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September
Biden says he is sure China will try to work out arrangement with Taliban
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was certain China would try to work out an arrangement with the Taliban after the Islamic insurgents seized power in Afghanistan on Aug. 15.
Asked if he was worried that China would fund the group, which is sanctioned under U.S. law, Biden told reporters, "China has a real problem with the Taliban. So they're going to try to work out some arrangement with the Taliban, I'm sure. As does Pakistan, as does Russia, as does Iran. They're all trying to figure out what do they do now."
The United States and its Group of Seven allies have agreed to coordinate their response to the Taliban, and Washington has blocked the Taliban's access to Afghanistan's reserves, most of which are held by the New York Federal Reserve, to ensure they live up to their pledges to respect women's rights and international law.
But experts say much of that economic leverage will be lost if China, Russia or other countries provide funds to the Taliban.
Italy, current president of the Group of 20 major economies - which include China and Russia - has been trying to set up a virtual G20 meeting on Afghanistan, but no date has been announced, suggesting discord among the group.
Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call on Aug. 29 that the international community should engage with the Taliban and "positively guide" them. read more
China has not officially recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's new rulers, but Wang in July hosted Mullah Baradar, who has since been appointed as deputy prime minister, and has said the world should guide and support the country as it transitions to a new government instead of putting more pressure on it. (Reuters)
September
Japan PM contender Kishida says new form of capitalism needed to end disparity, recover from pandemic
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan should strive for a new form of capitalism to reduce income disparity that has worsened under the coronavirus pandemic, says former foreign minister Fumio Kishida who hopes to become leader of the ruling party and next prime minister.
Kishida is the only Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member to announce his candidacy in a leadership vote on Sept. 29, after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last Friday said he would step down. The winner of the vote is all but assured to be Japan's next prime minister.
Popular COVID-19 vaccination minister Taro Kono and former internal minister Sanae Takaichi have signalled their ambition to run.
Takaichi, 60, is expected to announce her candidacy later on Wednesday and if successful would become Japan's first female leader.
Kishida said the neo-liberalism and deregulation that Japan has embraced during the reform era of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in the early 2000s have widened the gap between the haves and have-nots in the society.
"Without distribution of wealth there won't be a rise in consumption and demand...there won't be further growth if distribution of wealth is lost," Kishida said at a presentation of his economic proposals in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Kishida repeated a call for an economic stimulus package worth "tens of trillions of yen" to combat the coronavirus pandemic. He said he would use fiscal spending for achieving economic stability while not giving up on fiscal consolidation.
He said the Bank of Japan should maintain its 2% inflation target as "it is a global standard" and changing it would send a wrong message to markets, and would leave the sales tax untouched for the time being.
Kishida also called for setting up a 10 trillion yen ($90.7 billion) university fund to stimulate science and promotion of renewable energy, while retaining nuclear power technology, which he said should be considered as a clean energy option.
TAKAICHI TO JOIN RACE
Takaichi has the backing of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, local media said, and would base her challenge on policies to fend off China's technology threat and help strengthen an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Takaichi became the first female internal affairs minister in the second Abe administration in 2014.
But even as local media have said influential Abe has thrown his support behind Takaichi helping her obtain the 20 lawmaker backers needed to run in the leadership election, she has ranked poorly in popularity ratings, which could hamper her chances.
Grass-roots LDP members will vote in the leadership election along with the party's members of parliament, and whoever wins will lead the party to the lower house election that must be held by Nov. 28, making public appeal an important factor in choosing the new leader.
Takaichi has said she wanted to work on issues left unresolved by previous administrations, such as achieving 2% inflation, and introducing legislation "that prevents the leakage of sensitive information to China".
She said an extra budget needed to be compiled as soon as possible to bolster Japan's medical system, which is under strain because of the pandemic.
A member of the party's most conservative wing, she often visits the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial to Japan's war dead. Such visits by Japanese leaders infuriate old wartime foes such as China and South Korea.
