The East Asia Dragons and India India’s Only Newsletter which cover East Asia- Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Mongolia & Global News News, Tenders, Jobs, Announcements, B2B and More Volume: 10 Issue: 3 Bangalore 19 Oct – 25 Oct 20201 ------I. East Asia News
Japan:
1. Japan: Japanese doctor warns of 'locomotive syndrome' among children due to lack of exercise 2. Japan: Japan expects fewer newborns in 2021 as pandemic affects pregnancies 3. Japan: Japanese University Medical Systems firm develop 1st breath-based virus testing technology 4. 1st-ever iPS visual cell transplant performed without complications in Japan 5. Japan: Japan to make plastic recycling mandatory for large corporate users 6. Japan: Suntory Launches New Joint Venture Company to Develop Plastics Recycling Technology 7. Japan: Kyocera develops see-through car dashboards for better visibility 8. Japan: Researchers discover how gum disease can cause dementia 9. Japan: Budget airline Zipair starts Tokyo-Seoul passenger service despite pandemic 10. Japan: Mitsubishi Motors, Thai gov't firm to mull EV-to-home power supply
Korea:
11. Korea: Samsung Heavy Industries succeeds in remote autonomous operation trial of 300-ton ship 12. Korea: Russia to produce COVID-19 vaccines in S. Korea 13. Korea: Height, weight and marital status discrimination limits expanded 14. Korea: Six more people expire after getting flu shots 15. Korea: Seoul to get U.S. drone intelligence system 16. Korea: Vietnamese prime minister asks Samsung to open a chip plant 17. Korea: Posco and two others to develop smart tree water 18. Korea: SK hynix to acquire Intel‘s NAND business for $9 billion 19. Korea: Automakers race to incorporate blockchain technology 20. Korea on alert after China announces countermeasures against US sanctions against Huawei
China:
21. China: China passes law to restrict exports for national security reasons 22. China: America designates six more Chinese media firms as foreign missions 23. China: China Vs Japan at Senkaku Islands? China opens digital museum on disputed islets 24. China: China says U.S. should stop meddling after exiled Tibetan leader visits State Department 25. China: China‘s economic recovery quickens in Q3 but misses forecasts 26. China: Canada-China spat heats up over ambassador‘s alleged threat 27. China: Beijing blasts Suga over free, open Indo-Pacific region push 28. China: China develops high-speed train to run on different rail systems
1 Online Digital Newsletter T S Chandrasekhar No 391 20 Cross Maruthi Nagar Sonehanlli, Ullal Upnagar Post Bangalore 560110 Karnataka India "Email. [email protected] Digital Newsletter Comments and Suggestions at [email protected] Home Page: https://eastasianewsletter.com/
29. China: China‘s largest COVID-19 vaccine R&D enterprise sees rapid progress in phase III clinical trial 30. China: China's 5G network has over 600,000 base stations
Taiwan News:
31. Taiwan: Foreign Minister Wu seeks stronger Taiwan-India trade, cultural ties 32. Taiwan: Research center conducts rapid cancer detection trials 33. Taiwan: U.S. announces sale of three arms packages to Taiwan 34. Taiwan: Government releases app that gives precise hourly rain forecasts
Mongolia:
35. Mongolia: Mongolia donates 30000 Sheep to China
II. Global News:
36. America: American FDA Approves First COVID-19 Drug: Antiviral Remdesivir 37. America: Ford puts robotic dogs in driver's seat at manufacturing plant 38. Africa: Millions of New Rapid COVID Antigen Test Kits Headed to Africa 39. America: US Emphasizes Joint Security Concerns as It Deepens Ties With Brazil 40. South East Asia: Malaysia Goldman Sachs to Pay Record Fine Over 1MDB Scandal 41. SE Asia: Singapore energy storage systems to help maintain reliable source of solar power supply 42. England: China Is Biggest Long-Term Threat to Britain, Says UK Spy Chief 43. 5G: Is Chinese 5G Not Living Up to Its Hype? 44. Caucasus: Pompeo Criticizes Turkey's Involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict 45. Russia: Recovery of global economy and oil demand may start in 2021 — Rosneft CEO
III. India News
46. Jio planning to sell 5G smartphones for Rs 2,500-3,000 a piece 47. Granules India gets USFDA nod for potassium chloride tablets used to treat hypokalemia 48. To boost shipbuilding in India, Ministry of Shipping amends ROFR licensing conditions 49. India is the world's fastest growing OTT market 50. HIL manufactures over 530 tonne of Malathion Technical in first two quarters of current financial year
IV. Others: Jobs
Tenders & Sale:
V. B2B Business Partnerships Happy Dussera, Navratri from the Land of Festivals I. East Asia News:
Japan:
1. Japan: Japanese doctor warns of 'locomotive syndrome' among children due to lack of exercise
The Japanese Orthopaedic Association introduced "locomotive syndrome" condition in 2007. It is the Condition when people do not get enough exercise spend too much time on their smartphones or playing video games or bedridden. It can lead to injuries and other damage, and if left unresolved, there is a danger of patients easily breaking their bones or becoming bedridden in the future. Due to pandemic lack of places to play outside, prolonged school closures are also a concern. The Japanese Clinical Orthopaedic Association conducted a survey from late July to mid-August asking about 12,000 orthopedic patients and others about the effects of staying inside due to the pandemic and its observation."
2. Japan: Japan expects fewer newborns in 2021 as pandemic affects pregnancies
Japan expects to see the number of newborns drop sharply next year after the number of pregnancies reported across the country fell 11.4 percent in the three months from May compared to a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, the health ministry said. It is believed that many couples have postponed having children for economic reasons as the pandemic worsens the employment situation. Travel restrictions are also thought to have contributed in a country where many women return to their parents' homes to prepare for giving birth. Measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in hospitals, including a controversial requirement for mask- wearing during delivery and restrictions on visits by expectant mothers' spouses and other family members, are also thought to have discouraged plans for children. All 47 prefectures logged a decline, with Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan seeing the biggest fall at 29.7 percent, followed by Aomori Prefecture to the country's northeast at 23.7 percent and Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan at 22.5 percent.
3. Japan: Japanese University Medical Systems firm develop 1st breath-based virus testing technology
A method to detect the presence of the coronavirus in exhaled breath has been developed jointly by Tohoku University here in Sendai and Kyoto-based Shimadzu Corp., the two organizations announced on Oct. 16. The two groups say it's the world's first technology that uses a method of analyzing viruses and proteins that exist in aspirated air. Not only does it have the same precision as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the results come out in about an hour, and the test can even diagnose the risks of a person's condition becoming dire. The developers of the technology plan to work on creating a smaller version of the device to make it possible for use at home, as well as to go forward with clinical trials to make the practical application of the method a reality. This testing method uses the latest technology called "breathomics." It entails collecting exhaled breath for approximately five minutes, and putting that through an analytical device.
