AP Week in Pictures: Asia
Feb. 2-Feb. 8, 2024
Asian news from Bangkok
China markets slump to 5-year lows as regulator promises to protect small investors
BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese shares gyrated on Monday, sinking to 5-year lows after market regulators sought to reassure jittery investors with a promise to crack down on stock price manipulation and “malicious short selling.”
Singapore's Banyan eager to split hotel, property units, chairman says
PHUKET, Thailand -- Singapore-based Banyan Group is planning to split its hotel and property development segments into separate companies, its founder told Nikkei Asia, in an attempt to shore up investor confidence undermined by its diverse business model.
More Japanese expats in US, China returning home amid rising costs of living
An increasing number of Japanese who had been long-term overseas residents are opting to return home, with the Japanese populations of Shanghai and New York showing particularly sharp declines, a demographic trend that some attribute to the pandemic and economic pressures.
Thailand seeks to ban ‘low-quality’ China-made elephant-print trousers in bid to protect its copyright
Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the thin cotton pants had been copyrighted in Thailand and the intellectual property department would assess the extent of the imitation products flooding the local market.
Thailand set to ban recreational marijuana over concerns it will cause ‘wider drug problems’
Thailand’s government will urgently move a bill to ban the recreational use of cannabis, the health minister said on Tuesday, after the kingdom decriminalised the drug in 2022.
Myanmar's garment industry shows signs of a shakeout
BANGKOK/YANGON -- Myanmar's garment industry, a vital source of exports for the Southeast Asian nation, is starting to show signs of strain as costs rise and workers become harder to find.
Thai central bank stands pat despite rate cut pressure from PM
BANGKOK -- The Bank of Thailand on Wednesday kept its key interest rate unchanged at 2.5%, defying the pressure from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who pushed for a rate cut to boost the economy.