This Week in Asia /
Economics
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US-ally trade wars
Mexico’s 50% tariff shock shuts Asia’s North American trade bypass
A tariff wall will soon separate protected partners like CPTPP members Singapore and Malaysia from exporters facing a shutout.
20 Dec 2025 - 1:30PM
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Thailand
Rivals, rain and rising costs: Thailand’s tourism crown slips
20 Dec 2025 - 8:00AM
The Philippines
Philippines struggles to win back Chinese tourists as regional rivals surge
19 Dec 2025 - 2:15PM
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Japan
Steppe in the right direction? ‘Japan is back’ in Central Asia with new summit
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leaders of five Central Asian nations are expected to establish a new framework for cooperation in AI.
18 Dec 2025 - 5:41PM
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Vendors sell traditional Uzbek clothing and jewellery inside a madrasah in Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan In September. Photo: EPA
Malaysia
Trump’s tariffs on Southeast Asia put US Christmas gifts at risk
From Hot Wheels to headphones, new levies are squeezing the supply of Americans’ festive favourites.
15 Dec 2025 - 8:02AM
Malaysia
Southeast Asia’s rich buy sky garages while the middle class lose their homes
As wealthy buyers seek penthouses with living-room supercar parking, struggling families battle banks to keep a roof overhead.
15 Dec 2025 - 3:32PM
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Malaysia
‘We’re just trying to survive’: young Malaysians buckle under rising debt
The country has seen a nearly 60 per cent increase in bankruptcies among those under 30 amid rising living costs and access to easy credit.
11 Dec 2025 - 6:27PM
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Young Malaysians are struggling to stay afloat as rising costs and easy credit fuel growing financial stress. Photo: Shutterstock
India
Rupee slump ‘a little relief’ for Indian exporters amid US trade talks
The lower rupee is helping Indian industries that have been absorbing tariff losses in the hopes of a US-India trade deal, analysts say.
11 Dec 2025 - 6:24PM
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India
India-EU trade pact nears finish line despite carbon tax dispute and Russia
Brussels is looking past India’s ties with Moscow to secure a vital economic win, with analysts predicting a deal within months.
10 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM
India
IndiGo flight chaos exposes risks of India’s aviation duopoly
India’s largest airline grounded nearly 3,000 flights last week, showing how easily a staffing crunch at one carrier can paralyse the sector.
10 Dec 2025 - 3:22PM
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The Philippines
Philippines ‘flood control queen’ faces arrest over corruption scandal
Prosecutors accuse Cezarah ‘Sarah’ Discaya of pocketing millions for a government-funded flood control project that was never built.
9 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM
Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya (right) appears at a Senate committee hearing with her husband Pacifico in September. Photo: AP
Nepal
Nepal charges Chinese contractor with corruption over airport deal
A watchdog alleges the company colluded with ex-ministers to inflate costs and siphon off US$74 million from the Pokhara airport project.
9 Dec 2025 - 4:00PM
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Nepal
‘Like a market’: Chinese marriage brokers hunt for brides in Nepal
China’s bachelor crisis meets Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion.
9 Dec 2025 - 2:36PM
Thailand
‘Everyone gets a cut’: why Southeast Asia’s scam industry refuses to die
Authorities are seizing assets and raiding compounds, but analysts warn the clumsy crackdown is merely scattering syndicates to new hideouts.
8 Dec 2025 - 9:51AM
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The Philippines
Probe links Philippines flood corruption to Pogo crypto schemes
Cybercrime officials have uncovered a ‘definite link’ between the massive graft scandal and laundering rings run by banned gaming operators.
6 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM
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Protesters hold signs during an anti-corruption rally in Manila, the Philippines, on November 30. Photo: EPA
Asean
‘We all knew’: is your job safe from the AI you are helping to train?
Asia makes the chips driving the AI boom, but the technology threatens to erase jobs and widen the region’s wealth gap, a new UN report says.
6 Dec 2025 - 3:54PM
Singapore
‘No longer contentious’: Malaysia to weigh Singapore’s water project plan
The two countries have disagreed over water supply for decades, such as the perceived low prices charged by Malaysia’s Johor.
5 Dec 2025 - 1:58PM
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India
Cyber scams threaten confidence in India’s outsourcing industry
Fraudsters leveraging India’s cost advantages and skilled workforce create a systemic risk for legitimate businesses, analysts warn.
4 Dec 2025 - 7:37PM
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Sophisticated cyber scam networks are threatening to inflict “reputational damage” on India’s thriving US$150 billion outsourcing industry, observers warn. Photo: Shutterstock
Singapore
Saudi adviser lauds parallels with Singapore in modernisation efforts
Mohammed Khalid Alyahya cites the late Singaporean leader’s pragmatic and results-driven governance as a template for Saudi Arabia’s ambitions.
2 Dec 2025 - 9:16PM
India
India’s strong economic growth impresses amid doubts on ‘overstated’ data
Questions about India’s latest 8.2 per cent GDP quarterly growth have been raised by ANZ Bank and analysts.
2 Dec 2025 - 6:45PM
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India
India’s looming BrahMos missile deal with Indonesia challenges US-China binary
New Delhi is emerging as a serious alternative security partner for Southeast Asia, offering hi-tech arms without ‘hegemonic baggage’.
1 Dec 2025 - 3:51PM
Malaysia
Malaysia promises millions of gig workers a safety net, but critics see holes
A new law would mandate written contracts and dispute resolution, but labour groups argue it still leaves workers at the mercy of algorithms.
4 Dec 2025 - 5:05PM
A delivery rider for Grab passes in front of a house in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: AFP
Japan
Hotels hit back as Tokyo plans to hike lodging tax with percentage-based system
The plan would replace the current flat-rate hotel tax with a 3 per cent levy that hoteliers say would unfairly burden certain travellers.
29 Nov 2025 - 3:32PM
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India
‘It’s time for us to rise’: India races to rebuild its lost maritime muscle
India is eyeing a future as a leading shipping and shipbuilding nation, backed by big investments – and expertise from South Korea and Japan.
30 Nov 2025 - 5:12PM
Indonesia
Indonesian durian sellers smell big opportunity in China, world’s largest market
In 2024, Indonesia exported US$1.8 million worth of the fruit to Thailand and Hong Kong, and began shipping fresh durians to China this year.
28 Nov 2025 - 6:00PM
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