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KUALA LUMPUR, Vape liquid prices could rise by up to 1,000% if the Health Ministry’s proposed tax hike is approved, aimed at curbing widespread use of the products, the ministry said. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the proposal has been submitted to the Finance Ministry for inclusion in Budget 2026. “The Health Ministry has suggested increasing the excise duty on vape liquids from the current 40 sen per ml to RM4 per ml,” he told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. He added that while a cigarette stick delivers around 10 puffs, 1ml of vape liquid provides roughly 100 puffs, highlighting the need for stronger regulation. Currently, all vape liquids are subject to the 40 sen per ml excise duty, regardless of nicotine content, in effect since May 1, 2023. Nicotine continues to be regulated under the Poisons Act 1952. Lukanisman explained that electronic cigarette liquids are now governed under the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024 (Act 852), effective Oct 1, 2025. The law covers registration, advertising, sale, packaging, labelling, price control, and production of all smoking products, including vape liquids. “Under Act 852, all smoking products, including e-cigarettes, must be registered with the Health Ministry before they can be imported, produced, or distributed. Failure to comply is an offence, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both,” he said. While the ministry works toward a nationwide ban on vape products, Lukanisman noted that the measure must be implemented before vape-related health cases rise further. Current data show 46 cases linked to e-cigarette and vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI).

PETALING JAYA, Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz has issued an apology for joining a champagne celebration following Mercedes-AMG’s victory at the recent Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. In a statement, Tengku Taufik said the win was a significant milestone in Petronas’s long-standing partnership with Mercedes-AMG, and he felt honoured to receive the Winning Constructor Trophy on the team’s behalf. He acknowledged, however, that his “spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment celebration” may have been inappropriate. “While I did not consume any alcohol, as a Muslim I should have been more mindful of the sensitivities around participating in such celebrations. I apologise for any unintended offence and take full responsibility for my actions,” he added. The apology comes after criticism, including from PAS, over his participation in the champagne shower. Tengku Taufik was invited to the podium following Mercedes-AMG driver George Russell’s race victory. The incident follows a separate controversy involving the Tourism Ministry, where minister Tiong King Sing received a warning from the prime minister over the serving of alcohol at a Tourism Malaysia Global Travel Meet dinner.

Toyota Motor Corp chairman Akio Toyoda’s ¥4.7 trillion (US$31 billion or RM130 billion) plan to take Toyota Industries Corp private has been delayed, as antitrust reviews in multiple countries are taking longer than expected. Originally slated to begin in December, the tender offer is now expected to be postponed until at least February 2026, Toyota Industries said in a statement on Monday. The deal, announced in June, involves a group real estate unit making a tender offer for Toyota Industries’ shares. The delay marks an early hurdle for Toyoda’s ambitious plan to consolidate control over Japan’s largest business group. Some investors have already criticised the offer, saying it undervalues Toyota Industries. Under the proposal, the real estate company would offer ¥16,300 per share — an 11% discount to Toyota Industries’ closing price when the deal was announced. The company, which produces textile looms, forklifts and automotive parts, is the original business that gave rise to Toyota Motor, now the world’s largest automaker. So far, antitrust clearances have been obtained in Australia, Canada, Israel and South Africa. “Approvals in other jurisdictions are still pending, with completion expected in mid-January 2026 or later,” the company said. The buyout is intended to streamline Toyota’s complex ownership structure, which has long been criticised for cross-shareholdings among group companies. At the same time, it could further strengthen the Toyoda family’s control over the group founded by Akio’s grandfather. Japan’s top banks — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group — will provide ¥2.8 trillion in loans to finance the transaction. Toyoda himself will invest ¥1 billion into a new holding company that will lead the privatisation through Toyota Fudosan Co., an unlisted real estate firm that serves as the Toyoda family’s investment arm.

