Indonesia’s finance ministry official announced on Friday that the country will extend its duty vacation plan for some investments and add new bonuses to help offset the effect of the country’s 15-percent global minimum corporate tax rate. One of the 140 nations that approved a landmark 2021 agreement that allowsContinue Reading
In addition to strengthening diplomatic ties with the Philippines and Singapore, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s planned vacation to Southeast Asia for the week of February has a goal to strengthen South Korea’s position there.
Yoon’s attend to the Philippines is especially important, marking the first state visit by a South Korean president in 13 times. The visit aims to deepen their previously solid partnership in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The main goal is to strengthen financial relations. Yoon’s meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is expected to yield several agreements, including memoranda of understanding ( MOUs ) aimed at fostering cooperation in energy, supply chains, maritime affairs and various industries.
This coincides with South Korea’s wider desire to secure its financial future by forming alliances in sectors crucial to addressing global supply chain problems. South Korea can benefit from diversifying its strength and raw material sources thanks to the Philippines ‘ swiftly expanding economy and abundance of natural resources.
Also, the visit emphasizes the significance of private-sector engagement. Yoon will participate in the Korea-Business Philippines Forum, which is anticipated to get around 40 Asian companies. This business-focused view demonstrates South Korea’s devotion to expanding its economic relations with the Philippines beyond traditional political programmes.
The website is expected to create opportunities for Asian enterprises to discover new ventures in the Philippines, particularly in technology, system, and natural power.
Singapore, the most advanced sector in Southeast Asia, is a vital prevent on Yoon’s political trip. This attend coincides with Singapore’s upcoming 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which highlights the significance of their long-standing relationship.
President Yoon’s discussions with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong may center on improving and expanding diplomatic assistance in response to changing global dynamics as Singapore continues to be a key player in world trade and technical development.
Technology is expected to be a significant area of collaboration. South Korea, a global leader in advanced manufacturing and digital innovation, stands to gain a lot from strengthening ties with Singapore, which is renowned for its progress in developing smart cities and digital economies.
During Yoon’s visit, treaties and memoranda of understanding will be signed to formalize this cooperation, paving the way for both countries to explore new opportunities in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the digital economy.
Additionally, Yoon’s participation in the Singapore Lecture series will offer a vital platform for outlining his vision for regional security and unification.
For the first time, he will make a presentation about the” August 15 Unification Doctrine” of his administration, which envisions a unified Korean Peninsula contributing to regional harmony and stability.
In light of the rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, Yoon’s address is anticipated to address the strategic implications of unification. Yoon hopes to position South Korea as a leader in fostering peace and prosperity in the region by encouraging more international cooperation and solidarity.
Yoon’s participation at the Korea-ASEAN Summit in Laos will be his most significant and significant diplomatic tour. South Korea and ASEAN are anticipated to formally establish their relationship in this regard as a long-term strategic partnership.
Building on more than three decades of cooperation, South Korea’s relationship with ASEAN is significantly improved by this milestone. The elevation of this relationship reflects ASEAN’s growing importance as a strategic partner for South Korea, particularly in the realms of economic cooperation, regional security, and cultural exchange.
The market for South Korean goods and services is rapidly expanding thanks to ASEAN, which consists of ten member states and has a combined population of over 650 million. Its strategic location within the Indo-Pacific strengthens its position as a crucial partner for South Korea in efforts to uphold regional stability and security.
The comprehensive strategic partnership focuses on deepening cooperation in green growth, digital transformation, and sustainable development, aiming to promote mutually beneficial growth in both regions.
South Korea’s participation in the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, which features leaders from China and Japan, underscores the value of trilateral cooperation in addressing regional issues.
Yoon’s expected summit with Japan’s likely next prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, could signal a new phase in South Korea-Japan relations. Both nations share concerns about regional security, which could encourage greater collaboration despite the country’s historically contentious relationship and grievances that have not been resolved.
South Korea hopes to play a more proactive role in shaping the Indo-Pacific’s security landscape by engaging with Japan and China.
