Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves totaled $605.07 billion at the end of May, up by $2.59 billion over April, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said in a Friday release.
The pace was slower than the $5.6 billion increase recorded at the end of the previous month.
The central bank attributed the change to investment income from foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate fluctuations of major currencies against the U.S. dollar.
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.