Tuesday, February 18 2020 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SHANGHAI - China's Hainan Province is said to have streamlined the approval of imported medicine and medical equipment in its medical pilot zone, shortening the approval process to no more than three days.
SHANGHAI - China's central bank has said it will launch the second iteration of its personal credit system on January 20, closing loopholes in the earlier version which allowed users to whitewash credit records with fake divorces or account closures.
WUHAN - Local health officials in Wuhan have reported the first known death from a mysterious viral lung disease that broke out two weeks ago. The virus has infected dozens of people in China and reportedly other Asian countries.
HONG KONG - the global banking group, BBVA, has released figures showing that the global economic outlook deteriorated in 2019, following a downturn already seen in 2018. Between January and October of 2019, BBVA Research reduced its global growth forecast for 2019 and 2020 by 0.3 percentage points to 3.2% and 3.1%, respectively -- half a point less than the average from 2011 to 2018.
TAIPEI - With improved global sentiment, global financial group Natixis says it expects Taiwan's GDP to grow at 2.6% in 2020, maintaining the pace set in 2019. Export diversification, relatively good corporate financial health versus other Asian peers, and government policies directed at supporting investment from overseas should all support growth further in 2020, Natixis says.
HONG KONG -- Opening of oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) will increase market participation and competition in the upstream segment, but global ratings agency Standard and Poors says it sees limited impact of the new regulations on China National Petroleum Corp. (A+/Stable/--), China Petrochemical Corp. (A+/Stable/A-1), and China National Offshore Oil Corp. (A+/Stable/--) over the next two to three years.
BEIJING - Chinese Vice Premier, Liu He, will travel to the US this coming week to sign the first phase of a trade pact between the world's two largest economies, the Commerce Ministry has confirmed.
BEIJING -- China's Global Times newspaper, which often reflects official views, is quoting what it terms "experts" as saying Australian beef exporters whose price volatility may disturb the Chinese market should be put on a blacklist.
BEIJING -- China will not increase its annual global import quotas for certain grains due to a phase one trade deal with the US, a senior Chinese agriculture official has been quoted as saying.
BEIJING - Speaking at a joint media conference after a trilateral summit in Chengdu, China, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea's President, Moon Jae-in, has said the three countries have adopted "a trilateral co-peration vision for the next decade".
NEW DELHI - Led by a smaller merchandise trade deficit, India's current account deficit narrowed to 0.9% of GDP in Q2 FY20 (quarter ending September). Both FDI and portfolio investment remained resilient allowing the basic balance of payments to return to a surplus.
SEOUL - Watching the loading of eco-friendly vehicles at Pyeongtaek-Dangjin port in Gyeonggi-do Province, a domestic trade hub for vehicle exports, South Korea's President, Moon Jae-in, has predicted that the nation will become one of the world's biggest exporters over the next decade.
CANBERRA - The Free Trade Agreement signed recently between Hong Kong and Australia will .officially enter into force on January 17, 2020.
BEIJING - China's National People's Congress has approved amendments to the 1999 Securities Law, including stricter information disclosure and tougher penalties for fraud.
NEW YORK - An agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into 25 years ago may allow Mexico to regain competitiveness and its market share in the US economy, to the detriment of China, according to a report from BBVA Bank.
TAIPEI - Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, will be re-elected as Taiwan's President in national elections on January 11, according to final polls released today. The polls suggest she could exceed her 25-point victory of 2016, when she took 56% of the total votes cast, against 31% for the major Opposition party, the KMT.