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December
Malaysia cabinet reconsiders plan for single 5G network amid impasse with telcos
Written by Nur Yasmin
Malaysia will decide by January whether to continue with its plan for a single wholesale 5G network, after Reuters reported concern from mobile carriers over pricing and transparency.
Malaysia's proposed centralised 5G network has met resistance from major operators, who have yet to sign up to the government plan, according to the report last month.
The Cabinet was now considering whether to allow multiple 5G providers, after concern from telecom firms and industry players that the government plan could hamper competition, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa told reporters on Tuesday.
"The Cabinet will discuss again and will make a final decision by January whether to stick with a single wholesale network system or to have more than one operator to allow for some kind of competition," he said.
Meanwhile, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), the wholly state-owned agency tasked with building and managing 5G infrastructure, will proceed with an initial rollout this month, Annuar said.
DNB and major mobile operators Axiata Celcom (AXIA.KL) and Maxis (MXSC.KL) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Operator DiGi.com (DSOM.KL) declined to comment.
Jim Lim, an analyst covering telecoms at Kuala Lumpur-based Kenanga Research, said the government discussion indicated progress in talks between operators and DNB, and authorities' willingness to compromise on carriers' demands.
"The faster (the government) makes a decision on this, the better, as the more certain the future operating environment will be for the telcos," he said in an email.
The government in February abandoned an earlier plan to apportion spectrum to carriers, opting instead for a single shared network in a bid to reduce costs, improve efficiency and accelerate infrastructure buildup.
Carriers, however, are worried that would result in a nationalised monopoly more costly than deploying 5G on their own, sources had told Reuters.
DNB has said it will charge operators less to access its 5G network than the cost they incurred for 4G.
The agency on Monday also offered 5G services to carriers for free up to March 31 as it begins network deployment in three central areas.
Last week, Telekom Malaysia (TLMM.KL) became the first operator to sign up for 5G trials with DNB, but did not say if it had signed a long-term deal.(Reuters)
December
India, Russia strike trade, arms deals during Putin visit
Written by Nur Yasmin
Russia and India signed a flurry of trade and arms deals during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, including one that will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Putin travelled to India with Russia's defence and foreign ministers in a visit that saw the two countries reinforce their ties with a military and technical cooperation pact until 2031 and a pledge to boost annual trade to $30 billion by 2025.
The Russian president is visiting India amid increasingly strained relations between Russia and the United States, also a key Indian ally, which has expressed reservations about the growing military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.
A joint statement published after the talks said Russia and India had "reiterated their intention to strengthen defence cooperation, including in the joint development of production of military equipment."
In addition to the deal for India to produce AK-203 assault rifles, Russia said it was interested in continuing to provide S-400 air defence missile systems.
India's Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the two countries had signed 28 investment pacts, including deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal and energy. He added that a 2018 contract for the S-400 missile systems was currently being implemented.
"Supplies have begun this month, and will continue to happen," he said, referring to the S-400.
The deal with Moscow puts India at risk of sanctions from the United States under a 2017 U.S. law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military hardware.
Russian oil company Rosneft said it signed a contract with Indian Oil to supply up to 2 million tonnes of oil to India by the end of 2022.
The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding for Russia to send an uninterrupted supply of coal to India to support its steel production, among other deals.
Putin and Modi also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, voicing their commitment to ensure that the country will never become a safe haven for international terrorism.
December
S.Korea's COVID-19 rules put some vaccinated foreigners in limbo
Written by Nur Yasmin
South Korea imposed stricter measures on Monday to contain growing coronavirus infections and the Omicron variant, leaving some foreign residents vaccinated overseas effectively barred from places such as restaurants, cafes and cinemas.
South Korea recognises the vaccination status of Korean citizens who were vaccinated overseas but not foreigners, unless they entered the country under a quarantine exemption.
Some foreign residents, particularly from Europe and the United States, were vaccinated earlier in the year when South Korea had not yet made vaccines available and were not eligible for the quarantine exemptions that were extended to certain people in business, education or for humanitarian reasons.
It is unclear how many people are affected but the problem has caught the attention of several foreign embassies, which have been lobbying unsuccessfully for weeks for a change.
"We continue to argue for urgent review of the guidance in order to ensure equitable treatment of foreign and Korean nationals vaccinated overseas," Stephen Burns, a spokesman for the British embassy in Seoul, told Reuters.
The Australian Embassy is in ongoing contact with the South Korean government on this matter and continues to advocate for a change to their policy, ambassador Catherine Raper said in a post on Twitter on Monday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency says the policy affects a small number of people and is necessary given rising COVID-19 cases.
