Malaysia remains steadfast in championing regional trade
Dec 25. 2020“As a grouping whose economies constitute about 60% of the global economy, Apec assumes a central role in spearheading post-pandemic economic recovery, ” Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic), the host of this year’s Apec meetings, said in his opening remarks.
By The Star/ANN
KUALA LUMPUR: The year 2020 is supposed to be an ambitious year for regional trade pacts.
However, progress has been hampered as the world scrambles to mitigate the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The deadly virus – which had allegedly originated from an exotic meat market in Wuhan, China, and detected in Malaysia as early as in January this year – has severely damaged the global economy, and the country was not spared from its repercussions.
Like many other countries, Malaysia has resorted to taking drastic actions, including implementing international border closure and restricting interstate travels to curb the spread of Covid-19, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared as a global pandemic on March 11,2020.
However, amidst the backdrop of the pandemic, Malaysia has proven its capabilities by successfully conducting and concluding its year-long Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) chairmanship with a strong pledge towards free, open and non-discriminatory trade and investment.
The leaders of the 21 Apec member economies vowed to strengthen cooperation during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, as they gathered online on Nov 21 for the first-ever fully virtual 27th Apec Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM).
“As a grouping whose economies constitute about 60% of the global economy, Apec assumes a central role in spearheading post-pandemic economic recovery, ” Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the host of this year’s Apec meetings, said in his opening remarks.
Among the leaders at this year’s AELM were the US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Both leaders agreed to set aside their differences and recognise the importance of a free, open, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment to drive economic recovery in such a challenging time.
Two years ago, Apec leaders failed to agree on a joint statement for the first time in its history amidst a trade row between Washington and Beijing, while in 2019, the AELM meeting scheduled in Chile was cancelled due to anti-government protests across the South American cities.
In a declaration issued after the virtually-held meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Apec leaders stated their commitment to combatting and mitigating the impacts of Covid-19 and improving the narrative of trade and investment.
They had also committed to implement inclusive economic participation through digital economy and technology, driving innovative and inclusive sustainability, as well as strengthening stakeholder engagement during “one of the most challenging health and economic crises of our times”. — Bernama
Mental, physical strain growing among teleworking employees in Japan
Dec 25. 2020
A Nissin Foods Holdings Co. employee uses a device that measures stress levels in two minutes. (The Yomiuri Shimbun)
By The Japan News/ANN
Telework has been welcomed as a flexible way to do one’s job anywhere and at any time, but an increasing number of remote workers are suffering from stress due to a lack of communication with others or difficulty distinguishing between work and private time.
How can mental and physical disorders related to teleworking, which has spread rapidly due to the coronavirus pandemic, be prevented?
Peacemind Inc., a human resources consulting company based in Tokyo, has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about mental and physical problems caused by prolonged teleworking. One person said: “I feel depressed because I stay home all the time. I don’t feel like eating and I’ve lost weight.” Another said, “I can’t stop crying during work these days.”
According to Peacemind, in the early days after people began to refrain from commuting because of the spread of the virus, many people expressed confusion in their inquiries about working from home, or a fear of infection. From early August on, however, they began to talk about different issues.
Their problems are believed to have been caused by stress related to teleworking. People usually work on computers alone at home, and report their work or receive instructions mainly through email and social media. Unlike working at an office, it can be difficult to determine when to talk with their bosses. People began to feel pressured or anxious when work did not progress as a result of these factors.
“People communicate through casual conversation at an office. It’s important when teleworking to create opportunities to talk regularly to reduce anxiety or irritation,” said Hidehiko Takeda, a clinical psychologist at Peacemind.
According to a survey conducted in September on people in charge of corporate general affairs around the country by Gekkan Soumu Inc. — a Tokyo-based firm that publishes a magazine for corporate employees — 73.3% of 255 respondents said they found it difficult to provide mental care to teleworking staff.
“The biggest challenge of teleworking is that you can’t see each other’s faces. It’s necessary to consider how companies can visualize the situation and health condition of employees,” said Kenichi Toyoda, editor in chief of the Gekkan Soumu magazine.
Some companies are taking measures to prevent stress related to teleworking.
