Latest news with #BoA
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
BoA marks Japan debut anniversary with single, tour
BoA will release a single in Japan on Friday in celebration of the anniversary of her debut in the country, agency SM Entertainment said. It's her first new song for Japanese fans in three years, following her compilation album 'The Greatest,' which marked the 20th year since her first Japan release. She made her debut in Japan in 2000 with 'ID: Peace B' and, in a first for a Korean singer, claimed the top spot on Oricon's Weekly Album Ranking in 2002 with her first LP, 'Listen to My Heart.' The artist co-wrote the lyrics and melodies for the single 'Young & Free,' a medium-tempo tune full of summer vibes. BoA also announced plans to tour Japan for the first time in six years. The tour, dubbed 'BoA: One's Own,' is set to kick off in Osaka on Sept. 20 and will conclude in Tokyo on Nov. 1.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Four developers seek govt approval for partial cancellation of SEZs
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Four developers, including Tata Steel Infosys Ltd , and ELCOT Ltd, have approached the government for partial cancellation of their special economic zones (SEZs). The inter-ministerial board of approval (BoA) chaired by the commerce secretary would take a decision on these applications in its meeting on May 9. Tata Steel SEZ Ltd (formerly Gopalpur SEZ Ltd) has requested for partial de-notification of 282.73 hectares out of 588.65 hectare of their multi-product special economic zone at Gopalpur, development commissioner of the Falta SEZ has recommended in favour of Tata's proposal. It has stated that as investments are coming in the domestic tariff area, the developer has sought cancellation of certain to the BoA agenda, Infosys Ltd IT SEZ has sought approval for partial denotification of 20.23 hectare out of 52.64 hectare of their IT/ITES zone in Indore, Madhya Pradesh."...we are contemplating optimization of allotted land to us to create a conducive IT eco-system for other prospective companies. Hence, we have surrendered the portion of unutilized land," Infosys has said in its ELCOT Ltd has also requested for partial cancellation of 2.4 hectares out of 80.88 hectare of their IT/ITES zone at Gangaikondan village in Tamil per SEZ rules, on the recommendation of the BoA, the government can approve the application of a developer seeking to modify, withdraw or rescind the notification of an from special economic zones grew over 8 per cent to USD 143.34 billion during April-January are key export hubs, which contributed over one-third of the country's total outbound shipments in the last fiscal are enclosures that are treated as foreign territories for trade and customs duties, with restrictions on duty-free sales outside these zones in the domestic many as 416 such zones have been approved by the government, of which 276 are operational as of March 18 this year. As many as 6,279 units are approved in these zones till March 31, maximum number of operational SEZs are in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh.
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Lee Soo Man: King Of K-Pop' Documentary Examines A Legendary K-Pop Legacy
While K-pop has made its ways onto streaming services via documentaries and concert series from top acts like BTS, BLACKPINK and Stray Kids, rarely does its industry power players get the spotlight. But a new Amazon MGM Studios documentary is peeling back the curated layers of the K-pop scene to better reveal the complex and brilliant figure that's been at its center for nearly 30 years: Lee Soo Man, the man widely dubbed as a 'king of K-pop' as the subject of the highly anticipated feature. Directed by Ting Poo (who directed recent docs like Val and this year's Faces of Music) and premiering May 13 on Amazon Prime Video, Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop charts the seismic legacy of the man who built an empire — and what happens when he nearly lost it all. Lee's story is not just one of entrepreneurial vision, but his namesake SM Entertainment (the SM stands for Soo Man) has helped build the blueprint of an entire cultural movement. As the founder of SM Entertainment, Lee shaped global phenomena like BoA, TVXQ!, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, EXO, NCT and aespa who helped the genre spread far beyond Korea with the artists playing key roles in K-pop's presence in Japan and America. The documentary also includes interviews with some of K-pop's most iconic artists including BoA (the K-pop queen who has been with the company over 25 years) as well Super Junior's leader Leeteuk, EXO's leader Suho, and NCT's leader Taeyong, as well as the full group aespa. But what sets this documentary apart is its willingness to dig deeper — into the artistry, the grind, and the controversies that surround Lee Soo Man's SM era. The trailer opens with a bold claim: 'America took 100 years to dominate pop music; Korea did it in 20.' That stark comparison is the documentary's mission statement. Through unseen footage of late-night studio sessions, dance rehearsals, and never-before-heard stories of the many SM artists through the years, it captures the sheer intensity but also tangibly human sides behind the polished performances. Tension is also central to the film's power. This isn't a fully glossy hagiography, but a complicated character study. While Lee is portrayed as a visionary, the film also unpacks the criticism he and the company have faced. From the infamous 'slave contracts' involved with TVXQ! to his abrupt ousting from SM Entertainment in 2023, it seems like no topic is off limits in a refreshing dose of honesty from the K-pop industry. And post-SM, Lee is not retreating. He's reinventing. Now helming A2O Entertainment, he's pioneering what he calls 'Zalpha Pop,' a new genre fusing music, technology, and sustainability. A2O's first act, A2O MAY, is positioned as the vanguard of this digital-meets-cultural revolution. With ambitions to integrate CAWMAN (a hybrid video content format), Lee sees the future of K-pop as multilingual, multidimensional, and mission-driven. That evolution reflects the documentary's broader theme: legacy is never static. In K-pop, where image is everything, Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop dares to show the cracks, and in doing so, offers a rare look at the man whose vision changed pop music worldwide.
