Turkmenistan

Gombojav Zandanshatar, chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, speaks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo on May 30. (Photo by Manami Yamada)
The Future of Asia 2019

Mongolia braces for delay of state coal giant's IPO

Parliament chief says elections could interrupt move to list company this year

31 May 2019
Gombojav Zandanshatar, chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, discusses the country's geographic advantages at the Future of Asia forum on May 30. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
The Future of Asia 2019

Mongolia hopes for Belt and Road bonanza without heavy debt

Ulaanbaatar promotes economic corridor to connect China and Russia

30 May 2019
The resignation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, left, in March made way for Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to take the reins of government. (Nikkei montage/Source images by Reuters and Getty Images)
Asia Insight

Kazakh strongman leaves unfinished business in rush to secure legacy

Chinese projects take back seat as Nazarbayev's successor seeks stability

7 May 2019
Students from a technical college speak with recruiters at a job fair in Ulaanbaatar on April 9.
Business trends

Mongolia is Japan's new frontier in the search for IT talent

Romania and Myanmar are also among the hunting grounds for tech specialists

30 April 2019
A worker at Khorgos Gateway, which operates a container terminal on the border between Kazakhstan and China, directs a crane as it unloads steel coils from a container. (photo by Wataru Suzuki)
Belt and Road

China's Belt and Road hits a speed bump in Kazakhstan

'Dry port' pins its hopes on foreign investors to spur faster growth

24 April 2019
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told a ruling party convention on April 23 he would ensure the "continuity" of his predecessor's policies, including on the economy and foreign trade.
Politics

Former Kazakh strongman backs successor in presidential election

New leader faces task of jump-starting growth and foreign direct investment

24 April 2019
KADR owner and designer Enkhbaatar Bat-Ulzii said that many Asian traditional outfits bear some semblance to the Mongolian deel due to the influence of the Mongol empire. (Photo by Anand Tumurtogoo)
Life

Mongolian 'deel' wins over dedicated followers of fashion

Young people see unique identity in modernized traditional garb

9 April 2019
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev takes the oath after he assumed the post of Kazakhstan's interim president during a joint session of the houses of parliament in Astana.
Politics

New Kazakh president vows 'continuity' as world eyes who's next

Long-serving predecessor still looms large and has daughter in chain of succession

21 March 2019
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrives for the ASEM 12 summit in Brussels in October 2018.
Politics

Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev resigns but retains key posts

Strongman set to keep influence over resource-rich nation after three-decade rule

20 March 2019
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan hope to launch a joint visa soon that will allow ease of travel between the two countries.
International relations

Joint visa plan opens doors for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Easier travel between the two signals the start of warmer ties in region

16 March 2019
The Lion Air Flight 610 tragedy has rightly focused attention on doing more to ensure flight safety in Asia.
Opinion

Safety first in Asia's busy skies

Big data and cross-border cooperation will help

11 March 2019
An agreement between the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and the Moscow Exchange has led to renewed questions over the viability of the new Astana International Financial Centre.
Markets

Kazakhstan's new AIX exchange outflanked by resurgent rival

Lack of transparency hampers privatization plan as older bourse strikes MOEX deal

12 February 2019
China is seeking to strengthen ties with Afghanistan, as the U.S. makes plans to withdraw part of its troops which were deployed there soon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Belt and Road

China has economic aims as it quietly builds bonds with Afghanistan

As US plans to scale down military presence, Beijing seeks to fill the void

14 January 2019
Mongolian information tech company iTools operates a nonstop crypto mining center in the city of Darkhan. (Photo by Shuichiro Sese)
Cryptocurrencies

Mongolia emerges as crypto mining hub

Cheap electricity and cold weather provide ideal environment

11 January 2019
Tavan Tolgoi holds estimated reserves of 7.5 billion tons of coking coal. (Photo by Byamba-Ochir Byambadorj)
Markets

Mongolian state coal miner chooses Hong Kong for $3bn IPO

Listing a victory for exchange after forecasts that 2019 offerings would plunge

10 January 2019
A man protests outside the State Palace in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday @Byamba-Ochir Byambasuren
Politics

Mongolia shaken by widening loan scandal

Business owners protest over preferential benefits for officials

16 November 2018
A Chinese worker is seen during an inauguration ceremony for the Kazakh stretch of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline, outside Almaty.
Commodities

Kazakhstan to double gas exports to China in 2019

Trade war and new infrastructure open door to send 10bn cu. meters

28 October 2018
BRI in progress: A freight train bound for Malaszewicze, Poland leaves the railway port in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China.
Economy

China's Belt and Road investment hits high as overall FDI falls

Record sum poured into initiative in 2017 looks set to be beaten this year

8 October 2018
A security officer holds out a detector on a street in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang in 2013.
Interview

Exiled Uyghur leader seeks UN Security Council action on China

About 3m people are being held in detention camps in Xinjiang, says Dolkun Isa

23 September 2018
© Illustration by Luis Mendo
Asia Insight

Kazakhstan seeks sweet spot in US-China-Russia power game

'Friends with everyone' diplomacy tested as heavyweights compete over Caspian Sea

4 September 2018
Beijing funded this China-Turkmenistan pipeline for natural gas. Turkmenistan may have trouble repaying its debts to China as gas exports drop sharply.
Belt and Road

Belt and Road debt trap spreads to Central Asia

China exploits rift between US and Russia to court Ukraine

29 August 2018
A nickel mine in the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte's government is pushing for a new tax on minerals.
Commodities

Flare-up of resource nationalism burns miners across Asia

Governments risk repelling companies with new levies and other pressure

25 August 2018
Taliban fighters gather with residents to celebrate a cease-fire during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr in mid-June, in Nangarhar Province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Datawatch

Was Afghanistan's cease-fire underpinned by Ramadan?

Data shows lower levels of violence during fasting month

19 August 2018
A freight train bound for Tehran is pictured in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in May.
Belt and Road

Turkey crisis rattles Asian nations with rising Belt and Road debts

Costly Chinese projects could leave emerging economies with a hangover

19 August 2018
Foreign students at the Narita campus of the International University of Health and Welfare. Since its launch in April 2017, the university has accepted 40 foreign students from nearly 10 Asian countries and regions.
Economy

Japan's first new medical school in four decades aims to be Asia hub

In a system resistant to change, a maverick doctor challenges the status quo

13 August 2018