South Korea’s commitment to boosting its involvement in the region is reflected in the formalization of a comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN while strengthening bilateral ties with nations like Singapore and the Philippines. However, to fully leverage this enhanced partnership, South Korea must broaden its focus beyond economic trade and agreements.
South Korea needs to play a more active role in regional security issues, particularly those involving the South China Sea, where several ASEAN members are currently at odds with China over their territorial disputes. South Korea could act as a mediator by utilizing its diplomatic contacts with both ASEAN and China to promote dialogue and conflict resolution.
South Korea should also invest in ASEAN nations ‘ educational and cultural exchanges, as these initiatives can help establish long-term relationships that go beyond government agreements. By nurturing people-to-people ties, South Korea can ensure that its partnerships with ASEAN are resilient and sustainable.
Former Indonesian Foreign Ministry diplomat Simon Hutagalung The views expressed in this article are his own.
We want to see more of the things that make world more productive and profitable fill the online storage. If it is harmful, what’s the place? We’ll outlaw it. Our microscopic, small and medium enterprises may be destroyed if left unregulated”, he continued.  ,
Temu had originally tried to record to work in Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small Business.  ,  ,
According to Mr. Fiki Satari, Special Staff for Creative Economy Empowerment at the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, it has attempted to register with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights since September 2022 for trademark right.  ,
Because a company already had a label under the name, its registration was refused.  ,
After Temu’s program was presented at the 2024 E-commerce Expo on September 24 and 25, in Greater Jakarta, the company’s presentation became a topic of conversation.  ,
Temu, which is available in about 60 states, entered Southeast Asia last season, beginning with the Philippines last August and Malaysia last September. In July of this year, it expanded to Thailand.
Indonesia banned TikTok Shop from the market in October of last year, citing the need to safeguard customer information and smaller businesses. But the short-form movie giant bought a 75 per cent interest in Indonesian e-commerce person Tokopedia in January, marking its re-entry into the business.  ,
Read the entire article around in Bahasa Indonesia.
Singapore does establish a second logistics playground at Changi Airport starting in 2030 to increase the size of the country’s local air cargo hub and strengthen its standing there. This will increase Changi Airport’s overall cargo handling capacity from , 3 million tonnes per year currently , to 5.4 million tonnes , perContinue Reading
As demand for artificial intelligence ( AI ) and cloud services rises, Oracle has made plans to invest more than$ 6.5 billion to establish a public cloud region in Malsyais. The upcoming cloud region, Oracle’s twelfth in Asia Pacific ( Apac ) will enable Oracle customers and partners in Malaysia to leverage AI infrastructure and services and migrate mission-critical workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure , ( OCI).
The planned public cloud location may enable Malaysian firms modernise their applications, travel all load to the fog, and develop with data, analytics, and AI, according to a company media release.  ,
Customers will have access to OCI Generative AI Agents , with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG ) capabilities, accelerated computing and generative AI services to help keep sovereign AI models within country borders, and the OCI Supercluster, a large AI supercomputer , in the cloud, the release said. In addition, over1 50 additional services may be made accessible.
” We warmly welcome Oracle’s$ 6.5 billion investment in Malaysia, which represents yet another expansion of their 36-year footprint in Malaysia”, said YB senator Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, minister of investment, trade and industry ( MITI), Malaysia.
The minister added:” This funding will enable Indonesian institutions, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, with modern and cutting-edge AI and sky technologies to enhance their worldwide competitiveness. It also represents a major step in the direction of the optimistic 3 000 intelligent factory goal of the New Industrial Master Plan by 2030. The establishment of a common cloud area in Malaysia by Oracle highlights Malaysia’s facilities readiness and its growing reputation as a top South Asian destination for online investments.
” Malaysia offers special growth prospects for companies looking to accelerate their growth with the latest electronic systems”, said Garrett Ilg, executive vice president and general director, Japan &, Asia Pacific, Oracle.  ,
Growing desire
The move by Oracle comes amid growing demand for AI and data centres in Asia Pacific ( Apac ), with Blackstone’s$ 24 billion recent deal for Sydney-headquartered AirTrunk one such example.  ,
” Rapidly growing need for AI services prompts calls for more data centres that keep large amounts of data and computing power to teach and build AI models”, said Franco Chiam, vice president, fog, data center and future electric infrastructure, Apac, IDC.
