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BNM’s Policy Rate Call Looms: Octa Broker Highlights Inflation, Exchange Rate and Trade Challenges
On Thursday, 8 May, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), the nation’s central bank, will reveal its policy rate decision. Like most other central banks around the world, BNM strives to maintain a balance between low inflation and sustainable economic growth. Its key monetary policy instrument is the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR). By adjusting the OPR, BNM influences interest rates throughout the Malaysian economy, impacting borrowing costs for businesses and consumers and ultimately influencing economic activity and inflation.

BNM has kept its OPR stable since May 2023, when it surprisingly raised it to 3.00% in response to persistently high inflation amid solid household spending and tight labour market conditions. Since then, the economy has not really slowed much, so BNM has kept its base rate unchanged for almost two years now. This stance distinguishes it from its regional counterparts – Bank Indonesia, the Bank of Thailand, the Philippine central bank, and the Bank of Korea – all of which have lowered interest rates to stimulate economic growth.
In fact, the latest official figures showed that Malaysia’s economy showed surprising strength in Q4 2024. Gross domestic product (GDP) outperformed both official estimates and market expectations, growing by 5% year-on-year in Q4 2024. According to BNM, the GDP growth was driven by robust domestic demand, strong investment, and recovering exports. Meanwhile, national inflation has continued to decelerate, with Consumer Price Index (CPI) hitting a three-year low of just 1.4% in March 2025. Indeed, even with reduced government subsidies for diesel, electricity, and chicken, overall inflation has been successfully managed, potentially allowing the BNM to cut its base rate later this year. However, an overwhelming majority of economists polled by Reuters see no policy change this year, suggesting the central bank will wait and see how external and domestic factors unfold.
“The Malaysian economy is doing rather well, but major risks lie ahead, particularly stemming from its high degree of openness. With global trade tensions rising, Malaysia interconnectedness and integration into the global supply chain could exert a negative impact on GDP”, says Kar Yong Ang, a financial market analyst at Octa Broker. Indeed, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia recorded a trade surplus of 24.72 billion ringgit in March, well above the poll forecast of a 13.8 billion ringgit surplus. Most importantly, Malaysia’s exports to the United States rose to a record high of 22.66 billion ringgit ($5.14 billion) in March, a 50.8% increase from a year earlier, buoyed by strong demand for electrical and electronics products. However, with the United States introducing import duties on Malaysia as well as on Malaysia’s key trading partners – particularly, China – the strong pace of exports may not last. BNM has recognized this risk in its latest statement: “The growth outlook is subject to downside risks from an economic slowdown in major trading partners amid heightened risk of trade and investment restrictions, and lower-than-expected commodity production”.
Although the market largely expects the BNM to keep its base rate unchanged for the 11th consecutive time on Thursday, Octa Broker analysts argue that the chances of a rate cut have increased particularly because the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) may also be willing to cut the rates soon. “With inflation subdued, USDMYR trading at a seven-month low, and rising expectations for a dovish Fed, I think BNM is seriously thinking about when it may need to cut the rates”, says Kar Yong Ang. Indeed, after last week’s U.S. GDP data came below expectation, the risk of recession in the U.S. has increased and the market is now pricing in a 47% of 50 basis points (bps) worth of rate cuts by the Fed by the end of Q3 2025. The dovish Fed may put an additional bearish pressure on USDMYR, highly improving the probability of an eventual BNM rate cut.
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Octa
Octa is an international CFD broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and various services used by clients from 180 countries who have opened more than 52 million trading accounts. To help its clients reach their investment goals, Octa offers free educational webinars, articles, and analytical tools.
The company is involved in a comprehensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including the improvement of educational infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities.
In Southeast Asia, Octa received the ‘Best Trading Platform Malaysia 2024’ and the ‘Most Reliable Broker Asia 2023’ awards from Brands and Business Magazine and International Global Forex Awards, respectively.
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Woodfibre LNG Marks 2025 as a Year of Construction Progress, Environmental Stewardship and Community Partnership
Over the past year, the project advanced from planning into visible, on-the-ground execution. Major construction milestones included the pouring of foundations for key modules, continued progress on marine piling, and further implementation of modular construction techniques designed to reduce on-site footprint while accelerating delivery timelines.
These advancements were achieved through close collaboration with project partners, suppliers and contractors, and in partnership with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).
In 2025, Woodfibre LNG, a member of the RGE group of companies founded by Sukanto Tanoto, continued to operate its floatel workforce accommodation solution, designed to minimise pressure on local housing and community services. As of November, two floatels were in active operation, providing high-quality, safe and comfortable living conditions for the project workforce while supporting construction efficiency.
Environmental protection remained a central focus throughout the year. The project’s Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme, which includes hydroacoustic monitoring, exclusion zones and shore-based observation posts, delivered measurable outcomes by enabling real-time operational decisions, including pauses to marine activities when marine mammals entered exclusion areas.
In parallel, remediation of legacy materials from the former pulp mill site continued, with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of historical waste removed. These efforts have contributed to improving site conditions for both local communities and marine and terrestrial ecosystems in Howe Sound.
Woodfibre LNG’s Operator Training Programme, delivered in partnership with the Squamish Nation Training and Trades Centre and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), progressed throughout the year. The programme’s first cohort of graduates transitioned into full-time roles, supporting the development of long-term, skilled local employment opportunities linked to the project.
