World

Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China
19Aug By Mike Trudell1 Comment
China, Market, World

Taiwanese firms shift focus to India amid fallout with China

Drawn by India’s giant market, inexpensive skilled workforce and tax breaks, Taiwanese firms are apparently pivoting to India and leaving China behind.According to media reports, firms from Taiwan are seeking to reduce their reliance on mainland China. A Taiwanese company Pegatron, an assembly partner for the US tech giant Apple, earlier in July announced that it was applying for permits to set up its first plant in India.The firm, which reported revenue of USD 44.8 billion in 2019, normally offshores its orders to its factories in mainland China. But analysts and the Taiwanese government said the firm’s swing into India is only the latest example of a trend that has been gaining pace over the past four years as ties between India and Taiwan strengthened.According to the Taiwan Bureau of F...
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‘We are a battleground now’: In Southeast Asia, U.S.-China tensions flare on social media
19Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, Singapore, USA, World

‘We are a battleground now’: In Southeast Asia, U.S.-China tensions flare on social media

Tensions between the United States and China over the South China Sea have erupted into a war of words on social media, in what analysts see as a change in U.S. strategy amid a burgeoning superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia. After Washington last week hardened its position by explicitly rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, U.S. embassies in the region produced an unprecedented flurry of op-eds and statements criticizing Beijing's actions. China's response was fiery, accusing Washington of "defaming China with untrue words so as to mislead the public" in the region. "We are a battleground now," Renato de Castro, an analyst with the Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Relations in the Philippines, told Reuters by phone. "It will be a long gam...
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New company by Temasek, Bayer to develop vegetable seed varieties for vertical farming
19Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, USA, World

New company by Temasek, Bayer to develop vegetable seed varieties for vertical farming

SINGAPORE: Singapore state investment firm Temasek has joined hands with the impact investment arm of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer to form a company that aims to develop new varieties of vegetable seeds better suited for indoor vertical farms. The new company, Unfold, will be headquartered in Davis, California, and plans to have commercial and research and development (R&D) operations in both the United States and Singapore. Unfold has raised US$30 million from Temasek and Bayer in its initial funding round, which will go into getting its R&D capabilities in place, said CEO John Purcell on Wednesday (Aug 12). “Initially, Bayer and Temasek have equal ownership of Unfold, but this may change over time. Unfold has the flexibility to seek investment from other compan...
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Myanmar to involve foreign partners in China-funded mega city project
17Aug By Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

Myanmar to involve foreign partners in China-funded mega city project

In another pushback against China, Myanmar has decided to involve international partners in a key project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) - the Chinese funded mega Yangon City Project.The Myanmar government has decided to open up the project for other foreign firms besides China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), as it is not keen that one single company dominates the mega project, according to sources with knowledge on the matter.According to sources, the project has been a source of controversy due to its flood-prone location as well as the CCCC’s involvement.“The CCCC has been accused of corruption relating to development deals in at least 10 countries in Africa and Asia”, they said.During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Myanmar early this year, the two sides had ...
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‘Ugly face’: US and China trade barbs in Myanmar as South China Sea rift deepens
4Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

‘Ugly face’: US and China trade barbs in Myanmar as South China Sea rift deepens

NAYPYITAW: China's embassy in Myanmar on Sunday (Jul 19) accused the United States of “outrageously smearing” the country and driving a wedge with its Southeast Asian neighbours over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong, as tensions mount between the superpowers. Responding to US claims that Beijing was undermining the sovereignty of its neighbours, the Chinese embassy said US agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and had showed a "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face". The United States last week hardened its position on the South China Sea, saying it would back countries in the region that challenge Beijing’s claim to about 90 per cent of the strategic waterway. In a statement on Saturday, the US embassy in Yangon called China's actio...
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China’s economy is recovering. That’s good news for Southeast Asia
4Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Asia, China, World

China’s economy is recovering. That’s good news for Southeast Asia

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk along a road in the Central Business District in Beijing on July 16, 2020. Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images Southeast Asian nations will likely benefit from China's economic rebound as the country commands a "lion's share" of regional exports, one economist said this week. China on Thursday said its gross domestic product grew by 3.2% for the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same period a year ago. The country's GDP shrank by 6.8% in the first quarter, when lockdowns were in place due to the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts were expect GDP to grow only 2.5% for the April to June quarter. "While numerous challenges remain, the uptick would rekindle hopes that China's economy can help to pull others along," Wellian Wiranto, an economist at OCBC Bank, w...
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Singapore, US agree on importance of COVID-19 vaccines being made available globally: MFA
4Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
Singapore, World

Singapore, US agree on importance of COVID-19 vaccines being made available globally: MFA

SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday (Aug 4) agreed on the importance of ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines will be made available globally. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said, in a telephone call that Dr Balakrishnan received from Mr Pompeo, the two discussed collaboration in the research and development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. They also talked about the possibility of leveraging the strong US commercial presence in Singapore, including in pharmaceuticals, said MFA in a press statement. The statement added: “Both sides welcome the new areas of bilateral cooperation in infrastructure and trade as well as customs facilitation which will increase bilateral trade and st...
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China’s economy seen growing 2.5per cent in second quarter as lockdowns end, stimulus kicks in: Reuters poll
4Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

China’s economy seen growing 2.5per cent in second quarter as lockdowns end, stimulus kicks in: Reuters poll

China's economy likely returned to modest growth in the second quarter after a record contraction, as lockdown measures ended and policymakers announced more stimulus to combat the shock from the coronavirus crisis, according to a Reuters poll. BEIJING: China's economy likely returned to modest growth in the second quarter after a record contraction, as lockdown measures ended and policymakers announced more stimulus to combat the shock from the coronavirus crisis, according to a Reuters poll. The world's second-largest economy likely grew 2.5per cent in April-June from a year earlier, reversing a 6.8per cent decline in the first quarter - the first contraction since at least 1992 when official quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) records started, the poll showed. But the expected...
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Oil rises after surprise drop in US inventories offsets demand concerns
4Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
World

Oil rises after surprise drop in US inventories offsets demand concerns

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an industry report showed that crude inventories in the United States increased against expectations, giving the market a boost amid record increases of coronavirus infections in the U.S. and elsewhere. TOKYO: Oil prices rose on Wednesday after an industry report showed that crude inventories in the United States decreased against expectations, giving the market a boost amid record increases of coronavirus infections in the U.S. and elsewhere. Brent crude was up by 24 cents, or 0.6per cent, at US$43.46 a barrel by 0041 GMT, after dropping 0.4per cent on Tuesday. U.S. oil gained 14 cents, or 0.3per cent, to US$41.18 a barrel, having dropped 1.4per cent in the previous session. Inventories of crude oil in the U.S. dropped by 6.8 million barrels last...
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China reports 5 new COVID-19 cases on Jul 2
3Aug By Desk TeamNo Comments
China, World

China reports 5 new COVID-19 cases on Jul 2

SHANGHAI: China on Friday (Jul 3) reported five new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Jul 2, compared with three cases a day earlier, the health authority said. Three of the new infections were imported cases, the National Health Commission said in a statement, while the capital city of Beijing reported two new cases. There were no new deaths. China also reported four new asymptomatic patients, down from two a day earlier. As of Jul 2, mainland China had a total of 83,542confirmed coronavirus cases, it said. China's death toll from the coronavirus remained at 4,634.
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