15/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JAN 15, 2026

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Indonesian ride-hailing industry set for shake-up

Beijing tightens margin financing requirements to cool stock market BEIJING: Chinese stocks reversed gains after regulators yesterday tightened margin requirements in a surprise move to cool a red-hot share market that saw turnover and leverage bets hitting records. Bourses in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing said in separate statements they would raise the minimum margin requirement for new borrowings to 100% from 80%, effective Jan 19. The measures were approved by China’s securities regulator. “The surprise announcement definitely impacts market sentiment,” said Yang Tingwu, vice general manager of asset manager Tongheng Investment. “It’s obvious the market has been too hot . There’re also signs of froth in some corners of the market.” The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index hit a fresh decade high yesterday morning, but reversed gains in afternoon trade after the announcement. The regulatory move came after China’s onshore stock turnover hit a record 3.7 trillion yuan (RM2.2 trillion) on Tuesday, while outstanding margin financing reached 2.6 trillion yuan, also a record. In another sign of growing speculative trading, nearly 3% of total Chinese shares changed hands on Tuesday, the highest level since late 2024. “It’s a good thing to step on the brakes as many hotly chased concept stocks are not supported by fundamentals,” said Wang Zhuo, partner of Shanghai Zhuozhu Investment. “The economy has not improved, so this liquidity-driven speculative fever will end up burning small investors.” Over the past weeks, trading has been hectic in certain sectors including artificial intelligence, aerospace and robotics, triggering risk warnings from listed firms. The exchanges said raising the margin requirements is a “counter-cyclical” measure aimed at“reducing leverage levels, protecting investors and promoting long-term healthy development of the market”. It is a reversal of measures taken in August 2023 that relaxed margin requirements to reinvigorate the market. Xu Jie, fund manager at Yuanzi Investment Management (Shanghai), said yesteray’s move is “relatively mild”. “It reflects regulators’ desire to cool the rapidly rising market and avoid overheating.” – Reuters

o President mulls decree that would slash firms’ commission caps and spike insurance costs Indonesian ride-hailing drivers would receive major increases to financial and social benefits under a draft decree being considered by President Prabowo Subianto, two sources said, threatening the profitability of ride-sharing platforms in their largest market in Southeast Asia. Prabowo is under pressure to respond to drivers’ demands for better pay and conditions, particularly after their involvement in widespread student-led protests in August demonstrated the political clout of the sector’s workforce. The debate also comes amid concerns about driver welfare as a result of a potential merger between the two largest ride-hailing platforms in the country, Indonesia’s GoTo and Singapore-based rival Grab. Critics of the deal say it will create a monopoly that will work against drivers. The draft rules, seen by Reuters, details of the concessions, and potentially immediate enforcement via a presidential decree have not previously been reported. It was not clear if this was the final draft or when it would be enforced. The decree under consideration would slash caps on commissions – the amount ride-hailing companies take from drivers for each trip – to 10% from the current 20%. Indonesia is the only country in Southeast Asia that places caps on commissions for two-wheel ride-hailing services, and a cap would further limit the platforms’ margins. Platforms would also have to pay for drivers’ accident and death insurance in full – which could cost companies about US$1 a month for each of the roughly seven million delivery drivers in the ride-hailing industry. It would also split health, old-age and pension premiums for industry workers, potentially driving up hiring costs further. “Most of the players in the industry cannot sustain these changes,” an industry source, who has seen the draft, told Reuters, JAKARTA: Millions of

A ride-hailing motorbike driver gestures during a protest outside the Parliament building in Jakarta. – REUTERSPIC

increasingly visible political force, staging multiple protests over commission rates and rights and drawing significant public attention to their grievances,” Siwage Dharma Negara, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said. He said the death of a motorcycle taxi rider during the August protests sharply intensified public scrutiny of gig workers’ vulnerability, and likely increased political urgency around worker protection. In 2024, Indonesia led the Asean taxi market with a 37% share, based on its population and rapid uptake of digital payments, data from India-based research firm Mordor Intelligence showed. The decree under consideration would also apply to on-demand logistics firms such as Lalamove, a Hong Kong-based company, and global logistics service firm J&T Express, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. – Reuters

expressing concern that the insurance fees would mean skyrocketing annual spending. A second source, who also confirmed the proposals, warned that costs of premiums borne by platforms could lower margins and reduce the number of drivers they are able to allow on their platform. Such benefits have for years been resisted by companies, which insist drivers are gig workers not eligible for the same insurance available to full-time employees. The draft also authorises the government to review agreements between the companies and online transportation workers, and protects the right to unionise. The Indonesian government and the presidential office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The administration of Prabowo has been particularly sensitive to appeasing drivers. Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi has labeled them “heroes of the economy”. “Motorcycle taxi drivers have become an

China customs agents told Nvidia’s H200 chips not permitted: Sources BEIJING: Chinese customs authorities told customs agents this week that Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence chips are not permitted to enter China, according to three people briefed on the matter. Chinese government officials also companies can flourish, or is still chewing over restrictions, or whether these measures could be used as a bargaining tactic in talks with Washington. China’s General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission had not responded to Reuters requests for comment at the time of publication. But then Beijing de facto blocked those sales from around August, prompting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to say the company’s share of the AI chip market in the world’s second-largest economy had shrunk to zero.

The chip, formally approved by Donald Trump’s administration for export to China this week with some conditions, is also a hot-button issue in the US, with many China hawks concerned that the chips could supercharge the Chinese military and erode the American advantage in AI. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said authorities had not provided any reasons for their directives and had not given any indication whether this constitutes a formal ban or a temporary measure. Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain whether the directives applied to existing orders for H200 chips or only to new orders.

The H200, however, delivers roughly six times the performance of the H20, making it a highly attractive product. While Chinese chipmakers have developed AI processors like Huawei’s Ascend 910C, the H200 is considered far more efficient for the large-scale training of advanced AI models. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than two million H200 chips priced at around US$27,000 each, far exceeding Nvidia’s inventory of 700,000 chips, sources said last month. Conditions placed by the US on the H200 exports include a cap limiting China to no more than 50% of the total chips sold to American customers. – Reuters

Nvidia also did not reply to Reuters queries. The Information on Tuesday reported that the Chinese government this week told some tech companies it would only approve their H200 purchases under special circumstances, such as for research and development conducted in partnerships at universities. Exemptions are being discussed for R&D purposes and universities, said one of the sources. Keen to stifle China’s AI and technological development, the US has since 2022 placed restrictions on exports to China of high-end chips. Last year, Trump banned and then allowed exports of a much weaker chip, the H20.

summoned domestic technology companies to meetings on Tuesday where they were explicitly instructed not to purchase the chips unless necessary, two of the people and a third source said. “The wording from the officials is so severe that it is basically a ban for now, though this might change in the future should things evolve,” one of the people said. The H200, Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, is one of the biggest flashpoints in current US-Sino relations. Though there is strong demand from Chinese firms, it remains unclear whether Beijing wants to ban it outright so that domestic chip