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Category: Finance

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Finance news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • MasterCard launches Contactless Card in Myanmar

    MasterCard launches Contactless Card in Myanmar

    The latest of MasterCard’s efforts to better serve the people of Myanmar, the CB EasiTravel Prepaid MasterCard Contactless card provides consumers with a more convenient way to pay when travelling abroad without compromising security.

    U Kyaw Lynn, CEO and Vice Chairman, CB Bank said, “More Myanmar citizens are making trips to neighbouring countries than ever before, buoyed by the recent relaxing of entry visa restrictions. This trend will continue as the economy grows and gains traction. CB Bank is always looking for ways that will bring convenience to Myanmar travellers. CB Banks’s newly issued MasterCard Contactless card will give added convenience when making payments internationally.”

    Latest projections by the International Monetary Fund put Myanmar’s economic growth at around eight per cent for 2016. As well as seeing a growth in outbound tourists, inbound tourism is set to significantly contribute to Myanmar’s growth in the coming years.

    According to the inaugural MasterCard Asia Pacific Destination Cities Index launched earlier this year, Myanmar’s former capital Yangon is expected to see very strong growth in inbound tourism. Of the 167 cities ranked, Yangon has the third highest compound annual growth rate of 45.7 per cent for total inbound tourist expenditure over the period 2009-2015, just behind Kandy of Sri Lanka (47.3 per cent) and Okinawa of Japan (49 per cent).

    Antonio Corro, Country Manager, Thailand and Myanmar, MasterCard said, “Earlier this month, it was announced that four foreign banks were issued preliminary approval to operate in Myanmar. It is great to see the government taking further steps toward opening up Myanmar’s economy and we are optimistic that this will provide an excellent foundation for commerce to thrive. The people of Myanmar are also optimistic about the future of their country. MasterCard’s latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence recently revealed that people in Myanmar have the most positive outlook on the future of any Asia Pacific market. With the launch of the first MasterCard contactless card in the country, we are continuing to develop the local payment landscape and look forward to more partnership opportunities that allow us to further financially empower the people of Myanmar.”

    Currently, more than 2,800 restaurants, retail outlets and hotels in Myanmar accept payment card

    According to MasterCard’s latest research, 61 per cent of people in Myanmar (also known as Burma) are seeking to travel abroad more in the next 12 months, a stark increase from just 25 per cent two years ago. To meet this growing demand for travel and cross-border spending, MasterCard together with Co-operative Bank Ltd (CB Bank) have launched the CB EasiTravel Prepaid MasterCard Contactless card.

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  • Joyo Financial to Provide Retail Investors’ Access to IPO

    Joyo Financial to Provide Retail Investors’ Access to IPO

    The tech sector is always a main focal point for investors and consumers’ alike as it lays down the bench mark for what will be common place for most people whether it is in the home, places of business, or recreationally.

    In the bustling IPO market which covers a variety of numerous product sectors by some of the marketplaces more recognizable and also some not so well known companies, whose products are among the best innovative and pioneering ideas to date. These companies offer many different options to potential investors and have the retail, corporate and institutional clients as well as the management at Joyo Financial Ltd., drooling at the prospects.

    Joyo Financial Ltd., a Japanese brokerage company with an office in Hong Kong, has made all the right noises in relation to at least 2 impending IPO’s that they will be involved with this year.

    Charles Leung, Chief Investment Officer at Joyo Financial Ltd, attending the 23rd annual SXSW Interactive festival in Austin, Texas, USA had the following to say, “I love coming to these expos, the companies demonstrating their latest products and achievements are always insightful and never fail to provoke thought on what can and what almost definitely will be a standard in our ever evolving world.” The SXSW festival is an annual set of film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences that take place in mid-March.

    When asked about Joyo Financials plans in the Tech sector this year he remarked, “I really would like to reveal more on 2 IPO projects in particular we’re involved with this year. I can say this, that one is in the tech sector and will be huge and the other is in the more conventional mining sector and will just as big, full details will be disclosed shortly.”

