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Global stock markets rallied Wednesday, helped by renewed positivity over the tech sector, analysts said.Shares in Nvidia, the world’s leading generative AI chipmaker, rebounded more than three percent at the start of trading in New York with the company set to announce its results after the closing bell.Hong Kong closed up more than three percent, with investors snapping up stocks following a poor start to the week sparked by fresh concerns over US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt led the way with gains of around one percent in afternoon trading.The dollar gained against main rivals and oil prices steadied.Wall Street pushed higher at the opening bell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index rising 0.4 percent.Traders brushed off a disappointing Tuesday that followed more weak US economic data, with traders looking keenly to Nvidia’s results.The company’s guidance “could be pivotal, not just for the company, but in setting overall market direction, at least in the short term”, said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.”This will be the first earnings update from the company since Chinese upstart DeepSeek managed to upset the US’s generative AI industry by producing an assistant of equivalent quality but at a fraction of the cost,” he said.DeepSeek’s unveiling of its chatbot threw US tech titans into a tail spin as it undermined their massive AI investments and their high stock valuations.Nvidia’s shares have taken a beating in recent sessions and overall US tech shares, which helped drive the market to record highs at the end of last year, have stumbled in 2025.Hong Kong’s stock market rally came as investors snapped up long-neglected tech names, after DeepSeek sparked renewed interest in the sector.Beijing’s moves to bring the firms in from the cold after years of government crackdowns on the industry also boosted sentiment.E-commerce heavyweight Alibaba was again one of the major advancers, rallying 4.8 percent, with JD.com more than eight percent higher, Meituan up nearly 10 percent and Tencent up 3.4 percent.Sentiment took a knock at the start of the week from news that Trump had signed a memo over the weekend calling for curbs on Chinese investments in industries including technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare and energy.The move is aimed at promoting foreign investment in the United States, while protecting national security interests “particularly from threats posed by foreign adversaries” like China, the White House said.A rare faller among major stock markets Wednesday was Tokyo, hit by recent strengthening of the yen amid expectations that the Bank of Japan would continue hiking interest rates this year.The yen has benefitted also from a pick-up in bets on cuts to US interest rates.Expectations for Federal Reserve reductions were boosted by a Conference Board survey showing US consumer confidence in February saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.The reading came on the heels of other lacklustre US reports including on service sector activity, jobs and inflation.- Key figures around 1430 GMT -New York – Dow: UP less than 0.1 percent at 43,641.15 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.3 percent at 5,971.14New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 19,095.96London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,706.15Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.9 at 8,119.60Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 22,682.86Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,142.37 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.3 percent at 23,787.93 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,380.21 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0488 from $1.0517 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2658 from $1.2668Dollar/yen: UP at 149.46 from 149.00 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 82.85 pence from 83.00 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.2 percent at $72.40 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $68.92 per barrelburs-rl/jj

Indonesia has struck a deal with Apple for the tech giant to invest in the country, its industry minister and the company said Wednesday, in a move that could end a ban on iPhone 16 sales in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The government in October prohibited the marketing and sale of the model over the US tech titan’s failure to meet regulations requiring 40 percent of phones be made from local parts. Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said Wednesday that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed virtually between officials from his ministry and Apple, according to a ministry statement. “The Ministry of Industry has approved the investment and innovation plan by Apple from 2025 to 2028. We have also signed the MoU with Apple,” Agus said in the statement. Apple will build two facilities — one in Bandung in West Java province to produce accessories and another in Batam worth $150 million to help produce AirTags via local suppliers, the statement said. Agus also said Apple expressed its commitment to building a semiconductor research and development centre in Indonesia, the “first of its kind in Asia”.The MoU allows for the revoking of the iPhone 16 sales ban under certain conditions. Agus said work towards approval of a local content certificate to sell the iPhone 16 could begin after the agreement was signed. “We’re excited to expand our investments across Indonesia and can’t wait to bring all of Apple’s innovative products, including the iPhone 16 family, with the all new iPhone 16e, to our customers,” Apple Indonesia told AFP in a statement. A government source confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that terms for the lifting of the ban had been agreed, without providing more details. Jakarta rejected a $100 million investment proposal from Apple in November, saying it lacked the “fairness” required by the government. The negotiation deadlock forced Apple to later offer an investment of $1 billion to build an AirTag factory in the country. Despite the sales ban, the government had allowed iPhone 16s to be carried into Indonesia if they were not being traded commercially. Indonesia also banned the sale of Google Pixel phones for failing to meet the 40 percent parts requirement. Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited Indonesia last year as the tech giant explored ways to invest in the country and diversify supply chains away from China. 

