28/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | APR 28, 2026

15 Producer Price Index rises in March, first increase in a year

PETALING Malaysia’s Producer Price Index (PPI) increased by 1.1% in March 2026, compared to a 3.4% decline in the previous month, the first increase since March 2025, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported. Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “The mining sector recorded a double-digit increase of 26.5% (February 2026: -8.5%), largely due to the extraction of crude petroleum (38.5%). In the utilities sector, the water supply index rose by 11.3%, while the electricity & gas supply index increased by 9.6%. Conversely, the agriculture, forestry & fishing sector contracted by 5.6% (February 2026: -8.7%), due to an 11% decline in the growing of perennial crops index.” Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector declined slightly by 0.8% (February 2026: -2.7%), mainly due to decreases in manufacture of coke & refined petroleum products (-3.8%) and manufacture of food products (- 2.8%) indices. On a month-on-month basis, the JAYA: PETALING JAYA: Malaysia-based robotics and artificial intelligence company Mr Robot has secured US$5 million (RM19.75 million) in strategic funding backed by MR DIY International, Agibot and The Hub’s Investment Group to accelerate the development of embodied artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for retail and commercial environments. Founded by Edwin Yap, Mr Robot focuses on deploying robotics beyond controlled industrial environments into dynamic settings such as supermarkets, warehouses and service operations. “For decades, robots have largely been confined to static tasks inside factories. The next frontier for robotics lies in real-world environments where machines can work alongside people in retail, logistics and service opera tions,” said Yap. Unlike traditional robotics firms that focus primarily on hardware, Mr Robot is developing an ecosystem that combines robot training environ ments, data collection systems and AI models, allowing robots to learn directly from operational environ ments and continuously improve their performance. The company said the technology

month, respectively. Mohd Uzir said, “The PPI local production continued to decline by 1.7% in the first quarter of 2026, following a 1.5% decrease in the fourth quarter of 2025. The decline was attributed to the agriculture, forestry & fishing (-7.5%) and manufacturing (-1.7%) sectors. However, water supply, electricity & gas and mining sectors recorded increases of 11.1%, 6.5% and 1.6%, respectively.” Meanwhile, on a quarter-on quarter basis, the PPI registered a marginal increase of 0.9%, from a 0.1% increase in the preceding quarter mainly supported by mining (11.5%) and the utilities sector.

mainly due to a decline in processed fuel & lubricants (-4.8%). The finished goods index marginally declined by 0.1% (February 2026: - 1.1%), affected by a decline in capital equipment (-0.6%). However, the crude materials for further pro cessing index increased by 9.8% (February 2026: -7.0%), supported by non-food materials (10.7%) and foodstuffs & feedstuffs (5.5%).” On a month-on-month basis, all stages of processing recorded in creases in March 2026. The crude materials for further processing index increased by 16.4%. Similarly, intermediate materials, supplies & components and finished goods index rose by 1.7% and 0.7% in this

petroleum index, which rose by 43.5%. The agriculture, forestry & fishing sector increased by 2.8% (February 2026: 1%), supported by the growing of perennial crops (4.4%) index. At the same time, the manufacturing sector rose by 1.7% (February 2026: -0.8%), attributed to increases in manufacture of coke & refined petroleum products (7.1%) and manufacture of food products (2.7%) indices. Meanwhile, the electricity & gas supply index increased by 4.9%. On the PPI local production by stage of processing, Mohd Uzir said, “The intermediate materials, supplies & component index edged down by 1.3% (February 2026: -3.1%),

o Jump of 1.1% last month a turnaround from 3.4% decline in February PPI local production increased 4.1%, compared to a 0.5% decrease in the previous month. Apart from the water supply index which declined by 0.6%, all other sectors recorded increases. The mining sector surged by 32.9% (February 2026: 0.4%), fuelled by the increase in the extraction of crude is designed to address growing operational pressures in the retail and logistics sectors, including labour shortages, rising costs and increasing service expectations. Mr Robot is currently working with retail partners to pilot robotics solutions in live store environments, enabling robots to learn from real world data while supporting operational tasks. This includes developing robotic applications for tasks such as shelf replenishment, customer assist ance, autonomous goods movement and store monitoring. “Embodied AI – where artificial intelligence is integrated into physical machines that can see, move and interact with their surroundings – will play a growing role in commercial operations. With the capital injection, the company can continue to invest in expanding the robotics research and AI development, build dedicated training and data infrastructure, deploy pilot systems across retail and logistics sectors, and develop regional engineering talent,” stated Yap. Following the funding round, Mr Robot plans to accelerate product development and expand pilot programmes across Southeast Asia.

Malaysia’s Mr Robot raises US$5m to advance embodied AI for retail sector

MTCO and Evonik formalise partnership to push biomethane development in SE Asia Zahari (second from left) and Baumgarten (second from right) together with MTC Orec chief strategy officer Raja Mohd Salleh (left) and Evonik SEAANZ biogas membranes head Micheal Yeong at the partnership signing ceremony.

PETALING JAYA: MTC Orec Sdn Bhd (MTCO), a Malaysia-based bioenergy engineering specialist, has for malised its strategic partnership with Evonik Industries AG, a global leader in specialty chemicals, reinforcing a long-standing collaboration to advance biomethane development in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia. The collaboration is anchored by a supply and purchase agreement signed by MTCO CEO Dr Zahari Mohamad and Evonik membranes and fibres vice-president Dr Goetz Baumgarten recently. The partnership between MTCO and Evonik began in 2015, focusing on unlocking the value of organic waste through biomethane solutions. In 2019, this collaboration progressed with the development of two pioneering direct national distri bution grid pipeline injection biomethane plants in Johor. Since then, it has evolved into a strong technical alliance delivering multiple biomethane projects across Malaysia and Indonesia. To date, the partnership has

alignment with national sustainability priorities and industry standards. Zahari said, “Our collaboration with Evonik reflects a shared com mitment to advancing biomethane solutions through engineering excellence and continuous inno vation. With the support and guidance of VentureTECH, we have strengthened our capabilities, refined our strategic focus and accelerated our regional expansion. We aren’t just building plants, we are developing an ecosystem that supports Malaysia’s position as the central hub for bioenergy in Southeast Asia.” With the signing of this new agreement, the partnership is set to accelerate its expansion into Indonesia and other Southeast Asia markets, building on its established track record in Malaysia. In parallel, the collaboration is exploring opportunities in emerging segments, including sustainable aviation fuel and sustainable marine fuel, in line with the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions.

contributed to the development of seven biomethane plants, demon strating the scalability and com mercial viability of biomethane solutions in Malaysia. Through the integration of Evonik’s Sepuran Green membrane technology, MTCO has enhanced its engineering capabilities in handling diverse feedstock and gas com positions, enabling more efficient and reliable biomethane pro duction. As a certified Evonik Strategic OEM assembler, MTCO retains ownership of process design and detailed engine ering, ensuring that global tech nologies are seamlessly integrated with local expertise and adapted to local operating conditions. In addition, as an investee company of VentureTECH Sdn Bhd (VentureTECH), MTCO has pro gressed its expansion and streng thened its ability to scale and diversify. Through VentureTECH’s strategic guidance and governance, the company has evolved from a technical specialist into a regional bioenergy player, while maintaining

Malaysia’s Mr Robot is accelerating embodied AI, bringing robotics beyond controlled environments into real-world settings like supermarkets, warehouses and service operations.