CNA938 Rewind - US-India relations: Strained and at a crossroads?
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Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
India pauses plans to buy US arms after Trump's tariffs
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft. NEW DELHI - New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled, two of the people said. Mr Trump on Aug 6 imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50 per cent – among the highest of any US trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defence purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but 'just not as soon as they were expected to'. Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was 'no forward movement at least for now'. India's defence ministry and the Pentagon did not respond to Reuters' questions. Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have been paused due to the tariffs. Mr Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Mr Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-cancelled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed US$3.6 billion (S$4.6 billion) deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and US governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. Russian relations India's deepening security relationship with the US, which is fuelled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many US analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the US, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilising heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly in the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader US-India defence partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back on oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the US, if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Mr Trump's threats and rising anti-US nationalism in India have 'made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the US', one of the people said. Nonetheless, discounts on the landing cost of Russian oil have shrunk to the lowest since 2022. India's petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While the rupture in US-India ties was abrupt, there have been strains in the relationship. Delhi has repeatedly rebutted Mr Trump's claim that the US brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. Mr Trump also hosted Pakistan's army chief at the White House in the weeks following the conflict. In recent months, Moscow has been actively pitching Delhi on buying new defence technologies like its S-500 surface-to-air missile system, according to one of the Indian officials, as well as a Russian source familiar with the talks. India currently does not see a need for new arms purchases from Moscow, two Indian officials said. But Delhi is unlikely to wean itself off Russian weapons entirely as the decades-long partnership between the two powers means Indian military systems will continue to require Moscow's support, one of the officials said. The Russian embassy in Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
Business Times
23 minutes ago
- Business Times
Vietnam's F88 pawnshop chain sees shares hit ceiling in market debut
[HO CHI MINH CITY] Shares of Vietnam's largest pawnshop chain operator, F88 Investment, surged nearly 40 per cent to hit the ceiling price at the close of its trading debut on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on Friday (Aug 8), boosting its market capitalisation to 7.3 trillion dong (S$357.4 million). With 400 shares traded during the day, its price rose from the opening reference of 634,900 dong to 888,800 dong per share, making it the most expensive stock on the market. These shares were part of the 8.26 million listed by F88 on UPCoM – an alternative trading platform with lower listing requirements than the country's main bourse, the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), and often regarded as a stepping stone before companies move to the latter. Founded in 2013, F88 plans to list on HoSE by 2027 with a valuation of US$1 billion. It is currently the only pawn service company traded on Vietnam's stock exchange. 'F88 clearly sees participation in the capital market not only as a means to enhance transparency and supervision but also as a financial driver to scale the business, improve operational standards, and move closer to the goal of listing on HoSE in the future,' said chairman Phung Anh Tuan, as quoted in the company's press release on Aug 8. According to its prospectus released on Aug 4, F88 plans a stock issuance between 2025 and Q1 2026 following its UPCoM listing, aiming to raise funds by issuing approximately 101.7 million new shares to existing shareholders at that point. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up The pawnshop operator is backed by several foreign institutional investors, which collectively held over 55 per cent of the company as at June this year. Among them is Vietnam's oldest private equity firm, Mekong Capital, which owned nearly 37 per cent via two Singapore-based entities, Skydom and Winter Flame. Serving the underbanked According to the State Bank of Vietnam, 52 per cent of Vietnamese people – approximately 50 million – held bank accounts as at mid-2022. However, around half of these account holders lacked access to credit from banks. F88 targets these underbanked and unbanked customers by offering short-term small loans secured by vehicles, registration papers or electronic devices. Loans secured by motorbikes range from three million to 50 million dong, while those secured by cars range from 23 million to two billion dong. The monthly interest rate is about 0.9 per cent. Including loan management and asset management fees, the effective annual interest rate ranges from 32 to 55 per cent, according to the company's website. In addition to vehicle title-lending products, F88 is also expanding into the microinsurance segment and banking agency services. Through a strategic partnership with Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank), F88 is positioning its branches as 'modern financial transaction offices', offering various basic services such as customer identification, cash deposits and withdrawals, money transfers, payment collection and disbursement. Compared to other alternative finance models in Vietnam, such as peer-to-peer lending and buy-now-pay-later, which still lack a specific regulatory environment, 'pawnshop services operate under a clearer legal framework and are more tightly regulated by authorities,' FiinGroup analysts noted in a report earlier this month. F88 said it is operating 888 stores across 34 provinces and cities nationwide to date, accounting for about 70 per cent of the total number of chain-affiliated pawnshops in the country. As at the end of last December, the firm served more than one million customers, with total outstanding pawn loans reaching 4.6 trillion dong. However, this remained minuscule compared with the estimated 200 trillion dong in total outstanding loans in Vietnam's pawnshop market in 2024, according to FiinGroup data, highlighting significant room for future growth. While 'next-generation' pawnshop companies such as F88 have steadily expanded their presence in recent years, they captured only about 3.2 per cent of the market in 2024, with the remaining share held by more than 23,700 traditional operators. Financial outlook In its most recent credit rating update in April, FiinRatings revised F88's credit upgrade outlook to 'Positive', reflecting expectations of improved capital and liquidity, while maintaining the rating at 'BBB-'. F88 reported a post-tax loss in 2023 but returned to profitability in 2024 and the first half of 2025, with after-tax earnings of 351.3 billion dong and 254.7 billion dong, respectively. The group targets a 33.2 per cent increase in its revenue this year to 3.6 trillion dong, with the profit after tax growing by 53.3 per cent to 538.6 billion dong. It also aims to expand its store count to 1,000 by 2026 and 2,000 by 2030.
