NATO’s confrontation with China, tilt toward IP4 might leave S. Korea in disarray The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s joint declaration issued Wednesday in Washington signaled a change from the Western military alliance’s traditional focus on Russia with its rare open rebuke of China, calling it a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The rhetoric comes at a time when NATO declared its bid to bolster cooperation with its so-called “Indo-Pacific 4” partners — namely South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — in their latest summit, inviting these four countries’ heads of state to the summit for a third…
Author: Asia News Network
Arecent report has said that with digital adoption fast gaining currency, India is likely to see retail digital payments double to $ 7 trillion by 2030 from the current levels. The study by Kearney and Amazon Pay said that strong adoption of digital payments in online purchases has potentially led to a permanent shift in consumer behaviours, fueling offline adoption as well. In the report titled ‘How Urban India Pays’, Kearney-Amazon Pay said while 90 per cent of the respondents of the survey preferred digital payments when making online purchases, affluent consumers lead the way with the highest Degree of…
Thai production facility to start operating by November, the aim is to produce 50,000 units per year China’s fourth-largest electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, GAC AION New Energy Automobile, will open a new manufacturing facility in the Eastern Economic Corridor area of Rayong province on July 17. Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul said on Tuesday that the company aims to officially start production in Rayong in November this year. The 2.3 billion baht facility has the capacity to produce 50,000 units per year, she added. “The opening of a new EV manufacturing plant strengthens Thailand’s potential in becoming a manufacturing hub for…
With billions of dollars lost in collective tax revenue, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member-countries and its partners have jointly committed to a strong coordinated regional response that could urgently address the growing threat of illicit trade, including the rampant smuggling of tobacco products. A hundred delegates including Customs leaders from 10 ASEAN member states (AMS), along with ASEAN partners including China, Japan, Korea, and Australia gathered from June 4 to 6 for the 33rd Meeting of ASEAN Directors-General of Customs in Phu Quoc, Vietnam to forge enhanced customs cooperation, tackle illicit trade activities and boost regional trade.…
Last month was the hottest June on record, the EU’s climate change monitoring service said on Monday, continuing a streak of exceptional temperatures that some scientists said puts 2024 on track to be the world’s hottest recorded year. Every month since June 2023 – 13 months in a row – has ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. The latest data suggest 2024 could outrank 2023 as the hottest year since records began after human-caused climate change and…
Deputy Minister Tran Quoc To said the fight against crime is becoming more intense, with criminals finding ever more complex ways to commit offences. In the first half of this year the ministry launched investigations into 22,022 crimes related to social order, higher than the target set by the National Assembly. The Ministry of Public Security cracked down more than 3,000 corruption, economic and smuggling cases, with more than 4,900 defendants involved in the first half of this year, a conference has been told. The numbers of cases and defendants were 21.63 per cent and 47.12 per cent higher, compared…
BYD’s first factory outside China officially started operations on Wednesday at the WHA Industrial Estate in Rayong, with the potential to create 10,000 jobs. The factory has a maximum production capacity of 150,000 cars per year, with a total investment of over 35 billion baht. After BYD, known for its automobile and technology products, entered the Thai market, it began with the introduction of its first electric vehicle (EV) model, the Atto 3. The distributor for this model in Thailand is Rêver Automotive, managed by Pratarnwong and Pratarnporn Phornprapha. Simultaneously, BYD in China sought investment promotion privileges from the Board…
Kakao Bank has yielded the result of its first overseas investment, as Indonesian digital bank Superbank officially launched Wednesday. With the launch, Superbank becomes the first bank concentrating on digital financial services in Indonesia, supported by major shareholders that include Korean internet-only lender Kakao Bank, Southeast Asia’s biggest mobility application Grab, Indonesian media conglomerate EMTEK Group and Singaporean telecommunications giant Singtel. In September last year, Kakao Bank acquired a 10 percent stake in Superbank as part of its partnership with Grab to push its business boundary beyond the Korean market. “Kakao Bank will contribute to Indonesia’s financial technology development through…
Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and his entourage arrived in Ha Noi on June 19 night, starting a state visit to Vietnam from June 19-20 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong. The Russian leader is accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Russian sub-committee of the Vietnam-Russia intergovernmental committee on economic-trade and science-technology cooperation Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, and Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko, among others. Prominent among those present at the airport to welcome the Russian guests were…