ASIA’S manufacturing powerhouses struggled with sluggish demand in November, extending declines in factory activity as progress in US trade negotiations failed to translate into a significant recovery in orders.

A raft of purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) on Monday showed diverging conditions across the region, with China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all reporting declines in activity while Southeast Asian economies mostly saw growth.

In China, the world’s largest manufacturer, factory activity slipped back into contraction, a private-sector PMI showed, a day after Beijing’s official measure showed activity falling for the eighth consecutive month albeit at a slower pace.

“Container throughput at Chinese ports was little changed last month compared to October. To the extent that demand did improve, it didn’t do much to support production amid already high inventory levels — the output component dropped to a four-month low,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics.

“And while the output price component edged up slightly, it stayed at a low level, pointing to persistent deflationary pressures.”

Across Asia this year, businesses in major exporting nations have been scrambling to navigate the uncertainty created by US President Donald J. Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

While Mr. Trump’s trade deals with countries like Japan and South Korea and lowered tensions with China have given firms some confidence, many are still adjusting to the new US trade reality.

Japan’s PMI showed new orders continued to decline, stretching the downturn to two-and-a-half years, blamed on factors such as a sluggish global business environment, tighter client budgets and subdued capital investment.

Official data on Monday also showed Japanese corporate spending on factories and equipment rose 2.9% in July-September versus the same period a year prior, slowing from the previous quarter.

South Korea’s factory activity contracted for a second month in November, though a finalized trade deal with the United States brought some clarity for manufacturers.

Separate data showed Korean exports rose in November for a sixth consecutive month, beating market expectations, as chip sales hit a record on strong technology demand while autos also jumped after a US trade deal.

Taiwan’s PMI showed factory activity continued to fall, but at a slower pace.

Meanwhile, Asia’s emerging-market manufacturers remained outperformers with Indonesia and Vietnam both reporting brisk growth in factory activity and Malaysia swinging back to growth. — Reuters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong authorities pressed ahead on Monday with combing the remaining apartment towers destroyed by a massive fire at a housing estate that killed at least 146 people and displaced hundreds now adjusting to life in temporary housing.

Police have completed sweeps of four of the seven towers that were engulfed in the city’s deadliest fire in more than 75 years, finding bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames.

Thousands have turned out to pay tribute to the victims, who include at least nine domestic helpers from Indonesia and one from the Philippines, with lines of mourners stretching more than a kilometer (a half-mile) along a canal next to the doomed Wang Fuk Court estate on Sunday.

Vigils are also due to take place this week in Tokyo and London. Around 40 people are still missing, authorities said.

The cause of the blaze that started last Wednesday and quickly fanned across the exterior of the apartments under renovation is still being investigated.

But amid pockets of public anger over missed fire risk warnings and evidence of unsafe construction practices, Beijing has warned it would crack down on any “anti-China” protests.

At least one person involved in a petition calling for an independent probe among other demands has been detained, sources familiar with the matter said.

Police have declined to comment on specifics, saying only that they will take action in accordance with the law.

SEARCH MOVES TO WORST AFFECTED BUILDINGS
The remaining buildings to be scoured for remains are “the difficult ones,” Amy Lam, a senior police official told reporters on Sunday, adding that the final leg of the search may take weeks.

Images shared by police showed officers clad in hazmat suits, face masks and helmets, inspecting rooms with blackened walls and furniture reduced to ashes, and wading through water used to douse fires that raged for days.

Throngs of officers arrived at the site early on Monday morning to continue their search of the burnt out buildings.

The apartment blocks were home to more than 4,000 people, according to census data, and those that escaped must now try to get their lives back on track.

More than 1,100 people have been moved out of evacuation centers into temporary housing, with a further 680 put up in youth hostels and hotels, authorities said.

With many residents leaving behind belongings as they fled, authorities have offered emergency funds of HK$10,000 ($1,284) to each household and provided special assistance for issuing new identity cards, passports and marriage certificates.

