KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed almost flat on Tuesday as buying interest rotated away from index heavyweights towards smaller-cap construction stocks, with sentiment affected by geopolitical uncertainty, said an analyst. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.39 of a point to 1,714.40 from Monday’s close of 1,714.79. The benchmark index opened 1.65 points lower at 1,713.14 and moved between 1,710.44 and 1,714.50 throughout the trading session. The broader market was almost evenly balanced, with decliners leading gainers 548 to 546, while 598 counters were unchanged, 1,107 were untraded and 25 were suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.13 billion units valued at RM3.14 billion from 3.60 billion units valued at RM2.45 billion on Monday.
South-East Asia Emerges as Global Data Centre Hotspot Amid Rising AI Usage, With Malaysia and Singapore Among Leaders
South-East Asia is becoming a key region for data centres as global demand for AI-driven infrastructure and computing power surges. This trend is being fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT , which require significantly more processing capacity than traditional internet searches, driving the region’s data centre demand to grow by 20% annually for the next five to seven years, according to analysts at Maybank . Top technology companies , including Microsoft , Amazon Web Services (AWS) , and Google , are investing heavily in the region, attracted by lower costs, power availability , and geopolitical neutrality . These investments are creating skilled jobs and enhancing digital infrastructure , which will benefit both small businesses and large institutions by enabling local data storage, improving data sovereignty , and reducing downtime . Key players in the region include Malaysia and Singapore , both emerging as data centre hubs. Malaysia, in par...