Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
Indonesia kicks off regional elections Wednesday to pick provincial governors, city mayors and regents across the world’s third-biggest democracy. South Korea hosts a U.N. conference on plastic pollution while a supply chain expo starts in Beijing.
China reports key factory activity data, Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast announces its latest earnings and India posts fiscal second-quarter GDP figures. Japan’s newly elected lawmakers return to the Diet after snap elections last month, while Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te is heading abroad on a trip that could anger China.
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MONDAY
Malaysian leader in South Korea
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim meets his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk Yeol, during a three-day official visit expected to see bilateral ties elevated to a strategic partnership. The two countries are aiming to finalize a free trade agreement in 2025.
TUESDAY
APAC Wind Energy Summit
Asia-Pacific policymakers and industry leaders gather near Seoul to address challenges in wind energy development as concern grows about how the sector will be impacted under a second Trump presidency in the United States. The three-day APAC Wind Energy Summit, hosted by the Global Wind Energy Council, highlights the region’s key role in hitting global targets to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
China supply chain show
Beijing hosts the second China International Supply Chain Expo, at a time of strain and shifts in the links that connect global manufacturing. The event will cover advanced factory technology, smart vehicles and other fields.
Earnings: VinFast
WEDNESDAY
U.N. plastic pollution meeting
The U.N. Environment Programme will convene the fifth session of its Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in the South Korean city of Busan in pursuit of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Environmentalists say policymakers need to commit to cutting production of plastic, not just reusing or recycling it. A lack of consensus on finer details and opposition from major petroleum-producing countries could hinder efforts to reach an agreement.
Indonesia regional polls
Indonesians vote in nationwide regional polls to elect provincial governors, city leaders and regents. More than 3,000 candidates are set to compete across nearly 550 regions, including in the newly formed provinces South Papua, Central Papua and Highland Papua. All eyes are on new leadership for the capital Jakarta, as well as Central Java and East Java provinces, which together account for over half of the national economy.
THURSDAY
ADB’s new leader
The Asian Development Bank announces its new president to succeed the outgoing Masatsugu Asakawa. Japan’s former currency czar, Masato Kanda, was the sole candidate vying for the bank’s top job. His expected appointment marks a continuation of the longstanding practice of the multilateral lender being led by a Japanese national since its founding in 1966.
FRIDAY
Indian economy
India releases gross domestic product estimates for the fiscal second quarter with economists at the government-run State Bank of India (SBI) expecting July-September growth to slow slightly to around 6.5% from a 6.7% expansion in the April-June period. “Expected buoyancy in Q3 and Q4 growth numbers could still push overall yearly GDP growth closer to 7%,” SBI said in a report this month.
Japan lawmakers return
Parliamentary debate gets underway as Japan’s newly elected lawmakers return to the Diet after last month’s snap elections. A supplementary budget bill will be among the items at the top of their agenda, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivering a policy speech Friday.
GDP: Turkey
SATURDAY
Taiwan leader meets allies
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te is due to depart for a tour of Taipei’s remaining Pacific allies — the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. His office has yet to confirm plans for potential stopovers, possibly in the U.S. The trip could elicit an angry response from China, which has exerted heavy pressure on Lai since he took office in May, with two rounds of major military drills surrounding Taiwan.
China factory gauge
China releases its official monthly manufacturing purchasing managers’ index — a closely watched reading of the country’s industrial activity. The PMI snapped a five-month streak of contraction in October, beating expectations.
