[ SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE: China’s central bank on Monday left a key policy interest rate unchanged as widely expected when rolling over maturing medium-term loans, and drained some cash from the banking system through the bond instrument. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Keeping the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate steady underscores the central bank’s intention to maintain currency stability … Read more
[ First things first. This is this column’s 300th publication since the first article was published in June 2018 and I would like to thank Star Media Group for giving me this opportunity to explore and discuss various issues related to the economy, market, finance, corporate governance and different asset classes. For this week, the … Read more
[ GOLD prices rose on Monday to a record high for the seventh consecutive session, a move that analysts anticipate could be driven by strong demand from Asian central banks, despite traditional headwinds from a stronger U.S. dollar and elevated interest rates. Spot gold was up 0.4% at $2,338.80 per ounce as of 1135 GMT, … Read more
[ KUALA LUMPUR: The ringgit extended gains to open higher on Tuesday morning as the US dollar dipped after China’s central bank intervened to support the yuan. At 9 am, the ringgit rose to 4.7140/7225 against the greenback from Monday’s close of 4.7205/7270. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid noted that … Read more
[ SINGAPORE: Beaten-up Chinese stocks capped off their best week in more than a year on Thursday after a change of leadership at the market regulator and a string of support measures from Beijing ahead of an extended break stemmed a heavy selloff. The blue-chip CSI 300 Index closed 0.6% higher at 3,364.93 points, taking … Read more
[ Online shoppers got their first opportunity to test out China’s new digital currency this weekend during an e-commerce festival organised by JD.com, the country’s second-largest online retailer. JD kicked off the Double Twelve festival on Friday evening with nearly 20,000 orders using the digital yuan, known officially as the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), … Read more
[ Hong Kong could play a leading role in easing China’s financial integration with the rest of the world amid Beijing and Washington’s technology and trade war, according to the city’s securities regulator. Attempts by the Trump administration to decouple the world’s two largest economies had also cemented Beijing’s resolve to further expedite its financial … Read more
