Japan’s foreign policy stance strikes the right tone in a region on alert for potential big power rivalry to worsen, say Joanne Lin and William Choong from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.Continue Reading
The Pheu Thai Party’s “digital wallet” policy, designed to woo voters ahead of the May 14 general election, has drawn a mixed reaction from politicians and the public alike.Continue Reading
I’m writing this post in Georgia – not the US state known for peaches but the country known for wine and wine grapes. This Georgia is nestled in the Caucasus mountains with the Black Sea to its west, Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south and Azerbaijan to the east and southeast. […]Continue Reading
A TikTok influencer from southern Thailand has provided added interest in the election by running as an MP candidate in Songkhla under the Chartpattanakla Party.Continue Reading
TOKYO — For once, news that Masayoshi Son is slashing his stake in Alibaba says more about SoftBank’s troubles than it says about the Chinese e-commerce giant. The specter of the Japanese billionaire – who effectively discovered Jack Ma back in 2000 – dumping Alibaba has long maddened investors. Whenever such talk flared up amid […]Continue Reading
The potential for cross-border trade between India and its neighboring countries — Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China — has not been fully realized. India’s formal cross-border trade with these countries was about US$2.48 billion in 2021 despite the $115 billion trade potential. Only nine of India’s 17 border states are actively engaged in cross-border trade. This […]Continue Reading
SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has not instructed banks to “keep quiet” about the origins of wealth inflows into Singapore, the Private Banking Industry Group (PBIG) said on Friday (Apr 14). The industry group’s statement was issued following a Financial Times article that said MAS had issued aContinue Reading
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s central bank defied expectations that it would tighten monetary policy for a sixth time since October 2021, announcing on Friday (April 14) that it would keep its policy settings unchanged despite stubborn price pressures at a 14-year-high and amid advance estimates that first-quarter economic growth fell well short of expectations. The bellwether […]Continue Reading
Chinese netizens were offended by a picture featuring an Asian model pulling the corner of her eye.Continue Reading
Since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict in February 2022, the European Union has ratified 10 sanctions packages designed to undermine Russia’s capacity to wage war in Ukraine. Now, kitchen appliances are in the EU’s crosshairs. British newspaper The Telegraph, claiming to have seen a confidential EU report, says Brussels is considering imposing trade restrictions “on […]Continue Reading