Page 2 - Apac

Roads and renewables: Global PE major KKR to raise infra bet in India

Major portion of $6.4 billion Asia-Pacific fund set to be routed to India

India to mitigate slowing Apac growth on robust domestic demand: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday said growth in Asia Pacific will decelerate in 2024 as a downshift in China's growth trajectory will spill over in the region through trade in goods and services, but India will be able to mitigate the challenge aided by robust domestic demand. In a report on Asia-Pacific, Moody's said the region is marked with a heavy calendar of elections in 2024, notably in India, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea and Bangladesh. "The election outcomes will either facilitate domestic policy continuity or lead to increased polarization, and have a bearing on geopolitical relationships," said a Moody's report titled 'Growth headwinds, tight funding and geopolitics will define 2024 conditions'. It said a downshift in China's economic growth rate and a cyclical slowdown in the US will weigh on Asia-Pacific (APAC)'s credit conditions in 2024. Peaking inflation globally will provide space for monetary tightening cycles to slow, but financial conditions will remain difficult

Mumbai, Bengaluru in top 10 cities with highest home price rise in APAC

In the region, Singapore saw the highest price rise followed by Perth and Brisbane

India ranks 93 out of 180 countries in corruption perceptions index 2023

India ranked 93 out of 180 countries on the corruption perceptions index for 2023 as its overall score remained largely unchanged, according to a Transparency International report. The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. In 2023, India's overall score was 39 while in 2022, it was 40. India's rank in 2022 was 85. "India (39) shows score fluctuations small enough that no firm conclusions can be drawn on any significant change. However, ahead of the elections, India sees further narrowing of civic space, including through the passage of a (telecommunication) bill that could be a 'grave threat' to fundamental rights," the report said. In South Asia, both Pakistan (133) and Sri Lanka (115) grapple with their respective debt burdens and ensuing political instability, it said. "However, the two countries ha

Apac biz to triple spends on GenAI to $3.4 bn in 2024: Infosys Research

Asia Pacific businesses are sprucing up investments in generative AI (GenAI) and projected to nearly triple spends on this technology to USD 3.4 billion in 2024 across Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore, according to Infosys Research. While the spending trails North America, APAC's adoption, effectiveness, and growth are among the highest globally, it said. "Companies across Asia-Pacific are quickly ramping up investments in generative AI and entering a higher stage of maturity," the IT major's research arm, Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), said in the research. While APAC companies currently lag behind their North American counterparts in GenAI spending, the research forecasts a bigger increase than in any other region, that is 140 per cent. "This translates to an estimated USD 3.4 billion to be invested across Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India, and Singapore," it said. Infosys' Generative AI Radar APAC report includes insights from interviews

Cyber attack cases on Indian cos rise 15%, 2nd highest in Apac: Report

The number of cyber attack cases in India increased by 15 per cent per week on an average in 2023, trailing only Taiwan in the Asia Pacific region, cyber security firm Check Point said on Monday. Organisations across the globe experienced an average of 1,158 weekly cyber attacks each, which was a 1 per cent increase in the number of incidents compared to that in 2022. "In 2023 India received 2,138 weekly attacks per organisation, which is a 15 per cent surge since 2022. Within APAC, India emerges as the second most targeted nation with 2,138 weekly attacks per organization, trailing only behind Taiwan's 3,050 incidents," Check Point said. Within APAC, India experienced the second highest surge in attacks at 15 per cent, following Korea's 21 per cent increase since 2022, according to the report. "Regionally, APAC led with the highest average number of weekly attacks, with an average of 1,930 attacks per organization, a 3 per cent increase compared to last year, while Africa witnesse

Growth of emerging economies to be strength for many govts in APAC: S&P

Growth of Asian emerging and developing economies will still be a credit strength for many governments in the region, S&P Global Ratings has said, as it expects to retain credit ratings of APAC economies over the next one to two years. Out of the 21 countries, to which S&P gives a sovereign rating in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, 19 have a stable outlook. The US-based agency has a 'BBB-' rating on India, with a stable outlook. In its report 'Asia-Pacific Sovereign Rating Trends 2024', S&P said most sovereign ratings in Asia-Pacific are investment grade with the average rating in the region lying between 'BBB' and 'BBB+'. A deterioration in the Russia-Ukraine war or the conflict in the Middle East likely poses the most risk to stable sovereign outlooks in Asia-Pacific, S&P said. The stable outlooks on practically all long-term foreign-currency sovereign ratings in the region (19 out of 21 ratings in Asia-Pacific) suggest there will be few, if any, changes in the next .

