Beijing: China announced on Saturday ( 12 October ) that it will” significantly increase” government debt issuance in order to provide subsidies to people with low incomes, boost the housing market, and raise money for state banks as it tries to revive sputtering economic growth. Finance Minister Lan Foan statedContinue Reading
As it looks to break into the growing autonomous driving market, Chinese tech giant Baidu is rumored to be planning to launch its robotaxi services outside of China. This is a trend that other Chinese players and European companies are working toward.
According to reports from Nikkei Asia and the Wall Street Journal that cited people with knowledge of the situation, the Beijing-based organization hopes to check and use its Apollo Go robotaxis in locations like Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East.
According to the studies, Baidu has been in conversations with businesses and authorities there.
Apollo Get intends to launch a new edition of its autonomous-driving system, Apollo 10.0,  , that’s “designed for a world audience”, the Wall Street Journal quoted a delegate as saying.
Robotaxi solutions are already being offered by Baidu in a number of Chinese cities. It provided nearer to 900, 000 trips in the second quarter of the year, up 26 per cent year-on-year, according to its latest earnings call. As of late July, more than 7 million robot axi excursions were being run overall.
Another Chinese operators are also looking to take a bite out of the autonomous driving pizza.
Pony. ai and Singapore-based travel operator Comfort DelGro signed a deal in July to observe large-scale business robotaxi activities.
“( The collaboration ) will extend the benefits of autonomous driving to a wider audience and to more regions, creating value to more people and societies”, said Pony. ai co-founder and CEO James Peng.
Pony. ai has also initiated intelligent driving alliances in South Korea, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  ,
Established in 1994 in the area of Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu state, Suzhou Industrial Park is the first government-to-government venture between Singapore and China. Singapore has used it as a platform to discuss its management and industrialization experience with China.
Spanning 278 sq km, the area has evolved into a modern included town, home to 1.13 million residents and cover a China-Singapore assistance area.  ,
Suzhou Industrial Park is one of China’s major commercial areas. It recorded a regional gross domestic product ( GDP ) of 368.6 billion yuan ( US$ 51.4 billion ) in 2023, a 5.9 per cent growth year-on-year. That number accounted for 15 % of the GDP of Suzhou that time.
The park’s emphasis has changed along with the days. According to Mr. Chan, fresh energy, medical sciences, and digital innovation are now receiving more attention.
For example, Sembcorp and Zooming New Energy are looking into partnership in the implementation of large-scale wind and solar power jobs, while Singapore’s Eagle Renewable Energy and China-Singapore Green Development have partnered with Sembcorp to look into options in the alternative energy storage in China.
However, Mr. Chan emphasized that Singapore has always seen the diplomatic task as more than just an industrial park.  ,
” It is a sign of our dedication to work with China to create a platform that fosters international cooperation and fosters trust in China.” So that is fundamental”, he said in response to queries from investigators.
On September 9, Mr. Chan assumed the position of minister-in-charge of the Suzhou Industrial Park. The trade and industry secretary usually oversees the task at the governmental level, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry ( MTI).
The move was made following Deputy Prime Minister and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong’s appointment as co-chair of the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC ) and related joint steering council meetings for the Singapore-China government-to-government projects, MTI explained. The JCBC is the highest-level yearly conference between China and Singapore.
Mr. Chan characterized the diplomatic job as a “beacon” of how China can interact with the world, adding that this concept is especially relevant given the current geopolitical environment.
As China and the United States continue to disagree on issues like industry, Taiwan, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tensions have grown.
The wider West has become increasingly involved in the fight, with the European Union recently voting to impose taxes of as high as 45 % on China’s electric vehicles after Beijing unfairly subventioned its economy.
China has consistently refuted the assertion. It has also threatened to impose tariffs on a number of German goods, possibly putting a business dispute in high gear.
” To a large degree, China is now much more integrated with the world. China is better understood by the universe. However, there will always be people who do n’t believe in China’s future, even at the moment. There will be individuals who may want to learn more about China, according to Mr. Chan.
” So in that sense, the role of Suzhou ( Industrial Park ) as a beacon for China’s connection with the world continues to remain relevant, and if anything, at this point in time, in this current moment, it is more relevant than ever before”.
Mr. Chan went on to detail the factors that are driving the construction of the Suzhou Industrial Park as well as what might come next in terms of more intensive cooperation between Singapore and China.
He cited a strong sense of trust as a crucial factor in his remarks, noting that this was necessary for China to experiment with innovative ideas with a foreign partner within its own borders. Mr. Chan added that this confidence needs to “permeate at all levels” and become developed constantly.
A strong understanding of each other’s needs and aspirations is another driving issue, said the chancellor.
