China: China’s Chang’e- 6 sensor transferred tests it collected from the star’s even side to a spaceship in lunar orbit on Thursday ( Jun 6), state news agency Xinhua reported. The uncrewed aircraft will return to Earth on June 25 with an anticipated getting in China’s Inner Mongolia area. ChinaContinue Reading
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP), which has held a commanding presence in the Indian parliament, has lost its outright majority. This social upheaval caused the financial markets to experience fast turbulence.
The BJP will need to rely on smaller allies to form a partnership as a result of the shock result, which is a significant change from the BJP’s past two elections, which saw absolute majority support for itself.  ,
Mumbai’s share prices plummeted, with the Nifty 50 index closing 6 % down after soaring to record highs the previous day, buoyed by exit polls that had erroneously predicted a comfortable victory for Modi and his party – which would have meant” the status quo”, or certainty, which markets appreciate.
For volatility may come as evidence of declining trust in India’s prospects for growth and balance.  ,
However, this perception fails to account for the strong main elements that continue to make India a popular choice for foreign buyers.
Despite the social difficulties, the economic elements remain strong.
A burgeoning middle class and growing urbanization are the two main drivers of the country’s huge and expanding customer market. India’s statistical edge, with a fresh and powerful workforce, underpins its potential for sustained economic expansion.  ,
This demographic dividend is a vital component for global buyers looking for long-term returns because it guarantees a constant supply of labor and an expanding customer base.
New Delhi has also been engaged in major economic reforms that aim to enhance the working environment. Activities like the goods and services tax have simplified the system, making it simpler for businesses to operate across the nation.  ,
The government’s goes towards digitisation and improvements in facilities have even enhanced India’s charm as an investment destination. Startup India, for example, aims to build a solid habitat for nurturing creativity and businesses.
Entry and procedure in the American market are now more appealing to international investors because of the liberalization of foreign direct investment, which has also improved substantially across sectors like defense, railways, aviation, and financial.
Another significant initiative is the production-linked incentive ( PLI ) scheme, which was introduced in 2020 and offers financial incentives to businesses to promote domestic manufacturing and entice significant investments in important industries like electronics, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. The system strengthens manufacturing capabilities and draws foreign investment by fusing incentives with production output.
Regardless of the parliament’s social structure, these policies are likely to continue because there is general consensus on the need for financial modernization and development.
India’s charm is further strengthened by particular industries that provide significant opportunities for purchase.  ,
Bangalore and Hyderabad are emerging as international tech hubs that are drawing significant foreign direct investments from technology giants like Google and Facebook, making India’s software and business ecology one of the fastest-growing in the world.
The country is home to a lively business society, supported by a strong network of startups, startups and venture capital funding. International investors who are looking for high-growth opportunities are drawn to this innovation-driven environment.
Also, the renewable energy sector in India presents considerable expense possible, with the president’s ambitious targets for efficient power capacity.
We anticipate that India will continue to be able to attract foreign buyers while maintaining its status as a formidable rival to China.  ,
In light of the growing global trade tensions between the US and China, which have made many businesses consider India as a replacement hub for manufacturing and services, the Make in India effort has been instrumental in creating a manufacturing ecosystem that can compete with its closest main competitor.  ,
The shock election results ‘ sudden increase in market volatility does not overshadow the fundamental factors that appear to provide global buyers with beautiful returns and sustained progress, I’m comfortable.  ,
Indeed, given the persistent trade tensions between the US and China, the appeal is likely to grow significantly throughout 2024.
Nigel Green is the founder and CEO of deVere Group.
Around his Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) is crashing down the veneer of strongman immunity that has ensnared India’s Narendra Modi for nearly 25 years.
The prime minister’s reliance on friends to form a government is already the subject of market sentiments. If enough seats are secured, a BJP alliance could form a state.
Modi’s group fell little of the 272- chair majority on its own. The National Democratic Alliance, led by BJP, seems on course to safe 293 tickets. 229 chairs might be won by the antagonism Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
It’s anything of a social “black bird” for a guy who’s dominated Indian politics since 2014. But whose tale had been permeated ever since he became Gujarat’s deputy minister in the early 2000s.
He was given folk-hero reputation that captivated the nation as a result of the northern state’s economic successes during Modi’s presidency. Year after year from 2001 to 2014, Modi’s plans typically generated faster gross domestic product, greater productivity and innovation, less government and fraud, and better facilities than the national statistics.  ,
In 2014, citizens returned the BJP to strength in hopes Modi may use the” Gujarat , type” throughout Asia’s third- biggest market.
Clearly, the last decade did n’t go as many of India’s 1.4 billion people had hoped. This time around, Modi’s inability to win a majority of parliament chairs speaks to the growing distance between soaring economic reform speech and real-world application. Modi’s , Gujarat , unit, it seems, is n’t as flexible as voters had hoped.
But there’s a silver lining to Modi’s vote fail: forcing Modi’s inner circle to rely less on his Hindu nationalist agenda and more on spreading the benefits of India’s 7 % progress. The BJP will probably change its position in light of rising inequality by changing its liberal constitution.
According to economist Shilan Shah at Capital Economics, Modi will start his second term with a weaker mandate that will make the passing of controversial economic reforms more challenging. However, he did continue to serve as the leader of a steady partnership.