KUALA LUMPUR, CelcomDigi Bhd announced that its wholly owned unit, CelcomDigi Mobile Sdn Bhd, has received a notice of arbitration from IMMA Technology Sdn Bhd regarding a dispute over a services agreement signed nearly four years ago. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the company said IMMA is seeking RM72.59 million in alleged loss of profit, or alternatively RM28.28 million for claimed wasted expenditure. The agreement, signed in March 2022, involved the provision of credit advance services on a revenue-sharing basis with no upfront payment to IMMA. However, the launch of the service was postponed due to the Celcom-Digi merger. After the merger, a new request for proposal (RFP) was issued in November 2023 with an expanded scope to cover both subscriber bases, but IMMA did not participate despite being invited. Corporate records show that IMMA’s sole shareholder is its director, Charbel El Litani, who also serves as chief executive officer of InMobiles Holding — a global ICT solutions provider with operations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia and the US. CelcomDigi said it strongly disputes the claims and intends to defend its position vigorously. “The arbitration is not expected to have any material operational or financial impact on the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025,” the company said. CelcomDigi’s shares closed three sen higher at RM3.69 on Monday, valuing the group at RM43.29 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR, Security seal manufacturer Mega Fortris Bhd (KL:MEGAFB) has been taken to court by a Singapore-based consultancy firm over an alleged breach of contract related to its listing on Bursa Malaysia. In a filing, the company said Whatman Capital Pte Ltd filed the lawsuit concerning a March 2023 consultancy agreement. The contract covered advisory services for Mega Fortris’ transition from a private to a public company and its eventual Main Market listing in November 2023. Also named in the suit are non-independent non-executive chairman Datuk Ng Meng Kee and his brother, group managing director and CEO Datuk Ng Meng Poh. Whatman Capital is seeking payments of RM3.03 million and RM1.93 million, plus interest. Mega Fortris said it has obtained legal advice and believes the claim “lacks merit and legal basis,” adding that it is confident in its ability to successfully defend the case. “The board is of the view that the claim will not have any material financial or operational impact on the company at this stage,” it said. Mega Fortris’ majority shareholder, Mega Fortris Global Pte Ltd, holds a 65% stake and is linked to the Ng family. On Monday, Mega Fortris shares rose 2.5 sen or 3.85% to close at 67.5 sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM570.36 million.

Verizon Communications has appointed former PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman as its new CEO, succeeding Hans Vestberg in a leadership change designed to navigate slowing growth in the wireless sector. The transition comes as Verizon faces intensifying competition and weaker subscriber growth, with many consumers holding back on premium mobile plans. Vestberg, who has led the company since 2018, will stay on as a special adviser until Oct 4, 2026, the company said. Schulman, 67, brings nearly a decade of leadership experience from PayPal, where he oversaw its separation from eBay and guided the company through a boom in digital payments during the Covid-19 pandemic. During Vestberg’s tenure, Verizon invested heavily in building out its 5G infrastructure and expanding into media and enterprise services — ventures that were later scaled back as the company refocused on core connectivity. Despite these efforts, Verizon’s stock has trailed behind competitors AT&T and T-Mobile in recent years. Schulman’s appointment follows a similar leadership shake-up at T-Mobile, underscoring broader changes in the US telecommunications industry as major players reposition themselves to capture growth in an increasingly saturated market.

Adani Green Energy Ltd, led by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, has secured about US$250 million (RM1.05 billion) in funding from a consortium of global lenders — marking its first foreign loan since the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into the Adani Group. According to sources familiar with the deal, the financing will be provided by DBS Bank Ltd, DZ Bank, Rabobank, and Bank SinoPac Co Ltd. The proceeds are expected to be used to refinance existing debt. The loan reportedly carries a tenor of over five years with an interest rate of around 8.2%. While Adani Group, Bank SinoPac, and Rabobank did not immediately respond to requests for comment, a spokesperson from DZ Bank confirmed the bank’s participation in the lending syndicate. This offshore financing underscores renewed lender confidence in the Adani Group as it works to reduce its overall debt over the next five years. The conglomerate has indicated that it does not plan to issue any new bonds in international markets until at least 2027. Earlier this year, Adani Green refinanced a 92.61 billion-rupee (RM4.4 billion) construction-linked loan with India’s Power Finance Corporation Ltd. Across its various subsidiaries — including Adani Green Energy, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Energy Solutions Ltd, and its ports division — the group has secured more than US$10 billion in new credit facilities during the first half of the year, according to an August report by S&P Global Ratings. S&P also noted that the Adani family injected about US$1.1 billion of equity into Adani Green in July, and stated that there is “no significant increase in funding costs” for the group despite recent scrutiny.

