International News

Bloomberg Malaysia, the world’s second-largest grower of palm oil, plans to publish concession maps and make them accessible to the public, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council. The group, also known as MPOCC, said it aims to achieve 100% traceability at the farm level via the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification scheme — or MSPO — by 2025, ...

Bloomberg Indonesia has taken legal action against the European Union (EU) over stricter limits on how palm oil can be used in green fuels, marking a further deepening in trade tensions. The nation filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization on December 9 alleging discrimination against Indonesian palm-oil exports, the trade ministry said. Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer of ...

Bloomberg China plans to target economic growth of around 6% in 2020, at the low end of this year’s range of 6% to 6.5%, Reuters reported, citing policy sources. To cushion a sharper slowdown, the state also plans to spend more on infrastructure by allowing local governments to issue more special bonds next year, Reuters said. The proposed target to ...

Bloomberg China’s ambassador threatened Germany with retaliation if it excludes Huawei Technologies Co as a supplier of 5G wireless equipment, citing the millions of vehicles German carmakers sell in China. Resistance against Huawei is growing among lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, who have challenged her China policy with a bill that would impose a broad ban on “untrustworthy” ...

Bloomberg Japan Post Holdings Co is set to release a final report on missold insurance as early as December 18, and the findings will show more cases than an interim probe uncovered, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. After speaking to more than 120,000 clients, a special investigation committee composed of external lawyers found 9,000 incidents of insurance sales at post offices ...

Bloomberg China is in preliminary talks to support the European Union’s (EU) backup plan for settling international trade disputes as president Donald Trump’s administration gets closer to scuttling the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) role in refereeing cross-border commerce. China’s Ambassador to the WTO Zhang Xiangchen told Bloomberg News that Beijing is actively working to support the EU’s vision of an ...

Bloomberg Twelve state-owned Indian banks are petitioning for ex-billionaire Vijay Mallya to be declared bankrupt over 1.15 billion pounds ($1.52 billion) in unpaid debts. The banks and an asset restructuring company, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), have taken the tycoon to a London court in what lawyers have described as “the end of the road” in their ...

Bloomberg Singapore’s property glut is an unintended consequence of government measures to force developers to build and sell apartments quickly or face stiff penalties, according to City Developments Ltd. The city-state’s second-biggest home builder has come out swinging against a rule that imposes a levy on companies if they don’t complete construction and sell all units within a period of ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s cabinet is discussing amending a legally imposed cap on the budget deficit, which would allow the government to spend and borrow more to stimulate growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. President Joko Widodo is holding talks on the matter, although for now, the current annual ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product remains, finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati ...

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc’s Google isn’t liable for defamatory content posted on its platforms after 2009, India’s top court ruled, reaffirming immunity for Internet companies in the world’s second-most populous nation. The verdict, which reiterates a 2015 ruling, comes as a relief for social media companies, online retailers and service providers who are facing increasing pressure from the Indian government to ...