Digital travel platform Agoda has unveiled some of Asia’s most affordable flight routes for the summer, highlighting Kuala Lumpur’s prominence as a key travel hub. Based on one-way bookings made between March and May for flights departing from June to August 2026, Kuala Lumpur to Penang emerged as the second most affordable domestic route, with fares starting at $10. For international travel, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore ranked third, with fares from $17.

These findings underscore Kuala Lumpur’s strategic role as a travel base, offering Malaysian travellers convenient access to both domestic and regional destinations. Penang continues to attract visitors with its rich food culture and short-break appeal, whilst Singapore remains a popular choice for quick cross-border trips. The affordable fares provide travellers with greater flexibility in planning mid-year getaways, balancing convenience, cost, and travel time.

Additionally, Kuala Lumpur features as a destination on other affordable international routes. Pekanbaru to Kuala Lumpur ranked second with fares from $16, and Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur ranked seventh at $34. This highlights Kuala Lumpur’s ongoing appeal as an accessible city destination for regional travellers, whether for short urban breaks, onward travel, or visiting friends and family.

Fabian Teja, Country Director for Malaysia and Brunei at Agoda, commented, “Affordable flights to nearby destinations are more accessible than many travellers might expect. Routes like Kuala Lumpur to Penang or Singapore show that a short getaway doesn’t have to stretch the budget.” Agoda’s platform allows travellers to search flights alongside accommodation and activities, simplifying trip planning to fit both plans and budget.

OCBC has announced a groundbreaking service allowing Singaporeans and Singapore permanent residents to open business accounts with OCBC Malaysia using Singpass, the national digital identity. This new digital process reduces the account opening time from three weeks to just five working days, marking the first instance of Singpass being utilised beyond Singapore’s borders.

The initiative comes as more Singaporeans and Singapore PRs are establishing or expanding businesses in Malaysia, particularly in sectors like food and beverage and manufacturing. From 2023 to 2025, OCBC Malaysia experienced over 10% annual growth in SMEs with Singaporean or Singapore PR owners. This trend is expected to continue with the development of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone.

Previously, opening a business account in Malaysia required manual documentation or an in-person visit, taking up to three weeks. Now, the process is fully digital, with OCBC conducting necessary Know Your Customer checks after the application is submitted. For businesses with Malaysian directors, identity verification will be done using MYKAD, Malaysia’s official identification.

Carmen Chan, Deputy Head of Global Transaction Banking at OCBC, stated, “Leveraging Singpass, which the Singaporean directors are already familiar with, makes sense. It streamlines the process greatly and frees our customers to focus on what matters most – leading their teams and driving business growth.”

This service is expected to enhance cross-border business activities and provide a seamless banking experience for customers with accounts in both Singapore and Malaysia, offering single sign-on access to view accounts on a unified dashboard.

Sarawak has reaffirmed its position as a regional hydrogen hub with the launch of the Asia Pacific Green Hydrogen Conference and Exhibition (APGH) 2026. The event, inaugurated by Sarawak’s Premier, Abang Johari Tun Openg, underscores the region’s commitment to advancing hydrogen development and supporting the global energy transition.

The three-day conference, themed “Empowering The Future: Delivering a Resilient Hydrogen Ecosystem,” gathers policymakers, industry leaders, investors, and technology experts to explore the hydrogen economy’s opportunities and challenges across the Asia-Pacific. Hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Sarawak, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the event is organised by Borneo Business Connect Sdn Bhd, with support from Business Events Sarawak and the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau.

A key highlight was the Visionary Dialogue featuring the Premier of Sarawak, moderated by Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director Emeritus of the International Energy Agency. The Premier outlined Sarawak’s strategy to leverage its renewable energy resources, including hydropower, natural gas, water, and biomass, to position itself as a clean energy hub. He emphasised the importance of regional energy integration and cross-border electricity export initiatives, aiming for up to 10GW of electricity exports by 2030.

The conference continues with sessions on policy development, technology innovation, and industry collaboration, aiming to strengthen regional cooperation and accelerate the development of a sustainable hydrogen value chain in the Asia-Pacific region.

CIMB Bank Berhad has signed a Letter of Intent with China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited to bolster financial connectivity between China and ASEAN, focusing on Malaysia and Indonesia. This collaboration seeks to facilitate bilateral trade, cross-border financing, and investment flows by leveraging China CITIC Bank’s strong onshore network and CIMB’s extensive ASEAN presence.

