The Finance Ministry’s director general for taxation, Robert Pakpahan, said a new regulation, which will revise Finance Ministerial Regulation No 76/2010, would allow foreign tourists to apply for VAT refunds with multiple invoices.

“Under the new regulation, we will allow [international tourists] to request VAT refunds as long as the total value of the VAT is a minimum of 500,000 rupiah) [US$36, Bt1,126]. Meanwhile, the invoices could have different purchase dates,” Robert said during a recent dialogue with business representatives in Jakarta.

“Hopefully, we can finish [the new regulation] soon.”

Robert was responding to questions raised by Indonesian Shopping Centres Tenants Association (Hippindo) chairman Budiharjo Iduansjah, who urged the government to revise the existing VAT refund regulation in order to spur retailers’ business activities, particularly those that relied on foreign tourists.

The revision was supposed to come into effect last year in conjunction with the Asian Games, which took place from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta and Palembang, South Sumatra, so that SMEs could take advantage of the presence of international athletes and visitors during the quadrennial event.

Under the prevailing Finance Ministerial Regulation No 76/2010, international tourists who wanted a VAT refund for their purchases had to present a single transaction receipt with a VAT worth 5 million rupiah which effectively urged tourists to make a single large purchase under the assumption of the current 10 per|cent VAT rate.

The current regulation also stipulates that the goods had to be purchased within a month before the tourists’ departure.

According to official government website vatrefund.pajak.go.id, only five international airports were able to provide VAT refunds, namely Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Cengkareng, Banten; Kualanamu Airport in Medan, North Sumatra; Adisucipto Airport in Yogyakarta; Juanda Airport in Surabaya, East Java; and Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali.

Foreign tourists staying longer than two months were ineligible for the refund, according to the prevailing regulation.

The minimum threshold of the VAT refund is stipulated in Article 16E of the 2003 VAT Law, with the second paragraph of the article stating that the threshold could be adjusted through the issuance of a new a government regulation (PP).

Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said the new regulation should be flexible enough in terms of setting the minimum VAT that could be refunded.

He also called on the government to ease procedures for retailers in registering as participants in the VAT refund scheme.

This assessment is contained in a Moody’s report titled “Government of the Philippines: Reform package promotes greater macroeconomic stability, a credit positive”.

According to the report, The New Central Bank Act (Republic Act No 11211) and the Rice Tariffication Law (RA 11203) are “credit positive” measures — meaning, they have positive implications to the country’s already investment-grade credit ratings.

“The amendment to the BSP’s charter expands its supervisory oversight over non-bank financial institutions such as money service businesses, credit granting businesses and payment system operators, which will enhance financial stability given the linkages between the banking system and these entities,” the report noted.

“In addition, the revised charter allows the central bank to issue its own debt securities, providing another tool to fine tune liquidity management and improve the effectiveness of monetary policy,” it added.

“Other notable changes include the official removal of money supply and credit levels as a basis to determine monetary policy; the prohibition of any injunction or restraining order on the BSP, except by the Philippines’ two highest courts; an increase in BSP’s capitalisation to 200 billion pesos (Bt120 billion ) from 50 billion pesos; and the exemption of the bulk of its activities from taxation.”

Moody’s said that, as the Philippines posted among the fastest gross domestic product (GDP) expansions in Asia during the last 10 years, domestic liquidity declined partly due to strong credit growth.

Partly to blame for the increase in interest rates in 2018, Moody’s said, was the drop in excess liquidity to 120 billion pesos— equivalent to 0.7 per cent of the 2018 GDP, as of November 2018 — from 1 trillion pesos in mid-2016, or 7.6 per cent of the GDP. Amid elevated headline inflation or the rate of increase in prices of basic commodities, the BSP’s Monetary Board hiked key interest rates by a total of 175 basis points last year.

As for the Rice Tariffication Law, which removed the import quota on the Filipino staple food, Moody’s said: “The expected increase in the volume of rice imports will diminish the price volatility of rice, helping to insulate Filipino households’ consumption to adverse agricultural shocks.”

Taking effect on March 5, this law will slap the following tariff rates on rice imports: 35 per cent if rice was imported from within the Asean region, 40 per cent if within the minimum access volume (MAV) of 350,000 metric tonnes for imports coming from countries outside Asean 180 per cent if above the MAV and from a non-Asean country

“The rice tariffication scheme will help alleviate local supply-demand imbalances by eliminating quantitative restrictions on rice imports, which will now be subject to tariffs,” Moody’s noted.

The Vietnamese government will double the credit limit for poor people seeking loans without collateral, as part of efforts to reduce poverty and prevent loan sharks.

Under a new decision, which will take effect from March 1 this year, poor households will be allowed to borrow a maximum of 100 million dong (US$4,300, Bt134,461) instead of 50 million dong as before, for up to 120 months from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) and the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank).

