Indonesia collects $3.05 billion taxes
Indonesia collected Rp 54.7 trillion ($3.05 billion) in taxes from the digital economy as of June 30, with value-added tax (VAT) on electronic commerce accounting for more than three-quarters of the total, the Finance Ministry’s Directorate General of Taxes (DJP) said on Thursday.
The total comprised Rp 42.01 trillion in VAT from electronic commerce (PMSE), Rp 2.09 trillion from crypto asset transactions, Rp 5.1 trillion from fintech lending taxes, and Rp 5.51 trillion collected through the Government Procurement Information System (SIPP).
DJP’s Director of Dissemination, Services and Public Relations, Inge Diana Rismawanti, said the tax authority had appointed 271 digital businesses as PMSE VAT collectors by the end of June, with one adjustment made during the month involving Lemon Squeezy LLC.
“We hope growing tax compliance among digital businesses will strengthen state revenue while creating a level playing field for both conventional and digital business models,” Inge said in a statement.
As of June 30, 236 PMSE businesses had collected and remitted Rp 42.01 trillion in VAT. The cumulative revenue included Rp 731.4 billion in 2020, Rp 3.9 trillion in 2021, Rp 5.51 trillion in 2022, Rp 6.76 trillion in 2023, Rp 8.44 trillion in 2024, Rp 10.32 trillion in 2025, and Rp 6.34 trillion during the first half of 2026.
China: domestic woes dampen growth as imbalances intensify
China’s economy cooled considerably in the second quarter of this year. GDP growth slowed to just 4.3 percent, dropping from 5.0 percent in Q1, on a sharp fall in investment and sluggish consumption. China’s exports continued to grow, delivering crucial momentum for an otherwise flagging economy. As China’s structural imbalances intensify, China’s leadership will need to act if it wants to keep its annual growth target of 4.5-5.0 percent in sight. Overall growth in the first six months was 4.7 percent and is trending downwards, so some form of additional fiscal support is almost guaranteed. But so is continued growth in exports, implying EU-China trade tensions will remain high.
The main factor dragging down GDP growth was nosediving fixed-asset investment (FAI). It dried up as the state-led push in Q1 to promote spending on infrastructure, and by state-owned enterprises, fizzled out. Overall FAI declined by 5.7 percent in H1, with impacts across many sectors. Real estate investment dropped by 18.0 percent, the largest contraction for a half-year on record. But FAI also fell in road building, education, healthcare, and construction. This suggests the funds of already cash-strapped local governments, which would normally shoulder a hefty share of infrastructure spending, have dried up.
Ominously, China’s multi-faceted economic imbalances are becoming more entrenched. Domestic car sales collapsed by 16.1 percent in June year on year, reflecting weak consumer confidence and suppressing headline growth. Excluding car sales, consumption grew by 3 percent, nothing to cheer about, but better than June’s aggregate increase in retail sales of 1.0 percent. The 4.1 percent increase in producer prices recorded in June does not signal improving domestic demand, but rather higher global prices linked to the AI boom and upheaval in the Middle East. Energy-intensive sectors, suffering from higher input prices due to the war in Iran, showed significant price hikes, while prices in other areas kept declining.
IMF: oil prices, weak monsoon pose biggest risks to India’s fy27 GDP growth
India’s GDP growth in 2026/27 faces key downside risks from a war in the Middle East that is driving up oil prices and a monsoon weakened by the El Nino weather effect, an International Monetary Fund official said.
Asia’s third-largest economy imports almost 80 percent of its oil needs, making it vulnerable to energy shocks that could hurt growth and stoke inflation.
The Fund cut India’s GDP growth forecast for 2026/27 by 10 basis points to 6.4 percent this month, while raising its 2027/28 forecast by 20 basis points to 6.7 percent.
“The downside risks are probably twofold,” Ranil Salgado, the Fund’s senior resident representative for India and Bhutan, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
“One is that the war is already starting to expand again, and that has implications for oil prices.”
Global crude prices, which stood above $90 a barrel last week on fears of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, eased over the last two days on reports of U.S.-Iran mediation, despite fresh attacks and Houthi threats to blockade Saudi Arabia.
However, this month’s IMF projections did not fully reflect the impact of a weak monsoon, Salgado said.
“This is an El Nino year that could lead to a poor monsoon,” he added. “We had delayed monsoon, some recovery in July, but we will have to see how that plays out.”
Malaysia’s economy grew 5.8pc Yr/Yr in q2
Malaysia’s economy grew 5.8 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, official advance estimates showed on Friday, with the acceleration from 5.4 percent growth in the first quarter supported by growth in all economic sectors apart from agriculture.
