Tencent hands shareholders $16.4 bln windfall in the form of JD.com stake

Chinese gaming and social media company Tencent (0700.HK) will pay out a $16.4 billion dividend by distributing most of its JD.com (9618.HK) stake, weakening its ties to the e-commerce firm and raising questions about its plans for other holdings.
Turkish business group calls for an end to Erdogan’s low-rates policy

Turkey’s largest business group urged President Tayyip Erdogan’s government on Saturday to abandon a monetary policy based on low rates that has prompted a crash in the lira, and called for a return to “rules of economic science”.
China’s Alibaba pledges carbon neutrality by 2030

Alibaba Group (9988.HK) will aim to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations and slash emissions across its supply chains and transportation networks by the end of the decade, the Chinese e-commerce giant pledged on Friday.
SenseTime plans Hong Kong IPO relaunch Monday, sources say

Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime Group (0020.HK) plans to keep its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) at $767 million as it considers re-launching the withdrawn deal as early as Monday, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Japan joins Israel in barring foreigners as Omicron worries spread

Japan said on Monday it would close its borders to foreigners, as the world’s third-largest economy joined Israel in taking the toughest measures against the new coronavirus variant Omicron, which also cast a cloud over Australia’s re-opening plans.
Leadership shake-up to test Mexican central bank as inflation soars

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s surprise shakeup of the nomination process for the Bank of Mexico’s (Banxico) next chief has cast doubt over the bank’s rate-tightening cycle as it battles to keep high inflation in check.
Analysis: Amid Bukele’s bitcoin hype, not all Salvadorans ‘Feel the Bit’

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele took the stage last weekend at the end of “Bitcoin Week” to the cheers of fans delighted his Central American country has become the first to adopt crypto currency as legal tender, alongside the U.S. dollar.
U.S. marshals other nations, challenges OPEC+ with release of oil reserves

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday it will release millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with China, India, South Korea, Japan and Britain, to try to cool prices after OPEC+ producers repeatedly ignored calls for more crude.
Asia sits out equities rally as Alibaba slides

Asian shares sat out a global rally on Friday as disappointing earnings from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reinforced worry about slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy, even as European and U.S. share futures indicated gains.
Analysis: Pandemic debt adds to challenge of funding world’s climate goals

Huge spending by governments kept the world economy afloat during the pandemic as officials mobilized a fiscal response not seen since World War Two to bolster household incomes and give businesses a fighting chance to survive the health crisis.