Tuesday, February 18 2020 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
SEOUL - South Korea's Prime Minister, Lee Nak-yon, visiting Tokyo to attend the enthronement ceremony for the new Japanese emperor, has stressed to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the need to mend strained bilateral ties -- and underscored the importance of communication.
BEIJING - On the eve of a four-day closed session of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is reported to have made a policy decision to give Macau jurisdiction over the Macau Port Area of the renovated Hengqin Port, which is located on the mainland-Macau border but is geographically in the mainland.
JAKARTA -- Bank Indonesia (BI) lowered its 7-day reverse repo rate by 25bps for the fourth straight month today, to 5.00%.The central bank cited its desire to support growth pre-emptively, manageable inflation, and still-attractive returns on domestic assets as the key factors behind its decision.
LONDON - No country is fully prepared for the next epidemic or pandemic, according to the first edition of the Global Health Security Index, released today. It shows that only 13 of nearly 200 countries score in the top tier, suggesting that most of the world would struggle to deal with a major outbreak of a deadly infectious disease, such as Ebola.
HONG KONG - A mini-budget announced by the Hong Kong Government, covering a third round of measures to support an economy battered by ongoing social unrest and the US/China, has been criticised by the banking and finance group Natixis as "small and regressive" given Hong Kong's "extremely difficult situation". The mini-budget covers measures worth just HK$2 billion.
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) and Shaanxi Province today signed an MoU in Xi'an to strengthen mutual communication and capital market co-operation, as well as to encourage more Shaanxi-based enterprises to list in Hong Kong.
HONG KONG - With China's GDP having expanded 6.2% on a year-to-date basis in Q3, ANZ Bank believes it is likely that the economy will maintain full-year growth at 6.0% in 2019, unless GDP growth falls below 5.5% y/y (or 1.0% q/q) in Q4.
TAIPEI - ANZ Bank says the 11th consecutive month of decline in Taiwan's export orders indicates lingering issues for Asia's tech outlook. "The export orders are a barometer of the health of the region's tech economy," ANZ says.
TOKYO -- After delaying it in two occasions, Prime Minister Abe finally had the courage to raise the consumption tax to 10% on October 1, sats the global financial group Natixis. But it criticises the Government's timing.
BEIJING - China will roll out more measures friendly to foreign investors, including the removal of more business restrictions and levelling the playing field for foreign businesses, according to a State Council statement from a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
BEIJING - China will step up its efforts to boost investment in the textile industry in Belt and Road (B&R) countries, according to the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC).
BANGKOK - Thailand is encouraging foreign investors to relocate to Thailand, with new investment incentives announced by the Thai government and the Thailand Board of Investment.
SINGAPORE - S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its 'BB' long-term and 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings on Vietnam, and says the outlook is stable. The transfer and convertibility assessment remains unchanged at 'BB'.
BEIJING - Multiple local governments in eastern China, some of the country's most developed and wealthiest regions, reported plummeting industrial profits for the first eight months of the year, according to a report in Caixin.
SINGAPORE -- S&P Global Ratings believes China would probably agree to a side deal on currency policy if it rests on allowing market forces to play a greater role. It says the U.S. has become fond of including currency provisions in its recent trade agreements, and these often require that countries refrain from exchange rate manipulation and competitive devaluations.
HONG KONG - Despite four months of protests, Hong Kong's well run and highly-profitable rated companies so far remain resilient - but as political and economic uncertainties pile up, there are multiple scenarios that could impact, says S&P Global Ratings in a report released today.