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Sunway Bhd has increased the cash portion of its takeover offer for IJM Corp Bhd from 31.5 sen to 32.5 sen per share following the declaration of a two-sen dividend for Sunway shareholders. The adjustment reflects the dividend payout multiplied by the 0.501 Sunway shares that each IJM shareholder would receive under the offer. Despite the change, the total offer price remains at RM3.15 per IJM share, with the majority of the consideration (90%) still in Sunway shares, valuing IJM at RM11 billion. Under the revised terms, each block of 1,000 IJM shares now entitles shareholders to RM325 in cash plus 501 Sunway shares worth RM2,830.65 at the current issue price. The issue price of RM5.65 per Sunway share and the number of consideration shares remain unchanged. The offer will take effect once Sunway secures more than 50% of IJM and meets customary closing conditions. IJM, which operates in construction, property, infrastructure, and highway concessions, has an outstanding order book of RM4.4 billion and unbilled property sales of RM1.59 billion. Sunway said all other terms of the offer remain the same and advised IJM shareholders to review the offer document and independent advice circular on Bursa Malaysia before deciding.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has fined KAF Investment Bank Bhd RM1.025 million for breaching foreign exchange policy (FEP) rules under the Financial Services Act 2013 (FSA). The penalty arose after KAF IB failed to obtain BNM’s approval for foreign currency transactions involving a resident individual whose domestic ringgit borrowing exceeded the allowed limit, violating Section 214(9) of the FSA. The breach also reflected inadequate internal controls to ensure compliance with FEP Notices, as required under Section 214(6) of the FSA. KAF IB has since implemented remedial measures, including new internal policies and procedures to strengthen compliance. The bank paid the compound on Jan 29, 2026. BNM said it considered both aggravating and mitigating factors, such as the bank’s prior compliance record and corrective actions, before determining the compound. The central bank reiterated that financial institutions must fully comply with FEP requirements, including obtaining written approval for certain foreign exchange transactions, to avoid enforcement actions.

Capital A Bhd is targeting an exit from Practice Note 17 (PN17) status after a substantial gain from the disposal of its aviation business, part of its completed regularisation plan, lifted the group to a positive shareholders’ equity position. The sale of the airline business generated a gain of RM9.75 billion, propelling Capital A’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, to RM10.2 billion, compared with a net loss of RM1.66 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday. Quarterly revenue increased 48.3% year-on-year to RM769.08 million from RM518.51 million. For the full year, the group reported a net profit of RM13.03 billion, swinging from a net loss of RM501.25 million in FY2024, largely due to the disposal gain. Cumulative revenue rose 16.7% to RM1.99 billion from RM1.71 billion. “The disposal has restored the group to positive equity of RM937 million, marking a clear financial reset. We now look forward to lifting our PN17 status and drawing a firm line under past challenges,” said Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes. Excluding its divested aviation business, Capital A’s continuing operations “largely met” internal targets. EBITDA stood at RM443 million, slightly below the guided range of RM500 million to RM600 million, while revenue of RM3.4 billion was marginally under the RM3.5 billion to RM4 billion range. The net operating profit (NOP) margin of 7% landed at the lower end of the 7% to 10% target range. No dividend has been proposed for the financial year. Capital A’s ongoing operations now consist of five key units: Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) — a maintenance, repair and operations unit, Teleport (logistics), AirAsia Move (travel platform), Santan (F&B), and AirAsia Next (brand licensing and digital IP). For the current fiscal year, the group has set internal targets of RM3.8 billion in revenue, RM600 million in EBITDA, and a 7% NOP margin of RM266 million. Fernandes noted that the group’s performance depends on each of the five business units achieving their respective objectives. He added that Capital A is ready to embark on its next phase of growth, focusing on its five tech-driven businesses. Following the announcement, Capital A shares closed 1.5 sen, or 2.54%, higher at 60.5 sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM2.68 billion.

