Economy

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol begins a three-day state visit to Vietnam on June 22.
Your Week in Asia

China's Li Qiang in Europe, Modi visits U.S., Yoon to Vietnam

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

18 June 2023
Arsjad Rasjid, chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, says an "economic cold war" has forced Southeast Asian companies to create "China and non-China" portfolios. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
Interview

ASEAN caught in 'economic cold war' over China: business lobby head

Indonesian executive urges nimbler Japan Inc. to match other foreign investors

9 June 2023
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz poses with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in November 2022. (Pool via Reuters)
Opinion

Germany can ignore anxious CEOs while setting China policy

Economic stakes are much lower than often portrayed

1 June 2023
The Bank of England, seen here, is expected to raise interest rates in June and beyond as inflation remains high in Britain.
Currencies

U.K. pound climbs highest against yen in over 7 years

Bank of England expected to deliver another rate hike as inflation stays high

30 May 2023
Diplomats pose after signing the CPTPP agreement in Chile in 2018: More progress is needed in nontariff areas of the pact. 
Opinion

The CPTPP needs a shot in the arm; U.K. entry can provide it

Progress on issues besides tariffs cuts has been limited

23 May 2023
The floating LNG terminal Neptune was commissioned in Germany during January. The country raced to secure gas after supplies from Russia were cut off.
Energy

Natural gas prices in Asia fall to pre-Ukraine war levels on China shift

Beijing buys more LNG long-term contracts as it seeks energy stability

23 May 2023
New U.S. and Japanese sanctions on Russia were announced as G-7 leaders meet in Hiroshima. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Ukraine war

U.S., Japan impose sweeping sanctions on Russia as G-7 stands with Ukraine

Hundreds of people and organizations targeted as group seeks to stop evasion

20 May 2023
Diamonds presented by producer Alrosa in Moscow in February 2019.
G-7 in Japan

EU says 'Russian diamonds are not forever' in sanctions push at G-7

G-7 trade restriction could shrink source of funding for Russia's war in Ukraine

19 May 2023
The yen has lost strength against a range of currencies, including the Swiss franc.
Currencies

Yen near record low against Swiss franc as safe haven appeal fades

Trade deficits and BOJ policy have eroded Japanese currency's strength

13 May 2023
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt talks in Tokyo on May 11. (Photo courtesy of British Embassy Tokyo)
Interview

G-7 must prepare for China's economic coercion: U.K. finance chief

Jeremy Hunt stresses importance of economic security, supply chain resilience

11 May 2023
ECB President Christine Lagarde hints at further increases to interest rates in an exclusive online interview with Nikkei. (Photo by Marlies Matthes)
Interview

Transcript: ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks with Nikkei

'Intrusive' oversight of banks, nonbanks needed to minimize financial risks

10 May 2023
ECB President Christine Lagarde recently spoke with Nikkei online. (Photo by Marlies Matthes)
Interview

ECB chief Lagarde hints at rate hikes amid stubborn inflation

European Central Bank president calls for stiffer regulation after crises

10 May 2023
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde. 
Inflation

ECB raises rates by 25 basis points to 3.25% in inflation fight

Central bank will stop reinvesting cash in Asset Purchase Programme from July

4 May 2023
HSBC Holdings, known for the two regal lion statues that sit outside its Asia head office in Hong Kong, will vote May 5 on a proposal to split its Asia operations from its London headquarters. 
The Big Story

HSBC battles shareholder revolt as breakup vote looms

Bank’s balancing act between U.K. and China appears increasingly untenable

3 May 2023
A CPTPP roundtable in London in 2020: Negotiations for the U.K.'s accession to the agreement took 21 months. (Photo courtesy of the U.K. Prime Minister's Office)
Opinion

CPTPP members now have to figure out what to do about China

Lessons from U.K. accession set ground for dealing with Beijing and Taipei

11 April 2023
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, inspects a honor guard with Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, in Beijing on April 6.
International relations

Macron meeting offers Xi chance to undercut U.S.-led pressure

Leaders tout economic cooperation deals and common ground on Ukraine

7 April 2023
U.K. Investment Minister Dominic Johnson sees the Indo-Pacific region as "an important geostrategic focus" for his country. (Photo by Shoichiro Taguchi)
Interview

CPTPP 'cornerstone' of U.K.'s Indo-Pacific strategy: minister

Dominic Johnson sees region as center of growth and innovation

4 April 2023
Britain's Port of Felixstowe, its busiest container port. The U.K. is set to join the CPTPP free trade bloc, although it already has bilateral deals with many of the members.
Trade

CPTPP trade bloc to give U.K. green light to join

Group now faces more geopolitically charged applications from China and Taiwan

30 March 2023
China's imports of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment fell for the first time in three years in 2022. (Photo by Masayuki Kozono)
Semiconductors

Chip equipment exports to China tumble as U.S. pushes decoupling

Impact could grow as Japan and Netherlands weigh their own restrictions

29 March 2023
A car is filled with diesel fuel at a Shell petrol station in Berlin, Germany. Diesel accounts for half of the demand for refined petroleum products in the European Union.
Commodities

European diesel futures down 55% as Asian imports ease supply pinch

Concerns rise that Russian oil may be refined in Asia and exported to EU

28 March 2023
India and the U.K. have so far closed talks on 13 of 26 policy areas in their negotiations for a free trade deal.
Trade

India-U.K. trade talks home in on digital trade, investor protection

Pressure mounts for agreement to come soon as elections loom in both countries

22 March 2023
Swiss authorities orchestrated the historic weekend deal to merge Credit Suisse with UBS.
Finance

AT1 bonds and Credit Suisse: 4 things to know

$17bn write-off comes under scrutiny as part of UBS deal

21 March 2023
The Federal Reserve building in Washington.
Economy

Fed, BOJ and other central banks set joint liquidity operation

Move with Canada, Europe involves U.S. dollar swap line arrangements

20 March 2023
The European Union is aiming to reduce its dependence on imports of critical raw materials from countries such as China. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Trade

EU seeks to diversify critical raw material supply away from China

Concerns grow over dependence on imports during pandemic, Ukraine war

17 March 2023
A worker holds palm oil fruit at a plantation in Slim River, Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur says new EU rules aimed at preventing deforestation discriminate against small producers of palm oil.
International relations

Malaysia says EU deforestation rule hurts its small farmers

Producer group presents petition demanding rollback of regulation

16 March 2023