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☆ India to require COVID test for arrivals from China, four other Asian countries
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - People arriving in India from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand will have to show a negative COVID-19 test from Sunday, India's health minister said. Travellers from those countries would have to upload their test result on an India government website before their departure, the minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The new requirement for a COVID test would be in addition to the random tests on 2% of all international passengers arriving in India. India joins the United States, Japan, Italy and Taiwan in imposing mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China, amid a COVID surge there after authorities relaxed strict "zero-COVID" rules. Reporting by Shivam Patel; editing by Sudipto Ganguly, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"It's not a question of if it will happen, it's now just a matter of how many and how fast." As the Lunar New Year holiday - typically a peak travel period for Chinese tourists - starts on Jan. 21, some businesses are already gearing up. Japan, however, is being cautious about Chinese tourism due to the rapid spread of the virus in China. Australia, Germany, Thailand and others, however, said they would not impose additional rules on Chinese travel for now, with France taking to social media platform Sina Weibo to emphasise it welcomed Chinese friends "with open arms". "I suspect any meaningful rebound will have to wait until the travel boom in June or July next year."

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni may say more on this in her end-of-year news conference from around 11:30 a.m. (1030 GMT). It was unclear when the EU health committee, which started its meeting on Thursday morning, would end and what decisions it could take. The Health Security Committee is composed of officials from health ministries across the bloc and chaired by the Commission. It has met frequently at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe to coordinate policies. China has rejected criticism of its COVID statistics as groundless and politically motivated attempts to smear its policies.

☆ Factbox: COVID rules for travellers from China rolled out around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Several places around the world have imposed curbs on travellers from China amid a COVID-19 surge after Beijing relaxed strict "zero-COVID" measures. Below is a list of rules for travellers from China:UNITED STATESThe U.S. will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China beginning on Jan. 5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Americans should also reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau. JAPANJapan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. COUNTRIES MONITORING SITUATIONAUSTRALIAThe country said it was making no change to its rules around allowing travellers from China in.

☆ No need for French border controls over China COVID surge - health official
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - There is no need for France to impose border controls in reaction to a surge of COVID infections in China, the head of France's health risks committee said on Thursday. "From a scientific point of view, there is no reason to bring back controls at the border ... but that could change any day," Brigitte Autran, head of the French health risk assessment committee COVARS, said on French Radio Classique. Autran - who advises the government on epidemiological risks - said that for now "the situation is under control" and that there are no signs of worrying new COVID variants in China. Health officials from the European Union's 27 countries will talk later on Thursday about how to coordinate the European response to China's COVID surge. read moreReporting by Myrian Rivet and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hong Kong asks Japan to drop airport restrictions with 60,000 travellers affected
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Japan, which is a top travel destination for Hong Kong people, said it would limit flights from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China to Tokyo's two airports, plus Osaka and Nagoya from Friday. "It is understood that around 250 outbound flights of Hong Kong airlines will be affected between December 30, 2022 and the end of January 2023, affecting around 60,000 passengers," the government said in a statement late on Wednesday. "We think that Hong Kong people should be allowed to use not just these four airports," Lee said. Flights of Hong Kong airlines can still carry passengers back to Hong Kong from various airports in Japan, the government said, to "ensure the smooth return of Hong Kong people from Japan and to minimise the impact to Hong Kong travellers caused by the incident." Hong Kong Airlines and Peach Aviation announced they would cancel some flight routes because of the rules.

☆ Dollar steadies as optimism over China reopening turns to caution
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 29 (Reuters) - The dollar steadied on Thursday after riding long-end U.S. Treasury yields higher overnight, as initial optimism over China's reopening fizzled. Following China's removal of its quarantine rule for inbound travellers beginning Jan. 8, countries such as the United States, Japan and India said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Sterling rose 0.19% to $1.2040, but was similarly not far off its three-week trough of $1.1993 hit last week. The uncertainty over the global economic outlook, along with mounting worries about a recession in the U.S., saw the two-year Treasury yield , which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, slip overnight. Meanwhile, the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury last stood at 3.8656%, after rising to a more than one-month high of 3.8920% overnight.

☆ Asian shares skid as COVID surge in China unsettles investors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was down 1.06%, and was set for a third straight week of losses. China shares (.SSEC) opened 0.4% lower, while Hong Kong's stock market (.HSI) fell 1%. The Fed raised interest rates by 50 bps earlier in December after delivering four consecutive 75 bps hikes but has said it may need to keep higher interest rates for longer. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down 1 basis point at 4.349%. Surging COVID cases in China has raised doubts over a fast recovery in fuel demand in the world's second-biggest oil consumer.

