Asia Pacific

The European Union’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles has moved the focus to how and when Beijing will retaliate for the escalation in its biggest trade dispute with the bloc in years, Bloomberg News reported. While talks continue, crucial clues may lie in the votes cast by individual EU member states on the EV measures last week. Beijing has previously threatened tariffs on EU brandy imports and launched investigations into pork and dairy products in response to the tariffs — offering a range of options that affect different parts of Europe.

The European Union will move ahead with tariffs of up to 45% on electric vehicles made in China, defying pleas from some European auto executives who fear retaliation from Beijing and an escalating trade war, the Wall Street Journal reported. EU member states voted Friday to impose the new import fees that will apply for the next five years in a move aimed at protecting European carmakers amid rising competition from Chinese-made vehicles.

Japan's central bank has scope to raise interest rates further but must move cautiously and slowly to avoid hurting the economy, a dovish policymaker said on Thursday, reinforcing market views it will be in no rush to lift borrowing costs, Reuters reported. The comments from Bank of Japan board member Asahi Noguchi come a day after Japan's new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, said the economy was not ready for further rate hikes, in surprisingly blunt remarks that pushed the yen lower.

The Philippine central bank will likely use quarter-point moves to slash its benchmark interest rate by around 175 basis points through the end of next year, according to Governor Eli Remolona, Bloomberg News reported. A 25 basis-point cut is on the cards for the Oct. 16 policy meeting, followed by a reduction of the same size in December, Remolona said. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is unlikely to resort to half-point cuts as the economy remains robust, he added.

A shrinking and rapidly aging population has forced Japan, which for centuries was mostly closed off to immigrants, to allow foreign workers to enter the country and potentially stay for good, the New York Times reported. Most come from other parts of Asia, including China, Vietnam and the Philippines. That transition to employing more foreign workers has proceeded gradually at big companies in major cities over the past decade.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) requires more manpower to expedite the handling of bankruptcy cases and help in the faster resolutions of stressed assets, its president Ramalingam Sudhakar said on Tuesday, the Economic Times of India reported. “Give me the number, I will give you the results,” Sudhakar said at a function to mark the eighth foundation day of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) here. The head of the adjudicating authority was responding to concerns about delay in the admission and clearances of insolvency cases.

Shares of Chinese property developers rallied most on record after Beijing joined its peers to ease rules for homebuyers, following the Asian nation’s call to stem the property market decline, Bloomberg News reported. A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge of Chinese real estate stocks surged as much as 31% — a record — on Wednesday, following the Monday announcement that the nation’s capital will make it easier for non-residents to buy property in core areas and cut minimum down payment ratios. The index has risen 92% over the last five trading days.

India’s securities regulator introduced a slew of steps to limit equity derivatives trading, attempting to shield retail investors whose appetite for the products fueled their rise in the nation, Bloomberg News reported. The measures from the Securities and Exchange Board of India erect hurdles for short-term speculative bets, such as limiting index option contracts with weekly expiries, according to the details on its website released Tuesday.

Thai Airways International Pcl plans to issue new shares worth at least 42 billion baht ($1.3 billion) to creditors and other investors by December, a major step toward exiting a court-monitored debt restructuring and resumption of trading in its shares, Bloomberg News reported. The carrier will offer about 6.81 billion new shares to creditors under a debt-to-equity swap, according to its regulatory filing Monday. These stocks are priced at 2.5452 baht each, valuing the offering at 17.3 billion baht, it said.