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  • 1987: Year of market crashes and MRT rollout

    1987: Year of market crashes and MRT rollout

    WHAT do household terms Black Monday and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) have in common? They both originated in 1987, a remarkable year that saw the worst – and best – of the Singapore stock market, as well as the historic rollout of the Republic’s first MRT service.

    On Oct 19, stock markets around the world collapsed. Billions of dollars were wiped out following a record selloff on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average nosedived 508 points or 22.61 per cent to 1,738.74, its largest one-day percentage decline.

    The Straits Times Index (STI) was not spared, shedding 170 points or 12 per cent to 1,223.28, its biggest one-day tumble in local stock market history. Using the percentage drop in the STI as a crude measure, over S$15 billion – “enough to build three MRT projects” as detailed in the BT report – was obliterated from the market’s capitalisation.

    This was ironic because just a week later, the first section of the MRT – the North South Line between Yio Chu Kang and Toa Payoh – started operations. In ways that were unimaginable before, this brand-new transport mode dramatically transformed the retail landscape in Singapore.

    Banks, pharmacies and shops selling gifts, jewellery and electronics became the first to dominate retail space at MRT stations. They wanted to capture the “tremendous traffic” (as Guardian Pharmacy called it) of thousands of office workers who took the trains for work and shopping downtown.

    Speaking of tremendous, something else happened that year. On July 7, the Singapore bourse breached the 1,300- mark for the first time in the history of the stock market. The STI added 28.87 points to close at 1,316.15, by virtue of blue chips and good-quality stocks such as F&N, OCBC, DBS and Singapore Press Holdings.

    Unfortunately, that stock market euphoria did not live out the remaining months of 1987 as Black Monday struck. That catastrophic market crash in fact inspired the development of trading curbs, or circuit breakers that would allow stock exchanges to temporarily halt trading in instances of exceptionally large price declines.

     

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  • REITs set to outperform equities as investors go in search of yields

    REITs set to outperform equities as investors go in search of yields

    The Stock Exchange of Thailand continues to stay in positive territory, gaining around 7 per cent year to date, despite the sluggishness over the last two weeks. Nevertheless, the SET Index still failed to breach the psychological 1,400 level.

    Month-to-date, the market leaders were PTT, PTT Global Chemical, Siam Cement, Charoen Pokphand Foods and CP All. The laggards were Bumrungrad Hospital, Advanced Info Service, U City, Banpu and Minor International.

    Foreign investors bought Bt11.7 billion worth of Thai shares from March 1-17, leaving the year-to-date net-buying position at Bt3.6 billion.

    Since the beginning of the year, the performance of real estate investment trusts (REITs) has been well ahead of equities. We believe the trend will continue as global investors seek yields amid negative interest rates in both Europe and Japan, coupled with low rates elsewhere (including Thailand).

    On average, equity returns in developed markets remain in the red to the tune of minus 3 per cent year to date. In contrast, emerging-market stocks outperformed their developed-market peers with a year-to-date gain of around 3 per cent.

    Interestingly, global REIT prices have surged on the back of investors seeking yields and the US Federal Reserve’s decision to delay its rate increases in 2016. The S&P Global REIT, which is a benchmark of publicly traded equity REITs listed in both developed and emerging markets, has risen by almost 6 per cent since the beginning of the year.

    Going forward, REITs remain appealing on a selective basis given their high yields and resilient revenue streams.

    The top 5 REITs recommended by the DBS REIT team in Singapore are (1) Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust; (2) Frasers Centerpoint Trust; (3) Ascendas REIT; (4) CapitaLand Retail China Trust; and (5) Mapletree Logistics Trust.

    These REITs are expected to pay regular dividends, with potential for further growth arising from the expansion of their asset portfolios. Their yields range from 6 to 8.4 per cent.

    Investing in REITs comes with risks, and we advise investors to study our research reports on REITs before making any investment decision.

    Tisco Securities

    The Stock Exchange of Thailand may soon re-test the 1,400 points resistance level after the US Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged, as expected, but cut the number of planned increases this year to two from four previously.

