
Nearfield Instruments And Singapore's A*STAR IME Sign Research Collaboration Agreement To Advance Semiconductor Metrology Solutions For Ai And Advanced Packaging Era
SINGAPORE, May 21 (Bernama) -- Nearfield Instruments, a leader in advanced semiconductor metrology, and the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (A*STAR IME) of Singapore, today have signed a multi-year research collaboration agreement to drive innovation in semiconductor metrology technologies.
By leveraging Nearfield Instruments' expertise in high-precision metrology and A*STAR IME's cutting-edge semiconductor research, the partnership will accelerate the development of advanced metrology solutions that enable efficient AI chip production.

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Malay Mail
27 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Ringgit opens lower against US dollar as global economic outlook weighs on Asian currencies
KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar today as the greenback strengthened amid renewed volatility from a challenging global economy outlook for the second half of 2025. At 8.03am, the local note stood at 4.2375/2560 against the greenback, easing from Friday's close of 4.2270/2360. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following the stronger-than-expected United States (US) nonfarm payroll (NFP) data for May. He highlighted that the US NFP rose 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was sustained at 4.2 per cent for three consecutive months, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points. 'The latest NFP print seems to suggest that the labour market in the US is still fairly resilient despite having to contend with higher tariffs,' he told Bernama. Nonetheless, Mohd Afzanizam said, April's NFP was revised lower to 147,000 from 177,000, and the US labour force participation rate declined to 62.4 per cent in May from 62.6 per cent in April. 'On that note, while the labour market is still chugging along, signs of further moderation in the data series have been gradually emerging. 'As business and consumer sentiments remain weak, the outlook for the second half of 2025 economy looks increasingly challenging. Hence, the case for a lower US Federal Fund Rate is gaining momentum in our view,' he added. He noted that the ringgit has gained against the greenback, with USDMYR closing at 4.2315, giving a week-on-week appreciation of 0.6 per cent last week. At the early session, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It slightly increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from Friday's 2.9324/9390, but depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371. The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its Asean peers. It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2. — Bernama


Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
UK partners with tech giants to train 7.5 million workers in AI skills
LONDON, June 9 — The UK government is to team up with tech-giants including Google, Microsoft and Amazon to train 7.5 million workers in AI skills, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to announce today. Starmer is also set to unveil £187 million (US$253 million) in funding to help develop tech abilities for one million secondary school students, as part of its 'TechFirst' programme to bring AI learning into classrooms and communities. 'We are putting the power of AI into the hands of the next generation—so they can shape the future, not be shaped by it,' Starmer was to say, according to extracts released by his Downing Street office. 'This training programme will unlock opportunity in every classroom—and lays the foundations for a new era of growth,' he was to add. The UK's AI sector is valued at £72 billion and is projected to exceed £800 billion by 2035. It is growing 30 times faster than the rest of the economy, employing over 64,000 people, according to government figures. Alongside TechFirst, Starmer was also to announce a government-industry partnership to train 7.5 million workers, with tech giants committing to make training materials freely available to businesses over the next five years. Training will focus on teaching workers to use chatbots and large language models to boost productivity. Google EMEA President Debbie Weinstein called it a 'crucial initiative' essential developing AI skills, unlocking AI-powered growth 'and cementing the UK's position as an AI leader'. The government was also to sign two Memorandums of Understanding with semiconductor firm NVIDIA, 'supporting the development of a nationwide AI talent pipeline', according to the UK government. — AFP


The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Ringgit opens lower vs greenback amid challenging global economy
KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit opened lower against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback strengthened amid renewed volatility from a challenging global economy outlook for the second half of 2025. At 8.03 am, the local note stood at 4.2375/2560 against the greenback, easing from Friday's close of 4.2270/2360. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the ringgit is expected to range between 4.23 and 4.24 today, following the stronger-than-expected United States (US) nonfarm payroll (NFP) data for May. He highlighted that the US NFP rose 139,000 in May, higher than the consensus estimate of 126,000, while the unemployment rate was sustained at 4.2 per cent for three consecutive months, pushing the US dollar index (DXY) higher on Friday to 99.190 points. 'The latest NFP print seems to suggest that the labour market in the US is still fairly resilient despite having to contend with higher tariffs,' he told Bernama. Nonetheless, Mohd Afzanizam said, April's NFP was revised lower to 147,000 from 177,000, and the US labour force participation rate declined to 62.4 per cent in May from 62.6 per cent in April. 'On that note, while the labour market is still chugging along, signs of further moderation in the data series have been gradually emerging. 'As business and consumer sentiments remain weak, the outlook for the second half of 2025 economy looks increasingly challenging. Hence, the case for a lower US Federal Fund Rate is gaining momentum in our view,' he added. He noted that the ringgit has gained against the greenback, with USDMYR closing at 4.2315, giving a week-on-week appreciation of 0.6 per cent last week. At the early session, the ringgit traded mostly lower against a basket of major currencies. It slightly increased against the Japanese yen to 2.9305/9435 from Friday's 2.9324/9390, but depreciated versus the British pound to 5.7367/7618 from 5.7212/7334 and eased vis-a-vis the euro to 4.8341/8552 from 4.8268/8371. The local currency also traded mostly lower against most of its ASEAN peers. It rose versus the Thai baht to 12.9468/13.0121 from 12.9599/9947 at Friday's close, while the ringgit decreased against the Singapore dollar to 3.2892/3041 from 3.2862/2934, dropped against the Philippine peso to 7.60/7.64 from 7.58/7.60 and fell against the Indonesian rupiah to 260.1/261.4 from 259.5/260.2.