4. 1st-ever iPS visual cell transplant performed without complications in Japan
The world's first clinical trial of a transplant of visual cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, to treat a patient with pigmentary retinal degeneration was performed without any complications, a Japanese research team said. The team, including medical staff from Kobe City Eye Hospital in the western Japan prefecture of Hyogo, successfully completed the roughly two-hour operation on a woman in her 60s, also from western Japan, earlier this month. Around 30,000 people have the genetic disorder in Japan, which can cause vision problems due to a progressive loss of photoreceptor cells in the retina, and there is no known treatment.
In the clinical trial, iPS cells grown from the blood cells of a healthy donor were cultured into three-dimensional retinal tissue, and then made into a sheet -- with a diameter of 1 millimeter and thickness of 0.2 millimeter -- containing photoreceptor cells. The sheet was transplanted in three slices into the retina of the patient's right eye. Developed by Kyoto University's Shinya Yamanaka, who won the 2012 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work in the area, iPS cells can grow into any type of body tissue. The world's first clinical test using iPS cells was conducted in 2014 by the government-backed Riken research institute, with retinal pigment epithelial cells transplanted into an individual with an eye disease known as wet-type age-related macular degeneration.
5. Japan: Japan to make plastic recycling mandatory for large corporate users
The Japanese government plans to make the recycling of plastic materials used at offices and factories mandatory from April 2022 at the earliest to increase the low recycling rate for plastic waste resulting from corporate activities. Of the 8.91 million tons of plastic waste Japan generated in 2018, 4.62 million came from the corporate sector, and most of it was incinerated. The government aims to submit a bill to oblige companies, excluding small firms, to recycle their plastic waste in the ordinary parliament session next year, they said. The government has already decided earlier this year to fully recycle about 4.29 million tons a year of plastic waste generated by households. Some municipalities still do not have a system to collect plastic packaging waste, such as food trays and bottles, while items like toys and stationery are mostly incinerated or dumped at landfills. The government is promoting reduced use and recycling of plastics for resource conservation and pollution control, aiming to cut disposable plastics waste by 25 percent by 2030.
6. Japan: Suntory Launches New Joint Venture Company to Develop Innovative Anellotech Plas- TCat Plastics Recycling Technology
Suntory Monozukuri Expert Ltd. (SME), a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings Ltd., announced the establishment of R Plus Japan Ltd., a new joint venture company that will invest in the development of cutting-edge recycling technology for used plastics. R Plus Japan was established in partnership with 11 other cross-industry partners within the plastics supply chain. This collaboration aims to find effective solutions to address plastics waste issues to create a more sustainable society. Many plastic packaging materials are unable to be recycled and are instead thrown away after a single use, often landfilled, incinerated , or littered. Unlike the existing multi-step processes which first liquefies plastic waste back into low value ―synthetic oil‖ intermediate products, Anellotech‘s Plas-TCat chemical recycling technology uses a one-step thermal-catalytic process. This process converts single-use plastics directly into basic chemicals such as benzene, toluene, xylenes (BTX), ethylene, and propylene, which can then be used to make new plastics. The technology‘s process efficiency has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption. Once utilized across the industry, this technology will be able to more efficiently recycle single-use plastic, one of the world‘s most urgent challenges.
7. Japan: Kyocera develops see-through car dashboards for better visibility
Offering a look to the future of driving, Kyocera Corp.'s new technology renders the automobile dashboard ―transparent‖ so the driver can have a much wider view of the road and surroundings ahead. The system, unveiled in late September, uses the so-called optical camouflage technique by projecting the outdoor landscape on the dashboard, allowing motorists to easily detect obstacles before starting their cars. Also rolled out the same day was the Moeye concept vehicle fitted with the transparency technology. It has eight cameras on its front to show images taken from them projected on the dashboard. According to Kyocera, the prototype car was developed with Masahiko Inami, a human informatics professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology of the University of Tokyo.
8. Japan: Researchers discover how gum disease can cause dementia
Researchers from Kyushu University Japan and China‘s Beijing Institute of Technology said they have unlocked the mystery of how gum-disease bacteria invade the body to cause dementia--a discovery that could lead to preventative measures. ―Our study revealed that periodontal disease bacteria speed up the accumulation of an abnormal protein in the brain,‖ said Hiro Take, an associate professor of neuroscience at Kyushu University. ―There is a possibility that treating and preventing this disease may stop dementia from occurring or progressing.‖ The research team directly administered gum disease bacteria into the abdomens of mice for three weeks so they would develop the condition. That led the researchers to compare the infected mice with their healthy counterparts. The results showed a key receptor protein, which carries amyloid beta into the brain, had doubled in its amount on the surface of the cerebral blood vessels in the mice with periodontal disease. The amount of amyloid beta in brain cells rose tenfold as well.
9. Japan: Budget airline Zipair starts Tokyo-Seoul passenger service despite pandemic
Japanese budget airline Zipair Tokyo Inc launched passenger services Friday with its first flights between Tokyo and Seoul, commencing operations after a delay of some five months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic which forced the company to switch to moving cargo. The twice-weekly passenger flights operated by the Japan Airlines Co subsidiary between Narita airport, east of Tokyo, and Incheon International Airport near Seoul also came as business travel between Japan and South Korea resumed last week. The airline plans to make three round-trip flights per week from Oct 25 when the winter schedule begins. The low-cost carrier initially planned to start its passenger service between Narita and Bangkok in May, adding Seoul in July. Instead, Zipair launched commercial operations in June with its passenger jets carrying only cargo to the Thai capital, and to Seoul from September. While global travel demand remains depressed, the new budget airline hopes by starting to operate on the Tokyo-Seoul route its reputation will quickly grow. It plans to add destinations in future including flights between Narita and Honolulu in Hawaii, a very popular destination for Japanese tourists. 10. Japan: Mitsubishi Motors, Thai gov't firm to mull EV-to-home power supply
Mitsubishi Motors Corp has agreed with Thailand's national power generator to cooperate in developing a system that would enable electric vehicles to power homes in case of blackouts and for other purposes. The Japanese automaker's local arm, Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, calling for collaboration on the development, testing and data compilation for energy conversion from EV batteries to the country's power grid, according to a statement. Mitsubishi's "Outlander PHEV" plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle will be used for the project to be undertaken at the National Control Center of the EGAT headquarters in Nonthaburi Province on the northern outskirts of Bangkok. The Mitsubishi subsidiary is scheduled to launch Outlander PHEV production at its plant in the province of Chonburi, eastern Thailand, in 2021. It also plans to set up a booth at the EGAT head office to showcase a package of conceptualized schemes for household use, including the vehicle-to-home power supply system, intended to reduce electricity bills as well as using it as a backup power source.