She has also opposed allowing married couples to keep separate surnames, to the disappointment of promoters of women's rights. (Reuters)
September
Asia eyes Australia blueprint as $100 bln oil, gas clean-up looms
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia has passed legislation that could set a precedent for who pays to clean up the fossil fuel industry in Asia, making former owners of oil and gas fields responsible for the costs of dismantling facilities if later owners fail.
The new law provides a blueprint for governments tussling with the oil and gas industry over the removal of hundreds of obsolete energy facilities, particularly as the world moves to a lower-carbon economy.
The cost of decommissioning offshore facilities in Australia is expected to run to $40 billion, with half of that in the next 10 years. For Asia-Pacific as a whole the clean-up bill is estimated at $100 billion out to 2050, say consultants Wood Mackenzie.
Australia's legislation steps up scrutiny of asset sales to ensure any new owner has the financial and technical capacity to handle decommissioning. Most controversially, it introduces trailing liability, modelled on the UK's North Sea regime, holding former owners of assets liable for decommissioning if a current owner goes bust.
Selling mature oil and gas fields to niche players with low overheads who can prolong the lives of the fields profitably has been standard practice at ageing sites around the world, especially in the North Sea, U.S. Gulf of Mexico and off Australia.
However, Australia acted after being left to handle the decommissioning, estimated at up to A$1 billion ($725 million), of the Laminaria-Corallina oil fields in the Timor Sea, abandoned by a small company when it collapsed in 2019.
Stricter criteria are expected to deter those kinds of sales in Australia at a time when several oil and gas fields are nearing the end of their lives off southeastern and Western Australia, to the chagrin of the industry.
"If you get everything else right, one would hope you would never find yourself in a position where trailing liability has to be exercised," said Andrew McConville, chief executive of the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, the industry's main lobby group.
Already, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) and partner BHP Group (BHP.AX) pulled the sale of assets off southeastern Australia after a warning from government to be careful in choosing buyers. BHP last month agreed instead to merge its petroleum business with Australia's top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum (WPL.AX).
AGEING ASIAN FIELDS
Around Southeast Asia there are hundreds of platforms nearing the end of their lives, but countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have no overarching decommissioning rules. Companies operate as contractors with production sharing contracts with the state.
Older contracts did not give much consideration to abandonment, and as those contracts have expired or international oil companies have exited, there has been legal uncertainty over who should pay for decommissioning, Wood Mackenzie research director Andrew Harwood said.
In Thailand, Chevron Corp (CVX.N) is trying to resolve a dispute which has held up the handover of operations at the Erawan gas field in the Gulf of Thailand to Thailand's PTT Exporation and Production Pcl (PTTEP)(PTTEP.BK).
Thailand wants Chevron to pay the full rehabilitation costs of around $2 billion for the Erawan field, including assets it is due to hand over to PTTEP.
"The Gulf of Thailand situation is a challenge," Harwood said. "And it could perhaps delay PTT's efforts to invest in those blocks."
In Malaysia, if a company's operating contract has expired before decommissioning work is done, the work is picked up by state-owned Petronas, exposing it to issues such as currency risk, which can blow out rehabilitation costs.
"Given the trend of the large oil and gas companies exiting the region and the entry of smaller players who are less financially secure ... principles such as trailing liability could be something which the country and Petronas explore in order to mitigate some of these risks," said Fariz Aziz, a partner at Malaysian law firm Skrine.
Indonesia, the most proactive on tackling abandonment issues over the past several years, requires operators to set aside funds for decommissioning.
The country's oil and gas regulator, SKK Migas, said in July it has prepared a decommissioning roadmap for 100 platforms no longer in use, and is considering reusing facilities, including as reefs, to monitor weather or for border security.
WoodMac's Harwood said Southeast Asia will likely see more examples of arbitration when there's a disagreement on who foots the bill, but trailing liability is set to become a feature of new contracts.
