Asia Roundup
Asian Bond Investors Look to Middle East
The investment corridor between the Middle East and Asia has been heating up, as bond investors in both regions look to each other for attractive options in a volatile world, IFR reported.
Alan Roch, head of credit markets for APAC and MENA at Credit Agricole, said about 25% of allocations for USD bonds from the Middle East go to Asian investors now, up from 10% before.
Faisal Ali, senior portfolio manager at Italian asset manager Azimut, said the increasing number of Chinese banks acting as lead managers for Middle Eastern bonds has been noticeable as well.
Merger Involving $61 Billion of Debt to Help India Credit Market
The Indian government announced that it will combine state-owned Power Finance and unit REC, which is fueling hope that financing will get a boost for energy and other key drivers of the economy, Bloomberg reported.
The merger may put more cash into the economy by allowing money managers to reinvest in new assets, as they will need to avoid hitting regulatory limits on their holdings of the combined company’s bonds.
The merger could also help ease financing for larger, more complex power projects by raising the ceiling on lending to individual projects and allowing for refinancing of larger obligations.
How Hong Kong’s Headquarters Economy Drives a Commercial Property Upswing
Hong Kong’s so-called headquarters economy, in which the city serves as a regional and global base for corporate headquarters, is spurring recovery in the commercial real estate sector, South China Morning Post reported.
The city’s battered office market showed signs of stability in 2025, with 2.1 million square feet (195,000 square metres) of net absorption for the full year, the largest annual total since 2018, according to CBRE.
Malaysia’s Surprise Growth Surge Spurs 2026 Forecast Upgrades
Malaysia’s much better-than-expected growth last quarter has prompted a flurry of analyst upgrades to their forecasts for this year, with some predicting the Southeast Asian nation will once again outperform official projections, Bloomberg reported.
Anchoring the improved outlook is domestic demand. Income growth indicators and policy measures such as cash handouts, along with tourism sector growth point to resilient consumption spending, analysts Suhaimi Ilias and Azril Rosli of Maybank said.
Indonesia Roundup
Prabowo Fury on Market Rout Shows Growing Divisions in Indonesia
As Indonesia’s stock market plummeted in late January, President Prabowo Subianto was furious. He questioned if local tycoons and their businesses were responsible, and asked if any foreigners were trying to mess with him and Indonesia, Bloomberg reported.
A few of the ministers told him that wasn’t the case, pointing the finger solely at officials with the financial regulator and stock exchange who had failed to address MSCI’s concerns about investability and market transparency. Fire them all, Prabowo retorted, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Prabowo Says Indonesia May Need An Authoritarian Touch to Fight Corruption
President Prabowo Subianto said the country might need to adopt a bit of an authoritarian approach to effectively combat corruption, Jakarta Post reported via The Star.
Prabowo made the remark at the Indonesia Economic Outlook 2026 event on 13 February that was attended by government officials, businesspeople and foreign ambassadors.
Responding to accusations that he leads in an authoritarian manner, he suggested that tougher measures might be necessary to deal with those stealing from the country, including business players who circumvent the law and bureaucrats who misuse their positions for personal gain.
Indonesia’s $1.67 Billion China-Backed Dam is in Limbo
After deadly floods and landslides swept through Sumatra last year, Indonesia’s government has moved to revoke permits blamed for damaging forests – ensnaring a flagship China-backed hydropower project and rattling investor confidence, South China Morning Post reported.
The decision, unveiled last month by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration, was welcome by environmental groups as a long-awaited show of teeth. But it has also raised questions about transparency and due process, after officials acknowledged that even senior energy regulators were not fully informed about the move.
Prabowo Wants Indonesia’s Zinc Roofs to be Replaced
President Prabowo Subianto has set a target to replace zinc roofs on homes throughout Indonesia in the next three years, CNA reported. Replacing rusty zinc roofs with tile roofs would make the landscape more orderly and clean, thereby attracting tourists, according to Prabowo.
While details of the program’s funding have not been revealed, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the roofing program would not exceed IDR 1 trillion rupiah (USD 59 million) because it only targets houses with zinc roofs and not all homes.
Actress’ LinkedIn Stunt Strikes a Nerve Among Young Indonesian Job Seekers
Actress Prilly Latuconsina’s “Open to Work” LinkedIn post caused outrage among struggling young Indonesians, leading to the cancellation of her brand collaboration, The Straits Times reported.
Indonesia faces a severe youth unemployment crisis: 21.6% of youth (aged 15-24) are not in employment, education, or training, causing widespread frustration among job seekers. This compares with just 6.1% in Singapore.