Bloomberg Japan’s goal of attracting 40 million visitors this year may already be in danger, following China’s decision to ban tour groups going overseas to help contain the impact of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus. Chinese tourists made up almost a third of all arrivals to Japan in 2019, in a year that saw visitor growth impacted by a diplomatic ...

Bloomberg Face masks and hand sanitisers are becoming must-have accessories from Hong Kong to Japan as a deadly virus spreads across Asia. The only problem is getting hold of them. Pharmacies across Hong Kong sold out of masks aimed at preventing viral infection, prompting authorities to say more will arrive next week. Taiwan banned the export of masks for the ...

Bloomberg China is strengthening efforts to encourage direct financing of companies in a financial system that’s long been dominated by banks, as the private sector struggles with access to credit. Regulators in recent months relaxed rules for companies seeking listings on China’s stock markets, moving towards a registration-based system that in theory automatically green-lights applicants provided they meet set criteria. ...

Bloomberg Malaysia is offering airwaves for 5G networks at little cost to carriers to reduce the investment needed for the speedier wireless service, a model followed by China in its rollout of the technology last year. The government will forgo revenue from spectrum auctions and instead will allocate airwaves to a consortium of carriers via a tender starting after April, ...

Bloomberg India’s economy appears to be shaking off a slump, as activity in the services and manufacturing sectors expanded for a second straight month in December. The needle on a gauge measuring so-called animal spirits signalled the economy may be taking a turn for the better, as five of the eight high-frequency indicators tracked by Bloomberg News came in stronger ...

Bloomberg The Philippines lowered its alert on the Taal volcano south of the capital amid weaker eruptions and earthquakes that in the past weeks had spewed ash and molten rock, causing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. The alert was reduced to 3 from 4 out of a 5 rating-scale, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said on ...

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp plans to start gauging buyer interest in its UK and German upstream operations in the coming weeks as the oil major continues to divest overseas assets, people with knowledge of the matter said. The energy giant aims to start a sale process for its UK North Sea assets imminently, according to the people. It would then ...

Bloomberg EnCap Investments LP plans to use a $6 billion war chest to drill oil and natural gas wells, now that dwindling investor interest has made it tougher for private equity players to offload shale assets. The energy-focussed firm sees “robust drilling economics” in many parts of the US and is running 23 rigs across its portfolio companies, according to ...

Bloomberg The European Union’s (EU) chief negotiator for a post-Brexit trade deal said he’ll work “night and day” for an agreement, though the UK‘s departure will have “innumerable and lasting consequences.” There is a risk the two sides will fail to get a trade agreement by the December 31 deadline and the UK crashes out of the bloc, Michel Barnier ...

Bloomberg Google engineers said a tool Apple Inc developed to help users avoid web tracking is fundamentally flawed and creates more problems than it solves. The Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature on Apple’s Safari web browser, which is meant to block tracking software used by digital advertisers, can be abused to do the exact opposite, according to a paper released by ...