OECD SHOWS S. KOREA’S ODA TO HAVE FALLEN BY 8.7% IN 2020

Highlights –

• OECD shows S. Korea’s ODA to have fallen by 8.7% in 2020.
• S. Korea’s ODA for foreign countries dell to $2.25 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• The country’s overall ranking among DAC members in terms ...

BOJ DOWNGRADED ECONMIC ASSESSMENTS OF TWO REGIONS IN THE COUNTRY

Highlights –

• BOJ downgraded economic assessments of two regions in the country.
• BOJ is worried about economic recovery from the pandemic which still remains fragile.
• The pandemic has dampened consumption, which accounts for more than...

S. KOREA REPORTS INCREASE IN NUMBER OF EMPLOYED PEOPLE IN MARCH

Highlights –

• S. Korea reports increase in number of employed people in March.
• The country saw numbers of employed people reach 26.9 million.
• The unemployment rate also rose 0.1% point on-year to 4.3 percent last month.
• Temp...

CHINA’S EXPORTS ROSE 30.6% IN MARCH OVER HOPEFUL ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Highlights –

• China’s exports rose 30.6% in March over hopeful economic recovery.
• Chinese imports jumped 38.1% year-on-year last month.
• Imports on meats saw an increase of 1.02 million tonnes in March.
• China’s po...

JAPAN REPORTS A RISE IN WHOLESALE PRICES IN MARCH BY 1.0%

Highlights –

• Japan reports a rise in wholesale prices in March by 1.0%.
• Prices for oil and coal products gained 9.8 percent in March.
• Nonferrous metal prices jumped due to strong demand in China by 28.7 percent.
• The country...

JAPAN BEGINS COVID-19 INOCULATION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE FROM MONDAY

Highlights –

• Japan begins COVID-19 inoculation of elderly people from Monday.
• Japan govt. is planning to secure vaccine shots for roughly 36 million people aged 65 or older.
• Local governments in at least 39 prefectures are scheduled t...

CHINA TO INVEST IN HAINAN PROVINCE’S GAMING, AEROSPACE, NEV SECTOR

Highlights –

• China to invest in Hainan province’s gaming, aerospace, NEV sector.
• China plans to build a testing ground in the province for economic reforms.
• China gave the status of a “free trade port” to Hainan last...

GROWTH LED BY BTC CAPS CRYPTO-MARKET @$2.02 TRILLION

Highlights:

•       The growth of the crypto domain has been exponential through the pandemic

•       A major chunk of this growth was led by BTC

The cryptocurrency domain has been booking favours ...

S. KOREA’S INTERNET BANKING SERVICES ROSE 20.6 PERCENT IN 2020

Highlights –

• S. Korea’s internet banking services rose 20.6 percent in 2020.
• The value of daily transactions via online banking reached $52 billion in the reporting year.
• As of end-of-December the online banking services reached...

BEIJING WINTER OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS TESTS OUT HOCKEY, INDOOR VENUES

Highlights –

• Beijing Winter Olympic organizers tests out hockey, indoor venues.
• The organizers started 10 days of testing from Thursday.
• China is said to have limited experience in holding a high-level ice hockey tournament.

JAPAN’S NO. OF JOB AVAILABILITY FELL IN FEBRUARY BY 2.9%

Highlights –

• Japan’s no. of job availability fell in February by 2.9%.
• The number of people in work rose 30,000 in February to 66.97 million.
• The number of unemployed people increased 350,000 in February to 1.94 million.
...

JAPAN GOVT. OUTSTANDING LONG-TERM DEBT TO REACH $9.12 TRILLION

Highlights –

• Japan govt. outstanding long-term debt to reach $9.12 trillion.
• The debt is said to be the worst among developed countries.
• The Japan parliament passed the budget for fiscal 2021, with a record 106.61 trillion yen.
...

XIAOMI CORP. RELEASED ITS FOURTH-QUARTER NET PROFIT TO BE 36.7 PERCENT

Highlights –

• Xiaomi Corp. released its fourth-quarter net profit to be 36.7 percent.
• The mobile company’s adjusted net profit for the quarter rose to $490.84 million.
• The company’s sales rose 24.8% year-on-year to 70.5 bil...

S. KOREAN LCC UNDER HEAVY DEBT FROM HUGE DEIFICTS DUE TO PANDEMIC

Highlights –

• S. Korean LCC under heavy debt from huge deficits due to pandemic.
• Jeju Air Co., Jin Air Co. and T'way Air Co. debt-to-equity ratio ranged from 430% to 517% in 2020.
• Jeju Air Co. had 218.4 billion won in equity capita...

JAPAN TO USE $20 BILLION TO SUPPORT BUSINESS & HOUSEHOLDS

Highlights –

• Japan to use $20 billion to support business & households.
• The funding includes 1.54 trillion yen for local authorities to aid restaurants and bars.
• 341.0 billion yen will be used to provide no-interest loans of up to...

JAPAN’S SUICIDE RATE AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN INCREASED THE MOST IN 2020

Highlights –

• Japan’s suicide rate among school children increased the most in 2020.
• In 2020 number of suicides among school children came up to 499.
• The rate of suicide was far higher among high school girls, i.e 140.

NUMBER OF S. KOREAN’S GETTING MARRIED FELL TO AN ALL-TIME LOW IN 2020

Highlights –

• Number of S. Korean’s getting married fell to an all-time low in 2020.
• The number of couples getting married fell by 10.7 percent in 2020.
• Due to difficulties in finding jobs or buying homes many are refraining from...

JAPAN’S CORE PRIVATE SECTOR MACHINERY ORDERS FALL IN JAN. BY 4.5 PERCENT

Highlights –

• Japan’s core private sector machinery orders fall in Jan. by 4.5 percent.
• Machinery orders from manufacturers dropped 4.2 percent.
• Machinery orders from nonmanufacturers fell 8.9 percent to 474.38 billion yen.
...

SHIPMENTS OF CHINA’S SMARTPHONES INCREASE IN FEB. 2021

Highlights –

• Shipments of China’s smartphones increase in Feb. 2021.
• Smartphone shipments within China jumped 236.6% annually to 21.3 million handsets.
• Xiaomi is known to have ramped up production late last year.
• Han...

CHINA’S FACTORY GATE PRICES ROSE IN FEBRUARY 2021

Highlights –

• China’s factory gate prices rose in February 2021.
• The country’s producer price index (PPI) rose by 1.7% in 2021.
• Exports in the country grew at a record 154.9% in the dollar.
• Last week Beijing set...