Indonesia outlook negative Fitch decision reflects rising concerns about policy credibility and fiscal risks even as the rating agency affirmed the country’s BBB long-term foreign-currency rating. Fitch said increasing policy uncertainty and more centralised decision-making could weaken fiscal guardrails, including the 3% of GDP deficit cap. The agency also highlighted risks from a review of the State Finance Law in the government’s 2026 legislative priorities. The Indonesia

Hong Kong family office tax exemptions could widen as authorities seek to strengthen the city’s position as a global wealth hub. Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary Christopher Hui said the government plans to expand profits-tax exemptions for eligible family offices and funds to include assets such as private credit, gold and commodities, carbon credits, insurance-linked securities and certain digital assets. The Hong Kong family office tax exemptions proposal will

South Korea banks emergency support programmes were activated after escalating Middle East tensions increased risks for financial markets and companies. Hana Financial Group said it would provide KRW12tr (USD8.2bn) in assistance including emergency liquidity of up to KRW500m per firm, loan-maturity extensions, grace periods and rate reductions. Woori Financial also tightened monitoring and strengthened cybersecurity checks. Regulators said broader market stabilisation steps w

China tax crackdown unified market efforts intensified in 2025 as the State Taxation Administration investigated 389 leads related to illegal tax practices linked to local investment incentives and corrected confirmed violations. Authorities also strengthened tax information reporting rules for internet platforms, with more than 8,000 platforms now complying in a move aimed at improving competition between online and offline businesses. The China tax crackdown unified market

Hong Kong MPF gold ETF investment may become possible as the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority studies expanding permitted asset classes. Chair Ayesha Macpherson Lau said regulators are reviewing whether MPF schemes can invest in gold exchange‑traded funds as Hong Kong seeks to develop a gold trading hub. The Hong Kong MPF gold ETF proposal follows a completed review of REIT investments including those listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, while the eMPF platform rollout

Singapore South Korea FTA upgrade talks will begin as both countries deepen cooperation on supply‑chain resilience, digital trade and the green transition, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said during a summit with President Lee Jae Myung. The Singapore South Korea FTA upgrade will modernise the 2006 agreement and strengthen collaboration in areas including artificial intelligence and civil nuclear energy. Leaders also witnessed the signing of memorandums covering technology and

Hong Kong Shanghai digital trade finance cooperation advanced after the two cities signed a memorandum of understanding to research digital technologies for cross‑border trade and cargo data integration. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said partners will study electronic bills of lading and test digital solutions under Project Ensemble. The Hong Kong Shanghai digital trade finance initiative involves the Shanghai Data Bureau and the National Technology Innovation Center for

The Financial Services Development Council welcomed the Hong Kong budget Finance+ agenda, saying measures in the 2026-27 Budget will deepen market liquidity and strengthen the city’s role as a global financial centre and international gateway for cross-border capital. Chairman Benjamin Hung said the multipronged approach supports building a fuller debt market and a more efficient yield curve, while executive director Rocky Tung praised plans to modernise capital markets, incl

Hong Kong will transfer about HKD52.8bn(USD6.8bn) back to government accounts in 2026-27 to better fund its capital account amid heavy infrastructure spending, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said. The Hong Kong fiscal transfer includes about HKD15.8bn from funds set up outside government accounts after reviewing 36 purpose-specific funds, with some vehicles to be closed or consolidated. Another HKD37bn of accumulated surplus from the Bond Fund, created in 2009 to support Silve

Raffles Family Office welcomed Hong Kong’s 2026-27 Budget, saying proposed enhancements to the family office tax regime would help cement the city’s position as a global wealth hub, while urging policies to cover both single- and multi-family offices in tandem, Group CEO Chi Man Kwan said. He pointed to a government-backed market study showing Hong Kong had more than 3,380 single-family offices by end-2025, up over 25% in two years. The budget includes plans to legislate this

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has eased IPO free-float rules for large listings, introducing a tiered public ownership framework aimed at unlocking mega-IPOs as the market struggles to absorb big deals. Under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 11, issuers expecting market capitalisation above PHP50bn (USD890m) at listing must sell at least 15% to the public, subject to a minimum offer size of PHP10bn, versus the previous flat 20% requirement. For firms valued at

China urged the US to scrap unilateral US tariffs after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, struck down many of President Donald Trump’s levies as beyond his authority under a 1977 emergency-powers law. Trump responded by unveiling a flat duty on imports worldwide, lifting the rate from 10% to 15% under a separate legal provision. China’s commerce ministry said it was conducting a comprehensive assessment of the decision and called on Washington to quickly end tariff measures

Bursa Malaysia said it will overhaul how it reports who is trading its shares, splitting investors using nominee accounts into ‘large’ and ‘small’ categories from April 6, as it seeks to improve market transparency. Nominee structures separate legal from beneficial ownership and are widely used by online platforms, meaning some retail orders have been showing up in data as institutional or foreign activity. Bursa said the change followed market feedback seeking clearer measur

The IMF issued an IMF warning on China economic policies, urging Beijing to pivot toward domestic consumer spending and saying a shift to a consumption-led growth model should be the top priority, as the fund warned China’s large current-account surplus is creating adverse spillovers for trading partners, according to an IMF board statement alongside its annual Article IV review. The IMF said part of the external imbalance reflects export support from a real depreciation of t

Business units linked to Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng’s Chow Tai Fook Group agreed to pay up to HKD1.5bn (USD192m) to Giordano International shareholders after the Securities and Futures Commission found a Hong Kong takeover rules breach tied to the retailer’s ownership structure. The regulator said Chow Tai Fook Nominee and concert parties failed to make a mandatory general offer at HKD3.60 a share in 2016 when their combined stake topped 30%. It also cited a 2022 breac

SBI Coinhako acquisition plans will make the Singapore digital-asset platform a consolidated subsidiary of the Japanese group, as SBI Holdings moves to expand its regional crypto footprint. Under the SBI Coinhako acquisition, SBI’s wholly owned unit SBI Ventures Asset Pte. Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with Holdbuild Pte. Ltd. to inject capital into Coinhako Group and buy shares from existing investors, with the final structure and price still under discussion and subjec

Vietnam credit-quota reform could reshape competition in the banking sector as the country pilots the removal of long-standing growth limits from 2026 and rolls out Basel III-style capital rules, S&P Global Ratings said. S&P said Vietnam credit-quota reform would shift the system away from administrative controls toward more market-based discipline, allowing well-capitalised banks to expand lending based on capacity rather than assigned quotas. However, it called the move a d

Hong Kong regulated crypto trading tools are being expanded as the Securities and Futures Commission loosened rules to allow licensed brokers to provide margin financing for digital-asset trading while setting guardrails for more leveraged products to deepen market liquidity. The SFC said brokers may extend financing to clients with strong credit profiles and adequate collateral, initially limited to bitcoin and ether but potentially expanded later. It also issued a high-leve

South Korea crypto exchange inspections were widened as regulators launched on-site checks of major platforms days after Bithumb mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 so-called ghost bitcoins. An emergency task force comprising regulators and the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance will inspect Upbit, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, focusing on asset-verification procedures and internal controls, authorities said in a report to the National Assembly. The Financial Supervisory Ser

Vietnam crypto transfer tax proposal would exempt cryptocurrency transfers and trading from value-added tax while imposing a 0.1% personal income tax on the gross value of each transfer, mirroring the levy used for securities transactions, according to a draft circular opened for public consultation by the finance ministry. Individual investors would pay the tax regardless of residency status. For organisations established in Vietnam, income from crypto-asset transfers would