China targets 5pc growth
China has set an economic growth target for this year of “around 5 percent” and pledged to pump billions of dollars into its ailing economy, which is now facing a trade war with the US.
Its leaders unveiled the plan as thousands of delegates attend the National People’s Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament, which passes decisions already made behind closed doors.
But the week-long gathering is closely watched for clues on Beijing’s policy changes – and this year is more significant than most.
President Xi Jinping had already been battling persistently low consumption, a property crisis and unemployment, before Donald Trump’s new 10 percent levy on Chinese imports came into effect on Tuesday.
This follows the 10 percent tariff imposed in early February, taking the total US levy to 20 percent. And it hits what has been a rare bright spot for the Chinese economy: exports.
Beijing hit back almost immediately on Tuesday, just as it did last month. It announced retaliatory action that included 10 percent-15 percent tariffs on certain agriculture imports from the US. This is key because China is the biggest market for these goods, such as American corn, wheat and soybeans.
At the opening of this week’s meeting, known as Two Sessions, China vowed to make domestic demand the “main engine and anchor” of its economic growth.
Beijing was able to meet its 5 percent target for the last two years but growth was driven by strong exports, which resulted in a nearly trillion-dollar record trade surplus.
Repeating that is going to be much harder this year.
“If the tariffs linger, Chinese exports to the US could drop by a quarter to a third,” said Harry Murphy Cruise, head of China economics at Moody’s Analytics.
UAS sees growing flight support demand across Asia-Pacific
UAS International Trip Support is seeing double-digit increases in activity for its business aviation support services across the Asia-Pacific region. This week, the Dubai-based group is exhibiting at the inaugural Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo in Singapore while marking its 25th anniversary.
According to UAS founder and CEO Omar Hosari, Southeast Asia, India, and Australia have seen the most significant increases in flight activity, mainly based on the growing number of wealthy individuals in the region, as well as the expansion of tourism and infrastructure investments. In addition to supporting aircraft operators, UAS also has a Bombardier Global Express available for charter that has been in demand for trips to India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
“The Asia-Pacific business jet market experienced fast growth in 2024 with a 12.5 percent increase,” Hosari noted. “Locally, business aircraft departures from Singapore Changi and Seletar airports in 2023 rose by almost 28 percent over the past five years. Accordingly, regional operators are demanding reliable trip support that enhances efficiency and ensures consistent operational excellence.”
Companies on net zero in Asia-Pacific making progress
Companies in the Asia-Pacific region have shown stronger net-zero commitments and better disclosures on greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report from PwC, which analyzed the progress of over 700 companies in 14 Asia-Pacific countries
With more and more global concern over the climate crisis, countries around the world are feeling pressure to set concrete goals on cutting emissions. Some international agreements have set those goals to paper: The Paris Agreement aims for 45 percent fewer emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
While many countries have followed through with legislation that pressures private enterprise, others have lagged behind. The PwC report shows that, overall, countries in the Asia-Pacific region are doing quite well, with the majority already having net-zero goals in place.
| Maldives GDP | ||||
| Components | Last | Previous | Unit | Reference |
| GDP from Agriculture | 4351.00 | 4317.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2023 |
| GDP from Construction | 4490.00 | 4335.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2023 |
| GDP from Manufacturing | 1812.00 | 1708.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2022 |
| GDP from Public Administration | 7837.00 | 7378.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2023 |
| GDP from Services | 70470.00 | 61459.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2022 |
| GDP from Transport | 4596.00 | 4071.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2022 |
| GDP from Utilities | 2136.00 | 1675.00 | MVR Million | Dec 2022 |
Asia-Pacific expected to soar faster in business aviation
ASIA-PACIFIC’S private aviation is expected to soar faster than the rest of the world over the next decade, pointed out Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events.
The region’s fleet of business planes is expected to increase by over 300 from 1,600 in the 10 years from 2025 to 2034. The increase of about 2 percent every year is at a faster pace than the global average’s 1.4 percent.
Leck cited the forecast from Aviation Week Intelligence Network in a press conference for the Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo 2025 on Tuesday (Mar 4).
Experia Events is the organiser of the event, held from Mar 4 to 6 at Changi Exhibition Centre.
Meanwhile, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market for business aviation in Asia-Pacific is forecast to increase by 4.1 percent every year for 10 years from 2025. Similarly, it is anticipated to be ahead of the estimated global average of 3.2 percent.
In value terms, spending on MRO is forecast to reach US$600 million in the Asia-Pacific by 2034, with that in China expected to increase by 41 percent over the decade to about US$210 million, Aviation Week Network forecast.
For 2025, India’s business fleet is expected to increase further, according to Asian Sky Group, an Asia-Pacific business and general aviation transaction and consultancy firm.
