Abe's venting over cabinet hints at discord among kingmakers
TOKYO -- Prime Minister Fumio Kishida carefully assembled his cabinet, taking pains to reflect the wishes of rival factions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that propelled him to the top job.
But inevitably some were left unsatisfied, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is the de facto leader of the LDP's largest faction.
Observers believe Kishida's choices have been largely influenced by three party heavyweights -- Abe, LDP Vice President Taro Aso and LDP Secretary-General Akira Amari. But the reality is more complicated
Grab takes 90% share in Indonesian digital wallet OVO
JAKARTA -- Singapore superapp Grab has taken majority ownership of Indonesian e-payment service OVO, acquiring stakes from Tokopedia and local conglomerate Lippo Group as part of OVO's ownership restructuring.
The move will likely spark further transactions in the Indonesian digital payments industry due to the country's central bank prohibiting foreign majority ownership of an e-payment entity.
Legal filings show that as of Oct. 1, Grab holds 90% of Bumi Cakrawala Perkasa, OVO's parent, up from the previous 39%
Bali to open to some foreign travellers from mid-October
JAKARTA -- Indonesia will reopen its popular tourism island of Bali to some international arrivals from mid-October, a senior official said Monday, as the country aims to rejuvenate its travel industry that has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport will open from Oct.14, but those arriving will have to quarantine for eight days.
Pandjaitan said arrivals from countries such as China, Japan and South Korea may be permitted
N.Y. congestion pricing operator bought by Singapore company
SINGAPORE -- Singapore Technologies Engineering will buy U.S. transportation systems provider TransCore for $2.68 billion to bolster its urban mobility business, a recent area of focus for the state-linked defense manufacturer.
The deal, announced Sunday, represents ST Engineering's largest-ever purchase. TransCore is a major developer and operator of electronic toll collection, congestion pricing and other transportation services, and a technological leader in areas such as radio frequency identification, or RFID.
The American company is contracted to deliver
New Japan PM Kishida skeptical China will qualify to join CPTPP
TOKYO -- Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed skepticism about China's qualification to join the CPTPP trade pact at his first press conference Monday, noting the bloc's tough free trade requirements.
Kishida, who was formally elected prime minister that day, also stressed the need to improve missile defense for Japan.
Regarding China's application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said, "we need to look at whether China can meet the high standards required by the trade
India nears widespread power crunch on coal shortage
TOKYO/MUMBAI -- India stands on the brink of widespread power shortages as most of the country's coal-fired plants have enough fuel for only a few more days, the latest reports show.
More than half of India's 135 coal plants will run out of fuel in less than three days, the Financial Times and Reuters wrote over the weekend, citing government sources. As of Friday, the stockpiles of all coal plants averaged four days.
Coal-fired plants account for about 70
Japan's Daiwa to launch stock brokerage service in China
TOKYO -- Daiwa Securities Group will begin a stock brokerage service in China for institutional investors as early as this month, seizing an opportunity created by Beijing's deregulation for foreign players.
The Japanese securities giant received regulatory approval in June to launch securities services via a joint venture formed in Beijing last December. This company employs about 100 people, including personnel sent from Japan.
A sales office that opened in the Chinese capital last month will work with Japanese institutional investors and other customers, proposing trades of China stocks
China PCR test orders soared before first reported COVID case
TOKYO -- Purchases of PCR tests in China's Hubei Province surged months before the first official reports of a novel coronavirus case there, according to a report from researchers in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.
About 67.4 million yuan ($10.5 million at current rates) was spent on PCR tests in Hubei during 2019, nearly double the 2018 total, with the upswing starting in May. The report, released by
U.S. trade rep vows to pressure China beyond 'phase one' deal
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK -- The Biden administration is set to resume negotiations with Beijing as part of its long-awaited strategy for handling trade with China.
"In the coming days, I intend to have frank conversations with my counterpart in China," U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Monday at the Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
She is expected to speak to Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, calling on China to respect the "phase one" trade agreement it signed with
Expect a broad-based Asian economic recovery by early next year
Chetan Ahya is chief Asia economist for Morgan Stanley.
The tone in my recent meetings with investors in Asia has been all too familiar. Our constructive views -- both cyclically and structurally -- are greeted with caution.
Continuing or even tighter restrictions in parts of the region have left them concerned that these measures may not be fully relaxed even as vaccinations reach high levels.
Growth concerns on China have also become the overarching issue for investors, as they fret over the production and power cuts, the impact of slowing property market