Korea:
11. Korea: Samsung Heavy Industries succeeds in remote autonomous operation trial of 300-ton ship
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said it succeeded in testing its independently- developed remote autonomous navigation system called SAS. The demonstration, where the 38-meter-long, 300-ton tugboat ―Samsung T-8‖ was operated via SAS from a ground control center in Daejeon, took place in waters off the SHI shipyard on Geoje Island on Wednesday. Although Geoje Island and Daejeon are about 250 kilometers apart, the ship was controlled and operated in real time through wireless communication technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G. ―We plan to utilize artificial intelligence and high-speed communications technology to develop more advanced navigation assistance system, and commercialize it by 2022,‖ said Shim Yong-rae, head of the shipbuilding and marine research institute at SHI.
12. Korea: Russia to produce COVID-19 vaccines in S. Korea
Russia has confirmed that it will produce ―Sputnik V,‖ a coronavirus vaccine developed by Russia, in South Korea. It also said it would reveal the results of a phase three trial as early as in November. Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said in an online seminar on Monday that vaccines will be able to be mass produced in December and they will be made in five countries including South Korea, China, India and Brazil. He also said in an interview last month that negotiations about the production of Sputnik V in South Korea had entered the final stage. Denis Logunov, vice chief at the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, a research institute behind the development of the vaccine, said the results of a phase three trial which involves from 5,000 up to 10,000 participants will be made public as early as next month. Russia said it would export the vaccine to Latin American countries first including Argentina, Peru and Mexico.
13. Korea: Height, weight and marital status discrimination limits expanded
In Korea it may soon be illegal to hire based on height, weight or marital status. A revision to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act was approved at a cabinet meeting Tuesday, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced. Once the revision passes the National Assembly, employers will be penalized if they demand applicants to be single or of a certain height or a certain weight. Sexual harassment at the office will face heavier punishment. Victims of sexual harassment or gender discrimination can apply to the government‘s Labor Relations Committee if the employer does not take corrective action.
14. Korea: Six more people expire after getting flu shots
In Korea Six more fatalities linked to influenza shots the latest in an alarming succession of mysterious deaths across the country are raising alarm about the safety of vaccinations as the country heads into a Covid-complicated winter flu season. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the victim in Seoul received a flu shot at 12 p.m. on Saturday and died 85 hours later early Wednesday morning. She received a vaccine of the type SKYCellflu manufactured by SK Bioscience. In Taegu City officials said the man had been administered Flu Plus Tetra Prefilled Syringe Injection produced by LG Chem, making him the first person to die following the administration of that vaccine type. Health checks are ongoing on 97 other people who received shots of the same type, though no other abnormal cases have yet been found. Last month, health authorities detected that some vaccines distributed by Shinsung Pharm were left at room temperature as they were being shipped to medical facilities. The vaccines were supposed to be kept at temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (35.6 to 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to sustain their potency. One type of side effect sometimes associated with influenza vaccines is anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that may cause rashes or inflammations across the body typically within 30 minutes of contact with the allergen. Another is the Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition triggered by an infection that causes the body‘s immune system to attack peripheral nerves. Autopsies are ongoing into the victims as to whether they may have experienced such conditions.
15. Korea: Seoul to get U.S. drone intelligence system
South Korea will receive a cutting-edge system used to analyze imagery taken by its Global Hawk drones next month from the United States, as well as 16 more F-35A fighter jets by next year, Seoul‘s arms procurement agency said. The system will greatly enhance South Korea‘s capacity to analyze visual intelligence gathered on North Korea through its fleet of four RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawk drones, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). As one of the most expensive and sophisticated unmanned aerial surveillance systems in use, the Global Hawk is equipped with high-resolution imaging devices and radars that enable it to detect objects as small as 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) from an altitude of 20 kilometers (12.4 miles). DAPA further revealed Seoul was upgrading the identification friend or foe (I.F.F.) system installed on the RQ-4 to Mode 5 in line with U.S. requirements. I.F.F. is a term used to identify sets of equipment — including transponders, control panels and encryption devices — that enable military aircraft, naval vessels and antiaircraft systems to distinguish between friendly or hostile targets. DAPA said in its report the country has so far received 24 of the 40 F- 35A jets it bought from the United States in a 2014 deal worth $7.4 billion, and would receive the rest through next year. Seoul last month said once it receives all 40 F-35As, it will launch the next phase of its aerial procurement plan, in which it will double its fleet of F-35 jets by acquiring 20 more A variants and 20 F-35B jets that will operate on the country‘s first aircraft carrier.
16. Korea: Vietnamese prime minister asks Samsung to open a chip plant
The Vietnamese Prime Minister asked Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to build a new semiconductor production line in the country during a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Tuesday. Multiple media outlets reported that Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Lee discussed Samsung‘s business in the southeast Asian country at the government complex in Hanoi. It is still unclear how Lee responded to the proposal, following a similar request last year when they met in Seoul. The prime minister pledged a wide range of incentives if Samsung decides to establish a new chip factory in Vietnam. He said that the Hanoi-based R&D facility will be operational by late 2022 as scheduled and will create jobs for 3,000 engineers. Vietnam is home to two of Samsung‘s smartphone plants, an appliance factory and an R&D center. At the reception, Lee also thanked the Vietnamese government for granting visas to over 3,000 Samsung engineers despite Covid-19 border restrictions.
17. Korea: Posco and two others to develop smart tree water
Posco said it signed a strategic partnership deal with KT and Mystech, a street infrastructure manufacturer, to collaborate on the Smart Green City Initiative. The smart street facility includes blocks that store rainwater and supply water when it is needed and a protection pad that prevents trees from being uprooted. According to Posco, this facility can lengthen the life of plants and reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Posco added that the project will improve the aesthetics of the cities as electric lines and pipes will be buried underground. Posco is planning to merge the capabilities of companies ranging from venture to major firms to develop the smart street facility. The steel company said it will supply special steel frames that do not easily decay and also offer steel technology.
18. Korea: SK hynix to acquire Intel’s NAND business for $9 billion
SK hynix is buying Intel‘s NAND memory and storage business for $9 billion, one of the largest acquisitions in Korean corporate history. The deal will make the Korean chipmaker the second largest NAND flash maker in the world and accelerate Intel‘s retreat from the memory chip business. The deal includes Intel‘s NAND solid-state drive (SSD) business, NAND component and wafer business and the NAND manufacturing facility in Dalian, China. SK will acquire the NAND SSD business and the Dalian facility with the first payment of $7 billion. The acquisition of the remaining assets worth $2 billion, including intellectual property on the design of NAND flash wafers and research workforce, is expected to happen in 2025. The merger will require government approvals, which the two companies aim to finalize by late 2021. Roughly 72 percent of SK hynix's revenue now comes from DRAM chips, while NAND accounted for a much smaller 24 percent.