India recorded a net fleet addition of 18 – the most in Asia-Pacific, in 2024, even as it trailed China and Australia in terms of fleet size, at 168.
India’s economic growth picks up
India’s economy expanded by 6.2 percent in October-December, picking up on increased government and consumer spending, official data showed on Friday, and the government said it expected a further acceleration in the current quarter.
A stronger rural economy also bolstered the world’s fifth-largest economy in the final quarter of 2024, but manufacturing growth remained subdued and the overall rise in GDP was well below peak quarterly growth rates seen in the three years after the pandemic.
“GDP figures show that India’s economy remained fairly soft by its own standards at the end of last year. But with policy now decisively turning more supportive, economic growth should pick up further over the coming quarters,” Capital Economics’ Harry Chambers said.
India is still the world’s fastest growing major economy, but it also faces uncertainties over its trade with the United States and the Trump administration’s plans to impose reciprocal tariffs.
Growth in gross domestic product (INGDPQ=ECI), opens new tab in October-December was slightly lower than the 6.3 percent expansion projected by analysts in a Reuters poll, and the central bank’s estimate of 6.8 percent. The economy grew 5.6 percent in the previous quarter.
The gross value added (GVA), a measure of economic activity that is seen as a more stable measure of growth, grew 6.2 percent in October-December, compared to a revised 5.8 percent expansion in the previous quarter.
For the full year, the government now pegs GDP growth at 6.5 percent, marginally higher than its initial estimate of 6.4 percent, but below the revised growth rate of 9.2 percent for 2023-24.
To meet the growth estimate of 6.5 percent for the full financial year, India needs to grow at 7.6 percent in the January-March period.
India’s chief economic adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, sees this as achievable. Resilient rural demand will support India’s growth while urban consumption is recovering, Nageswaran said at a press conference.
In workplace and schools Malaysia’s digital economy ambition faces disconnect
Career coach Ameirul Azraie Mustadza is brutally frank when he describes the young job-seeking Malaysians he has met.
They were “completely clueless” about the basics of job hunting, he said, citing poorly structured resumes, emails with no subject lines and cover letters lacking proper introductions or clear messages, among the litany of missteps.
The mistakes kept reappearing, the coach – whose book on navigating employment challenges last year was ranked among Malaysia’s top 10 nonfiction Malay titles – told This Week in Asia.
“That’s when it hit me: the gap wasn’t just in the advanced strategies I was teaching but in the fundamentals many Malaysians hadn’t been exposed to.”
Even as he strived to improve the rudimentary job-seeking skills of some of his clientele – typically aged between 25 and 40 – he warned the jobs they were trying to get might no longer be there soon.
Up to half of Malaysian jobs may be lost to artificial intelligence by 2040, according to Malaysia’s Khazanah Research Institute, with the automation era favouring those who can acquire new skills fast.
For those most vulnerable to the rise of AI, the bad news for them is the future is already here, according to industry observers.
Pak-Japan dialogue explores avenues for improved economic cooperation
A Pak-Japan Parliamentary Group meeting, convened by Senator Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto and organized by Secretary Misbah Khar, was held at Parliament House on Tuesday to bolster bilateral economic ties.
Senator Bhutto, alongside Senate Secretariat officials, welcomed Japanese Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi.
Senator Bhutto emphasized the longstanding importance of Pakistan-Japan relations, highlighting potential mutual benefits. He pointed to Pakistan’s scenic northern regions as a tourism asset and acknowledged Japan’s support through the World Bank and other economic channels.
Noting the current bilateral trade of $1.72 billion, he urged increased economic exchange. He suggested leveraging platforms like JICA and FISC to attract Japanese investment, referencing the successful 2023 Tokyo Investment Board.
Additionally, he highlighted the technical internship and special skills work program memorandums, and the contribution of the Pakistani diaspora in Japan, numbering approximately 25,000.
Ambassador Akamatsu Shuichi expressed gratitude and reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to strengthening ties. He noted the 73-year diplomatic relationship and over 70 years of Japanese economic cooperation. He further emphasized the role of over 80 Japanese companies operating in Pakistan, contributing to economic and social development.”
The future of Indonesia’s green industrial strategy
Indonesia’s green industrial policy has focused on increasing the value of raw critical minerals through onshore processing and building a domestic electric vehicle (EV) industry. It appears to have worked, in a limited sense. The country now produces much of the world’s mined and refined nickel and has become a major destination for global EV supply chains.
However, this success has drawbacks. Growth in the nickel industry has not translated into significant local job creation, poverty reduction, or government revenues, while serious environmental degradation, labour violations, and poor governance persist. Whether downstreaming can be applied to Indonesia’s other critical minerals is also dubious. Additionally, Indonesia’s reliance on China for investment, technology, and demand is turning into a vulnerability as China’s economy slows and global economic competition heats up.