"A cautious approach is required at this time with locally and globally confirmed cases of the Omicron variant and the possibility of further community spread," a spokesperson said, adding that officials will review the rules depending on the domestic outbreak situation.
The KDCA reported 4,325 new COVID-19 infections on Monday, for a total of 477,358 since the pandemic began, with 3,893 deaths overall. The country has detected 24 cases of the new Omicron variant.
In response to growing daily cases, South Korea has put on hold previous efforts to "live with COVID-19", instead imposing new vaccine pass requirements and ending quarantine exemptions for all travellers arriving from overseas.
The problem for foreigners with unregistered vaccines stands to become more acute as previous rules that required a government vaccine pass or negative COVID-19 test for entry to gyms, saunas, and bars have now been expanded to include cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces.
Unvaccinated individuals or people without proof of vaccination can still dine in restaurants, but only if they sit alone.
"An example of how South Korea isn't quite a truly global, international country yet," tweeted Jean Lee, an analyst on Korea affairs at U.S.-based Wilson Center.
In March, authorities in several major cities including Seoul sparked an uproar by ordering all foreign workers be tested for coronavirus. Some of those measures were dropped after complaints by embassies and a human rights probe. (Reuters)
December
Norway urges World Bank's Afghanistan donors to channel funds to U.N.
Written by Nur Yasmin
Norway is encouraging donors to a World Bank-administered fund for Afghanistan to agree to transfer $280 million to the World Food Programme and UNICEF, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said on Monday.
The World Bank's board backed transferring $280 million to the U.N. agencies from the $1.5 billion Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which was frozen after the Taliban took over the Afghan government in August, Reuters reported last week. read more
The 31 donors to the fund must approve the transfer. A World Bank spokesperson said ARTF donors met last Friday and agreed to make a decision in one week.
During a joint interview with U.N. Development Programme chief Achim Steiner in New York, Huitfeldt told Reuters that she hoped donors would sign off on the transfer and that Norway "encouraged" them to do so.
"And we discussed the situation in Afghanistan during the NATO meeting last week, and also encourage NATO countries to continue to avoid a total economic or humanitarian collapse in Afghanistan," she said.
Afghanistan is struggling with a sharp drop in international development aid after the Taliban seized power, an economy and banking system on the brink of collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic and severe drought.
"If you cannot have enough food, you cannot educate your children, you cannot get health service for your family, you have no reason to live there anymore, you try to move on somewhere else," Steiner said.
The UNDP has projected that poverty may become nearly universal by mid-2022 - affecting more than 90 percent of Afghanistan's 39 million people.
"We face this particularly intense period between now and next year, where many Afghans are on the verge of giving up," Steiner said.
A challenge for the United Nations has been getting enough cash into Afghanistan to help deliver aid to millions of people on the brink of famine and prevent the breakdown of the economy and health and education services.
"The volume of finance that needs to be, in one way or another, mobilized by Afghanistan, is far larger than anything the financial system can cope with right now. So we are faced with an enormous constraint," Steiner said.
It's a problem that hasn't been solved yet, Steiner said.
He said the United Nations was considering flying in U.S. dollars, but warned that could only be a short term solution as it was "not the basis on which the scaling up of finance that is needed will happen." (Reuters)
December
Emerging Asia needs dollar hedging reforms to reduce market risks, BIS says
Written by nuke
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the skyline from the Makati City Hall in Manila, Philippines, May 11, 2010. To match Special Report CYBER-HEIST/FEDERAL REUTERS/Nicky Loh -
Asia's emerging economies should improve oversight of foreign exchange liquidity risks and make currency hedging more flexible as growing dollar investments make the region more vulnerable to currency swings, the Bank for International Settlements said.
Increasing wealth and ageing populations have led to growing holdings of dollar-denominated portfolios of institutional investors and asset managers in Asia's emerging economies, the BIS said in a quarterly report released Monday.
Vulnerabilities in Asia were seen in March 2020 when the onset of the pandemic led to a surge in dollar hedging demand, creating new stresses for financial markets, the BIS, which holds regular meetings for the world's central banks, said.
"You have this juxtaposition that demand for hedging is long-term, but the supply of hedging services is short-term," said Hyun Song Shin, economic adviser and head of research at BIS.
"Unless you can secure long-term hedging... there is always this maturity mismatch between this supply of hedging services and the demand for hedging services."
The issue has raised new challenges for Asia's emerging economies. During the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, emerging nations' problems centred around massive debt burdens made worse by a capital outflows and sharply falling currencies.
Trading in derivative contracts referencing the currencies of one of six Asian emerging economies - including South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand - against the U.S. dollar has risen to nearly US$9.4 billion in 2019, more than double 2013 levels, the report said.
