BANGKOK Japan’s Emperor Akihito paid his respects to Thailand’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Sunday on a visit to Bangkok during which he will also see the new king. Akihito, 83, and Bhumibol, who died aged 88 in October after seven decades on the throne, had a close personal relationship that stretched back to the 1960s and strengthened ties between the two Asian monarchies. Akihito and Empress […]
China’s banking system has surpassed the eurozone’s to become the world’s largest by assets, a sign both of the country’s increased influence in world finance and its reliance on debt to drive growth since the global financial crisis. While China’s gross domestic product surpassed the EU’s economic bloc in 2011 at market exchange rates, its banking system did not take over the top spot until the end […]
Abu Dhabi’s government-owned power utility aims to close a financing package for a 3.2 billion dirham ($872 million) solar power plant, which will be the world’s largest, in April, a senior official at the utility said on Sunday. Last week, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) said it had selected a consortium of Japan’s Marubeni Corp and China’s JinkoSolar Holding to build and operate the 1,177 […]
BEIJING The killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau may be top news around the world, but for some Macanese legislators at China’s parliament it’s more a case of Kim Jong Who? Kim Jong Nam was killed on Feb. 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysian police believe he was assaulted by two women who […]
Zuma arrives in Indonesia for IORA Summit and state visit TMG Digital | 2017-03-05 12:39:21.0 President Jacob Zuma arrives in Indonesia. Image by: Twitter/PresidencyZA President Jacob Zuma has arrived in Indonesia to attend the Summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Business Forum and Leaders’ Summit in the Asian state. He is also on a state visit to the Asian country at the invitation of President Joko […]
A historic change in party rules has handed Shinzo Abe the possibility of becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister in more than half a century. The revision, which would allow Mr Abe to stay in power until 2021, marks a stunning turnaround for a country long known for its revolving door of prime ministers to becoming one of the most stable governments among the group of seven leading […]
After the Android bug bounty, Chinese researchers now receive the most rewards and the most cash from Google. Image: Google Google has raised its top reward for remote code execution bugs in its Google, Blogger and YouTube domains from an even $20,000 to $31,337, marking a 50 percent rise plus a bonus $1,337 or ‘leet‘ reward. It’s also bumped up its ‘Unrestricted file system or database access’ […]
China has lowered its annual economic growth target to “around” 6.5 per cent, as Beijing plans to focus on risk control in the final year of President Xi Jinping’s first term. The figure, down from the government’s target growth range of 6.5 to 7 per cent for 2016, was revealed on Sunday morning by Premier Li Keqiang in his annual “work report” to China’s parliament, the National […]
By Christian Shepherd and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING China pledged more support to its military on Sunday including strengthening maritime and air defences amid efforts to safeguard sovereignty, but in a highly unusual move did not give spending figures for 2017 despite promises of transparency. Parliament’s spokeswoman Fu Ying said on Saturday defence spending for this year would rise about 7 percent, accounting for around 1.3 […]
By Kevin Yao and Xiaochong Zhang | BEIJING BEIJING China has cut its growth target this year as the world’s second-largest economy pushes through painful reforms to address a build-up in debt and strives to keep a lid on risks in its financial sector. China aims to expand its economy by around 6.5 percent in 2017, Premier Li Keqiang said at the opening of the annual meeting […]
Families of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday launched a campaign to privately fund a search for the aircraft.Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, nearly three years ago, on March 8, 2014.Australia, Malaysia, and China jointly called off a two-year underwater search for the aircraft in January.Grace Nathan, a Malaysian lawyer whose mother, Anne Daisy, […]
Giant pandas have the scientific community’s attention not only because of the animal’s cuteness but because it has been on the endangered species list for the past decade. Only having been removed in September 2016 — when its population finally increased by 17 percent between 2004 and 2014 — pandas are still considered vulnerable. China, however, disagrees with the removal. Despite the roller-coaster ride concerning its endangered species status, […]
Emerging markets had a third month of strong inflows into their equities and bonds in February, in a further sign of reviving optimism over an asset class that was expected to be caught in the crosshairs of any US move to protectionism. There were cross-border flows to EM assets of more than $17bn in the month, up from just over $14bn in January, data from the Institute […]
PARIS/LONDON France’s PSA Group (PEUP.PA) is set to announce a deal to buy Opel from General Motors (GM.N) on Monday after striking an agreement with the U.S. carmaker and winning the blessing of its board for the acquisition. The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS cars said on Saturday it would hold an early Monday press conference with GM, at which the transaction is expected to be […]
KUALA LUMPUR Families of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on Saturday launched a campaign to privately fund a search for the aircraft. Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, went missing on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, nearly three years ago, on March 8, 2014. Australia, Malaysia, and China jointly called off a two-year underwater search for the aircraft in January. Grace Nathan, a […]
By Minami Funakoshi | TOKYO TOKYO U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to visit Japan, South Korea and China this month to discuss North Korea on his first trip to the region since he took up his post, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Tillerson’s trip would come as the United States and China try to put relations on an even keel after a rocky start […]
WASHINGTON The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday it had made a final finding that the U.S. industry was being harmed by the dumping and subsidization of imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from China. The finding allows for the final imposition of duties by the U.S. Commerce Department. The investigation into the imports was prompted by a petition from Nucor Corp and U.S. […]
General Motor’s (GM’s) European car brand Opel will soon come under the PSA Group. The French automaker is quite close to completing a deal with Detroit-based car maker GM on Monday, March 6. GM it seems is finally dumping its European car business which was long standing and losing out money making its car business unprofitable. The acquisition was made in order to give a boost to GM’s […]
With its high growth rates and huge potential, battery demand is a key focus for metals markets. If 2016 was all about lithium, then 2017 should see cobalt start to attract greater attention. Prices have already accelerated to levels last seen in 2011, as rising demand from the core portable electronics meets relatively stagnant supply growth. And while risks remain — technological on the demand side and […]
By Michael Martina and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING Defying pressure for a strong increase in defence spending, China said on Saturday its military budget this year would grow about 7 percent, its slowest pace since 2010. Last year, with China’s economy slowing, the defence budget recorded its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 percent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run […]
By Benjamin Kang Lim and Philip Wen | BEIJING BEIJING China’s sweeping overhaul of its anti-corruption architecture could enable President Xi Jinping to justify retaining his key ally and top graft buster Wang Qishan beyond retirement age, sources with ties to the leadership say. Breaking the unwritten retirement rule could also set a precedent for Xi, 63, to defy current expectations that he will step down as […]
03 March 2017 The Roads and Transport Authority – Nashwan Atta’ee: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has felicitated its best contractors and vendors in recognition of their contribution to supporting RTA’s achievements in public transport, infrastructure and other services in 2016. Attendees in the award ceremony, which had taken place in RTA Auditorium, included CEOs and Directors of RTA as well as representatives of RTA contractors […]
Najib Razak says this will enable the airport to handle bigger aircraft, such as the Airbus 330, and more flights from China. SANDAKAN: Prime Minister Najib Razak today announced the extension of the Sandakan airport runway that would make direct and chartered flights from China possible. The prime minister said the contract price was being determined at the moment. “I have asked the transport minister (Liow Tiong […]
BEIJING China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said it had expressed concern about a large-scale joint military exercise between South Korean and U.S. troops that began this week. The exercise, called Foal Eagle, comes amid heightened tension following the latest test launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea on Feb. 12. Previous such exercises have prompted threats by Pyongyang to launch military action in retaliation. “We have […]
