Economy

If WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram have to leave Myanmar, the Chinese app WeChat will fill the void.
Opinion

Elizabeth Warren's plan to break up Facebook risks helping China

If global tech giant withdraws from Southeast Asia, WeChat will take its place

27 November 2019
People wait to check if their names are included in the National Register of Citizens at a draft center in Mayoung, India, pictured in July 2018: migration from Bangladesh has become politically explosive in India.
Opinion

China and India must address causes of migration to stop human traffic

Larger Asian countries are closing their borders, just like West and Gulf states

25 November 2019
Myanmar's garment industry will be irreparably damaged if the EU ends privileged access for the country's exports.
Opinion

Misplaced calls for Myanmar sanctions threaten wrong people

EU trade restrictions in response to Rohingya crisis would hurt ordinary workers

22 November 2019
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the European Union flag. The EU last week sent Cambodia its preliminary report on whether to suspend the country from special trade privileges over its human rights record. (Nikkei Montage/ Source photo by Reuters)
Hun Sen's Cambodia

Hun Sen rival faces trial even as EU threatens Cambodia sanctions

Kem Sokha will be tried for treason despite being released from house arrest

19 November 2019
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, pictured at the ASEM leaders summit in Brussels in October 2018: external pressure is unlikely to transform the mindset of those in power.
Opinion

European trade threats risk pushing Cambodia closer to China

Beijing offers financial backing under framework of noninterference

19 November 2019
A mysteriously long runway has appeared near the site of a planned resort that a Chinese company is building in Cambodia, along the Gulf of Thailand. (Photo by Tomoya Onishi)
International relations

Cambodia's China-built runway irks US but locals have other concerns

Farmers and workers carry on as Chinese transplants drive up land prices

11 November 2019
A Cambodian woman works at a loom: The European Union will soon complete a review of human rights in the Southeast Asian country that could make it ineligible for trade preferences.
International relations

EU weighs softer stance toward Cambodia over human rights

Official says ending trade preferences will impoverish already-poor workers

3 November 2019
A woman works at a sewing machine during a power outage in Yangon on May 24.
Economy

Myanmar rushes power plant projects to avoid more blackouts

Critics say harsh contract terms are scaring off potential bidders

28 October 2019
Myanmar has started to fully integrate its web with the rest of the world.
Opinion

Myanmar's great tech switch is chance to become part of world's web

Using global standard Unicode font opens up internet in growing market

16 October 2019
Cambodian authorities in June ordered the destruction of Bun Kim Long's 80 pigs. Like many smallholder pig raisers across Asia, her business is in tatters. (photo by Shaun Turton)
Agriculture

African swine fever wipes out Asia's backyard pig farmers

Outbreak forcing a shift to commercial operations with biosecurity resources

11 October 2019
Tsai Ing-wen rejuvenated the New Southbound Policy in 2016 while Beijing launched its measures to bring Taipei back into line.
Opinion

Taiwan's New Southbound Policy is decreasing its reliance on China

Looking to regional neighbors for closer trade relationships is bearing fruit

4 October 2019
A Uniqlo store in Tokyo: The chain earns 5% of its sales in North America. (Photo courtesy of Fast Retailing)
Trade war

Newest US tariffs on China drive Japan Inc. toward Southeast Asia

Uniqlo, Seiko and more weigh production shifts amid growing trade war

2 September 2019
From left, Naypyidaw, Putrajaya and Astana (source photo from Reuters)
Politics

A short history of relocating capitals in Asia

Indonesia's move has precedents in places such as Myanmar and Malaysia

30 August 2019
The Mekong River in Laos: drought is a reflection of the broader inability of the Mekong countries to agree on a regional plan for managing their water resources.
Opinion

Mekong nears tipping point as US-China rivalry grows

Difficult choices ahead as drought takes hold in downstream countries

27 August 2019
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has traveled to all parts of the country since January to shore up political support.
Politics

Myanmar's Suu Kyi furious about corruption ahead of elections

Ruling NLD struggles in rural regions with little to show in reforms

19 August 2019
Unlike in advanced economies, Myanmar's banks and other institutions are believed to refer to the black market's foreign exchange rate, and authorities are sensitive to its movements.
Economy

Myanmar's currency black market thrives in banks' shadow

Informal trading still on par with legitimate dealings, amplifying kyat's swings

14 August 2019
Top Glove denied the forced labor claims, but admitted that overtime had exceeded national regulations.
Opinion

Asia Pacific companies need to face up to migrant labor problems

Investors and advocacy groups step up calls for transparency

14 August 2019
Only five companies are listed on the moribund Yangon Stock Exchange since it opened in 2016. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Markets

Myanmar plans alternative market to jump-start stock exchange

New platform seen as springboard for companies looking to go public

13 August 2019
Narendra Modi visits Sri Lanka in June 2019: if connectivity initiatives have to succeed, "we must also build bridges of trust," said Modi.
Opinion

India responds to Belt and Road Initiative with infrastructure push

New Delhi does not want China to dominate its backyard so has started spending

13 August 2019
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, seen here in Brussels in May, told the Nikkei Asian Review: "It is the EU as a whole that has decided to enhance its engagement on security issues in and with Asia, and we are intent on delivering on that objective."
Interview

EU keen to strengthen security ties with Asia: foreign policy chief

Korean Peninsula and South China Sea 'matter to all of us,' Federica Mogherini says

30 July 2019
The once sleepy Cambodian resort town of Sihanoukville has been rapidly transformed in recent years -- including with the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone -- through Chinese-led development projects. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Cambodia and Laos casinos targeted for drug-trade money laundering

Investigators in Southeast Asia follow money trail from booming meth market

30 July 2019
Brian Eyler, who has written a book about the Mekong, says 103 dams have been built and 65 more are under construction along the river, threatening its flow during droughts.
Economy

Dams threaten way of life in Mekong countries

Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia blame China and Laos for drought conditions

30 July 2019
The benefits of Chinese investment have not been widely shared with the local population.
Opinion

Chinese investment strains Cambodian society

Drastic transformation of Sihanoukville should warn other Asian countries

22 July 2019
A Japanese-owned clothing factory in Yangon: Foreign investment is flowing into Myanmar's garment industry. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Economy

Myanmar investment inflows double from China as deals surge

Southeast Asian nation's garment industry benefits from production shift

18 July 2019
A gas-fired power plant on the outskirts of Yangon: The World Bank estimates that the nation's peak electricity demand will more than triple by 2030. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Energy

Myanmar hikes electricity rates to fund grid investments

Blackout-prone country has some of Southeast Asia's cheapest power

26 June 2019