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☆ Indonesia eyes $11 bln in capital market fundraising this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia is targeting 170 trillion rupiah ($10.92 billion) in capital market fundraising for this year, including from initial public offerings and debt instruments, its financial regulator said on Monday, well below the amount raised in 2022. About 260 trillion rupiah was raised through the capital market last year, including the IPO of top tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK), which raised $1.1 billion in April. Inarno Djajadi, head of capital market supervision at the Financial Services Authority, said there were 84 offerings in the pipeline with 81.41 trillion rupiah ($5.23 billion) in total estimated value. About 54.5 trillion rupiah of that would be from 58 potential IPOs. Among firms expected to go public in 2023 are two units of state energy firm Pertamina, Pertamina Geothermal Energy and Pertamina Hulu Energi.

☆ Child workers found throughout Hyundai-Kia supply chain in Alabama
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Hyundai and Kia now have dozens of suppliers in Alabama, according to the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, a business group. The agency, they said, hired underage workers while they worked there. “It was my first job in the United States and this is not what you would expect to see here.”Six other former workers told Reuters they, too, saw underage workers at Ajin’s two factories in Cusseta. Herrera said he raised concerns about the underage workers with managers at SMART, but was brushed off. The officials, wearing shirts that bore Hyundai logos, inspected the assembly line even as underage workers labored there, Herrera said.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo says some pre-IPO shareholders not taking up secondary offering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Indonesian biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK) said on Wednesday evening that some of its pre-IPO shareholders had decided not to take up a secondary offering of shares at this time. The shareholders were those who considered the proposed transaction, GoTo said in a statement without naming them. Shares of GoTo closed down 6.79% on Wednesday to 151 rupiah a piece prior to the announcement. The announcement came as the eight-month lock-up period for pre-IPO shareholders expired on Wednesday. GoTo, which raised $1.1 billion in an IPO last April, said in October that the purpose for a coordinated secondary offering of shares was to "facilitate an orderly sale through the negotiated market."

☆ Helena Bonham Carter voices support for JK Rowling and Johnny Depp
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Helena Bonham Carter is coming to the defense of two fellow members of the “Harry Potter” universe. Addressing the controversy around views Rowling has expressed that have been criticized by some as transphobic, Bonham Carter called the backlash “horrendous.”“I think she has been hounded,” she said. “Everybody carries their own history of trauma and forms their opinions from that trauma, and you have to respect where people come from and their pain,” Bonham Carter said. “People will jump on the bandwagon because it’s the trend and to be the poster girl for it,” Bonham Carter told the Times of Heard and the #MeToo movement. It has become quite hysterical and there’s a kind of witch hunt and a lack of understanding.”CNN has reached out to representatives for Bonham Carter, Depp and Rowling for comment.

☆ Singapore's gig workers to get work injury, pension coverage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Singapore will extend work injury insurance and pension coverage to food delivery and ride-hailing workers under proposed legislative changes that it aims to implement as early as late 2024, the Manpower Ministry said. The new rules will affect about 73,000 workers who deliver food or drive passengers for companies such as Grab (GRAB.O) , Gojek (GOTO.JK), Deliveroo (ROO.L) and Delivery Hero's (DHER.DE) Foodpanda. Workers would gain coverage under the national pension system, which collects contributions from both workers and companies, and receive work injury insurance covering medical expenses, income loss, and lump sum compensation for permanent disability or death. Gig workers would not, however, be considered full-time employees entitled to paid leave and other benefits. Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Xinghui Kok and Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesia GoTo's Jan-Sept 2022 net loss at $1.3 bln, despite improving Q3 results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Indonesian tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO.JK) reported a net loss of 20.32 trillion rupiah ($1.29 billion) between January and September 2022, according to financial statements published on Monday, amid a sell-off in tech stocks. Losses widened from the same period last year, when the firm reported a 11.57 trillion rupiah net loss, according to the statements. GoTo said in a press statement following the result that it saw financial improvements in the April-June 2022 period and expected to see more over the coming quarters. In Q3 2022 alone, GoTo's gross revenue was up 30% from the same period last year to 5.9 trillion rupiah and its adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed by 11% year-on-year to 3.7 trillion rupiah. Shares of GoTo closed at 210 rupiah per share on Monday, down 5.41% in intra-day trade.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo to cut 1,300 jobs to step up cost cutting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GoTo said it has achieved around 800 billion rupiah ($51 million) in cost savings in the first half of this year through efficiency measures in technology, marketing and outsourcing. GoTo, which offers ride-hailing and financial services, went public in April with a $1.1 billion stock sale. Its shares are trading 44% below its initial public offering price, as investor sentiment on the tech sector sours amid soaring inflation and interest rates. Shares in GoTo rose 2.8% on Friday after announcing the job cuts. In recent months, Southeast Asia's largest-ecommerce firm Shopee cut jobs in various countries and shut some overseas operations as parent Sea (SE.N) struggle with losses.

