While the WFH policy and the consumer shift to e-commerce platforms has helped boost online sales of personal care and beauty products toward recovery, brick-and-mortar retailers and salons are yet to see significant recovery growth.

The Swiss bank and Japan's Nomura warned last month that they could face significant losses due to their exposure to a US hedge fund forced to liquidate its holdings.

In a speech ahead of her first International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings as Treasury chief, Yellen signaled stronger US engagement on issues from climate change to human rights to tax base erosion.

The stimulus will be part of the country's coronavirus relief fund.  

The government has expanded its temporary luxury tax (PPnBM) cut for new cars to include those with engine capacities of up to 2,500 cc starting on April 1 to boost consumer spending and accelerate the automotive sector’s recovery.

The oil supermajor plans to octuple its global EV charging station fleet from 60,000 in February to around 500,000 by 2025 in realizing a net zero emissions plan by 2050, according to a Feb. 11 statement. 

Messaging-and-gaming behemoth Tencent is opening a hub and TikTok owner ByteDance is on a hiring spree after establishing a regional HQ, while e-commerce giant Alibaba is investing in property and recruiting.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 229.19 points, or 0.77 percent, from Friday to 30,083.19. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 11.16 points, or 0.57 percent, to 1,982.78.

LG Electronics said in January it would consider "all possibilities" for the future of its mobile phone division. The company first started making mobile phones in 1995.

"We know that drivers can and do have trouble finding restrooms because of traffic or sometimes rural routes, and this has been especially the case during Covid when many public restrooms have been closed," the company said in a blog post.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 331.75 points, or 1.13 percent, from Thursday to 29,720.62. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was up 11.12 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,968.76.

Indonesia's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a record-high at 53.2 in March, up by 2.3 points from February. The rise was driven by strong growth in new orders and output.

The Geneva-based international body also forecast the growth of global trade volume to slow to 4 percent in 2022, falling below the pre-pandemic trend.

Indonesia's annual inflation rate in March stood at 1.37 percent and the monthly rate at 0.08 percent, both lower than the previous month and the same month last year.

The US president said his much-anticipated new package will see a "once-in-a-generation" investment of more than $2 trillion in transportation, telecoms and energy infrastructure while creating millions of jobs.

Indonesia's third-largest telco firm sold the towers to raise capital in expanding its 4G network amid tightening market competition.

Following a 77.37 percent decline in its 2020 net profit, attributed primarily to COVID-19 and attendant restrictions, the country’s leading toll road operator may see another dip in toll road revenue this year as the government renews the mudik ban over Idul Fitri.

The developer of Trinity Tower has announced that the multistorey commercial property in Kuningan, South Jakarta, will open for business in the second quarter of the year.

A series of upbeat factory surveys released on Thursday reinforce market optimism that vaccine rollouts, as well as strong growth in global powerhouses like the United States and China, will help economies emerge from their sharp downturns of 2020.

The shipping backlog and the alternative route that some operators have chosen, around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, are expected to raise fuel costs.

The upstream industry regulator has announced an emergency stoppage of oil and gas supply to the Balongan refinery, where two tanks were still on fire as of Wednesday morning.

The airport has replaced Beringin Airport, which was closed in September 2020 because it was hemmed in by developed land on all sides, preventing its expansion.

Crunched by contract and payment delays in 2020, revenue of construction companies in Indonesia is expected to rebound this year driven by state-funded infrastructure projects.

The announcement by de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscores an effort to jumpstart the domestic economy as the top crude exporter battles high youth unemployment and a coronavirus-triggered downturn.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average declined 232.49 points, or 0.79 percent, from Tuesday to 29,200.21. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 12.76 points, or 0.65 percent, at 1,965.10.

The payments giant had already let users buy, sell or store digital money, but the new Checkout with Crypto feature provides an option to use it for purchases.

Signatories to the Basel Convention, which came into force on Jan. 1, may only trade plastic waste if it is clean, sorted and easy to recycle - unless the importing country has granted an exemption.

The government will introduce GeNose pre-boarding tests for domestic travellers at four international airports on April 1. But health experts point to the lack of papers on the device's efficacy in peer-reviewed journals as a note of caution.

While the current upward trend in the USDX is putting pressure on Asian currencies, the rupiah will remain relatively stable this year, buoyed by stronger policy synergy between the government and the central bank toward recovery.

The State Logistics Agency plans to procure more locally grown rice to build the country's buffer stock.