4 d. ago Japan’s property market booms with US$22.8 billion investment surge

Japan’s renewed economic vigour is spurring more investment in its property market, especially the multifamily segment, but the environment presents challenges for investors, according to Hong Kong-based Avatar Capital Partners. The world’s fifth-largest economy was attracting more property investment from both domestic and foreign capital, which required the asset-management firm to be savvy in its investment choices to secure assets, said Angel Li, a founding partner. Avatar said in July that...

Economics

6 d. ago Why are China’s ‘comfort women’ still waiting for courts to accept lawsuits?

Survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery and their families have renewed their calls for Chinese courts to accept their landmark lawsuits and launch investigations as the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches. In April last year, 18 families of former “comfort women” filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in China at a high court in Shanxi province to seek justice for atrocities committed during World War II. Four months later, eight elderly survivors from Hunan province – now...

Events

6 d. ago ‘Race against time’: why China’s ‘comfort women’ still await justice 80 years on

Survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery and their families have renewed their calls for Chinese courts to accept their landmark lawsuits and launch investigations as the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches. In April last year, 18 families of former “comfort women” filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in China at a high court in Shanxi province to seek justice for atrocities committed during World War II. Four months later, eight elderly survivors from Hunan province – now...

Politics

7 d. ago China’s Salt Typhoon Hacked Critical Infrastructure Globally for Years

China’s Salt Typhoon Hacked Critical Infrastructure Globally for Years  SecurityWeek

Politics

8 d. ago China’s infrastructure push in Tibet aims to elevate investments on world’s roof

From giant dams to sprawling railways, Beijing has pledged to step up investments along the so-called roof of the world, led by state-owned enterprises, as China marks the 60th anniversary of the Tibet autonomous region’s establishment. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac), China’s top state asset regulator, is calling for more targeted measures to boost industries, with more capital flowing into grass-roots projects and a greater promotion of cultural and...

Economics

9 d. ago Malaysian heiress to Top Glove fortune seeks US$200 million for private markets

Iris Capital Partners, an investment firm backed by the heir to a Malaysian fortune, is seeking to raise US$200 million from institutional investors, the latest family wealth vehicle to open up to outside capital. The firm is seeking cash for a new private credit and private equity fund, managing partner Rachel Lau said in an interview. She is the daughter of the late Lau Boon Ann, who built a fortune in real estate and was an early investor in Top Glove, the world’s largest manufacturer of...

Economics

1 week ago Trump wants more investment deals like Intel’s, worrying business community

US President Donald Trump said he wants to make more investments in healthy US companies on Monday. Whether Corporate America is on board is another story. The White House announced a near-10 per cent stake in chipmaker Intel on Friday that converts government grants into an equity share. Trump doubled down on the idea of similar deals in other sectors on Monday, telling reporters at the White House: “I hope I’m going to have many more cases like it.” The administration’s approach upends a...

Economics

1 week ago Why Japan should cooperate with China on infrastructure, not compete

Global headlines continue to be dominated by wars, both of the physical kind characterised by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s siege of Gaza, as well as trade wars such as those provoked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the resurgence of infrastructure wars has attracted relatively little international attention. And yet Japan’s relaunch of a major land and maritime infrastructure initiative spanning East Asia, Africa, India and the Middle...

Politics

1 week ago World can’t afford Japan adding to infrastructure project wars

Global headlines continue to be dominated by wars, both of the physical kind characterised by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s siege of Gaza, as well as trade wars such as those provoked by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the resurgence of infrastructure wars has attracted relatively little international attention. And yet Japan’s relaunch of a major land and maritime infrastructure initiative spanning East Asia, Africa, India and the Middle...

Events

1 week ago As US retreats from clean energy race, Chinese firms push into emerging markets

As America retreats from clean energy investment around the world, with US President Donald Trump labelling wind and solar power “the scam of the century” on Wednesday, Chinese “cleantech” firms have been striding into emerging markets in Southeast and Central Asia and Latin America. Mabill Technologies, a Malaysian cleantech start-up developing a predictive AI algorithm that will connect energy efficiency analytics and sustainable cooling solutions, said Chinese investors had been showing...