Shah added that” the new government could still do much to maintain potential progress at 6 %- 7 %” given the wider acceptance across the political spectrum of the value of financial reform. That may allow the economy to grow by more than doubling over the next ten years.
In recent months, says Ian Bremmer, chairman of Eurasia Group, extended- time India watchers had noticed “scant mentions in his campaign rhetoric of the Hindu- patriotic agenda that dominated many of , Modi’s previous two terms, and with good reason. Modi , has mostly fulfilled his vows to the propagandists”.
Bremmer adds that” then firmly in strength,  , Modi , is looking to turn the volume down on social issues as he pursues economic growth”.
Not as firmly as hoped, though, leaving Modinomics at anything of a fork in the road. Current actions by China to restore its house sector, which may help to sharpen the BJP’s focus on financial retooling, are emboldening the plot.
The China versus India argument broke out in the lead up to an vote that started in April, with Mumbai frequently taking the lead. The almost US$ 7 trillion Foreign investment fall from 2021 to early 2024 sent ripples of investment Mumbai’s method.
China, however, has since resurrected its capital march game by telegraphing significant steps to end the property crisis. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s team released new information in the middle of May, including urging local regulators to buy empty properties and lowering the amount that home buyers need for a loan.
It’s the most forceful move to handle a crisis that has hampered Asia’s largest sector for years. And there is growing hope that Xi and Premier Li Qiang are on the verge of a policy combination that will positively affect China’s financial outlook.
As his celebration plots its third-term plan, Modi’s math becomes more complicated. For India, the idea of a powerful Chinese bounce is a dual- edged sword.
Rising Taiwanese need is an obvious plus for India’s manufacturing sector, which grew in fame on Modi’s view. However, China‘s luring again trillions of dollars worth of worldwide investment, of which India Inc. flocked, would be a depressing blow for Mumbai shares.
Researchers at UBS speculate that one of the factors contributing to India’s wealthy prices might have been the political stability and plan certainty that a strong government provided. ” Some of those beliefs may appear under question” given the vote results.
Carlos Casanova, scholar at Union Bancaire Privée, says buyers have been cheered by the ruling government’s capital market- helpful reforms. They include the company’s” Make in India” initiative encouraging local businesses to establish local factories and foreign companies to place bets on local businesses.
” Besides, Modi has also published plans for India to become a developed nation by 2047,  , which will require , investment into infrastructure and growth of around 8 % per annum”, Casanova notes.
” Given the structure of Indian markets, we observe a strong correlation between GDP growth and]earnings per share ] growth. High quality, high visibility earnings may fuel Indian equities higher in the months ahead”, he adds.
According to UBS analyst Sunil Tirumalai,” the bargaining power shifts materially within the alliance as BJP does not have a simple majority.” In contrast to expectations last week, the market may have taken the majority of the possible scenarios from this.
According to Goldman Sachs analysts,” India needs to continue to adhere to structural reforms, such as land and labor market reforms, while creating a conducive environment for millions of workers to be earnfully employed, to realize its true growth potential.”
This could be the equivalent of Warren Buffett’s famous observation that “only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming , naked”. China’s growing appetite for international capital may reveal how policy-wise Modi’s government has been policy-stylish for a while.
” When I hear India called the world’s fastest- growing economy, I get very agitated”, Princeton University economist Ashoka Mody, author of ,” India is Broken”, tells the Guardian. That is not the paper they’re written on, the numbers are not worth.
Mody is hardly alone in arguing that, below the surface, India’s supposed economic boom under Modi is n’t all it appears.
” All that glitters is not growth”, write economists at Nomura , Holdings in a recent note. Underlying growth is “less than what the headline suggests.”
The reason,  , Nomura , reckons, is that India’s growth “is primarily supported by strong public capex growth, while private consumption and private capex remain subdued”.
India’s vital agricultural sector, meanwhile, has “underperformed”. To be fair, as , Nomura , points out, certain industrial sectors are indeed “resilient”. Look no further than the fact that more than 7 % of Apple Inc.’s iPhone production is currently done in India.
Yet there are growing worries that India’s 7- 8 % growth is n’t producing nearly as many new jobs as hoped.
Arvind Subramanian, a top former chief economic adviser to New Delhi, has warned that GDP data trends are “absolutely mystifying” and “do n’t add up”.
Subramanian believes that the government’s implied inflation figures range between 1 % and 1 %, but that actual inflation ranges between 3 % and 5 %. ” What’s more, he says”, the economy is growing at 7.5 % even though private consumption is at 3 %.”
” So it’s a lot of stuff about the numbers which you know, I do n’t understand,” Subramanian says”. These are not incorrect, in my opinion. That’s for others to judge.”
India’s economic momentum is n’t a mirage, but it also does n’t seem as efficient in sharing the fruits of rapid GDP as widely as Team Modi likes to argue. It echoes, in some ways, what befell Modi’s party back in 2004, when it lost power.
At the time, then-prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee fought for re-election with a opulent” India Shining” campaign that highlighted the optimism that was rumored to be sweeping the country.
Yet hundreds of millions of Indians not feeling , Vajpayee ‘s , economic magic showed the BJP the door. Fast- forward 20 years and the BJP seems to have reached another Wile , E , Coyote , moment where the Indian masses realized the road below had disappeared.
For Modi, this moment must really sting. He largely influenced the outcome of the election. His face and the slogan” Modi’s Guarantee” were displayed on the nation to persuade voters that better days are yet to come.