19. Korea: Automakers race to incorporate blockchain technology
In Korea Blockchain is slowly making its way into the mainstream, with major automakers adopting the technology to manage in-car payment systems. In blockchain technology called Carpay one can pay at an affiliated gas station, the display in the car asks whether he wants to pay via Carpay, and all one needs to do is to decide on the desired quantity of gas and the payment method. The smart payment method works the same as a mobile payment system like Kakao Pay or Apple Pay, but based in the vehicle car. It simplifies transactions on devices with credit card information or biometrics like fingerprints, eliminating the multi-step certification process. Hyundai Motor first unveiled Genesis Carpay when the GV80 rolled out in January 2020.
Meanwhile, BMW Korea recently created its own cryptocurrency, the BMW coin. Mercedes-Benz built in the ―Welcome Home‖ function in its new S-Class. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, is planning to partner with Ocean Protocol, a blockchain-based data sharing platform headquartered in Singapore, for its business-to-business transactions and also car-sharing services. French automaker Renault is planning to implement its Xceed blockchain project for the entire manufacturing process, from planning to production. Toyota is in the process of developing blockchain technology to be used for self-driving cars, data transactions and car sharing through the Toyota Research Institute. Hyundai Motor‘s IT service unit Hyundai AutoEver is developing technology for creating a cryptocurrency-based market ecosystem, vehicle lifecycle management and forgery prevention for used cars‘ History. The market for automobile-related blockchain technology is expected to grow rapidly. Global consulting firm Simon-Kucher & Partners projected the market to grow up to $120 billion by 2030 in a recent report.
20. Korea on alert after China announces countermeasures against US sanctions against Huawei
South Korean companies signaled a cautious mood after the Chinese government announced plans to avoid imports of items ―contrary to national security‖ in response to US measures against the company Huawei. The action could spell trouble for Samsung Electronics and LG Innotek, which sell camera modules to Huawei; Samsung Display, which supplies it with screen panels; and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which sell it memory semiconductors. Huawei‘s own calculations put the scale of South Korean component purchasing at 5–7 trillion won (US$4.21-5.89 billion) per year. Whether it‘s parts or semiconductors, Huawei is definitely a big customer for some domestic companies,‖ an industry source in Seoul said. While Huawei not having access to the US market hasn‘t been a huge variable [for the South Korean parts companies], their sales are definitely going to drop if they can‘t supply products to Huawei at all,‖ the source added.
Korea Telecom is currently weighing whether to exclude Huawei equipment from its financial network advancement efforts. LG U+ also opted not to use Huawei equipment when setting up a 5G communications network supply chain around US military bases. SK Telecom made plans to use Huawei for only a portion of its cable network, without using it for the construction of its backbone or core network. But all three telecoms stressed that nothing had been finalized, adding that they would still be using the equipment they had previously acquired. The same situation was seen among companies using Huawei network equipment. Hyundai Motor, which uses Huawei equipment for its Chinese joint venture‘s intranet, announced that it would continue using the items, which it said were unrelated to its automobile products. The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which used Huawei equipment to establish its network, said there was ―no reason to leave Huawei out of competitive bidding‖ for the replacement of its equipment later this year.Meanwhile, one area has been reaping rewards from the deepening divide between Huawei and the US: the Samsung Electronics smartphone and communications equipment manufacturing sector, which now enjoys an opportunity to capture the Southeast Asian and European markets previously held down by Huawei. Already, some customers are taking their Huawei mobile phone devices to second-hand markets over fears that they won‘t link up with Google; device prices have fallen by the equivalent of anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 won (US$84.15-252.44). Samsung Electronics‘ Singapore office is currently selling smartphones at a discount in a move to target Huawei device users.
China:
21. China: China passes law to restrict exports for national security reasons
China passed a new export control law that empowers the country to restrict the exports of specific products for national security reasons. The Export Control Law composed of 5 chapters and 49 articles, including general provisions. The thrust of the new law is to empower the Chinese government to take measures appropriate to the situation against specific countries or regions that damage China‘s national interest or national security by abusing export control measures. The passage of the law gave China a legal framework for responding effectively to American sanctions imposed on Chinese companies such as Huawei, ByteDance, and Tencent.
22. China: America designates six more Chinese media firms as foreign missions
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the State Department was designating the U.S. operations of six more China-based media companies as foreign missions, a move he said was aimed at pushing back against communist propaganda. United States would launch a dialogue on China with the European Union on Friday and that on Sunday he would begin a trip to India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Indonesia. He said he expected the meetings would include discussions about how ―free nations can work together to thwart threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.‖ The State Department named the newly designated publications as the Yicai Global, Jiefang Daily, the Xinmin Evening News, Social Sciences in China Press, the Beijing Review, and the Economic Daily. It brought to 15 the number of Chinese media outlets so designated this year.
23. China: China Vs Japan at Senkaku Islands? China opens digital museum on disputed islets in E. China Sea
China opened a digital museum aimed at demonstrating the country's claims to the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. China calls the uninhabited islets Diaoyu. The museum is currently viewable only in Chinese but will be available later in other languages, such as English, Japanese and French, according to the report. The dispute over ownership of the islets has often strained Japan-China relations. China has frequently sent official ships to waters around the islets in a bid to push its claims to them. The museum is located at: http://www.diaoyudao.org.cn/dydbwg.html
Seishiro Eto, chair of the Liberal Democratic Party's national defense all-parliamentary group told "an extremely serious problem relating to our nation's sovereignty, under the current situation in which China is raising its provocation level." Japan Self-Defense Forces equip airports and ports on the country's southwestern islands ready to be usable, to install air search radars on patrolling Japan Coast Guard vessels, and the installation of new lighthouses and other wireless radio stations.
24. China: China says U.S. should stop meddling after exiled Tibetan leader visits State Department
Lobsang Sangay, the president of the Tibetan Central Administration (CTA), met the new U.S. special coordinator on Tibet last week. Sangay said it was the first time that the head of the CTA had been received at the State Department. China‘s irritation with the United States over Tibet comes at a time when relations between the two world powers are at their lowest point in decades over a range of issues, including trade, Taiwan, human rights, the South China Sea and the coronavirus. Describing Sangay as an anti-China separatist, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the United States should cease any official contact with him. China seized control over Tibet in 1950 International human rights groups and exiles routinely condemn what they call China‘s oppressive rule in Tibetan areas. Since its formation in 1959, the Tibetan government-in-exile has been based in Dharamshala in northern India. China‘s relations with India became fraught in recent months following a bloody clash between troops stationed on the disputed Himalayan border.
25. China: China’s economic recovery quickens in Q3 but misses forecasts
China stepped up its economic recovery in the third quarter from the coronavirus shock but missed forecasts, pointing to continued challenges for one of the few drivers of global growth this year. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9 percent in July-September from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said slower than the median 5.2 percent forecast by analysts following 3.2 percent growth in the second quarter. The world‘s second-largest economy grew 0.7 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier, NBS said. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP rose 2.7 percent in July-September, the bureau said, compared with expectations for a 3.2 percent rise and an 11.5 percent rise in the previous quarter. Industrial output grew 6.9 percent in September from a year earlier, after a 5.6 percent rise in August, while retail sales grew 3.3 percent, versus a 0.5 percent rise in August. Fixed-asset investment rose 0.8 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier, after dipping 0.3 percent in the first eight months. The International Monetary Fund has forecast an expansion of 1.9 percent for China for the full year, the only major economy expected to report growth in 2020.
