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May 17th, 2018

A new day

Malaysia’s first ever transfer of power brings hope -- and risks

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The Big Story

After the upset: What Mahathir's return means for Malaysia

Young voters have high hopes, but can the 92-year-old prime minister deliver change?

Many Malaysians have high hopes for newly elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, but there are risks ahead. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
AirAsia shares fell after group CEO Tony Fernandes, seen here last December, publicly apologized for supporting defeated Prime Minister Najib Razak in Malaysia's May 9 election.
The Big Story

Investors see 'big change' in Malaysian business under Mahathir

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes among company chiefs caught out by surprise result

Siam Commercial Bank is replacing some of its traditional retail branches with unmanned outlets called SCB Express, such as this one at a mall in Bangkok. (Photo by Yukako Ono)
Company in focus

Thailand's oldest lender's mantra: Go digital

Siam Commercial Bank braces for competition against China's Alipay and WeChat Pay

Walmart, Flipkart and China's Tencent will form India's biggest e-commerce group, battling Amazon.
Business deals

Walmart and Amazon set for arms race over India distribution

Fight for logistics and warehouses heats up as players seek dominance

Takeda Pharmaceutical President Christophe Weber, pictured at a news conference in Tokyo on May 9, has his sights set firmly on the U.S. (Photo by Wataru Ito)
Business deals

Takeda-Shire deal shows it's US or bust for Japanese drugmakers

Will an aging Japan be left with a hollow pharmaceutical industry?

Goldman Sachs advised Shire as it negotiated a takeover bid from Takeda, while the Japanese drugmaker enlisted Nomura.
Business deals

Goldman and Nomura lead all-star team behind Takeda-Shire deal

US and Japanese M&A advisers poised for $180m payday

Pegatron has spent more than one year evaluating its investment in India, but the Taiwan technology company has not yet finalized the location for its first plant in the country.
Companies

IPhone assembler Pegatron enters India with non-Apple products

Taiwan tech company sees AI and automotive as next catalysts for growth

Japan Airlines is set to establish a new low-cost subsidiary ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. JAL currently holds a stake in Jetstar Japan.
Companies

JAL to launch budget airline ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Carrier may offer first low-cost flights from Japan to Europe and the US

The end of the Xerox deal leaves Fujifilm-owned joint venture Fuji Xerox in a tough position without access to major growth markets.
Business deals

Stubborn Fujifilm loses out to Icahn in battle for Xerox

A refusal to budge on price was a crucial factor that doomed the deal

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.'s net interest margin rose 5 basis points on year to 1.67% but was essentially flat on-quarter.
Companies

OCBC's earnings show some soft spots, stock takes a hit

Indonesia weighs on bank's interest margin although loans there grow

Dusit Thani operates 29 hotels and resorts in 18 countries, including this site in Bangkok.
Business deals

Central Group buys 22% stake in Thai luxury hotel chain

The $67m investment makes it Dusit Thani's second-largest shareholder

Ayala Land operates the Greenbelt shopping and dining complex in the heart of the Makati city business district in Manila.
Property

Chinese buyers boost Q1 earnings of Philippine property developers

Ayala Land, SM Prime Holding see profit surge at the start of 2018

Southeast Asian students who are reluctant to move far from home have a growing range of options within the region, such as the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Asia Insight

US college degrees lose mystique among Asian students

Trump, guns and access to quality education at home affect enrollment patterns

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet for the first time on June 12.
North Korea Crisis

Trump seeks joint statement with Kim to lock in gains

Detailed steps to denuclearization would be a win for president

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges teamed to buy a 25% stake in Bangladesh's main bourse. They also will provide $37 million in technical support. (Photo by A.Z.M. Anas)
International relations

China's Belt and Road builds trail of stakes in Asian bourses

Shanghai-Shenzhen group beats Indian bid for share of Bangladesh's main exchange

Pakistan's government wants to make paying income tax a new test of patriotism. (Getty Images)
Economy

Pakistan promotes tax amnesty as it prepares to borrow abroad

Curbing evasion critical to combating money laundering and boosting revenue collection

Construction teams work on the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line. Kenya is one of the countries to have benefited from China's development loan strategy.
Datawatch

The numbers behind China's overseas development loan risks

Figures show Belt and Road strategy favors countries with low credit ratings

Ma Jun's work has led to greater transparency in China's environmental policy. (Photo by Tetsushi Takahashi)
Nikkei Asia Prizes

Nikkei Asia Prizes 2018: Ranking companies' environmental efforts

Former journalist showed how much Apple's suppliers were polluting

Nguyen Thanh Liem, center, has helped raise younger generations of Vietnamese doctors on high-tech surgical techniques.
Nikkei Asia Prizes

Nikkei Asia Prizes 2018: The man who lowered Vietnam's child mortality rate

Nguyen Thanh Liem's pioneering efforts in pediatrics range from transplants to gene therapy

Bindeshwar Pathak views toilets as a tool for social justice that benefits the lowest rungs of Indian society. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Nikkei Asia Prizes

Nikkei Asia Prizes 2018: Eliminating discrimination, one flush at a time

Bindeshwar Pathak's toilets offer hope for India's 'untouchables'

Shanghai-born Qi Lu, Baidu chief operating officer, studied and worked in the U.S. before returning to China.
Opinion

Multinationals risk defeat in China talent war

Foreign companies must promote managers faster, or lose more key staff

Many of the eastbound shipping containers transiting the Kazakh-Chinese border zone of Khorgos are empty.
Opinion

Kazakhstan must look beyond the Belt and Road

Nazarbayev needs to interest other powers to avoid overdependence on China

Takeda Pharmaceutical's latest bid for Shire is another of Japan's rising top-dollar purchases abroad, several of which have led to big failures.
Opinion

Betting the pharma -- Japan's misdirected M&A boom

Latest merger deal shows why it is time to slow the acquisition stream

Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at a news conference on May 12: Change starts with the 92-year-old politician.
Opinion

Three requests for new Malaysian leader Mahathir

Now is a historic chance to promote fair politics, sustainable growth and unbiased diplomacy

A woman leaves flowers at the collapsed Xuankou Middle School in Yingxiu. (Photo by Yang Junzhe)
Life

Rebuilt Sichuan town struggling 10 years after earthquake

Failure of tourism projects leaves Yingxiu looking for a role

One flag less -- the lonely lobby of Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo by Chris Horton)
Tea Leaves

Taiwan: Asia's 'uncountry'

For one of Asia's most vibrant democracies, it is always 1984