What Modi’s disappointing election showing means for Indian foreign policy is anyone’s guess. Few observers anticipate much to change about Modi’s dual-track plan to maintain a leadership position in the Global South, or developing nations that account for the majority of the world’s population.
Yet for Modinomics, this electoral reality check could indeed refocus attention on much- needed steps to reduce bureaucracy, attack corruption, increase productivity, up investments on education and training and rewrite laws concerning land, taxes and the legal system.
And to prevent the significant economic lead that China has positioned against India in his third term from widening even further.  ,
Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek ,
Yuan Yang is what” 1.5 technology immigrant” refers to in terms of movement, meaning she was born in her country of origin and later immigrated to another country as a child.
She belongs, also, to what Chinese people call jiulinhou – the generation of people born in the 1990s. She is interested in the experiences of people like her, who are young people who are determined to make a difference in their life.
Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China – Yuan Yang ( Bloomsbury )
Yang, a journalist who covered China for the Financial Times, has firsthand experience with the newspaper stumblings of Chinese investigating. In fact, according to a recent study, the majority of articles published in English media between 2020 and 2023 framed China negatively or clearly. For many, difficult reasons, the powerful image of China constructed by foreign correspondents is generally one- dimensional, simplistic, and exceedingly conforms to a Cold War editorial framework.
Significantly, China is portrayed as an economic powerhouse, an autocratic government and a safety hazard. Some international correspondents, after a stay it, feel they know much about China to create books. Some say to have discovered the true meaning of China. In response, Western readers generally perceive the Chinese people as a rock and soulless crowd, divided between those who are victims of a restrictive Chinese regime and brave individuals who dare to challenge the system.
Ordinary Chinese citizens are repeatedly missing from their commonplace, ordinary daily life. Although the media coverage of rural-to-urban migration in China is prevalent, rural migrants ‘ social and personal lives, including their dreams, worries, and frustrations in personal life, especially in close, interpersonal relationships, are largely unfamiliar.
Yuan Yang may not have been able to leave the Financial Times ‘ negative view of China reporting as a blogger trying to follow the editorial mission of her papers. But, her guide does not fall into this trap. For this reason, she might not be able to surpass Jung Chang’s phenomenal fame, the author of Wild Swans, a story about three years of Chinese women, which some claim appealed to Western viewers ‘ pre-existing views. Complexity and complexity are not always valued in publishing.
In the decades that followed the 1980s, when China transitioned from a communist nation to a liberal market economy, Yang’s book Personal Revolutions is set in the years of economic reform. As a result of this transition, state support was gradually withdrawn from initiatives aimed at improving the economy’s health, education, and employment.
Women’s inner selves have unavoidably changed as a result of the gradual outsourcing of responsibility for such services to individual people. This is known as the deregulation of consciousness in some China researchers. The people in Yang’s text are caught up in this cultural change. They respond to, deal with, or even succeed in a spectacular new planet, as they do in their own stories of inward trend.
Four people who grew up from the 1990s are the four who are the ones who are portrayed in Yang’s story. Three were born in rural China in very polite conditions. The third was a child of rural migrants and was born and raised in the area. In their settlements, we follow their life from the key to the middle class.
Their lives revolve around leaving the village, getting a job in the city, finding a living companion, and in some cases, raising kids. All of them fight, with varying success, with policy considerations, home anticipation, and the peculiarities of personal situation.
Siyue, whose families left the village to begin a business in Shenzhen, spends her childhood in remote Jiangsu province with her mother before running a private education company in Beijing. She is pregnant after a person abandons her as a single mother and three-year-old girl, Eva. Nevertheless, she prefers to bring up Eva with a” two- person group” ( herself and her mother ) rather than get a partner.
While she’s raising a baby, Siyue’s training company is surviving despite suffering a significant loss during the Covid quarantine. The greatest fear in life is concern itself, Siyue has learned from experience. Talking to kids living with the stress of China’s standard education system, who fear their son’s failure, Siyue usually says,” You have to solve the problem of fear before you resolve anything more..
In the mountainous region of southern China, June was born into a poor family of miners. She works in a garment factory close to Shanghai after losing her mother in a mining accident as a teenager. She diligently pursues her studies to get into a subpar local university before moving to Beijing where she falls in love with a man and begins looking for work while working as a private tutor.
She and her boyfriend find Beijing to be too expensive for them to purchase an apartment, despite her diligent exploration of the opportunities it has to offer.
The population of China is divided between those with residential registration status and those with urban hukou. They are not entitled to the housing, education, and health care benefits offered by nearby urban residents as temporary hukou holders.
It is challenging for them to settle down. Her boyfriend wants to get married, but she does n’t see the point of marriage or having children. Whenever he brings up the topic, she says”, We’re together, are n’t we?”
June is proud to earn enough money to live in Beijing and still send some back home to support her family in the village, even though she is not a woman who “has it all.” To June, success is about” finding meaning in work and feeling a sense of progress and accomplishment.”
Leiya’s parents go to Shenzhen to work, leaving her behind in the village with her grandparents. Like many” left- behind children,” she drops out of high school and goes to Shenzhen to try her luck. After working in different factories, she becomes involved in labor activism. This requires that she find ways to fend off numerous bureaucratic pressures while maintaining a job at the factory and raising her daughter.
