29/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JAN 29, 2026

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Indonesian stocks tumble as MSCI flags investability risk

batches or what criteria Beijing is using to determine eligibility. The approvals of H200 suggest Beijing is prioritising the needs of major Chinese internet companies, which are spending billions of dollars to build data centres needed to develop AI services and compete with US rivals, including OpenAI. While China firms such as Huawei now have products that rival the performance of Nvidia’s H20 chip, previously the most advanced AI chip it was allowed to sell to China, they still lag far behind H200. The H200 delivers roughly six times the performance of Nvidia’s H20 chip. – Reuters SK hynix posts record operating profit for 2025 SEOUL: South Korean chip giant SK hynix said yesterday that operating profit doubled last year to hit a record high thanks to a surge in global demand for technology powering artificial intelligence. The company and rival Samsung are among the world’s leading producers of memory chips, supplying high performance components that are essential for AI products and the data centres powering the fast evolving sector. It said in a statement that “2025 marked a year in which the company once again demonstrated its world-class technological leadership”. The firm announced that operating profit soared 101% to hit 47.2 trillion won (RM129 billion) last year. The AI boom has pushed up prices and shipments of conventional NAND and DRAM memory semiconductors, while demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, used in AI servers, has soared. That has helped SK hynix’s shares surge around 220% over the past six months. In the fourth quarter, net profit came to 15.24 trillion won, a 90.4% year-on-year increase. SK hynix“plans to further strengthen its proven quality, technological leadership and mass-production capabilities”, by “stably supplying both HBM3E and HBM4”, referring to its high-bandwidth memory chips. TrendForce memory analyst Ellie Wang said such chips were essential for advanced processors used in AI systems. “For Samsung and SK hynix, while AI has driven a meaningful increase in memory demand, the technical barriers for HBM have also risen,” she told AFP. “How capacity is allocated across different products has become an increasingly critical issue” for the companies, she said, adding that current memory chip “supply tightness is partly due to suppliers concentrating production lines on HBM”. The huge demand for memory chips in AI systems has caused a shortage for those used in consumer electronics – threatening higher prices for phones, laptops and other devices. “As HBM’s share of total production continues to rise, supply shortages are difficult to alleviate,”Wang said. TrendForce predicts that memory chip industry revenue will surge to a global peak in 2027 of more than US$840 billion. South Korea has said it will triple spending on artificial intelligence this year, aiming to join the United States and China as one of the top three AI powers. – AFP

o Index provider cites lack of transparency in ownership and free float data JAKARTA: Indonesian stocks slumped 8% yesterday after index provider MSCI flagged investability risk citing a lack of transparency in ownership structure and free float data, and raising the possibility of downgrading Indonesian equity markets. MSCI said it would reassess Indonesian market accessibility for global investors should there be no meaningful improvement in transparency by May. Reassessment could lead to a lower weighting for Indonesian stocks in MSCI’s emerging-market indexes or even a downgrade to frontier-market status. It also flagged investor “concerns about possible coordinated trading behaviour that undermines proper price formation”. In the meantime, MSCI said it would not make any Indonesia-related changes to its indexes. Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), the Securities Depository and Settlement Institution (KSEI) and financial regulator OJK were discussing the matter with MSCI, IDX told reporters. “Previously, we have increased transparency by publishing free float data announcements on the IDX website,” said IDX corporate secretary Kautsar Primadi Nurahmad. “However, if MSCI feels that this is not sufficient, we will continue discussions on data transparency in accordance with MSCI’s proposal to reach an agreement.”

