<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>KUALA LUMPUR (May 12):&nbsp;Bina Darulaman Bhd rose as much as 5.5 sen or 11.96% to 51.5 sen this morning&nbsp;after securing a RM431 million contract to upgrade the Pelubang water treatment plant in Kedah.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>At 9.51am, the counter had pared some gains at 50 sen, still up four sen or 8.7%, with 604,900 shares traded.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>The company said in a bourse filing yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary BDB Synergy Sdn Bhd&nbsp;had secured the contract from the Kedah state government.</div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>The three-year contract commences on May 20 and is expected to contribute positively to Bina Darulaman, it said.</div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner>Read also: 
<a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/bina-darulaman-secures-rm431m-water-treatment-plant-upgrading-contract" target="_blank">Bina Darulaman secures RM431m water treatment plant upgrading contract</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>

Bina Darulaman Bhd rose as much as 5.5 sen or 11.96% to 51.5 sen this morning after securing a RM431 million contract to upgrade the Pelubang water treatment plant in Kedah.

Bina Darulaman rises as much as 11.96% after bagging RM431m contract

Nearly 40% of graduates are having a hard time getting well-paid jobs that match their skillset due to factors such as wage stagnation and supply of skilled employment, said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang.

Skill development critical to boost Malaysia's high-skilled talent pool, says minister

JERUSALEM (May 6): Israel's military said on Monday that it had begun encouraging residents of Rafah to evacuate the southern Gazan city as part of a “limited scope” operation, but did not immediately confirm media reports that this was part of preparation for a ground assault.

Israel military calls on Palestinian civilians to evacuate Rafah

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Labour Day announced a pay rise for civil servants, ensuring the public staff’s monthly salary will not be less than RM2,000 starting this December.

According to Anwar, who is also the finance minister, the overall minimum pay of civil servants...

Frankly Speaking: Funding the civil servant pay hike and higher pension

The eurozone’s economy is waiting for a resounding vote of confidence from its own consumers for its long-awaited rebound to finally take shape.

With employment at a record, wages rising steeply and inflation not far from 2%, the conditions are there for people to get out and spend.

Eurozone at turning point needs consumers to get out and spend

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is not the golden standard but a mere benchmark for the government to consider the actions that can be taken to improve the nation’s media freedom.

World Press Freedom Index not the golden standard, says Fahmi

On the face of it, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd is suffering because of the boycott of US-based food franchises, resulting in its suspending operations of more than 100 KFC restaurants.

Frankly Speaking: Is KFC seizing an opportunity?

HAVING priced in the ongoing Middle East conflicts, Malaysia’s stock market has been on the rise with local institutions absorbing shares dumped by foreign investors. The FBM KLCI has risen 8% since the beginning of this year. The benchmark closed at 1,569.25 points last Thursday.

Fund ...

Local institutions give market a lift amid foreign selling 

theedgemalaysia.com highlighted one stock with positive momentum and five stocks with negative momentum at Bursa Malaysia's afternoon close on Monday.

Inta, SNS, Harbour, Marco, Fiamma, SAM 

LONDON (May 6): High Chinese tariffs on EU brandy would leave French companies with vast amounts of cognac that could be hard to sell elsewhere, according to Reuters' calculations, analysts, and investors who fear firms could be forced to discount.

China opened an anti-dumping investiga...

Chinese tariffs could leave cognac makers with too much brandy

Asian stocks rose to their highest in over a year on Monday on renewed bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would most likely ease rates this year, while the yen weakened after a strong surge last week from Tokyo's suspected currency intervention.

Asia shares rally on China's gains, Fed cut bets; yen weakens

BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said Malaysia's deepwater explorations are expected to accelerate as more investments are directed towards under-explored areas.

BMI: Deepwater exploration in Malaysia gathers momentum

The FBM KLCI’s uptrend has been relentless since mid-April as accumulation on blue chips&nbsp;by both local institutions and foreign funds continues, according to Rakuten Trade.