Leiya is aware of numerous female migrant workers in their 50s from various Chinese provinces. These women are approaching retirement age. Some people fear being laid off before receiving enough social insurance to retire with a pension, while others do n’t have any social insurance at all.
Leiya wants to assist these women in some way. She establishes a support center to represent migrant women with funding from a charitable foundation and the local government. She constantly advises them against always analyzing their boss ‘ viewpoints in order to empower them. We’re all trained to be good obedient children, but what do you want?”
Leiya and her husband have to work through her daughter’s generational conflict. Her daughter sees Leiya as stingy with money, rude and uncouth. Leiya sees her daughter as tempestuous and disobedient, wasting money on make- up and fashion. She wishes her daughter would instead pursue academic endeavors.
Then there is Sam. She is the only woman who, despite her parents ‘ humble background, manages to live an urban, middle- class life. She was born in Shenzhen, where her parents worked in factories. She met the author as a sociology graduate studying Chinese labor policy at a university in another city.
Sam has developed a strong interest in left- wing politics, especially activism in the labor movement. She has served as both an officer and a volunteer for labor-related organizations. Much of her work involves tactfully mediating between the media, the government and labor organizations.
As activism in politics becomes less popular, Sam chooses to travel abroad to pursue her PhD studies. She is not yet certain what her future will be: studying abroad and returning to China to use her academic abilities for labor activism.
Yang’s book is a breath of fresh air. Readers will come away with the knowledge that Chinese people are just like them. They are pursuing their own goals of upward mobility, despite having to live in a very different political system. They’re trying to get ahead in life, often with stress and frustrations, but also with a sense of achievement.
The microscopically accurate lens through which these people’s stories are told is richly informative and illuminates complex issues, including authoritarian rule, migration, and urbanization.
Yuan Yang is at once a reporter, a consummate storyteller, a self- appointed anthropologist and – most importantly– a friend to the people she writes about.
The University of Technology in Sydney is home to Wanning Sun, a professor of media and cultural studies.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Beijing has pledged to retaliate if China ignores its warning and imposes additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles ( EVs ).
According to Reuters, the EU previously scheduled the date for its announcement regarding temporary tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles for June 5, but moved it forward until June 10.
The pause is intended to prevent the June 6 through June 9 elections for the European Parliament from being impacted, according to the report.
On June 1, Wang Wentao, the head of Taiwanese trading, told some Chinese businesses in Barcelona, Spain, that the EU’s recent studies into Chinese Vehicles and other products were carried out under false pretenses like Chinese overcapacity and unfair competition.
He said these probes involved unfair use of industry remedies, global procurement instruments, and international payment regulations. He added that those actions had increased the chance of intensifying China-EU business tensions.
We hope that Chinese and European businesses can overcome obstacles and work together to create initiatives for economic and trade cooperation between China and Europe, he said. These projects may exhibit a strong inclusion of the two business chains in particular.
He called on the Euro to prevent its “protectionism” and cooperate with China.  ,
His remarks followed a five-page letter from the Chinese Commerce Ministry to the EU, which expressed major concerns about the European Commission’s recently launched trade investigations.
Beijing called for a ceasefire to stop further increase, but it warned that China’s agricultural and aerospace sectors had become its target in retaliation.
China announced last month that it might impose taxes as high as 25 % on imported cars with big machines. If that happens, Germany will get hit by China’s measures.  ,
The Chinese authorities may launch an anti-dumping research into EU-sourced meat exports, according to the state-owned Global Times on May 26.  ,
Last year, China imported 2.2 million tons of meat, followed by Japan’s 1.47 million loads and Mexico’s 1.28 million tons, according to Statista.com. The country primarily imported meat from Spain, Brazil, the United States, Denmark and the Netherlands.  ,
The European Commission launched a 13-month research into whether state subsidies have helped Chinese electric car manufacturers gain market share in recent years on October 4th, 2013. Nine decades after the investigation begins, it has the authority to impose temporary anti-subsidies.  ,
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanded that the Union follow in the US’s feet and take steps to protect itself from harm caused by China’s business overcapacity in a visit to Germany on May 21.  ,
However, the EU delayed making an announcement about its selection.  ,
A Henan-based journalist writes in an article on May 31 that” the pause of the EU’s statement showed that China’s caution of retribution has shown its effects.”  ,
Although some EU members want to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, France and Germany continue to oppose the increase in taxes, he claims.  ,  ,  ,
He claims that China will apply the same rules to France’s Airbus and the EU’s vineyards and dairy items if the EU insists on imposing tariffs on Chinese Vehicles.
BMW and Volkswagen executives warned against imposing International import taxes on Chinese electric vehicles on May 8. They claimed that rising tariffs will encourage China’s retaliation and promote global commerce protection.  ,
Presently, the EU applies a 10 % tax on all imported vehicles, regardless of their history. The US will start imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles starting on August 1st, going up 25 % to 100 %.
The Kiel Institute, a Germany- based business for economic study, said in a report on May 31 that if the EU imposes 20 % levies on imports of Chinese electric cars, the size of imported Chinese Vehicles will fall by 25 %, or 125, 000 products worth US$ 3.8 billion.  ,
According to the report, a drop in Chinese EV exports may result in higher prices for local electric vehicles in Europe as a result of higher regional production costs. But, it added that BYD, a manufacturer of electric vehicles in China, had then construct new European facilities to meet local demand.  ,
In addition, according to a report from Nikkei Asia on June 1 Great Wall Motor will shut down its Munich office on August 1 and employ all 100 there. It stated that the company was disappointed by German Vehicle sales.  ,
Apart from the studies of Taiwanese Vehicles, the EU has also in recent months looked into China’s railway trains as well as tools used for solar, wind energy technology, safety inspections and medical devices.
