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SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Growth in export-reliant Singapore suffered a surprise sharp contraction in the second quarter, official data showed Friday, sending a stark warning that US-China trade tensions are hurting the global economy. The city-state’s gross domestic product shrank an annualized 3.4 percent, sharply down from 3.8 percent growth in the first three months of the year and well off forecasts of a slight expansion. On a year-on-year basis, it expanded just 0.1 percent, […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Shares in media company Camsing International crashed 90 percent in Hong Kong on Monday after saying its chairwoman had been arrested in China. In a statement to the city’s stock exchange, Camsing said the board became aware Friday that Lo Ching, who was also an executive director, was “currently being held in criminal custody” by the Yangpu Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. “The directors are unable to ascertain […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets surged Monday after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to restart trade talks, reviving hopes of an end to their tariffs war, while oil prices also rallied on news that Saudi Arabia and Russia will extend their output caps. Trump’s historic visit to North Korea, where he met leader Kim Jong Un, soothed geopolitical concerns and added to the upbeat mood on trading floors. After a highly anticipated […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan announced Monday it would tighten regulations on the export to South Korea of several chemicals used in chip and smartphone production amid a row with Seoul on wartime forced labour. The new rules, which take effect from July 4, come after South Korean courts ordered Japanese firms to compensate people forced into wartime labour, an issue Tokyo says was resolved when the countries resumed diplomatic relations decades ago. “The export […]
by Thanaporn PROMYAMYAI / Dene-Hern Chen Agence France Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian leaders made an impassioned plea against protectionism at a regional summit in Bangkok Sunday, warning that a dragging US-China trade spat could hammer their export-led economies. Tit-for-tat tariffs between Washington and Beijing have cast a dark cloud over global growth forecasts and experts warn any drop-off in spending by the world’s two biggest economies is likely to hit Southeast Asia […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand’s prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world’s biggest commercial deal. Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under US President Donald Trump. The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes all […]
by Jenny Vaughan Agence France Presse BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Southeast Asian leaders will dissect the impact of the US-China tariff war this weekend at a Bangkok summit, with Beijing determined to drive forward a trade pact sweeping in 40 percent of global commerce — but excluding America. Disputes in the flashpoint South China Sea and Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims are also likely to make the agenda at the two-day Association of Southeast […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The dollar extended losses and Asian markets enjoyed another day of gains Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it could soon cut interest rates. The softer slant from the US central bank provided more support to global investors, who were already in buoyant mood after Donald Trump flagged positive talks with China’s Xi Jinping and raised hopes of a trade deal between the economic giants. After a much-anticipated meeting, Fed […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Markets extended the previous day’s gains in Asia on Tuesday, with investors turning their attention back to the China-US trade row and a planned meeting between the countries’ leaders later this month. Donald Trump’s decision to drop threatened tariffs on Mexico after a last-minute immigration deal last week sparked relief across trading floors and led to hope that the row with Beijing could also end with some sort of agreement. […]
by Jenny VAUGHAN Agence France Presse HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Millions of pigs have been culled as African Swine Fever cuts through China and beyond, devastating global food chains, with pork prices expected to soar from the food markets of Hong Kong to American dinner tables. Outbreaks have been reported in Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and China — the world’s biggest pork producer and consumer. Experts warn it could take years to contain […]
by Allison JACKSON RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s economy shrank in the first quarter of the year, official data showed Thursday, taking Latin America’s biggest country to the brink of recession for the first time in two years. Gross domestic product contracted 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, the statistics agency said, marking the first decline in the key indicator of economic activity since the end of 2016. The figure confirms what many […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned the United States on Wednesday not to “politicize” the exchange rate of its currency amid a festering trade war between the two economic giants. The US Treasury declined to label China a currency manipulator in its latest semi-annual report but also called on Beijing to prevent the yuan from weakening. “We have always said here that we hope the US side will respect objective facts, market rules and […]
