Asia Roundup
Over Half of China’s Provinces Cut Revenue Targets
More than half of the Chinese mainland’s provincial-level regions have lowered their fiscal revenue growth targets for this year, underscoring mounting pressure on local governments as the property slump drags on and industrial prices stay weak, Caixin reported.
Budget reports from the mainland’s 31 provincial-level regions show 18 have reduced their general public budget (GPB) revenue growth targets from last year, while three kept them largely unchanged. Only 10 raised their goals.
India’s Bond Bankers Push Regulator for More Funding Flexibility
Indian bankers that specialize in selling corporate debt securities are asking the financial regulator for permission to borrow funds against bonds, Bloomberg reported.
The intermediaries known as merchant bankers in India say the move would give them more financial flexibility to underwrite debt issuances. Currently, the amount they can underwrite is limited by their net worth, and they are barred from tapping the bond market for this activity.
In recent meetings with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, merchant bankers also sought approval to raise funds via banks, non-banking financiers and the capital markets.
Qantas Shares Fall as Returns From Overseas Flights Shrink
Shares in Qantas Airways dropped the most in almost a year after earnings from its international unit unexpectedly fell and the company flagged rising costs from wages and aircraft maintenance, Bloomberg reported.
The airline blamed “elevated engineering and industry costs” and “higher wages across some operational workgroups” at Qantas International. Across the broader Qantas group, which includes budget airline Jetstar, international underlying profit dropped 6% to AUD 463 million.
The escalation in maintenance costs at Qantas reflects an airline industry fighting for workshop space to keep aging aircraft operational. Older planes are flying for longer as Boeing and Airbus struggle to deliver sufficient volumes of new planes to meet demand.
Wilmar International Discloses “Liquidity Issues” at Pakistan Associate
Singapore-based agribusiness group Wilmar International said that “unresolved issues” that were recently discovered in the accounts of its Pakistan associated company had led to “liquidity issues and raised doubts on its ability to continue as a going concern.”
The group said it had made provisions for losses related to the Pakistan associated company, without specifying the amount, according to its filing to the Singapore Exchange.
Wilmar also disclosed that it had made compensation payments and provisions on the group’s Indonesia operations.
Indonesia Roundup
S&P Flags Risks to Indonesia Rating, Weeks After Moody’s Warning
S&P Global Ratings warned that rising fiscal pressures, particularly higher debt-servicing costs, are increasing downside risks for Indonesia’s sovereign credit profile and could lead to negative rating action, Bloomberg reported.
Interest payments “very likely” exceeded the key threshold of 15% of government revenue last year, Rain Yin, a sovereign analyst at S&P Global Ratings, said in an online webinar about the Asia Pacific region. If they stay above the threshold on a sustained basis, that could prompt a more negative view on the rating, she said.
After a Year, Indonesia’s Danantara Under Pressure to Prove Governance and Returns
Indonesia’s sovereign investment vehicle Danantara has completed its first year with institutional structures largely in place, but analysts say its long-term credibility will depend on execution, transparency and measurable returns rather than announcements, The Business Times reported.
Indonesia May Struggle to Deliver on New US Farm Import Promises
Indonesia could struggle to meet its pledge for a significant ramp-up of US agricultural imports under its new trade deal, traders said, with the burden of vastly increasing US soybean meal purchases falling on a state agency newly tasked to buy animal feed, Reuters reported via Business Times.
Indonesia bought 216,257 tons of US soybean meal in 2025 – which is up by around 50% from a year earlier but falls far short of the 3.8 million tons it has committed to buy.
Because the purchase commitment is so high, it could direct Berdikari, the country’s state-owned animal feed importer, to buy larger volumes to please the US – even if prices are higher than those offered by competing suppliers, said a Singapore-based grain trader.
Asia’s Biggest Banks Line Up Bids for HSBC Indonesia Assets
Some of Asia’s biggest banks are working on bids for HSBC’s retail assets in Indonesia, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The banks include Singapore-based DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank, as well as Malaysia’s CIMB Group Holdings and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
HSBC has been working with advisers on a potential sale of its consumer business in Indonesia. A transaction may value the assets at more than USD 200 million.