Indonesian tax evasion: The nine-month Indonesian tax amnesty ended today and only 146 trillion rupiah (US$11 billion) in assets was actually repatriated back into the country from offshore jurisdictions. John McBeth reports that Indonesia is currently in a zealously patriotic mood and officials had hoped much more — up to US$75 billion — would flood back into the country but the amnesty has been useful, if only by shining a revealing light on how and where wealthy Indonesians stash their overseas millions.
Paying for Fukushima: Six years after Japan’s Fukushima disaster, three global nuclear corporations are fighting for their very survival, writes Shaun Burnie. The bankruptcy filing by Westinghouse Electric Co. and its parent company Toshiba Corp is a defining moment in the global nuclear power industry but these losses are a fraction of what Tokyo Electric Power Co is looking at as a result of Fukushima.
China’s manufacturing upswing: Activity in China’s manufacturing sector unexpectedly expanded at its fastest pace in nearly five years in March, an official survey showed on Friday. Reuters reports that this is the latest in a series of upbeat 2017 data reports that have come even as Beijing tries to rein in speculative bubbles in the red-hot property market and control risks in the broader financial market from years of debt-fuelled stimulus.
Trump meeting Xi: China has confirmed the dates of President Xi Jinping’s trip to the US to meet his counterpart Donald Trump, reports Asia Times.
The pair will meet at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on April 6 and 7 for the first face-to-face talks between the two leaders, who have jarred over trade, China’s regional ambitions and how best to deal with North Korea and its weapons programs.
President Park arrested: Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-hye has been arrested over the corruption and abuse of power scandal that brought her down, reports Agence France-Presse. The Seoul Central District Court ordered Park’s arrest on charges of bribery, abuse of authority, coercion and leaking government secrets, after a marathon court hearing on Thursday.