Latest news with #KenangaInvestmentBank
BusinessToday
26-05-2025
- Business
- BusinessToday
Kenanga Revises Ringgit Forecast To 4.08 Amid Accelerating Global De-Dollarisation
Kenanga Investment Bank has revised its year-end 2025 forecast for the Malaysian ringgit to 4.08 against the US dollar, citing accelerating structural shifts in the global monetary landscape and rising momentum in de-dollarisation efforts worldwide. In its latest Economic Viewpoint report, the investment house highlighted that the dominance of the US dollar as the world's primary reserve currency is steadily eroding, as central banks increasingly diversify into alternative assets such as gold and even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). This shift, once considered a long-term trend, is now materialising more rapidly due to geopolitical risks, unsustainable US fiscal deficits, and growing global reliance on non-USD trade settlement systems. 'The USD's supremacy is no longer absolute. Central banks are diversifying away from USD reserves, gold demand is surging, and new payment systems are circumventing US financial infrastructure,' the report noted. Ringgit's Re-Emergence in a New Currency Order According to Kenanga, Malaysia is well-positioned to benefit from these global realignments. The ringgit, which has traded within various psychological bands over the years, is now set to re-enter a stronger trading range last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, buoyed by Malaysia's steady current account surplus, trade resilience, and a stable policy backdrop. It noted that the ringgit hovered in the 4.50–5.00/USD range for most of 2023 and 2024 but is likely to appreciate into the 3.50–4.00/USD band by mid-2026, if reform momentum is sustained. This is not a tactical shift,' the report stressed. 'It reflects a reconfiguration of capital flows, remapped reserve strategies, and a growing fiscal discount on US assets.' Regional Trade and Digital Currency Systems Gaining Ground Malaysia's alignment with regional de-dollarisation trends was also noted, with Bank Negara Malaysia pushing for increased trade settlement in local currencies, particularly with China, Indonesia, and Thailand. Projects like the cross-border digital currency platform 'Project mBridge' are expected to reduce reliance on the US dollar while increasing monetary autonomy in Asia. Kenanga highlighted that conducting 20% of trade in local currencies is no longer aspirational but now viewed as a strategic necessity. Competing with Gold and Bitcoin Despite these positives, the ringgit's upward potential now faces competition from alternative assets. Kenanga warned that capital which once flowed into emerging market currencies is now being split three ways—with gold and BTC becoming increasingly attractive hedges against inflation and systemic risk. Gold purchases by central banks are at record highs, and BTC's inclusion in institutional portfolios following US ETF approvals is reshaping capital allocation. 'The ringgit now competes not just with the USD, but with gold, BTC, and digital alternatives,' Kenanga stated. 'Malaysia must differentiate not just through macro stability, but through reform-driven credibility, ESG alignment, and financial innovation.' Outlook: Malaysia Could Emerge as Regional Safe Haven Kenanga concluded that the ringgit's recent gains are not merely a product of USD weakness but reflect genuine investor interest in credible, reform-oriented markets like Malaysia. If the US continues down a fiscally unsustainable path while Malaysia presses ahead with its National Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030) and structural reforms, the ringgit could be revalued as a stable proxy in Asia's emerging financial architecture. Kenanga has also revised its forecast for the ringgit to strengthen further to 3.95/USD by end-2026. 'Malaysia's fundamentals are improving at the margin,' the report concluded. 'In a world where the USD hegemony is fading, the ringgit could quietly emerge as a relative winner.' This bullish long-term outlook hinges on Malaysia maintaining policy credibility and accelerating reform implementation—especially in boosting productivity, supply chain integration, and attracting quality investments. Related
