02/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE TUESDAY | DEC 2, 2025

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Indonesia’s October exports unexpectedly fall JAKARTA: Indonesia posted a

top commodities, coal and nickel, remain weak. Imports contracted by 1.15% to US$21.84 billion in October amid lower demand for consumer goods and raw materials. Separately, Indonesia’s annual inflation rate slowed to 2.72% in November, slightly less than analysts’ median forecast of 2.77% and comfortably within the central bank’s 1.5% to 3.5% target range, data showed yesterday. The inflation rate stood at 2.86% in October. Core inflation, which excludes government controlled prices and volatile food items, was steady at 2.36% in November. – Reuters

Meanwhile, the country’s biggest copper producer, Freeport Indonesia, experienced a fatal mud-flow disaster at its Grasberg complex in September, which forced the company to temporarily halt production. It has since resumed operation at its two smaller mines in Grasberg, but it lowered its production targets for 2025 and 2026 due to ongoing recovery work at the complex. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has enjoyed a relatively large trade surplus almost every month in 2025, supported by higher shipments of palm oil, gold and jewellery – and even as prices of its

Analysts had predicted 3.38% growth. The decline was due to lower shipments of coal and copper products, a Statistics Indonesia official told reporters. The contraction stems from weaker demand from China, amid a softening economy and ongoing normalisation of trade with the United States following a tit-for-tat escalation in tariffs earlier this year, said Permata Bank economist Faisal Rachman. Indonesian exporters had front-loaded their shipments to the US ahead of the onset of tariffs in August.

smaller-than-expected trade surplus in October after exports unexpectedly fell, official data showed yesterday, amid curtailed demand from China and weak shipments of mining products. The surplus stood at US$2.4 billion (RM9.9 billion), smaller than the US$3.72 billion forecast by economists polled by Reuters and September’s US$4.34 billion surplus. It was the smallest monthly surplus since April, according to LSEG data. Exports dropped 2.31% from a year earlier to US$24.24 billion.

VinFast mulls petrol engines to extend EV range: Sources

South Korea market watchdog wary of FX risks for retail investors SEOUL: The chief of South Korea’s financial market watchdog said yesterday authorities would review protection measures for retail investors regarding foreign exchange risks amid persistent weakness in the won currency. “From the perspective of consumer protection, we will review whether the matters related to hedging foreign exchange risks for overseas investments are being fully explained by financial firms,” Lee Chan-jin, the governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, told a press conference. Lee was speaking on an earlier government announcement that authorities would conduct inspections on protection measures for retail investors, adding that they do not plan to regulate overseas stock investments. The won has weakened more than 4% against the dollar so far this quarter, which the country’s central bank last week attributed to increasing overseas investments by residents and sales of domestic stocks by foreigners. There is no sign of risks for financial firms in terms of foreign exchange exposure, Lee said. “On the contrary, some insurance firms are making profit,” he said. Regarding ongoing investigations into private equity firm MBK Partners over its sale of troubled supermarket chain Homeplus and media reports of potential heavy sanctions, Lee said a decision would be made this month. MBK, in response to a request for comment, said: “MBK Partners has been doing its best to protect investor interests, according to relevant laws and articles of association.” It said it would give a full explanation in any future proceedings with the regulator. Lee also said authorities, who are also investigating local banks over their sales of equity-linked derivatives, would take into account their efforts to compensate investor losses. Recent data leaks at financial firms and other South Korean companies, including cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, Lotte Card and e-commerce retailer Coupang, raise the need for stronger regulations, Lee said, criticising companies for being negligent in their data security. – Reuters

o Company says always looking for opportunities to develop new products

HANOI: Vietnamese electric carmaker VinFast is considering equipping some of its cars with small internal combustion engines (ICE) to recharge batteries and extend driving ranges, according to three people familiar with the plan and job ads, in a partial shift from its existing all-electric production. The Nasdaq-listed start-up is trying to boost sales and expand overseas to rein in growing losses that are weighing on parent company Vingroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate by market capitalisation. The plan under review involves using petrol-fuelled options to extend range, the three sources told Reuters, requesting anonymity as the information was not public. One of the sources said a team was tasked lat month to explore turning VinFast’s VF9 SUVs into range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) by equipping them with a small petrol engine used solely to recharge the battery. A second source said the company was considering hybrid models. All sources said the plans were preliminary. VinFast posted at least three LinkedIn job ads in November seeking REEV experts. Asked about the plans, Vingroup, which handles communications for VinFast, told Reuters it would “not overlook opportunities to research and develop new products that align with customer preferences, needs, and market trends”. VinFast currently produces about a dozen models, mostly compact city cars, and sold about 104,000 units domestically in the first nine months of the year, nearly 95% of its global sales. The VF9, its priciest vehicle, accounts for roughly 1% of sales in Vietnam, and is also shipped to the US and Canada, but in low numbers.

VinFast’s exhibition booth at the 32nd Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in Tangerang, Greater Jakarta. – AFPPIC

plans to develop REEV technology in-house or acquire it. “There is no change to our overall strategy,” Vingroup said, adding official details would come “at the appropriate time”. In 2023, VinFast held nearly 80 patents, far fewer than Tesla’s 347 patent families or the thousands held by the major traditional carmakers, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. Chinese electric carmakers, including Li Auto and Leapmotor, produce REEVs, while legacy automakers are developing similar options. Facing severe air pollution, Vietnam plans restrictions on petrol-powered vehicles, starting with a ban on petrol motorbikes central Hanoi from mid-2026. – Reuters exchange being brought into the country. Earlier yesterday, central bank governor Vitai Ratanakorn said he saw room to cut interest rates, but added such a move had only a limited impact on an economy facing structural problems. The central bank has cut its policy rate four times over the past year, taking it to a three-year low, to support a sluggish economy. Its next policy review is on Dec 17, and some economists expect a further rate reduction. BOT unexpectedly left the key rate unchanged at 1.50% at its review in October. – Reuters

VinFast, Vietnam’s largest carmaker by sales, does not break down foreign market sales. A Vingroup affiliate is fast expanding Vietnam’s EV charging network. REEVs, like hybrids, use two power sources, an electric motor and an ICE, but unlike hybrids, the ICE does not drive the car in REEVs. It only recharges the battery when needed, extending driving range. VinFast stopped producing petrol-fuelled cars and shifted to electric vehicles in 2022. That year, it also joined the COP26 declaration on green transition for cars, pledging to sell exclusively zero-emission vehicles in leading markets by 2035 and globally by 2040. REEVs produce emissions, but usually less than plug-in hybrids. Reuters could not establish whether VinFast

Thai central bank planning measures to ease strong baht BANGKOK: Thailand’s central bank is planning measures to ease the upward pressure on the baht, including having banks tighten their controls on gold-related foreign exchange transactions and requiring major gold traders to supply their transaction data. The Bank of Thailand is closely monitoring the baht and will act on any volatility to reduce the impact on businesses, it said in a statement. The BOT said it will propose the Finance Ministry increase the limit for foreign income that does not need to be repatriated to US$10 million per transaction, up from the current US$1 million per transaction, to take effect this month.

The baht has strengthened by 7% against the dollar so far this year to be Asia’s second-best performing currency. The baht’s appreciation is seen as a threat to the competitiveness of the export and tourism sectors.

The higher limit would provide greater flexibility for the private sector in managing foreign currency and ease the pressure on the baht to rise by reducing the amount of foreign