Tuesday, March 2 2021 | ASIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL - Reporting the Business that Matters in Asia
JAKARTA -- Indonesia's GDP contracted by 2.19% y/y in Q4 2020, bringing full-year 2020 growth to -2.07%, the first annual decline since the Asian Financial Crisis. Private consumption, investment and exports all continued to record y/y declines, though the pace of contraction has eased.
NEW DELHI -- India's economy fell sharply by -9.3% in the first three quarters of 2020 due to a pre-emptive strict lockdown in Q2 2020 to contain COVID-19. Excessive dependency on services, sharp supply constraints and limited manufacturing exports did not provide respite, according to the financial services group, Natixis.
BANGKOK -- The Thai Cabinet has approved a draft amendment to the Food Act to enhance food safety for consumers and to increase the competitiveness of the Thai food export industry in international markets.
MANILA -- Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) has been endorsed by the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) as a discharge port for containers of imported livestock and raw materials.
SINGAPORE -- Asia-Pacific is managing the pandemic well, with health and economic effects far tamer in the region than elsewhere in the world, says S&P Global Ratings. However, S&P believes the region's slack domestic demand and reliance on exports could restrain its recovery -- and inflame trade tension with the West.
SINGAPORE - A report released today by global ratings agency Standard and Poor's discusses the pace at which the corporate sector in China, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Australia and New Zealand is likely to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The report includes a list of credit trends on the radar of S&P Global Ratings analysts in 2021, including demand recovery, funding conditions, and financial discipline.
SINGAPORE -- The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group has reached agreements with Airbus and Boeing to revise its aircraft delivery schedule. Some aircraft in SIA's order book will be delivered over a longer period than originally contracted, with the delivery stream spread out beyond the immediate five years.
CANBERRA -- Six ASEAN countries have signed onto the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) to facilitate cross-border transit movement of goods within the ASEAN region. The ACTS links Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
PERTH -- A network of regional hydrogen technology clusters has been unveiled across Australia as part of a drive to establish a nationwide hydrogen cluster. AUD1.75 million is to be invested in 13 clusters across all states and territories to foster a multi-billion dollar, globally-competitive hydrogen industry.
HO CHI MINH CITY - The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee have brought international and industry experts together in HCMC to discuss the building blocks of smart and sustainable cities. The inaugural event brought together thought leaders from Australia, Singapore, Japan and Vietnam.
BANGKOK - The Thai Cabinet has voted to reduce land and building taxes for the 2021 tax year by 90% of the amount calculated in accordance with the Land and Building Act, B.E. 2562 (2019) (the Land Tax Act). Similar to a reduction implemented last year, this measure intends to relieve the economic impact that the public and business operators have endured from the COVID-19 outbreak.
MANILA -- GDP in the Philippines declined by 8.3% y/y in Q4, translating into a full-year 2020 contraction of 9.5%. ANZ Bank says that, once again, the weakness was attributable to weak household consumption and investment which could not be offset by Government spending.
TAIPEI -- Approached by the peril of trade war and COVID-19, few expected Taiwan to maintain robust growth in 2020, but it has crossed the finishing line for 2020 with one of its best performances in recent years, and possibly within Asia, according to the global financial group, Natixis.
NEW DELHI -- The Indian economy will stage a strong rebound and grow as much as 11.5% on-year in FY22, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which has revised upwards its earlier forecast of 8.8% expansion. On this basis, India would be the only key nation to record double-digit growth and reclaim its status as the world's fastest-growing major economy.
In its World Economic Outlook Update, released on Tuesday, the IMF predicted that China would grow by 8.1% in 2021, followed by Spain (5.9%) and France (5.5%). Its expected China, the only country to register growth (2.3%) in 2020, to expand by 5.6% in 2022.
TAIPEI -- Strong support for Taiwan contained in the U.S. State Department news release issued January 23 by the incoming Biden Administration was sincerely appreciated by the Government and the people of Taiwan, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
TAIPEI - Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has welcomed three resolutions passed by the European Parliament (EP) calling for an expanded partnership with Taiwan, and support for Taiwan's participation in international organisations.