A Chinese tourist, Liu Changjian, faced charges of attempted cheating in Singapore for allegedly attempting to stage his own kidnapping to recoup gambling debts. 

Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, the federal minister of higher education, has announced the formation of a special committee to assess and review the higher learning education system in Malaysia.

The Kelantan legislative assembly has given approval to reintroduce 16 provisions of the Kelantan Shariah Criminal Code (1) Enactment 2019, which were annulled by the Federal Court on February 9.

A major financial fraud trial has begun in Vietnam, involving Truong My Lan, chair of the prominent developer Van Thinh Phat, and 85 other defendants. Lan is accused of embezzling $12.5 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade, making it the country's largest financial fraud case.

The Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) on the financial statements of federal agencies for the year 2022, tabled in Parliament, has outlined 16 recommendations for corrective actions and improvements.

Singapore is set to implement changes to its foreign work pass system, including an increase in the Employment Pass (EP) qualifying monthly salary for new applicants and renewals.

The retirement age in Singapore will increase from 63 to 64 on July 1, 2026, providing longer statutory protection for workers who wish to continue working. Simultaneously, the re-employment age will also rise from 68 to 69. 

Singapore, a strong advocate for the open multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organisation, is set to participate in the biannual Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi from February 26 to 29.

Ant Group, backed by Jack Ma, has reportedly outbid Citadel Securities for Credit Suisse's investment bank venture in China.

Singapore resident Shamoon Rafiq has pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of millions of dollars in a scheme where he posed as representatives from a billionaire family’s investment office. 

German food delivery giant Delivery Hero has announced the failure of negotiations for the sale of its foodpanda business in several Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. 

Sunway Property, a Malaysian property developer, has set a sales target of RM2.6 billion for 2024 after achieving sales of RM2.4 billion in 2023, exceeding its target of RM2.3 billion. 

Singapore-based e-commerce platform Carousell has been fined SGD 58,000 (USD 42,400) by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) for two separate data breaches that occurred in 2022. 

In the recent Certificate of Entitlement (COE) tender in Singapore, there has been a notable fluctuation in prices across different vehicle categories.

MKH Oil Palm (East Kalimantan) Bhd (MKHOP), a subsidiary of MKH Bhd, has signed an underwriting agreement with M&A Securities and Kenanga Investment Bank for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia. 

BharatGPT, a consortium backed by Reliance Industries and several Indian engineering schools, is set to launch its first ChatGPT-style service in March.

Singapore's proposal to purchase two plots of land belonging to Malaysia that will be affected by the redevelopment of the Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP) is still under deliberation by Malaysian authorities, according to Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Dr Azfar Mohamad Mustafar.

The Federal Court in Putrajaya has reserved its decision on the appeal brought by a 37-year-old woman seeking to overturn a Court of Appeal ruling that reinstated her Muslim status.

Vietnam's General Department of Taxation (GDT) is seeking to amend regulations capping the allowable deduction for loan interest expenses at 30% of earnings. This move comes in response to businesses facing difficulties from high interest rates in 2022-2023.

The introduction of a tiered clawback rate for developers' additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) in Singapore is being viewed as a positive move for Malaysian property companies with ongoing developments in the city-state, namely Sunway Bhd and IOI Properties Group Bhd (IOIProp).