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Britain has relaxed stringent rules for Chinese banks willing to set up in London. Beijing in turn opened up its markets to British-based investors, marking the latest move to establish the yuan as one of the world’s key currencies. “A great nation like China should have a global currency,” said UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, during his official five day visit to China. And the UK is gladly willing to contribute “through the international center of finance: London”. Under the agreed pilot program, China sanctioned London-based investors to buy up to 80 billion yuan ($13.1 billion) of stocks,...

The Netherlands is seeking answers from Russia after a Dutch diplomat was beaten by unidentified assailants in his apartment in Moscow. The diplomat — identified by Russian media as Onno Elderenbosch, deputy chief of the Dutch embassy in Moscow — was returning home on Tuesday when he saw that the elevator in his building was out of order, Life News reported. After walking up to his fourth-floor apartment, he spotted two men dressed as electricians who were working on a fuse box. The men told him that the electricity seemed to be out in the whole building and said that...

Indian inflation unexpectedly accelerated to a seven-month high in September, adding to the case for a further increase in the benchmark interest rate. The wholesale-price index rose 6.46 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 6.1 percent advance in August, the Commerce Ministry said in New Delhi on Monday. The median of 33 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 6 percent climb. Gov. Raghuram Rajan, who took over at the Reserve Bank of India last month, raised the repurchase rate to 7.5 percent after vowing to tame inflation, which was almost 10 percent in September based...

The Yomiuri ShimbunThe Japan Tourism Agency is keen to fulfill its mission of making Japan a popular destination by using so-called big data, the collection of massive amounts of digital data. To help develop new tourism spots and routes, the agency plans to collect big data from travelers via the Global Positioning System and their mobile phones or other devices. A working group of experts, soon to be formed, is expected to establish a method by the end of March to analyze the data. The agency plans to collect big data—various information such as messages posted on social media sites—from...

DAEGU, SOUTH KOREA – From oil to nuclear power, via gas, coal and renewables, Asia’s economic growth is increasingly steering the path forward for the global energy industry. “It’s clear that Asia’s emerging economies have entered a historic phase of industrialization and urbanization,” Peter Voser, chief executive of energy giant Shell, said at the ongoing World Energy Congress in Daegu, South Korea. “The pace of change is almost inconceivable.” Shell estimates that energy demand across Asia will double over the next 50 years, with China and India the main growth drivers for at least the next two decades. “This is...

London mayor Boris Johnson rides the Beijing subway Line 1 on Tuesday, October 15, 2013. [Photo: CFP]

Despite the rise in China's consumer prices to a seven-month high in September, economists say inflation doesn't pose a risk for the world's second-largest economy. The CPI rose 3.1 percent in September, well above expectations for a 2.8 percent rise. The outlook for China's economy was called into question again this weekend after trade data showed exports unexpectedly contracted by 0.3 percent in September. Macro-economic data due out on October 18th, including third quarter GDP and industrial production, will provide further insights into the health of the economy.

The first subway running from Shanghai to Kunshan City, east China's Jiangsu province, started its trial operation this morning. The subway is actually an extension stage of Shanghai Metro Line 11, which combined 3 subway stations in Kunshan to the original metro line. After it begins operation, it will only take about 70 minutes to travel from Huaqiao Station in Kunshan to Xujiahui Station in downtown Shanghai, which only costs 7 yuan. The subway will make the journey between the cities easier for residents. It is known that transit cards in Shanghai can be used in the 3 stations in...

OTTAWA — It wasn’t long ago that Indonesia was considered a major source of worry. The world’s most heavily populated Muslim country — now with more than 250 million residents — was hard-hit by the Asian economic crisis, which led to dictator Suharto’s 1998 resignation. Then in 2002, a devastating terrorist attack on the resort island of Bali left 202 dead, more than half of them vacationing westerners. Some speculated that the archipelago state, made up of an estimated 17,508 islands (roughly 6,000 are inhabited, though the population is located primarily on five main islands), would break apart, leading to...

