Page 212 - China

Alibaba to stay on sidelines of Ant Group's $6 billion stock buyback

Alibaba said in an exchange filing it won't take part in Ant's plan to buy back as much as 7.6% of its stock, which the latter's board has approved

Intent to not lag China is behind moves to promote INR trade

The linking of 'card switches' will facilitate mutual acceptance of domestic cards and processing of card transactions

China's Alibaba says will not join Ant Group proposed share buyback

Ant Group announced a surprise share buyback of up to 7.6% of its equity interest earlier this month, a day after it was fined $984 million by Beijing for violating laws and regulations

5 dead, over 1,500 evacuated as seasonal floods hit eastern China

Floods caused by heavy rain hit eastern China, leaving at least five dead and three missing while over 1,500 people were evacuated, state media reported on Sunday. China National Radio said the massive floods swept through a village in the Fuyang district of the city of Hangzhou, engulfing many houses on Saturday afternoon. The rain later led to a partial mountain collapse and mudslide, affecting multiple areas in the district and more than 1,600 households suffered power outage, CCTV said. Over 1,500 people were evacuated, the state news agency Xinhua reported. Every year, seasonal flooding hits large parts of China, particularly in the semitropical south. However, some northern regions this year have reported the worst floods in 50 years. The torrents have hit different parts of the country this month and caused casualties. Earlier this month, at least 15 people were killed by floods in the southwestern region of Chongqing. According to CCTV on Sunday, torrential rain also turne

Amid Pak's economic crisis, Punjab govt to spend Rs 2.3 bn on new vehicles

Meanwhile, Pakistan's external debt servicing obligations are $ 2.44 billion for the current month of July 2023, including $ 2.07 billion in non-guaranteed debt owed to China

China sends warplanes toward Taiwan, as island prepares for military drills

China sent dozens of warplanes, including fighter jets and bombers, toward Taiwan, the island's Defence Ministry said Saturday, marking a forceful display days before the democracy plans to hold military exercises aimed at defending itself against a possible invasion. Taiwan is due to hold its annual Han Kuang exercise next week, during which its military will hold combat readiness drills for preventing an invasion. It will also conduct the annual Wan'an exercises aimed at preparing civilians for natural disasters and practicing evacuations in case of an air raid. The Chinese People's Liberation Army sent 37 aircraft and seven navy vessels around Taiwan between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday, the ministry said in a statement. Among them were J-10 and J-16 fighters and H-6 bombers, and 22 of the detected warplanes crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait an unofficial boundary that had been considered a buffer between the island and mainland or entered Taiwan's air defence ...

Chinese mobile cos evade Rs 9,000 cr in tax in India, Rs 1,629 cr recovered

Chinese smartphone makers, including Oppo Mobile, Vivo India and Xiaomi Technology, have been found evading taxes worth Rs 9,000 crore in India, Parliament was informed on Friday. Data shared by the Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Rajya Sabha showed tax evasion of around Rs 9,000 crore, comprising customs duty and GST, has been detected between 2018-19 and 2022-23. The government has recovered Rs 1,629.87 crore from the companies during the period. According to the data, Oppo Mobile India Pvt Ltd has been found evading Rs 5,086 crore in taxes which includes Rs 4,403 crore in customs duty and Rs 683 crore in the form of GST. Vivo has evaded taxes worth Rs 2,923.25 crore comprising Rs 2,875 crore in customs duty and Rs 48.25 crore in GST, according to the written reply by Chandrasekhar. Tax evasion of Rs 851.14 crore has been detected in the case of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd comprising Rs 682.51 crore in customs duty and Rs 168.63 crore in ...

Here is why China is drilling another 10,000-metre hole in the Earth

The project comes after China National Petroleum Corp. began drilling a well in Xinjiang in May, which was described as the deepest in China at that time

China agrees to reschedule $2 billion debt of Pakistan for 2 years

China has agreed to reschedule over USD 2 billion debt of Pakistan for a period of two years, providing a major relief to the cash-starved government, which is in the process of rebuilding foreign exchange reserves through fresh loans. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday, approved the revised terms of the agreement reached between Islamabad and Beijing, according to senior Pakistani officials, the Express Tribune reported. Pakistan has built two nuclear power plants in Karachi that have a combined generation capacity of 2,117 megawatts. The total cost of the plants is USD 9.5 billion, including the USD 6.5 billion financing from China. The loan was extended by the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China. Of USD 2 billion, over USD 625 million was maturing in this fiscal year that will now be paused. The USD 6.5 billion is a publicly guaranteed debt, and over USD 2 billion repayments were maturing in two years that ..

