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August 2nd, 2018

Awash in plastic

Asia wakes up to an environmental crisis

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The Big Story

Asian plastic is choking the world's oceans

More than 80% of marine plastic pollution comes from Asia

Children collect plastic bottles from the Buriganga river in Dhaka. (Getty Images)
Metal tiffin carriers are still used to carry lunches across much of Asia, including India and Bangladesh.
The Big Story

Asia tackles its plastic problem with a mix of tradition and tech

Bamboo straws, edible bags and banana leaf 'dishes' offer eco-friendly alternatives

Southeast Asia's ride-hailing market is consolidating into a two-horse race between Grab and Go-Jek. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Company in focus

Grab aims to stay on top with evolution into 'everyday superapp'

Moving beyond ride-hailing crucial to overcoming competition and regulation

Qualcomm's bid might not be the last to founder as Beijing reaches for ways to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to raise tariffs on virtually all Chinese imports
Business deals

Qualcomm not the last victim as US-China trade war intensifies

Deals by United Technologies, Disney and Carlyle still await Beijing's approval

GMF AeroAsia depends on parent Garuda for most of its maintenance and repair business.
Asia300

Garuda maintenance unit charts growth path with UAE hangar deal

GMF AeroAsia plans $400m in investment to capture demand beyond Indonesia

Japan's health ministry aims to curb secondhand smoke with a proposed ban in restaurants.
Business trends

Restaurateurs hedge their bets on Japan anti-smoking law

Large chains 'need to be selective' on which locations to make entirely smoke-free

China AI startups like SenseTime, which is focused on facial recognition, have been raising large sums in recent months
Technology

China's AI focus will leave US in the dust, says top university professor

Tsinghua University 'already rivals MIT' in number of US patents granted

The U.S. government's veto of a Chinese acquisition cleared the way for Hindalco Industries, the world's largest aluminum roller, to purchase Aleris.
Commodities

Indian companies swoop in as US blocks Chinese rivals

Hindalco snaps up aluminum maker Aleris in $2.6bn deal

Siam Cement will continue its plan to develop the Long Son petrochemical complex in Vietnam.
Asia300

Siam Cement profit shrinks on rising costs and stronger baht

Thai group stays bullish on Southeast Asia and expects to hit revenue goal

 Asian Paints is taking steps to pass on the benefits of the GST rate cut to consumers. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
Companies

Asian Paints first-quarter profit beats forecasts on cost controls

India's biggest paint maker posts 31% increase in profit

SK Hynix plans to expand DRAM chip fabrication facilities at its headquarters in Icheon, South Korea.
Asia300

South Korea's SK Hynix to build $3bn DRAM plant

Cloudy market outlook could throw wrench in chipmaker's expansion plans

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government has begun implementing eight of its "10 promises in 100 days." But its sales tax plan, infrastructure review and other policies are sowing confusion. (© Nikkei montage/Source photo by Reuters)
Asia Insight

Mahathir government's mixed signals make for uneasy honeymoon

China, Singapore and Malaysians themselves all have questions

Cambodian garment workers were promised big raises by their prime minister as he campaigned for Sunday's election, but Western sanctions could dispel their hope.
Hun Sen's Cambodia

Hun Sen's 'flawed' victory puts Cambodian businesses at stake

US and EU could deliver blows by taking away tariff-free access to their markets

Populist firebrand Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Justice Movement, has promised sweeping changes, but analysts remain sceptical. 
Politics

Pakistan's new leader faces uphill climb rebuilding economy

Former cricket star promises change, starting from corruption and poverty

A Vietnamese man surveys the damage to his home caused by tropical storm Son Tinh at a village outside Hanoi on July 24.
Economy

Asian economies feel the heat from extreme weather

Region faces brewing crisis as costs from damage continue to mount

A collapsed dam in southern Laos has forced over 7,000 people to evacuate and set back the country's hydroelectric ambitions.
Economy

Dam failure clouds Laos' dream of becoming regional power force

Delays to power plant projects could harm other economies in Southeast Asia

Troops patrol the decimated streets of Marawi, in the southern Philippines, after a nearly five-month siege by pro-Islamic State militants on Oct. 17, 2017.
Politics

Duterte signs law to create Islamic autonomous region

Philippine president takes step to end 50 years of bloody conflicts

The governor of Indonesia's Aceh Province, Irwandi Yusuf, was arrested on suspicion of graft on July 4.
Politics

Graft resists Widodo's purge in Indonesia localities

More officials arrested in 2018 than in any other year

Smartphone users in Taiwan consume more than double the amount of data per month than their counterparts in any other Asian economy. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Datawatch

Taiwan shoots to the top of Asia's mobile data consumption rankings

Adoption of 4G and unlimited packages push down revenues

Chinese consumer debt is rising at an unprecedented rate, driven by borrowing for property purchases.
Opinion

China can't count on consumers to get through trade war

Households are too deeply in debt to drive economic growth

Rohingya refugees at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh appeal to a United Nations Security Council visit at Rohingya camp on in late April.
Opinion

Impunity rules in Southeast Asia

No easy route to accountability for crimes against humanity in Myanmar's Rakhine State

Despite uncertainties, enthusiasts in the business world are betting, with reason, that chances are coming.
Opinion

Business in North Korea -- a risk worth taking

Executives are right to prepare for a political deal, even if the outlook remains uncertain

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to cast his vote on July 29. Monitors from Japan, the U.S. and the European Union were notably absent from the general election. (Reuters)
The Nikkei View

Cambodian election gives democracy a bad name

By holding a vote without the main opposition, Hun Sen shows his autocratic colors

Chef Li Guang Han of Michelin-starred Labyrinth has re-imagined a rolled rice noodle that packs all the flavors of a classic nasi lemak -- garnished coconut rice. (Photo by Vincent Vichit-Vadakan)
Life

Singapore chefs go back to the future

The island state's culinary masters are preserving and reinventing their heritage

Toto demonstrated its ability to design entire bathroom spaces at this year's Kitchen & Bath China trade show in Shanghai.
Companies

Toto knocks on bathroom doors of China's 'new middle class'

Japanese toilet maker zeros in on several hundred million potential customers

The Television Match Official review system has been used in rugby since 2001.
Life

Referee tech raising concerns ahead of Rugby World Cup in Japan

Overreliance on video systems could undermine refs' authority and slow down games

American high school students make dumplings during a Chinese-language class. Would the Qianlong Emperor have approved?
Tea Leaves

Chinese diplomatic cookery lessons

Superpower policy recipes leave a sour taste