In the first part of a wide-ranging exclusive interview with This Week in Asia, Singapore’s minister for home affairs and law talks China’s ‘peace plan’ for Ukraine, the necessity of staying neutral and the enduring nature of Singapore’s social compact.

Financial secretary reveals observation in blog post, notes most are interested in regional cooperation for a stab at growing economic pie.

Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan highlights city’s advantages like low taxes, ‘perfect’ liveability, and government-backed ecosystem for start-ups.

Chinese envoy to Singapore Sun Haiyan said strong government coordination and policy stability ensured quick roll-outs of infrastructure and development projects in China.

Tech companies should ‘earn the right’ to expand into new business categories after creating a solid core business, entrepreneurs and investors say at Post conference.

Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan says strong collaboration with Asean – of which Singapore is a part – is a key plank of city’s economic policy.

China’s home-grown EV brands have the potential to establish a foothold in Southeast Asia’s automobile markets, but must establish their brands in the minds of the consumer, a panel at the Post’s China Conference: Southeast Asia heard on Thursday.

The US’ withdrawal as a ‘cheerleader’ and driver of globalisation has been the ‘most critical change in last 20 years’, one observer said.

Collaboration between stakeholders and constant innovation will help build a sustainable ecosystem for the US$240 trillion global payments industry, panellists at the China Conference: Southeast Asia said.

The minister said recent parliamentary votes in favour of the government showed clearly that it had staying power to last the full five-year electoral cycle.

Financial secretary says ‘favourable’ regulatory moves have allowed Hong Kong to do more to attract overseas companies.

Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Law says he is ‘bemused’ by suggestions that Hong Kong is in terminal decline.

Two-day conference will feature keynote speeches by Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, Singapore’s Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam and Malaysia’s Minister for International Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

Keynote speakers at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference remain optimistic the world’s two superpowers will find a resolution, as ‘everybody will feel the pain’ if the tit-for-tat tariffs continue.

Malaysian businessmen say the shelving of joint projects by the administration of Mahathir Mohamad should be welcomed as the move could provide more transparency – and ultimately, more support for Belt and Road projects.

While the media focuses on the US$23 billion worth of Chinese-backed projects opposed by the Malaysian prime minister, it’s easy to forget the smaller scale successes, says economist.

‘Our tax system of encouraging capital investment was designed for the last century’s Industrial Age’