08/10/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | OCT 8, 2025

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Australia approves Cboe’s bid to operate as local IPO venue

Indonesia takes another step towards B50 biodiesel JAKARTA: Indonesia took another step towards launching biodiesel containing 50% palm-oil based biofuel (B50) by concluding laboratory tests, an energy ministry official said yesterday, as the country aims for implementation next year. Palm-oil based biodiesel is currently mandated at 40% blend (B40) but Indonesia wants to increase the level to reduce its reliance on imports of fossil fuels. The laboratory testing involved running an engine using the B50 fuel and was concluded in August. Officials will now carry out road tests, the energy ministry’s bioenergy director, Edi Wibowo, told Reuters. “Based on the test results we will move forward to launch road tests and testing on non-automotive machinery that run on diesel,“ he said. The timing of the road test was still to be decided, he said. Indonesia aims to make B50 mandatory in 2026, but it was unlikely to happen in January, a senior energy ministry official said in August. Adopting B50 would require 20.1 million kilolitres of palm-oil based biofuel a year for mixing with regular petroleum diesel, compared to 15.6 million KL with B40, energy ministry data shows. – Reuter Surprisingly smooth Japan bond auction soothes nerves TOKYO: Japanese government bond yields retreated from record highs yesterday after a closely watched sale of 30-year debt passed smoothly, despite concerns that the country’s likely next prime minister will loosen fiscal restraints. The benign, if unspectacular, auction allayed market jitters that had pushed 30 year JGB yields up 6 basis points (bps) to an all-time time high of 3.345% in early trading. After the announcement, those yields reversed course and were down as much as 5 bps at 3.235%. Bond yields move inversely to prices. The auction “provided the market with an unexpectedly calm and reassuring signal”, said Shoki Omori, chief desk strategist at Mizuho Securities. However, “durable calm hinges on fiscal policy signals and subsequent super-long (JGB) supply,” he added. Weak demand at long-term debt auctions earlier this year triggered record spikes in yields that prompted the Ministry of Finance to curtail issuance of 20-, 30-, and 40-year securities – something that analysts and investors say has improved the supply demand balance. The 20-year JGB yield climbed 5 bps in early trading yesterday to 2.74%, the highest since August 1999, but also flipped direction after the auction and were down as much as 3 bps at 2.66%. The 10-year yield, which had risen 2.5 bps to 1.695% for the first time since July 2008, erased that advance. In another development, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said yesterday that the government will be vigilant for volatile movements on the currency market, as the yen slid to two-month lows past 150 to the dollar amid rising fiscal concerns. “It’s important for currencies to move in a stable manner reflecting fundamentals,” Kato said at a regular news conference, when about recent foreign exchange moves. “We will thoroughly monitor for excessive fluctuations and disorderly movements in the foreign exchange market,“ he added. The yen touched 150.62 to the dollar, the weakest level since Aug 1, and skidded to 176.35 per euro, a fresh all-time low. – Reuters

public debt, as well as continued structural deceleration,” the authors of the report wrote. The World Bank said it expected the rest of the East Asia and Pacific region to grow by 4.4% in 2025 – a 0.2 percentage point uplift – but stuck to its 4.5% prediction for 2026. The lender blamed the subdued momentum on higher trade barriers, elevated global economic policy uncertainty and slower global growth, with political and policy unpredictability especially in Indonesia and Thailand adding to pressure. “Firms adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, delaying or scaling back capital expenditures,” the report said. Global economic growth has been under The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Asic) launched an investigation in June into the ASX, following years of tension over a failed software upgrade and recurring trade-processing glitches. Australia’s central bank said last month the ASX needed to implement major cultural and governance improvements after a 2024 trading settlement failure. “This move will provide more choice for companies to list in Australia, build more links to offshore markets and create more options for investors,” Asic chair Joe Longo said in a statement. Heightened competition in Australian equities markets has already led to reduced trading costs and broader access to products like exchange-traded funds, the regulator said. The ASX said it supported competition which helped to strengthen Australian’s capital markets and said it already competed with Cboe in some trading categories. “Public markets play a critical role in supporting companies to raise capital for growth opportunities, and we’re confident in the strong value proposition that ASX provides,” ASX said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

trade policy. Data in September showed China’s factory output and retail sales registered their weakest growth in nearly a year, coming on top of other indicators suggesting the economy is still some way off from mounting a strong recovery. Analysts expect Beijing to roll out more stimulus to fend off a sharp slowdown in the world’s second largest economy and support the government’s annual growth target of “around 5%”. The World Bank also urged countries to remain focused on longer-term prospects, saying that supporting near-term growth through fiscal measures may deliver less durable development benefits than deeper domestic reforms. – Reuters Listing fees are a major revenue source for the ASX, which in the last financial year earned A$208 million from listings, the results released in August showed. IPO fees earned in the year fell from A$20 million to A$18.9 million, according to the results. There has been US$1.3 billion (RM5.4 billion) worth of IPOs in Australia so far this year, according to LSEG data, up from $382.6 million at the same time last year. Desite the jump, most of the funds raised in 2025 have come from just two IPOs – Virgin Australia and Gemlife – which raised almost US$950 million combined. Cboe Australia currently has 20% of Australia’s equity market turnover, representing almost A$2 billion of trades each day, ASIC said. Cboe Australia told Reuters in an emailed response that it was pleased to have received the regulator’s approval. It operates exchanges in the US, Canada and the Netherlands alongside its Australian operations, according to its website. There are now four markets, including Cboe, licensed to list securities in Australia: ASX, National Stock Exchange of Australia and Sydney Stock Exchange, ASIC said. – Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia’s corporate regulator yesterday approved Cboe Global Markets’ bid to list new companies on its local exchange, ramping up direct competition with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in the country’s tough initial public offering (IPO) market. Cboe Australia, the local unit of the Chicago headquartered exchange operator, can now list new companies, offering investors increased access to investment options such as initial public offerings and dual-listed foreign entities. ASX shares fell as much 2% to the lowest since mid-June 2024 as it faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny into its beleaguered operations. The stock closed at A$58.96 (RM164.45), down 1.35%. o Country now has four markets licensed to list securities, ASX shares hit lowest level since mid-2024 LONDON: The World Bank lifted its 2025 growth projection for China to 4.8% and raised its forecast for much of the region, but warned of slowing momentum next year, citing low consumer and business confidence and weak new export orders. Publishing its biannual economic outlook for East Asia and the Pacific region yesterday, the World Bank said it now expected China to grow 4.2% next year, after forecasting in April growth of 4% both this year and next. “Growth in China, the region’s largest economy, is projected to decline ... because of an expected slowdown in export growth and a likely reduction in the fiscal stimulus in light of rising

World Bank lifts China 2025 GDP forecast to 4.8%

pressure this year due to a major shakeup in US economic policies. Asia, home to key export-driven economies, has been caught in the crosshairs of US Presi dent Donald Trump’s unpredictable

Women in traditional Chinese costumes at the surroundings of the Forbidden City in Beijing during National Day Golden Week holiday on Monday. The World Bank warned of slowing growth momentum for China next year, citing low consumer and business confidence and weak new export orders. – AFPPIC