Saturday, April 26 2025 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
NEW DELHI -- India received US$64 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2020, the fifth-largest recipient of inflows in the world, according to a UN report which also says the second COVID-19 wave weighs heavily on India's overall economic activities but strong fundamentals provide "optimism" for the medium term.
SINGAPORE -- S&P Global Ratings said today that Malaysian banks will continue to be an Asian outlier in their recovery path. "The path to normalisation is likely to be protracted due to the flare-up of new COVID-19 waves and inevitable disruptions in near-term economic prospects," it said. "The six-month blanket moratorium revealed by the Malaysian government on June 28 should further delay the timeline for banks' return to normal."
SINGAPORE -- Indian banks face systemic risk as the country sorts through the aftermath of the COVID second wave. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's says lenders struggled with a high level of weak loans well before the pandemic struck and, clearly, conditions have deteriorated.
TAIPEI-- Taiwan's resilient export performance has prompted ANZ Bank to revise upwards its GDP growth forecast to 5.5% y/y for 2021 and to 3.5% y/y for 2022. "Full-year growth would have been more robust if not for the second wave of COVID-19 virus infections in April/May," ANZ says.
NEW DELHI -- India and Australia have announced collaboration in cyber-enabled critical technologies, following the initial conference of the India-Australia Joint Working Group (JWG) on cyber security co-operation. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said both countries reviewed a variety of topics involving cyber domain emerging technologies.
NEW DELHI-- India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has described India as a "natural ally" for the G7 and its partners to defend democracy and freedom of thought from challenges arising due to authoritarianism, terrorism, disinformation and economic coercion.
TAIPEI -- Macao's representative office in Taiwan, the Macao Economic and Cultural Office, on Wednesday announced the indefinite suspension of its operations from May 19, but gave no reason for the decision.
HONG KONG -- Since February l, 2000, enforcement of arbitral awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong has been governed by a separate Arrangement, which has successfully provided an effective mechanism of enforcing awards between these two jurisdictions. On November 27, 2020, a Supplemental Arrangement was signed, amending four aspects of the original Arrangement to bring it further into line with current practice in international arbitration. Some amendments became effective immediately, while others became effective only on May 19, 2021.
BANGKOK -- Thailand shows some of the region's strongest development in e-commerce and consumer engagement in social media, with demand for relevant commercial services --i ncluding design services and software application services -- surging in Thailand, according to a new Hong Ko.ng Trade Development Council research report.
SINGAPORE - Standardand Poors Global Ratings today assigned its 'BBB' long-term foreign currency rating to the proposed benchmark-sized Japanese yen-denominated senior unsecured notes issued by Indonesia (BBB/Negative/A-2).
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) has reported a$4.3 billion net loss for 2020-21after what it describes as the toughest year in its history.
CANBERRA -- A new initiative launched in May aims to improve Australia-Malaysia collaboration in digital transformation. Australia and Malaysia have a long history of collaboration across technologies in the oil and gas, property, logistics and defence sectors.
HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam's economy is likely to see a healthy recovery over coming years despite enduring headwinds stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ratings agency Standard and Poors, which has revised its outlook on Vietnam to positive from stable. S&P says its rating reflects the country's progress in strengthening important administrative processes, noting a continued gradual improvement in Vietnam's broader credit profile.
In a new research report, ANZ Bank says solid US private demand over the coming two years is set to be a strong positive for the global economy.
HONG KONG -- China is trying to mitigate the market impact of rising defaults by local state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Recent top-level guidance signals that local governments need to take a firm grip on SOE debt risk, according to a report by S&P Global.
HONG KONG -- The Chinese economy expanded by 2.3% in 2020, the only major economy to record growth, and global credit insurer Coface is expecting GDP there to accelerate to 7.5% in 2021.This would be the fastest pace since 2013, and comfortably above the minimum 6% set by authorities.