Over the past 20 years the pace and scale of urbanization in Asia has been unprecedented,” says Jonathan D. Solomon, the curator of Practical Utopias: Global Urbanism in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, an exhibition at AIA New York’s Center for Architecture. “Asia today is a vast experiment in what makes a city,” says Solomon, associate dean at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, who lived in Hong Kong for six years before recently returning to the U.S.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani super model Fehmina Chaudhry, who recently came from Singapore, has been found dead in a ditch from Bara Kahu area Islamabad on Monday. The 27-year-old model and beauty queen went missing last Thursday while visiting Islamabad to buy property, police said. ASP Yasir Afridi said the dead body of a woman has been identified as Fehmina Chaudhry, who was also a mother of two and was a successful model in Singapore with numerous awards on her credit. Fehmina, a Singapore-based model originally from the Pakistani port city of Karachi, was settled in Singapore and wanted to open a...

TOKYO - A senior Chinese government official has secretly visited Japan for talks with Japanese officials aimed at improving bilateral relations damaged by an ongoing territorial row, reports said Tuesday. The talks involving a high-ranking official from the Chinese foreign ministry's Asian division were thought to have been held in early October, Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported from Beijing quoting Chinese government sources. A high-ranking official from the Japanese foreign ministry attended the meeting, the report said. A Japanese foreign ministry official declined comment on the content of the report, saying: "Japan and China have been making various exchanges...

(Reuters) - Japan plans to start up 14 new gas and coal-fired power plants by the end of 2014, allowing a switch away from pricey oil, as Tokyo struggles with a shutdown of nuclear reactors and energy imports drive a record trade deficit. Regional power monopolies will construct 12 gas-fired units next year, while two new coal power plants will be completed by December 2013, according to a Reuters survey of utilities. The new power plants will buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal to scale back on the use of expensive crude and fuel oil plants. They will also...

AFP - South Korea's unemployment rate fell in September to a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent, led by new jobs in service industries, state data showed Wednesday. The latest jobless rate compared with 3.0 percent reported in August and 2.9 percent in September of last year, Statistics Korea said. The health and social welfare service sector added 172,000 jobs, up 12 percent from a year earlier, while the restaurant industry employed an extra 83,000 people, up 4.3 percent, over the same period. The total number of employed people also rose by 463,000 to reach 25.46 million in September -- the biggest...

DAEGU, South Korea — Asia’s large-scale gas importers, long saddled with premium prices, say a cheaper alternative lies several thousand feet below North American soil, where companies are unlocking enormous gas reserves from shale rock. The shale boom has already revolutionized the gas market in the United States and Canada, giving both countries not only a reliable domestic supply but also the ability to sell overseas. Asian utility and gas company executives, speaking this week at a global energy forum here, have said that North America’s gas wealth could prove nearly as transformative across the world, leading to the first...

A Panamanian-registered cargo ship carrying 19 people sank in South Korea's southeast Pohang harbor amid a storm at around 21:30 local time on Tuesday, leaving 10 people dead and one missing, according to the Chinese Consulate General in Busan. An official from the Chinese Consulate General confirmed that among 19 people aboard the ship, 18 were Chinese citizens and the remaining one was Vietnamese. Eight people have been rescued and 10 bodies recovered by far, while one person is still missing, according to the South Korea's coast guard who conducts the rescue operation. They said the ship CHENGLU15 set off...

The 2013 edition of the Forbes China Rich List published today identifies a record 168 billionaires from the country, surpassing the previous high of 146 in 2011 and last year’s total of 113. The increase adds to China’s standing as a country with one of the world’s fastest-growing number of billionaires in the past decade. Real estate tycoon Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, ascends to the No. 1 spot from No. 3 with a fortune worth $14.1 billion, an increase from $8 billion year, amid a recovery in the country’s real estate market. Underscoring his wish to make...

