TOPIC

Currencies

Currencies
Currency market action focused on developments with the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar.
The logo of China’s Huawei Technologies Co is displayed on the middle of city road in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE
Chinese offshore investment

How China’s global investment model is changing – and what it means for the yuan

The trade war, weak domestic demand and stronger policy support push more firms to invest overseas, with growing implications for currency.

United States

US says Argentina has ‘fully repaid’ currency lifeline

Banking & finance

US dollar, gold rise after Maduro abduction as investors seek safe havens

videocam
4
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Argentina targets US dollars hoarded under mattresses, eases tax evasion rules

The country wants Argentines to bank their dollars amid high inflation, with estimates of ‘mattress dollars’ totalling US$251 billion.

Photo illustration of Argentine peso notes and a US$100 bill in Buenos Aires. Photo: AFP
Japan

Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes, China row

Japan’s economy is likely to fall behind India’s this year, which analysts say would diminish Tokyo’s global influence.

videocam
European Union

Bulgaria becomes 21st country to adopt euro in historic milestone

The Balkan nation, which joined the EU in 2007, retires the 19th-century lev for the single currency.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Banking & finance

How China is upgrading its digital yuan for the stablecoin era

Beijing is upgrading its digital currency in response to the rise of stablecoins, but the goal is to create a fundamentally different system.

4
A booth promotes the digital yuan at an expo in Beijing. China is upgrading its digital currency as it aims to create an alternative to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. Photo: AP
Malaysia

‘I’m lucky’: Malaysians cash in as ringgit’s surge boosts travel budgets

Travellers capitalise on the favourable exchange rate for holidays after the currency hit a five-year high against the US dollar.

videocam
Iran

Iran’s president urges dialogue as currency plunge sparks protests

Anger over Iran’s worsening economic situation pushes people onto the streets in Tehran and other cities.

Yuan

China’s offshore yuan breaks major benchmark as appreciation momentum builds

For the first time since 2024, the currency strengthened past the threshold of seven per US dollar – and did it again the next day.

14
China’s yuan has appreciated considerably against the US dollar in recent months. Photo: AFP
Yuan

China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

PBOC pledges to integrate e-CNY into the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, boost adoption in Southeast Asia via China’s CIPS payment network.

A customer makes a payment using China’s digital currency, or e-CNY, at a store in Beijing. Photo: Getty Images
Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

videocam
4
China travel

Why South Korea is becoming China’s new bargain travel hotspot amid Japan spat

A slump in the won is making South Korea increasingly affordable for mainland tourists just as China warns against travel to Japan.

videocam
7
India

Rupee slump ‘a little relief’ for Indian exporters amid US trade talks

The lower rupee is helping Indian industries that have been absorbing tariff losses in the hopes of a US-India trade deal, analysts say.

videocam
A roadside vendor counts Indian rupee notes in Mumbai on November 28. Photo: AFP
China jobs

Open Questions | Economist Huang Yiping on why China’s AI push must be ‘job-oriented’

Dean of Peking University’s National School of Development says ‘balance’ needed in AI development to protect employment, ‘human well-being’.

videocam
5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Malaysia

‘Crowd is missing’: stronger ringgit keeps Singapore shoppers away from Johor

‘This is probably the worst year-end crowd we have seen since the Covid-19 pandemic,’ a business owner says.

China trade

‘Strong breakwaters’: China’s central bank vows to shield from external shocks

Governor Pan Gongsheng says policy must prioritise the domestic economy, warning against ‘excessive policy swings’ that could undermine long-term stability.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Bonds

China’s currency push gains ground as Russia nears issuance of yuan bond

Foreign governments have raised a record 13 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) via yuan bonds this year, Bloomberg-compiled data shows.

A photo taken on November 10, 2025, shows a view of the Kremlin in Moscow. Photo: Xinhua
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Global stablecoin surge highlights overlooked risks in crypto finance

The politics around digital currencies have extended into the long-running battle for supremacy between the world’s major currencies.

videocam
Yuan

China sets strongest yuan fix in over a year as Fed-cut bets rise

China’s currency is outperforming the euro and yen despite economic headwinds, with analysts pointing to Beijing’s geopolitical leverage as the driver.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong pushes local currency use to shield Asia from global uncertainties

HKMA’s Eddie Yue calls for deeper regional financial integration amid tariff shocks, disrupted supply chains and market volatility.

Eddie Yue stresses the need to strengthen regional financial ties at the Asean+3 Economic Cooperation and Financial Stability Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Photo: Handout
Banking & finance

Yuan’s long-term hedge costs equalise for first time since 2011

The risk reversal as the yuan has fared better than expected this year and as investors brace for a weaker dollar on Fed rate cut prospects.

The offshore yuan has strengthened 3.4 per cent against the dollar this year. Photo: Getty Images
United States

Opinion | Trump can’t have it all: low prices, booming stocks, balanced trade

Trump wants to close the trade deficit while promising cheap goods and high asset prices. The cost? Devastating inflation or a market crash.

videocam
15
China's economic recovery

Open Questions | ‘A mistaken view’: US economist Nicholas Lardy on the ‘peak China’ hypothesis

The veteran China watcher talks Beijing’s need for financial reform and how US-China economic convergence could still be on the horizon.

videocam
17
Diplomacy

Opinion | As power balance tips to China, world needs a fairer financial system

China-led macro region will have to work on independence of monetary policy and partnerships in a fairer financial and trade framework.

videocam
Illustration: Craig Stephens
South Korea

Macroscope | South Korea’s challenges a taste of what’s to come for global economy

While South Korea has been a big beneficiary of the AI boom, the surge is also highlighting its domestic and geopolitical vulnerabilities.

videocam
A cyclist rides past residential buildings in Seoul on November 11. Flat prices in the capital increased at the sharpest pace since 2018 last month while rents rose at the fastest clip on record. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

China’s US Treasury holdings edge up as long-term sell-off continues

The slight uptick in August and September comes as concerns mount over US debt and the White House tests the Federal Reserve’s independence.

India

India’s debt-backed stablecoin challenge to US dollar dominance explained

Advocates argue the ARC token will lower India’s borrowing costs, strengthen the rupee and stem outflows to dollar-backed cryptocurrencies.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement