Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day

China optimism at American firms falls to a record low. Singapore overhauls visa rules for foreign workers. Mukesh Ambani outlines a succession plan. Here’s what you need to know today.

China optimism at American companies has fallen to a record low, with President Xi Jinping’s Covid Zero policy causing more than half of companies to delay or cancel investment, a survey from a US business group shows. Pandemic-related shutdowns pose an even bigger headache to US companies in China than worsening relations between Beijing and Washington, according to the survey, published as lockdown restrictions around Beijing intensified ahead of a key meeting of the Communist Party’s top leaders. Economists this week further downgraded forecasts for China’s economic growth in 2022.