Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping is dispatching a special envoy to visit North Korea this week, shortly after he hosted US counterpart Donald Trump in Beijing. Song Tao, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, will visit Pyongyang on Friday to brief North Korean officials about last month’s once-in-five-year leadership reshuffle, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. ...

Bloomberg Thailand said it remains on course for elections next year and that curbs on political parties will soon be eased, as pressure mounts on the military government to roll back restrictions on campaigning. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said last month a vote will be held in November 2018, though analysts are concerned the military will seek to retain power. ...

Bloomberg Kenya is facing an economic storm in 2018 in the aftermath of two disputed elections. Saddled with the triple threat of austerity measures to pay for those votes, slowing credit growth and new accounting rules for banks, Kenya now risks missing the government’s forecast for 6 percent economic growth next year, according to lenders including Nairobi-based Stanbic Bank Kenya ...