BusinessToday
22-05-2025
- Business
- BusinessToday
April CPI Reading Points To OPR Hold For 2025: Kenanga
Malaysia's headline inflation rate remained unchanged at 1.4% year-on-year in April, marking the lowest level in 50 months, according to Kenanga Investment Bank's Consumer Price Index (CPI) analysis of today's report released by DOSM. The figure was in line with both market consensus and house expectations. Although annual inflation held steady, price pressures inched up month-on-month (MoM) by 0.15%, reversing a flat reading in March. The uptick was driven by increased costs in housing, miscellaneous goods and communication services. These gains were partially offset by a slight monthly decline in food prices, which slipped by 0.06% after rising 0.06% in the previous month. Core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food and fuel, rose modestly to 2.0% year-on-year (MoM: 0.23%), up from 1.9% in March. This suggests resilient underlying demand in the domestic economy despite the subdued headline figure. Price Pressures Shift Beneath the Surface Housing costs rose slightly to 2.0% (March: 1.9%), underpinned by a notable rise in repair and security costs for dwellings, which surged 6.7%. rose slightly to 2.0% (March: 1.9%), underpinned by a notable rise in repair and security costs for dwellings, which surged 6.7%. Miscellaneous goods and services posted a 4.1% increase (March: 3.6%), led by higher prices for jewellery and watches (up 19.6%). posted a 4.1% increase (March: 3.6%), led by higher prices for jewellery and watches (up 19.6%). Communication deflation eased to -4.5% (March: -5.4%) as mobile service charges rose 2.4% MoM. eased to -4.5% (March: -5.4%) as mobile service charges rose 2.4% MoM. Food and beverage inflation moderated to 2.3% (March: 2.5%)—a six-month low—largely due to the Aidilfitri 2025 Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme. Prices of fresh meat and fish dropped by 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. moderated to 2.3% (March: 2.5%)—a six-month low—largely due to the Aidilfitri 2025 Festive Season Maximum Price Control Scheme. Prices of fresh meat and fish dropped by 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. Global Inflation Trends Mixed Inflation remained uneven across global markets: United States saw inflation ease to 2.3%, the lowest since early 2021. However, core inflation stayed high at 2.8%, leaving the Federal Reserve cautious despite growing speculation over rate cuts. saw inflation ease to 2.3%, the lowest since early 2021. However, core inflation stayed high at 2.8%, leaving the Federal Reserve cautious despite growing speculation over rate cuts. United Kingdom experienced a spike to 3.5%, a 15-month high, due to Easter-related airfare and utility hikes—dampening expectations of a Bank of England rate cut in August. experienced a spike to 3.5%, a 15-month high, due to Easter-related airfare and utility hikes—dampening expectations of a Bank of England rate cut in August. China remained in deflationary territory for the third month at -0.1%, although MoM prices rose slightly by 0.1% on stronger holiday spending. Demand concerns linger amid weak retail sales. remained in deflationary territory for the third month at -0.1%, although MoM prices rose slightly by 0.1% on stronger holiday spending. Demand concerns linger amid weak retail sales. Outlook: Inflation Seen at 2.7% in 2025 Kenanga maintains its 2025 inflation forecast at 2.7% (2024: 1.8%), with the outlook highly contingent on the government's July fuel subsidy rationalisation plan. Other key domestic drivers include a revised electricity tariff structure under RP4 and a potential hike in nationwide water tariffs. While some market watchers expect a possible interest rate cut by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in the fourth quarter of 2025, Kenanga sees the central bank holding steady. The Overnight Policy Rate has remained unchanged since mid-2023, and with inflation under control and growth stable, BNM is likely to maintain its current policy stance unless GDP growth slips below 3.5%. 'Delaying necessary reforms to avoid inflation spikes may hurt economic credibility in the long run,' the report concluded, highlighting the balancing act between price stability, fiscal discipline, and sustainable growth. Related
