Wednesday, April 24 2024 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
BEIJING - China nuclear giant CGN says it has partnered with French new-energy firm Eolfi in a winning tender for a floating wind power project in France. A consortium led by CGN European Energy and Eolfi won the 24MW project, which will be at sea off the island of Groix in Brittany.
SINGAPORE - Asia Pacific hotel investment volumes in the first half of this year climbed 13.2% to US$3.8 billion compared to the same period last year as yields recovered to pre-global financial crisis levels, according to a report by real estate consultancy JLL.
SINGAPORE - Singapore’s GIC Pte Ltd, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has warned that investment returns over the next two decades will be “significantly lower” than in the past 30 years.
NEW DELHI - The possibility of India’s Goods and Services Tax being passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament together with the revival of the south-west monsoon hold out the promise of higher quality growth and lower inflation for India - but a recovery in the investment cycle is probably confidence-dependent and will need to be preceded by the GST and good monsoon rains before it starts to materialise, ANZ Bank says in a research note.
ADELAIDE – Yalumba in August will become the first wine company to showcase at the world’s second-largest international beer and food festival in South Australia’s China Sister State of Shandong. More than four million visitors are expected.
BANGKOK – The global PIC/S Secretariat (Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention and Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme) has formally informed Thailand's Food and Drug Administration that its membership application has been accepted and will become effective from August 1. This makes Thailand the 49th Participating Authority, following Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia from ASEAN countries.
BEIJING – China’s State planning organisation, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has announced plans to expand China’s current high-speed rail system into a network of 16 rail corridors by 2030, under a programme that serves the dual purpose of providing better transport services for China’s 1.3 billion people while also spending hundreds of billions of dollars to support the economy.
TOKYO - More monetary and fiscal stimulus is coming Japan’s way, perhaps in a manner that is more radical than the norm, in a bid to sustainably reflate Japan’s economy out of its funk, ANZ Bank says in a new research report, pointing to a policy meeting of Bank of Japan this coming Friday (July 29).
BEIJING - A document jointly released by China’s Central Committee and the State Council says China will overhaul its investment and financing system to stimulate market vitality in the economic downturn. The State newsagency Xinhua reported Government plans to cut red tape, improve supervision and encourage enterprises to invest.
SINGAPORE - S&P Global Ratings has raised China's annual growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017, following the country's stronger-than-expected GDP print for the second quarter of 2016. It now sees real GDP expanding at 6.6% this year and 6.3% next year, both about 0.25% higher than previous forecasts. The 2018 GDP growth forecast remains at 6.0%.
HONG KONG - China's corporate sector will come under increasing strain this year as economic growth slows, industrial overcapacity crimps profitability and cash flow, and an elevated appetite for expansion weakens leverage, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. "China now has the highest corporate leverage among major industrial countries, with an average debt-to-GDP ratio of about 160%, said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Christopher Lee.
BEIJING – Start-ups looking for funding to develop next-generation technology like artificial intelligence and robotics, are increasingly likely to find it in China, according to China’s State-run newsagency, Xinhua.
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – In a keynote address to the opening session of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) here, South Korea’s President, Park Geun-hye, has called for ASEM to adopt a more pro-active stance in terms of trade and economic policies. “Now is the time to talk about ways to solidify the foundation of free trade around the world and to address economic gaps among nations,” she said.
HONG KONG – China’s State Administration of Taxation (SAT) has finally released its long-awaited Bulletin 42 to revise transfer pricing documentation requirements. The effect of the Bulletin is retrospective to January 1, 2016. In a Client Alert, lawyers Baker & McKenzie say Bulletin 42 will have a far-reaching impact on taxpayers.
HONG KONG - China's economy grew slightly faster than financial markets expected in the second three months of 2016, expanding by 6.7% from the same period a year ago to stay flat at the pace set in Q1 when growth chalked up its slowest quarter since 2009. HSBC's Asia Pacific head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance, Siew Meng Tan, says the data shows the need for businesses to remain vigilant as the economic cycle evolves.
HONG KONG - A more transparent FX policy has helped alter the perception of RMB depreciation from fear to acceptance, HSBC says in a research note. The bank says the RMB's overvaluation is reducing but more weakness is likely, and it maintains its forecast of USD-RMB at 6.90 by the end of 2016. “FX outflows have slowed and are changing, reflecting China's rising role as a capital exporter,” HSBC says.