Pakistan’s central bank unexpectedly raised its benchmark rate to a record high in an emergency meeting as the nation makes a final attempt to revive its loan program with the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. The State Bank of Pakistan’s monetary policy committee decided to raise rates by 100 basis points to 22%, it said in a statement. The decision has been taken after anticipated inflationary pressure that will come from the recently announced budget and decision to lift restrictions on imports, said the statement.
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The Reserve Bank of India on Monday fined four credit bureaus, including TransUnion CIBIL, for not complying with the rules on maintaining borrower data, a move that comes as the central bank pushes for more accountability following customer complaints, Reuters reported. Certain data related to the credit information maintained by TransUnion CIBIL, Experian Credit Information Company of India, Equifax Credit Information Services and CRIF High Mark Credit Information Services was "not accurate and complete," the central bank said in four separate statements.
China will continue to provide assistance "within its capabilities" for Sri Lanka's economic and social development, China Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Sunday, Reuters reported. Qin Gang, in a meeting with Sri Lanka counterpart Ali Sabry in Beijing, said China is willing to consolidate and expand the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, according to a statement on the foreign ministry's website.
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Turkey's central bank hiked its key rate by 650 basis points to 15% on Thursday and said it would go further in a reversal of President Tayyip Erdogan's policy, although the post-election tightening missed expectations and the lira fell, Reuters reported. In its first meeting under new Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, the bank changed course after years of monetary easing in which the one-week repo rate had dropped to 8.5% from 19% in 2021 despite soaring inflation. Analysts said that the move suggested Erkan might have limited room to aggressively tackle inflation under Erdogan's watch.
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The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled a new trade doctrine aimed at curbing China’s ability to squeeze Europe’s economy, and at preventing European companies from exporting sensitive, military-linked technology that could give China an edge, the New York Times reported. The policy, still in its early stages, highlights how the European Union is seeking to align itself with the United States in limiting China’s access to sensitive markets and industrial secrets. It also reflects growing concerns about Beijing’s deepening alliance with Moscow.
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Singapore’s financial regulator imposed penalties amounting to a total of S$3.8 million ($2.8 million) on four financial institutions for breaches related to the Wirecard AG scandal, Bloomberg News reported. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Citigroup Inc., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and Swiss Life Holding AG were found to have inadequate money laundering and terrorism financing controls in place when they dealt with parties linked to Wirecard, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Chinese banks trimmed benchmark interest rates on loans to households and businesses, a telegraphed move that follows earlier rate cuts aimed at reigniting a fading economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. Economists say lower borrowing costs might not be the right medicine for China’s economy, however, as households and businesses have shown little appetite to borrow with debt levels already high and prospects for jobs and growth deeply uncertain.
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Japan’s crypto exchanges are pushing for a relaxation of curbs on margin trading, unbowed by last year’s global digital-asset market crash, Bloomberg News reported. Many people in the industry want permitted leverage for retail investors of four to 10 times whereas currently customers can at most double exposure via borrowing, according to the Japan Virtual & Crypto Assets Exchange Association.
Singapore plans to more aggressively regulate electricity markets as price jumps intensify, again threatening to hurt the retailers that sell it to businesses and households, Bloomberg News reported. The Energy Market Authority will cap wholesale power prices from July 1 using a formula tied to natural gas and generation costs, it said in a document on its website. That comes after they jumped as much as 3,000% this year despite sharp drops in the cost of liquefied natural gas, the nation’s main fuel.
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India is working to resolve discrepancies between global aircraft leasing rules and its national bankruptcy laws, the country's aviation secretary told Reuters on Monday on the sidelines of the Paris Airshow, Reuters reported. A resolution could help lessors to Go First airline reclaim their planes and fly them out of the country after the carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in May, a move that resulted in a freeze on all its assets including the jets.
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