Only two and a half hours away from the business hub of Shanghai is an outlet from the urban pressure. Naked Stables Private Reserve is set in a valley in the rolling Moganshan (“Mount Mogan”) area of Zhejiang Province that was a getaway for expats before China’s Communist revolution. Today the region illustrates how well-off Chinese themselves enjoy the good life. A quirky blend of kid- and eco-friendliness and Chinese-African themes yields a boutique resort that doesn’t need an internationally known brand name such as Aman or Banyan Tree. “There is a shift in toward lifestyle spending in China, but...

China has sealed a deal with the U.K. allowing investors around the world to trade directly in Chinese shares and bonds through London's banks and financial institutions. The agreement is the first of its kind in the western world and will allow as much as 80 billion yuan ($13 billion) to be invested in Chinese securities via approved London institutions. Previously, foreigners could only make these kinds of investments through Hong Kong, where a similar arrangement allows investors to buy up to 270 billion yuan ($44 billion) in securities in mainland China. The agreement should shore up London's dominant role...

The Chinese sure are doing a lot of worrying these days about the stalemate in Washington. Li Keqiang, China’s Premier, told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that he was watching the tussle over raising the government’s debt ceiling with “great attention” in a meeting last week. He has good reason to be concerned. With a stash of nearly $1.3 trillion in Treasury securities, China is the world’s largest foreign owner of U.S. government debt. If the U.S. Congress fails to lift the ceiling to allow the government to borrow more by Thursday, Washington may not have enough money to...

Ever since China emerged as the world’s rising economic power, Western governments have been wrestling with how to approach the last major state on earth still ruled by a Communist party. George Osborne and Boris Johnson, visiting the People’s Republic this week, have demonstrated their answer: forget about political issues, let alone human rights, and go for the money. By all means, is their clear message, increase your already extensive investments in our country. It is an approach that Beijing is very much in favour of, and the Osborne-Johnson trip has been crammed with smiling photo opportunities and expressions of...

North Korea has drastically increased the import of luxury items under the rule of new leader Kim Jong-un, according to an analysis released by Yoon Sang-hyun, a ruling party lawmaker. The report examines North Korea’s import of luxury items between 2010 and 2012. “A relevant organization in the country analyzed the circumstance of North Korea’s import of luxury items,” Yoon, a member of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said at a parliamentary inspection yesterday. “The analysis says even under the rule of Kim Jong-un, the import of North Korea’s luxury items is surging every year, reaching record-breaking...

Officials, clad in tidy uniform and beret, have name tags reading “English, “Chinese V” and “Japanese” in the chest section of their jacket. This is the image of tourism police who will appear at major tourist attractions in Seoul starting from Wednesday. Tourism police is a police organization that will be exclusively in charge of handling illegal activities targeting foreign tourists, including overcharging of service fees. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry and the National Police Agency said on Monday that 101 tourism police officers will start activities at major tourism hotspots across Seoul from Wednesday. The tourism police will...

Net outflow in direct investment reached 120 U.S. billion dollars in the past eight years as Korean companies` overseas investment expanded while foreign investors` domestic investment plunged. Various investment indicators compiled by the government also show the Korean economy facing the worst investment position since its bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Sluggish corporate investment incurs massive economic losses as it adversely impacts production, employment and consumption and eats into growth potential in the longer term. The past eight years of net direct investment outflow led to loss of 1.67 million jobs. According to the Bank of Korea and Statistics...

An Iranian court sentenced a Korean to seven years in prison for taking photos of security facilities. The Iranian government notified the Korean Foreign Ministry two months after the arrest. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Byeong-seog on Monday said the 44-year-old man identified as Kim was arrested in October last year and sentenced to seven years in jail in September this year. He was found guilty of spying on security facilities by taking photos of police stations, foreign embassies, military facilities, and border signs with the alleged purpose of delivering them to a foreign government. The court did not specify which...

