Business – Page 3 – The Singapore Post

China locks down city as Covid cases surge around the world

22Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

China locks down city as Covid cases surge around the world

China locks down city as Covid cases surge around the world China is on high alert for Covid-19 ahead of February’s Winter Olympics. BEIJING: China shut down a city of 13 million people on Thursday in a bid to extinguish a tiny Covid outbreak and chase its zero-case goal, as other nations around the globe battled huge infection surges driven by Omicron. Stock markets rose in Asia, following Wall Street's lead, partly due to preliminary studies from Britain indicating Omicron infections were less likely to result in hospitalisation compared with the Delta. The cautious optimism was also lifted by news that the US Food and Drug Administration had authorised Pfizer's anti-Covid pill, providing fresh tools to battle the disease. But with Omicron driving record infection numbers in many co

Hong Kong suspends officials, isolates some 170 party guests

19Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, China, World

Hong Kong suspends officials, isolates some 170 party guests

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities on Friday suspended several government officials from duty and will order about 170 people to be quarantined at a government facility after they attended a birthday party where two guests later tested positive for the coronavirus. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said in a statement late Friday that the officials who were at the party and who are subject to quarantine would be suspended from their duties and must use their vacation days while they are isolated for 21 days. Fears of a new virus cluster were sparked when a second guest at the Jan. 3 party preliminarily tested positive. On Friday, health authorities said all party guests would be classified as close contacts and be sent to mandatory quarantine if the second guest was confirmed as a positive

Myanmar coup-fuelled poverty pushes thousands to Thailand

17Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, World

Myanmar coup-fuelled poverty pushes thousands to Thailand

Myanmar coup-fuelled poverty pushes thousands to Thailand In this file handout photo from the Royal Thai Army released on Oct 25, 2021, a Thai military personnel in protective gear checks the temperature of Myanmar migrants apprehended by Thai military personnel in Kanchanaburi province. (AFP) Trekking through dense jungle and mountainous terrain at night to avoid arrest, one couple from Myanmar endured a gruelling journey to Thailand -- grasping for an economic lifeline as jobs dry up in their coup-hit home. Myo Chit and his wife are among thousands of migrants who have made the crossing in recent months, spurred by the twin crises of a pandemic-hit economy and turmoil triggered by the junta's ousting of Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government. Their two-day journey from Myanmar's coas...

17Jan

By News DeskNo Comments

Business, China, Conflict

China lets Nepal down

Six years down the line from Kathmandu signing with Beijing a Transportand Transit Agreement and two years after the signing of the protocol onimplementation of the agreement, the treaty has turned into a non-starter.Businessmen in Nepal have been left with only protesting against Chinaat the two main trading points on the Nepal – China border ---Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani ---- accusing Beijing of imposing an unofficialblockade as container trucks loaded with importable consumer items havenot been allowed to cross the border into Nepal, according to reports fromKathmandu. To harass Nepalese traders, Chinese transporters have evenincreased freight charges over four times along the nearly 25 km stretchbetween the Chinese border point and the Nepalese border. The reasonsfor this Chinese betray

Walmart’s China Dilemma is Every Western Company’s, Too

17Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, China, World

Walmart’s China Dilemma is Every Western Company’s, Too

If relations — and Chinese consumption — don't improve, more foreign companies might decide to focus on greener pastures A Walmart's Sam's Club store in Beijing in August. (Photo: Bloomberg) Walmart is struggling with a public outcry in China after the country's netizens accused the company of failing to stock products from China's Xinjiang region, where the government has imprisoned large numbers of the Turkic Uyghur minority. On the face of it, this is nothing new: Foreign companies in China have faced periodic boycotts for years. But that fact conceals profound changes in the political and economic environment in China. If they persist, longstanding assumptions about consumer companies' need to invest in China -- or be left behind globally -- could start to unravel. Politically ting

17Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, World

TAT puts dampener on New Year hopes

TAT puts dampener on New Year hopes People browse New Year decorative items on sale at Sampeng market in Bangkok. Apichart Jinakul The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects a weak New Year period with just 8.04 billion baht in tourism revenue, due to concerns over the Covid-19 Omicron variant. "Concerns over a possible outbreak of the new Omicron variant have affected local tourists' plans for the New Year holiday, but younger generations continue to travel as they have confidence in preventive measures," said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. According to the TAT forecast, tourism spending between Dec 31 and Jan 3 reflects weaker travel sentiment compared to previous holidays, mainly due to the emergence of Omicron and economic slowdown. Local tourists are expected to take 2.63 m...

Sri Lanka’s Tottering Economy Under Chinese Debt Trap

17Jan

By News DeskNo Comments

Business, China

Sri Lanka’s Tottering Economy Under Chinese Debt Trap

Debt-ridden Sri Lanka has reached out to China to help restructure loan repaymentsto salvage its tottering economy. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa askedvisiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that “it would be a great relief to thecountry if the attention could be paid on restructuring the debt repayments as asolution to the economic crisis that has arisen in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,”according to President’s office statement.Rajapaksa also requested that China provide a concessional trade-credit plan forChinese imports and to assist in enabling Chinese tourists to travel to Sri Lanka underthe bio-bubble concept, according to the statement.China is deemed to be Sri Lanka’s fourth-biggest lender and Sri Lanka is reported tohave to make about $4.5 billion in debt repayme

Human cost of China’s green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics

16Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, China, Conflict, World

Human cost of China’s green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics

Human cost of China's green energy rush ahead of Winter Olympics China has vowed the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 will be the first Games to be run entirely on wind and solar energy, and have built scores of facilities to increase capacity -- but activists warn ordinary people are being exploited. BAODING, China: Beaten, forced off their land, cheated out of money, and even falsely imprisoned -- farmers in China say they are paying a heavy price as authorities rush to deliver on ambitious pledges to ramp up national green energy output. China has vowed the upcoming Winter Olympics 2022 will be the first Games to be run entirely on wind and solar energy, and have built scores of facilities to increase capacity -- but activists warn ordinary people are being exploited by "land grabs" in ...

16Jan

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Business, World

Refugee policy needs rethink

Refugee policy needs rethink The influx of ethnic Karen refugees fleeing war in Myanmar across the Thai border has raised questions yet again over Thailand's policies on refugees and its cosy ties with the Myanmar military. In the ongoing civil war on the Thai-Myanmar border, Myanmar troops clashed with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU) in the Myawaddy township opposite Tak's Mae Sot district in December last year. The battles culminated in deadly airstrikes and heavy artillery attacks on Christmas Day. Thousands of civilians, mostly ethnic Karen villagers, fled for their lives, crossing the Moei River to seek safety in Mae Sot. When the Myanmar army sent planes to bomb KNU bases, the rockets and gunfire from heavy artillery att...

Imran Khan hid his assets claims Pak ECP!

11Jan

By Spost_adminNo Comments

Business, Politics, Singapore, World

Imran Khan hid his assets claims Pak ECP!

A new damning revelation has hit Pakistan’s polity in the new year. This time, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) had given false information on funding received from abroad and in fact, hid its real assets. The report of the ECP’s scrutiny committee has come like a bombshell to the party and its leader at a time when the Prime Minister stands isolated both domestically and internationally. According to the ECP report, the PTI did not report funds received to the tune of Pak Rupees (PKR) 310 million. Little wonder then that the opposition in Pakistan led by JeI chief Fazlur Rehman has called the PTI, a “party of thieves”. Fazlur Rehman states that according to the ECP report Imran Khan hid 5

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