China is pulling out more than 400 billion yuan ($58 billion) from next year's budget to help local governments cope with costs such as tax breaks and fee cuts

Hong Kong’s tech firms rallied strongly as traders welcomed an easing of Covid containment measures in Shanghai and Beijing

The issue will be one of the first by a Chinese developer this year in a US dollar bond market amid concerns about the health of the property sector after a series of defaults

Local officials were left grappling for solutions after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and central bank governor Yi Gang hinted this month that there is relatively little the government can do

From Google, Amazon and Microsoft to Alibaba and Tencent, US and Chinese tech firms have set up or are building dozens of data centres in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

But confidence on trading floors still remains thin over soaring prices, tighter monetary policy, China's Covid lockdowns and war in Ukraine

Auto sales have slowed, gamers are purchasing fewer consoles and the Chinese are hesitant to replace older smartphones, TVs, laptops as covid curbs weaken spending power and render more people jobless.

Asia shares stumble with worries over growth in China’s Covid-affected economy continuing to weigh heavy on sentiment

China's central bank also says it will boost the confidence of financial institutions to lend as the Covid-stricken economy limps back to normalcy

Mainland China and Hong Kong shares advanced but Tokyo retreated with investors distracted by war in Europe and soaring global prices

Tech, industrial stocks pulled shares lower as Beijing imposed new Covid curbs and analysts downgraded their forecasts

The outlook for the property market is expected to remain bleak in the first half of the year and possibly the whole of 2022, as Covid outbreaks have hit both supply and demand