Several firms from Canada, China and Europe among 77 renewable energy firms have submitted bids for solar projects in Australia. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has shortlisted 22 projects, which will have capacity of 766 megawatts at combined project cost of $1.68 billion. The solar energy projects developers will also receive a grant of $30 million for each project from the Australian government.
Asia/Pacific
After Test Flights In Spratly, China Intends Regular Flights From Woody Islands, Invites For Private Investments
China has been claiming most of the potentially oil- gas enriched islands located in the South China Sea region. Moreover, naval routes of this region are extremely important for passage of huge trade consignments. These factors have allured China to take control over the zone. But Chinese efforts in this regard are creating tensions among its neighboring countries, also claimant for the disputed islands.
China’s Iron Ore import to Increase as Price Hammered in December
Chinese iron ore imports rose to a record-high in December, suggesting that demand from the world’s largest consumer remains robust. The enormous increase coincided with signs of continued inventory restocking at chinese ports.
MUFG buys 20% stake in Philippines' Security Bank
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is said to have agreed to buy a 20 percent stock in Philippines' lender Security Bank Corp for $773 million (36.9 billion pesos), as an effort to strengthen its growth in Southeast Asia.
Hong Kong Dollar Has The Biggest Weekly Plunge in More Than A Decade
Hong Kong dollar dropped to four-year low against US dollar and continue to dive. Its continuous plunge lead to the biggest weekly loss for more than a decade.
Latest News
Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded credit rating of Tata Steel's bonds. S&P cited reasons such as the poor operating performance and high leverage at Tata Steel for downgrading. Indian steel industry is suffering from glut in production and surging imports.
Samsung Electronics announced that it will produce the latest Qualcomm processor. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 will be mass produced using Samsung technology.
Like other tech giants, Shape Security Inc., ‘Botnets’ security service provider has been eyeing to enter into Chinese ecommerce market since long. Inclusion of Beijing based investor, Northern Light and raising sufficient funds for spreading elsewhere- appear as two contributing factors. These factors have led Shape to penetrate the world’s largest ecommerce zone.
A new ADB report has shared data that shows that the Southeast Asian region is among the top greenhouse gas emitters in the world. The report recommended efficiency and reduction of carbon-based fuel to help reduce emissions.
South Korea fired several warning shots at a suspected North Korean drone on Wednesday. The incident took place at DMZ, in a border between the countries, a week after North Korean nuclear test.
Socialist democratic China historically backs socialist North Korea in latter’s economic and political missions. North Korea has announced successful testing of hydrogen bomb on Wednesday last. Long time friend China this time joins the US fearing regional destabilization through the neighbor’s dreadful nuke tests.
Didi Kuaidi ride sharing service announced that it allows third party apps to access its ride-hailing service. Previously, the Chinese ridehailing company published that it has achieved more than one billion rides.
On Wednesday, China revealed its export in December 2015 showed a 2.3% raise from November. Data from China's General Administration of Customs shows the nation's trade surplus, and the report has lifted the market a bit.
Economists express concerns over the repetition of property bubble in the US market as it's overvalued. Analysts estimate that the real estate is overvalued in the range of 25 percent to 60 percent considering the average price and average income in a particular area. However, the US property market is attracting more foreign investment and it's forecast to be higher than in 2015.