    The Fed’s dovish stance weakened the dollar |but helped boost appetite for risk assets including Asian currencies and equities. Also positive for the |Thai market is the recent strong rally in global oil prices.

    Nonetheless, we remain cautious on the SET’s |outlook this year and anticipate heavy profit-taking above 1,400 points. Foreign-investor positioning remains very underweight (at 29 per cent, an 11-year low).

    The key concerns of clients, expressed during |our trip to Europe last week, were the same: slow |economic recovery, high household debt and low industrial capacity utilisation. These factors, coupled with persistently weak exports and worse-than-expected drought, are likely to lead to a downgrade of the 2016 GDP growth forecast when the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Wednesday.

    We continue to favour tourism plays such as AOT (Airports of Thailand), AAV (Asia Aviation) and BA (Bangkok Airways) after February data showing a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in foreign tourists to a new monthly record of 3.1 million. Chinese tourists led the way, with 23 per cent year-on-year growth, but the most interesting part of the data was the 14.3 per cent year-on-year jump in arrivals from Russia – the first positive figure in nearly two years.

    In the banking sector, TCAP (Thanachart Capital) remains a mid-term “buy” on recovery of legacy non-performing loans and auto-loan quality, NIM (net interest margin) expansion, tax shields to improve RoE (return on equity) and capital/LLR (loan loss reserve) buffers from the second half of 2015 to the first half of 2018 and superior dividend yield.

    We also have a “buy” rating on TMB due to its solid growth prospects and lower cost of funds backed by its increasing penetration of the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) segment.

    Elsewhere, we have revised up our target price for ROBINS (Robinson Department Store) by 8 per cent to Bt52 after its chief executive officer’s surprise announcement that the retailer is on track to achieve 4 per cent SSSg (same-store sales growth) in the first quarter of 2016.

    This is mainly due to its flexible product-mix strategy and strong performance of its Lifestyle Centres. With the expansion of Lifestyle Centres (two more were opened in the fourth quarter of 2015), ROBINS now derives 45 per cent of its net profit from rental space.

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  • StanChart targets China

    StanChart targets China

    The regional head of retail banking for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered (2888), Mary Huen Wai-yi, said Hong Kong will be used as a hub to attract high net worth customers from the mainland to bring growth in retail banking income in the next three to five years.

    Huen told Sing Tao Daily, sister paper to The Standard, the size of the local retail banking income pool stood at about US$10 billion (HK$78 billion), while that of the mainland is 10 times that in Hong Kong. In the face of the large market, she said, high net worth individuals in the mainland are the bank’s target in its wealth management services.

    Since Standard Chartered’s announcement of restructuring last year, retail banking has become the group’s leading business.

    After opening the a wealth management center at the Forum in Central, Huen said another one will be set up at Sheng Shui this year.

    Expanding toward the north is a common strategy shared by many of the bank’s counterparts. “Retail banking is a huge income pool in the mainland,” said Huen, “and it is still at an early development stage, which gives us plenty of opportunities.”

    Digitalization, Huen said, is another means by the bank to draw customers.

    While digital tellers is a big trend in Hong Kong, Standard Chartered said it will take a step further to introduce Retail Workbench, where the bank’s staff will use iPads as a sales-and-service tool to issue credit cards and approve loans. But Huen said that digitization will not replace any of its 80 bank branches in Hong Kong.

    The bank partnered with Asia Miles to put out a credit card last week, and Huen said the bank will have similar plans with Samsung in Korea.

    Retail banking in the Greater China region accounts for one third of the group’s global business in the sector last year, seeing also a single-digit growth in income against the backdrop of an overall loss posted by the group.

    STAFF REPORTER

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  • ABK named ‘Best Retail Bank in Kuwait’

    ABK named ‘Best Retail Bank in Kuwait’

    Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait (ABK) was recently recognized as the ‘Best Retail Bank in the Middle East’ by the Asian Banker; one of the most prestigious awards programs in the industry of financial services and one of Asia’s leading consultancies in financial services research, benchmarking and intelligence. The award was received by Stewart Lockie, General Manager Retail Banking at ABK, during an awards ceremony that was held on March 16th, at the W Hotel in Hong Kong.

