Features

New Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's Pheu Thai Party carried much of the fertile northeast in this year's election, but Move Forward's inroads raise the pressure to follow through on lofty economic promises. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Ken Kobayashi and Getty Images)
Asia Insight

Thai PM Srettha faces pivotal test over pledges to party heartland

Pheu Thai promised northeasterners hefty handouts and better days; can it deliver?

29 August 2023
Investors remain focused on tech companies' ability to generate cash amid an increasingly competitive environment. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and Getty)
Market Spotlight

Grab shares jump but Sea's dive as investors applaud cost cuts

Southeast Asian tech stars face increasing pressure to generate profit

28 August 2023
The world continues to see an increase in coal-fired capacity as more facilities are built in Asia and elsewhere.
Datawatch

World struggles to break coal habit despite looming climate risk

Demand for black rock surges on Ukraine war, post-COVID recovery and heat waves

26 August 2023
Employees during lunch at a Foxconn plant in Henan province, China on Jan. 6. China’s tech industry usually ramps up hiring in summer, but this year is different.
Business Spotlight

Tech suppliers in China skip seasonal hiring rush amid weak demand

Lack of usually lucrative temp work this summer also blamed on shifting supply chains

25 August 2023
Sri Lankan families are having to endure prolonged misery as their government, encouraged by global bodies to spend its way through the pandemic, instead plunged the country into an economic crisis. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
The Big Story

Sri Lanka enters a new era of post-pandemic austerity

Encouraged to borrow during lockdowns, many poor countries face harsh consequences as priorities change

23 August 2023
While global leaders make the trek to Port Moresby to court PNG's leader, rising debt, inflation and sluggish growth could derail Prime Minister James Marape's plan to make his country the world's "richest Black Christian nation."
Asia Insight

Papua New Guinea's Marape: Pacific power broker or PM in peril?

Amid U.S.-China balancing act, PNG leader faces mounting pressure at home

22 August 2023
"Rents and occupancy rates will be under continuous pressure," says Soho China, a Hong Kong-listed owner of office buildings in Beijing and Shanghai. (Nikkei montage/Source photo by Getty Images) 
Market Spotlight

China's property downturn spreads to trophy office buildings

Vacancies rise at top Beijing and Shanghai towers as tenants seek lower rents

21 August 2023
Households headed by people 65 and older accounted for 39% of all personal consumption in Japan last year, nearly twice their share 20 years earlier.
Datawatch

Pensioners' share of spending hits nearly 40% of total in Japan

Seniors hold key to country's drive to escape deflation

20 August 2023
Left to right: Bayraktar TB3, TB2, Kizilelma and Akinci drones on display in Istanbul on June 23. The company has signed contracts with a least 30 nations for its drones. (Photo courtesy of Baykar/Anadolu Agency)
Business Spotlight

Turkish drone maker Baykar seeks to extend global influence

Unmanned aerial vehicles made in Istanbul prove valuable in 'asymmetric war'

18 August 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves to attendees of the ASEAN-China Special Summit via video link from Beijing in November 2021. 
The Big Story

China's grip on Southeast Asia tightens as U.S. influence wanes

From Vietnam to Indonesia, development aid and 'Asian values' drive Beijing's dominance

16 August 2023
An Afghan woman walks past a banned beauty salon in Kabul on July 6. Despite international calls to do more to defend women's rights, there is little consensus on what "more" should be. 
Asia Insight

Afghanistan rulers win tacit acceptance as women face 'apartheid'

World struggles to give aid without helping Taliban as regime enters third year

15 August 2023
Country Garden Holdings, one of the largest Chinese developers by revenue, said it had missed an August 7 deadline for making $22.5 million in coupon payments on two U.S. dollar-denominated bonds. (Source photo by AP)
Market Spotlight

China property woes spread, adding to national economic gloom

Country Garden becomes latest big developer to miss bond payment

14 August 2023
Japanese businesses need to make the workplace safer for older workers as they keep them on payrolls longer to cope with labor shortages.
Datawatch

