Reuters Asia Business

By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang (Reuters) -Top Chinese research institutions linked to the People’s Liberation Army have used Meta’s publicly available Llama model to develop an AI tool for potential military applications, according to three academic papers and analysts. In a June paper reviewed by Reuters, six Chinese researchers from three institutions, including two …

Chinese researchers develop AI model for military use on back of Meta’s Llama Read More »

By Makiko Yamazaki, Takaya Yamaguchi and Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan should wait for at least six months before hiking interest rates, until there are signs of sustainable wage gains above inflation, the head of the opposition party that the ruling LDP is courting for support said. “There should be no significant …

BOJ should wait at least six months for rate hike, says opposition kingmaker Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) posted a $60 billion quarterly investment loss on Friday, its worst quarterly result in a little more than four years, after the mammoth fund was hit by volatile markets. GPIF, one of the world’s largest pension funds, reported an investment loss of 9.13 trillion yen ($60 …

Japan’s government pension fund posts $60 billion investment loss Read More »

By Ariba Shahid KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistan’s central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate further at its policy meeting on Monday, with policymakers continuing their efforts to revive a fragile economy as inflation eases off recent record highs. The central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan, has slashed the benchmark policy rate …

Pakistan central bank set to deliver fourth consecutive rate cut to revive economy Read More »

By Florence Tan and Jeslyn Lerh SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Global tank storage operator Vopak has committed just a fraction of the $1 billion it allocated for energy transition projects by 2030 but expects investments to accelerate towards the end of the decade, CEO Dick Richelle said.  The company has spent a little less than $100 …

Vopak expects clean energy investments to accelerate towards 2030, CEO says Read More »

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s September retail sales fell 6.9% from a year earlier, reflecting the continued impact of a change in consumption patterns, government data showed on Friday. Sales fell to HK$29.6 billion ($3.81 billion) in a seventh consecutive month of decline after a revised 10.0% decline in August, a 11.7% fall in …

Hong Kong September retail sales fall 6.9% Read More »

By Katya Golubkova TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese trading house Mitsubishi sees its liquefied natural gas (LNG) output capacity growing by 5 million metric tons per year to over 17 million tons early in the 2030s thanks to its stakes in projects including in Malaysia and Canada. Mitsubishi is a shareholder in 12 LNG projects in Brunei, …

Japan’s Mitsubishi sees LNG capacity growing to over 17 million t/y in early 2030s Read More »

By Ananda Teresia JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian worker groups said on Friday that a Constitutional Court ruling on labour laws should lead to higher minimum wages next year, even though parts of their petition challenging the legislation were rejected. Late on Thursday, the court ordered changes to some labour rules, including the establishment of sectoral …

Indonesian labour unions expect higher wages after court ruling Read More »

By Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Nomura Holdings more than doubled its quarterly profit on Friday, boosted by strong performance at its wholesale and wealth management businesses during a quarter overshadowed by a bond trading scandal. Nomura delivered its highest profit in four years and its sixth quarter of growth, results that may take some …

Nomura delivers big profit rise in quarter dogged by scandal Read More »