26. China: Canada-China spat heats up over ambassador’s alleged threat
China‘s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, branded pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as violent criminals and said if Canada grants them asylum it would amount to interference in China‘s internal affairs. ―If the Canadian side really cares about the stability and the prosperity in Hong Kong, and really cares about the good health and safety of those 300,000 Canadian passport- holders in Hong Kong, and the large number of Canadian companies operating in Hong Kong SAR, you should support those efforts to fight violent crimes,‖ Cong said in a video news conference from the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. Asked if his remarks amounted to a threat, Cong replied, ―That is your interpretation.‖ Canada‘s deputy prime minister, Chrystia Freeland said in Parliament on Monday that the ambassador‘s comments ―are not in any way in keeping with the spirit of appropriate diplomatic countries between two countries.‖ Freeland said Canada will speak out for human rights in China and said Canada will support its citizens living in Hong Kong. ―Let me also reassure the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong that a Canadian is a Canadian and we will stand with them.‖ Freeland said. Meanwhile, Erin O‘Toole, the leader of Canada‘s main opposition Conservative party, said Monday that Cong had threatened Canadians in Hong Kong and called on the envoy to either apologize or leave. Cherie Wong, the executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong, a group that advocates for Hong Kong‘s pro-democracy movement, called Cong‘s comment a ―direct threat‖ to all Canadians.
27. China: Beijing blasts Suga over free, open Indo-Pacific region push
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga refrained from mentioning China when he pushed for a free and open Indo- Pacific region, but Beijing still criticized the Japanese leader in his first official overseas trip. His visit to Vietnam and Indonesia, two major ASEAN members, clearly showed he intends to carry on the free and open Indo-Pacific objective of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, despite Beijing‘s objections. China‘s state-run Xinhua News Agency transmitted a report on Oct. 18 said Suga‘s first overseas visit, ―It was an attempt to bring the ASEAN members into the Indo-Pacific framework being pushed by the United States and Japan.‖ At his Oct. 21 news conference in Jakarta, Suga said the free and open Indo-Pacific concept ―was not aimed at any specific nation.‖ However, China has already made clear that it feels targeted by the concept. In Tokyo on Oct. 6, the foreign ministers of Japan, the United States, Australia and India reached an agreement to expand the range covered by a free and open Indo-Pacific framework. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited five ASEAN nations before Suga‘s trip and said in Malaysia on Oct. 13, ―The United States, Japan, India and Australia are planning to create an Indo-Pacific version of NATO.‖ He called on ASEAN members to distance themselves from the free and open Indo-Pacific concept because ―it would damage the framework for regional cooperation.‖
28. China: China develops high-speed train to run on different rail systems
Chinese train maker CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. rolled out a new type of high-speed train which can run on different rail systems. The train, with a standard speed of 400 km per hour, has been developed to cope with different rail systems on international routes, making international rail travel more convenient. The company said the train can operate in temperatures between minus 50 degrees Celsius and 50 degrees Celsius, and can also operate under different traction power supply systems and railway transportation standards of different countries. Based on the prototype and technology, the company is ready to take orders for customized high-speed trains and train products according to the technical standards and operational requirements of various regions of the world. There are currently four main railway track standards around the world. When ordinary trains run between countries with different gauges, they need to replace their train bogies, which takes time and effort. As the new CRRC train is equipped with gauge- changing bogies, it can change its rail mode during cross-border travel, greatly improving the efficiency of travel across rail systems.
29. China: China’s largest COVID-19 vaccine R&D enterprise sees rapid progress in phase III clinical trial
China National Biotech Group (CNBG), the vaccine and bioscience unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), is China‘s largest and the world‘s fifth largest human vaccine R&D and manufacturing enterprise, with an annual output of over 700 million vaccine doses. Sinopharm CNBG is the first in the world to develop a COVID-19 inactivated vaccine, as well as the first to launch international phase III clinical trials for inactivated COVID-19 vaccines. To date, two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines developed and produced by Sinopharm are undergoing phase III clinical trials in multiple countries, including the UAE, Bahrain and Peru. The company has built large-scale production facilities for inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in Beijing and Wuhan, with a combined capacity of 300 million vaccine doses per year.
30. China: China's 5G network has over 600,000 base stations
China is stepping up the construction of its 5G network, and has now built over 600,000 5G base stations, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). With the rapid increase in 5G users, the number of connected devices on the network has exceeded 150 million, data from the ministry showed. "In the next three years, China will be at the introduction stage of 5G development, so it is necessary to make proactive moves in construction," said Wen Ku, an official with the MIIT. The COVID- 19 epidemic has accelerated the implementation of digital applications, aided by the development of 5G. These include various digital products, services and solutions. As the number of 5G users continues to increase, innovative services related to 5G will grow substantially, said Liu Duo, head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
Taiwan News:
31. Taiwan: Foreign Minister Wu seeks stronger Taiwan-India trade, cultural ties
Taiwan is seeking to deepen friendship and expand trade and cultural exchanges with New Southbound Policy target country India, according to Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu. The New Southbound Policy gives Taiwan and India an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in many areas such as agriculture, economy, education, health care, and science and technology, Wu said. This partnership is in line with the interests of both democracies and will assist in promoting inclusive prosperity, he added. According to Wu, the bilateral investment agreement signed by Taiwan and India in December 2018 paved the way for local businesses to commit more than US$2.3 billion and create over 65,000 jobs to date. It is believed this momentum will enable the two sides to cultivate more opportunities in potential-laden industries of the future, as well as strengthen high-tech industry supply chains, he said. The NSP seeks to deepen Taiwan‘s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
32. Taiwan: Research center conducts rapid cancer detection trials
A technique that can detect up to 10 types of cancer in a few minutes by identifying abnormalities in tissue and cell samples is currently undergoing a clinical trial and could soon be available in general practice, according to the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center. Compared with common cancer screening methods, which take hours or days to produce results, the approach, which uses a technique called infrared wax physisorption kinetics (iR-WPK), produces results in six to 15 minutes, Lee Yao-chang, an associate research scientist at the center, said at a press conference in Taipei on Tuesday. The automated digital imaging technique can be used as an alternative to existing methods, the disadvantages of which include the need to destroy samples and requiring manual interpretation, said Lee. The technique can identify colorectal cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, oral cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, neuroendocrine tumor, and glioblastoma, the center noted. The clinical trials have been conducted at Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in New Taipei, Hsinchu Mackay Memorial Hospital, as well as Chi Mei Medical Center and National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, according to the center. Lee is also working with Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Imperial College in London to research the use of the technique in providing prognoses for kidney transplant patients, the center said.