China eyes next pandemic in push for new medical emergency facilities

The facilities will be used for tourism, recreation and healthcare in normal times. During emergencies, they will serve as medical treatment and quarantine centers

It's time to get real about rupee's role in international financial system

New Delhi's own experiment with Russian oil should be a sobering reminder of how little sanctions have done to dethrone the US currency. Internationalizing the rupee will neither be swift, nor easy

China ready to discuss fixing stalled ties with US: Xi tells Kissinger

President Xi Jinping on Thursday told Henry Kissinger that China is ready to discuss the "correct way" to halt the slide of its relations with the US and sought the help of veteran American diplomat to fix the ties as he did 50 years ago by establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries. Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, who turned 100 in May this year remained the most influential figure in Beijing since his successful ping-pong diplomacy in 1971 pitting Communist China against its ideological mentor the then Soviet Union tilting the Cold War balance of power at that time. Successive Chinese Communist Party leaders turned to him for guidance on the trajectory of China's ties with the US which helped Beijing to expand its economic and diplomatic clout in the world, until in the last 10 years when the American leaders began identifying China as a major threat as it emerged as the world's second-largest economy and major military power next only to the US. The ties

Yellen visits Vietnam to build US ties to offset tensions with China

The US considers building strong economic and security ties with Vietnam a priority, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday as she met with Vietnamese officials in a visit aimed at fortifying America's relations across Asia. Yellen arrived in Vietnam after visits to Beijing and to India, where she attended financial meetings of the Group of 20 major industrial economies. The United States considers Vietnam a key partner in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific, Yellen told Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to remarks provided by the US Treasury Department. A free and open Indo-Pacific refers to the latest iteration of broad US diplomacy aimed at cultivating stronger ties with other countries in the region to in effect counter China's growing sway among its neighbours. Vietnam is also a close economic partner, with our two-way trade reaching record highs last year and the United States serving as Vietnam's largest export market, she said. It is a prior

Morgan Stanley moves 200 technologists out of mainland: China data law

The employees, accounting for more than a third of Morgan Stanley's technologists on the mainland, are primarily moving to Hong Kong and Singapore, one of the people said

Microsoft offers free security feature after alleged China cyber hack

Microsoft said its decision was "in response to increasing frequency and evolution of nation-state cyberthreats

China man kept 7 cows in apartment, asked to remove animals by neighbours

The animals were present in the flat only for a day before neighbours annoyed by their mooing and smell apprised officials

33% Indians in America say they'd like to return, says Pew research

Most Asian Americans view their ancestral homelands favourably, except Chinese Americans: Pew survey

Temu files lawsuit in US against rival Shein, alleges antitrust violations

Chinese e-commerce retailer Temu has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts accusing its rival Shein of violating US antitrust law by preventing garment makers from working with it. Temu, which is owned by popular Chinese e-commerce site Pinduoduo Inc., is alleging that Shein has compelled clothing manufacturers to submit to unfair supply chain arrangements preventing them from working with Temu after it entered the US market in 2022. Shein (SHE-in) and Temu (TEE-mu) are fast-rising online shopping platforms. Shein has grabbed the largest share of the fast fashion market in the US, at over 50 per cent, according to Temu's complaint. Temu is the most downloaded app in the US, according to the website data.ai, formerly App Annie, which tracks app rankings. It offers everything from apparel to household goods at similarly competitive prices. Shein has engaged in a campaign of threats, intimidation, false assertions of infringement, and attempts to impose baseless punitive fines and has forc

Tiff with Xi? The curious case of China's missing foreign minister Qin Gang

In that role, he's kept a busy schedule. The 57-year-old's longest previous absence was just eight days over the Lunar New Year Holiday, according to government records

Is Japan China's future?

China could be staring at the start of a deflationary phase similar to the one Japan experienced in the early 1990s