CHINA

Japanese trading house Itochu Corp said on Wednesday it will acquire 30 percent of Shandong Ruyi Group for roughly 15 billion yen ($200 million) , as it looks to expand in China's clothing sector.

Beijing Jingyuntong Technology will raise 2.52 billion yuan ($395 million) from an initial public offering in Shanghai after setting the price at over 50 times its historic earnings.

Chinese Internet firm Shanda Interactive said on Wednesday its second-quarter net profit fell 95 percent on increased costs.

Destitute North Korea's push to breathe new life into economic relationships with its neighbors China and Russia appears to be bearing fruit in its far north of the country where foreigners are busy helping rebuild a crumbling infrastructure.

Babies born in the United States have a higher chance of dying in their first month than babies in much of the developed world, according to a new report on infant mortality rates.

Silvercorp Metals Inc., a Vancouver-based mining company, said Wednesday it purchased 2,027,167 of its common shares at an average price of $8.112 (Canadian).

The 7 billionth baby, according to the United Nations population division, is set to be born on October 31 this year during the Halloween.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has issued a warning, looking at the situation that it a mutant strain of deadly flu is already spreading in China and Vietnam, according to CBS News report. Fears of an outbreak of bird flu this winter have been raised by the United Nations. Bird flu was in decline, but FAO warns it appears to be on the rise again and the new bird flu strain is even deadlier.

Gold's high price spurs private individuals to sell jewelry and other personal items made of the yellow metal.

Asia will add 1.66 million dollar-millionaires by 2015, taking the total number of wealthy to 2.82 million as the world's fastest-growing major economies of China and India continue to mint millionaires, a report from Julius Baer said on Wednesday.

India's full service airlines, buffeted by high fuel costs and intense competition, face new headwinds on their lucrative international routes as budget carriers launch services with rock-bottom fares.

eBay Inc expects sales from large exporters in China to maintain growth at 30-40 percent annually, with the e-commerce giant seeking acquisition opportunities as part of efforts to expand its footprint in the fast-growing market.

China is currently waging war on its unruly rare earths sector, with state inspection teams in the middle of a four-month campaign to crack down on illegal producers, processors and traders.

China's state-run news agency demanded on Tuesday that Internet companies, regulators and police do more to cleanse websites of toxic rumours, adding to signs that the ruling Communist Party wants to tame the explosion of freewheeling microblogs.

Hong Kong shares gained for a second-straight session on Tuesday, but trading was thin as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of economic data releases from China and the United States this week.

After Jia Lin divorced twenty years ago, his wife got both house and son, leaving the Beijing cook with little more than a fresh start.

Seiji Ozawa, Japan's most famous conductor, will not take part in a music festival in China later this week, organizers said, with media reporting that he was in hospital in Tokyo for tests.

China Citic Bank Corp Ltd plans to sell up to $4.7 billion in offshore yuan-denominated bonds by 2013, indicating that issuers are lining up to sell debt in the territory after the authorities unveiled fresh reforms this month.

China will raise development targets for renewable energy such as wind power for the five-year period through 2015, state media reported on Tuesday, as the world's top energy user and carbon emitter aims to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank Corp rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after Bank of America Corp said it will sell about half of its 10 percent stake in the Chinese lender, providing relief to investors by removing uncertainty surrounding the stake.

China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd , the country's top dairy product maker in which China private equity firm Hopu Investment Management owns a stake, on Tuesday posted a 27.6 percent rise in first-half net profit on solid sales growth, pledging to ensure product quality after a series of scandals tainted the industry's reputation.