ASIA: China said that their exports rose 3.5% in April, crushing expectations of a group of economists who predicted a decline of 1-5.7% for the same period. According to data from the General Administration of Customs released on Thursday, exports rose 3.5% from a year ago while imports fell 14.2% in the same period. China’s […]

ASIA: China is aiming to complete work on its space station within about two years, officials said after the launch of a new spacecraft on Tuesday. China eventually plans to send four crewed space missions and cargo craft to complete work on its permanent space station. China challenged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to […]

ASIA: Early this morning, China launched a pivotal new rocket, carrying a prototype deep-space spacecraft. China declared the launch a success, and it now paves the way for a slew of critical launches over the next year. China reported one new coronavirus case for May 4, down from three the day before, data from the […]

ASIA: A nationalist news agency controlled by the Chinese Communist Party has dismissed claims by the Trump administration that the novel coronavirus originated from a laboratory, as the war of words over the pandemic escalates between Washington and Beijing. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday in an interview with ABC that there […]

ASIA: The WHO has urged China to take part in its investigations into the animal origins of the novel coronavirus. Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan that was selling exotic animals for meat. President Donald Trump’s threats to reignite […]

  ASIA: China’s official index of manufacturing purchasing managers slipped to 50.8 in April from 52.0 in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Pandemic triggered recessions around the world have made Chinese manufacturers pessimistic about export demand. Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States, has said the two countries need to look beyond […]

ASIA: India’s sovereign rating could come under pressure if its fiscal outlook deteriorates further as the government tries to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis, rating agency Fitch said on Tuesday. Fitch currently rates India at BBB-, with a stable outlook, but any downgrade would consign its sovereign debt to junk bond territory. The […]

ASIA: India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will open a special liquidity window of approximately 6.6 billion USD to ease pressure on mutual funds, which are facing liquidity strains due to heightened volatility in capital markets in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The scheme is available from April 27, 2020, until […]

ASIA: India’s Nifty 50 index could soon see Bharti Infratel, Vedanta Ltd, Zee Entertainment, Tata Motors, and GAIL India exit from the index owing to the low average free-float market capitalization, and replaced with other heavyweights. Top contenders to replace these shares in the Nifty 50 index include Radhakishan Damani’s Avenue Supermarts, API manufacturer Divi’s […]

ASIA: The Indian government has announced a new policy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from border sharing countries. The new law came into effect after the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) notification which was released late night on April 22. This law mandated prior government approvals for FDI from India’s neighbors such as Pakistan, China, […]