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Hong Kong resumed its tech-led rally on a healthy day for Asian markets Tuesday as a meeting between President Xi Jinping and China’s top business leaders fanned hopes that a years-long crackdown on the private sector is coming to an end.The Hang Seng Index’s gains extended an impressive start to the year, with the emergence of a new chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek stoking optimism in the country’s AI drive.The tech revival has also helped offset worries about the impact of US President Donald Trump’s hardball foreign policies and decision to impose sweeping tariffs on trade partners.Among the luminaries meeting Xi in Beijing were Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei and Wang Chuanfu, CEO of electric-vehicle giant BYD.Since taking the helm, Xi has strengthened the role of state enterprises in the world’s second-largest economy and waged crackdowns on areas of the private sector undergoing “disorderly” expansion.The drive has hammered some of the country’s biggest names in recent years, sending their share prices plummeting.State news agency Xinhua reported that Xi had “stressed that the difficulties and challenges currently faced by the development of the private economy have generally appeared during the process of reform and development, and industrial transformation”.”They are partial rather than general, temporary rather than long-term, and surmountable rather than unsolvable,” Xi said, according to Xinhua. He added that Beijing was focused on removing obstacles to commerce, promoting fair competition, cracking down on arbitrary fines and protecting business interests.Monday’s gathering provided some much-needed relief to investors and fanned hopes for a sector revival.”This was seen as a strong signal that his crackdown on the tech sector is over and with forthcoming pro-business policies to help revive the economy,” said National Australia Bank head of market economics Tapas Strickland.Ma’s inclusion hinted at the billionaire magnate’s potential public rehabilitation after years out of the spotlight following a tangle with regulators.Shares in Alibaba rose more than four percent Tuesday, and have now piled on more than 50 percent since the turn of the year. There were also healthy gains in other tech firms including Tencent, XD Inc and Netease.Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also rose.The advances came after a strong day in Europe, where Frankfurt hit a new record. Wall Street was closed for a public holiday.Meanwhile, Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller suggested the bank could cut interest rates this year if inflation performs as it has in the past, pointing to last year’s spike in the winter followed by a quick easing.”If this wintertime lull in progress is temporary, as it was last year, then further policy easing will be appropriate,” he said in prepared remarks due to be delivered on Tuesday in Sydney.”But until that is clear, I favour holding the policy rate steady.”With prices showing signs of ticking back up in recent months, traders have scaled back their bets on how many reductions officials would make this year.”The data are not supporting a reduction in the policy rate at this time,” Waller said. “But if 2025 plays out like 2024, rate cuts would be appropriate at some point this year.”His remarks come amid fears that Trump’s plans to impose tariffs and slash taxes, regulations and immigration will reignite inflation.- Key figures around 0240 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 39,296.11 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.7 percent at 23,001.87Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,359.80Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0465 from $1.0483 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2601 from $1.2613Dollar/yen: UP at 151.74 from 151.41 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.06 pence from 83.11 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $71.19 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $75.13 per barrelNew York – Dow: Closed for a holidayLondon – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,768.01 (close)

European markets rose on Monday as defence stocks surged ahead of a meeting between European leaders to address Washington’s sudden policy shift on the war in Ukraine.US President Donald Trump sidelined Kyiv and its European backers last week by calling his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss beginning negotiations to end the conflict.With fears that Europe could be sidelined in negotiations to end the three-year war, European leaders were gathering in Paris amid talk of greater defence spending. London, Paris and Frankfurt stock markets all rose on Monday, with defence stocks driving most of the action.Britain’s BAE Systems was up nearly nine percent, topping London’s FTSE 100 index, while French defence group Thales rose 7.5 percent in Paris. Shares in German arms maker Rheinmetall jumped 14.3 percent on Frankfurt’s DAX index, which set a new record high.CMC