura files for US IPO as revenue surges Yahoo Reuters
- Invesco QQQ faces competiton from BlackRock, State Street in tracking Nasdaq 100 Edge
- Brazil’s Vale drops IPO plans for critical minerals unit Reuters
- CVC raises USD10b for its largest-ever secondaries fund Edge
Debt
- Ameetaz Capital’s lower reported equity has no impact on ratings RAM
- KIP REIT Capital’s 2024-Issue 4 MTN rating affirmed RAM
- Trusmadi Capital’s Issue 1 MTN and CP ratings affirmed MARC
- Banks retain positive lending momentum Star
- Genting’s rising debts bogging it down Edge
- Singapore ruling on bankrupt Indonesian firm may open recovery path for others Edge
- Radiant World sent lender fake Glencore contracts, lawsuit says Edge
- Jefferies unit wins freezing order against trader Radiant World Edge
- Fitch sees Thailand’s risks easing ahead of credit rating review Edge
- S&P Global Ratings warns of risks from China’s generous credit ratings Edge
- ByteDance gets USD30b loan, Asia’s second-largest this year Edge
- Tencent Music draws over USD5.4b in orders for US dollar bond sale Edge
- Japanese investors sell overseas bonds for 2nd week on inflation fears Edge
- Builder’s bust jolts private lenders drawn by 15% yearly returns Star
- Hedge funds pose greater threat to US Treasuries than China ever did Edge
- Fed’s Waller says safety premium for Treasuries is gone, upping neutral rate Yahoo Reuters
- The bond market is crashing Trump’s midterm campaign Yahoo
- The bond market is back in the danger zone — here’s what could make it worse Yahoo
- Blackstone private credit fund maintains 5% cap with redemption requests elevated Reuters
- US mortgage rates climb to 6.71%, highest since Jul 2025 Edge Yahoo
- UK banks rush to swap credit assets for cash Star
- Bond selloff is likely amplified by obscure economic rate Edge Reuters
Commodities
- Malaysia’s natural gas production up 19.1% to 763.5b cubic feed in 2Q Edge
- China’s shrinking appetite for oil behind emissions cut for first time Edge
- Asia’s oil-buying spree sends Middle East crude prices soaring Edge
- Oil prices hit fresh 6-week highs on renewed Middle East tensions Edge
- Oil prices mixed over Middle East escalation, chance of Russia-Ukraine peace deal Reuters
- US diesel hits 4-year high as wars strain global supplies Edge
- US not ‘stealing Venezuelan oil,’ energy secretary insists Mail
- US energy firms sign Venezuela deals after Washington gains control over Mail
- Chevron, Shell sign preliminary agreement with Ghana Edge
Digital assets
- Pencil Finance completes USD1m onchain lending for Southeast Asia students Telegraph
- Standard Chartered brings spot crypto trading to Dubai FX platform Desk Telegraph
- VARA, Securitize sign MoU for tokenisation innovation in Dubai Telegraph
- Australia cracks down on crypto businesses as regulatory deadline nears Desk Telegraph
- FX has stopped reading bond yields the old way. Bitcoin should too. Desk
- Catastrophe bonds may join tokenisation rush, with plans for test issuance in 2027 Desk
- Revolut wins conditional US banking license Reuters
- Coinbase files for SEC approval to offer equity perpetuals Reuters
- Kalshi seeks CFTC approval for WTI crude perpetual futures Telegraph
- CFTC asks judge to dismiss CME lawsuit over crypto perpetual futures Desk Telegraph
- Recovery specialists crack USD1b crypto wallet but find just USD10 Telegraph
M&A
- Techna-X sells loss-making HK super battery firm for RM45m Edge Reserve NST Star
- Zetrix AI clarifies RM130m MYEG Ventures deal after Bursa query Reserve
- Instant beverage manufacturer Orgabio to buy Semenyih lot for RM11.26m Edge Star
- Plytec Holding in RM6.2m land purchase Star
- Media Chinese sells property for RM20m after ceasing Canada operations Edge NST Star
- Hongkong Land eyes billion-dollar property deals to enter Japan Edge
- South Korea set to merge state-run energy firms to cut costs Edge
- Nvidia to buy Hugging Face for nearly USD13b Edge NST Yahoo Reuters
Malaysia
- Bank Negara Malaysia keeps overnight policy rate unchanged Edge Reserve NST Star
- Economists flag hawkish undertones from BNM despite OPR hold Edge
- Tabung Haji evaluates shift for investment arm to come under SC oversight Edge
- Malaysia primed for economic leapfrog, best chance since 1997 NST
- Strong momentum to drive Malaysia’s economy to 5% growth in 2026 Edge
- Policy certainty key to preventing election cycles from stalling markets Edge
- 96% of manufacturers hit by geopolitical tensions Edge Reserve Mail Star
- Manufacturers ask for a break from new taxes in Budget 2027 Edge Mail
- Survey finds most Malaysian manufacturers favour GST Mail NST
- FMM urges Budget 2027 boost manufacturing capacity, skills, higher-value jobs Reserve
- Penang’s manufacturing investments on track to surpass last year’s RM22.4b Edge NST
- Malaysia-China bilateral trade up 30.6% to USD80.4b in 1H2026 Edge
- Malaysia-Thailand bilateral trade on track to reach USD30b next year Edge Star
- Massive tax bill clouds sale of Singapore land by Malaysian King’s son Edge
- Sovereignty vindicated: How Malaysia defeated the Sulu claim Edge
- SRC civil suit: Court told Najib’s thumbprint all over company’s decisions Edge
- TH Properties ex-staff charged with CBT, abetment over contractors’ penalties Edge
Other markets
- Singapore’s 50 richest worth USD239b as tech fortunes take a hit Star
- Danantara in JV to boost EV ecosystem Star
- Jakarta factory activity contracts in Aug Star
- Thailand must double per-capita growth to reach rich goal, World Bank says Edge
- Asean manufacturing growth eases slightly to 52.3 in Aug Edge Star
- ‘New new three’ power China’s trade Star
- China services activity quickens on stronger domestic demand, private PMI shows Star
- BOJ said to favour quarter-point hike, flexible on future path Edge
- Japan services growth hits 5-month high, PMI shows Star
- How India’s RBI could tackle a liquidity deluge triggered by dollar deposits Edge
- Indian rupee scales 2-month peak as USD136b inflows bolster currency Edge
- US Fed says positive economic outlook but prices, energy add uncertainty Mail Yahoo
- Wall St climbs after Fed’s Waller says he could support rate hold Edge
- NY Fed’s John Williams signals openness to September rate hike Yahoo
- Fed’s Waller pleads to ‘give disinflation a chance’ Yahoo Reuters
- Tim Cook’s warned that US at risk from hundred-year flood Yahoo
- SEC moves to nix rule on investment adviser, political donations Yahoo
- Strong demand boosts US services sector activity in Aug Edge Reuters
- US second-quarter productivity growth unrevised Reuters
- US weekly jobless claims rise marginally amid stable labour market Edge
- Fastest-growing job in every US state through 2034 Yahoo
- Texas Republicans turn against data centres, putting big tech on notice Edge Reuters
- US trade gap widens to largest since early 2025 on AI push Edge NST Reuters
- US tariffs of up to 100% on drones take effect Mail
- China-US spat at G20 boils down to dispute over one word Edge
- EU’s EUR3 small parcel fee leads to drop in imports from China Edge
- Swiss inflation rate doubles in Aug as fuel prices surge Edge
- World’s unusually high dollar exposure risks fuelling sell-off Edge
- Misuse of informal money-transfer networks is growing worldwide Reuters