Tag: Asia

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World News

Rising curiosity in Asia towards clean verify corporations

Growing interest in Asia toward blank check companies

The skyline of the central business district of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

Lauryn Ishak | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The hottest trend on Wall Street could go to Asia.

SPACs – or special-purpose acquisition companies – are attracting interest in Asia, and the first wave of local listings will be a test of investor appetite in the region, according to CNBC.

“I think there is definitely interest as SPACs are apparently offering this alternative platform to a traditional IPO,” Max Loh, Asean IPO Leader at EY, told CNBC in late February.

SPACs are shell companies set up to raise funds through an IPO for the sole purpose of merging with an existing private company or to acquire it and go public.

This process usually takes two years. If the acquisitions are not completed within this period, the funds will be returned to investors.

SPACs are sometimes referred to as “blank check companies” because investors do not know beforehand which private companies the funds will buy.

Growing interest in Asia

To be clear, SPACs aren’t new – they’ve been around since the 1990s.

Part of the recent interest can be attributed to a low interest rate environment that has resulted in too much liquidity, Loh said. Add that SPACs are an “attractive proposition”.

Private companies view SPACs as an alternative way of gaining access to the capital market rather than the traditional IPO route, which can be more time consuming and require closer scrutiny.

A growing number of sponsors based in Asia support SPACs.

Asia is also a target region for acquisitions for many of the SPACs – especially highly valued companies in Southeast Asia preparing to go public. According to Reuters, ride hail giant Grab is in talks to go public by teaming up with a SPAC.

Data shared by analytics provider Dealogic showed that the number of Asia-facing SPAC companies rose from 0 in 2016 to 8 last year, raising approximately $ 1.44 billion. However, in 2020 only four Asia-focused SPACs were successfully completed.

In the first three months of 2021, there were already six such companies, which together raised $ 2.7 billion.

Chew Sutat, director of global sales and origination at market operator SGX in Singapore, told CNBC last week that SPAC’s can provide companies with a relatively easy way to raise funds in volatile conditions.

“With a good framework that aligns and aligns the interests of investors, corporations and sponsors, this could catalyze and strengthen SGX’s role in helping regional businesses grow and access global investors through Singapore’s capital market platforms,” said Chew via email.

Investor appetite test

The SPACs’ explosive growth has been mainly focused in the US, where it took the market just three months to surpass its record breaking 2020 year. Funds raised by US SPACs so far this year have been more than $ 87 billion, compared to $ 83.4 billion in issuance last year.

That trend is expected to continue as the US SPAC listings outperform traditional IPOs, according to Romaine Jackson, director of Southeast Asia at Dealogic.

“The first SPACs in Asia will be a test of investor appetite. The market needs to understand whether investors can invest conveniently without the same access to the issuer and control,” he said via email last month.

Currently, very few Asian markets allow SPACs to list on local exchanges, and sponsors based in Asia go primarily to the US

Financial centers like Singapore and Hong Kong are looking for ways to list SPACs, but there is no specific indication of when blank check companies are allowed to list on their exchanges.

According to Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance Securities, Asian companies and investors want to experience the SPAC wave regardless of which exchange will emerge as the SPAC center in the east.

“The Asian exchange with the home market effect has the advantage of creating a playing field with a better understanding of business models and streamlining for domestic new economy sectors as Asian businesses flourished and entrepreneurs flourished,” he told CNBC.

Right Rules for SPACs in Asia?

EY’s Loh said it would be critical for Asian exchanges to have the right rules and methodology for running SPAC listings.

When a SPAC is raising money, IPO buyers have no idea what the target company for a possible acquisition will be. Instead, many investors rely on the track record of the SPAC sponsors to invest the blank check companies.

One concern of investors is whether the target companies are scrutinized and scrutinized as closely as they are with traditional IPOs, Loh said. Proper rules and regulations can alleviate that concern, he said.

Loh explained that there isn’t “too much of a difference” between companies in the process of going public and those going through SPACs, adding that the quality of the underlying company matters.

Pang of China Renaissance stated that regulatory uncertainties remain a major concern when adopting SPACs in Asia as authorities and exchanges need to provide popular and convenient avenues for regulation.

“Given the prudent stance of the Asian stock exchanges and the tightening of shell company reviews, backdoor listing, reverse takeover or reverse merger, all of which are similar vehicles to SPACs that companies may also use to review IPOs and If regulatory oversight can bypass it, the exchanges are unlikely to fully embrace SPACs anytime soon, ”he said.

Pang also expects Hong Kong to be better positioned than Singapore as a SPAC hub in the Asia-Pacific region because of its “diverse and liquid IPO market” on par with New York and London.

