22/07/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | JULY 22, 2025

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China set to expand influence over Southeast Asia

Singapore central bank to

place S$1.1b with asset managers to boost stock market SINGAPORE: Singapore’s central bank will place S$1.1 billion (RM3.6 billion) with three asset managers as part of a S$5 billion programme to boost the stock market, it said yesterday, with more co-investments to be announced late this year. The move comes as part of an ongoing probe into the local stock market by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and a review group set up in August last year, with the aim of strengthening the way the market functions. The fund managers selected as part of Singapore’s Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) are Avanda Investment Management, JP Morgan Asset Management and Fullerton Fund Management, which is owned by Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek. MAS said it considered “a range of factors” when choosing the managers, including the “alignment of their proposed fund strategies with EQDP objectives” and their commitment to contribute to the growth of Singapore’s asset management capabilities. It added that more than 100 global, regional and local asset managers have shown interest in receiving funds for co-investment under the development programme, and that it will review the submissions in batches to speed up the appointment of asset managers and the deployment of capital. In February, MAS and the Financial Sector Development Fund announced that the S$5 billion programme would invest in strategies managed by Singapore-based asset managers that “have a strong focus on Singapore listed equities and broaden investor participation beyond large-cap stocks”, the central bank said. Since Singapore announced that it would set up the review group to revive the stock market in August last year, the benchmark Straits Times Index had gained 23.9% as of July 18. – Reuters

o Region in ‘uncertain moment’ as Western aid cuts and US tariffs bite SYDNEY: China is set to expand its influence over Southeast Asia’s development as the Trump administration and other Western donors slash aid, a study by an Australian think tank said on Sunday. The region is in an “uncertain moment”, facing cuts in official development finance from the West as well as “especially punitive” US trade tariffs, the Sydney-based Lowy Institute said. “Declining Western aid risks ceding a greater role to China, though other Asian donors will also gain in importance,” it said. Total official development finance to Southeast Asia – including grants, low-rate loans and other loans – grew “modestly” to US$29 billion (RM123 billion) in 2023, the annual report said. But US President Donald Trump has since halted about US$60 billion in development assistance – most of the United States’ overseas aid programme. Seven European countries – including France and Germany – and the European Union have announced US$17.2 billion in aid cuts to be implemented between 2025 and 2029, it said. And the United Kingdom has said it is reducing annual aid by US$7.6 billion, redirecting government money towards defence. Based on recent announcements, overall official development finance to Southeast Asia will fall by more than US$2 billion by 2026, the study projected. “These cuts will hit Southeast Asia hard,” it said. “Poorer countries and social sector priorities such as health, education, and civil society support that rely on bilateral aid funding are likely to lose out the most.” MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr meets US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favourable trade deal before an Aug 1 deadline. Marcos will be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defence, of course, but also on trade,” Marcos Jr said in a speech before leaving Manila. “We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the US concerning the changes that we would like to institute to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines.”

An aerial view shows the city skyline in Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. – AFPPIC

“China’s relative importance as a development actor in the region will rise as Western development support recedes.” Beijing’s development finance to the region rose by US$1.6 billion to US$4.9 billion in 2023 – mostly through big infrastructure projects such as rail links in Indonesia and Malaysia, the report said. At the same time, China’s infrastructure commitments to Southeast Asia surged fourfold to almost US$10 billion, largely due to the revival of the Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port project in Myanmar. By contrast, Western alternative infrastructure projects had failed to materialise in recent years, the study said. “Similarly, Western promises to support the region’s clean energy transition have yet to translate into more projects on the ground – of global concern given coal-dependent Southeast Asia is a major source of rapidly growing carbon emissions.” – AFP

Higher-income countries already capture most of the region’s official development finance, said the institute’s Southeast Asia Aid Map report. Poorer countries such as East Timor, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are being left behind, creating a deepening divide that could undermine long-term stability, equity and resilience, it warned. Despite substantial economic development across most of Southeast Asia, around 86 million people still live on less than US$3.65 a day, it said. “The centre of gravity in Southeast Asia’s development finance landscape looks set to drift East, notably to Beijing but also Tokyo and Seoul,” the study said. As trade ties with the United States have weakened, Southeast Asian countries’ development options could shrink, it said, leaving them with less leverage to negotiate favourable terms with Beijing.

Marcos Jr to meet Trump hoping to secure trade deal before Aug 1

Hong Kong investigates Louis Vuitton data leak that affected 419,000

must become economically stronger if it is to serve as a truly robust partner for the US in the Indo-Pacific. Philippine assistant foreign secretary Raquel Solano said last week trade officials have been working with US counterparts seeking to seal a “mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial” deal for both countries. Trump and Marcos Jr will also discuss defence and security, and Solano said the Philippine president would be looking to further strengthen the longstanding defence alliance. With the Philippines facing intense pressure from China in the contested South China Sea, Marcos has pivoted closer to the United States, expanding its access to Philippine military bases amid China’s threats towards Taiwan. Poling said Trump also seemed to have a certain warmth towards Marcos Jr, based on their phone call after the election. – Reuters

The United States had a deficit of nearly US$5 billion (RM21.2 billion) with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of US$23.5 billion. Trump this month raised the threatened “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from the Philippines to 20% from 17% threatened in April. Although US allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have yet to strike trade deals with Trump, Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Marcos Jr might be able to do better than Vietnam, with its agreement of a 20% baseline tariff on its goods, and Indonesia at 19%. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement of a deal with the Philippines at a lower rate than those two,” Poling said. Philippine officials say Marcos Jr’s focus will be on economic cooperation and Manila’s concerns about the tariffs. They say he will stress that Manila

and then discovered on July 2 that it affected Hong Kong customers, the statement said. The office said it had launched an investigation into Louis Vuitton Hong Kong, including whether the incident involved delayed notification. No relevant complaints or inquiries have been received so far, it said. The incident comes after a systems breach at Louis Vuitton in Korea in June led to the leak of some customer data, including contact information, but it did not involve customers’ financial information, the company said. Louis Vuitton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. – Reuters

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog said yesterday that it was investigating a data leak at Louis Vuitton affecting about 419,000 customers, just after a cyberattack on the luxury brand in South Korea in June. Leaked data included names, passport details, addresses and e-mail addresses as well as phone numbers, shopping history and product preferences, Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said in an e mailed statement. Louis Vuitton submitted the data breach incident to the office on July 17. Its French head office found suspicious activities on its computer system on June 13