BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party will hold a once-every-five-years Congress starting on Oct 16, state media said on Tuesday (Aug 30), during which President Xi Jinping is widely expected to secure a precedent-breaking third leadership term. During the Congress, which typically lasts about a week, roughly 2,300 party members willContinue Reading
BANGKOK: Thailand aims to generate 400 billion baht (US$11 billion) in tourism revenue in the second half of the year, the government said on Tuesday (Aug 30), as the tropical holiday destination welcomes back more visitors after pandemic-induced border controls. The Southeast Asian nation has seen a rebound in tourismContinue Reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob denied on Tuesday (Aug 30) that he had been threatened with expulsion from the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) if he refused to bow to the party’s demands to call for a general election this year. Speaking to reporters after an eventContinue Reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Over the weekend, the Malaysian political scene was a hive of activity as several key parties and coalitions huddled to firm up their plans for the upcoming general election. This came after the government said last Friday (Aug 26) that it will bring forward the tabling of theContinue Reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s state energy company Petronas on Tuesday (Aug 30) reported a surge in second-quarter profit, boosted by higher oil and gas prices and said that it would double its dividend to the government this year. The world’s fourth-biggest LNG exporter said profit for the April-June period totalled 23Continue Reading
China’s search engine giant Baidu beat quarterly revenue estimates on Tuesday (Aug 30), underpinned by demand for its cloud and artificial intelligence-powered offerings. US-listed shares of the company rose 3.2 per cent in pre-market trade. Even as Baidu’s core advertising sales continue to be soft, customers are signing up forContinue Reading
INTERNATIONAL HELP The disaster could not have come at a worse time for Pakistan, where the economy is in free fall. Appealing for international help, the government has declared an emergency. Aid flights have arrived in recent days from Turkey and the UAE, while other nations including Canada, Australia andContinue Reading
BEIJING: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest commercial lender by assets, said soured lending to the real estate sector in the first half of this year rose 15 per cent. The lender reported 38.8 billion yuan of non-performing loans (NPL) at the end of June, comparedContinue Reading
SHANGHAI: China’s central bank issued draft rules on Tuesday (Aug 30) to regulate related transactions of financial holding companies. Such transactions must conform to rational commercial principles, be backed by genuine businesses and be priced fairly, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement. In addition, the transactions shouldContinue Reading
SYDNEY: The particular Solomon Islands government has told the United States that it will create a moratorium on navy blue vessels entering the ports, the US charge in Canberra mentioned on Tuesday (Aug 30). The notice comes after an incident last Wednesday any time an US Coast Guard vessel, theContinue Reading