Business

PARIS / WAM Growth in Emerging Asia is proving resilient with real GDP growth in 2023 projected to 5.3 % on average in Emerging Asian economies (Asean-10, China and India), and by 4.6 % on average in Asean economies alone. The export sector helped boost economic growth and maintain the momentum of the region’s economies, though it has weakened recently. ...

BLOOMBERG Britain’s ambition to become a “science superpower” will fail unless the government reverses the country’s reputation as a poor place to invest, the head of the UK’s biggest pharmaceutical lobby group has warned. “I’m very concerned about the sentiment towards the UK among global leadership right now,” Richard Torbett, chief executive officer of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical ...

BLOOMBERG China approved its first messenger RNA vaccine for Covid-19, clearing a shot from a local drugmaker that harnesses the powerful technology months after the world’s most-populous nation abandoned pandemic curbs. The mRNA vaccine, developed by CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd and which targets the Omicron variant, has been approved for emergency use, according to a statement from the company to ...

BLOOMBERG Hindustan Zinc Ltd’s plan to dole out $1.3 billion in dividends, a fourth such disbursement to shareholders this financial year, is raising concerns over the use of cash at Anil Agarwal’s zinc unit. The Rajasthan-based miner will pay an interim dividend of 26 rupees per share totalling 109.9 billion rupees, according to an exchange filing. Key beneficiaries will be ...

BLOOMBERG Sembcorp Industries Ltd, a Singaporean energy company backed by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, is considering selling its waste management unit, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The company is working with a financial adviser on the potential divestment of SembWaste Pte and could seek as much as $700 million for the unit, the people said. Other ...

BLOOMBERG A Singapore-based fintech investment firm is close to raising $100 million to back finance and blockchain startups in China and Southeast Asia. BitRock Capital, backed by logistics real estate operator GLP Pte, targets a closing of the new fund by the third quarter, Alfred Shang, its chief executive officer and co-founding partner, said in an interview. It would more ...

BLOOMBERG GoTo Group reported a narrower adjusted loss for the fourth quarter, helped by extensive cost cuts at the Indonesian ride-hailing and e-commerce provider. The adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) shrank to 3.1 trillion rupiah ($202 million) in the quarter through December from 6.5 trillion rupiah a year earlier, the Jakarta-based company said. Net revenue, which ...

HANOI / WAM Vietnam is attracting more Japanese investments to digital transformation and green growth, as recommended in the Vietnam-Japan Joint Initiative (VJI), the state news agency VNA reported. Phase VIII of the initiative, launched in 2003, concluded in March 2023, under which 497 out of the 597 items were completed. To promote its role, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning ...

BLOOMBERG Sea Ltd has made the changes it needs to deliver profits over the long haul, billionaire founder Forrest Li said in a memo to staff, assuring workers who had survived months of steep job cuts that the worst is over. The Asian internet giant’s first-ever quarterly net profit marks a turning point for the company, the chief executive officer ...

BLOOMBERG Takeda Pharmaceutical’s newly purchased oral psoriasis drug was safe and effective in a mid-stage study, highlighting its potential for treating the painful, incurable skin condition. Patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who received TAK-279 had significantly clearer skin after three months than those given placebo, according to the study presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting. Skin damage ...