    The ‘Best Retail Bank in the Middle East’ award reaffirms the Bank’s outstanding initiatives and  solid performance and demonstrates its unwavering efforts to provide superior services to its customers through the implementation of its ‘Simpler Banking’ strategy, which focuses on creating a simpler banking model offering convenience, speed and security.

    Stewart Lockie with Retail Banking staff

    Commenting on the Bank’s achievement, Stewart Lockie, General Manager Retail Banking at ABK said, “It is an honor to be recognized as the ‘Best Retail Bank in the Middle East’ by the Asian Banker since we received the award last year for Most Improved Retail Bank. ABK made a tremendous effort throughout 2015 to make substantial enhancements and developments to its services and systems with the aim of to simplify the banking process. I would like to thank the judging committee for realizing this effort and rewarding us for it and I would also like to congratulate the Retail Banking team on this award, and thank them for their continuous hard work and diligence.”

    ABK recently deployed a series of new enhancements to its systems as part of its ‘Simpler Banking’ strategy, such as reducing ‘End to End Loan’ processing time from six days to one day and the account opening process from nine hours to six minutes. It also introduced ‘Biometric Verification’ as an enhancement to its mobile banking system, as an additional security measure, in addition to several other developments.

    The Bank will continue to build on this great success and introduce further developments and enhancements that serve to differentiate ABK‘s services and support its ‘Simpler Banking’ strategy, with focus on delivering more convenience, security and speed.

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  • Cost of living here makes cosy retirement an elusive goal: HSBC

    Cost of living here makes cosy retirement an elusive goal: HSBC

    The cost of living makes Singapore one of the toughest countries to retire in, according to a new report.

    It found that about two in three workers here who are 45 or older would like to retire in the next five years but 48 per cent of them say they would not be able to. The global average is 38 per cent.

    Moreover, 30 per cent of pre-retirees predict that they will never be able to retire fully, compared with the global average of 18 per cent.

    Respondents here said the main impediment is a lack of savings or the burden of having dependants to look after.

    Having a lot of debt was raised by 26 per cent of respondents here, compared with the global average of 22 per cent.

    TOUGH FINANCIAL REALITIES

    The HSBC Future of Retirement survey shows that the financial realities of retirement make it an elusive goal for many Singaporeans.

    MR MATTHEW COLEBROOK, head of retail banking and wealth management, HSBC Singapore.

    HSBC surveyed 1,008 respondents – people aged 25 and above as well as retirees – here as part of a survey spanning 17 countries.

    START SAVING TODAY

    Even small amounts saved by starting today can lay the groundwork for a comfortable retirement tomorrow, placing retirement dreams squarely within reach.

    MR IAN MARTIN, chief executive of HSBC Insurance (Singapore).

    Mr Matthew Colebrook, head of retail banking and wealth management at HSBC Singapore, said: “The HSBC Future of Retirement survey shows that the financial realities of retirement make it an elusive goal for many Singaporeans.

    “This can be rectified with early financial planning and by seeking help from professionals who can provide advice on how to protect and grow your wealth.”

    Pre-retirees surveyed said they were anxious that events such as bad health and the need to care for elderly parents could interfere with saving for retirement.

    In spite of these concerns, retired life still offers much promise for some.

    The poll found that 62 per cent of Singapore respondents aged 45 and above who would like to retire in the next five years want to travel or pursue other interests.

    Also, 42 per cent of them would like to spend more time with family once they retire.

    Pre-retirees also expect relationships with friends, their partner and their children to improve.

    Mr Ian Martin, chief executive of HSBC Insurance (Singapore), said: “People should consider their personal aspirations when planning for retirement and ensure they are making sufficient financial provisions for this new chapter in life.

    “Even small amounts saved by starting today can lay the groundwork for a comfortable retirement tomorrow, placing retirement dreams squarely within reach.”

