How this fintech is leading the charge for financial inclusion across Southeast Asia

  Advantage Boost with its incumbency & proven capability to operate at scale
Almost US$451mil loans disbursed to MSMEs across Malaysia and Indonesia Access to financing has long been a point of contention for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), even before the pandemic. According to industry studies over half of MSMEs…Continue Reading

India to randomly test 2% of international travellers for COVID-19

MUMBA: India will start randomly testing 2 per cent of international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19, Mansukh Mandaviya, the country’s health minister, told parliament on Thursday (Dec 22), as the country steps up surveillance for new coronavirus variants. “The global pandemic is not yet over. The virus is changingContinue Reading

The ABCs of China’s GDI

In 1949, former US president Harry Truman launched the first US global aid program, declaring that “all nations [should] work together through the United Nations” in “a worldwide effort for the achievement of peace, plenty and freedom.” At the 76th United Nations General Assembly in 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the global community […]Continue Reading

Arms tests vs war drills ad infinitum in Korea

SEOUL – While real-life carnage unfolds across Ukraine, the phony war continues predictably on, around and above the Korean peninsula. The actions of recent days may hearten jingoes and depress peaceniks on both sides. On December 14, the US announced that a Space Force command unit had stood up inside US forces based in South […]Continue Reading

Japan approves Alzheimer’s blood test kit

TOKYO: Japan has approved a blood test kit to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, its manufacturer announced on Thursday (Dec 22), a rare advance in tackling a condition that affects tens of millions worldwide. Sysmex Corporation said it was now working to get the kit, which measures the accumulation of a proteinContinue Reading

Can China help Brazil restart its global soft power?

Ten days of full immersion in Brazil are not for the faint-hearted. Even restricted to the top two megalopolises, Sao Paulo and Rio, watching live the impact of interlocking economic, political, social and environmental crises exacerbated by the Jair Bolsonaro project leaves one stunned. The return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for what will […]Continue Reading