17/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | SEPT 17, 2025

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ALR intends to expedite repayment of RM5.5b sukuk

Matrade targets RM230m export sales at 22nd China-Asean Expo

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) is rolling out a strategic push through a series of concurrent programmes, maximising its presence at the 22nd China-Asean Expo (22nd CAEXPO), scheduled to take place today until Sunday in Nanning, China. With targeted export sales of RM230 million, Malaysia’s presence at the 22nd CAEXPO reflects its strategic ambition to deepen trade and investment linkages with China and the wider Asean region. The Malaysian delegation to the 22nd CAEXPO brings together over 70 organisations including three ministries, six key government agencies and a wide range of Malaysian exhibitors of diverse industries. “Malaysia is well known for its durian, white coffee and bird’s nest, which are the favourites in the market. But our strength extends far beyond that. This year, we are proud to highlight a broad spectrum of offerings from education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, cons truction materials and high-value sectors such as logistics and distribution solutions, technology and artificial intelligence,” said Matrade CEO Datuk Seri Mohd Mustafa Abdul Aziz. “This diversity of offerings highlights Malaysia’s growing capabilities and reflects our readiness to meet the evolving demands of the Chinese and Asean markets. Our goal is to position Malaysia as a forward-looking, trusted and competitive trading partner in the region,” he added. To optimise Malaysia’s participation at the 22nd CAEXPO, Matrade has curated a series of high-impact promotional programmes, including targeted business matching sessions, product showcases, and networking opportunities. These initiatives are designed to elevate the visibility of Malaysian brands, foster meaningful partnerships, and ultimately accelerate export growth into China, one of Malaysia’s most important trading partners. To enhance bilateral trade engagements, Matrade, in collaboration with the China Construction Bank and the Secretariat of the China-Asean Expo, will host the 7th Malaysia-China B2B Business Matching Session 2025 in Nanning. The event features over 130 pre-arranged business meetings between Malaysian exporters and Chinese buyers, serving as a key platform to explore new trade opportunities, forge strategic partnerships and secure export deals. Further supporting market penetration efforts, Matrade will organise site visits for Malaysian companies to the China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park and the China-Asean Mercantile Exchange.

tainable highway operations. “We are not here to make money for ourselves. By for going our rights to toll com pensation, we are effectively giving back over RM400 million a year to the nation. “These funds could be channelled into other priorities such as maintaining federal roads, as well as building schools and hospitals and make us distinct from profit-oriented concessionaires. We hope this distinction will be recognised in government policies as well as decision-making,” Muhammad Nizam said. He underscored the

reasonable gestation period to recoup their investment. “We are working closely with local authorities, including Malaysian Highway Authority and the Department of Director-General of Lands and Mines, to explore solutions on land tenureship,” he said. Muhammad Nizam said the company is committed to reducing traffic congestion entirely, giving shorter travel times and reduced queue lengths along its key highways. “Congestion is actually our enemy, because of congestion, our highways are not operating optimally. We put more focus

KUALA LUMPUR: Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd (ALR) aims to diversify its revenue stream and reduce traffic congestion in the short term to achieve greater business growth and expedite its RM5.5 billion sukuk repayment. The sukuk, which forms part of ALR’s financing structure, was issued to fund the acquisition and sustainable operation of four major Klang Valley highways – the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP), Sprint and the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart). ALR group CEO Muhammad Nizam Alias ( pic ) said the company is exploring partnerships and monetising its assets to gain a return, rather than relying on toll collection as its main contributor. “We are also exploring ways to monetise our assets. There are pockets of land within the highway and road reserves which hold commercial potential. “Currently, our highways already host petrol stations and eateries, but we want to go beyond that by, perhaps, developing lifestyle centres along these routes. To realise this, we are engaging potential third-party partners,” he told Bernama in an exclusive interview recently. Muhammad Nizam said that with the ALR concession period nearing its end, the company must ensure a sufficient return on investments from the partnerships, as they will require a o Company aims to diversify revenue streams and reduce congestion on highways, exploring monetising assets

importance of main-taining a healthy cash flow to meet its debt obligations, while balancing revenue growth and cost management. “We are proud of helping the government move closer to a ‘nominal toll era’ and a strong partnership with the authorities will ensure long-term benefits for both the public and the nation,” said Muhammad Nizam. In April 2025, ALR completed its fifth sukuk profit payment under its RM5.5 billion nominal value AAA-rated Senior Sustainable and Responsible Investment Sukuk Mura bahah programme. The latest payment was RM130.96 million, raising ALR’s total payments to RM1.021 billion. ALR has repaid a total of RM686.31 million in sukuk profit payments and RM335 million in sukuk principal repayments. This combined RM1.021 billion represents 13% of its total sukuk profit and principal obligations of RM7.94 billion. – Bernama

