Volkswagen to partner with Vale, Ford, Huayou on Indonesia EV battery ecosystem -minister

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Volkswagen will build an electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem in Indonesia and will partner with miner Vale, Ford and China’s battery minerals producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, the Southeast Asian country’s investment minister said. Automakers are courting Indonesia for its raw materials used in producing EV batteries, which account for about 40% of …

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Singapore March exports fall 8.3% y/y, drop less than forecast

By Chen Lin SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s March non-oil domestic exports (NODX) shrank 8.3% year-on-year, official data showed on Monday, though the drop was smaller than the previous month and less than forecast. Economists had expected a 20.8% contraction in a Reuters poll. Exports had contracted 15.8% in February. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, …

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Merck to build out immunology presence with $11 billion Prometheus deal

By Michael Erman (Reuters) -Merck & Co said on Sunday it will buy Prometheus Biosciences Inc for about $10.8 billion, picking up a promising experimental treatment for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease and building up its presence in immunology. Merck will pay $200 per share for the California-based biotechnology company that specializes in treatments for …

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VinFast ships 2nd batch of longer-range electric SUVs to North America

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Monday it had shipped a second batch of 1,879 longer-range VF 8 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), as it seeks to expand its foothold in overseas markets. VinFast, which is backed by Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup JSC, in November dispatched a shipment of 999 of its …

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Support for Japan PM Kishida jumps, but policies still a hard sell – survey

TOKYO (Reuters) – Support for the government of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida jumped in a survey taken at the weekend, but voters remained dubious about its proposals, including new childcare plans aimed at reversing the declining birthrate. On Saturday, Kishida was evacuated unhurt after a suspect threw what appeared to be a smoke bomb …

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China defence minister says willing to work with Russian military to have close communications

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s defence minister Li Shangfu said the country is willing to work with Russia to have close strategic communications between their militaries, state media reported on Monday. Li, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday, also said China is willing to strengthen multilateral coordination and cooperation with Russia, said …

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Analysis-Great shortfall of China: Australia’s biggest tourism market returns with a whimper

By Stella Qiu and Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) – When China ended a lengthy border closure in January, e-commerce marketer Tianni Ren immediately began planning a team building trip for her 14 staff to Australia, hoping to see its stunning pink salt lakes that had captivated her on social media. But instead she took her …

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Ukraine says it is finding more Chinese components in Russian weapons

By Matthias Williams and John O’Donnell LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office told Reuters, as Western supplies are squeezed by sanctions. In “the weapons recovered from the battlefield we continue to find different electronics,” …

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