Asia

RCEP trade deal on track; To be signed by 2020-end: Singapore Minister
Asia

RCEP trade deal on track; To be signed by 2020-end: Singapore Minister

Singapore's Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing has said the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal was still on track and it would be signed by the end of 2020.RCEP brings together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The countries have made an offer to India, which pulled out of talks last November, to see if it is prepared to rejoin discussions. "If India is unable to rejoin the discussions in the coming month, then plans will continue to proceed with the legal scrubbing for the preparation for the siging at the end of the year," Chan told reporters. "At this point in time we are still on track for the signing by the RCEP countries at the end of the year," he added. Chan was s...
Hacker leaks details of 15 million users registered on Indonesia’s Tokopedia
Asia

Hacker leaks details of 15 million users registered on Indonesia’s Tokopedia

Tokopedia, Indonesia's largest online store, has been hacked by a hacker, who leaked details of 15 million users registered on. The hacker claims the data was obtained in an intrusion that took place in March 2020 and is just a small part of the site's entire user database that was obtained in the hack. The leaker said he was sharing the 15 million users sample in the hopes someone could help crack the user passwords, so they could be used to access user accounts. ZDNet has obtained a copy of the leaked file with the help of data breach monitoring service Under the Breach. The file was a PostgreSQL database dump, containing user information such as full names, emails, phone numbers, hashed passwords, dates of birth, and Tokopedia profile-related details (account creation date, last login, ...
Coronavirus pandemic leads to damage of 1 trillion baht to Thailand
Asia

Coronavirus pandemic leads to damage of 1 trillion baht to Thailand

The Covid-19 has caused the estimated damage of 1 trillion baht to Thailand’s national economy while business confidence for the first quarter has dropped to 47.2%, the lowest in nearly 2 years. This according to the report by the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasts of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. The centre did a survey of businesses between March 23 and April 17, asking about confidence in the national economy, currently enduring lockdown measures including suspension of visa-on-arrival facility for tourists and a ban on all incoming flights until at least the end of May. For an economy that derives 12-14% of its gross domestic product from tourism receipts, the impact of the pandemic has been disastrous, putting at least a million workers out of a job in the touris...
Tourism sector in Myanmar stares at 50% job cuts
Asia

Tourism sector in Myanmar stares at 50% job cuts

There is bad news for the workforce in Myanmar as the Union of Myanmar Travel Association (UMTA) has feared that over 50 percent of the people employed in the hotel and tourism industry may lose their jobs because of COVID-19.UMTA chairman U Naung Naung Han said many have made 50 to 70 percent of their staff redundant while others have reduced salaries as all hotels and tour operators have been forced to suspend operations.“As they are just focusing on survival, some companies have downsized. But some others which only have a workforce of 10 or so can’t further downsize. So they have reduced salaries,” he said. The UMTA estimates that around 800,000 people are directly employed in hospitality and the total number may be between 1.2 million and 1.5 million if indirect employment from servic...
Malaysia to ease lockdown, economic activities to resume
Asia

Malaysia to ease lockdown, economic activities to resume

Malaysia has decided to ease lockdown in the country and allow nearly all economic activities to  resume with new plans of lesser restrictions from Monday. Malaysian government will enforce guidelines for companies to ensure there are no large gatherings and people take precautions to reduce risk of infections, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address. Even so, companies are encouraged to let employees work from home if possible and to consider their childcare obligations, he said. Schools will remain shut, mass gatherings at religious and sports events aren’t allowed, and Malaysians can’t freely travel across states even during the Eid-al Fitr holiday, Muhyiddin said. The moves see Malaysia joining a wave of countries relaxing confinement measures that has hammered glob...
Nepal PM Oli invests in Thailand and Cambodia: reveals investigation
Asia

Nepal PM Oli invests in Thailand and Cambodia: reveals investigation

Prime Minister of Nepal K P Oli is found to have made heavy investments in companies located in Thailand and Cambodia, investigation into financial records by the authorities has revealed. According to sources, Dinesh Shresth, who is very close to Oli is the conduit for these investments, which are mainly done in Saha group of Thailand. Saha group, which was established in 1974, is USD 10 billion conglomerate with over 20 listed companies and has business interest in consumer goods, food, beverages and industrial development. The groups also owns a resort.Interestingly, the Saha group is currently headed by Boonsithi Chokwatana, who is Chinese origin Thailand national and is considered to be politically well-connected. Oli’s investment have been kept hidden from the public.The Saha Group, ...
Rs.7.5 billion allocated for Pakistan Railways ‘ML-1’ under CPEC
Asia

Rs.7.5 billion allocated for Pakistan Railways ‘ML-1’ under CPEC

The Federal Government of Pakistan has allocated Rs.6 billion for the up-gradation of Pakistan Railways existing Main Line-1 (ML-I) and establishment of Dry Port near Havelian Phase-1 under CPEC including Rs.500m as foreign component.Meanwhile, Rs 1.5 billion was also included in Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2020-21 for Preliminary design/drawings for up gradation and rehabilitation of main line (ML- 1) and establishment of Dry Port near Havelian under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).Rehabilitation and up gradation of Karachi-Lahore Peshawar (ML-1) Railway’s 1,872km long track is an important project of CPEC.The project includes doubling of entire track from Karachi to Peshawar. After its completion the speed of passenger trains will be raised from 65/110km per ho...
Game changer CPEC gets Rs21 billion in Pakistan’s 2020-21 budget
Asia

Game changer CPEC gets Rs21 billion in Pakistan’s 2020-21 budget

Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2020-21 has allocated Rs21 billion for projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - once considered a game changer for Pakistan.Except a few major road and rail projects under the CPEC, the PSDP does not allocate money for any significant scheme. There is no mention of any allocation for any of the much-discussed industrial zones, which were to be established under the CPEC to general industrial and economic growth of the country.The most conspicuous allocation under CPEC in the 2020-21 PSDP is for the construction of Zhob to Kuchlak Road, CPEC Western Corridor as Rs10 billion has been allocated for this project.For the upgradation of Pakistan Railways existing Main Line-1 (ML-I) and establishment of dry port ne...
Pakistan Budget 2020-21: CPEC placed in cold storage due to influence from West
Asia

Pakistan Budget 2020-21: CPEC placed in cold storage due to influence from West

Economist Dr Kasier Bengali has said that Pakistan’s economic policies are being made in Washington and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sent its people to sit in major institutions, which is why there is no mention of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the budget 2020-21.Speaking during a webinar organised by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) on Sunday, he said due to the influence from the West the government had placed CPEC in cold storage.“Pakistan’s economy is mainly relying on foreign loans, so the economic managers are trying to appease the IMF and other international lenders by not mentioning the CPEC,” Dr Bengali said.Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2020-21 has allocated Pakistani Rs 21 billion f...
Defence Budget: Pakistan’s misplaced priorities
Asia

Defence Budget: Pakistan’s misplaced priorities

For a country suffering through a pandemic and whose economy is crashing, putting more money for defence seems illogical. But this is exactly what the Imran Khan government has proposed in a grim reminder of how much Islamabad’s priorities are misplaced.The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government has proposed 11.9 per cent increase in the country’s defence budget.The budget document shows that the defence outlay for 2020-21 would be Pakistani Rs 1,289 billion as compared to Pakistani Rs 1,152 billion earmarked for the ongoing fiscal year.A closer look at the budget details revealed that Rs 1,289 billion figure does not include Pakistani Rs 369 billion allocated for pensions of retired military personnel and Pakistani Rs 324 billion for the armed forces development programme.“The defence budget...