Malaysia

AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine is probably the farthest along in terms of development, said Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization's chief scientist.
Coronavirus: Free to read

Coronavirus: Week of June 21 to June 27, AstraZeneca ahead in vaccine race, WHO says

United to resume San Francisco-Shanghai flights in July: Texas closes bars again

27 June 2020
Passengers are glued to their phones at Kuala Lumpur International Airport: Tencent will buy one of Malaysia's biggest streaming video companies.
Business deals

Tencent buys troubled Malaysian video streaming service iflix

Tech group aims to expand on-demand video business beyond China

26 June 2020
Alibaba and Tencent operate directly in only a few countries in Southeast Asia, but they currently back at least 11 digital payment brands or e-wallets in six nations in the region.
DealStreetAsia

Alibaba and Tencent cash in on Southeast Asia e-payments boom

Report shows Chinese groups' proxy war by funding local players is accelerating

26 June 2020
Axiata Group President & Group CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim said the proceeds from the investment will fund the company's digital financial services over the next year in Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Telecommunication

Great Eastern acquires stake in Axiata's digital arm Boost

OCBC Bank subsidiary paid $70 million for 22% share

25 June 2020
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, center, arrives in court on June 1. Najib faces verdicts on 1MDB-related charges next month.
Malaysia in transition

Malaysia drops Najib-era graft cases spearheaded by Mahathir

Dismissed charges raise concerns country is turning soft on corruption

25 June 2020
The author, second from right, and photographer wife Kit Yeng Chan, right, enjoy a pasta meal they prepared for their Couchsurfing hosts in Guwahati, Assam, India, in 2018. (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Tea Leaves

Pandemic hits 'couchsurfing' travel bug

Decline of social hospitality platforms takes spontaneity out of tourism in developing Asia

24 June 2020
Mitsubishi Motors' vehicles are seen at a port in central Thailand. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Automobiles

Carmakers in Southeast Asia are reluctant to hit the accelerator

Plants ramp up slowly as coronavirus demand hit lingers after economies reopen

23 June 2020
Aircraft are seen at Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai. The U.S. said its decision rejecting a request by airlines from China for extra flights between the countries is not intended to raise tensions over travel restrictions. 
20 June 2020
China is planning massive military exercises as early as this summer.
International relations

Southeast Asia's defense cuts create opening for China

ASEAN's focus on pandemic fight risks sowing discord with US

20 June 2020
A wooden boat carries suspected Rohingya migrants detained in Malaysian territorial waters off the island of Langkawi on Apr. 5: their ordeal has lasted months and shows no sign of ending.
Opinion

COVID-19 is no excuse for rejecting Rohingya migrants

Asia must use the Bali Process to treat those fleeing on boats humanely

20 June 2020
Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is said to be looking to strengthen his tenuous grip on power and "straighten the messy political scene."
Malaysia in transition

Muhyiddin eyes unprecedented snap election to vanquish Mahathir

Sources see Malaysian polls by March 2021, while coronavirus stimulus is fresh

17 June 2020
Workers at a dhaba during lockdown in Chandigarh, pictured on May 15: brisk streetside commerce has all but disappeared.
Opinion

Workers in Asia's informal economy need protecting now

Coronavirus shock should compel governments to bring them into formal sector

15 June 2020
Travelers wearing face masks are seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thailand wants to create "travel corridors" or "travel bubbles" with certain countries, including China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Thailand fights to revive reputation as top tourist destination

COVID-19 tracing measures and troubled Thai Airways' cloud tourism revival

15 June 2020
Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference.
13 June 2020
Top Glove posted a net profit of $82.3 million for the three months ended May 31, a 365% increase from the year-earlier quarter.
Coronavirus

Top Glove cleans up with record profits as coronavirus spurs sales

Malaysian group says lead times for new orders now extend to 400 days

11 June 2020
Former iflix chairman Patrick Grove. The crisis at iflix comes after Singtel-backed streaming player HOOQ filed for liquidation earlier this year. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by iflix)
DealStreetAsia

Malaysia's iflix in sale talks after co-founders exit

Video streaming platform adds distress specialists to board

11 June 2020
Thailand's coronavirus lockdown left central Bangkok deserted. The pandemic has rubbed salt in the wound left by falling Chinese real estate investment. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Thailand's condo market sinks as Chinese investment ebbs

Coronavirus travel bans speed drop sparked by stronger baht and trade war

10 June 2020
A Malaysian health worker helps a migrant worker fill out a declaration form before a COVID-19 test in May. The authorities rounded up undocumented immigrants amid the coronavirus lockdown.
Coronavirus

Malaysia reopens as virus rips through migrant detention centers

Rights group says warnings about 'perfect hotbeds' went unheeded

9 June 2020
Outgoing Petronas CEO Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin will take the chairman's seat at Malaysia Airlines next month.
Companies

Petronas chief heads to Malaysia Airlines in state-sector shake-up

Oil industry veteran Wan Zulkiflee tasked with turning around troubled carrier

6 June 2020
A couple wear protective masks in a shopping area in downtown Kuala Lumpur in late May, as the Malaysian economy began to emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.
Coronavirus

Malaysia details $8.2bn plan for post-pandemic economic reboot

Muhyiddin's latest package aimed at boosting employment and foreign investment

5 June 2020
Muslims disperse after they were warned by police outside the closed National Mosque while celebrating the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan amid the coronavirus outbreak in Kuala Lumpur.
Startups

GreenLight Biosciences raises $17m from Malaysia fund for vaccine

US company earmarks new money for 'affordable' coronavirus treatment

5 June 2020
AirAsia -- founded by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes -- has received interest from South Korea’s SK Corp to acquire around 10% of the company’s total paid-up capital. (Source photos by Tsuyoshi Tamehiro and Shinya Sawai)
Transportation

AirAsia to slash workforce by 30%, considers 10% stake sale

South Korea's SK Corp among a trio of multinationals expressing interest

5 June 2020
Singapore's pharmaceutical exports surged 170%. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
Economy

Southeast Asia exports buoyed by medicine and food during pandemic

Singapore and Thailand see increased trade despite global slowdown

5 June 2020
Malaysia's government created a public uproar by quietly allocating 5G spectrum to five telcos, including a small player with little experience in the sector but ties to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. (Nikkei Montage/AP)
4 June 2020
Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad is now on his third attempt at ousting a sitting head of government. (Photo by Ying Xian Wong)
Comment

Malaysia's ex-PM Mahathir gears up for one last fight

94-year-old politician joins hands with rival to oust Muhyiddin

4 June 2020