China

Businesses should get ready for more volatility in the Chinese yuan, regulator says
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, World

Businesses should get ready for more volatility in the Chinese yuan, regulator says

Jason Lee | Reuters BEIJING — China's foreign exchange regulator told businesses Friday to prepare for more volatility in the yuan. The Chinese currency, also known as the renminbi, strengthened roughly 1% this week against the U.S. dollar to levels not seen since July 2018. Less than five months ago, the yuan was at its weakest against the greenback since early 2008. Although that is based on a midpoint set by the central bank, the People's Bank of China, Beijing has been allowing markets to play a greater role in the exchange rate. One-year implied volatility of the yuan has climbed to 5%, versus less than 2% for previous years, indicating a basis of "increased flexibility" in the exchange rate, State Administration of Foreign Exchange spokeswoman Wang Chunying told reporters on Friday....
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South Korea Oct factory activity grows at fastest pace in more than 2 yrs
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

South Korea Oct factory activity grows at fastest pace in more than 2 yrs

SEOUL: South Korea's factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in October, a private-sector survey showed on Monday (Nov 2), as global demand picked up from its coronavirus slump. The IHS Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) jumped to 51.2, from 49.8 in September, the first expansion in 10 months and the highest reading since September 2018. The 50-mark threshold separates growth from contraction. That reflected the rise in major sub-indexes, with factory production and new orders logging their sharpest growth since April 2013. New export orders returned to growth for the first time in nine months, albeit at a subdued level. "October data marks a clear improvement in South Korea's manufacturing sector ... outright expansions in both output and new orde...
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Commentary: The world has big expectations for a Joe Biden presidency
11Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, Market, USA, World

Commentary: The world has big expectations for a Joe Biden presidency

Countries around the world hope to see huge efforts devoted to restoring US leadership and repairing alliances, say the Financial Times’ Katrina Manson, Aime Williams and Michael Peel. LONDON: Joe Biden has promised to put an end to Donald Trump’s isolationist, disruptive approach to global relations. But a Biden administration bid to restore American leadership will require time and political capital at a time when the superpower’s global role stands in doubt at home and abroad. While diplomats are not likely to hear the phrase “America First” for a while, Mr Biden will face challenges including countering China, re-entering the nuclear deal with Iran, resetting relations with Europe and dealing with the fallout of Brexit on the relationship with the UK. CHINA: LITTLE LET-UP IN PR...
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Potential stock winners and losers from Tuesday’s US election
8Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

Potential stock winners and losers from Tuesday’s US election

Tuesday's presidential election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden could have dramatic effects on various stocks and sectors, and investors have spent months trying to identify potential winners and losers. NEW YORK: Tuesday's presidential election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden could have dramatic effects on various stocks and sectors, and investors have spent months trying to identify potential winners and losers. A group of stocks seen benefiting from Biden's Democratic policies has outperformed those seen benefiting from Republican Trump. Over a two-month period that ended Wednesday, a "Biden basket" of stocks created by JPMorgan head of U.S. equity strategy Dubravko Lakos gained 4.5per cent versus a 16per cent drop ...
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Japan eases COVID-19 travel curbs for China, eight others
8Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Singapore, World

Japan eases COVID-19 travel curbs for China, eight others

TOKYO: Japan has eased travel curbs for China, Australia, South Korea and six other countries and regions, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Friday (Oct 30), as Tokyo steps up efforts to revive its economy while preventing the spread of COVID-19. Japan lowered its infection risk advisory level for Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, Brunei and Vietnam, besides China, South Korea and Australia, to 2 from 3, telling its citizens to avoid non-urgent, non-essential trips. Under the infection risk advisory level of 3, the public are instructed not to take any trips. Singapore and Japan launched a reciprocal green lane to facilitate short-term essential business and official travel between the two countries on Sep 18. The business track will allow the safe resumption of cr...
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India’s biggest festival Diwali to boycott Chinese products
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

India’s biggest festival Diwali to boycott Chinese products

While we’ve noted the extent to which markets have been flooded with ‘cheap quality yet affordable’ products from China, with PM Modi’s push towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, it seems changes can be plotted especially this festive season. As trends suggest, this is the peak season for huge amounts of imports from China to meet the demand of customers for diverse goods. Yet, this year has brought a twist in the tale. What accounted for almost 70-80% of market share some 5-6 years ago has fallen to a mere 10% share of imported Chinese goods this year. Traders importing Idols of gods and goddesses have declined rapidly. Forces behind this change range from anti-China product demonstrations to a significant change in consumer sentiments as demand for Made in India sees a rise. This in turn ha...
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Confrontation with China reboots Indian economy
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China

Confrontation with China reboots Indian economy

The tense relations due to border standoff between China and India led to a campaign by Indian traders to boycott Chinese products and Indian authorities mulling higher trade barriers. In terms of global value chains, India is looking to create its own industrial base and alternate global value chain, introducing many preferential policies, economic stimulus and incentives for Indian industry. Additionally, some Indian industrial sectors which rely on supplies from China are now looking to create alternate and reliable supply chains. China has been a top trading partner of India for years, while China's exports to India have accounted for about 2 percent of its total exports. India can take confidence East Asian countries who have developed highly integrated industrial chains. India...
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Swedish clothing icon H&M joins global clamour to end human rights abuses in Xinjiang
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China

Swedish clothing icon H&M joins global clamour to end human rights abuses in Xinjiang

Swirling reports about human rights abuses in Xinjiang are now beginning to hurt China's export-led economy, with Swedish clothing icon H&M deciding not to buy raw materials from the region's farms and factories suspected of using "forced labour". The fashion house said on Tuesday that it would no longer source cotton from Xinjiang-China's largest growing area of the cash crop. It also clarified that it did not work with any garment factory in the region. H&M said it had conducted "an inquiry at all the garment manufacturing factories we work with in China aiming to ensure that they are not employing workers ... through what is reported on as labour transfer programmes or employment schemes where forced labour is an increased risk." By de-linking from restive Xinjiang, where...
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Indian consumers and manufacturers getting sensitive to domination of Chinese goods in Indian market
7Nov By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Indian consumers and manufacturers getting sensitive to domination of Chinese goods in Indian market

China’s emergence as a recent economic superpower is in no small part due to its massive production industry. The coastal factory towns produce an assortment of goods — with equally varying degrees of quality — on an enormous scale and with low cost, only for them to be shipped off to the rest of the world. Cheap labour —allegedly through labour rights violations as well as slave labour — and brazen theft of intellectual property have played a fairly large hand in cementing the Communist state as a principal hub for free market production. Experts had prophesied a subsequent political transformation from communism into a democracy with the liberation of China’s economy. Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has pioneered a sinister amalgamation of the ugliest aspects of Marx...
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US targets Hong Kong leader but not banks in sanctions report
6Nov By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

US targets Hong Kong leader but not banks in sanctions report

WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday (Oct 14) renewed pressure against Hong Kong's leader, accusing her of undermining autonomy from China, but stopped short of imposing sanctions on banks under a tough new law. The State Department issued its first report mandated to Congress under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, a law passed by Congress aimed at making the tightening restrictions on the financial hub costly for Beijing. The report "underscores our ongoing objection to Beijing's actions that are intentionally designed to erode the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and impose the CCP's oppressive policies", the State Department said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. In line with the report, the Treasury Department added 10 people to its blacklist of "Specially Designate...
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