KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia closed higher, buoyed by Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) decision to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at 2.75 per cent, alongside positive cues from Wall Street. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 19.30 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 1,635.86 from Wednesday’s close of 1,616.56. The benchmark index opened 6.72 points higher at 1,623.28, and fluctuated between an intraday high of 1,642.44 and a low of 1,622.62 during the trading session. However, market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering gainers 723 to 497, while 466 counters were unchanged, 1,075 untraded and 10 suspended. Turnover rose to 3.74 billion units valued at RM3.61 billion compared with yesterday’s 2.81 billion units valued at RM2.57 billion.
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...