Hong Kong’s finance chief unveiled a “belt-tightening” budget on Wednesday that aimed to end the city’s string of record-high deficits by 2028 while seeking growth in areas such as artificial intelligence.Annual deficits exceeded US$22 billion in four of the past five years, according to official figures — the worst balance sheet since the former British colony was handed over to China in 1997.Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city will end its deficit by 2028 and return to surplus by the next year, with the help of bond sales raising up to US$25.1 billion annually — as well as the slashing of about 10,000 civil service jobs by early 2027.”We try our best to diversify and grow our economy, but at the same time, it is a belt-tightening budget,” Chan told reporters at a press conference.Hong Kong is being weighed by China’s economic malaise and a looming US-China trade war, following an opening salvo of tariffs from President Donald Trump. The economy is expected to grow between two and three percent this year, on par with last year’s 2.5 percent.Announcing a series of cuts, Chan said in his annual budget speech that the government is aiming for a “cumulative reduction” of recurrent expenditure by seven percent through to 2027-28.He announced a pay freeze for all branches of government and said around six percent of its 170,000-strong civil service will be trimmed by April 2027.Other spending curbs include a cap on a transport subsidy for people aged above 60.But Hong Kong’s Democratic Party said top government officials should go further and volunteer for pay cuts, adding that the tweak to transport subsidies may chill economic activity.Hong Kong has long relied on land-related revenue to fill government coffers, but income from that plunged last year to US$1.7 billion — the lowest in two decades.Chan said Hong Kong’s asset market was “under pressure” and that land-related revenue will rebound to US$2.7 billion this year.”It would be responsible on the part of the government to adopt a relatively conservative estimate,” Chan told AFP.The government said it would not put commercial land up for sale in the coming year amid high office vacancy rates.- ‘Northern Metropolis’ -To reverse the property slump, Hong Kong will also lower the stamp duty on homes valued under US$515,000.Marcos Chan, from commercial real estate firm CBRE Hong Kong, said the budget had “fewer policy measures aimed at directly boosting property demand”.The finance chief said Wednesday that the government would spend US$129 million to set up the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, in a bid to make the city “an international exchange and co-operation hub for the AI industry”.The city is eager to lure back international visitors after its reputation took a hit from political unrest and pandemic-related curbs.The government will allocate US$159 million to its tourism body to promote “distinctive tourism products” such as horse racing and pandas.Activists from the League of Social Democrats, one of the last remaining pro-democracy groups, cancelled their annual pre-budget petition on Wednesday morning citing “strong pressure”.The group planned to call for pay cuts for top officials, greater government accountability and halting costly infrastructure projects such as the “Northern Metropolis”.But Chan said on Wednesday the government will push ahead with the project, which aims to integrate Hong Kong more closely to its neighbour Shenzhen.”We must accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis. It is an investment in our future,” he said.The International Monetary Fund said last month that Hong Kong was “recovering gradually after a protracted period of shock”.The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, which has rallied to a three-year high thanks to a recent surge in mainland tech companies, rose more than three percent Wednesday.