    HSBC also noted that about 56 per cent of pre-retirees here do not know how to predict how much they will spend on healthcare in retirement, even though 74 per cent believe that poor health will make saving for their golden years more difficult.

    To help individuals assess financial preparedness in realising their retirement aspirations, HSBC has launched the Retirement Profiler, an online tool to help individuals assess financial preparedness in realising their retirement aspirations.

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  • QNB chosen ‘Best Retail Bank in Qatar’

    QNB chosen ‘Best Retail Bank in Qatar’

    QNB has been recognised as the “Best Retail Bank in Qatar” by the Asian Banker Magazine.
    The prestigious award was received during The Asian Banker’s International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2016 ceremony held recently in Hong Kong.

    The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with The 15th Annual Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention. It is considered an important financial event in the global retail banking agenda, where regional and global elite retail bankers can come together and enjoy unprecedented networking opportunities.

    According to The Asian Banker, QNB, a leading financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, received the “highly competitive award after successfully undergoing all the stringent valuation” for the international excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme.

    “The award is a true testament to the excellence of QNB’s retail services, given that the programme is considered the most prestigious, comprehensive and anticipated awards programme that recognises excellence amongst the world’s leading retail financial institutions as well as the undisputed performance benchmark of the best retail banks in an increasingly fierce marketplace,” QNB said.

    As a leading provider of strategic intelligence on the financial services industry, The Asian Banker facilitates awards programmes known for their rigor, impartiality and transparency.

    QNB is a previous recipient of these distinguished awards, gaining such recognitions as “Best Transaction Bank in the Middle East & Africa”, “Best Direct Bank”, “Best Cash Management Bank in Qatar”, and “Best Trade Finance Bank in Qatar”.

    QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies extends to some 27 countries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services.
    The total number of employees is more than 15,200 operating through more than 635 locations, with an ATM network of 1,390 machines.

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  • South Korea Market May Remain Stuck In Neutral

    South Korea Market May Remain Stuck In Neutral

    The South Korea stock market gave up just a pair of points on Tuesday – but that was enough to snap the four-day winning streak in which it had advanced more than 25 points or 1.2 percent. The KOSPI settled just shy of the 1,970-point plateau, and the market is looking at another narrow trading range on Wednesday.

    The global forecast for the Asian markets remains roughly flat with a touch of weakness ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision later today. The European markets were down and the U.S. bourses were mixed but little changed – and the Asian markets figure to split the difference.

    The KOSPI finished slightly lower on Tuesday as losses from the technology stocks were mitigated by support from the industrials.

    For the day, the index slipped 2.30 points or 0.12 percent to finish at 1,969.96 after trading between 1,966.44 and 1,979.46 on volume of 3.8 trillion won.

    Among the actives, Hyundai Development spiked 4.77 percent, while POSCO added 0.48 percent, Samsung Electronics shed 0.16 percent, Hyundai Motor fell 1.01 percent and AmorePacific spiked 2.45 percent.

    The lead from Wall Street is slightly negative as stocks were mostly lower Tuesday as falling crude oil prices remained a key driver of the markets – skidding 2.3 percent.

    The Dow added 22.40 points or 0.13 percent to 17,251.53, while the NASDAQ slipped 21.61 points or 0.45 percent to 4,728.67 and the S&P 500 eased 3.71 points or 0.18 percent to 2,015.93.

    The listless trading came as traders looked ahead to today’s monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but traders will pay close attention to the wording of the accompanying statement.

    Traders reacted to several key economic reports, including a Commerce Department report showing a modest drop in retail sales in February. A separate report from the Labor Department showed a modest decline in producer prices in February.

     

  • Asian banks fear impact of negative interest rates

    Asian banks fear impact of negative interest rates

    Central banks in emerging Asia that are struggling to revive growth and keep their financial systems stable are facing new risks as their counterparts in Europe and Japan plunge deeper into uncharted policy territory.

