Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
On Monday, the Philippines will hold elections to choose its new leaders for the next six years. South Korea's new president Yoon Suk-yeol takes office on Tuesday. Major Japanese companies, including SoftBank Group and Toyota, will report full-year results later this week.
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MONDAY
Philippine elections
The Philippines holds general elections with 18,100 positions up for grabs, from president to city council officers. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator, is tipped to win the presidency, while Sara Duterte, the daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte, is on track to clinch the vice presidency, based on the latest opinion polls.
Find out more: Philippines counts down to election day: 5 things to know
Indonesia announces Q1 GDP
TUESDAY
South Korea presidential inauguration
Yoon Suk-yeol will be inaugurated as South Korea's president. The prosecutor-turned-politician won a razor-thin election victory in March. However, the 61-year-old political novice has little time to enjoy the moment as he faces tough political and economic challenges ahead. These include North Korea's nuclear arms program, U.S.-China tensions and high inflation.
China's Vice President Wang Qishan is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.
Company earnings: Sony, Nintendo
WEDNESDAY
China inflation data
China's inflation data for April will come into focus again after fuel prices hikes last month. The raises were triggered by the war in Ukraine, which also pushed up prices of key raw industrial materials. The country's producer price index and consumer price index climbed 8.3% and 1.5% year-on-year, respectively, in March.
KE Holdings lists in Hong Kong
Trading of Tencent-backed KE Holdings starts on the Hong Kong exchange. The Chinese property agency sought this dual primary listing -- a route that opens the way for mainland Chinese investors to buy shares through HKEx's trading link with the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets -- less than two years after going public in New York.
It joins a slew of U.S.-listed Chinese companies looking for secondary listings closer to home as they risk being kicked off American exchanges by 2024 if they do not allow U.S. regulators to review their audit records under a 2020 law. On April 21, KE Holdings was added to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission list of entities facing possible expulsion from U.S. exchanges.
End of grace period for Sunac's missed bond payment
Sunac China Holdings, one of mainland China's largest property developers by contracted sales, is facing the end of a 30-day grace period for a missed interest payment on an offshore bond. The company failed to make $29.5 million of coupon payment which was due on April 11. If the company cannot fulfill its obligation by the end of the month-long moratorium period, it will be declared a default. The $750 million bond carries a coupon rate of 7.95% and is scheduled to mature in October 2023.
Sunac issued a profit warning on March 21 that its net profit for 2021 has dropped by about 85% compared with a year ago. But it had not published an audited annual result by the March 31 deadline. In the meantime, its contracted sales have fallen by 53% in March and 75% in April, respectively.
Monetary policy announcement: Malaysia
Company earnings: Toyota
THURSDAY
U.S.-ASEAN summit
U.S. President Joe Biden will host a special summit with top leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Washington, D.C., to commemorate 45 years of relations with the regional bloc. During the two-day event, leaders are expected to discuss regional and international subjects, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the worsening political crisis in Myanmar. The special summit will be the group's first in-person meeting since 2017.
Philippines announces Q1 GDP
Company earnings: SoftBank Group, Tata Motors, Nissan, Foxconn
FRIDAY
Company earnings: Toshiba, SMIC, Honda
