A Japanese labour union group representing major manufacturers said on Thursday its members are demanding a record increase in their base pay for this year, building on last year's momentum amid rising living costs, Reuters reported. The Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions (JCM) is considered a pace-setter for annual wage negotiations and represents about 2 million workers for blue chip companies including Toyota Motor, Panasonic and Nippon Steel.

India’s world-beating economic growth faces headwinds from geoeconomic fragmentation and slower domestic demand, and it should implement crucial structural reforms to realize its ambition of becoming a developed country, according to the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. Intensification of regional conflicts, volatile commodity prices, weakened international cooperation and cyberthreats pose high risk to India’s growth, the IMF said in its Article IV country report released Thursday.

National company law tribunal (NCLT) has admitted Ansal Properties and Infrastructure (Ansal API) into insolvency proceedings after the company was unable to defend itself against a petition filed by IL&FS Financial services, as per a court order on Tuesday, the Economic Times of India reported. IL&FS Financial Services has claimed that the listed Ansal API has failed to honour loans of Rs. 257 crore. It also claimed that Ansal API had entered into a settlement with it in 2022 but was not able to meet the terms of that settlement.

China needs to vastly step up its efforts to cleanse the balance sheets of the nation’s local governments, giving them the space needed to support consumer spending and strengthen the economy, one of the nation’s most prominent economists said, Bloomberg News reported. The central government should take on at least 20 trillion yuan ($2.8 trillion) worth of local sovereign debt, David Li Daokui, an economics professor at Tsinghua University and a regular adviser on policy to Beijing, said in an interview.

Hong Kong plans to lower taxes and further cut levies on property transactions, as part of efforts to get economic activity humming again amid an increasingly fraught trade environment, the Wall Street Journal reported. In the annual presentation of the budget for the next fiscal year, the Asian financial hub will reduce salaries tax and businesses’ profit tax by 100%, subject to a ceiling of 1,500 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to around US$193, said Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Wednesday.

Thailand’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate amid global uncertainties and concerns about their potential impact on the Southeast Asian economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee announced Wednesday that it voted six to one to cut the policy rate to 2.00% from 2.25%.

Japan's automobile industry association urged the government on Tuesday to try to shield Japanese automakers from tariffs that the United States may impose on imports of autos and parts, the Japan Times reported. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association is worried about damage to the economies of both countries if U.S. President Donald Trump's administration proceeds with hefty tariffs on auto imports from Japan, Mexico and Canada, JAMA Chairman Masanori Katayama said. Trump said last week that he wants to impose 25% tariffs on imports of autos as soon as April 2.