12/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | SEPT 12, 2025

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South Korea scraps plan to expand tax on investors o President vows to root out unfair trade, backs pension fund investment

India central bank to give lenders key power to recover small loans MUMBAI: India’s central bank plans to allow lenders to remotely lock mobile phones bought on credit if the borrowers default on those loans, two sources said, in a move aimed at curbing bad assets that is likely to raise consumer rights concerns. Over one-third of consumer electronics, including phones, are purchased on small-ticket loans in India, a 2024 study by Home Credit Finance showed. The country of over 1.4 billion people has more than 1.16 billion mobile connections, according to the telecom regulator, reflecting deep market penetration. Last year, the Reserve Bank of India asked lenders to halt locking phones of defaulting borrowers, the sources said. The practice involved using an app installed at the time of loan issuance to lock the devices. After consultations with lenders, the RBI is expected to update its Fair Practices Code within months, introducing guidelines on phone-locking mechanisms, the sources said. The rules will mandate prior consent from borrowers and prohibit lenders from accessing personal data on locked phones, they said. “The RBI wants to ensure that lenders have the power to recover small ticket loans, and at the same time ensure that customers’ data is protected,” said one of the sources. If implemented, the measure could benefit major consumer lenders such as Bajaj Finance, DMI Finance and Cholamandalam Finance by boosting recoveries and easing loans to customers with poor credit. – Reuters Thai consumer confidence at lowest in over two years BANGKOK: Thai consumer confidence dropped for a seventh consecutive month in August to its lowest level in 32 months due to concerns about a slow economic recovery, political instability, and US tariffs, a survey showed yesterday. But sentiment could improve under Thailand’s new government, said Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, which conducted the survey. The university’s consumer index fell to 50.1 in August from 51.7 in July, it said in a statement. The survey was conducted before the election of Anutin Charnvirakul as the country’s new prime minister last week. “Consumer confidence indices have continued to decline across the board, suggesting potential further drops if political stability falters and the economy fails to recover swiftly under government stimulus measures,“ Thanavath told a press conference. The new government’s ability to deliver outstanding and tangible results would be key to reversing the decline in confidence, he said. – Reuters

by Lee, who said yesterday that he himself was considering raising investment in the domestic stock market, as stronger than those of the previous administration. Such efforts include expanding the duty of board members to protect shareholder interests and setting up a task force to secure developed market status from a global index provider through improvements to foreign access, seen as more likely to bring real changes, along the lines of Japan’s reforms. “There is growing optimism that the market will continue to perform strongly on the back of reform improvements, as we have witnessed in Japan,” said Jon Withaar, a hedge fund manager at Pictet Asset Management, based in Singapore. Lee’s very strong mandate and very clear focus on his ‘KOSPI 5,000 agenda’ were contributing factors, he added. “The corporate governance reform agenda of the current government has been setting a strong foundation for change,” said Sojung Park, a fund manager at Matthews Asia. “There are signs of more to come.” Foreign investors have bought local shares worth 3 trillion won in September, extending their buying streak to a fifth straight month. The KOSPI has risen 39% this year, outperforming Wall Street’s major indices as well as peers in Japan and Taiwan, also at record highs. – Reuters

Wednesday, fuelled by expectations for Lee to scrap the plan at the press conference. Lee vowed a stern response to unfair trading practices such as price manipulation, among measures to tackle the so-called “Korea Discount”. The term refers to undervaluation of South Korean companies against global peers, due to factors such as opaque governance structures and low dividend payouts. Lee floated the idea that the National Pension Service, the world’s third-largest with assets of 1,269.2 trillion won (RM3.8 trillion), should step up investment in domestic stocks. He said he did not understand its policy of increasing overseas assets to avoid affecting the domestic market, as he feared that doing so would cost the fund an opportunity. “It is buying foreign stocks because there are concerns of a domestic market slump when it needs to sell two to three decades from now. “It sounds reasonable, but it is 30 years from now.” Lee’s administration still plans to raise the tax on stock market transactions to 0.2% from 0.15% now, as proposed in July. In the domestic stock market, heavy selling by retail investors near the end of each year, intended to avoid the large shareholder threshold, is often cited by analysts as a factor in downward pressure on the benchmark index. Investors have seen market reform pushes

SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said yesterday he would not pursue plans to revise a capital gains tax on stock investments, conceding that the move risked undermining the market and reaffirming a promise of reform to revitalise it. The plans had sparked a public backlash from many South Korean investors, but Lee told a press conference he now considered it unnecessary to lower the threshold defining “large shareholders” liable to pay the tax. “If it causes damage to the stock market, I don’t think it is necessary to lower the threshold to 1 billion (won) from 5 billion,” Lee said, adding that he would leave the decision to Parliament, now reviewing the proposal. Both the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party agree that the threshold should stay unchanged. The benchmark KOSPI index rebounded from an initial fall after Lee’s comments, to trade up 0.5% at 3,331.24 points by 0536 GMT (1.36pm in Malaysia). It hit an all-time closing high of 3,314.53 on

People visiting the Starbucks booth during the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing. – REUTERSPIC

Carlyle, EQT, HongShan among final bidders for Starbucks China: Sources HONG KONG: Global investment firms Carlyle Group and EQT, alongside regional players HongShan Capital Group (HSG) and Boyu Capital, are preparing final offers for a controlling stake in Starbucks’ China operations, said five people with knowledge of the matter. Starbucks had invited about 10 potential buyers to submit non-binding bids by early September, with most offering to value the China business at as much as US$5 billion (RM21 billion), Reuters reported last month. primary bidders, said two of the sources. The Seattle-based coffee giant is seeking to retain control of its coffee bean roasting facility in the world’s second-largest economy, said two of the sources, with one adding that was for quality control purposes. market share in China – home to more than a fifth of its cafes – due to intensifying competition from local rivals. Its market share fell sharply to 14% last year from 34% in 2019, according to Euromonitor International data.

Starbucks has recently decided to sell control of its China operations to the final buyer, said two of the sources. The size of the stake has not yet been disclosed. The final round of bidders also includes Chinese private equity firm Primavera Capital, which is likely to team up with one of the four

To counter these challenges, the chain has since implemented measures such as reducing prices for select non-coffee beverages in China. Comparable-store sales in China increased 2% in the quarter ended on June 29, versus zero growth in the previous quarter. – Reuters

Terms of the deal structure, including the size of the stake being sold, remain negotiable, said one of the sources. Starbucks has said that it would maintain a meaningful stake in the China business. The sale comes as Starbucks faces declining

Starbucks has asked them to submit binding bids by early next month, said three of the sources, who declined to be identified as the information was private. An agreement could be reached by the end of next month, one of them added.