https://www.scmp.com/rss/523873/feed The latest news and top stories on Asia Group Advisors (AGA). A Singapore-based entity in the strategic advisory sector, Asia Group Advisors specialises in market entry, government affairs and public policy. It primarily serves global businesses, foundations and non-profit organisations across Southeast Asia and is known for its position as a public policy consultancy in Asia. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Vincent Chow Vincent Chow Governments, industry and the public are in “common ignorance” about the present and future of artificial intelligence, making both international collaboration and coordination between industry and policymakers necessary, experts have said. In a panel discussion at the inaugural Hong Kong Global AI Governance Conference at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on Saturday, Alibaba Group Holding policy lead Fu Hongyu said that China was now at the front lines of global efforts to introduce guardrails... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349871/common-ignorance-how-china-took-lead-global-efforts-govern-ais-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3349871/common-ignorance-how-china-took-lead-global-efforts-govern-ais-future?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:12 +0000 Sylvia Ma,Vincent Chow Sylvia Ma,Vincent Chow With US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell reported to have held urgent talks over Anthropic’s latest artificial intelligence model, experts are warning that immediate cybersecurity assessments are needed to avert potential economic damage running into the hundreds of billions of US dollars. Across the Pacific, however, analysts said China’s banks were taking a more cautious approach, as Beijing prioritises financial stability and intensifies monitoring of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3349685/china-banks-buffer-against-ai-contagions-us-sweats-over-anthropics-mythos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3349685/china-banks-buffer-against-ai-contagions-us-sweats-over-anthropics-mythos?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:00:08 +0000 Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Ushar Daniele,Iman Muttaqin Yusof The US war on Iran has triggered the worst energy crisis in memory and punched a hole in Southeast Asia’s energy-importing economies. Still, a top former US diplomat insists America remains a dependable ally and will be central to the region’s trade and security for years to come. The Trump administration’s attack on Iran had inflicted pain on Southeast Asian allies dependent on Middle Eastern energy imports, said Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349533/us-remain-key-ally-asean-despite-iran-war-fallout-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3349533/us-remain-key-ally-asean-despite-iran-war-fallout-diplomat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:20:35 +0000 Xinmei Shen Xinmei Shen US President Donald Trump’s focus on short-term deliverables and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bid for bilateral stability are likely to mean an exceptionally amicable summit when they finally sit down, despite “unusual” circumstances brought by the Iran conflict, former senior US diplomat Kurt Campbell said. Trump and Xi’s upcoming high-stakes meeting in Beijing, which was postponed for at least five weeks from its original March 31 date, will see both leaders be “extraordinarily polite and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347642/former-biden-official-says-trump-xi-summit-will-go-well-amid-unusual-circumstances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3347642/former-biden-official-says-trump-xi-summit-will-go-well-amid-unusual-circumstances?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:01:23 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing a fresh political test after the family of late former finance minister Daim Zainuddin sued his government over claims they were involved in a plot to topple the administration. The legal challenge is turning what began as a police investigation into a wider debate over whether Anwar’s reformist government is applying its principles consistently or selectively. Critics say the controversy risks complicating one of Anwar’s central claims since... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345982/malaysia-anwars-reformist-image-risk-daim-family-sues-over-zionist-claims?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3345982/malaysia-anwars-reformist-image-risk-daim-family-sues-over-zionist-claims?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:29:58 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is facing mounting pressure from within his own ruling coalition after a key partner called for an independent inquiry into allegations that a “corporate mafia” is operating within the country’s anti-corruption agency, placing his reform agenda under renewed scrutiny. The Democratic Action Party (DAP) – the largest party in Anwar’s uneasy alliance – said it would insist on a royal commission to investigate claims that senior figures in the Malaysian... