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☆ El Nino may hammer Asian farms with dry weather, but shower American growers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Naveen Thukral | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is expected to develop in the coming months, according to meteorologists. The onset of monsoon rains across South Asia is likely to be slightly delayed this year and El Nino could hit rice and oilseeds production. "El Nino could develop during July ... it might have an impact in the second half of the season," said O.P. "In general, a big part of the Pampean region and Northern Argentina have above-normal rains with the El Nino phenomenon." In Europe, where El Nino is not typically linked to pronounced weather patterns, major crops are in good shape after abundant spring rain, with the exception of drought-hit Spain.

Persons: El Nino, Chris Hyde, El, Phin Ziebell, Sreejith, Germán Heinzenknecht, David Tolleris, Rains, Naveen Thukral, Maximilian Heath, Mark Weinraub, Rajendra Jadhav, Gus Trompiz, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Nino, El, National Australia Bank, India Meteorological Department, El Nino, HIT, Thomson Locations: Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Asia U.S, South America, SINGAPORE, Asia, U.S, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, El Nino, Americas, Russia, Ukraine, New South Wales, Queensland, South Asia, ARGENTINA, United States, Argentina, Northern Argentina, China, Europe, Spain, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Paris

SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) - Tensions between the United States and China are expected to loom over Asia's top security meeting this week, as China has declined a bilateral meeting between the superpowers' defence chiefs. The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts top defence officials, senior military officers, diplomats, weapons makers and security analysts from around the globe, will take place June 2-4 in Singapore. More than 600 delegates from 49 countries will attend the meeting, which opens with a keynote address by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. China's new Defence Minister Li Shangfu, however, has declined to meet U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon said on Monday. Other key issues that are likely to be discussed include ongoing tensions in the disputed South China Sea and East China Seas.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Li Shangfu, Lloyd Austin, General Li, Li, Xi Jinping, Zhang Youxia, Drew Thompson, Lee, Thompson, Chong Ja Ian, Lynn Kuok, Kuok, Xinghui Kok, Greg Torode, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Australian, Defence, U.S, Pentagon, Central Military Commission, Lee Kuan Yew, of Public, National University of Singapore, NUS, International Institute for Strategic Studies, East China Seas, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, United States, China, Singapore, Beijing, U.S, Ukraine, Taiwan, North, Korean, Russia, East, Britain, Australia, Japan, India

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian e-commerce and gaming giant Sea Ltd (SE.N) is winding down its investment arm, two people with knowledge of the matter said, amid a cooling investment environment globally as macroeconomic and market uncertainty weigh on valuations. The arm, Sea Capital, stopped new equity investing in 2022 with leadership moving on in May, while Sea itself is placing less priority on investing given market conditions, one of the people said. Singapore-based Sea launched Sea Capital in March 2021 with initial capital of $1 billion after buying Hong Kong's Composite Capital Management, founded by former Hillhouse Capital partner David Ma who became Sea Capital's chief investment officer. One of the people said the decision to wind down Sea Capital was prompted by "less deal activity" resulting in fewer investment opportunities. Sea Capital had made at least three investments, including in 2021 into collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Persons: David Ma, Ma, FTX, Kane Wu, Fanny Potkin, Sumeet Chatterjee, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Capital, Hong Kong's, Capital Management, Hillhouse, Sea, U.S, Asia's, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, Asia, Japan, Singapore, New York, Sea, India, Europe, Hong Kong

☆ Asia stocks slump to monthly loss as China data disappoints
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Australian dollar is sliding towards a fourth consecutive monthly loss and at $0.6492 is barely above last week's seven-month lows. Aussie stocks (.AXJO) are eying their worst month since February with a 2.4% drop. Based on these factors, we raise our end-2023 targets for Japanese stocks, to 2,300 for TOPIX and 32,500 for the Nikkei 225." Benchmark 10-year yields dropped 12.4 basis points overnight and fell another 1.5 bps on Wednesday in Asian trade to 3.6808%. The drop in yields put a pause in what looks to be the U.S. dollar's best monthly rally since February.

