Hong Kong's official foreign currency reserve assets rose to $446.5 billion as of the end of May, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said in a Friday release.
The total was higher than the $442.1 billion recorded at the end of April.
The reserve assets represent over five times the currency in circulation, or about 38% of Hong Kong dollar M3.
Thailand's consumer price index rose 2.79% in May from a year earlier, easing from a 2.89% increase in April, the country's Trade Policy and Strategy Office said on Friday.The reading came in below analysts' expectations for a 3.90% increase, according to Investing.com data.The core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and fresh food prices, rose by 0.92% in May from a year earlier, faster than the 0.83% increase in April and against analysts' 0.9% consensus forecast.
SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) has finalized the terms for its issuance of hybrid notes featuring an optional interest payment deferral mechanism, according to a Tokyo bourse filing on Friday.The total offering amount is set at 260 billion yen, with a denomination of 1 million yen per note.The 35-year notes carry an initial fixed interest rate of 5.12% per annum for the first five years. Thereafter, the rate will transition to a floating structure based on one-year Japanese government bond (JGB) yields plus a 3.16% spread, with step-up interest increases kicking in at specific intervals over the life of the instrument.Rated BBB+ by the Japan Credit Rating Agency, the hybrid notes will be publicly offered primarily to individual investors from June 8 to June 18, with an issue date scheduled for June 19.The offering is underwritten by a syndicate led by managers including SMBC Nikko, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley, SBI Securities, and Nomura Securities.Proceeds from the issuance will be used to partially replace U.S. dollar-denominated hybrid notes that reach their first voluntary call date in July 2027. SoftBank intends to replace any early-redeemed notes with instruments offering equivalent equity treatment.
New Zealand's total new lending decreased to NZ$14.17 billion in April from NZ$15.13 billion in March, according to data from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand released on Friday.New lending fully secured by residential mortgage fell to NZ$8.3 billion in April from NZ$8.68 billion in the previous month.Personal consumer new lending decreased to NZ$223 million from NZ$259 million. New lending for business fell to NZ$4 billion from NZ$4.38 billion.Lending for agricultural purposes fell to NZ$1.29 billion from NZ$1.42 billion. Other new lending decreased to NZ$345 million from NZ$384 million.