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According to Bank Negara Malaysia’s (“BNM”) Annual Report 2025, Islamic financing continues to show strong growth, accounting for approximately 48% of Malaysia’s total financing or equivalent to RM1.219 trillion, reflecting increasing demand for Shariah-compliant offerings.

Through this partnership, IBPO aims to further strengthen its Shariah Governance framework and ensure that its financial products and programs are structured in accordance with recognised Shariah Principles. This reflects IBPO’s continued focus on transparency, responsibility and inclusivity across its financial services offerings while supporting BNM’s efforts to promote a progressive and inclusive Islamic Financial system.

The MOU signing ceremony was officiated by Andy Lim, Founder and Group Managing Director of IBPO Group Berhad and M. Aminuddin Bin Ismail, Managing Director of Afsha Shariah Advisory Sdn. Bhd.

In conjunction with this appointment IBPO is also introducing its latest financing program, i-Personal Financing. With Afsha’s appointment as official Shariah Advisor, IBPO’s Islamic financing programs including i-Personal Financing, i-Bridge Financing and Payday Financing will be supported by Afsha in ensuring consistent Shariah Compliance.

i-Personal Financing is designed to give customers easy access to cash based on their income levels. It offers responsible and affordable financing amounts along with flexible payment options of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, aligned with monthly salary cycles for greater convenience and peace of mind.

All financing solutions are accessible via IBPO’s Online Customer Financial AI Portal which provides a 360-degree view of customers’ financial commitments including those with other financial institutions while offering AI-driven insights to help users better manage and optimise their finances. This initiative is part of IBPO’s ongoing efforts to leverage AI-driven capabilities to build an integrated financial ecosystem across the Group and its subsidiaries including IBPO Genesis Sdn. Bhd., IBPO Credit System Sdn. Bhd., IBPO Capital Ventures Sdn. Bhd. and IBPO Property Sdn. Bhd.

“We are proud to have Afsha as our official Shariah Advisor as we strengthen our position as Malaysia’s trusted choice for Islamic financing. This further reinforces our ongoing commitment to delivering inclusive, ethical and comprehensive Islamic Financial ecosystem that contributes positively to the economy and broader society. This allows us to deliver value to those seeking Shariah-aligned options, while remaining accessible to all, giving our customers greater confidence in what we provide,” said Andy Lim, Founder & Group Managing Director of IBPO Group Berhad.

“We are honoured to partner with IBPO Group Berhad as their official Shariah Advisor. At the core of actively disseminating Shariah principles across the financial sector, our mission is to enable our clients to achieve their optimum potential by ensuring that their policies and practices strictly comply with Shariah rules and regulations through the highest standards of professional competence. We look forward to guiding IBPO in structuring ethical and transparent Shariah-compliant financing solutions that meet the growing demand in Malaysia’s Islamic financial ecosystem,” said M. Aminuddin Bin Ismail, Managing Director of Afsha Shariah Advisory Sdn. Bhd.
Hashtag: #IBPOGroupBerhad #IslamicFinancing #ShariahCompliance

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

IBPO Group Berhad

Our financial programs include; i-Refinancing, i-Connect, i-Console Plus, Payday Financing, i-Bridge Financing, i-Personal Financing and Housing Value Investment. Discover personalised solutions tailored to your needs with mortgage refinancing, personal loans and financing, property management and more. To learn more, visit www.ibpo.com.my.

Email: [email protected]

Afsha Shariah Advisory Sdn. Bhd.

Email: [email protected]

The three-day industry gathering at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre runs from 5 to 7 May and is expected to draw more than 20,000 policymakers, manufacturers, suppliers, investors, researchers and technology specialists. Held under the theme “Transform Tomorrow”, the event is being staged in strategic partnership with Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

The launch ceremony was officiated by Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Malaysia’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, with senior SEMI executives, MIDA leadership and global semiconductor company representatives in attendance. The programme places manufacturing scale-up, advanced packaging, intelligent manufacturing, sustainability and workforce development at the centre of discussions, reflecting the industry’s shift from pure capacity expansion to more resilient and geographically diversified ecosystems.

Malaysia enters the event with a strong base in electrical and electronics manufacturing, particularly assembly, testing and packaging. The country has long been a critical node for chip back-end operations, with Penang and Kulim playing key roles in outsourced semiconductor assembly and test activity. The policy focus is now moving further up the value chain into chip design, advanced packaging, automation, materials, equipment support and higher-value manufacturing services.

Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, chief executive officer of MIDA, said Malaysia was no longer positioning itself as a passive beneficiary of industry shifts. “The semiconductor industry is at an inflection point, and Malaysia intends to be at the centre of what comes next,” he said, pointing to the MADANI Economy Framework and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 as policy anchors for a broader industrial upgrade.