Loh added that alongside traditional IPOs, as well as venture funds and private equity, SPACs will provide another alternative platform for raising capital.

“It makes sense for Singapore to be a major SPAC hub as we are a financial center. The key is the rules, execution and quality of the businesses,” he said.

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Health

Reaching herd immunity will probably be fairly a problem for Asia: UN official

Reaching herd immunity will be quite a challenge for Asia: UN official

SINGAPORE – Achieving herd immunity to Covid-19 could be difficult for developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, a UN official told CNBC.

Herd immunity refers to the situation in which a disease cannot easily spread within a population because most people have become immune to it either from vaccination or from previous infection.

Around 60% to 70% of the population must be vaccinated to reach this state, said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

“I think that’s quite a challenge,” she told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Wednesday.

“If we look at the data so far, the progress has been quite modest with the exception of some advanced countries,” she said during an interview at the Asian Development Bank’s Southeast Asia Virtual Development Symposium.

Although some countries have placed vaccine orders and others may even have supplies on hand, “implementation on the ground is quite slow,” she added.

Further challenges during the rollout

There are other challenges to successful vaccination programs as well.

Alisjahbana named the timely supply, limited financial resources and poor logistics infrastructure as obstacles that stand in the way of developing countries. Another approach is equitable access, which refers to equitable distribution to all who need it.

Richer nations have bought vaccines and placed bulk orders, leaving poorer developing countries at the bottom of the queue. Many of these countries may not have the money to buy enough cans.

A medical professional holds Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin vials during the nationwide vaccination campaign in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India on Saturday, February 6, 2021.

Vishal Bhatnagar | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Alisjahbana pointed out that there is help in the form of Covax, a global alliance trying to provide vaccines to poorer countries – but the supply is still limited for now.

“One of the main problems – especially now because it is still like that Early (in) the vaccination program and its implementation – is the adequate supply, “she said.

However, she noted that production is increasing and more vaccines are being approved by the World Health Organization and national authorities.

“I hope the vaccination schedule will be accelerated in the coming months, including in developing countries,” she said.

She expects vaccinations to increase in the second half of the year and further accelerate in 2022.

If countries can be consistent and speed up vaccinations for high-risk groups and key workers, economies and borders can open, she said.

“Economic activities, including tourism and so on, (the) flow of goods, the flow of people can resume,” Alisjahbana said.

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World News

Asia is a high precedence for the USA

Asia is a top priority for the United States

The Indo-Pacific will play a much larger role in US foreign policy, with Asia being the top priority, according to political experts.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are in Japan and South Korea this week to visit Washington’s two major military allies in Asia, where tens of thousands of troops are stationed.

Last Friday, President Joe Biden met the Prime Ministers of Japan, India and Australia virtually as part of the first summit of an informal strategic alliance – the Quadrangular Security Dialogue, or Quad as it is known.

“Asia is a priority,” said Angela Mancini, partner at Control Risks, on Monday at CNBC’s “Capital Connection”. She said that based on last week’s quad meeting, as well as the general diplomacy that is taking place with the current administration, the US is making it clear that the Indo-Pacific region is important to Washington compared to the previous administration’s transactional approach.

President Joe Biden, top left, Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s Prime Minister, top right, Scott Morrison, Australia’s Prime Minister, bottom left, and Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, on a monitor during the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) virtual meeting at Suga’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan on Friday March 12th 2021.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“In addition to strengthening alliances to potentially counter China, there are also some specific bilateral issues that we need to address,” Mancini said, adding that this includes the presence of US troops in the region.

The Biden administration builds on the framework the Trump administration left on the Indo-Pacific strategy and is developing a coalition of partners to work with, according to Akhil Bery, a South Asia analyst with the Eurasia Group’s political risk advisory group .

The spate of diplomatic activity in Asia by US officials comes ahead of Blinken’s meeting with Chinese officials Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi in Alaska on March 18.

Against China

China feels like it is surrounded by the US … and so with their own investments in technology spending and their own focus on the domestic economy, they will be pushing back.

Angela Mancini

Partners, control risks

The informal Quad Alliance is committed to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

According to Harsh Pant, director of the strategic studies program at the Observer Research Foundation in New, the group will have a much more prominent role in the region going forward, possibly becoming “a core of a larger regional security architecture” in Delhi.

For more than a decade, the quad has had a lackluster existence, even after US-China geopolitical tensions worsened from 2017, followed by a deterioration in India-China relations, Pant said on CNBC’s Street Signs Asia on Monday. The group’s profile has risen in recent months, he said.

