ASIA: India plans to offer fresh incentives to companies making electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a broad auto sector scheme it expects to attract $14 billion of investment over five years, Reuters reported. The plans envisage $8 billion of incentives for carmakers and suppliers over a five-year period to drive large investment in the […]

ASIA: China will step up imports of high-quality foreign goods and services as the economy makes a steady recovery, vice premier Han Zheng said on Sunday. China will strengthen macro policy coordination with other countries, Han told the China Development Forum, a high-level business gathering hosted by the Development Research Centre of the State Council. […]

ASIA: The US Commerce Department said on Wednesday that it has served subpoenas on multiple Chinese companies that provide information and communications technology services in the United States to see if they pose a national security risk. The subpoenas will gather information to “allow us to make a determination for possible action that best protects […]

COMMENT: Hi Martin, I live in Leicester, UK. They began with these “exercises” and “simulations” as I call them regarding Power Outages. Just have one right now. There is no reason for a power outage since the network is all fine. It is all deliberately imposed. Can you explain what next? Thanks. D REPLY: They […]

ASIA: Chinese embassies in the US, Italy, India, the Philippines, and other locations say they will provide “visa facilitation” to foreign applicants who can certify that they have received a Chinese shot. To enter China, most travelers also still need to prove they have tested negative for Covid-19, obtain an antibody test, and quarantine upon […]

ASIA: India’s trade deficit in goods widened to $12.62 billion in February from $10.16 billion during the same period a year earlier, revised data released by the government on Monday showed. Merchandise exports rose 0.67% in February from a year earlier to $27.93 billion, while imports were up 6.96% to $40.54 billion, the data showed. […]

There seems to be a HUGE gap in what people think about cryptocurrency. The European Central Bank (ECB) is working on a scheme to launch “digital euro central bank money” as soon as possible. Many economists praise the project as an “innovation,” as an important and indispensable step in an increasingly digitized world. But economists […]

ASIA: China denied on Friday it was planning to hit e-commerce giant Alibaba with a record fine of almost $1 billion for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, as authorities turned up the pressure on the country’s vast technology sector. Alibaba, China’s largest online shopping portal, has been in the crosshairs of authorities in recent months over […]

ASIA: China’s new five-year plan, made public on Friday, called tech development a matter of national security, not just economic development, in a break from the previous plan. China is freeing up tens of billions of dollars for its tech industry to borrow. It is cataloging the sectors where the United States or others could […]

ASIA: China is aiming for an economic growth rate above 6% in 2021. After scrapping its target last year, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the target on Friday at the opening of this year’s National People’s Congress. The target marks a return to strong growth after the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the world’s second-largest economy. By […]