Features

Japan lags behind other advanced economies in agricultural productivity, as individual farms still account for 60% of domestic sales.
Datawatch

Businesses help spur Japan's agricultural revival

Companies now make up 40% of local sales, but overall productivity still low

6 May 2023
HSBC Holdings, known for the two regal lion statues that sit outside its Asia head office in Hong Kong, will vote May 5 on a proposal to split its Asia operations from its London headquarters. 
The Big Story

HSBC battles shareholder revolt as breakup vote looms

Bank’s balancing act between U.K. and China appears increasingly untenable

3 May 2023
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, has worked assiduously to maintain his family's grip on power, grooming his eldest son, Manet, left, to succeed him.
Asia Insight

Cambodia's Hun Sen plans power succession to son, allies' children

Strongman prime minister mulling when to hand over to his eldest child, Hun Manet

2 May 2023
Despite China's economic revival in recent months, the CSI 300 equity index is lower than where it was last year. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

Chinese stocks falter as far-flung regions struggle to recover

Distressed asset specialists head to Guizhou province to boost 'real economy'

1 May 2023
Monthly inbound spending per credit card increased 30% in the three years through last December, thanks to spending on leisure and other activities by Asia's wealthy.
Datawatch

Rural Japan leads growth in inbound tourism spending

Asia's rich lured to hot springs and golf resorts

29 April 2023
The Philippine online gambling industry in 2022 furnished at least 47,488 jobs, nearly half to Filipinos.  (Photo by Cliff Venzon)
Business Spotlight

Philippine online casinos: Continue playing or game over?

Marcos set to weigh fate of controversial sector opposed by China

28 April 2023
Xi Jinping has put Emmanuel Macron in an uncomfortable position ahead of the Hiroshima G-7 summit in May.
China up close

Analysis: For wolf-warrior envoy in France, it's mission accomplished

Ambassador Lu Shaye sends nod to Putin with comment on ex-Soviet sovereignty

27 April 2023
Top to bottom: Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries; Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group; and Ratan Tata, former chair of the Tata Group. India Inc.'s top players were spooked by a fall in Adani's share price following an explosive short-seller report in January.
The Big Story

Adani crisis puts India's winner-take-all economy on trial

Under new scrutiny as election nears, India Inc. pulls back on new investments

26 April 2023
Outreach efforts toward developing nations cannot be easily separated from the politics of power, with countries such as Japan and India vying for prominence with China.
Asia Insight

India pushes 'Global South' goals on to G-20 agenda

Grouping of less industrialized countries remains loosely defined

25 April 2023
Indian venture capital firms are pinning their fundraising hopes on investors in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. (Source photos by AP and Kosaku Mimura) 
Market Spotlight

Indian venture capitalists chase Asian cash as U.S. money dries up

Finding American backers for a new fund is 'like getting admission at Harvard'

24 April 2023
Many international students are drawn to universities in emerging countries due to lower tuitions and expanding job opportunities.
Datawatch

Foreign students flock to Global South for jobs, low fees

Overseas applicants rise sharply at universities in Argentina, Turkey, India

22 April 2023
The challenge for Hong Kong going forward is to maintain its ease of doing business without compromising its reputation as a responsible trading partner.
Business Spotlight

How business-friendly Hong Kong became a hub of Russian chip trade

Ease of setting up companies makes dodging sanctions easier, experts say

21 April 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping's quest for self-reliance led to policies that attempted to make the country less dependent on the U.S. That may have been more important to the current trend than former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
China up close

Analysis: Xi, not Trump, started on path to decoupling

The leader's desire to be independent of U.S. influence has been consistent for 11 years

20 April 2023
ASEAN leaders including Myanmar's top general, Min Aung Hlaing, agreed in April 2021 on five steps toward resolving the crisis in the war-torn member state. Only one has been accomplished, and the bloc's unity and credibility are on the line.
Asia Insight

Myanmar tests Indonesia's resolve as ASEAN fissures deepen

Bloc's 2023 chair works quietly to overcome two years of Five Point Consensus failure

19 April 2023
Stream article image
The Big Story

Thailand's air pollution crisis deepens amid seasonal crop burning

Smoke from agricultural field and forest blazes chokes Southeast Asia

19 April 2023
Hedge funds and private equity companies are coming to Japan because 'things around the world are expensive,' analysts say. (Source photos by Getty Images, Mizuho Miyazaki and Shinya Sawai) 
Market Spotlight

Warren Buffett leads global investors into 'cheap' Japan

Hedge fund billionaires Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen build up operations in Tokyo

17 April 2023
More data centers are opening in Greater Tokyo as global IT companies shun China to ensure data security and avoid being caught in the U.S.-China tussle.
Datawatch

Tokyo challenges Beijing as Asia's data center hub

Capacity in Japan's capital forecast to double in 3 to 5 years

15 April 2023
Factories have seen orders canceled in Vietnam, the Asian country most exposed to global swings in trade after Singapore. 
Business Spotlight

Vietnam's manufacturers brace for worse after GDP whiplash

Factory downturn marks sharp reversal and bellwether for Asian supply-chain hub

14 April 2023
Ma Ying-jeou did not make himself very welcome in Xi Jinping's China when he suggested Taiwan and the mainland are both parts of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name and one Beijing has never recognized. (Source photos by Ma Ying-jeou Office/AP and Reuters)
China up close

Analysis: Why Xi Jinping did not meet Taiwan's ex-president

Ma Ying-jeou's usefulness for Beijing likely on the decline

13 April 2023
"My biggest mistake was that I made Alibaba," Jack Ma once told investors. "I never thought this thing would change my life. I was just trying to run a small business."
The Big Story

Jack Ma's China homecoming heralds new era for Alibaba

Company's 'soft breakup' aims to boost flagging growth and draw line under feud with Beijing

12 April 2023
Who would U.S. President Joe Biden call first in a crisis? Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may be a leading candidate, thanks in part to ties forged under Tokyo's National Security Council.
Asia Insight

How Japan's National Security Council rewrote China strategy

As Kishida prepares for G-7, Tokyo has closer White House ties and a clearer global role

11 April 2023
Many bad loans at China's midsize banks have ended up on the books of state-owned distressed asset management companies. (Source photo by AP) 
Market Spotlight

Chinese banks ditch bad loans amid property woes

Hundreds of billions of yuan in distressed assets were sold last year

10 April 2023
The current "shadow" interest rate in the U.S. shows monetary conditions there remain mostly accommodative, with the risk of inflation intact.
Datawatch

Lower 'shadow' interest rate points to higher U.S. inflation

Lingering effects of quantitative easing offset Fed's tightening

8 April 2023
GoTo and its CEO, Andre Soelistyo, are grappling with how to make the superapp and e-commerce company profitable. (Source photos by Getty and Reuters) 
Business Spotlight

Indonesia's GoTo far from profitability one year after listing

Investors shun stock amid sea of red ink, as regional peers' prospects brighten

7 April 2023
In an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia, AirAsia tycoon Tony Fernandes says he is leaving no stone unturned in his fight to keep the airline afloat in the post-pandemic era.
The Big Story

AirAsia's Tony Fernandes: Tourism is back, but fight to survive goes on

Co-founder of Malaysia's biggest airline reveals post-pandemic game plan in exclusive interview

5 April 2023