Markets analyst Konstantin Oldenburger said the company’s stock faced a short squeeze, where investors who bet on it falling had to buy it to cover their losses, driving it higher still.”With today’s double-digit gain, the defence contractor has increased in value by nearly a third since last Wednesday,” he noted.Analysts were cautious, however, over the prospect of higher European defence spending and its economic consequences.”There is a fear that the breakdown in military ties between the US and Europe will necessitate a huge ramp-up in defence spending, thus pushing debt and borrowing costs higher once again,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope markets. It adds to the uncertainty on trading floors since Trump returned to the Oval Office last month announcing a series of tariffs against key trading partners.While some of the measures have been delayed for negotiations, observers warn the imposition of huge levies on exports to the world’s biggest economy could deal a hefty blow to financial markets.Wall Street was closed for a public holiday.Asian equities ended Monday on a mixed note after a tepid lead from Wall Street.Hong Kong was barely moved after last week’s rally fuelled by a surge in tech firms following the release of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s chatbot.”DeepSeek proves that China’s private sector remains innovative and competitive, and it also shows the possibility for China’s continued AI advancement,” said analysts at Bank of America Global Research.Still, the mood in Hong Kong was improved by news that Chinese President Xi Jinping was meeting Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other top entrepreneurs.The gathering on Monday fuelled hopes of fresh support for the private sector, which has been hit by a series of crackdowns by the Chinese government in the past few years, hammering share prices.Ma’s inclusion hints at the billionaire magnate’s potential public rehabilitation after years out of the spotlight following a tangle with regulators.Other participants included Ren Zhengfei — the founder of tech titan Huawei — and Wang Chuanfu, who established electric vehicle giant BYD.Tokyo edged up as data showed the Japanese economy slowed sharply last year but enjoyed a forecast-topping final quarter thanks to strong exports.- Key figures around 1630 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,768.01 points (close)Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,189.13 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 22,798.09 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 39,174.25 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 22,616.23 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,355.83 (close)New York – Dow: Closed Monday for a public holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0483 from $1.0495 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2613 from $1.2587Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.41 from 152.25 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.11 pence from 83.36 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.4 percent at $70.98 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $74.95 per barrelburs-rl/gil

Sri Lanka is banking on vehicle import taxes to boost revenue and revive the island nation’s battered economy, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s maiden budget showed on Monday.Vehicle imports were banned in 2020 to save foreign exchange but the move deprived authorities of a lucrative revenue stream, as cars were taxed at about 300 percent. Dissanayake said the ban’s end would bolster state revenue to meet the tax target of 15 percent of GDP, which the country must achieve under the terms of an International Monetary Fund bailout agreement.”For the year 2025, the bulk of revenue gains is expected to be delivered by the liberalisation of motor vehicle imports,” the president told parliament.”This process is being carefully monitored to ensure that the import of vehicles does not result in undue negative impacts on external sector stability.”The budget also doubled the entrance fee of the island’s two casinos to $100 and raised the turnover tax on gaming establishments to 18 percent, up from 15 percent. The IMF wants Sri Lanka to double its income from taxation compared to the 7.3 percent of GDP it took in 2022, when the country defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt.That year saw the island run out of foreign exchange to finance the import of food, fuel and other essentials, prompting months of street protests led to the toppling of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.Sri Lanka secured a $2.9 billion four-year loan from the IMF the following year.Dissanayake, who was elected last year promising to end corruption and bring back stolen assets stashed abroad, said the economy was on the mend.”We should be in a comfortable position to service our foreign debts from 2028,” he said. He also announced a hefty 65 percent increase in the minimum wage to 40,000 rupees ($133) and raised subsidies for low-income earners.

