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Data labeller Indu Nadarajan working at the delivery centre of NextWealth, an AI-enabling services firm, in the Namakkal district of India’s Tamil Nadu state on January 12. Photo: AFP
India

The View | Why AI disruption isn’t a major threat to India’s booming office market

Tech disruption is unlikely to spoil India’s commercial real estate party. If anything, the world’s hottest office market is too hot.

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Banking & finance

Opinion | Why the Fed credibility crisis will hit emerging markets harder

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Japan

Macroscope | Why the IMF is right to press Japan on its fiscal risks

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Artificial intelligence

Opinion | Who will save the world from a US-China AI arms race?

Unrestrained military AI could doom us all. The window for a global middle-power alliance to rein in the superpowers is closing fast.

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The logo of the US AI company Anthropic. The US and China now face a prisoner’s dilemma in military AI. Photo: AFP
The logo of the US AI company Anthropic. The US and China now face a prisoner’s dilemma in military AI. Photo: AFP
Trade

Outside In | Try as it might, the US alone can’t reverse the tide of globalisation

Accounting for a significant share of world trade, Europe and Asia are far more decisive players in the fast-changing globalised economy.

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Japan

Opinion | Universities in Japan and China are becoming tools of national strategy

Across Asia, higher education is becoming a central arena where national ambition, geopolitical constraint and human capital intersect.

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Lunar New Year

Being Chinese | The great Lunar New Year divide and how I bridged it

After sitting through the Spring Festival Gala with mainland Chinese friends, I had to introduce them to a delightful ritual from Singapore.

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Children hold up calligraphy banners they have just received for Lunar New Year in Singapore on January 29, ahead of the holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Children hold up calligraphy banners they have just received for Lunar New Year in Singapore on January 29, ahead of the holiday. Photo: Xinhua
Bangladesh

Opinion | Bangladesh’s BNP could struggle to enact reforms despite election win

While the BNP’s margin of victory should help ensure stability, its roots in the old order could limit the speed and reach of reforms.

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South China Sea

Opinion | Can Manila’s South China Sea strategy of defiance and diplomacy hold?

China and the Philippines are both signalling openness to diplomacy alongside continued military flexing, but this may not be sustainable.

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Cambodia

Opinion | Cambodia’s scam factory survivors find no escape in freedom

A government crackdown freed thousands, but with no passports or support, survivors have simply traded captivity for destitution.

People carry their belongings onto a bus as they leave a suspected scam centre compound in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, last month. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Macroscope | How robust domestic financial markets could ease era of AI uncertainty

Attempts to develop financial centres must go beyond luring global capital and talent.

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A man walks past ATM booths for Japan’s mega banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, left, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, in Tokyo, on February 6. Photo: Reuters
A man walks past ATM booths for Japan’s mega banks, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, left, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, in Tokyo, on February 6. Photo: Reuters
Asean

Asian Angle | How Asean can resolve its Myanmar dilemma post-election

Asean should not discard the Five-Point Consensus, but translate it into a politically astute strategy of conditional engagement.

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Japan

Opinion | Takaichi’s anti-China stance won’t bolster Japan’s security

As the US-led order unravels, the Japanese prime minister’s militaristic approach goes against the global shift towards cooperation with China.

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China technology

Opinion | ‘Becoming Chinese’ memes reflect a world shaped by China’s ascent

The memes are really about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems – and how comfortable young people are with that.

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There is an emerging trend where foreigners are embracing aspects of Chinese culture by adopting habits such as drinking warm water, herbal teas and wearing slippers indoors. Photo: SCMP composite / TikTok
Japan

Macroscope | Japan will soon learn how far Takaichi can ride her luck

While Japan is unlikely to have its own Liz Truss moment, high debt levels and an empowered populist in charge are still reasons for concern.

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Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, puts in pins marking the names of candidates who won lower house elections, at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, on February 8. Photo: AP
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, puts in pins marking the names of candidates who won lower house elections, at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, on February 8. Photo: AP
Japan

Opinion | Will Japan’s election result trigger a security spiral with China?

The result of Japan’s election has altered Tokyo’s domestic political calculus while raising the stakes for regional stability.

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Scams and swindles

Opinion | Cambodia is in a frontline battle against transnational scam syndicates

Targeted due to geography, Cambodia is on the front foot now, dismantling scam compounds, rescuing victims and prosecuting criminals.

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Asia housing and property

The View | Asian property markets’ supply constraints are a double-edged sword

The narrow pool of high-quality assets benefits landlords and affluent investors but poses a challenge to prospective buyers and renters.

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Tokyo Skytree is pictured between buildings in a residential area of Tokyo on February 20, 2025. Photo: AFP
Tokyo Skytree is pictured between buildings in a residential area of Tokyo on February 20, 2025. Photo: AFP
Vietnam

Opinion | Vietnam’s renewed nuclear power push faces formidable hurdles

Money, corruption, a lack of skilled staff and other factors may derail Hanoi’s goal of building its first nuclear power plant by 2031.

Thailand

Asian Angle | Thailand’s election will pass verdict on the architecture of elite control

After court rulings removed successive PMs, this election tests whether a popular mandate can finally survive the state’s veto traps.

India

Opinion | Why the new US-India trade agreement is a big deal

The warming of New Delhi’s ties with Washington has implications for Russia, China and the global dynamics of trade and geopolitical power.

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US President Donald Trump meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington on February 13, 2025. Photo: Reuters
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Outside In | Apec’s quiet cooperation still matters in a noisy, divided world

Year-round, multiple intensive working meetings keep the forum an ‘engine room’ of cooperation, reflecting its commitment to multilateralism.

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A group photo at the Apec informal senior officials’ meeting in Shenzhen, China on December 12, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
A group photo at the Apec informal senior officials’ meeting in Shenzhen, China on December 12, 2025. Photo: Xinhua
Commodities

Macroscope | Blame Trump, not Asian investors, for gold and silver volatility

The global uncertainty stemming from Trump’s behaviour is roiling precious metals markets far more than any investment from Asia.

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United States

Opinion | Chilling effect of US outbound investment rules will extend beyond China

Outbound investment rules introduced last year are expanding and hardening into law, chilling US investment across Asia’s tech ecosystems.

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China economy

Opinion | China’s real constraint is where to direct limited fiscal resources

With Beijing focusing on spending priorities, Asian investors and businesses must watch which provinces, sectors and state firms are favoured.

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An employee works on a production line at a motorcycle company in Tongren city, in southwest China’s Guizhou province, on January 27. As part of its industrial upgrading, China must direct sustained state financing to support semiconductor ecosystems, advanced manufacturing and strategic technologies. Photo: Xinhua
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