Page 8 - Asia

Asia's very complicated interest-rate pause and sticky inflation

All central banks assert they move independently from the Fed. In practice, they tend to replicate broad trends in American credit

India, China to contribute more than half of global growth this year: IMF

IMF added that the central banks across Asia need to stay 'alert' as the core inflation is still high, and the re-opening of China's economy may push inflation up due to higher demand

India 4th most powerful nation in Asia but an 'underachiever': Lowy report

The USA holds the most power in Asia, followed by China and Japan

India will take leading role in oil requirement till 2045: OPEC report

After China driving the initial demand growth, it is going to be India which will take the leading role in crude requirement, along with other Asian and African countries, as per an OPEC report

ASEAN foreign ministers to meet in Indonesia under shadow of Myanmar crisis

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are meeting in Indonesia's capital Friday for talks bound to be dominated by the deteriorating situation in Myanmar despite an agenda focused on food and energy security and cooperation in finance and health. Myanmar belongs to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but the annual ministers' retreat is being held in Jakarta without Myanmar's Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin. The absence was forced by the fallout over Myanmar's lack of cooperation in implementing a five-step agreement made in 2021 between ASEAN leaders and Myanmar's military leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. In the agreement, Myanmar's military leaders promised to allow a special ASEAN envoy to meet the ousted and jailed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others to foster dialogue aimed at easing the crisis. Last year, when ASEAN was chaired by Cambodia, Min Aung Hlaing was not invited to the November meeting of ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh after Myanmar declined to let a

Hindenburg report puts Asia's richest man Gautam Adani in eye of a storm

Gautam Adani, the school drop-out turned billionaire who rose to become Asia's richest man, faces possibly the biggest challenge of his career after a US short seller cast doubts on his business

Asia's travel hotspots Bali, Chiang Maiquiet quiet, await Chinese tourists

Just a handful of Chinese visitors were posing for photos and basking in the sun this week in the market and plazas near Chiang Mai's ancient Tha Phae Gate, one of many tourist hotspots still waiting for millions of Chinese travellers to return. The beaches and temples of destinations like Bali and Chiang Mai are the busiest they have been since the pandemic struck three years ago, but they're still relatively quiet. Still, Chanatip Pansomboon, a soft drinks seller in the Chinatown district of Chiang Mai, a scenic riverside city in northern Thailand, was upbeat. He trusts that with the number of flights from China steadily increasing, it's only a matter of time. If a lot of them can return, it will be great as they have buying power, Chanatip said. The expected resumption of group tours from China is likely to bring far more visitors. For now, it's only individual travellers who can afford to pay, with flights costing more than triple what they normally do, who are venturing ...

FAO: Rising prices, population, food insecurity add to ranks of hungry

Growing numbers of people in Asia lack enough to eat as food insecurity rises with higher prices and worsening poverty, according to a report released Tuesday by the Food and Agricultural Organisation and other United Nations agencies. Nearly a half-billion people, more than eight in 10 of them in South Asia, were undernourished in 2021 and more than 1 billion faced moderate to severe food insecurity, the report said. For the world, the prevalence of food insecurity rose to more than 29 per cent in 2021 from 21 per cent in 2014. The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge setback, causing mass job losses and disruptions, and the war in Ukraine has pushed up prices for food, energy and fertiliser, putting an adequate diet out of the reach of many millions, it said. The report is the fifth annual stocktaking on food insecurity and hunger by UN agencies including the FAO, UNICEF, World Health Organisation and World Food Programme. Over those years, progress toward alleviating hunger and ...

HDFC to raise at least Rs 3000 cr via bonds; may invite bids next week

India's Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) will return to bond market after a gap of two months, three merchant bankers said on Friday

Saving Asia from stalling growth

Asia might not reach its full growth potential, argue the authors of The Connections World, thanks to the nexus between the state and selected private business enterprises in the continent

Asia's prospects: Status quo or a rougher ride?

