📰 Weekly Roundup (3-9 Feb 2026): Indonesia’s “New Order” Resurgence | Indonesia’s Spinning Plates | Singapore’s Simplified Insolvency 2.0 | Novaland’s 2025 Results | Bright Spot #14 | Moltbook
Weekly newsletter
Dear Valued Contacts,
Indonesia had another tough week.
📒 Quick Take: Indonesia’s “New Order” Resurgence (4 Feb 2026)
🚨 Newsflash: Moody’s Cuts Indonesia Rating Outlook to Negative (5 Feb 2026)
📒 Quick Take: Indonesia’s Spinning Plates (6 Feb 2026)
I flagged on 4 February that the military’s growing reach into the civilian and commercial space has sparked worries about the resurgence of the late strongman Suharto’s “New Order”. Instead of reassuring investors, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa turned a Bloomberg TV interview into a battle of credentials with a respected Citigroup economist.
The next day, Moody’s cut Indonesia’s outlook to negative, citing concerns over policy stability under President Prabowo Subianto. I wrote on 6 February that Indonesia risks losing its hard-won credibility in the international markets if policymakers don’t change course soon.
Former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was 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.
👉🏻 Acrostics Asia has been connecting the dots across Asian sovereigns since inception – without hype or product cycles.
🤝🏻 Guest Take: Singapore’s Simplified Insolvency Programme 2.0 by Dentons Rodyk’s Debby Lim (5 Feb 2026)
Acrostics Asia is delighted to share Dentons Rodyk’s piece that should help readers to get up to speed on the revamp of Singapore’s COVID-era Simplified Insolvency Programme.
The revamped framework (SIP 2.0) “represents a maturing of Singapore’s approach to small corporate distress,” Debby Lim, Senior Partner at Dentons Rodyk, wrote.
📸 Snapshot: Novaland’s 2025 Results (3 Feb 2026)
👟 Walk the Talk: Novaland (5 Feb 2026)
Despite its revenue drop, Novaland reported an increase in gross profits due to an accounting reversal related to its Lakeview City project. While cashflow remained under pressure, the Vietnamese developer retained access to domestic loans.
The latest results were in line with my analysis two months ago that Novaland had prioritized local creditors to avoid burning bridges onshore, while offshore bondholders were structurally disadvantaged.
☀️ Bright Spot #14 (8 Feb 2026)
Vietnam has overhauled its decade-old bankruptcy legislation and enacted a new law that will take effect on 1 March 2026, A&O Shearman wrote. This was a response to longstanding concerns that the existing bankruptcy regime has been an ineffective tool for addressing distressed situations, according to the law firm.
In Hong Kong, 2025 marked a turning point in the city’s property market after a multi-year correction, JLL said in a report. This year is set to bring a selective and uneven recovery, according to the property services provider.
And in the latest On the Move, Australian asset manager IFM Investors is set to open a Singapore office in March, while Clifford Chance has advised the arrangers and dealers on Indonesian state-owned electric utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN)’s recent USD 1.5 billion bond issuance.
📝 Off Grid #3: Moltbook (7 Feb 2026)
In the latest Off Grid, I wrote about Moltbook – the “Reddit for AI agents” where bots chat with each other while humans are welcome to observe their interactions. Despite its rapid advancement, there are three things that AI has not mastered yet.
As always, I welcome tips and feedback. Have a good week ahead!
Best,
E