SHANGHAI / Reuters The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to China to support financing of projects to help control air pollution in and around Beijing. The money is part of a broader programme expected to reach $1.4 billion for “green financing” over the next six years that includes another half billion dollars from Hua Xia Bank Co ...

TOKYO / Reuters Japan’s government lowered its assessment of the economy in March for the first time in five months due to weakness in consumer spending, a move likely to reinforce views that more fiscal stimulus will be needed to keep the economy growing. Some of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s advisers and prominent overseas economists have been calling for Japan ...

Kuala Lumpur / DPA The growth prospects of Asean major export-orientated economies of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to remain weaker than its domestic demand-driven economies, says Moody’s Investors Service. The international ratings agency said that hence growth outlook of Asean economies was likely to diverge in 2016 and 2017, against the backdrop of subdued global demand. A Moody’s ...