Indonesia has struck a deal with Apple for the tech giant to invest in the country, local media reported a minister as saying Wednesday, in a move that could end a ban on iPhone 16 sales in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.The government in October prohibited the marketing and sale of the model over the US tech titan’s failure to meet regulations requiring 40 percent of phones be made from local parts.Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said Wednesday that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed virtually between officials from his ministry and Apple, reports said.Apple will build two facilities — one in Bandung in West Java Province to produce accessories and another in Batam worth $150 million to help produce Airtags via local suppliers, Bloomberg News reported the minister as saying. The MoU allows for the revoking of the iPhone 16 sales ban under certain conditions, according to the reports.Agus said work towards approval of a local content certificate to sell the iPhone 16 could begin after the agreement was signed, local news site Kompas said.A government source confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that terms for the lifting of the ban had been agreed, without providing more details.Apple Indonesia, the Industry Ministry and the Investment Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Jakarta rejected a $100 million investment proposal from Apple in November, saying it lacked the “fairness” required by the government.The negotiation deadlock forced Apple to later offer an investment of $1 billion to build an AirTag factory in the country.Despite the sales ban, the government had allowed iPhone 16s to be carried into Indonesia if they were not being traded commercially. Indonesia also banned the sale of Google Pixel phones for failing to meet the 40 percent parts requirement.Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited Indonesia last year as the tech giant explored ways to invest in the country and diversify supply chains away from China.

Hong Kong stocks resumed their impressive start to the year on Wednesday as they rocketed more than three percent on the back of a surge in tech firms fuelled by fresh optimism over the sector in China.The rally led gains across most Asian and European markets, with investors shifting back to buy mode following a poor start to the week sparked by fresh US tariff concerns.Traders brushed off another disappointing day on Wall Street following more data showing consumers in the world’s top economy were losing confidence.The Hong Kong market climbed more than three percent and has enjoyed a blockbuster start to the year, rocketing by almost a fifth to hit its highest level since March 2022.The rally has come as investors snap up long-neglected tech names after Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled a chatbot last month that upended the AI universe.It has also been helped by Beijing’s moves to bring the firms in from the cold after years of government crackdowns on the industry.E-commerce heavyweight Alibaba was again one of the major advancers, rallying 4.8 percent, with JD.com more than eight percent higher, Meituan up nearly 10 percent and Tencent up 3.4 percent.Sentiment took a knock at the start of the week from news that US President Donald Trump had signed a memo over the weekend calling for curbs on Chinese investments in industries including technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare and energy.The move is aimed at promoting foreign investment in the United States, while protecting national security interests “particularly from threats posed by foreign adversaries” like China, the White House said.There were also gains in Shanghai, Seoul, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok while London, Paris and Frankfurt rose at the open.Sydney, Singapore and Jakarta fell.Tokyo was down but pared earlier losses. It had been hit by a strengthening yen amid expectations that the Bank of Japan would continue hiking interest rates this year, while the currency also benefitted from a pickup in US rate cut bets.Expectations for Federal Reserve reductions were boosted by a Conference Board survey showing US consumer confidence in February saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.The reading came on the heels of other lacklustre US reports including on service sector activity, jobs and inflation.Rate-cut talk has grown as optimism over the US economy wanes and investors worry that Trump’s tariffs drive and plans to slash taxes, regulations and immigration will reignite consumer prices.Focus is now on the release of the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation metric, which could give a fresh idea about the outlook for US rates.On Wall Street, the Dow rose but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated as tech giants struggled amid concerns over their high valuations and their huge spending on AI development.New York’s main indexes have struggled this year as the long-running US tech surge has hit the buffers after Chinese startup DeepSeek unveiled its bombshell chatbot last month, upending the AI scramble.Earnings from market heavyweight Nvidia will be closely watched for an insight into its AI chip sales.”The main focus though is probably what CEO Jensen Huang says about the state of the chip sector, where AI is going, what the DeepSeek competition means and any impact from tariffs,” said Neil Wilson, an analyst at TipRanks trading group.