China kicks off National Day holidays as COVID saps consumption
SHANGHAI -- China's National Day vacation period started on Friday amid a growing inclination to avoid travel between provinces or cities and to stay away from new coronavirus outbreaks that have cropped up. As a result, the celebratory period is likely to have a subdued effect on consumption.
According to one estimate, the number of domestic National Day travelers will exceed 600 million, about 20% fewer than in 2019, before the pandemic began.
During Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring
Lenovo to raise $1.5bn on Shanghai STAR market
BEIJING -- Chinese PC leader Lenovo will list on Shanghai's tech-focused market, aiming to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.54 billion) to develop leading-edge businesses outside of hardware.
Lenovo plans a public offering using Chinese depositary receipts in the STAR Market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's answer to Nasdaq. The company will float no more than 10% of the share capital.
The offering is part of a strategy to diversity funding sources, as Lenovo already trades on Hong
At risk of diabetes? Hitachi has an app for that in Vietnam
HANOI -- While there is no crystal ball that allows people to see what might ail them in the future, Hitachi believes its big data analytics can offer the next best thing.
The Japanese company has teamed up with a Vietnam insurer to apply big data analytics to assess how users' lifestyles put them at risk for certain diseases through an app.
Bao Viet Insurance, Vietnam's largest nonlife insurer, launched the risk-measuring app on Friday through a tie-up with Hitachi on artificial intelligence and medical big data
EU pushes back Australia trade talks over France submarine snub
SYDNEY/BRUSSELS -- The European Union has postponed its free trade talks with Australia, signaling that tensions remained high after Canberra's decision to cancel a $40 billion submarine contract with France.
The Australian government said Friday that talks with Brussels scheduled for mid-October have now been pushed back to November, although it stressed that the process will continue.
The move comes two weeks after Canberra formed a new defense partnership with the U.S. and the U.K. called AUKUS, which led to
China develops passenger jet, but 40% of parts suppliers are overseas
ZHUHAI, China -- A Chinese-made passenger jet set to compete with American and European rivals counts roughly 40% of its core component suppliers as overseas companies, exposing the risks posed by U.S. trade frictions to a plane that has been under development for more than a decade.
The C919 jetliner, being manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, or COMAC, is due to be delivered to the first customer by the end of the year. However, with that deadline looming
Japan's Kishida builds network around alma mater and party allies
TOKYO -- Who will Fumio Kishida turn to for expertise as he tries to assemble a government that can deliver on his policy goals?
The elite boys school in Tokyo that Kishida attended will likely prove an asset in his quest for talent. Kishida is expected to form a cabinet Monday after being elected prime minister in a special Diet session.
Kaisei Senior High School, which sends over 100 graduates to the University of Tokyo every year, has produced hundreds of bureaucrats and lawmakers over the years. But Kishida is the
COVID lays bare Australia's dyed-in-the-wool complacency
Sarah Gilbert is a freelance journalist based in Sydney.
With Sydney's temperatures pushing 30 degrees Celsius in early spring, crowds flocked to its famous shoreline, eager to enjoy one of the few pleasures permitted in their locked-down city.
Those lucky enough to live within 5 km of a strip of sand frolicked with nary a compulsory mask in sight. Those less fortunate looked on through gritted teeth, venting their rage on social media as images of crowded beaches hit the news.
Greater Sydney, with about eight million
Motegi to stay Japan's foreign minister in message of continuity
TOKYO/NEW YORK -- Fumio Kishida, the newly elected leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, plans to reappoint Toshimitsu Motegi as foreign minister, Nikkei has learned.
Kishida is set to be elected Japan's 100th prime minister at an extraordinary parliamentary session on Monday, and intends to appoint his cabinet that same day.
Motegi has served as foreign minister since September 2019, when he was selected by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He kept his post under Abe's
Mitsui to build $900m 'blue ammonia' plant in Australia
TOKYO -- Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. will start producing environmentally friendly ammonia fuel, Nikkei has learned.
Mitsui plans to invest more than 100 billion yen ($899 million) to build a production plant for so-called "blue ammonia," which does not emit carbon dioxide when burned. The plant, which is to go up in Western Australia, will have the capacity to ship 1 million tons of the fuel to Japan annually.
CO2 generated during production is to be stored
Cambodia COVID cases plummet after PM orders reduced testing
PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia's official daily COVID-19 case numbers tumbled 76% in one day after Prime Minister Hun Sen told officials to stop administering rapid tests to people who don't show symptoms.
The country's Ministry of Health reported 232 cases on Friday, down from 978 the previous day. Friday's numbers specified they were detected via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, suggesting that positive cases from rapid antigen tests were not counted.
Cambodia's caseload