Malaysia welcomed over 21 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, a 2.5% rise on last year. But the headline growth masks a harder story: geopolitical tensions in West Asia forced the cancellation of more than 4,000 scheduled flights, pulling seat capacity below projections, even as arrivals from Singapore, China and North America held the numbers up. With Visit Malaysia Year now extended into 2027 and a packed second half of events ahead, Nigel Wong, President of the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents, on whether the industry can recover lost ground — and how Malaysia stacks up against Thailand and Vietnam.


Image Credit: Shutterstock

Malaysia welcomed over 21 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, a 2.5% rise on last year. But the headline growth masks a harder story: geopolitical tensions in West Asia forced the cancellation of more than 4,000 scheduled flights, pulling seat capacity below projections, even as arrivals from Singapore, China and North America held the numbers up. With Visit Malaysia Year now extended into 2027 and a packed second half of events ahead, Nigel Wong, President of the Malaysian Association of Tour &amp; Travel Agents, on whether the industry can recover lost ground — and how Malaysia stacks up against Thailand and Vietnam. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Opinion and analysis of today’s international and local news that matter to Malaysians. Everything you need to know to start and plan your work.

Opinion and analysis of today&rsquo;s international and local news that matter to Malaysians. Everything you need to know to start and plan your work.

Morning Brief

Malaysia's Tourism Year: Growth On Paper, Strain Underneath

Bitcoin has surged more than 20% over the past week, crossing back above the US$80,000 mark before settling just below it. Is this simply a reactionary rebound, or something more durable amid the so-called debasement trade?

Hann Liew, Founder and CEO of Halogen Capital, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore how a coiled crypto market was ignited by policy headlines, Treasury intervention, and record spot ETF inflows.

He also examines how Bitcoin is competing with AI for capital allocation, the potential spillover from 10- and 30-year Treasury yield spikes, and what upcoming policy signals from Jackson Hole mean for digital asset valuations.


Image Credit: Shutterstock

Bitcoin has surged more than 20% over the past week, crossing back above the US$80,000 mark before settling just below it. Is this simply a reactionary rebound, or something more durable amid the so-called debasement trade?Hann Liew, Founder and CEO of Halogen Capital, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explore how a coiled crypto market was ignited by policy headlines, Treasury intervention, and record spot ETF inflows.He also examines how Bitcoin is competing with AI for capital allocation, the potential spillover from 10- and 30-year Treasury yield spikes, and what upcoming policy signals from Jackson Hole mean for digital asset valuations. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Did US Treasury Buybacks Spark Bitcoin's Surge?

Is the AI infrastructure race creating a dangerous subprime-style debt bubble? While Wall Street worries over massive CAPEX and corporate debt issuance among big tech hyperscalers, new growth engines are rapidly opening up across sovereign clouds, neo-clouds, and Southeast Asian optical hardware suppliers. Jonathan Curtis, Portfolio Manager at Franklin Equity Group, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explain why the economics of "agentic AI" and resetting legacy compute contracts support a multi-year growth runway, while exploring how potential policy signals from the Jackson Hole symposium could impact AI valuation multiples and discount rates.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Is the AI infrastructure race creating a dangerous subprime-style debt bubble? While Wall Street worries over massive CAPEX and corporate debt issuance among big tech hyperscalers, new growth engines are rapidly opening up across sovereign clouds, neo-clouds, and Southeast Asian optical hardware suppliers. Jonathan Curtis, Portfolio Manager at Franklin Equity Group, joins BFM’s Morning Brief to explain why the economics of "agentic AI" and resetting legacy compute contracts support a multi-year growth runway, while exploring how potential policy signals from the Jackson Hole symposium could impact AI valuation multiples and discount rates. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Beyond Nvidia: Neo-Clouds, Debt & The AI Capex Reality

Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters this week shows new Chinese installations on an islet near Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracels, shortly after Beijing completed the first phase of an artificial island at the reef — infrastructure analysts say could eventually support a larger military presence. Confrontations with the Philippines are growing more frequent, and Manila is responding by expanding its military drone fleet and deepening defence ties with Washington. Georgi Engelbrecht, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, on where the dispute is headed, what it means for Malaysia's quieter approach to Beijing, and whether the long-delayed Code of Conduct is going anywhere.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters this week shows new Chinese installations on an islet near Antelope Reef in the disputed Paracels, shortly after Beijing completed the first phase of an artificial island at the reef — infrastructure analysts say could eventually support a larger military presence. Confrontations with the Philippines are growing more frequent, and Manila is responding by expanding its military drone fleet and deepening defence ties with Washington. Georgi Engelbrecht, Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, on where the dispute is headed, what it means for Malaysia's quieter approach to Beijing, and whether the long-delayed Code of Conduct is going anywhere. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Malaysia's Tourism Year: Growth On Paper, Strain Underneath

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