The problems with 'Connections World' model & the configuration of economic and political power that it has enabled are mounting

Twitter tells Asia HQ staff to clear desks, WFH as Musk pares expenses

Twitter staff were informed via email Wednesday that they had until 5 p.m. to leave the CapitaGreen building and resume their duties remotely from Thursday

Asia the saver

The global savings glut may persist as, despite ageing rapidly, Asia can continue to be a net saver

German inflation surprise strengthens US dollar as euro nurse losses

The euro fell 1% overnight, its sharpest drop in more than two months, and it hovered near three-week lows at $1.0550 early in the Asia session

Coffee exports from India up by nearly 2% to 400,000 tonnes in 2022

Coffee shipments from India, Asia's third-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.66 per cent to 4 lakh tonne in 2022 on rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports, according to the Coffee Board. Exports stood at 3.93 lakh tonne in 2021. In value terms, coffee export was higher at Rs 8,762.47 crore in 2022 as against Rs 6,984.67 crore in the previous year. India ships both Robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee. According to the Board's latest data, shipment of Robusta coffee declined marginally to 2,20,974 tonne in 2022 from 2,20,997 tonne in the previous year. Similarly, export of Arabica fell 11.43 per cent to 44,542 tonne from 50,292 tonne. However, export of instant coffee increased 16.73 per cent to 35,810 tonne in 2022 from 29,819 tonne in the previous year. About 99,513 tonne of coffee was re-exported in 2022, higher than 92,235 tonne in the previous year, the data showed. The unit per value realisation remained higher at Rs 2,18,923 per tonne as against

India's presidencies in SCO, G20 to strengthen world stability: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced confidence that India's presidencies of the SCO and G20 will build multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries and will strengthen the stability and security in Asia and the entire world. While India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, it took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on September 16. In his New Year messages to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin noted that Russia and India marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022 and, relying on positive traditions of friendship and mutual respect, the countries continue to develop their specially privileged strategic partnership, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin said the two countries carried out large-scale trade and economic projects in addition to energy, military technology and other areas of cooperation, and coordinated efforts in addressing important matte

Indian Rupee inches up as Asian currencies notch marginal gains on Thursday

The Indian rupee eked out slim gains on Thursday in its penultimate trading session of 2022, as Asian markets rebounded to move higher and the dollar flatlined

Tech-led slump on Wall Street led to fall in Asian markets post-Christmas

Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after a post-holiday retreat on Wall Street, as markets count down to the end of a painful year for investors. Shares fell in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul but rose in Hong Kong as the Chinese government took further steps to reopen to foreign travel after relaxing its stringent zero-COVID policies. Oil prices fell back and US futures inched higher. The Chinese government announced it will start issuing new passports in another major step away from anti-virus travel barriers. That sets up a potential flood of tourists out of China for next month's Lunar New Year holiday, taking free-spending Chinese visitors to Asia, Europe and other destinations during what usually is the country's busiest travel season. But governments in India and Japan have said they will impose extra precautions on those arriving from China due to widespread virus outbreaks there. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to convey internal discussions, also .

Shares advance in Asia after China relaxes more Covid Zero policy

Shares advanced Tuesday in Asia after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business. China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights. But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy. China has joined other countries in treating cases instead of trying to stamp out infections, dropping or easing rules on testing, quarantines and movement as it tries to reverse an economic slump. But the shift has flooded hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients, and authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The

World shares mixed before updates on US consumer spending, durable goods

Shares rose in Europe on Friday after a retreat in Asia ahead of updates on US consumer spending and durable goods orders. Benchmarks climbed in London and Paris but fell in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. Oil prices surged more than USD1 a barrel. Japan reported its core inflation rate, excluding volatile fresh foods, rose to 3.7per cent in November, the highest level since 1981, as surging costs for oil and other commodities added to upward price pressures in the world's third-largest economy. While price increases are much more modest in Japan than in the US and most major European and emerging economies, they add to pressure on the Bank of Japan to adjust longstanding policies that have kept interest rates ultra-low to spur growth. For Japan, deflation falling prices rather than inflation has been the key concern for most of the past few decades. Recession in coming months remains a greater concern, economists say. Inflation edged up in November and will peak at around 4 per cen