Economics

1 week ago Amid India tensions, China’s Wang Yi hails Pakistan as ‘most reliable partner’

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has pledged China’s continued support for Pakistan and urged an acceleration of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure project. In whirlwind meetings with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials in Islamabad on Thursday, Wang also vowed to enhance security collaboration to counter the country’s long-standing terrorism threats, often targeting Chinese nationals. “China has always been...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong luxury rents jump 8.6% to top Knight Frank’s global list

Hong Kong’s luxury home rents increased the most globally in the second quarter, according to Knight Frank, benefiting from an influx of high-net-worth individuals through the capital investment scheme. A survey tracking 16 cities worldwide showed upscale residential rents climbed 8.6 per cent in the April to June period from a year earlier, the consultancy said. Tokyo came a close second with an 8.3 per cent increase, followed by New York at 6.9 per cent. Singapore ranked 13th with a 1.5 per...

Politics

2 w. ago US Justice Department to investigate Fed’s Lisa Cook, urges her removal

The US Justice Department signalled possible plans to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with a top official informing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell of the probe and encouraging him to remove her from the board in a letter sent on Thursday. Ed Martin, a Justice Department official who has led similar investigations into Senator Adam Schiff of California and New York Attorney General Letitia James, told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that Cook’s case “requires further...

Society

2 w. ago China Telecom unit says AI wave drives steady growth in digital services market

China Communication Services, the country’s leading telecommunications infrastructure contractor, said a wave of artificial intelligence projects is now driving digital transformation in thousands of industries and providing a boost to the company’s three major business segments. Beijing-based China Comservice, a subsidiary of China Telecom, made that assessment on Thursday as the firm reported its latest financial results, which showed growth in both revenue and net profit in the first six...

Politics

2 w. ago US Justice Dept probes whether Washington police falsified crime data

The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to two people familiar with the investigation who were not authorised to publicly discuss an open investigation. The investigation comes amid an escalating – and political – showdown between the Trump administration and the city over control of the police department. It was not immediately clear which federal laws could...

Events

2 w. ago US Justice Department probes whether Washington police falsified crime data

The US Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to two people familiar with the investigation who were not authorised to publicly discuss an open investigation. The investigation comes amid an escalating – and political – showdown between the Trump administration and the city over control of the police department. It was not immediately clear which federal laws could...

Events

2 w. ago No Ukraine deal for Trump, Putin; Chinese investors in Athens: 5 weekend reads

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal – as it happened 2. Chinese researchers lodge concerns over US debt as Beijing limits exposure 3. How Chinese investors quietly transformed Athens – one visa at a time 4. Chinese ‘vertical dramas’ are booming in America. Should Hollywood be...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Putin meet in Alaska, hospital scandal in China: 5 weekend reads

We have put together stories from our coverage last weekend to help you stay informed about news across Asia and beyond. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Trump, Putin leave Ukraine war summit with no deal – as it happened 2. Chinese researchers lodge concerns over US debt as Beijing limits exposure 3. How Chinese investors quietly transformed Athens – one visa at a time 4. Chinese ‘vertical dramas’ are booming in America. Should Hollywood be...

Politics

3 w. ago Beijing boosts ties with eSwatini despite diplomatic dispute over Taiwan

China has steadily advanced its trade and infrastructure ties with eSwatini despite a lack of diplomatic relations, which observers said could reflect Beijing’s “long game” approach with the region. In the landlocked nation’s southern region, a major power dam has been under construction by state-owned Chinese company POWERCHINA since last year. The US$146 million Mpakeni Dam, a project awarded to POWERCHINA’s subsidiary Sinohydro in 2023, is said to be the first engineering contracting project...

Politics

3 w. ago Kenya faces US threat for praising China’s role in ‘new world order’

Kenya has become the latest country in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle between the US and China after Washington threatened to revoke Nairobi’s Major Non-Nato Ally status. The tension escalated following a state visit to Beijing in April, when President William Ruto secured landmark infrastructure and trade deals and publicly praised China’s role in what he called a “new world order”. This provoked a backlash from the United States, which has launch a review of the ally status. The status,...

Events