COVID-19: Asian factories signal stability

Manufacturing activity in Asia outside China stabilized last month amid easing lockdown and border restrictions, setting the sector on course to face a possible new challenge from the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Manufacturing purchasing managers' indices (PMI) across Southeast Asia showed continued positivity, data released yesterday by IHS Markit showed. Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines all saw rises in their PMIs, while Thailand's saw a slight decline to 50.6, albeit still above the 50 reading that separates expansion from contraction. Indonesia's PMI saw a third month of expansion, but eased to 53.9 from 57.2 last month. The index rose to…