TOKYO -- Nikkei and the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced on Friday that Maeda Corp. will be removed from the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 on Oct. 1 due to its establishing a new holding company.

Maeda will be replaced by the new holding company called INFRONEER Holdings, which is to be listed on the TSE from Oct. 1, as a constituent stock of the index on the same day.

On Sept. 29 -- when Maeda is to be delisted -- and Sept. 30,

TAIPEI -- China's top chipmaker said on Friday that it will build a nearly $9 billion chip plant in Shanghai, challenging global leader Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. amid an industrywide rush to expand capacity.

The plant will be Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.'s biggest investment in years and will churn out older-generation chips that are currently in short supply for everything from consumer electronics to self-driving cars.

SMIC said in a stock exchange filing that it has agreed with the Lin-gang Special Area of

TOKYO -- Tokyo-based startup Terra Motors, a manufacturer and distributor of electric three-wheeled vehicles, recently launched a financial subsidiary in India. Its goal is to use microfinance to lift buyers' incomes and boost vehicle sales. But will a Japanese startup be able to thrive in India as the coronavirus spreads at a record pace?

An electric vehicle exhibition was held in India's capital of New Delhi in early August. While many domestic companies had their own displays, people packed into Terra Motors' booth,

HANOI -- Online supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City has been overwhelmed this week as people scramble to order essential goods during a COVID-19 lockdown, with many stores saying they face a shortage of delivery workers.

The stores on stores emerged as the city's Department of Industry and Trade requested local supermarkets on Tuesday to help citizens under lockdown food and other necessities.

Nga Tran, 48, a resident in district 8, complained in Facebook post Wednesday that no food was available. "I am not poor

TOKYO -- A U.K. hedge fund executive looked to relocate much of his Hong Kong staff to Tokyo last fall, wary of political uncertainty in the Chinese territory and encouraged by Japan's stated intention of attracting financial talent from the city.

But the move did not go as planned. When trying to obtain visas or inquire about social benefits and education for his employees, the executive was shuffled among government agencies, making a smooth transition for his staff and their families impossible.

He eventually gave up and chose

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will resign as early as this month, throwing wide-open the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election, a crucial race as it could set the tone for upcoming lower house elections.

Also, the LDP's selection process for senior leadership positions has stalled. Suga had wanted to fill the posts by this coming Monday. The likelihood that he would be unable to do so made it difficult for the prime minister to continue running the administration.

Suga had been planning

TOKYO -- Prices for canned oxygen have skyrocketed in Japan, especially online, amid last month's surge in coronavirus cases, despite warnings from medical experts that it cannot be used to treat COVID-19 symptoms.

Canned oxygen is a recreational product used by athletes, mountain climbers and others as a portable supplement after heavy exertion. A container holding around five liters normally costs 700 yen to 900 yen ($6 to $8), manufacturer Iwatani says.

But prices on third-party

TOKYO -- The combined market cap of the top two Chinese tech companies has plunged $330 billion since the end of last year under regulatory pressure by Beijing, a Nikkei ranking of East Asian stocks shows.

In contrast, Taiwan's leading semiconductor maker and companies driving Chinese efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions, such as producers of batteries for electric vehicles, have seen their value rise.

Nikkei ranked East Asian companies by market capitalization based on QUICK-FactSet data, finding sharp declines in the value of Chinese

SINGAPORE -- The Singapore Exchange is cutting by half the minimum market capitalization required of special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, to list on the bourse, responding to concerns that the previous level was too high.

SGX on Thursday announced SPACs must list with a minimum market cap of $150 million Singapore dollars ($111.6 million), half the level it suggested in March, after months of mulling over market feedback.

Sometimes called "blank check" companies, SPACs are shell entities established