Besides poverty reduction, the new policy on increasing the limits of unsecured loans given by banks to the poor is also aimed to prevent those people from approaching loan sharks with exorbitant interest rates. The number of loan sharks preying on vulnerable people has increased sharply recently and caused adverse impacts on society.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Banking Supervision Agency, loan sharks often target people with unstable incomes, who live in remote areas and need money for healthcare and food. Banks should therefore expand their formal credit to remote areas, helping prevent and repel loan sharks. – Viet Nam News

SMC beats reduction goal, saves 7.7 bn litres of water

The ambitious sustainability project of the Philippines’ San Miguel Corp to cut water consumption across its operating units in half by 2025 is running ahead of schedule, with the country’s largest conglomerate reporting that it already achieved a 23-per cent reduction at the end of last year.

In a statement, San Miguel president Ramon Ang said last year’s performance was better than the goal of cutting water use by 20 per cent by 2020, even as the firm’s various business lines continued to expand their activities.

The initiative, which is part of the conglomerate’s “Water for All” sustainability project, resulted in an estimated 7.7 billion litres of “non-product” water saved last year alone.

“This is a significant milestone for us, and we’re highly encouraged by these results,” Ang said. “It’s only the second year since we announced this major sustainability goal, and already, the effort and commitment of those in our company tasked with making this goal a reality have started to pay off.”

He attributed the drop to the effective implementation of programmes aimed at increasing use of alternative, “non-scarce” water, including rainwater, recycled water and seawater.

The company explained that while its total water volumes for the year actually increased — due to higher production and the start of operations of new manufacturing plants — it was also able to increase utilisation of non-scarce water sources. |– Philippine Daily Inquirer

Singapore govt lowers headline inflation forecast

The Singapore government has lowered its overall inflation forecast for this year on the back of lower oil prices, as it released latest monthly data showing consumer prices cooling in January.

Given the sharp decline in global oil prices in recent months, the forecast for overall inflation has been lowered to between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent, from 1 per cent to 2 per cent previously, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a joint release on Monday.

The forecast for core inflation – which excludes accommodation and private transport costs – remains unchanged at between 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent, reflecting the smaller weight of oil-related items in this measure, they said.

MAS and MTI added that the extent of overall price increases will be capped by greater market competition in several consumer segments. – The Straits Times

Malaysia’s Maybank to go digital to boost income

Amid increasing competition from financial technology (fintech) companies, Malaysian publicly listed lender Maybank Indonesia plans to go digital this year to boost its fee-based income.

Maybank Indonesia president director Taswin Zakaria has said that aside from focusing on its two main segments, namely corporate and micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the lender would also focus on retail banking by using digital technology to offer an appealing and convenient banking experience to its customers this year.

“We will be launching a new digital banking platform called Maybank2u [M2u], as well as a revamped Maybank Indonesia official website in the near future,” Taswin said. – The Star

Frasers Property (Thailand) Public Company Limited or FPT is making an offer of Bt8.50 per share for around 2.32 billion shares to acquire the residential and commercial property development company, Frasers Property said in a regulatory filing on Monday before the market opened.

FPT said that the offer price may be reduced by the amount of dividend paid per share if Golden Land announces its dividend payment before the VTO for the securities takes place, hence it expects to determine the tender offer period in 45 business days.

Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) Co (FPHT) holds a 39.92 per cent stake in Golden Land, and is a major shareholder of FPT.

Meanwhile, Univentures Public Company Limited (UV) holds 39.28 per cent of shares in Golden Land. FPT’s director Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, is an indirect major shareholder of UV, holding 50 per cent of shares of Adelfos Co Ltd – a shareholder of UV with a 66.01 per cent stake. Through the proposed transaction, FPT plans to expand into adjacent businesses, in line with its strategy to build an integrated real estate platform with multi-segment property execution capabilities. It also looks to immediately scale with the acquisition and ensure a balanced and diversified portfolio across asset classes and customer segments, along with enhancing its earnings and return on equity.

Based on the success of the VTO, the combined platform is expected to generate revenue in excess of Bt20 billion with total assets above Bt80 billion post-transaction, the company added.

Combined capabilities and resources will enable both firms to better capitalise on the landbank in FPT, especially with the township development opportunities from its recent 4,300 rai (688-hectare) land acquisition along Bang Na Road, and other sizeable projects in the pipeline in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor.

Golden Land would also be able to “immediately contribute” to FPT’s financial performance, through its portfolio of operating assets.

According to Sopon Racharaksa, president of FPT, the businesses of FPT and Golden Land complement each other, giving the company multi-segment capabilities across the logistics, industrial and commercial space value chain.

“I see greater benefits to offer more breadth and depth in our service offerings as we continue to build experiences that matter to our customers, partners, staff and shareholders. The enlarged scale will also enable us to attract the best talent and offer exciting growth career opportunities for our staff across multiple asset classes,” Racharaksa added.

Since 2013, Golden Land has seen revenue growth of 58 per cent with new flagship development projects such as SamYan Mitrtown, FYI Centre and Sathorn Square. It also has shareholding interests in hospitality assets including Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartment, The Ascott Sathorn and Modena by Fraser Bangkok.

It has 41 active residential projects in Bangkok and its vicinity, and plans to launch 25 new projects valued at Bt26 billion in 2019.