17/12/2025

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | DEC 17, 2025 BOJ expected to increase rates to 30-year high TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to hike interest rates on Friday for the first time since January, pushing them to their highest level in 30 years and potentially exacerbating turmoil in debt markets. Yields on Japanese government bonds have risen in recent weeks on worries about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s budget discipline, while the yen has weakened. Higher BOJ interest rates make Japanese bonds more attractive than other assets, pushing down their prices but sending yields – which move inversely – higher. Japan’s economy contracted 0.6% in the third quarter, but BOJ governor Kazuo Ueda said last week that the impact of US tariffs was less than feared. “So far, US corporates have swallowed the burden of tariffs without fully passing (them) through to consumer prices,” Ueda told the Financial Times. At the same time, inflation has been above the BOJ’s target of 2% for some time, with core consumer prices rising 3% in October. “The urgency stems from policymakers’ recognition that the window for hiking will close once external headwinds intensify,” said BMI (Fitch Solutions) in a note. The majority of economists polled by Bloomberg expect the BOJ to raise its main rate from 0.5% to 0.75%, which would be the highest since 1995. The BOJ only began raising rates from below zero in March 2024. The BOJ’s move should help keep inflation in check, which would be welcome news to Takaichi, Japan’s first woman prime minister. Yields on 30-year bond yields reached a record high in early December, and 10-year yields last week hit their highest level in 19 years. – AFP 17 PARIS: France’s TotalEnergies said yesterday it had signed a 21-year power supply deal with Alphabet’s Google, pledging to supply 1 terawatt hour of renewable energy to support its data centres in Malaysia. The French energy major said the power would be generated by the new Citra Energies solar plant in Malaysia, which is scheduled for construction in early 2026. The power supply contract is expected to take effect in the first quarter of next year. In another deal signed in November, TotalEnergies also agreed to power Google’s US-based data centres in Ohio. Data centres founded pre dominantly by Big Tech companies are requiring increasing amounts of energy as tech groups race to meet AI development demands, often sur passing the capacity of the domestic electricity utilities. TotalEnergies also said it has agreed to divest a nearly 10% indirect stake in a gas block offshore Malaysia to Thailand’s state-backed PTTEP for an undisclosed sum. TotalEnergies will keep a 30.002% stake in block SK408 upon closing, it said. – Reuters power Google data centres in Malaysia TotalEnergies wins 21-year deal to

Ford retreats from EVs, takes US$19.5b charge

significantly this year as US President Donald Trump’s policies yanked federal support for EVs and eased tailpipe-emissions rules, which could encourage carmakers to sell more petrol-powered cars. US sales of electric vehicles fell about 40% in November, following the Sept 30 expiration of a US$7,500 consumer tax credit, which had been in place for more than 15 years to stoke demand. The Trump administration also included in the massive tax and spending bill that passed in July a freeze on fines that automakers pay for violating fuel economy regulations. “Rather than spending billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher returning areas,” said Andrew Frick, head of Ford’s petrol and electric vehicle operations. – Reuters

writedown, taken primarily in the fourth quarter and continuing through next year and into 2027, the company said. About US$8.5 billion is related to cancelling planned EV models. Around US$6 billion is tied to the dissolution of a battery joint venture with South Korea’s SK On, and US$5 billion on what Ford called “programme-related expenses”. The automaker also raised its 2025 guidance for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, to about US$7 billion, up from a previous range of US$6 billion to US$6.5 billion. Ford shares rose about 1% in after-hours trading. Ford’s shift reflects the auto industry’s response to waning de mand for battery-powered models, after car companies plowed hundreds of billions of dollars into EV investments early this decade. The outlook for electrics dimmed

o Trump policies reduce federal support for electric vehicles, affecting sales and demand

DETROIT: Ford Motor said on Monday it will take a US$19.5 billion (RM79.6 billion) writedown and is killing several electric vehicle models, in the most dramatic example yet of the auto industry’s retreat from battery powered models in response to the Trump administration’s policies and weakening EV demand. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company said it will replace the fully electric F-150 Lightning with a new extended-range electric model that uses a petrol-powered engine to recharge the battery. The company is also scrapping a next-generation electric truck, code

named the T3, as well as planned electric commercial vans. “When the market really changed over the last couple of months, that was really the impetus for us to make the call,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Reuters in an interview. Ford said it will pivot hard into petrol and hybrid models, and eventually hire thousands of workers, even though there will be some layoffs at a jointly owned Kentucky battery plant in the near term. The company expects its global mix of hybrids, extended range EVs and pure EVs to reach 50% by 2030, from 17% today. The car company will spread out the

Customers getting nail manicures at a market in Bangkok on Monday. The baht has strengthened by 8.8% against the dollar so far this year,putting pressure on the economy, which has been struggling with US tariffs and high household debt. – AFPPIC

Thailand’s central bank is ‘taking action’ on baht

BANGKOK: Thailand’s central bank has moved to contain rapid gains in the baht, ordering tighter scrutiny of foreign exchange transactions linked to gold trading and ins tructing commercial banks to closely monitor foreign currency inflows, the bank chief said yesterday. The baht traded at 31.5 per dollar yesterday. It has strengthened by 8.8% against the dollar so far this year to become Asia’s second-best performing currency, putting further pressure on Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which has been struggling with US tariffs and high household debt. Since early this month, the baht has appreciated by about 2.5%,

transaction data from major gold dealers, Vitai said. The central bank has also asked the Finance Ministry to assign an agency to oversee the gold trade, particularly online gold trading platforms where transaction sizes have expanded significantly, spilling over into currency volatility, Vitai said. The central bank will inspect foreign currency sales-for-baht transactions to prevent undesirable inflows unrelated to normal busi ness operations or personal transfers. Commercial banks are required to strictly monitor foreign currency inflows, the governor said. – Reuters

to purchase baht, the governor said. The move came a day after Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithan prapas said the baht was too strong and was hurting the economy. Prime Minister Anutin Charn virakul told reporters yesterday that he had asked the finance minister to hold discussions with the central bank about tackling the baht’s strength. The Bank of Thailand has instructed commercial banks to strictly verify documentation for dollar-sales-for-baht transactions by gold traders. It is also seeking a Finance Ministry directive that would authorise the central bank to request relevant foreign exchange

driven mainly by a weaker US dollar, seasonal inflows from year-end tourism and exports, as well as foreign inflows into equities and bonds, governor Vitai Ratanakorn said in a statement. Transactions by gold traders have also risen notably, with a significant increase in sales of US dollars to buy baht, he said. “Transactions by gold traders during certain periods account for 20% of total foreign exchange trade, contributing to baht volatility,” he added. The central bank has stepped in to manage the currency and tighten supervision over dollar sale trans actions by gold businesses wanting