2026-02-05 08:05
Ringgit surges to strongest since May 2018 Malaysian bonds see strong demand after robust inflows in 2025 Investors bet on AI-led data centre boom, stocks at 7-year high Feb 5 (Reuters) - Malaysian assets are drawing global investors as a soft U.S. dollar and rising geopolitical tensions spur diversification and the country's stability and growth are seen as an attractive alternative to stuttering regional rivals. The increasing flow of foreign money illustrates a comeback for Malaysia, Southeast Asia's fourth-largest economy, after years of relative underperformance compared to its peers. Sign up here. But analysts are now increasingly bullish about the country's blend of steady economic growth, stable government, and a strengthening currency that is back to near its 2018 high. Foreign investors poured $6.5 billion into local currency debt in 2025, the largest annual inflow in four years and the highest in the region, with demand staying firm in January. Malaysia stands in a "sweet spot between low-yielders, such as Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea, and high-yielders such as Indonesia and India, which come with their own set of risks," said Rong Ren Goh, a fixed income portfolio manager at Eastspring Investments. Prolonged political turmoil in Thailand, the region's second-largest economy, and eroding investor faith in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, have also helped draw investor interest to Malaysia. Just last week, Goldman Sachs raised its rating on Malaysian stocks while lowering its view on Indonesia. "We find the macro, thematic, and positioning backdrop of Malaysia appears more favourable and warrants a more constructive stance," said Timothy Moe, the bank's chief Asia Pacific strategist. Malaysia's benchmark stock index (.KLSE) , opens new tab is up 12% in the past 12 months and last week rose to its highest since October 2018, as investors bet on an AI-driven data centre boom. During the same period, Thai stocks (.SETI) , opens new tab gained only 3% while Indonesia (.JKSE) , opens new tab gained 15%. Malaysia has drawn billions of dollars in data centre investments from U.S. technology giants, including Amazon Inc (AMZN.O) , opens new tab, and Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab. It has the biggest data centre project pipeline in Southeast Asia, an analysis , opens new tab by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie showed. "Malaysia is a rising star, driven by the AI cycle and substantial gain in market share of certain semiconductors and chips," said Samsara Wang, Asian sovereign analyst with PineBridge Investments. "As long as the AI story is there, Malaysia will remain a beneficiary." ROARING RINGGIT Another pillar of Malaysia's appeal is the ringgit , which has gained about 17% since the start of 2024, the best-performing Asian currency in the period. Last week, it rose to its strongest against the U.S. dollar since May 2018 at 3.915. Over the past 18 months, Eastspring has turned more constructive on the Malaysian ringgit, Goh said, improving the return outlook for its bonds, which has underpinned its overweight position in bonds and currency. The blistering performance in Malaysian assets comes as the economy charges on, shrugging off the impact from U.S. tariffs. The economy likely expanded 4.9% in 2025, official advance estimates released last month showed, beating the government and central bank's projections. It also comes after a period of political volatility over the past decade that changed after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim took office in late 2022, forging a unity government that restored a measure of stability. Policies aimed at narrowing the fiscal deficit, now at 3.8% from an average of 6% during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a central bank that has not had to shift rates too much compared to neighbours have helped the country stand out in the region. To be sure, a strong currency could weigh on Malaysia's exports and hurt its burgeoning tourism industry. But Malaysia's appeal should further improve as the U.S. is widely expected to cut rates at least twice this year while the Malaysian central bank should hold them steady amid strong growth. That is likely to keep the ringgit strong and make Malaysian bonds attractive. UBS expects the currency to hit 3.80 per dollar by the end of 2026 on strong foreign direct investments, robust trade balance and narrowing interest rate differential. (This story has been corrected to fix the analyst’s last name to Wang, not Wong, in paragraph 12) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/global-investors-betting-rising-star-malaysia-foreign-cash-piles-2026-02-05/
2026-02-05 07:49
BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) - China opposes any country undermining the international economic and trade order through rules imposed by small groups, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the United States unveiled plans for a preferential trade bloc of allies for critical minerals. "Maintaining an open, inclusive, and universally beneficial international trade environment is in the common interest of all countries," ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press briefing. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-criticises-us-plan-critical-minerals-trade-bloc-2026-02-05/
2026-02-05 07:48
TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW) , opens new tab on Thursday flagged strong expectations for its first quarter performance, after reporting a 35.5% year-on-year rise in January revenue. "Shipments of AI racks continue to increase, and Smart Consumer Electronics are also better than expected," it said in a statement. Sign up here. "The seasonal performance for the current quarter is expected to be better than the range of the past five years," the company, Nvidia's (NVDA.O) , opens new tab biggest server maker, added, without elaborating. https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/taiwans-foxconn-forecasts-strong-first-quarter-performance-2026-02-05/
