Asia

12 Apr Spotlight, BMW’s China venture, to assemble EVs including Mini cars for consumers worldwide

Posted at 12:30h in Asia

Spotlight Automotive, BMW’s 50-50 electric vehicle (EV) venture with mainland Chinese partner Great Wall Motor, is designing new models that it hopes to sell globally.Cars including models under BMW-owned brand Mini will be sold in markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia after Spotlight starts...

12 Apr OnePlus faces complaints from Indian retailers as Chinese smartphone brand tries to maintain its slice of the market

Posted at 12:14h in Asia

Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus is facing multiple grievances against its India operations, from profit margins to warranty and service claims, in another sign of trouble for Chinese brands in the world’s most populous country.In a letter to OnePlus India on Wednesday, the South India Organised...

12 Apr China’s stock market: Beijing issues unprecedented guidelines calling for transparency, risk-management

Posted at 09:31h in Asia

China has issued an unprecedented set of policy guidelines to push for transparency, security, risk-management and vibrancy in the country’s US$9 trillion stock market, sketching out a view of what the world’s second-largest capital market could look like by the middle of the century as...

12 Apr Opinion | How reskilling Asia’s workforce can secure a more sustainable future

Posted at 07:30h in Asia

The sheer scale of this workforce transformation underscores the critical importance of developing a skilled labour force capable of supporting Asia’s energy transition. As the demand for renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable practices continues to rise, employers are seeking workers with specialised technical skills...

12 Apr Indebted Chinese developer Zhenro asks to delay restructuring amid ‘strained’ conditions, Ping An unit’s lawsuit threat

Posted at 05:11h in Asia

Defaulted Chinese developer Zhenro Properties Group is seeking to postpone a restructuring plan as its liquidity woes continue amid slumping sales, slow asset disposal and the threat of a lawsuit from Ping An Insurance Group over a property-linked trust.Zhenro plans to delay the implementation of...

12 Apr Amazon adds AI expert Andrew Ng, Google Brain founder and Baidu alumnus, to its board

Posted at 03:20h in Asia

Amazon.com is adding artificial intelligence visionary Andrew Ng to its board of directors, a move that comes amid intense AI competition among start-ups and big technology companies.The Seattle company said Thursday that Ng, a managing director at the Palo Alto, California-based AI Fund, will replace...

12 Apr Hong Kong stocks fall tripped by yuan’s weakness, but gold stocks rise after bullion posts record high

Posted at 02:46h in Asia

Hong Kong stocks dropped for a second day pressured by weakness in the Chinese yuan currency which hovered around a five-month low. Investors are also cautious awaiting trade data which is expected to show a contraction in exports from the world’s second-largest economy.The Hang Seng...

12 Apr Singapore office rents rebound as tenants from law firms to finance companies snap up space in main business zones

Posted at 00:00h in Asia

Rents in Singapore’s office market rose in the first three months of the year, shaking off two consecutive quarters of declines as some tenants snapped up limited premium spaces and others renewed their leases instead of relocating owing to cost considerations, according to Colliers.In the...

11 Apr China’s Suzhou city plans supercharged cross-border e-commerce business after Shein and Temu success

Posted at 14:00h in Asia

The hi-tech manufacturing hub of Suzhou has unveiled a plan to double the city’s cross-border e-commerce annually for the next three years, as it looks to tap into the growing influence of Chinese platforms such as Shein and PPD Holdings’ Temu.The municipal government of the...

11 Apr Lianjia, China’s largest real estate brokerage, opens Manner coffee shop in Shanghai outlet to brew up home transactions

Posted at 13:40h in Asia

Lianjia, mainland China’s largest real estate brokerage, has teamed up with coffee chain operator Manner to open a cafe in one of its outlets in Shanghai, launching a crossover marketing campaign to drive transactions amid lack of homebuying interest.The property agency opened the Manner coffee...