KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia ended lower on the final trading day of the week, weighed down by the plantation sector as investors locked in gains following its recent strong performance. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 7.03 points 1,708.10, compared with yesterday’s close of 1,715.13. The benchmark index opened 1.39 points lower at 1,713.74 and fluctuated between 1,704.86 and 1,715.20 throughout the day. The broader market was negative with losers outnumbering gainers 568 to 523, while 596 counters were unchanged, 1,085 untraded and 19 suspended. Turnover expanded to 4.33 billion units valued at RM2.98 billion from 3.90 billion units valued at RM3.21 billion on Thursday.
DBS Group Holdings has revised its ambitions in Malaysia, trimming its proposed acquisition of Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd to a 30% stake after regulators signalled they would not support a larger deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Southeast Asia’s largest bank had initially sought approval to negotiate for as much as 49% of Alliance Bank, a size that would require Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to grant a rare ownership waiver. The central bank declined to entertain that request, prompting DBS to withdraw and refile a proposal aligned with Malaysia’s 30% ownership limit. The smaller proposal is expected to have a smoother path, the people said, and would allow DBS to formally engage Alliance’s major shareholder, Vertical Theme Sdn Bhd — a Malaysian holding company partly owned by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. Temasek indirectly owns 49% of Vertical Theme through Duxton Investment & Development and also holds 28.3% of DBS. Representatives from DBS and Vertical Theme dec...