Latest news with #UnitedOverseasBank(M)Bhd
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
UOB Malaysia wins three awards for retail and sustainability
KUALA LUMPUR: United Overseas Bank (M) Bhd won three awards, cementing its position as a top foreign bank. The bank was named Best Bank for Consumers at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025, and Best Bank and Best Sustainable Bank (Malaysia International) at the FinanceAsia Awards 2025 – Southeast Asia. UOB Malaysia said the Euromoney award marks a key milestone for its retail business, highlighting the successful integration of Citigroup's consumer banking arm and growth in credit card and wealth services. 'The award also highlights UOB Malaysia's dedication to delivering superior customer experiences through innovative digital solutions and personalised services tailored to the evolving needs of Malaysian consumers,' it said. Meanwhile, the FinanceAsia Awards honour institutions that showed resilience and delivered results in 2024. UOB Malaysia's win reflects its strong sustainable financing, backed by a robust framework, sector insights, and customised low-carbon transition solutions. UOB Malaysia is the first bank to partner with Bursa Malaysia to offer the Centralised Sustainability Intelligence platform to its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients, helping them improve sustainability performance and reporting in line with the National Sustainability Reporting Framework.
The Star
a day ago
- Business
- The Star
Cooling exports cloud Malaysia's outlook
PETALING JAYA: Amid cooling export momentum following a front-loading phase, Malaysia's economy is navigating a more fragile recovery, weighed down by persistent global trade uncertainties and an uneven domestic rebound, analysts say. In June, the country's exports declined further by 3.5% year-on-year (y-o-y), missing a Bloomberg consensus' forecast of a 5.4% gain. This marked the second consecutive month of disappointing growth, further affirming the ebbing of front-loading activities, analysts said. Likewise, imports softened to low single-digit growth of 1.2%. The country's trade surplus grew to RM8.6bil in June. The near-term export outlook for Malaysia remains clouded by ongoing uncertainty over global trade and tariff policies, geopolitical risks and evolving domestic policy reforms. 'US President Donald Trump's tariff announcements over the past two weeks, from July 1, with an extended deadline to Aug 1 for further negotiations, has cast a shadow over Malaysia's export outlook for the remainder of this year and into 2026 as Malaysia is facing a higher US reciprocal tariff of 25% versus 24% announced on April 2. 'It is also significantly higher than the tariffs slapped on other regional peers such as Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines,' United Overseas Bank (M) Bhd (UOB) said in a economics and markets research report yesterday. Additionally, UOB said the Trump administration's artificial intelligence-related restrictions and sector-specific tariffs remain unclear and fluid as of now. 'These risks are real and growing, which will be disruptive to supply chains, investment flows and export competitiveness,' the bank added. On the domestic front, policy changes such as the expanded sales and service tax (SST), new electricity tariff structure, the mandatory 2% Employees Provident Fund contributions for foreign workers, and eInvoicing, are adding pressures to Malaysian businesses, including exporters. In response, business leaders have urged the government to ease the burden by cutting SST rates and reconsidering the fuel subsidy rationalisation programme. Similarly, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research) is maintaining a cautious view for the second half of this year (2H25) due to ongoing tariff risks, plus concerns over sector specific tariffs on semiconductors. The research house is keeping its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for this year at 4%. Pending clarity on US-Malaysia tariff negotiations, CIMB Research retained its full-year GDP forecast at 4.3% for this year, noting that the local economy expanded by 4.4% in 1H25, down from 5% in 1H24, reflecting a balanced but cautious growth trajectory. However, should existing US tariffs of 25% remain in place beyond the Aug 1 deadline, the research house estimates GDP growth could ease further to around 4%. It noted that front-loading in the United States, Taiwan and South Korea moderated, while shipments to China, the European Union and Asean had weakened amid the tariff uncertainty.
The Star
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
UOB Malaysia successfully prices Tier 2 Sukuk Wakalah
UOB Malaysia chief executive officer Ng Wei Wei KUALA LUMPUR: United Overseas Bank (M) Bhd (UOB Malaysia) has priced its RM750mil Basel III-compliant Tier 2 subordinated Islamic medium-term notes (Tier 2 Sukuk Wakalah) on June 19. In a statement, the bank said the issuance is part of its RM5bil Sukuk Wakalah Programme, established in January 2024 under the Shariah principle of Wakalah Bi Al-Istithmar. The Tier 2 Sukuk Wakalah, initially targeted at RM500mil, was upsized to RM750mil following strong demand from a diverse group of over 20 high-quality investors, including insurance companies, fund managers, government-linked investment entities, banks, and private banks. UOB Malaysia said the Tier 2 Sukuk Wakalah was fixed at a profit rate of 3.85% per annum, representing a spread of 36 basis points above the seven-year benchmark Malaysian Government Securities (MGS). The Sukuk is scheduled to be issued on July 3, 2025 and matures on July 3, 2037, with an optional redemption on July 2, 2032. "We are pleased that the second tranche of our Sukuk Wakalah programme has been met with such strong investor interest, following the success of our debut issuance last year. 'The upsized issuance reflects continued confidence in UOB Malaysia's credit strength and long-term strategic direction. It also reflects the depth and maturity of Malaysia's Islamic debt capital market, which continues to attract a diverse and high-quality investor base. This outcome affirms both the resilience of Malaysia's financial system and the enduring strength of the country's strong economic fundamentals,' chief executive officer Ng Wei Wei said. Rated AA1 by RAM Ratings, the Tier 2 Sukuk Wakalah qualifies as UOB Malaysia's Tier 2 capital under Bank Negara Malaysia's Capital Adequacy Framework for Islamic Banks. UOB Malaysia and CIMB Investment Bank acted as the joint lead managers for this transaction.
