World

SHANGHAI: Beaten-down dollar bonds issued by Chinese property developers are enticing domestic and global fund managers, some of whom are even planning to launch new funds targeting bargains as Beijing relents in its concerted drive to clean up the sector. Jupai Holdings Ltd, a Chinese wealth manager, plans to start a fund to bet on such offshore Chinese property bonds. "I think roughly half of the developers' dollar bonds were slaughtered by mistake," Jupai Chairman Jianda Ni said. "We will spot value in what others dumped as trash." The investment appeal of the fallen angels in the property sector has grown on the heels of moves by China to ease some of the financial and regulatory constraints it imposed last year. Curbs on borrowings by big real estate developers have driven China'...

BEIJING — International investors are putting more money into Chinese stocks, even as local investors have remained cautious on the mainland markets. Mainland Chinese stock funds saw net inflows of $16.6 billion in January — only the fourth time since the pandemic that monthly inflows have exceeded $10 billion, according to research firm EPFR Global. That followed nearly $11 billion in net inflows in December, the data showed. "Investor interest in China has actually strengthened coming into the fourth quarter of last year," Cameron Brandt, director of research at EPFR, said in a phone interview last week. "The driver there I think is a perception — especially among institutional investors — that in the emerging markets space, China is, for a variety of reasons, something of a safe play th...

SINGAPORE: More than 46,000 workers have received job placement assistance from the National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, NTUC said on Monday (Feb 7). Between February 2020, when the NTUC Job Security Council was founded, and December 2021, e2i helped these workers “through various efforts such as matching displaced workers into new jobs or helping workers transit to secondary jobs”, the confederation said in a statement following a sharing session outlining its plans for 2022. “NTUC will continue to pay close attention to safeguard our workforce income security and growth – with better wages from better jobs and relevant skills, our workers will be equipped with an added level of protection when copi...

While most diplomats at an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting condemned Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s government for escalating tensions with Ukraine, China’s envoy carefully avoided any mention of Moscow. “All parties concerned must exercise restraint and avoid any action that may fuel tensions,” Ambassador Zhang Jun said late Monday as part of a six-sentence statement. “The current situation in Ukraine is a result of many complex factors. China always makes its own position, according to the merits of the matter itself.” The brief remarks contrasted with a lengthy joint statement earlier this month following Putin’s first in-person meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in two years. Afterward, Xi backed Russia’s demand for binding security guarantees from the U.S. and...

NEW YORK: US air safety regulators said Tuesday (Feb 15) they will perform final inspections on new Boeing 787 planes, retaining an authority normally granted to jet manufacturers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the policy was needed until the agency is "confident" Boeing has addressed issues that have led to the halting of deliveries of new 787 Dreamliner planes since May. "The FAA today informed Boeing that the agency will retain the authority to issue airworthiness certificates for all Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft," the agency said. "This will allow the agency to confirm the effectiveness of measures Boeing has undertaken to improve the 787 manufacturing process." The policy will remain in place until Boeing meets the FAA's standards for quality and manufacturing p...

As the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing entered their second week, reports emerged of a controversy that symbolized a predicament threatening two of the globe’s biggest sporting events. It had nothing to do with doping, dubious scoring, collusion or corruption. Rather, the Olympic flame — that emblem of peace and solidarity ignited quadrennially in Greece by the sun’s rays — had apparently been snuffed out. In an echo of 2008, when a relay torch was rumored to have been extinguished during pro-Tibet protests in the buildup to the Beijing Summer Games, Chinese officials insisted the flame had in fact remained alight, and a snowstorm had merely “affected visibility.” In truth, the Olympic flame has been flickering unsteadily for some time, its longevity jeopardized by waning interest and r...

Major tech companies are opening offices in Atlanta, hoping to capitalize on the technology talent in the city, especially the Black talent. Silicon Valley-based Apple and Google parent Alphabet as well as Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft have all set up shop in Atlanta in recent years. Headquartered near San Francisco, payments giant Visa is also opening a new office in Atlanta later this year, and its chief diversity officer will be based there, with a focus on building connections with various start-ups and workers. "We know that our customer base at all levels includes the Black community, and we are not shy about wanting the Black community in our workforce," Visa's diversity chief, Michelle Gethers-Clark, told CNBC. Atlanta-based Georgia Tech produces the most technology gradu...

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s tourism numbers hit new lows in 2021, but there have been “encouraging signs of recovery” amid the introduction of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) and strong domestic consumption, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Tuesday (Jan 25). In 2021, there were 330,000 visitor arrivals and an estimated S$1.9 billion in tourism receipts – much lower than the 2.7 million arrivals and S$4.8 billion in receipts in 2020. It is also “only a fraction” of the 19 million visitors and S$27.7 billion in receipts from before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. But STB noted some upsides such as year-on-year growth in the last three quarters of 2021. “The introduction of various travel arrangements, such as VTLs, has encouraged the gradual return of international travellers. “Domest...

KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore and Malaysia are in talks about allowing more people to travel via vaccinated travel lanes (VTL), but a decision on the matter will depend on the COVID-19 situation in both countries, said Singapore’s High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon on Friday (Jan 28). Mr Menon said he was “hopeful” the quota would be increased in the coming months. Singapore and Malaysia launched air and land VTLs in November. The air VTL is between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with the land VTL via the Causeway by bus. In December, both countries froze all new ticket sales for VTL flights and buses between Dec 23 and Jan 20 amid fears of the spread of the Omicron variant. Ticket sales from Jan 21 on air and land VTLs have been capped at 50 per cent of ...

Throughout South and Southeast Asia, militaries have seized the reins of power or become increasingly involved in politics — more so than at any time in recent years. Just 10 years ago, there were no militaries fully in control of governments in South or Southeast Asia. Today, in Myanmar and Thailand, the armed forces are in direct or de facto control of those countries. In states such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines, the militaries play growing — even dominant — roles in civilian politics once again. The effects of renewed military meddling on democracies, societies and economies often are devastating. They tend to make it hard for countries to return to democracy, spark significant bloodshed and create governments that are terrible at ruling. Yet although coups an...