Southeast Asia

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in Washington on April 11.
Opinion

Emerging U.S.-Japan-Philippine alliance is making waves in Asia

Marcos must race to build links that might withstand return of Trump

18 April 2024
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, meets with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on April 18. (Indonesian Presidential Secretariat) 
International relations

Jokowi asks China to help build new capital's transport system

Beijing's top diplomat Wang Yi says '2+2' ministerial platform will deepen ties

18 April 2024
New Zealand aircraft maker NZAero supplies the Royal Thai Air Force with its two-seat CT-4 airtrainer for military training operations. (Courtesy of NZAero)
Aerospace & Defense Industries

New Zealand aircraft maker eyes Thailand as ASEAN service hub

Governments thaw strategic and defense partnership after 10-year freeze

18 April 2024
Sojitz has signed a $290 million contract with Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit to extend the Indonesian capital's subway system. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Transportation

Indonesia awards Jakarta MRT extension project to Japan's Sojitz

Trading house to work with India's L&T on the $290m construction

18 April 2024
Some analysts view Washington's nod to concerns in Tokyo and Seoul over their plunging currencies as taking a step closer to market intervention.
Currencies

Asian currencies' plunge raises alertness over coordinated intervention

Washington, Tokyo and Seoul finance chiefs express concerns over currency movement

18 April 2024
Former Myanmar President Win Myint, left, and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi attend an event in Naypyitaw on Jan. 17, 2020. 
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly moved from jail to house arrest

Relocation seen as sign of appeasement amid increasing rebel attacks

17 April 2024
Apple CEO Tim Cook visits Jakarta on April 17 to meet with President Joko Widodo and other officials. 
17 April 2024
Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, left, and current leader Chaithawat Tulathon react during a press conference in Bangkok on Jan. 31.
Politics

Will Move Forward join Thailand's graveyard of political parties?

Reform-minded opposition group awaits court verdict a year after election win

17 April 2024
A girl chases a bird atop piles of dirty plastic waste washed up on Labuan Beach in western Java, Indonesia. Experts say much of the trash has been imported via "waste trafficking" from developed countries. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
The Big Story

Southeast Asia's plastic tidal wave: Imported trash swamps region

From Indonesia to Myanmar, China's 2018 import ban fed an already critical domestic waste problem

17 April 2024
Hoa Phat Group's Dung Quat 2 steel production complex was half finished at the end of March. (Photo by Yuji Nitta)
Materials

Vietnam's top steelmaker Hoa Phat races to open new mill this year

Company focuses on higher-value steel for country's emerging auto industry

17 April 2024
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. (Source photos by Uichiro Kasai and Mayumi Tsumita)
Politics

Lee Hsien Loong to step down as Singapore prime minister in May

51-year-old Wong to take over in city's first leadership change in 20 years

16 April 2024
An Ahmedabad vegetable vendor receives cash next to a QR code for Paytm: Many people in Asia still prefer to use traditional payment methods.
Opinion

Public needs should drive Asia's digital payment transition

Authorities must prioritize inclusivity and understanding of diverse user groups

16 April 2024
The rupiah has lost 3% in the past month amid concerns over Indonesia's political situation in the aftermath of the presidential election on Feb. 14.
Currencies

Rupiah hits 4-year low as Indonesia reopens after holiday

Ramadan inflation, election aftermath add to gloom on currency

16 April 2024
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's red yeast rice supplement (Photo by Koji Uema)
Business trends

Health-conscious Vietnamese wary of Japan's red yeast rice problem

Supplement deaths cast shadow over consumers' trust in Japanese products

16 April 2024
SMD Semiconductor CEO Shariman Jamil advocates for the state of Sarawak to take on a bigger role in Malaysia's semiconductor industry. (Photo by Norman Goh)
Semiconductors

Malaysia's Sarawak seeks to turn itself into a chip design hub

SMD Semiconductor CEO says the state has background and experience to succeed

15 April 2024
A new train line connecting Laos and China helped attract tourists to the Southeast Asian country in 2023. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Travel & Leisure

Visitors to ASEAN hit 100m in 2023, 70% of pre-COVID level

Chinese-financed infrastructure drawing tourists to Laos, Cambodia

15 April 2024
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, right, has been pressuring Bank of Thailand Gov. Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput to cut interest rates for the good of the country's slowing economy. (Nikkei montaage/Source photos by Hiroki Endo and Ken Kobayashi)
Market Spotlight

Bank of Thailand ignores Srettha's pressure to cut interest rate

Central bank expects inflation to pick up, punts baht-weakening structural problems to government

15 April 2024
Bangkok's Pratunam clothing market is a popular shopping destination for Indonesians who take consumer items back home to sell. (Photo by Devin Jimie)
Business trends

Indonesia aims for tighter curbs on import practice known as 'jastip'

Personal travel and social media used to sell and promote wares purchased abroad

14 April 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, center, wearing a saffron cap, on the election campaign trail near Delhi on April 6. He is aiming for a third-straight term as head of the world's biggest democracy.
Your Week in Asia

India votes, China GDP and Germany's Scholz meets Xi in Beijing

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

14 April 2024
One of the unfinished 'ghost buildings' in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.  (Photo by Hiroki Endo)
Property

Chinese exodus leaves Cambodia boomtown with 500 'ghost buildings'

Sihanoukville saddled with unfinished projects due to casino clampdown and COVID

14 April 2024
Thein Soe, 56, is pictured with his new 3D-printed prosthetic arm at his house in Mae Sot, Thailand, on Jan. 25. (All photos by Valeria Mongelli)
Life

Innovative prostheses offer hope on Thai-Myanmar border

3D-printed replacement arms change lives amid raging conflict

14 April 2024
A man stands outside a currency exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. Emerging economies around the world are feeling the pressure of a strong greenback.
Economy

From Indonesia to Japan, dollar's rising strength raises global alarm

G20 finance ministers likely to discuss issue as their currencies depreciate

14 April 2024
U.S. energy company AES holds a groundbreaking ceremony for the Mong Duong 2 power plant in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province. 
Energy

U.S. firm's Vietnam coal deal 'undermines' climate goal: report

Think tank warns emissions may increase under 'fossil fuel-centric' new owner

13 April 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden escorts Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to their trilateral summit at the White House in Washington on April 11.
Indo-Pacific

Marcos says U.S., Japan deal will change South China Sea dynamic

Philippines president adds trilateral summit 'not against any country'

13 April 2024
A Thai soldier looks on as people line up at a border crossing to flee Myanmar early on April 12, in Mae Sot, Thailand.
Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar resistance seizes border town; Thailand braces for refugees

KNU to take on administration of trading hub as Thai foreign minister visits

13 April 2024