Indonesia and UAE begin talks on trade and investment pact
JAKARTA -- Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced the start of negotiations for a new free trade and investment agreement, as the two modern Muslim nations seek to take newly forged ties to a new level.
Biotechnology, the digital economy, energy transition and space development are among priority sectors to be discussed in the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Southeast Asia's largest economy and the Gulf nation are seeking to facilitate reciprocal access to markets for products such as precious metals, stainless steel, automobiles, halal food
Will Japan's election year stock gains hold true under Suga?
TOKYO -- Markets hate uncertainty, the saying goes. But in Japan, stocks appear to be rallying on signs that the country's political establishment may be in for a shake-up.
What has moved the market this week is speculation over the timing of a general election and a revamp of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership. The country is counting down to both the end of the term for members of the parliament's lower house and a party vote to chose the next LDP leader, now
Hyundai to make all luxury Genesis models electric by 2030
SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor will stop selling gas-powered Genesis vehicles by the end of the decade and field an all-electric fleet for the luxury brand, the South Korean automaker said Thursday.
Starting in 2025, all new Genesis models put on the market will either be electric vehicles or fuel-cell vehicles. As Genesis accounts for just over 3% of Hyundai's overall vehicle sales, the company will usher in its switch to electrics starting from high-end vehicles.
"Genesis is once
Taliban poised to debut new Afghan government in days
NEW DELHI -- The Taliban look to announce Afghanistan's new government in the coming days, amid unanswered questions about who will be included.
Top Taliban members, senior officials from the old U.S.-backed administration and leaders from other influential groups have reached a consensus on a new government and cabinet, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
"We're about to announce a functioning cabinet and government in a few days, not weeks," said Bilal Karimi, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission.
Japanese engineers find greener pastures with Chinese automakers
GUANGZHOU -- The poaching of a former Toyota Motor ace engineer by a government-owned Chinese automaker took many in the industry by surprise.
Masato Katsumata had spent more than 30 years at Toyota, mainly in the engineering division. He oversaw a full revamp of the Camry sedan as its chief engineer and was involved in numerous overseas projects.
But at a Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) investor event here in July, Katsumata was the newly minted chief technical management engineer at the automaker's R&D center.
'Huawei of genomics' plots global expansion on COVID windfall
GUANGZHOU -- Just days after Guangzhou reported a surge in coronavirus cases at the end of May, a massive PCR testing lab appeared seemingly out of thin air at a gymnasium in the southern Chinese city.
First appearing in Wuhan during February 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, the inflatable Huo-Yan lab developed by Chinese genomics company BGI Group has been used in over 30 countries and regions.
The Guangzhou site took roughly 10 hours to set up, and it could handle 2.1 million
Japan-built flying car set for first test flights on home turf
TOKYO -- A Japanese flying car with a Ferrari-sized price tag will begin test flights in its home country by next spring, marking its first air miles with a pilot on board.
University of Tokyo-spawned startup teTra Aviation plans to begin testing its single-person electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with an operator on board in Japan by March 2022. The Tokyo company has received certification for testing from the Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. and is conducting tests there
Asia's post-pandemic priorities must include education for girls
Marina Mahathir is a writer and women's rights activist in Malaysia. Laura Deal Lacey is executive director of the Milken Institute. Both serve on the board of trustees of the Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Latifa and Hakima, two ethnic Hazara girls from a remote village in Afghanistan, were thrilled when they gained entry in 2011 to the privately-run Asian University for Women in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
It had been 10 years since Afghanistan's Taliban government had been ousted by a
Indonesia's state airline Garuda hangs by a financial thread
TOKYO -- Indonesia's government is under mounting pressure to resolve the financial crisis at the nation's flagship airline, which faces an existential threat from COVID-19 after years of chaotic management and weak earnings.
Analysts say Garuda Indonesia may need at least $1.3 billion to $3 billion in fresh capital to survive. But with the government, its largest shareholder, reluctant to stump up the money, and uncertainties over debt negotiations, there is still no indication of how the company can be saved
China to create new stock exchange in Beijing for smaller companies: Xi
SHANGHAI -- President Xi Jinping on Thursday said China would create a new stock exchange in Beijing to help fund smaller companies' pursuit of new technologies.
"We will continue to support the innovation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises and deepen reforms of the new third board by creating the Beijing Stock Exchange," Xi told the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing by video.
Xi did not give further details or a time frame for the proposed exchange, which was announced at
