India's leading digital payments firm Paytm plans to launch a messaging service by the end of this month to compete with Facebook Inc's WhatsApp, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Mainland Chinese are snapping up more properties in Thailand for both personal and investment purposes, after being priced out of the market in big cities at home, developers in the Southeast Asian country said on Wednesday.

Sri Lanka Wednesday announced plans to sell off two state-owned luxury hotel companies following its billion-dollar privatisation of a loss-making port.

Bitcoin's underlying software code was split on Tuesday, generating a new clone called "Bitcoin Cash," but the new virtual currency got off to a slow start due to lackluster support for its network.

The Reserve Bank of India cut its main policy rate on Wednesday by a quarter percentage point to a more than 6-1/2 year low, saying a slump in inflation opened room for monetary easing, while pinning further action on upcoming economic data.

A failure to resume dividends and to grow its loans overshadowed a recovery in first half profits for Standard Chartered, pushing its shares 5 percent lower on Wednesday.

South Asia, long a backwater for energy markets, is emerging as a hotspot for liquefied natural gas (LNG), with Pakistan and Bangladesh set to join India as major consumers, helping to ease global oversupply that has dogged this market for years.

Japan's Sony Corp on Tuesday reported its highest-ever first-quarter operating profit, taking the electronics giant one step toward its highest annual profit in two decades on the back of robust sales of image sensors.

Indian refiners are outperforming their competitors in South Korea and Thailand as they have ramped up output from new fuel and chemical capacities to meet rising domestic demand that could further lift their earnings over the next two years.

India's factory activity slumped to its lowest level in more than nine years in July, a private survey showed on Tuesday, dragged down by disruptions to business activity following the launch of a new national sales tax.

Staff at the Bank of England began a three-day strike Tuesday, the first at Britain's central bank in more than 50 years, as part of a

Uber, the world's largest on-demand ride-sharing company, announces the integration of the nationwide emergency number 999 in its rider app to enhance rider safety.

Sprawling South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics has recovered from a humiliating recall fiasco and the arrest of its de facto leader with remarkable speed, analysts said, after the tech giant stunned investors with record-breaking profits.

Japan will raise tariffs on frozen beef from the United States and other countries from next month as an emergency measure due to increasing shipments, the government said.

The US economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers ramped up spending and businesses invested more on equipment, but persistent sluggish wage gains cast a dark shadow over the growth outlook.

In the immediate aftermath of Bangladesh's independence in 1971, the war-torn country was facing its first rite of passage to nationhood.

When Fed taper fears jolted emerging markets in 2013, India was one of the worst hit and was forced to raise interest rates to underpin its tumbling markets.

Asia is home to more Fortune Global 500 companies than any other continent, and Beijing hosts more global companies, the most of any city in the world.

Facebook reports a surge in profits in the past quarter, fueled by strong growth in money-making ads to its more than two billion users.

Toyota Motor Corp is working on an electric car powered by a new type of battery that significantly increases driving range and reduces charging time, aiming to begin sales in 2022, the Chunichi Shimbun daily reported on Tuesday.