Business

BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country's four big state-owned lenders, reported net profit growth of 4.2 percent in 2023.

The bank raked in 269.8 billion yuan (about 38 billion U.S. dollars) in net profit attributable to shareholders in the period, according to its annual financial report.

Its non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.33 percent at the end of 2023, down 0.04 percentage points from the end of 2022.

According to the bank, its risk offset capability remains strong, with a provision coverage rate of 303.87 percent.

BOAO, Hainan, March 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator on Thursday called for solidarity and cooperation to meet challenges and work together to create a better future for Asia and the world.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks during a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2024, which drew more than 1,500 people from political and business circles and think tanks from more than 60 countries and regions.

27 March 2024; MEMO: Indonesia’s military has introduced tanks into its military that it jointly developed with Turkiye, in the latest advancement of defence cooperation and production between the two countries.

Colombo, Mar 28 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping has assured continuous support to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena for Sri Lanka's efforts for “political and socio-economic progress” and also said Beijing will stand for safeguarding the island nation's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Islamabad, Mar 28 (PTI) Pakistan on Thursday clarified that it has no plan to resume trade relations with India which has been "non-existent" since 2019 after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

The clarification from Pakistan's Foreign Office comes days after the new Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in London that Pakistan will seriously consider restoring trade ties with India that have remained suspended since August 2019.

New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) The government's fiscal deficit at Rs 15 lakh crore touched 86.5 per cent of the revised annual target at the end of February, according to official data released on Thursday.

In the corresponding period last year, the fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and revenue was 82.8 per cent of Revised Estimates (RE) of the Union Budget 2022-23.

For 2023-24, the government's fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 17.35 lakh crore or 5.8 per cent of the GDP.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Bernama) — Malaysia and Canada have shared diplomatic ties for nearly 66 years, and via the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), bilateral trade rose by 25 per cent.

Malaysia is also Canada’s country coordinator for Asean this year. Malaysia will be the Asean chair in 2025.

Canada’s Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Minister Mary Ng said it is great to see some of the numbers.

BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun met with Mao Sophan, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, on Monday in Beijing, with the two sides pledging to further promote military cooperation.

Dong said the China-Cambodia friendship has continued to flourish over time and the building of the China-Cambodia community with a shared future has entered a new era of high quality, high level and high standard under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries.

NAIROBI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A China alumni symposium on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Sunday, with participants who included senior officials, scholars and students underscoring its positive impacts across socioeconomic spheres.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's capital market remained resilient in 2023, with the market size growing 5.6 percent to 3.8 trillion ringgit (800 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023 from 3.6 trillion ringgit in 2022, official data showed Monday.

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said in a statement that the increase was driven by the growth of total equity market capitalization and bonds and sukuk outstanding.

Sukuk is an Islamic financial certificate that complies with Islamic religious law commonly known as Sharia.