KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): With gold demand rising across the globe, Tomei Consolidated Bhd announced the launch of GoldNow, a shariah compliant mobile application that allows individuals to buy, accumulate and store gold with as little as 0.1g. According to its press release, GoldNow aims to make gold purchases more accessible to the masses by lowering the barriers to entry. “This strategic move enables Tomei to tap into a new market segment — individuals who may not have previously considered gold due to the perception of entry costs — thus driving new customers acquisition and broadening participation in holding gold.”After purchases are done, GoldNow users can track their gold holdings via the app and are given the option to redeem their gold in-store. Tomei store visitors are encouraged to adopt the mobile app, especially those who have yet to make their first purchase with the company. “This dual pathway strengthens customer engagement, ensuring that both digital and retail channels complement each other and foster long-term customer loyalty.”

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Enterprise information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider RedPlanet Bhd has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) to facilitate its transfer from the LEAP Market to the ACE Market. The IPO involves a public issue of 70 million new shares and an offer for sale of up to 10 million existing shares, according to the draft prospectus filed with Bursa Malaysia on Friday. Its shareholders have approved the listing transfer following an extraordinary general meeting on Nov 10, 2025. Its clientele spans government agencies, multinationals and local corporates across sectors including utilities, rail, energy, infrastructure, ICT, engineering and environment. For the financial year ended June 30, 2025, the company made a net profit of RM5.18 million on the back of RM33.3 million in revenue.

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. existing-home sales posted a sharp decline in January, according to data issued by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Thursday. The existing-home sales in the United States recorded a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units in January, down 8.4 percent from the previous month, the deepest decrease since February 2022. The national sales of existing homes in January also fell 4.4 percent from the same period of 2025, according to data issued by the NAR. "The decrease in sales is disappointing. Sales price of U.S. existing homes increased by 0.9 percent year on year in January, according to the NAR.

GENEVA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- FIFA announced Thursday that over 120 countries and regions will compete in the qualifying tournaments of the 2026 FIFAe Finals, which underlines the growing football esports worldwide. The new season starts with the FIFAe League, and the winning teams advance to the continental qualifiers before the best teams in each region earn qualification for the Finals. FIFA also introduced FIFAe World Rankings and FIFAe Performance Index systems.

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): PUC Bhd (KL:PUC) has received conditional approval from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) for a licence to undertake Labuan investment banking business. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, the company said the approval relates to PUC’s application for a licence to carry on Labuan investment banking business under the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010. “The conditional approval is subject to the fulfilment of certain requirements imposed by the LFSA, including but not limited to capitalisation, operational readiness and regulatory compliance conditions, within the time frame stipulated by the LFSA,” it said. The company said it will undertake the necessary arrangements to comply with the conditions imposed and will make further announcements, as appropriate, upon fulfilment of the conditions and issuance of the final licence. “The conditional approval is not expected to have any immediate material effect on the earnings or net assets of the PUC group for the current financial year, but is expected to contribute positively to the group’s long-term business prospects,” it added.

Cabinet to be briefed on unapproved worship sites, intrusion in RawangPUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will brief the Cabinet today on issues involving houses of worship built without proper approval and the recent intrusion at a temple in Rawang. “I have asked the Inspector-General of Police and the Special Branch director to prepare a comprehensive report. Improving security: Saifuddin Nasution (second from left) launching the Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency 10-year roadmap in Putrajaya. “This approach ensures that the entire process involves the relevant authorities and helps prevent any incident that could potentially trigger unrest. Regarding unapproved houses of worship situated on state land, Amirudin said that the existing conflict-resolution procedures at the state government level will be reinforced.

DHAKA (Feb 13): Bangladesh’s opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won a landslide parliamentary election on Friday, returning to power after nearly two decades and positioning party leader Tarique Rahman to become prime minister as the country emerges from months of unrest and economic disruption. The opposition Jamaat-e-Islami and its allies won 70 seats in the Jatiya Sangsad, or House of the Nation. The Election Commission put the BNP at 181 seats, the Jamaat-e-Islami at 61 and others at 7, with full official results expected in the next few hours. The BNP thanked its supporters soon after election trends became clear and called for special prayers on Friday for the nation and its people. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent T Christensen, were among the first to congratulate Rahman on his party's victory.