At a Parisian trilateral meeting on May 6th, Chinese President Xi Jinping told French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that there is no such thing as” China’s overcapacity problem.”
” While reaffirming our attention in a healthy and bilateral cooperation, we express concerns about China’s extensive use of non- market policies and practices that undermines our workers, industries, and financial resilience”, G7 finance ministers and key bank governors said in a joint statement on May 25.
Read: Company headquarters raided, China calls EU’ interventionist’
Following Jeff Pao on Twitter:  , @jeffpao3
GobidMalaysia’s Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh, spoke at the 5th DisruptInvest Summit on 23 May where he highlighted the administration’s dedication to support and help develop a strong business ecology through various initiatives, with the release of the annual KL20 summit in April designed to help light Malaysia’s business ecosystem to foreign VCs, as the latest signal of this intent. The government emphasized its goal of making Kuala Lumpur the Top 20 World Startup Ecosystem, thus KL20, by 2030.
In six and a half years, leapfroging 50 spots is a significant challenge that will require strong actions and strong government support, especially since KL is already in the 70th spot.
One such bold move, and yet low hanging fruit, will be to get authorities, the largest consumer of software companies in the country, to have its various departments and agencies move a small percentage, say 10 %, of their IT spend to businesses and homegrown software companies that have built their own solutions.
This concept has been repeatedly pushed aside and is not novel. I once asked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about the legality of requiring a small portion of government IT spending to be distributed to Malaysian tech companies in a press conference in 2002 in order to demonstrate the viability of their solutions. The question was not taken seriously.
But two decades later, the question must be taken seriously. Because, today, just as back then, the government aspires for Malaysian tech companies and its startups to be regional if not, global players. Stop aspiring for such bold goals if, as some have crossed RM400 million in revenue, we still do n’t show confidence in our own homegrown tech founders and their businesses today, because actions reveal true intent.
Here, Gobind can lead by example, be bold. The Digital Ministry should be the most digital in terms of its processes and engagement with the public and business because it is a new ministry and has no long-established relationships with IT vendors. Gobind must put aside the same old and dated justifications for why it is impossible and give favor to local tech startups.
The knowledge he acquires can then be applied to Minister Rafizi Ramli, a former minister himself, to the Economy Ministry. And so on to another ministry and so on.
Let’s see if Gobind, whose appointment as minister was well greeted by the tech ecosystem, leads the way.
Importance of capital
Gobind who also spoke at KL20, described capital as a catalyst to fuel KL20’s ambition, empowering innovators to push boundaries, challenge the status quo. The investments of today will be what will make the world of tomorrow,” he declared. The CEO of Vertex Holdings, Chua Kee Lock, who emphasized during his keynote that funding is a key factor in startup success, also made reference to the importance of capital.
This is also the reason the government is coordinating the two main public startup funding organizations, Mavcap Bhd and Penjana Kapital Sdn Bhd, into one entity that is governed by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, a sovereign wealth fund. Consolidation will give the government better visibility into the performance of its startup investments because both operate as fund of funds.
Gobind has a broad scope of responsibility as the digital minister, which is the first time such a ministry has been established in Malaysia. The National ICT Association, Pikom, anticipates that the Digital Economy will contribute to Malaysia’s economy by this year, as measured by GDP. As such, when he speaks of investment, Gobind does not just refer to startup funding.
For instance, he noted the 279 % jump in digital economy investments ( mainly in data centres ) the country enjoyed in the first half of 2023, translating to RM28.4 billion. And, without giving the time frame, he shared that almost 70 % of Malaysia’s RM225 billion approved investments are in the digital economy.
]Ed: Approved investments are not the same as realized investments with the latter always falling short of the former due to factors such as changes in company’s leadership/direction, macroeconomy shifts, and where investors and the government are unable to agree on actual details/benefits. ]
He also shared that Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ), one of the agencies under his portfolio, had facilitated 262 funding deals for local tech companies, worth US$ 402 million between 2020 and 2023.
Gobind’s responsibility, as Digital Minister, is to collaborate with other ministers to make the country shine as a digital nation and a digital economy with a highly digital savvy population. Take care of that, and startups will make investments that are digitally skewed, either for automation of manufacturing, or to increase business efficiency through the use of 5G technology.
One international collaboration Gobind mentioned is with the world’s leading pre-advisor, Draper University, which announced in March that it would establish its first campus outside of Silicon Valley. Such a move is crucial for advancing and leading the VC pipeline and startups looking to expand in Malaysia, according to Gobind.
Does not see need to stamp mark by creating new blue prints/masterplans
With less than 280 bureaucrats ( note that this is separate from the headcount of the various agencies that report to the ministry ), Gobind’s leadership of the Digital Ministry is interesting because he is carrying out the role by working within already established initiatives to support the digital economy rather than launching any big bang blueprints or road maps himself.