Innovation in APAC, Japan on rise; govt driving digital transformation: AWS

The Asia Pacific and Japan region is emerging as a hotbed for innovation, and various governments are driving digital transformation projects, a senior AWS official has said. Initiatives like Digital India have successfully showcased how technology can be used to address citizen needs at scale, said Rahul Sharma, Managing Director, Worldwide Public Sector - APAC and Japan at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Sharma outlined a positive outlook for government-led tech spending in the region for 2024. Spending around mission projects, driven by various governments, is expected to have a bigger component of technology, he said. "According to IMF, Asia Pacific is the growth engine for the world...also it is really where a lot of innovation is happening...one of the things we are seeing, specifically, is the wave of government-led digital transformation in Asia Pacific and Japan," Sharma told PTI on the sidelines of AWS re: Invent 2023. According to Sharma, Digital India and the rise of digita

Global Dental Services raises $50 mn from Qatar Investment Authority

Founded in 2011 by Singh, the company currently operates 422 company-owned and managed dental clinics under the 'Clove Dental' banner, spread across 24 cities in 12 states

Biden tells APAC leaders US 'not going anywhere' as he looks to build ties

President Joe Biden on Thursday made America's case to national leaders and CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit that the United States is committed to high standards in trade and to partnerships that will benefit economies across the Pacific. We're not going anywhere, he declared. Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also told business leaders that the U.S. was de-risking and diversifying but not "decoupling from Beijing. But he did not mince words in suggesting the U.S. and friends in the Pacific could offer businesses a better option than China. He also noted that U.S. economies had invested some $50 billion in fellow Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies in 2023, including in clean energy technologies, aviation and cybersecurity. This is not all kumbaya but it's straightforward," Biden said. We have real differences with Beijing when it comes to maintaining a fair and level economic playing field and protecting your intellectual property. Biden

Foreign airlines see India's potential as global aviation hub for APAC

Executives at Japan Airlines and Thai Airways see India as a transit hub to connect Asia Pacific with West Asia and Africa

Real estate markets across Asia-Pacific face interest rate pressure: Report

Colliers' Q3 2023 APAC Cap Rates Report shows strong global sentiment towards the Indian real estate market, particularly in the industrial sector

Demand for co-working spaces surges due to flexible work, high realty costs

According to the 'India Real Estate Q3' report by Knight Frank, the country recorded office transactions of 16.1 million square feet during the July-September quarter

RIL, HUL, ITC: Top 50 APAC firms lose over $185 billion in m-cap in Q3

Reliance Industries (8 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (7.9 per cent) and ITC (1.3 per cent) were the Indian companies that saw a drop in m-cap during the recently concluded quarter

Japanese firm Fujifilm forays into office printer business in India

Japanese business solutions provider Fujifilm Business Innovation on Wednesday announced its foray into the office printer business in India to tap the high growth potential. India will be the 15th operation for the company in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region for the office printer business and is targetting government offices as one of the main customers, Fujifilm Business Innovation Asia Pacific Pte Ltd President Masatsugu Naito said. The global office printing market is around 3.3 million units a year, while that of APAC is about 0.5 million. India accounts for about 25 per cent of the APAC market, he said here at the launch of the company's A3 multifunction printer Apeos Series for the Indian market. While China remains the bigger market, Naito said in the APAC region, India has a huge potential considering how the country's economy has grown and is an "attractive location for all industries". To establish its foothold in the market, the company is first launching products in th

Bengaluru, Delhi among top 10 APAC cities with highest warehouse rent rise

Manila topped the list with a 49.8% rise in warehouse rent, followed by 38.6% in Sydney and 23.8% in Brisbane: Knight Frank

UBS to dispose of riskiest Credit Suisse loans to Asian customers

The bank intends to either wind-down or sell off the majority of Credit Suisse's more complex and higher-risk structured loans in APAC, people familiar with the matter said

91% consumers expect brands to offer immersive, virtual experiences: Report

A study conducted by Adobe finds that marketers in India and APAC are most prepared to embrace new technologies to enhance user experience to meet their growing customer expectations

Demand for commercial property in India robust, US, Europe struggle

The unabated interest hikes by the Federal Reserve of the United States have resulted in a situation where cheap money is no more available

Most APAC fin institutions immune to US bank failure, rising rates: Moody's

Most Asia Pacific financial institutions are not exposed to the failed US banks and are not as susceptible to large losses from debt security holdings as Silicon Valley Bank was, Moody's said on Tuesday. On March 12, US regulators closed Signature Bank, just two days after shutting Silicon Valley Bank, following mass withdrawals of customer deposits from these regional banks. Moody's Investors Service said these events are likely to result in a tightening of liquidity in debt markets globally as investors grow wary. However, the impact will be limited for most rated financial institutions in Asia-Pacific (APAC) because of structural factors. "Also, most APAC institutions are not exposed to the failed US banks, and only a handful of institutions has immaterial exposures. Finally, most institutions are not as susceptible to large losses from debt security holdings as Silicon Valley Bank was," Moody's said. The US-based rating agency said rated banks in APAC structurally have stable .