alt

January 31st, 2019

Bots and the ballot box

Facebook’s credibility at stake as Asian nations prepare for vote

View all editions

The Big Story

Bots and the ballot box: Is Facebook prepared for Asia's elections?

Doubts remain over tech giant's fight against fake election news

Battling criticism and political pressure in the U.S. and EU, Facebook is in advance damage-control mode ahead of major elections -- including Asian polls in Thailand, India, Indonesia and the Philippines. (Source image by Reuters)
WhatsApp, a favored platform for news-sharing in Southeast Asia, is stepping up measures to curb the spread of misinformation. Above, a Malaysian government "anti-fake news" campaign from April 2018, criticized as a way to crack down on dissent.
The Big Story

WhatsApp grapples with outsized influence ahead of Asia polls

Chat service's strong security makes it easy to trust, hard to monitor

Screen capture of the An Gia project from a computer simulation shown on YouTube (Computer-generated simulation by An Gia)
Startups in Asia

Vietnamese condo startup finds niche in booming middle class

An Gia weighs listing but signs of market overheating are building

Renault's new Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, left, and Nissan's CEO Hiroto Saikawa. 
Nissan's Ghosn crisis

Nissan and Renault cloak differences with diplomacy

Two automakers face challenge in reconciling visions

China became the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon on Jan. 11, indicative of Beijing's reach for the stars. (China National Space Administration/Xinhua News Agency via AP)
Business trends

China's space-startup boom fueled by government boost

Country looks to tap into growing commercial rocket and satellite sectors

DBS Group CEO Piyush Gupta speaks to the Nikkei Asian Review on Jan. 17 in Singapore. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Finance

DBS 'open' to investing in startups, CEO says

Singaporean bank accelerates 'partnership model' to reach more consumers

SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye speaks to the Nikkei Asian Review on Jan. 17 in Singapore. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Markets

Singapore Exchange dives deeper into digital to stay competitive

Bourse trials new high-tech trading tool and mulls rule change amid IPO slump

The Trans Icon development, with a model shown here, will mix retail stores with apartments, a hotel and indoor recreation facilities to generate foot traffic. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
Companies

Indonesia's CT Corp. remodels retail around recreation

Attractions like indoor ski slope aim to pull shoppers offline and into stores

Saturated smartphone markets have contributed to a slowdown in demand at chipmakers and other suppliers in Asia.
Taiwan tech tracker

Asian tech suppliers brace for prolonged downturn

Trade war clouds earnings outlook from Japan to South Korea to Taiwan

Sales at Lotte Shopping, which operates Lotte Department Stores, are down due to stiff competition from online retailers. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara) 
Companies

Lotte Shopping faces $350m fine over supplier delivery fees

South Korean retailer says offsetting logistics costs is common practice

Sales from the cigarette business, which accounts for more than three-fourths of ITC's operating earnings, rose more than 9.6% to 50.73 billion rupees.
Companies

ITC quarterly profit beats estimates on India cigarette sales

Company's sales of personal care products, apparels also gained

CNOOC aims to double its proven energy reserves by 2025.
Companies

CNOOC to look for 'appropriate' M&A deals to meet 2025 goal - CEO

Push follows Xi initiative to boost China's energy security

A South Korean man tends to his cart near Seoul's Pagoda Park on Jan. 26. Some older residents eke out a living by collecting paper and other trash. (Photo by Jean Chung)
Asia Insight

No country for old Koreans: Moon faces senior poverty crisis

Modern families and meager pensions push up elderly suicide rate

For weeks, Bangkok has not seen a clear sky, as the Thai capital experiences its worst air quality in years.
Economy

Asian countries rush to fight toxic air pollution

Bangkok deploys rainmaking plane while Seoul clamps down on diesel trucks

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Gov. Indrajit Coomaraswamy expects the Indian Ocean tug of war between China and India to help his country secure aid. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Interview

Sri Lanka set to avert debt crisis this year: central bank chief

South Asian island plays balancing act to secure bailouts from China and India

A window looks out at the sun shining down on the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
International relations

China takes spotlight, sometimes harsh, at Davos minus Trump

Beijing's call for new order shot down by Soros, who brands Xi 'dangerous'

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called China "a friend" at the sidelines of a session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, but also said that Hanoi will "protect our own legitimate interests and sovereignty."
International relations

Vietnam seeks more trade with China but will defend interests: PM

Key state-owned enterprise reform needs to speed up, Phuc says

Taiwan’s move to further crack down on Chinese tech comes as countries such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.K. and France are either blocking or considering banning the use of Chinese equipment.
Politics

Taiwan preps China blacklist banning Huawei and ZTE

No Chinese smartphones for government employees, cybersecurity chief says

China, Russia and Turkey have been buying gold to replace U.S. Treasury bonds as they look to reduce their reliance on the dollar.
Commodities

China builds up gold reserves in shift away from dollar

Currency weakness and tensions with US spur moves to diversify

The European Union consumes 11.6% of the palm oil produced by Malaysia. Pictured here is a factory outside Kuala Lumpur that processes palm oil.   
Malaysia in transition

Malaysia threatens to freeze out EU over palm oil ban

Foreign ministry pointed to similar action taken by Indonesia

There are secrets that America does not want to share at any price.
Opinion

U.S. vs. China -- split trade from technological security

Washington must define technological security concerns more precisely

More Japanese banks might take Suruga's rout. 
Opinion

Time to worry about Japanese banks -- again

Growing concern about exposure to risky assets, not least U.S. junk corporate loans

Hong Kong football fans hold boo signs during the Chinese national anthem in Nov. 2015.
Opinion

Beijing won't allow Hong Kong to sing from a different song sheet

Xi runs risks of provoking backlash but cannot allow protests which might stir mainland instability

Labor Minister Takumi Nemoto apologizes for the survey debacle. (Photo by Kei Higuchi)
The Nikkei View

Why Japan's faulty economic statistics are dangerous

The government must quickly clear up the matter to restore the public's trust

Local ladies dressed in traditional ethnic garb were a common sight at Imphal's Hapta Kangjeibung, one of the Sangai Festival's main locations. (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Life

India's Manipur shows new face to the world

Tourism picks up as the northeast state emerges from a violent past

Chinese actors attend a press conference for movie "Namiya" adapted from Japanese writer Keigo Higashino's novel "Miracles of the Namiya General Store" in Beijing in October 2017 (Imaginechina/AP Images)
Arts

Bull market in bungaku highlights Japanese literary revival

China leads international boom in demand for new and old authors

Pangina Heals performs in the residence of the British ambassador in Bangkok. (Photo by Apcom)
Tea Leaves

Asian LGBT activists strike at colonial era attitudes

Civic awards reflect changing society in Asia