Asia Pacific

New bank lending in China jumped less than expected in August after hitting a 15-year low in July, as the central bank keeps policy accommodative and pledges to roll out more supportive measures to bolster a fragile economic recovery, Reuters reported. Chinese banks extended 900 billion yuan ($126.86 billion) in new yuan loans in August, up 246% from July but short of analyst expectations, data released by the People's Bank of China showed on Friday.

Inflation in India ticked up a little in August, likely keeping policymakers at the country’s central bank on their toes as they plot whether to cut interest rates in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported. The consumer price index increased 3.65% on year in August, compared with 3.6% in the prior month, Indian government figures showed on Thursday. That compared with economists’ expectations of 3.5% from a FactSet poll. July’s level was the lowest since August 2019, before the pandemic and more recent geopolitical pressures.

China has for years had one of the lowest retirement ages among major economies. Men started life’s next chapter at age 60, while women did so as early as 50. But now, China’s next generation will have to work longer, the Wall Street Journal reported. To address looming pension-system shortfalls and economic strains, Beijing on Friday moved to gradually raise the statutory retirement age to 63 for men and 55 for blue-collar women. The retirement age for other women will increase to 58 from 55.

Russian hacker groups briefly disrupted Taiwanese financial platforms including the stock exchange and lender Mega Financial Holding Co.’s website, exposing the vulnerability of the island to foreign cyberattacks, Bloomberg News reported. Two groups that go by the handles “NoName057” and “RipperSec” on Telegram swamped targeted websites with a so-called Distributed Denial of Service attack, which caused unstable connection issues for the platforms Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said Friday.

A court in southern China approved the personal bankruptcy of a local couple who owed 9.28 million yuan (US$1.3 million) late last month, raising hopes of relief for financially struggling individuals as the domestic economy remains languid, the South China Morning Post reported.

Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of China Evergrande Group - the company at the centre of the country's property sector crisis - has been moved to a special detention centre in Shenzhen, Reuters reported. Hui, 65, has not been seen in public since he was taken away by Chinese authorities a year ago and his current whereabouts have not been previously reported. After China's securities regulator found Evergrande's flagship unit had inflated earnings and committed securities fraud, Hui was fined $6.6 million in March and barred from the securities market for life.

Bank of Japan policy board member Naoki Tamura said the central bank should raise interest rates to around 1% in the near future, fueling expectations of several rate increases, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a speech Thursday to business leaders in the western prefecture of Okayama, Tamura said short-term interest rates should be raised to at least around 1% in the latter half of the bank’s projection period. Japan’s neutral interest rate is likely around that level, he said.

Pakistan cut its benchmark interest rate for a third consecutive meeting as slowing inflation gave policymakers space to revive economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. The State Bank of Pakistan lowered the target rate by 200 basis points to 17.5%, according to a statement. “The MPC assessed the real interest rate to still be adequately positive to bring inflation down to the medium-term target of 5%–7% and help ensure macroeconomic stability,” the central bank said.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday that his country has met all the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund to qualify for a new $7 billion loan to help prop up its economy, the Associated Press reported. During a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Islamabad, Sharif praised his finance team and other advisers for complying with the requirements set by the IMF, which is expected to sign a formal approval to the loan on Sept. 25, when the global lender's board of executive directors is scheduled to meet.

India led the way in global adoption of cryptocurrencies for the second straight year as investors braved the country's tough regulatory stance and steep trading taxes, a report from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The report, which tracks adoption across four sub-categories in 151 countries, showed India ranked high on usage of centralized exchange and decentralized finance assets from June 2023 to July 2024.