Indonesia's anti-corruption agency said on Wednesday the energy minister was a suspect in a case involving extortion and abuse of authority, the latest in a string of cases that have tainted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's final year in office.

Malaysia's Maxis Communications Bhd, charged by Indian police in a telecom scandal, denied any wrongdoing and said it would "vigorously" pursue all available legal remedies to defend itself and one of its directors.

South Korea's antitrust agency is investigating the country's four largest commercial banks on suspicion of collusion on interest rates, news agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday.

India's pricing regulator has fined more than a dozen global and local car makers a total of 25.5 billion rupees ($420 million) after a probe found they had engaged in anti-competitive practices in the world's sixth-largest auto market.

The World Trade Organization failed on Thursday to reach a deal to standardise customs rules, which would have been the first global trade reform in two decades but was blocked by India's demands for concessions on agricultural stockpiling.

Thailand's military junta has approved a plan to invest in urgent infrastructure projects, including 867 billion baht ($27.3 billion) for eight dual-track rail lines, a senior official has said.

Singapore's central bank announced new proposals on Tuesday to regulate financial benchmarks in the wake of a series of scandals around the world involving traders manipulating Libor and other key rates.

The Australian government has approved Indian firm Adani Mining Pty Ltd's controversial A$16.5 billion ($15.5 billion) Carmichael coal and rail project in Queensland, subject to strict conditions to protect groundwater.

Regulators in the United Arab Emirates have suspended trade in shares of Dubai construction firm Arabtec, in a sign they intend to become more active in pushing companies to disclose information.

Singapore's central bank proposed tightening its anti-money laundering rules on Tuesday, looking to formalise regulation that would require financial firms to check more closely who their customers are.