on reducing congestion points, as this should be able to draw new traffic into the network and make more revenue,” he said. In order to reduce congestion, Muhammad Nizam noted that the company has identified 16 congestion points across its highways, particularly on Kesas, LDP and Sprint. “Our main congestion points will be Persiaran Kewajipan in Subang Jaya, Petaling Jaya Selatan-Toll Plaza and two to three locations along Sprint. After identifying the points, we will establish a baseline for speed and then remeasure to see if we meet the target. “In another way, this will position our highways as the preferred routes on navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps, ultimately enhancing user experience and attracting more vehicles to our network,” he said. The company is working closely with the government and relevant agencies to support national development, easing the govern ment’s fiscal burden while ensuring sus

Financial planning for professionals roadshow’s next stop – Ipoh PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) announced that Financial Planning for Professionals (FP4PRO) is scheduled to be held on Saturday at Tui Blue The Haven Ipoh. the Capital Market Development Fund (CMDF) and organised by MFPC in collaboration with The Smart Investor (TSI) and Human Resource Development Bhd (HRD Corp) as event partners, with Tui Blue The Haven Ipoh serving as the venue partner. Commission Malaysia (SC) will give talks, and there will be a session on private retirement schemes with representatives from PPA Malaysia.

FP4PRO is a significant step in the MFPC’s commitment to addressing gaps in financial planning knowledge among professionals, and is in line with the government’s intent to ensure that more professionals are aware of the need for planning ahead.

This is the third FP4PRO for 2025, and comes in the wake of two eventful sessions held earlier in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, which welcomed about 200 participants each. The nationwide roadshow is supported by

The programme highlights financial planning advisory practices in Malaysia as well as investment and retirement strategies. Financial planners licensed by the Securities

Boost your defences, AI-enhanced scam threats escalating: Fortinet KUALA LUMPUR: Artificial intelligence generated scams are fast emerging as a significant cybersecurity threat in Malaysia, with financial institutions, government agencies, SMEs and retail sectors among the most exposed, according to cybersecurity firm Fortinet. are also increasingly targeted by AI-powered threats, particularly during festive seasons when online spending surges. “AI tools enable scammers to personalise phishing attempts such as fake delivery notifications, promotions, or donation requests, making them harder to detect,“ he added. technologies become mainstream. “The ability to create fake identities, automate targeting, and instantly generate convincing voice or video content poses not just a security risk but a serious challenge to public trust and brand reputation.

cybersecurity. “This limited capacity makes it difficult to monitor systems continuously, respond quickly to alerts, or keep up with evolving attack methods,“ he told Bernama in an email interview. He also emphasised that cybercriminals are leveraging AI to localise scams with unpre cedented accuracy, using tools such as FraudGPT and ElevenLabs, which enable voice cloning, speech pattern replication, and deepfake generation. “In Malaysia’s multilingual context, generative AI can mimic Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Tamil, and local dialects, even capturing accents, idioms and slang. “This localisation makes scams feel familiar and trustworthy, dramatically increasing success rates,“ he added. According to Wong, small businesses, including those in retail and consumer sectors,

“We expect the convergence of cyber and physical risks to accelerate – AI will increasingly be used to orchestrate hybrid attacks, where social engineering campaigns translate into physical fraud, extortion, or even infrastructure sabotage,“ Wong said. Therefore, he stressed that businesses in Malaysia must broaden their focus beyond AI scams to the wider risks that come with rapid digitisation. “Investments in operational technology, security operations, and cloud protection are still lagging, leaving gaps that sophisticated attackers can exploit,”Wong noted. – Bernama

Citing a recent International Data Corporation survey, Wong said nearly 50% of organisations in Malaysia reported encountering AI-powered threats in the past year, with a threefold surge experienced by most affected companies. Looking ahead, Wong said ransomware, supply chain attacks, and zero-day exploits would remain pressing concerns, while hybrid cyberphysical attacks, misinformation campaigns, and deepfake-enabled impersonation are expected to intensify over the next three years. He noted that misinformation and imper sonation are also set to escalate as deepfake

Fortinet Malaysia country manager Kevin Wong warned that financial institutions and public sector agencies are prime targets due to their sensitive data, while SMEs face heightened risks as many continue to rely on traditional tools such as antivirus software and manual verification processes. “SMEs form the backbone of Malaysia’s economy but are disproportionately exposed to AI-driven cyberattacks. Unlike larger enterprises, many of them operate with very lean information technology (IT) teams, sometimes with a single individual managing both IT and