Food & Beverage

YouTube star Xiaogao Jie, or Sister Gao, invites viewers to make cold noodles. Her channel, Sister Gao's Magic Ingredients, has attracted 1.8 million subscribers since its launch in 2016. (Screen grab from YouTube)
Life

Sister Gao is YouTube's breakout Chinese cookery star

Her motherly tone and familiar dishes have comforted expats during coronavirus lockdown

10 July 2020
Colowide, Ootoya Holdings' largest shareholder, wants the restaurant chain to cut costs. 
Business deals

Ootoya eateries face 7.1bn yen takeover bid by cost-cutting peer

Colowide takes new approach after retail investors rejected earlier attempt

9 July 2020
Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport has often been ranked among the world's worst airports.
Transportation

Manila's $2bn airport expansion pitch stalled by aviation shakeup

Calls renewed for government to back those seeking PPP deals

8 July 2020
Beijing has been encouraging major companies to list at home and for investors to buy.
Markets

Shanghai bourse's 29-month high bolstered by government help

Beijing seeks to dispel fears about capital flight in wake of Hong Kong crackdown

8 July 2020
Ikinari Steak's monthly revenue averaged 18 million yen per store in the first half of 2018, only to sink to 10 million yen by the second half of 2019. (Photo from Ikinari Steak's Facebook account)
Food & Beverage

Pepper Food sacrifices cash cow for quick infusion

But $80m sale expected to sate Ikinari Steak operator for only a year

7 July 2020
ICBC lost its crown to liquor giant Kweichow Moutai. (Nikkei montage/Reuters)
Markets

Banks down, spirits up: Coronavirus reshapes China stock values

Consumer goods and technology edge out old economy shares related to investment

1 July 2020
Suntory Holdings rode two decades of surging popularity for Japanese whisky. Then the coronavirus hit, shutting down cities and means for people to gather. (Photo by Tomoki Mera)
The Big Story

Suntory thirsts for new markets as coronavirus upends whisky empire

CEO Takeshi Niinami says innovation is key to restarting growth

1 July 2020
Watami's pubs serve a variety of food and drink, including Neapolitan spaghetti, a Japanese comfort food. (Photo by Fumihito Ishizuka)
Food & Beverage

Pub chain in Japan to test doors and toilets for coronavirus

Watami restaurants to take disinfecting ozone bath with Tokyo outbreak resurgence

1 July 2020
Khin Khin San, who is widely known as May Cho (Sweet Mother), rose from selling rice noodles in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to founding one of Myanmar’s most beloved seafood chains. (Lorcan Lovett)
Life

Street vendor builds Yangon's top seafood chain

Rakhine migrant's fiery noodles triumph in Myanmar's business capital

29 June 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has made food delivery more important than ever to Southeast Asian ride-hailing companies like Grab.
Food & Beverage

Southeast Asia's cloud kitchens swell, powered by Grab and Gojek

Ride-hailers tap pandemic-fueled demand as restaurants play catch-up

28 June 2020
Big food processing operations, like this Charoen Pokphand Foods line in Thailand, are set to undergo changes to mitigate damage from disasters like the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Food & Beverage

Food companies in Asia rethink supply chains broken by pandemic

Thailand giant CPF and other producers intend to defray single-supplier risk

27 June 2020
The once-exclusive Tokyo Banana sponge cakes are now available outside the capital for the first time.
Food & Beverage

Japanese confectioners sweeten virus-hit sales in novel ways

Premium makers ditch exclusivity as tourist slump batters bottom lines

27 June 2020
AstraZeneca aims to supply Japan with a vaccine in cooperation with its group companies, Daiichi Sankyo and Meiji Holdings.
Pharmaceuticals

Japan in talks to secure coronavirus vaccine from AstraZeneca

Daiichi Sankyo to distribute doses if UK development is successful

27 June 2020
Ootoya is known for its teishoku -- a set meal usually consisting of an entree, rice and miso soup -- prepared from scratch at each of its locations. (Photo from Ootoya Holdings' Facebook page)
Food & Beverage

Fans of eatery Ootoya block top shareholder's cost-saving ax

Freshly grilled fish cannot be replaced by factory-made dishes, they say

26 June 2020
Chinese express delivery company ZTO Express has begun discussing a potential stock offering in Hong Kong with banks. 
Markets

More China companies seek Hong Kong dual listings as US pressure rises

ZTO Express in talks with banks while Yum China seeks $2bn

23 June 2020
Luckin’s board has been in a state of turmoil ever since the company’s shock admission in early April that it had reported more than $300 million in fake sales. 
Caixin

Change grinds Luckin board: Is it real or for founder's benefit?

Chairman stalls investigation by refusing long interview and not handing over phone

23 June 2020
Commuters in Tokyo: Though many companies have experimented with teleworking amid the pandemic, not all see it as a long-term possibility.
Coronavirus

Itochu and Keyence lead Japan's return to the office

Companies find individual answers for productivity on site versus at home

19 June 2020
The world's leading lender to coal power projects is about to face Japan's first shareholder call for corporate action on climate change. (Photo by Tsuyoshi Tamehiro)
Companies

Mizuho investors demand transparency on coal exposure

Shareholder resolution on climate a first for corporate Japan

18 June 2020
Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, a tycoon once close to Philippine president and dictator Fernando Marcos, has died.
Obituaries

San Miguel chief and Marcos ally Eduardo Cojuangco dies aged 85

Philippine tycoon was known for his involvement in politics and sports

17 June 2020
A half-liter bottle of Kweichow Moutai's flagship Feitian baijiu is priced at more than $200, and can cost much more on the resale market.
Food & Beverage

Deft branding fuels Moutai as China's most valuable manufacturer

Baijiu speculators help push distiller's valuation past Coca-Cola's

17 June 2020
Chinese state-owned energy majors Sinopec and PetroChina were clobbered by the pandemic, but Japan's Nintendo experienced soaring profits as its home console and a new game title won over stay-at-home consumers. (Source photos by AP)
Companies

Asia powerhouses in Q1: Sinopec stumbles but Nintendo thrives

Combined net profit plunges 45% in virus-roiled quarter

15 June 2020
These pigs raised in northern Japan are normally sold under the Hakkinton "platinum pork" brand, but demand for the pricey meat has fallen. (Photo courtesy of Takagen Seibaku)
Food & Beverage

No sizzle for premium pork and chicken as restaurants close

Japan's 'platinum' pigs forced to sell at supermarket prices

13 June 2020
Thailand gives the go-ahead for restaurants and hotels to start serving alcohol again, beginning June 15, when a late-night curfew will also be lifted. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Coronavirus

Thailand's restaurants and hotels cleared to serve alcohol

Lack of inbound tourists creates large barrier to bringing back economic growth

13 June 2020
The Kyoto Distillery’s award-winning gin, Ki No Bi. Within a year of its release, Nikka Whisky Distilling jumped into the gin game with Nikka Coffey Gin and Suntory Spirits introduced Suntory Roku a month later. (Courtesy of The Kyoto Distillery)
Life

Japanese gins become worldwide hits

Global boom in spirit has combined with national reputation for craft alcohol

10 June 2020
Lu Zhengyao, chairman of Luckin Coffee. 
Caixin

Luckin boss to face fraud charges in China: source

Nasdaq-listed coffee chain has triggered US regulatory and political backlash

8 June 2020