    The Bank of Japan in February joined several European central banks in turning policy on its head with a radical prescription of negative interest rates to revive flagging economies, prompting calls from emerging markets for some form of global coordination to avoid a race to the bottom for rates and currencies.

    Concerns about potentially destabilising spillovers into the rest of the world are likely to be a key talking point over the coming week as central banks in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan hold policy reviews.

    All four central banks have seen volatile swings in their currencies and stock markets over the past year as the world’s major central banks have taken markedly divergent policy paths.

    Yesterday, Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 per cent, its third straight reduction of that size this year as it tries to lift sluggish economic growth.

    While many Asian economies have strengthened their defences since the 1997/98 regional financial crisis, they remain vulnerable to sudden capital outflows.

    Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, a critic of the massive stimulus rolled out in developed economies, has called on global central banks to adopt a system for assessing the wider impact of unconventional monetary policies.

    “It seems fair to say that the benefits seem to be diminishing after years of effort, and the costs increasing,” Mr Rajan said at a three-day International Monetary Fund (IMF) event in New Delhi.

    Low rates have created problems for savers around the world, and debt levels are continuing to rise to unsustainable levels from China and Japan to Europe – feeding fears of a fresh blow to the global economy from financial market dislocation.

    Mr Rajan’s concerns were echoed by his peers in emerging markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia, but few if any in the region expect the likes of the European Central Bank (ECB) to give priority to any nasty side effects for other economies when setting policy.

    “The potential for this (to manage economic crises) is becoming more and more limited as monetary policy rates have already trended closer to zero and quantitative easing is becoming more significant,” Bank Negara Malaysia governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz said.

    She said there is a need for greater policy coordination among countries to prevent over-reliance on monetary policy.

    Mr Juda Agung, Bank Indonesia’s executive director for monetary and economic policy, agreed. “A low-yield environment encourages excessive risk-taking behaviour. At the end, the credibility of the central bank is at stake,” he said.

    Mr Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC, said that emerging economies are right to raise a voice of caution over unconventional policies.

    “Policymakers are backpedalling because it’s not entirely clear what the benefits of negative rates would be,” he said, referring to ECB president Mario Draghi’s suggestion last week that further rate cuts were probably off the table.

    Indeed, a recovery in the euro zone has flagged over the past year and deflation looms large, while Japan’s economy is teetering on the brink of its fourth recession in five years. The IMF has cut its global growth projections for 2016 and 2017, with a slowdown in China rippling across producers of oil, cars and a range of consumer products.

  • NH Financial Group to Expand into Indonesia

    NH Financial Group to Expand into Indonesia

    NH Financial Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Indonesia’s largest bank Bank Mandiri at Mandiri’s main office in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 1 to cooperate in developing rural areas in the Southeast Asian country.

    Mandiri is the largest lender in Indonesia by assets, capital, loan and deposit balance, and the state-run bank with a 60 percent stake. It also has 2,300 branches and 15,000 automated teller machines nationwide.

    Under the agreement, the two groups will share their financial knowhow and business networks in agriculture, cooperating in a wide range of financial services from banking and insurance to leasing and micro financing in order to develop rural areas in Indonesia.

    In order to do so, NH will offer the group’s knowhow and skills in agricultural finances, such as loans, credit guarantees and insurance for farmers, to Bank Mandiri, boosting financial services in Indonesian agriculture.

    Moreover, Bank Mandiri is aware of the fact that the expansion of NH Financial Group into Indonesia will help developing Indonesian agriculture and has decided to actively cooperate in various sectors.

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  • CIMB Research retains Add for Berjaya Food

    CIMB Research retains Add for Berjaya Food

    CIMB Equities Research is maintaining its Add for Berjaya Food with potential re-rating catalysts are stronger sales on the back of a recovery in consumer spending and new contribution from its fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) business in FY17.

    However, the research house had on Thursday reduced its target price from RM3.27 to RM2.35. This was based on an unchanged 23.7 times target price-to-earnings which is a 30% premium over its peer average.

    It said on Thursday that BFood’s 3QFY16 revenue rose 10.3% on-year to RM147.3mil but core net profit fell 14.4% on-year to RM7.4mil.

