Alibaba is about to acquire Singaporean start-up Lazada for about $1 billion that was established by the German technology Rocket Internet. Existing shareholders including Tesco, AB Kinnevik and Rocket Internet will sell a portion of their shares to Alibaba.
Malaysia
Malaysia Launches First Locally-Made Electric Car, the Proton e.MAS7
Malaysia has launched its first home-grown electric vehicle, the Proton e.MAS7, to strengthen its position in the growing Southeast Asian EV market.
Malaysia Overhauls Long-Standing Fuel Subsidies, Leading to Over 50% Hike in Diesel Prices
Diesel prices in Malaysia rose about 50% on June 10 due to the government's revised approach to fuel subsidies to cut spending and save billions of ringgit.
Microsoft Increasing Presence in Southeast Asia With Substantial AI Investments in Thailand and Malaysia
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made big investments in Thailand and Malaysia and other initiatives to expand its Southeast Asian footprint and advance AI technologies.
KFC Malaysia Temporarily Closes Over 100 Restaurants Amid Pro-Palestine Boycott
The decision comes amidst escalating pressure from local boycotts stemming from the chain's perceived links to Israel.
Latest News
Tracking sell-off on Wall Street, Asian markets turned weaker. Renewed growth concerns and effectiveness of central bank policy have worsened the investor sentiment.
Goldman Sachs-backed consumer finance startup CompareAsiaGroup got its new CEO Sam Allen. In 2015, CompareAsiaGroup closed a Series A round of funding led by Goldman Sachs and is planning to go for a Series B round funding soon.
Gobi Partners along with Malaysia Venture Capital has created a $14.5 million investment pool to focus on tech start-ups in the Southeast Asian region.
Due to the continuing harmful effects of El Niño, Malaysia's palm oil production has been greatly affected reducing output by millions of metric tons.
Kossan Rubber Industries is preparing for a share buyback program following a bounce in the Malaysian ringgit that sent the shares of the company to its lower level from a record high in December.
Malaysian palm inventories dropped to an 11-month low during February as poor weather spoils crop harvest. Palm production fell 3.5% to 1.09 million tons, the lowest since the period 2011 January.
Islamic Finance is catching up among non-Islamic markets also. Economists and finance experts say that Islamic Finance is the need of the hour for the global economy in the wake of sluggish markets and looming uncertainty. Islamic finance assets globally are expected to be $1.8 trillion by 2020.
Blippar has a total funding of $55 million in Series D including those from its present investors which CEO and founder Ambarish Mitra called as investors with 'long-term vision'. The said fund will be used to 'power the future of visual discovery'.
Malaysian government halts its recruitment of foreign workers particulary Bangladeshi. Protests from private and public sectors arise urging the government to give clarification about the agreement. The deputy prime minister confirmed that the registration of 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers does not mean that all of them could gain entry on the Southeast Asian country and be hired.
