Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

(AP) --- Shares fell in Asia on Wednesday after Wall Street logged its biggest loss since the start of the month on worries about the downside of reopening the economy too soon.

Benchmarks slid in Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong but rose in Taiwan.

The top U.S. infectious diseases expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress bluntly that if the country reopens too soon, it could not only cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.”

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The government will be announcing a six-month economic recovery plan by the end of this month to resuscitate the country’s economy post-COVID-19.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the pandemic has impacted global markets, including Malaysia.

“Businesses have been brought to a grinding halt and unemployment has spiked. Like other economies, we are mitigating the consequences (of the pandemic),” he said while addressing a webinar by the Electrical and Electronics Productivity Nexus today. 

BANGKOK, May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Environmentalists have criticised Laos for pressing ahead with plans for another dam on the Mekong River, a waterway already strangled by hydropower schemes.

The flow of the Mekong, Southeast Asia’s longest river, is interrupted by a cascade of dams in China — where it is called the Lancang.

Two downstream dams — the Xayaburi and Don Sahong — have been built in Laos, which wants to construct seven more as it strives to live up to its billing as the “Battery of Asia”.

BANGKOK, May 13 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Thailand on Tuesday reported zero new COVID-19 cases and fatalities for the first time since March 9, with  total cases remaining at 3,017 with 56 fatalities as was reported for Monday.

Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said to date, a total of 2,844 patients have recovered and discharged from hospitals while 117 remain at wards.

BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in the Chinese city where the coronavirus pandemic began were moving forward Wednesday with efforts to test all 11 million residents for the virus within 10 days after a handful of fresh infections were found there.

The U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, meanwhile, issued a blunt warning that cities and states could see more COVID-19 deaths and economic damage if they lift stay-at-home orders too quickly -- a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who is pushing to right a free-falling economy.

Beijing, May 12 (AP) China's auto sales declined again in April but losses narrowed in a sign the industry's biggest global market is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic as Beijing eases anti-disease controls, according to an industry group.

Sales of SUVs, sedans and minivans were down 2.6 per cent from a year earlier at 1.5 million, an improvement over March's 48.4 per cent contraction, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12  (NNN-BERNAMA) — The people today were reminded of their joint responsibility in helping to break the chain of the COVID-19 infection during the current phase of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) to ensure the country is free from the pandemic.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the current CMCO phase would require more efforts from all Malaysians as self-discipline would be crucial to ensuring the success of efforts made in the past few weeks to break the chain of the virus infection.

BEIJING, May 11 (APP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.

“This year’s report is the first to track progress in implementing ADB’s corporate Strategy 2030,” said Director General of ADB’s Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department Tomoyuki Kimura.

BEIJING, May 11 (APP): China on Monday urged India to uphold the peace and tranquility in the border regions with its concrete actions after clashes between the soldiers of the two countries erupted on Sikkim border region.

“We hope India will work with China to uphold peace and tranquility in the border regions with its concrete actions,” Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during his regular briefing here.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will do “whatever it can” to mitigate the growing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Tuesday, warning that a collapse in global activity has had severe consequences on the the economy.

The central bank has various tools at its disposal if it were to ramp up stimulus such as accelerating money printing, increasing market operation tools and cutting interest rates, Kuroda said in a semi-annual testimony to parliament.