Japan to implement bank-deposit-backed digital currency in 2022

TOKYO -- A new digital currency backed by bank deposits is set for a test run in Japan as early as this year, an effort that will involve the nation's top banks and about 70 other companies.


Shinsei drops poison pill defense against SBI

TOKYO -- Shinsei Bank on Wednesday decided to withdraw its poison pill defense designed to thwart SBI Holdings’ takeover, Nikkei has learned.


Nikkei to change interest rate benchmark for Nikkei Volatility Index

TOKYO -- Nikkei Inc. announced on Wednesday that it will change the benchmark interest rate used to calculate the Nikkei Stock Average Volatility Index, which tracks investor expectations about future fluctuations of the Nikkei 225.

Because it was announced that the yen-denominated London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will be discontinued at the end of the year, Nikkei will begin using the Tokyo Term Risk Free Rate (TORF), an alternative benchmark, on Dec. 13.

LIBOR is widely used in financial markets. But


Vietnam's supply chains struggle to shake off COVID impact

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Nearly two months on, Vietnamese supply chains vital to the world's phone and footwear industries are struggling to shake the damage from a COVID shutdown that shrank the economy at a record pace .


To remake Air India, Tata Group should revive carrier's luxury past

Karan Mehrishi is an economics commentator based in India. He is the author of "The India Collective: What India is Really All About" and the forthcoming "The Making of Monetary Policy in India: Imagining the Future."


Hong Kong drops out of global top 10 attractive cities

TOKYO -- Hong Kong has fallen out of the top 10 most attractive global cities for the first time, according to the latest Global Power City Index.


Crypto influx from China pushes Kazakhstan toward nuclear power

BISHKEK -- A surge in cryptocurrency mining is sparking electricity shortages in energy-rich Kazakhstan, driving the country to consider nuclear power.


South Korean presidential hopefuls push anti-feminist agenda

SEOUL -- Ahead of the 2017 presidential election in South Korea, Moon Jae-in pledged to "become a feminist president." In the run-up to the 2022 vote, the discourse could not be more different.


U.S. invites Taiwan to 1st 'Summit for Democracy'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Biden administration has invited Taiwan to its "Summit for Democracy" next month, according to a list of participants published on Tuesday, a move likely to infuriate China, which views the democratically governed island as its territory.


Hong Kong drops out of global top 10 of attractive cities

TOKYO -- Hong Kong has fallen out of the top 10 most attractive global cities for the first time, according to the latest Global Power City Index.