China

Disillusioned Wealthy Chinese Fleeing Country After Xi Jinping Re-Election
29Oct By Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Disillusioned Wealthy Chinese Fleeing Country After Xi Jinping Re-Election

After the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPP), all major stock markets fell sharply, reflecting the market's panic over the future situation in the country. Now, foreign capital is withdrawing from the Chinese market at record speed, and rich and wealthy people have started fleeing the mainland. So, why are investors so bearish on China's future prospects? “Xi Faction” is in total control of the “Power” as the new members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission belong to the Xi faction. Almost all the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee are his own family members. At the same time, the opposing “Tuan Faction”, which is more inclined to continue market ‘reform and opening...
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Asia’s factories sustain expansion, supply chain woes cloud outlook
18Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Asia’s factories sustain expansion, supply chain woes cloud outlook

Asia's factory activity continued to expand in May thanks to an ongoing recovery in global demand, surveys showed on Tuesday, though rising raw material costs and supply chain constraints clouded the outlook. TOKYO: Asia's factory activity continued to expand in May thanks to an ongoing recovery in global demand, surveys showed on Tuesday, though rising raw material costs and supply chain constraints clouded the outlook. A spike in COVID-19 infections in countries like Taiwan and Vietnam could disrupt semiconductor output and supply chains, posing a headache for manufacturers and weighing on Asia's export-driven recovery, analysts say. Japan and South Korea saw an expansion in factory activity moderate in May, purchasing managers' indexes (PMI) showed on Tuesday, underscoring the fr...
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HK’s Next Digital shares soar as trading resumes after Jimmy Lai assets frozen
18Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

HK’s Next Digital shares soar as trading resumes after Jimmy Lai assets frozen

Shares of tycoon Jimmy Lai's Next Digital Ltd were set to surge 142per cent on resumption of trade on Thursday, a week after authorities froze assets of its jailed owner under a sweeping national security law imposed on the financial hub by Beijing. HONG KONG -Shares in jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai's Next Digital Ltd soared on Thursday, the first day of trading after a suspension of longer than a week following a freeze in the pro-democracy activist's assets under the national security law. In a late Wednesday statement, the media publisher said it had enough working capital for at least 18 months from April 1 without additional funding from Lai, its controlling shareholder. Shares opened 141.9per cent higher at HKUS$0.45, the highest since December 2020, when Lai was charged under the s...
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Commentary: Targeted travel restrictions needed but careful not to undermine Changi Airport’s connectivity
18Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Commentary: Targeted travel restrictions needed but careful not to undermine Changi Airport’s connectivity

A handful of netizens have been calling for the aviation hub to close its doors to the world after a COVID-19 cluster there but IPS’ Faizal Yahya says be careful what you ask for. SINGAPORE: The recent wave of infections in Singapore, which included a COVID-19 cluster at Changi Airport last month, has prompted some calls for the suspension of passenger travel at the airport altogether. While many have called for an earlier tightening of restrictions of travel from certain places with surges in infections, which are reasonable, worryingly, there are some who have commented that Changi should also have been closed to inbound travelers to protect Singapore from bringing in COVID-19 cases into the country. “Can’t they just close the border for 14 days?” asked one. “How about a complet...
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Commentary: Why are the major G7 economies delaying a break with the fossil fuel industry?
18Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Commentary: Why are the major G7 economies delaying a break with the fossil fuel industry?

