Asia Roundup
Executive at China Bad-Debt Manager Taken Away by Authorities
A senior executive at one of China’s largest state-owned bad-debt managers has been taken away by the authorities, Caixin reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Yang Yi, a vice president at China Citic Financial Asset Management, has been unreachable for more than two weeks, the sources told Caixin in mid-May.
Citic AMC, formerly China Huarong Asset Management, is one of China’s four state-owned AMCs created to deal with bad loans and financial risks after the Asian financial crisis. Huarong was brought under Citic Group after a corruption scandal centered on former chairman Lai Xiaomin erupted in 2018.
Chinese Firm Seeks $2.6 Billion Loan for Hong Kong Data Center
Chinese data center operator Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group is seeking a loan of around HK$20 billion ($2.6 billion) to fund what would be Hong Kong’s largest computing facility, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Range Intelligent is in early talks with banks on the one-year loan, which could take the form of a syndicated facility or multiple bilateral financings, to support the development of the data center project in Hong Kong’s northern New Territories.
Vingroup’s 1,000% Surge Tests Limits of Vietnam’s Market Boom
Up 1,000% from the start of 2025 to its peak just two weeks ago, Vingroup’s rally has made it the largest company within frontier markets and one of the most expensive across Asia, Bloomberg reported.
Its reach has grown so big that it now accounts for about one-third of the benchmark VN Index. While valuations have retreated from this year’s high, the stock still trades at 70 times forward earnings, compared to 12 times for the broader market.
For earnings to keep pace, Vingroup is relying heavily on Vinhomes. In the first quarter, the property arm posted net income of 25.6 trillion dong ($972 million), roughly ten times higher than a year earlier, compared with the group’s consolidated profit of 7.3 trillion dong.
Those gains are increasingly needed to offset losses at US-listed EV maker VinFast Auto, as well as rising debt across the board, part of which is being funneled into the carmaker.
Indonesia Roundup
‘Sell Indonesia’ Sweeps Trading Desks as Prabowo Tightens Grip
Global investors are rapidly losing confidence in Indonesia as the nation’s stocks tumble at the fastest pace worldwide and its currency sinks to all-time lows, Bloomberg reported.
Just five months after hitting a record high, the benchmark stock index has tumbled 38% to become the worst performer this year among more than 90 global gauges tracked by Bloomberg. The rupiah has weakened about 7.5%, while foreign investors have pulled billions of dollars from Indonesian bonds.
Acrostics Asia wrote on 6 February 2026:
📒 Quick Take: Indonesia’s Spinning Plates
Former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati wasn’t perfect, but she likely had the ‘systems thinking’ that would have allowed her to foresee how changing individual components risked triggering a cascade effect on other interconnected parts.
It’s like keeping multiple plates spinning in the air and trying not to drop any of them – yet the president’s decision to roll out the free school lunch program was akin to adding a heavy-duty pot to an already intricate juggling operation.
Danantara Plans Low-Yield Bond as Investors Shun Indonesia
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara is planning to sell local-currency bonds that will pay interest below market rates at a time when global investors are rapidly losing confidence in the nation’s markets, Bloomberg reported.
The proposed debt offering is reminiscent of fundraising last year and still at a preliminary stage. The bond would carry a coupon of 3% and be open to local and foreign investors.
The planned local-currency debt by the fund comes hot on the heels of a mandate to banks earlier this week for a potential global dollar bond sale.
Acrostics Asia wrote on 2 June 2026:
“Danantara has been exploring a potential issuance of offshore bonds for a while, but the response from investors would really depend on the timing, a buyside friend said, noting the recent negative headlines surrounding the centralization of Indonesia’s commodity exports under the fund.”
Chinese Investors Behind Indonesia’s Nickel Boom Scout Alternatives as Policy Changes Bite
Chinese companies that helped build Indonesia’s nickel industry into the world’s dominant producer are looking as far afield as Africa for longer-term alternatives as rising policy pressure tests the investment model that reshaped global supply, Reuters reported.
Tsingshan Group is considering a major development in Madagascar, the country’s mines ministry said, while Lygend Resources is looking at a project in Tanzania as well as restarting the Koniambo operation in New Caledonia, according to industry sources.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.