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Standard Chartered has launched its first Global Fusion Centre in Malaysia to support its global operations. Located at its Global Business Services (GBS) hub in Kuala Lumpur, the centre integrates people, technology and intelligence functions to enhance real-time response and operational coordination. The facility aims to strengthen resilience across the bank’s operations while reinforcing trust with clients, regulators and stakeholders. The centre sits within Standard Chartered’s GBS Malaysia unit, established in 2001 as the country’s first multi-disciplinary global business services centre by an international bank. Today, the unit supports operations in over 50 markets and is the group’s second-largest GBS hub after India, employing more than 4,400 staff—85% of whom are Malaysians. Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia’s Digital Minister, said the initiative highlights the country’s strength in talent and its position as a trusted regional hub for digital services, technology and high-value operations. Meanwhile, Mak Joon Nien, CEO of Standard Chartered Malaysia, said the move supports Malaysia’s ambition to become a global technology hub, in line with national priorities such as strengthening digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and developing future-ready talent as the country works towards its AI goals by 2030.

Mastercard has rolled out authenticated agentic payment transactions in Singapore and Malaysia, marking the first phase of its AI-powered payments push in ASEAN. The rollout was carried out with United Overseas Bank (UOB) for regional testing, alongside local banks in each market to support implementation. More ASEAN markets are expected to follow. The pilots aim to pave the way for wider adoption on trusted payment rails as more participants join the ecosystem. The initiative is powered by Mastercard Agent Pay, which enables AI-driven transactions using tokenised credentials, verifiable intent and end-to-end auditability via Agentic Tokens and Payment Passkeys. This ensures transactions initiated by AI remain aligned with user authorisation. Mastercard said “verifiable intent”, co-developed with Google, creates a tamper-resistant record of user-approved actions when AI agents transact on their behalf, providing a shared reference for issuers, merchants and consumers. Separately, Mastercard plans to launch a regional AI Centre of Excellence in Singapore later this year. The facility will be its largest innovation hub in Asia-Pacific, bringing together capabilities in AI, cybersecurity, payments, fraud detection and real-time risk management. Jacquelyn Tan said the collaboration highlights how trusted, AI-enabled payments can enhance everyday banking and commerce across diverse markets, while maintaining strong governance as adoption scales. Safdar Khan said the rollout underscores ASEAN’s rapid uptake of secure, AI-driven commerce, adding that early pilots show AI agents can operate responsibly and transparently with transactions anchored in verified user intent.

Sunview Group Bhd’s consortium, comprising its wholly-owned subsidiary Fabulous Sunview Sdn Bhd and Cypark Renewable Energy Sdn Bhd, has secured a RM1.96 billion contract from TNB Power Generation Sdn Bhd (TNB Genco) for a major renewable energy project. The consortium, known as Consortium Cre-Sunview, received a letter of acceptance (LOA) for the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning of a 595-megawatt alternating current (MWac) floating solar photovoltaic plant, paired with a battery energy storage system at Kenyir Lake, Terengganu. Within the unincorporated joint venture, Cypark Renewable Energy holds a 60% stake, while Fabulous Sunview owns 40%. The project, including all applicable taxes, duties, fees, and sales and service tax (SST), is scheduled to start on 2 June 2026 and is targeted for completion by 29 September 2028. Sunview said the contract is expected to contribute positively to the group’s future earnings, without affecting its share capital or the holdings of substantial shareholders. TNB Genco, the contracting party, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Bhd, and this project reinforces Malaysia’s commitment to renewable energy and sustainable power generation.

MHS Aviation Bhd, a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vertiport Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the commercial arm of Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), to strengthen Malaysia’s unmanned aviation capabilities. Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin and Mohd Fakhrul Arifin Adinan at the MOU signing ceremony between Vertiport Malaysia and MHS Aviation Berhad in Perlis. In a statement, MHS Aviation said the collaboration supports the Airspace Sandbox initiative announced under Budget 2026, which serves as a national platform for testing and developing low-altitude flight technologies, including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and autonomous aviation solutions. The partnership aims to enhance Malaysia’s UAS ecosystem across both civil and defence applications by combining academic expertise with industry capabilities and operational experience. Under the MOU, both parties will collaborate on training, research, and innovation in unmanned aviation. Key focus areas include operational deployment of UAS, particularly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) capabilities, as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, and training and certification programmes covering operations, management, and maintenance. The collaboration will also involve joint efforts to promote and develop UAS-related services and capabilities. The agreement also sets the stage for further due diligence, including obtaining approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and developing operational frameworks such as standard operating procedures and operations manuals. MHS Aviation CEO Mohd Fakhrul Arifin Adinan said the partnership reflects the company’s commitment to building next-generation aviation capabilities in Malaysia, adding that the collaboration with UniMAP will support scalable and future-ready unmanned solutions aligned with national priorities. Boustead Holdings group managing director Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said the initiative highlights the group’s strategic role in strengthening Malaysia’s defence and aerospace ecosystem, particularly in emerging technologies such as unmanned systems. Meanwhile, UniMAP vice-chancellor Zaliman Sauli said the collaboration will help position Malaysia as a regional leader in aviation and drone technology, while supporting the development of high-skilled talent in aeronautics and unmanned systems.

Oiltek International has signed a heads of agreement with Brunei-based Bioseaga Industries to develop a US$350 million sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant in Sabah, marking a major project for the company. For comparison, Oiltek’s total order book stood at RM350 million as at Feb 23. Under the agreement, Oiltek will act as the exclusive contractor for the project and may also consider taking an equity stake at a later stage. The proposed plant is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 300 metric tonnes per day. Bioseaga Industries, part of the BioSeaga group, focuses on food security initiatives as well as renewable and sustainable fuel development. The collaboration is expected to support the growth of sustainable aviation fuel production in the region. Oiltek said the project represents a strategically significant opportunity to strengthen its participation in the fast-growing SAF value chain. By serving as the exclusive contractor, the company believes it will further reinforce its position as a solutions provider in renewable fuels and sustainable energy infrastructure.