That has brought greater demand for hedging services with it, which can create new risks in times of financial stress, when demand for short-term dollar funding increases, it said.
Financial authorities should aim to increase oversight of foreign exchange funding liquidity risks created by non-bank investors, such as pension funds, insurers and asset managers, the report said.
The BIS called on Asian emerging economies to tweak foreign exchange hedging rules to offset demand for short-term dollars, such as during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
Economies could do so by allowing flexible hedging of currency risk and encourage longer-term foreign exchange hedging to address such needs among insurers and other institutions, the report said//CNA
December
Austria's third leader in two months takes office seeking stability
Written by nuke
Designated Chancellor of Austria and designated leader of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) Karl Nehammer attends a news conference in Vienna on Dec 3, 2021. (File photo: Reuters/Lisi Niesner) -
Austria's third conservative chancellor in two months, Karl Nehammer, takes office on Monday (Dec 6) seeking to bring the coalition government out of months of scandal-tainted turmoil and guide the country out of its current COVID-19 lockdown.
Nehammer, 49, was due to be sworn in by President Alexander Van der Bellen at 1pm local time (8pm Singapore time). As interior minister since last year, he was the enforcer of former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's hard line on immigration. He will now be the first head of government of the post-Kurz era.
Conservative star Kurz, 35, stunned much of the country by announcing on Thursday that he was quitting as leader of the People's Party (OVP) and leaving politics, saying he had lost interest since the birth of his son last month. The party picked Nehammer to succeed him as its leader on Friday.
Kurz quit as chancellor in October at the behest of his coalition partner, the left-wing Greens, because he has been placed under criminal investigation on suspicion of corruption offences. Kurz's supporters had hoped he would quickly clear his name and return as chancellor. He denies all wrongdoing.
Prosecutors suspect that allies of Kurz's used public funds to secretly commission manipulated polling that was published in a newspaper with a view to helping him gain power in 2017, the year in which he became OVP leader and then chancellor, forming a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party.
Nehammer takes over a party in turmoil that, since 2017, has been largely built around Kurz.
Nehammer indicated on Friday that he plans to keep the law-and-order agenda that was central to Kurz's appeal but also a point of friction with the Greens. His top priority will be the coronavirus pandemic, he said, as Austria tries to keep infections falling while coming out of lockdown next week.
He must also repair the OVP's damaged image as it has lost what most polls showed to be a lead of at least 10 percentage points over its nearest rival, the Social Democrats, since Kurz was placed under investigation.
Neither the OVP nor the Greens say they want a snap election for now, but most analysts expect that the coalition will not last until the end of this parliament in 2023. In newspaper interviews at the weekend, Greens leader Werner Kogler did not rule out a snap election next year//CNA
December
Olaf Scholz will take over from Angela Merkel as chancellor after twice serving in her governments. (File photo: AFP/Michael Kappeler, Pool) -
Germany's parliament will officially elect Olaf Scholz as the country's next chancellor on Wednesday (Dec 8), bringing the curtain down on Angela Merkel's 16-year reign and ushering in a new political era with the centre-left in charge.
Scholz led his Social Democrats to victory against Merkel's conservative CDU-CSU bloc in an epochal election in September, as the veteran chancellor prepared to leave politics after four consecutive terms in office.
Together with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats, Scholz's SPD managed in a far shorter time than expected to forge a coalition that aspires to make Germany greener and fairer.
"I want the 20s to be a time of new beginnings," Scholz told Die Zeit weekly, declaring an ambition to push forward "the biggest industrial modernisation which will be capable of stopping climate change caused by mankind".
Putting equality rhetoric into practice, he unveiled the country's first gender-balanced Cabinet on Monday, with women in key security portfolios.
"That corresponds to the society we live in - half of the power belongs to women," said Scholz, who describes himself as a "feminist".
The centre-left's return to power in Europe's biggest economy could shift the balance on a continent still reeling from Brexit, and with the other major player, France, heading into presidential elections in 2022.
But even before it took office, Scholz's "traffic light" coalition - named after the three parties' colours - was already given a baptism of fire in the form of a fierce fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With intensive care beds running out in some regions and a rampant rise in infection numbers showing no signs of abating, Scholz and his new team have been pressed - including by Merkel - to agree new curbs even before they are sworn in by parliament.
After Austria set the example, and with Germany struggling to boost stagnating vaccination numbers, the parties also came under pressure to make an about-turn on a pledge made earlier in the pandemic not to make vaccinations compulsory.
