Indonesia's inflation rate slows in August

JAKARTA • Indonesia's annual inflation rate slowed slightly last month as food prices fell on a monthly basis, the statistics bureau said yesterday.

Headline consumer prices rose 3.82 per cent last month from a year ago. July's annual inflation rate was 3.88 per cent. Indonesia's central bank targets a headline inflation rate at 3-5 per cent this year.

Last month, the consumer price index fell 0.07 per cent on a monthly basis. Prices of food, such as fish and vegetables, fell from a month earlier. Bank Indonesia took advantage of contained inflation and a healthy current account deficit outlook to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, the first cut since October 2016. Its next policy review will end on Sept 22.

REUTERS

Hyundai names China head after vendor rows

BEIJING • Hyundai Motor appointed a new chief for its China operations after payment disputes with vendors resulted in temporary shutdowns last month at four of its factories in the carmaker's biggest market.

Mr Tao Hung Tan replaced Mr Chang Won Shin as the chief executive officer of Beijing Hyundai Motor from last Friday, the company said in an e-mail yesterday, without elaborating on the reasons for the change.

Hyundai Motor's joint venture with BAIC Motor Corp in China has five factories, of which one isn't operational yet.

The replacement of the top executive comes on the heels of shutdowns that have exposed the failings of Hyundai in China, where its sales plunged 42 per cent in the first half of the year.

BLOOMBERG