33. Taiwan: U.S. announces sale of three arms packages to Taiwan
The U.S. government announced plans to sell Taiwan three packages of weapon systems worth a total of US$1.81 billion, including standoff land attack missiles and HIMARS rocket launchers. One of the packages, with an estimated cost of US$1.008 billion, include 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) Missiles; four ATM-84H SLAM-ER Telemetry Missiles; and 12 CATM- 84H Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM), DSCA said. Also included in this package are 151 containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor representatives' technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support. Another package, with an estimated cost of US$436.1 million, includes 11 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) M142 Launchers; 64 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) M57 Unitary Missiles; seven M1152Al High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); 11 M240B Machine Guns, 7.62MM; and 17 International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems (IFATDS).
Also included are 54 M28A2 Low Cost Reduced Range Practice Rocket Pods (LCRRPR); 11 M2Al machine guns, .50 caliber; 22 AN/NRC-92E dual radio systems; seven AN/NRC-92E dual radio ground stations; 15 AN/VRC-90E single radio systems; 11 M1084A2 cargo Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) Resupply Vehicles (RSV); two M1089A2 cargo wrecker FMTV RSV; 11 M1095 trailer cargo FMTV, 5-ton; support equipment; communications equipment; spare and repair parts; test sets; laptop computers; training and training equipment; publication; systems integration support; technical data; Stockpile Reliability Program (SRP); Quality Assurance and Technical Assistance Teams; U.S. government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support.
The last package, with an estimated cost of US$367.2 million, includes six MS-110 Recce Pods; three Transportable Ground Stations; one Fixed Ground station; spare and repair parts; repair and return; site surveys; integration and test equipment; system support and equipment; personnel training and training equipment; publications and technical documentation; U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support. America stressed that the proposed sales serve U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting Taiwan's continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability. Also, the proposed sales will help improve Taiwan's security and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, economic and progress in the region, the agency said, adding that the proposed sales will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
34. Taiwan: Government releases app that gives precise hourly rain forecasts
A new mobile application developed by the Taiwan Government was launched Tuesday, with the goal of providing location-specific information about impending rain. The free app gives the hourly rain forecast within a radius of 10 kilometers of the user's location, said Chen Hongey director of the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), which developed the Chinese-language app (Download: iOS / Android) It also has detailed radar scanning ability, which can show precipitation and clouds over a wider area, Chen said. He said it can issue an alert 30 minutes before rain is about to start in the user's location but cannot predict how long the showers will last. The precise rain forecasting app was developed by integrating data collected by Taiwan's FormoSat-7 weather research satellites and 11 Central Weather Bureau weather radar stations and incorporating a 60-minute rain forecast technology jointly developed by National Central University and National Taiwan University, according to Chen. Since March, FormoSat-7 satellites have been providing 4,000 atmospheric profiles per day to a numerical weather prediction model, according to the NCDR. That volume of data has successfully increased Taiwan's weather forecast accuracy by 6-10 percent, the NCDR said.
Mongolia: 35. Mongolia: Mongolia donates 30000 Sheep to China
During his visit to the People's Republic of China on February 27, 2020, President of Mongolia Kh.Battulga handed over a certification of donation of 30,000 sheep to President of China Xi Jinping to help China fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. With regard to this, a working group headed by Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan was set up upon the Prime Minister‘s ordinance on August 5, responsible for purchasing healthy and vaccinated sheep without any infectious diseases from local herders and delivering them to China. The 30,000 sheep had been collected from herders in Khentii, Sukhbaatar and Dornogobi aimag and each one of them went under thorough veterinary examination. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President G.Tegshjargal, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Munkhjin, members of the Mongolian- Chinese parliamentary friendship group, Ambassador of Mongolia to China T.Badral, Ambassador of China to Mongolia Chai Wenrui, other officials from two countries and local herders.
II. Global News:
36. America: American FDA Approves First COVID-19 Drug: Antiviral Remdesivir
U.S. regulators approved the first drug to treat COVID-19: remdesivir, an antiviral medicine given to hospitalized patients through an IV. The drug, which California-based Gilead Sciences Inc. is calling Veklury, cut recovery time from 15 days to 10 on average in a large study led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It has been authorized for use on an emergency basis since spring, and it now becomes the first drug to win full Food and Drug Administration approval for treating COVID-19. President Donald Trump received it when he was diagnosed earlier this month with the disease caused by the coronavirus. Veklury is approved for people at least 12 years old and weighing at least 40 kilograms (88 pounds) who are hospitalized for a coronavirus infection. For patients younger than 12, the FDA will still allow the drug's use in certain cases under its previous emergency authorization.
The drug works by inhibiting a substance the virus uses to make copies of itself. Certain kidney and liver tests are required before starting patients on it to ensure it's safe for them and to monitor for any possible side effects. And the label warns against using it with the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, because that can curb its effectiveness. Gilead charges $2,340 for a typical treatment course for people covered by government health programs in the United States and other developed countries, and $3,120 for patients with private insurance. The amount that patients pay out of pocket depends on insurance, income and other factors.
37. America: Ford puts robotic dogs in driver's seat at manufacturing plant
A Ford plant in Michigan is using Robotic dogs in a new era of computer-aided design and economic efficiencies for the auto manufacturer. They were manufactured by Boston Dynamics, which specializes in sophisticated robotic construction. Their tasks will be to traverse the Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and scan the layout to help engineers create more efficient layouts for periodic upgrading and retooling projects. Each dog is equipped with five cameras capable of 360-degree scans. They can trot at speeds up to 3 mph and navigate stairs up to a 30-degree angle. Battery time is somewhat limited at just under two hours. But a more robust companion robot, Scouter, serves as a chauffeur for the digital pooches for lengthier jaunts throughout the plant. Scouter, which is larger and bulkier and cannot access many areas Fluffy and Spot can, allows the two to conserve battery power. The computerized canines are indeed a rare breed; they cost $75,000 apiece. Ford currently is leasing the pair. Boston Dynamics has dispatched Spot's cousins to other spots around the world.
38. Africa: Millions of New Rapid COVID Antigen Test Kits Headed to Africa
New rapid coronavirus testing, soon to be available throughout Africa, could be a ―game changer‖ for the continent, the World Health Organization said. The new, cheaper, less fragile tests could help health systems identify and treat cases more quickly, said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization‘s Regional Director for Africa. 20 million antigen tests are being distributed to low and middle income countries, she said, with many headed to the continent. For example, Senegal has significantly boosted its testing capacity, but it still is testing 14 times less than the Netherlands. Nigeria is testing 11 times less than Brazil.‖ Unlike the currently used polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests, these tests don‘t require labs for processing. They‘re also cheaper and don‘t rely on expensive, fragile reagents, like the PCR tests do. The new tests seek specific proteins called antigens on the surface of the virus, and can yield results in less than 30 minutes without needing to be sent to a high-tech lab. As a result, the new tests can also be deployed to rural clinics, allowing health systems to find cases outside of major population centers.
