14/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | MAY 14, 2026

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MK Land achieves financial close for solar PV plant KUALA LUMPUR: MK Land Holdings Bhd, through its renewable energy subsidiary, Citra Energies Sdn Bhd, has achieved financial close for the development of a 29.99 megawatt alternating current solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in Kulim, Kedah. In a statement yesterday, the property developer said the project brought together a strong ecosystem of strategic global and local collaborators, including backing from a prominent international financial institution with expertise in sustainable finance and investments. It said the project also involves offtake arrangements with multinational corporations expanding their presence in the region, while the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning services are undertaken by a leading local renewable energy and clean energy solutions provider. MK Land chief operating officer - group resources and director of Citra Energies Frankie Chai said that achieving financial close for the Citra Energies project is a defining step in our renewable energy journey. “It reflects our long-term commitment to building a sustainable energy platform that contributes meaningfully to Malaysia’s low-carbon transition. “Beyond infrastructure, this project represents our belief in the future of clean energy as a driver of economic resilience and regional competitiveness,” he said. – Bernama CelcomDigi delivers steady Q1 performance PETALING JAYA: CelcomDigi Bhd reported improved year-on-year (Y-Y) service revenue and stronger profitability, driven by disciplined execution and operational efficiencies (OE) for its first quarter results for the financial year 2026 (FY2026). In a statement, it said Q1 FY2026 total revenue was stable at RM3,208 million (-0.03% Y-Y) while service revenue grew 1.6% Y-Y to RM2,697 million, supported by continued growth momentum in Postpaid, Home & Fibre, and Enterprise solutions. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 4.7% Y-Y to RM729 million, reflecting stronger topline contributions and lower operating expenses (OPEX). Profit after tax (PAT) improved 8.8% Y-Y to RM422 million underpinned by effective cost discipline as well as flow-through from higher EBIT. The company delivered over RM40 million in savings during the quarter, with a ready pipeline of OE initiatives that provides clear visibility on continued cost discipline and long-term value creation.

Instant payment systems creating new fraud risks

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com

o Funds transferred in real time harder to recover, says Visa director

Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. The value of work done in Selangor was RM10.9 billion, or 23.4%, with the non-residential building (RM4.1 billion) and civil engineering (RM2.6 billion) sub-sectors contributing the most. Johor ranked second with RM9.5 billion, or 20.4%, primarily supported by the non-residential building sub sector (RM3.6 billion). The value of work done in Wilayah Persekutuan was RM4.8 billion (10.3%). – Bernama consumer with Malaysians increasingly using tap to-pay cards, mobile wallets and other contactless channels instead of older card payment methods that require cards to be inserted or swiped. You’re tapping. You’re not dipping. You’re not swiping.” He added that Malaysia’s contactless payment adoption is now comparable with Singapore, where more than 90% of transactions are also conducted through tap-to-pay methods. Varun said the rapid rise of real time payments is also reshaping how banks, payment firms and financial institutions approach fraud prevention, pushing the industry towards AI-driven behavioural monitoring systems capable of detecting suspicious activity in real time. “Visa’s fraud prevention technologies increasingly rely on machine learning models that analyse individual user behaviour patterns, including login frequency, password changes, device usage, payment habits, QR usage, overseas transactions and new payee additions.” The system then flags activity that deviates from a customer’s established behavioural profile for further investigation. “What it very quickly does is it figures out what your normal behaviour is. And once it understands that, then if anything looks abnormal, it flags that to be investigated.” Varun said newer fraud detection systems differ from older rule-based models because they continuously retrain themselves based on emerging fraud patterns and confirmed scam incidents, allowing banks to respond more quickly to evolving fraud tactics. “What happens is, if there was a new fraud vector that happened in the market, and you called your bank and said, ‘Hey, this is not my transaction,‘ that feedback loop into the model, it will learn again.” Visa Inc is expanding its fraud detection and backend payment infrastructure capabilities beyond its traditional card business amid the growing use of digital payment platforms and real-time payment systems. behaviour,

