E- commerce becoming propeller of rural boom

E-commerce platforms are helping China's rural areas prosper by efficiently matching the supply of local produce with the growing appetite of urban consumers, a report revealed.

Rural produce is making its way faster and at a lower cost to urban areas as e-commerce players step up presence in the countryside, according to a report by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank with China's commerce ministry.

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Pinduoduo have worked with local governments to include poor households in a sound industrial chain ranging from produce cultivation to processing and sales, lending steam to the country's anti poverty campaign.

Pinduoduo saw the order value of agricultural and sideline products sales via its platform soar over 200 percent year on year in 2018 to exceed 65 billion yuan (about 9.39 billion U.S. dollars) and expected the number to top 120 billion yuan in 2019.

Some players are also introducing urban industrial products into rural areas to aid local people in creating a higher-quality life, the report noted.

China's online retail sales and produce sales jumped 19.7 percent and 26.4 percent year on year respectively in the first three quarters of 2019, nearly 3 and 10 percentage points higher than the growth pace of overall online retail sales, official data showed. Tokyo stocks opened higher on Thursday with investors taking heart from rallies on Wall Street and a cheaper yen against the dollar as fears of an all-out Middle East conflict receded.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was up 1.39 percent or 322.35 points at 23,527.01 in early trade, while the broader Topix index rose 1.23 percent or 20.94 points to 1,722.34.

Japanese shares were being supported by "rallies in US shares and the yen's depreciation against the dollar" after the safe-haven currency strengthened on tension between the US and Iran, said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at Okasan Online Securities, in a commentary. The dollar fetched 109.09 yen in early Asian trade, against 109.13 yen in New York and 108.43 yen in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Among major shares in Tokyo, Sony advanced 1.16 percent to 7,749 yen, Panasonic rose 1.26 percent to 1,044.5 yen, and Toyota was up 0.69 percent at 7,679 yen.

Nissan was up 1.73 percent

at 640.9 yen after its fugitive former CEO Carlos Ghosn accused the Japanese automaker and Japanese prosecutors of plotting against him, speaking at a Beirut press conference in his first public appearance since fleeing the country.

On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 0.6 percent at 28,745.09. South Korea's recent economic data indicated the easing of economic slump, the country's state-run think tank said Thursday. The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly economic report that the economy stayed in a low growth level owing to weak investment and slump in the manufacturing sector.