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July 30th, 2020

BIG GAME

Southeast Asia's unicorns were thriving. Then came the coronavirus pandemic

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The Big Story

Coronavirus stalks Southeast Asia's once-thriving unicorns

For Gojek, Grab and more, quest for profit becomes struggle for survival

Big game: For years, Southeast Asia's young companies were fueled by billions of dollars in venture capital from growth-chasing investors, including SoftBank Group's controversial $100 billion Vision Fund.
Dismissing worries, senior Hong Kong leaders say the operations of "law-abiding financial institutions and market practitioners" should not be affected by the new national security law. 
Finance

Officials fail to quell Hong Kong financiers' security law worries

Bankers and fund managers are changing how they trade and communicate

Intel is struggling to catch up with TSMC in the race for chip dominance. (Source photos by Shihoko Nakaoka and Shinya Sawai)
Technology

Intel falls behind Asian rival TSMC in chip race

Delays to 7-nanometer production could spur US titan to embrace outsourcing

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, left, has named Workers' Party Secretary-General Pritam Singh, right, the "leader of the opposition" in a first for the city-state. © Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images
Asia Insight

Singapore's 'democratic dawn'? Parties adapt to new landscape

Ruling PAP under pressure to save economy while opposition faces test of ideas

China's Huawei Technologies has become the top filer of standards-essential 5G patents.
International relations

China leads the way on global standards for 5G and beyond

Huawei moves front and center as Beijing drafts strategy on rule-setting

A still image of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea provided by the U.S. Navy in 2015. 
South China Sea

China shoots across US bow with South China Sea drills

Weeklong live-fire exercises follow tit-for-tat consulate closures

The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and units from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Australian Defense Force participate in trilateral exercises in the Philippine Sea on July 21. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval Forces Japan)
A proposed $400 billion economic partnership between China and Iran has some experts questioning the value of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Belt and Road

China-Iran deal overshadows Pakistan Belt and Road project

Beijing's plan to invest in Tehran's Hormuz port threatens Islamabad's value

People protest against the alleged rape and murder in Chandigarh in December 2019: there has been no change in the lens through which the legal system views rape victims.
Opinion

Indian legal system is failing rape victims with archaic attitudes

Judge in Karnataka case said alleged victim's response was 'unbecoming'

The Johnson government should avoid outright confrontation with China, where it is outmatched.
Opinion

UK's Huawei ban opens new front in US-China trade war

Red mist descends on London's relationship with Beijing as Trump piles on pressure

A FedEx employee removes a box from the Chinese Consulate in Houston on July 23.
The Nikkei View

US, China need wisdom to avert worst-case scenario

As cycle of retaliation continues, communication is vital to prevent disaster

Bangkok's Scala theater on the night of July 5, when the iconic building hosted its final screening. (Photo by Yukako Ono)
Arts

Bangkok cinema's golden age ends as curtain falls on Scala

Demise of famed theater leaves new generation of independent movie houses

When British explorer James Cook landed on Australia in 1770, humans had already been living there for 60,000 years. (Photo by Geoff Hiscock)
Tea Leaves

Protests highlight Australia's black-white divide

Despite diverse population, improving status of indigenous Aborigines is country's greatest challenge