Entries tagged "Finance"

  • World Bank Head Pushes China Transparency | June 12, 2019, 9:25 a.m.

    Newly seated World Bank President David Malpass says the multilateral organization is working hard to ensure Beijing improves transparency in lending to countries involved in its Belt and Road Initiative, Nikkei reports.

  • Japan Plans $925M Infrastructure Fund | June 6, 2019, 9:04 a.m.

    Japan's MUFG Bank will set up a $924.4 million fund - the largest-ever such fund by a Japanese bank - to invest in infrastructure projects overseas by the end of 2019. The fund will target renewable energy and transportation projects, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Assessing the Risks of Chinese Investments in Sub-Saharan African Ports | June 5, 2019, 4:56 p.m.

    Chinese investments in sub-Saharan African ports present potential threats to U.S. influence in sub-Saharan Africa as well as African sovereignty. The CSIS Africa program report indicates where Beijing is making a bigger bet on a port’s potential and reveals which ports are more susceptible to Chinese influence and control.

  • G-20 to Sign Infrastructure Guidelines | June 3, 2019, 9:17 a.m.

    At this week's Group of 20 meeting in Japan, finance ministers and central bankers are expected to sign sustainable infrastructure investment guidelines to help prevent developing economies from taking on dangerous amounts of debt, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Five myths about China’s Belt and Road Initiative | May 31, 2019, 12:41 p.m.

    Critics of China's Belt and Road Initiative caution that the project stokes corruption, harms the environment, creates financial dependencies and extends Chinese military power. Writing for The Washington Post, Jonathan Hillman tackles five myths that have been fueled by the ambiguity of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.

  • US-China Rivalry Boosts SE Asia Infrastructure | May 29, 2019, 9:16 a.m.

    Cambodia and other nations across Southeast Asia are emerging as vital staging grounds for a new form of power struggle between China and its rivals. The growth of Beijing's vast Belt and Road Initiative since 2013 has galvanized the U.S. and its allies -- including Japan, India and Australia -- and prompted them to draw up infrastructure and security programs of their own, writes Gwen Robinson for the Nikkei Asian Review

  • Beijing Shoulders BRI Debt | May 23, 2019, 9:34 a.m.

    Belt and Road recipients are pushing to re-negotiate loan terms with Chinese banks, potentially shifting more of the BRI's financial burden on Beijing. As China's investments grow in Belt and Road countries, it risks losing its bargaining power as its sunk costs rise, reports Nikkei.

  • Asian Lenders Halt Coal Funds | May 14, 2019, 9:23 a.m.

    The biggest commercial bank in Japan is one of the latest Asian lenders to consider a ban on funding for new coal-fired power stations. Asian banks are recognizing the global threat from climate change and pulling back financing for the world's most carbon-intensive energy source, Nikkei reports.

  • China Repairs BRI Partnerships | May 13, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    Beijing is striking a conciliatory tone abroad to repair ties with Belt and Road partners, particularly in Southeast Asia where negotiations with Chinese companies over halted infrastructure projects are restarting, Nikkei reports.

  • Japan's G20 Infrastructure Push | May 8, 2019, 10:22 a.m.

    As this year's host of the Group of 20 countries, Tokyo is taking the opportunity to push a novel idea: quality infrastructure investment, or QII, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • ASEAN+3 to Insure Infrastructure Financing | May 6, 2019, 9:08 a.m.

    ASEAN members plus China, Japan and South Korea agreed to create a framework insuring private funding for infrastructure projects of up to $1.5 billion under a new program to be called the Infrastructure Investors Partnership, reports Nikkei.

  • Thailand Pushes China-Funded Rail | May 2, 2019, 9:09 a.m.

    Thailand's prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Laos and China to accelerate the construction of a much delayed high-speed rail line between northeast Thailand and Vientiane in Laos, reports Nikkei.

  • View All Analysis | May 1, 2019, 11:52 a.m.

    Browse our analysis section for news and articles on topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), the Competing Visions of Japan, India, and other regional powers, and the stakes for U.S. policy.

  • Experts: China's BRI Requires Global Norms | May 1, 2019, 9:19 a.m.

    If China's push to build a massive, continent-spanning economic zone is to yield true benefits for all involved, Beijing must shift its policy course and embrace internationally accepted norms for the BRI, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • The Give-and-Take of BRI in Africa | May 1, 2019, 8:53 a.m.

    China’s hostile economic practices, military expansion, and coercive political and ideological tactics in Africa should not be ignored. However, establishing a clear distinction between detrimental and essential BRI engagement is crucial to fostering development, building common ground with China, and expanding the global market.

  • China Looks West for BRI Partners | April 29, 2019, 9:08 a.m.

    China announced on Saturday that two more non-Asian nations, Switzerland and Peru, have signed on to its Belt and Road Initiative. As Asian Belt and Road participants view with initiative with increasing skepticism, China is looking elsewhere for supportive partners, reports Nikkei.

  • Italy Commits to Japan's Infrastructure Principles | April 25, 2019, 9:13 a.m.

    Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Italian PM Giuseppe Conte agreed to uphold Japan's four conditions for high-quality infrastructure during a bilateral summit in Rome. Italy recently signed on to China's Belt and Road Initiative, sparking concerns the country would fall prey to "debt-trap diplomacy," reports Nikkei.

  • The Higher Road | April 23, 2019, 9:56 a.m.

    Over the next 15 years, more hard infrastructure is projected to be built around the world than currently exists. As our infrastructure is transformed, so will be the economies it fuels, the regions it connects, and the global commons it underpins. These trends are too powerful and potentially beneficial for the United States to stop, and too consequential to ignore.

  • Abe offers Eastern Europe BRI Alternative | April 18, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Slovakia later this month, where he plans to offer Eastern European leaders Japanese-financed infrastructure investments. Abe is expected to raise concerns about China's so-called debt-trap diplomacy, presenting Japan's approach as an alternative to the Belt and Road Initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • Maldives Votes to Investigate BRI | April 15, 2019, 9:15 a.m.

    Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's political party has won a super majority in the country's parliamentary elections. The president's party ran on an anti-corruption message that stressed the need to investigate Chinese-financed infrastructure projects that have dramatically increased the country's debt-burned, reports Nikkei.

  • Malaysia Rail Project in Limbo | April 10, 2019, 9:41 a.m.

    China Communications Construction Co. executives on Wednesday reiterated the infrastructure company has not given up on the multibillion-dollar East Coast Rail Link in Malaysia, on which development work has been suspended for months amid doubts over the project's financial viability, reports Nikkei.

  • Islamabad Distances Itself from BRI | March 20, 2019, 10:22 a.m.

    Pakistan has diverted around $171.6 million meant for joint infrastructure development projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship effort under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), into other construction plans. This signals that Islamabad may be distancing itself from Beijing and the BRI, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Japan to Check BRI at G20 | March 18, 2019, 9:03 a.m.

    Japan plans to propose new guidelines on development assistance, tentatively titled the "G-20 principles on quality infrastructure investment,” when it hosts the Group of 20 summit in June. The proposal, which will frame anti-corruption and fiscal sustainability as key principles of infrastructure investment, is seen as an attempt to check China’s Belt and Road Initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • BRI Countries Must Build Local Capacity | March 13, 2019, 10:44 a.m.

    To effectively leverage the infrastructure financing opportunities provided by the Belt & Road Initiative, countries must examine their own development strategies and build domestic skills and institutions, argues Ganeshan Wignaraja for the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Belt & Road Reshapes Nepal's Infrastructure | March 11, 2019, 10:49 a.m.

    China's Belt and Road Initiative is transforming Nepal's domestic infrastructure through new roads, hydropower projects, and other industrial projects. Nepal has accommodated Chinese political interests to keep Chinese investments and exports coming, reports Nikkei.