Markets fluctuated on Monday as investors assessed the global economic outlook while US President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his trade war.Trading floors have been hit by uncertainty since Trump returned to the Oval Office last month announcing a series of tariffs against key trading partners.While some of the measures have been delayed for negotiations, observers warn the imposition of huge levies on exports to the world’s biggest economy could deal a hefty blow to financial markets.”Traders have been stuck in a game of ‘will he or won’t he’ on sweeping tariffs, with geopolitical allies and rivals alike in the crosshairs,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.”The stock market’s initial reaction was caution, but as delays, carve-outs, and sabre-rattling mix into an increasingly muddled policy picture, the mood is shifting from calculated hedging to outright confusion.”He added that “tariffs remain one of the biggest risk factors for financial markets”.”For now, the only certainty is uncertainty.”After a tepid lead from Wall Street, Asian equities ended on a mixed note.Hong Kong was barely moved after last week’s rally fuelled by a surge in tech firms following the release of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s chatbot.”DeepSeek proves that China’s private sector remains innovative and competitive, and it also shows the possibility for China’s continued AI advancement,” said analysts at Bank of America Global Research.Still, the mood in Hong Kong was improved by news that Chinese President Xi Jinping was meeting Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and other top entrepreneurs this week.The gathering fuelled hopes of fresh support for the private sector, which has been hit by a series of crackdowns by the government in the past few years, hammering share prices.Ma’s inclusion hints at the billionaire magnate’s potential public rehabilitation after years out of the spotlight following a tangle with regulators.Other participants included Ren Zhengfei — the founder of tech titan Huawei — and Wang Chuanfu, who established electric-vehicle giant BYD.Tokyo edged up as data showed the Japanese economy slowed sharply last year but enjoyed a forecast-topping final quarter thanks to strong exports.Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta and Wellington rose, while Sydney, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila slipped.London and Paris fell at the open while Frankfurt edged up.Investors are also keeping tabs on developments over the Ukraine war after Trump said on Sunday he could meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “very soon”, adding he believed he genuinely wanted to stop the fighting.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 39,174.25 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 22,616.23 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,355.83 (close)London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,735.67Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0478 from $1.0495 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2590 from $1.2587Dollar/yen: DOWN at 151.80 from 152.25 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.24 pence from 83.36 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $70.67 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.1 percent at $74.70 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 44,546.08 (close)

Chinese AI app DeepSeek will not be available to download in South Korea pending a review of its handling of user data, Seoul authorities said Monday.DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot stunned investors and industry insiders with its ability to match the functions of its Western competitors at a fraction of the cost.But a number of countries have questioned DeepSeek’s storage of user data, which the firm says is collected in “secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China”.Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeek would no longer be available for download until a review of its personal data collection practices was carried out.The Chinese AI firm has “acknowledged that considerations for domestic privacy laws were somewhat lacking”, the data protection agency said.It assessed that bringing the app into line with local privacy laws “would inevitably take a significant amount of time”, the agency added.”To prevent further concerns from spreading, the commission recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its service while making the necessary improvements,” it said.DeepSeek has “accepted” that proposal, it added.- ‘Use with caution’ -The app was removed from local app stores on Saturday at 6:00 pm (0900 GMT) and remains unavailable.The AI chatbot is still in use for those who have already downloaded the app.Seoul’s data protection agency said it “strongly advised” people to “use the service with caution until the final results are announced”.That included “refraining from entering personal information into the DeepSeek input field”, it said.Analyst Youm Heung-youl told AFP that the firm was yet to lay out a privacy policy “specifically tailored” for users in South Korea.”It has on the other hand disclosed a privacy policy for the EU and certain other countries, stating that it complies with the domestic laws of those nations,” Youm, a data security professor at Soonchunhyang University, said.”Deepseek needs to establish a privacy policy specific to Korea,” he said.Asked about the app’s removal, Beijing said on Monday that it asked Chinese firms to operate on “overseas operations on the basis of strict abidance by local laws and regulations”.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also urged “relevant countries” to “avoid taking measures that overstretch the concept of security or politicise trade and technology issues”.This month, a slew of South Korean government ministries and police said they blocked access to DeepSeek on their computers.Italy has also launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s R1 model and blocked it from processing Italian users’ data.Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices on the advice of security agencies.US lawmakers have also proposed a bill to ban DeepSeek from being used on government devices over concerns about user data security.In response to the bans, the Chinese government has insisted it “has never and will never require enterprises or individuals to illegally collect or store data”.