When BOLT Malaysia switched on its app in November 2024, the launch capped months of groundwork: market studies, regulator briefings and dozens of on-the-ground conversations with drivers and riders. The result, says the team, was an unusually smooth entry—and a clear thesis: in a crowded e-hailing market, you win by solving local frictions quickly and transparently. Why Malaysia—and why now BOLT already operates across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. For Malaysia, the company built a full business case—sizing demand, mapping risks, and meeting the Ministry of Transport and related agencies. Officials were welcoming and supportive of healthy competition, and once licensing was in place BOLT set up in the Klang Valley with the aim of giving passengers more choice and drivers a more predictable earnings model. The localisation playbook BOLT’s early moves were guided by what local drivers and riders said most often. Instead of auto-assigning trips, the app allows drivers to accept or decline each request; the company argues that when a driver opts in, that driver is more likely to arrive promptly rather than ask a rider to cancel. On earnings, BOLT launched with a 15% flat commission—below the 20% legal ceiling—eschewing dynamic service fees so drivers can estimate take-home pay without surprises. To remove a frequent source of friction, toll charges are calculated and included in the fare automatically, which avoids end-of-trip disputes and lets drivers focus on the road. The app also adds small quality-of-life touches such as a preferred-destination setting that nudges end-of-day trips toward a driver’s home and clearer earnings views that show both per-trip and per-hour performance. Together, these changes aim to lift both sides of the marketplace: steadier income and fewer cancellations for drivers, tighter pick-up times and fewer annoyances for riders. Safety as a system, not a button Safety begins at onboarding. Drivers must meet Malaysia’s baseline rules—citizenship, vehicle age limits, PSV licence and an e-hailing vehicle permit—and pass background checks. In ride, BOLT layers active and passive protections. Drivers can switch on audio trip recording if a situation feels uncomfortable, share live trip details, or access emergency services and outbound support with a tap. In the background, the app periodically asks for selfie verification to prevent account misuse, while a trip-anomaly engine flags routes that stall or deviate for too long and triggers proactive support outreach. For people who make their living on the road, the combination is designed to provide genuine peace of mind. Corporate travel: Bolt Business lands in Malaysia Within months of launch, BOLT introduced Bolt Business, a corporate travel layer that sits inside the consumer app. Companies can bulk-create accounts, assign monthly ride allowances—think prepaid limits per employee—and consolidate receipts without chasing paper. For riders, checkout simply includes a choice to pay personally or via the company profile; for finance teams, the attraction is budget control and clean reconciliation. The platform borrows from deployments in other regions but has been tuned for Malaysian workflows and price points. Growth, constraints and the “people problem” Internally, BOLT points to faster-than-budget traction across driver supply and completed trips. The bigger constraint was staffing: the local team had to scale quickly, prompting three office moves and, after feedback that many drivers prefer face-to-face help, the launch of a driver centre to complement in-app support. Walk-ins have nearly doubled month on month since opening, providing both a steady stream of new registrations and hands-on activation for existing drivers who need guidance. Pricing philosophy: stable beats spiky Surge sticker shock is the fastest way to push riders back to alternatives. BOLT says it is working to stabilise base pricing and reduce heavy surges, while stimulating demand with discounts funded on its side rather than shaving driver pay. On the supply side, it tweaks base fares and incentives and keeps its commission take lower so that daily and monthly earnings are more predictable. The company’s view is simple: a marketplace is healthy only when both sides feel the model is fair. Where next—and how they choose For now, operations remain focused on the Klang Valley, although pre-registrations and requests from other states are piling up. Expansion decisions hinge on the size of local demand, the available driver supply pool and the ability to maintain service quality—measured in pick-up times, cancellation rates and safety metrics—from day one. BOLT is not committing to dates; the near-term focus is to deepen product-market fit in its core market before widening the footprint. AI, autonomy and the road ahead In the short term, BOLT is applying AI to improve routing, matching and support triage—quiet optimisations that shave minutes off pick-ups and clear tickets faster. Looking further out, the company sees a role in autonomous ecosystems not as a vehicle maker but as the marketplace layer that matches fleets to demand. That future depends on regulation and infrastructure, and BOLT says discussions with ministries are ongoing. What to watch BOLT hints at two driver-requested features slated for release in the next one to two months, alongside continued work on earnings mechanics and safety tooling. If the company sustains its localisation cadence—small but meaningful fixes shipped fast—it will keep pressure on incumbents to improve and give riders and drivers a credible second option.