Persons: stockmarkets, Carol Kong, Masashi Akutsu, Joe Biden, Treasuries, Philip Lowe, Sam Holmes Organizations: Nikkei, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, of America, Republican, Brent, Thomson Locations: China, Asia, Japan, SINGAPORE, Pacific, U.S, United States

The government expects growth could remain around 6.5% in the current fiscal year, despite risks emerging from a global slowdown. Asia's third-largest economy expanded faster than the forecast of 5.0% by economists in a Reuters poll in the last quarter of the 2022/23 fiscal year through March, up from a revised 4.5% in the previous quarter. She added growth numbers, however, reflected optimism for the Indian economy despite global headwinds. Reuters GraphicsFederal government spending, constituting about 10% of GDP, rose 2.3% year-on-year in the latest quarter, compared with a revised 0.6% contraction in the previous quarter. Currently, 45% of India's workforce is employed in the farm sector, which contributes just 15% to the economy.

Persons: Anantha Nageswaran, Sakshi Gupta, Narendra Modi, Economists, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Shivangi Acharya, Nishit Navin, Emelia Sithole, David Holmes Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Federal, Monitoring, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, HDFC, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru

☆ South Korea April factory output falls, retail sales drop most in five months
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, May 31 (Reuters) - South Korea's factory production and retail sales dropped in April, official data showed on Wednesday, indicating another tough quarter ahead after the economy narrowly averted a recession in the first quarter. The country's factory output in April fell 1.2% from March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, coming in slightly softer than a 1.6% loss tipped in a Reuters survey. In March, output rose by 5.3% from February, which was the fastest gain since June 2020, according to Statistics Korea. The all-industry output index, which includes the manufacturing as well as services sectors, fell 1.4% in April over a month, marking the first monthly decline since November and the biggest drop in 14 months. On the consumption side, retail sales dropped 2.3% from a month earlier, after a 0.1% gain in the previous month, marking the first monthly fall since January and the biggest in five months.

Persons: Jihoon Lee, Christian Schmollinger, Stephen Coates Organizations: Statistics Korea, Thomson Locations: SEOUL

LAUNCESTON, Australia, May 30 (Reuters) - Asia's imports of seaborne thermal coal surged to the highest on record in May as cheaper prices tempted buyers in the region's developing economies. This is the most in Kpler data going back to January 2017, while Refinitiv data also shows record imports in May in data stretching back to January 2015. Rising thermal coal imports come as seaborne prices for the fuel continue to decline, with two of the more popular grades slipping to 16-month lows in the week to May 26. While lower prices and rising electricity demand are driving thermal coal imports in developing Asia, the advanced economies in north Asia are experiencing their usual seasonal lull between winter and summer peaks. Fourth-ranked South Korea will import 6.03 million tonnes in May, down from 6.70 million in April and 6.42 million in March.

The Hebei-based company is also considering establishing a research and development centre in Thailand that could work on battery powered pickup trucks, Narong Sritalayon, managing director of Great Wall Motor Thailand said in an interview. "I think there is a lot of things we can learn from Thailand's unique market for pickup trucks," Narong said. Great Wall launched its Ora Good Cat compact EV in Thailand in late 2021. Great Wall entered Thailand in 2020 after taking over a former General Motors Co (GM.N) plant that currently makes two of its Haval hybrid vehicles for sale in the country. But the facility could be upgraded for battery cell production with additional investment depending on demand and Thai government support, Great Wall added.

Southeast Asia's second-largest economy expanded faster than expected in the first quarter of this year due to a revival in its vital tourism sector. Arkhom said revenue collection also showed strong signs of recovery in the 2022 fiscal year and was expected to surpass the pre-pandemic level in the 2023 fiscal year. "I'm confident that Thailand is firmly heading towards full recovery and soon return to its vibrant economy," he added. Thailand's public debt rose due to the pandemic response, but overall fiscal risks remain manageable, the bank said. Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon; Editing by Martin Petty and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Thailand says 1 million Chinese tourists visited from January to mid-May
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BANGKOK, May 28 (Reuters) - Thailand received one million Chinese tourists between January and May 18, a government official said on Sunday, after China's border reopening. The government expects the number of Chinese visitors to meet its target of 5 million this year, with spending of 446 billion baht ($13.18 billion), government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said in a statement. Last year, about 274,000 Chinese tourists visited the Southeast Asian country, compared with 11 million in pre-pandemic 2019, or about 28% of the total. Overall foreign tourist arrivals were 9.47 million from January to mid-May, the government earlier said, compared with the 11.15 million visitors in the whole of 2022. ($1 = 33.85 baht)Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TikTok Shop, a rising threat to Shopee and Lazada in Southeast Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesTikTok Shop is a rising threat to major e-commerce players such as Shopee and Lazada in Southeast Asia. TikTok Shop is the e-commerce marketplace of short video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. In 2022, TikTok Shop expanded to six Southeast Asian countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. TikTok is "focused on the continued development of TikTok Shop in Southeast Asia," said the spokesperson. To incentivize sellers to join the platform, TikTok Shop waived commission fees when it launched in Singapore in August.