The partnership aims to provide clients with seamless access to a wide range of banking solutions, including trade transactions, payments, and cross-border financing. Additionally, it will support Chinese Yuan Renminbi and foreign currency payment capabilities, potentially offering access to China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System. This initiative is expected to enhance financial linkages across the China-ASEAN corridor.

Both banks will also explore head-office-level communications to streamline treasury and cash management services, improving operational coordination. This will enable clients to manage cross-border transactions more efficiently as they expand across the region. Furthermore, the partnership includes mutual client referrals and advisory services to assist clients in navigating market entry and regulatory requirements.

Chu Kok Wei, CEO of Group Wholesale Banking at CIMB, stated, “As trade, investment, and supply chain linkages between China and ASEAN continue to deepen, businesses increasingly require banking partners that can help them navigate both markets more seamlessly.”

The collaboration also plans to explore syndicated loans across global markets, broadening clients’ access to regional and international financing opportunities. This strategic alliance underscores the commitment of both banks to support their clients’ growth ambitions in one of the world’s most dynamic economic corridors.

PPB Properties, in collaboration with Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri Selangor and the Selangor Committee on Resuscitation Training, is set to host a community health campaign at Cheras LeisureMall on 20 and 21 June 2026. The initiative, “Together for Health,” seeks to address Malaysia’s rising heart health concerns by equipping the public with lifesaving CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) skills.

The campaign will offer CPR and AED training to 1,200 participants aged 12 and above, conducted by certified trainers. This comes as Malaysia grapples with alarming health statistics, including one in six adults living with diabetes and nearly one in three with hypertension and high cholesterol, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023. The event aims to improve the country’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates, which currently stand below 5%.

In addition to emergency response training, the event will feature health screenings, talks by medical practitioners, and interactive fitness challenges. These activities aim to foster a culture of preventive healthcare and wellness across all age groups.

The campaign builds on the success of the Selangor Heart Safe initiative, which trained nearly 700 people in April 2025. Participation in the training sessions is free, with online pre-registration encouraged. This initiative underscores the importance of early health intervention and public awareness in combating chronic diseases and improving emergency preparedness.

Digital Realty, the world’s largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data centre platform, has announced the launch of its operations in Malaysia, marking a pivotal step in its Southeast Asia expansion. The company plans to develop a multi-site campus in Cyberjaya, scaling its data centre capacity to approximately 32 megawatts (MW) to support AI, hybrid cloud, and data-intensive workloads.

The Cyberjaya campus will consist of three interconnected facilities: an upgraded carrier-dense facility, a newly acquired AI-ready data centre, and a future expansion site set for completion by mid-2028. These facilities will be supported by over 40 network service providers and integrated into Digital Realty’s global ecosystem of more than 300 data centres across 30 countries, including key hubs like Singapore and Jakarta.

The initiative aligns with Malaysia’s ambitions to become a leading digital infrastructure and AI hub in Southeast Asia. Gobind Singh Deo, Malaysia’s Minister of Digital, highlighted the importance of such investments, stating, “Digital Realty’s investment marks an important step in strengthening Malaysia’s position as a sovereign, interconnected and sustainable digital infrastructure hub.”

Digital Realty’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Serene Nah, emphasised the strategic importance of Malaysia as an interconnection hub, saying, “As digital adoption accelerates and AI-driven workloads become more distributed and latency-sensitive, customers require infrastructure that is scalable and deeply interconnected.”

The development is expected to bolster Malaysia’s digital economy, supporting innovation and attracting investment, whilst enabling seamless connectivity and workload deployment across the region.

Password stealer attacks targeting Malaysian businesses surged by 33% in 2025, according to new findings from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. With 244,061 attacks detected last year, Malaysia ranks as the second most affected market in Southeast Asia, trailing only Vietnam. Across the region, over 1.5 million such attacks were recorded, marking an 18% increase from 2024.

These attacks involve malware designed to extract passwords and account information, often used to infiltrate business environments without detection. Kaspersky’s Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Adrian Hia, noted, “Password stealers remain one of the most effective tools in a cybercriminal’s arsenal because they target the front door of every organisation: user credentials.”