Kolkata locals cherish their city’s past, which is why many in the one-time Indian capital are mourning a vanishing emblem of its faded grandeur: a hulking and noisy fleet of stately yellow taxis.The snub-nosed Hindustan Ambassador, first rolling off the assembly line in the 1950s with a design that barely changed in the decades since, once ruled India’s potholed streets. Nowadays it is rarely spotted outside Kolkata, where it serves as the backbone of the metropolitan cab fleet and a readily recognisable symbol of the eastern city’s identity. But numbers are dwindling fast, and a court ruling means those that remain — lumbering but still sturdy — will be forced off the roads entirely in the next three years.”I love my car like my son,” Kailash Sahani, who has sat behind the wheel of an Ambassador cab for the past four decades, told AFP.”It’s a simple car — no electronics, no frills,” the 70-year-old added. “It’s unbelievable how much things have changed… The end of these taxi cars also marks our end.”Sahani is among thousands of Kolkata cabbies relinquishing their vehicles in line with tough emissions standards introduced in 2009 to ease the city’s endemic smog problem. Only around 2,500 Ambassador taxis were still working at the start of this year, down from 7,000 a year earlier, according to Bengal Taxi Association figures. Another 1,000 will be retired this year, and West Bengal state transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty told AFP that the remainder will be gone by the end of 2027.”The car is strong. Parts and maintenance are cheap and if it breaks down, it’s easy to find a mechanic,” said Bengal Taxi Association spokesman Sanjeeb Roy.Their disappearance, he added, “represents all that’s wrong with India’s changing economy”.- Litany of defects -The Hindustan Ambassador was the cornerstone of India’s automotive industry for decades from its 1957 debut at a factory on Kolkata’s northern outskirts. Modelled on a similarly regal sedan car from Britain’s now long-defunct Morris Motors, the car was a triumphant achievement of industry in the first years of India’s history as an independent nation.A deluxe model, its windows adorned with lace curtains, was for years the main means of conveyance for government ministers and captains of industry. But the car’s shortcomings also served as a reminder of deep structural problems with the quasi-socialist economic system that prevailed in India at the time. Buyers sat on wait lists for years because pervasive red tape stopped Hindustan Motors from raising production to meet demand, while a near-monopoly on sales left no incentive to maintain quality standards.That gave rise to an oft-repeated joke about the litany of defects found in the average “Amby”: the only thing in the car that doesn’t make a sound is its horn.Market reforms from the 1980s onwards saw the Ambassador muscled off Indian roads by more modern vehicles, and production was halted entirely in 2014 after years of flatlining demand.- ‘Get with the times’ -Kolkata, the headquarters of Hindustan Motors, is the last place where the cars are seen in any great number — a reminder of the tethers binding the city to India’s past. Grand public buildings evoke the immense riches that flowed through the city’s tree-lined boulevards back when it was the second-largest city in the British Empire, after London. Nobel laureate poet and polymath Rabindranath Tagore was born and died in Kolkata, where the national anthem he composed was sung for the first time during India’s long independence struggle.The city is also renowned for its thrumming nightlife, with crowded and dimly lit restaurants serving up chicken Kiev alongside the same suite of old-world European staples that have been listed on their menus since the late colonial era.But its importance has shrunk dramatically since that heyday, first with the relocation of India’s capital to Delhi in 1911 and then with Mumbai’s ascension as the country’s most important commercial hub.Many of Kolkata’s younger generations have left in search of better opportunities elsewhere, giving it a median age at least six years older than other big Indian cities, according to census data.The city’s skewed demographics prompted its pre-eminent novelist Amit Chaudhuri to once quip that while Delhi was for seeking power and Mumbai was for chasing riches, Kolkata was for visiting one’s parents. “People like me are under pressure to get with the times,” retired Kolkata schoolteacher Utpal Basu, 75, told AFP.”Old cars go, new ones come,” he added. “But it will break my heart when the city loses another icon.”