☆ Factbox: COVID rules for travellers from China around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Countries are imposing or considering imposing curbs on travellers from China amid a COVID-19 surge there after authorities relaxed "zero-COVID" rules. Below is a list of new regulations for travellers from China. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, the health minister said. JAPANJapan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Milan's main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai.

☆ Indian shares fall as China COVID surge dampens sentiment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Thursday, dragged by broad-based declines, as a surge in COVID cases in China dampened optimism generated by the reopening of the world's second-largest economy. The Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.58% at 18,017.85, as of 11:27 a.m. IST, and the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.54% to 60,578.03. Forty-five of the Nifty 50 constituents fell, with Tata Consumer (TACN.NS), Tata Motors (TAMO.NS), Grasim (GRAS.NS), Ultratech Cement (ULTC.NS), HDFC (HDFC.NS) and Hindalco Industries (HALC.NS) losing over 1.25%. Several countries, including the United States and India, have made COVID tests mandatory for travellers from China. The stock was the top gainer in Nifty 50 index.

China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related. The holiday travel rush is expected to last for 40 days, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, the Ministry of Transport said this week. China's official death toll of 5,246 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. The United States, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Omicron was still the dominant strain in China, Chinese health officials said this week.

☆ UK to consider COVID curbs for arrivals from China - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - The UK will consider on Thursday imposing COVID-19 restrictions for arrivals from China, including requiring tests for the coronavirus, the Telegraph reported. Officials from the Department for Transport, Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) are expected to decide today whether the UK should follow the United States and Italy in imposing COVID restrictions for travellers from China, the report said. The Prime Minister's spokesperson had said earlier on Wednesday that the restrictions were "not something we are looking at", the report added. The United States imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China on Wednesday while Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oil settles lower in light trading on China demand concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Shariq Khan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China has said it will stop requiring inbound travellers to quarantine from Jan. 8, a major step towards relaxing stringent curbs on its borders. Market participants noted that trading volumes this week are expected to be lighter than usual as the end of the year approaches, creating more volatility in oil prices. "My sense is the general risk-off mood has weighed on the oil prices, in a market with thin liquidity," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. "Next year brings immense uncertainty and plenty of potential upside risk for prices from the China reopening to lower Russian output and further OPEC+ cuts," Erlam said. U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week while gasoline and distillate stocks rose surprisingly, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.

☆ China to drop COVID tests for inbound travelers from Jan. 8
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab sample from a man at a nucleic acid testing site, as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks continue in Shanghai, China, December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Aly SongDec 28 (Reuters) - China will drop a requirement for inbound travellers to take COVID-19 PCR tests starting from Jan 8, 2023, customs authorities said on Wednesday. PCR checks for imported chilled and frozen foods will also be dropped, China's General Administration of Customs said. China's management of COVID-19 is set to be downgraded to the less strict Category B from the top-level Category A from Jan. 8, the health authority said on Monday. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Australia says no change to rules regarding travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Australia is making no change to its rules around allowing travellers from China into the country, despite measures by some countries to require mandatory COVID-19 tests, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday. [nL8N33I04R]Australia and China recently resumed diplomatic dialogue after relations between the countries hit a low point following criticism by Australia of China's handling of COVID-19. In 2020, China imposed trade sanctions on several major Australian exports. This month, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong became the country's first government minister to visit China since 2019. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell plans to visit China in early 2023, Australian media reported on Thursday.

One of Asia's most popular travel destinations, Thailand is seeing a much-needed tourism boom, with 1.75 million visitors in November, quadruple the number received for the whole of last year when flights and foreign arrivals were limited by the pandemic. Russian arrivals in November represented about 60% of the number who visited in the same month in 2019. A top destination for Russians is Phuket, where they account for about a quarter of the island's visitors, helped by direct flights to there and Bangkok, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). "In the evening you'll see Russian families strolling in the park along with locals," he said, adding some were staying until March. ($1 = 34.6200 baht)Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Orathai Siring; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Asian shares slip as investors gauge China reopening policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Asian equities were subdued on Wednesday, while the dollar held firm, with investors looking for direction after China took further steps towards reopening its COVID-battered economy. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down 0.9 basis points at 3.849%, hovering around the five-week high of 3.862% it touched in the previous session. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was down 2.3 basis points at 3.920%, while the two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was down 1.9 basis points at 4.349%. "The spring salary negotiation next year is the most important to watch for further meaningful policy change for the Bank of Japan." The dollar index , which measures the safe-haven greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.077%.