39. America: US Emphasizes Joint Security Concerns as It Deepens Ties With Brazil
Warming relations between the United States and Brazil largest country in South America received a boost with an update to an existing bilateral trade agreement, along with the commitment of billions of U.S. dollars to boost Brazilian industries. Ambassador Nestor Forster, Jr. said the newly signed protocol, which covers ―trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, and anti-corruption measures,‖ is designed to bring concrete results by cutting red tape to ensure that business processes are more transparent and more inclusive. Forster said the new guidelines will help by ―opening up the process for private sector participation, civil society participation, with public hearings, etc. … These are real things that are felt by people on the ground who are on day-to-day operations; we had tremendous support‖ from the business community and other stakeholders. U.S. officials indicated that geostrategic concerns figured as prominently as trade and economics as the two countries move closer under presidents Trump and Bolsonaro.
The telecommunications sector, including 5G, is identified as among the industries that the funding initiative, led by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, seeks to strengthen. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed another mutual benefit from the relationship when he addressed a virtual forum organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opened by Bolsonaro. ―To the extent we can find ways that we can increase the trade between our two countries, we can ... decrease each of our two nations‘ dependence for critical items‖ coming from China, Pompeo was quoted as saying. Pompeo has called on other U.S. allies to exclude equipment from Huawei as they build their 5G networks, warning that the Chinese telecom giant‘s hardware could be used for espionage. ―The tide continues to turn toward global 5G security,‖ Pompeo said this week, thanking Japan for ―supporting the basic concept of 5G Clean Path.‖ He said the United States ―call[s] on all freedom-loving nations and companies to join the Clean Network.‖
40. South East Asia: Malaysia Goldman Sachs to Pay Record Fine Over 1MDB Scandal
The Asian subsidiary of Goldman Sachs pleaded guilty after admitting Thursday the company ―knowingly and willingly‖ conspired to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Representatives of the firm admitted violating U.S. anti-bribery laws by engaging in bribery that resulted in the looting of billions of dollars from a fund designed to increase economic development in the country. Money raised by Goldman Sachs went toward financing the lavish lifestyles of Malaysian officials, who spent the funds on mega-yachts, a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills and a share of the Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street." The Justice Department said the firm's involvement goes against the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans U.S. companies from paying foreign government officials for help in securing business ventures. The bribery resulted in Goldman Sachs‘ role as an adviser on energy acquisitions and provided opportunities to secure a role in the highly anticipated and lucrative initial public offering for 1MDB‘s energy assets. The settlement allows the firm to avoid facing criminal convictions.
41. South East Asia: Singapore deploys energy storage systems to help maintain reliable source of solar power supply
Singapore has deployed its first utility-scale energy storage system at a substation in Woodlands, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) said on Thursday (Oct 22). Its capacity is equivalent to powering more than 200 four-room HDB households for a day. The EMA said that while "solar is the most viable renewable energy source for Singapore", solar energy faces intermittency challenges due to cloud cover and rain in Singapore's tropical climate. These challenges can be mitigated with the energy storage system, which enables the storage of solar energy for later use. "Solar is the most viable renewable energy source for Singapore," said EMA. However, solar energy faces intermittency challenges due to cloud cover and rain in Singapore's tropical climate. These challenges can be mitigated with the energy storage system, which enables the storage of solar energy for later use. "The fast response nature of ESS will also help to maintain a reliable source of power supply when solar installations are affected by weather changes. The energy storage system will participate in the wholesale electricity market to mitigate intermittency and reduce peak demand. It will also provide insights into the performance of energy storage systems in Singapore's hot and humid environment, and aid in establishing technical guidelines, the authority said.
42. England: China Is Biggest Long-Term Threat to Britain, Says UK Spy Chief
The head of Britain‘s domestic spy agency outlined a cauldron of threats the country is facing, including from Islamist militancy to rising right-wing extremism, but he emphasized the biggest long-term challenge is presented by China. Russia currently poses the biggest state-based threat to Britain, but China will become more dangerous in the future, Ken McCallum told reporters in London in his first public remarks as the new head of MI5. He warned that Beijing has been seeking to steal the intellectual property of British businesses, including pharmaceutical companies, and universities. McCallum accused hostile states like China and Russia, of no longer just being focused on the traditional espionage activity of stealing government secrets, but also of targeting Britain‘s economy and infrastructure, and seeking to undermine its democracy. McCallum, called for a register to be set up of foreign agents that would require lobbyists, trade advisers, lawyers and others paid by foreign powers to list their activities. Such registers currently exist in the U.S. and Australia. That would help to fight underhand ―interference and influence, which is distinct from the espionage risk,‖ he said. The British government is currently drafting a new National Security and Investment Bill that would allow business deals and takeovers involving defense and critical infrastructure businesses to be blocked by authorities, if they fear there‘s a risk to key British assets.
43. 5G: Is Chinese 5G Not Living Up to Its Hype?
5G is one of the biggest technology investments in China's recent history. China launched commercial 5G networks in September 2019 one can see it on Mounted on rooftops, utility poles and streetlights throughout hundreds of thousands of high-tech wireless towers. Yet many of them are operational for only half the day. China Unicom, one of three telecommunication operators, announced in August that its Luoyang branch in Henan province would automatically switch its 5G transmitter stations to sleep mode from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. because there were few people using them. The other two carriers quickly followed suit and since then have rolled out the same policies in other cities across the country. More than a year later, the biggest 5G market is now facing widespread complaints about network speed and skyrocketing costs of deployments. To handle more data at higher speeds, 5G uses higher frequencies than current networks. However, the signals travel shorter distances and encounter more interference.
And to reach the same coverage that 4G currently has, the carriers eventually need to install as many as 10 million stations across the country. In the first half of this year, China only built 257,000 new 5G base stations. The total number of the stations installed across China so far was only about 410,000 by the end of June, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The cost of the energy needed to power 5G has proved to be one of the biggest headaches for Chinese telecommunication companies. If 5G is to reach the same level of coverage as 4G networks, the base station's annual electricity bill will approach $29 billion, according to a report by the China Post and Telecommunications News, a media outlet directly under MIIT. That amount represents about 10 times the 2019 profit of China Telecom, one of the three state-owned telecommunication companies in China. In the early days, there were efforts to make 5G more power-efficient than its predecessors, but the ambitions were quickly dashed as realities settled in. With around $220 billion investment targets China‘s 5G push could become a failed investment. 73.3% of the people polled said they believe that there is no need for the public to buy 5G mobile phones.
