alt

August 24th, 2023

The age of post-COVID austerity

Encouraged to borrow to get through the pandemic, many poor countries now face the consequences

View all editions

The Big Story

Sri Lanka enters a new era of post-pandemic austerity

Encouraged to borrow during lockdowns, many poor countries face harsh consequences as priorities change

Sri Lankan families are having to endure prolonged misery as their government, encouraged by global bodies to spend its way through the pandemic, instead plunged the country into an economic crisis. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
High rise construction sites rise in clouds of rolling mist in Bijie, Guizhou province on June 13. (Photo by CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
China debt crunch

Evergrande shows China property 'zombification': 5 things to know

Struggling companies halting unfinished projects as market totters

Vietnam received its first LNG imports this year, but without long-term contracts, it is fully exposed to spot market volatility. (Handout via Reuters)
Opinion

Asia's LNG latecomers should rethink their plans

Spot-market supplies set to remain tight and prices high

Rafael Nadal, left, and Roger Federer at the 2022 Laver Cup in London: Like many great sports rivalries, the U.S.-China rivalry is pushing both to raise their game. (Action Images via Reuters)
Opinion

U.S.-China rivalry has upsides for the world

Competition will drive technological innovation to higher levels

The leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan head for their summit at the Camp David presidential retreat, near Washington, on Aug. 18.
The Nikkei View

Stronger Japan-South Korea-US ties help stabilize Indo-Pacific

New stage of trilateral cooperation will deter threats from China, North Korea

Left to right: Bayraktar TB3, TB2, Kizilelma and Akinci drones on display in Istanbul on June 23. The company has signed contracts with a least 30 nations for its drones. (Photo courtesy of Baykar/Anadolu Agency)
Business Spotlight

Turkish drone maker Baykar seeks to extend global influence

Unmanned aerial vehicles made in Istanbul prove valuable in 'asymmetric war'

Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is enjoying a sharp improvement in earnings. (Photo by Konosuke Urata)
Transportation

Cathay Pacific on recovery track but Chinese rivals loom

Hong Kong's flagship carrier fights to maintain global hub model

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at SemiconIndia 2023 in the western state of Gujarat on July 28. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanada)
Semiconductors

India and Thailand jockey for spot on Asia's chipmaking map

Asian rivals roll out red carpet for global investments in local industries

While global leaders make the trek to Port Moresby to court PNG's leader, rising debt, inflation and sluggish growth could derail Prime Minister James Marape's plan to make his country the world's "richest Black Christian nation."
Asia Insight

Papua New Guinea's Marape: Pacific power broker or PM in peril?

Amid U.S.-China balancing act, PNG leader faces mounting pressure at home

A vegetable vendor waits for customers at her stall at a market in Paranaque City, Metro Manila, the Philippines, on April 17. Farmers say storm damage is driving up their costs.
Economy

Marcos' Kadiwa stores leave Philippine shoppers feeling empty

Marcos Jr. revives father's ineffective program to address rising food prices

Anwaar ul Haq Kakar has been selected to serve as Pakistan's caretaker prime minister. (Source photos by AFP/Jiji and AP) 
Politics

Who is Anwaar Kakar, Pakistan's new caretaker prime minister?

Army favorite faces ailing economy, militancy seen in Chinese convoy attack

Running late: Indonesia has been working on the Jakarta Bandung High Speed Rail line since 2016. (Photo courtesy of Kereta Cepat Indonesia China)
Transportation

Indonesia set to open Southeast Asia's 1st high-speed rail in October

Jokowi eager to tout China-backed project after delays and cost overruns

A resplendent 24.5-meter junk with four en-suite cabins and two 12-meter sails, the Catba Imperial was commissioned in the late 1990s. (All photos by Ian Lloyd Neubauer)
Life

Vietnam's popular sailing junks face extinction

Traditional wooden vessels to be banned from famous Ha Long Bay due to accidents

Doomed to demolition: The Chao Mae Thap Thim Chinese shrine in Bangkok’s gentrified Sam Yan neighborhood. (Photo by Max Crosbie-Jones)
Tea Leaves

How a Bangkok shrine became a gentrification battlefront

Students make a principled stand against university's property arm