The Asian economy is set for a rebound in 2020 as some of 2019’s export headwinds ease, policymakers pro-growth policies reinvigorate domestic economies, Southeast Asia continues to emerge as a global powerhouse, and consumption remains a bright spot, according to Deloitte’s latest Voice of Asia report. However, the report argues, three main downside risks must be contained for this predicted rebound to emerge. That is, economies should avoid excessive stimulus that could cause a boom-bust cycle, US policy needs to remain stable, and financial risks, particularly from quantitative easing, need to continue to be reined in. In Southeast Asia, pro-growth policies have been encouraged by rate cuts in the US and Europe, and economies including Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore are expected to increase spending on public projects as a proportio...

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) has reported a month-on-month increase of 11 percent in automobile sales in February—its members sold 17,616 vehicles in the month. Sales of domestically assembled vehicles increased 22 percent to 11,697 units while imported vehicle sales dropped four percent to 5,919 units. The Vietnam government is implementing favourable policies to drive further growth in the automotive market in 2020. This includes removal of import tax for auto parts and reducing tax on domestically manufactured car components, which would help to reduce operational costs. Other policies proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) includes lowering corporate income tax for auto industry and lower loan interest rates for purchasing of domestically manufactured vehicles.  ...

China's iron and steel sector saw overall stable growth in 2019, as the continued effort in cutting overcapacity filtered through, data showed. The output of crude steel saw an 8.3-percent growth to stand at 996 million tonnes in 2019, marking a new all-time high, while pig iron output went up 5.3% from one year earlier to 809 million tonnes, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed. Driven by the hiking market demand, the total consumption of crude steel across the country reached about 940 million tonnes, up 8% year on year. The industry, however, reported remarkable shrinking profit led by factors like accelerated output growth, higher costs of raw materials as well as lower sales prices of steel products. The aggregate profit of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association members totaled 189 billion yuan (about 27 billion U.S. ...

In early March, some 84.1 percent of China's automobile production bases have resumed production as of Tuesday amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed. About 66.5 percent of employees in auto enterprises have returned to work, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The country has rushed to produce 1,847 negative pressure ambulances, 690 of which have arrived in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic. The MIIT called for efforts to support the auto sector to resume operation in a bid to crank up the economic engine, as it has a long industrial chain. Regions with vehicle purchase restrictions should increase license quotas to keep car consumption stable, said the ministry.   Source: china.org.cn  ...

Dear exhibitors, visitors and partners,    Since the launch of the "18th China International Foundry Exposition", the "14th China International Die Casting Industry Exhibition" and the "14th International Nonferrous and Special Casting Exhibition" sponsored by the China Foundry Association, they have earned close attentions and enthusiastically sign ups of exhibitors and visitors. 95% of booth booking has been completed, and the exhibition space has reached a record high.   At present, the domestic epidemic situation continues to improve, and the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) has the sufficient conditions for organizing exhibitions. However, with the pandemic of the COVID-19, the international prevention and control situation has become more severe. In order to actively respond to the national call, give priority to s...

China remains the world’s largest automotive manufacturing country and automotive market since 2009. In 2018, annual vehicle production in China accounted for over 30 percent of worldwide vehicle production, which exceeds that of the European Union or that of the United States and Japan combined.   In the first decades of the PRC, China’s automobile production set off with an emphasis on commercial vehicles for industry and military purposes. The automobile industry in China did not gain momentum until the beginning of the 1990s. The rapid growth of the domestic market has also further accelerated the automobile industry in China. The number of newly registered passenger vehicles amounted to about 23.14 million units in 2018, which was more than five times of that in 2005. Such ever-increasing vehicle sales trend has unfortunately experienced a hiccup ...