"It can be done and we'll definitely see that being included in contracts going forward," he said. (Reuters)
September
South Korea's 'Gen MZ' leads rush into the 'metaverse'
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korean engineer Shaun has big plans to develop the parcels of land he has snapped up for millions of won (thousands of dollars) in recent years into long-term moneyspinners.
"I'm planning to design my building which is suitable to host K-pop live performances and K-drama screenings," the 30-year-old investor told Reuters. "That can probably lead to a profitable business model in two to three years."
And construction won't be hampered by any coronavirus pandemic-spurred labour shortages or increased costs. Shaun's grand project is all in the blockchain-based virtual world Decentraland.
The "metaverse" may be a futuristic prospect for most of the world, but it's increasingly a reality in South Korea where soaring home prices and income inequality have enticed the so-called Generation MZ, or Gen MZ, into alternative online worlds.
Their digital avatars play games, walk around with friends, host social gatherings, shop and party - and make plans to build cities and profitable businesses.
Shaun, who declined to be identified other than by the name of his Decentraland avatar, has gradually immersed himself in the platform over the past three years.
Users can buy land in this virtual world with the aim of hosting real businesses there, like a nightclub that charges users for access. Just like in the real world, the success of the businesses and the communities around them can raise the value of your virtual land.
And investment managers, telecom firms and even the South Korean government are all plugging in.
Samsung Asset Management expects its Samsung Global Metaverse Fund , launched in late June, to easily beat its goal of drawing 100 billion won ($86.49 million) by the end of 2021, with around 1-2 billion won flowing in everyday.
Choi Byung-geun, Samsung Asset Management vice president, said interest in the metaverse had grown since the pandemic as people worked remotely. The Samsung fund launched just two weeks after KB Asset Management's KB Global Metaverse Economy Fund .
"With global big tech companies such as Facebook seeing their business direction shifting toward the metaverse, the industry is raking in money," Choi said.
SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, launched a metaverse 'ifland' in July where denizens can host and attend meetings with other animated avatars.
"As the social trend shifted to non-face-to-face due to the pandemic era, the demand (for metaverse services) jumped," an SK Telecom official told Reuters. "There are thousands of rooms being created everyday and tens of thousands of daily users."
SK Telecom is part of a 'Metaverse Alliance' launched by the South Korean government in mid-May that includes more than 200 companies and institutions.
A Ministry of Science and ICT official told Reuters the government hopes to play a lead role in the metaverse industry. In a 604.4 trillion won budget for 2022 unveiled last week, the government earmarked 9.3 trillion won to accelerate a digital transformation and foster new industries such as the metaverse.
MZ GENERATION
South Koreans have been especially open to the attractions of the metaverse, even though it remains unclear to what extent a full replication of real life is possible, or how long it will take to develop.
Social experts attribute the interest to the disgruntled MZ generation - a term coined in the country that merges Millennials and Generation Z, encompassing those born between 1981 and the early 2010s.
As the coronavirus pandemic has dragged on, a new lexicon has sprung up in South Korea for the "untact" - the opposite of "contact" - economy.
"The craze for the metaverse reflects the sadness and anger of the MZ generation due to polarisation," said Kim Sang-kyun, an industrial engineering professor at Kangwon National University who has published two best-selling books on the metaverse since late 2020.
"They do not consider the metaverse as an alternative or replacement of reality, instead it's just another part of their lives," said Kim. "They are the generation that has communicated with the world through devices since birth, unlike the older generation."
For 37-year old Choi Ji-ung, it was frustration with real estate prices and regulations in the physical world that drove him to buy property in geolocation-based platform Earth 2.
Choi's 50 million won investment in the pricey Gangnam district in Seoul on Earth 2 is something he can only dream of in the real world.
"It was easy to purchase and not as expensive as I thought," he said.
Fuelling many of the metaverse platforms are non-fungible tokens (NFT), intangible digital assets encompassing everything from artworks and videos to clothes and avatars, which are purchased with cryptocurrency.