The statistics department said that growth in the first half of the year was 5.6 percent, compared with 4.5 percent in the first half of 2025.
Services remained the main driver of growth, the department said, while the pace of activity in manufacturing and mining picked up from the first quarter.
The agriculture sector contracted by 3.7 percent from a year earlier.
Last week, the central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 2.75 percent for the sixth straight policy meeting.
Bank Negara Malaysia expects growth of between 4 percent and 5 percent this year, easing slightly from 5.2 percent in 2025, though it has warned that the Middle East crisis was a risk to its outlook.
It expects inflationary pressures to remain contained despite elevated commodity prices, in part due to fuel subsidies that have largely shielded the economy from volatility in global oil markets. Separate data released on Friday showed consumer prices rising 1.9 percent in June from a year earlier, below the median forecast from analysts and a 2 percent increase in May.
Sri Lanka: central bank keeps key policy rate steady
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank kept its Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) unchanged at 8.75 percent, it said in a statement, after considering the evolving conditions and outlook on the domestic and global fronts.
“Renewed tensions in the Middle East have resulted in a surge in global commodity prices, particularly petroleum. These developments are likely to dampen global economic prospects with potential spillover,” it said in its monetary policy statement.
“The current low level of inflation, at 1.6 percent (y-o-y) in February 2026, relative to the target of 5 percent, provides sufficient space to accommodate the impact of higher energy prices and their spillovers on inflation.”
“Headline inflation accelerated to 6.8 percent (y-o-y) in June 2026, mainly due to higher domestic energy and food prices. Headline inflation is expected to remain above the target of 5 percent in the near term before gradually returning to the target level. Core inflation is also expected to increase and remain around the headline inflation target.”
The Monetary Policy Board, at its meeting held yesterday, decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 8.75 percent. The Board arrived at this decision after carefully considering the evolving conditions and outlook on the domestic and global fronts.
China coast guard exercises
The Japanese Asahi Shimbun reported on June 9, 2026, that a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel had been spotted navigating within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, as announced at a press conference by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru that same day. Kihara explained that the CCG vessel had been detected by a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol vessel. When the JCG queried the CCG vessel, it responded that it was conducting a “routine patrol” and asserted Chinese exercise of jurisdiction over the area. Moreover, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian confirmed at a regular press conference on June 9 that the CCG vessel had been “conducting patrols in accordance with the law,” before going on to declare that “Japan and the Philippines bypassing China to initiate the so-called maritime delimitation talks constitutes a severe violation of UNCLOS and other international laws and basic norms governing international relations. It also seriously infringes on China’s maritime rights and interests. China will by no means accept this.”
China has long made claims in Asian waters that are not grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and since June this year it has been conducting “marine scientific research” (MSR) and patrols in accordance with Chinese domestic laws in Japan’s EEZ south of Yonaguni Island and east of Taiwan. The situation in these waters appears to be shifting from China merely asserting claims to a new phase of carrying out concrete activities — a gradual accumulation of facts on the water, as has been happening in the disputed parts of the South China Sea. The commencement of negotiations to delimit the maritime boundary between Japan and the Philippines has provided China with an “excuse” to advance to this new phase.
Georgia seeks closer political and economic ties
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has held a series of high-level meetings during his visit to Singapore aimed at strengthening political dialogue, expanding economic cooperation and attracting investment, with the two sides placing particular emphasis on fintech, infrastructure and trade.
During the visit, Kobakhidze met Singapore’s Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng, thanking him for hosting the Georgian delegation and highlighting the long-standing partnership between the two countries, News.Az reports, citing Georgia Online.
According to the Georgian government administration, the two sides welcomed the active cooperation between the parliaments of Georgia and Singapore and the positive momentum in inter-parliamentary relations.
“Particular attention was paid to the importance of further intensifying political dialogue and deepening sectoral cooperation. The meeting also underscored the importance of constructive cooperation within international organisations,” the administration said.
As part of his working visit, the prime minister also met representatives of around 30 leading Singaporean fintech companies during a round-table discussion.
According to the government administration, Kobakhidze highlighted Georgia’s strategic location and its role in enhancing regional connectivity, while promoting the country’s business-friendly environment, liberal tax regime, predictable legal framework and macroeconomic stability as key advantages for long-term investment.
He also highlighted Georgia’s strong economic growth, the development of its financial sector and the country’s high rankings in international indices, saying these factors created favourable conditions for the introduction of new financial services and the establishment of long-term partnerships between Georgian and Singaporean businesses.