Bloomberg Malaysian stocks dropped and the ringgit weakened after the government imposed a two-week nationwide lockdown to curb a relentless surge in Covid-19 infections. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index fell as much as 1.6%, before paring losses to 0.7% at the close in Kuala Lumpur. The ringgit slid as much as 0.4% to 4.1480 per dollar, while 10-year bond ...

Bloomberg Singapore pledged it would not be left behind as developed economies reopen, marking an intention to shift away from the strict containment approach that’s helped some Asian places eliminate the virus, but which leaves them increasingly isolated. The country wouldn’t be stuck in a Covid-19 malaise, and tourists will be welcomed, people can go for sports events, even ditch ...

Bloomberg President Xi Jinping urged Chinese officials to create a “trustworthy, lovable and respectable” image for the country, in a sign that Beijing may be looking to smooth its hard-edged diplomatic approach. Xi told senior Communist Party leaders that the country must “make friends extensively, unite the majority and continuously expand its circle of friends with those who understand and ...

Bloomberg Myanmar’s junta has moved the nation’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ex-president Win Myint from their residences in the capital to an “unknown location,” according to allies who’ve expressed serious concerns for their safety. The two have been held by the country’s powerful military since it seized power in a coup on February 1. “We’ve heard from ...

Bloomberg Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is expected to return home on June 17 after his acquittal on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, according to his party. The party announced the news at a celebration to mark Gbagbo’s birthday in the economic capital, Abidjan. It was confirmed by Gbagbo’s lawyer, Habiba Toure. The Hague-based ...

Bloomberg President Joe Biden vowed to “root out systemic racism” in a statement to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, which wiped out one of the nation’s most prosperous Black neighbourhoods. Biden will travel to the Oklahoma city this week to commemorate the massacre that took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when a White ...

Bloomberg Australia’s central bank maintained its policy settings as it prepares to decide on extending its yield target and quantitative easing programs, with a Covid-19 lockdown complicating the outlook. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept the cash rate and three-year yield target at 0.10% in Sydney on Tuesday, as expected. It will make a decision in July on whether to ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong urged all banks to “strongly encourage” staff in client-facing roles or support functions to get vaccinated as the city struggles with local resistance to its free rollout. Banks should “identify and draw up a list of designated staff expected to receive inoculation,” Hong Kong Monetary Authority Deputy Chief Executive Arthur Yuen said in a circular to financial ...

Bloomberg A hot equity market in India is prompting HDFC Bank Ltd to try to muscle in on the action as companies raise record levels of funding. The government has flooded the market with money in response to one of the world’s worst outbreaks of coronavirus, pushing stocks to dizzying levels and helping companies to boost capital buffers. Despite being ...

Bloomberg The Kazakh bank that received one of the country’s biggest bailout packages in recent years has paid out about $430 million in dividends, including from profits booked before the rescue. First Heartland Jusan Bank, known as Tsesnabank before it was bought by a fund set up by leader-for-life Nursultan Nazarbayev, resumed payouts in 2020, regulatory filings show. In 2018 ...