Observers and industry players told CNA the new guidelines will make the influencer ecosystem more transparent and accountable, and protect content creators from clients who do not offer fair remuneration by encouraging cash payments instead of just gifts.

But they raised concerns that the guidelines will put more burden on smaller creators who are more likely to accept free products and services instead of cash as payment for the jobs they have completed.

They also raised questions about public relations (PR) gifts received not as part of an official job, products or services featured as an unpaid favour, and whether influencers should declare retrospectively for the upcoming tax season.

In Malaysia, tax returns of individuals with no business income are required to be filed by Apr 30 of the following year. As for those who are carrying on business, the deadline for filing the tax returns is Jun 30 of the following year.

Zul Rafique & Partners said smaller creators face a “heavier compliance burden” as opposed to larger influencers who typically command fixed cash fees and have established accounting systems.

“(Smaller creators) must now determine the market value of items received, keep detailed records, and potentially pay tax on benefits received in kind, even when no cash changes hands,” they said.

“For creators with modest or irregular earnings, this can raise cashflow concerns and increase compliance anxiety, especially where guidance on valuation and record-keeping is not fully clear.”

INFLUENCERS ASK FOR CLARITY

A full-time content creator who only gave her name as Ainaa, 31, said the job is not just about recording videos. Rather, it involves time, effort, equipment, content planning, and ongoing operational costs.

“So, any changes to guidelines naturally require some adjustment in terms of additional administrative work, such as keeping more detailed records of collaborations and assessing the value of goods or services received,” she told CNA.

“For content creators, this could potentially increase operational costs, whether in terms of time or the need to seek accounting assistance. However, I see this as a step towards more professional management in the long run.”

Ainaa, who has about 36,500 followers on Instagram under the handle @n.ainaafiqahh, called for smaller creators to be given “clear guidance and support” with the new guidelines to help them continue to grow in a more professional and sustainable manner.

Fellow full-time content creator Dharshamini Kesavan said the new tax guidelines will make content creators more responsible and protect them from clients who have “no budget, but only (want to deal in a) product or services exchange scenario”.

“Honestly, there’s no big difference for me … Since I became a full-time content creator (in 2023), I have kept filing my taxes. For me it’s business as usual, except declaring the gifts and services,” the 37-year-old told CNA.

However, Dharshamini noted that since the COVID-19 pandemic, she has helped small businesses promote their products or services for free as part of her corporate social responsibility. She wonders if the gifts she gets under this initiative need to be declared too.

“How do we differentiate a genuine support post for family and friends by a content creator?” she asked.

Another scenario that raises questions, Dharshamini said, is when influencers are paid to create content for business like spas, restaurants or hotels, where they have to experience the services offered at these places.

“I will be declaring tax for the remuneration I receive. How about the services? For me it’s part of the requirement for the job delivery. Should I declare (the value of the services) as well?”

Dharshamini, who has more than 79,000 followers on Instagram under the handle @dharshamini_kesavan, feels LHDN should give clearer guidelines and further educate creators on the dos and don’ts, such as if there will be a minimum threshold for products or services to be declared.

“Once we have clear, binary guidelines, it’s going to be easier for everyone,” she added.

The military’s media wing, ISPR, said the attacks were carried out by Indian-sponsored militants and that security forces had thwarted attempts to seize control of any city or strategic installation.

“Intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed that the attacks were orchestrated and directed by terrorist ringleaders operating from outside Pakistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident,” the statement said. 

It said the attacks were launched across Quetta, Mastung, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni. 

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attacks and praised security forces for repelling them, saying in a statement they had killed dozens of militants.

Security officials said armed men launched attacks in several urban areas, including the provincial capital Quetta and the port city of Gwadar, prompting operations by the army, police and counterterrorism units. 

Hospitals were placed on emergency footing in some districts, officials said.

Before the leadership review, Ashton Arsenault, a former ministerial staffer under ex-Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Poilievre should aim to win at least 75 per cent of the vote to demonstrate the party’s confidence in his leadership.

“That lets every outside observer and party member know that people are behind (Poilievre) and this is the horse we’re riding with in the next election”, Arsenault said. 

According to the pollster Angus Reid, Carney’s approval rating among Canadians is now at 60 per cent, his highest such rating since he became the Liberal leader.

Although 80 per cent of Conservative voters support Poilievre, who is 46 and has been party leader since 2022, views of him among the wider public are more negative, with 58 per cent holding an unfavourable view of him.

