Reuters Asia Business

By Joanna Plucinska and Angelo Amante LONDON/ROME (Reuters) – Lufthansa’s purchase of a minority stake in Italy’s loss-making ITA Airways injects fresh momentum into a wave of consolidation in Europe’s fragmented aviation market that could see more mid-tier national carriers snapped up. The German group will be judged on whether it can make the successor …

Analysis-Lufthansa’s ITA deal heralds more European airline tie-ups Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sri Lanka is showing a “strong commitment” to implementing economic reforms but must continue this momentum amid a challenging economic environment, International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said on Thursday. In a statement at the conclusion of his visit to Columbo, Okamura said continued open dialogue with Sri Lanka’s creditors …

IMF deputy urges Sri Lanka to keep up momentum on economic reforms Read More »

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan’s central bank foreign reserves decreased by $102 million to $4.09 billion due to external debt payments during the week ended May 26, the central bank said in a statement. The total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $9.513 billion as of May 26. (Reporting by Ariba Shahid …

Pakistan central bank’s forex reserves fall $102 million to $4.09 billion in week ended May 26 Read More »

By Jonathan Cable, Leika Kihara and Lucia Mutikani LONDON/TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sluggish global demand deepened the decline in manufacturing activity across Europe and the United States and remained a major challenge for many of Asia’s big exporters, business surveys for May showed on Thursday. Purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) for the euro zone moved further below …

Global factories struggle for momentum amid patchy demand Read More »

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will work to cut government spending, boost foreign investment and create jobs, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday hours after the central bank cut interest rates for the first time in three years. The South Asian island republic plunged into crisis last year as its foreign exchange …

Sri Lanka to cut spending, create more jobs after rate cut -president Read More »

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Casino revenues in Macau, the world’s biggest gambling hub, surged 366% from a year ago to total 15.6 billion patacas ($1.93 billion) in May, the highest since January 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had still to fully grip China. The monthly take was bolstered by a five-day national holiday that saw hundreds …

Macau’s May casino revenue soars 366% year on year on visitor influx Read More »

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk departed Shanghai on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day trip to China in which he met senior Chinese government officials including the highest-ranking vice premier. Photos and a video of Musk’s visit late Wednesday to Tesla’s Shanghai factory – the automaker’s biggest production hub – showed him …

Elon Musk’s whirlwind China trip included talks with vice premier Read More »

By Joe Cash BEIJING (Reuters) -China will closely follow the progress of European Union discussions on an 11th tranche of sanctions against Russia that could result in trade restrictions with China, Shu Jueting, a commerce ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday. The EU’s executive European Commission for the first time has proposed a tool to limit …

China says it will monitor EU talks on Russia sanctions, defend Chinese firms Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s largest wheat-growing province of Henan is expected to be hit by more rain in coming days, state forecasters said on Thursday, complicating efforts to harvest grain already damaged by wetter than normal weather in late May. Known as the granary of China, the south of Henan was struck by higher-than-normal rainfall in …

‘Granary of China’ braces for more wheat-damaging rain Read More »