South Korean authorities said Monday that DeepSeek would not be available from local app stores pending a review of the Chinese AI startup’s handling of user data.DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot stunned investors and industry insiders with its ability to match the functions of its Western competitors at a fraction of the cost.But a number of countries have questioned DeepSeek’s storage of user data, which the firm says is collected in “secure servers located in the People’s Republic of China”.On Monday, Choi Jang-hyuk, vice chairperson of Seoul’s Personal Information Protection Commission, told a press conference that DeepSeek had been removed from local app stores while authorities “thoroughly examine” its personal data processing practices “to ensure compliance” with local laws.In a press release, the data protection agency said DeepSeek had “acknowledged that considerations for domestic privacy laws were somewhat lacking”.The agency assessed that bringing the app into line with local privacy laws “would inevitably take a significant amount of time”, it added.”To prevent further concerns from spreading, the commission recommended that DeepSeek temporarily suspend its service while making the necessary improvements,” it said, adding that DeepSeek “accepted” that proposal.- ‘Use with caution’ -The app was removed from local app stores on Saturday at 6:00 pm (0900 GMT).And DeepSeek was unavailable on the South Korean version of Apple’s app store on Monday.But it was still available to users who had already downloaded the app.Seoul’s data protection agency said it “strongly advised” them to “use the service with caution until the final results are announced”.That included, it said, “refraining from entering personal information into the DeepSeek input field”.This month, a slew of South Korean government ministries and police said they blocked access to DeepSeek on their computers.Italy has also launched an investigation into DeepSeek’s R1 model and blocked it from processing Italian users’ data.Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices on the advice of security agencies.US lawmakers have also proposed a bill to ban DeepSeek from being used on government devices over concerns about user data security.In response to the bans, the Chinese government has said it opposes the “politicisation of economic, trade and technological issues”.It also insists it “has never and will never require enterprises or individuals to illegally collect or store data”.

Japan’s economic growth slowed sharply last year, official data showed Monday, although the rate for the fourth quarter topped expectations.The figures come as Japanese companies fret over the impact of US President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies, including import tariffs, on the world’s fourth largest economy.Gross domestic product expanded 0.1 percent in 2024, well down from 1.5 percent the year before, the data showed.But the figures for October-December were brighter.Quarter-on-quarter growth accelerated to 0.7 percent, from 0.4 percent in July-September, when a “megaquake” alert and one of the fiercest typhoons in decades dampened activity.The fourth-quarter figure was also more than double market expectations of 0.3 percent growth.”On the surface, Japanese GDP growth in the final stretch of 2024 looks like a turning point,” said Stefan Angrick of Moody’s Analytics.”But don’t break out the champagne just yet. Japan’s preliminary GDP figures are notoriously choppy, and sizeable revisions are common,” he warned.”The upbeat headline figure masks a domestic economy still stuck in the mud. Consumption is weak as pay gains have trailed inflation for the better part of three years,” Angrick said.”And given the worsening outlook for global trade, Japan won’t be able to count on exports to pick up the slack in 2025.”Trump said last week that he planned to unveil tariffs on imported cars from around April 2, adding to a cascade of levies he has threatened since taking office.Ahead of the latest GDP data, the Daiwa Institute of Research said “various growth factors are seen, including normalisation of production for motor vehicles”.”A strong appetite for capex spending on the part of corporations, and a comeback for inbound consumption” were also positive factors, the institute said in a report.This time last year, Germany overtook Japan as the world’s third-biggest economy, with India projected to leapfrog both later this decade.The change in positions primarily reflected the sharp fall in the yen against the dollar, analysts said at the time.In January, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates again — having done so in March for the first time in 17 years — and signalled more hikes to come.The move, which left borrowing costs at the highest since 2008, was also underpinned by “steadily” rising wages and financial markets being “stable on the whole”, the bank said.Even as other central banks raised borrowing costs in recent years the BoJ had remained an outlier.But it finally lifted rates above zero in March, signalling a move away from policies designed to counter Japan’s “lost decades” of economic stagnation and static or falling prices.Capital Economics said in a note on Monday that “even though the jump in Q4 GDP wasn’t broad-based, it supports our view that the Bank of Japan will tighten policy more aggressively this year than most anticipate”.