Malaysia's advance Q3 GDP growth eases to 5.3% as manufacturing expands
Malaysia's Q3 advance GDP estimate shows slower annual growth than in Q2, while manufacturing accelerated. DOSM expects to release fuller preliminary figures on 18 November.
Southeast Asia Connect
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Named and dated developments across Southeast Asia.
YYForce launches Yolara AI staffing platform in Singapore
The core web and mobile platform is commercially available for frontline staffing. YYForce is introducing its voice agent through phased deployments with selected Singapore enterprise clients.
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose nearly 70% in September
Enterprise Singapore's figures released on 16 October show a sharp rise in September non-oil domestic exports. A large increase in structures of ships and boats drove the non-electronics result, while disk media, integrated circuits and PCs lifted electronics exports.
CelcomDigi pays RM381.75m after accepting Malaysia spectrum award terms
The operator accepted 2600 MHz and 900 MHz award conditions, adding to its spectrum position while network capacity and coverage gains remain plans.
Payoneer Checkout becomes available to eligible Singapore online merchants
The Stripe-powered service lets qualifying businesses accept international card and digital-wallet payments through their own online stores.
Indonesia inaugurates Cilamaya LPG plant producing about 160 tonnes a day
The Karawang facility processes gas from Pertamina Hulu, while the energy ministry estimates its output is equivalent to 10–15% of LPG needs in West Java and Jakarta.
UPS opens $80m-plus hub at Clark airport, expanding its Philippine cargo network
The 30,000-square-metre facility adds sorting and specialist shipment capacity as UPS changes service on more than 1,100 trade lanes.
HeiTech Padu accepts RM19.87m extension to maintain Malaysia's immigration application
The next MyIMMs maintenance term runs to February 2029, extending contractual cover for an application used in expatriate pass processing.
Grab and OpenAI target more than 3,000 Thai drivers, riders and merchants with AI training
Local modules target more than 3,000 drivers, riders and merchants. The figure is an enrolment ambition, not a completed-training count.
Antares secures over US$50m at second close of deep-tech fund
The Singapore investor has committed capital above US$50 million and has invested about US$27 million across nine companies. US$100 million is its final fundraising target.
Anthropic opens Singapore office and signs AI safety MOU
The local team gives enterprise and public-sector users a Singapore contact point. A government agreement sets out cooperation on model evaluation, safety and skills.
NEU Battery Materials raises US$7.6m to scale Singapore lithium-recycling plant
The newly commissioned plant has stated capacity for 1,300 tonnes of battery material a year, and the capital will support production ramp-up.