🌏 Around the Region
Indonesia
An Indonesian court found former education minister Nadiem Makarim guilty of corruption in a laptop procurement program, sentencing him to 10 years in prison, according to media reports. The Central Jakarta District Court also ordered the Gojek founder to pay IDR 809 billion (USD 48 million) in restitution.
“The verdict is in, and it’s as bad as I feared: 10 years in prison, plus a further 5 years and 6 months if I can’t pay the Rp809 billion restitution. I don’t have that money – never have, never touched it – and the prosecutors and judges knew this. So that’s a sentence of 15 and a half years,” Nadiem wrote in his LinkedIn post.
“I sat in front of the judges. None of them could look me in the eye. They knew I wasn’t guilty,” he said. “Of course I will keep fighting: for my kids, my family, and the Indonesia I still love.”
Nadiem’s court verdict today came after four former executives of Indonesian state-owned venture capital firms were convicted of corruption and jailed between two and five years for investing in an agricultural startup that went bust.
One of the jailed executives is Donald Wihardja, the former CEO of investment firm MDI Ventures. His sister, Cynthia Wihardja, wrote in a LinkedIn post that this case goes beyond the individuals involved and is about “whether venture capital as a sector can function in Indonesia at all.”
“Investor confidence does not survive in places where a difficult call, made in good faith, through proper process, with no personal gain, can still end in a prison sentence,” she said.
“And think about what the next generation of Indonesian professionals is learning right now. Don’t lead. Don’t decide. Don’t take risks. Because failure will be criminalised even when you have done your best. That is not how you build an innovation economy. It is how you kill one before it matures.”
Thailand
The National Credit Bureau warned that small loans are reshaping Thailand’s 13.6 trillion baht (USD 409.7 billion) household debt, as borrowers hold an average of four debt accounts each, The Nation reported on 30 June 2026.
“Thailand’s household debt challenge is no longer only about how much people owe, but also about the changing structure of borrowing,” according to the report. “As large loans become harder to obtain, smaller consumer loans are spreading more quickly, creating new repayment risks across a wider base of borrowers.”
I wrote in Acrostics Asia’s Thailand Radar on 16 June 2026 that the country should be on the watchlist of lenders and restructuring professionals as economic stress is building up.
Thailand has been weighed down by a combination of rising energy costs, falling tourist arrivals and political volatility, increasing refinancing risks particularly for smaller borrowers.
Philippines
Del Monte Pacific is back in the black, but remains in net capital deficit of USD 589 million, The Business Times reported.
Acrostics Asia wrote on 5 June 2026 that Del Monte Pacific’s USD 1.2 billion restructuring plan was designed to rebuild its capital structure around its cash-generating Philippine subsidiary.
Singapore
Power bills for households in Singapore will hit a record high next quarter as the impact of the US-Iran war feeds through, Bloomberg reported, citing grid operator SP Group’s statement.
Blackstone-backed data center operator AirTrunk is close to filing confidentially for an initial public offering of a real estate investment trust in Singapore, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
🤝🏻 People to Watch
Latham & Watkins has advised Vingroup on a USD 255 million private credit financing for its hospitality arm Vinpearl, according to the law firm’s press release.
The financing provided by SeaTown Holdings International, Oman Investment Authority, and Vietnam Oman Investment will support Vinpearl’s long-term expansion plans.
The Latham team was led by Singapore partner Sharon Lau and Hong Kong counsel Edward Tang, and associates Jonathan Wah, Heidi Lui, and Hoi Lam (Karen Wong).
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.