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New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
I-Bhd unveils RM10mil AI and Robotics rollout to future-proof i-City
KUALA LUMPUR: I-Bhd, the master developer of i-City in Shah Alam, has committed RM10 million to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics infrastructure across its portfolio of income-generating assets, with the initiative expected to be completed by 2028. In line with its long-term digital strategy, the company is currently in discussions with leading global technology players including Unitree, DeepSeek, and Baidu to transform i-City into a scalable, AI-powered smart city. The rollout will begin at Mercu Maybank, a 33-storey corporate tower serving as Maybank's alternate headquarters, and will extend to high-profile assets such as Wyndham Suites I-City, Wyndham Suites KLCC, Wyndham Garden, DoubleTree by Hilton i-City, Central-City Mall, the i-City theme park, car parks, a data centre, and residential components. Director Datuk Eu Hong Chew said the investment is not a trend-driven move but part of a deliberate strategy to ensure long-term relevance and competitiveness for I-Bhd's business and assets. "We're not just adding tech for the sake of it. This is about sustaining performance, unlocking value, and enabling intelligent systems to optimise asset efficiency and user experience," Eu said. The initiative aligns with I-Bhd's "value extraction" strategy introduced in 2024 to maximise returns from i-City's RM10 billion gross development value (GDV). With over 50 per cent of completed GDV comprising income-generating properties, the company is now entering a new phase focused on performance optimisation and smart infrastructure. Under its four-year technology roadmap, I-Bhd aims to embed AI and robotics into both operational systems and customer-facing services—ranging from predictive maintenance and energy management to visitor flow optimisation and robotics-assisted hospitality. The company's proprietary i-City SuperApp will serve as the digital backbone of the ecosystem, integrating Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) features that will eventually be made available to tenants and residents to enhance their operations. "When we launched i-City, we didn't set out to build just another property development. We set out to build Malaysia's first digital city. We set out to build a place where infrastructure, technology, and people come together to create lasting value. "That's how we became the first to deploy fibre-to-home as a core utility and build a Tier-3 data centre. But that was just Phase 1. "We kept the technology ecosystem dynamic and scalable for future enhancements. Today, as technology matures, we are ready and entering Phase 2, where intelligence is embedded into the ecosystem. This phase is where the city starts to think, learn, and adapt," Eu said. AI will allow the company to manage buildings more intelligently through predictive maintenance, energy optimisation, and visitor flow management, while robotics will assist in service delivery, from concierge bots to logistics and cleaning, he said. "AI and robots are expensive today, especially for individuals or small businesses. But with RM1 billion in assets, we have the scale to deploy and share this infrastructure. Over time, as the tech matures, we expect it to be accessible within corporate budgets," said Eu. He added that I-Bhd is following the same playbook it used two decades ago, working with strategic partners to integrate advanced technology that enhances property value and maintains i-City's edge as Malaysia's leading tech city. "When we started i-City, it wasn't just about building property. It was about building a digital city. Phase one was about infrastructure, fibre-to-home, and Tier-3 data centres. Now we're entering Phase Two, where the city begins to think, learn, and adapt," he said. Chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong echoed the sentiment, adding that AI and robotics represent the next frontier in delivering value across I-Bhd's ecosystem.
Japan Today
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
U.S. says that Israel accepts Gaza ceasefire plan; Hamas cool to it
By Gram Slattery, Michelle Nichols and Nidal al-Mughrabi Israel has agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, and Hamas said it was reviewing the plan although its terms did not meet the group's demands. As a U.S.-backed system for distributing food aid in the shattered enclave expanded, Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Netanyahu's office did not confirm the reports, but White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington that Israel had signed off on the proposal. She did not detail its contents. But the New York Times quoted an Israeli official familiar with the proposal as saying the initial phase would include a 60-day ceasefire and humanitarian aid flowing through U.N.-run operations. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was studying the proposal, and senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group was still discussing it. But Abu Zuhri said its terms echoed Israel's position and do not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months. Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war. Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war. AID EFFORT EXPANDS The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site on Thursday. Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group's operation began this week in Gaza, where the U.N. has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel's 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave. The aid launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat. The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks. Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to "sending out a new term sheet" about a ceasefire to the two sides in the conflict that has raged since October 2023. "I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict," Witkoff said then. Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries that have normally been reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump grants EU tariff extension after 'good call' with Ursula von der Leyen
