Myanmar and China agree to speed projects but ink no new deals
China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbor increasingly isolated by the West. But no major new projects were agreed on during the two-day visit by President Xi Jinping, ...
ADB inks $50 million satellite deal backed by Japan to spread internet use in Asia-Pacific
The Asian Development Bank has signed a $50 million loan agreement to spur internet use in the Asia-Pacific region, with half the financing coming from a fund supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The project will extend low-cost, high-speed internet availability through a communications ...
Japan's local governments struggling with debt due to public investment and disasters
Debts incurred from past public investment and reconstruction work after disasters are placing heavy financial burdens on local governments.
As Japan's infrastructure crumbles, who's footing the bill?
In the run-up to next year's Olympics, construction is everywhere — everywhere except, perhaps, in the places it is most needed. While the government is rushing to put its best foot forward and put a polish on Japan's capital and environs, the situation is ...
In blow to China, Japan's 'quality infrastructure' to get endorsement at Osaka G20
When world leaders adopt new international principles for "quality infrastructure" during the upcoming Group of 20 summit in Osaka, it will be the moment when Japan's flagship initiative will finally bear fruit after years in the making. In recent years, Japan has promoted what it ...
Jared Kushner's $50 billion 'peace to prosperity' plan faces broad Arab rejection
U.S. President Donald Trump's economic vision as part of the wider plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been met with contempt, repudiation and exasperation in the Arab world, even as some in the Persian Gulf called for it to be given a chance. The ...
China no match for Japan in Southeast Asia infrastructure race
Japan is still winning the Southeast Asia infrastructure race against China, with pending projects worth almost one and a half times its rival, according to the latest data from Fitch Solutions. Japanese-backed projects in the region's six biggest economies — Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand ...
The government said Wednesday it will extend ¥132.7 billion (about $1.2 billion) in loans to Bangladesh to help the South Asian nation improve its infrastructure. "We will work together for the development of Bangladesh and beyond and achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Prime ...
Kenya to upgrade old rail line to deliver Uganda link, shunning China-funded project
Kenya plans to modernize an old railway track to link a newer line to neighboring Uganda at a cost of $210 million, with funding from an unidentified private backer rather than building another modern one with Chinese money. The development of Kenya's railways has been ...
With China in mind, Japan eyes new infrastructure investment rules for G20
The Abe government is considering proposing a set of rules for infrastructure investment in developing countries when Japan hosts the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June, after China has been criticized for engaging in "debt-trap" diplomacy with its aggressive project financing, according ...
After Italy's backing of China's 'Belt and Road,' Abe stresses caution on infrastructure with Conde
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has moved on to the second and third legs of his six-nation European and North American tour with stops in Italy and Slovakia, where he met with the leaders of those two countries and others on Wednesday. In Rome, Abe and ...
Base-laden Okinawa vies to become tourism magnet
Just a couple minutes from the Okinawa Prefectural Government building and the busy shopping street Kokusai-dori, Sora Shokudo offers jerk chicken on the menu — a Caribbean cuisine that goes well with rum — which is now also produced in Okinawa and attracting interest ...
