Strict Covid lockdown measures halted production in key factories. The banking regulator says it will step up support to help restart production.

People's Bank of China governor Yi Gang said China's financial market is not immune to external shock and the pandemic has also applied more pressure

If approved in Japan, the drug would become the country's third antiviral cleared for coronavirus patients following those developed by Pfizer and Merck

The factory in the city of Suzuka will also slash its production by half for the month of April, expanding the scale of the cutback

In a question and answer posted on its official WeChat account, the Shanghai government said the city's epidemic was showing a "positive trend"

Residents in Hong Kong flocked to beauty salons, massage parlours, gyms, cinemas and temples for the first time in months on Thursday, after officials relaxed stringent Covid curbs

The world's largest listed miner warned June-quarter production of the steel-making commodity is also expected to be impacted by lingering worker absenteeism

Unimicron said one plant had resumed production under a "closed loop management" system, while the other would remain shut to comply with Covid curbs

Xi says efforts are needed to stabilise global supply chains and maintains that China's economy is resilient and that its long-term trend has not changed

Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva also called on Beijing to open its purse strings wider for low-income countries with their mounting debts

Stringent lockdown measures have left the city struggling with loss of income, irregular food supplies, separation of families and poor quarantine conditions

The offer represented a 37% premium on Ramsay’s closing share price on Tuesday. The stock rose more than 25% on Wednesday to A$81 on news of the approach