KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia’s key index closed higher today on bargain hunting, in line with positive investor sentiment across regional markets, consolidating at its highest level in more than two months — a level last seen on Oct 2, 2025. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 12.42 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 1,637.81, compared with Thursday’s close of 1,625.39. The benchmark index opened 2.83 points lower at 1,622.56, thereafter edged down to an early low of 1,622.03, before staging an uptrend to an intraday high of 1,640.36 in late trading. Market breadth was positive, with gainers trouncing decliners at 743 versus 387. Another 530 counters were unchanged, 1,108 untraded, and 16 suspended. Turnover increased to 3.09 billion units worth RM2.46 billion from 2.99 billion units worth RM2.35 billion on Thursday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI ended higher on continued...
US President Donald Trump has approved Nvidia Corp’s request to export its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, in exchange for a 25% cut of all sales — a major win for the world’s most valuable chipmaker and a potential reopening of a multibillion-dollar market it lost under previous export restrictions.
Trump announced the decision on his Truth Social account after weeks of internal deliberations. He said he had already informed Chinese President Xi Jinping, who responded positively, and stressed that shipments would only go to “approved customers.” Trump added that Intel and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) would also be eligible to sell chips under the same arrangement.
“We will protect national security, create American jobs and keep America’s lead in AI,” Trump wrote. He emphasised that Nvidia’s newest and most advanced chips — Blackwell and its upcoming Rubin line — remain prohibited from export under the deal.
A Strategic Compromise
Allowing H200 exports marks a middle-ground outcome after Nvidia previously pushed for permission to sell more powerful Blackwell chips in China — a request the administration rejected due to national-security objections.
The H200 approval follows earlier attempts by Trump to implement a system requiring Nvidia and AMD to pay fees on China AI chip sales. That scheme never took effect and generated no payments, largely because Chinese customers, under pressure from Beijing, stopped buying US chips.
Nvidia declined to comment on the latest approval.
Nvidia’s China Challenge
The H200 decision gives Nvidia a potential path back into a market it once described as worth US$50 billion annually. But whether demand will materialise remains uncertain.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told lawmakers last week that the company does not know if China will accept H200 chips, noting Beijing previously instructed Chinese firms to avoid Nvidia’s downgraded H20 chips, which the company designed to comply with earlier export limits.
China’s rejection of the H20 left Nvidia effectively shut out of the country’s data-centre market in 2024 and 2025, accelerating domestic efforts to rely on local processors made by firms such as Huawei.
This latest approval follows separate lobbying success in Washington, where Congress removed a provision in defense legislation that would have restricted Nvidia’s ability to sell AI chips abroad. The proposed GAIN AI Act would have forced chipmakers to give US customers priority access before selling to embargoed nations.
Political, Security, and Industry Pushback
Any easing of export controls marks a significant shift from the 2022–2024 restrictions designed to block China’s military and state-backed firms from acquiring high-end US semiconductor technologies.
National-security hawks across both parties are likely to oppose the move. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Banking Committee’s top Democrat, argued that allowing H200 sales would “turbocharge China’s military and undercut American technological leadership.”
Members of Trump’s own cabinet, including US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, earlier stated they opposed selling scaled-down Blackwell chips to China.
Key Takeaways
Trump approved Nvidia’s H200 exports to China, with the US taking 25% of all sales.
The move may help Nvidia regain access to a US$50 billion China AI market it has largely lost.
More advanced chips — Blackwell and Rubin — remain banned for export.
China previously told domestic firms to avoid Nvidia’s downgraded H20 chips, leaving future demand uncertain.
The decision marks a significant policy shift and is likely to spark opposition from national-security advocates.
Nvidia also won a separate lobbying victory when Congress excluded the restrictive GAIN AI Act from defense legislation.
Beijing’s response will determine whether Nvidia can meaningfully re-enter China’s data centre and AI infrastructure markets.
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