This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Doug Palmer on politico.com on July 29, 2019.Vietnam must take steps to reduce its trade deficit with the United States and open its market to more US goods and services, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in comments released on Monday.“US businesses face a host of unfair trade barriers in Vietnam,” Lighthizer said in written responses to questions from the Senate Finance Committee.“The…
Indonesia looks to cut reliance on foreign funds with bonds sale to citizens living overseas
Indonesia is planning to sell bonds to its citizens living overseas as Southeast Asia’s largest economy seeks to expand its funding pool and reduce the dependence on foreign fund inflows for financing a budget deficit.The government is studying so-called diaspora bonds, which will target non-residents from migrant workers to students, according to Luky Alfirman, director general for financing and risk management at the finance ministry. Most of the details are still being discussed, he said.The…
Illegal Chinese-run gambling ring smashed in massive raid by Vietnamese police: state media
More than 380 Chinese nationals have been detained during a massive raid on a gambling ring in Vietnam, according to state media.Some 500 police officers in Hai Phong, a northern port city, broke up the Chinese-run network in a raid late on Saturday, in what police claim was the biggest-ever betting operation run by foreigners.The raid took place at a gated community where rooms were used to transact online bets worth more than US$400 million, state-run Vietnam Television said.“This case is…
Taiwan’s 2020 election candidates? It’s the US vs China
Since their debut in 1996, Taiwan’s presidential elections have been a showdown between the self-ruled island’s independence-leaning camp and those favouring unification with China.There will be no exception this time as incumbent president Tsai Ing-wen faces off with Han Kuo-yu, the popular mayor of Kaohsiung, in January 2020, when legislative elections will also take place. The presidential races offer choices that divide the electorate along multiple lines – idealism or reality,…
Indonesian President Joko Widodo insists Jakarta’s giant sea wall ‘must be done quickly’ to protect sinking capital
Indonesia’s president said in an interview that he wants to see the speedy construction of a giant sea wall around Jakarta to prevent the low-lying capital from sinking under the sea, lending renewed backing and a sense of urgency to a slow-moving and politically contested mega project.President Joko Widodo and his government are up against a tight timetable, including a forecast by experts that at the current rate, one-third of Jakarta could be submerged by 2050.The existential crisis facing…
2 dead, at least 10 injured in South Korean nightclub collapse near World Aquatics Championships
Two South Koreans died and at least 10 others were injured – including athletes attending the World Aquatics Championships – after part of a nightclub collapsed early on Saturday near the Athletes’ Village in Gwangju, according to reports. Witnesses said there were around 370 people inside the Coyote Ugly nightclub when part of the upper deck above the bar collapsed at about 2am local time. The deck area had been illegally constructed to accommodate more customers, Yonhap news agency said. …
In Philippine slums, meat scavenged from dumpsters feeds those short of meals and hope
Morning traffic rattles through the slum district of Payatas in Quezon City, just north of Metro Manila. It is 9am but over 30 degrees Celsius and climbing. A truck pulls over and workers unload the morning’s collection of rubbish, depositing it behind the corrugated iron gates of Joe’s Junk Shop.Payatas is a sprawling shanty town built on a landfill, and these junk shops are an integral part of the local economy. Inside, it is a hive of activity. The space is piled four metres high in parts…
How Singapore plans to create the city of the future and reinvigorate its economy
Singapore rose to be one of the world’s most advanced cities by using its position as a trading hub to attract technology and investment. Now, caught in the squalls of a shift in global trade and technological change, the nation is pouring money into ideas that could define the way cities are built and run in future, making it a test bed for urban innovation.The island has few natural resources, hardly any land and faces many of the challenges that beset bigger developed nations such as Germany…
Sri Lankan court grants bail for Muslim doctor accused of sterilising over 4,000 Buddhist women
A Sri Lankan court granted bail on Thursday to a Muslim doctor accused of having sterilised over 4,000 women from the Sinhalese Buddhist majority, his lawyer said, a deeply sensitive case in a country long dogged by communal bloodshed.Shegu Shihabdeen Mohamed Shafi, who has denied the allegations, was given bail of 2.75 million rupees (US$15,600), defence lawyer Faris Saly told Reuters after a five-hour hearing in Kurunagala magistrates court in northwestern Sri Lanka.“He was arrested [in May]…
Singapore chip makers become US-China trade war casualty as firms cut jobs
Caught in the middle a US-China trade war while trying to address political concerns over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei and slowing consumer demand, chip makers in Singapore have started slowing production and laying off hundreds of jobs.The slump in a sector that made up nearly a third of Singapore’s manufacturing output last year is reinforcing expectations that the export-driven economy could slide into recession in the coming months.Making microchips for everything from mobile phones to cars…