Reuters Asia Business

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia will begin construction of its Chinese-backed $1.7 billion Techo Funan canal this August, Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Thursday, describing the development as a “historic project”. The 180-km (112-mile) canal that will connect the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast has caused tension between Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam, …

Cambodia to break ground on contentious Techo Funan canal this August Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will take appropriate action against excessive currency movement, Minister of Finance Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday, stressing the importance of stability in the foreign exchange market. Suzuki made the comments in a regular post-cabinet meeting news conference. Japan will release data later in the global day showing whether it spent money in …

Japan will respond to excessive foreign exchange movement, finance minister says Read More »

(Reuters) -French automaker Renault and Chinese partner Geely announced a highly anticipated joint venture on Friday that will develop combustion and hybrid engines, hoping to improve the competitiveness of their legacy auto business. The venture is aimed at developing more efficient gasoline engines and hybrid systems, as rival automakers ramp up investment in low-emission powertrains …

Renault, Geely create joint venture for hybrid, combustion engines Read More »

By Leika Kihara and Takahiko Wada TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan must steadily raise interest rates to guard against the risk of inflation accelerating well above its 2% target, said Takeo Hoshi, an academic with knowledge of the country’s monetary policy. Japan’s wage-inflation dynamics are changing in ways unseen in the past with …

BOJ panelist calls for steady rate hikes, warns of inflation risk Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan is expected to post its first year-on-year rise in household spending in 14 months, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, although the tepid growth is likely to highlight persistent weakness in the consumer sector. Spending probably rose 0.6% year-on-year in April, according to a Reuters poll of 17 economists, following a …

Japan’s household spending seen rising for first time in 14 months: Reuters poll Read More »

By Yena Park and Jihoon Lee SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s central bank and national pension fund are in discussions to expand their foreign exchange swap programme of $35 billion, officials in charge of foreign exchange said on Friday. They are in talks to raise the amount, but nothing has been decided, one official said. …

S.Korea’s central bank, pension fund in talks to expand FX swap Read More »

By Krystal Hu and Sheila Dang (Reuters) -TikTok is working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for its 170 million U.S. users that may result in a version that operates independently of its Chinese parent and be more palatable to American lawmakers who want to ban it, according to sources with direct knowledge of the …

Exclusive-TikTok preparing a US copy of the app’s core algorithm, sources say Read More »

By Mica Rosenberg, Kristina Cooke and Joshua Schneyer NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday sued South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Co, an auto parts plant and a labor recruiter, over illegal use of child labor in Alabama. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Alabama, also sought an …

US Labor Dept sues Hyundai over US child labor, court filing shows Read More »

PARIS (Reuters) – Renault said it would link up with a Chinese engineering company to develop future Twingo cars priced below 20,000 euros ($21,676), as European automakers target smaller and cheaper electric vehicles to compete with Chinese peers. “Twingo’s development is moving forward quickly, as we plan to make the development in two years,” said …

Renault to develop Twingos priced under 20,000 euros with Chinese partner Read More »