Banks, construction to be in focus as FBM KLCI could test 1,600 soon, says Rakuten Trade 

Fraser &amp; Neave Holdings Bhd (F&amp;N) shares surged to their highest in five years on Monday, as better-than-expected results buoyed investors' optimism, while analysts maintained their calls following a briefing.

F&N surges to five-year high on better earnings, outlook

Foreign buying of Malaysian equities surged 3.6 times to RM1.06 billion last week from RM292.2 million the prior week, as they net bought every day of the week.

Foreign buying of local equities surged to RM1.06b last week, says MIDF

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has updated its Investor Alert List.

In an alert last Thursday, the commission said the following persons/entities were added to the list:

SC adds six entities to Investor Alert List, four being potential clones

Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) on Monday began coverage of SAM Engineering &amp; Equipment (M) Bhd with a counter-consensus ‘buy’ call, betting on the cyclical recovery of aerospace and semiconductor sectors.

Maybank IB joins coverage of SAM Engineering with counter-consensus ‘buy’ call

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be having an online meeting with tech giant Google on Monday.

Without disclosing more details on the issues to be discussed, he said Malaysia has continued to receive interests from foreign investors.

Anwar scheduled to have online meeting with Google on Monday

Phillip Capital has initiated coverage on T7 Global Bhd with a “buy” rating at 53 sen and a target price of 68 sen.

Phillip Capital starts coverage on T7 Global, target price 68 sen 

President Xi Jinping has arrived in France to begin talks aimed at stabilising China’s relationship with Europe, as he tries to perform damage limitation on trade ties with the key bloc.

Xi begins Europe tour in Paris as Macron seeks to reset ties

Across much of the developed world, one of the most dependable drivers of economic growth is faltering.

For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the UK stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates.

Global housing shortages are crushing immigration-fuelled growth

Proton Holdings Bhd reported on Monday its car sales rose by 17.1% to 11,025 vehicles in April (including domestic and exports) compared to the 9,415 units sold last year.&nbsp;

Proton records sales of 11,025 units in April, higher by 17.1% y-o-y

Asian stocks rose to their highest in over a year on Monday on renewed bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would most likely ease rates this year, while the yen weakened after a strong surge last week from Tokyo's suspected currency intervention.

Analysts have raised their earnings forecasts and target prices (TPs) for plastic packaging maker SLP Resources Bhd, after the group's latest financial results beat their expectations due to improved product mix and higher output.

Analysts raise SLP Resources earnings forecasts, TPs after strong 1Q performance

Robusta coffee prices have climbed to the highest in 45 years, according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), as a supply crunch intensifies for the variety used in espresso blends and instant drinks.

Coffee variety priciest in 45 years in blow to instant brews

The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) will be objecting to Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq's leave application to take legal action against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government over RM730,300 in allocations meant for his constituency.

AGC to object to Syed Saddiq's leave application over unpaid allocations

EQT AB agreed to buy technology consultant Perficient Inc in a deal valued at about US$3 billion (RM14.22 billion) including debt.

EQT to buy tech consultant Perficient in US$3b deal

NCT Group of Companies has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with SMARTSEL Sdn Bhd and Mikro Sdn Bhd to scale up the capabilities of the NCT Smart Industrial Park (NSIP), while introducing advanced sustainability practices geared to positively impact its carbon footprint.

NCT inks deal to integrate 4G and 5G networks at NCT Smart Industrial Park

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah arrived in Singapore on Monday for a two-day state visit to the republic.

King, Queen arrive in Singapore for maiden state visit

Qantas Airways Ltd will pay a A$100 million (RM313.78 million) penalty and compensate passengers for selling tickets on thousands of flights it had already decided to cancel, as chief executive officer Vanessa Hudson continues costly repairs to the airline’s battered reputation.

Qantas settles ‘ghost flight’ lawsuit as cleanup costs mount

LONDON (May 6): High Chinese tariffs on EU brandy would leave French companies with vast amounts of cognac that could be hard to sell elsewhere, according to Reuters' calculations, analysts, and investors who fear firms could be forced to discount.

China opened an anti-dumping investiga...