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This Week in Asia /

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Illustration: Huy Truong
Energy

Asia’s AI boom has a dirty secret: the coal that powers it

In the rush to build the digital future, regional tech hubs are digging up the past.

Malaysia

Malaysia’s Network School probe raises questions over openness to tech talent

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The Philippines

Philippines’ Pax Silica AI hub plan slammed for mineral ‘plunder’

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South Korea

‘Gateway to Asean’: South Korea bets on Vietnam hub for food expansion

Vietnam will be positioned as a logistics and distribution base aimed at growing demand for South Korean food products across the region.

A food vendor (right) talks to a customer at Gwangjang market in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
A food vendor (right) talks to a customer at Gwangjang market in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
Singapore

New Johor rail link: a US$815m challenge for Singapore’s retail and F&B

A new study has proposed measures to help Singapore businesses seize opportunities from the cross-border link, set to open in 2027.

The Philippines

Philippines’ iconic jeepneys sputter up a costly climb to go electric

Observers point to the high costs of owning an e-jeepney and a lack of government support in enabling the electric shift.

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Malaysia

Anwar warns any Israelis at Johor tech commune to be ‘deported immediately’

The Network School in Forest City came under scrutiny after its founder claimed the commune was ‘Silicon Valley outside Silicon Valley’.

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The Network School co-living compound in Forest City in the Malaysian state of Johor founded by a former Coinbase executive. Photo: YouTube/Roland Bernath
The Network School co-living compound in Forest City in the Malaysian state of Johor founded by a former Coinbase executive. Photo: YouTube/Roland Bernath
Nepal

Why scrapping Nepal’s ‘dollar fare’ could leave locals grounded

Airline operators say lowering tourist airfares will not be ‘economically sustainable’, as the revenue helps subsidise costs for Nepalis.

US, Israel war on Iran

Trump’s 20% Hormuz toll jolts markets as Asia adapts to oil shock

Alternative trade routes and an AI tech boom are helping the region cushion the blow of a threatened maritime tariff.

India

Can Australian uranium fuel India’s nuclear future without sparking arms race?

A new deal gives Delhi access to the world’s largest known uranium reserves for ‘peaceful’ use, advancing its nuclear energy goals.

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A nuclear reactor complex in Maharashtra, India. Photo: NPCIL/AFP
India

UK deal to serve as testing ground for India’s Western trade ambitions

The pact will be a ‘practical blueprint’ for resolving issues such as tariffs, services and regulatory cooperation, analysts say.

Employees work at a garment factory in Bengaluru, India, in May. Indian textiles and leather products are expected to gain from the country’s trade deal with the UK. Photo: EPA
Employees work at a garment factory in Bengaluru, India, in May. Indian textiles and leather products are expected to gain from the country’s trade deal with the UK. Photo: EPA
Japan

Japan wants 60 million tourists, but China isn’t sending them

Tokyo is banking on a massive visitor boom to do what its factories and financiers increasingly cannot: carry the economy forward.

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Artificial intelligence

Southeast Asian scammers’ new disguise: your leader’s face

The president is asking for your bank details. He isn’t, of course. But the AI wearing his face is.

The Philippines

Why the Philippines is losing out in Southeast Asia’s investment boom

With Manila capturing just US$9 billion of the region’s US$244 billion capital influx last year, analysts urge reforms to close the FDI gap.

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Fishermen paddle past a cargo ship unloading containers at the Manila international port in the Philippines in December 2025. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

In Malaysia’s Johor, Chinese voters prize affordability over politics

Analysts say issues such as the rising cost of living, jobs and business opportunities now matter more than party loyalty or China money.

Workers repair a rooftop next to the Strait of Johor separating Singapore and Malaysia, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Workers repair a rooftop next to the Strait of Johor separating Singapore and Malaysia, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Tokopedia ‘restructuring’ deepens concerns about Indonesia’s tech winter

Tokopedia’s deeper integration into ByteDance’s ecosystem could shift more operations outside Indonesia, analysts say.

South Korea

US hopes South Korea can help turn the tide in fight for naval dominance

While the US has a technological edge, it lags behind China, which has the world’s largest commercial shipbuilding industry, in fleet size.

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The Philippines

‘Where did the data come from?’: why Filipinos laugh off World Bank’s upgrade

The country’s leap to upper-middle-income status means little to inflation-squeezed families struggling with debt and meagre wages.

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Manila’s skyline. The Philippines’ economic upgrade to upper-middle-income status contrasts with citizens’ struggles with inflation. Photo: AFP
Manila’s skyline. The Philippines’ economic upgrade to upper-middle-income status contrasts with citizens’ struggles with inflation. Photo: AFP
Myanmar

Myanmar has ‘a mountain to climb’ to woo 2 million tourists a year

Myanmar saw 4.5 million tourist arrivals at the peak in 2015, but the numbers have fallen sharply since the military coup in 2021.

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Malaysia

Johor votes on Saturday. Polymarket has already called it

As the Malaysian state heads to the polls, a prediction market banned elsewhere in Asia gives one coalition a 93 per cent chance of winning.

The Philippines

Powering up: why Philippines’ rooftop solar boom is here to stay

Households and businesses are turning to solar to hedge against high power prices, unreliable supply and exposure to imported fuel shocks.

Workers install solar panels on the roof of a house in Kawit, the Philippines, on June 26. Photo: Reuters
South Korea

Why South Korea is celebrating a Canada submarine deal it lost

Coming a close second to Germany shows ‘K-defence’ can hold its own on the world stage, military experts say.

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The Royal Canadian navy hosts the South Korean navy’s Dosan Ahn Chang-ho during a welcome ceremony in Esquimalt, British Columbia, on May 25. Photo: The Canadian Press/AP
The Royal Canadian navy hosts the South Korean navy’s Dosan Ahn Chang-ho during a welcome ceremony in Esquimalt, British Columbia, on May 25. Photo: The Canadian Press/AP
Singapore

Can Singapore and Indonesia’s energy push kick-start regional power grid?

The cooperation could boost both countries’ sustainability goals and help shape regional frameworks for the Asean Power Grid, analysts say.

India

Beyond payments: India aims to architect Indonesia’s digital future

A successful digital collaboration with Indonesia could elevate India into ‘a primary architect of its infrastructure’, analysts say.

Vietnam

Vietnam bets on baby bonuses to get rich before it grows old

Hanoi is throwing cash and housing at its low birth rate, scrambling to protect an export boom that is fast running out of young workers.

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A pregnant woman holding an umbrella walks past a billboard of a happy family in Hanoi last month. Photo: AFP
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