China

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...

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...

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...

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...