19/06/2025

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JUNE 19, 2025

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Thai May exports hit three-year high BANGKOK: Thai exports rose at their fastest pace for three years in May, driven by shipments to the United States, the kingdom’s Commerce Ministry said yesterday, as President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs loom. Exports climbed 18.4% from a year earlier to US$31 billion (RM132 billion) – the highest monthly value in three years – according to a statement from the ministry. The jump was led by a 35% surge in shipments to the United States as the tariffs loom, with exports to China up 28% and nearly 23% to the Middle East. Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said in the statement the increase was helped by rising global demand for technology goods such as computers, hard drives and circuit boards. Shipments of previously slumped agricultural products such as cassava, durian and mangosteen also picked up after five months of decline. Thailand’s Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on Tuesday that the kingdom will begin trade talks with Washington later this week, starting with virtual meetings. The May figures came a month after the government downgraded its 2025 growth forecast to 2.3-3.3% from 3.2-4.2% owing to uncertainty over “reciprocal tariffs”. Thai exports face a 36 percent levy on key goods under Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs if no agreement is reached to head them off before next month’s deadline. – AFP Indonesia central bank keeps rates steady JAKARTA: Indonesia’s central bank held policy rates steady yesterday, as expected, pausing in its easing cycle while reiterating an objective to balance the stability of the rupiah with efforts to lift economic growth. Bank Indonesia kept the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 5.50%, as expected by 21 of 31 economists polled by Reuters. It also left unchanged the overnight deposit and lending rates at 4.75% and 6.25%, respectively. BI has cut interest rates three times since September. It has also downgraded its economic growth outlook twice this year, listing challenges such as slowing domestic demand and shaky global growth due to the impact of US tariffs and wars. BI kept its 2025 growth forecast at a range of 4.6% to 5.4%. Governor Perry Warjiyo said at a press conference that BI would continue to monitor for room to further support growth, while maintaining inflation within target and keeping the rupiah stable. Annual inflation was 1.6% in May, near the bottom of BI’s target range of 1.5% to 3.5%, which some analysts say points to sluggish household spending. Trying to bolster growth, the government has launched a US$1.5 billion incentive package to stimulate demand, including subsidies for transportation fare and cash and food handouts for June and July. – Reuters companies worldwide racing to develop their own models. Japan’s space agency JAXA is also on a mission to become a major player for satellite launches, including with its H3 rocket, which is not reusable. Meanwhile Japanese startups are vying to enter the busy field, including Space One, which in December suffered its second failed rocket launch. – AFP

Workers cleaning cars at the Avatr booth during the Auto Shanghai show. – REUTERSPIC

Some China cities pause car-buying subsidies

China’s central government had taken note of some loopholes in the subsidy schemes and would look to make adjustments. One of the major issues identified by Chinese media and regulators is so-called “zero-mileage used cars”, which refers to the practice of selling brand new cars as heavily discounted second-hand vehicles to get rid of inventory. The report in Henan government-owned newspaper Dahe Daily added that sales of “zero-mileage used cars” were one of the key factors leading to subsidies being used up ahead of expectations, necessitating the suspensions. Some businesses were disguising new or nearly new cars as used cars that they could trade in to obtain the subsidies, the newspaper said. The People’s Daily , a national newspaper that often signals the positions of China’s top leaders on a variety of issues, also called for a crackdown on the zero-mileage used cars, weeks after Great Wall Motor chairman Wei Jianjun publicly condemned the practice. China’s Industry Ministry summoned automakers to a meeting early this month where it called for the sector to halt its price wars. – Reuters

The programmes have been embraced with some enthusiasm. As of May 31, there were more than four million applications submitted this year for car-specific trade-in subsidies, according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce. Chinese retail sales data for May released earlier this week surprised on the upside with subsidies cited as one reason for the higher-than-expected 6.4% growth. While there has been no official announcement about when more funds from the central government will be released for programmes, China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance have said the subsidies would continue throughout 2025, leading analysts to expect new funds for the third quarter to be made available from July. The subsidy programme has also met with controversy, however, particularly in the auto sector. China’s auto industry, the world’s largest, has attracted criticism from regulators over a deepening price war that has sapped the sector’s profitability. Official media in China’s Henan province, where Zhengzhou is the capital, last week reported, citing unnamed sources, that

o Funds for trade-in programmes run out faster than expected

SHANGHAI: At least six cities and municipalities across China have suspended trade-in subsidies for car buyers in June, according to Reuters’ review of government announcements, which could slow new car sales in the world’s second-biggest economy. Notices from governments in Zhengzhou and Luoyang blamed the subsidy pause on the first round of funding allocated by Beijing for the programme running out, while Shenyang and Chongqing said the suspension was due to adjustments to improve capital efficiency. The northwestern region of Xinjiang issued a similar suspension. China’s government has leaned on subsidies for big-ticket items, including cars, home appliances and some electronics to get people spending as consumer sentiment in the country remains sluggish amid a prolonged property slump and concerns over wage growth and unemployment.

Honda hails successful test of reusable rocket TOKYO: Japan’s second-biggest carmaker Honda has successfully tested an experimental reusable rocket, the company said, as it seeks to expand into the space sector. altitude of nearly 300m,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The prototype device, around 6m tall, landed only 37cm from its designated landing spot after the one-minute flight.

technological challenge of developing reusable rockets by utilising Honda technologies amassed in the development of various products and automated driving systems,” it said. In future, the rockets could be used to set up satellite-based communication tools and to monitor environmental conditions such as global warming, Honda added. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is known for its use of reusable rockets a fast-growing field with various

Honda, which hopes to develop the tech prowess for a suborbital launch by 2029, conducted a test flight of its rocket on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. “The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an

Demand for satellite launch rockets is expected to increase in the coming years as expectations grow for “a data system in outer space”, the Honda statement said. “Honda has chosen to take on the