World

BEIJING : China's consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in August while the rate of producer inflation hit an 18-month low, reflecting an economy plagued by weak domestic demand and leaving room for further central bank policy easing. The consumer price index (CPI) increased 2.5 per cent from the same month a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, slower than 2.7 per cent in July and the 2.8 per cent average forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. The producer price index (PPI) rose 2.3 per cent, the slowest pace since February 2021, and slower than 4.2 per cent a month prior and 3.1 per cent in the poll, due to falling energy and raw materials prices. "Factory gate inflation is set to fall further throughout the rest of the year thanks to...

SINGAPORE: Food retail operator DFI Retail Group is launching a new community initiative to kick start its commitment to provide a million meals to the less fortunate in Singapore across two years. The “Have You Eaten?” project is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts to reduce hunger and increase food security in the regions where it operates, the group said in a news release on Thursday (Aug 18) DFI Retail Group runs more than 10,200 outlets in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. These include Giant, Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Guardian and 7-Eleven. The group will contribute a percentage of its revenue from the sale of its exclusive brand rice from any Giant, Cold Storage or CS Fresh stores towards the programme. “The #HaveYouEatenProject will spearhead the compan...

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and Japan and the 40th anniversary of the Look East Policy. Under the LEP, about 26,000 Malaysians have so far studied in Japan and are actively pursuing lives and careers in various fields. They have acquired knowledge of Japanese language and values, and have greatly advanced our mutual understanding, further bolstering an unshakable bridge between Japan and Malaysia. This has attracted more investment from Japan, and there are now about 1,600 Japanese firms doing business in Malaysia. The exchanges between Japan and Malaysia are not limited to business. I visited Malaysia on my honeymoon in 1995. We enjoyed the beautiful sea and nature, the historical and modern cityscapes and the delici...

TOKYO : The U.S. dollar edged back from near a two-decade peak against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as investors looked to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell the following day for fresh clues on the path for monetary policy. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six counterparts, eased 0.15 per cent to 108.47, but remained not far from its highest since September 2002 at 109.29, touched in mid-July. Investors have been bracing for the Fed to double down on its commitment to crushing inflation at its annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Money markets have pared back expectations that the U.S. central bank could tilt to a slower pace of rate hikes following a chorus of hawkish Fed commentary in recent weeks, and currently lay 60.5 per cent o...

In this article AAPL Meta Apple and Facebook parent Meta are expected to release mixed reality headsets in the coming year that could finally fulfill the industry's promise to turn head-worn devices into the next big shift in personal computing. But there's one major potential snag: sticker shock. The best-selling virtual reality headset, the Meta Quest 2, retails for $400 and accounted for 78% of the nascent VR market in 2021, according to IDC. Consumers who want the next-generation technology are going to have to spend multiples of that. Meta's forthcoming high-end headset, codenamed Cambria, is expected to cost at least $800, the company said earlier this year. Apple's unannounced device could reportedly cost thousands of dollars. That's a hefty load for products in a category that's ...

(This Sept 13 story corrects spelling of word 'availability' in paragraph 12) By Kane Wu HONG KONG : Hong Kong-based Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has closed its eighth, and largest, pan-Asia fund at $11.2 billion, the firm said on Tuesday. The final close, which exceeded BPEA's $8.5 billion initial target and is 70 per cent more than its previous fund, also made it one of the largest private equity funds ever raised in Asia, at a time of economic and political uncertainty A total of $97 billion was raised by Asia-focused private equity funds so far this year, compared with 2021's full-year amount of $226 billion, according to data provider Preqin. BPEA's latest fund exceeded Blackstone's $11 billion Asia fund raised in January, the data showed. Jean Salata, the firm's chief exec...

It's an island that is closer to France than to England — yet it is part of the British Isles. It's home to miles of tunnels built during World War II — but by German rather than British soldiers. And it has lower taxes than the U.K. and its own financial rules. The island of Jersey, in the English Channel, is only five miles long and nine miles wide but has plenty for visitors to see, according to Amanda Burns, CEO of tourism agency Visit Jersey. "We pack quite a big punch," Burns told CNBC by phone. "What's really interesting is ... the geological uniqueness of the island, through to the history and the heritage," she said. Located about 120 miles from England — and 14 from France — Jersey attracts visitors who travel to the island via ferry or a short flight. Quirky Jersey Though Engl...

China’s government says it will use the advantages of its “new-type whole-nation system” to catapult technological progress, an apparent expansion of the authoritarian state’s proven ability to mobilize market and academic resources for development purposes. On Tuesday, a meeting of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission, chaired by General Secretary Xi Jinping, approved a document that outlines using China’s “whole-nation system” to develop high technologies. Seeking to raise academic standards, the meeting also approved a document on reforming the system used to appoint academicians to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, both leading institutions with important roles in tech-related research and developme...

HANOI: The death toll from a fire that tore through a karaoke bar in southern Vietnam has risen to 23, an official said on Wednesday (Sep 7). The blaze engulfed the second floor of the building on Tuesday night, trapping customers and staff as dense smoke filled the staircase and blocked the emergency exit, reports said. Many crowded onto a balcony to escape the flames, which grew quickly as they caught the wooden interior, while others were forced to jump from the building, state media added. Photos showed plumes of smoke billowing out of the bar - located in a crowded residential neighbourhood in Thuan An city, north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City in Binh Duong province - as firefighters on cranes tried to extinguish the blaze. "We are still searching for more victims, but the de...

Employees working on an air-conditioner production line at a Midea factory in Guangzhou, China. Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images BEIJING — China reported data for July that came in well below expectations as the real estate slump and Covid controls dragged down growth. Retail sales grew by 2.7% in July from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. That's well below the 5% growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and down from growth of 3.1% in June. Within retail sales, catering, furniture and construction-related categories saw declines. Sales of autos, one of the largest categories by value, rose by 9.7%. The gold, silver and jewelry category saw sales rise the most, up by 22.1%. Online sales of physical goods rose by 10% year-on-year, faster than in June, according to CNBC cal...