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In today's bulletin: Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Shenzhen raises hopes and speculation of more change; Indonesia-China partnership to vaccinate millions of people; Philippine Congress in disarray; Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's meeting with the King tomorrow, and more.

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BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR SHENZHEN, GREATER BAY AREA?

Expectations were rising about changes in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area with Chinese President Xi Jinping due to deliver an address on Wednesday that could take cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to a "higher level".

On Sunday, the central government announced measures that will give Shenzhen greater control over land use. These are intended to encourage foreign investment in the technology sector, while reducing red tape in energy and telecoms.

China has been seeking to better integrate Shenzhen, the surrounding province of Guangdong and the former colonies of Hong Kong and Macau into what it calls the Greater Bay Area. The effort, however, has faced hurdles amid its ongoing dispute with the US and the pandemic.

In a related development, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced that she would postpone her annual policy address scheduled for Wednesday and travel to Shenzhen instead. Mrs Lam is also scheduled to go to Beijing later this month and might give her policy address in November.

INDONESIA TO BEGIN MASS USE OF CHINA CORONAVIRUS VACCINES IN NOVEMBER

In a partnership agreement with China, that is being watched in Southeast Asia, Indonesia will begin vaccinating people with vaccines from Chinese companies from early November, even though some experts had cast doubts on the trial process.

Our Indonesia Correspondent Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja reports that Indonesia will be getting 100,000 doses from CanSino Biologics in November. Another five million doses will come in batches next month from pharmaceutical company Sinopharm while Sinovac Biotech, a China-based company, will be supplying three million doses by December.

The three vaccines have been given emergency use authorisation by China.

In coronavirus related developments elsewhere:

- China's Qingdao city ordered Covid-19 tests for the entire 9 million population of Qingdao city after new cases appeared linked to a hospital treating imported infections.

- South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc said it has received regulatory approval for Phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental Covid-19 treatment. The treatment, the most advanced antibody drug in terms of research in South Korea, is directed against the surface of the virus and designed to block it from locking on to human cells.

- People in three Asian countries - China, Malaysia and India - strongly backed their leaders' measures to fight the pandemic, in a Milken Institute and the Harris Poll survey, that highlighted the leadership deficit in tackling the pandemic around the world.

PHILIPPINE CONGRESS IN DISARRAY

The lower house of the Philippine Congress was thrown into disarray earlier today after key allies of President Rodrigo Duterte duelled for control of the chamber, stalling approval of next year's national budget which includes key funding for efforts to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Our Philippines Correspondent Raul Dancel reports that the turmoil followed what amounted to a takeover of the House of Representatives with a majority of lawmakers allied with Mr Duterte's daughter and closest aide holding a gathering where they voted to oust the current Speaker, Mr Alan Cayetano who refused to step down.

Also read:

Philippines extends coronavirus curbs for another month to prevent 'Christmas surge'

INDIA ANNOUNCES BIG STIMULUS PROGRAMME

India today announced several steps to stimulate consumer demand, including advance payment of a part of the wages of federal government employees during the festival season and more capital spending as it tries to bolster the pandemic-hit economy.

Nirmala Sitharaman, India's finance minister said the government will also shore up investment by spending extra 250 billion rupees (S$4.6 billion) on roads, ports and defence projects, and offering 120 billion rupee in interest-free 50-year loans to state governments for spending on infrastructure before March 31, 2021.

The move comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to bolster the economy and ease lockdowns ahead of the festive months that are usually accompanied by high spending.

Also read:

India's financial capital Mumbai hit by widespread power outage

MALAYSIA'S ANWAR IBRAHIM TO MEET KING TOMORROW

Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim is set to meet Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin at the Istana Negara (national palace) in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, at 10am local time, in a move that could indicate if the country will hold national elections soon.

The opposition leader claims he has the support of 121 federal lawmakers to form a new government. At last count, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had the support of 113 MPs in Parliament, two more than the minimum to pass Bills and survive a confidence vote.

Meanwhile, a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases led Malaysian authorities to partially lockdown the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, along with the state of Selangor, till Wednesday (Oct 14).

IN OTHER NEWS

KIM JONG UN DISPLAYS MASSIVE NEW MISSILE: Analysts are warning that the gargantuan new missile North Korea put on show at a military parade is an explicit threat to United States defences and an implicit challenge to both the current and next American president. They believe Pyongyang could test the weapon next year. Leader Kim Jong Un watched the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) roll through Kim Il Sung Square - named after his grandfather - in Pyongyang at the climax of an unprecedented night-time parade on Oct 10.

HYUNDAI TO EXPAND KONA ELECTRIC CAR RECALL: Hyundai Motor Co is set to triple the number of recalled Kona electric cars over battery cell fire risks, with plans to recall around 51,000 vehicles in North America, Europe, China and other markets. The recalls follow the South Korean automaker's announcement last week to recall 25,564 Kona EVs at home.

APPLE'S NEW IPHONE: Apple said last week it would hold a special event on Oct 13, which most analysts believe will be used to unveil new iPhones with 5G capabilities. The company hinted at new, faster networking capabilities in the invitation for the event, which read: "Hi, Speed."

That's it for today. Thanks for reading the Asian Insider newsletter and The Straits Times. We'll be back with you tomorrow.

Shefali

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