Senior Indian government officials say the Reserve Bank of India should have cut interest rates more aggressively on Wednesday, signalling fresh tensions between New Delhi and the Mumbai-based central bank on how to revive economic growth and create jobs.

Mainland Chinese are snapping up more properties in Thailand for both personal and investment purposes, after being priced out of the market in big cities at home, developers in the Southeast Asian country said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Wednesday announced plans to sell off two state-owned luxury hotel companies following its billion-dollar privatisation of a loss-making port.

Bitcoin's underlying software code was split on Tuesday, generating a new clone called "Bitcoin Cash," but the new virtual currency got off to a slow start due to lackluster support for its network.

The Reserve Bank of India cut its main policy rate on Wednesday by a quarter percentage point to a more than 6-1/2 year low, saying a slump in inflation opened room for monetary easing, while pinning further action on upcoming economic data.

A failure to resume dividends and to grow its loans overshadowed a recovery in first half profits for Standard Chartered, pushing its shares 5 percent lower on Wednesday.

South Asia, long a backwater for energy markets, is emerging as a hotspot for liquefied natural gas (LNG), with Pakistan and Bangladesh set to join India as major consumers, helping to ease global oversupply that has dogged this market for years.

APPLE Inc has asked the Indian government to extend tax breaks to its suppliers if India seeks to become a manufacturing hub for iPhones and its components.

China and the other BRICS nations pledged on Wednesday to fight protectionism and safeguard intellectual property rights, even as US President Donald Trump considers action against what he sees as unfair trade practices by China.

India, one of the world's largest markets for pharmaceuticals, is drawing up its first set of marketing rules for drugmakers, restricting gifts and trips offered to doctors and pharmacists to 1,000 rupees ($15), according to a draft proposal seen by Reuters.

Apple reported stronger-than-expected results for the past quarter, with higher revenues and profits, delivering a boost to its share price.

India's leading digital payments firm Paytm plans to launch a messaging service by the end of this month to compete with Facebook Inc's WhatsApp, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Japan's Sony Corp on Tuesday reported its highest-ever first-quarter operating profit, taking the electronics giant one step toward its highest annual profit in two decades on the back of robust sales of image sensors.

Indian refiners are outperforming their competitors in South Korea and Thailand as they have ramped up output from new fuel and chemical capacities to meet rising domestic demand that could further lift their earnings over the next two years.

India's factory activity slumped to its lowest level in more than nine years in July, a private survey showed on Tuesday, dragged down by disruptions to business activity following the launch of a new national sales tax.

Staff at the Bank of England began a three-day strike Tuesday, the first at Britain's central bank in more than 50 years, as part of a

Uber, the world's largest on-demand ride-sharing company, announces the integration of the nationwide emergency number 999 in its rider app to enhance rider safety.

Sprawling South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics has recovered from a humiliating recall fiasco and the arrest of its de facto leader with remarkable speed, analysts said, after the tech giant stunned investors with record-breaking profits.

Japan will raise tariffs on frozen beef from the United States and other countries from next month as an emergency measure due to increasing shipments, the government said.

When Fed taper fears jolted emerging markets in 2013, India was one of the worst hit and was forced to raise interest rates to underpin its tumbling markets.