<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) has received the green light from the Finance Ministry for its proposed acquisition of a 55% stake in Zhong Ling Nutril-Oil Holdings Ltd for RM976.25 million.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>In a bourse filing today, FGV said the approval was granted in a letter from the ministry dated March 16.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>Approval from the Finance Ministry was one of the conditions precedent to be satisfied under the sale and purchase agreement 1 and 2 (SPA1 and SPA2) of the deal.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>FGV inked the two SPAs with Zhong Hai Investments Holdings Ltd and other vendors for the transfer of 26.4% and 28.6% stakes in Zhong Ling for RM537.05 million and RM439.2 million, respectively.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>FGV had announced late last month that it proposed to acquire a 55% stake in Zhong Ling Nutril-Oil Holdings Ltd for RM976.25 million, as part of the company's "global strategic blueprint to increase downstream capabilities in the consumer packed goods business in China".</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>FGV had said the acquisition is expected to have positive effect on the net assets per share, which will rise from RM1.75 to RM1.77, and is not expected to have a significant impact on the gearing, from 0.9 to 1.</p></div>

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 17): Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) has received the green light from the Finance Ministry for its proposed acquisition of a 55% stake in Zhong Ling Nutril-Oil Holdings Ltd for RM976.25 million.

In a bourse filing today, FGV said the approval was granted in...

FGV gets nod from Finance Ministry for 55% stake acquisition in Zhong Ling

(April 18): Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will meet Singapore’s leader at the tail end of his most extensive Southeast Asia tour in years, searching for new growth markets and manufacturing locations to offset headwinds in China.

Cook will be in Singapore on Thursday and F...

Apple CEO to meet Singapore leader to wrap whirlwind Asia tour

Global IT spending is expected to rise 8% year-on-year to US$5.06 trillion (RM24.2 trillion) in 2024, according to consulting firm Gartner, Inc.

Global IT spend seen rising 8% y-o-y to US$5 tril in 2024, says Gartner

The race for the “world’s best airport” crown has been a two-horse affair in recent years, with Doha’s Hamad International and Singapore Changi leading the pack.

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The Malaysian aviation industry may be badly impacted on passenger traffic and spikes in jet fuel prices if a full-blown war results from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB).

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Alphabet Inc’s Google has put more than two dozen employees on immediate administrative leave after they were involved in protests against Project Nimbus, a US$1.2 billion (RM5.7 billion) joint contract with Amazon.com Inc to provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services.

Google fires workers protesting US$1.2b Israeli contract

Business confidence at big Japanese manufacturers and services sector firms slid in April from the prior month, dragged down by cost-of-living pressures and shaky economic conditions in major market China, a Reuters monthly poll showed.

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Australian employment unexpectedly fell in March and the jobless rate rose, unwinding some of the huge upside surprise of the prior month and reflecting restrictive settings of monetary policy.

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Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook.

Asian stocks mixed as soaring dollar pauses

Shares of PIE Industrial Bhd extended its rally to a new all-time high on Thursday, after Kenanga Investment Bank flagged that the electronic services firm has secured a new client that will take up the entirety of its largest facility.

PIE Industrial extends rally to new all-time high as Kenanga flags new client

Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on Thursday but moved up thereafter.

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<p>Shares of PIE Industrial Bhd extended its rally to a new all-time high on Thursday, after Kenanga Investment Bank flagged that the electronic services firm has secured a new client that will take up the entirety of its largest facility.</p>


<p>President Joe Biden called China “xenophobic” while highlighting the Asian nation’s economic woes, as he sought to make the case for US economic strength during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania.</p>


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<p>The Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council meeting agreed that the government must act firmly and not compromise against extreme actions that can jeopardise the country’s stability.</p>

<p>Unity Government Secretariat chief Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the matter was decided at Wednesday’s Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council meeting at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya.</p>


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<p>Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook.</p>


<p>Alphabet-owned Google&nbsp;is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.</p>


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<p>Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) research said Cloudpoint Technology Bhd is well positioned to capitalise the burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions post-passage of the cyber security bill which was passed in Dewan Rakyat on April 3.</p>


HLIB: Cloudpoint well positioned to capitalise burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions

<p>Sabah has lost an experienced and exceptional leader with the passing of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) founder Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.</p>

<p>Expressing sympathy and condolences to the late leader's family, Hajiji said he had worked alongside Joseph as an assistant minister in the Sabah Ministry of Industrial Development in 1994, earning a deep respect for the veteran Sabah leader.</p>


Sabah lost an exceptional leader with Joseph Kurup's passing — Hajiji

<p>The stock market saw its longest losing streak since January as a handful of big techs sold off — despite a slide in bond yields.</p>


S&P 500 suffers its longest slide since January

<p>Alphabet Inc’s Google has put more than two dozen employees on immediate administrative leave after they were involved in protests against Project Nimbus, a US$1.2 billion (RM5.7 billion) joint contract with Amazon.com Inc to provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services.</p>


<p>The Malaysian aviation industry may be badly impacted on passenger traffic and spikes in jet fuel prices if a full-blown war results from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB).</p>


<p>The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Wednesday, owing to weakness in the soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade and lower crude oil prices.</p>

<p>Palm oil trader David Ng told Bernama that the weaker market sentiment, however, was limited by the expectation of a stronger demand in the coming weeks.</p>


CPO futures ends lower amid weaker soybean oil futures, oil prices

<p>Research analysts covering IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (IGB REIT) remained sanguine on the stock’s prospects after it reported a 4.79% jump in its net property income (NPI) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) to RM124.24 million, from RM118.55 million a year earlier, thanks largely to higher rental income.</p>


Analysts remain sanguine on IGB REIT’s prospects going forward

<p>Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Loretta Mester said monetary policy is in a good place, adding that the central bank shouldn’t be in a hurry to cut interest rates.</p>


Mester says US Fed can hold rates steady, not in a hurry to cut

<p>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his condolences to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Securities Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup and his family on the demise of his father, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup on Wednesday.</p>


PM extends condolences to family of Joseph Kurup

<p>A woman brought a 68-year-old man in a wheelchair into a bank branch and tried to get him to sign for a loan, but he had been dead for hours, Brazilian police said on Wednesday.</p>

<p>Erika Vieira Nunes wheeled the cadaver into the bank in a Rio suburb on Tuesday and told the teller the man wanted a loan for 17,000 reais (US$3,250), security camera video showed.</p>


Woman wheels corpse into Brazil bank to sign for loan

<p>Asian central banks’ need for assertive defense of their currencies is driving traders to turn less dovish on monetary policies in the region.</p>


Slower US Fed pivot weakens rate-cut bets across emerging Asia

<p>The race for the “world’s best airport” crown has been a two-horse affair in recent years, with Doha’s Hamad International and Singapore Changi leading the pack.</p>


<p>RHB Retail Research said Marine &amp; General Bhd is set for an uptrend reversal after undergoing a bullish breakout above the 28 sen resistance on Wednesday, on strong trading volume.</p>


Marine & General set for uptrend reversal, says RHB Retail Research 

<p>Asian countries probably don't want it and they certainly didn't cause it, but a 'beggar thy neighbour' wave of exchange rate depreciation may be about to hit the continent.</p>

<p>If not a full-blown currency war, then a series of skirmishes is looming as policymakers grapple with a resurgent US dollar, a fragmented G10 central bank policy path, and a staggering slump in the Japanese yen which appears to have Tokyo's tacit approval.</p>


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<p>The ringgit extended Wednesday’s gains to open higher against the US dollar on Thursday as the greenback retreated from multi-month highs after a pullback in US Treasury yields, said an analyst.&nbsp;</p>
