Page 2 - Asia

Twitter tells Asia HQ staff to clear desks, WFH as Musk pares expenses

Twitter staff were informed via email Wednesday that they had until 5 p.m. to leave the CapitaGreen building and resume their duties remotely from Thursday

Asia the saver

The global savings glut may persist as, despite ageing rapidly, Asia can continue to be a net saver

German inflation surprise strengthens US dollar as euro nurse losses

The euro fell 1% overnight, its sharpest drop in more than two months, and it hovered near three-week lows at $1.0550 early in the Asia session

Coffee exports from India up by nearly 2% to 400,000 tonnes in 2022

Coffee shipments from India, Asia's third-largest producer and exporter, rose 1.66 per cent to 4 lakh tonne in 2022 on rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports, according to the Coffee Board. Exports stood at 3.93 lakh tonne in 2021. In value terms, coffee export was higher at Rs 8,762.47 crore in 2022 as against Rs 6,984.67 crore in the previous year. India ships both Robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee. According to the Board's latest data, shipment of Robusta coffee declined marginally to 2,20,974 tonne in 2022 from 2,20,997 tonne in the previous year. Similarly, export of Arabica fell 11.43 per cent to 44,542 tonne from 50,292 tonne. However, export of instant coffee increased 16.73 per cent to 35,810 tonne in 2022 from 29,819 tonne in the previous year. About 99,513 tonne of coffee was re-exported in 2022, higher than 92,235 tonne in the previous year, the data showed. The unit per value realisation remained higher at Rs 2,18,923 per tonne as against

India's presidencies in SCO, G20 to strengthen world stability: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday voiced confidence that India's presidencies of the SCO and G20 will build multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries and will strengthen the stability and security in Asia and the entire world. While India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, it took over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on September 16. In his New Year messages to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin noted that Russia and India marked the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022 and, relying on positive traditions of friendship and mutual respect, the countries continue to develop their specially privileged strategic partnership, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin said the two countries carried out large-scale trade and economic projects in addition to energy, military technology and other areas of cooperation, and coordinated efforts in addressing important matte

Indian Rupee inches up as Asian currencies notch marginal gains on Thursday

The Indian rupee eked out slim gains on Thursday in its penultimate trading session of 2022, as Asian markets rebounded to move higher and the dollar flatlined

Tech-led slump on Wall Street led to fall in Asian markets post-Christmas

Shares were mostly lower in Asia on Wednesday after a post-holiday retreat on Wall Street, as markets count down to the end of a painful year for investors. Shares fell in Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul but rose in Hong Kong as the Chinese government took further steps to reopen to foreign travel after relaxing its stringent zero-COVID policies. Oil prices fell back and US futures inched higher. The Chinese government announced it will start issuing new passports in another major step away from anti-virus travel barriers. That sets up a potential flood of tourists out of China for next month's Lunar New Year holiday, taking free-spending Chinese visitors to Asia, Europe and other destinations during what usually is the country's busiest travel season. But governments in India and Japan have said they will impose extra precautions on those arriving from China due to widespread virus outbreaks there. US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to convey internal discussions, also .

Shares advance in Asia after China relaxes more Covid Zero policy

Shares advanced Tuesday in Asia after China announced it would relax more of its pandemic restrictions despite widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 that are straining its medical systems and disrupting business. China's National Health Commission said Monday that passengers arriving from abroad will no longer have to observe a quarantine, starting Jan 8. They will still need a negative virus test within 48 hours of their departure and to wear masks on their flights. But it was the latest step toward dropping once-strict virus-control measures that have severely limited travel to and from the world's No. 2 economy. China has joined other countries in treating cases instead of trying to stamp out infections, dropping or easing rules on testing, quarantines and movement as it tries to reverse an economic slump. But the shift has flooded hospitals with feverish, wheezing patients, and authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The

World shares mixed before updates on US consumer spending, durable goods

Shares rose in Europe on Friday after a retreat in Asia ahead of updates on US consumer spending and durable goods orders. Benchmarks climbed in London and Paris but fell in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. Oil prices surged more than USD1 a barrel. Japan reported its core inflation rate, excluding volatile fresh foods, rose to 3.7per cent in November, the highest level since 1981, as surging costs for oil and other commodities added to upward price pressures in the world's third-largest economy. While price increases are much more modest in Japan than in the US and most major European and emerging economies, they add to pressure on the Bank of Japan to adjust longstanding policies that have kept interest rates ultra-low to spur growth. For Japan, deflation falling prices rather than inflation has been the key concern for most of the past few decades. Recession in coming months remains a greater concern, economists say. Inflation edged up in November and will peak at around 4 per cen