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344621/pressure-mounts-malaysias-anwar-allies-seeks-new-inquiry-macc-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3344621/pressure-mounts-malaysias-anwar-allies-seeks-new-inquiry-macc-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:05:56 +0000 Mark Magnier Mark Magnier Working closely with like-minded countries remains the most effective strategy to counter an increasingly powerful China – in marked contrast to the policies of US President Donald Trump – said a former senior US official, while admitting that the Joe Biden administration made some key mistakes that undercut its own effectiveness. “Given the size and the immensity of the China challenge, the only way that the United States is going to be effective to meet that challenge is if we work with other... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3344053/former-biden-official-says-us-must-work-allies-counter-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/article/3344053/former-biden-official-says-us-must-work-allies-counter-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 22:16:01 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s opposition is in open civil war, with a power struggle threatening to split the main bloc against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim just two years out from the next general election. Bersatu, or the Malaysian United Indigenous Party, sits at the core of Perikatan Nasional (PN), a conservative alliance whose appeal surged in the 2022 poll to become the largest opposition group after a hung parliament produced a unity government led by Anwar. A succession fight between party chief and former... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343160/malaysian-key-opposition-partys-power-struggle-threatens-dent-election-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3343160/malaysian-key-opposition-partys-power-struggle-threatens-dent-election-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Feb 2026 06:09:45 +0000 Reuters Reuters The handbag she carries is sold out, her pink pen has gone viral and even her favourite snacks are in hot demand: Japan’s 64-year-old leader Sanae Takaichi has sparked an unlikely youth-led craze that could propel her to a big election win. Polls suggest sanakatsu, roughly translated as “sanamania”, can help give Japan’s first female prime minister a decisive mandate in Sunday’s general election and unleash the spending plans she has promised will jolt the country’s moribund economy. Backed by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3342349/youth-support-puts-japans-sanae-takaichi-track-landslide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3342349/youth-support-puts-japans-sanae-takaichi-track-landslide?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Feb 2026 07:31:55 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s next general election may well be decided by the country’s millions of young voters and its biggest conservative Islamist party is determined to win them over. For the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), winning young people’s support means dominating the online spaces they inhabit. “Whoever controls [online] media will gain their votes,” said the party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, in an interview with This Week in Asia. Founded by religious scholars in 1951 amid the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341035/malaysias-pas-preaches-racial-domination-woo-young-voters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3341035/malaysias-pas-preaches-racial-domination-woo-young-voters?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:00:19 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Japan is entering one of its most unpredictable election cycles in decades after the surprise formation of a new centrist political alliance that could redefine the balance of power and potentially restore a two-party system to the country’s long-stagnant political landscape. On Thursday, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito, once a loyal coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, announced they would merge into a new force called the Centrist Reform... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340538/japans-1-party-era-faces-unprecedented-threat-new-centrist-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3340538/japans-1-party-era-faces-unprecedented-threat-new-centrist-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:14 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday announced his second cabinet reshuffle in two years, reassigning senior ministers and promoting new faces as he seeks to bolster his administration ahead of the next general election. The changes follow months of mounting political pressure on Anwar’s government, triggered by his close allies’ resignations, internal party bickering and persistent cost of living concerns. “This is about fine-tuning so the cabinet works as a team and focuses on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336662/malaysias-anwar-reshuffles-cabinet-focus-stronger-growth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3336662/malaysias-anwar-reshuffles-cabinet-focus-stronger-growth?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Dec 2025 11:36:59 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Land-scarce Singapore officially remains non-committal about building a nuclear reactor, but experts say all signs point to the city state turning to atomic energy to meet its net-zero goals by 2050. The discourse around civilian nuclear energy has picked up in recent years, with Singapore studying its deployment, developing expertise and partnering with established companies and nuclear nations such as the United States and France to prepare for a possible shift. The government, however,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3331109/atomic-ambitions-singapore-eyes-nuclear-option-net-zero-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3331109/atomic-ambitions-singapore-eyes-nuclear-option-net-zero-future?