The E&E sector secured RM28.5 billion in approved investments in 2025, underlining continued investor interest despite a more fragmented global trade environment. Malaysia’s broader semiconductor strategy is focused on supply-chain integration, stronger domestic enterprise capability and talent development, as the country seeks to build a deeper industrial base around its existing production strengths.

Ajit Manocha, president and chief executive officer of SEMI, said closer coordination across design, manufacturing, materials and supply chains had become essential as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and advanced electronics reshape demand. He said SEMICON Southeast Asia was designed not only as a technology showcase but as a platform for partnerships that can support long-term industry growth and resilience.

The timing of the Kuala Lumpur event is significant. Global semiconductor sales are on course to approach $1 trillion in 2026, driven largely by demand for AI accelerators, memory, advanced logic, data-centre infrastructure, automotive electronics and edge devices. Monthly industry sales crossed $99 billion in March 2026, while first-quarter sales were sharply higher than the previous quarter, showing the scale of the current upcycle.

Capital expenditure is also accelerating. Spending on 300mm fab equipment is projected to rise to about $133 billion in 2026 and $151 billion in 2027, as chipmakers expand capacity for advanced logic and memory while governments push for more localised semiconductor supply chains. Yet Southeast Asia remains under-represented in new front-end fabrication plans compared with China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the United States, leaving room for Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines to compete more aggressively for future investment.

SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 features the Executive Leadership Summit, the MIDA Strategic Semiconductor Forum and Seminar, the Sustainability and Energy Summit, TechZoomers Challenge and TalentCONNECT. These sessions are designed to connect policy, capital, manufacturing capability and workforce planning, rather than treating the exhibition as a conventional trade fair.

The emphasis on talent is especially important. Semiconductor expansion is being constrained not only by investment cycles and export controls but also by shortages of engineers, technicians, automation specialists and materials experts. Malaysia’s challenge is to match global investor confidence with a skilled workforce capable of supporting advanced packaging, precision manufacturing and design-linked activity.

Bengaluru-based Pixxel and Sarvam have set out plans to build Pathfinder, a 200 kg-class orbital data centre satellite that would test whether artificial intelligence workloads can be processed directly in space rather than routed first through terrestrial cloud systems.

The mission, announced on 4 May 2026, is scheduled to reach orbit as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. Pixxel will design, build, launch and operate the satellite, while Sarvam will provide the artificial intelligence stack needed for training and inference on board. The partners describe the project as India’s first orbital data centre satellite, placing it at the junction of three strategic races: sovereign AI, commercial space infrastructure and the search for lower-latency computing systems.

Pathfinder is intended to carry data centre-grade graphics processing units alongside Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging camera. That combination would allow the satellite to capture high-fidelity Earth observation data and analyse it in orbit using foundation models, instead of sending large volumes of raw imagery to ground stations for processing. The aim is to transmit insights rather than just data, cutting the time between observation and decision-making.

The approach could be valuable for environmental monitoring, agriculture, mining, resource management, disaster response and critical infrastructure tracking. Hyperspectral imaging can detect patterns invisible to conventional cameras by reading hundreds of spectral bands, making it useful for identifying crop stress, pollution, mineral signatures, water conditions and changes in land use. Adding on-board AI would make such systems faster and potentially more autonomous.

Pathfinder also reflects the pressure building around AI infrastructure. Data centres have become increasingly constrained by energy demand, land availability, cooling requirements and regulation. AI-focused facilities are especially power-intensive because training and running large models depend on specialised chips. Industry forecasts point to data centre electricity use crossing 1,000 terawatt hours by 2030, with AI workloads accounting for a growing share of consumption.

Orbital computing is being explored as one answer to that problem, though it remains technically difficult and commercially unproven at scale. Satellites can draw continuous solar power in certain orbits and process space-generated data close to its source. Yet the model must overcome radiation exposure, heat dissipation, launch costs, repair limitations, chip reliability, bandwidth management and the challenge of operating high-performance hardware in an environment far harsher than a ground-based server hall.

For Pixxel, the project marks a move beyond Earth observation into space infrastructure. The company has built its position around hyperspectral satellites and already operates Firefly satellites capable of capturing detailed environmental data. Pathfinder would test whether those sensing systems can be paired with in-orbit computing to create a more responsive intelligence layer.

For Sarvam, the mission extends its sovereign AI pitch beyond ground infrastructure. The company has focused on building language models and platforms designed for deployment in local contexts, including multilingual use cases. Running its models aboard an India-built satellite would give the company a high-profile demonstration of how AI sovereignty can include hardware location, data control and infrastructure independence, not just model development.