Decentraland offers a limited number of digital land parcels, or LAND, in the form of NFTs that are acquired using MANA, a fungible token that acts as the game's currency. MANA, an altcoin, can be purchased with fiat currency on limited cryptocurrency exchanges or in a swap with digital currencies like bitcoin or ether.
As in the real world, land parcels located closer to popular districts are more valuable than others. Some land parcels that sold for about $20 each when Decentraland launched in 2017 now change hands for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As the platform develops, Shaun and other landowners believe they will be able to make money by using their land for a variety of commercial businesses, such as building concert venues and charging admission for performances.
Changes and developments to Decentraland are overseen by the Decentraland Foundation, which was set up as a nonprofit organization to act on behalf of users.
PROPERTY DEVELOPERS
Wang Keun-il, a 36-year-old fintech entrepreneur, owns lands in North Korea's capital Pyongyang, Vatican City and Egypt on Earth 2, where he plans to build a profitable tourism or educational business.
Earth 2, which launched in November, is not a fully-fledged metaverse environment, but rather a marketplace for selling digital tiles which represent parts of the Earth. Users cannot currently "enter" the land they have bought, meaning Wang has taken a gamble on a world that is yet to materialise.
Earth 2 Chief Executive Shane Isaac told Reuters South Koreans were the most active users on the platform, based on self-affiliation, spending about $9.1 million, followed by the United States with $7.5 million and Italy with $3.9 million.
Decentraland said its platform had more than 7,067 active users from South Korea in the 30 days to Sept. 1, second only to the United States.
"People won't forget about or move away from the industry once things return to something resembling normality," Dave Carr, a communications lead for Decentraland Foundation, told Reuters.
"If anything, this period will define the most important, valuable or relevant entities and experiences."
On the stock market, net purchases of gaming firm Roblox Corp (RBLX.N) made it the top foreign stock purchased in June and July, Korea Securities Depository (KSD) data showed.
Shares in local AR and VR technology firms MAXST (377030.KQ) and WYSIWYG STUDIOS (299900.KQ) have soared in recent months.
Earth 2 investor Choi is conscious of potential metaverse pitfalls but excited: "Depending on the point of view, some could see it as a ridiculous thing or a bubble, but some see it as an opportunity." (Reuters)
September
Hong Kong police arrest 4 members of group behind Tiananmen vigil
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested four members of a pro-democracy group that organises the annual June 4 rally to commemorate those who died in the bloody 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in the latest blow to the opposition movement.
Activist and barrister Chow Hang Tung of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China was arrested along with three others, the group said.
“I want to tell Hong Kongers that we need to continue to resist, don’t surrender to the unreasonable power quickly and easily," Chow told media on Tuesday when she went to police headquarters to tell officers she would not provide information they had requested.
Police sent a letter to the alliance in August requesting information about its membership, finances and activities by Sept. 7, according to a copy the group sent to reporters.
The letter accused the alliance of being "an agent of foreign forces". Failure to provide the information by the deadline could result in a HK$100,000 fine and six months in jail, the letter said.
The National Security Department said it had arrested three men and one woman, aged 36 to 57, for failing to comply with national security law requirements. It did not identify them.
The department said investigations were ongoing and it did not rule out further arrests.
The national security law punishes what authorities broadly refer to as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Chow's arrest came hours before she was due to represent detained opposition politician Gwyneth Ho, who is charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law, at a bail hearing.
Ho withdrew her bail application at the High Court after Judge Esther Toh declined her request to lift reporting restrictions for the hearing.
Alliance leaders Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan are already in jail over their roles in anti-government protests that roiled the city in 2019.
The group said in July that it had laid off staff members to ensure their safety and that half of its committee members had resigned. (Reuters)
September
New Zealand marks downward trend in new COVID-19 cases
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealand reported a further fall in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as the largely coronavirus-free nation looks to eradicate an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.