TOKYO: Britain and Japan agreed to strengthen defence and economic ties, visiting Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday (Jan 31), after his bid to forge closer links with China drew warnings from US President Donald Trump.

Starmer noted that Japan and Britain were the leading economies in a trans-Pacific that includes fellow G7 member Canada, as well as other international trade and defence pacts.

“We set out a clear priority to build an even deeper partnership in the years to come,” Starmer said as he stood beside Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after a bilateral meeting in Tokyo.

“That includes working together to strengthen our collective security, across the Euro-Atlantic and in the Indo-Pacific.”

Takaichi said they agreed to hold a meeting of British and Japanese foreign and defence ministers this year.

She said she also wanted to discuss “cooperation towards realising a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Middle East situation and Ukraine situation” at a dinner with Starmer later on Saturday.

Starmer arrived on a one-day Tokyo stop after a four-day visit in China, where he followed in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.

Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have all travelled to Beijing in recent weeks, recoiling from Trump’s bid to seize Greenland and tariff threats against NATO allies.

Trump warned on Thursday it was “very dangerous” for its close ally Britain to be dealing with China, although Starmer brushed off those comments.

Tokyo’s ties with Beijing have deteriorated since Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily during a potential attack on Taiwan.

China regards the self-ruled democratic island as its territory.

Starmer met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, with both sides highlighting the need for closer ties.

He also signed a series of agreements there, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China for under 30 days.

No start date for that arrangement has been given yet.

Takaich said the two leaders agreed during discussions on economic security that a strengthening of supply chains “including important minerals is urgently needed”.

There is concern that Beijing could choke off exports of the rare earths crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles.

China, the world’s leading producer of such minerals, announced new export controls in October on rare earths and associated technologies.

They have also been a major sticking point in trade negotiations between China and the United States.

Britain, Japan and Italy are also developing a new fighter jet after Tokyo relied for decades on the United States for military hardware.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif denied any operation was planned or underway in Tirah, calling the movement a routine seasonal migration driven by harsh winter conditions.

However, a Pakistani military source with knowledge of the matter said the relocation followed months of consultations involving tribal elders, district officials and security authorities over the presence of militants in Tirah, who they said were operating among civilian populations and pressuring residents.

The source asked to remain unidentified as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

The source said civilians were encouraged to temporarily leave to reduce the risk of harm as “targeted intelligence-based operations” continued, adding there had been no build-up for a large-scale offensive due to the area’s mountainous terrain and winter conditions.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi earlier this week said his government had not been consulted on the relocation or any security operation in Tirah, describing the decisions as closed-room moves taken without provincial input.

He rejected federal claims that residents were returning voluntarily due to snowfall, saying families were being displaced under the pretext of a security operation despite extreme winter conditions.

Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the interior ministry and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government did not respond to requests for comment made on Friday.

ISLAMABAD: At least 10 security officials and 37 militants were killed as ethnic Baloch separatists launched “coordinated” attacks across Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday (Jan 31), an official said, the latest violence in insurgency-hit southwest region.

Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, where militants target state forces, foreign nationals and non-locals in the mineral-rich southwestern province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

“The terrorists … launched coordinated attacks this morning at more than 12 locations,” a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

“Thirty-seven terrorists have been eliminated … Ten security personnel were martyred while a few others were injured,” the official added.

A senior security official based in the provincial capital of Quetta told AFP at least four policemen were killed in Quetta, although it was not clear whether they were included in the 10 officials killed.

A senior military official based in Islamabad confirmed the attacks, adding they were “coordinated but poorly executed”.

The attacks “failed due to poor planning and rapid collapse under effective security response”, the official added.

Separatists had also abducted the deputy commissioner of Nushki district, a senior official in Quetta told AFP.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for “foiling coordinated attacks” in 12 locations.

“I, along with the entire nation, am proud of our martyrs,” Sharif said in a statement accusing India of backing the separatists.

“We will continue the war against terrorism until its complete eradication from the country,” he said.

At least four police officials in as many districts confirmed to AFP that the situation was not completely under control yet.

Mobile phone services have been jammed and traffic disrupted in the affected districts, while train services have been suspended across the province.

The Baloch Liberation Army, the most active militant separatist group in the province, claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement sent to AFP.

The group claimed to target military installations and police and civil administration officials during gun attacks and suicide bombings.

“EXPLOSIONS ONE AFTER ANOTHER”

In Quetta, an AFP journalist heard several explosions as heavy security was deployed across the city, with major roads deserted and business activity shut down.

