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July 11th, 2019

Asia300 Power Performers: Tech’s wild ride

Chipmakers scramble to stay on track through trade war headwinds

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The Big Story

SK Hynix surges to top Asia300 company rankings as trade war takes toll

Asian tech resilient, but rising barriers threaten to throttle ambitions

Chipmakers surged in Nikkei's latest Asia300 company rankings, but fresh pressures loom. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
Illustration by Eric Chow
The Big Story

Xi doctrine comes before profit for China's state-owned companies

'Original aspiration' campaign keeps Conch and Moutai occupied

Fosun acquired Club Med, the storied resort chain, in 2015 after the longest takeover battle in French corporate history. (Photo courtesy of Fosun Tourism Group)
Company in focus

Club Med's Chinese owner Fosun bets billions on family fun

Conglomerate aims to turn Western icons into reliable moneymakers

A man looks at a demonstration of human motion analysis software developed by artificial intelligence solutions maker Horizon Robotics. (Beijing, China October 24, 2018) 
China tech

Used cars and AI come out on top as China's startup funding slumps

36Kr shows 1H funding on track to fall 33% as sharing-economy darlings lose their shine

Western Union and Cebuana Lhuillier are using financial technology to grab a piece of the Philippine remittance industry. 
Business trends

Philippines' $30bn remittance market lures digital upstarts

App-based players shake up industry with low-fee transfers and shorter wait times

Vietjet Vice President Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh said the platform will cover banking, insurance and other financial services, as well as hotels, consumer goods and more. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Companies

Vietjet plans e-commerce foray as air travel competition heats up

Budget carrier aims to reach 'hundreds of millions of customers,' executive says

Tourists dip their toes into the ocean near Pattaya, which has transformed from a sleepy fishing village 60 years ago into a thriving vacation destination.
Companies

Thailand's CP plans $330m seaside hub linked to high-speed rail

Retail and housing complex meant to draw more traffic to resort city Pattaya

More than 20% of Nissan Motor shareholders voted against reappointing President Hiroto Saikawa to the board of directors at a general meeting last month.
Business trends

Once-mum Japan shareholders crank up pressure on management

Record 15% of businesses report substantial investor opposition to proposals

BYD's global design center features sophisticated clay-modeling equipment. (Photo courtesy of BYD)
Electric cars in China

BYD debuts design hub to sculpt next-gen electric cars

Center to unite 300 designers under one roof to differentiate from rivals

Passenger vehicle sales in India have been tottering since July, as fuel prices rose and farm incomes dropped. 
CapitaLand sold over 1,800 residential units in China during the three months ended June, more than double its sales in the same period a year ago.
Nikkei Markets

Two CapitaLand REITs to merge as quest for scale quickens

Union to create Asia's largest hospitality trust

Cannabis legalization is slowly spreading from Western countries to Asia. Many Thai companies are seeking opportunities to enter related markets.
Asia Insight

Pot of gold? Thailand leads slow push to legalize weed in Asia

Potential $8.5bn market looks tempting but experts advise caution

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China's President Xi Jinping during the G20 leaders summit in Japan on June 29.
Trade war

Year one in US-China trade war takes $20bn toll on their exports

Tariffs transform global supply chains as businesses prepare for protracted clash

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives to present the 2019 budget in parliament on July 5.
Economy

India to ease foreign investment rules in push for $5tn economy

Finance minister lays out plans to boost infrastructure in budget speech

Rickshaws ply a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The new VAT has caught the country largely unprepared as regards compliance. (Photo by Takaki Kashiwabara)
Economy

Bangladesh's VAT rollout confuses consumers and businesses

Government hopes new tax will raise one-third of $38.5bn revenue goal for 2020

Japanese Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe attends a debate with main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Edano on Wednesday in Tokyo.
Japan election

Five things to know about Japan's upper house election

Abe seeks a big victory to advance the constitutional revision debate

A fashion store in Islamabad: Pakistan's government hopes its drive to stamp out the Taliban and restore safety will help to rebuild the economy. 
Economy

Pakistan hopes security lures business along with British royals

Prince William and Kate's planned tour shows anti-terror success is getting noticed

The trimaran Sea Hunter transited between Hawaii and San Diego without human intervention. (Handout photo from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
Opinion

US-China tensions -- unmanned military craft raise risk of war

Proliferating autonomous systems in contested waters could spark accidental clashes

Libra might promise nirvana for financial markets. 
Opinion

Facebook's Libra is a risk to developing Asia's currencies

Central banks should beware as planned cryptocurrency could trigger financial turmoil

Foxconn has manufacturing facilities in 16 countries in the world but 75% of its total capacity is centralized in China.
Opinion

The high price of breaking up global supply chains

Consumers will suffer as US-China trade war strains production, markets and regulation fragment

Japanese whalers held their first commercial hunt in more than three decades on July 1.
The Nikkei View

Japan has yet to prove commercial whaling is sustainable

As hunts resume, foreign backlash and changing market loom as hurdles

Ernesto Da Cruz hopes to use his local knowledge to become a tour guide. (Photo by Peter Guest)
Life

East Timor combines tourism with ecological recovery

Local involvement protects species diversity and promotes unique approach to eco-tourism

The Grand Room of the Shishi-Iwa House at dusk: Designed by award-winning architect Shigeru Ban, the hotel can be enjoyed in all seasons and times of day. 
Life

Japanese architect breaks new ground with rural boutique hotel

Shigeru Ban goes from megaprojects and low-cost housing to art and nature in a verdant setting

Singaporean artist Yip Yew Chong's mural at Lodhi Art District (Photo by Pallavi Aiyar)
Tea Leaves

In Delhi, urban regeneration becomes work of art

India's first open-air public gallery bridges the divide between rich and poor