New Zealand reported 15 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, down from 21 a day earlier, on the first day of an easing of tough restrictions in all regions outside its largest city Auckland.
Daily infections hit a peak of 85 on Aug. 29. All of the latest cases were in Auckland.
Officials earlier this week said schools, offices and businesses can reopen outside Auckland from Wednesday after near zero cases in the rest of the country, but there will be a cap on gatherings and masks will remain mandatory in public venues.
New Zealand had been largely virus-free, excluding a small cluster of cases in February, until an infected traveller from Australia seeded an outbreak, forcing officials to impose a national lockdown last month.
About 1.7 million people in Auckland, the epicentre of the outbreak, will be in hard lockdown until at least Sept. 14. (Reuters)
September
Australia's NSW reports rise in COVID-19 cases; vaccinations accelerate
Written by Nur Yasmin
Three-quarters of people over the age of 16 in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) have now had at least their first vaccination dose, the state reported on Wednesday, along with the first rise in new infections in three days.
Australia has locked down Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities, after outbreaks from the highly infectious Delta variant in June ended months of little or no community transmission.
The country now aims to live with, rather than eliminate, the virus once it achieves broad vaccine coverage of about 70% of its adult population of 20.6 million, a goal it is expected to reach by early November based on current rates.
New South Wales reported 1,480 locally acquired cases, up from 1,220 a day earlier, while cases in neighbouring Victoria dipped to 221 from 246.
Nine new deaths were recorded but rising vaccination levels among the most vulnerable mean the mortality rate of the current outbreak is 0.41%, data shows, below previous outbreaks.
Australia has largely avoided high coronavirus numbers seen in many other developed countries through lockdowns and tough border restrictions, with just 66,300 cases and 1,061 deaths reported throughout the pandemic.
As it prepares to emerge from lockdowns in its two biggest cities, the government is considering the use of vaccination certificates for international travel from October, the Sydney Morning Herald said in a report without citing a source.
Australians are banned from leaving the country unless they have exemptions, while returning travellers must undergo a two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense.
The latest pandemic modelling by Burnet Institute showed without lockdowns or rapid vaccinations there would have been an estimated 590,000 more cases and 5,800 deaths in Sydney's 12 hard-hit western suburbs over the six months to December. (Reuters)
September
Japan's Q2 GDP revised up to annualised 1.9% growth
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's economy grew an annualised clip of 1.9% in the second quarter, better than the initial estimate of a 1.3% gain, revised government data showed, confirming a gradual recovery from the COVID-induced slump.
The revised figure for gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Cabinet Office on Wednesday compared with economists' median forecast for a 1.6% annualised growth in a Reuters poll.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis GDP expanded 0.5% in the April-June quarter, also better than the initial reading of 0.3% and compared with a median forecast for a 0.4% rise. (Reuters)
September
Taliban name new Afghan government, interior minister on U.S. sanctions list
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Taliban drew from its inner high echelons to fill top posts in Afghanistan's new government on Tuesday, including an associate of the Islamist militant group's founder as premier and a wanted man on a U.S. terrorism list as interior minister.
World powers have told the Taliban the key to peace and development is an inclusive government that would back up its pledges of a more conciliatory approach, upholding human rights, after a previous 1996-2001 period in power marked by bloody vendettas and oppression of women.
Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, in his first public statement since the Aug. 15 seizure of the capital Kabul by the insurgents, said the Taliban were committed to all international laws, treaties and commitments not in conflict with Islamic law.
"In the future, all matters of governance and life in Afghanistan will be regulated by the laws of the Holy Sharia," he said in a statement, in which he also congratulated Afghans on what he called the country's liberation from foreign rule.
The names announced for the new government, three weeks after the Taliban swept to military victory as U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew and the weak Western-backed government collapsed, gave no sign of an olive branch to its opponents.
The United States said it was concerned by the track records of some of the Cabinet members and noted that no women had been included. "The world is watching closely," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said.