    This brought BFood’s 9MFY16 core earnings to RM19.7mil (+0.3% on-year), with revenue surging 67.1% on-year to RM415.1mil.

    “Nevertheless, this was below our and consensus expectations, making up only 48% and 57% of full-year estimates, mainly on the back of the weaker-than-expected performance from its Indonesian and Singaporean operations,” it said.

    CIMB Research said there was positive same store sales growth (SSSG) of 4.4% on-year for Starbucks in 9MFY16.

    BFood’s 9MFY16 revenue growth was mainly fuelled by: 1) the full consolidation impact from the remaining 50% of Berjaya Starbucks since September 2014, 2) stronger SSSG at Starbucks, and 3) new Starbucks stores (+13 stores on-year).

    While Malaysia’s revenue jumped 81.5% on-year mainly due to the consolidation of the Starbucks franchise, revenues from Indonesia and Singapore weakened by 6.3% and 2.3% on-year, respectively.

    Starbucks recorded SSSG of 4.4% on-year, while KRR Malaysia and Indonesia saw SSSG drop 16.5% and 9.5% on-year in 9MFY16, respectively.

    Meanwhile, Singapore’s Jollibean business also saw weak SSSG of -5.5% on-year.

    Indonesian operations remained in the red while its Singapore operations recorded a loss of RM500,0000 versus a profit of RM600,000 in 9MFY15.

    BFood also incurred higher financing costs of RM9.5mil (due to the acquisition of Starbucks) and higher effective tax rates, which led to flattish core earnings growth.

    “We cut our FY16-18 earnings forecasts by 34%-46% to reflect slower performance from KRR in Indonesia and Malaysia and to take into account the higher effective tax rates,” CIMB Research added.

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  • Rupiah strengthens 72 points

    Rupiah strengthens 72 points

    The Indonesian rupiah strengthened 72 points to Rp12,980 per dollar on Friday evening, compared to Rp13,052 per dollar the day before.

    Developed countries decision to adopt a zero interest rate policy made the yield less interesting and money market investors diverted their funds to developing countries, money market observer Rully Nova said here on Friday.

    “Yields in Indonesia, which still adopts a positive interest rate policy, have attracted investors to invest in rupiah-denominated assets,” he said.

    On the other hand, the fact that sentiment regarding the Fed fund rate faded as several economic indicators did not fully recover has made the US dollar-denominated assets less attractive, he said.

    After all, the rupiahs significant appreciation against the US dollar may have a negative impact on Indonesias export performance, he said.

    “Hopefully, the fluctuation in the rupiahs strengthening will not be too wild and market agents and businesspeople will find it easy to predict it,” he said.

    Market analyst Lukman Leong said the downward trend in Indonesias inflation rate this year is one of the factors behind the rupiah strengthening.

    “The low inflation rate will prompt Bank Indonesia to further lower its interest key rate and consequently, lending rate will fall and domestic consumption will increase in favor of economic growth,” he said.

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  • Financial firms in Taiwan, Indonesia urged to open outlets after MOU

    Financial firms in Taiwan, Indonesia urged to open outlets after MOU

    Taipei, March 12 (CNA) Taiwan’s top financial supervisor, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), has urged financial institutions in Taiwan and Indonesia to open outlets in each other’s country after they signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) to speed up cooperation in supervising financial businesses.

    The FSC inked the cooperation MOU Friday with its Indonesian counterpart the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia or Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). The MOU focuses on supervision cooperation in banking, securities and insurance businesses between the two countries.

    FSC Chairperson Wang Li-ling (王儷玲) told the CNA that the cooperation MOU will no doubt facilitate financial development between the two countries.

    Wang, who signed the agreement on the behalf of the FSC in Jakarta, added that she believed Taiwan’s financial sector will benefit from the great growth potential in Indonesia, while the Southeast Asian country has expressed interest in Taiwan’s financial market openness.

    Wang said financial institutions in Taiwan and Indonesia should take advantage of the MOU to explore the financial market in each other’s country.

