Business

MOSCOW, Nov 22 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Malaysia will invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in the 2020 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that the Southeast Asian nation will host, Sputnik news agency quoted Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah as saying on Thursday.

“We, of course, will welcome President Putin’s involvement in the APEC 2020 that Malaysia is hosting next year in November,” Saifuddin said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

SEOUL, Nov 22 (NNN-YONHAP) — The termination of a major arrangement between South Korea and Japan on exchanging military information was imminent Friday amid no news of a breakthrough, with concerns about its consequences growing.

Last-minute diplomatic consultations were apparently under way to avert the doom of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) ahead of its expiry slated for 12 a.m. Saturday.

Realistically, however, chances seem low that Seoul and Tokyo will strike a deal before the deadline, Yonhap News Agency reported.

22 Nov 2019; MEMO: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree on Thursday to increase salaries for Syrian government workers and pensioners amid the collapse of the Syrian Pound. The order provides an increase of 20,000 Syrian Pounds (about $28) on the monthly salaries and wages of the military and civilian employees.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday that Beijing wants to work for a trade deal with the United States but is not afraid to “fight back.”

Reinforcing the upbeat tone adopted by China in recent days, Xi told a visiting U.S. business delegation that China holds a ‘positive attitude’ toward the trade talks.

“As we always said we don’t want to start the trade war but we are not afraid,” Xi said. “When necessary we will fight back but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war.”

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The United States will sell naval guns to India in a US$1 billion deal as American military exports witness rapid increase in their bilateral trade.

India has sought 13 MK45 naval guns and 3,500 D349 Projectile as part of the purchase that includes spare parts, personnel training and technical assistance, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

JAKARTA, Nov 21 (NNN-ANTARA) – The United States and Indonesia pledged to edge up trade volume by twice, in the next five years, as the two nations still have more business opportunities, which can be explored further, officials of the two nations, said.

Deputy for the Coordination of International Economic Cooperation, at the Coordinating Ministry of Economy, Rizal Affandi Lukman, said here that, both countries have committed to drifting up trade volume to 60 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, from the current level of 30 billion U.S. dollars.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) The Cabinet on Wednesday approved sale of government's stake in five blue-chip PSUs, including Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corp of India (SCI) and Container Corp of India along with transfer of management control, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The government will sell its 53.29 per cent stake in BPCL after taking out Numaligarh refinery from its portfolio, she told reporters here.

20 Nov 2019; MEMO: China and Saudi Arabia have begun a three-week joint naval exercise, Chinese state media said on Tuesday evening, reports Reuters.

The joint exercise at a Saudi Arabian naval base comes as tensions in the Gulf have risen over recent attacks on oil tankers and a major assault on Saudi energy facilities.

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday hit out at the government over Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reported remarks that Air India and Bharat Petroleum Corporation could be sold by March, alleging the BJP is making India's best organisations hollow and then selling them.

Her attack comes days after Sitharaman reportedly said the government was looking to wrap up the sale of state-run Air India and oil refiner and marketer BPCL by March 2020.

CAPE TOWN, Nov 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Calls emerged for privatizing debt-ridden South African Airways (SAA), the national flag carrier being hard hit by a strike.

The airline must be placed under business rescue in order to mitigate any further loss of revenue and to ensure that the entity is a going concern, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said.

Without business rescue, the only viable option would be to partially or fully privatize the national carrier, the party said.