China's government devoted the week to a red carpet welcome for foreign executives to try to halt a retreat in corporate investment from a market once seen as the engine of global growth, Reuters reported. But many executives leave China with a shared caution: While things may not be getting worse, the risks of an expansion in China still outweigh the rewards, they say. In a series of high-profile events, Chinese officials pledged equal treatment for foreign firms, expressed confidence China will hit its 5% growth target this year and President Xi Jinping held an audience with 15 U.S.

A sentence from a months-old speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping has sparked speculation the central bank might start aggressively buying government bonds to support the economy, a stimulus measure China has long shunned, Reuters reported. But most analysts say the People's Bank of China (PBOC) will stick with traditional tools rather than resorting to massive liquidity injections through "quantitative easing" (QE), as some major economies such as Japan and the United States have done.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended higher on Friday, driven by chip-related heavyweights, and posted a record fiscal-year gain in terms of points amid heavy foreign buying, Reuters reported. The index hit successive record highs this month, after breaking levels on Feb. 22 last seen in 1989 during the country's bubble economy. The rally was supported by foreign buying on a weaker yen and expectation that the Bank of Japan will stick with loose monetary policy. The index rallied 12,328 points in the fiscal year ending on Friday, marking its biggest gain on an absolute basis.

The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) has handed down its first insolvency-related ruling, JDSupra reported. The court granted recognition and full force and effect to Indonesia's flagship airline's restructuring plan. That plan had been approved in accordance with Indonesian law. In granting recognition to the Indonesian plan under Singapore's version of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, the SICC overruled objections to recognition from aircraft lessors.

New Zealand has entered its second recession in 18 months after the latest round of GDP figures confirmed its economy contracted in the last quarter of 2023, the Associated Press reported. The country’s economy shrank by 0.1% in the quarter to December, and 0.7% in per capita terms, the New Zealand’s official statistics agency, Stats NZ, announced on Thursday. The latest slip follows a 0.3% contraction in the September quarter, which fulfills the technical definition of a recession. It is New Zealand’s second recession event in the past 18 months.