ASEAN – ECONOMY: ASEAN Economic Scoreboard as of 21 January
Gavroche has selected some economic news from Southeast Asia for you last week. An essential news overview for anyone interested in the region’s economy.
Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast is running promotions in response to Tesla’s price cuts.
Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast said Thursday it will launch promotions to keep its models competitive in the market, a week after Tesla announced aggressive discounts to boost demand. VinFast, which launched in 2019, is preparing to expand in the United States, where it hopes to compete with existing automakers, offering two models, the VF8 and VF9, with starting prices of $59,000 and $83,000, respectively.
Fundraising for Philippine startups down 26% this year, but 2023 looks promising
While pandemic-related restrictions eased in the previous two years and businesses resumed full-time operations, fundraising in the Philippines has not fully recovered in 2022. Philippine startups raised $653 million in 56 deals between January and November this year, down 26% from the $890 million raised in all 58 deals in 2021.
In 2022, less than 200 new factories were established in Cambodia
The Ministry of Industry, Technology, Science and Innovation registered 186 new factories in 2022, bringing the total number of active factories in Cambodia to 1,982. This is stated in the information released by the ministry. The same source added that 83 factories were closed in 2022, compared to 143 a year earlier.
Vietnam is at the forefront of Southeast Asia’s growing digital economy
With a growth of 28% in 2022, Vietnam is considered to be the country with the highest growth rate of the digital economy in Southeast Asia. With an annual growth rate of 26%, e-commerce is a significant contributor.
Indonesia December 2022: increased bank financing
According to the latest funding supply and demand survey, new lending by the banking sector increased in December 2022 compared to the previous period. This is shown by a slight increase in the net balance drawn in November 2022 from 58.6% to 77.7%. The main factors influencing the issuance of new loans during the reporting period were customer demand, monetary outlook and economic, as well as the level of competition between banks. banking institutions. Corporate funding demand also showed growth in December 2022, as evidenced by an increase in the weighted net balance to 21.5% from 13.2% in November 2022. Funding demand was mainly from domestic funds, followed by branch loans/borrowings, outstanding loans, and new issuance of additional loans through national banks.
Bank Indonesia is strengthening its policy mix response to maintain the speed and stability of the economic recovery
The Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Indonesia (BI) on January 18-19, 2023 decided to increase BI’s 7-day reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75%, while increasing deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points. agreed on. to 5.00% and 6.50% respectively. The most calculated decision to raise the policy rate is a pre-emptive, pre-emptive and forward-looking follow-up measure to bring down inflation in the future. Bank Indonesia is confident that an increase in the BI 7-day reverse repo rate (to 5.75% by 225 basis points from August 2022) is sufficient to ensure that core inflation remains within the target corridor of 3.0% ± 1% in the first half of the year . 2023 and the return of the consumer price index (CPI) to the target of 3.0% ± 1% in the second half of 2023. To control imported inflation, stabilization of the rupee has been reinforced by foreign currency monetary transactions, including foreign currency monetary transactions. currency term deposit instruments using foreign currencies.
Singapore-based food delivery platform Gobble is shutting down
Singapore-based food delivery platform Gobble has closed due to low profit margins and lack of positive cash flow, according to a LinkedIn post by the company’s co-founder Dominico Tan. Despite the high sales volume, the company’s profit margin and cash flow remained low. Tan also cited his reliance on a B2C-only model as the reason for the shutdown, saying the company could not generate enough revenue from Singapore alone to expand its Series A funding.
SG’s Capital Square Partners and Basil Technology Partners Close $700M Fund
Singapore-based private equity firms Capital Square Partners (CSP) and Basil Technology Partners (BTP) have closed a $700 million fund, according to an announcement on Friday. It is becoming one of the largest funds dedicated to technology services in Asia. Called CSP Fund II, the fund raised capital from HarbourVest Partners, TPG NewQuest, Committed Advisors and other institutional investors. HarbourVest and TPG NewQuest co-led the deal. HarbourVest led the structuring of the transaction. UBS Private Funds Group advised the transaction.
Inflation in Malaysia fell to 3.8% in December, bringing the annual rate to 3.3%.
Malaysia’s inflation rate remained moderate at 3.8% in December as food prices rose at a slower pace, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Friday, January 20. This indicator decreased by 4% in November and October.