As long as fossil fuels remain profitable, governments are in an awkward position, say business lecturers. CARDIFF, Wales: The climate crisis was a hot topic at the G7 summit in Cornwall. Yet while the leaders of the world’s richest countries agree in theory on the need to reach net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest, they remain faithful to a fossil fuel industry reluctant to substantively change its business model. A recent report by the International Energy Agency, a typically conservative advisory body, argued for an immediate ban on new fossil fuel projects. But investments by oil, gas and coal companies into finding new sources continue, as does industry lobbying to undermine regulation. The environment ministers of the G7 countries committed to end funding for new overseas...
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Giving away 70,000 free meals in NYC’s Chinatown changed this bakery manager’s perspective on leadership
17Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Giving away 70,000 free meals in NYC’s Chinatown changed this bakery manager’s perspective on leadership

Patrick Mock, general manager of 46 Mott, and volunteers have delivered 70,000 free meals to low-income Chinatown residents in the last year. "There's never an easy day for me," Patrick Mock tells CNBC Make It over the phone as he surfaces from the New York City subway to Manhattan's Chinatown. Mock, 27, grew up in the neighborhood and has been the general manager of 46 Mott, a Cantonese-style bakery, for four years. And in the last year, he's taken up organizing efforts to help save struggling Chinatown businesses while also caring for the neighborhood's most vulnerable residents during the pandemic. He now spends his days running the bakery on top of making sure the meals program he launched last spring — where he hand-delivers free meals to Chinatown's elderly and unhoused — is running...
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China’s factory output, retail sales, investment all miss expectations in May
17Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

China’s factory output, retail sales, investment all miss expectations in May

BEIJING: Growth in China's factory output slowed for a third straight month in May, possibly due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 outbreaks in the country's southern export powerhouse of Guangdong. The Chinese economy has largely shaken off the gloom from the coronavirus-induced slump last year, but officials warn the foundations for the recovery are not yet secure amid challenges including rising raw material prices and global supply chain disruptions, especially a shortage of micro chips. Industrial production grew 8.8per cent in May from a year ago, slower than the 9.8per cent uptick in April, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday. That missed a 9.0per cent on-year rise forecast by analysts from a Reuters poll. Most China watchers had expected some moderation i...
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Philippines again suspends scrapping of troop pact with US amid China dispute
17Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

Philippines again suspends scrapping of troop pact with US amid China dispute

MANILA/WASHINGTON: The Philippines has again suspended a decision to scrap a crucial agreement governing the US troop presence in the country, its foreign minister said on Monday (Jun 14), amid continuing maritime pressure from China. The Pentagon welcomed the announcement from Manila - the third suspension of the decision covering the two-decade-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that had been due to expire in August - but analysts said there would be disappointment in both countries that it was not renewed. Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin said the suspension would be for a further six months while President Rodrigo Duterte "studies, and both sides further address his concerns regarding, particular aspects of the agreement". The Philippines is a US treaty ally and sever...
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Japan’s factory output rose in April on overseas demand for capital goods
16Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Japan’s factory output rose in April on overseas demand for capital goods

Japan's industrial output extended gains in April as manufacturers benefited from a recovery in appetite for capital goods, especially in key overseas markets. The world's third-largest economy is expected to grow in the current quarter at a much slower pace than previously thought, after the government extended COVID-19 emergency measures in Tokyo and other major areas. Separate data on Monday showed that retail sales, a key gauge of consumer spending, surged in April, thanks largely to favorable statistical base effects from a year earlier, when the country was under even stricter COVID-19 curbs. Official data released Monday showed factory output grew 2.5% from the previous month in April, as higher production of general-purpose and electrical machinery offset a contraction in cars a...
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Why France is a welcome security partner for Japan
16Jun By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, USA, World

Why France is a welcome security partner for Japan

This past week, French forces joined the Japan Self-Defense Force, Australian Defence Force and U.S. military for a multilateral amphibious exercise in Camp Ainoura, Sasebo. This marks the first time French ground forces have trained on Japanese soil in the postwar era. This training comes on the heels of two French naval vessels that made port in Kochi last month, en route to a joint maritime exercise with members of the so-called “Quad” (Australia, India, Japan and the United States). These activities are representative of the steps Japan is taking to diversify its portfolio of security partners, but many outside observers may now be asking the blunt but obvious question: Why France? Certainly, partnering with countries such as Australia and India makes sense given the centrality of J...
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