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December 12th, 2019

Market forces

Can the new carbon economy save Asia’s forests?

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The Big Story

COP25: A new carbon market offers hope for Asia's forests

From Mitsui to Shell, companies are investing in emissions offsets

Across Southeast Asia, companies are hunting for access to carbon credits -- whether to meet their own climate change pledges, redeem themselves in the eyes of their customers, or preempt the regulations that many believe are inevitable. (Photo by Peter Guest)
Rain or shine -- even in typhoons -- China's millions of food delivery drivers venture out. They do not always make it back.
Industry in focus

Food delivery drivers dance with death for Alibaba and Tencent

Workers pay price as Chinese giants' affiliates clash in $71bn market

China is expected to invest more than $150 billion in 5G by 2025, according to Goldman Sachs. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Industry in focus

Chinese 5G sparks gold rush for Japan's masters of materials

Little-known suppliers set to cash in as Huawei and Beijing bet big

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is among the companies losing talent to mainland China. (Photo courtesy of TSMC)
China tech

Taiwan loses 3,000 chip engineers to 'Made in China 2025'

Beijing rolls out red carpet with triple the pay and benefits

Sundar Pichai must ensure that Google, with over 100,000 employees around the world, exercises proper corporate responsibility while also maintaining its uniqueness. (Nikkei Montage/ Source photos by AP and Reuters)
Companies

Alphabet's India-born CEO needs to embrace 'Googliness'

Pichai also faces daunting political and technological challenges

Grab claims its app has been downloaded over 160 million times. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Startups

Grab lets Southeast Asians shop globally with Mastercard deal

Singapore startup eyes wealth management and virtual bank as next finance moves

The operator of Singapore' Changi Airport earns 60% of its revenue from retail operations and rent.
Business trends

Asia's airports stretch their retail and leisure wings

Singapore's Changi and South Korea's Incheon look to lift nonaviation revenue

The all-electric Hyundai 45 concept car at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show: The automaker seeks to gain ground on rivals in next-generation vehicles.
Automobiles

Hyundai to invest $50bn to gain edge in next-gen tech

South Korean automaker bolsters spending as industry landscape shifts

Sapura Energy, the Malaysian oil and gas services firm, said Thursday that it faces challenging times after its net loss for the fiscal third quarter widened mainly due to higher operating expenses.
Nikkei Markets

Sapura Energy's net loss widens, warns of challenging times

Analysts expect thin margins on current orders blur quicker turnaround prospects

Vingroup wants to divest from its supermarket business and focus on technology. 
Business deals

Vingroup to move away from supermarkets and focus on tech

Vietnam's largest conglomerate and Masan to merge retail segments

© Photo illustration by Michael Tsang/Source photos by Kyodo, AP
Asia Insight

Taiwan's election: A battle over identity with ballots not bullets

Tsai defends imagined state of Taiwan, while Han says he loves Republic of China

The Philippines' DIWATA-1 satellite. Many Asian nations harbor space aspirations as their economies grow more powerful, fueling geopolitical competition. (Photo courtesy of JAXA/NASA)
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia bet on space as growth engine

For industry to soar, governments need to boost private sector's share

An LNG tanker in Yokohama, Japan: The U.S. state of Alaska is considering projects to export LNG to Asia, which it is much closer to than competitors in the Gulf of Mexico.
Interview

Alaska governor pitches LNG exports to Japan

Dunleavy says Alaskan arctic gas can compete on price in Asia

Chinese President Xi Jinping appears intent on using the digital yuan to bolster the currency's presence globally
Currencies

Digital yuan nears launch as China sweats over Libra

Sovereign virtual coin lets Beijing bolster oversight and boost currency abroad

European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau takes a cautious view of Libra. (Source photos by Reuters)
Interview

'We cannot sacrifice safety' for Libra: ECB's Villeroy

French central banker says Facebook must play by the rules with digital currency

An elephant walks past tourist safari jeeps at Kaudulla national park in Habarana, Sri Lanka, on Aug. 6, 2019.
Economy

Sri Lanka awaits winter tourists to revive terror-hit sector

Some flights resume, bringing hope of earlier-than-expected recovery

Tetsu Nakamura in the Gamberi Desert, Afghanistan in 2008
Obituaries

Tetsu Nakamura: Humanitarian who devoted his life to Afghanistan

Slain Japanese doctor wanted to 'shine light into dark corners'

Girl group Blackpink performs on stage on January 23: K-pop bears the inflated dreams and desires of a country in crisis.
Opinion

K-pop deaths highlight South Korea's desperation for soft power

In unpromising economy, music groups are rare financial and cultural success

Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar addresses a rally demanding liquor ban at Jewar in June 2016: the state government caused Carlsberg's $25 million brewery to shut down.
Opinion

India's states harm themselves with wild policy swings

Investors cannot trust that governments will honor contracts

Morrison values Abe as someone who has managed how to steer a course between an unstable America and an assertive China.
Opinion

Japan can teach Australia how to carefully handle China

Scott Morrison needs to study Shinzo Abe's resolve

U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe greet each other in New York on Sept. 25. The bilateral trade pact will take effect on Jan. 1.
The Nikkei View

US and Japan should make limited trade pact more ambitious

American tariffs on Japanese auto exports need to be eliminated

Emoji were ubiquitous in Japan by the early 2000s, but it was not until Apple added an emoji keyboard to its worldwide iPhone operating system in 2011 that they emigrated to global stardom. (Nikkei montage)
Business trends

How emoji became a multimillion-dollar business

From emoticons to Line Friends, they offer a creative and emotional vocabulary

Riding camels on the sand dunes of Hunder in the Nubra Valley is a tourist cliche -- but also a very scenic experience. (Photo by Kit Yeng Chan)
Life

India's newest union territory eyes visitor boom

Ladakh will benefit from split with Kashmir, but tourism must be sustainable

Indarpal cleans out the septic tank of a home in Noida, near New Delhi. (Photo by Pallavi Aiyar)
Tea Leaves

After the flush, India's bigger sanitation challenge

Modi has ended open defecation but that's only half the story