Reuters Insider - Asia Insight: More virus cases on cruise ship off Japan; China death toll exceeds 500
06/02/2020 08:30
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.insider.thomsonreuters.com/link?entryId=1_ciq0ck5o&referenceId=1_ciq0ck5o&pageId=ReutersNews Source: Reuters Insider Description: Ten more people on a quarantined cruise liner in Japan have tested positive for coronavirus, as health experts step up efforts to find a vaccine for a disease that has provoked fears of a global pandemic. Short Link: https://tmsnrt.rs/2H1lI2K Video Transcript: Hello and welcome to your Asia Insight. I am Angeline Ong. The death toll from the coronavirus in China has now reached 563, with almost 3,000 new cases reported. About 3,700 people on a cruise liner in Yokohama Bay are facing at least two weeks quarantine on the ship, which has 20 confirmed cases. In Hong Kong, a cruise ship with a similar number of passengers and crew was quarantined for a second day after three cases were found on board. Hubei province in central China has been in virtual lockdown for nearly two weeks, with its train stations and airport shut and its roads sealed off. Hong Kong will use legislation to put anyone coming from Mainland China into compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Chief Executive Carrie Lam told a news conference that the number of local cases of the virus has now reached 21. She said some of them appear to be locally transmitted with no recent travel history to Mainland China, a factor seen as worrying by experts. So we're sitting on the edge here. Likelihood is, it's very difficult to stop the establishment of local sustained transmission. But epidemics are inherently what we call stochastic random. So, with a lot of hard work and also a lot of luck, we may be able to get ourselves out of this, but you know, the likelihood is not in our favor. Now Asian socks have extended their recovery - cheered by record closes on Wall Street and encouraging economic data. Investors also hailed China's cut in tariffs on some important goods from the United States. Shanghai's composite and the blue-chip CSI 300, both leapt by more than 1.7%. Markets also drew support from Beijing's efforts to support the markets, including liquidity injections and de facto restrictions on selling. Now oil futures rose for a second day on unconfirmed reports of a possible breakthrough in combating the outbreak and on action from producers to shore up the price. Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp says, "Oil markets are rebounding from the five-day slide, as investors turn optimistic that OPEC Plus officials will deliver an appropriate response to the spread of the coronavirus." Now a look at some companies in the news then and Toyota has lifted its annual profits outlook, thanks to better-than-expected sales and favorable currency rates. However, the car maker says it has not yet factored in the impact of the coronavirus. Toyota's factories in China are at a standstill as it suspends operations. Foxconn says it will restart its manufacturing operations in China gradually but it warns, it could take two weeks to resume full production. Taiwan's Foxconn makes smartphones for global vendors including Apple, mostly in the south of the country. Just the day after axing 30% of its global capacity due to falling demand, Cathay Pacific Airways is now asking staff to take three weeks unpaid leave. The airlines says preserving cash is key to its survival. Cathay is also asking suppliers for price reductions, freezing all hiring, postponing major projects, and stopping all non-critical spending. South Korea's LG Electronics has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month. The company says it's concerned about the coronavirus outbreak. The event draws more than 100,000 visitors and the organizer says it will go ahead as planned. Meanwhile, Japan's Olympic Committee says, it's worried that this summer's games may be overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak. Officials including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe have said the government would work hard to minimize any impact from the outbreak on the games, which start on July 24th. Several qualifying events including badminton and boxing have been postponed due to the virus. Revenue from tourism is also likely to take a hit. An increase in revenue of about $18.4 billion is expected during the Olympics in July and August. But a few percent of that figure will be lost if the virus drags on. I estimate the economic impact over the next two months to be little less than a billion dollars if the outbreak drives down inbound demand. And that's it from your Asia Insight. I'm Angeline Ong and this is Reuters