Nissin Foods Holdings Co. established a team in August to prevent depression linked to remote work. About 1,360 group company employees who work from home are asked to use a device that measures their stress levels, so problems can be dealt with even before they become aware of them.
Depending on the measurements, employees receive online interviews or are encouraged to participate in a program to improve the quality of their sleep, for example.
“Stress can accumulate before you’re aware of it. I thought unsolicited help was necessary to prevent employees from suffering from stress,” said Yasuhisa Miura, deputy manager of Nissin Foods’ business administration office and a member of the team. The company is considering expanding the system throughout the entire group.
More S’poreans may have to be vaccinated as more contagious Covid-19 strains detected: Public health school dean
Dec 25. 2020Current research indicates that new strains will not affect the effectiveness of vaccines. PHOTO: ST FILE
By Goh Yan Han The Straits Times/ANN
SINGAPORE – With the discovery of new, more contagious strains of the Covid-19 virus in Britain and South Africa, it may now be important for more Singaporeans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, said a health expert here.
Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said on Thursday (Dec 24): “This is the only way we can continue to ensure that the community as a whole is protected.”
This means that instead of aiming to get 80 per cent of the population here to be vaccinated against Covid-19, “we may be now looking at 90 per cent or even higher”, said Prof Teo, who was speaking in a video interview with The Straits Times on its daily online talk show The Big Story.
The Health Ministry’s chief health scientist Professor Tan Chorh Chuan previously told ST that at least 80 per cent of Singapore’s population would have to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.
The new B117 strain of Covid-19 circulating in Britain has been reported to be more contagious, but has not shown signs of being more lethal or severe.
Singapore recorded its first case of this strain on Wednesday – a 17-year-old Singaporean girl who had returned home from Britain.
Prof Teo said on Thursday that current research indicates that new strains will not affect the effectiveness of vaccines, though a better understanding of the new strains is needed before determining the likely impact and making appropriate policy decisions.
“Governments are concerned (about the new strains) because of the impact that they have in managing the spread of Covid-19 in the community, and also any potential impact on vaccine effectiveness and quality control measures,” said Prof Teo.
“But for individuals like you and me, as long as we continue to diligently practise the necessary safe management measures, there is no need to be overly concerned with this new mutations,” he added, referring to the new strains.
Present research also indicates that the new strains are transmitted between people in the same way as the older strains, though it is more contagious, as an infected person with the new variant may have a higher viral load in his upper respiratory tract, said Prof Teo.
This is why existing measures like wearing a mask properly and maintaining the necessary social distance, if followed, can still minimise the chance of an infected person passing on the virus to someone who is healthy, he said.
Prof Teo also advised that during the year-end festive period, Singaporeans should continue to follow safe distancing rules and measures to keep themselves, as well as their family and friends, safe from the coronavirus.
Dec 25. 2020Logos of Ant Group and Alibaba are pictured at the headquarters of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Oct 29, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
By He Wei China Daily/ANN
Authorities aim to better regulate online economy, guide its healthy development
Chinese authorities have officially opened an anti-monopoly probe into e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and will summon its affiliate Ant Group for a meeting about financial regulations, the latest moves to strengthen antitrust practices and prevention of the “disorderly expansion of capital”.
The State Administration for Market Regulation has launched an investigation into Alibaba for alleged monopolistic conduct, including implementing an “exclusive dealing agreement”, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.
The issue largely refers to the company’s practice of forcing merchants to choose either Alibaba’s platform or its rival site to sell their products instead of being eligible to work with both, potentially crowding out competitors.
In a statement on Thursday, Alibaba said it will actively cooperate with the investigation, and the operation of the company’s businesses currently remain normal.
Meanwhile, financial regulators, including the central bank and the banking and securities watchdogs, will summon Alibaba’s financial technology arm Ant to a meeting to regulate the operation and development of its financial business, the People’s Bank of China said on Thursday.
Ant said it had received the notice of the meeting and pledged to “seriously study and strictly comply with all regulatory requirements and make full efforts to fulfill all related work”.
Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed stocks plunged 8.13 percent on Thursday.
