International trade

According to the news agency, the authorities want to expand the size of the Incheon International Airport free trade zone by around 10 percent to 3.3 square kilometres (about 1.3 square miles). Another zone, located in the southern port city of Busan, is to be expanded by 30 percent to 12 square kilometres (about 4.6 square miles). … [Read more...] about South Korea to Expand Free Trade Zones in Bid to Boost Slowing Exports Amid COVID-19 – Reports

Regarding censorship, we’re told the steady crackdown is designed primarily for Chinese films, TV and other entertainment, not so much for American titles. The current issues with the U.S. are not unrelated, however, and Xi has talked in speeches about the problems of the external environment and the need to tighten ideological control domestically so that everyone is on the same page of the core socialist values. Homegrown films still are likely to face “more and more problems from censorship,” we hear. Beijing is keen for public opinion to be positive in the fall. “They don’t want to have any problems until then,” says a source. … [Read more...] about China: Could Trump’s Trade War & Stricter Local Controls Extend Summer Hollywood Movie Blackout To October?

Taiwan’s exports unexpectedly leapt 24.9% in February from a year earlier, on strong sales of chips and telecommunication equipment, and off a low base, as the traditional week-long Lunar New Year holiday fell in February last year, meaning there were fewer working days. … [Read more...] about Taiwan March exports seen down almost 7% year-on-year on virus impact: Reuters poll

“Nobody knows the damage China’s virus containment efforts will have on growth, and we probably never will for sure, given the opacity of the statistics. We reckon true GDP growth will fall below 2% in Q1, from 4.0% in Q4, which already was substantially lower than the official 6.0%,” said Freya Beamish, chief Asia economist at Pantheon in London. … [Read more...] about Chinese economy clobbered by coronavirus but set to recover soon: Reuters poll

Complicating matters is the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic on October 1 with the expectation that China may clear the cinema decks well before, lending credence to the speculation above. The same exec cautions, “China shot themselves in the foot a bunch of times (in 2018). They hardly released any Hollywood movies from the end of August to the end of October. Smallfoot and Predator are not exactly going to excite the market. If you want to grow, add movies that are exciting people.” … [Read more...] about China Box Office Growth Slows In 2018; Tricky Balancing Act Ahead For 2019