Asia Banking
Reserve Bank of India resumes bond purchases after three years to manage liquidity
The Reserve Bank of India conducted net purchases of government bonds in the secondary market last week.
Cost of repairing Syria’s power infrastructure put at $40bn by electricity minister
Production facilities, transmission points, high voltage lines and distribution networks “ruined”, he says.
Indian banks' profitability to moderate in FY26
Indian banks' profitability is expected to moderate in FY26, following an inflexion point in FY25, largely due to delinquencies stemming from over-leveraging in unsecured assets and rising unsecured credit costs.
Former chief of the Bank of Japan sees more rate hikes on the horizon
The Bank of Japan is expected to continue raising interest rates in the coming years as inflation shows signs of sustainably reaching the central bank’s 2% target, according to former Governor Haruhiko Kuroda
China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway officially launched, but sidetracked at least until summer
Project moving forward under yellow signal.
BRICS bank chief touts Uruguay membership in Montevideo talks
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who chairs the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), urged Uruguay to join the institution during talks with President-elect Yamandú Orsi.
Iran central bank blocks crypto payments amid industry backlash
Iran's Central Bank abruptly blocked payment gateways for cryptocurrency exchanges, triggering sharp criticism from the country's digital assets industry.
World Bank approves $350mn as Tajikistan bids to fund completion of $6.3bn Rogun mega hydro project
Funding agreed despite environmentalists warning “biggest dam in the world” investment “will turn into a nightmare”.
South Korea’s won slides as martial law crisis sparks market turmoil
South Korea’s financial markets have been shaken by political uncertainty following President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief declaration of martial law, sending the local currency and stock prices into a tailspin
Trump threatens BRICS with tariffs if they dump the dollar
US President-elect Donald Trump has warned the BRICS countries they will be hit with 100% tariffs if they attempt to set up an alternative currency to the dollar to settle trade deals.
Major bank’s service disruptions cause payment delays at fuel stations across Iran
Iran's Bank Mellat electronic banking services, including ATMs, card payment terminals, and Internet banking, faced several hours of disruption on November 17.
Russia to mine Bitcoin in BRICS countries
In mid-October, during the BRICS Business Forum in Moscow, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) partnered with domestic data centre operator BitRiver to construct Bitcoin mining and AI computing facilities for BRICS nations.