    She said that is especially true as many Indonesian workers are working in Taiwan and there is strong fund demand from ethnic Chinese investors in Indonesia, leading Indonesian banks to want to set up footholds in Taiwan.

    As for the large number of Indonesian workers in Taiwan, the supervisory mechanism under the newly signed MOU is expected to help them in a wide range of financial services in Taiwan, such as money remittances, deposits and insurance.

    The Taiwanese official said that a populous Indonesia needs a diversity of financial products and Taiwanese financial institutions should go there to provide good products.

    According to the FSC, the local banking sector has set up one subsidiary and two representative offices in Indonesia, and the local securities sector has opened a subsidiary there. The local insurance business sector meanwhile has taken a stake in an Indonesian bank, the TWSE said.

    Market analysts said that the newly-signed MOU is expected to help Taiwan-based Cathay Life Financial Co. (國壽) push for a deal to acquire a 40 percent stake in PT Bank Mayapada Internasional of Indonesia. Cathay Life signed an agreement with Bank Mayapada for the acquisition deal in January 2015. Since the law in Indonesia bars foreign entities from taking a stake of more than 25 percent of any bank there and the deal has been stalled. Analysts said that the MOU could remove the legal obstacles for Cathay Life.

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  • China’s February New Credit Plunged From Prior Month Record

    China’s February New Credit Plunged From Prior Month Record

    China’s broadest measure of new credit dropped sharply after a record surge a month earlier.

    Aggregate financing was at 780.2 billion yuan ($120 billion) in February, according to a report from the People’s Bank of China on Friday, compared with the median forecast of 1.84 trillion yuan in a Bloomberg survey. New yuan loans were 726.6 billion yuan, compared to the estimate of 1.2 trillion yuan.

    China’s money supply increased 13.3 percent from a year earlier, the PBOC said, less than the 14 percent gain in the prior month and below the 13.7 percent economists projected. The numbers may reflect some distortions arising from the week-long lunar new year holiday in early February.

    “February is a short month due to Chinese New Year, so that there were fewer working days for banks and other financial institutions,” Iris Pang, senior economist for greater China at Natixis SA in Hong Kong, wrote in a report. “Banks usually book most of the loans for the year in January, and fewer loans are booked in February and March.”

    The central bank cut the proportion of deposits the nation’s biggest lenders need to lock away effective March 1 in an effort to keep credit flowing to the real economy. China increased its full-year M2 money-supply target, signaling that supporting economic growth has taken over as the top priority over reducing financial risks.

    In January, aggregate financing soared to a record 3.42 trillion yuan, while new yuan loans also hit an unprecedented level of 2.51 trillion yuan. The strong figures were helped by banks front loading their 2016 lending targets, strong corporate bond issuance, and companies switching foreign currency loans into yuan ones.

    “China’s credit data show some extreme swings in the past two months which are the result of seasonal factors,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics Ltd. in London, who previously worked on China issues at the U.K. Treasury. “Despite the relative weakness in February, the underlying picture is of lending picking up.”

    The lending drop was “a dramatic slump but it is very likely due to seasonal factors, with banks and many businesses closed for an extended period” for the holiday, he said.

    Friday’s data along with the industrial production data due for release Saturday will be key to determining the immediate policy outlook, according to Tom Orlik and Fielding Chen, economists at Bloomberg Intelligence. The government releases the latest industrial output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment data Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Beijing time.

    “The Lunar New Year holiday and payback for January’s record credit surge meant a downside surprise was always a possibility,” Orlik and Chen wrote in a note Friday. “Looking at the data for the first two months of the year together, loan growth remains on a rapid upward trend, and the government is targeting a faster credit expansion for 2016 as a whole.”

    Industrial production and fixed-asset investment are forecast to show a continued slowdown, while retail sales probably showed improvement with a 10.9 percent gain from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.

    Also on Saturday People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and his top deputies hold a press conference, the chairman of state-owned asset regulator and owner SASAC will speak, and the leaders of the three main financial regulators will give a briefing.

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