Wednesday, April 24 2024 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SHANGHAI - China's Xiaomi Corp. has launched its latest flagship smartphone two months ahead of schedule, as it accelerates its drive to grab more market share in China from sanctions-hobbled Huawei Technologies and its recently spun-off Honor budget brand.
KARACHI -- Pakistan International Container Terminal (PICT), managed by Phiippines'-headquartered ICTSI, has welcomed the inaugural call of a newly-launched Pakistan-United Arab Emirates (PS2) shipping service.
HONG KONG -- While stabilisation of markets seems to be within reach with the introduction of new COVID-19 vaccines and new leadership in the US, investors should expect the process to be gradual and long, Manulife Investment Management says in its regional outlook for the year ahead. Structural changes caused by the pandemic will take time to reverse, it says.
PARIS -- Beyond the human tragedy of COVID-19, 2020 has left the world with a long list of economic consequences for the future - but they are not all negative, says BBVA Bank. "The most obvious consequence is the severe recession, with global GDP expected to decrease by more than 2.5%, which is a bigger decrease than that of the 2009 financial crisis (-1.7%)," BBVA says in a new report.
"We know that this decline is temporary and is not a response to cumulative imbalances of inflation or debt, as is the case with normal recessions," the report says.
HONG KONG -- China's move to take control of Sichuan Trust Co. Ltd. signals a growing assertiveness with the sector, according to global ratings agency Standard and Poor's. Chinese officials said the entity was plagued with governance issues, resulting in a swath of defaulted trust products, but S&P Global Ratings believes the authorities' action on Sichuan Trust demonstrates China's intention to continue its crackdown on trust entities specifically, and China's shadow bank sector generally, in 2021.
BEIJING - China's State newsagency, Xinhua, says sporadic COVID-19 cases have resurfaced in China's capital of Beijing as well as northeast Liaoning Province and the southern high-tech hub of Shenzhen, prompting authorities to tighten epidemic control measures.
HONG KONG -- After decades of increasing globalisation on every front, from trade - pushed further by the growing role of value chains - to technology, movement of people and investment, there now seems to be a turn towards slower globalisation if not deglobalisation, at least in some areas, Natixis, the global financial group, says in a new report.
BANGKOK - Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI) has approved new measures to help accelerate investment and to promote adoption of digital technologies. Lawyers Baker & McKenzie summarise the new incentives as follows:
TAIPEI - More than 1,700 lawmakers from over 80 countries spoke in favour of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly -- the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation -- when the WHA reconvened last month in Geneva, according to the annual report of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), which said global support for Taiwan on this issue had reached an "unprecedented level".
WASHINGTON: A U.S. Republican Senator, Pat Toomey, has introduced a resolution to the U.S. Senate calling for the negotiation of a free trade agreement with Taiwan. Roomey described building closer trade ties with Taiwan as a win-win for both sides, saying it would help the U.S. strengthen its relationship with a key ally -- while increasing economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
HONG KONG - Strong PMI prints in November indicate a high possibility that China's GDP growth may return to above 5.5% y/y in Q4, according to ANZ Bank. It says a broad improvement is seen across sectors, particularly for small enterprises, whose PMI climbed to 50.1, above the breakeven threshold. For the manufacturing sector, the production and new orders sub-indices moved to 54.7 and 53.9, the highest levels year to date, suggesting a recovery in both supply and demand.
SHANGHAI - The Chinese media group Caixin is reporting that debt risks continue to cloud the Chinese corporate
bond market this week, with another major state-owned enterprise defaulteingon a trust loan. This follows the
default of a state-owned coal-mining firm earlier this month.
SINGAPORE - S&P Global Ratings says that economic trajectories for Asia-Pacific are stabilising. It expects Asia-Pacific GDP to shrink about 2% in 2020 and to grow by 6.8% in 2021, close to previous S&P forecasts at the end of the third quarter. "Uncertainty remains unusually high, but little in the past three months has led to large revisions to our views," S&P says.
MELBOURNE - After the release of key partial indicators this week, ANZ Bank says it expects Australia's GDP to have bounced 3.0% q/q in Q3. This would leave GDP 3.9% below year-ago levels. "Consistent with the run of better-than-expected partial economic indicators, the forecast bounce in Q3 GDP is larger than we had anticipated a few months ago," ANZ says. 222.live.anz.com (ATI).
BEIJING - China Daily reports that China and India will maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels and jointly resolve issues while maintaining peace and stability in border regions, quoting China's Ministry of National Defence.
KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's 2021 budget proposal reflects a first cautious step toward fiscal consolidation. following a deficit estimated at 6% of GDP in 2020, according to ratings agency Standard and Poor's. "Nevertheless, against a tide of economic uncertainty and continued revenue weakness, Malaysia faces enduring pressure on its fiscal and debt settings," S&P says.