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July 16th, 2020

Labors Lost

Overseas Filipino workers have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic

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The Big Story

Crucial yet forgotten: the Filipino workers stranded by coronavirus

What happens when the world's largest migrant workforce disappears?

For years, the growth of wealthy countries has relied on a supply of willing labor. The pandemic has called that into question.
Companies in Singapore and other major Asian cities are increasingly looking to downsize their offices or even get rid of them altogether.
Business Spotlight

Telework boom weighs on Asia's fast-growing office market

Companies seek alternatives to fancy workplaces as economy cools

A Christie's auctioneer takes bids in Hong Kong on July 8. Major auction houses are reporting robust sales, in spite of the coronavirus outbreak and global economic uncertainty.
Business trends

Hong Kong auctions spring to life in reboot for global art market

Return of saleroom activity also brings healthy prices despite impact of pandemic

Tony Fernandes said he was confident AirAsia coud be profitable in 2021. (Photo by Yuki Nakao, File photo)
Transportation

AirAsia will rebound to profit in a year, vows CEO Tony Fernandes

Discount airline needs to raise $470m in next 6 months to be 'very comfortable'

A man walks by a Muji store closed by COVID-19 in New York City.
Retail

Virus-hit Muji USA files for bankruptcy protection $64m in debt

Japanese retailer cracks under the weight of pricey rent payments

Toyota has approved the quality of China Baowu's steel sheet for use in hybrid and electric vehicles and is already taking delivery in Japan. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
Automobiles

Toyota sources crucial steel product from China's Baowu

Top Chinese maker matches Japan rivals in quality of electrical steel sheet

The coronavirus lockdown in the Philippines has cast a shadow over Toyota's efforts to produce enough vehicles to qualify for $180 million in tax savings. (Photo courtesy of Toyota)
Automobiles

Toyota and Mitsubishi risk missing out on Philippine auto perk

$180m tax breaks in jeopardy as pandemic disrupts output targets

A pandemic-induced economic downturn threatens to become a bigger issue for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte than his campaign against crime and drugs. © Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters
Asia Insight

Duterte's strongman popularity at risk from COVID-19 recession

Succession plans threatened as president muzzles dissent amid pandemic

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong checks his phone at a People's Action Party office during vote counting in the early hours of July 11.
Singapore election

Singapore PM heads for 'rocky economic shoals' with election bruises

Opposition gains seen as beginning of the end of PAP's 'absolute control'

The rush to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in India is fast becoming a political issue for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  (Nikkei Montage/Reuters) 
Coronavirus

India races for COVID-19 vaccine by mid-August as cases rise

Modi critics see rush as political game while experts find timeline unfeasible

Reporting on Wirecard shows that a whistleblower raised serious issues on the handling of transactions to senior management.
Opinion

Why does the Philippines attract financial fraud?

Wirecard is only latest example of Manila being caught up in corporate misdeeds

Since Chinese tourists contribute about A$12 billion to Australia's  economy each year, Beijing wants Canberra to pay a price for biting the hand that feeds it.
Opinion

China's economic bullying will never work

Beijing has threatened Australia, Japan and others with tariffs and tourism cuts

Prime Minister and People's Action Party leader Lee Hsien Loong, right, leaves a polling center after casting his vote in Singapore's general election on July 10.
The Nikkei View

Singapore's bittersweet election result calls for more say

Time for ruling PAP to debate with opposition on the road ahead

Sydney’s officially designated Thai Town is only the second in the world after the one in Los Angeles. (Courtesy of the Thai Town Business and Community Association)
Life

Inside Sydney's 'Little Bangkok'

Australia's Thais transform demographics and make headlines amid crisis

Kites take to the sky at the Bali Kite Festival in 2015. (Photo by Julia Winterflood)
Tea Leaves

In difficult times, go fly a kite

Bali shows how a century-old tradition can help ease pandemic stress