By David Brunnstrom | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Philip Bilden, a former military intelligence officer and private equity executive with broad experience of Asia, particularly China, as the civilian head of the U.S. Navy. Trump has vowed to build up the U.S. Navy to 350 ships from the current 290, a move aides say is aimed at countering China’s rapid rise as […]
HONG KONG It is a scene unlikely ever to become reality – American president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hugging and leaning in for a kiss on the bustling streets of Hong Kong. The lookalikes of the controversial leaders turned heads and prompted many giggles as they paraded down a busy shopping district to promote a Lunar New Year song on Wednesday. “Die, […]
Wednesday 14:35 GMT Overview Major global stock markets are rallying as the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaches 20,000 amid revived hopes for faster US growth. Benchmark sovereign bonds yields are rising, but oil and gold prices are moving lower despite a weaker dollar. Hot topic The “Trump trade” is back on and it has the Dow through 20,000 for the first time? The average, though a price-weighted […]
By James Pomfret and Fathin Ungku | HONG KONG/SINGAPORE HONG KONG/SINGAPORE Hong Kong said on Wednesday the Singapore government would not be criminally prosecuted over a licensing breach in the Chinese-ruled city in connection with the seizure of nine armoured vehicles in November. Hong Kong authorities seized the Singapore military’s troops carriers in November, as they were on their way home from military exercises in Taiwan. After […]
Bloomberg has gone where MSCI feared to tread, becoming only the second major index provider to include China’s onshore markets in widely-followed benchmark indices in a move that could prompt rivals to follow suit. China is home to the world’s second-largest stock market and the third-largest bond markets, but its tight control of onshore activity has made its inclusion in flagship indices contentious, with many investors arguing […]
Wednesday 05:05 GMT Overview Major stock markets across Asia were mostly positive, buoyed by a record high for the S&P 500 in the US and by stronger prices for base metals supporting materials stocks. Hot topic The Australian dollar was the big loser among Asian currencies, down 0.5 per cent at $0.7541 against its US counterpart after inflation data for the December quarter fell short of economists’ […]
24 January 2017 Warba Bank has today announced that, with immediate effect, Simon Clements has been named Chief Retail Banking Officer, taking over the responsibilities for Warba’s Retail Banking Group. In this role as Chief Retail Banking Officer, Clements will work towards enhancing customer experience and developing new and personalized products and services for our customers, significantly bettering our capability to support the Bank’s growing presence in […]
Oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has invited banks to pitch for an advisory position on what is expected to be the world’s biggest initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley and HSBC are among banks that have received the request for proposals, one of the sources told Reuters, with the other adding that the invitation was to evaluate Aramco’s […]
SINGAPORE – Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is opposed to the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR), a project for which China is among the contenders. Citing financial constraints, the former prime minister, who is chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, said the HSR contract signed between Malaysia and Singapore may not be a done deal if the Opposition comes to power. “We need to do a study […]
Photo Credit Celia Jacobs/ArtCenter ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — “My grandmother told me that the man is the head and the woman is the neck,” said an East European student in my class. “It makes me so mad. I don’t want to be the neck.” The other students in the class, all women, and none of them from the same country (and none from the United […]
21 January 2017 Abu Dhabi, UAE: Middle East Sulphur 2017, a new conference held from February 12-16, will highlight the ever-growing value of the commodity regionally and beyond. Often viewed as a by-product of the oil and gas industries, sulphur is now coming to the fore as its versatility and potential is realised by business leaders around the world. Sulphur is also the primary source in producing sulphuric […]
There was a noticeable political subtext to the recent London Fashion Week Men’s programme, where many of the designers used their collections to comment on current international problems and controversies. One of those embracing a sociopolitical theme was Sharjah-born Khalid Al Qasimi, whose collection was inspired by John Lennon’s “Bed-In” protest in an Amsterdam Hotel in 1969. While that concept seemed a long way from topical issues […]
