23/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | DEC 23, 2025

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Malaysian Paper

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Betamek to supply electronic parts for Perodua’s new model

PETALING JAYA: SD Guthrie Bhd and Permodalan Darul Ta’zim Sdn Bhd (PDT) yesterday signed a memorandum of business exploration (MoBE) on joint development of up to 5,000 acres of Guthrie’s Kulai Estate, located within the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). The companies said in a joint statement that the proposed colla boration aims to leverage Guthrie’s extensive land resources and PDT’s proven expertise in strategic investments. The joint statement said Guthrie’s continued partnership with PDT reinforces a shared vision for regional development and the company’s own strategy of collaborating with esta blished and reputable industry leaders as well as relevant state agencies, as it expands its new industrial develop ment vertically. The MoBE provides a framework for further negotiations towards a definitive agreement, and will focus on key areas including land development, infrastructure planning, regulatory compliance, financial structuring, and the integration of sustainable and smart technologies. SD Guthrie, PDT to explore development of site within JS-SEZ The SME Sentiment Index survey was conducted between July and October, involving 1,971 entrepreneurs and business owners. – Bernama KUALA LUMPUR: The Small, Medium Enterprise (SME) Sentiment Index rose to 56.8 in the second half of 2025 (H2 2025) compared to 55.1 in H1 2025, signalling a stronger economic momentum and rising optimism across the country’s micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) landscape. According to SME Bank, the improve ment in the index reflected improved expectations on economic conditions, sales prospects, expansionary activities and employment despite elevated external pressures. In a statement, SME Bank’s relief president and CEO, Samad Majid Zain, said Malaysian MSMEs continue to demonstrate resilience, supported by stronger economic fundamentals and opportunities. “The rise in the sentiment index, with 68% of respondents expecting higher sales and 53% planning to expand their workforce, reflects a more positive operating climate even as the business community navigates higher external import tariffs, wider sales and services tax application and adjust ments in electricity costs. “The strongest optimism is recorded among manufacturing segments, where up to 89% of businesses anti cipate growth. These trends signal that MSMEs are preparing for increased demand and renewed investment activity,“ he said. Meanwhile, SME Bank’s head of economic analysis, Mazlina Abdul Rahman, said 58% of enterprises expect the economy to expand. “Micro enterprises are the most optimistic at 65%, whereas only 44% of medium-sized firms expect growth, reflecting the impact of rising costs and external uncertainty,“ she said. SME Bank: Index signals brighter sentiment in H2’25

involving more advanced elec tronics and integrated systems. Perodua continues to dominate Malaysia’s automotive landscape, strengthening its market share to 44% in the first 10 months of 2025 with 289,210 vehicles sold. October alone saw Perodua deliver 34,116 units, representing a 46% month on-month surge and a 1.1% year-on year increase despite a softer total industry volume. This sustained momentum reflects robust consumer demand for affordable national vehicles, improved stock availability, and stronger buying sentiment ahead of the anticipated excise duty re structuring in 2026.

solutions platform. “This transition enhances our value proposition to commercial customers and supports the expansion of recurring revenue streams,”he said, adding that equally important, the acquisition brings onboard a highly experienced local Vision AI team and deepens their technological capabilities. “Tapway’s status as an Nvidia Metropolis Partner further strengthens ITMAX’s AI ecosystem and reinforces our ability to deliver enterprise-grade, globally aligned Vision AI solutions. Together, this acquisition supports ITMAX’s long-term strategy of becoming a leading integrated AI powered digital infrastructure and services provider across both public and private sectors,” said Tan. Against of Perodua-led market dominance, Betamek’s newly secured contract is strategically well-timed. As Perodua expands production and prepares new model introductions, the demand for higher-value electronics content is set to rise in tandem. Betamek benefits directly from this scaling trajectory, gaining clearer volume visibility, stronger opera tional utilisation and a deeper embedded position within Pero dua’s supply chain. The combination of Perodua’s accelerating sales momentum and the long-term nature of the appoint ment enhances earnings resilience for Betamek while reinforcing its role as a mission-critical electronics partner in Malaysia’s increasingly technology driven automotive sector. Betamak executive director Muhammad Fauzi Abd Ghani commented, “Perodua’s appoint ment reinforces the depth of trust built over decades of collaboration, and we are proud to support the nation’s largest automotive brand in its next model cycle. This contract strengthens our long-term pro duction visibility and underscores our role as a key electronics partner in Malaysia’s mobility ecosystem. “As vehicle technology advances, especially in connectivity and elec trification, Betamek is committed to delivering reliable, scalable and high-quality solutions that keep pace with Perodua’s growth tra jectory.” Looking ahead, Betamek remains focused on strengthening its tech nological capabilities, operational efficiency and product innovation to support Perodua’s evolving require ments. With the new contract under pinning a multi-year revenue pipeline, the group is well-posi tioned to enhance manufacturing scalability, deepen localisation efforts and capture rising electronics content within future national vehicle platforms. this backdrop

o Six-year contract expected to bring in revenue of about RM176 million

PETALING Betamek Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd (BESB), a wholly owned subsidiary of Betamek Bhd, an original design manufacturer and a player in electronic manufacturing services for the automotive industry, has received a letter of appointment from Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) to supply electronic parts for Perodua’s new model. The contract duration is six years JAYA:

beginning from Dec 16, and the supply of components commenced in the third quarter of the financial year ending March 31, 2026. The six-year contract is expected to generate about RM176 million in revenue for the group. The long term nature of the contract enhances production planning visibility, supports economies of scale and strengthens Betamek’s earnings trajectory as Perodua ramps up new model development

Betamek remains focused on strengthening its technological capabilities, operational efficiency and product innovation to support Perodua’s evolving requirements. – BETAMEK WEBSITE PIC

ITMAX buys 70% stake in Vision AI company Tapway

PETALING JAYA: ITMAX System Bhd, an artificial intelligence-powered integrated digital infrastructure solutions provider, yesterday an nounced its acquisition of 70% equity interest in Tapway Sdn Bhd, a Vision AI technology company focused on commercial applications. Tapway is principally involved in the development and deployment of its proprietary Vision AI platform, which is widely deployed across commercial sectors including shop ping malls, plantations, and factories. The platform focuses on delivering Vision AI solutions for commercial environments and strategically com plements ITMAX’s existing portfolio of AI-powered digital infrastructure solutions. The acquisition amounts to

ments for cities and public agencies, Tapway provides us with immediate access to proven commercial use cases across shopping malls, plantations, highways and manu

RM5.6 million and will be financed entirely with internal funds. As part of the acquisition, Tapway will provide a profit guarantee of RM1

million per financial year for three consecutive years, from financial year 2026 to 2028. ITMAX managing director and CEO William Tan Wei Lun said,

facturing facilities.” He added that by combining Tapway’s Vision AI software capa bilities with ITMAX’s established strengths in infrastructure deploy ment, connectivity, operations, and long-term service delivery, they are well positioned to scale Tapway from a predominantly software-based pro vider into a full-service, end-to-end AI

“The acquisition of Tapway marks an important strategic milestone for ITMAX as we strengthen our local AI talent base and accelerate our expansion beyond government-led smart city projects into the private and commercial sectors. “While ITMAX has traditionally focused on large-scale, subscription based digital infrastructure deploy