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November 14th, 2019

Virtual disparity

Female microentrepreneurs are opening up e-commerce to India’s next 100 million consumers

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The Big Story

Beyond Amazon's reach, India's women lead an e-commerce revolution

A new breed of startups battle for the country's next 100 million consumers

E-tailers in India face a dilemma: Only a fraction of the nation's 450 million internet users spend money online. (Illustrations by Parvati Pillai)
India is the world's top milk consumer, but its fragmented and low-tech dairy industry has a productivity problem.
Startups in Asia

'Fitbit' for cows: Indian startup tackles low dairy productivity

Stellapps deploys thousands of sensors in world's No. 1 milk market

SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son stands in front of a list of Vision Fund investments at a news conference in Tokyo on Nov. 6 when the company posted a $6.4 billion loss. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Technology

Asia braces for 'tech winter' after SoftBank losses

'Break-even' replaces 'growth' as the new mantra for startups in the region

Sales for Chinese manufacturers and retailers of electric vehicles, such as BYD, have tumbled since Beijing slashes subsidies earlier this year.
Business trends

China corporate results flash warning sign on economic slowdown

Looser credit helps banks and developers but bad loans on the rise

Russia has been a leading wood exporter since it was part of the former Soviet Union.
Commodities

Russia adds Asia-bound wood and steel scrap to commodities exchange

Moscow-based bourse looks to wield more influence over pricing in global markets

A steel mill in northeast China's Dalian: Chinese steel production increased in September despite capacity cutbacks in recent years.
Economy

G-20 weighs new steel glut monitor after China blocks old one

Global oversupply continues as Chinese production rebounds

An aerial view of a ship passing the Gatun locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal.
Energy

Wider Panama Canal opens floodgates for American LNG to Asia

Surge in exports to Asian countries helps offset plunge in shipments to China

Carlos Ghosn burnished his "Le Cost Cutter" credentials by announcing Nissan's "Revival Plan" almost exactly 18 years ago. (Nikkei Montage)
Companies

After Ghosn, Nissan's 'keiretsu' suppliers back in the hot seat

This time, automaker's leader has little leverage to pry price cuts from vendors

According to the company, it had 19 new generic drugs and two new dosages pending approval from Halol for the U.S. market.
HKEX's profit during the quarter ended Sept. 30 dropped by a less-than-expected 9.7% to HK$2.21 billion ($283 million).
Nikkei Markets

HKEX's profit hurt by costs related to failed LSEG bid

Shares could be underpinned by new listings and northbound flows

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Nikkei Markets

Margin pressure likely to weigh on Hartalega in months ahead

Analysts cut targets post weaker-than-expected earnings; shares fall

© Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters
Asia Insight

Belarus buddies up with China as an alternative to Russia

Ukraine conflict spawns a 'peculiar geopolitical competition'

A Sri Lankan muslim woman walks past a mosque in Colombo. Sri Lanka's madrassas have come under scrutiny after Sri Lankan nationals who claimed links to Islamic State carried out coordinated suicide bombings on Easter Sunday that killed more than 250 people.
Politics

Sri Lankan Muslims pressured to curb rise of extremism

Religious schools and communities relieved by IS leader's death

Hyundai Motor developed the world's first fuel cell vehicle in 2013. It hopes to sell 10,000 units of Nexo, its second model, in 2020.
Business trends

South Korea targets hydrogen economy, from cars to cities

Seoul eyes infrastructure spending to help Hyundai expand fuel cell vehicles

With corporate cash piles increasing and household savings continuing to rise, the government sector in Japan, the US and Europe absorbed a combined surplus of $34 trillion from the corporate and household sectors in the 30 years through 2018.
Datawatch

Rich-country governments borrow furiously but business shuns debt

Collapse of traditional flow of funds sparks questions over economic trajectory

A wheel loader piles up rare earth on a quay at the Port of Lianyungang in Lianyungang city, in China's Jiangsu province. China accounts for 70% of global rare-earth production. 
Trade war

Rare-earth wars: China expands production to squeeze US entrants

Beijing keeps prices low as Washington seeks to boost homegrown players

Solar power plants and wind power plants will be constructed on farmlands and mountainous areas in Fukushima Prefecture. (Photo by Koji Uema) 
Energy

Fukushima to be reborn as $2.7bn wind and solar power hub

Twenty-one plants and new power grid to supply Tokyo metropolitan area

Pakistan has sold 16 JF-17 fighters, built with China's help, to Myanmar and three to Nigeria.
Politics

With China as its mentor, Pakistan triples arms exports

Islamabad pitches its weapons to budget-minded countries like Turkey and Myanmar

Justin Trudeau, right, and Xi Jinping listen to opening remarks at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28: Trudeau have to balance hostile public opinion against the reality that China remains Canada's second-largest trading partner.
Opinion

Canada's weakened government faces tough choices over China

Trudeau should broaden regional ties to reduce dependence on Beijing

Narendra Modi at the ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok on Nov. 3: the real loser will be India itself.
Opinion

India makes historic blunder in abandoning RCEP trade deal

Faced with tough reforms, Narendra Modi chose easy option of walking away

A driverless bus runs at a university campus in Taipei: Taiwan has been slow to revise regulations applying to new technology, such as rules for autonomous vehicles.
Opinion

Taiwan must be more business-friendly to become Asia's Silicon Valley

US-China trade war is already driving tech giants like Foxconn back to the island

SoftBank Group incurred a huge loss for the July-September period due to its costly bet on office-sharing startup WeWork. (Photo by Shihoko Nakaoka) 
The Nikkei View

SoftBank must draw the right lessons from WeWork losses

Group should rethink light-touch management and keep retail investors informed

A desert excursion near Jamba, the village in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan where the Dera Dune Retreat is located. (Courtesy of The Clement Retreats)
Life

High-end 'social tourism' boosts appeal of India's desert state

Luxury retreats allow visitors to engage with locals in rugged Rajasthan

Automobiles, not gleaming high-speed trains, are the preferred mode of transport among locals in the northern Chinese province of Heilongjiang. (Photo by Ankur Shah and Vivek Pisharody)
Life

Exploring the remote realities of China's Belt and Road

Little enthusiasm for high-profile projects along the border with Russia

People at a Beijing railway station use their smartphones to watch President Xi Jinping deliver a speech at a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Tea Leaves

Why moral outrage is scarce in China

Many citizens know what is happening in their country, but choose not to care