KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Bernama) The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) is encouraging industry players and the public to participate actively in the trading of used cooking oil (UCO) as part of efforts to support the nations circular economy.

JAKARTA, March 20 (Bernama) --Indonesia plans to increase coal production in response to rising global oil prices, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said.

FRANKFURT, March 20 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday kept key interest rates unchanged as heightened geopolitical tensions weigh on the outlook of inflation and economy in the euro area, reported Xinhua.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Kao Corporation, a Japan-based manufacturer of cosmetics, personal care and household products, announcedits skincare brand Bior will accelerate its international expansion as it enters the South Korean market and rolls out a globally unified campaign.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Abaxx Technologies Inc (Abaxx), a financial software and market infrastructure company, announced its subsidiary, Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd (Abaxx Singapore), has been accepted as a Local Associate Member of the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA).

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced that two of its Indonesian subsidiaries have secured a major orderto supply 66 elevators, 30 escalators, 404 air-conditioning units, and 38 hand dryers for Two Sudirman Jakarta.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has assigned a financial strength rating of B (Fair), a long-term issuer credit rating of bb (Fair) and a Philippines National Scale Rating of a.PH (Excellent) to Stronghold Insurance Company Inc (Stronghold).

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- K-Tech Solutions Company Limited (K-Tech)has signed a memorandum of understanding with Boardware Intelligence Technology Limited (Boardware), becoming the exclusive hardware development and engineering partner for Boardwares artificial intelligence (AI) and Brain- Computer Interface (BCI) product platform.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian medical sector is not affected by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East; hence, the outlook for the medical tourism sector remains strong for this year, said Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Akur8, the global actuarial artificial intelligence (AI) platform, hasentered the life and annuity (L&A;) insurance market with the acquisition of Slope Software, expanding its capabilities beyond property and casualty (P&C;) offerings.

LABUAN, March 18 (Bernama) -- The Labuan Freight Forwarders Association (LFFA) has expressed optimism over the performance of Megah Port Management Sdn Bhd (MPM) in managing and handling operations at Labuan Port.

KUCHING, March 17 (Bernama) -- The 'Rumah Bangsa initiative by UMNO is viewed as an extraordinary approach to strengthen the party in the Peninsular and Sabah, said UMNO Supreme Council memberDatuk Seri Dr Ahmad Maslan.

By Niam Seet Wei KUALA LUMPUR, March 17(Bernama) -- Integrated refurbished technology leader CompAsia Sdn Bhd is set to launch its Main Market initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia in the first half of 2027 (1H 2027), aiming to raise around RM400 million to RM500 million, with a valuation of about RM2 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) --The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has concludedthe i-MULA 50 Starter Pack Insurance Fund, with about 90,000 Malaysians signed up for coverage.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- H2O.ai, a pioneer in sovereign artificial intelligence (AI), announced its openly available H2OVL Mississippi visual- language multimodal models havereached a significant milestone, surpassing one million monthly downloads.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Checkmarx, a leader in agentic application security, has unveiled its new Checkmarx One platform built for the new era of artificial intelligence (AI) development.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) -- UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that he had received a letter of appeal from former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin to rejoin the party.

PETALING JAYA, March 16 (Bernama) -- IJM Corp Bhd plans to exit its highway investments in India as part of its efforts to unlock shareholder value.

JOHOR BAHRU, March 15 (Bernama) -- The National Economic Action Council (NEAC) will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the impact of the prolonged conflict in West Asia on the transportation sector, particularly aviation, and mitigation measures to safeguard oil and gas (O&G;) supply.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Amira Aisya Abd Aziz has been chosen as Malaysian Union United Democratic Alliances (MUDA) new president for the term of2026-2029 at the 2025 Annual General Meeting and the partys inaugural election in Petaling Jaya today.