Afghans who enjoyed major progress in education and civil liberties over the 20 years of U.S.-backed government remain fearful of Taliban intentions and daily protests have continued since the Taliban takeover, challenging the new rulers.
On Tuesday, as the new government was being announced, a group of Afghan women in a Kabul street took cover after Taliban gunmen fired into the air to disperse hundreds of protesters.
The last time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, girls could not attend school and women were banned from work and education. Religious police would flog anyone breaking the rules and public executions were carried out.
The Taliban has urged Afghans to be patient and vowed to be more tolerant this time - a commitment many Afghans and foreign powers will be scrutinising as a condition for aid and investment desperately needed in Afghanistan.
LATE FOUNDER'S LEGACY IN NEW GOVERNMENT
Mullah Hasan Akhund, named as prime minister, like many in the Taliban leadership derives much of his prestige from his close link to the movement's reclusive late founder Mullah Omar, who presided over its rule two decades ago.
Akhund is longtime chief of the Taliban's powerful decision-making body Rehbari Shura, or leadership council. He was foreign minister and then deputy prime minister when the Taliban were last in power and, like many of the incoming Cabinet, is under U.N. sanctions for his role in that government.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the new interior minister, is the son of the founder of the Haqqani network, classified as a terrorist group by Washington. He is one of the FBI's most wanted men due to his involvement in suicide attacks and ties with Al Qaeda.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement's political office who was given his nom de guerre "brother", or Baradar, by Mullah Omar, was appointed as Akhund's deputy, main Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul.
The passing over of Baradar for the top government job came as a surprise to some as he had been responsible for negotiating the U.S. withdrawal at talks in Qatar and presenting the face of the Taliban to the outside world.
Baradar was previously a senior Taliban commander in the long insurgency against U.S. forces. He was arrested and imprisoned in Pakistan in 2010, becoming head of the Taliban's political office in Doha after his release in 2018.
Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, a son of Mullah Omar, was named as defence minister. All the appointments were in an acting capacity, Mujahid said.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Air Force One, as President Joe Biden flew to New York, that there would be no recognition of the Taliban government soon.
ECONOMIC MELTDOWN
Taliban spokesman Mujahid, speaking against a backdrop of collapsing public services and economic meltdown amidst the chaos of the tumultuous foreign pullout, said an acting cabinet had been formed to respond to the Afghan people's primary needs.
He said some ministries remained to be filled pending a hunt for qualified people.
The United Nations said earlier on Tuesday that basic services were unravelling in Afghanistan and food and other aid were about to run out. More than half a million people have been displaced internally in Afghanistan this year.
An international donor conference is scheduled in Geneva on Sept. 13. Western powers say they are prepared to send humanitarian aid, but that broader economic engagement depends on the shape and actions of the Taliban government.
'RESISTANCE WILL CONTINUE'
On Monday, the Taliban claimed victory in the Panjshir valley, the last province holding out against it.
Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the Panjshir governor's compound after days of fighting with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), commanded by Panjshiri leader Ahmad Massoud.
Massoud denied that his force, consisting of remnants of the Afghan army as well as local militia fighters, was beaten, and tweeted that "our resistance will continue". (Reuters)
September
UNICEF trying to reunite evacuated Afghan children with families
Written by Nur Yasmin
UNICEF is trying to reunite hundreds of Afghan children who were separated from their families and evacuated to various countries during the hurried U.S. withdrawal from the country, the U.N. agency said on Tuesday.
Hundreds of children were separated in the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport and UNICEF is trying to get them back together with their families, spokesperson James Elder told a U.N. briefing in Geneva.
"They have gone to a range of countries and we are working with those governments where children have arrived without family support," he said, adding that more than 100 of the children are back with family members.
Dramatic footage last month showed a small girl lifted up over the high perimeter wall of the airport and passed into the hands of an American soldier. It was not clear whether the girl was reunited with her family within the airport.