Chiam added:” According to IDC FutureScape’ The Network and Cloud Impact 2024 Predictions’, Malaysia’s public cloud services market is expected to grow by 27.2 % Growth from 2022 to 2027. The future Oracle sky location in Malaysia, so, signals the country’s ability to become a gateway for technical innovation and growth in Southeast Asia”.
Some Nvidia AI equipment companies will be available to clients via Oracle, including Nvidia AI Enterprise, Nvidia Omniverse, and Nvidia DGX Cloud.
Dennis Ang, senior director, enterprise business, ( Asean and ANZ region ), Nvidia, said:” With the new Oracle Cloud Malaysia Region, customers in Malaysia will gain local access to Nvidia’s accelerated, secure, and scalable platform for end-to-end AI development and deployment on OCI, helping accelerate the development of generative AI applications”.
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The Cold War, which began with the US and the Soviet Union working together to defeat Nazi Germany in World War II, came about as a result of NATO’s establishment in 1949. NATO’s second secretary-general Hastings Ismay reportedly said that NATO was created to “keep the Soviet Union away, the Americans in, and the Germans down”.
As part of Washington’s isolation policy, NATO worked not just to support its member states, but also to examine the spread of communism.
Not everyone was convinced. European President Charles de Gaulle withdrawn France from NATO’s integrated military command in 1966 because he desired more freedom from the US. Emmanuel Macron, the present French president, sees a European military that is American-uniform, despite Paris ‘ return to NATO in 2009.
Many people believed that NATO’s anti-communist vision was superfluous after the end of the Cold War with the political upheavals in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the Soviet Union’s breakdown in 1991.
Strangely, NATO reinvented itself to support democracy and stability despite the presence of significant Russian threats, including military activities in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa.
Despite this, many in Europe also question whether the US can be trusted to fulfill its NATO agreements, especially if Donald Trump is elected president once more after the November US election. The beach country of Japan, Japan, and the United Kingdom continue to be the most fervent supporters of NATO.
The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is another concern looming in the minds of businesses.
“If you are going to apply AI across several functions, the question has become ‘do you need the headcount?'” said Savills’ Mr Cheong.
“This is still being figured out, so many businesses are still waiting for a decision from their head offices. In the meantime, they don’t have the budget to move and fit out a new space.”
This uncertainty explains why in recent time, businesses with expiring leases have chosen to renew at their current location – but for a smaller space and a shorter time, according to Mr Cheong.
Doing so means paying higher rents per square foot as landlords are asking for a premium for shorter leases, he added.
Still, office tenants typically find this a better deal given the difficulty in finding a similarly priced Grade A office space in CBD, and the rising costs involved in refurbishing a new space.
“This is why short-term renewals have been the main activity we saw in 2023 and early 2024, and that is why rents went up marginally, not because of overwhelming new leases,” Mr Cheong said.
Meanwhile, hybrid work arrangements have continued after the pandemic, presenting another key factor for firms to reassess their office spaces.
Even though some have appeared to buck the trend – such as Amazon which has mandated its employees to return to office five days a week – experts still think hybrid work will remain the new normal.
“If more companies implement policies requiring employees to return to the office, the demand for office space could increase. However, this shift would take time as leases are typically signed for three to five years and existing space allocations are fixed,” said Ms Tricia Song, head of research for Southeast Asia at CBRE Singapore.
“In Singapore, where real estate costs are high, some companies might continue to favour hybrid work arrangements or adopt collaborative and flexible office designs to accommodate the rise in in-office employees.”
That said, the market is still seeing pockets of demand.
Knight Frank noted that Meta’s space at South Beach Tower has “broadly been backfilled by smaller occupiers”.
These smaller businesses have been among the most active in seeking out new office spaces, with “modest demand” coming from firms such as those from North Asia that are establishing new offices in Singapore, the consultancy added.
