The city’s economy is expected to grow 3.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent this year after contracting 3.5 per cent in 2022, Chan said. Underlying inflation is expected to hit 2.5 per cent. Hong Kong will issue vouchers worth HK$5,000 (US$637) per person to all adults this year, halfContinue Reading
As recently as the 1970s, the United States and North Vietnam were waging a war that claimed 58,000 American lives and a million or more Vietnamese lives, including many civilians. Today Vietnam is one of the largest markets for US ag exports, ranking seventh, eighth or ninth in recent years. It’s not that the war […]Continue Reading
Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported a more than seven-fold jump in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday (Feb 21), boosted by a strong recovery in demand in key markets. The carrier said that demand for air travel is expected to be robust in the fourth quarter following a recovery in East AsiaContinue Reading
Australia’s role in Asian regionalism has too often been a blind spot in public discourse about the country’s identity and future. For too long the narrative of Canberra’s role in its historic backyard has been characterized by the hard edge of necessity and interest — and often by indifference. Yet this is a partial reading […]Continue Reading
SEOUL: A downturn in South Korea’s home prices is causing pain in the country’s unusual rent-free rental system that benefited landlords and tenants alike during a long surge in residential property prices. In the “jeonse” scheme, tenants put up a deposit typically worth as much as 70 per cent ofContinue Reading
Climate change policy has entered a new era. The growing row between the United States and the European Union over the impacts of the new American green subsidy regime makes that all too clear. Yet in many ways, this story is ultimately about China. For the last 20 years, developed countries have used three main […]Continue Reading
Buoyed by imports from China and exports to Russia, Turkey’s economy grew by 5.3% in 2022, after expanding 11.4% in 2021. Only two years ago, the country’s currency was melting down and government bond yields spiked to 24%. Now its stock market is the world’s top performer with a year-on-year gain of 70% while the […]Continue Reading
The US secretary of state said Beijing was considering “lethal support” for Russia in Ukraine.Continue Reading
Through a year of war in Ukraine, the US and most European nations have worked to help counter Russia, in supporting Ukraine both with armaments and in world energy markets. Russia was Europe’s main energy supplier when it invaded Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin threatened to leave Europeans to freeze “like a wolf’s tail” – […]Continue Reading
Beijing’s latest sanctions against Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Missiles & Defense may affect some of the companies’ joint ventures in China, commentators said. China’s Ministry of Commerce on Thursday (February 16) said it had added the two US defense contractors to its “unreliable entities list” as they sold arms to Taiwan. It said the […]Continue Reading