44. Caucasus: Pompeo Criticizes Turkey's Involvement in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Turkey‘s involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has increased the risk in the region, reiterating his call for the issue to be resolved through diplomacy. Nagorno-Karabakh is populated and governed by ethnic Armenians. The clashes have raised concerns that Turkey and Russia, which also back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Libya, may get dragged in. Rebuffing criticism from NATO allies, Turkey has accused Armenia of occupying Azeri territory and vowed full support for Azerbaijan. ―The resolution of that conflict ought to be done through negotiation and peaceful discussions, not through armed conflict, and certainly not with third party countries coming in to lend their firepower to what is already a powder keg of a situation,‖ Pompeo said. ―We‘re hopeful that the Armenians will be able to defend against what the Azerbaijanis are doing, and that they will all, before that takes place, get the ceasefire right, and then sit down at the table and try and sort through this,‖ Pompeo said.
45. Russia: Recovery of global economy and oil demand may start in 2021 — Rosneft CEO
Recovery of the global economy and demand for oil may begin as early as 2021, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said at the XIII Eurasian Economic Forum. "According to available estimates, the recovery of the global economy and oil demand may begin as early as 2021. But humanity needs to make coordinated efforts to achieve results. This is a difficult task, but solvable. A good example here is China, which was the first to suffer from the pandemic," he said. "Isolating economies and establishing various barriers are inapplicable in the energy sector and lead to devastating consequences for both producers and consumers of energy resources," he said. He added that the sanctions are hampering the recovery of markets and the world economy.
III. India News
46. Jio planning to sell 5G smartphones for Rs 2,500-3,000 a piece
Reliance Jio is planning to launch a 5G smartphone for less than Rs 5,000 and gradually reduce the price to Rs 2,500-3,000 a unit when it scales up the operation. At present, 5G smartphones are available in India in the price range starting from Rs 27,000. Jio was the first company that launched 4G mobile phones in India free for consumers where they were required to pay a refundable deposit of Rs 1,500 for a Jio Phone. At 43rd Annual General meeting, Reliance Industries Chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani had asserted to make India ―2G-mukt‖ (free of 2G connections) and emphasised on the need to accelerate migration of 350 million Indians (currently using 2G feature phone) to an affordable smartphone, at a time when India stands at the doorsteps of the 5G era. Ambani had also announced Rs 33,737 crore investment by Google for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, and said Jio will partner with the US tech giant to build an Android-based smartphone operating system. The company is also working on its own 5G network equipment and has asked the Department of Telecom to allocate it spectrum for testing before exporting these products. The government is yet to heed to the request of Reliance Jio.
47. Granules India gets USFDA nod for potassium chloride tablets used to treat hypokalemia
Drug firm Granules India has received marketing approval from the US health regulator for Potassium Chloride extended release tablets, used for treatment of patients with hypokalemia. Hypokalemia is a condition when the potassium level in a patient's blood is too low. Priyanka Chigurupati, Executive Director of Granules Pharma said, "We will be launching this product from our Gagillapur site in Hyderabad, India." Granules now have a total of 34 abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals from the USFDA (32 final approvals and 2 tentative approvals). Citing IQVIA Health data, Granules said Potassium Chloride extended release tablets had US generic sales of approximately US$ 204 million for the most recent 12 months ending in August 2020.
48. To boost shipbuilding in India, Ministry of Shipping amends Right of First Refusal (ROFR) licensing conditions
In pursuance of ‗Make in India‘ policy of the Government of India, Ministry of Shipping has reviewed the ROFR (Right of First Refusal) licensing conditions for chartering of vessels/Ships through tender process for all types of requirements. To promote the demand of the ships built in India, priority in chartering of vessels is given to vessels built in India, flagged in India and owned by Indians under the amendments in the guidelines of ROFR(Right of First Refusal). Now it has been decided that for any kind of charter of a vessel undertaken through a tender process, the Right of First Refusal (RoFR) would be exerted in the following manner: It is to be noted that Ministry of Shipping has made provision for long-term subsidy for shipbuilding activities under shipbuilding financial assistance policy (2016-2026). The Ministry has already disbursed an amount of Rs 61.05 crore till date under this policy. It is an endeavour of the Government to further incentivise shipbuilding by providing additional market access and business support to ships built in India.
49. India is the world's fastest growing OTT market
According to the Media and Entertainment Outlook 2020, a report by, PricewaterhouseCoopers, OTT video, along with Internet advertising, video games and e-sports and music, radio and podcasts are the top four segments expected to see revenue growth in the country over the next four years. India is gearing to emerge as the world‘s sixth- largest OTT (over-the-top streaming) market by 2024. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.6% over the next four years to touch revenues of US$ 2.9 billion. According to the Media and Entertainment Outlook 2020, a report by, PricewaterhouseCoopers, OTT video, along with Internet advertising, video games and e-sports and music, radio and podcasts are the top four segments expected to see revenue growth in the country over the next four years.
India‘s total M&E revenue, however, is expected to grow at a robust rate of 10.1% to reach US$ 55 billion by 2024. Overall, though, global M&E revenues will contract by 5.6% in 2020 over 2019. Rajib Basu, Partner, Entertainment and Media, PwC India said Covid has proven a boon for OTT. Massive investments made by OTT services like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ Hotstar and others in originals as well as acquired content will help subscription video-on-demand make up 93% of the total OTT revenue (as compared to 87% globally), increasing at a CAGR of 30.7% between 2019-2024, from US$ 708 million in 2019 to US$ 2.7 billion. The new at-home environment has led to the rise of new direct-to-consumer apps, local ‗bite- sized‘ entertainment platforms and user-generated content formats, the report says.
50. HIL manufactures over 530 tonne of Malathion Technical in first two quarters of current financial year
Hindustan Insecticides Limited has manufactured highest-ever production of over 530 tonne of Malathion Technical in first two quarters of the current financial year. Chemicals and Fertilizer Ministry said, despite restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has manufactured 530.10 tonnes of Malathion Technical as compared to 375 tonne in corresponding period of last financial year registering a growth of 41 per cent. The company has also registered highest sale of Malathion pesticide during the period and supplied the entire quantity to various institutions like Ministry of Agriculture‘s Locust Control Programme and Municipal Corporations across the country for vector control programme. The company also executed export of Malathion Technical during the period to Iran.
IV. Others: Jobs
Tenders & Sale:
V. B2B Business Partnerships
Sl Company Name Product Contact Address No Develops rugs to treat immune disorders, Hashimoto Electronic certain cancers and viral diseases. 01 https://aimimmuno.com/contact/ Industry Co Ltd One of its drugs is set to be considered as a possible treatment for COVID-19. it has successfully manufactured the active 02 pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) of BrightGene Bio-Medical remdesivir (GS-5734), the Gilead Science http://www.bright-gene.com/en/guestbook.php Technology Co.,Ltd antiviral candidate being tested in China human clinical trials as a treatment for the 2019-nCoV novel coronavirus. 03 Takeda Medicine for COVID-19 TAK-888 https://www.takeda.com/who-we-are/contact-us/ Inovio Pharmaceuticals INO-4800 Testing on COVID-19 https://www.inovio.com/ 04 (INO)
Serum Institute COVID-19 Test Kit http://www.seegene.com/contact_us 05
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