His argument was that the execution of the current roadmaps and blueprints is essential for success. Changes needed, based on ecosystem feedback, can be done without tearing up existing plans and starting over. He does n’t feel the need to use big initiatives to stamp his own mark, according to an executive who is aware of his mindset. Gobind believes he is applying the lessons he learned from his first two years as minister, from May 2018 to February 2020.
He also advocates for the welfare of consumers and businesses. When given information on the activities of the organizations and businesses that report to him, including MDEC, MyDigital Corp, CyberSecurity Malaysia ( CSM), and Digital Nasional Bhd ( DNB), Gobind tries to understand how the target market can profit. He has made it abundantly clear that he does not want initiatives to be run or new ones to be developed solely for the sake of reporting, according to the executive.
Seeking inclusive, sustainable growth via Madani framework
Gobind emphasized that” true investment is not only about allocating capital,” with the Madani Economic Framework serving as the government’s guiding principle for the government’s leadership and development agenda. By investing in the advancement of humanity and the advancement of society, it aims to foster a legacy of prosperity and progress.
He claimed that this serves as” the moral compass for initiatives like the KL20 Summit, with action plans geared toward ensuring sustainable economic growth and social justice.”
And Gobind emphasized that his government is committed to creating a conducive digital ecosystem for the nation and the region with Malaysia taking over the ASEAN chair next year. ” This cannot be done without ethical investment”.
To support the bank’s Chief Investment Office’s ( CIO ) research capabilities and to gain client insights, Bank of Singapore established an independent investment advisory council.
According to a declaration from the bank, eight members of the CIO Global Advisory Council have been chosen based on their track records in finance, public policy, political research, resource allocation, and investment management.  ,
The members are: Belinda Boa, head of Apac engaged investments and key investment officer of emerging markets, BlackRock, Ken Caplan, world co- key investment officer, Blackstone, Fabiana Fedeli, key investment officer, equities, multi- asset and sustainability, M&, G Investments, Robin Hu, Asia chair, Milken Institute and advisor senior director, Temasek, Stewart James, co- head, office of government affairs Apac, Goldman Sachs, Yuichi Murao, chief investment officer, Nomura Asset Management, Adam Posen, president, Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Paula Campbell Roberts, chief investment strategist for global wealth, KKR.
Jean Chia, global chief investment officer, Bank of Singapore, said in the statement:” Building intellectual capital is a key part of the bank’s strategy to become the top private bank in Asia. In today’s knowledge-driven economy, we are strengthening our competitive advantage by utilizing our research capabilities, including creating a global advisory council that complements our internal insights.
Since January 2024, the CIO has reported to Bank of Singapore’s chief executive officer Jason Moo. According to the statement, the CIO manages client assets while the advisory and discretionary portfolio management teams manage client assets.  ,  ,
While the CIO Global Advisory Council will offer insights, the Bank of Singapore’s house view– which guides investment decisions – uses the CIO’s in- house research, investment strategy and asset allocation expertise, the bank explained.  ,
The CIO established a wealth management and investment management technology earlier this year that asset managers and institutional investors use. One of the first private banks in Asia to use the platform for clients of private banking is Bank of Singapore.  ,
Bank of Singapore is owned by OCBC, and has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the UK, Luxembourg and Dubai, and a representative office in the Philippines, according to its website.  ,
Rickie Chan introduced the position of the Hong Kong branch’s chief executive on April 17. Chan added it to his role as head of private banking, Greater China, and replaced Cindy Wong, whose last day at the bank was May 31, 2024. She became the Hong Kong branch’s CEO in 2021 after joining the Bank of Singapore in November 2015.  ,
New chief portfolio strategist
Additionally, the Bank of Singapore has appointed a chief portfolio strategist. Owi Ruivivar, who has over 30 years of experience in economics, investment strategy and portfolio management, has assumed the new role, starting on June 3.
Ruivivar, who is based in Singapore, will be a member of the bank’s investment committee, which decides on client calls for strategic and tactical asset allocation. She reports to Chia.
The newly created position will assist in the creation of a” systematic, robust, and risk-based multi- asset allocation framework that will guide clients as they build long-term investment portfolios,” according to a statement.
Ruivivar comes to Singapore from GIC, where she oversaw the department’s department’s department’s investment and investment strategy department’s investment-oriented thematic research. She also served as the head of the team responsible for investing in future markets, which managed multi-asset investments in emerging markets countries. Prior To GIC she spent 17 years with Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Chia said:” In today’s knowledge- driven economy, we aim to enhance our competitive advantage by hiring and developing talent in research and portfolio management capabilities”.
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This is component one in a two- part series on the implications of North Korea’s new formal change of stance toward South Korea, and is adapted from the author ‘s , new chapter , in , Analytical Connections: A Triannual E- journal of Bilateral Relations in the Indo- Pacific.
Kim Jong Un’s radical new policy toward South Korea was presented to the Supreme People’s Assembly ( SPA ) in January. It sounded really as dirty as when he first expounded it in December, but no more clear.
Our preliminary opinion is that this is more wood than bit, despite the prospect of a guaranteed constitutional amendment requiring more detail. Although punishment and vigilance are still important, this does not appear to be a peninsula in the middle of a war.
On the surface, Kim Jong Un’s fresh position toward South Korea, which he announced at the end of 2023 and afterwards admitted later in the middle of January, upends Pyongyang’s whole history, which includes rejecting his father and father’s legacy.