Through its Community Partnership Programme (CPP), Woodfibre LNG continued to invest in local communities across the Sea-to-Sky corridor. In 2025, the programme surpassed $1 million in total grants since its inception, supporting initiatives in sports, healthcare, emergency services, arts and culture, and youth development.
Luke Schauerte, CEO of Woodfibre LNG, said, “2025 has been a year of significant progress for Woodfibre LNG. We are proud of what our team and partners have accomplished together and look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.”
With more than half of the project’s development now complete, Woodfibre LNG remains focused on advancing construction safely and responsibly, while maintaining strong partnerships with Indigenous communities, local stakeholders and regulators.
As the project looks ahead to 2026, Woodfibre LNG continues its work toward delivering lower-carbon, responsibly produced Canadian energy to international markets.
Hashtag: #RGE #PacificEnergy #PacificCanbriamEnergy #WoodfibreLNG #LNG #environment #partnerships #LNG #liquefiednaturalgas #energy #sustainability
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About Woodfibre LNG
The Woodfibre LNG Project is owned by Woodfibre LNG Limited Partnership, owned 70 per cent by Pacific Energy Corporation (Canada) Limited and 30 per cent by Enbridge Inc. The Woodfibre LNG facility is being built on the site of the former Woodfibre pulp mill site, which is located about seven kilometres southwest of Squamish, B.C. Woodfibre LNG will source its natural gas from Pacific Canbriam Energy, a Canadian company with operations in Northeastern British Columbia. Pacific Canbriam is an industry leader in sustainable natural gas production. Woodfibre LNG and Pacific Canbriam Energy are subsidiaries of Pacific Energy Corporation Limited. Woodfibre LNG is the first industrial project in Canada to recognise a non-treaty Indigenous government, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), as a full environmental regulator.
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New Opportunities in Southeast Asia’s Digital Shift: Thailand Emerges as the New ASEAN’s AI Hub
The expansion of AI and data centers (DCs) in Thailand is driving several transformative trends:
- Changing data traffic patterns. As DCs multiply in Bangkok, Chonburi, and beyond, Thailand is evolving from a traditional data “transit point” into a regional “convergence hub.” East-west digital traffic is accelerating, with Thai DC clusters increasingly meeting the computing demands of Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific.
- Optimized data routing. Data flows that once relied on submarine cables via Hong Kong and Singapore are gradually shifting to land-based digital corridors linking China, Laos, and Thailand. This route reduces data transmission latency from southwestern China to Southeast Asia.
- Elevated business expectations. Demand is shifting beyond “sufficient bandwidth” toward “high-quality experience.” Thailand sits in a “latency sweet spot” for key Asia-Pacific markets, with latencies to Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia falling within an optimal range—a crucial advantage for latency-sensitive sectors like autonomous driving, telemedicine, and fintech.
New opportunities inevitably bring new challenges, and Thailand also addresses the following three challenges:
1. Massive traffic impacting existing networks: Compared with mature hubs like Singapore, Thailand has insufficient international submarine cables. A large volume of cross-border data still needs to be transmitted through detours. Meanwhile, as DC investments continue to accelerate, traffic will keep rising. Analysis shows that by 2029, Thailand’s DC capacity may reach 2000 MW, with cross-region traffic surging to 630 Tbps. The current network architecture is no longer capable of supporting such heavy traffic.
2. Latency advantages not fully realized: Despite its geographic advantages, Thailand’s network latency performance has yet to reach its full potential. Routes to key markets, like China, still require third-party transit. What’s more, traditional network scheduling lacks intelligent route selection capabilities, making it difficult to provide deterministic assurance for latency-sensitive services like financial transactions and real-time AI interactions.
3. Potential risks in network reliability: Thailand’s network reliability faces structural challenges. Single points of failure have previously caused hours-long interruptions to critical services, directly undermining enterprise users’ confidence.
To overcome these challenges, Thailand can take a systematic approach to upgrading its digital infrastructure, aiming to build next-generation AI-ready networks.
1. Building ultra-high-bandwidth “sea-land” connectivity. By actively introducing new submarine cables, Thailand can significantly enhance its connectivity with the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Meanwhile, accelerating the construction and expansion of key terrestrial cable routes—such as China-Laos-Thailand and Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore—will transform Thailand’s geographic advantage into a tangible connectivity advantage.
2. Optimizing network routes to create a regional low-latency core. Strengthening the Kunming-Laos-Thailand terrestrial cable route will continuously reduce transmission latency between China and Thailand, meeting the needs of real-time applications. In addition, the introduction of autonomous networks will enable automatic selection of the optimal, shortest route, shifting from “best effort” to “deterministic low latency.”
3. Designing a “never-interrupted” high-resilience architecture. Deploying active-active DC networks with millisecond-level switchover capabilities ensures the continuity of core services. Meanwhile, AI-driven intelligent O&M can reduce fault detection and diagnosis from hours to minutes.
Thailand’s booming AI and DC industries are driving rapid growth in regional and cross-border business demand. In this trend, network infrastructure construction centered on DCs is the core engine that drives AI transformation, propelling Thailand toward its vision of becoming the new AI hub for ASEAN.
Hashtag: #huawei
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MyRepublic Launches Card Sub, Singapore’s First Subscription Service for Trading Card Game Fans

Hashtag: #CardSub, #MyRepublic #MyRepublicCardSub #CardSubSG #TCG #GeeksUseUs
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MyRepublic
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