BusinessToday
21-05-2025
- Business
- BusinessToday
Kenanga Revises Malaysia's FY GDP Downward To 4.3%
Malaysia's exports surged 16.4% year-on-year in April, marking a four-month high and far exceeding expectations, driven by robust demand for electrical and electronic (E&E) products and stronger shipments to major trade partners such as the US and Singapore, according to a trade report by Kenanga Investment Bank (KIBB). The export growth sharply beat market forecasts (KIBB: 7.2%, consensus: 7.8%) and followed a 6.8% rise in March. However, on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, exports dipped 2.7% following a strong 16.1% jump in March, indicating a cooling in momentum. E&E Products and US Demand Power Growth Exports were buoyed by a 35.4% surge in E&E products, the fastest pace since September 2022, amid a broader global tech upcycle driven by artificial intelligence and new tech product launches. By destination, shipments to the US jumped 45.6%, while exports to Singapore rose 26.1%. There were also rebounds in exports to Japan (6.8%) and China (2.1%), though growth to the EU moderated to 5.8%. By sector, manufacturing exports soared 19.0%, the highest in 31 months. However, this was partially offset by weaker mining exports (-1.3%) and a slower pace in agriculture exports (3.5%). Notably, liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports rebounded 6.7% after four consecutive months of contraction. Imports Rebound Sharply Imports surprised to the upside, rebounding 20.0% year-on-year after a 2.9% decline in March, smashing expectations (KIBB and consensus: 3.3%). The rebound was led by a 46.0% surge in re-exports and a 12.9% recovery in retained imports. Capital goods imports skyrocketed 114.1%, offsetting continued weakness in intermediate (-1.7%) and consumption goods (0.7%). On a monthly basis, imports rose 14.1%, a sharp acceleration from 6.5% in March, defying typical seasonal patterns. Trade Surplus Shrinks Sharply Despite the export gains, Malaysia's trade surplus narrowed drastically to RM5.2 billion, far below KIBB's forecast of RM19.0 billion and the consensus estimate of RM14.7 billion. This was due to the significant rise in imports outpacing export growth. Total trade surged 18.2% year-on-year, the highest in eight months, though MoM growth slowed to 4.8% from March's 11.6%. Outlook: Short-Term Boost, Long-Term Risks Despite the strong April figures, Kenanga has revised Malaysia's 2025 export growth forecast downward to 3.1% (from 5.0%), citing mounting risks in the second half of the year. Key drivers include: A front-loading of exports in Q2 as businesses move to avoid potential US tariffs. Ongoing strength in the global tech sector, particularly in AI and semiconductor-related products. Possible trade diversion amid continued US-China decoupling. However, risks abound, particularly from US policy uncertainty tied to the 90-day pause in President Trump's reciprocal tariff measures, which may end in July. The potential reimposition of tariffs could weigh on global trade, particularly in 2H25. A sluggish recovery in China also adds downside risk. GDP Forecast Cut Following weaker-than-expected Q1 GDP growth (4.4%), Kenanga has revised Malaysia's full-year 2025 GDP forecast to 4.3% from 4.8%. Still, the bank expects robust Q2 trade activity, as shown in April's numbers, to provide some buffer against anticipated headwinds in the latter half of the year. 'April's trade performance reflects strong global demand and pre-tariff frontloading. But sustainability remains in question as geopolitical and macroeconomic risks mount,' the report noted. Related
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy. But experts warn they come at a price.
JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia (AP) — Winson Lau has always had contingency plans. But he wasn't prepared for data centers. Lau relies on water and electricity to operate his thriving export business in Malaysia's Johor province. His contingency plans in the event of an outage involve an intricate system of purifying wastewater through friendly bacteria and an alarm system to quickly switch to backup power. But these measures can't compete with the gigantic, power-guzzling and thirsty data centers being built in Johor. The province is on track to have at least 1.6 gigawatts of data centers at any given moment from nearly nothing in 2019, making it the fastest-growing data center market in Southeast Asia, according to a report published in April. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Data centers are large, windowless buildings filled with racks of computers that need lots of electricity. To prevent overheating, they rely on energy-intensive air conditioning systems using pumped water. Increasingly used by tech companies for running artificial intelligence systems, the power demand from future facilities in Malaysia may rise to over 5 gigawatts by 2035, according to researchers at Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank. This is more than half of Malaysia's entire renewable capacity in 2023. Over 95% of the energy available to Malaysia in 2022 was from fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. The country is now fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas globally. And with planned renewable projects, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in September that the country was 'confident of a surplus of energy' to fuel large projects and keep exporting. But Lau doesn't fancy the chances of his homegrown business competing against the foreign-funded behemoths for energy. To survive, he is moving to Thailand and already scouting potential locations for a new fish farm. 'Big data center is coming and there is shortage of power," he said. "It'll be crazy.' Costs versus benefits Malaysia is betting that potential economic growth from data centers justifies the risk. Once touted as an Asian tiger on the cusp of becoming rich, its industries shrunk in the late 1990s after the Asian financial crisis. It has since languished in the middle-income trap. Data centers, the government hopes, will modernize its economy and indirectly create thousands of high-paying jobs. But experts worry that Malaysia, and others like Vietnam, Indonesia and India vying for billion-dollar investments from tech giants, may be overstating data centers' transformative capabilities that also come at a price: Data centers gobble up land, water and electricity while creating far fewer jobs than they promise. Most data centers provide 30 to 50 permanent jobs while the larger ones create 200 jobs at most, according to a report by the American nonprofit Good Jobs First. Add to this the rapid increase in power and water use and some experts like Sofia Scasserra, who researches digital economies at the Amsterdam-based think tank Transnational Institute, said that tech companies exploiting resources in poorer countries while extracting data from their populations to get rich is akin to 'digital colonialism.' She compared data extraction to silver mining in Bolivia, which enriched colonial Spain but left nothing behind for Latin America. 'They are extracting data in the same way. Data doesn't even leave (behind) taxes,' she said. Filling the void For now, artificial intelligence is driving the hunger for even more data centers, with tech companies seeking out bigger — and cheaper — sites worldwide as a part of a 'global strategy,' said Rangu Salgame, chairman and CEO of Singapore's Princeton Digital Group, which is building a 170-megawatt site in Johor. Data centers larger than 40 megawatt typically need land the size of seven football fields — about enough power for 36,000 American homes, according to data center service provider Stream Data Centers. That's costly to build in rich nations like the U.S., which over time has built more data centers than any other country but where land comes at a high price. Enter Malaysia, with its inexpensive land, excess power capacity and tax incentives. The country was the fastest growing data center market in Asia Pacific in the first half of 2024, according to global real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. This makes Malaysia the eighth-largest data center market in terms of operations and the fifth-largest behind China, India, Japan and Australia when accounting for projects already in the pipeline. Globally Malaysia ranks 14th in terms of operational capacity — still smaller than Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin — but it is on track to be among the top 10 markets in five to seven years, according to Pritesh Swamy, who heads research on data centers in Asia for the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. 'We are talking about a region that really grew at a pace that nowhere in the world has seen,' Salgame said. Next door to Malaysia is Singapore, which paused the construction of new data centers in 2019. The moratorium was over concerns that the energy-guzzling infrastructure was straining the tiny country's limited resources. In 2019, data centers consumed 7% of the total electricity in the city-state that imports both power and water while aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. They have been trying to build data centers sustainably since 2022, when the moratorium ended. In the meantime, Malaysia has stepped in to fill the void, attracting investments of over $31 billion — three times the investments for 2023 — in the first 10 months of 2024, according to research by real estate firm Knight Frank. Johor already has 22 mostly foreign data centers spanning over 21 hectares, according to the research firm Baxtel. That's the equivalent of nearly 40 football fields, although not all of the data centers are operational. Concerns over power and water shortages Salgame said that he hoped data centers could accelerate clean energy growth and experts like Putra Adhiguna of the Jakarta-based think tank Energy Shift Institute agreed that this could happen, but warned that the sheer volume of unforeseen, future demand complicates the transition. 'Add data centers on top of that, it just becomes much more challenging,' he said. Tropical Malaysia is warmer than the countries that were initially preferred by data centers, including Ireland, and would require more water and power for cooling, said Alex de Vries, the founder of Digiconomist, a research company studying the unintended consequences of digital trends. He said that these companies are moving to new countries after their promises of economic growth were found to be 'empty." And while new solar or wind farms can be built faster than other forms of energy, data centers need a lot of electricity from the get-go. 'These big tech companies are trying to distract you from the really simple math,' he said. Malaysia acknowledges that the energy demand from data centers is 'substantial' but believes that Johor's rise as a 'data center powerhouse' will make it a 'key player in Southeast Asia's digital ecosystem,' said Malaysian Investment, Trade and Industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz in an email. He added that Malaysia was writing efficiency guidelines for data centers and has a policy to let them buy clean energy directly from producers. ______ AP writer Eileen Ng contributed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island contributed to this report.. ______ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Malaysia is betting on data centers to boost its economy. But experts warn they come at a price.
JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia (AP) — Winson Lau has always had contingency plans. But he wasn't prepared for data centers. Lau relies on water and electricity to operate his thriving export business in Malaysia's Johor province, where he raises a kaleidoscope of tropical fish in rows of aquariums, including albino fish with red spots that can fetch up to $10,000 from collectors. His contingency plans in the event of an outage involve an intricate system of purifying wastewater through friendly bacteria and an alarm system to quickly switch to backup power. But these measures can't compete with the gigantic, power-guzzling and thirsty data centers being built in Johor. The province is on track to have at least 1.6 gigawatts of data centers at any given moment from nearly nothing in 2019, making it the fastest-growing data center market in Southeast Asia, according to a report published in April. Data centers are large, windowless buildings filled with racks of computers that need lots of electricity. To prevent overheating, they rely on energy-intensive air conditioning systems using pumped water. Increasingly used by tech companies for running artificial intelligence systems, the power demand from future facilities in Malaysia may rise to over 5 gigawatts by 2035, according to researchers at Malaysia's Kenanga Investment Bank. This is more than half of Malaysia's entire renewable capacity in 2023. Over 95% of the energy available to Malaysia in 2022 was from fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. The country is now fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas globally. And with planned renewable projects, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in September that the country was 'confident of a surplus of energy' to fuel large projects and keep exporting. But Lau doesn't fancy the chances of his homegrown business competing against the foreign-funded behemoths for energy. Even without data centers, Malaysia is susceptible to power interruptions because of storms, including one that lasted 30 minutes last year and killed 300,000 fish, costing Lau over $1 million. He worries that data centers would result in longer outages. To survive, he is moving to Thailand and already scouting potential locations for a new fish farm. 'Big data center is coming and there is shortage of power," he said. "It'll be crazy.' Costs versus benefits Malaysia is betting that potential economic growth from data centers justifies the risk. Once touted as an Asian tiger on the cusp of becoming rich, its industries shrunk in the late 1990s after the Asian financial crisis. It has since languished in the middle-income trap. Data centers, the government hopes, will modernize its economy and indirectly create thousands of high-paying jobs. But experts worry that Malaysia, and others like Vietnam, Indonesia and India vying for billion-dollar investments from tech giants, may be overstating data centers' transformative capabilities that also come at a price: Data centers gobble up land, water and electricity while creating far fewer jobs than they promise. Most data centers provide 30 to 50 permanent jobs while the larger ones create 200 jobs at most, according to a report by the American nonprofit Good Jobs First. Add to this the rapid increase in power and water use and some experts like Sofia Scasserra, who researches digital economies at the Amsterdam-based think tank Transnational Institute, said that tech companies exploiting resources in poorer countries while extracting data from their populations to get rich is akin to 'digital colonialism.' She compared data extraction to silver mining in Bolivia, which enriched colonial Spain but left nothing behind for Latin America. 'They are extracting data in the same way. Data doesn't even leave (behind) taxes,' she said. Indeed, only a small portion of Malaysia's data center capacity is actually for Malaysian users. Through a network of submarine cables that fans out into the world, they service East Asia, China and Europe. And the data centers themselves are run by foreign companies like America's Equinix and Microsoft as well as Chinese competitor GDS Holdings that works with tech giants like Alibaba. These data centers are also on the front lines of AI competition between the U.S. and China. Shortly before he left office, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration proposed new rules that would limit exports of advanced AI chips made by U.S. companies like Nvidia, part of a strategy to deprive China and other U.S. adversaries from gaining access to AI technology through data centers in places likes Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Although it's unclear if the Trump administration will retain the policy, which hasn't yet taken effect, GDS Holdings saw its stock drop more than 18% on the day of the announcement. Filling the void For now, artificial intelligence is driving the hunger for even more data centers, with tech companies seeking out bigger — and cheaper — sites