🌏 Around the Region
Indonesia
In April last year, I flagged that capital had flowed out of Indonesia partly due to fears of being caught on the wrong side of the power consolidation after President Prabowo Subianto took office.
Some tycoons were unsure if there was a grand design to this operation, making it difficult to plan around it, a source close to the tycoons said at the time.
I also wrote on 1 February 2026 that some conglomerates had refrained from committing to major domestic investments partly because of worries about asset seizures and other forms of state crackdown.
The pressure on the tycoons to step up their national service may create a chilling effect that restricts flows to the broader economy, according to Acrostics Asia’s report.
And on 23 May 2026, I noted that wealthy Indonesians already accumulated significant assets or investments in neighbouring Singapore, so they have been diversifying to offshore destinations such as the Middle East, the UK, mainland China and Hong Kong.
While these tycoons are hedging their exposure for safety reasons, they are unlikely to completely abandon business in Indonesia as some of them have built up scale that’s hard to replicate elsewhere, according to bankers familiar with the matter.
The Financial Times reported on 7 July 2026 that the relationship between the tycoons and the presidential palace was the worst they have ever been under any president. Some of the tycoons were delaying investments or considering deploying capital overseas.
Vietnam
A couple of financial advisors were monitoring Vingroup because of the Vietnamese conglomerate’s large-scale ambitions and perceived pockets of weakness.
Vingroup’s electric vehicle (EV) arm, VinFast Auto, has burned through billions of dollars on an aggressive expansion over the last decade, Reuters reported on 21 May 2026. A plan to sell its two main factories and shift USD 7 billion worth of debt off its books has sparked concerns about governance, according to the news agency.
The conglomerate is also reportedly accelerating construction in Hanoi of what it says will be the world’s largest stadium.
But Vingroup – which was founded by well-connected Vietnamese billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong – seems to have retained access to both onshore and offshore financing.
In April 2026, Vingroup raised USD 350 million from a sale of five-year bonds that were listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, according to its statement.
Vietnam’s central bank opened a special financing channel for 18 projects by local conglomerates including Vingroup, allowing banks to exclude new lending to those schemes from their annual credit-growth quotas, The Business Times reported. The move gives banks more room to fund state-priority projects without formally lifting the system-wide credit target, which remains at 15% for this year.
Vingroup’s hospitality arm, Vinpearl, announced last month that it had secured a USD 255 million strategic investment from SeaTown Holdings International, Oman Investment Authority, and Vietnam Oman Investment.
Philippines
The Philippines has priced a USD 2.5 billion multi-tranche issuance, marking the Republic’s second visit to the international debt capital markets this year and its largest 10-year tranche since 2018, according to joint bookrunner BNP Paribas’ LinkedIn post.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has issued USD 300 million five-year bonds to fund the flag carrier’s fleet modernization and expansion, Forbes reported. It was PAL’s first bond sale since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US in December 2021.
Fitch Ratings believes recent economic challenges in the Philippines are likely to drive higher credit impairments and lower profitability among banks this year, but their financial performance should recover gradually in 2027 as the country’s medium-term economic prospects remain intact.
Singapore
DBS completed its inaugural synthetic securitisation transaction, referencing a USD 1 billion diversified portfolio of corporate loans, according to its press release. This is the first such transaction undertaken by a Singapore bank.
Singapore’s best-known F&B brands, once buoyed by China’s consumption boom, are now retreating amid brutal competition and fast-changing consumer habits, according to a piece published by ThinkChina.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s unemployment rate stayed at an 11-year low of 2.9% for five months from November 2025, before inching up to 3% in April, government data showed. But economists told The Straits Times that the headline figure masks a deeper problem: underemployment.
🤝🏻 People to Watch
Hendra Soenardi represented Xiamen ITG Group and its Indonesian subsidiaries in initiating court-supervised restructuring (PKPU) proceedings against Wanxiang Nickel Indonesia, according to its LinkedIn post.
The claims of Xiamen ITG Group and its subsidiaries – amounting to approximately IDR 3.5 trillion (USD 200 million) – were recognized by the administrators and restructured under the composition plan ratified by the Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on 18 May 2026.
Acrostics Asia is an independent credit intelligence provider that delivers forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.