Sunday, December 3 2023 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
HONG KONG -- August real economic indicators further confirmed a continuing deceleration of growth in mainland China amid recent regulatory storms and Delta variant virus flare-ups as industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment all tumbled.
VIENNA -- New research published by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) says pockets of funders continue to finance additional coal-fired generation capacity in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. It says Chinese state-owned institutions and the world's largest banks continue to finance coal power in countries with greatest needs for electricity access, with US$42 billion committed to grid-connected coal power plants between 2013-2019 in 18 countries studied.
TOKYO -- While global financial markets became more optimistic from March 2020 after the announcement of massive stimuli globally as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese investors have remained cautious in investing overseas, according to a new report from global financial group Natixis. Even in the first half of 2021, the report says, Japanese investors have been trimming their portfolio investment overseas.
BANGKOK - Thailand's Board of Investment has announced a range of new incentives to promote additional business activities as the country moves to alleviate the impact of COVID-19. Lawyers Baker McKenzie summarise the incentive areas as follows:
HANOI -- Economic activity in Vietnam contracted for the fourth consecutive month in August, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to be felt. High frequency mobility data pointed to a deep slump in domestic demand.
SINGAPORE -- Growth outlooks for the remainder of 2021 have weakened moderately in Asia-Pacific due to persistent COVID-19 waves, with S&P Global Ratings now projecting Asia-Pacific growth at 6.7% this year, down from its previous forecast of 7.5%.
SINGAPORE - Banking major UOB today announced that it will invest up to $500 million in digital innovation initiatives as it seeks to double the retail customers it serves digitally to more than seven million across ASEAN by 2026.
SINGAPORE -- Recent power outages and production suspensions in some parts of China are mainly due to the country's decarbonisation goal and a supply-demand gap in power generation, according to ANZ Bank analysts.
SINGAPORE -- S&P Global Ratings has affirmed its 'AA+' long-term and 'A-1+' short-term issuer credit ratings on Hong Kong. The outlook remains stable, and the transfer and convertibility assessment is unchanged at 'AAA'.
GENEVA - August 2021 data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for global air cargo markets shows demand continuing its strong growth trend -- but pressure on capacity is rising.
BANGKOK -- The Bank of Thailand (BoT) today kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.50% in a unanimous decision, a shift from the previous meeting when there were two voters in favour of a cut.
HONG KONG - New Chinese PMI data shows that a decline in orders and rising prices in upstream industries have placed smaller Chinese firms at a disadvantage relative to their peers.
GENEVA -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the recovery in air travel decelerated in August compared to July as government actions in response to concerns over the COVID-19 Delta variant cut deeply into domestic travel demand.
SYDNEY -- More lockdowns mean a sharper 3Q21 downturn for Australia, then a gradual recovery as vaccination rates pick up, says HSBC, which has lowered its 2021 growth forecast to 3.5% (from 4.5%) and lifted its 2022 growth forecast slightly to 2.5% (from 2.4%).
HONG KONG - Ratings agency Standard and Poors believes Asia-Pacific monetary authorities will likely continue to partner with commercial banks if, and when, they roll out central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)."Central banks will likely lean toward a model where banks and other financial intermediaries continue to play a strong intermediation role, rather than one where central banks alone manage their digital currencies," said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Gavin Gunning.
SINGAPORE -- Indonesia's proposed 2022 budget deficit of 4.85% of GDP reflects continuing fiscal strain from combatting COVID-19.