(Feb 13): Nvidia Corp is expected to lease a data centre being built with funds from a US$3.8 billion (RM14.8 billion) junk-bond sale, adding to the borrowing frenzy around artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The size of the bond deal was increased by US$150 million on Thursday afternoon, a sign of positive demand. Data centre developers have been tapping the high-yield bond market in recent months to finance the construction of new facilities. Fleet I was expected to contribute about US$620 million of equity to the project to help fund the construction, according to the documents. But the proceeds of the additional debt for the bond deal will be used to reduce the equity contribution, Bloomberg reported.

China controls between 60% and 70% of the global silver supply through its refining capacity. In late December 2025, China revealed a White List of 44 Chinese firms authorised to obtain export licences, including all state-owned enterprises and politically connected companies. Previously, when globalisation was embraced, Comex, the LBMA, and Shanghai markets tracked closely. Meanwhile, silver prices have been kept artificially low through excessive futures selling. To encourage new investment in silver mines, prices must reflect current supply and demand in fragmented, bifurcated markets.

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Feb 12): Trump administration officials signed a final reciprocal trade agreement that confirmed a 15% US tariff rate for imports from Taiwan, while committing Taiwan to a schedule for eliminating or lowering tariffs on nearly all US goods. The agreement adds technical language and specific details to a trade framework deal first reached in January that cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods, including from its powerhouse semiconductor industries, to 15% from the 20% initially imposed by Trump. The deal will immediately eliminate Taiwan's tariffs of up to 26% on many US agricultural imports, including beef, dairy and corn. But some tariffs, including the current 40% tariff on pork belly and 32% on ham, will only fall to 10%, according to the tariff schedule. The US said that under the deal, Taiwan will remove non-tariff barriers on motor vehicles and accept US auto safety standards, as well as those on medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Cable thieves targeting streetlight infrastructure have cost Selangor millions of ringgit last year. On road maintenance, Izham said the state was modernising its approach following the success of the jet patcher system intro­­duced as a pilot project last year. He added that Selangor allocated RM10mil annually for these studies on local authority roads. Under the new KJP, Selangor has allocated RM125mil annually from 2026 to 2030 for state road maintenance. The new assets include two excavators, three backhoe loaders, two 18m-skylift lorries and four tipper trucks, which will be used for road maintenance, traffic lights and emergency mobilisation during landslides or floods.

KUALA LUMPUR: Awards for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should go beyond just recognising their success, says the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister. Speaking at the launch of the 24th edition of the Enterprise 50 (E50) Awards, Steven Sim said the initiative was a longstanding ­testament to the resilience of local SMEs and strength of public-­private collaboration. Sim said the E50 recognition must go beyond symbolic acknowledgement, stating that such awards should carry an added value. To sustain the programme’s momentum, this year’s E50 Awards was held alongside the E50 Export Conference and E50 Business Matching sessions. Sim said these platforms aimed to expand commercial opportunities, strengthen trade networks and support export growth among local SMEs, mainly for E50 alumni.

More than 3,000 lorries have been caught in these massive jams each day, following the implementation of mandatory scanning for all heavy vehicles. KSAB only has one scanner for lorries headed to Singapore. It also does not scan lorries leaving the country, while Malaysia has two scanners to check arriving lorries. The congestion has worsened in recent days with the last-minute rush to send goods to Singapore before the Chinese New Year festive period. A transport operator, who wished to be identified only as Tan, said that previously, the scanners for the export zone operated during specific hours and were switched off during traffic jams to alleviate congestion.

HUMAN-wildlife conflict took an unusual turn when Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul (pic) highlighted a persistent monkey presence around the building. In here (the Dewan) it is fine,” he said after Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh responded to a question about human-wildlife conflict involving monkeys. According to Syed Ibrahim, the conflicts incurred nearly RM5mil of economic losses between 2020 and 2025. He said the ministry also has a compensation scheme to assist communities impacted by human-wildlife conflict since 2024. Among the causes of human-wildlife conflict involving monkeys are shrinking animal habitats due to development activities and unsystematic waste management, along with the rapid reproductive rate of the primates.

Compiled by ZAKIAH KOYA, ALLISON LAI and R. ARAVINTHANAN ON-DEMAND service platform in China has withdrawn its controversial Chinese New Year “proxy kowtow” service after facing public backlash. According to Nanyang Siang Pau, the platform rolled out a series of proxy New Year greeting packages during the festive season. One package, titled “Proxy Greeting for Elders”, offered to purchase and deliver festive goods, perform a kowtow ritual on behalf of customers, and provide a real-time livestream of the visit. UU helps you fulfil your filial duty.”However, the service quickly sparked criticism online, with many netizens labelling the idea of “proxy kowtowing” as awkward and inappropriate. In one instance, a simple Hokkien greeting – jiak ba buay?