Economy

Micron says it wants to support its employees, its suppliers and local economies amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Technology

Exclusive: Micron to give 25,000 workers cash in pandemic-hit economies

Employees in Japan to receive one-time payment of $700

16 April 2020
People wear masks at Shanghai's main shopping area after the city's emergency alert level for COVID-19 was downgraded. The IMF sees China's growth rate dropping to 1.2% this year.
Economy

Only emerging Asia will see growth in grim 2020, IMF says

US GDP to shrink 6% while Japan dips 5% in worst recession since Great Depression

15 April 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the nation on April 14, announcing the extension of a three-week lockdown. Modi said that areas that manage to contain the virus would see restrictions eased.
Coronavirus

India extends world's largest lockdown after infections spike

Modi asks employers not to fire workers as unemployment surpasses 20%

14 April 2020
A restaurant closed due to the coronavirus outbreak is seen next to the Chao Phraya river with a view of Wat Arun temple, one of the city's top tourist spots, in Bangkok, Thailand March 27.
Economy

Asian Development Bank triples coronavirus war chest to $20bn

Governments get the most, but companies can access $2bn in financial aid

14 April 2020
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank's joint spring meetings are well attended each year. This week, they will happen virtually. 
Your Week in Asia

China GDP, South Korea election, and TSMC investor conference

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

12 April 2020
Gravediggers wear protective suits in preparing a plot in Manaus, Brazil.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Apr. 5 to Apr. 11, Global death toll reaches 100,000

Kyoto asks to be put under emergency decree; Vietnam preps $2.66bn safety net

11 April 2020
Tien Sa port in Da Nang, Vietnam. Economists who took part in a JCER survey were dour about how the pandemic will influence supply chains and global trade.
Economy

Coronavirus darkens Asia’s economic outlooks: JCER survey

Negative growth forecast for Singapore and Thailand as unemployment escalates

6 April 2020
An Indian Hindu woman drinks cow urine during an event organized by a Hindu religious group to promote consumption of cow urine as a cure for the new coronavirus in New Delhi on Mar. 14.
Opinion

India's media must promote science, not superstition, in COVID-19 fight

Drinking cow urine and practising yoga have been tipped as coronavirus cures

6 April 2020
Firefighters spray disinfectant to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in Jakarta.
4 April 2020
Tourist and school buses are seen at a parking lot near Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong, April 1: The novel coronavirus outbreak has devastated the territory's tourism industry.
Economy

Pandemic to cut Asian growth to 2.2%, worst since 1998 crisis: ADB

Thailand, Hong Kong and seven other economies to shrink, China to slow sharply

3 April 2020
Homeless women wearing masks sit on a hand cart in Mumbai on Mar. 29: while we stay in our homes to fight COVID-19, let us remember that we are also fighting for those whose dwellings are less than adequate.
Opinion

World must act now to protect Asia's most vulnerable from COVID-19

Coronavirus threatens economic, social and medical well-being of millions

3 April 2020
India's nationwide lockdown has idled factories and kept cars off the road, leading to consecutive days of clearer skies in New Delhi with far less smog.
Coronavirus

India's lockdown carries a silver lining: bluer skies

New Delhi's air pollution abates as factories lie idle

3 April 2020
Thousands of migrant workers gathered on March 28 for buses to take them from New Delhi to their home villages.
Coronavirus

India shutdown leaves throngs of migrant workers stranded

Left in the lurch, people head back to hometowns, potentially spreading virus

31 March 2020
Shoppers wait for their turn to enter a grocery store in Mumbai on March 26. The nationwide lockdown has squeezed the supply of essential items such as food and medication.
Coronavirus

India's abrupt lockdown sparks scramble for food and medicine

Supply chains nationwide screech to halt under Modi's 'social experiment'

30 March 2020
A man is tested for the coronavirus outside a hospital in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

From light touch to total lockdown: How Asia is fighting coronavirus

Countries begin to toughen their approach as infections continue to rise

28 March 2020
Congress gave final approval to the largest economic package in U.S. history. 
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of Mar. 22 to Mar. 28, US House passes a $2.2tn stimulus

Hong Kong bans gatherings of over 4 people; Trump tweets he is working with Xi

28 March 2020
Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das has stepped in to reduce the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Economy

India slashes rates to decade-low level to ease coronavirus impact

Surprise move comes with three-month nationwide loan moratorium

27 March 2020
An empty shopping mall in Gurugram, pictured on Mar. 19: lockdown will ruin the income of brick-and-mortar shops which are already suffering from online competition.
Opinion

India's coronavirus lockdown spells disaster for struggling economy

Government can cut taxes and red tape to boost eventual return to growth

27 March 2020
Indians in Kolkata adhere to social distancing rules while waiting to buy medicine during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus in Kolkata.
Coronavirus

India announces $23bn welfare package to combat coronavirus

Government offers cash and grains over the next three months

26 March 2020
People buy vegetables at a market in New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a three-week nationwide lockdown to limit the spreading of the coronavirus.
Coronavirus

India shuts off economy for world's largest coronavirus lockdown

Factories and stores forced to close, in further blow to decelerating growth

26 March 2020
Online retail is expected to take a major hit from India's nationwide lockdown.
Retail

India's coronavirus lockdown to hammer Amazon and Flipkart sales

Online retailers are halting delivery of non-essential goods

25 March 2020
Stream article image
Nikkei Markets

Asian stocks rise more on hopes US measures will ease virus impact

AIA Group and Tencent Holdings fuel gains in A300 index

25 March 2020
People travel in a crowded bus to return to their cities and villages on March 23 before the lockdown in Kolkata.
Coronavirus

India puts 1.3bn people under unprecedented lockdown

Modi orders $2bn boost to medical infrastructure in coronavirus fight

25 March 2020
A woman wearing protective mask and gloves seen on a Mass Rapid Transit train during a movement control order in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Coronavirus

From New Delhi to Bangkok, Asia's megacities shackled

Travel bans to contain coronavirus sap region's economic lifeblood

24 March 2020
Emerging Asian currencies have nosedived against the dollar during the coronavirus crisis at investors seek the haven of the greenback. 
Economy

India, Indonesia and Thai currencies flash red in virus stress tests

Slump revives memories of 1990s Asian financial crisis

23 March 2020