Three decades after a bad debt crisis in Japan forced a wave of mergers that created its mega lenders, the focus now is on consolidation in the nation’s US$3 trillion regional banking industry.
Asian stocks rose for a second day on Tuesday, tracking technology-led gains on Wall Street as confidence grew over a potential US Federal Reserve (Fed) interest-rate cut in December.
Thailand posted its widest trade deficit since early 2023, with a surge in imports of capital goods and raw materials from China, even as exports lost momentum after US buyers frontloaded purchases to beat higher tariffs.
Malaysia does not provide any sales tax exemption for goods imported through foreign online platforms.
The Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) is preparing a working paper on the implementation of a rubber productivity enhancement programme aimed at increasing the income and well-being of smallholders.
Malaysia’s new vehicle market expanded by 7% to 75,992 units in October 2025 from 71,022 units a year earlier, according to registration data released by the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA). The association said the market was lifted by a sharp rise in imported battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales ahead of the expiry of import and excise duty exemptions at the end of December.