Lembaga Tabung Haji has become a significant shareholder in AEON Co (M) Bhd following its latest acquisition of shares in the Malaysian retailer and shopping mall operator. The pilgrimage fund crossed the 5% disclosure threshold after purchasing 250,000 shares, equivalent to a 0.018% stake, on Tuesday, February 24. This latest transaction increased Tabung Haji’s total holding in AEON Co to 5.013%, or approximately 70.39 million shares, according to a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday. With this move, Tabung Haji joins the list of notable institutional investors in AEON Co. Another key shareholder is the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which holds a 7.618% stake in the company. Meanwhile, AEON Co’s parent company, AEON Co Ltd, remains the largest shareholder with a majority 52.02% ownership. Tabung Haji has been actively participating in the Malaysian equities market in recent months. Last month, the fund re-emerged as a substantial shareholder in SKP Resources Bhd, taking a 5.092% stake after more than a decade, and also acquired a 5.006% stake in newly listed Orkim Bhd. AEON Co’s shares responded positively to the announcement, ending one sen, or 0.76%, higher at RM1.33, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM1.87 billion. Analysts note that Tabung Haji’s increased participation in the market reflects its continued focus on strategic investments in well-established Malaysian companies with stable operations and long-term growth potential, reinforcing its position as an influential institutional investor. This latest acquisition also highlights the growing trend of domestic funds strengthening stakes in local listed companies, potentially enhancing corporate governance and providing additional stability to the shareholder base of firms like AEON Co.

A 20% slide in Baidu Inc’s shares over the past month serves as a crucial reminder for companies in China’s rapidly intensifying artificial intelligence (AI) race: investors are demanding tangible results. The search engine specialist kicks off December-quarter earnings for China’s Big Tech on Thursday, amid growing concern that its AI investments are not translating into a meaningful growth driver quickly enough. Despite strength in the cloud business, analysts predict both revenue and profit to fall year on year, hurt by continued weakness in the core advertising business that’s closely tied to the broader economy. With markets fixated on AI, positive management commentary or evidence that capital spending is bearing fruit will be crucial to help stem an equity rout that’s eroded US$11 billion (RM42.78 billion) in market value since a three-year high on Jan 23. “In the crowded field of Chinese AI players, Baidu is viewed more as an optionality or valuation‑driven sum‑of‑the-parts story rather than a clearly defined long‑term winner,” said Gary Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments LLC. “Baidu must demonstrate it is leveraging its AI capabilities to build a true full stack AI platform rather than acting as a jack of all trades.” Baidu was among the first Chinese companies to embrace AI and roll out a ChatGPT-like service, but it has lost leadership in the field to larger rivals as well as newcomers like DeepSeek. The Beijing-based firm’s flagship mobile application has also seen popularity wane, with young users flocking to social apps from rivals ByteDance and Xiaohongshu for search queries. The stock has suffered also on account of a wave of new listings by pure‑play AI firms such as chip designers and large language model developers. The outsized gains in shares of companies like MiniMax Group Inc and Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd — better known as Zhipu — are luring investors away from diversified internet conglomerates such as Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which counts Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu among heavyweights, is down 9% over the past month. Shares of Alibaba and Tencent down about 12% each. Baidu’s stock has fared much worse, losing nearly 20% over the period. The downtrend has continued even after the company earlier this month announced plans to issue its first dividend and a three-year stock buy-back programme of as much as US$5 billion in a bid to reward investors. Some market watchers have expressed optimism ahead of the results. “Baidu is moving into a phase where the contours of its AI-led transition are becoming more visible, in our view, with early signs that user adoption for AI functions, AI product integration into existing mobile Internet services and operational efficiency are beginning to improve,” JPMorgan Chase & C analysts led by Alex Yao wrote in a note last month. Baidu’s 12-month forward consensus earnings estimate has also risen over 6% since reaching a more than three-year low late last month. Even so, the options market is signalling investor caution. Demand for downside protection has increased, with the cost of insuring against a 10% drop in Baidu’s US-traded stock climbing to its highest level since April relative to upside bets earlier this week, according to one-month implied volatility data. Options traders are pricing in a 5.7% swing in either direction for its American Depositary Receipts after the results. That’s more than the average 4.6% fluctuation seen following the last eight quarterly reports. “Baidu needs to convince investors of greater adoption of its ERNIE-based agents, particularly on the enterprise side,” given that agentic AI systems — which require less human supervision — are becoming “a larger and larger disruption risk”, said Felix Wang, the tech sector head of Hedgeye Risk Management.