” It’s not about what we want to do, what they want to do, it’s what we can find common ground to do together”, said Mr Chan.
” There’s no place for us to propose any job… unless both sides see joint rewards and both sides can draw on each other’s individual advantages”.
Its 12ha Tainan Anping Yacht City boasts about 170 seats and a resort hotel operated by kindness party Banyan Tree. Argo plans to build six more support room accommodations and a business building in the region.
“We picked Tainan as our goal purchase because it has the best lakes in Taiwan and you can sail throughout the year, ” said Owen Wang, the catamaran operator’s deputy public administrator.
He added that Tainan has the smallest coastal range in Taiwan, which makes it easier and more secure for boats to port at harbors.
Taiwan is the major yacht producer in Asia for manufacturing mega-yachts that are over 24m in size. In 2022, it exported US$ 260 million worth of ships.
Official statistics shows most of the arteries are exported to countries including the United States, Australia and Canada.
Then, Taiwan is actively promoting sailboat hospitality and hoping to change its southern area into a local pleasure craft hub.
China: The number of local journeys and total vacation expenditure during China’s week-long National Day holiday exceeded last year’s figures, but per person investing lagged pre-pandemic levels, according to the culture and tourism department. The data, which was made public on Tuesday ( 8 October ), provides important insight intoContinue Reading
As the country attempts to pull itself out of a housing slump, three Chinese megacities on Monday ( Sep 30 ) eased restrictions on buying homes and Beijing’s central bank announced it would ask financial institutions to lower mortgage rates. The measures are the most recent pledges made by BeijingContinue Reading
After first-tier cities eased restrictions on home purchases shortly after the Politburo pledged to stop housing market declines, shares of Chinese property developers surged on Monday ( Sep 30 ). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index jumped more than 10 per cent in first investing, and the island’s CSIContinue Reading
China reduced the amount that banks must hold in reserve on Friday ( Sep 27 ), in a bid to spur its sluggish economy by releasing an estimated US$$ 142.6 billion in liquidity into the financial market. The shift, announced by China’s northern bank, comes a time after leading officersContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: China’s government has announced a unique one-off money handbook to those living in extreme hunger, a moment after unveiling broad measures to improve the country’s struggling economy.  ,
According to a statement released on Wednesday ( Sep 25 ), China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said in a statement that the subsidies will be distributed to disadvantaged groups, including children and the poor.
According to the ministry statement, regional governments should make sure resources reach those in need by October 1 to show” the group and the government’s love and care for people in want.”  ,
The amount of money each person may receive and how much the Chinese government may be impacted by the move was not disclosed in the statement.  ,
This week, China unveiled a massive stimulus package that would inject about 1 trillion yuan ( US$ 142 billion ) of long-term liquidity into the country’s struggling financial market. On Tuesday, China’s central banks key Pan Gongsheng outlined strategies to further help the home business, which included cutting interest rates on mortgages.  ,
The news comes in addition to being made ahead of China’s National Day, which is observed every on October 1.  ,
The majority of Chinese social media users have been good about the news.  ,
On the famous Sina Weibo blogging page, Wang Shacheng, an Associate Professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said the one-off pamphlets were an “important estimate” in improving the people’s lives.  ,
” Not only does this represent the Party and the Government’s serious concern for those in need, but it is also an essential measure to protect and enhance the person’s livelihoods”, he wrote.  ,
Nevertheless, some Weibo users expressed fears that the money is not going to those in need. ” We should be cautious that the support does not drop into another person’s wallet”, the person said.  ,
Another expressed concern that corrupt government officials had pocket the funds for personal use.  ,
It is” a huge experiment” that the studio is embarking with blockchain technology, said Nexon Universe’s head of strategy Keith Kim on Wednesday ( Sep 18 ).
We think it will be natural, and it will help us stay sustainable for at least 20 years.
He was speaking to CNA on the day of Token2049, the biggest crypto function of the year in Singapore, where the business presented its concept for utilizing blockchain technology.
Nexon, the creator of MapleStory, has ingeniously merged the famous online online activity with blockchain technology. More than 20 years after its release, the sport has a significantly longer shelf life and is still being played by a dedicated group.
The blockchain project MapleStory Universe creates a dynamic virtual ecosystem where various MapleStory-created games and applications interact with non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ).
Nexon has created its own sign to encourage players to create in-game information, a task that is typically handled by game developers.
Users are given the option to trade property within the game’s habitat and acquire electronic rights as a result.
” ( By ) utilising web3 technology tokens, we are actually allowing this process to be driven by the market”, said Mr Kim.
” That means this gift will have a cost, and this particular value, in turn, may work as a cost of release. Therefore, issuance will no longer be governed by a centralized object and been driven by market dynamics.