A report by CGS International highlights how renewed US tariff measures are threatening growth in Malaysia’s semiconductor industry. Key players like Genetec, Unisem, and SAM Engineering face significant exposure to US and Chinese markets, with CGS forecasting a 22% reduction in 2025–26 EPS for Malaysian semiconductor companies. The report warns of lingering tariff risks and supply-chain challenges, despite a potential short-term earnings boost from preloaded orders.

Malaysia is tightening its regulations on semiconductors in response to pressure from the U.S. to prevent the country from being used to facilitate the illicit flow of restricted Nvidia chips to China, which are used in the development of artificial intelligence. The U.S. Commerce Department is investigating whether the Chinese AI company DeepSeek has gained access to restricted Nvidia chips, and whether these chips were sourced from third parties in Malaysia and Singapore. This has led to increased scrutiny of Singapore, which accounted for a suspicious 22 percent of Nvidia's global sales in 2024. Malaysia has formed a task force with the Digital Minister to tighten regulations around its data centers sector, which have expanded considerably over the past five years, relying on advanced Nvidia chips. Singapore arrested nine people, including three charged with misrepresenting the final destination of U.S.-manufactured servers, which may have contained high-end Nvidia GPUs.

Ardiden Limited, an Australian mining company, released its condensed half-year financial report for the period ending December 31, 2024. The report highlights the dissolution of Uchi Gold Canada Ltd in July 2024, indicating a strategic shift in operations. Ardiden Limited operates in the mining sector, focusing on gold exploration and development, with operations in Australia and Canada.

Malaysia's Ministry of Economy has signed a US$250 million chip licensing agreement with ARM Holdings Plc for a 10-year period. The deal will provide access to ARM's IPs for the development of silicon chips and specialized computing platforms. The government aims to accelerate the development of the local IC design industry and enhance the local supply chain.

Ookuma, a Japanese burger pop-up, has taken over the former Sandwich Hag space in the Cedars, offering teriyaki burgers, fried chicken, vegan burgers, and more. Val Jean-Bart is stepping down from Val’s Cheesecakes, a popular cheesecake shop he founded in 2012. Uchi, Uchiko, and Uchibā have introduced a multi-tiered Sushi Box for takeout, including the Ichi box, Ni box, and San box, each offering different selections of sushi and caviar.