INDONESIA
Tax collection law passed
The government moved a step closer to recovering tens of billions of US dollars it believes Indonesians have hidden abroad after passing a law that will give tax officials access to financial data held by other countries. The parliament yesterday approved a law in lieu of a presidential decree, fulfilling a requirement to participate under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) framework. The law paves the way for Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to ramp up tax collection by getting better access to information on any assets parked in jurisdictions such as Singapore and Hong Kong. While a tax amnesty launched last year uncovered more than US$360 billion, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati estimated more tax revenue could be unlocked under the AEOI framework. Indonesia, which has a poor tax collection rate, has been facing a fiscal shortfall and needs to shore up revenue to fund an ambitious infrastructure program.
BANKING
UniCredit security breached
UniCredit SpA said about 400,000 clients were impacted by two security breaches at its Italian network. The data breaches occurred this month and last month, and in September and October last year, the bank said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Unauthorized access through an Italian third party provider gave access to some customer data related to their personal loans. The breach involved customers having financing and consumer credit loans with UniCredit, the company said, adding that the violation gave the hackers access to personal data and IBAN numbers.
NIGERIA
Central bank holds rates
Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive meeting as it seeks to hold on to gains it has made in inflation and exchange-rate stability. The Monetary Policy Committee held the key policy rate at 14 percent, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters on Tuesday in Abuja. That was in line with the forecast of all but two of 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey. While inflation in Africa’s most-populous nation slowed to 16.1 percent last month, it remained well outside the government’s 6 percent to 9 percent target range. That, and the need for a stable exchange rate, limited room for loosening policy even as Nigeria contracted for the fifth consecutive quarter in the three months through March.
INDIA
Metals boost SENSEX
The benchmark equity index headed for a record high as a broad-based rally in commodities including iron ore and copper helped metals companies advance. The S&P BSE SENSEX Index rose 0.3 percent to 32,320.97 at 10:50am in Mumbai, led by Tata Steel Ltd. An index of metals companies headed for its highest level in almost three years. Cigarette maker ITC Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd gave the biggest boost to the broad gauge. The NSE’s NIFTY 50 gained 0.3 percent to 9,994.1 after breaking through the 10,000 mark for the first time on Tuesday. A resurgence in steelmaking in China, helped by the seasonal mid-year increase in production, has sparked a 30 percent rally in iron ore since the middle of last month to top US$70 a tonne. Copper rose 2 percent, extending a rally on Tuesday that lifted it to its highest close in more than two years.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last