India sees most number of cervical cancer cases, deaths in Asia: Lancet

Lancet report titled, "Global estimates of incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2020: a baseline analysis of the WHO Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative," highlights glaring reality

Tripura to become gateway to SE Asia once Maitri bridge opens: CM Saha

Noting that connectivity has "remarkably improved" in Tripura, where polls are due next year, Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that the state will emerge as the gateway to Southeast Asia once the Maitri bridge, linking Sabroom with Bangladesh's Ramgarh, is thrown open for public. Maitri bridge, over Feni river, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9 last year. Located only 74 km away from Chittagong port, the bridge will opened to traffic once customs and immigration facilities are made available on the Bangladesh side by the Sheikh Hasina government, officials said. Saha, after inaugurating Shehri Samridhi Utsav here, an exhibition by self-help groups, stated, "Tripura's future will turn brighter once the Maitri bridge is made operational. The northeastern state will soon become the gateway of India's corridor to Southeast Asian nations." Asserting that connectivity has improved to a great extent in the state, over the past few years, the chief minist

'Underweight' on India, China to lead Asian outperformance in 2023: Nomura

The key risks identified by the brokerage are stretched government finances and oil prices going past $120 a barrel

Most Asian countries behind biodiversity targets for protected areas: Study

Most countries in Asia have failed to achieve a global minimum target of protecting at least 17 per cent of land by 2020, according to a study based on data from 40 countries. Under current trends, the outlook for achieving the UN Global Biodiversity Framework's 2030 target to protect at least 30 per cent of land is bleak, with Asia set to miss this by an even greater margin, the researchers said. To counter the global biodiversity crisis, at the 2010 UN Convention on Biological Diversity, almost 200 countries pledged to protect at least 17 per cent of their terrestrial environments by 2020 (known as Aichi Target). To investigate whether they achieved this, researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, with collaborators in Asia, analysed data from official reports submitted to the World Database on Protected Areas. The study, published in the journal Communications Biology, found that only 40 per cent of Asian countries achieved the target of a minimum of 17

Busy buying: FPIs bet big on India and Asia in November, shows data

The Asia pack (excluding China), as a whole, saw the biggest foreign inflows in nearly two years at $15.7 billion

Dubai-based Coral Energy turns focus to Asia, halts trade in Russian crude

he trading house emerged as one of the key suppliers of Russian crudes to Asia after some western entities shunned purchase of Russian oil

India among fastest growing economies in Asia amid global slowdown: OECD

India, with a growth rate of 6.6 per cent in this financial year, is among the fastest growing economies in Asia amid a global slowdown triggered by a massive energy shock due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the OECD said on Tuesday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based intergovernmental body that focuses on economic policy reports in its latest Economic Outlook' that India is set to be the second-fastest growing economy in the G20 in FY 2022-23 behind Saudi Arabia, despite decelerating global demand and the tightening of monetary policy to manage inflationary pressures. The GDP growth in the country will slow to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24 as exports and domestic demand growth moderate, but it would mean it would still be growing more than many other G20 economies including China and Saudi Arabia. After hitting 6.6 per cent in FY 2022-23, GDP growth is expected to slow in coming quarters, to 5.7 per cent in FY 2023-24, before ...

US as a reliable economic partner is here to stay: Harris to Asian leaders

US Vice President Kamala Harris assured Asian leaders Friday that the United States is here to stay as she pitched Washington as a reliable economic partner committed to the region and its prosperity. Harris told leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that the U.S. is a proud Pacific power and has a vital interest in promoting a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient. The United States has an enduring economic commitment to the Indo-Pacific, one that is measured not in years, but in decades, and generations, she said. And there is no better economic partner for this region than the United States of America. Harris postponed the start of her speech after receiving news that North Korea had fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed near Japanese waters, convening an emergency meeting of the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada in which she slammed the missile test as a brazen violation of multipl

19 Indian universities among top 200 in QS Asia Universities Ranking 2023

QS Asia Universities Ranking, 2023 was released on Tuesday by the International Ranking agency

COP27: All eyes on Egypt to steer climate finance towards adaptation

With the summit happening amid Ukraine war and recession fears, budget cuts for climate are apprehended as nations use money to secure energy and development aid shifts towards humanitarian projects

Asia's factory output weakens on global slowdown, China Covid-19 curbs

Asia is extremely reliant on China. Its zero-COVID policy continues to disrupt supply chains and keep Chinese travelers from returning to Asian tourist destinations. It's also hurting region's exports