Reuters Asia Business

By David Lawder ELIZABETHTOWN, Kentucky (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday said President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to ensure the success of its domestic electric vehicle (EV) industry in the face of China’s growing exports in the sector and heavy government subsidies. Asked whether the United States needs new tariffs on …

Yellen says US moving to ensure domestic EV maker success despite China’s exports Read More »

By Lucy Raitano LONDON (Reuters) – Corporate dividends globally hit an all-time high of $1.66 trillion in 2023, with record payouts by banks making up half of the growth, a report showed on Wednesday. On a worldwide basis, 86% of listed companies either increased dividends or maintained them, according to the quarterly Janus Henderson Global …

Global corporate dividends hit record $1.66 trillion in 2023 Read More »

By Trevor Hunnicutt (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden plans to express concern over Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, pushing the U.S. company’s stock 12% lower on bets the deal could face greater political opposition. In December, Nippon Steel clinched a deal to buy …

Biden to raise concern over Nippon Steel’s deal for U.S. Steel, source says Read More »

By Scott Murdoch SYDNEY (Reuters) -Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) is looking to sell a significant stake in its wholly owned Australian unit Optus to Canadian private equity giant Brookfield, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Southeast Asia’s largest telco operator is in advanced talks with Brookfield over the stake sale, the …

SingTel looking to sell significant Optus stake to Brookfield, source says Read More »

By Mai Nguyen (Reuters) -Chinese top copper smelters on Wednesday came to a rare agreement to jointly embark on production cuts at some loss-making plants as they seek to cope with a shortage of raw material, according to sources with knowledge of the plans. There were no specific rates or volumes set for the cuts …

China’s top copper smelters agree on rare joint production cuts, sources say Read More »

By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor agreed to give factory workers their biggest pay increase in 25 years on Wednesday, heightening expectations that bumper pay raises will give the central bank leeway to make a key policy shift next week. Toyota, Panasonic, Nippon Steel and Nissan were among some of Japan …

Toyota agrees to biggest wage hike in 25 years, paves way for BOJ shift Read More »

By Colleen Howe BEIJING (Reuters) – Tougher U.S. sanctions on Russia’s coal firms will keep global prices of high-calorific-value coal high in the near term, affecting a fifth of the latter’s coal exports, a Chinese industry group warned on Wednesday. Sanctions imposed last month by Washington specifically cite top exporters Suek and Mechel among broad …

China coal group says US curbs on Russia to keep prices high, hurt exports Read More »

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Cathay Pacific reported its first annual profit in four years as the airline left behind the pandemic distress that drove heavy losses and layoffs, pushing its shares to a four-year high. Hong Kong’s flagship airline announced on Wednesday it made a HK$9.79 billion ($1.25 billion) net profit in 2023, above the average …

Cathay signals rebound from COVID with first profit, dividend since 2019 Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will tweak its military equipment transfer rules to allow exports of the jet fighter it is developing with Britain and Italy, the country’s leader said on Wednesday, removing an obstacle that could have stymied the project. The joint Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) last year established a joint organisation and industry …

Japan to relax export curbs to allow overseas sales of joint jet fighter Read More »