Asia Roundup
MA Financial to Shutter High-Yield Private Credit Fund After Review
MA Financial, one of the highest-profile private credit providers in Australia, is closing a high-yield fund and has warned that one of its major investments could be so underwater that it provides almost no return, AFR reported.
The closure of the $80 million MA Credit Opportunities Fund, a small part of the company’s sprawling asset management empire, comes amid intense scrutiny from the corporate regulator on valuations.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission warned that there were “pockets where valuations are lagging that economic reality.”
Philippines Hikes Rate Again to Temper War-Driven Inflation
The Philippine central bank raised its benchmark interest rate for a second consecutive meeting, and Governor Eli Remolona said another increase is possible in August with inflationary pressures still strong despite an interim US-Iran peace deal, Bloomberg reported.
The continued monetary tightening underlines the caution taken by Asia’s central banks. Bank Indonesia raised its key interest rate for a third time in about a month while the Bank of Japan increased its policy rate and pledged more hikes to quell inflation risks.
Genting Pulls Singapore Dollar Bond
Malaysian casino giant Genting pulled the plug on a planned Singapore dollar perpetual, an outcome which came as a surprise to many, IFR reported. Observers said the pricing was too tight, especially compared against its most recent dollar perps which were trading below par, according to this LinkedIn post.
Indonesia Roundup
#SellIndonesia vs #SellSingapore: Market Sell-Off Fuels Cross-Border Digital Feud
A sharp sell-off in Indonesian assets has taken on a political tone online, with some social media users alleging, without evidence, that Singapore stands to gain from a “Sell Indonesia” narrative around Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, South China Morning Post reported.
The rupiah has slipped to multiple record lows and weakened about 8% this year, crossing a key level and trading above 18,000 to the US dollar last week, while Jakarta’s stock market has lost about a third of its value since the start of the year.
MSCI Downgrades Indonesia’s Information Flow Criterion on Transparency Concerns
MSCI downgraded Indonesia’s information flow criterion to negative, as it reiterated concerns around transparency in shareholding structures and signs of coordinated trading in the country’s stock market, Reuters reported via CNA.
The index provider said the downgrade reflected opacity in ownership data and market activity, which undermines proper price formation and constrains global investors’ ability to assess the true free float of listed companies.
4 Former VC Execs Sentenced to Prison in TaniHub Corruption Case
Four former executives of Indonesian state-backed VC firms have been sentenced to prison in connection with a corruption case surrounding investments in agritech startup TaniHub, Tech in Asia reported.
Prosecutors alleged that the defendants approved the investments without performing adequate due diligence and relied heavily on information provided by the company.
Authorities said the MDI Ventures investment resulted in state losses of around USD 20 million, while the BRI Ventures investment led to losses of approximately USD 5 million.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.