Asia Roundup
Vietnamese EV Maker VinFast’s Move to Shift $7 billion in Debt Raises Red Flags
Over the last decade, Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast Auto has burned through billions of dollars on an aggressive expansion. Now, a plan to sell its two main factories and shift $7 billion worth of debt off its books has sparked concerns about governance at Pham Nhat Vuong’s Vingroup, Reuters reported.
Under a multi-party deal unveiled last week, VinFast will sell its Vietnamese manufacturing business for VND 13.3 trillion ($506 million) to a group of investors who will also assume roughly $6.9 billion in debt. The company said this will allow it to adopt an “asset-light” model focused on research and product development rather than manufacturing.
Manus Weighs Raising $1 Billion to Unwind Meta Takeover
The co-founders of Manus are exploring options to fulfill Beijing’s demand to unwind a controversial takeover by Meta Platforms, including raising about $1 billion from external investors to buy back the Chinese-founded AI operation, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Manus’s three founders are in discussions about a round of funding at a valuation that would at least match the $2 billion Meta paid to acquire the agentic AI outfit. The founders may chip in with their own money to finance the rest of the transaction.
Varde Partners Aims to Raise $1 Billion Asia Private Credit Fund
Varde Partners is looking to launch a $1 billion private debt fund focused on Asia, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The vehicle aims to deploy capital across Asia, with a focus on India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. This would be Varde’s first Asian fund focused solely on private credit.
Indonesia Roundup
Prabowo’s Export Control Plan Sparks Market Selloff
The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) plunged 3.5% on Thursday as investors dumped commodity-linked shares after President Prabowo Subianto moved to tighten state control over strategic natural resource exports, Jakarta Globe reported.
Trading volume reached more than 35.2 billion shares with turnover totaling IDR 17.9 trillion ($1 billion), while trading frequency exceeded 2.1 million transactions. Losers heavily outpaced gainers, with 663 stocks declining against 88 advancing and 69 unchanged.
Danantara Picks Luke Thomas Mahony as DSI President Director
Danantara Indonesia CEO Rosan Roeslani said Luke Thomas Mahony has been appointed as the President Director of Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia (DSI), a new government entity tasked with managing the export of a range of commodities, Tempo reported.
“For now, it’s Luke Thomas,” the Danantara CEO reportedly said. Mahony is an Australian citizen who previously served as a director at Vale Indonesia, according to Tempo.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.