Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Thai banks’ bad loans rise to 2.9% in Q1
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 04:21 PM [BANGKOK] Thai banks’ non-performing loans rose to 2.90 per cent of outstanding loans at the end of March from 2.78 per cent at the end of December, the central bank said on Tuesday (May 20). Bank lending dropped 1.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2025…
Read MoreJapan’s Honda to scale back on electric vehicles, concentrate on hybrids
The carmaker says it expects to sell 2.2 million to 2.3 million hybrid vehicles by 2030 Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 02:17 PM [TOKYO] Honda Motor said on Tuesday (May 20) that it was scaling back its investment in electric vehicles (EVs) given slowing demand and would be focusing on capturing growing demand for…
Read MoreJapan’s 20-year bond auction gets weakest demand since 2012
The sale comes after a recent surge in longer Japanese bond yields and increased volatility owing in part to US President Donald Trump’s policy measures Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 01:18 PM [TOKYO] Ayai Tomisawa Japan’s auction of 20-year bonds got the lowest demand since 2012, pointing to market concern about who will buy…
Read MoreAsia: Markets rebound to track Wall Street up as China cuts rates
[HONG KONG] Asian markets rose on Tuesday as investor sentiment returned following the previous day’s US rating-fuelled losses, with sentiment also boosted after China cut interest rates to historic lows. The rally tracked advances on Wall Street, where the initial selloff sparked by Moody’s removal of Washington’s triple-A grade soon gave way to a push…
Read MoreChina EV battery giant CATL’s Hong Kong IPO positive for mainland listings: Morningstar
[SINGAPORE] Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) has drawn strong demand in its Hong Kong IPO on Tuesday – the world’s largest listing this year. CATL shares jumped in its Hong Kong trading debut, raising HK$35.7 billion (S$5.9 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and amid geopolitical unstability. Shares…
Read MoreCATL rises in Hong Kong trading debut after world’s top listing in 2025
[HONG KONG] Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) rose in its Hong Kong trading debut after the Chinese battery giant wrapped up the world’s biggest listing this year by raising HK$35.7 billion (S$5.9 billion) despite being blacklisted by the Pentagon and grinding through geopolitical storms. Shares of CATL, as the largest maker of electric vehicle…
Read MoreTop Vietnam steelmaker says local building boom will fuel growth
[HANOI] Vietnam’s top steelmaker Hoa Phat Group is counting on the nation’s rising economic growth and massive infrastructure projects from railways to seaports to fuel the company’s expansion and cushion any fallout from US tariffs. The company targets 15 per cent annual revenue growth in the 2025 to 2030 period, chief executive officer Nguyen Viet…
Read MoreGM to stop exporting vehicles from US to China, company says
Published Tue, May 20, 2025 · 07:09 AM [DETROIT] General Motors informed employees and dealers for its China export business on Thursday in China that it would stop shipping vehicles to China from the United States, the company said. The move comes as the United States and China continue discussions on tariffs and other trade…
Read MoreUS Federal Reserve officials signal rates likely to stay on hold until at least September
[NEW YORK] Two US Federal Reserve officials, including New York Fed chief John Williams, suggested policymakers may not be ready to lower interest rates before September as they confront a murky economic outlook. “It’s not going to be that in June we are going to understand what’s happening here, or in July,” Williams said on…
Read MoreUS: Stocks end higher, shrugging off Moody’s downgrade
[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks edged higher on Monday after shrugging off a spike in US Treasury bond yields following Moody’s downgrade of the US credit rating. But yields subsequently eased as markets concluded Moody’s analysis contained no surprises. After the knee-jerk reaction, “the market settles down and focuses on the economic fundamentals,” said Subadra Rajappa, Head…
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