Economy

10 January 2024
Bhutanese people queue up to cast votes in the national elections in Deothang, Bhutan on Jan. 9.
Bhutan's decision to discount its "sustainable development fee" for tourists, roughly a year after raising it, highlights the difficulty of calibrating the amount of traffic. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
Travel & Leisure

Bhutan halves $200 daily tourist tax to spur sluggish recovery

Discount until 2027 highlights challenge of balancing economy, sustainability

1 September 2023
Bhutan's hydroelectric power resources hold the key to its plan to become a Bitcoin mining center.
Economy

Bhutan puts Bitcoin mining plan in motion to power up economy

Fundraising starts as Himalayan kingdom aims to leverage hydro resources

11 June 2023
Founded in the eighth century, Bhutan's Taktshang (Tiger’s lair) monastery hangs from a rock face 900 meters above a valley. Visitors from outside South Asia will need to pay a $200 daily tax to visit the country and see it. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
Travel & Leisure

Bhutan reopens with $200 tourist tax in test for sustainable travel

Sky-high daily levy worries pandemic-battered tourism operators

23 September 2022
Youths sit around the central square in the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan, in December 2017: the answer lies in hedonic adaptation.
Opinion

Are people in Kazakhstan really happier than in Japan?

Happiness metrics are the wrong way to promote well-being

25 January 2022
Lakes in Bhutan dammed by glacial moraines are at risk of overflowing into the valleys below as ice melts.
Climate Change

Climate change casts shadow on Bhutan with glacial lakes at risk

Danger looms in the mountains as ice melt threatens to flood land downstream

4 September 2021
Two women walk on an unusually empty street in Kyoto on Jan. 13: we must have the courage to recognize that old-fashioned tourism is over.
Opinion

Old-fashioned tourism will never return

All countries must start taking this into account

9 June 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the launch of the pan-India COVID-19 vaccination drive via video conference in New Delhi on Jan. 16. (Photo courtesy of Government of India)
Coronavirus

Vaccine diplomacy: Indian supplies reach Bangladesh and Nepal

New Delhi's aid shipments come amid China's own COVID outreach to the region

21 January 2021
Bhutan has relaxed its tobacco ban to combat the coronavirus pandemic, whose most worrisome case entered the Himalayan kingdom from across the border. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
Politics

Bhutan lifts tobacco ban to block COVID spillover from India

After pandemic, Thimphu may ease centuries of control of 'sinful' weed

25 August 2020
To improve public access, the Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan has upgraded its systems to make company filings and real-time data available electronically. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
Markets

COVID fails to dim Bhutan's newfound interest in stocks

Rising incomes propel growing middle class into playing the market

20 July 2020
A woman carries her daughter near Punakha; Bhutan strives to balance economic development with its GNH philosophy.
Opinion

Follow Bhutan's lessons for post-coronavirus life

It can show the world green model for economic development

3 June 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have their hands full as the pandemic batters an already slumping economy. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by Reuters) 
Coronavirus

Modi buried under avalanche of COVID-19 cases and 120m jobless

India struggles as slumping economy takes another hit from spreading pandemic

23 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
With exports and domestic consumption crashing, China, the world's second largest economy, could be on course for losses of up to $1.6 trillion this year, according to the ADB. 
Economy

ADB warns coronavirus threatens to chop 10% off global output

Bank says fiscal and monetary responses needed immediately to soften fallout

15 May 2020
A bridge construction site of the Bar-Boljare highway, pictured in June 2018: for Montenegro any concerns were far outweighed by the potential economic benefit of the new road.
Opinion

For developing world, Belt and Road Initiative is best deal around

China's infrastructure offer supports economic growth in Europe, Africa and Asia

6 May 2020
Tourist and school buses are seen at a parking lot near Kwai Chung Container Terminal in Hong Kong, April 1: The novel coronavirus outbreak has devastated the territory's tourism industry.
Economy

Pandemic to cut Asian growth to 2.2%, worst since 1998 crisis: ADB

Thailand, Hong Kong and seven other economies to shrink, China to slow sharply

3 April 2020
A child wears a mask in Thailand slum. The World Bank's forecast of a "third shock" could devastate economic growth and increase poverty across developing Asia. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Interview

World Bank warns of 'third shock' after coronavirus and trade war

Developing Asia urged to address expected poverty surge, financial distress

31 March 2020
Pungthang Dewa Chhenbi Phodrang in the western district of Punakha, 75 km from Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, is popular with regional tourists. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
International relations

Bhutan tourism stung by new fees on visitors from India

Measure aims to curb overcrowding, but threatens hotel sector

20 February 2020
Foreign students in Japan are allowed to work in unskilled-labor positions, such as convenience store work, for up to 28 hours per week. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Japan immigration

Japan intensifies crackdown on student visa overstayers

Number of countries subject to stricter checks to increase tenfold

11 February 2020
Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is at present the only gateway for air passengers visiting Nepal. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Economy

Nepal's new airport threatens 2.4m trees, angering greens

Government pushes on with $1.3bn project to handle flood of foreign tourists

5 February 2020
A worker stands next to robotic arms in a factory in Zhangjiakou, China: robots often supplement and support humans rather than replace them.
Opinion

Asia's economies must learn to accommodate rise of robots

Technology can complement humans but it can also eliminate their jobs

5 February 2020
People walk by a banner aimed at raising awareness of the coronavirus in Islamabad. Pakistan, as of Saturday, does not have a confirmed case of the infection. 
Coronavirus

Coronavirus fears freeze Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

Opposition politicians slam government for not evacuating citizens from Wuhan

1 February 2020
Gotabaya Rajapaksa (in red), Sri Lankan president and former wartime defence chief, with his brothers including Mahinda Rajapaksa (left), former president, waves at his supporters in Colombo during the campaign for the November 2019 presidential election.
International relations

Sri Lanka faces EU ire after government breaks UN war obligations

Rajapaksa's stance risks country losing favored trade status with European bloc

25 January 2020
Despite the fanfare surrounding use of Gwadar port for trade with Afghanistan, experts say the facility has a long way to go before China sees any return on its investment.
Belt and Road

Beijing-backed Pakistan port opens as hub for Afghanistan trade

Gwadar challenges Indian interests in region, but China's ROI remains unclear

23 January 2020
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Muhammad Hammad Azhar talks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo. (Photo by Yuichi Shiga)
Interview

Belt and Road corridor to boost Pakistan economy: minister

Azhar says free trade agreement with Beijing will also help

8 January 2020