General view inside the Pondok Indah shopping mall as the Indonesian capital reopens its shopping malls with a new policy requiring shoppers to show a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination certificate, in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 13, 2021. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
- Delta variant, slow vaccination catch much of region off-guard
- Asia q/q profit likely 1st fall in 6 quarters in July-September
- SE Asia July factory activity fell fastest since June 2020
TOKYO, Aug 24 (Reuters) – Asia’s robust economic recovery from last year’s coronavirus low is losing momentum as a surge in COVID-19 cases sees shops empty again and factories close, dimming prospects for corporate profit growth after a blockbuster half year.
The rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus and low vaccination rates have caught much of the region off-guard, especially in emerging markets, even as economies in Europe and North America…
