AI demand lifts MLCC profits — and Chinese rivals - The Korea Herald

• Asian markets retreated as a broad selloff in AI-related stocks overshadowed optimism regarding the situation in Iran. • South Korea's KOSPI experienced the steepest decline, sinking 4%, while China's CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite fell 0.6% and 0.5% respectively.

• RHB Bank has appointed Abdul Sani to a leadership role as part of a series of business wins and executive moves for the week of August 3, 2026. • Sani brings extensive industry experience, including nine years as the head of marketing for HSBC in Malaysia and 14 years at Unilever across Malaysia and Thailand.

• Malaysia is rapidly emerging as a primary growth standout in Asia by positioning itself as a strategic hub for artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing. • The country's growth is highlighted by a shift in investment trends, exemplified by a manufacturer that pivoted from plans to build a factory in the Middle East to establishing operations in Malaysia.

• Asian stock markets tumbled, with the KOSPI extending losses and the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite falling 0.6% and 0.5% respectively. • AI-related shares dragged down regional markets, though Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.1% as Alibaba surged over 5% following the launch of a new flagship AI model.

• The European Commission has launched a call for tenders to establish up to seven AI Gigafactories across the European Union to expand computing capacity. • Eighteen member states, including Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, have signed a joint procurement agreement with the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU).

• Malaysia is emerging as a regional growth leader as AI and semiconductor demand drive significant foreign direct investment. • A Chinese manufacturer is now conducting a feasibility study for a chemical plant in Sarawak, shifting its plans from the Middle East to Malaysia.

• American AI startups are racing to develop open-weight models to compete with the rapid rise of similar technology coming from China. • This push for domestic alternatives comes at a challenging time as venture capital interest in AI startups is reportedly waning.

• Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund suffered a massive 67% loss in July following a "chip wipeout" that impacted leveraged AI investments. • The financial collapse forced Aschenbrenner to remove all leverage and sell the majority of the fund's public holdings to Citadel.

• Leopold Aschenbrenner, a 25-year-old investor, has been forced to unwind most of his hedge fund's public equity positions following a sharp market reversal. • The fund, Situational Awareness, had focused its $16 billion strategy on the continuous growth of AI infrastructure.

• A surge of new personal consumer electronics, smart home appliances, and electronic toys has recently entered regional markets across Asia. • In Malaysia, local hardware developers have launched new smart home management hubs priced at $120.

• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on Sunday that Nagpur has the potential to be the source of India's next major breakthrough in artificial intelligence (AI). • He urged universities to quickly update their teaching and research frameworks to focus on AI, quantum computing, and semiconductor technologies.