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Currencies

Currencies
Currency market action focused on developments with the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar.
Tourists pose in front of Mount Fuji in Yamanakako, Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes, China row

Japan’s economy is likely to fall behind India’s this year, which analysts say would diminish Tokyo’s global influence.

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European Union

Bulgaria becomes 21st country to adopt euro in historic milestone

Banking & finance

How China is upgrading its digital yuan for the stablecoin era

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Malaysia

‘I’m lucky’: Malaysians cash in as ringgit’s surge boosts travel budgets

Travellers capitalise on the favourable exchange rate for holidays after the currency hit a five-year high against the US dollar.

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The ringgit’s surge has boosted travel plans and currency exchanges in Malaysia. Photo: Shutterstock
Iran

Iran’s president urges dialogue as currency plunge sparks protests

Anger over Iran’s worsening economic situation pushes people onto the streets in Tehran and other cities.

Yuan

China’s offshore yuan breaks major benchmark as appreciation momentum builds

For the first time since 2024, the currency strengthened past the threshold of seven per US dollar – and did it again the next day.

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Yuan

China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

PBOC pledges to integrate e-CNY into the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, boost adoption in Southeast Asia via China’s CIPS payment network.

A customer makes a payment using China’s digital currency, or e-CNY, at a store in Beijing. Photo: Getty Images
Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

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China travel

Why South Korea is becoming China’s new bargain travel hotspot amid Japan spat

A slump in the won is making South Korea increasingly affordable for mainland tourists just as China warns against travel to Japan.

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India

Rupee slump ‘a little relief’ for Indian exporters amid US trade talks

The lower rupee is helping Indian industries that have been absorbing tariff losses in the hopes of a US-India trade deal, analysts say.

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A roadside vendor counts Indian rupee notes in Mumbai on November 28. Photo: AFP
China jobs

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on why China’s AI push must be ‘job-oriented’

Dean of Peking University’s National School of Development says ‘balance’ needed in AI development to protect employment, ‘human well-being’.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Malaysia

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor

‘This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,’ a business owner says.

China trade

‘Strong breakwaters’: China’s central bank vows to shield from external shocks

Governor Pan Gongsheng says policy must prioritise the domestic economy, warning against ‘excessive policy swings’ that could undermine long-term stability.

Bonds

China’s currency push gains ground as Russia nears issuance of yuan bond

Foreign governments have raised a record 13 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) via yuan bonds this year, Bloomberg-compiled data shows.

A photo taken on November 10, 2025, shows a view of the Kremlin in Moscow. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Global stablecoin surge highlights overlooked risks in crypto finance

The politics around digital currencies have extended into the long-running battle for supremacy between the world’s major currencies.

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A pedestrian walks in front of a currency mural on a shop shutter in Hong Kong on December 2024. Photo: Antony Dickson
Yuan

China sets strongest yuan fix in over a year as Fed-cut bets rise

China’s currency is outperforming the euro and yen despite economic headwinds, with analysts pointing to Beijing’s geopolitical leverage as the driver.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong pushes local currency use to shield Asia from global uncertainties

HKMA’s Eddie Yue calls for deeper regional financial integration amid tariff shocks, disrupted supply chains and market volatility.

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Banking & finance

Yuan’s long-term hedge costs equalise for first time since 2011

The risk reversal as the yuan has fared better than expected this year and as investors brace for a weaker dollar on Fed rate cut prospects.

The offshore yuan has strengthened 3.4 per cent against the dollar this year. Photo: Getty Images
United States

Opinion | Trump can’t have it all: low prices, booming stocks, balanced trade

Trump wants to close the trade deficit while promising cheap goods and high asset prices. The cost? Devastating inflation or a market crash.

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China's economic recovery

Open Questions | ‘A mistaken view’: US economist Nicholas Lardy on the ‘peak China’ hypothesis

The veteran China watcher talks Beijing’s need for financial reform and how US-China economic convergence could still be on the horizon.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | As power balance tips to China, world needs a fairer financial system

China-led macro region will have to work on independence of monetary policy and partnerships in a fairer financial and trade framework.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
South Korea

Macroscope | South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy

While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.

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A cyclist rides past residential buildings in Seoul on November 11. Flat prices in the capital increased at the sharpest pace since 2018 last month while rents rose at the fastest clip on record. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

China’s US Treasury holdings edge up as long-term sell-off continues

The slight uptick in August and September comes as concerns mount over US debt and the White House tests the Federal Reserve’s independence.

India

India’s debt-backed stablecoin challenge to US dollar dominance explained

Advocates argue the ARC token will lower India’s borrowing costs, strengthen the rupee and stem outflows to dollar-backed cryptocurrencies.

Japan

Japanese yen weakens to 9‑month low, hits 155 to US dollar amid uncertainties

Stocks and bond market slump as investors fret over expansionary fiscal plans, fading US rate-cut bets, and a China-Japan diplomatic row.

The Japanese yen’s exchange rate briefly weakened beyond 155.3 to the US dollar on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Yuan rapidly gaining ground as Chinese firms plot global expansion

Yuan’s use in cross-border payments rose 14 per cent year on year to 35 trillion yuan (US$4.9 trillion), according to the People’s Bank of China.

The yuan is the world’s third-largest trade finance currency after the US dollar and the euro, according to a report by the China Banking Association. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund gains record US$35 billion in first 9 months

The nine-month return surpasses last year’s record of HK$239.1 billion and exceeds the full-year high of HK$264 billion reached in 2017.

Banking & finance

As China’s central bank projects confidence, are rate cuts on the back burner?

The People’s Bank of China said the economy was on track to hit its annual growth target despite facing a challenging environment.

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