NEWS

Around Asia Pacific in seven stories…

RETAIL

GAME ON

NINTENDO HAS SET new sales records with its latest Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games for its hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch. The industry saw an increase in profits during the COVID19 pandemic, but it is now beginning to normalise, making Nintendo’s recent hits a rare feat.

Since the global launch of the blockbusters on November 18th, 10 million units have been shifted, the highest level of sales for a game’s debut in Nintendo’s history. Consequently, shares in the company are up by 11 percent and investors are backing Nintendo due to its recent success.

AEROSPACE INDIA IS FEELING SUPERSONIC

INDIA’S FIRST PRIVATELY developed rocket, Vikram-S, was recently launched from the Sriharikota spaceport. Start-up Skyroot Aerospace, supported by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has opened the sector to private companies. Up until now, the country’s space industry has been

SUSTAINABILITY OUT OF THIS WORLD

JAPANESE CHEMIST KAZUMI Muraki is determined to find a suitable planet to sustain human life, and has set his sights on Mars.

To combat the Martian atmosphere of 95 percent carbon dioxide (CO2), Muraki created Hiyassy, an artificial intelligence (AI) carbon capture device when he was just 15 years old. It works by pulling in air and filtering it back out through an alkaline solution.

The red planet has been put on the back burner for now, as Muraki’s Tokyo-based company, Carbon Recovering Research Agency, is working to create an alternative fuel from CO2.

Carbon conversion diagram of CO2 to methanol

dominated by state-run ISRO.

Founded by former ISRO engineers in 2018, Skyroot is based in the tech hub of Hyderabad, and has raised USD$68 million in funding. The rocket weighed in at 546 kilograms (kg) and reached an altitude of 89.5 kilometres (km).

India is now in the orbit of the private sector space race along with billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos.

FOOD & DRINK ROO-MOVED FROM AUSTRALIA

FOOD AND BEVERAGE delivery service giant Deliveroo has ceased operations in Australia due to the economic climate. The decision was made on November 16th with the company’s Australian subsidiary going into voluntary administration.

Deliveroo Australia accounted for three percent of the company’s total gross transaction value and negatively impacted its margin, causing the company to cut costs to find profits.

The online takeaway sector is highly competitive in Australia, prompting rival Menulog, part of Just Eat, to cut jobs just one week after Deliveroo’s withdrawal as part of its global cost reductions in the food delivery sector.

AUTOMOTIVE TESLA – CHALLENGES IN CHINA

TESLA IS RECALLING more than 80,000 electric cars over seatbelt and software issues.

The costly endeavour includes the imported Model S and Model X vehicles due to affected battery management systems. The imported Model 3 vehicles have also been recalled, as well as 10,127 of the Chinese-made versions, due to potentially faulty seatbelts.

China is one of Tesla’s most important markets, and the company has a major production factory in Shanghai with a record number of sales in recent months, but Elon Musk’s company faces competition from Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto, all releasing new cars in 2023.

HEALTHCARE POLIO IN PAKISTAN

HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY Pakistani authorities have begun a new anti-polio drive amid a spike in cases among children. It is the sixth campaign this year, and it aims to inoculate children under the age of five in high-risk areas.

The latest drive is in Islamabad and in the high-risk districts of Punjab and Southwestern Baluchistan province, with a campaign launching in the northwest in the first week of December.

Pakistan regularly vaccinates against polio, and the country came close to eradicating the disease last year. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two endemic countries remaining in the drive to end polio worldwide.

FINANCE CRASH AND BOOM!

UNREST IN CHINA has caused stocks to dip in Asia’s financial markets. Hong Kong stocks are the worst performers with the Hang Seng noting a 2.1 percent decline. This comes off the back of weekend protests in various cities over China’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns.

While most Asian stock markets slumped, Indian stocks traded at near record highs amid growing expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will hike interest rates by a smaller margin. Despite a weakening rupee, the Indian economy is poised to be one of the best performing economies this year.