Asia Pacific’s AI scale-up will put cyber resilience to the test
Nurdianah Md Nur - Asia Pacific’s race to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) is exposing a growing mismatch between digital ambition and cyber readiness. As AI becomes embedded across cloud, data and enterprise workflows, cybersecurity leaders are quietly shifting focus from stopping every attack to ensuring system ...
Pandemic surveillance’s data problem meets a sovereignty-first approach
Nurdianah Md Nur - When the next pandemic emerges, experience suggests that coordination will impact how quickly countries respond. Global disease surveillance, however, remains shaped by national reporting, fragmented data and IT systems, and political caution. Traditional surveillance relies on case counts, hospital ...
When change is the constant: Policies and politics to watch in 2026, at home and abroad
Elysia Tan - From Cabinet confirmations to potential confrontations, much lies ahead in the new year
Indonesia to divert 75 trillion rupiah from state-bank placements
The funds are typically kept for the government’s liquidity needs, including urgent spending and budget deficit financing
BOK’s Rhee says recent dollar-won levels do not reflect economic fundamentals
South Korea is expected to fund its US$350 billion US investment pledge mainly through the return of foreign currency assets
Shares are higher in Asia in an upbeat start to the new year
TOKYO: Asian markets made a bright start to 2026 on Friday (Jan 2) but volumes were thin with Tokyo and Shanghai still closed as investors awaited fresh direction from Wall Street.Stocks had a bumper 2025, with the S&P adding 16.4 per cent, the tech-rich Nasdaq 20.4 per cent and London's FT ...
Link announces interim leadership structure
The Edge Singapore - As announced on Sept 23, 2025, Link REIT confirmed the initiation of its interim leadership structure and its strategic direction. In the Sept 23 announcement, an interim leadership structure is in force following the retirement of former Link CEO George Hongchoy. The interim leadership structure co ...
China lowers battery scrap import duty to aid recycling sector
The move comes after Beijing first relaxed restrictions on such imports from August
BOK's Rhee says recent dollar-won levels do not reflect economic fundamentals
SEOUL, Jan 2 : South Korea's won weakened on the first trading day of the year on Friday even after authorities renewed their determination to stabilize foreign exchange markets following a package of measures to bolster the local currency.In his New Year speech, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee ...
Bain Capital buying South Korean activewear firm Echo Marketing in $344 million deal
SEOUL, Jan 2 : Bain Capital is buying a 43.66 per cent stake in South Korea's Echo Marketing, which owns local activewear brand Andar, from its founder and another shareholder for 216.6 billion won ($150.14 million), Echo said in a regulatory filing on Friday.The U.S. investment fir ...
Stocks make upbeat start to 2026; precious metals extend sparkling rally
[SINGAPORE] Stocks began 2026 on a positive note in holiday-thinned trade as investors braced for a year set to test the AI-led rally,...
Vale Indonesia halts nickel mining on delayed work plan approval
HPAL capacity is set to expand significantly in the country this year, from six facilities to at least 14
Every Wall Street analyst is predicting a stock rally in 2026
Sell-side strategists are marching in lockstep optimism, with the average year-end S&P 500 forecast implying a 9% gain this year
Baidu’s AI chip unit Kunlunxin confidentially files for Hong Kong IPO
The Beijing-based firm has been valued at at least US$3 billion, according to sources
Keppel Reit wanted more of MBFC, but Hongkong Land’s 20-day deadline hobbled gearing fix
Shikhar Gupta - After the S$1.45 billion sale of its Tower 3 stake, Hongkong Land pumped its remaining MBFC interests into a new Singapore private...
AI chip designer Biren’s shares double on debut in Hong Kong
Meanwhile, debuts by Chinese chipmakers this year on the mainland have been far more impressive
AI chip designer Biren surges 82% in debut after Hong Kong IPO
Debuts by Chinese chipmakers this year on the mainland have been far more impressive
Oil edges higher following biggest annual loss since 2020
[SINGAPORE] Oil prices edged up on the first day of trade in 2026 after last year posting their biggest annual loss since...
Full-year private property prices rise at slowest pace since 2020: URA flash estimates
Jovi Ho - Private residential property prices rose at a slower pace of 0.7% q-o-q in 4Q2025, compared to a 0.9% rise in the previous quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Jan 2. For the whole of 2025, private residential property prices rose by 3.4%, comp ...
Samsung Electronics says customers praised competitiveness of HBM4 chip
[SEOUL] Samsung Electronics customers have praised the differentiated competitiveness of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM4, saying “Samsung is back”,...
Precious metals kick off the New Year higher after a record-breaking 2025
Investors currently expect at least two rate cuts by the Fed this year
China’s multi-asset funds dominate top performers as tech soars
Efforts in Beijing to drive more long-term capital into the stock market helped the rally
The price honeybees may pay for biofuel
Biofuels also can be made from animal fats, algae, waste cooking oils or agricultural waste such as wood chips and straw
Singapore private home prices up 3.4% in 2025, led by jump in landed property prices
Jessie Lim - Prime Core Central Region condo prices fall sharply by 3.2% in Q4 against rest of island’s rises
Private home prices rise 0.7% in Q4, up 3.4% for 2025 in slowest gain since 2020
Jessie Lim - Prime Core Central Region prices see sharp fall of 3.2% against rest of island’s rises; landed prices up 3.5% in Q4
A flat Q4 slows HDB resale price momentum to 2.9% growth in 2025: flash data
Ry-Anne Lim - Full-year growth decelerates from 9.7% in 2024; volume is down 9.8%
HDB resale prices flat in Q4, taking 2025 gain to 2.9%: flash data
Ry-Anne Lim - Full-year growth slows from 9.7% in 2024; volume is down 9.8%
Stocks to watch: Nio, Keppel Reit, Mandarin Oriental
Shikhar Gupta - [SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Jan 2):
South Korea factory activity expands on stronger exports, PMI shows
SEOUL, Jan 2 : South Korea's factory activity expanded in December, after two months of contraction, on a rebound in export demand, a private-sector survey showed on Friday, with manufacturers' optimism surging to a 3-1/2-year high.The purchasing managers index (PMI) for manufacturers i ...
China’s Xi to host South Korea’s Lee in New Year amid Japan tensions
Lee’s visit to Beijing is expected to address cooperation in several key areas
Russia asks United States to stop pursuit of fleeing oil tanker
US forces have been tracking the tanker, known as the Bella 1, for nearly two weeks
Samsung Electronics highlights progress in HBM4 chip supply
SEOUL, Jan 2 : Samsung Electronics highlighted on Friday progress in the company's next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM4, saying customers have praised its competitiveness.Samsung Electronics' co-CEO Jun Young-hyun, who leads the chip division, said in a New Y ...
Singapore’s economy up 4.8% in 2025; Q4 GDP comes in at 5.7%
Low Youjin - On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy has grown 1.9% in Q4
Singapore’s economy grew 4.8% in 2025; Q4 GDP comes in at 5.7%
Low Youjin - On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, the economy grew 1.9 per cent in Q4