CNA
23 minutes ago
- CNA
Chinese President Xi Jinping could attend ASEAN Summit in October, joining Trump and other leaders: Anwar
CYBERJAYA, Selangor: Chinese President Xi Jinping could attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in October, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday (Aug 8), in what would be a rare in-person appearance by a Chinese supremo at the regional gathering. Speaking at an ASEAN Day ceremony in Cyberjaya, Anwar said at least four world leaders were expected at the summit, set for Oct 26 to 28 in Malaysia. 'We look forward to welcoming the heads of government of ASEAN and dialogue partners, including US President Donald Trump and I believe Chinese President Xi Jinping,' Anwar said, as quoted by local news outlet The Star. Anwar, who represents Malaysia as the current chair of the regional bloc, also said he has received 'positive indications' regarding the attendance of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Both countries are among ASEAN's sectoral dialogue partners. 'Securing their presence is only the first step,' he said, as quoted by local media. 'The greater test is to ensure that they leave Malaysia and ASEAN feeling their time was well spent. We must ensure that their visit yields results of lasting value. The eyes of the world will be upon us. We must therefore rise to the occasion.' If both Xi and Trump attend, it would raise the prospect of a highly anticipated meeting between the two leaders in Southeast Asia, amid strained Sino-US ties over trade, technology and security. The most recent in-person meeting between Xi and Trump took place in Osaka in 2019 during the G20 Summit. The last time Xi met a sitting US president in person was in November 2024, when he met then-US President Joe Biden at the APEC Summit in Peru. Anwar had earlier announced on Jul 31 that Trump would attend the ASEAN summit. He said Trump had confirmed his attendance in a phone call. According to local media, Anwar had extended invitations to both Xi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend the ASEAN Summit during his official visit to China last November. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have not commented on Xi's potential attendance at the regional summit, and state media have not reported on it. Following Anwar's remarks on Friday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan later told reporters that Xi's participation was still a 'possibility', reported local news site The Sun. The last time a Chinese president attended an ASEAN-related summit in person was in 1997, when Jiang Zemin attended the first China-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur. Xi's most recent participation in an ASEAN-related event was in 2021, when he virtually attended and chaired an ASEAN-China special summit to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral dialogue relations. China typically sends its premier to attend ASEAN-related meetings, a point analysts previously noted to CNA. This year, Li participated in the inaugural ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-China Summit in May. He also attended the East Asia Summit held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos, last October. Meanwhile, Trump has attended only one ASEAN summit - in 2017, during his first term as president from 2017 to 2021. The last time a US president personally attended the ASEAN Summit was in 2022, when Joe Biden travelled to Phnom Penh when Cambodia was the bloc's chair. Then-US Vice President Kamala Harris attended in 2023, followed by then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in 2024. In his remarks on Friday, Anwar described the upcoming ASEAN Summit as the regional grouping's 'largest and most high-profile gathering of world leaders to date', according to local news platform New Straits Times. Economic relations through intra-ASEAN trade and investments are among the key issues that will be discussed by the 10-member bloc and dialogue partners during the summit, Anwar said.
