Asia Roundup
EY Points to Suspiciously Timed Gupta Transactions at Failed Smelter
Companies controlled by Sanjeev Gupta were moving money out of the Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in Tasmania even after the corporate regulator moved to wind up the business, with administrators raising suspicions about the timing of transactions, AFR reported.
In one instance, Liberty Bell Bay paid Gupta’s GFG Alliance about $1.5 million two weeks after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission began its attempts at removing management, and just three days before lenders moved in and installed administrators.
SoftBank’s $40 Billion Loan for OpenAI Stake Gets 21 New Lenders
SoftBank Group’s $40 billion bridge loan for its investment in US tech giant OpenAI has attracted a new group of 21 lenders in a broader syndication phase, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The group, which adds to the number of financial institutions already on the deal, has been allocated around $7 billion of the facility in total. Out of that, First Abu Dhabi Bank, GIC and Standard Chartered Bank have each taken a nearly $1 billion share. The rest of the amount was allocated to some European, Japanese and Taiwanese banks.
Singapore Working with Banks on Blended Finance Vehicle for Climate Adaptation
The Singapore government is exploring with private financial institutions to set up a blended finance vehicle to fund climate adaptation projects in Southeast Asia, The Business Times reported, citing Singapore’s ambassador for climate action Ravi Menon.
It will be similar to an existing blended finance initiative under the Monetary Authority of Singapore, known as the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (Fast-P), that is looking to raise USD 5 billion through a mix of private, public and philanthropic capital to finance energy transition projects.
Indonesia Roundup
Analysts’ Reaction to Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo Stepping Down
Bank Indonesia’s Perry Warjiyo stepped down as governor, a surprise resignation that analysts said was likely to rattle investors amid lingering concerns around central bank independence, Reuters reported. Destry Damayanti, a senior deputy governor at BI, has been appointed as interim governor.
Angus Mackintosh, ASEAN Specialist at Aletheia Capital, told Reuters:
“Perry Warjiyo’s resignation will likely be taken negatively by the market, given he was a steady pair of hands with a good track record. A lot will depend on who takes over, with Destry, a senior deputy governor, stepping in initially. If Prabowo’s nephew (Thomas Djiwandono), as a deputy governor steps in, the market will regard this with suspicion, given this is a crucial technocratic post and BI should remain independent.”
Indonesia’s New E-Commerce Tax Mechanism
Indonesia will require major e-commerce platforms to collect income tax directly from millions of online sellers from 1 August, as the government steps up efforts to bring its rapidly expanding digital economy into the formal tax system, The Business Times reported.
The regulation, issued on 1 July, initially applies to four major marketplaces – Tokopedia, Shopee, Blibli and Lazada – and shifts part of the tax collection responsibility from individual merchants to the platforms themselves.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that connects the dots across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.