11/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE MONDAY | MAY 11, 2026

READ OUR

HERE

16

Malaysian Paper

/thesun

China April exports rebound strongly

Pakistan to issue first ‘Panda bond’ this week: Minister ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected to access Chinese capital markets for the first time through a yuan-denominated bond this week, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said. “For the first time, we will be accessing Chinese capital markets through Panda bond,“ he said at a press conference. The US$250 million issue, the first of a planned US$1 billion programme, will be backed by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Aurangzeb said Pakistan’s economy was showing signs of recovery, including rising exports and remittances, despite the war in Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz placing massive strain on the country, which relies heavily on imported fuel and gas. The finance minister’s comments follow the release of about US$1.32 billion in fresh funding by the International Monetary Fund from two loan disbursements under two ongoing programmes. Pakistan was weighing Eurobonds from other countries and commercial debt to replace a US$3.5 billion facility from the United Arab Emirates and manage its foreign reserves until Saudi Arabia provided US$3 billion in additional support to bridge the multi-billion dollar gap in its finances. – Reuters Trump will be keen for trade concessions from Beijing ahead of November’s US midterm elections, though company executives and analysts are not expecting big breakthroughs. Faced with US levies that briefly rose to the triple digits, Chinese exporters last year chased new markets such as South America by offering lower prices. China ended 2025 with a record trade surplus of US$1.2 trillion. – Reuters Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ. “There is still room for expansion in this round of manufacturing cycle driven by AI, and it is expected that the annual export growth rate will be about 10%.” Exports expanded 14.1% from a year earlier in US dollar value terms, customs data showed on Saturday, outpacing the 2.5% gain in March and a 7.9% rise tipped by economists. New export orders rose to their highest level in two years, separate factory activity data for April showed last month. Imports notched another strong month, climbing 25.3% versus 27.8% in March. Economists had forecasted growth of 15.2%. That boosted China’s trade surplus last month to US$84.8 billion, from US$51.13 billion in March. Broader momentum in the Chinese economy was solid in the first quarter, with GDP growth hitting 5% year-on-year, the top of the government’s full-year target range, and lessening the need for immediate stimulus. But even China, long criticised by trading partners for subsidy-backed, cut-price manufacturing, is not insulated from the hit to buyers’ purchasing power as fuel and transport costs rise. The factory data published last month showed input prices remained elevated, particularly for refined goods and petroleum, coal and chemicals. Unemployment rates also edged higher and retail sales – a gauge of consumption – continued to underperform industrial output. Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during his May 14-15 visit to Beijing, as both countries seek to stabilise a relationship strained by tensions over trade, Taiwan and the Iran war.

o Factories race to meet a wave of orders from AI-related industries BEIJING: China’s export growth gathered pace in April as factories raced to meet a wave of orders from AI-related industries and other buyers seeking to stockpile components amid fears the Iran war could push global input costs even higher. as President Donald Trump travels to Beijing for a leaders’ summit expected to extend last year’s trade truce. While Chinese exporters have so far weathered the fallout from the Middle East conflict

For now economists are watching the pace of the AI manufacturing boom and whether shipments of related equipment can keep the Chinese export engine purring. “The conflict in the Middle East pushed up demand for global manufacturing inventory replenishment, and under the upward cycle of semiconductors, imports and exports maintained a boom,” according to Xing

economists warn that the longer the war drags on and energy prices rise, the greater the risk that external demand fades away – leaving sluggish domestic consumption unable to plug the gap.

That export strength, which has seen China’s trade surplus with the US widen to US$87.7 billion so far this year, will be in focus this week

Aerial view of containers at the China port of Qingdao. – AFPPIC

Sri Lanka hikes electricity tariff amid energy crisis COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will increase electricity rates by up to 18% from today to offset the additional costs of generating power using thermal plants due to the Middle East war, the Public Utilities Commission said. The measure is the latest in a series of steps taken by the island nation following the war in the Middle East. The latest hike comes on top of a 40% tariff increase introduced last month. essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines. It was hit hard by a cyclone last year that killed at least 643 people and affected more than 10% of the island nation’s population of 22 million. The country has been stabilising its fragile economy with the help of a US$2.9 billion IMF bailout agreed in early 2023, but high energy prices have posed a serious challenge to recovery efforts. – AFP India orders antitrust probe against liquor giant Pernod Ricard Consumers using more than 180 units (kilowatt hours) of electricity a month will have to pay an additional 18% from today, while those using less than that will not see their bills affected. “The increase will apply to industries, hotels, businesses and government institutions and religious places of worship consuming more than 180 units a month,“ the commission said in a statement yesterday. Sri Lanka has also raised fuel prices by more than 35% and rationed the same following energy supply disruptions. Higher energy prices have pushed inflation to more than double, reaching 5.4% in April, according to official data. Sri Lanka has been slowly emerging from the 2022 economic meltdown, when it ran out of foreign exchange reserves to pay for The storm caused an estimated US$4.1 billion in direct physical damage to buildings and agriculture, according to the World Bank.

NEW DELHI: India has ordered a probe into French spirits giant Pernod Ricard over allegations of striking exclusive deals with retailers to unfairly boost its products over competitors. The company, whose brands include Absolut vodka, Chivas Regal whisky and Beefeater gin, is alleged to have “proposed financial assistance of 200 crore rupees (RM86 million) to retailers in the form of corporate guarantees” in 2021. The complaint alleges Pernod Ricard provided these guarantees in return for

consumers rather than benefit them in any manner”. According to the CCI order, the allegations were made by an individual named Mohit, a resident of the western city of Jaipur. “The market share of Pernod Ricard increased from 15% to 35% and it had planned to increase the same to 47% over a period of three years,“ after the proposed financial assistance, as per the complaint. According to the company’s website, it “holds one of the most dynamic and premium portfolios” in the alcohol-beverage industry and has almost 1,600 employees in India. – AFP

mandating that its brands comprise 35% of the stock on sale at the retailers’ stores. A regulatory order issued Friday by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it was ordering the investigation as “...vertical arrangements between Pernod Ricard and retailers is likely to result in distortion of demand by way of moving retail demand away from the competing brands to Pernod Ricard, artificially, thereby leading to a situation of driving existing competitors out of the market”. The antitrust watchdog said “such an action is likely to result in restriction of choice to end