Japan has already provided Ukraine with $1.1 billion in financial, humanitarian and military aid and intends to allocate another $500 million, the Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda said.
“As for the assistance, we have already provided $1.1 billion and we intend to provide another $500 million in aid. We are also considering other aid packages,” the ambassador said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The ambassador stressed that since the first days of the full-scale invasion by Russia, Japan started to provide financial, humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine.
Regarding military aid, he noted that by law Japan cannot directly provide weapons, but for the first time the Japanese government has decided to provide non-lethal equipment, including drones, helmets, body armor, winter clothing, as well as first-aid kits and rations.
“We continue to expand the list. And now we are in talks with our Ukrainian counterparts about the possibility of providing dual-use technology,” the ambassador added.
Matsuda also stressed that Japan also supports Ukraine through diplomatic efforts.
“We are reaching out to those countries that have not yet decided their position on this war, or to those countries that are still remaining neutral. These are the goals of our diplomatic approach. That’s how we try to convince them to support Ukraine or participate in international sanctions regimes,” he said.
An exclusive interview with Japan’s ambassador to Ukraine Kuninori Matsuda will be published on the Interfax-Ukraine website.
Asian stock indices started the working week without any dynamics, while the stock markets of mainland China and Hong Kong went negative on the statistics.
China’s economy expanded 3.9% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the State Bureau of Statistics (GSO) said. Thus, the growth rate accelerated significantly compared to 0.4% in April-June. Analysts on average expected an increase of 3.4-3.5%.
China’s GDP in January-September increased by 3%. This is significantly below the target set by the authorities of the country as a whole for 2022 at the level of about 5.5%, experts say.
Retail sales in the country in September increased by 2.5% compared to the same month a year earlier, the CSO also reported. This is the minimum rate of recovery over the past four months. The consensus forecast assumed growth of 3.3%.
China’s foreign trade surplus widened unexpectedly in September, as import growth was significantly weaker than exports. Imports increased by only 0.3% in annual terms, exports grew by 5.7%. Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal, on average, predicted the growth of the first indicator by 1%, the second – by 4%.
The Chinese Shanghai Composite index decreased by 1.2% by 08:37 Moscow time. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 5.4% to its lowest in more than thirteen years.
Shares of Internet companies Meituan (SPB: 3690) (-12.4%), Baidu Inc. (SPB: BIDU) (-10.7%) and Tencent (SPB: 700) Holdings Ltd. (-9.2%), as well as the developer Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. (-12.2%).
Retailers Alibaba Group (SPB: BABA) and JD.com Inc. (SPB: JD) lost 10.4% and 11%, respectively.
Among the components of Hang Seng, only six stocks show an increase in value, including HSBC bank (+0.5%), developer CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. (+3.4%) and electrical equipment manufacturer Techtronic Industries Co. (+1.1%).
The value of the Japanese Nikkei 225 increased by 0.5% by 08:33 Moscow time.
The stocks of the transport companies Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. have risen most significantly. (+4.4%), Mitsui O.S.K. lines ltd. (+4.2%) and Nippon Yusen K.K. (+3.7%), as well as non-ferrous metal producer Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. (+4.1%).
The South Korean Kospi index added 0.9% by 08:30 Moscow time.
Quotes of securities of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chips and electronics Samsung Electronics Co. rise by 2.7%, while the cost of automaker Hyundai Motor fell by a similar amount.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5%.
The capitalization of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto increased by 2.6% and 1.2%, respectively.
In addition, shares of all four largest banks in the country fell in price: Commonwealth Bank – by 1.2%, ANZ Bank – by 0.2%, Westpac Banking – by 0.6% and National Australia Bank – by 0.7%.
Stock indices of Japan and Australia rose at the auctions on Monday, following the US stock market, which confidently strengthened at the end of last week.
At the same time, the exchanges of China, Hong Kong and South Korea were closed. China celebrates the autumnal equinox, while Korea celebrates Chuseok.
American stock indexes closed trading on Friday with active growth, ending the first week of the last four in positive territory. Investors followed the statements of the world’s central banks and signals about global inflation.