CNBC
30-04-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Sterling to rise to pre-Brexit levels, Bank of America says
As the U.S. dollar falters, one currency could be a major beneficiary: the British pound , which Bank of America's Athanasios Vamvakidis says is on track to return to its pre-Brexit value. Vamvakidis, global head of G10 FX strategy at BoA, forecasts that sterling will rise above $1.50 in 2026. The pound has not traded at those levels against the greenback since the start of 2016 — the year the U.K. voted to leave the European Union . The British currency, which plummeted in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, has failed to fully recover in the nine years since the vote was held. In early trade on Wednesday, sterling was down 0.1% against the U.S. dollar at around $1.34. Since the beginning of the year, the British pound has gained around 7% against the dollar, which has seen a broad sell-off amid global concerns around U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs regime . According to Bank of America's Vamvakidis, sterling has more upside ahead. His team's base case is that the pound will reach $1.43 by the end of 2025 — that's a gain of around 6.8% from current levels – before rallying to $1.54 by the end of 2026. That would mark a 15% increase from today's prices and the first time the British currency has exceeded the $1.50 level since the 2016 EU referendum. "We believe U.S. trade policies give more incentive to the EU and the U.K. to have closer relations. They've been envisioning a Brexit reset, but before this year, both sides were not as ambitious," Vamvakidis told CNBC Pro on a call. "Now you can argue it's a win-win situation for them to improve trade relations in particular." Several other factors are also influencing Bank of America's outlook for sterling: the U.K.'s services-oriented economy, which insulates it somewhat from U.S. tariffs on goods; projections for four interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year; lower reciprocal tariffs being aimed at the U.K. than many other countries; and higher economic growth forecasts for Britain than the EU. Bank of America expects the U.K. economy to expand by 1.1% this year and 1.3% in 2026, compared to 0.8% GDP growth in the EU this year and 1% next year. As a result of the regional macroeconomic picture, Bank of America also expects sterling to rise in value against the euro. Vamvakidis is forecasting that the euro will fall around 3.5% from current exchange rates against sterling to hit £0.82 by the end of the year. He told CNBC that for his baseline to be wrong, the Trump administration would need to "pivot across the board" on trade policy, migration and fiscal policy. "[It would take] a full U-turn back to conventional policies, which I think is unlikely," Vamvakidis said. "Things may end up somewhat better than initial policy announcements, but it's unlikely to go back to where we started. If we do [see a pivot], the dollar will strengthen, but I don't think it will strengthen back to where it was." Bank of America isn't the only big-name investment bank forecasting further upside for the pound. Analysts at Deutsche Bank Research are expecting the currency to reach $1.37 by the end of 2025 and $1.43 in 2026, with even more upside to be realized in the subsequent two years, when the lender's analysts see sterling hitting $1.45 – a level also not seen since before the Brexit vote. Strategists at Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, said last week that the bank was taking a "cautiously optimistic" view on sterling, driven by the U.K. being less vulnerable to tariff shocks than its EU neighbors and the wider strengthening of European currencies. Goldman Sachs's strategists expect sterling to trade at $1.39 against the U.S. dollar by the end of the year.
Barnama
28-04-2025
- Business
- Barnama
Bolivia, Chile Scrap Diplomatic Visas Mutually To Strengthen Ties
LA PAZ (Bolivia), April 28 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Bolivia and Chile on Saturday signed an agreement to scrap visa and official residency requirements for holders of diplomatic and official passports from the other country. The deal was signed at Viru Viru Airport in Santa Cruz by Bolivian Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa and Chilean Deputy Foreign Minister Gloria de la Fuente during the launch of Boliviana de Aviacion (BoA) 's first flight to Santiago. Sosa said the agreement reflects the growing trust and mutual respect between the two countries, facilitating diplomatic and consular work and further strengthening bilateral ties.