“Since morning, there have been explosions one after another,” Abdul Wali, a 38-year-old private employee, told AFP as he struggled to find blood for his hospitalised mother.

“The police point guns at us and say go back otherwise they beat us. What should we do?” he added.

Saturday’s attacks come a day after the military said it had killed 41 insurgents in two separate operations in the province.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources, and lags behind the rest of the country in education, employment and economic development.

Baloch separatists have intensified attacks on Pakistanis from neighbouring provinces working in the region in recent years as well as on foreign energy firms, which they believe are exploiting the province’s riches.

Pakistan routinely accuses neighbouring India and Afghanistan of fomenting militancy.

“Throughout the operation, the terrorists were reportedly in continuous contact with their handlers in Afghanistan,” the security official said.

Last year, ethnic Baloch separatists attacked a train with 450 passengers on board, sparking a two-day siege during which dozens of people were killed.

BEIJING: China conducted naval and air patrols around the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Saturday (Jan 31), the China Southern Theater Command said.

The shoal is in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, but China also claims it as part of its territory.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

China has stepped up combat readiness patrols in the area in January, “resolutely countering the infringement provocations of individual countries within the region,” the post said.

The militaries of the Philippines and the United States carried out joint exercises in the Scarborough Shoal area earlier this week, in the 11th such drill since November 2023, Manila’s armed forces said on Tuesday.

• Vertically integrated builder-operator with its own IP of around 600 patents tied to data centre designs and systems
• Headcount rising, Malaysia at the centre of that growth with BDC expecting to almost double country workforce in 2026

Outside of building semiconductor fabrication plants, data centres (DC), or AI factories, as Nvidia’s founder Jensen Hwang, has taken to calling them now, is the hottest business in the AI era we are entering. How hot? An April 2025 report from McKinsey threw up the mindboggling US$6.7 trillion (RM26.4 trillion) in estimated capex needed for data centres by 2030.

That puts data centre builders (offering build-to-suit data centres for customers) and operators (where they offer colocation solutions to multiple clients), like Bridge Data Centres (BDC) in a sweet spot. Founded in 2017 in Singapore by data centre veterans Kris Kumar and Michael Foust, BDC is a Southeast Asia–based hyperscale and wholesale data centre provider backed by Bain Capital, a US private investment firm with a global presence.

What is interesting here is that, within the same year that Bain Capital invested in them, the global investment firm with US$215 billion (RM860 billion) in assets under management, made an outright acquisition of BDC for an undisclosed amount. It is rare for founders to sell their companies within one year.

According to an executive of a Malaysian DC operator, for most DC operators who focus on winning business from the hyperscalers, the business is straightforward: secure land and power, build the DC, hand the facility to vendors, then collect rent. But BDC has taken a very different route in an effort to differentiate itself in the market.  It adopted a strategy of becoming a vertically integrated builder-operator with its own Intellectual Property – with around 600 patents tied to its data centre designs and systems – and engineering expertise, wrapped around every megawatt it delivers.

This strategy shaped everything from BDC’s supply chain, which is concentrated in China, to its talent strategy, to how it rides the AI wave that is driving the current phase of demand.

 

A builder, not a landlord

Eric Fan (pic), BDC’s CEO, is clear that he does not see BDC as a real estate play. He points to its pure R&D team of around 20 specialists who sit apart from its regular engineers and project delivery staff. Their job is to work on “frontier solutions” and co-develop new designs with suppliers, then protect that know-how through an aggressive patent strategy.

“BDC today has around 600 patents related to data centre designs and systems. Many actually arise from joint work with long-term suppliers, but BDC is careful about how ownership is structured so its solutions cannot be copied wholesale by rivals. “We’d be able to protect our knowledge and our know-how in those designs, so it’s not going to be easily replicated by our peers,” Fan explains.

“If you position yourself as a pure real estate developer, you don’t need that kind of in-house know-how and technology,” Fan notes. “It’s more about you getting land and power, and you can leave it in the hands of your suppliers. But we do believe differently.” That belief is why BDC is prepared to carry the higher fixed costs of in-house R&D and engineering.

When asked if he can put an estimated ROI value on the patents, he says he cannot. But that is not the point. According to him, the value is in the cumulative edge BDC gets from optimising its designs over time: standardised modules, better energy efficiency, lower lifecycle cost, and the ability to roll out campuses at hyperscaler speed. “Patents are reviewed regularly, with an inflow and outflow process to decide which to maintain and which to drop,” he said. This approach helps keep the IP portfolio relevant.

