On July 7, 2026, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Jakarta for a two-day state visit to Indonesia. That morning, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto held a grand welcoming ceremony for Modi at the Presidential Palace.

This is Modi’s first bilateral visit to Indonesia since the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018. President Prabowo personally greeted Modi at the airport, and the Indonesian Air Force dispatched fighter jets to escort his special plane. During the visit, President Prabowo bestowed upon Modi Indonesia’s highest honor – the “Star of India” medal.

On the same day, the two leaders held talks and jointly witnessed the signing of 16 cooperation documents. These agreements cover inter‑governmental and inter‑enterprise cooperation in multiple areas, including defense, space, health, agriculture, telecommunications, and education.

In the defense sector, the two sides signed procurement contracts for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system and the Astra air‑to‑air missile. In addition, they renewed the implementing protocol for the Memorandum of Understanding on Maritime Security Cooperation, and reached a framework agreement on the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.

On the economic front, the Steel Authority of India and Indonesia’s PT Krakatau Steel signed an agreement to establish a strategic joint venture, and also reached a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in mineral resources and steel supply chain technology. In cultural and educational exchange, the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore will establish a campus in Indonesia, and the two sides signed a letter of intent for the conservation and restoration of the Prambanan temple complex.

Modi said that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2018 is “now soaring high,” and expressed his belief that the “golden chapter” of the India‑Indonesia partnership begins today. This visit is the first leg of Modi’s three‑nation tour, which will also take him to Australia and New Zealand.

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek stated on June 14th that the country plans to submit a specific target year for reclaiming wartime operational control to the South Korean and US presidents by the end of the year. The two sides will discuss this at the November security meeting. South Korea hopes to reclaim control as early as 2027, while the US believes 2029 is more feasible. President Lee Jae-myung insists on completing the transfer before the end of his term in 2030.

Defense Autonomy: The Lee Jae-myung administration has prioritized the reclaiming of operational control, advocating for independent responses to security threats. South Korea’s early departure from the recent US-Japan-South Korea defense ministers’ meeting is interpreted as a strengthening of its autonomous stance.

Historical Background: South Korea transferred operational control to the United Nations Command in 1953. In 1994, it only reclaimed peacetime operational control; wartime operational control remains with the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (commanded by a US military general).

レバレッジ型上場投資信託（ETF）への資金流入と株式購入のための借入の増加を受け、中東紛争をきっかけに先週発生したアジア主要株式市場の急落が再び繰り返されるのではないかとの懸念が市場を揺るがしている。

データによると、アジアのレバレッジ型ETFは過去1週間と1ヶ月で純資金流入を記録している。また、先週末時点のデータでは、台湾と韓国の信用取引残高が数十年来の高水準に迫り、日本の信用取引残高は過去最高を記録した。

レバレッジ投資への強い需要が続いていることは、市場に依然として相当量のバブル資金が残っていることを示唆している。一部の投資家は、中東紛争が早期に終結すれば、潜在的な利益を最大化しようと目論んでいる。先週、アジア市場は米国株を大きく下回るパフォーマンスを示したことから、紛争が継続し原油価格が再び上昇した場合、これらの市場は特に脆弱になるだろう。

この期間中、日本に上場しているNEXT FUNDS日経225レバレッジ指数ETFは14億ドルの資金流入を集め、地域内で最大の流入額となった。個別銘柄のレバレッジ型ファンドも多額の資金流入を集めた。香港に上場し、CSOPアセットマネジメントが運用するSKハイニックスとサムスン電子を対象とするETFは、合計11億ドルの資金流入を集めた。

High levels of inflows into leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and borrowing for stock purchases have reignited market concerns that some of Asia’s largest stock markets may repeat last week’s sell-off triggered by the Middle East conflict.

Data shows that leveraged ETFs in Asia have seen net inflows in both the past week and the past month. Data as of the end of last week also showed that margin trading balances in Taiwan and South Korea were near multi-decade highs, while Japan’s figure hit a record high.

The continued strong demand for leveraged bets suggests that a significant amount of bubble money remains in the market. Some bargain hunters are hoping to maximize potential gains if the Middle East conflict ends soon. Given that Asian markets significantly underperformed US stocks last week, these markets will be particularly vulnerable if the conflict continues and oil prices rise again.

During this period, the NEXT FUNDS Nikkei 225(日経225) Leveraged Index ETF listed in Japan attracted $1.4 billion in inflows, the most in the region. Single-stock leveraged funds also attracted substantial inflows. ETFs listed in Hong Kong, managed by CSOP Asset Management, and tracking SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics have attracted a total of $1.1 billion in inflows.

De GBP/USD daalde naar ongeveer $1,33, het zwakste niveau sinds 9 december, terwijl beleggers de potentiële economische gevolgen van het escalerende conflict in het Midden-Oosten afwogen tegen de stijgende inflatiedruk en de mogelijkheid van een strenger monetair beleid van de Bank of England.

EUR to GBP -koers: 0,8695.

De regionale spanningen liepen op na berichten dat de Amerikaanse president Donald Trump Iraanse Koerdische strijdkrachten in Irak had aangemoedigd om Iran aan te vallen, Azerbeidzjan waarschuwde voor vergeldingsmaatregelen na Iraanse raketaanvallen en Koeweit meldde raketten en drones in zijn luchtruim te onderscheppen.

De daaruit voortvloeiende stijging van de energieprijzen zal naar verwachting de inflatie in heel Europa hoog houden, waardoor de kans op een renteverlaging door de Bank of England kleiner wordt.