Last year India invited Australia to participate in the Malabar naval exercises alongside the US and Japan. New Delhi resisted Canberra’s participation for years, considering that the move would provoke Beijing.

Pant said India appears to be reassessing its policy towards China after being a “fence sitter” in the greater balance of power in the region. New Delhi is now making “the reasons for joining certain platforms very clear,” he added.

Quad’s joint statement last Friday avoided any direct mention of China and its foreign policy in the region and instead focused on areas such as efforts to distribute Covid-19 vaccines.

This agreement is already a “significant step forward” and shows that the group is able to deliver tangible results rather than just talking about the China challenge, “Eurasia Group’s Bery told CNBC via email .

It remains to be seen how far the Biden government can get allies to look at developments in the region from a multilateral perspective, but it is likely that Beijing will push back, Control Risks’ Mancini said.

“China feels that they are surrounded by the US and that that feeling is real and growing. Therefore, they will push back their own investment in tech spending and their own focus on the domestic economy,” she said.

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World News

Gender a significant work, alternative barrier for girls in Asia

Gender a major work, opportunity barrier for women in Asia

With another International Women’s Day just around the corner, companies have made bold pledges to empower their women workers and strive for equality. Still, in 2021, many women say that their gender is a major barrier to their professional development.

A full third of women in Asia Pacific report that their gender is a significant barrier to opportunity due to the lack of guidance, skills, and time they receive as women. This comes from LinkedIn’s Opportunity Index 2021.

As a result, two in five (41%) female professionals in the region believe they have fewer opportunities for professional development than men.

The report, polling 10,000 workers in Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, shows the persistent barriers women face in their professional development and their impact on society.

10,000 hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images

While seven out of ten respondents said that gender equality is important for a fair society, four in ten said that this is not possible due to fundamental differences between men and women.

Corporations and governments have fought against this narrative. After all, the economy speaks for itself: Higher employment rates for women could increase the gross domestic product of the OECD countries by 6 trillion US dollars.

Gender equality is still not a top 10 priority for 70% of businesses, according to IBM’s new Women, Leadership and Missed Opportunities report. In fact, it turns out that the number of women in management positions has barely changed in the past two years and there are fewer women in the pipeline to fill management positions today than in 2019.

The pandemic has only exacerbated these shortcomings.

PwC’s 2021 Women in Work Index found that progress among women could be back to 2017 levels by the end of the year, as women are said to be harder hit by the pandemic. This is in large part due to the disproportionate burden on childcare by women. Mothers currently spend an average of 31 hours a week on caring tasks – almost equivalent to doing another full-time job.

Still, there are important steps businesses and individuals can take to alleviate this burden.

What women can do to overcome career barriers

Feon Ang, vice president of talent and learning solutions at LinkedIn, advised women to be clear about their ambitions and the professional goals they want to achieve.

“Understanding your personal strengths and your passions is really important,” she told CNBC Make It.

For Ang, that was “the connection between what is happening externally and how it affects your career”. When she realized “everyone was talking about YK2” in 1997 (the year 2000), she began a career in engineering. Seeing the hype surrounding social media in 2013, she joined LinkedIn.

Feon Ang, LinkedIn Vice President, Talent and Learning Solutions for Asia Pacific.

LinkedIn

After identifying these goals, women should be open to them and make it clear to business leaders where they want to go, she said. An attorney or sponsor can help and act as a representative or supporter among other high-ranking figures.

“More than just mentoring, you will find people to sponsor, someone who will be committed to helping you move forward,” Ang said.

“Of course, you have to do a good job because no leader will stand up for you, if not. You also have to show your ability to grow and be open-minded. This constant retraining is important for everyone, be it men or women.” added.

What bosses can do to bridge the gender gap

In a blog post, Ang also outlined specific steps bosses and organizations can take to achieve greater equality in the workplace.

  1. Have conversations about diversity and inclusion – According to LinkedIn, less than a quarter (23%) of Asia Pacific professionals strongly agree that gender diversity is a priority for their organization. Organizations and managers can change this narrative by running workshops on diversity, equity and inclusion and taking advantage of free online training.
  2. Increase the number of women in leadership positions – In Asia Pacific organizations, women make up an average of only 39% of the workforce. For female executives, this figure is even lower at 30% and below. Companies can reduce this inequality by introducing female management quotas and leadership pipelines for promising young talent.
  3. Establish family-friendly policies and flexibility programs – Nearly half (45%) of women in Asia Pacific said that managing family responsibilities often impedes their professional development. Organizations can reduce this burden by implementing supportive policies to give parents and carers additional time and flexibility when needed.
  4. Start mentoring programs and community groups – A lack of career guidance and support is one of the top three hurdles facing working women in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the LinkedIn study. Professional networking groups and mentoring programs can help fill this gap and enable problem sharing and resolution in supportive circles.
  5. Help women learn new skills and look for opportunities – Women need access to relevant knowledge and experience in order to progress, but lack of skills is seen as one of the main obstacles holding women back. Businesses can help fill this gap by investing in regular learning and development programs to help women stay up to date on their career path.