ELEVEN PEOPLE ARRESTED IN FIRE PROBE
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze, has stunned the city, where legislative elections are due to be held this weekend.

Authorities have arrested 11 people as part of investigations into possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during the renovations.

The building was wrapped in green mesh and bamboo scaffolding and layered with foam insulation at the time. Fire alarms at the complex were also not working properly, authorities have said.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city’s Labor Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the mesh contractors used to cover the scaffolding, a department spokesperson said.

Police on Saturday detained Miles Kwan, 24, part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight, two people familiar with the matter said. Reuters could not establish whether he had been arrested.

Two others have also since been arrested on suspicion of seditious intent, the South China Morning Post said. The police declined to comment on those reported arrests.

China’s national security office warned individuals on Saturday against using the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019, when massive pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster,’” the office said in a statement. “No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished.” — Reuters

HONG KONG — Revenues at China’s giant military firms fell last year as corruption purges slowed arms contracts and procurement, according to a study released on Monday by a leading conflict think tank.

The Chinese declines contrast with strong revenue growth globally for big arms and military-services companies, fueled by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and global and regional tensions, the research by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found.

“A host of corruption allegations in Chinese arms procurement led to major arms contracts being postponed or cancelled in 2024,” said Nan Tian, director of SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Program.

“This deepens uncertainty around the status of China’s military modernization efforts and when new capabilities will materialize.”

CHINA’S REVENUES DOWN 10%, JAPAN’S UP 40%
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was one of the main targets of a broader corruption crackdown ordered by President Xi Jinping in 2012, reaching the upper levels of the military in 2023 when its Rocket Force was targeted.

Eight top generals were expelled from the ruling Communist Party on graft charges in October, including the country’s number two general, He Weidong. He had served under Mr. Xi on the Central Military Commission, China’s supreme military command organization.

Asian and Western diplomats say they are still trying to gauge the impact of the crackdown on China’s ongoing military rise and how far down it reaches through the command chain.

Revenues of China’s top military firms fell 10% last year, while those in Japan surged 40%, Germany 36% and US revenues rose 3.8%, SIPRI data shows.

Revenues of the world’s 100 largest arms firms rose 5.9% to a record $679 billion, the report said, while China’s fall was enough to make Asia-Oceania the only region to post a revenue decline among its top arms firms.

China’s weapons revenue fell despite three decades of rising defense budgets in Beijing’s growing strategic rivalry with the United States, Asia’s traditional military power, and tensions over Taiwan and the hotly disputed South China Sea.

MID-, LONG-TERM INVESTMENT, MODERNIZATION TO CONTINUE
The buildup is bearing fruit as China deploys the world’s largest naval and coast guard fleets — including a potentially advanced new aircraft carrier — a host of new hypersonic missiles, nuclear weapons and air and sea drones.

Revenue fell at AVIC, China’s largest arms maker, land-systems producer Norinco and aerospace and missile manufacturer CASC, all state-owned, according to the SIPRI research. Norinco experienced the steepest revenue decline, falling 31% to $14 billion.

Corruption-related personnel changes at the top of Norinco and CASC sparked government reviews and project delays, while deliveries of AVIC’s military aircraft slowed, the research found.

China’s defense ministry and the three companies did not immediately respond to faxed requests for comment from Reuters.

The timeline of advanced systems for the PLA Rocket Force, which handles its growing arsenal of ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles, could be exposed, along with aerospace and cyber programs, said SIPRI researcher Xiao Liang.

This adds to uncertainties over the PLA’s target of getting key capabilities and war-fighting readiness in place for its 100th anniversary, Mr. Liang said. The PLA’s forerunner, Mao Zedong’s Red Army, was founded in 1927.

“However, in the medium and longer term, sustained investment in defense budgets and political commitment behind modernization will continue, albeit with some program delays, higher costs and tighter control of procurement,” Mr. Liang said. — Reuters