Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed by more than $1 a barrel on Monday, supported by output cuts and signs of gradual demand recovery amid easing coronavirus curbs, with U.S. oil showing no signs of last month’s contract expiry price rout.

Brent crude LCOc1 was up $1.06, or 3.3%, at $33.56 a barrel by 0452 GMT, after touching its highest since April 13. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up $1.29, or 4.4%, at $30.72 a barrel, after rising to its highest since March 16.

TOKYO (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp said on Monday that Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma will resign from its board, in the latest departure by a high-profile ally of CEO Masayoshi Son.

The departure of Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in September, comes as he pulls back from formal business roles to focus on philanthropy.

SoftBank will propose three new appointments to the board, including group Chief Financial Officer Yoshimoto Goto, at its annual general meeting on June 25. The number of board members will expand to 13.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Monday after the chief U.S. central banker expressed optimism the American economy might start to recover this year from the coronavirus pandemic.

Benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia all advanced.

That came despite Japan’s announcement its economy contracted in the first quarter and the Trump administration’s decision to step up a technology conflict with Beijing by tightening restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s commerce ministry says it will take “all necessary measures” in response to new U.S. restrictions on Chinese tech giant Huawei’s ability to use American technology, calling the measures an abuse of state power and a violation of market principles.

An unidentified spokesperson quoted Sunday in a statement on the ministry’s website said the regulations also threatened the security of the “global industrial and supply chain.”

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economic growth plunged into recession in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic squelched production, exports and spending, and fears are growing that worse times may lie ahead.

The Cabinet Office reported Monday a 3.4% drop in the annual pace of seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, for the January-March period. The annual pace gives what the rate would be when continued for a year. For just the quarter, the drop was 0.9%.

ULAN BATOR, May 17 (NNN-MONGOLIAWEB) – Mongolia’s former President, Nambar Enkhbayar, will run for the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) said, Saturday.

“The legal environment for chairman of our party to run for elections has already been created. So, he will run for the forthcoming parliamentary elections,” Buya Tulga, secretary of the MPRP, said.

Enkhbayar was banned from standing for the elections in 2017, because of registration irregularities and a conviction for graft in 2012.

SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China has asked trading firms and food processors to boost inventories of grains and oilseeds as a possible second wave of coronavirus cases and worsening infection rates elsewhere raise concerns about global supply lines.

Both state-run and private grain traders as well as food producers were urged to procure higher volumes of soybeans, soyoil and corn during calls with China’s Ministry of Commerce in recent days, three trade sources told Reuters.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Sunday reported five new domestic cases of coronavirus, all linked to a cluster of cases centred around bars and nightclubs in the capital which has raised fears in the country of a fresh wave of contagion.

After weeks of nearly no new domestic coronavirus cases, South Korea relaxed its lockdown on May 6, but a subsequent spike in infections linked to Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife neighbourhood forced a rapid re-think.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia is planning an $8.6 billion bailout for 12 state-owned firms, to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, mostly as cash compensation and working capital investments, according to government documents reviewed by Reuters.

The government has proposed to parliament to provide 128.04 trillion rupiah ($8.63 billion) in financial support to the companies, according to Ministry of Finance documents presented in a May 11 meeting with parliament’s financial commission.

BEIJING (AP) — China on Sunday reported five new cases of the coronavirus, as the commercial hub of Shanghai announced the restart of some classes and airlines revive flights.

Of the new cases, two were imported and three came from the northeastern province of Jilin that has seen a small spike in infections of unknown origin.