Southeast Asia’s Internet economy is booming, driven by the ubiquity of mobile phones, rising Internet penetration and a growing middle class, according to a new report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.

Senior officials from Japan and South Korea will start talks in a bid to resolve their trade dispute under the framework of the World Trade Organization on Friday.

A dialogue between the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department and the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam took place in Ho Chi Minh City on October 9 to discuss the implementation of the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

China’s yuan exchange rate rose sharply on Thursday as the possibility that a currency pact could be included in a small-scale trade deal between China and the United States helped fuel optimism ahead of talks resuming in Washington.

The U.S. and China could reach a “fragile agreement” when their officials meet to discuss trade in Washington this week, according to an analyst from political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

The European Union has imposed tariffs on imports of steel wheels from China. The rates of the provisional anti-dumping duties are 50.3% against 19 specifically named Chinese exporters including Zhejiang Jingu and Xingmin Intelligent Transportation Systems and 66.4% for all others.

The medium-term outlook for the Vietnamese economy is broadly positive despite persistent downside risks, the World Bank (WB) said in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released on October 10.

Negotiations on the details of the RCEP have been on since 2013, and all participating countries aim to finalise and sign the deal by November.

Vietnam is a bright spot in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in Southeast Asia, said Sam Cheong Chwee, Executive Director and Head of United Overseas Bank (UOB) Group’s Foreign Direct Investment Advisory Unit at UOB.

The U.S. government widened its trade blacklist to include some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups, punishing Beijing for its treatment of Muslim minorities and ratcheting up tensions ahead of high-level trade talks in Washington this week.