📰 Weekly Roundup (28 April-4 May 2026): Bright Spot #19 | Indonesian State Capitalism | eFishery Founder Gets 9 Years’ Jail | Sritex Corruption Trial
Weekly newsletter
Dear Valued Contacts,
☀️ Bright Spot #19 (30 April 2026)
The financing bonanza related to AI or data centres continued, but with a caveat. SoftBank is in the market for a USD 10 billion margin loan, while AirTrunk is reportedly planning to raise at least AUD 500 million (USD 358 million) via asset-backed bonds.
However, China’s move to block Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus was a reminder that regulatory risk is a real risk for M&As involving perceived technology transfers. Despite its efforts at China-shedding, Manus could not shake off its “Chinese DNA”, Lianhe Zaobao China News Editor Yang Danxu wrote.
Meanwhile, Asia’s bond tide has turned into a full wave, with a slate of issuances over the past few weeks alone, such as by Hong Kong’s airport operator Airport Authority Hong Kong, Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, and Australian coal miner New Hope.
On the Move includes Indian pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma’s bold US bet and Allianz Global Investors’ Asia Pacific infrastructure credit fund, while Jacqueline Chan was named President of the Turnaround Management Association’s Southeast Asia chapter.
There were a couple of developments out of Indonesia last week, involving state-owned banks, a failed startup, and a bankrupt textile company.
📒 Quick Take: Indonesian State Capitalism (2 May 2026)
President Prabowo Subianto reportedly instructed the state-owned banks to extend mortgage installments for workers to as long as 40 years, with a maximum interest of 5% a year.
Ordering these banks to extend mortgage tenors to as long as four decades at below-market rates could compress their net interest margins and raise the credit risk, as policy agenda may supersede the commercial evaluation of prospective borrowers.
🚨 Newsflash: Indonesia’s eFishery Founder Gets 9 Years’ Jail in Fraud Case (29 April 2026)
📚 Acrostics Anatomy: eFishery’s Fishy Accounting (27 January 2025)
An Indonesian court sentenced Gibran Huzaifah, the founder of aquaculture startup eFishery, to nine years in prison.
I wrote last year that a draft report authored by FTI Consulting – which was engaged to investigate a whistleblower complaint – was like a financial horror novel, with everything from double books and round-tripping of funds to fictitious partnerships and inflated capex.
🚨 Newsflash: Sritex Bosses’ Lawyer Says Criminalizing His Clients Will Cause Bigger State Losses (30 April 2026)
Indonesian lawyer Hotman Paris argued that if the Attorney-General’s Office (AGO)’s lawsuit against Iwan Setiawan Lukminto and Iwan Kurniawan Lukminto were granted, the state-owned banks would lose their rights to file claims over the company’s assets because that would tantamount to a double claim.
Acrostics Asia is an independent Asia credit intelligence provider that takes end-to-end ownership of its insights – from origination to production and distribution. Within a year, it has built a track record of delivering forward-looking insights across Asian sovereigns, private credit and restructurings.