ASIA: China’s exports unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in August due to solid global demand, helping to take some of the pressure off the world’s second-biggest economy as it is facing challenges from several fronts. Shipments from the world’s biggest exporter in August rose 25.6% year-on-year, picking up speed from a 19.3% gain in […]

ASIA: BNP Paribas’ asset management arm is in talks to form a wealth management venture with a unit of Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), as the French firm pursues a bigger slice of China’s $19 trillion market, Reuters reported. China further deregulated its financial markets in 2019, allowing foreign asset managers to form majority-owned wealth […]

ASIA: China’s economy stalled this month as the country tried to stamp out a surge in coronavirus cases and contended with the ongoing shipping crisis. China’s economy initially coped with the pandemic much better than many of its peers, recording growth last year as others shrank. But the fallout from the Delta variant and China’s […]

ASIA: China’s businesses and the broader economy came under increasing pressure in August as factory activity expanded at a slower pace while the services sector slumped into contraction, raising the likelihood of more near-term policy support to boost growth. The world’s second-biggest economy staged an impressive recovery from a coronavirus-battered slump, but momentum has weakened […]

ASIA: China is maintaining “normal communication” with the United States on trade, the Chinese government said on Thursday. Washington and Beijing signed a so-called Phase 1 trade deal in January 2020, before the widespread outbreak of COVID-19. The pact calls for China to increase its purchases of U.S. exports by $200 billion over two years. […]

ASIA: The Reserve Bank of India may launch its first digital currency trial programs by December, central bank governor Shaktikanta Das told CNBC. Central banks including those in China, Europe, and the UK are exploring digital currencies that they would issue, either to commercial lenders or to the public directly. The RBI is studying various […]

ASIA: China released economic data for July that showed slower-than-expected growth as the world’s second-largest economy battled floods and a resurgence of Covid-19. The slowdown was particularly apparent in individual Chinese consumer spending, despite authorities’ efforts to build up consumption as a driver of economic growth. The data showed consumers cut back on spending across […]

ASIA: A group of the most influential American business groups is urging the Biden administration to restart trade talks with China and cut tariffs on Chinese-made goods that had remained in place after the start of the trade war between the two countries. The group on Thursday in a letter asked that the Biden administration […]

ASIA: Singapore will reopen their borders to some travelers from Germany, Hong Kong, Macao, and Brunei as soon as August 26. Transport Minister S. Iswaran stressed that Singapore’s “connectivity with the rest of the world is essential, if not existential.” The nation has already opened borders to travelers from China, New Zealand, and Taiwan, but […]

Now that the Afghan government has fallen, I believe I am free to talk about what I do know. I met with the government on neutral ground in Thailand. I was invited to give lectures there but just never found the time to make that trip. As I have said before, most governments have heard […]