KUALA LUMPUR, EHH Food Industry Sdn Bhd has marked a new milestone in Malaysia’s food sector with the unveiling of its new corporate logo and a refreshed logo for its well-known brand, Cap Kunci. The initiative is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its presence in both local and international markets. Held at Mydin Subang Jaya USJ from Sept 29 to Oct 5, the event — themed “Cap Kunci Bersama Keluarga MADANI @ Mydin USJ” — also featured the introduction of EHH’s latest product, Suhun Segar (Fresh Glass Noodles). According to EHH Food Industry, the campaign “Bringing Malaysians Together Through Food” celebrates the nation’s spirit of unity and the shared bond created through meals enjoyed together. “Food is more than just nourishment — it represents togetherness and unity that transcend backgrounds, cultures, and generations,” the company said in a statement. Corporate communications executive Nismawaty Nurdin said the launch highlights EHH’s dedication to producing halal, healthy, safe, and affordable food accessible to all Malaysians.“In line with our tagline, ‘Sentiasa Segar, Sentiasa Sedap’ (Always Fresh, Always Delicious), this reflects our belief that food connects communities and strengthens social harmony,” she added. As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, EHH Food Industry also launched the ‘Kotak SARA Rahmah’ programme — a collaboration with halal wholesaler and retailer Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd. Through this effort, 20 asnaf families received boxes of groceries worth RM100 each, personally sponsored by EHH staff. “This initiative supports Mydin’s ongoing efforts to assist underprivileged communities in line with the government’s aid programmes,” said Nismawaty. Officiating the event, Port Klang assemblyman Azmizam Zaman Huri commended EHH’s initiative for aligning with the state’s efforts to boost the halal economy and promote local brands.“Such events create opportunities for Malaysian SMEs to expand and collaborate with major platforms like Mydin. Cap Kunci continues to set a benchmark by maintaining high product standards and full compliance with the Food Act,” he said. He added that EHH’s new product demonstrates how local brands can rival international ones while promoting innovation within the food sector. The event also recognised 10 loyal SME partners for their continued support and featured a community cooking competition, which was won by Syarifah Norsyuhadah Syed Mohamed Rashid, 39, with her fried Vietnamese spring roll dish. EHH Food Industry will next showcase its Suhun Segar in 200g and 500g packs at the upcoming Selangor International Food & Beverage Expo (SIE) 2025 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) on Oct 9, focusing on the business-to-business (B2B) segment.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia’s brewing industry has urged the government to keep excise duty rates on beer unchanged, warning that any increase could fuel illicit trade, cut into tax revenues, and threaten jobs across the sector. The Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Bhd (CMBB), representing Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd and Heineken Malaysia Bhd, released findings of an independent study showing the industry contributed an average of RM7.1 billion to the economy in 2022–2023, equal to 0.4% of Malaysia’s GDP. The brewing industry has called on the government to maintain the current excise duty rates on beer, saying the freeze can help curb illicit trade in beer, prevent revenue leakages as well as provide employment. The study, conducted by the Southeast Asia Public Policy Institute and the University of Nottingham Malaysia, also found that the sector generates RM3.3 billion in annual tax revenue — around 1.5% of the government’s total tax collection — while supporting more than 52,000 jobs across brewing, logistics, retail, and hospitality. CMBB noted that Malaysia already ranks among the countries with the highest beer tax rates globally. Raising duties further, it said, would widen the price gap between legal and illicit products, undermining both government revenue and industry stability. In a joint statement, Carlsberg Malaysia managing director Stefano Clini and Heineken Malaysia managing director Martijn van Keulen highlighted the sector’s role in driving employment and industrial growth. They also commended the Multi-Agency Task Force, led by the Finance Ministry together with Customs and the police, for ramping up enforcement against smuggling and illegal beer sales. “We look forward to further collaboration with the government to safeguard the brewers’ economic contribution, strengthen enforcement, and support Malaysia’s long-term policy goals,” they said. The brewers also reaffirmed their commitment to Malaysia’s broader development and sustainability priorities, including the 13th Malaysia Plan, the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, and the Circular Economy Blueprint, pledging to work with stakeholders to advance sustainable growth and industrial competitiveness.