Wednesday, April 24 2024 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
BEIJING - Market trackers say e-commerce is dramatically changing the face of upscale shopping in China, which is home to more consumers of luxury products than another country. Caixin describes the trend as a “one-two punch that has retail stores reeling”, with companies selling 83% of all high-end brands available in China downsizing their storefronts last year.
HONG KONG – Participants in this year’s Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong are bearish on prospects for the global economy in 2016, with a hard landing in China seen as the biggest risk. Real-time surveys held during AFF sessions on Monday and Tuesday of this week showed only 15.8% of participants optimistic about the global economic outlook, with 43.7% pessimistic, and 40.5% expressing a neutral view.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) today unveiled a three-year strategic plan to extend and deepen its value proposition as the Chinese and world markets accelerate their mutual integration. HKEX said it wants to be seen as the most effective platform for cross-border market access, and a unique destination market in Hong Kong for products with both Chinese and international relevance.
BEIJING – The Chinese shipping giant Cosco has acquired a 67% controlling stake in the Greek port of Pairaeus for EUR368.5 million, giving it control of the country’s biggest harbour and a key thoroughfare into Europe.
HONG KONG - Today’s announced Q4 GDP and a number of December activity indicators suggest an economic soft-landing has been achieved by China in 2015, despite a series of financial disruptions including stock market selloffs and unexpected devaluation of the RMB in the second half of the year, according to BBVA Bank economists Jinyue Dong and Le Xia.
SEOUL - Korea Customs Service for January-November 2015 show that exports of Korean-made cosmetics were worth more than US$2.64 billion for the period, the highest level yet. Cosmetics imports over the same period totalled US$1.56 billion.
MUMBAI – India’s economy is headed for 7.5 per cent growth in the fiscal year ending March 31, but China's devaluation of the yuan along with falls in prices of commodities have hit exports and inflation has increased to 5. 8% as prices of vegetables and fruit soar.
TAIPEI – The incoming Democratic Progressive Party Government in Taiwan will reportedly seek early talks to establish a Free Trade Agreement with Japan. The move would complement initiatives taken by the outgoing KMT Government to establish closer trade and diplomatic relations with Japan.
SINGAPORE - Recent turbulence in Singapore's corporate bond market is unlikely to subside in the next 12 months at least, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor's, which believes defaults or distressed exchanges are unlikely to remain concentrated in the energy and commodity sectors following falling prices.
JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points to 7.25% at today’s meeting. “All of the arguments the Bank used to justify today’s rate will equally apply in the months ahead, which is why we expect to see another 75bps of easing from Bank Indonesia in coming months with a cash rate of 6.50% struck early in Q3,” says ANZ Bank.
HONG KONG - The 2008/9 global economic crisis was caused by a "risk mismatch"; the next crisis may be a "liquidity mismatch", according to the economic analysis division of global asset manager Nataxis.
HO CHI MINH CITY - With 7% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015, Vietnam achieved an impressive GDP growth rate of 6.68% for the full year while inflation hit a 14-year low at just 0.6% on falling fuel prices. Manufacturing (expanding 10.6% in 2015 vs. 8.5% in 2014) remained a key growth driver, together with resilient domestic consumption and a recovering property market.
SINGAPORE -Standard & Poor's has assigned its 'BBB-' long-term issue rating to a proposed issue of senior unsecured notes by the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM India) and a BBB-/Stable/A-3) rating under its US$10 billion medium-term notes programme.
NEW DELHI - India’s December 2015 CPI inflation out-turn extended recent gains since hitting an eight- month low in August, limiting room for the Reserve Bank of India to exercise interest rate cuts later this year, according to BBVA Bank.
HONG KONG – China’s December trade data surprised on the upside with export growth coming in at minus1.4% year on year, the highest since June 2015, driven by better shipments to the EU. HSBC believes external demand may have picked up modestly towards the year-end, and that while exchange rate movements have also been a variable, thisimpact may not have been as important as the state of external demand.
TAIPEI – A Presidential election roundtable involving local academics and representatives of Taiwan’s three main political parties has addressed key issues shaping the January 16 race for the nation’s top job. A podcast of the event is available at http://www.icrt.com.tw/podcasts_details.php?pod_id=8&mlevel1=12&mlevel2=31