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The Big Story

The top 100 Asia300 Power Performers

This year's ranking of the region's biggest and most valuable companies

10 July 2019
Newly reelected, President Joko Widodo is now tasked with overseeing Indonesia’s next stage of economic growth. “We are optimistic,” he said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review. (Photo by Rie Ishii)
The Big Story

Jokowi vows to invest in tech skills for an Indonesian 'Golden Age'

Second-term success hinges on company tax breaks and uneasy alliances

3 July 2019
Indonesia’s presidents have long hoped that spinning out the bureaucratic capital would jump-start the country’s struggling east: Jakarta generates 17% of the country's GDP. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
The Big Story

Indonesia chases a game-changer: moving the capital

Jokowi aims to do what predecessors couldn't as Jakarta overflows

3 July 2019
Hong Kong protesters wave the Taiwanese flag at a protest on July 4. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
The Big Story

'Today, Hong Kong; tomorrow, Taiwan:' Resistance to China spreads

Taiwan political race now turns against pro-Beijing Kuomintang

26 June 2019
Business has flourished in Hong Kong, but the move to amend extradition laws has raised concerns about the city-state's vaunted independent legal system. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura)
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Two systems, zero trust? Hong Kong's extradition row risks business exodus

Companies and investors probe alternatives as China's grip tightens

26 June 2019
Tech tensions: What began as a tariff spat between the U.S. and China appears to be turning into a technology war, one that some fear could split the world along a lasting digital divide. (© Illustrations by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

Fears of 'digital iron curtain' spread as US and China dig in

Pressure from Trump unites Chinese tech industry in self-sufficiency push

19 June 2019
Japan is attempting to bring together a "digital TPP," intended to unite members under one set of rules -- and to ease the deepening distrust between the U.S. and China. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

How to avoid a technology cold war

Behind the scenes, TPP members coax China to play by digital rules

19 June 2019
A cleaner path to profit: Asia's investors, once keen only to tap the region's breakneck growth, have grown more selective with environmental and human rights risks on the rise.
The Big Story

After fending off eco-warriors, Asia Inc finds 'ESG' investors hard to ignore

Japanese banks curb lending to coal plants after pressure from powerful investment funds

12 June 2019
A prolonged dry season along the Jatigede Reservoir, Indonesia. Central banks and financial regulators have begun to assess how climate change can damage asset value and pose a risk to the financial system.
The Big Story

Is the climate too big to fail? Central bankers say yes

Regulators see global warming as financial and economic risk

12 June 2019
Since opening up its casino industry in 2002, Macao has seen its gambling market soar to become the largest in the world, six times the size of Las Vegas. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
The Big Story

After 15-year hot streak, Macao casino owners may have to pay up

Competition heats up as Cambodia, the Philippines and Japan get in on the game

5 June 2019
Moving target: U.S. casino operators, who take more than half of Macao's casino revenues, may be at risk of trade war backlash. (Photo by Manda Yeung)
The Big Story

Trade war changes the odds in Macao for US casino operators

Trump ally Adelson among Americans seeking fresh government licenses

5 June 2019
The China-led Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Cambodia, pictured here under construction in 2016. After four years of work, the controversial hydropower project officially entered operation in 2018.
The Big Story

Southeast Asia gains new leverage as China and US battle for influence

Funding pours in as US allies seek to counter Belt and Road

29 May 2019
Dalian Naval Academy cadets march on the 70th anniversary of the PLA Navy in China's northeast province of Liaoning, on Apr. 23.
The Big Story

A Chinese military base in Southeast Asia? Some say it's inevitable

Beyond infrastructure wars, firepower still a measure of regional dominance

29 May 2019
Southeast Asia's young tech talent, long drawn to Silicon Valley to study and work, have begun returning to their home shores to build the next tech boom. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

Southeast Asian 'turtles' return home to hatch tech startups

Skills shortage prompts companies to scour Silicon Valley for talent

22 May 2019
Southeast Asian companies are going abroad: Ride-hailing company Grab has tied up with U.S.-based driverless-car startups drive.ai and nuTonomy in recent years.
The Big Story

In role reversal, Southeast Asia's VCs are investing in US tech

Singapore's Grab pours millions into driverless car startups

22 May 2019
After overseeing two decades of stunning growth at Alibaba, Executive Chairman Jack Ma Yun prepares to hand the reins to current CEO Daniel Zhang Yong in September.
The Big Story

After Jack: Alibaba searches for new growth in the post-Ma era

Challenge to Amazon and Microsoft in cloud services could bring conflict with Washington

15 May 2019
Daniel Zhang Yong, right, the chairman-in-waiting of Alibaba. Current Executive Chairman Jack Ma Yun, left, has "[been preparing] this succession plan for 10 years," he says.
The Big Story

When the guru steps down: tech companies face the succession question

Jack Ma has been gradually handing power to Daniel Zhang for years

15 May 2019
A photovoltaic power station, installed over a reservoir, borders flowering fields in Hefei, Anhui Province. For some observers, China has emerged as an environmental protector as it battles to clean up its polluted landscape.
The Big Story

China finally gets serious about cleaning up

World's biggest polluter turns would-be environmental protector with green tech investments

8 May 2019
Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of the U.N. Environment Program: "China has a lot to offer in terms of lessons, not least around climate change and beating pollution." (Photo courtesy of U.N. Environment)
The Big Story

UN environment head: World should look to China for lessons

On plastic pollution, Beijing's recent moves are 'crucial to global efforts'

8 May 2019
Under CEO Elon Musk, above, Tesla has partnered with Panasonic to produce some of the world's best-selling electric vehicles. But within the Japanese company, concerns are growing over the cost of Musk's ambition to become a mass-market carmaker. (Photo by Getty Images)
The Big Story

Sparks fly: Inside the strained Tesla-Panasonic relationship

Mindful of past losses, battery maker sets limits on Tesla-related investment

1 May 2019
An electric bus manufactured by China's BYD is charged as part of a new public transport fleet in Santiago, Chile.
The Big Story

From China to the US, dwindling subsidies take shine off electric cars

Chinese policy aims to weed out weaker EV and battery companies

1 May 2019
Corporate comedown: Chinese companies, led by the state to pursue overseas acquisitions, are beginning to feel financial pain from past spending exuberance. (Illustration by Eric Chow)
The Big Story

Asia300: Chinese companies face surging write-offs

After a global investment spree, impairments weigh on tech and energy companies

24 April 2019
Chinese companies, both private and state-owned, continue to benefit from generous government subsidies and grants: In the case of electric vehicle maker BYD, state support in 2018 was nearly equal to the company's bottom line.
The Big Story

For some Chinese companies, generous state subsidies make up for losses

Electric vehicle makers weather tough year thanks to government largesse

24 April 2019
Tourists stream through the iconic torii gates of Fushimi Inari shrine, in Kyoto in March. Foreign visitors to the city jumped more than fivefold between 2012 and 2017. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
The Big Story

Japan gets more than it bargained for with tourist boom

Can the country welcome 60 million visitors a year without losing its culture -- and its mind?

17 April 2019
Home-sharing companies look to be staging a comeback, with room for non-hotel accommodation to grow in Japan's rural regions, say some experts. Above, Thai tourists experience a temple stay at Takayama Zenkoji in Gifu Prefecture. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
The Big Story

Airbnb begins to recover in Japan, a year after crackdown

City hosts face stringent controls but countryside could be ripe for the taking

17 April 2019