De Britse geldmarkten schatten de kans op een renteverlaging deze maand nu op minder dan 20%, een scherpe daling ten opzichte van meer dan 80% vóór het conflict. De Britse rentefutures geven een kans van minder dan 50-50 op een enkele verlaging vóór eind 2026.

De euro daalde verder naar $ 1,156 en bereikte daarmee het laagste niveau sinds eind november, doordat beleggers massaal naar de dollar vluchtten te midden van de escalerende spanningen in het Midden-Oosten. EUR/GBP-koers: 0,8695.

Het conflict escaleerde nadat Israël vrijdag Beiroet aanviel, na een ongekende evacuatie van de gehele zuidelijke buitenwijken van de Libanese hoofdstad. Dit is een aanzienlijke uitbreiding van de oorlog tegen Iran, die een week geleden samen met de VS begon. Ondertussen claimde president Trump een rol te spelen in de keuze van de volgende opperste leider van Iran na de vermeende dood van ayatollah Khamenei.

De stijgende energieprijzen zullen naar verwachting de inflatiedruk in heel Europa hoog houden, wat de verwachting versterkt dat de Europese Centrale Bank een restrictiever monetair beleid zal voeren.

Verschillende ECB-beleidsmakers waarschuwden dat een langdurige oorlog in Iran, waarbij meer landen betrokken raken, de inflatie in de eurozone verder zou kunnen opdrijven en de economische groei zou kunnen afremmen.

De geldmarkten schatten de kans op een renteverhoging in juli momenteel op ongeveer 55% en de kans op een nieuwe verhoging in december op 85%.

On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed amendments to the Individual Income Tax Law, which will take effect on July 1, 2026.

The specific contents include:

(1) New scope of taxable income: income from the transfer of Vietnam’s national internet domain name “.vn”; income from the transfer of greenhouse gas emission reduction achievements and carbon credits; income from the transfer of digital assets; income from the transfer of gold bars (levied at 0.1% of the transfer price); income from agency, brokerage and business cooperation activities; income from e-commerce and digital platform operation activities;

(2) New types of personal income tax exemption: income from the transfer of emission reduction certificates; income from the first transfer of carbon credits; interest income from green bonds; initial transfer income after the issuance of green bonds; wages and salaries earned from scientific, technological and innovative work; copyright income from work related to science, technology and innovation (and the results of such work have been commercialized); income obtained by individual investors and experts from innovative start-up projects;

(3) Tax exemption for digital talents: high-quality talents in the digital technology industry who meet one of the following conditions can enjoy a 5-year personal income tax exemption on their wages and salaries: Firstly, income from digital technology industry projects within digital technology parks. ; secondly, income from R&D projects and the production of key digital technology products, semiconductor chips, and artificial intelligence systems; thirdly, income from human resource training activities; fourthly, personal income from R&D activities in fields listed in the High-Tech Law or the Strategic Technology List;

(4) Adjusting the taxable income threshold for individual businesses: The threshold for individual income tax for individual businesses is raised from 200 million VND to 500 million VND; those with annual income exceeding 500 million VND but not exceeding 3 billion VND may choose to apply a 15% tax rate; those with annual income exceeding 3 billion VND but not exceeding 50 billion VND are subject to a 17% tax rate; those with annual income exceeding 50 billion VND are subject to a 20% tax rate;

(5) Unified provisions for taxation of capital transfer income for residents and non-residents: For capital transfer income of residents and non-residents, if the purchase price and reasonable expenses related to the capital transfer income can be determined, individual income tax will be levied at 20% of each transfer income; if it cannot be determined, it will be levied at 2% of the transfer price; securities transfer income is taxed at a rate of 0.1%.

On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the Tax Administration Law No. 108/2025/QH15. This law will replace the Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14 promulgated on June 13, 2019, and the provisions amended and supplemented by Law No. 56/2024/QH15.

Most provisions of the new law will take effect on July 1, 2026. Articles 13 and 26, concerning the declaration, settlement, tax deduction, and use of electronic invoices for businesses and individual merchants, have already taken effect on January 1, 2026.

Main revisions include:

(1) Expanding the scope of taxpayers. Taxpayers include foreign organizations and individuals engaged in business activities or deriving income in Vietnam, as well as foreign organizations and individuals conducting business on e-commerce platforms and other digital platforms;

(2) Strengthening tax administration for e-commerce and digital platforms. E-commerce and digital platform operators are required to collect and pay taxes on behalf of overseas platform merchants. Merchants must independently calculate their income from the production and operation of tax-exempt or non-taxable goods and services in accordance with the regulations on value-added tax and individual income tax, and truthfully declare their annual income to the tax authorities;

(3) Shortening the period for correcting errors in tax returns. The period for taxpayers to correct errors or omissions in their submitted tax return materials after the tax return deadline is shortened from 10 years to 5 years;

(4) Clarifying transitional arrangements. Tax arrears that are not paid by June 30, 2026, will be handled in accordance with the new law; tax exemptions or reductions incurred before July 1, 2026, will continue to be handled in accordance with the old law; tax inspections that have been initiated before July 1, 2026, but for which no conclusion or decision has yet been issued, will continue to be carried out in accordance with the old law.

On the morning of January 26, the Fifth Session of the 14th Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress opened at the Century Hall of the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center. At the meeting, Governor Meng Fanli delivered the government work report to the Congress.

The government work report shows that in 2025, Guangdong’s GDP will reach 14.58 trillion yuan, a 3.9% increase, ranking first in the country for the 37th consecutive year. Local general public budget revenue will increase by 3%.

The total value of imports and exports of goods will reach 9.5 trillion yuan, a 4.4% increase, contributing 24.1% of China’s total GDP growth.

《International Business News》