Friday 21:00 GMT Overview Financial markets gave a relatively muted response to Donald Trump’s inaugural speech as US president, with US stocks edging higher, Treasuries putting in mixed performances and the dollar easing back against its main rivals. Oil prices rose sharply amid hopes that producers would show compliance to a global deal to cut output. Gold initially struggled for traction but held above the $1,200 an […]
Friday 05.10 GMT Overview Equities markets were mixed in Asian trading on Friday as the dollar ceded ground to regional currencies and China reported on-target economic growth ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump. Hot topic The dollar index measuring the greenback against a basket of peers fell 0.2 per cent after a two-day winning streak left it 0.8 per cent higher at Thursday’s close. […]
By Kevin Yao and Elias Glenn | BEIJING BEIJING China’s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, boosted by higher government spending and record bank lending, giving it a solid tailwind heading into what is expected to be a turbulent 2017. But Beijing’s decision to raise spending to meet its official growth target could exact a high price, as policymakers grapple with financial risks […]
Thursday 02.10 GMT Overview Asian equities regained upward momentum after comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen gave wings to a broad recovery for the dollar, weakening regional currencies. Hot topic The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of peers, was up 0.4 per cent after the Fed chair warned that if the US waited too long to continue raising rates, it risked […]
By Charlotte Greenfield | WELLINGTON WELLINGTON New Zealand cherry producers are flying helicopters low over their orchards to dry off raindrops and protect thousands of tonnes of their product headed to Asia to feed rapidly growing demand from Chinese New Year revelers. China has grown to become the second largest destination for New Zealand cherries after Taiwan in the past seven years. Together they take about 60 […]
By Saikat Chatterjee | HONG KONG HONG KONG Asian stock markets held near three-month highs on Wednesday as investors scooped up exporter shares after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump expressed concerns over a stronger dollar. In Asia, MSCI’s ex-Japan Asia-Pacific shares index .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.3 percent, just shy of a three-month high hit last Thursday. Stock markets in Hong Kong .HSI and China .SSEC led the gains. “Trump’s […]
Wednesday 02:20 GMT Overview Currency movements once again dominated trading in Asia as markets reacted to UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit blueprint and unexpected criticism of the dollar’s strength from US president-elect Donald Trump. Hot topic The dollar index, which measures the US currency against a basket of peers, was up 0.1 per cent at 100.470. It fell 0.8 per cent on Tuesday after comments from […]
As we observed in yesterday morning’s market wrap, while US market were taking the day off for the MLK holiday, China was busy defending an accelerating selloff across its stock markets. During Monday trading, having traded quietly lower for the past few days, Chinese stocks tumbled in early trading on the mainland and in Hong Kong’s offshore market amid weakness in Asian equities. The Shanghai Composite Index […]
Tuesday 02.00 GMT Overview Stocks were putting in a mixed performance in Asia, while currencies fluctuated as markets braced for the impact of a speech by UK Prime Minister Theresa May laying out her administration’s Brexit blueprint. Hot topic The Japanese yen rallied as some traders initially sought havens, strengthening as much as 0.3 per cent before swinging back to be 0.1 per cent weaker at ¥114.26 […]
BISHKEK A Turkish cargo jet crashed near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas airport on Monday, killing at least 37 people, most of them residents of a village struck by the Boeing 747 as it tried to land in dense fog, Kyrgyz officials said. According to the airport administration, the plane was supposed to make a stopover at Manas, near the capital city Bishkek, on its way from Hong Kong to […]
Source: United Nations University Hong Kong and Singapore in 2015 produced the highest volume of e-waste in the region, generating 21.7kg and 19.95kg, respectively, per capita. At 19.13kg per capita, Taiwan rounded up the top three e-waste producers, while China more than doubled its production between 2010 and 2015–at 107 percent–to 6.7 million tonnes. Across East and Southeast Asia, the average e-waste generation per capita was 10kg […]
China on Monday approved the resignations of two of Hong Kong’s top officials, including its financial secretary, paving the way for them to contest a March election to become the next chief executive of the financial hub. China’s State Council has accepted the resignations of financial secretary John Tsang, and of Carrie Lam, the city’s chief secretary, the official Xinhua news agency said. The former British colony […]
