Asia Economy
Asia-Pacific markets set to open higher after Wall Street gains as investors assess trade climate
Pedestrians walking across a crowded traffic at Shibuya crossing square in Tokyo, Japan. Jaczhou | E+ | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly climb Friday after Wall Street gained for a third straight day as tech stocks rallied. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago […]
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Indonesia plans to import more from the U.S. to ‘narrow’ trade surplus, finance minister says
The Semanggi overpass in Jakarta, Indonesia. Fadil Aziz | The Image Bank | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have pushed countries to look for ways to improve their trade balance with the U.S. and negotiate the extent of duties levied on their imports. Indonesia’s plan now is to “narrow,” or even eliminate its […]
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Japan is wooing retail investors by lowering entry barriers to investing in this stock market
The font entrance of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. Noriko Hayashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images Japan’s Tokyo Stock Exchange is asking listed companies to reduce their minimum investment thresholds to attract smaller retail investments. Current guidelines suggest companies keep the minimum investment below 500,000 yen ($3,500). […]
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China and the U.S. are ‘critical and strategic allies,’ Pakistan’s finance minister says
Roads of Karachi, Pakistan, dated 2022 Muhammad Aqib | Moment | Getty Images Countries around the world have been feeling the pressure of tariffs imposed on their exports to the U.S., as well as the trade tensions between the world’s largest superpowers. Pakistan is no exception. U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed a 29% duty […]
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South Korea’s quarterly GDP contracts for the first time in four years as construction activity plunges
Commercial and residential buildings seen from the rooftop of the Lotte Corp. World Tower at sunset in Seoul, South Korea, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images South Korea’s GDP contracted 0.1% year on year in the first quarter, according to advance figures, marking the first contraction in its economy since […]
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Asia-Pacific markets set to climb as Trump softens trade stance against China
The Seoul skyline. Mongkol Chuewong | Moment | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly climb Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street as a possible thaw in U.S.-China trade war fuels investor optimism. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was set to extend the previous day’s gains to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago […]
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Singapore inflation stays at 4-year lows as city-state prepares for election
Singapore’s Raffles Place at lunchtime. Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images Singapore’s inflation in March stayed at over four-year lows, with the city-state’s consumer price index climbing 0.9%, year on year. This was lower than Reuters poll expectations of 1.1%, and the same as the 0.9% seen in February.Core inflation — which strips out […]
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Hong Kong stocks lead gains in Asia on hopes of de-escalation in U.S.-China tensions
The view of Nanjing Road East Pedestrian Mall, the main shopping street in Shanghai. Bruce Yuanyue Bi | The Image Bank | Getty Images Asia-Pacific markets climbed Wednesday, after all three key benchmarks on Wall Street advanced overnight on optimism that U.S.-China trade tensions could ease. This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that […]
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IMF cuts 2025 growth forecast for major Asian economies, warns of global slowdown on trade worries
A security guard stands outside the building near signs advertising the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 17, 2025. Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday downgraded its growth forecasts for major Asian economies in 2025, citing trade tensions and “high policy uncertainty.” The […]
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Vietnam clamps down on fraud on US exports, document shows
A truck at the Tan Vu Terminal, operated by Vietnam Maritime Corp., at Haiphong Port in Haiphong, Vietnam, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Vietnam’s trade ministry has issued a directive to crack down on illegal transshipment of goods to the United States and other trading partners as it tries […]
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