NEW DELHI/TOKYO -- As India battles a deadly second wave of COVID-19, the country's automakers are bracing for near-term challenges, although they remain hopeful the industry will bounce back once the coronavirus situation improves.

Most parts of the country are under a lockdown, with car showrooms and retail markets in general remaining closed, except for essentials. The current wave of infections that has swept through the nation of more than 1.3 billion people has seen daily tallies of 400,

TAIPEI -- On top of a surge in COVID-19 cases and power outages, Taiwan is suffering from its worst drought in 56 years.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Wednesday it will further tighten water supplies from June in several cities including Hsinchu, the heart of the nation's semiconductor supply chains, if rainfall is insufficient by the end of May.

More severe water rationing will apply to Hsinchu, Taoyuan, New Taipei, and the southern Taiwanese cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung. Miaoli, Taichung,

SINGAPORE -- Foodpanda, which operates an app-based food delivery service, remains committed to Myanmar despite the ongoing political unrest that has disrupted internet services in the country, the company's chief executive told Nikkei Asia.

The service provider, which operates in 12 economies, is an Asia-focused unit of Germany's Delivery Hero, one of the world's major food delivery companies, along with Meituan of China and Uber Technologies of the U.S. Delivery Hero recently merged with Woowa Brothers,

JAKARTA -- Since going public on Feb. 1, Bank Net Syariah, a little-known small lender, has been one of the standout performers on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Its share price has surged a staggering 2,200% since its IPO; the broader IDX composite, in contrast, has fallen close to 4% in the same period.

Although not as dramatic as Bank Net Syariah, other small lenders have also seen their share prices rise in recent months, though most have quickly yielded to

TOKYO -- The Linear Chuo Shinkansen project of Central Japan Railway, the train operator better known as JR Tokai, has run into vehement objections from local authorities along the planned line.

Shizuoka Prefecture has refused to approve the start of tunnel work in Japan's Southern Alps on the grounds that it would be detrimental to local water resources.

JR Tokai and the local government remain far apart. The railway operator announced in April that the total project cost is expected to balloon by 1.5 trillion yen (about $1

JAKARTA -- Gojek and Tokopedia announced on Monday their plan to create Indonesia's largest privately held tech company through a merger. GoTo Group, the name of the new holding entity, covers a wide range of e-commerce and everyday services, including a "superapp" for ride-hailing and finance, and heralds a new age of regional internet-based business competition.

Here are five things to know about the deal that brings together a pair of local unicorns in Southeast Asia's biggest economy and the world

BEIJING -- A week after releasing its 2020 census, China has begun revising demographic data for most of the preceding decade upward, raising concerns about the integrity of its statistics in the face of a looming population decline.

The government is adjusting the birth data for 2011 to 2019, which was based on a sample of about 0.1% of the total population. This comes on the heels of suspicion over how the 2020 head count of children greatly exceeded

SYDNEY -- These are difficult times for many Australian industries that have profited from the country's trade links with China due to the recent souring of ties between the two nations.

But for iron ore producers like Rio Tinto and BHP, these are glory days. Prices for future deliveries have reached record levels and shares in the mining companies are hitting new highs. The Australian government is now eyeing a potential tax windfall that would help offset its biggest annual budget deficit ever.

If market conditions could hardly be better for the

TOKYO -- The Linear Chuo Shinkansen project of Central Japan Railway, the train operator better known as JR Tokai, has run into vehement objections from local authorities along the planned line.

Shizuoka Prefecture has refused to approve the start of tunnel work in Japan's Southern Alps on the grounds that it would be detrimental to local water resources.

JR Tokai and the local government remain far apart. The railway operator announced in April that the total project cost is expected to balloon by 1.5 trillion yen (about $1