“There is strength in numbers,” Ang said. “As more organizations come together, we can do more to achieve equitable recovery for all. It always starts with a small step – from promoting open conversation about diversity and equality to advocate practical initiatives from flexible working hours to mentoring programs. “

Don’t Miss: Women need better control over their personal finances. Here is how

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World News

Asia enjoying ‘catch up’ to Europe in electrical car market: Fitch

Asia playing 'catch up' to Europe in electric vehicle market: Fitch

The employees will work in the Tesla Gigafactory in Shanghai, East China on November 20, 2020.

Ding Ting | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

China is the largest player in the Asian electric vehicle market – but the region still lags behind Europe, according to an analyst from research firm Fitch Solutions.

Asia is falling behind Because European governments are taking strong measures to stimulate the growth of the sector, Anna-Marie Baisden, head of automotive research at Fitch Solutions, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.

“The region is catching up. When we talk about the Asian EV market, we mostly talk about China, which still accounts for around 90% of sales,” said Baisden.

“But there are a lot of supportive measures that have been put in place in Europe, especially the EU, in response to the coronavirus over the past year … both on the infrastructure side and nationally in terms of incentives,” she said.

A report from Cairn Energy Research Advisors, a consulting firm with a focus on the battery and electric vehicle industry, forecast last year that sales of electric vehicles will increase in 2021. It is coming Countries around the world are pushing for new programs to encourage consumers to buy battery-powered vehicles.

The report also said that The largest growth in sales for this sector is coming from Europe, mainly as EU governments are working to reduce carbon emissions.

Challenges for Japan and India

Baisden said the weak acceptance of electric vehicles in Asia – mainly in countries like Japan and India – was due to a combination of factors.

While there is demand in Japan, “we are still waiting for concrete incentive plans,” she pointed out. “We learned in January that there are plans to create financial incentives for purchasing at the local level, particularly with the goal of having all electric car sales by 2030.”

In India, the electric vehicle sector is likely to receive a boost from Elon Musk’s electric car maker Tesla.

It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There’s a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics.

Anna-Marie Baisden

Head of Automotive Research, Fitch Solutions

According to Reuters, the US company founded Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited in February, based in the tech center of Bengaluru in Karnataka.

While the largest economy in South Asia offers tremendous growth potential in the electric vehicle market, the country’s demographics could pose a serious challenge, according to Baisden.

“The supporting guidelines are in place and manufacturers are starting to move in that direction with locally produced cars. But the demographics are different,” noted Baisden.

“It has a much lower median income than the other Asian markets. There is a lot of potential there, but it really comes down to India’s demographics,” she added.

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World News

U.S. companions in Asia might not wait round as Biden prioritizes home points

U.S. partners in Asia may not wait around as Biden prioritizes domestic issues

President Joe Biden speaks with State Department officials on his first visit to Washington, DC on February 4, 2021.

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s administration has indicated that trade talks are not high on the agenda right now – but that is exactly what the US might need to draw closer to its partners in the Asia-Pacific region, two former US trade officials said.

Trade is important to the Asia-Pacific region as many economies in the region are export dependent. Improving trade ties with these countries will be vital for the U.S. to build its standing in the region where China’s influence is growing, officials said during a panel discussion on Wednesday at The Economist’s Asia Trade Week event.

Over the past few years, Asia-Pacific countries have signed two mega-trade deals excluding the US – suggesting the region won’t wait for Washington, said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator.

“Asia is just moving on with its trade deals,” said Cutler, who is now the vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute think tank.

“As Biden talks about improving and strengthening ties with allies and partners, and working in multilateral institutions, our trading partners in Asia are sure to be asking about trade issues,” she added.

The two mega-trade deals excluding the US are the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) signed in 2018 and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) signed last year.

CPTPP is a renegotiated and renamed version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the Obama administration sought with 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. But former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal and let the remaining countries form the CPTPP.

RCEP is now the world’s largest trade agreement and includes China and 14 other economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The deal covers a market of 2.2 billion people and a production of $ 26.2 trillion – around 30% of the world’s population and economy.