Kim turned to the new year after reviewing how gathering and state laws were put into effect in the previous one. Earlier Kim had laid out the common DPRK view.
He described the “dangerous security environment” in the Korean Peninsula that was “on the verge of a nuclear war” and claimed that” the US and its vassal forces have still carried out vicious anti-DPRK confrontational moves” and are ] openly discussing the “end of regime” in the DPRK.
Beyond these generalizations, extensive research into distinct US and empire advances demonstrated how Pyongyang pays close attention to the actions of its allies. Kim’s summary:” The term’ war’ is now approaching us as a practical entity, not as an intangible concept”.
Obviously, Kim also blasted” the pro- DPRK fight behavior” in which” liar” ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol just was getting possibly more “offensive”. This was why, in his watch, the September 19 North- North Defense Contract “was , scrapped“.
So far, therefore template.
Then Kim moved on to “gigantic political changes in ] the] international geo-political condition… and the Korean peninsula’s outside atmosphere.” The need to “reformulate the positions on the north-south relations and reconciliation policy and make a significant policy change in the fight against the enemy” was first mentioned below.
Beyond the island, Kim confirmed in theory what had already become apparent in practice. ” The field of external affairs ]aka diplomacy ] should” concentrat]e ] the main efforts on the development of relations with the ruling parties of socialist countries.”
That also is a big change, though he did not flip it as such. Gone are the days of Pyongyang swaying nimbly between power: Kim Il Sung balancing between Moscow and Beijing, not fully in control of both, or Kim Jong Il stealing control of China and South Korea.
What of the coast? Kim demanded” a basic reversal in… work toward the south,” citing a nuanced analysis of the tense history of the north-south relations, which have consistently resulted in only mistrust and confrontation. ” This” abnormal condition is not a strange phenomenon, “and, of training, it is all the South’s problem.
For 50 times the North has pursued” most really, reasonable and fair “policies on national reconciliation. By contrast, also though” the puppet regime has changed more than]10] times so much,” their regular theme is” the collapse of the DPRK’s regime “and” unification by absorption.”
Keep it that, friend. What about Moon Jae-in or Kim Dae-jung?
Whether or not they advocated “democracy” or carried out a disguised as” conservatism,” the puppet forces ‘ sinister ambition to destroy our social system and regime has remained unchanged even a little. “
Therefore, the party has come to the conclusion that “reunification can never be achieved with the ROK authorities who defined the “unification by absorption” and “unification under democratic democracy” as their condition policies, which are in stark contrast to our range of regional reunification based on one nation and one state with two systems.
But all this is a travesty. True, some – perhaps most – conservative ROK leaders thought in the way Kim describes. Not so the three liberals –” DJ” ( 1998- 2003 ), Roh Moo- hyun ( 2003- 08 ), and Roh’s protégé Moon ( 2017- 22 ). Their vision was quite different and much closer to Pyongyang’s own.
Kim then adduces a further example, while also shifting his ground:
Even at this point, the South Korean puppets are unwaveringly claiming that the DPRK and its people are ROK territory and that the country’s population needs to be reclaimed, and that” the territory of the ROK includes the Korean peninsula and its attached islands” is shamelessly stated in the ROK constitution.
True, South Korea’s constitution does make that claim ( in Article 3 ), whereas the North’s contains no such territorial definition. However, Kim is spewing this. From the beginning, neither Korean state has recognized the other.
Moving swiftly on, Kim draws drastic conclusions ( numbers added for convenience ):
Who or what exactly does Kim think” South Korea” is? He transitions from the government to that peculiar” clan,” which raises a number of questions.
If the” clan” is unrepresentative – though freely elected, unlike north of the DMZ– then what of the Southern , people? The implication is that Pyongyang has stopped looking and has not found any honorable interlocutors.
Another interpretation of South Korea’s identity is provided in Paragraph 3, which is neither attractive nor even near real. The abhorrent distasteful disablist imagery Kim uses here lends cred to a possible political eugenics. Such a malformed, tainted, dependent entity is clearly unfit to be a dialogue partner.
In what sense, if any, is Korea still one? Not at all, according to Kim. He reckons that “fellow countrymen” is merely a “rhetorical word”.
Paragraph 4 begs questions. Is it true that inter- Korean ties ( at the level of states ) are “fixed” into hostility? And regardless, what has that to do with either consanguinity or homogeneity?
Kim rounds off this farrago with two conclusions: bureaucratic, and then ( more ominously ) military. First, various organizations – not least,” the United Front Department of the Party Central Committee” – need “readjusting and reforming” to “fundamentally change the principle and orientation of the struggle”.
Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui convened a meeting” with officials concerned” on the first day of 2024 to begin implementing the organizational changes.
Evidently, MOFA, which is not always a high-status ministry in Pyongyang, will gain power and grow its bailiwick as the previously separate bodies ( mostly under the WPK), which had previously handled South Korea, are abruptly axed.
And finally a final growl:
Kim ] stated in a solemn manner that “if the US and the South Korean puppets stubbornly attempt a military confrontation with the DPRK, the latter’s nuclear deterrent will go over to a grave action without hesitation,” and that” the important tasks must be set aside in the fields in charge of the affairs with enemies and foreign countries to make preparations in a foresighted way to keep up with the powerful military operations of the Korean People’s Army to subjugate the entire south on the grounds that
Many questions arise. So the “territory” of the South can be subjugated– but only if the foe makes the first move? What about the Southern people: are they to be” subjugated” too?
