Reuters Asia Top

By Cynthia Kim and Aradhana Aravindan SEOUL/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore and South Korea both tightened monetary policy on Thursday, hot on the heels of rate hikes in Canada and New Zealand, as global policymakers moved quickly to prevent soaring inflation from derailing a fragile world economic recovery. While the four central banks began tightening policy …

Singapore, Korea lead Asia’s central bank battle against inflation Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States congratulated Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on his election win this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday. “The United States views a strong, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan as essential for the interests of both of our countries,” Blinken said. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing …

U.S. congratulates Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif on election Read More »

By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China should help end Russia’s “heinous war” in Ukraine or face a loss of its standing in the world, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, warning that those who seek to undermine Western sanctions face economic consequences. Yellen said in a landmark speech that she …

Yellen to China: Help stop Russia’s war in Ukraine or lose standing in the world Read More »

By Aditya Kalra NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Meta Platforms Inc’s WhatsApp has won regulatory approval to more double the number of users of its payments service in India to 100 million, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. WhatsApp has over the years told National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) that there …

WhatsApp wins approval to expand Indian payments service to 100 million users – sources Read More »

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The World Bank cut its economic growth forecast for India and the whole South Asian region on Wednesday, citing worsening supply bottlenecks and rising inflation risks caused by the Ukraine crisis. The international lender lowered its growth estimate for India, the region’s largest economy, to 8% from 8.7% for the current …

World bank cuts India, South Asia growth forecast on Ukraine crisis Read More »

(Reuters) – The outlook for Afghanistan’s economy is dire with per capita income having fallen by over a third in the last four months of 2021 after the Islamist Taliban seized power and foreign forces withdrew, the World Bank said on Wednesday. “One of the poorest countries in the world has become much poorer,” said …

Outlook for Afghan economy ‘dire’ as household incomes shrink – World Bank Read More »

(Reuters) – S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday lowered Sri Lanka’s foreign currency rating to “CC” from “CCC”, citing the economic crisis in the country and rising external funding pressures. “Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process is likely to be complicated and may take months to complete”, the ratings agency said in a statement https://disclosure.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/2823464. (Reporting by …

S&P downgrades Sri Lanka’s foreign currency rating amid economic crisis Read More »

By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s most populous states will face blackout risks from 2025 if new power capacity is not built in time to replace the country’s biggest coal-fired plant, due to be shut that year, the energy market operator said on Thursday. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released an updated outlook …

Australia’s eastern states face blackout risk from 2025 Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) -China will use timely cuts in banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) and other policy tools to support the economy, the cabinet said on Wednesday, as headwinds increase amid outbreaks of COVID-19. China will step up financial support for the real economy, especially industries and small firms hit by the pandemic, and will lower …

China will use timely RRR cuts to support economy, cabinet says Read More »