Persons: TikTok, Shopee, Shawn Yang, Shop's, Sachin Mittal, Lazada's GMV, Jonathan Woo, Lazada, Shou Zi, Woo, bode Organizations: Blue Lotus Research Institute, Sea Group, DBS Bank, CNBC, Intelligence, Phillip Securities Research, TikTok, U.S, Merchants, SG, Phillip Securities Locations: Southeast Asia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Southeast, GMV, U.S, Statista, Brazil, China, U.S ., Montana, Texas, Nomieo

☆ China's travel recovery gets more attention, but India's outbound market is 'booming' even faster
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Company data showed that while outbound travel searches from most Asia-Pacific countries increased between 30% and 60% from 2019, searches from travelers in India jumped by 225%. Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia are top picks for Indian travelers. "Vietnam is within the top five destinations and it was never there in 2019," Morgenshtern said. "There's this perception that the Indian traveler's economic power is very low. It may be true domestically, but when it comes to outbound, I actually think it's on par with the Chinese when they visit other Asian countries," Agoda's Morgenshtern said.

☆ Japan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Kevin Klowden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China has so far not acted in an aggressive manner toward shipping in the South China Sea, but the very potential of action creates a clear threat to the economies of Japan and South Korea. Nowhere is that more evident than in President Xi Jinping's "nine-dash" declaration, through which Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea. And of all the countries with cause to be concerned about that claim, perhaps none have more on the line than Japan and South Korea. For Japan and South Korea, the threat to their supply chains and energy imports is a far more real and present issue. Even in a non-wartime situation, China has taken the position that the South China Sea is a controlled territory rather than open international waters under Chinese guardianship.

Persons: Kevin Klowden, Xi Jinping's Organizations: Milken Institute, weekend's Locations: China, South China, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, East, East Asia, Beijing, Spratly, United States

☆ Morning Bid: Tech politics, debt cap brinkmanship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Well-choreographed brinkmanship over the debt ceiling standoff looks set to go down to the wire, while technology firms have once again become a battleground in tense geopolitics. As AI-fueled U.S. technology stocks have led the way this year, the S&P (.SPX) has gained almost 10% this year and hit its highest level in nine months on Friday. Minneapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said on Sunday he could support holding rates steady at the next meeting. Futures markets see more than an 80% chance of a June pause and still price almost 50bp of cuts by yearend. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

The forecast is 22% higher than the S$8.19 billion annual net profit it achieved in 2022. Its ROE was 15% last year, while its CET1 ratio was 14.6%, according to its 2022 annual report. DBS said faster growth in capital-light high-ROE businesses such as wealth management, global transaction services and treasury market sales will help it achieves its goals. DBS aims to be among the top 10 private sector banks in India, projecting net profit to triple to around S$375 million by 2026, according to the slides. ($1 = 1.3245 Singapore dollars)Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hiroshima G7 marks costs of war and welcomes Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and French President Emmanuel Macron shake hands during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan May 20, 2023. Zelenskiy will receive a hero's welcome during the closing day of the G7 summit hosted in Hiroshima, Japan, where leaders debated how to respond to a conflict that many expect only to escalate after nearly 15 months of fighting. On Sunday, Japan and South Korea, two of China's wealthiest neighbours, will highlight their improved ties with a joint meeting. But Zelenskiy has pushed the countries to go further on both economic and military measures. "Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on Twitter as he arrived in Hiroshima.

☆ G-7 aims to rein in risks from China, awaits Zelenskyy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is due to arrive in Hiroshima on Saturday to drum up support for his country's defence effort. The G7 nations are looking to "de-risk, not decouple" from China, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima. In a draft of the final communique seen by Reuters, G7 leaders agreed that China's status as the world's second-largest economy meant they had to continue to cooperate. "We do not seek to thwart China's economic progress and development," the leaders said in the draft, which is subject to change. China has voiced concern that the summit would turn into a "political show" against Beijing.

