Malaysia’s transition to treating Covid-19 as endemic is unlikely to spark a healthcare crisis, thanks to a “wall of immunity” against the virus, officials and experts say. However, eased rules from Friday (April 1) on opening hours, capacity limits and international travel – especially at the Singapore border – could be tightened again if the situation takes a turn for the worse. “Our greatest fear is when we let our guard down,” director-general of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah said last week. “We have put in place the ‘heightened alert system’ to monitor the situation closely to know when do we…
Author: Asia News Network
Last week, US President Joe Biden sent Congress his proposed defence budget for the next fiscal year: an $813 billion wish list, almost $60 billion more than he requested a year ago – more military spending than any president, including Donald Trump, has requested since World War II. Once Congress approves the request – and, in all likelihood, makes it bigger – US defence spending will be larger in inflation-adjusted dollars than it was at the height of the Vietnam War or former President Ronald Reagan’s Cold War buildup. Only two years ago, when Biden was running for president, progressives…
Vietnam’s agro-forestry-aquatic product export and import turnover was estimated at $22.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 6.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Of the figure, around $12.8 billion was in exports, an increase of 15.3 per cent, while about $9.8 billion was from imports, a decline of 3.5 per cent against last year, resulting in a trade surplus of roughly $3 billion, up 3.1 times year-on-year. In March alone, the export value reached over $4.7 million, up six per cent month-on-month and 47.1…
Ssangbangwool Group, best known for its underwear business, is joining an estimated one trillion won ($819 million) bidding war to acquire debt-ridden carmaker SsangYong Motor whose takeover deal with Edison Motors has recently been called off. Ssangbangwool, or SBW, plans to turn in a letter of intent this week to the lead manager of the deal, EY Hanyoung, by forming a consortium led by subsidiary Kanglim, a maker of special-purpose vehicles like firetrucks and cranes. Other than Kanglim, SBW’s other affiliates such as entertainment company IOK and optical component manufacturer Nanos are also expected to join the consortium. The latest…
The Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising production costs are pressuring Thailand’s export sector, the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) reports. Thailand’s export value in the first two months this year was $44.74 billion, up 12.2 per cent year-on-year, the TNSC said at the weekend. Exports were worth $21.25 billion in January and $23.48 billion in February, up eight per cent and 16.2 per cent, respectively. TNSC chairman Chaichan Charoensuk said January-February exports expanded strongly on orders made before Russia began its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24. He expects Thai exports in the first quarter to expand around five per…
Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has said that the amount of coal supplied to its thermal power plants (TPP) fell short of the contractual amounts, putting them at risk. The total amount of coal delivered to the TPPs in Q1/2022 was about 4.49 million tonnes, less than 5.85 million tonnes as stated in the contracts. Insufficient coal supply, coupled with low coal in reserve, has forced many TPPs to operate under capacity or shut down temporarily in late March. Notably, Nghi Son 1, Vung Ang 1 and Vinh Tan 2 TPPs had to operate at 60 per cent capacity. Hai Phong TPP…
Malaysia’s gaming sector, which has seen improved earnings results since the final quarter of last year, is expected to continue its recovery with a strong performance expected for the recent quarter. With the first quarter of the year being a typically strong period, Kenanga Research is optimistic over the performance of gaming stocks especially with the improvement in the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia. “The upcoming 1QCY22 [first quarter of the 2022 calendar year] results are expected to be seasonally strong with the CNY quarter for GENM while NFOs should also see uptick in ticket sales in the CNY-led seasonally strong…
The Philippines is expected to sustain merchandise trade growth in the medium term following reforms conducive to economic recovery, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. In an economic bulletin on April 2, the DOF’s chief economist and former undersecretary Gil Beltran noted that despite the Omicron-induced infection spike in January that revived stricter pandemic restrictions, combined exports and imports grew 20.1 per cent year-on-year to $16.8 billion. The value of imported goods at the start of this year jumped 27.5 per cent to $10.7 billion, while exports rose 8.9 per cent to over $6 billion. “Additionally, total trade for the…
It is urgent to amend Vietnam’s Land Law, which has revealed obstacles hindering the business activities of enterprises, according to experts in a workshop in Hanoi late last week. The workshop was held by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the National Assembly Economic Committee, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), to collect business opinions on amendments to the 2013 Land Law. CIEM deputy director Dang Duc Anh said it was a key law having a significant impact on the business investment environment of Vietnam, land was an essential input of production, and a land management…
Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, denounced South Korea’s defence chief, Suh Wook, for his remarks over the nation’s missile capabilities, warning that Seoul may face “serious threats.” Kim, the vice-director of the department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, is a key figure in the Kim family regime, serving her brother closely. “[Suh] is a confrontation maniac,” Kim said in an English-language statement through Pyongyang‘s state media Korean Central News Agency. “His reckless and intemperate rhetoric about the ‘preemptive strike’ has further worsened the inter-Korean relations and the military tension…