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: India’s central bank may have to delay the start of monetary policy normalization by three months amid rising COVID-19 cases, but barring the return of stringent lockdowns, there is no significant threat to the economy’s recovery, analysts say. Though analysts are unlikely to rush to review their long-term growth forecasts, several believe policy normalization […]

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 […]

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: A Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Institute of Microbiology of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS) has obtained the green light for emergency use in China, the institute said on Monday, marking the country’s fifth vaccine eligible for some scale of use. The ZF2001 vaccine, being tested in a late-stage clinical trial aiming to recruit […]

ASIA: Microsoft has blamed a huge attack on its Exchange email service on a group linked to China, which has affected hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide. The American tech giant revealed last week that a hacking group called Hafnium exploited Microsoft Exchange and was able to gain access to computers. The company said the […]

ASIA: The Chinese government is set to kick off an annual parliamentary meeting this week for approving national priorities for 2021. The “Two Sessions” parliamentary meeting is slated to begin Thursday with the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body. The National People’s Congress legislature is scheduled to kick off its […]

ASIA: US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack believes China is making good on promises it made as part of the landmark phase one trade deal it signed with the US last year. Vilsack said that the deal allows for market conditions to dictate how much Beijing is required to purchase from US farmers. The COVID pandemic, […]

ASIA: New home prices in China grew at a faster pace in January, driven by red-hot demand in the country’s mega cities despite the government’s cooling measures. Average new home prices in 70 major cities increased 0.3% in January from a month earlier, versus a 0.1% gain in December, according to Reuters calculations based on […]