Scholz has since spoken out in favour of mandatory vaccination, saying he wanted MPs to vote on the issue before year's end with a view of implementing it in February.
"For my government, there are no red lines on what must be done. We're ruling nothing out," he told Die Zeit.
Dubbed "the discreet" by left-leaning daily TAZ, Scholz, 63, is often described as austere or robotic.
But he also has a reputation for being a meticulous workhorse.
An experienced hand in government, Scholz was labour minister in Merkel's first coalition from 2007 to 2009 before taking over as vice-chancellor and finance minister in 2015.
Yet his three-party-alliance is the first such mix at the federal level, as the FDP is not a natural partner for the SPD or the Greens.
Keeping the trio together will require a delicate balancing act taking into account the FDP's business-friendly leanings, the SPD's social equality instincts and the Greens' demands for sustainability.
Under their coalition deal, the parties have agreed to secure Germany's path to carbon neutrality, including through huge investments in sustainable energy.
They also aim to return to a constitutional no-new-debt rule - suspended during the pandemic - by 2023.
Incoming foreign minister Annalena Baerbock of the Greens has vowed to put human rights at the centre of German diplomacy.
She has signalled a more assertive stance towards authoritarian regimes like China and Russia after the commerce-driven pragmatism of Merkel's 16 years in power.
Critics have accused Merkel of putting Germany's export-dependent economy first in international dealings.
Nevertheless, she is still so popular at home that she would probably have won a fifth term had she sought one.
The veteran politician is also widely admired abroad for her steady hand guiding Germany through a myriad of crises//CNA
December
An employee has her certification checked as Italy's new "Green Pass" vaccination requirement for employees to enter their offices became mandatory, at the Trenitalia, Italian train company offices, in Rome on Oct 15, 2021. (Photo: AP/Andrew Medichini) -
People in Italy unvaccinated against COVID-19 can no longer go to the theatre, cinemas, live music venues or major sporting events under new rules that came into force on Monday (Dec 6).
Only those who have recently recovered from COVID-19 are exempt from the rules, which represent a significant tightening of restrictions in the face of rising infections.
New measures are also being enforced on public transport, with a so-called Green Pass showing proof of vaccination, recent recovery or a negative COVID-19 test now required even on local services.
A man in his 50s was fined €400 for not having his pass on Monday morning as he got off a bus near Piazza del Popolo in Rome, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
"I don't have it because I wanted to get vaccinated in the next few days," he was reported as saying.
A record 1.3 million Green Passes were downloaded on Sunday ahead of the change.
Meanwhile in Rome at the weekend, new rules requiring face masks to be worn outdoors in the busiest shopping streets came into effect.
Italy was the first European country to be hit by coronavirus in early 2020 and has one of the highest death tolls, at more than 134,000.
However, it is currently faring better than many of its neighbours, with 15,000 cases out of a population of 60 million reported on Sunday.
Almost 85 per cent of those older than 12 have been vaccinated, a booster campaign is in full swing and jabs will soon be available for younger children.
The Green Pass was introduced in August for access to theatres and cinemas, museums and indoor dining, and extended to workplaces in October - a move that sparked widespread protests.
From now until Jan 15, a new "Super Green Pass", which can only be obtained through vaccination or recent recovery, will be required for cultural activities - although not museums - and inside restaurants.
However, having a coffee at the bar of a cafe and eating outside is allowed without a Green Pass.
The restrictions will be further tightened in regions at higher risk of coronavirus.
Currently most of Italy is classed as the lowest of four levels, which range from white to yellow, orange and red.
Two regions are yellow - Friuli Venezia Giulia and Bolzano, which both border Austria, a country in partial lockdown over the number of cases there//CNA
December
Japan PM seeks to boost workers' wages, defence capability
Written by nuke
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wearing a protective face mask delivers his policy speech at the start of an extraordinary session of the lower house of the parliament, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan December 6, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato -
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida vowed on Monday (Dec 6) to ensure worker wage hikes to protect the economy from rising global inflation, while strengthening the country's defences as it deals with an assertive China and unpredictable North Korea.
Kishida made the remarks on the opening day of parliament's extra session convened to debate a supplementary budget to cushion the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic as he aims to restore the economy and then tackle fiscal reform.
Wage hikes hold the key to the premier's aim of defeating deflation by reversing a cycle of tame wage growth and weak consumer spending while encouraging Japanese firms to spend their record cash piles on boosting wages and investment.
Since he took office in October, Kishida has piled pressure on Japanese firms, urging those whose earnings have recovered to pre-pandemic levels to raise wages by 3per cent or more.
The government will lay the groundwork to help private-sector firms hike wages by strengthening taxation and giving bold deductions for companies that raise pay, he added.