JOHOR BAHRU, March 14 (Bernama) -- Johor UMNO has welcomed the proposal bypartypresidentDatuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidito readmitmembers who were previously suspended or expelled.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13(Bernama) -- Malaysia will givean explanation to the United States (US) regarding allegations of structural excess capacity and production as well asthe use of forced labour, which are among issues under probe under Section 301(b) of the US Trade Act of 1974.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- Continued tensions in the Middle Eastwill have impact on economic security and stability, the livelihoods of millions of people in the region, and hinder economic progress in ASEAN, according to a joint statement bythe ASEAN Economic Ministers.

JASIN, March 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has continuedto show positive economic performance despite global uncertainty, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statisticianDatuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

By Kisho Kumari Sucedaram KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- Batik Air Malaysia has implemented modest adjustments across selected routes, including fuel surcharges structured by route category, in response to rising operating costs driven by higher jet fuel prices.

KUALA LUMPUR,March 13 (Bernama) The government is working to extend the countrys oil supply security and ensuredomestic supply remains stable following the conflict in West Asia, said Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan.

JOHOR BAHRU, March 12 (Bernama) --Former UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein today expressed his readiness to resume active involvement in the party should the leadership decide to lift the suspension of his membership.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysias natural rubber (NR) production decreased by 0.4 per cent in January 2026 to 28,579 tonnes, compared with 28,684 tonnes in December 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- Government-linked investment companies (GLICs)held about 45 per cent of the shares in IJM Corporation Bhd (IJM Corp) as at Jan 30, 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11(Bernama) -- The proposal to allow i-Lindung withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Akaun Sejahtera(Account 2) for base medical and health insurance/takaful (MHIT) purchaseis currently being studied, the Finance Ministry (MoF) said.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11(Bernama) -- The government, throughBank Negara Malaysia (BNM), ensures that financial markets remain orderly and the countrys financial system remains resilient amid global uncertainties through continuous market surveillance, according to the Finance Ministry (MoF).

(This is the last of a two-part series on the potential and challenges of using bamboo in construction). Ahmad Mazlan Othman, a structural engineer and a veteran in the construction industry, remembers the hoops he had to jump through to secure approval for building the bamboo mosque in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. As it is a public building, we needed approval from the local authorities, including the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba). I had to present the proposal to Bomba in Kuala Terengganu ..

ISKANDAR PUTERI, March 10 (Bernama) -- Computility Technology (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (CTDC), BGMC Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd (BGMC), and reNIKOLA Holdings Sdn Bhd have signed a strategic term sheet to establish a green energy alliance to supply about 630,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable power annually.

SHAH ALAM, March10 (Bernama) -- Invest Selangor Bhd aims to surpass last years RM8.17 billion in potential business transactions during theSelangor International Business Summit (SIBS) 2026, which will be held this October.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) --The Capital Market Masterplan (CMP) 2026-2030 sets a decisive course for the next phase of Malaysias capital market development and aims to expand the market size byRM1.5 trillion to RM2 trillion over the next five years.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) welcomed the launch of the Capital Market Masterplan 2026-2030 (CMP), describing its ambitious target to grow the countrys capital market to between RM5.8 trillion and RM6.3 trillion by 2030 as timely.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen has urged the Election Commission (EC) to strictly adhere to constitutional principles and allow sufficient time for public scrutiny during the electoral redelineation process in Sarawak.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (Bernama) --The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that in 2025, the global all-accident rate improved to 1.32 accidents per million flights (one accident per 759,646 flights), better than the 1.42 recorded in 2024 but slightly above the 20212025 five-year average of 1.27.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- Ekovest Bhds subsidiaryLebuhraya DUKE Fasa 2A Sdn Bhd has signed a concession agreement with the federal government to develop the Laluan Istana Kiara Expressway (LIKE) with theestimated total construction costof RM2.32 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 5(Bernama) --Development Expenditure (DE) performance for 2025 in the state of Sabah reached RM5.9 billion, or 89 per cent of the original allocation, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).