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,142.37 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.3 percent at 23,787.93 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,380.21 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,722.16Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0494 from $1.0517 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2649 from $1.2668Dollar/yen: UP at 149.48 from 149.00 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 82.97 pence from 83.00 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $69.17 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $73.27 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 43,621.16 (close)

Hong Kong will cut public spending and restore fiscal balance by mid-2027 after a string of huge deficits, the city’s finance chief said Wednesday as he unveiled growth plans including an artificial intelligence institute.Officials are under pressure to balance the books as Hong Kong faces its toughest fiscal test in three decades, with annual deficits exceeding US$20 billion in four of the past five years.It is also being weighed by China’s economic malaise and a looming US-China trade war, following an opening salvo of tariffs from President Donald Trump. The economy is expected to grow between two and three percent this year, on par with last year’s 2.5 percent.Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in his annual budget speech that the government will contain spending in a way that minimises the impact on public services and livelihoods.A “cumulative reduction” of government recurrent expenditure by seven percent through to 2027-28 would take place, he said.”It gives us a clear pathway towards the goal of restoring fiscal balance in the operating account… within the current term of the government,” which ends in June 2027, he added.Chan announced a pay freeze for all branches of government and said around six percent of its 170,000-strong civil service will be trimmed by April 2027.Other spending curbs include a cap on a transport subsidy for people aged above 60.Hong Kong has long relied on land-related revenue to fill government coffers, but income from that plunged last year to US$1.7 billion — the lowest in two decades.Chan said Hong Kong’s asset market was “under pressure” and that land-related revenue will rebound to US$2.7 billion this year.The government said it would not put commercial land up for sale in the coming year amid high office vacancy rates.- ‘Northern Metropolis’ -To reverse the property slump, Hong Kong will also lower the stamp duty of homes valued under US$515,000.Marcos Chan, from commercial real estate firm CBRE Hong Kong, said the budget had “fewer policy measures aimed at directly boosting property demand”.The finance chief said Wednesday that the government would spend HK$1 billion (US$129 million) to set up a Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, in a bid to make the city “an international exchange and co-operation hub for the AI industry”.The city is eager to lure back international visitors after its reputation took a hit from political unrest and pandemic-related curbs.The government will allocate US$159 million to its tourism body to promote “distinctive tourism products” such as panda tourism and horse-racing tourism.Chan’s speech saw no public opposition, as authorities continued to crack down on dissent in the city.Activists from the League of Social Democrats, one of the last remaining pro-democracy groups, cancelled their annual pre-budget petition citing “strong pressure”.The group planned to call for pay cuts for top officials, greater government accountability and halting costly infrastructure projects such as the “Northern Metropolis”.But Chan said on Wednesday the government will push ahead with the project, which aims to integrate Hong Kong more closely to its neighbour Shenzhen.”We must accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis. It is an investment in our future,” he said.The government will issue up to US$25.1 billion in bonds every year until 2029-30 to fund its infrastructure ambitions.The International Monetary Fund said last month that Hong Kong was “recovering gradually after a protracted period of shock”.The city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index, which has rallied to a three-year high thanks to a recent surge in mainland tech companies, rose more than three percent Wednesday.