  • Mahathir warns Philippines about China loans | March 7, 2019, 9:02 a.m.

    While on a state visit to the Philippines, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad told journalists that if countries borrow money from China they cannot pay back, the country "may be under the control of the lender." The statement was read as a warning to Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, who accepted a $9 billion credit line from China in 2016, reports Nikkei.

  • China to Address BRI Backlash | March 4, 2019, 10:43 a.m.

    China convenes its top political advisory bodies, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress this, this week. Analysts expect the meetings will address rising political backlash against China's Belt and Road initiative, reports Nikkei.

  • Myanmar Seeks Infrastructure Investments | Feb. 28, 2019, 9:13 a.m.

    Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader, convened a forum for foreign businesses in the impoverished Rakhine State, urging attendees to invest in infrastructure throughout the country's rural areas. With national elections in 2020, Suu Kyi has been touring outlying regions in Myanmar promising development initiatives to shore up support for her ruling party, reports Nikkei.

  • Saudi Arabia Offers India $100B for Investment, Infrastructure | Feb. 21, 2019, 9:46 a.m.

    Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, promised to invest up to $100 billion in India's economy in the coming years, including in areas such as infrastructure, energy, and refining. The Crown Prince's visit to New Delhi follows a stop in neighboring Pakistan, where he signed $20 billion worth of investments in the country's flagging economy. The Crown Prince's next stop? Beijing.

  • Pakistan Disappointed by China Bailout | Feb. 11, 2019, 9:31 a.m.

    China's $2.5 billion offer to bailout Pakistan as its foreign exchange reserves dry up disappointed Islamabad, which reportedly sought $6 billion from Beijing. Pakistan's balance of payments crisis could threaten the $62 billion Beijing has invested in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, reports Nikkei.

  • World Bank May Cut China Loans | Feb. 8, 2019, 9:22 a.m.

    David Malpass, U.S. President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the World Bank, told media sources on Wednesday that he hopes to cut the multilateral lender's loans to China, which he believes is too wealthy to receive large loans from the World Bank. Malpass also criticized China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, saying that the BRI "leaves countries with heavy burdens of debt," reports Nikkei.

  • Malaysia Probes Chinese Projects | Feb. 7, 2019, 9:09 a.m.

    The trial of Najib Razak, Malaysia's former prime minister, over corruption-related charges tied to the 1MDB development fund is scheduled to begin on February 12. The prosecution is expected to probe whether China-backed infrastructure projects signed by Najib's government were used to bail out 1MDB, reports Nikkei.

  • The Blue Belt and Road | Feb. 6, 2019, 8:33 a.m.

    One of China's Belt and Road Initiative's biggest environmental impacts may be on the world’s water. Should BRI projects strain the world's water resources, the initiative may carry important, and perhaps negative, implications for global and local conflicts over shared water resources.

  • BRI Faces Pushback in Maldives | Feb. 5, 2019, 8:03 a.m.

    In the Maldives, government officials are examining official documents to determine the amount owed to China after reports emerged that the debt could be as high as $3.2 billion, a substantial increase over $1.3 billion in officially recorded Chinese loans.

  • China Wary of Saudi Refinery at Gwadar | Jan. 29, 2019, 9:15 a.m.

    Saudi Arabia plans to build Pakistan's largest oil refinery near Gwadar port, the flagship project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The oil refinery, part of Saudi Arabia's new commitment to invest $15 billion in Pakistan over the next three years, could fuel competition with Beijing for economic leverage given China's significant investment there under CPEC, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Influence and Infrastructure | Jan. 22, 2019, 9:43 a.m.

    With an eye toward illuminating current issues, this report draws from examples throughout history of how states use foreign infrastructure to advance strategic objectives. It shows how China is updating and exercising tactics used by Western powers during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and how these issues, and the strategic implications they carry, are likely to intensify in the coming years.

