China set its lowest annual gross domestic product (GDP) target in decades Saturday, as Premier Li Keqiang warned of a "grave and uncertain" outlook against the backdrop of the coronavirus, a property slump and uncertainty over the war in Ukraine.Li announced the unusually modest target of around 5.5 percent growth for 2022 – the lowest since 1991 – in his speech opening the annual session of China's rubber-stamp parliament.Addressing about 3,000 members of the National People&

Indonesia's economy returned to growth last year as surging commodity prices helped drive a recovery from a coronavirus-triggered recession, data showed Monday, though officials warned the outlook depended on how well the fast-spreading Omicron variant is managed.Southeast Asia's biggest economy expanded 3.69 percent on-year, the country's statistics agency said, having contracted in 2020 for the first time since 1998 during the region's financial crisis.The healthy reboun

China’s Winter Olympics may be more of a drag on Beijing’s regional economy than a boost, as virus flare-ups and pollution curbs weigh on consumer and industrial activity.A ban on public spectators means there won’t be the usual bump up in tourism and consumption that a city hopes to gain from hosting the international games. Tighter controls to contain the outbreaks of two virus variants are keeping holidaymakers away.

The Philippine economy rebounded stronger than expected in 2021 after a relaxation of COVID-19 rules fuelled consumer spending and got more people back to work, officials said Thursday as they forecast a return to pre-pandemic growth this year.Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.6 percent, the statistics agency said, after a 9.6 percent slump the previous year – the worst since World War II – was fuelled by crippling lockdowns destroying millions of jobs and forcing people to stay home.Th

A billionaire businessman and political fundraiser linked to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has wrested control of the broadcast frequencies used by the country’s largest television network ABS-CBN before the government forced it to close, raising concern about a further erosion of media freedom.The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had granted Manuel Villar’s company, Advanced Media Broadcasting System (AMBS) a “provisional authority” t

Lim Kok Thay started a cruiseferry and gambling boat business in 1990s Hong Kong and turned it into one of Asia’s biggest cruise operators.It was a labour of love, as well as a way to diversify the casino business set up by his father, Lim Goh Tong, in Malaysia. Under the now 70-year-old Kok Thay, Genting Hong Kong Ltd. expanded its fleet of ships, bought other cruise lines and even added a string of German shipyards to build its vessels.

A new report argues that firms must change how they view workers to compete in the war for talent.

The use of crypto assets as a currency is forbidden for Muslims, according to Indonesia’s council of religious leaders.The National Ulema Council, or MUI, has deemed cryptocurrency as haram, or banned, as it has elements of uncertainty, wagering and harm, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, head of religious decrees, said on Thursday after the council held an expert hearing.

Power outages in China, chaos in Britain's petrol stations, factory closures in Germany – supply chain problems around the world are threatening to gnarl up a global recovery as countries try to re-emerge from pandemic-induced recessions.This week saw a number of examples of the supply chain issues currently dogging economic activity across the globe – China ran out of coal for its power stations; the United Kingdom (UK) had insufficient lorry drivers to transport petrol to the fuel pump

The Philippine economy will take more than a decade to return to pre-pandemic growth, an official said Thursday, warning the next two generations of Filipinos would be paying for the cost of COVID-19.