October, 2020

• 19 October

  Tokyo opens HK office to attract firms

  Bloomberg The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has set up an office in Hong Kong to consult with companies considering a move to the Japanese capital, part of its push to make the city a global financial center. The Hong Kong office opened for online consultations, Governor Yuriko Koike said at a news briefing. “I want to make Tokyo the No. 1 ...

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• 19 October

  China recruits South Korean conglomerate to advise on ESG

  

  Bloomberg South Korean conglomerate SK Group is accelerating efforts to help China develop ESG standards after a years-long push by Beijing to improve social governance disclosures at its companies stalled. SK said it will team up with China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) to jointly establish a lab in Beijing to study and develop rating methods for environmental, ...

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• 19 October

  Early US troop withdrawal may upset intra-Afghan talks

  

  Bloomberg A Taliban official said signs that US President Donald Trump will hasten the exit of all American troops from Afghanistan would force the country’s warring groups to finally negotiate peace, but experts worry the move may give the militant group the upper hand. The group has welcomed Trump’s comments earlier this month about bringing remaining US troops “home by ...

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• 19 October

  Russia seeks to monitor Armenia-Azeri ceasefire

  

  Bloomberg Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country is in talks with Armenia and Azerbaijan on a mechanism to monitor a cease-fire that has already failed twice to halt fighting over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. “I hope that we will reach an agreement on such a mechanism in the nearest future,” Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on ...

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• 19 October

  Protesters clash with Chile’s security forces

  

  Bloomberg Protesters clashed with security forces, looted stores and burnt barricades in many Chilean cities on the one-year anniversary of an outbreak of social unrest that virtually paralysed South America’s most prosperous country. Thousands gathered in downtown Santiago’s Plaza Italia, which some people have turned to calling Plaza de la Dignidad (Dignity Plaza), flouting social distancing rules. As darkness fell, ...

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• 19 October

  Pakistan braces for fresh protests with Imran Khan under pressure

  

  Bloomberg Pakistan is bracing for more protests after an alliance of opposition parties kicked off a series of rallies calling for the resignation of PM Imran Khan. Khan’s administration is facing its biggest political challenge yet as it tries to manage a backlash over soaring food prices. Pakistan is importing sugar, tomatoes and the most wheat in a decade to ...

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• 19 October

  US top court to review Trump’s immigration policies

  

  Bloomberg The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump administration’s defense of a policy that requires people seeking asylum at the southern border to remain in Mexico until their cases are decided. The justices will review a federal appeals court decision that said the Migrant Protection Protocols policy runs afoul of US immigration law. The ruling aimed to let ...

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• 19 October

  Taiwan diplomat hurt in scuffle with China officials

  Bloomberg Chinese diplomats injured a Taiwanese counterpart during a scuffle in the South Pacific, a senior Taiwanese official said, highlighting tensions over Beijing’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy. Two uninvited diplomats from the Chinese embassy in Fiji were asked to leave an event celebrating Taiwan’s national day in Suva after they were seen photographing other guests, Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Harry Tseng ...

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• 19 October

  Shadow bank recovery stalls in India as loan fears resurface

  

  Bloomberg Signs of a recovery for India’s troubled shadow banks have taken a step backward as concerns reemerged about the true impact of the pandemic on the lenders. Average spreads on the lenders’ AAA rated five-year bonds rose for the first time in four months in September. Of three other gauges tracking shadow bank sector health compiled by Bloomberg, two ...

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• 19 October

  BOJ to extend Covid response measures

  

  Bloomberg The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will keep policy steady at its meeting next week and extend the duration of its Covid response measures by January at the latest, according to surveyed economists. All but one of 43 analysts polled by Bloomberg expect the central bank to stand pat at the two-day gathering ending on October 29. The economists see ...

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