  • Australia Steps Up Pacific Infrastructure Push | Jan. 17, 2019, 3:29 a.m.

    In his first international trip of the year, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison visited Vanuatu to pledge high-quality infrastructure investments and economic development just weeks after China signed a deal to forgive $2.87 million of the country's debt and provide fresh financing for road upgrades.

  • Thai Firm Issues Green Bonds | Dec. 14, 2018, 11:15 a.m.

    The power generating arm of Thailand's oldest industrial group, B. Grimm, has issued 5 billion baht ($152 million) in "green bonds" to raise funds for further investment in its renewable energy business, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Pence To Unveil US Infrastructure Plan | Nov. 15, 2018, 10:42 a.m.

    On his trip to Asia, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will play up Washington's efforts to boost infrastructure investment in the region at a time when China is doing the same with its Belt and Road Initiative, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • $14B Projects Approved in Thailand | Oct. 31, 2018, 10:04 a.m.

    The Thai government has approved four infrastructure megaprojects, worth a combined $14 billion, in an effort to rev up new investment in the country's Eastern Economic Corridor.

  • It's a (Debt) Trap! | Oct. 29, 2018, 3:31 p.m.

    When it was launched, China heralded its Belt and Road Initiative as a “golden opportunity” to revitalize the region, but today it has raised serious concerns about debt sustainability, drawing scrutiny from the IMF. One way for Beijing to demonstrate its commitment to addressing the IMF's concerns is by partnering to develop more sustainable and transparent lending practices.

  • Japan To Expand Cheap Infrastructure Loans | Oct. 19, 2018, 9:54 a.m.

    Japan drafted a plan to offer greater assistance for infrastructure development overseas ahead of a key summit with China next week, as it prepares to pursue joint projects with Beijing in third countries, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Pakistan Pursues IMF Support | Oct. 12, 2018, 9:29 a.m.

    Pakistan has formally asked the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance amid pressure to meet external debt obligations, reports the Nikkei Asian Review. IMF help will require absolute transparency on the nature, size, and terms of the country's debt, including its BRI investment from China.

  • BRI Investment Hits High | Oct. 9, 2018, 9:17 a.m.

    Chinese capital flowing into the Belt and Road Initiative projects surged to a record $20.1 billion in 2017, even as the country's overall outbound foreign direct investment fell. That record will likely be beaten again this year, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • U.S. $60B Response to BRI | Oct. 5, 2018, 9:35 a.m.

    With the approval of Congress, the U.S. moves forward with a $60 billion investment fund to boost foreign development funding. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, this is an effort to counter China's expanding influence under the BRI.

  • Credit May Hinder India's Infrastructure | Oct. 3, 2018, 9:35 a.m.

    India's largest infrastructure financing company, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, was recently taken over by a government-backed board to address a series of loan defaults that raises questions over the country's infrastructure development.

  • China, Japan Start Infrastructure Effort | Sept. 26, 2018, 9:24 a.m.

    China and Japan announced plans to sign dozens of agreements on infrastructure and other projects when Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visits China next month.

  • The EU Strategy on Connecting Asia and Europe | Sept. 21, 2018, 5:13 p.m.

    On September 19, The European Commission released a joint communication titled "Connecting Europe and Asia – Building blocks for an EU Strategy," outlining EU priorities for implementing sustainable, comprehensive, and rules-based connectivity to link its transport, energy, and digital networks with Asia.

  • EU Plans Asia Infrastructure Push | Sept. 21, 2018, 9:21 a.m.

    The European Commission has announced "The European Way to Connectivity," a proposal aimed at boosting Europe's infrastructure links with Asia.

  • Thailand To Build $7B HSR | Sept. 19, 2018, 10:08 a.m.

    In preparations to double airport capacity, Thailand plans to build a 220-km high-speed railway connecting three major airports by 2023.