Asia Roundup
Foreign Investors Threaten Legal Action Against Vietnam Over Renewables
Foreign investors may take legal action if Vietnam does not fully pay electricity tariffs agreed with multiple wind and solar projects, according to a document signed by five chambers of commerce seen by Reuters.
The dispute began last year when Vietnam cut previously agreed subsidised prices for electricity from some solar and wind farms, citing irregularities. The move comes as Vietnam’s energy sector struggles with higher prices and risks of shortages linked to the conflict in Iran.
Lengthy negotiations with affected investors, who run projects with a combined capacity of 12 gigawatts, failed to produce a compromise, prompting the chambers of commerce in Vietnam from the European Union, Britain, Japan, South Korea and Thailand to send a joint letter to the government on Thursday.
If payment obligations are not met, electricity producers “may seek to enforce remedies, including pursuing dispute resolution in Vietnam or other jurisdictions,” said the document dated 12 March.
India’s Top Private Credit Borrower Plans $1 Billion Bond Debut
India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Group aims to raise up to USD 1 billion through its first dollar bond sale as it works to refinance local-currency debt maturing in April, Bloomberg reported.
The group needs to refinance about USD 2.5 billion of rupee-denominated debt at its unit Goswami Infratech that falls due on 30 April. In addition to the planned dollar bond sale, the remaining amount is expected to be funded through local debt issuance.
The borrowing is partly backed by SP Group’s 18.4% stake in Tata Sons, which controls India’s Tata Group of over 30 companies.
Malaysia’s 1MDB Liquidators to Pursue Workarounds After Singapore Court Dismisses Bid to Sue Standard Chartered
Liquidators recovering assets for Malaysia’s scandal-hit sovereign wealth fund 1MDB said they will pursue “possible workarounds” after a Singapore court upheld the dismissal of their bid to sue Standard Chartered Bank and BSI Bank for alleged fraud, Reuters reported.
Statutory claims will be pursued in addition to other separate and ongoing claims, the liquidators said in a statement following the Singapore Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold a lower tribunal ruling.
Indonesia Roundup
Indonesia Says Scenarios Show 3% Budget Deficit Cap Hard to Keep
Indonesia is facing an uphill battle to keep its budget deficit within the legal limit of 3% of gross domestic product as Middle East tensions push oil prices far beyond initial assumptions, Bloomberg reported.
The government has modelled three scenarios involving fluctuating oil prices and rupiah exchange rates, all of which show the deficit cap would be hard to preserve without spending cuts that risk slowing growth, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said during a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta.
“With these various scenarios, a 3% deficit is difficult to maintain unless we are willing to cut spending and cut growth,” he said.
Prabowo Calls Critics of Indonesia’s Economy ‘Unpatriotic’
President Prabowo Subianto criticized economic commentators who have issued gloomy forecasts for Indonesia’s economy amid rising global geopolitical tensions linked to the ongoing conflict in Iran, Jakarta Globe reported.
Prabowo said some analysts were narrow-minded and failed to recognize what he described as the country’s strong economic performance. “There are certain commentators who seem unhappy when the government succeeds in implementing its programs,” he said. “In my view, that attitude is narrow and not patriotic.”
The president added that he possessed “intelligence data” suggesting that some of the analysts behind negative assessments of Indonesia’s economy had ulterior motives and were paid to issue critical commentary.
Indonesia Has ‘Proven Recipe’ to Handle $100 Oil, Finance Minister Says
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa dismissed predictions that Indonesia’s economy could collapse due to surging global oil prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in Iran, Jakarta Globe reported.
In a briefing to President Prabowo Subianto during a cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta, Purbaya argued that historical evidence shows Indonesia has repeatedly managed to sustain growth during periods of energy price shocks.