Wed, Jul 27, 2022 page10

• World Business Quick Take

  • Agencies
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  SOUTH KOREA

  Economic growth speeds up

  The nation’s economic expansion accelerated last quarter, underpinned by household and government spending, providing scope for the central bank to keep raising interest rates as it tries to rein in inflation. The economy expanded 0.7 percent in the three months through last month, even as Russia’s war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring and China’s COVID-19 lockdowns disrupted supply chains, Bank of Korea data showed yesterday. The result exceeded economists’ forecasts, as did the 2.9 percent annual rise in GDP. The result suggests the economy is weathering about a yearlong tightening cycle and is likely to embolden policymakers to keep hiking to tackle inflation.

  THAILAND

  Government bets on tourists

  The Ministry of Finance maintained its forecast for the economy to expand at 3.5 percent this year, with the scrapping of travel curbs and a weaker baht creating bargains to win tourists back. The Southeast Asian nation expects to host 8 million foreign tourists this year, Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, said in Bangkok yesterday. That compares with 6.1 million forecast in April and 40 million who visited the country in the year before COVID-19 hit. “International tourists are likely to exceed the expectation with easing border restrictions,” Pornchai said. “It is cheaper to visit Thailand.”

  JAPAN

  Economy ticking upward

  The government this month raised its monthly economic assessment for the first time in three months as consumption picked up, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. The Cabinet Office said the economy is picking up moderately, boosting its view of consumer spending, imports and labor conditions. Analysts expect the economy to rebound in the quarter through last month following a contraction in the previous quarter. Consumption holds the key to the strength of the recovery as slowdown concerns mount among the nation’s key trading partners.

  HONG KONG

  GDP forecast might drop

  The territory might have to downgrade its annual growth forecast next month for the second time in three months, Financial Secretary Paul Chan (陳茂波) told the South China Morning Post on Monday, pointing to the weak recovery of the economy from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chan said there was a chance the forecast would be further downgraded soon, partly because the territory’s economy in the second quarter was not as strong as expected. The government in May revised down the real GDP forecast for this year to 1 percent to 2 percent, from an earlier 2 percent to 3.5 percent, after taking into account the deteriorating export outlook.

  ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  Tesla nickel plan criticized

  Environmental groups on Monday urged Tesla Inc to reconsider its plans for nickel investment in Indonesia, the world’s top producer of the material, as environmental, social and governance scrutiny mounts in an industry crucial to the electric vehicle revolution. In an open letter addressed to Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk and shareholders, dozens of organizations asked the electric vehicle giant to terminate direct investment plans in Indonesia’s nickel industry and bar nickel sourced and produced in the country from being used in Tesla’s vehicles. The letter said that nickel mining would shrink forests, potentially pollute water and disrupt the lives of indigenous communities.
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