14/05/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | MAY 14, 2026

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MSCI culls six companies from Indonesia index

NEW DELHI: India has boosted its import tariffs on gold and silver in an effort to shore up the sagging value of the rupee and bolster foreign currency reserves hit by war in the Middle East. Gold imports are financed through dollars, which means buyers have to spend down foreign reserves or convert rupees to make purchases. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already appealed days ago to the public to avoid buying gold for a year as the rupee’s year-long slide against the dollar has worsened during the Iran war. The government more than doubled import taxes on gold and silver to about 15% from the existing 6%, according to two official orders issued late on Tuesday. The energy supply crisis caused by the Mideast war’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of the world’s crude passed – has hit India hard. India is the world’s third-largest oil importer and the spiking cost of petroleum has hit its foreign currency reserves. Elevated crude oil prices have increased India’s import bill, putting additional strain on the country’s balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves. Modi on Sunday urged the people of India to cut down on petrol and diesel consumption in response to the supply disruptions due to the Middle East war. – AFP India hikes gold, silver duties to protect rupee Trump insists inflation surge ‘short term,‘ policies working WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday insisted that his policies were working and that surging inflation was merely temporary due to the US and Israeli war against Iran. “Our inflation is just short term,“ Trump told reporters, hours after consumer price inflation came in at 3.8% year-on-year, its highest level in three years. “As soon as this war is over, which will not be long, you’re going to see oil prices drop.“ The halt in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally sees about a fifth of global oil and gas traffic, has seen energy prices skyrocket. As of Tuesday, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the US had risen about 51% since the start of the war, according to data from the AAA motor club. The US Federal Reserve has a long-term 2% target for inflation, but policymakers have not achieved that level in more than five years. Asked if Americans’ financial situation motivated him to make a peace deal with Iran, Trump said:“Not even a little bit. That only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran: they can’t have a nuclear weapon. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody.” – AFP

since February, he said, which included requiring more details on stock ownership and a higher level of freely tradeable shares. “Of course bolder reforms on market integrity, with a goal of making our market more credible and investable ... will be continued in the medium to long term.” Barito Renewables and Dian Swastatika were among those previously flagged by authorities for having highly concentrated ownership structures. Indonesian business magnate Prajogo Pangestu has controlling stakes in Chandra Asri, Barito Renewables and Petrindo Jaya Kreasi, while Dian Swastatika is part of the Sinar Mas Group, one of the country’s largest conglomerates, owned by the billionaire Widjaja family. The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters e-mails seeking comments. The small-cap companies affected include state miner Aneka Tambang, several palm oil companies such as conglomerate Astra Group’s Astra Agro Lestari, and Sinar Mas Group’s real estate firm Bumi Serpong Damai. – Reuters

outflow of about US$1.6 billion due to the rebalancing. The index provider removed Amman Mineral International, Chandra Asri Pacific, Dian Swastatika Sentosa, Barito Renewables Energy, Petrindo Jaya Kreasi and Sumber Alfaria Trijaya from the MSCI Indonesia Index, while another 13 companies were dropped from its small cap index list. Shares in most of the affected companies tumbled around 10%. Sumber Alfaria Trijaya was an exception, down just 1.8%, as the mini market operator was moved to MSCI’s Indonesia small-cap index. The selling was concentrated in tightly-held names with low free floats that lack active foreign ownership, Allspring’s Tan said. Amman Mineral, Barito Renewables and Dian Swastatika were in the top 10 constituents of Indonesia’s stock exchange as of March 2026. The chief capital market supervisor at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK), Hasan Fawzi, said market reactions were within normal ranges, suggesting no panic selling of shares. MSCI’s decision reflected reform measures launched by Indonesia

o Jakarta equity market drops nearly 2%, some affected stocks tumble around 10%

JAKARTA: Global index provider MSCI said it will cut six companies from its Indonesia index at the end of May as it pushes for reforms in a market it has criticised for lacking transparency, sending their shares tumbling yesterday. Two of the six had been flagged by Indonesian authorities for having concentrated ownership, a focus of an MSCI review into Indonesia’s market due to conclude in June. MSCI highlighted transparency issues in Indonesian equities in January, sparking a market rout on fears of a downgrade to “frontier” status, which led authorities to step up efforts on market integrity reforms. Jakarta’s main stock index dropped as much as 1.9% yesterday to its lowest in over a year on MSCI’s announcement, though investors and the government said it had been largely anticipated. Market participants said the index culling could pave the way for

MSCI to soon lift a block on adding Indonesian companies to its indexes, citing investor-friendly reforms authorities have taken. “We see a high probability that Indonesia avoids a downgrade to Frontier Market status,” said Ari Jahja, head of Indonesia research at Macquarie Capital. Gary Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, said the rebalancing from MSCI was a “constructive step in clearing out weaker governance names, supporting Indonesia’s push to improve overall market quality”. “We expect continued pressure into the May 29 rebalance and early June as passive funds adjust,” said Tan, who remains selectively positioned in the market, preferring higher quality and liquid names. Foreign investors have sold about US$2.2 billion worth of Indonesian stocks this year, exchange data showed. Goldman Sachs estimates an

A man walks past a Softbank store in Tokyo yesterday. – AFPPIC

SoftBank’s net income quadruples in 2025-2026 to ¥5t

TOKYO: Japan’s SoftBank Group said yesterday its net profit quadrupled year-on-year in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, boosted by its investments in AI. Tech investor SoftBank posted net profit of ¥5 trillion (RM126 billion) for the fiscal year ending in March, compared with ¥1.15 trillion in the previous year. It also booked an investment gain of ¥339.1 billion with the sale of its stake in chip giant Nvidia in October, a holding it dumped to better fund its other investments.

SoftBank’s earnings often swing dramatically because it invests heavily in tech start-ups and semiconductor firms, whose stocks are volatile. According to Bloomberg, CEO Masayoshi Son has held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on unveiling an ambitious AI-focused data centre project in France in coming weeks. Son is reportedly considering investing several billion dollars in the country as part of a broader rollout of SoftBank’s AI infrastructure, according

After suffering massive losses across its broad tech portfolio in recent years, SoftBank has turned things around by diving into the fast-growing artificial intelligence sector. It announced in December that its stake in ChatGPT maker OpenAI was around 11% after completing the second stage of a US$41 billion investment. In February, it signed an agreement to increase that investment by a further US$30 billion.

to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said, with Son floating the idea of investing up to US$100 billion. In an effort to diversify its positions within AI, SoftBank also acquired last year US semiconductor designer Ampere Computing and the robotics division of Swiss-Swedish industrial giant ABB. It also announced in December it would acquire DigitalBridge for US$4 billion, an American private equity firm specialising in technology infrastructure. – AFP