The Asian markets ended mostly in green, while Indonesia stock exchange was closed on account of ‘Ascension Day’ holiday. Indonesia’s finance ministry plans to tighten a tax regulation to ensure firms’ have sufficient cash buffers against the amount of debt they take in a bid to better manage their foreign debt exposure and boost the government’s tax revenue. Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo stated that Indonesia will ease restrictions on property and auto loans and allow foreigners to buy apartments as it looks to boost economic activity. The Governor added that the central bank may cut the loan-to-value ratio for property and auto loans as soon as this month, allowing banks to finance buyers with lower down payments. The National Bureau of Statistics data showed that the value of new home sales continued to fall slowly in China in the first four months of this year. Nationwide, over 1.49 trillion yuan ($240 billion) worth of new homes, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, were sold in China between January and April, an annual drop of 2.2 percent. Japan’s M2 Money Stock remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 3.6% compared to the preceding month.
Asian Indices Last Trade Change in Points Change in % Shanghai Composite 4,378.31 2.55 0.06 Hang Seng 27,286.55 37.27 0.14 Jakarta Composite - - - KLSE Composite 1,807.55 4.53 0.25 Nikkei 225 19,570.24 -194.48 -0.98 Straits Times 3,455.78 2.61 0.08 KOSPI Composite 2,120.33 6.17 0.29 Taiwan Weighted 9,610.83 -113.28 -1.16