February, 2023

• 23 February

  Shanghai’s GDS weighs $400 million stake sale in global data centres

  

    Bloomberg Data centre operator GDS Holdings Ltd is considering selling a minority stake in its international business for about $300 million to $400 million to a strategic partner, according to people familiar with the matter. The Shanghai-based digital infrastructure company is working with an adviser and is weighing selling about a 30% to 40% stake in the assets, the ...

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• 23 February

  Thailand to rope in private firms to lure rich foreigners

    Bloomberg Thailand plans to enlist the services of private companies to boost response to its long-term resident visa program targeted at highly-skilled foreign workers and wealthy pensioners. The firms will assist government agencies to draw more applications for the 10-year resident visas unveiled last year, according to Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of Thailand’s Board of Investment. They will also promote ...

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• 23 February

  Singapore inflation hits 14-year high, raising policy tightening chance

  

    Bloomberg Singapore’s core inflation, the gauge closely-watched by the central bank, rose to a 14-year high, even after the central bank has tightened policy five times since October 2021. The measure, which excludes private transport and accommodation, rose 5.5% in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since November 2008 according to a statement. That compares with a ...

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• 23 February

  Grab brings forward profitability goal

    Bloomberg Grab Holdings Ltd brought forward its profitability target after posting a narrower quarterly loss, helped by reduced spending by the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery provider. The stock jumped 8% in pre-market trading after Grab said it expects to reach positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the final quarter of 2023. It previously expected ...

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• 23 February

  Vietnam property debt crisis deepens over bond payment

  

    Bloomberg Vietnam’s property debt crisis is intensifying as the country’s second-largest developer joined the ranks of peers seeking debt extensions after failing to repay a bond on time. No Va Land Investment Group said it will delay repayment of a 1 trillion dong ($42 million) note originally due on February 12 and asked holders for an extension or to ...

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• 23 February

  G-7 condemns Russian aggression, urges Kyiv aid

  

  Bloomberg Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers once again condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine on the eve of its one-year mark and pledged to increase financial support for Ukraine. G-7 finance ministers increased their budget to $39 billion dollars and reaffirmed their “unwavering support for Ukraine,” calling Russia’s aggression as “illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked” in a statement issued on Thursday. ...

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• 23 February

  Finland says it’s ready to join Nato even without Sweden

  

  Bloomberg Finland is set to join Nato if it gets the last outstanding ratifications for its membership bid, regardless of what progress Sweden has made towards joining the alliance, President Sauli Niinisto said. Finland’s parliament has moved ahead with a domestic process to ratify the Nordic country’s accession to Nato, raising questions about whether the two countries could be admitted ...

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• 23 February

  China considering veteran banker as next PBOC chief

  

    Bloomberg China is considering installing veteran banker Zhu Hexin as its next central bank governor, while a close ally of Xi Jinping is a likely candidate to become its Communist Party chief, the Wall Street Journal reported. He Lifeng, expected to replace Liu He as China’s vice premier responsible for economic policy in a government reshuffle next month, is ...

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• 23 February

  ECB avoids 2022 loss due to release of €1.6b buffer

  

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) reported zero profit for 2022, deploying buffers it set aside in earlier years to dodge a loss linked to stimulus-driven bond-buying. Tapping those reserves became necessary after asset purchase-related interest payments to the euro area’s national central banks jumped to about €2 billion ($2.1 billion). That was due to borrowing costs being raised to ...

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• 23 February

  BOK keeps door open to further hike after rate pause

  

    Bloomberg Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong sought to keep the door open to resuming policy tightening to counter inflation after the board kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday for the first time in a year. Rhee told reporters that five of the six board members he polled were open to borrowing costs reaching a peak of 3.75% ...

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