Ironically, RCEP was “in a way” conceived as China’s response to the then-US-led TPP, said Charlene Barshefsky, who served as US trade agent under former President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

We helped create this system in Asia, the fastest growing region in the world, the place of economic power from which we are excluding the US …

Charlene Barshefsky

Senior International Partner, WilmerHale

But the U.S. eventually shut itself out of the region when it pulled out of the TPP, said Barshefsky, who is now a Senior International Partner at the WilmerHale law firm.

“We helped create this system in Asia, the fastest growing region in the world, the place of economic power from which we exclude the US, not because Asia excludes us – we excluded ourselves,” she said.

What’s next for US-Asia relations?

The U.S.’s absence from deals like RCEP means it won’t be there when major Asia-Pacific economies meet, Cutler said.

She said that heads of state and government from TPP countries met at events such as the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). RCEP participants will instead be involved in such meetings, she said.

“We will not be there, we will not be invited. And you are not only talking about the agreement itself, you are also talking about new topics, you are talking about new challenges – and we are not going to be at the table for it,” said Cutler.

Some observers said the US could sign a new trade deal – or even join the CPTPP – with countries in the Asia-Pacific region to improve its position in the region. However, the Biden administration has stated on several occasions that it would like to invest in American workers and infrastructure as a priority before signing new trade deals.

Joining the CPTPP will also be politically difficult as the Americans have a “clouded view” of their predecessor, Barshefsky said. The TPP was widely criticized in the USA and never approved by Congress. Critics said the deal would hasten the demise of US manufacturing and hurt American workers.

However, the US may feel the urgency to participate if key partners like South Korea, UK and the European Union want to join the CPTPP, she added.

“That could mean a very significant jolt for the United States, positively losing ground to the countries they want to depend on. And I think that could change the equation,” Barshefsky said.

I don’t think the CPTPP is the only way for the US to get involved in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wendy Cutler

Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute

Until then, Biden could close closer deals that focus on specific sectors, Cutler said. In many cases, such deals may not require Congressional approval and could be easier to negotiate, she added.

“I don’t think the CPTPP is the only way for the US to get involved in the Asia-Pacific region,” Cutler said, adding that the Biden administration is initially focusing on issues such as climate change, digital commerce and improving security of supply chains.

“I think that’s how we should look at the region now because I think it’s a way to get us back there without trying to come up with a comprehensive deal that we’re not ready to do for domestic reasons,” she said .

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World News

Asia shares rise; China retains benchmark lending price unchanged

Asia stocks rise; China keeps benchmark lending rate unchanged

SINGAPORE – Asia-Pacific stocks rose Monday morning as China left its key rate unchanged over the weekend.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 1.03% in early trading, with stocks in conglomerate Softbank Group up more than 2%. The Topix index gained 0.94%. South Korea’s Kospi was also up 0.25%.

Meanwhile, stocks in Australia changed little in morning trading as the S&P / ASX 200 was largely unchanged.

MSCI’s broadest index for stocks in the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan rose 0.11%.

China kept the one-year lending rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85%, largely in line with expectations of traders and analysts in a Reuters quick poll. The five-year LPR was also held constant at 4.65%.
The LPR is a reference interest rate for loans, which is set monthly by 18 banks.

Currencies

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its peers, hit 90.29 after falling over 90.9 recently.

The Japanese yen was trading at 105.52 per dollar, stronger than above 106 against the greenback in the middle of last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7881, its highest level since March 2018, after rising from around $ 0.776 late last week.

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Business

The place can I journey in Asia with out quarantining? Sri Lanka is now open

Where can I travel in Asia without quarantining? Sri Lanka is now open

To quarantine or not to quarantine – that is the question.

At least for countries that are thinking about dealing with international travelers.

That changed last month, however, when Sri Lanka reopened its borders with a requirement unlike any country previously opened – one that neither allows travelers the freedom of the island nor places them in a hotel room for two weeks wraps up.

Sri Lankan Tourism Chairman Kimarli Fernando described it as a “new concept” developed by the Tourism Authority. It allows tourists to tour the country in “bio-bubbles” or in semi-isolated groups, allowing travelers to see sites without mixing with the local people.

The rules apply for the first two weeks of their stay.

Rules of the ‘bio-bubble’

When Sri Lanka reopened its borders on January 21, it became one of the few Asian countries – including the Maldives – where international travelers could enter without strict quarantine.