JLL also observed that a “significant portion” of Meta’s space has been re-let or is currently in advanced negotiations.
Demand is coming from existing occupants looking to expand within the same building, and others relocating from elsewhere in the CBD. These are firms from the professional services and tech industries, said Dr Chua.
A consortium led by previate equity player Affinity Equity Partners has sold its 100% stake in Malaysia’s Island Hospital to IHH Healthcare (IHH), a Kuala Lumpur-headquartered international healthcare group.
The 100% sale at a value of RM4.2 billion ($966 million) includes Affinity’s 78% stake, with the remainder of the shares belonging to the founder & CEO, Mark Wee, and senior doctors of the hospital.
Founded in 1996, Island Hospital (pictured) is a leading 600-bed healthcare provider in Penang, Malaysia, with 119 specialists across 40 medical and surgical specialties. Island Hospital attracts around one in three inbound foreign patients to Malaysia, according to a statement from Affinity. Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing parts of the Malaysian private healthcare market.
Under Affinity’s ownership, Island Hospital expanded its original 300-bed facility, through the development of the adjoining Peel Wing during the pandemic. Additional land has been acquired with approvals secured for future development, a media announcement said.
Since Affinity bought the hospital in 2015 for an undisclosed amount, Island Hospital expanded its medical and surgical offerings through recruitment and investments in medical infrastructure, resulting in a tripling of foreign patient volumes. During this period, profitability more than tripled, driven by mofd complex cases, and higher operating efficiency from the doubling of bed capacity, according to the announcement.
Island Hospital also invested in its core specialties of orthopaedics, gastroenterology and general surgery, and established new centres of excellence in cardiology and cancer.
Rippledot Capital Advisors acted as the sole financial advisor to the Affinity-led consortium on this transaction.
“Island Hospital’s evolution into a leading healthcare institution that positively impacts the community, stakeholders, and serves as a beacon of medical excellence in Malaysia and beyond . . . I’m confident that Island Hospital will continue to thrive under the IHH platform,” said Tang Kok Yew, founding chairman and managing partner, Affinity Equity Partners, in a statement.
Affinity Equity Partners is one of the largest independent private equity firms in Asia Pacific (Apac), investing in Asia Private Equity since 1998. Affinity has $14 billion of assets and funds under management, and is currently investing out of Fund V, a $6 billion fund. Affinity’s investment focus includes Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Greater China.
For more FinanceAsia M&A deals click here.
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Mining services firm Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama (BUMA), the principal subsidiary of Indonesia Stock Exchange-listed Delta Dunia Makmur, has completed the successful issuance of the BUMA II 2024 Rupiah bonds (BUMA II 2024 bonds) with a total value of Rp1 trillion ($65.7 million).
The bonds were oversubscribed by 1.4 times and were issued in three series: Series A with a nominal value of Rp251 billion at a fixed interest rate of 7.25% per annum, maturing in 370 calendar days; Series B with a nominal value of Rp332.71 billion at a fixed interest rate of 9.25% per annum, maturing in three years; Series C with a nominal value of Rp416.26 billion at a fixed interest rate of 9.75% per annum, maturing in five years.
A “wide range” of Indonesian pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, asset managers, and banks invested in the offering, a BUMA spokesperson told FinanceAsia.
Indra Kanoena, president director of BUMA, commented, “The strong market response to BUMA II 2024 bond offering reinforces confidence in BUMA’s strategic direction, robust cash flow management, and credit profile. This bonds issuance allows us to further diversify and solidify our financial foundation, driving growth in our business while strengthening our position as a leading mining service provider and advancing toward becoming a diversified global mining company.”
The proceeds will be used to manage its debt maturity profile and fuel future growth. BUMA has operations in Indonesia and Australia, and in June this year it bought the Atlantic Carbon Group in Pennsylvania for around $122 million, and subsequently BUMA became the leading producer of anthracite coal in the US.
42.29% of the proceeds, amounting to Rp422.9 billion, is being allocated to repay debt under BUMA I 2023 Series A, which matures on January 8, 2025. Additionally, 28.86% of the funds will be used for capital expenditure to purchase heavy equipment, enhancing BUMA’s production capacity and operational efficiency, the media release said.