The key to its vertically integrated strategy is a tightly managed supply chain centred on China. Most of BDC’s modular equipment integration and modularisation work is done there, leveraging the country’s deep manufacturing base and the ability to move from components to pre-assembled modules seamlessly.

While Fan acknowledges the geopolitical and concentration risks, he says BDC is potentially looking at shifting parts of the work into Southeast Asia.

Building a regional talent engine

BDC’s integrated model only works if you can attract and grow enough engineers. Out of a group headcount approaching 1,000, BDC has close to 100 engineers across various capabilities, from electrical and mechanical to design and project execution.

Crucially, operations are not outsourced. Unlike operators who hand over day-to-day maintenance to third parties, BDC insists on running its own facilities. In a typical data centre, Fan estimates that “easily” 70% of the onsite headcount are knowledge workers with electrical or mechanical backgrounds, able to troubleshoot and maintain major systems. Security and facilities staff make up the balance.

In Malaysia, which already hosts BDC design teams and a central office in Kuala Lumpur, that translates into a sizable cluster of design engineers and project managers who support the entire region, not just local builds. The design function is distributed across Singapore, Malaysia, and China, operating as one virtual platform that serves all markets. Location is about access to talent, not carving the region into silos.

This is also where BDC’s education partnerships come in. The company recently signed an MoU with the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) with a DC training module already introduced. While BDC does not have a DC in Singapore, students from SIM will do their internships in BDC’s campuses in Malaysia and Thailand, gaining first-hand exposure to large-scale operations.

Headcount is rising quickly, and Malaysia is at the centre of that growth says Fan with BDC expecting to almost double its Malaysian workforce in 2026, driven by rapid expansion in Johor and the Klang Valley as new DC campuses come online this year. New projects in Thailand and additional technology design roles in Singapore will add to the regional spread, but “the sheer numbers”, as Fan puts it, will still be in Malaysia.

 

AI demand is surging, but hard to put an estimate on its boost to the business

Any DC narrative today comes with an AI link, and BDC is no exception. The company already has over 300 megawatts of live capacity in Malaysia alone, making it the country’s largest operator, and is building an even larger pipeline to meet future demand. “A very strong pipeline,” as Fan puts it. AI is clearly one of the drivers.

Yet when asked what percentage of BDC’s business comes from AI-related workloads, Fan cautions that it cannot be cleanly measured. According to him, the old distinction between AI training clusters and “regular” workloads is breaking down.

Previously, you could point to a cluster and declare: this is an AI training job. Now, with AI inference embedded into more and more applications, those AI cycles are spread across all kinds of workloads. “It’s harder and harder to define that this is non-AI and this is AI,” he says. “A lot of applications are now infused with AI adoption.”

What he is willing to say is that AI-linked demand is one of the fastest-growing segments in BDC’s portfolio, even if the baseline is still small relative to its total installed base. That growth is clearest in the hyperscaler segment, where cloud and AI platform providers are racing to expand capacity in key hubs like Johor to serve regional markets.

For BDC, AI is both an opportunity and a test of its model. Higher density AI racks and clusters require more sophisticated power and cooling design, tighter operational tolerances, and faster deployment of capacity. Fan’s argument is that a vertically integrated operator with its own IP, R&D, and in-house engineering stands a better chance of meeting those demands reliably, and of capturing more of the value over time.

The company’s patent-backed designs, regional design platform, and insistence on operating its own facilities are not decorative extras. They are the levers BDC hopes will keep hyperscalers anchored to its campuses as AI reshapes how compute is built and consumed.

When asked about how much more does it cost to build DCs for the new AI-driven demand happening, Fan explained that the cost dynamics are shaped by two major factors. “I cannot simplify this answer.”

On one hand, the classic cost curve continues to trend downward thanks to economies of scale and optimizations across the supply chain, benefiting not just his company but the wider industry. On the other hand, adapting data centers to meet the unique requirements of AI workloads definitely introduces new expenses.

For instance, “designing facilities to be more flexible and fungible for AI applications requires investment in advanced cooling technologies – moving away from traditional CPU-based air cooling toward liquid cooling systems that channel coolant directly through chips. This shift is essential for supporting high-performance AI GPU architectures but comes with added costs.”

Pressed further on the scale of these increases, Fan noted that while the exact figures vary depending on application and hyperscale requirements, a reasonable estimate would be a 15% to 20% rise in costs compared to pre-AI era designs. This reflects the balance between ongoing efficiencies in traditional infrastructure and the premium required to build AI-ready data centers.