"As anxiety has grown that rising global inflation may have ripple effects on Japan, I will do the utmost to (realise) wage hikes in order to protect the Japanese economy," Kishida said.
On security policy, Japan will fundamentally strengthen its defence posture by looking into options including acquiring the capability to strike enemy bases, Kishida said.
"In order to safeguard the people's lives and livelihood, we'll examine all the options including the capability to attack enemy bases ... and strengthen our defence posture fundamentally with a sense of speed," Kishida said.
Such capability would mark a shift in Japan's military posture as Tokyo, constrained by its post-World War II pacifist constitution, is to play a role of the shield in its security alliance with the United States, while Washington is to play a role of the spear.
Obtaining capabilities to strike enemy bases has been floated in recent Japanese governments and Kishida was warm to the idea even when he was running in a ruling party leadership election in September as missiles become increasingly capable of evading interceptors.
As part of an effort to boost Japan's defence capacity, the government will renew three main documents laying out the nation's security policy - the National Security Strategy, National Defence Programme Guidelines and Medium-Term Defence Programme - in a year, Kishida said.
On Japan's coronavirus response, Kishida said he planned to make it possible to get a booster shot without waiting for the end of the current waiting period, set by the government, of eight months after the second shot.
Calls for early booster shots have been mounting in Japan as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading globally, although daily COVID-19 cases have remained low in recent weeks.
If infections start picking up pace again, the government will respond swiftly with such measures as stricter restrictions on activities, "while seeking the people's understanding carefully," Kishida said.
His policy of promptly taking anti-coronavirus steps appears to have paid off as voter support for his cabinet ticked up after the government last week enforced tighter border controls against Omicron, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said on Monday//CNA
December
Putin heads to India with eye on military, energy ties
Written by nuke
Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India will be only his second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began. (File photo: SPUTNIK/AFP) -
Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in India on Monday (Dec 6) for just his second overseas trip since the pandemic, seeking to bolster military and energy ties with a traditional ally being courted by Washington.
In its efforts to address a rising China, Washington has set up the Quad security dialogue with India, Japan, and Australia, raising concerns in both Beijing and Moscow.
India was close to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, a relationship that has endured, with New Delhi calling it a "special and privileged strategic partnership".
"The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time," Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Putin at a virtual summit in September. "You have always been a great friend of India."
It is only the Russian leader's second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began - he skipped both the G20 and COP26 summits this year - after a June summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva.
"It's hugely symbolic," said Nandan Unnikrishnan from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank.
"There has been a lot of speculation about the nature of the India-Russia relationship and whether it is fraying because of Russia's closeness with China and India's with the US, but this visit puts all that to rest."
Nonetheless Putin has to contend with complex regional dynamics, with tensions mounting between New Delhi and Beijing, traditionally an ally of Moscow, following deadly clashes in a disputed Himalayan region.
"Russia's influence in the region is very limited," said Tatiana Belousova of OP Jindal Global University in Haryana, "mostly because of its close ties with China and unwillingness to act in dissonance with the Chinese regional interests."
The Kremlin said last week the talks will be dominated by defence and energy issues, with the boss of Russian energy giant Rosneft, Igor Sechin, also attending as a "number of important energy agreements" were on the table.
Russia has long been a key arms supplier to India, which is looking to modernise its armed forces, and one of their most high-profile current contracts is for the long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defence system.
The deal, worth more than US$5 billion, was signed in 2018 and deliveries have reportedly begun, but it threatens to upend the burgeoning relationship between New Delhi and Washington.
The United States has threatened sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which is aimed at reining in Russia, and the state department said last week that no decisions had been made on any waivers for India.
"It is quite remarkable that India still decided to go ahead with the S-400 deal, despite the US disapproval," said Belousova.
New Delhi has long sought to diversify its military imports but analysts believe it could take some time before it moves away from Russia.
Military equipment was "paramount" to India given "unabated" tensions with Pakistan, according to Unnikrishnan. "You're going to try and nurture whatever is required to ensure that."
India is also keen to increase domestic production and has launched a joint venture with Russia to manufacture AK-203 assault rifles.
India and Russia normally hold annual summits, but the leaders' last in-person meeting was on the sidelines of the 2019 BRICS Summit in Brazil.
"The leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," India's ministry of external affairs said in a statement last month.
The two countries' foreign and defence ministers held talks on Monday ahead of Putin's arrival.
A number of agreements and contracts were signed on small arms and military cooperation, India's defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Moscow and New Delhi hold "identical or near-identical positions on the most important global and security issues", said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov//CNA