Mining magnate Gina Rinehart had AU$7 billion (US$6.8 billion) wiped off her fortune in the past year but remains Australia's wealthiest person, an annual rich list showed Wednesday.

Former World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Monday that Japan's economic drive needed accompanying structural reforms, voicing fear that recent growth could be just a “sugar high.”

U.S. investment banking giant Goldman Sachs said Monday it will start investing in Japanese renewable energy projects, with a reported US$2.9 billion outlay over the next five years.

Thailand's economy shrank 2.2 percent in the three months to March from the previous quarter — the first contraction in more than a year — as manufacturing output fell, official data showed Monday.

The world hydroelectric industry's decision to meet in a Malaysian state where dams have uprooted rainforests and native peoples is drawing bitter fire from environmental and tribal groups.

COMPUTEX Taipei (台北國際電腦展) organizers provided a sneak peak into the unprecedented technology-enabled features organized for the convenience of visitors during a recent pre-show press meeting.

Shares in Taiwan pulled back Friday from the gains of the previous session as the market encountered stiff technical resistance ahead of 8,400 points, dealers said.

The U.S. dollar rose against the New Taiwan dollar Friday, gaining NT$0.01 to close at NT$30.060 as the local central bank entered the trading floor again to prop up the greenback and help the currency reverse its early gains, dealers said.

Malaysia's UMW Holdings plans to sell 39 percent of its oil and gas unit in an initial public offering this year that could raise up to US$1 billion, a source said Friday.

China's private sector wages in urban areas grew 17.1 percent in 2012, official figures showed Friday, even as the country's economy expanded at its slowest pace in 13 years.