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British insurer Prudential announced on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire an additional 19% stake in Sri Han Suria, the holding company that owns Prudential Assurance Malaysia, for approximately RM1.52 billion. The acquisition will raise Prudential’s ownership of its conventional life insurance business in Malaysia to 70%, strengthening the group’s control and strategic presence in the country. The move follows a “full and final settlement” reached in July 2025 over a dividend claim filed by Detik Ria, the minority shareholder in Sri Han Suria, which had been the subject of a long-running dispute. The additional stake will be purchased through Prudential Corporation Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prudential, directly from Detik Ria. The transaction has received approval from Malaysia’s central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia, and completion is expected shortly. Prudential Assurance Malaysia (PAMB), together with Prudential’s interest in the shariah-compliant business of Prudential BSN Takaful Bhd, constitute Prudential’s Malaysian life insurance operations. The increased ownership underscores Prudential’s long-term commitment to Malaysia and reflects the company’s confidence in the country’s growth prospects, said Anil Wadhwani, Prudential’s Chief Executive. “Increasing our ownership of PAMB reflects our deep commitment to Malaysia and our confidence in its future,” Wadhwani said in a statement. Following the completion of this transaction, Prudential has also agreed to cooperate with Detik Ria regarding a potential sale of the remaining 30% stake in Sri Han Suria. Should Detik Ria decide to divest its remaining shares, Prudential will work with them to facilitate a sale to one or more mutually agreed third parties. The acquisition consolidates Prudential’s position in the Malaysian life insurance market and is expected to enhance operational efficiency, governance, and strategic decision-making within its Malaysian operations, further strengthening the group’s footprint in the region.

The government has no immediate plans to reintroduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Dewan Rakyat was informed on Friday (Jan 23). In a written reply, the Finance Ministry acknowledged the potential benefits of the GST but explained that the Sales and Services Tax (SST), which is currently in place, provides a faster and more direct financial impact for the government. “As highlighted previously by the Prime Minister, the government does not intend to implement the GST at this time. This decision takes into account various factors that require careful consideration, including the disposable income of Malaysians and the overall cost of living,” the ministry said. The ministry emphasised that the SST will be retained and further enhanced. Noting its long-standing role in the country, the ministry highlighted that the SST has been used in Malaysia for more than four decades and remains an effective taxation mechanism. Additionally, the ministry pointed out that reintroducing the GST would involve a significant preparation period of up to two years. This would allow businesses sufficient time to upgrade and adapt their systems to comply with the new tax requirements. The response was made in reply to a question from Datuk Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN-Kubang Pasu), who inquired whether the government intended to reintroduce the GST, noting that many financial experts consider it a more comprehensive and efficient taxation system compared to the SST. The ministry’s statement underscores the government’s cautious approach toward any major tax reforms, balancing revenue considerations with the economic impact on households and businesses. While the GST remains a potential option in the future, the SST continues to serve as the primary indirect tax mechanism for Malaysia at present.

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have officially set up a new US-based venture to transfer part of TikTok’s operations to non-Chinese owners, securing the app’s continued presence in the United States and avoiding a potential nationwide ban. Under the agreement, first announced in September by the Trump administration, certain parts of TikTok will be spun off into a new US entity managed by three investors: Oracle Corp., private equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX. The deal ends a years-long geopolitical and regulatory standoff that threatened to shutter TikTok in the US over national security concerns. In 2024, Congress passed legislation to ban the app unless ByteDance sold TikTok, citing fears that the Chinese government could access US user data or influence content. TikTok has consistently denied these claims.

Crewstone International Sdn Bhd, a licensed and regulated private equity and private credit manager, today announced the completion of a structured financing transaction with Evergreen Vanilla Sdn Bhd, marking another capital deployment under Crewstone’s segment-focused growth investment strategy. Agriculture remains a resilient pillar of Malaysia’s economy, rebounding to 5.1% growth in Q4 2025 from marginal growth of 0.4% in the preceding quarter. As the country works to reduce a RM 78.8 billion food import bill under the National Agrofood Policy 2.0, private investment in high-value segments like natural vanilla which valued at USD 32.7 billion locally in 2024 and projected to grow at a 5.4% CAGR through 2032 and is increasingly vital for national food security and export competitiveness. The partnership reflects Crewstone International’s disciplined approach to deploying capital into asset-backed operating platforms with clear execution pathways. The success of this transaction underscores Crewstone’s ability to structure and deploy capital into real-economy operating businesses anchored by land, crop-bearing assets, and repeatable production cycles, where output is built over time and demand remains resilient even through economic downturns. This deployment extends Crewstone’s expertise beyond real estate and financial services into another real-economy vertical, while maintaining the same structure-first discipline. Evergreen operates one of Malaysia’s largest vanilla cultivation platforms, spanning approximately 350 acres in Lojing, Kelantan, and is building an integrated operation across cultivation, processing, and export-oriented supply. With the planned operational enhancements, the platform is expected to increase yield efficiency by 35.2%, support margin expansion through downstream processing, and expand customer capacity by more than five times as it scales into international food, fragrance, and pharmaceutical end-markets. The structured financing will support Evergreen’s next phase of operational build-out, including infrastructure development and production optimisation, as the company progresses from cultivation into scaled commercial operations. The investment also supports local economic activity by expanding plantation and processing operations and increasing demand across supporting services such as logistics, maintenance, and local procurement as the project moves into steady-state production. “This transaction reflects how we work with operating businesses where capital needs to be structured around assets, capacity build-out, and measured scale,” said Izmir Mujab, Managing Director and CEO of Crewstone International. “We focus on structure, execution readiness, and alignment. The sector is secondary. What matters is whether the business can scale responsibly with the right capital framework in place.” “Crewstone’s underwriting process is rigorous and detail-driven, and that discipline carries through beyond deployment,” said Jason Teo Giin Liang, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen Vanilla. “Working with a partner that is structured, commercially demanding, and closely engaged has sharpened our internal decision-making and kept us focused on building the business the right way as we scale into international markets.”