KUALA LUMPUR: Rapid adoption of QR and instant payment systems across Southeast Asia is creating new fraud risks linked to irreversible account-to-account transfers, according to Visa Inc. Visa Value Added Services senior director Varun Mahindru said fraud across Asia-Pacific is increasingly shifting away from traditional card transactions towards real-time payment systems, where funds are transferred instantly and are harder to recover once sent. “The growth we’re seeing is real time payments, which is account to-account. It’s QR. “If you think about how a real-time payment works, it happens instantly. “I transfer to you, and that funds are gone. “There is no availability to pull back, or to dispute, or to have a charge back,” he told reporters at a media briefing yesterday. Varun said the immediacy of real-time transfers has made such payment channels increasingly attractive targets for fraudsters,

Pacific still records among the world’s lowest fraud rates for everyday contactless card transactions. He attributed this to the region’s relatively mature digital payment infrastructure, widespread adoption of authentication technologies and continued investments by banks and payment providers in fraud prevention and transaction security systems. “If we look globally at everyday payments, whether consumers are tapping their phones or cards, Asia-Pacific has the lowest fraud rate globally. So we’re actually doing really well as a region when it comes to everyday payments,” he said. Malaysia, in particular, has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s more advanced digital payment markets, with Visa estimating that more than 90% of payments in the country are now conducted through contactless methods. “This reflects a clear shift in

particularly as digital wallets, QR based payments and instant bank transfers become more deeply embedded in daily commerce across Southeast Asia. He said traditional card payment systems still have settlement processes that give banks and payment networks time to review suspicious transactions after authorisation, and in some cases delay, stop or dispute them before funds are fully settled. This gives consumers an additional layer of protection that is often not available in real-time payment systems, where money moves immediately from one account to another and is much harder to recover once transferred. “That is why real-time payments are becoming a bigger fraud growth area, because once the funds have moved, it is much harder to pull them back,” he said. Despite growing scam risks surrounding instant transfers and QR payments, Varun said Asia

Varun says Visa estimates that more than 90% of payments in Malaysia are now conducted through contactless methods.

Construction sector grew 8.5% to RM46.5 billion in Q1: DoSM KUALA LUMPUR: The construction sector continued its steady expansion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, recording an 8.5% year-on-year growth to RM46.5 billion, said the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (DoSM). It said that performance was mainly driven by continued billion and RM10.5 billion, or 29.9% and 22.5%, respectively. The special trade activities sub Private sector work amounted to RM30.5 billion, or 65.6%, of the total value of construction work done versus the public sector’s RM16 billion, or 34.4%.

sector also registered a 6.1% increase. “Meanwhile, the civil engineering sub-sector remained positive with a 1.5% marginal growth,” DoSM said. Of the RM46.5 billion work done for the quarter, RM15.9 billion, or 34.2%, was contributed by the civil engineering sub-sector, driven by the construction of utility projects (RM8.3 billion) and roads and railways (RM6.1 billion). Meanwhile, work done for non residential building and residential building sub-sectors was RM13.9

sector contributed RM6.2 billion (13.3%), largely supported by site preparation (RM1.4 billion), while plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation and electrical installation activities were recorded at RM1.2 billion. The private sector remained the main growth driver, with a 13.2% increase propelled by special trade activities (28.8%) and non-residential buildings (13.1%) sub-sectors.

Growth was fueled by special trade activities and non-residential building sub-sectors of RM1.7 billion and RM2.5 billion, or 15% and 11%, respectively. More than half of the work done in the different states in 1Q 2026 was concentrated in Selangor, Johor and Wilayah Persekutuan, which includes

expansion in the special trade activities and non-residential building sub-sectors, which posted double digit growth of 24.6% and 12.7%, respectively. The residential buildings sub