Nearly 40% of Japanese companies hire people over 70 years old

Facing labor shortages, Japan Inc. turns to elderly to fill jobs

13 August 2023
As many Asian countries started to seriously consider how they would achieve carbon neutrality, they have come to see the use of ammonia as a means to this end. (Source photo by JERA) 
Business Spotlight

Japan warms to disputed coal power technology under West's icy stare

Government, companies eager to work with non-G7 partners on 'co-firing' ammonia

11 August 2023
Three generations of Chinese leaders: Hu Jintao, left, Xi Jinping and Jiang Zemin. Xi is thought to be attending the annual summer conclave in Beidaihe, but without the most powerful party elders. (Nikkei montage/Kyodo/Yusuke Hinata)
China up close

Analysis: Xi opens Beidaihe with no elders but plenty of challenges

Secretive conclave to discuss Taiwan unification, sour economy and U.S. ties

10 August 2023
Stream article image
The Big Story

Coastal towns brace for Fukushima water release, from Japan to Jeju

Distrust of TEPCO and fear for small businesses fuel anxiety, despite IAEA approval

9 August 2023
Some Bollywood insiders and opposition critics say more films are promoting the agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. But an Information Ministry official said the BJP simply wants to "inculcate good cultural and social values through movies."
Asia Insight

Bollywood becomes political battleground as India's election looms

Some filmmakers find amplifying Modi government's message is good for business

8 August 2023
The yen's fall has put investors on alert about another possible currency intervention by the Bank of Japan and the government. (Nikkei montage/Satoko Kawasaki)
Market Spotlight

Bank of Japan's policy adjustment hasn't stopped the yen's slide

Japan-U.S. yield gap remains wide after Treasury rates shoot up

7 August 2023
A recent survey finds that 67% of workers have not changed the number of days they work from home since Japan downgraded COVID-19 to the same category as seasonal flu. 
Datawatch

Hybrid work takes root in post-COVID Japan

Nearly 40% of employees still perform part of their jobs at home

6 August 2023
A clothing retailer in Hulu Langat on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur engages with buyers on TikTok Shop. (Photo by Norman Goh)
Business Spotlight

TikTok takes on Shopee, Tokopedia in ASEAN e-commerce race

Buyers and sellers flock to shopping feature while authorities fret

4 August 2023
A town north of Fukushima takes great care, time and effort to produce a seafood delicacy that is prized among wealthy diners in China. In fact, kippin dried abalone has become a kind of bond linking Japan to mainland China, a bond that is now fraying. (Source photo by Yuki Kohara) 
China up close

Analysis: Japan's prized abalone now a target of Chinese politics

Beijing's hard line on Fukushima water is upsetting fishermen of kippin, a hidden delicacy

3 August 2023
Washington-Beijing tensions and COVID-induced uncertainty are driving Apple out of China and into India, where it hopes to move a significant chunk of its iPhone supply chain. 
The Big Story

Inside Apple's India dream

Tech giant aims to move at least 20% of iPhone production to India as it accelerates away from China

2 August 2023
Japan's debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio is around 260% -- by far the highest among developed economies, exceeding the 204% seen during World War II in 1944.
Asia Insight

Japan's growing debt mountain: Crisis, what crisis?

Why the world's No. 3 economy stays afloat despite towering debt-GDP ratio

1 August 2023
Regulators are facing calls to investigate auditors and stock brokers that failed to spot Stark's questionable practices. (Source photo by Getty and logo from Stark's website)
Market Spotlight

How Thailand's Stark covered up debt and losses at Vietnam wire maker

Regulators pressed to tighten rules on backdoor listings, earnings reports

31 July 2023
Venture capitalists have shifted focus to nurturing promising businesses rather than chasing opportunities for quick returns.
Datawatch

Unicorns see their green pastures dry up around the world

Number of new billion-dollar startups down 80% from 2021 peak

30 July 2023