February 11th, 2021

STACKED ODDS

As the world decouples, Japan Inc. doubles down on China

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Myanmar Crisis

Who is Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing? 5 things to know

Retired diplomat says 'big man management style' sows seeds of arrogance

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has taken the reins of power in Myanmar after deposing the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in the Southeast Asian country's latest military coup.

A screen grab from Myanmar state television footage on Feb. 1 shows Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing reading a statement: the Tatmadaw will not want to be dependent on China.

Opinion

Myanmar coup will reverberate far beyond Southeast Asia

Crisis is first high stakes test for Biden's relationship with ASEAN

Bitcoin advertisement at a bus stop in Hong Kong: a flexible legal framework is crucial to securing the city's position as a leader in cryptocurrency finance.

Opinion

Hong Kong should not take cryptocurrency finance for granted

Singapore is ready to welcome innovative companies

A view of the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, which China claims and calls the Diaoyu Islands.

The Nikkei View

Global teamwork vital in addressing aggressive China Coast Guard law

New legislation aims to legitimize actions not permitted under international law

Stacked odds: A decoupling world should be pulling apart Asia's two biggest economies. Instead, Japan is leaning even more heavily into China.

The Big Story

Decoupling denied: Japan Inc. lays its bets on China

US-China trade rift creates havoc and opportunity for Asia's economic giants

Evergrande -- led by Xu Jiayin, a former steel factory technician -- used debt to accumulate China's biggest private land bank. (Source photos by Getty images and Reuters)

Business Spotlight

Evergrande seeks safe descent from $130bn debt mountain

Chinese property developer epitomized sector's credit-fueled growth

Alibaba's offering comes a little over a month after China launched an antimonopoly investigation against it.

Markets

Jack Ma's Alibaba raises $5bn in biggest Asia bond sale since May

Demand suggests investors are unfazed by regulatory curbs on e-commerce group

Singapore’s largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro will trial run its ride-hailing service with 25 private hire car drivers. (Photo courtesy of company)

Transportation

Singapore taxi giant challenges Grab with ride-hailing trial

Former Uber partner ComfortDelGro eyes post-COVID transport rebound

Japan's Kirin has been under pressure from activists to end its joint ventures in Myanmar. (Source photos by AP and AP)

Myanmar Crisis

Japan's Kirin to end joint beer ventures in Myanmar after coup

Brewer seeks to sever ties with military-linked company as 'matter of urgency'

SoftBank

SoftBank rebounds with $11bn quarterly profit

Vision Fund investment gains fuel earnings growth amid tech stock boom

Nintendo Switch sales have soared amid the pandemic while Sony faces PS5 supply constraints. (Source photos by Kei Higuchi and Wataru Ito)

Media & Entertainment

Nintendo Switch outsells PS5 over COVID holiday season

Sony misses chance as global chip crunch squeezes production

TSMC, which produces chips for tech giants such as Apple, Google and Qualcomm, accounts for one-third of total local stock market value and around 20% of estimated private sector investment. (Illustration by Michael Tsang)

Asia Insight

Taiwan's economy feels heat as TSMC feeds global chip boom

Demand for 'strategic resource' fuels labor, power and water shortages

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on a foreign policy at the State Department on Feb. 4.

Biden's Asia policy

Biden vows to rebuild 'muscle' of democratic alliances

President maintains Trump's tough stance on China in first big foreign policy speech

Myanmar's junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing addresses the nation on Feb. 8.

Myanmar Crisis

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing says this coup is 'different'

General vows 'no change in foreign policy' or stance on foreign investment

Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, arrives at the Court of Final Appeal by prison van in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning.

Politics

Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai denied bail over 'misconstrued' security law

Top court finds media mogul remains a threat while awaiting collusion trial

From left, Hayboogie, Popper88, Kaspy, Fish, and Gerin: Performance artists who have kept dancing through protests, a pandemic and now a recession. (Photos by Paul Yeung)

Arts

The electrifying passion keeping Hong Kong's street dancers moving

Pandemic adds to problems performers already face in unforgiving city

Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, standing, gives a demonstration in Tokyo in 1967. The author's experiences in learning the martial art in Japan were very different than they were in the U.S.

Tea Leaves

Life lessons from anime and martial arts

Japanese intuitive learning teaches that relying on experience is what counts