China economy snapshot, India car show, ASEAN ministers meet
Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
The week kicks off with trade and auto sales data out of China before the world's No. 2 economy announces closely watched GDP figures on Friday. India opens the doors to its biggest auto show while ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet for talks.
Sri Lanka's leader visits China while South Korea starts key hearings over impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and his short-lived call for martial law last month. Also on tap are chipmaker TSMC's quarterly earnings and an Indonesian policy meeting.
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This is an adapted version of Nikkei Asia’s Your Week in Asia newsletter - a briefing of the most important business, economic and political events happening across Asia this week. Register to our full selection of newsletters.
MONDAY
China trade data
The final batch before Donald Trump takes office as U.S. president and potentially makes good on his threats to impose steep tariffs. Vehicle sales data due the same day will show how the country's auto market is performing.
Asian Financial Forum
Central bankers and top investors gather in Hong Kong for the two-day Asian Financial Forum, kick-starting a series of finance events in the city. Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern representatives account for a high proportion of speakers this time, as Hong Kong seeks closer ties with these regions and investors eye uncertainties in the U.S.-China relationship under a second Trump administration.
Japan FM's three-nation tour
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visits South Korea, the Philippines and the island nation of Palau to hold meetings with his counterparts. South China Sea tensions and boosting maritime security ties with the Philippines are on the agenda.
World's biggest festival
India kicks off the world's biggest public gathering at the Hindu festival known as the Maha Kumbh Mela. The giant celebration takes place just once every 12 years and is expected to draw as many as 450 million participants.
Japanese lawmakers visit China
Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), visits China for a meeting with communist officials, signaling a resumption of formal party dialogue for the first time since 2018. Both sides are intensifying diplomatic engagement as China hard-liner Trump returns to the White House and Tokyo seeks to resolve issues such as China's import ban on Japanese seafood.
TUESDAY
South Korea impeachment hearing
South Korea's constitutional court hosts its first hearing on the future of President Yoon Suk Yeol after lawmakers impeached him over a short-lived declaration of martial law in early December. Several hearings are set to run until early next month, with a quick ruling expected.
BOJ deputy speaks
Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino is scheduled to deliver a speech to business leaders, offering analysts and investors a rare glimpse into the central bank's views about the economy and markets.
领英推荐
Sri Lankan leader in China
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visits China, just weeks after his first international trip to India, underscoring how the island nation must balance ties with the two Asian powers. His agenda will likely include securing new financial commitments from Beijing to help Sri Lanka rise from its debt crisis and the future of a moratorium on Chinese research vessels docking in Sri Lanka's ports -- imposed under pressure from India.
WEDNESDAY
Bangladesh reforms
A half dozen reform commissions appointed by Bangladesh's interim government are expected to submit recommendations on changes to key institutions, including the electoral system, the judiciary and police -- after the country's prime minister was ousted in a bloody student-led uprising last August.
Monetary policy: Indonesia
THURSDAY
Vanuatu snap election
The Pacific nation of Vanuatu goes to the polls in a snap election triggered by now caretaker Prime Minister Charlot Salwai in November when he dissolved the parliament ahead of a motion of no-confidence in his leadership. The move was the latest in a long history of political instability with the election pushed back a couple of days due to a deadly earthquake last month.
Monetary policy: South Korea
Earnings: TSMC, Rio Tinto
FRIDAY
China economic growth
China reports its GDP for the fourth quarter, capping a tough 2024 that saw authorities resort to a series of stimulus measures to shore up the economy. President Xi Jinping essentially declared that the country hit its annual growth target of "around 5%" last year, but analysts expect another uphill battle this year.
India's biggest car show
India kicks off its largest automobile show in New Delhi as growth in the world's no. 3 auto market slowed to 5% last year, following a 13% expansion in 2023. Apart from India's top automakers, the expo will also draw companies with a fledgling presence in the country, including China's BYD and Vietnam's VinFast.
SATURDAY
ASEAN foreign ministers meet on Langkawi island in Malaysia -- the bloc's chair this year -- to discuss pressing regional issues, including South China Sea tensions and the civil war in Myanmar.
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