As doubts grow over China's vast "Belt and Road" trade infrastructure project, the EU is launching an alternative plan for Asia that it says will not saddle countries with debt they cannot repay.

The president of Argentina's central bank, Luis Caputo, abruptly resigned Tuesday, after just a few months in the position and amid a volatile economic crisis.

The resignation, which the bank said was for "personal reasons," came as President Mauricio Macri was negotiating additional IMF funding three months after securing a $50 billion loan from the international lender to stabilize Argentina's economy.

The World Bank warned Tuesday that the Gaza Strip's economy is in "free fall" as cuts to aid and salaries add to an already crippling Israeli blockade on the Hamas-run enclave.

The bank's report will be presented to the international donor group for Palestinians, known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, at its meeting in New York on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

President Mauricio Macri said Monday that crisis-hit Argentina will receive additional funding from the International Monetary Fund and vowed to avoid a default.

The EU on Monday gave Britain two months to recover 2.7 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in lost customs duties or risk referral to the EU's top court after London allegedly ignored a scam by Chinese importers.

Hong Kong led a sell-off in Asian markets during holiday-thinned business Monday as trade tensions burst back on the scene with China and the US swapping fresh tariffs and reports saying Beijing pulled out of planned talks.

The recent optimism in the US economy that saw equities rack up healthy gains over the past two weeks was replaced by fresh concerns about the impact of a standoff between the world's top two economies.

Donald Trump's threatened tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese imports took effect on Monday, escalating a trade war between the world's top two economies that is clouding the global outlook.

Societe Generale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) a US$ 100 million finance package for the purpose of on lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to boost cross-border trade helping local businesses access international markets, a press release said on Friday.

Britain's National Crime Agency is probing the activities of UK-based companies linked to a money laundering scandal at Denmark's Danske Bank, it said Friday.

Asian markets enjoyed more gains on Friday, putting them on course to end the week with a flourish as investors looked past the China-US trade row to focus on the booming American economy.