Overshadowed by the Alibaba investigation, other internet majors such as Tencent, JD and Meituan all saw their shares tumble on the same day.
With market resources concentrating on leading companies, certain “risks and hidden dangers” have surfaced in the development of the online economy, according to a commentary in People’s Daily on Thursday.
“Anti-monopolism is an international practice, which is conducive to protecting fair competition and innovation in the market and safeguarding consumer rights,” the newspaper said, adding that the investigation does not imply a change of attitude toward encouraging and supporting the online economy.
“Rather, it’s precisely for the purpose of better regulating and developing the online economy, and guiding and promoting its healthy development with the hope that it stands to make a bigger contribution to China’s high-quality economic development.”
The overriding goal of anti-monopolism is not aimed at “clamping down on one internet giant and fostering the other”, but rather safeguarding the interests of small and medium-sized businesses that bank on these internet platforms, said Xue Jun, a professor of law at Peking University and director of the university’s E-Commerce Law Research Center.
“Through the series of actions, we really need to hear the voices of smaller merchants, who essentially form the backbone of the stability of the economy and people’s livelihoods,” he said.
Ant’s massive initial public offering was suspended in early November just days before its widely anticipated dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Regulators have tightened their supervision of internet companies and meanwhile curbed their allegedly monopolistic behavior by regulating online financial services to rein in potential risks.
Chinese authorities vowed at last week’s Central Economic Work Conference to intensify anti-monopoly supervision and prevent “disorderly capital expansion”.
In the latest development, digital lenders including Ant-operated Huabei and Tencent-backed WeBank announced a reduction of their maximum quota for loans extended via online channels, in response to heavier scrutiny from financial regulators and new provisions unveiled earlier.
“By and large, Chinese regulators are pro-innovation,” said Chen Guoli, a professor of strategy at the INSEAD business school in Singapore.
“But the government is also striking a delicate balance between innovation and risk. When it comes to the financial system, it is extremely careful about systemic risk.”
Chen said there has been debate whether Ant is a financial firm or a high-tech firm. If Ant Group belongs to the financial industry, the compliance and disclosure requirements are different.
Given its main sources of revenue, “the government is currently inclined to think Ant is a financial company”, Chen added.
Dec 25. 2020Organizers of a job fair in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, pose on Oct. 22. (Iksan City)
By Kim Yon-se The Korea Herald/ANN
Tally for female discouraged workers hits record-high
SEJONG — A growing number of South Koreans have abandoned looking for jobs as the pandemic worsens a hiring market that was already tightening for several years.
According to a survey on the working age population — those aged 15 or over — by Statistics Korea, the number of discouraged workers stood at 534,000 in December 2019, the month before the novel coronavirus first arrived in Korea.
The tally counts people who had looked unsuccessfully for a job in the previous year but not in the month immediately preceding the survey.
Since the first case was reported here on Jan. 20, the tally of discouraged workers has showed a general increase, though there were some ups and downs from month to month.
Compared to December 2019, the tally for November 2020 grew 97,000 to reach 631,000.
(Graphic by Kim Sun-young/The Korea Herald)
(Graphic by Kim Sun-young/The Korea Herald)
Further, the number of women who gave up looking for jobs hit an all-time high of 284,000 (tied with the figure for September 2020) last month, up 54,000 compared to December 2019.
Male discouraged workers increased by 43,000 (14.1 percent) to 347,000 over the same period.
Some research analysts say that the climbing number of discouraged workers cannot wholly be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. An analyst compared the latest data with the figure for April 2017, a month before the Moon Jae-in administration took office.
Compared to April 2017, the tally of people giving up job-seeking activities surged 51.4 percent (214,000) — 47.6 percent for men and 56 percent for women.
According the Supplementary Index III for Employment, held by Statistics Korea, the tally for de facto unemployed reached 3.9 million as of November 2020. This indicates that 13 percent of the economically active population, 30 million, were unemployed or underemployed.
Index III counts underemployed people among the de facto unemployed. This category includes those who work fewer than 36 hours a week and want to work more, as well as seasonal workers who are out of work for part of the year.
Given 3.29 million for the category in April 2017, the number of de facto unemployment has increased by 610,000 during President Moon’s term.