But tourists are not exactly free to go where they want. Sri Lanka’s “bio-bubbles” allow vacationers to get around the island provided they:

· Stay in approved hotels
· Visit approved websites at specific times
· Travel by independent means of transport
Perform frequent Covid-19 tests and
· Do not mix with the local people

These rules must be followed for the first two weeks after entering Sri Lanka. After that, guests are free to “interact with the local community” and “move into the accommodation of their choice,” according to a safety brochure produced by the country’s Ministry of Tourism.

The plan was first tested in a pilot project with Ukrainian tourists in late December 2020.

Where travelers can stay

As of February 17, there are 98 certified “Level 1” hotels that travelers can stay at for the first two weeks of a trip. The list includes hotels and villas in tourist hotspots like Bentota, Galle, Kandy and Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo.

Hotels cover a range of budgets, from guest houses in the surfing paradise of Hikkaduwa to tented lodges near Yala National Park to the luxurious Ani villas in Dickwella.

Sri Lanka is famous for its pristine and often empty beaches.

Dowel | Moment | Getty Images

The country’s two Aman hotels – Amangalla and Amanwella – as well as some of the restored British bungalows that make up the Ceylon Tea Trails in the beautiful tea region are on the list.

Unlike strict quarantines, travelers are not limited to their hotel rooms for the first two weeks of a trip. Guests are “allowed to use all of the hotel’s facilities including the beach,” Fernando told CNBC Global Traveler.

The hotels are said to be 75% busy and leave the remaining rooms open to isolate any guests who have tested positive for Covid-19. This option is only available to people without symptoms. infected travelers who have symptoms of Covid-19 must be isolated in a private hospital.

An Asian elephant walks along a dirt road in Yala National Park.

SolStock | E + | Getty Images

“All certified hotels have a doctor,” said Fernando. These doctors are supposed to monitor hotel staff and guests for Covid-19 symptoms and send daily reports to government agencies, according to Sri Lanka’s safety brochure.

Hotel employees who are in direct contact with guests are not allowed to leave the hotel during the guests’ stay and for 14 days thereafter. And if they are not equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE), Sri Lankans who come into contact with tourists – such as tour guides and drivers – must be quarantined for 14 days after the end of a tour.

Where travelers can and cannot go

During the first two weeks of a trip, travelers are allowed to switch between hotels and visit approved tourist attractions, provided they visit during certain periods of time that have been assigned to tourists. When out and about, they are not allowed to interact with local residents or other travelers.

Tourists must arrange transportation through their hotels or through a certified tour guide.

The list of places travelers are allowed to travel includes some of the most famous landmarks in Sri Lanka including the Sigiriya Fortress and the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Yala National Park and the whale watching tours near Mirissa town are also on the list.

An ancient palace once stood on top of the 660-foot Sigiriya Rock, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is on the list of recognized tourist attractions.

Anton Petrus | Moment | Getty Images

However, the Dambulla Cave Temple and the 16th century Galle Fort, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites, are not currently open to tourists.

Pre-planning is required for all outside travel, including stops for meals and toilet breaks.

Frequent Covid Tests

Travelers to Sri Lanka must undergo at least two Covid tests and possibly more, depending on the length of your stay.

Covid tests are initially required within 96 hours of departure and again after landing in Sri Lanka. Those who stay longer than five days must take a third test, and those who stay longer than two weeks must do a fourth test.

The Nine Arches Bridge is located in the elevated central highlands of Sri Lanka.

Michael Roberts | Moment | Getty Images

Children under the age of 12 are exempt from testing unless they become symptomatic or are in close contact with an infected traveler.

Travelers must also apply for a visa prior to departure. Prior to this, tourists must make hotel bookings, purchase Covid-19 insurance (USD 12), and prepay for Covid-19 tests (USD 40 each).

Visas are not currently issued to anyone who has been to the UK two weeks prior to entering Sri Lanka.

Do ‘organic bubbles’ attract tourists?

On February 15, Fernando of Sri Lanka Tourism told CNBC that 3,820 people had arrived since the country reopened on January 21.

“Compared to the first two to three weeks of arriving in the Maldives in July 2020, our arrivals are slightly higher,” she said.

Women pick tea near the town of Nuwara Eliya in central Sri Lanka.

Tuul & Bruno Morandi | The image database | Getty Images

Fernando said the travelers were from Germany, Russia, Ukraine and expatriates living in “GCC countries”, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates .

She added that Sri Lanka is waiting for a “bubble agreement” to start flights with India as well.

Covid-19 rates in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka had low rates of Covid-19 infection until October last year. Cases have risen steadily since then, and the number of infections peaked earlier this month.

The country of 21.5 million people has confirmed more than 77,000 cases so far, according to Johns Hopkins University. Almost 11,500 cases have occurred in the past two weeks.