The announcement comes as global technology groups examine space-based compute. Google’s Project Suncatcher has explored satellite constellations fitted with AI accelerators and optical links, with prototype missions planned with Planet. Elon Musk has also spoken publicly about the possibility of data centres in orbit within the wider SpaceX and Starlink ecosystem. These ideas remain at an early stage, but they show that AI infrastructure is beginning to stretch beyond conventional cloud regions.

Domestic activity is also widening. Agnikul Cosmos and NeevCloud have explored related orbital infrastructure concepts, indicating that private space and compute companies see a possible market in distributed cloud systems that span Earth and orbit. Defence, climate intelligence, telecommunications and sovereign data processing are likely to be among the first areas of interest if the technology matures.

Pathfinder’s immediate importance lies less in replacing terrestrial data centres and more in validating whether orbit can host meaningful AI workloads. The satellite is expected to test power management, thermal control, real-time inference, data processing and model performance under operational space conditions. Success would give Pixxel and Sarvam a foundation for more advanced orbital compute systems, while failure would expose the engineering and economic limits of the concept.

The project also fits a broader shift in satellite design. Spacecraft have traditionally acted mainly as sensors and transmitters, collecting data for later analysis on Earth. Pathfinder points towards satellites that can interpret what they observe, prioritise what should be sent down and support faster decisions for governments and commercial users.

Commercial adoption will depend on cost, reliability and demand. Ground-based cloud systems remain cheaper, easier to maintain and vastly more scalable. Orbital compute will need to prove that its advantages — lower latency for space data, resilience, solar access and sovereignty — justify the complexity of placing advanced AI hardware in space.

For now, Pathfinder gives the space and AI sectors a test case with wider implications. It places Pixxel and Sarvam among early movers trying to turn satellites from data collectors into active computing nodes, while testing whether the limits facing AI infrastructure on Earth can be partly addressed above it.

Gobind, who is also national chairman of the Democratic Action Party and MP for Damansara, called on Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail to state whether individuals and companies cited in the allegations had been questioned, and to outline the next steps in the investigation. His intervention has kept public scrutiny on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission at a sensitive moment, with the agency preparing for a leadership change and facing questions over institutional independence.

The allegations centre on claims that a network of businessmen worked with MACC officials to pressure company executives, including through raids and investigations, in order to influence ownership and control of businesses. MACC and outgoing chief commissioner Azam Baki have denied wrongdoing, describing the claims as unfounded. Police have said they have so far found no evidence of MACC involvement, while investigations ordered by the government remain under public watch.

Gobind said transparency was essential because the allegations were specific and involved named individuals, companies and officials. He said the probe must extend to every person, entity and officer implicated in the complaints, adding that the matter touched directly on market integrity and trust in national institutions. He also said the Securities Commission should explain whether it had examined any possible market manipulation, particularly if force or pressure was allegedly used to transfer shares in companies.

The issue has drawn wider political attention because DAP is a key component of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government. Party leaders have argued that a denial by MACC is not enough to settle the controversy and have backed calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry with powers to compel evidence and testimony. That position has placed pressure on the administration, which came to power promising institutional reform and stronger action against corruption.

Azam’s tenure has been marked by both high-profile enforcement action and repeated scrutiny. He has led MACC since March 2020 and continued beyond the usual retirement age through contract extensions in 2023, 2024 and 2025. His current term ends on May 12. The government has appointed former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman as the next MACC chief commissioner from May 13, after the King assented to the appointment on the advice of the prime minister.

The appointment came ahead of a planned Kuala Lumpur rally demanding Azam’s removal and broader reforms at MACC. Activist groups behind the campaign have called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into controversies surrounding the agency’s leadership, a parliamentary mechanism to vet future chief commissioners, fixed tenure for the top post and stronger safeguards to ensure MACC is accountable to Parliament rather than the executive.

The controversy has revived long-running concerns about the structure of Malaysia’s anti-corruption framework. MACC is a central enforcement body in the country’s governance system, but critics have argued that its leadership appointment process leaves room for political pressure. Supporters of reform say the agency’s credibility depends not only on pursuing graft cases but also on being seen to operate independently when allegations touch its own officers or senior leadership.

Anwar’s government has made anti-corruption enforcement a major plank of its reform agenda. Since taking office in 2022, his administration has overseen investigations involving former senior officials, political figures, military procurement and state-linked financial matters. The approach has won praise from some governance advocates, but it has also faced claims of selective enforcement from opponents and unease among allies when politically sensitive cases remain unresolved or unpublished.

