Features

As the world’s largest social media platform looks to the prodigious numbers in Asia to combat its decline in the West, it finds itself walking a tightrope.
The Big Story

Losing Face: the perils of Facebook's Asia strategy

Compromises with regional governments speed access to growth markets

28 July 2021
Emerging countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are reinforcing their presence in the growing trend of cross-border remote work..
Datawatch

Cross-border online work increases 30% amid COVID-19 pandemic

600 million people potentially could do jobs remotely; Japan being left behind

27 July 2021
Stream article image
Asia Insight

Thailand and Malaysia new parties hope discontent will boost appeal

Youth-led party in Indonesia also takes aim at status quo under establishment

27 July 2021
Shares in Top Glove and other Malaysian glove manufacturers soared last year, spurred by global medical demand.
Market Spotlight

Malaysia stocks lag as glove makers lose grip on investors

COVID-19 resurgence and political turmoil dragging on market

26 July 2021
Aiways U5 electric sport utility vehicles are now being sold in Europe, where the company is using livestreaming events to drum up interest.
Business Spotlight

China's EV startups challenge giants in Europe and Japan

Green shift a tailwind for new companies as battle among local players heats up

23 July 2021
The 1972 meeting between Mao Zedong and U.S. President Richard Nixon kicked off the process for normalizing relations between the U.S. and China and reshaped global politics. (Source photos by AP and Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Nixon visit anniversary will be a watershed moment

Will Xi commemorate the groundbreaking visit next February?

22 July 2021
Going ahead with the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to open on July 23, reflects not so much a decision as the lack of one. 
The Big Story

Athletes upstaged by political drama as Japan's COVID Olympics open

Strict regime of isolation, masks and testing has not prevented outbreaks

21 July 2021
The imbalance in the availability of vaccines and supply shortages may worsen without international cooperation for smooth distribution. (Source photo by Reuters)
Datawatch

Supply imbalance leaves 150m doses of COVID vaccine unused

Makers scramble to meet demand; situation may worsen if booster shots needed

20 July 2021
India's monstrous second wave of COVID-19 caused most of its over 400,000 fatalities during the pandemic and derailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vaccine diplomacy.
Asia Insight

India's COVID second wave disrupts vaccine export plans

Asia faces shortage as world's biggest jab producer still battles outbreak at home

20 July 2021
A coal-fired power plant in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang Province on July 16, the day trading began in China's national carbon market.
Market Spotlight

China fires up carbon trading as Asia turns onto greener path

World's biggest polluter debuts national emissions system, but limits remain lenient

19 July 2021
Shimano President Taizo Shimano poses at the company's headquarters in Osaka. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
Business Spotlight

Shimano pedals faster as COVID pandemic propels cycling boom

New president takes on e-bikes as Japanese manufacturer enters its second century

16 July 2021
Xi Jinping's crackdown on "illegal securities activities" has even stoked distrust on Wall Street, traditionally filled with China optimists. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/Xinhua/Kyodo)
China up close

Analysis: Xi's capital market crackdown has a 2022 timeline

With his term extension on the line, leader hurries to control tech giants

15 July 2021
The surge in anti-Asian violence has brought sympathy from immigrants' home countries, prompted diplomatic rebuke, and handed Chinese state media a potent set of talking points with which to criticize the U.S.
The Big Story

Anti-Asian attacks erode US image as Biden rebuilds Pacific ties

Trump's China rhetoric cited as source of bias against Asian Americans

15 July 2021
The generation born after 9/11 has created the outlines of a country that is visibly, materially and philosophically different from the Afghanistan the U.S. invaded in 2001. 
The Big Story

No exit: A generation of young Afghans faces the end of the US era

Chaos beckons as government forces collapse before Taliban onslaught

14 July 2021
Chinese companies are heavily invested in banana plantations in northern Myanmar, which began appearing around 2015, drastically altering the landscape.
Datawatch

Chinese companies corralling land around world

Acquisition of nearly 6.5m hectares over 10 years sets off alarms

13 July 2021
Russia, the leading arms supplier to Southeast Asia, is also promising COVID-19 vaccines and pushing other cooperation.
Asia Insight

Guns and jabs: Russia courts ASEAN caught between US and China

Arms sales and COVID vaccines help Moscow punch above economic weight

13 July 2021
China's clampdown on its companies listed in the U.S. may be motivated by a desire to cut exposure to Washington and its regulators. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

Beijing's Didi blast shakes $2tn of China stocks in US

Shadow hangs over Wall St after troubled IPO but bonds still attract investment

12 July 2021
Temasek does not just back promising young companies, it also grows them by investing at the earliest stage. Software developer Affinidi and cybersecurity expert Istari are companies it has founded.
Business Spotlight

Singapore's Temasek in for long haul with in-house startups

State-owned investor takes early bets by creating its own companies

9 July 2021
Xi Jinping wore a gray Mao suit to make sure he would stand out on the dais while celebrating the Chinese Communist Party's centennial on July 1.
China up close

Analysis: Xi becomes 'Mao' in Tiananmen visual effect

Chinese leader uses 100th anniversary ceremony to try the chairman look

8 July 2021
The pandemic continues to teach a harsh lesson: optimism is often not just wrong, but fatal. 
The Big Story

Asia's new COVID waves

Nikkei Recovery Index shows overconfidence can be deadly

7 July 2021
Stream article image
7 July 2021
The growing number of young people switching jobs in midcareer may bring a new wind to Japan's rigid labor market.
Datawatch

Japan's COVID crunch spurs uptick in young job hoppers

Job turnover among 'second new graduates' is the highest in a decade

6 July 2021
Singapore is home to at least 28 high-tech, indoor urban vegetable farms that a food resilience official said allow the city-state to "grow more with less."
Asia Insight

Singapore cultivates 'Silicon Valley of food' in a hungry Asia

Lab meat and indoor greens thrive as COVID highlights regional challenge

6 July 2021
The Stock Exchange of Thailand President Pakorn Peetathawatchai said he would focus on the supply of investor-attracting technology company IPOs. (Source photos by Reuters) 
Market Spotlight

Thai bourse aims for 'sexy' IPOs to boost appeal for investors

SET president prepares incentives to welcome at least 30 companies a year

5 July 2021
Huawei is on a hiring blitz in Munich, where it is after chip engineers; Istanbul, where it is going after software developers; as well as in Canada, Finland, Sweden and Russia, where it is on the lookout for AI researchers. (Source photos by Reuters) 
Business Spotlight

Huawei enlists army of European talent for 'battle' with US

Chinese tech giant is ramping up global hiring and local chip investments

2 July 2021