TAIPEI -- One of China's biggest chipmakers has warned it may have to drop orders from foreign clients next year to prioritize domestic demand, Nikkei Asia has learned, as the country pushes to build a "secure and controllable" tech supply chain.

ATHENS -- As a crisis along the Polish-Belarusian border explodes into an international flashpoint with geopolitical and humanitarian implications, fears are rising that it could escalate into an armed conflict.

BENGALURU -- Shares in Indian digital payments startup Paytm made an underwhelming debut on the local stock exchange on Thursday, plunging as much as 25% from their issue price.

TOKYO -- Japan's economic stimulus package set to be approved by the cabinet on Friday will be a record 55.7 trillion yen ($487 billion) on a fiscal expenditure basis, Nikkei has learned.

OSAKA -- Top Japanese farm equipment maker Kubota announced Thursday that it will purchase major Indian farm equipment maker Escorts for around 140 billion yen ($1.2 billion), turning the company into a subsidiary.

BENGALURU -- Shares in Paytm made a underwhelming debut on the local stock exchange on Thursday, trading at a discount of 9% to their issue price of $28.50 apiece, the top of their marketed range.

Nikkei Asia is tracking the spread of the coronavirus that was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Cumulative global cases have reached 254,910,151 according to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The worldwide death toll has hit 5,122,686.

For more information about the spread of COVID-19 and vaccination progress around the world, please see our interactive charts and maps.

-- Global coronavirus tracker charts

-- Status of vaccinations around the