Reuters Asia Business

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s monetary policy board was divided over when to cut interest rates with a majority of the seven-member board concerned about lower borrowing costs leading to price increases in the housing market, July meeting minutes showed on Tuesday. The Bank of Korea said at the meeting that it was time to …

Bank of Korea board split on rate cut timing amid hot housing market, minutes show Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand recorded 20.3 million foreign tourist arrivals from Jan. 1 through July 28, up 34% from the same period a year earlier, the tourism ministry said Tuesday. Thailand forecasts 36 million foreign arrivals for the full year. (Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

By Summer Zhen HONG KONG (Reuters) – Japanese banks have attracted larger foreign investment flows than other sectors, as investors see them as top beneficiaries of potential monetary tightening. Analysts said Japan’s emergence from decades of deflation and higher rates will mean better earnings for banks, supporting their stock prices. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT The Bank …

Investors stick to bets on Japan banks amid rate hike hopes Read More »

By Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India is not re-thinking the issue of allowing Chinese investments into the country, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. Earlier in July, India’s Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said in the government’s annual economic survey that New Delhi should focus on direct investments from China to boost …

India not rethinking issue of allowing Chinese investment, trade minister says Read More »

By Alun John, Harry Robertson and Tom Westbrook LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A perfect storm of political, policy and technical risks has upended one of the year’s most popular currency trades, sending the Japanese yen soaring from 38-year lows with ripples spreading as far as Switzerland, Australia and Mexico. Nearly $40 billion in suspected intervention by …

Surging yen upends popular global FX carry trades Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda said he may not be reelected as a director if shareholder support for him continues to fall at the pace it did this year, according to an interview published on Monday. Shareholder backing for Toyoda slid to 72% at the company’s annual general meeting last month, following …

Toyota chairman warns he may lose board spot if investor support continues to fall Read More »

By Jihoon Lee and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea will provide $400 million in financial support to small businesses hit by payment delays on two Qoo10 e-commerce platforms and the Singapore-based firm’s founder pledged to use his own assets to help compensate customers and vendors. Seoul-based TMON and WeMakePrice on Monday filed for corporate …

South Korea to support vendors hit by Qoo10 payment delays, founder pledges compensation Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) – Shipments of foreign branded phones including Apple’s iPhone within China rose by 10.9% to 2.87 million handsets in June, according to data from a research firm affiliated with the Chinese government. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) said that shipments of foreign-branded phones in China rose from 2.59 million …

Shipments of foreign phones in China jump 10.9% in June, data shows Read More »

By Clare Jim HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong property developer New World Development this month secured two onshore loans totalling 1.4 billion yuan ($193 million) as it seeks to further lower funding costs, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. The loans, which are a 12-year 1 billion yuan loan and a …

Hong Kong’s New World secures two yuan loans to lower funding costs, source says Read More »