SYDNEY: Asian shares struggled on Monday (Aug 14) ahead of China data that is likely to amplify the case for serious stimulus even as Beijing seems deaf to the calls, while rising Treasury yields lifted the dollar to a 2023 peak on the embattled yen. Geopolitics was an added worryContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s State Council issued guidelines on Sunday (Aug 13) that it said would further optimise the country’s foreign investment environment and attract more foreign investment. The State Council said in a document containing 24 guidelines that authorities should increase protection of the rights and interests of foreign investors, includingContinue Reading
SHANGHAI: In an unassuming industrial park on the outskirts of Shanghai, an unusual taste test was happening. As part of an event on Wednesday (Aug 9) for government, investors and media, the cultivated meat company CellX served up meat developed in a laboratory from animal cells. The offerings included lab-grownContinue Reading
BEIJING: China’s manufacturing activity fell for a fourth straight month in July while the services and construction sectors teetered on the brink of contraction, official surveys showed on Monday (Jul 31), threatening growth prospects for the third quarter. Construction sector activity for July was its weakest since COVID-19-related workplace disruptionsContinue Reading
Fahmi dismissed concerns raised over increased government scrutiny of online content, and denied issuing orders to take down several opposition-linked news sites and social media accounts in recent weeks. The take-downs, he said, were likely to have been made in response to complaints made by ordinary users for violating socialContinue Reading
NEW DELHI: India has asked Japan and South Korea to renegotiate their free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the South Asian nation to make it “more balanced and equitable”, India’s trade minister said on Thursday (Jul 27), amid a widening trade gap with the countries. “Japan and Korea – we opened ourContinue Reading
“China’s export dominance is ebbing, creating opportunities for other emerging market countries to fill the gap, including Mexico, India, and Southeast Asian nations,” said Malcolm Dorson, a New York-based senior portfolio manager at ETF manager Global X. The scale of change needed in global supply chains could drive such capitalContinue Reading
Pan, 60, was elevated to the central bank’s top political post this month. On Tuesday, he was confirmed as the replacement for respected governor Yi Gang, becoming the first person to take over both posts since Yi’s predecessor Zhou Xiaochuan. Pan played a key role in the restructuring and listingContinue Reading
More broadly, Xi’s administration blames widening social disparities in part on the internet boom, particularly in the pandemic era, and is moving to address any public discontent that could threaten its authority. That led to the “common prosperity” program, which has faded from public view but still guides the activitiesContinue Reading
MUMBAI: The world’s biggest rice exporter India has banned some overseas sales of the grain “with immediate effect”, the government said, in a move that could drive international prices even higher. Rice is a major world food staple and prices on international markets have soared to decade highs as theContinue Reading