This week, market participants are waiting for data from the US Department of Labor on the dynamics of consumer prices in August, which will be published on Tuesday, as well as data on industrial production, retail sales and capital investment in China in August, which will be released on Friday.
Meanwhile, outbreaks of coronavirus in China and the restrictive measures introduced in connection with them remain a cause for concern, writes MarketWatch.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up 1.16%. The indicator reached its maximum value in two weeks.
The growth leaders among the components of the index are the shares of retailer Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd (+4.7%), providing online medical services M3 Inc. (+3.9%) and rail and bus operator Keisei Electric Railway Co. (+3.6%).
Asia’s largest clothing retailer Fast Retailing rose 2.3%, while automaker Nissan Motor Co. – by 2.45%.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.02%.
The market value of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto increased by 3.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.8%, Westpac Banking Corp. – by 1.04%, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. – by 1.35%.
Ukrainian IT company CHI Software has opened an office in Kobe (Japan).
“Over the past year, with the support of Ukrainian diplomats, the IT Ukraine Association, together with the government of Kobe, organized a number of meetings and webinars, where the Japanese side got acquainted with technological solutions and high-quality IT services from Ukraine. The result of cooperation was the opening of an office of the Ukrainian IT company CHI Software in Kobe,” a statement on the Foreign Ministry’s website said on Thursday.
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began to systematically create new opportunities for cooperation with foreign partners for Ukrainian IT companies back in the spring of last year.
“This work brings results that have become especially relevant during a full-scale war. After all, the stability of the Ukrainian economy is extremely important for winning the war, and every successful negotiation, every new contract, every open office further strengthens it. Ukrainian diplomats are making every effort to provide assistance business and work for results together with exporters,” Kuleba said.
The IT Export Boost project started on March 5, 2021. Its main task is to promote IT exports in foreign markets thanks to the capabilities of the network of diplomatic missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine abroad.
The IT Ukraine Association is the largest specialized association of Ukrainian service and product companies of various sizes in Ukraine. As of December 2021, she represented 120 companies and over 82,000 IT professionals. The task of the association is to provide favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the information technology sector in the country.
Ukraine has received an additional 65 billion Japanese yen (approximately $500 million) in a soft loan under a loan agreement signed by Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko and Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA President Akihiko Tanako.
The loan was granted on preferential terms: the loan repayment period is 30 years, including a grace period of 10 years; the interest rate is 1% per annum, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
The funds were sent to the state budget to finance priority social and humanitarian expenditures, health care, the ministry specified.
The Ministry of Finance recalled that on June 7, the governments of Ukraine and Japan signed an additional agreement on a JICA loan for a development policy in the field of emergency economic recovery. The agreement increased the loan amount by 65 billion Japanese yen, bringing the loan amount to 78 billion Japanese yen (about US$600 million).
Ukraine received the first 13 billion Japanese yen (about $100 million) under the said agreement on May 24.
The Ministry of Finance expected that in June the volume of external financing will increase to $4.8 billion compared to $1.5 billion in May, but before this Japanese loan since the beginning of the month it has so far amounted to only about $1.5 billion.
Japan has taken first place in the world ranking of tourist destinations of the World Economic Forum in 2021, despite the closed borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Demand in the tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit by the COVID 19 pandemic, leaving not only businesses but also the tourism-focused national economy hard hit by travel restrictions and international travel suspensions. Fortunately, there are now positive trends – The recovery of the tourism industry has begun, although not at the same pace around the world or in the same market segments. New factors, such as the war in Ukraine, are also complicating this uneven recovery.
According to the organization’s report, the list includes 117 tourist destinations. Japan topped the rankings for the first time, overtaking the US. Spain and France came in third and fourth respectively. The top 10 includes Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the UK, Singapore and Italy.
According to analysts, Japan ranked fourth in the biennial report on air transport infrastructure and cultural resources, sixth in land and port infrastructure, and 12th in natural resources. In terms of resilience to environmental change, the country took only 107th place.
The Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) is based on 18 criteria, including travel and tourism development, business environment, safety, health and hygiene, human resource utilization and labor market, international openness, pricing policy and competitiveness, air transport infrastructure , socio-economic sustainability and others.