And why is Kim, who ended his father’s military- first strategy ( Songun ) by restoring party control over the KPA, now in effect telling MOFA to spruce up and keep pace with the soldiers?
Aidan Foster- Carter ( [email protected] )  , is an honorary senior , research fellow in sociology and modern Korea at Leeds.
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Supreme Court has approved regulatory changes on the age of candidates in local elections, the judge said on Thursday ( May 30 ), amid guesswork the president’s 29- year- older son is seeking to work in future Jakarta elections. Last month, a petition was submitted to the judgeContinue Reading
Stress, both external and internal, is quickly changing the global landscape for Israel.
In 2011, Ehud Barak, next Israel’s defence minister, warned that Israel may experience a “diplomatic- social tsunami” of global isolation and censure if it could not resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. More than a decade later, the storm has cooled off, but the present is quickly moving in that direction.
Three significant events occurred in less than a week that would have been inconceivable before the Gaza War. First, on May 20, the Office of the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) sought warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Karim Khan Houston, the counsel, also requested arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders for crimes committed on October 7 and subsequent days.
On May 28, the institutions of Norway, Spain, and Ireland announced that they would grant Israeli sovereignty. Most Western European nations agree that sovereignty should only be declared through a process of discussions between Israel and Palestinians rather than in its own right. However, more than 140 regions in the UN now recognize Palestine as a condition.
The three states argued that the action was necessary to protect any prospect of ever achieving a two-state answer, despite its mostly symbolic nature.
The UN’s International Court of Justice ( ICJ) then decided that Israel must halt the ongoing military operation in Rafah on May 24. Additionally, it mandated that Israel reopen the Rafah borders cross with Egypt to facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance and allow access to Gaza for fact-finding operations and researchers.
The decision is a part of a larger case brought before the court by South Africa, in which it is claimed that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute holocaust. This contention is denied by Israel and was not resolved by this decision. The UN Security Council’s choice is regarded as legally binding, but it cannot be enforced without the US, where the US normally vetoes laws affecting Israel.
This is in addition to common grass engagement that has grown as the war has raged on. In London and other places all over the world, regular demonstrations have persisted, and a flurry of them have shook college campuses across the country and around the world.
Despite the majority of Israelis also supporting the war itself, protests have risen in support of a peace to relieve the captives still held by Hamas. Additionally, there has been more and more criticism of Netanyahu for his inability to formulate a “day after” method for Gaza, including from within his own combat case.
In the near future, the increased international stress will likely cause a home” circle-the-wagons” effect and quiet little of Netanyahu’s internal criticism. Netanyahu called the ICC permits a “moral indignation,” and Israeli officials quickly refrained from reversing the ICJ decision. Netanyahu has stated without a doubt that Israel may continue to fight until its objectives are attained.
However, Israel carried out an attack apparently targeting senior Hamas militants only two weeks after the ICJ decision that apparently resulted in the death of at least 45 people in a tent station in Rafah.
The Biden administration is likely to double down help for Israel as a result of the series of international techniques. Finding a balance between agreeing with Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas and opposing Israel’s tactical and strategic decisions has been difficult for Biden.
In fact, the US senator physically criticized the ICC warrants as being “outrageous,” and Democrats does join Republicans in urging ICC sanctions. Additionally, the White House has remained motionless regarding the ICJ decision. According to administration officials, the Rafah activity has not yet crossed Biden’s red ranges.
The movement of humanitarian assistance into Gaza does change, in part. In addition, the Biden administration’s conversations with Netanyahu regarding the Rafah rude included a major concern that the ICC and ICJ decisions mainly focused on this aspect.
Following Israel’s arrest of the Gaza side of the border in recent weeks, Israel and Egypt have blamed one another for the suspension of aid to Rafah. However, the rulings will put pressure on both sides to agree to restart the crossing, and the US is currently working with Egypt to find solutions.
The most recent activities indicate a shift in how the universe views the Israel-Palestine fight in general. They suggest that less states and international organizations are willing to give Washington all control over the course of the issue.
Israel and the US will undoubtedly be able to halt these changes in the near future. Israel has frequently asserted that the UN is biased against it. In some cases, it is justified because, between 2015 and 2022, 140 UN General Assembly resolutions were signed against Israel, compared to only 60 against all other nations as a whole.
Israel may therefore reacting to the decisions and going it alone after last week as one of an increasing loneliness.
However, the new actions by foreign judges and governments do not correspond to an end to Hamas or, crucially, an abandonment of Israel. The majority of the international society, in contrast to the language at some demonstrations, wants a secure Jewish state along with a Palestinian state.
They worry, however, that the Gaza War is lessening that chance, causing the conflict to become even more entangled and bolstering serious jobs on both edges.
The horrors of October 7 logically undermined the concept of a two-state answer for several Israelis in the near future. However, when the issue comes to an end, Israel and Palestine will have to decide whether to support or oppose the growing global consensus in the search for a resolution.
When that day comes, Israel is likely to receive an open side from international partners in moving the conflict toward a frank decision with regional and international support.
Julie M Norman is Top Associate Fellow on the Middle East at RUSI, Associate Professor in Politics &, International Relations, Deputy Director of the Centre on US Politics, UCL
This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.