Since early March, another wave of the Covid-19 infections has hit many Chinese cities including Changchun, Shenzhen and Shanghai. In response, local authorities have adopted strict measures to contain the outbreaks. In fact, many cities, despite not being seriously hit by the latest outbreaks, have tightened their prevention and control measures. The latest wave of infections has especially disrupted the food, tourism, cultural and entertainment sectors. And since these sectors are closely linked to people’s livelihoods, the government should attach greater importance to the fight against the novel coronavirus and protecting and creating jobs. Indeed, the government has been introducing…
Author: Asia News Network
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) should consider offering the public greater access to detailed land information such as long-term urban plans, which are not easily available now, experts have said. At an April 15 conference between the administration and information and communication businesses, Lam Nguyen Hai Long, chairman of the HCMC Computer Association, said the southern Vietnamese city should allow non-state entities to utilise data just like state authorities. “Data is an asset. The more they are used the more effective they are. Data that are closed off are dead data. They should be utilised by the public and businesses.”…
Major Chinese banks have allowed clients in some cities and provinces hard-hit by Covid-19 to delay their mortgage payments to assist clients with payment difficulties at a crucial moment in the fight against the pandemic. Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd (PSBC), a large state-owned commercial lender, allowed four types of clients to delay mortgage payments for up to six months. These are clients who are hospitalised after being infected with Covid-19 or housed in isolation facilities, those taking part in the prevention and control of the pandemic, those who are put under quarantine and medical observation due to…
The Japanese tourism industry is starting to see the first glimmers of light at the end of the tunnel. Presently, there are no government measures in place asking people to refrain from going out, marking the first time since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic that people can move around freely during the Golden Week holidays. With the full lifting of the government’s quasi-emergency priority measures, expectations are growing that the pickup in tourism demand will continue beyond the holiday-studded period. Yet, concerns remain over a possible seventh wave of infections. On April 14, the six JR Group companies…
South Korea received some 33 per cent less “greenfield” foreign direct investments (FDI) as of 2020, compared with the amount before the start of the US-China trade war in March 2018, a report showed on April 17. Greenfield investment refers to a type of FDI in which a parent company sets up a new affiliate in a different country rather than buying one and builds its own operations from the ground up. “When three-year greenfield FDIs before and after the conflict are compared, the European Union’s growth rate amounted to 47 per cent, followed by China with 13.5 per cent,…
Vietnamese automaker VinFast and Electrify America, the largest open ultra-fast charging network in the US, on April 13 (New York time) announced an agreement to provide owners of VinFast electric vehicles (EV) with charging services, plus two complementary charging sessions. The agreement, which was signed within the framework of the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS 2022), is expected to bring a complete driving experience to customers, contributing to accelerating the global EV revolution. Electrify America has 800 EV charging stations and about 3,500 individual chargers open or with construction completed. Combined with Electrify America’s ultra-fast charging technology – including…
Even as competition for talent remains tight, tech giant Google has topped a ranking of Singapore’s best employers for the second year in a row. The Economic Development Board (EDB) came in second, the first government agency to place in the top 10 in the three years the study has been conducted. Singapore’s Best Employers 2022, a ranking of the top 200 companies and institutions with at least 200 employees, was released on April 18 by the Straits Times and global data firm Statista. Toy retailer The Lego Group, tech giant Apple and fintech firm Wise rounded out the top…
Vietnam’s latest draft National Power Development Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045 (PDP VIII) has made drastic reductions of CO2 emissions with no new coal-fired power plants to be built in the planning period, and with the switch from coal and natural gas to biomass, ammonia, and hydrogen, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An. In his report at a virtual conference with localities on April 16 on the PDP VIII, the deputy minister said that compared with previous drafts, this one also makes remarkable changes to the structure of energy sources…
China’s securities regulator said Didi Global Inc’s plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a decision which the Chinese company made on its own and that the move is based on the market and its own assessment of its situation. Didi’s delisting has nothing to do with other US-listed Chinese stocks or ongoing efforts between Chinese regulators and their US counterparts to resolve an audit dispute regarding US-listed Chinese companies, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on April 16 on its official WeChat account. The comments came after Beijing-based Didi, the country’s…
People who have been in close contact with Covid-19 cases (F1 cases) are now no longer required to self-quarantine but have to avoid going to large gatherings, according to new guidance issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health. The new guidance gives new definitions of Covid-19 patients (F0), and F1 cases, along with medical measures for them, which takes into account the very high vaccination coverage and a strong decline in both serious cases and fatalities due to Covid-19 in Vietnam. Accordingly, F0 cases are those testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR method, or those who show clinical symptoms (fever,…