The “corporate mafia” allegations carry additional weight because they involve not only possible misconduct by public officers but also the risk of abuse in the corporate sector. If executives were pressured to sell shares or surrender control of businesses through investigations or enforcement threats, the case would raise questions about investor protection, corporate governance and the ability of regulators to shield markets from coercive conduct.

The official ceremony underscores Southeast Asia’s growing role in the global semiconductor value chain through collaboration, innovation and ecosystem-wide partnerships

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 May 2026 – SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEMICON SEA) 2026 was officially launched today at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), bringing together policymakers, manufacturers, suppliers, researchers, investors and emerging talent from across the global semiconductor ecosystem for three days of industry dialogue, technology showcases and business engagement.

The opening ceremony was officiated by YB Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), and attended by SEMI leadership, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) led by the Chief Executive Officer Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, and senior executives from global semiconductor companies.

Held under the theme ‘Transform Tomorrow’ in strategic partnership with MITI and MIDA, SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 is expected to welcome more than 20,000 innovators, policymakers and technology experts. The three-day event focuses on key industry priorities including manufacturing scale-up, advanced packaging, intelligent manufacturing and workforce development, as companies respond to demand driven by artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and advanced electronics.

Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, Chief Executive Officer of MIDA, said Malaysia is approaching the next phase of semiconductor growth as an active builder rather than a beneficiary of global trends.

“The semiconductor industry is at an inflection point, and Malaysia intends to be at the centre of what comes next. Under the MADANI Economy Framework and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, we are not simply maintaining our position in the global semiconductor supply chain, we are deliberately reshaping it. The NIMP 2030 sets a clear direction for the E&E sector to move beyond assembly and test into design, advanced packaging and innovation-driven manufacturing, and MIDA is here to make that transition real. The RM28.5 billion secured by the E&E sector in 2025 is proof that global confidence in Malaysia has not wavered. What we are now building is the ecosystem to match that confidence, through supply chain integration, local capability development and the kind of high-value partnerships that platforms like SEMICON Southeast Asia are uniquely placed to catalyse,” said Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim.

“SEMI’s role has always been to bring together the global semiconductor ecosystem, and that responsibility becomes even more important as the industry grows in scale and complexity. Today, innovation is no longer confined to a single segment. It requires closer alignment across design, manufacturing, materials and supply chains. SEMICON Southeast Asia provides a platform to bridge these different parts of the ecosystem, enabling stakeholders to engage in more meaningful collaboration and move from discussion to execution,” said Ajit Manocha, President and CEO of SEMI.

“As demand continues to be driven by artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and advanced electronics, the ability to coordinate across regions and capabilities will be critical. SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 is not only about showcasing technology, but about strengthening the partnerships needed to support long-term industry growth and resilience.”

The event features key leadership programmes including the Executive Leadership Summit, MIDA Strategic Semiconductor Forum and Seminar, Sustainability and Energy Summit, TechZoomers Challenge and TalentCONNECT, reflecting SEMICON Southeast Asia’s role not only as an exhibition platform, but as a convening point for leadership, capability and execution across the region’s semiconductor ecosystem.

Marking over a decade of strategic collaboration, MIDA and SEMI today reinforce 12 years of a transformative partnership dedicated to elevating Malaysia’s standing in the global semiconductor value chain. This enduring alliance remains anchored on three core pillars designed to future-proof the nation’s industrial landscape:

• Ecosystem Integration: Harmonising domestic and international supply chains to ensure seamless operational synergy.
• Enterprise Capability: Empowering local businesses to scale their technical expertise and compete on a global stage.
• Talent Advancement: Cultivating a high-skilled workforce as the essential bedrock of Malaysia’s long-term economic resilience and competitive edge.

SEMICON Southeast Asia 2026 runs from 5–7 May 2026 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, with participation from companies and organisations across Asia, the United States and Europe.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About MIDA

MIDA is the government’s principal investment promotion and development agency under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA has 12 regional and 20 overseas offices. MIDA partners with investors at every stage of their journey, supporting sustainable growth and long-term value creation for Malaysia. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow MIDA on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube.

About SEMI

SEMI® is the global industry association connecting over 4,000-member companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. We accelerate member collaboration on solutions to top industry challenges through Advocacy, Workforce Development, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management and other programs. Our SEMICON® expositions and events, technology communities, standards and market intelligence help advance our members’ business growth and innovations in design, devices, equipment, materials, services and software, enabling smarter, faster, more secure electronics. Visit www.semi.org, contact a regional office, and connect with SEMI on LinkedIn and X to learn more.