The threat is exacerbated by the common practice of storing sensitive information digitally. A recent survey by Kaspersky revealed that 61% of Malaysian respondents store sensitive data digitally, and 44% use simple passwords. The Philippines experienced the highest surge in attacks at 41%, followed by Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Thailand, however, saw a decrease of 21%.

To combat these threats, Kaspersky recommends the use of password managers, multi-factor authentication, and regular credential audits. The company also advises organisations to adopt advanced security platforms and keep software updated to minimise risks. As cyber threats evolve, aligning internal processes with the latest threat intelligence is crucial for maintaining security.

NTT DATA, a global leader in AI and digital business services, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with AXS, Singapore’s leading payment solutions provider, to develop secure and seamless cross-border bill payment services. The partnership will initially focus on interoperability between Singapore and Malaysia, allowing users to pay bills through their domestic platforms.

The collaboration will see e-pay, a bill payment aggregator in Malaysia under NTT DATA Payment Services, serve as the access point for Malaysian billers. In Singapore, AXS will utilise its extensive biller network and digital platforms to facilitate payments. This initiative aims to address the growing demand for convenient cross-border bill payments, particularly for individuals managing expenses across borders.

Jeffrey Goh, Group CEO of AXS, stated, “This collaboration with NTT DATA marks another step in extending AXS’ payment connectivity beyond Singapore.” Masanori Kurihara, Head of Payment at NTT DATA, added, “By combining our strengths, we are creating new value that enhances convenience and improves everyday experiences.”

The MOU also outlines plans to expand the collaboration to additional markets, subject to regulatory approvals. Beyond bill payments, AXS and NTT DATA intend to explore further opportunities in payment-related services. This partnership reflects a long-term commitment to enhancing payment solutions across East and Southeast Asia.

DXN Holdings Bhd., a global wellness company, has commenced construction on Malaysia’s largest nutraceutical manufacturing facility in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah. The RM140m investment aims to strengthen Malaysia’s position as a key player in DXN’s global manufacturing network and support the company’s long-term growth.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by the Chief Minister of Kedah, who praised the investment for creating quality employment and enhancing Kedah’s industrial standing. The new facility, spanning 300,000 square feet on a 26.6-acre site, will feature seven production blocks, ten warehouses, and a dedicated research and development centre. Production is set to begin in March 2028, initially focusing on coffee, food and beverage, and juice categories, with plans to expand into cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

This investment comes as DXN experiences sustained growth, with a compounded annual growth rate of 15.4% over the past three years. The facility is designed to enhance capacity, flexibility, and operational resilience, ensuring DXN remains ahead of future demand. Datuk Lim Siow Jin, Executive Chairman and Founder of DXN, highlighted the facility’s role in supporting the company’s global expansion and its ability to meet growing market demands.

The Bukit Kayu Hitam facility is part of DXN’s strategy to establish 21 factories across four continents by 2028, reinforcing Malaysia’s role as the heart of its global production ecosystem. The investment will be financed through external funding, supported by DXN’s strong financial position.

Alltronics Holdings Limited, a prominent manufacturer of electronic products, has officially inaugurated its new manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia. This strategic move marks a significant step in the company’s efforts to diversify its production footprint beyond the Chinese Mainland and enhance its presence in Southeast Asia.

The Penang facility, spanning approximately 60,000 square feet, is equipped with 12 production lines and boasts a monthly production capacity of 250,000 to 300,000 units. It serves as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) base for industrial electronics, environmental control, and electronics power modules, catering to international clients. This expansion reflects the growing demand from customers and provides a platform for further business development.

The opening of the facility follows Alltronics’ strategic initiatives in 2025, which included acquiring manufacturing operations in Penang and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The Penang site has been upgraded with advanced equipment and processes to enhance efficiency and quality control. It now produces irrigation sensors, thermostats, security devices, and lithium battery packs.

Lam Yin Kee, Chairman and Executive Director of Alltronics, stated, “The Penang facility plays an important role in advancing the Group’s strategy to build a more diversified manufacturing network.” Lam Chee Tai Eric, CEO and Executive Director, added that the operation is “ramping up steadily” and is ready to scale output as demand increases.

The company is also considering establishing another facility in Malaysia to support its next phase of growth, further reinforcing its production capabilities and supply chain flexibility.