The EU’s top team is to embark on an “unprecedented” visit to India this week, as the bloc seeks to broaden its commercial and diplomatic ties to hedge against souring relations with the United States.EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and her college of commissioners are to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in New Delhi during a two-day trip, starting Thursday.The trip is the latest sign of a Brussels push to diversify ties away from the United States and position itself as a reliable partner for others looking to do business.”In this era of intense geostrategic competition, Europe stands for openness, partnership, and outreach,” von der Leyen said ahead of the trip, hailing India as one of the EU’s “most trusted friends and allies”.Almost all the EU’s 26 commissioners are to join the 66-year-old German politician in what the bloc’s executive is billing as the first visit of its kind to the South Asian giant — and the first outside Europe for the new college that took office in December.It comes as US President Donald Trump has upended Brussels’s traditionally close partnership with Washington, berating EU tech laws, threatening tariffs, and undercutting European allies by launching Ukraine talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The European Union has been left “looking for friends” and India, the world’s most populous country, is a “natural candidate”, said Andre Sapir, of Brussels-based think tank Bruegel.- Trade call -Brussels has been working to broaden its horizons since Trump won back the White House in November.In recent months it has announced a strengthened trade deal with Mexico, the resumption of talks with Malaysia, a new agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur and the “first-ever” EU-Central Asia summit. It has also struck a more conciliatory note towards China, which however “remains a significant strategic challenge for Europe”, said James Crabtree, of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) think tank.”Building stronger ties with India — a democracy with increasing global influence — offers both greater economic opportunity and political appeal,” he said.Trade will be high on the agenda.The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 — more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to the EU.India’s expanding market offers key opportunities for sectors ranging from defence to agriculture, automobiles and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.Negotiations for a trade deal were relaunched in 2022 and could get a boost from a White House bent on slapping tariffs on friends and foes alike, said a European diplomat.”The case for a free trade agreement has never been stronger,” the diplomat said.- AI and defence -Trump feted Modi in Washington vowing to ramp up trade this month, but India is also seeking renewed relationships elsewhere as a “hedge against a newly capricious America”, said Crabtree.The European Commission’s trip comes hard on the heels of a visit by British trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds aimed at restarting stalled trade negotiations.  “In the shadow of US tariff, India back to table for trade talks with UK, EU”, a headline in The Indian Express daily read on Tuesday.One of the biggest challenges for New Delhi in recent years has been creating millions of new jobs for its young and rapidly expanding skilled workforce. India’s government has for years also pushed for Europe to grant quicker visas for its businesses and students.Cooperation on technology and artificial intelligence, where Europe and India are eager to play a larger role, will also be on the table. So will security and defence, the EU diplomat said, adding Brussels was eager to “join forces” with New Delhi. The supply of defence equipment, enforcement of EU sanctions against Russia and peace talks over Ukraine were likely to be discussed.India has long pursued a policy of strategic autonomy in foreign affairs.Historically close to Russia, its traditional supplier of military hardware, it has resisted Western pressure to distance itself from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.The commission’s visit is not expected to result in the signing of any deal, but should pave the way for an EU-India summit to be held in India later this year. 

Shares of the US electric vehicle pioneer Tesla plunged Tuesday, leaving its market value below $1 trillion as investors digested disappointing European sales and chief executive Elon Musk’s aggressive foray into politics.The auto giant sold less than 10,000 units in Europe last month, down around 45 percent from a year earlier.Tesla’s shares fell finished down 8.4 percent to $302.80, a drop that sliced $89 billion from its market value in a bruising session.Musk has taken on a high-profile advisory role in US President Donald Trump’s administration, charged with slashing government spending.He has also voiced strong support for far-right political leaders in Europe — including in the recent German elections — sparking criticism from some European politicians. “Tesla is clearly facing challenges in Europe and the Musk brand issues are adding to the headwinds,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives told AFP in a message, estimating that between 10 and 15 percent of these headwinds were down to anti-Musk behavior. Tesla’s share price surged in the wake of the 2024 US presidential election, with investors betting that Musk’s proximity to Trump could help his companies succeed. The poor sales figures in Europe appear to have punctured that optimism — at least for now — and raised concerns that what may be popular in the United States could in fact be detrimental to the company’s success elsewhere.Musk’s political views in Europe and Germany are “not the best thing for Tesla sales,” Ives said, adding: “It’s like putting mustard on a slice of pizza.”Alongside its European struggles, Tesla also faces stiff competition from automakers like BYD in China — a key market for electric vehicles.Earlier this week, the company announced it would start offering advanced self-driving functions for its cars in China, shortly after BYD said it would introduce self-driving technology for nearly all its vehicles. 

