
Trump closes ‘massive' trade deal with Japan with 15% tariffs
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the US and Japan have struck a deal that will lower the hefty tariffs he had threatened to impose on goods from its Asian ally while extracting commitments for Tokyo to invest US$550 billion in the US and open its markets to American goods.
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South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
US leads second-quarter Asia-Pacific real estate deals with assets worth US$5 billion
US investment in Asia-Pacific real estate jumped 31 per cent year on year in the second quarter, as investors chased yields and stable growth in markets such as Australia, Singapore and Japan amid looming tariff challenges. Mainland China, meanwhile, was weighed down by an ongoing property crisis and mounting default risks. Cross-border real estate investments in Asia-Pacific reached US$12.1 billion in the second quarter, a 50.1 per cent surge year on year and the highest level since the third quarter of 2022, according to a Knight Frank report on Thursday. US investors led the charge, pumping US$4.97 billion into the region, accounting for 41 per cent of the total. 'US investors have always been active in the Asia-Pacific region, which offers exposure to both emerging and mature markets, enabling a balance between potential and stability,' said Christine Li, head of research for Asia-Pacific at Knight Frank. 'Compared with the US and Europe, certain Asia-Pacific markets offer more attractive pricing and yields, especially in the office, [residential] and data centre sectors,' she said. The recent moves by many of the central banks in the region to lower interest rates – in contrast with the US Federal Reserve's move to hold rates steady – also helped to reduce borrowing costs and improve returns, she added. Japan drew US$2.4 billion worth of overseas investment into its real estate sector. Photo: Shutterstock


South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
Should Hong Kong's baby bonus scheme include talent to boost birth rate?
Questions have been raised about the effectiveness of potentially extending a baby bonus scheme to talent admitted to Hong Kong to boost the birth rate, despite some professionals complaining about being left out. Advertisement Experts and lawmakers said that other incentives and measures were needed to encourage childbearing and boost the birth rate. Last month, Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said the Newborn Baby Bonus Scheme was under review, with authorities to consider suggestions, including whether to extend it to cover families arriving in the city under various talent programmes. The one-off cash allowance of HK$20,000 (US$2,550) had been distributed to 48,984 applicants as of the end of June, with HK$979 million handed out in total. The scheme was unveiled in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's 2023 policy address and currently requires the child to be born in Hong Kong between October 25, 2023, and October 24, 2026, to receive the handout. At least one parent must be a permanent resident at the time of application. Official statistics showed that the number of births in Hong Kong plunged from 37,000 in 2021 to 32,500 in 2022, before bouncing back to 33,200 in 2023 and 36,700 last year.


South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
What Singlish words and phrases going mainstream tell us about Singaporean identity
Ten years ago, the English-language world witnessed a small milestone in a larger jubilee. At Singapore's 50th National Day celebrations on August 9, 2015, the unthinkable came to pass. In the National Day parade section themed 'Identity – Uniquely Singapore', alongside floats of Singaporean food, there were props depicting words from Singapore English, also known as Singlish, such as the particles 'lah' and 'leh' and phrases including ' blur like sotong '. Lee Hsien Loong , Singapore's prime minister at the time, posted on his Facebook account a week after: 'I'm glad that at 50, we are less 'blur like sotong', and more confident and comfortable with everything that makes us Singaporean.' This was not trivial. Such official endorsement was particularly significant in light of Singapore's official language policy and planning, which includes the annual Speak Good English Movement (SGEM) that, since 2000, has explicitly discouraged the use of Singlish in favour of 'Good English'. Library personnel set up standees that promote the use of correct spoken English in a library in 2006 in Singapore. The Speak Good English Movement, launched in 2000, discouraged the use of Singlish in favour of 'Good English'. Photo: AP The following year saw another milestone, this time extending beyond the nation's shores.