World

As rare earths from Myanmar travel around the world, they pass through many hands. The most destructive mining is for heavy rare earths, which are critical to make powerful magnets heat-resistant. Ores are trucked across the border from illicit mines in Myanmar to southern China, where state-owned companies buy them up in sacks by the thousands. Among them: Minmetals, China Southern Rare Earth, and Rising Nonferrous Metals. Some 70 per cent of China Southern’s rare earth ores came from Myanmar, with the rest from recycling, Jiangxi customs official Liu Jingjing wrote in a paper. China Southern, among the world's largest processors of heavy rare earths, has no active mining in China, according to Liu’s paper. A company post highlighted how it is “seizing overseas rare earth resources” and...

When asked about his assessment of tensions on both sides, Dr Balakrishnan said that the US and China are not looking for conflict, but for political reasons, both sides have had to take a stance. Stressing that everyone has a stake in the global integrated economic system, Dr Balakrishnan said: “I know you have to compete, maybe confront but we all have skin in this game and we do want America and China to get along. “My own personal observation is (that) they are not looking for conflict but I have to tell all Singaporeans right now, this is a dangerous, dangerous moment for the whole world." Dr Balakrishnan met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting on Friday. They discussed regional and global issues, including US-China relations and recent devel...

SYDNEY : Asian shares slid on Monday as the mounting risk of more aggressive rate hikes in the United States and Europe shoved bond yields higher and tested equity and earnings valuations. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's promise of policy "pain" to contain inflation quashed hopes that the central bank would ride to the rescue of markets as so often in the past. The tough love message was driven home by European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel who warned over the weekend that central banks must now act forcefully to combat inflation, even if that drags their economies into recession. "The main takeaways are taming inflation is job number one for the Fed and the Funds Rate needs to get to a restrictive level of 3.5 per cent to 4.0 per cent," said Jason England, global bond...

ROME : Italy is close to clinching a deal initially worth $5 billion with Intel to build an advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly plant in the country, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters on Thursday. Intel's investment in Italy is part of a wider plan announced by the U.S. chipmaker earlier this year to invest $88 billion in building capacity across Europe, which is striving to cut its reliance on Asian chip imports and ease a supply crunch that has curbed output in the region's strategic car sector. Asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, the sources said the government of outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi was working to have an agreement in place by the end of August, ahead of a snap national election scheduled on Sept. 25. Sources have pre...

HONG KONG : China's crisis-hit property sector has driven underperformance this year in some Asia-focused credit funds, including one led by a former Lehman Brothers portfolio manager, pummelledling their returns and bringing years of gains to a juddering halt. Hong Kong-based L&R Capital's Asia Credit Alpha Fund, a hedge fund with more than half of its geographical exposure focused on China, slumped by 18.9 per cent in 2022 as of end-May, according to documents seen by Reuters and a person familiar with the matter. The fund, led by former Lehman Brothers portfolio manager Li Ran, retreated another 4 per cent in June. The downbeat performance looks set to end the fund's four-year winning streak since inception, showed the documents. Its losses were partly a result of its exposure to Chi...

SINGAPORE: It took Mr Jay Tun almost two years of deliberation before he bought his first luxury watch in 2018. The S$16,480 Rolex Sea-Dweller, which is still in his possession, started him on a journey that has been “hard to stop”. The 35-year-old has since spent more than S$300,000 on these timepieces. He now sees his watches, now valued at about S$400,000, as not just a passion, but also an investment. “I don't just like watches for the value. I like the watches for the different movements, different intricacies of the movements itself. It’s very intriguing … It’s like art to me," he explained. “Whichever purchase I want to buy, especially for watches, the numbers must make sense first. But of course the piece must be something that I like.” For luxury watches like some of the ones...

HONG KONG : Hong Kong's economy contracted 1.4 per cent in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier, advance government data showed on Monday, as exports and investments remained sluggish, and COVID-19 weighed on a wide range of economic activity. The contraction was worse than the 0.6 per cent drop forecast by DBS and a 0.5 per cent decline seen by Standard Chartered. The city's economy shrank a revised 3.9 per cent in the first quarter. "Looking ahead, the worsening global economic prospects will continue to weigh on Hong Kong's export performance in the remainder of the year," the city government said in a statement, adding that external trade may get some relief if COVID restrictions on movements across the land border with the mainland are relaxed. "Domestically, econ...

Aerial view of containers sitting stacked at the Qinzhou Port on August 15, 2022 in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. China News Service | Getty Images Two of the major trade lanes for U.S. shippers are under strain this peak season. The heatwave in China has shut down key manufacturing and the growing backlog of European imports is expected to spill over into the first quarter of 2023. Negotiations between the trade union verdi and the Central Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) remain inconclusive. This is the tenth round of negotiations. The last date set by the courts is August 22nd. If both parties fail to reach a compromise in this tenth round of negotiations, the port workers could strike again. "If no compromise will be made, we can expect further stri...

NEW YORK: The United States on Monday (Aug 8) returned 30 stolen works of art and antiquities to Cambodia that had been looted from the southeast Asian nation, including from an ancient Khmer city, and illegally trafficked around the world for decades. Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams officially handed over the looted antiquities to Cambodia's ambassador to the United States, Keo Chhea, in front of press. "We celebrate the return of Cambodia's cultural heritage to the Cambodian people, and reaffirm our commitment to reducing the illicit trafficking of art and antiquities," Williams said. Among the 30 works was a 10th-century sculpture of the Hindu deity Skanda, seated on a peacock, as well as a 10th-century sculpture of the Hindu god Ganesha. Both were stolen from Koh Ker, t...

Even so, being Singaporean is a part of his identity that he is extremely proud of, said Mr Pravin, who is the son of L Krishna Samy who composed the 1966 NDP song, Engkal Singapore. When it comes to reconciling his geographically-agnostic idea of home with his intense pride in Singapore, Mr Pravin said: “I am definitely very much Singaporean in spirit, the way I am with people and everything. It's just that I feel like I serve my role and my duties better as I travel as an ambassador of the Singapore brand like this.” And Mr Pravin, it seems, is not the only one who feels that way. “Home today is now both Singapore and Manila,” said Mr Taruc, the employment pass holder from the Philippines. He added: “Singapore is where I, my wife and daughter are building memories together every day,...