May 18 (Reuters) - Equity markets in North Asia will outperform the broader region this year, buoyed by China's reopening and a post-pandemic recovery-led earnings rebound, investors and strategists said. Liquidity from easing monetary and fiscal policy, along with Asian central banks' early victory on inflation, is expected to defend against an incoming downtrend, keeping North Asian equities resilient. Grace Tam, chief investment officer-Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management, expects North Asia to outperform this year following a strong 2022 from South Asian equities. Goldman Sachs sees the north versus south disparity in Asia as a top investment theme in 2023. "China's growth recovery and North Asia's earnings rebound in 2024 remain our key investment themes and overweight areas," it said in its second-quarter outlook.

☆ Asian stocks follow Wall Street higher amid debt ceiling optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As investors drew comfort from that reassurance, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) pushed 0.78% higher. "Markets have chosen to be optimistic," Rodrigo Catril, senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank, wrote in a client note. Any advance above 30,795.78 would take it to the highest since 1990, when Japan's bubble economy had still to burst. Long-term U.S. Treasury yields eased back in Tokyo after rising to the highest since March 1 at 3.589% in New York. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar surged the most in three weeks to 137.72 yen , just 0.06 yen below its highest since March 8.

"A longer timeframe shows that foreign investors have been net sellers of Japanese equities by a considerable margin. We think long-term investors remain lightly positioned," they wrote last week in a note "Upside risks in Japanese equities". Non-residents sold nearly $4 billion of Chinese stocks in April, according to the Institute of International Finance, the first outflow in six months. Bank of America's monthly fund manager surveys show that "long" Chinese equities was the most crowded global trade in January. That has been scaled back significantly and investors have reduced their net overweight position in Chinese stocks, but they are still comfortably net overweight.

Asia-Pacific markets are set to rise on hopes of U.S President Joe Biden and congressional leaders inching closer to a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a default. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that a "better process" is now in place for further talks, saying it's "possible to get a deal by the end of the week." Biden shortened his trip to Asia to focus on the negotiations, the White House said. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.66% and the Kosdaq gained 0.77% in Asia's morning trade. Stocks in Australia also rose, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.74% as investors await the economy's unemployment figures for April.

[1/5] Move Forward Party leader, Pita Limjaroenrat speaks to the media following a meeting with coalition partners in Bangkok, Thailand, May 18, 2023. Move Forward, which won most seats after it capitalised on its groundswell of youth support, has an alliance of eight parties worth about 313 of the 500 lower house seats but no guarantees it can form a coalition government. "There is a committee and negotiation team in place to find out what I further need, the seats I need, so there is stability and no loss of balance in governing," Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat told a press conference. Move Forward won massive youth support with a lively campaign and sophisticated use of social media, but its anti-establishment stance on some issues, including over business monopolies, could complicate its bid to rule. It is far from certain that the new alliance would become Thailand's next government, despite a decisive opposition victory.

☆ Thailand's Move Forward confident of more support to form government
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Chayut Setboonsarng | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Move Forward Party leader, Pita Limjaroenrat speaks to the media following a meeting with coalition partners in Bangkok, Thailand, May 18, 2023. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaBANGKOK, May 18 (Reuters) - The leader of the progressive Move Forward Party that secured a stunning victory in Thailand's election this week said on Thursday he was confident of building more support and being able form a stable and balanced government. Move Forward has campaigned on changing the lese-majeste law, under which at least 200 people have been charged in the past few years, many from a youth-led protest movement. The law prescribes jail terms of up to 15 years for each perceived offence, with some given sentences of several decades. Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat, Writing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India's Russian oil buying hits record high, slashes Mideast, Africa share
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asia's third-largest economy imported about 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian oil in April, about 4.4% higher than the previous month, the data showed. Higher imports from Russian raised the share of oil from the C.I.S. India's oil imports from various regionsRussia remained the top oil supplier to India for the sixth-straight month in April, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Oil imports from Russia also rose as Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, raised the size of its annual import deal with Rosneft (ROSN.MM). Lower purchases of oil from the Middle East dragged OPEC's share of India oil imports to a record low of 46%, the data showed.

☆ Asia's April heatwaves were '30 times more likely' because of climate change - scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Stanway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters) - Record-breaking heatwaves that hit large parts of South and Southeast Asia in April were made "30 times more likely" as a result of human-induced climate change, an international team of scientists said on Wednesday. Humid heatwaves that used to happen once a century in Bangladesh and India are now expected to occur every five years, while the heat in Thailand and Laos would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change, the scientists said. "The heatwaves were not natural," said Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a team member from Chiang Mai University in Thailand, during a media briefing on Wednesday. "Unless we take drastic measures to reduce carbon emissions, heatwave events like this will continue to become more common," he said. Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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