Asia virus latest: India curbs foreign takeovers; Japanese tulips snipped

Asia virus latest: India curbs foreign takeovers; Japanese tulips snipped

Cruise ship MV Artania is berthed at the port of Fremantle on an emergency mission with a sick patient being transferred to a hospital for coronavirus testing on March 27, 2020. (AFP photo)
Cruise ship MV Artania is berthed at the port of Fremantle on an emergency mission with a sick patient being transferred to a hospital for coronavirus testing on March 27, 2020. (AFP photo)

Here are the latest developments in Asia related to the novel coronavirus pandemic:

- India curbs 'opportunistic takeovers' of firms -

India has increased restrictions on direct foreign investment to curb "opportunistic" takeovers and acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trade ministry said.

Under the new policy released Saturday, foreign investors that share land borders with India -- including China -- will only be allowed to invest in the country with government approval.

The previous policy restricted the need for government approval for investments from Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The nations that share a land border with India apart from Bangladesh and Pakistan are China, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan.

- Sri Lankan bans some imports -

Sri Lanka banned a wide range of imports Sunday as the local currency is hammered by a month-long lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The three-month ban on imports will apply to essential raw materials used by local industries, as well as luxury goods -- including cosmetics, chocolates and foreign liquor -- a government notice said Sunday.

The Sri Lanka rupee has lost nearly 10 percent of its value against the US dollar in the past two months as tourism -- a key foreign exchange earner for the country -- has collapsed, and a sharp fall in expatriate worker remittances.

In March, the government banned the import of cars and luxury vehicles for three months as part of efforts to save foreign reserves, as authorities urged international lenders for a debt repayment moratorium.

- Sri Lanka eases lockdown -

Sri Lanka will lift a month-long curfew from Monday, easing a lockdown that had helped contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The 24-hour indefinite curfew in 19 out of the 25 districts will be removed at dawn on Monday, replaced by a nine-hour night curfew (8.00 pm to 5.00 am), President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office said Saturday.

"The curfews could be eased because of the progress in containing the spread of the virus," the statement said.

Six districts, including Colombo, will see lockdown measures relaxed from Wednesday, but night curfews will be imposed until further notice.

A ban on public meetings, religious gatherings and processions will remain, with schools and universities still closed until further notice.

- South Korea baseball resumes -

No-spectator matches for outdoor sports such as baseball will resume, South Korea said Sunday, as the country sees a steady decline in new coronavirus cases.

The outbreak had forced sports leagues to either suspend play or delay the start of their seasons.

But the Korea Baseball Organisation has scheduled 20 pre-season games beginning next Tuesday, when it is expected to announce dates for the regular season sometime in early May.

"For outdoor facilities like professional baseball where close contact is possible, limited permission will be granted to operate without spectators to prevent contact," said health minister Park Neung-hoo.

South Korea reported eight new virus cases Saturday, taking the national total to 10,661, according to authorities.

- Tulips felled to prevent crowds -

Authorities snipped almost one million blooming tulips in eastern Japan to stop crowds gathering at a cancelled annual flower festival.

Concerns over the spread of the coronavirus prompted officials to cancel Chiba prefecture's annual Sakura Tulip Festa -- which usually draws hundreds of thousands.

But crowds still gathered to see the flowers, Sakura City Tourism Association said, leading to them beheading roughly 800,000 flowers.

Japan expanded a state of emergency nationwide to stem the growing spread of the disease, but the measures have no legal force and are weakly enforced compared to elsewhere in the world.

- Lockdown hinders Vanuatu cyclone relief -

Vanuatu's drastic virus lockdown is hindering critical relief efforts to rebuild the island country after it was pummelled by Tropical Cyclone Harold, aid agencies said.

Nearly two weeks after the deadly monster storm barrelled through the South Pacific, local media reported that newly homeless families were still sleeping in the open.

Foreign aid distribution has been hampered by strict quarantine requirements after Vanuatu -- one of the few remaining countries without confirmed Covid-19 infections -- closed its borders.

Aid agencies said around a third of the country's 300,000 people were in need of emergency shelter.

- Prayut mocked after cash appeal -

An appeal to Thailand's 20 richest tycoons for help in easing the impact of the pandemic has been mocked online by social media users, who accused the kingdom's premier of running a "beggar government".

"These billionaires influence the Thai economy -- I will ask them to play a key role in helping the country," Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said in a televised address Friday, adding that an open letter would be issued next week.

Thailand's tourism and export-reliant economy has been hit hard by the pandemic, with the state bank predicting growth will contract by a 22-year low of five percent this year.

- Indonesia's flag carrier slashes salaries -

Indonesia's national carrier Garuda said it was cutting employee salaries by up to 50 percent to keep the company afloat as the pandemic ravages the airline industry.

- Virus cruise ship leaves Australia -

After more than three weeks stranded in Australian waters, the Artania cruise ship set sail for Germany on Saturday to cheers by locals and relief from officials who had been keen to see the virus-stricken vessel leave the country.

The ship left Fremantle with a skeleton crew cleared to pilot the ship to Germany, and will first ferry about 300 staff and 11 passengers Indonesia before heading for Europe, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan told media.

Most of its passengers had already been flown home after the ship docked on March 27.

- Singapore infections surge -

Singapore announced more than 900 new cases of coronavirus Saturday, a new record high, with nearly all infections traced to packed dormitories housing foreign workers.

The affluent city-state had initially been held as a gold standard in the global fight against COVID-19, but a surge in the number of cases has left the government scrambling to contain the spread.

Around 200,000 mostly South Asian workers live in 43 dorms across the island, forming an essential part of the country's workforce.

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