Global stock indices slid on Tuesday, with tech shares especially weak, after data showed US consumer confidence slumped amid unease over President Trump’s tariff plans. US consumer confidence in February saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021, according to a Conference Board survey that comes on the heels of other lackluster US reports.”Consumers’ confidence has deteriorated sharply in the face of threats to impose large tariffs and to slash federal spending and employment,” Pantheon Macroeconomics chief US economist Samuel Tombs wrote in a note to clients. The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks, which helped drive US stocks to records at the end of last year, mostly fell Tuesday, weighing especially on the Nasdaq.The worst hit among them was Tesla, which suffered an 8.4 percent drop as investors digested disappointing European sales and chief executive Elon Musk’s aggressive foray into politics.”The once mighty tech sector in the US is no more,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.She noted that the best performing sectors in 2025 do not include tech, but rather transport, tobacco, healthcare and gold.Meanwhile shares in Nvidia, whose chips are prized for generative AI applications, fell nearly three percent ahead of it releasing quarterly results on Wednesday. Traders will be keenly awaiting its outlook on AI chip sales.It will be Nvidia’s first earnings release since DeepSeek upended the AI industry at the start of this year by unveiling a high-performing chatbot that it reportedly developed at a fraction of the cost of its Western rivals and with less powerful chips.The US consumer confidence report deepened a recent drop in optimism in Trump’s second month back in office.In recent days Trump has reiterated his intention to slap import tariffs on key US trading partners Canada and Mexico.Over the weekend he signed a memo calling for curbs on Chinese investments in industries including technology and critical infrastructure, healthcare and energy.Tariffs would likely cause a surge in inflation, slowing growth and reducing the chances of further interest rate cuts.Europe’s main indices finished mixed after having been solidly higher earlier in the session.Asian markets ended lower.Bitcoin fell back below $90,000 as the optimism over expected Trump deregulation for the crypto market ebbs away.The sector has also been hit by the recent $1.5 billion hack of Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, representing the biggest crypto theft in history, as well as a memecoin scandal in Argentina.- Key figures around 2140 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 43,621.16 (close)New York – S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 5,955.25 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 19,026.39 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,668.67 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 at 8,051.07 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 22,410.27 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.4 percent at 38,237.79 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 23,034.02 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,346.04 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0517 from $1.0468 on MondayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2668 from $1.2625Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.00 from 149.72 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.00 pence from 82.91 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.5 percent at $68.93 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.4 percent at $73.02 per barrelburs-jmb/jgc

Japan’s biggest airline ANA Holdings announced Tuesday it will purchase 77 new aircraft from Boeing, Airbus and Embraer to replenish its fleet in order to serve growing passenger demand domestically and internationally. The order will be valued at a total of 2.1 trillion yen (about $14 billion) at catalogue prices before discounts, the company said, adding in a separate statement that 68 orders have been confirmed, with nine options for small and medium-size aircraft. This mega-order is done “in anticipation of future growth in passenger demand, including strong inbound demand”, it said. “This will be achieved by renewing the fleet that was suspended due to the Covid-19 and placing additional orders for new aircraft.”From Boeing, the company will purchase 18 widebody 787-9 aircraft — used for “international routes in anticipation of strong Asia-North America demand” — and a dozen 737-8 jets.ANA, or All Nippon Airways, will also be purchasing a total of 27 Airbus aircraft — some of which would be used by Peach, a low-cost carrier owned by ANA.For domestic routes, ANA will order 20 100-seat class Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, saying it was “the first time in Japan” for the Brazilian plane manufacturer.  “This order will be the catalyst for improving the profitability of domestic flights and the expansion of international flights which is an area of future growth of our airline business,” said ANA Holdings president and CEO Koji Shibata in the statement. “We will fully utilize this opportunity in order to become an industry-leading airline with sustainable growth.”With this massive buy, the total number of aircraft in the Group’s fleet — including those already ordered — will be approximately 320 by the financial year 2030. More than half would be the Boeing 787 series aircraft, ANA said.Boeing said it was “honored” that ANA selected the 787 Dreamliner and 737 MAX to expand its fleet. “This order is a testament to the market-leading capabilities of Boeing’s wide-ranging family of airplanes. We look forward to working closely with ANA to finalize the agreement,” the US aviation giant said in a statement.A spokesperson for Airbus said: “We are pleased that ANA has decided to grow its fleet with a new order for 24 A321neo and three A321XLR aircraft. We look forward to finalising the details.”