Moutai and hairy crabs: Prices for luxury items drop to record lows during China’s Golden Week

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Profits of Moutai, known as the national wine of China, continued to drop during the Golden Week trip, following declining Mid-Autumn event sales, reports showed.

The Huanqiu state-affiliated media outlet reported that Moutai prices, even for a particular dragon astrology limited drink version, fell to 2, 490 yuan a bottle, below the initial pricing of around 3, 000 yuan a bottle.

According to the Huanqiu record,” the decline in consumer need for alcohol during the middle of the summer festival is related to the current drop in the retail price of Moutai.” &nbsp,

The Yicai Global, the English-language news division of the Yicai Media Group, reported that, in part, because of poor consumer demand, retail prices have continued to decline during the upcoming holiday seasons.

” A drink costs 2, 365 renminbi currently… down about 15 per cent from a month earlier”, the statement said, adding that wine bottle charges were actually lower as part of multi-packs. &nbsp,

Speaking to Yicai Global, retailers and retailers said Beijing need was “particularly sluggish” – “likely the nicest over the past decade”. Inexpensive prices online were another factor in the decline in general real prices, according to the report.

CNA on Taobao conducted price assessments for a second bottle, which came in at around 2, 309 renminbi. On the common budget searching site Pinduoduo, one jug of Moutai was priced at 2, 270 yuan.

China’s tourism sector was anticipating slow development over the national holidays, perhaps as local governments began handing out cash vouchers to boost spending, not just the prices of expensive goods. &nbsp,

According to experts, this year’s cost of private flights and accommodations is also less expensive than the levels previously reported. &nbsp,

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South Korea seeks to bolster defences and boost arms export

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South Korea’s defence ministry is expected to spend about 350 trillion won ( US$ 260 billion ) between this year and 2028 to improve capabilities and maintain troops, equipment and facilities.

It has signed deals to get weapons, including military satellites, F-35A cunning fighter planes from the United States, and death robots from Poland.

Trekking UP ARMS EXPORT RANKS

South Korea is now the nation’s 10th largest producer of wings, and Seoul is aiming to become the fourth-largest by 2027.

South Korea’s defense market has been gradually expanding, according to industry participants who took part in the exhibition, with international companies taking it seriously as a rival.

The Asian government has always stated that it is self-sufficient and self-supporting when it comes to defense supplies, according to Mr. Lonn, managing director of Saab’s North Korean business.

” Based on domestic needs, Korea has experienced very rapid growth. Over the years, ( it has ) improved on quality, delivery capability, price levels and so on”.

Some CNA spoke with experts who agreed that the country will be able to achieve its goal of becoming a major supplier of weapons because the government places a premium on the sector.

” In Korea, there has been a major investment in human resources, but developing these people sources is not something that happens overnight, and has been a steady accumulation over day”, said Jee Hyo-keun, a professor at Konyang University’s division of military science and art.

The difference is between whether the accumulated systems are aimed at the defense or the civilian sectors. The Korean government has now made it abundantly clear that it wants to concentrate heavily on the defense industry.

To get there, South Korea is hoping to win deals with more places. It is looking to expand its list of countries that export defense systems right now.

One possible sector may be Vietnam. Up until 2022, when Moscow invaded Ukraine and Vietnam attempted to expand its options of supplies, the Southeast Asian nation used to get most of its products from Russia.

Prior to this agreement, Hanoi and Seoul had agreed to work together on a number of issues, including the high-tech and defense sectors.

The defense exhibition will continue through Sunday ( October 5 ).

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Nine dead in Taiwan hospital blaze: Fire agency

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TAIPEI: Nine people died on Thursday ( Oct 3 ) after a fire ripped through a hospital in southern Taiwan, the island’s fire agency said. According to an online blog from the fire company, the fire in Pingtung County was reported at around 7.40 am and was put out immediatelyContinue Reading

Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Krathon approaches

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President Lai Ching-te warned on Tuesday that the typhoon was likely to cause “catastrophic damage” and urged the public to be “particularly vigilant” due to its relatively rare route as the typhoon was forecast to exit from the island’s east coast. All domestic flights and ferry services were cancelled onContinue Reading

As expats exit Hong Kong and mainlanders enter, businesses and communities count the costs. How are they adapting?

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The non-Chinese population stood at less than half that count three years ago, at around 593,000, according to the territory’s once-a-decade census. While not directly comparable due to the inclusion of mobile residents – people who do not live there full-time – the figures indicate a net outflow of foreigners.

Analysts have cited key factors like the hefty toll exacted by strict COVID-19 curbs, along with the political shifts in the wake of the 2019-2020 mass protests and a subsequent sweeping crackdown by China in the form of the national security law.

They add that global financial hubs like Singapore and Dubai have also become more attractive to expats, especially with the pandemic and politics weighing particularly heavy on Hong Kong. 

Data from international relocation company Asian Tigers Group over the last four years bears out this trend. While inbound numbers remain similar, it has seen a near 50 per cent drop in outbound figures since 2020 – indicating a widening gap between expats moving in and out of Hong Kong. 

“In the past 20 years, people I met who’ve been here for more than 20 years who say ‘I’m leaving,’ it definitely (could be counted) within these 10 fingers,” Mr Ng Yew Beng, general manager of Asian Tigers Group, told CNA.

“But in the past three or four years, I need to use your fingers, toes, and that guy’s fingers,” he quipped, referring to the increased tally of departing expats. 

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