Sri Lanka started a vaccination campaign in late January. Fernando told CNBC that health officials will vaccinate all tourism workers “over the next few weeks.”

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Business

The place can distant staff work throughout the pandemic? Up to now, not Asia

Where can remote workers work during the pandemic? So far, not Asia

It is often said that remote workers can work from anywhere with an internet connection.

But tell this to someone who just wants to live and work in Bangkok or Bali.

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed millions of workers from their offices to their homes – and many have decided to change countries, at least temporarily. To keep up with this trend, countries in Europe, the Caribbean and the Caucasus are trying to lure these workers with new visa programs for “digital nomads”.

To date, however, no Asian country has officially opened the door to this new remote workforce, leaving them wondering whether to consider themselves their preferred Asian destination or apply to live in another location that is now open to them .

Remote workers want to travel

According to a global Booking.com survey of 20,000 travelers working from home during the pandemic, more than a third have considered working from another destination, Nuno Guerreiro, the site’s regional director, told CNBC’s Global Traveler.

A woman works near the beach on Koh Phangan island, Thailand.

lechatnoir | E + | Getty Images

“Research shows that there is an appetite to work from another destination. Respondents are in Asian countries such as Thailand (60%), Vietnam (52%), Singapore (50%) and China (45%) ). and Hong Kong (39%) outperformed the global average (37%) when it came to expressing interest in such agreements, “he wrote via email.

Respondents from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Russia and the USA were also very interested.

Wanted: free time and a lower cost of living

Asia featured four of the top ten travel destinations for expatriates to live and work in in 2019. This is the result of the “Expat Insider 2019 Survey” by the expat network website InterNations.

1. Taiwan – Best in the world for affordability of healthcare
2. Vietnam – the best in the world for personal finance
3. Portugal
4. Mexico
5. Spain
6th Singapore – The best in the world for personal safety
7. Bahrain
8. Ecuador
9. Malaysia – Well rated for affordable living and housing costs
10. Czech Republic

Adrien Pierson is co-founder and COO of MillionSpaces, a workspace booking website operating in Singapore and Sri Lanka. He believes other destinations in Asia will be attractive to remote workers for the following reasons:

Photo credit: CNBC.com Source: Adrien Pierson, MillionSpaces

The MillionSpaces service, launched in 2020, enables employees to book workspaces or hold meetings in hotels, bars, restaurants and traditional workspaces for a period of just one hour. Pierson said he believes remote working will stay here because it allows working people – not just retirees – to live at the destination of their choice.

“You are almost … retiring 20 years earlier,” he said.

Places like Phuket, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia are vacation destinations with enough infrastructure to get work done, Adrien Pierson said.

Jasmina007 | E + | Getty Images

American Marta Grutka said she was interested in moving to Bali or Bangkok.

“I’ve lived in Bali in the past and worked from my laptop,” she said. “If border restrictions weren’t an obstacle, I could imagine having Bali as my base from which to work.”

She said “the quality of life for the price” is her main motivation, although she warned that living and working in Bali on a budget is not the same experience as vacationing there.

“Prices are rising dramatically due to the rush of expats going there over the years,” she said. “Several business owners I know recently moved to Bangkok from Bali to pursue a cheaper and more cosmopolitan lifestyle.”

Living and working in Bali is not the same as going on vacation, warned longtime digital nomad Marta Grutka.

Agrobacter | E + | Getty Images

Shuhui Fu from Singapore has been working from home since March 2020. She said if her company moves to permanent remote work that she is “pretty sure will,” she will investigate moving to Japan.

“I’m just fascinated by its culture and vibrancy, and yet there is a resemblance to it [Singapore] in terms of order and security, “she said.

In addition to travel opportunities, Fu is also motivated to exercise for the weather – but not for the warm beaches that draw many travelers to Asia. She would “go somewhere where I can experience the seasons that you cannot do in Singapore.”

A future for remote workers traveling in Asia?

So far, no country in Asia has announced a program specifically designed to attract the influx of remote workers caused by the pandemic.

And whether an Asian nation offers them a formal way to live and work within its borders is unclear. The Asian governments were very excited about this issue and the authorities in Singapore, Bali and Thailand did not respond to CNBC’s questions on the matter.

With the special tourist visa for Thailand, tourists can stay for up to nine months.

Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty Images

There are still informal ways for remote workers to temporarily live in parts of Asia, although the pandemic has made them difficult to cope with.