☆ China-exposed miners, banks push UK's FTSE 100 higher
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 adds 0.3%Dec 28 (Reuters) - UK's export-focused FTSE 100 advanced on Wednesday with miners and banks supporting gains, as top consumer China took additional measures to reopen the economy. The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.9%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 added 0.3%. Miners (.FTNMX551020) climbed 1.8%, tracking copper prices that rose after China dismantled its COVID curbs to reopen the economy. METL/Asia-focused banks such as Prudential (PRU.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L) were also among the gainers by 0824 GMT. UK markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday on account of Boxing Day and Christmas Day, respectively.

☆ U.S. to impose mandatory COVID-19 tests for travelers from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

CHICAGO, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The United States will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday, joining India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan in taking new measures after Beijing's decision to lift stringent zero-COVID policies. The United States also is expanding its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. Beijing has faced international criticism that its official COVID data and its tally of deaths are inconsistent with the scale of its outbreak. In June, the United States rescinded a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19. It still requires most non-U.S. citizens to be vaccinated against COVID to travel to the United States.

☆ Hong Kong to scrap COVID tests for arrivals, vaccine pass - media
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong leader John Lee is due to hold a media briefing at 3.30pm (0730 GMT) to give further details. The expected announcement comes after Lee said on Saturday that Hong Kong would reopen its borders with mainland China by mid-January. Hong Kong has for nearly three years largely followed China's lead in tackling the novel coronavirus. Hong Kong and China have lagged the rest of the world in easing stringent COVID rules. International passengers arriving in Hong Kong since mid-month are no longer subject to COVID-related movement controls or barred from certain venues.

☆ Italy imposes mandatory Covid tests for travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China, where cases are surging, the health minister said on Wednesday. Milan's main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai on Dec. 26, and the results showed almost one in two passengers was infected. Japan has said that from Dec. 31 it will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China, while Taiwan will test arrivals from China from Jan. 1. On the first flight to Malpensa that tested passengers from China out of 62 passengers 35 were Covid positive, Lombardy's health chief Guido Bertolaso said on Wednesday, while on the second 62 were positive out of 120. He added that virus sequencing procedures had been activated to analyse variants, and the results are expected on Thursday.

☆ Chinese hospitals 'extremely busy' as COVID spreads unchecked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Staff at Huaxi, a big hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu, said they were extremely busy caring for patients with COVID, as they have been ever since curbs were eased on Dec. 7. There were long queues inside and outside the hospital’s emergency department and at an adjacent fever clinic on Tuesday evening. “Almost all of the patients have COVID,” one emergency department pharmacy staff member said. Zhang Yuhua, an official at the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said most recent patients were elderly and critically ill with underlying diseases. She said the number of patients receiving emergency care had increased to 450-550 per day, from about 100 before, according to state media.

☆ Japan to require negative COVID test upon arrival for Chinese travellers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Japan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China due to the rapid spread of the virus in the country, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday. Travellers from China who test positive will be required to quarantine for seven days, Kishida told reporters, adding that the new border measures for China will go into effect from midnight on Dec. 30. The government will also limit requests from airlines to increase flights to China, he said. Japan reopened its borders to tourists in October after more than two years of strict COVID curbs, provided travellers present proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus tests taken before departure. Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

News of the loosening lifted stock markets worldwide, with luxury shares in particular benefiting. Shares in LVMH (LVMH.PA), the world's biggest luxury group and Europe's number 1 company by market capitalisation, were up 2.7% while Cartier-owner Richemont (CFR.S) rose almost 4%. Before the current slowdown, it had for years been the fastest growing region, with young, urban, middle class professionals powering the luxury market by splashing out on Hermes' 10,000 euro-plus ($10,633) Birkin handbags and Gucci's 1,000 euro fur-lined loafers. According to a recent report by the McKinsey consultancy, while non-luxury fashion sales are expected to rise between 2% and 7% in 2023, luxury sales should climb 9% to 14% over the same period. ($1 = 0.9405 euros)Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Louise Heavens Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Industrial profits fell 3.6% in January-November from a year earlier to 7.7 trillion yuan ($1.11 trillion), according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday. Industrial profits could fall further in December with many cities facing a surge in COVID infections, said Hao Zhou, chief economist at GTJAI. For January-November, profits at private-sector firms shrank 7.9%, a slight improvement from the 8.1% fall in the first 10 months. China's economic growth was just 3% in the first three quarters of this year and is expected to stay around that rate for the full year, one of its worst years in almost half a century. Industrial profit data covers large firms with annual revenues above 20 million yuan from their main operations.

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