The Indonesia Stock Exchange signage is seen on its building in Jakarta. – REUTERSPIC

The major Southeast Asian equity market is already plagued by foreign outflows amid a weak currency and concern over a widening fiscal deficit and central bank autonomy. Overseas investors sold 13.96 trillion rupiah (RM3.3 billion) worth of shares in 2025, the worst year of outflow since 2020, with the sell-off continuing in January, LSEG data showed. Still, Indonesia’s benchmark stock price index surged more than 20% in 2025 and set records several times during the year, making it one of the region’s top-performing markets. The Jakarta Composite Index tumbled 8% in afternoon trade, triggering an automatic trading halt designed to manage extreme volatility. Trading resumed after 30 minutes, and the index was last down 8.3%, lingering near its three-month low and on track for its worst day since September 2011. – Reuters

KSEI and OJK did not immediately respond to requests for comment. MSCI’s indexes serve as share price performance benchmarks. The New York-headquartered company said that, with regards to Indonesia, it will immediately halt any additions to its indexes and freeze increases to its estimates on the number of shares available for purchase by international investors to “mitigate index turnover and investability risks”. “We believe this could put Indonesia under negative sentiment if MSCI decides to reduce Indonesia’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets index,” said William Simadiputra, head of research for Indonesia at Singapore’s DBS. “However, we think the downside risk will likely be limited due to persistent foreign outflows since 2025.”

CIMB Niaga said to be exploring IPO of Islamic unit JAKARTA: Indonesia’s PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk is exploring an initial public offering of its Islamic banking arm after the unit is made independent, with a potential listing as early as 2028, two people with knowledge of the matter said. digital investments at the Islamic arm, one person said. The timing and size of the potential offering remain subject to market conditions and regulatory processes, the people added. growth across Indonesia,” it said in an e-mailed response to Reuters. The IPO consideration also reflects the lender’s aim to tap growth in the world’s largest Muslim-majority market.

Indonesia has been pushing for greater consolidation and scale in Islamic banking, with the Financial Services Authority or OJK, the country’s financial regulator, encouraging sector growth and setting out structural reforms in its 2023–2027 shariah banking roadmap. A listing would position CIMB Niaga Syariah as one of the country’s few publicly traded pure syariah lenders, potentially drawing strong domestic institutional demand as the halal economy expands. CIMB Niaga, Indonesia’s second-largest private lender, has been growing its syariah business. The Islamic unit’s assets grew 7.6% to 67.5 trillion rupiah in 2024 from a year ago. – Reuters Beijing would grant approval as the government wants to balance meeting surging domestic demand for advanced AI chips and nurturing its domestic semiconductor industry. Chinese customs authorities told agents that the H200 chips were not permitted to enter China, Reuters reported earlier this month. But Chinese technology firms have placed orders for more than two million H200 chips, far exceeding Nvidia’s available inventory, Reuters reported last month. It remains uncertain how many additional companies will receive approval in subsequent

They also cautioned discussions remain preliminary and no final decisions have been made. The people requested anonymity because the information is private. CIMB Niaga declined to comment, saying it is focused on strengthening core businesses and supporting inclusive growth across Indonesia. “At CIMB Niaga and CIMB Niaga Syariah, our focus remains on advancing our customers and society by delivering sustainable value to our customers, stakeholders, and the communities we serve, while continuing to strengthen our core businesses, enhance customer experience, and support inclusive and responsible economic

CIMB Niaga Syariah is slated to operate as a standalone business from May 2026, the people said. A potential IPO would likely come only after it builds a track record as a separate entity, including audited financials, one of them added. The Islamic unit could be valued at around US$1 billion at the time of the potential 2028 listing in Indonesia depending on performance and market conditions, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. It is still too early to determine an IPO size but proceeds from the potential listing would likely be used to bolster capital and fund growth and

China approves first batch of Nvidia H200 chip imports BEIJING: China has approved its first batch of Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence chip imports, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, marking a shift in position as Beijing seeks to balance its AI needs against spurring domestic development. The H200, Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, has emerged as a major flashpoint in US-China relations. Despite strong demand from Chinese firms and US approval for exports, Beijing’s hesitation to allow imports has been the main barrier to shipments.

ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have been approved to purchase over 400,000 H200 chips in total, with other enterprises now joining a queue for subsequent approvals, said two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was granted during Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to China this week, the sources said.

The US earlier this month formally cleared the way for Nvidia to sell the H200 to China, where the company is seeing strong appetite. However, Chinese authorities have the final say on whether they would allow it to be shipped in. It was unclear in recent weeks whether