The government is still promoting and publicizing jobless figures – but uses a more conservative method to calculate them.
Under this approach, the nation’s “official” unemployment was 3.4 percent in November, with only 967,000 unemployed.
For those aged between 15-29, the jobless rate stood at 8.1 percent last month when calculated by the government’s preferred method, with the number of unemployed at 331,000.
In contrast, the Index III figure came to 1.16 million for that age group, with a de facto jobless rate of 24.4 percent.
In April 2017 unemployment benefit payments totaled 444.9 billion won ($401.7 million), according to the Korea Employment Information Service. But the figure had shot up to 1.01 trillion won by October 2020.
Thai Airways International (THAI) will next week ask the central bankruptcy court to extend the deadline for submission of its business rehabilitation plan by a month, from January 2 to February 2, said acting president Chansin Treenuchagron.
Chansin said he was confident the carrier could carry out the plan successfully. According to law, the rehabilitation plan must be fully implemented in five years, after which the rehab process can be extended twice for one year each time.
The carrier has continued to see revenue from both its aviation and non-aviation businesses, said the acting president.
He said THAI planned to trim costs by another 30 per cent next year.
Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP Foods) announced on Thursday that it will ensure the safety of all its staff, especially migrant workers, who it says are being treated in line with international standards.
Pimonrat Reephattanavijitkul, CP Foods’ executive vice-president, said the company has been maintaining high health and safety measures in its operations since the arrival of the Covid-19 virus early this year.
She said CP Foods has pledged to keep all its staff safe, regardless of their role or nationalities, with extra focus on migrant workers who are more vulnerable.
For instance, she said, workers are provided with accommodation and transportation between work and home. Stringent Covid-19 prevention measures such as temperature scanning and social distancing have also been put in place.
Besides, the company has hired translators to help migrant workers understand their rights.
“CP Foods is a workplace of diversity and we are building mutual understanding among our employees of all nationalities equally. Our goal is to ensure they are secured from this new wave of infections,” Pimonrat said, adding that CP Foods is also providing free food to workers in Samut Sakhon, which has been placed under lockdown.
Migrant workers can also voice their concerns and seek advice via a hotline service operated by the Labour Protection Network (LPN). The hotline service is available in Khmer, Burmese, English and Thai.
During the outbreak, LPN arranged a training programme via video conferencing to encourage workers to follow Covid-19 prevention measures as well as have a basic understanding of their rights.
CP Foods currently has some 9,000 migrant workers in Thailand who have been recruited under a government-to-government deal. These workers are entitled to benefits and social welfare in line with Thai labour laws.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index surged by 30.20 points, or 2.08 per cent, to 1,481.72 in the morning session on Friday.
However, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,465 points amid positive news that the European Union and Britain had reached an agreement on Brexit, while the Thai government had not imposed a nationwide lockdown in response to the latest virus outbreak.
“The index would be under pressure due to the decline in funds flow during the Christmas and New Year festivals,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ TQM, BLA, STGT, AJ, PTL, SYNEX and COM7, which benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak.
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IVL which benefit from rising oil price, while their fourth-quarter performance is expected to improve.
The SET Index closed at 1,451.52 on Thursday, up 35.50 points or 2.51 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt103.03 billion with an index high of 1,453.87 and a low of 1,409.75, boosted by mass buy-ups of energy, bank, financial and electronic shares in response to the Brexit and lockdown news.
“As a grouping whose economies constitute about 60% of the global economy, Apec assumes a central role in spearheading post-pandemic economic recovery, ” Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic), the host of this year’s Apec meetings, said in his opening remarks.
Current research indicates that new strains will not affect the effectiveness of vaccines. PHOTO: ST FILE![Logos of Ant Group and Alibaba are pictured at the headquarters of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Oct 29, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]](https://media.nationthailand.com/images/news/2020/12/25/30400209/800_70d6ca376971bca.jpeg?v=1608864387)
Logos of Ant Group and Alibaba are pictured at the headquarters of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Oct 29, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
Organizers of a job fair in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, pose on Oct. 22. (Iksan City)
(Graphic by Kim Sun-young/The Korea Herald)
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