2026-02-05 07:38
LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Global miner Anglo American (AAL.L) , opens new tab on Thursday posted a 10% drop in copper production last year to 695,000 metric tons, the lower end of its guidance, and cut its 2026 forecast for the transition metal. The London-listed miner now expects 2026 copper production of between 700,000 and 760,000 tons, from a previous forecast of 760,000-820,000 tons, partly due to lower production from its co-owned Collahuasi mine in Chile. Sign up here. Anglo said it expects to record around $200 million in charges for the second half of 2025 related to rehabilitation provisions at its Chile copper operations. The London-listed miner in September announced a plan for a $53 billion all-stock, nil-premium merger with Canada's Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) , opens new tab that would create the world's fifth-largest copper producer. The metal is used for electric vehicles and renewable infrastructure. Both companies have undergone significant restructuring in recent years, driven in part by previous takeover attempts. Anglo is refocusing on copper and iron ore, while seeking to spin off or sell its struggling De Beers diamond business, as well as its metallurgical coal and nickel assets. None of these divestments have yet been completed. "We are committed to seeing our portfolio transformation through to its conclusion," CEO Duncan Wanblad said in a statement on Thursday, adding that the company was progressing each sale or separation process. Anglo said is reviewing the value of the De Beers diamonds business after its 2025 rough diamond production dropped 12% to 21.7 million carats. It cut its production forecast for 2026 to a range of 21 million to 26 million carats, from 26 million to 29 million previously, as demand remains low and inventories high. The company also said De Beers was likely to post a loss in 2025. Anglo will post its 2025 financial results on February 20. https://www.reuters.com/business/anglo-american-reports-10-drop-2025-copper-output-cuts-2026-guidance-2026-02-05/
2026-02-05 07:38
NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - India and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, that includes Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have agreed on the terms to start negotiations for a free trade agreement, India's trade minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-gulf-cooperation-council-agree-terms-start-free-trade-pact-talks-2026-02-05/
2026-02-05 07:32
Trump eyes sale of 20 mln T of U.S. soybeans to China Trump, Xi spoke ahead of U.S. leader's April visit U.S. soy price gap with Brazil widens, raising cost SINGAPORE/BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Chinese soybean importers face much higher costs to bring in an additional 8 million metric tons of U.S. cargoes, whose purchase President Donald Trump has said Beijing is weighing, as rival Brazilian supplies are far cheaper in their peak export season. Still, Beijing could order purchases by state grain companies to please Trump ahead of his China visit planned for April, as it eyes other concessions from Washington, traders and analysts said. Sign up here. "Is there a market logic at the moment for China procuring a bunch more U.S. soybeans, just as Brazil's harvest comes in? No," said Even Rogers Pay, director at Beijing-based consultancy Trivium China. "But could it smooth the path for an even more productive and lucrative state visit by Trump in April? Perhaps." Benchmark Chicago soybeans traded near a two-month high on Thursday, underpinned by the expectations of Chinese demand. China is considering buying 20 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans in the current season, Trump said after talks on Wednesday with President Xi Jinping that he described as "very positive". China's commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's state-run Sinograin and COFCO have already bought about 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans since October trade talks with the United States, paying close to $100 million more than they would for Brazilian beans, based on market prices. WIDENING PRICE GAP Rising prices of U.S. soybeans have widened the gap with Brazilian cargoes, which would force Chinese buyers to shell out far higher premiums than they have paid since November, traders said. U.S. soybeans for April shipment were quoted at $2.08 to$2.48 a bushel over the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) May soybean contract , including cost and freight to China, versus Brazilian shipments at premiums of $1.18 to $1.33 a bushel. "The spread between Brazilian and U.S. is around $50 per ton on FoB basis," said a Singapore trader. "It doesn't make commercial sense." At those levels, China would pay up to $400 million more for eight million tons of U.S. soybeans than for Brazilian cargoes. PRIVATE CRUSHERS UNLIKELY TO STEP IN Even with prices at par, private crushers would be unlikely to step in to buy, with Beijing still imposing a tariff of 13% on U.S. soybeans, versus one of 3% on Brazilian cargoes. Private Chinese crushers have not bought a single cargo of U.S. soybeans in the season that began in September, preferring to turn instead to Brazil and Argentina, traders said. Crush margins in China's main processing hub of Rizhao have been negative since August. Since December, Sinograin has held four auctions, selling about 2 million tons of imported soybeans from reserves to free up space for arriving U.S. shipments. Traders said they expect more auctions after this month's Lunar New Year holiday. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-faces-higher-prices-further-us-soybean-buys-please-trump-2026-02-05/
