IBTimes: The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) hiked its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.81 percent and the benchmark deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent over the last weekend. China’s decision to raise interest rates could turn out to be positive development for Japan, according to a a Tokyo-based economist.“We in Tokyo see this as an indicator that the [Chinese] government is moving towards exchange rate hikes and this is, of course, positive for Japan,” Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute told CNBC on Monday. “[It is seen as] positive for the competitiveness of not only Japan, but for many Asian economies.” Read more…..