YANGON, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- A small bomb explosion in Myanmar's Yangon, injured one foeigner at midnight, Local witnesses said on Tuesday. The blast occurred in the ninth floor of the Traders Hotel at about 11:30 midnight (local time) on Monday, witnesses added. Currently, many media reporters have arrived this hotel, but police have not provided further information. A small bomb explosion in Thakayta, Myanmar's Yangon, injured two children Sunday evening. Another minor one occurred with a roadside bus stop kiosk in Yangon's Insein township without casualties on last Saturday midnight.

CHICAGO, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange bottomed out of a three-month low Monday. The most active gold contract for December delivery increased 8. 4 dollars, or 0.66 percent, to settle at 1,276.6 dollars per ounce. The weakening dollar against other major currencies as well as the rebound of the U.S. stock market Monday lent certain support to gold. Nevertheless, gold's growth was limited on news that President Barack Obama will meet with congressional leaders of both parties Monday afternoon. Over the weekend, talks in the Senate aiming to avoid...

A Chinese grassroots official in flood-hit Zhejiang Province was removed from his post on Monday after a picture of him being given a piggyback sparked public uproar online. A post with the picture on Twitter-like Sina Weibo said an official in the city of Yuyao was carried on a villager's back while visiting flood victims because he was wearing a pair of top brand shoes. The Sanqishi Township government, for which the official surnamed Wang worked, said he had been removed from his post -- director of the town's construction office. The government said Wang was wearing cloth material shoes...

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will remain steadfast in strengthening the position of Islam, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said. In his Hari Raya Aidiladha message posted on the 1Malaysia website yesterday, the Prime Minister said the Government would continue to drive the country towards attaining its visions based on syariah or maqasid syariah objectives. He said this would be in line with his administration’s transformation programmes. Taking into account how the management of Malaysia’s haj pilgrims is cited as the model recognised through­­out the Muslim world, Najib said Malaysia would strive to emerge as a good example of a high-income, progressive and...

BEIJING — Armed with tens of billions of dollars in investment deals and romantic tales of ancient explorers, Chinese President Xi Jinping has spent much of the past month promoting his vision of two new “Silk Roads” to connect his country to the West and secure its energy supplies — one by land and another by sea. In the process, he has eclipsed an American vision of a New Silk Road that was advanced with much fanfare by then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton two years ago and was supposed to revitalize Afghanistan as the link between Central and South...

Britain must show more respect for China and stop treating the country like a “sweatshop on the Pearl River”, George Osborne has said. Chinese leaders are determined to tackle corruption and organised crime and Britain must take advantage of their booming economy, Mr Osborne said, as he announced a radical relaxation of visa rules intended to boost the number of Chinese business travellers and tourists to Britain. Under plans revealed by the Chancellor in China today, Chinese visitors will be able to apply for a British visa using the same form as that used to enter the EU's 'Schengen' zone....

One day, the rupee and the renminbi could displace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency—the most-used means of exchange between countries. And that day is coming closer as emerging markets move to insulate their economies from the dollar’s volatility. The dollar spent the summer riding high as investors pulled money from emerging markets on expectations that the Fed’s bond-buying program would begin slowing in September. When that didn’t happen, many emerging-market policymakers saw an opportunity to prepare for the eventual unwinding, which the IMF warns could cost trillions if handled poorly. Now, as investors come to grips with...

While there are always many currents roiling the waters for foreign currency (FX) traders, two broad trends now heaving up over the horizon are set to change the game fundamentally. Today, everyone takes it for granted that the U.S. dollar is the deepest pool of liquidity on the planet, and therefore the world's dominant reserve currency. There is no doubt that the Federal Reserve's succession of quantitative easing (QE) programs has deeply irritated countries with large U.S. dollar reserves - who wouldn't be irritated if someone else's actions took, say, 20% off their wealth without them being able to do...

