Good morning, and welcome to the final Asia Links of the week
Tech rally propels US stocks to a new record high (FT & WSJ)
· But China’s CSI300 closed down 2.2% (Bloomberg)
SE Asia ride-hailing startup Grab may be heading for a SPAC merger worth as much as $40 bn (WSJ)
The ‘two sessions’ finished yesterday:
· A recap from the SCMP
· Gender was high on the agenda (BBC)
· Passes Hong Kong election law (FT & SCMP & Bloomberg)
· The BBC suggests that Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ might be over
· China to boost spending on basic research (Caixin)
· Highlights from Premier Li Keqiang’s press conference (People’s Daily)
EU to sanction Chinese officials over alleged Xinjiang human rights violations (WSJ)
Hong Kong tightens mask rules in gyms after cluster emerges (SCMP)
Myanmar military accuse Aung San Suu Kyi of taking $600,000 (BBC)
· As democracy protesters take aim at Chinese investments (Reuters)
Chinese regulators consider levying record fine against Alibaba (WSJ and Reuters)
The Quad tightens cooperation on rare earths (NAR)
Can fintech close the gender gap in financial inclusion (BIS)
India likely to block Huawei products over security fears (Reuters)
India struggles with worst increase in Covid numbers in 10 weeks (Reuters)
· As tens of thousands gather for the Kumbh Mela (Reuters)
And the Philippines logs the highest number of new cases since September (Inquirer)
The loopholes Chinese citizens are using to buy assets overseas (Bloomberg)
China says BRI will no longer support high-carbon projects in Bangladesh (FT)
And finally: A blockchain-protected digital collage of 5,000 images from the artist Beeple has sold for $69m at Christies (FT & BBC & WSJ)