President Donald Trump has agreed to a request for an extension on a proposed 50% tariff on imports from the European Union, which he initially threatened would go into effect on June 1. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said he received a call from European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen requesting an extension on the June 1 tariff hike. "I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so," Trump wrote. "The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump Pushes Back: Proposed 50% Tariff On Eu Set To Start June 1 While speaking to reporters on Sunday at Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, Trump said von der Leyen called him and said she wants to have a "serious negotiation." "July 9th was the date she requested. … And I agreed to do that," Trump said. "[von der Leyen] said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out." Read On The Fox Business App Scott Bessent Says Trump Wants To 'Light A Fire' Under Apple, Eu With New Tariff Threats Von der Leyen also took to X to say she had a "good call" with Trump and that Europe is "ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively." On Friday, Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on imports from the European Union amid ongoing trade negotiations. "Their powerful Trade Barriers, Vat Taxes, ridiculous Corporate Penalties, Non-Monetary Trade Barriers, Monetary Manipulations, unfair and unjustified lawsuits against Americans Companies, and more, have led to a Trade Deficit with the U.S. of more than $250,000,000 a year, a number which is totally unacceptable," Trump said. "…Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50% Tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025." Musk Says He Hopes For 'Zero Tariffs,' Freedom Of Trade Zone Between Us And Europe The EU tariff threat came after Vice President JD Vance met with von der Leyen and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on May 18. Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump is trying to "light a fire" under the European Union. "I would hope that this would light a fire under the EU, because... I've said before, [the] EU has a collective action problem here," Bessent said on "America's Newsroom". "It's 27 countries, but they're being represented by this one group in Brussels. So some of the feedback that I've been getting is that the underlying countries don't even know what the EU is negotiating on their behalf."Original article source: Trump grants EU tariff extension after 'good call' with Ursula von der Leyen
Business Times
08-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Times
Chinese automakers crank up sales of cars with combustion engines in Europe
[LONDON] Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are losing momentum in Europe, but the nation's automakers are selling more cars than ever in the region by throttling up deliveries of hybrids and combustion engine-powered models. The number of Chinese-brand cars registered across Europe hit record levels in the first three months of the year, exceeding 150,000 vehicles, according to figures provided by Dataforce, which tracks auto sales. The monthly total hit an all-time high in March. EVs were just 30 per cent of registrations in the first quarter, the smallest portion since at least the start of 2020. Until recently, Chinese automakers had prioritised selling EVs in Europe, spurred by the region's ambitious targets to lower carbon emissions and the desire to lead in the emerging segment within a global industry. That changed when the European Union imposed higher tariffs on Chinese-made EVs last year, after determining that generous subsidies from Beijing had created an unfair advantage for its battery-powered car industry. With multiyear gains in EV sales at a plateau, Chinese carmakers have turned to more conventional drivetrains to pick up the slack. For the first time, EV powerhouse BYD is selling significant numbers of plug-in hybrids in the EU and the UK. Saic Motor's MG sold almost 47,000 hybrid, plug-in hybrid and combustion engine-powered cars in EU countries in the first quarter, according to Dataforce. That was more than double its early 2024 tally, while EV sales fell by half. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up One reason for the shift to fossil fuel-burning models has been the added EV levies, which raised import duties to as high as 45 per cent in the case of state-owned Saic. But European customers also have turned away from pure EVs in favour of hybrids more broadly, and Chinese manufacturers are adjusting along with their European counterparts, said Benjamin Kibies, a senior automotive analyst at Dataforce. 'The Chinese have accelerated and intensified their efforts to introduce other fuel types,' Kibies said. 'Tariffs are part of the puzzle, but also a slower EV uptake' and rising demand for hybrids, he added. The trend has been underway since the second half of last year, when the EU started setting the higher duties. The added tariffs apply to all EVs made in China and are intended to level the playing field for European manufacturers and their suppliers. While the moves thwarted Chinese brands from seizing more of the EV market, they also risk undermining the bloc's environmental goals. Concerns that the surcharges would slow the adoption of electric cars by making Chinese imports more expensive largely have come to pass, even if the duties are only part of the equation. Manufacturers led by Volkswagen and Stellantis now face intensified competition across their model lineups. In March, Chinese automakers reached 5.2 per cent of all European auto sales, passing the 5 per cent mark for the first time. MG's sales of combustion engine and hybrid cars more than doubled in Spain in the first quarter, and rose from minuscule levels to more than 5,500 units in France. In Italy, the British sports car brand that's been Chinese-owned since the mid-2000s registered a 57 per cent rise in these categories. BYD too is seeing more demand for its hybrid models in Europe this year, regional chief Maria Grazia Davino said at an industry event last month in Stuttgart, Germany. 'In the near future we will have two pillars,' she said. 'One is electric.' BYD is expanding its dealer network, building factories in Hungary and Turkey to make EVs that will not be subject to tariffs, and is considering a third plant in Europe. Still, the company has surprised some by introducing higher-end models and refraining from using its cost advantages to undercut competitors. 'We have no interest in destroying ourself and the industry by initiating the pricing spiral that goes, goes down,' Davino said. BLOOMBERG
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Did ‘Vatican diplomacy' change Trump's mind on Ukraine? I'm sceptical for three reasons
The most recent diplomatic effort to find a way to stop Russia's invasion of Ukraine took place at the most unlikely of events: the funeral of Pope Francis. The image of Presidents Zelenskyy and Trump leaning toward each other, under Carlo Maratta's late-17th-century painting, The Baptism of Christ, rekindled hopes that the US might, at last, hear Kyiv out. Would this unexpected setting make Trump's compassion, so frequently expressed for the loss of human life, real? And could it lead to a better strategy for ending this war? The goal of Kyiv and the coalition of the willing – a group of 31 nations that back Ukraine in its fight against Russia – is to distance Trump from what has become a dangerous rapprochement between the Washington and Moscow. But this will be an uphill battle – Europe and Kyiv are trying to fight their way to Trump's ear just when the US is backing Russia's position. The most recent blow has been Trump's willingness to recognise the annexation of Crimea and to explicitly veto Ukraine's membership of Nato. The US's seven-point plan to end the war, presented to Kyiv and its allies in Paris last week, came alongside secretary of state Marco Rubio's promise to abandon the talks and focus on other global issues if progress wasn't made quickly. And yet, the US has made no movement toward guaranteeing implementation of a deal or providing deterrence against Russia having another go. Hope can lift the spirit, but it's not a good strategy. Trump's second term has torpedoed the world order, in a manner that is especially dangerous for Ukraine and the rest of Europe. Three factors make the diplomatic efforts to defend Europe and achieve a good outcome in Ukraine precarious. First, the disturbing alignment in worldview between the White House and the Kremlin. Both Trump and Putin believe the world is a superpowers' playground, where the powerful do what they choose, and the smaller do what they must. Power is expressed as coercion and military might. Their geopolitical agendas can be achieved at the expense of other nations and territories, be they Ukraine or Greenland, in violation of the UN charter. Trump has already validated Putin's fabricated narrative that the war was provoked by the west and Ukraine is a culprit. In opposition to the free world, it has voted with Russia, North Korea and Belarus three times on various UN resolutions concerning the war. In March, the US Department of Justice pulled out of the international body investigating the Russian crime of aggression in Ukraine. Second, Trump's erratic decision-making makes it hard for Ukraine's European allies to work on a coordinated plan of their own. The feeling is that Trump will pursue not what is good for peace and stability, but whatever the last person he spoke to told him. One former business associate recalls his fear of strategies being upset by the last thing Trump would hear from the doorman operating an elevator. It is positive that Zelenskyy and other large European state leaders, Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, were able to speak with Trump in the Vatican. Their main message was likely 'do not trust Putin when he says he is interested in peace, while he keeps waging war'. In recent weeks Ukraine's top general confirmed that a new Russian offensive near Kharkiv and Sumy had begun. Ukraine has insisted on a total, unconditional ceasefire for any serious talks to begin. And it seems that Vatican diplomacy had at least some temporary effect. On Saturday, Trump publicly doubted Putin's intentions and threatened Russia with secondary sanctions if there is no deal. The last time he mentioned sanctioning Russia was in January, but no action followed. But what if Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, just back from his fourth visit to Moscow, produces the 'doorman effect' and persuades Trump to continue his policy of appeasement? Russia is trying to lure the US with business and geopolitical deals. The most personal project is the 150-storey Trump Tower in the centre of Moscow. Through Witkoff, the Kremlin has managed to have some of its most outrageous narratives voiced in the White House. It may be just a matter of time before Trump agrees to lift all US sanctions on Russia in order to do business together – and push Europe to follow suit. This brings us to the third and final reason to distrust Trumpian diplomacy: the American president loves to exercise power for the sake of it, not to engage in policymaking with clear strategic outcomes. By sidelining Europe and Ukraine and engaging in direct talks with Russia, Trump is showing his might. He believes Europe cannot defend itself against Russia without the US at the moment. This gives him power. And he also believes Ukraine depends on US intelligence and military aid, especially Patriot missiles for air defence. Being at the high table with Putin, signing a ceasefire, is also a show of power, regardless of whether the deal lasts and brings peace and justice. With such an unreliable leader in the White House, Europe simply cannot count on the US to have its back and help defend Ukraine. It is dangerous to hope that it can win the tug of war for Trump's favour over Russia. While the talks continue, Europe must prepare for its standoff with Russia alone. Those talks may buy time, but they will not replace the urgent need for credible investment in defence to counter Russia. Orysia Lutsevych is deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia programme and head of the Ukraine forum at Chatham House
