Asia Roundup
Kazakhstan SWF Readies Panda Bond
Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna is preparing to debut in the Panda bond market in the coming weeks, IFR reported.
The three-year transaction will be benchmark size, or up to CNY 3 billion (USD 432 million), and is likely to price after the Lunar New Year holiday which takes place in mid-February.
The issuer received board approval for the deal last August, has established a CNY 10 billion program and plans to be a repeat borrower in the Chinese market.
Nvidia-Backed AI Startup Gets $10 Billion in Blackstone-Led Loan
Australian AI startup Firmus Technologies secured a USD 10 billion loan from a group including Blackstone-led funds to boost its data center rollout in one of the country’s largest private credit financings, Bloomberg reported.
The funding, which also came from tech investment firm Coatue Capital, will pay for the next phase of Firmus’ data center expansion and will be boosted by Nvidia’s chips, according to a company announcement on Monday.
Singapore’s Compulsory Winding-Up Applications Rise to 15-Year High in 2025
The number of compulsory winding-up applications and the number of companies ordered to liquidate reached a 15-year high in 2025, The Business Times reported, citing data from Singapore’s Ministry of Law.
Five-year data from the ministry revealed that, as at November 2025, the number of bankruptcy orders made was also the highest since 2020.
Indonesia Roundup
Global Funds Piled Into Indonesian Bonds at the Wrong Time
Global investors swarmed into Indonesian debt just before the market turned against them, Bloomberg reported.
Foreign funds snapped up a net USD 304 million of Indonesian government bonds on Thursday, the most since August, according to government data released over the weekend.
But the influx from funds came just before Moody’s cut Indonesia’s rating outlook to negative on concerns of policy uncertainty and weakening governance under President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
Indonesia to Hold Follow-Up Meeting with MSCI This Week
Indonesia will update MSCI with progress it has made for capital market reforms at a meeting this week, Reuters reported via CNA.
About USD 120 billion in market value has been erased from Indonesia’s capital market since MSCI late last month flagged concerns about ownership and transparency in stocks.
Indonesia Weighs Raising Coal Domestic Market Obligation Above 30%
Indonesia is considering raising the share of coal that miners must sell domestically to more than 30%, up from the current 25%, Jakarta Globe reported.
Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung said the domestic market obligation (DMO) would be adjusted upward if production quota are reduced.