All great empires – from the Greek, to the Roman, the Spanish and the British - have at their heart a dominant means of exchange which is very much part of their political and social hegemony. Once upon a time, it was Roman coinage which was the world's pre-eminent currency. In more recent times it was the British pound. Today, it's the US dollar to which international investors flock as a safe haven for their money. Highly liquid and apparently reliable – until recently at least – nothing else comes even remotely close to the greenback's dominant position in the...

Visa applications for Chinese visitors entering the UK will be simplified, Chancellor George Osborne has announced during his trade trip to China. Under the plan, Chinese nationals visiting the EU will not need to submit separate UK visa applications if they book with selected travel agents. Mr Osborne is trying to persuade more Chinese companies to invest in the UK. But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his trip was also about changing British attitudes to China. "Many people think of China as a sweat shop on the Pearl River. Yet it is at the forefront of medicine,...

The rising value of the yuan has had a curious side effect: It is often cheaper for Chinese tourists to travel to exotic foreign destinations than it is to travel to China's popular resorts. A Beijing resident looking for an island break, for example, may find it more economical to go to Sri Lanka than to Hainan. Over the next year, the number of outbound trips from China will top the 100 million mark for the first time in history. The rising number of Chinese people traveling abroad has grown even faster than predicted. The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)...

Anchor babies turn to the US After Hong Kong banned so-called anchor babies last year, many Chinese nationals are now said to be turning to the US, which still offers birthright citizenship. Agencies have been promoting US birth programs which can cost perspective parents over 500-thousand yuan. So-called anchor babies are foreign nationals born in countries or regions which offer citizenship at birth. This then makes it easier for the parents to immigrate to the place their child has citizenship.

Both tourists and tourism industry insiders are expressing optimism about the possibility of bilateral visa exemptions between Thailand and China. CRI's Jordan Lee has more. On the heels of the original proposal by Thai authorities, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has told the Thai Parliament in Bangkok his government is willing to hold talks about bilateral visa exemptions for tourists from the two countries. Li Keqiang says visa exemptions for regular passport holders will offer Chinese and Thai tourists more convenience and promote more people-to-people exchanges. Thailand is the first country within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to enter discussions...

At least 90 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in a stampede in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh Sunday, a senior police official said. "The death toll has risen to 91 and 10 others are in a critical condition," Deputy Inspector General of Police D.K. Arya told the media. "The incident happened at a temple in the state's Datia district, where some 500,000 devotees gathered for a religious festival," he said. He had earlier put the death toll at between 50 and 60. Quoting eye-witnesses, some local TV channels reported that the stampede broke out...

WASHINGTON - World Bank president Jim Kim has formally put forward a major new proposal to refocus both the bank's priorities and how it pursues those aims. The new strategy, which would reorganize and harmonize the World Bank's sprawling global operations, offers the first major realignment of the Washington-based development lender in nearly two decades. It also embodies the most significant move yet by Kim, who took over the top job in July 2012, to put his mark on the bank's operations. The strategy will be formally discussed by the bank's Development Committee, made up of 25 foreign and development...

On October 3, the United States and Japan held the Security Consultative Committee (SCC) meeting, often referred to as "two-plus-two" because it includes the US secretaries of state and defense and Japan's foreign and defense ministers, in Tokyo. The joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, "Toward a More Robust Alliance and Greater Shared Responsibilities", described the vision of the US-Japan alliance that is "more balanced and effective." It included an extensive list of action items in three categories: "bilateral security and defense cooperation" (previously called "roles, missions, and capabilities"), "regional engagement," and "US force realignment in Japan"....

BANGALORE - India's current account deficit is arguably on the mend now. The same cannot be said about the country's fiscal deficit. The government, though, seems to believe otherwise as it reiterated its borrowing plan for the current financial year, which ends in March 2014. The government said it will stick to its overall borrowing target for the fiscal year of 5.79 trillion rupees (US$93 billion) as it announced plans to borrow 2.35 trillion rupees during the second half. What this means is that the government believes that it will be able to stick to its overall fiscal deficit target...