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2025 04:00:14 +0000 Khushboo Razdan,Mark Magnier Khushboo Razdan,Mark Magnier Just back from his whirlwind Asia tour, US President Donald Trump on Friday hailed a newly negotiated trade deal with China as a “long-lasting” victory even as he teased the possibility of more tariff concessions. Aboard Air Force One en route to his Palm Beach, Florida, resort, Trump painted the Busan, South Korea, summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday as a blockbuster for US agriculture, especially soybeans, and dangled the prospect of stronger trade ties. “The deal with China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3331140/trump-hails-lasting-deal-xi-dangles-more-possible-tariff-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3331140/trump-hails-lasting-deal-xi-dangles-more-possible-tariff-cuts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:06:36 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Aidan Jones Joseph Sipalan,Aidan Jones The world’s largest trade agreement was given a jump-start on Monday, as leaders met in Kuala Lumpur at a “pivotal” time for the global economy, desperate to turn the pact into tangible gains as sweeping US tariffs threaten to slow growth across Asia-Pacific. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) covers 30 per cent of the global economy, with Asean members at its core alongside East Asian giants China, Japan, South Korea, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The pact was signed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3330498/asean-summit-worlds-no-1-trade-bloc-holds-pivotal-meeting-face-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3330498/asean-summit-worlds-no-1-trade-bloc-holds-pivotal-meeting-face-tariffs?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:43:00 +0000 Alyssa Chen Alyssa Chen Japan’s unstable political landscape is expected to cast doubt over its diplomatic commitments and could hinder progress in its trilateral summit with China and South Korea, analysts have observed. Uncertainties are mounting as the path to the Japanese premiership for recently elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi has been complicated by the abrupt exit of the LDP’s junior coalition partner, Komeito. Takaichi, aiming to be Japan’s first female prime minister, remains short of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329281/turbulent-japanese-politics-could-stall-progress-china-and-south-korea-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3329281/turbulent-japanese-politics-could-stall-progress-china-and-south-korea-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:00:09 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow With Japan’s parliament poised to vote on who it wants to next lead the country, a resurgent opposition and the collapse of the ruling coalition have put the prospect of the nation’s first female prime minister in real doubt. On Tuesday, the leaders of Japan’s principal opposition factions agreed to convene in hopes of fielding a unified candidate for the top job, as they aim to break the Liberal Democratic Party’s 13-year grip on power. “It will be essential for us to achieve consensus on basic... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329121/japans-ruling-party-falters-non-ldp-prime-minister-becomes-real-possibility?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3329121/japans-ruling-party-falters-non-ldp-prime-minister-becomes-real-possibility?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:10 +0000 Joseph Sipalan,Iman Muttaqin Yusof Joseph Sipalan,Iman Muttaqin Yusof As the workday grinds on in Kuala Lumpur, 23-year-old office worker Adib finds solace in a few quiet cigarettes, but his unhealthy habit is about to come at a higher price. From next month, a new government policy will drive up the price of tobacco and alcohol in Malaysia as higher so-called sin taxes take effect. Unveiled by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in last week’s budget, the measure aims to improve public health. Yet it has also raised concerns about the rising cost of living. It... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3329061/malaysias-smokers-and-drinkers-brace-sin-tax-shock-im-sad-and-bit-depressed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3329061/malaysias-smokers-and-drinkers-brace-sin-tax-shock-im-sad-and-bit-depressed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 03:35:22 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Expertly switching between woks as he whips up appam, the coconut and rice batter pancakes that draw morning commuters to his roadside stall in a Kuala Lumpur suburb, Raj Kumar harbours anxieties that simmer away beneath the calm: petrol subsidy cuts are looming and prices may soon rise again. At 44, Raj feels every shift in Malaysia’s rising cost of living – both in the prices he pays for ingredients and the rueful faces of his customers. “Our suppliers raised prices after diesel subsidies were... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3317006/anwars-petrol-subsidy-cuts-test-patience-malaysians-addicted-cheap-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3317006/anwars-petrol-subsidy-cuts-test-patience-malaysians-addicted-cheap-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2025 07:00:09 +0000