Welcome to Your Week in Asia.
Nippon Steel’s $14 billion bid to buy rival U.S. Steel hangs in the balance as an American government panel struggles to agree on national security concerns over the proposed buyout. Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn holds a media briefing and Indonesia marks 20 years since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Trading will be shut in some financial markets during the Christmas holidays.
This will be the last edition of Your Week in Asia in 2024. We will be back on Dec. 31 with a look ahead at the biggest events in 2025. Your Week in Asia will resume on Jan. 12.
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MONDAY
Carlos Ghosn speaks
Nissan Motor’s former chairman, Carlos Ghosn, holds an online news conference from Lebanon, where he fled after escaping from Japan, where he faced prosecution for alleged financial misconduct. Hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, the briefing is expected to focus on his views about a possible merger between Nissan and rival Honda Motor. But Ghosn may also discuss his legal battles and Nissan’s financial problems.
U.S. panel decision on Nippon Steel
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Treasury Department-led panel that screens foreign investment deals for security risks, is expected to end its evaluation of Nippon Steel’s plan to buy U.S. Steel. The chances of a successful buyout are looking slim, as the panel is not expected to reach a unanimous conclusion. That would authorize U.S. President Joe Biden, who has signaled his opposition to the deal, to make a final decision.
WEDNESDAY
Market holiday hours
Financial markets in Japan, mainland China, Taiwan and Thailand will be open for trading on Christmas Day, while those in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Australia are closed. On Boxing Day, market operations in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia will remain shut.
THURSDAY
Boxing Day tsunami 20th annivers
Indonesia will mark the 20th annivers of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami with a solemn ceremony in Aceh, the province hardest hit by the disaster. The commemoration will honor more than 220,000 lives lost across the region, including 167,000 in Indonesia alone. The tsunami, triggered by a 9.1-magnitude undersea earthquake, affected multiple countries including Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. It remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in history.
Monet Policy: Turkey
FRIDAY
South Korea’s impeachment hearing
South Korea’s Constitutional Court will hold its first hearing in the process of either upholding or rejecting the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon’s removal from office is not a certainty, but public sentiment is strongly in favor of ousting the disgraced president over his Dec. 3 attempt to impose martial law. Yoon has vowed to fight on and has ignored requests to appear for questioning.