☆ Indonesia's Indika, Taiwan's Foxconn mull EV partnership with Thai firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Coal miner PT Indika Energy (INDY.JK) and Taiwan-based Foxconn (2317.TW), which are partnering to make electric vehicles in Indonesia, are considering bringing in a Thai firm as a third partner, Indika's top executive told Reuters on Wednesday. Arsjad Rasjid, President Director of Indonesian miner Indika, declined to name the Thai company nor any target for the completion of the partnership due to ongoing negotiations, but said the three could invest in EV or EV battery production. In September, Indika and Foxconn launched a $2 billion joint venture to make EVs, batteries and energy storage in Indonesia. Foxconn, Apple's biggest iPhone maker, also has a $1 billion joint venture with Thai energy group PTT (PTT.BK) to produce battery EVs. Indika is one of the top coal miners in Indonesia, which is the world's biggest coal exporter.

☆ China's Silk Road Fund to invest in Indonesian pharma firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's Silk Road Fund (SRF) and Indonesia's INA sovereign fund INA invest in two state-owned Indonesian pharmaceuticals companies in a deal worth about 1.86 trillion rupiah ($120 million), a deputy minister said on Sunday. "We hope the investment partnership can improve the pharma firms' digital services, product development and also repair (their) capital structure," he said. SRF was set up in 2014 and is backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. In July INA and SRF signed an investment framework agreement under which the Chinese fund aims invest up to 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. ($1 = 15,490.0000 rupiah)($1 = 7.1066 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan's SoftBank books hefty Vision Fund loss but returns to quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) on Friday unveiled a loss at its sprawling Vision Fund investment arm for the third straight quarter, even as the tech company posted a net profit from selling some of its stake in China's Alibaba (9988.HK). Vision Fund upended the world of venture capital with splashy bets on startups, but it has been hammered in recent quarters by a global tech rout, prompting SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son to sharply scale back fresh investments. Investment losses at flagship unit Vision Fund were 1.38 trillion yen ($9.75 billion) in the three months to September 30 as the value of its portfolio continued to slide. At SoftBank itself, net profit came to 3.03 trillion yen in the July-September second quarter. In the first quarter the group had posted a 3.16 trillion yen loss.

☆ SoftBank faces tech stock weakness at Q2 earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is expected to face further weakness in tech stocks when it reports second-quarter earnings on Friday, after two brutal quarters that have shaken Masayoshi Son's tech conglomerate. The Vision Fund investing arm booked $50 billion in losses in the six months to end-June as valuations slid. Founder and Chief Executive Son has moved to cut headcount and refocus the second fund on managing its existing portfolio. Alibaba (9988.HK), , which SoftBank has been selling to raise cash, has fallen more than 40% year-to-date. "For most/all funding needs, SBG will use Alibaba shares to defend its balance sheet or stock price," Goyal wrote.

