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July 5th, 2018

Modi’s smart city dream

Can the prime minister deliver on his ambitious vision for India?

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The Big Story

Modi's grand vision for India's cities is slow to take shape

Plans for 100 high-tech hubs already scaled back, critics say

This rendering by architecture firm Foster and Partners depicts the planned Amaravati Government Complex to be built in India's Andhra Pradesh State. (Courtesy of Foster and Partners)
Work is underway on Amaravati, one of the 100 smart cities India plans to develop, but the road ahead a long one. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
The Big Story

Three years in, India's smart city program has a long way to go

Experts predict fundraising hurdles as critics slam the slow pace of Modi's urban dream

Tokyo resident Atsushi Kumon models his Zozosuit. Using the Zozotown app, he sets up a smartphone to take 3D images of his body, with 18 measurements from neck to ankles. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Company in focus

Robotic tailoring is the future for online retailer Start Today

Company aims to join global ranks with new private label Zozo and size-measuring technology

A Telenor sign outside a cellphone retailer in Myanmar's Shan state. The Norwegian telecom operator offers the country's lowest calling prices thanks to strict cost controls. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Companies

Telenor bets on Asia's bottom-of-the-pyramid market

Norway's telecom operator expands presence in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan

Idemitsu runs thousands of service stations across Japan, such as this one.
Companies

Idemitsu-Showa Shell to seek Asia expansion after April merger

With lengthy feud settled, the new company will chase growth overseas

Samsung Electronics and Apple still lead the smartphone market, but they have lost ground to Chinese competitors in recent years.
Companies

Apple and Samsung end fight, but tech has long since evolved

Services, not hardware, now central to competition as Chinese players rise

The Apple iPhone 7 and AirPods are displayed during an Apple media event in San Francisco, California, U.S.
Business

Apple to unveil iPhone wireless charging with AirPods

Move comes as Chinese suppliers fuel competition for share of earphone supply chain

Simple by Jean Nouvel (Courtesy of Revolution Precrafted )
Companies

Philippine property unicorn expands to 14th country

Revolution Precrafted to supply prefab homes, villas and glamping units

Aber, one of Vietnam's newest ride-hailing operations, uses German technology. 
Companies

With Uber gone, Aber and others rush into Vietnamese market

Authorities encourage ride-hailing newcomers to challenge Grab's dominance

Jaguar Land Roveraccounts for more than half of Tata Motors' revenue and nearly 90% of its operating profit. 
Companies

Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover to invest $18 billion in three years

Company plans to introduce several new vehicles including electric cars

The logo of Indonesian e-commerce company Mataharimall.com, seen at its headquarters in Jakarta.
Business

Tencent receives $44m investment from Indonesia's Lippo

Conglomerate seeks to strengthen its 'digital muscle'

Minor International got its start running restaurants and hotels, mostly in Thailand, like this one in Bangkok.
Companies

Thai hotel operator Minor International makes European push

Company bets on aggressive acquisitions and homegrown skills to boost business

China's Fangchenggang Nuclear Power Plant will demonstrate the Hualong One reactor technology that is to be exported to the U.K.
Asia Insight

China's nuclear industry shows potential to overpower rivals

Tech gains and low costs put more reactor export deals within reach

Some foreign workers, like these at a farm in Showa, Gunma Prefecture, have already made their way to Japan through trainee programs.
Politics

How Japan came around on foreign workers

Many conservatives who opposed migrant labor now need it

China is the top importer of Iranian oil.
Trade war

China to ignore US demand for Iran oil ban

Tehran's top customer unfazed by threat of blocking access to dollars

Strains are beginning to show on the economy as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reaches the end of his second year in office.
Politics

Philippine economy under the spotlight in Duterte's third year

Foreign investment suffers despite improvements in public security

The Philippines seeks to diversify the source of foreign funds, according to Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez. (Photo by Hidetake Miyamoto)
Economy

Philippines readies $1bn samurai bond, the first in 8 years

Finance chief confident 'robust' economy will absorb US rate hikes

Bags of rice are unloaded at a port in Jakarta. Though a consensus has been reached on just two of the RCEP's 18 sections, many ASEAN members prioritize reaching any deal for the trade pact.
International relations

RCEP trade pact members seek year-end deal despite differences

16 Asia-Pacific countries hope for agreement to combat US protectionism

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has Chinese cash and no major political opposition at home, is alienating Cambodia's biggest trade partners.
Hun Sen's Cambodia

US and EU bolster threat of sanctions before Cambodian elections

As China makes Hun Sen rich, the West reminds him who buys his country's exports

Dalian Wanda and other Chinese companies account for a third of FIFA's official top-level partners and World Cup sponsors.
International relations

World Cup hosting bid strengthens as China pours in billions

Chinese companies now FIFA's leading source of financial support after scandals

It is not the time for Malaysia's well-wishers to sit out but to tap the new premier's reform moves.
Opinion

Mahathir needs help

Malaysia's allies must overcome old concerns about prickly premier and support reform

Despite the high share of oil purchases, Asia's major oil-importing countries have had only limited influence on oil prices. (Photo by Akiyoshi Inoue)
Opinion

Asian oil consumers need a voice at OPEC

China, India, Japan and South Korea must lead the way in winning influence

Mercari CEO Shintaro Yamada. Is the unicorn an exciting omen of things to come or a mere aberration?
Opinion

Abe can turn Japan into 'unicorn' central

Mercari's success could revive startup scene if political constraints are removed

At left, the four members of the Rouxel family take a commemorative photo with other relatives wearing replicas of court robes at Jingshan Park. From left, the Rouxels' older sister, mother, younger sister, and father. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Life

Gaze through the haze from a historic Beijing hilltop

Jingshan Park offers panoramic views of China's capital -- when the smog permits

Members of BNK48 perform at Bangkok's Rajamangala National Stadium on March 22.
Tea Leaves

How Thai girlband 'idols' inspire lonely male fans

Girl performers tap into needs of land that #MeToo movement passed by