Latest news with #WeeKhoonChong
The Star
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Philippine peso advances to strongest since 2023 on dollar, oil
MANILA: The Philippine peso rose to its strongest level in almost two years against the dollar, buoyed by weakness in the US currency and oil prices. The peso gained 0.2% to around 55.17 per dollar on Monday (May 26), the highest since August 2023, as the greenback is weighed down by growing concerns over the US fiscal gap. Low crude oil prices are also benefiting the Philippines, a net fuel importer, and could help narrow its balance-of-payments deficit. "The impressive rally in the peso has been all dollar driven, and is increasingly deviating from domestic fundamentals,' said Wee Khoon Chong, senior Asia Pacific market strategist at BNY. "Key resistance level for the USD/PHP would be 55.41, while the major support level would be the 55.0 round figure.' The country's central bank signaled earlier this month that authorities are unlikely to intervene to curb the peso's appreciation. Investors also received some news of policy continuity on May 23 as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. retained his economic managers, including Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, amid a Cabinet shakeup. Emerging Asia's trade-dependent currencies such as the ringgit and Taiwan dollar led most regional peers stronger versus the dollar on Monday, driven by bullish trade sentiment after President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would extend the deadline for the European Union to face 50% tariffs until July 9. Nonetheless, growth concerns remained a headwind for the peso, as the nation's 5.4% economic growth in the first quarter undershot economists' estimates. Other worries included renewed speculation of more aggressive rate cuts with potential reserve requirement ratio reductions as well as a deterioration of the current account, BNY's Chong added. - Bloomberg
Business Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Indonesia plans its first-ever dimsum, kangaroo bonds this year
[JAKARTA] Indonesia is planning to sell bonds denominated in the Chinese yuan and Australian dollar for the first time ever, as the government seeks to diversify its debt portfolio. The government will 'strongly consider' to sell dimsum and kangaroo bonds this year, subject to market conditions, Suminto, head of the finance ministry's debt management office, told reporters on Friday (May 23). The move may help Indonesia lower its exposure to volatility in the US dollar, while potentially helping it strengthen financial ties with China – its biggest trading partner. A successful bond issuance in diverse foreign currencies will demonstrate growing investor confidence in Indonesia and its financial system. It reflects an effort to reduce reliance on traditional funding currencies such as the US dollar and euro, and tap a new pool of investors, said Wee Khoon Chong, senior Apac market strategist at BNY. 'Typically, the choice of bond issuance is demand-led.' Indonesia's plan comes as governments around the world are exploring ways to diversify away from US dollar bonds as volatility remains elevated in US markets. South Korea issued its first-ever kangaroo debt last year. Foreign-denominated bonds typically make up less than 20 per cent of the Indonesian government's debt issuance – primarily denominated in US dollars. The announcement comes just hours after Indonesia priced a 103.2-billion yen, multi-tranche samurai bond deal on Friday. BLOOMBERG
Zawya
22-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
China, HK stocks hold firm at two-week high despite Wall Street declines
China and Hong Kong stocks held firm on Tuesday, bucking modest losses across Asia after Wall Street fell overnight and with investors awaiting the upcoming Politburo meeting for policy direction. ** The Shanghai Composite index closed 0.3% higher at 3,299.76 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index ended little changed. ** Both indexes are now near their highest level since April 3, just ahead of the market slump triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs". ** The banking sector and chip stocks climbed 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, leading the benchmarks higher. ** China's April Politburo meeting, likely to be convened later this week, will be a venue for a reassessment of the tariff situation and for deciding on offsetting policies, analysts at Citi said in a note to clients. ** Investors are now looking out for continued efforts to support asset prices and if there'll be an "opportunistic depreciation" FX policy, among others, they added. ** Also supporting the markets, China's "national team" and private retail investors have been in sync to buy the dip to defend the market as the Sino-U.S. trade conflict shows no signs of easing. ** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index reversed earlier losses and closed up 0.8%, also its highest level since April 3. The Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 0.2%. ** Limiting gains, China's e-commerce firm and delivery platform Meituan both tumbled 6.6% as competition heats up between the companies. ** More broadly, other Asian stock markets largely held their ground despite Wall Street's decline overnight. ** MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.2%. ** There's only a "mild risk-off" sentiment in Asia despite a heavy overnight session and the focus ahead will still be the various tariff discussions with the U.S., Wee Khoon Chong, senior markets strategist for APAC at BNY, said in a note. (Reporting by Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Savio D'Souza)
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hong Kong Stock Rally Triggers Cash Squeeze Among Banks
(Bloomberg) -- Surging demand for Hong Kong equities sapped interbank liquidity in the city, prompting local banks to borrow the largest amount of overnight cash from authorities in more than five years on Tuesday. Why Barcelona Bought the Building That Symbolizes Its Housing Crisis Por qué Barcelona compró el edificio que simboliza su crisis inmobiliaria Trump Child Refugee Agency Shares Data With Immigration Enforcers A Filmmaker's Surreal Journey Into His Own Private Winnipeg The Hong Kong Monetary Authority — the city's de-facto central bank — loaned out HK$5.5 billion ($707 million) through its so-called discount window, the most since December 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 'The tightening of liquidity in Hong Kong is, in our view, driven by demand for HK equities,' said Wee Khoon Chong, a strategist at BNY. Liquidity 'probably will stay tight in the near term as HK equities' momentum continues.' The lending comes as benchmarks for Chinese stocks traded in the city and Hong Kong equities have both outperformed global peers in the past month amid optimism over DeepSeek's artificial intelligence capabilities. The rally has also been spurred by bets that China may be adopting a more business-friendly stance following a meeting between President Xi Jinping and prominent entrepreneurs. When Chinese and overseas investors buy Hong Kong shares, they need to convert their foreign-exchange holdings into the city's dollars. Such demand has driven local banks to seek more cash in the money market for their clients, leading to a surge in funding costs. Some lenders may have resorted to Hong Kong's de facto central bank for such temporary liquidity during this process, said Stephen Chiu, chief Asia foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence. Investors' stock purchases 'could also cause temporary liquidity swings because not all banks have unlimited trading limit with other banks so might have to use the HKMA's discount window,' he added. A gauge measuring the one-month funding costs in Hong Kong surged some 40 basis points over the past week to 4.07%, a near six-week high, amid a rebound in local stocks. On Tuesday, Chinese mainland investors bought HK$22.4 billion worth of Hong Kong stocks, the biggest daily purchase since early 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. (Updates with how stocks rally may affect HK liquidity.) Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival The Startup That Stepped In When the Baby Formula Supply Chain Broke The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
