Malaysia Economic News

[weijian]

TRX (Tun Razak Exchange) just opened this year and now Merdeka 118 will be opening soon. So, 3 former Msian PMs will have a skyscraper to represent them - Petronas (Tun M), TRX (Tun Razak) and Merdeka 118 (Tunku Abdul Rahman). I wonder if Hussein Oon is next in the plans?

World’s second-tallest tower tests Malaysia’s appetite for more skyscrapers

According to Permodalan Nasional Bhd., the government-linked investment firm behind Merdeka 118, the building was meant to put the company on the world map and create a new national symbol. When Merdeka 118 was announced during the prime ministership of Najib Razak in 2010, some saw it as a way for the leader to one-up Mahathir.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/interna...kyscrapers

[weijian]

When I first started to look at Bursa Malaysia stocks, I was surprised to find many of them had Gov-Linked Capital in the Top20 shareholder list. Msian GLCs' ownership of local stocks were criticized (and rightfully so) to be at the extreme of too much local stocks ownership and too little foreign stocks.

In Spore context, Temasek holds all the listed stakes of SGX-listed companis from various "mission critical sectors" before they were privatized by the Gov. While they have invested in a few (eg. Nanofilm, AEM Holdings) outside of Gov control, but it is still generally rare.

So, Spore SWFs could probably learn a bit from Msia, and vice versa I suppose?

Malaysian bourse eyes value-boosting plans to lure stock traders

Bursa Malaysia Bhd is considering a formalised framework where companies may be given targets on metrics such as price-to-earnings ratio, return on equity and free float, its CEO, Muhamad Umar Swift, said in an interview.

Malaysia is among a growing number of countries in Asia – including Japan, South Korea and China – looking to drive shareholder returns through corporate reforms and lift depressed valuations in efforts to attract more foreigners.

Bursa Malaysia is targeting 50 initial public offerings in 2025 compared with 42 this year, Umar said. There is a healthy pipeline of listings going into next year, including some large ones in the healthcare and telecom sectors, he said.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/catego...k-traders/

[Behappyalways]

#KiniNews: Whistleblower pens open letter to Agong, reveals video on alleged corruption scandal
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dhpMbd54Ey8

[Behappyalways]

Probably someone in MACC will 'misplaced' the evidence....

LFL to submit unedited videos on Sabah scandal to MACC
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cyrLH9xeQuw

#KiniNews: Whistleblower pens open letter to Agong, reveals video on alleged corruption scandal
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dhpMbd54Ey8

[Behappyalways]

[KINI EXPLAINER] Who Owns the Musang King? The Battle for Durians in Raub
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3hc1JLQ0hJs

[weijian]

In a country where the current king of retail is a mini mart (99 speed mart) beating out established incumbents like Aeon/Tesco (now Lotus) and billionaires are made by selling cheap stuff (Eco-shop and Mr DIY), maybe it is not too much of a surprise that Don Don Donki has failed in Malaysia?

The biggest Bon Odori festival outside of Japan is widely considered the one in Msia Selangor, and there are plenty of similar Bon Odori festivals been held from Penang to Johor Bahru. So culturally, Msians of all races tend to accept Jap influences quite readily I suppose.

There are 17 Don Don Donki outlets in Spore, striving and probably more to come. As for Malaysia, the first outlet opened in 2021, went up to 6 and only 2 remained as of now. Another nearby neighbour Thailand (with bigger populaton but lower purchasing power) did experience some difficulties but seems to have stabilized.

Maybe the average Msian is too poor to buy Donki? Or did Donki position themselves wrongly? Was the buyer at fault for not been astute enough to have the right merchandise mix? Or was the lack of sufficient halal certification a killer?

Don Don Donki’s Malaysia Setback – Expansion Lessons from Asia’s “Donki” Boom

In recent months, Japanese retail chain Don Don Donki has closed multiple outlets in Malaysia, highlighting the gap between initial hype and sustainable performance. The Kuala Lumpur Nu Sentral branch, opened in mid-2024 amid fanfare, shut down less than a year later – the third Malaysian outlet to close in two years. After these closures, only three Donki stores remained in the country as of mid-2025 (Lot 10, Mid Valley, and Sunway Pyramid). (Notably, the Sunway Pyramid store also announced its closure by end-July 2025, reducing Malaysia’s count to just two.)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/don-donki...uang-5n9uc