Reuters Asia Business

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Japanese automaker Isuzu Motors plans to use Thailand as a production base for an electric version of its D-MAX pickup truck, with a plan to start exports next year, a Thai government spokesperson said on Thursday. Chai Wacharonke said the firm plans to invest 1 trillion yen ($6.62 billion) in research and …

Japan’s Isuzu Motors to produce EV pickup trucks in Thailand Read More »

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nikkei share average hit a record high on Thursday and the yen rebounded from a four-month low, after the U.S. Federal Reserve stuck to its easing path despite recent heated inflation readings. The Fed’s policy direction contrasts sharply with the Bank of Japan, which on Tuesday ended eight …

Japan shares scale record high, yen rebounds as Fed out-doves BOJ Read More »

By Anna Tong SAN JOSE (Reuters) – Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence startup founded by two prominent former Google researchers, released AI models on Wednesday it said were built using a novel method inspired by evolution, akin to breeding and natural selection. Sakana AI employed a technique called “model merging” which combines existing AI models …

Open-source AI models released by Tokyo lab Sakana founded by former Google researchers Read More »

By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) -China has room to further cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), among other policy tools at its disposal, a deputy central bank head said on Thursday, underlining market expectations for more easing measures to bolster the economy. The world’s second-biggest economy started the year on a solid footing, offering some …

China central bank says it has room to cut bank reserve ratio further Read More »

By Josh Ye HONG KONG (Reuters) – In a sea change at China’s Tencent, an easy-to-play game of cute characters tackling obstacle courses has taken precedence over developing a big-budget sophisticated foreign franchise for smartphones. Since late last year, the world’s largest video games company has, according to sources, redeployed hundreds of people from the …

Tencent’s next level up: fewer big foreign franchise games, more in-house Read More »

By Selena Li and Brenda Goh HONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Alibaba Group’s former CEO Daniel Zhang will join Firstred Capital as managing partner, Firstred Capital said on Thursday, six months after he left the Chinese e-commerce giant. Zhang will join the fund to work with its founder Liu Xiaodan to “explore a new future for …

Alibaba’s former CEO Daniel Zhang to join Firstred Capital as managing partner Read More »

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Leaders in the emerging Western nuclear fusion industry are convening in Washington, D.C., this week seeking ways to attract more money for research to avoid falling far behind China in the race to develop and build commercially viable reactors. A funding bill signed by President Joe Biden this month contained …

Nuclear fusion backers meet in US capital as competition with China looms Read More »

(Reuters) -The Bank of Japan is expected to hike the interest rate in either July or October, though an October hike is considered more likely, as it would give the BOJ around half a year to evaluate the impact, Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday. The central bank ended eight years of negative interest rates on …

Bank of Japan’s next rate hike likely in July or October, Nikkei reports Read More »

DUBAI (Reuters) – COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber said China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) would soon join a pledge by oil and gas companies to cut methane emissions to zero by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by or before 2050. Speaking to the CERAWeek energy conference via video on Tuesday, Al Jaber said 52 …

China’s CNPC to join decarbonization pledge, COP28 president says Read More »