Singapore's economy posted 5.1 per cent on-year growth for the third quarter, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry in advanced estimates, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore has forecast continued economic expansion into 2014. SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy posted a 5.1 per cent on-year growth for the third quarter of 2013, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry in advanced estimates released on Monday. This is compared to the 4.2 per cent recorded in the preceding quarter. The market was expecting a 3.8-per cent growth. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy contracted by 1.0 per cent, compared to...

Forget yoga retreats. If you want to find yourself in south-east Asia, says Susan Smillie, try learning to dive in Thailand, jumping on a motorbike in Vietnam or just chilling in Cambodia I've been sitting still for an hour, watching, listening, in the dark. Macaques swing through the cliff-top trees opposite, the drilling of cicadas has begun. Frogs take up the chorus below, the river rushes ahead, gibbons whoop in the distance. Even the leaves are noisy, falling around the deck of my beautiful treehouse with a thud. Stars appear to rush towards me; fireflies twinkling in the Takian trees....

Nine members of the US Congress have issued statements or certificates congratulating the Republic of China on its 102nd National Day, with some saying that Taipei and Washington should sign a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) soon, given Taiwan’s importance to the US in the Asia-Pacific region. Some Congress members also proposed that Taiwan be included in the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and that the two countries conduct more mutual visits by Cabinet members. Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥�) expressed his gratitude to the Congress members for their congratulations and their support on important issues related to Taiwan-US ties...

TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Japan is looking to allow private sector funds and trust banks to manage a part of its $1.27-trillion pool of foreign exchange reserves in a drive to manage them better, a government source told Reuters on Sunday. Until now the government has managed the foreign exchange reserves itself, but its ability to do so has been stretched as the reserve roughly doubled over the past decade, thanks to massive yen-selling interventions to weaken Japan's currency. The government needs to clear legal hurdles on its use of foreign exchange assets if it wants to draft in...

Justin Bieber lost his cool this weekend in South Korea, allegedly starting a fight while out at a local nightclub. After a performance on his Believe Tour, the Biebs went out to celebrate his show. The singer spent a few hours partying to house music and then headed to the DJ booth where DJ Michael Woods was playing. According to reports, Bieber asked Woods to throw on some Hip-Hop in which he told Bieber to “f*ck off and put some clothes on.” Sources say the two got in an altercation, where Bieber allegedly threw a punch at Wood’s manager. While...

Seoul. The world’s leading energy officials will meet this week in South Korea to discuss the sector’s major challenges, ranging from climate change to the rise of fracking and nuclear power’s uncertain future. The 22nd World Energy Congress begins Monday in the southeastern city of Daegu, which has set its sights on becoming a model for the use of renewable energy, particularly solar. With over 5,000 participants from 93 countries, the conference, which takes place every three years, is considered the most important meeting of the sector and has been dubbed the “Energy Olympics”. Some 50 ministers and other senior...

(Reuters) - China's monthly data spray is likely to show a pick-up in the world's second-largest economy but precious little evidence of a shift in growth towards consumption from credit-fuelled investment. Rebalancing in China is one of three major preconditions of sustainable global growth in the longer term. The others are a plan to rein in and finance U.S. entitlement spending and, in the euro zone, the construction of a solid institutional foundation for the single currency, including a banking union. Frustratingly little progress is being made on any of these fronts. Wrangling in Washington over a new budget and...

Full operational control of South Korean troops should not be handed over to Seoul in haste and out of political considerations, a U.S. academic says. Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow at the conservative Brookings Institution, made the recommendation in an article titled "Don't Rush the U.S.-Korea Command Change" on Tuesday. "In Korea, our preeminent concerns need to be unity of command and effectiveness of our combined deterrent against a still very potent North Korean threat," he said. "Ensuring fair burden-sharing is not the principal prism through which this issue should be viewed." The original decision was a political one, because then-President...