The remaining 28.85% will support BUMA’s ongoing operational activities, enhancing the company’s ability to manage cash flows and control costs effectively.
The issuance has further diversified the company’s financing strategy, which consists of both USD and IDR bonds, conventional and Shariah bank loans, and leasing financing schemes. The strategy strengthens the company’s financial resilience, enhances its ability to navigate market volatility, broadens its financial base, placing the company in a better position for future growth, according to the media release.
The BUMA II 2024 bonds received an A+ rating from Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo) and Fitch Ratings. BNI Sekuritas and Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesiawere the joint lead underwriters for the bonds’ issuance.
Delta Dunia Group also owns two new subsidiaries: Bukit Teknologi Digital (BTech), offering mining technology solutions, and BISA Ruang Nuswantara (BIRU), a social entity dedicated to education, vocational schools, and fostering a circular economy. In July 2024, the group established Katalis Investama Mandiri to support its long-term strategy in environmental, social and governance (ESG).
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Bankers are assessing how these dangers are playing out for their risks and how the so-called” passive” credit risk may be growing as a result of the recent severe storms that have ravaged Asia Pacific ( Apac ).
In early September, Super Typhoon Yagi caused billions of dollars of financial losses and cost hundreds of lives across Hainan, Guandong, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, and to a lesser degree Hong Kong. Banks need to realize how climate change makes lending more prone to risk because the insurance gap is also significant throughout the area. Banks are currently protected by ( re )insurance against the most extreme weather events, but if that becomes more expensive or difficult to access, the physical risks of climate change become more directly transmitted to the banks.
Tom Mortlock, weather threat expert guide – analytics, Apac, Aon, told FinanceAsia:” Financial institutions and the stream of credit is key to economic development across Asia, but so too is the insurance that sits behind this, that de-risks the lending. Sadly, Asia’s plan distance is one of the largest in the world, with only 14 % of economic costs covered by insurance in 2023, making banking in areas with high climate risk a potentially dangerous task.
Why is climate change important for financial institutions? is a report that Aon has just released.
Mortlock remarked,” Climate change is increasing the underlying risk profile in many locations and over time scales that banks are lending on. Low insurance coverage and high climate risk, combined with low insurance coverage and high climate risk, can pose a” silent” credit risk on lenders ‘ books, which has so far gone unnoticed.
Analytical analysis might be essential to weighing the risks. We are now starting to see a variety of financial institutions use traditional insurance-based analytics to understand their climate risk exposure and incorporate this into their loan origination and risk appetite decisions, according to Mortlock.  ,
Although extreme weather is almost unavoidable in every region, some Asian cities are much better suited to extreme weather than others thanks to investments in drainage systems.
The Climate Risk Group’s Head of Corporate and Financing Sector Engagement, Philip Tapsall, head of the Cross-Department Initiative, stated:” Hong Kong is better prepared than other cities and regions for extreme weather events that are expected to worsen with climate change, particularly typhoons and flooding.”
However, banks operating in Hong Kong are significantly more exposed to less developed regions like south-eastern China and Southeast Asia ( SEA ), where climate change raises financial risks to balance sheets due to direct losses and economic effects.
Exposures can be caused by disruptions to trade, construction delays in supply chains, or direct financial losses caused by bank office shut downs, etc.  ,
In order to help banks assess their physical risks to climate change in the city earlier this year, XDI collaborated with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and KPMG.  ,
Regulation rising
Aon’s Mortlock also noted a rise in the region’s incoming regulatory issues.
He noted that” we have a raft of climate-related regulation coming in across Asian jurisdictions where businesses will have to start making their climate related risks known to the market.” In fact, according to some analysis we conducted, over 10,000 listed companies will be required to disclose climate information by 2027 for the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Mortlock, “at the same time, regulators are beginning to conduct their own climate stress tests on the financial services sector to make sure there is enough money in the system to withstand climate shocks both now and in the future,”  ,
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