Wednesday, April 24 2019 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
HONG KONG - while the depressed level of financial markets in the United States and the euro zone currently is compatible with the assumption of a recession in 2019, the French banking group Natixis believes there will be a cyclical slowdown, not a recession.
TAIPEI - Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the signing into law by U.S. President Trump of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 by saying the friendship and support extended to Taiwan by the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. is "sincerely appreciated by the Government and people".
TAIPEI - Taiwan was willing to engage in negotiations with China, but all political consultations must be authorised and monitored by the people, and no individual or group had the right to represent the public in such talks, Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, has declared.
BEIJING - China's Southeast University in Jiangsu province says a team there has begun to research 6G mobile networks.
A report by China's State newsagency, Xinhua, says that, compared with 5G technologies, 6G will cover an even wider range of fields, with higher speeds and greater security.
BEIJING - Consumption is expected to remain the largest contributor to China's economic growth in 2019, a Ministry of Commerce official said. China's State newsagency, Xinhua, said consumption is expected to contribute 65% of economic growth in 2019, with an expected 9% increase in total retail sales of consumer goods. www.webershandwick,cn (ATI).
SINGAPORE - Recently-proposed reforms in China clear up some of the policy risk for toll-road investments and operations, and are generally credit neutral to positive for the sector, according to S&P Global Ratings, which believes the proposals highlight the Central Government's attempts to balance its goal of containing logistical costs while also assuring the long-term sustainability of the toll-road sector.
SEOUL - A British economic think tank is predicting that Korea will rise to become one of the world's 10 largest economies by 2026 - and that it could rank sixth in 2030 if reunification of the Korean Peninsula occurs.
SEOUL - For the first time in 70 years, roads and railways connecting the two Koreas have been reconnected, laying the foundation for the Northeast Asian Railway Community proposed by South Korea's President, Moon Jae-in. The two Koreas held a ground-breaking ceremony on December 26 at Panmun Station in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong for the connection and modernisation of inter-Korean railways along the western Gyeongui and eastern Donghae rail lines.
SEOUL - In a personal letter to South Korea's President, Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his intent to hold inter-Korean meetings more often and to work together for peace, prosperity and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. In the letter, Kim expressed disappointment for not making a reciprocal trip to Seoul this year, but expressed a strong willingness to eventually do so, according to a spokesperson for the South Korean President.
BEIJING - China's State newsagency, Xinhua, is reporting that China's foreign trade will maintain steady growth in 2018, as the country's economy posted stable performance amid mounting external uncertainties, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
SEOUL - South Korea says a ground-breaking ceremony is slated for Deccember 26 at Panmun Station in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong to mark the connection of the Gyeongui and Donghae rail lines between the two Koreas, as well as modernisation of related facilities in the North.
HONG KONG - The global economy may encounter increasing uncertainties and slower growth in the year to come, according to a survey of exporters released today bys the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
PNOMH PENH - Ratings agency Standard and Poors expects economic risk in Cambodia's banking sector to remain high by global standards, reflecting the country's low income level, underdeveloped economy, and constrained monetary and fiscal flexibility.
HONG KONG - The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) has published the findings of its latest review of listed companies' corporate governance along with updated guidance materials on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
BEIJING - China has become the second largest trading partner of Latin America, while Latin America is ranked the second for Chinese overseas investment, following Asia, according to China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC).
HONG KONG - In the run-up to the Trump-Xi Summit under the aegis of the G20, it seems increasingly clear that even if an agreement were to be reached, it would be more of a truce than a final settlement of the trade war, according to a research note from Natixis.