☆ Indonesian digital lender Neo Commerce targets full-year profit in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tjandra also pledged that its high deposit rate of up to 8% per year would not be a one-off. BNC's net interest margin (NIM), an indicator of profitability and as of September at 12.7%, was sufficient even with high deposit rates, he said. Sea Group's digital bank SeaBank Indonesia offers a deposit rate of 7%, while Bank Jago offered a 7% rate for its saving products during a promotional period in August. BNC is targeting 10-11 trillion rupiah loan disbursement this year and up to 40% growth in 2023, Tjandra said. But the lender is still expected to book a full-year loss of around 500-600 billion rupiah in December, Tjandra said.

The initial public offering of the ride-hailing-to-online-shopping giant at a $28 billion market capitalisation in April was a landmark deal on the back of relaxed listing rules. Now GoTo will have to manage a big contortion in the $570 billion stock market. At a stretch, GoTo’s involvement might prevent a further price slump on the company’s current $15 billion market value. The company sold nearly $1 billion of stock at a multiple of 17 times forecast revenue for 2023. The meddling in the secondary market looks like a necessary evil.

☆ INDIA STOCKS Indian shares set for lower opening as Fed keeps hawkish stance
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

India's NSE stock futures, listed on the Singapore exchange , were 0.94% lower as of 0211 GMT. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday as widely expected and said its battle against inflation will require borrowing costs to rise further. Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors bought a net 14.36 billion Indian rupees ($173.61 million) worth of equities on Wednesday, while domestic investors sold 13.78 billion rupees of shares, as per provisional data available with the National Stock Exchange. ** Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd (MMFS.NS) reported September-quarter profit of 4.48 billion rupees, a 56.2% year-on-year decline. ($1 = 82.7120 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru;Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo considering secondary offering of shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO.JK) is exploring a coordinated secondary offering of shares held by pre-IPO shareholders after a lock-up period ends late next month, the company said on Monday. It said it would not issue or sell new shares, so there would be no dilution of GoTo's shares. The remaining shares are held by some of GoTo's executives and shareholders, each with ownership of less than 5%. Shares of GoTo closed at 190 each on Monday, a drop of 5%. GoTo debuted on April this year, raising $1.1 billion in an IPO by selling around 4% of its shares at 338 rupiah each.

A street vendor sells papers with the news of Indonesian New Capital Nusantara (IKN) on its headline, during a traffic in Jakarta, March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File PhotoJAKARTA, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Indonesia will offer generous incentives, including a 30-year tax break, for companies investing in a $32 billion project to build a new capital city in the country called Nusantara, an official said late on Tuesday. Bambang Susantono, head of the Nusantara National Capital Authority, made the comments at a gathering with hundreds of local and foreign investors in the current capital Jakarta. Susantono asked the gathering to consider investing in areas such as healthcare, education and entertainment in the new capital, promising that regulations on fiscal incentives would be released soon. A June survey of 170 experts by the Indonesian Centre for Strategic and International Studies found nearly 59% were unsure the Nusantara project would materialise, citing uncertainty over funding and management.

☆ An Alabama factory that makes parts for Kia and Hyundai employed children as young as 13, a Labor Department investigation found
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An auto parts manufacturer in Alabama has been ordered to stop hiring underage workers. SL Alabama also paid a $30,076 civil money penalty to address the violations. SL Alabama, which has around 650 workers in the Alexander City area, manufactures headlights, rear combination lights, and side mirrors for automakers including Korean sister companies Hyundai and Kia. The FLSA also makes it illegal for employers to ship products from worksites where child-labor laws have been violated. JK USA, Hyundai, and Kia, as well as an attorney for SL Alabama, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours.

Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC Bank poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters in Singapore October 10, 2022. And while OCBC earned nearly half of its operating profit from Singapore, Greater China was the next-largest contributor, followed by Malaysia. She added that OCBC benefited from having both a brick-and-mortar and a strong digital footprint. This has increased attention on OCBC, which has the strongest capital position among Singapore banks. Sanford Bernstein analysts said in a report in June that OCBC had S$4.8 billion that could be used for acquisitions without the need to raise capital.

☆ Indonesia's China-funded rail project on track despite cost overrun
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Yuddy Cahya Budiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Indonesian President Joko Widodo stands beside an Electric Multiple Unit high-speed train for a rail link project part of China's Belt and Road Initiative at Tegalluar train depot in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, October 13, 2022. Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak/via REUTERSTEGALLUAR, Indonesia, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A high-speed railway project in Indonesia, part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, is on track for a 2023 launch despite ongoing negotiations between the two countries about the project being over-budget, officials said on Thursday. KCIC has said the project is facing a cost overrun of about $2 billion, raising the estimated total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion). KCIC's President Director Dwiyana Slamet Riyadi confirmed the discrepancy in cost calculations, saying negotiations are underway to resolve it. Dwiyana said discussions were ongoing as to whether Chinese President Xi Jinping may witness a trial run of the rail project when he visits the Southeast Asian country next month for the G20 leaders' summit.

☆ Jeffrey Katzenberg is done with media after 'riding that Quibi rocket ship into the ground.' Here's why he's betting on cybersecurity and VPNs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Katzenberg, a co-founder of DreamWorks and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, founded another high-profile media venture, Quibi, in 2018. Jeffrey Katzenberg: Our areas of focus when we started were software as a service, best-in-class digital technology, and consumer technology. And then we recognized that digital media wasn't actually going to be successful for us, or frankly for anybody else. What's your outlook at the moment for traditional media companies, big tech, and streaming? What's the right sequencing, what's the right windowing, where's the greatest value creation coming for all parties involved — that's the testing that's going on.

In August, authorities accused Alexander City, Alabama-based SL Alabama in federal court of violating child labor laws. The action against SL Alabama, which supplies lights and mirrors for Hyundai and Kia assembly plants in the U.S. South, came following a July Reuters article that documented child labor practices at another auto parts supplier in the state, Hyundai-owned SMART Alabama LLC. SL Alabama agreed to implement new monitoring and training programs, the federal regulator said. "Our investigation found SL Alabama engaged in oppressive child labor," said Kenneth Stripling, DOL's Wage and Hours Division Director in Birmingham, Alabama, in the statement. Regulators said plant operators are accountable for child labor violations even when unauthorized employees are brought in by third-party recruiting firms.

☆ Garuda Indonesia files for Chapter 15 U.S. bankruptcy procedure - CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA worker walks on a crane as a Garuda Indonesia's aircraft is parked at the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) AeroAsia, at Soekarno-Hatta International airport near Jakarta, Indonesia, January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File PhotoJAKARTA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) has requested that a court in New York recognise the airline's recent debt restructuring deal in a Jakarta court, under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, its chief executive said on Monday. Garuda filed the Chapter 15 case late last week at a New York bankruptcy court, CEO Irfan Setiaputra told Reuters. Chapter 15 provides for cooperation between U.S. and foreign courts, if there is a U.S. financial interest in proceedings. ($1 = 15,125.0000 rupiah)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor, Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Like its rivals, it has benefited from a boom in food services during the COVID-19 pandemic, while ride-hailing suffered. read moreHungate, a veteran of the financial services, logistics and food sectors, has spearheaded a push away from low-margin business lines as Grab races to turn profitable. "The other area where we've really tightened our strategic intent is in financial services where we were growing payments, wallets and non-bank financial lending quite significantly off-platform and on our platform," said Hungate. Grab is betting on growing financial services by offering banking and other products with partner Singapore Telecommunications (STEL.SI) in key markets. read moreHungate said Grab would provide details of its progress towards profitability and other metrics at its first investor day on Tuesday.

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