05/06/2026

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | JUNE 5, 2026

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Nissan aims to build Chery vehicles in UK LONDON: Japanese automaker Nissan announced on Wednesday it was considering building cars for Chinese manufacturer Chery, which produces the Omoda and Jaecoo brands, at its plant in Sunderland in northeastern England. Under a non-binding memorandum of understanding, the firm would “aim to begin manufacturing Chery International UK passenger vehicles on the plant’s production Line One in financial year 2027”, Nissan said in a statement. The Sunderland factory would remain fully owned by Nissan with the site’s team employed by the Japanese firm, it said. The agreement comes amid a sharp slowdown in the European car market since 2019. European manufacturers are burdened by factory overcapacity and are facing a price war with Chinese competitors, who are hampered by weak domestic demand and see Europe as a goldmine. To improve sales in Europe, Chinese firms are now looking to produce on the continent, either by building factories or by acquiring existing ones. Chery in 2023 acquired a former Nissan factory in Barcelona, Spain, where it now aims to produce 200,000 vehicles per year. Nissan also sold its Rosslyn plant near Pretoria in South Africa to Chery this year. – AFP Foxconn, Intel team up to build AI systems TAIPEI: Foxconn said yesterday it will work with US chipmaker Intel to jointly develop and deploy next-generation AI infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, said in a statement that the partnership would combine Intel’s chip technology with Foxconn’s manufacturing and system-building expertise. The firms plan to work on equipment used in AI data centres, including server racks powered by Intel Xeon processors and AI accelerator chips. They will also focus on high-speed interconnect technologies, cooling designs and energy efficiency solutions in AI systems. Foxconn and Intel also aim to develop AI systems for use outside traditional data centres, including in factories, smart cities and robots. “Our collaboration with Intel will combine the strengths of both companies across computing platforms, system integration, and global supply chain capabilities,“ Foxconn chairman and CEO Young Liu said in the statement. The companies also said they would explore work on custom chips and system integration solutions. – Reuters

Rupiah falls to record low against US dollar

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s rupiah hit more than 18,000 per dollar for the first time yesterday as the country is stung by surging energy costs, while lawmakers passed a bill expanding oversight of the central bank that raised concerns over its independence. Bank Indonesia has in moved to bolster the currency, which has been hammered amid mounting concerns about the state of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. But the unit broke the psychological 18,000 barrier against the greenback yesterday. The country’s stock market sank nearly four per cent and has lost a third of its value in 2026. Parliament, meanwhile, gave the green light to a legislative amendment expanding the central bank’s mandate to include responsibility for economic growth. It also allows lawmakers to evaluate Bank Indonesia’s performance. The new parliamentary oversight will also apply to the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), tasked with guaranteeing bank deposits and ensuring banking system stability, and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) financial regulator. o Indonesian lawmakers pass bill expanding oversight of central bank

impact on those at the top,” he said. The rupiah has tumbled more than seven per cent this year and has been Asia’s worst-performing currency, according to Bloomberg News, as the US-Israel war on Iran sent global oil prices surging. Permata Bank chief economist Josua Pardede said an exchange rate of 18,000 was a “psychological threshold” for market investors. The weakening, he told AFP, was fuelled by high dollar demand caused by the surge in oil prices and a narrowing trade surplus. Indonesia is a net oil importer and is has been battered by high crude costs, yet the govenrment has insisted on leaving heavily subsidised fuel prices unchanged. The country’s trade surplus narrowed to just US$89 million in April, from US$3.3 billion a month before, further reducing dollar supply, Josua said. At the same time, “dollar needs for energy imports, raw materials, dividends, foreign debt payments and seasonality needs remain significant”, he told AFP on Wednesday. The central bank hiked its lending rate by 0.5 basis points to 5.25 per cent last month – the first increase in two years – as it looked to stabilise the rupiah and keep inflation in check. It has also tightened rules for dollar purchases, but has been unable to halt the exchange rate rout. Teuku Riefky, a University of Indonesia economist, said the rupiah was reacting not only to the economic fallout of the Middle East war, but also “various costly populist programmes” including the government’s multi-billion dollar school feeding scheme. There was also flagging confidence among investors in Jakarta’s ability to repay its debts. “If this continues, the impact will be sustained inflation due to rising production and raw material costs,” Teuku told AFP. Further fuelling investor concerns, President Prabowo Subianto last month announced commodity export controls that set markets aflutter amid concerns over “resource nationalism” in the world’s largest palm oil producer. – AFP

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Wednesday the legislative amendment was aimed at boosting economic growth and enhancing global competitiveness as Indonesia’s economy grapples with a spike in global oil prices. “It’s not just about exchange rate stability, or just about inflation. It’s also about paying attention to economic growth and creating jobs,” he said. Economist Yose Rizal Damuri, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the move raised the “question of independence”, especially if parliamentary intervention becomes “routine”. “If independence is perceived to be weakening, the risk could trigger an increase in risk premiums and put pressure on financial markets,” added Central Bank Asia chief economist David Sumual. Members of the public viewed the rupiah weakening with alarm. “It will create inequality, a visible gap between those earning dollars and those earning rupiah,” pensioner Diana Murdiana, 60, told AFP in the capital. For government employee Ryandi Febri Nurcahyo, 35, government assurances were wearing thin. “Our officials keep saying that our economic fundamentals are strong ... Are they really that strong? This rise in the dollar affects people from the lower-income level to the middle class. Maybe it does not have much

Bundles of rupiah banknotes at a currency exchange office in Jakarta yesterday. – AFPPIC

Goldman lifts MSCI EM target on AI boost, flags Iran deal relief for bonds NEW YORK: Goldman Sachs has raised its 12-month target for MSCI emerging markets index, citing AI-driven earnings growth, and said a quick resolution to the Iran conflict could boost some currencies and offer relief to bond markets.

month, buoyed by booming demand for high-end memory chips that has created a supply crunch and driven up prices. Goldman now projects the index’s earnings-per-share to come in at 55% this year, up from a previous forecast of 45%. For 2027, the Wall Street brokerage expects EPS growth of 20%, a notch higher than its prior forecast of 19%. However, excluding North Asia, which roughly accounts for half of the index weight, Goldman forecasts only 11% earnings-per-share growth for both 2026 and 2027, reflecting the massive uptick from AI-driven gains. Beyond tech-heavy indexes, rate-sensitive markets such as South Africa, Brazil and the UAE could outperform on optimism around a potential US-Iran deal, Goldman said. In the event of a conflict resolution, South African rand, Korean won, Polish zloty and Chilean peso could‘stand out’ among currencies, Goldman said, while local currency bonds could also see a “pathway for relief”. – Reuters

The brokerage raised its benchmark index target to 2,000 from 1,850, implying a nearly 12% upside from its last close of 1,787.88. Equities across emerging markets have been on a rally, led by AI-driven North Asian markets such as South Korea and Taiwan, with the benchmark index up 9% in May, outperforming a 5% climb in the S&P 500. “We think this earnings-driven rally can extend given a longer memory upcycle, leading to further increases in our earnings expectations and index targets in Korea and Taiwan,“ Goldman said in a note on Wednesday. South Korean heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics each topped a US$1 trillion valuation last

Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO David Solomon addresses the Economic Club of New York in New York City. – REUTERSPIC