Entries tagged "Finance"

  • ADB: Developing Asia's Growth Slowing | June 18, 2020, 7:11 a.m.

    The Asian Development Bank announced that the region is only expected to grow by 0.1 percent this year, the slowest rate since 1961 and a further deterioration from the 2.2 percent projection in April following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nikkei reports.

  • Coronavirus stalls Belt and Road Projects | June 17, 2020, 7:01 a.m.

    A new report released by analytics company Refinitiv on Tuesday showed a 15.6% drop in the number of new BRI projects announced in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2019. The value of the projects slid from $386.08 billion to $137.43 billion over the same period, Nikkei reports.

  • Laos Struggles with China Debt | June 1, 2020, 6:54 a.m.

    The coronavirus pandemic could have serious impacts on economic growth in Laos, which is already struggling due to significant debt taken on to finance a large range of Chinese-backed infrastructure projects, Nikkei reports.

  • View All Analysis | May 26, 2020, 10:21 a.m.

    Browse our analysis section for news and articles on topics such as China's Belt and Road Initiative (OBOR), the world's evolving digital infrastructure competition, and the stakes for U.S. policy.

  • Sri Lanka Hikes China Debt | May 15, 2020, 9:10 a.m.

    Sri Lanka's decision to borrow a further $80 million from Beijing to finance road improvements has drawn criticism due to the country's already high levels of debt to China, Nikkei reports.

  • China’s “Hub-and-Spoke” Strategy in the Balkans | April 27, 2020, 6:42 a.m.

    This report assesses Chinese economic activities in the Western Balkans based on open-source data collected by CSIS and identifies key trends and China’s main avenues of influence.

  • Bangladesh Seeks Multilateral Lending | April 13, 2020, 9:46 a.m.

    Bangladesh is seeking $700 million in emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund in addition to budget support from multilateral banks including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Nikkei reports.

  • Building the Future of Quality Infrastructure | April 2, 2020, 10:29 a.m.

    Infrastructure is crucial for fostering countries’ economic development and prosperity. This collection of policy briefs discusses how to maximize the impact of quality infrastructure investments through sustainable financing and other resilient strategies to support the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

  • China's BRI Spurs Digital Yen | March 10, 2020, 9:19 a.m.

    Japanese lawmakers are pushing for the development of a digital yen in response to concerns that China could set international standards for digital currency technology, aided by the prevalence of the Belt and Road in countries with developing financial systems, Nikkei reports.

  • Connecting the Blue Dots | Feb. 26, 2020, 11:24 a.m.

    The Blue Dot Network (BDN)—an effort by the United States, Japan, and Australia to promote high-quality global infrastructure—holds promise and should be encouraged, but many unanswered questions about its implementation will need to be addressed for the initiative to achieve its desired impact.

  • Chinese Tech Companies Enter SE Asia | Jan. 9, 2020, 9:26 a.m.

    Chinese fintech companies with established expertise in digital payments are hoping to escape stiff competition at home by expanding into Southeast Asia, where the digital economy is expected to triple in size over the next five years, Nikkei reports.

  • China Encourages Local Infrastructure Investment | Sept. 13, 2019, 10:36 a.m.

    China has encouraged local governments to raise more funding from the bond market than planned in 2019 to keep them investing in infrastructure, despite an uncertain economic outlook, Nikkei reports.

  • G20 Osaka Debrief: Quality Infrastructure | July 17, 2019, 9:58 a.m.

    On June 28-29, government leaders representing 85 percent of the global economy convened for the fourteenth G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan. In the wake of the meeting, the CSIS Simon Chair in Political Economy hosted experts including Japan's ambassador to the G20, Koji Tomita, to discuss major outcomes, including China's endorsement of the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment.

  • AIIB Courts Private Capital | July 16, 2019, 8:17 a.m.

    The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is courting private sector investors to jointly fund infrastructure projects, Nikkei reports.

  • AIIB Mitigates Infrastructure Investments' Risks | July 12, 2019, 9:57 a.m.

    The Asian Infrastructure Investment bank will begin lending in local-currencies in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, and Russia. The move mitigates the risks foreign exchange fluctuations pose to private-sector companies investing in emerging markets' infrastructure, reports the Nikkei Asian Review.

  • Achieving Sustainability through Quality Infrastructure | June 27, 2019, 12:06 p.m.

    It is critical that public-sector officials responsible for infrastructure development—both at the local and national levels—commit to transparent practices to secure sustainable financing mechanisms.

  • Pakistan Slashes BRI Funding | June 18, 2019, 9:10 a.m.

    Pakistan will slash spending on BRI projects in the next year as the government struggles to balance its finances. These budget cuts arrive amid growing recognition from Beijing of the complications involved with Pakistan and other nations incurring heavy debt to finance BRI projects, reports Nikkei.

  • 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.

    Forming the backbone of China’s “Maritime Silk Road,” investments in African ports provide a gateway to the region’s trade and economic development, empower China with political leverage and clout on the continent, and provide a foothold for People’s Liberation Army Navy activities.

  • 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.

  • 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.

    It is clear that China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) carries important implications not only for the world’s water resources, but also for politics in BRI countries. One of the worst outcomes would be for it to exacerbate the growing number of local conflicts over shared, and often shrinking, 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.