SEOUL -- South Korea's employment kept rising last month due to a fast increase in elderly jobs, statistical office data showed Friday.

The number of employed people aged 15 or older expanded 173,000 from a year earlier to 28,396,000 in March, according to Statistics Korea.

It marked the lowest growth in over three years since February 2021, but the employment continued to grow thanks to higher elderly jobs. (South Korea-Employment)

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COLOMBO -- Maldivian Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed has said that Maldivians will soon have the option to settle their import payments using Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB).

Saeed told a gathering on Thursday that the government's objective is to diversify its settling currency from the U.S. dollar, adding that they expect the local currency Maldivian Rufiyaa to strengthen against the U.S. dollar by 30 to 40 percent in the coming months. (Maldives-Import-Payment)

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KUALA LUMPUR -- Economists have foreseen the Malaysian economy to pick up in quarters ahead after growth disappoints in 2023.

UOB Economics and Markets Research said in a note that although Malaysia's first growth path could still be bumpy, growth in the second half is expected to see a meaningful pick-up as global monetary conditions are expected to ease and the global economy endeavors a soft landing. (Malaysia-Economy-Outlook)

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MANILA -- The performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines sustained its growth in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday.

Based on the preliminary results of a monthly survey, the PSA said the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI) increased 7.5 percent and 8.9 percent in February, respectively. (Philippines-Manufacturing-Growth) Enditem

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