04/06/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JUNE 4, 2026

17

DeepSeek set to net 50b yuan in maiden fundraising

Traders push yen to govt

intervention zone TOKYO: The yen weakened to levels that preceded intervention by Tokyo last month, prompting fresh warnings by the finance minister yesterday ahead of a highly anticipated speech by the central bank governor. The yen briefly touched the critical 160 per dollar line in early trading, the first time since April 30 and wiping out all gains made after a record amount of intervention by Japan in foreign exchange markets. “With regard to foreign exchange, we will respond appropriately at any time as necessary,“ Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters after the government finalised an extra budget. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will deliver a speech later in the day that could reveal his thinking on the prospects of a June rate hike as the war in Iran heightens price pressures. “Governor Ueda is likely to maintain a positive stance toward a rate hike, while also referring to uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East,“ said Hirofumi Suzuki, chief FX strategist at SMBC. “He is likely to avoid providing any definitive signal ... as a result, his comments may not give dollar/yen much clear direction.” But a key question for markets is whether fiscally dovish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her government are on board with further tightening by the central bank. Katayama said she is largely aligned with the BOJ governor on various aspects, adding that Ueda and Takaichi held “very constructive discussions” in a recent meeting. Data on Friday showed that Japan spent ¥11.7 trillion (RM292 billion) since April to support the yen in what was the largest-ever intervention round in a month. The currency slid to a near two-year low of 160.725 per dollar on April 30 before jolting to as strong as 155 in what is believed to be multiple bouts of yen-buying intervention. But the currency has ground weaker ever since, spurring expectations of further action by Tokyo to defend its currency. Yen-buying intervention requires selling foreign assets, of which Japan held about US$1 trillion at the end of April. “Intervention odds click above zero as 160 nears and click substantially higher if 162 trades,“ Brent Donnelly, president at analytics firm Spectra Markets, wrote in a note. The three-month-long Middle East crisis has hit Japan’s economy and currency particularly hard, as the nation imports most of its oil and must pay for it in dollars. That exacerbated an already weakening trend in the yen amid the BOJ’s cautious approach to raising interest rates and expectations of expanded fiscal stimulus. Previous administrations have focused on the speed of change in markets in deciding whether to intervene, but Takaichi’s government appears more centred on defending key levels. “I think they have successfully put in the minds of market participants that 160 is where we’ve got to be careful,“ said Bart Wakabayashi, branch manager at State Street in Tokyo. “They have definitely put 160 in neon as a level where we’re going to see increased jawboning and tension.” – Reuters

o Tencent, CATL set to become the largest external investors, sources say

exploring opportunities to provide power equipment and energy storage solutions as AI workloads drive demand for large-scale, reliable power. Tencent has sought to promote its own AI model, Hunyuan, but trails domestic market leaders including ByteDance’s Doubao and DeepSeek. A closer relationship with DeepSeek could help Tencent keep pace with rival Alibaba, which has prioritised its in-house Qwen AI model. DeepSeek is expected to complete the round within the next couple of weeks, said the people, cautioning that financial details could still change. The startup has to date not made any statements about whether it plans an initial public offering sometime in the future. Hong Kong-headquartered IDG Capital and Monolith Capital are also among the prospective investors, the people said. IDG declined to comment while Monolith did not respond to a request for comment. – Reuters

The startup’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, has committed 20 billion yuan of his own money, the people said, adding that tech conglomerate Tencent is considering 10 billion yuan and battery giant CATL is looking at 5 billion yuan, which would make them the largest external investors in the round. DeepSeek is also in final talks with China’s national artificial intelligence fund, gaming developer NetEase and e-commerce giant JD.com, they said, noting that the planned number of investors was fewer than 10. DeepSeek, Liang, NetEase, JD.com and the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, which is the main backer of the national AI fund, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Tencent and CATL declined to comment. The line-up underscores China’s efforts to build an increasingly self-sufficient AI industry, from models to the energy infrastructure needed to power them. CATL, best known as a dominant supplier in the electric vehicle battery supply chain, has recently pushed into AI data centres,

SHANGHAI: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is set to raise about 50 billion yuan (RM29.6 billion) in its first funding round from investors including Tencent Holdings and CATL, people with knowledge of the matter said. The fundraising could value the company after the investment at between 350 billion yuan and 400 billion yuan, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. DeepSeek became China’s national AI champion and garnered global fame early last year, when its V3 and R1 models drew widespread praise in Silicon Valley and challenged US assumptions about China’s AI capabilities.

The building which houses the DeepSeek offices in Beijing. – AFPPIC

Indonesian business groups call for clarity about new commodity export rules JAKARTA: Business groups in

Danantara has said it would honour long-term contracts, but might renegotiate prices if it suspects under-invoicing and that it was developing monitoring technology. Representatives for Danantara, and the ministries of economic affairs and finance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A trade ministry spokesperson deferred questions to the economic affairs ministry. – Reuters

banks and limit their conversion into rupiah also took effect on June 1. The business groups said legal certainty was needed, particularly on ongoing contracts, long-term contracts, payments, as well as shipping and insurance provisions. Clarity on export earnings rules and the treatment of trade agreements was also urgently needed, as well as a credible digital platform to monitor trade.

company, Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia (DSI), starting with coal, palm oil and ferroalloys. The transition period for the policy, which is aimed at improving tax revenue and preventing export under-invoicing, started on June 1, with its full implementation planned at the start of next year, at the latest. Rules requiring natural resource exporters to keep earnings in state

the government would work with the private sector on their implementation. “The government needs to issue transparent technical guidelines to eliminate negative speculation and maintain international market confidence in Indonesia as a global commodity supplier,“ they said. President Prabowo Subianto on May 20 announced resource-rich Indonesia would centralise exports of strategic commodities through a new

Indonesia called on the government to issue technical guidance for its plan to centralise exports and retain export proceeds in state banks, they said in a joint statement Reuters received on Tuesday. The Indonesian Employers Association, together with associations of miners, coal miners, nickel smelters and palm oil producers, said they supported the new rules, but hoped