worldwide as a part of a 'global strategy,' said Rangu Salgame, chairman and CEO of Singapore's Princeton Digital Group, which is building a 170-megawatt site in Johor. Data centers larger than 40 megawatt typically need land the size of seven football fields — about enough power for 36,000 American homes, according to data center service provider Stream Data Centers. That's costly to build in rich nations like the U.S., which over time has built more data centers than any other country but where land comes at a high price. Enter Malaysia, with its inexpensive land, excess power capacity and tax incentives. The country was the fastest growing data center market in Asia Pacific in the first half of 2024, according to global real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. This makes Malaysia the eighth-largest data center market in terms of operations and the fifth-largest behind China, India, Japan and Australia when accounting for projects already in the pipeline. Globally Malaysia ranks 14th in terms of operational capacity — still smaller than Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin — but it is on track to be among the top 10 markets in five to seven years, according to Pritesh Swamy, who heads research on data centers in Asia for the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. 'We are talking about a region that really grew at a pace that nowhere in the world has seen,' Salgame said. Next door to Malaysia is Singapore, which paused the construction of new data centers in 2019. The moratorium was over concerns that the energy-guzzling infrastructure was straining the tiny country's limited resources. In 2019, data centers consumed 7% of the total electricity in the city-state that imports both power and water while aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. They have been trying to build data centers sustainably since 2022, when the moratorium ended. In the meantime, Malaysia has stepped in to fill the void, attracting investments of over $31 billion — three times the investments for 2023 — in the first 10 months of 2024, according to research by real estate firm Knight Frank. Johor already has 22 mostly foreign data centers spanning over 21 hectares, according to the research firm Baxtel. That's the equivalent of nearly 40 football fields, although not all of the data centers are operational. Concerns over power and water shortages The data centers that are running look anonymous from the outside. But they can be identified by the tell-tale signs of barbed wire fences, CCTV cameras and patrolling security guards. Elsewhere, a thicket of cranes and workers operating construction machinery is transforming the landscape in the sleepy province. Salgame said that he hoped data centers could accelerate clean energy growth and experts like Putra Adhiguna of the Jakarta-based think tank Energy Shift Institute agreed that this could happen, but warned that the sheer volume of unforeseen, future demand complicates the transition. 'Add data centers on top of that, it just becomes much more challenging,' he said. Tropical Malaysia is warmer than the countries that were initially preferred by data centers, including Ireland, and would require more water and power for cooling, said Alex de Vries, the founder of Digiconomist, a research company studying the unintended consequences of digital trends. He said that these companies are moving to new countries after their promises of economic growth were found to be 'empty." And while new solar or wind farms can be built faster than other forms of energy, data centers need a lot of electricity from the get-go. 'These big tech companies are trying to distract you from the really simple math,' he said. Malaysia acknowledges that the energy demand from data centers is 'substantial' but believes that Johor's rise as a 'data center powerhouse' will make it a 'key player in Southeast Asia's digital ecosystem,' said Malaysian Investment, Trade and Industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz in an email. He added that Malaysia was writing efficiency guidelines for data centers and has a policy to let them buy clean energy directly from producers. But concerns are rising among residents about potential water shortages in the future — echoing the concerns of other developing countries like Chile. Malaysia, like much of Southeast Asia, is at risk of extreme weather including drought, according to a 2022 U.N. climate change report. Francis Hutchinson, an analyst at Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said that Johor has faced recent disruptions and new stressors, like a growing population and water parks to boost tourism, could exacerbate the crisis. 'Water, more than power, is a potential issue,' he said. ______ AP writer Eileen Ng contributed from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island contributed to this report.. ______ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Aniruddha Ghosal And Vincent Thian, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