“Digital nomads go from place to place and often conduct visa runs,” said Grutka, referring to the practice of crossing national borders to renew tourist visas. “With Covid it is now more expensive and it is more time consuming to take these steps.”

Bali is officially closed to international tourists, although some are finding ways to enter during the pandemic, Singapore digital newspaper Today reports.

The new Thailand tourist visa allows visitors to stay up to 90 days and can be extended twice, provided tourists are quarantined at approved facilities for at least 14 days upon arrival, long-term accommodation plans are proven, and health insurance is at least $ 100,000 Cover.

On the question of whether Asia will ever be officially open to remote workers, Booking.com’s Guerreiro said, “It’s only natural that supply should follow demand.”

The development of vaccines, improved contact tracing and the possibility of remote working becoming a reality in the long run led Guerreiro to predict that it “holds great promise for those who can travel and work virtually anywhere”.

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Business

Asia dominates world field workplace, reveals U.S. has a path to restoration

Asia dominates global box office, shows U.S. has a path to recovery

Moviegoers wear face masks in a projection hall of a movie theater almost six months after they closed due to a coronavirus pandemic on July 24, 2020 in Beijing, China.

China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

In a year marked by a deadly global pandemic, Japan’s box office set a new record.

An animated film based on a popular manga called “Demon Slayer” became the top grossing film in the country’s history, beating the record for Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” in 2001. It has ticket sales of more than US $ 322 million Dollars earned.

Japan, an island nation in East Asia of more than 126 million people, has had fewer than 300,000 coronavirus cases and only saw box office revenues drop by 46% in 2020 to $ 1.27 billion.

By comparison, the domestic box office slumped 80% to $ 2.28 billion as U.S. coronavirus cases have topped 21.6 million since the pandemic began. Canada, a box office employee, has seen fewer than 645,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Japan is just one of many countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have managed to manage the coronavirus pandemic in such a way that case numbers have remained low and consumer confidence has remained high.

In countries like China, Australia and South Korea, where cases of Covid have dropped significantly, analysts and operators are seeing box offices rebound and thrive.

In fact, its market share in the Asia-Pacific region increased in 2020. While the global box office was significantly lower last year – about 70% of its 2019 value, or about $ 12.4 billion – the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 51% of the Ticket sales. In 2019, these countries accounted for 41%, according to data from Comscore and analysis from Gower Street.

By comparison, in 2019 the US and Canadian box offices accounted for 30% of global ticket sales. In 2020 this market share fell to just 18%.

The Asia-Pacific region has gone to great lengths to fight the coronavirus, including breaking travel, setting up extensive testing and tracing of contacts, hiring masks, and implementing strict social distancing rules. Regardless of the approach taken by each country, its ability to reduce coronavirus cases and reopen their economies shows that if the US is able to do the same, similar results can be achieved.

So far, the response to coronavirus in America has been slow, and cases continue to climb to historic levels, with hospital stays and deaths increasing too.

As of August, when the majority of the world’s theaters reopened, the Asia-Pacific region has nearly 78% of the world’s total box office.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said these countries have bounced back after widespread theater closings.

First, these countries have been able to control their outbreaks by banning their outbreaks, introducing contact tracing and enforcing mask mandates. The reduction in the number of cases and strict preventive measures have increased the confidence of potential moviegoers.

Second, these countries had new non-Hollywood films to release. Domestically, the box office stalled because there was no new product for the audience to see. Even when theaters reopened with limited capacity, most of the films were legacy titles such as Star Wars, Jaws, and Goonies.

In the Asia-Pacific region, there was always new content in the studios to get people off their couches. And moviegoers turned out in droves.

In China, two films have generated more than $ 400 million at the local box office: “The Eight Hundred,” a war drama from the 1930s, and “My People, My Homeland,” a comedy film made up of five short stories . Both films were released in the second half of the year.

By comparison, the top grossing film in the US and Canada in 2020 was Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life”. The action film, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is the third in the Bad Boys franchise and was released in January before the virus spread to the United States. It raised $ 204 million during its theatrical release.

No film released domestically in the second half of the year reached nearly $ 100 million.

Universal’s family animated film “The Croods: A New Age” and Warner Bros.’s superhero sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” both made less than $ 30 million domestically. Another Warner Bros title, Tenet, was released on Labor Day weekend and did not exceed $ 60 million in its theatrical release.

“There is no doubt that going back to a normal big screen market will take a lot of time and patience,” said Dergarabedian. “However, the lessons of the example of countries that have rallied strongly in recent months show that a well-managed Covid response and engaging new films can work together to spark box office prosperity now and in the future kindle. “

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. “The Croods: A New Age” is an NBCUniversal film.