But whatever the market needs, Fan says, “with speed in our DNA”, BDC, which can build a data centre in under 24 months, is there to deliver and with Malaysia playing a very important role.

China’s Shandong Marine has moved to expand its LNG carrier fleet, placing an order for four newbuildings at compatriot yard Jiangnan Shipyard, with the vessels set to be chartered to a unit of UK-based energy major Shell upon delivery.

The state-run shipping group has signed up for 175,000 cu m units with deliveries scheduled across 2028 and 2029. The deal involves Shell (Singapore) Trading as a long-term charterer, with Minsheng Financial Leasing as the shipowner. Shandong Marine Energy will be responsible for commercial management, and Shell International Shipping will be in charge of technical operations.

The order adds to a growing LNG carrier portfolio at Shandong Marine, which already has two LNG newbuildings on order at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea for delivery in 2026 and 2027. The group is also tied to three Q-Max LNG carrier newbuildings under a separate deal with QatarEnergy.

Jiangnan Shipyard, part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has emerged as a key player in large LNG carrier construction as Chinese yards continue to close the gap with their South Korean rivals. Located on Shanghai’s Changxing Island, the yard has seen a steady stream of LNG-related orders over the past year.

Shandong Marine’s move comes amid a renewed wave of LNG carrier contracting through late 2025 and into the start of the new year, as owners and investors position for long-term gas demand and portfolio employment.

Earlier this year, Eastern Pacific Shipping placed its first LNG carrier newbuilding order in China, contracting two 175,000 cu m vessels at Jiangnan for delivery in 2028. Greek owner TMS Cardiff Gas has also added to its LNG orderbook, signing up for up to six newbuildings at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

South Korean yards continue to attract strong LNG interest as well. Seapeak has ordered two LNG carriers at Samsung Heavy Industries, while Purus returned to the yard with a pair of LNG newbuildings valued at about $503m. Alpha Gas has also resurfaced in the newbuilding market with an order for two LNG carriers at Hanwha Ocean.

Most recently, Samsung Heavy Industries disclosed a $507.6m contract for two LNG carriers for a Bermuda-based owner, with brokers linking the deal to JP Morgan-backed Global Meridian Holdings. The vessels are due for delivery in early 2029.

Together, the latest orders underline the continued momentum in LNG carrier contracting, with Chinese and South Korean yards competing for a growing share of long-term gas shipping demand.

It’s no different this year at the ceremony held on Tuesday (Jan 27), helmed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and marking the start of the lock-in period ahead of the Budget to be unveiled this Sunday.

When they emerge, all attention in India and globally will be on the Bahi-Khata – the red cloth ledger that symbolises the Union Budget – that Minister Sitharaman will be seen clutching as she enters India’s Parliament to deliver her annual address.

India’s Union Budget is the country’s financial blueprint for the year from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, and is closely watched by global stock markets, investors and policymakers. 

India is the world’s fourth-largest economy, with gross domestic product estimated to reach US$4.51 trillion this year, according to International Monetary Fund data. 

Total expenditure under the Union Budget 2025 stood at 50.65 trillion rupees (US$551 billion), according to Indian government data. 

Last year’s budget emphasised innovation and entrepreneurship – announcing measures spanning artificial intelligence, deep tech research, the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, and credit access for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

This year, the challenge lies in implementation of those measures and new ones to come, analysts and business leaders tell CNA.

“India now stands at an inflection point. Budget 2025 signalled intent. Budget 2026 must deliver action – not just through new initiatives, but by making existing mechanisms frictionless, founder-first, and ready for deployment,” said Amit Chand, founder of early-stage venture capital fund BYT Capital. 

From deep tech innovation and artificial intelligence to MSME financing and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, stakeholders said the coming Budget must convert intent into impact. 

Here are four key things analysts and tech business leaders are watching for in this year’s budget:

DEEP TECH AND R&D INCENTIVES 

While the tech sector welcomes the intent behind funds like the Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) fund and the Deep Tech Fund of Funds announced in last year’s budget, “the real test lies in execution – particularly in speed, clarity of access, and seamless coordination across ministries”, said Chand.

The RDI Fund, worth about 1 trillion rupees, was launched in November 2025. The six-year programme offers patient funding – including low-interest loans or equity support – for areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and clean energy, where private investors are often cautious due to long development timelines.

The fund is aimed at encouraging companies to invest in cutting-edge, but risky technologies.