Singapore’s Corporate News

▪ OCBC named the best managed bank during Covid-19: Asian Banker

OCBC has been named the best managed bank during the Covid-19 crisis at this year's Asian Banker Leadership Achievement Awards. Chief executive Samuel Tsien also won the Leadership Achievement Award for best Covid-19 response in Singapore. The Asian Banker said on Thursday (Oct 15) that OCBC Bank had rolled out various relief measures for customers, including deferring loan repayments. The bank extended moratorium relief across the region that amounted to $27b, of which 88% is secured. This accounted for about 10% of its total loans. (The Straits Times)

▪ Singtel JV company sells telecommunications towers for S$950m

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) announced on Oct 16 that its joint venture company, PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), which it has a 35% stake in, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the sale of 6,050 telecommunication towers to PT Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel) for IDR10.3t ($950m). Under the agreement, Telkomsel has also entered into a 10-year lease arrangement with Mitratel for rental of tower space, which will take effect from the transfer of the respective towers to Mitratel. The transaction is expected to be completed by 1Q2021. Shares in Singtel closed flat at $2.17 on Oct 16. (The Edge Singapore)

Indonesia’s Corporate News

▪ Bank Indonesia expected to stand pat on interest rates

Indonesia’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged and continue to focus on supporting South-East Asia’s largest economy via quantitative easing, according to analysts in a Reuters poll. All but two of 27 analysts in the poll expected Bank Indonesia (BI) to maintain its 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 4.00%, where it has been since July. The two contrarians said BI would cut the rate by 25 basis points. BI has trimmed the rate four times this year for a total 100 basis points, bought government bonds and loosened lending rules to bolster Indonesia’s coronavirus-stricken economy. (The Star)

▪ Indonesia to create firm to build up electric vehicle battery industry

A group of Indonesian state-owned companies will form a venture to make batteries to power electric vehicles, the Mining Industry Indonesia (MIND ID) chief executive said on Tuesday. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of nickel ore, a key component of EV batteries, wants to build an integrated EV industry that will eventually include building the vehicles. The new venture, called Indonesia Battery Holding, would be formed by state miners MIND ID and Aneka Tambang (ANTAM), state utility Perusahan Listrik Negara (PLN) and state oil company Pertamina, MIND ID Chief Executive Orias Petrus Moedak said. “We are preparing a concrete cooperation plan, so that the nickel utilisation project can start immediately, to produce batteries,” he told a webinar. (Reuters)

Thailand’s Corporate News

▪ BoT prolongs debt moratorium for SMEs

The Bank of Thailand has extended the debt moratorium period to next June for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a credit line below 100m baht and difficulty in servicing existing debts. The extension period will end on June 30, 2021. The extension will only apply to targeted SMEs that cannot cope with repaying loans to financial institutions due to business operations not being fully recovered. The central bank implemented debt relief measures on April 23 to help SMEs reeling from pandemic fallout, but the measures were scheduled to end on Oct 22. (Bangkok Post)

▪ Thai auto production exceeds 100,000 units in August, first time since COVID-19 pandemic

Thailand's auto research centre said the country's monthly vehicle production in August had exceeded 100,000 units for the first time after the Covid-19 outbreak, according to the latest data released on Monday (Oct 12). Thailand produced 117,253 vehicles, the first time production has exceeded 100,000 units since the pandemic, said the Next Generation Automotive Research Center, a unit owned by Thailand Automotive Institute. The report also said that despite surpassing the 100,000 mark, the figure dropped by 30% from the same period last year due to declines in domestic sales and exports. Domestic sales of cars have fallen by 15% so far this year. However, the sales of double-cab pickup trucks rose by 1%. (The Star)

Source: Kenanga Research - 19 Oct 2020